PULSE: A Stepbrother Romance (20 page)

The receiver
hit the line, and I stood by the payphone and let every last ounce of emotion
inside me take their toll. Reduced almost to tears at what I had done –
how grateful I was that he hadn’t turned his back on me – I let the rain
do its worst.

After a few
seconds to compose myself, I stepped away from the kiosk and popped open the
back passenger door. Sliding into the backseat, completely dripping everywhere,
I closed the door behind myself, letting the elements pelt against the glass.

“Holy shit,
man.” The driver glanced at me the rearview mirror. “That was fucking deep. You
can keep the quarter.”

“Fuck you,” I
flashed an angry glare right back at him. He stiffened up in his seat, and I
cast my gaze back at the payphone. “Just take me to the fucking bus station.”

PENSACOLA

PRESENT DAY

P
ushing up against me, Saffron
murmured in her sleep.

I had thought
her beautiful before, on many different occasions. None of those fleeting
instances compared to what I saw now, nestled up against me. The sun had set,
the night had come, and in the soft glow of the side table lamp I watched my
beloved slumber. In this moment, more so than any other before it, she was the
sheer epitome of beauty.

My fingers
moved to her hairline, stroking a few strands out of the way. Her shoulders
sashayed so slightly that I almost wondered if she had even moved. As I thought
on this, her lungs took in a deep breath, and her body became silent once more.

I thought
back to that phone call in the rain, so long ago. It had been clear to me that
he’d kept his word – my father never told her. Nor did my stepmother, who
clearly knew and didn’t judge.

We’d never discussed
it, Ellen and I. We had, I supposed, somewhat of an unspoken understanding. I
loved her daughter so much that I left her rather than hurt her, and whatever
my father had told her had convinced her to remain silent. She had respected my
wishes.

After all
this time, I understood that I’d failed – but I’d
tried
to do things the right way. I really had. In my young, naïve
head, I thought that it would be easier on both Saffron and I if I just left. I
wasn’t willing to go out on the limb.

I had been far
too afraid.

But I didn’t
have to be afraid anymore.

All that
time, I had wanted to become a better man. To accomplish this, I severed my
ties with everything I knew and took a bus as far south as I could go. New
Orleans offered me a fresh start, and I was more willing to throw myself into
whatever awaited me there – with absolutely no idea what I was doing
– than to come back home, admit defeat, and explain it all to my
stepsister.

I thought I had
been strong.

But I knew
the truth now.

I had been a
coward.

The simple
fact stared me in the face as Saffron shifted subtly in her sleep –
I had never given her a chance.

When she
arrived at my home that day, I had already judged her. She had been so
desperate to stay out of our lives as long as she could, or so I thought. When
the truth became clear to me, I should have explained my idiocy. I should have
tried to start over with her. Instead, I kept up the act. I immersed myself in
holding her at arm’s length, never letting her in.

She had loved
me too. Maybe I would have seen that if I had just given her the benefit of the
doubt. But I had been too afraid of the consequences. I had wasted five years
of our lives, five long years that we could have spent together, as a result of
that choice.

Without her
input – without what
she
wanted
in consideration – I had left her. I saw that now. I should have
understood that she cared about me, that I was a part of her life no matter
what, and that I did to her what her father had done to her.

No wonder she
had been so furious when I returned.

And because I
didn’t get it, I’d been careless with her.

But that was
all over. Everything was tucked away into the past. Because now that she was
here, in my arms…I would never leave her again. It had all been worth it, every
last moment, just to bring me here with her right now.
I’d given up years with her because I’d been foolish. But after
everything she and I had been through, separated from one another…we were here
now, truly together for the first time.

That was a compromise
I could live with.

SAFFRON

Chapter 23

PENSACOLA

PRESENT
DAY

I
woke up alone. Yawning and
stretching my arms, the memories of the previous night came flashing back to
me. I remembered Sawyer’s touch; I basked in the memories of his love.

