Only You, page 27
I raised my glass with everyone else to cheer, grinning up at Brodan, who smiled tenderly at me.
“There have been some changes here at Ardnoch this year. We welcomed Aria Howard to our staff.” He gestured with his glass to a beautiful, curvy brunette who stood next to Robyn. “As our new hospitality manager, Aria has kept this place running like clockwork while I took some time with my wife and our new daughter, Vivien. To Aria!”
We raised our glasses to her, and the brunette smiled politely at everyone. This was the woman who helped Sloane get the job here. That’s all the information I had so far from Sloane about her mysterious immigration. My curiosity was piqued. Who was Aria Howard? And why did she look so familiar?
“And if you might indulge me—to Robyn and Vivien. I always thought of Ardnoch as home, but as soon as I met you both”—his gaze rested on his wife, his expression blazing with such love, it made me lean back into Brodan—“I realized it was just a place until you. To my true home. To Robyn and Vivien.”
“To Robyn and Vivien!” we cheered. Regan cackled delightedly at the uncomfortable smile on Robyn’s face.
“She hates being the center of attention,” Regan told us gleefully.
“You have a funny way of showing your love sometimes. Do you know that, wife?” Thane said dryly.
“You don’t seem to mind how I show my love to you.”
“Och, enough.” Brodan grimaced. “No brother needs that visual.”
Thane grinned smugly.
Lachlan spoke again over the growing murmurs of the crowd. “I hope as I look out upon you all that you’ve each found your own home, a place where you look forward to being as we enter this new year. Tonight, we let go of yesterday and embrace new beginnings.” Lachlan raised his glass again, and we followed suit. “May ye for’er be happy an’ yer enemies know it! Slàinte Mhath!”
“Slàinte Mhath!” we yelled.
Despite the glamour, the glitz, the famous faces, I had to admit I was enjoying myself. It didn’t surprise me that Lachlan would host a Hogmanay that not only entertained his guests, but respected his Scottish heritage. And honestly, I’d felt nothing but pride to be Scottish and be a part of it, to see all these people from different places all over the world enjoy our traditions too. I’d been so nervous about coming tonight, and yet, I was having a wonderful time. I couldn’t wait to tell Brodan because I knew he’d been nervous about bringing me into this area of his life.
The clock steadily eased toward midnight, and a while later, as Regan and Thane followed Lachlan and Robyn and all the guests outside for the drone display to count down to the bells, Brodan surprised me by holding me back.
I waited with rampant curiosity until only the staff remained in their traditional tailcoats and white gloves.
Once the last guest had gone, an older man in a dark green waistcoat that differentiated him from the rest of the staff approached Brodan. He gave him a small nod and said, “Mr. Adair, we have seen to your requirements.”
Brodan smiled. “Thank you, Wakefield.” Then he tugged on my hand. “Come on.”
“Brodan, where are we going?” I asked, gasping with a bubble of giddiness fed by three glasses of champagne.
He led me past the small orchestra and upstairs.
“Brodan!” I hissed, tugging on his hand.
“It’s not forbidden, Roe,” he teased over his shoulder. “In fact, this is the way to my suite.”
“Is that where we’re going?”
“Nope.”
“Brodan—”
“It’s a surprise.”
I tried to take in the many changes to the castle, disbelieving we were hurrying down the plush carpeted corridors of parts of the castle that had lain dark, dank, and empty when we were kids. The underskirts of my dress rustled as I rushed to keep up with him, my feet aching in the strappy sandals.
“Bro—” I cut off as he halted at the entrance to …
The castle turret.
No way.
My gaze flew to his. “What have you been up to?”
“Wait and see.” He opened the door and held out a hand, pulling me in. The spiral staircase was still tight, but it was no longer dimly lit, cold, and damp, and the stone floors had been laid with carpet runner. My breathing echoed in my ears as Brodan pulled me upward and out into the turret space that had once been our place.
