Burning Bridges (Beech Grove) Read online

  With my tongue.

  The cherry on top of the hot man sundae he was were his eyes. At first glance I thought they were a rich brown, almost black. But when he shifted, the light hit him in just the right angle, and I noticed they were the most beautiful shade of navy.

  Navy blue.

  I’d never seen eyes like that, had only read about them in romance novels. Damn it.

  This guy was the last thing I needed tonight. I had been on a year-and-half self-induced dry spell. I wanted to concentrate on school and getting my life in order, all while mentally preparing myself with the idea of coming back home.

  I was back home for good. Maybe I was ready to look, but tonight of all nights was just bad timing.

  Really bad.

  My brother would be arriving any minute. With how he had just talked to me, I was pretty sure he still saw me as a little kid in braces, not a woman with an actual sex life. Maybe I could go a couple of towns over next month and finally have my itch scratched, because the moment any guy found out ‘The Great’ Gabe Blanco was my older brother, they usually ran, never bothering to look back.

  Sipping my drink slowly, I needed to come up with a plan. I was going to be staying at Gabe’s place for a couple of weeks until my apartment was ready. He was already going to be a pain to deal with after I took an early flight. Anyone would have thought he would have been overjoyed about not having to pick me up from the airport.

  Not Gabe.

  He sounded more put out than anything. Maybe I could get Mr. Bad Boy to give me his number, and after Gabe was asleep, I could sneak away to take a ride on the wild side with him.

  “No,” I answered, knowing exactly what I was going to do with Navy Eyes.

  “What?”

  “I haven’t been here in a long time,” I shared, not sparing him a single glance while I sipped my rum and Coke.

  “Why is that?” he asked, and I shrugged.

  Having moved away to a foreign country hadn’t been easy, but it had been the best thing I could have done. Especially for Gabe and my mom. “Life, I guess,” I shared, sneaking a glimpse of him, surprised to see his eyes on me. Calculating. Assessing.

  “Life, huh?” he asked as his eyes skated over my skin. I felt it like a damn touch.

  “Yup.” I shrugged. He nodded, his head tilted toward me.

  In the middle of a crowded bar, he made me feel like I was the only woman he saw. I tried to ignore the way his absolute attention made my body seem to liven up from the inside out. A tattoo teased me from under the left sleeve of his tee, and all I wanted was to roll up the fabric, stretching it over his bulging bicep, and trace whatever he had there.

  What is my problem?

  “So, what do you do?” I asked, attempting small talk in hopes of when I suggested he meet me at a local hotel later, I wouldn’t sound like a complete slut.

  “Me?” he asked, and the smile he was wearing caused this dimple to appear at the corner of his mouth, which caused my nipples to tighten in reaction. Why is confidence in a man such a damn turn-on? Though there was a fine line, and men, being men, usually took it one step further, thinking that the world revolved around them.

  “Yeah.” I shrugged, trying to act like I couldn’t care less. Which, if I were honest, I didn’t care. He was clearly not Mr. Forever. He would be a one-night stand. Hopefully one very long and hot night where I’d get fucked. Preferably hard and dirty against a wall. Or a floor. Or a shower. Or in a bed.

  Again, I wasn’t picky.

  Maybe I am a huge slut, I thought with a grin. “What do you do?” I repeated, and watched as he leaned in closer. I braced. He was up to something.

  Damn, he smelled good. Really good. Clean and spicy, with a slight tinge of smokiness. All I wanted to do was face plant into the crook of his neck to get a good whiff. Later, I reminded myself.

  “Hopefully you.” His voice was so low and deep I knew I wasn’t the only one who heard it. My panties heard it, if the moisture inside them was anything to go by.

  He moved in even closer, his hand on my lower back. His eyes never wavered from mine, and I couldn’t stop the way my breathing changed. It hitched in my lungs and burned. Damn it, I loved the way it felt. I broke the stare and glanced down at his large hand holding his beer, entranced by the way his thick thumb skimmed the label of the local brewery back and forth.

  Smoothly.

  Softly.

