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Rhodi dashed up the walk to his place. He’d needed to run to work and take care of a business call. The video chat had run over a bit and he wanted to get back before Karen woke. As he reached out for the doorknob, he pivoted slowly to the left. Parked there on the other side of Karen’s hatchback was his mom’s Audi.
Shit.
He hesitated then berated himself for doing such a thing. They were bound to meet sooner or later. He’d planned on bringing her to the family dinner next week. Hadn’t broached it with her as of yet, but he had plans.
Still, he would be lying if he said he didn’t enter with a bit of unease. A shame, really, for this was his own house, not anyone else’s.
“About time you got back, Rhodi.”
“I had a call with a client. Well, potential client.” He dropped his keys in the bamboo engraved trinket dish he had by the door. “What are you doing here, Mom?”
After scanning the room to locate Karen, who sat at the island on a bar stool, he gave her a smile, then walked to his mom and kissed her cheek.
“I came to meet the woman you’ve been having sex with in the closet at work. For some reason, you feel that type of behavior is acceptable, but not bringing her to my house once I’m home so I can meet her.”
More than one reprimand in that statement, and he cut his gaze to Karen, who had a frozen look on her face.
“Mom,” he said, mortified, and yet knowing he should have expected Derek to be unable to keep his trap shut.
She turned dark blue eyes on him. “Something on your mind, Rhodi?”
“Can we not embarrass her?”
“She’s past it, we’ve already talked about it when she left your bedroom, wet from a shower. I suspect this sex thing has happened more than once.” She expertly flipped the final pancakes from the skillet onto the waiting plate. “Let’s eat. And I want to know why you went out and purchased all this furniture for her.”
Aww, hell.
In his periphery, he studied Karen for a reaction but didn’t get anything. So, either it didn’t hit her or she’d already heard that as well. They were at the table eating and, for all intents and purposes, Karen seemed to be fine with everything going on around her at the moment.
He held onto that hope and it lasted until after everything had been cleaned up and his mother was ready to leave. Karen moved up beside her.
“I’ll walk out with you. I have some things in town to do for my place.”
News to him.
“Karen?”
“Thank you for breakfast, Mrs. Wilder, Rhodi. I really have to get going now.”
“Can I see you tonight?”
“I’m afraid not, remember, I’m having a girl’s night out with Lila.”
He recalled the waitress and hid his scowl. Pasting a smile on his face, he nodded. “I’ll catch up with you later then.”
Her brown eyes were like ice as they held his. “Can’t wait.”
Had he been a lesser man he would have bent over and protected his privates from that tone. As it was, he angled his body slightly away from hers. With a kiss on the cheek for each woman, he escorted them to their cars. Karen got in and drove away before he could even finish saying his goodbye to his mother.
As she started shutting the door, he stopped it.
“What was that all about, Mom?”
Disappointment filled her features. “If you can treat her like a whore, then so can I.” She reached through the open window and gripped his ear as she’d done when he was a youth.
“Oww.” Tears sprang to his eyes as she held onto him.
“Treat her like a lady, Rhodi, and make sure she knows she’s special.” She released him as fast as she’d grabbed him, started the engine, and drove away, leaving him alone with a throbbing ear.
Rubbing his ear, he reached for his phone and called Derek. The call went to voicemail and he didn’t bother leaving a message. This was one he would deliver personally the next time he saw his brother.
Karen avoided him for the rest of the day, never answering her phone, just sending his calls to voicemail. He never left a message. While he had pulled some stunts in his life, even he wasn’t stupid enough to think he could get away with apologizing over the phone.
His supper was a quiet meal by himself. After he’d cleaned up from that, he showered and dressed in a pair of slacks and a nice shirt. Then he hopped in his vehicle and drove to town and her apartment.
As he climbed out, he peered at her window. The soft light shown through the new curtains she had not purchased but made herself. He couldn’t tell her how impressive that was to him, and damn if they didn’t look like they’d come right out of a catalog. She even had the valances on some, sheer and a waterfall style as she’d called it. Either way, everything in there was impressive to him.
She’d taken a tiny one-bedroom apartment and made it more of a home than his place. And it was all handmade. Even the rugs on her floors she’d done, in the evenings while they’d spent time together.
Exhaling, he strode for the door and reached out to press the doorbell. After a few moments passed the door opened and he stared at the woman who had come to mean so much to him.
