Lila's Thunder: The Almeida Brothers, Book One (2 page)

Watching Lila now, head up
, but eyes narrowed to look at anything but him; he took a deep breath to calm himself. He never had made much sense of why he couldn’t fight the suffocating need to antagonize her at every turn.  The woman was clearly impossible, stubborn as hell.  It had been one of the traits that had made her such an attractive candidate when he’d been looking for a tutor for Chase five years ago.  Jack had just finished up law school when their parents died in a fiery car crash.  Immediately, he gained guardianship of Chase, but with the weight of their parents’ death and finishing law school on his shoulders he’d never really had the time to learn to be a parent.  He’d needed help, so he’d gone down to the school and they’d told him to speak to Lila.

He remembered the day he’d met her vividly. He didn’t remember what about, but the two of them had gotten into a screaming match in her office within five minutes of meeting each other.
 It seemed being at each other’s necks was the only way they knew how to communicate. Standing in her office that day, watching her rise from her chair with her hands on her hips to give him a piece of her mind about whatever offensive thing he couldn’t remember saying—he’d known right then she was perfect for Chase.

His baby brother had
been a real handful back then, a big ball of anger and hatred that he spewed at any person who dared come within an inch of him.  Jack knew that he needed someone strong to tame Chase and Lila had done just that.  He couldn’t deny that his baby brother had come leaps and bounds from where he’d been back then and there was no one in the world to thank for it but the woman right in front of him.  As much as she drove him insane and as much as he hated to admit it, he needed her.  Chase would have his head if he knew that Jack had driven Lila away and at the end of the day Chase was all that mattered.  He was the only reason Jack got up every morning.

“Just
get my brother,” Jack spat.

“He’s
coming.
”

“I’ll bet,” h
e mumbled under his breath, unbuttoning his jacket and tossing one side of it away from his body so he could shove his hand in his pocket.  He jingled his keys around and froze when he realized she was staring.

“What?” h
e asked, staring right back.

She felt like a fire had been lit under her. “Wh
at the hell did you just say,” she hissed.  A part of her said, calm down Lila, before Chase hears you, but another part of her had come undone.  Before she knew it she was pushing herself off of her front door. “What the hell did you just say to me?”

For a moment the lawyer in him told Jack t
o choose his words carefully, very carefully.  He lifted his head as she grew closer to him, not realizing he’d been backing away from her until his back hit the railing of her stairway. He willed himself to hold his head high, and met her glare with one equally as strong.

“Nothing.”
He looked away from her.  Words had always been his strength, he loved words, but for whatever reason whenever he was speaking to her he was often at a complete loss for them.

“How do you always forget that I’m the one who’s been there for him the last five years?”

“Oh here we go.” Jack held his arms out, making the jacket of his beautiful suit hang open and lap in the wind. “What do you expect me to do? I spent the last sixteen hours at work just to open the door to an empty house-- nothing and no one.  I come to the one place I know Chase will be and get to listen to you telling me-
once again-
what an incompetent brother I am.  I get it, I’m the devil’s spawn. Message received. I don’t need this shit right now.” Jack attempted to walk past her and his face was struck stunned when she placed a small hand on his chest and pushed him back against the rail behind him before standing on her toes and pressing a finger to his chest.

“I was there when he was twelve years old crying himself to sleep.
  I was there when he was failing Algebra, World Lit, Bio, you name it.  I was there when he and his first girlfriend had no idea where to buy their first box of condoms-- not you! I am the only one who’s ever been there for the precious--and not so precious-- moments in his life.  Moments you could never dream of experiencing with him yourself because you’re an emotional shell of a man.  And you have the audacity to insinuate that I would ever be involved with him sexually? How dare you.”

“Well if not Chase, then who? I can’t remember the last time I saw you with a man other than my kid brother. The fact that you went on a date tonight blows my mind. Who was it? Did you find another kid who has a hard on for you in that school ‘grieving club' of yours? How old is he this time?
Fifteen? Sixteen?” Jack held his breath; waiting for the retaliation he knew was coming.

Lila only blinked at him, and to both their surprises her eyes immediately filled with tears.

The smug smirk fell from his face.  The sudden panic that gripped him caught him by surprise and left him immobile as she slowly backed away from him, jumping when her back unexpectedly hit the door.  The impact caused the tears brimming on the edge of her eyelashes to plummet down her face.

