Page 39 of Burning Down the House
My hand clenches into a fist so hard the nails bite my palm. “Her name. Is Aria.”
“Same difference,” he shrugs, turning back to Aria. “I was just telling Bro you got hot. I dig the dress. Not so meth-y anymore, huh?”
Aria stiffens and she shoots me a massive side-eye, silently deferring to me on how to handle this. I can feel it in the air: she’s ready to bolt at any second.
And I’m not losing her again.
I don’t have a polite bone in my body right now, and I will be handling this both aggressively and expeditiously.
First, he got her name wrong. Then he gave her the classic backhanded compliment that she “got hot.” Then, he had the gall to bring up the very word that he used to drive her away from me last time. He’s the reason she disappeared from my life. Well, I guess I had a hand in it since I didn’t stick up for her.
I can’t punch myself, but I can punch Kyle.
My fist cocks back and sinks into his cheekbone in seconds.
“Brodie!” Aria cries.
“What the fuck! I just complimented her!” Kyle touches his cheek.
Officer Tippens, out of uniform, wanders over, eyes rolling. “Bro, I’m off the clock. What’s going on?”
“He punched me!” Kyle squeals.
“He was being a dick,” I say, turning my palm up.
“What’s new?” Tippens sighs.
Aria’s eyes are full of tears and I come to stand next to her. “Sorry,” I say. “He pissed me off.”
“I want to go home,” she whimpers.
Fuck.
“Now, Brodie.”
She drags me by the hand. I assume we’re going to my truck so I can take her back to Richard’s, but she makes a beeline for my front door.
“Home?” I try, making sure I understand what she means.
“Open the damn door,” she barks, stomping up onto my stoop.
People are staring as I fumble for my keys. “Yep. Okay.”
I get the door unlocked and she shoves me inside. I’m knee deep in the shit, and I deserve everything coming my way.
As soon as she clears the door, she kicks it shut, grabs me by my jacket lapels, and shoves me into the door. “I’m sorry,” I breathe. “I shouldn’t have punched him. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Ari just growls, and I am genuinely afraid of her. Her eyes are still full of tears.
“Baby, I’m really sorry. I was trying to make it better.”
“Yeah?” she asks, and I cannot for the life of me read the tone of which way this is going.
“Yeah. I don’t like anyone saying anything remotely bad about you. Ever.”
Her lip quivers and I fear I’ve somehow made it worse.
Then, the back of my head slams against the door with the powerful kiss she launches. We soften, hands exploring, mouths fervent, melting into each other.
She pulls away and puts her hand on my cheek, forcing my eyes to hers. “I don’t need a knight in shining armor. I don’t need you to be smarter than me. The only thing I need, Brodie, is you being you.”
My jaw tightens and I swallow hard. She lifts my left hand, the one I used to punch Kyle, and kisses each swollen knuckle.
This woman. She’s kinder to me than I am to myself, and I’m lucky she thinks so highly of me after everything.
She needs me being me.
And I know what I need.
I know, as I carry her up the stairs to my apartment, as I remove her boots and dress, as I let out her hair and take her in my arms, as I pore over every inch of her skin and cover her with every ounce of the love she’s been missing, that I need forever with her to start right now.
