Brendon (Alluring Indulgence #8)(44)
Author: Nicole Edwards

When he got situated, Cheyenne eased up against him, her body warm and soft, her hands delicate as they rubbed lightly over his chest. Kissing her forehead, he took a deep breath.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, praying that she didn’t say yes. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he did cause her pain.

“No,” she said softly, sleepily. “Not at all.”

Wrapping his arm around her, he tilted her chin up and met her lips with his briefly. “Good,” he told her softly. “Because that’s the last damn thing I wanna do.”

And with that, Brendon gave in to sleep. For the first time in forever, he managed to drift off without a million thoughts pounding through his brain. It seemed that Cheyenne was his comfort zone, the only place he seemed to be able to relax.

There was only one problem with that … He wasn’t sure he would ever be the same without her again.

chapter THIRTEEN

Braydon had stopped pacing the floor about half an hour earlier when Brendon finally answered his damn phone. Well, technically, he didn’t answer, but he did respond to Braydon’s text that asked where the fuck he was. The response: On my way home.

Yeah, that didn’t tell him a hell of a lot, but it had told him enough to end his state of panic.

Barely.

Last night, Braydon had sensed that his twin had needed him, so he’d left Jessie alone and come home. Finding the house empty, he’d opted to settle in and wait. Sometime around midnight, Braydon had fallen asleep in his recliner and when he awoke, he found that he was still alone. That was when the fretfulness had set in.

For months on end, Braydon had been worrying about his twin, unsure what Brendon might do next. His downward spiral had started nearly a year ago, back when Braydon found himself in a situation he’d never imagined being in: in love. More accurately, in love with a woman he was sharing with Brendon.

Problem wasn’t the sharing. Well, technically it was, because Braydon found himself wanting Jessie all to himself. He had come to the conclusion that he loved her, and in order to figure out what that was supposed to look like, he’d left town for a few months, attempting to get his thoughts together.

Turned out that running was stupid. He’d left Jessie alone and she and Brendon had a falling-out about the same time, which meant no one had been working through their issues, they’d merely put them off until a later date. Once Braydon returned, he decided to go after what he wanted. Or rather who. And after a rocky road, he and Jessie managed to work through their issues, admitting their love for one another.

As for Brendon … well, Braydon hadn’t considered the hell his brother would go through to have his world turned upside down. Brendon had done things Braydon never expected him to do, including drinking and driving, ultimately coming into intimate contact with a fucking tree.

Brendon’s mood had continued to darken for the last few months and though Braydon was still trying to figure out what his and Jessie’s future looked like, he couldn’t stop worrying about Brendon. Apparently neither could Jessie, which had caused a few additional unexpected bumps in their road to happily ever after. Namely, moving in together was put off, the wedding date still wasn’t set … just to name a couple.

Now, as Braydon sat on the edge of the sofa cushion waiting for Brendon to arrive, he was eager to find out where the hell his brother had been all night long. These days, it was extremely unusual for Brendon to stay out late. In fact, the guy had started acting like an old man over the course of the last few months, coming home early, staying in rather than going out, even passing out before ten. Braydon had attributed that to the depression his brother had seemingly been consumed by.

Needless to say, Braydon had a right to worry.

The front door opened and Braydon jumped to his feet, turning to face his twin as Brendon stepped inside, his cocked eyebrow showing his confusion. Braydon let his gaze rake over Brendon from head to toe, fully expecting to see him bleary-eyed and stumbling.

That was not what he saw when he looked at Brendon.

“Where were you last night? Where the hell is Scrap?” Braydon barked, his nerves not entirely settled even though his twin looked normal—more so than he’d looked in a long damn time.

Brendon spared him a brief glance as he hung his truck keys on the hook near the door before heading to the kitchen. “Relax, man,” was the response from the other room.

Following Brendon, Braydon came to a stop at the doorway to the kitchen, watching as Brendon started a pot of coffee.

“I’m relaxed,” Braydon argued, but even he knew he didn’t sound at all relaxed. In fact, he sounded uptight. Like a damn irritable woman.