by Maia Dylan
Smiling her thanks, she settled into the chair the one with tattoos held out for her. She sat down and tried to find a position where she wasn’t actually touching one of them. Impossible to do given the fact that they leaned into her and sat so damn close. Rowena inhaled and almost closed her eyes at their scent. They smelled like spicy cologne, a hint of cedar, and man. Yummy, yummy man.
“So most of you know or have heard me rave like a maniac about her, but this is Dr. Rowena Whitley, from Dallas.” Faith introduced her with a flourishing wave of her arm that made Rowena feel like a prize on a game show. “And this beautiful woman beside me is her friend Angel.” There were smiles and hellos echoing around the table, but the three men immediately around her remained quiet. Oh they had said a warm hello to Angel, but Rowena noticed they had yet to offer her their names.
Then the one with the tattoo who sat on her right leaned in and locked his gaze with hers. Rowena felt her breath catch at the intensity that lingered there in his dark-green eyes. “It is very nice to finally meet you, Rowena.” His voice had a deep timbre to it that made her think about long sultry summer nights, trucks with large tailgates, and hot wild sex. “My name’s Wyatt Greyson, and these are my brothers, Luke to your left and Chase across the table.”
Rowena smiled slightly at each of the men in turn, noticing that although they might look very much alike, she could tell them apart quite easily. There were subtle differences in their expressions, but somehow she knew them on a completely different level that would mean she would have no issues telling them a part.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Rowena saw all three of them inhale. It was subtle but she saw each of them stiffen slightly, and if she wasn’t mistaken, Luke had just muttered damn under his breath. She had been thinking about changing her perfume for something less floral but from his reaction, she was going to keep it. She loved knowing that she affected them. It did wonderful things for a woman’s ego when she was able to turn the head of men a lot younger than she was.
The next few minutes were filled with ordering food and drinks and being welcomed by Cassadee, who charged over and hugged her and Angel as though they were long-lost sisters. She had heard all about Cassadee during her calls with Faith, but this was the first time meeting her. Faith had told her Cassadee had a few family issues that they had helped her through a few weeks ago. Rowena liked her immediately. She was bubbly and outgoing, but when a man across the room made a drunken pass at a young woman just trying to get to the bar, Cassadee took off with a speed and anger that told Rowena she was a badass, too! Whatever she said must have calmed the situation down and the drunken guy was shown the door.
Once things had calmed down, and her attention had returned to the table, she saw that the three Greyson brothers had their attentions completely focused on her again. “So, Rowena, you thinking about staying awhile in Grey River or just passing through?” Chase asked as he leaned over the table toward her.
“Angel and I are looking to relocate here.” No missing the happy grins from the men around her. It was flattering that they thought there might be a chance for something between them, but she was older and wiser, been there and done the younger man thing. It had been great in the bedroom, but not so great outside it! “We have an appointment to look at a property on the main street this afternoon.”
“Why that’s great, baby! We can’t wait to get to know you better, and having you here indefinitely is a damn dream come true!” Chase gushed but he must not have been paying attention to her reaction, or missed the fact that her eyes narrowed. “We’ll come look at the place with you, before you sign on with it. Make sure it’s OK and see if there’s anything that might need fixing.” Rowena’s eyes widened in shock at just how presumptuous this young man was. She looked at the other two and saw that they had a smug happiness about them, too.
“Why on earth would I need you to look at the property, Chase?” Rowena kept her voice calm, nothing to indicate the swell of anger that had started to swirl inside her. She knew that there was a misconception among most that red-haired people could be quick to ire, but in her case, it was very, very true. She had a quick-trigger temper typical of her Irish heritage. Rowena noticed that the conversations at the table had seemed to stop and even though no one was actually looking in their direction, she had the strangest feeling that the attention was all on them.
