The Sextet - Dirty Dancing [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)
Authors: The Sextet
“Hi. You’re early.” Julayne leaned on the doorjamb, one hand perched on her hip. Firm, full tits encased in one of those skimpy sports bras caught his attention first. Careful not to be obvious, he scanned downward to defined abs above a tiny pair of shorts and long legs leading to bare feet with pink toenails. Too damn hot for words. “Do I smell cashew chicken?”
“Hi, Laynie.” Brand spoke first, not that Reese
could
with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. “We figured you haven’t eaten supper yet. Or if you did, it was just a salad. A bottle of your favorite cabernet to go with the Thai, and dark chocolate truffles for dessert.”
Her smile sent a jolt to Reese’s chest. She trotted across the room toward them. “I love you guys!”
The casual words made his stomach pitch. He’d resisted falling in love with her only by reminding himself she might choose his brother. Now, she threw her arms around them both, his hand curving along her bare waist for balance. His balls tightened, and his pulse pounded in his ears. She kissed Brand’s cheek and then his.
He grinned, enjoying the press of her boobs against his side. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. I guess we know what to get you for your birthday.”
“Um, …well. Yeah. Today
is
my birthday.”
Her birthday? March twenty-second.
How the hell did we not know that?
“Happy birthday, Laynie.” Brand lifted her chin with a finger. “We’ll help you celebrate.”
The look in his brother’s eyes knifed through Reese’s chest. As close as he was to being in love with her, Brand was already gone. They’d agreed the decision was hers alone, but at least one of them would end up rejected and bitter. Did he have the guts to do the honorable thing and step aside?
Not just no. Hell, no.
* * * *
Julayne broke eye contact to avoid letting Brand see her interest, and Reese’s arm had stiffened at her waist. Had he noticed the way she’d leaned into his hard body? Her attraction to the Hilliard twins had gotten out of hand.
Twins. Ha! They barely look enough alike for most people to believe they’re cousins, let alone brothers.
A wonderful contrast of dark and light, like chocolate. Both tall and handsome. So sexy. If she didn’t take control, she’d lose not only their account, but their friendship as well. She could tolerate the loss of income. She couldn’t imagine going day after day without talking to them, meeting for pizza, knowing she could call them with any problem.
Pulling away, she looked toward the lobby. The laughing and talking had quieted. All of her students had left. She paced to the window to watch the blowing snow and try to chill her hormones. “So, what do you need to talk about? You aren’t thinking of going into new construction, are you? Because you have too many repeat customers and referrals to dive into a different market. People will always need to repair and upgrade existing homes. New home building can really take a hit in a bad economy.”
The furnace kicked on, blowing cool air onto her bare shoulders. She shivered but didn’t face them. Her emotions were too close to the surface, and she had no desire to add losing her two best friends to this crappy day.
“No. Business is good.” Reese’s reflection appeared behind her in the window. His dark hair and eyes weren’t distinguishable, but she’d never forget those striking features. They always took her breath away. “Why don’t you come sit down so we can talk? This isn’t about the company. It’s—”
The lights blinked off, and the air stopped blowing. The streetlights and storefronts went dark.
Oh, come on. What else can go wrong?
“Shit.” Brand’s curse cut through the sudden silence. “Don’t move, Laynie. I have a couple flashlights in the truck. We’ll lock up and go to the house.”
Their house? She’d never survive being alone with them in a place with beds. “I’d rather just go home. We can finish our discussion tomorrow.”
Reese put his hands on her shoulders, igniting goose bumps across her skin and fire between her thighs. “You are
not
going home. No lights. No heat. No argument. We have the fireplace to keep warm, the woodstove if we want to cook, and the generator for hot water. You can even have your own personal oil lamp and a flashlight.”
How was she supposed to argue against that logic? “Fine, but I need to change clothes and flip off the light switches before we go.”
And figure out how to keep my hands to myself until the power comes back on.
“Okay. I’ll be right back with those flashlights.” Heavy footsteps moved past her.
“Happy birthday, Laynie.” Reese’s soft words tickled her ear.
What’s so happy about it? I want to have sex with the only two men on Earth I shouldn’t touch. I’m now perpetually twenty-nine. Crap, I can’t even go home to wallow in self-pity.
“I need chocolate and wine.”
He laughed, the sound burrowing into her horny soul. “Soon, sweetheart. I promise. Edwin said you were having a bad day. You’re not feeling old, are you? Because you look amazing, whatever age you are.”
She leaned back against him. She couldn’t help herself. Security, comfort, and desire warmed her cool skin.
Keep it light.
“You and Brand always know exactly the right things to say to make everything better. I guess twenty-nine isn’t old.”
Light bounced off the walls as Brand strode into the lounge. “Damn right, twenty-nine isn’t old. Now, thirty is a different story. Right, Reese?”
“Yeah.” A breathy sigh blew a strand of hair onto her cheek. Was that an erection resting against her butt? “We’ll turn thirty next month. I’m not looking forward to it.”
She ducked past Reese before she ground her hips against his tantalizing dick. Escape and avoidance were her only options. “Any gray hairs yet? Wrinkles around your eyes? How about cellulite dimples on your ass and thighs?” She grabbed a flashlight from Brand’s hand. “Men age with dignity. Women get saggy and baggy. Why do you think I dance? I don’t want my breasts resting on my poochy belly when I’m forty. I’ll be back in five minutes.”
