Curve Beast (Paranormal BBW Erotic Romance) Read online

  "Nothing you haven’t been spreading yourself," Cruz answered, guessing there was no chance in hell Lonnie had actually kept his mouth shut about last night. He’d have bragged or bitched to somebody.

  "That’s my business." Lonnie gave another unsuccessful shove. "Not yours."

  "I’m not letting my best friend hang out with a meth head." Cruz watched Lonnie’s face sag at the accusation. "What, you thought you were keeping it a secret?"

  Lonnie jabbed a finger in Cruz’s chest. "Shut up, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Medina!"

  "Wrong, I can smell it on you."

  A malevolent, smart ass grin broke across Lonnie’s face. "Fuck that. All you smell on me is Tamsyn’s puss--"

  The cartilage in Lonnie’s nose snapped, the bright burst of blood following almost immediately. Dominic caught Cruz’s arm as Cruz pulled back to launch a second blow. Capturing Cruz’s other arm, he trapped him in a full nelson, with both of his arms up under Cruz’s and his hands locked behind his little brother’s neck. Cruz tried to wrap his legs around Lonnie but the tweaker was folding fast to the ground, his hand pressed hard to his nose to stop the blood and pain.

  Dominic dragged Cruz to the door leading from the garage bay up to the apartment.

  "Fucking let go!"

  Dominic threw the door open, using his extra two inches of height and thirty pounds of weight to force Cruz into the narrow stairwell.

  "I’d level his ass, too, but we can’t afford the cops."

  Dom threw the switch on the garage door’s hydraulics, keeping one eye on Lonnie’s recovering figure while he straight-armed Cruz to keep him from busting back into the room. "It isn’t worth--"

  "Tamsyn is worth it."

  Dominic glanced at Cruz to see a cold fire burning in his brother’s eyes.

  Out on the street, Lonnie screamed at them. "You’ll get yours, Medina. Both of you goddamned fuckers!"

  Sure that the garage door was down too low for Lonnie to slide under, Dominic raised his hand, wrapped it around Cruz’s throat and forced him against the wall. "Think about it, Manito. You, in a prison cell, for eight to twenty years because some street trash wants to hook up with a girl you like. How long you think you can go without changing? A month? Maybe two? After that, you’ll rip your fucking guts out with your own hands!"

  Purpling from the choke hold, Cruz still fought to get free, pushing at Dom with his arms and legs.

  Dom let go, moving like lightning to drop low and hit his shoulder hard against Cruz’s stomach, instantly doubling Cruz over. Dom wrapped his arms around Cruz’s legs and lifted, staggering as he found his balance and climbed the stairs.

  Flung over Dom’s back, Cruz grabbed hold of the railing.

  "Don’t make me use the bear spray on your ass, Manito!" Dominic gave his upper torso a hard twisting jerk, breaking Cruz’s hold on the railing and slamming Cruz against the opposite wall.

  Upstairs, furniture was overturned as they cut a wild path to Cruz’s bedroom door. Dominic tossed him onto the bed and quickly stepped back. He raised his hand before Cruz could charge him.

  "You know I still have a can."

  Cruz settled back against the wall, ass planted on the mattress, a fistful of the bed’s quilt in each hand as he glared at his older brother.

  Dominic shook his head. "If we have to start all over once more, you’ll never see Tamsyn again."

  Silence, hard and angry, and then the fire in Cruz’s gaze flickered and died.

  *****

  Dominic finished closing the garage. Back upstairs he started the computer and righted the furniture they’d overturned. Checking the garage’s email account, he found a confirmation on a manifold in stock for the Ranchero and called the vehicle’s owner before placing the order. Printing out a copy of the invoice, he spotted a corner of paper peeking from the scanner. The end page of Beast Brothers, issue six.

  "Cruz!"

  Cruz came out, shoes dragging along the carpet. He stopped a few feet past his bedroom door and leaned against the wall, one thumb hooked in a belt loop and the other hand shoved deep in his jeans pocket.

  Dom held up the picture. "Where are you posting these now?"

  "M-not."

  "Bullshit, little brother. You wouldn’t scan it if you weren’t posting it somewhere." He opened up the web browser and started putting in keywords in the search engine. "I'll find it."

