by MK Moore
© 2017 Mary K. Moore
All Rights Reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, businesses, organizations and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
No parts of this e-book publication may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, including printing, file sharing or email, without written consent from the author, except quotes that may be used in a review.
WARNING: The following story contains strong adult language, sexual content all parties being over the age 18 and not blood related. Material is for mature readers 18 years of age and older. Please store your files wisely.
Cover Designer: Susan Garwood @ Wicked Women Designs www.facebook.com/wickedwomendesigns
Beta Readers: Sansa K; Diana S; Amanda K;
Dedicated to my Granny. She always looked the other way when I snuck her romance novels. That is truly what began a lifelong love of reading and all things romantic.
Prologue
Brooke
Never did I think I would end up here. This is certainly not the life I dreamed about when I was younger. See, I am a 23-year-old happily married virgin. Before I get ahead of myself, I should clarify that my husband, Blake Spencer, is keeping a huge secret from the rest of the world. Blake has been my best friend since 9th grade. I have always known he was gay but for some reason, no one else ever picked up on it. When we were 20, we got married. He was finally taking over his father’s company. His father passed away 15 years ago. The seat was held by an interim CEO who was prepping Blake to take over. He was advised that board wanted him to be “settled”. He took that to mean he should be married. Blake lucked out when his brothers didn’t want to be in charge. Since Robby is in the Army and Derek is a comic book designer, they became silent partners with Blake. I say that I am happily married because really it could be so much worse. I live a life of luxury. I run several charities that help domestic violence survivors. In fact, my assistant, Jason, is my husband’s boyfriend. We can get away with him coming on trips and such with us because I rely on him so heavily for work. They are totally in love and I must admit I am jealous. Not because my husband cheats on me because that is not what this is. I am jealous because I am head over heels in love with my brother-in-law, Derek. You see my despair here? It’s not like I can do anything about it. I promised I would never out Blake. As much as I want Derek, I could never do that to Blake. Not that Derek would want me anyways. I just need to figure out how in the world I am going to get over him, without ever having been under him.
Chapter One
Brooke
You’d think working for a charity would be easy. You’d be so wrong! It is very hard both physically and emotionally. I go to my office every morning at 9 am. I work all morning with financial stuff. Getting donation checks deposited and funding out to our various shelters. In the afternoons, I visit a different shelter every day. We have six in total. They are scattered all over Northern California. I talk to the full-time staff determining if they need anything that is out of the budget. I also talk with the victims and their children. I am technically a grief counselor, but I especially enjoy talking to the children. I didn’t have the best childhood. I know what these people are going through. It is exhausting but so rewarding. I am home by 6:00 each night, but I get lonely. I read too much and watch too much television. My husband and Jason head off to their room while I try to get comfortable. I am just putting Netflix on when my phone buzzes with an alert. The front gate is ringing. Grabbing my phone, I quickly pull up the security app and see that it is Derek. Of course, it is! My totally fucking hot brother-in-law. I buzz him through, but I am totally freaking out. Blake and Jason are off doing God knows what. Shit! I have no time to worry that I am not exactly presentable. I rush over to the other side of the suite knocking loudly on Blake’s door.
“Yes.” Jason calls. I know better than to open the door. Once was enough for that mental image I’ll never be rid of.
“Stay in there. Derek is here. I’ll see what he wants.”
“Uh sure, thanks, Brooke,” Blake calls through the door.
I am rushing to the front door and get to it just as he rings the bell. Tonto, our Pomeranian, goes berserk. I pick him up off the floor and throw the door open. Derek takes a lingering look at me. I take that time to look down and see that I am literally almost naked and I am wearing his shirt. Damn, this isn’t a good look at all. I had borrowed it at Christmas when my niece Everly, knocked my wine glass over splashing my white sweater. Everly is my sister-in-law Veronica and her husband Dave’s 9-year-old daughter. She has a lot of energy. Derek was hosting this year. Solo. He commanded the room. As usual, I wasn’t really paying attention to anyone but him. Christmas and Sunday Dinners are really the only time we see Blake’s family together. Jason doesn’t come and it is easier to pretend all is well with our world. I hang out with my mother-in-law Lucy a lot. She really is the mother I never had. Veronica is my only other friend. For some reason, I don’t get along with women well. Tonto’s barks bring me back to the present. I can already feel my face getting hotter with embarrassment.
“Hey Derek, come on in,” I say with a smile. “What brings you by?”
“I wanted to discuss something with Blake. Is he in?” He says as he brushes past me. His very muscular arm grazes my currently bra-less chest. My nipples tighten and I know he felt it. His lips are now in a tight, grim line. His dark, longish hair, looks freshly run through with fingers. Damn, he looks so fuckable. I wonder who he is fucking these days. I can’t think about that without a pang in my stomach. I don’t know why I let that though get to me so much. I know he isn’t mine and never will be.
