e a long night. I just hoped tomorrow would bring clarification to the situation I’d found myself in.
Chapter Fourteen
LOLA
My body refused to move out of my bed. It wanted to stay here forever, cocooned in my comforter and in a safe space.
But I was fooling myself.
This house had never been safe—not for me, anyway.
Hut hadn’t pulled me in like that before, and I was worried it would be the start of something I couldn’t control. A couple of months ago, it would have scared the life out of me, but the thought of Brody being at my side made it easier to cope with. I didn’t feel so alone in the world anymore.
My body craved to feel him, and my eyes begged to see him, but I didn’t want to come on too strong. I had to wait it out and see what would happen. Like I said, I was fooling myself. If I were honest, I knew there was no way back from Brody, and the leap into the unknown I’d taken couldn’t be reversed. Maybe I should try? We’d said we’d see where this would go, and damn if my heart didn’t sing at the thought.
I groaned and rolled out of my bed, pulling on an oversized hoodie as I pushed through my door and downstairs. Murmurs filled the house, and my stomach dipped at the deep gravelly tone that could only be Brody’s.
“Morning,” I grumbled, sleep still consuming half of me. I made a beeline for the coffee machine and practically burned my esophagus with how fast I drank it.
“Lola,” Brody acknowledged at the same time as Ford said, “Morning.”
I turned around and leaned against the counter, staring at both men who were huddled around the table. “Hut isn’t here,” I told them. “He took off last night after meeting with Carson.”
It wasn’t until the words were out of my mouth that I realized they might not have known where Hut went last night, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. He’d pulled me in without a second thought and filled my head with knowledge I’d neither needed or wanted.
“We know,” Ford said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. “He told us to meet him here.” I clipped my head in a nod, not knowing what else to say. “I’m gonna take a piss.”
“Thanks for announcing it.” I shook my head and took another sip of coffee.
He winked. “Welcome.”
I snorted. Ford was the least worst of all of them—that made sense in my head—if I didn’t count Brody, of course.
As soon as Ford’s footsteps sounded on the stairs, Brody stood, and sauntered over to me. “I missed waking up next to you this morning,” he said, his deep voice washing over me like the crystal clear ocean on a sandy beach. His hands grasped my hips, and he pressed himself against me. “Missed feelin' you.”
“Yeah?” I asked, placing my cup down on the counter and giving him my full attention.
“Hell yeah.” His eyes burned right through me. “I’ve been thinking about your lips all mornin’.” I licked them on impulse, and he flicked his gaze down to mine, pushing his face closer. “We only have a couple minutes.”
I knew what he was saying, and didn’t waste time as I pressed my lips against his. His groan mixed in with my moan and my stomach dipped. I’d never get used to this feeling, ever.
His tongue flicked against my lips, and I opened up for him, pressing closer and wishing we didn’t only have a stolen moment. I wished we were back in his place, only the two of us, with the whole day to do whatever we wanted.
“Fuck.” Brody’s hand cupped my face, and he stepped back. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
My chest moved rapidly as I tried to pull in as many breaths as I could with him close by. “Is it always like that?”
“No, darlin'.” He shook his head and flashed me a smile I’d only ever seen him use when he was talking to me. “It’s never been like that for me.” His eyes darkened at his words, but there was something there that I couldn’t place. He backed away fully, but as soon as the footsteps sounded on the stairs, he shook his head and winked. I wanted to ask him what had happened, what he was thinking, but with Ford coming back into the kitchen, I didn’t get the chance.
“Hut said he’ll be here in a few,” Ford told us, sitting back at the table and tapping away at his cell.
I picked my cup back up, drinking the warm coffee. The air was stifling in here, and Brody hadn’t taken his eyes off me. I could feel them burning a path over my skin, but I dared not look for fear that Ford would see what we had to keep secret.
Lying didn’t come easy to me. I always became flustered and stumbled over my words, and so far, we hadn’t been faced with anyone. This was the test to see if we could keep it secret, and I was finding out quickly that it was the hardest secret I’d ever had to keep.
The front door slamming had me jumping out of my skin, and a little yelp escaped. Crap, I needed to keep my cool. I hadn’t seen Hut since he dropped me home last night after seeing Carson, and to be honest, I didn’t want to see him now.
He’d used me. That much was clear, and if Carson’s words were true, he had every intention of using me again. I couldn’t be around for that, I couldn’t stand here and let Hut sell me down the river.