Luke (Bad Boys of WildeSide Book 3) Read online

  Luke

  Laylah Roberts

  Copyright

  Laylah Roberts

  Luke.

  © 2017, Laylah Roberts

  [email protected]

  laylahroberts.com

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

  This story contains explicit sex scenes and is R18.

  Cover Design: Florette Cover Design

  Editor: Eve Arroyo

  Chapter One

  Luke

  “What is it?” I snarled into my cell phone as I glanced over at the clock on my nightstand. “It’s three in the fucking morning, this better be good.”

  I sat up and looked over to make certain I hadn’t woken Caroline. I needn’t have worried. Nothing short of an earthquake would wake her. I had my doubts even that would work.

  Probably due to six glasses of wine she’d drunk last night before I’d arrived home. I sighed. I’d thought I’d be able to help her. I’d hoped some discipline and rules would fix everything, but I’d been kidding myself. Caroline had a problem I couldn’t help her with. But I couldn’t abandon her either. I’d stuck with her far longer than I had any of my other girlfriends; not because I loved her, fuck no, but because she needed me.

  I stood then walked into the kitchen.

  “Luke, it’s Joel.” My oldest brother sounded tired as he spoke quietly through the phone. I ran my hand over my bald head. How long had it been since I’d spoken to Joel? The last time would have been about a year ago when I told him to fuck off and not call me until the old bastard was dead.

  “He better be dead,” I muttered, grabbing a bottle of beer from the fridge and wishing I had something stronger in the apartment. But I’d gotten rid of all the hard spirits after I’d realized Caroline was sucking the bottles dry.

  Again those misgivings about Caroline surfaced, blaring a warning loud and clear.

  “Nearly, the doc says he only has a day, maybe two. If you want to say your goodbyes, then you need to get here soon.”

  I snorted. “What would I have to say to that asshole that hasn’t already been said? Thanks for making my life hell? For treating me like your punching bag when I was too small to fight back? It’s all been said before, Joel.”

  Joel sighed. “He’s not the man he once was, Luke.”

  “I can’t believe you’re defending him. He’s not the same man because he knows he’s weaker than everyone else and he knows we’ll fight back. But make no mistake, Joel, under that outer shell, he’s got the same black soul he’s always had. And I have nothing to say to him.”

  I ended the call, placing the phone on the kitchen counter, and breathing in deeply. Moving to the wall of windows, I looked out over the Boston skyline. I could have gone into the bedroom, woken Caroline, and talked through all this with her. But I preferred to deal with my shit on my own.

  Plus, Caroline wouldn’t get it. To understand you had to know the whole, dirty truth and I never spoke about that. Not to anyone.

  So I sat back on my sofa, drank my beer, and waited for the sun to come up.

  Ariana

  I thought I should probably cry. That’s what people did at funeral’s right? Except there wasn’t one person in the small crowd shedding a tear. And why would they? Jared Carlson had been an awful person, a horrible human being, an even worse father, and he’d pissed off pretty much everyone in the small town of Bear Ridge, Texas at one time or another in his sixty-nine years on this Earth.

  That wasn’t fair. Maybe he’d been a sweet kid, though it was difficult to imagine him as a child, he’d always seemed so old. Built large, with a voice that equaled his size, he’d always terrified me as a kid and pretty much had the same effect on me as an adult too. It was only in these last few months with his memory failing him and illness sucking the flesh from his bones I’d been able to see him as human, rather than a larger than life monster.

  It wasn’t that he’d ever been cruel to me. In fact, he’d pretty much ignored me, after my aunt and I had moved to Baton Ranch to live. My aunt had taken a job as his housekeeper, and we’d lived in a small cottage on the estate. I can remember her always telling me never to draw Mr. Carlson’s attention, never to speak when he was near. Whenever he was close, she became a shell of herself, withdrawn and silent. As a child, I hadn’t given much thought as to what her actions meant. As an adult, I wondered what the hell he’d done to her. Not that I’d probably ever find out considering my aunt had died over a year ago.

