“It’s been up and running for quite a few months,” Dakota said, carrying on the conversation. Jeez, it wasn’t like Cyn had been going to tell them to go to hell. She had just been going to say they should just conduct their business and leave. She had been here first, after all. “It’ll be interesting to see the long-term success rate.”
“I’m sure if the right people are placed together, that percentage will be pretty damn high,” Brody said, walking over to where she sat. Cyn tensed as he leaned over her shoulder and reached for a brochure that was stacked on the table. His breath caressed the side of her neck as he pulled away. Her heart did that thumpety-thump thing it always did when they were around and she struggled for air. Damn it. They were doing it again. “See you later, Cyn.”
She watched as all four men left the kitchen, going into the living room to discuss weapons. As handsome as Dakota and Chad were, the charisma that Cooper and Brody radiated was beyond words. Their asses swayed as they exited, making her wish the hallway was longer. She reached her hand back, making sure her hair was still in place. The red clip that matched her skirt was secure. Feeling better, she turned to see Elise looking at her over her glasses.
“Don’t say a word,” Cyn warned, before opening up her laptop.
Chapter Four
“Need help?”
Cyn couldn’t help but shiver as Brody’s heat immediately surrounded her. She tried to step away from her car, but Cooper’s body prevented her. She watched as Brody lifted the fifty-pound box out of the trunk of her car as if it weighed nothing. Cooper leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“Miss us?”
Cyn tried to tell herself to snap out of whatever spell they had put her in, and hoped the chill in the air erased her aroused state. “Of course not. I do have a life, you know. Besides, I saw you this morning.”
“Oh yes, one of nine lives. Curiosity got the best of you, according to Mom.”
Cyn whipped around at that, and had to put her hands on his chest to keep herself stable on her stilettos. In the week that they’d been back, neither one of them had mentioned she had called their mother. There went her hope that Mrs. Jackson hadn’t said anything. “For your information, I called your mom on behalf of Elise, who felt bad you weren’t having Thanksgiving dinner with friends or family. I thought maybe you would have gone home during your business trip and wanted to make her feel better.”
It was such a lame excuse that even Cyn had trouble not cringing after the words came out. His pectoral muscles moved underneath her palms, and her hands itched to slide up toward his neck. He smelled really good, too. Was that Chanel No. 5 for men? Since when did he start wearing designer cologne?
“All you succeeded in doing was worrying Mom that we didn’t have a nice dinner on Thanksgiving,” Cooper said, making Cyn feel guiltier than she already did. “Speaking of dinner, did you enjoy yours? Was your turkey moist and delicious?”
The way he said the words moist and delicious brought other things to mind besides turkey. For the second time in four days, she found herself staring at his lips and wondering if he tasted the same. His lips were like Brody’s, full and sensual. She also remembered how talented they were with their tongues. Her clit remembered too, if the throbbing it was experiencing was anything to go by.
“Do you want this up in your room?”
Cyn jumped at Brody’s question, realizing that she had almost kissed Cooper. Dropping her hands from his chest, Cyn spun around and slammed the trunk of her car. She wished it were that easy to slam a lid on top of her emotions. She hadn’t had sex in almost a year, so maybe she was just sexually frustrated. It was a plausible explanation as to why she felt the need to jump their bones every minute of the day.
“Yes, please,” Cyn answered, stepping around the two to lead the way into the bed-and-breakfast. Elise had offered their spare bedroom when she had first come to visit, but Cyn had declined, not wanting to intrude on their new home. Remembering that Cooper had asked about Elise’s dinner, Cyn said, “And to answer your question, Cooper, yes—dinner was fantastic.”
Cooper reached around her to open the door to the bed-and-breakfast, his arm brushing against hers. She was pretty sure he did it deliberately, but she didn’t break stride. With her stiletto heels clicking on the hardwood floor, Cyn led them up to her room. She turned the knob, entering the small bedroom, and made sure she was standing in the middle before she turned to face them.
“Did you just open your door without using a key?”
Uh-oh. Brody didn’t look happy as he set the box of promotional items on the floor. He knew the answer to his question, so she wasn’t about to get caught in a lie. But really, what was his issue? “Yes, I did. There’s no need to lock my door. This is Triple.”
“Even in Triple, bad things happen,” Brody said with a growl in his voice. She hadn’t realized it, but Cooper had brought himself around to her other side while she had been focused on Brody. Without knowing how she’d gotten in this position, Cyn was sandwiched between the two of them. Cooper’s front was flush with her back, while Brody took her chin in his hand and brought her gaze up to his. The intensity in his eyes was staggering. “Promise me you’ll lock your door.”
Cyn wanted to tell him no, that she would do no such thing, but couldn’t bring herself to speak those words. The green of his irises had little brown flecks in them that seemed to sparkle. He was so different from Cooper, not only in looks but also in personality. He tended to be the more serious one, the protector. She knew him well enough to know that if she didn’t promise, he wouldn’t just be mad at her, he would be disappointed.
“I promise,” Cyn whispered. She was glad she did when he gave her a small smile.
