Men Times Three (17 page)

All she'd seen in his eyes was shock, then anger and hatred. She'd left before things got worse. She couldn't believe TJ's story that Jon had been regretful after she'd left. If he'd regretted any of his actions, he'd have done something about his regrets before he died. Before her mom's accident. Before Kylie had been born, grown up and become an adult.

Her mom had always told her Jon Dawson was an unforgiving bastard, but Kylie couldn't believe her own grandfather could look at her that way. No. She'd had to see it for herself.

The sting would fade eventually, and in the meantime, she had a life to build.

And if she had anything to say about it, that life would be here.

She wanted the Friendly Inn. She wanted to grow old here, be part of the walls, the floors, even these fly-specked windows. Her blood, her sweat would make this place hers in spite of Jon Dawson's hatred. She would succeed here. And success was the best revenge.

The Friendly Inn would be hers. Now and always.

She didn't care why her grandfather would include her in this inheritance. So what if he wanted to atone for what he did to his daughter. The regrets in his past had been his problem.

Kylie's future was hers.

She surveyed the window and decided it sparkled enough to move on to the next room. Unfortunately, the next room was at the back of the inn. Where Eli was.

She dipped into her closet for a sweatshirt to cover her dampened T-shirt. She pulled it on and headed downstairs for fresh water for her bucket and a new scraper for the fly specks. At the bottom of the stairs, she looked outside and saw Deke's pickup pull in and park.

Holly jumped out, looking flushed and satisfied. Those two could hardly keep their hands off each other. She considered Deke and wondered why the youngest O'Banion irritated her, while Deke didn't at all.

TJ was masterful and decisive, but not arrogant nor a blatant charmer, although he had Marnie tied in knots. Maybe even literally in knots, considering how he'd torn out of here looking like hell on wheels the other day. She wondered how her cousin had reacted when he'd arrived in Seattle. She'd often compared him to Paul Bunyan and Kylie had to agree.

She snorted at the image of a plaid-shirt-wearing, axe-wielding giant of a man in a downtown dance club. TJ O'Banion with sex on his mind…
my, oh my.

Marnie was just the kind of woman to handle a man like TJ. She'd held him off for the better part of a week while driving him mad with lust. Something about the scenario titillated Kylie.

But Eli was arrogant enough to believe that women would fall at his feet. His big feet.

Outside, Deke swooped in behind Holly and wrapped his arms around her belly. He nuzzled her neck while she lifted her arms to hold his head. She gave a half turn to kiss him and in a wink they were face-to-face in a deep kiss that curled Kylie's toes.

To have what they had together. To let something that hot take root and grow would be a dream come true. She hoped Holly understood the rarity of her connection with Deke.

She left them to their moment in the rare morning sun and continued into the kitchen to fill her mop bucket with fresh soap and water. When she returned to the living room, Holly stood there, shiny and sated and flustered.

Lucky woman. The mop bucket slopped water onto the floor so Kylie set it down and wiped the spill, acutely aware of Holly's bounty.

“How did you get the windows so clean?” her cousin asked.

“Hot water and a scraper. It's gross but effective.” She warmed at the appreciative glow in Holly's happy, satisfied face.

“You've been so busy.” Holly bounded upstairs and headed into the bedroom where Kylie had just been working. Kylie followed. “The curtains are gorgeous.” Holly fondled the material.

“I have to expend my energy on something.”

Holly appraised her. “Yes, you should. Are you a workaholic? Or a perfectionist? Or both?”

“None of the above. But I'm motivated more than I've ever been before.”

“Marnie will come around. She's already come to terms with having the cabins out back.”

In a couple weeks standing walls, completed roofs and windows installed meant the buildings could be locked. Talking Marnie into working on the interiors with them was next on Holly and Kylie's agenda.

“I wonder what's happening with her and TJ?”

Holly grinned. “I'm betting plenty. TJ peeled out of here with the look of a man who'd refuse to take no for an answer.” She looked horrified. “In a good way, of course.”

“In the way that Marnie guided him toward.”

Holly hooted with laughter. “Pretty much, yes. She teased and squeezed that man.”

Holly took the cleaning supplies. “Why don't you take a break. You must have started at dawn.” But when she hefted the heavy bucket she set it down fast. “Ooh, a twinge.”

“Are you okay?”

“Deke's got me bent out of shape.” She laughed harder. “The man's a pretzel maker.” Her cheeks flushed.

“Really? How so?”

