The scent of roast meat wafted from the kitchen as he neared the house. He quickened his steps, discarding his dirty boots and socks in the utility room along with his T-shirt.
“Something smells good.”
Kiera turned away from the counter, a smile spreading across her face. “Joe.” She took two steps toward Sly, obviously intending to kiss him.
Lie. Pretend to be Joe. The temptation slipped into his mind, furtive like a cat burglar. Her lips were mere inches from his when he blurted, “I’m Sly.” He took two hasty steps back, his heart racing as if he’d run a mile sprint.
“Shit,” Kiera said, the color fleeing from her face. “I thought— I’m sorry.” She backed away, putting the counter between them. “Din… Dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Why don’t you go and have a shower?” She fixed her attention on the flowers she was arranging in a vase.
“Yeah. Okay.” Sly forced himself to turn away when he really wanted to grab her by the shoulders and lay one on her.
In the bathroom, he flipped on the shower and rapidly stripped. He started to get into the shower, frowned down at his erection and backtracked to shut the door.
Sly stepped under the water, barely flinching at the cold water. He gripped his cock, idly stroking while his mind raced. No matter which way he looked at the situation, he had to do the right thing. Back off and let Joe court Kiera. There was no doubt in his mind Kiera would become his sister-in-law. Part of him was pleased Joe had found someone while the other part of him wanted to have a childlike tantrum because he felt squeezed out and alone.
Sly pictured Joe and Kiera the way he’d seen them the previous night. Traditional, missionary position. Joe pumping deep, his muscles flexing while Kiera clutched him close, bucking and writhing beneath his brother. And the sounds… Hell, the sounds of them fucking, the breathy moans. The slap of flesh on flesh…
He ducked his head under the water then pressed his left hand against the tiles of the shower stall. His right hand continued the measured stroke and massage of his cock. It didn’t take long with the memories flickering through his mind like a raunchy, porn movie. His balls drew tight for the first time in months, the ache of arousal both pleasurable and a relief.
A snort of private laughter erupted from him. He could get it up after all. He squeezed his dick to a point shy of pain where he found the greatest pleasure. Another sequence of pictures flickered through his mind, this time founded in imagination. Three lovers writhing together on a bed. Him. Joe. Kiera pressed between them.
His hand moved faster, catching the underside of his dick with each pass. Need built as he imagined his cock encased in the tight, swollen heat of Kiera’s pussy, her blue eyes glittering with need, pleading with him.
The tingle in his balls morphed to something bigger. Better. He lost himself in the mindless pleasure, the breath squeezing from his body with his agonized groan. Semen erupted from him in long, almost painful spurts against the tiles.
Gradually, he came to himself, his knees embarrassingly weak and his cock spent. Sly picked up the soap and rubbed the bar across his chest. A distinct floral scent rose within the tepid steam. It was a vast improvement on the plain-brand, prison soap. He didn’t even care if friends or family teased him about a girlie fragrance. Life was about choices. He’d had his taken from him, and now that he possessed his freedom, he didn’t intend to sit back and let life pass him by.
If Joe and Kiera wanted him in a relationship with them, he’d accept. If not, he’d stand back and wish them well. Other fish swam in the sea. All he needed to do was find them.
* * * * *
Joe stepped into the utility room, savoring the scent of cooking meat. Along with physical hunger for food came a mental hunger for his woman. Barefoot, he prowled into the kitchen, pausing for a second to admire her. Tonight she wore her black hair tied back in a ponytail, the heat from the kitchen bringing a flush to her cheeks. She wore a plain blue T-shirt and tight denim shorts that enticed a man to touch.
“Joe?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Sly came in earlier and I almost kissed him. I’m sorry. I feel stupid.”
Joe paused midstride to scrutinize her more carefully. “Almost?”
“Sly told me he wasn’t you.”
The tension seeped from Joe. “Come here. It’s okay, babe.”
She set the wooden spoon she held aside and almost ran to his side, burrowing against him. “I’m sorry.”
