by Lara Jones
Looking toward the bathroom, she caught sight of the enormous closet that could easily be another bedroom. A yawn took her by surprise. She hadn’t realized she was exhausted until right then. She walked into the bathroom, disrobing as she went. When she was naked, she turned on the shower. She found a rubber band in her things the men had sat on the counter and jumped into the shower, washing and rinsing quickly.
Isabel dried off and then wrapped the towel around the upper part of her chest. The cream-colored towel was so large it hit her just above her knees. After brushing her teeth, she rummaged in one of the drawers in the bedroom for a nightgown.
It had been months since she was able to relax enough to read a book. She looked longingly toward the bookcase but knew she wouldn’t make it through a chapter before falling asleep.
It was only a moment after she lay down under the lightweight blanket before her eyes popped open and she rushed to the door to unlock it. What if Tommy had needed her and his knocks weren’t loud enough to wake her? He’d be terrified.
She cracked open the door and looked both ways as she listened carefully for the men. Isabel exhaled and walked quietly down the hallway toward Tommy’s room. If she didn’t check on him, she wouldn’t be able to go to sleep.
Relief flowed through her, and a soft smile touched her face. Tommy was deeply asleep on his side with a stuffed alligator stuck under his chin.
She relaxed, backed up, and closed the door quietly behind her.
“Ooommph.” Isabel’s breath left her as she turned, and her chest came in contact with what felt like a wall. She cut off a scream tearing up her throat when hard hands grasped her arms, and she instantly identified the scent that surrounded her. Royce.
“Easy there.” He bent at the waist to look into her eyes. “What are you doing? Did Tommy wake up?”
Isabel’s hands landed on his chest and stayed there. “What? No, no. He’s fine. I just wanted to check on him before I went to bed.”
He nodded once. “All right. Good night, honey.”
Isabel nodded but stood frozen in the middle of the hallway outside Tommy’s room. Isabel’s eyes were locked on Royce’s, and Royce’s eyes hadn’t stopped roaming over her body in the white nightgown.
He had an inkling that she didn’t realize how sexy her clothing was. She assumed he saw a plain white gown with ruffles in front, three-quarter sleeves, and the length that hit just below her knees. What he actually saw was how the hallway light shone through the thin fabric to silhouette her beautiful body. He was able to determine her nipples were oval and a dark pink. Ha, she’d probably freak if she knew he could see her nipples through the ruffles.
Royce’s hands tightened, and Isabel stiffened when she heard a man’s cough.
“What’s going on here? Everything okay?” Clay asked in a warm dark drawl as he maneuvered behind her and lay his hands on her waist.
Royce chuckled at the deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. “Nothing, she was just checking on Tommy, and now she’s going to bed.”
“It doesn’t feel like she’s going to bed.” Clay’s hands drift to her hips and back up in a light caress.
“Well, that’s what she said. Right, honey?”
Isabel continued to be frozen. The heat and intoxicating smells coming from these men were overloading her senses. It was impossible to take a full breath without drawing in their dark masculine scents. She stared at the middle of Royce’s chest in a white T-shirt while the men had a quiet, relaxed discussion about her.
“I don’t think she’s going to answer us. What do you think, Royce?”
Royce’s hands slid from her upper arms, one to her neck, and with the other he used the back of his knuckles to caress her upper stomach. “I don’t think she can. Can you, sweetheart?”
Both men waited for a moment.
Clay pressed his mouth to the other side of her neck, and his other hand slid around to cup her. “In that case, maybe we ca—”
The overwhelming ardent feeling they were triggering through her body shocked her by its intensity and jerked her back. “No. No, I really have to…”
Royce tipped his head to the side. “No?”
Isabel swallowed and tried pulling away from them.
Clay’s hands tightened on her hips. “Oh, wait, sweetheart. I don’t think we’re done talking.”
She bit her lip hard and took a sliding step to the side. “Oh, yes we are.”
Both men’s hands went to stop her movement, but she turned and scurried down the hallway to her bedroom before closing the door behind her.
“That was close,” Clay said and held a hand out flat, showing Royce the tremor he couldn’t control. His hand dropped to his side. “Jesus, if I don’t get in that woman soon, I’m liable to make the bad decision to try to change her mind, because I know we could very easily. She readily responds to us every time we touch her. But I know I’d end up regretting it, and she may never forgive me.” His fingers combed through his hair in frustration. “Hell. There’s no way either of us is going to take her choice away. I want her to come to us. It would be so much sweeter.”
Royce slapped his hand against Clay’s shoulder. “I know, man. I really don’t think it’s going to be a long wait. She was so close to the edge without us really touching her.”
“Good! Because I don’t know if I can wait hours, much less days to have her.”
* * * *
Lying in bed, Isabel took a deep breath and swallowed. She wanted to give in, but one tiny thread of logic was keeping her from giving herself to them. Why? She couldn’t figure it out. She went through all the reasons she could be with them and came up with a dozen. Discounting the situation she was in with Allister, she was unable to come up with any reason not to make a relationship with them. Not one.
