Hold it together, brother. Adam had been sending him silent messages since they’d left the bar with her. My need is strong, too, but we can wait.
I’m trying, Levi shot back at him. He’d insisted on driving Hope back to their place, forcing Adam to be the one to drive her car to River’s Bend. Adam had rolled his eyes at that but hadn’t said anything. He’d gotten to hold Hope in the bar, so the car ride home was Levi’s turn. Of course, being in such a closed-in space with her had been a unique brand of torture. The smell of her perfume, laced with her unique body scent, had nearly driven him mad. At first, he’d been thrilled to scent her arousal as her body responded to the innate connection they shared as mates, but in the next instant he’d had to stifle a groan as thoughts of her dripping pussy pushed him closer to the edge.
I smell her, too, came another thought from Adam. It’s the best thing I’ve ever scented.
Levi could only agree.
“Your home is nice, very comfortable-looking. I love the exposed wood, and that fireplace! It kind of makes me wish for colder weather.” Her comments had merely seemed polite at first, and Levi wasn’t surprised. They hadn’t done much with the place, and it could use a woman’s touch. But when she’d seen the huge fireplace he’d built into the living room wall, her whole face lit up. Seeing that, Levi decided if he did nothing more than make her smile for the rest of his life, his time on earth would be well spent.
“I built it. Carving is sort of a hobby of mine.” He watched as she drifted over to it and ran her hands over the wood and stone. She touched it so lovingly, he almost felt jealous.
“How long did it take you to finish it?”
“Oh, maybe a few months.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “I’m truly impressed. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”
“Who wouldn’t?”
“We’ll have to show you around the rest of the place once you’ve gotten out of your clothes.” Oh, shit. Had he really just said that? He ran a hand through his hair. “What I mean is—”
“What he means is once you’ve had a chance to dry off and get comfortable.” Adam had come back from preparing the guestroom for Hope just in time to save Levi from making any other off-color comments. “I’ve set up the guest bathroom for you. There are fresh towels and some toiletries you can use. After that, maybe you’d like to see the rest of the place?”
“Thank you. A hot shower sounds like heaven right now.” She massaged the back of her neck, and Levi’s fingers itched to help.
“I’ll show you the way,” Adam said, leading their mate down the hall that led to the guestroom and their office.
Levi watched Hope’s ass sashaying away from him. Two round globes that begged to be squeezed, licked, and even bitten. He wanted to accompany her, he really did, but he knew he was better off letting Adam show her to her room. His erection had returned full force and impatient.
* * * *
“Ahhh.” She sighed with pleasure as the hot water massaged her sore, tired muscles. What an insane day. She couldn’t believe an argument with her sister had ended with an assault and ultimately the possibility of losing her life. She shuddered at the thought of what those two criminals would have done to her had Adam and Levi not shown up.
Of course, those two amazing hunks-of-sex-walking only added to the craziness of the last several hours. They were too hot for words and their presence had an incredibly calming effect on her. She should be coming unglued after all that had occurred. There was no doubt that she’d been afraid, but knowing they were just down the hall somehow grounded her. It was idiotic, given the fact that they’d only just met, but there it was.
Hope had been hesitant to come home with them, despite their heroism and in spite of the raging storm. They were, after all, two huge men she barely knew. She’d insisted on calling Sarah, who vouched for them again, saying she’d trust them with her own life and promising that she would be one-hundred-percent safe in their care.
Sarah had sounded almost eager for her to go home with them, and Hope knew it was because she wanted her to get laid. Reaching for the faucet to cut the water off and end her blissful shower, she had to shake her head to mentally clear the images that immediately popped into her mind when she thought of bedding Adam and Levi. It seemed that besides making her feel safe, being near them also tossed her mind into the gutter. She couldn’t seem to stop imagining them making love to her.