That happened,
I had to remind myself.
We made love.

Holy shit.

But Sawyer was
nowhere in sight. Climbing up from the bed, I gave one last stretch, staring
out of his window and over the ocean. It was such a magnificent view. I hadn’t
taken much time to properly appreciate it since we had arrived – I’d been
too tied up with how much I hated Sawyer until we finally got everything out in
the open the previous night.

I tugged the
window open. The salty smell of the ocean hit my senses, and I took in a deep,
loving breath.

Yesterday,
I’d lived such a different life. But now, today…everything was better.
Everything was fine. All those years of bitter regret, all that anger and
resentment…it was gone.

So, where’s Sawyer?

I crossed
over to my room and tossed on a bathrobe. Maybe I’d slink downstairs and
surprise him with a nice blowjob, or cook some food for us and let him fuck me
over the counter.
Better skip the
underwear
, I chuckled to myself.

Tying the
robe close, I quietly padded down to the foyer. Once there, I could hear the
distant sound of sizzling, and turned a corner into the kitchen.

Sawyer was
frying some eggs and bacon at the stove, a big smile on his face. He hadn’t
seen me yet, but I thought that my big, muscled man could use some more
relaxation after the fight. We’d have to get him to a doctor, just to confirm
that he hadn’t been injured too much. He had insisted that he was fine the
night before, but better safe than sorry.

I thought I
might sneak up on him, but I knew better than to startle a seasoned fighter
with a pan of hot grease. Instead, I slunk up along the side, letting him see
me as I ran my fingers along the counter.

“You’re
supposed to be in bed,” Sawyer smiled.

“Yeah, well…I
got lonely.” I gave him the saddest, widest eyes that I could, sticking out my
bottom lip. “I missed you. And I think you missed me too…” I ran my hand under
his tank top, feeling his rugged abdominal muscles, and slipped the fingers
down into the front of his jeans. Keeping my eyes on his, I found his cock,
running my fingertips along the outline and stirring it to life.

“Better get
you out of these jeans,” I whispered. “Because I’ve got plans for you…”

“And boy,
would I love that,” he murmured in delight, “but I’ll burn breakfast…”

“Screw
breakfast,” I grinned.

“Might want
to let it cool down…could be some nasty burns.”

“Alright,
smartass.”

He smiled
warmly, and I pulled my hand free, whipping my robestring open. As the fabric
unfolded, my entire body was on display for him, and he took one of my breasts
into his strong hands. Squeezing it tight, he ran his thumb against the peaking
nipple as he gazed upon my nude body.

“Saffron…I’ve
wanted to see you like this for so long…”

“I know. Or
at least…I do now. And trust me, we’ve got all summer to take advantage of it…you’re
going to see me a lot
more
like
this…”

I enveloped
him in my arms and planting a strong kiss on his lips, pressing my body up
against him. “You know where you should fuck me?” I asked sweetly.

“Where do you
have in mind?”

“You should
let me see the ocean,” I told him, my fingertip running along his jaw and down
to his chin. “Just bring me around back, put my hands down on the back patio
railing, make me stick out my ass, and–”

There was a
hard knocking from the door.

Sawyer and I
turned to each other in hesitation.

Is that Hensley?
He mouthed to
me.

I tugged my
robe back around me.
I don’t know.

The knocking
repeated, more urgently. We walked over to the door, and he peered through the
peephole. I adjusted myself and ensured that my robe wasn’t about to pop back
open, then hid slightly behind him as he pulled back from the door.

“Who is it?”
I whispered. “Is it him?”

He looked at
me with the most terrified look I’ve ever seen. As his hand reached to unlock
the latch, there was another strong, authoritative knocking.

“OPEN
UP! POL–”

The door swung
open – revealing not our family friend, coming by with urgent news, but a
pair of police officers.