  I wanted him to touch me like that.

  What is it they say about men with big hands?

  He leaned in closer to me. “Tonight. In a number of different positions,” he shared in a hushed tone almost at my ear. His scruffy, perfect beard tickled, softer than I would have guessed. It made me ache in different areas of my body.

  Oh fuck!

  This might not have been my plan tonight, but he was exactly what I needed. One night with someone who knew what they wanted and went after it. Someone to remind me what it was like to be a woman again.

  “I think that could be arranged,” I responded. Wanting to high five myself, letting my eyes drift to his mouth. He had great lips. Pink and full. Strong.

  “Maybe we can exchange numbers.” As fun as he looked, I had just come back home. Exchanging numbers in a small town could be problematic.

  This was just about one night. Then I had to concentrate on my new job and getting my life in order. Bad boys were not on my to-do list. Okay, maybe just not after tonight.

  Tonight would be about need.

  Sweaty, rough, dirty need.

  The way he was looking at me, I knew he could deliver dirty. Hell, if he wanted, he could give me a great wake-up call with his head between my legs. I’d be oh-so-okay with it.

  “Or we could make this fun?” I suggested brazenly.

  “How fun?” he asked, obviously interested.

  “We’ve never met, right?” I reminded him.

  “Right.”

  “No names, no numbers,” I suggested, fascinated by the fiery heat reflecting in his eyes.

  “No names. No numbers,” he repeated as if he was actually thinking it over.

  It was cute.

  He made a show of the way he was chewing over the possibilities. We both knew he was only prolonging the inevitable. My eyes roamed down his body, drinking in the angles and lines of his muscular frame, not missing the definite growing bulge behind those great-fitting jeans.

  “Sofia!” The deep male voice behind me felt like a bucket of ice-cold water. I didn’t know if I wanted to pout, stomp or cry.

  “Perfectly horrible timing, like always,” I mumbled, forcing a smile before I turned around to look at the man who had helped raise me after my dad had died unexpectedly.

  My big brother.

  “Gabe!” I kept forcing a smile that I knew didn’t look at all sincere, which he would only take as bitchy.

  “Sofia?” Mr. Bad Boy behind me repeated.

  “You found her!” Gabe announced, and I was more than confused. “Fuck, I’m so glad, man. This kid finds trouble like a magnet,” he said out loud, and I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t a kid. I hadn’t been a kid for a long freaking time.

  My big brother, ladies and gentlemen. In his eyes, I would never be anything other than the annoying ten-year-old with pigtails who followed him around, finding more joy that I would like to admit in annoying him. But I was a twenty-five-year-old woman and he still called me kid. Even if he was ten years older than me. I looked over at my sexy stranger, and it was like Legos connecting, all snapping into place.

  My older brother was talking to him.

  They obviously knew each other.

  Okay. Not to worry. Maybe he was just one of the guys from the firehouse. That could still be okay. I could still have my hot, dirty night. As long as it wasn’t Gabe’s best friend, the ever so loved—

  “Hi, Sofia, I’m Mav. Maverick Bridges.”

  Craptastic.

  Chapter Two

  Maverick

  His hands clenched around
the beer bottle so tightly he had to be careful not to break the long neck in his grip as they all sat at a table.

  Shit.

  Shit was exactly what he felt like he had stepped into by flirting with the little auburn-haired minx. If Gabe, his best friend, brother from another mother, ever found out he had all but propositioned Sofia, he would have Mav’s balls as a snack.

  Sofia.

  The sexy, curvy seductress was his best friend’s spoiled little princess of a sister. His sister. Gabe’s freaking baby sister. Weren’t little sisters supposed to be chubby or nerdy and in pigtails? Stealing a glance at her, he took in a long, soothing breath.

  Sofia in pigtails. Shit. His cock jerked beneath his jeans. She was utterly and completely forbidden to him. As off-limits as they came. Someone had to send a damn memo to his cock.

  “I can’t believe you are actually back home.” Gabe grinned happily at her. He watched her give Gabe a tight, obviously uncomfortable smile.

