Daniel's Choice: Brotherhood Protectors World

by Pam Mantovani

  Carefully, he set his mug down on the counter and walked toward her. “I told myself that being with you is a bad idea. For both of us. I’m not a family man and you’ve got family written all over you.” His hands cupped her warm cheeks, lifting her face to his gaze as his thumb traced the outline of her lips. “But the truth is Avery, you’re the only woman I think about having sex with.”

  He lowered his mouth to hers, not as explosively as he had yesterday, but still demanding, unrelenting. She gripped his forearms, her little moan nearly stripping him of control. Moving closer, he nudged her ass against the counter. He could feel her pebbled nipples against his chest. His knee forced her legs apart and he wedged his hard and aching dick where he wished to God he could sink all the way inside of her.

  He jerked his mouth away, pressed his forehead to hers. “I swore I wasn’t going to do this again.” He lifted his head, and stared into her eyes. The motion also had his dick twitching and for a pounding heartbeat he feared he’d lose his shit in his pants. “What is it about you that has me wanting to get my hands on you at every chance?”

  Like a finger snap, she changed. Her body went rigid, all color bleached out of her cheeks, her eyes went blank.

  “It’s you. You’re a strong, healthy man. It can’t be me.”

  Shocked by her words, and the flat delivery of them, he was unable to prevent her from slipping out of his hold. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re right.” She shifted, her back to his as she made a show of turning on the tap and placing the eggs in a strainer. “To take this any further would be a bad idea.”

  Daniel had faced many dangerous situations. He’d lived through a turbulent, often violent childhood. He’d survived more battles than he cared to recall. Hell, he’d gotten shot and fucked up his hip rescuing the men in his unit from the enemy sniper’s continued shooting. None of which gave him a clue for how to handle the woman who’d turned her back to him.

  Ending this latest episode and putting distance between them was for the best. He knew it. Hadn’t he warned her that he was wrong for her?

  No one was more surprised than he that it didn’t stop him from wishing it could be different.

  * * *

  Avery mentally berated herself six ways to Sunday. For a second time she’d all but thrown herself at Daniel. She should have known – did know – that it wasn’t her he wanted. She was just handy. It was the only explanation that made sense.

  She’d suffered enough humiliation by being told she was a disappointment as a lover. She wasn’t about to set herself up for more.

  She busied herself preparing Cole’s lunch and then gathered what she’d need to make breakfast – acutely aware of Daniel’s presence in the kitchen. He sat silent at the island counter, drinking coffee while he read on a tablet. Her nerves strained by the silence, she finally faced him.

  “I’m going upstairs to wake up Cole and get him ready for the day,” she said.

  At what barely passed for a nod of agreement, she sailed out the kitchen. She fought the desire to stomp her feet on the stair treads, though she wanted to use any means available to release the pressure building inside her. Outside Cole’s bedroom, she glanced back down the stairs, fully expecting to find Daniel watching her. The rise of letdown at seeing empty space didn’t make sense. Hadn’t she wanted to get away from him? Wasn’t she determined to keep her distance and avoid any disappointing moments?

  Opening Cole’s door, she felt her equilibrium return with the sight of her son, safe in his bed, his skinny arms wrapped tight around the raggedy stuffed horse Carl and Esther had given him for his first birthday. It struck her then that her days of having him be a small boy were dwindling. Soon, so much sooner than she could imagine, he’d want and expect privacy. He would have activities that didn’t include her. Whether for college, a job or a family of his own, he’d someday leave this house.

  Maybe she should consider selling the ranch. Not only would it protect her son right now, but it would provide greater financial stability for whatever he wanted in the future. Her lips trembled with a smile. She would have the resources, and time, to give him the puppy he so desperately wanted.

  She crossed the room, expertly and absently navigating around the cars and action figures on the floor. Proving he still slept as soundly as he had as a baby, it took several shakes of his shoulder before he stirred. With some more prodding, along with appeals for him to wake, he finally blinked open his eyes. Only to close them again.

