That way madness lay. Harper women didn’t like restrictions or commitment. He’d learned his lesson with Kari and he’d learned it well. This time he’d be better prepared. This was about sex, pure and simple. Later tonight, he and Tate would light the match, set their attraction on fire and, like other chemical reactions, they would burn hard and fast, rocketing their way to a quick end.
Because they were on the same page and reading the same damn book, they’d be able to walk away from each other with only a couple of scorch marks and the wish that their spark could’ve burned longer and harder but understanding that intense reactions never lasted.
This was chemistry, nothing else. They hardly knew each other, were complete opposites and lived totally different lives. Chemistry was all they had...
Chemistry was all they could have, Linc reminded himself when a pang of longing coursed through his system. She was bold and mouthy and intense and complicated, for God’s sake. She wasn’t the quiet, stable, calm person he wanted.
She wasn’t bland or boring, either, his inner devil told him, and Linc closed his eyes, frustrated at his turmoil. He hadn’t felt this overwrought in years, not since...
Not since the other Harper woman dropped into his life and flipped it upside down.
Linc opened his eyes and ground his back teeth together. He would not allow Tate to upend his calm, controlled, orderly world. They’d have sex—there was no way he could deny himself that—but that was where their relationship started and ended.
In bed.
God, he couldn’t wait to get that party started. Did the kids really need a bath? Shaw could, this once, miss out on his nightly story. There were a million places to eat in the city, his siblings could find food somewhere else...
He wanted, this one time, to put his needs and wishes first.
Linc jogged down the steps and stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and great room, taking in the chaos. A lasagna bubbled in the oven. Cady and Piper sat on the big leather couch closest to the kitchen, and Sage was in the chair opposite them, Ellie on her lap, holding her bottle and fighting sleep. Ty, Jaeger and Piper’s son, sat in the high chair next to the granite-topped counter, and Shaw was perched on the counter itself, a piping bag of shocking green icing in his hand, biting his lip as he squeezed the contents onto a cupcake.
His burly brothers were standing on either side of Tate. Beck was using a small roller on what might or might not be bright yellow dough, and Jaeger was pressing a cookie cutter into garish purple icing.
These were going to be the brightest and messiest cupcakes in the history of pre-K bake days, Linc decided as he walked into the room.
Tate was the first to notice his arrival, and their eyes clashed and held as he walked across the great room. Judging by her glazed eyes and half-open mouth, she was reliving their X-rated, happened-in-the-closet kiss. He dragged his eyes off her before he embarrassed himself, and greeted Cady and Piper, bending down to drop a kiss on Sage’s head. Because he could and she was cute, he kissed Ellie’s head, as well. He walked over to the kitchen area and ran his hand over Shaw’s bright head, taking a moment to connect with his son.
Shaw’s eyes, that intense blue he shared with Kari, met his. “This is the best fun ever, Dad. We’re making spacemen cupcakes.”
Beck lifted his head and mock frowned at Shaw. “Spacemen? I thought we were making dinosaurs!”
“And I thought we were making monsters,” Jaeger chimed in, joining the teasing.
“Spacemen,” Shaw told them, his tone suggesting that they were both village idiots. He gestured to the badly decorated, messy batch of finished cupcakes, beaming with pride. Linc had never seen anything that looked less like spacemen in his life.
“They are so cool,” Shaw said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“They really are, buddy,” Linc lied, straight-faced. “How many do you still have to do?”
Shaw held up a half-decorated cupcake in his hand and looked a little disgusted. “Just this one. Tate says that she has to make some that girls will eat, so she’s going to do the rest later.” Shaw sent Tate a hard look. “No pink and no fairies.”
“But I can do flowers, right?” Tate asked, her mouth twitching.
“Just a few,” Shaw reluctantly agreed.
Linc walked over to the huge fridge and pulled out three beers, opened two and placed them in front of his brothers. Unable to resist touching Tate, Linc allowed his fingers to slide up and under her shirt to find the band of soft skin just above the waistband of her leggings. “Wine, Tate?”
Linc noticed that Tate sucked in her breath as his fingers trailed over her skin. Oh, God, this waiting was killing both of them. Good to know that he wasn’t alone in this madness.
“I’m good...thanks,” Tate said as if she were battling to find her words.
Linc checked on the levels in the wineglasses across the room before twisting the cap off his beer bottle and taking a long sip. He was thirsty, hungry and tired but, mostly, he was horny. He’d ditch the beer and the food in a heartbeat if he could kiss that sexy spot where Tate’s neck met her jawline...
“Have you made any progress finding out who is buying up Ballantyne stock?” Jaeger asked him, leaning his butt against the counter.
Linc, pulling his mind from the bedroom, shook his head. “No, not yet. But I will.”
“As a family we own controlling shares, and as long as we stick together, we are safe from a hostile takeover, so I don’t seen the point of anyone buying up big blocks of stock. Combined, we own sixty percent of the company, but this company, Lach-Ty, now owns five percent. Worrying,” Beck stated, picking up his beer.
Worrying about Ballantyne International was his job, as was protecting his family. But he’d done a crap job so far in regard to finding out who was behind the purchases of the shares. He had a company name, Lach-Ty, but little else. He loathed operating in the dark and decided to ask Reame to look into the situation. His pal had the skills, or employed people with the skills, to dig up the information he needed.
Linc placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’ll get to the bottom of it, Beck. It’ll be okay, I promise.”
“As long as we stand together,” Beck replied, his tone giving away his concern.
“We always do. We always will,” Jaeger told him, and Linc flashed him a grateful smile.
Jaeger nodded briefly. He glanced at the oven and bellowed, “Who is hungry?”
“Me!” Shaw shouted, waving the icing bag around. Linc saw splatters of radioactive green land on Tate’s chin and chest. Reacting quickly, he reached across the counter and grabbed the bag from Shaw. “Easy, Shaw.” He grinned at the streak of green in Tate’s hair, the spots on her cheek. “Tate now looks like a spaceman.”
Instead of rushing off to the bathroom in a panic to clean up, in order to look perfect, Tate dragged her finger across her chin and popped the icing she gathered into her mouth. Her gaze met Linc’s, and his knees buckled at the lust and laughter in her eyes.
“At least I taste good,” she murmured.
That he could vouch for...
“Well,” Jaeger drawled, his eyes bouncing between them, “I have a feeling that dinner is going to be quick, and that big bro is going to be kicking us out of here as soon as we are done eating.”
Linc didn’t drop his eyes from Tate’s.