by Terry Towers
to pull him aside and explain to him nothing was going on, but was scared doing that would
make it look as though there was.
“I bet.” He scooped up a helping of spaghetti, twirled it around his fork and shoved it into his
mouth.
“How was your day?” That was the best she could come up with.
“Full of surprises.” He smiled and redirected his attention back to his food. He speared
another forkful of spaghetti and then looked over at her again. “Surprises just keep on coming
really.”
Fuck! I blew it. Shit, shit, shit. She was disgusted with herself. Her indecisive attitude came back to bite her in the ass. But when she looked from one brother to the other, examining them
both, evaluating her emotions toward each, she knew who it had to be – that is, if she even had a choice anymore. She just needed him alone.
One thing she did know was that she needed to get out of there. Regroup. Give it some more
thought.
She looked down at her watch and feigned shock. “Oh shit.” She did her best to display an
anxious expression, but she was a horrible actress. “I didn’t realize the time. I gotta go.”
Graham cocked a brow at her, seemingly amused. “Why? What’s going on?” He motioned to
his brother and back to him. “Anything we could help you with?”
“So soon?” Dane piped in, bewildered by her abrupt announcement.
“Ummm. Ahhh. Yeah.” She got up so quickly from her chair that it nearly went toppling
backward, had it not been for Graham’s quick reflexes, grabbing it before it hit the floor. “Gotta meet a client. They were only available tonight. Ummm. Yeah.”
She grabbed her precious Birkin bag and the Chanel bag she had brought with her. She
directed her attention to the bewildered Dane and motioned toward the Birkin. “Thank you by
the way. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Without another look to Graham she
scurried across the kitchen, her precious bags clutched to her chest.
“Here, I’ll see you out.” He started to stand.
She spun around at the threshold of the kitchen and put her hand up, stopping Dane from
leaving the table. “No. No. It’s okay. You guys finish your supper. I can see myself out.”
She turned to leave, stopped and spun back around to face them again. Both men were staring
at her, a mixture of amusement and puzzlement in their expressions. She pointed to Dane.
“Thank you for supper. It was incredible.”
“My pleasure.” He gave her a smile that told her there was more to his statement than simply
accepting a compliment. She bit down on her lower lip, not even sure how to respond – so she
didn’t. Spinning around, she rushed from the kitchen and was out of the house within a minute.
Chapter 10
~ Graham ~
Graham spent the time at his brother’s house mulling over Genevieve’s reaction, barely
listening to Dane’s chatter about the day’s big bust – the one that resulted in him getting
Genevieve’s merchandise back.
He was seeing her a little more clearly now. When things got tough or uncomfortable she
fled. It happened in Vegas and happened again at his brother’s place. Dane still didn’t know he’d been seeing her, but had confessed to Graham that he’d gone to see her the previous week.
According to him, nothing had gone on between them aside from a brief kiss and Graham
believed him. His brother had no reason to lie.
However, he suspected she did have some type of feelings toward his brother. He just needed
to find out from her just what those feelings were. Had it not been midnight he would have
broken his no pop-in rule and gone to see her, but that could wait until tomorrow. Perhaps it was for the best, it would give them both time to think. It would be apparent to her as it now was to him that if she were to be with either of them, the relationship would have to be out in the open.
Full disclosure. Especially considering the past the three of them shared – regardless of how
brief.
He turned the corner and as he drove down his street, he noticed a car already parked in his
driveway. As he drew closer, it became clear it was Genevieve’s car. He wasn’t expecting to see
her tonight, but he also hadn’t bought her lame excuse to leave either.
Had she been sitting in his driveway all night waiting for him to return home?
Slowing, he pulled into his driveway, parking next to her. She waited until he was out of his
car and rounding his vehicle before getting out of hers.
“Hey,” she said as she approached, avoiding his gaze.
“What are you doing here Ginny?”
She walked up to him and stopped. She didn’t make an attempt to give him a hug or any kind
of greeting – that worried him. She lifted her gaze from the area between their feet to meet his
and he saw anxiety in her eyes.
He sighed, his mood softening. Thrusting his hand into his hair, he motioned toward the
house. “Come on in, Ginny, and we can talk.”
A tight smile formed on her lips. “All right.”
He led her up the front steps and quickly unlocked the door. Stepping back, he allowed her to
enter before him.
“This is a beautiful house.”
“I like the older feel to it.”
“How old is it?”
“I believe it was built in 1915. And of course remodeled over the years and upgraded. But it
has many of the original features.” The first room was the living room with cathedral ceilings
and a glass chandelier in the center of the ceiling. The chandelier was easily one of the most
striking features of the room, in his opinion.
“It’s beautiful.” Her eyes scanned the room as she did a 360-degree circle in the center. “It’s
got so much character.”
