Since finishing university with a degree in history and literature, Imogen had been determined to work in the university library as head librarian. Over the past three years she had steadily worked her way into the top job and unintentionally into the heart of her supervisor, Bill McNaught.
Bill, an older man in his mid-forties, had eventually confessed his feelings to Imogen a week after she started dated Luca and when she refused his advances, the atmosphere at work had become strained with Bill’s attitude toward Imogen growing nasty and condescending.
Luca knew what was happening and more than once offered to go and sort the problem out, but Imogen had always refused and remained steadfast that she’d deal with the problem. When Luca suggested they try boxing as part of her fitness regime she’d been reluctant at first, but he’d preserved in getting her to try it because he knew it’d help her release her tensions and he also felt comfort in knowing that she could look after herself should she need to.
They’d been driving in silence for some time before Imogen spoke again. “Luca, I’ve been working on my book you know?”
He shook his head, he felt embarrassed that he hadn’t realised.
“It’s almost finished” she said softly, “I was wondering if you’d read it sometime?”
“Are you kidding, of course I will” Luca replied, glancing away from the road in time to see her eyes light up for the first time since leaving Anthony's office.
“There’s a national writing competition that closes in a few weeks, I figured I wouldn’t have time to finish the book and enter it, but if I’m non weight-bearing for the next week, maybe…”
“If I have to tie you to the bed and wait on you hand and foot until it’s finished I will. Submit the story Im, seriously what’ve you got to lose?”
“Well, nothing. The prize is a $200,000 advance and a two-book deal with Tempting Fate Publishing House. I doubt I’d win it, but the consolation prizes are good too”.
“Give it a go, Im. Seriously, you write beautifully and you’re passionate about your writing. That’s a winning combination.” Luca offered sincerely.
Pulling up at his house, Luca walked around and lifted Imogen from the Jeep and carried her up to the house.
“I can walk with the crutches you know Luca” she laughed.
“I know, but I can look after you, can’t I?” he replied, before tucking her head under his chin and opening the door, he heard her murmur against his chest before carrying her up to his bedroom and settling her on his bed.
“So, do I get the full bedside manner treatment Luca?” Imogen giggled playfully prompting Luca to crawl into the bed beside her and wrap his arms around her.
“Seriously, Im, send in your story. I’ll do whatever I can to help, though I don’t know if there's that much I can do".
“Oh, I dunno Luca, there’s a sex scene I’ve been trying to write, maybe you can give me some inspiration—“ she started, before Luca rolled her over and wedged himself between her thighs.
“Now, that I can help with—“ he replied, before taking her mouth in his.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Im, come on… get your ass down here if you want a lift to work. We’re already late” Luca called, but got no response.
“Imogen. Seriously. We’re late, and we’re never late; what’s going on?” Luca huffed, clearing the hallway in a matter of a few paces.
Swinging open the door to the spare bedroom that now housed a home office for Imogen, she hit the mouse one final time before spinning in her chair and flashing him a heart stopping smile.
“Im—should I be worried… that smile smacks of something naughty” Luca smiled, softening and forgetting about everything other than Imogen; something that was happening more and more often.
“I just hit send” she smiled proudly.
“On your manuscript?” he asked, walking behind her and rubbing her shoulders gently.
“Yep, the competition closes on Friday so I’m a few days early. I still can’t believe I finished it” she sighed, throwing her head backwards in exhaustion and relief.
“When are the winners announced?” Luca asked before popping a kiss on her forehead and spinning her around in her chair to face him.
“Well, not that I’m expecting a call, but finalists are announced in two weeks then there’s a gala dinner to announce the winner a week later. It’s a long shot Luca but—“
“Not for you, Im, the book is amazing. You’ll get the call, I know you will” Luca replied encouragingly, “Now, let’s go—I need to get you to work. Last thing you need is Bill ranting over you being late”.
“Ok, ok”, Imogen replied begrudgingly, “if I win this competition, you know I’m going to walk of that library and never go back… I can just go travelling and write instead”.
“You’ve got options Im” Luca offered, steadying Imogen on her feet and passing her her handbag, “Come work for me, run the business side of the gym then you don’t need to go back there at all”.
“I can’t do that Luca, I can’t depend on you for everything” she said, shuffling through her handbag in search of her notepad.
“And why not? You know I’ll look after you. Besides I desperately need the help. Let’s talk in the car” he said, but Imogen had already tuned out, rifling through stacks of papers and book frantically searching for something.
“Looking for this Im”, Luca asked, holding out her tattered old notepad that housed all her book ideas and notes.
“God, yes!” she replied, relieved to have the notepad in her hands. “I thought I’d lost it. I’ve had it for so long now; it’s got years worth of ideas in it... And, I’ve even had a chance to document all the inspiration for my sex scenes that you’ve so kindly given me—“ she replied, sashaying over and planting a heated kiss on Luca’s lips.
“Car, Im. Now.” Luca growled, “or I’ll take you here on the desk”.
“Hmm… well, I should at least make getting into trouble at work worth it” she replied, reaching for Luca’s belt buckle before sinking to her knees and taking Luca’s length between her plush red lips.
