by Marla Monroe
Drew rolled them over to their sides and slipped out of her grasping cunt. He left her as Ranger climbed back in the bed. When he returned, he slid in next to her beneath the covers Ranger had pulled from the foot of the bed.
“You okay, Carly?” he asked.
“Mmm.”
“I take that as a yes,” Ranger said with a chuckle.
She sighed, because right then, there was nothing else she could do. They had totally wiped her out. Her climax had been the most intense feeling of her life. Worry about what the future held tried to nose its way into her mind, but she shoved it back. Not now. Now she just wanted to bask in the afterglow of love, because she was almost certain they both loved her. They hadn’t said as much, but the way they had taken care of her showed as love to her.
Once again, doubt crept up to dampen her spirit. Where did they go from there?
Chapter Fourteen
When Carly got back to work Monday, she knew she had to make a decision about moving in with Drew and Ranger by the end of the week. They were being patient, but it wouldn’t last forever. And really, what was holding her back from deciding?
“Carly. Can we talk to you for a minute?” Her bosses, Drs. Jamison and McKenny, caught her as she was putting away her things.
“Sure.” She followed them into their office. When they closed the door, a sinking feeling settled over her.
“We’ve had some disturbing news concerning you, and wanted to find out if it’s true,” Dr. Jamison began.
“Is it true you’re dating two men—at the same time?” Dr. McKenny asked.
Carly thought about lying for a brief second, but couldn’t do that to them or herself. She loved her men and wouldn’t deny them.
“I don’t see how my personal life could be related to my job. I’m a damn good dental hygienist.”
“So it is true. You are seeing two men. Is this relationship serious, Carly?” Dr. Jamison sighed.
“Yes, I think it is.” She lifted her chin just an inch. She’d be damned if she would apologize for who she loved.
“I’m not sure what this is going to do to your reputation. We can’t afford to lose patients because you’re, um, sleeping with two men.” Dr. McKenny let out a long breath. “Is there any chance we can talk you out of this?”
“No.” She sighed and shook her head. “I can’t believe you would judge me like this. I’ve always done excellent work for you and am reliable to a fault. I don’t call in sick or come in late.”
“We realize this. That’s the reason we’re going to wait this out and see what happens. If we lose patients because of your associations, then we’ll have to revisit this again. Personally, I don’t care, but we have a business to run, and our customers are our business.” Dr. Jamison stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.
“I can’t say that I’m okay with it, but you’re right. It’s nobody’s business but yours. Still, like Jamison said, we have to look at it from a business standpoint. As long as there are no repercussions, then it’s not a problem.”
They dismissed her, and Carly struggled to maintain control the rest of the day as she did her job. The girls all looked at her differently. Well, everyone except for Lisa. She smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up to show her support. Still, the day was a wash as far as she was concerned.
Once she got home, Carly let the tears fall as she ran a bath. She wasn’t hungry and didn’t see any reason to fix something she wasn’t going to eat anyway. When she slipped into the tub, the warm water and soothing bubbles caressed her skin and relaxed her muscles. The stress and strain of the day slowly slipped away as she lay back against the back of the tub.
What was she going to do if their business suffered and they let her go? More than likely anywhere she applied would feel the same way. Did she have to give up her happiness to work at a job she loved, or give up her career in order to have the two men who meant everything to her now? Try as she might, she couldn’t come up with an answer. Maybe it wouldn’t come down to a choice at all. Maybe no one would give a rat’s ass about her personal life.
She sighed. Fat chance. Everyone loved to gossip. The juicier the better. Her having a ménage relationship would be the juiciest of gossip. She had no doubt that Jim had been behind it all. He’d made good on his threat.
The water cooled so she climbed out of the tub and dried off. Then she wrapped a robe around her before curling up on the couch to try and find something on the TV that would hold her interest. Thirty minutes later, she admitted defeat and turned it off. When she got up to head to bed, her cell phone rang. She checked caller ID and found it was Lisa.
“Hey, Carly. How are you doing?”
“As good as can be expected when you’ve had your life turned upside down.”
“I’m so sorry, honey. I don’t know how everyone found out, but they were talking about it when I came in this morning.”
“I’m sure Jim called someone and it spread from there. I’m just lucky the doctors are giving me a chance before they give me the boot. If they don’t lose patients because of my screwing two men, then I can stay.”
“Oh, Carly. Surely no one outside the office will find out. I mean, why would they?” Lisa tried to console her.
“A lot of my patients are friends that Jim knows. He’ll tell them, Lisa. You know he will. I guess it will all depend on if they don’t want to be associated with me because of it or not.”
They talked for a few more minutes, then Carly said good-bye and hit end. When she reached her bedroom, the phone rang again. She saw that it was Drew’s number. She nearly didn’t answer it, but knew that was being a coward.
“Hello.”
“Hey, baby. How was your day?”
“Oh, Drew. I’ve had a bad day.”
“What’s wrong, Carly?” His voice turned serious.
“Jim has told everyone at work about us, and I may lose my job.” She drew in a deep breath to quiet the tears she could feel in the back of her eyes.
