by Anya Nowlan
“I told you that’s what she meant,” Crash nudged his brother.
“Is everyone else still downstairs?” Lily whispered.
“They’ve moved from Connery to Moore. I think they’ll be busy for a while,” Connor replied.
They both advanced on her, like predators surrounding their prey, and Lily could feel the weight of their gazes all over her body. It was a heady thing, feeling so wanted. It only fueled the fire inside.
“We’re going to have to be quiet. Can you be quiet, Lily?” Connor asked, his hand sliding up her thigh to undo the button of her slacks.
“I can,” she insisted quietly.
“I don’t know… You were pretty vocal the other night,” Crash said, shaking his head.
“You’re making fun of me,” she pouted.
“Not at all. You moaning my name is the best thing I’ve ever heard,” Crash replied matter-of-factly.
Done with undoing her pants and pulling them down, Connor was already removing his shirt, exposing his chiseled chest and hard abs.
“Take a cue from your brother and get over here,” she said to Crash, eliciting a small growl from him.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he murmured, throwing off his clothes and crawling onto the bed.
The brothers had both her and themselves undressed before she could even catch her bearings, and were working on mapping out her entire body with their hands and mouths. It felt like there was an electricity flowing between them as they fed off each other, their desire for her only fueling her own lust.
She was already soaking wet when Crash’s fingers slid down to her pussy. This time, though, she wanted to take some control. Pushing against Crash’s chest as Connor was busy kissing her shoulder, she made him lay on his back.
Crash’s brows rose at the sight of her kneeling over him with what had to be a wild expression on her face. Lily only grinned at him as she took his hard cock into her hand, sliding her fingers up and down his shaft. Hissing in a breath, Crash let his head fall back.
Connor’s hands were trailing down her back, his lips on her neck and shoulders, when she leaned forward to wrap her mouth around Crash’s cock. Letting her tongue swirl around the tip, Lily reveled in the soft moan escaping Crash’s lips.
Suddenly, the fact that the team was downstairs and anyone could walk in on them at any moment only added to the excitement of it all. It had been too long since she had done anything so reckless. At least in her personal life.
There’s no turning back now.
Twenty-Eight
Crash
With Lily’s warm, wet mouth around his cock, Crash just lay back, letting himself enjoy the moment. Her moans vibrated against his skin as Connor reached around and found her clit with his fingers. Long, auburn hair spilling out and falling against Crash’s thighs, Lily’ head bobbed up and down as she sucked and licked his length, making him feel this had to be a dream.
What other explanation could there be? She had both him and Connor wrapped so tightly around her little finger, it was ridiculous. All Crash seemed to be able to think about these days was having her to himself, and he knew his brother felt the same. Crash had always valued his freedom, and it was no secret he loved the ladies.
Yet right now, the whole world could crumble around him and he wouldn’t care, as long as Lily was still here, giving herself to them. Squeezing his eyes shut, Crash couldn’t help but growl when she took him deep into her mouth, his cock in the back of her throat.
When he opened his eyes, he could see Lily was on all fours, with Connor kneeling behind her. Lily’s full breasts bounced as his brother drove into her, her fingers squeezing tighter around the base of Crash’s cock.
What happened from there was more of a blur than anything. The room was filled with soft sounds of pleasure, with Lily’ body pushed and pulled between the brothers. Crash loved watching her body move, seeing how her mouth slid up and down his hard cock, looking at her face twist in pleasure.
When it was clear she was getting closer to her own climax, the sight of her body trembling with lust and the way she sucked him, like she was hungry for his cock, drove Crash over the edge.
Hips bucking, he exploded in her mouth with a muffled snarl. She swallowed it all up like a good girl, moaning as Connor thrust into her from behind. They both collapsed around Crash a moment later, with Lily on top of him and Connor on the edge of the bed.
They lay there on the bed for a moment, their breathing heavy and their limbs tangled up. Crash could hear Lily’s heart beat fast, mirroring his own. He would have liked to stay like that for a while, but Lily was already pushing herself up on her elbows, gathering up pieces of clothing strewn around her.
“I wish you could stay,” Crash found himself saying aloud.
He hadn’t meant to, but the words just slipped out.
“I want to,” she replied, not bothering to put on her bra and sliding her shirt over her head. “But it’s too risky. This was already insane,” she shook her head, a smile hovering over her lips.
“I for one approve,” Connor said, grinning at her.
“You would,” she rolled her eyes, climbing out of bed. “It can’t become a thing, though. Getting too comfortable, that’s a surefire way to get caught. We might not get to do this again anytime soon,” she warned, catching her pants when Connor threw them to her from the bed.
“Now that’s going to be torture,” Crash groaned.
“It’s just the way it has to be right now. Bye, boys. I’ll see you in the morning,” she replied, taking one last look at them before sneaking off, clutching her bra in her hand.
