by C. M. Steele
“I suppose you have a point. Let me drop you off,” he demands. It’s cute the way he looks at me like he needs me. I love it.
I remind him, “I can drop myself off. You’re probably going to get off late.”
“Says the one who was at the office at six when I showed up,” he argues.
I shrug because honestly, I want more time with him and riding together will be better. “True. If anything I’ll just hang out with James and figure out why he keeps sneaking off to the coffee shop down the street.”
“Coffee shop?” he asks, tilting his head.
“Yeah, the one he bought.” I’m sure he knows about the purchase.
“Interesting. I might have to check it out before I go to work.”
“No, you don’t. If he’s got someone there, I don’t want you falling for her too.”
He tosses his head back and laughs hysterically like I’m being funny. “I can’t fall for anyone else. You have me, baby. Heart and soul, I’m yours. And you can’t get rid of me. Besides, I’m the one who has to leave you with my brother all day.”
“Yes, the one man you should be able to trust around me.”
He thinks about it for a second then shrugs off the trust thing. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to be insanely jealous. He gets to spend all day with you.”
I press my hands to his cheeks. “You don’t know your brother that well then. He spends most of his day working at his desk. Let’s go before we’re both late.”
We hop into his truck and drive to the office. I’m so glad this place was available because it’s a short drive to the job. It’s a little pricey, but it’s worth it. He pulls into the underground lot and into my spot. As soon as he does, I lean over and give him a kiss goodbye. He hits the unlock and gets out with me. “You don’t have to walk me up. I’ve got this.”
“I know, but I want one more minute with you. I’m already having withdrawals, and you’re still here.” I slide my hands into his hair and pull his head down for another kiss. This man is going to drive me insane with need. I deepen our kiss, then pull back and give him a soft shove as I close the elevator doors with a smile.
As soon as the elevator opens to my office floor, I’m hit with a shock. My brothers are standing around practically snarling at James.
“Good morning, jackasses. Morning, James.”
“You’re a little early,” James says with a knowing smile. He has a camera linked to his phone, laptop, and the like. He knows who steps onto the elevators at all times. He saw Dean and me.
I blush, walking past my brothers to my desk. Setting down my bag, I say, “Dean had to be at the office by eight.”
“Who’s Dean?” Cameron asks, scowling in the process.
“My brother—like I told you.” James control is starting to slip. All my brothers are standing around him, looking tough. They really are tough guys, but they’ve overstepped their place.
“So what are you doing here?” I challenge them.
“You haven’t returned any of our messages or calls.”
“Um…yes, I did. I told you to mind your own business.” I roll my eyes, take a seat and fire up my laptop.
“You’re our business.” Mitch approaches my desk with his cowboy hat on giving me that stern look he has that’s supposed to intimidate me. It works on everyone else, but they’re a bunch of softies under that gruff exterior. It’s all an act. I bet it’s my mother leading them into action.
They’re going to give me a headache with all the eye rolling I’ve got going on. “Really? I don’t think so.”
“We want you to come home.” I cock my brow at him looking at Mitch like he’s crazy because he is.
James scoffs, “That’s not going to happen.”
“What makes you think you have a choice?” Mason adds. Even the others look at him like that’s going too far.
“The fact that I’m a grown woman.”
“But they’re going to use you,” Mason urges as if that hyperbole is going to convince me.
“They? My boss is pretty decent and pays me very well. As for Dean, he’s wonderful. Now if you all want to join me for lunch, I’m all for that, but I have a lot of work to do. Go see the city. It’s beautiful, and there are lots of places to check out. I’d recommend the Art Institute. I’ll be ready for lunch around noon.”
“As businessmen yourself, I’m sure you understand that I have a company to run. She’ll meet you in the lobby.” James walks them out then rolls his eyes.
“No wonder you’re a ballbuster. Dean’s in for it.” He laughs and shakes his head. The tension that he had a minute ago is gone.
“As long as he doesn’t piss me off, we’re good,” I inform him, getting up to get a cup of coffee.
He laughs. “Oh well, then he’s in for it.”
“Shut it. Don’t you have work to do?”
“So do you. By the way, I’ve been nice enough not to mention it to my parents. When they find out, you’ll be hounded for a wedding and grandbabies as soon as they say hello.”
I blush, shaking my head. “When the men in my family fall, we fall hard and forever.”
“So the coffee shop?” I say, trying to turn the tables on him.
He walks back toward me. “She works tomorrow. And I’ll have her soon, and you’ll have a sister-in-law.”
“You’re giving your brother’s feelings too much credit.” I hope he’s not, but a girl has to get her head out of the clouds and live in reality.
“No, I’m not. He’s more uptight than I am.” He gives me a hug just as the doors of the elevator open and a growl comes from it. We both separate and look toward the sound. Dean’s marching into the room with a scowl.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” he tells his brother. He turns his grimace toward me, then I’m in his arms, being kissed out of my mind.
“What happened?” I ask after catching my breath.
“You forgot your phone.” He held it up between us.
“Oh, thank you.” I take it from him and set it on my desk.
He quirks his brow, then asks, “Where are your brothers?”
