Duncan: The Lucky Irish Series - Book 1

by Anna Castor

  Duncan grinned at Maureen. “Only wanted to be closer to you, Maureen. You know how it is.”

  She smiled coyly. “Now don’t think you can charm me, Duncan. I have enough on my hands with being friends with your grandfather already.”

  Seeing Kayla standing there smiling, he wanted to kiss her so badly. He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of Kayla’s head before turning back to the older woman. “What’s up, Maureen? Pops being grumpy again?”

  She chuckled and informed them it was nothing she couldn’t handle. When she turned at the sound of Calum walking up to the door, she burst out with “Good Heavens. I hope this young man is your brother, because Lord knows it would be hard choosing between these boys.”

  Kayla laughed at Maureen’s words, and Duncan acted all wounded. “You know you would choose me every day, Maureen. No need to act all coy.”

  Calum and Kayla looked alike with their wavy blond hair, slightly freckled noses, and brown eyes. Kayla was a lot smaller than her brother; she was a tiny little thing.

  “Well, now that she’s met me, she’ll be giving a different answer, Duncan, I’m sure.” Calum threw a killer smile at Maureen, and Duncan could see her starting to blush.

  “Enough already, guys. Please join us, Maureen. Calum always gets too much food, and I’m sure there is enough for the whole building in these bags,” Kayla said, eyeing the four bags of food that Calum brought.

  “Of course, you know me, sis. Please join us,” Calum said to Maureen, who nodded and went into the apartment. She walked straight to the pink couch and planted herself as she dropped her purse next to the side of it. Calum followed Maureen and laid the food on the coffee table after he formally introduced himself to her and they’d shaken hands.

  “Oh! You’ve brought my favorites from Danny’s. I like you already.” Maureen winked at Calum, and he chuckled while shaking his head. She continued, “It’s so good to meet some of Kayla’s family. I know I shouldn’t say this, but I was a little worried about our girl.”

  Kayla smiled when Maureen referred to her as “our girl.” She walked over to the couch and planted a kiss on Maureen’s cheek. Maureen squeaked in surprise but patted Kayla’s head to thank her and tell her without words that she appreciated her loving act.

  “Why were you worried, Maureen?” Duncan was curious, as they seemed to be more than neighbors.

  “I don’t know if it’s my story to tell, dear.” Maureen looked at Kayla, and when she nodded, Maureen smiled softly and continued. “The first day I met Kayla, she was looking as if she was in pain. Standing halfway in the doorway, she looked like a skittish little kitten who’d been beaten and bruised.”

  Duncan noticed Calum clenching his jaw, and he was feeling the same kind of tension coming over his body.

  “But at the same time, I detected a powerful tigress, because although she was obviously hurt herself, she still had the guts to open her door and look if she could help some other person in pain. In that moment, I knew she was a fighter, that she couldn’t be stopped.”

  Kayla started crying, and Duncan put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek.

  “She opened the door, only to find Mister Whisker doing his loud song and dance,” Maureen said, breaking the tension after Kayla started to cry.

  “Mister Whisker?” Calum asked.

  “Yes, my dear old cat. Deaf as a post, but that doesn’t stop him from meowing. Poor little thing doesn’t know he’s a bit loud.” Maureen whispered the last words as if Mister Whisker could hear her and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

  Duncan sniggered and said, “A bit loud? The first time I witnessed him screeching, I almost shit my pants.” Kayla laughed wholeheartedly, but Maureen only smiled briefly. Duncan knew Maureen loved Mister Whisker too much to join in on the laughter.

  The distinct clearing of a throat brought Duncan back to the situation at hand. “You were beaten and bruised?”

  Kayla closed her eyes. “I went out with friends from work on a Thursday. There was one guy who’d started working there a few months before, and he was nice at first, always asking how my day was and offering to get me some coffee.”

  Duncan clenched his hands into fists, not wanting to hear Kayla speaking of going out with other guys, but he kept himself in check and gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze.

