The Strand Brothers Series: Complete Set

by Lora Ann

  “Well, I had no idea I was coming tonight.” She grinned as she gave E a level glance. Um…wonder what that was about. She broke my musing when she added, “You dance wonderfully.”

  I blushed at the compliment. “Thank you.”

  E shot me a heated gaze over his glass tumbler of clear liquid over ice. I presumed it was vodka since I highly doubted he would drink plain water. Again, I shifted my legs. Aimee either didn’t sense the electricity arcing around her, or she chose to ignore it. “So, I hear after your shift you’re checking out one of the well-known clubs Keeley used to frequent?”

  I blew out a heavy breath. “Yeah. At least that’s what we were told.” By ‘we’ I meant E and me. I had received a voice mail from him earlier with the information. It suddenly occurred to me Aimee may be here for a reason. “Are you coming with us?” I was appalled at the fact I dragging this gorgeous business woman into the fray of a sex club. She shot E a meaningful look.

  He politely stood up and acknowledged, “That would be my cue to let the two of you chat.” Once more, his regard was intense. “Until later, Lacey.” His deep and hypnotic voice caused goose bumps to roll over me as he took his leave.

  That knowing stare of Aimee’s lit on me. “You’ve got it bad.”

  Should I lie, deny, or be honest with her? I bowed my head and confessed, “Yes, I do. Too bad it’s not reciprocated.” She choked on her drink. Alarmed, I reached over and patted her back several times while I asked, “Are you okay?” I heard the panic rising in my voice. Did she?

  She regained composure and looked at me with wide eyes. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  I dropped my hand. “Thank goodness. You scared me there for a moment.”

  After clearing her throat she apologized and added, “How did you miss the attraction radiating off of Mr. Sex-On-A-Stick?”

  “Who?” I gasped.

  “Don’t play all sweet and innocent with me.” She leveled a look at me, then dryly answered, “E-v-e-n,” she spelled out.

  No clue why his name was spelled so uniquely—kind of like the man himself—but I had seen it before, so that didn’t shock me. The surprise came with the forthcoming tidbit: “the attraction radiating off of Mr. Sex-On-A-Stick.” Boy, he was all that and a bag of chips! I vaguely remember laughing off that little statement when Keeley used it. Now, here I was using the phrase myself. Good grief. Aimee did have a point. Albeit I am a virgin raised in a sheltered environment, I knew terminology used more than most. Come on, my sister had been educating me on the ways of the world—directly and indirectly— for years. I meekly met Aimee’s gaze. “Sorry. You’re right,” I nervously chortled. “Why do you call him that?”

  “Because he is.” She had a don’t-be-stupid expression on her face.

  “Yeah, he definitely has game,” I conceded. “But your husband is hawt, so I was confused by the reference.”

  She beamed. “Nik is unbelievably gorgeous, but E drips with sex appeal.” I could tell she loved her husband deeply. Since I had seen him with her, I knew it was returned tenfold. Nonetheless, her observation of E was beyond accurate. I had a feeling she knew things about him a sister-in-law shouldn’t. She continued, “And Alex…well, where Nik is a warrior god and Even is a sex god, Alex is a drop-dead gorgeous god.”

  That was hard to believe. E and Nik were bewitching, how could their brother be more? “How is that possible?” I knew my incredulity was written all over my face, but she wasn’t offended.

  On the contrary, she had a starry look in her eyes as she replied, “He’s GQ model material all the way. So damn beautiful it hurts to look at him for long. The man turns heads everywhere he goes, and when he graces you with his devil-may-care smile—” she fanned herself—“it’s downright panty melting.”

  Whoa, all of a sudden, Adonis came to mind. Also, it seemed that lazy and mischievous grin ran in the family. Oh, my! “Wow. When do I meet him?”

  Her face grew serious and haunted. “Not sure.”

  Without forethought, I clasped her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

  “No, no. I’m the one who should apologize.” She smiled again but it didn’t reach her eyes. I wondered what the story was there. I didn’t have to think about it for long because Aimee decided to elaborate. “Alex is investigating my accident,” she acknowledged tightly.

  “I had no idea you’d been in one recently,” I affirmed.

  “I was run off the road up at Lake Tahoe.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say, and it was obvious this topic upset her. “You don’t have to talk about it,” I reassured.

  Pulling her hand from mine, she reached forward and began to play with the condensation on her glass. As she did that, she regaled, “Before I met Nik, I was a high-priced call girl.” Flabbergasted, I could only stare at her. She continued, “That’s not entirely true. We had met at a masquerade, but neither one of us remembered that right away.” There was a glow in her eyes at the memory. “Anyhoo, I had been blackmailed into an engagement with Senator Caleb Reynolds.”

  At that point I inquired, “You mean the senator who heads up the coalition against prostitution?”

  “The very one.”

  “But…didn’t you just say that’s what you used to do for a living?” All right, I was beyond confused.

  She nodded and went on, “Never made sense to me either.” Though I could see she was purposely holding something back there, I decided I would ask E for more information on the subject. “Caleb wasn’t happy about me running off with Nik.” She added, “So we think he was the one who caused the wreck.”

