If You Could Only Imagine (Buchanan Brothers Series Book 2)

by M. E. Clayton

  “Gabriel. Michael,” she said, acknowledging her other children right before she turned back towards me. I had shut the door and was now standing before her. “I heard about what happened at BI today.”

  “How?” Gabriel asked her.

  She took a deep breath as she adjusted her ten-thousand-dollar purse. “Well, his face didn’t look like it did when he left the house this morning, Gabriel,” she retorted. “When I asked what happened, he told me.”

  I could see Michael crossing his arms over his chest behind her. “And what did Pop have to say, exactly?”

  Natalie Buchanan wasn’t ruffled often, but she, just like the rest of us, knew what Michael was capable of. “Relax, Michael,” she muttered, not bothering to look behind her. “As hard as it is to believe, he told me the truth. Mason verified as much when I called him.”

  “That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here, Mother,” I pressed.

  She rolled her lips in, took a deep breath, and then she lifted her hand to caress my cheek. “Your father is a world class asshole, Aiden,” she said. “He always has been, and I was a world class asshole to let him raise you boys without my influence. I’ll always regret that whether or not you boys believe me.” Then she let out a sad chuckle and looked back towards the twins. “And I’ll never ask for you forgiveness because I don’t deserve it. Especially you, Michael.” Turning back towards me, she continued, “However, I do not agree with or condone Harold’s opinions or actions. I wanted to stop by and let you know that he’s moving to the Bay Home, so if you ever…if you ever want to bring Denise by, you can do so in confidence and comfort. I would love to meet her.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I knew my parents would never get an actual divorce but living separately was a big deal. Appearances meant everything to my dad. And it meant a lot to me that my mother was trying to…well, just trying without being overwhelming with her regret.

  “Thanks, Mom,” I told her, honestly. “I really appreciate that, as I’m sure Denise will, as well.”

  Her green eyes, the exact same as mine, Gabriel’s and Michael’s, glossed over. “I’ll get it right with my grandchildren, Aiden, if you boys will let me.” She didn’t give us a chance to comment as she made her rounds, kissing each one of us on the cheek, before walking out the front door.

  There was a heartbeat of silence before Michael’s incredulous voice broke it. “What in the ever lovin’ fuck was that?”

  Chapter 21

  Denise~

  I was going to kill Aiden Buchanan and his entire Buchanan brood.

  Except Shane.

  Shane would always be given the benefit of the doubt that she was unduly influenced by the overpowering strength in the Buchanan pheromones.

  “Mom, you are being seriously ridiculous, right now,” I huffed into the phone.

  “Well, I don’t see how, Denise,” she retorted. “I’m holding the invitation in my hand as we speak.”

  I couldn’t stifle my embarrassment. “It’s not that big of a deal, Mom,” I repeated. “It’s not even really a promotion, per se.”

  “Denise Hart,” she snipped in her mom voice. “The invitation states that it’s for the launch of a new division where you work that you are a part of. It looks to be a celebration or something.”

  My mother had called me telling me she got an invitation in the mail requesting her presence, along with my father’s, to join BI in celebrating the birth of The Morgan Corporation restructuring. I didn’t know which Buchanan was being this evil, but I knew for a fact, that BI didn’t celebrate stuff like that.

  Of course, that was before Mason Buchanan made it his mission in life to please his wife, so I could be wrong. But still…

  “Are you saying you don’t want us attending?” she asked, sounding a little hurt.

  I let out a sigh. “Of course not, Mom,” I relented. “I…I just don’t want you and Dad to feel as if you have to attend. I…just don’t want you guys feeling uncomfortable or to have a bad time.” Gahd, the excuses sounded lame even to my ears.

  “Nonsense, honey,” she replied, sounding happier than she did two seconds ago. “Your father and I will have a wonderful time if the occasion has anything to do with you, and you know it.”

  I did know it. But I was also feeling railroaded.

