Callaghan Brothers Guide: The Official Guide to the Callaghan Brothers Series (2 page)

Most doctors don’t make house calls anymore, including Michael Callaghan.  But he’s willing to make an exception when the pretty redhead with the jewel-like green eyes takes a header off the stage at his brother’s bachelor party.  Something about her piques his masculine interest, and it’s not just her dancing.

Lightning hits the Callaghan clan a third time when Michael and Maggie find themselves snowbound  during a classic nor’easter, but their bond is soon tested when Michael is forced to choose between following his finely-honed instincts and respecting Maggie’s wishes.

It’s a hell of a choice.  Either way, he could lose her forever.

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“Are you feeling nauseous?” he asked.

Maggie bit her lip.  Was she?  No, she thought, this was different.  She was fairly certain her stomach was doing that funny flipping thing because of
him
, not because of her unfortunate tumble. 

“No, I don’t think so.”

Michael raised an eyebrow.  He pulled a small light out of his pocket and leaned over her in what was becoming a familiar move.  Part of her was annoyed, but another part longed for the closeness it brought with it.  At this range she could clearly see the dark shadow along his jaw and feel the heat radiating from his body.  Also rather disorienting was the familiar peppermint scent of his breath, now infused with coffee, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, a few of her cookies as well. 

She shuddered.  As gorgeous and intense as he was, it just wasn’t fair that he smelled like cookies now, too.  How could she even hope to resist him for any length of time?

Her hopes that he hadn’t noticed were quickly dashed.  “Are you cold?  Do you have chills?” he asked, stepping back again.  That move put her at eye-level with his hips.  Her eyes widened as she caught a completely accidental glimpse of what his jeans held within.  And that was unaroused. 
Oh my
.

“No.”  She shivered again, her face pinkening even more as she averted her eyes.

“Maybe we should get you back to bed.”  Was it her imagination, or was his voice a bit lower than before?  He moved in close again, his hand touched lightly upon her brow as if to check for a fever.

“Um, no, not a good idea.” 

The words “we” and “bed” should not be coming out of his mouth as part of the same sentence, she decided.  It made the butterflies in her stomach flutter even faster, not to mention send yet another rush of heat toward the center of her body.  She squirmed uncomfortably.

Michael raised an eyebrow, folding his arms in front of his chest.  Odd how such a small gesture commanded such authority.  Even odder was the fact that she felt the need to explain herself.  As a general rule, she didn’t.

“I mean, there’s no reason I should lay around in bed all day.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said slowly.  “I could think of a few.”  One side of his mouth lifted, and she felt her face burn. 
Damn
.

“A concussion, for one,” he finished slyly.

She finally saw the glint of amusement in his eyes.  The sexy bastard was having a little fun with her!  Maggie probably should have felt irritated, but she realized she had brought it all upon herself with her wicked imagination.  She’d left the door wide open in blatant invitation; it was no wonder he had stepped right in. 

“I don’t have a concussion,” she said firmly.

“Is that your professional opinion, doctor?”  He made no effort to hide his amusement any longer.

“As a matter of fact, it is,” she said, but even she was having trouble containing the grin that threatened to show itself. 

Monsters do exist.

Nicki Milligan knows all about monsters.  She lives with them.  Fights them every day.

She doesn’t have time for distractions, especially not the incredibly hot alpha-male who seems to have taken an interest and knows just how to push her buttons.  In coming to Pine Ridge, she hopes to finally fulfill a childhood vow she made to her twin brother years earlier.

Because no child should have to endure what they did.

Ex-SEAL Sean Callaghan always knew that no ordinary woman would do it for him.When he encounters Nicki Milligan in his garage, it is lust at first sight.  She is his every dark fantasy wrapped up in one sexy package.

It doesn’t take him long to figure out that she’s so much more than that.  Or that there’s a lot more to Nicki than meets the eye.

Sean knows he is tough, but Nicki might just be tougher.  Now he just has to convince her that they were made for each other.

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“I’m done here.”

Sean’s blue eyes bored into hers, searching.  There!  The silver flickered, softened for just a fraction of a second before hardening again.  It was all he needed.  Fine.  If she wanted to play that game, he was in.  He could do big and bad, too.  And she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Not quite,” he said, allowing a hungry look to seep into his features.  It wasn’t difficult.  Being anywhere in the vicinity of the woman made him hot and hard.  Hell, physical proximity didn’t really matter at all.  Just thinking about her did it for him.

“Yeah?” she asked, tilting her chin with arrogance even as she took a step back.  “Like what?”

Sean crossed the room in two long strides.  He cupped the back of her head with one hand and thrust the other between her legs while taking full and thorough possession of her mouth.  She resisted, her nails like claws curling into his chest, drawing blood, but he persisted, his tongue insistently probing until she relented and opened for him.  He dominated her, his grip like iron, demanding the very breath from her lungs and replacing it with his own.

