Sins of the Past (13 page)

Lorna opened her mouth to protest. She had mixed emotions about his words. She wasn’t some toy that could be passed around, but the thought that she brought Jacob joy made her feel warm inside. Jacob held his hand up to stop her comment before she could even say anything.

“This has nothing to do with your mother or her reputation. I’m falling for you, Lorna, and so is Cole. He would be here right now telling you the same thing, but I asked him to let me talk to you alone. We both want you and not just as some passing fling. Cole and I have never shared women before, but I can see us together years down the road. Having my best friend there as well is like a bonus.”

Lorna was stunned. She knew she was sitting there with her mouth hanging open, but she couldn’t bring herself to close it. They wanted to share her? What the hell was she supposed to say to that?

“You don’t have to give us an answer right now,” Jacob said. “I just wanted to let you know how we were feeling and give you something to think about. I didn’t want you over here worried that I was angry with you. From the looks of things, that’s exactly what you were doing.”

Jacob lifted his brow as he eyed the stack of cookies on the table, but Lorna ignored him. Her mind was reeling at the fact that according to him, two gorgeous men wanted her and they were willing to share her to have her. The thought turned her on, but in the back of her mind, Ashley’s voice was playing over and over in her head saying she was just like her mother. Could she even consider their offer?

Jacob kissed her jaw before standing. “We wanted to invite you over for a barbeque tomorrow evening. We can all talk about this more then. In the meantime, just think about it. If you don’t think this is something you want to try, then don’t be afraid to tell us no. I don’t want to lose you no matter what your decision is.”

Lorna heard the front door close behind Jacob as he let himself out. Her mind was spinning too fast for her to even move. What was she going to do? She didn’t want to lose Jacob. He said he wasn’t going anywhere no matter her decision, but could she really believe that? What would happen if she chose them both and then they decided that they couldn’t share? There was no way she could pick between the two. Their friendship would crumble and it would be all her fault. If she chose Jacob, then Cole would always be on the outside. How could she look at the man and know he had feelings for her that he couldn’t do anything about? Would he eventually get tired of having to see them together and leave?

No matter how Lorna thought of it, the situation always seemed to end up with the same outcome. In her mind, she was the one who tore apart their friendship. She couldn’t let that happen. No matter how she felt about Jacob and Cole, there was no way she could come between the two of them. She may have been a slut for considering sleeping with two men, but there was no way she would become like her mother and tear relationships apart. That was where she drew the line.

Lorna pulled the throw blanket from the back of the couch and curled up with it. She knew what she had to do. She would go to their dinner tomorrow night and tell them there could be nothing but friendship between the three of them. As her eyes drifted closed, Lorna just hoped she could keep a straight face and not show how much of a lie it was when she told them.

* * * *

“Stop pacing. You’re driving me crazy.”

Cole stopped and looked at Jacob. “I can’t help it. With everything you told me about her mom, do you think she’ll even agree to this?”

Jacob flipped the burgers that he had on the grill. They didn’t need flipping, but he did it anyway just so he could have something to do to keep himself from pacing like his best friend. He was nervous as hell that Lorna wouldn’t show up, but he had no plans of taking no for an answer. The more he thought about it, the more he realized the three of them belonged together. They just fit. “We’ll probably have to convince her, but I’m up for it.”

Cole grinned. “Yeah, I can think of a few creative ways to do that.”

Before Jacob could tell Cole to stop thinking with his dick, the woman in question came around the side of the house. He almost swallowed his tongue at the outfit she was wearing. The red halter top seemed to glow against the caramel of her skin and stopped right before the waistband of her shorts, giving him a peek at her belly with each step she took. The cut-off jean shorts were so worn that they were almost threadbare. Jacob was tempted to pull on one of the threads to see if they would unravel for him. He scanned his eyes down her legs and almost came in his jeans at the sight of her toes. The red nail polish matched her shirt and made his mouth water at the thought of sucking each one.

“Hi guys. I didn’t know what all we were having, so I brought baked beans.”

Jacob had been too busy admiring her outfit to even notice the bowl Lorna had been carrying. He took it from her when she held it out and lost his breath. The groan from Cole behind him let him know that the man was just as affected from the sight before them. The bowl had been covering up the fact that the halter dipped down between her breasts, giving them a spectacular view of her cleavage. He was tempted to skip dinner and the talk altogether and bury his face in her chest right then and there.

“Go ahead and grab a beer and a seat. As soon as I get the burgers off the grill, we can eat,” Jacob said, proud that his voice came out normal. He adjusted his cock in his shorts as he turned away. The thing was straining against his zipper begging for some attention.

He could hear Cole talking to Lorna, but he had no idea what the man was saying to her. His nerves eased a little when he heard Lorna laugh. At least there was no tension between the two of them. That was a start at least. Once he had the burgers on the plate and the gas on the grill turned off, Jacob grabbed his cane and headed over to the table. Cole was already seated next to Lorna, so he took the seat directly across from her. He needed to be able to see her face when they talked. When it came to emotions, the woman was an open book. Everything she was feeling was showing directly on her face and Jacob needed to see that to know how she was feeling about their proposal.

They sat in silence as they ate and Jacob felt the tension between the three of them growing with each passing minute. He had no idea how to diffuse the situation. How was he supposed to start a conversation about having a threesome? Since the barbeque was his idea, he figured he needed to be the one to do something. He just didn’t want to do something to frighten Lorna away. As tough as she acted, the look on her face at the moment told him one wrong move and the woman was going to bolt away like a scared little rabbit. That was something he couldn’t let happen.