The place where the barriers of friendship first fell between us as he’d brought me to climax with his fingers.
Memories flooded me even as I took in the renovation. The turret had been transformed into a small library snug. Built-in bookshelves filled to the brim with books, a cozy armchair, and carpet beneath my feet. It was warm too, so Lachlan must have installed some kind of heating system and insulation. And on a side table by the armchair was what I imagined were the requirements Wakefield mentioned.
Two glasses of champagne, a champagne bottle in a bucket of ice, a vase with a few red amaryllis flowers, and a small cake covered in shiny chocolate ganache and gold leaf decoration. It looked straight out of a French patisserie. Two forks sat beside it. Soft music played from a phone nestled by the bucket.
“What have you been up to?” I asked quietly, a smile prodding my lips.
I felt Brodan’s heat at my back and then shivered as he kissed my bare shoulder, whisper-soft kisses that tightened my nipples behind my strapless bra. Then he tugged on the zipper of my dress, the sound resonating around the room as he slowly lowered it, the fabric loosening around my breasts and waist.
“I wanted to bring you here,” he said, his voice gruff, “to finish what I started all those years ago. To make you mine like I should have that day.”
It was like a dream as I turned in his arms and let the dress drop to the floor. I stepped out of it as I unbuttoned his waistcoat. We’d explored every inch of each other’s bodies, and yet the hunger for more persisted. To experience the bliss of Brodan inside me repeatedly.
I removed the strapless bra that matched my underwear, also courtesy of Brodan, but he murmured thickly for me to keep on my underwear as he stripped to his naked ass. Then he lowered me to the plush rug, stretching me out beneath him, and stared into my eyes as he braced his hands above my head.
A million emotions roiled in his striking pale gaze.
“What is it?” I asked.
He shook his head a little. “Just needed to remind myself this is real.”
Loud voices counting down from ten rent the air outside before I could say anything, and I smiled as Brodan murmured the countdown along with them.
Cheers filled the air with cries welcoming in the new year.
“Happy New Year, Brodan.”
“Happy New Year, my love.” He kissed me soft, sweet. But I could feel him hard and hot between my legs.
I caressed his naked, strong back and whispered in anticipation, “You really need to remove my underwear if we want to take this any further.”
“I intend to,” he promised, trailing kisses over my breast. “But first, a little reminder …” His hand coasted down my stomach and my muscles contracted with desire as his fingers slid beneath the fabric of the high-cut lingerie. Then his fingers were on that nub of nerves, rolling and pressing, pleasure zinging down my spine. I arched my hips into his touch. He looked up and watched me with savage determination on his face as I climbed toward climax. “That’s it, Sunset. Find it.”
As soon as I did, he swallowed my moans in his mouth. His fierce, yearning kiss that swept me up. I felt him brace himself over me again, pouring himself into me until we were both panting. When his mouth left mine, it was so he could kiss me all over. His tender kisses trailed a path down my neck, my chest, my breasts, to my stomach where he took his time over every freckle he seemed so fascinated by.
By the time he reached the waistband of my underwear, I was needy with want all over again. Our eyes met as his fingers curled into the fabric, and I lifted my hips to help him remove them. There was something about this act that turned Brodan on, and I reminded myself to always leave on my knickers so he could take them off. The thought made me smile, and curiosity gleamed in his eyes at the sight.
But then my underwear were off, and Brodan’s mouth was on me, his tongue circling my clit, his fingers gripping tight to my thighs as he feasted. He kissed and licked and laved until I exploded with relief. I’d barely stopped shuddering through it when Brodan braced himself over me again, holding my gaze as he nudged into me.
“Protection?” I had the forethought to gasp.
Brodan smirked. “I put it on while you were coming very hard, my love.”
I chuckled until it petered into a moan as he pressed inside in a slow, thick glide. He kissed me again, deep but languidly, and I wrapped him up, my thighs clasping his hips, my arms around his back, clutching him to me.
