Rapture (McKenzie Brothers) (4 page)

C
arla

Attending these family gatherings with Ramon always sends a sharp pain to my chest. A large part of me wants my brother to be here, with me. I guess in a way it makes me feel homesick for my own family. Ramon’s parents and siblings always make me feel welcome and treat me like one of them, but I find it hard to accept, while I still have no idea where Noah is or even if he’s all right and not lying somewhere injured or worse.

As Ramon settles
beside me on the black leather sofa, I offer him a sad smile. He knows me and knows I’m thinking about my brother as he’s caught me once or twice in the past. Ramon leans into me and brushes my hair back behind my ears in a friendly gesture, but my heart sinks when I catch the look on Sebastian’s face. He’s sitting on the sofa to the left of Ramon and me and his features visibly harden while he watches me with his brother.

“Carla, he’ll be okay
.” Ramon wipes a runaway tear from my cheek.

“How do you know that?” I ask under my breath so
no one catches our conversation. “You don’t know where he is…neither do I. He’s out there alone,” my voice catches, “he might need help.”

Ramon takes my hands and brings them up to his lips where he kisses my knuckles
. “He can take care of himself, you know that. He’ll be in touch with us when he can.”

I interrupt, but Ramon covers my mouth with his hand.

“Let me finish. I don’t like the fact that he just disappeared and, yes, it bothers me. The private investigator I hired is still digging and trying to find him.” He pulls me into a hug and kisses me on the forehead before sitting back on the sofa with me in his arms. “He’ll be fine, Carla,” he murmurs and I sigh into his comfort.

When I meet Sebastian’
s eyes, I can see they’re full of questions…and maybe jealousy. This is the most intimate Ramon and I have been in front of his family, so I’m surprised that no one else notices our exchange, but they haven’t apart from Sylvia who appears…upset I guess. I’ve noticed her eyes are always on Ramon when he’s around and I’m pretty sure Ramon’s aware of the fact.
What a damn mess.

I try and move slightly away from him
, needing some breathing space as Sabrina, Janet and Sylvia take seats around the room with Pippa sitting beside Lily. Ruben and Lucien are propping up one wall while Elias stands in front of them in conversation, and Sebastian is still sitting on the sofa with George while throwing fire with his eyes in my direction. He looks pissed as well.

We did have an intimate moment together in the pantry, which I would have been happy to continue if it wasn’t for Ramon and my promise to him.

Ramon squeezes my hand bringing me back to the present, but not before I notice him look between me and his brother. When he turns back towards me, he has a frown on his face, which he tries to cover up by dropping a kiss to my lips before turning his attention to Lily and Michael.

Not kn
owing why Ramon suddenly decides to slap a kiss on my lips, especially after glancing at his brother, I choose to ignore them both for now and look towards Lily, who is opening a gift from Janet and George.

When Lily finally opens the present
, the first sign that it’s not exactly for the babies is Michael’s flushed cheeks. He really is hot under the collar.

Lily’s whole face lights up as she takes the item by the hanger and holds the transparent negligee up for all to see.

All is quiet for a split second before Michael’s brothers start to whistle, until a stern look from Pippa shuts them up.

“Oh. My. God,” Janet says jumping up from her seat by the window and running over to Lily with another gift in her hands.
“Lily, I am so sorry. I was supposed to give you that one when the men left the room. The gift cards fell off in the car so I had to guess and I obviously guessed wrong.”

“I’d say,” Elias
, Ramon’s dad mumbles looking at his wife.

“Janet, it’s fine. Please don’t worry…I can’t wait to
fit
in it…and show Michael.” Lily grins, taking hold of Michael’s hand.

Once the chuckling dies down
, Lily continues to open the gifts for the twins, which drags a lot of ‘oos’ and ‘ahs’ from Pippa who I can imagine being a hands on grandma. She really is in her element with all the presents for her first grandbabies. Elias has even teased once or twice that with Pippa around no one else will get a look in with the babies.

If I was pregnant with twins
, I think I would completely flip out. Gosh one baby would be enough to freak me out let alone two.

It hasn’t taken Lily long to get through the gifts, but
now all the wrapping has been cleared away and the gifts laid out on the table. Janet clears her throat and says, “Well, I think it’s time for the guys to leave.”

