Hard to Hold

by Nicole Edwards

  “Oh, my.” Amy’s words were accompanied by a gasp. “That really is hot.”

  Unable to keep from laughing, Wolfe pulled back and they both stared down at her. The innocent expression she shot back was feigned, he knew it.

  “What? Did I say something wrong?” She laughed when Rhys tickled her thigh, her butt rubbing up against Wolfe’s now throbbing erection.

  Not helping.

  Not at all.

  Rhys didn’t want to call it a night, but he knew it was time. With Amy unknowingly teasing them, there was no telling where this night would lead. As far as his willpower was concerned, Rhys was all tapped out. When he mentioned they should head back, Amy seemed disappointed, but Wolfe looked almost relieved. He probably felt the same as Rhys—too damn close to the edge.

  “Fine,” Amy said with a dramatic huff, but she was smiling.

  Rhys helped her down from the tailgate and into the cab of the truck. When she linked her fingers with his, he once again had to focus on keeping his heart from pounding out of his chest. The move was innocent yet so seductive at the same time. He honestly couldn’t remember a time when he’d held hands with a woman.

  It wasn’t until Wolfe was pulling out onto the main road that Amy spoke again.

  “Now that the making out portion of the evening is over, I guess it’s time to go home and go to bed.” She stretched and Rhys suspected it was her way of continuing to touch them both.

  He liked that she wanted to.

  “I’m on board with the goin’ to bed part,” Wolfe noted.

  Rhys could see Amy’s cheeks darken. “By bed, I mean to sleep.”

  “Oh. Well.” Wolfe grinned over at her. “Another time then.”

  Amy chuckled and Rhys’s dick stirred to life. All this talk of beds was making him hurt.

  “Do you boys have to get up for church?” Amy looked back and forth between them.

  The quick change of subject was just what his dick needed to control itself.

  “Yep,” Wolfe grumbled. “Not somethin’ you miss if you’re a Caine. Unless you’re Lynx’s old man. Since he doesn’t leave the house…”

  “He really doesn’t leave the house?”

  “Not in ten years.”

  “And you?” Amy asked Rhys directly. “Do you have to get up?”

  “Yeah, but my family goes to the later service.” He grinned. “Heaven forbid the Caines and the Trevinos go to church at the same time.”

  “So, that’s still a thing? The… What do you even call it? A falling-out? A war, maybe? Between your families?” She looked genuinely curious. “What happens if … you know… What happens if things work out for the two of you? What will that do to the … war?”

  That wasn’t something Rhys wanted to think about. He loved his family and he knew they loved him. Since his old man was no longer with them, he didn’t have to worry about his reaction; however, his grandfather was still kicking and he’d probably have a coronary. More so about the fact that Rhys would be with a man than necessarily Wolfe Caine.

  “We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Wolfe noted.

  Rhys stared at him, stuck on the fact that Wolfe said when, not if.

  Amy was yawning for probably the twentieth time by the time they pulled down her driveway. For a minute there, Rhys thought she was going to fall asleep. However, as soon as they pulled up to the house, she was wide awake, her eyes huge in her face as she stared at the dark house.

  “Give me your key,” he instructed, holding his hand out as he opened the truck door and climbed out.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said, but her voice was shaky.

  Rhys pulled her to the edge of the seat so he was standing directly in front of her. He lowered his voice, keeping his tone even. “I don’t know what you’re scared of or what you’re runnin’ from, but I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. You should know that by now.”

  He folded his hand and opened it again, signaling for her to place the key in it. Amy reluctantly passed it over, and Rhys passed Wolfe on the way to the door. He didn’t see anything amiss out front, but he looked it over, making sure her front windows were still intact.

  Once inside, Rhys did the same thing he’d done earlier. He walked into every room, flipping on the lights as he went. This time he went so far as to check that all the windows were locked, looked in her closets and even under the full-size bed in her bedroom. No way were the three of them fitting on that thing.

  The thought made him laugh.

  He returned to the living room to find Wolfe and Amy standing in the doorway.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I don’t want you to think you have to protect me. That’s not why I like hanging out with you.” She looked up at Wolfe. “Both of you.”

