Devon Morgan [Seven Brothers for McBride 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (2 page)

“When have you ever been wrong?” Caleb grinned.

“I want you.”

Ever so slowly the smile slid off Caleb’s face. It was clear he wanted to say something because his lips parted, but it was just as obvious he wasn’t going to allow himself to confess the truth in his heart because he forcefully closed his mouth. To gain himself a moment, Caleb tucked his long, black hair behind his ears. A silent battle seemed to rage behind his expressive gaze. For a moment, he thought Caleb would bend down and kiss him, but he only frowned and continued to soothe McBride with tender touches.

“Please don’t,” McBride started but didn’t have the breath to finish.

“Please don’t what?”

“Don’t leave me.” McBride hated himself for sounding weak and needy, but he also couldn’t let Caleb go without trying to keep him here. It wasn’t just for himself, but for every man who called the farm home. Caleb was a good worker, but he also knew how to fix anything mechanical. Losing him would leave them vulnerable to machine failure.

Caleb didn’t speak. He stayed crouched down next to McBride, caring for him as best he could, but how long would it be before he realized he could kill Jonas or simply walk away? Not long given how intelligent the man was. Because of his size, Caleb could be dismissed as all brawn and no brains, but McBride knew that wasn’t remotely true. Like the calm surface of a mile-deep lake, Caleb’s outward display of anger and aggression obscured his depth.

“What’s happened?”

McBride turned his head and realized that Jonas and the other men were surrounding the porch. Weakly, he tried to grasp Caleb’s hand to hold him back, but he was in no position to do anything. With slow-creeping dread, he watched as Caleb rose to his full height. At six eight and three hundred pounds, Caleb was as big as McBride himself.

Jonas took a step back, but rather than turning tail and running, he kept his gaze riveted on Caleb while maneuvering his mate behind his slight body. Ollie was easily fifty pounds heavier, but Jonas was determined to protect him.

McBride felt the moment in time slow down. He saw the look of fear in Jonas’s eyes, but also there was intense determination to protect the man he loved. Little did Jonas know that Caleb had no intention of hurting his brother. Putting Ollie behind him only made Jonas a better target. Turing his attention to Caleb, McBride felt a flicker of hope when a curious expression altered Caleb’s fearsome features. Was he impressed by Jonas?

Time sped up, and the moment was lost.

“What’s wrong with McBride?” Jonas looked ready to take a step toward him, but one growl from Caleb kept him where he was.

“I don’t know, but you aren’t going to touch him.” Caleb took a stance in front of McBride. He put his hands on his hips, making it clear if anyone stepped a foot onto the porch, he was going to fight them. Wisely, no one took up the challenge Caleb offered. And whatever attempts to keep their attraction to one another secret were clearly over. No man did what Caleb was doing unless he was utterly smitten. As worried as he was to have the truth out, McBride couldn’t stop a feeling of pride. Regardless of what Caleb said, he was indeed still firmly attracted to McBride.

Jonas looked from McBride to Caleb but then turned his attention down the long drive. “The valet said there’s someone coming.”

And now McBride remembered what Jonas had yelled to him. The valet was stationed in the cupola of the big house so that he could keep watch over the farm and warn them if anyone was coming. Since McBride’s communication unit seemed to be on the fritz, McBride had told him to tell the butler and Jonas if he saw anything so that the chain of command was fully covered. He had to warn Jonas verbally as he—unlike most gentrymen—didn’t have a communication unit installed in his right earlobe. It was a good thing McBride had given that order, or they wouldn’t have a heads-up on their impending visitor.

Caleb looked toward the long drive, and McBride followed his gaze. Far down by where the county road became McBride’s private road there were small wisps of dust rising into the air. It was so faint that McBride thought his eyes might be playing tricks on him. He hadn’t been able to trust much of anything he saw lately.

“How many?” Caleb asked.

“One.”

A long note of silence spun out. McBride struggled to issue orders, but like his misbehaving legs, his mouth was refusing to follow his commands, too. There was a simple way for the men to check who it was and what his intentions were, but McBride was unable to communicate.

