Bree slept a deep and satisfied sleep while lying in Jake’s arms. Occasionally she found herself nuzzling into him, feeling safe and protected. And wanted. She loved that feeling and was hard pressed to move from their private cocoon. She’d ventured in and out of sex-induced slumber until finally going fully under.
Now, she was coming awake, and slowly realizing that something was different. Glancing at the heavily draped window across the room, she noticed a sliver of daylight peeking through, and was embarrassed that she had slept so long. Rising up on one elbow, she instantly realized that she was alone.
Jake was gone.
But where?
Her gaze moved to the heavy doors, now standing slightly ajar. So what did this mean? She was free to go? He’d made a decision…and it wasn’t her? Did she not satisfy him or had he simply had his fill of her?
She didn’t know, and her brain was too groggy to speculate. Needing to pee, she left the warmth of the bed behind and tiptoed to the adjoining bathroom, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
Alone, she questioned her sanity. How could she have done what she did? She never considered herself the kind of person to break up someone else’s relationship. It was one thing to cheat on her own relationship. It was quite another to interfere with someone else’s. At the moment, she wasn’t sure she could live with herself.
Yet, Carson had given his blessing.
Still…
And what about Carson? His come-hither innuendos throughout the evening were a puzzle all unto their own. What did he want out of all of this?
After she’d used the toilet, Bree leaned into the sink looking into her eyes. Her face told the tale of a long night. She looked like that phrase her mother used to say, about women who were less than respectable-that they’d been “rode hard and put up wet.”
She’d been ridden hard, that was for certain. And gave as good as she got. Put up wet? Yeah, that, too.
Glancing toward the tiled shower stall, she initiated a short conversation with herself and decided that a shower would be both appropriate and desirable about now. She was sticky and smelled like sex. Besides, while cleaning up, she could contemplate her next move while the water beat over her body.
Nothing like stinging pellets to make one come to their senses.
Standing under the stream, her hair twisted into a knot on top of her head to prevent it from getting too wet, it wasn’t long before she realized exactly what she had to do. Not certain how she would get home off the mountain, she knew she had to do just that. Ginger, she figured, was long gone. She had no clue what the snowstorm had done to the roads during the night. And crap, even worse, she had no clothes.
But she had to leave. Jake was too irresistible, and Carson was becoming a temptation in his own right. She was wildly attracted to them both, and that could only spell trouble. She’d never had the opportunity to experience a ménage liaison before, even though the thought intrigued her. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it.
But it didn’t matter, did it? It wasn’t in the offering.
If she were totally honest with herself, she feared rejection, big time.
And the rules were changing.
Somehow the door to the bedroom had been opened in the night. Maybe Carson had changed his mind and came after Jake. Perhaps Jake was having second thoughts and had figured out a way to leave. Either way, she was not going to come between them.
Or be there when either returned.
That was that.
She twisted the knob halting the water and stepped out of the shower. A fluffy towel was draped nearby on a hook. Gathering herself up in the thick terry, she rubbed at her body to absorb some of the droplets, then tucked it under her arms and gathered the remainder at her breast. She padded off into the bedroom in search of clothing.
“So, did you come to share the sordid details, or what?” Carson sat at the bar in their kitchen, hunched over a cup of coffee, reading a book. He didn’t look up as Jake entered. “Finally jimmied that board off the latch, huh? Funny, I didn’t realize you’d be so keen to escape.”
“We need to talk.” Jake felt the urgency. It was time.
Carson turned a page.
“Look, you forced my hand on this issue,” Jake finally said.
Carson replied by carefully closing the book and peering across the kitchen to meet his lover’s gaze. “Someone needed to force something. You weren’t coming clean, nor were you admitting there was an issue. You made no attempt at resolution, or anything.” He stood. “Yes, dammit, I forced your hand. I can’t go on like this. I want our life back.”
Jake wasn’t sure they could ever get back what they once had. Not exactly.
“Yes, I lied to you.” He stepped closer to Carson, not breaking the gaze. “I lied. I lusted. I loathed myself for it. I fucked her, and it came out of nowhere. It wasn’t planned, Carson, it just happened.”
“And you’ve not been able to forget it.”
“No.”
“You should have told me.”
“I… I tried. I couldn’t. Carson, I love you. I need and want to be with you.”
“But she got in the way.”
“And I didn’t know what to do about it.”
Narrowing his gaze, Carson held his stare for a moment then broke away to look out the kitchen window. “Not telling me was the first mistake. Lying when I asked you if something was wrong was the second one.” His voice trailed off. “Jake, before we have any chance of moving on…of figuring this out…I have to know that I can trust you.”
Closing his eyes, Jake wondered if the trust was completely broken. He moved closer to Carson, so close behind him that he wanted to run his hands over his shoulders and hold him. He was in as much pain as him, he was certain.
“I want you to trust me,” he said. “How do I earn it back? Where do we go from here? What do I have to do?”
Turning, Carson faced him. “You can start by telling me the truth. Right now.” He paused, and Jake held his breath. “Answer me this, Jake. Can you let her go? Are you finished with her now?”
Searching deep, Jake knew that his future rested on how he answered that question. He had to be honest, no matter what. He had to earn the trust back.
Even if it meant the end of their relationship.
