by Marla Monroe
Lamar stayed close to her while she finished cleaning up. Then he steered her inside the house once everyone had left and they were alone.
“Brody will be back soon. Then we’ll head home.”
She didn’t bother arguing with him. They needed to have the talk before things went any further. Then she would insist they bring her back to Brian’s place. More than likely they would be glad to do it. She had little doubt that Brody’s temperament would accept her decision to leave as soon as her brother and the others returned from their honeymoon. Tish had caught on fast to the bookkeeping and record-keeping programs she had set up for them. She wouldn’t need any further education.
She took a seat in the living room and leaned her head back against the back of the couch. She was exhausted from all the preparations and the added emotional stress she was under. If she could have lain down, Caitlyn had little doubt that she would have fallen asleep.
“You look tired.”
“It’s been a very eventful day. Thank goodness for Rita. I couldn’t have done everything without her.”
“She’s a nice woman. I’ve known her for years. She runs a little boutique in town. I think it sells woman’s underwear.”
“I think I’ve been in it. I found a couple of things there.”
“Maybe you could model them for me later.” Lamar waggled his eyebrows at her.
She couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.
“That’s better. I was afraid your face was going to freeze with that silly frown on your mouth.” He pulled her down on the couch and hugged her.
“What are you still doing here? Why didn’t you leave with Brody and the other guy? I’m sure they could have used your help in unloading everything.”
“I won the coin toss and got Caity duty.” He grinned at her before pulling her over so that her head rested on his shoulder.
Nearly twenty minutes later, Brody walked into the house. He stared at them for a few seconds then sighed.
“Let’s go. Lock up, Lamar. I’ll carry her out to the truck.” Brody reached down to pick her up.
“I can walk. I have a headache and was resting my head.” She really did have a headache.
“I’ll carry you. Have you taken anything for your head yet?” He swung her up in his arms without a problem.
“No. I didn’t feel like moving.”
She clutched his shoulders, knowing he could carry her without a problem. It felt good to be in his arms, a sort of sweet torture. Resting her head on Lamar’s shoulder had felt much the same way.
Brody eased her inside the truck and fastened her in. A minute later, Lamar climbed up beside her. The slamming of the doors caused her to wince. Her headache was getting worse all the time. Maybe she’d had too much champagne. She only remembered having a glass and a half. More than likely it was the strain of dealing with the weddings and her situation.
When they pulled up outside their house, the two men climbed out of the truck. Lamar unfastened her seat belt and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her in the house when Brody unlocked it. They went straight upstairs, Brody taking her from Lamar’s arms to climb the stairs. Then Lamar was handing her a glass of water and two pain tablets. She swallowed them without a fuss.
She hardly noticed when they stripped her and put her to bed. The pounding in her head slowly eased up enough that she was able to think again. Thinking wasn’t a good idea. The fact that she was in love with two men kept circling in her head. Not only was she sure it would never work, but she was positive that she needed to move to Austin to start over.
She didn’t think she could start over in Riverbend with Brian living there as well. They argued constantly when they were around each other too much. Then there was Brody and Lamar. Despite loving them like she did, she wasn’t ready to step into a serious relationship with anyone. Not even the two men she loved. It was too soon. The hurt was too fresh.
Finally, she drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the two men fueling her dreams.
* * * *
She woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She could tell they had slept with her by the indentions on the pillows. Though the headache was gone, she felt slightly off kilter. She couldn’t tell if it was because she wasn’t quite awake yet or if it was a residual of the headache still hanging around.
She looked around for a clock but couldn’t find one. She wasn’t wearing a watch, and her cell phone was in her purse, which wasn’t in the room. After sitting on the edge of the bed for a few seconds, she decided she was steady enough to stand up. The world didn’t tilt, so she walked to the bathroom. When she emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, it was to find Lamar sitting on the edge of the bed waiting on her.
“Good morning. How is your head?”
“It’s better, thank you. I’m still a little groggy. I thought a shower would help, but I guess the headache left me feeling this way.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Not really. I’m not sure I could eat anything right now. A cup of coffee would be wonderful, though.”
“I’ll get some for you while you dress.” He stood up and walked out of the room without touching her.
She pulled on sweatpants and a T-shirt from her bag. She didn’t really feel like dressing at all. Maybe all that was wrong with her was that she didn’t want to have that talk Brody had insisted they were going to have. Did that make her a coward? Probably.
Lamar walked back in carrying a cup. He handed it to her and waited there while she sipped it. The hot liquid warmed her from the inside out but didn’t touch the cold that seemed to encase her soul now.
“Ready to go downstairs?”
She started, having forgotten that Lamar was waiting on her. Caitlyn nodded and followed behind as he led the way down the stairs. When he continued into the kitchen, she wondered if Brody was in there. But when she walked in the room it was to find that he wasn’t. She wondered where he was. It was Sunday. Surely he hadn’t gone into work.
