by Zoey Marcel
Damn it! I was outwitted by a moron.
“Hey, cool. What was that like?”
“I’m hanging up,” Heath threatened.
“Fine, David and I will have Danielle Hartwell all to ourselves.”
“What?” The memory of seeing her with that vaguely familiar-looking guy in an alley at twilight flashed in his head and something clicked. Danielle had said it was Brighton, but he hadn’t really been listening. “You’re the son of a bitch that was eating her out?”
“Don’t be talking about my mama. She was no bitch, and yes, I did eat Danielle out. What are you gonna do about it?”
“I’m gonna go over there and kick your ass.”
Brighton let out a fake, unsteady chuckle. “Hey now, let’s not be hasty. I am willing to share her with you. What say you to that?”
“Your ass is mine.” Heath grabbed his keys.
Brighton sounded entertained on the other end. “Heath, please. I know I’m attractive, but don’t you think we should kiss before starting anything like that so I don’t feel scandalized?”
Heath wanted to pummel him. “I meant your ass is grass.”
“Oh. Um, about what happened, no hard feelings. Danielle’s too much woman for just one man.”
He headed toward his truck. “Well, I hope going down on her was worth it, because I’m coming over there.”
Brighton squeaked. “How hard are you gonna hit me?”
“You’re gonna find out.”
“Wait, wait, wait. I thought we could share her.”
“You thought wrong.”
“Crap. But you can even touch me if you have to. I don’t mind.”
Heath got into his truck. “Yeah, I bet you don’t.”
“But see, there’s this BDSM club in McKenna Downs. You and Danielle could sign up and get freaky there while you train her to be submissive. It’s a great plan. Then you’ll share her with us and hopefully, eventually with Cole, too.”
“What? How many men are you passing her to?”
“Not many. What do you think of joining the club?” Brighton asked. “You don’t have to be in the closet anymore.”
“What?” Heath growled.
“I meant the BDSM closet. I’m sure you hide a lot from your ‘torch them all’ dad. Why, are you in the gay closet, too?”
“No!”
Brighton made a cat hiss. “I was only asking. What is that sound?”
“That, my good man”—Heath parroted the phrase from earlier—“is the sound of the key going into the ignition.”
“W-Why?” Brighton asked nervously.
“You ate out my woman and now you have the audacity to suggest sharing her with me? And you think I want to fuck your punk ass?”
“Hey, I can screw yours if it makes you feel better.”
“You’re the one who’s getting screwed, you little shit.”
Brighton squawked in alarm when he heard Heath turn the engine on. “Okay, how about this? You date her, and she can see David and me on the side. That way you think she’s yours, but we get her, too. Everyone wins and no hard feelings, right? Right? Right?”
Heath hung up. It was time to kick some ass. No hard feelings.
* * * *
“Shit! Shit! Shit!”
Brighton ran around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to decide whether to run or hide. His genius plan to get Heath to train Danielle in BDSM had failed. He wouldn’t have figured Heath for a Dom, but he couldn’t tell if the man had been sarcastic or not.
David had gone to talk to Danielle, and Brighton was supposed to speak with Heath, in person, David had suggested.
Pfft! Yeah, right.
Over the phone was much safer, or so he’d thought.
Tell that to Heath.
Brighton darted over to the front door. If he left before Heath got there, the cowboy wouldn’t find him.
Brilliant. He really was the smartest of his brothers. Brighton was sure of it. Upon opening the door, Heath stood on the other side waiting for him. Brighton screeched at a pitch he would have to reassure himself later didn’t resemble that of a woman.
Brighton bolted, and Heath took off after him. “Truce! I forgive you!”
Heath didn’t accept his most humble apology. He tackled Brighton to the couch and straddled him, drawing back his fist.
Brighton screamed and blocked his face, peeking through his splayed fingers when he saw a couple of the servants pulling Heath off of him. One of them was Chuck, the gardener and landscaper dude. The other was their butler, Siegfried.
Heath shook them off, turning ghostly white when he saw the men. They stood side by side, so Brighton couldn’t tell which one had freaked the shit out of Heath. The cowboy backed up, knees shaking, and then spun around quickly and headed back out the front door.
Chuck helped Brighton up. “You okay, little guy?”
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
“You never fail to upset people, do you, Brighton?” Siegfried teased him, the mellowness of his crisp British accent never rattled.
“Hey, man, it’s not my fault he didn’t like my offer.”
“What offer?” Chuck asked.
Brighton turned smug. “Now that’s not really your business, my friend. I’m up to no good.”
Chuck snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”
Brighton dusted himself off and readjusted his clothing. “Why the hell did he just walk out like that? He looked spooked.”
“I’m sure it was your sheer brawn,” Siegfried quipped.
“You think?”
“Not particularly.”
“I’ll have my daddy fire you.”
Siegfried remained stoic. “Mature as always, young Brighton.”
“Thanks, man, but seriously, what was up with Heath’s reaction? He was about to fail at kicking my ass and then he just split like that?”