* * * *
Careful to aim the beam of light from his Maglite at the floor, Brand watched Laynie’s ass wiggle back and forth until the locker room door closed behind her. Damn, if he lived to be a hundred, he’d never find a more perfect woman. Smart, sexy, and sassy. He’d fallen head over work boots in love with her months ago. Unfortunately, so had Reese. The dumb shit refused to admit it, but a brother knew these things, especially since they had a tendency to share brain waves. Right now they were both so goddamn turned on, they couldn’t think straight.
“We can’t have that conversation with her tonight.” Reese sat on the couch. “Not if she’s spending the night with us. Jesus. Spending the night.” He shoved his hand through his hair.
“Well, we could hardly let her go home and freeze. It’s her birthday, for God’s sake. She deserves better than to be alone on her birthday.” Why hadn’t she told them? They wouldn’t have gotten her a cheap bottle of wine and half a pound of chocolate. A couple dozen roses and jewelry might have measured up if they’d taken her to Philippe’s instead of buying takeout. “We need to think about sleeping arrangements.”
“Sleep? Who the hell is going to sleep?”
Reese had a point. “Sleep or not, we don’t have enough furniture in the living room for three beds. I’ll take the recliner and you can have the couch. We’ll have to carry one of the mattresses downstairs to put on the floor for Laynie.”
“I don’t need a mattress. A sleeping bag will work.” Shit. How long had she been standing there listening to the conversation? “My dad and I went tent camping all the time when I was a kid.”
Reese stood, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re not sleeping on the floor. We don’t even have a rug yet.”
What had crawled up his brother’s ass? Reese was laid-back, always ready for fun. He didn’t get short-tempered—and he never treated Laynie like a helpless princess. Time to ease some tension. “The floor isn’t insulated. You’ll be cold if you don’t have a mattress.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” She gave in easily enough, but shook her head as she walked to the door. Her long brown ponytail swayed back and forth above her wiggling hips. “You still have the food, wine, and chocolate, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Reese trudged along beside him, the carryout bag in one hand, the cabernet and truffles in the other. A sigh betrayed his frustration. He’d evidently reached his limit on patience where dating,
or not dating
, Laynie was concerned.
Lowering his voice, Brand leaned toward his brother. “We’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
Chapter 2
Reese’s jaw ached from clenching his teeth. Being in the same room with Laynie and not touching her was driving him out of his mind. His fingertips still tingled from the contact with her bare shoulders at the studio. God, he’d wanted to strip off those shorts and fuck her from behind while he watched their reflection in the window. Had she felt his hard cock against her ass?
He added another log to the fire, hoping she hurried upstairs to the bathroom while he had his back turned. She’d asked to take a shower. A shower. A naked image of her popped into his brain again. Who the hell needed a generator for the water heater? A cold shower was his only chance of relief.
“I’ll need to get towels from the linen closet for you.” Brand’s heavy footsteps on the oak floor echoed to the ceiling.
His brother’s calm demeanor ate at his nerves. Returning to the recliner, he stared into the fire. Did he really want to change his relationship with Laynie? What about Brand? Could they still hang out together with his brother if he and Laynie became lovers? His stomach twisted in knots at the prospect of losing the bond of their brotherhood. They allowed nothing to come between them, but continuing as friends with her couldn’t satisfy his needs anymore.
He stood to pace to the window. The faint light from the oil lamp distorted his view for a moment. A ghostly reflection of his face and the outlines of the houses across the street blended together until he focused on the background image. Powdery white clouds of snow blew across the road, curving up and over the drifts in the neighbor’s yard. He rubbed his fingers along the smooth casing of the window. He and Brand had spent hours stripping and refinishing every piece of woodwork in the house in their spare time. Tracing the edge of the mantel, he studied the swirled pattern on the ceiling. They’d wielded brushes and sponges for an entire day and half a night to create the overlapping designs. They shared an interest in restoring old homes to their original beauty. High ceilings, hardwood floors, plaster walls.
Sharing a woman wasn’t a possibility. Sure, he’d fantasized about having sex with two women. What straight guy hadn’t? He wouldn’t even try to imagine going it at it with the woman he wanted while Brand... … No, not possible.
With a hand pressing into the tense muscles of his neck, he walked to the mudroom to check the wood box. Only half full. Not nearly enough to last all night. They should bring in a couple armloads each while Laynie showered. Then they could build a small fire in the woodstove to reheat their dinner.
Shrugging into his coat, he headed back to the living room to get Brand, except he hadn’t come back downstairs yet. Ten minutes to get a couple towels? Taking the stairs two at a time, Reese walked past the linen closet to Brand’s room. Empty. He aimed for the guest bathroom. Water shushed as he came to the partly open door.
“Mmm.” A female voice with more than a hint of sexual pleasure carried to his ears. Was she playing with herself in the shower?
His dick twitched. This he had to see and hear.
He stepped closer. The reflection in the mirror made his stomach lurch. Brand’s hand cupped Laynie’s bare ass, one finger probing the apex of her thighs. The other held her naked tit, rolling her nipple between his finger and thumb. His mouth covered hers. If they’d been any other couple, Reese would’ve watched the erotic scene from his vantage point and fucked his hand, but his chest ached to see his brother touching this woman.
Son of a bitch.
“I was going to ask you to help carry in some more firewood, but obviously you’re busy.” Striding down the hallway, Reese took the stairs at a jog. His heart pounded in his chest, and a lump formed in his throat. She’d made her choice. He wasn’t it, and he couldn’t pretend he’d never wanted her for himself.
The back door slammed as he rushed outside into the gusting snow.
* * * *
Fuck.
Brand gulped in a breath, jerking his hands off Laynie’s skin. Reese had seen them kissing, had seen his brother groping the woman they both loved.
Double fuck.