Belonging to the Steer Brothers (2 page)

The sitting room was dark, but the door remained partially open. Frowning, he opened the door slowly. If David didn’t want him to join in the fun he’d leave and go to his room.

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, his anger rose to unbearable heights. Anna lay on the sofa, her shirt open, but with the modest bra covering her breasts. A male hand was moving down her stomach, and she was so busy being tongue bathed by the loser she didn’t even hear Paul enter.

Paul saw red, and he couldn’t explain what went through his mind, but he flicked the light on and charged at the man about to take his woman. Paul pulled him up by the scruff of the neck. Everything else that happened went a little blurry, until David walked in. Anna was crying, and the loser sported a nice shiner, his eye not opening properly. Paul, in his anger, grabbed him and led him out, dumping his ass on the door step. The desire to kick his ass was strong.

“Get the fuck off my property. If you ever touch her I’ll cut your dick off and feed it to my dogs,” Paul growled. He shut the door by kicking it with his foot and charged back into the sitting room.

“What the hell is going on?” David asked as soon as he entered the room. Anna was rubbing the tears away from her cheeks, her hands shaking. David went to his knees and buttoned her blouse for her. 

“He threw my date out. I’ve been going steady with Henry for the past few weeks. He’s a gentleman,” she said to David, accusing Paul in the process. Paul didn’t care; he was a man possessed.

“A gentleman? He practically had his hands on your pussy,” Paul shouted.

She winced but stormed up to him, a finger poking his chest. “It wouldn’t have got that far. He was rubbing my stomach, you fucking jerk.”

“I’m a jerk. Why would you need your stomach rubbed? He was just looking for a chance to get into your knickers.”

“You’re going to force me to spell it out, aren’t you? I’ve got women’s troubles. Does that answer your fucking question?” Her cheeks were red, and Paul wondered if it was from embarrassment or anger.

“You didn’t need him rubbing your stomach. You’ve got me and David. We supply you with water bottles and help you through that,” Paul said.

“How? How can I ask you for anything when you’ve made it abundantly clear I can’t come to you for anything unless I’m prepared to follow through with something?” she asked.

“What? What the fuck are you talking about?” David asked. Paul ignored him.

“I threw out the jerk who was mauling you on my sofa. You want to behave like a little tramp you do it outside my house.” He hated himself for the vicious words. Paul knew he was in the wrong. Over the past few months he’d made it harder and harder for her to approach him for anything. He knew she wasn’t a tramp, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

“How dare you? I’ve never done anything like this in my life, and besides, what about your reputation with the ladies? You’re not any better,” she yelled back.

David remained quiet. Paul saw the underlying rage simmering beneath the surface. Once this argument was over it was possible they’d come to blows for the first time ever.

“At least I make sure my life remains as private as possible. Were you just going to let Mr. Fingers have his way? Fuck you on my sofa in my house. I won’t have any of that. Not here, not now.” The words were the final straw.

She raised her hand and slapped him round the face. “For the last time, I wasn’t going to sleep with him. If you think that, fine. I won’t be staying here. Consider me gone.” Anna ran up stairs, and within two hours she was out of the door. Her bags were packed. Paul had an internal fight. He wanted to grab her and hold her. Apologise for being a dick and beg her to stay. The other part of him was screaming for her to leave and be free.

The moment the door closed, David punched him in the face. Paul took his punishment.

As the weeks went by Paul missed her terribly, and David threatened his life if anything happened to her. She got back in touch to apologise for her behaviour.

Dear Paul and David,

I’m sorry my behaviour was less than savoury. Paul was right. It wasn’t my house, and I should never have invited back a boy. I apologise. I’m no longer in CapeFalls and went to college elsewhere. I’ll send letters if you want to hear on my progress. If not, then that doesn’t matter. I wish you a good life. I know taking me in had been a hard decision, but I’m grateful for everything you’ve given me.

Love, Anna xxx

David stormed away, and Paul felt like the utter bastard he was. She’d left an address to send back, and he explained his actions. Not telling her how he felt, but making sure she’d write as regularly as she could. He also told her that the Steer home would always be part of her home, and she was welcome anytime. He made sure she had plenty of money in her bank account and was well looked after. David and Paul sat and waited for the day she would come back home. The diary didn’t offer any comfort. He read the pages over and over, and nothing helped him deal with his attitude. What he’d done was abhorrent. He’d sent the only woman he’d ever loved away out of fear. After all of his hard work Paul was a fool. He wanted Anna more than he wanted anything in his life, and he’d ruined it.

The days went by, and they turned into months. After the first year, her letters dwindled until nothing came through. Paul and David became strangers. Both were waiting for her to come back.

Chapter One

Three years later

Anna opened the door of the taxi and glanced up at the house she hadn’t seen in over three years. It looked as beautiful as ever. The front door opened, and David walked out to greet her. In the past she would have run towards him and wrapped her arms around him. Since the scene with Paul she didn’t think it was appropriate. As she thought about their argument with poor Henry being stuck in the middle, she wondered what would happen with their friendship.

Seeing the disgust on Paul’s face had been more than she could bear.