  Looking up, he saw a cocky grin on Cruz’s face. He pushed the keyboard to the side. "Right, just show me."

  "First, admit it."

  "Fine. I won’t find it."

  "Because…"

  Because you know your shit."

  Satisfied with the admission, Cruz leaned over Dominic’s shoulder and clicked on what looked like a blank space on the desktop. Screens opened and closed in rapid succession, all too fast for Dominic to read what they said.

  "So you’re masking your visits and your uploads?"

  "Yeah." Cruz had explained it a dozen times over. He spun on his heels and plopped on the couch, his gaze wary as he watched Dominic click through the images on the site and then the comments.

  Dominic grunted. "Woof, woof, make me your bitch? Are these girls fucking serious?"

  Cruz offered a flat, "Don’t know. Not interested. None of them are Tam."

  "You IM or chat?"

  "Just the serious visitors, mostly other artists. The chat is secure, too, Dom."

  "What about this one, Bad Moon Rising. It says, ‘I’m just like the weres in Beast Brothers and I can prove it.’"

  "Just someone role playing. Get ‘em all the time." Cruz rolled off the couch, grabbed the keyboard and typed a reply. "Then prove it, dude."

  Cruz picked up the picture he’d left in the scanner. "We done?"

  The downstairs’ buzzer sounded. Dominic rose slowly from the computer chair and jerked his thumb in the direction of Cruz’s bedroom.

  "If it’s the cops…"

  "Yeah." Cruz stripped his t-shirt off as he went. "Just you and Rover at home."

  In his room, he pulled his shoes and socks off, unbuttoned his jeans. He listened for the sound of footsteps on the stairs and the casual warning of addressing a cop as "Officer" that Dominic would give if their visitor was a cop. It was a trick they'd pulled before, too many times.

  But, instead of some cop Lonnie had called, Cruz heard Tamsyn arguing her way past Dom.

  "He’s not here, Tam."

  The lie was followed by the echo of Dominic in Cruz’s head. Stay put.

  Smiling, Cruz let his pants drop.

  Don’t even think about it, Manito.

  Ignoring the command, Cruz nosed the door open. Tamsyn had traded her waitress uniform in for school clothes -- for a change, she'd put on sexy hip hugging jeans that made him want to howl. Up top, she wore a light green tank with a low v-neck underneath a jeans jacket. If that was how she dressed when she was pissed at him, he'd have to piss her off more often.

  Tamsyn let her leather bag crammed full of books and notepads slide to the floor. "He’s here, he’s always here."

  Dom circled her until he was blocking the path to Cruz’s bedroom door. "I didn’t want him here if the cops showed up."

  "Fine, I’ll wait." Tamsyn took a step back, stumbling as her eyes went wide. "Jesus, who’s been feeding that dog steroids!"

  Dom turned, swearing. His arm shot out, pointing at the bedroom door. "Inside!"

  "What the hell? When did you guys get a dog?"

  "Dog sitting for a friend." He pointed at the door. "Back."

  "You don’t have any friends. Just you and Cruz. No room for anyone else."

  "Fine, belongs to the owner of the car I’m working on. He’s paying us an extra fifty for the week while he’s on vacation."

  Tamsyn dropped to the ground. "It’s huge. Is it friendly?" Not waiting for an answer, she clapped her hands gently together. When Cruz met her gaze, she gave a small, delighted laugh. "Its eyes look like gold glitter! C’mere, b
oy."

  Cruz stepped up close to Tamsyn and licked her ear. She threw her arms around his neck and then ran her fingers along his back. "Ooh, I wish I had a coat like this. Look at the blue streaks!"

  He licked the line of her jaw, scented the warm spice of her skin. Shit, he was just a few strokes of her gentle hands away from popping a wolfish boner.

  "You can’t wait here, Tamsyn." Dominic wrapped his hand around Cruz’s muzzle and gave it a hard shake. "Bad dog!"

  Cruz faked a yelp.

  "Dom!" She rubbed Cruz’s head, stroked his ears. Her breasts bounced as she smoothed her hands along his back. "Poor baby. Did he hurt you?"

  Cruz ran his tongue along his teeth and then yelped in earnest as Dominic grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him back to the bedroom. "You really have to go."

  He shook Dom’s grip off. Walk her home, bro.