Finally she got up the nerve to ask Lamar where he was.
“He’s in the office. I think he’s trying to figure out your system so he can follow it.”
“I’ll teach you both as soon as I finish setting it up.”
“Are you going to have time? I mean, you’re planning on leaving when Brian, Andy, and Tish get back, aren’t you?”
“I’ll be sure you have what you need before I leave.” She swallowed hard around the lump in her throat.
Lamar’s carefully neutral expression and comments hurt. But what did she expect? She was leaving.
She finished her coffee and rinsed the cup in the sink before setting it on the counter. Then she turned to Lamar and waited to see what was next.
“Do you feel like working on the books some more?”
“Yes. I want to get them in order for you.”
Lamar didn’t say anything. Instead he walked out of the kitchen toward the office. She followed him determined to ignore his attitude. It was more like Brody’s than his.
Caitlyn walked into the office to find Brody standing in front of the window looking out at the backyard. She had no idea what he was looking at or if it was even anything out there. The stiff set of his shoulders told her all she needed to know. They were both angry.
She walked over to the desk and sat down to finish entering figures into the program she’d set up on their computer. No one said anything for a long time. Then Brody turned from the window and watched her as she worked. It was unnerving. She started to ask him to stop it when he started talking.
“We need to talk, Caitlyn. As soon as you finish what you’re doing, come into the living room.” Then he turned and left the room with Lamar right behind him.
Anger finally broke through the hurt, giving her the strength to follow them. She saved her work and walked into the living room. They looked up, their surprise at seeing her written on their face. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the two men.
“What
have I done to deserve the way you’re treating me? I never promised you anything. In fact, I told you from the beginning that I was moving to Austin and a relationship between us would only lead to disaster. I was right. That’s where we are right now, in the middle of a disaster.”
She stopped, realizing that she was panting from the adrenaline running through her veins. No doubt when it gave out, she’d collapse. She wanted to be gone by that time. She refused to break down in front of them. She would walk to Brian’s house if she had to.
“I told you it was too soon. It’s been less than six months. We’ve only known each other for a week. Yet you expect me to open a business here and date the two of you as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. I’ve already told you that I can’t be what you need.”
“You’re wrong, Caitlyn. You can be what we need. But you’re right. We don’t have the right to treat you like we have. You never promised us anything. We refused to believe you wouldn’t change your mind, that we couldn’t change your mind.” Brody stood up and walked over to her.
He sighed and pulled her into his arms. She stiffened, not sure what was going on.
“I’m sorry. Maybe we should talk now rather than later.”
Caitlyn pulled back as far as he would let her go. “I’m not sure we have anything to talk about. I’m going back to Brian’s house.”
“Wait and hear us out. Then if you still want to go, I’ll drive you there.”
She looked into his eyes but only saw worry and perhaps sadness. Even though he’d pissed her off, she was sorry that she’d put it there.
He drew her over to the couch and gently pushed her down to take a seat. Lamar got up and walked across the room to stand in front of the TV. He looked tired. It seemed she would have to listen to whatever they had to say whether she wanted to or not. Fine. Then she could go to Brian’s.
“Caity, we don’t want you to go, but I realize you probably will anyway. You’re right. What you went through takes time to heal and you haven’t had long enough to get past it yet. Lamar and I care about you more than I can explain to you.” He took a deep breath then let it out slowly.
“When you get ready to move, I hope you will let us help you. We want to keep seeing you in Austin. Don’t shut us out.”
Caitlyn wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t expected him to give in so easily. The fact that he seemed to want to keep seeing her spoke volumes as to how much he cared. She looked over at Lamar. He still looked sad, but now she saw hope. How could she say no when all she wanted to do was say yes and hold on to them for as long as she could?
“No pressure?”
“No pressure. But we will keep showing you just how good we are together and how much we want you.”
“I care about the two of you, too. Probably more than I’m comfortable with. I’ll let you help me move when I get ready to. First I have to find a job. Then I’ll look for a place to live.”
“And you’ll go out with us when we come to Austin?” Brody stuck his hands in his pocket.
“I’ll go out with you.” God, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.
“We want you to stay with us while you’re still here.”
“I’m supposed to be house-sitting for Brian.”
“We’ll help you keep an eye on it, but he really doesn’t need anyone to watch it here in Riverbend. No one will bother it.”
Caitlyn bit her lower lip and thought about it. They were probably right about not needing a house sitter. Still, staying there with them seemed like a bad idea. They would get used to having her around and when she left, it would be a shock.
“Are you sure you want me to? It will make my leaving in three weeks that much harder for all of us.”
“Stay, Caity. We want you near us as much as possible.” This time Lamar spoke up.
“Okay, I’ll stay. I’m probably going to regret it, but I can’t say no.”
Lamar’s face changed from the tense expression she wasn’t used to, to one of relief and pleasure. She liked that one on him much better. Looking toward Brody, Caitlyn was able to see a change in him as well. He kept his emotions hidden for the most part, but his eyes held relief as well.
