The Wells Brothers: Luke Read online

“Seriously, you lot had nothing better to do?”

  “We ate pizza.”

  “Like that’s better?”

  “You should try this pizza. It’s awesome.”

  “You are seriously twisted.”

  “Says the man who has me trapped on his lap.”

  “That’s not twisted. That’s ingenious.” And unexpectedly pleasant.

  Mikki slanted him a look from the corner of her eye.

  Her face was side-on to him, and his gaze drifted down from those eyelashes that could hide a multitude of wicked thoughts by simply lowering over those sparkling green eyes, to that pert nose, down to full lips and lower to a determined little chin.

  Mikki was pretty. He’d kind of noticed before in passing, more subconsciously because they were usually busy trading barbs, but now with her sitting on his lap so close to him with no one else around, he was struck by just how pretty. Kind of cute. And her humour kind of made him smile, made his own humour perk up and snap back retorts.

  He never thought he’d ever find himself noticing her. Really noticing her. It plain out surprised him.

  Not to mention piqued his interest.

  As if feeling his renewed regard, Mikki turned her head to look at him. “What?”

  Blinking, he reorientated. “What?”

  “Something on your mind?”

  You. Not sure where that thought had come from, Luke refocussed on safer ground by pointing back to the picture of the garden pathway. “Before you got side-tracked with the stories of my glory days as an adventurous youth-”

  Mikki snorted.

  “-we were discussing pathways.”

  “No, you were. I was trying to find photos of the mansion in its hey-day.”

  “No, you were giving me heaps about not being able to do cobblestones, which, I should just point out now, I can do.” Before she could add anything to that, he continued, “Look closely at that photo. What do you see?”

  She glanced at it. “Pathway. Garden.”

  “Look closer.”

  “Still seeing the garden and pathway.”

  Shifting his arm from her waist, he placed his hand on her back and gave a subtle little push. “Look closer at the pathway.”

  With a sigh, she leaned forward to study it.

  Luke leaned forward with her.

  Now their heads were close together, the warmth of their bodies meshing with each other. Oh yeah, that was nice.

  “It’s a pathway,” she declared, obviously not as affected as he by their closeness. “A cobblestone pathway.”

  He pointed at the pathway. “Imagine someone walking on it.”

  Growing serious, she studied the photo, a small frown creasing her brows. Her head inclined slightly to one side, the heavy braid sliding across her back to brush against his hand. He’d never noticed before how soft her hair was, his fingers shifting to play with the curls at the end of the braid.

  “It’s uneven.” She turned her head to look at him. “Unsafe?”

  Man, her face was near his, their heads so close that her breath was warm on his lips.

  Something strange slid through him, strange because it was Mikki, strange because it was a sensation he’d never dreamed he’d experience when in her presence. Normally he was amused, exasperated, annoyed. But this emotion now, this sensation, it was sudden and unexpected. And disturbing.

  They looked at each other, both growing so still. Her eyes widened a fraction at something she saw on his face but she didn’t draw back.

  Everything around him disappeared, growing distant, the only being he was now aware of the one sitting on his thigh. Luke’s hand slid lower, trailed into the small of her back before shifting slowly lower to spread out over the back of her hips, his fingers curving ever so slightly beneath her bottom.

  Mikki’s breath caught even as his blood suddenly slowed, thickened, the sensation of her body so close to his, her warmth seeping into him, her scent tantalising his senses.

  His gaze dropped to her lips, so alluring in their soft lushness. Would they be as soft and sweet as they looked? As her lips parted slightly in a sharp inhale of breath, he couldn’t help but wonder how she tasted. Wanted to know how she tasted.

  His blood stirred hotly, coiling in his loins, pushing through his veins in a hot, heavy flow that pulled at his baser instincts, and he leaned forward without thinking, his attention on those plump lips, the need to get closer making his hand on her lower back pull her towards him, bring her nearer-

  A book dropping sharply down on the table had them both leaping apart - or as apart as Mikki could go, because his hand tightening reflectively prevented her from jumping off his lap.

