by Rye Hart
My pussy tightened, and my head flew back as I cried out. Quinn's mouth moved to my nipple, lightly sucking as I came hard once more, on top of Bennett. My body was shaking as Bennett held me down on his cock, and with one last deep thrust, he too filled me up with his seed.
I collapsed this time, falling beside Bennett and Quinn pulled me close to him, spooning with me. Bennett turned over and held me from the front, kissing my forehead as all three of us struggled to breathe. My eyes fluttered open and shut, feeling heavy. Without talking about what had happened, I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, surrounded by the two men who'd protected me earlier.
The surreal feeling of the situation began to fade and was replaced by a feeling of contentment. Of satisfaction. I'd been searching for some affirmation of life, and I'd found it between these two men.
And I had to admit – I felt safer than I had in a very long time.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - BENNETT
Not the evening I had planned for us, but as I stared down at Hailey sleeping soundly beside me, I wasn't sure I regretted a thing. Quinn was sleeping with her with his arm wrapped around her waist as if he was intent on keeping her safe even while they slept. I had the feeling Quinn really cared for her – as did I. But I got the impression that with Quinn, it went deeper than just the sex and he held onto her almost protectively.
I should have felt guilty for fucking her then, but I didn't. And I should have felt incredibly weird that my brother and I had shared her. But I didn't. I'd wanted Hailey since that first time we talked in my truck all those years ago. The quiet, bashful girl who had no idea how beautiful she really was.
At the time, she'd been too young for me. Seeing her again all these years later though, I'd been blown away. She'd grown more beautiful and more confident in herself. Two things that I couldn't deny attracted me to her. I'd honestly only wanted to get to know her better. To see if we connected. And as I looked down at her naked body, all I could think was that apparently, we had. At least on some level.
I heard the front door open and shut downstairs and felt a jolt of adrenaline tear through me. I scrambled quickly to find my pants, waking Quinn up first.
“Shit, are her parents home?” he whispered, his face a mask of fear.
“Yeah, I think so.”
We both pulled on our pants, not even having a moment to talk about how weird this whole situation was. We'd just shared a girl. I had never in my life done anything like that with my brothers. Doing something like that had honestly, never crossed my mind. But something about the situation, in that moment, just felt – right. I couldn't explain it – and didn't have the time to analyze it – but, something in the way everything had unfolded felt natural.
Hailey's eyes fluttered open and saw us getting dressed, and she sat up. A look of hurt crossed through her eyes and I realized that she probably thought we'd gotten our rocks off and were bailing on her.
“What's going on?” she asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
“Your parents,” Quinn said, leaning down to kiss her nose. “They're home.”
Although the hurt melted away, it was replaced with something close to panic. With wide eyes, Hailey hopped from the bed and started scrambling for her bra and shirt. I found the bra, Quinn found the shirt. We tossed both at her at the same time as we heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
Hailey looked at both before tossing the bra under the bed, throwing on her sweater and pulling her leggings up, nearly tripping until I managed to catch her.
“Careful,” I said with a laugh.
When the knock came, we were all three dressed and sitting on her bed again. Everything looked perfectly normal and perfectly innocent. For the most part.
“Hailey?” her mom said.
“Yes?”
“Can I come in, please?”
We all looked at one another and tried not to laugh, Hailey hushed us. It was hard to not think we were back in high school all over again.
“Uhh, sure,” she said. “It's open.”
The door opened, and panic hit me. What if it was obvious – Hailey's hair was a mess, falling loose from her ponytail now, and Quinn had a guilty look on his face. I tried not to meet her mom's eyes at all, feeling like there was no way I could after what we'd done with her daughter – no matter how amazing it felt to us at the time.
Ada Roberts didn't have a good look on her face when she stepped inside. In fact, she looked positively grim, which sent a stab of fear into my heart again. Something had happened – and it wasn't that she'd figured out we'd just had the strangest threesome I'd ever experienced in my life. Something was genuinely wrong.
“Honey, I have some bad news,” she said, sitting on a chair across from the bed. “Leo has already posted bail and has been released. He's already out there somewhere.”
Hailey's face fell. Her hands were clenched in front of her, and although she forced her fists to open, she started wringing her hands.
“Already?” she managed to choke out.
“I'm afraid so,” her mom said. “We can go down to the courthouse and file a restraining order –”
“A restraining order won't do anything,” Hailey scoffed. “Not with someone like him. He laughs at things like that.”
“It's all we can do, Hailey,” her mother said.
Quinn spoke up. “Hailey, would you feel more comfortable at our place?” he asked with a seemingly casual shrug. “Leo wouldn't know to look for you there. And you'd have the three of us to protect you if he did.”
I nodded. “I actually think that's a great idea.”
She looked at Quinn, then at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“It wouldn't be a problem?” she asked. “I don't want to impose.”
“Not in the least,” Quinn said, taking her hand in his.
He stared deeply into Hailey's eyes, and for a moment, it felt like they were the only two in the room.
