by Desiree Holt
“That’s exactly what we want,” interrupted Donovan, tracing one finger along her jaw, raising her face to his as his other hand still cupped her arm. “Do you know how long we’ve been waiting for just the right circumstances? We had this drill site postponed until we thought we could work some kind of magic.” He leant in, drinking in her frantic breath.
“Looks like it’s paid off. You’re here, the sun is already below the horizon and in another minute, the storm will engulf this cabin, dashing any chance of escape.”
Arousal darkened Faith’s eyes before they narrowed in anger, and she wedged her way out from between the two men, putting as much distance as possible between them. She turned and faced them, hands crossed, foot tapping the wood floor in annoyance, the erratic thudding matched only by the panicked beating of his heart.
“Four months,” she said, her voice wavering as tears pooled in her blue eyes. “Four months and you never once tried to contact me. What makes you think I haven’t moved on?”
“Love.”
The simple answer seemed to take her by surprise, and her bravado weakened, a single tear bridging her lashes as it streaked down her cheek. She frowned and swiped the back of her hand across her face, wrapping her other arm around her chest.
“Donovan, I…”
She paused when he took a step closer, uncertainty flaring in her eyes. She glanced at Parker as the man moved in beside him. Donovan took a deep breath, knowing this was his one opportunity to convince her…to earn a second chance.
“I know we have a lot to explain, but we needed to give you time so you’d actually listen to us instead of just wallowing in anger because you thought we’d lied to you.”
“Thought?” she bit out. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I found Parker naked in your bed.”
“And I told you…we’re not lovers.”
“Which means you had other plans…plans you didn’t tell me about, which in my books, equates to lying.”
“You didn’t leave because I never told you about my desire to have Parker join us…and for more than just a quick fuck,” he started, catching another tear on the tip of his finger as it rolled down her skin, leaving a trail of moisture behind. “You left because you had feelings for Parker, and you didn’t know how to deal with them…because you actually wanted to discover what kind of relationship the three of us could build.” He paused as he took another deep breath. “This has nothing to do with lying, unless you’re willing to admit you lied to yourself about how you feel.”
“He…I…” she stuttered, shifting her gaze to Parker again, her lips slightly parted as if she were fighting to draw enough breath.
Donovan took another step forward. “All we’re asking for is a chance to explain. We may have tricked you into coming here, but it was the only way we knew to draw you to us, short of stomping into camp and kidnapping you.” He flashed her a smile he hoped would make her body weep in anticipation. “Ten minutes, darling. Please.”
Her eyes softened as she released a shuddering breath, her shoulders drooping in fatigue. She nodded and collapsed into one of the chairs, motioning to the other two.
Donovan took her offer, sitting across from her, never allowing his gaze to wander. She glanced around the room before settling somewhere between him and Parker. He noticed how her eyes eventually shifted towards the other man, darting up and down his body, pausing in the most intriguing places. A tentative smile tugged at Donovan’s lips. It wasn’t enough of a sign to settle the nervous roll in his stomach, but it gave him a spark of hope. She sighed, and his attention snapped back to her face.
“Fine, I’ll listen. I suppose I owe you that much. But—”
“But,” he cut in. “If you still want us to leave once we’re done talking, we’ll brave this ungodly storm and weather the rain out in a tent.”
“A tent?” She laughed, making his cock peak from the soft sound. “You guys must really be desperate. Okay. Talk. But it’ll be one hell of a night if you’re wrong.”
Chapter Two
Faith’s heart pounded faster as Donovan’s simple smile turned wicked. He raised one eyebrow, nodding at her.
“Oh, it’s going to be one hell of a night, darling, but not because I’m wrong.”
The dark promise in his voice sent a shiver of anticipation trembling through her, and she wrapped her arms around her chest again in the hopes of hiding her reaction. The sudden smug tilt to Donovan’s lips told her he’d seen enough.
“You were going to explain, not gloat,” she managed to choke out, rubbing her hands on her arms. The temperature in the room had dropped suddenly as the wind gusted against the windows, echoing the tinny reverberation of the rain through the cabin.
Parker stepped over to her, stripping off his sweater as he moved, revealing a sleek black tee underneath. Fire seared through her core as she stared at the well-defined physique rippling beneath the thin fabric. She could just make out the strong bands across his stomach, and where his ribs threaded into his chest, creating a dip in his shirt. Moisture she didn’t expect gathered in her sex, and she found herself shuffling on the chair in an attempt to ease the incessant ache that was now rooted between her legs. A flash of awareness shimmied through her senses, and she realised Donovan had been right. She’d fooled herself into thinking Parker had been nothing more to her than a friend…that somewhere along the way she hadn’t developed feelings for him. While she wasn’t quite prepared to examine exactly what those feelings were yet, she knew denying they existed wasn’t going to work.
Parker gave her a tentative smile as he held his sweater out to her. She smiled back, accepting his offer, inhaling sharply when his fingers passed over hers. A jolt of arousal coursed through her at the simple contact, and she could only wonder if he’d felt the same shock.