Damn. Jack jammed his eyes shut and when he opened them they were faint with regret. He reached out to her, barely recognizing the hand stretched before him, hungry to wipe the tears away. “Lila. Look.” There was nothing in the world he was worse at then eating his words, but he’d never been more willing to do it then he was right then. “Look, that was way out of line—“

“I’ll get your brother,” she interrupted, reaching behind her and pushing her door open.  She stumbled through it, while slapping the tears off of her face.  Before Jack could say another word she slammed the door in his face.

For a long while Jack stared at the closed door, hands shoved deep in his pockets as his always busy mind struggled to find a way out of what he’d just said.

---

Jack and Chase shared a quiet ride home that night.
  Words had never been a big part of their relationship since the death of their parents.  Jack remembered a time when he and Chase had fun, shared inside jokes and had a bond that was rare for a pair of siblings so far apart in age.  Once upon a time Chase had worshipped him.  Now all Jack felt was distain every time he caught the eyes of his younger brother. As Jack’s black Lexus breezed through the streets of Manhattan, which had grown eerily quiet at 3am, he grew tired of the silence.

Gripping the steering wheel he turned to look at Chase. He was slouched in the passenger’s seat with his head leaning against the window, staring ahead with sleepy eyes.
  Jack cleared his throat. “Hey, I got some take-out on the way home. Probably a little cold now but I set it out on the table for you.”

Chase didn’t even look his way. “Not
hungry,” he mumbled, absently.

Shot down.
  Jack’s swallowed heavily and wondered if he should leave it alone.  Accept that he and his brother were destined to live in silence for the rest of their lives.  He couldn’t accept that. Before he could stop himself he was taking desperate measures.  “So… How’s Lila?”

This tim
e Chase did look at his brother.  “She’s good.”

“Good.” Jack nodded, thrilled that he’d made a dent in the silent wall. “I know how close you guys are.
  I hope it won’t be too tough for you to say goodbye to her once you head off to college.”

Chase took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the road.
  He threw his older brother a look out of the corner of his eye before slouching back in his seat and staring ahead.

Jack cursed under his breath.
 
Too far, Jack-y boy.

And there it was.
  The silent wall that Chase had spent so many years building was now fully restored and stronger than ever.

Shot down yet again, Jack’s eyes went back to the road and stayed there.
  He’d taken a swing and missed.  Unwilling to experience the pain of slamming into that silent wall for the third time that night, Jack let it go, and they rode the rest of the way home without another word.

---

It was nearly 4am when Lila was jolted awake by the sound of banging on her door.  Groggily, she rolled over and tilted her alarm clock in her direction, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head when she saw what time it was.  A cold wave chilled her blood as she contemplated who the hell could be banging on her door so late at night.  For a moment, her mind raced back to the man in the blue truck Chase mentioned earlier that night, and the worry she felt intensified.

As she stumbled out of bed she silently cursed herself for never buying a gun and adjusted the tiny t-shirt and her old volleyball shorts, contemplating whether she should change.
  She decided not to, since she probably wouldn’t be opening the door anyway. On her way out of her bedroom she grabbed her cell, just in case an emergency phone call was in order.

Slowly making her way toward the door she could hear the sound of heavy raindrops making music against her windows and froze in the middle of her living room when a clap of thunder shook the walls.
  When had it started raining? Another knock emerged.  This one was softer, less demanding, as if the person on the other side somehow knew that she was on her way there.  Finally, she made it to the door and stood on her tiptoes to squint into the peephole.  Her mouth fell open at the sight.

A confused frown covered her face as she swung the door open.
  Jack stood soaking wet with his hands in the pockets of black slacks that clung to his large, muscular legs.  He was no longer wearing a jacket and his white button down shirt was nearly transparent, displaying the subtle dips and peaks of his strong chest and dark nipples brilliantly.  His dark hair was a disheveled mess at the top of his head.

Lila immediately wanted to scream at him, berate him, ask him what the hell he thought he was doing showing up at her door at this time of night after all of the things he’d said to her, but she couldn’t find her voice.

There was a hint of surprise in Jack’s eyes when he came face to face with Lila, as if he hadn’t expected her to open the door to him. His eyes travelled her body, taking in the tiny t-shirt and even tinier pair of black shorts that adorned her body.  Long, long legs stretched all the way down to a pair of small, manicured feet.  She didn’t wear a bra under her white t-shirt and he was sure her nipples would have been on full display if her long, tousled black hair wasn’t falling perfectly over her breasts to cover them.

