Every inch of her body heated up. She felt drunk, but she hadn’t had that much to drink. She wasn’t drunk on alcohol. She was drunk on them, on what they represented.
A new beginning.
Tomorrow was supposed to be her wedding day. She should have been preparing to walk down the aisle, but tonight she felt. Felt.
Every choice she’d made had been logical—from where she’d decided to work, to her groom, to the dress she’d bought.
She let her head drift back, leaning against Jesse while her arms pulled Cade in. There was nothing logical about this. She wasn’t planning on staying in Bliss. She had nothing in common with the men.
Except she wanted them, and they seemed to want her.
She didn’t have to put a time limit on it. She could get her heart ripped out. She could completely fuck up. The world could end. Anything could happen.
And that was okay.
She suddenly didn’t need to know what would happen the next day or the next. She could live in the moment. She could embrace this weird life. No commitments. No promises. Just life.
Was that what her mother had been trying to teach her?
It didn’t matter. She took a deep breath and gave in. She wrapped her arms around Cade’s big body. He was so tall he made her feel petite. And Jesse was broad and built like a linebacker.
“Are you ready to get out of here?” Cade asked.
She nodded. “Can we go back to my place?”
“We can go anywhere you want.” Jesse’s lips played along her ear.
It was crazy. It was wild. It was everything she needed tonight. “Yes.”
Yes to them. Yes to the night. They led her outside. She followed with no thought to anything but the moment she was in.
Chapter Seven
Cade bundled her into her coat, deeply aware of just how hard his cock was. This was a bad idea. He was thinking with his cock and not his head, but all the blood in his body was in his cock, so he was fucked. She’d given him permission. Jesse was giving him permission. He could enjoy her body tonight and Jesse would take care of her in the morning. It was exactly what he wanted.
So why was he still nervous?
“Where’s your car, baby?” If Jesse had a single worry, he wasn’t showing it. Jesse kept a hand on her, moving from her back to her elbow as he started to show her out the door.
“McCann! Sinclair!”
Cade turned at Zane’s sharp bark.
The big bar owner stared at both of them. “You take care of her. She’s Nate’s secretary.”
Gemma frowned, her pretty face scrunching up. “I’m the office manager.”
Zane smiled. “Fine. She’s Nate’s office manager. You two understand what I mean. Nate or Cam should be giving you this lecture, but Nate’s at home with the kids and Cam is doing god knows what to his fiancée in my broom closet. I’m putting a lock on that in the morning. So it’s up to me. She isn’t without some men to watch out for her. You take care of her or we’ll have a long talk. Go on, then.”
Cade understood exactly what he meant. He’d just been warned to treat Gemma right or Zane and Nate and possibly Cameron Briggs would come after him and Jesse. Gemma worked for the sheriff and that was a small, tight family. Just because she was a new employee didn’t mean she wasn’t protected.
“Does he think I’ll be late for work?” Gemma asked as they walked into the cool night. She turned, staring back at the bar. “I won’t be late. Or do you think they have morality clauses? I didn’t actually sign anything yet, so I didn’t read the employment terms. That’s ridiculous. They can’t expect me to not have a life outside of work.”
Jesse stopped her. Gemma fairly vibrated with nervous energy. Jesse gave her a reassuring smile. “He wasn’t disapproving. He was warning me and Cade that he would kick our asses if we hurt you.”
She frowned. “Why would he care?”
She’d lived alone for way too long. “Because you work for his partner. That makes you a little like family. We’re a small town here. We’re isolated. We have to watch out for each other.”
“Especially with all the murders and stuff.” Jesse said it like he was talking about a bit of bad weather.
“Yeah, I read about those. It doesn’t bode well for my future employment.” She glanced back at the bar. “I don’t understand this place. And I don’t have a car. We only have the one car and Naomi took it.”
