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“He died a few years after the kid was born. If you ask me, he’s never had a good role model. Something’s been off about that kid from the get-go. Sometimes people are just born wrong.” Even as I said it, I wondered if I was one of those people, born wrong. How else could I explain the things I’d done?
Brianna was quiet for a while. “Wow.” A pause, a long pause before she said, “You live in Eastcreek.”
A slow smile crept along my face as I watched her. How could I not smile at this girl? The more I stared at her, the prettier she got. I didn’t want anything bad happening to her. I… I really hated the fact she was moving into that damned house.
I told her, “Yeah, I do. I guess you and I will be seeing each other more often.” When she continued to look at me, not getting it, I added, “It’s a small town. Probably ain’t what you’re used to here in the big city.”
“What do you do? Please tell me you’re not a teacher.”
I chuckled. I seemed to be doing an awful lot of that here with her. “No, I’m not a teacher. You’re safe there.” I got quiet after that, unable to take my eyes off her. I found my body leaning in towards hers, certain thoughts popping up in my head that I tried desperately to ignore.
She was as off-limits as someone could possibly be. Way too young for me, to start. Alistair’s stepdaughter, secondly. And third… anything I touched I ruined. I’d learned that years ago. Maybe that’s why I’d accepted my loneliness as my eternal fate.
And yet, with all that, I couldn’t stop myself.
“Brianna,” I whispered out her name, taking my free hand and tucking some of her hair behind an ear, the motion slow. My fingers danced down her jaw in the same motion, lingering there. “I wish it wasn’t you.”
How I wish it wasn’t you.
The hand on her jaw swept back into her hair, pulling her in. Sirens went off in my head, but I couldn’t stop myself. Brianna was practically on my lap when I murmured, “Someone like you wasn’t meant for that house.”
And then, before I could regain control of myself, my lips found hers in a hard, long kiss.
I could tell she hadn’t been expecting it, because in the first few moments after my mouth was on hers, she didn’t move, but then her lips returned the desire, kissing me back. She brought a hand to my neck, holding herself against me. Her lips were just as soft as her hands, if not more so, so light and delicate; they ignited a fire within me, something I hadn’t felt in a long, long time.
We could blame the alcohol, I supposed, or we could just blame me. I was never good with impulse control, just ask my brother. This was only meant to be a quick talk, a warning that she had to watch herself in that house with Gareth, and it had turned into something else.
I didn’t want to stop. I wanted nothing more than to remain where we were, locked in each other’s embrace, forgetting reality. The last thing I wanted to do was pull away… and yet, that’s exactly what I did once I wrestled my inner demons under control.
Pulling my mouth off hers, I breath hard. I was even slower in pulling my hand out of her hair and moving away. I put a solid foot between us as I muttered while trying to hide my unhappiness, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
To say what we did was inappropriate would put some of the blame on her, but it wasn’t her. It was me. I should’ve been the man and taken a step back from the beginning. I never should’ve allowed us to get so close.
“Oh, God,” Brianna whispered, her eyes widening. “You don’t have a girlfriend or a wife, do you?” The only thing that made sense in her mind, why I’d so suddenly pull back like she was toxic to me.
“No,” I spoke quickly. “Nothing like that. You’re just… you’re young. Technically, you’re Alistair’s stepdaughter now. That means you’re off-limits to a lot of people.” Hedging around the truth without outright explaining why. I couldn’t tell this girl who I was. I just couldn’t.
Brianna let out a laugh, as if she thought I was joking, but when she noted how serious I was, that laughter died off instantly, and she waited for more of an explanation.
Heaving a sigh, I told her, “Listen, you might be used to things being a certain way, but from now on, everything is different. You’re a Montgomery, even if you deny it. You’re Alistair’s stepdaughter and Gareth’s stepsister. Neither of them take kindly to anyone sniffing around what’s theirs, do you understand?”
“I guess.” She didn’t sound sure.
Even though I shouldn’t, I took her hands into mine, once again feeling just how soft they were. “Don’t tell either of them about this,” I whispered. “Please. Let’s just keep tonight between you and me, our little secret.”
I could see the wheels turning in her head, could see her wondering why I’d want to keep what happened between us a secret. If I didn’t have a wife or a girlfriend, why would it matter? The girl was smart, smarter than I’d thought.
Maybe she’d be fine in that house, and this had all been for nothing.
I didn’t let go of her hands, not until she whispered, “Okay. I won’t tell them, I promise.”
Letting out a loud sigh, I squeezed her hands once before letting them go. “Thank you, Brianna. I really do appreciate it.” Though it physically pained me to do so, I stood up. “You should go back in, before anyone thinks you’re missing.” We’d already been out here too long, she and I. People were bound to have noticed.
Brianna got to her feet beside me, and she shrugged off my suit jacket and gave it back to me. I slipped it on and retrieved my empty flask, stuffing it away in the inner pocket as she asked me, “What about you?”
“Ah, I’ll probably head out. I got work bright and early tomorrow, so…” I buttoned up the jacket, eyes on her. Even now, when I wasn’t touching her, I wanted to lean in and pick up where we’d left off. For whatever reason, this girl made me feel things no one else had in so long.
And that was stupid, because I didn’t know her, and she didn’t know me. But… I guess the same thing could’ve been said with Veronica. It wasn’t like I’d known her that well, and I’d killed for her. My obsessions tended to run deep.