“Pickup trucks look roomy, but if you're making out in the front seat with a man the size of Deke you'd better be limber. These O'Banion boys are big.” She flushed even redder.

“Hm.” Kylie didn't want to hear any more. “That reminds me, the youngest one has finally deigned to make an appearance. He went out back.”

“Eli? What'd he look like?”

“His brothers. He's within a smidge of both of the others, in height and width. His hair's lighter and his eyes are a piercing blue. Too big and brawny for my taste.”

Holly gave her an odd glance. “What do you mean, deigned?”

Kylie examined her toes in her flip-flops. She needed fresh polish.

“Kylie? What's he like?”

She shrugged and didn't know how to get around the topic. “He just, you know, thinks he's special.”

Holly leaned in, raised her eyebrows. “If he's anything like Deke, then, um, he probably is special.” She waggled her brows for emphasis.

“Maybe, but I'm leery of men who assume a woman's going to swoon at their feet.” She hadn't liked him ogling her breasts like a starving man at a buffet. Although that analogy didn't quite work. A starving man would dive in and take what he wanted. Eli had only admired what he couldn't have.

Wouldn't have.

Definitely wouldn't have.

Her nipples peaked into pearls, damn them.

“I see,” Holly teased. “You didn't like him, but your body did?” she guessed. “I've got to see this guy.”

“He's out back. You can see him from the back bedroom window.” Holly hotfooted it to the back bedroom and Kylie followed more slowly.

Below them, the brothers clasped hands and did a man-hug by patting each other on the shoulder. “I told him he was shorter and smaller than his brothers, and being the youngest, he hated it. Do you see a difference?”

“Nope. Eli's as brawny as the other two.”

“Yeah.” Her breath caught at the sight of the two men, clearly happy to see each other, grinning and clapping each other on the back. The claps turned into playful punches and before she could blink, they were wrestling and grappling, testing each other.

“Are they bears or men?” Holly laughed and tapped on the glass. They didn't hear her.

“Next thing, they'll be butting heads.”

Holly snorted. “Locking horns.”

“Like stags.” But the power in the men was certainly something to see, even in play. Eventually, they stood apart, chests heaving, faces split in grins.

“My God, they're impressive,” Holly murmured.

“Too bad Eli's such a dog. From what I can figure he's one of those men into sex tourism. He travels to all the sex hot spots, right?”

Holly gave her a surprised look. “Not likely. He teaches English to underprivileged children. Lots of people go the private school route, but Eli goes into orphanages.” Holly waved and got Deke's attention. She motioned that she was heading down and turned to leave. “Kylie? Are you coming?”

“I don't think Eli really wants to talk me right now.”

“What happened before we got here?”

“I insulted him.”

“Do tell,” she said and wrapped her arm around Kylie's and coaxed her into a lock step.

“I have to change first,” Kylie said as a means to escape. Then she dashed into her room and changed into a bra and clean, dry T-shirt. Then, as an added precaution, she topped it with a light sweater.

Even if her nipples did betray her, no one would see through three layers. Not even a man who looked. She hated that she owed Eli an apology, but she wasn't about to let it go unsaid. She was not
that
much like her grandfather.

Deke and Holly were holding hands by the time she caught up to them outside. Deke introduced Eli to Holly, while Kylie hung back and watched. Eli didn't ogle Holly's breasts or trail his gaze hungrily down her body. In fact, he was a perfect gentleman.

Until he turned his gaze on her. Damn, there it was again. That look that said she was the only woman he'd ever focused on. But this time it was tinged with disappointment. She'd been wrong about him and the sex tourism.

If he'd defended himself at the time, she wouldn't have believed him.

“I, ah, would like to speak to you,” she said. “Privately.” She ignored the surprised glances between Holly and Deke. Holly pulled Deke to the side and murmured something for his ears only. Deke gave Kylie a sharp look.

Eli nodded and motioned her to join him on the far side of a large crane they would use to set the logs into place. He settled his shoulder against the crane and waited. An interested but wary expression lit his bluer-than-blue eyes.

“I apologize for my comment about the sex tourism. I shouldn't have said it.”

He crossed his arms, his biceps bulging. “How do you know I don't indulge while I'm away? Just because I help out at orphanages by day doesn't mean I'm not at sex clubs and whorehouses at night.”

“Maybe you do hang out in those places, maybe you don't, but making me feel like a fool is rude. I'm done.” She spun to leave, but she felt his hand on her elbow to stop her.