The high of what just happened started wearing off as soon as she left. Knowing he might not get the opportunity to kiss her, to touch her, drove his thoughts down a glum path. A certain problem reappeared in his mind, even as he tried to shove it aside and focus on the way Lily looked when she came.
“What are we going to do about Alison?” he asked, seeing Connor tense up the moment he said her name.
Crash was reluctant to even bring the topic up, but not talking about it wasn’t going to make the problem go away.
The room was still dark, now filled with the sound of branches hitting the side of the house in the wind. Connor pulled on his pants before sitting on the edge of the bed.
“We have to try and talk to her again. Maybe if we take away her leverage, threaten going to the cops, say we don’t care anymore if the footage gets leaked… She might back off if she thinks there’s a chance she’ll go to jail.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Crash sighed.
It wasn’t like he had a better idea. His shoulders felt heavy all of the sudden as he mulled it over. Having Mason and Miles here only served to remind him what a PR crisis this whole thing could turn out to be.
“Are we going to keep this from Lily?” he asked.
Connor’s head snapped to face him as soon as the question left his mouth.
“Are you kidding? You want to tell her our crazy ex is blackmailing us? A little early for dropping that kind of baggage on someone, don’t you think?”
“Alright, you don’t have to bite my head off,” Crash grumbled, raising up his hands. “It doesn’t feel right lying to her about it, that’s all.”
“Technically, we’re not lying.”
“You know that’s bullshit,” Crash countered, arching a brow at him.
“It’s all I’ve got,” he sighed, running a hand down the back of his neck. “I don’t think we need to saddle her with this. This is our problem, and we’ll fix it. It’s not like she can help us or anything. There’s no use in getting her involved.”
When he put it like that, it did make sense.
“You’re right,” Crash admitted.
“We’ll try to get a moment alone somewhere with cell reception as soon as we can, and go on the offensive. We can figure out our next move after we see what Alison’s response is.”
Crash just nodded, not feeling li
All that was left to do was hope everything worked out. And that Lily wouldn’t run as far away as possible if it didn’t, and Alison’s sex tape ended up making the rounds on the internet.
Twenty-Nine
Connor
With Crash out for a run, Connor was left to hang around in the kitchen, waiting to see if Alison would send him any new e-mails. The plan was still to call her and try to get her to back down, but he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss any communications from her in the meantime.
He felt like he should have seen this coming. Blackmailers were rarely satisfied with only one payout, or at least that’s how it always was in the movies. And why should Alison stop, when she could just keep extorting them for more money?
She always did have expensive taste, he thought, recalling her penchant for the finer things in life.
As far as he knew, she was doing well enough as a personal stylist, but he wasn’t really that well-versed in Alison’s life beyond the time they spent together. She could be having some money troubles he wasn’t aware of.
Probably something I should have taken more of an interest in, he sighed to himself.
If he had just been more cautious, this could all have been avoided. The thought kept rattling around in his head, filling him with unease. He couldn’t help but draw parallels with Lily. Not that Lily would ever do anything like this.
Right?
His gut was telling him Lily was nothing like Alison, but he didn’t have any proof of that, now did he?
Staring at his phone, he barely noticed when Mason came into the kitchen, looking to refill his coffee cup. Connor didn’t know what the man was up to, but he was definitely always highly caffeinated and typing away on his computer.
“Waiting for a call?” Mason asked, strolling over to one of the counters.
“Just wanted to see if I had any messages,” Connor shrugged, shoving the phone into his pocket.
“It’s pretty isolated here,” Mason remarked. “Not that I don’t like the nature and the fresh air,” he quickly added. “But in my line of work, you always have to be connected, you know?”
“I get that,” Connor nodded. “How long have you been working for the Predators?”
“Pretty much since Fiona bought the team,” Mason replied. “It was pretty much just me and her in the beginning, trying to get things off the ground. That’s why she wanted me here personally. I like seeing how our work has paid off.”
“I didn’t know you were part of the original crew that got the team off the ground,” Connor whistled. “I feel like I should buy you a drink or something.”
“No need,” Mason laughed. “Just doing my job. And all the publicity in the world couldn’t make a bad team good,” he said, raising his mug at him.
“And now you have your own assistant and everything,” Connor remarked. “I think Ben is still getting used to having one,” he added, steering the conversation towards Lily.
He couldn’t help it. Now that he knew how involved Mason really was, he grew curious. Mason should know a thing or two about Lily, right? It wouldn’t hurt to get more of a feel on her character, just to put his mind at ease.
“Oh yeah, Miss Douglas,” Mason nodded.
“Do you know her well?”
Adjusting his glasses, Mason pursed his lips.
“Actually, I’d never even heard about her before I was sent here. Must be a new hire,” he shrugged.
Great, a woman of mystery. Just the thing I don’t need right now.
It only made him think, how much did he really know about Lily? Sure, she was smart, funny, sexy as hell, but there were other things to consider. He couldn’t get swept up in the crazy chemistry between them.
