Love is Only a Whisper (Whisper Series)

by Wynn, Renee

  Nicole was confused by their lovemaking, especially with her belief that she was in love with his brother. Brent? Why hadn’t he thought about it before?

  He slammed out of his office and quickly made his way down the long corridor to the end of the hall. With shocked expressions on their faces, the employees scurried out of his way. Damn, the people in the office barely spoke to him, and when they did, it was with reservation. It never bothered him and it definitely didn’t matter now. He was on a mission.

  Without knocking, he threw open the door. His brother was at his computer but looked up when he approached and leaned back in the chair.

  “Well, what do I owe the pleasure of you storming into my office?”

  “Where is she?” Ashton asked, abruptly.

  Confusion lined Brent’s face. “Who?”

  “Don’t play games with me. You know damn well I’m talking about Nicole.”

  Brent hurried to his feet and came from behind the desk. “What happened to her?”

  “She always turns to you when she’s troubled.”

  “Whoa, back up. Nicole troubled? What’s going on? Why are looking for her?”

  “She and I need to talk.”

  Brent’s head snapped back, clearly shocked. “What’s the matter with you? You charge into my office like a raging bull and I’m supposed to know what caused it. Calm down and tell me what the hell is going on.”

  Ashton ran a hand down his face. “Nicole and I had disagreement.”

  “You and Nicole are always having a disagreement about one thing or the other. The two of you butt heads at every turn. What’s different this time?”

  “It wasn’t the norm. It was personal.”

  Brent stared hard at him. “I see.”

  “I don’t think you do.”

  The air was thick with tension. Unmoved, Ashton stared back at his brother, knowing words didn’t need to inform him how close he and Nicole had become. If she had turned to Brent it would cut him deep, but he still wouldn’t let her go.

  Brent’s eyes narrowed. “What happened between the two of you?”

  He watched the realization of what he didn’t say dawn on his brother’s face.

  “You son of a bitch! How could you?” Brent shouted. “When did it happen? Was it the night of the party?” Brent laughed, cruelly. “Now I understand. Whenever Nicole and I were together, you made it your business to be around. I see it clearly now.” His voice cold and brittle, Brent shouted with disgust. “Even though you knew she was my girl, you wanted her for yourself.”

  “She was never yours and I don’t owe you explanations.”

  “The hell you don’t!”

  “I want to know where she is.”

  “I’m not telling you a fucking thing.”

  Ashton advanced closer. “No games today, Brent. I’m not in the mood.” He clenched his fists at his sides. “Don’t cross me.”

  “Wow. Threats? Is that all you got?”

  Ashton tried hard to reel in the hot anger fighting to explode. He was quickly coming apart.

  “Has Nicole contacted you?” Ashton forced the words out. “I need to talk to her.” The desperation in his voice sounded foreign and anxious to him.

  His brother was silent throughout the exchange.

  “You made a move on her,” he said matter-of-factly.

  Ashton remained closed-mouthed. His anger rolled deep inside of him. He wanted to curse and throw something to get Brent to give him an answer. But he would be damned if he would discuss what transpired between him and Nicole. That was off-limits.

  Brent’s laugh was brittle. “You couldn’t get her to notice you the old fashioned way, so you seduced her.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I know you can be a bastard when it comes to something you want.

  “You’re out of line, Brent.”

  “I’m out of line? What the hell do you think you are? Nicole and I are very close but it burns your gall to know that she loves me and I love her.”

  “Love her? What the hell are you talking about? You’re married to Melissa.”

  “That’s right…married to Melissa. I have a wife who wanted you but settled for me.”

  “You’re delusional. There’s never been anything remotely romantic between Melissa and me. We’ve always been friends and nothing more. She and I are like brother and sister and you know it,” Ashton added with emphasis. “You trying to make something out of nothing won’t be an excuse.”

  “Really?” He shrugged. “Too bad. I realized the night of the party I’d made a mistake marrying Melissa.”

