by Dani Worth
“Georgia and Lynn?”
“We have Georgia, Lynn, Jake and three kids.”
“There are children?” Keera’s heart clenched. She hadn’t seen a child in so long. She’d loved children.
“They’re great kids. One of them is new so I don’t know him well yet. He’s the one I said Cadmar helped escape.” She suddenly smiled. “Damn, Caddie sure is hitting it off with Tripp. How old did you say Tripp is?”
“Like I said, I just met them. I think he’s maybe twenty-two or so.” She glanced over her shoulder toward her home, thought of the older brother who was showering inside. When Jenna didn’t say anything else, Keera looked back to find affection shining from her eyes as she looked across the fire.
Ross had buried his face in Dorian’s neck and the younger man, eyes closed, had turned just enough to rest his cheek on Ross’s forehead. Her stomach tightened, warmth flooded her chest. The love coming off this trio touched her.
“Do you ever get jealous?” Keera bit her lip when the question popped out.
“You’d think I would, but I don’t. We just fit. I know the both of them love me as much as they love each other. But the um…intimacy with Ross is still pretty new.”
“What do you mean? I thought you said you’d been together most of your life?”
“We have. But Dorian and I were together sexually for years before the relationship changed. Ross thought of himself as our protector, felt he didn’t have any right to want us that way.”
“What changed his mind?”
Jenna chuckled. “We didn’t play fair. He didn’t have a chance. My only regret is not doing something like that five years ago. So, you’ll have to excuse us. We’re still in the honeymoon phase.”
Keera could not imagine what it would be like to have two men like that in her bed, but her mind instantly threw up an image of her in bed with Chase. She went hot. So hot, she worried her flush couldn’t be explained away by the fire. Clearing her throat, she abruptly stood. “Will you excuse me a moment? There’s a lot of steam coming off that gumbo, so I’m sure it’s ready. I’m going to grab some bread. It’s flatbread, but I made a lot yesterday.”
“Sure.” Jenna didn’t look at her though. She was too busy getting up to walk around the fire to snuggle in with her men. Keera glanced at Tripp and Cadmar, found them still talking.
She turned and walked toward her home, leaves crunching under her shoes as she sped up when she reached the warehouse door. She walked inside, took the stairs two at a time and then stopped dead in the hallway once inside the apartment.
The shower was on.
Her imagination went wild, throwing out images of that scarred, scruffy man in her shower. Naked.
Steam trickled from under the door as the smell of her homemade honeysuckle shampoo filled the hallway. When she’d extracted the oils from the flowers, she’d never expected their scent would turn her on at some point.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. She wanted to see him in her shower so badly, her hands tightened into fists. The water shut off and she couldn’t make her feet move, couldn’t scurry back down the hall so he wouldn’t know she’d sat out here smelling the air like a fool. It was like she’d stepped in wet cement that had dried instantly and kept her feet planted.
The door opened and she heard his intake of air, felt his gaze on her. She closed her eyes, didn’t turn to look.
“Thanks for letting me use your shower. It’s been a long time since I’ve bathed in hot water. I’m not sure there’s anything nicer than—”
He broke off and she finally looked up at him. He’d put on the pair of sweats and the long-sleeved thermal shirt she’d given him. The pants were a little big, so they hung low on his hips, revealing a strip of skin at the top that made her mouth go dry. A trail of light brown hair, the same color as his beard, looked soft, intriguing. She forced her gaze up, enjoying the muscles revealed by the slightly too small shirt. Dax’s pants worked, but her father had been a lot smaller than Chase. “I should have given you one of Dax’s shirts too. Or others. We stored a lot of clothes. There are a bunch in the car ready to be loaded into your RV. These were already in here…” She trailed off, realizing her nerves were making her rattle at the mouth.
“This is perfectly fine.”
That it was. The shirt showed the muscles of his arms and chest off nicely. Before she could think to stop herself, she walked toward him until the scent of honeysuckle shampoo and warm, just-showered male was so strong, so heady, she had to stop and just breathe him in.
“Keera?” His voice had a slight growl to it.
This turned her legs to jelly and she took that last step until their bodies touched. She looked up to find his eyes narrowing, his breaths coming faster and those beautiful, sharp blue eyes locked on her mouth. She licked her lips and he groaned, then gripped her upper arms. Not hard, but tight enough she knew she’d have to pull hard to get away.
She stood on her toes at the same time he lowered his mouth.
The first press of his lips to hers made her moan. Her lower body melted against his and this time, his groan was louder, rumbling against her lips. He opened her mouth and the first taste of his tongue had her gasping for air before she raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. Her breasts pressed to his chest. His hands let go of her arms and stroked down her spine to her hips so he could pull her even tighter to his body. His tongue speared into her mouth, tangled with hers, and the desire building inside her felt so hot, she lifted one leg and wrapped it around his hip.
He pulled back, his head hitting the wall, before he sucked in a deep breath and came back for more.
Something slammed downstairs in the warehouse and they both froze.