  “Rise and shine,” she prodded, dragging the covers away.

  “No.”

  She remembered, resentfully, how hard it had been to get him into bed last night. He kept insisting he wanted to talk to Daniel.

  “C’mon, Cole. I don’t have time for this this morning.” He promptly rolled over, his back to her. “Okay, you leave me no choice.” Using both hands, she slipped them under his pajama top and tickled his ribs.

  “Mommy, stop,” he demanded, but his giggles overrode the protest. Trying to evade her, he made the mistake of rolling onto his back.

  “Oh, I’ve got you now my pretty,” she cackled in her best imitation of the Wicked Witch. His legs kicked, his hands pushed at hers, as he tried to escape. They both laughed the entire time.

  “Looks like we have need of a rescue mission.”

  Startled, Avery glanced back to find Daniel standing in the doorway, hands on his hips.

  “Help me, Daniel.” Cole scrambled out from under her suddenly lax fingers to push her onto her back.

  “Don’t you dare,” Avery said. Daniel took measured steps toward her, a gleam in his eyes that she damn sure didn’t trust. “I mean it.”

  “I’m sure you do.” He loomed over her. “But a man has to know he has a buddy who’ll stand up for him.” Before she could draw a breath, he covered her body with his, his fingers nimble as they ticked her. She laughed, Cole joining her. While he didn’t, Daniel’s lips did curve into a relaxed grin.

  “Give up, Mommy,” Cole said from where he’d climbed onto Daniel’s back.

  “Okay.” She panted out a breath. “I give up.”

  Cole shouted approval and slid off, dancing around the room, his tiny fists pumping in the air. “I gotta pee,” he said and ran out of the room.

  That’s when Avery realized her legs were spread and Daniel was pressed against the very center of her. She should have been embarrassed, should have shoved him aside. Only a part of her heart broke free of her caution with the way he’d joined in her and Cole’s foolishness.

  His hands were still on her ribs, mere inches from cupping her breasts. Just as her hands could easily sink into the softness of his hair and pull him down for a kiss. She lifted her hips slightly and savored the heat and strength of his arousal.

  “I’m hungry,” Cole announced as he returned to the room.

  “I think we all are,” Daniel growled. He hesitated for a second longer before he eased away and sat on the bed. Avery noted he winced a little as he shifted before aiming a look at Cole. “Soldier, your quarters are a mess.”

  Avery started to protest, especially when she saw Cole’s bottom lip begin to quiver. Before she could offer a defense, Daniel stood and walked over to kneel in front of her son.

  “A man keeps his quarters clean so he always knows where everything is in case he needs it in a hurry.” He squeezed her son’s shoulder. “Plus if you show your mom that you can take care of your things, maybe she’ll think about getting you that puppy.” He shot a look over at Avery, winked. “I’ll be downstairs.”

  She didn’t have time to puzzle over his behavior, didn’t have time to chastise herself for responding to the unrelenting desire she felt for this man. She supervised Cole dressing as she made his bed, and then stood by stunned while he picked up a small collection of his action figures and put them in the basket she kept in a corner of the room. Following him downstairs she found Daniel sitting at the island counter, exactly where she’
d earlier left him.

  “Do you have games?” Cole asked as he scrambled onto a stool.

  “Not the kid kind.” Daniel swiped his finger over the screen and then punched in a few keystrokes. “What do you like?”

  “Oh, you don’t,” Avery began, only to stop when two pairs of male eyes looked up from the screen at her. No way could she deny either of them. “One game.” She aimed a fingertip. “And you only play until breakfast is ready.”

  She listened to them – the pros and cons they each voiced as they considered the choices, then the way they goaded each other while playing. It struck her again at how easily Cole had accepted Daniel’s sudden appearance. Was it because he’d been missing a male presence in his life? What would it do to him once Daniel left?

  And as hard as it was to admit, she knew both questions applied to her as well.

