At least the traffic wasn’t bad in Beaumont at this hour of the morning, and she did get down the interstate quickly to her turnoff.
She sighed morosely as she turned the wipers up. Chase wasn’t home even though it was his scheduled day off. He’d switched with another crew member so he could take off for their trip to Houston. She’d give a lot to be able to crawl into bed with him tonight. Weather was perfect for a night of cuddling.
She’d turned onto the back-road shortcut to Cypress and had gone about a mile when her SUV lurched and began to slow. Everything turned off: her headlights, her dashboard, even the heater.
Panicked, she pulled over to the shoulder and coasted to a stop. What the ever-loving hell? She stared openmouthed at the steering wheel and then reached for the key to crank the ignition again.
Nothing. Not a click, no sound, absolutely nothing. The truck was deader than a doornail.
Her wipers were stuck in the upright position and rain continued to slash down over the windshield. And damn, but it was dark!
She tried the ignition again and cursed when she got the same result.
She curled her fingers around the steering wheel and slapped her forehead down on the backs of her hands. Great. Just great. Still several miles from home. Whether she walked to or from, there was nothing on this stretch of highway but woods.
Chase was at the firehouse, and she really hated to call him. He’d come get her no doubt, but if they’d had a hard day—and they no doubt had with all the rain and accidents—she hated to wake him up at almost three in the morning. Plus his crew would be short for the time it took him to get her and get back to work.
Brody and Tate were at home—asleep—but hopefully the phone would wake one of them up.
She punched in the number to the house and put the phone to her ear. It rang. And rang.
“Come on, come on,” she murmured.
After the fifth ring, voice mail picked up, and she jammed her thumb over the end button in frustration. Then she hit redial and let it ring again.
Having no luck, she punched in Brody’s cell number. It rang several times, and then finally his sleepy voice came over the line. Her stomach folded in relief.
“Hello?”
There was question in his voice. Obviously he’d been too asleep to check to see who was calling.
“B-Brody, it’s me, Zoe.”
Damn but that came out all quivery. Her hands shook, and it wasn’t just from the cold.
“Zoe? What’s wrong?” he asked sharply.
“I broke down on Old Bridge Road, just before the first bridge.”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I managed to pull over.”
“Stay put. Tate and I’ll be there as soon as we can.”
She let her hand fall to her lap and ended the call. Thank God. She was fast getting in touch with her inner wimp here.
She glanced anxiously around, but it was hard to see through the fogged windows. The instructor of the self-defense course Zoe had taken at the hospital a year back had said a lone woman should never remain inside a disabled vehicle. It had made perfect sense at the time, but when faced with the reality of getting out in the rain and hiding behind a tree until help arrived, she wasn’t sure which was scarier.
But remembering the examples the instructor had given—including a few grisly murders—was enough to have Zoe throwing open her door and stepping into the cold rain.
She shivered when water slid down her neck, wetting her back. Making sure to collect her purse and her cell phone, she walked around the front of the SUV and crossed the ditch into the woods. There was a nice, sturdy pine tree that would hopefully also provide a little cover. She just hoped Brody hurried.
Ten minutes later, she was huddled against the tree, shivering, with her hair plastered wetly over her head. She looked—and probably smelled—like a drowned cat. She hopped up and down in an attempt to infuse warmth into her numb legs, but the result was just jiggling more water down her neck.
Finally she heard a vehicle approach and then saw the beam of headlights coming from the opposite direction. Only the memory of that grisly murder kept her from dashing out of the woods.
The vehicle pulled over in front of her truck so that its headlights washed over the SUV. She squinted, trying to make out the color. Really, who the hell else would it be?
The door opened and then slammed.
“Zoe? Zoe? Where the hell are you?”
Brody’s bellow spurred her to action. She dashed from the woods and hurried in his direction. He turned and frowned when he saw her approaching. Tate stood in front of Brody’s truck, hands shoved into his pockets and his head hunched over to keep the rain out of his face.
