Peyton walked in the house all smiles and tits. The boobs looked too good to ignore since she had on a sports bra. The skintight running shorts made a grown man itch to take what didn’t belong to him.
Kane passed her with a shit-eating grin on his face. He’d kept his hands to himself for two weeks but now two seconds after seeing her like this and he might take her upstairs and make up for wasted time.
“He’s in a mood, and he’s gonna beat your ass for this one.”
Kane shook hands with the tall guy standing behind her but refused to make eye contact with him when Peyton introduced them. He didn’t have time to make small talk when other things, like those hard little nipples pressing through Peyton’s bra, held his attention.
Peyton bit her lower lip. “Well, I don’t know why. We’re only going to study.”
Evan walked toward them and stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Holy hell.” He almost swallowed his tongue. The comment, no doubt, an accident.
“Come on, little brother, pick your chin up off the floor and let Braden deal with her.”
Kane pushed the front door back and stepped out on the covered porch. Through the open screen, he heard Evan close in the space behind him.
“Jason, how ya doing?” Heavy footsteps headed closer. Condemnation, no doubt, in every step.
Kane didn’t move. He heard the dislike, the contempt laced in his brother’s voice. He turned around and sure enough, Evan’s scowl proved easily interpreted. His eyes burned a hole through the tall fellow standing next to Peyton.
“Not too bad, Evan. Not too bad.” He extended his hand to shake another Cartwell hand but Evan only inspected it.
Kane watched from the doorway and it was easy to sense the looming trouble. “Ready, Evan?”
“Hell no.” He looked at Peyton. “Can I talk to you for a second before we leave?”
“We’re headed to the kitchen and-”
“Now, Peyton. It wasn’t a yes or no question. I tried polite pleasantries but I really need to talk to you before we leave.”
He didn’t look at Kane or the Jason-dude. His gaze burned straight through Peyton.
She placed her fingertips on Jason’s shoulders and directed him to the kitchen. “Go on in there and make yourself at home.”
“Braden!” Evan shouted out loud but his eyes never left Peyton. Braden appeared at the other end of the hall.
“Yep?”
“This here is Jason.”
Jason stopped his pursuit toward the country kitchen.
Braden extended his arm and shook Jason’s hand. “Braden Cartwell.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jason said.
Peyton pointed. “Go straight through those doors. Snacks are on the counter and soda is in the fridge.”
“Okay, but hurry.” He kissed her cheek, mistake number one, and walked toward the kitchen as Peyton instructed.
Evan grabbed her arm and pulled her out to the porch. Braden followed and Kane moved out of the way. This was too good to miss. Evan reached around him and slammed the front door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Evan’s eyes seared with anger. Like Braden, when it came to Peyton, he seldom let go of a tantrum. Laid-back and carefree, he could turn into a real hot-head with a few beers in him or the right brawl waiting for him.
The brawl waited in their kitchen if the looks exchanged between two men served as a reminder. Kane scratched the back of his head and studied Peyton.
“That’s some way to treat a guest, Evan.” Peyton leaned up against the house, her hands tucked behind her back, probably her bottom.
“Guest?” Evan took a deep breath and then turned to Braden. “I want him out of here.”
“What?” Her mouth flew open and she glared at Evan. “Why?”
“Because I said I want him out of here, and it’s plenty enough reason. I live here too.”
Braden shook his head. “Nope, it’s not. She’s eighteen and she can choose her own friends unless there’s a significant reason to worry.”
Evan’s face flooded with hot heat, and blood red fury. “Damn it, Peyton. You know who he is.”
She batted her eyes and smiled sweetly. “Yes I do. He’s Jason Neely, and he’s a nice boy.”
“Right, at twenty-one years old, he’s not a boy, Peyton. He’s a man. He’s a damn Dom, too, is what he is.”
She acted surprised and like she had no idea what Evan was talking about. “He’s a what?”
“A Dom. He takes women, submissive women to his bed.”
“I didn’t know.”
She batted those long lashes again. Then, she released an exasperated sigh and waited.
“The hell you say.”
Braden glanced at Kane and then tried to react as the voice of reason. “Where’d you meet up with him, Peyton?”
“He’s a tutor. He’s going to tutor me.”
“Like hell he is.” Evan’s fists hung clenched at his sides. “And look at the way you’re dressed. You’re beggin’ for a man like Neely to sex-you-up and sex-you-down.”
“That’s enough, Evan.” Kane had to agree but the icy tone in Evan’s voice was hardly necessary. They’d ask Neely to leave.
Braden cleared his voice. “Peyton, what is Mr. Jason Neely going to tutor you in exactly? And do all tutors these days kiss their students on the cheek?”
“Anatomy,” she responded sweetly, “There’s a science proj-”
“Anatomy! See! What did I tell ya?” Evan grinded his molars and turned to Kane. “Go get that sorry SOB and tell him I’m waiting for him.”
“Have you been drinking?” Peyton asked.
“Hell, no, but I’m going to drink. I’m going to tie one on, right after I kick Neely’s sorry ass.”
