The Devil’s Pair (The Road Devils MC #4)

Chapter Seven

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Five days later

Briley stepped back, examined the wall in front of her critically. She then narrowed her eyes at a spot that she’d missed and ran the paint roller over it again. Satisfied now, happy with the soft teal that she’d chosen, she looked around the living room, stretching her aching back out.

It was all coming together so beautifully, and faster than she’d imagined it would or even could. The speed was largely because of Dux and Drake, of course. The men had worked like Trojans for the past week (with Dux’s injured leg not even slowing him down at this point), fetching furniture and decorating supplies, then assembling all the furniture, then painting and hanging and wallpapering and deep cleaning as they went. The day before they’d finished the new tiled mosaic backsplash in the kitchen, and they were now arranging all the jars and cans in her walk-in pantry.

“Hiya, babe,” Dux’s cheerful voice rang out behind her. “That looks great, huh? You were right about it… it does look like the color of the sunset over the mountains.”

She turned to look at them as they wandered in, looking nothing but amazing in their worn jeans and tight t-shirts. She herself was a walking disaster area of dust and fluff, and paint and glue, but somehow they managed to look like they’d just stepped off a magazine cover. It was irritating, to be sure, but she had to admit that she loved looking at them. They were just so, so gorgeous.

“I really like it,” she said. “It brightens up the room even more, and it kind of brings the sky inside the house, doesn’t it?”

They nodded enthusiastically, looking thrilled that her dream abode was turning out even better than she’d anticipated. Dux looked at his cell phone, then started a bit.

“Hey, it’s almost five o’clock,” he said. “Where’d the afternoon go?”

“No kidding.” Briley stretched again, wincing a bit at the tugging in her lower back. “ Argh .”

“What’s wrong?” Drake asked her immediately, as he and his brother crossed the room to her. “What hurts?”

“Just my back,” she said, moving gingerly. “I might have overreached a bit when I was painting.”

Right away, their eyes turned stormy blue-gray, and they scowled at her. She hid her smile at their matching glowering expressions, reminding herself that she had to look contrite, or else she’d never hear the end of it.

“What did we say about that?” Drake growled at her. “We said that we’d do the parts up near the ceiling, for you to not overdo it. Didn’t we?”

“Yes,” she acknowledged. “But –”

“No ‘buts’, babe,” Dux said and she almost giggled; she’d really come to like when they got all bossy and snappy with her. “Why’d you do the exact opposite of what we told you?”

“Because I don’t listen?” she said smartly. “And I’m stubborn? And I’m a nightmare? And I’m a pain in the ass?”

They blinked at her, realizing that she was just parroting their own words back at them, words that they’d said over and over for the whole of the past week. Every morning over breakfast, the three of them had planned the day’s work, with Dux and Drake telling Briley to not strain herself, or do too much, or try to lift anything too heavy.

They’d discovered, however, that the woman was impossible to tell what to do. Every single day, they’d wandered into whatever room she was in, and she was more often than not smack in the middle of doing something that she’d solemnly sat at the kitchen table and sworn not to do. She was infuriating, in an adorable way, but still… they worried that she was actually going to hurt herself.

“Ummm. Yeah,” Drake said severely, even as the laugh bubbled up in his broad chest. “ All of those things. Jesus , woman, just do what you’re told sometimes, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, going for sweet and docile, which always wrong-footed them. “How about this – I’ll order in dinner, on me. OK? We can eat here in the living room for the first time, try out the new table you guys assembled this morning. Sounds good?”

“Hmmmm,” Dux said, eyeing her suspiciously. “OK, babe. What are you hungry for?”

Unbidden, the words ‘you two in my bed, between my thighs, if you don’t mind’ popped into her head, again, some more. She was always thinking things like this about them, every single time they asked the most innocent and innocuous questions. Things like, ‘what are you in the mood for?’, and ‘what do you want to do now?’.

The truth was that as she’d come to know these two amazing, kind, sexy men better, she now bitterly regretted not taking them up on their offer back at the hotel, and she kicked herself daily about it. She’d made up her mind that if they broached the subject – no matter how vaguely or obliquely – she was going to say yes. But as it turned out, they were, most annoyingly , men of their word. They’d promised to never bring it up with her, not ever again, and sure enough, they hadn’t. They hadn’t hinted at it, joked about it, skirted around it… nothing.

Which meant that if Briley wanted them, then she had to be the one to make the first move.

How , though? Just how did she proposition them? Was it as simple as saying, ‘ I’m sorry that I turned you down at the hotel, and I think about it and you differently now. I want you both ’?

She had a sneaking suspicion that it was , actually, that easy… but she somehow just couldn’t bring herself to utter the words. Shyness and insecurity were holding her back, and before now, she’d never really considered herself capable of feeling either of those things.

As she lay alone in her new, massive bed at night – with Dux and Drake down the hall in the guest room, on mattresses on the floor – she asked herself exactly what she was feeling so shy and insecure about. She stared at the ceiling, pondering it over and over. Finally, she had to face the truth: she was worried about not measuring up to the other women who’d been with them in bed. Women who knew what to do with two men, who could handle the situation (literally and figuratively) with grace and sex appeal, who were confident and instinctively knew what to do.

Her biggest fear, she’d come to understand, was that she was going to be clumsy and awkward and look stupid. If it was just one or the other of them, she’d know what to do, what to expect… but two men at once? And more than that, twins ? Two men who looked the same, sounded the same, moved the same?

It was terrifying. It was exciting. It was the stuff of fantasies and (if it all went wrong, which it almost certainly would) of nightmares. Cringing, shriekingly humiliating nightmares for the rest of her life, and maybe even into her grave.

So here she stood in her living room, being asked a simple question about what she wanted to eat for dinner, and all she could do was think horny, dirty things in response. Her whole body could feel Dux and Drake again, and remember how good it had felt to be held between them in that dark corner, safe and protected – but also seconds away from being taken in a hotel room by the hottest, most dangerous men she’d ever known. If she’d just said yes.

Pull yourself together, Briley. Right. The fuck. Now .

“Ummm,” she managed. “Maybe Thai?”

“Agreed,” Dux said promptly. “Curries and noodles are always big wins with us, babe.”

“OK, perfect.” She was back in control of herself now, thank God. She picked up her phone, started tapping on the delivery app, looking for Thai restaurants. “Put in your orders, guys… the calorie-bomb is on me.”

Now if only these two would help me work all those calories off later.

Shut. Up. Briley. Shut the hell up .

**

Three hours later, Briley walked upstairs, towelling her wavy hair dry after her shower. She passed the guys’ room, heard them moving around behind the closed door, and she hesitated and slowed and raised her hand to knock. Then she shook her head, carried on down the hall to her own room. When she got there, she saw that the guys had bought her a surprise.