“I haven’t finished with you yet,” he said huskily several minutes later when her eyes were sufficiently dazed and her body suitably pliant.  Hell, he would never be finished with her.

“What did you have in mind?”  Her voice was sex personified, a low throaty purr he could never get enough of. 

“I haven’t tasted you,” he breathed as his lips skimmed her jaw line.  “And I
need
to taste you.”

They call him the Iceman.  The eldest of seven brothers, he is the biggest.  The coldest.  The meanest.

No one has been able to break through the icy shield Kane Callaghan has built around himself.  No one except the tiny, stubborn woman willing to sacrifice herself for him.  She haunts his dreams, but he has no idea who she is.  Where she is.  Or if he’ll ever see her again.

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Rebecca Harrison spent the last twelve years with humanitarian relief organizations, travelling to some of the hardest hit areas of the world, but none has ever affected her as much as that tiny village in Africa.  Because of him.

Fierce and beautiful and terrible, she can’t get him out of her mind.  Kane.  The avenging archangel who appeared out of nowhere, saving her from a fate worse than death.  The one she was forced to leave behind.

Worlds apart, they are bound by the events of that one horrible night, though the chances of ever meeting again are too small to dare even hope.  Of course, neither one realizes just how clever Fate can be...

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There were too many men hovering around her, vying for her attention.  It certainly didn’t help that she looked beyond gorgeous in that silk sheath that passed for a dress, or that her hair had been expertly styled so that it draped in cascading waves around her pretty face.  Kane was seriously beginning to question the sanity of any plan that had her looking like that and in the vicinity of any man still attached to his balls.

The bruises had faded, though she still seemed to favor the off-to-the-side part of her hair.  He did, too.  It had a way of accentuating the almost imperceptible almond shape of her unusual brown eyes.  Not for the first time, he wondered about her heritage.  It didn’t matter to him in the slightest, but it was intriguing. 

She and Aidan were definitely brother and sister – there was no doubt about that.  When they stood next to one another it was impossible not to see the uncanny resemblance – skin with a natural, darker golden glow, like they had just spent the day at the beach.  Honey gold hair streaked with darker and lighter strands provided a spectacular illusion of depth.  Secretly, Kane had always assumed Aidan achieved that look chemically, but he knew Rebecca didn’t, so he’d been forced to revise that opinion.

Most intriguing of all, however, were their distinctive eyes.  They were a deep, rich brown ringed in hazel and mahogany, liberally sprinkled with shimmering gold.  The total effect was striking, really. 

She hadn’t spotted him yet.  Observe without being observed.  It was important that he understood every player, every angle, every nuance.  Kane was nothing if not thorough once committed to a mission.

One young man seemed particularly tenacious.  He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Rebecca.  He hung on every word she said, though she rarely spoke.  The little bastard kept finding ways to touch her, to brush against her, lightly place his fingertips on her arm. 

“His name is Phoenix,” Ian said quietly into his ear.  He and Jake had taken over behind the bar, dismissing Aidan’s hired help.  It was mostly family here anyway. 

“What the hell kind of name is that?” Kane mumbled, leaving Ian trying to hide the grin.

“He works here.  Lex says he’s one hell of a sous chef.”  He was too damn good looking, too.  About six foot, give or take.  Lean.  Had a bit of a Mediterranean look about him, like he might be part Greek, like Lex.  He was so obviously not Rebecca’s type.  And he kept
touching
her.

“Why does he keep touching her like that?”

Ian pretended to look.  “She doesn’t seem to mind.”

But she did mind.  Kane could see it clearly.  His lip curled back in a snarl.

“Kane, man.”

“What?”

“You’re growling.”

Shane Callaghan is used to drawing female attention, but this is the first time a woman actually drooled over him.

From the moment he spotted the pretty blonde catching a few Z’s during his lecture, a spark ignited deep in his chest.  And each minute he spends with the gentle-hearted Kindergarten teacher only fans the flames.

Lacie McCain is not the type of woman to be easily smitten, but as soon as the gorgeous lawyer turns those beautiful blues her way, she is a goner.  His quiet intensity and gentlemanly charm are impossible to resist.

Shane and Lacie are meant to be together.  Everyone can see that.

Everyone except the one who is determined to keep them apart.

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“I guess I don’t need to ask what you thought of my lecture?”

“I liked it,” she said quickly, gathering her books.  Shane arched a perfect brow and inclined his head doubtfully.  “Well,” she added with a slightly dimpled smile, “the part I heard, anyway.  But I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately, and your voice is wonderfully warm and rich and ...”