Chapter 18
Colton
The morning air is crisp, the kind that settles deep in your lungs and reminds you winter isn’t done with Maine quite yet. The sun hangs low over the horizon, burning our eyes with its brightness as Todd and I unload the last crates from Sea Spirit into the truck.
The routine is normal, the motions the same we’ve gone through a thousand times, but it feels different.
I know why.
A few days have passed since I found Savannah on that forest trail. Since we’ve made love. She hasn’t returned to the B&B but has stayed with us and spent each night in our bed—nights we’ve filled with the most amazing, kinky stuff two men and a woman can dream about.
In the past, the Sea Spirit felt more like home than our actual house, but Savannah’s presence has changed that.
And it is not just the mind-blowing sex we have—although I consider that a mighty bonus.
Having a woman—Savannah—in our home has been wonderful. Not only does she warm our bed and our hearts, she complements our lives.
Yesterday, when I was about to put a load of laundry in the washing machine, the machine was already halfway through its cycle. And not just that. The strange rattling sound the washer previously made was somehow eliminated.
“Todd, did you fix the washing machine?” I enter the kitchen where Savannah is setting the table and Todd is stirring a large pot containing something that smells like marinara sauce.
He turns. “I didn’t even realize it was broken.”
“It wasn’t.” Savannah pulls on oven mittens and opens the oven door.
She bends, and I’m immediately distracted by her round ass in snug jeans as she pulls out a baking dish with meatloaf.
My mouth waters, and not only thanks to the delicious food scents.
She grins as she notices my stare. “There was a coin trapped between the drum and the washer casing. I removed it.”
It stands to reason that we delayed dinner that night to express our gratitude to her for her service right there on the kitchen table. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sit there without my cock getting stiff.
Todd whistles low beside me. “You gonna just stand there brooding, or are you actually gonna help?”
“I’m not brooding.” I scowl but grab a crate and haul it onto the dock. “And I’m helping.”
He smirks. “Yeah? ’Cause you look like a man with his head somewhere else. Somewhere blonde and stubborn.”
I don’t deign to answer him and ignore his smirk as we finish at the docks.
Before we head home, we hand over most of our catch to the grocery store owner. Henry Lawson grumbles good-naturedly about our pricing but always takes what we bring him. He knows as well as we do that fresh, quality seafood is worth every damn cent.
Tomorrow, we’ll take the rest of our haul to Bangor, the same as we do every Wednesday.
We pull up to the house, and as our van’s tires crunch onto the iced-over gravel, I wonder if Savannah has tended to the engine, because the old vehicle seems less noisy than before.
Warmth wraps around me as we step inside, and soft humming drifts in from the kitchen.
She’s at the counter, bent over the sink, with her hair in some messy knot. She’s wearing one of my shirts with the sleeves rolled up her forearms.
It’s amazing how the sight of her in my clothes affects me.
Todd moves first, stepping into her personal space and pulling her into his arms. “Mornin’, starling.” He doesn’t wait for her answer but swoops in for a kiss.
When they break their lip lock for air, he mutters, “You’re hot.”
She leans back in his arms and gives him a head-to-toe perusal and back up. “You look surprisingly scrumptious yourself, given you’ve been fishing.”
Todd chuckles and squeezes her ass as he pushes her my way. “I mean you’re a bit sweaty but yeah, it looks good on you, too.”
Strands of blonde hair have slipped from her messy bun, and her brows draw together. I grab her by the back of her neck and pull her against me. I am determined to have all her hair tumbling once I’m finished with her.
Her lips are soft and warm as they meet mine. As she yields under the pressure of my mouth and opens to me, heat rises in my chest. I use my left arm around her waist to pull her closer. The fingers of my right hand tangle in the long blonde strands, as I deepen the kiss. Her lips move with mine, and as our tongues tangle, I taste her sweet, intoxicating essence.
She presses her body against mine, and my dick responds. I slide my left hand down to cup her ass as I lose myself in the kiss.
Against my chest, I can feel her heart racing as frantically as mine. The world fades away, and it’s only us, lost in each other. But my brain needs oxygen, so I break the kiss and rest my forehead against hers.
Todd chuckles beside me, loud enough that she turns her head. “Starling, before we know it, you’ll have fixed everything around here.”
A little grease smudge is visible on her cheek, making her look adorable. And wait, is she blushing?
* * *
Savannah
I never thought I’d find peace in an off-the-grid town in rugged Maine.
Certainly not sandwiched between two gruff, infuriating, ridiculously attractive brothers who seem determined to make sure I’m eating right, sleeping well, and me fixing things around their house like I’ve always belonged here.
The faucet was easy, the washer more complicated, but nothing a bit of patience and the right tools couldn’t fix. The washing machine had been an insult to my mechanical engineer heart, rattling and clanking like a loose bolt in an engine block. A quick check uncovered a rogue coin trapped in the drum.
What surprises me most is how much satisfaction I get from making things right again.
Back in Miami, fixing cars was my job, my passion, and my escape. But here, in this quiet, close-knit town, it’s something more. The small repairs, the simple improvements—they aren’t about getting a paycheck or proving myself in a male-dominated field. They’re about making this place better, making it work for the people who live in it.
For Todd.
For Colton.
For me.
I turn in Colton’s arms, lean my back against his hard chest, and take in the gleaming faucet, satisfied with its drip-free status and by the muscled arms that snake around my waist.
Todd lifts his brows as he follows the direction of my gaze. “Starling, if you keep this up, we’re gonna have to put you on payroll.”
I smirk at him and try not to squirm when Colton slides his hands under my—well his—shirt. “Please. You can’t afford me.”
Todd snorts from where he’s leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. “Maybe she has a point.”
A slow, delicious heat curls through me as Colton cups my breasts and the proof of his attraction for me presses against my back. “We could always pay her in orgasms.” His breath puffs against the back of my ear before he sucks to lobe into his mouth.
My knees turn weak, and his chest reverberates with his chuckle.