Designing Woman (The Sloan Brothers Book 2)

by Willow, Jo

  I was nodding and grinning.

  “You can do whatever you want. I’ve got several in the living room as well as three different game systems. When Sean and I get stressed out, we kill zombies or steal cars. If you’ve got computer game discs at home, bring them next time and have at it. There’s headsets in each desk drawer that plug in for late night game time, if you use the one upstairs. Speaking of which, let me show you the upper level.”

  We went through all four bedrooms with their adjoining bathrooms, the office, library, and then the atrium with the adjoining rooftop garden.

  “Wow Mel’. This is incredible. This alone would have sold me the place. It’s beautiful out here.”

  Austin had his arm around my shoulder and he gave me a little squeeze in appreciation.

  “It did. I looked at a lot of places, but this was the only one that had this to offer. The garden is inaccessible in the winter of course, but the atrium isn’t bad if you’ve got a thick bathrobe on. I like to have my coffee out here when I have downtime.”

  “Are we allowed to use this as well?”

  I took a step back and looked at them both. I’m not sure where our lines got crossed, but I had to set them straight about a few things. I crossed my arms and gave them both stern looks.

  “Okay, here’s the deal. You’re home if you’re here. Home. As in, you live here. There’s not a single room or spot in this place that you’re not allowed in. During working hours, right before a show like now, the three of us are going to be balls to the walls busy for long hours at a stretch. You may see half dressed women milling about because we’re sizing clothes and altering garments. You have to be comfortable with that and comfortable here. You have to treat it like your own home.”

  I turned to Austin and he was watching me closely, looking for the catch.

  “I don’t know how long you’ll need to stay, but if this is your new address for the next year or two, make sure you have your mail changed to this address. Raid the fridge, walk around in your boxers, do what you normally do at home. I have nothing to hide, peek in the closets and medicine cabinets if you like.”

  “I won’t need to be here a year Mel’.”

  “I’m making a point. I give keys to people I consider family. People I think I can trust. Ayla says you’re alright, so you’re alright. You’ve both saved my ass with Anton as well and I owe you for that. I consider you good friends and I don’t have many of those. I don’t trust very many people, money and the Lincoln name will do that to a person.”

  “Paranoid much?”

  Chase was making a joke, but he’d hit home a little closer than he knew.

  “Paranoid a lot. I have to be. Dorothy and I learned the hard way growing up, that certain people will go to an awful lot of trouble to get close to my father or my mother. I’m a fashion designer. My mother was a supermodel. You do the math. My point is, you two aren’t like that.”

  “How do you know? Neither one of us grew up with money. Our families barely touched middle class in the best years. This is all a bit overwhelming Mel’. How do you know we’re not golddiggers scamming you?”

  I chuffed at Austin’s question.

  “Because Ayla’s been with me for months and I’m just now meeting you, for one. For another, I can tell. I can smell a money hit a mile off. That’s not to say I wouldn’t lend you money if you needed it. I would. My friends can come to me for anything, money included and it stays between us. Not one of them has and that proves my point. The people I trust have keys to my house. With you two in the mix, you see how close my inner circle is.”

  Chase had his hands in his pockets and he looked down at the floor of the atrium before his eyes came up and he scanned the view.

  “I for one am grateful and glad to be included in that circle. You’re a remarkable woman Mel’, and nothing like I expected. You’re more down to earth than I thought you’d be. If I wasn’t standing in your penthouse atrium, I’d think you could easily be living in a two bedroom walk up in a Boston suburb.”

  “My sister and I are both this way. Her more than me, to be honest. I was the pampered baby. I let my folks put me through college because I’ve never been as confident as Dorothy. I’m learning, but I’m not there yet. I, am a work in progress.”

  We moved indoors towards the kitchen and I started pulling things out of the fridge for sandwiches.

  “Who’s hungry?”

  And that’s when it happened and I knew this would work. They both came around the counter and started acquainting themselves with the whereabouts of everything. Chase started making coffee and Austin started slicing tomatoes while I pulled out plates and cups. We were working together efficiently. It was as if they’d always been there and we all began to relax. We laughed and joked and talked about our jobs and college years. They were slipping out of their “god” statuses and sliding into “big brothers” territory. Brothers were harder to come by and tended to stick around longer. We were bonding.

  “What the fuck!”

  A large hand went over my mouth and I knew who it was. I’d know that hand anywhere. I glanced at the bedside clock and saw 3:12. The hand fell away when he felt my body relax as I rolled over to face him.

  “Anton, what the hell are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to sleep alone.”

  I removed his hand from my ass as he was pulling me closer.

  “No, you were making sure that I WAS sleeping alone. There’s a difference.”

  “Purely semantics. I miss you babe. I miss us. I miss this.”

  “So you’re here for a booty call. What happened to Amy? She wouldn’t put out?”

  “That is so far beneath you Melody. She’s an old friend. I told you that.”

  “She’s an old flame, get it right. Or do you always hang all over your old friends like that?”

  “Mmm... I like it when you’re jealous. It gives me ideas.”