“Karen,” he began, only to snap his mouth shut when she gave a sharp shake of her head and held up one hand.
“No. I don’t want to hear one more word out of you. I can’t believe you. You’ve lied to me from the start.” Her self-deprecating laugh broke his heart. “In storage? Anything to get the pussy you wanted close and in the proximity you needed. I’m surprised you didn’t demand I stay at your place so you had unfettered access to me.”
“That’s not what this was.”
“Shut up, Rhodi. I’m done. I’m keeping my job, but you will leave me alone and only speak to me in regards to business matters. I’m pulling money from each paycheck, and when I have the amount that you spent on this furniture, I will give you a cashier’s check for it.”
She stepped back and slammed the door in his face. Rhodi blinked and pounded on the door.
“Leave or I’ll call the cops,” she hollered through the wood.
“Let me in so we can talk about this, Karen.”
The light went out, as did the hope she gave him in his heart. He pounded on the door once more but stopped when a neighbor’s outdoor light popped on. Wheeling around, he stomped to his Jeep and swung in.
Thirty minutes later, he knocked on another door. The moment that opened he swung, nearly catching his target unawares, but the man had been a SEAL and had uncanny reflexes. Derek dodged him and moved back.
“The fuck, man?”
Stepping into the house, he kicked the door shut behind him, blood boiling and itching for a fight to work off this anger streaking through him.
“Couldn’t fucking keep your goddamn mouth shut, could you? Had to blab it to our mother?”
His voice rose along with his blood pressure. The beating in his ears akin to the pounding of a set of drums. Red flickered in his gaze and he longed to pummel the man before him.
“You’re the one who lied to her, not me.” Rhodi swung again and Derek blocked him and sent him moving by. “Don’t start something you’re going to get the shit end of the deal when I finish it, Rhodi. I know you’re pissed but you keep swinging at me and I’ll have no problem fighting back.”
Rhodi looked at him, ignored the dangerous glint in his eyes, sneered, and lunged once more. This time, Derek didn’t move out of the way but met him head on and they slammed to the floor. Seconds later, he flew through the air as his brother launched him over his head to land on the coffee table, smashing it and whatever had been on it. Pain radiated up his back and he didn’t care, he welcomed the discomfort and scrambled back to the fight.
It didn’t go as planned. Sure, he was the older brother and had beaten him up plenty, but this was different. After a few more chairs and items had been broken, Derek had him in a headlock and was choking him out.
Black spots flickered as he heard Adam and Wild yelling for them to break it up.
“Jesus, Derek. Stand down. Stand down!”
His brother was ripped away from him and he lay there gasping and bleeding. Eventually the spots receded and he lifted his head to see both Wild and Adam holding Derek, who had taken some licks as well. Blood ran from his nose and he had a cut above his eye as well as a busted lip.
It was the eyes that shocked him. It wasn’t his brother he saw but a man who wouldn’t stop until the job was done.
He got to his feet and three sets of eyes pinned him. He held out his hands. “I’m done. Promise.”
“You good, Derek?” Adam questioned.
Rhodi noticed neither sibling released their hold on him. It took a while before Derek nodded and they cautiously stepped back from him, to all appearances, ready to jump back in if the fight began anew.
“Fine,” his brother bit off. He touched the corner of his lip and frowned again. “You get that out of your system, Rhodi?”
“Still didn’t tell me why you wanted to be a tattletale and run to Mom about this.”
“One, I mentioned the being caught in a closet to these two, I didn’t tell Mom. Two, I didn’t have to tell her about the furniture, your girlfriend isn’t an idiot and I’m sure Mom asked her about it or mentioned it in some way. She is a great woman but not until she’s sure of whomever her son is dating. Get your fucking facts straight before you come unhinged like that. They may not be around to stop me next time.”
Wild and Derek walked off to the kitchen and he headed for the bathroom, Adam on his heels. His brother leaned against the door frame as he cleaned up his face.
“He kicked your ass, Rhodi.”
“Thanks for pointing that out. I was afraid I was unsure of that outcome. If only I didn’t feel like I just got my ass handed to me, or had bruises or cuts to confirm that. But thank you for pointing it out, Captain Obvious.”
Adam snorted. “What are you going to do?”
Rhodi rooted around in the medicine cabinet until he found some butterfly bandages to hold together some of the cuts on his face.
“Talk to her at work.”
Adam shook his head. “Don’t make her quit, I like her. And I don’t fucking want your dick to cost me a valued employee.”
