“I like it,” the other woman said. “But then, I really like fish.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny caught the way Benny scrunched his face when Maggie said the word “fish.” She also caught the way both Jake and Adam gave him a bit of a nudge, as if to warn him against appearing to be averse to “trying new things,” probably in light of the recent discussion.
Because she felt like laughing, she hid her face behind her menu. “It’s stuffed with something called ‘crab imperial.’ Do you know, that sounds special?” Confident she had her urge to giggle under control, she closed her menu. “I’ll have that.”
She looked up to discover the three males huddled behind menus. She couldn’t tell what they were saying, but then, she didn’t try very hard.
There were times when a mom just had to let go.
Finally it seemed they’d come to an agreement. As much as she wanted to, she didn’t ask her son what he’d chosen to eat. Instead, she contented herself to wait until the waiter returned.
Soon their server brought over the drinks everyone had ordered.
“Gosh, I hope no one’s offended I wanted alcohol.” Maggie drew her drink, a screwdriver, closer and used the straw to stir the beverage. “Since I seem to be the only one imbibing.”
Ginny hadn’t paid attention when they ordered, so she hadn’t realized that neither of the Kendalls had gotten anything potent, either. She decided to file that fact away for thinking about later. For the moment, she wanted to put Maggie at ease. “Of course not.” Ginny waved her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with adults wanting a drink with dinner. I’ve just never cared for the taste of alcohol, overmuch.”
She caught a look the brothers Kendall exchanged just then. Sometimes she could read them as if she’d known them all her life. Other times, like now, she didn’t mind admitting she wasn’t quite so sure. She had no doubt that they communicated with each other using just a look. She’d heard the closest siblings could do that.
Ginny turned her attention back to her menu, because the waiter was ready to take her order. But as she turned her glance away from them, she wondered if maybe they knew there was more to her aversion to alcohol than she’d let on.
Chapter 7
Jake carried his precious armful easily, confident he wouldn’t drop the boy, but mindful that Benny had fallen into the kind of deep sleep that only puppies and small children could achieve.
He kept his movements smooth so the little guy wouldn’t awaken.
Adam and Ginny, hand in hand, walked ahead of him up the stairs. This wasn’t the first time that either he or Adam had carried a sleeping Benny Rose to bed.
It was, however, the first time that Ginny didn’t flutter over them as they did so.
Adam held out his hand, and Ginny gave him her key. None of them spoke as the door swung open. Adam flipped the light switch that illuminated the table lamp in the far corner of the sitting room, giving off only a soft glow. Ginny had left the bathroom light on, and together that was enough light for him to see his way into the bedroom.
“His bed is the one on the left,” she said softly.
“We’ll take care of him,” Adam said. “Why don’t you make us some coffee, sweetheart? We can enjoy it out on the deck.”
Ginny reached over and ran her hand gently over her son’s small head. Jake loved that look on her face, the one she got whenever she was gazing at her son.
Was there anything more moving for a man to see than a woman’s maternal side? A year ago, Jake wouldn’t have considered that expression, or that trait, to be sexy.
He did now, and he figured the change in his own attitude was a sign of how far in love he’d fallen—with the mother, and the son.
Ginny looked up and met his gaze. “I think the sea air has taken a toll on him. It’s not even his weekend bedtime yet.”
“The sea air will do that,” Jake said. “How’re you feeling? Are you tired? Is the sea air getting to you, too?”
Ginny shook her head. “No, it’s not the sea air that’s been getting to me.” The heat in her gaze seared him, and he felt his cock begin to stir. Though that didn’t surprise him—he tended to be in an almost perpetual state of arousal when Ginny was around—it sure as hell pleased him. She switched her gaze to Adam, and Jake knew she had an identical effect on his brother.
“I’ll put the coffee on, then. The two of you can tuck him in.”
Adam walked ahead of him into the bedroom. Together they undressed Benny, then got him into his pajamas. While Jake lifted him off the coverlet and pulled back the blankets to settle him between the sheets, Adam went into the bathroom and came out with a washcloth and towel.
