The Hunter Brothers Complete Box Set

by Parker, M. S.

  Probably because my entire future had never been dependent on one person’s answer to a question before.

  With one hand, I held up the flowers I’d bought, and then I knocked with the other. When the door opened, however, Dorly stood there, scowling, her arms crossed.

  “If you hurt Addison, I will cut off your balls and give them to her as earrings.”

  I blinked. “Wow. That’s an oddly specific threat.”

  She shrugged. “I believe in fair warnings.”

  She stepped aside, and I walked past her. Codie was here too, perched on the arm of a loveseat. She didn’t look any more pleased to see me than Dorly did.

  “What Dorly said, about the earrings,” Codie glared at me, “after she’s done, I’ll cut off your dick and feed it to a pig.”

  Despite the fact their threats were enough to make me want to back away with my hands over my crotch, I appreciated the fact that they cared enough about Addison to promise bodily harm if I hurt her.

  “Both duly, noted.” I said.

  “Addison, your date’s here!” Dorly called without taking her eyes off me.

  “You’re early,” Addison said as she rushed out of what I assumed was her bedroom. She pushed curls back from her flushed face. “I need a couple minutes to get this mess under control.”

  I smiled at her. “Please don’t. I like your hair wild.”

  Her cheeks grew redder, but her eyes sparkled. “Are those for me?”

  I held out the flowers, and when her fingers brushed against mine, a little jolt of electricity moved up my arm. “I remembered you saying you liked sunflowers.”

  “They’re my favorite,” she said as she cradled the flowers in her arms for a moment. “Dorly, would you mind putting these in water for me?”

  Dorly took the bouquet, throwing me one final dirty look before heading to the kitchenette.

  “Shall we?” I asked, holding out my hand.

  When Addison’s fingers laced between mine, I knew I had to convince her to come with me. I needed her as much as I needed my brothers. She was what would keep me sane when things with them got difficult – and I knew they would.

  “You look amazing,” I said as we stepped into the elevator.

  She wore a simple pencil skirt and a fitted sweater, both in the same deep green that made her eyes stand out, but she couldn’t have been more beautiful if she’d been in a designer gown.

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” she replied with a smile.

  I leaned down and gave her a soft kiss, my fingers brushing her cheek. “I missed you.”

  She looked surprised but pleased. “Me too.” She laughed. “You’re taking all the good lines.”

  We stepped into the lobby, hand-in-hand, then headed outside and down the sidewalk to where I’d parked. Once we were settled and I pulled away from the curb, she reached over and took my hand again.

  “I was surprised you asked me to dinner,” she said, her free fingers tracing patterns on the back of my hand. “You don’t have to, you know.”

  “Don’t have to what?”

  “Take me to dinner. Don’t get me wrong,” she added quickly, “I’m happy to be here with you. I just don’t want you to feel like I expect it. We were clear that this thing with us isn’t a romantic relationship. You can ask me over for sex without all of this.”

  I glanced over at her, wondering if I should take the opening. “I wanted to spend time with you.”

  I could hear Jax in the back of my head telling me to man up.

  She squeezed my hand. “I’d like that too.”

  When I’d done my research on romantic restaurants in Atlanta, Nikolai’s Roof was near the top of the list, and I’d liked the look of the place. When Addison and I were seated at a small table near the windows, I knew I’d made the right choice. The view would’ve been great during the day, but at night, the city glowed.

  “Atlanta is much more beautiful than I’d expected,” Addison said after I placed a wine order.

  Shit. Maybe this hadn’t been the best place to go. I didn’t want her falling in love with the city and not wanting to leave. I should have made a list of all the reasons why Boston was better than Atlanta. She was logical like me. She’d have appreciated that.

  I didn’t know how to do this.

  “Are you okay?” She reached across the table and took my hand.

  I nodded. I needed to find something to talk about. Anything.

  “I called my brother this afternoon,” I blurted out.

  Dammit. That was going to lead straight to my question, but not in the way I’d wanted. This wasn’t going the way I’d envisioned it at all.

  “Which one?”

  “Jax.”

  “That’s great!” She shifted in her seat, her knees brushing against mine under the table. “How did it go?”

  “Really well,” I said. “Being engaged seems to agree with him.”

  “I’m happy for you.” She squeezed my hand again, and something in her expression made me wonder if she wanted to say something more.

  The waiter came back with our Merlot, and the conversation paused while he poured us each a glass. After thanking him, I took a healthy drink. It wasn’t as intoxicating as hard liquor, but it was enough to relax me a bit.

  “What did the two of you talk about?” Addison asked as she sipped her wine.

  And here it went.

  “He told me about Syll, and how being with her changed him.” I reached for her hand this time, holding her fingers so that I could run my thumb over her knuckles.

  “Love can do that, I suppose.” Her gaze slid away from mine, and her smile seemed forced.

  I took a deep breath. “I know it can,” I agreed. “Because it’s done that for me.”

  Her eyes snapped back to mine, wide and hopeful. “Cai?”

