Kitabı oku: «Desiring the Reilly Brothers»
Three delicious, handsome brothers make one impossible bet - can any of these Marines, surrounded by temptation, go for ninety days without sex?
DESIRING THE REILLY BROTHERS
Three favourite authors bring you three sizzling romances
Maureen Child is a California native who loves to travel. Every chance they get, she and her husband are taking off on another research trip. The author of more than sixty books, Maureen loves a happy ending and still swears that she has the best job in the world. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children and a golden retriever with delusions of grandeur.
Visit her website at www.maureenchild.com.
Desiring The Reilly Brothers
Maureen Child
MILLS & BOON®
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The Tempting Mrs Reilly
To Desire readers - You guys are the best. The reason we do what we do. Thank you for your continued support!
Happy reading!
Maureen
Chapter One
“Ten thousand bucks is a lot of money,” Brian Reilly said and, grabbing his beer, leaned back against the scarred, red Naugahyde bench seat.
“Don’t make plans,” his brother Aidan added quickly as he snatched a tortilla chip from the wooden bowl set in the middle of the table. “You don’t get it all, remember.”
“Yeah,” Connor added. “You have us to share it with.”
“And me,” Liam said with a smile, “to guide you.”
“Don’t I know it.” Brian grinned at his brothers. Liam, the oldest by three years, looked completely at home, sitting in the dimly lit barroom. Not so unusual, unless you took into account the fact that Liam was a priest. But first and foremost, he was a Reilly. And the Reilly brothers were a unit. Now and always.
As the word unit shot through his brain, Brian turned his gaze on the other two men at the table with him. It was like looking into a mirror—twice. The Reilly triplets. Aidan, Brian and Connor. Named alphabetically in order of their appearances, the three of them had been standing together since the moment they took their first steps.
They’d even joined the Marine Corps together, doing their time in boot camp in stoic solidarity. They’d always been there for each other—to give moral support or a kick in the ass—whichever was required at the time.
Now, they were meeting to celebrate a windfall.
Their great-uncle Patrick, himself the last surviving brother of a set of triplets, had died, and having no other relations, he’d left ten thousand dollars to the Reilly triplets. Now all they had to do was figure out how to split the money.
“I say we split it four ways,” Connor said, shooting Liam a glance. “Reilly’s—all for one and one for all.”
Liam grinned. “I’d like to say no thanks,” he admitted. “But, since the church really needs a new roof, I’ll just say, I like how Connor thinks.”
“Twenty-five hundred won’t buy you a new roof,” Aidan said. “Won’t buy much of anything for any of us, really.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, too,” Liam said and looked at each of his brothers. “Why not have a contest? Winner take all?”
Brian felt the zing of competition and knew his brothers felt it, too. Nothing they liked better than competing. Especially against each other. But the quiet smile on Liam’s face warned him that he wasn’t going to like what was coming next. Sure, Liam was a priest, but being a Reilly first, made him tricky. “What kind of contest?” Brian asked.
Liam smiled. “Worried?”
“Hell no,” Aidan put in. “The day a Reilly backs off a challenge is the day when—”
“—when he’s six feet under,” Connor finished for him. “What’ve you got in mind, Liam?”
Their older brother smiled again. “You guys are always talking about commitment and sacrifice, right?”
Brian glanced at his brothers before nodding. “Hell yes. We’re Marines. We’re all about sacrifice. Commitment.”
“Ooh-rah!” Connor and Aidan hooted and highfived each other.
“Yeah?” Liam leaned back and shifted his gaze between the three other men at the table. “But the fact is, you guys know zip about either.”
Aidan and Connor blustered, but it was Brian who shut them up with a wave of his hand. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, I’m willing to acknowledge your military commitment. God knows I spend enough time praying for the three of you.” His gaze drifted from one to the other of the triplets. “But this is something different. Harder.”
“Harder than going into battle?” Connor took a sip of his beer and leaned back. “Please.”
“Anything you can come up with, we can take,” Aidan said.
“Damn straight,” Brian added.
“Glad to hear it.” Liam leaned his elbows on the tabletop and gazed from one triplet to the next as he lowered his voice. “Because this’ll separate the Marines from the boys.” He paused for effect, then said, “No sex for ninety days.”