  * * *

  Daniel grinned as Cole bounced on his lap and made car engine noises. The kid found a way to make a game out of everything. Games reminded Daniel of his tickling match with Avery. Every curve he’d touched, and all the ones he ached to explore, had been within reach. Even afterward, when he’d escaped downstairs and then gotten a kick out of playing the game with Cole, he’d been aware of her every move.

  Now he watched as she came to an abrupt stop on the porch.

  “Mommy,” Cole called, sticking his head out of the window. “Daniel said I can drive.”

  “Whoa, buddy.” Daniel held the boy in place. He couldn’t take much more of his innocent squirming. He had a difficult enough time knowing he’d be alone with Avery once Cole got on the school bus. Being hard while around her was beginning to feel like a never-ending reality.

  “I’m sorry,” he said after she’d climbed into the truck. “I should have asked you first.”

  “It’s fine.” She smiled at her son, but Daniel saw a flicker of loss in her eyes. “My daddy used to do the same with me.”

  He put the truck into gear and they arrived at the same time as the bus. Avery opened her door, waved at the driver, and motioned for Cole to scoot over. “Have a good day, baby.” She cupped his cheeks, kissed him and secured his backpack over his shoulders. “I love you.”

  “Bye, Mom.” Cole ran to the bus. On the bottom step, he turned. “Bye, Daniel.”

  After the bus pulled away, they drove back to the ranch. Avery immediately led the way to the barn. When they let the horses out to the corral, she showed Daniel how to muck out the stalls. He was on his second one, with Avery working on her fifth, when he realized there was a trickle of water coming from the trough.

  “Something wrong?” Avery asked as she came into the stall. She hunkered down beside him, her shoulder rubbing against his.

  “Not sure.” He ran a fingertip along the bottom edge, only to stop with a curse.

  “What?” Avery grabbed the hand he jerked away from the trough. Blood welled up and dripped over the tip of his finger. “How did this happen?”

  “There’s a hole someone punched into the trough. The edges are ragged.”

  “We need to get this cleaned, otherwise we risk an infection.”

  Her hands weren’t smooth but they were gentle as she cradled his. Then, to his surprise, she tugged her shirt free of her jeans and used the hem to press to his finger, staunching the blood flow.

  “I’ll be fine,” he said, stunned by how hard it was to speak. “They pumped me with so many antibiotics while I was in the hospital I’ll probably never get sick again.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes soft with sympathy. “Was it hard being injured?”

  He couldn’t remember anyone ever showing as much compassion and concern for him as Avery did for what amounted to little more than a scratch. He cleared his throat, thought about moving and putting distance between them. One little shift of his legs had him changing his mind. There was less risk of scraping off a layer of skin on his throbbing dick if he stayed still.

  “The hardest part was waking up to learn I’d shattered my hip. Even before the doctor told me, I knew my military career was over.”

  “You enjoyed it? The military?”

  Although she no longer pressed on the wound, she hadn’t let go of his hand. “It gave me a stability I’d never known as a kid in Philadelphia.”

  “You told Cole you didn’t know your dad?”

  “How could I when my mother didn’t know who it was.”

  “Oh, Daniel.” Her hand rose to cup his cheek and he saw the sparkle of tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s just the way it was. She wasn’t like you, like the way you are with Cole.” Having long accepted there was no point in looking back, he nodded toward the trough. “I think someone must have used a screwdriver to poke through the bottom seam. I don’t know much about horses, but I’m guessing it wouldn’t be good for them to have the hay get wet.”

  “No. They could get thrush in their hooves if it went unnoticed.” She glanced down at his hand. “You’re going to want to know who could get in here and do this.”

  “I think we should start with the kid you have helping out around here.”

  “Randy,” she said, still keeping her head lowered. “You think he could have done this last night before he left and that’s why he called in sick.”

  “I’m here to consider all the possibilities. He was the last one working in here last night.” He shifted his hand so now it was his cradling hers. He squeezed once. “You’ll feel better if I clear him.”