Tossing the strips into the trash, he met his brother’s gaze in the mirror. “She’s already told me she’s keeping the job, so I don’t think that’s a concern you need to have.”
“Make sure it isn’t.” Adam left him there alone to face his battered face and scarred heart.
What the fuck was I thinking? And why did I assume this would work out for me?
αβ
With a deep breath of mental preparation, Karen climbed out of her car and locked it, taking that extra moment to fortify herself before walking into D.A.R.K. The day was remarkably busy, and it wasn’t until close to the end of the workday that she saw Rhodi.
He came in from the back with Adam. Keeping her focus on the keyboard in front of her, she did her best not to stare at him.
Causally dressed or in a suit, it didn’t matter. He called to her. In every way.
Today his jeans took her mind down a road it didn’t need to go, and the white shirt wasn’t helping her imagination. She struggled to contain her gasp of shock as she saw the cuts and bruising on his face.
“Bring Mr. Ragland up when he gets here, will you please, Karen?” Adam gave her a slight smile as they neared.
“Of course, Adam.” She met and held Rhodi’s gaze for a moment before returning her gaze to the screen before her. “Rhodi.”
“Karen.”
That was it. The two men were up the stairs and out of her sight. She rubbed her neck and got up to walk around. Heading to the coffee pot on the table in the waiting area, she cut her gaze to the janitor’s closet where her life had changed.
I shouldn’t have allowed it to go that far. I messed up.
Nothing she could do about this now. The final client of the day entered as she was returning to her desk.
An elderly gentleman with thinning hair, his suit ill-fitting, but she understood. Coffee on the counter, she reached out her hand to him.
“Mr. Ragland, I’m Karen. I’m going to take you right to the conference room where they’re waiting for you, okay?”
Tears lingered in the corners of his eyes. “Thank you,” he pushed past thin lips.
She made her way to the elevator and pressed the button. As they waited, the man fiddled with his jacket. They rode up in silence. No sound passed between them as she took him to the room and knocked briskly on the door.
“Mr. Wilder, Mr. Wilder. Mr. Ragland to see you.”
As he went by her, she spied the bottle of water next to the chair for him and was pleased they had remembered. Adam gave her a slight nod of thanks and she backed out. At the last second, she glanced at Rhodi.
His eyes burned with an eerie fire that unsettled her. Then he dismissed her as he gave their client his attention.
As he should, she reminded herself. That man was paying for their service. Not to have her whine and pout about her relationship with the boss.
Back at her desk, she wrapped up her day’s work and logged off the system. Stuff in hand, she made her way out, aware they would take care of him as he left. They’d told her she didn’t have to wait if they had a client, she was fine to head home. If they needed her to stay, they would let her know.
That night, after drawing a long bath, she lit the candles she had in there. Mostly along the sink as the room was tiny, but with the mirror they reflected in a beautiful manner combined with the few along the wider edge of the tub. She’d added in her moisturizing honey vanilla bath beads, so there was a soft aroma in the air which helped soothe her.
Stripping, she left her clothes on the floor and stepped into the tub. The heated water against her flesh had her groaning in pleasure.
Just what I needed.
It didn’t take her long to have the rolled-up towel behind her head, or her ear buds in for the audio story she was currently listening to queued up and ready. Turning on the book, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to finally decompress.
The time passed, and she sank further and further into a state of relaxation. The fact his mother knew about her and Rhodi in the closet faded. The fact he’d lied to her from the start about where the furniture had come from dulled from a roar of anger to a soft mewl.
Her mind, however, as relaxed she was becoming, wouldn’t leave the subject of Rhodi and she took out her earbuds, not wanting to miss the story. With a frustrated huff, she tried to work through it all in her head.
Unfortunately for her, all she managed to do was bring up all their times together. She shifted in the tub, water sloshing around her. Her nipples peaked and her clit throbbed.
“No,” she muttered. “I’m not playing with myself in here just to get you out of my head.”
Determined, she put her earbuds back in and put on some music. Classical. And the solution worked for about five minutes. She moved her arms and they brushed her breasts and she gasped as the bundle of nerves relayed the information through her.
With a moan of surrender she allowed her hand to drift over her pussy. She quivered at the light brush of her fingers. Closing her eyes once more, she began rubbing her clit, a low moan slipping free.
In her mind she replayed their last night together.
