Men in Control: Special pack: The Smith Brothers Series

by Brenda Ford

Oh my God. The hurricane is here.

  Chapter Four – Nelson

  Angelo has been ranting downstairs for the last hour or so, yelling at Wesley about Mandy. Apparently, he has just discovered that she’s been having an affair… which I think only comes as a surprise to him. Everyone else has been able to see that Mandy is bad news for ages. We’ve all tried to tell him, but he hasn’t ever wanted to listen.

  Well, now I guess he doesn’t have any choice. He has to hear it.

  I know that I should go down the stairs to support my older brother soon, but to be honest I have my own issues to deal with. One problem in particular that gets worse every single day.

  Miss Clark. Miss Amelia Clark, my English teacher from high school who lives next door with her daughter, Rosie. Miss Clark who I have spent torturous years fantasizing about while sitting in her class and living next door to her. I can’t escape her. I can’t have an attraction to anyone my own age because she’s always there, playing with me like a toy, knowing that I want only her.

  Even now, I can’t assist my brother in his hour of need because she’s changing by her bedroom window, letting me see all of her, knowing that my eyes are feasting upon her. She might never look my way, but no woman spends such a long time brushing her fingers delicately over her pert nipples if she doesn’t want to be seen. She fucking loves it; I think she needs a voyeur and she wants it to be me. Sometimes, we lock eyes in class, and I can see the spark there. The knowledge that me and her have a dirty little secret which constantly gets more intense.

  My fingers drift down towards my rock hard cock as my head spins with lust. I can’t think straight as I look at her, she turns me into this primal needy animal who can barely control himself. All I want to do is rush over there, to forget about the fact that I’m only eighteen years old and she’s in her early forties, closer to Brad’s age than mine. Really, it should be Rosie that I want to see since she’s just turned twenty and is beautiful as well, but she doesn’t captivate me like this incredible older woman does.

  Her experience will allow her to show me the way, I just know that she’ll be as commanding and bossy in bed as she is in the classroom. It’s too much for me, I can’t stop myself from stroking my cock as I watch her.

  I graduate soon. And in only a few weeks, I’m going to make my move. I’ll change this from just a fantasy to reality. She won’t be able to say no, not when she wants me just as much as I do, and she won’t get in trouble with that either.

  It’ll be taboo, but not life ruining. Perfect.

  I gasp as she turns towards the front facing window and she shows me all of her tight body. I pick up the pace as my eyes flicker up and down her thin strip of pubic hair. She’s soaking between those thighs, I can just tell, and I cannot wait until I’m buried deep inside of her, feeling it all.

  “Fucking hell,” I splutter as I erupt far too quickly, covering myself in a mess. “Fucking hell, Miss Clark. Even in my mind, you’re too much.”

  So many nights have been spent dreaming about bending her over at her classroom desk, fucking her on that giant bed of hers, pressing her up against that window and just claiming her as my own.

  We will have our time. It’s coming. She just doesn’t know it yet.

  Once I’ve cleaned myself up, I grab my cell phone and I scroll through the messages. Alice, Kayla, Rochelle… they all want me to hang out with them. The three friends have fallen out over me many a time, and according to rumors, they aren’t the only ones. But it’s pointless. They will never have the part of me that Miss Clark has. They don’t seem to realize that they are wasting their time…

  But maybe I should throw one of them a bone, just for one night. Just to get some of this frustration out of my system before I get to the real deal. Perhaps it would be better for me to lose my virginity before I get to Miss Clark. I don’t want her to think I don’t know what I’m doing.

  But which girl would I pick? Alice, with her dark hair like Miss Clark? Kayla with the same green eyes? Or how about Rochelle who’s completely different so there isn’t any chance of me mixing up my fantasy…

  “Holy shit!” Oliver bursts through my bedroom door without even knocking, as if privacy means nothing to him. Good job it’s now and not a few moments ago.

  “What’s going on?” I drop my cell phone, forgetting about everyone else.

