Roman: Book 2 (The Hunter Brothers Series)

by L. J. Dee

  Roman. The Hunter Brothers Series Copyright ©2014 L.J. Dee

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely incidental.

  This book contains sexual scenes and is recommended for readers over 18.

  With thanks to my wonderful husband and family & my army of beta readers who made The Hunter Brothers Series possible.

  Lucas. Roman. Charlie. Tyler.

  Welcome to the extraordinary world of The Hunter Brothers.

  Bound by blood, sizzling genetics and a fierce determination to protect one another; when their lives are thrust into a spiral of uncertainty, the Hunter brothers find themselves hunted. As their enemies close in, boundaries are crossed and loyalties tested as they are forced to fight for the things that determine their very existence.

  One by one, the women in their lives discover that loving a Hunter is the most exquisite type of torture; a limitless bliss with a dangerous dark side. Destinies collide with desire and fates converge, drawing them into an intriguing tale of sex, power, lies and loss, obsession, death and love.

  From the dangerous rogue to the demanding Dom; the playboy charmer to the charismatic rock star, they will stop at nothing to protect the two things they value the most...love and family.

  Life with a Hunter is always one hell of a ride.

  Equally Alpha. Deliciously different.

  Book #2 The Hunter Brothers series

  Roman

  When the mysterious Roman returns to the family estate in the aftermath of his father’s funeral, his revelations threaten the very foundations of the Hunter family, shaking it to its core. Secrets are revealed and histories unravelled, turning fact into fiction and changing the course of the future.

  He isn’t there to grieve the man that despised him, and his stay will be short lived, but lured back to face his past by the beautiful Chastity, Roman is determined to take her into his bed. The attraction is instant, the chemistry electric and he knows if he can get her alone there will be only one outcome.

  Chastity Evangelista usually lives up to her name, with a list in place for the ultimate prize she’s determined to secure, but she doesn’t count on her dangerous and immediate response to the prodigal brother, riddled with complexities and sizzling with sex appeal.

  He’s an unknown quantity and she doesn’t do those. He’s a weekend hook-up and she doesn’t do those. He is also the brother of the man with whom she hopes her future lies. But when an unforeseen twist changes Charlie’s outlook irrevocably, Chastity is left with a choice to make.

  ‘Roman was an enigma, a puzzle; wrapped in a hot hard body, tormented eyes and a soft full mouth that screamed pure sin. Even here, where the love for him was so palpable you could feel it; he was distant. Unfortunately, he was also captivating, compelling and impossible to ignore.

  I was here for Charlie.

  Roman had other ideas.

  This was going to be one hell of a weekend.’

  ROMAN: Book #2 The Hunter Brothers Series

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  ROMAN

  Chapter One

  I hit the sat nav twice, eventually pulling it from its little sucker and hauling it across the car. “Why now, you clapped out piece of shit?” I shouted at it, huffing and puffing, pulling the car to a stop at the side of the country road and checking my watch for the umpteenth time. Why on earth I’d turned down Charlie’s offer of a driver was beyond me. It was a momentary flash of insanity that I was paying for now.

  Patrick’s niece’s car was as temperamental as that stupid sat nav and Jess was going to go apeshit. I’d promised her faithfully I’d be there on time, wondering why I was even bothering.

  It wasn’t as if I knew Silus Hunter. I wouldn’t have liked him if I did, after the whole ‘bastard’ comment; but she wanted me there and so did Charlie, so I’d agreed. At least I’d get to spend some time with him, so it wasn’t a complete waste of a long weekend off, but as I looked around at field after field of rolling green, I doubted I’d make it anyway.

  I hated the country. There were no road signs, no landmarks and absolutely no way I’d find this elusive church in the twenty minutes I had before the service started. It wasn’t as if I could turn up late, just waltz in when I got there. Funerals were like weddings and there was a certain amount of etiquette involved. My best hope would be to hover in the churchyard, waiting for them to bring the body out. That way, I could slip into the following crowd, pretending I’d been sitting in the back all along. I spotted what looked like a spire in the distance, wondering if I might actually make it after all.

  I could make my way on foot, cut across the fields, but I’d be knee deep in cow shit by the time I arrived. That would be less acceptable than being late. I slammed the car into first and drove in the direction of what I hoped would be the church.

  It wasn’t. A least not the church I needed, and I trudged back down to the car, red faced and swearing under my breath. Who the hell got the wrong bloody funeral? That could only happen to me, although these villages all looked the same. They might be chocolate box pretty, but there was no one around to ask for directions. It was the kind of place where people who tended their gardens religiously, came to retire. I imagined they were all inside watching TV with a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive, or napping with their legs covered in thick tartan blankets. Even the damn Post Office was closed.

