by Jenny Penn
“I think you upset Konor.”
Alex snorted at that and rolled his eyes. “He’ll get over it. So…wanna get naked and join me?”
Did she ever, but Heather was worried about Konor. She’d seen the picnic basket tucked in the back of his truck bed and knew that he cooked her something special. Something he put a lot of time and, no doubt, thought into.
“I don’t think so.” Heather shook her head as she shoved off the couch, pausing to look down at Alex with as serious an expression as she could manage right then. “In fact, I think you ought to put your pants on and go set the table out back.”
“Okay.” Alex heaved an aggrieved sigh. “Just let me take care of—”
“Alex!”
“Fine, fine,” Alex huffed. “But you better promised to take care this for me later.”
“Sure,” Heather agreed easily with a smile. “I’ll do whatever Konor commands me to.”
With that she turned to follow Konor out the front door and went in search of him. She found him sitting on the edge of his tailgate and staring up at the stars. Heather joined him, sliding up on to the cool metal bench. The truck bounced beneath her weight as she settled in beside him. She didn’t bother to say anything, but sat there in silence with him until finally Konor glanced over at her.
“Did you tell him to put on some damn pants?”
“Yep.” Heather smiled over at him. “And I even told him to set the table out back up for dinner.”
That only earned her a grunt as Konor returned to his study of the night sky. Another long few minutes passed before he spoke again.
“You know, he used to be sane…that is, before you came along.”
“Really? I haven’t noticed that he’s ever been particularly rational.” In fact, Heather had considered that Alex had become a good deal more agreeable these days. Then again, that’s what sex did to most men.
“That’s because he’s only crazy around you,” Konor muttered before casting a scowl in her direction. “You bring it out in him.”
“And that’s my fault?” Because Heather begged to differ.
“He’d settle down if you would just tell him you loved him.”
Heather stiffened at that rebuttal. “What is it with you two today? Why is it suddenly all about love? I only agreed to have a little fun.”
“You’re such a little liar.” Konor heaved an aggrieved sigh as he shook his head at her.
“Well,” Heather huffed as she shoved off the tailgate. “That’s a fine ‘how do you do’ after I come out here to make sure that you weren’t upset.”
“And doesn’t that prove anything to you?” Konor pressed, shoving off the tailgate as he blocked her path. “You came out here because you cared.”
She had. She did. Heather was in love with Konor and Alex, but that didn’t change anything. Neither would confessing to her feelings. That would only make everything so much harder.
“Caring is a far cry from loving.”
With that she turned and stormed around the other side of the truck as she began leading Konor around the back of the house to where hopefully Alex had everything set up for dinner. Heather knew Konor was aware of her intentions. He paused to pick up the picnic basket before rushing after her and taking back up the argument.
“You realize when you say things like that, you taunt Alex into wanting to prove you wrong.”
“And you?” Heather paused before the back steps to confront Konor. “What are you going to do?”
Konor didn’t answer that question. He didn’t need to. His smile said it all. After the past few days she’d come to know that look, to know it and love it. The dark hunger in his eyes, the wicked promises curling at his lips, and that body…Heather sighed as she watched him move up the steps, unable to help but to imagine just how much better he would have looked naked.
Maybe Alex was on to something.
Heather shoved that thought away as she joined both men on the deck. Konor and Alex were already back to teasing and taunting each other, a habit she’d grown accustomed to. They really were like brothers, fully engaged in a constant competition to one up each other. That had been to Heather’s benefit every single night for the past week.
It wasn’t any different that night despite the fact that they ended up playing video games until the wee hours. Heather had never bothered to play any of son’s games before, but then again she’d never been invited to. Taylor was very possessive of his system and convinced his mother was way too old and decrepit to compete.
Of course, she’d proven she could keep up on the obstacle course, and did so again that night by whipping up on Alex and Konor in one game after another. They were laughing and having so much fun that the time got away from them and before she knew it, half the night was spent and not in the way that she had planned.
That thought had Heather smothering a yawn as she began eyeing Konor and Alex with a different kind of late-night hunger than the one that prompted Konor to make cookies. He’d gotten good at baking, but he was even better at other things. It was those other things Heather was interested in right then, but when she went to make her move she found herself suddenly alone as both men gave her painfully chaste kisses on her cheek and fled.
Heather wasn’t sure what the hell that was all about, or why they hadn’t taken this one last opportunity for a night of orgasmic indulgence, but she did know one thing for certain. They were playing with her. She just didn’t know the game.
She spent the rest of the night trying to figure it out and didn’t stop obsessing over the possibilities until the next morning after she’d arrived at the Dothan airport to collect Taylor. At the sound of his voice excitedly hollering out a greeting, all thoughts of Konor and Alex disappeared.
Taylor came rushing down the concourse with an enthusiasm that filled Heather’s heart with a warmth that melted away all worries and concerns. It was a happy reunion, one that consisted of Taylor talking nonstop for the whole ride home as he went over almost every detail of every minute that he’d been away, even though Heather had talked to him every night and already knew everything that happened. She didn’t mind. It was just good to have him back.