  “When I asked you about us having a physical relationship, I was taking the easy way out.” My fingers tightened around hers. “I’ve known I was in love with you from the moment you and Pansy came back from the field and you told me you’d been exposed. I didn’t want to admit it, of course, but now, I can see it. The thought of losing you…” I shook my head. I couldn’t think about it. “I should have told you then how I felt, especially after I realized that masked woman at the club was you. I’d been thinking about her – about you – constantly, and I should have seen it for what it was.”

  “Cai,” she interrupted, her smile back to being genuine. “I think you’re babbling.”

  A laugh burst out of me. She was right. I was babbling.

  I needed to stop dancing around this and just say it.

  I got up and walked around to where she was sitting, crouching down so that we were closer to eye level. I took both of her hands in mine.

  “I love you, Addison. And maybe it’s not fair to tell you this way, but I don’t want to lose you. I’m moving back to Boston to be closer to my brother, and I want you to come with me.”

  Her mouth fell open, and she stared at me.

  “I’ll understand if you say no, but I had to tell you before I put in my transfer request to the Boston office.”

  “You love me,” she said quietly.

  “I do.”

  “And you’re moving back to Boston.”

  My heart gave a painful twist. “I am.”

  “But you want me to move back there too so we can be together.”

  I reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “Yes.”

  She gave me a long, searching look. “I thought you didn’t do romantic relationships.”

  “So did I.” I leaned forward and brushed my lips across hers. “But I think the truth was, I was really just waiting for you.”

  Her face lit up, and I knew what I’d said had addressed whatever doubts she’d been mulling over.

  “If I can get my internship transferred to Boston, I’ll go with you,” she said.

  “And if you can’t?”

  “I guess we’ll have to try the lo
ng-distance thing.”

  Fuck that. I’d call in every favor owed to me if that’s what it took. I’d worked my ass off my whole life, never settling for anything less than the best, and I’d be damned if I didn’t do the same to ensure that Addison was by my side.

  Thirty-Four

  Cai

  “You really think he’s in love?” I asked as I tried to figure out where I wanted to sit.

  Being home again was…strange. Especially since not much had changed. The only concession I could see to Jax’s presence was the abundance of electronics. Grandfather had always been old school. No gaming systems, no cell phones, no tablets. The only reason he’d conceded to a computer had been when he’d realized we needed one for school.

  “I think he sounded exactly like you did when you called me about Addison,” Jax said.

  He bypassed the old leather chair that had always been Grandfather’s and sat in a chair I didn’t recognize. It fit with the décor but was newer. I finally settled at the near end of the couch, an eerie sense of déjà vu coming over me as I remembered sitting in this exact seat hundreds of times through my childhood and adolescence.

  A short, curvy brunette waltzed into the room and leaned down to give Jax a brief kiss. “Your brother now thinks he’s quite the expert on love.”

  He reached up and caught the back of her neck, pulling her back down for a deeper kiss that left her flushed and flustered.

  “Tell Gilly I said that if she convinces you to buy more of that lingerie I like, she can buy herself some shoes on me.”

  Syll darted a look at me, embarrassment staining her cheeks red. “That’s a dangerous bargain,” she said. “You know how she loves her shoes.”

  Jax grinned, gripping his fiancée’s hip possessively. “I do, but I love you in that lace and silk even more.”

  “I need to go,” Syll said softly. She leaned forward and kissed him again. “And you need to talk to your brother.”

  It could have been an innocuous comment, stating the obvious, but something in her tone had me shifting in my seat. When Jax asked me to come over, I’d assumed he wanted to talk about my move, but now I wondered if there was something more behind it.

  “It was nice to meet you, Cai,” Syll said as she walked away. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again soon.”

  “Good to meet you too,” I said. As she disappeared, I turned back to Jax. “She’s great.”

  He gave me an easy smile that I hadn’t seen on his face since before our parents and sister died. I made a mental note to thank Syll for making this possible. If it hadn’t been for her, I didn’t doubt that Jax would’ve stayed the way he’d always been, hiring lawyers to try to get around Grandfather’s stipulations rather than being willing to try to patch things between us.

  “How did things go yesterday?” Jax asked, sipping his glass of scotch.

  Highland Park, I assumed. It had been Grandfather’s favorite.

  “Really well,” I answered. “Dr. Fenster isn’t happy that I requested a transfer, but he talked to his contacts here and got things moving. He gave me a great recommendation too. The meeting went well. Dr. Harmon said he’d give me the official confirmation by Monday afternoon, but unofficially, the transfer has gone through.”

  “That’s great,” Jax said sincerely. “And Addison?”

  Just the mention of her was enough to make me smile. “She’s coming with me. I hadn’t been certain I could get her internship transferred, but once I explained how her thesis and my own work were closely related, Dr. Harmon agreed to make room for her up here.”

  “I look forward to meeting her,” Jax said.

  “I think she and Syll are going to get along. They’ll bond over having to take care of us.”

  He laughed and nodded. “That sounds about right.” He took another drink from his glass. “If you need any help finding a place, let me know.”

  “Thanks. I’ll do that.” Then I added, “I’m just glad my lease is up at the end of the month.”

  “What about your girl?” he asked. “Are you two looking for separate places, or together?”