A beautiful, huge bunch of sunflowers was sitting in a new vase, just in front of her dresser mirror. She’d mentioned in passing – some time on their journey from Utah to Colorado to New York to Pennsylvania – that she loved sunflowers, that they were her favorites. And they’d clearly remembered that, and in the middle of all their running around to pick up her new furniture, and the painting and cleaning supplies, Dux and Drake had stopped somewhere and bought her flowers.

She stared at herself in the mirror, looked at the vibrant yellow-orange petals framing her face, and she realized that things were almost completely settled now in her new home… which meant that the guys would be leaving soon. Which also meant that their time together was running out.

Briley wrapped her arms around herself, sat down on her bed, looked at the sunflowers some more, and she found herself thinking about time. Wasting it, losing it, frittering it, wishing for more of it. And as always, whenever the started down this particular train of thought, she remembered her father.

He’d left for work on the last day of his life like he had done any other day. He’d rinsed out his coffee cup and put it in the dishwasher, kissed Briley’s mother on the top of her head, ruffled Briley’s hair. He’d made some Dad joke about his two girls being so beautiful that it should be illegal, which Briley hadn’t responded to and her mother had smiled absently at, as she’d handed him his packed lunch. Briley hadn’t even looked up as he’d walked out the door – she had a history test that day and was studying at the breakfast table – and she hadn’t even noticed that he was gone.

Then he was just gone … gone forever.

Oh, being the kid of a police officer meant that she knew that he was at risk, every single time that he walked out the door, away from her and her mother. But he’d always come home before that day that he didn’t – and Briley had gotten complacent and careless. She’d always thought that there would be another day with him, another morning to give him a hug, another night to sit on the sofa and watch TV together, another chance to tell him all the things that she thought and felt.

And then there were just no more chances; there was no more time.

Of all the regrets in her life, not smiling at him when he’d joked with her and tousled her hair, not looking up as he’d walked out of the house that day, were in the top three. Those two, and dishonoring the badge by working with Gideon – she knew her father would be bitterly disappointed in her, even as he saw her need to protect Cheryl.

Sitting here now, looking at the surprise sunflowers, she thought that she had enough regrets behind her, she had truckloads; she didn’t want to have any more. She had lost enough time being Gideon’s little toy and target, by being fearful and stuck; she didn’t want to lose any more, didn’t want to be afraid anymore, didn’t want to stay in a situation that wasn’t serving her. And on the flip side of that, she didn’t want to avoid a situation that might be amazing, just because she was scared.

Scared of what? Those two would never hurt you, not in a million years, and you know that .

Briley got to her feet, brushed her hair, and slicked on some face powder and lip gloss. Then she loosened the belt of her bathrobe.

She wasn’t going to waste one more day.

Not one more minute.

Not one more chance.

**

The soft knock took them by surprise. Right away, Dux and Drake exchanged glances, both thinking that something bad was up– Briley had never come to the guest room once the door was closed at night.

Dux opened the door, and his brother stood directly behind him. There she was in her robe and her delicate bare feet, with a strange look on her face: she looked nervous and tense and scared, and she only looked more so when she saw that they were both in nothing but boxers.

“What’s wrong, babe?” Dux asked, tugging her into the guest room. “Why do you look so freaked out?”

“Did you hear something outside?” Drake asked her. “You want us to go take a look?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said in a small voice, her eyes lowered. “And I didn’t hear anything.”

“OK,” Drake said, puzzled. “Did you need us for something?”

She looked up at them now, just stared at them straight and open and true, and it was all right there on her beautiful face, in her eyes. They knew.

“Babe,” Dux said softly. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I am. I’m just… I’m nervous. I know you won’t hurt me or force anything, but… I’m nervous anyway.”

“What are you worried about?” Drake asked her.

“Honestly?”

“Yeah, darlin’. Tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Drake slowly reached out and touched her lips. “That way we can put to rest any fears that you have before they come up.”

“OK.” She sighed, looked embarrassed. “The truth is that I’m – I don’t understand how – the – what the – maybe the best word is logistics of it all.”

“What goes where and with who?” Dux said with a teasing little lift of an eyebrow to set her at ease. “That’s what you mean?”

“Well, yes.” She blushed furiously, shot those broad naked chests a quick look, and took a deep breath. “And I’m really worried about looking – about being clumsy.”

“Clumsy?” Drake echoed.

“Yeah. Like – not knowing what to do. Kind of flailing around between the two of you, and not knowing what to – where to be – where to put my attention.” She was bright red now, close to tears. “I have no idea where to even start .”

“Ahhh, babe,” Dux said. “We start with a kiss. That’s it.”

“But how – like both of you, or –”

“Me first,” Drake said, holding out his arms. “Come here, gorgeous.”

She hesitated, then seemed to gather up her courage. She stepped closer to him, then stepped right into his embrace. Right away, she relaxed, and she lifted her shining face to his.

“Ready, darlin’?” he said, lifting his hands to her waterfall of hair, holding her still so he could see her eyes. “Shall we begin?”

“Yes,” she whispered, holding that astonishing blue gaze. “And yes.”

That dark head lowered slowly, watching her the whole time, looking to see if there was any uncertainty or fear. He saw none, and so he kept moving forward, forward… then he took her mouth for the first time.

The kiss was unlike anything Briley had ever experienced in her life. His lips were surprisingly soft, and when she balanced herself on his chest, she felt his incredible muscle under her fingertips. The contradiction of hard and soft, of pure animal strength tempered by a tender touch, shocked her, moved her.

Briley felt her legs weaken with lust, and she swayed forward. Drake moved his hands out of her hair then, and he wrapped his arms around her shaking body. He held her close, held her up. Drake cradled her, and she felt as protected and secure as she had that day in the restaurant.

Drake couldn’t believe how it felt to finally touch her the way that he’d wanted to for so long. She was warm and sweet, and her response was incredible. Total surrender; aching want; hot need. He’d never have guessed that Briley would give over so completely, so quickly, not after what Gideon had done to her. He kissed her over and over again, loving how she tasted.

He finally pulled back, fighting with himself to do so. He opened his eyes and saw that hers were still closed. Her mouth was swollen and she trembled against him a bit. He ran his fingers through her thick curls, brushed her hair back from her gorgeous face.

“Open your eyes, darlin’,” he said, his voice deep and husky. “Look at me.”

She did, and he smiled at the heat in those mint-green depths.

“Yes?” he asked again. “You need to tell us that this is OK, Briley, and that you want more.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “And more, please.”

“Can I join you now?” Dux said, his voice a guttural growl. “Can I kiss you, babe?”

“Yes.” She turned to him now, felt Drake press his full, muscled length against her back. “Please.”

