Being With the Brothers Next Door (5 page)

What would they think if she told them how she really felt? After spending only an hour with them it was clear she was so not over
them,
and that was just asking for a disaster. She grabbed her purse and refused to look back at Tanner. There was no desire to see Brianna mauling him. Jonas met her on the other side of the table and took hold of her elbow in a gentle grip. Fire licked across her flesh at that simple touch, and she took a deep breath. Lifting her hand at Rian and murmuring her goodbye to Tanner she followed Jonas out of the bar and toward his truck. Like the gentleman he was, he held the door open for her and helped her in. He made his way around the front of the truck, and her temperature increased tenfold at his sexy stride. There was just something so sexy about a man who didn’t realize the effect he had on women, and Jonas was one of those guys. He climbed in and started the truck. In a matter of minutes they were on the road and headed toward her parents’ house.

“You really didn’t have to leave your date and take me home. I’m sure Rian could have met up with the waitress later on.” Just thinking about her brother and the waitress sent a nasty feeling through her, but then again thinking of Tanner and Jonas with those women had the same effect, well, almost the same.

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m not really into taking random chicks home.” Sasha didn’t point out he looked pretty cozy with the trashy blonde. “So, you know where you are thinking of living? You want to rent or buy?” He glanced over at her and smiled. The easygoing was he started a conversation with her was a nice distraction. She hadn’t really thought about it, but now that he mentioned it she knew she had to get on that. She loved her parents, but certainly wasn’t going to live with them, not at twenty-two years old.

“I haven’t really thought about it, but I suppose I should do that pretty soon.”

“If you want I can take you around to some of the places I know are on the market?”

She looked over at him, a bit surprised by his offer.
“Really?”

He looked over at her and knit his brows, as if what she had just said was the most ludicrous thing in the world.
“Of course.
I’d do anything for you, Sasha.” His words were spoken so reverently, were so heartfelt, that she felt a wealth of emotion. “Hey, you okay?” Jonas pulled the car off to the side of the road and put it in park. He turned his body toward her, and it was the look of concern that had the tears spilling free.

They just came and came, and Sasha felt incredibly stupid, but she couldn’t stop them. The next thing she knew was that she was in Jonas’s arms and he was murmuring against her hair. Her sobbing made it impossible to hear exactly what he said, but she could tell the words were meant to soothe her. Sasha had no idea what had gotten into her. Maybe it was the fact she was finally realizing that she had wasted so many years with unjust fears and worries, and letting her emotions and hurt from when she was eighteen
cloud
her judgment and keep her away. She was older now, an adult and everything negative that happened until this particular moment seemed so frivolous. There had been countless times she thought about that night with Tanner. She knew how he was, yet she had let her teenage dreams and wants shape the reality of the situation. She needed to make things different, and that was going to start right now.

Jonas held her and let her cry, and after what felt like forever her tears finally dried, and she forced herself away from him. Humiliation over the fact she had broken down in front of him was strong inside of her, and she couldn’t bring herself to face him. But his finger under her chin forced her head up and took that option away from her.

“Did someone hurt you?” The way his voice hardened and a dark look that crossed her face had her shaking her head vehemently.

“No, no. It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it, Sasha?” He used his thumbs to brush the wetness away from her cheeks and kept his eyes on hers.

Like she could really tell him that she was in love with him and Tanner, and that she had giving her virginity to his brother years ago, and was afraid of them in an emotional sense. She also couldn’t admit the reason why she had stayed away and avoided them for so long. He hadn’t asked, but she could see the question burning behind his eyes.
 
Sasha looked into eyes that were so warm and familiar they brought a fresh wave of tears to her eyes again.

“I’m in love with you, Jonas.” She slapped a hand over mouth, and her eyes widened. Oh God. Had she really just said that? Letting her hand fall, she knew it was too damn late to take it back or make up some lame excuse for why she’d said it. She turned back in her seat and stared out the windshield. Yeah, she had just totally done that.

Please just go. Please just go.

As if she spoke the mantra out loud, Jonas shifted the truck into drive and pulled back onto the road. The fact he didn’t say anything should have made her feel better, but all it did was make the situation worse. He pulled into her parents’ driveway ten minutes later, and those had been the longest ten minutes of her damn life. Escape sounded like a pretty good idea. Just as she reached for the handle and muttered a “thank you” he stopped her with his hand on her arm. Sasha couldn’t bear to look at him, not after she had inserted her foot into her mouth. She blamed her emotions for the fact she blurted out her lifelong secret.

His voice was soft when he said, “Look at me, please.”

Sasha looked over her shoulder and was struck breathless by how vulnerable he looked. To see a man as strong and fierce as Jonas look as scared as she felt scared her even more. A suspended moment passed where neither of them said anything, but then his next words had her feeling faint.

“Say it again, Sasha.”

Sucking in a breath that she hoped steadied her, she said, “What?”

Oh, she had heard him well enough, but shock built deep within her and spread outward until it encompassed every part of her body and soul. Jonas swallowed, and the rough sound of it in the stillness of the truck was monumental.

“I want to hear you say it again, Sasha.” He leaned closer so that his breath teased the arch of her cheek. “Tell me you’re in love with me again.” Her chest rose and fell forcefully.

