Roman: Book 2 (The Hunter Brothers Series) (21 page)

“Yes, we’re up
here,” I shouted back, walking to the entrance as Lucas smiled up at me.

 
“Lunch is ready.”

“We’ll be right
down,” I said, as Lucas turned and made his way back up to the house. I glanced
again at Charlie who was laid back on the cushion with his hands behind his
head.

“You’re gonna have
to give me a minute here, babe,” he said as I smiled, my eyes roaming down to
the giant bulge that was tenting unmistakeably behind the tight denim. I picked
up the magazines and returned them to the trunk, taking a seat on the cushion
next to him.

“Our timing is
lousy,” he muttered under his breath as I laughed softly. He was right about
that, not that I was about to make a big deal of it. In light of everything
else, I could do to avoid any further complications with the Hunter brothers.
Once again I opted for a change of subject.

“You Hunters have
some sexual skeletons lurking in your closets, don’t you? There’s you with a
lactation fetish, Roman who gets excited by borderline non-consensual buggery,
and then Lucas who whips my little sister into oblivion in that bloody dungeon
of his,” I laughed as Charlie sat up, gazing at me curiously as my hands shot
to my mouth. Shit. I had put my foot in it now. I’d completely forgotten that
Charlie didn’t know about Lucas and I’d promised to keep my fat trap shut.

I seriously needed
to do some back peddling here.

“I was only joking
about Lucas, but not about Roman,” I said as Charlie narrowed his eyes.

“Nothing surprises
me about Roman, he’s a fucking deviant, but you weren’t lying about Lucas,
Chas. You’re a terrible liar for a start,” he said and I knew no matter how
hard I tried to undig this verbal hole I’d landed myself in, that Charlie
wouldn’t believe me. I’d need to plead for his silence instead.

“Alright, I wasn’t
lying, but you can’t say anything about Lucas. I promised I wouldn’t tell, and
Lucas will despise me if he finds out. You know how he is. He’s managed to keep
this a secret for years. He’s cagey about his private life and desperately didn’t
want you to know. Please, Charlie, I’m begging you,” I pleaded, but he wasn’t
wiping the smug grin from his face.

“I wondered where
he was getting it. Ever since he split with Roberta, I’ve never seen him take a
woman home and believe me; he’s had plenty of offers. It all makes sense now.
Jesus Christ, he’s a dark horse,” he grinned as my stomach sank.

“Oh God, Charlie,
please don’t say anything will you?” I asked as he slung his arm casually
around my shoulder.

“For you, Chas,
no, but it will take an almighty effort and I will have to make you beholden to
me for a while,” he smirked.

“What do you
mean?”

“Well, you owe me
now, so if I ask you to do something, you do it. Okay?” he said as I nodded. I
didn’t have a choice. The thought of Lucas Hunter baying for blood was a mildly
terrifying prospect, especially after the whole gun incident. I felt sure he
had an opinion on that he’d let me know about.

“Fine, just don’t
take the piss,” I huffed as he laughed. “Well you can start by following me
down these steps. That way I can catch you if you fall,” he smiled, climbing
out of the tree house ahead of me.

What he meant to
say was, that way he could stare up my skirt again. Pervert! I was saying
nothing. It was a small price to pay for Charlie Hunter’s silence.

Chapter Fifteen

We sat next to one
another at lunch as Tyler walked in shirtless, opening the fridge and glugging
the milk straight from the carton, largely ignoring the trickle that was oozing
down his naked tanned abs. I couldn’t turn away. “Does that turn you on?” I
whispered to Charlie, giggling as he glanced around before narrowing his eyes
and staring at me hard.

“Be careful,
Chas,” he growled against my ear as I turned away from Tyler, deciding to
behave myself, at least until I was certain he wouldn’t divulge my secret.

“What have you two
been up to while I’ve been cooking lunch?” Jess asked as I raised my eyebrows,
slightly taken aback.

 
“Never mind that, I thought you couldn’t cook,
Sis. That’s why we survive on pasta bake,” I said as she turned to smile at
Lucas.

 
“He’s been teaching me,” she gushed proudly,
dishing out what looked like chicken curry and I was more than a little
impressed.

“Wow,” I smiled as
she took her seat and Lucas turned to Tyler.

“Stop drinking
milk from the carton, Ty. It’s gross. You’re not five years old, and while
you’re at it, put some clothes on. No one wants to stare at your bare chest
while they’re eating,” he scalded.

 
“I do,” I muttered under my breath, but not as
quietly as I’d hoped as Jess burst out laughing.

“Slow down, Sis,
your bed is barely cold from Roman. At least change the sheets before you start
seducing Tyler,” she laughed as I stared at her in utter shock. What the fuck?
I wasn’t sure if she was still being pissy because of the gun thing, or trying
to make light of my little fling in an effort to make me feel better, but
either way it wasn’t working.

 
“I’m not going to seduce Tyler,” I gasped as
he took the seat opposite.

“That’s a shame.
I’m game if you are,” he winked as I shook my head and I could feel Charlie’s
eyes all over me.

