Luke snuck into the house.  It was dark and quiet, he suspected that Jane had been sleeping for hours, and he crept down the hallway to the kitchen.  He flicked the light on and screamed when he saw Jane sitting at the island.

“What the hell!”  He said.  “Why are you sitting in the dark?”

“Because I was waiting for you to get home and listening to you scream like a girl is never not funny to me,” Jane said with a grin.

He scowled at her and stalked across the room to the fridge.  He grabbed a bottle of water and twisted the cap off, wincing when it sent pain shooting through his swollen knuckles.

Jane slipped off the stool and opened the freezer, grabbing a bag of peas as he sat down at the island and drank half the bottle of water in two large gulps.

She tugged his hand to the island and rested the bag of peas on it.  “Amy told me what happened.  Where have you been?”

He sighed.  “I drove around the city about seventeen times.  Then I went to a bar to get drunk.  I had two drinks and then went to the gym and worked out for three hours.”

“Do you feel better?”

“What do you think?”  He drank more water.  “Did you know, Jane?  Did you know about Amy and Mark?”

“Yes.  Amy told me a while ago.”

“You kept it from me.”  He gave her a hurt look of accusation and she squeezed his forearm.

“Amy asked me not to tell anyone and I said I wouldn’t.”

“But I’m your -”

“You’re my man and I love you,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean I have to tell you everything.  Especially when someone asks me to keep it to myself.”

“He beats her,” Luke said.  “Did you know that?  He beats her until she’s bruised.  Did she tell you that part?”

“She told me that they both enjoy the impact play of the BDSM lifestyle,” Jane said.

“Impact play?  Is that what they call beating a woman now?”  Luke said.  “I never thought my best friend would abuse my sister and everyone would be okay with it.  Least of all the woman I love.”

“Stop it, Luke!”  Jane said.  She slid off the stool and crowded up to him, cupping his face and staring intently at him.  “You’re a good man, the best man I know, and I love you.  But, honey, you’re being a first-class dickhead right now.”

He stared at her before slumping and closing his eyes.  “She’s my baby sister, Jane.”

“I know, honey.”  She put her arms around him and he hugged her as she rubbed his back.  “She’s also a grown woman who has certain tastes in the bedroom that, while they may not be your thing, does not make her sick or the victim of abuse.  You need to stop thinking that way.  Do you hear me?”

She leaned back and studied his face.  “Mark and Amy love each other.  Very much.  You can see it, can’t you?”

“I -I don’t know,” he said.  “I thought he looked at her like she was his sister, like he -”

“He doesn’t, and it’s not fair of you to think he should.  He may have grown up with you guys, but he is not related to you.  He’s not your brother.  He’s not Amy’s brother.  He loves her, and she loves him.  You need to be happy for them.”

“What if I try and I can’t?”  He said.

She cupped his face and rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone.  “Then you’re going to lose them both.”

 

* * *

 

Amy opened her front door and stared at her brother.

“Hey, Amy.”

“Hello, Luke.”

“Can I come in?”

She stepped back, and he joined her in the hallway.  He took off his boots and jacket and followed her to the kitchen.  She sat down and stared silently at him as he slid onto the stool across from her.  “You, uh, alone?”

“Mark is at his Al-Anon meeting,” she said.  “He’ll be back soon.”

“Right,” he said.  “I’m sorry, Amy.”

“What are you sorry for, Luke?  Are you sorry that you accused me of whoring myself out to get Pierre and Julien to invest in my casual line?  Are you sorry for trying to beat up the man I love and calling him a sick son of a bitch?  Or maybe you’re sorry for the way you believe that you have the right to tell me how to live my life?”

He winced. “Amy, I -”

“Or, perhaps you’re sorry that you’re one judgemental asshole who made his best friend feel like garbage the day after he was forced to call the police on his own damn brother.”

“I’m sorry for all of it,” he said.

“You should be.  Mark told me you’d react this way and I defended you, Lukie.  I said you wouldn’t be upset.  Mark is terrified of losing you, of losing our parents.  We’re his only family and you hurt him.”

“I didn’t mean to.  I was surprised and shocked and, you’re my baby sister, Amy.  The thought of someone hurting you…”

“I know,” she said.  She took his hand and squeezed tightly.  “I love you, Lukie, I do.  But I love Mark too.  I want to be with him.  I will be with him.  I want you to be a part of our lives but if you can’t accept that -”

“I can,” he said.  “I can accept that you and Mark are in love and that you want to be together, Ames.  The other stuff – the being a dominant at some club - that might take me a little longer.  But I promise you I’ll try.”