Silence dropped down on the table like a rock tossed from heaven.
“Come on,” Connor said, shooting his siblings a look of wild panic.
“No way. Ninety days?” Aidan looked horrified.
Brian listened to the others, but kept his mouth shut, watching his older brother while he waited for the other shoe to drop. He didn’t have long.
“I’m only talking about three months,” Liam said, that wily smile on his face again. “Too hard for you guys? I’ve made that commitment for life.”
Aidan shuddered.
“That’s nuts.” Connor shook his head.
“What’s the matter?” Liam challenged. “Too scared to try?”
“Who the hell wants to try?” Aidan added.
“Three months with no sex? Impossible.” Brian glared at Liam.
“You’re probably right,” the oldest brother said and smiled as he took another long drink of beer. Setting the bottle down onto the tabletop, he cradled it between his palms and said with a shrug, “You’d never make it anyway. None of you. Women have been after you guys since junior high. No way could you last three months.”
“Didn’t say we couldn’t,” Connor muttered.
“Didn’t say we would, either,” Aidan pointed out, just so no one would misunderstand.
“Sure, I understand,” Liam said, shooting each of them a look. “What you’re saying is, that clearly, a priest is way tougher than any Marine.”
There was no way they were going to be able to live with that statement. In a matter of a few seconds, Liam had his deal and the triplets had signed on to the biggest challenge of their lives.
How they’d been sucked into the rest of it, Brian wasn’t able to figure out, even days later. But he was pretty sure that Liam had missed his calling. He should have been a car salesman, not a priest.
“No sex for ninety days,” Brian said, his gaze shifting to each of his brothers in turn. The other two Reilly triplets didn’t look any happier about this than he did. But damned if he could see a way out of it without the three of them coming off looking like wusses. “Loser forfeits his share to the whole.”
“And if you all lose,” Liam added cheerfully, “my church gets the money for a new roof.”
“We won’t lose,” Brian assured him. Not that he was looking forward to a short spate of celibacy, but now that he was in the competition, he was in it to win. Reillys didn’t lose well.
“Glad to hear it,” Liam said. “Then you won’t mind the penalty phase.”
“What penalty?” Brian eyed his older brother warily.
Liam grinned.
“You’ve been planning this, haven’t you?” Connor demanded, leaning his forearms on the table.
“Let’s say I’ve given it some thought.”
“Quite a bit, obviously,” Aidan mused.
Liam nodded. “The church does need a new roof, remember.”
“Uh-huh.” Brian glared at him. “But this isn’t just about a roof, is it? This is about torturing us.”
“Hey,” Liam said with a crooked grin. “I’m the oldest. That’s my job.”
“Always were damn good at it,” Connor murmured.
“Thank you. Now,” Liam said, enjoying himself far too much, “onto the penalty phase. And I’m especially proud of this, by the way. Remember last year, when Captain Gallagher lost that round of golf to Aidan?”
Aidan grinned in fond memory, but Brian’s brain jumped ahead, and realized just where Liam was going with this. “No way.”
“Oh yeah. Gallagher looked so good in his costume, I figure it’s perfect for you guys, too. Losers have to wear coconut bras and hula skirts while riding around the base in a convertible,” Liam said, then added, “on Battle Color day.”
The one day of the year when every dignitary, high-ranking officer and all of their families was on base for ceremonies. Oh yeah. The humiliation would be complete.
Aidan and Connor started arguing instantly, but Brian just watched Liam. When the other two wound down, he said, “Okay, big brother, what’s your stake in this? I don’t see you risking anything, here.”
“Ah, I’m risking that new roof.” Liam picked up his beer again, took another long swallow, then looked at each of his brothers. “My twenty-five hundred is riding on this, too. If one of you guys lasts the whole three months, then he gets all the money. If you all fold, which I suspect is going to happen, then the church gets it all, and the new roof is mine. Ours.” He frowned. “The church’s.”
“And how do you know if we last the three months or not?”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Liam grinned. “You’re a Reilly. We never lie. At least not to each other.”
Brian looked at the mirror images of himself. He got brief, reluctant nods from each of them. Then he turned back to Liam. “You’ve got a deal. When does the challenge start?”
