by L. A. Casey
Alec scratched his chin then took my arm and lead me back to the kitchen table where we retook our seats.
"Okay, that sounds fair."
I was bouncing a little on my seat as I asked, "So you will be me pretend boyfriend, and escort me to Micah's and Jason's weddin'?
Alec laughed at my happiness. "Yeah, kitten. You've got yourself a fake man."
I clapped my hands together. "I can't wait to see Jason's face, this is gonna be so feckin' good!"
Alec's lip was curved as he watched and listened to me. I gradually stopped moving, and speaking, and busied myself with drinking some of my now lukewarm tea. It tasted so good that I groaned out loud.
"Oh my God. You make a perfect cuppa tea."
Alec shook his head. "All that sugar will rot your teeth."
Dentists could perform miracles nowadays so I didn't care.
I shrugged. "I need this, this is how I stay sane."
Alec laughed then looked at his nails and picked out some dirt from under them. I inwardly snorted at how feminine he suddenly looked then heard a bit of a thud coming from outside the kitchen door. I furrowed my eyebrows as I stood up and walked towards the door and pulled it open.
I jumped back and screeched when Nico's large body fell forward and crashed onto the ground. Alec burst out laughing from his seat while I stared wide-eyed at Nico on the floor with my hand held over my chest.
"I told you she had super hearin'!" Aideen's voice shouted from another room in the house, I guessed she was in the sitting room.
Nico grunted and groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, I gripped his arm to steady him in case he dropped again.
"Are you okay?" I asked, worried.
"He is fine, don't be fussing over him. It serves him right for eavesdropping."
Nico growled and snapped his head in Alec's direction. "I was not eavesdropping. I was coming in to get some water-"
"Explain why you were pressed up against the door and fell when it was open then?" Alec cut Nico off with a wicked grin.
Nico narrowed his eyes then opened his mouth to speak but closed it and huffed which made Alec snicker.
"Get your water and leave, little brother. I have things to discuss with my girlfriend."
Nico eyebrows got lost in his hairline that was how far up his eyebrows shot.
"Girlfriend?"
I flushed every shade of red and glared at Alec. "He means fake girlfriend."
Alec shrugged and grinned at me. "I'm getting into character, baby."
I curled my lip in disgust; I hated that pet name.
"Don't call me that."
Alec snapped his teeth at me. "Fine, just kitten then."
I folded my arms across my chest. "How about callin' me Keela, since that's me name."
Nico snorted from my left, so I looked to him as he said, "Just call her Keela, I never hear the end of it if I don't call Bronagh by her name."
I smiled at him. "What do you call her if not her name?"
Nico looked down to me and gently clocked my chin with his knuckles. "I call her my pretty girl."
I melted and audibly sighed.
"That is the cutest thing I have ever heard in me entire life."
"Besides my pretty girl and her sister, you're the cutest woman I have ever seen in my entire life."
Oh my goodness.
Nico smiled at me and as I focused on his dimples as I involuntary leaned closer to him only to be blocked by a large back that was suddenly pressed against my face.
"Five second warning to back off or I'm putting you on your ass, little brother."
I frowned at Alec's back and contemplated pinching it, did he not see that Nico was only playing with me?
"Bro, what the hell has gotten into you, since when do you threaten me? Since when do you threaten anybody?" Nico asked Alec, his tone laced with shock.
I looked around Alec to Nico who glanced at me, a tentative smile on his face.
"Stop flirting with her. I don't like it," Alec hissed, his tone filled with anger.
Holy shite!
"Jesus Alec, calm down. He was only messin' with me, you bleedin' weirdo."
Nico blissfully laughed then and looked to Alec and said, "I like her."
"I like her more and more each time she insults him," Kane's voice suddenly spoke.
"Fucking hell... deja vu," Nico muttered and rubbed his temples.