“Jeez, Im, you’re gorgeous on your knees” Luca growled, “Tell me, is this going in your notepad?”.
Mouth already filled to capacity, all Imogen could do was wink and nod.
Christ, I love this woman Luca thought to himself.
CHAPTER SIX
A week later
Luca felt Imogen’s presence before he saw her.
Surveying the busy room, he searched the faces to find hers but still couldn’t. It was only as she started climbing the stairs to his office that he spotted her for the first time.
Even from afar he could tell something was wrong. She looked disheveled, and he could see that she’d been crying.
“Jonno, come take over for me” Luca called to a nearby trainer before excusing himself from his client and taking the steps two at a time to get to Imogen.
Bursting through his office door, she’d rolled herself into a ball on the couch and was crying like there was no tomorrow.
“Im, babe, what’s wrong” Luca asked, picking her up and settling her onto his lap. Holding her head close to his chest, Luca sat in silence while Imogen continue to sob, eventually running out of tears and finally meeting Luca’s eye contact.
“Luca…” she whispered, “something happened... Bill… he…” she managed before the floodgates opened again.
“He, what?” Luca boomed, louder than he’d meant to. “Im, what did he do? Did he hurt you?” his heart pounding and his desperation to understand what had happened growing more intense.
“Imogen. Look at me, now” he said, spinning her to meet his gaze. “What did he do, tell me now” he demanded, subconsciously scanning her for injury in an attempt to understand what’d happened.
“I’m not hurt… well, not physically… actually, maybe” she sputtered. “He… he, found my notepad. Actually he had to break into my locker and go through my bag to
get it” she muttered angrily. “I… I didn’t know until he called me into his office and locked the door…” she whispered before dropping her eyes from Luca’s.
“What happened Im? I need to know” Luca softened, desperate for some understanding of what had happened, already running through his mind the phone call to his brothers, Roman and Dominic, to help him sort this asshole out.
“Well, I didn’t know why he’d called me in. So, I sat while he started asking questions about my writing. I wasn’t really paying attention, just counting down the minutes until his impromptu interview was over. Then he started asking about my notepad, he wanted to know what I wrote in there and asked if that’s where I wrote all my dirty little secrets. I refused to answer and got up to leave and that’s when he pulled the notepad out and started reading out loud… the details of… you know…” she hid her face embarrassedly. “I asked for the book back and walked to his desk to try and grab it back but he pulled me onto the floor in front of him. Then I noticed, he was already undressed, well his pants anyway and he…” she trailed, the tears building up again.
“He what, Imogen? Tell me”
“He said, he liked the part in my notepad where I was down on my knees…” she trailed off, not wanting to make the memory any more real by putting it in words.
“Fuck it” Luca replied, standing Imogen up and starting to pace the room, his hands already curled into fists, his temper rising so quickly his head was starting to spin. “Then what Imogen, what’d he do to you?” he asked, before noticing she was shaking and on the verge of tears and moved to hold her.
“He told me I’d best be making a habit out of kneeling in front of him, and… you know… if I wanted him to keep my dirty little secret” Imogen murmured before the tears began flowing again and the shaking threatened her ability to stand.
Pushing her to arm length, Luca again looked her over for injury, “Did he…make you…?” Luca asked, scared to verbalise his thoughts.
“He grabbed my hand, he wanted me to give him a hand job to ‘get him started’, so I grabbed his other hand and bent it back as far as I could the way you showed me then I ran… I heard him screaming as I got out of the room, then I realized I’d forgotten to get my notepad and I was too scared to go back in for it… he’s going to show everyone…” she said dissolving into tears again.
“No he isn’t” Luca responded, pulling out his phone and speed-dialling Roman.
Settling her back on the couch, it was less than five minutes before Roman knocked and calmly entered the office, followed hastily by a fuming Dominic.
“You ok?” Roman and Dominic asked her in unison.
Imogen nodded silently, trying in vain to smile and failing miserably.
After exchanging pleasantries, Roman sat beside Imogen and offered her some calming words, explaining it’d all be sorted out and that yes, they’d make sure they got her notepad back, and no, no one would get hurt. Though looking at Dom and Luca, the likelihood of Bill coming out of this unscathed was look more and more unlikely.
“Luca. A minute?” Dom asked, pulling Luca out of earshot of Imogen. “Did he—“ Dom asked.
“No. I knew this guy was an asshole so I’ve been teaching her some self-defense and boxing; seems she took care of him herself” Luca replied proudly. “But he has a notepad of hers that’s filled with, ah.. personal details, and he’s threatened to publicise it around the university”.
“Yeah, well that’s not happening” Dom replied resolutely and in that instant Luca felt calmer that between the three of them they’d sort out the problem and get Imogen’s notepad back.
Ever the practical one, Roman had texted Cassandra to come and keep Imogen company; “Cass, it’s been a while” Luca said, stepping forward hand-in-hand with Imogen, and placing a gentle kiss on Cassandra’s cheek.
“We were only saying the same thing last week Luca” she replied, before patting him on the back and whispering, “we figured you’d been busy lately” and smiling in Imogen’s direction.