I cleared my throat and said, “We'd love to have you, Hailey. We have a fourth bedroom that's empty. It used to be our parent's before they moved out. You're more than welcome to stay there.”
I half expected her mother – a conservative woman from the south – to nix the idea immediately. Her daughter staying with three guys? The horror. The scandal around town. But when I looked over at Mrs. Roberts, she was surprisingly, nodding her head.
“I think that sounds like a great idea. You'll be safe there,” she said. “You are such good, kind boys.”
I looked away, remembering that perhaps she shouldn't trust us with her daughter, but Hailey was already on board with the idea. She smiled, wiping away the tears.
“I think it's a great idea,” she said. “At least until Leo gives up and leaves town.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - CASON
I was in the living room when I heard the door open. Voices pulled me away from the game on TV and made me look, my eyes wide when I heard a female voice. A familiar female voice.
Hopping up from the sofa, I made my way to the foyer to meet Quinn and Bennett – and they weren't alone. Hailey was with them, carrying an overnight bag. I cocked an eyebrow at my brothers, not knowing what in the hell was happening.
“Hey, Cason,” Hailey said, some rosy pink coloring in her cheeks as she looked at me. “Your brothers said I could stay here for a bit.”
“Sure thing,” I said. “Not that I mind. Like, at all. But, any particular reason why?”
Hailey looked down at her feet, and Quinn took her hand, giving it a squeeze. I had an idea already, but I had hoped that I was wrong. After the other night, I thought perhaps Hailey and I might have been developing some chemistry between us. But now, as I looked at her standing with Quinn, I worried that I might have been mistaken about it.
“It's a long story,” Bennett said. “We can explain over dinner, if Hailey is up for it.”
She nodded.
“Let me show you to your room,” Quinn said.
He took Hailey down the hall to our par
ent's old room. Bennett followed, so I did too. I was confused and had no idea what was going on. So, I wanted to keep an eye on things, hoping there was another explanation to all of this.
“Here you go,” Quinn said, flipping on the light. “Home, sweet home for a little while.”
Our parents hadn't been back to visit in a while. They only came back for major holidays, most of the time expecting us to come visit them in Florida. The room was in pristine condition though, and was still decorated for them. Thankfully, our parents had decent taste in decor.
The walls were a light, powder blue with a white trim. Navy and white bedding made up the Cal-king sized bed, with more pillows than any one person should ever need. An empty dresser, a walk-in closet and private master bath were also at Hailey's disposal.
It was, by far, the best room in the house, and at different times, we'd debate who would move into it. Ultimately though, we kept to our own rooms, since none of us felt right about moving into our parent's space. Even if it did sit empty.
“Wow, this is really nice,” she said. “Better than any hotel room.”
Hailey placed her bag on the bed, and turned to us, her long, dark hair covering her shoulders and face. She wasn't wearing any makeup, yet her skin was so clear and porcelain white. Her green eyes were bright and vivid as she looked at the three of us.
“Dinner is ready,” I said, scratching my chin, still wondering what the hell was going on. “I can put out an extra plate. Didn't actually think Bennett would be here either, but there should be enough.”
“That would be great,” Bennett said. “We can help you setting the table and let Hailey get situated.”
As we left the room, I shut the door and waited until we were down the hallway and weren't likely to be overheard before rounding on my brothers.
“Okay, what the hell is going?” I asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed in front of me. “How did a date with Ben turn into the two of you bringing her home to stay?”
“It's a long story,” Ben said, rubbing his temples.
“Very long,” Quinn said with a sigh.
“I ain't setting up shit until I hear it, so one of you better start talking,” I said.
“Fine,” Quinn said. “So we were over there, and –”
“We?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Yeah, well, I went over to see her before her date with Ben,” Quinn said. “Didn't intend on sticking around, but shit went down.”
“What kind of shit?”
“Her ex,” Ben said. “He stopped by and things got ugly. And now it's more than obvious that Quinn was right. She was being abused.”
I looked at my brother's face and noticed some swelling in his cheek. A cut straight across it looked fresh.
“Really ugly from the looks of it,” I muttered.
“Yeah, it got violent,” Quinn said. “And the cops came, Leo was arrested and well –”
“Well what?”
My brothers shared a look. I could tell there was something they weren't telling me still. Something they were hiding. Quinn stared to speak, but Ben spoke up first and cut him off.
“We decided it would be in her best interest to stay here,” he said. “Leo is free on bail and he'd never think to come here. And if he did, well, there's three of us and only one of him.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
I waited for them to say something else, but they again, shared a look and then went on their way. Ben set out two extra plates on the table while Quinn put out more silverware and glasses. Neither of them was saying anything to one another, but there was most definitely a tension between them. “So, there's nothing else you want to tell me?” I asked as I walked into the dining room. “Nothing at all?”
Hailey's voice caught me off guard as she walked up behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, taking me by surprise.
“Cason, is it really okay if I stay here?” she asked. “Or will it bother you?”