She lay naked on the bed, on top of the sheets. Rhodi kissed his way down her body until he lay between her legs, his hot breath on her pussy., She waited with baited breath for his mouth, after a kiss to each inner thigh, to go where she longed for it to be.
He didn’t.
“Rhodi,” she begged.
“Tell me, baby. Tell me where you want me. What you want.”
“Eat me.”
He nipped her thigh once more. “Like that?”
“No, Rhodi. Mouth. Pussy. Make me scream.”
He blew on her swollen clit before running the flat of his tongue up her slit. She trembled, fingers gripping the satin comforter.
“Like that?”
“Yes. Please, God yes.”
He spread her legs more, bending them at the knees and positioning her how he wanted them. She didn’t fight him, just allowed him to maneuver her.
“You’re fucking sexy,” he rumbled. “Look at you, laying here like this. Flushed from sex and wanting more.”
Yes. Yes she did. Wanted more.
He settled back between her legs and she looked at the top of his dark head but still held where he’d put her. Ever so slowly, he leaned back in and covered her pussy with his mouth.
“Shit yes,” she hissed.
He gripped her thighs, holding them still as he began to lap at her. Long strokes, fast ones. He sent her into a hell of needing, craving release but he held off, never allowing her to fall over that edge. Wedging his shoulder under one thigh, he moved his hand and gripped her breast, squeezing nearly to the point of pain.
It wasn’t pain, it was absolute unadulterated pleasure. Gripping the flesh, swiping his thumb over the pebbled tip as he continued to feast. She reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair, holding him tight to her. Grinding her hips, she tried her damnedest to get more contact. Just more.
He held her there until she came hard against his seeking tongue, only once she stopped trembling did he push up and slip his cock deep into her, taking her for another ride.
“Rhodi,” she cried as her fingers plunged deep, sending her over the cliff. She came hard, arching in the tub and splashing water over the rim. Her music fell in and the candles got splashed. Even so, it took her a moment to calm down enough to drag her device out of the tub with her and try to dry it off on the nearest towel. The one her head had been on also slid into the water.
“Damn it,” she swore. “Never happens that way in the movies.”
Limbs shaky, she got out and wrapped up in her robe, then proceeded to clean up her mess.
Not at all how I wanted to end my bath.
When she got to work the next day, she learned that Rhodi and Wild had departed on a mission. Mixed emotions raged within her, she couldn’t stop how she felt, both the good and the bad. And, honestly, she wasn’t sure which path she wanted to follow more. So, for the meantime, she focused on work and doing her job to the best of her ability. Derek and Adam kept her entertained and Mrs. Wilder showed up occasionally, always professional and polite. Interestingly enough.
Epilogue
The plane touched down with a bump and a slight slide as the hailstorm that had hit Montana gave the pilot a bit of an issue. Neither he nor Wild were concerned, as Tony was a crack pilot. They’d been gone nearly a month on this most recent rescue.
While he’d healed from the bruises his brother had put on him, there were some lingering ones on him from the rescue mission. However, Wild had gotten shot, so he wasn’t about to complain.
“You coming for supper tonight, Wild?”
“Nope.” His response was sharp and brisk.
It killed him to know his brother was deliberately keeping himself from their family. He wasn’t sure what had passed between him and their mother, but it was what it was.
A few moments and Wild turned toward him. “Are you going to supper?”
“As opposed to what?”
“Going to get your woman.”
Karen. His heart did all this insane crazy beating when he thought of her. He’d limited his time on the mission to focus on her, needing his head in the game to save the young man they’d come to pull out. But now, there wasn’t any reason for him not to think of her.
Had she thought about him? Had she forgiven him? Would she allow him a chance to explain everything and give them another chance?
“She made her point before.”
Wild rolled his eyes. “When did you become such a pussy?”
Rhodi glared at him as the plane taxied to a halt. “Meaning?”
“Do you need a diagram? You fucked up, you lied. Go after her, lock her in the room with you, whatever to get her to hear you out. Then get back to doing what I heard from Derek you were doing in the hall closet.”
“Fuck you.”
“Not my type.” There was no heat in Wild’s tone, just amusement.
Rhodi nodded, then grew serious as the engines powered down. “What happened with Derek?” At some point during that fight, or perhaps before it began, his brother had vanished leaving a killing machine.
“He’s been riding a fence for a while now, takes not much to set him off, which is why we’ve been keeping him home. Not entirely sure, he doesn’t want to see a shrink and we can’t make him but we can, and are, keeping him on desk duty.”
