Page 92 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
My back arched off the mattress, and I pulled his head down to mine and kissed his lips as I clenched around him, and he gave all of himself to me.
I’d never understood the difference before, but now I do. It was when someone took their time with you. When they made you feel like you were someone special. A gift to be cherished, not tossed away for a cheap thrill.
I was falling…
falling…
falling.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Ridge
“What the fuckdo you want a Harley for?” Brody asked.
We’d just finished dinner, and I was stacking the dishwasher. Tonight was just the two of us because Shiloh was in LA for a few days.
I closed the dishwasher and shrugged. “I just do.”
For the first time in my life, I had a savings account, and there was money in it.
I’d talked my way into a bartending job at the taproom to make some extra cash. It was far more lucrative than lifting barrels in the brewery with the tips I was making.
Brody muttered something under his breath and strode away. My brother was not much of a conversationalist.
“No wonder Shiloh needed a break from you. You’re a miserable son of a bitch,” I called after him.
He held up his middle finger. No doubt he was going to confide in his precious horses. After giving it a moment’s thought, I followed him across the field and up the dirt path and stopped at the fence next to him. One of his horses trotted over and hung its head over the side for some Brody love.
Meanwhile, I’d been treated to stony silence with a dose of bad attitude for the past three nights. He had that sullen look on his face, the moody fucker.
“What the hell is your problem?” I asked. “You’ve been like this for the past few days.”
“You keeping tabs on my mood now?”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re gonna miss me when I leave for college,” I joked. Still, I got nothing out of him. It was like talking to a stone wall. I wasn’t even sure why I persisted. “Everything okay with you and Shy?”
He didn’t answer. His jaw was clenched, and I heaved a sigh and turned to go, but his words stopped me.
“You ever think you’re not good enough?”
I furrowed my brow, wondering where this was coming from. “What do you mean?” I hedged.
He exhaled loudly like answering my question was an imposition. “I’m in love with a rock star. She could have anyone she wants.”
I almost laughed in his face.Thiswas why he’d been a miserable bastard? “But she picked you,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, I know. But I can’t help wondering if this is gonna be enough for her. This life isn’t for everyone. Hell, you can’t wait to get away.”
I wasn’t Shiloh, and I wasn’t in love with a cowboy. Obviously. But I refrained from making a smart-ass comment.
Brody never talked like this, or never to me, so I wasn’t sure what to say. When Shiloh left him last spring, he was so fucking miserable. Got so drunk I had to pick him up off the ground and practically carry him inside. This is what love did to people.
But I also saw how happy they made each other. You couldn’t fake that shit. It was real.
I’d had a few conversations with Shiloh, so I had a good idea of why she chose Brody. “Shiloh meets a lot of fake people,” I said. “She’s surrounded by users. Everyone wants a piece of her, and she’s never sure who to trust. That’s why she chose you. Because you’re real as fuck, and you never bullshit anyone. She knows you love her. She knows you’d do anything in the world for her. And you know what? If sheeverthinks you’re not good enough for her, she’s not worth your fucking time.”
I knew that wouldn’t be the case, though. Shiloh knew she had a good thing with Brody, and if she blew it, she’d be lost without him.
