Sidney’s Triple Shot [Apache Crossing] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (16 page)

Anna’s face lit up with a grin. “Damn, girl. I had no idea you were seeing all three of them.”

Sidney felt her cheeks heat. “I’m not seeing them, well, I mean I’m living with them—”

“What?” Anna screeched.

“No, what I mean is that when the deputy asked me last night who they should call for me, I said Tyce, because he was the only person that I knew the phone number for, and then all three of them came, and they took me back to their place with them, because I didn’t have anywhere else to go—”

“Please, God in heaven, tell me that you slept with at least one of them. I have dreamed about screwing around with one of those Marines ever since I met them.” Anna moved around the bar to slump heavily on a barstool. Her face took on a dreamy, dazed quality, and she held her hand over her heart like it was racing.

“No! I didn’t sleep with any of them, and I’m not going to. I’m just crashing at their place for a few days until I can get back on my feet. My car and everything else I owned was burned up like a marshmallow in a bonfire, so I have to have some time to get my bearings again. That’s all. We’re just friends.” Sidney reached over the bar for the pitcher of margaritas and a couple of glasses and began pouring one for each of them.

“Please! If I had
friends
who looked at me like that, they would quickly turn into lovers. Sugar, those men want you
bad
. Are you just not interested in them?” Anna looked genuinely perplexed, and Sidney shrugged.

“They are gorgeous, but that makes me wonder what they would want with me? I’m damaged goods, Anna. I mean, I’m a drifter, with no family, no home, and right now no personal possessions. Why would they want to deal with all of that?” She took a huge gulp of her drink, letting the tequila burn down the back of her throat. Admitting her faults out loud made her stomach churn, and she could almost hear Robert’s voice in her head calling her a loser and a waste of oxygen.

“So you’ve fallen on hard times. What’s the big deal? We all have our ups and downs. Remember that ex I told you about? The one that left me for the stripper in Dallas? Well, his wedding announcement was in the Dallas newspaper last Sunday. Stupid bastard. He has no idea what a good thing he just threw away.”

“Ouch. I’m sorry, Anna. That had to hurt…My ex didn’t let me go willingly. In fact, I’m not sure he’s actually given up on me yet,” Sidney said, pouring herself a second glass of margarita, this time with a little extra salt on the rim. It was sliding down much easier now. This was the most relaxed she had been in more than a year.

“Douche bag, huh? Yep, I’ve had my share of those. But now you have not one but three hot-as-sin brothers just itching to help you forget your ex. Why are you sitting here with me and Jose Cuervo and not getting naked and horizontal with one of them?”

Leave it to Anna to just lay it all out there. Sidney laughed at the perplexed look on the pretty brunette’s face. “I just can’t do that. When I leave—”

“About that, why are you so freaking determined to leave Apache Crossing? I thought you liked it here?”

“I do, but there are extenuating circumstances…If I stayed it could turn out really bad,” Sidney said with a hiccup. Her brain was starting to feel foggier as she finished her second drink and eyeballed a third.

“Pour me another while you’re at it there, sugar,” Anna said, waving her glass at Sidney. “You know, I think you’re scared. You’re scared that someone might actually come to care about you, and you don’t know how to handle it. Don’t be scared, Sid. Besides, you’re one of the best bartenders we’ve had around here since the boys bought the bar. Kara is okay, but she can’t hustle like you can on a busy night, plus she gets distracted by Austin. Stupid boyfriends. Who needs a boyfriend? Men are a waste of time if you ask me. Always wanting someone thinner, prettier, younger…What were we talking about?”

Sidney giggled at her friend’s confusion and then realized that she had no idea where the conversation was going either. “I don’t know, Kara, I think.”

“Hmm…okay. Did you know that she wants to be a photographer? She told me once when we went out dancing. Her and Austin were on a break, and she was going to take on the world. Now that he’s around again, who knows what she’ll do.”

“I always wanted to be a singer, but that ain’t going to happen either,” Sidney said with a commiserating nod.