She’d been walking to work all week? He didn’t like the sound of that. It was a long walk from the little valley community of cabins into town. Even further to the shop and the small apartment he and Jesse shared. She needed a reliable form of transportation. He could look around and see if there was something he could pick up for cheap and then fix up for her.
He stopped himself. He wasn’t her boyfriend. He couldn’t make decisions like that.
“Come on, baby, we brought the car tonight. Cade can drive. Neither one of us finished a single beer.” Jesse took her hand.
Cade stopped them. “How many did you have, Gemma?”
He wasn’t about to take advantage of a drunken woman. He would see her home and make sure she was safe.
Even in the low light, Cade could see Jesse roll his eyes and mouth the word “coward.”
“A vodka tonic. And two sips of the second one. I’m fine.” She seemed awfully sober. And she didn’t exactly seem like a woman looking to party. She looked nervous. Unsure.
About what?
“Have you had dinner?” Cade asked.
Jesse jumped on it. He wouldn’t let her go hungry. Jesse was already taking on his role of indulgent caregiver. He loved having a woman to take care of. “We can go to Stella’s. Or we can stop by the store and we’ll make you something.”
She leaned over and kissed Jesse, her lips meeting his in a little bump. It wasn’t the world’s sexiest kiss. It was a little awkward, but Jesse let her explore, his hands coming out to cup her waist. She kissed him for a minute, getting a little more aggressive as the seconds passed. “I don’t want food. Take me home.”
“Yes.”
She turned back to Cade. Her face had lost its empty look and a hardness had taken its place. She put her hands on Cade’s chest. “Good, then let’s go and get this party started.”
She went on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his, the deep lack of passion overwhelming him. She was kissing him, but it seemed to be a practiced move. Cade stood there, his mind working. What was her game?
She stepped back and nodded as though she’d done her part and it was time to move on to the next phase of the evening.
Definitely not a woman who had easy affairs. It was obvious she was trying to look like a seductress, but he couldn’t buy it. Her movements were stiff, her smile forced.
Jesse sent him a look, his brow furrowing. He seemed confused as well.
Cade reached out and took her hand. Earlier in the day, he’d crossed the street from the shop and headed to Polly’s Cut and Curl. If a man needed to find out about a woman, the local beauty parlor was the place to go. Polly had gotten the scoop from Teeny, who had talked to Callie, who had heard it from Stella that Gemma had not only been engaged, but that the whole thing had ended in a disaster that cost her everything. Was she trying to rebound with the small-town yokels?
He followed Jesse and Gemma to the classic car he’d spent years restoring. It was his dream car. He’d scrimped and saved and lovingly put together every piece of that car. It had been his father’s at one point, the only thing he really had left of him. After his parents died, Nancy Gibbs had taken him in. She’d also put his father’s prize possession into a garage and kept it there for him. He could remember the moment when she’d come for him. It had been at his parents’ funeral, in that odd time after they and his sister had been placed in the ground, when he’d gone to his home where everyone was gathered, but he’d felt so alone. He’d hidden in that Camaro. After the accident, it had been hard for him to feel comfortable in a car, but th
e Camaro hadn’t worked in years.
And then Nancy had been there, sneaking into the car with him. She’d been his mom’s friend. The rest of his family didn’t have a place for him, but Nancy stepped up. She’d sat in that car with him until long after everyone left.
She’d promised to take care of him and the piece-of-crap car his father had loved. Even after she’d lost her money, she’d found a way to pay for the garage. Now this car was all he had left of her, too.
How would Nancy Gibbs have handled Gemma Wells?
Jesse opened the door, but Cade was faster. Jesse had pushed them into this. He could do the driving, too. Cade helped Gemma into the backseat and followed after her. Jesse frowned as Cade slapped the keys into his hands. “Asshole.”
“It’s not far away.”
Gemma sat in the backseat, looking forward as though she’d just figured out she was in a car with two men she didn’t really know. He had the most insane urge to push her boundaries just a little.
“Hey, do you do this often?” he asked with a silky slide. He knew the truth. He would bet his life she’d never done anything like this before, but he wanted to see if she would lie.
