The Clarke Brothers (Complete Series)

by Lilian Monroe

  9

  Madeline

  “Barry, I have all those applications to submit! I can’t stay here!”

  “Cecilia said she needed help. Based on your report from the town hall meeting it sounds like she’s right. You can finish the applications from there. Consider yourself mobilized to site.”

  “You told me this would be temporary, and I’d be back in New York by the end of next week. I don’t even have any clothes with me!”

  Barry sighs on the other side of the line. “Get them packed up by a friend and we’ll pay to ship them to you,” he answers. “You need to stay until this mess is sorted out.”

  “It’s not a mess, Barry. Cecilia has it under control. Her community garden idea is getting a lot of positive support from the townspeople.”

  “We’re going to need more than a community garden, Maddy. You know that,” he answers a little more gently. I take a deep breath and nod.

  “Fine. But you owe me. And I’m expecting an extra allowance for working away from home for this. And a raise.”

  “I knew I could count on you,” he responds. I can hear the smile in his voice. “Send through those applications when they’re ready and I’ll review them as soon as I can.”

  We hang up the phone and I stare at my computer screen, not knowing what to think. I’m sitting in my tiny hotel room, with my laptop wedged on the console table with hardly any room for paperwork. The site offices aren’t ready yet, so this is what I have to work with. I run my hand over my forehead and shake my head from side to side. I need some air.

  I grab a jacket and head out for a walk. When I get to the lobby, I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that Mrs. McCoy isn’t at the front desk. I slip out the door and pick a direction to walk in, letting my feet take me wherever they’ll go.

  The air is brisk, and I look up toward the mountain peaks that are visible all around me. My heartbeat slows and I feel my shoulders relax, as if the mountains around me are soothing me with their presence. I walk down the main road until the buildings become more sparse and the pine trees become more dense. The road’s shoulder is wide enough to walk on, so I just wander until my mind is clear and the only noise I hear is my breath and my own footsteps.

  I don’t know how long I’ve been walking when I spot something in the distance. There are two cars parked on the shoulder in front of me. I can see two men looking under the hood of the closest car and I speed up slightly to see what’s going on.

  It’s not until I’m too close to turn around that I recognize the man from last night’s meeting - Aiden Clarke. He looks up just as I realize it’s him. His gaze hardens and he squares his shoulders toward me. I slow to a stop and the other man turns toward me. I glance at him, frowning slightly when I see the same dark eyes and strong jaw looking back at me. They must be brothers.

  I clear my throat. “Hi,” I say simply.

  “Hi,” Aiden responds. He glances at his brother and then back at me.

  “You having car troubles?” I ask, nodding to his car. He grunts and I silently curse myself for my stupid question. Obviously, he’s having car troubles. “My name is Madeline, by the way. You can call me Maddy.”

  “Aiden,” he growls. “This is Dominic.”

  Dominic nods at me and I nod back. I shift my weight from foot to foot, trying to think of something to say. Aiden’s dark eyes are still boring into me and I try to ignore the spark igniting between my legs. Aiden nods to the pickup behind his.

  “You mind grabbing the wrench from the back of the truck over there?”

  “Sure,” I say right away, glad to have an excuse to avoid his gaze. I shuffle toward the other vehicle and find the wrench in the back of the pickup. I bring it back and hand it to Aiden, who takes it with a nod. I watch as he and his brother work side by side without a word, as if they’ve been doing it all their lives.

  “Aiden,” I hesitate. “I just wanted to say that I heard what you said yesterday, and I want you to know that -”

  “Wanted me to know what?” He interrupts, turning toward me. His eyes are blazing and I take a step back. I don’t know if the beating in my heart is from the look in his eyes or the musky smell that’s making my head spin.

  “I…I just want to reassure you that your concerns were heard. We’re doing everything we can to preserve the natural beauty of the area.”

