His chest had gone so stiff he was surprised his ribs didn’t crack when he drew a breath. “They’re not too thrilled about Sin, and they were even less thrilled about the fighting.” Before she could respond, he rapidly changed the subject. “Why isn’t your mom around, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Brett’s expression went sad. “She died of breast cancer when I was seven.”
“Ah, shit. I’m sorry to hear that. Were you two close?”
“Yeah. I was her little girl and she spoiled me rotten. Said I deserved it since I had to grow up surrounded by those three idiots.” Brett raised her voice as she gestured to her brothers.
“I heard that,” Jordan shouted.
“You were supposed to,” Brett shouted back. Grinning, she reached for AJ’s hand and gave it a little tug. “Come on, let’s go see what these boneheads are arguing about.”
The second their skin made contact, heat spread through his body in long, pulsing waves. “Actually, I think I’d like another tour,” he drawled. “You didn’t show me the upstairs last time.”
Her breath caught when he rubbed his thumb over the center of her palm. “You wouldn’t,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Wouldn’t what? Keep tormenting you?” He chuckled softly. “But I promised you I would—and I always keep my promises. I’m going to tease you all day, angel. All. Fucking. Day.”
She visibly swallowed. “You’re evil.”
“Damn straight.” He stroked her wrist, then laced their fingers together and turned to address the Conlons. “Excuse us for a second. Brett wants to show me some of her old drawings…”
AJ stayed true to his word. For the next two hours, he found three more excuses to get Brett alone. Three more opportunities to coax her to the edge of orgasm before cruelly wrenching her back. By the time they were preparing to leave, she looked ready to explode, which would have been funny if he weren’t hovering over the same lust-filled powder keg. He just hoped her family hadn’t noticed how many times he’d had to rearrange the front of his pants. He doubted it, seeing as they’d been bickering about sports, cars, and tattoos the whole time.
Despite their three-track minds, though, he’d genuinely enjoyed hanging out with the Conlons. They were entertaining, interesting, and incredibly easy to talk to.
But AJ was tired of talking. It was time to put him and Brett out of their misery before they both went up in flames.
Since Brett had arrived in her own car, they drove to her apartment separately, and even the act of pressing his foot on the gas pedal made his cock ache. Miraculously, he managed to make it to Brett’s place without coming in his pants.
As he hopped out of the Jeep, he was greeted by the scent of garlic and ginger wafting from the Korean general store. The door had been propped open by a milk crate to let the fresh spring air in, the same warm breeze that brushed AJ’s bare arms like a teasing caress.
When Brett’s car pulled up behind his, his pulse took off in a gallop. Christ, he wasn’t leaving her side until both of them were sated and sweaty and limp from pleasure. The club didn’t open until seven and he’d already told his bartenders he might show up late, so he had nothing but time on his hands.
He planned on taking advantage of every damn second.
“Upstairs. Now,” he commanded when Brett met him at the curb.
“Yes, sir,” she said with a mock salute, but he didn’t miss the impatience in her gait as they climbed the stairs to her apartment.
This was his second visit to Brett’s domain, and he found it as soothing as the first. With its funky mismatched furniture and dozens of colorful paintings on the walls, her place was so much more welcoming than his. Her style was an odd mix of modern and antique, and so frickin’ cozy it brought a pang of longing to his gut.
His own apartment was neat, sterile, and bland. He hadn’t had the heart to say no to his mother when she’d insisted on decorating it, but he couldn’t deny that her efforts had succeeded in making him feel like an intruder in his own home.
“Bedroom.” Brett’s voice sliced through his thoughts.
He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the look on her face. Stern and steely, a sure sign that she was up to something.
Deciding to humor her, he headed down the hall, and when they entered her bedroom, she pointed to the bed. “Lie down.”
AJ raised one eyebrow. “You’re bossing me around now?”
“Damn straight.” She lifted an eyebrow in return. “Did you think I was going to let you get away with what you did last night? And what you did today? You really don’t know me at all, Adam James.”