I smile as Pippa asks, “Why do they have to leave? We still have all this food to enjoy?”

Janet winks at her, but Sylvia answers, “Well, the other gifts that we have for Lily may make Michael a little embarrassed, not to mention the gift bearer and Lily.”

As a soft b
lush fills Pippa’s cheeks, I think she finally realizes just how raunchy some of the gifts might be.

“Back in a minute,” Ramon says before standing and following his father and brothers out of the room
. Elias turns back to Michael and pinning him with his gaze, says, “You stay where you are.”

Before I have time to contemplate what’s going on the men are back in the room, carrying between them what look
s to be two baby bassinettes.

They position them in front of Lily and Michael and then remove the covering. Everyone is
stunned silent looking at the craftsmanship that has gone into making these, and if I have to guess, Elias is responsible for them.

“Dad, did you–
” Michael’s unable to finish when his father nods his head. He moves to give his father a hug before turning back to Lily and helping her up from the chair.

Michael
brings her into his side and tries to mop her tears up with the tissue Lucien passes him. Those two make me laugh sometimes with how they dote on Lily. If I didn’t know any different, I’d say Lily was in a relationship with them both.

I’m not the only one watching the antics of the two men
. Sabrina is sitting beside Sylvia with a frown on her face probably wondering what the heck is going on.

Pulling away from Mi
chael, Lily turns to Lucien, who wraps her up in his arms before letting her go to hug his father and the three remaining brothers before Michael helps her get to her knees for a closer look.

I watch t
hem and can’t help being in awe by the scene and the gift. The bassinets are beautiful and look to have hand carved pictures in the wood. With curiosity getting the better of me, I stand and move closer. Crouching down, I start to trace some of the carvings with my finger.

As my finger slips over the image of a teddy bear, tears spring to my eyes as I read the inscription beside it,
‘
To cuddle you close, Love Uncle Sebastian
’. Oh my. I look up and meet Sebastian’s eyes as a tear escapes.

Quickly swiping at my face
with my fingers, I take a wobbly breath and look back at the bassinet, moving on to the next picture and inscription, a pair of boxing gloves.
Really
. Without looking at the inscription, I can guess they are thanks to Ruben, and reading the inscription, ‘
To defend you, Love Uncle Ruben
’, I was correct. I chuckle and move around to the opposite side where my finger traces over the set of ABC building blocks, with the words ‘
To build your dreams, Love Uncle Ramon’
.

Emotions swell through me as I fight the lump of tears in my throat.
I’m so emotional today and only hope I can hold it together until I’m alone, preferably back at the apartment or even inside Ramon’s car. He’s seen me cry often enough to be able to handle me in tears, especially when I’m going to be blaming his family for their thoughtfulness with this amazing gift they’ve created for Lily and Michael’s babies.

My fingers trace their way onto two
entwined hearts, which are tied together with ribbon and the inscription that reads, ‘
You’ll always have my heart, Love your God Father, Uncle Lucien’
.

“Oh,” I whisper to no one in particular.

“They’re amazing aren’t they,” Janet says to me as I stand back up and notice the tears on her face. She points towards a large inscription inside the bassinet, where I presume the baby’s head will rest. As I look, there is a guardian angel with a prayer of protection underneath followed by the words ‘
Mommy &
Daddy
’.

I sta
rt to brush away the tears, I can’t seem to control any longer, they fall even harder when Janet points out the poem on the foot, ‘
Hush, little baby–
’ by
‘Love Grandma & Grandpa’
.

Ramon
’s comforting hand comes out of nowhere and settles on my shoulder as he passes me some tissue while taking me into his arms for a hug. In his arms I stay while I keep my face hidden, until my tear ducts decide to have a dry spell.

A few minutes later
, I pull my face from Ramon’s chest and realize I’ve soaked his shirt through. “God, I’m sorry.”

Chuckling
, Ramon puts me away from him and yanks his shirt off over his head, screws it up in one hand before pulling me in close again to kiss me on the forehead. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not the only one to end up like a waterfall.”

While I keep my arm around Ramon, I look around and notice there isn’t really a dry face in the room, and yeah, I’m also counting the guys.

Everyone seems distracted enough with the gifts for the twins, except for Sylvia who keeps passing sly glances at Ramon and our arms, which are still wrapped around the other, and Sebastian who looks upset, and not because of the gifts.

