Winning the Right Brother

by Abigail Strom

  Her need for him was a riptide in her body, pulling and pushing at the same time. She was shaking uncontrollably now, a storm building, rocking her, and he had to stop but he should never stop, never stop, never, never—

  When the storm burst she cried out, bucking against him, and his hands and mouth stayed on her, gentler now, riding out the waves until she began to still, and then he moved to cover her body with his, and the sensation of his jeans and leather jacket against her naked, sensitized skin almost made her come again.

  She took deep, deep breaths as he licked the sweat from her throat and between her breasts, and then she had her hands in his hair and was tugging him upward.

  She pulled him to her, and then it was mouth on mouth and tongues exploring softly, almost shyly, and she could taste the tang of herself for a moment but then it was all Alex, the wild heat of Alex, surrounding her and penetrating her and making her feel more glorious things than she’d ever felt in her life.

  Alex broke their kiss and looked down at her, and saw her eyes drifting closed. He levered himself up and off the bed, pulling the covers up to tuck Holly in, and then kneeling down by her pillow. He was distracted by the look on her face, an expression of completely satisfied desire. He couldn’t stop himself from lowering his head to taste her lips one more time.

  After a long, soft kiss he pulled away, stroking her hair away from her face, loving the way the flush of pleasure lingered in her cheeks.

  Her eyes fluttered closed again.

  “Go to sleep,” he said gently. “I’ll go back to my room to give you your space.”

  “But…nothing happened for you,” she murmured, her cheek pillowed on her hand.

  Alex smiled. “Don’t worry about me. You’re tired, and I think you might feel better tomorrow morning if you wake up alone. Less pressure. We do still have to talk, you know.”

  She nodded, and Alex dropped one last kiss on her forehead before rising to his feet and backing away. “Good night, Holly. Sleep well.”

  She was drifting off as he closed the door behind him.

  He took a quick shower to calm his body down and crawled naked into bed, his hair still damp. He felt at peace for the first time all day as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  Holly woke up feeling better than she ever had in her life. Her eyes were clear, blinking in the morning light—by the angle it couldn’t be much after dawn—and her mind was clear, too.

  Remembering the events of last night, she closed her eyes and made a little sound at the back of her throat.

  She opened her eyes suddenly. She wanted to make Alex feel that way, and for the first time in her life, she thought she could. Holly had never felt very sure of herself in bed, never sure about the pleasure she was giving or receiving, but a confidence was rushing through her now, not that she knew what to do but that she’d be able to figure it out. If she wasn’t sure, she could ask Alex to tell her. He was so passionate, so uninhibited, that he made her feel that way, too.

  Luckily she was still naked.

  This time, standing in his doorway, she was glad to see Alex in bed, sound asleep on his back with one arm flung out to the side. She went over to him softly, taking hold of his covers and pulling them down slowly and carefully, smiling when she saw that he, too, hadn’t bothered with clothes last night.

  She climbed onto the bed and lay down beside him, farther down than he was, and took him softly in her hand.

  Then his hands were in her hair and he was saying “Holly?” as if he could hardly believe what was happening.

  She stopped what she was doing to smile up at him. “Hi,” she said.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Reciprocating,” she said.

  She heard him moan, felt him tense, and suddenly he sat up, pulling her into his lap and kissing her fiercely.

  Then the kiss stopped and Alex slid off the bed. “Wait here,” he ordered her, stabbing a finger in her direction and heading out the door. She heard him go down the stairs, and a minute later he was coming up them again.

  “What in the world are you doing?” she asked as he came back into the room carrying a portable CD player.

  “Fulfilling a fantasy,” he said with a grin, setting the stereo down on the dresser and hitting the play button. A moment later Marvin Gaye was singing “Let’s Get It On” and Alex was coming toward her, wearing the sexiest smile Holly had ever seen.

  “I love this song,” she said.

  “It makes me think about you. About making love to you.” He sat down on the bed next to her, stroking his hand down her naked shoulder.

  She shivered at his touch. “I never figured you for the romantic type,” she said.

  “I’m not, normally. You bring it out in me.” He leaned over to kiss her and she slid her hand down his body to cup him in her hand.

  Alex froze against her briefly, sucking in air.

  “I want you,” he said roughly. “I want to be inside you. Do you want that?”

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  His hand tightened on her shoulder for one moment. Then he pulled back to open the drawer of his night-stand for a condom.

  He opened the little foil packet but then she took it from him, taking her time sliding the lubricated latex over his arousal, smiling when she heard him catch his breath.

  “Red-haired witch,” he said, pulling her closer so that she was straddling him, and then using his hands to guide her down on top of him.

  As she slid down his hard length she felt his hands on her hips tense, gripping her hard. A shiver ran through her at the feel of that hard masculinity inside her, all that raw power beneath her, and at the glorious freedom of being the one on top, able to set the pace.

  She leaned forward, putting her hands flat on his chest, and watched his face as she began to move, finding a rhythm that made his eyes close and his head rock back, the strong, corded muscles of his neck tensing and releasing as he clenched his jaw.