  “That was all it was in the beginning. But then I started to run into him when I went places with people outside of work, such as my friend Tessa from the gym. I didn’t think much of it at first, but after a while it was too much of a coincidence. I even bumped into him in front of my apartment once on a Sunday. He acted surprised, as if he happened to be in the same building visiting a friend. He was really jumpy and all sweaty. And still, I didn’t realize what was going on. But now that I’m here, all these bump-ins come at me in nightmares, and I know he was a creep who stalked me for several months.

  “I kept asking our sisters if they ran into people I knew, as they had met Tom before, but his name never came up. I prayed that he didn’t attack someone else in the meantime, but I was too scared to come out of hiding and search for him to know for sure. I still don’t know how come I didn’t see him for what he is. I’m so stupid,” she sobbed.

  Duncan kissed Kayla’s cheek once more and said, “It’s not your fault, Kayla. Stop beating yourself up.”

  “What happened that Thursday night?” Calum was a cop, and Duncan recognized so much of him in his own brother Declan. Always ready to get to the facts and moving forward into fixing things.

  Duncan felt for Calum. He must’ve been going out of his mind these past weeks, as he knew there was something wrong with his sister, but he couldn’t get her to open up to him. Now she was talking, and it almost seemed that Calum was trying to make the best of the momentum and had to get to the bottom of this before she closed off again.

  Kayla took a deep breath and said, “We went out to Loco’s, where they have happy hour at six. We went with several colleagues, men and women. It was nothing out of the ordinary. At around seven, the first of our group went home and another couple of people went over to the pool table, and I was left alone with Tom when my colleague Isabel went to the bathroom. He scooted over to me in the booth, all close and in my personal space. When I tried to put some distance between us, he made a crude remark.”

  Calum beat Duncan to the punch by asking, “What did he say?”

  Duncan felt Kayla take another deep breath before saying, “He said that I shouldn’t act like I wouldn’t give it up, that he knew I was playing hard to get, that he knew I wanted him just as much and that he would have my p-pussy that night.”

  Damn it to hell, who was this motherfucker? Duncan tried to calm down before he scared Kayla, but it must’ve taken him longer than he’d hoped. She looked up at him as if she could feel his rage. Hoping to reassure her, he stroked her shoulder, and she continued her story.

  “I left immediately. I was so disgusted by him, but he also scared the crap out of me. I went to the bathroom and told Isabel what had happened. She acted all shocked and couldn’t believe Tom had said that. We were all pretty hammered, and I didn’t think she truly believed me, honestly. She’d always thought that Tom was such a nice guy. I did too, once.”

  Maureen picked up Kayla’s hand, and Kayla smiled softly at her before continuing. “When I left the bathroom, I didn’t see him sitting at the table anymore, so I immediately took an Uber to my apartment building. The moment I stepped outside of the car, it felt as if someone was watching, and even now I can feel the goose bumps coming.” Kayla shivered in Duncan’s arms, and he tried to comfort her as much as he could.

  “In front of the door of my apartment, my home, he attacked me. I was struggling with my keys because I was freaking out after I sensed someone in the hallway. I should never have left Loco’s alone. I should have called you, Calum. I....”

  Kayla sobbed, and Duncan turned her into his arms and hugged her close. “Shh, wi
ldflower. No one is going to hurt you ever again. You’re gonna be all right. Let us take care of you.”

  Calum came up and put his arm around her back while she was still standing in Duncan’s arms. “He’s right, Kay-Kay. We’re here for you, sis. We won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Kayla didn’t answer Calum; it was as if she needed to get it off her chest now that she’d started telling her story. She stopped sobbing and took a deep breath. “I felt a hard blow as he kicked me over. He kept kicking my stomach as he shouted, ‘Shut up. Shut up.’ But I kept screaming, and then he jumped on me and put his hand over my mouth.

  “He told me to shut the hell up or he would kill me. I was so scared. I believed he would have, but luckily voices came up from the staircase. He then pulled me up by my hair and knocked my head against the wall. The next thing I knew, my neighbor was hovering over me. She’d called an ambulance and was waiting with me for them to show up.”