“Tonight.”
“Hey, I’ve got a date with Deb Hannigan tonight,” Connor complained.
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate you being a gentleman,” Liam said, smiling.
“This is gonna suck,” Aidan said tightly.
Brian admitted silently, that Aidan had never been more right. Then he shifted his gaze to each of his brothers and wondered just which of them would be the last Reilly standing.
He fully intended that it would be him.
Tina Coretti Reilly parked her rental car in her grandmother’s driveway, then opened the door and stepped out into the swampy heat of a South Carolina early-summer day.
She instantly felt as though she’d been smacked with a wet, electric blanket. Even in June, the air was thick and heavy, and she knew that by the end of August everyone in town would be praying for cooler weather.
Tiny Baywater, South Carolina, was barely more than a spot on the road outside Beaufort. Ancient, gnarled trees, magnolia, pine and oak, lined the residential streets, and Main Street, where dozens of small businesses hugged the curbs, was the hub of social activity. In Baywater, time seemed to move slower than anywhere else in the South, and that was saying something.
And Tina had missed it all desperately.
She stared up at the wide front porch of the old bungalow and memories rose up inside her so quickly, she nearly choked on them. She’d grown up in this house, raised by her grandmother, after her parents’ death in a car accident.
From the time she was ten years old until five years ago, Baywater had been home. And in her heart, it still was, despite the fact that she now lived on the other side of the country. But California was far away at the moment.
Not far enough away though to block the memory of the conversation she’d had only yesterday.
“Are you insane?”
Tina laughed at her friend Janet’s astonished expression. She couldn’t really blame her. Janet had, after all, been the one to listen whenever Tina complained about her ex-husband.
“Not legally,” Tina quipped.
“You are nuts. You’re volunteering to go back to South Carolina, for God’s sake, in the middle of summer, when the heat’ll probably kill you, not to mention the fact that your ex is there.”
“That’s the main reason I’m going, remember?”
“Yeah,” Janet said, easing her six-months pregnant bulk down until she could sit on the edge of her friend’s desk. “I just don’t think you’ve thought this all through.”
“Sure I have.” Tina sounded confident. She only wished she were. But if she stopped to think about this anymore, she just might change her mind and she didn’t want to.
At twenty-nine years of age, she could hear her biological clock ticking with every breath she took. And it wasn’t getting quieter.
“Look,” she said, staring up into Janet’s worried brown gaze, “I know what I’m doing. Honest.” Janet shook her head. “I’m just worried,” she admitted, running the flat of her hand across her swollen belly with a loving caress.
Tina’s gaze dropped to follow the motion and she swallowed back a sigh that was becoming all too familiar lately. She wanted kids. She’d always wanted kids. And if she was going to do something about it, then it was time to get serious. “I know you’re worried, but you don’t have to be.”
“Tina, I didn’t meet you until six months after your divorce,” Janet reminded her. “And you were still torn up about it. Now, five years later, you still carry his picture in your wallet.”
Tina winced. “Okay, but it is a great picture.”
“Granted,” Janet agreed. “But what makes you think you can let him back into your life and not suffer again?”
A nugget of hesitation settled in the pit of Tina’s stomach, but she ignored it. “I’m not letting him into my life again. I’m dropping into his life. Then I’m going to drop out again.”
Janet sighed and stood up. “Fine. I can’t talk you out of this. But you’d better call me. A lot.” “I will. Don’t worry.”
Of course, Janet would worry, Tina told herself as she came back from the memory. If she wasn’t so determined on her own course, maybe she would be worrying, too. Her gaze slid from the front porch to the driveway and the garage and the apartment over that garage.
Maybe, she told herself, Janet was right. Maybe this was a mistake.
But at least she was doing something. For the past five years, she’d felt as though she’d been standing still. Sure, her career was terrific and she had good friends and a nice house. But she didn’t have someone to love. And she needed that. Now, whether she was making the wrong move or not, at least she was moving.
That had to count for something.
“Of course,” she muttered, tearing her gaze from the apartment, “you’re not moving at the moment. And you’ve only got three weeks, Coretti—so don’t waste time.”
