Read Online Brody by Victoria H. Smith - Free Book Online Page B

behind.
    Brody turned, his eyes wide. “Alex!”
    Someone grabbed me, but that someone didn’t strike any fear in me.
    Brody’s arms came down on both sides of my body, bracing my shoulders before backing me against the wall of the barn. Once my back touched, his arms surrounded me, his hands flat on the wall while own his back took the brunt of the hits from the random fists flying around us. I should have been terrified, but I wasn’t. It was hard to be when I felt so protected.
    Facing away, Brody cringed at a hit to his side and I both hated and loved that he was using his body to keep mine safe. Eventually, some of the bouncers came out and got the crowd under control. They dragged the guys who started the fight away and that’s finally when Brody’s large shoulders loosened. Muscles in his arms twitched and he turned, his gaze taking inventory as they scanned me down. He could have lowered his arms then as I was okay, but he didn’t.
    My heart charged and a lump the size of the state formed in my throat when his gaze redirected. It settled right on my mouth. A sheen covered his bottom lip when he stroked his tongue just slightly over it, his chest moving up and down under his thin t-shirt.
    Kiss me. Please kiss me , I thought because I wanted him to. I wanted him to so badly.
    Stepping back, he didn’t, though. His arms lowered and he breathed deep, pushing his fingers over lengthy blond strands.
    “You okay?” he asked, and I nodded, trying not to be disappointed.
    Blue eyes left and I followed his back into the crowd that now seemed under control enough to filter inside. He glanced my way and gestured, his hand out. I thought he’d take mine, but he didn’t. Like he thought better of it, he pushed his hands into his pockets.
    Holding my arm awkwardly, I let him lead me inside. We remained silent, making it into a dark foyer among the cluster of people who sought access to the bar like us. Once there, I believed our next stop was to go inside, but that Brody… he continued to surprise me.
    His hand came down my arm, but this time, it wasn’t any way a touch of protection. He touched me. He touched me to touch me, his fingers feeling their way down to my wrist. He backed me up out of the crowd again and when my back touched a wall, my heart thumped clear through my skin to beat against it. I couldn’t see him. Not clearly anyway in the dark foyer, but I could feel him. His hands started on my shoulders, but eventually, they came to rest on my cheeks. His chest pressed against mine, I could feel his own huge heart jabbing, pressuring toward my own, and I could feel his mouth. I could feel his lips, finally.
    A sound hummed from them and his taste followed suit. He bit my bottom lip, so gentle before taking his own taste, his tongue softly doing things to mine. When he stopped and backed away, I felt so warm. I couldn’t stop the liquidly heated feeling and his forehead touched mine. I could make out a smile on his lips.
    “That was me saying fuck it,” he said, laughing gently.
    I chewed my lip. “You should do that more often.”
    His fingers touched my cheek, eventually finding their way down to my wrist to hold my hand. If there was any confusion about what this was, being here, that seemed to be gone now.
    I was glad.
    A set of well-worn jeans led me inside, the view of which had me distracted momentarily from the vibrant room. Neon lights with beers on tap lined the back wall behind the bar and a dance pit in the middle of the room was directly ahead of it. And a pit it was. Folks were giving it full use; spinning and vibing with each other in a group. Brody brought us to the wooden railing that sectioned the seating level off from the pit. Taking it all in, my tapping feet had me ready to dive in.
    A hand went to the small of my back, resting, and my heart went into overdrive.
    Brody.
    He leaned in. “Do you like it?”
    Even in here with all the music, the boisterous depth of his voice fought