Brett Read online

  It was like intruding on a huge family.

  After Brett had brought me here, he had led me straight upstairs without a word to anyone and let me shower with strict instructions to take a nap afterward. I didn’t even fight him on it. I was desperate to crawl into bed. And sleeping on his soft mattress had been the best sleep I’d had in a long damn time. I’d actually felt safe for once.

  “Brett!” a woman yelled. “Do not give Ryker more fucking candy!”

  “Oh, come on, Penny,” I heard Brett say as I rounded the corner. “He’s being such a good kid.”

  “Brett, if you don’t listen to my wife, you’ll be detailing both of her fucking vehicles every day for the next month,” a man with a president patch on his cut warned Brett.

  I watched as Brett tickled the little boy on his knee. The little kid squealed and giggled. “Go to your mom. You know it’s snack time,” Brett ordered before he released the little kid. “And Ryker, don’t give her a hard time!” Brett called after him as the little kid took off running.

  He then turned, his eyes landing on me. He grinned. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Sleep well?” he asked.

  “Yeah – thanks,” I told him as I walked over. I looked at the man at his side and held my hand out to him. “I’m Olivia. Thank you for taking me in here.”

  The man nodded once and clasped my hand in his, shaking it with a firm grip. “Copper – I’m the president. And don’t thank me. We take care of the people around here.”

  “Ryker!” a woman yelled.

  Copper sighed. “That kid is going to be the fucking death of me,” he swore as he walked off.

  Brett pulled out a chair beside him, gesturing for me to sit down. “Ember will bring you some food in a minute; I asked her to do so whenever you woke up.” He ran his eyes over my face. “You okay?” he finally asked me.

  I nodded at him. “Yeah. I’ll be better though when I can get my own clothes.”

  He nodded at me, shooting a smile at a dark-haired woman that stepped up to the table with a plate of food in her hands. “Thanks, Ember,” he told her. She ruffled his hair with a smile before she disappeared from the table. Surprisingly, jealousy swirled in my gut, shocking the fuck out of me. Brett aimed his smile back at me, making me forget what I was even jealous about in the first place. “After you eat, we’ll ride out to your place and get you some of your clothes and shit. And we need to grab your car from the store.”

  I shook my head at him. “I don’t have a car,” I informed him. “I walk everywhere, so we don’t have to worry about a car.”

  He frowned, but didn’t comment, though I could tell the fact that I didn’t have a car bothered him for some reason. Shaking his head, he flashed an easy-going smile at me again. “Eat,” he ordered. “Quicker you eat, the quicker we can go get your shit.”

  I glared at him. “Don’t fucking rush me.”

  His grin widened, amusement shining in his eyes. “Fuck, I love your feistiness.” My cheeks burned at his words. His eyes darkened as he flicked his tongue out to lick his lips. My breath hitched in my throat, so suddenly turned on that it momentarily froze my brain. “Fuck,” he growled. Every single part of my body tingled at that primal sound. “You’re a dangerous one, Olivia – too fucking dangerous.” He drew in a deep breath. “Eat,” he told me. “I’ll be back in a few.”

  I was the dangerous one?

  Jesus. He obviously hadn’t ever been faced with himself because my fucking ovaries were on the verge of exploding.

  Brett

  I had lived in this town basically all my life, and I never knew we had apartments in this town that were this damn small.

  Or this unclean and unsafe.

  The building Olivia lived in was an old, brick building, and the rooms had been renovated into studio apartments. The rooms were barely big enough to hold a bed. Add in the mini fridge and a small table for her burner, and it felt cramped as fuck.

  The front door to the building was missing, leaving all of the apartments open and vulnerable to strangers. Used condoms were on the stairs, and trash littered the hallways and the stairwell.

  It made my fucking skin crawl.

  “You live here?” I asked her as she grabbed a duffel and began to throw some of her clothes into it.

  She shrugged. “It was all that I could afford when I moved here,” she told me. There was a story there. You didn’t run to a small town and settle in a dump like this without some kind of reason. “And not many businesses here are hiring, so money is tight. I haven’t been able to move.”

