Maizy the Bear Charmer [Divine Creek Ranch 16] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Heather Rainier

  Cody and Heath both turned to see who he was looking at and he directed his gaze to the beauty who had just reached the front of the line. She was chatting enthusiastically with Cassie as she leaned her palms on the counter, unaware of how delicious she was from his point of view. Her ass swayed with the tune, and she turned ever so slightly, giving him a view of the most luscious set of full breasts he’d ever seen. They’d fill his hands perfectly.

  In what seemed like an unconscious move, she slid one high-heeled foot out from the other in a small, simple flexing motion. At the same time, she lifted her abundant black curls off her shoulders and neck, moving the raven mass back with a flick of her head. Doing so lifted the red and orange scarf off her shoulder and sent it fluttering.

  Hot coffee suddenly splashed across the table and Cody and Heath swore softly. Spencer followed with an expletive of his own as the burning liquid hit his crotch and he noted the crushed cup in Heath’s hand.

  They split their attention between mopping up their clothing, the flooded table, and staring at the brunette. Even though he was trapped on the inside of the booth, Heath rose from his seat, obviously intent on climbing out. Cody grasped his shoulder and hissed, “Stop.”

  “It’s her, Cody,” Heath whispered as he sat back down. “It’s her.”

  Cody nodded but his jaw was set. “Chill. What are we going to do? Go up to her while she’s talking to Cassie and start hitting on her in front of the whole shop? We know she’s the one but I guarantee you she doesn’t realize that. A little subtlety is called for.”

  “I know, but…it’s her. I don’t want to let her out of my sight.”

  Spencer seldom ever saw Heath this serious. He was usually the kidder in their trio.

  A smile spread on Cody’s lips as he turned and watched the brunette in question. Cassie was saying something to her, a bright smile on her face, and the brunette nodded and laughed. A sweet shiver raced down Spencer’s spine at the musical sound. The sensation settled deep in his pelvis at the very root of what made him a man and he felt drawn to her like a magnet.

  He rested an elbow on the table and placed his chin in his palm so he could watch her chat. The lingering, burning sensation at his crotch and the coffee spilled on the table was ignored, if not completely forgotten. She lifted a hand and brushed her curls back from her left shoulder and he could see the graceful way her hand moved, caressing back the wild curls before she unconsciously stroked the back of her neck. He imagined her stroking him like that.

  He heard a soft groan and when the guys glanced at him he realized the sound had come from him. He took a sip of his over-sweetened coffee, cringed, and set it aside, no longer needing it. He was wide-awake now.

  Cassie brought a paper bag and tray of coffees to the brunette and Spencer hoped like hell that the other coffee wasn’t for her man. He didn’t see a wedding band on her left hand and hope surged. Her hips swiveled just a bit as she turned from the counter and for a split second, she made eye contact with him across the room. Her eyes were the color of honey.

  The eye contact could’ve taken two seconds or two hours. He wasn’t sure. But he was sure of one thing. Heath had been right. She was his. Theirs.

  She looked away and walked toward the door and then cast him another glance, her cheeks now blushing prettily. Her coloring was exotic, beautiful, but there was something familiar about her that reminded him of someone else, he just couldn’t pinpoint who. He climbed from the booth.

  Cody said, “Don’t chase after her. You’ll scare her.”

  Spencer was already moving toward the exit. He paused with his hand on the door handle when he noticed her look back as she crossed the parking lot, running through the misty rain with her hands full.

  “Damn, she’s gonna fall if she keeps running,” Spencer said as he watched every step she took on the wet asphalt in those high heels, praying she didn’t.

  Cody clapped a hand on both of their shoulders. “Let her get her car unlocked. She’ll feel safer.”

  “Look what she drives, man,” Spencer said as she approached the old red VW Bug. “Those old Bugs are really bad about hydroplaning on wet roads.”

  She unlocked the door and Cody pushed open the coffee shop door and slowly started toward her as she put the bag of food and tray of coffees in the passenger seat. She squinted back at them through the misting rain before she opened her bright red umbrella and palmed something from her purse.

