“Good, because that’s not what this is about. It’s a little ridiculous, the idea that I somehow control the actions of three other people and that sex is only okay if everyone involved has my permission. In actuality I gave it when I asked Brody and Tate to participate. It’s not reasonable that I’d have to be present or that somehow you have to ask me beforehand if it’s okay.”
Her mind buzzed with the implications of what he was saying. He couldn’t be saying what she thought, and that not only did he expect that it would happen again, but he was okay with it. It was just too . . . weird.
But at the same time, the relief she felt was unmistakable, so what did that say about her?
“This is stupid,” she muttered. “They might not ever want to have sex with me again anyway.”
Chase smiled. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”
Despite the fact that Chase was obviously tired, he and Brody
and Tate drove out to get her car and tow it to the garage. She made their favorite lunch so that when they got back, they’d have a decent meal for their efforts at least.
All the while they were gone, she worried over the fallout from the night before. Chase had shocked her with his acceptance. And on the surface, she agreed with him. It wasn’t any different from her having sex with them before. But somehow she couldn’t quite convince herself that it was the same. It felt different.
All her worry wasn’t reserved for how it affected her and Chase either, and maybe that was what bugged her the most. She was in agony over trying to figure out how Brody and Tate would react to it.
She was being a total girl and getting all emotional over sex. But she knew it wasn’t just sex. Not with Brody and Tate. With Dillon she’d been able to easily separate the act and the emotion. Not so with Brody and Tate. She cared about them too much, and she didn’t want to lose them. She couldn’t lose them.
The table was set—something they didn’t often do. Most of the time they ate at the bar or just ate in the living room. How positively domestic of her. The guys would give her shit when they got home.
She hoped. Because if they didn’t, and things changed, it would kill her.
Half an hour later, she put the finishing touches on the potato salad and draped a towel over the container of fried chicken. Chase had called her a few minutes earlier, and they should be rolling in any minute.
She sweetened the tea, filled glasses with ice, and put everything out on the table just as she heard a truck pull into the drive.
Her stomach promptly took a nosedive.
Chase came in the door first, followed closely by Brody. Tate brought up the rear. They all stopped inside the kitchen and Chase sniffed appreciatively at the air. “Tell me that’s what I think it is.”
She smiled. “Lunch is on the table.”
Brody’s eyes widened. “Table? As in a place to sit at and eat?”
She relaxed. Yeah, they were going to give her shit.
They sauntered into the dining room and Tate whistled. “Damn woman, you cooked, set the table, and everything. Oh hell, is that potato salad?”
She shot over and smacked his hand just as it darted into the bowl. He drew back with an injured look and held his hand like she’d broken it.
“I figured you guys deserved a decent meal for taking care of my truck.”
Chase tucked an arm around her and kissed her temple. “Not that we don’t love being cooked for, but that’s what we’re here for. To help.”
She smiled up at him and then gestured for them to sit.
They all took their seats and promptly dug into the food.
“This is kind of nice,” Brody said. “We should do it more often. Beats eating in the living room.”
“How long will it take them to fix my truck?” she asked Chase. “And did they say how much it would cost?”
Chase winced. “We need to talk about that. The electrical system is shot all to hell. They could fix it, but honestly I think you should consider getting something new. You’ve had it forever, and at this point, it doesn’t make sense to sink a lot of money into something that’s likely to break in another week.”
Tate and Brody studied her closely. They were staring. Why? She scowled at them and turned back to Chase.
“New?”
Brody made a brave attempt to stifle his laughter. Tate did no such thing. He laughed and continued laughing when she turned her murderous stare on him.
“What the hell is so funny?” she demanded.
Brody chuckled. “You are. We were just waiting for you to squeak at the idea of buying a new car. You’re such a tightass when it comes to money.”
“I am not!”
Chase managed a straight face. “Baby, you are so. When was the last time you bought anything new?”
