It Takes Two

by Allie K. Adams

  “Do you really want Lou here more than me?” He stopped in front of her. Lifting his hand, he brushed a curl from her face.

  “And me.” Jason moved in behind her.

  “I’ve known him for years.” She inhaled sharply when he inched closer. Were his lips resting on the back of her neck? Jeremy kicked his lips into a crooked grin. That hunger in his expression couldn’t be denied, nor did she want to.

  Oh, God. It’s already started.

  “That didn’t answer my question,” he whispered, his voice like a feather tickling her senses as he held her gaze. “Do you really want us to leave?”

  Where’d this Jeremy come from? He was confident, even dominant, with brooding sexuality surrounding him—and now her. She couldn’t forget Jason behind her, the heat from his body melting into hers and burning her from the inside out.

  Jeremy shifted his gaze to his brother. They nodded. What, exactly, did they just agree to? “Why do you think we came here tonight, Bree?”

  Her answer came in his words, his voice raspy, thick with lust. It shook her to the core. To cover, she cocked her hip and propped a hand on it, showing a hell of a lot more attitude than she felt. “You tell me, Jeremy. You claim to be here to protect me. From what, I don’t know.”

  “From who,” he corrected.

  “And you think I’ll just take your word for it?” she asked, ignoring the way he slipped an inch closer. This was beyond her wildest dreams. The man she’d wanted, the one she’d been in love with since high school, stood before her. His twin brother, the one everyone else wanted and she never bothered to try for, closed in behind her. Both amazingly gorgeous with features so fierce, so perfectly defined. Things like this didn’t happen to women like her.

  “For now,” he murmured, his gaze licking over her body like a flame, scorching her wherever it touched.

  “Why would I do that?” Bree nervously licked her lips when Jeremy lowered his.

  “Because you trust me.” His breath tickled her face. “And, despite your words, you want us to stay. I see it in your body’s response. The flush in your cheeks. The way your pulse races. I smell the arousal on your breath.”

  That was a thing? She’d never had anyone look at her with such unbridled hunger. It shadowed his eyes, tightened his features, and had her close to giving in to anything he wanted. If she turned, would she see that same look in Jason’s eyes? Why was he here? Was this what he’d meant when he said he came to help his brother? Did Jeremy need his twin as some sort of security blanket?

  Why wouldn’t he take her alone?

  A wave of pain and bitter rejection washed over her, planting that familiar doubt in her brain. She’d carried that doubt with her for too long and refused to let it take hold of her again. She’d waited too long to be something to him, something more than his best friend.

  “What is it?” Concern twisted his expression. “Why do you look ready to cry?” He stepped back and brought up his hands as he shook his head. “I knew it.”

  “Knew what?” Jason asked.

  “I can’t do this, not with her.”

  “Dude.”

  Bree elbowed Jason to get him to back off as well. He did, giving her the chance to escape. Thank God. She couldn’t breathe sandwiched between them. “I need you both to leave.”

  “Dude, we had her.”

  “I’m not the prize at the end of a quest,” she snapped, pissed. Pissed and hurt.

  “She’s not the prize at the end of a quest,” Jeremy said, talking over her yet saying the same thing. They exchanged surprised looks before sharing a smile. She recovered and stormed to the door. No way would she let him suck her in with that cute, crooked grin.

  “Leave.” She reached for the door. Jeremy’s request stopped her from grabbing the knob.

  “Ask me anything about TREX. One question. If I don’t know the answer, I promise I’ll find it.”

  “Dude, no.”

  “Shut up, Jason.” Jeremy kept his attention on Bree. “One question.”

  Jason’s words replayed in her head. We find things. That’s what we do. “Prom night ten years ago. We made a promise to each other. Do you remember what it was?”

  “It was ten years ago.” Something changed in his eyes. They clouded with regret. His brow worked into a frown. “We were just kids.”

  “We promised never to make the other cry.”

  He looked at her. “I never broke that promise.”

