by Marilyn Lee
“What about him? Does he share that determination?”
“Of course he does! Why wouldn’t he?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know many men in love with their wives who weren’t deployed in the military who would leave them alone for so long.”
“It’s only for two years.”
The spirits willing, a lot could happen while Hank was in Japan for two years. “Is there a reason why he believes you’re still in love with Braden?”
“No!” Her lips trembled and looked close to tears. “There isn’t, but I can’t convince him of that.”
He brushed his hand against her cheek. “I hate to see you so unhappy.”
She caught the hand brushing her cheek between both of hers and rained kisses on it. “It’s so good to see you, Elkhorn.” A tear trickled down her cheek.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders.
Still clutching his hand, she leaned into his embrace, trapping his hand between their bodies, against her cleavage.
Although he longed to tip up her chin and kiss her lips while caressing her breasts, he knew she needed comfort. Not lust. He kissed the top of her head and eased away.
She sighed and released his hand. “Sorry.”
“Please don’t ever feel you need to apologize for needing comfort. If that is, in fact, all you want or need from me.”
Several more tears trickled down her face.
“Oh, cher, please don’t cry.” He wiped her cheeks and brushed a finger against her lips. “Can I buy you dinner?”
She kissed his finger before moving away from him. “Yes. When?”
“Tonight. Now.”
“You want to leave the party?”
“I just flew in this evening and I’m tired. I had planned to have an early night, but Rena told me you’d be here, so I changed my plans. I’m really not in the partying mood.”
“I know you could spend your time with any number of other women, I’m flattered you chose me.”
“You should be.”
She laughed.
“But you should know by now that I’ll always chose you over any other woman.”
“Should I?”
“Absolutely.”
“She leaned close to kiss his cheek. “Have I told you how very good it is to see you again?”
“You might have mentioned it. Is that a yes?”
“No, it isn’t. Cari’s giving this party to cheer me up. I can’t just leave the moment you show up.”
Damn. “So we’re staying?”
“I understand if you want to leave now, but I can’t.”
“I stay wherever you stay.”
“Yes?”
“Oh, yes, cher.”
“You will have noticed that you’re the only man here.”
He feigned a shudder. “It hadn’t escaped my notice.”
“And you know what that means?”
He would spend the evening dancing with any woman who wanted to dance with him. “Unfortunately, I do.”
“And you’re still staying?”
“Yes—God help me.”
“It won’t be so bad. All the women here are in happy relationships.”
“All of them, cher?”
She shrugged. “Hank and I...we’ll work things out. The point I’m making is that none of the women here will be gunning to knock your women off their perches.”
“Well damn. I was hoping at least one of them might try.”
“You were?” She glanced over her shoulder, looking towards the pool area before meeting his gaze. “Who?”
He arched a brow. “Why you, of course, cher.”
She stared at him. “Me?”
“You, lovely, delectable cheré. When I met Rena earlier, she gave me reason to hope that it might be harvest time.”
When she continued to stare at him, he decided he might need to do damage control. “Not that there’s any one to knock off anything. I’m currently not involved in a serious relationship.”
“But Tasha and Kia are—”
“No more interested in anything serious with me than I am with them. That’s why we all get along so well. They know about each other and neither has ever tried to stab the other in the back. It’s strictly a sexual arrangement.”
“Oh, yes?”
“Yes. I like sex. I know that you do as well.”
She frowned. “Have you been discussing me with Braden?”
“No, but I’ve seen the two of you together countless times.” He paused before continuing. “Hell, I once even walked in on you driving him slowly out of his mind.”
“When you say...what do you mean?”
“Just what you think I do.”
“No! You didn’t.”
“But I did. It happened about six years ago. I’d been out partying and when it came time to go home, Braden’s place was closer than mine. You two were in the living room on the floor, naked as the proverbial jaybirds. He was on his back and you were riding him. The smell of sex filled the air and when you lifted off him, I could see his cock was practically white. And then you rotate your big beautiful ass and slammed your hips down to take him back inside—”
“That’s enough! Thank you for the visual. You seem to take delight in embarrassing me.”
“You’re the last woman I want to cause discomfort. How can you not know that by now?”
“We never knew you saw us.”
He decided not to point out that as he’d quietly backed out of the room, Braden had opened his eyes and looked at him. Clearly, he’d never told her Raven had seen them. “There’s no shame in two people in love making love.”
“Yes, well, despite that you might think, I’m not an exhibitionist.”
“I don’t think you’re anything except a woman who was in love with my lucky brother.”
“I always felt I was the lucky one.” She sighed and shook her head. “But you’re the last single Elkhorn standing. Don’t you want to get married?”
“Is that a proposal, cher?”
She laughed. “No, it’s not.”