Dux crossed the room in three long strides, took her in his arms. The kiss this time was hot and hard, full of passion that he was finally able to show her, that he’d wanted to show her for so long.

Briley moaned as he took her mouth, his tongue tasting, probing, exploring. It couldn’t have been more different to the way his brother had kissed her; Drake’s kisses had been full of flame and passion, but they had also been gentle, cautious. Maybe a bit unsure that she was actually up for this, like she would actually go through with it.

This kiss, though. Good God... it was sure . Strong and intense and so fucking ready . Dux took her breath away in seconds, and at the same time, he took away her last, lingering fears and worries. He kissed her over and over, deeper and harder, listening to her breath speed up.

At the same time, Drake’s lips were on her neck, and his hands were moving over her body, skimming her breasts and hips, caressing her nipples and ass, and her head started to spin. It was surreal to be touched everywhere, all at once – and she suddenly understood that this was what it was about for them. To literally overwhelm her senses to the point of almost-insanity, to attend to every inch of her body. To share her and move her between them, taking turns to drive her forward to more pleasure.

Briley briefly wondered if she’d actually survive it, and decided that she didn’t care. All she wanted now was to be naked with them.

As if Dux had heard her thoughts, he pulled back, his eyes fierce and bright. She watched as he lowered his boxers to the floor, kicked them away. She’d barely taken in his amazing length and girth, barely registered just how fucking gorgeous he was with all those tight, tattooed muscles, when behind her, she heard a rustle of material. When she glanced over her shoulder, there stood Drake, naked and just as massive and beautiful, with the same salt-and-pepper chest hair, the same strong collarbone.

“Oh, my God ,” she managed to say, not having the first clue where to put her eyes. Everywhere that she looked – both in front of her and behind her – was mouthwatering perfection and temptation. In her wildest dreams, Briley hadn’t even come close to what these men looked like unclothed. “You two are amazing… like, just… amazing .”

The smiled at her, the same dangerous and wanton smile, and she felt her knees start to go out from under her. She’d never, never seen anything like the way they were looking at her, and her whole body short-circuited in mere seconds.

Dux reached for her just in time, kept her from crashing down to the carpeted floor. He held her close, so close that she felt his heartbeat. He winked at her and said:

“Robe. Off. Now.”

She gasped when Drake’s hands reached around her, untied the belt on her robe. It fell to the floor in a soft heap, and then she was naked in front of them. She felt shy suddenly, which took her by surprise: she’d always been proud of her body before this very second. It was strong and healthy and fit, but once again, she thought about all the other women who’d stood in her place, stood nude in front of Dux and Drake, and she wondered how she measured up.

Of course she needn’t have worried; it was like they heard her thoughts, and they rushed to reassure her.

“You are so beautiful, babe,” Dux said, his voice husky with lust and emotion, running his eyes over her. “God, we’ve dreamt of this, Briley... wanted to see you like this for so long.”

“You’re perfection, darlin’,” Drake added, brushing her hair off her shoulders so he could kiss the curve of muscle. “We’ve imagined you naked, naturally, but you’ve blown away our expectations… and then some.”

Briley was still trying to gather enough breath to respond to any of this when Dux lowered his head to her breasts, even as his brother mouthed kisses across her back. She closed her eyes at the sensations they evoked, trying to not scream already. Their lips were demanding and determined, and they tugged and sucked on her nipples, on her neck.

Dux moved from one breast to the other, licking and gently nipping, his hands on her back and pulling her in tighter. Drake slid his hands over her hips, over her thighs. Briley felt her pussy tense up, start to turn liquid, start to throb and pulse. And they hadn’t even touched her there yet.

Dux spun her suddenly, pulled her back up tight against that massive chest, his cock nudging against her. Then – without a word – Drake’s right hand slid down her belly and he palmed her slick heat. Now she did give a small scream, and he grinned.

“We are going to love making you come. Over and over again.” Drake kissed her, so languid and slow. “You're going to beg for us to fuck you before we’re done, I promise you.”

Her head fell back on Dux’s shoulder and her back arched. “Drake…”

“Yeah, that’s it, Briley.” His fingers were soaked with her sweet arousal and he traced the curve of her pussy slowly, over and over, until she opened to him. “Let me in, darlin’.”

When he slipped a finger inside, she gripped his hand, trying to speed up his movements. He laughed softly, though, and his brother grasped her arms, pinning them behind her.

“We're not rushing this, babe,” Dux murmured in her ear, holding both of her wrists in one of his huge hands, the other dancing over her nipples. “We’re going to enjoy you. We’re going to feel you get hotter, feel you writhing against us, feel just how wet that sweet little pussy can get for us. We want you to want to come more than you want your next breath. We want you to fucking beg us for it.”

She whimpered, her chest heaving. “Please…”

“Begging already?” Drake slid a second finger inside now, starting to thrust and withdraw in a torturously slow rhythm. “But I haven't had any fun yet. Neither one of us have.”

Briley lost the ability to speak now. His fingers were moving smoothly in and out of her pussy, and true to his word, he was taking his damn sweet time. Three plunges, four, ten, twenty. She lost track, lost any concept of time. Helplessly, her hips started to move on his fingers and she rode and fucked his hand, shameless and abandoned, her legs as far apart as she could get them, leaning back against Dux just to stay on her feet, her breath coming out in hot pants.

The twins couldn't believe how passionate she was, how quickly she just handed herself over to the pleasure. She was so wet, so open and ready. Dux’s cock was rock-hard and he ground it against her gyrating ass, trying to keep some degree of control as he felt her legs start to shake. She had her head thrown back, her body straining and reaching. She was so fucking gorgeous and wild, all feral need and feminine sweetness. His eyes met Drake’s and they grinned, knowing that Briley was close, so damn close.

She moved faster now and Drake matched her pace, his fingers starting to fuck her deeper, harder. She almost sobbed with relief when his twisted his wrist and started to stroke her clit with his thumb as he thrust into her slick, aching channel.

“Oh!” she cried. “Oh... Drake!”

“Beg me,” he growled. “Beg me or I make you wait.”

“Please!” Her plea came out as a ragged scream. “Oh, God... please !”

“That's our girl.” He pushed down on her clit, let up, pushed again. “We've got you, Briley. Let go. Just let it happen now.”

Mindless, her whole being a turmoil of emotion and sensation, Briley did as he commanded. Her climax started in her toes, shot up her legs, rolled over the rest of her body in a wave that took her knees out from under her. She slumped, convulsing and crying out, the clenching and releasing inside her body the most powerful thing she'd ever felt. Dux’s arm snaked around her waist, holding her up as she rode out the orgasm, gasping and almost sobbing.

The pleasure faded slowly, her body shuddering with aftershocks. Gently, Drake took her in his arms; her head fell forward now, rested on his chest. Dux released her hands and she clutched Drake’s upper arms weakly, still trying to get her knees to function properly. She was exhausted, energized. She’d loved every second of it.