  Good girl.

  They didn’t rush up on her but she still kept her eyes on them as she walked around to the driver’s door and unlocked and opened it. “Can I help you, gentlemen?” He could hear the fear and uncertainty in her voice as she flicked an up-and-down glance at him.

  Spencer looked at Heath and Cody and then down at himself and smiled. They were all dressed the same, in ratty jeans, old T-shirts, and worn-out sneakers. And thanks to Mr. Fisty-Grip, what they had on was now coffee-stained. Probably not the best impression they could make. She continued staring at them, waiting for an answer, and Spencer wondered if she’d made Cody, the usual spokesman of their trio, as tongue-tied as she made him.

  Chapter Three

  The butterflies went ballistic in Maizy’s stomach as they stood there gazing at her. The mist slowed and she shivered as a breeze blew through the parking lot in direct contrast to the wave of heat that rose up inside her as if she were wrapped in her mother’s electric blanket.

  Her finger caressed the button on the pepper spray canister. She hoped like hell she didn’t have to use it because these three looked too good—too hot—to be true. Any one of them was way-out-of-her-league gorgeous but all three of them together, staring at her like that, was downright overpowering. What did they want? And why were they dressed like bums?

  Am I being Punk’d? She darted a glance around for a cameraman but the parking lot was empty except for the cars parked in front of the coffee shop. Then she glanced at her watch.

  “If there’s nothing I can do for you, gentlemen, I need to get to school.” Shoot! Don’t share personal information with strangers, not even hot, gorgeous strangers!

  The tallest of them, a veritable giant, with eyes so dark brown they looked nearly black and wavy black hair that reached past his shoulders, stepped a little closer. “We didn’t mean to frighten you, ma’am.”

  “You didn’t frighten me,” she replied quickly. The quirk of his eyebrow, which had a slight tilt to it because of an old scar, told her that he knew the truth. “Well, maybe a little.”

  The handsome giant smiled and her heart lurched. She was willing to bet his bedroom eyes got him laid—a lot. “Then let me start over. I’m Cody Welsh.” He gestured to the blond giant who was only slightly shorter than him. “This is Heath Lindsey.” The blond giant nodded and gave her a smile that was almost shy, but he took her captive with the heat in his exotic pale green eyes. “And this is Spencer Ketchum,” Cody said as he gestured to the dark-headed giant on his other side. Spencer’s dark brown hair was close-cropped, and the same color as his neatly trimmed goatee. His eyes were the color of melted gold. She took a step toward them as she slid the pepper spray back into her purse and held out her hand.

  “Hi. I’m Maizy Owen.”

  Cody glanced at her outstretched hand and then back into her eyes. She was about to retract her hand when he took it gently between his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maizy.” Instead of shaking her hand he brought it to his lips and her jaw dropped.

  No one had ever kissed her hand. No one. She clamped her trap shut and glanced at the two others. They both looked at their friend with mild surprise, but he just looked pleased.

  Cody finally released her hand and heat coursed up her arm from the point where his lips had touched. Static filled her brain as she searched for something to say. “You’re standing in the rain.”

  Good one, Captain Obvious!

  Heath, the blond giant, squinted up at the sky and then shrugged. “It’s not as bad as it was and we…we real
ly wanted to meet you. We’ve…” He looked at Cody, who just kept staring at her as if he wanted to do that all day. “This may sound crazy but we’ve been looking for you for a while.”

  The dark-haired giant, Spencer, nodded and she thought she saw relief in his eyes. It was also clear in the long sigh he let out. He didn’t seem like the type that showed vulnerability to anyone.

  “You have?” She glanced at her watch again.

  Cody pulled his wallet from his back pocket. It was a nice wallet, in direct contrast to his scruffy attire. “Could I give you my card? We don’t want to make you late for work but we’d really like to talk to you.”

  She accepted the card and looked at it. The Twisted Bull Nightclub and Chantilly’s Steakhouse. Then she looked at the three of them, a little confused. Did they want to sell her some steaks?

  Cody grinned and said, “We’re not dressed for work right now. We’re house painting today.”