Caleb looked down at McBride, his gaze alternately tender then frustrated. After what seemed like forever but was probably only seconds, Caleb let out a long sigh and turned his attention away from McBride.

“Devon, go find out who’s headed this way.”

“You expect me to just walk out there empty-handed?” Devon’s aquamarine eyes showed his fear. “What if he’s armed?”

“Did the valet say he was?” Caleb asked.

Jonas’s eyes went big, and it was clear he was regretting not inquiring about more details. Worse, McBride couldn’t tell them there was a cache of guns in the big equipment shed. “He just said a lone man was coming up the long drive.”

“I don’t think it’s wise to head out there, weapon in hand.” Caleb looked down at McBride, who was able to nod in agreement. “Simply get on a
dressiter
and go out as near as you need to in order to assess the situation. If he’s hostile, come back and we’ll decide what to do. If he’s friendly, check him for weapons then bring him on up to the big house.”

“We can’t let anyone from town see the sheriff like this.” Jonas was still keeping Ollie tucked behind him.

As obvious as it was that Caleb didn’t want to agree with Jonas on general principals, he also wasn’t a pigheaded fool. “No, we can’t.” Caleb knelt down, giving McBride a breath of his wicked scent. Even drenched in sweat, the man smelled nothing but good. “I’m going to pick you up and carry you over to the big house.”

McBride tried to shake his head, but he was too weak to do anything but let Caleb pick him up and place him over his shoulder. It was the most undignified position in the world. The only benefit to being tossed over Caleb’s shoulder like a sack of grain was that he had a fantastic view of his tight buttocks. Resisting the urge to palm them and squeeze the mounds of muscle was managed only by the fact his body simply wasn’t responding to any of his commands.

“While I tend to McBride, I want the rest of you to ready things here in case there’s a problem with whoever’s coming.”

“Ready things how?”

McBride didn’t have to see to know the voice was Bailey’s. He also realized he needed to put a plan in place to defend them should anyone in town try to invade the farm. If he hadn’t had so much going on, he might have taken care of such an important detail days ago.

“I’ll take care of it,” Jonas said.

A long beat of silence made McBride wonder if Caleb would toss him to the ground so he could finally take on Jonas and beat him into a bloody pulp. But apparently, Caleb realized the delicate nature of their situation and kept himself in check.

“Fine.” Caleb strode off with McBride slung over his massive shoulder. A lesser man would have collapsed under McBride’s weight, but not Caleb. His strides were ground eating.

McBride was rocking side to side and felt almost like he was riding a boat upon the waves. Nausea gripped him, but he refused to throw up on Caleb. All he wore was a pair of shorts that displayed his strong buttocks. Up and down they moved with hypnotic grace, lulling McBride into a strange kind of resolve. He could do nothing, so fighting against it in his mind was a pointless waste of his energy.

“His room is—”

“I know which room is his.” Caleb cut Jonas off without missing a step. Lowering his voice he murmured, “You think just because you turn the lights off I can’t see you sitting in the window?” He chuckled. “Even if I can’t see you, I can certainly feel you watching me.”

McBride had often wondered if Caleb knew he was sitting on the sill night after night observing him. As much as he tried to stay away, something—fate?—kept tugging him toward Caleb. Just as he’d given in to temptation, Caleb was the one who became strong and held McBride at bay. It seemed whatever was pushing and pulling them together couldn’t make up its mind, either.

The massive entrance door barely slowed Caleb down, and then he was taking McBride up the stairs and into his bedroom. One of his ancestors, probably the one who built the house, had fashioned the entire room of blue. It was an overtly masculine room with large mahogany furniture and dark-navy accents. It was a soothing room. McBride felt far more comfortable here than he had in the master suit.

Caleb carried McBride into his bedroom as if McBride weighed no more than bundle of picked
tallos
. Carefully, Caleb bent so that McBride was standing on his feet, but he didn’t let go. He rose and then maneuvered him into the bed so that he was on his back. The mattress felt sinfully soft after the rough planks of the porch.

