by Aliyah Burke
Joy filled her to bursting when she recognised the man who unfolded his body, climbing out. Ritchie. She removed her ear bud and shoved it in her pocket as she ran down the short drive.
“Ritchie!”
A grin split his dark face and he opened his arms. She threw herself into them and wrapped her own around his neck. He whirled her in a circle.
“Roxi, look at you. It’s so good to see you.”
She kissed his bearded cheek. “You too. Oh my goodness, I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“I got an earlier flight.” He set her down. “Is that a problem?”
“Of course not,” she replied with a grin.
While he paid the driver, she grabbed one of his bags then together they headed up into the garage.
“Eric up yet?”
“Not when I came outside. We had a late night last night.” She glanced at her brother. “You look tired. Guest bed is ready for you.” Because Sam was no longer there.
“I just want to check on him.”
She understood. “I’ll put your bag in the room.”
Soon she stood with her brother in the guest room. “Are you okay, really?”
His sigh spoke of his exhaustion. “I will be. It was a rough outing this time. We lost Hendricks.”
She reached out for his hand and squeezed. He’d spoken often and fondly of that man. Sometimes people forgot that while he wasn’t in the military, they still lost men when they were overseas. Just because one was a civilian didn’t give them a free pass in a war-torn country. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.”
“You sleep. I’ll begin breakfast in a bit. Do you want me to wake you when Eric gets up? Or just let you sleep?”
“Wake me, please.”
“You got it.”
She pressed another kiss to his cheek then left the room, closing the door behind her. Resting against the wall, she smiled. Her world was right again. Her brother was home safe and her nephew was here too.
Almost perfect.
Sam’s face appeared before her and she bit back her groan as she headed out to the garage again. Deep in her gut, she knew he would be the one who could make the almost disappear. Shaking off the unwanted and honestly, not very helpful, thoughts of him, she picked up her broom and finished sweeping. At the driver’s door, she paused when climbing in and peered over to the next house. Laila’s. Where Sam was.
Her imagination had nothing on the real thing, for there he stood. Sam leaned against her porch railing and stared at her. He wore a sweatshirt and pants. Despite the distance—and it wasn’t that great—she could feel the intensity of his stare.
Turning her back on him after a brief—she was determined to still be nice to him even when it hurt her to see him with Laila—wave, she climbed in her car and drove it inside the garage. For a moment she remained in the vehicle, gripping the wheel as she berated herself. He’s not with Laila, he’s with her because she’s like family to him. Then she shut the door and went inside. Washing her hands, she began to make breakfast and soon Eric came up the hall to the kitchen.
“Is Sam coming for breakfast?”
“Sam? I don’t think so, why?”
“You have three plates down.”
She blinked. “Oh, guess I do. I’ll be right back, Eric.”
She woke her brother then went back to the kitchen. She poured juice as Eric fixed himself a plate. He was eating when she saw Ritchie step into the kitchen. “Eric?” she said.
“Yes?”
The gesture she made with her chin had her nephew turning. The squeal that followed made tears come to her eyes as Eric flew from the chair with a loud, “Dad!”
She waited patiently until their reunion was over. Eric talked a hundred miles a minute as she placed a plate of food before her brother. She ate while they talked. It’s so much different with Ritchie here. The constant sound of his deep adult voice such a change from rarely hearing Sam talk.
“Who’s Sam?”
She blinked and refocused on her brother. “I’m sorry?” Maybe she’d imagined his question.
Ritchie pointed at her with his fork. “Sam. Who’s this Sam that Eric said stayed here?”
Shit. It hadn’t been her imagination. “A friend of Laila’s,” she said, hoping he’d leave it alone.
The sparkle in his eyes told her she wouldn’t be that lucky. Putting his attention on his son, Ritchie asked him. The description from her nephew had her brother looking back at her with heavy amusement.
“A friend of Laila’s?” He shook his head. “I’m not sure I believe you, sis.”