  She didn’t even sound offended by my question. She just sounded . . . indifferent to it – as if she had just accepted that this would be her fate for the rest of her life.

  I didn’t like that shit one bit.

  “Why did you come here?” I asked her. She looked up at me, shocked by my bluntness. She’d have to get used to that since she was going to be around for a while. And hell, if I had anything to do with it, she would be around permanently – as my old lady. I shrugged at her, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “A woman as pretty as you doesn’t live in a dump like this without some kind of story, Olivia. So, what happened?”

  She shook her head, but I didn’t miss the way her eyes flashed with pain – didn’t miss the way she swallowed thickly as if to keep herself from bursting into tears.

  I let it be. I knew when to push and when not to push.

  But I vowed to have her open up to me soon. I wanted her to be mine; I wanted to know everything there was to know about her.

  I heard a woman yell something, and a man’s voice followed right after. Olivia rolled her eyes to the ceiling, a sigh of annoyance falling from her lips. My own lips twitched in amusement. She was so fucking hot when she got aggravated. “I swear to God, they can’t go thirty minutes without fighting,” she grumbled.

  “Happen a lot?” I asked her.

  She snorted. “More than a lot. It’s a fucking constant thing.”

  Was it normal to be extremely turned on by a woman cursing?

  She threw some more clothes into her duffel before she walked into the tiny bathroom. Honestly, it was barely big enough for the necessities. There was a very tiny shower stall – no tub. There was a toilet nestled between the shower and the sink, and the sink didn’t even have a counter attached to it.

  Literally bare necessities.

  She grabbed her body wash, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, and toothpaste and tossed them into her duffel as well. She zipped it up. “I’m ready to go,” she told me.

  I grabbed her bag off of the bed, purposely ignoring her as she opened her mouth to protest. “Our Hope, Texas charter is riding in tonight, so I’m giving up my apartment to one of the guys. We’ll be staying at my place for the next couple of nights at least,” I informed her as we moved out of the apartment.

  “I thought I was staying at the clubhouse.”

  I grunted in disgust as I moved down the stairs, dodging a used condom. “Just said you were staying at my place, sweetheart.”

  “But that’s not what you originally said was happening,” she snapped from behind me. I stepped outside and headed for my truck, breathing in the fresh air now that we were out of that dump. “Goddammit, Brett, fucking turn around and speak to me like a normal human being!” she shouted.

  This woman was going to be the death of me. That temper of hers sent all of my blood rushing to my dick every time she got annoyed.

  I tossed her bag into the back of the pick-up before I turned to face her. “Ten members from the Hope, Texas charter are riding in this evening,” I told her. “There will be no rooms available for you. You have to stay at my place. What is so complicated about that?” I asked her.

  “Because I wasn’t asked!” she shouted at me.

  I knew she felt like she was losing control of her life, especially after the day she’d just had, but my patience was wearing thin.

  I growled, beginning to get annoyed myself. “You want to stay here?”
I snapped at her, throwing my arm in the direction of her apartment building. “You’ve got no goddamn protection here, Olivia, and it’s literally a matter of hours before that fucker is allowed to post bond. So, tell me what it’s going to be, Olivia. We can stay here, or you can come to my house with me where I have security cameras up everywhere, not to mention I’ve fenced in my entire yard, and you have to have a button to get in through my gate. Your fucking choice, but either way, I’m where you are.” I gave the building a disgusted glance. “And I’d really rather not fucking stay here.”

  “You are an insufferable dick,” she snapped. Tears burned in her eyes. I sighed and quickly moved towards her, wrapping her up in my arms. “I’m sorry,” she croaked as she wrapped her own arms around me, her hands fisting the back of my cut. “It’s been a really long day, and I’m scared and tired, and everything is just changing and happening too fast for me to keep up with – to even begin trying to make sense of everything.”