He slid his fingers through her hair for a few inches. “Wait. You can't really blame me for getting a bit of my own back.” He combed a wider swath. “This is like silk. It's almost dangerous.”

“What do you mean?”

He dropped his hand to her arm again. “It invites the touch. You wear it like this to get noticed.” He ran the back of his hand from her shoulder to her elbow in a soft caress.

“I like it long. And it's very forward of you to comment on my appearance when we've just met.”

“Worse than your assumption about me?” He moved his hand back up to her shoulder. “Too bad you put on this sweater, I'd like to feel your skin.”

Heat rose in her cheeks, but she didn't shrug him off. It would only entice him further. “I've already apologized. I won't do it again.”

He stepped so close behind her she felt the heat of his body along her back and flashed on the memory of Deke nuzzling Holly's blond hair aside to kiss her neck. She tilted her head a millimeter.

She waited, breath held to see if he'd notice the infinitesimal invitation, but all he did was whisper next to her ear. “I shouldn't have teased you, Kylie. I don't want to start off on the wrong foot, either.”

“So we start again?”

“Any way you want.” Damn the man. He was rough, he was hard, he was sex personified. And the worst part was, she was
charmed
.

She walked away before he figured it out.

B
ack in the front bedroom, where Eli wouldn't see her, Kylie picked up the curtains she'd made and began inserting the rod through the rings. Holly came in when she heard the rustling.

“Kylie? Everything okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You said before that you insulted Eli, but from what I saw he's definitely interested in you. He looks at you the way Deke looks at me. There's something primal about these O'Banions, don't you think?”

Primal.
“That's it, yes.” She slid the last of the rings onto the rod and lifted it to the brackets over the window. “I apologized for something I said and he accepted. End of story.”

Until and unless Kylie learned her cousins could be trusted, she'd be safer saying, and giving, nothing of herself. Much as she wanted to talk easily about her feelings and her life, she had to tread carefully. Trusting too much too soon could be painful.

“Okay. Well, if you ever want to talk about Eli and you, I'm here.” Holly's breezy acceptance that there was something to talk about regarding Eli made Kylie grin.

“Thanks. If I need advice, you'll be the first one I ask.” She placed the end of the rod in the bracket and stretched to fit the other side. “I doubt there will ever be anything between us. I want roots and he moves around too much. I did that all my life with my mother. Time for that to stop.”

Holly nodded. “Must be nice to be so tall. I'd need a step-ladder for this.”

“We never needed a kitchen stool after I turned twelve,” she quipped, relieved her cousin had changed topics. Kylie would prefer to mull over her attraction to Eli. She was rarely impulsive when it came to men, which was why it had been out of character for her to insult him at first sight.

“Speaking of advice, I'd like to get your take on something,” Holly said. Her cousin's usually sunny expression dimmed.

“Sure, what's up?” As long as this wasn't about sex, she'd be fine. Her expertise would fit on the head of a pin.

“My ex is stalking me.”

“How? I mean is he here? On the Peninsula? Or is this more like cyber-stalking?”

“He's been belligerent on the phone, leaving me nasty messages and being an ass when I call back. But I saw his car. And he may have seen Deke and me together.”

“Oh, that's not good. My mom had a weird ex-boyfriend once. We moved out in the middle of the night and left the state.”

“You're suggesting I run away?”

“No. Not in this case. If he's seen you with Deke, it's probably too late to avoid a confrontation. I'd call the police and ask advice.”

Holly agreed. “But I won't tell Deke I've spoken to the police. This is my problem, not his.”

“But—”

“No. He got involved with a woman in the middle of a nasty divorce and custody battle. It nearly broke him. I'm the first woman he's been with since then. I feel terrible that Jack's pulling this shit. But more for Deke's sake than mine. Jack's harmless, really.”

“More hot air than action?”

Holly nodded and a spring of tension inside Kylie eased. “Well, that's different. Deke will come to terms with this in his own time. In the meantime it can't hurt to have a private talk with the local police and ask about the process for getting a restraining order.”

“Jack's not a man who responds to intimidation well. That's one of the reasons I didn't tell my family about the divorce until I'd already made my decision and moved out. If my father and brothers had seen me unraveling and fighting with Jack, they may have stood up for me. Believe me, that would have been worse for me. As long as it was kept private, Jack didn't feel as humiliated by the divorce. It was easier all around.”

