Page 34 of Brick

Thank God he’d been wrong. Her explanation about her sister made perfect sense, but he’d needed the ride to her house to get his shit together. Adrenaline pumping so hard doesn’t just disappear.

He needed to do something. Something to keep anyone from hurting her ever again. Hardly a day went by where he didn’t use his fists to pound the fuck out of something. He should be able to use his one fucking skill to help her, to teach her how to protect herself.

But Olivia had other ideas, didn’t she?

His breath caught at the memory of her kiss, and his dick hardened all over again. The fucking thing stood at attention from the moment she put her hands on him. It was a goddamn miracle she didn’t seem to notice.

So many times, he’d told himself to stay away from her. She wasn’t for him. The promise of her kiss was all it took to blow his resolve to shit. He could still smell the hint of her vanilla scent lingering on his clothes, on his hands, his skin. For the life of him, he couldn’t regret how anything played out tonight, even if he’d made a fool of himself trying to be a decent role model to some strange kid.

She was so soft, and the way she looked at him…no one had ever looked at him the way she did before—like he was worth something. Not the protection he could provide or the street cred he could give. Not even the connection he had to Sucre and his money and his drugs.

Just him.

Just Brick.

Jonathan.

He hadn’t thought of himself as Jonathan since he was a kid. The name, it almost hurt to own it. No one had used it in fifteen years. Not even his grandma. Only his mother, and she died a long time ago.

Olivia was an orphan too. Even if she’d lost a very different kind of family than he had, she had suffered.

He was grateful she’d had Will. It didn’t matter if the guy wanted to keep him away from her. More than anything, it proved the man cared about his sister. To make sure she had a home, to help her grow up and be successful, when he was barely more than a kid himself…plenty of adults couldn’t pull off such a thing, his own parents included.

His gaze drifted to his phone. He could call her. Hear her voice whenever he wanted to. The idea was heady.

He pictured her bright blue eyes. How they focused on his mouth. How they broadcast her desire.

His heart sped up and his cock twitched in his pants, demanding satisfaction. Why fight it? He had nowhere to be.

He stripped off his clothes and dropped them on the floor in his wake as he moved toward the bathroom. Even if he didn’t have hot water, a lukewarm shower would still do the trick. Stepping naked into the spray, his cock grew painful, as his body anticipated the relief it knew would come soon.

He lathered the soap in his hand, until he covered his palm in a thick foam. Only then did he wrap his fingers around his shaft and squeeze from base to tip.

He closed his eyes and focused on the faint remnants of vanilla he could still tease out on his skin. In his fantasy, he had her with him, her body bared, wet, and willing. Faster and faster, his hand moved. Harder and harder, he pulled, agony and ecstasy blending together as he approached his release.

Her name was on his lips, and the memory of her taste, in his mouth, as he finally came with a shuddering curse.

After tonight, he realized he would never be satisfied until he knew how it felt to be inside her. To touch every part of her, body and soul, until she belonged to him.

Forever.

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