  Wolfe cupped her face and stared down at her. “No one’s gonna hurt you, Amy. You’ve got my word on that. And when you’re ready to tell us what’s goin’ on, we’re here to listen.”

  She nodded and Wolfe released her face, but not before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

  “Good night,” Rhys said, pausing in front of her and pressing a kiss to her lips.

  Her hand brushed over his chest and he wished like hell he wasn’t leaving her alone tonight. However, Rhys couldn’t impose on her. The woman had to come out of her shell sometime, and Wolfe was right, whenever she was ready to talk about it, they’d both be there.

  In the meantime, Rhys was going to do a little digging. Now that he had more information, he wouldn’t be able to help himself.

  Because if someone was out to hurt Amy, he damn sure wasn’t going to sit back and wait for it to happen.

  11

  __________

  Amy was up before the sun on Monday morning.

  That wasn’t surprising since she’d gone to bed at eight o’clock last night. She’d spent her entire Sunday alternating between reading and watching movies. Oh, and she’d spent about two hours total texting back and forth with Wolfe and Rhys.

  Although she had hoped to see them, she knew that it was for the best that she hadn’t. They’d already been moving too fast, and Amy wanted time to let it all sink in. To really sink in. The whole thing was surreal, and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Not only because there were three of them in this erotic triangle, either.

  No, that wasn’t too difficult to handle. It felt right, for whatever reason.

  Amy’s reluctance had more to do with the fact that she’d spent five years of her life under the thumb of a man who wanted to own her. Before him, she’d lived by her parents’ rules, as well as her aunt and uncle’s. Making decisions for herself wasn’t something she’d had to do, and the truth was, despite her fear of coming face-to-face with a monster, Amy did like being on her own. She wasn’t sure she was ready to be at someone’s beck and call ever again.

  But it was Monday and she had a job to do. No time to think about any of that.

  When she arrived at the shop, Wolfe was already there, but no one else was.

  “Mornin’,” he greeted from his position near a long, narrow table that looked to be almost completed. He appeared to be setting up the stain and varnish nearby.

  “Morning,” she replied. “Do you always get here first?”

  “Most of the time, yeah. Lynx doesn’t like to get out of bed. He says I’m lucky that he’s usually here by eight.”

  “Should I make coffee yet? Do you drink it?”

  “Most days, no. However, I slept for shit last night. I could use some, but you don’t have to make it. I can handle it.”

  “I don’t mind.” Amy went to the coffee machine and got it all set up and brewing. As she wiped down the counter, she turned to look at him. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to him at work. She didn’t think waltzing up to him and kissing him would be appropriate; however, she didn’t want to appear as though she was brushing him off, either.

  Truth was, she wanted to kiss him. In fact, she wanted to sp
end all day and night kissing him and Rhys. Maybe it made her a hussy to want two men, but there it was. The situation was beyond confusing, but it felt right. She wasn’t sure how she’d come to a point in her life when having two men want her and each other at the same time was even a thing, but that did seem to be the case, strange as it was.

  Tucking her cell phone into her back pocket, Amy decided she would address the work situation now. That way she wouldn’t spend the rest of the day trying to figure it out.

  Wolfe’s eyes trailed her as she moved toward him. It was almost as though she made him nervous. Big, badass Wolfe Caine. If that wasn’t an empowering feeling, she didn’t know what was.

  “Is … uh … everything okay?” God, she hated the way her voice wobbled and her brain couldn’t connect the words together.

  His dark eyebrows lowered. “What do you mean?”

  “I … uh…” Amy tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before slipping her hands into her pockets. Suck it up and spit it out. “I’m … uh … not sure how I’m supposed to react around you. You know … here. At work. I mean, you are my boss.” She looked up at him. “But you also kissed me.”

  He smiled, his green eyes glittering. Clearly he remembered the kiss as well as she did.

  “So, I just don’t want you to think I’m being weird. I don’t know how to act, and I’m here to do a job, so…”

  Wolfe took a step closer. Then another.