  Two hours later I’d finally made it, getting out of the car and tentatively checking the wheel tread for fur and innards. Oh God, the very thought made me want to heave. The thing had come from nowhere; speeding across the country lane like some crazy kamikaze mutant mammal. I’d slammed on the brakes, swerved and tried to avoid the little fucker, almost landing myself in a ditch. They were lucky I was here at all; two more feet and I would have been going in that ground alongside Silus Hunter. I couldn’t even be certain I hadn’t damaged the car. There were so many dents and scrapes it was difficult to know for sure.

  I scanned the road. Two cars and one Ducati; this wasn’t looking promising. I could see the flowers at the far end of the graveyard surrounding the large rectangular hole and made my way towards it. There were no sounds of chatter or organ music coming from the ancient church, only a pure silence, interrupted occasionally by the faint sound of bird song in the low afternoon sun. I had definitely missed it.

  I leaned over, peering into the gaping ground, seeing the walnut coffin at the bottom before I crouched down to read the notes on the beautiful bouquets. I’d got the right funeral at least.

  “Sorry, Silus,” I said, sad for the brothers as I worked through the messages of love and condolence and the enormity of the day finally hit me. I wasn’t good around
death. It was an unhappy reminder of my own mortality and simply served to remind me of all the things I hadn’t done yet. There were dozens and dozens of bouquets, beautiful, colourful and artfully arranged and I was happy that the boys had so much support. It had been a different story for me and Jess when Mum died.

  “He can’t hear you.”

  I jumped out of my skin, stumbling backwards and landing flat on my arse, frightened out of wits. My head snapped to the right to see a man leaning casually against a huge oak tree, chuckling gently as I dusted myself down and scrambled to my feet.

  “It’s not funny, are you trying to give me a damn heart attack too,” I snapped, turning to glare at the impudent stranger. My breath hitched as I caught sight of him properly for the first time while he just stood there, watching me curiously and smirking. I was still furious, trying to calm my breathing and steady my heart that was practically vibrating through my chest.

  He was dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, with a deep tan and a muscular physique that led me to think he was probably a grave digger. Well, that and the huge spade that was leaning against the opposite side of the tree. He certainly looked like he spent a lot of time outdoors and that was not a body that had been cultivated at the gym. He looked more like a prize fighter, rugged and dangerous with thick solid muscles and my heart stopped dead when I took in his face.

  His dark hair and shaded jaw set off the most fabulous bright blue eyes as I cast my glance over a full mouth that was still smirking at me. There was a small scar at the side of his eye and he wasn’t perfect, but imperfection suited him. His nose looked like it had been broken before, which just added to the danger that emanated from his gaze. This man was hot and I was trying desperately to stifle my reaction.

  “You scared the life out of me,” I stuttered, blowing out in a long deep breath.

  “Yeah, I got that,” he smiled and I wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or amused. Either way, it was clear I’d be getting no apology.

  “How did you know him?”

  My brain raced for a moment, trying to figure out the question as I followed his eyes to the grave; suddenly realising he was talking about Silus. I was so stunned by his presence, I’d almost forgotten about the body in the ground, only feet away. “I didn’t,” I mumbled, assessing his face and looking like an idiot as he threw me a bemused frown. Normally I was sharp with instant wit or a feisty retort, but I was having trouble functioning, realising immediately that my answer made me sound like a bit of a fruitcake. I mean, who crept around in graveyards, talking to dead people they’d never met?

  “I promised a friend I’d come,” I said quickly, trying to justify my strange answer. He tilted his head slowly, and the fact that he seemed quietly amused at something had me filled with disquiet and uncharacteristically off kilter.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Chastity,” I said, feeling the moisture evaporating from my mouth as he flashed a wry smile.

  “And does it suit you?” He quirked his eyebrow as I stared at him mutely, wondering what the hell was wrong with my brain.

  I had a hundred, probably a thousand comebacks for that question. I’d been asked it so many times over the years that I had the response off to a tee, but right now when I most needed to, I couldn’t think of a single one. “Yes,” I muttered, almost inaudibly as the smirk returned and I swallowed hard.

  “We’ll see,” he smiled and my heart was racing. The hot gravedigger was flirting with me and if he asked, I’d have probably got low down and dirty with him right here in the graveyard. It was out of character and a fundamentally bad idea, but my reaction was physical and immediate and something I’d rarely felt before. I wasn’t certain what was wrong with me. Apart from hotness, he ticked absolutely no other boxes on my list. He was a manual labourer in the least elegant of professions, and as cock sure of himself as anyone I’d ever met. You could tell at first glance he wasn’t marriage material and about as far from my ‘prize’ as it was possible to get. That said, there was definitely something undeniably captivating about the man. Perhaps it was because I was surrounded by death today that my brain had switched itself to some kind of ‘Live for the moment’ mode. I’d been reminded twice of the fragility of life in as many hours and it was messing with my head.

  Either way, ‘We’ll see’ could only mean one thing. He obviously thought I was easy pickings as I tried to straighten myself up and get my head into gear.

