Authors: Tamsin Baker
“It’s
still early, gorgeous, let’s sleep.”
Laura
nodded, her eyelids dropping.
They
disengaged, and Tyler grabbed Laura’s hand and gently lifted her up and out of
the bed. Her beautiful eyes were at half-mast as he led her into the bathroom
and gently cleaned her body.
He
loved the look of pure contentment on her face as she hummed and smiled. He
then quickly wiped himself off and guided her back to their room. He fell back
into bed in a tangle of limbs and soft words before slumber claimed them both.
****
Laura
giggled to herself as she received the third message for the day from Tyler.
They’d woken up late and had jumped out of bed in a flurry. Laura had showered
quickly and dressed in the work clothes she’d left in her car. She’d popped
home before going to their house the night before, and she’d been so grateful
she had when she’d arrived at work only ten minutes late.
“Come over for dinner again. We
miss you.”
She
checked the clock and typed a response while a stupid smile spread across her
face. She couldn’t remember a time when she ever felt this happy.
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
She
finished the paperwork she had to complete and changed into some jeans in the
staff room so she wasn’t in her work pants. She had a few questions for her
beautiful males and she needed some answers. How was this strange relationship
meant to work? There were two of them and only one of her. Would she always be
enough for them? What if Brandon decided he was going to date on the side, or
something stupid like
that.
Acid
burned in her belly and she swallowed against the sick sensation swelling like
a wave as it approaches the shore. She wouldn’t be able to handle anything
other than full exclusivity.
She
said good-night to the staff and travelled the twenty minutes to her men’s
home, walking up to the front door with butterflies the size of cats flying
around in her tummy.
The
door
flew open before she knocked on the intricately carved
timber, and Tyler reached out and pulled her into the warmth of his arms.
Laura
laughed against his lips as she was tilted off-balance, Tyler’s strong arms
holding her as he showered her face with kisses.
“Hello to you, too.”
He
chuckled and planted one quick kiss on her lips before he kicked the door shut
and brought her down the hallway and into the huge living area where Brandon
sat on the couch.
“You
hungry, babe?” her blond lover asked from his comfortable perch. Laura moved
away from Tyler to greet him, throwing her leg over Brandon and straddling him.
“No, not yet.”
She leaned in to kiss him, their
lips meeting and heat building between them, as he stood up with her still
wrapped around him.
She opened her eyes
as he pulled back from the kiss to see his eyes flicker the lion-yellow. She
slid down his body and her feet landed on the floor. She stood back up and
watched a strange flicker of yellow cross Brandon’s eye. Was that his lion?
“I
need to talk to you guys about something.”
Tyler
moved over to her and pulled her down onto his lap as he sat next to Brandon,
who continued to sit sideways with his eyes fixed on her face.
“Sure,
babe, what’s up?” Tyler ran his fingertips down her arms, making her relax and
sink into his strong embrace.
She
bit her lip and looked between her two gorgeous men. How was this discussion going
to progress? She was
loathe
to throw any tension into
their newfound happiness, but this had to be discussed.
Laura
took a breath and relaxed into Tyler’s arms, looking at her blond-haired god
across the room.
Here goes…
“How’s
this going to work exactly?”
Brandon
cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Laura
inhaled deeply through her nose,
then
let it out
again. She didn’t want to have to spell it out, but these were men. Subtlety
wasn’t going to work.
“Are
you two going to be faithful to me? Or does the monogamy thing, like, not exist
in this kind of relationship?”
Tyler
chuckled beneath her, his chest vibrating the way a cat’s does when it purrs.
Funny,
that.
Brandon
just gave her a weird look with a smile flirting around the edges of his strong
mouth.
“Why,
Laura? I hope you’re not asking if it’s okay for you to see other men.”
Laura
stared at Brandon,
then
burst out laughing when she
saw the smile turn into a frown.
She
laughed with glee. “You’re kidding me. You guys are more than enough for me!”
Brandon’s
tight shoulders and grim face relaxed. “Why ask then?”
She
grimaced, hating the weakness within her, and her logical brain that screamed
at her for her hypocrisy.
“Because, technically, I’m not
being monogamous.
I have both of you, and you only have me. I’d love to say you could have
someone else if you really wanted to, but I think it would break my heart if
you needed to sleep with someone else.”
There!
I said it.
Tyler
chuckled again, wrapping his arms around her waist and squeezing hard.
“Of
course we’ll commit to only you, Laura. I certainly don’t want anyone else, and
as far as the monogamy thing goes, you will be monogamous.
Just
to two men, not one.”
Laura
tilted her face up and smiled as Tyler kissed her temple, the gesture sending
warm honey through her core.
She
glanced across the room and could almost see the internal struggle going on in
Brandon’s head. His face was twisted in a weird sort of way.
“You
okay?” she asked, attempting to rise to go to him, yet Tyler held her tight.
Brandon
shrugged. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just hadn’t really thought about it.”
Laura
swallowed, fear fluttering in her belly. Tyler had definitely been more ready
for her appearance in his life, while Brandon was the more effusive of the two.
According to Renee, Brandon had been pretty wild up until she entered his life.
“Which part.
About you being monogamous?
Or the…hypocrisy of me expecting it, when I’m not really giving it?”
Brandon
nodded, and his eyes took on a glazed sort of look.