  Amy didn’t look away, craning her neck to look up at him the closer he got.

  His palm grazed her cheek, his eyes scanning her face briefly. “I don’t know how to act, either, but I do know that I wanna kiss you again.”

  “You do?” She wasn’t sure why she sounded so surprised.

  Wolfe chuckled, the deep rumble of his voice making her insides vibrate.

  “I definitely do.”

  “Okay.” She continued to stare at him, waiting.

  When his mouth met hers, Amy sighed. Her hands instantly came out of her pockets, sliding to his hips as the kiss heated a degree or two, his tongue swiping into her mouth. He tasted like toothpaste, smelled like sin. Considering she wasn’t much of a morning person, Amy realized if she woke up to this every day, she’d start looking forward to dawn.

  Unfortunately, the kiss didn’t last nearly long enough, but probably twice as long as it should have considering where they were.

  Wolfe pressed his forehead to hers, his hand still cupping her neck, his thumb grazing her jaw. “I slept for shit because I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you.” He sighed. “I missed you.”

  Hearing those words coming from such a rough, tough … well, for lack of a better word … badass nearly melted her. Amy was pretty sure her heart did a triple Lutz in her chest from those three words. It had been so long since she’d been around someone who showed any sort of affection for her. Not since her aunt and uncle had anyone made her feel as though she mattered, as though she was worth caring about. As though she was wanted.

  “I missed you, too,” she admitted.

  The rough sound of someone clearing their throat resonated from behind her.

  Amy jerked back from Wolfe, spinning to find Lynx standing just inside the doorway, a giant black-and-tan German shepherd sitting at his feet, tail thumping on the floor. Unlike Saturday night, Lynx didn’t look grumpy. Which was interesting considering Wolfe basically said Lynx wasn’t a morning person.

  “Mornin’,” Wolfe greeted. “Don’t say a damn word.”

  Lynx’s grin widened as though he were holding the words back with his smile alone.

  “Come here, Copenhagen,” Wolfe called out.

  Amy assumed he was talking to the dog, and sure enough, the beautiful animal peered up at Lynx, obviously for permission. Lynx used a finger to signal, and the dog trotted over to Wolfe, tail going ninety miles an hour.

  “Amy, meet Cope. Cope, this is Amy.”

  “He’s beautiful,” Amy mumbled, not meaning to say the words out loud.

  “He’s too sweet for the likes of Lynx.”

  Amy leaned down and stroked the dog’s big head. Copenhagen’s tongue darted out, but he didn’t lick her. He just looked like he wanted to.

  “I’d say I’m the luckiest bastard on the face of the planet,” Lynx said from across the room. “But I’m thinkin’ Wolfe’s got me beat in that department.”

  “Shut it,” Wolfe growled, standing to his full height once again.

  Lynx’s shit-eating grin said more than any words could have. Amy’s face flamed from embarrassment, but she did her best not to acknowledge it.

  “I smell coffee,” Lynx said, his eyes darting over to the coffeepot. It had just finished. “Hot damn. Amy, if I haven’t said it before, I fuckin’ love you, girl.”

  “Okay, then,” she squeaked out. “I’ll … uh … just go upstairs and … uh … get to work.”

  It took everything she had not to run.

  By the time Wolfe had finished the table for one of their out-of-town customers and he was cleaning up, Lynx was already showing signs of unraveling for the day. After Lynx had waltzed in, downed two cups of coffee, and spewed a random bunch of nonsense, he and Copenhagen had started pacing the floor, which wasn’t uncommon. The man’s restless energy was unprecedented.

  Wolfe’s stomach rumbled, as though reminding him it was time to eat.

  “We headin’ to the diner?” Lynx asked, his eyes straying up to the second floor, where Amy was tucked away in one of the offices.

  “Yeah.” He wiped his hands on a rag. “Lemme get Amy and we’ll meet you over there.”

  Lynx’s expression didn’t change, but there was something akin to understanding in his gaze. Wolfe hadn’t made a public claim on the woman yet, but he would if it came down to it. No matter what happened, she was off-limits to every damn person in this town. Except for him. And Rhys.

