The Hot Brother (Romance Love Story) (Hargrave Brothers - Book #5)

by Alexa Davis

  “Save that crap for someone that doesn’t know you.”

  The doorbell rang and, at least for the moment, I escaped his inquisition. He went out to get a beer with the girls and my house started filling up. By seven fifteen, I was ready to throw the steaks on the grill. Glenda, one of the fighter’s wives, was making a salad in the kitchen and I had Micah and Les, two more of my friends from the MMA league, wrapping potatoes in foil to bake on the grill. As I carried the meat out to the patio, I saw Briana, Micah’s girlfriend.

  “Hey, Bri, would you mind getting the plates and utensils out of the pantry for me and bringing them out to the patio?”

  “Nope, I’m on it, Nick.”

  Jonah bugged me some more while I tossed the meat and potatoes on the grill. I stuck to my guns that the party was for Kevin. As I was rinsing off the meat pan in the kitchen sink at seven-forty, the doorbell rang again. Jonah answered it and when I looked up and saw Kevin and Karli, I automatically smiled. That was when my stupid friend looked right at Karli and said, “Oh! I get it now!”

  Fucker.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  KARLI

  Kevin rode with me or I would have left almost as soon as we got to Nick’s house. The place was crawling with fighters and girls in Band-Aid bikinis, neither of which I was interested in. The booze was flowing freely, so I didn’t doubt that pretty soon those bikinis would be coming off and some of these fighters would be looking to go a few rounds with each other.

  There was also the fact that Nick’s friend had looked right at me when I came in and said “Oh! I get it now!” It gave me the feeling that I’d been tricked and I wasn’t happy about it.

  I didn’t say anything to Nick about it, though, for two reasons – number one, he’d just deny it and call me arrogant again, and number two, Kevin was so excited that Nick was doing this for him. He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who made friends easily and I hated the idea of him learning that he was being used from me.

  Nick glared at his friend and shooed him away before making a big production of introducing Kevin and then me to everyone before showing us through a huge living room to a set of glass doors that took up half of the wall and out onto a tiled patio with built in barbecue pit, bar, and seventy-inch television. The green grass stretched out into a park-like setting, and in the center of it was a pool with a waterfall along the side of it.

  It was incredible and so obviously meant to impress. He must sink every penny of money he made into this place; either that or he had a rich mommy and daddy. I was not sure why I cared enough to even put so much thought into it.

  He was at the barbecue pit now with his back to me, and I glanced over and took him in while he wasn’t watching. He was so tall that he towered over just about everyone, except Kevin. His friends were all in good shape, but Nick’s body actually looked sculpted. His biceps were thick in all the right places and where the sleeves of his t-shirt ended, all of that delicious ink began.

  I hated that I found him so incredibly attractive, but God I’d have to be blind not to. I’d be willing to bet in an anonymous poll, even the other men here would have to agree that where looks were concerned, he was absolutely perfect. He turned to the side and I watched as he smiled at someone and those dimples came out. They ought to be illegal.

  The dimples made me think of Ethan and I told myself that was good. Think about Ethan. I have a date with Ethan. I do not need a man like Nick in my life, not even a little bit.

  Just as I had that thought, Nick’s friend Jonah passed by with a girl on his arm.

  “Excuse me?”

  He stopped and the busty blonde made a pouty face when he said, “Go on to the pool, baby. I’ll catch up with you.”

  I think she may have even stomped her foot a little. Once she was gone, he smiled at me. Like Nick, he was hot, but also like Nick, it was obvious that he knew it. “What can I do for you…Karli?”

  “Yeah, I have a silly question for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Was this party really for Kevin?”

  Jonah’s eyes cut first to the big guy standing a few feet away from us. Kevin had found a girl to talk to and he looked like he was in seventh heaven. Then he cut them over to where Nick was taking food off the barbecue. He still had his back to us.

  “Well, that’s what Nick says, and it’s his house,” was his answer.