“And this is any of your business, why?”
“I’m your brother.”
And that was why and when she knew this interrogation wasn’t over. The doorbell chimed and she used the distraction to make her escape. She opened the door and found herself looking into those killer blue eyes.
“Sam, I presume?” Ritchie’s question had her looking over her shoulder to see her brother leaning between the kitchen and living room, watching with avid fascination.
Chapter Seven
Sam stood there in the doorway, his gaze flashing from Roxi to the new man in her kitchen. It had killed him to see her jump into his arms. He knew she’d not known he was outside. He’d been seated on the porch trying to calm the raging heat in his body from waking up with his hand around a rock-hard erection and Roxi’s name on his lips. Once he’d taken care of that issue, he had dressed and come outside.
When Roxi had appeared in the meagre light of yet another grey morning, he’d stayed in his seat. He’d watched her clean out her car, somewhat singing along with the music in her ear. Then the taxi had arrived and it had been a roundhouse to the gut when she’d flown into his arms.
Yes, he’d heard the name, Ritchie, and wasn’t an idiot. He knew that was her brother’s name. Didn’t make her display of affection any easier for him to watch. On two levels jealousy popped up again. One, let’s be real, it was seeing Roxi and another man. Not good. Two, just another reminder of what he’d missed growing up.
Unable to stay away from her, he’d headed over to her house after she’d driven her SUV into the garage. He’d waited a bit before he went over and knocked. The shock on Roxi’s face had him wanting to kiss it away. Okay, not true. It wasn’t the shock on her face. I just want to kiss her.
She gave an almost resigned sigh and stepped back, allowing him entrance. He inhaled deeply as he moved by her. Instantly the scent of autumn filled his nose. Close on its heels was the smell of the breakfast in the house.
“Morning, Sam,” she said.
“Roxi,” he replied in the same low tone.
“Sam!” Eric called and waved. “Did you come to eat with us? This is my dad.”
“Hi, Eric.”
He put his attention on the grown man beside the boy who’d found his way into his heart. Ritchie Mammon wasn’t a small man. He was tall, broad shouldered and in good shape. It was common for Sam to study the people around him. The man had a close-cut beard and short hair. His skin was dark yet Sam could still see a hint of tattoo peeking up from the collar of his shirt to linger around his neck.
One thick brow lifted as he crossed beefy arms over his chest. They held gazes for a moment before Ritchie grinned, something which changed his entire expression from one that bordered on menacing to relaxed. He pushed from the wall and walked towards them, Eric at his side.
“Nice to meet you, Sam. Eric’s told me a lot about you. Ritchie Mammon.” He held out a hand which Sam accepted and shook.
“Sam Hoch.”
“Care to join us for breakfast, Sam?” Ritchie offered.
He could feel Roxi stiffen a bit beside him. “Sounds wonderful.”
“Sam, can I have a word with you, please?” Roxi sounded strained.
“Sure. We’ll be right in.”
Ritchie nodded, draped an arm around his son’s shoulders and the two of them went back into the kitchen. On
ce they were out of sight, he focused on the woman beside him.
“Roxi.”
“What are you doing, Sam?”
“About to eat and talk to your brother. But first, kissing you.”
He did just as he’d said. Swept her in close and kissed her. Teased her lips before slipping his tongue deep into her mouth. He captured her moan and settled a hand upon the curve of her ass, pressing her tight to him, rubbing against her so she was sure to feel his hardness and know what she did to him.
When she began to sink into him, he drew back. Her gaze was soft and full of desire. He ran his thumb along her plump lower lip. “Morning, beautiful.” He released her.
“You know my brother is going to grill you, right?”
A smile quirked up his lips. Odd how easy he found it to smile around her. He didn’t much mind doing so, either.
“Are you concerned for me?”
She was. He saw it in her eyes. She never admitted it, of course not, not his Roxi. No, instead she huffed.
“Don’t be foolish, Marine.”
