Table of Contents
Prologue
Epilogue
Finding Our Way
Physical Contact
You Have Her Eyes
Making Progress
More Than You Realize
Looking for Someone
What Do I Have to Lose?
Comfort and Kindness
Sure, Strong, Steady, All Man
Twister
Intense Heat
We Don't Need Complications
Consumed By My Desire
Impossible
Guilt and Shame
Little White Lie
Too Good to Last
All Three of Them
Home
Ecstasy
About the Author
Also by Samantha Twinn
Three Brothers
A MFMM Menage Romance
Samantha Twinn
Contents
Prologue
1. Finding Our Way
2. Physical Contact
3. You Have Her Eyes
4. Making Progress
5. More Than You Realize
6. Looking for Someone
7. What Do I Have to Lose?
8. Comfort and Kindness
9. Sure, Strong, Steady, All Man
10. Twister
11. Intense Heat
12. We Don't Need Complications
13. Consumed By My Desire
14. Impossible
15. Guilt and Shame
16. Little White Lie
17. Too Good to Last
18. All Three of Them
19. Home
20. Ecstasy
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Samantha Twinn
Copyright © 2017 by Samantha Twinn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Prologue
“Thanks again for coming with me this weekend,” I tell my friend Christine. “And for driving us here.” After a round of introductions to several friendly strangers, she and I are by ourselves at the appetizer table, digging into the veggie tray while we wait for dinner to be served.
“No problem, April,” she says. “It’s nice to get out of the city once in a while.”
“I really appreciate the moral support, too,” I say.
“Moral support? Are you expecting a hard time from this crowd?”
We look around at the small group of mostly older people assembled for the early pre-rehearsal dinner. Aside from my mom and Michael, I don’t know anybody. They all look pretty harmless, though.
“I’m just stressed about my mom getting married. It was so sudden.”
“You like Michael, don't you?” Across the room, the man in question has his arm around my mom while they talk to another couple. My mom is leaning into him and everyone is smiling.
“He seems nice,” I say. “But she's known him less than six months. I don't understand what the rush is.”
Christine shrugs. “Things are probably different at their age. Are you worried about her?”
“I guess. A little,” I admit.
My friend pops a baby carrot into her mouth before taking me by the shoulders and giving me a shake. “Your mom is a big girl. You need to start worrying about your own happiness. When was the last time you went out and had fun? And, by the way,” she adds, “this exciting shindig does not count.”
We’re in a small, drab function room at a hotel near the interstate, out in what feels like the middle of nowhere. I’m sure the reception tomorrow will be more festive.
“Exams are coming up and my showcase project is due soon. What else should I be doing except working and studying?”
Christine stares past me for a moment, then, still holding my shoulders, she turns me around so that I'm facing the door. “Them. You should be doing one of them.”
Standing in the doorway are not one, not two, but three gorgeous specimens of manhood. Tall, solidly built, and blessed with perfect faces, any one of them could stop traffic. Together they are a vision to behold.
Christine gives a low whistle. “They don’t make them like that in the city.”
The men are dressed nicely for the party, but she’s right, they don’t look like men in the city. They’re all wearing thigh-hugging jeans, and two of them are wearing cowboy boots. Their faces are golden from the sun, and they look big and strong enough to chop down trees.
“Hot, hot, and hotter,” Christine says. “Damn. I’d be calling dibs if it wasn’t for Dustin. Tell me you’ll live a little tonight? Get with one of them since I can’t.”
She’s right that I’ve had my nose firmly to the grindstone for the past several months. But I’m over college guys, so it hasn’t been hard to focus on my studies. I’ll have plenty of time to date a sexy professional type after I graduate and get a job.
“Actually, you owe it to your academic career, my friend,” Christine continues. “A night of wild sex would alleviate your stress and help you perform better on your exams.”
“You don’t need to do a hard sell, Christine. I have eyes.” And my eyes, along with other parts of my body, are saying, yes, please.
“Which one will it be? God, it’ll be hard to choose.”
She’s right there, too. Usually when you see a group of guys, one stands out, but as I study the trio, I find that I can’t pick a favorite.
The men scan the room until they spot Michael. It’s then that an unfortunate truth slowly starts to dawn on me. I watch the three of them head straight to my mom and Michael, and my heart sinks.
“If you need to use our room later, just hang the ‘do not disturb’ on the door, and I’ll stay away,” Christine says.
“Never mind,” I say.
“What? Why? Is gorgeous not your type?”
I take one last long look at the men’s fine-looking denim-clad backsides, then turn to my roommate with a sigh. “Those men are Michael’s sons.”
She stares at me. “So?”
“So tomorrow I'm going to be related to them. They're going to be my stepbrothers.”
Her eyes are still on them as she talks to me. “Well, then you’d better work fast. You've got tonight. Hurry and take your pick, or, better yet, take all three.”