Drake kissed her forehead, running his hands through her tumbled hair. “Fuck, darlin’. That was beautiful.”

She made a small, strangled sound in her throat, and they both laughed.

“What was that?” Dux asked her, moving in close behind her, feeling her trembling. “Was that a sound of satisfaction?”

“Ummmm,” she managed. “Mmmm-hmmmm.”

“Yes?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “ So yes.”

“OK, then,” Dux said. “My turn.”

She looked over her shoulder at him, took in the glint in his eyes. “Your –”

That was all she got out before she was off her feet, turned and lifted into Dux’s arms. She gave a small shriek, a bit panicked at suddenly being in the air.

“Easy, babe,” Dux said as he wrapped her legs around his waist and walked out of the room, headed down the hall to her own bedroom. “We’re just moving you someplace more comfortable.”

“After all,” Drake added, following behind them. “A mattress on the guest room floor isn’t crazy-sexy, is it?”

“I guess not,” she mumbled. “Though you boys managed fine without a mattress at all.”

“True,” Drake acknowledged. “But you did almost do a face-plant onto the floor… maybe we’d better start with you prone, huh?”

She opened her mouth to protest, then just shut it again. It’s not like they were wrong, after all; she had come hard enough on Drake’s fingers to almost pass out. What on earth would happen to her center of balance and gravity once they got their mouths on her, their cocks in her? Maybe she was better off horizontal.

Dux deposited her gently on her own huge bed now. He lowered her slowly, watching her eyes the whole time, and he stayed with her, stretching his body the length of hers. Briley gasped when he pressed her into the mattress, and he shifted his weight to his forearms.

“Am I too heavy?” he asked.

“No,” she said running her hands down his strong back, arching into him. “No, you feel wonderful.”

“You too, babe. God, you just feel so good under me.”

Her eyes glowed up at him. “Kiss me, Dux.”

“I will. And I’ll do way more than that.”

“I hope so,” she whispered.

He kissed her as she requested, his hands running over her breasts, down the curve of her hips, then lower. He gently parted her smooth thighs and delved between them, skimming over her pussy, just brushing her lightly with a whisper of a touch. She closed her eyes and held her breath, silently begging for him to stroke her there.

Without warning, he rolled over onto his back and pulled Briley with him. She gave a small cry of surprise as he opened her thighs farther, gently set them on either side of his body, and then pushed her up above him. She placed her hands on his chest for balance, loving to feel that hard muscle under her fingers.

Dux grasped her hips and started to lift and pull her forward up his body, one inch at a time. She looked down at his face, meeting his eyes, holding her breath, until – Oh, God… please… – he lowered her hot center just over his mouth. Briley shuddered helplessly on top of him, feeling his breath so close to her pulsing want. He raised his chin a bit, moving away from her pussy, and she moaned in frustration.

“Now, now,” he admonished her. “We’ll get started when Drake is up here with us.”

Drake grinned and joined them on the bed. He knelt at his brother’s head, facing Briley, his eyes level with hers. He took her hands, kissed them, then he curled her fingers around his massive shoulders.

“Hold onto me, darlin’,” he said, his voice rough and dark. “You’re going to need to.”

She gasped and clung to Drake like he was a life raft in a storm, already halfway to orgasm at his words. That was when Dux moved again, lifted his mouth to pussy… and she was lost.

Dux closed his eyes at the very first taste of her. Fuck , she was so sweet. Hot. He gently parted her swollen lips with his thumbs, and his tongue found her taut bundle of nerves. He started to lick at it slowly, with increasing pressure, listening to Briley moaning above him. He eased up then, gently circling her clit with his fingers, spreading her juices all over her sex before lapping at her again. Her hips moved at his every touch, and she rode his mouth, and he loved it.

Briley was slowly losing the capability for rational thought, or any thought, really. She was vibrating with pleasure, her whole body jumping and convulsing as Dux buried his face between her legs, his tongue doing incredible things to her. She was just feeling now, letting herself just take the pleasure he was so freely giving her. Her back arched as the wave of ecstasy built and rose; she was almost sobbing with the need to come.

Dux slowly ran his tongue over her clit again, felt her whole body tense. His one hand gripped her hips, holding her in place, and with the other, he slid a thick finger inside her, pumping and plunging. She writhed on him and gave a cry, clinging to Drake tightly. Dux moved his finger deeper and sucked on her sweet little pearl at the same time, and Briley made a sound that she’d never heard come out of her mouth before: a kind of keening whimper. Her pussy clamped on his finger, pressing and releasing and her clit swelled under his lips, expanding almost to bursting.

Drake kissed her now, deeper, stronger, and she moaned again as his hands wandered over her breasts, teasing and taunting her. Her fingernails were digging into his muscled shoulders, but he didn’t seem to even notice. She was riding his brother’s mouth, gasping into his, and she couldn’t believe that she had actually wasted time worrying about any of this.

It was perfect. They were perfect.

“Oh, God, Dux…” She shuddered as her pleasure rose, crested, impossibly rose again. “You feel so good… you both do…”

Dux looked up, a second finger now working inside her. “You’re close, babe. So close to the edge. I can tell, I can feel it.”

“I am… please…”

“Please what?”

“Please make me come…” She bucked as his fingers pressed on her secret spot and her whole body started to dissolve. “Please…”

He felt Briley’s entire body shaking on him, so close to orgasm, so ready to give it all to him, and all she needed was a tiny bit more pressure with his fingers and tongue. He gave it to her, his fingers reaching deep and hard, his tongue relentless on her clit as he pressed and pushed on it. And Briley exploded with a scream that was swallowed up in Drake’s kiss.

She honestly thought that she was going to lose consciousness from the pure, white-hot intensity of it. She could do nothing more than hold onto Drake’s broad shoulders, and throw her head back, totally spread on Dux’s devouring mouth, coming and coming. She gave a final cry, a last shudder, and she collapsed forward into Drake’s arms.

Dux reached up and in one strong movement, he lifted her up and over, gently lowering her onto the bed next to him. He pulled her up tight against him, stroking her hair and murmuring in her ear, as Drake lay down on her other side. He wrapped his arms around her too, whispered that she was beautiful and amazing, the most gorgeous thing either of them had ever had their hands on.

Slowly, her body stopped shaking, and she relaxed between them. Dux kissed her palm as Drake stroked her back, calming her.

“You OK?” Dux tipped her head back so he could see her face as she answered. “Are you here in the room with us?”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes glowing. “I’m more than OK, and I’m here with you. I mean… not just you , I mean both of you. But just you two.”