Looking over at Cole, he could tell the man had come to the same conclusion. When they had first sat down to eat, Cole had sat so close to Lorna they were practically molded together, now he was subtly shifting away from her as if he knew she needed space.

Deciding there was no gentle way to bring up the subject, Jacob cleared his throat and dove right in. “Have you thought about what we talked about last night?” He thought about how tired and weary she had looked the night before and was glad he hadn’t waited until morning to talk to her. He had a feeling based on her past and her relationship with her mother that the guilt of kissing Cole was eating her alive. He had been right when she opened the door and he saw the look on her face. It had taken all of his strength to keep from pulling her in his arms and doing everything he could to comfort her. He knew that would have been a mistake though. In the light of day, he knew it would have only added to her guilt so he held back. He didn’t think he could do that anymore. All he wanted to do at the moment was shove everything off the table and throw her on top of it. He had a feeling she would be the perfect dessert.

“I did and I think we should all just be friends.”

Lorna’s statement pulled him out of his thoughts. She didn’t even give him time to respond before she was up gathering empty dishes and running into the house.

“She’s running scared,” Cole grunted.

He confirmed Jacob’s thoughts. “What are we going to do about it?” He knew what he wanted to do. He just wanted to see if Cole was right there with him. “Should we let her go?”

“Hell no. We both know that something has her spooked. She wouldn’t have ran out of here so fast if it wasn’t. In my book that means we just need to find out what has her so scared and convince her that whatever it is isn’t a problem.”

Jacob nodded, glad they were on the same page. “The only way we’re going to convince her that this can work between us is if we come at her at the same time. She needs to see we’re serious about this relationship and we won’t get jealous of each other.”

“I agree,” Cole said. “I think we need to start right now.”

The grin on his face told Jacob exactly what Cole wanted to do. He was right on board with that plan and knew he had the same grin on his face. They both stood from the table at the same time and headed for the house. They found Lorna in the kitchen with her back to them. She was just standing there lost in thought. From the white-knuckle grip she had on the counter, Jacob had a feeling those thoughts weren’t pleasant. That was something he didn’t want. He wanted her mind on them and not her past or what anyone in the small-minded town thought of her.

Lorna jumped and turned his way when he ran his hand down her back. He moved in close, molding her to the front of his body. He felt her chest rising as she panted and felt her gasp when Cole moved in behind her, effectively trapping her between them.

“Wh—” Lorna swallowed and licked her lips before she continued. “What are you doing?”

Cole answered before he did. “We aren’t taking no for an answer,” he whispered in her ear. Jacob felt her shiver against him. “You know how Jacob feels about you and I’m definitely attracted to you. I have been since the moment you opened that front door and I laid eyes on you. There’s just something about you that draws me to you. I see myself falling hard for you, Lorna.”

Lorna watched Jacob the entire time Cole was whispering in her ear as if she was trying to gauge his reaction to what Cole said. He stared right back hoping that she saw the truth shining in his eyes that they could make the relationship work. If that didn’t convince her, then he hoped his rock hard cock digging into her stomach did. He had never been so turned on in his life than he was at that moment. There was something about having his best friend right there with him and knowing they were both going to take care of the woman he was falling in love with that had him harder than he had ever been before.

“Say yes, Lorna,” he whispered. “Say yes and let us show you we can make this work.” He wanted to kiss her so bad, but he stepped back instead. Jacob wanted the decision to be hers alone and he didn’t want her judgment clouded when she made it. Cole followed, giving her space. They had both made their pleas, now it was up to Lorna to decide.

Cole felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest while he waited for Lorna’s answer.
Please say yes!
The thought screamed over and over in his head. He wanted to hide his hands behind his back and cross his fingers, but he stood perfectly still. She couldn’t say no. Cole had no idea what he would do if she did. He would be devastated. He couldn’t even think of anything he had ever wanted more than he wanted Lorna at that very moment. Being a Navy SEAL had been his dream for as long as he could remember, but he hadn’t even wanted that as much.

He had to force himself to take a step away from her when Jacob did. He knew exactly why the big man was doing it, but he wanted to have her back in his arms. He wanted to feel her heat against him again.

“This is crazy.” Lorna looked between the two of them. “I don’t know what to say.”

Yes, yes, yes.
He only wanted to hear one word come out of her mouth and Cole chanted it in his head as if he could will her to say it.

“I can’t be the one who comes between you two. I can’t be like her.”

Cole knew what she was talking about. Jacob had filled him in on her mother and why the town couldn’t stand Lorna. He had wanted to go hunt the townspeople down and kill a few of them, but Jacob had stopped him. He understood why Lorna had kissed him in the diner, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret the kiss. Watching Lorna as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, he wanted to do it over again right then and there.

“It’s not going to happen,” Jacob said. Cole could hear the confidence in Jacob’s voice and he hoped Lorna did as well.

Lorna nodded. “Okay.”

That was all she could get out before Jacob grabbed her and pulled her to him. Cole watched as the man practically devoured her lips. He was already hard, but he felt himself growing harder as her watched their kiss. Cole felt the wet spot on the front of his underwear growing and knew his cock was leaking. When Jacob finally pulled away, he turned Lorna toward Cole. Her lips were swollen and red and she had a dazed look on her face. She was the sexiest thing Cole had ever seen.

“Finally,” he said, right before he pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. Cole felt Lorna’s moan vibrate against his tongue when he slipped it into her open mouth sending sparks of pleasure shooting straight to his cock. He spread his fingers through her short hair and gripped it slightly so he could tilt her head. Once Cole had her positioned where he wanted her, he deepened the kiss, tracing every inch of her mouth.