I give a curious look, slightly pushing out of his arms. “How did you know…”
He snakes his arms back around me. “A text from James popped up that’s how I knew your phone was in the car. I wasn’t spying on you.”
“I’ve got nothing to hide. And they left. We’re going to have lunch together at noon.”
A sudden look of fear comes over his face. “You’re not going to leave me, are you?”
I press my head against his chest and listen to the rapid beating of his heart. “No. I’m not going anywhere. I already told them I’m not leaving.”
“Good, because I’d hate to have to chase you to Montana.”
Chapter 10
Dean
It takes everything in me to leave her office. Thoughts of her brothers sneaking back in to steal her away or even trying to convince her to return to Montana run through my head. I know James will do his best to ensure that doesn’t happen. I have to cement our relationship. Very soon, none of them can steal her away from me. In fact, we may have made a baby this weekend.
I make it into the office only a few minutes late, but no one says shit because I’ll work late as always. I’m holding the ring in my pocket that feels like it needs to belong elsewhere. I bought it a week ago, and I have to get it on her finger before her brothers try to take her away from me.
“Black, we’re going down to the Bistro for lunch. Come, and we can talk shop.”
“Okay, give me five minutes.” I look at my watch, and it’s already ten after twelve, so I finish up the notes I’m working on for a criminal case. We go to trial in two weeks, the case is mostly in the bag, but I want to double check my work.
I slip on my coat and follow Jensen and Reid to the elevators. “So who is the woman?”
“What do you mean?”
“Black, you came in with your lips swollen and you
r hair messed up.”
“And you were late.”
“Can’t I oversleep?” I ask, stepping off first before they continue their grilling.
They both smirk at me. Jensen says, “We’ve known you since law school. You’re never late.”
“And you never have a girl,” Reid adds.
“If you must know I met the one and that’s all I’m going to tell you.” I push the front doors open and catch a cool breeze. Damn, I hope Nancy dresses warm enough for her lunch with her brothers.
“Come on, why hold back?”
“Because she’s mine and I won’t even share an ounce of her radiance with anyone.”
“Damn you do have it bad. That Black romance gene is strong as fuck in your family. Wonder when your rich brother is going to fall?”
We walk to the restaurant because it’s only five minutes away from the office. “Who knows,” I say with a shrug. “What about you two?”
“Ha, that’s never going to happen. Bachelor for life. No woman wants to marry a man who’s never home.” Damn, that hit me straight in the gut. Would she turn me down or worse get fed up with me being unreliable? I can’t let that happen. Besides, my parents are a prime example of a happy marriage in a busy life.
“Yeah, face it. We work until the wee hours of the morning on these cases. When there’s a screaming newborn, and she’s forced to deal with it all by herself, she’ll be out. Or stepping out for comfort.”
“Well, then I’d quit being an attorney. I’m not going to fuck up my happiness for my career.”
“Damn, you’re full of shit. No pussy is that good.”
“It’s more than sex. And don’t talk about her like that.” I freeze when I see my woman sitting there with four burly men. I know they’re her brothers, but I have to assert my territory.
“Excuse me, guys.” I walk to her table, and the one in a cowboy hat sees me and stands up.
Nancy turns to see what is going on with her brother. “Dean?” she gasps out when she sees me.
“Hey, baby. How are you?” I bend down and kiss her in front of those assholes.
“Have some respect.”
“Show some first,” I told them.
“What are you doing here?” she challenges, thinking I followed her here.
“My office is about five minutes from here. My colleagues invited me to lunch,” I say, pointing to the two fools eyeing my woman. “Ignore those asses. Please introduce me to your brothers, love.”
She smiles at my new endearment. I love the woman, that’s undeniable, but I haven’t told her yet. “This is Mitch, Cameron, Mason, and Alex.”
Only Alex shakes my hand. I like him. He doesn’t give me the dickhead vibe I’m getting from the rest of them. They stare at me like I’m supposed to be intimidated. Nothing but Nancy matters to me. I can see she’s getting put out with their stern glares at me. I press one hand onto the table and the other on the back of her chair, giving them my own warning, “Okay, here’s the thing. I’m not going to hurt her, ever. And I’m sure as fuck not going to give her up. I know you all want her to be safe and protected, but that’s what she’s going to get with me.”
“We’re supposed to believe it?” Mitch, the cowboy, tells me.
“Believe whatever the fuck you want. I don’t give two fucks what any of you think. All that matters to me is Nancy. If you don’t leave us alone to have a little peace, I’ll make sure you’re never involved in our lives.”
“Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?”
“It’s a little ridiculous that grown ass men travel across the country to stop their sister from going on a date for no good reason. You didn’t even know who I was, but you assumed that I was James. As much as I’d hate to admit this, he’s a great man with integrity and worthy of her, but she’s mine.”
“Fine. We’ll let it go for now, but if she isn’t treated like she should, you’ll have to answer to us. And we have cousins as well.”
“Good to know. Now, baby. I hate to have interrupted your lunch. Please finish and enjoy. I’ll be over with the guys. Say goodbye if you want before you go back to the office.”
“Okay.” She looks as if I was abandoning her.