  Dominic picked up Tamsyn’s bag and started walking toward the door. "I’ll tell Cruz you stopped by."

  It’s late. Lonnie’s out there pissed. Walk. Her. Home.

  Cruz could feel Dominic’s probing, followed by a sigh of relent.

  You’re lucky I don’t have a leash, Manito.

  *****

  Cruz waited until he heard Dominic’s key leave the dead bolt and then he counted to twenty before starting to dress. He dressed quickly but without rushing. Dominic would stick to the streets with Tamsyn. He wouldn’t lead her through alleys or take short cuts. He’d pass businesses that were still open--bars and restaurants with people going in and out. They’d walk at Tamsyn’s pace. That left Cruz with plenty of time to beat the two of them back to her apartment.

  Even with Dom bitching at him inside his head as soon as he had picked up Cruz’s intent.

  Cruz waited outside her building, casually leaning with his back against the brick wall. Dom looked ready to tackle him again. Tamsyn looked…

  Beautiful…

  And only a fraction less pissed at Cruz than Dominic was.

  She stood in front of him, hands on her hips, head angled slightly up so she could glare at him. "You’ve got some nerve, that shit you pulled today."

  Dominic gently edged her out of the way until he was chest-to-chest with Cruz. He put his hands on Cruz’s shoulders, the grip looking far more casual than it felt. "You need to come home."

  You need to stay out of my head.

  "He’s not going anywhere until I’ve talked to him." She stepped in close to both men, near enough that her soft body brushed Cruz and Dominic. Her hip against Dominic’s thigh, her arm against Cruz’s.

  Cruz could smell their scents mingling. His woman’s, Dominic’s. Something dangerously possessive boiled up and he placed his palm against Dominic’s chest, forcing his big brother to take a step back. Out of his space and out of Tamsyn's.

  "I’m staying. Go home."

  And stay the hell out of my head, Dom. I mean it.

  The two men stared at each other for one, two, three heart beats -- and then Dominic blinked. I can protect you from everything but yourself.

  Dominic’s gaze flicked to Tamsyn and then he shook his head, spun on his heels and headed back down the street.

  Tamsyn pushed the door to her building open. "I don’t know which one of you is the bigger dick."

  He followed mute up the stairs, eyes locked on the swing of her ass, still tasting the salt of her skin on his tongue. She wanted a fight after the way he’d behaved today. Not what he had in mind. He waited until she had her key in the door and then he put his hands on her hips.

  She froze. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

  "Open the door and I’ll tell you."

  When she didn’t move, he took the keys from her and finished unlocking the door, his other hand still on her hip. She retreated inside, turning beneath his touch until she faced him. He shut the door with his foot, let the keys fall to the floor so that he could have both hands on her again.

  She pushed at his chest. "You’ve got some fucking nerve, Medina."

  "You’re mad. I understand." He slid the bag off her shoulder, ran his hand up under the jeans jacket, his palm flat against the center of her back as he coaxed her closer. He remembered the last time he’d gotten so close to her -- her senior prom two years ago. Dom had relented, allowing Cruz to accompany her, even paying for both their outfits.

  He cinched her closer, felt the curve of her lower stomach against his cock. He dropped his head, his lips lightly brushing against her neck.

  "You’re a bastard, Cruz. You think you can…" She stopped, throat clenching to strangle the words, and shoulder slugged him.

  He shushed the broken sounds coming from her. He kissed her ear and then the high rise of her cheek bone. Reaching down, he untucked her shirt, ran his hand up her back once more, fingers stroking the bare flesh.

  Her body assaulted his senses. The heat emanating from her, the sweet and secret smells, the deep breathing, the beat of her heart loud in his ears. He kissed along her throat, just under her chin in the hollow where her pulse throbbed.

  She was clutching his shirt, her body immobile except for the rhythmic push of her breasts against his chest as she inhaled.

  "Leave," she choked out.

  "We both want me to stay." He slid a finger under her waist band and traced the curve of her hip round front to the top button of her jeans. He thumbed it open and grasped the pull on her zipper. "I want the same deal you offered Lonnie. Three songs."

  "Bastard!" Tamsyn boxed his ear and then knotted her fingers in his hair so he couldn’t pull away.

