Twenty Times Tempted: A Sexy Contemporary Romance Collection

by Petrova, Em

  She went limp in his arms. He placed tender, seeking kisses along her temple and down to the corner of her mouth. She turned into his kiss hungrily. His cock gave one last squeeze, and then he knew utter completion.

  Chapter Seven

  Chapel cradled a steaming mug of coffee and carried it to the living room where she’d set out the KeerSaw file. Today was the big day. After all the planning she’d done, she hoped the operation got off without a hitch and continued to run smoothly until the close.

  The warm glow of the lamp greeted her. And Levi. He balanced on one foot while pulling on a thick sock.

  Her body tingled to life. “Sorry. I forgot this was your bedroom.” She set her mug down.

  He opened his arms and she stepped into them. Inviting him into her life was as easy as slipping into a warm bath. Being with him this way felt completely right.

  He made a soft noise in his chest that made her search his face. “What is it?”

  “I didn’t know how you’d feel about me this morning.”

  She straightened. “Why? You think I’d take last night lightly?”

  He buried his face in her hair and spread a palm over her lower back to pull her nearer. “No. It’s just… I don’t know what I was thinking. I was nervous.”

  “Well, I’m a little nervous too. But honestly, Levi, last night was mind-blowing.”

  His erection swelled against her lower belly, bringing a smile to her face. “That’s an understatement. I’m still reeling.”

  She tilted her face for his kiss. In the back of her mind, a twinge of uncertainty gnawed at her. How would Abe feel about everything this morning? The idea that he might want her relationship with Levi to remain in the bedroom was a real possibility. Would he mind this? An embrace, a kiss?

  It wasn’t strictly sexual to her. Though her mind was still whirling from the new events, she’d long ago recognized her interest in Levi. After spending hours entwined with him, her heart didn’t know how to separate physical from emotional.

  But a long talk with Abe was in order.

  She pulled away from Levi and met his gaze. “Today’s the big day. New job site.”

  His warm gaze made her skin sing with sensation. “I promise to work hard and do you proud on that new contract.”

  “Damn, I almost forgot!” She had one more detail to work out concerning a permit for the KeerSaw project. She sank to her knees in front of the coffee table and opened the file she’d brought from the office.

  Levi made a choked noise. She jerked at the sound and looked at him hard. “You okay?”

  He waved a big hand and she realized it was unsteady. He stumbled back a step. She leapt to her feet. “What is it?”

  “This job—it’s KeerSaw?”

  She studied the hard slash of his mouth and the coldness in his eyes. What was going on? “Yeah, why?”

  “They’re…” His Adam’s apple bobbed sharply, looking as if it were about to slice his flesh. “Big.”

  At that moment Abe entered, buttoning his flannel. His sleepy expression changed to one of question when he spotted Levi’s retreat. In fact, he was at the front door with the handle in his grip

  “What’s going on?”

  Chapel’s stomach sank. She couldn’t read Levi’s reaction. Was he leaving because of her or the file or Abe’s appearance?

  “I’ll drive myself. I’ll see you there.” His voice was like gravel. While her mind processed the fact he was upset, her body reacted to his tone. A tone so like it had been last night in the throes of passion.

  She reached for him. “Can we talk?”

  He shook his head and his hair swung forward to conceal his eyes. “Later.” “Listen, man—” Abe began.

  Levi cut him off with a sharp gesture and disappeared. She was wearing only Abe’s t-shirt and the blast of cool pre-dawn air swirled around her bare legs, chilling her. But her heart suffered the worst effects. A coating of ice slicked her insides.

  Abe’s worried gaze met hers. “What happened?” A knot formed in her throat. “I don’t know.”

  In one step, Abe was with her, pulling her into his arms and smoothing her hair. “I’ll talk to him today, baby. Don’t worry.”

  She searched his chocolaty eyes and lost herself in the warm depths. “Are you okay?”

  His lips turned up in that bad-boy smile she loved. “Of course, darlin’. I knew what I was getting into. Last night was perfect. Seeing you with him only deepens my love for you. It’s an amazing feeling to give you something… I mean, I don’t give you enough.”