“It’s probably my fault,” Chuck said. “Maybe I beat him up or threatened him at the bar before. You know how I like my booze.”
“Yeah, you do, you lounge lizard, but you sculpt one hell of a yard.” Brighton waved them off. “Okay. Shoo. I need my space. You guys are crowding me.”
“The kid enjoys his rich-boy status a bit too much I think,” Chuck muttered to Siegfried.
“I heard that.”
Chuck laughed.
Brighton’s fascination over Heath’s unexplained retreat dissolved into a more important dilemma. He and David didn’t know much about BDSM. Somebody had to train Danielle in submission for Cole. Brighton supposed he and David could learn, but that would take too much time. He missed posh, irritating Cole. He wanted him to come home. Asking and tricking him obviously weren’t working. Maybe he needed to dangle candy in front of him—voluptuous, blonde Danielle candy.
He was hoping Heath would train her, but he clearly had issues. If not him teaching Danielle about BDSM and training her to submit, then who should do it?
* * * *
Danielle looked up from pruning the rosebushes when David said her name. Her spirit soared with joy when she saw him.
“Hey, David. What brings you here?”
“I wanted to ask you about Cole and Heath,” he said seriously.
She froze without looking at him.
“Which one do you want to start with?”
Swallowing, she got back to pruning. “Nothing happened between Heath and I after you and Brighton proposed to me. Heath and I fooled around once in his truck. We never had sex.”
She waited for offensive slurs against her healthy sexual appetite.
None came.
“That’s fine, Danielle.” David came closer. “Do you love him?”
“I only met him recently. I like him, but that’s it.” She rolled her eyes. “Even that’s a stretch at times. He pisses me off to no end.”
“Do you think about him?”
She squirmed. “Sometimes. What is this about?”
“Brighton and I talked it over and we’re open
to sharing you with Heath for a while if that’s what you want.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
“Or even permanently. We don’t care either way as long as we have you.”
“Oh my God.” She blinked rapidly. “I…that’s…thank you. That’s incredibly generous of you guys.”
David smiled and brushed his hand over her cheek. “We just want to be with you. An extra man doesn’t matter.” He pointed a finger at her, expression mocking. “But don’t get carried away.”
“I won’t.” She wrapped her arms around his middle. “Thank you, but I doubt he’ll ever talk to me again.”
David seemed amused by something. “I think you might be surprised. I want to ask you something else.”
“What is it?”
“Did you and Cole sleep together before you left for Chicago?”
Her head bowed and slowly she nodded.
He tilted her chin up with two of his fingers. “Why did you leave?”
“He proposed to me after we made love.” Her eyes misted with regret. “I wanted so bad to say yes, but I couldn’t.”
“Because you loved all three of us?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, soreness building in her throat. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt him. Leaving broke my heart, too. I’ve regretted it ever since.”
“It’s okay.” David smoothed his hand over her cheek, using his thumb to catch the stray tear that fell. “At least he got to share that with you.”
“Yeah, right before I ripped his heart out.” She wiped away a tear on her other cheek. “He must hate me.”
“He doesn’t hate you.”
“Does he ever talk about me?”
“No.”
A pang of hurt flared up inside her. She didn’t blame him.
Silence fell between them.
“Are you at all interested in BDSM?”
“What?” She gave him a quizzical smile. “Where did that come from?”
He flashed her a charming grin. “Well, are you?”
“I’ve wondered about it and read up on the basics, but I haven’t tried it or anything. Why?”
“I thought maybe Heath could train you in submission.”
“Heath?”
“Unless he’s not a Dom.”
“I’m not sure. I know he likes to top in bed, but I’m not sure about the other.”
David caressed her arm. “If he does, you guys can enjoy that together, and if not, I’m sure we’ll think of something else.”
“Are you sure about this whole Heath thing? I don’t want to make you and your brother jealous.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll be fine. If anything we’ll be too busy competing with each other to worry about him.”
“Well, that’s true.” Tenderness moved through her when he plucked a pink rose and then placed it securely behind her ear so the exploding bud was displayed in front. “You’re so romantic.”
His loving smile warmed her as he ran his fingers through her hair on the other side. “Beautiful.”
She took his fingers and gently kissed the tips when he started to pull them away. “Are you and Brighton going to get jealous of each other?”
“Nah, our competition isn’t about jealousy.”
“It’s not?”
“No. We know you love all three of us equally. It’s more about which guy performs the best in the sack. We were like that before you, except for the sharing part. That’s new for all of us.”
She smirked and shook her head. “I remember you all dated the same women in succession after the other brothers broke up with her.”
David pointed at her. “Not every woman.”
“More than one.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that.”
She rolled her eyes, lips tugging at the corners in humor. “What happened to bros before hos?”
He laughed lightly. “Yeah, I know. Ordinarily I would say siblings should never date their brother’s exes, but we all were initially attracted to the same women a few times. When things ended with her, the other two had to one-up the guy.”
“Who won?”
He grinned. “I’m pretty sure I won.”
“Would Brighton’s and Cole’s answers differ from yours?”
“Probably, but they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.”
