Stalking the Pharmacist (10 page)

“I’ll pick you up about six, okay?”

He pulled his jeans on, being careful not
to catch his stiff cock in the zipper before he moved to pull his shirt over
his head.

“Yeah, that’d be great. But how are you and
I going to act in front of Scott?”

Jack sat in the single chair against the
wall and tugged on his shoes. He hadn’t really thought about that.

“Natural, I guess. You’re mine no matter
what, so do whatever you like.”

Ash gave him a huge smile, and hot honey
swept through his
center
. God, he already loved her.

He knelt on the bed for another quick kiss,
her taste bursting through him and making him purr. “I’ll see you soon.”

When he pulled back, Ash was giggling.

“Why do you make those weird noises
sometimes?”

Jack fought the blush down as he felt his
cheeks heat.

“I’ll tell you some other time. Let’s get
Scott in line first, if that’s okay?”

He’d told her the truth; a lie by omission
wasn’t really a lie. Was it?

Ash just shrugged and settled back into the
pillows.

“Okay, Jack.”

He winked at her and tore himself away
before he could forget his objective. He opened and closed the doors to the
motel and bounced out to his car.

He jumped into the cab, feeling happier
than he had in decades. He had a future and he was going to be happy.

Now, if he could just get his twin to get
with the program.

He
dialed
Scott’s
number and heard the click as his brother picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Scott.
You free for dinner?”

“Yeah.
Why?”

“The two of us need to spend
some time with Ash.”

“I don’t want to, and I
certainly don’t need to.”

Jack rolled his eyes and
pressed the phone closer to his ear. It was time to push his brother a little
outside of his comfort zone. They didn’t have unlimited time with Ash, and he
wanted it all sorted out before she had to go home.

“Well, I’m half in love with
the woman and if you were any sort of brother you’d at least want to meet her
for more than a few minutes and get to know her!” A soft growl came through the
phone, and Jack grinned. Jealously may not be the best way to go, but calling
on Scott’s family integrity would definitely get the man’s attention. “I know
you’re not interested in being a three-part family, but Ash is awesome and I
want her.”

Another strangled noise and a
huff. “Still don’t see why I have to see her.”

Strange butterflies whipped
around Jack’s belly as he heard the strain in his brother’s voice. Scott was
confused, and that meant he was thinking things over.

Jack knew that they were
destined to love Ash together, knew it all the way to his bones. They’d been
wrong, so wrong, about everything. He and Scott had gone against their fate,
believing they knew better, and they’d paid dearly.

He clenched his teeth and let
out a soft whine.

Yes, they’d fucked up, but
they’d found their mate now and she needed more than just him. He and Scott
were
a perfect pair. They were designed to love one woman
and give her everything she needed.

“Because
you’re my brother.
If I convince her that I need her, she’ll be moving here. I
want you to be a part of our lives, and besides…aren’t you at least a tad
curious?”

Scott huffed and puffed a
minute, then went quiet.

“Okay, I’ll join you guys for
dinner. But don’t expect anything more than that, Jack. I’m happy as I am.”

Jack grinned so big his
cheeks ached.

“I
know,
bro. See you at O’Meara’s at six thirty.”

****

Scott stood on the nature strip and took a
deep breath in through his mouth. He let it out slowly, his shoulders sagging
from their too high position near his ears. A strange swirl was making his
belly feel sick. He didn’t want to do this, he really didn’t.

He glanced in through the glass door of the
only nice restaurant in
Trenthy
and felt as though
something akin to a two-by-four smacked him squarely in the gut.

There
she is.

Everything in him relaxed and
purred,
his lion supremely happy with fate’s choice. His
gaze practically devoured her healthy, glowing skin and the huge smile Ash was
giving his brother who sat across the table from her.

Could he really do this? Meet Ash as his
brother’s girlfriend,
then
walk away.

He shook his head and reached for the door
handle, even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk away once he got to
know her.

Then
run! What are you doing?

His hand shook as he pulled open the door
and stepped over the threshold, the light of the brightly lit room making him
blink as he took another deep breath to calm the racing of his heart.

Together, he and Jack had decided that
their fated mate didn’t exist. After his horrendous marriage, he was certain
he’d end up alone. He still may, of course, but he’d been wrong about one
thing. She was most definitely real.

Each step he took through the restaurant
made his thigh muscles flex and shake a little. He was certain he’d end up
alone, but as he walked closer to Ash, the inevitability of his new future now
felt like a river breaking its banks and flowing over new land. Was he really
going to have a new future?

This wasn’t what was meant to happen; he’d
wanted to hold on to his pain forever. That might have sounded stupid, but it
was what he knew, and where he was comfortable.

He stepped up to the table, his skin now slicked
with an uncomfortable sheen of sweat as Ash turned toward him. Her quick intake
of breath and the lust swirling in her eyes made him want to sink to his knees
and thank whatever
supreme being
had sent her his way.

“Hi, Scott.”

Her voice was husky and soothing, yet warm
and welcoming like a spring rain. Swallowing past the lump that rose up his
throat, he rubbed at the aching spot on his chest where his heart was kicking
out at him. He’d never believed in love at first sight, but God, if there was such
a thing, this was it.

