by Cameron Dane
She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m lapsed. I wear dusters, kimonos, and shawls, not voluminous robes, and after what we just did”—she finally moved to adjust her nightdress back over her breasts and sex—“I think there’s little chance I’d even be accepted as a nun let alone become the first female leader of the entire Catholic church.”
“Dare to dream, honey.” Rodrigo’s voice mocked in the most infuriating manner. “Dare to dream.”
Abby narrowed her gaze. That pure blue within fired up hot as she shot Rodrigo the bird.
Christ, yes. Braden loved the way these two bristled when pushed into each other’s company. It was almost the only time they forgot about work and presenting the perfect adult, pulled-together picture to the world and allowed the passion and spark for life that existed inside them free.
“Abby does have a point, Rodrigo,” Braden told the man, itching for a scrum that might end with them all piled in bed again. “You do make some incredible noises when you’re hard and excited. Probably more than the average male.” Watching the dark man prowl around the bed like a caged cat put Braden in mind of how that body would move when merged with another. “Not that I’m complaining. Far from it.”
“Shit.” Rodrigo’s face flushed a sexy shade of crimson under that deep tan skin. “This is fucking cra—”
“I wasn’t complaining either,” Abby murmured, causing Rodrigo to snap his mouth shut and spin to face her. “Ditto on the far from it too. I like that I always know where I stand with you.” Red dots tinged her cheeks as well, which only made Braden more attracted to this pair. “Apparently no matter the circumstances.”
For each second Rodrigo stared at Abby, a modicum of tension eased out of him until Braden saw only the straightforward, good man who lived inside him emerge.
“Right now,” Rodrigo said, “the circumstances I’m most concerned about are you and your nightmares, and how I can help make them go away. I don’t give a shit about how hard lying in bed with you makes me or how much I grunt when I come, and neither should you.”
The sudden dark intensity in Rodrigo’s stare drew a visible tremble out of Abby.
“I didn’t feel too much agitation in you while you slept,” Rodrigo went on, his voice almost tender now. “Does that mean you were able to get some sleep?” Just in listening to Rodrigo speak to Abby, Braden almost felt the man’s words like a caress against his own body. “Did the dreams stay away?”
A pinched expression pulled the rosy color from Abby’s cheeks. “Almost. I saw the same—”
The high-pitched beep, beep, beep of an alarm clock went off right then, momentarily jerking everyone in the bedroom to silence and stillness. Abby finally leaned and stretched her arm, and Braden followed her hand to an alarm clock tucked back on the nightstand. The display window glowed with a blue 9:00, and a little MON was highlighted above the nine.
“Crap.” Braden jumped out of bed, hopping as he straightened his jeans. “Is that the real time?”
“Yes,” Abby shared. “Damn, I’m sorry. Both of you.” She glanced to Rodrigo as she climbed out of bed. “I didn’t even think. I don’t open the store on Mondays, so I push back my normal wake-up time a bit. I should have reset it before we went to bed last night.”
Shit. Fuck. Damn. And shit some more.
“You had other things on your mind,” Braden replied. “I should have set my cell to wake me up. I’m already late for work.” He reached down to grab his sweatshirt but came back upright in a flash with his hand on his crotch and a serious pressure pushing inside him. “Damn it. I need to take a piss.”
Abby hopped out of bed and pushed him toward the hallway. “Straight across the hall. Go go go.” She pointed at the archway behind him. “We’ll get your clothes and shoes ready while you take care of that.”
Braden found the bathroom and only took time to relieve himself and briefly admire the uncluttered sink and bathtub area as he washed his hands. Nice. It was hard enough for two people to share a bathroom. He could only imagine managing three. One of them being a hoarder would make it impossible to achieve. Braden’s toiletry needs were pretty simple, and he kept his bathroom as clean and neat as Abby did. Soon enough, they would have to devise a way to get to Rodrigo’s place so Braden could check out how the other man lived. The only one of them with an actual house, Rodrigo should have plenty of free space. Unfortunately, sometimes that only meant more room for clutter.
Not Rodrigo. Braden trusted his ability to read people. Money says the guy has entire rooms still unfurnished.