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  He continued as if he hadn’t heard Ashton. “Sweet Nicole has always wanted me. I was too much of gentleman to take advantage of what she offered, but things have changed now.”

  “Stay the hell away from Nicole,” Ashton ground out.

  “Once I talk to Nicole and tell her the mistake I made, she’ll understand and forgive me.”

  Now up in Brent’s face, Ashton sneered. “If you as so much come near Nicole, I—”

  “You’ll what? Seduce her again? Maybe try to get her to see you’re the better brother?” Brent’s eyes were stormy and blazing with fury. “Everything you touch turns to gold. Every woman you ever wanted you got. Even Mother and Father think you can do no wrong but not this time. I won’t allow you to make Nicole one of your women. It doesn’t matter you have slept together. You won’t win her. I’ll make damn sure you don’t.”

  Hot adrenaline ran through every part of Ashton’s body. He and Brent were as different as night and day. Ashton had a tendency to be a loner and distant and it put a strain on their relationship. Ashton wanted to change it but didn’t know how. This situation with Nicole had widened the wedge between them.

  “Don’t get in my way Brent. Brother or not, you won’t like the outcome,” he said and walked out the door, slamming it back on its hinges.

  Chapter Five

  With eyes closed, Nicole lifted her face to the early morning sun and inhaled deeply the salty ocean air and then continued the walk along the small stretch of beach toward her rented house. She encountered a mother and two small children digging castles in the sand. Laughing, the kids covered their mother’s feet with the wet sand.

  The scene brought back memories of days at the beach with her parents. She cherished those days when her father would take the time away from work and relax with their small family.

  Pictures flashed of her sitting high upon her father’s shoulders as he raced with her squealing toward the water’s edge. The pain of their loss would always be with her but it wasn’t now as great. The memories of being loved and cherished took its place.

  Shaking the sand from her feet, she opened the door to the house and walked through toward the kitchen. A wave of nausea suddenly attacked her, causing her to stop. It had plagued her for the last week, she swallowed rapidly, holding back the bile in her throat. She took deep breaths and exhaled slowly. Nerves and thoughts of Ashton were getting the best of her.

  Thinking about that memorable night with Ashton was creating havoc with her emotions. She groaned at the vivid picture of them, her legs wrapped around his lower back, and Ashton’s continuous hard thrusts. The pleasure had been beyond anything that she’d ever experienced.

  Nicole squeezed her eyes tight at the memory. Damn, it happened well over a month ago, she needed to let it go. But how could she when Ashton with his deep blue eyes invaded her sleep at night, causing restlessness, sweaty tangled sheets, and her core clamoring for a repeat of the mind blowing pleasure he’d given her. And to top it off he’d made sure she received her pleasure before he took his. She headed to the bathroom to shower. She needed a cold one.

  After drying off, she put on a pair of white shorts, a sleeveless, yellow cropped cotton shirt, and slipped her feet into a pair of flat sandals.

  Finished, she looked around the bedroom enjoying th
e serene setting. The house she rented, in Gomer, a small town outside of San Francisco, was an old Mexican restaurant that had been converted into a three bedroom Spanish Colonial. It sat near enough to the beach where she could hear the rush of the waves through the quiet of the night. It was just what she needed right now…peace and distance from Ashton.

  She was pouring water into the tea kettle when the loud ring of the cellphone startled her. She hurried to the living room where she had left the phone on the fireplace mantel.

  “Hello?”

  “Nicole, I’ve been trying to reach you for the last couple of hours. Are you okay?” Sally asked.

  “Sorry, I went for a walk along the beach and forgot my phone.”

  “You didn’t feel well a couple of days ago; I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  Nicole was quiet a moment. “Sally, I know you just didn’t call to inquire about my health, so what’s up?”

  “When are you joining us in Europe? The girls and I are having a good time. The only thing missing is you being here to make it great. There are only a few weeks left and then we’ll be back in Dallas and the grind.”

