by Marla Monroe
She shrugged and sighed. “Look. I’m not sure what it is you want from me. If you’re asking me to be some sort of pity-fuck for Bo, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Besides, I think he can find his own piece of ass without you pimping for him.”
Before she could stand up again, Dalton had jumped to his feet and was leaning over her chair with both hands planted squarely on either side of her up near the back of the chair so she couldn’t really struggle without actually touching him and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that touching him right then was a very bad idea. Very, very bad.
Chapter Four
It took every ounce of control Dalton possessed right then not to close the few inches that separated their bodies and claim her lips for a no doubt explosive kiss. No wonder Bo had caved the first time he’d really been close to her. She smelled divine and had some sort of aura around her that was like a tractor beam once you got close enough to get caught in its clutches. And Dalton was most definitely caught.
Spirits above!
Shelby had her claws in him so deep he imagined that trying to pull away would take chunks of him with her. The thing was, he didn’t want to get away. Maybe once she wasn’t so close, so deliciously close, he would think differently, but right then, Dalton liked being caught. And Shelby had no idea that she’d done it. No idea at all.
He dipped his head just a little bit more and inhaled the heady scent of vanilla and mint and something all Shelby. Even as he enjoyed her spicy scent, the subtle aroma of arousal teased his nostrils. Oh, hell, save him. How was he going to back away now?
“I’m going to kiss you, Shelby.”
Her audible gasp left her mouth open for him to claim, and claim it he did. Dalton leaned in that one last inch and covered her lips with his, taking advantage of the slight opening and plunged his tongue inside to explore and coax hers to do the same. When she didn’t move, seeming frozen in stiff refusal, he started to pull away. Dalton would never force himself on a woman regardless of any mixed signals she might be sending his way. It just wasn’t right of him. But when he started pulling back, one of her hands grabbed his shirt and held on, keeping him from going anywhere. He wasn’t sure if she were just holding on to steady herself or if she was actually trying to keep him from ending the kiss.
The gentle nip of her teeth on his bottom lip cleared that up right fast though. She was on board. Her tongue followed his as he touched and teased every part of her, then retreated to lure her to his side. She moaned when he sucked on it, the sound going straight to his already diamond-hard cock that was stiff as a jutting stalagmite and ready for more. But Dalton had to put a stop to things before they got out of hand. She wasn’t ready for more and he wasn’t willing to screw up his plans.
Slowly, he pulled back, cupping her face in both of his hands. He placed soft kisses on the corners of her mouth and then on her nose before he stepped back, standing to his full height once more. Clearing his throat, Dalton prayed she wouldn’t freak out by what he needed to say.
“You taste so good, Shelby. I want you more than I’ve wanted anyone in a long time, but we need to slow down and talk like I wanted to do in the first place,” he said.
The confusion cleared from her eyes followed by a healthy dose of embarrassment that she quickly masked with a bored expression. He wasn’t sure where he stood with her right then, and that worried him.
“So talk. What is it you’re trying to say, Dalton?” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest.
That wasn’t a good sign at all. He deliberately walked over to the other chair and lowered himself into it. Maybe he should have waited until after they’d both had a good night’s sleep, but he’d started this now. He had to finish it one way or another.
Fuck! Why did I have to do this tonight? I should have waited.
“I saw the same thing I feel in Bo’s eyes tonight. He likes you, and for the first time, he’s fighting that part of him that says he doesn’t deserve happiness. You mean something to him and I want to explore this and see where it goes. I want a chance at a home and family again. Until you, I’d lost all hope of ever finding that again,” he said staring her directly in the eyes.
The long slow blink told him that she’d heard him and was trying to figure out exactly what he meant. Somehow he’d screwed it all up anyway. He never had been good with words. Despite everyone thinking he was a smooth-talking Indian, Dalton wasn’t. In fact, he was shy and just covered it up by talking all the time.
“I–I don’t think I understand. You were talking about Bo then you kissed me. Then you started talking about Bo finding happiness when he didn’t think he deserved it, but now you’re saying you want a chance to settle down with a family. Who are we actually talking about here, Dalton? You or Bo?” She shook her head before uncrossing her arms to run her hands through her glorious thick hair.
“Both of us. I want the three of us to be a family. I know we don’t know each other that well right now, but if you’ll just give us a chance and spend some time with us, I know you’ll find that we’re really pretty easy to like,” he said.
Silence hung between them for several long ticking seconds. Her mouth opened then closed again. When she finally spoke, her voice shook.
“I’m not sure what to say. I appreciate that you both are interested in me, but even if I was able to consider your suggestion, it wouldn’t work, Dalton. You’re talking about a ménage relationship, right? Those aren’t legal and wouldn’t work anyway,” she said.
“Why not? Laramie, Laredo, and Billy Jean seem to be doing fine,” he pointed out.
“They’ve been together less than six months! They might make it because they are twins and, from what I understand, can’t stand to be apart anyway.” She drew in a deep breath. “But as a rule, Dalton, men don’t share when it comes to a woman. Maybe they will screw around a bit when it doesn’t matter, but they can’t stand for someone else to mess with what they consider to be theirs. It’s just not in their nature.”
