Hard to Hold

by Nicole Edwards

  Putting his arm around Amy’s shoulders, Wolfe started walking, urging her to the porch behind Rhys. Although he tried to hide it, the tension in his body was coiling tighter, only this time it had nothing to do with the kiss and everything to do with whatever was terrifying her. He’d noticed her hesitance to go inside earlier when he’d dropped her off, but he hadn’t thought much of it when it was broad daylight.

  Rhys disappeared inside the house, and the lights clicked on one at a time as he moved through it.

  “I’m sorry,” Amy whispered.

  “Don’t be,” Wolfe told her. He wanted to know what or who she was scared of, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He needed her to tell him when she was ready.

  “All clear,” Rhys informed them when they stepped into the house.

  “We’ll wait on the porch,” Wolfe said, turning and stepping back outside.

  Rhys joined him, closing the front door behind him.

  Their eyes met in the darkness, the only light coming from the full moon.

  “What the fuck was that about?” Rhys whispered, his eyes searching Wolfe’s face.

  “No fucking idea.”

  “She was scared to go in her own damn house.”

  Wolfe nodded. He’d seen it with his own two eyes.

  Rhys turned and leaned against the porch railing, crossing his arms over his chest. “No wonder she always looks so damn tired. Hell, I’d be shocked if she sleeps a few hours a night.”

  Wolfe was thinking the same thing as he stared out at the surrounding area. The land adjacent to the small farmhouse was mostly flat, very little to conceal anything. Only a few trees stood off in the distance. If anyone came up on the house, Amy would be able to see them.

  “She’s from Houston,” Wolfe told him, keeping his voice low.

  “Houston?”

  “Yeah. That’s all she told me and I don’t think she meant to tell me that much.”

  “Well, it’s a start.”

  Wolfe turned and stared at Rhys. “I don’t want you lookin’ into her.”

  Shaking his head, Rhys looked away. “I won’t.” He met Wolfe’s gaze again. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t look into what might’ve happened to her.”

  Wolfe got that. He hoped Rhys didn’t have to do any digging. He wanted Amy to tell them her story herself. She was opening up. Slowly but surely. Wolfe figured it was only a matter of time.

  The door opened behind them.

  Rhys stood tall, his arms falling to his sides, a smile replacing his frown. “Ready?”

  Wolfe turned around as Amy stepped out of the house. She was wearing a pair of short denim shorts, a tank top with a thin plaid shirt over it, and a pair of boots on her feet.

  Lord have mercy.

  Was the woman trying to kill him?

  “Yeah,” she said sweetly, locking the door behind her and tucking the key into her pocket.

  “We’ll take my truck,” Wolfe informed them, waiting for Amy to move in front of him.

  When they reached the truck, Amy stepped up to the back passenger door.

  “No you don’t,” Wolfe said, chuckling. “Lift the console. You get to ride in the middle.”

  Amy peered up at him, and the look she gave him was more amused than anything. He opened the door and waited for her to hop in. When Rhys moved closer, Wolfe walked around to the driver’s side.

  A few minutes later, Wolfe had the truck out on the main road heading toward his house. Or rather, toward the lake.

  “Is this what you do out here in the country to pass the time?” Amy asked, her sweet voice a welcome sound in the silence.

  Rhys shifted, resting his arm on the window. “Depends. When we were kids, we did all sorts of shit.”

  “Is cow tipping a real thing?” Amy questioned, her attention divided between them.

  Wolfe could hardly focus on driving with Amy’s thigh up against his, so he didn’t answer.

  “It’s a thing,” Rhys confirmed, chuckling. “So is paintin’ the water tower.”

  “Did y’all ever do that? Cow tipping or painting the water tower?”

  “Of course not,” Wolfe said, deadpan.

  Rhys laughed.

  “Shit. Wolfe and Lynx got a spur up their ass… What was it? Two years ago? They climbed up the water tower and would’ve started painting if they hadn’t dropped the damn spray paint off the side.”