Kylie nodded. “I can see that. Sometimes family drama feeds off itself and can get ugly.” Maybe that was part of her mother's reason for cutting herself out of her family.

Holly suddenly drooped around the eyes and her shoulders sagged. “You're tired of this,” Kylie guessed.

Holly nodded. “I am. I want Deke, Kylie. I do. More than I ever thought possible, but if Jack doesn't go away soon I don't know that he'll stick with me.”

 

The afternoon after he chased Marnie to Seattle, TJ slipped his hands to Marnie's wrists and held them over her head. She grabbed the headboard and held on. “I like you this way,” he said, drinking in the sight and scent of her. “Ready and wet and open.”

“I like you hard,” she responded. “And big. And oh—yes! Just like that.” Her belly and cradle softened against his hips as he slid into her. She had the most intriguing habit of widening her eyes in that first thrust, as if she were surprised to find him inside.

Wet heat enveloped him, body and soul as he pressed and retreated. Her slick inner walls gave with every push and clasped with every pull.

He tightened his hold on her wrists and tugged so she arched her breasts. He took one and sucked her nipple deep, then scraped it with the back of his teeth as he released slowly. She gasped at the friction and bucked her hips up to meet his thrust. He felt her ankles high on his waist. “Higher, take me deeper.”

“Greedy bastard.” Marnie bucked, then did as she was told. He slid deeper and she swore but never released the headboard. She liked the powerful strokes, the deep thrusts as he reared back, grabbed her ankles and set them on his shoulders.

The slide in was sin itself. Every millimeter pulled back on his sensitive skin, each pull made him groan.

“Fuck me,” she screamed. “Hard.”

But slow was so damn good.

When she screamed it again, he chuckled and held himself still. He felt the throb of his cock, the wetness of her channel as she pulsed lightly around him. “Orders? You think I'll take orders?” But he gave her what she wanted and bucked harder. Sweat pooled between his shoulder blades as she flew apart in his arms. Her orgasm rumbled through her shuddering body and into his chest. He thumbed her clit to keep the pressure on as she strained against him.

He pulled out quickly while she spasmed and put his mouth to her, lapping fresh cream as she came. He tore off the condom and turned head to tail so she could finish him with her mouth. She took his cock deep in her throat while he buried his tongue in her fresh wet pussy. “Delicious.”

Her tongue caressed him lightly until his balls contracted with the first spurt. He filled her throat in a powerful rush. Heart pounding, he slid his hands to her ass cheeks and squeezed the soft flesh with a gentle shake. She took all he had and reached to press his sac for more.

Moisture seeped at her slit as he lapped at her. Her clit engorged as he worked her toward another orgasm. “You're one juicy woman.” He rubbed his face across her thighs and reveled in the softness.

She finger-combed her curls and gave her labia a shimmy. “Mm, yes.”

“Do that again. I want to see you come that way.”

She obliged as he darted his tongue between the apex of her fingers to her clit. She moaned and arched as he encouraged her into one last shivering cataclysm.

He slid to her side and gathered her close.

“You taste good,” she said as she licked her lips with a mysterious smile.

“You put honey to shame.”

“Flatterer.”

“Are you sore?”

“No, are you?”

“I think my tongue's blistered,” he said, sticking it out.

“Well, I'll be. A callus,” she teased. “As good as you taste, I think I need a shower and food.” She rolled off the bed and headed to her bathroom.

He followed. “We'll do both together.” His stomach growled. “I need food.”

“We should go out to eat or we'll end up back in bed with empty stomachs. I pretty much cleaned out my fridge before I left for the inn.”

“Know a good steakhouse?”

“Several.”

“My kind of woman,” he said. “Even if you do love the city.”

She frowned. “At this point, with Dennis being such an ass and a lawsuit brewing, I'm not so in love as I once was.”

He let the comment pass. No sense pushing her; she'd buck. Between coming to some consensus with her cousins about the inn, and now Dennis pushing her stress buttons, he decided to let her come to her own conclusions. It was safer that way.

Thirty minutes later, clean and shiny, they headed to the door, intent on food. Marnie's phone rang.

She pulled a disappointed face but answered without looking at her screen. “This better be important, Dennis.” She frowned. “Oh, sorry, Holly, what's up?”

He hoped it wasn't a problem with the site, but Deke would've called. He pressed the call button for the elevator while she talked.

“He is? I'll tell him. Yes, he's here with me.” She rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” She put her hand over the receiver. “You'd think I'd never had sex before. But she's calling to say your youngest brother arrived today.”