Dux laughed at her slight incoherence, thinking that she was completely adorable when she was in a post-orgasmic daze. “That’s good to hear.” He combed his fingers through her tumbled hair, loving the tousled waves. “You are so fucking beautiful when you come, babe.”

She blushed at that, ducked her head. She liked what he’d said, but it was the first time that a man – any man – had just come right out with it like that.

“Nuh-uh, don’t be embarrassed,” Drake told her.“You’re the most delicious thing we’ve ever seen.”

“Or tasted,” Dux added.

She blushed some more and he grinned at her, unrepentant. Seeing that look on his gorgeous face, and without any thought or plan or hesitation, Briley reached up and kissed Dux, loving how he responded to her. He was all hot, hard strength and muscles, and her pussy fluttered again. She couldn’t believe that she wanted to start things up again so soon, but she did and he knew it instantly. They both did.

“Really?” Drake said in mocking surprise. “ Already ?”

“I know.” She turned over to face him, pressed herself up against him. “I can’t seem to help myself. I want more. I want everything.”

“Then that’s what you’ll get, darlin’.” Drake kissed her, and she felt a shift in him, in them both. “Everything and then some.”

“Yeah, you seem to have gotten into the spirit of the whole thing,” Dux teased her. “Not feeling so clumsy now, are you?”

“Nooooo.” Briley shook her head, but then she had a thought. “But wait – I don’t want – I mean I do want, but not right away – not both of you –”

“Babe,” Dux said gently. “We won’t be inside you at the same time, not yet.”

“Maybe in an hour,” his brother added, then caught the look on her face. “I’m joking, darlin’. Double penetration is fucking hot , OK, but you need to be comfortable with it, otherwise it’s a disaster.”

“I’m not against anal,” she said slowly. “In fact, I like it sometimes, but I’ve never – well. I know you know that I’ve never had two men at once, so I’m not sure how it will feel to have – you know.”

“One of us in your pussy, and the other in your ass?” Dux said, and he ducked as she smacked him lightly. “It will feel great , Briley, I promise you… but only if you’re relaxed. Like I said, we won’t do that right off the bat. You tell us when you’re ready to try, and we’ll go slow.”

“So then, how … who …” She peered up at them. “I guess this is where the logistics confound me.”

“Simple,” Dux told her. “One of us gets to take you, while the other one watches… hopefully with your mouth all wrapped around him.”

“Ohhh,” she breathed as her pussy tightened and tingled at his words. “That seems doable. But how do we decide?”

“Decide what?” Drake said.

“Decide who… uh. Hmmm.” She scrambled for the words to communicate this bizarre – yet totally hot and enjoyable – situation. “Who goes where.”

“Ahhhh. Gotcha.” Drake smiled at her. “The agreement between us is that whoever made you come first gets to be the first inside you.”

“That – that seems reasonable,” she said, her voice constricted with longing and memory. God , she felt Drake’s fingers inside again, as strong and sure as if he were actually touching her right that second. “So – so that’ll be you.”

“That’ll be me,” he agreed. “If the lady consents?”

“She does. She totally does.”

“OK, then,” he said softly. “I’ll be right back.”

He got to his feet, and Briley got her first proper look at that delectable ass as he left. He was one of those men who looked just as amazing leaving a room as he did entering it, and that was fully clothed. She’d been sure that the view while he was naked was going to be staggering, and sure enough, she’d been bang-on correct.

“You nervous, babe?”

She looked over her shoulder at Dux, and was surprised to realize that she wasn’t nervous –like at all . Weirder than that , it occurred to her that she hadn’t felt even a flicker of nerves since Drake had held her face in his hands, her heart in his hands, and asked her if she was ready to begin.

Somehow, being here in her bed with both of them at the same time felt like the most normal, natural thing that she’d ever experienced. Like… she was meant to be here with them like this, like all those other men before were just the tribute bands, and Dux and Drake were the real deal.

“No,” she said, and she heard the wonder in her own voice. “No, I feel really comfortable. I feel – I don’t know. I think it’s really beautiful to be your total and only focus, both of you at the same time, like… like your only desire is to make sure that I’m happy.”

“ And satisfied,” Drake said from the door. “Don’t forget about that .”

She laughed, thinking about her two Richter-scale orgasms. “As if I could… you had me begging in about two minutes flat.”

“Well,” Dux said. “Let’s just see if we can beat that record, huh? Make you beg some more?”

Drake walked towards the bed, stroking his cock and then rolling on a condom as he approached. Behind her, she felt Dux harden against the curve of her hip, and she pushed back against him, unable to stop herself. God , they hadn’t been kidding when they’d told her that this was a whole new world, one where two naked men made her the center of all of their attention, where two men worshipped her with every single inch of their bodies; where she was sandwiched between two huge, hard guys, kissed and touched by two sets of hands and lips. It was addictive and astonishing, and she’d barely scratched the surface of its possibilities.

Gently, Drake turned her away from him to face his brother, then lifted her to her hands and knees. She gasped as his hand stroked between her legs, slowly, experimentally, feeling how ready she was. At the same time, Dux got on his knees in front of her, that thick, amazing cock there, ready for her to take into her mouth.

Without a word, not able to wait for even one more second to taste him, Briley moved forward a few inches. She licked up and down Dux's cock, long strokes that made him shudder. Her hands were alive and confident, teasing him as her tongue flicked out. He wanted to beg her to take him into her whole mouth, but he stayed still as she slowly worked her way down.

Finally, finally , she touched the tip of his cock. His hips lifted and he moaned as her thumb ran around and around, pressing and stroking. A bit of salty liquid spurted out of him, proof of his rapid loss of command and cool in this situation, and she gently spread it around his cock, heightening the sensations. He arched his back, trying not to come right away.

She smiled, the smile of a woman who knows she’s desperately wanted, and looked up at him. “I cannot wait to take you in my mouth.”

He gasped, fighting down the urge to climax just at her words. “Oh, God, babe. Please.”

“Please what?” She was teasing him the way he and Drake had teased her earlier, her fingers stroking him, her hot breath on him, but not taking him fully, not yet.

“Please suck me. Please…”

She slid her mouth over his tip, just an inch. She pulled back.

“Like that?”

“More… deeper. Oh, God , Briley. More.”

“You little tease,” Drake rasped behind her, and he parted her thighs wider, stepped between them. “Either you take him or you don’t get taken.”

She made a small huff of protest, then holding Dux’s eyes, not breaking contact for even one second, she moved her lips on to him. She slid down his cock, her tongue alive, and she took more and more of him into her sweet, pouting little mouth. He gasped and shook with the effort of staying in one coherent piece, but he was losing the fight fast.

Briley slid up again, torturously slowly, making him wait for it. She swirled around the tip, moved down. Faster now, more pressure. His hands were in her hair lightly, his huge chest heaving, his head thrown back. He shook, tensed, shook again.