There was silence for a few seconds. Then she heard him sigh. She could imagine him running his hand through his hair and pacing as they talked.
“What do you want to do about it, baby?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know what to do. It shouldn’t matter how I choose to live my life. It’s nobody’s business but ours.”
“That’s right. But people talk and will always talk, baby. You’ve got to decide if you can live with that or not. We want you with us all the time, baby. We want you to move in and the three of us become a family. Don’t forget you’ve got the rest of the gang behind you, too.”
“I know. I want to be a family, too, Drew,” she whispered.
“I guess you’ve got some thinking to do. I’ll let you go. Get a good night’s sleep, baby, and I’ll talk to you later. If you need me or Ranger, just call. We’ll come no matter what time it is.”
“Thank you, Drew, for not pushing me.”
“Good night, Carly.”
She hit end, and the tears finally began to fall. What was she going to do?
* * * *
“What the fuck was that all about?” Ranger demanded when Drew hung up.
“That asshole ex of hers has told everyone at her job about the three of us.”
“I swear if I see that prick again I’m going to kill him.” Ranger stomped over to the fridge and pulled out two beers. He opened one and handed it to Drew.
“What is she going to do?” Ranger finally asked.
“I don’t know. She’s hanging in there right now. As for if she’ll move in with us or not? I don’t know.” He ran a hand over his face then took a sip of beer.
It worried him for her to go through it all alone, but unless she asked them to come to her, he didn’t think it was a good idea to push her. He would call her periodically and give her their support.
“She can’t call it quits with us, Drew. I don’t think I can live without her now. She’s all wrapped up inside of me.”
Drew had never heard Ranger admit to anything like that before. Certainly not about a woman. He gritted his teeth. Somehow they had to convince Carly that her place was with them. She didn’t have to work at all. They made more than enough money to support all of them, and then some. Their house was paid for, as well as the bikes. There was nothing they wouldn’t do for her.
“Why didn’t you tell her to forget about work and come live with us?”
“Because she loves her job, Ranger. You’re the one who said if it came down to it, she wouldn’t want to lose her career.”
“Hell, I know what I said. It doesn’t mean I have to accept it. We should be over there right now soothing her instead of standing here doing nothing.”
“I think she needs this time alone to think it through, Ranger. This has to be her choice.”
“Maybe there won’t need to be a choice at all.”
“I think you know better than that, man. Someone is going to start talking. With a rumor like that, it will spread faster than wildfire.” Drew screwed up his mouth in a sneer. “People love to talk about anything or anyone that’s different.”
“Let’s plan on something special for next weekend,” Ranger suggested.
“Like what?”
“Like a road trip to get her out of town. We could go to Austin for the weekend. People are a lot more laid-back there. She wouldn’t have to deal with the stares if we both hold her hand.”
“That’s a good idea. If she’ll go, that is.”
“We’ll kidnap her and not take no for an answer.” Ranger’s smile was contagious.
Drew found himself smiling right along with him.
They settled down at the bar and made plans. First Drew called Cole and filled him in on the news and asked if they could take off Saturday to take Carly out of town for the weekend.
“No problem. We’re nearly finished anyway. Another week and it will be all done. That sucks about Carly’s job. I know Tina gets a lot of ribbing at work, but she’s lucky that no one gives a rat’s ass.”
“Thanks, man. See you tomorrow.” Drew hung up and grabbed a pad and pen.
“Okay, what’s first?”
* * * *
The week passed quickly with only a couple of people cancelling on her without making another appointment. She held out hope that the worst was behind her, but deep down, she knew it wasn’t. On Friday afternoon, she parked her car in her usual spot and wearily climbed out. Her feet ached and she had a slight headache. She climbed the stair leading to her apartment thinking about the weekend and wondering what she was going to say to the men, when the sound of motorcycles caught her attention.
Carly couldn’t help but smile when she saw her two men ride into the parking lot. They parked next to her car and looked up to where she stood at the top of the stairs. Neither man saw her standing there, so when they started up the stairs, she waited at the top for them to look up.
Drew saw her first. He grinned from ear to ear before nudging Ranger with his shoulder. At a jerk of Drew’s head, Ranger looked up and broke out into a bright smile.
“Hey, baby.” Ranger hurried up the stairs to sweep her up in his arms.
Carly giggled and let him swing her around once before she popped him on the arms to let her down. When he complied, Drew immediately picked her back up again and kissed her hard on the mouth.
“We missed you, baby. Things any better at work?”
“Not really. I don’t want to talk about that right now, though. Come in so I can get out of my uniform. Can you stay long?”
Ranger grinned over at Drew. They were up to something she decided and frowned. What could those two have up their sleeve?
“Actually, we have tomorrow off and we want to whisk you away for the weekend. How about it? Want to go on a little trip?”
“A trip? Where?” She wasn’t so sure about that.
“We thought maybe Austin. Not that far away, but somewhere relaxing with great food and fantastic music.” Drew took her hands in his. “Say yes, baby. Let us take care of you this weekend.”