  “You did,” she argued. “That night at the party. I cried after I left. I cried because you let me go. You broke your promise. I want it back.”

  “The promise?”

  “The ring.”

  Compassion flashed in his eyes. Compassion and then shame. “Bree.”

  “Do you still have it?”

  “It was ten years ago.” He shook his head. “They were from a quarter machine at that 7-11 we hit at like two in the morning after we ran out of cookie dough.”

  “Find me the ring I gave you. You broke our promise.” The words caught in her throat. She cleared them and held her tone even, steady. “You don’t get to keep the ring.”

  “Do you still have yours?”

  “I never made you cry.” No, she didn’t have hers. Bree’s cheeks caught fire, the humiliation burning into them. In her haste to move to California and marry Peter, she’d lost it somewhere between Anacortes and Pasadena.

  “Actually,” Jason jumped in. “You kind of did.”

  “Goddamn it, Jason.” Jeremy dropped his shoulders and stared at his shoes.

  “Is that true?” she asked. When he refused to answer, she jumped her gaze to his brother, who nodded. Her heart shattered at the thought of him crying over her. “I made you cry? Why?”

  “Why?” Jason practically spat the word as he snarled. “Are you serious?”

  “Shut up,” Jeremy barked and glared at his brother.

  Jason ignored him. “Here I thought Jer was the idiot.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Well, at least I know he’s not the only idiot.”

  “Jesus,” Jeremy growled. “Shut the hell up.”

  “If you don’t have the balls to tell her, then I will. Bree, you had a guy totally head over heels for you right in front of you. What did you do? You walked away and married some guy you only knew a year. Why marry a stranger when you could have had Jeremy?”

  “That’s none of your business.” She grabbed the doorknob.

  “Done,” Jeremy said so quietly she didn’t know if she’d heard him or imagined it.

  Her hand still on the knob, she hesitated and glanced at him over her shoulder. “What did you just say?”

  “I’ll not only find the ring you gave me, I’ll find the one I gave you, as well.” He backed away, his gaze never leaving hers. “In return, grant me one request.”

  “What’s that?” she asked before she had the chance to engage the filter between her brain and mouth.

  “Let us stay.”

  SEVEN

  Jeremy took a seat on the couch and nodded for Bree to join him. Despite the alarms screaming in her brain, she did and held her breath when he took her hand. “I still want you to ask me a question. Something that even I wouldn’t know.”

  “Favorite drink?”

  “Pendleton.”

  “Wrong.” Too bad. She really did want to believe them. She didn’t know anyone from a covert agency.

  “No, you drink wine in public, but in the comfort of your home, you prefer to sip on a nice whiskey.” He offered his glass to her. “It’s Crown, but not too bad.”

  She accepted it and took a long sip before handing it back to him. “Lucky guess.”

  “So, give me another.”

  “Dress size?”

  His gaze slid to her chest. Her nipples responded by puckering painfully. “Six.”

  “Another lucky guess. What about—”

  “You filed to have your name changed back to Willows after your husband died but pulled the
papers. When Peter was diagnosed with cancer, you never called your parents to tell them and still only talk to them on holidays. When Hospice offered therapy after Peter died, you refused. You went through everything alone.”

  “I didn’t go through it alone,” she whispered as the memories of that dark time threatened to take hold. How did he know all of that? She’d never told a soul. “I had Whitney. I still do.”

  “I swear we aren’t bullshitting you, Bree. We work for a tactical retrieval agency. We’re experts in finding things.”

  “I still don’t believe you.” Her confidence wavered.

  “Last year a Japanese company attempted a hostile takeover of Goggles, Inc. When you couldn’t come up with enough capital to buy back your shares to gain the majority over them, your takeover was certain.”

  “You could have read that in any of the papers.”

  “So you went and bought yourself a teeny tiny, local radio station and turned it digital.” Jason flopped onto the couch way too close. And, once again, she was sandwiched between the Bowmans. “Smart.”

  “Also public knowledge.” Wasn’t it?