  “Can’t you hear it? That nightmare downstairs?”

  “Oh, right.” I roll my eyes. “Angelo has just realized that his girlfriend is an asshole. Yeah, I heard it. I could have saved him a lot of time and heart ache if he’d just listened to me sooner.”

  “Who do you think it is?” Oliver flops down on my bed. “Who is she screwing? You can’t really tell from the picture the mysterious number sent. It’s just a shadowy figure.”

  “Do you definitely know that it’s Mandy then?”

  “Oh, she is clear as day. It’s just the guy.”

  “I don’t know.” I shrug helplessly. “But I feel sorry for whoever it is. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of Angelo’s wrath.”

  “No, me neither.” Oliver shudders. “It’s going to be a real shit show. Of course, we are all going to get dragged into it as well because we will have to support him. Then Brad will want to do things the sensible way and not fight because he doesn’t ever want any of us to get into trouble…”

  “I wonder whatever happened with his ‘perfect woman’. I guess we won’t find out for a while because we can’t exactly ask Angelo about our brother’s love life while his is such a mess.”

  Oliver falls into a thoughtful silence and I can tell that he didn’t just come here to speak about our brothers. This will either be about me or him. I seriously hope it isn’t about me. I don’t want to get into any sort of conversation about my love life. It’s safe to say that no one will approve.

  “So, Rosie…” Ah, okay. It isn’t about me. It’s about Oliver and his long term best friend, Miss Clark’s daughter.

  Fucking hell, I might be about to create a shit show of my own.

  “What’s going on with Rosie?”

  His head falls into his hands before he starts talking again. I have always had the suspicion that Oliver’s feelings for Rosie go a little deeper than just friendship, but if I even dare to suggest that he loses his damn mind.

  “She has just broken up with Tristian… or more, she found him cheating on her.”

  “Shit, it seems to be everywhere at the moment!”

  “Right. Only there’s some big work event at the company she’s at, where he works as well, and he’s going with the girl he cheated on her with.”

  “That’s harsh.” I shake my head sadly. “Poor chick.”

  “Right. So, of course I never met Tristian, she knew he would be too jealous of our friendship to handle it…”

  “Which makes a lot of sense now we know he’s a cheat!”

  “Exactly.” Oliver nods, but I can’t help noticing all the color has gone from his cheeks. “So, she wants me to go and act like her boyfriend.”

  “You’re going to, right? Being her best friend?”

  He doesn’t answer for a couple of seconds which is definitely strange. I know that he’ll do anything for Rosie, so the fact that he’s even hesitating for a moment is odd.

  “Yeah, I should, shouldn’t I?”

  “Of course you should! She needs you. You have to be there.”

  “Right.”

  “Oliver, what the hell is going on? You’re acting strange. Is there some reason why you don’t want to take Rosie to the event?”

  This might be the moment he finally confesses all and tells me that he loves her. I brace myself, a scenario spinning in my mind of them finally getting together, which will put an even bigger knife into me and Miss Clark.

  That won’t stop me though. However complicated and messy it will get, I won’t care. I’ve waited for this for too long. She’s the only woman I have ever wanted. I can’t sacrifice that for anyone. Even my
brother.

  “I just have a feeling that it’s going to be bad.”

  “No.” I shake my head hard. “That isn’t good enough, Oliver. Just tell me what the fuck is going on. I can help you, you know?”

  My breaths become labored. I can front as much as I like and tell myself that I don’t care about the consequences of my feelings, but the truth is I can’t lose my brothers. They are all that I have.

  “I don’t know.” He finally backs out from telling me anything which leaves me incredibly frustrated. “I just think everything is going to get fucked up.”

  As I gaze out the window towards Miss Clark’s now empty bedroom, I know that he’s right. Change seems to be in the air for all the Smith brothers. I just hope that at least some of it is good. We haven’t always had the best of times, not that I can remember life being at its worst since I was only two years old at the time, but I’m pretty sure we deserve some luck.