“What I would give to kiss you right now,” Brody murmured, looking down at her lips. She watched his tongue peek out and lick his lower lip, leaving a glistening trail of moisture. Maybe he would be the one to kiss her and this stupid rule that Cooper put into place would be null and void. “But, we actually came to take you to lunch.”
“Lunch?” It took a few seconds for Cyn to comprehend the word. They came to take her to lunch? Since when did they go out on dates? She shimmied out from between the two. “I don’t think so. Didn’t we already have this conversation earlier? Besides, I have edits that are due.”
“Are you scared to have lunch with us?” Cooper asked, crossing his arms like he loved to do when he was proving a point.
Cyn knew they were baiting her, and that she shouldn’t rise to take it, but his arrogant tone wouldn’t allow her to do anything else. “No, I’m not scared of you. Maybe we can discuss this little stipulation about what happens if I kiss you, because I’m not liking it.”
Cooper nodded his agreement. “We can, but it’s not going to change the fact that you will be the one who kisses us and we will take it as a sign that you are ready to move forward.”
“That’s not why we want to have lunch with you, though,” Brody said, walking past her to the exit. Turning the knob and opening the door, he clicked the lock to make sure it would be secure when they left. “We were hoping you could help us out with something.”
Cyn didn’t move, wondering what they could possibly need her assistance with. Were they just playing games with her? She wasn’t sure, but if she did have lunch with them, maybe she could find out where they had gone for the holiday. The not knowing was still nagging her. For some reason, it bothered her to know they had lied about where they were going.
“Fine,” Cyn said, walking past him. “I just have to grab my purse out of my car before we walk over to the diner.” Cyn heard Brody growl at that and didn’t have to turn around to know he had a scowl on his face at the fact that she left her purse unattended. Apparently, they hadn’t gotten the memo that nothing ever happened in the town of Triple. Well, besides Elise almost having been killed, that is. But that had been due to a deranged woman who thought Elise was stealing her men. That was a one-in-a-million situation.
&
nbsp; “You need to promise me—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Cyn crooned, making sure her ass swayed in her red skirt. If they thought they could tempt her with accidentally brushing against her or situating her between them, then she could do the same. “I promise not to leave my purse in my car again.”
Cyn bit back a smile when she heard Cooper trip on the carpet and let out an umph. Between her black stiletto heels and red leather skirt, maybe she did affect them more than she thought. It was good to know, because she was going to need all the ammunition she could get.
* * * *
“But I don’t do advertising,” Cyn said for the fourth time.
They had finished their lunch and were now discussing the reason they were at the diner to begin with. Cooper and Brody wanted help with promotional flyers, and that was definitely not on Cyn’s resume. She wrote fiction—erotic romance—and that didn’t come close to creating a couple paragraphs for advertising. She couldn’t make up a jingle if someone put a gun to her head.
“Guys, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I would suck at that,” Cyn admitted, taking a sip of her sweet tea. It was more of a way to cool her off than to quench her thirst. Cooper had chosen to sit with her on her side of the booth. She was positive that he kept his body pressed against her on purpose. And Brody was sitting across from her, but his legs were so long, his knees had been in constant contact with hers. Her body heat was now at a scorching level and she decided that she would have to satisfy herself with her large vibrator tonight—the one with the extra attachment for her clit. “Besides the promotional stuff, are you guys almost ready to have your opening?”
“We’ve decided to have the grand opening the first of the year,” Cooper responded. She found that when she looked at him, their faces were closer than she would have liked. His hair was longer than he usually let it grow, and it gave him a devilish appearance. He was much too tempting. “That way, we can enjoy the holidays.”
“Are you heading back to Indiana to visit your folks?” Cyn asked. She concentrated on the beaded condensation on the glass of sweet tea to prevent herself from having to look at him.
“No, we want to be near you to give you your present on Christmas morning,” Brody answered, taking her by surprise. As much as he and Cooper had pursued her these last few months, it was usually Cooper that referred to the future.
“Present? You don’t have to get me a present,” Cyn said, shaking her head at their intention.
“You don’t get a say in it,” Brody replied, waving his hand in the air. “Another person who didn’t get to have a say in receiving a gift was Willow.”
Cyn looked over to where Willow was talking with Deputy Thornton. She swore that man came into the diner three times a day for his main meals just so he could speak with Willow. She was a really nice young woman, probably in her early twenties. Cyn heard through the grapevine that Willow had gotten a degree in art and hadn’t been able to find a job in that area. She refused to leave the town of Triple because of her ailing grandmother, leaving her no choice but to work at the diner to support herself. Her wages barely covered what she needed to live on, leaving nothing to be able to pay off her student loans. Cyn had made sure the loans were paid off, but how had Cooper and Brody found out about it?
“Really?” Cyn kept her voice light, not wanting to give away anything. So what if she had wanted to help out somebody in need? She hadn’t done it for recognition. “What gift did she receive?”
“We know you paid off her student loans, Silk,” Cooper said, turning his body so that he was able to face her a little better. His cologne surrounded her in a subtle scent, making her want to snuggle her face into his neck. His lips were moving again. What had they been talking about? Oh, yeah—Willow. “Why you feel the need to hide the good deeds you do, we will never understand.”
