Breathe for Me (The Langston Brothers Duet #1)

by Brittany Ann

“Yes, leaving. I wanted to thank you for everything,” she said, meeting my eyes. “I mean everything, Denver.” Everything.

“Don’t mention it.” “I never will,” she promised. I knew she was sincere. I didn’t give a fuck if she told anyone. I had friends in high places, thanks to my father, but she didn’t know that. Here she was, promising me she wouldn’t tell anyone of my sins.

One of those sins I committed for her. No one else but her. I would have no regrets over that. I wouldn’t lose sleep over killing a man to protect her. I would lose sleep over her being gone. I hadn’t even kissed this woman and I was going to lose sleep over her. I stared at her, anger boiling up inside of me because I couldn’t find a way to make her stay. Hell, I didn’t even know why I wanted her to stay. I just know that I needed her with me. That’s all I knew. But she was leaving.

Don’t let her leave, my sweet boy. Don’t you let this one go. I nodded. To Valerie, not my mom’s voice, and pushed off the counter. “Gotta get dinner started,” I said, dismissing everything I wanted. Her. At Hallow Ranch. In my bed. Just…her. Something flashed across her face, but she buried it quickly and stepped away, going to the other end of the island. Both of us sat in silence as I cooked. We sat in silence as we ate. Then she offered to do the dishes and I simply refused. She went upstairs to pack, and I went into my office upstairs to drink. The whiskey burned, but not as much as the image of her walking away.

Medicaid denies Mom every single year. Healthcare in America was jacked.

Sadly so true.

Anything to avoid being alone with Denver Langston again. I wanted him to kiss me last night. The naïve, romance reader in me wanted him to pull me into his arms and never let me go, but that didn’t happen. This wasn’t a fairytale. This was the real world.

Denver Langston wouldn’t miss me, his kid would forget me, but the walls of this house wouldn’t.

She looked at me and nodded. We both turned away from the barn, away from the house. The driver got into the car, and I pulled open the back door. I had one leg in when it happened. When my world spun. “Valerie!”

I turned to see my dark cowboy heading up the hill to me, on his horse, his body moving with his steed. From his dirty boots, blue jeans, black shirt, flannel, to that damn cowboy hat—he was a vision. I knew in that moment that Denver Langston would haunt me for the rest of my days. I would never forget him. I would never forget the fury in those gray eyes as he approached, dismounted the horse and charged towards me. His smoke blew out all around me, caging me in, holding me captive and I couldn’t breathe.

HOT.

“Denv—” “Shut the fuck up,”

Then he did it. He ruined me. His lips crashed against mine, his huge body, shoving me against the cab, pinning me to it as he pried my lips open with his tongue. His hot, delicious, tongue. My mouth fell open, letting him in, and I was kissing him back with the same urgency. I couldn’t control it. A sound ripped from him, causing my insides to quiver. It was rough, uncontrolled, dark… Then it was over.

OMFG

“You leave me, so help me God, baby, I will hunt you down,”

“I will find you and take my anger out on that perfect, round ass of yours. You won’t be able t...

“Denver—” He leaned down, getting a centimeter from my face, the brim of his hat over ...

“You move one fucking inch, I will take you over my knee,”

Denver tied his horse to the porch, and the beast didn’t mind. He was munching on the flower bed, living his best life. A hand wrapped around my arm again, and then my bags were lifted. He opened the front door of the house that I just said goodbye to and tossed my bags back on the floor. His eyes found mine and I sucked in a breath. Then my back was against the door, his body against mine, my face was in his hands.

“What are you doing?” I whispered. “Not letting you go,”

HELL YEAH BROTHER

Then he kissed me. Again. It was filled with anger. His tongue pushed inside of my mouth, taking over. I was clumsy at this. I hadn’t been kissed in years. He didn’t seem to mind, though. In fact, he growled as I s...

“Denver,” I rasped, pulling away from him. “Fuck, the way you say my name…”

“Can you take your hat off?” I asked. His eyes darkened. “You want my hat off, baby?” His voice was deep. Rough.

“Jesus, your fucking body. I don’t even have you naked yet, and I know it’s perfect,” he whispered as he dropped his head to my neck. My heart pounded louder and faster as his words settled over me. I’d never been perfect, not once in my whole life.

“Smoke,” I breathed.