“Sit down.” Jack pulled out a chair next to
him, and Scott fell into it, absurdly having to blink away hot tears as Ash
continued to smile at him like he’d just come home.

He coughed and cleared his throat, picking
up the menu lying on the table in front of him.

Cool,
stay cool. You have no idea if she even wants you as her second mate yet.

“You guys ordered yet?”

Jack moved from the chair next to him and
slid onto the seat next to Ash, his arm moving around her with familiarity as he
pulled her close.

Scott held his breath and almost groaned as
Ash settled against his brother, her gaze flicking up to Jack’s face with a
smile before turning back to him.

Oh
that’s right. They’re dating, and you’re just the third wheel. Fuck!

“No, we were waiting for you. I’ve never
been here before. Can you recommend anything, Scott?” Ash smiled at him again,
and Scott stared down at the printed words on the white paper. His eyes kept
crossing, which made it impossible to read. He breathed deep through his nose
as he fought with the molten anger flowing through him.

“Ah…” He made humming noises as he
struggled with his breathing, his throat closing up on him.

Jack spoke in his stead. “The steak’s good,
but I haven’t tried much else.”

Scott looked up at his grinning twin. The
bloody caveman wouldn’t eat much else.

“The white wine risotto’s nice and so is
the salmon.” He looked at Ash and forced the red haze from his brain. He could
be happy for his brother, he could…

Yeah,
with the one woman designed for you too!

Oh
shut the hell up!

Scott frowned and turned to call a waiter
over. He couldn’t even control his own thoughts at the moment.

“Can we get some drinks?”

The waiter nodded and pulled out his pad
and pen.

“I’ll have a glass of cab
sauv
.
Ash?”
He turned toward the
happy couple and clenched his teeth so tightly together pain splintered along
his jaw.

Jack had Ash’s lips firmly pressed against
his, his hand cupping her face with a reverence that was almost beautiful to
watch.

He glared back at the waiter, who looked
down as fast as he could to avoid Scott’s gaze.

“I’ll have the chicken risotto. No
mushrooms, extra Parmesan.”

Jack’s voice sounded behind him.
“Ash, honey, what would you like?”

Scott forced his gaze back to them.

“I’ll have a glass of chardonnay and the
duck, please.”

Good
choice.

“Steak, medium rare and a beer, thanks.”

Typical.

The waiter left and Scott concentrated on
his body’s movements.
Breath
still flowing in and out,
he linked his fingers in his lap and relaxed the tight muscles in his arms as
much as possible.

“What did you guys do today?”

He could do this, he could. He’d made his
choice, told Jack he didn’t want her…now he had to man up and live with it.
Didn’t he?

Ash giggled and looked up at Jack, the
blood in her cheeks making her shine even brighter than she already had been.

“We just stayed in bed, mostly.
Talked about life, past crap, everything and anything.”

Flutters of unease rippled through Scott’s
belly as he looked between his brother and Ash. They wouldn’t have discussed
him, would they?

“Past stories?”
He forced a smile to his face and some
humor
into his voice. “Like the football games Jack led to
victory?”

Ash smiled and leaned against the man she
had obviously been intimate with already.

Acid burned in Scott’s gut so bad he had to
lay a hand on his abs to still the spasms.

“Yeah, but more important
stuff than that too.
If
I really am the person that fate designed for you two…” She stopped and Scott’s
heart jumped in his chest. “I’m sorry. I mean, for Jack, I suppose…anyway…then
I want to know about the good and the bad.”

Scott’s heart was thumping so hard it made
him sick every time it hit his ribs.

“Like what?” His voice squeaked as he asked
the question, and he coughed to clear his throat.

The waiter delivered their drinks, and he
lifted his glass in desperation for something cool in his throat.

Jack leaned forward and lifted his beer.

“To new beginnings and to
you, Ash.
You are a
godsend, my beautiful girl.”

Ash blushed and
clinked
her glass with Jack’s, turning to do the same thing to his.

Scott couldn’t think properly; it felt like
everything was moving in slow motion. He nodded and drank half the glass in one
swallow.

The peppery liquid slid down his throat and
he shook his head to clear the regrets floating around the cavernous space.

“What did you get up to today?” Jack asked
him, his eyebrows rising in question.

Scott shrugged, feeling his lion rising
within him, needing another run.

“Nothing much.
Went for a run, did some work.”

Their meals were served, and Scott’s
stomach rumbled as the sweet chicken scent filled his nostrils. He lifted his
arm automatically and dug into one of his
favorite
dishes.

As his stomach filled and his body relaxed,
he found he could breathe a little easier.

“So, tell me about your work, Scott. Jack
was hopeless at explaining what you do.”

Scott rolled his eyes at his brother, who
shrugged and kept eating his huge lump of meat.

“I do research for the government.”

He picked up his glass and took the last
sip of his wine,
savoring
the taste of the red wine
while the warmth of it swilled around his palate and down his throat.

“What sort of research?”

Scott froze,
then
slowly set his glass down. No one ever asked him a question past the initial
one. In fact, his answer usually ended a conversation. Who wanted to know about
boring research, especially when his brother, the footballer, was around?

“Genetic research into
the origins of cellular memory and possible uses of junk DNA.”