By the time they pulled the blankets over the sleeping boy, he had a relatively clean face and hands—and was still sound asleep.
Jake left the bedroom door partially open. The scent of fresh coffee brewing in the small kitchenette teased his nostrils. Ginny wasn’t inside, waiting for them, or hovering close by the bedroom door to check on Benny. Looking up, he could see her silhouetted on the deck. She’d closed the screen door, but left the inside one wide open. From the way she was standing, he figured that the same full moon that allowed them to see her, let her see the ocean. The rhythmic sound of waves washing ashore pulsed on the air. He paused for a moment and met Adam’s gaze.
“I’m glad we’re here.” Inevitably, his gaze was drawn back to their woman. “I never would have wished that bastard, Walters, free. But I wonder if these circumstances aren’t just exactly the right circumstances that will bring us that next step closer to her.”
Adam’s hand came down on his shoulder. The firm gesture reminded him that they were in this quest for Ginny’s heart, together. “She needs us,” Adam said. “And I think you’re right. I think she’s ready for that next step. So let’s go and take care of our woman.”
Jake grinned. “That’s the best idea you’ve had in a long, long time.”
* * * *
Arms slid around her from behind, bringing heat and security and the scent of man. Ginny inhaled deeply even as she relaxed into the embrace.
“Adam.”
“We like knowing that you can tell us apart.” Adam’s voice, sounding husky and so close to her ear, sent fine trembles through her.
“I only just realized that I could. You’re both very observant, aren’t you?”
Jake leaned against the deck railing, facing her with his back to the ocean, and sent her one of those looks that made her excited and nervous at the same time.
She imagined herself as a sort of prey to his predator, but not in a bad way. He possessed a hint of the feral, no doubt about it, yet she knew he would never hurt her. She tingled as the thought occurred to her that he’d likely be a different kind of lover than Adam.
Daring to think of them as lovers definitely made her feel naughty. Yet deep inside, she knew that except for the physical, they were both, in many ways, her lovers already.
Adam’s tenderness and caring had helped her heal, even now soothing her and grounding her and giving her a sense of security and safety. Jake challenged her, daring her to step out onto the thinnest of branches, to defy the fates and take a chance.
The look Jake sent her now, while she stood within the arms of his brother, made her heart race and her blood heat. “Where you’re concerned, honey, we are observant. That’s because you’re the most important person in our world.”
Ginny shivered. “I think I’m beginning to realize that. Except for—” She had to pause to try and swallow around the lump in her throat that his words had created. She didn’t want to cry. She knew if she did, it would rattle them.
Oftentimes, men didn’t understand a woman’s tears. Ginny found she didn’t want to cause them any distress whatsoever.
But the emotion that had already wrapped around the three of them together was something she’d never expected to feel in her lifetime. It would take some getting used to, and she knew that likely and before long,
if they kept saying such sweet things to her, there would be tears.
The reality of the brothers Kendall was, quite simply, beyond her wildest dreams.
Ginny inhaled deeply, determined to finish what she’d started to say. She didn’t know if she’d be able to give them what they would need from her in a relationship. She still didn’t feel like a whole woman. But she could give them honesty, and to hell with protecting herself against a broken heart in the future. “Except for Benny, I’ve never been important to anyone, not ever. Do the two of you have any idea what a gift it is you’re giving me?”
Adam ran his hands up and down her arms. She wondered if that slight shaking she could feel was her, or him.
He leaned into her and his hot, moist breath caressed the shell of her ear.
“Do you have any idea how much we both want you? Do you understand that what we feel for you goes way beyond the physical, beyond simply making love?”
Did she? She knew nothing of honest passion, of desire so rich and full that it would make a body shake with need. She knew nothing at all about the kind of caring that she’d seen during her short time in Lusty, and that Adam and Jake had already displayed for her.
