by Fiona Archer
Seth sighed. “I’m saying you have to give me time. You turn up, tell me your side of the story, and I believe you. No problem. But there’s a whole other story going on here. I have brothers and a life that has some serious complications right now. I need to deal with that first.” Before whoever was out there destroyed his family, his company, or the woman who’d taken a feature role in his life. And truthfully, he needed to make sure Lincoln played no part in those complications before Seth invited him back into his life. He lifted his hand and let it fall back down. “That’s the reality of where we’re at, Lincoln.”
Lincoln worked his jaw like a prizefighter eyeing his opponent seconds before the first bell sounded. After a moment, he spoke. “And this wonderful new reality includes someone assuming your identity on social media and trying to sabotage the sale of your company?”
Seth froze. The space across the table seemed to contract. All the noise around him faded into the background.
He spoke in a low, menace-laden voice. “Wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
“Jesus, you’re a piece of work.” Lincoln slammed his fist on the table. Both men ignored the stares of the nearby patrons. “You really don’t know me at all if you could wonder if that’s possible.”
“That’s my point, Lincoln.” Seth studied the man that, if under different circumstances they’d met through mutual friends, he’d probably like, maybe even develop a deep friendship with straight away. “I don’t know you. As adults we’re strangers.” He pulled out his wallet and grabbed a business card, then slid it over the table to Lincoln. “All my contact numbers are on there. Text me yours and I’ll call.” He slid out of the booth and stared down at Lincoln. “Give me the time I need. A couple of weeks. If you do that, we can get together again.” Seth wanted to say more, but until he knew Lincoln wasn’t involved in his current troubles, he needed to stay cautious. With a nod, he faced the front of the pub and walked out.
Tight, twisting pain churned deep in his gut. Never in his life had he hated his grandmother with such venom as he did in that moment.
****
Harper closed the top of the last Chinese takeaway container and placed the food in Seth’s fridge. At least the meals could be eaten later. Her stomach had been tied in knots as she’d waited for him to return from his meeting with Lincoln. She’d ordered the food to keep some sense of normalcy to the evening. A futile attempt as it turned out. Neither of them was hungry.
She rested her hands on the counter’s hard, cool marble top and watched Seth sitting on the charcoal colored sofa, his elbows on his knees, shoulders stiff as he stared at the blank TV screen. He hadn’t moved for the last twenty minutes since his return to the apartment.
What had happened at O’Shaughnessy’s? She couldn’t imagine how it would feel after so many years apart for the brothers to be in each other’s company. And not only the time apart but to now be an adult and not the child you were the last time you saw that person? Would it feel weird? Or could the bond you shared from years ago still be there, even if it was buried below reservation and maybe even some anger?
So far, her attempts to lure Seth into conversation had drawn one-word answers and the occasional frustrated sigh. Not a great scorecard.
If she could just distract him, bring him back from where he was in his head to being with her.
Maybe if she sat with him, watched something mindless on the TV he’d relax? She checked her watch. Seven-thirty. Still early enough to try and make some headway.
“Seth, you want a beer?”
He glanced her way, his gaze unfocused before her words seemed catch. “Sure, thanks.” His distracted tone added to the air of isolation that had surrounded him since he’d walked back through the door.
She opened the fridge and pulled out two beers. The labels were a local Fremont brewery, one of her favorites. The longneck bottles clinked in her hands as she searched for a bottle opener. After popping the caps, she carried the drinks to the sofa and sat next to Seth with her legs tucked under her. He kept facing front as she slid the bottle into his hands, but he nodded his thanks.
A quick check on Mal confirmed he was still fast asleep snuggled up among his new toys on the bed at Seth’s feet. “My kitty loves his new bed. Thanks, handsome.”
Seth glanced down, likely noticing the kitten for the first time since his return. “Little bugger’s made himself at home.” He gave a fleeting smile.
“Yeah.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. Her hand rested on his arm. The muscles under her fingers tensed under her touch. She squeezed gently, strengthening her presence. “You helped make that happen, honey.”