After drying his hands on a towel, Braden returned to Abby’s bedroom and found his shirt, jacket, shoes, and belt laid out neatly at the foot of the bed. Already fully dressed, Rodrigo ate up the carpet space that circled Abby’s bed with a determined stride, his head turned downward and his hands clasped behind his back. Braden had a bit of height on the man, but Rodrigo was tall, thickly shouldered, and lean around the middle. Fuck, if sexuality had a picture to define it in the dictionary, Rodrigo’s image would be it. Abby, with her creamy skin, killer legs, and ocean blue eyes, would represent the female version.
Speaking of… “Where did Abby go?”
Just as the last word left Braden’s mouth and Rodrigo ripped his gaze up from the carpeting, something icy touched the base of Braden’s spine, making him yelp.
“Here.” Abby sidled around him, grinning as she thrust a small bottle of cranberry juice and a granola bar at him. “It’s not much, but at least it has some calories to hold you until you get home or to the station or wherever you have to go.”
“Thanks, but hang on to it for a sec, okay?” Braden went to the bed and sat down to dress, his attention on Abby and her lovely disheveled state. “I’ll head straight to the station. There’s a shower in the locker room we have there, and I always keep a change of clothes in my car. Before I left the station yesterday, I mentioned I might swing by on the way in to take another run at interviewing a witness in an assault case, so it’s not too conspicuous that I’m not there yet. I’ll just do the interview this afternoon.”
Abby scrunched up her nose and forehead. “Sorry about that again.”
Braden tied his second shoe and shot upright, going right to Abby. “Don’t be sorry.” He cupped her jaw and couldn’t help the smile and shock of light that worked its way through him that came just from looking at her. “I’d rather miss a whole day without explanation than have you believing it was a mistake to call me when you needed someone. Just so we’re clear on it, I will be back tonight when I’m done with work. We’re gonna figure out what’s going on with your dreams, and we’re gonna double up in that bed of yours again. Definitely tonight and very likely for an undetermined number of days to come.”
Abby stiffened, and Braden swore he could see each tiny hair on her body shoot right on end. “I’m not some fragile piece of glass. You don’t—”
Rodrigo stepped up so close he brushed shoulders with Braden. “I’ll be coming back this evening too.” He spoke to Abby, but the dark edges in the glance he sent Braden’s way dared Braden to contradict him.
I can’t wait to take his untried ass and make those eyes deepen to pure black for an altogether different reason.
Braden released his hold on Abby, shifted, and duplicated it with Rodrigo. The man’s breath caught, but Braden did not remove his hold on Rodrigo’s jaw or give him an extra centimeter of breathing room. “I expected no less, Rodrigo,” Braden told him. He let himself visually explore the squared, ultramasculine angles of Rodrigo’s face, as well as the contradiction of his decidedly lush lower lip that begged for a lick or bite. “Christ, you are gorgeous.” Holding back his attraction didn’t seem a viable option for Braden anymore. Rodrigo’s pupils flared, but he didn’t try to pull away. “And you are so close to ready for my mouth on you.”
Wanting so much more, Braden settled for passing the pad of his thumb across Rodrigo’s lower lip, letting the contact scratch and tug. “Not this morning, though. Not
when I can’t hang around to watch you process how much you love it. Start thinking about it, though; wrap your brain around the fact that it’s gonna happen soon.” Braden took his thumb away from Rodrigo’s mouth and licked the blunt tip, swearing a tinge of spice that was all Rodrigo existed on top of the faintly salty flavor of his own skin. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk away without a real taste next time.”
Satisfied for the moment, Braden turned back to Abby. “You, however…” He tunneled his hand through the fall of her coppery hair. “You are so fucking ready for us to happen that it scares you almost as much as those dreams.” He dipped down and brushed his mouth high across her reddened cheek. “Don’t let it, sweet Abby.” This bounty of two honest, lovely, intelligent people was more than a guy who had done his fair share of hurting men and women in relationships deserved. Being worthy didn’t matter. Braden wouldn’t let Abby and Rodrigo slip away from him.
