The Winston Brothers

by Lori Foster

  She stared at him, disbelieving such words had actually come from his mouth. “My goodness. All that? So your disregard for me was actually something of a compliment, because I’m above such casual notice?”

  “Don’t be snide.”

  “Snide? I don’t believe a thing you said. Since I’ve known you, I’ve seen you with three women, and if they were any indication of the type of female you gravitate toward, then I have no problem at all understanding why you’ve always ignored me, and it didn’t have a lot to do with my friendship with Sophie.”

  He’d stiffened at her first mention of the women. “Meaning?”

  “Meaning the women you go for are always beautiful and…and well stacked.” She winced at her own word choice, but it was absolutely true. While she was full through the hips, lacking in the upper works, and of a very ordinary appearance overall, Chase had shown a preference for tall, slim, busty women—none of which could be applied to her.

  He chastised her with a shake of his head. “Women are so damn weird.”

  “Weird!”

  “And so hung up on their bodies. Allison, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with how you’re built.”

  Her mouth twisted. She obviously didn’t have a single sacred thought.

  “No, absolutely not, especially when you’re thinking all kinds of ignorant things.”

  “Ignorant things? Chase, I have mirrors in my house, and I know what I look like.”

  “You look fine, better than fine, and it wasn’t the look of those women that drew me.”

  “Then what?”

  He hesitated, studied her closely, then smiled. “Not yet, honey. But maybe, given half a chance, I’ll explain it to you someday.”

  The deliberate secrecy annoyed her. “See? You’re obviously just not interested.”

  His own temper sparked at her stubbornness. “Then explain why I still have a damned erection!”

  He no sooner shouted that than a tentative tap sounded at the door. They both turned, appalled. Chase recovered first, saying in a bark, “What is it?”

  There was barely repressed laughter in Mack’s voice when he called out, “Uh, there’s a guy here looking for Allison.”

  “Uh-oh.” She cleared her throat as Chase turned slowly to glare at her, then she answered Mack nervously, saying, “I’ll, uh, be right out.”

  Chase looked like a thundercloud. “Who the hell is looking for you?”

  “Jack?” She posed her answer as a question, not sure how he’d react.

  Working his jaw, Chase stood silent for a moment, then finally said, “You’ll tell him to leave.”

  “No, I will not! Chase, we agreed to meet here tonight before I knew any of this would happen. I need to talk to him, to tell him—”

  “That you want me.”

  “No! I’m not going to tell him that.”

  “Then I will.”

  He turned toward the door, and Allison launched herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his waist and digging in her heels. “Wait! You don’t understand!”

  Chase easily pulled her around in front of him, then pinned her to the door with his hands on her shoulders, his hips pressed to her belly. Her heart skipped two beats, then went into frantic overdrive. His breath fanned her cheek and his gaze was hot. With his lips almost touching hers, he said, “I don’t want you to see anyone but me.”

  His scent enveloped her, his nearness made heat bloom inside her. She’d wanted this for so long, but not this way, not when he’d more or less been coerced.

  “No one is coercing me, Allison. I want you, plain and simple.”

  “There’s absolutely nothing simple about this and you know it.” Still, did she have any choice? Rose was counting on her, and so was Burke. She licked her lips and could almost taste him. “There’s a lot I have to explain to you yet.”

  His hips pressed closer, letting her feel the long, hard length of his erection, making her gasp. “Like who the hell Rose and Burke are?”

  Her glasses were crooked and she straightened them, staring at his throat rather than meeting his eyes. “Yes. And…and why I think you should come to my house and…and make love to me.”

  She peeked up at him. The heat of his gaze burned her up from the inside out. And then he kissed her, his mouth voracious, his tongue stroking. She clutched at him, overwhelmed and turned on and unable to rationalize what was happening. Unexpectedly, he caught her hands and pinned them over her head, then groaned deeply.

  When he pulled away just the tiniest bit, he said roughly, “Get rid of the other man, Allison.”