Seth glanced back to the TV. “You haven’t asked me yet.”
“What about?”
“How things went with Lincoln.” He took a long pull of his beer
She held her breath. Dangerous ground. Did she risk being honest and admit her curiosity was at fever pitch? That she was waiting for him to make the first move?
“I guessed from your unsettled mood that your discussion didn’t go well.”
He shrugged, the action causing her hand to slide down his arm. She curled her fingers into her palm. Seth finally turned to her, his gaze watchful. “Not as well as I would have liked. But I ended up making my position clear.”
“And that was?”
“I needed some time to deal with whoever’s attacking my family. Once that’s over, we could meet again.”
The flatness of Seth’s tone unnerved her. Lincoln was his brother. How could he—
She bit her lip. Don’t judge, Harper. Besides, she didn’t know any of the facts.
But still, Lincoln had hired people, had crossed an ocean to find Seth. He didn’t do that on a whim. This brother was invested in reuniting with Seth.
“What if Lincoln decides to try before you’re ready?”
“He’ll end up disappointed.”
“Did you...” She stopped. How could she phrase this? Maybe just say it straight. “Is it partly because of your other brothers you won’t see Lincoln again? You feel a sense of loyalty to them?”
“When he was ten, Lincoln told a lie. He stole money and denied it was him, which most kids would do when cornered. I got the blame.” Seth’s gaze drilled into her, holding her in place. “Gran rang the cops. I got taken away and made a ward of the state. It was a week before my twelfth birthday.”
But how could his grandmother have done such a horrible thing? “You were just a kid.”
“Didn’t matter. Bitch hated me from the time I was born.” Seth dropped his gaze to his hands holding his beer. “She resented like hell taking us in when mum OD’d.” He lifted a finger. “No, correction. Gran didn’t want me. Lincoln was okay, but I was the spawn of the devil.”
“I don’t understand. Nobody gives up a child because they stole money.” What kind of monster could be so unforgiving? “Whether they’re guilty or not.”
“She did. That’s the last time I saw her.” He reached for the TV remote, as if they were done talking.
He had to be kidding. Harper snatched the device out of his hands. “Handsome, there’s got to be more to the story.”
The muscles around his mouth tightened. He wanted the subject closed. But something told Harper her big Aussie needed to let out the poison building inside of him and turning him into this withdrawn machine. Expecting the easy-going charmer she’d come to know would be too much after this afternoon’s events. But this cold, closed off man was a stranger.
“Please, Seth. Help me to understand.”
Seth rose in one fast movement and prowled around the living area, holding his beer with one hand and the other fisted by his side.
Harper sat back and remained quiet.
“All right, Harper. You want to know?” His gaze collided with hers. “When Social Services takes you away, they don’t tell you you’re never coming back. Kids scream and cry when that happens. So they say shit like ‘we’re just
going to have a chat’. But you know in the way your gut hurts like a motherfucker that there’ll be no happy ending.”
Oh, God. She swallowed and reminded herself Seth needed this, needed to vent, to get out the poison.
His lowered his beer onto the birch dining table with a ‘thunk’. “They dumped me with different families. Two weeks with one. Three with another. Trying to find the ‘right fit’.” He made air quotes with his fingers. “Then they found the ultimate family for me. Two drunks. Childless.” He stared beyond her out the huge windows at the skyline and buildings beyond. “When the child protection officer came for her visit two weeks later, she told me that unless my life was in immediate danger, my foster parents giving me a hard spanking wasn’t her top priority.”
His gaze pierced her. A horrible sickening feeling filled her belly. But he had to share; someone had to know what he went through.
When he next spoke Seth’s voice had hardened with disgust. “Since when were two broken ribs a hard spanking?”
“Oh, Jesus.” How could anyone hurt a child that way?
“Foster kids learn quickly they’re on their own. Not just that they’re apart from those they live with, but everyone around them, too. The parents of your fellow classmates don’t want their child hanging with the boy who comes from a bad home.”