“Thanks,” was all she could force between set teeth, as she dragged the shirt over her head, breathing in the spicy scent of his cologne mixed with a subtler musk she knew was all him. Goose bumps erupted along her skin making her shiver despite the added layer of warmth. The two men exchanged a curious look, and she prayed they couldn’t read her thoughts.
“Better?” asked Donovan, though the gleam in his eyes told her he’d more than witnessed her reaction to Parker.
Faith nodded, not trusting her voice not to crack at the sultry way he watched her from beneath a veil of lashes. She steepled her fingers and rested her chin on the tips. “Well?” she asked.
“Are you certain you’re comfortable?” questioned Donovan.
“As comfortable as I can be sitting in a make-shift cabin with a drill taking up half the room and a raging thunderstorm shaking the walls.”
Parker laughed when another rumble rattled the glass. “Think of it as mood music.”
Faith couldn’t help but smile. Parker always had a comeback, even if it was a bit lame.
“Mood music for who? Freddy Krueger?”
Parker flashed her a wicked grin and wiggled his fingers like the evil character from the movie.
Faith could only shake her head. “Quit stalling, you two, and tell me why I’m here.”
The tension in the room escalated at the simple question, and Faith felt a darker energy emanating from the men. Donovan cast Parker a concerned look, raising his eyebrows in what looked like a silent message. Parker shook his head, pointing his finger back at Donovan as the man scraped the third chair across the wood, twisting it so he could straddle the seat and cross his arms along the back. Donovan sighed, raking a shaky hand through his hair before looking back at her, his eyes shrouded in mystery.
“Do you remember when we first started dating how you asked me about my family, and I told you I didn’t have anyone left that qualified?”
Faith glanced at Parker before slowly nodding, fear settling like a cold fist in her stomach. Something about the way Donovan looked at Parker sent shivers racing along her spine. Donovan sighed, and the twisting feeling increased.
“That wasn’t exact
ly accurate.”
“In what way?” she asked, cringing when the register of her voice wavered.
Donovan pulled his lips into a tight line, looking at her as if he was afraid she was going to dart out the door. “Parker’s my family…at least, that’s how I feel about him.”
Faith stared at him, not certain what to say. He’d just sworn that he and Parker weren’t lovers, yet she couldn’t see how they were connected beyond a physical relationship. She stared from one man over to the other, scrutinising every detail until her head hurt. They sure as hell didn’t look like brothers, and if they weren’t lovers, she’d be damned if she knew what the hell Donovan was muttering about. A lengthy silence smothered the room until she couldn’t take the uncertainty any longer.
“So what are you trying to tell me?” she demanded, pushing to her feet. “Either you have a family, or you don’t. Either you and Parker are lovers or you’re not. Regardless, I still don’t see what any of this has to do with me…or us for that matter.”
Donovan matched her motion, followed closely by Parker, his chair clattering to the floor. They looked like men determined to get their way, and she had a feeling there’d be little room for negotiations.
“It has everything to do with us,” said Donovan, waving his hand between them. “The three of us.”
Faith stared at the two men, watching them both nod as they stood their ground, arms now crossed on their chests, long strands of hair tousled across their face. She’d never realised how alike they were, though at the same time, completely different. Donovan was dark-haired, dark-eyed, with a serious brood that made women want to climb inside his head and figure him out. Parker’s hair was lighter and longer, and his eyes seemed to waver between a brilliant blue and a playful green. She’d always pegged him as the playboy type, with his easy laughter and cavalier attitude. But now, as he stood there, the strong line of his back as straight as Donovan’s, she saw another side of him. A side that seemed lost and unsure. She found herself wanting to comfort him. To soothe the worry clouding his eyes and make the series of lines creasing his forehead disappear.
Faith sighed and sank into the chair again, snuggling deeper into Parker’s sweater. She had a feeling she needed to hear what Donovan had to say as much as he needed to tell her.
Donovan smiled as their eyes met, and he reclaimed his seat, scraping the chair closer until their knees touched. She did her best to ignore the searing punch of heat that started in her legs and flowed upwards, finally culminating between her thighs as it had when she’d thought about him in the helicopter. God help her, but she knew she was already lost.
“You were saying,” she said, nodding at him.
“Right.” He took a deep breath and she didn’t miss the way Parker stepped behind him, gently patting Donovan on the back. “When Parker and I were just boys, our fathers took us on a hiking trip. They said it was to introduce us to the wonders of the outdoors, but we both knew it was just an excuse to go diamond hunting without getting in trouble. My mother had died during birth, and Parker’s mom was always complaining how my father dragged his dad halfway round the world on some crazy expedition…looking for treasures that didn’t exist.”
He paused and glanced over at the other man. Faith saw something pass between them, making her heart clench. She had a feeling the story didn’t end well.
“Anyway,” he continued, catching her gaze, but looking more through her than at her.
“We were deep in the Alaska wilderness when a freak storm hit us out of nowhere. It was almost as if it just materialised right there on the spot. Deafening thunder and lightning flashed in the sky, splintering trees and electrifying the air. Hail and rain fell like needles against our skin, and the wind was so strong, it was all Parker and I could do just to stumble along behind our fathers as they searched for shelter. We finally found a large cave and ducked inside, certain that whatever might be in the cave was far less dangerous than the storm raging outside.”