His heart twisted at her agitation, her rapidly beating pulse. “There’s no need to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He hesitated over what to say next. Truth. That’s what he needed. They couldn’t move forward with this between them. “Let’s talk.”
“All right.” She pulled from his embrace and started to walk away.
“Kiera?”
“Yeah?” She swiveled to face him.
“I want the kiss you almost gave Sly.”
A gamine grin darted across her face, lighting her irises with the colors of the sea on a clear, sunny day. “That, I can do.”
Joe wrapped his arms around her, dragging her scent deep into his lungs before lowering his head to devour her lips. As kisses went, it wasn’t gentle or wooing. It was a statement of ownership, and Joe accepted the truth already written in his heart. He wanted to keep Kiera, despite the complications. Time to tell her everything.
Footsteps sounded behind them. They slowed abruptly when Sly noticed them together. Joe waited, wondering what Sly would do. In the past, Sly would’ve passed himself off as Joe when confronted with a woman offering kisses. Curiosity filled him. Why had his twin confessed and backed off?
A cheerful whistle filled the silence, and Joe released his grip on Kiera to turn to face his twin. “Kiera and I need to talk. Would you keep an eye on dinner? We won’t take long.”
Sly let his gaze wander to Kiera before focusing on him again. “Sure. Half an hour?”
“That’d work.” Joe wove his fingers with Kiera’s and tugged her from the kitchen. Once they reached his bedroom, he pulled her inside and shut the door.
Kiera sashayed to the bed, sat then sprang to her feet. Her hands fisted at her sides. “Do you want to call off our agreement?”
“Hell no,” Joe said, his instant reply taking some of the starch from her. “Just the opposite. I want more from our agreement. I don’t intend to back away once your brothers go home. I want you, Kiera.”
Her bright smile lit the room. Her obvious relief eased some of the tension in his shoulders. He sat on the edge of the mattress, waiting for her to join him.
“I need to talk to you about Sly.”
“Yes.” She sounded cautious now, which told him rumors had reached her.
“Growing up, Sly and I were close. Very close.” Joe paused, worried about her reaction.
Coward, Sly taunted mentally.
Too true. Joe sucked in a deep breath and continued. “We shared everything, including our girlfriends. Sly was…is my best friend. We assumed when we came to take a mate we’d pick someone we both wanted, we’d mark her and live together.”
“You want to share me?” Her voice rose toward the end of the sentence.
“No, of course not. I’m telling you because I wanted to try to explain why it has been weird since Sly came back.”
“Does Sly want to share? Wait, why didn’t he kiss me when he had the chance?”
“You’ll have to ask him about the attack of conscience. Normally, if one of us met a woman and started dating her, we’d swap and she’d never notice. We haven’t done that with you. Sly realizes I’m serious about you.”
“Normally I can tell you apart, but today I was thinking about work. Sly appeared and I acted on instinct.”
“How can you tell us apart?” Joe asked, diverted by her confidence in knowing which twin she was speaking with. “Even Saber gets confused sometimes.”
“Sly has a harder edge than you. He looks more of a badass and his eyes
don’t soften when he sees me.”
“Parts of me don’t soften. They grow hard.”
“Lucky me.” She paused. “You smell a bit different, although that’s changing now that Sly uses the same soap and laundry powder as us.”
Joe scooped her up and settled her on his knee, cuddling her close.
“This sharing thing— I want to think about it before I decide if we take our relationship further.”
Fear jumped at Joe. He couldn’t lose her. He hadn’t told her he loved her. Hell, he couldn’t imagine letting her walk away. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you and Sly are close. You own this farm together and I don’t want to cause friction between the two of you. I’d like to get acquainted with Sly. Everything has happened fast. I’d like to live here as your girlfriend and lover and see how it works out. If there’s too much tension or we have problems…” She trailed off, and Joe didn’t like the silent implication.
