Harm, page 4
“Since when?” I asked.
“Since you’ve been with anyone.”
I swallowed, dropping my head as heat crept up my neck. “I’ve only ever been with Bryce.”
He lifted my chin. “No shit?”
“Is that weird?”
“No. It’s beautiful,” he said. “I’m gonna get tested so that when you feel comfortable and want to take this to the next level, we’ll be ready, sound good?”
I nodded, still feeling off-kilter.
He stroked my cheek. “Hey, you’ve got nothin’ to be embarrassed about, Bryn.”
“I just wasn’t all that great at sex with Bryce, to be honest, so now I’m a little nervous about the thought of being with you.”
“What do you mean, you weren’t all that great?” He frowned. “Did he tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“I swear to Christ, if he were standin’ in front of me, I’d knock his veneers right outta his mouth.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
“First things first,” Harm said. “You are a phenomenal, and I mean, fuckin’ phenom-en-al kisser, and in my opinion, someone who kisses like that has to be great in the sack.”
I studied his face, looking for a lie. There wasn’t one.
“Second, if he said you’re not great in bed, then he wasn’t playin’ your body right and that’s on him.” He slid his hand to my neck. “When I get you under me, you will know what it feels like to be fucked by a man, and your body will know what to do.”
I shivered, unable to keep from kissing him.
It was me who broke the connection this time and I gripped his arms. “I’ll stop in at the pharmacy tomorrow,” I promised.
He smiled. “I like that, Bryn.”
After taking a few minutes to calm ourselves, we sat up at the island and pulled out the pizza while Harm showed me the new door locks he bought.
“I thought you should go for a keypad entry. It has fingerprint identification as well as unique keycodes for whoever you choose. Bryce can never have access unless you give him access.” He slid the package to me.
“What about in an emergency? Can we get out?”
“Yeah, it opens from the inside without a code, so if there’s a fire or whatever, you can get out.”
“Fancy.”
Harm chuckled. “An upgrade for sure.”
“How much is that going to cost me, though?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
I paused mid-chew. “What?”
“We had one at the shop.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You just happened to have one ‘at the shop’?”
“Yeah. I’m not fuckin’ with you, Bryn. We buy shit all the time that we don’t use.”
“And no one cares that you take it?”
“I cleared it with Hatch. He’s good with it.” He smiled. “He’d like you to be safe as well.”
“Why would he care?”
“You need to understand something about Hatch. He has a pathological need to protect the people he cares about. When you meet him, you’ll find out.”
“Again, why would he care?” I pressed.
“I care. Therefore, he cares.”
I wasn’t entirely sure I believed him, but let the matter drop. “What else is in the bag?”
“Security system.”
“Harm, I don’t have the money for a security system,” I said in frustration, sliding off my barstool and dropping my plate into the dishwasher.
“It’s part of the keypad, Bryn. It kind of all goes together.”
“Seriously?” I groaned. “Even if you give me the line that the parts fell out of the back of your shop, the labor alone to have it installed by an electrician will kill my budget.”
“I’m not givin’ you a line, Bryn. It’s all part of the system.”
“Yeah, but I can’t afford it.”
When he didn’t say anything for a few seconds, I looked at him.
“You done?” he asked.
“If you tell me you’re going to cover the cost—”
“You done?”
“Stop interrupting me!”
He raised an eyebrow. “You annoyed now?”
I fisted my hands at my side. “Very.”
“Good. Spiraling diverted?”
I dropped my head back and glared at the ceiling. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”
He chuckled, and I glared at him instead.
“I’m an electrician, Bryn.”
“What?” I cocked my head. “You are?”
“Yep. So, the labor’s free.”
Before I could respond, I heard, “Bitch, where are you and why aren’t you answering my texts?”
“Avery,” I said to Harm, then called out to her, “Kitchen!”
I grabbed my phone and realized the ringer was on silent. I set it back to normal as she walked into the room.
“Ah, hi, who are you?” she asked, giving me a hug.
“He’s Harm,” I said.
“Oh my god, that’s Harm?” she hissed.
Harm chuckled, standing, and holding out his hand. “So, you’ve mentioned me, huh?”
“Only to Avery,” I said as they shook hands. “Want some pizza?”
She shuddered. “Gross, no. Why would you even threaten?”
I rolled my eyes. “Avery is personally offended by pizza and all pizza adjacent products.”
“Good to know,” Harm said with a grin.
“So, you’re alive,” Avery said. “I was about to call all the emergency services.”
“Sorry, my phone was on silent. I must have hit the wrong button.”
“Again,” she retorted, opening my fridge, and pulling out a coke before shooting off a text. “I just told Lance to stand down.”
“I highly doubt he was worried.”
She sighed. “Well, maybe not as worried as me, but he was on alert, should I need back up.”
I turned to Harm. “Lance and Avery live two doors down. They have three kids, my niece and nephews as far as I’m concerned. My mom lives across the street, and it’s pretty much why I bought the place.”