  “Two years ago?” Amy giggled. “Aren’t you a little old to be raisin’ that kind of hell?”

  “Never too old, darlin’,” Wolfe said softly. “Never too old.”

  The silence that descended in the truck was almost deafening. If it weren’t for the rumble of the engine, Rhys figured you could’ve heard the crickets out in the fields and the cicadas in the trees.

  “Okay.” Amy glanced over at him, then back to Wolfe. “What gives?”

  “Huh?” The confused look on Wolfe’s face mirrored Rhys’s.

  “Why are y’all acting weird?”

  “Weird how?” Rhys knew playing dumb probably wouldn’t work, but he was going to give it a shot.

  Wolfe pulled the truck down by the lake, then turned it around so the bed faced the water.

  Rhys opened his door first, then helped Amy down to the ground. She was still staring at him, obviously waiting for him to do something more than answer a question with a question. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed to say, so he was really buying time.

  When Wolfe opened the tailgate, Rhys picked Amy up and set her on it, not even thinking about what he was doing. Being that they were on a decline, it would’ve been difficult for her to do on her own.

  When her hands wrapped around his biceps, Rhys froze, standing directly in front of her, his hips between her thighs. She sucked in a breath at the same time Rhys did.

  “Is this weird? Or is it just me?” she whispered, her eyes wide.

  Rhys waited to see if Wolfe would say anything, but the man kept his mouth sealed shut as he leaned against the tailgate and crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze fixed out over the water. It was clear he was conflicted about what was going on.

  Rhys placed his hand on Amy’s thigh. Just set it there, his thumb brushing over her smooth skin. She continued to stare at him, her fingers still curled around his biceps. She hadn’t let go and he hadn’t moved. Not an inch.

  Her eyes were locked with his and Rhys was waiting. For what, he had no fucking idea, but he wanted her to make a move.

  “I don’t understand what’s going on here,” she finally said, her gaze leaving his to move over to Wolfe. “Someone’s gonna have to tell me something.” She looked back at Rhys. “I thought…”

  “What?” Rhys knew she was putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. As for how she was going to handle it once she saw the big picture, that was still to be seen.

  “I thought you and Wolfe were…” Her eyes dropped to his chest. “I thought y’all liked each other.”

  “We do,” Rhys admitted, still brushing his thumb over her skin. Although like was a somewhat elementary term that Rhys probably wouldn’t use to describe what he was feeling for Wolfe.

  Her eyes darted back up to meet his, then shot quickly over to Wolfe, who was still standing like a statue, staring out at the lake.

  “But…”

  Rhys cocked one eyebrow when she turned back to him.

  “Is this…?”

  He continued to wait.

  Amy’s eyes widened. “Is this like one of those situations in those Nicole Edwards books?”

  Rhys frowned. Who the hell was Nicole Edwards?

  “What the hell kinda books are you readin’?” Wolfe asked, turning toward them.

  Amy peered up at him, ignoring his question. “You kissed me earlier.”

  “I did.” His admission was absolute, his voice softening when he added, “And I wanna do it again.”

  Amy looked down at Rhys’s hand on her leg, then slowly lifted her head until their eyes met again.
>
  He saw the moment she accepted what this was. Whether or not she would move forward, he couldn’t tell, but she’d figured them out.

  She shook her head, dropping her gaze once again. “I’m so confused. This doesn’t happen in real life. I mean … I’ve never met anyone who…”

  “It happens,” Wolfe stated. “And now the question is, do you want it to happen?”

  Rhys glanced heavenward.

  Please, God, let her say yes.

  10

  __________

  And wasn’t that a good question.

  Amy had no freaking idea what she wanted. This was too weird.

  And yes, she’d stumbled across some books that depicted situations like this, but she honestly never thought it really happened. She’d been so disbelieving that she hadn’t even given it a thought when it came to Rhys and Wolfe. And her.

  Here she’d thought she was the odd woman out.

  Turned out they wanted to include her.

  The idea was hot.

  However, it was still weird.

  Could she really kiss Rhys after having kissed Wolfe just a few hours ago?