  Aiden and I never got a chance to talk after I shamelessly let him screw me on his desk this afternoon, and then after accepting Shane’s offer, the rest of the day had been nothing but dealing with my transfer and replacement. It had given me something to concentrate on, other than the dramatic whispers following me down the hallways, but I knew Aiden and I had to have a serious come-to-Jesus talk soon.

  “Well, it’s still about a month or so away, Mom,” I pointed out, knowing all the details thanks to her excited phone call. “You and dad have plenty of time to shop or whatever it is people do to get ready for these types of things.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No, Mom. I don’t,” I answered back. “I’ve never been to a gala or ball or whatever the hell this is.”

  “Well, like you said, we have a month to prepare for such a celebration,” she reiterated. “The invite even includes airfare and hotel accommodations, and I think that’s wonderful.”

  Ugh.

  I wanted to tell her it wasn’t a celebration so much as an ambush, but she had sounded so excited about my new work path when she called, I wasn’t going to be a dick to her simply because I couldn’t stay off Aiden Buchanan’s penis.

  Before I could go farther down this rabbit hole with her, there was a knock on my door. I hoped it was Kelly with some tequila. At the very least, a bottle of wine.

  “Hey, Mom,” I said into the phone, “someone’s here, so I gotta go, okay?”

  “Okay, honey,” she responded, automatically. “I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

  “Okay,” I replied. “I love you, too.”

  Disconnecting the call, I walked over to the door, and peering out the peephole, I almost had a heart attack. It wasn’t Kelly with some much-needed liquor.

  Nope.

  It was one of those goddamn Buchanan Twins. Only, I didn’t know which one.

  I swung the door open and looked up into the face of one of the most stunning men walking the planet. The fucker smiled and all I could do was shake my head at the little twerp. “What are you doing here, and which one are you?” It was a wonder I could string two words together.

  His smile deepened and my eyes nearly went cross-eyed. “Awe, come on, Dibtab,” he purred, his voice smooth and playful. “Don’t be like that. I’m way better looking than Gabriel and you know it.”

  Michael Buchanan.

  Goddamn Michael Fucking Buchanan.

  How could one person be so stunningly breathtaking?

  I stepped back, letting him into my apartment. My place wasn’t fancy, but it was nice enough. I watched as Michael looked around, his gaze falling on all the little things that made my home uniquely mine. “How may I help you, Michael?”

  He turned back towards me and smiled again.

  The little shit.

  “I just came to catch up,” he teased. “You know, just want to keep up on current events and all.”

  I placed my hands on my hips, and tried to stare the little jerk down, but it was hard when the kid towered over me. “Current events, such as…?”

  “My brother loves you,” he said, diving straight into the deep end-no lifejacket. “Now, once upon a time, I would have said…‘Aiden? Nah, not Aiden’…because, you see, Aiden loves women-”

  I threw my hands up in the air and looked at the kid wide-eyed. “Are you kidding me? You came here to tell me how much Aiden loves women?”

  The ass chuckled. “No, of course not,” he snorted. “I’m here to tell you that you have nothing to feel guilty about and you need to understand that Aiden’s actions reflect more on him than they do you.”

  I needed a drink for this. “Do you want a beer
or something?” I didn’t wait for his answer as I headed into the kitchen to grab a beer out of the refrigerator.

  “I’m good,” he replied, cheekily. And when I turned around, I saw that he had made himself at home on the couch.

  I cracked open my beer and went back into the living room to join him. “Okay, Michael,” I said, giving him the floor. “Lay it on me.”

  “Dibtab, we all have our…strengths and weaknesses,” he stated. It was like he was giving a university lecture. “Mason’s used to be that he was a disconnected sociopath, but now his weakness is Shane. Gabe’s is his unwavering loyalty. And mine is my temper when it…uh, shines.” He leaned forward and made sure he had my absolute attention. “Aiden’s has always been women.” He stopped me before I could say something snarky. “And not in the way you think. Aiden’s doesn’t jump around from bed to bed, Denise.” Oh, shit. He called me Denise. That’s when I knew he was being real with me. “Aiden feels as if there is nothing more sacred on this earth than a woman. He believes in their strength, their ability to give life, and their fortitude to take whatever comes their way.”

