Facing West

by Lucy Lennox

  I couldn’t want him.

  Which was all well and good except for one fact.

  I wanted him.

  When work was finally done for the day, I made my way upstairs to my kitchen and saw my brother Hudson sitting at the table working on his laptop.

  “Hey, I didn’t know you were here. Why didn’t you come find me downstairs?” I asked.

  He looked up and smiled. “Didn’t want to bother you and I had some work I needed to finish before the weekend.” Hudson’s eyes narrowed at me briefly. “West, is something wrong? You look tired or something.”

  “I’m fine. You still up for going to the bonfire tonight?” I asked, pulling down a bottle of whiskey and opening the fridge in hopes I had a can of Sprite in there.

  Hudson nodded and then gestured to the whiskey. “Make me one too?”

  “Yeah. Who else is coming? Any of the cousins?”

  “Not sure about the cousins. Sassy and Hallie for sure. Cal wants to come, but he knows I won’t let him drink around me until he’s twenty-one.”

  I finished mixing the drinks and handed one to Hudson before taking the seat across from him at the table.

  “What about King?” I asked, referring to our younger brother who usually kept to himself. The rest of us had spent several years trying to lure him out of his self-imposed solitude, but nothing seemed to work.

  Hudson just shot me a look.

  I blew out a breath, trying not to think about my other siblings who were currently scattered around in different cities. “Okay, so, the usual suspects then. You, me, Hallie, Sassy and Cal if he doesn’t drink.”

  “We both know he’ll drink. He’d better just make sure I don’t see it.”

  “You’re worse than Mom and Dad,” I said with a laugh. “They never gave a shit if we drank at aged twenty. Jesus.”

  “Yeah, well, as long as they’re overseas, I’m in charge,” Hudson said with a wink. He took evil pleasure in bossing our siblings around now that Dad was working in Singapore.

  “That nurse who has a crush on you is going to be there,” I told him, deliberately not mentioning her name to see if I could trap him. “Can’t remember her name though.”

  “Darci?” he said.

  Gotcha.

  “Yeah, sounds right,” I teased.

  He rolled his eyes and blew out a breath. “Good. It’s been fucking ages since I’ve been out on a date.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Well, it’s been ages since I’ve been out on one that I was remotely interested in possibly having a second with,” he corrected with a chuckle.

  “Better. So you’re going to ask her out?” I took a sip of my drink and set it down on the table long enough to grab a bag of chips out of a cabinet for us to share. Happy hour, bachelor style.

  Hudson shrugged and furrowed his brows. “Guess so.”

  “What’s your hesitation? It’s not Charlotte is it?” He’d dated the woman for several years and gone through a nasty breakup the year before. I’d wondered if his inability to find someone he liked more than one date’s worth was because he was having a hard time getting over her.

  “What? No. God no. That’s not it. We’ll see. Darci seems nice enough, yeah?”

  “I think so. Super sweet to the patients and great with kids. She’d make a good mother to your children, Hud,” I teased. The guy had always wanted a family. It was just a matter of finding the right woman.

  He swatted me on the shoulder and told me to fuck off. We gave each other hell for a little while longer until it was time to get going.

  “Come on, let’s go pick everyone up and see if Doc and Grandpa want to come with us,” I said, standing up and grabbing my coat and scarf in case it got colder later.

  “Doc and Gramp are babysitting for Pippa tonight, aren’t they?” Hudson asked. “That’s what Sassy told me anyway.”

  I thought about what Nico had said the night before about going to the bonfire with Stevie Mansell, and I wanted to punch something. Instead of saying anything though, I pushed my anger down until a couple of hours later when the bonfire was in full swing.

  My siblings and I had arrived together and greeted many of our usual friends. We’d all gone to high school in Hobie and still kept in touch with our classmates who’d stayed in town. It seemed like the same old group of people our age congregated at certain events throughout the year. Saint Patrick’s Day green beer fest at the pub, Fourth of July fireworks at the lake, first bonfire night at Walnut Farm, the Halloween party at Doc and Grandpa’s place, a holiday happy hour the night after Thanksgiving. It was events like these that made me fall in love with my small town all over again.

