by L. J. Dee
“Will you tone it down, Sis, the boys have just buried their father,” Jess said as I smiled apologetically.
“Sorry, I forgot where I was for a second.” I stared at the sexy young rocker, then at Charlie and then at Lucas. It wasn’t easy for a girl to keep her head around this much hotness and the glance to my sister told her as much. She’d been here a few days and I wondered how the hell she managed it. Falling into bed with Lucas at night had to help I thought, casting another quick glance at Charlie.
“Chas,” I said, reaching out my hand to Tyler as he shook it, offering a tight smile and I could tell from the redness that rimmed his eyes that today had affected him deeply.
“I’m glad you’re here, Chas. You are probably the only person who could make me smile today,” Charlie said as I smiled back, holding him in another lingering hug and wondering whether this weekend might be the time that Charlie finally decided he wanted more than a fast fuck. I’d always hated funerals and already considered stranger sex in a graveyard today which was absolutely unheard of. Maybe Charlie might suddenly decide that a relationship would be more fulfilling after all. Despite the sizzling sexual chemistry and the undeniable attraction, I wouldn’t cross that line until I had some guarantees. Our friendship was too unique to risk for anything less.
“Always on hand to brighten your day,” I smiled as he tucked his arm around my waist, kissing me in a caring gesture that sent a shiver of warmth running through me.
“So where did you get to?” Lucas asked as I sighed.
“Well I ended up in Little Prenton instead of Little Preston. I found a graveyard, but they were burying someone called Deidre,” I said as Charlie smiled. “It took me a while to realise, but there was way too much polyester going on and not a sniff of Armani. You should have seen the looks I got when I tried to sneak off. I had to pretend I was overcome with emotion, but I don’t have much experience of that. I sounded more like a pig having an orgasm,” I said as Charlie laughed hard.
“What does that sound like?” Tyler smiled in amusement as I snivelled and sucked in loud deep breaths, peppering my virtual sobs with the occasional grunt and high pitched squeal. If it sounded as bad then as it did now, I wasn’t surprised everyone was staring.
“Eventually I found the right one, and I was hoping I could make the burial part, but you’d all left,” I said, my face lighting up as I thought about my little encounter with the hot gravedigger.
“What’s that look?” asked Jess who had clearly noticed the sparkle in my eyes as Charlie watched me with some amusement.
“What look?” I pursed my lips and tried not to smile, but I was fooling no one, least of all my sister.
“That look! The one right there, that’s lighting up your whole face.” She was pointing at me as I flushed, biting my lip to stifle my grin and I wondered whether telling them at this particular moment would be inappropriate.
“Nothing,” I lied as Charlie shook his head.
“It can’t be as bad as bursting into someone’s burial and moaning like some strange, horny hog. Come on, Chas, tell us what happened,” he grinned as I took a deep breath. It probably wasn’t a good idea, but might shock Charlie into action if nothing else. Maybe it wouldn’t. However it went I was desperate to share it with someone.
“I met a man by the grave,” I said, noticing the slight frown on Charlie’s brow as Jess urged me to continue. “He was stunning and he started talking to me. I was absolutely speechless.” Jess stared open mouthed and even Lucas was smiling.
“You were left speechless? Jesus Christ, Chas, that must be a first,” he laughed, looking at Charlie who wasn’t amused.
“Were you hit by the thunderbolt?” Jess asked excitedly as I shook my head.
“I don’t know about a thunderbolt, but I was definitely smacked by the sex stick.” Everyone laughed except Charlie. I glanced at the floor as guilt pricked my gut. I was supposed to be here cheering Charlie up, not bringing him down, and the last thing I’d intended was to hurt him.
I had never seen my sister so animated and she wasn’t about to leave it there. “I knew it would happen one day. Now you know how it feels. What’s his name?” she asked as I rolled my eyes. She was silent for a second, until a broad grin spread slowly across her face. “You didn’t get it, did you?” she laughed, with more than a small element of triumph in her voice as I shook my head. She was smirking now, and I really couldn’t blame her after the lectures I’d delivered on this very subject.