  And now he was gone too.

  Perhaps crying at funerals was the right thing to do, but I wouldn’t shed a tear for Jared Carlson. Not after the way he’d made life a living hell for the most important people in my life, my aunt, and his sons.

  I stared around at them as the casket was lowered into the ground and Father Peter’s voice droned on about heaven embracing one of its own. I heard someone snort.

  “Like that bastard’s going to heaven.”

  My heart gave a leap. Luke was here? I didn’t think he’d come. I hadn’t seen him at the service. The last time I’d seen him was at my aunt’s funeral, and he hadn’t stuck around after.

  “Luke!” a female voice scolded.

  I turned slightly to look, and there he was. Powerful shoulders pushed back, standing tall and proud in black pants and a bright-blue shirt. Was it wrong of me to notice how gorgeous he was? The way the color in his eyes matched his shirt, how his arms bulged with muscles, the sexy five o’clock shadow on his face.

  Dear Lord, Ariana, you need to calm the farm.

  He turned and glanced down to his right, and my stomach plummeted as I noticed the woman standing next to him. She was tall and willowy, with perfect, blonde hair cut into a sharp, sleek bob. The top of her head reached his shoulder; although she was wearing ridiculously high heels—not exactly country-wear.

  Be nice, Ari.

  Had she been the one to chastise Luke? If she had, she was braver than I could ever be. I may have a small case of hero worship for Luke after he’d chased off some bullies who’d surrounded me one day as I’d tried to make my way home. He’d scared them with just a few words. No one messed with a Carlson, not when the rest of his brothers would rain down on them like hell fire. Okay, a little dramatic? Maybe. But the Carlson brothers were fierce, tough, and loyal. You wanted them in your corner. I was easy to pick on because I was small, and my father’s painful, dark past meant there were few who would stick up for me. Luke was one of those few. Since that moment, he and his brothers had looked out for me.

  That hero worship might have developed into a crush, just an itty-bitty one.

  I might have been closest to Donovan, the black sheep of the family, but Luke had always been my favorite of the brothers. Not that I’d tell the others that.

  His companion looked blankly out over the cemetery. She didn’t seem to be paying any attention to what was going on around her. Joel’s wife, Ashlynn, frowned over at Luke, and I realized she’d been the who’d told him off.

  Ashlynn and Joel had been high school sweethearts. Sometimes I thought she enjoyed the idea of being a rancher’s wife more than she did the reality. But then, perhaps I was being uncharitable. It wasn’t as though Ashlynn and I had ever gotten along. When she looked at me, all she saw was the hired help. No matter that I’d never worked for the Carlsons.
But I still lived in the cottage I’d shared with my aunt when she’d worked there, so Ashlynn thought I owed them.

  I did—not her, but the brothers. I owed them everything. So I put up with Ashlynn’s jabs and orders and did whatever I had to in order to make Joel’s life easier. It didn’t matter that Joel never knew I did it. I didn’t need the credit. I just wanted to help.

  I’d helped out a lot with Jared towards the end. Mainly just making certain he ate and took his pills. Something Ashlynn could have easily done but didn’t want to.

  But I couldn’t really blame her. I had my own tricks for putting up with Jared’s insults and complaints. And for some reason, he seemed to hold back around me. Maybe because he could sense I just tuned him out. It was something I’d done since I was a child, turning to the stories in my head to cope with the outside world. Maybe it wasn’t the healthiest thing to do, mentally, but it was what had gotten me through some terrible times.

  As the burial ended and people turned away, I snuck more looks over at Luke and the woman he’d brought with him. I didn’t want to think the word “girlfriend,” but as I noticed the way he helped her across the grassy cemetery, holding onto her elbow to steady her, then opening the door to a huge behemoth of a truck, and helping her inside, I figured that was exactly what she was. And I shouldn’t be surprised. She was gorgeous, dressed impeccably in a black dress, with not a hair out of place. I stared down at my own bulky dress. I’d bought it online but misjudged the size, so it was way too big, and I’d had to take it up to so it didn’t drag the ground.

