by Anya Nowlan
This was more vulnerable than Connor had ever made himself to Crash, and he didn’t know how to respond. Obviously he felt the same way. He just wished Connor would have discussed saying anything to Lily with him first.
But what was done, was done. And his brother did have a point. Lily was either going to be okay with how their relationships worked, or she wouldn’t be. It was better to find out now.
“You’re full of surprises today, brother,” he said, shaking his head.
The stars were clear in the sky above them, everything quiet except for an owl hooting in the distance. Light spilled out of the windows next to the porch door, casting warm hues across Connor’s stern face.
“I know,” he said.
“I can’t say I disagree with you on any of it. She looks more beautiful to me every day, and that sharp tongue of hers sure keeps me on my toes,” he grinned.
“We have to be prepared for the possibility she wants nothing to do with us going forward,” Connor reminded him. “And we have to slip away from the group tomorrow to get to what the folks around here call a bank to transfer Alison the money.”
“Way to ruin the mood,” Crash sighed.
But Connor was right. It felt liberating now that Lily knew they both wanted her. And while one cat was out of the bag, they still had a secret weighing on their shoulders, and a possible scandal hanging over their heads.
There’s no good without the bad, I guess.
Seventeen
Lily
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” Lily asked.
Ben had been talking to her for the last minute, but she had heard pretty much none of it. She had been too busy keeping from staring at Crash and Connor, while at the same time thinking about what they’d said last night.
“I said, have you found out anything yet?”
“Nothing yet, but I’m working on it,” she assured him, trying to find her distracted thoughts away.
“Alright well… I’d like to know if you do come up with something.”
“I’m sure Fiona will tell you everything you need to know once I make some progress,” she said, the words coming out more dismissive than she had planned.
Ben turned quiet, probably not pleased at being kept in the dark. It wasn’t Lily’s fault Fiona was her boss and not Ben. But she didn’t feel like getting into that at the moment, so she let the silence continue, letting her mind wander in the process.
Being shared by two men was not something she had ever given thought to before, but now it was the only thing she could think about. She already knew she was wildly attracted to both of the twins. But she’d never thought she’d actually give in to those feelings.
Now that they’d expressed their interest pretty clearly, she felt herself tempted. There was no doubt that if a scenario appeared where she’d have to choose between the brothers, she wouldn’t be able to. They were like parts of a whole, both very different but complementing each other at the same time.
She would be lying if she said she wasn’t strongly drawn to them both equally. And now it turned out, she wouldn’t even have to choose. She could have both of them. Thoughtful, determined Connor and playful, sincere Crash. Both sexy as hell and able to make her weak in the knees with only a look.
Some would say I’m the luckiest girl in the world, she thought with a secret smile.
She felt even crazy thinking it, but she couldn’t change how she felt. Sure, it was unknown territory for her and more than a little scary, but it was also overwhelmingly exciting. She could already imagine two pairs of strong hands roaming her body, with Connor kissing her while Crash trailed his lips down her neck…
The mere thought made goosebumps spread all over her body. Reminding herself she was still in a public place, she tried to focus on the training sessions going on in front of her, but it was of little use. Her imagination was already in overdrive and her fantasies running wild.
Having never considered herself a prude and priding herself in trying anything once, it still amazed her how casually she was taking this revelation about the twins. It had taken her aback for a second when Connor had announced they had dated Alison at the same time, but the shock wore off rather quickly.
In fact, her mind had immediately veered to all different types of naughty scenarios, which was why she’d fled the living room in the first place. The twins probably thought they had scared her off, but that was only partially true.
What scared her wasn’t that their sex life was somewhat atypical. The fact that she had been immediately turned on by the idea of them sharing her was what made her afraid. It felt like she couldn’t trust herself anymore. These men had turned everything upside down for her.
A couple of days ago she wouldn’t have even considered a sexual relationship with someone she was investigating. Now, it seemed almost inevitable. Crossing a boundary like that would have been unacceptable to her before she met Connor and Crash.
They had an effect on her she didn’t quite trust. And how could she possibly carry on an objective investigation if she was sleeping with them? She couldn’t separate sex and emotions like that, it wasn’t how she ticked.
But then again, it seemed she didn’t know herself as well as she had thought.
Who knew Idaho would bring such self-reflection? she thought with a barely restrained roll of her eyes.
The rest of the practice went by as a blur as she went back and forth on what, if anything, she should say to Connor and Crash. They had kept their distance that morning, probably thinking it best to give her some space. She appreciated that, as in the confused, somewhat intoxicated state she was in right now, she might have pounced on them like a tiger the moment they smiled those sexy smiles of theirs.
“Okay, bring it in,” Ben called out, shoving his phone into his pocket, his expression betraying his foul mood.
Lily had barely even noticed he had gotten a call five minutes earlier, but it seemed whatever information he had gotten would be affecting the whole team. She managed to pull herself together and joined him and Wyatt at the edge of the rink as the players skated closer, coming to stand before them on the ice.