Braden rubbed his chin, and Kane realized they were thinking the same thing. Before Peyton arrived, they all frequented the clubs. Sometimes, Evan drank too much and did a few stupid things. Once, he ended up in bed with three guys and a girl. One of the guys-if he cared to guess, Neely-did some pretty wicked things to the gal. Surprisingly, he left her begging for more. He fit Neely’s description. With his dark complexion, long hair, and thick accent, he stood ten feet tall with attitude.
“I don’t need this shit.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I’m a big girl now, in case you’ve failed to notice the boobs. I can take care of myself.”
“We’ve noticed the tits,” Kane pointed out.
“Can you? Can you really take care of yourself?” Evan ignored everyone but her.
Kane watched as Evan stalked her, marched in front of her and slapped his hand against the siding of the house. “Well, Miss Big Girl, let me tell you about your friend in there.”
Kane sat down on the stoop. “This should be interesting.”
“I’ll tell him to leave,” Braden said as he put his hand on the doorframe.
“No, I’ll tell him.” Peyton started to move.
“You’re not going back in there.” Evan grabbed her waist and held her in place. His eyes were heavy with lust. That much Kane saw and he also saw something else but he tried to avoid gawking. He’d let Evan explain himself later and he would. Braden glanced down and saw it too so explaining would be par for the course, and expected.
“Let me go,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Let you go? Huh? How about I tie you up and make you beg for cock?”
“Evan!” Kane stood. “You’ve gone too far.”
Braden held his arm out and watched as the flicker of knowledge danced over Peyton’s pretty face. Oh yeah, this kept getting more and more interesting. Braden seemed curious enough to see where this led.
Peyton’s hands flew to Evan’s chest, and she stared down at his erection. “I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’d like to see my back arching up, begging you to take me, wouldn’t you?”
Tears spilled.
Damn.
“You can almost see it now, can’t you? All of you can!” She spat her words and then turned back to Evan choking back a few sobs. “He’s…not…leaving. He’s going to tutor me or else I’ll fail my test tomorrow. Now he can tutor me here or he can tutor me at his place. He offered you know. Either way, he’s not leaving or I will.”
“Shit!” Kane blew out hot air and walked off the porch studying the man’s car. He wanted to remember the license plates, the make and model, every scratch.
If the tutor laid one hand on Peyton, trouble would pay him a visit. Since Kane liked the clubs well enough and knew practically everyone, he wouldn’t have a problem finding him. One wrong move and Mr. Dom would know what it was like to beg like a submissive, only pleasure and pain wouldn’t mix. He’d break a few bones for Mr. Cool, and he might consider tutoring something other than anatomy.
Peyton fidgeted. “What is wrong with you guys?”
“Peyton, we’re trying to look out for you,” Braden held a voice of authority.
“No! No, you aren’t. You want to own me. You want to-”
“Own you?” Evan’s sarcasm reached new heights. “Honey, if you think we want to own you, then just you wait. The man in there, in our kitchen, will dominate you in ways you can’t even imagine. Worse still, he’s a novice at it. He thinks it’s owed to him. He doesn’t earn respect. He takes women and makes them think he deserves it. It’s a power play and he does it well, so well in fact, you’ll strip down to your thong and crawl on your knees-”
“That’s it.” Braden walked back inside and slammed the door. Evan jerked her around as soon as Braden’s eyes weren’t around to see it.
“Let me go.”
“Let her go, Evan,” Kane said.
Gaining some measure of composure, he complied. Reluctantly, he moved away from her and jumped over the banister cursing as he made his way to the barn.
“That went well.” Kane watched Evan until he disappeared.
“You have no right to do this,” she whispered.
“You’re right. We don’t.”
He stepped off the porch, tugged the keys from his pocket and walked over to the truck without looking back. He had to get out of there, because if he laid eyes on Neely now, he’d probably kill him. They’d made Peyton cry because of Neely’s sorry ass and such an act was unpardonable.
He heard her car and immediately dialed Braden. “She’s here, just pulled in.”
Braden told him he sent Neely home without any issues but she tore out of the driveway right behind him. Evan tried to follow her and thought she might go to Neely’s place so he’d parked nearby to see if she showed up at his apartment. She didn’t, of course.
“Call Evan and let him know she’s out here safe and sound. Then, tell him to leave the man alone. Just because he knows what the guy does in his bed doesn’t mean Peyton is interested in fucking him.”
“Oh yeah, I’ll make sure to pass your thoughts along, Kane. I think it will go over well.”
Kane laughed. “Yeah, kind of ruins his macho image when you put it to him like that, huh?”
Braden’s chuckling stopped abruptly. “Kane, don’t do anything to hurt her, okay?”
His warning came just like Kane suspected. It pissed him off to hear it one more time. He wondered if Braden ever got tired of telling them to stay away from her.
“Look, if you want to come out here and stay with her, you’re welcome to come right on. Otherwise, I’m going to tuck her in bed, turn on a ballgame if I find one worth watching, and get some shuteye myself. I’m not driving. I’ve had too much to drink.”
Her key jiggled against the lock, and she walked right on in with too many mixed emotions for a cowboy to decipher.
