by Sam Crescent
“Why?”
“Because I’m fat.”
He dropped the butter knife on the counter with a clang and turned around, his face stoic. “You shouldn’t talk about yourself like that, Opal.”
“Why? It’s just the truth.”
“Eat to be healthy, not to change yourself.” He stepped closer and pulled another wooden chair from the table and set it in front of her. Damon sat down and took one of her hands between both of his. Damn, he had big hands … her thoughts wandered to forbidden territory again. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
She shook her head. Opal was a big girl. She was used to the negativity and insults about her looks, so she was past living in denial. “If I had money, I’d definitely get a reduction.”
The horror on his face took her by surprise. Had she gotten too personal? Grossed him out? She wished she could take back her words and just eaten a sandwich. “It’s a good thing you don’t have the money,” he said. Damon stared at her, only a breath away, their knees touching. She could feel the blood pulse in her hand, very aware of his touch. “Not many women are as blessed as you. I’d hate to see you change one thing about those beautiful tits.”
Her jaw dropped.
“You’ve been a temptation since the moment we found you in our woods. I’ve been telling myself to behave and mind my distance, but the truth is I’d give anything to keep you.”
“Keep me?”
Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. She wanted to refute him, tell him he was full of shit, but she’d never seen a man more sincere. Damon, this Adonis of a man, was actually attracted to her. What did it all mean? Did he want a one-night stand? A prisoner?
“Man wasn’t meant to be alone, Opal. Even the Bible says so.” He ran the backs of his fingers along her jawline, a look of complete devotion in his eyes. “Would it be so bad to live here? With us?”
Was she dreaming? She wanted to pinch herself, but knew this was all too real. “You don’t even know me. I’ve been here less than a week.”
Opal wanted to ask why they hadn’t chosen another woman by now. Who on earth could refuse them? Should she refuse them? Maybe they were alone for a good reason.
“You’re a woman—gorgeous, sweet … innocent.” He licked his lips after saying the last word. Her pussy tingled, as if sensing his thoughts, experiencing his need.
“Caleb doesn’t even like me.” She wanted this, but couldn’t just jump on board without a backward glance.
Damon chuckled. “He fucking loves you, darling. He’s just stubborn and afraid you’ll reject us.” He ran his free hand through his dark hair, the sunlight accentuating his blue eyes. “Tell me I’m not wrong. Tell me you want to stay.”
Her anxiety grew by the minute. She pulled her hand away and bolted to her feet. This couldn’t be happening. Good girls didn’t just run off into the wilderness with two bushmen, never to be seen again. What about her apartment? Her job? Her spoon collection? Opal braced both hands on the counter as she looked out the window above the sink. A few lazy snowflakes drifted down, the wall of evergreens in the distance a reminder of how far she was from civilization.
A hand rested on each shoulder from behind and she jumped. She turned around, craning her neck to look up at Damon. She didn’t realize how tall he was, his presence larger than life. “This is crazy,” she said.
“You have a man to go back to?”
“No, but I have a life in the city. I can’t just uproot and play house with you.” What kind of life did she have back home? One she needed to escape from. Her apartment was shitty, her job hell, and she’d been lonely. So lonely. Her hopes and dreams had been tied up in romance novels and the very slim chance her prince charming would show up one day. It wasn’t much of a life, so why was she fighting this?
He took a step back, his chin up. The man was sex on a stick, strong jaw, broad shoulders. His red-checked shirt was unbuttoned, his white wife beater clinging to his hard chest. “Your heart is in the city.” Damon nodded once. “I can’t force you into our way of life. Living out here is extreme, I know that.”
What had she done? His disappointment was palpable. She hadn’t said “no” to him, but replaying her words in her head, she’d been rude. Opal supposed she was looking for more reassurance, confirmation everything would work out if she decided to stay, but she’d gone and insulted him.
She believed people could learn to fall in love. In her case, she was halfway there, already carrying a massive crush for both brothers. But there were so many variables, so many chances for disaster.
Opal watched Damon leave the kitchen and heard the front door close behind him.
****
Caleb had been stacking wood, preparing for the coming storm. A bitter wind chill had already blown in and a light dusting covered the land. He adjusted his toque and did the top button up on his padded jacket.
When the front screen door slapped shut, he turned to catch Damon storming out of the house.
Damon paced in circles, kicking at the kindling left on the ground. “You were right,” he said. “Don’t bother gloating because I already feel like shit.”
“What are you blathering about?”
“I asked her to stay. Asked her to be our woman.”
Fuck. He should have expected this, but he thought his brother would listen to his advice to take things slowly. He’d jumped the gun and scared her off.
“What she say?”
“That she has a life in the city. I don’t think there’s a woman alive who’d want to live out here.” Damon yanked off his shirt, balled it up and whipped it in on the ground. “She was perfect, Caleb. I thought she was the one.”
“You’ll catch your death of a cold. Get inside,” said Caleb.
“No, I need to run.”
Caleb watched his brother walk off in just a tank top and jeans. He didn’t bother trying to stop him. This was exactly what he feared, watching his brother lose hope.
