Lacey looked over at her oldest and most unruly brother and whispered, “Aw, he’s just trying to intimidate you. His bark is worse than his bite, believe me.”
Nick’s brow quirked up at her naïveté. “Yeah, to you maybe,” he said tenderly, “but he sees me as the guy who’s fucking his baby sister.”
Nick still wasn’t sure why he’d let Lacey talk him into calling not one, but both of her brothers in to help on moving day. It was their one-month anniversary, which was a special event and the perfect day for Lacey to move in with him since her lease was finally up.
He was thrilled he would finally be sharing his home with her. They’d no longer be going back and forth from place to place or from bed to bed, but he still felt like a bug in a jar with Lacey’s brothers staring at him.
He’d spoken to Merrick earlier in the week, wanting to prepare him for the fact Lacey wasn’t yet ready to marry, but she was willing to move in with him. Merrick had frowned and mumbled a lot, but he’d resigned himself to the fact Lacey was a woman with a mind of her own and no one, not even her brothers, was going to force her into marriage.
One at a time, Nick could have handled them, but both together made quite an intimidating pair. The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts, and Lacey moved off to answer it. Nick was left alone. As if of one mind, both brothers walked toward him. Ah, tim
e for the much-anticipated interrogation, Nick thought as he accepted the unavoidable.
When they reached his side, Blade spoke first. “I have one question for you.” When Nick indicated for him to go on, Blade asked menacingly, “You planning on marrying her?”
“Lay off, Blade,” Merrick ground out—bless him—in a feeble attempt at defense. Blade stood there, silent and watchful. Both brothers looked so much alike it was eerie. They could have been twins, except for an inch or two in height and Merrick’s clean-shaven face, as Blade had a full mustache.
Nick rolled his eyes at Blade’s absurd question. “Of course, what the hell did you think I was going to do with her?”
Blade never got the chance to answer, as they became aware of Lacey’s raised voice. They turned toward her to see what had her in an uproar. Evan, the dickhead, was back. Nick’s face turned red with rage when Evan grabbed hold of Lacey. Blade started toward the two of them, no doubt ready kill Evan, but Nick stopped him with a hand on his forearm.
“Just wait a minute, Blade.”
Blade’s voice was low and deadly when he asked, “You’re going to stand here while that asshole puts his hands on my sister?”
“Trust me. She’s not a helpless little girl anymore,” Nick answered. He cringed as he saw the look on Lacey’s face. “Oh, shit, he’s in for it now. She’s smiling.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Blade snarled then turned to look at Lacey.
Both of the Vaughn men stood in silent shock as they watched Lacey’s leg come up and connect with Evan’s jaw, knocking him flat on his ass.
“Holy shit!” they exclaimed in shocked unison.
“Damn right.” Nick beamed, ridiculously proud and turned on at the same time. “That’s my girl.”
Blade and Merrick began talking at once, but Nick couldn’t take his eyes off Lacey. She was so damned beautiful standing there with her hair in a cute ponytail and her pert little ass encased in a pair of soft, tight, cotton shorts. He started walking toward her, but it was Blade’s turn to stop him.
“What?” Nick said absently, still keeping an eye on the extremely disgruntled Evan.
“Where do you think you’re going? I wasn’t through with you.”
“I’m going to make sure Evan doesn’t make the mistake of getting up.” Then he turned to Blade, looked him square in the eyes and flatly stated, “I love your sister, Blade, and I swear I would never do anything to hurt her. That’s all that should matter to you.”
Blade seemed to consider his words then nodded, apparently pleased with his answer because he actually smiled. Merrick smiled as well. Soon, both of them smacked him on the back in a show of approval. Nick made his escape before they broke a bone or injured a vital organ with their friendly taps.
He came right up to Evan, pulled him to his feet and punched him. Blood spurted out of his nose as he clutched and groaned. The two Vaughn brothers in the background cheered him on. “Get lost, dickhead,” Nick growled to Evan.
With immense male satisfaction, he watched as Evan scrambled and stumbled his way down the walk.
Nick slammed the door shut, grabbed a startled Lacey in his arms and kissed her full on the mouth. He parted her lips with his tongue and breathed between her lips, “I love you, baby, forever.”
Lacey sighed and sank into his kiss, repeating the words back to him with all her heart and soul.
A sense of completeness settled over him. No doubt, their relationship had only just begun, but he was confident that watching the girl of his dreams drift away from him was a thing of the past.
He had a future of mystery and excitement to look forward to with his best friend and lover by his side every step of the way. It didn’t get any better than that.
Keeping her in his arms, Nick leaned back enough to see the drowsy look on Lacey’s face. He pushed a few strands of her soft, dark hair behind her ears and asked, “So, what did he want anyway?”