She decided the only thing that held her back was the death of her husband a year ago. As much as she loved him, missed his hot physical presence beside her in bed at night keeping her warm and secure, he was gone. Now it was just her and Tommy. If things worked out with her situation and these men, they could be a good strong family. She’d have someone to take care of, help with her problems, be a male influence in Tommy’s life, and she would have all the loving she could ever want.
Isabel knew they cared for her and Tommy deeply, but didn’t know if they thought that marriage might be a possibility in their future. Did she really need marriage from them? Would they even ask? At this point, it didn’t matter to her.
They had become a large part of her world, and she couldn’t see her life without them, but she couldn’t forget the small possibility of her and Tommy having to leave. She couldn’t give up this chance to be with them.
A weight lifted off her chest she hadn’t known was there. Isabel was ready to tell them her decision but decided the morning was soon enough. The exhaustion she’d been feeling all day was rapidly taking her, pulling her down so quickly she didn’t have a chance to fight it.
Chapter Fifteen
Isabel looked up from where she stood by the stove making eggs for Tommy when Royce and Clay came through the outside door. “Good morning.” Isabel blushed, placed the plate of eggs before Tommy, and quickly turned back to the stove.
Tommy turned toward them with a mouthful of food. “Good morning.”
Royce smiled at the boy and then curved a hard-muscled arm around Isabel before placing a quick kiss on her neck. “Good morning to you, beautiful.” He laughed when she snorted as he moved toward the table where Tommy sat shoveling in fluffy scrambled eggs. “How are you, squirt?”
Tommy laughed and spewed eggs over the table. “He called me squirt, Mom.”
Royce waved Isabel down when she started toward them. “I got it.”
Royce chuckled and tried to wipe Tommy’s mouth with a napkin, but he couldn’t stop Tommy from laughing again at something Clay said. “Clay, let him eat.” Royce grabbed a rag by the sink and wiped up the little bits of egg Tommy had gotten on the table before
throwing the rag back into the sink.
“Do either of you want some breakfast?” She kept her gaze down.
Clay smiled at Isabel’s shyness. “No, we ate a few hours ago.”
Isabel’s head jerked up at the clock. “You were up at five?” Her eyes were wide in disbelief.
Royce chuckled. “Of course.”
Isabel faced them and waved the spatula wildly through the air. “Are you going to want me to get up then?”
Clay laughed at the disbelief and horror on her face. “No.”
“But I’m a light sleeper. If I’m sleeping between you, you’ll both wake me when you get out of bed in the morning.” Isabel sucked in a startled breath. Had she really just said that out loud? They hadn’t even talked about sleeping together yet. They just talked about sex.
Everyone seemed to freeze. Both men looked at each other then zeroed in on her with different degrees of arousal and elation.
Clay walked toward her, his intent clear in his gaze. Isabel held out both hands. “Wait.”
Clay froze. “Don’t you say something like that and think it doesn’t have ramifications.” He looked at Royce before sliding his gaze back to her. “If you’re thinking about being between us in bed, you’re ready to give yourself to us. Is that what you heard, Royce?”
“Yeah,” Royce said in a low, guttural voice. “That’s what I heard.” His eyes pierced hers. “That is what you were implying, wasn’t it?”
Somehow that didn’t sound like an actual question. Isabel turned and stirred the eggs she still had in the pan. Did she have the strength to let these men love her and be able to leave when she had to? The thought of having to leave them tore a hole in her heart, but to never have them, never make love with them was just unthinkable.
Isabel drew in a large breath. “Yes,” she whispered just loud enough for them to hear.
Both men’s bodies visible tightened, and the tension in the room spiked. Their gazes were on her slim back as she tried to ignore them.
“Mommy, can I have some more eggs?”
“Please,” she corrected distractedly.
“Please.
“Of course, honey.” She took a deep breath and turned with the pan. She kept her eyes downcast. She was tempted to peek at the men, but her body was already buzzing with arousal, making her hands shake uncontrollably.
“Here you go, honey.” She was glad Tommy was oblivious to what was happening.
Isabel took the pan to the sink and started the water for the dishes. She froze as a streak of lust-filled apprehension raced down her spine at the sound of a chair’s legs scraping over the floor as it was being moved. She felt the heat of a body before the hardness settled against her back.
“I don’t want to wait until tonight.” Clay pushed her loose hair away from her neck, biting down gently, and pushed his aching cock into the small of her back.
A groan caught in her throat, and all her strength slid out of her, making her rest her weight against Clay’s chest and dropping the pan in the sink full of soapy water. Isabel’s neck gave way and tilted to the side, giving him access.
Isabel vaguely heard the words as the drone of the men’s voices and past the whirling feelings of passion exploding throughout her body.
“Honey? Is it okay if we have Maggie watch him for a little while?” Clay whispered against her ear. After a long moment of silence, he pressed his hand tighter against her stomach, trying to gain her attention. “Honey. Can Tommy go to Maggie’s for a bit?”
Her head fell forward, and her hands tightened into fists. She drew in a deep breath. “You want him to go to Maggie’s so the three of us can…you know?”