  “Oh?” She glanced at the card again, noting Cody’s name at the bottom, listed as club and restaurant security.

  Heath spoke up. “We recently bought a house in dire need of painting.”

  Maizy grinned. “Was it bad?”

  Heath nodded and she felt drawn by his hypnotic pale green eyes as he winked and said, “Unspeakable.”

  She laughed and then grew quiet as they all stared at her again like they wanted to…eat her or something. But she didn’t get a creepy vibe from them. No, in fact, her inner vixen was doing a happy dance, judging by the damp condition of her panties. She even felt a little swollen down there since Cody’s lips had touched her hand.

  Cody glanced at his friends and then said, “This is a little crazy, I know, but I hope you’ll call me. Us.”

  “Why? Are you drumming up business?” she asked, looking at the card. “I don’t need any steaks and I’m not in need of having any security work done.”

  “This isn’t about business,” Cody murmured. “I hope you call me.” He frowned as though at himself, and then gestured to her car. “Sorry if we made you late.”

  Several emotions crowded her thoughts. He hadn’t satisfied her curiosity about why he wanted her to call him and by nature she was too inquisitive to let that go. She was also concerned that she’d given them the impression she was brushing them off, which she should probably do but for some inexplicable reason she couldn’t.

  “You haven’t made me late, Cody. I’m just confused. I like for things to be put to me in black and white. This all seems a little mysterious.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got ten minutes before I have to walk into my classroom to prepare for the day. It takes me four minutes to get to school. We can talk but you’re getting soaked.”

  Cody said, “Believe me, Miss Owen—”

  “Owen,” Spencer said and then smacked himself on the forehead. “You’re related to Patrick Owen, aren’t you?”

  Maizy nodded and smiled. “He’s my brother.” She waited for the comment about her “odd duck” coloring in their fair-haired family.

  Spencer’s eyes twinkled. “We know him. I thought there was something familiar about your eyes earlier.” She smiled. That was an astute observation, given that Patrick’s eyes were blue. She and Patrick had inherited the shape and tilt of their eyes from their mother.

  Cody said, “Anyway, believe me, Miss Owen, we don’t care about the rain. We’ve been looking for you for months.”

  Tension ratcheted back up a notch. They worked in security. What the hell was up? “Why? Where do you know me from?”

  “We first saw you on Halloween night last year, at the Dancing Pony.”

  Crap! Her heart lurched again, painfully this time.

  “That was you, wasn’t it?” Spencer asked earnestly. “There was no mistaking you this morning, with the way you move.” She frowned and he hastily added, “We’re not stalking you, Maizy. Please don’t be upset. We’ve wanted to meet you since that night.”

  She bit her lip in uncertainty. Intuition told her they weren’t stalkers and something about their hopeful expressions, in combination with the enormous strength each of them obviously possessed, actually made her feel quite safe.

  “I could get into trouble with my employer and the school board if they knew I was belly dancing in public like that. Please don’t tell anyone.” What reason could they possibly have for bringing that night up, unless they thought she was loose or wanted to hold it over her head?

  Cody frowned. “We wouldn’t tell anyone. You were—”

  “I know what I was, Cody, thank you. I was told repeatedly by my ex-fiancé in no uncertain terms. Belly dancing is a hobby, not my profession.”

  Cody’s lips pressed together in a frown and she had the distinct impression he didn’t like being interrupted. For some reason that thought made her want to giggle…and interrupt him again. Her ricocheting emotions were giving her whiplash.

  “Your shoes are getting wet, Maizy.” He moved closer and gestured for her to climb into her car. Her pumps were getting wet, along with her lace catsuit. The reminder made her cheeks hot.

  “But I still don’t understand.” She climbed into the vehicle and started it. They shut the door and she rolled down her window as they squatted down so she could still see them. Even squatting down, they were massive in their combined presence, which completely blocked the rain from coming in the window.

  Cody checked his watch and smiled. “Let me try again to explain. We’ve been looking for you because we wanted to meet you, Maizy. It sounds to me like your ex didn’t care for you being the center of attention. I’m glad to hear he’s an ex. We were disappointed when we couldn’t find you after you’d finished dancing.” She glanced from one handsome face to another. They seemed sincere.