Heather wasn’t the only one who shared that sentiment. That became clear as she pulled onto her street to find the road packed full of cars. She had no idea what was going on, but found out soon enough as she pulled into her own drive and saw the pickup trucks already parked there. Her dad was home, and apparently, so were Konor and Alex, along with half the town.
They were all waiting out back for a surprise homecoming party for Taylor. A surprise to both her and Taylor. Of course he assumed she had arranged it all, and all but launched himself across the handbrake to give Heather a quick hug and thank you before leaping out of the car and racing off to the crowd awaiting his arrival.
She followed at a more leisurely pace, greeting well-wishers and old friends as she moved slowly through the crowd in search of the two men she most wanted to have a word with. Unfortunately, she found Konor and Alex surrounded by both couples and kids, leaving them too well-insulated for the kind of conversation she wanted to have.
The situation worsened when Alex caught sight of her and motioned Heather to his side. With everybody watching and believing that they were some kind of happy couple, Heather had little choice but to obey his summons. The bastard knew it, too. His gaze sparkled with the same smug amusement tugging at his lips as Heather begrudgingly marched forward.
“Hello, sweetness.” Alex greeted her with a quick kiss to her cheek that reminded Heather of his obnoxious little peck last night. It was then, with absolute certainty, that Heather knew that this wasn’t just a surprise for Taylor but also a statement for her.
They weren’t backing down. They weren’t leaving. Her fears were unfounded and now…now it was time to panic.
“Hey honey.” Her father materialized out of the crowd to sweep Heather off in a quick hug as he dropped a kiss on to her forehead. “Mis
s me?”
Not really, but Heather would’ve never admit it to that. “Every day, dad. Did you have a nice trip?”
Clearly, that was the question he’d been waiting for because no sooner had she asked it then he looped an arm around her and started steering her away from where Konor was manning the grill as he began a long and descriptive story about his trip. Between her father and all her guests, Heather didn’t actually get a chance to have a private word with either Alex or Konor.
Even after the party ended, they moved too quickly for her to corner them. Before Heather had a chance to speak, Alex and Konor dropped two quick kisses on her lips right in front of her father and her son. She was still standing there gaping at them as they said their goodbyes and disappeared out the front door. They left Heather feeling the heat of the blush working across her cheeks as she turned toward her father and son.
She didn’t know what the hell to say about what had just happened. There really was no way to explain the situation, and fortunately, neither her father nor her son asked her for one. With an ease that left her almost unnerved, both of them accepted Konor and Alex’s constant presence over the next week.
Of course, both of them were benefiting from Konor and Alex’s inclusion into their family. Both men took turns driving the carpool up to Camp D. They also spent time with Taylor working out or going out, including her son in their everyday lives. All that time freed up her father who appeared to have a newly booming social life.
So it wasn’t like Heather could complain, but she wanted to. Actually by the end of the week she was ready to pull her hair completely out, because while her father and her son might have been getting served, she was getting nothing…and Heather wasn’t counting all the work Konor had done at the bakery.
She was talking about her needs—needs that they had awakened and now had a responsibility to fulfill, a responsibility they were pointedly shirking. Heather knew that was the point. They wanted her to confess, to lay her heart out on the table, but she wouldn’t take that risk until they’d taken the challenge themselves.
After all, when it came down to a matter of who wanted it more they would lose, so Heather decided to wait them out. Besides, she still had a son to worry about.
That excuse had started to sound weak even to her. It was obvious to any and everybody that Taylor was thriving under Alex and Konor’s attention. The truth was, if things didn’t work out between Alex, Konor, and her, Heather wouldn’t be the only one devastated.
It was too late, though, to turn back the clock and undo the damage now, which sort of meant that it was in the best interest of her son for her to seduce Konor and Alex. She came to that conclusion by the beginning of the third week, and almost immediately started issuing suggestive invitations and less-than-subtle come-on’s, which they both ignored.
That left her with little choice but to go with a more direct method. That’s exactly what she planned on doing when she sought Konor out Monday night after another weekend wasted on chaste kisses and family nights.
It was late and the bakery had been closed for nearly an hour. While Heather had been giving the front of the store it’s once a week deep-clean, Konor had been scrubbing down the kitchen, a habit he had taken on most nights when he closed with her. He was just finishing up when she came storming in, a plan of attack fully outlined in her head.
“Do you want to have sex?”
Not bothering with any polite niceties or even less pleasant accusations, she just came out and asked him straight-up the question she already knew the answer to.
“What?” Konor glanced up, clearly startled by that blunt question. “You mean here? Now? No. Wait. I don’t care. The answer to that question is always yes.”
That gave her a momentary pause. “I don’t know if I should be reassured by that or disgusted.”
“Obviously I mean as long as you’re the one who is asking,” Konor quickly clarified, shooting Heather an annoyed look. “And the answer to your next question is ‘no’.”