“Greetings
sir, madam,” the older officer spoke. They were both looked to be highly
official, with the sternest expressions they could muster. The older one looked
to be in his mid-fifties – the younger one must have been about our age.

“My name’s
Officer Robertson, and this here’s Officer Green,” the older of the two
immediately explained. They both stared my stepbrother down with the typical
“cop stare.” You know the one – that emotionless, piercing glare that the
authorities love to use. “Are you Sawyer Samuels, otherwise known as
‘Bonesaw?’”

Sawyer
nodded, and I suddenly experienced a wave of crushing fear. “I am.”

“Son, you’re
under arrest for the assault on one Peter Pascall,” the older officer declared,
pulling Sawyer aside and slapping cuffs around his wrists. “You have the right
to remain silent. Anything you do or say can and will be used against you in a
court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an
attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they
have been read to you?”

“I do,”
Sawyer replied. I would have been panicking – in fact, I was mentally
screaming
– but he was
remarkably calm, even stone cold. “Officer, who is Peter Pascall?”

“You crushed
his face in last night, Bonesaw,” the younger cop, Officer Green, sneered into
Sawyer’s face. “You might have known him by one of those stage names you guys
like to use. What was it? Jabberjaw?”

Sawyer
remained silent as he was grabbed by the shoulder by the older officer, turned
towards the car.

 
“Peter Pascall’s still in the hospital
from injuries sustained from that little cage fight of yours, son,” Officer
Green explained, grabbing my brother by the arm and in the direction of the
police cruiser. Sawyer hissed – it was the arm with the bitten shoulder. “You’re
more than a little lucky he isn’t dead. He’s filed charges. Claims you had him
locked inside that cage with you. Unlicensed cage fighting is a crime. You know
that, right?”

SAWYER

Chapter 24

PENSACOLA

PRESENT DAY

T
he days
rolled over in a meaningless, endless barrage of time as I sat in jail. The
only change in scenery had been a brief visit to the hospital when the officers
deemed my injuries to be worth a look – but the clearly indifferent
doctor cleared me, nevertheless. He didn’t even bother to properly inspect the
site of the bite mark, considering that my opponent had broken skin –
that, at least, I’d hoped to get out of the exam. As for my wounds, my healthy
regeneration and high pain threshold worked against me, and I wasn’t offered so
much as an aspirin for the pain, which had come back after being deprived of
the pain medication.

Back in jail, the rest of the
arrestees from the last few days were sitting in a large, collective cell,
furious and defeated. However, they made a special concession for me – I
had nearly killed a man with my bare hands, so I got my own separate cell, just
like the rape risk victims and the women. Alone with my thoughts, I settled on
just the one to get me through: I had nearly killed Slippery Pete.

 
Jabberjaw.

Peter Pascall.

Whatever
the fuck his
name was.

He had been the entire reason
I’d entered the lifestyle. A chance encounter on the pavement in front of a
bar, and he’d drawn me into his life, and I’d almost put him out of it.

Even better, it was my
parent’s anniversary.

And I’d ruined it.

I was here to protect
her.
Saffron… My role was to ensure that
my sister was cared for and safe while alone in Pensacola. I had screwed it all
up by reliving an old glory. Now, she was alone and unprotected, and the
esteemed bodyguard son was locked behind bars.

There was only a day left
before I’d be sent to prison. I’d already video-conferenced with a judge
– my bail had been set, and I was locked back away. The hope drained from
me as I sat in that hellhole, reflecting on my mistakes. I couldn’t bring
myself to call my parents.

I had told her that I was
retired.

But it was all that I had left
now.

I wondered what prison would
be like. I was incredibly built for most of what I’d experienced out here, but
I never enjoyed the darker side of life. I couldn’t bear to think of what would
happen to me.

“Sawyer Samuels?” A gruff
voice called out, approaching from out of sight. I crossed over to the bars and
shook them briefly, pulling the attention of an officer around the corner. He
had mistakenly gone to the large pit, expecting to find me in there.

