The Clarke Brothers (Complete Series)

by Lilian Monroe

  “I’ll try,” I say.

  It’s all the go-ahead he needs. I watch as he wraps his muscular arms around the huge tree trunk and lifts it up two or three inches. I brace myself against the log and slide out from under it, wincing as pain shoots through my leg. I shuffle upwards until I’m clear of the tree and he drops it back down again, crawling toward me.

  “What happened? What are you doing here on your own?”

  Before I know it, I’m sobbing like a child. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close so that my face is buried in his chest. All I do is sob and breathe in his fresh piney musk. He squeezes me close and then lets go, glancing down at my leg.

  “Can you walk?”

  I shrug, and Aiden puts his arm under my back. He pulls me back up to the path where I slipped and tries to put me upright. The instant I put weight on my right leg, pain shoots through my ankle. I groan and my eyes water. Aiden pulls me closer and puts his arm around me.

  “Come on,” he says. In one smooth motion, he swings me up so that I’m cradled in his arms. “Watch the branches. I’ll take you back to the cabin.”

  I nestle my head in his chest and try to hide the tears in my eyes. My heart is still thumping and my head is spinning. I can hardly believe what’s happened. I went from going for a quiet walk to thinking I would be eaten by a bear, only to be rescued by the man I’ve been fantasizing about for the past two weeks.

  The pain in my leg fades as I wrap my arms around his neck and let myself melt into him. Even though I know I was stupid to head out on my own, and I’ve been incredibly lucky for him to find me, it almost feels like fate. It feels like we were meant to find each other and we’re supposed to be together.

  He squeezes me a bit closer and looks down at me for a moment. Our eyes meet and I see a deep pain in his eyes.

  “Don’t do that again,” he growls. “Don’t go off on your own.”

  “I won’t,” I whisper. “I promise.”

  He holds me closer and I let the tears fall from my eyes into his chest as he carries me all the way back to his cabin.

  18

  Aiden

  She feels so small in my arms. I try to shield her from the low-hanging branches that might scratch her while I make my way back to the nearest path. I know these woods like the back of my hand, but I still wish I could get back quicker.

  I don’t know why she was there, or why she was alone, or how long she was pinned under that tree, but none of that matters now. All I care about is getting her back to safety and making sure she’s alright. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m starting to be glad that Mara showed up at my place. If it wasn’t for her, I never would have found Maddy.

  I look down and see her crying softly. My chest squeezes for the thousandth time today, but this time it’s not anger, or pain. I just want to protect her. I glance at her leg and hope it’s not broken.

  Finally, we get to the main path and I know we’re less than ten minutes away from my cabin.

  “I’m going to drive you to the hospital. You're going to need an x-ray,” I say. She nods but says nothing. We go the rest of the way in silence. By the time we make it to my truck, the sweat is dripping down between my shoulder blades and my arms and legs are screaming from the effort.

  I place her down gently and open the door of the truck. Before she gets in, she puts a hand on my chest and looks up at my face.

  “Aiden,” she says softly. I shake my head.

  “It’s okay.”

  “Thank you,” she says. She lifts her other hand to my chest and it crawls up toward my neck. I catch it with my palm and bring her fingers up to my lips. I kiss them softly, staring deep into her eyes. She straightens her fingers and runs them along my jaw until they’re wrapped around the base of my neck.

  The instant our lips touch, it feels like this is where I was meant to be. Our bodies melt together and I wrap my arms around her. She curls her fingers into my hair and presses herself into me as our lips crush together and I finally get to taste her.

  A soft moan slips out of her lips and I kiss her harder, not wanting this moment to end. I wrap my arm around the small of her back and bring her just a bit closer to me until her body stiffens and I remember that she’s in pain.

  “Sorry,” I breathe, pulling away from her.

  She shakes her head. “It’s fine.” Her eyes linger on mine for a moment until I nod to the truck.

  “We’d better get you checked out.”