“Christine!” I hiss. I pick up a celery stick and take out my sudden sexual frustration by jabbing it in the dip.
Why is it that the best-looking men I've seen in a long time turn out to be Michael’s sons? I should've known right away. Michael Nolan is a good-looking man for his age and apparently his offspring inherited his great genes.
The three hotties are talking to my mom and Michael and then, in unison, all five of them turn and look at me. Mom waves me over.
“Time to go meet the family,” I say.
“Remember,” Christine sings out, “they're not your family yet.”
I roll my eyes at her as I turn to leave. Michael’s sons watch my approach and I feel a rare flutter of self-consciousness. The closer I get, the better looking the three men are, and honestly, that would not have seemed possible.
I try to remember their names. Mom told me about Michael’s sons, but she called them boys, and even though she'd probably told me their ages, I'd been picturing them younger. These are Men with a capital M, all three of them.
“April,” Mom says, “I’d like you to meet Michael’s sons.” I’d known it, of course, but her confirmation kills my last re
maining hope that I might have been mistaken. “This is Mitchell.” Mom puts her hand on the arm of the one closest to her, and solid muscle strains under the sleeve of his pale blue dress shirt.
Mitchell smiles at me, his long-lashed, dark eyes squinting in a very appealing way. Up close, I realize his face isn’t as perfect as I’d thought. His nose is just a little crooked, and something in me wants to trace my finger along the curve. “Nice to finally meet you, April.” He seems friendly, but also somewhat stiff.
It's hard to believe that our parents are about to get married and we're just meeting for the first time. I wonder if they were all as surprised by the sudden news as I was.
“And this is Reid,” Mom says, moving to touch the arm of the man in the middle. His lashes may be even longer than his brother’s, and his dangerously sexy smile should be against the law. “April,” he says, taking my hand and holding it for a moment longer than I expect.
“And finally, Finn.” The last brother nods his head at me, his soft brown eyes looking almost as shy as I suddenly feel.
Finn is an inch or two taller than the others so I'm surprised when Mom says, “You probably remember me telling you, Finn is still in college, too. In his junior year.”
I really should have paid more attention when Mom filled me in on Michael’s sons. If she had told me how incredibly gorgeous they all were, I’m sure I wouldn’t have believed her.
“It’s great to finally meet all of you,” I say, managing to smile at each of them in turn, afraid my cheeks will flush pink as I meet their eyes again. God, it’s a good thing I’m not trying to get together with one of them tonight, because it would definitely be impossible to choose just one.
I’m not usually timid around a man I’m attracted to, but I don’t think I’ve ever been in the presence of men who look like this. And three of them. Hot, hot, and hotter, indeed.
“April’s in her last year at City College,” Mom tells them, focusing mostly on Finn. “She’ll be getting her marketing degree.”
The brothers all smile and nod politely.
“Mitchell and Reid work with their father, and Finn’s majoring in business at Woodford University.” Now it’s my turn to smile and nod.
“I’ll bet the four of you will have a lot to talk about,” Mom says. “Why don’t you sit together for dinner?”
She wastes no time ushering us to a nearby table. “Have fun,” she chirps, before rushing off to greet new arrivals.
“Why do I feel like we’ve been sent to the kids’ table?” Reid says with a smile.
“Maybe we'll get mac and cheese and chicken fingers,” I say, getting a grin in return. And oh my gosh, what a grin, with a hint of dimples and sparkling eyes to boot.
Across the room, Christine is in conversation with an older man. “My friend is here with me,” I tell the brothers. “I'll be right back.”
I feel their eyes on me as I walk away and my cheeks burn in response.
“Did you make plans to hook up yet?” Christine asks when I reach her. The man she’d been talking to is barely out of earshot, so I glare at her.
“That’s never going to happen,” I say. “My mom would be mortified.”
“Never say never,” Christine trills.
At the table, I introduce her to Mitchell, Reid, and Finn, and silently pray that she won’t say anything inappropriate. I not only cannot hook up with any of these men, I’m going to need to see them at least a couple of times a year at holidays, and I don’t want things to be awkward.
The brothers are still standing, and after introductions, Mitchell pulls out a chair for me while Reid does the same for Christine. So they’re not only handsome, but they have manners, too? I wonder if it’s too late to ask my mom to call off her wedding so I can date one of Michael’s sons.
“So you work with your dad?” I ask Mitchell and Reid. “Landscaping, right?” Mitchell nods and Reid replies in the affirmative. That explains their healthy complexions. “What’s that like?” I ask.
Reid gives a shrug and Mitchell says, “It’s good. It’s nice being outdoors and doing work where we can see the results.”
I nod. “That makes sense.” Visions of the two of them shirtless, chopping down trees and mowing grass pop into my head. I try to tell myself how wrong it is to be picturing them like that.
“What do you plan to do when you graduate?” Finn asks me.