  “Do you actually believe that?” he asks. His voice is softer, but his eyes are still burning with the same intensity. “Do you actually believe that the company you work for gives a rat’s ass about these mountains?”

  My heart is thumping. I’m trying my hardest to ignore the urge to reach out and touch his chest. I nod my head and swallow.

  “Yes,” I answer. “I do believe that.”

  Dominic snorts and Aiden shakes his head. “You must be new to this industry then,” he says, turning back toward his truck. “Because all they care about is dollars and cents.”

  My heart is thumping and I open my mouth, but I can’t think of anything to say. I desperately want him to look at me again. I want to see that fire in his eyes, and I want to know what he means. I want to see what he sees when he looks at the mountains, and I want to understand why he’s so worried about the construction of the hotel.

  I want to know what he thinks, and why he thinks it.

  I want to know all these things, but all I can do is nod slowly and turn back toward the town. I take a few steps before turning back toward the two brothers.

  “We’re building a community garden,” I say. It feels silly to say it, but I keep talking. “We’re starting next week. Down near the church, on 2nd Street. It would be a great to have you help.”

  Aiden stops moving and turns his head. I can see his profile as he chews on my words. All he does is grunt in response before turning back toward his truck’s motor. My heart sinks ever so slightly and I let my feet take me back toward Lang Creek.

  10

  Aiden

  “What?” I say, maybe a bit too aggressively. Dominic shrugs. His eyebrow is raised and I see the hint of a smile on his face.

  “Nothing,” he replies, turning back to the motor. He nods once. “Should work now. Give it a try.”

  Grateful to be away from his teasing look, I slide into the driver’s seat and turn the key in the ignition. My father’s old truck rumbles to life and Dominic drops the hood back down. He nods at me through the windshield before circling over to the driver’s side window. I roll it down and he pokes his head through.

  “Maybe you should check out this community garden,” he says in his signature gruff voice. His words surprise me, and I’m not quite sure how to respond.

  “Why?” I ask. I know my voice is hard and challenging, but Dominic doesn’t flinch. He just shrugs.

  “Think she likes you,” he says. The grin is back, and I feel my cheeks redden. My brother taps the door of the truck and nods once before walking back toward his own truck. I watch him get into it in the rear-view mirror and then glance forward toward town, in the direction that Madeline disappeared. I shake my head and swing the car around back toward my lonely cabin in the mountains.

  The whole ride back, I think of Madeline. Maddy. She stood in front of me, shifting her weight from side to side. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at me through her eyelashes in a way that made my cock twitch. Even the thought of it now makes it throb between my legs.

  I shift in my seat and try to focus on the road.

  She’s the enemy.

  I need to remember that. No matter how pretty or sexy or charming she is, she represents everything that my father and my brothers stand against. She represents development and the destruction of these forests that we call home.

  Still, the thought of seeing her again makes my heart beat a little bit faster. I know I shouldn’t. I know I should keep my distance, but I can’t help but think about going to help with the community garden project. Maybe it would help me integrate back into the town. Maybe if I start
spending more time down there, the McCoy’s hold on everyone will loosen and we’ll be able to oppose them on this hotel thing.

  I snort as the thoughts pass through my head. The only reason I’d be going down there would be to see Maddy. I wouldn’t care about Lang Creek or the McCoys or my father’s legacy. All I’m thinking of is the weight of my cock and how sensitive it feels as it rubs against my legs.

  When I get in front of the cabin, I kill the engine and swing my legs out of the truck. My footsteps crunch on the gravel as I make my way toward my cabin. I look around and shake my head. What would she think if she came here? She’d think I’m completely feral.

  Maybe I am.

  I’ve gone wild since Dad died, since my brothers moved away and Mara McCoy broke my heart. I don’t go into town, and I stay in this tiny cabin I call home. I walk to the back of the cabin to the outdoor shower and turn it on full blast. The water heats up and steam starts billowing as I peel my clothes off my body. Working on the engine made me sweat, and my clothes are stuck to me. I strip off my jacket, my undershirt, and unbuckle my belt to let my pants puddle at my feet.