  She gets into the truck and I jog over to the driver’s side. Once the engine turns over, she slips her hand over my leg and my cock twitches toward her. I glance over at her and she smiles shyly.

  “Thank you,” she says again. “I thought I was going to die out there.”

  “You could have,” I growl. “What were you doing out there?”

  She winces and I immediately regret my words. I’ve been on my own too long, I don’t know how to act around women anymore. If I’m honest, I don’t know how to act around people anymore.

  “I just needed some air. Work has gotten intense, and I’m just…” She pauses. “I’m just not sure about it all anymore.”

  I nod but say nothing. I’m not sure what she means, but I just stare straight ahead and try to focus on the road. Her hand is still on my thigh, burning through my pants and breathing life into my whole body. I can’t focus on anything except her taste on my lips, her hand on my thigh, and trying my best to not crash this truck.

  We drive in silence toward the nearest hospital. It’s in the next town over, and I’m silently thankful for the extra time together.

  The silence doesn’t feel forced or awkward, it just feels natural. It feels like we’ve known each other forever, and we’re just comfortable in each other’s company. I don’t remember the last time I felt like that with another person, let alone a woman.

  I glance over at her as she stares out the window and my heart squeezes again. I wish she wasn’t working for that fucking hotel construction company. I wish we’d met under different circumstances.

  The big ‘H’ in front of the hospital comes into view and I pull up in front of the emergency doors. A nurse comes out to talk to us and brings out a wheelchair. She points me over to the parking lot and I watch her wheel Maddy inside the hospital.

  Even being away from her for five minutes feels wrong. I just want to be near her – from now until I know for sure she’ll be okay.

  She never should have been out there on her own. If I hadn’t run off in a blind rage through the woods, I never would have found her. She was on the border of my property and the hotel’s. No one ever goes there. I shake my head and try not to think about what would have happened if I hadn’t found her.

  I park the car and take a deep breath. Maybe Mara coming to see me was a blessing in disguise. If she hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have gone out in the woods. I wouldn’t have found Maddy, and I wouldn’t have brought her back. I wouldn’t have kissed her and held her in my arms. I wouldn’t be here with her now.

  I mull over these thoughts as I lock the truck and head toward the bright hospital doors. They slide open as I walk through, and from the waiting area I see Maddy turn her head toward me. Her face lights up and I feel a smile forming on my lips.

  “I thought you’d left,” she says in a low voice when I slide my hand onto her shoulder.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I reply. She intertwines her fingers into mine and gives them a light squeeze. My heart thumps in my chest and I sit down beside her, ready to wait as long as I need to until she’s patched up and released from the hospital. I’m definitely not going anywhere.

  19

  Madeline

  “You didn’t have to stay. It took so long!” I say, silently grateful that Aiden is still beside me. He wheels me out of the hospital in the wheelchair and grunts in response. I feel a bit silly being wheeled out, but apparently, it’s hospital policy. My ankle is only lightly sprained, and the doctor said that once the swelling goes d
own it should be better within a few days. I’m so lucky, I can’t even wrap my head around it.

  Aiden loads the crutches into the back of the truck and jogs over to the passenger side door. He helps me up out of the wheelchair and I climb into the seat, smiling at him in thanks. I watch him walk around the front of the pickup and open the driver’s side door.

  The past couple hours have flown by. Thankfully, the hospital wasn’t busy and I didn’t have to wait too long, but it was still just over two hours, most of which we spent in silence.

  As usual with Aiden, though, it was a comfortable silence. I turn to look at him as he drives out of the hospital, and my heart squeezes at the thought of going back to the McCoy’s hotel. I don’t want to leave him. We drive in silence for a few miles until I clear my throat.

  “Aiden…”

  “You want to come back to my place for a drink?” he interrupts. He keeps his eyes straight ahead on the road and my heart jumps in my chest. A lump forms in my throat and I nod my head up and down.

