Baguio City, PhilippinesSpecial? Sometimes she had to stop and wonder too. Anya Mancini pressed the phone close to her mouth and whispered, “I swear there’s something in the water. The men here are well-hung, well-built, and fuck like they are made to pleasure women twenty-four/seven. Which by my experience, they are, and if you want to know how I know all the men are well endowed, two words: Risky Whiskey.”Silence fed through the line before a string of bubbly laughter met her ear.Snickers and a few sputtered laughs sounded from a few tables down. She dared a look over her shoulder. Heat climbed the back of her neck as Damon Castillo shot her a quizzical look from across the bar with a smirk on his face as if sensing the Blue Mountain Ridge crew was being talked about.Lord help her, that Castillo smirk as she liked to call it. Every single one of the Castillo siblings had it and used it like a weapon of mass destruction on the poor female population of Castillo Ridge.Whether tou
Daniel’s father took up the space of two men and stood a good head and a half taller than her five-five height. He aimed her way, pushing through chairs and tables, empty or not, wild, furious, eyes landed on hers as the double doors to the diner swung shut behind the man who carried the same face as her lover, only a few years older. Handsome, with a streak of silver through his sideburns and a thick beard trimmed close to the chin.The man never held a kind word for her, but today he seemed riled up more than usual. As soon as he’d learned about her, Damon, and Daniel, he’d been angry and the crinkled skin at the corners of his eyes only grew deeper. If wrath had a color she would say it matched the same stormy blue clouds swirling a nasty tempest in his irises. His mouth pulled back in a fierce grimace making him appear ten years older and meaner than a hell-bound priest.Anya’s back went straight and her eyebrows inched up at the wall of muscle plowing toward her.He tossed people
Tarzan brushed Desmond’s warning aside as if a pesky fly buzzed in his ear. That didn’t bode well for the older man. “Because of you, I’ll be lucky if he comes home at all. When are you going to listen? You’re bad for him. Bad. I’ve said it from the beginning.” He pressed on, turning his wrath away from her and pinning Desmond with a steely-eyed glare.His words cut deep, but she had learned the hard way that verbal wounds healed. If something happened to Daniel? Nothing would ever be okay again. She raised her gaze, locked eyes with a man she should fear, and demanded an answer.“Tell me where Daniel and Damon are right now and don’t you dare give me some pompous, high-handed bullshit, old man. I want answers.”Tarzan swiveled his scowl back her way, a beefy hand poised to give her a taste of his knuckles.She narrowed her eyes.God, don’t let Daniel walk in now. He’d end up killing his father.She braced for impact and dared him with a glare to go through with it. It would hurt, but
Anya looked up at the sound of Daniel’s voice and edged closer to Desmond. All the remaining patrons now surrounded the bar too, shoulder-to-shoulder support for one of their own.“You ever do any bull riding?” Damon called over the radio, a smile in place more for her benefit than anything else, she bet.“A time or two. Might have been half-drunk on some moonshine at the time, but yeah. Let’s do this.”“You can have some moonshine if you get your ass back here in one piece, you hear me, bro?”“Gonna need it from the sound of it. This will hurt like a bitch, won’t it?”“If Desmond can handle it, you can.”That was Damon.The TV station crew glued their cameras on the chopper, and she looked on as Damon was prepared to rappel again at a moment’s notice.“Fuck. Hey, Desmond, man, turn the TV off in case this shit goes sideways.”If they did what she thought they were talking about, the maneuver meant to save Daniel’s life could smash him against the rocks instead. She didn’t need to be
Anya smiled, nodding as she worked through the few details he shared. Did the rest of the Castillo bunch know? She’s never heard anyone talk about having another father. Millions of questions paraded through her mind, and all of them had to do with how he’d survived such pain. But asking them? She couldn’t without feeling guilty.“Mama and I continued on, had the family we talked about before the accident left us both dealing with the loss of the other half of our heart. We found strength in each other and pushed on.”Traces of pain lingered in his voice and he said volumes more than what he actually shared. She recognized the sound of that pain and knew the damage it caused and the remains left behind.Damon’s mother was a quiet woman, always quick with a smile, but ready with a firm hand when it came to her boys. She imagined raising men with a stubborn streak the size of Benguet mountains wasn’t an easy undertaking.High beams from a cherry red Ford truck reflected off the front wi
He didn’t waste any time working her as close to him as possible. His mind was nowhere near today’s incident from the way he leaned back and propped a foot on the fender of his truck, his expression calm. Delicious pressure hit her center.“We need to fix the clothes issue,” he growled low for her ears only.“I agree, but not here.”She inhaled deeply at the carnal promises his tone carried.She wanted to fight her attraction but, hey, one more night with the inked, muscled badass cocky mountain men wouldn’t do any harm.Damon came to stand behind her and glided a hand up her bare arm, over her shoulder until he had her braid in hand. Tugging her to face him, her lips parted for the slow glide of his lips across hers.Daniel cupped a hand around the back of her head, holding her steady for Damon to devour her mouth. Between her thighs, Daniel’s cock grew thicker and she swore the heat of his desire burned through the layers of clothing. Beneath his cotton shirt, taut muscles rippled u
She couldn’t afford to let thoughts like that cross her mind. “Everyone whipped up one hell of a dinner for you. Potatoes, roast beef, garlic bread and enough apple pie to feed half of Benguet. According to Ethan, it would be just enough for this crew.”“Sounds about right.”Damon kissed the top of her head gently as Daniel eased her to the ground, keeping an arm around her.Damn if her heart didn’t bleed. She wouldn’t be surprised if she looked down to see it beating on the long sleeve of her shirt right then. Just how many times would she fall for Daniel’s quiet voice and Damon’s lingering touches?Every damn time and you know it.Headlights from an old Chevy broke through the pale evening light, and she turned to see a tight face and angered eyes peering out over the steering wheel.Oh, hell. Of course, he would show up.Daniel stiffened beside her and Damon slid a hand into her back pocket, drawing her closer to him.“He’s just here because he’s worried about Daniel,” he reassured
Damon crossed the dimly lit street and let himself into Castillo Fire and took the back stairs two at a time. He pulled a key from his pocket and a few seconds later they both stood inside Anya Mancini’s apartment. The delicate scent of lavender filled his nostrils as the rusty, old hinges creaked. He had meant to take care of that last week for her, but work kept them tied up from sunup to sundown with little time for much else.That would change.Soft light poured in from the front windows—the frilly white things she had pulled over the large panes did nothing for privacy. A single beam of sunlight caught on the glittery texture of something off to the side of the door.Daniel tossed his heavyweight into one of the chairs situated between him and Anya.“Fuck, man. Denton was right when he called. If this doesn’t work, she’s gone.”“He can’t put off taking her where she wants to go,” Damon confirmed, grimly.Suitcase after suitcase lined the worn wooden floor by the door and told the