  When I step under the hot stream of water, I close my eyes and tilt my head back to let the water wash me clean. I stand there for a few seconds, or minutes, or an eternity. I’m not sure how much time passes before I start moving my hand toward my cock. The water is running down it and dripping off the tip as it starts to get harder.

  I know what’s making it hard. It’s her.

  All I can see is the way she stood in front of the townspeople at the town hall meeting, and the way her tight pencil skirt left nothing to the imagination. I close my eyes and wrap my fingers around my cock, feeling it get thicker and harder as my hand moves up and down my shaft.

  I’d pull that pencil skirt up so it bunched around her waist and I’d ram my cock inside her. I groan as I pump my cock in my hand, thinking of how tight her body would feel as her walls gripped down on me. My other hand goes up to rest against the wall of the shower and the water runs down over my head as I pull my cock until it’s harder than I’ve felt it in years.

  Her skirt would be bunched around her waist and I’d reach back to slap her ass. I can almost hear the sharp crack of skin-on-skin and I can almost see the red handprint of my fingers on her lily white ass. I groan as I think of my hips slamming against her as my cock drives deeper and deeper inside her.

  I’d give anything to pump my seed deep inside her. The thought of coming in her and watching it drip out makes my whole body tense and my balls squeeze up toward my body. My orgasm explodes and I grunt as I let my body shudder and tremble, gripping the wall of the shower as the water drips down my entire body.

  I’m panting. I finally open my eyes and stand up a bit straighter, moving my head out of the stream of water and taking a few deep breaths. Slowly, methodically, I reach for the soap and start washing myself clean.

  I know I shouldn’t have done that. I know I should be keeping my distance and keeping her out of my mind. But still, I haven’t had an orgasm like that in years. As I wash myself clean, my whole body feels more sensitive than before. I wonder what it would feel like to be inside her. If the thought of her makes me explode like that, what would it feel like to have her skin against mine, and to sink my fingers into her? What would it feel like to run my tongue up and down her slit, and slide my fingers inside her?

  I finish washing myself and turn off the shower, taking a deep breath and turning toward the back of the shower wall.

  “Fuck,” I say under my breath, as I see the empty hook where I keep my towel. I must have left it inside. I gather my dirty clothing and start walking around to the front of the cabin. I’m still imagining Maddy’s body and I don’t notice the car in the driveway. I don’t notice her standing at my front door with her hand raised to knock until she sees me around the corner and yelps.

  Our eyes meet for an instant before her gaze drops to take in my nakedness. Her cheeks redden and my cock gets instantly hard. I move my bundle of clothes to cover myself as she looks at the ground beside me.

  “Sorry! I’m sorry! I…”

  “It’s okay. One sec,” I say, shuffling by her and opening the door. I slip inside and close the door behind me, my heart thumping against my ribcage as I look down at my naked body. My face flushes as I think about what I was just doing. She’d be a lot more embarrassed if she knew I’d just had the best orgasm I’ve had in years thinking of her.

  11

  Madeline

  He goes inside and I rush back to my car. My heart is thumping. I don’t know what to do. I just came up here to ask him once again to help with our community garden. I wasn’t expecting to see him completely naked, walking around outside like some kind of Tarzan.

  Actually, I’m not sure why I came up here. I’ve been telling myself it’s for the project, but now that I’m here – I don’t know. I think I just wanted to see him again. I wanted to have his eyes on me, and I wanted to see his broad shoulders and his muscular arms.

  I’ve seen them now, and much more. I grab the car door handle and pull it open. My cheeks are burning and my heart is bouncing against my ribcage. I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the image that’s been burned into my mind.

  His chiseled, muscular body turned the corner and all I could see was that thick cock swinging between his legs. His abdominal muscles seemed to funnel my gaze straight down to his shaft and the wetness immediately started pooling between my legs.

