by E. A. James
Hanes rested his head against hers and kissed the top of her head. She hummed and relaxed a little bit against him, making him smile.
Thomas and his other brothers talked outside of the car—making plans on going back home and helping Hanes, or something like that. Hanes couldn’t hear too well from inside of the care, so he wasn’t fully sure what they said. Not that he fully cared. His attention was mainly focused on Frankie.
“Sorry again,” he said again for the umpteenth time. They had already had their talk—about him not acting reckless every time Frankie got upset. “How you doing?”
“Much better,” she said. She kissed his shoulder. “You?”
“Same.”
“Good.”
They rested like that for a minute longer—Thomas taking out another paper outside of the car and showing it to the other brothers.
Talking about business again, Hanes thought bitterly. He rolled his eyes. “They can’t wait to do all that at home?” He was going to say more when he saw Thomas tear up the paper.
Hanes stiffened. Well, he stiffened as much as his aching body would let him.
“They’ve been talking about how to talk to you,” Frankie said. “It’s kind of sweet in a funny way.”
“Talk to me about what?”
“Fairly splitting your dad’s assets and profit. Apparently, me crying in front of them and then you getting nearly trampled to death helped them get over their feud.”
Hanes blinked, stunned. “Huh.”
“Yup.”
Each brother shook hands with another before Thomas finally got in the driver’s seat of his car. He looked back at Hanes. “How you holding up, dumb-ass?”
Hanes scowled. “I just came out of the hospital. Have some class.”
“Not when you were put in the hospital for a stupid reason.”
Hanes would have argued if Frankie wasn’t right there. She had—in a much kinder way—said the same thing, and he had agreed with her at the time. Caught between his pride and his sincerity, he huffed out a frustrated breath and glanced away.
“That’s what I thought,” Thomas said, starting the car.
The drive back home was quiet, nothing but the radio playing country and the outside noises penetrating the silence. It was peaceful—restful, even. Hanes closed his eyes and sagged against Frankie.
When he opened his eyes again, they were at his parents’ estate.
Surprised, he raised his head and looked around. All the while, Frankie patted his arm.
Thomas got out of his own car and jogged around so that he could open Hanes’s door for him. His other brothers popped up from somewhere, too, all of them helping Hanes ease out of the backseat with his crutches.
“Want me to carry you?” Thomas asked, making kissy sounds right in Hanes ear.
“Shut up,” Hanes said, unable to contain the laughter that came out of him.
Thomas was never so…goofy. To see him like that—Hanes laughed a little harder and lightly pushed against Thomas’s shoulder.
And then everyone was laughing. Hanes wasn’t sure if they were laughing at Thomas or at Hanes—or laughing with them, even—but it was…nice. It had been a long time since Hanes shared an enjoyable moment with his family.
They all walked to the front of the manor at the same slow pace that Hanes was moving. Frankie walked right next to him, though she allowed him enough room to use his crutches.
When he reached the deck—the steps having taken forever for him to conquer—Gina burst out of the front door and nearly hugged him. Horror struck her face though, and she quickly stepped back.
“You look awful,” she said, grimacing as she eyed him up and down. “How are you even alive?”
Hanes snorted. “I missed you, too, you runt.”
“If you ever do something so idiotic again—”
He tilted his head to the side and huffed. “I know, I know. I got all kinds of lectures back at the hospital. I won’t do that ever again.”
Gina visibly relaxed. “Okay then.” She slowly moved forward and gave him the lightest hug he had ever received. “You’re the good one, you know.”
Hanes smiled fondly, pressing a kiss to his baby sister’s head. “Second to you, maybe.”
Gina snorted, but she didn’t disagree with him. She patted his back once before backing away and opening the door for them all.
Hanes nod his thanks as he hobbled his way inside the air-conditioned home. He heard Frankie and his family shuffle in after him—all of them so close to him and one another. They practically hovered over him until he sat down on the couch, his crutches placed against the couch’s arm.
Frankie, quickly but gently, settled in beside him again.
And then everything returned to normal.
“We should talk about how exactly to split up dad’s assets,” Thomas said, taking his seat in the lounge chair. “He does have some properties on the east coast that I think we should sell. And we have lost some renters this past year, so we need to focus on doing more advertising.”
“Again with the advertising,” Eunice whined. “That’s all you ever talk about.”
“Advertising is how sales happen.”
“We haven’t even gotten a proper contract set up yet. Everything still belongs to Hanes right now.”
Thomas’s face fell. “Right.” He turned to Hanes. “Um—”
Hanes waved his hand at them all, some of them taking their seats while others remained standing with their arms crossed. “Don’t give a damn. You can have it all.”