Throwing Wyatt a questioning look, she only got a shrug in return. So this was going to be a surprise for everyone, it seemed.
“I’ve just found out we might be able to get a friendly match set up with the Shifter Grove Shovelers,” he announced, easily getting everyone’s undivided attention. “I don’t need to tell you what an opportunity that is. Some people from management are flying in tomorrow and we’ll be ironing out all the details.”
“Yes,” Aiden hissed, pumping his fist.
“Dude,” was all that Eddie said, high-fiving everyone around him.
“It’s not official yet,” Ben warned grimly.
“We have to hit that bar in town to celebrate,” Graham said, earning enthusiastic nods from everyone.
“Now hold up. There’s still going to be training tomorrow. Wyatt can take over for me.”
“Just a couple of beers, coach. You know with our metabolism, we’ll be more than ready to kick ass in the morning,” Connor piped up, the sound of his voice cutting through Lily like a sword.
Damn. I’m in over my head if just hearing him speak gives me chills now.
“Fine,” Ben sighed, waving a dismissive hand at them and turning to leave, obviously not invested enough to fight it.
“Hell yeah,” Eddie drawled.
“You’re coming, right?” Aiden asked, and suddenly all eyes were on Lily.
What could she say? Not only was having them relaxed and under the influence good for her investigation, she couldn’t come out and say she didn’t want to spend any more time near Crash and Connor than she had to in fear she’d jump both of their bones.
“Of course,” she smiled, the expression feeling strained on her face.
Mixing my already waning self-control with alcohol. What could go wrong?
Eighteen
Connor
<
br /> The team poured into Austin’s Texas, the local bar, in high spirits. Ben had stayed behind, but everyone else was there. Including Lily, who was looking hotter than ever in a silk blouse and black jeans.
Connor exchanged a knowing look with Crash as they both watched her walk in front of them, confident and sexy. Feeling better than he had in a while, Connor clapped his brother on the shoulder as they made their way to the bar to get some drinks.
They had been able to sneak off to the nearest bank after practice and wire Alison the money under the guise of getting in a run in higher altitude in the mountains. It had been a couple hours back and forth to get it done, but at least that was off their plate now. It wasn’t a permanent solution by any means, but at least she would be off their back for a while until they could figure out what to do next.
There were a couple of guys and a lady or two sitting at tables in the bar, but it wasn’t crowded by any means. The team had their pick of seats, and in no time they were all gathered around with beers in their hands, chatting away.
“I think it’s Jax, their defender, that we have to look out for,” Graham said, earning nods from the others.
“I can’t believe we might get to play the Shovelers,” Crash grinned at his side, shaking his head. “Not only would it be great to meet them, we could really see what our strengths and weaknesses are against them.”
“Same goes for them,” Connor replied, sipping his beer.
Lily’s laughter instantly broke up their conversation. They were intensely in tune with her, with Connor’s bear growling whenever she was near enough to see, hear or even smell. It was hard to focus on anything but her, and he didn’t mind at all.
Sal was telling her some joke or another, and she had her head thrown back, exposing the curve of her long neck. All Connor could think about was kissing it, his mouth turning dry. The spell she seemed to have him under was growing stronger with each passing day, and there was nothing he could do about it.
What he had said to Crash last night had been the truth. It was impossible to deny the way he felt drawn to Lily, and there was no way he could have continued on burying those feelings. Whether he was ready for an actual relationship or not didn’t matter anymore. This went beyond logic or reason, it was a pure need to touch and feel, to make her his.
She was still keeping her distance from him and Crash, but he could see the way she kept stealing glances at them. He had a feeling this chemistry between them was definitely mutual, and it was only a matter of time before Lily gave in to the fire.
But he wasn’t going to push her. If she was truly going to be okay with being with both him and Crash, she had to think it through first. He would give her time to come to a conclusion, to get over whatever hesitations she had. This was something she had to be absolutely sure she wanted.
Connor hadn’t even noticed he had been staring at Lily this whole time, but he definitely had. Looking back at him, he could see she suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable, and her throat was working hard to swallow.
She bit her lip when her gaze swept over him, sending a wave of heat rolling over Connor’s body. The tension between them seemed to fill up the whole room, making the air thick and every look heavy with hidden meaning.
An elbow to the ribs made him snap out of hit. Crash’s voice flowed into his ear.
“Stop staring at her like a starving grizzly, geez,” his brother whispered. “I don’t think she wants the whole team to know what’s going on.”
Damn, I must be further gone than I thought if Crash is the voice of reason again.
Knowing that if he stayed at the table he wouldn’t be able to tear his eyes away, he got up.
“Another round?” he asked.
“Nah, I’m good,” Eddie replied, backed up with the other guys shaking their heads.
So he strolled over to the bar by himself, taking a seat next to Wyatt.