Graham shrugged off his jacket, hung it on the coat rack and then helped her out of hers,
placing it beside his. “So come on and sit down and let’s have a talk.”
She perched herself on the edge of the sofa and looked down at her hands, which were
clasped in her lap. “I have to tell you something.”
“All right.” Pulling his gun from its holster, he undid his belt and placed it onto the maple
coffee table in front of them and then sat down next to her. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’ve been seeing Dane.”
He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, looking at her out of the corner of his
eye. “All right. And?”
She chewed at her lower lip, refusing to look over at him. He could see the distress in her
expression. It made him want to hold her, stroke her hair and tell her it would be okay. But he
didn’t know. He wouldn’t know until she finished what she’d come to see him to say.
“I’ve seen him a couple times since he showed up at the store and tonight he kissed me.” She
frowned. “Or I kissed him. I’m not sure who or why. It just happened.”
“You’re attracted to him.” Graham gritted his teeth. Of course she was attracted to Dane, he
was the one who had picked her up in the first place. He was his identical twin for fuck sakes. Of course she would be.
She turned to face him, her eyes pleading with him. “He’s so much like you. And so different
at the same time. And after what happened with the three of us, it gets… confusing.”
He turned as well so they were eye to eye. “I understand this is a hard situation. It’s hard for
me too. Do you think I like knowing my brother had you first
? And that at any moment he could
close his eyes and remember how you feel naked against him? But, I’m dealing with it because I
want to be with you.”
A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
“If you want to be with me Ginny, then you need to talk to Dane and let him know there can’t
be anything between you two. You can’t be on the fence, you need to make a decision. Had it
been anyone else we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but considering the circumstances
I’m willing to be flexible – until now.”
~ Genevieve ~
Oh, thank God! She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but held herself back. She’d
driven around Staten Island for a couple of hours after leaving Dane’s house, trying to get her
thoughts together before ultimately parking in his yard and waiting for him to come home. She
was grateful she’d been to his house a few days ago and remembered the address.
“So you’re not angry?”
A hint of a smile touched his lips. “Oh yeah. Furious, but I’ve begun to care for you and I’m
not willing to let you go unless you decide I’m not the one you want. But you need to decide
right here, right now. I won’t share you with my brother.” He took her hands in his and it felt so good, it felt supportive and reassuring. A smirk touched his lips. “You can’t have us both.”
“I want you, Graham. Only you. I’m sorry, I… I don’t –”
He slipped a hand to the back of her head and urged her forward. She trembled at his touch,
leaning in and swiping her lips across his. “I’m sorry,” she murmured against his lips.
“It’s okay. I’m just glad this is settled,” he whispered back. “Just stop talking for a minute
and kiss me already.”
Smiling, she allowed him to fully capture her lips, kissing her with such intensity her entire
body ignited with desire. A burden had been lifted. Her decision was made and she could now
finally give herself fully to the man she wanted. The man, she now realized, she was supposed to
be with from the start.
She closed her eyes and allowed the waves of need and desire to rush through her as she
repositioned herself so she was straddling his lap. Graham’s hands slid around her waist and up
under her shirt, his fingers digging into the flesh of her lower back. Her lips left his and she
began to run a string of butterfly kisses along his jaw and to his neck, as her hands began to
explore the hard lines of his chest beneath his uniform shirt.
Frustrated and needing to feel his warm flesh without the restriction of clothing, she pulled
back, her eyes locking with his, and began to unbutton his shirt. To her surprise she found her
hands shaking slightly, her fingers fumbling with the buttons. It was partially nerves, part
anticipation and his growing erection beneath her was – distracting.
She sighed loudly as she finally finished with the final button and pushed the shirt off of his
broad shoulders. Grabbing the bottom of his white t-shirt she tugged it up. Releasing her, he
lifted his arms and allowed her to pull the garment up and off.
Sitting back onto his lap her eyes scanned every inch of exposed body, beginning at his
shoulders and slowly moving downward. Her eyes landed upon two more scars, on his left side,
just below his ribs. She traced the scars as he watched her intently.
“What happened?” She lifted her gaze to his jaw and traced the scar there with her index
finger. “What are these from?”
He smiled. “A rookie mistake.”
She frowned. “I think I’m going to need more information.”
“I was attempting to arrest someone, a heroin addict, the first week I was on the force. I
didn’t pat him down well enough. He still had a knife and when I let my guard down he pulled
out the knife and lunged at me. Got my jaw first and then took a couple jabs at my side. Luckily
he didn’t hit anything critical with the blade, but it certainly knocked me down a notch. I’d
graduated top of the class at the academy so I guess I figured I was hot shit – invincible. Dane
and I went to the academy together and I was a big braggart about graduating ahead of him. A
few days in the hospital and banished to traffic duty for several months made me learn my
lesson.”