“Oh, um no. He’s out for the evening.” I sputter out. I close the door and set Tonto down. He sniffs Derek and moseys on back to where he came from. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“No Brooke. There is nothing you can help me with.” He says with his gravelly voice. Is it just me or he is he looking at me weirdly? I can feel my whole-body flushing. I am still standing by the door. My hot pink tipped toe nails are now the only thing in my line of sight. I can’t look at him. There is too much temptation. I know it’s one-sided, but the way he’s looking at me does something to me. He reaches by me and grabs the door knob.
“Just tell him I came by. I need to speak to him as soon as possible.” He says, lingering near my ear.
“I’ll tell him, Derek. Goodnight.” I say. My voice is so breathy, I don’t recognize it.
“You look amazing in my shirt Sweet B. Goodnight.” He rasps into my ear and kisses my cheek. There was nothing overtly sexual about it, but my mind goes there instantly. He walks through the door and I am left in a metaphorical puddle in my foyer. Blake comes around the corner. He is staring at me.
“What did he want?” He asks. He looks pissed, but I can’t deal with that right now. Who does he think he is?
“He wants to talk to you as soon as possible. Good night Blake, enjoy the rest of your evening.”
I walk away. The privacy of my room is calling me. I need to breathe. I need to think. I need to learn to live my life.
Chapter Two
Derek
Shit! I should not have said that to her. I can’t believe she answered the door like that. I almost died. I have never seen so much of her before. Wearing my University of Santa Rosa Penguins t-shirt and very clearly nothing else. The damn shirt is so thread bare, stretched across her ample body. Her perky, dusky nipples were eye-catching. I know her breasts would be more than a handful. The dark thatch of hair between her legs was also visible, surrounded her thick,
mouth-watering thighs. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and I have always cursed my brother's good fortune for seeing her first. I still remember the first time I saw her. Brooke Tiernan was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was 15 and came over for dinner. Her overly long brown hair was knotted and dirty looking and I wanted nothing more than to wash it for her. I felt compelled to protect her in ways she didn’t know she needed yet. I wanted to take care of her in ways I didn’t yet understand. She was Blake’s first friend from public school. He had been kicked out of Dorchester Academy for a prank and my parents were at their wit's end. He brought her home and she never left. Her foster parents didn’t care what she did so long as they got that check every month. She stayed at our house for almost 2 years before CPS got wind of it. I don’t know what my parents said to them, but she didn’t leave then either. I was 18 and a senior in high school. I knew I wanted her then but it got complicated quickly. She never left Blake’s side and as much as I wanted to make her mine, I didn’t do anything to break them up. They were inseparable. When they started dating shortly after their 10th-grade year began, I knew I had lost my chance. That year and the summer before college, I can’t even tell you how many times I took myself in hand to the thought of her and came with her name on my lips. It was a pathetic amount though. Their wedding day was the worst day of my life. I was the best man, though my other younger brother, Robby, was closer to him. He was serving in the Army and couldn’t make the wedding. I just as easily imagined myself marrying Brooke. Regret is a hard thing for a man like me to live with. Being in love with your brother’s wife isn’t for the faint of heart. Luckily, I can handle this. I am pretty sure I can handle this. While I was in college, I attempted to move on from her. I dated some and got laid a lot, but it has always been Brooke. My Sweet B. It is coming to a point where something has got to give. I am 26. My comics make decent money. Not Marvel money, but I have a trust fund that I invested. I do all right. But I am lonely. My mother is already pressuring me for grandkids, but there is only one woman who I want to bear my children and since that will never be it’s time to move on. At least get a girlfriend, so my mother stops hounding me. If I am totally honest with myself, I can’t see myself ever loving anybody as much as I love my Sweet B.
About Three days later, Blake, the lucky asshole, finally calls me back. We agree to meet for lunch at our favorite bar in downtown Santa Rosa. The Dive is just exactly how it sounds. My brother breezes in without a care in the world.
“Hello, Brother.” I say with a grin.
“Hey. What is going on? I am sorry I’ve been so busy.”
“Well, I need some advice and possibly some assistance. I don’t want to tell Mom and Mitch because they’d freak out. I have a stalker. I am not sure why, but this person is convinced I am supposed to be with her. She has left some really freaky shit at my house, which is why I have been staying at a hotel.”
“Jesus, that sounds serious. Have you called the cops?”
“I did, but there really isn’t anything they can do without a name or prints. She has been very careful. At least I am assuming it’s a woman from the subtext of the cards and letters she has been sending. Also, the panties.”
“Gross. Well, I’d move for starters. Even if you get this handled, do you really want anyone knowing where you live? Mom’s got a trip planned for a few weeks from now. I’d use that time and move. If this person can’t find you, you should be in the clear.”
“That sounds like a plan. I’ve been eyeing a place in Mom’s neighborhood. I’ll put in an offer and get it going. I’ve needed a change for a while now, but this is the motivation.”
I feel like shit. I have gotten really good at talking to my brother like I am not totally in love with his wife and wanting to do depraved things to her. I am going straight to hell. He does give good advice though. We enjoy our lunch never bringing Brooke up, because I don’t think I could handle small talk regarding her.