To feel so alone. At least she’d had Nitro, and in some sense, her sister. And Greta, too. And she’d never been beaten.
“I’d planned for weeks getting back to Lincoln, sneaking him away from that old bitch.” He lowered himself into a dining chair and slowly turned his gaze on her. “I worried what she’d done to him while I was gone. The day I snuck back, I got so close. Nobody spotted me hiding. I saw Lincoln. He was so happy playing with a neighbor’s kid. I’d planned snatching him for months, and there he was, riding a new bike.”
Her throat clogged with emotion, making it hard to swallow.
She listened as Seth told her Lincoln’s explanation of his Gran’s twisted blackmail to keep him in line, and of Seth returning to his foster parents.
Her heart shattered for both boys. They had been so close to reuniting. How they would have survived was anyone’s guess, but still, there had been that chance.
“By the time I reached fourteen I’d been hospitalized four times. Each visit for something different. The last time was a broken wrist. I came out of x-ray. Saw some cops talking to my foster parents. I told the orderly I needed to take a piss, and the guy wheeled me away. I climbed out the toilet window.” He glanced at Harper, his voice hard, cold. “That was the night I took control of my life. If I fucked up, it was down to me, not a bunch of adults that didn’t give a damn. And God, did I fuck up. Barely getting away from a do-gooder who turned out to be a pimp. Going to save a woman crying only to have her and boyfriend take my last ten dollars.” He shook his head. “I learned fast you do what it takes to survive or get eaten alive.”
“Oh, Seth.” Hot tears scalded her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hands.
He lifted out his arm. “Come here, Harper.”
She went to him and sat on his lap. The warmth and strength of his body calmed her, but she wanted to ease his pain, not the other way around.
He cupped her face. “I didn’t tell you this so that I could have your sympathy.” His thumb brushed over her cheek. “I shared my story so you’d understand I’m done with that part of my life. For Lincoln and me to have a chance, we need to start a new chapter, and that takes time and opportunity. But right now, I need my energies elsewhere. He knows where I stand. Promise me, if he somehow contacts you, you’ll tell me, and I’ll deal.”
She sniffled. “But—”
“Sweetness.” He pressed his fingers over her lips. “No more. Not tonight.”
His blue eyes held no confusion, no wistfulness. Only determination.
In her heart, she didn’t want to give up on him and Lincoln finding that second chance. But she needed to be patient and hoped Lincoln was, too.
Seth wrapped his other hand in her hair, pulling her face closer to his. “As I walked home, the one good thing was knowing you’d be here.” He kissed her forehead and cheek before trailing a path down her neck.
Her insides melted at the confirmation he wanted her here, in his space. “I plan on being here a fair bit in the future.”
“I like the sound of that. The last couple of days I’ve been looking forward to seeing you. Been half hard the whole time just thinking about you.”
She leaned close, her breasts hitting his chest as their mouths collided. His kiss was at first gentle, as if testing how ready she was to change gears emotionally. Harper leaned harder against him, giving him the sign she wanted more.
Seth’s kiss grew more urgent, matching his hard grip on her hair. He moved his other hand to cup her bottom and squeezed firmly. Heat raced through her at the roughness of his touch.
Harper’s need shifted from wanting to give him comfort to seeking their mutual pleasure. Her arousal dampened her panties. Days she’d been without him. Now he was close, and her impatient longing bloomed to devastating urgency for the feel of him inside her, taking her.
He rose with her in his arms. His show of strength thrilled her, made her feel feminine as she looped her arms around his neck. With hurried strides, he carried her down a hallway and into a bedroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed large windows showcasing the setting sun, but then she was on a bed and he was on top of her. Such a delicious, heavy weight. They clawed at each other’s clothing as their mouths dueled for possession.