  She was so distracted by the passion and intensity in his face that she didn’t notice how close she was to her own release. Then she felt the tremors beginning, in her fingers and toes this time, and then traveling like white lightning to her core. She exploded, crying out and tightening all her muscles, including some she hadn’t known she possessed, and Alex was first rigid beneath her and then pulsing inside of her as he called her name and opened his eyes to meet hers for one blinding moment.

  Once again it was a while before they could move or speak. Eventually Alex dislodged her gently and then slid down to lie beside her, trailing a hand along the perfect curve that dipped from her torso to her waist and then up to her hip.

  “I think you broke me this time,” she said, her face turned into the pillow and her voice muffled.

  He chuckled. “If that’s true it’s only fair for me to fix you. Let’s see, how could I manage that?”

  Without opening her eyes Holly scooted so that she was cuddled against his chest, the top of her head tucked under his chin and her arm around his waist. Alex felt a stirring of something, a feeling that was probably as old as time. It was a voice inside him that said, “This is my woman, and I’ll look after her until the day I die.”

  He held her tight, and she nestled closer, and he reached up to pull the covers over them both.

  And within minutes they were asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  “Hello! Are you guys here? I’m home!”

  Alex’s eyes flew open, but Holly was faster. She sprang out of bed, looking around wildly and grabbing a towel off his floor to cover herself with.

  “Oh, my God, it’s Will. Alex, you have to get down there so I can get back to my room and change. Throw some clothes on, anything.”

  Alex’s head was still fuzzy with sleep but he heard the urgency in Holly’s voice and he moved as quickly as he could. As he was heading out the door in sweats and a T-shirt Holly grabbed his arm. “I’ll be down in a minute,” she hissed at him. “Don’t say anything about—abo
ut this.”

  Her words echoed in his head as he went down the stairs to greet Will. Did she mean don’t say anything ever, or that she wanted to be the one to tell him? Now is not the time to worry about that, he told himself as he arrived at the bottom of the stairs and looked around for Will. He and Holly still had to talk, that was all. But she wouldn’t turn her back on the feeling that was obviously between them. Not after this morning. Would she?

  Alex found Will in the kitchen, opening a cooler that contained ice and three smallish trout.

  “Look!” Will said enthusiastically, and in spite of the disorientation of having woken up two minutes before and his nagging anxiety about Holly, Alex couldn’t help grinning at the happy teenager. “Will, that’s great. Where are the rest of them?”

  “This is it,” Will said, looking down at his catch with pride. “From this morning, anyway. We caught some yesterday, but we ate them.”

  “Of course,” Alex said, holding back a smile. “Out of the water and onto your plate. It’s the only way to go.”

  “You bet. So—” He turned to Alex with a speculative look. “How was your weekend? Did you have any fun?”

  It was either his imagination, or Will knew something. Or suspected something. Or—

  “Will, did you go away this weekend on purpose?”

  He looked guilty, which confirmed it. “What do you mean, on purpose?”

  “You know what I mean.” He turned his head as he heard Holly coming down the stairs, and he had time to say, “Don’t say anything to your mom, not one word,” before she came into the kitchen, smiling brightly. She was wearing corduroys and a dark green sweater, and her hair was caught back in a pony tail.

  “Hi, honey! You’re back early!”

  “I am? I said Sunday afternoon, didn’t I?” he said, looking confused. Alex followed Holly’s eyes to the clock, which read 2:00 p.m.

  “Oh. Right.” She took a breath. “Well, good for you. Punctuality is important. Very, very important. So how was…how was your…” Her eyes drifted to the cooler, and her eyebrows rose. “A veritable feast, I see,” she said gravely, sounding more like herself, and Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Mr. Washington said I did very well for a beginner. Of course he and Tom caught about twenty apiece, and they offered to give me some of theirs to take home, but I said I just wanted to take the ones I caught myself. So you could see them.”

  Holly went over and gave her son a quick hug. “I agree with Mr. Washington. I think you did great. I assume this is going to be our next meal?”

  “If that’s okay with you guys,” Will said anxiously.

  “Of course it is,” Holly said. “I’ll be happy to cook them, unless you want to. I will not clean them, however. That job is all yours.”

  “No problem,” Will said proudly. “Tom taught me how.”

  “Wonderful. We may as well get started now, unless you’ve already eaten. Alex and I haven’t had lunch yet—” She blushed, although Alex noticed she didn’t look at him “—so we’re starving.”

  “Sounds good,” Will said. “I haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

  Despite a little awkwardness in the air, their late lunch was fun, not to mention delicious. Alex felt himself relaxing as Will regaled them with his fishing triumphs, and he saw that Holly was unwinding, too.

  It was toward the end of the meal that it hit him.

  Will was laughing so hard at something Holly said that he got the hiccups, and Holly found that so funny she couldn’t stop laughing, either. She’d start to say something, but then Will would hiccup, and that would start her laughing again. Will was drinking water in an effort to stop when Holly started hiccupping, and Will found that so hilarious he sprayed a mouthful of water all over the table.

