Page 88 of Brew
“Won’t be lookin’ over your shoulder for long,” he mutters.
I steel myself. “Brew?”
His eyes meet mine.
“I don’t want you to kill him.” I mean it, with every inch of my being. Steven may not be a good person, but I don’t want him dead. What I want is for him to stay in jail.
“That decision isn’t up to you.”
“But killing him would only put you in danger.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I know how to get things done.”
I puff air out of my cheeks. “I don’t even want to know what you mean by that.”
“Good, the less you know the better.”
“Brew, not everything has to end in murder.”
“Really?” He snorts. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s how it ends for most innocent people, peoplehehelped traffic.”
I think about that part and I feel sick. Brew is right. But I still don’t feel right about knowing what will happen to Steven if he gets out.
“When he hurt innocent people, that’s when he gave up his rights,” Brew goes on. “I have no sympathy for him, or for anyone who could do that to another person. So if that makes me a murderer, or a vigilante, or whatever you wanna call me, then so be it. But I’ll always do what’s right.”
I take a sip of my tea, unable to meet his gaze. “What if you get hurt?”
“I won’t.”
“You don’t know that,” I whisper.
“Idoknow that, Erica. I was in Special Ops, I know what I’m doing.”
I rake my eyes over his huge form, looming over me, his hands pressed onto the counter as he watches me. I know I shouldn’t want him the way I do, but screw it, I do. Brew makes me feel safe when nobody else ever has, he makes all the boogie men go away. Even ones that really do exist in real life.
“I’m scared of you getting hurt, that’s natural when you care about someone.”
“I’m scared of somethin’ happenin’ to you, so I guess we’re at an impasse, again,” he says.
“What you don’t have to do is worry about me or my welfare, I can handle myself, and I’ll take care of you and Olive.”
I stand, unable to take any more of not touching him. I make my way into the kitchen and come up behind him, folding my arms around his huge body. “Thank you.”
“Don’t have to thank me, it’s what I do.”
“But you don’t know what it means to have a man I can lean on,” I say. “A part of me doesn’t want to. I want to do it all myself. I’ve looked after myself and Olive for a long time, but it’s still nice. You have my back. You’d never hurt me.”
He shifts, turning as I step back. “If anyone does hurt you, I’ll kill them.” His words aren’t forced, but they’re a promise. “Do you understand me?”
I nod. “I still don’t want you to ki?—”
He puts one finger over my lips to quieten me. “I think we can find better use for that pretty mouth, don’t you?”
He replaces his finger with his mouth, caressing my lips as I moan, my eyes rolling into the back of my head when he reachesfor my hips. I love having him close. I love how good he smells and how hard his body is. He’s big, and I get a thrill when he towers over me, possessing me with his body.
His mouth isn’t gentle and when I feel his tongue, I melt inside. I slide my hands up his abs, and over his pecs, that thrill only deepening when I touch his body.
“I guess we can,” I whisper, when we pull apart. I bite down on my lip as he watches me.