  I gently rubbed her back and pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s alright, sweetheart,” I soothed. “I know. I’m trying to make this as easy as possible for you. If you come to my place, you’ll be safe and protected. I’ll be with you at all times,” I promised. “And I’ve got video games, books, and movies, and I know how to cook a damn good steak.” She laughed softly and sniffled. I pressed a kiss to her temple. “Just take a deep breath. Let me handle everything. Just pretend you’re going on a vacation,” I told her. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

  She looked up at me with those pretty, gray eyes. I reached up and gently brushed my thumb under her right eye, wiping away some of her tears. “You promise?” she asked me, her voice giving away just how vulnerable and scared she felt right then.

  My lips tilted up at the corners the slightest bit. “I promise,” I swore. “Not a goddamn thing will happen to you.”

  “Okay,” she whispered. She drew in a deep breath. “Let’s go to your place.”

  I grabbed her hand as she moved to step around me. Those gray eyes snapped up to mine, sucking me into their depths – sucking me deeper into her. “Smile,” I told her.

  A blush tinted her cheeks as a shy smile tilted her lips. I grinned. “Keep smiling, sweetheart. You’re too damn beautiful to be frowning.”

  With that, I released her hand and opened the passenger side door. I gave a deep bow. “Your chariot awaits, my lady.”

  A laugh sounded from her. “You’re a goof, Brett.”

  I flashed her a grin as I closed her door. “It got you to laugh. That’s all I give a damn about,” I confessed. That pretty blush darkened her cheeks again.

  Fuck me.

  I was in deep.

  Olivia

  I stared at the two-story house in front of me. Nausea suddenly swirled in my gut.

  Brett lived here?

  Oh, God. I felt so embarrassed by the mess he had seen at my place. Though I kept my apartment immaculate, I knew the rest of the building wasn’t.

  He must be so disgusted to have to stay with someone like me who came from such a dump.

  It wasn’t always like this for me, I silently reminded myself. Shit happened. I did the best that I could.

  Brett suddenly reached over and squeezed my thigh. “Come out of your head, sweetheart. What’s got that horrified look on your face?” he asked me.

  I shook my head, not wanting to talk about it. He squeezed my thigh again, this time a little rougher. I swung my eyes to his blue ones. He narrowed them at me, slowly bringing the truck to a stop in front of the house. “Olivia, what the fuck is going on in your head?”

  I helplessly tossed my hand in the direction of his beautiful home. “You live here,” I told him. I closed my eyes. “No wonder you looked so disgusted by where I lived.”

  He sighed. “Olivia,” he called. I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my tears at bay. I was tired – so exhausted. This past year had been absolute hell for me, and I still wasn’t catching a fucking break. “Olivia!” he barked. I snapped my eyes open, staring at him in shock. Did he just yell at me? “I was disgusted by the fucking building, Olivia – not by you or your apartment because frankly, your apartment itself was clean as fuck.” He shrugged. “Shit happens, and people have to learn to accommodate those changes – learn to change with them.” He shrugged. “Whatever happened, Olivia, shit will change. Just keep focusing on that. It’s going to change, and it’s going to get better.”

  With that, he slid out of the truck, quickly closing his truck door behind him. I watched him as he stood there for a moment, his back facing me before he shook his head and shoved his hands through his hair. Then, as if nothing was bothering him, he walked around the front of the truck and opened my door, not a single thing on his face or in his eyes that would give away what was bothering him.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him.

  He arched an eyebrow at me. “I have to be, babe,” he told me. My cheeks burned at the term of endearment. “I learned a long time ago to not stress over shit I can’t change right now.” With a shrug, he held out his hands, helping me down from the truck. He then grabbed my bag out of the truck bed and carried it up to the porch.

  I screamed in shock when a dog suddenly burst out of the backyard, bounding straight towards me. He was huge – pretty sure he was a Doberman.

  “Savage, down!” Brett barked. The dog skidded to a halt and laid down on the ground, his head on his paws. I stared up at Brett, my heart knocking hard in my chest. He only grinned at me. “Savage won’t hurt you, Olivia.” He whistled, and the dog jumped up, bounding up the stairs and into the house. “Come on,” Brett ordered. “I’m fucking hungry, and I need to get you settled in.”