“Damn and I thought my luck was about to change. To answer your question, yes, but things haven’t worked out as I hoped they would with the right woman. When or if they ever do, I’ll happily get married.”
“She’ll be a very lucky woman.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a man any woman would be happy to land.”
“Really? Why did I never hear that from you when you were single?”
She grimaced. “What’s that supposed to mean? I was dating Braden.”
“And when you weren’t?”
“When I wasn’t, I was hurt and not interested in dating anyone.”
“And when you were ready to date again, you chose Hank.”
“Yeah. I kind of fell in love with him. That’s usually how that works.”
“Except it’s really not working out all the well. Is it?”
“Are you suggesting that I should have turned to you?”
He stroked a finger over her lips. “I would have treated you better.”
“He treats me just fine, Elkhorn.”
“Does he? Does he really? I wouldn’t have gone off to Japan for two years leaving you behind.”
She stared at him for several moments before she shook her head and then laughed. “You had me going there. Just when your mom started to like me again, you think I would have dared hooked up with another one of her sons?”
He decided not to push the issue. “By the way, she sends her warmest and heartfelt regards.”
“See what I mean? Now that I’m not in a relationship with her son, she likes me again.”
“She never stopped liking you.”
“Yeah, Elkhorn. Take it from the woman on the receiving end, she did. When Braden first introduced us and we were flirting, but not dating, she couldn’t have been more welcoming. Then we started to date. The invitations dried up and when we did see each other, I always came away fee
ling as if I’d been singed by the driest of dry ice. Once it was clear it was over between us with no chance of revival, she was all warmth and welcoming again. She likes me fine as long as I’m not dating her son.”
“I’m fairly sure I know her better than you do. She never stopped liking you, but let’s agree to drop it. Can I buy you dinner tomorrow night?”
“Yes. Thank you.” She sighed. “And now I think we should get back to the party before people begin to talk.”
“God forbid they should talk,” he said coolly.
“Yes. God forbid my friends should think I’m going after my former lover’s brother while my husband’s back is turned.”
He rose. “Just maybe, he should have kept his damned ass here and removed all temptation.”
“Or maybe he has a right to trust me not to stray. And exactly what temptation are you referring to?”
He allowed his gaze to briefly rest on her cleavage before looking down into her eyes. “Are we pretending there isn’t at least a hint of sensual tension between us tonight?”
“Sensual tension?”
“I see you still possess excellent hearing. Yes, cheré. Sensual tension. Or do you prefer sexual tension?”
She frowned up at him. “You’re in a strange mood tonight.”
“Must be the sleep deprivation I’m feeling.”
“Is that all it is? Sleep deprivation?”
“No.”
“What are you doing?”
“I can’t help myself. I always flirt with you, my luscious cher cheré.”
“I know, but tonight...it almost feels as if you...mean it.”
“That’s probably because I do and always have meant it. But then I think you already knew that.”
She pulled the ends of her robe together. “Clearly you need to see Tasha or Kia.”
“Clearly. And who do you need to see?”
“Hank. Who else?”
“Lucky, undeserving Hank.” He extended his hand.
“He’s not the only lucky one. I’m—”
“Yeah. He is. Now are we going back to the party or should I sit back down and really give your friends something to talk about?”
“What are you implying?”
“Just what the hell you think I am. Do you have any idea what I’d love to be doing to you right now?”
She leaned away from him. “There’s flirting and there’s crossing the line.”
“Fuck the line. I always cross it with you.”
She lowered her lids, concealing her expression. “I know, but—”
He leaned down to lick her cheek. “I always cross the line. You draw another one and then encourage me to cross that one as well. And I do.” He straightened. “Now are we returning to the party or are you going to encourage me to cross another moving line?”
“I know you and Hank have never liked each other, but you don’t know him.”
“And that’s a damn strange response to my remarks. But okay. I don’t need to know him to hate his guts.”
“Why do you hate him?”
“You know damn well why I hate him.”
“If you’re referring to the last time you two met, we were still struggling to recover from my dad’s death when we lost the baby. He was upset when he...”
“When he behaved like a pussy and sucker punched me?”
“I know and I’m so sorry about that. He mistook you for Branden.”
“Granted we all share a familial resemblance. However, Bray is several inches taller, about twenty or so pound heavier, and five years older. We’re not exactly identical twins. And Neka, who also shares that resemblance was there at the time. And yet he walked past him to deck me.
“If not for my regard for you, and Neka holding me back, I would have stomped his punk-ass into the ground.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That he didn’t view Neka as a romantic threat, but that’s not why I’d love to pound him until he’s a bloody pulp staining the fucking ground.”
“Raven! Please. Do you know what I need right now?”
“A man who adores you and worships the ground you walk on?”
Her eyes flashed and he half expected her to slap him. “What I need is a friend who won’t make judgements about my marriage. The very last thing I need is you spouting your outrageous nonsense and making me feel...”
