by JC Szot
“Hey,” Reed called, his contented grin in place. “Looks like the weather ruined my plans. Wanna hang out at the house?”
Ivy shrugged, unsure if she had the stamina to deal with Joel’s leering looks tonight. It only added to her burden.
“Joel’s still working,” Reed told her, taking her hand.
Why does he think it matters?
Reed jostled her hand, pulling her along. Ivy forced away the thoughts that’d nagged her all afternoon. It had to be tonight. She couldn’t carry the weight anymore. It was tainting all the good things that she’d been able to embrace here.
The rain fell harder, bouncing off the porch as Reed dragged her to the door. He yanked them both inside.
The house smelt woodsy, the air heated. Ivy hung her jacket next to Reed’s on the pedestaled coat rack in the corner of the small foyer. Orange embers simmered in the fireplace. Reed walked toward the hearth and lifted two logs from a neatly stacked pile. He pulled back the screen, placing them in the fireplace.
Her eyes landed on the coffee table. Her heart drummed at the recollection of her and Reed’s bodies entwined on and over the furniture. Reed poked at the shimmering coals. Small flames came back to life, flickering behind the protective screen as he secured it back on the hearth.
Ivy stood behind him, her hands at her sides. The awkwardness that loomed with her confession had her salted over. A strip of golden flesh between Reed’s waistband and the hem of his shirt flashed at her as his hips shifted. He puttered around the living room, turning off a nearby lamp and punching all the buttons on the stereo. The sound of a sensual saxophone poured from the speakers, filling the room. He faced her, his lids lowered, the rich blue diluted. Reed ran a hand through the wavy strands of his hair. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans and moved across the living room like a stalking cat. His graveled voice teased her every nerve.
“Can I get you anything?”
Ivy swallowed. The intentions in his eyes were as clear as a tropical sea.
“What are you having?” she asked. Her voice strained. The heat in the room was too much. Seduction curled around them, tempting them like the snake in the garden of good and evil.
“I have wine, beer, soda.” His brows rose.
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
“Sit.” Reed gestured to the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
Ivy sat down on the soft leather, her body sinking into the supple cushions. Cabinets opened and closed. She tried to assemble the words of her confession. Reed reappeared too quickly. He handed her a stemmed glass of white wine.
Ivy sipped from the glass, welcoming the crisp, chilled beverage. It splashed down her hot insides. The cushions sank beside her. She raised her eyes. Reed took her glass and placed them both on the coffee table. His eyes imprisoned hers as he sank down to the floor, crawling between the couch and the coffee table. Reed nudged her knees apart. His personal scent went right to her head. He cupped her face just as he’d done that morning.
“Am I being a nuisance?” Reed asked, his words a hushed whisper. Her chest went tight. His face hung like a neglected child. Ivy forced a smile. The tears were jabbing at her eyes. He was so polite and courteous. She couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you having regrets, you know, about what happened?” Reed asked. He read her apprehension like a trashy column. His palms slid down her thighs, resting on her knees. His actions stilled, waiting.
“No, no.” Ivy kneaded her eyes, needing a break from his heavy gaze. “Something happened. I just feel I need to tell you, since we’ve…you know. It may change the way you feel about me.”
* * * *
Joel entered the house through the back door. Hazy shadows greeted him as he walked into the kitchen. The fireplace roared with life. Flashes of firelight danced on the ceiling of the living room. At the sound of Ivy’s whimpering voice, Joel’s body went cold.
She was talking about the Halloween party. The night that’d been torturing him with half-truths. Her jittery words knifed through his gut. What’d been meant to benefit her had left them both traumatized in very different ways.
He was head over heels. Joel was anguished over this feeling that filled his heart. The desperate need for her, the lust, it was so powerful. It was careening out of control. A calling to lead a shy girl out of sexual repression had evolved into something else. He’d never been a master at love, but the feelings that were boiling inside of him on a daily basis couldn’t be ignored.