“No. I can’t let her go.”
And that was the truth. He was not ready to give up Bree. Didn’t know if he ever could.
The tension between them was tensile-strength and about to snap.
Lifting his chin, Carson peered back with penetrating eyes. “Then I have one more question. Are you willing to share her?”
“Men,” Bree muttered to herself, “do they not own anything halfway decent to wear besides baggie sweats, long shorts, and t-shirts?” Of course, the walk-in Jake and Carson shared was filled with dress and casual clothes, alike, but she wanted something that would half-way fit her and make her not look like a vagabond wandering the street. She had no clue what she would do for shoes, unless she wore the stupid boots.
Not likely.
Still holding the towel at her chest, she rummaged through one of the men’s drawers, not coming up with anything to her liking. “Dammit.”
“Looking for something?”
She bolted straight up, her towel taking a lunge. Turning, she grasped it closed between her breasts and looked at Jake-tall and dark and handsome-framed in the open double doors.
“I… I thought I’d find something to put on.”
“No need.” He reached and shut the doors behind him. “No clothing required for the next,” his gaze dropped to his wristwatch, “sixteen hours or so. After that, we’ll figure out the clothing situation.”
“Sorry, Jake, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. Really, I need to be going. May I just borrow…?” She picked up a t-shirt.
He swept to her side, took the shirt out of her hand, and laid it back on the dresser. “There will be no talk of leaving, Bree. The roads are snow-covered and nasty. We can’t risk it. Besides, your twenty-four hours are not up yet.”
Panicking a bit, she drew back, drawing the towel closer. “Surely you are not going to hold me to that silly auction thing, are you Jake? Let me call Ginger. I’m sure her jeep…” At once, she wondered where her cell phone was. Had she even had it last night? The last time she remembered seeing it was back in her apartment. That’s right; she’d tossed it on her bed.
But no matter. That was the least of her concern at the moment. Avoiding Jake, she moved toward the bed. “I’ll call someone.”
“Nobody is coming out in this weather, Bree.”
She turned boldly to face him, remembering her conviction of a moment earlier. Even if she couldn’t leave, she wasn’t going to carry this any further. Surely there was another room where she could hang out…far away from this den of seduction. “Jake, we can’t go on with this. Just let me be. The last thing I want to do is come between you and Carson. It’s best that we let this die.”
“So you didn’t enjoy our night together?”
Swallowing hard, she looked into his eyes. “I can’t deny that I enjoyed every second. And that is the problem. There is no future here, Jake, and I’m not taking this any further. You and Carson have a life together. I need to exit, and we need to forget this ever happened.”
“Your words and the look on your face are in utter contradiction, my dear.” Stepping forward, he ran a fingertip over her forehead. “So many frown lines and worry wrinkles,” he whispered. Drawing closer, his breath was hot on her neck. “Let me erase those, Bree.”
She backed away. “You aren’t listening to me.” Dammit, for once she was going to have resolve. She was going to do the right thing!
“I’m reading your body language. Your words aren’t very convincing.”
Frustrated, she balled her hands into fists. “Stop doing that! Quit putting things in my head for me to think about. I know what I need to do. I need for you to stop confusing me!”
Jake’s shoulders slumped and he exhaled hard. The relaxation of his body made her more at ease. “Please stop,” she whispered. “I’m trying to do the right thing. Please let me.”
Jake closed his eyes at her words. “I love you, Bree.”
Her head shook in denial. “No. Don’t do that.”
“I do. I can’t deny it. Being with you last night made me realize that I cannot live without you. I love you, and I want you.”
No. This wasn’t happening. She stalked off. “But what about Carson! You can’t throw that relationship away!”
“Bree, that’s what I want to talk with you about.”
“No. You can’t love me.”
“I do.”
“No!”
“Bree, please…” he reached for her and she jerked away.
“I do not fall in love, Jake. I don’t. And you cannot and will not fall in love with me. I screw up every relationship that comes my way. There is no hope for us.”
“I can make you happy. This will be different. Please hear what I have to say…”
“No. It’s not in me. I can’t settle for one man. Never have I been able to do that. I’ll break your heart down the road. I guarantee it. We’ll be together, and I’ll see someone else. It’s what I do. One man just isn’t enough for me.”
Jake quieted her with a hand in the air. She stopped talking and looked into his face. Finally, he said, “Stop for a moment, okay? Quit selling yourself short. Just because you screwed up in the past doesn’t mean you will fuck up in the future.”
“But…”
“No. I won’t listen to another word, Bree. And I’m not letting you go tonight. You’re staying here. With me. And by God, you’re going to let me have one more chance of convincing you that we belong together. Do you understand?”
A nervous laugh escaped her throat. “So what are you going to do, tie me to that bed for the next sixteen hours until I cry out my love for you in orgasmic pleasure?”
The expression on his face didn’t budge. The silence between them spoke volumes.
“Give me one more chance, Bree,” he whispered, “to make this work. Give me a few more hours. I love you. I need you. And I guarantee you that by this evening, you will never want to leave.”
Swallowing hard, Bree held his gaze. Her head said no. Her pussy was already wet, betraying her. And her heart was definitely on the fence.
Still, she looked him square in the face and said, “All right.”