The MacTaggart Brothers Trilogy

by Anna Durand

  He pulled Jamie into his arms and mashed his mouth to hers. She dissolved in his embrace, despite the audience of two watching them.

  I could relate. Aidan's kiss made me forget everything else.

  Aidan pulled away from me, scowling. "Why donnae ye just tear her clothes off right in front of us?"

  Gavin released Jamie, a look of self-satisfaction on his face.

  Oh yeah, he'd done that solely to tick off Aidan. Men. They acted like adults when necessary but reverted to schoolyard tactics when their egos got involved.

  Jamie's cheeks flamed a bright red.

  I hurried around the sofa to her, placing a protective arm around her shoulders. "Both of you, stop harassing the poor girl. Gavin, quit trying to annoy Aidan. And you Aidan, let your sister live her own life. At least she's not in Chicago trolling the clubs. My brother is a good man." I threw Gavin a chastising look. "Most of the time."

  Both men turned their gazes to the floor, suitably chagrined.

  Jamie murmured in my ear, "Will you be my honorary sister?"

  "Wouldn't that make me Aidan's sister?"

  "Not at all." She got a canny glint in her eyes. "But if you marry him, you could be my sister-in-law. Even better than honorary sister."

  I glanced at Aidan, but he was still fixated on the floor. If he'd heard his sister, he didn't let on.

  A breath gusted out of Aidan and he raised his head. "I'm sorry. Won't happen again."

  Gavin looked up as well. "Me too. Sorry."

  "I suppose," I said, "we will accept your half-assed apologies."

  "We will," Jamie concurred.

  My brother looked at her, then at me, a question in his eyes.

  I waved a hand. "Go. Take Jamie to dinner, make out with her in the car, whatever. You're adults, and we —" I shot Aidan a pointed look. "— will not interfere. Will we?"

  Aidan's gaze zeroed in on mine. "You have my word."

  He'd infused the phrase with a depth of meaning I couldn't quite plumb. What he was trying to tell me, I couldn't figure out. No, I did understand. He meant that I could trust his word, trust him not to change into someone else later on, trust him to be honest and faithful forever.

  Maybe I could. Maybe…

  Gavin turned to us girls. "Calli, I am sorry for being such a jerk."

  "I know."

  He took Jamie's hand, guiding her toward the sliding glass doors. As the doors whisked shut behind them, I moved to Aidan and slid my arms around his waist.

  "What shall we do now?" I asked.

  The dog door whacked open as Mandy and Misty blasted through it. They swarmed around our legs, leaping and licking and whimpering with glee.

  Aidan hugged me closer, glancing at the puppies. "Take the furry lassies for a walk, it seems."

  Chapter Thirty

  We meandered back from our walk in the woods, tired puppies trotting alongside us with their tongues lolling. I held Mandy's retractable leash while Aidan gripped Misty's, a task that required the muscles of a strong man given Misty's tendency to pull with all her considerable strength. Aidan had done the impossible, taming my puppy so she walked without yanking him off his feet. As the house came into view behind the trees, an odd noise caught all of our attention.

  Mandy and Misty pricked their ears, canting their heads in the direction of the hunting cabin.

  Trees screened the cabin from our view, where it lay a few hundred feet away. The noise originating from that direction sounded farther away than it likely was. The woods could deceive a person's ears. The keening noise grew louder and quieter in a ululating rhythm and I noted another, less obvious sound beneath it, a noise that resembled grunting.

  "Is that a fox?" Aidan asked, squinting in the direction of the noises.

  A throaty, wordless shout reverberated through the woods. The keening escalated into a high-pitched scream.

  Realization tingled over my skin. "No, that's not a fox."

  Aidan scrunched his brow at me. "What is it…"

  He trailed off as a second, louder shout echoed among the trees and a female voice screamed, "Gavin!"

  Aidan's eyes went so wide I thought they might pop out of his head. "He's fucking my sister, the bastard!"

  The puppies started barking and pulling on their leashes.