  “Wow,” I whispered, taken aback a little.

  Michael nodded. “Aiden would have defended you against our father, no matter what. And he’ll always defend you against anyone or anything in the future. But, for Aiden, it goes a little beyond defending the woman he loves. Aiden will do jail time in a heartbeat if he comes across a woman being mistreated,” he explained. “You’re just a super, over the top dose of that for him. He would have kicked my dad’s ass for insulting any woman, Denise. Do not blame yourself or…let your mind conjure up issues that aren’t there as an excuse to keep Aiden at arm’s length.”

  I couldn’t hide how his words affected me emotionally. “Michael, it’s more than just the color of my skin,” I argued. “I’m older than he is. I have nowhere near his…your wealth. I don’t know what to do if I’m presented with more than one fork. I…he was my boss, Michael. And, even if I do work for Shane now, I was sleeping with the boss. It’s reeks of sleaze.”

  He cocked his head at me and pierced me with those green lasers of his. “Age is just a number. He’d drain his bank account for you if money is a real big issue for you. He’s color blind, as we all are, except for my prick of a father-who I’d be glad to murder, if you wish it. And as for being your boss, it might not have been ideal, but who cares what people think when you’re in love?”

  I ignored his casual comment about murdering his father and asked, “How do you know I’m in love with your brother?” Hell, I wasn’t even sure of how I felt about Aiden.

  The fucker snorted again. “Because, Aiden’s the best man out of all of us,” he said, unknowingly repeating what Mason had said. “He’d be hard not to fall in love with.”

  “Oh, really?” I said, injecting just enough sass in my voice to let him know I was teasing.

  The corner of his lip lifted, popping out one of those goddamn dimples. “I know you love him because you walked into work this morning to being the gossip on everyone’s lips, having to bare your humiliation to HR, being the cause of an actual fistfight, having to meet Mason…basically having the most craptastic day of your BI career, and what do you do? You go find Aiden, full of concern, and let the man mount you on his desk.” I should have been shocked that he knew such details, but for some reason I wasn’t. “If that’s not love, it’s close enough, Dibtab.”

  Well, shit.

  Chapter 22

  Aiden~

  I stood in front of Denise’s apartment door, and I was still doubting my convictions to show up at her place so late in the evening, but we couldn’t keep going rounds at work. It didn’t matter that she was now technically working for Shane. It wasn’t even a question of whether or not we were together-because we were.

  I gave her a chance when she was sprawled across my desk today. I warned her that if she opened those creamy, thick thighs for me that that made her officially mine. So, there was no backing out of an ‘us’ anymore.

  My problem was with the publicity of it all. Denise wasn’t my dirty little secret, and I wasn’t going to creep around behind closed doors as if she was. She was my girlfriend, and if I had it my way, she’ll be my wife before the month is out. I was not going to let her believe that this wasn’t right; that we weren’t right for each other.

  I knocked and waited. After a couple of minutes, I knocked again, wondering if she knew it was me and was just ignoring me. A few seconds later, I heard a faint ‘coming’ from the other side of the door. I listened as I heard the locks disengage, and when she swung the door open, I saw red.

  “Why in the fuck are you answering the door in a goddamn towel, Denise?” I roared.

  She peeked her head out of the doorway, looked both ways-searching for random neighbors, I assumed-then reached out, grabbed my arm and yanked me inside. “Do you mind?” she hissed. “The last thing I need is nosey neighbors trying to get all up in my business.”

  She was answering the door damn near naked and she thought nosey neighbors were the issue at hand here?

  Don’t think so.

  I stared down at her. “Why the fuck are you answering the door in a motherfucking towel, Denise?” I roared again.

  She rolled her eyes at me.

  She had the nerve to roll her eye at me as if my question was unreasonable or something.

  “I just got out of the shower,” she snipped. “And I checked the peephole, Aiden. I knew it was you.”