  “I’ll ‘idea’ your ass. What makes you think you can waltz in here and climb into my bed after ignoring me for weeks and whoring around with who knows what? Why aren’t you in Catwoman's bed?”

  He gave a low and slow laugh and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and take notice.

  “She’s not you. Besides, I only brought her to dinner to make you jealous. She’s nothing to me.”

  I sat up and he pulled me back down onto my back, quickly rolling his body on top of mine.

  “Get off of me you oaf. What do you mean, you brought her to make me jealous? You didn’t know I would be there.”

  “Oh come on babe. Do you honestly believe that Deacon tells me nothing? I knew about the setup an hour after Dorothy called him. I told Pierce to scramble up a date because I didn’t want to make what I was doing obvious. You were great by the way. I love it when you feel all territorial and stuff.”

  I was wiggling, trying to get comfortable and he settled right in. Hip to hip. Inconvenient, because I always slept in nothing but a sleepshirt. He always slept in nothing. Our bits were getting reacquainted, but I wasn’t over being pissed yet. Oddly enough, I couldn’t decide if I was more upset by his betrayal or my body’s.

  “I’m not territorial Sloan. You mistake my sarcasm for attachment. You’re nothing but a distant relative by marriage. You’ve made your position very clear on numerous occasions. I don’t slum where I’m not wanted.”

  He was moving slowly but with purpose against me and I cursed my hips for returning the gesture.

  “Does it feel like you’re not wanted? Baby, you know the score. We both want the same things and we want it from each other. We’re both ‘no strings’ people and that’s why we’re perfect together.”

  “Perfect together? Since when are we together?”

  He tilted my hips and made his move. It felt so good, he did it again. Anton was like a drug to me. I could go through weeks of rehab and promise myself that I was done with him for good, and I imagine he felt the same way about me. But w
hen we got together, like this, something else severed our control. We knew it would eventually destroy us, but neither one of us could help wanting it anyway.

  I wrapped myself around him and he groaned before he kissed me, reclaiming me as his. Our tongues knew what they wanted, our bodies were one step ahead. This was no booty call. This was the real deal. We both knew it but refused to call it what it was. That was fine for now, even though it was bound to come back to haunt us later on.

  He put his elbows next to my head and his hands on the side of my face, forcing me to look at him. His eyes gave me something his body couldn’t and I refused to believe what I was seeing. He might not be able to say the words, but when we were like this, locked together in every way, it was there and there was no denying it. His whispered words were strained and labored, we were both closing in on completion.

  “Does it feel like we’re not together Mel’? You know me baby. Do you honestly believe that I have this with anyone else? That you could have this with anyone else?”

  My nails were digging into his back and then I threw my head back and whispered his name as his face pressed to my neck and he murmured mine over and over.

  That’s how it was with us. Every single time. We’d let enough time go by, stretching our need for one another like a rubber band threatening to break and then we’d crash back together to ease the stress of our separation. Was it unhealthy? Probably. Did we care? Evidently not, because this had been going on for months and showed no signs of stopping. This was us in all of it’s ugly essence.

  I was on the pill and I believed him (because I knew him and his control issues) when he said that he’d never had sex without a condom. Except with me. We were the exception to one another’s rules. All of them. There was nothing we hadn’t done to one another, both physically and mentally. And yet, we always ended up back where we were now.

  “You okay?”

  I was so lost in my own thoughts that I almost missed the question.

  “I’m good. You?”

  He started kissing my neck and answered between licks and nibbles.

  “I’m finally good. I’ve missed you so much Mel’.”

  He was moving again. The man had the refractory period of a beating heart.

  “You’ve got a key Anton and you knew where to find me. You didn’t have to miss me at all.”

  His mouth found mine for another heart racing kiss.

  “I needed time. I was getting too attached.”

  Stop the ride, this was new. Attached? Anton-run-from-the-”L”-word Sloan?

  “You avoided me because you were feeling attached to me? Sloan, what do you call this? We can’t stay away from each other for any length of time because we need this from one another. How do you think this is going to end?”

  He put his forehead against mine and started moving faster.

  “It’s not going to end. This will never end Melody. I can’t believe you don’t know that.”

  Time to give the man a dose of reality.

  “So you think that once I decide I’m ready to settle down and start a family, that I’ll still have you on the side? Never gonna happen Anton.”

  I moaned because he hit the right spot and I was seeing stars. He smiled and kissed me softly, his hands still on my cheeks.

  “What isn’t going to happen, is you settling down and starting a family. You’re like me. We’re not the settling down types. We’re the make-each-other-crazyuntil-the-end-of-time types. You need this as much as I do. Admit it.”

  “I’ll never deny the chemistry, we both know that would be a lie. But I will eventually settle down. If you can’t see that in me, then you don’t know me as well as you think you do. When I find the right man, I’ll settle down.”

  We finished in flames and fireworks like we always do, but I rattled him. I could see it. He moved to my side and pulled me into his body, curling into me from behind. We dozed and he woke me up twice more before morning. When the alarm went off at eight, he was gone.

