The Malone Brothers Boxed Set

by S. L. Sterling

  “Worse? What, let me guess, she is here with her big burly boyfriend and he’s waiting to kick my ass because of the mind-blowing orgasms I gave her,” I chuckled.

  “I wish that were the problem,” he mumbled. He continued saying something under his breath that I couldn’t quite make out.

  “What did you just say?”

  “I said you’d wish it was that, but it’s not.”

  “Just spill it, Hunter. What’s the problem?”

  “Hope is here.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face, and suddenly the effects from all the alcohol I had consumed had left me. Hope, a name I had wished I could have forgotten in the three years we’d been apart. The girl who almost cost me my passion to become a lawyer when she broke my heart three days before I left for law school. We lived down the road from one another all our lives, and if truth be told, I’d always had a crush on her, and it had taken me years to finally grow the balls to go after her. Her parents had always disliked me, never thought I would amount to anything because we didn’t come from money. My father had worked hard, building his law practice one client at a time. We certainly weren’t poor, but nothing was given to us kids except our education.

  I had planned to take Hope with me when I moved away for school, but while I was away looking at apartments for us, her parents had introduced her to Trent King, the only son of one of the richest families in town, and my best friend. He had been gone that summer, the summer I had finally gotten up the nerve to ask her out. I had to leave for three weeks to get organized and find us an apartment. As soon as I had found us a place, I called and left her a message, and put down first and last months’ rent. Even though I could barely afford the rent, I figured with three jobs and the little money I had set aside, we would be just fine. When I returned from the city, I went over to surprise her with the news, and that was when I saw her with him in the park. At first, they were just walking, and I didn’t think anything of it, but then he leaned in and kissed her. I watched her pull away at first and look down to the ground, shaking her head, but then he whispered something in her ear and she threw her arms around his neck, throwing her body against him and kissing him, the same way she kissed me.

  I was devastated as I drove home. For days I lay in my room, debating writing my resignation letter to the university, but I didn’t want to stay at home near her either. So, I packed my bags and headed off to school early to throw myself into my studies, and aside from birthdays and Christmas, I hadn’t been home since.

  “What do you mean Hope is here?”

  “She’s working here. I think maybe you should go home.”

  The new waitress Mike had been talking about was the girl I had never gotten over. “I’m good, Hunter. There are no hard feelings between us. I let that shit go a long time ago, so there really isn’t a problem. Now if you tell me Trent King is out there somewhere then we may just have a slight problem.” I pushed past my brother and stepped out into the loud bar. Glancing over at the table, I saw Felice talking with the guys, so I walked back to the table, sat down beside Felice, and ordered another beer.

  12

  Hope

  I had just returned from my break and was going to be following one of the girls on the floor for the rest of the night. She had already gone over things with me in the back and told me just to stick close to her. We stopped at the end of the bar waiting for Mike to give us our section, and that was when I saw him. All six feet of hard muscle. One look at him and I instantly knew I had made a mistake. I had left him on the word of my father—no other reason. Honestly all I knew was what my father had told me the dreaded message said, but I hadn’t heard it for myself, hadn’t heard how he sounded. I had seen that he had come back home, but he wouldn’t even look in the direction of my house. I had gone to see him, but he refused to come to the door, and after he had left, I had tried calling him for weeks with no answer. Occasionally, our home phone would ring, my father claiming it was the wrong number. I was beginning to wonder if the last three years hadn’t been a punishment of sorts, for leaving him without speaking to him, leaving me in a horrid relationship only to now find myself single and no further ahead.

  While I was waiting for Ashley, I kept watch on him. He looked so good, dressed in dark jeans and a white button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up showing off his muscular forearms. I wondered if he still wore the same Calvin Klein cologne that he wore when we had dated. The scent of that cologne had been firmly imprinted in my brain. The bubble I was in burst in my face as I watched a brunette walk over to the table and sit down beside him, Carter placing his arm around her and pulling her into him.

  I couldn’t help the jealousy that coursed through me. I looked her over from head to toe. She was dressed in business attire, her buttons down her shirt open enough that you could see just the top of her black bra, her breasts spilling over the edge, her black dress pants fitting snuggly. She was full-figured, and she fit right against Carter, who seemed to really like her; he had wrapped her in his arms and hadn’t let her go yet. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from them. When he finally released his hold on her, he leaned in and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek and then she got up and walked away.

  “Hope, are you paying attention?” Mike’s voice rang out. I jumped and tore my eyes away from Carter. Both Mike and Ashley were standing in front of me, a little annoyance written on their faces.

  “Sorry. Yes.” I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a small smile. “I thought I saw someone I knew for a minute.” Mike continued. This time he had my attention for another whole five or six minutes, and as his voice started to drone on and on, I found myself looking over his shoulder, my eyes locking on Carter. His blue eyes seemed to dance against the lights of the bar. Soon that same girl was back; she placed her hand on his shoulder, whispering something in his ear. I was struck with another pang of jealousy when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him to allow her to lean between his legs. I thought I was going to implode.