  His hand did feel good touching her leg, and for a brief second, she’d felt like she was cheating on Wolfe, although Wolfe was standing right there and clearly saw it.

  Not that she and Wolfe were together or anything, but he had kissed her. Well, he’d kissed her back. She’d been the one initiating the kissing, but she couldn’t help it. The man made her want things she’d never thought she would want again.

  “We’re not tryin’ to rush anything,” Rhys said, drawing her attention to him once more.

  She stared into his dark blue eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. What he really wanted.

  When he’d first picked her up, helping her onto the tailgate, her body had caught fire from his simple touch. It had taken her breath away, even if she’d felt guilty because Wolfe was right there.

  “Amy?”

  Wolfe’s deep voice drew her out of her thoughts and she peered over at him. He looked worried.

  “I’m not saying no,” she admitted, although the words made her blush. “I’m just… I need some time to understand what this is.”

  Rhys pulled back, his hand leaving her leg, but Amy clamped her fingers into his biceps. “No. Don’t move.”

  His dark eyebrows lifted.

  She looked over at Wolfe. “And you sit.”

  He was making her nervous the way his body vibrated with tension.

  Wolfe hefted himself up onto the tailgate, the weight of his body causing the truck to dip.

  Sliding her hands down Rhys’s arms, she took his palms and once more placed them on her thighs, staring down at them. Even in the moonlight, his sun-bronzed skin was significantly darker than her pale legs. She covered his hands with hers as they rested on her leg, his warmth seeping into her.

  She watched as his thumbs slid across the insides of her thighs, gently, softly. He wasn’t making a move, but the simple touch had fire streaking through her.

  Pulling her attention away from the sight, Amy reached for Wolfe’s hand, placing it on top of Rhys’s hand, on top of her thigh. She covered his hand with hers, mesmerized by his long fingers as they closed over Rhys’s, his thumb brushing the outside edge of Rhys’s wrist.

  Amy swallowed hard. Even the sight of something so innocent was highly erotic. She briefly wondered how Nicole Edwards wrote those books. Seriously.

  “Amy…”

  She jerked her attention to Rhys, his voice sounding strained as he stood between her thighs. With his hand trapped beneath Wolfe’s, Amy kept her other hand on his free one and then cupped his face, scooting closer to him, her legs dangling off the tailgate.

  When they were close enough she could feel his breath on her face, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. A rough growl sounded, but it didn’t come from Rhys. Wolfe’s hand pressed down on her thigh, his fingers wrapping around, pressing into her flesh. He clearly wasn’t objecting.

  Heat consumed her as she explored Rhys’s mouth with her tongue. He was kissing her back but letting her lead. She’d noticed the same thing with Wolfe earlier. These men were hesitant when it came to her. They’d obviously caught on to her twitchiness. Although she appreciated them being gentle with her, Amy wanted more. Even just a little more.

  She moaned and Rhys must’ve read her mind because his hands came up to cradle her face, tilting her head, which allowed him to take full control of the kiss, his tongue darting inside. He wasn’t rough, more like commanding, dominant. She’d never felt anything like it before and she didn’t want him to stop.

  When she pulled back, they were both breathing hard, their eyes locked together. For a brief second, she forgot Wolfe was sitting there, although his big hand was still resting on her thigh, warm and secure. She shifted toward him, confusion warring with the urge to kiss him, to let him know that she felt the same thing for him that she felt for Rhys.

  His gaze was smoldering hot, boring into her. When she leaned toward him, his hand moved beneath her hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her close.

  The kiss detonated upon impact and Amy was almost desperate to get closer to him, but she held back. This was moving too fast. She wasn’t sure how this worked, what the rules were, or even if she was ready for something like this.

  But that didn’t stop her from kissing Wolfe for all she was worth.

  No doubt about it, Wolfe had been wild in his younger days. He’d shared plenty of women, oftentimes with his cousin, a couple of times with a buddy he went to school with, but that was significantly different than this thing between him and Amy and Rhys. Wolfe had never shared a woman with a man he was attracted to. It had always been about the woman.