Joel had been struggling with the idea of telling her. Before he’d been able to plan how he was going to come clean with Ivy, Reed had come forward, acting on his desires. Was Reed in love with Ivy as well? Joel had been tempted to come right out and ask him, but the grief that would come with Reed’s truthfulness was something Joel didn’t want to face, let alone feel.
Her convulsing sobs made his heart hurt. His actions had broken her down. Ivy now felt that she was betraying his brother, keeping their masqueraded encounter a secret. Joel crept closer to the threshold of the living room. Silence polluted the air. The words were right there. Joel could feel her strain. It’d been manifesting inside him like an infection. Joel listened to Reed gently coax Ivy along and assure her that whatever it was, they’d work it out. Guilt poured over him like cement, hardening, pulling his body right through the floor. Joel walked into the living room. Two sets of startled eyes flickered at him.
“Excuse me.” His hard tone bit through the tension. Joel hadn’t meant to sound so harsh. He released a breath. “I don’t mean to interrupt here, but there’s something I have to say, and to both of you.” As if the fire’s glow was the wrong element for the shifting mood, Reed reached over and turned on the light. Joel’s eyes throbbed as his pupils filled with bright light. Ivy’s mouth went slack, her luscious brown eyes filling with shiny tears.
“Ah, no, excuse us.” Reed glared at him. “This is a private conversation.”
“Not really.” Joel tugged at his bow tie, his work uniform strangling.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reed rose to his feet.
Ivy stood, her announcement rushed. “I should go.” Ivy swiftly moved toward the door.
Did she already suspect him? Joel’s feet ate up the floor. He caught Ivy at the door. Joel gripped her shoulder.
“You need to stay for this, Ivy,” Joel demanded. He gritted his teeth, attempting to soften his approach. His frustration was his own, not hers. Ivy’s body language spoke volumes. Her rounded shoulders were slumped with fear, something he’d tried to erase. Two troubled faces balked at him. Joel pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment. He needed composure before all hell broke loose.
“It was me, the night of the party, upstairs.” His words hung in the dense quietness. “Ivy, I’m so sorry, I just…” His words died.
“Oh my God!” she choked, turning away from them.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Reed seethed. His brother moved closer to Ivy, sheltering her from a confession that now had the potential to spoil all of his good intensions.
“It wasn’t so bad…right?” Joel laughed nervously, trying to backpedal his way through a thick muck that he was now sinking in.
“What the fuck is going on?” Reed asked, his tone incensed.
Ivy’s voice shrilled through the dramatic tension. “I slept with your brother, the night of the party, I didn’t know…I gotta get out of here.” Ivy hid her face in shame. It was a shame that Joel never intended to inflict.
Chapter Seventeen
“No!” Joel hollered. He needed to reel it in. His hands shook, still searching for control. Joel rested them lightly on Ivy’s heaving shoulders. She wouldn’t look at him. He lightly stroked the shimmering strands of her hair, her back tensed. “Let me explain my behavior. And you—” Joel spun to face Reed. “You need to just listen. If the two of you want to pound my face in, then so be it, but I had good reasons for doing what I did.” Joel s
tepped back, giving them space, and sat down on the edge of the coffee table. He tipped his head up at the ceiling to gather his thoughts.
Reed’s voice edged through the room.
“Ivy, sit, please. I want to understand.”
“It’s just as much my fault as it is his,” she told Reed, her voice flat. Reed took Ivy’s hand and led her to the couch.
“That first day I saw you,” Joel began, “I was so riveted by your beauty. You were just so enticing…It’s hard to put into words. You can ask my brother, I’m a bit aggressive with women, sometimes careless.” Reed nodded, mumbling words that Joel couldn’t interpret. “I could sense your reserve. I knew deep in my bones that you were aching, a need that was starving, needing to be fed.” Joel explored her eyes.
“Cut the shit with all the poetry crap,” Reed grumbled. His brother’s icy glare stabbed into him.
“Let him speak.” Ivy glanced back at Reed, her voice raw.