He tugged off his work gloves and made his way to the porch. Their little guest was done playing games. He’d stayed out of his brother’s courting, taking the road of caution, but now it was time to intervene. Time to set their flighty dove straight.
Once he entered the house, silence settled in immediately. He wasn’t good with emotions. Where Damon usually wore his heart on his sleeve, Caleb kept his walls firmly in place. Ever since their parents were killed, their lives had been a whirlwind. He’d closed his heart off the best he could, the only way his fourteen-year-old self knew how to cope with so many devastating changes. His only constant had been Damon, and it killed him to watch him suffer.
“You’re feeling better?” he asked when he spotted Opal standing near the fireplace. The fire had petered out, only the red glow of ashes left behind.
“Yes, thank you.” She wouldn’t look at him, still glancing down at the embers.
He hung up his jacket and then grabbed his supplies near the door before kneeling in front of the fireplace. “Storm’s coming. I’ll keep a good fire going so you stay nice and warm.” Caleb added some kindling, blowing slightly, building the fire back to life. Within minutes, he was ready to add full logs to the flames.
“It smells so good,” she said.
He stood back up, brushing some ashes off his jeans. “The best smell.” It reminded him of family, Christmas, and happiness to name a few.
She swallowed hard, finally looking up at him.
Such pretty green eyes.
“Maybe I should leave before the storm. Will a taxi come way out here?”
“There ain’t no taxi service out here, Opal. Take a look around. We own thousands of acres and there are countless more surrounding that.”
“How will I get home?”
He shrugged. “Looks like you’re stuck.”
“I can’t stay forever,” she said.
Caleb moved forward, forcing her to back up against the wall. “How old are you? Twenty?”
“Twenty-two.”
> He was almost twice her age, and he didn’t give a fuck. Caleb may not announce it to his brother, but he wanted Opal and planned on keeping her. Every day he grew more and more attached, convinced she’d meld perfectly in their lives. She was young, innocent, a blank slate … perfect for their mate, the mother of their children.
Damon was passionate, cutting her loose too easily. He’d swooped in fast but backed off without a fight. Caleb knew better. They needed to seize what they wanted in life or it would pass them by. He wasn’t sure what game Opal was playing, because he could read her like a book. When she thought he wasn’t looking, he could see the way she sized them up, desire in her eyes. She wanted them just as much. They could give her everything she needed, likely more than she had roughing it in the big smoke.
“You’re young,” he said. “You need a man to take care of you.”
“Is that you?” she whispered, looking up, daring him with her eyes.
“It’s me and Damon.” He stated the fact, waiting for her to protest, but she didn’t.
“How can you protect me here? Everything probably wants to kill or eat me,” she said.
Caleb shook his head. “You’d be surprised. With a little common sense, we all get along just fine. The only danger here, like the city, are people, not animals. But don’t worry your pretty head, because we’ll protect you from them, too.”
Besides the usual issues with squatters and drifters, they had relentless loggers pushing them to sell a good-sized chunk of their land on the west end. It wasn’t going to happen.
“This is fast and crazy and doesn’t make sense.” She was rambling, trying to make excuses when he knew what she wanted. Why did she have to complicate something so simple?
He braced a hand against the wall close to her head. Caleb leaned in, brushing his lips against her ear. “If you leave, you’ll destroy my brother. He thinks he’s in love.”
“Did he say that?”
“He asked you to stay, no? You refused. I’ve never seen him this broken—not since our parents were killed. He’s usually abnormally upbeat.”
“I’m sorry about your parents … and Damon. I wasn’t trying to hurt him,” she said. “I’m not going to fix anything by staying. He hardly knows me. I’m just a woman.”
“That’s all we want, baby doll. Life out here is rough, but it’s perfect. Almost perfect. We need that missing piece, a woman to share, a mother for our children.”
“And if you’d found a different woman in the woods?”
He smiled. Her insecurities were endearing. “We would have driven her to town so she could get the help she needed.”
“How am I different, Caleb?”
The sound of his name on her lips made his cock strain in his jeans. He’d been pent up for years, starting to feel like a monk rather than a man with base needs. Somewhere along the line, he’d given up hope. It was Damon who kept them together, convinced their day would come. To see him give up, his zest fizzled away, tilted everything off its axis. Caleb had to fix this for all three of them.
“I’m not one for fairy tales and such, but surely you’ve heard of love at first sight?”
She frowned, unconvinced. “Love? If I had to guess, I’d say you hated me. I hardly ever see you smile.”
He couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Caleb ran a hand through her dark hair, still slightly damp from her bath. She didn’t pull away. “Just protecting myself. No sense giving you my heart if you plan to run away.”
“And if I stayed?” She wet her lips—plump, pink lips.
“We’d take care of you, love you … pleasure you. Me and Damon have been on our own for a long time. Too long. It would mean everything to have a family again.”
****
Damon had blown off some much needed steam. Getting deep in the heart of nature always seemed to calm him. He wasn’t sure why Opal got to him on such an elemental level. He’d fucked around with women alone and with Caleb and he’d never looked back. Never cared once they parted ways. But their dark-haired beauty had gotten under his skin. Something about her called to him, demanded he claim her as his woman.