Not when it’s this important. Not these two people.
Mesmerized by the swirl of light and dark shades of indigo in Abby’s eyes, Braden tilted her chin up and lowered his mouth to hers. “It’s gonna be great.” He whispered that promise just as he grazed his lips against hers. Her lips parted on a gasp of breath, the soft sound so fucking sweet, Braden darted his tongue out for a little taste. Abby did too, and the flash of contact sent a shockingly powerful jolt of pleasure straight down to Braden’s cock.
Suddenly needing more, Braden tugged the tangle of Abby’s hair and slashed his lips across hers, taking with a greed he had not intended. He pushed her jaw open wider and licked inside her mouth, tasting a hint of the tart cranberry juice she must have sipped.
The moment their tongues touched, Abby grabbed on to Braden’s shirt and strained into him, tangling her tongue in an erotic tango with his. She retreated and nipped stinging bites to his lips, only to sink back in and give him even better than he got, and Braden lost what little bit of sanity he had left.
Craving even more raw contact, he took complete ownership of the kiss. He scraped his hand down Abby’s back and dragged their bodies somehow closer to grind his stiffening length into her lower belly. Braden reveled in all her soft places rubbing against his hardness and only wished they had no clothing between them to dull the sensations.
With a needful noise that rivaled one of Rodrigo’s from earlier, Abby wound her arms around Braden’s neck, pulled him in closer, and slanted her mouth across his with an open, carnal display. The cool surface of the bottle still in her hands barely registered against the heat boiling under Braden’s skin. He only cared that she kissed him back with fervor, matching him with an open aggression Braden had only encountered with other men. Rather than turn him off, this new element of Abby’s personality surprised him in a way few things did anymore and pumped blood into his groin at a drugging pace. Braden bunched the back hem of Abby’s nightgown in his fist, drew it up over her buttocks, and used his other hand to skim a line down the split of her ass straight for her pussy.
I can already smell heaven again.
Braden knew his fingers were headed toward the sweetest coating of honey. If he slipped just one digit inside and took a feel of her tight, wet cunt, he would have his jeans open and around his hips, begging for her hand on his cock by the time he hit her G-spot.
No. Not right now. Not when I can’t finish it.
Tearing his hands and mouth from Abby, Braden sucked in the biggest breath of cleansing air he could steal. “Jesus.” She looked like spun candy, and his aunt Ida always said he had the sweetest tooth of any man she knew. Braden wiped his mouth and noticed his hand was shaking. Damn. He laid a hard stare on her; if he didn’t, he would have his hands all over her again. “I have to go before I spread you out on that bed and don’t let you up for a week.”
Somehow already as natural as breathing, Braden’s gaze went to the dark man at his left. “Same goes for you, Santiago.” Christ. Before he ended up walking into work with a dark stain at his crotch, Braden grabbed the makeshift breakfast Abby offered and strode out of the room. “I’ll see you both tonight.” He waved without looking back. “Bye.”
Only when he made it to his car did Braden realize he hadn’t asked Abby anything more about the day her parents were murdered and the “wrong-looking” hand in her most recent dreams.
“Fuck.”
* * *
Abby stared at the archway Braden had just vacated. Her heart still beat too fast to feel natural, and she still rode a wave of electricity that had barely slowed down in the aftermath of what they’d all done in her bed.
That was not how I expected to wake up this morning. She shook her head and stifled a rueful laugh. Not exactly how I expected to go to sleep last night either.
Strangely, not for one second during Braden’s intoxicating kiss had Abby ever forgotten that Rodrigo was right there next to them. In fact, his presence had wound her up even more, somehow stirring her to greater, faster heights of pleasure while kissing Braden. Not that Braden didn’t know how to work the hell out of a kiss or use those big hands of his like a musician finessing the finest instrument—he damn well did.
Aside from his kiss, Abby responded on a visceral level to the calm and confidence in everything Braden did. No one was more at ease with himself than Braden Crenshaw, and when Abby was around him, she felt herself reaching for the same. Except for when he’d just kissed her. Jeez, that cool had slipped away from him for just a moment, and his unexpected loss of control had surged through Abby and acted as wildfire. Add to that Rodrigo being here, watching, maybe wanting to do the same to her and Braden equally, and that had worked on Abby like adding that final spark to a drought-ridden forest.
