Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
brITTANY
T he first feeling Brittany had upon waking up was how warm she was. There was a delicious weight on her, and when she lifted her hand, Gus’s hair slid through her fingers. A glance down showed that he was holding her in his sleep, his body half on top of hers, chest to chest, his head tucked into her neck like she was his lifeline. She let her hands drift down his broad back, loving the feel of his smooth skin under her palms.
Last night Gus had helped her to bed, tucking her in before stripping down to his boxer briefs and sliding in next to her. She’d been worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but with Gus there, she had knocked out in record time.
And now here he was, clutching her like a teddy bear, one of his legs thrown over hers, shielding her with his body even in his sleep. The wave of love and affection that hit her was strong, and she breathed in his scent, grateful to be there in that moment with him.
“Tell me you’re awake.”
His voice was rough with sleep, and he didn’t raise his head from her neck. But his hand slid from her torso along to her side and down to her hip in one long stroke. Brittany couldn’t stop what she knew was a goofy smile on her face.
“Define ‘awake.’”
“Alert and ready to beg for my mouth on that gorgeous pussy of yours.”
Holy fuck, okay. He woke up much faster than her, which meant Brittany was going to have to get her brain going. Hard to do when his hands kept slipping closer and closer to exactly where she wanted him to be.
She hummed. “Not quite that awake. But maybe awake enough for something else.” She slid her own hand between them, grabbing him beneath his boxer briefs, loving the hitch of his breath as she held him, firm and possessive.
“Fuck.”
“You’ve taken such good care of me,” she said into his ear. “Let me take care of you.”
She ran her hand up his length as she spoke, wanting him mindless, wanting him under her spell and command. And he must have sensed that in her, because he gave a soundless laugh.
“You’re seducing me.”
“Damn straight I am.”
She gave him a small shove, and he turned onto his side, resting his head in his palm as he stared at her. She continued teasing him through his underwear, loving how his eyes darkened with each stroke. When she reached down to cup his balls, still feeling him through his underwear, his hips shifted, tensing for a moment before he fell onto his back.
“Okay, killer, take what you need. Just remember who gave it to you.”
He sounded resigned, but the breathless growl he spoke in gave him away, his excitement, his desire, his needs. Brittany carefully sat up in the bed, being cautious about how she moved her ribs, and then slowly drew his underwear down to his ankles, throwing them to the side once they were off.
At first she just admired him. The muscles he earned both through the gym and through his job flexed under her gaze. Those long lines led straight down his abdomen to his navel to where his cock lay on his stomach, hard and ready. Brittany licked her lips at the sight, and Gus groaned.
“Fuck, the look on your face. Like you’re going to devour me.”
“I am.”
And then she lowered her mouth to his cock, licking him up in one long lap from base to tip, and he shifted his legs. She leaned over him, laying her forearm across his thighs in an attempt to hold him still, and took him in her other hand, letting her tongue swirl over the head, tasting the precum there. She teased him with her mouth, her tongue, losing herself in the moment. His legs once again attempted to shift under her arm.
“Hold still,” she warned.
Brittany went back, taking him into her mouth, down her throat, as much as she could, and Gus groaned, his hand landing on her ass with a light slap as if he was overcome and needed to get the energy out. His hand stayed there as she began to suck, rubbing her in circles, and she found herself pushing back against his hand. When he slipped into the loose leg of her sleep shorts, he stroked her there.
“Killer, you are fucking soaked.”
Brittany hummed in response, too full of him for actual words. She felt him slip her shorts down along with her underwear, hearing his exhale when she was revealed from the waist down.
And then he lifted her and shifted her until she was straddling his face.
She stopped looking down at him as best she could from this angle.
“Gus?”
“I need to taste you, I can’t wait.”
Gus pulled down on her thighs with both hands until his mouth was right against her. His lips moved, and Brittany moaned, feeling his tongue twist and tease her. Needing to give as good as she was getting, she sunk her mouth back onto his cock, diving up and down, determined to beat him at this game where they both came out winners.
Their pace elevated, with Gus lifting her up enough to dive two fingers inside her, plunging in deep and hard enough to make her gasp, choking a little on his length. His mouth found her clit, sucking her in, and she felt that pull everywhere inside her, driving her higher and higher and higher as she frantically worked him over. When they broke, they broke together.
Brittany did her best to swallow as much of him as she could while her body shook and spasmed with pleasure, and then she lay on him like a blanket, no bones left in her body, no will existing to get her up and moving. She could feel Gus’s rapid heartbeat against her stomach, heard his deep breaths as he floated back down to earth with her, and she knew she wanted this forever.
And then someone banged on the door.
Brittany didn’t move.
“They’ll go away,” Gus told her.