  Nicole laughed. “Grind? Sally, you don’t even have a job.”

  “I do work. I give yoga lessons. That can be tiring.”

  “Yeah, right. I’ve had summer jobs since I was sixteen.”

  Sally snorted. “It’s not like you had to work.”

  Nicole laughed. “Tell me why you really called.”

  “Well, Ashton—”

  Nicole heart plummeted. “You didn’t tell him where I was, did you?”

  “No! Of course, I didn’t. When you called a month ago to tell me you were in some town no one has ever heard of and not on the east coast, I promised you then I would keep your secret. I still don’t understand why you waited so long to tell me the truth about your destination. You didn’t have to be all cloak and dagger. I know how to keep a secret.”

  It was on the tip of Nicole’s tongue to tell her no you can’t, but she bit her tongue. Sally was her best friend and she always meant well but sometimes she let things slip that she shouldn’t.

  “Sally, I didn’t even tell my aunt where I was going before she left for her cruise.”

  “What’s going on with you? You don’t sound like yourself.”

  “I’m fine. Things are a little complicated right now.”

  “Does this complication have something to do with Ashton Sinclair?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “Because the man has been tearing up Dallas, and god knows where else, looking for you.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. He came to see me after you—”

  “You never told that!”

  “Sorry. He came to my house a few days after you left Dallas. I told him you had business to attend to in New England because that was the truth I knew at the time.”

  Nicole breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

  “He probably knows, by now, that you’re not where I said you were. Ashton isn’t the type of man who gives up, especially when it’s something he wants.”

  “He doesn’t want me, Sally. I’m a novelty.He’ll get over it soon enough.”

  “The man is obsessed with you.”

  She massaged the sudden tension around her eyes.. “There you again, romanticizing something that isn’t there.”

  “Well, I heard through the grapevine that he hasn’t stopped looking for you.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “I have my sources.”

  “I don’t want him looking for me. This is getting out of hand.”

  “He’s not letting go.”

  Nicole frowned. “He doesn’t have a choice.”

  “Well, if you ask me, I—”

  “I’m not asking you. You were supposed to give up gossiping, Sally.”

  “I don’t gossip. Well, not intentionally...Priscilla.”

  “Not Priscilla? She’s one of the biggest gossipers around. Why would you—”

  “Nicole, are you going to let me finish or not?”

  She sighed deep and long. “Go ahead.”

  “Well, as I saying, Priscilla is interning at Sinclair Engineering for the summer. She said there was a big fight between Brent and Ashton a few weeks ago. Although the door was closed, she could hear it at her cubicle, which is outside of Brent’s office.”

  “That’s awful. Brent worships his brother.”

  “Well, Priscilla said the only thing she could make out was that they were arguing over a woman.”

  “What? Brent is married to Melissa and I don’t think they would be arguing over one of Ashton’s women.”

  “She heard a woman’s name mentioned but couldn’t clearly make out who it was.” Sally paused for a long moment.

  “Well, it’s none of our business and you shouldn’t be carrying gossip.”

  “I’m not carrying anything. I was only repeating—”

  “It’s the same thing.”

  “Alright. I get the point. But I do have something I should’ve told you.”

  “Okay. What is it?”

  “Well…”

  “Spit it out, Sally,” Nicole said impatiently.’

  “Ashton told me he didn’t have any other women in his life.”

  “Of course you believed him. I assumed you and he had a short conversation. Evidently, I was incorrect.”

  “Why don’t you call him? He’s really worried about you.”

  “Give me a break. I didn’t expect you to fall under his spell,” Nicole rolled her head around to get out the kink that had formed in her neck.”

  Sally chuckled. “It couldn’t be helped. He just stared at me with those beautiful but cold, deep blue eyes of his and I almost lost it. I’m telling you, Nicole, if he had continued holding my gaze for just a split second longer, I would have crumbled from the intensity of his gorgeousness. That man could turn any woman, married or single, to mush. Besides, I believe what he said about having no other women.”