  As the night went on, the guys who had been there with Carter eventually left, one by one. Then he moved and sat in front of the bar talking with Mike, the girl planted between his legs. I did my best to keep out of his sight. I wasn’t sure what I was even doing here now. I guess I figured we would see one another, and things would go back to the way they had been. At least that was what I had been hoping for. However, now I didn’t even want him to know I was working here.

  As the night went on, I threw myself into my work. We were stationed in a different area than the one Carter was in, and I had done my best to forget that he was even there. After we had finished our last break, I went to grab a glass of water from behind the bar, and that was when I noticed Carter and that women had left. I breathed out a sigh of relief, but not without a couple of tears escaping too.

  Carter

  Hunter had been right; it was Hope. Even though I had wanted to get her attention, I knew she was completely off limits. So instead I turned my attention to the woman who had been hanging off me all night. The more I had to drink, the better Felice was beginning to look, and at least I wouldn’t be walking out of here alone. That was the last thing I would want Hope to see. I had let Felice sit nestled between my legs all night, her scent eventually driving me crazy, as my hand sat on the flat of her stomach and her ass rested against my cock.

  “Come on, man, I’m taking you home.” Hunter had stood beside me, his coat on, waiting for me to hop to.

  “Man, I’m fine. I’ll get home.”

  “Have you forgotten that you have an exam tomorrow? Let’s go.”

  “Fuck, Dad, I said I’m fine.” I gave him a shove.

  “I’ll take him home, Hunter, it’s fine.” Felice stood and placed her hand on the side of his face, standing up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. My brother glared at me as he said good night to Felice.

  After Hunter had left, she turned to me and ran her hand over my cheek. “What do you say, big boy, how abou
t we get you home?” She leaned in and teased my lips with hers.

  “May be a good idea,” I said, sucking her bottom lip into my mouth.

  As we walked home, all I could think of was running my fingers through that soft blonde hair, looking into those blue eyes, and holding on to that perfect little body that should have been mine. Regret, of not banging on her front door and speaking with her the night I returned, was starting to eat at me again.

  “Carter, this way, babe.” Having walked right past our building, I smiled and turned back, heading up the front stairs. We took the elevator and walked down the hall toward our apartments. I waited while she got her key from her purse. She slid the key into the lock and turned toward me. “Why don’t you come in for a while?” She ran her hand down my chest. “Have a nightcap,” she whispered in my ear.

  “You do know that nothing is going to happen between us, right?” I said, reading her eyes.

  “I do.” She swallowed hard, a look of disappointment coming over her face.

  I followed her inside her apartment and watched her walk down the hall. “Help yourself. There is beer in the fridge,” she said, throwing her purse and coat down on the table.

  I took a beer from the fridge, opened it, wandered into her living room, and sat down on her couch, leaning my head back. As I closed my eyes, the only thing I saw was Hope. I was pretty sure she was going to haunt me forever, just like she had for the past three years. I replayed over and over in my mind exactly how I felt when I had seen her that night with him. I had wanted to approach her tonight, wanted to pull her in my arms and get one more chance to hold her tight.

  “Open your eyes, big boy,” I heard Felice’s voice drawl.

  She finally came into focus. She was wearing a long silk bathrobe that hung open, and to my surprise, she was completely naked underneath. I felt myself harden at the sight before me. She walked over, the silk bathrobe teasing me as she walked with the occasional peek at her breasts. She didn’t wait. She straddled my lap, pulling the bathrobe open and sitting with her tits in my face. “Someone’s a little excited,” she mewed, grinding down on me.

  “Felice, did you not hear...” she held her finger up to my lips, shushing me.

  “I think you need this, Carter. We both need this.” She started unbuttoning my shirt until it was completely open. She raked her nails down my chest and popped the button on my jeans. She then grabbed my hand and placed it on her breast. “Touch me.”

  In that moment, with my hand on her breast, my cock throbbing, my mind drew a blank as to why this was a bad idea. I wrapped my other arm around her and kissed her deeply, cupping her breast, feeling the weight of it in my hand. My phone rang, bringing me back to where I was. I stopped and looked into Felice’s eyes. I moved out from under Felice and stood, pulling my phone out of my pocket. My brother had saved my ass from making a huge mistake.

  When I got off the phone, I looked down to Felice. “Thanks for the nightcap, but I’ve got to go.” I didn’t look back. I just walked to the door, stepped into the hall, and went across the way to my apartment. I shut and locked the door behind me and headed straight for the shower.

  I wrapped the towel around my waist and made my way to my bed. Flopping down on it, I pulled my phone from my pocket and started scrolling through Facebook. A few minutes later a message popped up on my screen from Hope. I read through the message, quickly going to Hope’s profile, and saw her most recent status update: “Starting a new life.”

  I clicked on her profile picture. She was so beautiful, and I knew where she was. Fuck it. I quickly jumped off the bed, got dressed, and headed back to Joe’s place. Screw studying for my exam, I was going to get my girl back.

  13

  Hope

  The last songs of the night were finally playing. I was exhausted and happy to see that the bar was almost empty. We had been instructed to start our cleanup, so while I cleaned tables, Ashley went to grab the broom from the back. I had just emptied the tables against the far wall and started wiping them down when I felt a hand grab my ass. “Hey, baby, you’re a cute little thing. What time you finish up tonight?”