  When I’d first sat down on a long tree trunk set up to form one of the giant benches around the bonfire, I’d wound up talking to my brother Cal for a while. King had reluctantly come too, and was sitting quietly on my other side. Cal was “taking a break” from college while he tried to figure his shit out. Mom and Dad were none too thrilled, so I tried to gently inquire what his plans were. Currently he was working at the marina as a jack-of-all-trades. He’d gone to fancy sailing camps during the summers growing up and was desperate to get a job on a boat somewhere.

  While we were talking, I noticed Nico arrive. Sure enough, he was with Stevie who was clearly in seventh heaven on the arm of the exotic new guy. I could hardly blame the guy—there weren’t many good options for someone as different from the mainstream as Stevie. I was sure seeing someone like Nico waltz into town was like taking in a fresh breath after living under smog.

  But that made no difference to my unreasonable sense of ownership of the purple-haired man next to him. Because I sure as shit wasn’t about to sit there and watch Stevie tee Nico up as his boy toy for the night.

  “Excuse me, guys, I see someone I want to say hello to,” I said to my brothers.

  “Wait, West,” Cal said, grabbing my arm.

  I settled back on the log and looked over at him. “What is it?”

  “If I knew something bad about someone… should I tell… someone?” he asked. I could see how unsure he was, but that wasn’t quite enough information to know how to answer the question.

  “What do you mean? What kind of bad? Like a crime?” I asked.

  He blew out a breath and looked at his fingers, which were twisted together between his knees. I felt King lean forward to listen in.

  “I found out a married man in town is having an affair. They were, ah, in one of the boats, you know?” He reached down for the soda bottle he’d set on the ground between his feet and fiddled with the label. “It’s just… It would be bad if it got out but, like, if it didn’t… that would kind of be bad too. Right? I mean, there are kids involved.”

  His nerves had brought back the insecure teen in him, and I could tell he was really upset about the situation.

  “Does anyone else know? Did anyone else see?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Not sure.”

  I thought for a minute, unsure of what to suggest. “Normally, I’d say to stay out of someone’s marriage. But there are certain exceptions to that rule.”

  “Such as?”

  Movement flashed in the corner of my eye, and I turned to see Stevie running his fingers through Nico’s hair as if to style it. But it was clear to anyone looking, he was just trying to get his hands on the guy. “Assault or abuse,” I said without really paying attention to our conversation anymore.

  “New guy’s cute,” King said softly from my other side.

  “Huh?” I said, whipping my head around. “No he isn’t.”

  What was I even saying? Of course he was cute. He was fucking gorgeous.

  Cal barked out a laugh, making me jump slightly. “You’re smoking crack, brother. Every gay guy here has been watching that dude. Not to mention, many of the women. He’s fucking beautiful. Like a rare bird or something.”

  My heart sped up as I realized Nico could have his pick of the people around that damned fire, including the bro
thers sitting on either side of me.

  “The only other gay guys here besides me are you two and Stevie.”

  “Yeah. And?” he asked with a knowing grin and a wink.

  Goddammit.

  “How do you know who he is?” I asked, distracted by the sight of Nico laughing at something Stevie had said. “Did you hear about him from Doc and Grandpa?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Well, the guy’s too old for you, so forget it.”

  “He’s like twenty-nine, West. Hardly too old for me.” He laughed again and leaned his shoulder into mine. “Think I should go over there and introduce myself?”

  “Fuck you,” I muttered, standing up. “He’s thirty. By the way, next time you put a rum and Coke in an empty soda, don’t use a Sprite bottle.”