“A singer? You can sing? I used to sing back in high school. I got the lead in the school musical my senior year of high school. I was Laurey in Oklahoma,” Anna said with a giggle and huge grin.

“I love that musical! But I always like to be Ado Annie’s character,” Sidney said, and the two women began to sing together at the top of their off-key lungs.

* * * *

Tyce sat on the front edge of the stage, listening to the two tipsy women singing obnoxiously loud and proud. He had no idea what song they were singing, but they sure as hell looked cute doing it. He laughed as he got up and headed for the front. Clearly it was time for last call for these two.

“Ladies, is your girl talk about over now?” he asked loudly, interrupting their duet.

Anna frowned at Sidney, who giggled and rested her head in her hand on the bar. “I don’t know, Sid, is our concert over yet?”

“I’m not sure I remember any more of the words,” Sidney said with a nod. “I should probably finish sweeping up before we leave.”

When she stood, her beautiful blonde hair fell over her brow, and she swayed on her feet. Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her up against his chest, warming with pleasure when her hands crept up around his neck to hold on to him. “Whoa, love. I think we can skip the sweeping tonight. We need to get you home and get you to bed.”

“Anna said you wanna take me to bed, and she thinks I should let you,” Sidney said, still giggling. Tyce felt all of the blood pool in his groin as Sidney wiggled against him.

“I always knew Anna was a smart girl,” he said softly. The way Sidney’s body molded against his was a beautiful thing. All he could think about was getting her naked and underneath him, and that was definitely not happening while she was drunk. “Let’s go, baby. We’ll take Anna home, and then get you home.”

“I can get myself home!” Anna argued. “I only live ten minutes away, and I walked anyways. I’ll be good as gold. Nothing ever happens in Apache Crossing anyways.” With that, she stood up from the bar and drained her third drink. “See you guys tomorrow!”

Tyce followed Anna to the lounge, with Sidney still pressed against his side. She moved with him but seemed reluctant to let him go completely, and he sure as hell wasn’t in a hurry to let go of her. However, he wasn’t about to let Anna walk home drunk by herself, so he forced himself to seat Sidney at a table and go grab Xavier from the office.

As they entered the employee lounge, they found the two women seated at the table, giggling quietly again as they shared a joke. “What the hell happened to these two?” Xavier asked.

“A couple of margaritas,” Tyce said with a shake of his head.

“Damn lightweights. All right, Anna, come on. Let’s get you home. Sidney, baby, I’ll see you at home. Let Tyce take care of you,” Xavier said, pressing a gentle kiss to Sidney’s lips. She shocked both brothers when she deepened the kiss immediately and dug her fingers into Xavier’s scalp to hold him there.

Tyce almost laughed out loud at his older brother as he grappled with the drunk woman. Sidney seemed to have lost all of her inhibitions with a little alcohol in her, and as much as Tyce enjoyed her sexy side, he knew that he wasn’t willing to take advantage of her. Neither was Xavier, because with a growl, he broke the kiss and stood quickly. “I’ll see you two at home.”

With that, Xavier and Anna were out the door, and Tyce was left with a grinning Sidney. “See, I just can’t say no. Like the song. When I get kissed I just wanna kiss back. Do you wanna kiss me, Tyce?” she asked with a semisexy smirk. If she could see herself right now, he knew she would be embarrassed, so he just smiled back.

“I do want to kiss you, love, but not until you’re sober. I want you to remember my kisses.”

“Oh, I remember. Damn near melted my clothes off, it was so hot,” she said with a small frown.

His laughter echoed through the lounge as he retrieved her clothes and purse from her locker and then scooped her up in his arms. “I hope you remember it always, love. I know I’ll never forget.”

Her head dropped onto his chest as he carried her out to his pickup truck. She was completely relaxed, and he knew she would be sound asleep by the time they got home. “Tyce?” she murmured, and he bit his lip to keep from groaning at the sleepy, sexy tone.

“Yes, love?”

“I could never forget,” she whispered.

