by Nadia Aidan
Teresa nodded in agreement as she let him help her out of the tub. They quickly dried off and dressed. Just minutes later they entered the kitchen together.
Jason smiled when they walked in. He was already fully dressed in a T-shirt and jeans.
“Good, you’re both up. I was just about to leave a note before I headed out.”
She didn’t miss the suggestive wink in his eyes and her cheeks heated as she glanced away.
“Where are you off to?” Jeff questioned as they both took a seat at the table.
“I want to take one of the horses out and ride around Cottonmouth to scope out the damage.” He looked at her then. “I was going to check on your place too—”
“I’ll come help you,” Jeff offered, already standing, but Jason shook his head, and with a firm hand on his shoulder, pushed him back down in his seat.
“No. Stay here and eat. It will take me an hour, two at the most. Besides, you know I like the peace and quiet when I’m out riding alone.”
Jeff nodded, and Teresa did not mistake the look that flickered between the two brothers. Jason was giving him time alone with her—time Jeff seemed to want, because he appeared almost relieved that Jason hadn’t insisted he join him.
“Well, keep your cell on you, just in case you need to call me,” Jeff said finally.
“I will.” He nodded. “But I should be fine. See you in a bit.”
Moments later, Jason slipped out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him with a resounding bang.
After Jason left, she and Jeff ate in silence. It was surprisingly companionable and not filled with the awkwardness she would have expected. It was probably because she felt so comfortable around him that she felt at liberty to probe him with a question that had nagged at her for a while now—far longer than last night.
“So, do you and Jason often share women?”
Done eating, Jeff was just finishing up the last of his coffee. His hand stilled in mid-air, and without taking a sip, he set the mug back down.
Silence lingered between them, a charged quiet stillness that wasn’t entirely strained, but neither was it comfortable as it had been before. Teresa fought the urge to fidget beneath Jeff’s measured gaze, the intensity of which she felt all the way to the tips of her toes.
“Not often,” he eventually replied, his attention never once drifting from her face. “But I think you already know that.”
Teresa started at the knowing tone of his whispered voice, her gaze clashing with his. She wanted to deny his statement, but when he sharpened his eyes on her, she remembered then that he already knew the truth.
“How?” She wanted to know. “I never confirmed my suspicions in my diary. I wasn’t even certain the rumours were true.”
He leant back in his chair, and for the first time since she’d posed her question, his entire body relaxed, his expression easing into a small grin.
“How did I know that you knew?” He chuckled. “I think that should be my question, but I always suspected that you weren’t ignorant of such knowledge. I often wondered if that was why you kept me at arms’ length.”
She shook her head. There were many reasons why she’d always kept him at a distance, but that wasn’t one of them.
“Besides, you’re BJ’s best friend. I would have expected her to tell you, although I’d hoped she wouldn’t.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because you were already wary of me. Because you were already suspicious of my motivations. I felt that knowing my brothers and I had shared women in the past would only add to my long list of transgressions in your eyes.”
His lips were curved into a slight smile, but the eyes which stared back at her were sombre, and she did not misread the uncertainty flickering in their depths.
He still wondered if his past further sullied him in her eyes. She would have laughed at that had he actually spoken the words aloud. She’d sucked off his brother while he’d fucked her. Throwing stones from her glass house just didn’t seem appropriate at the moment.
“To be fair, BJ never told me outright, but when you and your brothers bought up Cottonmouth and started coming here often, people began to talk. Between the gossip rags and small town chatter, I finally asked BJ point blank. I knew there was some truth when BJ never quite denied it and she could hardly look me in the eye. She’s never been a good liar…
“So did you sleep with her, too?” Teresa asked after a lengthy pause, finally giving voice to her long held suspicion.
Jeff’s gaze never wavered. “Yes.”
“You and Jason, just like with me—”
“Yes.” He leant forward to rest his elbows on the table. His entire countenance was a conflicting combination of amusement and apprehension. “We’ve all slept with both of our brothers’ wives, but you already knew that, too, didn’t you?”
“It—it was a rumour,” she stammered. “Though I always wondered—”
“But instead of the knowledge repulsing you, you were intrigued by it.” He returned his back to his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “It doesn’t bother you that we shared Jacob’s wife, Jackson’s too, and now you?”
His question gave voice to her innermost thoughts. It should have bothered her. It didn’t. Well, at least not the part about having slept with his brothers’ wives.
What caused a small knot to twist in her belly was the niggling voice in the back of her mind that warned her that this was a pattern. It would seem all the Downing wives were shared between the brothers…as if it was a rite of passage, of sorts.
The night before, Jeff had called her his woman. He’d even admitted this time was different…
“But you’ve shared other women besides your brothers’ wives,” she said, desperately grasping for straws, as if hearing this was a common occurrence would somehow diminish the importance of what had happened between them.
She was just getting used to the idea of having slept with two men, two brothers—the brother-in-laws to her best friend—who she would always have to look in the eyes, knowing that they knew. She wasn’t ready to acknowledge that what she and Jeff had shared actually meant something.
“Like I said, not often, but when we did it was mostly Jason and myself, rarely Jackson, and never Jacob.”
