Even if what they said made sense, the panicked part of her mind told her to keep running. A relationship between them could never work out. How could she date two men? How could they share one woman?
She’d done this to herself. She put herself in this situation. But she could take herself out of it too.
Realizing how wrong she’d been to allow herself to go this deep with them, she also realized she’d broken her one rule she swore she never would. “Tonight made me realize how blinded I’ve been. How wrapped up we’ve all been.” She looked at them, an awful ache filling her chest. “I’m sorry, I have to end this.”
Not only did she break rules about how much time she’d spent with them, but she’d broken her biggest rule of all. She spent time with men who put their work before their home life.
Smith eyes blazed. “Kyra—”
“Besides the obvious reason of why this needs to end.” She cut him off before he could try and change her mind. “Work is too important to both of you. I get it. Really, I do.” She moved away from the wall. “I told you on our first date, I saw my mother go down that road, and it destroyed her. They told me she died of a heart attack, but I still think she died from a broken heart. Depression killed her.”
When both men took a step forward, she matched their move by taking a step back and pressed against the wall again. “Maybe I was too consumed with the fantasy to care about all the cancellations, showing up late for dinners, or phone call interruptions, but I’m sorry, I refuse to accept that as my life.”
“Kitten,” Brock said softly, stepping fully away from the streetlamp. “We own a large company that depends on us. You can’t punish us for something we can’t control.”
Smith inclined his head. “I apologize if our business hours have upset you. In fact, I’m aware why it does. You have good reason to be annoyed.” Again, he stepped forward, as did Brock. Smith added, “But that isn’t a strong enough reason to end things between us. We need to compromise, that’s all. And we can cut down our work hours by hiring new employees.”
She stepped away from the wall, nearly reaching the curb, and she stared at the pain and anger in their eyes. Even if they could explain away the ménage relationship and somehow make it work, she needed to walk away now. She would not be her mother. “No compromising. I told you that. I can’t live that life.”
Her lip trembled and her eyes welled, but she swallowed her raw emotions. To Brock, she said, “This was supposed to be fun, no-strings attached, and a bet between the two of you, remember?” Turning to Smith, she added, “That’s all it ever can be. Don’t follow me. Don’t call me again.” She turned and strode off down the street, tears trailing her cheeks.
Surprising her, what made her cry harder, was that neither of them stopped her.
Chapter Eight
Reggie’s, a pub-style restaurant, where sports games showed on the handful of widescreen televisions and peanut shells littered the floor, had been a Friday-night tradition for Kyra and her best friends. Now with Bella and Marley attached, both Kole and Reed had joined in on the weekly ritual too.
Sitting on the bench side of the table, Kyra scanned the pub to her right, watching a couple sitting at the table burst into a fit of laughter. She heaved a sigh, needing this night out more than ever.
It’d been two weeks since she’d left Brock and Smith standing on the dark street, and the image of them haunted her dreams. She had returned the dress they’d bought her days after the charity event, and she’d wondered if that would stir a text or a phone call. She hadn’t heard a peep out of either man.
By all appearances, they respected her wishes to stay away.
Of course, now she regretted ever saying, “Don’t follow me. Don’t call me again,” and she wished she could take those damn words back.
Bella’s laughter snapped Kyra’s attention into the present, and she looked out in front of her, while she all but sat alone. Kole was a good foot away near the end of the bench. On the other side of her, Sadie had left a bigger space between them while Marley, Bella, and Reed sat across the table all snuggled close together.
Folding her arms, Kyra muttered to no one in particular, “Do I stink?”
Sadie giggled, her blue eyes twinkled, and her strawberry blonde curls bounced on her shoulders. “Of course not, silly.”
Kyra glared at every single one of her best friends, including the two doms at the table. “Then why is no one sitting with me?”
Sadie smirked, scooting closer. “There, is that better?”
“Much,” Kyra grumbled.