I shrug just as Reid had. “Get a job. In the city.” My response sounds casual, but actually I’m anything but casual about my future. While studying and working on my final project, I’ve also been researching companies and polishing my resume.
I know I’ll spend a couple of years in junior positions, but I intend to find a good company and climb high up the ladder. Being raised by a single mom is a great motivator.
“You like it there?” Reid asks.
“In the city? Sure.” I glance at Christine. “It’s fun.”
She laughs. “How would you know? Your head is always buried in a book.”
“Christine graduated last year,” I explain, “and she’s already forgotten what it’s like.”
“You should come and visit us sometime,” she says, and I would kick her under the table if I wasn’t afraid of accidentally getting Reid, who’s sitting between us.
“That’d be great,” Finn says. More completely forbidden images push their way into my head of the three brothers, huge in our tiny apartment, staying over and sleeping on the couch and the floor, all of them — again — shirtless. Apparently my hormones have taken over my brain.
“What do you do for fun around here?” I ask, if only to divert my imagination away from their naked torsos.
Reid is quick to answer. “Oh, you know. Corn shucking. Tractor racing. Cow tipping.” Mitchell frowns at his brother, but I laugh out loud.
“Glad to see you’re getting along so well,” my mom says, appearing again at our sides. “I was just reminded that we have an important detail to work out before the rehearsal.”
“What’s that?” I ask, still giggling a little from Reid’s joke.
“You’re my maid of honor, but all three of Michael’s sons are standing up for him. We need to decide who will escort you back up the aisle after the ceremony, and who you’ll dance with first at the reception.”
Dance? I’ve been so busy entertaining shirtless fantasies that it never occurred to me that I might be expected to be in actual physical contact with one or more of Michael’s sons tomorrow. Not the kind of physical contact I’ve been daydreaming about, and I’m sure they’ll have clothes on, but it’s still something to look forward to.
“I have no idea,” I say, and it’s the truth.
“I was in a friend’s wedding last year,” Reid says, glancing at my mom. Then he looks at me and adds, “I’m your man.”
My stomach does a flip. Christine clears her throat, and though I can feel her staring at me, I refuse to look in her direction.
“Actually, I think I should escort April since I’m the oldest,” Mitchell says.
My mom starts to respond when Finn speaks up. “We could go with alphabetical order.”
I look between them and wonder how it will feel to wrap my hand around one of their strong arms, or sway close to them on a dance floor. They may each just want a more active role in their dad’s wedding, but it feels a little like they’re fighting over me, and that thought has my belly flip-flopping all over the place.
“Maybe you should arm wrestle to decide,” Christine says, and I bite my lip to hold in a laugh, or maybe it’s a sob. Of course, my overactive imagination hears “wrestle” and well, you can guess what kind of images are running through my mind.
I sigh and mentally put all of their clothes back on them. It’s going to be a long wedding weekend, and then an uphill battle after that, to do my very best to stop lusting after my new stepbrothers.
1
Finding Our Way
“Anyone hungry?” I call out through the screen as I
push open the back door.
Reid turns and looks up at me, sweat making his cotton shirt cling to his broad chest. “Hey, April. Yeah, we’re just about done here.”
Mitchell’s legs, clad in faded denim, are sticking out from under the truck. To the right of me on the porch, Finn is sitting in the shade reading his iPad, probably studying.
“Take your time,” I say. “I’ll get dinner started.”
“Oh, no,” Reid calls back. He puts down the wrench he was holding and leans against the vehicle, facing me with a wide grin. “We don’t want to have to call the fire department again.”
His comment brings a quiet chuckle from Finn.
“The fire department was not needed last night,” I protest.
“There was a lot of smoke,” Reid says.
“The stove heats up crazy fast,” I say. “I’ll know better now.”
“It’s okay. I like my food char grilled,” Finn chimes in. “Or we could have flambé, if you want to get fancy.”
“Very funny, you two!” I laugh along with them, taking myself by surprise. It almost doesn’t feel right, my smile and laugh muscles so out of practice.
“You don’t have to cook for us,” Mitchell adds in. He’s standing now, dusting off his pants, his biceps flexing.
It’s so strange where life can take you. How your whole reality can change in such a short time. It was only a little over a year ago that I’d first met these three men, the night before they became my stepbrothers, when my long-single mom married their widowed dad.
It’s embarrassing now to remember my first impressions of them. They were so attractive that I had to struggle to rein in my hormones — reminding myself we were becoming part of each other’s family, and lusting after them would be completely inappropriate.
Now our parents are gone, and they’re just about all I have left in this world.
“I want to cook for you,” I say. “I need to be useful.”
Reid exchanges a few words with Mitchell that I can’t hear from this distance and then starts toward me. “How about if you make the salad, and I’ll cook the chicken?” he says. “Can we trust you with a knife?”
Three Brothers: A Menage Romance Page 1