Propositioning Her Brother's Best Friend (14 page)

“Really?
Has he fucked you that hard that
you can only just walk the next day? How about in front of people? That drives
him crazy. Or has he taken you up the ass yet—” Tracy stopped in her rant.
Rachel refused to bite at the innuendo in her words. She wished Paul was there
right now to wrap his arms around her. Rachel wasn’t shy about anal sex. She’d
read plenty of books with it in. After only just losing her vaginal virginity,
she wasn’t sure if she was ready to lose her anal virginity as well. “So he
hasn’t taken you up the ass, huh? He loves that you know? He loves how tight
and hot a woman can get.”

Rachel stopped listening to the
woman’s vile words. Standing up, she threw a bunch of notes on the table and walked
out of the diner. There was no way she was going to sit at the table arguing
with Paul’s ex.

“Scare you away,
does
it?”

Rachel wanted to scream. The bitch
had followed her out.

“Why don’t you fuck off and leave me
alone?” She turned to face Tracy. Rachel wasn’t afraid of the other woman. With
the argument she had this morning, Rachel was more than ready to smack down on
the bitch.

“Leave my man, and maybe I will. Do
you really think you’re woman enough for a man like that?”

“She’s more than just a woman. She’s
my woman, and she’s everything I want.” Rachel jumped as arms surrounded her.
Paul pulled her tightly against him. His arms surrounded her with his
protection and male heat. Turning her head she was shocked to see Mitch stood
by his side.

“Paul, there is no way that Rachel
is your woman,” Tracy said.

Paul stared off with the cruel woman
opposite. Glancing at Mitch she watched him wink at her.

What?

What was that all about?

Had Mitch and Paul made up?

She was so fucking confused.

“Rachel is my woman. Stay the hell
away from her. Come on, baby, we need to take your brother to the hospital.”
Paul steered her in the direction of his truck.
 

Once he seated her in the truck,
Mitch climbed in beside her. When Paul got behind the wheel, he set off in the
direction of the hospital.

“Are you two friends again?” she
asked.

“We’ve come to an agreement. Paul
treats you right, and I don’t kick his ass. That’s the best you’re going to
get, honey.” Mitch wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close.
Paul squeezed her leg. Her brother and boyfriend were offering her comfort. For
that moment, it would do.

****

They both waited for Mitch to get
his hand stitched. There was no lasting damage apart from the damage done to his
pride. Once Mitch was done they took him back to his home. He promised to give
them a call and practically ordered them away from home.

Paul was happy to have Rachel all to
himself. She hadn’t spoken of the incident with Tracy. He sensed it beneath the
surface.

She put her bag against the wall in
the hall and walked down to the kitchen. He filled the kettle with water while
she took a seat. Her hands were locked together at the table.

He couldn’t believe Rachel had to
deal with Tracy and the nastiness the woman possessed.

“Sorry about Tracy. She’s a
manipulative bitch.” He refused to take his eyes off her. The kettle boiled in
the background. Rachel still hadn’t spoken.

Paul quickly put together two cups
of coffee and sat next to her, taking her hands in his. “Please, talk to me. I
hate this silence.”

“Tracy was giving me some kind of
lecture about me not being the right woman for your tastes.”

Paul flinched at the hurt in her
voice. Tears were in her eyes, but they didn’t spill down her cheeks. He felt
that was a blessing. There was no way he’d be able to see her cry.

“You’re more than woman enough for
me. She’s jealous because I didn’t take her up on her offer. Tracy wanted to
become something more.” He reached out to stroke her cheek. Paul was thankful
she didn’t pull away.

“She said you liked people
watching.” She made it a statement, but he sensed she wanted answers, and if he
was completely honest he was scared to give them to her.

“Let’s just forget about Tracy—”

“No.” She cut him off. “I’m not a
child. You don’t need to protect me. I need to know what you like. I can handle
this, Paul. Please don’t shut me out.”

Paul heard her determination, and he
wanted to tell her everything, share everything with her, but part of him was
terrified. Some of the things he’d shared with Tracy had been false. They’d
been words he’d spoken to get her in the mood, and he was ashamed of it.
 

“I don’t need any—”

“If you didn’t need any of
those
needs then you wouldn’t have participated with Tracy in doing
those
needs,” she said.

Paul pulled away. He stood up and
paced the kitchen.

“Tracy was just sex. I don’t need
everything she described, okay? I don’t want to talk about it because it was in
the past with her. For instance, she mentioned doing it in front of others,
right?” he asked.

She nodded.

“That was never something I wanted
to do. I described it to get her in the mood.
She
loved the thought of others watching her while I fucked her. I
don’t want any other man’s eyes on you. You’re mine, Rachel.” He stared at her
waiting for her response.