“I gotta go.” He snapped the phone shut and tossed it to the couch.
“Great. Where’s your truck?”
“Outside. You must’ve missed it.” Maybe because he parked it half-a-mile down the road.
She slammed her keys on the counter and then tossed her duffel bag in the bunk area. Tears streamed down her face and from the looks of the black mascara under her eyes, she’d cried plenty.
“Shit.” He held out his arms, and she flew right into them, bawling as she sniffed and cried into his shirt.
He held her to his chest and stroked her head as she sobbed. He wanted her to let it all out. All of it. The tears they said she never cried when her mother died. The tears she cried because of uncertainty. The ones she cried because of fear, loneliness, and maybe even a little heartache. The latter he knew something about. He understood it because he believed he might be reason for it, or at least one-third of the problem.
He backed up against the recliner and held her closer as he rocked her back and forth. She shook and sniffed as she clung to him like a last hope. He had a world of trouble curled up in his lap.
If he didn’t do something to stop where they headed before they started there, they’d both end up sorry in the morning or maybe one of them would. He felt pretty certain he’d feel a lot of things, guilt refusing to weigh in as one of them.
About ten minutes later, she stopped crying, and he held her there until she quit trembling too. “How about I fix us something to eat?” he offered.
She somehow managed to choke out two words. “Not hungry.”
“You probably haven’t had anything to eat,” he said.
She wiped her face with the palms of her hands and stood up. She walked into the bathroom and turned the faucet on, leaving the door wide open while she dabbed at her face.
Standing in the doorway, she made a statement. “I’m not going home. Not tonight.”
“Suits me.” He turned up his beer, hit the button on the side of the recliner and leaned back to relax.
She shut the bathroom door, and his body damn near bolted from the chair. He immediately pecked on the door when he heard the creaking sound of the door underneath the sink.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
“Uh, Peyton? Can you open up for a second?”
“No, I… can’t.” Impishness now replaced the sobs he heard earlier.
Damn it! He mouthed the words and threw a punch at thin air while gritting his teeth. He heard the zipper. The damned-ass zipper hung in the middle so there was little doubt of what she’d found again with ease.
He grabbed the doorframe with both hands and leaned his forehead on the panels. “Peyton, let me in, hon so I can check on you for a second. I’m uh…worried about you.”
Worried about what I’ll do to you when I see you with my toys. He almost told her so too.
He heard her giggle right before she opened the door. Her face washed clean of tears and make-up, once she looked at him, she laughed hysterically and ducked under his arm.
“You just had to prowl.”
“You forgot to hide it,” she reminded him.
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don’t want to hide it?” What the hell was he thinking!
He knew better than to say something to invite her pursuits. He should’ve known better anyway. “You had little business putting your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“You shouldn’t have left it here if you didn’t want me to find it again. I gave you fair enough warning. Since Braden gave me a key, sooner or later, I planned to find out what you kept in your bag.”
His jaw and his dick twitched. She looked at his face and then at his cock. She saw movement, no doubt. Hell, as hard as he was, she’d feel it too if she didn’t quit staring at it.
After a long silence, he responded. “Peyton, you’re right. It shouldn’t be here. I’ll go put the junk in the truck.” He stepped inside the bathroom and thanked God for locks. He leaned up against the wall and stared at the array of sexual accessories. Sweet and precious Peyton laid them all out on the vanity.
He really wanted to spank her ass for it. He studied the round beads, the vibrator, and the butt plug. Oh God, how his fingers tingled, his dick throbbed, desperately ached for him to give into temptation, grab a toy and open the door.
A light knock broke off the sudden need and the fantasy.
“Kane?”
“What now?” he groaned but he didn’t move. Instead, he looked at his love kit spread out in front of him. Damn it. Why him? Why her? Why now and why in the hell, here?
“I have to ask you something.”
“What?” he snapped.
“Why don’t you want me?”
Oh God, what a question. Lie! Lie! Lie! He wanted to avoid the truth now more than ever before. All he had to do was say something like a man would say anyway. Tell her that her age prohibited her from sexual play in his bed. Maybe tell her there was someone else. Something, anything, speak firmly and take control of the situation.
“I mean, I know Evan wants me. He’s just afraid of Braden and if I was a little bit older, I think Braden would’ve already pounded my ass and my pussy a few times, if you want to know the truth. Even when I drank too much, I saw it. You know when he had to help me shower? He looked at me like he wanted me, and he touched me like all he needed in the world was to wrap his arms around me and fuck me all night long.”
He yanked the door open and grabbed her around the waist. “Watch your mouth.”
“Why? I’m assuming you know what to do with a woman’s pussy since you own plenty of toys for one.”
“Damn it, Peyton!” He lowered his head and tugged her closer.
“Well, do you or don’t you? Maybe you’re waiting for someone to teach you how to use them?” she teased. “I can be your teacher, if you don’t know.”
“You better believe I know,” he said as he nipped on her lower lip. “And you sound like a jealous woman.” He kissed her harder then, and she kissed back with enough passion to knock him over. On second thought, she didn’t sound envious, she sounded hungry, and she kissed him like she was starved too death.