They waited, but if anything, the banging got louder, added in with the ringing of Brittany’s phone. She groaned, not wanting to move from where she had decreed was the most comfortable spot in America. Gus fumbled for the nightstand and answered her phone with a grunt. Long moments passed before he hung up.
“Who was that?”
“Min. She’s at the door. She says she can hear your phone, and if we don’t open up and give her proof of life, she’s going to murder you herself.”
Brittany pulled herself up with a groan, still straddling Gus’s chest as she brushed her hair back. She felt his hands on each of her butt cheeks, kneading them.
“Not now. I have to get dressed before my best friend loses her mind.”
Gus sighed but he let her go, and she stepped with shaky legs out of the bed. Brittany grabbed a pair of joggers and pulled them on, then pulled Gus’s T-shirt on. If Min wanted to show up at some godawful time in the morning, then she’d deal with seeing Brittany less than dressed.
The banging on the door continued, and as Brittany approached, she could hear Min yelling from the other side of the door.
“I know you’re in there, and I’m not leaving, so you might as well just open the door.”
Brittany yanked the door open with a glare, only to be met with Min who had nothing but a relieved look.
“Oh, thank god.” And then Min grabbed her, pulling her into a hug so tight Brittany lost her breath.
“Fuck, Min, I need to breathe,” Brittany managed to croak out. Min immediately loosened her grip, pulling back to look Brittany in the face.
“Sorry, sorry, but I was scared shitless and even though Gus said you were okay, I couldn’t help but worry and I had to see you and please tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
Min hugged her again, and Brittany noticed Hayden was behind her, holding a carrier of coffees and a few bags that smelled like food.
“You brought breakfast.”
Hayden shrugged. “Just following orders.”
They came in, setting up the food, and at a certain point Gus wandered out in a T-shirt so old it was almost see-through and sweatpants, and Brittany could do nothing but enjoy the show. He smiled at her, noticing her noticing him, and pressed a kiss against her temple before heading for the coffee, grabbing himself a breakfast sandwich before sliding onto the stool next to hers. Min watched everything with a rapt eye.
“So,” she said. “You two are really together now? Not just bullshitting yourselves?”
Brittany and Gus made eye contact, slowly smiling.
“We’re really together,” he said. He slid his hand to her thigh and squeezed.
“And Robbie?”
“He knows.”
“And he’s fine with it?”
“He’ll get over it.”
Hayden nodded from where he was leaning next to Min, diving into his French toast while Min asked a thousand questions about the night before. Brittany did her best to answer, because lord knows if Min had been the one to be attacked she would want the same details. But by the time Brittany was finishing her coffee, she was tired, as if she had just worked a full day instead of just having breakfast with friends.
“So I have to tell you something.” The nerves in Min’s voice were enough to put Brittany on high alert.
“What?”
“Your mother called me. She heard from your security company what happened and she wanted more details.”
Brittany sat up straight, seeing exactly where this disaster was headed and not liking it one bit.
“And you told her I was fine and that I’d just sleep it off.”
Min bit her lip and Brittany let her head fall into her hands.
“She was concerned! I couldn’t lie to her!”
“Min, tell me she’s not on her way here.”
Hayden snickered, and Brittany glared at him. He took the hint and gathered the dishes to bring to the sink to wash, letting Brittany focus her anger on Min, who was looking more and more guilty.
“She was just worried about you. I can’t blame her. I was scared as hell, Brittany.”
Brittany felt herself give in, knowing it was useless to be mad. If Kathleen decided she needed to be somewhere, she would be there.
“Did she at least give you an arrival time?”
A knock sounded at the door, and everyone in the kitchen froze. Then Hayden looked at his phone.
“We should head out, anyway. We have a panel for the game.”
Min was already nodding, eager to get out of here before Brittany blew a gasket.
“Yup, sure thing, you’re totally right.”
She grabbed Brittany in a hug, the diamond on her ring finger glinting in the light.
“I’m really, really sorry.”
“Just for that, I’m not going to show you the lingerie I’ve been sketching for you.”
Min gasped and pulled away, excited.
“Really?! A Brittany original just for me?”
“Always. Although now it’s going to be made out of itchy fabric. Ever had a wool teddy?”
Min laughed. “Knowing you, it’d still be sexy as fuck.”
Gus, meanwhile, went to the front door and opened it, revealing Brittany’s mom. She looked exactly the same, how Brittany knew she would look when she was older—same stick straight blonde hair, same disdainful expression on her face. Min nervously glanced back and forth between them all before grabbing Hayden’s hand and pulling him toward the door.
“SogoodtoseeyouagainMsJenssen,” she got out in a rush, the door shutting behind her before anyone could have replied. Kathleen ignored her to level Brittany with a look.
“It seems I should’ve hired a better security company for you.”
