by Janie Marie
Her lips trembled. She didn’t know what to do. Why didn’t she wait? David was going to hate her. Ryder would hate her after he saw she was so conflicted later on.
Ryder cupped her face with one hand. “Come here, angel.” He slid his hand to the back of her head and pulled her to him for a kiss, calming her like a baby. “It’s gonna be all right, okay?”
She nodded, gently touching his cheek.
Another kiss, then he said, “As much as I wish this was you saying you’re my girl and no one else’s, I know that’s not the case. And I might be a jerk about it sometimes, but I’m okay with you taking time to figure out what you want.”
“Why are you so amazing?” She ran her fingers through his dark, sweaty hair.
“You forget, babe”—he tilted his head, teasing her lips with a kiss— “I’m—”
A loud knock on his window cut him off.
Ryder cursed before checking her over. “Hide your panties.”
Jane shoved them under the seat with her foot as Ryder rolled the window down to greet the cop.
“Yeah?” he said in the most impolite voice.
Jane cringed. Wasn’t it a law to be polite to cops?
The man glowered at him. “Mind telling me what you’re doing here?”
Ryder pointed out the window. “We came to eat.”
The officer glanced at her, then back to Ryder. “Then why did I receive a complaint that an occupied vehicle has been rocking back and forth, and honking, for at least fifteen minutes?”
A smug smile touched Ryder’s lips.
Oh, no.
Jane leaned over him so she could see the man. “Sorry, Officer. I just had a bad night, and I was being a little difficult about lunch. I was honking the horn by accident.”
Ryder’s hand discreetly slid along the back of her thigh, up to her ass, and he palmed it as he calmly spoke to the cop. “She’s my English tutor, and I was giving her a hard time. She was just trying to keep me from embarrassing her. We’ll go somewhere else to eat.” His hand squeezed again, and then his fingers slid along her core.
Her arm gave out as a strangled noise passed her lips. She nearly fell into Ryder’s lap, but he caught her, chuckling.
The cop eyed her for a few seconds, then sighed. “I ain’t no fool, kids.” He pointed a finger at Ryder. “I know who you are, and I’m giving you one chance. Keep this business private.”
Ryder nodded, helping Jane readjust in her seat and patted her knee. “She just made me happy. I’ll behave from now on.”
The officer shook his head. “This would be a whole different story if you’d been caught.” He tapped the top of the car. “Next time I see you two up to this kind of thing, you’re winding up in the back of my cruiser. Now, go on and get back to school.”
“Yes, sir.” Jane pulled on her seatbelt, completely mortified. She recognized that cop as one of her mom’s friends. Since her mom was a nurse at the hospital, she knew a lot of cops. She was in for it if he said anything.
“All right,” Ryder said, starting the car. At least he waited for the cop to move before driving off.
Jane sighed, covering her face when a few kids from school walked out of the cafe, staring right at them. Life seemed impossible to go on, and it was her own fault. “I don’t mean to be upset, but I’m so mad at myself. David’s gonna hate me. You’re probably gonna hate me because I won’t be able to get over him any time soon. If ever.”
Ryder pulled her hand away from her face, lacing their fingers together as he rested them on the center console. “I don’t think he can really hate you—I know I can’t.” Her heart turned to mush. “Tell me how you want to do this,” he said, “because if you leave it up to me, I’m gonna gloat. I’ll get a shirt that tells everyone we had amazing car sex. ‘Ryder’s car was rockin’ and the cops came-a-knockin.’”
She chuckled, shaking her head, glad he was back to being silly for her. “Maybe you can wear that to sleep in.”
“I sleep nude.” He laughed, raising their hands to kiss the back of hers. “Want something from up here? We’re pretty much out of time.”
Jane nodded, pointing at the McDonald’s. “Just a happy meal.”
He smiled against her hand before letting her go. He turned into the entrance, honking at some students walking too slow. When they saw it was him, they hurried along.