“Good. I'll call him.” He stepped a few feet away and dialed Eli's cell. “Yo, the prodigal son and all that,” he said when Eli answered.

“Yeah, yeah. Good to be home, Teeje. I like what you've done to the inn.” He laughed. “What was that the women were saying? Oh, yeah, it's decluttered out back.”

He snorted. “You've met Holly and Kylie?”

“If I'd known there was a babe fest going on, I'd've been back sooner. But it seems all the friendly ones are taken.”

He laughed. “Kylie's seen through you that fast, huh?” He hooted. “She's a smart one.”

“Marnie must be desperate to take up with an old guy when she could have waited for me.”

He accepted the dig about his age. “But she likes her men fully grown, not runty.”

“Jeez. Missed you, Teeje.”

“Missed you, too,
boy
. Now get to work. I'll be on site first thing Monday morning.” He was smiling as he disconnected. Eli was home, Deke was happy and off the booze and Marnie was giving it up big time. Life couldn't be any better.

He turned as he heard Marnie locking her apartment door. Life might be fine with him, but she looked worried. “What's up?”

“Holly's naive sometimes.”

“How?” He kept his voice soft. If this was about his brother, he wanted to hear it, but he'd have to tread carefully.

“Her ex, Jack, is on the Peninsula. He didn't tell her he was coming, but a woman in the hardware store said a man fitting his description was looking for Holly.” Her eyes went wide as she looked up at him. “Jack's got a couple screws loose, in my opinion. The family was relieved when she left him.”

“She divorced the guy. She must've had a good reason. How long has it been?” Relieved Holly hadn't complained about Deke, he slung his arm across Marnie's shoulder and pulled her into his side.

“The divorce is final, if that's what you're asking.”

“So he let all that happen without freaking out, why assume he's out to do her harm now?”

Her face fell and she chewed her lip. “She felt sorry for him, I guess. And…” she trailed away, looking guilty. “I shouldn't betray a confidence.”

His belly sank. “She kept sleeping with him,” he guessed. A couple he knew kept that up until they got back together. “She gave him hope that she'd let him back into her life.” Now she was sleeping with his brother. And he was hip deep into someone else's divorce.

Again.

“I've got to call Deke.”

“He was with her in the hardware store, so he knows. And I would prefer that you leave it to Holly to explain about the rest of it. She's independent to a fault when it comes to her private life. In fact, I'm surprised she told me this much.”

“She didn't have a choice if Deke was with her at the hardware store. Once Alice gets her gums flapping on a juicy bit of gossip, the whole Peninsula will know there's another man looking for Deke's new woman.” Although he admired Holly for trying to keep a lid on Deke's involvement.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a mother and two young children, putting an end to their personal conversation.

At the lobby, he held the doors open while the mother held her youngest on her hip and the toddler managed on unsteady legs to exit. He refused to hold his mother's hand, insisting he could walk alone. The kids were sandy-haired mop tops and the little girl's smile brought one to Marnie's lips. She waggled her fingers and the girl giggled.

With the doors closing, TJ called his brother. “Deke, were you with Holly in the hardware store?”

“This about the guy looking for her?”

“Marnie says he's got a screw loose. Keep a sharp eye out for him.”

“Holly told me she can handle this guy herself.”

“Maybe, but Marnie says he's a lit fuse. Everyone in the family saw it except Holly.”

“I'm pretty sure he's already seen us together.”

“Then be careful.”

“I will.”

“Good. Do you want me there?”

“No. Eli's here if I need help. Holly's prickly about this and I don't want her thinking I'm sticking my nose in when I said I wouldn't.”

“You told her about Misty?”

“Yes.”

“And about how you don't get involved with divorced women?”

“Too late for that now.”

“I figured.”

“Speaking of involved, how are things on your end?”

“Great. We're heading out for a steak.”

Deke laughed. “Don't let her finish her meal. Women get sleepy on a full stomach.”

TJ disconnected as they walked to her car. “You know this guy, Jack; do
you
think he's dangerous?”

“I'm not sure, but how many times are neighbors surprised when some guy goes wacko? If you're friendly with the police up there…”

“You're right, I'll call Chuck. It couldn't hurt to ask him to swing by the inn on patrol.” The call was short and succinct and made TJ feel that he'd done what he could without interfering too much. He stopped beside her car. “There's no way I'm going to fit in there.”