When Caleb leaned over to get him more fully situated, McBride was able to smell the pine-infused soap he favored. McBride had a sudden urge to bite him in order to taste that essence mixed with the rich, thick pleasure of his blood, but he didn’t think he even had the strength to open his mouth let alone feed.

Another flash of memory hit, reminding him that he’d offered to make Caleb his mate and Caleb had declined even though he’d admitted that he wanted McBride. Caleb simply refused to barter his needs for his brother’s protection. If he couldn’t free his brother from Jonas, then he wanted to leave so he didn’t have to see them together. That was Caleb in a nutshell. He’d rather walk away than have to face an intolerable situation. Even the lure of finally having a relationship with McBride wasn’t enough to keep him on the farm. When he’d realized the truth, McBride had been infuriated. After overcoming all his conflicts and internal struggles to keep his hands off Caleb, when he finally realized that they could be together, Caleb was now pushing him away rather than pulling him close. In his hunger, McBride had actually gotten dangerously close to taking advantage of the bound Caleb.

“I’m sorry.” The words were barely a whisper.

“For what?” Caleb didn’t meet his gaze. Instead he fussed with removing McBride’s boots.

“I shouldn’t have bound you up and tried to bite you.”

Caleb nodded, but he still didn’t look up.

“Are you…” McBride swallowed down the rest of his question. He wondered what Caleb would do but sadly realized he wasn’t in any position to do anything about his decision.

“I’m not leaving you.” After a moment, Caleb looked up. His eyes were as fierce as ever, but there was a softness to his features that had never been there before.

“Are you going to kill Jonas?”

Rather than answer, Caleb turned away with McBride’s boots in his hands. Unable to do anything but watch, McBride stayed on his back, observing Caleb tuck his boots into the closet.

“Why do you stay in this little room when the master suite is just down the hall?” Caleb kept his back to McBride as he straightened what few things there were in the closet.

McBride should have kept his mouth shut, but he found the truth tumbling out against his best intentions. “Because this room has a much better view of your house.”

Caleb turned. “That isn’t why.”

Weakly, McBride laughed. “You are the most capricious man. I debated telling you the truth only to give in and do so, but you refuse to believe it.”

“That’s not capriciousness.” His massive hands went to his hips, expanding his chest until he seemed to fill the entire room.

“What is it then?”

“It’s me being myself.”

“Right.” McBride felt a wave of nausea wash over him, forcing his eyes closed.

“What can I do?”

When McBride blinked, he discovered Caleb was kneeling by his bedside. He moved fast and silently for such a big man. “I honestly don’t know.”

“I’ll find a doctor and bring him here.” Caleb placed his hand against McBride’s forehead and brushed back his hair.

“I’m sure the doctor is long gone along with everyone else in town.” McBride allowed Caleb to fuss over him for a moment. “Go out and see who is coming up the drive.” A flash of memory hit him then. “It might be Quintus.”

“Who?” Jealousy flashed fire in Caleb’s eyes, giving McBride hope that they might yet overcome their difficulties.

“Quintus is my crimetech. He doesn’t want to flee when we suspect the illness is everywhere or soon will be.” McBride had utterly forgotten about the man after inviting him to come out to the farm. Clearly, he needed to make a list so he could keep a handle on everything that needed to be done.

“Do you think that’s what you have?”

“No.” McBride honestly didn’t think that was what ailed him. “That disease caused gentrymen to drink blood with insatiable longing. I have no interest in feeding.”

“Is that why you keep staring at my neck?” Caleb asked, lifting his brow pointedly.

“I’m not craving massive amounts of blood. I’m craving yours.” McBride tried to smile, but he just didn’t have the strength. “I don’t have random hunger but a very specific lust.”

Longing drew Caleb closer, but determination pushed him away. “I promise that I won’t leave until you’re better, and before you even ask, I won’t touch Jonas. But once you’re better, I’m either going to kill him, or I’m going to leave.”