2. LILLY
2
LILLY
“ C oming,” I yell, then wince, scrunching my face at Shane. I know she’s the last person he wants to have a run in with. It’s been eight years since their divorce. There are no feelings between them, but I can cut the frosty atmosphere with a knife every time they’re in the same bar, let alone in a room together.
And now he’s in my house.
My bedroom of all places.
I look down at my bed shorts and dressing gown. Shane nestled at my feet. If she were to walk in here, she’d probably get the wrong idea.
Mouthing sorry to Shane, I rush out of the room, grabbing a pair of leggings and a baggy tee from the hook on the door and quickly change in the bathroom, my heart racing in my chest.
The kettle bubbles as I sprint downstairs. My older sister’s already in the kitchen pouring herself a brew.
“Aunty Lils.” Harry runs to me, holding a police car in his hand. “Look at my new car.”
I take it from him, inspecting the metal car with fake enthusiasm. “That’s cool.”
Fern shakes her head. “We can’t go to the supermarket without buying one of those things.” She lifts her cup of tea to her lips and sips on the steaming drink. “I stepped on one the other day. Like standing on a piece of bloody lego.”
Harry makes shapes along my shaggy rug in the dining area.
“What do I owe the pleasure?”
“Can’t a sister just visit for a catch up?”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Yes, but with you, it’s usually when you want something.”
“Can you watch Harry for me this afternoon?”
“There it is.”
“I’m going on a date. I was going to send him to the childminders, but he wanted to stay with his cool aunt.” She gives me a smile, and of course, I agree. Being a single mum with no sign of the dad must be tough, so I give her a break, especially since it was me who told her to get out more.
Footsteps echo down the hall.
Fern’s eyes widen. “Is someone here?”
“Yes, but don’t freak out.”
“Don’t tell me he’s here?” She digs her fists into her wide hips.
The pulse in my neck races. I know it’s awkward, but I’ve done nothing wrong. She can’t be mad at me for letting him fix my bed.
She whisper-yells. “I heard he was out of jail. How many times are you going to help him?”
I relax, realising she’s talking about our brother.
“I don’t want him anywhere near Harry. He called me asking for money, and I told him to get a job like the rest of us.” She’s still whisper-yelling when the front door clicks.
I peer down the hall from the kitchen doorway as Shane walks out to his car. Fern absentmindedly places her mug on the worktop and steps towards the opening. “Is that?—”
“Didn’t you notice his red car out front?” At least she’s stopped going on about our brother, Ash. She doesn’t need to know I’ve been helping him. I knew she wouldn’t approve. She washed her hands of him years ago and with Mum in a care home, I’m all he has, and probably the reason he's in such a mess. I swallow the guilt threatening to rise like it does every time I think of Ash and his situation.
“I…” She freezes in the hallway as Shane returns with two pieces of wood and a saw under his arms.
He nods in our direction. “Hey Fern, how’s it going?”
“Good,” she squeaks.
Shane walks up the stairs all nonchalant.
“Okay, this gets weirder.” Fern turns back to me with pinched brows. “Why is my ex-husband in your house and walking upstairs?”
“He’s fixing my bed.”
Her eyebrow rises, practically lifting off her head. “Who broke the bed?”
“Not him, if that’s what you think.” I open the cupboard, making myself look busy.
“He looks well. The police force must suit him.” She sighs as she lifts her mug again.
I slam the cupboard shut, then thank Kane for making me get those soft close doors, dampening the aggression I feel as I inhale and exhale. She had her chance with him. He might be off-limits to me, but it’d be torture to see the man I want with my sister again.
Her fingernails tap against the ceramic mug. “Why isn’t your boyfriend fixing your bed?”
“Er. Maybe because I don’t have one.”
Her brow wrinkles. “What happened with Kane?”
“Argh. Why does everyone keep talking as though we were married off? He was never my boyfriend. We were…” I glance around the room, looking for little ears. When Harry is out of earshot, I whisper, “We were fuck buddies at best. Nothing more.”
“Kane hasn’t been the same since that night.” Fern sips her drink again, her eyes staring off into the distance as if thinking back to twenty years ago. I was just a child, but I remember hearing about what happened. The whole town talked about it for months.
“Lilly, do you have a pencil? I just need to mark up the wood.” Shane stands in the doorway of my hall and kitchen with his hands in his combat trouser pockets, not daring to get any closer to my sister.