“Good,” she said.

“I’m sorry for what I said about Julien and Pierre.  I don’t think they would only give you a casual line because you slept with him.”

“I was at Mark’s apartment when you came over to talk to him.  I was the woman in his bedroom.”

“Gross,” Luke said before he flinched.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

She couldn’t help but laugh.  “I know.”

“I believe in you and your casual line.  I really do.  I was just worried about them because they’re…”

“Horndogs?”

“Yeah.  We don’t need them to invest in a casual line, Amy.  We can do it ourselves.”

“I know.  But I’m fine with working with them.  They know I’m not going to sleep with them.”

“Okay.”

There was silence and Luke drummed his fingers on the island. “So, are you going to tell Mom and Dad about you and Mark?”

“Yes.  On Sunday night.”

“That’s good.  They’ll be happy for you, Ames.”

“I think so too.”

“What’s with the necklace?”  He asked.  “Why is it locked and why does Mark have the key?”

She shrugged.  “It’s a thing with us.  You don’t want to know the details, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he said.

 

* * *

 

Balancing, the ice cream and beer in one hand, Mark opened the door to Amy’s house.  “Amy?  I’m home, baby.  I picked up a six pack of beer and a tub of Rocky Road.  Just to be clear, the beer is for you and the ice cream is for me.  Sometimes I like to eat my feelings.”

He kicked off his boots and wandered into the kitchen, holding the tub of ice cream and the beer.  Luke was sitting at the island with Amy and his stomach tightened.  “Hey, Luke.”

“Hi, Mark.”

Amy took the ice cream and the beer from him and pressed a kiss against his mouth. “Hi, honey.”

She took out the tub of ice cream and set it on the island before placing two spoons next to it.  She opened a beer and took a swig then kissed Mark again.  “You two talk and eat your ice cream.  I’ve got some work to do.”

She left the kitchen with her beer and Mark sat down in her spot.  There was an awkward silence and he cleared his throat before opening the ice cream and grabbing a spoonful.  He passed it to Luke who took his own spoonful.

“It’s good,” he said as he swallowed the ice cream.

“Yeah,” Mark said.  “My favourite.”

“I know.”

They both ate a few more spoonfuls of ice cream before Luke sighed and set his spoon on the island.  “I’m sorry.”  He stared at the bruise on Mark’s cheek.  “I’m sorry for punching you.  I’m sorry for what I said.  It was wrong of me and I didn’t mean it.”

“Didn’t you?” Mark said.

Luke considered it before shaking his head. “No, I didn’t.  I was really shocked, but I’ve done a lot of thinking over the past day, and I talked with Jane about it.  I don’t think you’re sick or that you beat women.  I just… I had no idea, Mark.  We’ve been best friends since we were kids and I suddenly feel like I don’t even know you.”

“You know me, “Mark said.  “You know me better than anyone, except maybe Amy.  I didn’t want to keep this from you, but I – I knew you would be disgusted by it, and I didn’t want to lose you or your family.  I didn’t want to lose Amy.  I told her I fell in love with her when she was a teenager, but the truth is, I’ve loved her since we were kids, Luke.  She is the only woman for me.  I will spend the rest of my life loving her, with or without your approval.”

He ate another spoonful of ice cream as Luke stared at the top of the island.  “How long have you been together?”

“We spent a couple nights together a while ago and then I-I told her I couldn’t be with her because I was afraid of losing you and your parents.”

Luke groaned and scooped himself out another mouthful of ice cream.  “That’s why you guys got so weird and angry with each other.  Fuck, it’s my fault you were fighting.”

“No, it isn’t.  I was the one who pushed her away because I was afraid.  I tried to stay away from her, but I couldn’t.  Once I’d been with her, I couldn’t…”

He sighed and shoved another bite of ice cream into her mouth.  “I can’t live without her, Luke.  As for the Dom thing at the club - that’s a part of who I am, and I won’t apologize for it.  I’m part owner at Secrets and it’s important to me.  Amy understands that it’s important and she supports me.”

“That’s good,” Luke said.

“I’m not asking you to understand it and I won’t force you to talk about it with me, but I don’t want to keep it a secret from you anymore either.  It’s been eight years and I’m tired of keeping secrets.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Luke said.  “I’m happy for you and Amy, I really am, man.  I’m sorry for how I acted.  I promise not to be such a dickhead in the future.”