  “I’m pretty certain we won’t,” I shot back in an effort to redress the power balance, although I was rather hoping we would. He didn’t seem bothered, just chuckling; a low deep gravelly sound that only added to his sexiness. I decided to ditch the retorts; I was fighting a losing battle. Besides he was the only human life I’d seen for miles that might help me with directions to the Hunter estate.

  Do you know where Greenfield Hall is?” I asked, licking my lips as he pierced my gaze, clearly misreading my gesture. It was an anatomical need to get some lubrication before my damn mouth dried up altogether.

  “Come here,” he said, beckoning me closer as my traitorous feet seemed to move of their own accord and my breathing sped up. I wasn’t sure what he was about to do, but there was only one thing I wanted. Where the hell had that thought just come from? This wasn’t me; it wasn’t how I behaved. It was the way those women who followed Brad Johnson into the bathroom behaved. I’d always looked down on them for belittling their value, following him like he was the pied piper of pussy or something, dropping their dress as quickly as their morals for a quick romp with someone who, in ten minutes, wouldn’t remember their name. Right now, if I wasn’t careful, I could be that woman. The killer gaze was evaporating my senses.

  ‘Get your shit together, girl’.

  He was only centimetres away as he turned and pointed. I didn’t follow his finger, just staring vacantly at that incredible face, flushing as he frowned at me and I eventually looked across the fields.

  “Can you see that huge house, beyond the trees?” he asked as I nodded.

  “The one with the ornamental carvings below the roof?” I replied, solely in an effort for something to say.

  “Yeah, the one we can actually see,” he said as his eyes twinkled with humour and I realised he was mocking me. It was the only house in sight and my comment had been an entirely moot point. I was being ridiculously uncool; and cool was my middle fucking name.

  “You need to take the next left and follow the road. You’ll see the entrance in a mile and a half,” he said and this time he was looking at me just as intently as I was looking at him. I’d never felt so off balance.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, breaking the gaze and moving backwards into safer territory. I followed my better judgement, turning to leave before I completely lost the plot. This ‘Carpe Diem’ shit was dangerous.

  “I’ll see you, Chastity,” he winked, rolling out my name sweetly across his tongue as my heart flipped in my chest. I took a deep breath, regaining my senses with every foot of distance I put between us, glancing back as I left the churchyard. He was still watching me. Luckily I hadn’t totally morphed into my sister and tripped over my own feet. I exhaled loudly as I climbed back into the car, unable to recall the directions he’d given me to the house. Left? Did he say left? I took a left.

  Every car was heading in the opposite direction to me and I guessed it was all over. Jess would probably go thermonuclear, but it wasn’t as if I’d actually had fun today; except for the incident in the graveyard. That had been incredible. I wondered if I’d share it, imagining how hilarious my sister would find it that I hadn’t got his name and number after the lectures I’d given her. That’s what I’d been kicking myself about when I finally found the Hunter estate. I drove the beaten up Ford along the gravel driveway, parking next to the impressive ornate circular fountain that dominated the front of the incredible house. Wow, this really was something.

  I walked through the grand stone entrance, a huge arched doorway with carved
pillars at either side, trying to focus my attention on the reason I was here instead of the amazing architecture, smiling at Lucas. He was kissing the cheeks of a sweet looking, grey haired lady and seemed to be in charge of waving everyone off, eventually shutting the door and leaning back against the wall for a second as he sighed deeply. He looked exhausted.

  My sister was hovering behind him, looking me up and down and distinctly unhappy with my tardiness.

  “Where the hell have you been?” she scalded, marching into the kitchen followed by Lucas as I stepped forward to give him a hug, completely ignoring her.

  “I’m really sorry for your loss, Lucas, and I’m sorry I’m late. I got lost, almost died, went to the wrong funeral and killed a ferret,” I smiled, squeezing him tight as Jess glowered at me over his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, Sis,” I said, moving to hug her too. “The sat nav broke and I’ve been driving around Surrey for hours. There was no one around to ask for directions, and the life and death thing shook me up,” I said as Lucas laughed.

  “Don’t worry about the ferret, they’re nasty little fuckers and I’ve never met one that didn’t bite.”

  I gasped as the gorgeous man I recognised from the smoking hot video on MTV strode into the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out a beer. Charlie bounded up to me, throwing his arms around me and kissing my cheeks. “I’m sorry about your Dad, Charlie, and sorry I missed the service,” I said as he pulled back, smiling down at me broadly.

  “No big deal, babe, you’re here now.”

  “Have I missed the party too?” I asked as Jess threw me a nasty glare, Lucas frowned and Charlie laughed whole heartedly.

  “I told you, Chas, it’s not a party and yeah, it’s finished. Everyone left just before you got here,” he said as the beautiful specimen of Tyler Hunter sidled casually towards us, swigging his beer and looking me over.

  “Jesus, you lot hit the genetic lottery, didn’t you?” I laughed as Charlie chuckled and Tyler raised his eyebrows. They were lucky they hadn’t accidentally cremated Silus’ body, surrounding him with that level of heat. I bit back that observation just in time.