Harry whizzes into the space with his little car in hand, but comes to an abrupt halt under Shane’s shadow. Tilting his head back, he gazes up at the man towering above him. “Are you Aunty Lilly’s boyfriend?”
Shane glances at Fern, the whites of his eyes becoming more prominent.
Colour drains from her face, as if transferring to mine.
Heat emanates from my cheeks, but my full coverage foundation covers more than just my rosacea. “Shane’s just a friend,” I say. “In fact, he’s a policeman. Show him your car.”
Shane’s eyes sadden as he gazes at Fern and my nephew, but he crouches down to the six-year-old’s height and gives him a bright smile. “What you got there, buddy?”
Harry steps closer and gives Shane his car.
“Oh, wow.” Shane holds it up at eye level. “It’s a 2016 BMW M2.”
“Are you really a policeman?”
“Sure am, bud.” He hands the car back to Harry.
“I’m going to be one when I’m big. And I’m gonna get all the baddies.”
“You’d make a great cop, kid.” He ruffles his messy brown hair and stands, giving Fern a sad smile.
Harry runs back into the living room where the TV is blasting out Paw Patrol.
“Thanks for being nice to him,” Fern says, her eyes raking over Shane’s white tee that clings to his pecs, the skull tattoo chewing on a bullet that covers his torso visible through the fabric.
“Of course.” He runs a hand through his black curly hair, cut short, but long enough to run my fingers through and bunch in my fist. Not that I’ve thought about doing that… much.
A pang of jealousy stabs me in the chest, knowing she could run her hands over those abs and kiss his lips whenever she liked, which to be fair wasn’t very often towards the end of their relationship.
He gives her a sympathetic smile. I know what he’s thinking. If they’d stayed together, Harry would be his son. Not that I think Shane has any feelings still for my sister, but I think he’d like to settle down and have a family of his own. That’s the only reason he left the army. For her. To start a family, but they’d already grown apart.
“Right. Pencil.” I open a drawer in the kitchen and pull out an old pencil, quickly handing it to him before my sister gets antsy or worse, starts flirting.
“Thanks.” Shane turns around and heads back upstairs.
Fern closes the door and whispers, “Is he still single?”
“Yes, why?” I move around the kitchen, looking for something to eat.
“I’m just surprised he’s never settled down.” Her eyes are full of regret. I know she’s questioned her choices of leaving Shane over the years. Her dates ever since have all turned out to be jerks, not to mention Harry’s dad who never stuck around long enough to know he has a kid. It would make you question your choices. But I don’t think she’d ever regret Harry.
She chews on the inside of her cheek. “He’d be a great dad.”
“Who?” I shut the cupboard again in frustration. The soft-close damper takes the force. I know exactly who she means. And he’d make an amazing father to any kid. If he wasn’t her ex, I’d be lining up to have his babies. I’m sure I’d already be pregnant from the number of times I’ve got myself off while thinking about him.
“Shame things never worked out for us. I do wish him well.” She drinks the last of her tea and drops the mug in the sink, absentmindedly staring out of the kitchen window at the neighbour’s dog.
He barks when he sees her, scratching at the glass in his own window that faces mine like he does every time he sees someone in my home.
“You’ve set Russel off.” I roll my eyes, knowing the yappy terrier will be at it for half an hour now.
“Russel?”
I point to the next door’s window a stone’s throw away from mine. “Their new dog sits in the window seat and barks at anything that moves. I think they lock him in the kitchen at night and when they’re not in.”
“Oh, that’s annoying.”
“Don’t you have a date to go to?” I fold my arms over my chest.
She snaps out of her trance. “Yes, if I text you ‘I’m a celebrity’, you get me outta there. Call me and tell me I need to come home and Harry’s sick or something, okay?”
I roll my eyes. “Sure. You still owe me for getting you out of the last one.”
She shivers. “His two front teeth fell out during dinner. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’m all for an age gap, but there’s no way the dude was younger than fifty.”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s only twelve years older than you. You’re not exactly a spring chicken yourself.” I silently laugh, knowing my sister hates any thoughts of getting old. “I’d date someone older than me.”
My sister and Shane are eleven years older than me at thirty-eight. The idea of dating him, an older man, always turns me on. Kane’s the same age as them, and he knows how to take care of a woman in the bedroom. His romantic side was non-existent, but he knew how to work his tongue and his?—
“Hello?” Fern waves her hand in front of my face.
I shake my head after being dickmatised, thinking about the last time I had a hard, hot-blooded cock between my legs.
