by Becca Van
Without a word Jason thrust the mug into her hand then followed Sean into her bedroom to get her bed. When they came back, she was sitting on the floor of her living room with her eyes closed as she sipped the hot coffee. She snapped her eyes open and scowled at them when Sean and Jason smiled at her. She wasn’t about to let their happy demeanors pierce her protective shields. Fifteen minutes later everything was packed and ready to go. Tasha was still sitting on the floor with the cup in her hand and although she felt a little guilty for not helping them load her stuff, there hadn’t been that much and she was way too tired to deal with them right now.
“You ready, little girl?” Jason extended a hand toward her and pulled her to her feet.
“Yeah, thanks for the coffee.” Tasha was finally able to muster a smile as she followed them out the front door, closed and locked it behind her for the last time, then slipped the key back underneath for the landlord. It seemed she was doing a lot of things for the last time lately, but being the optimist she naturally was, she thought of all the firsts she was going to encounter.
Jason and Sean set up her bed as she unpacked her clothes and toiletries. She was to share the main bathroom, which interconnected between her and Sean’s room, as Jason’s room was the only room with an en-suite bathroom. She made sure none of her items were strewn about and placed them neatly into the cupboards and drawers. When they had finished putting her bed together, she made it up and then walked out to tell them she was heading out to the shops.
“I’m going to make a run to Bendigo for some art supplies. Do you want me to get anything while I’m out?”
“If you can hold off for twenty minutes, we’ll come with you because our friends Duncan and Alec McLeod want some help from us in their store. You can buy your art supplies while we help them out,” Jason said.
Tasha had been looking forward to spending the day in Bendigo by herself, perusing the art stores for supplies, as well as shoring up her defenses even more against the two men she was now living with. She was scared of the way they seemed to want to touch her all the time. After what she’d experienced with her dad’s Uncle Bernard and her vow to never let a man near her to touch her again, she was more scared that she liked what their touch did to her. Tasha was going to have to make sure that none of what she felt showed through.
She thought about arguing but when she saw the determination in Jason’s eyes, she just nodded her head in agreement then beat a hasty retreat to her room. She occupied herself with setting out a few of her photos onto the top of the tallboy, trying to make it more her own space. A tap on her door then a head popping around the edge brought her back to awareness as she stood pondering over memories the photos had wrought.
“Are you ready to go, darlin’?” Sean asked.
“Yeah, just let me grab my purse.” Tasha walked to her closet to retrieve it.
Tasha sat in between Sean and Jason as they drove toward Bendigo. She had wanted to sit in the back of the dual-cab ute but the two men had directed her to the front without a word. She stared through the windscreen as trees flashed passed, lost in the reverie of contemplation.
“Are you all right, darlin’?” Sean asked and she felt his eyes on her. Her breast swelled, her nipples hardened, and her pussy clenched.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You’ve been very quiet today. I just thought something may be bothering you.”
“No. I just don’t have much to say at the moment.”
“That’s unusual for you, baby.” Jason turned to smile at her.
“Everyone’s a comedian,” Tasha muttered, then joined in the laughter with Jason and Sean.
They arrived in Bendigo mid-morning. Sean and Jason guided Tasha into the McLeod Coffee Shop. Each of them had taken hold of her hands and when she tried to pull away they had only firmed their grips. She stopped trying to escape and followed them into the shop with a resigned sigh.
“Alec, Duncan, I’d like you to meet our new housemate, Natasha Cameron. Tasha, Duncan and Alec,” Jason introduced.
The two large men gave her the once over and smiled as she tried to pull her hands away from her men. Tasha could see humor in Duncan’s and Alec’s eyes and wondered what was so funny. When she looked at Jason and Sean they were glaring at their friends. She ignored them and turned back to offer her hand in greeting after finally pulling away from their tenacious grips.
“Nice to meet you, Duncan. Alec.”
“Why don’t you go and do your shopping, baby? If you can meet us back here around one, we’ll grab a bite to eat and head home again,” Jason suggested.
“Okay, see you later,” Tasha threw over her shoulder as she left.
* * * *
“That is one fine piece of arse.” Duncan grinned.
“Don’t talk about Tasha like that, or I’ll have to punch your lights out, you arrogant Scotsman,” Jason replied in a teasing tone, but he glared Duncan down.
“She’s the one you moved for isn’t she?” Alec asked.
“Yeah she is, now we just have to convince her she wants us as much as we want her.” Jason sighed.
“Does she have a sister?” Duncan smirked.
“Sorry, you’re too late, she’s already taken.” Sean smiled.
“She’s a feisty little thing.” Alec began to make coffee.
“She wasn’t about to let us two control her when she wanted her hands back and she didn’t give up until she had her way.” Sean’s eyes got hazy with desire as if he was remembering and imagining how Tasha would look with her guard down. “Fuck, she’s got me so tied up in knots I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. She is one gorgeous woman.”
“I can see her going toe-to-toe with you, Jason, you arrogant Irishman. I would love to be a fly on the wall when that happens.” Duncan smirked.