  And okay, fine, maybe he couldn’t decide that for her, but if Wolfe had anything to say about it, she was theirs. It was a decision he’d come to on Sunday, when he’d spent the entire day wishing like hell he was with the two of them. He would’ve been content to sit on his ass at his house if they’d been there. With that acknowledgment, Wolfe had come to the decision that he was playing for keeps with these two. No holds barred.

  After a brief detour to wash his hands, Wolfe ventured upstairs and found Amy in their office, still slipping papers into file folders inside the cabinets that they’d bought for that reason. Not a single thing had been filed since their previous office manager left, but now he could actually see the top of the oak desk. Huh. So that was how that worked.

  He rapped his knuckles on the open door, then leaned his shoulder against the jamb. “You hungry? We’re headin’ over to the diner if you wanna join us.”

  “Oh … uh…” She sat up straight. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “Lynx doesn’t bite,” Wolfe assured her. When she frowned, he continued, “And if he does, it’s not hard enough to leave a mark.”

  That made her laugh, something Wolfe fucking loved to hear.

  “Come on. Take a break. We’ll grab a bite, then come right back. All that shit’ll be here waitin’ for you.”

  Amy seemed to contemplate her decision, then nodded. Wolfe immediately moved toward her to help her to her feet. Once she was standing, he found he couldn’t release her. Didn’t want to.

  He slid one hand over her hair, which was pulled back in a ponytail—her signature style, obviously—then grazed the side of her face, still looking into her eyes.

  “Why do you look at me like that?” she asked, her voice soft.

  “Like what?”

  “Like I mean something to you.”

  Wolfe frowned. “Because you do.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  No, he didn’t. “But I want to.”

  And he would know her. Eventually. When she was ready.

  Wolfe wasn’t known for his patience, but he could wait as long as this wo
man needed him to. He wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand and tugging her toward the door. “Let’s eat.”

  By the time Wolfe and Amy arrived at the diner, the parking lot was full. Lynx hadn’t arrived, but Wolfe knew he would be along shortly. Knowing Lynx, he’d gone over to the Cedar Door to drop Copenhagen off with Calvin for the day. Wolfe’s old man loved that dog, as did anyone who met him.

  “Mornin’, Wolfe, Amy.”

  Glancing over, Wolfe smiled at Reagan, sitting at a table with her loser of a boyfriend, Billy.

  Wolfe tipped his hat while Amy gave her a warm, “Good morning.”

  “What brings you kids into this fine establishment?”

  Kids. Right. Wolfe hadn’t been a damn kid in a long-ass time.

  However, it was amusing coming from a woman who was four years younger than he was. Now that he thought about it, that made Reagan and Amy about the same age.

  “Breakfast,” Wolfe said, his eyes sliding over to Billy, who was shoveling food into his mouth as though he hadn’t eaten in a year.

  “Quit yappin’,” Billy grumbled to Reagan. “I got shit to do.”

  Every single time Wolfe laid eyes on Billy Watson, he wanted to punch the fucker in the face. He had absolutely no idea what Reagan saw in the guy. He was a two-bit mooch who cheated on Reagan more often than not. Yet for whatever insane fucking reason, she kept him around.

  “We’ll talk to y’all later,” Wolfe told Reagan as he slid his hand behind Amy’s back and urged her toward their table. He threw one last disdainful glare at Billy for good measure. One day somebody was going to steal that girl away, and he hoped like hell he was there to see it. Clearly the fucker didn’t know a good thing when he had it.

  Wolfe pulled Amy’s chair out for her. Once she was seated, he took his. The bells jingled over the door, and all heads turned toward it as Lynx made his way inside. The place was relatively packed this morning, so it was interesting to see the way Lynx’s eyes instantly zoned in on Reagan and Billy. That good ol’ boy grin disappeared instantly.

  “Son of a bitch,” Billy groaned, his voice louder than it should’ve been. “Can’t we fuckin’ go anywhere in this stupid fuckin’ town without your sorry ass showin’ up?”