  Still shocked by the massive beast he owned, I followed him into the house, staring around me in amazement. It was an open-floor plan, where you could see both the kitchen and the living room from the front door. To the side of me, there was a set of stairs that led up to the second floor.

  “I have two bedrooms,” Brett explained. “Mine and a guest room. I had it built like this – didn’t want too many rooms.” He walked up the stairs. “I’ll put you in the spare room – unless you want to share with me,” he added with a wink over his shoulder.

  I quickly scowled at him, though I couldn’t deny my heart raced at the thought of sharing a bed with Brett. “In your dreams, Brett.”

  He barked out a laugh. “I dream about it a lot, baby.” My cheeks burned. He barked out a laugh. “Come on. I’m only teasing you – well, a little. Can’t lie and say that I don’t imagine you beneath me with your thighs wrapped around my hips.” His eyes darkened, and he licked his lips. My blood was heading straight south to the one part of my body that it really didn’t need to go to – not around this man. “Handcuffed to my bed . . . fuck yes,” he groaned.

  “You’re disgusting,” I muttered, but every feminine part of me was begging me to let him do whatever he wanted to my body, even if I knew I would get attached afterwards. I knew with every fiber of my being that Brett wouldn’t be the kind of man that I could walk away from without losing half of my soul. And judging by the kind of man he was, he didn’t seem like the type to want anything long-term.

  “Lost in your head again, sweetheart,” Brett noted. I jerked my head up from the floor, suddenly realizing that I was just standing in one spot. He already had the spare room door open, and my duffel was sitting on top of the bed. The curtains were open, letting in natural light, and Brett was leaning against the door jamb with his arms crossed over his chest, Savage laying on the floor at his feet.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  He cocked his head to the side. “You do that a lot?” he asked me.

  I shrugged, not bothering to answer, though I knew I did. I wasn’t the queen of multitasking – that was for sure. Even if I was only thinking, I couldn’t ever seem to be able to walk and do that at the same time.

  I was a strange one – sue me.

  Brett grinned. Fuck, that grin was
going to end up making me jump him if he didn’t fucking stop aiming it at me. “You’re a weird one, Olivia, but I like it.” He pushed off the door jamb and walked towards me. He grabbed the side of my head, and I closed my eyes as he pressed his lips to my temple. That simple touch of his lips had my soul on fire. “Get settled in. I’m going to get started on dinner.”

  I frowned at him. “I just ate not too long ago,” I reminded him.

  His hand dropped to the dip in my waist. My breath hitched in my throat. We stared at each other for a moment. It literally felt like electricity was sliding through my body. His eyes darkened, and he slightly parted his lips.

  Suddenly, he stepped back from me, swallowing thickly. “You need to gain weight, sweetheart.” He squeezed my hip. “Get settled in. If you need to rest, go ahead. Otherwise, you can come downstairs and chill with me and Savage.”

  “Brett?” I called as he began walking down the stairs. He looked over his shoulder at me. “Thank you,” I told him. He was the first person in a long time that had been truly kind to me.

  He shrugged, and instead of a grin, a softer smile tilted his lips, and at that moment, he began to sink his claws deep into me. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” He winked. “I’ve got a soft spot for you.”

  I licked my suddenly dry lips, watching him as he walked down the stairs, Savage trailing faithfully behind him. Drawing in a deep breath, I quickly walked into the room that would be mine for the foreseeable future. With a heavy sigh, I dropped down onto my bed, my hand coming up to rest over my rapidly beating heart.

  Brett, what in the hell are you doing to me?

  Brett

  “Savage, what the fuck is this woman doing to me?” I asked him as I scratched behind his ear. Olivia was worming her way under my skin in a matter of hours. I knew all of us men had been waiting for the moment that one woman would walk into our lives and change everything – especially after seeing Copper and Penny together – but fuck, I hadn’t realized it would happen this damn fast.