Chapter Three
Brooke
After three weeks of my boring daily grind, I find myself on a beautiful island. Lucy, my super bubbly mother-in-law, has guilted us into a family trip, with no working allowed. The villa she rented for us on the coast of San Tropez is over the top nice. I can’t tell you how hard it was to get her to let me bring Jason along. Blake wasn’t going to go without him. While I understood that on one level, most of me was like what the fuck? Can't you go a whole week without him? The lies are really starting to get to me too. I am not a liar by nature, but this whole situation has turned me into one. Lucy gave us free nights to relax because 8am-4pm was scheduled for “Family Fun” activities. It’s 8 o’clock at night and I have had 3 bottles of wine. By myself. Jason and Blake have been going at it for hours now and I must get out of here. I am going insane. I still have my tasteful black halter one-piece bathing suit on from the beach earlier. I head down to the pool and see Derek sitting there. His back is to me. There are several empty beer bottles littered all around the table where he is sitting. I think I should just go back to the room and tough it out.
“Don’t go B.” He says, startling me.
“How’d you know I was here?” I ask.
“You are wearing the perfume I bought you last Christmas. I may have bought my own bottle of it, to spray on my pillow.” He said in a way that I know he is smiling.
“You shouldn’t say things like that Derek. It isn’t right. Or fair.” I am beyond my filter at this point and I want what I can’t have. I’d do almost anything to get it.
“I know that B. You are my sister-in-law for fuck's sake.” He said tugging his hands through his hair. I am aching to run my fingers through it as well. His voice has that gravelly quality that makes me clinch my thighs together. I notice that I have moved around the table and am standing across from him now.
“Jesus, B. You can’t just stop wearing clothes around me. That’s not fair either. My brother should control what you let other men see.”
“Control? Please, he couldn’t care less about what I wear.” I scoff. I know that it’s the wine talking but I can’t bring myself to care at this point. If I am being honest, Blake does care. Not about the amount of skin I show off but about labels and colors.
“If you were my girl, no one would see you like this B. Your pretty pink skin would be all for me. I’d never stop touching and looking at what is mine.” I think he might be drunk too. He steps closer to me and grabs my wrists. Using them, he tugs me closer to him. My hands seek out the defined pecs that they are attempting to cover. I have really small hands. Compared to rest of my curvy body, they are almost freakishly small. The dim overhead light attached to the fan is pinging off my wedding ring. He notices immediately and drops my wrists. I feel the loss of his touch throughout my body. “I am sorry B. I can’t seem to remember that you are my brother’s wife. No matter how much I want to touch you and make you mine, I can’t. It pisses me off that he is the one who gets to touch you, kiss you, make you cum.” He says. His voice is hard but trails off as his fingers trail over my jaw. For some reason, let's blame the wine, I get angry and back away from him.
“No one touches me, Derek. No one has ever touched me” I yell at him like it is his fault. I slap my hand over my mouth and I feel my cheeks heating. “Forget I said that. It doesn’t matter. I am your brother’s wife and we have to remember that.” I start to walk away and he grabs my elbow, when someone upstairs yells out, I rush ahead and I hear Derek close behind me. We run up the stairs and see Lucy in the hallway outside mine and Blake’s door. Her hands are over her eyes but I think she is laughing. Ronnie and Everly come running, just as Mitch, my step-father in law, comes out of his room.
“Mom, what is going on?” Derek says.
“Umm, I was just going to ask Brooke if she would help me with breakfast in the morning. I opened the door and got the shock of a lifetime. I am sorry, I can’t stop laughing. It so wrong of me, but I have a feeling Brooke knows all about this.”
/> Blake has thrown open the door, wearing Jason’s swim trunks from earlier. He glances around taking us all in.
“Brooke, baby, where were you?” When his eyes land on me, he is trying to be nonchalant, but his mother is laughing like she has lost her freaking mind. He has also never called me baby before. I can’t help it. I start laughing too. Everly has also noticed his swim trunks too by this point.
“Uncle Blake? Why are you wearing Jase’s bathing suit?” Her sweet voice is clear.
I can’t take it anymore. My whole life is falling down around me and I can’t stop laughing.
“What the hell is going on?” Mitch says. He’s looking at Lucy and me like we are totally crazy. We probably are, but this is just too much for me right now.
Derek puts his hand on my back rubbing it in tight circles. Tears are streaming down my face at this point and even I can’t tell if it is from laughing or if it is from this shit show situation.
“Get your hands off my wife, Derek!” Blake says, his face is several shades of red by this point. I can’t tell if it’s because of Derek or because he just got caught red handed by his mama.
“Like you care!” Lucy comes to my rescue. “You were just balls deep in Jason.”
“Jesus Christ Mama!” Ronnie cries out. “Everly go in your room and watch your princess movie please.”
“Ok, Mama. Is this because Uncle Blake is gay?”
“Everly, just go please.” Ronnie looks mortified.
“Ok, but I heard you talking to Daddy yesterday. You said Blake must think we are stupid. And poor Aunt Brooke. It’s no big deal. Lots of people are gay.”
Out of the mouths of babes, I swear. I bend down to be at her level.