Desperation made her ache from head-to-toe. She’d never been so needy of her best friends. Since ending things with Brock and Smith, she had become clingy. She’d even slept in each of her best friends’ rooms for their comforting presence, at least once.
As she’d done for days now, Kyra drowned her sorrows. She picked up her wineglass and took a huge gulp, cringing at the dry, bitter taste. Ignoring the nasty afterbite, she took another long sip. The days without the men had been the worst of her life. The dark bags under her eyes only proved it. She hadn’t slept well, she wasn’t eating well, and there was no denying it: she was officially a mess.
Drunk!
She needed to get rip-roaring smashed so she could pass out and finally sleep well again. It would also fix the problem that every time she closed her eyes, she saw two men staring at her and she’d stop craving their heated touches.
Determined to get shitfaced, Kyra knocked back the remainder of her wine. The second she swallowed the warm liquid, she shuddered in complete horror at the acrid taste. And that’s when she noticed Kole standing from the bench.
Leaning over the table to Bella, he whispered something in her ear that had Bella flashing Kyra a smile. Full of suspicion, Kyra lowered the wineglass to the table. And Sadie slid out of the bench seat, practically bouncing on the spot in classic Sadie excitement.
“What’s with you?” Kyra asked.
As soon as the words passed her lips, her heart stopped beating, or at least skipped a few beats. Behind Sadie’s shoulder were two sets of eyes bringing forth heat and pooling a wicked warmth low in her body.
She couldn’t stop her eyes from widening as unleashed power in the form of two gorgeous men strode through the pub toward her. With stares that could melt ice, Smith and Brock were all business tonight. Their fierce expressions were something Kyra suspected their business associates faced often. Determined. Focused. Confident. Only now, apparently, she was the focus of their attention.
Brock slid into Sadie’s spot on the bench seat, moving in close next to Kyra. Smith strode around the table and took Kole’s seat. The men didn’t put distance between them as her friends had. Both closed in on her tight, the heat of their bodies engulfing her.
After a long pause, Kyra remembered she needed air to live. She sucked in a harsh breath, so aware of the men next to her. Intense energy came off them in waves rushing across her flesh, sending flickers of flames through her veins.
Brock grinned, yet this smile wasn’t one of proper etiquette. It was dirty and pure sex. “Hello, kitten.”
Smith swiped at the hair curtaining him from her view, brushing it over her shoulder and trailing a finger along her skin. “You look tired. Are you not sleeping well?”
Kyra shivered, his touch burning across her already scorching flesh. The slow flame descended her body, and she blinked, staring at Marley in front of her.
Marley’s green eyes sparkled as she twirled her finger through her dark curls, appearing all too relaxed. In fact, Marley looked too at ease. She’d never met Brock and Smith, and by all appearances, she knew exactly who they were.
Kyra scanned her friends’ faces, and all of them, including Kole, were smiling at her. Even Reed’s deep blue eyes twinkled, while he ran a hand through his dirty-blond hair. No one looked surprised by Brock and Smith’s sudden appearances. With that awareness, it all made sense.
Tonight, she’d been playe
d.
Narrowing her eyes, she pinned all five of her so-called friends with a hard stare. “What have you done?”
“Call it an intervention.” Marley smiled.
“Don’t be mad,” Sadie interjected in her sweet voice. “You’ve been so…”
“Damn depressed,” Bella muttered.
Before Kyra could decide if she loved her friends for the intervention or hated them for it, a finger caught her jaw. She turned and discovered Smith’s eyes were warm, yet troubled. “Answer me, Kyra.”
His powerful stare captivated her, and the strength shown in his features eased her. When he looked at her that way, her world settled. To be touched by him, looked at by him, it eased the coldness that’d been flowing through her veins. For the first time in two weeks, she lost herself in the sensation of rightness. “What was the question again?”
“Why do you look so tired?” Smith’s eyebrows drew together with his frown, his eyes appearing nearly black. “You don’t look well.”
“I…” She gulped.
“Miss us,” Brock stated.