“Tell us what he looked like. If he’s local we might know him,” Lucas said, almost reading my mind. Digging graves must be thirsty work. He definitely looked like the kind of man who’d like a beer, as the thought of him extracting that glorious body from a sweat covered T-shirt and wrapping those full, soft lips around a moulded brown bottle flashed into my mind. Perhaps I could drag everyone down to the pub later to see if I could find him. The prospect of never seeing that incredible face again was pretty depressing. I cast a quick glance at Charlie, all of a sudden quite awkward and wondering whether I shouldn’t be sharing this after all. Hell, it was too late now.
“He was tall and muscular with dark skin; really tanned like he spent a lot of time outdoors. It’s strange, but he was so captivating that I can’t really remember the exact details, except his eyes. His eyes were extraordinary, the most vibrant blue and he looked...” I stopped, glancing up as the kitchen door flew open. I stood there for a second, immobilised; open mouthed and staring hard as everyone followed my gaze to the figure in the doorway.
“He looked exactly like that,” I whispered. Jess glanced at me with a stunned expression on her face as the deafening shouts of “Roman” echoed through the room. Tyler flung his arms around the handsome stranger, almost knocking him stumbling backwards into the hall.
“You came,” he gasped as Roman looked at Lucas, then Charlie until his eyes settled finally on me, a small smirk curving the side of his mouth.
“We thought you weren’t coming,” Lucas smiled, moving to hug his brother, patting him hard on the back and pulling away as Roman shifted his gaze to Charlie and the smirk was gone.
“Charlie?” he said as Charlie looked away, and Roman’s dark brows pinched together as he glanced across at Lucas. The tense atmosphere was broken by Tyler, who looked relieved and happy.
“I knew you’d come back.”
“I needed to check for myself that the bastard was actually dead,” he smiled at Tyler as Charlie glared at him, every muscle tensing in his body, hands balled into giant fists.
“Let’s take this through to the study,” Lucas announced firmly, ushering Tyler and Roman out of the kitchen as Charlie followed behind, looking furious and not remotely happy to see his prodigal brother. Jess grabbed my elbow.
“Roman is your thunderbolt?” she gasped, eyeing me intently as a nervous laugh escaped my lips.
“It would appear so, Sis,” I whispered as she shook her head in disbelief. She wasn’t alone. Oh my God. I had no clue what was coming next, how this thing might pan out or what the weekend would bring. The only thing I was certain of; that I wanted to know more about Roman Hunter.
CHAPTER TWO
“Do you think we should leave them to it?” she asked in a hushed tone and we padded down the hall as I looked around at the immaculate decor. The house was incredible, full of character and artfully stylish as I stopped momentarily, holding her gaze.
“Hell no! These boys aren’t shy. If they don’t want us there, they’ll let us know, but I for one want to know what is going on here. Charlie was ice-cold in that kitchen. Do you think it’s got anything to do with what I just said?”
“Self absorbed much?” Jess smiled, shaking her head, holding my arm to still me for a second. “Something’s gone down between Roman and Charlie, but I don’t know what it is. I’ve wanted to ask Lucas, but there never seems to be a right time.” Now I was even more intrigued to find out the back story on the mysterious, sexy Hunter brother.
We followed them into the study, still in a state of shock, taking a seat on the hard green leather antique couch and accepting the brandy that Lucas had poured.
This was the last thing I’d been expecting.
Everyone was sitting down, with the exception of Roman who was leaning casually against the wall, looking just as delectable as he had in that graveyard. I took in every inch of his carved muscular frame and that remarkable face. Even in the midst of his gorgeous siblings he stood out, and I sipped my brandy, trying to gather myself and quench my bone dry mouth.
“I’m surprised you have the nerve to show your face around here,” Charlie spat, eyeing his brother with disdain as I looked on in silence, puzzled at the animosity and wondering what the hell had happened between them. Roman laughed gently, flashing a beautiful white smile and I flushed uncharacteristically as he glanced in my direction.