“If it had been me, and I’m not saying it was, what’s the purpose of publicizing it? The bottom line is Willow was given help when she needed help and can now focus on planning out a life without the stress of knowing if she can afford her next meal or if she has the money for her grandmother’s medicines. The person who gave her that ability shouldn’t matter in the least.”
“Do you realize how special you are?”
Cyn turned her head in surprise. Cooper’s voice had dropped a level and his soft tone held a meaning she didn’t understand. He brought his hand up to her cheek, brushing back a stray hair that had slipped from her bun. His touch was tender and she was tempted to close her eyes and savor the contact. His warm skin was a hell of a lot better than the cold plastic she was going to use to pleasure herself later this evening.
“I’m not special, Cooper.” She’d been fortunate to have been born into a life of privilege, but what good does wealth do a person if they let it consume them? Giving is what kept her soul at peace with itself. “Having money makes me no different than anyone else. The only thing it provides me with is the ability to have nice things,” Cyn confessed, about to pull away when he placed his thumb on her chin.
“No, Silk. You use that as a shield to make everyone think you don’t care. You always have,” Cooper said softly. “But we know you. We know that you are kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and sincere. You have a heart of glass and we want nothing more than to make sure it is never shattered. It might have been us that put a fracture in it years ago, but it’ll be us that will fill it with love if you let us.”
Cyn needed to move. She needed to leave the diner and go back to her room before she did something stupid. His promise of protecting her and shielding her from any more hurt was something she knew she craved more than life itself, but she also knew that wasn’t how life worked. Why did people insist on being sentimental? Didn’t they know that words didn’t need to be spoken? Elise and Shea understood how she operated. Why couldn’t Cooper and Brody?
“Please move,” Cyn whispered, looking frantically at the door.
“Why? So you can run?”
“Isn’t that what you did?” Cyn asked, countering his question. “You and Brody left me for the military. You chose that life over me.”
“We chose to create a life that would lead us back to you,” Cooper said harshly. “It was our only option, other than to live off of you. And don’t you dare say you would have been okay with that, because we wouldn’t have. For other men, maybe—but for us, it is our job to take care of you. We accomplished what we set out to do. Has it cost us you in the process? Only you can answer that, but we pray that you give us a chance to prove to you that our intentions are honorable.”
Cyn tore her gaze away from his and looked across at Brody. His expression was just as serious as Cooper’s and his eyes were filled with affection. They obviously hadn’t gotten the memo telling them she didn’t like sentimental crap like this. Hell, that was one of the main reasons why she never announced her good deeds, because that meant she would have to listen to how grateful someone was. And here they were, laying their emotions out on the table and expecting her to have some sort of reply. Her chest felt tight and she glanced at the door one more time. They weren’t really going to make her stay here and confess her well-guarded feelings, were they?
“Silk, talk to us,” Cooper urged, bringing her attention back to him. “Say something, so we aren’t left hanging.”
Her breathing went shallow and she blinked away moisture that was building up in her eyes. She looked from Cooper to Brody and then back again. Her chest was starting to hurt under the pressure of all the emotions they were making her feel, so she did the only thing she could. She kissed him.
Chapter Five
Brody was glad that Cooper had decided to revise their plan. He didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary to have Cyn beneath him. They had talked over their strategy before heading to the B&B, pushing up their timeline. Deciding to lay it all on the line, Brody had let Cooper take the lead, knowing his brother was a hell of a lot better when it came to words.
Unlocking th
e front door of their house, Brody slammed open the door and flung his keys on the side table. Turning, he saw that Cooper had Cyn up against the porch railing, her red leather skirt hiked up to her waist. Was she wearing a red thong? Brody suppressed a groan and adjusted his jeans. Seeing them together was the most erotic sight and it brought back memories from when they had loved her together. Knowing they would need to get her body adjusted to taking both of them again, Brody took deep breaths to steady his mental state.
“Let’s get you inside,” Cooper said, lifting Cyn up and giving her no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. The fact that she loved to wear stiletto heels was a bonus, according to Brody. Hell, everything she wore was becoming his weakness. “Brody, get the door.”
Cooper’s words made Brody tear his gaze away from Cyn’s smooth ass, which was now resting in his brother’s palms. With shaking hands, he slammed the door shut and proceeded after them through the kitchen and down the hallway to where Cooper’s bedroom was. He had taken the master bedroom, with plans for the three of them to share. Brody was staying in one of the smaller rooms, as he had never really needed all that much space. He was glad that Cooper had had the foresight to have ordered the special-made bed that was slightly larger than a king. It was perfect for the three of them.
Brody figured Cyn wasn’t the type to just lie there and let them love her, so when she lowered her legs down Cooper’s sides and started to unbutton his shirt, it came as no surprise. What did catch him off guard was when she got impatient halfway through and took the fabric in both hands and pulled. Buttons popped off, clicking on the hardwood floor.
“Slow down, Silk. We have all the time in the world,” Cooper said, trying to take her hands in his.
Opulent Match [Ménage.com 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4