  “Sure,” I finally say in a hoarse whisper. I can feel a spark igniting between my legs as I think of going back to Aiden’s cabin with him, alone in the woods with nothing but trees and mountains to surround us. I slide my hand over his thigh and he slides his fingers into it, curling them so that his palm covers my whole hand. I close my eyes, feeling safer and warmer than I’ve felt in weeks.

  “Why were you up there alone?” he asks all of a sudden. I open my eyes again and glance over at him. My cheeks start to blush at the harshness of his voice.

  “I know it was stupid,” I start.

  “You’re fucking right it was,” he says, turning his head to stare at me. His eyes are blazing and I see something in them. Is it concern? Does he care that much? “You could have died.”

  I try to swallow and I nod. “I know. I went up there after work. We’d just had a meeting about clearing the land to the north of the hotel site for a sports complex and the thought of it…” my voice trails off. I stare out the window at the passing scenery. The old forest is dense and dark as we drive back to his place in the dusk. “I wanted to see what we’d be building on.” The last word comes out as a whisper and Aiden’s hand tenses over mine. The veins in his neck bulge and he keeps his head staring forward. I can see his free hand gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles are white.

  “Thank you for saving me,” I say. “I know I shouldn’t have been up there on my own. I owe you my life.”

  Aiden grunts in response and turns up the worn gravel path up toward his cabin. He parks the truck outside the cabin and jumps down, jogging around to help me out of the car.

  “You want to use the crutches?” he asks. “You can lean on me. There won’t be much room for them in there,” he says, nodding to the small cabin.

  “I’ll be fine,” I say, wrapping my arm around his waist. We hop toward his front door and he pushes it open. He guides me to a worn sofa and turns to the wood-burning stove in the middle of the room, lighting a fire in a few seconds. He disappears behind me and reappears with two cold beers in his hand. I take one and clink it gently against his before taking a long drink.

  I sigh in satisfaction as the cold liquid travels down my throat.

  “Thanks,” I say, opening my eyes to see him staring at me.

  “You’re beautiful,” he growls. My heart starts thumping in my chest. My tongue darts out to lick my lips and my whole body feels like it’s electric. His eyes travel down from my face along my body. Everywhere his gaze touches feels like it’s set on fire. He trails his eyes back up toward my face and runs his fingertips along my arm. I close my eyes and a moan escapes my lips as a shiver passes through my body.

  His hand brushes across my shoulder and he wraps his fingers around the base of my neck. I don’t have to open my eyes to know his face is inches from mine. I part my lips and wait for the taste of his kiss.

  It’s better than the first time. I wrap my arms around his neck and tangle my fingers into his hair as our lips crush together. He presses his body against mine and brings his other hand to my waist, pulling me closer to him. I lean back, falling on to the couch until his body is completely covering mine. He’s holding himself up on his elbows but I pull his face toward mine, loving the weight of his body on top of me.

  His erection is pressing into my stomach and I grind my hips up toward it. I can feel the heat of it through my clothes, and all I want to do is feel him thrust it inside me. I rock my hips back and forth until he moans as he kisses me, pressing himself down onto me.

  He moves his mouth to kiss my ear, my neck. He pulls my shirt down to kiss my collarbone. I shiver as he kisses all along my collarbone toward my shoulder, and then takes his tongue and licks all the way back toward my chest. He moves his lips between my breasts and runs his fingers over to squeeze the soft flesh of my breasts.

  My body is on fire. It’s screaming for him, screaming for his touch, his kiss, his cock. I grind myself into him and gasp as his lips move back up toward mine. He kisses me with a hunger I’ve never felt before. It’s like he wants to taste every part of me, to devour me with every kiss.

  I run my hands along his shoulders and finally feel the muscles that I’ve been staring at every time I see him. I dig my fingertips into his neck and bring his face to mine again, locking our lips together and kissing him harder. He groans and presses himself on top of me, finally lifting his head up and running his hand along my cheek.