Keera was breathing so hard she felt like she’d run a mile. Those eyes glittered at her and she waited for him to say something, anything. When the unscarred corner of his mouth turned up in a rueful smile, she wanted to melt against him again. “Someone’s coming,” he murmured.
“I know,” she whispered. “I can’t seem to make myself step back.”
“I can’t push you away either.”
She chuckled and that corner of his mouth went higher. Funny, she hadn’t noticed his scars affecting the way he kissed in the least. She finally forced herself to step back just as she heard someone clomping up the stairs. Tripp swept into the front room and stopped awkwardly in the hall. He stared at them, taking in the obvious intimate moment he’d interrupted, and didn’t say a word. He turned and walked back out.
Surprised, Keera looked back at Chase only to watch him close his eyes as his expression took on regret. “I really wanted you to like my brother,” he murmured.
“I do like Tripp.”
He opened his eyes.
Keera shook her head. “I know what you mean and I’m not going to apologize for liking his brother more when it comes to that. I’m not. Tripp is sweet and gorgeous and he’s going to find somebody.” She placed both palms on his chest, curling her fingers into his shirt when she felt the way his heart still raced. She also felt tough lines on his right side. He had more scars. “I’d really like to try that kissing again when we don’t have all these people waiting to eat food.”
The heat in his expression made her clench her thighs together.
“Trust me, we will,” he said in a husky, low voice that caused her to squeeze them even tighter.
Chase’s gaze went to his brother first when he and Keera returned to the fire pit with the bread she’d said she came up to get. He couldn’t stop the laugh when she said it and her return laugh had warmed his heart. It was kind of obvious she’d come up to try and catch a glimpse of him in the shower. Not get bread. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Oh hell, who was he kidding? He was elated that she’d wanted to see him.
Until he thought of how bad the scars looked on his chest…
But now that he’d touched her…tasted her, he knew there was no way
he could let his brother have her. He watched Dorian, Ross and Jenna across the fire as they took their bowls of gumbo and sat close to each other on the cushions. They shared each other. In this new world, with so few people, the arrangement made sense.
Could he share her with his brother?
That is, if she wanted that sort of relationship?
She didn’t though. He knew it in his gut. She’d looked at Chase like he was all she was interested in exploring and he was honest enough to admit he didn’t want anyone else touching her. Not even his brother. She brought out this instinctive, possessive need in him that actually alarmed him a little.
Tripp stepped in front of him, blocking the light from the fire. Chase looked up, expecting to see that sad, silent expression and instead found Tripp grinning at him like an idiot and holding out a steaming bowl of gumbo. Chase took the bowl and found himself grinning back because his brother didn’t look upset. Not at all.
“Smooth brother. Real smooth,” Tripp spoke under his breath. He’d looked upset when he’d walked into that apartment, but if he had been, he’d let it go fast. Maybe he, too, saw that there was something between Keera and Chase. Something damned strong for how short a time he’d known her. It certainly felt like longer than twenty-four hours.
The scent of cooked sausage and vegetables hit him and he lifted the bowl to breathe it in deep. “Oh my God.”
Tripp sat next to him, handed him a spoon. He cradled his bowl in his lap. “Thought we’d take our first real taste of this together. I already cheated earlier with pickles.”
“There are pickles?”
“Yeah. With garlic. I haven’t even tasted this yet and I know it’s going to be the best food ever.” He leaned closer. “We really, really need to keep her.”
Chase nudged his brother with his shoulder. “You can’t keep people, Tripp.”
“Well, maybe she’ll want to stay with us.” He dipped his spoon into the gumbo. “I can’t wait any longer.” He closed his eyes with the first bite, chewed a long time then moaned. “Sorry. I’m becoming the next president and making slavery okay. We’re keeping her.”
He said this loud enough for everyone around the fire to hear. Soft laughter trickled into the night and it warmed Chase nearly as much as his first taste of the spicy, delicious dish—but not nearly as much as that damned kiss had. He thought about grabbing one of the blankets because the sweatpants Keera had given him were not going to hide the hard-on he couldn’t seem to keep down. Luckily Tripp was too enraptured with the food to notice.
He hoped.
As he enjoyed the food and the company, he did his best to keep from looking at Keera but he could feel her gaze on him often.
Chapter Seven
Keera spent most of the night tossing and turning in her bed. She’d come so close to asking Chase to share it, but had chickened out. Most of the group had bedded down on the soft cushions by the fire pit. Ross had built the fire up before he’d snuggled in with his lovers. Keera had handed Tripp a small television with a built-in VHS player and he and Cadmar had set up a spot down in the warehouse next to an outlet. When she’d come upstairs, Tripp had been introducing Cadmar to his first movie, The Mummy. They’d dragged a couple of the cushions inside and had made a cozy spot for the night.
Cadmar’s eyes had been nearly as big as his face as he stared at the screen.
She’d watched from the window as Chase had climbed into his RV. Then she’d stayed awake most of the night staring at the empty side of her bed and imagining him in it, all big and naked and warm. She wanted to feel his calloused hands and his beard on her skin—wanted it so badly, she’d ended up using her hand to get some relief.