  "We better go," I said, "before they hear the dogs."

  He tried to frown, but it wound up as a rueful smile. "Guess this is my punishment for seducing you."

  I patted his cheek. "Your sister's an adult, this was bound to happen sometime."

  "Would've rather not heard it."

  "You'll get over the trauma." Clasping his hand, I led the way back to the house.

  The noise from the cabin ended with another scream as Aidan and I entered the fenced yard. We released the puppies from their leashes and they took off, racing around the yard barking and jumping. Soon, a squirrel high up in a tree snagged their attention. The puppies crouched at the base of the tree, their gazes locked on the critter beyond their reach.

  "They'll be occupied for a while," I said.

  Aidan was staring in the direction of the cabin, his face blank.

  "Don't torture yourself," I said. "They had sex, it's not the end of the world."

  He turned away from the fence and what lay beyond it, hidden in the woods. "I understand how your brother felt when he found us living in the same house."

  "Gavin's not sleeping with your sister as revenge. He wouldn't do anything so petty and sleazy."

  "I know he wouldn't." Aidan folded an arm around my shoulders, hugging me to him. "Jamie wasn't a virgin. She'd been engaged a few years ago and sometimes sneaked back into our parents' house in the early morning, getting caught a few times. That's why she lives with Rory at the moment, for privacy. I don't think she's been with anyone for a good while, though."

  As we strolled across the yard toward the house, I looped my arm around his waist and leaned my head against him. "I was a virgin when I slept with you, but Gavin had no idea about that. We don't talk about sex."

  "I only know about Jamie because I saw her buying condoms." He cleared his throat. "I may have gotten slightly upset about it. She threw the box at me and said she hadn't been a virgin since she was nineteen."

  "She wouldn't have told you if she hadn't been ticked at you?"

  "No. I don't talk about sex with my sisters."

  "You talk about it with your brothers?"

  He pulled the sliding doors open, and we entered the house. Without letting go of me, he pushed the door shut and turned us both until we faced each other. "I talk about sex with my brothers, but I don't share the details."

  "No kiss and tell?"

  "Absolutely not." He screwed up his face in fake disgust. "I don't want to hear about the adventures of Lachlan and Rory and their women."

  I linked my arms around his neck. "Enough about our families. I'd rather talk about what you're going to do to me."

  He cupped my buttocks in his hands, tugging me into his groin — and his hardening penis. "Tell me what you want this time."

  "I have an idea, but it might be silly."

  "Got no problem with silly." He ground his erection into me, its rock-hard length a delicious pressure. "Say it and I'll make your fantasy come true."

  "I know you will." Boosting up onto my tiptoes, I leveled our gazes. "Even though it's daytime, I want you to go into the bedroom, take your clothes off, and get into bed with the lights off. Oh, and shut the curtains too. Make it as dark as possible in there."

  "You want to crawl into my bed in the dark and have your way with me."

  "Because you invited me to do it." I coiled locks of hair around my fingers, toying with the silken strands. "And it's my bed, technically."

  "Our bed. We both sleep in it."

  "True. Our bed, then."

  Aidan stepped backward out of my arms, whipped off his shirt, and tossed it onto the sofa. "Be waiting for
you."

  He strode toward the hallway, disappearing around the corner. When I heard the click of the bedroom door closing, I kicked off my shoes. While I was hopping on one foot to get my socks off, a soft knock sounded at the front door.

  With one foot bare and the other socked, I hurried to the door and peeked out the window beside it, parting the curtains with two fingers.

  Rade stood there, eyes on the door, arms slack at his sides. Dressed in a suit without the jacket and with his tie loosened, he looked like a CEO who'd come from the office after a long day of corporate wheeling and dealing.

  I let the curtains flutter back into position and glanced down the hallway. A naked Aidan waited for me down there. But my husband waited outside, and he wouldn't leave until he'd said whatever he planned to say to me.

  Besides, my car was in the driveway, so he knew I was home.

  Pulling the door open, I frowned at Rade.