  “How many people know FCC regulations prohibit foreign ownership in broadcasting greater than twenty-five percent?”

  “Anyone who knows anything about running a business,” Bree snapped, annoyed at his digs. When Jeremy mentioned Peter’s death, it shocked her. That was all. He hadn’t hit a nerve. Just like now. He wasn’t declaring anything not already public knowledge.

  “Anyone who’s seen Working Girl,” Jeremy countered, shocking her. She’d never mentioned her obsession with that movie to him before. “It’s one of your favorite movies. That and The Princess Bride.”

  Thanks to her knowing every line of Working Girl by heart, she knew enough to research the foreign ownership angle and use it to fend off the hostile takeover. She didn’t have the capital to buy her own stock, but she’d had enough to buy KPGL. After changing the format and turning it into an all-digital station, she only needed a few programmers to keep the station running. It had been showing a profit for nearly two years now and had her thinking strongly about expanding to other cities.

  “How did you know it was one of my favorite movies?”

  “It’s my job to know.”

  At first she found his arrogance sexy. Now it only irritated her. What in the hell had possessed her into thinking Jeremy Bowman would be the same gorgeous, kind-hearted man from high school? People change. Just look at her.

  “I personally love all those sayings you have that one dude say on your station,” Jason said with a laugh. “He says some funny shit.”

  “You’ve listened to KPGL?”

  Jason nodded. “We live in Seattle, Bree. Didn’t Jeremy tell you that?”

  She thinned her lips as she transferred her glare to Jeremy. Knowing he lived in the same city as she did and had never looked her up until they were back in Anacortes aggravated her. Why hadn’t she known he lived here? She’d moved the corporate headquarters to Seattle after Peter died, needing to be as far away from Pasadena as possible without changing coasts. The largest city in the state she’d grown up in seemed perfect.

  Now knowing the Bowman twins shared the city with her, she may just move again. “No, he didn’t.”

  “Dude,” Jason teased his brother. “You really are an idiot.”

  “An idiot and a liar.” She smiled sweetly, “Batting a thousand.”

  Jeremy kept his eyes on her. “You know I’m not lying.”

  “Then you at least admit to being an idiot.”

  Chuckling, he curled his lips into a grin, the gesture sending that gleam in his eye dancing wickedly. “When it comes to you, I’ve never been able to do anything right.”

  “That’s not true,” she whispered and dropped her gaze. He did everything right, from his shy charm to his overwhelming dominance whenever his brother closed in. Like now. She pretended not to notice how Jason had closed the gap and now rested his thigh against hers. Shockingly enough, she didn’t mind his warmth next to her. If Jeremy needed his twin as some sort of magic feather in order to follow through with that dark hunger in his eyes, she’d play along.

  Which surprised her. Five minutes ago, she wanted them both to leave for the same reason. If she didn’t relax and let it happen now, she may never get another chance to be with him in whatever capacity she could. She’d always wanted Jeremy. Secretly, she’d wanted Jason, too. She’d be crazy not to. Of course, she’d never so much as hinted at it for fear she’d be labeled an even bigger freak show for wanting both brothers. Not in any permanent capacity, of course. Just once. Okay, maybe a few times.

  Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she’d be presented with the opportunity to live out that fantasy. Not having sex in a while had definitely taken its toll for her to even contemplate something this crazy. Two Bowmans. At the same time.

  Definitely crazy.

  She grabbed her drink and downed the rest of the contents before standing and pouring another full, full glass. Right up to the rim. She then drank half of it before refilling it and returning to the couch. “Let’s suspend reality for a minute and say I believe you being covert agents. That you find things. I still don’t see how that has anything to do with you being here.”

  “We’re here to keep you safe,” Jason answered. Was that his hand on her shoulder?

  Her heart pounded as the breath sawed in and out of her lungs, drying her throat. “How exactly are you two going to do that?”

  “We stay by your side,” Jeremy explained, a delicious glimmer in his eyes. “We insert ourselves.”