  “So, what did you mean by “Oh! I get it now!” when I came in the door?”

  “No telling really,” he said. “I mean, you just never know what I’m going to say. Half the time, I don’t even know what I’m talking about.” It was obvious he wasn’t going to give up his friend, but between the way he was acting and the look in Nick’s blue eyes as he turned and saw us talking, it was obvious there was something he wasn’t supposed to tell me.

  “Okay, thanks. Where is the ladies’ room?”

  “Down the hall, second door on the left.”

  “Thank you.” Nick was still looking at us so just to make him worry, I glared at him and then smiled at Jonah. I turned and made my way through a sea of bodies and back inside. I was almost to the bathroom when I heard Nick’s voice.

  “You okay, Karli?”

  I turned and looked at him and almost forgot that I was mad at him again. Jesus, he’s too freaking hot. “I’m fine. I just don’t like being tricked into doing something you clearly knew I didn’t want to do.”

  “What are you talking about? What did Jonah say to you?”

  “He didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t; but I heard what he said when Kevin and I walked in. You didn’t throw this party for Kevin out of the goodness of your heart. You threw it to get me in your house, and in your egotistical mind, that probably translates to getting me into bed. That is not going to happen – ever – just so we’re clear on that.”

  “Wow, you’re really something, you know that?”

  “Me? You’re the one going completely out of your way to get a woman to come to your house. Are you that hard up?”

  He laughed. “No, baby, I’m not hard up at all. And you can think whatever you want to think in that pretty, little, narcissistic head of yours, but this,” he held his arms out, “was all about welcoming a new brother into our fold, and nothing about you.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I said like a fifth grader. I had no idea what it was about this guy that seems to bring out the worst in me. I cursed my melted insides as he said,

  “That’s because you’re as full of yourself as I am. You think I threw a party for fifty people just for you. Wow.” He grinned, and I felt my face color. He was right. Who did I think I was that a man who looked like Nick Storelli would go through all of this trouble for me?

  “Maybe you’re right,” I said. He looked surprised, but to his credit, he kept a straight face as I said, “I don’t know what it is about you, Nick, but you seem to bring out the worst in me.”

  “I have to say that’s the first time a woman has ever told me that.” He stepped closer. The bathroom door was open behind me. I could have stepped back into it…but I didn’t. I wanted to think of it more like standing my ground than aching to be close to him.

  He reached down and put his fingers underneath my chin and tipped my face up to his. God, his blue eyes are so incredibly beautiful, and expressive. I could actually see desire in them…for me. As much as I didn’t want to like anything about this guy, I just couldn’t deny, at least to myself, how much he turned me on. “I want to kiss you so bad, Karli.”

  That was my cue to step back. It was my cue to say no. It was my cue to run out of here and not look back. I’d only met him twelve hours ago, but I already knew him. I knew he was just like every other hot gym rat I’ve ever known – too in love with himself to have room for me. I’d buy that he wanted me for sex, but then he would be finished with me and once again, I’d be left with a wounded ego and aching heart.

  Nick waited patiently while I stood there with all of that going through my head
. Finally as if my body was tired of the indecision and so made it on her own, I felt myself press my body in closer to his. He didn’t need any more encouragement than that. He brought those full, sexy lips down to mine and kissed me.

  Our lips and tongues seemed to move together like a dance that was perfectly choreographed. His lips were soft, and I could feel the tickle of his breaths on mine. He kept one hand in my hair and the other on my waist as he explored my mouth with his tongue. It was sweet and sexy at the same time. He kissed me until neither of us could go without a breath any longer and then he pulled his face up slowly and looked down at mine and smiled.

  “Thank you,” he said. That simple expression of thanks caused anything in my body that wasn’t already singing with desire to go into overdrive. It was contradictory to everything I wanted to believe about him, just like the apology earlier.