A warm shiver tingled up his spine when she called him that. He placed his thumb and index finger under her chin and lifted it a bit. Gazing at her, he gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
“I’ll be fine. I can handle your brother.” It’s you I’m not sure about.
Sam walked off and after a mutter of something he was sure she’d not want him to comment on, her body materialised by his and they walked to the kitchen together. Side by side, not touching.
He sat down at the open seat, which just happened to be beside Roxi’s place. Not that he minded. His gaze focused on Ritchie, even though he knew she was walking around, fixing him a plate of food.
“So, Sam, how do you and Roxi know each other?”
“I’m a friend of Laila’s and she offered me a place to stay.”
“A friend of Laila’s?” A sharp glint appeared in Ritchie’s eyes.
Interesting. He nodded. “We grew up together. I came out when they told me Dean was in the hospital.”
“I was sorry to hear about his hospitalisation. So why didn’t you stay with Laila?”
“Ritchie!” Roxi’s admonishment came.
“No, it’s okay, Roxi. She had Dean’s son and his half-siblings staying there.” A quick look at Eric before adding, “It would have made a stressful situation even more so.” He leant back in his chair. “Roxi was there and offered me her guest room here.”
“So where are you staying now?”
“Back with Laila. The other three have left so it’s just the two of us.”
Those brown eyes went darker again. Ritchie likes Laila. He filed the bit of information away for later.
Roxi set a plate before him and he tried to make eye contact but she refused to allow it. Instead, she went back to her seat and sat. He turned his head slightly and stared at her. She didn’t look any happier than her brother did with his announcement.
“And you’re here for how long?”
“Until Christmas.”
Ritchie ate some more before talking again. “How’d you swing that? Isn’t it hard to get so much time off?”
He nodded. “I put in a special request. Hadn’t vacationed in a while so have quite a bit of time on the books. Plus, Master Guns is well respected so they cut me some slack.” He left out that his attention span had greatly suffered after the news had come in. Luckily for him, his current CO knew of his close relationship with Master Guns and had pulled some strings to get the time allotted.
“Until Christmas.” Another bite of food. “Over with Laila.”
“Yes, sir.” Sam glanced at Roxi who shrugged at his questioning look.
Ritchie’s fingers clenched around his fork before he appeared to force himself to relax. “And what are you doing during the day while Laila works?”
“I’m filling in for Dean. Right now, at Second Chances.” He shifted in his chair. “Today, I’m putting up Laila’s lights and going to get a tree for her.”
“Oh, a tree,” Roxi broke in. “I have to get one, too.”
He slid his gaze to Roxi and gave her a private smile. “I can pick one up for you as well. Or you could come with me, if you wanted to.”
“I’d like that.” Her eyes widened as she spoke the words and he knew she’d been about to refuse him.
“Can we decorate today, Aunt Roxi?” Eric asked.
“I think that can be arranged. We have to let your dad sleep some more, though.”
“But you’ll make cookies? We can’t decorate without cookies.”
“Of course we can’t.” The smile she gave Eric touched Sam’s heart.
Eric rose, took his plate to the sink and left the room with Roxi. Ritchie put his gaze back on him.
“How well do you know my sister, Sam?”
“About as well as you know mine.”
“Your sister?”
“Laila. She’s like a sister to me.”
He could see Ritchie still wasn’t convinced. “So you know about her parents?”
“I held her hand when Terrance and Lenore were lowered into the ground. I know you like her. That’s fine. She’s a grown woman but if you hurt her, trust me when I say there won’t be anywhere you can hide. Not even going back overseas will protect you. I’m well acquainted with the Middle East. Just know that I love her and will protect her.”
Ritchie nodded and finished the last bite on his plate. “Okay. That goes the same for my sister, you know. Don’t hurt her.”