Ginny had believed she knew all there was to know about sex. She’d had two lovers in her life to date, years apart, and yet they’d been shockingly similar in not only their inability to arouse her, but their lack of caring. She’d believed herself incapable of feeling arousal. She’d considered herself unlovable.
Adam’s question hung in the balmy sea air, echoing inside her, a plea and a challenge rolled into one. Did she know how much these two dynamic, exciting, and sexy men wanted her? No, she didn’t. But she very much wanted to. Oh, she very much wanted to. “I don’t. I really don’t. Show me. Please.”
“Oh, baby, with pleasure.”
Ginny giggled. “Yes, please. Definitely with pleasure.”
Both men chuckled. Adam hugged her tight, then relinquished her to his brother.
Jake’s arms came around her, and he kissed her. She opened to him, unable to resist his oral demand. His tongue swept into her mouth, caressing her own and then exploring her. His possession dominated her in a way that thrilled her. She wondered if he was going to drink her down in one big gulp, right then and there.
She heard a chair scrape, and when Jake eased away from her, when he turned her, she surrendered to his direction, going where he pointed her—toward his brother.
Adam had taken a seat, not on one of the deck chairs, but on one of the kitchen chairs that he must have just brought outside.
“Come here, baby. Sit on my lap. Straddle me, facing me.”
Passion lit Adam’s eyes, and his voice had gone impossibly deep. She heard his need for her in every syllable. Unable and unwilling to resist, she went into his outstretched arms.
He kept his legs together, so that she didn’t have to open hers very wide to do as he asked. But as she lowered herself onto his lap, he spread his legs and used his hands to slide her skirt up and out of the way.
Oh, God. He pulled her closer, and the ridge of his erection pressed against the crotch of her thin nylon panties. The shot of arousal struck like lightning, and she instinctively clenched her pelvic floor muscles in response to it.
“Sweet baby, I just felt your pussy say hello to my cock. What a nice greeting.”
Her face heated, and she was very grateful it was nighttime, that no light shone down to reveal her blush.
Adam moved his hands from her waist, where he’d left her skirt bunched, to her knees. Then he caressed her, his fingers stroking her nylon-covered legs, traveling upward till they paused. His indrawn breath conveyed surprise.
“You’re wearing garters?”
Ginny’s womanly confidence stirred, pleased she could surprise him. His gaze became so heated that before she could answer, she had to lick her unexpectedly dry lips. “I don’t care overmuch for panty hose.”
“Me, neither. Damn, you feel sexy as hell,” Adam said.
Heat covered her back as Jake stepped closer, pressed himself against her, and looked down over her shoulder.
“Mm, honey, what a sweet treat you are. I can hardly wait to completely unwrap you.”
With one hard cock beneath her and another one snug against her back, Ginny shivered as heat spread through her, as sexual arousal fired her blood and sped her heart. Not capable? I’m so capable I’m liable to go up in flames any minute now.
“Kiss me, sweet baby. I need to feel your mouth on mine. I need to taste you.”
Oh, how sexy Adam sounded when he spoke to her in his lover’s voice! In that moment she knew her need for them was at least as great as their need for her. She smiled, a smile that felt wanton and sultry and maybe just a little bit wicked. She leaned forward and slowly wound her arms around Adam’s neck. Shifting on his lap, she moved her body just that much more flush with his.
Hot and excited, Ginny knew she perched at the edge of something new and wild and wonderful. She felt like a kid in a candy store. In the next instant she knew that wasn’t true. She’d never felt this alive and free and full of joy even when she had been a kid.
Adam’s big hands held her just at the sides of her breasts, and her nipples puckered. The heat of him thrilled her, and the scent of him, so close, made her mouth water. Jake leaned in just a bit more, and the reality of being between them made her heart race. She didn’t know if she could please two such dynamic men. She didn’t know if she even dared to hope they could really build a future of some kind together, the three of them.
Stay in the moment. Yes, that’s what she’d do. She’d stay in the moment. And in this moment, she wanted to…play.