She was just feeling in control of the situation –feeling quite smug about it, actually – when Drake was suddenly on her. He pressed his chest against her back, his tongue licking the side of her throat, his strong forearm around her waist. Then his thick fingers were inside her, stroking, plunging, twisting. He grinned at her surprised moans of pleasure and need, at the way that she quaked under him. He pushed deeper now, felt her pussy tighten and release with his every thrust.

Briley wanted to ask for more, wanted to beg – but she wasn’t able to say one word, not with her mouth busy with Dux’s own need and pleasure. All she could do was give strangled little cries when Drake tightened his fingers around her clit and squeezed gently, released, squeezed again. Her cry turned to a shocked scream deep in her throat as pure, molten pleasure rolled through body, her hands crumpling the sheets beneath her.

Drake lightly ran his soaked fingers over her hard bundle of nerves before returning to her slick channel and pushing deeper still. “Is this where you want me, darlin’?”

She made a sound of assent, all the while moving up and down Dux’s cock, listening to his harsh breathing as he started to move his hips back and forth, his hands clenched in her hair.

“Is that a yes?” Drake breathed into her ear. “Say ‘yes’ for me, Briley.”

She moved off Dux, just for a second, and managed to utter, “ Yes . Oh, yes…”

“Hold on then, darlin’.” Drake leaned back. “This is where you’ll really start to enjoy yourself.”

He caressed her inner walls one last time before sliding out to press and circle her clit, and then when she hovered right on the edge of climax, he pushed his thick cock inside her, in one smooth, strong motion. Right away, she was on a roller coaster of sensation, being thrown up and down, each high a bit more intense, a bit closer to the cliff. He held her hips so she couldn’t move – he was a wall of pure muscle and strength behind her, controlling every part of what was happening. Briley just closed her eyes and held on for dear life, trying to remember to breathe and stay focused on Dux, who was as close to orgasm as she was.

It suddenly came to Briley that this was the exact scenario that she’d imagined back in the hotel room: her on her hands and knees in front of Dux, while Drake fucked her from behind, his every thrust driving Dux’s cock deeper into her eager throat. It was real, it was happening. And it was so much better than she ever would have believed.

Drake pulled her tighter as he started to speed up his thrusts. His thumb stroked her clit as his cock pushed inside her wet heat, and he felt how close she was to that blissful edge. Her pussy muscles pulled on him, pulled him in and farther, and he heard her incoherent cries rising and increasing, muffled by Dux’s cock. Drake wrapped his entire body around hers and leaned forward.

“Now, darlin’,” he whispered. “Come for us now…”

The bed fell away as her whole body helplessly did exactly what Drake commanded it to do: it flexed and released, pulsed and shook. Her limbs buckled under her, but Drake held her up, kept her from collapsing, and she just let herself go completely, let herself feel, trusting him to not let her fall.

The orgasm rolled over her, threatened to wash her away; she lost any and all control over her body now. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t even make a sound. She just came for them, hard and long, and they all loved every second of it.

As her body convulsed under him, Drake’s own climax roared and rose. He struggled to hold off, but her pleasure sparked his own mindless need for release and relief. He drove into her shuddering body, driving home. He moved faster now, knowing that he was being rough, trying to stop himself, to slow down.

But she was still moaning, still riding out the waves of her orgasm, and he knew that his wild thrusts were prolonging it for her. When Drake came, he threw his head back and gave a torn, tortured shout, his chest heaving, his body near collapse. Every muscle tensed, strained, shook, and he saw nothing but light bursting behind his eyelids.

At the same time and with a muttered curse, Dux pulled out of her panting little mouth and gave himself two strokes, three strokes, before coming with a groan that was wrenched from somewhere deep inside him. She gasped as some of his release landed on her breasts, and she felt the heat on her skin, on her heart. He’d marked her, and she was fiercely glad.

Suddenly and utterly exhausted, Briley’s head fell forward as the sensations dimmed and receded. She sucked in a deep breath, and raised a trembling hand to her chest, trying to get her centre of balance back, trying to reconnect with reality.

Dux stroked her tumbled hair, brought his face down to her level. “You OK, babe?”

She closed her eyes in response and the twins grinned.

“We’ll take that as a yes, shall we?” Drake said.

She didn’t even have the energy to nod.

Gently, slowly, Drake pulled out of her delicious body, the body that they’d barely begun to explore, and turned her in his huge arms. Briley’s legs were barely holding her up, and she sagged against him. He lay her down carefully, and he and Dux stretched out beside her, cuddling her between them, holding her close as she recovered.

Dux touched her smooth cheek, and her eyes finally flickered open, hazy and unfocused. The men exchanged worried glances: her silence, and now this almost checked-out, vague look in those mint-green depths were making them wonder if her mind had gone somewhere else.

“You OK, Briley?” Dux repeated, and his voice had a more serious tone now. “You here with us, babe?”

She blinked at him, as if remembering who he was. Then she smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

“You sure?” His sharp Arctic-blue eyes searched her hazy ones. “You know who you’re with?”

She reached out and stroked the line that appeared along his strong jaw – along both of their chiselled jaws, in the exact same place – when they were worried. “With you, Dux. I’m with you and Drake. Just you two, nobody else.”

“That’s right, darlin’.” Drake held her closer, felt how her body slipped so perfectly between and against his and Dux’s, wishing that they didn’t ever have to let her go. “You’re with us.”

**

“So you two went to a Catholic school?”

“Yep, back in New York City,” Dux said with a grin. “Think those nuns would have a heart attack at seeing us all here like this?”

Briley stared at the two men in her bed – two naked men, God help me, although I suspect that He’s fled this situation screaming – and fought down the urge to laugh. She certainly wasn’t anything like religious, but she had to admit that the sin factor of everything that had just gone on was probably super high.

Not that she especially cared, so off to hell she went with a smile. In fact, she was very much looking forward to carrying on with spending more time with Dux and Drake, in all possible ways and positions and combinations. But the whole Catholic school thing was too fascinating to let go by without further investigation, and it occurred to her that she actually knew very little about the twins’ pasts, while they knew a lot about hers.

“Are you from the city?” she asked them. “I mean, originally?”

“We are,” Dux confirmed, putting the pillow against the headboard and leaning back on it. “Born and raised.”

“So how’d two sweet little Catholic boys from New York end up as Enforcers for an MC in Colorado?”

“We took the scenic route, via the Marines and the Middle East and South Asia.” Drake lay on his side, his head propped up in his hand. She admired the way that his bicep bulged, even in this casual and rested pose. “Well, one of us took a way more scenic path than the other.”

“What do you mean?”

“He means that after we got back from Afghanistan, I spent three years in jail in Denver,” Dux said. “But he didn’t.”