He wanted to hear her say it again? Could she utter those words that had she had kept buried inside of her for far too long again? Swallowing the thick lump that now took residency in her throat, Sasha took one more steadying breath before she spoke.

“I’m in love with you, Jonas.”

An almost choked sound left him, and he brought his other hand up to cup her cheek. The heavy, callused weight of it felt so good, and she leaned into his touch more. She wanted him to kiss her so damn badly, and as if she said the words out loud his mouth was on hers. The taste of the beer he had drunk and his natural flavor filled her mouth, and she moaned against his lips. At the first touch of his tongue along the seam of her mouth she didn’t hesitate to open for him. The sound of his deep groan was the sexiest noise she had ever heard. Something inside of her snapped, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and plastered herself against him. Her breasts pressed against his hard, muscular chest, but it was when he hauled her over his lap so her pussy came into contact with his erection, that the real pleasure slammed into her. He lifted his hips and further pressed his hard shaft between her thighs.

“God, Sasha.” He broke the kiss and murmured the words as he trailed his mouth down her neck. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to hear you say those words, and to feel you just like this.” The vibration from his words speared through her neck and sent tingles to her pussy.

A gasp left her when he scraped his teeth along her skin. “You have?” This was all too unreal, like she was in a dream, or an alternate universe. How had these events transpired so quickly? She had only gotten back in town yesterday, had only seen Tanner and Jonas tonight after years of avoiding them, but here she was, touching Jonas the way she always wanted to. He cupped her ass, and she wished she had worn a skirt or dress to make his access easier. He latched his mouth on hers again and started rocking her back and forth on his erection. Even though they both wore jeans she could feel every sensation of his hardness pressing against her pussy. The seam from her jeans and the force with which he moved her back and forth on him caused a delicious sensation to move through her clit. She grew wetter, felt her clit swell, and knew that if she didn’t stop this things would escalate. But despite knowing this logically, she couldn’t bring herself to stop what they were doing.

“You feel good on me, Sasha.” He moved her faster, pressed her down harder, and brought her closer to pleasure without penetration. A gasp left her, and her heart raced as adrenalin tore through her cells and saturated her arms and legs. “I can tell how wet you are even through your jeans.” He nipped at the side of her mouth. “I can smell the sweet musk that spills from your pussy.” He groaned at his own words and worked her even more frenziedly on him. “I want to bury my cock so deep inside of you, fuck you so damn hard, that neither of us can catch our breath.”

His words were dirty and erotic, and fueled her arousal to the nth degree. Her orgasm crested inside of her and spread outward. She wasn’t in control of her actions anymore. The way her head fell back and her eyes closed, and the way she put her pussy flush with his cock and rode herself on him was as if she was on autopilot. She was vaguely aware of gripping his shoulders and digging her nails into the hard muscles. Sexual noises filled the interior of the truck, but she didn’t know if they came from him or her.

“That’s it, Sasha.”

She slowed her movements as her orgasm waned. Resting her head on his shoulder, Sasha didn’t let herself think about what had just happened. Jonas rubbed her back in slow sweeps of his hand.

“Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s going through that pretty head of yours.” Even when she tried to pull back he wouldn’t let her move. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her, as if he feared she would run away. She couldn’t really blame him, because at every opportunity that is exactly what she had done.

“I don’t know what to say, Jonas.” And she didn’t, because yes, she was in love with him, but she also loved Tanner. How in the hell did you tell someone
that
?

“Just say what’s in your heart.” He lifted her away from him but kept one hand on the back of her head.

“I knew I loved you since I was old enough to know what the emotion was. I used to watch you walk down the halls at school, wishing you would notice me. I spent my entire adolescent years pining for you. Then you went off to college, and I thought maybe the distance would be good for me, help to clear my head, because I knew nothing could ever start between us. You were my brother’s best friend, and totally off-limits.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “Time didn’t help, distance didn’t work, and you avoiding me didn’t make me stop loving you.”

Their eyes were locked, and every word he said was like a little bit of
himself
going into her.

“And I knew you were avoiding me.” He swept his finger along her cheek and smiled. “I’ve wanted you for a long time, Sasha, far longer than I care to admit.”

“I love you, Jonas. I have always loved you.” His smile broke her heart, because what she was about to say was going to seem like her feelings for him were nothing more than empty words. “But I also love Tanner.” Everything shifted around her as she waited for him to say something … anything. The sound and vibrations of the truck was the only thing that could be heard and felt. After what seemed like ages, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I know, Sasha.” He opened his eyes, and the force with which his stare speared her was like a lance to her heart.

She must have looked like someone had slapped her, because he chuckled and kissed her on the tip of the nose. “We both love you, Sasha. Knowing that we wanted your love in return was something the two of us needed to work on. It didn’t seem like a reality, not when you’re Rian’s little sister. It wasn’t until tonight that I realized you do have the same bone-deep feelings for us.”

“I…” Shaking her head because this was just too bizarre, she didn’t know how to respond.

“I saw your reaction when you looked at Tanner for the first time in years tonight.”

“ How
do you know Tanner still feels the same for me, that he has the same emotions you do?” He glanced away, and that was all the confirmation she needed. Tanner had told him he took her virginity at her graduation party.