“Thanks, Luke.  I love you,” Mark said.

“Yeah, I love you too, my little snuggle bunny.  Now stop hogging the damn Rocky Road.”

 

* * *

 

“Love, the pork roast was divine,” Gary said as he pushed his empty plate away.  “Kids, wasn’t it amazing?”

“It is,” Luke said.  “Best pork I’ve ever eaten, Mom.”

Clara laughed and poked Luke in the arm.  “I can tell when you’re mocking me, Lukie.  Jane, dearest, pass me the pickles, would you?”

Jane passed her the pickles and Clara took a couple before passing them to Gary.  “Have a pickle, sweetheart.”

“Mom?  Dad?”  Amy cleared her throat as Gary and Clara looked down the table at her.

“What is it, Ames?”  Clara said.

“Mark and I have something to tell you.”  She gave Mark a nervous look.  He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles before giving her an encouraging smile.  “Mark and I are dating.  We, um, we’re in love.  We’re going to move in together.”

“Gross,” Luke said.

“Shut up, Luke,” Amy said.

“You shut up.”

“No, you shut up.”

“No, you shut up.”

“Both of you shut up,” Jane said.

Luke gaped at her and she giggled before kissing his cheek.  “Sorry, honey.  I couldn’t resist.”

“Mom?”  Amy was studying her mother’s face anxiously.  “Say something.”

Clara sat back in her chair before turning to her husband and grinning at him. “Pay up.”

“Dammit,” Gary said.  He pulled his wallet from his pocket and began counting out twenties.

“What’s going on?”  Amy said.

“Your father is paying me the money he owes me.”

“Money for what?”

“The bet he lost.”

“What bet?”  Luke said.

“Oh, we started a little bet back in…when was it, dear?”

Gary made a snorting noise.  “When Amy was twenty-two.”

“Ah, that’s right.  We made a bet about when you and Mark would finally admit you loved each other and start dating.  Your father said it wouldn’t happen until you were in your thirties.  I said your twenties.  I won.”

“Don’t look so smug, sweetie,” Gary said.  “Amy turns thirty in like two months.  You almost lost.”

“But I didn’t, did I?”  Clara said with a cheeky grin as she took the money from her husband and tucked it into her bra.

“You bet on us?”  Amy said.

“Of course we did,” Clara said.  “We bet on all sorts of things with you kids.  Have ever since you were born.  God, it would have been dreadfully boring if we hadn’t.  Why, I made like two grand off of Luke when he was a teenager.”

“Mom!”  Luke gave her an indignant look.

“It’s true,” Clara said.  She smiled at Amy and Mark.  “Congratulations, you two.  Your father and I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“Let’s get back to this betting thing,” Luke said.  “How exactly did you make two grand off of me?”

“Oh sweetie, it was so long ago, who can remember?”  Clara said. “Who wants dessert?”

“Do you have any more bets on us?”  Luke asked.

“Maybe,” Clara said before winking at her husband.  “Gary, do you want pie?”

“Yes please, sweetheart.  Want me to grab the ice cream from the freezer downstairs?”

“That would be wonderful.  Thank you.”

Her father left the dining room and Jane gathered up some of the plates as Clara picked up the bowl of leftover potatoes.  She and Jane headed toward the kitchen with Luke trailing after them.  “Seriously, Mom, what are these bets?”

Mark put his arm around Amy and she leaned against his broad chest.  He kissed her and tugged the heart padlock on her necklace.  “That went surprisingly well.”

She laughed.  “I guess we weren’t hiding our feelings as well as we thought.”

“Guess not.”  He nuzzled her temple.  “I love you, Ames.”

“I love you too, Mark.”

 

 

Please enjoy an excerpt of “Undeniably Theirs”, Book Three in the Undeniably Series

 

Undeniably Theirs

Copyright © 2017 Ramona Gray

 

Chloe stared at the amber liquid.  She normally avoided liquor of any kind, afraid she had the mutated gene or weakness or whatever the hell it was that ran in their family.  Becoming like Lori or her mother was a low-grade fear in the pit of her stomach that never really went away.

But tonight.

Fuck tonight. 

Tonight she deserved a goddamn drink.  One drink didn’t make her a damn drunk.  She had stopped at the first bar she came across.  That this bar was attached to a hotel made no difference to her.