  “Well, I don’t.”

  “Would it hurt to let him know you’re okay?”

  “I’m not contacting him, Sally. So, let it go.”

  “Why not? I think…”

  “Not now, Sally.”

  “But, if you—”

  “Sally, drop it.”

  There was silence for a moment. “Can I expect you in Europe? Danielle is finally with the gang.”

  “I still need time to think…alone.”

  “Okay. No pressure.”

  “Thanks. Tell Danielle that I’ll connect with her soon.”

  “Will do. Are you really okay?”

  “I’m fine, Sally. Enjoy yourself and stop worrying about me.”

  “Alright. I’m going let you go.”

  “Bye.”

  Ashton was looking for her. She never thought he would go that far. A sudden rush of nausea hit her again. She swallowed a few times to get her stomach to settle down. She needed to go to the convenience store down the road to get antacids. This was getting troublesome.

  Besides stomach irritations, being in Gomer gave her a peace that she was beginning to cherish. Brent and her problem with Ashton was still there, prevalent and yet so far away. Ashton. Why couldn’t she forget about him? She never told her friends about the butterflies and escalated heartbeats she had around him. They would’ve questioned it and she didn’t have the answers.

  But she wouldn’t be one of his women, no matter how much she wanted him. She said it. She wanted Ashton Sinclair, but he didn’t do relationships.

  Brent had been safe but she no longer wanted that. She’d grown up within the last few weeks. She no longer needed rescuing or a hero.

  Coming to Gomer, and not knowing anyone had been a challenge. But she did it on her own. For the first time in her life, she was self-sufficient.. Even when she’d bought her house in Dallas, she’d taken Brent to look at it before she would make a decision. His opinion had been important.
So much so, that if he hadn’t wanted her to buy it, she wouldn’t have. He was no longer her crutch.

  Brent was now married and she was genuinely happy for him. The fact that it would never be anything else but friendship no longer caused her heart to ache. After all these years, she finally knew where Brent belonged in her life. She loved him, not as a lover or husband, but as the friend she always knew that he was. It felt good to finally place Brent in a cavity of her heart and close the door. Now she had to figure out where to put Ashton.

  Their conversations were always riddled with overtones of sarcasm and awareness that always left her excited and eager for the next encounter. She never questioned the reason she slyly looked for him at social functions or why seeing him with one of his women made her uncomfortable.

  Their one night together was unforgettable. Her vagina began to seep as she remembered his lips on her breasts, lightly licking them and pinching the nipples. His mouth sucking her clit, the image was so vivid that a moan escaped through her lips. Without thinking, her hand slid inside her shorts to relieve the ache.

  Only the ringing chimes of the door doorbell stopped her. Damn. Ashton was ruining her.

  Believing the teenager, she met on her first day in the small town and who stopped by every day, had come to chat, she walked to the door and threw it open.

  “Ashton? What are you doing here?”

  Chapter Six

  He stepped through the door and shut it hard behind him. For a long moment Ashton eyes roamed the features of the woman he couldn’t forget.

  He had shocked her. Good. She damn sure wasn’t expecting him to show up on her doorstep. Too bad. Leaving wasn’t an option. An impatient hand filtered his hair to keep from reaching for her. He was fighting a very powerful urge to just yank her into his arms and damn the consequences. It was times like this that he hated the hold she had on him. It made him appear weak and he didn’t like the feeling.

  Her lips parted nervously, biting at her lips. Good. She was flustered. He liked the fact that he could affect her as much as she affected him.

  Again, she licked her lips; heat suffused his body , waking his mind to the night they’d made love until the wee hours of the morning. A prickling heat in his groin and the stirring heaviness of renewed arousal assailed him as he observed her. Although, it had been her first time, her eager responsiveness and complete lack of control when he touched her had excited him—more than any woman had in a long time. He wanted that again.