  “Yep, I’m home.”

  “When do you start work?” Gabe asked, and her smile tightened further.

  “I won’t start till the new school year,” she informed him.

  “What do you do?” Mav asked out of curiosity, and something flashed in her eyes. Heat. Primal, lust-filled heat. She was thinking about their no names, no info deal. Gabe’s baby sister, he had to remind himself. Hell, it would probably be his new mantra.

  A shitty one. One he wished like hell he didn’t need.

  “I’m a teacher. I’ll be teaching third grade in the fall,” she shared with him.

  “They didn’t have a spot you could fill in for now?” Gabe asked, almost impatiently, and Sofia’s body stiffened as she sat straighter in her seat.

  “Don’t worry, Gabe. I have savings.” She was obviously irritated. Mav couldn’t say he blamed her. She had just gotten off a plane and Gabe was riding her ass about making money.

  “It’s not about the money.” Gabe sighed.

  “I’m only going to be at your place for two weeks.” That tidbit of information made him turn his head to his best friend.

  Huge red flags waved up and down. Sofia was staying at their place?

  “Wait, she’s staying with,“ he started to say, the walls suddenly closing in on him.

  Two weeks under the same roof with the first woman who had caught his eye in God only knew how long? The same woman he couldn’t touch. Ever.

  This couldn’t be happening. Why had he flirted with her?

  “Shit,” Gabe cursed, turning to look at him, clearly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, man. I forgot. Sofi is going to crash with us.”

  “Why?” he blurted out without thinking and caught the way her eyes widened before they narrowed in his direction.

  “Wow,” she mouthed, clearly disgusted with him, and again, he couldn’t blame her. He could only imagine what a great fucking impression he was making with her.

  “Her apartment isn’t ready. She’s going to take the spare room. I didn’t think you would have an issue with it since it’s empty. I should have passed it by you. Sorry, man,” Gabe apologized, making him feel even worse.

  Fuck. Why did he hit on her?

  Why didn’t he see the family resemblance?

  “No, it’s fine.” He frowned, not letting himself look at the beautiful little temptation in front of him as he finished his beer. “You can stay with us,” he told her without looking at her. His eyes skated toward the loud group of co-eds. It might have looked like his eyes were pinned on them, but all he could see was her and the way that damn dress fit her.

  She probably thought he was the world’s biggest jackass.

  But maybe it was better if she did?

  It would help keep her from pawing at him later.

  “Don’t worry about it, Michael,” Sofia chimed, and his head popped back to see her smiling wickedly.

  “It’s Mav,” he gritted, knowing that there was no way she had forgotten his name.

  “Right Max. Like I was saying—“

  “Mav,” he spoke through his clenched jaw.

  “Whatever. The landlord said it was possible that the apartment could be ready before then. They were just going to paint and—“

  “Paint?” His annoyance with her grew. It might have something to do with the permanent hard-on he was sporting. “Princess Sofia needed them to paint the place for her?” he taunted like a jackass and instantly regretted snapping at her. Hurt washed over her face for a second before she masked it, leaving him feeling a little ashamed for being such a dick.

  Ignoring him, she turned to look at her brother. Mav sat like a spectator, watching them talk about her time in Europe. Gabe asked about her last backpacking trip, and she was more than happy to share her stories about Barcelona and Ibiza. Never once looking back at him.

  But that didn’t stop him from looking. Nope. The weird draw to her made him a prisoner who couldn’t look away. She spoke with her hands. Her eyes sparkled with glee and mischief as she spoke, and he hated it. He hated that she wasn’t looking at him. It was like he wasn’t even there. He wanted her attention and that damn smile shining back at him. But he couldn’t have it, and he sure as shit shouldn’t want it.

  To keep from driving himself crazy, he willed his eyes to look all over the room, anywhere but in her direction. Though, if he were honest, it didn’t help. All he could see was her and the promise of what they would have been like together.

  Too bad it wasn’t going to happen.

  Not possible.

  Not ever.

  Sofia

  Gabe’s phone rang, and I knew he was mere minutes away from leaving.