“Aw, Drew. You guys take care of me every weekend.” She wasn’t sure going somewhere with them was a good idea.
“That’s what we like to do,” Ranger said in a quiet voice.
Carly realized that Ranger expected her to dump them. Wasn’t that what she’d been struggling with all week? Looking into his eyes, she realized how much that would really hurt him. Maybe a weekend away would help her clear her head and think about what she wanted out of life in the long run.
“Come on, Carly. You’ll have a good time. I promise.” Drew pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I can’t say no.”
Ranger pulled her out of Drew’s arms and gave her a sloppy, wet kiss before licking her lips. She chuckled and realized she hadn’t really laughed or even smiled much over the last week. It felt good to be able to again.
“Okay, let’s get you packed up and ready to go. All you’ll need is a change of clothes. We’ll leave early in the morning and spend the night before riding back on Sunday around lunchtime.” Drew had everything all planned.
Ranger swept Carly into her bedroom where he began to undress her. She shook her head with a smile and let him. He quickly stripped her and wrapped her in his arms.
“I love the way your skin feels. I like it even better when my skin is naked against yours.”
“Okay, you two lovebirds, we’ve got to get going. Dinner reservations are at seven, Ranger.” Drew clapped the other man on the shoulder before dropping a kiss on Carly’s nose.
Ranger groaned, but let go of Carly so she could dress. She quickly put on jeans, her boots, and a button-up blouse that she knew the guys loved because it hinted at her cleavage. She picked out an outfit to wear the next day on the trip and another one for Sunday on the way back. She could wear the same jeans provided she didn’t get something on them.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She lifted the backpack and a zipper bag that held her toiletries.
“Great, let’s load up and head to the restaurant. I hope you like Italian. I don’t think we’ve had anything other than steak or fish outside of what we’ve cooked at home.” Drew tossed Ranger the backpack.
After locking up the apartment, Carly followed the men downstairs to their bikes. She climbed on Drew’s bike with Ranger’s help. They waited for him to get settled with her pack on his back then pulled out of the parking lot. She enjoyed the short ride to where they were eating and was sorry when they stopped. That was fine, though. They would have a long ride tomorrow. She hoped she was up to it. That would be a lot of miles on her ass. She couldn’t help but grin at that, though.
“What’s so funny?” Ranger asked, squeezing her hand while they waited for the waiter to seat them.
“Just thinking that my poor ass will be numb by the time we get to Austin tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll massage it and make it feel all better.” Ranger waggled his eyebrows with a leer.
“You’re incorrigible.” Carly laughed and followed the waiter to their table.
By the time they had finished their meal, Carly was feeling much better and glad she’d agreed to go with them. They had kept her entertained with stories about the gang. She learned they were called The Dirty Dozen. When she asked why, they both grinned and shook their heads.
“What? It’s so bad you can’t tell me here?”
“Yep. We’ll tell you when we get you home.” Drew moved a strand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“Ranger, what does it mean?”
“Not getting it out of me till later, either.”
Carly pouted, but even that didn’t budge them. She mused over it the entire trip back to their house. As soon as they walked in the garage door, she pounced on them.
“Okay, now you can tell me. What does it mean?”
Chapter Fifteen
Ran
ger grinned over at Drew. He loved seeing her smiling and full of curiosity. She’d been depressed when they’d first shown up at her apartment. Now she had color in her cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes. God, didn’t she realize how happy she was with them?
“Well, there are twelve of us,” Drew began.
“We’re all bad boys,” Ranger added.
“And we all like to share our women with our partners.” Drew wrapped his arms around her waist and bumped his pelvis against her.
“Everyone in the army called us The Dirty Dozen since we hung together, and it stuck once we got stateside again.” Ranger walked around behind her and rubbed his cock against her ass.
She groaned and pushed back against him. Fuck, he wanted her. His dick was hard as a rail, and only Carly’s sweet body would do. He looked at Drew over her head and jerked his head toward the bedroom upstairs. Drew nodded, backing away so Ranger could pick her up. Carly squealed when he started climbing the stairs with her in his arms.
“Put me down, Ranger. I’m too heavy for you to carry upstairs like this.” She nearly choked him holding on to him.
“You don’t weigh anything. In fact, I’d say you’ve lost weight this week. Not only do you feel lighter, but your clothes are baggy on you. You can’t go skipping meals, Carly.”
“I haven’t been hungry.”
“You will eat while you’re with us, and we’re not taking I’m not hungry for an answer.”
“You can’t make me eat if I don’t want to, Ranger.” She lifted her chin as he carried her to the bed.
“I’ll turn you over my knee and spank that ass of yours a bright pink.” She shivered at the thought of his hand paddling her bare ass.
That shouldn’t turn her on, but it did. What was happening to her? She had never been this brazen or cheeky before. Neither had she felt so kinky until she’d met Drew and Ranger. They had everything to do with her newfound sexuality. She had learned things about herself she had never known before. They were good for her, she surmised. If only she could make the right decision that would affect all of their lives. She had no doubt that if she said she couldn’t continue their relationship it would devastate them all, her included.