  Chapter Five – Oliver

  I should have just told Nelson the truth. I should have told him that I’m scared to take Rosie to this party because I’m afraid of rejection. Scared of screwing everything up between me and her.

  She’s the one person in the world that I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with. My best friend, the person that I have shared everything with. She’s been my rock and I have done the same for her.

  If I say anything and this all gets fucked up, then I will lose the most important person in my life. I will basically be left with no one.

  Why didn’t I tell Nelson? Initially I went to speak to my only brother in a long term relationship for some advice, but he was in the middle of a crisis of his own, so I tried Nelson… only I couldn’t get the words out. Probably because it would make it that much more real.

  I don’t want it to be real. It’s a nightmare because it’s real. I just want it to be over and to never think of the girl next door like that again.

  “You look nice.” Her soft voice comes from behind me, making me jump. I should have known that she would just walk into my bedroom like she belongs here. She does it all the time. “I like you in a suit.”

  My eyes run down her body, drinking in the glamorous figure hugging red dress which shows off her voluptuous curves perfectly.

  “You look incredible yourself,” I reply stiffly, trying so hard not to allow my true feelings out. “Tristian will be kicking himself.”

  And if he isn’t, I might well kick his ass for him. How he could have the perfect woman and treat her like shit is beyond me. Didn’t he realize how lucky he was? Well, now it’s my job to make sure that he doesn’t get lucky again. I don’t know if I will ever be able to have Rosie, but I can’t let him hurt her again. She doesn’t deserve it.

  “You think so?” She pushes up her breasts as if they need to be even more pert, and she spins around to show me the delicious curve of her ass in that dress. “I don’t know if it looks as good as I thought it did in the store. It always looks different under that soft, flattering lighting.”

  It’s almost impossible for me to say anything with the thick ball of emotion lodged in my throat. But I need to. Right now, more than ever, Rosie needs reassurance from me.

  “Rosie Clark, he will be losing his mind over you. He will be begging you to take him back.”

  “Good.” For a second her face is unreadable. Horror strikes me as I fear she might want him to want her again and that she wants to get back with him. Do I tell her that cheaters never change, or will that make her hate me? But before I need to say anything, her expression darkens. “Then I can smack him in his stupid face.”

  She reaches out to take my hand and I slip my fingers between hers. Immediately electricity bolts through me, a new feeling that started a while back. I can’t pin point the exact moment. It just crept up on me as I stare at her but she doesn’t seem to notice it though. It must be one sided.

  Idiot, I tell myself angrily. Just focus on being Rosie’s friend.

  Tonight is huge. I don’t know how I can tell; it just feels obvious. Something will happen. I might have to try and not allow it to so things will stay the same. The last thing I need is to lose Rosie completely. I won’t be able to handle life without her.

  “Is he looking?” Rosie whispers to me for what feels like the hundredth time. Every single time she focuses on him instead of us, my heart sinks. I want to tell myself that it’s a good thing because it stops everything from getting more complicated than it already is, but it isn’t working. “Or is he still dancing with Little Miss Pert Boobs?”

  I glance over at Tristian to see him looking right back at me. If Rosie wants to make him jealous then she doesn’t need to worry. It’s definitely working. The green monster is dancing behind his eyes and I just know that it won’t be long before he’s trying to get her alone.

  Will she kiss him or hit him? I really don’t know.

  “He’s looking,” I mutter quietly, my heart shattering as I do.

  “He is?” She tosses her hair over her shoulder and laughs loudly. It’s so damn obvious what she’s doing and that makes it even more frustrating.

  “Yes, and now his girlfriend has noticed so she’s yelling.”

  “She is?” Rosie lights up like a damn Christmas tree. “Oh my God!”

  “Yep. She’s shoving him away.” Fucking hell, I don’t want to be watching this scene unfold over Rosie’s shoulder. I want to stare at her instead. “Now he’s begging her to stay but she’s storming off anyway…”

  “Now what?” She grips my arms tight. “Is he following her?”