  I turned around abruptly and came face to face with one of the bikers that had been eying me most of the night. It was the same biker who had been outside earlier today. He was rough, dirty, and at closer look, about twice my age. He wore a black bandanna, and his beard was grey and straggly. His breath smelled of booze mixed with cigarettes. I looked over his shoulder toward the bar to see if Mike or one of the bartenders were there, but everyone was gone. “Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath.

  “Yeah, baby, that’s exactly what I want to do to you,” he whispered, running his dirty finger down the side of my cheek.

  I could feel panic rising in me now. There were few patrons left in the bar, who wouldn’t even make good witnesses, never mind help me. Since I was new, I wasn’t sure how much I was allowed to defend myself, and Mike was nowhere to be found. I looked around for Ashley or one of the other girls, but they must have all been in the back.

  I swallowed hard. “I’m not interested, thanks.”

  “You’re not interested? But, baby, I would give you the ride of your fucking life. You should reconsider,” he chuckled as he ran his finger down between my breasts and leaned into me. I backed up, banging into the edge of the table. I was as far as I could go, and I closed my eyes as his stale breath washed over my face. “You smell fucking delicious—good enough to eat anyway—and I promise I would eat this all night long.” He winked at me and placed his hand between my legs, kissing me on the cheek. I knew the tears were going to start to fall any minute now.

  “Pete, I believe the lady said she wasn’t interested.” A loud booming voice came out of nowhere, causing me to jump. I blinked hard and opened my eyes, not sure what direction the voice came from, but saw no one. The guy spun around and that was when I saw Carter, standing tall and threatening behind him, through the watery film on my eyes. Our eyes locked. “Hope, go into the back.”

  The dingy man turned his attention away from me and onto Carter. My eyes still locked on him. I would have figured he had forgotten about me, but the way his eyes washed over me as he stood there told me different. “Hope, go now, love.”

  Carter

  “Carter,” her soft voice called. I had always loved hearing the sound of my name on her lips, apparently still did judging from my body’s response, but right now I would prefer she just left. I’d had the pleasure of helping Mike out with this asshole once; things had the potential to get nasty with Pete.

  “Go to the back, Hope. Get your stuff. We’re going home.”

  “Hope? Is that your name? Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”

  “Now, Hope,” I demanded.

  She looked from him to me and ran to the back, leaving the tray on the table. “Pete, I’m not going to tell you again, leave her alone.”

  I watched as his eyes trailed after her, raking over her body, and I felt myself getting rather territorial. “You banging that sweet little ass?”

  I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer, looking into his tired eyes. It wouldn’t take much for me to wipe the floor with him. I was bigger, stronger, and now somewhat sober. “Nope, she’s just a friend, but I take it you didn’t hear what I said.”

  “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t love to have those sweet little legs wrapped around your head there, boy. You aren’t a saint; I’ve seen the piece of trash you’ve taken home from here.” The anger that was coursing through me wasn’t going to do him any favors. I had just fisted my hand and was pulling back to give it to him when a voice I recognized boomed from behind me.

  “Carter, that’s enough! Pete, get out of here! I’ve had enough,” Mike yelled. Suddenly, I felt Mike grab hold of my hand, and I reluctantly let the man go.

  “Fuck, Mike, I’m just trying to get myself a piece of ass. A gorgeous one at that.”

  “That’s my staff, Pete. You know you don’t touch my girls. No
w, take your ass home and sober yourself up.”

  Pete looked to Mike and then at me. Knowing he was defeated he started to stagger toward the front door. He kept looking over his shoulder for any sign of Hope, taking his time until he finally couldn’t fuck around anymore. As soon as the door was shut, and he was gone, I sat my ass down in a chair. I could feel Mike studying me in the way he always did, trying to figure out what had gone on. “No, I don’t want to talk about it. What time is she finished, Mike?” I wasn’t in the mood to be fucked with now.

  “Two-thirty.”

  “Mind if I wait for her?”

  “I don’t care. But I think you need to talk about it.” Mike turned and started tidying up behind the bar.

  “I don’t.”

  When Hope came back out, her eyes were red. She had been crying, that I was sure. I watched her from across the room while I was pretending to be on my phone. She pulled her hair free from the clip that was holding it in a messy bun and allowed her blonde hair to fall down her back and into her face.

  I looked up and saw Mike studying me. “So, care to tell me how you know her?”

  I couldn’t take my eyes from her. I remembered everything about her. “Well, that my friend is the girl who broke my heart,” I mumbled.

  I didn’t need to say any more. Mike nodded and broke his cardinal rule by pouring me a Scotch after closing and setting it in front of me. “Drink up, man. Cheers.”

  “Cheers.” I grabbed the glass that sat in front of me and raised it to my mouth, letting the warm liquid pour down my throat.

  14

  Hope

  I grabbed my purse from the employees-only area in the kitchen. “Good night, Mike,” I called as I went to go back out to the front door.