He didn’t speak, just ate the final bite of his own food. Sam had no wish to hurt her but he couldn’t promise Roxi anything he wasn’t ready to give. She had forever stamped all over her and he didn’t know if he believed in it. He wanted to, especially with her, but he was unable to dislodge that demon of doubt and betrayal that had taken up a position on his shoulder whenever it came to trusting someone with his heart.
“Good to meet you, Sam.” Ritchie left the room.
Roxi came back in as he cleaned the plates from the table. She stood there watching him, her hip propped against the countertop.
He lifted his gaze to hers, pleased by the flare of heat in her eyes, and lifted a shoulder in silent question.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you talk so much.”
“I don’t.”
“Not to me, anyway,” she muttered.
Setting down the dishes in his hand, he then moved to her and slid her out of the view of the living room, trapping her between his body and the counter. “Does it bother you?” He stared straight at her. “That I don’t talk much?”
“Oh, you talk. You talk fine to my brother, and of course to Laila.” She couldn’t hide the hurt in her voice.
“Is that what you want, Roxi? Someone to blab about nothing just so you can hear him talk?”
“So talking to me would be nothing?” Her eyes flashed dangerously.
“That’s not what I said and you know it. I’m a man of few words, Roxi. You know this. Laila’s my sister. I’m not nervous around her. And your brother, well, he wanted to try and put me in an uncomfortable situation for staying here with you. And Laila. I wasn’t about to let that happen.”
She blinked a few times. “You’re nervous around me?”
Shit. Hadn’t meant to advertise that bit of information. “Yes.”
“Why?”
Because you embody everything I’ve wanted in my life and I’m scared you will take it all away, leaving me with nothing but memories.
“I just am.”
“I’m not that scary of a person, Sam,” she said in a soft voice. “And I don’t bite. Well, unless you want me to, that is.” She touched his chest. “But then, you already know that.”
She slipped by him and walked away even as he struggled to find a breath. His cock threatened to punch free of his jeans. Evil temptress. Somehow, he managed to drag his lust—kicking and screaming—back under control.
He helped her clean up and went with
her to the living room where Eric and Ritchie sat together on the couch, talking softly amongst themselves. After telling Roxi he’d be back in a bit to take her Christmas tree shopping, he said farewell and left the warm house, heading back to Laila’s.
She’d just left her room and was buttoning up her blazer when he walked in. She looked at him and smiled.
“Sorry, I don’t have time to make you anything. Just grab what you want, make yourself at home. And thanks for going to get me a tree.”
He poured her a cup of coffee he’d made earlier. “Not a problem. I’ve eaten.”
“Really?” She glanced around her kitchen, mug in hand. “You cleaned up after yourself? Thanks.”
“No, I ate over at Roxi’s.”
Pain flashed through her eyes. “Oh. I see.”
“I met her brother.”
Her head snapped up and she froze. “Ritchie’s back?”
There was a breathless quality to her voice. “Yes, got back this morning from what I understand.”
She worked her lower lip between her teeth. “I’ll swing by later and see him. I left the decorations in the living room. I’ll help you later tonight. Lights are in the garage. Thanks for doing this, Sam.”
He brushed a kiss along her cheek. “Have a good day, Laila.”
She headed for the door. “No Charlie Brown trees,” she called out over her shoulder.
He waited until he heard her vehicle leave, then went to the garage and checked on her lights. After seeing which ones worked, he went back inside and grabbed his hat, jacket and keys. Then he walked across the frosty grass to Roxi’s house and rang the doorbell.
Ritchie opened the door and waved him in. “Did Laila already leave for work?”
“Yes. She left before I came back over here. Said she’d stop by later when she got home to see you.” He removed his hat and held it in one hand.
“Okay.” Whatever Ritchie was going to say next was halted as Roxi came over to them.
“Ready?” he asked her, eager to get her alone.
“Sure am.” She slipped her purse on over her coat and pocketed her keys. “You know where my keys are to the Tribeca if you need them, Ritchie. We’ll see you later. Bye, Eric.”