“Yes, according to her sister, Toni, Tasha is slow to anger but when she does she can cut a man down at the knees.” Jay smiled and shifted on his seat.
He couldn’t wait to see Tasha fly off the handle. He was definitely going to make sure he was around when she let loose. He wanted all the passion she had locked down inside directed at him and Sean. If he had his way, she would be in his arms and bed for the rest of their lives.
Chapter Three
Tasha shopped until she was about ready to drop from exhaustion. She had enough paints and brushes to last her a whole year. Well maybe not quite, she chuckled to herself. Her arms were so tired from carrying her easel, canvases and the bags of brushes and paints she just wanted to collapse onto a seat for a while. She kept walking and gave a sigh of relief when she had the McLeod’s Coffee Shop in sight. She was about to use her hip to push the door open when Sean raced to help her.
“Why the hell didn’t you call one of us on our mobiles? We could have helped you with all this stuff, Tasha.” Sean took most of the heavy load from her arms.
“Ah ’cause I didn’t think about it,” Tasha answered.
“Well, you’d better start thinking about us more often, little girl. We are here to help you with whatever you want.” Jason took the rest the stuff from her aching arms.
“Well sorry, Mr. Gallagher, but I’m not bloody helpless.” Tasha scowled.
“I never said you were, baby.” Jason glared.
“Sit down, darlin’, while we take this stuff out to the truck.” Sean walked to the door, Jason close on his heels.
“Do you want something to eat and drink, Tasha?” Alec asked.
Tasha sat on one of the stools with a sigh and then gave him a cheeky grin. “Yeah coffee would be nice, but I’ll wait for the two arses out there before I order.”
“Oh I like you, Natasha Cameron. I can see those two are going to have their work cut out for them.” Alec winked.
Tasha laughed along with Alec, not wanting to tell him that if she had her way there would be no relationship between her and the two Gallagher bothers.
They returned to the loft apartment late in the afternoon. The two men help
ed Tasha set up her work area in front of the large window. When that was complete, she went to her bedroom to collect clothes for a shower.
She was washing her hair when she felt a presence behind her. She turned quickly and met Jason’s face through the glass.
“Get out of here. What do you think you’re doing?” Tasha yelled while trying to cover herself.
“You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before, little girl. Now you, on the other hand, have not seen anything yet.” Jason pulled his shirt from the waistband of his jeans.
“Don’t, Jason, please. Just leave me alone,” she said and gave him what she hoped was a stricken look. Although she craved to see his body, she knew if she did she would want so much more.
Jason hesitated and with a sigh tucked his shirt back in. His eyes wandered over her and then he turned his back to her and paused in the now open doorway. “I’m sorry, Tasha. I don’t know why I did that. I guess the temptation just got to be too much.”
The days began to follow a pattern for Tasha. She still rose early but instead of going to work, she painted. She expressed all the loneliness, turmoil, and desire she felt in her art. She painted landscapes which she made sure were hidden from display each night before the two men returned from the warehouse, but she would often find herself painting the two sexy men she was living with.
One particular painting drew her again and again. It was the image of Jason and Sean leaning against the door to her old apartment looking at her with desire burning from their eyes. She painted until she felt her arm was too sore and heavy to continue.
The days turned into weeks and before she realized it, she’d been sharing with the two men for nearly eight weeks.
Nearly every night after dinner she found herself sitting between them on the sofa. It didn’t matter how much she tried to keep her body from touching theirs. She always seemed to end up cuddled up to one of them with her legs draped over the others. She didn’t know how they managed it but she was getting used to being close to them now and craved their touch. Either Sean of Jason massaged her feet as they watched TV while the other had their arm around her shoulders and she leaned into the other brother’s warm hard body.
Just the other night they had all been working in the kitchen to prepare dinner and Sean had turned to face her.
“How’s the painting coming along, darlin’?”
“Slowly, but I’m doing okay.”
“When are you going to show us what you’ve been working on?” Jason asked.
“I’m not.” Tasha shrugged. “Just call me temperamental, but I’m not showing anyone any of my work until I’ve had it appraised.”
“Fair enough.” Jason winked at her and then bumped his hip to hers. She’d stumbled and if it hadn’t been for Sean grabbing hold of her she would have ended up on her arse. Jason had looked downright horrified at having bumped her too hard and had apologized profusely and then pulled her into his arms. The only way she had thought to cover her feelings at having him so close was by laughing the incident off but she wasn’t sure she had succeeded when Jason had finally released her and looked at her speculatively.
They were always doing nice things for her too. Like making her coffee each morning and bringing it in to her before she’d even gotten out of bed. And as much as she liked how they looked out for her she was worried she was becoming too attached. With each day that passed they were becoming closer and more important to her and that worried her no end.
Jason was also the first one to push her buttons and rile her temper. Last week she hadn’t been very hungry. She’d had a headache and was feeling a little ill, so she had pushed her food around her plate without eating anything. How the hell they knew that she wasn’t feeling up to par was a mystery, but Sean had gotten up from his seat and when he’d come back he’d brought two painkillers and a glass of water. She’d smiled at him gratefully and taken the medicine but when she’d pushed the plate of food away Jason had pointed at it and said one word. “Eat.”
