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Christ, what a week. Last Sunday had been a rush of rebooked flights and breaking the speed limit to reach Harper. They’d stayed at his place that evening after a visit to her apartment to pack a bigger bag and spend some time at the café. Adam had already organized new entry doors to be fitted Monday and Tuesday. Harper had been cool and not complained about his older brother’s taking charge, but after her witnessing Nitro being attacked, Seth guessed that when an expert on security spoke, she was going to listen.
He turned his head sideways, the black leather cool against his face. His gaze skimmed over the view of downtown Seattle, with its mixture of buildings and busy streets.
The weekdays had flashed by as the countdown to the sale of his business drew closer. Just over a week to go. But the nights… He smiled to himself, remembering the way Harper’s body yielded to his, had trembled with her pleasure, and the way her cunt gripped him with a hard, hungry need that tested the limits of his control and endurance. And they’d cuddled afterwards. He’d never been a man who left a woman immediately after sex. But with Harper, his desire to linger went deeper. The impulse to hold her tight, to comfort, and run his hands over her damp skin was a compulsion he couldn’t deny himself.
She and Mal had ended up staying at his apartment Sunday through to Wednesday morning, with him dropping her off at the café early each day, and either him, or if he was busy, Dillon or Heath bringing her back to his apartment in the evening. Call it overkill, but he didn’t want her walking in that back alley behind her building on her own. Not with the bastard still on the loose.
So far, Heath had drawn a blank on Harper’s intruder. The guy had left no prints, no DNA. The goddamn mask ruled out another avenue of identification.
Thankfully, Nitro and Ryan agreed with Seth’s precautions, backing him up during a somewhat heated discussion Sunday afternoon. They’d visited the boys’ apartment, Harper taking up a basket of fried chicken with potato salad she’d cooked in the café’s kitchen. Couldn’t have the wounded heroes starving, Seth remembered with a grin. The blue-haired barista had even put on a fake groan as Harper served out his meal, ruined when Ryan kicked him in the leg as he laughed.
And hadn’t that earned the future surgeon a glare from Harper.
Seth had wisely kept his snort of derision to himself.
Unfortunately, once she’d entered her apartment Wednesday, Seth had been bogged down with meetings and planning groups for the investigation and sale. A quick phone call here and there was their only contact.
But not tonight. He allowed himself a smile. This evening, Harper was staying over. Seth had cleared his schedule. Tomorrow they were spending a few hours at Heath’s for a family barbecue. The catch-up would also serve as another chance for Adam and Heath to update everyone on their investigations.
“Hey, you heading off soon?”
Seth swiveled his chair back to the front. Dillon walked forward, hands in the pockets of his dress pants.
“Yes, I’m picking up Harper in an hour. She’s spending the night.” In his bed. He couldn’t wait to wrap her in his arms, her body limp from a good fucking, and her mind free from worry. “And bringing the kitten. I swung by a pet supply store on my way in this morning and got a bunch of cat stuff, including a bed.” It would save Harper dragging Mal’s gear from her apartment to his. Tell the truth, he’d enjoyed picking out items with the help of a young salesgirl. He hadn’t had a pet in his life since Aurora’s sweet old lab, Abraham, had passed a few months before his mistress. And the chocolate lab had been his first and only experience taking care of an animal.
Considering the bags of kitty paraphernalia sitting in his car, he likely had enough to start his own rescue shelter.
“Hey, you take the woman, you take her kid, too,” Dillon teased.
Seth chuckled. “What are your plans for tonight?”
“I’m taking Rebecca to that new Spanish place in the University District.”
“Ah, Rebecca. The blonde architect from level eight. This is the second date, right?” Good to see his brother taking a break. Dillon’s commitment to catching the imposter and getting the sale of their company back on track was equal only to Seth’s.
“Yeah,” Dillon said with a satisfied smile. “Are you bringing Harper to Heath’s barbecue tomorrow? It’d be a good chance for her to get to know us all in more relaxed surroundings.”
Considering most of her interactions with his brothers had been drama filled, a barbecue would seem boring by comparison. “She’ll be there.” She’d even baked some treats apparently. No store-bought cakes from his coffee girl. “What about Rebecca? You going to risk two dates in two days?”
Dillon snorted. “Let me convince her to like me first before I scare her off with my brothers.”
Good point. And speaking of future goals… “What are you going to do when the sale goes through?” Seth had asked him before, but Dillon had always brushed him off, saying such talk jinxed any sale. But now that they were under two weeks out, regardless of the price, the sale would happen.
“I want to go away somewhere remote, a ranch, some place where nobody knows me.”
“That’s…surprising.” Seth raised his brows. “I thought maybe you’d use your share of the sale proceeds to start up your own management consultancy business.”
Dillon shook his head. “I liked being in business with you. Now I want to try something different.” He lifted his chin toward Seth. “What about your plans? I’m guessing you got a couple of offers while you were away.”
“A few, but since they’re in similar fields to what I’m doing now, and the sale contract prohibits that kind of work for two years, they won’t amount to anything.” He glanced off to the side. “The truth is, I don’t know what I want to do next.” Spending time on a tropical beach somewhere was okay for a holiday, not a career. For the last few years all he’d thought about was building up his company to sell, making it a success and proving himself to his family. After that?
Who knew?
After four years of working so hard toward his goal, the idea of moving on and finding something new left him feeling empty.
His phone beeped. After a quick check, he grinned at Dillon. “Harper got off early and copped a lift from Jinx. She’s coming up now.” He rose to his feet and grinned. “With her kid.”
Dillon chuckled as he stood. “I’ll leave you to it, bro. Have a good evening.” He sauntered out, raising a hand at Seth’s farewell.