  She practically hung there in his grasp, on her tiptoes, her arms stretched out, his pelvis pressed to her, keeping her still. “I…I will,” she managed to stammer around her excitement. “But I have to do it right.”

  “Tell him to get lost.”

  “That would be cruel.” She said it as a gentle reprimand, then quickly added, “He’s a nice man, Chase. And he’s serious about me. He asked me to marry him, so I can’t just dump him like that.”

  Chase stared at her for a long moment, and she could see he fought an internal battle. Finally his eyes squeezed shut, and he whispered, “I’ve never been jealous before. I don’t like it.”

  “You have no reason to be.”

  He kissed her again, softer this time, consuming, with so much tenderness it felt like her heart was swelling in her chest, nearly choking her.

  “Don’t let him touch you. Promise me.”

  “No.” His kiss and his words left her nearly panting. “No, I won’t.”

  With a sigh, he carefully, slowly released her wrists and stepped away from her. “Let’s go before Mack starts telling everyone that I have a hard-on and I’m shouting about it.”

  Horrified by such a possibility, she asked, “He wouldn’t, would he?”

  “Hell yes, he would, if he thought it’d embarrass me. That is, he’d tell Zane and Cole. And they’re the two I’d most prefer didn’t know.”

  But when they stepped back into the bar, all three brothers stood there, grinning like magpies, and Allison knew Mack had already blabbed. Luckily, it was only Chase they seemed intent on teasing. But then Jack spoke up from behind them, drawing everyone’s attention.

  “Allison? What the hell’s going on?”

  She looked at Jack, silently begging for him not to start anything, but it was Chase who answered those thoughts, saying forcefully, “Forget it, honey,” as he stepped forward. All three of his brothers crowded behind him.

  Jack stiffened his spine. He was every bit as tall as Chase, topping six feet, but was Chase’s exact opposite in every other way. While Chase was dark with golden brown eyes, Jack was blond with bright green eyes. They looked like two wolfhounds ready to bite each other. Allison was mortified.

  “Cole, do something!”

  He blinked at her, then turned to his brother. “Knock it off, Chase.”

  Both Chase and Jack ignored him. Cole shrugged at her, as if saying, I tried. But then he suggested, “At least make it private, Chase. You’re embarrassing her.”

  Chase nodded agreement to that and turned to go back in the office. Jack followed him against Allison’s protests.

  Exasperated, Allison hurried in on Jack’s heels, and shut the door behind her. “This is not necessary.”

  Chase said, “I think he disagrees.”

  In his most provoking tone, Jack said, “You’re right, I do.”

  Trying desperately to salvage the moment, Allison said, “Jack, it’s not even what you think.”

  Chase snorted. “Unless he’s an idiot, it’s exactly what he thinks.”

  Allison whirled to face him. “You promised, damn it!” Chase didn’t even look at her, his attention fixed on Jack.

  But he did say, “I promised to give you time to talk to him. But I didn’t say anything about letting him yell at you.”

  “Allison?”

  Jack sounded out of patience, and she turned to him again, sayi
ng in a whisper, “It was Rose’s idea. I swear. I’ll explain later…”

  “Rose?” Suddenly Jack’s expression relaxed and he even chuckled as he glanced at Chase with an amused look. “So you’re letting Rose call the shots again, huh?” He shook his head, laughing at her.

  Chase took an aggressive step forward. “Allison, maybe it’s time you told me who the hell Rose is.”

  With a lift of his brows, Jack said, “I can explain, though I doubt you’ll believe it any more than I do.”

  He was still amused, and seeing no hope for it, Allison decided she had nothing to lose. She frowned at both men. “Jack, you can forget our date tonight. In fact, you can forget any dates!”

  Jack glared. Anger crowded his features, then a near panic. “Damn it, Allison…”

  She crossed her arms over her chest.

  Jack glanced at Chase, then narrowed his gaze on her face again. “I’ll call you later when you’ve had a chance to calm down.” And in a huff, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

  Chase shook his head. Now that Jack was gone, he looked relaxed and under control again. His gaze lit on Allison, and he teased, “I thought you claimed he was a nice guy.”