I was focused on that when he found my ear. “Nod if you want this. If you don’t, I’ll step away,”

“You sure?” “Denver, touch me,”

“Wanted to pound into you then,” he growled into my ear, somehow reading my mind. “Fuck, I wanted to make you scream. Fuck you until you promised to be a good girl for me.” He snapped his hips, and I could feel his hard erection against my ass. “You wanted that too, didn’t you?” Yes.

“Fisted my cock thinking about you, Valerie. You’ve been in my fucking head since the second you stepped foot on my ranch.”

“Coming on my ranch, looking like that, looking up at me with your big green eyes,”

“Fuck, I shouldn’t want you.” “Honey,”

“That guy who took your virginity and tossed you aside like trash, you call him that?” “What?” “You c...

“You call any other man that, I’ll make this ass red, baby,”

“Denver, Caleb—” “Boys are in pasture two for the day. Supposes to be out there with them,”

“If you need to—” The hand around my neck snapped up to my jaw, gripping it firmly and he leaned in, towering over my tall frame. “You were leaving,” he spat, his eyes flaring. I swallowed. “Yes.” “You feel this?” he clipped, pressing against me. This. That little word held so much weight, and it terrified me. But I still found myself saying, “Yes.”

“Oh,” I gasped. “God damn, Enchantress. You’re dripping for me,” he said softly, against my ear. Enchantress.

“Fuck, yeah,” he grunted. “Fuck my hand, Val.” Val.

“You aren’t ready for my dick, baby.” “I want—I want—”

“Good girls get cock, baby.” I whimpered. “You aren’t a good girl yet,” he murmured, his thumb rubbing circles against my clit. Oh, God. “You said—you said you would fuck me into one.”

“You wanna be a good girl for me? Hm?” he hissed. “Yes!” I cried, nearly there. “Then fucking come on your cowboy’s hand. Soak it.” Your cowboy.

“That’s it, baby, that’s it,”

“Give me all of it.” I whimpered. “Kiss me. Kiss me, please, kiss—”

“Hi,” I whispered. He stared at me when I thought that he would smile. He didn’t. Then again, I don’t think a man like Denver knew how to smile.

Omg

“You aren’t leaving,” he said firmly. That’s when reality came crashing back—full force. “Denver, I have to…” I said, still whispering, wanting to stay in this little bubble, me half naked in his arms. He pulled his hand away from my core and turned me to face him. “You aren’t leaving,”

I looked to the spare bedroom, and he grunted. “Never again.” He took me to his room and sat me down on his bed. Wordlessly, he turned and disappeared. I heard his boots going down the stairs. Looking around, I saw an armchair in the corner with a throw blanket. I moved to it, taking a seat and covering my lower half with the blanket.

“Warning, baby. If I put you in my bed, you stay in my fucking bed,”

“I would like to know what’s happening here.”

He tossed my luggage on the bed and came around to face me. He took a seat on the edge, bracing his elbows on his knees, those big hands hangin...

“I don’t know, Val. All I know is that you were walking away from me yesterday and…that was something I didn’t like,” he looked up at me, his eyes scanning my face. “I shouldn’t want this—you. I should ...

“Work for me,” he said. I stared at him, waiting for the punchline, because this was obviously a joke. Those gray eyes noted my posture and he spoke again. “I’m serious.” “Do I look like a ranch hand to you?” I deadpanned. I wasn’t a girly-girl, but I wasn’t a cowgirl either. I knew how a ranch worked, but I didn’t know the first thing about maintaining one. His lips twitched. That image would be seared into my memory for the rest of my days because that was the closest thing to a real, genuine smile he had ever given me. “No, but you look like the woman who’s going to help me stop Moonie Pipelines from getting Hallow Ranch.”

It had been the best sexual experience of my life, and my dick wasn’t even out. I dry-humped that gorgeous, curvy body like a fucking teenager out of pure desire. I couldn’t help myself. I’d never lost control like that before. Then again, I kissed her. That was a form of lost control, period. I hadn’t kissed a woman in ten years. I never gave them my mouth, just my fingers or my cock. They would never face me, and no matter how much they begged for intimacy, I wouldn’t give it to them.

I knew then that she could ask for anything, and I would give it to her. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing when it came to this woman, and I was tired of wondering. I just wanted to want her without question, without doubt lingering over my head.

“Work for me,” I whispered. “You just ripped my skirt and underwear off downstairs,”