She leaned forward, licked her lips, and then, because she wanted to, licked his. Adam smiled, slow and sweet. She’d never believed herself particularly insightful, but she knew he’d liked that. She’d never believed herself adept at flirting, but his cock had pulsed against her pussy—proving that she could flirt just fine.
So she did it again. His taste exploded on her tongue, and she couldn’t help herself. She set her mouth on his, kissing him with a heat that amazed her. He opened for her, letting her know she could do as she pleased and take what she wanted.
Her tongue loved his taste, and she used it again and again to explore his mouth. Savory and saucy, she drank him, and found him more potent than any glass of liquor could ever be. Her fingers combed through the hair at the nape of his neck, and the silky strands delighted her. His hands stayed banded on her sides, and her breasts fairly cried to feel the touch of his fingers and the moist heat of his mouth.
She’d never liked having her breasts played with, but she knew, she knew this time would be different.
Ginny sucked on him, and his tongue answered her invitation. He thrust into her mouth, long, languid strokes that made her clench her inner muscles to stem the moisture she could feel gathering between her legs. Unable to resist the temptation, she rocked her hips against his, and shivered when her pussy brushed against the ridge of his cock.
Hot, hard, and yet gentle hands settled on her shoulders. She felt Jake press against her, became aware anew of his heat blanketing her back, and a sense of wonder filled her.
She needed the taste of them both on her tongue and in her mouth. She needed them both to become whole.
She eased back from Adam and opened her eyes. He smiled and nodded as Jake ran a hand over her hair.
Responding to Jake’s touch, she tilted her head back and up, and opened her mouth to him when he bent down.
Rich and dark and dangerous, his flavor excited her. She could taste each of them, and the combination of the two was unlike anything she’d ever known. Ginny heard a sound and realized it was her, and she was humming. Their tongues danced and dipped, making her want more.
So many sensations wrapped around her—the fresh breeze, the heat of these men, the press of two engorged cocks—so that she wondered if she wasn’t getting just a little dizzy w
ith the pleasure of it all.
Adam cupped her breasts.
Her focus lost, Ginny gasped against Jake’s mouth and then moaned when her nipples beaded impossibly tight.
“I think you like having your breasts played with,” Adam said.
“Yes, I think she does,” Jake said. He cupped her face, seeming delighted to look in her eyes.
“I never have before. It must be you.”
Jake grinned, and kissed her forehead. “Will you let us see your breasts, honey? Will you let us caress them and taste them?”
Ginny wanted to feel their hands and mouths on her naked breasts more than she wanted her next breath. Unable to resist, her gaze tracked to the window of motel room.
“I’m keeping my eyes and ears open, honey. Trust us. We won’t embarrass you in front of your son.”
“I do trust you. I think I’ve trusted you both from the very beginning.” She met Adam’s gaze. Such gentleness filled his gaze that some of the tension left her.
Adam pinched her nipples. Even through the material of her blouse and her bra, a shaft of sweet pleasure shot through her. His brazen act drew a moan from deep inside her.
“We’re going to do our best to ensure you never regret giving us that trust,” Adam said.
Ginny wondered what they were waiting for. And then she knew. They wouldn’t take her to the next step unless and until she asked them to. She knew they were aroused—she could feel those hard cocks against her body.
The brothers Kendall meant to make sure she understood that in the here and now, what happened next really was up to her.
She nodded slowly, and then put her answer into words. “Yes. I want your eyes and your hands and your mouths on my breasts.”
“Ginny.” Jake combed his fingers through her hair, tilting her head for his kiss. She opened to him, his taste and his tang so good, she wanted to surround herself in him. She slid her tongue against his, the wonderful, wet glide stroking her arousal higher, and higher still. Needing more, she reached up her right hand and cupped the side of his face. Beneath her touch, the muscles of his cheek moved as he drank her in, and the slight stubble from his burgeoning whiskers felt good against her palm.
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