  Luke looked up to find Anna glowering. In her hands she held another book which she placed with deliberation onto the book she’d dropped onto the table.

  “This is a public place,” she said tightly. “Please have a care what you do here.”

  Astonished, he watched her walk back to the desk. No sway in her hips now, nope, she was striding along like she wanted to kick something out of her way. Probably him.

  “Um…” Voice a little shaky, Mikki said, “I think it’d be wiser if I got up.”

  “Not likely,” he growled.

  Mikki froze.

  Well shit, that growl was unexpected, not to mention how low it was in his throat. What the hell was wrong with him? She was watching him with a hit of wariness, unease and uncertainty. Well crap, no wonder. He’d been about to kiss her.

  Kiss Mikki Horton, the sometimes annoying prickle in his existence.

  Maybe his blood sugar was low.

  Maybe he needed something sweet.

  Like Mikki’s lips.

  No!

  With effort he dragged his attention back to the photo, tapping it with more force than needed. “People will trip on cobblestones.”

  “Yep,” Mikki almost croaked.

  “I’d need to ensure the grounds were as safe as possible.”

  “Good thinking.”

  “People are quick to sue today, even if it is their fault.” He stroked over the photo with a fingertip.

  “Yep.”

  “I know Elspeth will have good insurance, but I’ll help where I can in making sure as much as possible that things are safe.”

  “That’s nice of you.”

  “I can make pavers look old and authentic if I can’t find and use the original cobblestones.”

  She cleared her throat. “Maybe I should get up.”

  Yeah, she should get off his lap. He should let her go for his own sanity. So he didn’t, God knew why.

  Okay, Luke knew why. He liked her sitting on him, liked the feel of her soft, warm body against his, her scent teasing his nostrils, the sensation of those pillowy boobs nestled into his side because yep, he held her against him. She might be trying to hold herself stiffly, but he had her in a tight enough hold that she was mashed up to his side.

  With her palm braced on his lower abdomen. God, he could feel the warmth through his t-shirt. Man, he’d like nothing better than to lean back and dare her to slide that hand lower, to tug his jeans open and move further down, to trace his stiffening length and palm him, to-

  “I couldn’t help but overhear,” a voice said brightly.

  Dragging his thoughts from nefarious paths, Luke looked up to find a tall, thin man with a dour expression standing beside the table. Luke was pretty sure no one could hear his boner starting, that was nigh on impossible, so Lanky had to be talking about something else.

  Wait. Luke almost froze, his eyes watching the man’s mouth move, but the whole time his thoughts banging away inside his head. Kind of like his boner wanted to bang around inside Mi- Jesus! What the hell am I thinking? A boner? For Red? Am I insane?

  Or hormonal. Yeah, hormonal. Men got hormonal, didn’t they? Shit, he had no idea. All he knew was that he had a stiffy starting to form at just the thought of the redheaded sheila perched on his lap groping him. Bloody hell!

 
Grappling to come to terms with what he’d just realised, Luke became aware that Mikki and Lanky were talking. Glancing up in a little bit of a self-induced daze, he saw that she was talking quite earnestly.

  Hey, obviously he was the only one affected by what had almost transpired between them. She’d sure as heck recovered fast.

  That was enough to make him shove his disreputable thoughts down deep and concentrate on what they were actually saying. She could do it? So could he. It meant nothing.

  “Luke?” Mikki tapping him on the shoulder had him blinking.

  “Yes?”

  “I need to get up. Wally’s going to show me some books with interior photos of the old mansion.”

  “Huh?”

  She looked at him like he was an imbecile. Lanky was doing the same.

  “If you could let me go?” Her eyebrows rose. “Now? Photos, Luke. Of the mansion? Remember?”

  “Oh. Oh! Yeah, of course.” He released her, standing as soon as she did, only to stop when she gave him the oddest glance. “Now what?”

  “The photos are of the inside of the mansion. You’re researching the outside, remember?”

  Geez, of course he was. He gave himself a mental head slap and resumed his seat. “I’ll be right here.”