“Making you feel what?”
“Things a married woman shouldn’t feel for her ex-lover’s younger brother.”
“Younger brother? Being two years your junior, hardly makes me jailbait.”
She shook her head. “I need your friendship.”
Chapter Two
FUCK, ELKHORN. GET your shit together. Concentrate on her needs instead of your wants. “You have and always will have it.” He extended his hand again.
She placed hers in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
They locked gazes for several moments while the tension between them returned.
“But you know I want more then friendship.”
“I don’t have any more to give.”
“You do, cheré. There’s a reason you keep allowing me to step over the lines. Erase the final line and let it happen between us.”
She shook her head and pressed her fingers against his mouth. “I am determined to make my marriage work.”
The impulse to pull her into his arms and taste the lips Braden had once told him were the sweetest he’d ever kissed nearly overwhelmed him. But he shook off the urge, offered her his arm, and walked her back to the party instead.
She excused herself, leaving him to talk to Cari. She returned wearing a long, flowing dress with a scoop neckline that covered her breasts and ended well below her knees. When she looked across the room to meet his gaze, he had the feeling she was using her attire to send a clear message: Her bikini-clad body was for Hank’s eyes only.
After she declined his offer to dance, he spent the next hour dancing with women he didn’t care if he never saw again. But when she was ready to eat, she sought him out.
“Friends again?”
She smiled up at him. “Always, Elkhorn.”
“You know you make my name sound like an endearment.”
“You are very dear to me.”
“Since when?”
“Since always, wise guy.”
“Prove it. Kiss me or let me kiss you,” he urged softly, uncaring who might be looking or listening.
Her smile vanished. “It’s getting late. I know you’re tired. We should leave before things get...crazy.”
His life had been crazy from the moment Braden introduced them. “All right. Did you drive?”
“No. I planned to get a little tipsy so I got a ride.”
“And are you tipsy?”
“No. Are you?”
“I’m with you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I get high just being near you. So, yeah. I’m tipsy as hell.”
She sucked in a breath. “You keep talking like that and I’m going to have to walk home.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” he said.
“That’s never really been that great,” she reminded him.
He laughed. “I know. Right?” He offered her his arm.
“Where are you staying?” She asked as he slipped into driver’s seat of his rental.
When the family had decided to relocate to the East Coast to be near Seneka and his wife who were having the first baby in the family in generations, he and Shane had not renewed the leases on their condos. Braden and their mother had kept their respective properties. He was leaning towards staying at Braden and Neida’s house, but hadn’t quite decided. “I’m not sure.”
“If you haven’t already made reservations, you might have to settle for a dive.”
He frowned. “What I meant—”
“You can crash in our guestroom until you make other arrangements. I’m living at my Dad’s house now. It h
as three bedrooms with three and a half baths. You can have your own room and bath—until you make other arrangements.”
He knew he should have set her straight, but fuck that. If Hank was foolish enough to leave her alone, he had only himself to blame for what happened. “Are you sure?”
She turned to look at him. “That earlier...stuff was full moon nonsense. Wasn’t it?”
“No.”
“But we’re friends. Right?”
Fuck he hated that word. “Always.”
“Then I’m sure.”
By the time they arrived at her house, he was yawning.
He picked up his bags and followed her up the staircase to the guestroom, at the opposite end from hers.
She opened the door and turned on the bedside lamps to reveal a large room with a king size bed.
He dropped his bags by the door and crossed the room to sit on the side of the bed.
“The mattress is new, so I hope you’ll find it comfortable. The bathroom is through the door on the left. Do you need anything before I say good night?”
He nodded. “What are the chances of your staying and talking me to sleep?”
“After all your full-moon nonsense? Slim to none.”
“It wasn’t full-moon inspired, but I’m sure you already know that by now.”
“All the more reason for me to say good night before...”
“Go on. Before what?”
“You’re a very attractive man.”
He inclined his head in acknowledgment of the complement. “You’re a beautiful, sensual woman. Do you know what usually happens when an attractive man and a beautiful woman are together in a bedroom with a king-size bed?”
“Yes,” she said softly.
Her response, surprised but pleased him. He extended his hand. “Then come join me.”
She shook her head and backed out the room. “She closes the door in his handsome face and takes her beautiful married ass to her own bedroom. Where she locks the damn door. Good night.”
He laughed and slowly undressed before falling into bed. Although exhausted, he lay remembering the sight of her in that damn bikini. Then he allowed himself to recall the one time, years earlier he’d seen her in less. A lot less...
Seven years earlier.
Returning home early from a business trip, with his key in his hand, Raven paused. He could hear soft jazz emanating from within his condo. He frowned, then remembered that the power in Braden’s neighborhood was out.