“Hey. Why aren’t you at the table?” Connor asked, gesturing the bartender for another beer.
“I’ll be there in a minute. This spot seems to give my phone a bar or two, and I wanted to shoot my sister an e-mail,” Wyatt replied, the shadows from the overhead lighting making him look more gaunt than usual.
The tiger shifter had always been lean, but seemed to have lost some weight recently. It didn’t mean he wasn’t still in excellent shape, though.
“Alright. Did Ben tell you anything more than he told us? It’s okay if you can’t tell me anything, I’m just curious.”
“He doesn’t know much. Tomorrow’s meeting will fill in the gaps. Don’t worry, he’ll update us as soon as he can,” Wyatt replied, placing his phone down on the counter and sipping his scotch.
Connor couldn’t help but notice he turned the phone over so the screen would be facing the counter. It seemed like a deliberate gesture, or maybe Connor was just overthinking it. He had no reason to think Wyatt would lie about what he knew, after all.
“The guys are excited to be able to go toe to toe with the playoff winning team. I hope everything works out and it can actually happen,” Connor commented.
“Yeah, for sure. It will help us evaluate ourselves. I’d like to meet their coach, myself. He has made that team what they are today.”
Connor nodded along as the bartender placed a fresh bottle in front of him. The doors swung open and more people started to walk in as time went on. Some probably just showed up out of curiosity, hearing that the team was there. From what he knew of the place, Shifter Grove didn’t get that many visitors, especially in the off-season.
The back of the bar was decked out in Shovelers memorabilia, the team being the town’s pride and main attraction. They hadn’t even had a real rink ready when the team first moved here, and the players had been forced to practice on a nearby lake. Rumor had it that they still did that every winter.
The seats next to Connor and Wyatt were quickly filling up.
“Hey, Joe,” he heard the bartender, Austin, say to an older man heaving himself up onto a stool. “Now I don’t have to remind you of the rules, do I?” the bartender added, eyeing the pack of cigarettes Joe was pulling out of his pocket.
“Yeah, yeah,” Joe sighed in reply, tucking the pack back into the lining of his jacket.
This was the type of place where everyone knew everyone, which made Connor all the more curious – who were those guys in the woods last night? But being an outsider, he wasn’t sure he could go asking around about that. With how tight-knit this community was, he had a feeling that wouldn’t get him far.
He watched as Crash talked to some burly-looking stranger about defense and Eddie offered to buy the next table over a round of drinks. Everyone was in a good mood, and laughter filled the room, mixed in with the scent of several types of shifters.
Connor took in a deep breath, on the off chance he would recognize the scents he’d memorized last night. But none of the bears or tigers, oh my, in the bar smelled like the guys he’d spotted lurking around the house.
Yet one smell definitely got his attention. Lily’s distinct aroma rose to the top, teasing and warm. When he looked over at her she was looking back, her lips around the rim of a wine glass. Everything about her was calling out to him, like a Siren song.
This woman is going to get me in trouble, I just know it.
Nineteen
Lily
Lily was busy trying to get herself together and reminding herself she was a professional when Connor rejoined the table with Wyatt in tow. The bar was almost full by that point, with everyone talking and having a good time, but she still felt like she was stuck in an empty room with Connor and Crash.
No one else existed when they were around, both twins sending her looks that made her feel like a high school girl with her first crush again.
This isn’t me, letting my lust make decisions for me, she thought, bewildered at how she was feeling.
Yet despite all the reasons getting involved with the twins was a bad idea, she couldn’t bring her
self to care that much. She had never felt so overwhelmed and out of control before, and she had no idea how to fight it. Reason certainly didn’t seem to be working.
All she was sure of was that she couldn’t stay at that table any longer. It was too much. So she picked up the glass of wine she shouldn’t have ordered in the first place and headed for the bar, hoping the twins didn’t follow.
I just need a moment away from them to pull myself together.
Gulping down what was left in her glass, she ordered another round and sat down at the counter. More alcohol probably wasn’t a good idea, but she hoped it would at least dull the intensity of her emotions.
She knew she had to face Connor and Crash at some point. They couldn’t keep awkwardly avoiding talking to each other, not when they were living under the same roof and were working together.
Maybe if I could just get it out of my system… I mean, the reality can’t be better than the fantasy. Once I learn that for myself, things can go back to normal.
Lily couldn’t believe she was even thinking what she was thinking. Sleeping with the twins, the both of them, in a house full of shifters, where one of them was a traitor and she was supposed to find out who it was?
Yet she couldn’t see another way out. She could try and keep resisting the brothers’ charms, but that was pure torture, not to mention terribly distracting.
I can’t do my job if I get lost in daydreams whenever one of them so much as looks at me.
That train of thought – or more like willful self-delusion - was derailed, however, when a tall, bearded man plunked down on the seat next to her.
“Hi,” he smiled, swiveling to face her. “I’m Steven and I think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”