“Well, it’s an old house and there might be things that need repairing. You don’t want to get stung paying too much for it if there are things than need to be done to it. I thought you might want to have a ma—”
“Chase!” Faith suddenly leapt into the conversation, startling Chase into not finishing his sentence. And if he had been going to finish it the way she thought he might have, she saved him from a bloody nose as well. “It is amazing how articulate you are with both feet firmly in your mouth.” Faith frowned at him. The rest of the table all watched on with barely constrained glee.
“What! I was going to say ‘master builder’ look at it.” Chase held his hands up in surrender, but Rowena caught the glint of amusement in his eyes. She turned to look at Wyatt and caught him glaring at his brother. Well at least one of them had the sense to realize she was not amused.
“What my brother is trying to say”—Wyatt turned back to her—“is that we own a construction company in town and would be more than happy to assist you with any alternations you might require.” Rowena nodded. That sounded better, but there were still a few points she felt she had to make.
“Look, boys.” Wyatt’s eyes narrowed at her. Someone did not like being called a boy, huh? Too damn bad! “I think we need to settle a couple of things here. First, unless I missed the moments we have spent together getting to know each other and forming a relationship where endearments hold meaning, Chase, then I am not your baby.” Chase had the audacity to grin wider and wink at her. The little shit.
“Secondly, getting to know me better as a friend and neighbor is absolutely something we can do, but if you and your brothers are thinking of something a little more, shall we say, intimate? Then I’m sorry but that is just not going to happen. And thirdly, I can look at my own damn property and determine if it’s OK and what might need to be done to it. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” Luke growled from beside her. “But there are a couple of things you should know as well. Firstly, Chase is a born flirt, he usually addresses every woman he meets with an endearment of sorts, but I have never heard him call any one baby. So I think he was saving that one for you, so you’d probably best to get used to it. He is one stubborn son of a bitch.” When he smiled at her, she spotted a dimple on his right cheek. Well, shit. She had always been a sucker for dimples. Not wanting him to know she was affected, she narrowed her eyes at him. When she went to speak, Chase cut her off.
“Secondly, we are qualified builders and know what we’re doing, I was simply offering our assistance to look over the property before you invested in it, that’s all, ba—” Damn, he had that dimple, too. “Rowena.” When had her name ever sounded so sexy? It hadn’t been that long ago. When the hell was that?
“And, Rowena.” Oh yeah, that’s right. It had been whenever Wyatt or Luke had said her name. The way their tone dropped and the timbre became almost a caress across her skin. Rowena felt her heartbeat speed up and her breathing elevate as she got lost in Wyatt’s eyes. “We look forward to getting to know you. And when I say get to know you, we plan to get to know every damn thing about you. Because you are right about one thing. We do have a more, shall we say, intimate relationship in mind with you.”
Oh, Jesus, it had been too long since she had been with a man and her sex drive chose that moment to come roaring in with a “Sorry I’m late! Traffic’s a bitch!” and settled into her pussy, making her ache. She felt hot liquid drench her panties and knew she was in trouble. She had never had such a strong reaction to a man before, and to experience something so strong and so damn intoxicating as what her body was telling her sh
e was feeling for these three men was frightening.
Ever since Martin Baxter had turned her life upside down, she had always been thinking two steps ahead. She was a planner and an organizer of gigantic proportions. She never went into relationships without knowing exactly what she wanted out of it and what she was prepared to give. Here she felt completely out of her depth and she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that. So, in true Rowena fashion, when she felt a little out of her depth, she iced over. She drew her readily available custom-made ice-cold shield of indifference around her and took a quick breath to calm herself.
“Thank you, Wyatt, for someone of my age to find that three young men”—Rowena stressed the word young on purpose, and was pleased to hear she had her doctor voice on, quiet, calm and completely devoid of emotion—“find her attractive is quite flattering. However, it has been my experience that younger men simply see older women as a challenge. I can assure you that there is no challenge here you can win, just a very difficult road to travel.”