That was it. He couldn’t take it, anymore. Not another day.

“Jack,” Lila breathed. Before she could say another word he’d crossed the threshold of her doorway, slamming the door closed with one hand and wrapping his arm around her small waist with the other, lifting her to her toes until they were nose to nose.  Lila fell back in surprise at the contact, pulling him with her until her back hit the wall of the hall closet, holding her arms up on either side of her head.  Jack placed a hand next to hers on the door, using it as leverage to pull her body flush with his.  He teased the open palm of her hand with the tips of his fingers before entwining them, holding his breath as his body responded to her womanly dips and curves. Her big brown eyes had grown even wider than usual, wild and stunned, but she didn’t push him away.  When she stood on her toes and subconsciously pressed her pelvis to his, accepting the bulge in his pants, he knew he would never be able to go back.

Lila’s heart pounded furiously in her chest as his freezing cold
 button down soaked her white t-shirt, making her nipples perk up and stand at attention.  She’d never been this close to him before and as her surprised eyes held his cloudy brown gaze, cradled in his strong arms, she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. Any anger she’d ever felt for him immediately dissipated as she lowered her hand and placed it against his chest, feeling his racing heart. She gripped his shirt where it pounded.

Jack didn’t know what to say, where to start.
  He brushed the tip of his nose against hers, tightening his grip on her when a clap of thunder made her jump. Words couldn’t describe the feel of her in his arms, it was a wild mixture of exhilaration, astonishment and relief. He pressed his lips to her cheek to hide his smile when another boom of thunder made her jolt, holding her close as he spoke softly against her skin.  “There’s always thunder rolling when we’re together, huh?”

Lila closed her eyes, marveling at the surprise and the amazing confusion that suddenly gripped her as years and years of pent up tension they’d both denied came crashing in all around them.

“You are my thunder, Jack,” Lila whispered softly, before reaching down and taking his hands in hers, pushing them away.  “But we can’t do this.”

Chapter 2

“
We can’t do this,” Lila said.

Jack slowly pulled back and pressed both of his hands against the closet door on either side of her, blocking her in. He knelt down so they were eye to eye and searched her face patiently as she stared at the wall over his shoulder.
  Eventually, she moved her eyes to his and pressed her back against the closet door to escape the intensity in his gaze.

Taking a deep breath, Lila
willed herself to calm down.  “We can’t do this,” she said, again. “Think about you brother.”

As if someone had thrown a cold bucket of water on his already soaking wet body, Jack sobered up. “I never stop thinking about him.”

Lila turned her body to the side and leaned a shoulder against the closet door, stealing a look at him out of the corner of her eye.  She searched his golden orbs carefully before closing her eyes and looking away.

Jack leaned closer, attempting to regain her gaze.
  He hadn’t been planning to ravage her when he’d come over, only to apologize for what he’d said. It wasn’t until he saw her in that tiny outfit, with her bed head tumbling into her sleepy eyes that he knew why he’d really come over here in the middle of the night.  Apologizing to her could have easily waited until morning, but he couldn’t wait and the reason was now clear. His eyes fell to her damp t-shirt, and darkened with desire.

Lila saw the inner struggle going on inside of Jack’s mind even though he stood in silence before her, staring at her damp t-shirt.
  She licked her lips and turned to face him, tugging at the white cotton that she feared was leaving much too little to the imagination.  Taking in the sight of him before her, feasting on her with his eyes in such an open and naked way that it made her ache in places she didn’t even know still ached, she knew she was in trouble. “You shouldn’t have come here,” she said, unconvincingly, staring at his parted lips.

His mind raced
, and he knew he couldn’t leave.  He didn’t know how to turn back the clock after having her in his arms.  Lowering his palms on the door, he leaned closer to her, eyes falling to her lips which were still stained cherry red from her date. “Chase doesn’t have to know…”

Lila’s eyes grew hard in an instant. “So I’ll just be your secret fuck? You’ll just show up here in the dead of night, every night, get what you want and bounce? No one ever has to k
now?  How convenient for you,” she chirped.

Jack’s head fell and he begged for patience.