  Cal looked down at the brown liquid in the green-labeled bottle and winced before flicking his eyes over to where Hudson stood talking to Nurse Darci. Hudson hadn’t noticed Cal’s faux pas yet, so Cal had time to fix his mistake. He scurried over to the coolers to find something else to put his drink in.

  As I made my way to where Stevie and Nico were standing, I was stopped by several people offering condolences on the loss of Adriana. Some gave me hugs, some clapped me on the back and told me they were glad to see me at the bonfire. Every single one of them made side-eyes at Nico and tried to talk to me about “the brother” being back in town. Not one of them seemed to have anything nice to say, and they all seemed to think he was a punk.

  Which set my teeth on edge, because I knew that I, too, had assumed he was a punk when he first arrived. I, too, hadn’t given him any credit for having a heart or respect. But when I’d seen him break down and cry for his family, I realized there was more to him than I could begin to imagine. I was hit with the tardy reminder that you couldn’t judge a book by its cover and why in the hell had I allowed myself to fall prey to that immature behavior in the first place? I knew better.

  With the anger, frustration, and desire all churning inside me, I was a time bomb just waiting to be set off.

  By the time I got to Nico, just the sight of him was a soothing balm. I wanted to walk straight into his arms and lose myself in his warm skin—skin that smelled like coffee and raspberries and clean baby. I wanted him desperately.

  And it was time to take what I wanted.

  Chapter 13

  Nico

  I was standing in a small group of people, being flirted at aggressively by Stevie. While I appreciated being the center of someone’s positive attention, the guy was doing absolutely zero to my dick. On top of that, I was beginning to recognize people I’d gone to school with, and every single one of them studied me like I was a bug pinned to a display board.

  And of course Curtis Billingham was there. He kept shooting hate lasers at me from his spot by the bonfire. I was surprised to learn from Stevie that Curt was dating a nice woman named Chloe. She was the petite red-haired woman who’d approached me earlier to ask me for Adriana’s chocolate-chip-cookie recipe. I’d politely refused, wondering idly how long it would take before she realized her boyfriend preferred his cookies with nuts.

  Just as I was about to beg off and go home, I spotted a pissed-off Weston Wilde storming my way. The look on his face was downright feral, and he came at me like a stalking panther.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said in a somewhat menacing tone. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his gaze was intense, like he was royally peeved about something. Whatever it was, it was clearly all my fault.

  “No thanks.” I sighed, not wanting to deal with his surliness on top of everything else.

  West froze for a beat before narrowing his eyes even further. I wondered idly if smoke might come trickling out of a nostril or ear canal.

  “That wasn’t a question.” This time his voice was a deep rumble, the kind that had my dick finally waking up and realizing it was time for action. Fucking idiot dick.

  Being bossed around by the highbrow doctor in front of the rest of the people our age in town set my teeth on edge. Two could play the asshole game.

  “I don’t give a fuck. The answer is still no. Now go away. Stevie was just introducing me around. He said there were a few other guys here I needed to meet too. Your brothers, I think?”

  Stevie had said no such thing, but I’d heard through the grapevine that West had several gay brothers, and I assumed at least one of the guys he’d come with tonight was one of them. Of course, they were all hella gorgeous. Like the genes had been bestowed upon their parents as gifts from the gods. I could see Doc’s genetics in the Wilde kids but not Grandpa Wilde’s, and I wondered not for the first time what their story was.

  At the mention of his brothers, West’s face got even stormier, and I could tell he wanted to grab me up by the shirt and shake me.

  Yes please.

  “Nico. May I please have a word in private?” he said through clenched teeth.

  I studied him, wondering how much I should push it. The memory of his arms around me warred with the knowledge that he didn’t want me even long enough to stay for a quick fuck the night before. And everyone standing at that bonfire knew full well that I would never be good enough for Dr. Weston Wilde—vaunted member of the famously historic Wilde family who may as well have fought at the Alamo for all I knew.

  “Nope,” I said breezily, turning my back on him to pretend to pay attention to Stevie again.