“No I’m bloody
not. Charlie might have called me a slapper, but it doesn’t mean I am one,” I
huffed, hearing a sharp intake of breath from Lucas and Tyler. Both of them
were glaring at Charlie.

“I’ve apologised,”
he said, not looking up from his chicken curry.

“And I’ve accepted
it,” I said, hoping that would draw an end to the conversation and wondering
why the hell my mouth was running away with me today.

 
“Does Roman know you said that?” Lucas asked
as Charlie shrugged and Tyler was shaking his head in disbelief. “I’m surprised
you’re still in one piece brother,” he quipped as Charlie faced him.

“I wasn’t last
night. I thought I could put Roman out. I’ve done it before,” he said seriously
as Tyler laughed.

“When?” he challenged
as Charlie’s smile began to break.

 
“When he was ten,” he laughed as Lucas and
Tyler nodded and I assumed that was probably the last time anyone had put Roman
Hunter on the floor.

“So he kicked your
arse after the club?” Lucas smiled as Charlie nodded.

“Yeah, I was
hoping to work off some aggression, but he put me down with two punches. In my
defence they were low blows.”

“Well I saw you
hit him more than twice before I left, so that’s bullshit,” I said, raising my
eyebrows at Charlie who started to laugh.

“Then you saw the
warm up. Roman let me get a few shots in, probably just to make me feel better,
but when the real fun started I didn’t stand a fucking chance.” Charlie shook
his head, deciding his ego had taken enough of a bashing and throwing the
spotlight onto me.

“Get us a beer,
babe,” he smirked as I glanced across at him, raising my eyebrows as he held my
gaze. Ahhh, so this is what he meant by being beholden? I rose from the table,
grabbing a beer from the fridge, placing it gently on the table and ignoring
the bemused glances of everyone else.

“I’m going to need
a bottle opener.”

“I guess you are,”
I smiled, staying put as he started to smirk.

“Tell me about
that private party you organised recently, Jess,” Charlie said as I tried to
stifle my gasp. Charlie had put two and two together and I didn’t want my
sister exposed to this line of questioning. She was a worse liar than me, and
Lucas would definitely know exactly who had spilt his sexy secret.

“Where is the
bottle opener kept?” I smiled sweetly at Charlie as Jess glanced at me
curiously. He pointed to a drawer as Tyler and Lucas both asked for a beer
while I was up. I was damned if I’d let this continue. I wasn’t about to make
myself into the Hunter brothers beck and call girl.

“So here’s a
question for you, Chas. Who’s the best looking Hunter?” Tyler smirked as I
rolled my eyes, putting down the beers and the bottle opener, glancing around
the table. Even Lucas was playful as I took my time eyeing them all up. It
seemed that these brothers were competitive over everything, but I’d definitely
played worse games.

“You’re all
gorgeous and you know you are,” I laughed eventually, but they weren’t about to
let me off the hook that easily.

“No, you’ve got to
choose one of us. That’s just a cop out.”

“Fine, if you
insist, it’s Charlie,” I said as he turned a broad smile on me. “You’re
gorgeous inside and out,” I winked as he kissed my cheek softly, warming my
insides, and for the second time today he looked utterly content.

Tyler was looking
at Lucas and shaking his head. “Maybe insulting a woman is the way to her heart
after all,” he quipped as I cast him a stern glare.

“I can assure you
it isn’t and except when he’s being a dick, Charlie is kind, loyal and
extremely funny and I love spending time with him,” I smiled as Charlie
squeezed my knee under the table.

“Why did you shag
Roman then?” Tyler asked as I began to wonder if it was national ‘pick on Chas’
day.

 
“Because Charlie isn’t a free agent,” I said
as Charlie gasped, staring at me in wide eyed shock. Lucas raised his eyebrows
along with my sister.

“You told me it
was because you thought Roman was really hot and you couldn’t resist him,”
Charlie said, his face falling as I tried to evade his piercing eye contact.

“Well it was both,
okay. Right can we change the subject now, please? In the last twenty four
hours I’ve been verbally bitch slapped by Brad Johnson and Charlie, ditched in
the middle of the night by Roman, and shouted at by my sister for firearms that
were absolutely nothing to do with me. Frankly, I’ve just about had enough,” I
sighed, putting down my knife and fork and unable to stomach anything else. The
tense silence ensued for a while until I excused myself from the table, making
my way back to the lodge as I sat by the fire and started to cry.

It was out of
character and humiliating, and I prayed they’d stay where they were and eat
their lunch until I got this out of my system. It had been threatening all day
and I knew what was at the heart of it. I needed to lick my wounds in private
and was looking forward to heading home tomorrow, disappointed that the weekend
had finished this way after such a promising start. I checked my phone. There
were still no messages.

I don’t know why
I’d said that at the table, but I knew that it was true. It had been both. I
might have shagged Roman anyway, maybe not. In any case, it was fucking
irrelevant now.

I heard the door
inch open, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes and no doubt smudging mascara
all over my face, but I didn’t care. I felt as guilty as hell as I saw
Charlie’s face poke around the door, remembering the reason I was here in the
first place and not altogether sure I hadn’t actually made things worse for
him.