“You’re so mean.” She snatched up his dirty T-shirt and a bottle of water from her backpack to wet it and wiped her legs down.
His eyes were on her the closer he inched along the drive-thru line. “Burger or nuggets?” he asked.
“Um, nuggets.” She honestly loved that everything felt so natural around him.
Ryder ordered, even got a Dr Pepper for her, like he already knew it was her favorite. As they got closer to the window, he became serious again. “Tell David, Jane. Don’t let him sit in the dark. It’ll hurt you too, and I don’t want to see that.”
“I know,” she mumbled, roughly rubbing her thigh. How could she do this to David? To Ryder? To herself?
“You plan on seeing him before the end of the day?” He took their food from the employee at the window.
Jane held the bags of food on her lap, then quickly opened hers to locate her prize—a Lego Batman. “Man, this movie came out ages ago. They could’ve given me a Superman. He’s my favorite.”
“Stop playing, silly girl.” He snatched up a fry and held it to her lips. “Eat fast.”
She upped her slut-factor by seductively biting her fry and wrapping her lips around his finger.
“You’re gonna end up being fucked hard, and your fries are going to get destroyed before you ever get to eat them.” He leaned over, giving her a quick kiss. “Eat.”
“Threatening me with more sex isn’t exactly going to put me off.” Jane dug in, and not in a very ladylike way.
“There’s my fry-killer.” He laughed, pulling into a parking spot and grabbing his food.
She glared at him as he somehow demolished a burger, sexier than she’d ever seen someone eat one. “How do you know I love fries?”
He held one up for her, and she bit it quickly. “I was watching you back, babe.”
Damn tingles kissed her heart.
Jane scooted over to give him a kiss. “I really like you.”
“And I really like you. Probably more than I do your greasy, salty kisses.” He smirked, kissing her before shoving her back. “Fucking eat.”
“Ruining that romance you said you had.” She sipped her drink. He really wasn’t, though.
“Yeah, right.” He winked then became serious again. “So, listen, I’ll keep quiet, but he’s gonna see or hear about the hickey. Some people definitely saw the cop, and I’m sure it’ll spread around it was you with me. So, tell him as soon as you can. If he confronts me, I’m gonna tell him we agreed you would talk to him in person. If you want me there, I’ll be there, but I think you need to be alone for this.”
Gosh, why did she do this? She always started thinking about other things.
“Call me or text me when you’re done,” he added. “If he gets upset, and you need me, call. Get Tercero’s number, too. In case he’s the only one nearby.”
She felt a wave of heat on her face, just thinking about Tercero. He was going to know right away, and it was going to be awkward because he reminded her of Ryder and David.
“Are you perving on my brother, too?” He shook his head at her. “The Italian shit?”
Jane took another slurp of her drink. Among other things, Tercero’s Italian words were sexy as hell.
“You probably are a little bit of a hoe.” He squeezed her thigh, his gorgeous face inches from hers as he leaned close to kiss her cheek. He whispered in her ear, “My adorable hoe, though. I’m gonna keep you.”
Seven
An ice pack landed on the couch beside Jane. She slowly grabbed it, peeking up at Tercero as he sat a foot away from her.
They were at her house. He’d figured out ra
ther easily that she had the sorest vagina of all time, and he knew it was his brother who’d made her walk like she’d been on the cowboy trail all day.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” he said, pulling a blanket from the arm of the sofa.
Jane slid the ice pack between her legs, hissing. He covered her, and she muttered, “Thank you.”
“I would say ‘any time’, but I don’t know how I feel about tending to you after my brother leaves you in this state frequently.” He leaned back but stayed close enough that she felt his body heat at her toes where she was stretched out.
“It’s not his fault,” she said lamely.
An amused quirk to his lips made her blush. “I believe it was he who left you in this condition, cara.”
“I told him to.” She closed her eyes, throwing her head back. “I’m so stupid. Why do I keep blurting things out around both of you?”
He chuckled lightly. “You keep your guard up, but around certain people, you can’t help yourself. It’s an endearing trait.”