“ What ?” She sat up straight in bed now, wondering why it was such a shock that an MC guy had spent time in jail; that was when she realized that she was actually surprised that one hadn’t . She’d been operating under the assumption that every single one of the Road Devils members had seen the inside of a prison cell for at least a few months. “How did that happen? I thought you two did everything together.”

“Ha!” Dux rejoined and gave her a smack on her pert bottom. “Smart ass.”

“You know it, handsome,” she retorted. “But really – what happened?”

“About jail?” Dux said.

“Well, yes, if you want to tell me that part. But I meant more how you got into the Marines, and when you came to Denver and how you got into the club.” She shrugged, her blonde hair so glorious over her naked shoulders and breasts. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to about the war, or prison. I would appreciate, however, the low-down on the whole Catholic school thing, because that’s really blowing my mind.”

The men laughed, gave her quick kisses, then they settled back onto the bed.

“OK, darlin’,” Drake said. “One life history coming up… well, two , really. But you know what I mean.”

She nodded, scooted up to the headboard next to Dux. He grabbed a pillow for her to lean against and then he looked at Drake.

“You want to kick this off?” he said. “Or am I taking the floor?”

“Go for it, big brother,” Drake said. “You know I’ll butt in when I feel like it.”

“That is the truth.” Dux shook his head affectionately. “OK, so… we were born in New York City, as you know. Our father left when we were about four years old, and we have very little memory of the fucker, and that’s just fine with us. Mom raised us mostly on her own after that, though her sister worked in the city, so Aunt Debbie would come over maybe once a week to help out.”

“That was good of her,” Briley said. “Gave your Mom a break.”

“A bit, yeah,” Dux agreed. “But all Mom did with her time off was work for the local Catholic school. She was a cleaner there even before we were born, and she worked nights and weekends, and since she didn’t have reliable or regular child care, she brought us with her. She’d plunk us down someplace out of the way and get to work, and we’d have to sit and be quiet and wait. Most nights, we fell asleep long before she finished, so she’d just cover us with some blankets she found and carry on.”

“Wow,” she said softly. “That’s hard work.”

“It sure was,” Drake chimed in. “And weekends were brutal , in that she’d work twelve hours straight, and we had to go with her. I guess we were about six when we finally clued in that if we helped her, she finished faster and we were all free to go and do something more fun.”

“Really? You guys cleaned the Catholic school starting age six?”

“Damn straight we did, babe,” Dux drawled. “We couldn’t do the heavy lifting stuff, obviously, not that young, but we could dust, or move chairs out of the way, or put things back on shelves after she’d cleaned them.”

“Yep,” Drake said. “And as we got older, we started doing the real cleaning with her – mopping the hallways, cleaning the windows, scrubbing the toilets… you name it, we did it. And to be honest with you, we’re still pretty fucking fantastic cleaners.”

“I totally believe you,” Briley said, thinking about the state of her guest room, and her kitchen, and bathroom. The men would give Mr. Clean a run for his money in terms of keeping surfaces spic-and-span. “Is this the school that you ended up attending as students?”

“It was,” Dux said. “Mom worked there from the time she was about nineteen, and the priests and nuns loved her. When our father abandoned us all, the school staff took up a collection for us, raised almost two thousand dollars, which was a gold mine back then. That money pulled our little family through some pretty rough times, kept the heat on that winter, kept food on the table. So when it came time for us to go to middle school, the Father Superior called her into his office and offered us places for free.”

“That’s amazing,” she said. “I mean, I know the Church is about charity and good deeds and all that, but that was really great of them. I’m assuming the tuition wasn’t cheap?”

“Not even slightly,” Drake confirmed. “It was a really great school, really sought-after in the city, and we just strolled on in. I mean… yeah, we’d worked with Mom for six years by that point, and we’d never been paid a cent for helping her, but we didn’t care. Having us with her made her work go faster, and she got to actually have a bit of a life for a change.”

“What did she do with her free time?” Briley asked.

“Took dancing lessons,” Drake said enthusiastically. “And that was where she met a great, great guy, our step-father, Brad. Well, actually, we consider him our father , full-stop. They got married when we were seventeen, and we couldn’t have been happier for her. She deserved a decent guy, and Brad is that, in spades.”

“I love that,” Briley said, truly happy for a woman that she’d never met, and why not? It sounded like the twins’ Mom was a hard-working woman, a real firebrand and kick-ass single parent, so why not root for her? “I’m happy that she’s got a good man in her life.”

“She definitely did,” Drake said. “And we got a great education, though we didn’t end up doing too much with it. Our life skills were never really academic.”

Beating back the memory of how their skills had driven her out of her head with three amazing orgasms, Briley narrowed her eyes at them.

“No?” she said. “What specific life skills are you boys talking about?”

They laughed, hearing full well what she was asking, and the truth was that she wasn’t far from wrong.

“Easy, babe,” Dux said, amused. “I mean, we’re kind of talking about the skills that you – um – experienced tonight. But we’re really talking about how, for our whole lives, we’ve had this fucking bizarre natural ability to read people.”

“Read people?” she echoed. “Like… like what profilers can do naturally?”

“Yep,” Drake said. “From the time we were small, we could tell what a person was feeling and thinking just by looking at their faces – especially their eyes – the way they held their bodies, the tone of their voice. We were especially good at sniffing out liars and fakes, ands we always knew when someone was hiding something or not being straight with us.”

“That’s amazing,” she said, genuinely impressed. “Reading body language and micro-expressions was something that we were taught as cops, but it’s really a talent that either you’re born with or you’re not. It’s a real gift.”

“Yeah well,” Dux said. “Perhaps tragically, we’d never used this astonishing gift for anything more than seducing the opposite sex. Starting at about age eighteen, we offered ourselves as a tag-team package deal, and we found out that women are very interested in threesomes. In most cases, it was the woman’s first experience, and we all kind of learned together. But honestly, we could look at a woman, and we could just tell what she wanted and needed, even without her saying a word, sometimes even without her knowing. We were bed-hoppers, and no doubt about it, but I don’t think a single woman left the bed unhappy, unsatisfied, or unwilling to make a return trip.”

“I just bet,” she said, batting her eyelashes at them. “And I know of what I speak.”

They grinned at her now, and the appearance of those damn sexy eye-crinkles made her want to fling herself at them. But she really, really wanted to hear more about their lives, so she reined herself in. Just for a few minutes more.

“So what then?” she asked.

“Well, we graduated high school at eighteen – no honors or anything, we hardly covered ourselves in academic glory – and we didn’t know what to do next,” Drake said. “But we were tall and strong and healthy, and an army recruiter came to our neighborhood one Saturday afternoon. We walked over out of curiosity, and started talking to him. After about an hour, we’d just about decided to sign up.”

“Just like that?”