  “He was stalking you?”

  “Apparently. Several threats had been made on my life beforehand, which is why Alex is investigating.”

  “Is he a P.I.?”

  “He’s an attorney. A very good one, actually.”

  Now things were making more sense to me. “I hope he gets the evidence necessary to bring Senator Reynolds to justice.”

  She was more serious than I had ever seen her. “So do I.”

  I figured it was time to change the subject. “Are you coming with us to the other clubs?”

  “No. Nik’s out of town right now.”

  She didn’t need to fill in the blank for me. I realized that if the person responsible for her accident was still on the loose, then her husband had arranged protection. Which was why she was here, E was part of that. Admittedly, I admired these brothers and their loyalty to one another. Keeley and I had that once. I hoped and prayed we would have it again when and if I found her. No, I couldn’t allow myself to think if. I would focus only on the when.

  I glanced around the club and realized I was needed on stage. After excusing myself, I made my way up to do my next set. My mind wandered through the entire routine. Thoughts of Aimee in danger from a powerful man; E and I entering into the underworld of sex and drugs; Keeley out there somewhere with God only knew who, feeding her habit. I didn’t know how it would all play out from this point on, but I did know, none of us were ever going to be the same.

  Chapter Sixteen

  E

  There was no hope for my raging hard-on as I watched Lacey dance. The woman had me tied up in so many knots that I couldn’t figure out where I should even try to unravel them. She would ruin me and my reputation, probably my business as well. Thoughts of claiming her luscious body overwhelmed me. How was I going to pose as her Dom when my desire to make love to her trumped the need to dominate her? Damn it! This was unacceptable. I couldn’t have her, but that knowledge did little to quell my growing need for her. Aimee pulled me from my introspection. “Hey.” She snapped her fingers in front of my face.

  I had to wonder just how long she’d been trying to gain my attention. I dryly replied, “Yes. You rang.”

  She giggled, “So you’re Lurch now?”

  “I have the height.” I shrugged.

  “True,” she agreed. “But not the voice.”

  “Ah, I see your
point.”

  She laid her delicate hand on my forearm and inquired, “What has you so upset?”

  “How’d you know?” I was genuinely curious. Few people read me like she did.

  “Well…I’ve only seen you broody once before.” She followed my eyes towards the stage before she continued, “And I believe Lacey was behind that time, too.”

  I tapped her nose with my finger. “Perceptive little thing, aren’t you?”

  “So I’ve been told.” There was no pride in the statement, only honesty.

  I enfolded her in my arms. “It really is a shame you picked the wrong brother,” I teased.

  “Even…” she cautioned with a grin on her face and then hugged me back. “The heart decides who you fall in love with, not the brain.”

  “What if you don’t have a heart,” I sighed.

  She pushed away from me and placed her hands on her curvy hips. “That’s bullshit.” She called me out. “You have a big, beautiful heart. You just try really hard to hide it. Besides, Nik attempted to do the same when he was falling for me. Didn’t work.”

  Understatement of the century. My brother was in love with her from the get-go. Was she saying I suffered from the same affliction? Didn’t seem likely, but then again, I had nothing to compare it with. I hadn’t lied to Lacey—being in love was a foreign concept to me. “I’m not Nik,” I pointed out.

  “Of course not,” she clarified. “No one ever said you were.” She leveled a look on me that actually made me slightly uncomfortable. “However, unlike your brother, you’ve never loved and lost, so you have no point of reference here.”

  She really did have an uncanny knack for putting us—myself, Nik, and Alex—in our place. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips for a kiss. “You’re right.”

  Her eyes widened at my confession, but she recovered quickly. “Damn straight. And don’t you forget it, either.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Never, sister dear.”

  It wasn’t until Lacey stormed passed us that I realized she had finished. If I was correct, I had seen jealousy in her eyes. Interesting. I glanced down at Aimee. “Would you mind waiting for me at the table? I’ll only be a few minutes.”

  “No problem.” She pivoted and began to sashay down the hall. I couldn’t help but watch her ass in motion. She really was a beautiful woman, though Lacey was more so. What the hell? Just keepin’ it real.

  As I entered the locker room, there were no screams of dismay to greet me. Instead, there were looks of invitation. I half-smiled while shaking my head. Under normal circumstances, I didn’t mix business with pleasure. That was well-known. So I was always amazed by the blatant sensuality laid before me each and every time. I approached Lacey from the side and she shot me a fiery look that would have stopped most men in their tracks. Good thing I’m not average. She slammed her locker shut and curtly acknowledged, “What do you want, E?”

  Whoa. I searched my memory trying to figure out just why she was pissed off at me. Then I remembered thinking she had been jealous of Aimee and me in the hallway. That brought warmth to my insides; nevertheless, she had no right to treat me with disdain. “Watch the attitude, Lacey,” I warned.

  She spun around. “Or what?” she snapped.

  Over my shoulder I yelled to the other girls in the room. “Everyone out! NOW.” There was shuffling, slamming of doors, and murmurs too soft to decipher as they complied. Not particularly concerned with who would witness our interaction, I caged Lacey against the wall of lockers. “Don’t ever speak to me like that again,” I growled.