Eventually, I broke the sweetness of our kiss because I couldn’t contain my moans. With every slow thrust, Brodan pushed me toward climax. Seeing and feeling my pleasure seemed to be Brodan’s undoing, and I felt the strain and tension in his body as he forced himself to keep a steady, torturous pace.
“Brodan,” I whispered in a plea. “Brodan.”
“I’ll never get enough of that,” he told me hoarsely. “Hearing you say my name as you come.”
His words only pushed me further toward that cliff of satisfaction. My nails dug into his shoulders and he gritted his teeth, powering harder into me even as he kept up that tormenting pace. “Come for me, Sunset. Let me feel you come.”
And just like that, I did.
I cried out, throwing my head back and tightening my thighs around him, arching into his thrusts as my inner muscles spasmed around his cock.
Brodan stiffened and then let out an animalistic growl as he throbbed inside me, his hips slowing to a judder as he climaxed.
He groaned, collapsing over me, careful to keep much of his weight off me even as he buried his head against my throat. He ground his lower body into mine as the last of the shudders rippled through him.
I caressed his damp back as I stared into the stone ceiling above. The thought of ringing in every new year with Brodan like this crossed my mind, only to be chased out by fear. I didn’t want to think too far ahead. To make promises to myself that he nor I could keep.
So when Brodan lifted his head, kissed me sweetly, looked deep in my eyes, and confessed thickly, “I love you so much, Monroe Sinclair,” I froze.
I literally froze in his arms.
Part ecstatic, part utterly terrified.
Because I loved him too. I knew, despite everything that had happened between us, that I had never stopped loving Brodan Adair.
But I … the people I loved tended to hurt me.
“Brodan …”
Disappointment flared in his eyes, but to my shock, he whispered against my lips, “It’s okay. I’m not a patient man, my love. But for you, I’d wait a thousand lifetimes.”
Tears burned in my eyes, and I cried shakily, “You’re such a romantic bastard. I hate you.”
Brodan threw his head back in laughter and, because he was still inside me, I felt the sensation through my whole body. I giggled through my tears until Brodan kissed them off my cheeks. “No, you don’t,” he murmured with each kiss. “You love me. But I can wait until you’re ready to tell me that yourself.”
32
Brodan
Over the hiss of the frying pan, I heard the cottage door open and shut.
“Ugh, that was the longest first week back at school ever,” Monroe called out, and I could hear her dropping her bags, possibly kicking off her shoes. Anticipation filled me, and I turned to watch her walk through the kitchen doorway.
I’d seen my face plastered over billboards, had hundreds of screaming fans greet me at premieres … but waiting for Monroe Sinclair to come home to me was the dream I couldn’t believe had come true.
She smiled a weary but happy smile. “Something smells good.”
“Chicken fajitas,” I told her seconds before I bent down to kiss the mouth she offered me. “Rough day?”
Roe sighed heavily, and I gestured to the glass of wine I’d already poured for her. “You are my hero.” She took the glass and leaned against the counter, pushing her hair off her face. “It was like the kids were bouncing off the walls . I mean, we all knew the first day back after Christmas would be bad, it always is … but this lasted the whole bloody week. Hyper doesn’t even cover it.”
I nodded, my gaze dancing between her and the chicken spice mix in the frying pan. “Thane got a phone call from the school this week about Eilidh. Apparently, another girl was bullying Eilidh’s wee pal about what she got, or didn’t get, for Christmas. So Eilidh took it upon herself to smack her across the face. Is it wrong that I’m proud of her?”
Monroe shoved me playfully. “You better not have told her that, Brodan Adair.”
“What? That I’m proud my niece stood up for her friend?”
“It’s not that simple, and you know it. She can’t go around smacking people in the face, no matter how much they deserve it.”
I grinned. “That’s a terrible rule.”
She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Anyway, I heard about it from Eilidh’s teacher. It was quite a moment. Apparently, the girl was stunned. And while we can’t condone physical violence, perhaps she’ll think twice about tormenting people who have less than she does.”