With how much he liked her, he couldn’t take the disappointment if she turned out to not be who he thought she was. Maybe it was a good thing they had to keep their distance for now, for fear of getting caught. He shouldn’t get even more involved with her before getting a fuller picture.
When camp was over, he could look into her, make sure there were no skeletons in her closet before moving forward. He was aware of how paranoid that sounded. Was he really thinking about running a background check on this girl?
It seemed somewhat of an overreaction, not to mention an invasion of privacy, but he also knew he wouldn’t feel at peace before he could be reasonably sure he wasn’t about to get played again.
The decision didn’t make bumping into Lily in the living room after leaving the kitchen any less awkward, though. He still felt instantly drawn to her the moment he saw her, but his newfound resolve didn’t waver. He needed to stop himself from going full in, so when she smiled at him, he just turned around and left.
His bear roared under his flesh as he walked back to his room. Every fiber of him wanted to turn back and go scoop Lily into his arms, but that was exactly the problem. His judgment was clouded, and he couldn’t afford any more mistakes.
So as much as it pained him, that meant staying away from Lily and burying thoughts of sneaking up into her room and kissing her until she melted in his arms.
All he could hope for now was that he didn’t ruin this budding relationship altogether.
Thirty
Lily
Sitting around in the living room, Lily had her computer sitting out next to her with some juicy, albeit completely false information proudly displayed on its screen. Like a spider with a web, she waited for anyone to pass her, and struck up a conversation with whoever did.
“Eddie, what’s going on?” she called out, when the goaltender emerged from the kitchen, a plate full of sandwiches in his hand.
“Nothing much. We might be having a pool tournament later,” he shrugged.
“Really? You know, I’m actually not half bad at pool,” she said, hoping to pique the man’s curiosity.
She let out a victorious Yes! in her head when Eddie approached her, brows raised.
“You never said anything,” he replied, plopping down on the chair next to her, with a perfect view of her computer screen.
“Some things are better when they come as a surprise,” she winked. “Besides, I’ve been busy working. Fiona sent over these stats that I’m supposed to go over with Ben, along with some other stuff,” she added, trying to sound mysterious.
Eddie didn’t seem the least bit intrigued by that, however. If anything, he was more interested in his sandwiches than what she had to say. She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed at that.
As an investigator, she should want her suspects to slip up. But these men were more than just suspects to her. With each passing day, they became more like friends.
“So you’re down for a game later on?” he asked, taking a bite of his BLT.
“Sure,” she replied, trying to conjure up the appropriate amount of enthusiasm.
Truth was, she was entirely mediocre at pool, and didn’t like playing the game much.
“Great,” Eddie said before walking away with his meal.
Other people came and went, but she couldn’t catch anyone alone. That was important to her plan, if she was going to pinpoint exactly who was selling information.
Before she even knew it, it was dark outside and people were gathering around, with Graham and Aiden playing Xbox next to her and Sal dealing cards to Ben and Wyatt.
Abandoning the attempt at drawing out the spy for the time being, she snapped her laptop shut and watched as the room filled up. Her heart skipped a beat when Crash and Connor walked in. She still remembered how Connor had ignored her before, and seeing how he avoided looking at her now soured her mood even more.
They had agreed to put the physical stuff on hold, but the brothers’ attitude seemed to have changed beyond that. Joining the card game, they greeted almost everyone in the room except her, making her feel purposefully left out.
It was a total one-eighty from their usually flirty attitude, and the sudden coldness was almost more suspicious than their usual heated looks her way. They had been friendly up to this point, and not talking at all could raise some brows.
Yet it wasn’t like she could go over there and ask what was up. It could be that she was imagining things or that the brothers were just trying extra hard to act like nothing was going on between them. But Lily couldn’t help it when her mind jumped to the worst conclusions.
What if their whole goal was to get me into bed, and now that they got what they wanted, they’re done with me?
She felt angry with herself for letting it affect her so much. They hadn’t made any promises to each other. She wasn’t their girlfriend. Yet being given the cold shoulder hurt more than she would have liked to admit.
What did I really expect from them? I knew they had a reputation with women…
Suddenly, she felt as naïve as the clients she shook her head at. Had she let their good looks and smooth talk mess with her head? Was she only fooling herself thinking she could still be objective? It wasn’t her job to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, but wasn’t that exactly what she had been doing with the twins?
Have I totally fucked up this investigation by getting involved with them?
Doing her best to gather herself, Lily tried to come up with a game plan. Setting up a strategy always calmed her down. The best thing she could do now was take a cue from Crash and Connor and keep her distance. She needed to focus on her work and stop putting so much thought into what she did or didn’t have with the twins.
Trust is earned, not given, she reminded herself, glancing at Crash and Connor, sitting at a table with Sal, Wyatt and Ben.
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