There was something about the way Jeff mentioned his last brother, his eldest brother, that begged her to question, “Why not Jacob?”
“Jacob was never a ladies’ man, so to speak. As the oldest, he’s always had a lot on his shoulders, so he had little time for relationships and on the rare occasion when he did get into one, it was always a serious, long-term affair.” Jeff’s grin took on an almost nostalgic glimmer. “He’s always been extremely possessive about the few women he’s ever committed to, and I’m sure that, had he realised he had feelings for Camille at the beginning of our arrangement, he never would have shared her from the start.”
“I take it the rest of you aren’t as possessive when it comes to your women, then? D-do… I—I mean, did you share BJ after she married Jacks—”
“No. And you’re wrong—” Jeff’s eyes hardened until the possessive glint now shimmering in his gaze was all she could see.
“The four of us are all possessive of our women when we stake a claim on her. Make no mistake, Red, you’re mine and Jason knows this. I allowed him to touch you only because I wanted you to fulfil a fantasy, and I wanted to be the one to give that to you, to share that experience with you. But after this week, once he’s gone, I will never share you with another man ever again.”
Chapter Seven
Teresa awoke the next morning, her eyes squinting against the bright glare of sunlight. The storm had completely passed through most of the southern gulf coast, including Hockley.
Like the morning before, Jason had already risen and was presumably starting on repairs around the ranch. Despite Jason’s assurances upon returning from his inspection of both ranches that the damage was minimal, Teresa was eager to return
to her home and see for herself. While she believed him, she saw no reason to stay at Cottonmouth another night, and had decided just before falling asleep that she needed a reprieve from the two men…Jeff especially.
Just recalling all the things the three of them had done last night suffused her cheeks with warmth.
When Jason had returned to the house, she’d experienced her first moment of uncertainty. Jeff’s words over breakfast had haunted her throughout the day. Once this week came to an end, he would never share her with his brother again, so she’d wondered if maybe what had happened between them had been a one-time encounter.
Teresa had soon learned she was mistaken.
“You’re nervous,” Jeff had noted as he slipped behind her, his hands settling on her shoulders. “Why?”
She’d been sitting on the couch across from Jason, while Jeff worked at the desk in the sitting room. They’d all been poring over the list of damages Jason had written down, and calculating the costs of repairs, but she’d barely managed to get through the first items on her list. Her gaze had kept darting between the bowed heads of the two men.
Before she’d answered, Teresa slid her tongue across her lips, wetting them after they’d gone dry from his question.
“I don’t know. I guess I just wondered…what’s next?”
Jeff’s brows had lifted at the same time he’d urged her to stand. With his hands around her waist, he’d pulled her flush against his hard, chiselled frame.
“What’s next?” he’d repeated.
She’d gestured helplessly between the two brothers, avoiding Jason’s eyes, which were now fixed on her. “You know, between us, the three of us. I mean. I’m staying another night and—”
“And you wondered if last night was just a one night experience.” His lips had quirked into a grin. “As I said earlier…as long as Jason is here, he will have you, but once he’s gone”—Jeff’s eyes had hardened—“never again.”
The look in his eyes had stolen her breath—hot, hard, unrelenting…much like the owner of the possessive stare.
“I understand.”
“Do you, Teresa?”
Something had lurked in his voice, echoed by the swirling darkness in his eyes. Somehow she’d understood the meaning behind his words, his stare, and with gentle fingers, she’d smoothed the creases in his brow.
“Trust me when I say I do. I do not desire Jason, not in the way I desire you.” It wasn’t the declaration he’d wanted, she could tell by the disappointment which flickered across his face.
As for her, it hadn’t been an entirely honest declaration either. It wasn’t just that she didn’t desire Jason in the way she longed for Jeff. In her eyes, Jeff was incomparable. Her body didn’t respond to any man the way it responded to him, her heart didn’t beat for any man—had never beat for any man, not even her ex-husband—the way it now beat for him.
She’d swallowed the gasp which threatened to spill forth at the realisation that she had more than just feelings for Jeff. If she didn’t know any better, she would think she was starting to fall for him, and hard.
But she could never, would never, tell Jeff that…not ever. She simply didn’t have the strength to give her heart to another man, especially a man like Jeff who had more power than anyone before to hurt her.
Pushing aside emotions Teresa had never expected to feel again, feelings that were wholly unwelcome, she’d lifted on her toes and clasped Jeff’s face between her hands. Pulling him close, she’d kissed him deeply, passionately, knowing she could never give Jeff her heart—only her body, and only for this moment.
In the morning, when she rose, she would walk away, put this night behind her, and somehow bury her feelings, her longings for Jeff, and find a way to return to her normal life. It was almost ludicrous to think it, because she had a hunch that she and Jeff would never be able to return to what they’d once been, not after the two nights they’d shared.
But Teresa hadn’t wanted to dwell on an uncertain future that had yet to come, so she’d firmly pushed those thoughts aside and instead poured every ounce of herself into that moment, until the kiss she shared with Jeff had burned out of control, setting fire to their entire bodies.