“Hell yeah. We want a chance to love and bond with you without having to be quiet. We won’t keep you in bed all day, even if that’s what we’d like to do.”
Isabel pushed against him with her back to put space between them and turned to face him, resting her gaze and her wet hands on his chest. “I don’t like the thought of getting rid of Tommy for…that. It makes me feel selfish and like a bad parent.”
His hands cupped both sides of her face and tilted it up. “There is no way in hell you could ever be a bad mother. If it’s going to bother you, we’ll wait until tonight. Okay?” Clay planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
Her heart twisted at the loving and possessive way he looked at her. Her body heated, and a quiver started at her core and moved steadily through her. Could she let herself have this moment for just a short time, give herself the love and affection she had needed and craved? The thought that this might be her only chance resonated through her. “Let’s see if Maggie can even watch him. I know he loves playing with her children.”
Clay’s eyes narrowed on hers. “Are you sure?”
Isabel nodded. This was insane, she thought, as she carefully wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Tommy, let’s go get your teeth brushed and then we’re going for a walk.” Her eyes stayed on her son, but she could feel the heated awareness the men had solely on her.
Chapter Sixteen
She could still hear Tommy’s laughter mixed in with the other children as the three of them walked back to the house from Maggie’s. But her principal focus was on the tension tightening her body and the heat coming off the men that walked on both sides of her.
All three were silent for the most part, their thoughts centered on what was going to happen in next few minutes.
The birds and insects were out in abundance and flying around them, but their deep breathing was the only thing she heard. A hand held tightly to hers while on her other side a warm hand lay on the small of her back.
Neither touch was sexual but still felt extremely possessive and sent arrows of need and lust to her pussy that spread throughout her limbs.
Her breathing grew heavy and labored the closer they got to her bedroom. A tremble started deep inside her, hitting the pit of her stomach and pushing moisture to flow out at an alarming rate, soaking her panties and the crotch of her jeans.
At the side of the bed, she turned and her breath caught in her throat. Royce’s expression was stamped with pure blind lust. Clay’s green eyes had darkened and were filled with a look of male aggression and hunger.
Both men’s hands pulled off their shirts then went directly to their jeans snaps.
“Take off your clothes,” Clay demanded, his voice rough with need.
Isabel’s shaky hands lifted to the buttons on her pink short-sleeve blouse and slowly unbuttoned them while watching in fascination as they undressed. When they were naked, her fingers stuttered to a stop and her eyes rounded with apprehension.
Her arms dropped limply to her sides. “How…how exactly is this going to work? And what if you don’t fit…one of you is too big for me? Both, together? Will you stop?” Her voice grew a little tighter, and the volume rose. “What if I feel pain? It’s been a while for me, and I’ve never had a man as large as one of you. Now it’s compounded with the two of you?” She took a step away from them and then another as her apprehension grew.
“Calm down, sweetheart.” Royce slowly walked toward her, taking a step forward when she stepped back, slowly stalking her, but trying not to scare her into running. He stopped inches from her when her back hit the wall. Both of his hands landed on either side of her head, caging her in.
“Look at me?”
Isabel’s eyes jerked to his as she pressed back against the cold hard wall of the bedroom.
“Do you think we would ever, in a million years, hurt you?” His eyes swept down, taking in the lace of her bra under the shirt she wore.
The gentle but rough passion-filled sound of his voice wrapped around her, seemingly calming the turmoil in her chest. After a long moment passed, she slowly shook her head and kept her eyes on him.
The tension in his chest burst when she relaxed against the wall, showing him without words that she trusted them. “That’s good, honey. We’re going to take good care of you.” He hands reached for her and slid
around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.
Isabel drank in the comfort of his body and felt desire, hot and sweet, slide down her spine, taking away any strength she had and most of her apprehension.
Royce grasped her hips, lifted her off her feet, and walked them over to the bed before placing her on her back on the mattress, making her lower legs fall over the side of the mattress and her legs spread to give him room between them.
“She’s so goddamn beautiful.” Clay stood by his brother, but his eyes stayed glued to Isabel. “Let’s help her with her clothes. I don’t know how much longer I can hold back from sinking into her.”
Isabel’s eyes widened, and her body started to stiffen again. She tried but failed to pull her gaze from their cocks that stood straight up against their abdomens. Both were very large in length and in girth. Larger than she could have imagined.
Royce gritted his teeth at her reaction. “Shut up, Clay. You’re making her nervous again.” Royce released the rest of the buttons before sliding her shirt off. His fingers unsnapped the front closure of her white lacy bra, letting it hang off her shoulders. His hands cupped her small creamy breasts before allowing his thumbs to slide over her rosy nipples.
Isabel arched with a cry when he tugged on her nipples.
“Stay still,” Royce said, his voice rough with need. She settled back and relaxed under his hands. His cock twitched and became impossibly harder at her show of submission.
Isabel’s head turned to the side when Clay lay down beside her and pressed a warm, callused hand over her stomach, almost encompassing it.