“Older men know how to treat a woman, not like most boys my age, still trying to grow a beard.”
“Well, you’re a nurse. You’re used to taking care of old people. I’m not.” She wanders into the living room. “Harry, I’m going now. Give me a luz.”
Harry jumps from the sofa and squeezes his mum’s thighs. My sister’s not as tall as me, but she’s equally curvy, rounder in the middle after having Harry. One let down after another has knocked a lot of confidence out of her, but I’m glad she’s dating again. As long as she stays away from Shane.
“Be good for your aunt, okay?” She kisses his head, then lets him go before grabbing her bag from the worktop. “Remember to keep your phone nearby. If I text you?—”
“I’m a celebrity. Get you outta there.” I roll my eyes. “Got it.”
“Love you, sis.” She pulls the keys from her bag as she walks down the hall, then turns to face me with her finger pointing up the stairs. “Should I say bye?” she whispers.
“No, just go.” I can’t get her out fast enough.
“Bye, Fern,” Shane shouts, as if he heard us.
“Oh, yeah. See ya.” She opens the front door mouthing thank you once again.
I lean against the wall with a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted was her seeing my toy box as well. Which reminds me I need to deal with it before Harry wanders upstairs looking for something to play with. Shane’s probably had a good rummage through my stash by now.
With heated cheeks, I climb the stairs. “How’s it going?”
He lifts his head as he slots a new slat in place. “Almost done. I’ve attached a piece of wood and fixed the broken leg to it. It’s a bit of a bodge, so I’ll get Kane to make you a proper fancy leg to match the others, but this will do for now.”
“Thank you.” I search the area for my pink box.
“I put your toys back under the bed in case the little one came up. Or worse, your sister.” He chuckles. “Though maybe she could use one or two. She seemed a little uptight.”
“I think you have that effect on her.” I gaze around my room, not wanting to look him in the eye.
He stands, stepping closer. “Do I have that effect on you, too? You’ve gone quiet.”
The heat from his gaze ignites a fire in my belly. He’s so close I can smell his scent. It’s a mixture of minty aftershave, cigarettes, and something musky and manly that’s just him. The smell sends me delirious.
“Cat got your tongue?” He dips his head a little so our eyes lock. He’s not much taller than my five foot nine inches when he bends to look at me.
“Just my brother-in-law seeing my toy collection. That would render anyone speechless.”
He grins at me with his chipped front tooth. Anyone else might find it unattractive, but it makes me incredibly hot, especially as it happened during a fight at the Black Crow when he and Kane were defending me against a pack of bikers. The words, ‘keep your hands off our property’ ring in my head each time Shane smiles the reminder. I was as much his as I was Kanes. I’ve always been his to protect. His trouble, as he calls me.
Shane’s head moves closer to my face. He whispers in my ear, “ Ex brother-in-law.” His breath on my neck sends a flurry of goose bumps over my skin.
It’s a good thing Harry’s downstairs, or I may be tempted to do something I regret. Like slide my palm over his chest, around his neck, and pull his lips to mine. And I don’t mean the lips on my face. I’m so turned on my clit is tingling. My nipples pebble as every hair on my body stands to attention.
“I’ll fix the other slat, then get out of your hair.”
“Thank you.” Without thinking, I lift on my toes and peck his cheek. My face lingers next to his for a beat too long, enjoying how the scruff on his jaw scratches at my skin. His woody scent wraps around me, putting my head in a spin, and I grab a hold of his biceps before I topple.
Large, strong hands slide around my waist. He pulls me close with a groan vibrating in his chest. My body shudders against him. The only thing between us is a growing bulge beneath his combats.
“Lilly,” he groans inches from my face. His eyes darkening. I’ve never seen him like this. My loyal German shepherd is replaced by a jackal. A ravenous jackal who’s set his sights on his next meal. Hopefully, my aching pussy.
“Aunty Lil?” Harry shouts, breaking me from Shane’s gaze.
I take a step back. For a minute there, I’d forgotten Harry was here. I was dickmatised. Again.
It’s been too long since I had any real physical interaction. I’m practically throwing myself at my brother-in-law. Or ex brother-in-law as he put it. It makes no difference. My sister would never forgive me if anything were to happen between us. No matter how much I want it.
“I’m up here, sweetie.” I spin on my heel and walk to the landing. “Do you want anything?” I ask Shane.
He says, “No.” But when I turn my head back to gaze into his eyes, they convey a different answer, full of everything he wants in his deep, dark-brown pools of desire.