I glanced to my left when Kane entered the kitchen and I smiled at him as he headed straight for the fridge. He was wearing a vest top that was coated in sweat. With his arms bare I could see that he has some thick purple scars as well as some light pink ones covering sections of his skin. Nico was topless and in a pair of shorts just like Alec was. I found myself looking from brother to brother, but focusing my gaze on Alec's back. It was rippled with muscle and perfectly tanned with a few light freckles splashed across his shoulder blades.
Before putting any thought into it, I reached out and ran my index finger up his spine and stopped between his shoulder blades. Alec's body completely tensed and it caused me to freeze. I quickly pulled my hand anyway as he spun around to face me then he grabbed my hand and growled down at me.
He lowered his head to my ear and whispered, "If you touch my back again be prepared for a hard fucking, kitten."
I hated that his words both infuriated me and turned me on at that same time.
"You dirty bastard! If you say anythin' like that to me again I'll... I'll..."
"You'll what, kitten?" Alec asked his voice teasing.
I clenched my jaw shut and settled on glaring at him because I couldn't think of anything to say.
"She will kick your ass from the looks of things," Kane snickered then left the room with the food he gathered from the fridge.
Alec smiled, but didn't look away from me. He instead reached out and brushed a loose curl out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. My breath caught and my lower region tingled.
"You're a real man, you know that?" I murmured.
"I'm all man, baby."
I rolled my eyes. "No, I mean you're a man, man. Like a caveman."
Alec frowned. "Is that a bad thing or something?"
"Yes and no," I replied.
He continued to frown at me then lifted his hand and rubbed his hands together. "I don't understand what you're saying. Is it bad or is it good? Be straight with me."
He wanted me to be straight with him?
Did he have all day?
Nico looked at Alec with raised eyebrows then shook his head and said, "Wrong thing to ask a woman. I'm giving you a crash course in what I like to call the Man Bible, it contains all the secret meanings to what women actually mean when they speak. So listen to me very clearly. It is almost impossible for males to understand it, but a lucky handful of us know the true meanings of words women use as weapons and I am about to impart this wisdom on you, bro."
I folded my arms across my chest and waited for Nico to speak, I was just as eager as Alec to hear what he had to say.
"The first word is 'Fine'. When a woman says this during an argument, she knows she is right and that you are very wrong. She is not fine - you're not fine, nothing is fine."
I snorted because that was true.
Alec frowned. "But what about if she is wrong-"
"Alec, stop. Do not talk back when she says something is fine, wait until she is calm to mention she might be wrong. I usually wait a week for Bronagh to calm down before I mention things about past fights."
Smart lad.
"Okay, fine doesn't really mean fine, got it. What else, love doctor?" Alec sarcastically asked, but Nico ignored him and powered on.
"Second word is 'Nothing'. By the might of God Alec, when a woman says nothing is wrong, something is definitely fucking wrong."
Alec nodded his head and flicked his eyes to mine. "I’m starting to believe that one."
I gave him a look that caused him to grin as he looked back to Nico.
Nico th
en held up three fingers. "The third word is 'Whatever'. This is another way for ladies to say fuck you."
I snickered making Nico grin as he popped up an extra finger. "The fourth is a sentence. When a woman says 'It's okay, don't worry about it,' you do worry about it. You worry a lot because she is thinking of a way to make you pay for whatever you did wrong."
Alec raised his eyebrows and looked very confused. "Wait. They don't mean it's okay, and that I don’t have to worry about it? Why would they say that if they don't mean it?"
Nico shrugged. "I think it's some sort of mind trick. They use that sentence as an illusion that things between you are okay, but when you least expect it, they will strike like a cobra and wound your soul."
Alec sat back and huffed. "Why can't they just say what they mean instead of giving words a double meaning?"
Nico shrugged. "I know the real meaning to certain things women say but I don't understand why women give them a double meaning, that it beyond my area of expertise, bro."
Alec grunted. "I don't like this."
I bit down on my lip so I wouldn't laugh out loud. I was enjoying this so much that I made sure not to make a sound so they would continue on with the conversation.