“Not really.” She smiled, recalling all the kisses Ryder had slipped in before they left the car. He noticed her hobbling and picked her up, running her the rest of the way before stealing one more kiss and pushing her toward the hall she needed to go to while he jogged the other way. “David’s not going to find it charming.”
“Then he should have made it clear he didn’t want you around my brother. And he shouldn’t have hurt you the way he chose to.”
“He was trying to make things easier,” she sulked.
“David isn’t this foolish.” He shook his head. “I wondered if you knew about him.”
“I think I knew all along.” Her heart throbbed so painfully that she pressed her hand to her chest. “I knew. And he did look so guilty. I just refused to accept it.”
Tercero sighed, but he didn’t comment.
“Do you think a little part of me had sex just to get back at David?”
“I think if you’re asking me that, you already know.” He cast her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure my brother knew this too, but he couldn’t stand to see you so miserable.”
She pressed her hand against her chest harder as more pain lanced through her heart. “I’m a monster.”
Tercero patted her foot when she accidentally bumped his thigh. “No. Plus, you gave Ryder the choice. You were honest. David, however, won’t likely care. He’s going to be hurt, Jane. Because he revealed his feelings this time. Before he was just a stepbrother.”
“You’re making it worse,” she whined. “Why is his casual sex fine, but mine isn’t?”
“I didn’t say that,” he said, “and I don’t think you consider what happened this afternoon casual sex. Not that it would be ‘wrong’ if you had. You’re not exclusive to either of them.”
“Like I can just bang both of them if I’m not with either one?” She peeked at him, aware he had his hand resting on her foot like he was keeping her from . . . Oh, Lord, she’d been rubbing him with her foot. “I’m sorry!”
Tercero glanced at her as she tried to sit up to move away. He laughed, patting her foot. “It’s all right. I just didn’t want to add to your problems. Are you still cold?”
“Yeah.” She shifted the ice pack, hoping to distract him from her question about casually fucking David and Ryder. “Is it normal for it to hurt so much?”
Those dark eyes glittered with amusement. “I don’t know how sex with my brother feels, Jane. Nor do I have experience being a female.”
She poked her tongue out at him. “Have you had sex?”
“Yes.” He began massaging her foot, but he, like Ryder, didn’t seem to be doing it on purpose. Just a natural touch, like soothing themselves, and she liked that it soothed her too. “One girl, but we are no longer together.”
There was a true misery in his tone that made Jane stop worrying about her problems. “I never saw you with anyone here. Is she from Italy?”
“She lived in Italy, yes.” He turned to look at her. “She died. That is why I went there. To be with her on her last days.”
“Tercero,” she said, sitting up and reaching for his hand. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” He released her hand, motioning for her to lie back. “She didn’t love me anyway.”
“What?” Jane gaped at him. “How could she not love you?”
His lips twitched, and he smiled. “She was always hungry for more than anyone was capable of giving. But, if there was one person she wanted most, believed could satisfy her, it was my brother.”
“Ryder?” Now Jane was beyond pissed. Who could do that to Tercero? And Ryder was hers dammit.
He nodded. “Don’t worry—he had no interest in her. His lack of interest is why she saw me at all. I am a close second.”
“You look like him, and you feel like him, but you’re unique and wonderful.” She didn’t know why she said that, but she found Tercero beautiful and fascinating.
“Feel?” He tilted his head. “How so?”
Now she was definitely blushing. “Um, when he touches me, my skin tingles. But then you’re also a lot warmer than he is, and you remind me of David because of that.” She shook her head, not wanting to talk about either boy. “Tell me more about this girl. How did you meet her?”
“Prep school in Europe. I loved her instantly—like soulmates, you could say. I stayed in touch with her after we moved here, but we traveled there often so I invited her on family trips. She always joined us, mostly to be close to Ryder, even if he didn’t pay her any attention. She didn’t care, and I didn’t care she wanted him instead of me. I still loved her.”