Now, though, even more bizarre, with Braden gone Abby felt almost shy with only her and Rodrigo in the room. This man had always pulled a ridiculously juvenile nervousness out of Abby that she didn’t normally feel with other men, pushing her almost back to being an insecure, lonely kid in high school with a crush on the popular football jock. Except she knew through her friendship with Christian that Rodrigo had been anything but popular in school; he had suffered as much isolation as she had. Only, while she’d turn inward and started fiddling with recyclable metals and material as a means to create jewelry, Rodrigo had worked off the books at construction sites before he was legally able. Upon graduation, he had funneled that drive into a couple of tech schools, gaining a contractor’s license as well as attending a local community college where he earned himself a business degree. A self-made man. And God, from the beginning, she had found him devastatingly fascinating.
Too much.
With just Rodrigo, Abby suddenly felt more naked standing in her nightdress than she had while spread out on her bed begging for his and Braden’s hands on her.
Abby spun to face Rodrigo and plastered a go-to smile on her face. “So.” Her voice sounded a little high, so she cleared her throat. Holy Mother. Dark eyes watched her from just a few feet away. Why does he have to be so intense? “Can I get you some breakfast?” she asked, forcing that chipper lightness into her tone. “I’ll admit I’m not really sure what the proper protocol is for a morning like today.”
Rodrigo took a step toward her, but he abruptly pivoted and headed for the hallway, his jaw clenching visibly under his morning shadow. “I need to go too,” he said, pausing at the archway, his back to her. “I’m not running late yet, but if I don’t leave now, I won’t get home in time to shower and change for a lineup of meetings with my suppliers.”
“Right. Cool.” Abby hung back, her legs and body not sure how or where to move. Her chest tightened, her stomach flipped, and she didn’t like it at all. “I’m not opening the store today, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have work to do. You know that better than anybody.”
Rodrigo braced his hand on the wall, but still didn’t look back at her. “Yeah, I do.”
Pinpricks dotted Abby’s arms, and she wished she had her robe to cover them up. “Bye. Have a good day.” Jeez, she
might as well have told him she hoped he had a nice flight. It couldn’t be less personal.
Silence thickened the invisible weight permeating the room. Abby stared at the stiff line of Rodrigo’s spine and the whitening of his fingertips as he dug them into her red-painted walls.
Just as the air went out of Abby, Rodrigo uttered a few Spanish curses she understood very well. He turned and stalked her until barely enough space for breathing existed between them. His nostrils flared, and his eyes locked in on hers. “Listen,” he started, his voice low enough to make her shiver. “I don’t know what the fuck happened here this morning. And I’m not even going to try to figure out the Braden shit right now when I don’t know how the hell I feel about it yet, and he’s not here to say his piece.” Rodrigo’s gaze worked its way over her face before coming back to eye contact. When he did, some of the steel left his tone. “I just know you look at me sometimes in a way that makes me think you want to kiss me the way you just kissed him.”
Abby’s heart suddenly th-thump th-thump th-thumped right up into her throat, and she couldn’t look away from Rodrigo’s piercing stare. “I do.” She licked the edge of her lip. Her mouth had gone bone-dry but as she watched confusion map Rodrigo’s face she found herself scratching out words that wouldn’t remain stuffed inside anymore. “When I’m not thinking about how much fighting with you stirs me up in a way that’s probably not natural, and when I’m not thinking about how I could lose myself in you if I slip up just once, I wonder about how great it might be if I could get over myself and let it happen.”
A hint of a smile quirked Rodrigo’s sexy mouth up at the edge. “I probably need to get over myself some too.”
This time, Abby snorted. “You think?”
“Hey.” Rodrigo’s gaze flashed with glints of black diamonds. “That’s my noise.”
Abby found herself grinning back at Rodrigo, and suddenly the crazy beating in her chest didn’t feel quite as terrifying as she’d always imagined it would during a moment like this.
