Page 8 of Stone Cold Bad (Stone Brothers #1)
SIX
COLT
I pulled on some shorts and walked out to the empty kitchen. Slade had gone out fishing for the day. He was the only brother who liked to fish and he hired himself out to the other fishing boats when our business was slow. Hunter had shit to do on his motorcycle.
After Amy had come in and lured Jade from my bed with a blueberry muffin, I’d gone back to sleep, thoroughly disappointed and a little lonely.
Something about having her in my bed all night, even if nothing more happened than me sharing my body heat with her, felt right.
I’d missed her almost as soon as she left, a completely foreign feeling for me.
The kitchen sparkled. The dishes had been washed, dried and put away.
The dish washing culprit had even taken the time to find a few straggly flowers from somewhere in our barren front yard.
They sat in a glass of water looking slightly wilted and completely out of place in our kitchen.
At some point during my late morning doze, Hunter had stuck his head in my bedroom door to let me know our stowaway was staying with us for awhile.
Not sure why he had to let me know. I would have asked her to stay anyhow.
It was obvious she had no place to go and no money to help her out.
Since I’d never seen either of my brothers clean the kitchen, I was pretty sure our new housemate had cleaned up.
I heard the bathroom sink running. The door was ajar, and as I knocked, the door pushed open.
Jade was still wearing my t-shirt as she leaned over the sink washing out her lacy pink bra and panties.
She had her wet hair in one long braid down the center of her back.
Something told me that she’d spent more than one day cleaning her clothes in a gas station bathroom.
She looked back at me and smiled.
“You look a lot better than last night,” I said. “Guess you’re feeling better.”
“I am, thanks to you guys.” She turned off the sink and faced me. “I hope you don’t mind. These are all I’ve got. Amy was going to bring me some shorts and a shirt, but I think asking her to share her underwear might be asking too much.”
“She’d do it if you asked. That’s just the way Street is. She doesn’t have much herself, but she’s always ready to help everyone.”
“I only just met her, and I already think she’s awesome.”
“Yeah, I liked her a little more before this morning. But she’s like a sister.”
“Really? Your brother wasn’t treating her like a sister this morning.”
“Hunter? Yeah, that’s a whole complicated thing.
Not really sure what’s going on there. I know Street likes him and I’m pretty sure if my brother ever really thought about it, he’d discover that he likes her too.
But for now, she’s just Street. Any of us would risk our lives for her, and there aren’t many people I can say that about. ”
“She’s lucky to have you guys. And I am too.
I promise I won’t be a burden for long.” She hung her bra up over the shower.
I was still recuperating from the disappointing morning.
I was getting hard just watching her hang her underwear up to dry.
Didn’t help that the bottom of her perfect ass poked out from beneath my shirt as she lifted her arms to reach up to the shower curtain bar.
“You’re no burden. I’ll bet you’re not half as expensive to feed as Slade. And it’s kind of nice seeing a lacy bra hanging over the shower rod.” I stepped up behind her and brushed my fingers over the naked skin on her ass.
Her soft gasp bounced off the shower tile. She turned and my arms went around her, but I could tell there was some resistance, as if her body was saying yes and her head was saying no.
I lowered my arms.
She peered up at me with those blue eyes that I already couldn’t stop thinking about. “I’m sorry, Colt, it’s just that—” She looked down at the bruises on her arm.
I pushed up her chin with my fingers. “No apologies. You’ve gone through some shit, and now’s not the time.
Not going to lie, I’m disappointed, but I get it.
How about I run you to the store and you can pick up some things?
It’s going to get old walking around in wet panties all the time.
” I stopped and shook my head. “Wow, that didn’t sound right coming out of my mouth at all. ”
She laughed and picked up my hand. My knuckles were still swollen from the fight at Bootlegger’s. “I really can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here.” Her voice wavered.
I reached up to her face just as the bathroom door popped open and smacked me on the shoulder.
Amy was standing in the hallway with a giant smile and some clothes.
“Fucking hell, Street, did you wake up this morning and immediately plan out how to annoy the shit out of me today?”
She pushed past me. “Yeah, that’ right, you egotistical butt face, I wake up every morning with your name on my lips.
” She made a dramatic show of stretching and yawning.
“Oh yay, it’s a new day. I wonder what that dream boat Colt is up to.
He’s the center of the fucking universe, after all.
” She turned to Jade. “Here, I think these will work for now.” Amy turned around and shooed me out.