“I thought you just said it was ‘yes’.”
“I agreed that I want to have sex,” Konor clarified. “And the next question is clearly ‘will I’ and the answer to that one is ‘no’.”
“Why the hell not?”
“You know why the hell not,” Konor shot back, returning his attention to wringing out the mop he’d been in the process of putting up when she’d interrupted him.
Feeling all but dismissed, Heather growled, frustrated by the realization that he was not going to go along with her plan. She needed to deviate to her alternate plan, which really was no plan. It mostly just consisted of being obnoxious and rude as she vented and vainly hoped she could bully him in the giving in.
“Fine.” Sighing, Heather held up her hands as she sank to her knees in a dramatic fashion. “You want me to beg, I’ll beg. Will that make you happy?”
“I don’t—”
“I’m on my knees.” Heather pointed out as she hobbled across the hard tile on her knees.
“I can see—”
“It’s not enough, is it? You want me to crawl, don’t you?”
“Heather—”
“Fine. Fine. Here, I’m crawling. Now will you have sex with me?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Heather, get up!” Konor reached down and grabbed onto her arm to yank her back up to her feet. “You know damn good and well that this has nothing to do with begging, crawling, or any of that crap.”
“Well, then what do you want?”
“I want your love.” Konor heaved a heavy sigh as Heather blinked at that depressed-sounding explanation. “Don’t you remember? We had this conversation.”
“We did?” Heather asked, intentionally antagonizing him.
“Yes!” Konor snapped. “We were sitting on the back of my truck…the night before Taylor got back…and—”
“You and Alex were screwing with me,” Heather finished for him as she stiffened, seeing it all so clearly now. “That entire scene was a setup, wasn’t it? You two had it all planned out. Alex rolling around on the floor naked, you storming out—it was all just a setup to prove that I…”
“That you?” Konor prodded when Heather refused to finish her, but Heather refused to be bullied into any kind of confession.
“That I’m not as half into you as you are into me,” Heather finished with aplomb, raising her chin high into the air and all but challenging Konor to deny it.
Never one to back down, Konor’s smile grew even more mischievous. “I guess we’ll see about that now, won’t we, sweetness?”
Chapter 41
Konor watched Heather storm off in a huff and had to shake his head. She was breaking. Slowly, bit by bit, Heather’s defenses were wearing thin. He could only hope that she’d soon be vulnerable enough that there would be some hope of honesty between all three of them.
He hated that it had to come to this and knew Alex wasn’t any happier about the situation, but what could they do? Heather was one stubborn lady, who demanded things to be proven. Only Konor wasn’t sure it could be, at least not to Heather’s satisfaction.
If they proclaimed their love for her now, Konor feared that Heather would only use that to strengthen her defenses. She might also decide that they’d only said it to trick her into saying it, too. The only solution was that she had to be first.
That meant they had to break her, break her before Alex broke, because God only knew how much more he could take. Konor only knew his friend couldn’t take much for. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even be able to take a little more if Heather planned on being as assertive as she was when Konor walked her out to her car and tried to give her a simple kiss good night.
A simple kiss—there really was no such thing when it came to Heather. The passion and need that simmered beneath the surface never faded away and could easily spark into a rioting rush. All it took was Heather winding her arms around his neck and grinding those luscious curves of hers up against him, and before he knew
it, Konor had her pinned to the side of her car.
Heather went wild in his arms, encouraging him with sexy moans and whimpers that stroked over him in heated caresses that fed his own hunger for more, and more was what he demanded from her, burying his hands beneath the folds of her skirt and palming her ass with every intention of splitting open those sweet cheeks and going in search of the hot little cunt he could smell creaming itself.
God, but he wanted to lose himself in her heat again. He probably would have, if the sudden wail of sirens cutting through the night air hadn’t also sliced through the fog of want clouding his judgment. In an instant, he realized just what he was doing and about damn near dropped Heather right on to the cement.
He managed, though, to untangle himself from Heather without doing harm to either one of them, but it wasn’t easy. Heather was determined.
“Enough, woman!” Konor snapped, unable to believe the words coming out of his mouth. “No means no, and I am unequivocally saying no!”
“Damn it, Konor!” Heather huffed as she retreated, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring solemnly up at him. “I don’t know why you’re making everything so difficult. You know you want it.”
“But not more than you,” Konor shot back, knowing he was playing with fire by taunting her so openly when the heated lust pounding through his veins was still urging him to give in.
It wouldn’t take much to convince the rest of him to go along with that plan but, thankfully, Heather didn’t push. Instead, she narrowed her eyes on him in a look that warned Konor that the situation had just hit a dangerous new level. That threat was echoed in the tightness of her tone as Heather issued her own warning.
“I guess we’ll see about that.”
“I guess we will.” Konor had no choice but to agree with that laid-down gauntlet, but still he tried to diffuse the moment. “You know, it doesn’t have to be like this.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Heather agreed in a most disagreeable tone. “You could make your own confession then, maybe, I would know that this isn’t just some—”