Harm nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Did I see Bryce’s car here yesterday?” Avery asked.
Harm scowled.
“Uh-oh, what did he do?” Avery asked.
I started to fill her in on the incident, but Harm pushed away from the island. “I’m gonna take a walk.”
I frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just need a second. Be back.”
He walked away and Avery stared up at me. “Okay, that man his hot, like, hawt.”
I sighed. “I know. Therein lies the problem.”
I filled her in on the rest of the story about Bryce.
“God, I hate him,” she hissed.
I pointed to the stuff on the counter. “Harm wants to install a security system.”
She leaned against the granite and sipped her coke. “So let him.”
“I’ve known the man for two days and he’s suddenly spending all this money on me. I don’t want him to feel like I’m taking advantage of him.”
“Jesus, Bryn, I don’t feel that way,” Harm said, walking back into the kitchen.
“I thought you were going for a walk,” I said.
“I did,” he said. “But, let me get one thing perfectly clear. It’s my goddamn money. If I want to spend it on you, I’ll spend it on you, got it?”
Avery raised an eyebrow, and her lips formed an ‘O’ as she turned away from us and walked out of the room.
“I’m not used to being taken care of for no reason,” I admitted.
He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him. “Then, you better start gettin’ used to it, Bryn, ’cause it’s happenin’.”
“You really don’t mind?”
“Baby, if I minded, I wouldn’t do it.”
I slid my hands up his chest. “I think you might be too good to be true.”
“Well, that’s just because I’ve got you fooled right now.”
“I’m gonna go ahead and go home,” Avery said, walking back into the room. “If you don’t get your vagina back in play, bestie, I’m gonna talk to Lance about a threesome.”
Harm chuckled. “Sorry, babe, I’m a one-woman man and not into sword play.”
Avery scoffed. “Damn it.”
I grinned, hugging my friend before walking her out.
CHAPTER SIX
Harm
Bryn walked back into the kitchen and stalled. “Did you just do your dishes?”
“Yeah, why?” I asked, closing the dishwasher.
“Fooling me indeed,” she said, walking into my body and wrapping her arms around me.
I chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “Jesus, that easy, huh?”
“Let’s just say, life has been a little rocky.” She looked up at me. “I’m not complaining, mind you. I love where I’m at now. I’ve just never had a partner.”
I smiled, kissing her quickly. “Well, you’ve got one now. You gonna let go of me long enough for me to do some work?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
God, she was cute. I liked having her soft body pressed against me. Too much to be comfortable, to be honest. All I wanted to do was take her upstairs and fuck her until she knew how gorgeous she really was. But that wasn’t gonna happen until she could get out of her head long enough to trust me.
“Okay,” she rasped, giving me one last squeeze. “Do your thing. I’ve got some laundry to do.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll text Briggs and let him know you’re here, but he should be home around nine thirty.”
I nodded. “I’ll start in the garage, then.”
We went our separate ways, and I grabbed my tools.
I’d gotten the garage doorknob installed and removed the front door lock when Bryn’s kid walked in.
“Hi,” he said. “Harm, right?”
I gave him a chin lift. “Yeah, hey.”
“Briggs, is that you?” Bryn called from upstairs.
“No, it’s Santa Claus,” he called back with a grin. “Who else would it be?”
She appeared at the top of the stairs, her hands on her hips. “You keep it up, buddy, I’ll shove you right back up my hoo-haw.”
I stuffed down a laugh and tried to focus on the job at hand.
“Gross, mom, we have company.”
“There’s pizza in the kitchen,” she said. “Are you hungry?”
“Starved. Thanks.” He headed that way and Bryn walked down the stairs and stood over me.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“Good.” I leaned back on my heels. “You good?”
“I’m great. Two loads of laundry done. I’ve stripped the beds, dusted, and cleaned the bathrooms,” she said. “I’m trying to give you space.”
“You don’t have to do that, Bryn.”
“Yes, I do.”
I cocked my head. “How come?”
“Because if I don’t, I’ll peel you out of your clothes and...,” she whispered, waving her hand in frustration, “...you know.”
I chuckled. “You say the word, baby.”
She let out a quiet grunt. “Not helping, Harmon.”
“Not tryin’ to, just Bryn.”
Briggs walked our way, shoving two pieces of pizza stacked on top of each other into his mouth. “Need help?” he asked, mid-chew.
“Briggs Matthew, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Bryn admonished.
He swallowed then asked the question again.
“Sure,” I said. “I can show you how to do a couple of things if you want.”
“Cool,” Briggs said, and joined me on the floor.
* * *
Brynley
I bit back tears as I watched Harm walk Briggs patiently through the process of changing a front door lock. My kid was lapping up the one-on-one attention and Harm was so incredibly sweet with him. To avoid completely melting down in front of them, I escaped into the kitchen and cleaned up Briggs’s mess.
“Mom, Harm wants you to come set your code.”
“Okay, honey.”