Grabbing her luggage from the trunk, she pulled up the handle and rolled the heavy case along the bumpy brick walk leading to the front door. The suitcase thumped against the four wooden steps and the wheels growled against the wide planked front porch.
When she unlocked the front door and stepped inside, Tina stopped in the foyer. The big front room was bright with sunshine streaming through the picture window. The air was cool, thanks to the air-conditioning her grandmother insisted on running even when she wasn’t home and a vase full of lemon-yellow roses scented the room. It was just as she remembered and for a moment or two, Tina just stood there, enjoying the sensation of being home again.
Until the frantic barks and yips cut into her thoughts and reminded her that she wasn’t entirely alone.
Closing the front door, she abandoned her suitcase and walked through the living room, into the kitchen and straight back through the mudroom to the back door.
Here, the noise was deafening. Tina chuckled as she fumbled with the deadbolt. Thumps and scrapes against the outside of the door blended with more high-pitched barking that had the same effect as fingernails scraping across a blackboard.
In self-defense, she whipped open the back door and the noisemakers tumbled in, as though they’d been balanced against the door. Which they probably had been. Instantly, the two little white puffballs leaped at Tina. What felt like dozens of tiny feet with needlelike claws clambered over her legs and feet.
Muddy paw prints decorated the legs of her pale green linen slacks, looking like smudged black lace. The two little dogs tumbled over each other in their quest to be the first one petted. The sniffing and licking continued until Tina gave up trying to calm them down and fell to the floor laughing.
“Okay, you guys, I’m glad to see you, too.” She tried to pet them but they wouldn’t stand still long enough. And, as if sitting on her lap wasn’t nearly good enough, both teacup poodles tried to dig their way inside her, squirming and pushing each other off Tina’s lap.
Muffin and Peaches, one a pale cream color and the other, well, the color of ripe peaches. Nana’s unimaginatively named, unclipped poodles were nuts about women and hated men. Which, Tina thought, put them pretty much in the same boat with a lot of Tina’s friends.
Tina on the other hand, didn’t hate men.
She didn’t even hate the one man she should have.
In fact, that one man was the real reason she’d come back to Baywater.
Oh, Nana had asked her to stay at the house and take care of “her girls” while the older woman and two of her friends were taking a tour of Northern Italy. But the timing of Nana’s trip and Tina’s private epiphany seemed destined by fate. It was as if the universe had grabbed Tina, given her a shake and said Here you go, girl. Go get what you want.
Because as happy as Tina was to do Nana a favor, there’d been another, more important reason for agreeing to come home for two weeks.
She wanted to get pregnant.
And the man she needed to get the job done was living here, over the garage.
Her ex-husband.
Brian Reilly.
Chapter Two
The two spoiled mutts sent up a racket the minute Brian pulled into the driveway. Scowling, he shut the engine off and shot a grim look toward the backyard where the little bastards were probably trying to scratch through the gate to get at him.
Shaking his head, he climbed out of the car and wondered again why the little dogs hated him. Maybe in a past life he’d been a dogcatcher or something and they could still smell it on him.
“Knock it off, you guys,” he bellowed, not expecting his shout to do a thing about shutting them up. And he wasn’t disappointed. If anything, the noise level climbed and the frantic urgency in their yips and high-pitched barks escalated.
One downside to living in the garage apartment at Angelina Coretti’s house was putting up with those dogs. But, it was the only downside as far as Brian was concerned.
Renting that small, one-bedroom apartment worked out well for both him and Angelina. The older woman liked having him around—knowing he was handy if she needed help. And he had privacy, no worries about losing his apartment when he was deployed for months at a time, and a sweet old lady who enjoyed cooking, to make him the occasional home-cooked dinner.
On the whole, a situation worth putting up with Muffin and Peaches.
And there was another good point to his living arrangements. Since Angelina was his ex-wife’s grandmother, Brian could keep a tenuous connection to Tina Coretti Reilly. It wasn’t much, and probably wasn’t real healthy, but Tina, even though they’d been divorced for five years now, was never too far out of his thoughts.
The barking got sharper, louder, as he stalked up the driveway toward the stairs at the side of the garage. Brian tossed another scowl at the whitewashed wooden gate and the hell hounds beyond. Then the back door opened and that scowl froze on his face.