After the other night, I wanted nothing more than for her to stay in our house. I turned and looked into her emerald eyes, pulling her in for a bear hug.
“Of course not,” I said. “I'm just curious why my brothers are acting so weird.”
Hailey didn't meet my gaze, but she looked toward them. “Guys, we should probably talk about what happened.”
“What happened?” I asked, staring down at her.
“Yeah, it's – well, it's awkward for all of us.”
“Sit down, Cason,” Bennett said.
I looked over at my brother. “Why?”
“Just sit down,” he said with a sigh. “We need to talk. All four of us.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - HAILEY
I stared down at my plate, a slab of ribs slathered in Driftwood's famous sauce, mashed potatoes and green beans. My stomach growled, but even though I was hungry, I didn't eat very much. I kept staring at my plate, however, as I tried to find a way to talk about what had happened and came up empty every time I tried.
Cason was out of the loop, and normally, I'd say what happened was none of his business. But I knew in my heart that me staying here would make it his business. Especially, in light of everything that was going on.
So, we'd told him.
“So, you three?” he asked, pointing at us as he spoke. “Are a thing now?”
“A thing?” Bennett asked, trying hard not to laugh. “I'm not sure what you'd call us, but yeah, the three of us – were intimate. And we're surprisingly cool with it.”
“You are?” Cason asked, this time staring at me his eyes wide and an unmistakable look of hurt lurking deep within them.
I shrugged. “I don't want to be thought of as a slut, but –”
Cason's face softened. “You'll never be thought of that way,” he said. “And whatever happened will stay amongst us. You have my word.”
I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently. “Thank you, Cason,” I said. “That means a lot.”
“I'm just trying to figure out what this means for everyone,” he said.
And I knew the question he wanted to ask, so I answered it for him.
“As far as what it means for us – I don't know just yet,” I said. I sighed deeply. “I just know that I'm into all three of you in one way or another. And honestly, if I had to choose, I couldn't do it. You're all just so amazing. It's an impossible choice.”
And I meant it too.
“It's not like we have to decide tonight,” Quinn said.
He piled in a spoonful of mashed potatoes onto his plate, shrugging. He seemed to be the only one eating, even though my stomach rumbled. I just had so much going on in my head, I couldn't imagine eating.
“Why don't we just give it a rest for the night?” he said. “Let Hailey get some sleep, clear her head, and just relax. She's had a rough night. There honestly is no need we have to decide anything tonight.”
I was so thankful for Quinn in that moment, and yearned to reach across and take his hand too. But he was too far away.
The others agreed, quickly changing the subject. Even though I could tell Cason and Bennett really didn't want to.
“Quinn and I are opening tomorrow,” Bennett said. “But I think someone should stay here with Hailey, so she's not here alone just in case Leo figures out where she is.”
“I'll be free,” Cason said. “I close, remember?”
“You okay with that, Hailey?”
“Of course,” I said, smiling at Cason. “Why wouldn't I be?”
“We don't have any frogs to dissect,” he teased, winking at me, “but I'm sure we'll find something to keep us busy.”
“Ah, biology class,” I laughed.
“You were the only girl not squirming,” he said. “I'll never forget that. You handled it way better than I did.”
We shared a smile, and I had to admit – of all the McCormick men, I always imagined that Cason and I would have been the best match. Even now, I couldn't deny that I was attracted to the
youngest McCormick, the one who geeked out with me in bio class all those years ago.
***
“Jenn, when did you realize you were – uhhh,” I closed the bathroom door behind me and made sure to whisper the last bit into the phone, “pregnant.”
“WHAT?!?” my best friend wailed. “No freaking way. Hailey, I'm on my way over there right now--”
“I'm not at home,” I said, feeling incredibly sheepish and insecure.
“Where are you?”
“The McCormick’s house,” I said, biting my lip as I sat down on the toilet.
“What in heaven's name are you doing there?” she asked. “Please tell me that one of those handsome studs is the father.”
“I'm not even sure I'm pregnant, Jenn. It was just a question,” I said. “And it's a long story, sis. I'm going to be staying here for a bit.”
“I'm already heading out to my car,” she said. I heard her talking to someone in the background – probably her mother – about watching the kids. “I'll be there in five minutes.”
She hung up and I stared at the phone for an eternity, totally not believing she had hung up on me. I wanted her input though, because I'd already Googled all the symptoms of pregnancy, and went down the checklist. I could mark almost all of them off.
But I knew there was a big difference between being a Google doctor and talking to somebody who'd actually experienced it firsthand. Which was why I'd called her in the first place – not to give her gossip fodder.
Still, the checklist of symptoms continued rattling around in my head. Morning sickness? Check. Of course, I was sick more than just the morning, so maybe it was a stomach flu. Late period? Check. A week late. I kept assuming it was just stress, but now? I wasn't so sure. Each day I checked, and each day I came back with nothing left to show.
A knock at the door pulled me from my mental checklist and sent a bolt of adrenaline through my veins.
I opened the bathroom door and called out, “Yes?” to Cason in the hallway.