“He was ready to kill me.”
Wild didn’t joke about it, just nodded. “Yes.”
“I mean, I learned shit and I can hold my own but that, I don’t know, it wasn’t like he was even my brother anymore.”
Wild got up and reached for his bag that was beside him. “I know you want me to say something to set you at ease, but I can’t. There’s a devil in him and I don’t know how we can get it out of him.”
Coming from Wild, the Marine, that scared him. However, right now, he had to focus on Karen and fixing that. Then they could look at Derek and do what they could to help him.
The steps were lowered, and they hurried down them to the waiting SUV, wincing at the sting from the hailstones. They were driven to the front door of the business. Again, they dashed to the door with a farewell to the driver.
Inside, his heart lurched up to his throat as he saw Karen on the phone. She stood at her desk pointing at some paper to a guest, all the while continuing on the phone. Her sleeveless sheath dress was black with cream flowers on the left side, both front and back. He noticed when she angled away from him.
Her hair sat piled up on her head, a few wisps escaping to curl around her face.
The person waved goodbye and headed out. He held her gaze then went to his office. He knew not to make a scene at the office.
After writing his report on everything, he pressed the button for her.
“Yes?”
“Could you come up here please when you get a moment, Karen?”
“I’ll be there in about five minutes.”
“Thank you.”
He moved to the mirror in his bathroom and stared at his reflection. A bit gaunter than when he left but not bad. A cursory knock had him stepping back to see her walk in. Her long legs brought back memories of them being around his waist. Her black stilettos were hell on his libido also.
“You asked to see me?”
“I did. Thank you.” He exhaled slowly and walked to his desk, taking the time to skim his gaze over her once more.
She perched on the edge of a chair across from him, pad at the ready. “What did you need?”
“I need you to talk to me, Karen. Or at least listen while I talk to you.” He didn’t sit but moved around and closed the door, shutting them in together.
She got to her feet. “We have nothing to talk about. You made it clear that you have a hard time telling the truth to me and I don’t appreciate being lied to. Regardless of the situation, I do thank you for what you did, providing those things for me.”
He stalked to her, slowly. Deliberately. She pushed up and turned to face him.
“You’re different,” he said.
She backed up until her ass bumped his desk. “Excuse me?”
“Fuller. More confident. Even more beautiful then when I saw you last.”
Karen shook her head. “Don’t do this, Rhodi. Please. Let’s just find a way to work together.”
“Okay. Let’s.”
Relief spread over her features.
“Thank you.”
“If that is what it takes.”
She frowned. “For what?”
“You to give me another chance. I know that I fucked up. I admit that wholeheartedly. I never meant to, I just didn’t want you to feel bad about getting this furniture. You needed it and I’m not going to lie and say we haven’t purchased things for employees before, because we have. But I did for you out of my own pocket because I wanted to be the one to come to your rescue. Not the company.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. You didn’t know me then.”
“I knew you from the first moment I laid eyes on you, Karen. It’s been there the whole time, this thing between us. It won’t leave either of us alone. It will grow and get stronger but I’m willing to take a step back and start over, doing this the right way, with dates and things like that.”
She dropped the notebook onto the desk and walked up to him. “God damn you, Rhodi Wilder.”
“Curse me, hit me, yell, whatever, just don’t shut me out Karen. I love you.”
With a slow blink of her golden-tipped lashes, she bit her lower lip. “We have a lot to talk about. A lot to work through.”
“So long as you don’t shut me out.”
“No shutting you out. I just have to learn to handle the perks of being with one of the owners.” She reached out and threaded her fingers through his hair. “Are you okay?”
He grinned, heart much lighter than it had been. “Never better.”
Rhodi wanted to kiss her but held off, allowing her to make the first move. He meant every word he’d said about taking it slow.
When she kissed him, he allowed his eyes to drift closed. They would find a way to make this work.
The End
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Derek’s story is the next one and it is titled, The Second Time Around.
Memories can become reality...
There are times that past memories won’t leave you alone. Derek, the only remaining single Wilder brother, has been unable to forget a woman he saved two years ago. She is haunting him in his dreams, until one day, she shows up at his door.
Avery is tired of being scared. She heads to Montana to face a man she needs to see in order to get on with her life. Trouble has followed her. Can she survive and still find a future, possibly one with Derek?