  “And you!” She was practically fuming, she was so mad. Nothing had gone as expected, and she’d had more surprises tonight than one woman could bear. “I’ve decided you’re not worth the trouble, no matter what Rose thinks!”

  She turned to the door, ready to make a grand exodus, but Chase’s hand flattened on it before she could get it open. Speaking close to her ear, he growled, “I don’t get off till late tonight, so it’ll have to be tomorrow morning. But we’ll get together at ten to talk. Which is damned early for me, so I hope you appreciate the concession to my sleep.”

  “I won’t—”

  “We have a lot to discuss, and I think I’m showing a great deal of patience, all things considered.”

  She wanted to tell him to go to hell. She wanted to go hide somewhere, considering how horrible the evening had turned.

  “But you won’t, will you, honey?”

  She turned the doorknob and he let the door open. As she stepped out, thoroughly defeated, she growled, “I suppose not. Good night, Chase.”

  “Ten o’clock, Allison. Don’t make me wait.”

  Arrogant, obnoxious, controlling jerk…

  She heard him laugh, and she groaned. Fleeing seemed her only option, and she did so quickly. But as she left the bar, she felt all four brothers watching her, and she knew, from here on out, nothing would be the same.

  Chapter Three

  Chase was distracted as he finished closing down the bar. It was almost two in the morning, and he and Zane were alone. Mack had taken off hours ago to catch some sleep before his morning classes, and Cole always left early these days, now that he had a wife waiting at home for him. Chase grinned, thinking about Sophie. She was awfully sweet, and the way she’d played Cole just before they were married was something he’d never forget, the stuff fantasies were made of. Cole hadn’t stood a chance, and Chase considered him damn lucky to have her.

  But thinking of Sophie and Cole reminded him of something that had been niggling at the back of his mind ever since Allison had stormed out of the bar, her thoughts confused and her frustration level high. Hell, his frustration was through the roof. He was still mildly aroused, even though she was gone. He couldn’t get her out of his mind, and though he couldn’t read her so clearly now that she wasn’t close, he still got the occasional glimpse of her thoughts and it kept his desire on a keen edge.

  Small talk with customers had been almost impossible tonight.

  Zane came out of the back room, whistling. Out of all the brothers, he was the rowdiest. Zane seemed to have a little wildness in him that no one would ever be able to erase. Cole had never really tried, preferring just to temper that energy whenever possible. It had never bothered Chase before, but now, he kept thinking of how Allison had briefly considered Zane, and it bothered him a lot.

  Zane looked up and caught Chase staring. The whistling stopped. “What’d I do?”

  “Nothing. At least, I hope not.”

  Reaching for his coat off a hook in the hallway, snagging Chase’s also, Zane started forward. “What does that mean?”

  “I want to ask you something, Zane, and I want a straight answer, okay?”

  Zane tossed Chase his coat, then propped his hands on his hips. “At twenty-four, don’t you think I’m a little old for a lecture?”

  “I wasn’t going to lecture you.”

  “Oh.” He grinned. “Well, good. Because I wasn’t going to listen.”

  Chase perched on a bar stool and stared at his brother. “You remember back when Cole and Sophie first hooked up?”

  “How could I forget?” Zane lifted himself onto the edge of the bar. “Hell, Cole was so damned amusing, I worked extra hours, neglecting my own business, just to get to watch him fumble around.”

  Chase grinned, too. “He did have a hard time of it, didn’t he?”

  “Aw, well, Sophie made it worth his while.”

  “You knew Allison back then, didn’t you? I mean, even before Sophie and Cole hooked up.” He’d sort of blurted that out, but he was getting edgier by the minute, prompted by some unknown discontent, like something was wrong, but he didn’t know what.

  Zane shrugged. “I know just about every woman in town, Allison included, but probably not the way you’re thinking, judging by your frown.” He grinned. “I asked her out, but she turned me down flat.”