Her grandmother didn’t live right in the Badlands.  But she was close enough to its outskirts that a place like this, only ten minutes from her grandma’s home, was on the seedier side.  No doubt her sister frequented this place on a regular basis. 

It was confirmed when a man slid onto the stool next to her and placed his hand on her leg.  “Hey, Lori, you looking to make some extra cash tonight?  I can get us a room upstairs and -”

She pushed his hand off her leg as he squinted at her.  “Sorry, you ain’t who I thought you was.”

He hopped off the stool and nearly fell on his ass before catching himself on the edge of the bar.  Straightening his ratty coat around him, he gave her an oddly dignified bow, before staggering away.

She returned to her drink.  Lifted the cheap glass.  Studied the cheap bourbon in the dim light. 

Drank.

It burned her throat and made her eyes water.  She coughed, wiped her mouth and coughed again before setting the glass down. 

There was movement to her right.  The bartender – an overweight blonde with mileage on her face and a smoker’s cough – appeared almost immediately.  She purposely didn’t look, purposely ignored the little shiver that went down her back at the surprisingly deep, surprisingly sober sounding voice of the man who sat beside her.

“I’ll take a whiskey and another of whatever my friend is having.”

“No,” Chloe said as she lifted her head and stared at the bartender, “I don’t want another drink.  You have me mistaken for someone else.  I’m not Lori and I’m not gonna blow you for a goddamn drink.”

There was silence beside her.  The bartender’s overgrown eyebrows were raised in astonishment.  She gave Chloe a girl-you-are-a-fucking-idiot look before smiling at the man. 

“One whiskey, coming right up sweetheart.  I’ll get you the good stuff.”

“Thank you.”

Another little shiver.  God, his voice was insanely deep.  She decided it wouldn’t hurt to take one quick glance at the man who was probably one of many men in this bar who had fucked Lori for a handful of drinks and a carton of cigarettes.

She turned her head, peeked, and froze. 

Holy shit.  He was beautiful. 

Adonis beautiful.

Dark hair, dark eyes, sexy stubble, beautiful.

She looked him up and down without a speck of shame.  When one stumbled upon a god in broad daylight – well, dim bar light – one did not just simply look away.  He was dressed in a leather jacket and jeans with dark boots.  The jacket stretched across his broad shoulders and the jeans hugged his thick thighs.  Her core tightened at the sizeable bulge at his crotch.

His clothing was too expensive for a place like this.  He looked out of place.  A glitch in the regularly scheduled programming.  A pearl in a sea of pebbles.

His smile revealed perfect white teeth.  “Hello, not Lori.  My name is -”

“I’m not interested in your name.”

“Fair enough,” he said.  “Is there anything about me you are interested in?”

She paused.  “No.”

His grin really should come attached with a warning sign of impending danger.  “Did you… hesitate?”

“No.”

“Huh.  I could have sworn there was hesitation.”  His dark eyes studied her, made her feel like a bug trapped under glass. 

She fidgeted on the bar stool, smoothed down her red hair, and told herself to just stand up and leave already.

“So, tell me, Red.  What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

“Seriously?  That’s the pick-up line you’re going to use?”  She said.

“Not a pick-up line.  I’m genuinely curious what a girl like you is doing in this bar.  You don’t exactly fit in with the rest of the clientele.”

“Neither do you.”

“True.”

“Besides, you know nothing about me,” she said.  “Maybe I’m a drunk.  Maybe I go to whatever bar I find.”

“Maybe.  But drunks don’t normally turn down free drinks.  Nor do they wear seven hundred dollar Dawson suits.”

“Into fashion, are we?”  She studied his hands.  One rested on the bar and the other was curled around his drink.  They were big hands.  Rough hands.  Hands that were meant for –

Tangling in your hair?  Undressing you?  Making you come?

Her traitorous skin flamed bright red.

She raised her gaze to his face.  The look on it suggested that maybe he knew why she was blushing.

“I’m not particularly into fashion,” he said, “but I have recently become more knowledgeable about that particular brand.”

“Why?”

“Well, I -”

“Lori?  Bitch, where you been?”  A heavy hand fell on her shoulder and she cringed.  “You wanna give me a handie in the bathroom?  I’ll buy you a fuckin’ drink if you – ow!  Jesus, fuck!”

The weight of his hand disappeared.  The man sitting beside her was now standing.  The man who had touched her was on his knees on the dirty floor.  Her new friend was bending his thumb at an almost impossible angle.