“What about the anal sex?” she
asked.

“I’m not going to
lie
,
Rachel. I do like it, but not all the time. I’m not some anal sex maniac. I’d
love to fuck your ass but only when you were ready for it. If you were nervous or
scared, I’d never do it. You have to want it.”

“What happens if I am never ready?”
she asked. Her voice shook with tears.

Paul knelt on the kitchen floor,
cupped her face in his hands. “I love you. I’d only ever do something that left
you feeling completely satisfied and filled with anticipation. Anything else
would be a waste of time. I want you to love sex, everything about sex. I would
never pressure you.”

He watched her lips quiver and the
tears shining in her eyes. “Don’t cry, baby. I couldn’t bear you crying.” He
brushed away her tears with his thumbs.

“I love you.” She croaked out the
words. “I don’t want any more women telling me stories about you. I cannot bear
the pain.”

“I have a past, Rachel. If I could
wipe it out I would, but you are the only woman I want. You’re my present and
my future. No more women.
Just you.”
He was completely
honest with her. “Please tell me you forgive me?” he asked.

“Forgive you for what? You haven’t
done anything. You’re older than I am. This wasn’t your fault. You can’t bear
the brunt of every woman’s jealousy.”

Slamming his lips down on hers, Paul
showed her with his kiss how much he loved her. There were
Tracys
in his past, but there would only be one Rachel in his future.

That night he took her to his bed
and simply held her in his arms. There was nothing between them at all. He
stared into her hazel eyes and remembered everything over the years that he
loved about her. Rachel’s passion for life and food, the way she always had to
be right and the fact she could climb a tree like pro.

****

Rachel woke up the following day and
left Paul in bed while she went to see her brother. Mitch’s reaction to her and
Paul being together unnerved her. She needed to make sure her brother understood
she loved Paul and wasn’t going to let him go because Mitch didn’t approve.

Most of the town was still sleeping.
The walk was quick and silent. She let herself into her old home without any
problems. Mitch may have given them both his blessing, but Rachel needed to
know why he had had such objections in the first place.

The scent of coffee permeated the
air. She followed the scent to find Mitch sitting at the kitchen counter eating
some toast and drinking coffee.

“Good morning, sis. I didn’t expect
to see you today.” He stood to get her a drink. She took a seat waiting for him
to come back to her. Mitch handed her a cup.

“Thank you. I needed to talk to you
about something.” She looked down at her hands wondering how best to approach
the subject.

“How’s Paul?” Mitch asked, eating
some toast afterwards.

“He’s fine. He’s sleeping and would
have wanted to come with me if he knew I was here.”

“I love you, Rachel. Why are you
here?”

Licking her lips, Rachel let out a
long breath. “I need to know why?”

“Why what?”

“Why you were so aggressive toward
Paul and me. I’m in love with him, Mitch, and he’s in love with me. I can feel
it. I need to know you’re not going to start rebelling against us.” She took a
sip of the bitter coffee waiting for his response.

“Mom and Dad always told me to take
care of you. You were the baby and still are. You’re my sister, and your care
came to me when you were fifteen. That was hard to deal with. Paul has always
been by my side. He took care of you and helped me take care of you when I was
around.” Mitch stopped to clear his throat. “You’re my sister, Rachel. No man,
not even Paul, will ever be good enough for you. When I saw you two together I
felt betrayed. The one guy I trusted with you had done what I asked him not to.
He’d claimed you as his woman. Paul is my best friend, but he’s still a man. He
betrayed me, and he didn’t ask me or even tell me how he felt about you. In
that
moment, watching him kiss
you, I was angry at
him. He cut me out.”

“What would have happened if he asked?”
She saw the tears in his eyes and the regret. Rachel knew her brother better
than anyone.

“I don’t know. I would have said no
and then gotten the chance to say yes. He’s good for you. Paul loves you more
than anyone. You’ll be well taken care of. Yesterday, I felt a mixture of
betrayal and hurt. Paul’s older than you, and I thought he took advantage of
you. I don’t know. When I came home I didn’t expect you to be kissing my best
friend. I may be ten years older than you, but I can still act irrationally.
Can you forgive me?”

Rachel stared at him for several
seconds. “Can you promise not to lash out?”

“I won’t. You and Paul have my
blessing. I’ve also promised him that if he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass,”
Mitch said, smiling.

“I doubt that will happen, but if it
does I’ll hold you to it.”

She walked around the counter and
hugged her brother. Mitch’s explanation made sense, and she could go back to
Paul knowing they had his blessing.