  “Didn’t think you’d be anywhere else,” she dryly. As Lanky walked away from the table, she leaned down to whisper in Luke’s ear, “Unless you and Anna end up boinking like bunnies on the table.”

  Her teasing words were fighting words. Her warm, moist breath in his ear was ball-coiling inducing. But it also meant that if she was so unaffected then he’d imagined the whole thing between them. Looked like the only one who’d had kissing on their minds had been him.

  That unwelcome thought made him disgruntled. “Maybe I’ll take Anna up on it.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me. Just make sure you put something in the air besides your bare arse so I know in time and don’t interrupt.” With that parting shot, Mikki strolled away.

  Eyes narrowed, Luke watched those curvy hips sway provocatively down the aisle. Man, she was asking for a parting shot but right then he couldn’t think of a thing to say. His bare arse in the air? He’d like to have an arm long enough to reach out and give her a whack on her arse as she walked so nonchalantly away. Woman had a mouth on her, that was for sure.

  Someone ought to kiss that sass away.

  He could do that.

  No! Enough!

  Sucking in a deep breath, Luke turned back to the book he’d been studying - okay, looking at while the whole time his thoughts had been on the curvy woman on his lap and in the circle of his arm. It was time to stop fooling around and get down to business. He was on Elspeth’s payroll, he had a contract signed, and he had plans to deliver. Time to get to work.

  Reaching out to the middle of the table, he snagged a sheet of paper and started to take notes as he leafed through the book.

  Time passed as he immersed himself in the photos, the long-ago gardens of the mansion unfurling before him. Several times he got up to take photocopies, piling them up on the table beside the books. The pages filled with notes and sketches as ideas came to him.

  The gardens had been beautiful, he had no trouble seeing them in his mind’s eyes amidst the ruins that now filled the surroundings of the mansion. The trick would be reproducing them - or did he want to reproduce them? Maybe some of the original gardens, with something a little more modern in-between to link the years from when the gardens were first created to now. A blending. Maybe old-style around the perimeter becoming more modern as it neared the house, or vice versa. Or maybe he should keep it all the same, as old fashioned as possible.

  Brushing the tip of his thumb across his lips, he debated the idea. Definitely something he needed to discuss with Elspeth, see what she thought.

  Stretching, he eased his neck side-to-side, easing out a few kinks from hunching over the books and paper. More used to working with his hands, sitting down for a period of time wasn’t something of which he did a lot.

  Getting up, he cast his gaze over the books. Some of these held good pictures he wanted to check out and take back to the mansion to study and talk to with Elspeth. The others could go back.

  Gathering up the books he didn’t want, he placed them back on the shelf, glancing around as he did so to see if he could spot Mikki. Not seeing her, he picked up the few books he wanted and the pile of papers and started weaving around the aisles.

  No Mikki. Concerned, he did another quick hunt before walking across to the main desk.

  Anna gave him a frosty look.

  “I’ll take these.” He gestured. “You haven’t seen my friend, have you?”

  “She left.”

  That had Luke’s eyebrows shooting up. “She what?”

  “Left.” Anna said it with satisfaction.

  “With Lanky?”

  “Who?”

  “I mean Wally. She left with Wally?”

  Anna shrugged. “Possibly.”

  Possibly? Possibly? Mikki had left with a strange man without telling him? Luke started for the door, rounding the wall to see her standing outside talking to Lanky. Against her chest she held a book and what looked to be several papers.

  Relieved, he returned to the desk to find Anna waiting for him. If looks could kill, he’d have carked it on the spot.

  “If you want to check these books out,” she said coldly, “I’ll need your driver’s licence to get you a card.”

  Pulling the wallet from his back pocket, he took out his driver’s licence and handed it to her. “Thanks.” Then, because he wasn’t a mean person by nature, he attempted a pleasant, “Been here long?”

  “Long enough.”

  It was snowing in hell, apparently. “Okay.”

  Handing him a card, she seemed to thaw a little. “I was born here, actually.”

  “Must be a nice place for you to decide to stay here.”

  “Trapped, more like.”