  And this was just kissing out under the stars by the lake, yet it surpassed any and every single one of his previous encounters by miles.

  Wolfe knew they wouldn’t go any further than this. As much as he wanted to, he would take things slow with Amy. He wanted her too damn much to fuck things up between them. Hell, he was surprised she was still there, her lips melding to his, her hands roaming over his upper body. She was fire in his arms, but she was still hesitant, he could tell.

  The only thing Wolfe worried about was how to make it through the night without making a complete fool of himself. He’d never been so close to coming in his jeans as he was right then, and that was from Amy’s kiss and Rhys’s hand on his leg.

  He managed to break the kiss before he lost all good sense.

  “Come here,” he told Amy as he shifted back, leaving room for her to sit on the tailgate between his legs.

  When she got situated, her back to his chest, Wolfe grinned to himself as she pulled Rhys in front of her, his ass resting against the metal, positioned between their legs.

  No one said anything for several minutes as they stared up at the stars and out at the lake. The moon was bright, bouncing off the water and highlighting the tree line in the distance. It was peaceful.

  Wolfe wasn’t sure there’d ever been a more perfect place than here. Right now.

  Amy relaxed into him, her breathing returning to normal. When she reached for his hand, linking her fingers with his, Wolfe allowed her to position it on her leg. He breathed easier, more comfortable like this than he could remember being in his life.

  “Have y’all done this before?” she asked.

  “No,” Wolfe answered easily. “Not like this.”

  Amy cocked her head to look up at him. He peered down his nose at her.

  “Like this? What does that mean?”

  Wolfe sighed. He really didn’t want to get into this with her. Even thinking about his previous sexual encounters tainted this moment and he didn’t want that.

  “Have you shared a woman before?” She didn’t sound judgmental. “Rumors go around, Wolfe. It isn’t like I haven’t heard a few things about you and your cousin.”

  “Yeah. I’ve shared a woman with m
y cousin.”

  “What about you?” Amy tapped Rhys on the back, her fingers lingering.

  “I’ve never shared a woman with Wolfe or his cousin.”

  Amy laughed. Wolfe did, too.

  She shifted in his lap, making Wolfe’s cock twitch. He was hard as steel and there was no way to hide it from her, but he was ignoring it, hoping she would, too.

  “Now, I’m no expert on it, but I do know what it means to be bisexual. I mean, come on, I do read books. I take it you are? Both of you?”

  “Yes,” Rhys answered instantly, turning so that he was facing them. “But it’s not somethin’ I broadcast.” His gaze met Wolfe’s.

  “And you?” Amy peered up at him again.

  “I’ve experimented,” Wolfe said, his eyes locked with Rhys’s, speaking more to him than anyone. “But it’s never felt like this before.”

  Wolfe could feel Amy watching them, studying them. Wolfe couldn’t look away from Rhys for whatever reason.

  “Have you kissed him?”

  Okay, now he could look away. Was she serious?

  Wolfe looked down, trying to see who she was asking. Her smile was wicked, and it did something to his insides, made him want to do wicked, dirty things to her.

  “Yes,” Wolfe told her.

  “Do you want to kiss him again?” She giggled. “I sound like I’m in sixth grade, trying to get the cute boy to kiss my best friend. But do you?”

  Wolfe smiled. “Yeah.”

  “What’s stopping you?”

  Amy shifted, pulling Rhys forward at the same time, which brought Wolfe’s mouth dangerously close to the man’s. He didn’t move, figuring Rhys could do as he wished. Wolfe had been the one to initiate their first kiss, so turnabout was fair play.

  “Don’t mind me,” Amy said with a chuckle. “I’m just a girl watching two smoking-hot cowboys make out.”

  Wolfe grinned as Rhys leaned in and kissed him. The groan that came up from his chest was rough and laced with a need he was doing his best to fight. Unlike kissing Amy, Wolfe didn’t have to control himself with Rhys. He knew the man could handle any damn thing he could dish out.