“I wasn’t planning on coming, but I changed my mind,” he said, his gaze lingering on me as my flush deepened. It was too late; Charlie had caught it and looked livid.
“Anyway, what do you mean I wouldn’t have the nerve? What did the bastard tell you?” Roman asked as Lucas threw Charlie a warning glare.
“What, so you’re claiming you didn’t fuck my girlfriend?” Charlie said; his voice laced with fury as I cast a worried glance at Jess. She was watching the whole thing unfold as dumbfounded as I was. Roman laughed a slow, deliberate laugh as Charlie stood, looking ready to punch him. His handsome features were contorted in anger as Lucas rose, grabbing his elbow firmly and holding him back. They were staring silently, but Roman didn’t flinch and I imagined he could handle himself pretty well. He certainly looked like a hard bastard, and I imagined there’d be some power behind those incredible muscles. The last thing I wanted was for him to unleash it on Charlie.
“Jesus Christ, that’s fucking twisted, even by the old man’s standards,” he laughed again. “He told you I left because I screwed my own sister?” Everyone stared at him in wide eyed surprise, seemingly unable to process what he was saying.
“What do you mean, Roman?” Tyler asked quickly as Roman shook his head. I looked on with increasing curiosity. His sister? They didn’t have a sister.
“He told you I slept with Scarlett and you believed him?” Roman asked incredulously, laughter turning to disbelief as he glanced at each of his brothers in turn. “You believed it?” he shouted at Charlie before the room filled with an eerie silence.
Tyler broke it suddenly, approaching his brother who tensed immediately, still staring at Charlie and urging his answer. “I didn’t believe it,” he said as Roman cast him a tight smile, glancing at Lucas briefly before turning his attention back to Charlie.
“You fucking believed him?” he asked again as a dozen emotions swept through Charlie’s face.
“Of course I believed him. He told me he caught the two of you in bed. He said that he threw you out and told you never to come back,” he shouted, watching Roman carefully as he shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with pain.
“I’m your brother, Charlie. There’s a code; a line you don’t cross and that is one of them,” he said as Charlie stared at him, a deep frown etched on confused features.
“What the hell was I supposed to think, Roman? You took off without a word to any of us. No one could find you. There was no other explanation,” he said firmly as Roman shook his head in disgust.
“And what did she say?” he asked as Charlie gazed at the floor, running agitated hands through his hair.
“I didn’t speak to her about it. I just cut her off,” he said regretfully as Roman laughed disbelievingly.
“You dumb fuck. Why didn’t you just ask her? She would have told you there wasn’t an ounce of truth in it,” he said as Charlie sighed deeply.
“I didn’t ask her because I thought it was true, Roman?” Charlie said quietly, clearly struggling to process the fact that his father had lied to him so cruelly.
“Of course it isn’t true. But I’ve got to give it to the old man; it was a genius move to get rid of us both.”
“You said sister, Roman. What did you mean?” Lucas asked firmly.
“What do you think I meant?” Roman replied as each of them looked on in puzzlement and I cast a quick glance as Jess who was looking as troubled as Lucas.
“What happened twenty seven years ago?” His haunted blue eyes glanced around the room. He was growing increasingly impatient and frustrated.
“Dad dissolved the business with Everett,” Tyler said and all eyes were trained on Roman who was nodding.
“Why?” he asked as Lucas blew out a hugely exaggerated sigh.
“No one knows, Roman.”
“It turns out I do, and it looks like I’ll have to spell it out.” Charlie stared at him wide eyed. Whatever skeletons were lurking in the Hunter closet were about to be released on the unsuspecting brothers. My heart was pounding in worried anticipation and I wasn’t even directly involved. The atmosphere in the room was suffocating as I cast a quick glance at my sister who looked as uneasy as I did. We shouldn’t be here for this, but I was frozen in my seat, unable to move.
“Why would a business so successful, run by two best friends, suddenly be destroyed overnight by the one man who had worked so hard to create it?” Roman asked, expecting them to piece the information together as they stared at him blankly.