Zoe flew into Brody’s arms, wrapped herself completely around him, and hung on for dear life. Her heart beat wildly against his chest, and she tried to calm down.
“For the love of God, why didn’t you stay in the truck?” Brody demanded.
He wrapped his arms around her, plucked her off her feet, and walked the few steps to his truck. He yanked open the door and thrust her inside.
“I know you think I’m an idiot,” she stammered out. “But I was scared out of my mind. It’s so damn dark on this road I can’t see anything, and I couldn’t get my truck started, and my self-defense instructor said a woman should never stay in a disabled vehicle, and I know you think I’m being a total girl, but I’d rather be wet and cold than wet, cold, and dead.”
Brody put a finger over her lips to quell the babble fest, and then he hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.
“You did good, honey. Now let’s get you home so you can get dried off and warm. We can come back for your truck tomorrow, okay?”
Tate opened the door on the other side and climbed in. He held out his arms to Zoe, and she dove for him, cuddling into his chest as her teeth chattered.
Brody got in and turned the heater on full blast. He backed up enough so he could make a U-turn and then roared off in the direction of home.
“You okay, Zoe?” Tate asked as he smoothed the wet hair from her forehead.
“Yeah, now that you guys are here,” she mumbled against his chest. “I hated to get Chase from the station at this hour. They’ve probably had a busy day.”
“If you’re ever in trouble, I don’t give a damn how busy a day any of us has had, you call,” Brody demanded. “Chase would have a kitten if you were stranded out here and didn’t call him.”
“I’d have called him if I couldn’t get you guys,” she said.
Tate leaned down and kissed her forehead. “What happened with your truck?”
She frowned, her brow crinkling. “I don’t know. The damn thing just quit on me. Engine shut off, lights went off, everything went dead.”
“Sounds electrical,” Brody said. “We’ll get it into the shop for you first thing tomorrow.”
She snuggled farther into Tate’s embrace. “Thanks, you two. Don’t know what I’d do without you. I was scared out of my mind.”
“I wish you didn’t have to work so damn late,” Tate muttered. “You shouldn’t be driving home so late by yourself, and especially not in this kind of weather.”
They pulled up to the house a few minutes later and dashed inside to the kitchen.
“You go get changed, Zoe. I’ll heat you up some soup,” Brody said.
She didn’t argue. A hot shower might thaw her out and stop the shaking in her legs.
When she returned, Brody and Tate were standing at the counter, a bowl of steaming broth to the side. Brody held out his arms, and she went into his embrace. He hugged her fiercely and stroked her still-damp hair.
“You okay now?”
She nodded against his shoulder. “Thanks for taking care of me.”
He smiled and to her surprise bent his head to kiss her. Really kiss her. Not on the cheek or forehead. He sealed his lips over hers, and she melted into his warmth.
She let out a breathy sigh that he caught in his mouth as his tongue laved over her lips. Man, he tasted good and felt even better.
Tate cleared his throat and then shoved the bowl toward her. “Let’s go into the living room, where you can get warm on the couch.”
Brody snagged the bowl and walked ahead of her. He set it down on the coffee table, and Tate handed her a glass of tea.
She spooned the hot broth into her mouth, sighing in contentment when the warmth traveled to her stomach. By the time she was finished, the shaking had stopped, and she felt human again.
She put the bowl back onto the coffee table and reclined on the couch between Brody and Tate.
“Come here,” Brody said, extending his arm so she could snuggle underneath it.
She burrowed into his warmth and laid her head on his chest.
“Sorry to have gotten you guys up at this ungodly hour.”
“It’s not a problem, Zoe,” Tate said. “I’m glad we were home so you weren’t stuck out there scared and wet on the highway.”
“Or in the woods,” she said dryly.
Both men chuckled. Tate slid his hand down her leg and squeezed affectionately. “We like that you’re such a girl.”
Heat burned into her thigh where his fingers rested possessively. She glanced over to see mirroring heat in his gaze. Her breath caught and held as she continued staring. Then she looked up at Brody to see the same blaze in his eyes.
They wanted her. And God, she wanted them.