“Are you okay now? I think it’s the dirty presents now,” Ramon whispers into my ear.

To anyone looking, we look like a couple in love. Little do they know.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” I flash him a grin
, which he returns knowing what I’ve bought Lily.

I might add that he only knows because
he caught me wrapping it the other night. I tried to hide it, but hiding it in the middle of the fruit bowl with yellow bananas wasn’t the wisest choice I’ve ever made, especially when the gift is florescent pink.

Sebastian

Snagging a beer from the fridge on the way out back, I take a long pull on the ice cold drink before resting my arms on the porch railing. I look towards the snowcapped mountains in the distance without really seeing anything other than Carla wrapped around a topless Ramon.

What is happening today? First she looks ready to come apart at the seams with just my touch in the pantry and next she’s all over my damn brother.

Today is the first time I’ve seen anything more than a peck on the cheek exchanged between them and I don’t like it. In fact, I hate it.
Way to go Seb. Falling for your brother’s woman.

“What’s up your ass?” Ruben ask
s leaning on the porch beside me, but refusing to meet my eyes.

Not in the mood for my brother
’s wisecracks today, I reply, “I could ask you the same.”

He frowns and finally turns to look at me, which
, when I really get a good look at him in return, he doesn’t look good.

“What’s going on, brother? And don’t give me shit. I know you and there’s something happening.” I let my words settle before adding, “You’re not getting enough sleep
, and it’s not because of a woman.”

He stares at me while drinking from his beer before turning back to gazing at the mountains unseen.

“
Fuck.
This is for your ears only. You got me?” he states with a quick glance back to me.

What the hell
, starting off the way he has makes my stomach spasm. Ruben never has problems at least he never has problems that he wants kept quiet.

“You got it.”
I put the longneck to my mouth and drain the bottle while I wait for him to tell me what the hell is going on.

“It’s the
club,” he sighs, “nothing financial. That’s secure. Keith walked up on a couple of guys trying to break into the club two nights ago. They ran when they spotted him running towards them, but last night some more windows were taken out.”

“Fuck-in-hell, again? Why your club?
What the hell are they after in there?”

“Fuck if
I know, but it’s pissing me off, and to top it all, one of the waitresses is giving me a hard time. She ignores what I ask her to do and does what the hell she ‘thinks’ I mean, spending most of the time bugging me. Why can’t they keep their mouths shut, smile wide and serve the customers, instead of bugging the shit outta me.”

Thinking about what he just said causes me to roar with laughter. Yes, he’s pissed because of the
vandalism and attempted break in, but steam practically came out of his ears when talking about his waitress. I’d bet my last dollar her name is Rosie.

“What’s her name?” I keep the amusement out of my voice.

He takes his time in answering. “Why? What difference does knowing her name make?”

He looks everywhere, but me when he says it and I know I’m right
even before the words come out. “Her name wouldn’t be Rosie, would it?” I chuckle at the look on his face. “You know what will get her out of your system?” Trying to keep my face straight while having this conversation is hell.

“Do I even want to know what you’re
about to suggest?” Ruben glares at me while moving to sit on one of the chairs scattered around the porch.

Sitting opposite him
, I grin and reply, “Well, I was thinking naked, rope and one or two of those toys you keep locked away.” Yeah, my brother loves nothing more than being in control.

He’s actually contemplating my sugges
tion – well that’s a first. Ruben loves his toys, but what guy doesn’t?

“So this is where you two
disappeared to,” Michael grumbles as he walks through the door and slumps into a chair on the porch. He looks exhausted. “Christ…I don’t think I’ve ever been as stressed as I have since meeting Lily. She’s going to be the death of me.”

Ramon
laughs as he comes through the door, followed by Lucien, George and my dad. He punches Michael’s shoulder as he teases, “She just might when you see what Carla’s bought her.”

Michael and
I both look at Ramon waiting for him to enlighten us. What the hell has she gotten Lily? My mind is working overtime to try and come up with something that I can imagine Carla buying, but nothing naughty comes to mind.