With only about three hours of sleep under her belt, she got up at dawn, dressed in old comfortable jeans and a soft blue sweater, then started brewing tea. She made chamomile and added lemon verbena, wishing she’d found the ginseng, but shrugging it off.
Outside, Dorian, Ross and Jenna were wrapped around each other under a pile of blankets. She’d thought that with Cadmar occupied, they would have set up a private tent somewhere away, but all three had been yawning constantly last night, so she’d realized that with keeping watch and being on the move, they needed to sleep. Here, where her house was secluded, where no one had found it for so many years, they must have felt safe enough to rest. She saw Jenna’s white-blonde hair barely showing between the brown and black hair of the two men as they kept her warm between them. Keera had invited them to sleep in the warehouse, but Ross had merely smiled and built up the fire. He must have gotten up to replenish it during the night because it still burned. Apparently, they had cold weather sleeping bags they could zip together under the blankets.
Keera poured a mug of tea and walked to the front of her apartment to look at the RV. She was surprised to find Chase already up and staring at her windows. He spotted her immediately and his half smile sent butterflies fluttering about in her stomach. She held up her mug and waved him up to join her.
He didn’t hesitate.
Chase was chuckling when she let him into the apartment. She lifted an eyebrow and he pulled her back out the door to the top of the stairs and pointed to the corner where Tripp and Cadmar had set up their small theater. Tripp, passed out on his back, long legs mostly on the floor, had his mouth wide open. The back of his head was hanging off the cushion.
Cadmar had rolled completely off his cushion and one of his feet was on Tripp’s chest. He still had his boots on.
Keera covered her mouth to smother her laughter and tugged Chase into her apartment. He followed and watched as she poured him a cup of tea. “Wish I had coffee, but we ran out of that a long time ago. It didn’t store as well as my father hoped.” She wrinkled her nose. “He drank old, stale coffee for years anyway. After he died, I used it to fertilize the garden.”
Chase took a sip. “Tea is great. I don’t even remember the taste of coffee.”
“You were probably too young for it still.”
He nodded. “I do miss Coke.”
She sighed. “Ginger ale for me. It was the only carbonated drink my dad let me drink, but I tried the others and it was my favorite, so I didn’t mind.” She glanced out the kitchen window, glad to see the others still asleep. “I don’t think those three have been resting well on this trip.”
He came closer so he could look out of the window too. “They’re worried about what Cadmar is going to find. It’s hard to believe they’ve only known him a short time because they’re obviously attached to him.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t take long,” she said, voice low. She lifted her chin, looked into eyes that resembled polished blue crystals in the morning light. “It’s so odd to be around all of you. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just—” she broke off, bit her lip.
“I understand. You’ve been completely by yourself for three years. I’m… I can’t even contemplate what that’s been like.”
“It was hard at first because I missed my father so much. But he raised me to be self-sufficient and we were mostly alone even when there were a lot more people in the world. It’s only been the last few months, the loneliness started to really get to me. That’s why it feels so odd to suddenly have raiders, then you and your brother…then the others. It’s got to be weird for you and Tripp too.”
“We’ve only been the two of us for a year. Before that, we had Jeff and Mooch…and my sister, Maggie. You would have loved her.”
“Your brother told me about her.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Really? He actually spoke about Maggie?”
She nodded. “Told me about a cake you made for their sixteenth birthday.”
Chase closed his eyes, shuddered. “Oh, it was bad. So bad. I could throw together edible meals, but baking was never something I could do.”
“Unfortunately, baking is more science than anything else and without the right ingredients, it doesn’t work.” Keera poured herself more tea. “Did she look like Tripp?”
He nodded, leaned back against the counter. “A lot like him, but more like our mother. She was pretty short. Tripp and I got our height from our father. I never really knew him. He was gone a lot with work, then just disappeared a year or so before the Crux hit. Maggie was—the best word to describe her was sunny. She smiled a lot, laughed, yet she had this completely at odds love of morbid movies and books. I can’t believe Tripp talked about her. He’s barely done more than speak her name since she died.”
“Oh, speaking of books, I thought it would be fun to give Ross and them a copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I have two.”
“Oscar Wilde.”
Her mouth fell open. “Really? You’ve read it?”
He nodded. “Our house was near a library that had remained pretty much intact.” He held up his mug. “This is really good, like everything else you’ve shared. I’ve appreciated everything you’ve done.”
“You would do all this yourself.”
Chase opened his mouth to say something else, but there was a shout from the warehouse. He slammed down his mug and took off running.
Keera followed.
They got to the top of the stairs only to find Cadmar rolling on the floor laughing. “It’s not poisonous, I promise! It was just a milk snake.”
Tripp was in the middle of the stairs. “I read the colorful ones are bad.”
Cadmar kept laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Tripp grumped as he came up the stairs. His eyes got wide when he saw Chase and Keera together. “Um…there was a snake on me.”
“On you?” Keera asked. “I’m surprised. They don’t usually get close.”
“Well, this one did.” He stopped, stared at his brother.
“I just came up for tea. Only been here a few minutes.”
She wondered why he felt the need to explain, but didn’t ask. She smiled at Tripp. “Want tea?”