“Often enough.” There was that brassy tone, the one she seemed to use on everyone until she forgot to and showed her softer self.
Little liar. He put a hand on her knee. She stiffened slightly before taking a deep breath.
“So you sleep with a lot of men?” Cade decided to put it more baldly.
“Cade!” Jesse admonished as he turned the engine over.
“Hey, you’re the honesty guy. It’s a fair question. We’re practically strangers and we’re heading back to her place to have sex. I would like to know what I’m getting into. For all I know she’s one of those female serial killers. She could be luring us back to her lair with the promise of sex and all the while she intends to kill us and use us for fertilizer.”
She turned to him, her mouth hanging open. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’m not a serial killer.”
He shrugged. “It’s Bliss. I have to ask. So how many men have you slept with?”
“Cade!” Jesse hissed his name, a warning.
Cade wasn’t listening. “It’s a fair question.”
Even in the low light, he could see her flush. “How many women have you slept with?”
“Fifteen. Wait. Are we talking actual penetration or like oral and stuff?”
She huffed. How did she expect to get naked with them in the next fifteen minutes if she couldn’t even talk about sex? “It doesn’t matter.” She was quiet for a moment.
“Gemma?”
“Two. Okay. Fine. It’s two. Are you happy now? I slept with my boyfriend in college and then he turned out to be gay, and then I slept with my fiancé and he turned out to be an asshole. So maybe you should think about this because I don’t have a great track record in the happy customer department.”
There she was. Bitchy. Honest. Funny. He hated the hard shell, but he was so intrigued by the woman he was beginning to glimpse underneath. He shouldn’t sleep with her. He was fascinated and that was dangerous. He should walk away. He couldn’t, and if he did, he probably wouldn’t be welcomed back. If he wanted any kind of a place in the relationship she and Jesse were starting, he had to be there now.
Because she was a little like a turtle. She’d poked her head out and looked around and decided to give them a try. If they turned her down, she would go back into her shell.
“Why only two?” He kept asking questions he didn’t want answers to.
She turned a little, watching the night go by. “I only had the two boyfriends.”
Jesse drove down the long paved road toward her cabin. “I think what Cade is asking is why did you choose only two? You’re a beautiful woman, Gemma. You’re what? Twenty-six?”
“Thirty.” The word was flat, but Cade heard the satisfaction behind it. “I don’t know. I didn’t have time for it. I knew from a young age that I wanted to do something special. I studied really hard. And my parents moved around a lot, so I was constantly adjusting to new schools or sometimes to homeschool if we were on a commune. My parents wanted me to get a life education, but I just wanted to score really high on my SATs.”
Now she was talking. He scooted a little closer to her. She didn’t move away. “That must have been hard. So no high school boyfriends?”
“No. My dad died when I was twelve. Mom settled down for a few years and I spent all my time studying. The first time we had high-speed Internet was the greatest day of my life.” She relaxed against him, her body sinking into his. “Look, I love my mom, but she was all about finding herself, and that meant I was in some weird situations. I know that communes are supposed to be these perfect places, but I was a teenaged girl without a dad.”
Vulnerable. She would have been so vulnerable. Cade knew how that felt. In the warm darkness of the car, it was easy to pull her into his arms, to let his body comfort hers. It didn’t have to mean anything. He could walk away in the morning. He wouldn’t even have to feel guilty because Jesse would take care of her. He could cuddle her tonight and go about his business in the morning.
Her face turned up. “Why did you get in the back with me? Did you want to play twenty questions?”
He had an honest answer for that. “If I’d let Jesse hop in the back with you, he would already have you flat on your back with your legs spread. I wanted to wait. I wanted to be able to watch when he gets you naked.”
“Maybe I would get him naked first,” she said, a hint of challenge in her voice. She brought herself up, staring him in the face. “I don’t want to talk, Cade. I don’t want to open up my damn soul and tell you my story. I want to have a good time. Can you help me with that?”