  He smiled. "Calli, I've missed you."

  "What do you want?"

  "May I come inside?"

  Considering the naked Scot lounging in bed at this moment, admitting my husband into the house seemed like a bad idea. "Tell me what you came here to say. And make it fast, I've got things to do."

  Someone to do, actually.

  "As you wish," Rade said. He leaned against the doorframe, his expression affable. "I had intended to honor our agreement and give you a divorce, but I realized I can't do it. I don't want to lose you. We've known each other for seven years and it would be a shame to throw away our entire history. Give us a chance."

  "Us?" I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that told me he meant what I thought he meant, but I had to know for sure. "Spit it out, Rade. What exactly are you suggesting?"

  He cast his gaze down to his feet and for the longest moment I worried he wouldn't answer. Then he aimed his dark eyes at me and said, "I love you, Calli."

  I blinked. Swallowed. Blinked some more.

  "You love me?" I said. "Since when? Sure, we knew each other for two years in college, but for years we've hardly had any contact."

  "I've called you twice every month."

  Had he? I didn't keep track, what with more important things to worry about — like jobs and money and family. "We had brief chats about nothing of consequence."

  "I sent you cards and flowers for your birthday and holidays."

  That I did remember. I'd assumed it was friendly gestures, nothing more. "You can't be in love with me."

  "I loved you in college. My feelings have never changed." He fiddled with his tie, doing nothing in particular with it. "I'd hoped living together for six months would reveal your feelings for me, but you still seemed uninterested. I then hoped these years apart would make you realize we need each other, but then you filed for divorce. After everything I've done for you in the past, is it such a terrible imposition to ask for one last chance to win your heart?"

  And there it was. A reminder I owed him.

  "When you paid my debts and my grad school expenses," I said, "you swore there were no strings attached, other than helping you get citizenship."

  "This is not a string. It's a simple request."

  "Simple?" I straightened, one hand on the jamb and the other on the door. "You expect me to fall in love with you. After seven years, don't you think I would have if it were possible? I don't feel that way about you. It's time to let go and move on with your life."

  I glanced down the hallway, wondering why Aidan hadn't come out to see what happened to me. Maybe he had peeked out but decided to stay out of the way instead of coming to my rescue.

  What did I expect Aidan to do? Punch Rade? Beat him senseless and warn him to stay away from me? I could handle this on my own. I had to. Relying on Aidan was a mistake, since he wouldn't be around forever.

  But I wanted him to stay forever.

  "Calli?" Rade said. He'd stepped away from the doorframe, his questioning gaze directed at me. "Are you all right?"

  "No." I swung my focus back to him. "You informed me you want to rewrite the rules of our arrangement. But you can't make me love you, because I'm in love with someone else."

  He jerked as if I'd smacked him. "You can't be."

  "I am. Might as well give me the divorce because I'll never be with you."

  "But…" His head drooped, his entire body sagged. "You might never have loved me anyway, but if I hadn't been such a coward, we might've had a chance at least."

  "Would you really want a relationship built on indebtedness? It wasn't love to you, it was obsession. I'm grateful for everything you did for me, more grateful than you'll ever know. But I've given you five years of my life and it's time to go our separate ways."

  He nodded, his head still bowed. "You are right. I'm sorry for my selfish behavior, for holding on when I should have let you go. Give me the papers, I will stop fighting the divorce."

  "By law, someone other than me has to give you the papers. I'll call the process server."

  "Be assured I will accept the delivery. Have your server come to my house tomorrow morning."

  I touched his shoulder. "Goodbye, Rade. I hope you find what you need."

  As I eased the door shut, he raised his head. The resignation on his face tugged at my heart. He wasn't evil, just misguided and confused.

  The door clicked shut, severing him from my life.

  I watched through the curtains until he'd driven off down the long gravel road, dust pluming up behind his car. I grabbed my phone and called Tanner Pierson, arranging for him to deliver the papers after Rade arrived home tomorrow. After ending the call, I leaned against the desk gazing into the emptiness of the hallway.