  Duncan looked over Kayla’s head at Calum, and the two men had a silent conversation. If they could, they would find this Tom guy and he would be dead. And he would suffer, no doubt.

  Kayla continued. “I went to the hospital and told the nurse it had been an accident. I said that I had too much to drink and that I’d tripped on the stairs. I told them that I’d tried to crawl my way to the door. They believed me, and the police weren’t involved.”

  Kayla smiled warily through her tears and chuckled. “God, I’m a mess. I’m sorry.” Nobody was laughing with her, and Duncan sure found the whole situation not to be a joke.

  Kayla was relieved she’d finally told her story, not only to her brother, but she was also glad Maureen and Duncan now knew as well. She didn’t have to put up a front any longer, and she was so grateful for the way they had consoled her.

  Although telling her story felt good, she still thought Tom stood around every corner wherever she went. Every day she checked all the locks and windows, and she looked in all the rooms of the apartment to see if anything was out of order.

  She figured Tom wouldn’t let her get away this easily. She had told her boss that she went on a trip, and she’d made sure not to tell a soul where she was. Not even her family knew exactly where she was. She’d said that she would travel the country and would be back in a year. When her family contacted her in the past weeks, each week she would say that she was in a different state. She couldn’t risk Tom finding out her location.

  Kayla shook her head at the thought. As if her family would go along with such an absurd plan. As if they would just let her go and not ask questions. But the longer she stayed away, the harder it got to tell them the truth.

  Tom appeared almost every night in her nightmares, staring at her with his piercing blue eyes. He was a lean but muscular guy with short brown hair. He would smirk at her in her dreams, as he’d always done in the office, and then out of nowhere he would jump on top of her, punching her and shouting that she needed to shut the hell up.

  After Maureen and Duncan left, she talked with Calum a little more, and he told her that she needed to talk to someone professionally. He’d seen similar cases on the job, and he knew that most victims suffered mental and health issues after an attack.

  Victim. She didn’t want to be a victim, and she hated the word.

  It was a word to describe other people, people who were helpless, and although she’d often experienced feeling powerless in these past weeks, she didn’t want to be reminded of the feeling. Kayla made sure her brother knew that.

  “I’m sorry, sis. That’s the cop in me talking. But please take my advice. Let me go with you, or if you don’t want me around, you could have Duncan drive you.”

  Kayla appreciated that Calum was including Duncan as an option for helping her. “Okay. I’ll let Duncan take me, okay?”

  Calum nodded and slung his travel bag over his shoulder as he said, “I’m gonna go and crash in your guest room, okay, sis?”

  “Yes, of course. So stupid I didn’t offer sooner. Sorry, Calum.” Kayla shook her head.

  Calum gave her the stink eye. “Oh shut it, sis. I came here on a red-eye uninvited. But I need some sleep now, so we’ll talk tomorrow, okay? Holler if you need me, yeah?” He hugged her and then walked into the hall and straight into the guest room. Kayla was glad she had a spare room with a queen-size bed.

  Her mind trailed back to Duncan and the way he reacted to her story. He was so kind, loving, and comforting. She knew she shouldn’t get too attached to him, but he made it so hard for her by doing the exact thing she needed. She was startled by the sound of her phone. The caller ID stated it was “Dunc” calling. She smiled at the sight.

  Duncan had put his contact information into her phone before he went with Maureen to help her with some chores in her home. He was giving Kayla some alone time with her brother and said he would check in later with her, after his last training at his dojo.

  “Hi.” She didn’t even recognize her own voice. She sounded as if she was a shy little schoolgirl. What was this guy doing to her?

  “Hey yourself, beautiful. So I thought that maybe I could come over tonight?” He cleared his throat. Oh my, he was acting all unsure in a cute way. He didn’t sound like a scary fighter at all. Could it be that Duncan was as affected by her as she was by him? If he came over, would she be jumping him again?

  “My brother is staying in the guest room.”