“You’re talking about men right in front of me as if I’m not one myself. I know how men are. You’re right. The majority of the male population can’t or won’t share the woman they consider to be theirs, but neither Bo nor I are typical males. We grew up together, living with each other more often than not. We became blood brothers at twelve when we went through our spirit walks together. We’ve always been attracted to the same women, even as teenagers.” He grinned and shook his head at some of those memories.
“Did you fight over the women?” she asked, obviously expecting him to say yes.
“No. We agreed that she wasn’t for us and one of us would go out with her one time and the other the next. There was never any jealousy or competition between us when it came to women or anything important for that matter. We’ve always been a part of the other, until I made the mistake of thinking I knew what was best for us and he took on my guilt as his own.”
“What do you mean? That doesn’t make sense,” she said, her brows drawn together as a frown pulled at her plump kissable lips.
“It’s not something I can talk about right now and not without him. All I’m asking is that you allow us the chance to court you. Get to know us and then make a decision on how you feel.” He watched her expressive face, but this time, she managed to keep her thoughts private.
“I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you to date you when there’s a chance I might not be around in the next few months,” she finally said.
“What do you mean? I thought you liked it here.”
“I do. I love working for the twins and Billy Jean is a kick-ass chef, but I just don’t know where I’m going right now. I might need to pick up and leave one day and that would hurt all of us if we’d started getting close. I just can’t do that.”
Dalton frowned. “Why would you need to leave at all? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No,” she said quickly—too quickly. “I just never know when I’m going to get tired of s
omewhere and need to leave. I have a hard time settling down.”
Dalton could hear the lie in her voice. She was running from something or someone. No wonder she had always kept to herself, and it explained the gun as well. He narrowed his eyes, seeing for the first time the dark circles beneath her eyes and the lines in her forehead that would be from worry. She had lost weight since she’d shown up, but he’d figured she was on one of those strange diets women always seemed to be on whether they needed to or not. Shelby didn’t need to be. She was too thin already.
Knowing how women could be, Dalton wasn’t about to push her on it right then. She’d bolt for sure. Not only did that bother him with how much he liked her, but it would put her in even more danger if she was in any to move without plans. He wasn’t willing to risk it. He could be patient. It was something he was good at. While he waited, he and Bo would make some careful inquires and wheedle their way under her skin until she confided in them.
“I’m not going to shrug and walk away, Shelby. I think you’re worth a little patience. We aren’t going to change our minds about you,” he said with a smile. Standing up, he nodded at her. “Have a good night, Shelby. Lock up behind me.”
As he walked down the short hall and descended the stairs to the front entrance hall, Dalton considered talking to the twins to find out what they knew about her, but decided to try a buddy first. The less he involved their bosses, the better off they would all be. If worse came to worse, the twins had connections as well. He’d use his first.
After locking the front door to the building, Dalton walked down the gravel road toward their apartments over the store. He needed to get some rest. Talking to Bo in the morning wasn’t going to be fun. His friend wasn’t going to be happy with what he had set into motion one bit, but he knew it would work for both of them and for Shelby once they figured out what was going on with her.
The second he stepped into the common living room, Bo’s door opened with him standing in just a pair of jeans he hadn’t bothered to fasten or zip. He looked—haunted.
“Oki napi,” he said by way of greeting.
“Tsa aanista’piiwa? What is it?” he asked.
“Where have you been?” Bo asked.
“I went to talk to Shelby.”
“Sa.” Bo ran a hand over his face and stepped back, a sign he wanted Dalton to come inside.
Dalton guessed they were going to talk now instead of in the morning. He stepped into Bo’s room and the other man hit him right in the face, knocking him on his ass. Dalton shook his head once and wiped the blood from his mouth and just sat there.
“I guess I deserved that,” he said.
“You had no right to go over there and apologize for me. I can do that myself. And I’m sick and tired of you following me everywhere I go.” Bo stalked in his direction once again, stopping a foot from Dalton’s boots. “Get up. We need to settle this once and for all.”
Dalton didn’t budge. Yes, they did need to settle things between them but not with their fists. He continued to look up at his old friend and licked his busted lip. The metallic taste of his own blood did little to settle his stomach.
“I said get up!” Bo snarled.
“We can’t fight right now. It’s after one in the morning and we’ll wake people up. If you still want to go at it in the morning after chores, I’ll oblige you, but not right now.” Dalton rested his wrists on his knees and watched Bo.
The other man’s heavy breathing said that he was fighting with himself already. Anger and rage when let out only made one weaker by lessening their control. Bo was never out of control. Dalton had been right to move forward with this. Bo was on the verge of losing his sanity and just maybe his soul. There was no way he was going to let either happen without one hell of a fight.
“Sit down and let me tell you what we talked about. Might as well have all the facts so you can be well and truly pissed at me when we fight, old friend.” Dalton scooted back some until his back was braced against the door.
