Chapter Eleven
Madelyn jumped when someone knocked on her door. She decided to keep quiet and hope whoever it was went away.
“Madelyn, open the fucking door.”
She cringed at the anger in Garrett’s voice. The last thing she wanted to deal with was his wrath.
There was another knock. “Maddy, Baby, open the door. We know you’re in there.”
She closed her eyes. Shit, both of them were outside her door.
“Open the door, or I’ll start pounding and get everyone’s attention.”
She believed Garrett’s threat, so she raced to the door but didn’t unlock it. “No, don’t. What do you want?”
“We want in.”
“Not tonight. I’m not dressed, and I’m too tired to talk.”
Trey sighed.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re dressed,” Garrett told her. “Open the fucking door.”
Madelyn looked down at her white nightgown and thin robe and decided it covered more than shorts and a shirt. She unlocked the door and opened it a crack.
“Can’t we do this tomorrow?”
Garrett pressed on the door, pushing it open and making her gasp and step back.
Garrett shook his head. “Nope. Now. We’ve been so busy we haven’t had a chance to talk alone.”
“I don’t know why we have to.” She faced both men and crossed her arms over her chest to hide her tight nipples. “What do we have to talk about?”
Trey walked over to the bed and sat. He picked up the book lying facedown, raised his eyebrow, and then smiled.
She gasped in shock and raced to him. “Give me that,” she screeched, trying to grab it from him.
Garrett came up behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist, held her tight against his body, and took the book from his brother. He turned it over to see the cover.
She could feel her face heat and tried to escape Garrett’s hold.
“What do we have here?” Garrett asked as he studied the cover of the romance novel.
It was an erotic book about two men and one woman, and the last thing she wanted was for them to see it. She’d been curious when she’d seen the book in the bookstore and decided to buy and read it. So far, the book made her feel desire for the first time in years instead of being repulsed as she should have been.
“Give me that. It’s none of your business,” she said and tried to grab it from him.
“How long have you been reading menage novels?” Trey asked.
She felt a heated blush overtake her face. “I … just…”
Garrett chuckled. “I think this is probably her first one. Am I right, Baby?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Garrett tossed the book to his brother without letting her go.
“Why are you guys here?” she asked.
“We think there’s been some miscommunication between us,” Trey told her.
She shook her head. “No. I think it’s fine if we stay away from each other as much as possible.”
“That’s just it. We don’t want to stay away from you,” Garrett informed her.
“You could have fooled me,” she said. “Listen, I don’t know what your game is, but I’m not equipped to be part of it. Nor do I want to be.”
Garrett sighed behind her. “This is all my fault, Baby. I’m not handling the way you make me feel very well. It’s deeper, and my desire for you is stronger than I’ve ever felt.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “What does that mean?”
Trey interrupted. “He, hell, I mean we , feel more for you than we ever did our ex-wife. She hurt us, and now Garrett is afraid to try again.”
She looked over at Trey. “She hurt you too, right?”
“Yes. But I wasn’t as emotionally invested as Garrett got.”
“You both know I’m standing right here, right?” Garrett grumbled.
Trey snorted. “The first time we saw you, it hit us like a ton of bricks. We were both instantly infatuated with you, and that’s never happened where we both want a woman at the same time.”
“What about with your wife?” she asked.
“Garrett liked her first,” Trey said. “I thought she was attractive, and we were starting to get impatient finding a woman for us, so I went along with it. That’s why it upset Garrett more than me when she left. He cared for her more than I did.”
A thought popped into her head. “Are you looking for a woman to give you children?” She was too old to even contemplate that.
Trey shook his head. “No. We actually haven’t wanted kids. Our lives are hectic the way they are, and we love what we do. That was the reason we married our wife, she didn’t want children either.”
“Aren’t you worried about what will happen to this place when you’re both gone?”
Garrett nodded. “No. We’ve got a younger cousin who wants to be a part of it. He’s in college for a management degree, and when he finishes, he’ll come here and learn the business and take over for us when we’re ready to retire.”
“So, what exactly do you want with me?” she asked.
“We want you to give us a chance,” Trey said.
She looked over her shoulder at Garrett. “You really want that?”
Garrett squeezed her. “Yes. I’ve wanted it since the first moment I saw you.”
God, she was so confused and unsure of what to do. “I’m scared.”
Garrett nodded. “I get that, and I know I’m the one that caused most of it.”
She pulled away from him and walked across the room to stand in front of one of the windows. “It’s not just that. I’m afraid I’d disappoint you. I don’t think I’d be able to satisfy one man, much less two.”
“Why would you think that?” Garrett asked.
“I’m not a sexual person.”
Trey grunted. “Have you ever had good sex?”
She could feel her face flush with embarrassment as she shook her head.
“You were married and had two children,” Trey said.
She nodded. “Yes, but it was more of an arranged marriage after a few years. I was there to take care of him and his mother.”
“What did you get out of it?” Garrett asked.
“I got my children. We also never had to worry about money. I was taken care of. By my parents, my husband, and his family.”
“Your husband was either secretly gay or had no normal male urges,” Garrett replied.
That had crossed her mind more than once over the years, but she kept quiet.
“Can you give me a little time to think about it?” she asked, but then again, she didn’t think time would make a difference.
She wanted them but was too afraid to let herself try because she knew they could hurt her more than anyone had in her life, and she didn’t know if she was strong enough for it.