  It was over. A lightness rushed through me, as if my head floated high above my body.

  Not over, something inside me whispered. Not over unless he kept his word and accepted the papers. Unless he stopped fighting the divorce. The lightness disintegrated, and I slammed back down to earth. It wasn't over until the divorce was finalized.

  Deflated by the weight settling onto me again, I shambled to the bedroom. The door hung open about six inches, the room beyond steeped in shadows. I eased the door further open, stole inside, and shut the door. The curtains, though thick, permitted a hint of sunlight to filter into the room and reveal an outline on the bed. A long, Aidan-shaped outline.

  The shape moved, and the bedside lamp clicked on, spilling golden light over the bed and onto his body, burnishing his suntanned skin. He lay with one leg outstretched, the other bent so the sheet had slid off to expose the nakedness of his entire leg up to the hip. The sheet covered his privates, draping over his other leg, but the rest of his gorgeous body was on display. He linked his hands behind his head, gazing at me with a tight expression. Despite his casual pose, he was not at ease.

  "That was your husband," he said.

  I nodded. "He claims this time he'll accept the divorce papers. I've decided to believe him and let the process server try one last time."

  "What makes you think your husband will keep his word?"

  "He seemed sincere." I shuffled to the bed, perching on its edge, angled toward Aidan. "Rade said he loves me and wants a chance to win my heart."

  Aidan's arms plunked down on the bed. "What did you say?"

  "No, of course. I don't love him, and I never will. He's done a lot for me and I'm grateful, but gratitude isn't enough to make me feel that way about him."

  Aidan watched me, unmoving, unblinking.

  "There's a bigger reason I can't love him," I said, scooting further onto the bed. "I'm in love with someone else."

  "Who might that be?" No hint of sarcasm or playfulness. He spoke the words with no inflection, not the slightest hint of emotion. Hiding behind a stoic mask, like I'd seen Gavin do so many times.

  I crawled across the bed on hands and knees to crouch beside him. "I love you, Aidan."

  No reaction. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.

  A sm
ile stretched across his face, widening and brightening until a grin of pure joy lit up his entire being. "I love you too, Calli."

  I gave his arm a half-hearted slap. "Why did you say nothing for so long? I thought you were going to reject me and I'd have to sick my vicious puppies on you."

  "Rather get a tongue bath from you." He picked up my hand and splayed it on his bare chest. "Didn't pause to make you worry. I was in shock. After two weeks of working hard to seduce you and make you love me, I finally succeeded."

  "Oh, poor Aidan. Two whole weeks you had to wait." I patted his cheek. "Think of it this way. Lachlan needed an entire month to get Erica to love him."

  "You're right. I outdid Lachie."

  "Sure did." I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Turn off the lamp. It's time for your tongue bath."

  When I sat back, I noticed the sheet had tented over his groin.

  I clambered off the bed as he shut off the light. Disguised by the false twilight, I stripped off my clothes and slithered under the covers, my head beneath the sheet. I found his legs, running my hands up and down the corded lines of his muscular thighs. He was so sexy, so good, so amazing.

  "There's a succubus in my bed," he purred. "Will ye drink the life from me?"

  "Mmm, I think I'll leave you just enough to keep this hard." I closed my fist around his erection. "I've got plans for it."

  Positioned between his legs, I took his cock in my mouth, working it with my tongue and hands, my body stirred to tingling life by the salty flavor of him and the sensation of his cock whisking in and out of my mouth. He writhed beneath me, making desperate noises deep in his throat.

  I released his shaft and laved my tongue over the moist head of his erection.

  "Fuck," he growled.

  "Oh no, we haven't gotten to that yet." I flung the sheet off of us. The fabric billowed and settled down at the foot of the bed with a soft rustling sound. "Condom?"

  "What?" He sounded drunk, or at least dazed.

  "Hand me a condom, please." I rose to my knees, walking forward on them so I knelt astride him. "Unless you want to keep lying there fully aroused and on the verge of coming."