“Let’s go get the rest of your things from their house.” Lamar didn’t seem to want to take any chances that she would change her mind.
“After lunch will be soon enough, Lamar.” Brody either trusted her or was just that practical.
She stood up and Lamar immediately crossed to her, wrapping his arms around her.
“You promise you’ll stay with us until the three weeks are up?”
“I promise. But I am going to move, Lamar. You need to remember that.”
“And we’re going to try to change your mind so remember that.” He looked across at Brody.
Brody nodded but didn’t say anything. Sometimes his silences were more telling than words. His eyes spoke volumes, telling her that he didn’t plan on giving up either. She shivered. The next three weeks were going to be some of the most exciting and the most stressful times of her life. She just hoped she was up to the challenge.
Lamar fixed sandwiches for lunch and Caitlyn worked on their books until then. As soon as they finished lunch, he pushed her outside and into the truck. Brody smiled and shook his head at her silent appeal for help. She was still chewing her last bite of food.
They loaded her things up in their truck and Lamar drove her SUV back to their house for her. She had argued that she could drive it herself but had been outnumbered, so Lamar drove. They unpacked for her, putting everything away as if she were moving in for good. Nothing she had said seemed to thwart them. She finally returned to the office to work and left them to it. She would have preferred living out of her suitcases. It would have made packing up to leave much easier, in more ways than one.
“I wondered where you’d gotten off to.” Brody walked into the room carrying a glass of what looked like iced tea.
“Is that for me?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“If you make it worth my while.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Just what did you have in mind?”
“Just a kiss.” He waggled his brows back at her.
“I think I can manage that. Can I taste the tea first to see if it’s worth one?”
“No, you’re just going to have to take my word for it. It’s good.” He walked around the desk and set the glass on a coaster then leaned down toward her.
Caitlyn knew it wouldn’t be just a kiss. Brody didn’t do anything in half measures. Add to that the fact that they were trying to convince her that she belonged with them, and the kiss had the potential to be spectacular. And she was right. It was one hell of a kiss.
He sipped at her lips before drawing in the bottom one to suck on. He nipped it then licked it and moved deeper into her mouth. She moaned at the taste of him. The flavor of warm coffee and tangy toothpaste filled her senses. He licked along the roof of her mouth before sliding his tongue along hers.
When he slowly pulled away, they were both panting and she was squirming in her seat, her panties wet with her excitement. She couldn’t stop the small spasms in her pussy that threatened to turn her into a wanton woman, begging him for sex, right then and right there. Somehow, she figured he would welcome the chance to spill all her careful paperwork to the floor to clear the desk for their use.
“I like whatever you’re thinking about, Caity. Your face just turned all shades of pink and red and your eyes got dark. Are you picturing us on the desk with my cock buried so deep in your cunt that you can’t move?”
Brody chuckled at her deepening embarrassment. No doubt her fair complexion showed every shade of red by now. She wanted to punch him for catching her off guard. Instead, she reached around him and grabbed the glass of iced tea. She accidentally brushed it against his side where his T-shirt rode up on his back. He yelped and jerked away. Caitlyn only just managed to save the tea from being dropped on t
he floor.
While she sipped her tea, Brody dried the spot off with a paper towel from the roll they kept there in the office. She had no idea what they used it for, but decided not to ask. Instead she set the glass back on the coaster and settled back in the chair to get back to work. Her wet panties and flashbacks to the night before made it all but impossible to concentrate. Evidently Brody noticed.
“You’ve been staring at that same screen without doing anything for five minutes. Are you looking for something in particular?” He leaned over her shoulder, his breath warm against her ear.
“I was thinking. Move back. I don’t like anyone looking over my shoulder.”
He chuckled. “You’re thinking about us. Maybe if you took a little break you could come back refreshed later.”
“If I take a little break, we’ll end up in bed and I might not make it back downstairs at all.”
“If I promise we won’t end up in bed, will you take a break?”
Caitlyn sighed and dropped her head on the computer keyboard. The computer dinged at her, and she sat back up.
“Okay, a short break.” She stood up and let him lead her out the door and back toward the living room. Lamar was standing in front of the shelves looking at the DVDs. He turned around when he heard them walk in.
“You found her.”
“She was pretending to work in the office.”
“Hey! I was working just fine until you interrupted me.”
Lamar chuckled. “I was looking for a movie. Any preferences?”
“Something short. I’m only taking a short break from working on your books. I have a long way to getting them in decent shape.”
“A short one it is.” He selected one from the shelves and popped it into the DVD player. Then he sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. “Have a seat.”
Brody followed her and sat on the other side of her. They each took one of her hands and held it as the previews started on the TV. Brody ran his thumb around the palm of her hand in slow circles. Lamar laced his fingers in with hers. Warmth from each of their hands began to seep into her skin. She was so caught up in their hands that she missed the opening of the first scene in the movie.