by Roma James
There.
I’d said it.
And now I wasn’t sure if I felt better or worse. I felt a little lightheaded, if I was being completely honest.
Prescott and Cole must have seen it on my face—or maybe it was the way I could feel myself start to sway in my chair. Whatever the reason, they were both by my side in an instant.
“Come on, beautiful,” Cole urged, gently lifting me as Prescott supported my other side. “Let’s get you back to the bed.”
“That’s right,” Prescott said, his voice low and sweet and also super sexy as his breath tickled my ear. “First, you rest. And then… the three of us need to talk.”
I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, and his expression didn’t offer me any clues when I turned my head to look at him.
I let them lead me down the hallway toward the bedroom, leaning on my two guys as they supported me. Just the same way they’d been supporting me all week.
They’d been on point with my care, and they were right this time, too. I needed to rest.
I just hoped they weren’t trying to make me comfortable so they could let me down easily. But they hadn’t let me down so far. Not even once.
Please don’t let this be the first time.
Chapter 11
Cole
I’ve never been a complicated man. I’ve tried to live my life as simply as possible, and I’ve never liked it when my simple life got complicated.
Lately, though, I seemed to be begging for complications.
It started when I tried to get Daisy Lynn to myself before Prescott even had a chance to talk to her. Now, barely a week later, I’ve insisted on both of them staying here at my house with me.
There were never any promises that things would develop past the casual dating stage with Daisy Lynn—and the topic of dating was put completely on the back burner while we helped her recover, of course.
But now she’d brought it up again. She’d told us she was interested in more. I should have been over the moon with happiness—and I was, for sure—but there were also some lingering doubts.
Because she didn’t just want me. She wanted both of us. All or nothing.
And I could already see the tug of war going on in Prescott’s head. I knew how hard his divorce was on him and how reluctant he was to open his heart back up to any woman.
Daisy Lynn was different, though. She wasn’t like any other woman we’d ever met. And not just because she was fucking gorgeous, though that was obviously the first thing that had drawn our attention to her. That fiery red hair, those long legs, those tight-fitting jeans she loved to wear and tease us with…
All of those things are great. Amazing. Perfect. Those things have been the inspiration for every single one of my fantasies every single night since we met. If this was just going to be a fling, those things would be more than enough for me—hell, those things alone would be the jackpot of flings.
But now that I knew she had a personality that matched those fiery curls? And now that I’d seen how sweet and tender she could be? I’d held her in my arms when she was bruised and broken. I’d been on the receiving end of that sharp tongue and iron will when she put Prescott and me in our places after we’d acted like jerks.
Yeah, her looks were out of this world, but it was the other things that really mattered. It was the other things that I didn’t want to lose now that I’d had a tiny glimpse of what my life could be like with her in it.
Those were the thoughts racing through my mind as we helped her from the dining room back to my bed. Those were the thoughts that made my stomach clench whenever Prescott said we would all need to talk.
Prescott was my best friend, my boss, my partner in keeping this town safe. But I never thought I’d be counting on him to come through for me like this. But when it came to Daisy Lynn, he was the key to our happiness.
He knew it, too. I could see it in his eyes.
Daisy Lynn’s eyes closed as soon as her head touched the pillow. We both stood there over her for a moment, waiting to see if she needed anything, watching as her breathing got deeper and her chest started to steadily rise and fall.
Once she was asleep, I looked over at Prescott and nodded toward the door. His shoulders slumped as we stepped out into the hallway, and I reached out to give my friend’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“If you aren’t ready, this is the time to say so,” I whispered. “We can’t lead her on. Not even for a minute.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to lead her on. She deserves better than that.” He leaned back against the wall and scrubbed a hand down his face. In the years that we’d been working together, there had been only a handful of times I could remember him looking so stressed. Or so tired.
“So, what are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I honestly don’t know what the right thing to do is anymore. I want her. I know that for sure. The thought of not having her just makes me…” His voice trailed off, but I didn’t interrupt. “I feel like letting her go would be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. But I’m worried. I’m worried I’ll fuck things up somehow and she’ll end up leaving me—leaving us—anyway. Fuck, I was head over heels in love with my ex-wife once upon a time, and look how that turned out.”
“No.” I put a hand up to stop him from continuing. “This isn’t like that. Daisy Lynn isn’t your ex. It’s apples to oranges. Comparing the two isn’t fair to anyone. You either have to leave the past in the past where it belongs or you have to admit that you aren’t ready for something new. Mixing the two will fuck this up, and I’m not going to be a part of that.”
Yeah, it was a little harsh, but this wasn’t the time to walk on eggshells. This wasn’t just Prescott’s life and happiness we were talking about. This was Daisy Lynn’s life. My life. If he made the wrong decision, it would affect all three of us. And we’d all have to live with the consequences of whatever we decided here tonight.