Joel could usually tell what Reed was thinking, but tonight there was no connection. Joel reached for his sincerity, knowing it was there. He did have compassion. It was there, deep inside of him, the same ingredients that enabled him to cater to Ivy that night. He had it in him. Ironically, it’d been a shy, reserved girl who’d pulled it out of him.
“I wanted to unearth you,” he sighed. “You’re so beautiful, and kind, a genuine person. I thought it such a waste.” Joel stood. “I’m sorry. I can tell you’re embarrassed about it now, but both you and I know that it felt right. Between me, you, and the dark, you’re all woman. I think you know that now. And if you do, then my reasons for doing it were worth it.” Joel ran his hands over his face, collecting himself, his emotions unveiled. He searched her troubled eyes. “Ivy, you are capable of the exchange of affections, though I didn’t give you much leeway that night, but you trusted me, and I you. My feelings for you have grown since that night, but when my brother here stepped in, I didn’t want to interfere. You’re comfortable now, and you know it’s every bit as incredible as I do.” Reed’s face went blank at his admission, the anger cleansed. “All is not lost. Why overthink things? It only adds to the confusion.” Joel paused, unsure if he should go full circle. “I know there’s enough fuel for all three of us. I’ve unearthed you, Ivy Tanner, and you know it.” Joel tipped her chin, forcing Ivy’s startled gaze to his. “You’re perfection. I can’t think of any other woman who would make our lives more complete. Wouldn’t you agree, Brother?”
Not waiting for Reed’s answer, Joel rose to his shaking feet, turned on his heel, and left the room. He climbed the stairs, his body weary. The quietness he’d left behind had his footsteps reverberating through the house. Joel didn’t know what was going to happen. It would surely be a rough patch of transition for Reed and Ivy, but the rewards could be endless. Joel’s dick bobbed in his pants as he headed straight for a cold shower.
* * * *
“What does he mean?” Ivy’s eyes darted between his, frantic for answers.
“We’ve had other women together,” Reed admitted. His chest ached as he spoke the words. “But those women were guests, only here for a short time. There was never time to build on anything,” Reed said, trying to explain. Every bone in his body felt frayed and torn. What’s she gonna think of us now?
“You mean, they were with you and Joel…at the same time?” Ivy sank back into the cushions, shocked at this new information Reed had just provided.
“Yes,” Reed answered through gritted teeth. He leaned on his knees, sinking his head into his hands. The lull in the conversation was killing him inside. Everything that had flowered brightly was now shriveling up, browning around the edges and dying.
“I don’t know what to say…what to think,” Ivy whispered.
“It was just sex. Being with you is entirely different. I agree with Joel. You make it all different,” Reed said, his voice fracturing with emotion.
“Why?” Ivy shook her head, her expression one of great bewilderment.
“Because you’re here to stay, I hope.” Reed’s face contorted in pain. “You work with us, and you fit. You have a sense of loyalty, not to mention that you’re gorgeous.” Reed smiled faintly. He wouldn’t use flattery to manipulate her. “It’s rare these days. That’s why my aunt hired you. You gotta understand, we’ve been here for years, isolated really, catering to the tourist population and their demands. It’s an industry that keeps you grounded. There’s no time to leave this place and take a woman to dinner.” Reed lifted his hands. “Joel says you were starved.” Reed faced her, taking her hands. “We’re starved, too. We’ve been waiting for someone like you for a long time.” He smiled, his eyes stinging. God, I hope I can get her to understand. “I know it’s weird, Joel and I being so close. We’re very different, but we’re tight. We function as a unit. Since my parents died, it’s sort of been a type of survivor mode for us.”
Ivy’s eyes fixated on him, her features softening. “I’ve just never dealt with something like this. I could barely handle myself through one date, now I’ve been…”
Ivy’s words drifted off. Her shapely brows knitted, trying to process all that was happening.