It was as if all the air had been sucked from his lungs. His guts twisted and a hard ball of something hot and needy and just a little pissed landed in the pit of his stomach.
“Judging by that expression,” Tina said, over the din of the dogs, “you’re not real happy to see me.”
Afternoon sunlight lit her up as brightly as if she’d been an actress standing at center stage. Her wide brown eyes danced with amusement. Her long, thick black hair hung down around her shoulders. She wore a pale green tank top that bared her tanned arms and chest, and he was only grateful that the gate was there, minimizing his view of her. He wasn’t at all sure he’d be able to take seeing miles of long, tanned leg.
“Tina.” He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. Damn it, if he was shaken to find her standing practically on top of him, he wouldn’t let her see it. “What’re you doing here?”
“I’m here to take care of the girls while Nana’s in Italy.”
The girls being Muffin and Peaches.
“Angelina didn’t tell me you were coming.”
“Any reason why she should?”
His eyes narrowed as he watched her. “Any reason why she shouldn’t?”
“Ah,” Tina said smiling, as she let the back door swing closed behind her. “Same ol’ Brian. Answer a question with a question. Stall for time.”
The dogs kept barking and he and Tina were shouting at each other just to be heard. His head was buzzing, brain racing. And he didn’t want to think about the jolt his heart had just gotten. Damn it.
Angelina should have warned him.
Should have given him the chance to get the hell outta Dodge.
And, he admitted silently, since Angelina knew him well enough to know that he would have left, that’s probably exactly why she hadn’t told him about Tina’s visit. The older woman had never made it a secret that she thought the two of them still belonged together. It would be just like Angelina to try for a little long distance matchmaking.
Too late to do anything about it now, anyway, Brian thought and told himself to get a grip. It wasn’t easy.
Tina took the steps down from the back porch, opened the gate and the minute she did, the two little fleabags were on him. Stalking and pouncing as though they were the size of wolves instead of especially hairy rats, they attacked the laces of his tennis shoes and grabbed at the hem of his jeans. He glanced down at them, almost grateful for the distraction. “Cut it out.”
“They really don’t like you, do they?” Tina mused. “I mean, Nana told me they weren’t very fond of you, but I figured she was exaggerating.”
Brian heard her, but he wasn’t listening. Instead, he was watching her and wishing to hell she’d stayed behind the safety of that gate. It was just as he’d thought. She was wearing denim shorts that hugged her hips and displayed way too much smooth, tanned leg.
Blood pumped and rushed to the one spot in his body that had always responded to Tina. From their first date, the attraction between them had been electrical. And time hadn’t changed a damn thing.
Which just made his black mood even blacker.
It had been two solid weeks since he’d made that stupid bet with his brothers. Two full weeks of no sex and he was already a man on the edge. By the end of three months, he’d be a gibbering idiot. And Tina’s presence wasn’t going to help anything.
“Damn it, Angelina should have warned me you were coming.”
She stiffened slightly and lifted her chin in a defiant, I’m ready to rumble pose he remembered all too well. Damn. Their fights had been almost as good as the sex. And the sex had always been incredible.
“I asked her not to tell you.”
“Why in the hell would you do that?” he demanded, and kicked his foot, trying to dislodge Peaches from his ankle. It didn’t work. She managed to hang on.
“Because I knew if she told you that you’d find a way to disappear.”
That rankled a little, but only because she was right. He would have signed on for extra duty, pleaded for a top-secret mission, asked to be deployed to a base several thousand miles away.
When, Brian suddenly wondered, had he become a coward about Tina?
Then he dismissed the question, because it wasn’t relevant at the moment.
“Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know, Brian,” she said and cocked one hip as she folded both arms across her chest.
Well, under her breasts, pushing them higher, giving him a closer look at the smooth, tanned curve of flesh peeking up from the top of her low-cut shirt. He forced himself to lift his gaze to meet hers.
“But,” she continued, keeping her gaze locked with his, “you always do. Every time I’ve visited Nana in the past couple of years, you’ve ‘coincidentally’ been called away.”