It hadn’t been long before Jason had joined them, and right there in the middle of the living room was where the two brothers had made love to her until it grew dark and Jeff carried her to the bedroom.
Even now, just thinking of all they’d done the night before set off a firestorm of desire which clawed its way through her belly, inflaming every inch of her skin. Her breasts still tingled where Jason had fucked her, his cock slipping between the twin mounds until he’d finally climaxed against her chest. Teresa slipped her hand between her legs, touching the place that still ached from the rough pounding Jeff had given her. He’d taken her in every position imaginable—on her back, her hands and knees, straddling his hips. It was as if he could not get his fill of her, and her pussy now throbbed with the evidence of his voracious desire, although it was a pleasant soreness.
Even though he was fast asleep, it was as if he knew her thoughts were of him. Jeff stirred beside her, drawing her gaze and dragging her back to the present and the matter at hand, which was removing herself from his bed and returning to her home. But when his leg slipped over hers, the coarse hairs tickling her smooth skin, Teresa found it almost impossible to remember her name as pleasure skated along the pathway of her thigh, arrowing straight to her traitorous pussy.
“Good morning,” Jeff rumbled out, the husky timbre of his voice as sensual as an intimate caress brushing across her tightening nipples.
What was wrong with her? She was supposed to be fleeing his bed, not falling once again under the spell of his magnetic charm. Yet everything about Jeff Downing awakened a sexual response in her. He’d barely touched her, but just to look at him—with tousled dark locks, his blue eyes heavy with sleep, his lips hitching into a seductive grin—every part of her responded to him. Her body yearned for his touch, as if he had not made love to her just hours ago.
It was shameful. It was the reason why she needed to get out of there now.
“Good morning,” she replied, as she slipped from the bed and wrapped Jeff’s shirt around her body. “I’m just going to shower and change and then I’d better get back to Westside.”
Jeff rolled out of bed, seemingly oblivious to his naked state, forcing Teresa to swallow down the lump clogging her throat as she waged a losing war with her eyes, which were under the magnetic pull of his nude body.
Hard muscle shifted beneath sun-bronzed skin as he reached down to gather his boxers and lazily slid them on, much to her relief. At least with him partially clothed she found she could breathe once again, even if her heart still beat a pulsing erratic tempo.
“I’ll go with you,” he said, the deep baritone of his voice drawing her attention to his face where she was greeted by knowing eyes, and a self-satisfied grin.
She ignored his smug gleam and shook her head. “Really, that’s not necessary. I can just walk ba—”
His expression hardened. “I’m going with you, Red,” he interrupted and she didn’t bother protesting further, because she was intimately familiar with the stubborn look that was now etched across Jeff’s face. She also realised how absurd it was for her to walk the less than three mile distance—although she did it often—when he could so easily drive her home in a matter of minutes.
She’d sounded ridiculous, but she could only think of escape, of fleeing back to her home—where she would be free of this overwhelming, pulsating attraction she shared with Jeff, where she could pretend the past nights hadn’t happened, that her feelings for Jeff hadn’t changed.
She had a hunch, however, that no matter where she ran, where she hid, she would never be able to escape the inevitable—that everything had changed between them, and he wasn’t about to let her forget it.
They quickly showered and dressed, and a half hour later, Jeff pulled his truck to a stop in
front of her home. Cutting the engine, he slid out from behind the wheel to join her as she crossed the distance to her front porch.
She’d told him there was no need for him to escort her inside her home, but as usual, he’d been stubborn and adamant. Once inside, he checked almost every corner to be sure it was all right for her return.
“I’ll be right back. I just wanna go check out your breaker box before we turn the power back on.”
Jeff was already out of the door and heading to the back of the house by the time she nodded. The lights soon flickered on and she started outside when she heard footsteps, thinking it was him.
Teresa drew up short when she caught sight of the advancing figure, only to soon realise it wasn’t Jeff.
“Blake, hi. What are you doing here?”
Her foreman easily closed the distance between them with his long-legged stride to tower over her.
Whether from a distance, or up close and personal as he was now, there was no denying Blake was a handsome man who exuded that California beach boy charm with his tousled sandy hair, sea-green eyes and sun-kissed skin.
Long ago, Teresa had acknowledged that Blake was an attractive man, but as Jeff returned and her gaze bullseyed on him, she also acknowledged that no matter how good-looking Blake was, he didn’t enthral her as Jeff did.
No man had the power to captivate her as Jeff Downing did.
As soon as Jeff rounded the corner, the two men locked gazes, and when Jeff climbed the porch steps to stand beside her, she noted the narrowed gleam in Blake’s eyes. She supposed it didn’t help when Jeff slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She could have pushed him away, she would wonder later why she didn’t—why, before her foreman, she’d allowed Jeff to so blatantly stake his claim on her.
“I just stopped by to see if you needed help getting things in order,” Blake stated, finally answering her earlier question as to why he was there.
“I think we got it covered,” Jeff replied baldly, before she could even get a word out. Pursing her lips into a tight line, she shot him a hard, sidelong glare, which he pointedly ignored, so she returned her attention to her foreman and smiled warmly.