  Oookay. “Sorry to hear that.” He reached for the books.

  She didn’t say anything further, but he felt her gaze on him as he walked to the wall and around it, a sigh of relief slipping from him as the wall cut her from sight.

  Outside, Mikki turned to him from where she and Lanky were still talking. Her eyes sparkled as usual. “Wally’s going to take us to the museum and show us the photos they have of the inside of the mansion in its hey-day.”

  Luke looked at Lanky. “You know a lot about the mansion?”

  Lanky regarded him distantly, as though Luke were shit on his shoes. “I’m a descendant of the original butler.”

  Maybe Luke didn’t measure up in Lanky’s butler-clad genes. “So you’d know a lot about the comings and goings over the years, I’m guessing.”

  “A lot of it, yes.” Lanky switched his attention to Mikki. “Your aunt would benefit from coming with us, seeing as how it’s her place now.”

  Thoughtfully, Mikki nodded. “Not a bad idea. I’ll see if she’s free to come.”

  “Where is she?” Lanky queried.

  Moving up beside Mikki, Luke gestured to the other side of the street. “Coming right now.”

  They all watched Elspeth walking daintily across the road, not one waver from her sky-high heels. As she approached, she beamed.

  The woman was always beaming, always happy. Maybe that’s where Mikki got her spirit. Then again, where Elspeth was like a light, pastel, airy little fairy, Mikki was almost earthy with her enjoyment-laden laugh, her sparkling eyes, and her very scrumptious body.

  Wait, had he really just thought that?

  Before Luke could upbraid himself, Elspeth stopped beside them. “Hello, dears. How did your research go?”

  Before they could answer, Lanky stepped forward to take her hand and actually bend over it in an old-fashioned bow. “Delighted, I’m sure.”

  Mikki shot Luke a what-the hell look, which he returned with raised eyebrows.

  Give Elspeth credit, she took it all in
stride as though strange men bowing over her hand happened every day.

  Maybe it did.

  “And you are…?”

  “Enchanted.” He angled his head up to smile at her.

  In his dour face, it was a little scary.

  Behind him, Mikki rolled her eyes. Luke rolled his right back at her.

  Elspeth didn’t miss a beat. “Well, Enchanted, I’m pleased to meet you.”

  “Ha ha.” Lanky straightened. “Wally DeOvert at your service.”

  “Used to be the butler,” Luke said. “Serving’s in his genes.”

  Mikki grinned widely, wiping it away just as quickly when Lanky, pointedly ignoring Luke and his smart-arsed comment, turned to her. “You never mentioned how young your aunt was.”

  Good Lord. Was he really hearing this? Luke felt like sticking one finger in his ear and giving it a good waggle around, but he had no doubt Elspeth would smack him upside the head if he did that, plus, regardless of Mikki’s juvenile influence, he was an adult.

  And Elspeth’s employee.

  That last one was the deal-breaker.

  “My, aren’t you the flatterer.” Elspeth might have appeared flattered, but her eyes were calculating as she smiled up at Lanky. “You must know a lot about the people who lived at the mansion.”

  “Absolutely.” Lanky held his arm out to her. “I was going to take your lovely niece to the museum to show her the photos and tell you about the various members.” He held his other arm out to Mikki. “Shall we?”

  No way was this jerk taking the women anywhere without Luke. He quickly grabbed Mikki’s arm. “We’ll just put this stuff in the car and be right back, Elspeth.”

  “Of course, dears.” Her eyes were lasered onto Lanky.

  As soon as they were out of ear shot, Mikki started laughing.

  “What?” Luke queried.

  “Did you see the way Aunt was looking at Wally? She’ll suck him dry of every bit of knowledge he has.”

  “She did have this glint in her eyes,” Luke mused.

  “Don’t be fooled by her dainty demeanour, that woman can drag state secrets out of the Prime Minister with one bat of her eyelashes.”

  “I think you’re exaggerating just a touch.” He beeped the car unlocked.

  Mikki handed him the books and papers she carried, waited until he was bent into the car to place them on the seat and announced, “She works for Aaron.”