“Mum was having an affair with Everett,” he announced to audible gasps and pained faces, looking at each of the brothers in turn. Charlie shook his head, striding towards Roman and facing him toe to toe, radiating anger from every pore.
“Don’t you fucking dare besmirch her name,” he spat as Roman pulled a face that was almost apologetic, holding his ground.
“It’s true. The old man found out and went on a mission to destroy him; took the business from under him piece by piece when mum confessed.” I looked across at Lucas who slumped back against the couch with his head in his hands, having clearly worked out where this was going.
“What else happened twenty seven years ago?” he asked as horror and realisation washed across the faces of Charlie and Tyler as the full picture started to become clear.
“He told me less than a week after she died. He’d always suspected I wasn’t his, but wouldn’t do anything about it while she was still alive. As soon as she’d gone he had the DNA test done, announced that I wasn’t a Hunter and told me to get out and never come back. He threatened me that if I told you and ruined our mother’s reputation; that he’d destroy me like he’d destroyed my father. I wasn’t worried about that; he couldn’t touch me, but I was worried about how you’d all react, so I took off until I could get my head around it.”
The silence was excruciating as each of them tried to come to terms with Roman’s epic announcement. Everything they thought they knew was being twisted on its head and I couldn’t even begin to appreciate what they were going through. Their Dad had lied, their brother was fathered by someone else, and their late mother had cheated despicably with the best friend of the man they’d just laid to rest. It was mind blowing. I sat back, staring at the floor and wishing I was still driving around Surrey. Avoiding suicidal mammals was preferable to this.
It was different for Jess, she was with Lucas, but I was only a friend of the family and felt like I was encroaching on what should have been an intensely private time.
I glanced at Charlie who looked as lost as I’d ever seen him, resisting the urge to offer a friendly, reassuring hug. He still looked like he was ready to punch someone. For the second time today, I had absolutely no idea what to say or do.
“It doesn’t change anything, you’re still our brother,” Tyler said eventually, his eyes cloudy with tears as he pulled Roman into a hug and Lucas was next. He said nothing, conveying the depth of his feelings in the strength of his grasp, pulling away as Roman looked at Charlie.
“Charlie, he lied to you. He hated that you were with Scarlett. She was just as bad as Everett in his book. He obviou
sly saw a way to remove us both from your lives,” he said as Charlie just stood there looking defeated and deflated, his face gripped with a pain that tugged at my heart.
“I’m sorry, Roman,” he said eventually, moving away to fill his glass with brandy, the atmosphere so tense that you could cut it with a knife.
“I still can’t believe you actually thought I slept with Scarlett. My sister is a fucking sociopath,” Roman laughed gently.
“Don’t” Charlie snapped, throwing him a warning glare but he paid no attention. It was immediately evident that no one controlled Roman Hunter.
“It’s ironic that it’s probably the only time she hasn’t lied and connived, and that’s the time you decide not to give her the benefit of the doubt,” Tyler quipped as Charlie slumped next to me on the couch, shaking his head and resting it dejectedly in his hands. I picked up his glass and poured him another brandy.
“What the fuck have I done?” he muttered over and over, taking the brandy as Lucas stared at him, his face set in a stern line.
“Don’t do anything rash, Charlie,” he said and I could see the guilt playing out across his features and wondered whether this might mean him and Scarlett could be reunited.
“Dobbs is coming to read the will tomorrow,” Lucas announced suddenly.
“You won’t need me there. I won’t be in it,” Roman said as Tyler gazed across at him, pain and hurt ripping through his face as he looked up at his brother.
“Don’t say that, Dad loved you,” he offered as Roman laughed gently.
“It doesn’t matter now, he’s gone. But you’re my brothers, maybe only half brothers biologically, but the only family I’ve got and you’re all I care about.”
“Whatever is in that will, its split four ways, agreed?” said Lucas as Charlie and Tyler nodded, looking at Roman who was shaking his head.
“No arguments, Roman,” announced Lucas firmly in a tone so forceful that no one responded. I put my arm gently around Charlie in a show of support as he turned and smiled, risking a glance at Roman who was gazing at me curiously.