“In case you’re wondering, I gave you the referral that Ward called for,” I taunt.
David growls. “Remind me to thank Ward later.” His hands slap on either side of my head, trapping me against the wall.
But just bringing up David’s obtuse behavior sets off my own temper. I place my hands into the center of his rock-hard chest and push. He doesn’t budge.
I let out a growl of my own, much like I did when I hung up the phone with Ward that day.
“I didn’t think a referral would be a problem,” Ward said laconically in response to my complete silence on the other end of the line.
“Oh?” I was immensely proud of myself for not allowing the betrayal to slide into my voice. Only to have it erased my utter shock when Ward howled with laughter in my ear.
“I don’t know how the two of you have managed to work alongside each other and still build what you have, Carys,” he says wistfully. “But if I was planning on marrying the woman I love…”
There was no holding back my screech of “Excuse me?” at that point. Surging out of my chair, I ignored the view from my office as I began to pace agitatedly.
Ward muttered, “Shit. Did I let the cat out of the bag?”
“More like you dumped the ring out of the box,” I flung back hotly. “Now, spill it, Ward. You’re my damn brother, for Christ’s sake.”
Reluctantly, he did, knowing it would be so much worse for him if he didn’t tell me what I want to know.
I fell back into my chair, stunned. “All he had to do was say something,” I whispered weakly. “From the moment we met, all I’ve ever wanted was David. Hell, I gave up working at Wildcard just for a chance…”
“And now it looks like he’s trying to do the same thing, only you don’t have a fraternization policy,” my brother said gently.
"For obvious reasons,” I retorted.
“The question is what are you going to do about it?”
A million thoughts ran through my head, pulling me in opposing directions, but at the center grounding me was one thing. David.
But I’m not known for thinking on my feet for nothing. A memory of an idea Ward and I had ages ago long before tragedy forced me to become my brother’s guardian as well as his sister stirred back to life. I ran through the possibilities quickly, and the answer was so clear it left me as smug as a cat with a saucer full of cream.
Tipping my chair back, I said, “What would you say if I told you fine?”
Ward choked on the coffee that’s never far from his reach. “That you have a screw loose. What are you thinking, Car?”
“I’m thinking you can have David.” I paused for one heartbeat… Two. “But I get you in exchange.”
There was silence on the other end of the line before Ward pieced it together. “You mean…”
Now, with every rise and fall of David’s chest that I can feel under my hands, the incredulity in his olive-green eyes, I feel vindicated. “You were going to decide my future without consulting me?” I demand.
By the way David freezes, it finally penetrates how utterly infuriated I am. Ever since the car wreck that took my parents’ lives, I’ve never had the luxury of being helpless. I was never able to cede control about anyone, anything, because I had duties and responsibilities too great to shirk.
I walked away from a prestigious job clerking for a federal judge to move back to New York ensure my younger brother Ward had the stability of our family home while finishing high school and going to college. I set my life, my dreams, on hold long enough to make certain he would have every opportunity to thrive without Mom and Dad.
And then I felt like God was playing a sick joke on me the day I walked in on my dream job at Wildcard and I felt my heart be touched by angels only to be laughed at by the devil all in one breath.
“You’re going to leave me,” I accuse, pain evident in each word I hurl at him.
David’s eyes close. “Never.”
“You are,” I press. “You took a job with my brother.” Pain seeps out of every word.
“I thought…” He shakes his head before determination sets in.
“You thought to prove something to other people who might judge us. Judge you for working for you girlfriend? Your wife?” My voice chokes up at the end.
His mouth opens and closes several times before his head drops down against mine. His fingers tangle with mine against the wall before he admits, “You’re right.”
Slowly, I nod, accepting his actions for being out of love instead of malice. His apology evident in every puff of air we exchange, David leans down and presses his mouth gently against one eyebrow, then the other. One cheek, the other. The corner of each lip. And then finally, he brushes his lips across mine once, twice, until I grant him entry.
Our kiss is languid, tongues that twine our hearts tightly together mixed with the harsh, heated promise of passion. It’s apologies, promises, and vows, spoken in the true language before God confounded speech through the tower of Babel. It’s passion between two people who have touched each other intimately, who know down to their souls what lies beyond sex when love is involved.
We stand there, our hearts touching, our breath mingling, for long moments before David whispers, “You know how I grew up, Car. My dad’s the man of the house—constantly telling me how he’s the one out providing for the family, for my ma. Never fails to bring up every time we talk how he’s busting his ass to make sure everyone has what they need. Here? You give and give—from a stunning home to a job. It’s all because you gave it to me. Maybe I needed to know what I could do on my own,” he admits, the vulnerability behind his actions clear.
And any lingering anger I have seeps away. Reaching up, I frame his face with my hands. “My love, if I have so much to give, it’s because I lost so much. Please remember that.”
His brow furrows, but he nods. “I know.”
“Don’t you know, I’d rather be struggling to pay the rent and student loans than have millions of dollars at my disposal? That Ward would too if we could bring our parents back to life?” I shake my head against his as his arms wrap around me. “The home you and I live in is theirs; we’re just filling it with the love that was missing for so many years. That’s what you bring to it, to me.” I lay my hand over his heart. “What’s in here has more value than anything. And the idea of not being with you every day? It gutted me, David. It made me think you didn’t want to be with me.”
“Not that. Never that, Carys,” he groans.
“Okay. Now I have a question?”
He presses his lips to my forehead. “What’s that?”
“Does this mean I still get to plan our wedding? I had Angie all excited about getting an extra two weeks of vacation this year for our honeymoon.”
My lips part as David reaches up and renders the two sides of my red silk blouse open. Buttons scatter in every direction.
My pussy begins to get wet when I see the tight skin pulled across David’s cheekbones. “Any questions?”
Holy. Shit.
“Just one,” I whisper. “Just one. Please, touch me.”
Chapter Six