Eventually, the age thing sunk in. It took a few days though. She had the body of a sexy woman but the mind of a kid, the temperament of a teenager and she was in fact, a minor when she moved in with them. Today, things were different.
Braden tossed his napkin on the table. “Evan said you kissed her.”
“Yep, I did.”
“Thought it might have been the booze talkin’ when he first told me what Peyton said.”
“Wishful thinking, Braden. Guess you prayed a little too, huh?” Kane walked over to the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Yep, I kissed her, and wanted to fuck her.”
“You know we’ve got to get her raised before we can go sniffing around her like men in heat.”
Evan chuckled. “Well, I hate to break it to you, boys, but if he had his kiss, and I ever get my chance, I’m takin’ it.”
Braden’s wary expression didn’t go unnoticed. “What if I feel the same way? Once she’s living away from here, and her life is started in the direction she wants it to go, I don’t have a problem with it. Right now, I do. I’m not going to tell you this again. She’s our responsibility, and we’re going to do right by her. Putting her in between us and telling her to choose isn’t good for her. Besides, let her enjoy some fun. Think about what all we missed because we couldn’t act like kids ourselves. Let’s give her the chances we never had. Let her run around like a teenager for awhile.”
“She is a teenager,” Evan pointed out, “or did you forget the fact she puked up your hundred year old vintage last night.”
Kane started out the back door and slapped Braden on the back. “Forget, hell. The money he spent on that wine was the best cash he’s ever pulled out of his wallet. I’d bet on it. He’s the one who got to bathe her, remember?”
Chapter 6
Peyton walked in the house all smiles and tits. The boobs looked too good to ignore since she had on a sports bra. The skintight running shorts made a grown man itch to take what didn’t belong to him.
Kane passed her with a shit-eating grin on his face. He’d kept his hands to himself for two weeks but now two seconds after seeing her like this and he might take her upstairs and make up for wasted time.
“He’s in a mood, and he’s gonna beat your ass for this one.”
Kane shook hands with the tall guy standing behind her but refused to make eye contact with him when Peyton introduced them. He didn’t have time to make small talk when other things, like those hard little nipples pressing through Peyton’s bra, held his attention.
Peyton bit her lower lip. “Well, I don’t know why. We’re only going to study.”
Evan walked toward them and stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Holy hell.” He almost swallowed his tongue. The comment, no doubt, an accident.
“Come on, little brother, pick your chin up off the floor and let Braden deal with her.”
Kane pushed the front door back and stepped out on the covered porch. Through the open screen, he heard Evan close in the space behind him.
“Jason, how ya doing?” Heavy footsteps headed closer. Condemnation, no doubt, in every step.
Kane didn’t move. He heard the dislike, the contempt laced in his brother’s voice. He turned around and sure enough, Evan’s scowl proved easily interpreted. His eyes burned a hole through the tall fellow standing next to Peyton.
“Not too bad, Evan. Not too bad.” He extended his hand to shake another Cartwell hand but Evan only inspected it.
Kane watched from the doorway and it was easy to sense the looming trouble. “Ready, Evan?”
“Hell no.” He looked at Peyton. “Can I talk to you for a second before we leave?”
“We’re headed to the kitchen and-”
“Now, Peyton. It wasn’t a yes or no question. I tried polite pleasantries but I really need to talk to you before we leave.”
He didn’t look at Kane or the Jason-dude. His gaze burned straight through Peyton.
She placed her fingertips on Jason’s shoulders and directed him to the kitchen. “Go on in there and make yourself at home.”
“Braden!” Evan shouted out loud but his eyes never left Peyton. Braden appeared at the other end of the hall.
“Yep?”
“This here is Jason.”
Jason stopped his pursuit toward the country kitchen.
Braden extended his arm and shook Jason’s hand. “Braden Cartwell.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jason said.
Peyton pointed. “Go straight through those doors. Snacks are on the counter and soda is in the fridge.”
“Okay, but hurry.” He kissed her cheek, mistake number one, and walked toward the kitchen as Peyton instructed.
Evan grabbed her arm and pulled her out to the porch. Braden followed and Kane moved out of the way. This was too good to miss. Evan reached around him and slammed the front door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Evan’s eyes seared with anger. Like Braden, when it came to Peyton, he seldom let go of a tantrum. Laid-back and carefree, he could turn into a real hot-head with a few beers in him or the right brawl waiting for him.
The brawl waited in their kitchen if the looks exchanged between two men served as a reminder. Kane scratched the back of his head and studied Peyton.
“That’s some way to treat a guest, Evan.” Peyton leaned up against the house, her hands tucked behind her back, probably her bottom.
“Guest?” Evan took a deep breath and then turned to Braden. “I want him out of here.”
“What?” Her mouth flew open and she glared at Evan. “Why?”
“Because I said I want him out of here, and it’s plenty enough reason. I live here too.”
Braden shook his head. “Nope, it’s not. She’s eighteen and she can choose her own friends unless there’s a significant reason to worry.”
Evan’s face flooded with hot heat, and blood red fury. “Damn it, Peyton. You know who he is.”
She batted her eyes and smiled sweetly. “Yes I do. He’s Jason Neely, and he’s a nice boy.”
“Right, at twenty-one years old, he’s not a boy, Peyton. He’s a man. He’s a damn Dom, too, is what he is.”
She acted surprised and like she had no idea what Evan was talking about. “He’s a what?”
“A Dom. He takes women, submissive women to his bed.”
“I didn’t know.”
She batted those long lashes again. Then, she released an exasperated sigh and waited.
“The hell you say.”
Braden glanced at Kane and then tried to react as the voice of reason. “Where’d you meet up with him, Peyton?”
“He’s a tutor. He’s going to tutor me.”
“Like hell he is.” Evan’s fists hung clenched at his sides. “And look at the way you’re dressed. You’re beggin’ for a man like Neely to sex-you-up and sex-you-down.”
“That’s enough, Evan.” Kane had to agree but the icy tone in Evan’s voice was hardly necessary. They’d ask Neely to leave.
Braden cleared his voice. “Peyton, what is Mr. Jason Neely going to tutor you in exactly? And do all tutors these days kiss their students on the cheek?”
“Anatomy,” she responded sweetly, “There’s a science proj-”
“Anatomy! See! What did I tell ya?” Evan grinded his molars and turned to Kane. “Go get that sorry SOB and tell him I’m waiting for him.”
“Have you been drinking?” Peyton asked.
“Hell, no, but I’m going to drink. I’m going to tie one on, right after I kick Neely’s sorry ass.”
Braden rubbed his chin, and Kane realized they were thinking the same thing. Before Peyton arrived, they all frequented the clubs. Sometimes, Evan drank too much and did a few stupid things. Once, he ended up in bed with three guys and a girl. One of the guys-if he cared to guess, Neely-did some pretty wicked things to the gal. Surprisingly, he left her begging for more. He fit Neely’s description. With his dark complexion, long hair, and thick accent, he stood ten feet tall with attitude.
“I don’t need this shit.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I’m a big girl now, in case you’ve failed to notice the boobs. I can take care of myself.”