She decided to make a quick job of getting dressed, having already spent longer than she should have in the shower. Adam had given her one of his huge shirts to wear and a pair of shorts that she knew would never stay on. She was curvy, but they were much too large to have a prayer of fitting her waist.
Quickly toweling off, she opened the brand-new toothbrush he’d provided and brushed her teeth, wishing she had some deodorant. She’d have to go without, but they had provided a bottle of lotion. Gentle Nights, it was called. She’d never heard of the brand, and it came in a red, sleek bottle, but it smelled good, so she lathered up. With her tendency toward dry skin, skipping moisturizer after a shower was simply not an option.
Just seconds after she’d donned the black button-down shirt Adam had provided, and while she was still eyeing the shorts indecisively, she heard a knock on the guestroom door. Her heart immediately began to thump in anticipation. It had been less than an hour since she’d closed the door to regroup and shower, but she felt ridiculously anxious to see Adam and Levi again.
“Come in.” Oh, God. It looked like Adam had showered, too. He’d changed into a pair of hip-hugging jeans and a black t-shirt that accented every chiseled muscle. His hair was obviously still damp from his shower, but she immediately wanted to run her hands through it. Come to that, she wanted to throw herself into his arms.
“I came to grab your clothes. We’ll toss them in the wash for you, so you’ll have something clean to wear home tomorrow.” While she stood with her mouth open just a little too long, still caught up in the sight of him, he looked around the room. “Are they in the bathroom?”
“Huh?” She blinked, trying to remember what he’d said.
“Your clothes? For the wash.”
Oh, shit. Why was she standing there like some spellbound teenager? “Oh, I’m sorry. They’re in the bathroom.” He started moving, and too late, she added, “I’ll grab them.”
He was fast and had already scooped them up by the time she’d gotten the words out. She turned just in time to see him emerging from the bathroom with her wet jeans and tank top already in hand. When she saw her hot-pink panties crushed in one of his huge hands, it was nearly her undoing. Her traitorous mind immediately shot to that huge hand stroking her pussy and the named nether region promptly slickened at the thought.
“It’s okay. I got them.” He smiled at her as if standing there like some woman’s fantasy all trussed up in blue denim and black cotton with her panties in his fist was the most normal thing in the world. She had to look away. That smile could blind her if she wasn’t careful. “Ready to eat?”
All of a sudden she felt like she could eat a horse, or at least a portion of one. She hadn’t eaten anything since lunchtime. “I am, actually.”
Adam motioned her into the hall. “Levi’s a pretty good cook. We eat out a lot, especially with running the restaurant and all, but when we do eat at home, Levi almost always cooks.”
“It sounds like he has many talents. What about you?” Ugh. She only realized how that sounded after the words spilled out. She was glad she was following him and he couldn’t see her face. Hope didn’t blush. She couldn’t remember the last time she had, but she felt heat creep over her face and neck anyway. “What I mean is…”
Adam laughed, seeming neither insulted nor in a hurry to take advantage of her innuendo. “Well, I sort of help care for the grounds here in our…um…territory. You’ll see it in the morning. It’s hard to take the land in with all the rain. I also help with
the business side of things, managing the cla—um employees and books. As for talents, I have many.”
She couldn’t resist asking. “Like?”
“Like, I play the guitar.”
Hope could just picture him strumming away as she drooled over him like a groupie. “Will you play for me later?” Where the hell had that come from? All she should be doing later was locking herself in the guestroom before she could do something crazy with these two men who made he feel like a walking pile of hormones.
Adam turned and smiled at her. “I’d love to play for you after dinner.”
She looked from him to Levi who was waiting for them in the eat-in kitchen, a sexy grin on his face. “I hope you’re hungry.”
That’s when Hope knew she was in trouble. Huge, man-sized trouble. She was hungry, ravenous, really, but for more than just food. She wanted them.