  She inhaled sharply. Damn if his words didn’t have her body throbbing, aching for him to follow through with his explanation and insert himself. Judging by the way his eyes had darkened, his fierce expression, he contemplated doing just that. “How would you do that, exactly?”

  He stared at her lips for several seconds before licking his. “We’d become fixtures in your day-to-day activities, an extension of you, until we neutralized the threat.”

  “You sound like James Bond,” she commented, her voice shaky.

  “More like Jason Bourne,” Jason corrected with a grin in his voice. That was definitely his hand on her shoulder. And now the heat from his breath brushed over her neck. “It’s not just the name I like. That guy has style.”

  “You do realize he’s a fictional character?” Bree stiffened when he held her shoulders and caressed her skin with the pads of his thumbs. He gently turned her to face Jeremy.

  “So is James Bond,” he countered as he feathered kisses along her shoulder. “But he’s definitely better at getting the girl. I’m more like Bond in that area. Bourne is socially awkward, which fits Jeremy to a T.”

  Bree tilted her head, granting Jason access to her neck as she kept her attention on the Bowman she wanted. Jeremy’s gaze had darkened to almost black as his nostrils flared. Watching Jason rub her shoulders, drag his lips down her neck, had his expression shifting from shy and awkward to hungry and carnal. She pulled in her bottom lip and bit down, allowing herself to get lost in the moment. There weren’t enough moments like this in life. All the more reason to enjoy the hell out of this one.

  In the ten years since she’d last seen him, she’d come to embrace her confidence. It was time to put that confidence to the test. She had Jeremy in her room as she’d planned. Having Jason here confused and excited her. She’d never been the type to fall for the bad boy or the thrill-seeker. Her tastes ran more along the bookworm. Now she had both here touching her, about to love her. She couldn’t deny the ache, the subtle throb of arousal centering in her womb and melting her, drenching her panties. It made no sense, but having the brothers focusing all their attention on her and only her had her ready to drop her clothes and see what, exactly, a Bowman sandwich felt like.

  She blew out a breath as she took it all in. Members of a covert agency? The Bowmans? She could see it with Jason, who played any sport that required p
hysical release. The more aggressive the better. He’d end up doing something that let him beat the ever-loving shit out of someone else. But not Jeremy. He preferred to win the battle with his brain and not his fists. That explained why he chose intel instead of personal security.

  “I did not see this coming when we graduated,” she practically purred as Jason hit the tender spot behind her ear and made her toes curl. When he took a playful nip at her lobe, she shot forward, landing against Jeremy’s hard chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding their bodies together.

  “Didn’t see what?” Jeremy spoke so soft, so dangerously even, that Bree couldn’t stop the shimmer of fear and desire that shot through her.

  “This right here.” She did her best attempt at collecting herself as she bounced her attention between the two gorgeous men eyeing her like she was their last meal. “Is this some sort of seduction?”

  “If you want seduction, we can do that.” Jason lifted a brow as amusement laced his expression and danced in his eyes. Charm oozed from him and floated into the air, slamming into Bree’s body and tightening her nerves. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down as she crossed her legs to ward off the ever-growing throb at the center. She couldn’t stop thinking about having them both naked and making her fantasies come true.

  “You want to seduce me?” The shock hit her hard and sent her heart into palpitations. “Both of you?”

  “Do you want to be seduced?”

  “I don’t know what I want,” she said in a small voice. “I think I’m treading in some dangerous waters with you two.”

  Jeremy shook his head. “Not with us, you’re not.”

  She somehow doubted that. Being in a room alone with these two was definitely dangerous.

  Jason moved close enough for the heat of his breath to tickle her neck. “Do you want to be seduced, Bree?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. Did she just say that? Oh, to hell with it. She wanted more than a kiss to end the night and rested her gaze on the man she’d driven two and a half hours braving Seattle traffic to spend the night with. The champagne filled her with a false bravado and gave her a nice buzz. “Do you want to seduce me, Jeremy?”