  Little hairs rose on the back of my neck, informing me West had stepped in close behind me. I tried not to close my eyes and feel for his heat.

  The voice was a breath carried in the night air straight into my ear. It was no longer angry, but filled with promise. “Come with me now voluntarily, or I will throw your sexy ass over my shoulder and take you by force. Is that what you want, Nico?”

  I did close my eyes then and prayed to the god of wood to tell my goddamned dick to stand down. My heart rate was pounding in my cock, and my balls were on their knees begging for more of that sexy voice in my ear.

  The most secret part of me imagined what it would be like if I said no again—just refused him and forced him to manhandle me back to his cave where he would make me submit to his every pleasure. That secret part was not helping soften my cock. Not one single bit.

  “Stevie,” I croaked before clearing my throat and trying again. The guy’s eyes went wide in front of me, and I saw them glance at the alpha male spraying his pheromones all over my back. “Stevie, sorry to leave you so soon. Another time?” I tried to play it cool, but surely no one was buying my bullshit.

  I felt a strong hand land on my hip, fingers digging in to push me toward where the cars were parked. Maybe I could let him have his way with me just this once. For sex reasons.

  For filthy, bossy, play-doctor-with-me, sex reasons.

  “Give me your keys,” West demanded as we walked in the direction of my rental car. I didn’t see his truck anywhere, and before I knew what the hell I was doing, the key to my car was in West’s large hands.

  Oh, who the fuck was I kidding? Before the night was out, that wasn’t the only thing of mine that was going to be in those strong, capable hands.

  We didn’t say a word until he pulled the car around back of a huge Victorian home I’d seen in town. I vaguely remembered having been there as a child but couldn’t remember why.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “My house. Wilde Family Medicine.”

  He got out of the car and slammed the door closed behind him. As I glared after him out the window on the driver’s side, I felt the door on my side open behind me. West leaned across me to unbuckle my seat belt, and I bit back a groan at his nearness. The fabric of his coat brushed against the side of my throat, and I wondered if that was precome I was feeling in my pants.

  “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.

  His eyes met mine, and I could tell he’d heard the word as a request rather than a curse. His eyes were like lust lasers pointed straight into my libido, and my cock ham
mered even louder in my jeans. When the hell had these things gotten so tight?

  The man smelled like bonfire smoke and whiskey, and I wondered why no fragrance company had bottled the combination before. It was the very essence of this man from Texas, and I wanted to drink it down one small sip at a time.

  I opened my mouth to say something. I wasn’t sure what, but it was surely something ridiculous and embarrassing. By the time I got a sound out, West had yanked me out of the car and thrown me over his shoulder just like he’d threatened to do at Walnut Farm.

  Unfortunately, I squeaked like a baby bird and grabbed on to his back in fear during the brief moment it took me to regain my senses and fight him.

  “Let me go, goddammit. I’m not a child.” I grunted.

  “Aren’t you though?” he spat back.

  Fucking asshole.

  “No! I’m not. I’m a grown-ass man. Put me the fuck down.”

  “No.”

  “What?” That may have come out as another squeak. I hadn’t taken him for someone who’d deny a request to remove his hands from my person. He was Mister Polite after all.

  “It’s a word you established knowledge of quite clearly a little while ago in front of our neighbors. The word means… your request has been denied.”

  I bumped along like a sack of potatoes, speechless. Stairs receded behind us as we went up into a higher level of the historic home.

  The fuck?

  Was this guy seriously taking me straight to his bedroom? When I really thought he wasn’t going to let me go, I struggled a little more out of nerves or fear. Fear of what, I wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t that I was afraid of West himself, because I wasn’t. Maybe I was afraid of what would happen if I got a taste of him. If I let him get a taste of me.

  Or maybe I was afraid of getting a taste of something I’d want more of. Afraid of awakening a hunger in me that had always lain dormant just waiting for the right temptation to come along.