“And boys, if anything happens to her while she’s with you, you’ll have to answer to me.” I wink and give her one more deep kiss, then head back to the two idiots.
Chapter 11
Nancy
I scold my brothers. I’m glad Dean missed the first half of the conversation. They warned me that rich men like Dean will use and cheat on me. I wanted to cry and say it isn’t so, but who knows. I’ve only known Dean for a few days, and anything can happen. Of course, I challenged them. Every single one of my brothers is well off or plain rich. They argued that they wouldn’t be so vile. Mark down another eye roll for me.
Now, I’m sneaking peeks across the room to where the three men are. Dean has his eyes on me, but he’s speaking to the guys he’s with. A bit of relief hit me when he wasn’t with a female coworker. I know that it would be normal for a group to go to lunch together. I’ve gone with James many times, but I would be hard-pressed to hold in my jealousy. I take my eyes away from him and blush.
“You are one lucky woman,” an older waitress says. She’d been standing at the next table over when Dean came up to us, so she heard everything.
“Thanks,” I mumble out, taking a sip of my iced tea.
“No, you’re really lucky, sweetheart. They don’t make men like that anymore. Dean is just like his father it seems. Once he met their mother, that was it. They have been together for the past three decades. Women eye him like candy, but he ignores them. Can I get you any dessert?”
“I’ll take a tiramisu,” Alex says with a smile and a wink to the woman. Alex loves his sweets. My brothers are all different, but they’re all determined men. Thankfully, Alex is the only one who has any sense enough not to push the issue.
“I’ll take another lemon water, please.”
“You know, he comes off a bit possessive,” Mitch throws out.
I give a chuckle. “Funny, it seems you all are too.”
“We’re supposed to look after you,” Cameron reminds me.
“Well, that isn’t your job anymore,” I say, tossing my napkin on the table.
“No, it isn’t,” Dean says. “Sorry again for interrupting but remember what I said before. I’m not playing. I’ll hide her pretty ass away with my family and our babies.” He looks down at me. “Baby, I have to go. There’s been a crime scene, and they’re requesting me. I’ll call you when I get a chance. If anything, I’ll tell James to take you back to our place.”
“Uh, I can…” I start to argue.
“You can do what you please, but that’s what I’d prefer. Have a good day, Nancy.” He pulls me up from my chair and kisses me hard then lets me go and leaves. His friends are still at the booth. I guess they didn’t have to go.
As soon as Dean is out of sight, Cameron smirks and exclaims, “See you can’t count on him to be around.”
I huff, grabbing my purse to pull out a tip. The guys won’t let me pay. It’s a guy thing as they say. I never argue about them picking up the check because it saves me money for my shoe fund. “Give it a damn rest. You know he’s an assistant DA. The guy is hardworking. Now let’s get the check because I have to get back to my job.” As soon as she brings him the tiramisu, I ask for the check.
“Mr. Black took care of the bill. Have a great day. And you, handsome, can come back any time.” She gave Alex a wink then walked away. He turned beet red in a flash. None of us could hold back laughing our asses off.
“You got a cougar on your hands,” Mason teases him.
“She’s older than mom,” Alex exclaims.
“Hey, you know that you can get rid of your cherry.” They tease him all the time because he’s a virgin, but Alex doesn’t want to be like our dad.
“When are you all leaving?” I ask, trying to ease up on the ribbing.
Mitch looks at his watch several times before he answers, “Our plane leaves at four. I have to get back to work on my ranch. I’ve missed almost two days.”
“Good, Mitch. You need to take time off. You work to the bone for what?”
“I know. I know. It was nice to get away. Just be careful. And bring him to meet mom soon.”
“Okay.” One by one my brothers give me a hug goodbye. I am going to miss them. When they’re not being overbearing, they’re great. We part ways outside of my office building.
The rest of the day I sit around with my phone in hand hoping to hear from Dean. I get a few sporadic text messages. I hate that I’m waiting for more. I know he’s working. Hell, I was supposed to be working, but my mind is everywhere but work. He’s in the middle of something important, and I'm just needy.
James comes out of his office, locking it up behind him. “Hey, how about I drive you to your place to get some of your things? It would be easier for the both of you if you could just come straight from one place.” He has a point, but I’m not sure I can do it without Dean around.
“Actually, can you just drop me off at my apartment. I need a night alone.” I hate the fact that I’m so reliant on him out of nowhere. Can I handle needing him and not knowing if he needs me as much?
“Sure. He’s not going to be pleased about it, but if that’s what you want, I’ll do it,” James accepts my choice without trying to dissuade me. I wish my brothers were this easy.
James looks a bit worried as we get into the car. He checks his phone several times, but I don’t question him because it’s none of my business.
I stare out the window absently, taking in nothing but my own thoughts. They’re depressing. How can one person change your world so permanently? “Why do you look so miserable? Do you miss my brother?”
I turn my head toward him practically scoffing at the ridiculousness of the question. “Of course I do. That’s a silly question, but I don’t want to get hurt.”
“Get hurt? Hurting you would be the last thing Dean would ever do.”
“Thank, James.”