“Well, now the other half’s been revealed. Joel and I are two halves of one whole.” Reed chuckled dryly. “Can I ask you something?” Reed didn’t want to pry, but his ego was getting the better of him. “How did my brother treat you? You know…was he a gentleman?” Reed knew all too well how Joel conducted his dating business. The red smudge on the back of Ivy’s neck the night of the party flashed in Reed’s mind like a roadside flare. The final piece now clicked together with the rest.
Ivy took his hand. She ran her fingertip over the fine lines of his palm. She looked up at him. “I don’t know how he did it, but Joel got me to totally surrender to him. It’s so bizarre when I think about it. He used the darkness as well as his hidden identity. Those were his only tools.”
“You did a bit of that with us.” Reed knocked her in the ribs jokingly. “No candle and I couldn’t see your face as you let me take you.” He saw the pinkish hue rise from her skin. “It might’ve been dark, but you knew it was me,” Reed said, his voice hoarse.
Ivy nodded. “That’s because what I learned from Joel that night…It really did help me. Joel helped me to relax, so I could be free to enjoy sex. Don’t worry, you did the same thing, but I have to say that Joel did lead me out.” Her eyes gleamed, her feelings raw. “I never thought I’d ever feel like that with a man.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning it was quiet as they set up for the breakfast crowd. Joel wasn’t on the schedule until lunchtime, but he’d come down early to help Reed. Joel wanted his brother to communicate with him. By following him to the dining room this morning and making himself accessible, he hoped they could clear the air, air that’d been too peaceful and saturated with unanswered questions. Reed was the type who needed processing time.
Joel wandered behind the bar to post the day’s drink specials when Reed came up behind him, pushing him into the back storeroom. Reed’s fingers dug into his shoulders as he spun Joel around, slamming his back into the wall. Reed’s minty morning breath wafted in his face.
“You’re damn lucky she wasn’t all freaked out.” Reed’s voice was hushed, slithering between clenched teeth. Joel was usually pumped and ready, often thriving off a good fight. He and Reed had had a few, but this was different. That strange, often neglected sentiment of compassion had him bound. Joel felt like he was trapped in a cage he couldn’t see, only feeling the steel bars that surrounded him.
A body that was accustomed to going tight and rebelling went soft and limp, incarcerated in between Reed’s thick biceps. Reed’s eyes blazed, his jaw twitching. Joel tipped his head back against the wall.
“It was an impulse, I swear,” Joel confessed, his voice laced with trepidation. “I don’t know what came over me. I wasn’t even drunk,” he told Reed, stressing his point. Joel squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to fix things. He
was so immersed with Ivy. Did she want him at all or was she stuck on Reed? The few women he and Reed had shared lacked all the emotional depth that Reed often said he needed. It had never mattered to Joel before now. Maybe that was why he had behaved like such an ass with women in the past. He had never met any who were willing to open the blinds of their personality, so he hadn’t bothered either.
Reed had always been more open with people in general. Ivy’s curtain was open, and Joel wanted nothing more than to dance on her stage. He envied Ivy in a way. She exposed herself for him, in more ways than one, and on that first night. He’d made Ivy feel safe, but whether she knew it or not, she’d done the same for him.
“I respect her, I care for her, she’s got me all fucked up.” Joel’s words shot out of him like a horse bolting out of the gate. “I won’t hurt her, I promise.” Joel held his breath.
Reed’s eyes bolted back and forth between his. Reed shoved him back into the wall and then stepped back, allowing his anger to retreat. Reed’s eyes narrowed.
“You telling me you love her?”
Joel’s chest felt stepped on. He couldn’t breathe.
“I don’t know,” he said, looking away from Reed’s piercing eyes. Reed’s gruff tone had his gaze snapping back to his brother’s face.
“Because I think I do,” Reed said, his voice thickening. “You want in on this, then we’re doing it right—no games and no cheap thrills.” Joel quickly nodded in agreement.
“No,” Joel whispered.
“She did tell me that you helped her.” A faint smile spread across Reed’s lips.
“She helped me, too.” Joel took a reviving breath. This was the first time he hadn’t fought back with Reed.
“You gonna show me how?” Reed tilted his head, his eyes questioning.