  “I hate this.” She stood suddenly. “You’re talking about people I know, people I care about.”

  Standing slower, he wrapped his hands around her arms, intending to hold her at a distance. Contrary to what he expected, she wilted against his chest. What else could he do but lower his hands to cup her ass and bring her closer?

  “And once you find out who’s doing this, you’ll leave.”

  She stepped back, and swiped at the tears she hadn’t let fall. For a barely there moment he thought she might ask him to stay beyond the protection need. Which made no sense. They’d known one another barely twenty-four hours. How could either of them want something more than this intense, but temporary physical attraction?

  “That’ll be Carl.” He heard it now, the silence that was obvious that a truck engine had been turned off. “You’ll want to talk to him.” She lifted her chin to stare at him. “Just don’t ask me to stand and watch as you question him.”

  Chapter 5

  “Morning, Carl,” Avery called out after she left the barn.

  He climbed down from his truck and she tried not to dwell on the fact that he moved slow. His shoulders hunched over and more and more often he argued rather than discuss her decisions. She had no issue with him coming in late and leaving early. But his recent weight loss worried her. Any and all suggestions that he go to a doctor for a check-up had been met with a stern refusal. The only thing that hadn’t changed about him was the pencil thin mustache he’d worn for as long as she’d known him.

  “Get yourself a new truck?”

  “No. It, uh.” She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

  “Well, who’s is it then?” he demanded.

  “Mine.”

  Carl’s eyes narrowed over her shoulder. She didn’t need to see that Daniel had arrived behind her. Her body all but quivered, much like a mare in heat.

  “And just who are you?”

  “Daniel Sawyer.” He stepped around her and extended his hand. “I’m a guest of Avery’s.”

  “Guest?” Carl snorted. “Is that some fancy way of saying you’re sleeping with her?”

  “Carl.” Embarrassment had no more words of protest escaping. Carl had always been plain spoken, but never before had she heard him be so blunt or crass. Her concern for his health, mental and physical, stepped up a notch

  “No, sir,” Daniel said, his voice calm, even as he prevented Carl from pulling his hand free. “And while I understand you’re looking out for her, I’
d appreciate it if you didn’t speak of her that way.”

  “I didn’t mean to say nothing bad.” He nodded at Avery. “Just, like you said, looking out for her now that her daddy and momma’s gone.”

  Daniel released Carl’s hand. “I’m also willing to do some work while I’m here. In fact, Avery and I were just mucking out the stalls.”

  She started to explain about the leak they’d discovered, only to stop when Daniel shook his head at her.

  “Where’s Randy?” Carl asked, glancing around.

  “Called in sick.” Avery pressed a hand to her miserable stomach at the reminder of the secrets she kept. “C’mon, Carl, I saw enough mornings where you and daddy were dragging ground after you’d been up half the night drinking, so I know you haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be young and stupid.”

  Carl chuckled as he scratched his chin. “Your momma never liked it much when I got your daddy drinking. Guess I couldn’t blame her since that was when they were first married.” He looked off into the distance. “Neither one of us liked to have her upset,” he added in a tone that combined affection, loss and regret. It wasn’t the first time Avery suspected Carl had been in love with her mother. He cleared his throat. “Then Esther and I got together and well, neither one of us had time for such foolishness.”

  “No time now for sure,” Avery said, deliberately pitching her voice bright. “Let’s get all we can out of Daniel before sore muscles have him reconsidering his willingness to help.”

  “I’ll finish up the mucking,” Carl said. “You two can go repair that fence you planned for you and Randy to work on today.”

  “That can wait so we can help you out.”

  Carl scowled at her. “Listen here, young lady, I know I can’t work like I once did, but I can still shovel horse shit and hay. You need help stringing up that fence.” He jerked his chin at Daniel. “This one looks like he can help you out, and I know you want to be done before Cole gets home. So, go on now.” With a wave of his hand, he disappeared into the barn.