His voice was classically light, and Kyra had missed the contradictions between the two. In the exact moment and dealing with the same situation, Smith was serious where Brock was lighthearted. It comforted her. Where Smith could make the mood overly tense, Brock knew how to soften it to the right amount to ensure things stayed under control.
Though she realized Brock had made a statement. One everyone at this table knew was true. Her lips parted to give some response, but all that came out was a whisper of air.
Smith captured her chin again, commanding her gaze. “Why are you punishing yourself like this?”
Kyra experienced the weight of his study right down to the center of her soul. She hated the clench of her chest. More so, she cursed the moisture welling in her eyes. Smith was right—it had been torture. She’d never been this weak, this lonely.
Each night had seemed harder than the one before. The desire to be in their arms tugged at her heart. She’d grown used to hearing their voices or going to sleep close to them. She didn’t even feel like herself anymore. Where had strong, focused, depend-on-no-one Kyra vanished to?
Through all this awareness, making her realize her attachment to the men went far deeper than she’d been willing to admit, two hard truths remained. The reasons she had ended it with them hung over her like a dark cloud.
Nothing had changed.
She might love them, but she wouldn’t live the life her parents had. She wouldn’t repeat their mistakes. She wanted a man—or two of them—who worked nine-to-five, came home, and left work at work.
As much as her body told her to stay right there with them, she needed to stick to her reasons for ending it. She was stronger than this, no matter that her heart wept for their return and her body begged for their touch. “You know why this can’t work. It’s hard now,” she admitted, looking at them. “Okay, yes, this has been hell for me. But I’ll get over this. I’ll move on, and so will the both of you.”
Smith’s lips pursed, and his voice became hard. “No, Kyra. I won’t get over this and move on.”
Brock frowned, then shook his head in frustration. “Let’s be clear. You have two concerns. The first, this relationship can’t work out between us because of how others will perceive us?”
Smith added, “As in, you can’t imagine how we will look in the public eye?”
“Well, yes.” She gave the bar a quick once-over. No one else would hear their conversation, but she lowered her voice anyway. “In public, how would I explain such a relationship?”
Kole snorted. “Kyra, didn’t we already talk about this?”
She didn’t need Kole coming down on her too. Just because she’d fallen for these men didn’t mean they could make this work. “You weren’t being questioned at the charity function. I was,” she snapped. “I know what it felt like having all those people watching me. Having no idea what to say. Do you think I want to live like that forever? Having to be careful and not tell people that I’m in love with two men.”
Awkward silence cut through the air.
Kole’s smirk was indication enough that Kyra had put her foot in her mouth. She looked at the table, not wanting to admit again or comment on the fact that she had declared her feelings for Brock and Smith.
Another finger tapped against her chin. Not so easily this time, her head turned in Brock’s direction. His full-blown smile only confirmed they’d all heard it. “All right,” he said in a soft voice. “Your next concern is our business hours. Correct?”
It seemed as if the bar had vanished away and only these two men and their strong presence remained around her. Here, with them, her sadness went away. “Yes, that’s the biggest issue. I don’t want to be that woman who never sees her boyfriend…or boyfriends.” Though, even now, she discovered her excuse was weak.
In truth, she wondered if being that woman was better than being nothing at all.
Brock leaned in, his piercing eyes drawing her into him, and his half smile seemed all too wise. “Other than those two concerns, you have no other objections to dating us?”
Before she could think up an answer or identify if she had any other hesitations, Brock slid his nose against her jawline. Inhaling deeply, he trailed along her neck, as if he had all the time in the world.
Heat raced through her veins, sending a spark of fire sizzling up her spine. Her gaze locked on Marley in front of her, before she spotted Bella, who smiled, and Kyra even noticed that Sadie watched with a sweet grin.
By the time Brock slid his nose up her neck, Kyra had become a trembling mess of arousal. She could hardly believe this was happening with all her friends present, but now she found herself so consumed in Brock she didn’t care.