“So you decided to come home?” David said. She smiled and nodded her head. His gaze moved up and down her body. He’d see the extra pounds she’d put on from eating too much chocolate ice cream. Her breasts were larger from the extra weight, and her clothes she’d left behind wouldn’t fit either. “Aren’t you going to talk to me?”

“Hi, David.” She left the taxi door open and made her way towards him. After a second of debating whether to give him a cuddle, the thought was taken out of her hands as he embraced her.

For a second she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the feeling of being held. While she’d been away she hadn’t found anyone to replace the comfort her Steer men could provide.

“It’s so good to have you back,” he said.

A lump formed in the back of her throat, and it took all of her willpower to keep her emotions in check.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Anna turned back to the taxi and pulled her bag from the bag. She handed over the cost of the fare and asked him to open up the boot. David stood waiting for her. “Two bags?”

“I travel light.”

There was a difference between them. The easy banter wasn’t present, and the conversation seemed strained.

“Paul’s missed you,” he said.

“I doubt it.”

“Don’t, Anna. He’s missed you, and it hasn’t been the same the last few years. You didn’t come back for your birthday or Christmas. We’ve missed those times.”

She licked her lips and glanced at the floor. What more could she say? How could she have stuck around after that last argument?

“Times change. People moved on. Have you got a girlfriend?” she asked. If he did, she had the time to get back into the taxi and leave. She hadn’t thought to ask if he did.

Waiting for an answer was the worst kind of torture.

“You know me better than that.” He grabbed her bags, and they headed for the front of the door. Paul stood there watching them.

Anna couldn’t move. The reason why she left stood in the doorway.

“Hello, Anna,” Paul said.

His voice sent shivers through her body. How could he do that with words? Did he have a special kind of magic which he reserved for her and her alone?

“Hello, Paul.”

Again with the awkwardness.

“Why don’t we get inside? We can all catch up.”

Anna started up the steps, and Paul moved out of the way to let her pass. “Do I still have the same room?” she asked.

“Yes. You don’t have to do that. We can sort it out,” Paul said.

“No. I want to put my things away. David, would you mind following me up?”

“Lead the way, princess.”

She smiled and walked up the flight of stairs. Her heart thudded against her chest. No place had ever felt more like home than the Steer house, a decadent building with furniture dating back as long as a hundred years ago. She recalled David telling her the importance of heritage and how vital it was to keep the blood of your line flowing in your veins. After living in a city, the town of Cape Falls seemed really small and backward. In the past three years she’d seen so much. The support out there was nothing like the ridicule people found here. Just on the taxi ride through the town, she’d seen a difference. Not a single woman walked round in a mini-skirt.

Conscious of David behind her, she tried to get her thoughts in check. She opened the door and stared at her room. Nothing had changed. The furniture sat in the same place with her bed in line with the window. Her curtains were closed, and her en suite bathroom door was open.

“We kept it the same way you left it. Paul and I figured you might come back.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She was touched that they’d cared enough to leave the stuff she’d left behind. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He brushed past her and placed the bags on her bed. “Do you want me to give you a hand unpacking?”

She shook her head. “I’d like a few minutes by myself. If that’s all right?”

“Yeah. Take all the time in the world.” He stopped next to her on the way out. “I meant what I said. I’m glad your home.” David laid a kiss against her temple before he left.

Anna stared at the closed door of her bedroom. How she wished she could have leaned into his touch. Three years she’d starved herself.

Going to her bags, she pulled one up and began to unpack. In her drawers, she found the clothes she’d left behind. Shirts, jeans, dresses and skirts. One by one she pulled them out and placed each item against her body. Some would have to go. Pulling all of her old clothes out, she stacked them on the desk next to the far wall. She’d go through them next week and see what still fit her. The rest she’d bag up and take to a second hand clothing store. Someone else might find some use in her old clothes.

Turning round to go back to the bed, she knocked something off the corner of the desk. Frowning, Anna bent down and picked up the picture frame.

The picture was a photo of Paul, David and herself, taken on the day of her eighteenth birthday. She stood between the two brothers. Paul had one arm wrapped around her waist, and David had one across her shoulders. Taking the picture, she sat on the edge of her bed. They looked like a happy family. Who would have thought within two years, she’d have left?

A splash of water hit the glass, and Anna was shocked to find herself crying. The biggest mistake of her life had been running out of the house. She should have taken the time to think her actions over, not react at the first hint of trouble. Growling at her own stupidity, she put the framed photo by her bed and finished unpacking her stuff.

So much time had passed. Loving the Steer brothers seemed to cause her nothing but trouble. In the photo she’d been so happy. Her life had been perfect. In her own little ideal world she’d imagined being married to them. A fairy tale if she’d ever heard of one. No one married two men. The idea was scandalous.

Running fingers through her hair she went into her bathroom and started the shower. Travelling had left a nasty feel to her skin.

****

David found his brother in the kitchen pouring a drink.

“Where’s our house guest?” he asked.

“Getting herself together. She might take some time.” David sat at the counter and took the cup offered to him.

“How do you think she’s feeling?” Paul asked.