"Okay, listen very carefully to this two worded sentence. I'm serious Alec, if you're going to remember any of what I just said remember this - it might just save your life," Nico said this so dramatically that I sat forward when Alec did.
"When a woman tells you to 'Go ahead,' you do not, under any circumstances go ahead. You retreat to a safe distance and observe the situation very carefully. She is daring you to do something, not giving you permission."
I did laugh then and Nico smiled as he watched me.
Alec chuckled a little and shook his head. "I guess you laughing means all of that was bullshit?"
I wiped under my eyes and said, "No, the opposite, it was spot on correct and that's why it's so funny."
Alec got a deer in the headlights look and stared at me for a moment before looking back at Dominic. "We need to have a serious conversation, bro."
"Dominic!"
I jumped with fright as a loud female voice bellowed out Nico's name. Aideen was in the bathroom, Alec was getting something out of his room, the rest of the brothers were out in the back, and I was sat in the kitchen waiting by myself. That was until Bronagh Murphy stormed into the kitchen like a woman on a mission.
"Oh, hey Keela," Bronagh said when she found me at the kitchen table.
I waved. "Hey, Bronagh-" I cut myself off when I saw her face. She had a black eye and her cheek was very swollen. "What happened to your face?"
Bronagh shrugged. "There was a bit of an altercation last night in the club. I sort of got tricked into a cage fight."
Um, what?
I stared at Bronagh. "You got tricked into a cage fight?"
Was that even possible?
Bronagh nodded her head. "Yeah, it's a long and very weird story."
I got the feeling she didn't want to tell the story so I nodded my head and kept my mouth shut.
"So... what's up?" Bronagh asked after a few moments of silence.
I cleared my throat and said, "Nothin' much, just waitin' on Aideen and Alec. She’s is in the toilet and he is gettin' somethin' out of his room."
Bronagh grinned. "You might be awhile, Alec takes forever when he is doin' somethin'."
I tutted. "Great."
Bronagh smiled then looked out the window that was over the kitchen sink.
"How long have they been out there?" she asked me without looking away from the window.
"About twenty-five minutes. Kane and Ryder are tryin' to build a dog house and Dominic is watchin'."
"That's because he is a lazy bastard," Bronagh answered making me laugh.
"He said he was tried from mattress dancin' with you last night... and then again twice this mornin'," I teased.
Bronagh gasped as she snapped her head in my direction.
"He did not!"
I nodded my head. "He did. I smacked him for you because if that was my lad tellin' his brothers private things like that, I'd want someone to smack him too."
"Thanks, but you didn't hit him hard enough," Bronagh muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"He is still conscious."
I burst out laughing and it got the attention of the men out in the back.
"What's so funny, red?" Kane asked when he opened the back door.
"Bronagh," I said.
"Bronagh?" Kane repeated.
Bronagh moved into Kane's view and said, "Bronagh."
A genuine smile stretched across his scarred face. "Hey, bumble bee."
"Bumble bee! Is Bronagh back?" Dominic shouted from the back.
"Yes she is," Bronagh replied.
Dominic sprung up from his seated position and in a flash was next to Ryder, helping him with the half built doghouse.
"Don't even try and act like you were helpin', you pathetic sack of shite."
I smiled when Kane and Ryder burst out laughing.
"Caught by the misses," Ryder said in a Dublin accent and shoved Dominic making him stumble to the right.
Dominic waited a good five seconds before he turned to face the house with a beaming smile on his face.
"Hey, pretty girl. I missed you-"
"Save it, I don't wanna hear your bullshit today."
"Oh," I said aloud then laughed when Kane looked at me with an expression on his face that said he wanted to laugh too.
"It's not bullshit, babe. I did miss you."
Bronagh folded her arms across her chest. "You promised Tyson's house would be ready by the time I got back from signin’ up for me... classes."
I momentarily wondered what classes she was talking about.
"It's nearly ready," Nico said and scratched his head.
"Yeah, no thanks to you."