Tasha had opened her mouth to tell him no, but he’d started talking again.
“What did you have for lunch, little girl?”
Tasha frowned as she thought back over her day and realized that she’d forgotten to eat. Sean and Jason had already left the loft for the warehouse when she’d emerged from the bathroom after taking a shower. She’d walked to the coffee pot, refilled her mug and then got to work. She’d been so intent on what she’d been painting and hadn’t taken any notice of the time. It was only when she had finished and was cleaning up her brushes that she’d realized how late it was. She’d only just managed to hide her wet painting from view when they’d entered the loft again. She must have shown what she was thinking on her face because Jason glared at her.
“Damn it, Tasha. You have to stop and eat. If you don’t start looking after yourself you’re going to end up getting sick.”
Tasha’s shrug had earned her a glare from Jason and a sigh from Sean.
“I want you to promise me that you won’t skip any more meals,” Sean said. “Otherwise I am going to come up her and make you something to eat myself and I’m sure you don’t want me interrupting your work.”
Sean had raised an eyebrow at her and waited. She’d wanted to tell him to back off but from the implacable look in both men’s eyes she knew she could argue until she’d gone blue in the face, but wouldn’t be able to sway their minds.
“Okay.” She sighed. “I’ll set the alarm on my mobile phone.”
Jason had held out his hand. “Give me your phone and I’ll do it for you.”
“I’m quite capable of…”
“Now, Natasha,” Jason demanded.
“Arrogant Irish arse,” Tasha muttered while pulling her phone from her pocket and then slapped it into his hand.
Jason had smirked at her but then ignored her while setting the alarm on her phone before handing it back. “Now you are going to sit there and eat your food. You probably have a headache because you skipped lunch. Eating will ease the pain in your head and the sick feeling in your stomach.”
Even though she hated being told what to do, especially by the Gallagher brothers, she’d eaten her dinner and felt so much better afterward. Not that she’d ever tell them that. The days were passing by so quickly they ran into one another and she was having trouble keeping up with what day of the week it was.
One night over dinner Sean said the time had flown and before they knew it Christmas would be upon them.
“That reminds me. We have a contract for you to sign, Tasha, in regards to leasing the spare room. Do you have any doubts about signing a twelve-month lease?” Sean asked.
“No. I think things are working out fine at the moment. Don’t you two think so?”
“Yeah we do, little girl. I’ll get the paperwork for you to sign now.” Jason headed to his desk.
“Why don’t you wait until you’ve finished eating first? There’s no hurry, is there?”
“No there isn’t, but my mind hasn’t been up to par lately. We’ve been so busy in the warehouse I’m finding it hard to keep track of things. I don’t want to forget,” Jason called from across the room. He returned with the contract and a pen and then handed them to her.
* * * *
Jason watched tensely as Tasha perused the contract. He wanted her to sign on the dotted line but made sure to keep his eagerness at bay. The last eight weeks had been one of the best times in his life. He and Sean loved talking to Tasha. She was a very intelligent young woman and had wonderful business acumen. She’d made a couple of suggestions in regards to marketing their stuff online and after implementing her suggestions their business had picked up even more. But what he enjoyed most was taking her out. They’d gone out to dinner a few times and even taken her to the movies. When she let her guard down, she was fun to be with and Jason just hoped like hell that he and Sean could woo her into their lives permanently. The thought of her moving out and never being able to see her was just too horri
fic to bear.
What he didn’t like was the way she neglected her body’s needs. Ever since he’d put an alarm on her mobile phone she’d been eating lunch, thank God, but he wasn’t sure if she was eating breakfast. She didn’t come out of her room until he and Sean had left for work. But he loved the way she was becoming more comfortable around them. At first she’d held herself so stiff when sitting between them on the sofa to watch TV, but now she didn’t hesitate to snuggle up with them and he savored each and every time he got to hold her in his arms.
He’d never forget the first time he saw her. She walked into their supply warehouse in Bendigo and asked for a product and price list. He’d watched her intently while she perused that list and he’d had to turn away from her when his cock had gone from flaccid to full salute within the blink of an eye. He’d never had that happen to him before and the possessive feeling he’d got had surprised him, too.
He was thirty years old and was sick of hooking up with women for meaningless sex. Jason wanted to put down roots and start a family but didn’t know if that would ever happen.
He and Sean had always been drawn to the same women and even though they had shared a woman between them once and knew it was what they wanted to do when they found that once special woman, he wasn’t sure that it would ever happen.
When he’d found out that Tasha was from Passion and he remembered the media frenzy regarding one woman and three men in a ménage relationship, he’d begun to feel hopeful. Sean had been staring at Natasha as if her were eating her up with his eyes and when his brother had nodded his head toward Tasha, Jason began to think of ways to get her information off of her. Thank God she’d placed an order and made arrangements for them to make regular deliveries. As far as Jason was concerned Natasha Cameron was the one woman meant to be theirs.