Gus stiffened, and Brittany immediately went to his defense.
“Mom, chill. Gus was the one that saved me. I’d say you picked pretty damn well.”
Kathleen sniffed, clearly unimpressed.
“The point of security was to prevent you from being attacked in the first place.”
Brittany opened her mouth to probably say something rude, but Gus stepped in, a hand on her arm to stop her.
“Ms. Jenssen, I get that you’re upset. You hired us to protect your daughter and she was attacked in my home, where she was presumably safe. But trust me when I say if it hadn’t been here, it would’ve been somewhere else, somewhere she was alone and unprotected in a way that her security couldn’t get to her, which possibly could’ve ended much, much worse. Now we have the guy in custody, your daughter will press charges, and we’ll get him off the streets where he can’t hurt anyone ever again. Brittany is safe now. This clearly isn’t the way I wanted it to go down, but the outcome is still positive.”
Brittany’s mom eyed Gus, not used to being contradicted or spoken to in such a way. Brittany tensed, not sure what her mom would do. In the past, Kathleen had treated Brittany’s boyfriends as speed bumps on the road to her real life, never more important than a quick dinner to meet before she promptly forgot their name. When Brittany had brought Robbie home, Kathleen had given him the once over and then proceeded to ignore him for the night, which was rude but still not the worst thing she had done. One time in high school, she had drilled so hard into Brittany’s prom date about his plans after graduation that he had left crying. Kathleen could sense weakness, and once she did, she wouldn’t stop until the threat was destroyed.
And now her shark eyes were focused on Gus, who waited patiently for her to respond, not appearing intimidated.
“By the way, feel free to ask your daughter how she’s feeling after being attacked,” Gus said in a mild tone of voice.
Whoa, that was some sass, which Brittany wasn’t expecting but in retrospect shouldn’t be surprised about. Kathleen’s eyes narrowed, and then she looked to Brittany.
“You are okay?” It was almost a statement but had enough of a lilt at the end to disguise itself as a question. Brittany nodded.
“I am. A little sore, but grateful Gus got to me when he did.” Her tone was pointed, but she was tired of her mom blaming the attack on Gus. After all, the asshole in jail was the one who had actually attacked her.
“Have you done any work on the Champagne sketches?”
Brittany rolled her eyes. Of course that was all her mom cared about—the damn deal with Champagne. She felt Gus stiffen next to her, and she put a hand on his arm.
“I did, but I went in a different direction from what we had talked about.”
“Different than high end?”
Without answering, Brittany grabbed her nearby sketchbook and handed it over to her mom. Kathleen flipped through, silent, the sounds of the thick pages turning filling the room, and Brittany started to fidget.
Finally, Kathleen closed the book and looked up.
“Underwear?”
“Lingerie. All of my audience is constantly looking for good bras, underwear, anything that looks good under their outfits and makes them feel sexy with their partner. It feels right.”
“Champagne has never done a lingerie line.”
“Don’t you often tell me that people don’t know what they want until you tell them?”
Kathleen nodded, somehow her own words being the best argument against her, which Brittany had anticipated. She handed the sketchbook back.
“Send me some digital files, and I’ll see what I can sell them on.”
Brittany blew out a breath, tense. She knew what she wanted to say, and also knew this could go really, really poorly.
“Actually, Mom, I want to talk about that.”
“About what?”
“About you stepping back as my manager.”
Kathleen visibly froze in her perusal of the condo, turning with the elegance of a predator to eye Brittany. It was one of her most intimidating looks, but Brittany had had a lot of time to think about this at the hospital, and she knew it was the right move.
Even if this conversation was going to suck.
“What do you mean?” Kathleen asked, not blinking. Brittany set her shoulders.
“I mean, I don’t think this is working. We’re always tense, always on the verge of a fight. I’m tired of not feeling good enough for you when all I’m trying to do is something I love. Plus, frankly, I miss my mom. I want to keep business out of our relationship.”
“You’re firing me.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes.”
They stared at each other then, and Brittany put every emotion she could in her eyes, willing her mother to understand what she was trying to say.
“I only wanted what was best,” she said. “I wanted to be sure you would be set up and that no one would take advantage of you.”
“You did. I promise. If I need anything, I’ll ask. But you’re still fired.”
Finally, Kathleen nodded. “Fine. But you still have to answer my phone calls.”
“Always, Mom.”
Kathleen wasn’t a hugger, so she merely nodded again and fiddled with her purse. But Brittany was happy. The relief that she could untangle their relationship, remove the business component and instead focus on being a family, was palpable. She felt Gus put an arm around her, squeezing her shoulder.
“Now, you can take me to breakfast and explain exactly why you thought it was a good idea to sleep with your bodyguard.”
Okay, maybe they weren’t all the way out of the woods. But they were getting there.