“Aye. According to Thane, Eilidh was just as surprised by the moment as anyone. She cried, the wee darling. She knows she did wrong.”
Monroe moved closer to me. “I love how you love her.”
The words Do you love how I love you? hung on the tip of my tongue, but I forced them back. It had been two weeks since I told Monroe I loved her. I’d said it once more, and she hadn’t said it back. While it stung, I understood. And I could wait.
“Dinner is ready.” I took the pan off the heat and spooned the chicken into the tortillas I’d laid out.
“Do you know how amazing it is to come home after a hard week at work to a sexy man cooking dinner?” Monroe teased gleefully as she threw toppings onto her fajitas. “Where did you learn to cook?”
“I played a chef in a movie once.”
“Oh, aye, I remember that one. It was a horror film, right? Kind of gross, if I remember correctly.” She wrinkled her nose.
An ache panged in my chest. Over the last few months, I’d realized from the bits and pieces Roe told me that she’d probably watched every single one of my films. I never teased her about it because if things were the other way around, I would have watched every one of her films too. And it would have killed me to see her but feel so disconnected.
I cleared my throat. “Aye, it was a horror about a sous chef my character hires who starts putting human—”
“Ick, don’t. Eating.” She took a massive bite of fajita to make her point, and I snorted.
“Anyway,” I said, following her into the living room with my dinner, “the director wanted me to take some culinary lessons, so I looked like I knew what I was doing. A top British chef trained me on how to slice and dice like a real chef, and I got him to give me some cooking tips and recipes. He said I was a natural.”
“Of course you are.” She sat down, her feet curled under her. “You’re good at anything you put your mind to.”
“Do you think so?” I asked in all seriousness.
Catching my tone, Roe swallowed her bite and asked, “What’s going on?”
What was going on was that I was ready to fully commit to Ardnoch, and sitting around waiting for someone to like the screenplay I’d written would not cut it as a job. I’d been busy this week and had made two very big decisions that I knew I had to run by Monroe. I hoped that she’d be sharing in them in some capacity or another. Then there was a third issue concerning her entirely that I needed to raise. “Three things. One is that I’ve been working with Thane for the past few weeks on drawings for a house.”
She stopped eating; her eyes widened a little.
I forged ahead, feeling more nervous than I thought I would be at this moment. “As part of our inheritance, Lachlan divided up some land in Caelmore so we’d all have a plot to build a house. My plot is close to Arran’s and Arro’s plots. View right over the water. The build will be in keeping with my brothers’ and sister’s homes. A large family home, modern design, lots of glass overlooking the water.”
Roe swallowed. “That’s … that’s … amazing.”
“You think?”
“Of course.”
“I’d … I’d like you to look at the drawings. I’d like your opinion.” Because I hope like hell this will be your home as much as it is mine.
She nodded slowly. “I’d be happy to look at them.”
“I really want your opinion, Sunset.”
Whatever she saw in my expression made realization dawn in hers. Her lips formed an O. Then the breath whooshed out of her. “Brodan … I … you know I haven’t decided to stay …”
Hurt flared, but I tried not to show it. “Aye, I know. But just in case you do.”
At the sudden, sad uncertainty on her face, I changed the subject. “Two, Lachlan and I looked at our holdings, and we think we’ve found some land that would work well for a distillery. Lachlan wants to go into business with me, and so I’m gearing up to do all the research.”
Her gorgeous smile was genuine. “Brodan, that’s wonderful news! I’m so excited for you. I think a whisky from you and Lachlan would be a massive hit. You have a hook already for your advertising. It’ll be fantastic.”
“You think so?” A flood of anticipation rushed through me at the thought of running a business I loved—and doing it at home. It would bring more jobs and boost the local economy too.
“Of course I do.” She reached over and squeezed my leg. “Like I said, you can do anything you put your mind to.”