“Ah, there you are,” he muttered,
walking around the guardroom that dominated the center of the chamber and
towards me. “Stand in the center with your hands behind your back.”

I did as I was told, and I
heard him unlock the bars behind me. There were footsteps now, and I heard the subtle
clicking of metal before handcuffs slapped around my wrists again.

“You’ve made bail, Samuels.
Come with me.”

I’ve
made bail.

I followed him around the
corner, my eye wandering towards the pit. Most of the arrestees were lying on
their blue, folding prison mats, but some were standing near the bars or
against the wall.

“That was a damn good match,
Bonesaw! Damn good match!” A whining voice called out.

Thanks,
pal,
I muttered angrily in my head.

The release procedures were
standard to my expectations. My thumbprint was taken; a tired, menacing-looking
mugshot was snapped. Afterwards, I was given back my possessions and told to
change out of my orange jumpsuit and back into my streetclothes. Finally, I had
to sign a form stating that I had been given back everything that had been
handed to me, among other stupid legal bullshit, and that I was formally
checking out of the Escambia County Parish Prison.

How
did she do it?
I wondered to myself, being escorted to the front
lobby.
How did Saffron spring me from in
here?
The officer stopped us, unlocking a door and leading me through. He
locked it behind us and unlocked the next, and I eagerly awaited seeing my
beloved – maybe she would throw her arms around me, throwing a kiss
against my cheek.

I didn’t care who saw.

But it wasn’t her.

However, Saffron was there too
– and her eyes lit up the moment I passed into sight. But it was when I
registered Hensley’s face that I knew what had happened. He smiled warmly, a
little sadly, as I was escorted into their care.

“Have a good night,” the
officer briskly told them as he wandered back behind the door, locking it from
the other side.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Saffron immediately asked, inspecting my face.

“My, my! Is that what it takes
to get you two to be agreeable?” Hensley chuckled, waving at the unamused desk
clerk. “A couple of days in the old slammer, and you’re suddenly inseparable.”

“Something like that,” I told
him with a grin.

“Come along, you two,” Hensley
chuckled wearily. Saffron and I followed him outside, down the steps, and over
towards the sedan. Night had fallen, and I gazed out over the city as I climbed
into the back.

“How long was I in there?” I
asked her as she slid into the backseat beside me.

“Three days,” she explained,
looking me in the eyes. “Hensley and I had to wait until bail had been set
before we could do anything.”

“I’m sure you two need a
little privacy, so if you don’t need anything from me…” Hensley smiled in the
rearview. We shook our heads, and he pressed a button. “Just don’t kill each
other back there, alright? I’ve had enough rough stuff for a few days…”

A black privacy visor lifted,
separating us from our driver. Saffron and I gazed at each other for a moment
before she threw her lips against mine, kissing me deep and passionately.

“Don’t you ever fucking do
that to me again,” she murmured in my ear, nipping the lobe with her teeth.
“After everything we’ve been through, you slip away from me the moment I
finally have you…”

“Trust me,” I whispered between
forceful kisses. “It wasn’t in the plan,”

“Good,” she quietly replied,
her lips slamming to mine again. “I’ll let you have one,” another pause for a
kiss, “but don’t you dare,” she pulled back and held my face in her hands,
“make a habit of it. I want you all to myself, Sawyer Samuels…and after all
every last little arrogant bit of bullshit, I think I’ve deserved it.”

“I’d say so,” I conceded.

It hadn’t escaped my notice
that Saffron had worn a miniskirt to my release. As my hands began to wander
her body, one slid down her side and scratched at her exposed thigh. I heard
her gasp in my ear.

“Quiet…” I hissed. “We don’t
need an interruption.”

“Fuck you, Sawyer,” she
murmured with a grin.

“Let me get you back home, and
we’ll see…”

She bit her bottom lip.
Saffron looked
incredibly
sexy under
the passing streetlights, and I couldn’t help but slide a pair of strong
fingers along her thigh and towards her panties. To my complete lack of
surprise, they were already soaked with her need.