  He had no intention of pulling away.

  He unzipped her slowly and then smoothed both hands into her jeans, pushed them down over her full hips. He captured her hands, eased them down to her sides and slid the jacket off. Then he ran his hands back up her waist, pushing her shirt higher while his head dipped down to press a kiss against the exposed top of her breasts. The bobbed up and down, twin suckable, fuckable mountains that he wanted to squeeze and lick and kiss.

  A shiver rolling through him, Cruz released the front hook on Tamsyn's bra and pushed the cups out of his way. Then his mouth was on her, sucking at the full flesh, teasing the nipples as he pushed her panties and jeans further down her thighs. He could smell her arousal, even as she weakly pushed at his chest in angry protest.

  She let him guide her to the recliner, falling gently over one arm and onto the seat, leaving her legs naturally elevated so he could slide her sandals and bottoms off. He turned her until she faced forward in the chair and then he cupped her exposed breasts, squeezing, kissing and caressing them. He sucked the nipples in turn, relishing the tremble in her body and the way she fought not to succumb, her hands white-knuckled as she gripped the arms of the recliner.

  "Let me take your shirt off, Tam." He kissed her throat, nibbled at her ear, feathered the bridge of her nose and closed eyelids with more soft kisses.

  "Two years…"

  Yes. For two long, hard years he’d shut her out, given her blank stares and disdainful shrugs. "I’m so sorry, baby."

  She still wouldn’t budge and so he reached behind her, shredding the shirt’s thin fabric. Tamsyn gasped, brought her arms up to shield herself but only aided him in stripping the remains of her top and bra off as she finally let go of the arm rests.

  "I’ve wanted you all that time, wanted you that night." So many nights. He slid down her body, kissing away her resistance, melting it with the play of his tongue over her breasts, down her stomach.

  Her legs proved more malleable than her arms. They parted as his mouth trailed lower to the dark fur of her sex. She was wet, her thighs moist, the hair between them slick and beaded.

  She’d been dry as ash for Lonnie. He knew that, had smelled it. Now her scent was liquid spice and all his. He slid his tongue between the plump folds of her sex, touched it to the swollen clit.

  Tamsyn jerked and wrapped her arms around her head, fighting a little grind of her hips before she finally l
ifted herself to him. No music played, no song measured his progress. Her body did that for him, growing hotter and wetter, her muscles flexing and rolling beneath his touch.

  Cruz felt ready to burst from his jeans, his cock a hard thick line against his zipper. His nipples ached. His flesh felt like acid had been dripped onto it. The change, all the nights spent thinking of her while he held himself, none of the sensations came close to having her in front of him, legs spread, constrained moans gurgling up from her throat as she fought to contain herself.

  He slid his tongue lower, entering her to push in as deep as he could go. He felt her contract around him. She whispered his name, her hands dropping to cross over her breasts and grip her shoulders.

  Cruz ran his tongue back up to her clit while his fingers gently explored the opening of her cunt. His other hand ran along her hip, up her waist to cup and squeeze her breast. He broke away to kiss her stomach, to tongue her navel and bite at the soft padding of her hip.

  Sweeter, hotter, sexier than he could have imagined. He wrapped his arms around her hips and lowered his head again, devouring her flavor, bringing her closer and closer to the edge of climax.

  Too close.

  Tamsyn twisted away, rolling over the edge of the recliner’s arm to grab her jeans and press them to her.

  "Tam…baby…" He made it onto his feet and moved cautiously towards her, feeling like he’d left his heart back on the floor.

  "You need to go."

  "No, baby." He reached out for her, tried to get closer but, for every step he took forward, she retreated. "Tam, I love you."

  The look on her face told him he’d just ripped her heart out and tossed it next to his on the ground.

  "Nice try, Medina, but I’m not the dumb, fat whore you think I am."

  He started to say something, but she cut him off with the chop of her hand through the air. "You don’t pull the shit you’ve been pulling for the last two years, look away every damn time you see me, and then say something like that!"

  She stepped over to her bedroom, dropping her jeans as she grabbed the door. "You must think I’m one hell of an idiot."

  She slammed the door and locked it.

  "Just go the fuck home," she yelled through the thin slab of wood, wood so thin it would crack like kindling with one hit from him.