  I still held true to the belief that women were the neatest creatures on earth, but they still didn’t make a lick of sense to me. “And, so what, if it was just me? Anyone could have been walking down the hallway and got a look at you dress-or not dressed like that!”

  Her fist tightened around the top of the towel that was doing its best to keep her assets encased, but you could see it was a real struggle. Denise had curves upon fucking curves and that towel was no match for her big, heavy tits. “People would see more if I were wearing a bikini, Aiden,” she reasoned. “Get a grip.”

  It’s like the woman didn’t know me at all. “Because you think I’d ever let you wear a fucking bikini out in public?” I thundered.

  I was mad, goddamn it.

  Denise’s spine snapped and her face looked positively livid. “Do you really think you can stop me?” she challenged.

  Fuck yeah, I did.

  “You’re mine,” I reminded her. “No one sees your body but me.”

  I could see the battle waging in her eyes. She wanted to fight me on this, but she was smart enough to understand that we had bigger issues to argue over. “I’m not going to get into this with you, Aiden,” she huffed. “It’s positively ridiculous to argue over perfectly acceptable swimwear.”

  “Fine,” I relented. “Wear whatever the fuck you want. But don’t bitch and complain when I have you bent over in front of me, fucking the shit out of you in front of God and everybody, because you wanted to parade around in front of me in a goddamn bikini.”

  Her eyes bugged out. “Are you seriously suggesting that screwing me in public is an acceptable reaction to me wearing a bikini?”

  I stepped to her until the tips of my shoes were touching her pink colored bare toes. “I can barely manage to keep my hands off of you when you’re dressed from head to toe in professional attire,” I snapped back. “You think I’m going to be able to keep from snatching you up if you’re walking around clad in only a motherfucking bikini?” I didn’t wait for her to answer. “The answer is a resounding motherfucking no, Denise!”

  She took a step back and gawked at me. “This is the most ridiculous argument I think I’ve ever had,” she stated. I watched her take a deep breath and gather herself. “What are you doing here, Aiden?”

  My eyes trailed down her body and back up again. “Well, I came by to talk, but now I don’t want to do anything but fuck you,” I blurted out, honestly.

  “Aiden…”

  I reached for her, lifted her
up, and had her legs wrapped around my waist before she could deny me. And it was seriously fucking me up knowing her bare pussy was resting against my stomach. I don’t think I’ve ever hated clothes as much as I did in this moment.

  The upside; she had to let go of the towel to wrap her arms around my neck, and glancing downward, I could see her perfect tits pushed up, waiting for me. I loved how thick and soft she was. I loved everything about this woman and her fucking banging body.

  I walked her towards the nearest wall, and as soon as her back it the wall, I pushed up against her, rubbing her slit against my already hardened dick. “Aiden…” she moaned.

  It was like a symphony in my fucking ears.

  Reaching down, I made quick work of my pants while I still had her supported against the wall, and the second my dick sprang free, I worked my way inside her wet, dripping heat. Fuck. I want to be wrapped up in her pussy every minute of every fucking day.

  Holding her thighs in my hands, I started ramming into her, loving the sound of her back hitting the wall. “Mine,” I hissed. “This pussy is mine, baby. You don’t get a say anymore.”

  “Yesss…” she breathed, bouncing harder on my cock. “Yours.”

  “And everybody’s going to fucking know it, Denise,” I growled. “No more hiding.”

  “Oh, God,” she whimpered, really bouncing on my dick, trying to hit that wave.

  “Say it,” I barked. I was done playing games. She was mine, and she was just going to have to find a way to get over her hang-ups.

  “No more hiding,” she agreed, and I suddenly felt like a goddamn king. This must have been what it felt like the second Mason declared Shane to be a Buchanan.

  I slammed into Denise’s hot, tight cunt harder and deeper, and I couldn’t stop what I was feeling. “I love you,” I grunted in her ear, knowing damn well this is not how women want to hear the first declaration of love, but not being able to help myself, nonetheless.

  “Oh, God,” she mewled, her cunt contracting around my cock, her liquid heat flooding out all around my dick. “Oh, Aiden…”