“The lady isn’t Lori,” he said.  “Apologize, please.”

“Let me the fuck go, you fucking – OW!  Motherfucker!”

Oh God.  Chloe stared at the drunk’s thumb as the man bent it back even further.  The drunk was starting to cry, snot bubbling out of one nostril, as her new friend made a polite smile.

“Apologize to the lady.”

“I’m sorry,” the drunk moaned.  “I’m sorry, lady.  I thought you was someone else.”

“That’s fine,” Chloe said.

He released the drunk immediately and the man climbed to his feet and staggered away.  The bartender approached and leaned her sizeable rack against the bar.  She had unbuttoned three of the buttons and Chloe stared at the spray-tanned flesh bulging out from the top of her bra. 

“You need another drink, sweetheart?”

“No, thank you,” the man said.

“Okay, well, my name is Gina.  You need anything, you just holler.  Okay?”  She traced one pink-painted talon down his forearm.  “Anything.”

“Thank you, Gina.”

He waited until she left before turning to Chloe.  “You okay?”

“Yes, thank you.  That was um, very nice and also terrifying to watch.”

“I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“No, I didn’t mean that you – I should go.”

He rested his hand on her forearm.  “Stay and tell me why you’re here.”

She couldn’t tell this complete stranger her sob story.  The smart thing to do was to leave.  Instead of leaving, she said, “Lori is my sister.  She’s a drunk.  I was visiting her tonight and it didn’t go well.  I stopped in at a bar because – honestly, I don’t really know why, I hate drinking. But here I am, at the first bar I found.  Apparently, she spends a lot of time here trading sexual favours for alcohol.  The worst part is – I’m not even surprised by that.  She’s ruining my life.  I don’t know how to stop allowing her to take all the good things from me.  I’m not strong enough to kick her out of my life.”

She glanced at him, saw pity in his eyes, and slid off the barstool.  She rarely spoke about her sister outside of Al-Anon meetings.  She didn’t want anyone’s pity, let alone this sexy stranger’s.”

“Wait,” he said.

“I have to go.”  She hurried across the bar and pushed open the door to the hotel lobby.  The lobby was empty and the clerk standing behind the desk didn’t look up from his cell phone.  There was a narrow hallway to her right.  She walked a few steps into it and leaned against the wall.  Her heart pounding and sick to her stomach, she fought back the hot tears.  What was wrong with her?  Why did she -

“Red?”

Her eyes flew open and she stared at the stranger from the bar.  He stood in front of her and she had to crane her neck to look at him.  He was well over six feet and – holy god – how was it possible he looked even better in the fluorescent light of the hallway?

“Are you okay?”  He asked.

“I don’t want your pity,” she said.  “I don’t – that isn’t what I want.”

“What do you want?”  His big hand smoothed a strand of hair away from her cheek.

“I want to forget about her for one night,” she whispered.  “I want to do something to get her out of my goddamn head for just one night.  Can you help me with that?”

“Yes.”  He stepped closer and slipped his arm around her waist.  His hand cupped her hip and he bent until his mouth was hovering over hers.

She waited.

He didn’t move and she realized that she needed to make the first step.  He was willing to help her forget but not until she showed him that it was what she really wanted.  They stood in the hallway, his warm breath washing over her mouth.

Chloe, a night of sex with a stranger isn’t going to help you forget.

It might.

It won’t.  Don’t be an idiot, Chloe.  You know nothing about this guy.  He could be a serial killer for all you know.

She pressed her mouth against his.  He immediately took control of the kiss, teasing her lips apart with small licks and nips.  He sucked on her bottom lip and then ran the tip of his tongue across her upper one.  She moaned into his mouth and he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth to taste and tease.

When he released her, the voice in her head was quiet.  She bit her bottom lip.  “I want to have sex with you.”

“I want to have sex with you too,” he said.  “I don’t live around here.  Do you?”

“No.  I’ll get us a room here.”

He frowned.  “I’ll get the room.”

She pulled back, and ran a hand over her swollen mouth.  It was suddenly important that she pay for the room.  She supposed it made her feel less like a whore.  “I pay for the room or this doesn’t happen.”

He studied her and then nodded.  “All right.”

She took his hand and he followed her out of the narrow hallway and toward the front desk.

 

* * *

 

“Undeniably Theirs” will be available in 2018 at all major ebook retailers.

 

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