  I stared at him for a few seconds, willing the dizziness in my head and the shakiness in my limbs to go away. As soon as they did, the regrets began to sneak in. Nick Storelli was everything I didn’t need and everything I’d sworn off after my last disastrous relationship. I had a date in coming up soon with Ethan Grant – everything I did need. What the hell am I doing?

  “Um,” I finally took that step back. “I’m going to use the ladies’ room.” I didn’t know if he said anything or not. I took another fast step back, closed the door, and leaned my back into it.

  What did I just do? It wasn’t like kissing a guy at a club and being sure you’ll never see him again. I was going to have to look at Nick at least three days a week at the gym and he’d be looking back at me with those sexy, blue eyes that had seen how much I wanted him. Damn it, Karli!

  CHAPTER NINE

  NICK

  “Hey, Nick! Is the food almost ready?” Jonah yelled at me on my way back out the door to the patio.

  I’d taken the meat off the grill already and forgot about it when I went to follow Karli inside. I wished I knew what she was thinking now. She’d run into the bathroom and closed the door so quickly that I was sure she regretted kissing me.

  But what she couldn’t deny, at least to herself, was that was one hell of a kiss. I’d kissed a lot of women in my life so I know a great kiss when I feel one, and every nerve ending in my body felt that one. For just a few seconds before she ran, I could see on Karli’s face and in her pretty eyes that she’d felt it, too.

  “Nick?” Jonah walked up behind me.

  “What?”

  “The food?”

  “Oh, yeah, it’s ready.”

  He laughed. “Man, I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “What day is that?”

  “The one where Nicholas Storelli fell in love.”

  “Shut the fuck up and go put the meat on the table.” I handed him the tray and he walked away laughing. Idiot.

  I went inside and with a couple of the girls’ help, I brought out the rest of the food. The whole time, I watched the hallway for a sign of Karli. When all the food was put out and I still hadn’t seen her, I went looking for her. The bathroom door was open and the bathroom was empty. I went back outside and searched the yard for Kevin. He wasn’t hard to spot.

  “Hey, Kevin!” I waved at him and he jogged over. “Where’s Karli? Have you seen her?”

  “Oh yeah, she just texted me. She asked me to tell you thanks for the invite, but she had to get home and work on her homework.”

  Shit. The kiss scared her. “Thanks,” I told him. I started to walk away and then turned back to him and said, “Hey, Kevin, can you give me her number? I misplaced it. I just want to tell her goodnight.”

  “Sure.” He took out his phone and rattled it off as I put it into mine. Once everyone was stuffing their faces, I went back into the quiet house and sent her a text,

  “Thank you for coming tonight. I am sorry we got off to such a bad start this morning. I’d like to get to know you, Karli. Please don’t stress yourself out about the kiss either. I don’t want things to be awkward for you at the gym. But if you ever want to do it again, I’m game ;) Goodnight, beautiful.”

  It was almost an hour later when I got a text back that simply said, “Thanks, Nick. Goodnight.” It was a start, I guess.

  ********

  I had been doing my absolute best every day that I worked with Charlie in the days after our talk. I also hadn’t been out – no drinking and no partying and no women. The last drink I had was at the party I threw last Sunday night, and I had actually bought some of the things on Charlie’s nutrition list and cooked my own dinner three nights this past week instead of eating out. I was sleeping better and my body actually felt better.

  The only thing I was struggling with was Karli. I saw her come and go most days. She’d go into the office and work or spend time cleaning the equipment.

  I came in early one day and actually caught her doing her own workout. Charlie was spotting for her, so I just stood back and watched for a few minutes. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and one of those sports bra/work-out top things. They were both hot pink with gray trim and I was almost jealous of the way they got to hug her curves.

  I hadn’t been wrong about her having one hell of a body underneath her loose, conservative clothes. She was gorgeous, even all sweaty with no make-up on and her hair in a short, little ponytail at the nape of her neck. I felt myself getting excited and had to walk away. It wouldn’t do for her father to see me with a boner directed at his pretty daughter.