  As I stand next to my car, I close my eyes and enjoy the pulsing of my center for just a second. I haven’t felt this turned on in years. I take a deep breath and shake my head.

  This is wrong.

  Everything is wrong. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be imagining him naked. I shouldn’t have seen him naked! I put a foot into the car and start climbing in when the front door opens and he reappears.

  He’s wearing pants now, if nothing else. His shoulders are broad and defined, and I can still see that ‘v’ shape of his abdominals that seems to be pointing to the girth between his legs. My cheeks start to burn again and I look away.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I should go.”

  “No!” he exclaims, taking a step toward me. He runs his fingers through his hair and bites his lip. My heart does a flip and the wetness between my legs seeps through my panties.

  I want him.

  I shake my head and grab a brochure from the passenger seat of my car.

  “I was just going to bring you this. I know that you’re worried about the hotel and how it’ll impact your property. I want you to know that I’ve heard your concerns.”

  He takes the brochure without looking at it. His eyes are glued on mine and it takes all my self-control to not let my eyes wander down to his bare chest. My hands are itching to reach toward him, to touch his skin and smell his musk.

  I shake my head slightly and shrug.

  “Anyway, I should be getting back,” I mumble, starting to climb back into my car.

  “Can I show you something?” he asks. His voice is soft and his eyes seem to plead with me. I hesitate. I’m torn. Part of me just wants to stay near him, to hear his voice and look at his body. Every time his eyes pass over my body it sends a thrill through me. I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t. I open my mouth to give some excuse when he holds up his hand.

  “Let me grab a shirt. Stay here.”

  Usually I’d be offended at being ordered around like that, but I do exactly as he says. My feet stayed rooted to the ground and my hand stays glued on top of the car door as I watch him jog back to his cabin and re-emerge, pulling on a t-shirt. His head pops through and he grins at me. His hair is disheveled and his eyes have a lightness to them when he looks at me.

  He runs his fingers through his hair again and nods to a path next to the cabin.

  “Come on,” he says.

  My feet carry me toward him. We walk side by side on the pathway until it becomes too narrow, and then he leads the way. We
walk in silence, and I watch the way his ass curves with every step. He pushes branches out of the way, careful to lift them for me as I pass under them. He smiles at me and my heart jumps in my chest. We continue like that for an unknown amount of time, winding our way up the mountain.

  The path switches back and forth until the trees thin and we get to a viewpoint. Aiden stops and turns toward me, extending his hand to help me climb a big boulder on the edge. I shake my head.

  “I’ll stay here,” I say, peering over the edge. “I’m fine.”

  He grins and extends his hand again. “Come on.”

  I slip my fingers into his and an electric thrill passes through my arm, all the way down to my core. The apex of my thighs is still pulsing and I can feel the wetness of my panties with every step. He pulls me up beside him and we stand on the boulder, overlooking the wide expanse of the Adirondack Mountains below us. I’m hyper aware of his body next to mine as we stand close to each other. It takes me a few moments to take in anything except his presence. When my eyes do sweep over the view, it steals what’s left of my breath away.

  “Wow,” I breathe. “It feels like we’re on top of the world.”

  Aiden doesn’t answer. Instead, he points to a bird gliding through the sky. “Peregrine falcon,” he says. “There’s only a handful of them in these mountains.”

  He turns to the left and points down the mountainside. “That river has no less than three endangered fish species.”

  I look at the river he’s pointing to, and my gaze travels up to the wide swath of land that’s been cleared for the hotel. I feel a lump in my throat and I try to swallow.

  “The hotel…”

  “They won’t survive,” he says. “No matter how much sediment protection, how much water treatment, how many signs and warnings and fees you impose on tourists, it won’t matter.” He turns to face me and I see a deep sadness in his eyes. “This is why the people of Lang Creek don’t want this hotel. Don’t take it personally.”