Nico sighed before he turned to Ryder and said, "I'll finish it."
Ryder smiled and said, "Pussy whipped."
"So? It's a pussy of gold."
"Dominic!" Bronagh bellowed.
I smiled as she swatted at Kane and Ryder, who were laughing as they passed her by. They got some water then ventured off somewhere in the giant house.
"Where is your dog?" I asked Bronagh.
"In the sittin' room on his bed," Bronagh said then whistled so loud it made me wince.
Things were quiet for a moment then the noise of nails on the floor could be heard, as well as heavy panting. I widened my eyes when a puppy barged into the kitchen.
"Oh my God. Look at the size of him, he so feckin' cute!" I gushed when the little Husky waddled in my direction. He couldn't have been older than eight weeks; he was so chubby and small that I felt myself melt into a puddle.
"His name is Tyson."
"Hey Tyson," I cooed in a baby voice. "You're gorgeous. Yes you are, ah yes you are."
"Where did you get him?" I asked Bronagh as I rubbed Tyson's head.
"Dominic got him for me birthday yesterday." Bronagh beamed then messed with Tyson's ears making the puppy lightly groan in delight at having his head and ears scratched.
"Happy belated birthday," I said making Bronagh laugh.
"Thanks."
I turned my attention back to Tyson, picked him up and sighed. "I love him already. I love Huskies, they are my second favourite breed."
Bronagh asked, "What's the first?"
"German Shepherds." I gave Tyson to Bronagh then got my phone from my pocket and showed her the screen saver.
Bronagh's eyes widened. "Omigod, he is huge! So beautiful!"
I beamed. "His name is Storm and he is two years old."
Bronagh cuddled Tyson to her. "I don't want him to get big."
I laughed. "Trust me, I don't blame you. Storm refuses to sleep anywhere but in me bed. I babied him too much I guess."
Bronagh snorted. "Dominic won't let Tyson sleep with us because last night he bit his fingers and toes when he saw t
hem touchin' me in bed, it was brilliant."
I smiled and looked towards the backdoor, Nico looked like he was having trouble with getting the roof of the doghouse positioned correctly. Bronagh opened the door and Nico's loud mumbling could be heard, she had a ghost of a smile on her face which indicated to me that she was about to do something to piss Nico off.
"You're doin' that wrong!" she called out.
Nico froze and the muscles in his back tensed. "Get back inside the house and close the door. Now," he growled without turning around.
I raised my eyebrows and looked at Bronagh, who didn't move a muscle.
"The doorway needs to be bigger, he is goin' to be a big dog Dominic," Bronagh said with an upbeat chirp to her tone.
"Bronagh Jane Murphy, I will paddle your ass so hard that you won't sit down for a week if you don't get back inside that house. You were just on my case about building the damn thing, so let me build it my way."
I blew out a breath and licked my lips only to receive a flick on the ear that made me jump and snap my head to the right. I tilted my head all the way back so I could look up at the person who flicked my ear.
I narrowed my eyes when they landed on Alec's face.
"What was that for?" I hissed at him.
"You were drooling over my little brother."
Untrue.
I scoffed and turned back to watch the amusing scene that was Bronagh and Nico.
"I thought you said you wouldn't get mad at me over me suggestions anymore?" Bronagh said to Nico.
Nico dropped his hammer, stood up to his full height and turned around. His body was perfection, ripped and tan beyond belief.
I licked my lips. "Okay, now I'm droolin' over your little brother," I whispered to Alec, who moved behind me and growled as he put his arms around me and placed his chin on my head.
"You're lucky you're sitting down."
I smiled. "Why?"
"Because I would smack your ass if you weren't."
I gasped and pinched the arms that were around me.
"What the hell is this?" Bronagh asked Alec and me.
I didn't know what to say so I kept my mouth shut, Alec on the other hand didn't have the same problem.
"Keela is my girlfriend."
Bronagh blinked in confusion then looked over her shoulder to Dominic when he came up behind her.