“Just because I save money and don’t throw it away on shiny new toys all the time does not make me some miser.”
“So go buy a new truck,” Tate challenged. “Come on. It’ll be fun. We’ll help you pick out something.”
Okay, so the idea of a bright new vehicle with that delectable new-car smell did appeal on a certain level.
“Oohh, we have her,” Brody said triumphantly. “I can see that calculating gleam in her eyes. She wants it.”
“I have no idea what to get,” she said faintly.
“Leave that to us,” Chase said with a grin. “We’re guys. That makes us expert auto shoppers.”
“So, um, when can we go?”
“As soon as we finish with lunch. We can go into Beaumont and check out the dealerships there,” Chase said.
Excitement bloomed in her stomach and fanned out until she grinned a little idiotically. “Okay, I’ll go. But I’m not promising to buy anything. There’s research to do.”
Tate rolled his eyes. Brody just gave her a patient look, and Chase leaned back and smiled warmly in her direction. Maybe he was telling her that things were okay and that they were still the family they’d always been. Family.
As she looked around the table at the people who meant the most to her, she realized they truly were a family.
After lunch, they cleared away the dishes. Chase and Tate attacked the dishwasher, and Zoe took a dish towel to wipe off the table. Brody came in as she was finishing her wipe-down and stood just a few feet away.
“Hey,” he said as she started to return to the kitchen. “Can I talk to you a second?”
Dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She glanced back toward the kitchen, but Chase and Tate were preoccupied with the dishes.
“Don’t look so worried,” he said softly. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened last night. I mean not about what happened but . . . I didn’t use a condom. It was stupid. I’ve always used them with you, but last night wasn’t planned. I wanted to make sure things were okay, I mean with birth control.”
“Oh,” she breathed. “Yeah, I mean Chase and I don’t use condoms. I use birth control, and Chase is the only person I’ve been with. Without condoms I mean.” Heat bled into her face at her admission.
“Hey, don’t worry. I wasn’t saying it because I was worried about you. I know you and Chase have been together awhile. You should be more worried about me. I’m clean, though. I worried about you getting pregnant. I didn’t want us to make a mistake, because last night was incredible.”
She smiled at his discomfort, which seemed to mirror her own. Then she went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Thank you for caring so much about me.”
He hesitated for only a moment before enfolding her in his embrace. “I’ll always care about you, Zoe.”
“Hey, you guys ready to go?” Tate asked from the doorway. “Chase is chomping at the bit to go find Zoe some wheels.”
Zoe grinned. She was a little excited about it herself.
CHAPTER
|
FIFTEEN
Zoe zipped into the driveway in her new black SUV and grinned
at how the moonlight reflected off the shiny paint job. Okay, so she hadn’t been that hard to convince when it came down to it. Truth be told, the guys had had to corral her because she’d been a little too eager to seal the deal.
But hey, that’s what guys were for. All the wheeling and dealing and the things that made them feel all manly.
As soon as she entered through the kitchen, she tossed her keys onto the bar and frowned at how dark the house was. Wasn’t anyone home? Before she could reach for the light switch, she sensed another presence.
She whirled around, but Chase’s hand clamped over her mouth. This time he didn’t offer the assurance he had the first time he’d abducted her, but then he didn’t need to. From the first touch, her blood pumped furiously through her veins.
He hauled her up, her back pressed against his chest as her feet left the floor. He carried her into the living room, where she saw what looked like a padded exam table. She didn’t even want to know where he’d scored that—or what he was going to use it for.
Okay, maybe she did, because her mind was swarming with the possibilities. And she loved each and every one.
He tossed her down on the table and yanked at her bottoms. Her underwear came with them, and she was naked from the waist down. He dragged her down the table until her ass was hovering on the edge. And easily accessible.
The sound of his zipper scoured her ears, and before she could think anything further, he pushed into her, shocking her with his entry.