Lila had riled herself up. “I’m not sure just what it is about me that makes you think you can come over here at 4am after what you said to me earlier today, but you’ve got me all wrong, Jack Almeida.” With every word she said it was as if a huge slap in the face was waking her up from a moment of pure insanity.  She couldn’t believe how easily she’d almost just succumbed to him. “I’m not one of your paralegal bimbos back at the office.”

Jack continued to hold his arms on either side of her, staring at his feet.
  After a few deep breaths, he slowly looked back up. “I know you’re not one of my paralegal bimbos.”  He almost shook his head at her, but he knew better.  She was a bomb ready to explode.  “I don’t even have paralegal bimbos.”

He wanted to tell her that he hadn’t been able to sleep thinking about what he’d said to her.
  That he admired how much she cared about those snot nosed kids she counseled. That he wished he could show his own brother even an iota of the strength and compassion that she showed other people’s children every day.

Before he could speak
, Lila crossed her arms over her chest and stonewalled him.  He’d already taken enough of that from Chase.  To get it from her too stole his words and he was unable to say anything, at all.

“Jack, you know how they are at Dalton. The administration frowns on faculty being too friendly with the parents and guardians. If someone knew you were here I could be fired on the spot.”

“If someone knew a senior had a copy of your apartment key you
would
be fired on the spot but that certainly hasn’t stopped you, has it?”

“Ah.” She threw
her head back, then lowered it. “
There you are
, Jack Almeida.” She knew he was in there, somewhere.

Jack jammed his eyes shut and when he opened them they were hungry.
  For peace or for passion, she wasn’t sure. “What the hell do you want from me, Lila?”

She took several deep breaths,
then tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Nothing.”

Jack’s nostrils flared gently.
“Nothing?”

“Nothing, Jack.” She nodded her head to the door. “I think you should go.”

His chest heaved and his mind raced.  He was a lawyer but he couldn’t find a way to talk himself back into her good graces.  Just five minutes ago she’d been in his arms.

“Yeah, maybe I should,” h
e agreed.

“Good.”

“Yeah, good.”  Jack turned away from her and snatched the front door open.

She slammed it shut behind him.

---

Lake Tahoe

Jack sauntered down the hotel hallway as he scanned the numbers of the doors, struggling to remember which one was his. His grandmother’s wedding had been rainy but beautiful, an all-day event, and he was so exhausted from socializing and smiling that he hadn’t even had the energy to ask the cute bartender he’d been talking up all night to join him in his room.
  All he wanted to do was sleep.  As he came up to his hotel room door his mouth fell open when he caught sight of Lila leaning against the hallway wall, tears staining her cheeks. His walking slowed as he grew closer to her, then he stopped completely as a silence passed between them. The rain outside was roaring now, pounding against the hallway windows and making music in the room.

Jack stared at her intently, fiddling with the keys in his pocket.

Lila stared back, breathing deeply and drunkenly pulling the strap of her blue dress back onto her shoulder.  Jack hadn’t missed the way that strap had been falling off of her shoulder all night and the many men she’d danced with, all of whom had been far too happy to push it back onto her shoulder for her while copping a feel of her glowing brown skin.  Jack hadn’t found the nerve to ask her to dance with him.  All they did was fight, after all, so why would she accept?

Her brown skin was damp from the rain outside and the previously perfect black bun she’d w
orn earlier had been released and was now a gorgeous jungle of waves around her pained browned eyes.  Just two hours ago she’d been having the time of her life.

He fiddled with his keycard.

“What happened?” he asked. The words alone made him realize that he might be capable of truly hurting whoever was responsible for the tears on her face. “Why are you crying?”

Lila looked away.

“What?” he pressed, hating the sight of any woman crying.  It reminded him too much of his mother. “What do you want, Lila?”

She looked back to him, watching him closely before her eyes
fell to his lips.

“Nothing,” s
he whispered, pushing herself off of the wall and making her way up to him.  She threw an arm around his shoulder while dragging her other hand down his chest, resting on his belt buckle.  She began to unlatch it.  “I don’t want anything.”

Jack was unable to move as she undid his pants, her fingers dipping into the elastic of his boxers before he could think to stop her.
  When she wrapped her hand around him and began a slow pump he licked his lips and took the back of her neck to pull her in for a kiss.

Lila turned her head away, refusing him
, as her hand continued to work him through his boxers.

“Lila,”
Jack gasped.  He knew he should stop her and apart of him almost did, but the moment his mind fully registered that this was Lila, touching him, he couldn’t.  He couldn’t stop her. “What do you want?”