“You should have some say in the company,” his mother said. She was one of the ones who remained standing, her face contorting with frustration. “Those stables and ranches your father rented out are his legacy.”
“I thought that was what we were. Why else would he write out the will the way he did?”
That got everyone quiet, their gazes lowering.
Hanes smirked with triumph. And now that everything was silent, he could return his full attention to Frankie, snuggled against his side. “You know,” he said, amusement and warmth coursing through him, “someone at the hospital told me that you and I were engaged.”
Frankie jolted a bit before backing away to face him properly. A blush coated her entire face, her mouth opening and closing before an actual sound came up. “Well, um, Thomas thought that—it—I—”
“I really liked the sound of it,” Hanes said, his smirk softening as he stared at his babbling beauty.
Her face went slack, her eyes moistening. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He leaned a little closer. Her scent, her warmth—it wrapped around him, made him feel like he truly was home. Everything about Frankie Carmichael was everything he had ever needed, and he felt the urge to make it permanent as soon as possible. “I would get on one knee if I could, but—”
“I’ll marry you,” she breathed before kissing him. “Of course I will.”
As Hanes heart soared, his relatives applauded. He didn’t know why they were clapping—he and Frankie weren’t their only little reality show—but he didn’t care. He leaned forward and kissed Frankie again, his hand moving to rest on her swollen belly.
Home, he thought again, joy and peace settling over him.
THE END
unBEARable Lust
CHAPTER ONE
Navy seals and soldiers are usually a rowdy bunch but tonight they had been extra loud, obnoxious and mentally draining. Lia yawned loudly, heading home from her shift behind the bar, rubbing her sore head as she thought of having to do it all over again tomorrow.
It was that thought that was on her mind as she stepped out into the road, hoping to cross over to the apartment building where she lived that was just around the corner.
The car came out of nowhere. The headlights flashed. The tires screeched on the damp surface of the road. Lia screamed and did the only thing she could, raised her hands in order to protect herself from the oncoming vehicle. It was the only thing she h
ad time to think about, that and the fact she knew that she was going to die when the car hit her.
Then suddenly something hit her from the side, she was thrown onward expecting to land on hard concrete yet she found she landed on something much softer than expected. She’d thought to be thrown backward against the hard surface of the road after being hit by the metal hood of the car yet now she found herself held in the arms of a handsome stranger.
Her heart pounded so hard and fast that it felt as though it was going to explode out of her chest. She felt a flutter in her stomach as she looked into the deep blue eyes of the man who had saved her life, appearing out of nowhere to pull her out of the way of death itself and land with her on top of him completely unharmed.
“How…how did you do that?” Lia gasped as she continued to stare at him, taking in every inch of his face. His features were sharp and fierce, his eyes blazed and the corners of his mouth were turned down in a deep frown.
“Never mind that,” He told her gently as he picked himself up from the ground taking her with him, holding her until she became steady on her feet again, “Are you alright?”
“I…I’m fine.” Lia replied as she took a mental check of every one of her limbs and organs, knowing that in fact she was better than fine. She was one hundred per cent alive. It was almost unbelievable. A few moments ago she had seen death staring her in the face yet now she was staring into the face of someone who seemed to be a guardian angel.
“You’re the bar maid from Salty John’s aren’t you?” the man raised an eyebrow looking at her as though he was trying to figure something out about her. Lia had to hold back a gasp as she realized he knew who she was.
“Yes, I’ve been there a few weeks now.” She admitted feeling suddenly as though she was on display. Heat burned between her thighs at the intense smoky look he gave her.
“I’m guessing you’ve just come from there?” he asked even though he already seemed to know the answer, “Would you let me walk you home?”
“I…I’m fine, honestly,” Lia shook her head. She couldn’t stand people fussing over her. It had never been her thing, “I’ll get home in five minutes.”
“Please, let me walk you?” the man asked almost impatiently, “My ego would be compromised if I didn’t.”
Lia couldn’t help but smile. The truth was she was still weak at the knees and her heart was still pounding with a mixture of panic and relief as she thought again of the near miss.
The man held out his arm and Lia linked hers through it, gripping hold of his forearm to help keep her steady as they began to walk down the pavement toward the corner that would take them to her apartment building.
“So barmaid, what’s your real name?” the man asked looking at her intently as though he was truly interested.
“Lia,” she replied with a smile, “And what might be the name of my savior?”
“My name is Maxwell but most people just call me Max,” he replied giving her a smile back, “I don’t think I’ve ever been called a savior before.”
“You saved my life,” Lia laughed, “That makes you my savior.”
That’s when they came to the door of her apartment building. She stopped, removed her arm from his and sighed, “Well this is me,” as she pointed to the door, “Could I possibly repay you with a coffee?”