  I went into the locker room to change and when I got back out into the training room, Karli was gone. I had to stuff my disappointment because as soon as Charlie saw me, he said, “Get on your headgear and get in the ring.” I hadn’t sparred since the day Kevin kicked my ass. Charlie had been running me through strength and endurance training and had me do a lot of bag work this week. As I was putting on the headgear, I asked him,

  “Who am I sparring? Kevin?”

  “Nope,” Charlie said. I turned and looked at him. “Me.”

  “Um…are you sure, Charlie?” He was not a small guy and definitely not out of shape, but he had to be pushing sixty and I just wasn’t sure going up against me in the ring was a good idea.

  He chuckled. “You afraid you’re gonna hurt me, Storelli?”

  “Kind of,” I told him, honestly.

  That time he laughed outright. “Well, don’t worry your pretty head about me. If I were you, I’d be worried about myself. Charlie the Hurricane Henderson used to eat little boys like you for breakfast and clean his teeth with their bones.”

  “Nice analogy,” I said with a grin. Getting in the ring with Charlie might be kind of fun. I was interested to see if he still had anything left in his old age.

  Half an hour later, I was drenched in sweat and ducking underneath Charlie’s extraordinarily long reach. He seemed to be anticipating my every move.

  “You can’t just work the defense, Nick. Show me some offense.”

  I was embarrassed to admit that I had been showing it to him. I threw out a right hook. Charlie was dodging it before it got there. I tried sweeping his legs, but he jumped back before I even extended mine. I was getting frustrated. I stepped forward with my right foot and faked a left cross. As soon as my shoulder twitched, he moved to block it. That was when I came back at him with a hard right to the left side of his head gear.

  Charlie had to shake it off, but he was smiling. I think this was the most fun he’d had since I met him. He came back at me, and I planted my feet wide and held up my fists. He came at me with a left hook. I put up my right arm to block it and before he could react, I unleashed a series of punches on him. I backed him all the way up into the mesh.

  I was a heavy hitter; it’s what I do. I’ve also gotten good at dodging most punches and kicks and usually, I won by a knockout. I’ve had two wins by submission, but the guys were both already half comatose by then.

  Charlie actually looked proud of me as we made our way back to the center of the octagon. “That was good; much bett
er,” he told me.

  We danced around each other a little more with him throwing out punches and me dodging them, and then I’d throw one out and he’d dodge it. My punches were fast and hard and the guy that could dodge all or most of them was a rarity. Every so often with Charlie, I would get lucky and connect, but he acted like the fist I used to take down twenty-year-old men in perfect condition was only a minor inconvenience.

  I finally got exhausted and went in for the clinch. We locked arms and struggled for the dominant position. I hated wrestling, but I just wanted this to be over. I used all the power I had left to take Charlie down. He fought hard with me for position, while at the same time snapping out orders and directions.

  “If I wanted to, I could be sitting on you right now, pounding your face with my fists.”

  I was lethal with my fists and I kicked ass in martial arts. I readily admitted that I sucked on my ground game…mostly because I hate it. The writhing around on the mat with a sweaty guy has never appealed to me.

  It’s not a homophobic thing; I think it was more about personal space. My arm reach was over three and a half feet, so even when I was beating them senseless, I could keep them at bay. I obviously couldn’t match Charlie in skill on the floor, but I had him in size and I tried to use that. If I could get my arms underneath him, I could roll him onto his stomach. I struggled with it for a good two or three minutes before I managed it and he twisted out of it right away.

  Seconds later, he’d flipped us and he was back on top. I kept fighting, but I couldn’t get Charlie off. If this was a real fight, I’d have to tap out.

  I had gotten my ass whooped by an inexperienced kid last week and a sixty-year-old man this week. It was hell on my ego, that’s for sure

  “Okay,” Charlie said when he finally climbed off of me. “Towel off and work on the speed bag for a while.” I gave him an “are you serious” look as I struggled to my feet, winded. He grinned at me and I knew he was waiting for me to complain, so I didn’t.