Bo shook his head but sank to his knees then relaxed into his standard form of sitting with his legs crossed, old style. Years of guilt, shame, and despair had ravaged his friend’s face until it no longer held much of the old Bo. Before he had been Bo Brave Bear, and then once he’d taken off, he’d adopted Enkoodabaoo or One Who Lives Alone. The change had been devastating to Dalton when it wasn’t his friend’s fault at all, but his for not telling him before he’d left for his last tour. He would regret that for the rest of his life. Now however, he had a chance to make things right for all of them. He just had to convince his friend that his life wasn’t over and that he hadn’t been to blame for what had happened. This was a long time coming and he wasn’t putting it off any longer. Bo was ready to hash it out now. He’d reached the end of his fighting abilities and wasn’t able to hold out any longer.
“My friend. It wasn’t your fault she took her own life. It was her decision alone. I knew she was cheating on me and she knew that I knew, but I was ignoring it until I would be home for good and could address it properly. I was a fool to think things could continue as they had. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault.” He stared hard into the other man’s eyes. “I alone am to blame. We need to speak of this then put it behind us forever.”
“Words will not bring back a dead wife or clear a long memory,” Bo said quietly.
“They can put what was thought wrong back to right. Listen to my words and see my heart, brother. Our blood mingles and our spirits follow the same guide. The bear will see us through. You must listen to him with my words. I speak only the truth as is tradition between us. It has been too long since we have spoken our hearts. Will you hear me, Bo Brave Bear?” he asked.
His friend jerked at the use of his old name. Names were sacred and many of their names were never spoken aloud once given. To evoke his name, Dalton had called to his old friend to remember. Now all he could do was speak and pray that Bo would listen with his heart and pay attention to his words. Once they finished, he would either have his old friend back, or have lost him forever. Bo had begun spending much too much time alone again and Dalton feared he would walk away one day and never be found again.
Chapter Five
Dalton had said his old name out loud and bid him to listen. Bo wasn’t sure if the pain he felt in his chest was from the use of his name or from the opening of his heart to hear. He no longer knew how long it had been since he’d buried Dancing Doe, but it had been long enough that he had feelings for another woman. It both worried him and scared him. He wasn’t worthy to woo a woman. He had nothing to give her and had already proven himself a poor protector by allowing his best friend’s wife to kill herself.
“Do you hear me, Bo?” Dalton asked in a soft yet strong voice.
“I hear you, Crazy Bear,” he returned.
“Shelby is a pretty woman and she’s attracted to you. You’ve already made it clear that you’re attracted to her,” his friend said, lapsing back into a more relaxed voice.
“It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have lost control like that,” he said shaking his head.
“It wasn’t a mistake, Bo. It’s time to move on. I know you loved she who we don’t speak of. I did, too, but she is gone and had been gone long before she killed herself. I should have talked to you before I left on that last deployment. I knew she was not faithful, but I should have talked to you about more than that,” Dalton told him.
“What do you mean?” Bo didn’t like the feeling he was getting.
Dalton looked down at his hands then back to Bo. The other man’s eyes glistened with what he thought might be unshed tears. What was his longtime friend about to tell him? Had he been unfaithful as well? He didn’t believe it. Dalton was as loyal as they came. The fact that the other man had followed him despite the hell Bo had given him, even picking up in the middle of the night and disappearing, spoke of this without words. No, it was something else entirely.
“I knew that you were in love with her almost from the
beginning. I sort of expected it when I married her.”
Bo couldn’t deny it without lying to his best friend, so he remained silent, aching that he’d not been able to keep his covetous heart from his friend.
“Don’t look that way, Bo. We were always attracted to the same girls in school and the fact that you didn’t date once I married told me again that we were destined to fall in love with the same woman. I knew this and yet I kept it from you and waited longer than I should have to approach you about it.”
“Had you done so, I would have denied it and shamed myself. I would have left so as not to feel as if I had your permission since you acknowledged my feelings for your wife,” Bo said. “You did the right thing. I was the one who screwed up. I shouldn’t have allowed her to believe that I was going to tell you of her unfaithfulness. It was not my business, and now you say you know all along. She didn’t have to fear you finding out. She didn’t have to die.” Bo pulled at his hair in renewed grief. Not because he still loved her, but because he was responsible for the death of another human being. It ate at him all over again.
“Stop it, Bo!” Dalton slammed his hand on the floor. “You did have my permission. I wanted us to share her. I waited because I wanted her to get used to me first then I waited thinking it would work better if we waited until my time was up to make it easier on everyone. I knew after the first time I returned from being gone longer than a few weeks that she was having trouble adjusting to being alone so much. But I knew you were watching out for her and would make sure she didn’t have trouble. If anyone should be upset it should be you at me. I knew you had feelings for her and left you to cope while trying to watch over her instead of telling you it was okay, that I was okay with you loving her.” Dalton dropped his head back against the door with a soft thud then did it again.
“Bo, I am the one who screwed up. Not you. I knew that you loved her and were trying to keep your feelings to yourself. I knew the next time I returned that she’d been unfaithful and that it hadn’t been with you because you would have met me at the door to confess and take the blame should I be angry. I’m sorry, my friend. I’m so damn sorry that I did this to you and to her. Her blood is on my hands. Not yours. Mine.”
