Leverage (The Brannock Siblings) Read online

  By the time Justin answered, he was already in his car and pulling out onto the road.

  "Where the hell have you been? Gibbs just got in and he wants your head. This doesn't look good, you not being here."

  "I'm on my way."

  "Good, because the big guys are here and they have something to tell us all."

  His stomach rolled. They had all been waiting for word on who would take over the captain's position permanently. That could be the only reason they were there.

  Lucas pressed down on the gas, "See you soon, then."

  Chapter 9

  Ash

  "I'm going to kill him," I hissed into the mirror on top of my father's dresser.

  Lucas hadn't gotten back the other night until late and told me to stay with my brothers. Like I would be happy about that. Then he said to stay there again the next night, and the next, and the next. It was starting to piss me off and he knew it. But did he change anything about it?

  No.

  Yeah, I wanted to spend time with my brothers, but I spent most of the day with them, inside… trapped.

  Okay, so he had a lot of work to do. Fine, but at least let me stay where I feel safe, where he is. Don't make me stay in the house that my father was killed in with a pair of over protective angry gargoyles. They were always watching me, waiting for me to break or have a fit. Waiting for me to do something stupid and stop me before it went too far.

  How stupid could I possibly get inside of this house?

  It had been five nights already and I was frustrated beyond belief. I couldn't help with anything because it was 'too risky'. I had accepted that, but when Lucas stopped by to check on me each night and left me with nothing more than a peck on the lips, it brought out my inner bitch.

  He was the one that started this whole relationship with me. He was the one that just had to tell me how he had felt about me all along and that nothing had changed. He was the one that got me so incredibly turned on whenever he walked into the room that I ended up a puddle on the floor. Did he want nothing to do with me anymore? Did he finally realize how much of an inconvenience I had been? I wouldn't have been an inconvenience if they hadn't made me one.

  It was after ten on Saturday night, a week after my father's funeral, and I was pacing around like a caged lion after Conall had gotten off the phone with Lucas and said he was going to just go home and crash for the night. He had already pulled into the garage at his house. I had gone all stalker on him and watched from the window. It wasn't easy either. I had to pretty much smash my face to the cold glass to see down the street.

  He had been working long hours and trying to steer clear of Gibbs and I was sure he was exhausted, but for every excuse I gave for him, I had a question to counter it. Why wouldn't he let me take care of him? I had followed the rules, stayed out of sight, and the only thing that kept me going was knowing I would see him at the end of the day.

  "Okay, Ash, just breathe for a minute. Stop being such a whiny woman and think for a second."

  I sat on the bed and did nothing but breathe and try to clear my head.

  "He's been working his butt of trying to make things right. He's just trying to make it so you can live your life. He has told you this, Ash," I tugged on my hair and kept repeating the words to myself. "He's just trying to make it so you can live your life."

  I sat there for a few more minutes, finally calm and finally acting like an adult about it. I had read countless stories of women putting themselves at risk when they hadn't done what they were told. All the romance novels portrayed a woman who was just too stubborn and did whatever the hell she wanted and ended up in deep shit.

  I wasn't going to be that woman.

  I wasn't going to do anything that would put me or my family at risk.

  I wasn't going to sneak out of the house like I wanted and storm over to Lucas and demand that he make love to me.

  I wasn't.

  It wouldn't be smart.

  Oh, but it would be worth it.

  I was moving before I had time to change my mind. I had been doing what I was told to do. Now, he was going to do what I told him to do.

  I was only wearing my sleep shorts and a tank top because I had gotten ready for bed an hour before, already knowing how the night would play out. Well, plans had changed.

  I quietly tip toed down the hall to the stairs, using the stealth training my father had teased me about. He would be proud of me now. I was like a ghost tonight.

  My brothers were in the office on the other side of the house, assuming I was already in bed and sleeping like a good little girl.

  Ha! We all know what assuming does, right?

  I crept down the stairs slowly and when I made it to the last step, I stopped to listen. I could hear the two of them murmuring back and forth and the sound of my father's filing cabinets being opened and closed. They hadn't heard me. I just had to make it through the kitchen and out the back door and I would be home free.

  I stepped lightly, so quiet, feeling like I was invincible because I was so sneaky. Then the damn spot in the wood floor right before the kitchen creaked and I froze.

  Oh God, they are going to kill me.

  I waited. The sound of them rustling around didn't stop and I presumed they hadn't heard me so stupidly forget about that damn floor board.

  I stepped into the kitchen and looked around. Conall and Fergus were stealthier than I was and knew how to play it off as if they were completely clueless then catch me before I could get to the door. They had done it before and I had no doubt they were capable of doing it again. Maybe they had lost some skills in their old age because I waited and waited and they never came for me.

  Hmmm, I must be better than I thought.

  I stepped closer to the back door and turned the deadbolt slowly and silently. My heart pounded in my chest and I tried to calm it, sure they would hear the sound of that if nothing else. I turned the doorknob and slowly, carefully, swung open the door just enough that I could slip through the tiny space. My feet hit the cement of the back patio and I turned to pull the door shut behind me, the click just a faint tap in the night.