Lila took the keycard hanging from the edge of his shaking fingers and pushed him back towards the door, sliding the card and disarming it.

“Nothing,” she whispered, pushing his pants off his hips as they fell into the open door.

Jack’s eyes popped open and he dragged in a trembling breath, squinting softly against the morning sun that was seeping through his bedroom window before cursing under his breath.  In the three pathetic hours of sleep he’d managed to get he’d dreamed about her. Typical. That night at Lake Tahoe had been nearly two years ago.  It was the first and only time since last night that he’d known the feeling of her smooth skin, her touch, but it had been too short lived. Chase had come knocking on the door just minutes later, seemingly unaware of what was going on on the other side, and effectively killing the mood.  Lila snuck out of the room shortly after Chase left and proceeded to pretend that none of it had ever happened. They never talked about it--not ever.

It was a night he'd been desperate to forget for a long time, but he just couldn’t.

He couldn’t forget.

---

Lila was late.

Even as she speed walked out of her apartment and down the street
, she still couldn’t get the night before out of her mind.  Had Jack really shown up in the dead of night trying to get laid after all of the horrible things he’d said to her? He must have thought she was a despicably easy woman to have even attempted it.  She huffed into the warm morning air, willing herself not to think about him.  The nerve.  The
nerve.

She jammed her eyes shut as the feeling of him pressed hard against her stomach came rushing back to her.

“Put some ice on it, Lila,” she grumbled, turning a quick corner and yelping when she ran smack into Chase.  Covering her heart, a smile couldn’t help but cross her face when she gazed up at him. “Hey you,” she said, taking her necklace between her fingers.

His
serious, emerald green eyes shone in the morning light and dark blonde hair tumbled into them with an easy perfection.  He wore all black—putting together an outfit had never been his strong suit--but it worked for him. His face was always the star of the show, anyway.

“Lila, I have been at this corner every morning since freshman year. How are you still slamming into me?” His deep voice curled into her skin and warmed her up like hot cocoa.

Lila wanted to tell him what an asshole his brother was, so much in fact that she had to bite her tongue to stop herself.  As far as she knew, Chase had no idea of the past she had with Jack, and she planned to keep it that way.  Instead of pouring her heart out, she eyed the two Starbucks cups he held, one stacked on top of the other, and took the one on top.

“You brought coffee, so I won’t kill you for being sarcastic with me this early in the morning.”

“I always bring coffee. Again, every day…. Since freshman year.” With a small smile he followed behind her as she continued her stomping towards the school. “Someone’s a real ray of sunshine this morning,” he observed.

She groaned her response and took a heavy swig of her hazelnut latte.
  It tasted like heaven on earth.   “You’re walking too slowly,” she said over her shoulder where she knew Chase was behind her.  Pulling her phone out of her bag she held it up and began to check her messages. “We’re already running late as it is.”

“You know, I was thinking,”
 Chase began, seemingly unaware of her chastising. “I don’t think I really want to go to Harvard.”

Lila laughed out
loud, sure he was joking, and refusing to dignify such an idiot statement with a response if he wasn’t.  She didn’t respond, but kept an ear open even as she saw an email in her inbox from Jack.  Her heart nearly stopped.

“I was thinking Colombia… or even NYU…”
  Chase continued. “You know, stay here. In the city.”

Lila was no longer listening as her eyes scanned the words in the email.
  She read it once, twice, three times, sure her eyes were deceiving her.

As I’m sure you already know Chase has been accepted into Harvard University. In light of this news, effective today, I will no longer be requiring your services as his tutor.

Jack Almeida

Lila froze in mid step, stumbling forward when Chase slammed into her from behind.
  He took hold of her arms and saved her from falling, before coming to stand in front of her. “You haven’t started drinking in the mornings again, have you? If I can’t do it then neither can you,” he teased her gently, but even the small smile on his face didn’t last when he was faced with the grim expression on hers.

Lila took in Chase’s face over the top of her phone, mouth agape.
  Looking back down to the screen, her eyes scanned the words one more time, sure she was imagining things.

“What?” h
e asked softly, reaching up to touch her hair.

Realizing that they were in public and half a mile from The Dalton School Lila stepped back, tilting her head to dodge Chase’s hand.
  The wounded expression on his face made her look away. “I have to go,” she said, suddenly.