“Looks like you’ve been
anticipating this,” I whispered in her ear.

“Little bit.”

“Good…” I slid my fingers down
into her underwear, my hand disappearing completely below the hem of her
miniskirt. Within the instant I was already feeling her slick pussy lips. My
thumb slipped towards her hood, rubbing against her clit as I arched my index
finger inside. She was so wet, but she was so tight, too – I could feel
her wet, clenching need against my finger, and it drove me wild.

“Oh, Sawyer…”

Saffron kissed my lips
hungrily, her arms wrapping around my head as I fingered her. It wasn’t long
before I swapped for my middle finger, pushing it deep into the cavity between
her legs.

Her breathing was quick,
halted. She kept her eyes open, watching mine with her lips parted, her jaw
rising and dropping. I pushed in deep; her face lifted backwards, her eyes
still locked onto mine with her brow furrowing and her lips curving into an O.

My beloved adjusted her
seating subtly into a more comfortable position. I got a slightly better angle
out of the deal, and pleased her by withdrawing both my fingers, licking them
clean in my mouth.

“Oh god, that’s hot,” she
whispered.

“Good…it’s
nothing
compared to what I’m gonna do to
you later,” I grinned, sliding the fingers back into her wet, yearning pussy.

I thought I wouldn’t be able
to get her to quiet down without stopping. Every gasp that she gave, I feared
that I’d hear Hensley’s voice from the other side of the visor, or worse
– that it would slowly whir down, not giving us enough time to compose
ourselves. But it stayed up, and we didn’t hear a peep out of him.

I continued fingering Saffron
in the back of the sedan, and she clenched onto my body. “Oh god, Sawyer,” she
whispered a little louder than was necessary, “I need you inside me.”

“I
am
inside you,” I teased.

“No, you
asshole
, I need your
cock
inside
me…”

“You’re gonna have to wait.”

“No I’m not,” she murmured,
pushing me aside.

“Saffron – there’s not
enough room…not enough
time
…”

“Shut up and let me take care
of you.”

As I sat with in the center of
the backseat, she perched against my lip, grinding her hips into my cock. “I
need you inside me, Sawyer…”

“Saffron –
fuck
…”

“Just do it…”

“We don’t have
protection–”

“Do it…now…I don’t care…”

My willpower was crumbling.
I’d demolished men in the cage in six states, and my bratty little stepsister
was destroying my willpower. “We’re almost home…I can grab a condom when
we–”

“NOW, Sawyer. I’m on the pill,”
she murmured a little loudly, pressing against my chest with her back, her hand
pulling mine to her breast.

“Is everything all right back
there?” Hensley called from the front, concern on his voice. “We’ll be at the
Beach House in a few minutes – do you need me to pull over?”

“No, we’re good! Thanks though!”
Saffron told him.

The privacy visor remained up.

“Well, alright then! Just so
long as you’re okay…”

I felt her hand between our
hips, her palm stroking against my erection.

“I can feel it, Sawyer…just
put that inside me, alright? It’ll be fine…I just need you inside me so
bad
…”

As hesitant as drawing
Hensley’s attention had made me, I couldn’t fight it. Saffron was driving me
fucking wild, and her dirty talk was giving me the erection of my goddamn life.
Casting caution aside, I whipped my fingers to my zipper and unsheathed my
weapon from my boxers. Her fingers met mine, wrapping around my cock, and she
steadied her shoulders against me as she pulled her panties aside with the
other hand. Finally, her tight, wet warmth pressed around my cock as she pushed
down, enveloping me with her pussy.

“Oh
fuck, Sawyer,
” she mumbled incoherently, pushing halfway down my
shaft. “Oh god…that’s fucking…
fuck
…”

I smiled with a slight groan.

I loved that I reduced her to
incoherent babbling.