  Confusion ran through her. She cupped his jaw, scuffing a thumb over the growth of hair there. “You can’t mean that. Abe, you give me so much.”

  He swallowed hard, emotion written plainly on his handsome face. “I don’t, baby, not the things I’d like to give.”

  “Sweetie, you give me more love and acceptance than I’ve ever received in a lifetime. You’re my world.” Now Levi was too, and he was out there somewhere on the road to the new job site, hurting.

  Abe lashed her to him tightly. “If love and acceptance are treasures, then I’m a rich man, baby. I still wish I could do more.” Before she could protest, he captured her mouth. The rich flip of his tongue against hers stole all thought. Her body—still sore from Levi’s thorough attentions last night—rose immediately to Abe.

  In the back of her mind, a worm of worry inched into her world as she realized she was playing with fire when it came to Levi. Yeah, she couldn’t keep her emotions from the deal, and what if she fell in love with him? Was it possible to love two men at once or would Abe be edged from the picture?

  She gave Abe a tight squeeze, and then returned to her place before the coffee table. The open file might be a big success or a death sentence. “I have some final things to take care of this morning before I come to the site. Griffith will be there to manage everything, and you know what to do.”

  Abe gave a hard nod, stomped his feet into his waiting work boots, then threw on a Carhartt jacket against the brisk wind. Being inside this bungalow with two hot- blooded males made her forget the below-normal spring temperatures.

  He stooped to plant a kiss on her lips, his hand curling around her nape. “Baby, everything’s going to be all right with KeerSaw.”

  And with Levi?

  She wanted to ask but couldn’t form the words. Tonight she was going to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with Abe before things went too far.

  With any luck she’d see Levi at the job site. If she was lucky, she hoped to extract emotions and answers from a man who sure knew how to use his mouth, but who she was afraid would clam up, don his aloofness and refuse to discuss it.

  ***

  Abe planted his feet on the brand-new logging road Chapel’d had the guys cut in and released a low whistle. A vast forest stood before him. It was made up of relatively new growth trees—trees planted thirty years ago to fill in a spot his ancestors may have timbered. The trees grew in straight rows, tall and narrow and as close as a man could reach.

  The job manager, Griffith, spat a stream of tobacco juice into the dirt and kicked dust over it. “Tough cutting.”

  “Yeah, but I can handle it. Hope to zoom through.”

  “You’ll have to. Get your saw oiled up and let ’er rip, Gardner.” He slapped Abe on the shoulder and climbed into the truck.

  “We’ll back you up,” he said from the open window. “You drop them, we’ll haul them.”

  Abe nodded and set off toward his own truck and his saw. Levi was parked nearby and he was kneeling on the ground, sharpening the teeth of his chain with a special tool.

  “Hey, Black!”

  The man who’d spent the long night loving Abe’s girl lifted his head and met his gaze. Immediately Abe knew something was off. Levi was drawn, his shoulders tense. He looked like he had when he’d first started work—as if he bore the weight of the world.

  Abe strode toward him. “You okay, man?” “Yeah.”

  �
��This about last night?”

  The tendons stood out on his arms as he clenched his hands into fists. “No. It’s not that.”

  Abe studied him for a long minute, trying to separate the truth from the bullshit. “If it is, we need to talk about it. A problem won’t go away on its own.”

  “I know that.” He dropped the sharpener to the truck bed and slammed the gate. “What do you think is going on?”

  “I think you’ve fallen harder for our girl than you’re willing to admit and now you’re scared.”

  Levi scuffed a boot in the dirt and avoided his gaze. “There’s that. But you knew I had feelings for her going into this. I thought it didn’t bother you.”

  “It doesn’t. I’ve told you before that it’s a good thing. She deserves everything I can give her, even a second man to love and protect her. Look, no matter what you’re feeling, you can’t close up on her. She won’t understand, and she’s confused enough as it is. I’m sure she has some warring emotions too. We all do.”

  Levi’s head snapped up. “You?”

