Chapter Twenty Four
A door slammed in the back of the house. Aubrey raised her head and held her breath. It seemed like forever to get through the day until she could be with Serge again.
Footsteps hit the tile floor.
She jumped to her feet and hurried down the hallway, knowing Serge had come through the door from the garage. In the foyer, she came to an abrupt stop at the sight of a strange man in the house. Her heart raced. Shocked that it wasn't Serge, she couldn't even move.
A tall man with a worn flannel shirt half-undone and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees blocked her way. She stared into brown eyes that swept over her body. A slow smile came to the man's bearded face, and he walked toward her.
She stepped backward, colliding with the wall. Reaching for her phone, she gritted her teeth in frustration. She'd left her cell in the other room.
Standing straight, she said, "You need to leave."
"That's not happening."
She studied the way the man was at ease in Serge's house. "Who are you?"
"Are names important?" He reached out and hooked her waist, pulling her hard against the front of him. "If I knew my big brother was keeping you in the house, I would've come by sooner."
His brother? "Let me go—"
His mouth came down. Her knee went up.
He chuckled against her lips as his thighs caught her leg before she contacted his balls. She pushed against him. When he refused to let her go, she screamed.
At the same time, Serge's brother soared through the air and landed in a heap on the other side of the foyer. Serge's broad back appeared, blocking his brother from her view. She pressed herself against the wall.
"Come on, Alain." Serge lifted his hands and motioned for him to retaliate. "Hit me."
"What the fuck?" Alain circled Serge, rubbing his jaw. "You get after me for staying away, and when I come to visit, you start a beatdown with me."
Serge drew back his arm and punched the man. She turned her face away from the snap of knuckles against the cheekbone.
"She's mine." Serge grabbed Alain by the shirt and brought his knee up to the man's stomach, sending his brother to the floor, coughing. "Next time, I'll kill you for touching her."
Without further concern for his brother, Serge turned and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the room. She hurried to keep up with his longer steps. He set her in a chair and moved over to pour a glass of water.
He returned to her side, put the drink in her hand, and squatted in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
She shook her head. No, she was anything but okay. He'd fought with his brother.
"I thought you were coming into the house," she whispered. "I didn't know—"
"It's okay." He rubbed his thumb across her lips as if to rub off his brother's kiss. His eyes hardened. "That won't happen again."
"Are you okay?" She set the glass down on the table and grabbed his hands. "You hit your brother."
His brows almost met in the middle. "Yeah."
"I-is it always...violent between you two?" She trailed her fingers over his knuckles.
"Not since we were younger." He looked at their hands together on her lap. "I told you I'd allow no one to put their hands on you. That includes my brother."
"Oh, God," she mumbled. "God, I'm sorry. I should've known it wasn't you and stayed in the other room."
"It's not your fault." His gaze whipped to her face. "I didn't know he was going to show up."
She shook her head. "I don't want to be responsible for you fighting with your brother. If I could've stopped him—"
"He deserved what he got." Serge stood. "I should've done more to knock some sense into him when he was younger. From now on, he's only allowed in the house if I'm here."
"Serge." She rose and touched his arm. "It's your brother. I'm sure once he knows that...that I belong to you, he won't try that again."
Alain staggered into the kitchen. She sat back down. The cockiness and anger gone from Serge's brother, he seemed less threatening.
"Can I get ice or are you kicking me out?" Alain held his jaw, opening his mouth and closing it again.
"Freezer. There's a towel by the sink." Serge ignored him and turned to Aubrey. "Are you okay with him being here for a few minutes?"
She nodded, glancing at Alain who seemed more interested in tying the towel into a makeshift icepack. "I'll go into the bedroom and let you visit privately with your brother."
"No." He pulled a chair out from the table, sat, and guided her to him. "You'll stay with me."
She sat on his lap, highly aware of his brother in the room. Yet, she relaxed against his chest, knowing he was there. It gave her time to study Alain without any worry.
The only similarity she could see was their height. Both men were tall, though Serge had broader shoulders and more muscle than Alain. While Serge's hair was black with gray peppering and he had brown eyes, Alain had sandy brown hair and dark eyes.
The subject of her study turned and flashed her a boyish grin, raising his brows at his brother. "I can see a lot has happened to you since we talked."
Serge linked his fingers with Aubrey's hand. "She's mine."
Alain saluted. "I get that."
"Put the key on the counter." Serge waited while Alain dug in his pocket and tossed the key on the tile.
"Alain..." Serge paused. "This is Aubrey. Aubrey, this is my younger brother, Alain, who will apologize to you."
She cringed. "It's not necessary—"
"It's okay, Aubrey." Alain swung his arms out. "I'm in the king's castle. It's how he does things."
"Fuck you," Serge mumbled, but his jaw twitched in humor. "Get on with it."
Alain placed his hand on his chest. "Please forgive my lack of judgment in seeing a beautiful woman and thinking today was going to be my lucky day. I should never have placed these lips on your plump, luscious, wet—"
"Alain," Serge said, a warning hidden in the low growl.
"My apologies, babe." Alain's smile faded. "I had no idea Serge staked, uh, was getting serious or I would've kept my hands to myself."
She bit her lip. Despite being scared out of her mind and traumatized by the violence, Alain's boyish charm fascinated her. She had no idea how Serge lost his zest for life, while his brother retained his humor as they grew up together.
"Apology accepted." She pressed against Serge.
"Cool." Alain leaned against the counter and crossed his ankles. "So, what's with calling me so fucking early in the morning?"
Serge shifted to the side and removed a paper from his back pocket. "Just making sure you're still breathing."
Alain's gaze shot to Aubrey and then back to Serge before he schooled his expression. She could sense Serge's need to see and connect with his brother again.
Leaning close, she kissed his cheek and whispered, "Visit while I make dinner. Then, you both can sit down and enjoy a meal together."
She got up, surprised when Serge let her walk into the kitchen without an argument. Equally surprised when he took his brother into the living room and left her alone to cook.
Her throat tightened. She was right.
Serge needed his brother. He may never admit it, but she could sense the pride coming off him when his brother apologized.
They'd be okay.