“Geez, Cass, very smooth” Roman laughed, before planting a kiss on Cassandra playfully.
“Im, Cass will stay here with you” Luca explained, feeling the blush hit his cheeks thanks to Cassandra’s pointed comment. He hadn’t realized that his brothers had noticed how much time he was spending with Imogen; the smile on Dominic’s face confirmed that they’d all talked about it.
“I’m gathering by the stench of testosterone filling the office that something has happened?” she said to no one in particular, and when no one offered an explanation, she turned her attention back to Imogen. “Come, lets get you freshened up sweetie, have you got some spare clothes here?” she asked Imogen, who nodded and smiled weakly.
Luca bent and placed a long kiss on Imogen’s forehead, feeling her starting to tremble all over again. “Im, go with Cass, she’ll look after you and we’ll be back in no time” he whispered, pulling her in tight.
Walking over to his desk, Luca pulled out Imogen’s spare workout clothes and handed them to Cassandra. “Use the bathroom up here” he said, pointing toward his personal bathroom, “and keep the door locked, ok? We’ll text when we’re on our way back”.
“I’m here to see Bill McNaught” Luca explained assertively to the young girl at the front counter of the library. She seemed nervous at the sight of the three brothers standing opposite her, no doubt picking up on the hostility they were exuding as she quickly explained that Bill wasn’t available for the rest of the afternoon.
Luca could feel his temper rising, something that’d rarely happened until today when he realized Imogen had placed in danger. Dominic had always had a temper, but was extremely vigilant about keeping it in check. The feelings he was experiencing were all new to Luca; and his head was spinning trying to hold it all together.
Sensing Luca’s rising annoyance, Dominic stepped forward and explained to the girl, “He is expecting us. Please, show us through to his office”.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. He’s… not feeling well” she answered meekly.
“Look, Eliza” Dom replied, referring to her name badge, “We’re not here to start trouble but we’re not leaving until we see him. So, please let him know he has visitors”
As she dialed through to Bill’s office, Luca walked over to Roman and confided, “Roman, my head is spinning, my head feels like it’s gunna explode. I just want to fuck this guy up.”
Roman’s face changed from concerned to alarmed in an instant. “Luca, you’re not going to touch this guy, you hear me? That’s not how we’re sorting this out.”
“Yeah, but Roman, he would’ve—“
“But he didn’t. She got away Luca. You did well teaching Imogen the self-defense, really. We’re going in to get the notepad, make sure he hasn’t made any copies and to give him a scare. Don’t touch him mate, honestly, if you’re feeling this worked up the last thing you need to do is unleash your anger—" Roman offered knowingly. He’d spent the most of his childhood protecting his mother and brother from their father; if anyone understood the power of a bad temper it was Roman.
“Mr McNaught will see you” Eliza replied.
It was Luca who made the first move, bursting past the front counter and walking through to the back rooms in search of McNaught’s office; Roman and Dominic following quickly behind.
“McNaught! Come out here.” Luca shouted to no one in particular, more an attempt to find the office quicker.
Roman shot him a silent warning, a simple rise of the eyebrows and a glance that could stop traffic, which Luca conveniently chose to ignore.
A man, appeared in his doorway looking worse for wear with his hand heavily bandaged; Luca couldn’t help but stifle a smile, Imogen had clearly done a good job on his hand.
“Gentlemen, is there something I can do for you?” he queried innocently.
“I believe you know why we’re here” Luca retorted.
A look of confusion flashed across McNaught’s face as he looked
from Luca to Dominic then finally to Roman; an understanding of what was happening registering on his face.
Another voice came from behind Roman, “Bill, everything ok out here” spoke the short, spectacled man.
“Yes, yes. All fine thank you Professor” Bill spoke cheerfully, before turning to the brothers and ushering them quickly into his office.
The door had barely closed, when Luca had McNaught by the throat and against the back of the door, his feet dangling a good inch or two above the ground.
“You fucking prick” Luca hissed at him; a frenzied look of anger contorting his face, as Roman made a move toward Luca.
“Roman, let him” Dominic interjected, placing a hand on Roman’s chest to hold him back.
“Where is her notepad” Luca continued.
“In… in my briefcase. Please… I’m sorry… I didn’t hurt her…” McNaught spluttered, further infuriating Luca.
“You didn’t hurt her? Are you serious? She told me what happened, you sick bastard. Is that how you get your kicks, forcing women to blow you because you can’t get it anywhere else, huh?” Luca questioned, holding McNaught and thrusting him more firmly against the door. “How fucking dare you touch her” Luca exploded, punching the door right by McNaught’s head.
Dominic walked over and placed a supportive hand on Luca’s shoulder, “Is this it mate?” he said, holding up Imogen’s tattered notepad.
“Yeah that’s it” Luca replied. “You made any copies of this or shown anyone else asshole?” he directed at McNaught.
“No… no, I promise you, I haven’t” he stammered.
“What, you were just keeping it for your own sick games?”
“I like her… I thought she liked me, then you came along and ruined it all—“ McNaught replied.
Capello Brothers 3 Train My Heart Page 2