  Her chin came up in defiance. Well, I’ll be damned. I had thought she was pliable to my will. Goes to show what I know. A smile played at the corners of my mouth before I took hers with mine. It wasn’t a nice kiss, or even a hungry one. No, this was punishing her for her outright insolence. At first she fought me, trying to pull her head away. To insure she didn’t succeed, I fisted her hair and yanked, emphasizing she wouldn’t move until I said it was okay. That was when she relinquished her control, fully submitting to me. The beast in me roared, demanding I release him. I figuratively jerked his leash to make sure he knew I was Master. But when Lacey began to rotate her hips against my dick, I damned near lost it.

  My other hand began skating up her thigh. I loved the musculature and contours of her dancer legs. The need to explore her body nearly brought me to my knees. Somehow I’d known that that one taste of her would never be enough. However, we were in a relatively public spot, so I had to let my fingers do the exploration this time. I eased up on her hair and let my roving hand cup her tit. When my thumb rubbed against her nipple, I was pleased to find it was hard and ready. I groaned, “You’re incredibly responsive, sweetness.”

  Her breathing was already ragged when she panted, “Only for you.”

  Fire meet gasoline. I growled as I moved from her beautiful breast to the waist band of her boy shorts. Rapidly gaining access to her gorgeous pussy, my fingers danced along her slit. “You’re already wet for me,” I declared with not a little awe. Knowledge of a virgin’s body was beyond my realm of comprehension, but I would’ve thought it’d take more coaxing for her flower to open. I seized the advantage, parting her crevice; I used my thumb to tease her clit. Her head fell back as she moaned. And that spurred me into further action, moving one finger inside her channel to massage those inner walls. All the while, I continued to fondle her tight nub until she released, pouring onto my hand. I took her mouth with mine to silence her cry as her tight snatch convulsed against my hand. God, she was beyond beautiful. Against her mouth, I spoke, “Mine.”

  “Yes,” she replied on a whimper.

  With every intention of taking her now, I moved my hand from her hair to release my cock. I had just unzipped my pants when Aimee approached.

  “Hey…Oh my God, I’m so s-sorry,” she stammered.

  Ordinarily a situation like this would’ve made me laugh. But there was nothing funny about watching all the blood leach out of Lacey’s face. “Just breathe, søta,” I whispered encouragingly. The last thing I needed was for her to pass out. My forehead was pressed against hers as she let out a long exhale. I doubted she realized she’d been holding her breath. Never moving from my position, I addressed, “Aimee…give us a minute.”

  “Sure thing,” she affirmed. “I’ll meet you at the table.”

  After the door clicked shut, I eased away from Lacey. “Are you going to be alright?”

  “Uh-huh,” she nodded.

  I made quick work of adjusting my clothing and zipping my fly while her trembling hands tried to redo her boy shorts. “Here, let me help you.”

  When I reached forward, she smacked my hand away. “I’m fine.” Then she added, “I need a few minutes to myself. Please.”

  I took the hint and walked across the locker room. Before I left, I called back, “I’ll be waiting for you along with Aimee. Take your time.”

  Once the door closed, I adjusted myself. Damn, the woman would be the death of me, or, at the very least, the favorite part of my anatomy. I strode over to Aimee where her eyes met mine sheepishly over the edge of her wine glass. “Don’t apologize, sister dear.” I declared, “You had no idea what was transpiring in that locker room. Hell, I had no clue it would escalate to that, either.” After my confession, which I wasn’t accustomed to admitting my weaknesses, I straddled the chair next to the table, folding my arms across the back.

  “Your shenanigans don’t surprise me, E.” She shook her head. “Neither does her reaction to you. You’re a force to be reckoned with on a good day. When you turn on that sex charm, a woman doesn’t have a prayer.” She grinned, “Well…actually, you’re always dripping with sex, but when you desire a particular female—you’re downright lethal.”

  No way could I stifle the laugh that came out. “Thanks, I think.”

  “Definitely a compliment,” she acknowledged while giving me a meaningful look.

  “Go ahead,” I offered. “You kno
w you have more to say.”

  She took a sip of her drink, contemplating. After a beat, she queried, “Are you intrigued because of her virginity?”

  “What the fuck?” My fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white. “How could you think that about me or her?” I was beyond appalled. Didn’t she see how beautiful Lacey was? Did she really think so little of me? Maybe I didn’t know my sister-in-law very well, but I had thought she was more insightful than that.

  “Hey.” She grabbed hold of one of my fists and soothingly replied, “I meant no offense, Even. She’s absolutely stunning. It’s not like I don’t understand your attraction. Any red-blooded man would be.” She took a fortifying breath. “But you don’t seem the type to play around with someone’s innocence.”

  She had a point, and just as I thought once before, her perception was spot on. “Who said I was playing around?”

  Her eyes widened. “You really like her.” Not a question, a statement. Yes, Aimee had made the connection.

  As my fists relaxed, I laid my other hand across hers. “I do,” I admitted, “But that doesn’t mean I should’ve done what I did.”

  She eyed me before she affirmed, “This wasn’t the first time.”