  “Well…I’m pleased to meet all of you.”

  “And we want to go out with you.”

  She turned her key in the ignition and jumped in surprise when a horrific grinding sound erupted from the starter. Then her eyebrows rose and her jaw dropped. “I’m sorry. What?”

  Spencer said, “You know about Patrick, Beck, and Lucy, right?” He was so solemn. So purposeful.

  She nodded dumbly and then shook her head to clear the surprise. “Of course.”

  Cody put his big hand over hers on the rolled down window. His warm touch was surprisingly reassuring, given the direction the conversation had just taken. “We want to go out with you.”

  Heath grinned and his eyes took on a wicked twinkle. Oh, you’re in trouble, girl. That’s a panty-dropper of a grin. She looked at Spencer and he verified Cody’s words with a nod, but no hint of a smile. He seemed the most serious of the three.

  And all three of them were squatting outside her car in the rain asking her out on a date. Me?

  Cody released her hand and patted the car. “We’ll let you get on to work. You’ll call me?”

  She saw the hope in his eyes, in all their eyes, and she wondered in what universe stuff like this happened because it didn’t happen to her. She recalled her thoughts from earlier, that being free of Chaz might lead her to the life she was intended to have. Yeah, sometimes a door closes and a portal to an alternate reality opens up!

  She blinked her eyes again. “You want to go out with me. All…three of you? I need to be clear on this.”

  The hint of vulnerability in Cody’s eyes and sensual curve of his lips knocked her off-kilter. “You have it right. Call me?”

  She grinded the starter again and bowed her forehead to the steering wheel. “Poor baby,” she said and patted Gertrude’s dashboard. They probably thought she was off her rocker.

  When she turned back to her window they were all grinning but she didn’t see ridicule in their eyes. They seemed like they understood.

  Spencer put his hand on the hood and said, “Please be careful on the wet roads.”

  Maizy was a little surprised at the real concern she saw in his golden eyes. Chaz had hated her Bug but he’d never cautioned her about driving in the rain.

&n
bsp; “I will. I’ll call you.”

  They nodded and backed away from her car as she put it in gear and reversed carefully.

  Heath gave her a little wave and she smiled and waved back. Yeah, that was crazy. What’s even crazier is the fact that I didn’t turn them down right on the spot. I need to talk to Lucy!

  Four minutes later, she was waved through the road construction just down from her school by a construction worker who smiled and winked at her as she passed him. She chuckled and rolled her eyes. Several of them had been flirting with her for the last two weeks as she’d come and gone from the school each day.

  Construction was going on in the large parcel of land next to Divine Memorial Elementary School, where a brand-new, state-of-the-art middle school was being built. Construction was projected to take several months, and until then she had to factor driving delays because of the necessary roadwork.

  Besides the noise and an increase in the amount of dust finding its way into her classroom, the construction has caused another exciting development. All the critters nesting and living in that wooded acreage were seeking new digs and several had found their way into the school. She giggled as she recalled the start the school librarian had received when she’d walked into the library one morning, flipped on the lights, and been faced with a female opossum and her babies. How it’d gotten into the library was still a mystery. Thankfully, they had a custodian who didn’t mind dealing with small varmints.

  She pulled into the school parking lot and sighed as she parked. Some things never changed. Mr. Ambrose stood at the porte cochère in front of the school, eyes on his watch. He was greeting all the teachers as they walked toward the main entry, which would be buzzing with activity in half an hour. Mr. Ambrose was nice enough but he usually kept his employees at arm’s length and expected them to obey the teacher handbook to the letter, hence the watch-minding.

  Trotting across the parking lot to get out of the mist, she greeted him cheerfully as she carried the food and coffees. She felt a little sorry for him because most of the teachers and staff poked fun at him behind his back. Maybe it was his tweed jacket and bow tie. Or the nerd glasses. She always rooted for the underdog so she wasn’t going to laugh at him. He was her boss, after all, along with the school board.