* * * *
Dinner was delicious. Levi had prepared steaks with an amazing peppery seasoning, creamy mashed potatoes and a rich beef gravy. He’d served green beans on the side and refused to let her help him serve the food, saying he wanted her to just relax and enjoy it. They’d washed the meal down with ice-cold beer and fallen into comfortable conversation, comfortable except for the fact that the men took advantage of every excuse to touch her. Whether it was passing the biscuits or encouraging her to go on talking, one of them constantly found a reason to squeeze her hand, move a strand of hair away from her face or brush her arm.
That didn’t make her nervous by itself. What made her nervous was the fact that she liked it so much and the crazy idea that they could tell that her pussy was wet underneath the shirt, which hung nearly to her knees. She’d gone commando, knowing she’d never be able to keep Adam’s shorts pulled up, but there was still no way they could know how aroused being with them made her. That was just silly.
“How did you come to be roommates?” She was genuinely curious, but she had an ulterior motive for asking. The less talking she had to do, the less likely they were to notice how nervous they made her feel. She couldn’t even hold their gazes for too long. The look of desire she saw in their eyes made her nipples harden and her good sense fly out the window.
“Adam and I were lit—foster brothers.”
“Yes, my parents died when I was a pu—um preschooler, and Levi and I had been best friends since birth. His parents took me in.”
“Oh.” The pain in his eyes was clear and raw. “I am so very sorry.” She reached out and squeezed his hand, sorry that her question made him remember such sorrow.
“It was a long time ago, but sometimes their loss still feels fresh.” He shrugged and shook his head as if trying to shake the pain away. “I was lucky, though. Levi’s parents treated me like one of their own. I never forgot my parents, but they did everything in their power to make sure I felt loved.”
Levi had been silent as they talked about Adam’s loss, and though he didn’t speak then, Hope noticed the loaded look that passed between the men. She wondered what that was about until Adam put his free hand over hers and caressed the golden band she wore on her ring finger. “Did you lose someone, too?”
“Oh, that.” Hope suddenly felt embarrassed, as if she should apologize for wearing it or something. “I still wear it. I—don’t know. I just…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.” Levi looked at her with something in his eyes she couldn’t place, and Adam nodded in agreement. “It can be hard to let go.”
“It’s not what you think. I…he didn’t die. We’re just divorced.” That explanation was so inadequate. In truth, the divorce had felt like a death—hers. She’d insisted on it, but it had still hurt like hell.
Levi and Adam exchanged glances again, but it was Levi who spoke. “You’re…still in love with him?” Strangely, Hope heard pain in his voice, though she couldn’t understand why.
The conversation had gotten way too heavy for Hope’s liking, and she hated the idea that Adam and Levi felt sorry for her. She didn’t want these men to think of her as some pathetic woman who couldn’t move on, even after two years had passed. Yet that was exactly what she was, and the realization chafed. Once again, she felt the pressure to let go, but this time it came from inside.
“No, it’s not that. I’m not in love with him anymore. I just—I haven’t seen any reason to stop wearing my ring.” She extricated her hand and pushed back her chair. “Dinner was delicious, Levi. Thanks, both of you, again.” She needed to get out of there before she laid the whole truth of the painful breakup and the damage it had done to her on them. If she opened up that can of worms, they’d run for the hills to escape her baggage.
Adam stood to help her up. “You don’t have to thank us. We want to do things for you. We’ll do a lot more if you let us.”
Not quite sure how to take that statement, she decided to ignore it. “Well, I’m pretty tired after all that’s happened today. Can I help with the dishes before I head to bed?”
“No worries. It’s covered.” Levi was gracious in his answer, but Hope didn’t think she’d ever seen a man look so disappointed.
“Levi’s right. It’s nothing we can’t knock out real fast between the two of us. But I was going to play for you. Are you too tired for a couple of songs?” Adam’s eyes bored into hers and she could swear they both knew fatigue wasn’t the reason she was so anxious to get away from them. It was fear—fear that she might enjoy herself a little too much.
