Sam's Promise (Blackwater)

Vance stepped forward and took the bag from his mom, while Brodix helped the woman with her oversized coat. Sam was too busy staring to be of any real use. Curves. He could see them now that her coat wasn’t hindering his view. She had sweet, luscious curves and a smile that kicked his heart into a sprint. She wore a tight red sweater that stretched over breasts he desperately wanted to touch. More than a mouthful, he thought. A hell of a lot more. The long black skirt wouldn’t be anything overly sexy on the average woman, but on her it looked hot as hell. She had wide hips and some damn long legs. His mind went straight into the gutter as he imagined them wrapped tight around him while she rode him into oblivion.

“Julie Rose, I’d like you to meet my sons. The tallest there is Sam. He’s the oldest and is sort of a jack of all trades.”

Sam stayed where he was, safely several feet across the room. “Pleased to meet you, Julie.”

She smiled but didn’t speak as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. He had the crazy notion to untuck it. “And the one grinning from ear to ear there is Vance,” his mom went on.

Julie’s gaze went to his brother. “You’re the one with the construction business?”

Vance grinned. “Yep,” he said as he stepped forward and shook her hand. “Nice meeting you, Julie.”

“And Brodix there,” his mom pointed out, “is the executive of the bunch.”

Brodix didn’t smile. He simply nudged Vance out of the way and took possession of Julie’s hand. “Happy Thanksgiving, Julie,” he murmured in that annoyingly charming way he had.

Julie blushed. “Thank you. Same to you.” For some unknown reason, Sam had the urge to toss Brodix on his ass.

“You’re quite welcome,” Brodix said. “Such a pretty face is a refreshing change around here.”

Sam noticed Brodix still hadn’t bothered to let go of Julie’s hand.

“Brodix, behave,” his mother admonished as she slapped his forearm. Brodix let go and moved to the side of Julie, then glanced over at him. Sam glared at his younger sibling, willing him to back off. Brodix, the letch, only wagged his eyebrows.

“You’ve met Reilly, but I don’t think you’ve met his twin River yet.”

Reilly winked. “Nice to see you again, Julie.”

“Hi, Reilly.” She looked over at River. “Reilly’s told me quite a bit about you.”

River squinted at his twin before glaring at Julie. “In case he wasn’t clear, I’m the sexy, smart twin.”

Julie laughed, and Sam went rigid. Damn, she was gorgeous when she did that. And unless he missed his guess, his brothers thought the same thing. None of them seemed capable of speech all of a sudden.

“Modest too, I see,” Julie responded, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

His normally brooding brother actually cracked a smile. “At last, a woman who gets me.”

Sam noticed the way Julie bit her lip and looked down at the floor. “Okay,” his mother intervened. “Now that we have the introductions out of the way, how about we get dinner on the table?”

“Thank God,” River said. “I’m starved.”

Everyone laughed and filed into the kitchen. Sam held back, waiting for Julie to go through the doorway first. She smiled shyly as she stepped in front of him. As he took up position behind her, his gaze inexorably went to her ass. Ah hell, he never should’ve looked. Sam had a thing for that particular body part on a woman, and Julie had nicely rounded globes that he eagerly wanted to reach out and squeeze. He felt a hair guilty for mentally undressing the woman, but as he glanced up and caught Brodix’s gaze, he knew he wasn’t the only one thinking dirty thoughts. The knowledge sent his good mood into the crapper.

Chapter Two

“So, you work at the restaurant?”

The question had come from the man seated next to her. Sam, the oldest. Oh, Julie knew all about the Jennings brothers from Wanda’s many stories. Although, Julie had to admit, she hadn’t expected them to be so overwhelmingly masculine. Especially Sam. For some odd reason, she was having a terrible time keeping her gaze off him. He was big and strong. Her body had immediately come to life when she’d been introduced to him. His long-sleeved black T-shirt shouldn’t seem nearly so yummy, but Julie had a feeling Sam could stop traffic in just about anything he chose to wear. The dark chocolate shade of his hair had just enough length to drag her fingers through, and she had a wild urge to do exactly that.

Julie thought about his question and dreaded answering. A twenty-nine-year-old waitress who was still in college. It was downright pathetic. As she swallowed a mouthful of cranberries, she said, “Whenever my classes allow, yeah.”

Sam arched a brow at her. “You’re in college?”

She nodded as embarrassment swamped her. “I’m a year away from getting my BA. I…sort of started late.”

“Better late than never,” Vance replied, smiling down the length of the table at her. “What do you plan to do once you graduate?”

“I’ve been thinking of something along the lines of business management, but to be honest, I’m not sure.” As she looked around the table, she noticed everyone had stopped eating. They were riveted, clearly curious about the newcomer in their midst. Julie sighed. “It’s a long story, but the short version is that after high school, my grandmother fell ill with stage-four colon cancer. She was the only family I’ve e