  I came stumbling down the hall, fresh from the shower, dressed in Bohemian Chic. My bell bottom jeans and tie-dyed shirt with the macrame belt around the middle, looked retro and reflected my mood. A jumble of color with very little focus. Anton had undone me last night and now I felt like I was standing on a quaking fault line. It was always like that when he did a hit and run. His sneak attack might mean that we were “on again”, or it might mean that I wouldn’t hear from him for another six weeks. There was no way of knowing.

  As I rounded the corner, I heard Sean and Ayla at it again and two male voices laughing in the background. A full house. I smiled and shuffled into the kitchen.

  “Morning.”

  I said this with no real volume or enthusiasm as I poured myself a cup of coffee and took a seat for the show. Ayla was focused on Sean who was denying something with vehemence and conviction.

  “I am not a whore Ayla. I’m not ready to settle down. So there’s nothing wrong with my random dating, I’m sampling the selection. How will I find Mr. Right if I haven’t worked my way through a few Mr. Wrong’s?”

  “So that’s what we’re calling it now. You’re right Sean. You’re not a whore. You’re a slut.”

  Sean shrugged and topped his coffee cup off.

  “Semantics.”

  Chase started rolling with laughter and raised his palm for a high-five from Sean. I relaxed and took a deep breath. If Chase and Austin were this comfortable with Sean, then we were probably going to be good friends. Sean was the most flamboyant friend I had and I wouldn’t change him for anything in the world. If anyone else wasn’t okay with him, they could find their way out the same way they found their way in.

  I caught Sean checking out Austin and Chase over his coffee cup. The men were preparing breakfast for the masses and they were doing it wearing nothing but pajama pants. Their chests were chiseled and worthy of book covers about hulking Highlanders or soul stealing Doms. Chiseled and tan and tapered into those drawstring flannel jammie pants. Sean caught my eye and he winked, putting his thumb and index finger together then pulling slowly in mid air. I knew exactly what he meant. One good tug and it would be goodbye jammie pants. We grinned and sipped our coffee. Ayla watched us both and rolled her eyes.

  Chase cleared his throat.

  “So Mel’...I couldn’t help but notice someone crept through early this morning. You don’t set an alarm?”

  I shrugged.

  “It was Anton. He comes and goes. I set the alarm when I remember, but he has the keycode. He’s set off too many false alarms by forgetting to disarm the alarm system when he stealths in. I got tired of paying the fee for his screw ups.”

  “You really should use the alarm and make him pay the fee if he forgets to deactivate it. You set the precedence by letting him do as he pleases. You’re better than that.”

  Austin’s words struck a nerve. Something about him telling me that I was better than the person that allowed Anton open access whenever he wanted it, made me squirm. I’d been wondering that about myself a lot lately. Last night at the bar, Austin and I had a spark. He felt it just like I did. Anton was so jealous he showed up in the middle of the night to make sure that spark didn’t turn into a flame. He needed to remind me who I belonged to. But who did I belong to? He was quick to react in fits of jealousy, but he’d write me off if the mood struck. What did that mean exactly and what did I want or expect? Austin was right. I was setting a dangerous precedence and I had no one to blame but myself.

  “You’re right Austin. I need to give this some serious thought.”

  He turned from the counter where he’d been chopping vegetables for omelettes and looked at me.

  “Let me know what you figure out.”

  He turned back around and continued chopping, but I understood the implication. He wouldn’t hold last night against me because we hadn’t started anything yet. I had a feeling that if we did however, the security code would be changed and it’s activation would be an every ni
ght occurrence.

  “I think we’re gonna make it!”

  Sean’s declaration could have been a jinx, but with the last model leaving and the last alteration on his sewing machine, I couldn’t hold it against him.

  “Of course we’re gonna make it. You had doubts?”

  I poured him another cup of coffee from the carafe that Austin had brought in earlier. Those men were coming in handy. They fixed breakfast and cleaned up afterwards. I had yet to meet a man that would do that without asking.

  Sean stopped sewing to enjoy his coffee while it was hot.

  “Mel’, what’s the story with the hotties in the kitchen? Are we hiring galley slaves now? For the record, I’m all for the idea. Wherever did you find them?”

  Ayla poked her head up from the mountain of paperwork she was sorting through on her desk.

  “Hey slut muffin. One of those hotties is my brother. For the record, they’re both as straight as arrows.”

  Sean shooed her protest with a gesture and a wink.

  “Nice gene pool there Ayla. I know they’re straight. Believe me. More to the point, I’d know if they weren’t. The question is, what are they doing here?”

  I shot a look at Ayla because frankly, I didn’t exactly know why they were here or why Ayla was shacking up with Pierce. I fell into line because she was my friend. But in the cold gray light of dawn, I had a few questions myself.

  She squirmed under the scrutiny and I had a decision to make. I could let her off the hook or force her to ‘fess up. Since the parties in question seemed a tad overly concerned about my security measures, I opted for the question and answer part of the program.

  I turned and focused on Ayla who obviously wished I’d distract Sean. Not gonna happen.

  “Ayla, I know this is uncomfortable to you and you know that the three of us are as close as family. I’ve done my best not to pry into your past or personal life, but I think we’re in neck deep now. If there’s something we should know, then I’d rather hear it from you. Why did you and Austin have to clear out of your place?”