But she didn’t want him. She wanted her life back.
He took a deep breath, determined not to be an asshole for the rest of her stay. It was his father who’d taught him how to treat the opposite sex, and his mother who’d taught him to take a breather rather than speak out of passion. On days like today, the advice came in handy. It looked like the storm was picking up, and Opal would be stuck with them at least another couple days, depending on the roads.
Damon kicked the snow off his work boots and entered their cabin. Every knot in the wood, every nail, held memories. The warmth of the fire made his face tingle, the familiar scent welcoming him home. He closed the door and rubbed his arms. It was a stupid to take a run without an overcoat with the bitter chill, but his mind had been elsewhere.
When he glanced around the room, he caught sight of Caleb and Opal. His brother had her pinned to the wall by the fireplace, his hand on her hip. What the fuck?
“Something wrong?” he asked once beside his brother.
Caleb didn’t take his eyes off their guest. She looked so tiny and vulnerable next to his brother. They weren’t small men by any standard. “She doesn’t realize it yet, but I guarantee you our little dove wants to stay with us.”
It couldn’t be true. She’d made it clear she had a life in the city. Or maybe he’d been too quick to judge.
“Your arms are so red,” she said, looking over at him.
“Yeah, it’s not smart going outside half naked in this weather,” said Damon. “I’ll survive.”
She reached out and rested a palm on his bicep, her little hand doing more than warm his frozen skin. “You’re freezing!” There was genuine concern in her voice, and a deep caring in her eyes. It felt good to have a woman dote over him.
“How about you warm me up?” he asked without thinking. Why couldn’t he keep control like his brother? Their uncle always said he lacked a filter on his mouth.
She didn’t looked insulted. Instead, she moved closer, running a hand up and down each arm, trying to create warmth from friction. After a while, she started moving slower, her fingers tracing his muscles. The moment felt intimate, his cock harder than oak, straining in his Wranglers. When she reached up high to rub both shoulders, he couldn’t hold back. He took her waist, ducked low, and kissed her on the lips.
How long had it been since he’d kissed a woman? Even during one-nighters he never kissed. Opal’s lips were softer than silk, and she melted against his mouth with no hesitation. He pulled her closer, his cock pressed to her stomach. She smelled like clean soap, and all woman.
When he pulled back to gauge her reaction, her lips were swollen and parted, her chest heaving. Fuck, he wanted her on his bed, but for once, he fought for control. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Opal away. He didn’t want her for sex—well, not only sex. Damon was in this for the long haul if she’d give them a chance. Judging by her kiss, she was open to the possibility.
“I feel warmer already,” he said. Damon ran the pad of his thumb along her lower lip. He stared into her green eyes, wondering if she could see all the way to his soul. She was beautiful, intense, and had more curves than most men could handle. He wanted to love every inch of her body, memorize every beauty mark and detail.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend,” she said, her tone colored in shame.
“Nothing wrong with having no experience,” said Caleb, moving in from the other side. “In fact, there’s nothing more attractive.”
A virgin. An untouched peach. He wanted to eat her pussy until she begged him to fuck her. He wanted her marked and claimed, so full of their cum that every man would know she was the property of the White brothers. Just like with their land, they were very territorial.
“Stay,” whispered Damon. “Take a chance on us.” He kissed her temple.
“I’m afraid. Of everything,” she s
aid. “What if you change your mind once you get to know me?”
He scoffed. “This isn’t the city, sweetheart. We play for keeps. Once we make this official, we’ll be a family.”
She smiled, but quickly hid it. “How do we make it official?” Opal bit her lower lip. Was their little virgin teasing him? She was playing a dangerous game.
Chapter Five
There was nothing back home in the city. Opal hated to admit that to them. They had so much living off the grid. A beautiful home, peace and quiet, and she saw how much they cared about each other. The love and bond that she’d always heard about between brothers was real. She wouldn’t know how that felt.
All of her life she’d been unwanted, and a lot of people had made that clear to her. She was nothing but a waste of space, and it was the reason she ended up on this trip. It seemed fate had interrupted her plans, and put her straight in Damon and Caleb’s path.
Damon’s arms were so powerful as they enveloped her. The way he held her, she never wanted him to let go. He drove her crazy with need, and she closed her eyes, feeling Caleb step up behind her. She felt surrounded, overwhelmed in a new, exciting way.
“If I didn’t know any better, brother, I’d think our little minx was trying to get us to take things to the next step.”
She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but hoped they’d know what she needed. Although she didn’t have experience with men, she had a vivid imagination. It had been on overdrive ever since showing up at the brothers’ cabin.
Damon released her, and going purely on instinct, she slid her hands up the base of his neck, refusing to let go. He felt so good, his skin firm and warm, all male.
Caleb placed his hands on her hips, holding her steady. His firm grip brought her body to life. His touch made her ache. Luckily, it didn’t look like she’d have to beg.
Both men scared her with the power they held over her. She couldn’t control the range of emotions bombarding her. Although her first instinct was to run, she had to follow this through. Had to trust. She’d never wanted anything from anyone in the past, but when it came to these two men, she wanted it all. The moment felt magical, and she never wanted it to end.