  “I’ve wanted to do this since the first time I saw you at that meeting,” he growls. His words send a thrill straight to my core, and the heat in my stomach blossoms. I run my fingers across his temple and back into his hair, watching him groan in satisfaction as he closes his eyes.

  “You’re so fucking sexy,” I whisper. He opens his eyes again and I see something else in them, something wilder than I’ve seen before. There’s a depth to his desire that makes my whole body feel like it’s burning. It’s animalistic, almost savage. His eyes stare into mine and for a moment, we’re completely frozen.

  I feel his growl more than I hear it. It rumbles through his chest and into my body as his fingers curl on my breast. He pushes his hips down onto me and I feel his hard cock pressing into me again. I moan as he does it, and he growls again before grabbing my shirt and yanking it down.

  The fabric rips and I gasp. My shirt hangs open to reveal my black bra and the white skin of my stomach. He growls again, dropping his head to kiss the skin between my breasts. I run my fingers through his hair and feel him groan again.

  The space between my legs is burning with desire. His hands grip my waist as he runs his tongue down the center of my stomach, igniting a fire in my veins.

  “Aiden,” I breathe, unable to think of anything else to say. He glances up at me, meeting my eye for just an instant before dipping his head back down toward the waistband of my pants.

  20

  Aiden

  When she says my name, it makes my whole body buzz. I never knew I liked my own name so much until I heard it from her lips, in that breathy whisper that’s loaded with pure desire.

  I run my fingers back up her sides and reach behind to unclasp her bra. She sits up and I slide it off her body. I groan as I see her breasts for the first time. The ripped fabric of her ruined shirt falls off her body and puddles on the floor. I catch her nipple between my lips, swirling my tongue around it as my free hand grabs her other breast. I groan as she bucks her hips toward me, moaning every time I touch her.

  My cock is straining against my pants. I want nothing more than to plunge it deep inside her and feel her walls contract around me as I pump my seed deep into her. I want nothing more than to take her body and claim her right now. She moans again and my whole body shivers in response.

  I move my lips to her other breast, kissing it before taking her nipple gently between my teeth. She gasps as I run my tongue around her areola, and then trail kisses between her breasts and back down her stomach. My hands linger over her b
reasts before running down her sides toward the waistband of her pants. I hook my fingers into her pants and let my tongue run over and back across her stomach. She whimpers, writhing toward me as I taste her skin.

  I sit up, gazing at her body as she lies back on the couch. She bites her lip and my cock twitches again, and I watch as her fingers trail down her chest. She squeezes her own breasts and I groan, feeling the heat in my body increase by a few degrees as I watch her touch herself. Her hands move from her breasts, following the path of my mouth just moments before toward her stomach.

  She unbuttons her pants and slowly slides the zipper down. My heart is thumping in my chest and the heat of desire courses through my veins. I rip my shirt off over my head and feel her hands on my stomach. I lean forward, letting her explore my chest and stomach with her hands for a few moments. I close my eyes and groan at her touch, loving the way her fingers run across every ridge of my muscles, every bone, every inch of my skin.

  She runs her fingers all the way up to my shoulders and down my arms, and then back across to my chest and down my stomach. She dips her fingertips into the waistband of my pants and I feel myself losing control. Her fingers just brush the base of my cock and a growl rises in my chest. My cock is so hard it hurts, straining against my pants until I feel like I’m going to explode before she even touches it.

  I’m straddling her on the couch, with both her legs between mine. I shift my weight and see her wince.

  “Fuck, sorry Maddy,” I say, remembering her sprained ankle.

  “Who cares,” she breathes. “Take off your fucking pants.”

  I grin and nod, standing up to let my pants fall down. I pull down my jocks and my cock springs free, the tip of it already wet with my precum. Maddy gasps, sitting up on her elbows before shimmying her pants down her legs. The instant I see that little patch of pubic hair above her slit, I lose all control.