Bedded for His Pleasure: Bedded by a Bad Boy / In the Gardener's Bed / The Return of the Rebel. Heidi Rice

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СКАЧАТЬ had spooked him pretty bad the night before with that crack about him being scared of people caring. He’d spent the night painting—and thinking hard about what she’d said. It had taken a while for him to sort it out—too damn long, in fact—but everything was cool now.

      Why should Jessie’s comment bother him? She didn’t know him. Nobody did. By the early hours of the morning, he’d managed to dismiss what she’d said and think about what had happened after.

      Jessie had made it pretty clear she might be interested in a little fun. Given that, and the fact that she turned him inside out with lust, it was going to be impossible for him to ignore her for much longer. But fun was all it would be. Simple and uncomplicated. He could give her a good time. He just had to make sure she understood fun was all it would be.

      ‘I want you to stop mowing the lawn.’ The sharp tone of Linc’s voice brought Monroe back to the matter at hand. Linc took a sip of his Pepsi, the movement jerky and tense. ‘And tuning the damn cars, and working so hard around the place, for heaven’s sake.’

      ‘The BMW needed a tune.’ Monroe kept his tone casual. ‘I can’t believe you’d treat such a beautiful machine with such little respect.’

      Linc slammed his can down, knocking over one of the framed snapshots perched at the end of the breakfast bar. ‘The damn car’s never run better in years. That’s not the point and you know it. You’re a guest here. I don’t want you working to pay your way.’

      Monroe took another sip, watched his brother over the rim. ‘I’m not a freeloader, Linc. I told you that from the get-go. Either you accept the work or I’m out of here.’

      ‘Hell.’ Linc drank down the last of the small can, crushed it in one hand and flung it in the trash.

      Hearing the resignation in his brother’s voice, Monroe relaxed as he put his own soda down. As far as he was concerned, the matter was settled. He reached for the photo that had fallen over. Flipping it upright, he studied the picture inside.

      It was a wedding shot, but not the stiff formal type. Ali looked sexy and happy in a full-length white dress while Linc stood behind her. He was wearing a black tux, but the tie was gone, the top few buttons of his dress shirt were undone and his arms were wrapped around his bride’s midriff. The smile on his face was relaxed and proud. The rest of the wedding party was arranged around them, all grinning or laughing at the camera.

      ‘Nice shot,’ Monroe said as he stared at the snapshot, ashamed at the familiar tug of envy.

      Linc leaned across to take a look. ‘Ali’s dad took it. It was a great day.’

      Monroe could hear the bone-deep contentment in his brother’s voice and struggled not to feel jealous. He absolutely refused to go there again.

      It was then he spotted the vivacious figure in a clingy fire-engine-red dress at the far left of the picture. The bold colour should have clashed with the mass of dark red hair, but instead it displayed the young woman’s soft, translucent skin and luscious curves to perfection. Before he could stop himself, Monroe ran his thumb gently down the image.

      ‘Jess is a real stunner, isn’t she?’ Linc murmured.

      ‘What?’ Monroe looked up to find his brother watching him. ‘I guess so.’ He put the photo back where it belonged. He could see the frown on Linc’s face and knew why it was there. ‘No need to worry, bro. I know she’s out of my league.’

      Linc frowned. ‘What makes you think that?’he asked quietly.

      Monroe lifted an eyebrow. ‘Oh, come on.’ He shrugged, tried to sound indifferent. ‘Even I can see that girl’s got commitment tattooed across her forehead in block letters and you and I both know I can barely spell the word.’

      Linc’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why can’t you spell it, Monroe?’

      Monroe drained the last of his soda and glared at his brother. ‘I don’t know, Linc.’ He couldn’t keep the bitter edge of sarcasm out of his voice. ‘Maybe because I was in juvie when I should have been graduating high school.’

      Monroe stood up, his face rigid. Angry that his brother had made him lose the comfortable distance he’d struggled so long for the night before. Angrier still that he’d been forced to lie to Linc. Jessie might be out of his league, but he was going after her anyway.

      Linc looked at him coolly for a moment before speaking. ‘What’s so scary about commitment, Monroe?’

      Monroe’s jaw tensed, his brother’s words too damn reminiscent of what Jessie had said to him the night before. Didn’t any of these people get it? His thoughts and feelings were his business and nobody else’s.

      ‘I’m not scared of commitment,’ he snarled, and then stopped. Calm down. Keep it cool. Don’t let him see he’s rattled you. ‘I’m just not interested in it.’

      ‘Jess is, so you should be careful there, Roe,’ Linc said evenly. ‘You could hurt her.’

      ‘I’m not going to hurt her.’ To hell with keeping it cool. ‘And anyway, it’s none of your damn business.’

      Sending the empty soda can sailing into the trash, Monroe stalked out of the kitchen.

      Linc watched as his brother stormed off across the lawn towards the garage apartment, temper evident in each long, angry stride. He shook his head slowly, and smiled. ‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ he said gently. ‘We’re family, Roe. And that makes it my business whether you like it or not.’

      ‘Hey, Monroe.’

      Monroe caught Ali’s shouted greeting over the roar of the lawnmower and switched off the powerful machine.

      He struggled for patience as she walked towards him. He didn’t want company. It had taken him most of the morning to calm down after his run-in with Linc.

      As he watched her approach his eyes skidded down her figure. It had been dark last night and he hadn’t got a good look at her. But now in the noon sun, her belly looked enormous in the stretchy little summer dress. Embarrassed that he found the sight beautiful, he looked away. He concentrated on pulling the bandanna out of his back pocket and wiping his brow.

      Drawing level with the riding mower, Ali sighed and rubbed her back. ‘You’re just the man I needed to talk to.’

      Monroe dismounted slowly. ‘You got me.’

      His glance seemed to flit to her abdomen again of its own accord.

      Ali smiled. ‘Don’t panic, Monroe. I’m not due for at least another few weeks.’

      Monroe felt his stomach pitch. ‘You’re gonna get bigger?’

      She laughed. ‘Probably, but don’t worry. I won’t pop.’

      Monroe spent some time tucking his bandanna into his back pocket before looking at her. He could see the smile in her eyes and relaxed enough to smile back at her.

      She didn’t just look big. She looked gorgeous. Her sister Jessie would look the same when she had kids. He ruthlessly suppressed the thought. It wasn’t something he was ever going to see.

      ‘Anyway, СКАЧАТЬ