  Tristian looks longingly at Rosie. It’s obvious to me where he wants to be. I need to act, to do something, to stake my claim… panic grips me, I just know that if I don’t do something soon, I risk losing her forever. So, without giving myself even a single second to talk myself out of it, I grab the back of her head and I pull her to me for a kiss.

  As my lips collide with hers, the world stops spinning. Everyone around us melts away into nothingness. That chemistry I could feel brewing, the electricity that I just knew was there, explodes. It’s like a nuclear blast, getting rid of absolutely everything else. There’s only me and Rosie left.

  For a split second, her body stiffens. I think the shock of my actions has gotten to her, but then she molds into me and locks her arms tightly around my waist, fixing me in place. As our lips move in unison and her tongue even darts in to my mouth for a second, I’m certain that everything I’ve been feeling is right.

  The girl who has been under my nose the entire time, my best friend, the one I wasn’t supposed to ever fall for is the one. This is incredible. My hands make their way up in to her hair as I imagine our incredible future together. The wonderful wedding, the big family, us growing old together, always getting along because we were friends before lovers….

  It’s perfect and as we pull apart and I see the glazed over thoughtful look in her eyes I know that she can see it too.

  I have no idea where we will go from here, but I’m determined to find out.

  “Is he coming over?”

  “Who?” I ask, stupidly forgetting what she thinks we’re here for.

  “Tristian. That’s why you kissed me, right?”

  Oh, fucking hell. Fuck sake, what a god damn mess. I’m here stupidly thinking of my happy ever after and she’s still stuck on him.

  “Er…” I glance over her shoulder, blinking quickly so no accidental emotion leaks out. “He was, but it’s worked. He’s gone now.”

  What the hell is wrong with Rosie? She looks disappointed, like she wanted him to speak to her. He cheated on her and disrespected her, and she still wants him. Even the magic of that special kiss did nothing to change her mind.

  “I…” I need to get away from this situation before it swallows me up whole. I can already feel the walls closing in on me, shutting me down. If I had just spoken to one of my brothers about this, they might have warned me this was going to happen. “I just need to go to the bathroom. I won’t b
e long.”

  “Sure.” She smiles thinly, still with him at the forefront of her thoughts. “I’ll get us some more drinks.”

  I race to the bathroom with my phone clutched between my fingers and I call the first name I come to, the brother I talked to last, and I call him.

  “What’s going on?” Wesley cries out, happy as always.

  “Wesley, I’m in a fucking mess.” I rake my shaky fingers through my hair. “I just made a real hash of things. I… I kissed Rosie.”

  “Rosie?” The shock is evident in his voice. “No way, bro. That was your first mistake. You never kiss someone that you actually like. That’s how you end up in trouble.”

  “Then who the hell am I supposed to kiss?”

  “Anyone but Rosie, you idiot. How are you going to make things right now?”

  I don’t have an answer to that. In fact, this whole conversation has been a giant waste of my time. It’s left me with more questions than answers.

  “I don’t know what I’ll do, but I need to do it now before I screw everything up forever.”

  “Good luck!” he replies. “And next time kiss someone you don’t care about. Or better yet, someone you hate!”

  He’s so weird. I don’t know why I came to him first. No, I need to follow my own advice and just talk about this. Communication is key to any relationship and I want to start that early if we have even a chance in hell of surviving. I just need to take in a couple of calming breaths before I go back out there and get this ball rolling…

  “Oh, holy shit.”

  Everything stops again. Only this time in a bad way.

  No pep talk could have prepared me for this. This is the last sight I wanted to come out and see. Rosie is not alone. Very much not alone. In fact, I don’t know where she ends, and Tristian begins.

  Chapter Six – Wesley

  “Oh, Wesley, you feel so good,” Zoe murmurs while rolling her hips against me hard. “I want you to hate fuck me some more. Over and over.”