He knew he was being deeply perverse, but he didn’t like the sound of being Gemma’s good time. It wasn’t fair so he let it go. He gave her his easiest, most laid-back smile. “I’m right here, darlin’. You come and take what you want.”
She put her hands on either side of his face, drawing him down. He was game. He let her lead for now. She pressed her mouth to his, her little tongue drawing along his bottom lip. His cock jumped. He had zero intentions of going first. That was for Jesse. Jesse was the one who would stay with her. Jesse was the one who would be her man. But he liked being close to her. The scent and warmth of her called to him. She moved him, and more than just his cock.
He kept his hands off her, a little afraid that if he touched her, he might do what he’d tried to avoid with Jesse—put her on her back and get balls deep inside. This was a little warm-up for his friend. That was all.
Her hand trailed down his torso, making his flesh quiver everywhere she touched. He didn’t like clothes in the best of circumstances. He downright hated them now. He wanted to feel her hands on his chest as they kissed. He wanted to make out with her until they couldn’t see straight, and then Jesse would turn her into his arms and Cade would watch them kiss. They would get her so hot she would beg them. They would take her to the edge over and over before giving her that one little push that sent her to heaven. Yes, they could play all night long. That was what he wanted. A full night of pleasuring Gemma, passing her back and forth like a sweet little sex toy he shared with his brother.
He loved the buildup. He fucking loved foreplay. Fucking was an art form and it took time to get it right.
Gemma didn’t seem to have the same philosophy.
Her hand went straight to the fly of his jeans. She was a little awkward, pulling at it. She left his mouth, her face turning down as she tried to get his jeans open.
“Hey, slow down, Gemma.”
“No need. We can do it here.”
“I think I should have a say in that,” Jesse said on a low growl from the front seat.
Fuck. He wasn’t going to step on Jesse’s toes. He pulled back. “Let’s get to the cabin.”
She was so aggressive. She finally got his fly open, and her hand covered his har
d-as-a-rock cock. “You don’t want to wait.”
But he did. She was moving way too fast for him. She started to pull at his jeans. For the first damn time in his life, he wished he wore underwear. It would have provided him with a temporary buffer from Gemma’s forceful hands.
“Gemma, we’re almost home.” He could see the valley up ahead. One turn and then he could pull her out of the car and they could set everything on the right footing. He could slow things down. Jesse would take charge. They would get her where she needed to be, wet and wild and wanton.
“Do you have a condom?” Her voice was all husky command. She wasn’t asking. She was telling him he should have a condom.
Jesse stopped the car in front of her house. “Gemma, get out of the car.”
She wiggled a little, her hands moving under the flouncy cotton skirt she wore. He watched in equal amounts of arousal and horror as she came up with her black lacy panties in hand. She winked and tossed them his way. “Come on, Cade. Where’s the condom? We’re going wild tonight. No-holds-barred, crazy sex. Let’s go.”
Those panties told the tale. They were lovely, all lace and seduction. They were meant to get a man’s blood hot, but he wasn’t concerned about his blood. He could fuck her right now and all night long. But Gemma’s blood was in question because those lovely panties were perfectly dry. He put them right to his nose and all he could fucking smell was the fabric softener she’d used on them.
She wasn’t anywhere close to being ready for sex, so why the hell was she pushing for it?
Jesse opened the door and frowned down at both of them. Cade simply looked up at him and handed him the panties. Jesse seemed to know immediately that something was wrong. Cade wasn’t surprised. Jesse knew damn straight what a pair of close-to-the-edge woman’s undies should feel like. They’d brought many a woman to the breaking point before they’d eased the panties off and slid inside.
His unruly cock was wailing at him, but he needed to figure out what was going on with Gemma. This was supposed to be fun, not a race to see who made it to the finish line first. She reached for him, and he practically fell out of the car. He managed to stay on his seat. Jesse held her panties, sending him a “what the fuck” look.