“I don’t know. She’s quieter than usual. Still as beautiful as ever. There’s something missing from her, though. The sparkle, maybe? I don’t know.” He took a drink of the scalding liquid and welcomed the burn as it went down his throat. David wanted to be able to feel anything after the encounter in her room.

“She’ll come around.”

“There’s something different about her, Paul. I love her so damn much.” When she’d left, David had confessed to his brother his growing feelings for the younger woman. At first he’d been confused. They’d known Anna from a young girl, but with time he’d grown to accept he couldn’t control his feelings. Nine years wasn’t a particularly long age gap.

“We can’t do anything about it,” his brother said.

Hanging his head, David waited for the sound of her approaching footsteps. Listening  to his brother constantly telling him what he couldn’t have was driving him crazy.

“Have all the people responded to the party invitations?” David asked instead.

“Yes. Everything is set up for tomorrow night.”

“Wow, never thought I’d see the day the Steer house had most of the Cape Falls residents coming to play,” David said.

In the past, the Steer family had tried to avoid any such entanglements.

“It’s her twenty-third birthday. We couldn’t be there for her twenty-first. We’ll do it now.”

“You don’t have to on my account. I’d be just as happy to get a pizza and a movie. It would give us chance to catch up,” Anna said as she walked into the room.

“Coffee is already made,” Paul told her and pointed across the kitchen.

“Thanks.”

David watched her ass swinging from side to side as she moved about the kitchen. The Anna in his kitchen was all woman, and his cock was doing a dance of joy.

“We want to throw you a party,” Paul said, interrupting David’s little image of a semi-naked Anna.

“Okay. Don’t put yourself out. I’m happy with us staying in and no one coming.”

“The invitations have already gone out,” David said.

“Did you invite Henry and Laura?”

“Your friends have all been invited,” Paul said.

“Great.”

Silence.

This was the awkwardness David didn’t like. She could talk a thousand words a minute usually.

“I’ve got work to do.” Paul grabbed his cup and left the room.

David watched his brother leave and saw the upset on her face. “He’s been a bit testy. Don’t take it personally.”

“I guess he didn’t want me to come back?” She shrugged a shoulder and gazed down into her cup.

“Hey. Never think shit like that. Paul loves you. When you left, he was even harder to be with. Anna, he’s happy you’re back.”

He got up from his seat and walked over to her. Uncaring about the filled cup in her hand, he hugged her to him.

“Don’t let him get to you. Paul wants you.” David closed his eyes and inhaled her warm vanilla scent. She smelt so good.

“Thanks, David. I think I’m going to go to bed.” He watched as she placed her cup in the sink and left the room. Two of the people he cared about were hurting. Cleaning away the mess he went in search of his brother. He found Paul in his office, a glass of some strong spirit in his hand.

“This is what stuff comes down to? You’re going to hide here until she eventually leaves?” David asked.

“I’m not trying to do anything.”

“Really? Because the way you’re going, she’s going to pack her shit and leave. I can’t let her do that.” David stared at his brother’s back. So much pain vibrating between them. In the years that had passed, David realised he’d never forgiven his brother. A part of him had blamed the older man for forcing Anna to leave.

“I don’t want her to leave,” Paul said in a whisper.

“Then please. Be nice to her, and give her a reason to stay.” David turned away, ready to leave. “I know you think I’m disgusting, but I love Anna. I missed her. This time around, I’m not letting her go.” He gripped the door knob.

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t care about our old traditions. If you want Anna, then fine, but if you don’t, then I’m done. This isn’t some crush or lust thing. I love her, and I intend to claim her as my woman.”

David left, going to his room. Every word he’d said to his brother, he’d meant. He refused to deny his feelings any longer. They weren’t a relation of any kind. They’d never kept her locked inside the house. Anna Myers was a free spirit and had been for as long as he’d known her.

The age gap meant nothing. Shit, Dean and Laura were fighting a twenty year age gap. No more waiting. Anna would be his woman if his brother wanted her or not.

****

Paul waited for his brother to leave before turning round. In one hand, he held the glass of a strong aged whisky, in the other, the last picture taken of Anna not long after she’d turned twenty. For weeks, she’d begged him to go to the cinema with her. So many other girls had guys to go with them. Anna wanted him to go. The movie had been crap. A really shit love story. She’d held his hand the entire time, refusing to let go.

The picture had been one of the last taken of her. A few weeks later, she’d been gone. On the desk lay that fucking diary. The piece of shit he’d based his whole assumptions on. Going through his family tree, he’d discovered some interesting facts about his family. Fanny Steer, the writer of that diary, had got one of the men drunk. She’d thought to trap them into marriage where she thought she could force them to love her.

She’s succeeded in the marriage. The only problem had been the men didn’t love her. After the first two heirs were born, they hadn’t touched her.

 All the information had been stored in the attic. A silly place to keep such personal journeys of affection. Through the generations, his grandfathers had decided everything must be shared.

Placing the picture on his desk, he slammed the book closed. He couldn’t bring himself to burn it. The diary wasn’t his, and by right, should be read by the woman chosen to be their wife.

Anna should be the one to decide what to do with the book. She was home, and he prayed with all of his heart he could see past the mistakes he’d made and work through everything with her.

His very existence depended on it.