  I held my glass between both hands and stared down into the amber liquid. “I want to ask her to live with me,” I admitted, “but I think it’s too fast.”

  “Cai, you’re talking to the man who proposed to a woman after knowing her for a month. And most of that month, she was pissed at me.”

  My mouth lifted in a partial smile. “Good point.”

  “Do you know where you’re going to stay if you don’t have a place before you start work up here?” he asked. “Because you’re both welcome to stay here. I’ve cleaned out most of Grandfather’s things from the floor he used. It has its own private entrance, and we put in a kitchenette in one of the rooms.”

  I swallowed hard, touched by the surprising offer. “Thank you. I’ll probably take you up on that.”

  Jax drained his glass, his expression becoming serious. This was it, my gut told me, the real reason he asked me to stop by before I returned to Atlanta. He stood and walked over to the curio in the corner. He took something out of the middle drawer and brought it over to me.

  “I received this in the mail three weeks ago.” He returned to his seat.

  I recognized the handwriting, and my heart gave a painful squeeze. Grandfather had left Jax a letter. Why, then, hadn’t I gotten one?

  I took the letter out of the envelope and began to read, hoping for an answer to my question.

  Jax,

  Upon the event of my death…

  The longer I read, the more I wished this was some awful joke. But I knew that neither Jax nor Grandfather had that sort of sense of humor. When I finished it, I slumped back in the chair and looked up at my brother.

  “What the hell?”

  Jax nodded, his expression grim. “That was pretty much my reaction too.”

  “He hired a PI because he thought the car accident wasn’t an accident.” I felt like I needed to repeat it, as if it would make a difference.

  “Bartholomew Constantine,” Jax said. “I’ve talked to him.”

  I had hundreds of questions, and the one that popped out surprised me. “It’s been twenty-four years. He’s still around?”

  “He’d just opened his business when Grandfather hired him,” Jax explained. “He’s in his fifties now, and he’s got a thriving practice. Nothing dicey in his past, nearly one hundred percent client satisfaction, and the few complaints I could find seemed like petty things.”

  “I don’t see what that has to do with Grandfather’s suspicions,” I said. “He clearly didn’t find enough evidence to convince Grandfather that he was wrong.”

  Jax was silent for a moment, his hands clasped in front of him, his posture tense. His eyes met mine, and they burned with an intensity I hadn’t seen in a long time.

  “The thing is, Cai, after talking to Constantine, I don’t think Grandfather was wrong at all. I think someone killed our family.”

  Thirty-Five

  Addison

  If someone had told me two months ago that by mid-March, I’d be in Boston with Dr. Cai Hunter, who was not only my supervisor but also my lover, and that we’d moved to allow him to reconcile with his billionaire brother…just thinking about how insane that sounded made my head hurt.

  I wondered how long it would take me to get used to the surreal world that was now my life. When Cai had asked me to go with him to Boston, all my common sense told me that saying yes would be the stupidest decision I’d ever make, but I hadn’t listened, because what I felt for Cai defied common sense.

  I’d spent a few days with my stomach in knots while Cai worked things out for not only his transfer but mine – as well as telling his soon-to-be new bosses about our relationship. But one thing I’d learned about Cai was that when he had his mind set on something, no one could stop him.

  The fact that we were here, with our new jobs officially starting Monday morning and our relationship out in the open, was a testament
to his persistence.

  We’d just said goodnight to Jax and Syll after a wonderful dinner, and were now on ‘our’ floor, which was larger than both my apartment in Atlanta and the apartment where I’d been raised in Minnesota. I couldn’t imagine having grown up in this house, with so much room, even with having three siblings. Cai said not much had changed, except on this floor, a kitchenette, and a door had been added to make it more like a separate apartment. It made it a little less awkward to share the house with Jax and Syll.

  “Everything all right with Dorly?” Cai asked as he toed off his shoes. “I’m guessing that’s who texted you during dinner.”

  “She’s fine,” I said as I took off my shoes and stretched my arms above my head. My joints popped pleasantly. “Just freaking out about Codie moving in tomorrow.”

  “Didn’t Codie stay at the apartment most nights anyway?”

  I nodded. “Dorly said she’s glad me leaving gave her the kick in the ass she needed to finally ask Codie to move in, but she’s nervous. She’s never lived with anyone before. Roommates, yeah, but not with someone she loved.”

  Cai turned toward me, and the heat in his eyes kicked my pulse up a notch. We’d gotten here yesterday, but with everything we’d been doing, we hadn’t done anything more than kiss or exchange innocent touches like holding hands. One would think after having gone most off my life without sex, it’d be easy to go a few days.

  Not so much.

  “Go stand by the balcony doors.”

  I did as I was told, turning away from him when he twirled his finger, giving me a silent command. I watched his reflection in the glass, my heart skipping and tripping as anticipation danced across my nerves. It was times like this I wondered if this was how it felt to be an addict craving a fix.

  “Spread your legs.”

  He stood behind me, the heat from his body flowing over my skin, enveloping me. He unzipped my dress, easing it off my body with a slow, sensual caress. It dropped to the floor, and I kicked it aside without taking my eyes off his reflection.