But if I saw that Prescott might be steering us in the wrong direction, I wasn’t going to sit by quietly and let the train wreck happen. We had to start this thing off on the right track. Right now.
“So you think I should stop worrying and just go for it?” he asked. “No matter what kinds of doubts I might have? She’s so damn young.”
“I didn’t say that. And I can’t tell you what the best decision is for your life.” I took a breath and did my best to choose my words carefully. It was an easy decision for me, but Prescott and I didn’t have the same kind of baggage. “What I can say is that I think this relationship deserves a chance to succeed or fail on its own merits. Constantly worrying about what might happen or comparing it to things we’ve done in the past is only going to poison the well. Look, she’s not asking for a ring. I don’t think any of us are ready for that yet. But I personally don’t have a problem saying I’m ready to keep going in this direction, to take the next step and say that yeah, we really can do this together. I’m pretty sure that’s all she’s asking for right now.”
He seemed to visibly relax a little once I’d said that, but Daisy Lynn’s weak voice called out before he could respond.
“Guys…” Fuck, she sounded so helpless and small from the other side of the door. “I… I need you.”
We were back by her side before she’d even finished getting the words out.
“We’re right here, beautiful,” I said, taking her hand and sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her while Prescott moved around to the other side.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. How are you feeling?”
“Sleepy,” she said. At least she had a faint smile on her lips and she didn’t look quite as pale as she had just a few moments before. “I think I might have overdone it a little today…”
“That’s okay,” I said, bringing her hand up to my lips for a quick kiss. “We know you want to be back up and on your feet as soon as possible—and we want that for you,
too. But just rest for now, okay?”
“And we really appreciate that dinner you made. It made us happy to see you happily moving around the kitchen. But we’ll be even happier when you’re back to full strength.”
She sighed. “We didn’t even get a chance to enjoy the meal together, though. I wanted you guys to have some home-cooked food tonight after everything you’ve done for me. The last thing I had planned was to end up back in this bed with you guys taking care of me again.”
I grinned. “We like taking care of you.”
“That’s right.” Prescott nodded, taking her other hand as he sat down on the other side of the bed. “We’re not ever going to get tired of looking after you, okay? So don’t even worry about that.”
She looked like she was about to protest a little more, but I cut her off as soon as that pretty little mouth opened.
“And as for dinner,” I said, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from her forehead. “You can leave the rest to us. We’ll dish it up and bring our plates back here so we can all still eat together.”
“Dinner in bed sounds pretty good to me,” Prescott said, then added, “As long as you feel like eating, sweetheart? If not, we can wait until you’ve had a little more rest.”
She shook her head and smiled. “No, I’m okay. I like that idea… eating dinner in bed with my guys. You’re both too good to me.”
“You’re too good for us,” Prescott said. “But we’re still yours for as long as you want us. We’re going to take it slow, okay? But I want to be with you, Daisy Lynn. We both want to.”
“That’s right, hon.” I nodded. My cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so wide, but I didn’t care. “We’re yours if you’ll have us.”
She looked over to Prescott and then shifted her gaze to me and mirrored my smile. “I’ll have both of you, then. We’ll make it work.”
I didn’t know how we’d make it work, and the details didn’t matter in that moment. All that mattered was that we were together and Daisy Lynn was happy.
That was enough for me.
It was late. I wasn’t even sure what time it was, but I knew I was exhausted.
Daisy Lynn had fallen asleep again almost immediately after we’d cleared our dinner dishes from the bed, and I’d finally convinced Prescott to go home and sleep in his own bed tonight since I knew he had to be tired of sleeping in a chair and Daisy Lynn didn’t need us to watch over her all night like she had at first.
And even though we’d all agreed to take our fledgling relationship to the next level, I wasn’t sure when or how that should happen. Which meant I was taking the guest bed tonight rather than cuddling up next to our girl in my bigger, more comfortable bed.
That was okay, though. I didn’t want to rush anything, and Prescott and I had both agreed that neither of us would make a move until we were sure she was ready.
I stood in my bedroom doorway and watched the rhythmic rise and fall of the covers around her sleeping body for another few seconds, then tore my eyes away so I could finally go take a shower and get myself ready for bed.
I walked down the hallway and stepped into the bathroom, already stripping out of my clothes before I’d even turned the water on. And once I was finally under the shower with the hot, steaming water hitting my sore muscles?
Fuck, it felt good.
Almost as good as it felt to hear Daisy Lynn call us her guys. Almost as good as it felt when she smiled up at me with those pretty rosebud lips.
Almost.
Damn, my cock was already getting hard just thinking about her. She was so fucking sexy without even trying. Like tonight, when she was smiling and happy, holding our hands and showing off that delicious dinner she’d made… seeing her like that was sexier than anything I could think of.