Wyatt held her gaze as he continued to stare into her eyes. “The funny thing about difficult roads is that they usually lead to beautiful destinations, and, Rowena, I think with you even the damn road would make for an interesting trip.” A waitress appeared with their lunch, effectively breaking the spell between the two. The others at the table must have realized that the verbal sparring that had been taking place at their end of the table had stopped, and an obvious silence had fallen over the table. Conversations started up almost immediately and Rowena turned to her plate. She didn’t quite know what to think about what Wyatt had said.
At his words, she had felt cracks appearing in the shield she had spent years creating and she was extremely worried about what that could mean. Putting it firmly to the side, she looked down the table to see Angel looking a little lost. Faith was trying to coax her into talking about herself. For Angel that would be the second-worst topic of conversation to engage in.
“So, Angel, tell us all about your baby?” Now, that would be the first. Rowena winced when Angel turned to her, letting her hair fall across her face to hide her expression, and Rowena saw panic fill Angel’s eyes. Angel used her long hair as a curtain to hide behind. Rowena had talked with her about it in their sessions and she was definitely getting better. She actually made eye contact now and again. But every now and then when she became overwhelmed or the discussion turned to something that she found difficult to talk about, she would turn back to hiding in her hair. Faith had a heart of gold and would be horrified if she knew she had caused Angel any pain. Rowena went to push back from off the table when Luke placed a hand on her arm, holding her in place.
“Faith, did you hear that Kyle and Grant Snow have been seeing Marcy from out at the diner?” Chase spoke from across the table, Faith turned her head to look at him so fast Rowena feared she might have strained something.
“Is that right?” Her eyes narrowed. “She is all wrong for them. Don’t get me wrong, she is a beautiful woman and a lovely person, but she is not the right one for them. Trent, invite them to dinner this weekend. That will give me time to—” She stopped speaking because Trent pulled her in and devoured her mouth. Ty laughed from the other side, looking on fondly as his brother effectively silenced their matchmaking wife. When they finally broke off, Rowena felt like fanning herself! Oh, good lord, that had been more passion than she had seen in… Yeah, nope, not going to put a number to that.
“Baby, what have we said about matchmaking with our friends?” Trent asked as his wife blinked to clear the lust glaze from her sight. Faith pouted, sat back in her chair, and scowled.
“It’s not matchmaking. It is simply having dinner with two friends who we haven’t seen in a long time.” Faith’s look became calculating. “While I’m here, AJ, perhaps we should have a chat about getting that session locked in for you guys, Cody, and Brendan to educate the other males in town. I have been very remiss in not getting that finalized.” Trent winced, and AJ, Sam, Cody, and Brendan threw their heads back in laughter and Ty began to growl. Rowena was about to ask what that was all about when the three men sitting around her also began to get a little uncomfortable. Oh, now she absolutely had to know what the hell that was all about.
“Goddamn it, Faith!” Ty’s face was thunder but his eyes flashed with devotion. “You can’t keep throwing that in our face. We have a deal and we will get to it as soon as we can. There has been a little bit going on around here lately you know. Outwitting Julius and his people took some planning. Not to mention there have been Binding Ceremonies coming left, right, and fucking center!” Faith and Ty spent the next thirty seconds staring at each other and Rowena had the distinct impression that the two were arguing silently. Then Ty grinned wickedly and plucked his mate up from her chair and threw her over his shoulder. Faith squealed and then giggled like a teenage girl. “Trent, invite the fucking Snow brothers to dinner on the weekend. Grab the bill and let’s get the fuck out of here.” And with that they were gone, a grinning Trent striding along in their wake.
Rowena looked around the table to see all the males laughing and shaking their heads at their friend’s antics. She on the other hand felt like she had missed the punch line of a great joke that had everyone around here rolling in the aisle. Angel was looking just as lost.
“Dr. Whitley? Rowena Whitley?” a man’s voice asked, and she turned to see a man standing behind her.
“Yes?”