  “Okay. That was work,” he lied. I couldn’t help but smirk, wondering who the current secret flavor of the month was that would send my big brother running. “Here is your key, and you know where the house is,” he shared, handing me a key with a Minnie Mouse keychain.

  “I do.”

  “Worst case, you can follow Maverick home. Right, Mav?” Gabe asked, and I fought from rolling my eyes. Minnie Mouse keys and following his bestie home? What was I, sixteen again?

  “What?” Maverick turned, his attention finally off the rowdy college girls. By the look on his face, he didn’t like the idea of having me anywhere around him.

  “Sofia can follow you home in case she doesn’t know how to get—“

  “I know how to get there, Gabe,” I interrupted him, not wanting anything to do with my brother’s sexy best friend, who was an obvious dog. “I took piano lessons there, remember? When Mrs. Cheshire used to own the house?” I reminded him, ignoring the pang in my chest of what a dog Mav ended up being.

  “Oh shit, that’s right.” Gabe grinned and I smiled back. “I can’t believe I forgot about that.”

  “Plus, Max looks like he’s going to have his hands full with Alpha-Phi-Skanky over there.”

  “Excuse me?” He frowned. Gabe’s chuckle confirmed my guess about Maverick being a dog.

  “Okay. I’ll see you in the morning?” my brother asked, and I gave him a genuine smile.

  “Yeah.”

  “You want to have breakfast before I have to go to work?”

  “I wish I could, but I have a breakfast date with Mom,” I shared with him and saw a small flash of disappointment. Maybe my big bro was a little happy to have me back?

  “That’s right. I can go with you if you want,” he offered.

  “Nah, it’s okay. Mom’s new place is out of town. I wouldn’t want you to be late to work.”

  “Okay. I’ll see if I can get away and stop by to make sure you’re settled in.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” I assured him, not wanting to be more of a bother than I already felt.

  “Okay.” Gabe and I stood up, and I was surprised by the hug he gave me and kiss he left on the top of my head. I waved good-bye and didn’t look twice at the big, sexy guy who I had no chance in hell with now.

  I walked away from the table and went back to the bar. Aft
er ordering a drink, I felt him before he actually spoke. “What are you doing?” his deep voice timbered into my ear.

  “Getting a drink,” I enlightened the guy. Maybe he isn’t too bright?

  “You’re driving.”

  “Thank you for the update, Dad.”

  “You’re driving,” he reminded me.

  “Okay…” I drew out slowly. “And?”

  “And this isn’t Europe. You shouldn’t drink and drive.” He scowled, his nose flaring.

  “Here’s your diet Coke, beautiful.” Wally set it on the bar, and I smiled at him.

  “Add it to his tab.” I pointed at the beautiful but annoying guy behind me, who was obviously pissed.

  “Sounds good.” Wally grinned and left. I felt Maverick settle in at the barstool next to me. I was going to drink my Diet Coke and leave for the house I was obviously not welcome in, and lock myself into the guest room.

  I could avoid him for two weeks.

  “I think we got off—“ he started to say, but I quickly cut him off.

  “We didn’t,” I pointed out, hating how sexually aware I felt around him. With a sigh I added, “And we won’t, right?”

  “What?” I had obviously caught him off guard with my blunt question.

  “We won’t get each other off, right?” I asked straight out, trying to avoid staring at his sexy, thick neck. As much as a man slut I had a feeling he was, there was something about his neck that made my mouth water.

  “Sofi...” he started to say in a tone I was all too familiar with.

  “Yeah.” I couldn’t help shaking my head in disappointment. “What is it about guys and stupid rules?”

  “Babe…”

  “Let me ask you, if I weren’t Gabe’s sister, would we be heading to a hotel right now?” He licked his lips, and as pissed as I was, I wanted to feel them over mine.

  “Hey, handsome,” a high-pitched voice said, and we both turned toward it.

  A brunette with wild curls, a tight top, and a short-as-hell skirt grinned at him, and I knew he’d probably go home with her. Suddenly, I wanted to claw her eyes out.