She was torn between wanting to hear Adam play and needing to go hide in the guestroom until morning came. She opened her mouth to say “another time,” but what came out was, “I guess I can make it through just a couple of songs.”
Adam grinned at her answer and Levi’s eyes lost their disappointed look, which thrilled her. She didn’t know why she cared, but for some reason, she did. As inexplicable as it was, she wanted to see smiles on their faces.
Settled on their huge sectional sofa, Hope sat back to listen to Adam play, expecting him to be mediocre at best. She was surprised to discover that he was quite good and the songs he played chased away her heavy mood. Soon she was asking him to play another, and then another. He hadn’t looked like the guitar-playing type to her, but he was good enough to be on stage somewhere. The real shocker came a few songs in, though, when Adam began to play a romantic melody and Levi started to sing to her. His deep voice was made for luring women into the bedroom, and she was very glad she wasn’t standing. They would make any red-blooded woman weak in the knees.
* * * *
Hope tossed and turned, unable to get to sleep. It was a combination of the continuing storm, leftover adrenaline from her crazy day, being in a strange place, and knowing that two of the hottest men she’d seriously ever laid eyes on were just down the hall from her. That made her body tingle with possibilities and she tried to force her mind away from thoughts of them. But when she did, all she could do was hear the words her sister had said to her, the same words her mother and friends had said to her over the past few months—that she needed to rejoin the living. That thought brought her back to the attack and how lucky she was to be alive and undamaged.
She could have been killed in that bar, after spending the last two years doing little more than working. That thought planted a seed that started to spread. It said maybe she could live a little, for once. It had been forever since she’d had anything other than a vibrator deep inside her, or had a man to hold her tight. If her sister could have two men as live-in lovers, maybe she could have two just for the night. She could go back to her normal life in the morning.
Hope twisted her wedding ring off and placed it on the wooden nightstand. Then, she was on her feet and to the bedroom door before logic had a chance to drag her back down to reality. It reached out just as she grabbed the bedroom door, desperately throwing two thoughts her way. One was a single word—Brad. He obviously hadn’t wanted her, so what made her think these incredibly sexy men would? The other was that insanity had obviously taken hold o
f her. She pushed both firmly away as she opened the guestroom door and made her way down the hall.
Her newfound bravery only got her as far as the living room. There was another hall on the other side of the living room, and she knew their bedrooms were down there. Which door should she knock on, and what the hell would she say when she did? This is insane. The shock of the attack has driven me mad. I’m just going to get a drink of water and take my crazy ass back to bed where I belong.
She crept around the kitchen, not wanting to wake them now that she’d come to her senses, and finally found a cabinet with glasses. She’d just filled one with tap water when she heard the backdoor open. Turning toward the sound, she saw Adam, shirtless and wearing only a pair of shorts, dripping wet in the doorway. The water made rivulets down his chest and over his muscled arms, and the thin material of his shorts clung to the bulge at his crotch. His dark hair was slicked back from the rain, but a few wayward strands hung over his eyes.
Damn, she thought. There seriously ought to be a law against looking that good.
“Were you just out in the rain?” It was a stupid question. That much was obvious, but the sight of him had scattered her brains—again.
“I went for a run. I needed to work off some energy.” He started toward her, with a look in his eyes that made a thousand alarm bells ring in her head. He looked intent, hungry, and dangerous, and her mind told her to run. She couldn’t bring herself to move, though. Wasn’t this what she’d gotten out of bed for?
“Oh.” It came out sounding more like a breath than a word.
As she tried to pull it together and think of a more intelligent response, a loud thunderclap split the air and she jumped, losing her grip on the glass of water she still held. She didn’t know how he closed the space between them so fast, but before she could even utter an expletive at her clumsiness, he’d caught the glass, set it on the counter, and pulled her into his arms for a kiss that firmly reminded her of why life was worth living.
Claiming Hope [Wolves of River's Bend 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4