  Great. Now he knew she was already thinking about taking him to bed tonight. Well, yeah, the thought had crossed her mind, but she shouldn’t let him in on that little fact.

  “Well, umm....” Duncan was clearly at a loss for words.

  Kayla quickly said, “I’m sorry, I don’t even know why I said that.”

  He chuckled on the other end. “No, don’t even try. I love that you’re thinking what I’m thinking. I want to be there for you. I want to stay over and hold you all night. We don’t have to do anything. I just want to take care of you, so I know you’re all right.”

  Kayla’s heartbeat skipped at his words, and she said, “Okay. Take your time. I’ll be here.”

  He promised her he wouldn’t take long, and then they hung up. She jumped up from the couch and listened at the bathroom door. Great, Calum must have stepped into the bathroom before going to bed, and she knew he would be taking his time, as he always did. She rushed to her bedroom and opened her drawer. She ruffled around before picking her hot pink lace set of underwear that always made her feel sexy.

  Kayla knew she had some curves to work with, although her D cup was a bit hefty on her five-foot-five frame. But she was happy with her small stature and her toned waist. She had a tiny, but firm, apple-shaped butt, and the right thong made her buttocks look a little bigger. She knew she had nothing to be ashamed of.

  After picking out her underwear, she pulled on her bathrobe in a whirlwind and went into the bathroom now that Calum had walked out. She figured she had to shave because one never knew what could happen. Who am I kidding? Kayla scolded herself, but she was smiling at her own giddiness.

  As she jumped into the shower, she heard the doorbell ring, followed by her brother and Duncan talking in the living room. Then the panic set in, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for this. Her brother would be in the guest room; she couldn’t be seriously thinking about taking the next step with Duncan.

  After finishing in the shower, she put on her lingerie and slid into her bathrobe. She hadn’t yet decided on what she would wear to bed, and now he was already here. She was coming out of the bathroom when she intercepted Calum walking toward the guest room.

  “Hi, sis. I know I’m your guest and all, but as I told Duncan, I don’t need to be scarred for life. You feel me?” He gave her a wry smile, making her laugh.

  “Oh my God, Calum. No, please, don’t even bring that stuff up. Shut it right now. I wouldn’t—”

  He held up his hand and interrupted her. “Good night, sis. Love you and see you tomorrow.”

  She had just entered her bedroom w
hen the door closed behind her. She looked over her shoulder and noticed Duncan turning the lock and smiling at her. He was so different from the three men she’d ever had sex with. He looked genuinely happy to see her just because he wanted to be there for her. Kayla knew he wouldn’t expect anything from her.

  All of her experiences didn’t come close to what she’d experienced when she was in the back alley with Duncan. His touches, his whispers, all of him had hit her in all the right places. She was ripe for the plucking, and he could have taken her right then and there. She was never so spontaneous, especially not when it came to having sex.

  And now he was standing in her bedroom and looking straight at her with a determined look on his face as he said, “I’m staying the night.”

  She nodded at him. “Yes.” She smiled softly at him. “I sleep on the left. Make yourself comfortable.”

  She walked toward her closet and rummaged through it before she dropped the bathrobe. Duncan growled behind her, and she looked over her shoulder, finding him on her bed with his back against the headboard. His white T-shirt was hanging on the back of the chair next to the dresser with his shoes and socks underneath the chair.

  He was bare chested and looked beautiful, such a strong man with bulky muscles and a six-pack above his jeans. Seeing the V shape with a happy trail toward his crotch, she swiftly turned her head to the closet again. She had to behave and not act on her feelings. She knew these apartments were definitely not soundproof because she could hear Mister Whisker every day.

  She spotted her favorite T-shirt for bed—a large white one with a deep V-neck that came to midthigh. She’d bought this shirt by mistake a few years back, not realizing it was a man’s. She relished the soft material and loved the way it engulfed her as a soft dress for nighttime. Kayla could feel his eyes on her back as she put the shirt on before walking toward the bed. He sat there with his hands behind his head and a brooding expression on his face, not what she was expecting.