Under My Skin

He came back into the bedroom and laid beside me again, pulling me close to him and holding me tight. He kissed the top of my head and then, after looking over at the clock on the nightstand, asked, “What time do you have to open the store?”



“Oh, shit!” I cried, jumping up and running into the bathroom to get ready. I took a shower in record time and, toweling off as I went, headed to the closet to grab clothes to put on. I heard a noise behind me and turned to see that Brandon was still laying naked in my bed, nothing covering even an inch of that sexy ass body of his.



Quirking my eyebrow at him I asked, “Don’t you have to work today, too?”



He nodded and grinned at me before saying, “Yeah, but seeing as how it’s only 6:30, we’ve got plenty of time.”



I looked over at the clock and scowled at him, stalking toward the bed and letting my towel drop in the process. “You ASS!” I growled. “Why did you make me think I was running late?”



He kept on grinning as he replied, “All I did was look to see what time it was and ask what time you had to open the store. You’re the one who ran off like a mad woman. A naked mad woman…and it was pretty hot, too, by the way.”



I reached out and smacked his shoulder but he snagged my arm and pulled me down on top of him. He rolled quickly over, pinning me to the mattress, somehow managing to get both of my arms over my head and locking them together in one of his hands. He ran the other hand down my side before cupping my breast and then pinching the nipple, making me arch into him and moan softly.



“You know,” Brandon began, lowering himself until he was speaking directly in my ear. “I think I’m gonna tie you up, baby. Maybe on the kitchen table again. Tie you up all spread out and leave you there. What do you think about that?”



I gasped, my breath becoming ragged as desire curled heavily through me. He opened his mouth to say something else but his words cut off when the bedroom door opened and Jackson came in. He looked exhausted and Brandon released me quickly, sitting up on the edge of the bed and grabbing the sheet to cover his hips.



I jumped up and went to Jackson, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close. His arms came around me and he bent to kiss the top of my head before releasing me and sitting heavily on the other side of the bed.



“Is Chloe okay?” I asked.



He nodded. “Sorry I wasn’t in bed with you. I couldn’t sleep and when I got up, Chloe was whimpering in the other room so I went in and sat with her. I just…it’s fucking killing me to know that that bastard put his fucking hands on her! And I wasn’t there for her!” His voice broke even as it rose until he was almost shouting.



I moved to embrace him again, smiling sadly as Brandon, wrapping the sheet around his waist, also moved over and draped an arm around Jackson’s shoulders.



“Dude, it’s not your fault. And it’s not Chloe’s fault either. You know that. She’s smart and strong and tough and she got away as soon as she could. She’s here now and safe, so just focus on that,” Brandon stated firmly.



I sank to my knees in front of Jackson and placed my hands on his thighs. He looked down at me and the corner of his mouth curved up with a hint of a smile.



“He’s right. She’s safe here now, and she can stay here for as long as she needs to. And then you’ve got plenty of room in your house so she can stay with you-”



“NO!” Jackson said roughly. He shook his head as I stared at him in shock. “No, I mean, yes, she can stay with me there but I…I know I’ve said it before, but Allie, I built that house hoping that you’d live there with me. That you’d be happy there. You and Brandon.” He turned his head to look at Brandon who was looking back at him in surprise.



Jackson nodded seriously at him before turning back to me. “Is that something you think could do? Would you want to live there?”



I opened my mouth to answer and then laughed when he cut me off again to say, “Or I guess I could take a page out of Luke’s book and TELL you that you’re moving in with me…”



I smacked him lightly on his leg and leaned up to kiss him before getting to my feet and heading back to the closet to actually get dressed this time.



It never occurred to me until about halfway through the day that I never did answer him…



The bell on the door of my store tinkled and chimed and I looked up to greet the customer coming through.



“Hi, Nanny!” I exclaimed, completely taken by surprise that my grandmother was walking through the door, followed by my harried looking mother. “Hi, Momma!”



She waved and my grandma huffed and scowled. “Damn fool children don’t even know how to pick up a Goddamned phone anymore to check on anyone these days,” Nanny grumbled.



I rolled my eyes as I came out from behind the counter to hug them both. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.



“Well, Nanny had an appointment this morning and Poppy didn’t feel up to taking her, so she called me!” my mom said brightly, though her face was telling a different story.



I smiled at her and nodded, knowing that she meant that my grandmother was being extra “tank” today. Now, we love her so very dearly, but I swear sometimes she’d try the patience of a saint. Even then, she’s so much fun regardless of her cranky mood because you never know what she’s going to say or do.



“So what did the doctor say, Nanny?” I asked her.



She cocked her head and gave me a sweet smile as she said, “I’m alive.”



I snorted. Smart ass old woman. “Well, that’s a good thing, right?”



She rolled her eyes at me and wandered off to a display of old-fashioned quilts I had hung using an old coat hanger.



I turned to my mom and asked her, wanting the real answer, “What’d she go to the doctor for?”



Mom shook her head and said, “Just a check up. He says she’s healthy as a horse. I think she’s just too stubborn to get sick or anything. Again, Allie, I’m sorry in advance if I ever start acting that way.” She patted my arm and then, trying to be nonchalant, meandered over to the book display to see the new romance books I’d put out this morning.



“Allie!” my grandma yelled and I jumped, quickly making my way over to where she was standing.



I groaned under my breath when I noticed that she had stopped in front of the display of vintage lingerie I had toward the back of the store. I lost it, snorting with laughter when she turned and I saw that she had wrapped an old silk corset around her skinny little chest and was wiggling herself back and forth cackling with laughter.



“See, Allie-girl, you wear stuff like this and you just might land you a hottie!” she crowed.



I gasped and chuckled at her, glad she’d given me this opening. “Well actually, Nanny, I just so happened to have landed me a good one. Two of ‘em, in fact.”



She raised her eyebrow at me and lifted her hand for a high-five, but she froze in mid-air. “Two?”



I nodded and noticed that my mom had worked her way over to us and was standing there grinning like a loon, waggling her eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes at her again (I seem to do this a lot with my family) and smiled at my Nanny.



“Two?” she repeated. At my nod again, she screeched, “Why you little slut! When do we get to meet them?” Before I could answer she kept going. “You know, back in my day I actually was quite the catch myself. I had a few of them ol’ dogs sniffing after my skirts. And then there was this one time that I actually let two of ‘em-”