  That surprised Chase. “She did?”

  “Yeah, several times, in fact.”

  So Zane had asked her out more than once? He didn’t like that. “You never said anything.”

  “Like you expected me to brag that I was turned out cold? Get real. Besides, from the way the two of you carried on today, I have to wonder if she wasn’t hung up on you way back then. You can be damn blind when it comes to women, Chase.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means a lot of women try to get your attention, but you don’t take the bait.”

  Because they were nice, conservative women who most likely wouldn’t meet his appetites. He shook his head. “I date.”

  “Yeah, about five times a year.” He snorted. “That’s barely enough to keep a man alive. I figure every so often your libido takes over, and you cave. Other than that, you’re a man of ice.”

  “Maybe I just don’t like to spread myself so thin.”

  Zane chuckled. “You were sure spreading it around today. The way you corralled Allison into the back room reminded me of a stallion herding a mare. Not at all subtle.”

  Chase made a disgusted face and muttered, “Yeah, well, I don’t know what got into me today.” But even as he resolved to regain his iron control, his uneasiness grew, prompting him to leave. He stood up and pushed in the bar stool.

  Zane slid off the bar and buttoned up his coat, preparing to follow Chase out. “If I’m not mistaken,” Zane said, “I think it’s called lust. And about time, I’d say.”

  Suddenly, Chase had to see Allison. The urge to go to her was overwhelming, as bad as the turbulent lust had been. He had to fight to keep from rushing out, making a fool of himself again. Only the fact that he didn’t have her exact address held him back. He glanced at his brother and wanted to wince. Zane was giving him a rather knowing look.

  “I don’t suppose you know—”

  Zane chuckled. “She lives on State Street, not too far from here. It’s a big old cream-colored clapboard farmhouse, and you can’t miss it because the roof sticks up way higher than any of the others.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Chase asked, “How do you know?”

  “Well, I haven’t been there wooing her, if that’s what you’re worried about. Besides, like I already told you, she wasn’t interested in me. From what I understand, she inherited the house from an old spinster aunt. I helped out about a month ago when Cole and Sophie moved
her in there.”

  “Thanks.” Chase headed out the door, driven by some vague urgency he couldn’t suppress. He tossed a quick look at Zane. “Lock up, will you?”

  Zane blinked in astonishment. “You’re not going over there now, are you?”

  Chase didn’t answer him. He didn’t have time. Before he was completely through the door, he was flat-out running. He had to get to Allison. Why, he didn’t know, but the panic was real, making his heart race and his jaw lock. Within minutes he was in his car, driving too fast, and just as he turned the corner on State Street, he was able to clearly hear her again, her every thought, her every word. And what he heard caused him an unreasonable amount of anger.

  It’s not that I mind you being here, really. It just makes me a little nervous because it’s not something I’m used to. Especially when I’m trying to bathe. Couldn’t you go away for just a little while until I finish up?

  Someone was with her while she was trying to take a bath? And he refused to leave?

  Allison’s nervousness was real, flooding his senses. In fact, her nervousness bordered on fear, and Chase was suddenly so enraged, a red haze crowded his vision. He parked his car in the driveway with a screech, thankful that she didn’t have any near neighbors on the older, quiet street. He jumped out of his car, stormed up the paved entry walk to the immense wooden front porch decorated with a huge jack-o’-lantern and some cornstalks, but as he started to pound on the door, he noticed a narrow window to the side of the front room was opened just a crack. In late October, the evening air was cool enough that all the windows should have been shut, especially considering she was a woman alone, on a dead-end street, and it was nearing three in the morning. His instincts kicked in.

  Chase crept to the window and slid through it silently. Once inside, he closed and latched it, then looked around. He seemed to be in a parlor of sorts with carved, embroidered furniture, plenty of crocheted doilies, and lamps with fabric shades. Even though the room was dim, enough light came from the hall chandelier to let him clearly see the flocked, flowery wallpaper. He felt like he’d stepped back in time.