  I sighed. Guess I still held onto the dream that Luke would one day wake up and notice me. As a woman, not a sister, which I’m pretty certain is how he saw me. But it was probably time to let that go. I was so far from being an elegant, beautiful, blonde it wasn’t funny. I wasn’t his type, and I needed to get over that. The sooner I did, the sooner I could move on.

  I snorted. Move on? Move on to where? It wasn’t like I had men knocking down the door to get to me. But maybe I should say yes next time Lola tried to convince me to go out with her. Not to any bars in Bear Ridge, I rarely went anywhere in this small town, but Lola lived in Kingsville. I could stay the night at her place, maybe pluck up the courage to go out. Lola would do all the talking for me. She could talk the ear off a badger. I’d just nod and smile. Maybe. Or maybe I’d just sit at home and continue to dream about Luke.

  Yeah, that sounded more likely.

  Luke

  “Really, Luke, did you have to be so rude?” Ashlynn waited until the final guest left before rounding on me, the pleasant expression on her face fading to a scowl.

  I shrugged and moved back to the living area, or great room as Ashlynn liked to call it. Sometimes she seemed to forget she lived on a working ranch, not Buckingham Palace. I poured a scotch and looked over at my brothers. Caleb and Joel nodded. Van wasn’t here, but that wasn’t a surprise. He hated the old man more than I did. I hadn’t spoken to Van in years. I didn’t even know where he was at the moment. He’d joined the Navy as soon as he was old enough, and I’d only seen him a handful of times since.

  “Joel, don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Ashlynn turned her death glare on her husband.

  I handed the drink over to Joel, and he took a sip. Ashlynn and Joel had been together since they were both fifteen. Sometimes I wondered if they’d gotten married because they truly loved each other or because it had been expected—and easy. Joel had a lot on his plate, running the ranch and having our father to care for. Maybe he’d married Ashlynn simply because it was convenient. Because I honestly couldn’t figure out any other reason for marrying the self-centered bitch. But then, she and I had never gotten along.

  Ashlynn sighed and turned to frown at me. “You were rude, Luke. You get to leave, but we have to live with these people.”

  “Give it up, Ashlynn,” Joel told her. “Luke only said what we were all thinking.”

  “It wasn’t as though that many people turned up,” I commented as I sat on the sofa next to Caleb. I looked around the room, noting the vases filled with flowers, surprised anyone had bothered to send any. The furniture in the room was the same as when we’d grown up, large, leather sofas; dark, wooden floors; and the old deer head over the fireplace. I’d noticed that every other room, except for the old man’s study and the kitchen, showed Ashlynn’s more delicate, flowery taste.

  Christ only knew what she’d done to the bedrooms.

  “Our friends wanted to come, but this wasn’t a good day for them,” Ashlynn stated.

  I looked over at Joel who just shook his head and took a sip of scotch. Just as I’d thought, no one was that interested in seeing the old man off. A few ranch hands had turned up, more out of obligation than anything else, along with a couple of people from town.

  Ashlynn perched next to Joel on the opposite sofa, smoothing out some imaginary wrinkles in the black dress she wore. I wished she’d give us some time to ourselves, but I stifled my irritation. She was my sister-in-law. Family.

  “Caroline seems lovely,” she said, a sly look on her face. “When are you going to marry her?”

  Jesus. I should have known better than to bring someone home. But I’d thought some backup might be helpful. And I didn’t want to leave her home alone.

  Fuck. I squelched that thought. I’d worry about Caroline later. Right now, I had enough to deal with.

  “Where is she?” Caleb asked, coming to my rescue.

  “She had a headache, so I sent her upstairs to rest.”

  “You sent her?” Ashlynn pounced on my slip of the tongue. “Very caveman of you.”

  I could have explained that Caroline was my submissive, both in bed and out, but I figured Ashlyn would probably have fainted from shock or thrown me out of the house. Not that it would have been the first time I’d ever been tossed out.