“We talked to Mom and Brad first,” Dux told her. “Brad has a military background, so we asked him what we thought, and he had plenty of reservations. Told us the truth about training, and combat, and gave us all the cons of signing up. We listened, and then we talked about it again… and in the end, we joined.”

“What did your mother think?”

“She was really torn,” Drake said. “She was so proud of us for wanting to serve our country, but she was also scared to death.”

“Yeah. That makes sense.” Briley nodded. “My mother felt the same way about me becoming a police officer, after my Dad being killed on the job. Proud but totally freaked out.”

“Exactly,” Dux said. “So off we went. No need to go into the years of training, but after about four years, we were tapped to recruit for the Marine Corps. We jumped at it, no fucking hesitation, and we both failed our first attempt, passed on the second.” He shrugged. “And that was it, really. We saw more battle than we want to remember and we never talk about, but we were also tasked with being negotiators and interrogators.”

“Ahhh,” she said. “That reading people thing came in handy over there, didn’t it?”

“It sure did, darlin’,” Drake said. “The Marines had some really intensive psychological testing and assessment, and when they figured out that we both had these weird skills, they sent us for some serious training. We learned negotiation and techniques and strategies, and how to interrogate someone properly, and we carried these things out really successfully, more often than not.”

“Well,” she said. “I do recall when I was tied up in my own living room and being questioned by you guys and Ice… it was obvious, even without a single word , that you two saw and heard far more than I was letting on or saying.”

“Yeah, we’re still really sorry about that,” Dux told her, and both men looked shame-faced. “That was a pretty fucking crappy thing to do to you, babe.”

“It’s OK,” Briley said, surprised that they still seemed to be upset about that. “I mean – you guys didn’t know me, right? I was, in all fairness, a crooked cop and in Gideon’s pocket, and you had zero reason to trust me.”

“Still.” Drake shook his head. “We hate that we did that.”

“Well, you’ve more than made up for it since, haven’t you?” Briley said pertly. “And more than once. Besides, if you hadn’t done any of that, then none of this would be happening, right? Everything leads to something, and you guys crashing through my front door has led to this… to you in my bed. You think I’m sorry about that?”

“You sure didn’t seem to be earlier,” Dux commented. “You actually seem pretty happy that we’re here.”

“Smart ass,” she muttered, tapping him lightly on his perfect bum, just like he’d done to her earlier. “Anyway… negotiation and interrogation?”

“Oh, yeah,” Drake said. “So that’s what we did for about ten years, until we were in our early-thirties. We were active duty, we were all over the place, but mostly Afghanistan, and then we were honorably discharged at age thirty-three, we just kind of timed out.”

“That’s when we came to Denver,” Dux said. “One of our Marines buddies was from here, and he talked about the city constantly, and we kind of fell in love with it long-distance. So when we were discharged, we looked him up. He’d been injured a year before, and had been sent home, and we stayed in touch. When he heard that we were out, he invited us to Prospect for The Road Devils.”

“Wait.” Briley stared at them. “Who was this?”

“Cain,” Drake told her. “Cain invited us into the MC.”

“Ah.” Briley blinked as a few pieces fell into place. “And – is he the reason that you two ended up as Enforcers? Because he was one already, and he knew your military training and background?”

“Beauty and brains,” Dux teased her, tugging at her hair. “And yep, that’s exactly what happened. But more than that, Cain also told the Road Devils President at the time, Wheels Jordan, the guy before Wolf, about our interrogation skills. So Wheels not only handed us the roles of Enforcers, backing up Ice and Cain, we also managed to get confessions and information through asking the right questions and beating people’s faces in.”

“So you were a double double-threat.”

“Indeed, babe.” Dux sighed. “And that was how I ended up in jail for a few years.”

“An MC job went wrong?”

“It sure did,” Dux said. “Long story long: a rival MC gang member ambushed me, Drake and Ice one morning outside the bank for a beat-down we gave his buddy. Ridiculous murder attempt setting, but there it is. Anyway, this guy opened fire on a public street in the middle of the fucking work day, aiming at Ice first. Drake jumped in front of him and took the bullet instead.”

Briley turned her eyes to Drake’s astonishing body; she’d noticed the bullet scar on his left shoulder, but she hadn’t asked. Now she touched it gently with her fingertip, cocked her head at him, asking the question.

“Yep, that’s it,” Drake confirmed. “That’s the bullet that I took for Ice.”

“Damn,” she said quietly. “How bad was it at the time?”

“Not bad at all,” Drake said. “But Dux didn’t know that, even though he should have – with all of our goddamn military medical training. He just saw me go down, saw the blood, saw the shooter, and saw red. He completely lost his shit.”

“Uh-oh,” she said, starting to see the sequence of possible events that landed Dux in jail. “What happened?”

“I shot the fucker in the chest,” Dux said simply. “I didn’t kill him, though I meant to, so I was charged with attempted murder.”

“Only three years imprisonment for being found guilty of attempted murder?” Briley said, a bit surprised at the leniency. “I guess your lawyer argued self-defense?”

“He sure did,” Dux said. “And seeing as the guy had shot Drake, and hit an innocent woman in the leg when she was coming out of the bank, and there were about fifty eyewitnesses to him opening fire first, the whole thing turned into a bit of a farce. Nobody seemed to feel very bad for the guy, to be honest, and he ended up doing seven years. So, I guess it was all pretty fair in the end, really. I mean, I did shoot him in broad daylight, and I sure as hell meant to kick him off this mortal coil, and the truth is that if I hadn’t hesitated for a few seconds while I waited for a man to duck out of the way, I would definitely have ended his life.”

“And then we wouldn’t be here like this,” Briley said softly. “Right?”

“ Exactly right, babe.” Dux gave her a brilliant smile. “So you see… everything’s worked out the way that it was supposed to. We’re all where we’re meant to be.”

“ That is the truth,” Drake said, and she heard it in his voice, the slow, smoldering heating up. “Although, I do believe that we’re probably all meant to be somewhere a bit different soon enough.”

“Do you think so?” Briley asked, her voice constricted with rising lust. “Where do you think we should all be that’s different?”

“Hmmmm.” Drake reached out, traced the curve of her calf with a fingertip. He moved up her long leg slowly, taking his time, watching her face. He skimmed over her knee, then made his way up her thigh, stopping just at the curve of her pussy lips. “I’m thinking that Dux needs to be in here , darlin’… and I need to be inside that amazing ass.”

She gasped, beyond impossibly aroused at just the words, at just the idea of it.

“But first .” Drake’s fingers grazed her pussy, danced over it with the softest of touches, before he wrapped his hands around her thighs, and gently pulled her towards him. He was so strong, it took no effort at all for him to haul her down to his end of the bed. “I need to see for myself if you taste as sweet as my brother says.”