“I don’t think she was your soul mate, then.” Jane huffed, wanting to hug him. He was amazing. “Why do you say she didn’t love you?”
He smiled sadly. “She told Ryder that being with me was worse than death. My brother is arrogant and rude, but he wouldn’t even pity her when she revealed she was dying, and that she’d like him to stay with her. He told her she was selfish, that even with death staring her in the face, she won’t be satisfied by someone trying to give her everything.
“I agree with him, but at the time, I only saw the girl I loved dying without the one she wanted. I gave what I could: my brother’s look alike.”
Her heart warmed for both Godson boys. “You’re a beautiful person, Tercero. I hope you don’t think she was your only chance at happiness.”
A gorgeous smile lit up his face. “I hope not. I’m fine with being alone, though.”
The air felt heavy between them, and Jane couldn’t explain her sudden desire to kiss him.
“Perhaps I should help you upstairs so you can take a warm bath before David gets home,” he said gently, releasing her leg.
“Can I ask you something first?” She swallowed because that was the only way to curb her thirst. “Do you think it’s wrong to want more than one person?”
Tercero stood, pulling off the blanket and took her ice pack. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks is right or wrong, Jane. The only one you should ask is yourself and those you want a relationship with.” He held out a hand for her to take, and she did, but pulled him down and kissed his cheek instead. Tingles and heat.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she whispered, awed that she felt so good.
His black eyes fell to her lips for a moment, then he put some distance between them. “Probably best if you get upstairs on your own.”
“I was about to say the same thing.” She chuckled, rubbing her cheek. “I liked this, though. I’ve been lonelier than I ever wanted to admit, and you kinda filled that up.”
“Yes, I feel the same.” He headed toward the door. “You have my number now. If you want a ride, just let me know, and maybe send Ryder a message tonight so he knows you’re okay after you speak with David.”
Jane nodded, following him so she could lock the door. It was her final chance to admire how much he resembled Ryder, but also how un
ique he was from his sexy brother. She decided if he were a book character, he’d be a sexy Italian vampire or even an anime, Japanese-style warrior. He wasn’t as big as Ryder, but she could tell he was all lean muscle.
“Good luck with David,” he said, stopping by the door. He caressed her cheek. “Remember, you still have Ryder if he decides to be angry and that there is nothing to become of you now.”
“Ryder’s not a consolation prize for me,” she said, thinking of how Tercero had been that for the girl he’d loved. “You’re not a filler for me, either. Just because I say you remind me of both of them, I see you, and I like being around you.”
“That is why I call you treasure, Jane.” He turned, leaving without looking back that time. “Lock your door.”
Jane closed her eyes, sinking deeper into the tub. Her bubbles were almost all gone, but she wasn’t ready to get out. Her mind had finally stopped spinning, dancing between green eyes and blue eyes, and now she sat content in the dark middle.
“He said I should see you,” David’s voice startled her.
Jane gasped, gripping the tub. She turned her head to see David leaning against the counter. He still wore his practice clothes, with some blood and dirt smeared across his arms. “David.”
His eyes focused on the hickey Ryder gave her. “So, you decided in a day without ever seeing me?”
“No.” She sat up, covering her breasts with a hand. “I haven’t decided anything. I—”
The muscles in his arms flexed as he crossed his arms while he gave her the meanest look. “I think giving him your virginity is answer enough.”
She flinched, her words stuck in her throat.
He had no problem with his, though. “I know I fucked up, but I didn’t expect you to go give yourself to him the next fucking day.”
“I didn’t plan it.”
“Didn’t plan to get back at me? Or to do it so quickly?”
Her heart was being cut apart. “It had nothing to do with you.”
His stare was cold, his eyes lighter but terrifying. “So, I think of you, go against my heart to protect you, feel fucking guilty for trying to do what is right—what is expected of me—and you fuck him without giving a damn about me?” He pushed himself away from the sink and started toward the door to his room. “Don’t come crying to me when he breaks your heart.”