  Then I turned quickly so I could start running to Lucas' house, but I ran into a wall and almost fell back onto my ass. Two arms wrapped around me and caught me. I was about to scream when a hand moved gently over my mouth.

  "Shhh, they'll hear you and we won't be able to get out of here."

  Lucas?

  I finally looked up and saw two bright blue eyes staring down at me with an amused grin.

  "What the hell?"

  He chuckled and started pulling me off the patio and onto the cold grass at the corner of the house. "I have to say, watching you sneak around that house was probably the sexiest thing I had ever seen."

  "What?"

  "I was at the front door when you were climbing down the stairs, Ash. I had been just about to knock when I noticed how slowly you were moving. You didn't even glance at the front window by the door. Then I couldn't make myself stop you, I just had to see if you would make it. Your brothers must be pretty distracted." He was smiling widely and I was extremely confused. We had made it to the front yard and were walking quickly towards his house. He lifted me into his arms when we hit the sidewalk and started walking faster.

  "You saw me?" I asked, still in shock that he was taking me away from my brothers.

  "Yeah, you did well, baby."

  "But… but I don't-"

  "I can't take it anymore," he said, his face going hard. "Every night I want to drag you to my house and… then your brothers convince me to give you some space."

  "What?!" I shrieked.

  "Shhh! We're almost there, just wait until I get you inside."

  "They told me you told them to keep me there," I hissed. "I argued with them and they said it was all your idea, so I gave in."

  He laughed, forgetting that he had just told her to be silent, and hurried up his front steps. "They told me that you said you wanted me to
focus on the case and wanted to stay with them. I didn't want to pressure you into doing anything else that you didn't want to."

  He kicked the door shut and let me down in front of it, my back against the wood and his hands on my waist. "I'm going to kill them," I growled.

  He was watching me with that amused grin again, our chests touching, as I stood there processing what he had told me. He had wanted me to stay with him and my brothers had manipulated both of us into staying apart.

  "So you were coming over? To barely kiss me and leave me even more frustrated?"

  He shook his head, "Hell no! I was coming to drag you out of that house with me. Like I said, I couldn't take it anymore. I've been miserable the last few nights. I get home from work and the only person I want to see is you, but I thought you wanted space. It was driving me insane."

  I was breathing hard, practically panting, listening to him tell me what I wanted to hear.

  "Wait!" He stepped back and narrowed his eyes. "What were you doing?"

  I froze, sure that I would get in trouble for trying to sneak out of the house when he had clearly told me to stay in there. "I, umm… I was sneaking out, to go to your house and chew you out for leaving me there every night."

  "You were?" he was smiling again, revealing those adorable dimples, and his eyes practically twinkled.

  I just nodded in relief. I wasn't in trouble.

  "God, that's so sexy." His voice was low and dangerous and his eyes turned predatory.

  Maybe I was in trouble.

  Before I could say anything, his lips crashed down on mine in a soul searing kiss. I immediately parted for him and his tongue twisted with mine, making both of us groan. It had been too long. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him against me.

  His body pressed mine into the door and anchored me with his hips. I felt his hardness press against my belly and my blood burned. This was it. This is what I had been craving.

  One of his hands cupped the back of my neck, holding my lips against his, while the other slowly moved down my hip and to the back of my bare thigh, lifting it until my leg was wrapped around his hip, opening me up enough to press against the spot that had ached for him. He growled, deep in his chest and pressed harder. Liquid heat shot straight to my core and the combination of his kiss and his body against mine was almost too much.

  My body burned for him. My mind reeled at the thought of him burning for me. I tried to get closer, but couldn't. I would never be close enough.

  He kissed a path from my lips to my throat and I tilted my head to give him better access. He lightly bit into my skin when I did, making my hips roll against his.

  "You taste so good, Ash. Beautiful," his lips brushed against my neck as he spoke. "I want you so much. Are you ready for me?"

  All I could do was whimper. Hell yes, I was ready for him. Had been for years. I wanted this just as much as he did and I would kill him if he stopped. The hand on my neck moved steadily down and stopped just above my breast, fingering my locket that rested there and running his fingers back and forth over my skin. My chest heaved and I whimpered again because he was so close and I couldn't wait any longer.

  "Tell me you are ready for me. I need to hear you say it, Aislinn."

  I groaned and lifted my head so I could look into his eyes. "Don't you know, Lucas? I've been ready for you my whole life. Every single inch of me is ready for you. If you want me, take me, because you are the only one that will ever get the chance."

  His eyes burned into mine, blue against grey, mixing together into a thunderstorm of passion. I would never love another man for the rest of my life. If I lost him, that would be it for me. I would go on living, but my heart would forever be brutally nailed to his, frozen in time with him. I knew it in the deepest part of my soul.

  He let out a long breath and moved his hand over my breast, both of us groaning at the contact. He buried his face in my neck and kissed me, moving his mouth down to my collar bone and darting his tongue out, branding me. His hand kneaded my breast while his other moved under my tank top and lifted it up until my breasts were bared to him. He cupped both of them in his strong hands, the taught nipples sliding over his palms, then bent his head further and wrapped his lips around a stiff peak, pulling it into his mouth as I arched my back.