Ramon snickers.
“All I’m going to say is that its bright pink and Carla tried to hide it in the fruit bowl with the bananas when I caught her about to wrap it in the kitchen.” He now starts to laugh harder. “Oh God, it was the first damn thing I saw when walking into the kitchen…fluorescent, fucking pink.” He finishes shaking his head with a slight blush along his cheeks.

I wish he’d kept
his mouth shut now while I try to count backwards in my head to get my wayward body part back under control at the thought of what Carla has obviously bought. I wonder if she likes to play and if she has any of her own toys.

“What has that grin on your face,” Lu
cien asks, kicking my foot from his position to the right of me. “Or should I ask who?”

“Thinking about something.”
I glance at him and meet his knowing stare and just know he’s not going to let it go so I speak before he can start again, “So what about Sabrina? She’s pretty. Nice figure.”

Sitting straighter in his chair, Lucien glares at me l
ike a fucking girl. “You stay away from her,” he warns. “She’s Lily’s friend, not someone you can screw and never see again.”

“Lucien calm it down before your mother overhears,” Dad shuts him up,
but it won’t be the end of it.

It’s
kind of funny watching him squirm in his seat over a woman, something that he hasn’t done since his accident. In fact, this is the first time he’s shown any interest in anyone in a long time. I’m just not sure going after Lily’s friend is the best idea though. Like Lucien said, she isn’t someone you can screw and never see again. Not that screwing her ever entered my head. The only woman I want was wrapped around Ramon not too long ago.

After a few minutes of
silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I feel someone staring at me, looking up I meet Ramon’s eyes. He’s looking at me as though he’s trying to see inside me. Have I given away my feelings towards Carla? I refuse to call her his girlfriend. I’m so screwed.

“So Sebastian, we’re all curious about Jacky,” Ramon says still not breaking eye contact.

“What about Jacky?” Just hearing her name makes my cock shrivel up and quiver resting against my balls. She wants a McKenzie and any one of us will do, but while she’s my secretary, I can’t escape.

I’ll admit
, to begin with her sexy body in the tight clothes got to me, and she has a set of tits to make a man’s mouth water. Once or twice I’d almost given in to temptation to dip my cock between her thighs, especially when she deliberately bent over my conference table. But fuck, there is no way in hell I intend to follow through, even more so since I’ve met Carla, although a distraction sure is needed because I can’t carry on craving my brother’s woman like I have for the past five months.

“
She always looks as though she’s left part of her clothes at home,” Ramon says, which everyone seems to find funny apart from me. “I mean she’s mighty fine with one hell of a–” he trails off when Dad glares at him.

“Ramon, as I recall you have a lovely
girl inside with the ladies. You shouldn’t be noticing the attributes of someone else.” Dad frowns watching Ramon’s reaction to his comment. “You are serious about Carla…aren’t you?”

Ramon lets out a sigh while rubbing his brows as though he has a headache. “We’re dating. We’re also friends.” Ramon glance
s at me before looking back at Dad. “She’s living with me while she gets back on her feet. She insisted on doing my paperwork while Stephanie is on maternity leave, so she works in the office at home…and before you get the wrong idea, I pay her the same as I paid Stephanie, which has been a damn fight.” He rubs his hands over his face as though exhausted before meeting my eyes. “So now you know why Carla lives with me.”

What is he trying to tell me? I say me because there is no way I can
mistake the direction of his statement. I haven’t had that many beers, but if there is a meaning behind his words it escapes me.

“We’ve gone off track
here. I still want to hear about Sebastian and Jacky,” Ruben interrupts, refusing to let me off the hook.

“There is no Sebastian and Jacky,” I bite out. “I have no interest in her and this conversation is over.” Standing up
, I toss my empty bottle into the barrel Dad keeps on the porch behind Mom’s planters, before turning back to face off against my brothers who are all smirking. Even George seems to be enjoying himself at my expense.

“Well son, I can’t say I know exactly what’s going on, but I think you need to keep your zipper fastened around the staff.”

Speechless. While my brothers try to control their laughter, I just look at Dad…
speechless
. He always has a way of making you feel like a teenager that’s been caught in the hayloft with a hot babe all over again. “This zipper’s stayed fastened for over five fuc…um, months.” My eyes quickly go to my Dad.

And to add to my embarrassment, Lucien is m
otioning me to turnaround, which I do and come face to face with Carla.

Fuckin’
great!