She tittered and drew closer to him, standing on her tiptoes to reach his lips for a sweet peck. “Please don’t ever stop loving me. You mean everything to me.”
“Not loving you is impossible. You’re my world.”
This time he initiated the kiss, calling their tongues into play. They French-kissed for a brief, heartfelt moment before pulling away gradually.
“You should go talk to Heath when you get a chance,” David said. “Don’t beg him to join us. Just ask him what he wants. If he’s not interested, you’re gonna have to choose us.”
She grinned, running her fingertips along his jawline. “I’m not gonna leave you. Thank you again.”
He gave her a single nod before planting a kiss on her forehead. “Brighton already talked to Heath, so he should be up to speed on everything.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “Oh no.”
“What’s the matter?”
She put a hand to her head. “Heath saw Brighton tonguing me that evening. What if he saw Brighton’s face?”
“That would be awkward.”
“Ugh. I’d better go find him and explain.” Danielle walked a few steps and then had to go back for another kiss with David, which led to another and then just one more.
He chuckled. “You’d better go before your brother comes home to me rolling you around in the front yard.”
She chortled and stole one last kiss with him before hurrying off. One more was never enough. He was too good. He filled her spirit with light and peace.
* * * *
Heath sat on the floor in the empty building, back resting up against the desk. He never thought he’d see that face again. The sight of it a little while ago haunted him. Memories came barreling back. He hadn’t forgotten, but he’d sealed them in a vault. Now they were popping up in his head again like popcorn. It was too much.
The man had worked for his father once. Heath had really thought he’d never see him again. Fate was callous in its indifference to his feelings, or perhaps even cruel.
“Heath?” a feminine voice called out his name.
Heath recognized Danielle’s dainty yet sassy vocals.
Looking up, he said nothing when he saw her standing there, looking like a knockout as always. Her blonde hair had some kind of crinkled wave going on. Normally it was straight. He preferred it that way, but this temporary style looked good on her, too.
Crimping, that’s what the hairdo was called. He recalled an ex-girlfriend getting annoyed with him because he hadn’t noticed that she’d styled her hair that way and then because he didn’t know what it was called. He’d told her she was being irrational by expecting him to know everything. They’d had a fight and then fooled around and forgot what they’d been arguing about.
She was kind of crazy and high maintenance. Not like Danielle. This woman had a tongue on her, too, though. He didn’t mind fire in a woman, but his ex had been the abode of Satan.
Heath soaked up Danielle’s eye-catching appearance. The denim cutoff shorts exposed her thick, meaty legs. He would bet anything that they hugged her killer ass from the back. The light-green tank top had a plunging neckline. Her pillowy breasts were there to greet him, a tiny pink flower gracing the center of her top near her collar. Her plump arms were showcased from the thin spaghetti straps, and he could almost spot her tempting belly through the silky top. Too bad it wasn’t sheer on the cups that covered her tits. Then he would know the thing had been perfectly designed for the male sex drive.
“Someone said I’d find you here,” Danielle informed him, stepping closer. “What are you doing in this old doctors’ clinic?”
; He moved his attention to his outstretched legs, making the focal point his cowboy boots without really studying them. “What do you want, Danielle?”
“I came to explain.”
“The same rehashed lies or why you talked Brighton into inviting me to bed with your multiple fuck buddies?”
He saw her jaw tense, accepted the silent title of bastard, and waited for her response.
“I really do have someone after me, and I never told Brighton to invite you into bed with us.”
“You gonna fuck the dad, too?”
“All right, that’s it.” She spun around to leave before recanting. “Why shouldn’t I choose them over you? They’re much nicer people.”
“You mean because they’re not religious?”
He took a swig from his water bottle. It should have been liquor. God knew he needed it right now, but water was the only liquid within reach, so it was happening instead.
“Oh my God.” She made little claws of her female fingers, features distorting with frustration that only added to her adorableness. “I am not against religion. I just hate self-righteousness. Is that so hard to grasp?”
“What makes you think I’m self-righteous?”
“Everything! Your whole air is ‘I’m Heath. I’m better than everyone. Sure, beat the crap out of my best friend. I’ll be forgiven.’”
His mood darkened. “Well, you’re in luck, sugar. I’m not religious anymore.”
“What?”
He stared off into space, soul dampening with despair remembered. “I never told anybody this, but I actually went to seminary for a while to please my father. The more I studied, the less I believed. I dropped out and went to veterinary school instead like I originally wanted to.”
“Seminary made you lose your faith?”
“Ironic, isn’t it? It strengthened my dad’s, fucked mine up.”
“What are you then?”
His eyes lifted to meet hers from where she stood. “I’m agnostic.”
“Does your dad know?”
He scoffed, raising his brows, and rolled his eyes as he brought the water bottle to his lips again. “No. I can’t ever tell him.”
“So you’re just gonna carry on all your life with this charade like you did with me about your identity?”
He threw her an annoyed glance. “You don’t understand. I’m not talking about making somebody a little mad or disappointed. It would break his heart if he knew. He already thinks he failed because of Carsten.”