“That’s horrible.” It occurred to her just how dangerous his job could get. If the guy had
gotten Graham in a different area, severed an artery, she wouldn’t be sitting there straddling his lap planning on exploring every inch of his body.
“It’s all in a day’s work. And I’ve gotten more cautious. Lesson learned.” Seeing the worry in
her expression he pulled her to him and brushed his lips across her temple. “You don’t have to
worry. Okay?”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held tight to him, burying her face into the side of
his neck. “All right.” Her thoughts about his job were pushed to the back of her mind as the feel and smell of him reminded her of why she was currently straddling him and that she desperately
wanted to see him without the remainder of his clothing.
Vegas had been such a surreal experience that she hadn’t really had the chance to savour
being with him. But tonight would be different.
She pulled back and kissed him, her hands moving to the waistband of his pants and she
wiggled on his lap, riling up his thickening shaft. He groaned against her lips as she nipped at his lower lip, but his hands circled her wrists, stopping her from undoing his pants.
Confused, she pulled back. “What’s wrong?”
He released her wrists, brought his left hand up to her face and tapped the face of his Swiss
Army watch. “It’s past midnight and I volunteered to take on an extra shift tomorrow morning.
Gotta be to work for 5am.”
She frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll go. I didn’t realize.” Lowering her eyes from his, she
attempted to wiggle from his lap, but he grabbed her waist and kept her secure on him.
“Hey, hey, hey. Where do you think you’re going? I’m not letting you run away from me
again.”
“But… you gotta…” She looked toward the staircase that she assumed led to the bedrooms.
“So I was going to let you get some sleep. I never considered the time. I’m sorry.”
“Hell no. You’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“But... but, you said you have to go to bed.”
He grinned and stood, keeping her tight in his arms. Laughing, Genevieve wrapped her legs
around his waist and held tight to him.
She raised a brow at him, continuing to grin. “So we’re having a slumber party?”
“Hmmm. Yeah. Something like that.” He carried her through the living room and up the
stairs, shutting off the lights as he ascended.
“You know I can walk up the stairs on my own, right?”
“I know.” He lowered his mouth to her neck and bit lightly, sending a spike of desire through
her. “Maybe I prefer it this way.”
Chapter 11
~ Graham ~
“It’s kinda big,” Genevieve called out from the bathroom next to the bedroom where she was
changing into one of his t-shirts.
In just his boxer briefs Graham flopped himself onto the bed above the covers and laced his
fingers behind his head, his eyes glued to the entrance of the bedroom, waiting for her to appear.
“You can always come to bed naked. I’ve seen you naked before, you
realize that, right?” He
was actually glad she’d asked for a shirt to change into; he suspected if she were naked next to
him there wouldn’t be much sleeping tonight. As it was he was sporting a semi-erection just
thinking about her lying next to him.
“It’ll do.” She appeared in the doorway.
His erection went from semi-hard to full mast at the sight of her barefoot and wearing his
grey NYPD t-shirt. She looked both adorable and sexy. It did indeed hang off of her and fell to
mid-thigh.
She paused at the doorway, her face turning slightly pink. It amused him that the same
woman who’d spent a night sandwiched between him and his brother would get a bout of
shyness standing in his doorway with a t-shirt on.
“You can come in you know,” he teased. He pulled open the blankets beside him and patted
the vacant space. “Come on. I won’t bite.”
She smiled, her blush deepening. “I know, it’s silly.” She slowly began to make her way into
the room. Crawling onto the bed, she sat back on her knees and caught his gaze. “Yeah, but it
almost feels like our first time.” She crinkled her nose up. “You know what I mean? It’s silly I
know.”
Her eyes lowered down the length of his body and paused at his groin, where his dick was
pressing against the material containing it. When her eyes wandered back up his body to meet his
stare, the lust in her eyes made him groan inwardly. This was going to be hard. Real hard. Maybe
he should have let her go home tonight, but he wanted her with him, even if it was just in his bed for the night with no sex involved.
She chewed at her lower lip as she peered down at him, the heat in her eyes increasing.
If I touch her I’m done for.
But he didn’t have much of a choice as she straddled his waist and lowered herself onto him.
Her scent – sweet roses – filled his nostrils.
“You’re making this really hard to keep to the no sex-o for tonight.”
She moaned softly as her lips grazed the side of his neck. “Are you really sure?”
Placing his hands on the backs of her thighs, he slowly moved them upward, pushing the hem
of the t-shirt up until his hands cupped her lace-covered bottom.
He swallowed and closed his eyes, trying to push down his desire.