“I’m afraid I have somewhere I need to be,” Max shook his head. Lia was instantly surprised. That was the first time any man had turned down an offer to enter her home, especially at night.
“Oh right ok,” she had no idea what to say to that response, “I guess this is goodbye then.” She felt her cheeks growing red with embarrassment.
Max’s next words startled her even more, “Maybe we could get coffee in the morning? There’s a lovely little café about ten minutes away from here?”
“That’s sounds good to me,” Lia smiled, “I could meet you there?” Max quickly shook his head as though he could not even think on such a thing.
“I’ll come and get you,” the corners of his mouth turned up in a handsome, breath-taking smile, “I’ll see you back here around 8:30?” he suggested.
“I’ll see you here then.” Lia replied and held out her hand in the only gesture she could think of to end their conversation. Max took hold of her hand in his and to her surprise leaned down to place his lips against her knuckles. They were soft and tender, kissing her warmly with a kind of strange affection.
“I look forward to it.” he told her with another brilliant smile before he turned and disappeared around the corner. Lia stood there for a few moments wondering, trying to figure out exactly what had just happened.
CHAPTER TWO
A soft hand stroked Lia’s cheek. Her eyes blinked open to find Max gazing back at her. His eyes sparked with desire as he looked down at her with a longing that she felt deep inside her own stomach. Max leaned down and pressed his lips tenderly against hers. She closed her eyes again enjoying the scent of him as it enveloped her, sweet yet masculine as he wrapped his arms around her. His fingers ran through the long curls of her hair and he held her there so that she could not pull away from him. Her mind spun with desire.
When she opened her eyes again she found that she was alone, staring up at the off white ceiling of her bedroom. Heat burned in her cheeks as she realized she had been dreaming of the handsome stranger who had saved her life. She took in a long deep breath as she realized that she was panting like a dog on heat.
Glancing at the clock on the bedside table she saw that it was only 5:00am. She pushed back the covers and slipped out of bed to head into the bathroom. She stood in front of the sink and splashed cold water upon her face in an attempt to freshen herself up. When she stood again she found she was looking at herself more closely in the mirror than she usually did.
Her pale skin was brighter than usual and the black circles under her eyes did not seem so big. The plushness of her lips drew her eyes then and she lifted her fingers to touch them as she remembered how it had felt to kiss Maxwell in her dream.
“Stop thinking like that!” she told herself as she switched off the bathroom light and headed back into the bedroom. Throwing herself back down onto the bed, she pulled the covers over her and turned her face into the pillow, closing her eyes in an attempt to get back to sleep for an hour or two.
After tossing and turning for over half an hour she realized that it just wasn’t going to happen and so she clambered back out of bed and headed back into the bathroom to turn on the shower. A warm stream of water would help to wake her up fully for the day ahead.
She pulled off her night clothes and stepped into the cubicle. The water streamed down over her and she closed her eyes enjoying the warm feel of it. Soon steam filled the room and the smell of lavender enveloped her as she poured shampoo into the palm of her hand and began to lather it up in her hair. The smell helped to calm her nerves at having to go back to work to pay for the small apartment she was living in yet she knew she could not go back home. She knew she could not return to the life she had once lived with the man who had beaten her to within an inch of her life. The thought of it made her shiver with fear.
Lia stood outside the apartment building at 8:30am glancing both ways in the hopes of finding Maxwell walking toward her. As she looked at her watch her heart began to sink into her boots as she wondered whether she had been stood up. She glanced both ways down the street again and when she looked to her right there he was, walking toward her with a spark in his blue eyes.
Lia felt her heart leap into her throat then as he came to stand in front of her, “I’m sorry I’m late,” he told her as though he had seen her glancing at her wrist watch, “I had a small problem with my keys.”
“It’s alright,” Lia shook her head, “I haven’t been waiting long.”
“Shall we?” Max asked as he held out his arm to her and gestured for them to take a walk. Lia smiled warmly to him and linked her arm in his remembering how he had saved her the night before, reme
mbering how his blue eyes had sparked as he’d held her in his arms on the concrete.
“So, where is this café you spoke about last night?” Lia asked as they began to walk down the street. She had not been in the city long and she had not had a chance to explore. All she’d been able to do was get a job and set herself up in her small apartment to get away from the violent relationship she’d been in before she’d left her home town.
“It’s just around the corner,” Maxwell assured her, “I’m sure you’ll love it.”
CHAPTER THREE
They arrived at the café just ten minutes after having left the apartment building. It was a small building compared to most of the large shops and office buildings of the city and Lia instantly loved it. There was something of a homely touch to the café that warmed her heart as Max held open the door and gestured for her to step inside.