She forced her eyes to remain open when Brock pressed his lips against her jaw. When his tongue laved a wicked path along her flesh, she failed miserably, and her eyes fluttered closed. An ache as needy as it was desperate erupted between her thighs, and wetness dampened her panties.
“Answer him,” Smith demanded, sliding a finger up the other side of her neck. “Are those your only objections?”
Kyra hesitated, her voice trapped in her throat.
Beneath the table, Smith brushed his other hand over her thigh and squeezed her knee, garnering her attention. Her breath whooshed from her lungs. “Yes, that’s all.”
“Good.” A slow smile spread across Smith’s face, his eyes positively glowing. “The other issue about how to handle a relationship between us we can deal with tomorrow.” He tangled his fingers into her hair and stole a kiss right out of her mouth.
It wasn’t gentle—it was hard and raw, showing every single part of his pain from their separation. He didn’t only kiss her, he branded his passion all over her lips. When he broke the kiss, he left Kyra breathless, and he added, “For now, we’ll clear up one immediately.”
Brock slammed his hand down on the table, and Kyra gasped, realizing he wasn’t nibbling her neck anymore. On the table and under his hand, she caught sight of a piece of paper. Then her gaze left the table as Brock kissed her swiftly.
The kiss was tender and more yearning than Smith’s, breaking her heart. They’d been hurting as much as she had. Brock travelled his mouth over to her ear and whispered, “Your excuses to avoid us have run out, kitten.”
Her breath seemed lost in her body and her only focus remained on the flood of heat between her thighs, as Smith said in her other ear, “Meet us at the castle tomorrow night at seven.”
The intensity in Smith’s features only increased when he stood, staring down at her. “Know this,” he said with a low, harsh voice. “If you don’t show up, I’ll come and get you.” He leaned down but didn’t come into her personal space. “Tomorrow is not a night to play games with us.”
Kyra’s mind raced to catch up with what had taken place in the last minutes. Stunned, she could only gape at Smith and Brock as they strode off, making their way through th
e pub and toward the door.
Across from Kyra, Sadie exclaimed, “Dang, Kyra, that was freaking hot!”
Kyra agreed, their quick appearance, sexy touches, and smoldering looks were hot as hell. Also explaining why her body hummed with desire, her pussy throbbed, and panties were wet.
“So…” Sadie added. “What is that?”
Kyra blinked, dragging her attention away from the door Brock and Smith had exited. “What?”
Sadie laughed, pointing to the table. “The piece of paper, what is it?”
Glancing down, Kyra noticed the paper that had been beneath Brock’s hand was actually a newspaper. Once she grabbed it, she flipped the paper over, and as she scanned it, her mouth dropped open.
Bella snickered. “Something big, obviously.”
“Read it,” Marley said.
Kyra stared at the page and processed the meaning behind what she read. Now she understood a question presented to her. Brock and Smith weren’t successful for only being business savvy, they were incredibly smart men. No wonder they made their company into a multimillion dollar venture; when they wanted something, they didn’t take no for an answer and they went in for the kill.
She lifted her head. “It says, MDR Software announces the addition of John Haggard and Samantha Madison to join MDR Software, reporting to CEOs Smith McDermott and Brock Robertson.”
All three of her best friends smirked as the implication of what Brock and Smith had done was clear-cut. Kole, however, gave his typical smart-ass grin. “Eased up their workload, didn’t they?”
Reed winked. “And they stole your biggest excuse to shut them out.”
Chapter Nine
Fresh spring air breezed through Kyra’s car window as she drove down the tree-lined street, passing the colorful wooden sign welcoming visitors into the town of Bowleys Quarters. The half-hour drive from Baltimore had been uneventful, except that her mind raced through thoughts of what Brock and Smith had done.
They’d hired new employees…for her.
To say she looked forward to hearing what they had to say to her this evening was an understatement. They’d gone to great lengths to ensure she wouldn’t shut them out. As much as she still held reservations about how they could make a ménage relationship work, warmth spread through her that they weren’t going to let her walk away.
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