Laura
hurried on.
Oh God, it’s going to kill me
if he agrees to this.
“If
you aren’t ready, Brandon, I understand. I don’t think I can choose between
you, but if you aren’t comfortable with this, or want some more time to enjoy
being single, maybe I can just stay with Tyler and you can…”
“No!”
The word shot across the room, silencing anything else she would have said.
Brandon
sat up straighter in his chair and flicked his head at her.
“Come
here.”
Tyler’s
arms released her,
then
helped her to her feet. She
walked over to her big Viking, her legs trembling with each step. He grabbed
her and pulled her down into his lap as soon as she was within reach, his solid
bulk supporting her and making her
feel
safe and
small.
“I’ve
never been monogamous before. I like the freedom of being able to do whatever
and whoever I want.”
Laura
struggled to get up and off Brandon’s lap, anger filling her up so fast she
could see red flashing in her vision as she growled. His arms clamped down on
her and she began to hit out at him, her futile attempts to get away making
tears spring to her eyes.
“Then
let me go! If you don’t want only me, I’ll leave.”
A
wounded noise sounded behind her and Laura ignored it. Tyler wouldn’t like the
idea of her leaving, but she couldn’t stay if it meant Brandon kept sleeping
around.
“Stop
it, you silly woman. That’s not what I meant. Now, let me finish.”
Brandon
was squashing her into his chest now, holding her head and arms down so she was
tucked into him. His heart was beating beneath her, the sound soothing as she
settled down to press her ear against it.
As
her anger drained away, she closed her eyes and nestled in, finding the most
comfortable spot where all of her body felt warm and caressed.
“What
did
you mean then?”
He
sighed and squeezed her again. “I mean…I will commit to you, only to you. I
don’t care about Tyler being
there,
too, that’s not an
issue in our community. I have always known I’d share a mate with my brother, I
don’t think of it as you cheating.”
A
huge weight lifted off Laura and she sagged heavier into Brandon’s embrace. Now
that her anger had left her, she felt vulnerable and a little fragile, and open
to whatever feelings and thoughts they wished to share.
“So,
what is it then?”
Brandon
groaned and shifted her so that her ass was right over his crotch. She wiggled
because she couldn’t resist and he squeezed her again.
“Just
remember that this is new for me, too. I’m not used to it yet.”
Laura
had to ask. “Do you want anyone else?”
Silence
for a moment,
then
Brandon barked out a laugh.
“No.
I don’t. I had a woman proposition me this morning at the gym and I growled at
her. I wasn’t even slightly interested, though she was hot, and that’s strange
for me. I’m not sure I entirely like the feeling.”
Laura
ignored the “she was hot” comment and processed the rest of the information.
There’d always be good-looking women
around,
the
concern was whether or not her men found them tempting.
Her
big wildcat wasn’t interested in all the other pussies anymore, and he was
worried. He probably thought something was wrong with him.
Laura
slipped her hands up under his T-shirt and began teasing his tight little
nipples with her fingers.
“I
like the feeling…” She began gyrating on his lap, rubbing her ass against his
rising cock, and loving the feel of the feminine power rising in her belly. “I
love the fact you want me above all others.”
Brandon
grunted, in agreement with her assumption or not, she wasn’t sure. She raised
her head to stare into his blue eyes and found them looking strangely cautious.
She smiled up at him with as much warmth as possible.
“Because
I need you.”
Brandon
crushed her against him and kissed her, his hunger evident in the thrust of his
tongue into her mouth and the way his hands clung to her body like a dying man
in need of her love.
Chapter Eleven
Laura
stepped into the noisy bar with her men, tingles of awareness zinging along her
nerves. The smell of sweat and beer assaulted her nostrils, yet she giggled
like a schoolgirl on her first date. She felt so special between her men, their
protective postures like strutting peacocks and angry gorillas all in one.
Some
huge guy was standing in front of her grinning like he’d won something, his
muscular build very similar to Brandon’s.
“Hey Ty, Brandon.
Who’s your friend?
Laura
waited to see what her men would do and was surprised when Brandon spoke up.
“Jim,
this is Laura. Laura, this is Jim, a friend of mine from work.”
Brandon’s
mouth was turned down and he was shifting from foot to foot as though readying
himself for a fight.
Calm down, honey.
“Hey.”
Laura nodded at the guy and Jim stepped forward with a slight leer.
“
Wanna
’ dance?”
Laura
laughed at such a blatant offer. This wasn’t exactly the sort of place she’d
want to dance with a stranger, even if she hadn’t been with her men. Brandon
stepped in front of her, blocking off Jim’s advance as effectively as a solar
eclipse.
“I
don’t think so.”
Laura
rolled her eyes and turned to her right when a feminine hand slid into her
palm. She turned to face a gorgeous redhead rolling her eyes in Laura’s
direction.
“Hey Renee.”
“Hi
Laura, let’s get a drink.” Renee tugged her away from the boys and Laura let
her. She watched with amusement as Tyler and Brandon’s mouths dropped open,
looking too much like cartoon characters than the big men they were.
“I
can’t believe they are so protective.” Laura nodded at Tyler and Brandon, and
Renee laughed with
a gusto
similar to her brothers.
“You’re
kidding? They’re men who believe they’ve found the one and only woman designed
for them. They’re not leaving anything to chance.”