“I’m sorry,
Charlie. I’m supposed to be helping you through this awful time and I can’t
help but feel I’ve just added to your misery.”

He sat beside me
on the couch, tucking me under his arm protectively and kissing my head gently.
“Come here you silly mare. There is nothing you could do to make me feel worse,
except perhaps sleeping with my brother,” he chuckled, starting off my tears
again. “But I know you didn’t do that to hurt me. Please, Chas. Don’t cry,
baby,” he said, tipping my chin up to meet his gaze as he softly wiped away the
tears that were weaving their way down my face. “I’m a bastard for what I said,
Roman’s a bastard for what he did and Tyler’s a bastard for winding you up
about it. It’s not you who should be sorry. It’s been a pretty intense weekend
and none of us are showing our best sides right now. We’re not usually this
bad, honest,” he smiled as I smiled back through my tears.

“I think we need a
bit of a distraction. How about we watch a film?” he asked as I nodded, picking
up the remote control and flicking to the movie channel.

“No. No. No,” I said
in response to The Assassin, The Hitman and Gun Warrior, wondering if it was
some kind of conspiracy. I wanted nothing that reminded me of Roman Hunter.

“I’ll do a chick
flick if I have to,” Charlie smiled as I laughed.

“You don’t have
to. What’s on the horror channel?” I asked as he frowned at me.

“I thought you
were scared of ghosts and you’ll be spending the night alone here.” I knew that
little white lie would come back to haunt me, quite literally.

“I’ll be fine,” I
smiled as we settled on the Ghost Story, snuggling up in front of the fire and
erasing our minds temporarily of our troubles.

Charlie paused the
film halfway in as his phone rang, and I didn’t need to be a genius to guess
who it was. They’d only been together a couple of days and if he wasn’t with
her, she was bothering him constantly; at least that’s how it looked to me and
everyone else.

 
“I can’t see you tonight, babe. I’m with a
friend and she needs me right now. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, pausing and
listening intently. “No one you know. It’s Chas, Lucas’s girlfriend’s sister.”
I imagined he’d be getting an earful. “Yes, Lucas has a girlfriend now,” he
said, turning to me and rolling his eyes as I smiled across at him. “Yes,
Roberta does know. She called in to pay her condolences,” he said as I stood,
walking into the kitchen and pouring us both a glass of wine. “I think it’s
best if you don’t, Scarlett,” he said firmly and I could only assume that was
in response to her offer to do the same.

He was still on
the phone as I returned to the lounge, holding out his drink as he took it from
me, winking and pulling a face as I giggled, putting my hand quickly over my
mouth to stifle the sound. “She’s had a rough day, Scarlett,” he said and I
thought that might be the end of it, but he wasn’t getting away that easily.

“Jesus, don’t say
that to me, you know I’m a sucker for red,” he said as I wondered if he was
referring to the colour of her underwear. He’d mentioned earlier he liked the
colour and I almost gave him a flash of mine to make him stay, suddenly
wondering what the hell I was thinking and mentally slapping myself. Charlie
wasn’t mine, he’d never be mine and my bed still smelt of Roman. Perhaps
Charlie had been right after all. Maybe I was a secret slag and should just fuck
all of them out of my system, with the exception of Lucas. I’d never do that to
my sister, and besides, I didn’t fancy being smacked with a cane or led around
on a leash.

I’d lived my life
living up to my name, but that was all unravelling this weekend.

Staying in the
‘Hot house’, my new name for Greenfield Hall, was messing with my senses and
the sooner I got home, the better. Charlie cast me an apologetic glance as the
tone of his voice deepened and grew suddenly firmer. “I’ve told you I’ll see
you tomorrow night, Scarlett. I’m needed here right now,” he said, ending the
call abruptly and I knew instantly that if the sociopath was anything like her
reputation suggested that she’d hate me already.

“Are you in the
dog house?” I asked as he laughed.

“Yeah, it’s unbelievable.
It’s been four days. I’ve only seen her a few times and already she thinks I’m
at her beck and call. Things have changed and she needs to understand that. For
her, it’s as if the past six months never happened. She’s wiped them from memory
and she isn’t intent on taking things slowly,” he sighed as I held his gaze.

“Have you told her
you want to take things slowly?” I asked as he nodded.

“A hundred times,
but she suddenly turns deaf. Scarlett has selective hearing, and it’s funny but
I never noticed that about her before,” he laughed as I smiled.

 
“All women have selective hearing! You need to
drop it into a conversation when you know she’s actively listening.”

“How do you mean,
Chas?” he asked, throwing me a puzzled frown. I couldn’t believe Charlie was
asking me advice on how to treat his ex-girlfriend, it was surreal.

“For example, you
could say ‘I’d like to buy you a Chanel handbag, darling, as an ‘I want to take
things slowly’ gift,” I quipped as he laughed.

“That wouldn’t
work, she can buy her own. She’s running Everett’s business now and the girls
got hundreds of them,” he said. I already hated her.