  In truth, Caroline had grown more and more dependent on me. I’d never wanted anything that was 24/7; it was draining, physically and emotionally. But I’d committed to her. I couldn’t just pull away and leave her dangling.

  Movement by the doorway caught my eye, and I turned to see Ariana standing there, a shy look on her face. I’d hardly seen her all day. It hadn’t helped that we’d arrived late to the funeral. But every time I went to talk to her, she’d been busy cleaning up or fetching food, as hardworking and quiet as ever.

  “Oh, Ariana, if you’ve finished cleaning the kitchen, you can get started on the parlor.”

  Parlor? Was she serious?

  Joel frowned at Ashlynn. “She’s not our employee, Ashlynn.”

  Ashlynn gave him a furious look. “She lives here. For free. Besides she doesn’t mind, do you, Ariana?”

  More like Ariana didn’t want to rock the boat.

  “Where’s Daisy?” Joel growled. “Isn’t this what I pay her to do?”

  “She was upset, so I sent her home.”

  Daisy was an old school friend of Ashlynn’s, and I couldn’t see why our father’s death would have upset her.

  Ashlynn frowned. “Someone’s got to clean up.”

  “And God forbid it be you,” Joel muttered.

  Ashlynn stood. “I have a headache. You want the place cleaned then you do it.” She walked out, giving Ariana a wide berth. We all heard a door slam upstairs before the house went quiet. At last, we had the place to ourselves. Ariana didn’t count. She was family.

  “I-I don’t mind cleaning, Joel.” Ariana’s voice was low, quiet, and husky. A slow shiver worked its way across my skin, and I frowned. Why the hell was I reacting to Ariana? I knew she’d had a crush on me when she was younger, but she was like a baby sister to me. Someone to be protected and coddled. Not tied up, spanked, and fucked.

  “Leave it, Ariana,” Joel said in a surprisingly firm voice.

  Ariana bit her lip. She had her dark hair back in a haphazard bun, which I hated. The dress she wore was ill-fitting and sack-like, the black color making her skin appear sallow and sickly.

&nbs
p; “O-okay. I’ll go h-home then.”

  “Come here, Teeny.” I opened my arms to her. “I haven’t had a cuddle yet.”

  She hesitated, and a shaft of hurt went through me. I knew we hadn’t seen each other for a while, but we had a lot of history. Then she moved towards me, practically flinging herself into my arms at the last moment.

  She trembled against me, and the sweet scent of lilacs enveloped me. My cock stirred, and I frowned slightly even as I gathered her close. I hadn’t had sex in a few days, that had to be it. There was no way I found Teeny attractive. Not because she wasn’t attractive, but because she was like a sister to me.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” I murmured, brushing my lips against her forehead. The urge to lean down and brush them over her plump lips was almost too hard to resist. I had serious issues.

  “Nothing. J-just glad you’re all home.” I’d been told she’d spoken without a stutter before her father had disappeared. I knew that sometimes stress could bring on stuttering. Having your father disappear in disgrace, leaving without a note or any word, was a pretty stressful situation.

  However, my father, in one of the few decent things he’d done in his life, had hired a speech therapist to help her. She tended to speak more slowly and carefully, and now she usually only stuttered when she was stressed or tired.

  I leaned back and pulled the pins from her hair. It was as dark as midnight, silky, and smelled like lilacs. I wanted to bury my face in it, but I brushed my fingers through the long strands instead. “There. That’s better.”

  She rolled her eyes at me.

  I tapped her nose. “Don’t make a face at me.”

  When most people looked at Ariana, they just saw the packaging. Her shyness prevented them from looking deeper. But I knew there was a funny, sweet kid underneath, who could be a bit of brat sometimes. Truthfully, I liked her best when she showed some sass.

  “You should have been a hairdresser instead of a club manager, you know,” she teased, her stutter disappearing. So what had been stressing her out? Ashlynn? I made a mental note to keep an eye on Teeny while I was here, not that I planned to be here long.