  "I want all of you tonight, Aislinn. I want to taste every inch of your skin, I want to watch you come apart from my touch. I want every piece of your heart to fill in the gaping hole you left behind when you took mine the day you left. I want yours now."

  "Yes," I gasped as he moved to my other breast and flicked his tongue over my aching nipple, making my body shudder.

  He tore my shirt over my head and continued to ravish my breasts as his hands moved to the back of my thighs and lifted me. My legs wrapped around his waist and he pinned me against the door. He kept one hand on my ass, gripping it in his hand, while the other rounded my hip and moved to the inside of my thigh, grazing the hem of my thin shorts. He dropped his forehead to the center of my chest as if this was a moment he had been waiting for as long as I had, and now that it was finally here, it was too surreal to truly process. I knew exactly what he was feeling, because I was still waiting for that horrid moment when I would wake up.

  I raked my hands through his hair, showing him that I was right there with him and he raised his eyes to mine. It seemed silly, all that we had done and this was the pivotal moment that changed everything. But when you have been waiting, hoping, holding back as long as we had, it was epic.

  His hand grazed up to the apex of my thighs and cupped me, feeling the dampness that had seeped through my shorts. I cried out his name, feeling my body reach out to him and rolling my hips against his hand. He didn't do more than move his hand back and forth over me and when his eyes flashed from the detection of my arousal, my body turned to liquid in his arms.

  "My God," he said breathlessly.

  His hand pulled away from my center and towards my navel, leaving a fiery path in its wake, but he paused at the band of my shorts.

  "Please," I begged.

  He dipped his fingers between the fabric and my skin and slowly moved his hand back down until he was cupping me again, skin to skin. He pressed a finger between my slick folds and I trembled from the ache.

  "So wet… so hot," he whispered against my skin then started to kiss his way slowly back up to my lips. His finger sunk deeper between my legs and grazed over my opening. He kissed me, his tongue tracing my bottom lip until I opened for him and his finger stopped at the place I needed him most. His tongue dipped into my mouth at the same time he pushed his finger inside me. It stung, but the pressure building inside dulled the slight pain. A flash of fear went through my mind. Would the real thing be horribly painful?

  No, not with Lucas.

  He groaned as he slowly moved his finger back, "So tight."

  "Lucas."

  He quickly pulled his hand out of my shorts and turned us away from the door. We crashed into the table beside it, moving it a good foot, and he carefully sat me on the edge, peeling my shorts down my legs.

  "I need to taste you," he said, looking straight into my eyes with all the love I was reflecting back at him.

  I couldn't respond. I was overwhelmed by his touch and my body was wound tight from the frustration of the last few days. He threw my shorts aside and wrapped his fingers around my ankles, spreading them apart and lifting them at the same time. His hands moved up my legs and pressed against the inside of my thighs until I was spread before him. His eyes stayed on mine for a moment longer before he gazed down at my body, then they glazed over.

  I made an attempt to close my legs, embarrassed by the intimacy I had never before experienced, but he pressed against my legs, keeping me open to him.

  "Don't. You're gorgeous and I'm going to spend the rest of the night showing you how much I want you. How much I love you. How you are the only woman I have ever loved and will ever love."

  He leaned in and k
issed my shoulder then made a path over my breasts and down passed my navel dropping to his knees and moving his lips over my skin. I was gasping for air, my heart banging so hard against my ribs, waiting for the moment when his lips touched me. I could feel his breath pulling in and out of him, making me wetter from the anticipation.

  The first slide of his tongue over me was so spectacular that I lost the ability to hold my body up and fell back onto the table, the heat of my skin clashing with the cold surface. He paused and raised his head just enough to see me fall apart, my chest heaving and skin flushed from the sensation. The corner of his mouth tipped up and he pressed his mouth against me and kissed me as he would my mouth, tongue dipping into me and lips caressing me.

  My muscles tightened and the pressure in my core built higher and higher until I thought I would burst open. He hummed against me, evidently enjoying the torture he was giving out. I couldn't decide if I wanted him to stop or not. I wanted to push him away and pull him closer at the same time. When my hand touched the top of his head and raked through his hair, his tongue journeyed up to the swollen bundle of nerves that was imploring him to pay attention. Then, he pulled the tiny bud between his lips and pressed his tongue against it as his finger pressed into me once again, stretching me and filling me deliciously.

  The tension in my body released in an instant, forcing my back to arch and my muscles to pulse with wave after wave of intense euphoria. His mouth never stopped until the last wave claimed me and left my body limp and dizzy.

  He slid over me and I was panting and writhing beneath him as he kissed the length of my satiated body, back up to my lips.

  "That was so damn beautiful." His lips moved over mine gently, waiting for me to come back to him.

  "I… I can't feel my toes…" I breathed.

  His dimples reappeared when he smiled widely and it nearly sent me over the edge again.

  "There they are," I whispered.

  He kissed me again and lifted me into his arms. "I'm not done with you," he growled and carried me into his bedroom setting me on the bed just as his phone blared into the silence.