His heart thudded to a stop in his chest, and he froze before opening the truck door. Glancing down, he realized her eyes were shut, and her breathing had slowed. She was already dozing off. For a second he told himself that it was the alcohol talking, but something in her tone told him that it was honest. His thoughts spun crazily in his head as a glimmer of hope started to flame in his soul. There was still a chance that he could convince her to stay, and every moment they could keep her here they had a better chance of making her fall in love with them.

Settling his precious bundle into the seat and buckling her in, he admitted to himself that that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her head over heels in love with him and his brothers. He was already in love with her, and he wanted her equally enamored. He just had to figure out the best way to get her there.

As he drove home, he turned it over and over in his brain. He couldn’t wait to get Xavier and Noah together and tell them his thoughts. They needed to go at this as a team if they were going to share her.

“Sidney?”

She grumbled from her burrow under the blankets, and Tyce grinned. He held a glass of water and two aspirin in his hands as he sat in the same spot as he had the night before to wake his sleeping beauty. “Love, I hate to wake you so early, but the sheriff’s office has called twice asking for you to come over to their office. Do you want me to have them come here? It might make you more comfortable than the sheriff’s office would.”

She groaned and then slowly sat up. Her T-shirt was bunched up around her waist, and Tyce got a glimpse of her pale white hip as she shifted it back into place. His cock was rock hard in a second, and he had to bite the inside of his lip to stop the moan. Seeing the offering in his hand, she shot him a grateful smile and downed the aspirin.

“God, I think a crowd of munchkins tap-danced in my head last night.” She moaned as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“If they did, they were surely dancing to the lively tune you and Anna were singing at the top of your lungs,” Tyce said with a chuckle as he reached out to massage her temples for her.

She moaned with pleasure, leaning forward to give him better access. “If I remember right, we make a hell of a great duet partnership.”

“You were certainly…enthusiastic, love.”

She laughed. “Hey! I know how good we were. It’s not my fault you’re tone deaf.”

He snorted and brushed her hair away from her face before gripping her jaw gently with his hand. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? It was absolutely my lack of musicality that made the two of you sound like an elementary-school chorus line.”

She joined him in laughter that was loud and long, and he nearly tumbled her back onto the bed as he took in her sparkling brown eyes and flushed cheeks. In that moment, she was more beautiful than any other woman he had ever met. Once their laughter quieted, and he managed to get a grip on his raging hormones, he asked her again, “Now, what do you want to do about Sheriff Lumpy? I can have him come here, if you would be more comfortable.”

“Yes, please. I would rather be here when I talk to them. Do you think—” She stopped abruptly and flushed.

His curiosity was piqued. “Do I think what, love? What’s wrong?”

“Umm…Did Noah and Xavier leave for work already?” she asked, and he watched her stare at her hands. She was suddenly gripping the comforter tightly, nervous about something, and it was driving him nuts.

“Noah did. He has a shipment that came in at eleven this morning, and he had to be there to process it, but Xavier hasn’t yet. He won’t leave until probably five or so. Why?” Cocking his head, he watched in confusion as a blush crept from her cheekbones all the way down to her collarbone. He wondered how much further that rosy pink color traveled, and his mouth watered at the thought of seeing for himself.

“I just thought maybe it would be nice to have all three of you guys with me when I talk to them.” She looked up at him with hesitant brown eyes that held a depth of fear and anxiety that Tyce had never experienced. His heart lurched in his chest, and then he realized that she was asking for them to be there for her. She was trusting them to be her support while she dealt with something difficult. If that’s not progress, then I don’t know what the hell is, he thought to himself.

“You got it, love. Let me make some calls, and we’ll work it out.” Tyce’s heart thudded anew when a look of relief crossed her face. “Now, I put your clothes from yesterday on the end of the bed. They are washed and ready for you to wear. After the deputies leave, we will run to the mall in west Austin. It’s about an hour away, but you have a better chance of finding what you need there than at the grocery store or the Wal-Mart,” he said with a chuckle.