“Hello! My name’s is Jason Evans. We have been communicating via e-mail regarding the property on Grange Street.” He smiled as he stepped forward, hand outstretched. Rowena was about to smile and stand to shake his hand when a growling noise seemed to come from all around her. Frowning, she looked at the Greyson brothers and noticed that they were all glaring at the real estate agent, who had stopped in his tracks. Oh God, save her from jealous children. Ignoring them completely, she stepped in and shook his hand.
“Nice to finally meet you, Jason. Thanks so much for coming and meeting us here. Angel and I are really looking forward to seeing the property.” Rowena turned to grab her purse from the back of her chair and walked straight into Wyatt. She inhaled sharply, which brought his scent into her lungs and made her mouth water. He smelled delicious! Her eyes met his and she thought she saw them flickering blue before they settled to his usual dark green, and in that moment she knew she was in real trouble. Her body wanted this man and his brothers, and wanted them in the worst way.
“If you need anything, Rowena, all you need to do is call.” Wyatt’s voice was pitched low and Rowena felt her nipples peak, and her pussy quivered for the second time. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her temple and Rowena closed her eyes at the feeling of having him so close to her. When he released her and she opened her eyes, Luke had taken his place.
He slid a business card into her hand. “Call if you need anything or find anything you think needs doing in that house, OK?” Luke’s voice was just as intense and the timbre of it flowed over her, making her shiver. He suddenly shot her a knowing grin, which had her narrowing her eyes at him, but she didn’t stop him or pull back from him when he leaned in to press a kiss to her temple as well. Luke stepped back to the table and she turned to head out when Chase was suddenly right in front of her, and true to his nature and her initial thought that he was going to be trouble, he pulled her into his arms, dipped her backward, and had her gripping his shoulders.
“Call us anyway, baby.” He gave her a smacking kiss right on the lips that took her by surprise. “Otherwise I’ll have to camp outside your place until I know everything is OK.” He winked at her, plopped her back on her feet, and walked back to his side of the table. Rowena found herself standing there with a bemused smile on her face, clutching her purse to her chest. She heard a distinctly feminine giggle coming from beside her, and saw Angel giggling into her hand beside her.
“Oh, hush up you.” She glared at her friend but had to fight the grin she felt forming. Then channeling he
r aunt Hilda, the haughtiest woman that had ever walked the earth, she turned to a grinning Jason Evans and said, “I do apologize for keeping you waiting, Mr. Evans. Shall we go?” Then head high and ignoring the sniggering behind her, she made her way through the restaurant to the exit. She would have bet money that the reason her ass was tingling was because of the hot stare of three men enjoying the way she walked away. She blamed the spark of heat through her chest on her lunch, despite not having even finished it.
* * * *
Luke watched Rowena’s ass move within the firmly fitted jeans she wore and had to bite his lip to keep the moan in. Damn, that woman was the best damn view in the world when she walked away from them. He looked to the bond that had snapped into place when they had first scented Rowena in the bar, and felt a huge rush of joy at seeing it, stretching out from them, to their mate. He sensed confusion and no small amount of hesitation from her, but there was definitely a healthy dose of attraction there, too.
Luke turned back to the table and took a swig of his beer, ignoring the shit-eating grins of the four already mated and bound men sitting at the other end of the table.
“So, are you going to say anything or just sit there?” Cody asked as he leaned forward. “Come on! You guys just felt the Quickening for Rowena and are sitting there thinking about how you are going to get her to claim your hairy asses as her mates.”
Chase flipped him the bird. “We all know who around this table has a problem with a little extra body hair, Cody, and it sure as hell ain’t me and my brothers. I got one word for you, Cody, my friend… wax!” That set them off laughing and heckling each other and Luke couldn’t help but smile. It sure was great being a pack. After a few minutes and some serious smack talking, the conversation turned back to their mate. Luke felt a tremor of pleasure flow through his body at the thought of that word. He had often sat and wondered where their mate was and had thought it might be years before she graced them with her presence, but to find her at twenty-seven was a damn gift from God as far as he was concerned.