  “Yeah. Damn, I watched you fuck my girlfriend last night, remember? Not once but all night. While it turned me on and I got my share of pleasure, I feel the tension just like you. What if it doesn’t work out? I could lose Chapel.”

  Levi made a noise in his throat. “I can walk away.”

  Abe noted the flash of his eyes and wondered what the hell was going on inside his mind. “Like hell you can.”

  For a moment Levi stared at him wordlessly, the muscle in his jaw fluttering as if he tried to hold back whatever words would ease him. Or torture him.

  “All right, so don’t talk. I’m here when you need to spill. In the meantime don’t take it out on Chapel. She’s too good for that.”

  “I’d never hurt her. That’s why—” He bit off his words, leaving Abe to speculate on what he was going to say.

  A burning protectiveness rose inside him. He stepped toward Levi and fixed the man in his sights. “You won’t hurt her.”

  Levi held his ground and drew up to his full height so they were almost eye level. “I said I won’t.”

  “So whatever is going through your head is going to be put aside. We’re going to knock out this forest.” He waved a hand at the acreage. “We’re going to make a big wad of cash, and then we’re going to take care of our woman.”

  A throaty sigh issued from Levi’s chest. His mouth quirked up at the corner. “I like how you say that. Our woman.”

  “She is. And dammit, we’re going to make her happy.”

  With that, Abe returned to his truck and hauled his saw out of the bed. The morning sun slanted through the trees, illuminating the thick cover of leaves that would keep them out of the muck until they churned it all up. Then they’d be up to their asses in mud. Working through the spring thaw was almost as bad as logging in the summer dry spell. In two months, he’d wish he had this weather.

  He surveyed the woods and picked out the first cut he’d make. If he started at the edge, he could drop them like dominoes across the road where the skidder could easily access them. With his speed and Levi’s supporting saw, they’d be packed up and out of here in plenty of time.

  He ran a hand through his hair and then settled his hard hat and protective glasses in place. As he strode up to the first maple, he poked his earplugs into his ears. Fuck, he hoped they’d be out of here before the deadline. Six weeks to fell a lot of this magnitude was pushing it for a small-town operation like Blue Jay Forestry.

  Do it, Abe. You need the cash.

  A nice bonus check would pay off a huge chunk of his loan. Then he could possibly negotiate for a longer term and lower payments, which would give him more cash in pocket. And get a ring on Chapel’s finger.

  He paused. When he’d proposed the threesome with Levi, he hadn’t considered how marriage would fit into it. He didn’t mind Levi making love to her or even falling into love with her. But he didn’t want him putting a ring on her finger before Abe could.

  All of a sudden it seemed entirely possible. Levi probably earned almost as much as he did. With his lower cost of living, he had more disposable income.

  Income that could buy a diamond.

  He glared at the man’s back. Would he do that? Damn, he didn’t think so. He was a good judge of character and Levi seemed hesitant to intrude on his territory with Chapel no matter how thoroughly he’d loved her last night.

  “Complicated mess,” he muttered. He tore into the tree, taking out his escalating frustration with his financial situation and unleashing the newfound worry that Levi could take his place.

  ***

  At the moment Levi had spotted the big red KeerSaw logo, adrenaline had surged through his veins. Once again he felt as if he were back on KeerSaw lands, cutting for them and dealing with their punk son. How easily he relived the last moments with Bryan—sticking up for the girl Bryan bullied and how he’d shoved him.

  In slow motion, he again saw the arc in which he fell and heard his body crumple onto the muddy logging road.

  It hadn’t been half an hour after the guy was pronounced dead that Levi was taken into custody by the sheriff. Now his defense reverberated in his head as the words had echoed in the still interrogation room.

  No, he hadn’t hit the kid hard. Bryan had been high. He was a drug user, ask anyone. Yeah, he’d shoved him but that didn’t kill him. Whatever he’d huffed had.

  But it hadn’t made a bit of difference. They’d booked him and of course he had no one to bail him out. His family had long ago written him off, and good riddance.