“Come here,” Tate whispered.
She pushed herself awkwardly from Brody’s hold and slowly leaned toward Tate. He pulled her onto his lap, and before she could ponder what he might do next, he cupped her cheek and kissed her.
She closed her eyes and then slid her arms around his neck. Kissing Tate was a study in feel-good. Comforting, natural, and so damn hot her toes curled.
His tongue feathered over her lips, licking at the line and then the corner until it delved inward, finding hers and playfully flicking at the tip.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?” he whispered. “I wanted you back there on the roadside, you all slicked down with rain and those big eyes looking at me like I’d just saved the world.”
She smiled and touched his cheek, tracing the line of his jaw and then running the tip of her finger over his full mouth.
“You
had
saved the world. You saved mine.”
She turned to Brody, who was watching with unabashed interest. She extended her hand and he caught it, tangling their fingers together.
“I know one way y’all could get me warm,” she husked out.
Brody’s eyes lit with a savage light. Tate went still against her, and then his hands smoothed up her waist to her breasts, cupping the soft mounds through her shirt.
Suddenly Brody pushed himself off the couch. He stood over her, eyes blazing, his erection bulging the fly of his jeans. He held a hand down to her. Tentatively she reached up to grasp it, and he pulled her to stand in front of him. Tate stood behind her and she was trapped between two very hard, male bodies.
“My room,” Brody bit out.
He tugged at her arm as he headed toward his bedroom. As soon as they entered, he turned and pulled her into his arms. Even as he pulled at her shirt, Tate had her sweats down around her ankles.
When she was naked between them, Tate knelt and kissed the cheek of her ass. He licked and then nibbled at the plump flesh. She twitched and squirmed as he worked his way to the other side. His tongue on her ass was exciting and a new experience for her. She shivered when he licked over the seam, ran it lightly up the sensitive skin until he reached the dimple at the top.
Brody palmed both her breasts, plumped them up in his hands, and bent down to flick his tongue over her nipple. He alternated between them, feasting on the hard points.
The dual assault wreaked havoc on her already frayed nerves. Her knees shook, her thighs quivered, and she had to reach out to brace herself against Brody.
She wanted them as naked as she was. Not waiting for Brody to undress, she tore at his shirt, pushing, pulling until finally he broke away to help her. As he raised the shirt over his head, she dove into the waistband of his jeans, unbuttoning, unzipping, impatient to have him in her hands.
His jeans fell, and Brody stepped away to kick out of the legs. When he moved back toward her, his heavy cock swung and then jutted upward, straining and erect.
She placed both palms on his taut abdomen and slid them upward, over his chest wall and to his broad shoulders.
“You have such an amazing body,” she murmured.
“Yours is pretty damn fine too,” he growled.
She turned, presenting her back to Brody. She stared at Tate and reached for his clothing. He was only too willing to help and in a few seconds, he stood naked before her, his cock pushing outward like he couldn’t wait to get it inside her.
Brody pressed into her from behind while Tate stepped into her until their heat encapsulated her. Her breasts pressed against Tate’s chest, and she marveled at the feel of such solid male bodies surrounding her.
Hard, unrelenting. Muscular. Taut. She felt small and delicate and very cherished. Tate leaned in to one side of her neck, and she gasped when his mouth gently found the flesh below her ear. Oh God, how had he known?
Brody bent and pressed his mouth to the other side, and they simultaneously began sucking and nipping.
Her knees buckled, and if they hadn’t caught her, she would have gone down. Flames blazed through her body. She was on fire. Her nipples hardened against Tate’s chest, digging into his skin like twin daggers. Her pussy clenched as pleasure stoked and built higher.
They dragged her to the bed, somehow keeping their mouths fused to her neck. They went down in a tangle of bodies. She landed on top of Brody, and she turned immediately, her need fierce and overwhelming.
She straddled him and leaned down, kissing and licking over his rigid belly and then up to his shoulder where his tattoo fanned out down his arm. She’d always fantasized about having him under her while she licked every inch of that tattoo.