She was unprepared, and it took him more effort to get inside her. The rough sensation of him shoving through her pussy made her pulse soar. Her belly contracted, and she clamped down around him, making it even more difficult for him to gain entry.
“Don’t fight me,” he growled. “I’ll get inside you, Zoe. Make it easy on yourself and accept me.”
Her heart sped up at the rough words. Though she didn’t want to make it easier—she liked the sensation of him so full inside her too much—his words made her go damp, and he slid in another inch.
The friction was too much. She couldn’t hold him off. He powered to the hilt, and they both made deep sounds of contentment when he bottomed out.
He didn’t pause long, though. He withdrew and forced himself in again, and then he took off, working rough and fast in and out of her body.
It was quick and brutal in intensity. She came in the next breath, the orgasm knifing through her with power that shocked her. He powered in again and then found his own release, pouring himself into her.
He let her legs go immediately and pulled out, leaving her gasping for breath. He quickly moved around her and pulled at her top until it came over her head, leaving her in just her bra.
Her legs dangled over the edge of the table, and she sagged as he pushed the bra straps from her shoulders. He pushed her over so he could unhook it in the back and then let her fall back to the table.
Her breasts jiggled when he took her hands and pulled her arms over her head. What on earth was he doing?
He curled his fingers around her wrists and trapped them against the table so that she was completely vulnerable, her body laid out like a feast.
And then she had her answer when she heard footsteps on the hardwood floors. Footsteps from more than one person. Her mind flashed back to the night they’d unveiled all their secret fantasies, and she could only think of one that fit the bill here.
Oh my God.
Surely not.
Tate and Brody stepped into view, their hands going to her legs. They pushed until her knees bent and then they spread her wide, holding her in place.
Which meant . . .
She swallowed, and for the first time felt uncertainty and a little fear wash up her spine. She heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper, heard the crinkle of a condom wrapper. She tried to raise her head to see, but Chase pressed her head back down and held her firmly in place.
A thumb pressed to her clit and then slid down her seam to her entrance. Just one brush and then a cock replaced the thumb and pushed into her. She gasped at the instant fullness. If Chase hadn’t come inside her, she would have never been able to take this man.
And then he leaned into her and she caught the outline of his face.
Dillon?
Stunned, she stared down as he began fucking her with long, ruthless strokes.
It was her fantasy come to life, just as she’d pictured it, just as she’d described it to Chase. Brody and Tate held her legs, held her open to Dillon’s savage fucking. And oh God, it felt good. She loved their hands on her body. Loved the way Chase held her to the table, her wrists trapped underneath his hands.
Brody held her leg with one hand, but his other caressed up and down the back of her thigh, his touch soothing and sensual. Tate pressed a kiss to the side of her leg as he held her open to Dillon.
And Dillon. Just like in her fantasy, it was down and dirty. Crude and nothing soft or romantic about it. He fucked her like she was an instrument for his pleasure and nothing else. Only she knew better. She could see his eyes, see how he looked at her. She could remember how tender and demanding he’d been that night in the hotel.
His expression grew fierce, and he pulled away from her, leaving her pussy clenching with need. He hadn’t come. She looked at him in bewilderment, but when he took Tate’s place and Tate took position between her legs, she understood.
Tate unzipped his pants, put on a condom and stabbed into her, his cock sinking deep. She sucked in a steadying breath and prayed she could hold on. She felt light and a little unhinged. If she gave in to the orgasm that rose, she’d never enjoy the rest of this experience. She wasn’t even sure she would be aware of what happened.
Need clawed at her, demanding release. Her body shook with the force of Tate’s thrusts. Her breasts jiggled, and her head rose up the table, precariously close to the wrists Chase had trapped just above.
Too soon, he too pulled out, and Brody stepped away, releasing her leg to Tate. As she glanced down her body, she saw him shove at his jeans, pushing them just down his hips so that his cock sprang free. Then he stepped between her legs, positioned his cock, and with one fierce push he was deep inside her.