Dammit, she was perfect for him, for both of them, if he were honest. The last thing he wanted was for her to leave. He’d make this work if it killed him, work at his jealousy and possessiveness. No way would he let Kiera leave.
Chapter Ten
One week later
Kiera stormed into the farmhouse after a frustrating day at work. Her toe throbbed where she’d dropped a wrench on it and her knuckles ached in concert because she’d managed to skin them while changing a flat tire.
She spied one of the twins preparing vegetables for dinner. “I can’t believe my brother.”
“Brothers can be a nuisance. I’d like to get rid of mine sometimes.”
Sly. His voice bore a husky note that differed from Joe’s. She grimaced at him, curling her upper lip to display her teeth. More relaxed around him now, she didn’t hesitate to continue her tirade. “Matthew finally deigned to reply to my messages for him to ring me. He still insists I marry William. I told him about the two thugs the other night. They work for William. We both know they’re William’s men, but he’s telling me I have an overactive imagination.”
“You and Joe are serious about each other. The two of you should seal the knot, do the marking thing and preempt your brother’s next strike. What about your other brothers? Do they agree with this match with William?”
“No, they’re on my side.”
“That’s a good idea,” Joe said from the doorway.
“That’s not the point,” Kiera said, her tone sharp with anger. “Matthew should consider my happiness. Instead he’s using me as a bargaining chip to save his own skin and pay off his gambling debts.”
“Only you can decide what to do,” Sly said.
Something in his tone told her he wasn’t merely talking about the situation with her brother. When did her life get complicated? All she wanted was to run her business and get on with her life. Instead, she faced problems everywhere she turned.
“What’s for dinner?” She headed for the fridge, wincing a bit when her sore toe rubbed across the floor tile.
“We’re having a barbecue outside tonight. Go have a bath.” Sly smirked at his brother. “Let Joe scrub your back while I do the hard work.”
Joe ambled closer. “Go.” He nudged her away from the fridge. “I’ll bring you a drink.”
“A glass of wine,” she said. A bath was a good idea and the warm water might ease the throb in her toe.
Joe waited until Kiera left before grabbing a bottle of white wine from the fridge. “Do you want a beer?”
“Please,” Sly said.
“Thanks for dispensing the advice. I’d marry her in a minute if she’d have me.”
“I don’t blame you. Ambar was telling me she comes from a wealthy family,” Sly said.
Joe scowled. He didn’t give a fuck about Kiera’s finances. “She doesn’t talk about her background much. I don’t care, so I didn’t push her to tell me everything.”
“I would’ve done the same,” Sly said. “Go spend some time with your woman while I finish dinner.” He checked his watch. “You have an hour.”
Joe handed his brother a chilled beer while giving Sly a swift man hug. “Thanks.”
With a wineglass and his beer in hand, he ambled down the passage to the bathroom and entered.
“Matthew isn’t going to give up on this idea,” she said.
“Probably not.” He handed over the wine and set his beer aside.
She pulled a face at his answer. She’d added bubbles to her bath and they frothed around her stomach with a couple of soapy patches clinging to the curves of her breasts.
“God, you’re beautiful.” Joe pushed the words past the knot in his throat. He wanted to scoop her from the bath, throw her on the nearest bed and lose himself in her luscious body, bathe his cock in her tight, liquid warmth and never let her go.
“Why are you staring at me? Do I have grease on my face?”
He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose while running his fingers across her rib cage, tickling her.
“Joe!” Wine splashed over the top of her glass, hitting one breast and trickling down into her cleavage.
“Hold still.” Joe followed the path of the wine with his tongue. “It tastes better on your skin.” He watched her reactions, let his mouth drift closer to her nipple.
“I didn’t spill wine there.”
“Are you sure?” His lips closed around her pouting tip. Their gazes held and he saw her swallow as he drew on it, gently at first and gradually with more purpose.
“Maybe a little wine,” she conceded, her hand creeping up to cup his skull and hold him close.