Well… sexier than most things I could think of.
When I imagined her down on her knees in front of me, just inches from my cock and smiling up at me with that look that was sweet and innocent and hot as hell at the same time…
And yeah, now I was really hard.
Fuck.
I reached down and absently stroked my cock, closing my eyes and leaning back against the tile wall of the shower as the water ran in rivulets down my body.
I could just imagine the warm, velvety feel of her mouth as she swallowed my cock, those sweet lips wrapped around my thick shaft.
My hips jerked at the thought and my cock throbbed in my hand. Yeah, my body was definitely on board with that idea.
A low moan escaped my throat as I imagined her bobbing up and down, up and down, faster and faster—fuck. I was already so close and so hard that my cock was aching for release.
I wanted to be with her. To be naked with her. To let my hands and my mouth explore her body. And I’d wait patiently—well, mostly patiently—for as long as it took.
Until then, I had my hand and this hot-as-hell fantasy.
Which, according to how hard my cock was and how tight my balls were, would push me over the edge in just a few more seconds.
I stroked myself faster, the sounds of fisting my slick cock and wet body seeming to echo in the small bathroom. I was trying to be as quiet as possible, knowing there was only a thin wall separating me from the room where Daisy Lynn was sleeping. That thought only made the situation seem hotter, though.
Knowing she was there, just a few feet away… so sweet… so sexy…
I ground my teeth together and groaned as the first hot blast spilled over my fist and landed on the shower floor. My hips bucked one, two, three more times as the water washed away the evidence of my arousal.
My legs were weak. I was panting. My whole body felt like it had been turned inside out by the intensity of my orgasm.
I was completely exhausted and on the verge of collapsing, but I was happy. I was smiling.
My girl—our girl—was here. My world was perfect.
Chapter 12
Daisy Lynn
I honestly wasn’t sure how long I’d spent at Cole’s house. I’d been so out of it that it could have been days or weeks. He’d been so amazing about the whole thing, never once even hinting that he wanted me out of his space—and that was after giving me his bed for lord only knew how long.
But even though I was pretty sure he would have let me stay as long as I wanted, I had finally started feeling well enough to start getting back to my normal life.
We’d said our goodbyes that morning, and I had packed my things to head back to Janessa’s ranch. I’d talked to her and Becca almost every day that I’d been at Cole’s, but I still missed both of them.
So why, then, did I agree for Prescott to come pick me up from Cole’s and take me to his own house instead?
Janessa would probably be annoyed with me, but I also hoped she’d understand once she realized how I felt. I just… wasn’t ready to say goodbye to my guys. Even if it was only to go back across town, it still felt too real, too final. I had almost cried that morning when I’d seen Cole off to work with a kiss and a long hug.
Now I’d at least get to see him again this evening at Prescott’s when he was finished with his shift. And as a bonus, I’d get to spend the afternoon alone with Prescott—something that hadn’t really happened since that crazy, eventful night we’d had on our first date.
“Everything okay?” Prescott asked as he ushered me from his truck to the front door. “You seem awfully quiet today.”
I smiled, but I knew there really wasn’t any point in denying it. He and Cole had seen me at my best and my worst, and after being together twenty-four-seven for however many days, they had become pretty good at reading my moods.
“Just thinking about a lot of things,” I said as we stepped inside his house. “About how strange life can be sometimes. When I first came here, it was just to visit with Janessa for a few days. I never could have imagined meeting you and Cole—or any of the other things that have happened since then.”
He pulled out a chair for me at the table and
went to get me a glass of water—again knowing what I wanted before I’d even had a chance to say it out loud. Once he was seated in the chair next to me, his always-serious expression grew even more thoughtful.
“I know what you mean. If someone would have told me a few weeks ago that I’d be meeting a woman who would make me rethink my plans to stay single, I would have laughed in their face.” A half-smile crossed his lips as he shrugged. “But here we are.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
He nodded. “Anything. Always.”
“You were married before, right?” I nibbled at my lip. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous to ask about his past, especially after he’d just said I could ask anything. But he was always so reserved, the epitome of the strong, silent type. I’d gotten the impression that talking about his feelings wasn’t something Prescott Lane loved to do. “Sorry if that’s too personal,” I added. “I just was wondering if that’s why you said you’d planned on staying single.”
There.
Not the most eloquent way of asking, but now the question was out there. However he chose to answer—or whether he answered at all—was completely up to him.
“I was married, yes,” he said, nodding slowly as he turned to look out the window. “We’ve been divorced long enough that I should be over it—and I am. Over her, I mean…”
“But…” I prodded gently. I couldn’t help it. He’d gone from strong and silent to open and vulnerable in an instant.