Seth straddled her hips. “Arms up.” She complied a second before he tore her top over her head, quickly followed by her bra. Gripping his shirt, she dragged the material up as far as her reach allowed, and he did the rest. “Lift your hips.” She grinned and dug her heels into the bed. Her skirt and panties soon joined the rest of her clothing on the floor. The next moment, he was stripping off his jeans and reaching into the drawer of the nightstand.
“Let me.” She plucked the condom from his hand, ripped open the packet, and slid the thin covering over his cock. Trailing her knuckles along the underside of his length, she smiled at the way his hardness bobbed in readiness.
“Enough teasing.” Seth pushed her back on the bed. She landed on the far side. “Hands above your head. Lock them together.”
Her core clenched at his forceful tone. She’d missed this—his controlling attitude in the bedroom. She obeyed, not taking her gaze off him as he pushed her knees wide and settled between her legs.
The light from the window behind him framed his large body. Wide, muscled, and strong.
His fingers trailed over the top of her inner thigh. “Going to fuck you tonight, Harper. You ready for that?”
Yes. “As long as you get me home, handsome.”
He gently slapped the soft flesh of her pussy. She sucked in a breath. The sting ignited a fiery trail deep inside. He grazed his thumb on the sensitive skin just above her clit “Always look after you, coffee girl.”
She licked her lips as he swiped once more. So, so close. “I know.”
“I’m going to take you hard. You’re going to accept all of me,” Seth ordered. She jerked as he slid two fingers through her wetness and glided them over her clit with the merest touch. “You’ll take my cock in your pussy or your mouth, whatever I decide.”
“Yes.” She would give him that and so much more if he’d let her.
Wanting to hold him, she started to lower her arms.
“Keep still.” He spanked the side of her right thigh. “No touching.”
“But I want to feel you.”
His smile reached his eyes in a wicked glint. “Tonight, it’s about what I want.” He shoved two fingers inside her, twisting in her warmth. His fingers bumped the heart of her desire, igniting tremors along her inner walls.
She opened her mouth wide. “Oh God, Seth.”
His lips closed over her clit and all thought fled fr
om her mind. He was ruthless, sucking with long hard tugs that first shocked and then thrilled her. How could she like this? Didn’t she always like to start out soft there? But his actions were so…raw.
Seth released the bundle of nerves from his mouth with a popping sound. Only now he used his tongue, circling and strumming, pressing with the very tip until she writhed with desperate yearning.
But that was just the start as he continued to tease and torment with his fingers. Short, fast strokes followed by slow, swirling movements, never letting her get used to his touch. Her arousal grew into a tight, hot swirling mass of hunger that started from her legs and shoulders and drew inward coalescing in her center.
She opened her mouth to plead for mercy, but it was too late as the building crescendo burst into a shattering orgasm. One tremor chased another and another. She soon lost count as she rode out the maelstrom of pleasure.
Her head rolled to the side. She blinked and looked back up at Seth.
His features were partially shadowed as his wide shoulders were backlit by the setting sun, giving his face an air of darkness.
Seth’s deep voice matched her view. “Now you’re ready.”
She let her head sink back on the bed. Hell. And she’d challenged him to get her home? How foolish can a girl get?
****
He rose up on his knees and slid his hands under Harper’s hips, lifting her to accept him. As his cock nudged her entrance, her quick indrawn breath was sweet music to his ears. “Taking you, girl.”
In one hard thrust, he plunged inside her. The tight, hot walls of her pussy gripped him so fucking hard he nearly lost his mind. Rocking his pelvis, he began to move, slowly then faster, letting his need dictate his pace. Harper’s loud moans and her fingers clawing at the pillow proved her pleasure matched his. He could be a selfish bastard, but he’d never leave her behind.
Never. He’d take her with him. Protect her. Mark her as his.
His hunger intensified, grew deeper. Darker. He needed to brand her so thoroughly that she believed she belonged to him. Part of his mind questioned the timing, but he refused to listen as he kept thrusting, and flicked his thumb over her clit, smiling at her desperate little cry.