I had just set the pizzas in the fridge, so I followed him back to the foyer and Harm showed me how to set and change my code should I need to do so in the future.
“I’m going to call Delaney,” Briggs announced. “Thanks for letting me help, Harm.”
“No problem. Appreciate it, bud,” he said, then turned to me. “It’s gettin’ late, so I should head out. I have a job tomorrow, but I can swing by after if that works for you.”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m off the next three days.”
Once Briggs was up the stairs and I heard his door close, I leaned in close. “Oh my god, Harm, he’s beaming.”
“He’s a good kid.”
“What time are you done tomorrow?”
“Should be done around three. I can probably be here around four,” he said as he packed up his tools. “Does that work?”
“You don’t have to take Maisie to the hospital?”
He shook his head. “Razor’s on tomorrow since I gotta work.”
“And you’re sure I’m not taking you away from anything else?”
He didn’t answer, just gave me an eyeroll before closing up his toolbox.
“I sound a little needy, huh?”
He chuckled. “No, you don’t sound needy enough.”
“Briggs is taking Delaney out, so I can cook if you want.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded.
“That sounds great, baby. Can’t wait.”
I leaned against the door, sad that he was leaving.
“I’m coming back, Bryn.”
“I know,” I breathed out dramatically. “Tomorrow’s just so far away.”
“Let me show you where I was thinkin’ about puttin’ the keypad,” he said.
“Huh?”
He pulled me into the office off the foyer and pushed me up against the wall.
“Oh,” I whispered as his mouth covered mine.
I slid my hands up his back as he intensified the kiss and I leaned heavily against him.
“You know what?” I asked once he broke the kiss.
“What?”
“This would be a horrible place for a keypad.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m gonna put it right by the door.”
“Oh, good.”
“Do you think that’ll tide you over ’til tomorrow?”
“Ah, no, no it won’t,” I said. “I’m definitely gonna need to take care of that later.”
“You’re not gonna do that, Bryn,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re gonna save any future orgasms for me.”
I shivered. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
He kissed me just below my ear and whispered, “Yeah, you can, baby. It’ll be worth the wait. I promise.”
I bit my lip. “Are you going to wait too?”
“Yep.”
I met his eyes. “Really?”
“Sure am.”
“What if it’s weeks?”
“Then I’ll wait weeks.”
“It won’t be weeks,” I admitted.
“No, I don’t suspect it will.”
I smacked his chest. “Don’t get cocky.”
“I’m gonna need to get cocky in order to deliver the orgasms you so desperately need, baby.”
“Okay, you need to quit.”
He grinned, kissing me again. “I’m gonna go before I can’t.”
“Go.” I slapped a hand over my chest. “Break my heart.”
“Jesus,” he hissed. “You don’t make it easy, you know?”
I grinned. “That’s the whole point.”
I led him out to the foyer.
“Call me when you get home,” I demanded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He walked out and I locked up behind him.
* * *
Harm
I called Bryn as I walked into the club.
“Hi,” she said in her sweet way.
I smiled. “Hey.”
“You made it home in record time tonight.”
“No traffic.”
“How much traffic do you usually encounter this time of night?” she asked.
“Not much,” I said. “It’s worse coming up your way.”
“God, this conversation is inane,” she breathed out.
I laughed. “Yeah?”
“Yes. What I really want to say is, get your butt back up here and fuck me, but I can’t because my kid is home. Oh, plus we’ve only known each other for a few days, and it would make me a reckless slut.”
I let out a quiet growl. “You call yourself a slut, ever, in my presence, or anyone else does, I’m gonna lose my shit, Bryn. Don’t do it again. You aren’t one, and even if you’d pulled me into a back room the second you met me, you still wouldn’t be one, got it?”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, baby, I really think so.”
“Well, that’s a sweet thing to say.”
“You seriously hang out with the wrong people.”
“I don’t. Well, I don’t anymore.” She sighed. “But you’re right, I did for a long time. I’m trying to cut them loose. The brainwashing just goes deep, you know? I still feel guilt when I do something that might be ‘wrong’ in the eyes of the church.”
“We’ll work on that together.”
“I’d appreciate that,” she said. “Am I ever going to visit your club?”
“Anytime you want me to bring you down, Bryn, you got an open invitation.”
“Ooh, okay. I’ve never been to a biker club before.”
“Never woulda guessed that,” I droned sarcastically.
“What gave me away?”
I chuckled as I grabbed a beer out of the fridge, giving Cheese a chin lift on my way through the great room, then headed up to my room. “When do you work next?”
“I’m currently on three twelves then off three days, but I’m going down to two days off,” she said.
“Why?”
“With Briggs moving up to Pullman in a few weeks, there’s no reason for me to have all that time off. I’m going to need the money to pay for half his education.”
“Hold up,” I said. “DC makes millions which he hides because he can through tax-free bullshit, but you have to handle half the kids’ education... why?”
“Because Bryce insists he doesn’t have the money.”