  That was when it hit him. Some of the water hit him, too, which both mother and son found extremely amusing. But the important thing, the big thing, was the realization.

  He loved them.

  He thought it exactly like that. I love them. Not just I love her, but I love them. Because what he wanted was the whole package. Holly and Will, part of his life forever.

  Forever.

  The knowledge felt huge, as if he wasn’t big enough to hold it. He couldn’t stay still. He rose to his feet.

  Holly and Will looked up at him. Will was still hiccupping, but Holly had stopped. “Are you okay? You have the strangest look on your face.”

  “I—”

  He couldn’t say it. Not yet, anyway. He’d never said it to anyone before. What was the procedure? Did you just blurt it right out, or what? Should he tell Holly alone, or both of them together?

  He needed some time to think. To get his thoughts in order.

  Air, he thought. He needed some air.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, crossing the kitchen and going out the back door.

  “Is Alex okay? I didn’t mean to spit on him,” Will said after he finally controlled his hiccups.

  Holly grinned. “I’m pretty sure he knows that.” The phone rang, and Holly went to go answer it. “Clear the table, would you?” she called over her shoulder as she went into the living room.

  “Hello?”

  “Oh…hello. Is Alex there?”

  A female voice, breathy and hopeful. Holly rolled her eyes. “He’s just stepped outside. Can I take a message, or do you want me to call him?”

  “Um…I guess you can take a message. Tell him Krystal called. Krystal with a K,” she added helpfully.

  Of course, Holly thought as she wrote down the name. It was important to be specific with Alex, because he’d probably dated a girl named Crystal with a C, too.

  “Does he have your number?”

  “It’s changed, actually. Can I give you the new one?”

  “You bet.” Holly made a face at the phone as she wrote the number down beside the name.

  She was still staring down at the piece of paper when Alex came into the living room.

  “Message for you,” she said, handing it to him. He put it in his pocket without looking at it.

  “Holly, I—”

  “Don’t you want to know who called?”

  He still looked funny. “Not particularly. Look, Holly, can we talk somewhere in private? Maybe over dinner or a drink or—”

  “It was Krystal.”

  He blinked. “Crystal?”

  “The woman who called. Her name was Krystal.”

  “The woman who called.”

  “Uh-huh. Krystal with a K.”

  He frowned at her. “Holly, is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing at all. So tell me about Krystal. Did she come before or after Amber?”

  Just listen to her. She was talking like a jealous girlfriend.

  He was looking down at her with one eyebrow raised. “Did you think I was lying when I told you I’m not seeing anybody? When I told you I have no plans to see anybody? Except for you,” he added, and the look in his blue eyes made her stomach flip.

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Look, it’s none of my business,” she said.

  “Actually, it is. As the woman I’d like to…date, I think it is your business. I think you have a right to know there isn’t anyone else. That there won’t be anyone else.”

  God, those eyes. It was hard to think straight when he was looking at her like that, as if she was the only woman in the world.

  He wanted to date her? As in…exclusively?

  She wanted to believe it. She was surprised at how much she wanted to believe it. Maybe he even believed it, for now. But Alex was not a long-haul guy. And how would Will deal with the fallout when they broke up?

  How would she deal with it?

  “Let’s go out for a drink,” he was saying now. “How about the Swan?”

  The Swan was a pub downtown, known for its intimate atmosphere and dark, tryst-inducing booths.

  “No,” she said quickly. “Look, Alex…I know we still haven’t talked about…about what ha
ppened between us. But Will just got back, and I…I need a little time with him. And a little time to myself, too. Is it okay if we talk tomorrow?”

  He looked as if he wanted to press the point, but after a moment he sighed.

  “We can talk tomorrow,” he said. His eyes were still on her, with the focused intensity that made her pulse go all skittery. “But you can’t hide forever, Holly Stanton.”

  Didn’t she know it.

  She didn’t want to be this person. She’d structured her life so she wouldn’t be this person. This person who could be thrown into a jealous fit after one phone call, this person whose heartstrings and nerve endings now seemed to be tuned to Alex—his voice, his smile, his eyes.

  She’d sworn that her happiness would never again depend on another human being. Now here she was, unreasonably jealous one minute, melting with affection and desire the next. And all because of Alex.

  It was after midnight, and everyone else was asleep. Holly was pacing back and forth in her room. No, not her room—Alex’s room. In Alex’s house. After her parents kicked her out, she’d sworn to herself she’d never live even a day in a place that wasn’t her own. A place someone else could kick her out of.

  Not that Alex would—but he could. Anytime he wanted to, he could.

  She opened her door and moved softly down the hall, pausing a moment outside Alex’s door.

  She closed her eyes, memories of their lovemaking making her shiver. Alex had ignited her, body and mind and heart and soul, and the heat between them had burned away all barriers until she hadn’t known where he ended and she began.

  And that might be a nice way to feel in bed with someone, but then you had to get out of bed and on with your life. And that’s when the feeling became terrifying. Holly was used to knowing exactly where she ended and other people began. Feeling this…connected to someone just wasn’t something she’d ever signed up for.