  I spent seven years in prison for that guy. He’s not ruining more of my life.

  But he already had. Levi wasn’t worthy of Chapel and the knowledge flooded in like a dam had broken. He had to give her up. Had to get the hell out of here before she knew his history and he saw the fear flicker in her dark brown eyes.

  Leaving her now would bleed him dry in less than five seconds. Last night when he’d sunk into her heated core he’d done more than gain pleasure. He’d solidified his love for her. He was more firmly entrenched in her life than these fucking tree roots in the Pennsylvania soil.

  He kicked one thick root that had escaped the confines of the ground. The tendril lay dark and vulnerable against the forest floor. To hack into it would damage the tree irrevocably, cutting off much-needed sustenance.

  Like him. To leave Chapel now would gut him. He might as well be back in prison, scraping out an existence day in and out.

  Never living.

  He dug his finger and thumb into his eyes and ground out the emotion that threatened to pool there. What was he going to do? Working for KeerSaw went against everything in him. But they wouldn’t actually send representatives to oversee the job, would they? And his name wasn’t connected with the name Keer on his work record because he’d fudged it.

  But if Blue Jay wanted to prod around they’d find his record. Then Chapel would think him a liar. Criminal and maybe dangerous.

  Tell her on your own. Explain and she’ll understand. The voice in the back of his head urged him to do this but he was afraid of rocking an already unsteady boat. He wasn’t directly involved in Chapel’s life. He was an extension through Abe.

  For a brief moment this morning when she’d stepped into his arms he’d felt they were a couple. One night, however, didn’t make them anything except lovers.

  One night wasn’t nearly enough.

  The far-off beeping noise of a big truck backing up broke the silence of the woods. Levi tilted his head up and stared at the cathedral of treetops. The sun on the verdant green of budding leaves created a glare. He squinted against it yet simultaneously tried to absorb the beauty and serenity. This was his land. Where he belonged. From the moment he’d entered the backwoods of Pennsylvania, he’d felt as though he was coming home.

  Of course that was before KeerSaw invaded.

  The familiar hum of Chapel’s Jeep reached his ears. His heart surged into his thr
oat and he found himself spinning to catch the first glimpse of her coming up the dirt road.

  Through the windshield he made out the soft lines of her hair dripping into her eyes in the way he adored. No, he couldn’t leave her. She was the only thing worthwhile in a decade of his existence.

  Abe heard her too. Across the clearing he and Levi made eye contact. In that instant they were united once more. Ready to care for her and protect her no matter what went on in their inner psyches.

  They reached her door at the same moment. In the back of Levi’s mind he noted no one was around. Abe’s hand closed around her door handle. Levi gripped his forearm.

  “Our girl.”

  A grin broke over Abe’s face. Then he opened the door and drew Chapel into his arms. The sweet scent of her body wash greeted Levi’s senses. As he watched Abe’s hands play over her spine, bringing her close for a kiss, a dark pressure grew in his groin.

  This unconventional relationship might seem strange to most people, but it felt perfectly right. Abe loved her. Levi loved her.

  Who does Chapel love?

  Abe’s mouth slanted over her rosebud lips again and again. Levi hungered for a taste too. He pressed near until his thigh nudged hers.

  With a gasp for air, she tore from Abe’s kiss and gave Levi the full force of her gaze.

  “Yeah, it’s gotta be this way,” he muttered to himself before smashing his mouth over hers. Lightning struck his veins and ran through them like quicksilver to his heart. One taste and he was intoxicated by her.

  A low laugh issued from Abe as Levi lifted her from the Jeep and carried her toward the backseat. Abe bit into her neck and stripped off her jeans and panties with haste.

  “Cold,” she cooed a split second before Levi kissed her again. Christ, she was ripe and ready for him. He could smell her juices flowing. He reached between their bodies and in seconds had dug a condom from his wallet and had his length in hand.

  Abe lifted her and set her down on Levi’s cock.

  “Fuck,” he growled. Her soaking walls clenched him and stole all sense of time and place. Hell, their manager could drive up any second. Her father might drop by for an inspection.