His breathing seemed to hitch for a moment and she heard him swallow thickly. His gaze riveted to hers, and a tremble of fear washed over her. She reached for his hand, not sure why she needed to touch him, but unable to stop her fingers from twining through his.
He stared at her, his mouth a thin line, his eyes so dark they looked like deep pockets set into his face. All emotion faded from his expression as he squeezed her hand.
“We were wrong.”
He stopped and pulled away, finding his feet as he shuffled to the other side of the room. His back stood rigidly straight and she could see the muscles along his shoulders clench and release as he gripped at the post of the bed, cursing quietly beneath his harsh breath. Faith heard Parker sigh, and glanced over at him. His eyes softened as he cupped her hand in his, patting the back softly with his other hand.
“What our fathers didn’t realise,” continued Parker, his voice a ghostly echo of Donovan’s, “was that the cave was the den of a mother grizzly and her three cubs. I suppose they thought being a bit later in the season, most of the bears would be roaming their territories, but it seemed the extended harsh conditions had prompted some of them to remain in hibernation. We hadn’t even had a chance to shake off our gear before she struck.”
Parker stopped, looking at Donovan as if seeking the man’s approval. Faith shifted her gaze, pinned by the pained expression on Donovan’s face. He sighed and slowly returned to the chair, taking her other hand in his.
“We didn’t even know what hit us,” he said. “All I remember is hearing both our fathers shout as they pushed us towards the entrance, followed by the sound of screaming and gunfire. Then Parker was dragging me out of the cave by my jacket, yelling at me to run.
Neither of us wanted to leave our dads behind, but hell…we were only ten years old and scared shitless. We never once looked back until we both finally collapsed over a mile away.
We found a tree we could climb and headed straight for the top, even though we knew we weren’t supposed to. But fear does strange things to the mind, and all we could think about was escaping…getting away from the flashes of white teeth and desolate growls that had filled the darkness.”
Faith bit back tears as she watched the two men fall into silence in front of her, their heads hung low, their bodies hunched with guilt. She tried not to picture them as young boys, their faces bright with excitement as they embarked on what was supposed to be a grand adventure between fathers and sons…but it was hopeless. Time hadn’t erased the memories of that night, and she could tell they haunted the men, like a shadow that never quite vanished.
“What happened?” she asked, giving both of their hands a reassuring squeeze.
Donovan shrugged, masking his emotions behind a veil of indifference. “Rangers found us the next morning. Parker’s father had managed to call for help after he’d regained consciousness. He’d been dragged a few hundred feet away from the cave and been left to die. The medics were able to save him, but it was one hell of a recovery.”
She swallowed around the thick feeling in her throat, certain she already knew the answer to her next question. “And your dad?”
“He bled to death during the night.”
She nodded, knowing there was nothing she could say to make the event remotely okay. “Where did you go after that? With your mom already gone and your dad…”
Donovan swung his gaze over to Parker, and a genuine smile encompassed Donovan’s entire face. “Parker’s parents took me in. Treated me as if I were their own.” He laughed, though she could tell it was strained. “Hell, the old man even calls me son.”
“So that’s why you two spend so much time together. You’re brothers…in a sense.”
Donovan drew a deep breath, leaning forward in the seat until his warm breath ghosted over her skin. “It’s more than that.” He threw Parker a nervous glance, then looked back, his eyes searching hers expectantly. “Something happened to us that night…while we huddled together in the tree, clinging to the
branches with every ounce of strength we had left.
Something…changed us.”
A strange shiver wove up her spine, but she couldn’t tell if it was fear or anticipation.
She snagged her bottom lip, darting her eyes between the two men as she nodded for him to continue.
“After that night, it was as if we could anticipate what each other was thinking. We became inseparable, choosing to share a room, rather than stay alone. At first, everyone—
including us—chalked it up to the trauma we’d been through. But with time, we realised it went much deeper. It was almost as if we needed to share to keep the connection alive…to keep us alive.”
He paused and nodded at her, as if prompting her. She eased back slightly, still worrying her lip between her teeth as the weight of his confession slowly sank in. Her gaze drifted to Parker. He looked back at her, his pale eyes full of doubt, the sensual curve of his lips turned down at the edges. It was obvious he expected her to bolt, as she suspected others had before her.
Faith closed her eyes, searching her heart for the answer, but it got lost amidst the frantic thrumming of her pulse. She couldn’t deny that she had feelings for Parker, but were they as pure, as deep as her love for Donovan? Could they ever be?
A gentle touch snapped her eyelids open and she found herself staring into the dark recesses of Donovan’s eyes. He tried to smile, but the effort only added to the need already strumming through her veins. He was reaching out to her, and as scared as she was at the thought of opening herself up to two men, she knew she needed to try, if for no other reason than to ease some of the pain in his eyes.
“I realise this is a lot to take in,” began Donovan, smoothing his fingers over the back of one hand as he drew small circles on her skin with his thumb. “And I know it sounds like a bad scene from a movie, but—”