His hand wandered down to stroke her hip. This wasn’t enough. His cock throbbed against his fly. This wasn’t nearly enough. Joe let her nipple pop free and rocked back on his heels to study her. “You can have a bath later.” He scooped her out of the bath and carried her to his bedroom.
She giggled as she bounced on the mattress. “Sly will have dinner ready soon.”
“Fuck dinner.” Joe started to rip off his clothes. “On your hands and knees.”
Kiera shot him an uncertain look then turned and faced the headboard.
“You’re beautiful.” He spoke the words, aware of the wealth of things he couldn’t articulate when it came to Kiera. Bubbles still clung to her skin along with droplets of water. He covered her from behind, using his knee to silently encourage her to spread her legs farther apart for him. He smoothed his hand over her butt while his gaze shot to the seam of her sex. Unable to resist, he stroked the velvety flesh. Teasing touches, designed to ready her for his possession. His cock pulsed, thickened. “You’re wet for me.”
“Always.”
“I wanted to tease you until we were both crazy. I can’t wait.” Joe positioned his cock and sank into her hot, wet flesh. Her pussy clutched his dick. Tight. Perfect. Joe slid deep and paused, squeezing his eyes shut as if to hold the pleasure inside him.
She laughed. “Crazy has its place.”
“Yeah?”
He set a measured pace, designed to tease both of them. Joe plastered his chest to her back and kissed her shoulder. Unbidden, his gaze locked on her marking site. His mouth ventured nearer to the pad of flesh. His tongue lashed out for a taste. Spicy. Addictive.
“Yeah,” she replied.
His shaft sank deep and his body hummed with the rightness of being with her, inside her. He kissed her neck, his attention sliding back to that pad of flesh. He sucked it while continuing to rock into her. Her pussy fluttered and she pushed back against him.
“Harder, Joe.”
Joe wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do harder so he sucked on her marking site again and increased his pace until he was hammering into her. The slap of flesh against flesh filled the bedroom and the scent of bubble bath combined with spicy sex. Joe wanted to come yet contrarily wanted to hold on to this feeling of right—the perfect fit of two lovers.
“Joe,” Kiera wailed, a trace of frustration in her voice.
�
��Shh.” He made the soothing noise and changed the angle of his strokes while reaching between her legs to stroke her swollen nub.
She shuddered, cried out, her pussy clasping his cock even more snugly. His tongue swept over her marking site. His hips bucked. He dove deep, fingering her clit until she came, bathing him in liquid warmth. Several hard thrusts tightened his balls to the point of pain. Grabbing her hips, he surged into her. The tight coil gripping him unraveled, and he bit down on her marking site.
Kiera let out a shocked cry and pushed her hips back against him, her pussy rippling around his cock. Blood poured into his mouth, sweet and magical. He came in an orgasmic rush, pouring himself into her with hard spurts. So much pleasure. So much.
Joe’s feline rolled under his skin, a lazy stretch of satisfaction. Joe stilled, realized his teeth still clasped her to him. He released her, obeying the instinct telling him to lap the wound clean. The bleeding stopped quickly, but each time he licked her, she shuddered, her pussy clutching his cock.
Joe pulled out of her, separating their bodies. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, aghast at his actions. He’d behaved like a caveman. Hell, he hadn’t asked. He’d taken.
Kiera turned to confront him, and he cringed, wondering how to face her when he’d acted no better than her brother, forcing himself on her.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
“You don’t mean that.”
His shoulders slumped. She was right. Sorrow wasn’t the main emotion flooding him at present. Elation took precedence by a long mile. She had every right to kick his arse from Middlemarch all the way to England. He forced himself to look her in the eyes. “You’re right. I’m not sorry. I want to keep you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “An ownership thing or do you love me?”
Shit, he’d pissed her off, her English accent very evident at present. Might as well jump in with both feet. “Both.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
“Yeah.” Her fingers played over the mark he’d left on her shoulder. Her eyes went big and she shuddered.
My Twin Trouble (Middlemarch Shifters Book 15) Page 15