Nothing coincidental about it. Ever since the divorce, he’d purposely avoided running into Tina. He reached up and shoved one hand across the side of his head. “I just wanted to make it easier on you. Visiting family without having to—”
“—see the man who divorced me without an explanation?” she finished for him.
She was still mad. Easy enough to see in the sparks shooting out of her dark brown eyes. He couldn’t really blame her, either. “Look, Tina…”
“Forget it.” She waved whatever he’d been about to say away and shook her head until her hair whipped back behind her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to start anything. I just wanted to see you. That’s all.”
Brian studied her and wished to hell he could read her mind. Dealing with Tina had never been easy, but it had always been an adventure. And if he knew her, then there was something else going on besides just wanting to say hi to her ex.
Still, he told himself, did he know her anymore? They’d been married for one year and divorced for five. So maybe he didn’t. Maybe she’d changed. Become a stranger. The thought of which left him a lot colder than it should have.
“Why’d you want to see me?” His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Her eyes went wide and innocent. “Jeez, Brian, lighten up. Can’t an ex-wife say hello without getting the third degree?”
“An ex-wife who flies in all the way from California to say hello?”
“And to take care of two sweet little—”
“—furry monsters,” he finished for her and snarled at Peaches who was trying desperately to crawl up his leg. Probably wanted to bite through his jugular.
Tina laughed and everything inside him went still.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye and watched her like a hungry man eyes a steak. Divorced, he reminded himself, but still just the sound of her laughter could reach down inside him and warm all the cold, empty spots.
Five years since the last time he’d touched her and his fingertips could still feel the softness of her skin. Her perfume, a soft blend of flowers and citrus, seemed always to be with him, especially in his dreams. And the memories of their lovemaking could make him groan with need.
Hell.
Especially now.
Man, he so didn’t need Tina in town with this stupid bet going on.
“I don’t know why they don’t like you,” Tina said as she bent down to scoop Muffin into the crook of her arm. The little dog quivered in excitement and affection and gave Tina’s neck a couple of long swipes of its tongue.
Brian wouldn’t mind doing the same.
He spoke up fast, to keep that image from coalescing. “Because they know it’s mutual.”
Tina scratched Muffin behind her ear, giving the dog a taste of heaven and giving herself something to do with her hands. If she hadn’t picked up the dog, she might have given in to the urge to grab Brian. Her mouth watered just looking at him.
His black hair was still militarily short, showing off the sharp angles and planes of his face to model perfection. His dark blue eyes were still as deep and mysterious as the ocean at night. His black USMC T-shirt strained over broad shoulders and a muscular chest and his narrow hips and long legs looked unbelievably good encased in worn denim.
She’d forgotten, God help her.
She’d forgotten just how much he could affect her.
Maybe Janet had been right. Maybe this wasn’t
such a good idea after all.
She wanted a baby, sure.
And she wanted Brian to be its father.
But if simply standing beside the man could make her weak in the knees, what chance did she have to keep herself from falling back into the stupid-withlove category?
As soon as that thought flitted through her mind though, she firmly pushed it aside. She could do this. It had been five years. She wasn’t in love anymore. She wasn’t a kid, trusting in one special man to make her dreams come true.
She’d worked long and hard at her career. She was respected. She was mature enough to handle Brian Reilly without getting her fingers burned again. And if she was still breathlessly attracted to him, that was a good thing.
It would make seducing him that much easier.
“Look, Brian,” she said, keeping a tight grip on Muffin while Peaches scrabbled at the hem of Brian’s jeans again, “there’s no reason we can’t be civil to each other, is there?”
“I guess not.”
“Good.” It was a start, anyway. “So, I’m going to barbecue a steak tonight. Want me to add one for you?”
For one small second, she thought he was going to say yes. She could see it in his eyes. The hesitation. Then he apparently got over it.
“No, thanks. Gotta go see Connor tonight. He’s uh…having some problems with his uh—”
Tina smiled and shook her head. “You never were much of a liar, Brian.”
He stiffened. “Who’s lying?”
“You are,” she said, smiling. Then she turned for the gate leading to the backyard and the house. “But that’s okay, I’m not taking it personally. Yet. Come on, Peaches. Dinner.”
Instantly, the little dog released her hold on Brian and scuttled for the backyard and her food dish.
