Page 18 of Duress
An hour later,we say goodbye to the Reynolds clan. Dane insists on driving me home in my car again. I’ve only been drinking water for the last hour, so I’ve begun to sober up but not nearly enough to drive. I also don’t want to stop spending time with him. Seeing Dane in his element with his people has shown me an entirely new side of him. He’s no longer the surly young man who lost his dad entirely too soon and had a brother who resented him his entire life. His sharp edges melt away, and his smiles come so easily.
I rarely, if ever, saw happy, carefree Dane during my early relationship with his brother. The only times I saw the softer, less bitter side of him was when I had my weekly therapy appointment with his mom. He still lived at home with her while he was in the academy. Bryce was never there for those because he was busy working. So it was just me, Dane, and Caroline. He was usually making dinner and would always offer me some. I took him up onhis offer a few times and learned he was a surprisingly decent chef.
“You know what I miss?” We’re in the car, only minutes away from my house. I turn my head to the side to take in his handsome profile as it comes in and out of view under the streetlights.
“What do you miss, Ever?” Dane cuts me a quick sideways glance, flashing me a smile.
“I miss brinner. Remember when you would make pancakes and eggs and bacon for dinner for you and your mom?”
“Yeah? I still do that. You don’t eat brinner?” Dane laughs like I’m being silly but stops when he sees me shake my head.
“No. Bryce doesn’t like it. He thinks it’s not a good enough meal for dinner. Sometimes a girl just wants to eat some chocolate chip pancakes.” Why am I getting up in my feelings right now about breakfast for dinner? The hurt and anger from earlier in the evening comes rushing back as we pull into my driveway. Bryce’s car isn’t here. Glancing at the clock on the dash, I see that it reads 10:42. My teeth clench, causing my jaw to tense. Dane must notice my shift in mood.
“He’s not home, is he.” It’s not a question. Just a declaration of fact.
“No. Doesn’t look like he is.” I press my lips into a thin line, my mind at war over which emotion should be steering the ship right now. Anger? Hurt? Resentment? Or relief? Relief that I finally decided to stop waiting and that I made the right choice.
Dane gently cups my chin and directs my attention to him. “Talk to me, Ever. Tell me where your mind is right now.” His eyes stare into me with such a solemn openness. Like he wants me to pour whatever is bothering me into him, so he can carry it for me. Has Bryce ever looked at me like that?
“I’m thinking I’m glad I came out tonight.” Before he says anything, I hit the release button on my seatbelt and lunge toward him, capturing his lips with my own. He tastes vaguely minty, like maybe he freshened up recently. His lips immediately part, his tongue darting out, licking my own, seeking entry. I open for him, letting our tongues dance together as I slowly make my way over the center console and onto his lap. His hands hover over my body momentarily, like he’s unsure of what to do, but when I grind my center down on him, he gets the idea, wrapping one hand around my waist and fisting my hair with the other.
His kiss is all-consuming. He doesn’t kiss me like he’s possessive or like he owns me. He kisses me like I am his very essence of being. He kisses me like he’s a man dying of thirst, and I am the water essential to his survival. It feels amazing.
I am on the verge of losing myself completely to his intoxicating kisses when the flash of headlights illuminates the interior of the car. I pull away, and almost hit my head on the roof.
“Woah, Ever. Careful.” Dane reaches up to put his hand between my head and the ceiling. The headlights are gone. It was just a car driving past. I collapse into Dane, suddenlyoverwhelmed with the reality of what I was doing. Am doing. And with whom. Fuck, I can’t do this.
“Oh god, I can’t do this. I can’t do this to you.” I shift to move off his lap, but his hands clamp me in place.
“Ever. Please. Don’t run again.”
“Dane, you don’t understand. I can’t do this with you.” Again, I move to climb off; Dane tightens his hold more.
“Explain it to me then.” He looks at me with so much earnestness that I almost cave and try to bury myself in him. He wants to know what’s wrong. “Explain to me why you’re so loyal to an asshole who doesn’t even appreciate how amazing his wife is. You deserve so much more than what he gives you.”
“Bryce takes care of?—”
“More than what he gives you emotionally, Ev. More than scraps of his attention. More than countless late nights alone. More than using you for your appearance because you make him look good. You deserve someone who cares.”
Dane’s words hit me like a knife to the heart. He’s not wrong. I do deserve more than what I get from Bryce. But Dane can’t be the one who gives it to me.
CHAPTER 16
DANE
“You want the usual?” Serena asks, as she parks the squad car in front of Brewed Awakening. We are on the morning shift today and will likely spend our day giving out speeding tickets and consoling some old lady who will inevitably call in some college kid for being “suspicious” for studying outside. I just grunt in response as I continue to scroll rental listings on my phone. Day shift is dull as shit, but it’ll give me time to research new living options for mom.
“God, you are extra grumpy today. You need to lose that attitude before you lose your partner.” Serena rolls her eyes as she climbs out of the car to get our coffees.
“Sorry—”
She slams her door a little too aggressively, cutting off my apology, signaling she is absolutely done with my attitude. I wince as the car rocks in her departure and make a mental note to buy her lunch today to make up for putting up with my grumpy ass.
My mood has been sour since Bryce’s ultimatum. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to tell Bryce to go fuck himself over the Dom situation, while figuring out how to support Mom on my meager salary. There’s no way I’m going to help him and fuck Serena and Kai over like that, but he’s been hounding me nonstop, putting me in a shittier and shittier mood.
It lifted briefly when Everly turned up at game night last night. Being around her is like having the sun shine directly down on you. And that kiss… Fuck… I was seconds away from pulling my dick out and letting her ride me and take everything she needed. There was no denying the desperate need for connection between us. If she hadn’t gotten spooked by the car driving by, there is no doubt we would have fucked in my brother’s driveway. Instead, she ran away—again—and I went home and beat off in my shower—again.
Everly is a good woman. She’s not a cheater. She has a conscience. She won’t be the one who takes it that far, no matter how much my brother sucks as a husband.
