Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Dayne noticed Heath’s eyes flick between the door through which Dylan had disappeared and him.
“What I wouldn’t do to be sandwiched between you two.”
They were now blissfully alone in the kitchen and on clean-up duty, since Heath promised Dani they’d take care of it.
He assured Heath, “That’ll never happen.” Once Dayne rinsed a dirty dish or utensil, he handed it to Heath to place in the dishwasher.
“Of course not, but at least let me have this fantasy for a few seconds, will you?”
Simply thinking about sharing a lover with his twin churned Dayne’s stomach. He shook his head. “What about Cara?”
“She’s welcome to join us.”
Dayne snorted. “I prefer not to have sex with my brother in the vicinity, thank you very much. ”
“Understandable. It would probably be like peering in a mirror.”
“Only this ‘reflection’ wouldn’t have the tattoo and dick piercing.” He handed Heath the last plate. “Do you have siblings?”
“Three.” Heath grimaced. “All sisters.”
Dayne dried his hands off and offered the towel to Heath next, then turned and leaned back against the counter. “Ouch. One’s enough for me. Where do you fit in?”
“They’re all older than me and are now spread out around the country. All are also married with kids.”
It was Dayne’s turn to grimace.
“They drank the Kool-Aid.”
“What flavor?”
“The one that makes people think you can’t be happy unless you’re in a traditional marriage and popping out mini-mes.”
“I wonder how many of them are truly happy,” Dayne murmured.
His parents had seemed very happy in their traditional marriage. For some reason that hadn’t rubbed off on their children. At least for Dylan and him. Their mother still might be holding out hope for Danica.
Not that their mother cared about tradition. She only wanted her children to be happy, no matter who it was with. Or how many. She hardly blinked an eye when she found out about Dylan being in a polyamorous relationship.
“My sisters? None. However, they hide it well. But then, I was once in their shoes, too. Only, I didn’t have kids so it was easier to extract myself from a situation gone ugly.”
“I actually meant anyone in that situation. Not only your sisters,” Dayne clarified .
“My guess? Few. It’s like you see on social media. Everyone puts on a fake front, pretending their lives are so damn perfect. The perfect marriage. The perfect children. The perfect life.” Heath fake gagged.
“Yeah, like we don’t see the truth behind the wooden smiles and dead eyes. Not to mention, being forced to share a profile with their spouse.”
“Their eyes scream, ‘Help me!’”
Dayne laughed.
Heath hung the kitchen towel up to dry, then stepped toe-to-toe with Dayne, grabbing his hips and pulling him closer until they were pressed together. “We didn’t fuck on the trail this morning.”
Dayne cupped the back of Heath’s head and stared into his heated dark-brown eyes.
“I was tempted. We can make up for it. Since it’s the weekend, I don’t have any official duties to attend to except to say hello to guests when I see them.
Maybe we can make use of my big shower since we both need one. ”
Heath leaned in and mmm ’d against Dayne’s lips. “I like the sound of that. Hot water. Hot man. Accidentally dropping the soap…”
Before they could lock lips, a pounding on the front door interrupted them. “I don’t like the sound of that .” Dayne sighed and skirted around Heath to answer the door.
On the other side stood their Head of Security, Cameron.
Of course, he wore his resort-issued security uniform of a red polo shirt and black pants that fit his physique perfectly.
The torso-hugging short-sleeved shirt had the Double D logo embroidered over his right breast and his job title on the left.
All the red shirts provided to Cam’s team had large block lettering across the back stating they were “security. ”
His employee was as hot as Heath. Dark eyes, dark hair, beard. His left arm was almost fully tatted. During his interview, Cam mentioned he’d wanted a full sleeve his whole adult life but couldn’t get it until he retired from the Pennsylvania State Police. Apparently, they had rules about tattoos.
“Sorry to barge in. We have a minor incident.” His brow furrowed. “Is Dylan around?”
What, was he chopped liver? “He’s in his wing. What’s going on?”
“A guest brought a pet with her.”
This was an incident ? “Not a service animal?”
“No. It’s a little dog. She insists she isn’t a guest, though. When the guard sitting at the gate checked with the front desk, he found that she doesn’t have a reservation. So, he won’t let her in until we confirm who she is.”
Good call. “Did you try calling Dylan? You know we have these modern forms of communication called cell phones.”
“I tried a couple times. I even texted. He didn’t answer. Which is why I’m standing here.”
Dayne’s eyes sliced over to Dylan’s door off the kitchen. His brother probably had the same idea as he did about some after breakfast fun.
Suddenly, he felt heat at his back and knew Heath stood behind him. Dayne didn’t miss the fact that Cam was eyeing up Dayne’s lover.
Back off. He’s mine.
Ours.
Whatever.
Wait a minute…
A “she” with a dog and not a registered guest? “Is the woman blonde, by any chance?”
“Yes.” Cameron scowled. “How did you know? ”
Dayne sighed again. “Because I invited her. She’s my guest. Only, I wasn’t expecting her to show up this weekend.”
“Cara?” Heath asked.
Dayne glanced over his shoulder at him. “Has to be.” He turned back to Cam. “Is the dog a Boston Terrier?”
Cam shrugged. “Not sure. It’s small, has four legs, a tail, and barks. A lot. What’s her name?”
“Buttons.”
Cam’s dark eyebrows launched to his hairline. “The woman’s name is Buttons ?”
“It’s Cara Leone,” Heath corrected before Dayne could.
Cam pulled a handheld radio off his belt and contacted the security guard at the gate. Once he got a response, he asked, “You checked her ID, right?”
That should be automatic. No one was allowed past the gate unless they were a registered guest or had an invitation.
“Affirmative,” the gate guard answered.
“Is her name Cara Leone?” Cam asked his team member.
“Affirmative,” came the answer.
“That’s her,” Dayne told him.
“She’s approved. Let her in and tell her to come directly to the boss’s house.”
“I would’ve warned you,” Dayne started, “but she said she couldn’t make it this weekend.”
“Should we put her on the pre-approval list the same as you did with him?” Cam jerked his chin toward Heath.
“That would be for the best.”
“You got it. Sorry to bother you, Dayne.”
“Nothing to apologize for. You’re doing what we pay you to do.”
Cam shot him a two finger salute and headed back to one of the ATVs that his security team used to patrol the property .
Dayne was pretty damn sure he wasn’t the only one checking out Cam’s fine ass as he walked away.
“Damn,” Heath whispered. “Who was that?”
“Head of our security.”
“I can read, Dayne. I mean who. Was. That?”
After closing the door, Dayne turned and grabbed Heath’s crotch over his silky running shorts. He squeezed gently. “I’m not asking him to join us. Especially now that Cara’s here. Even if she wasn’t, I don’t do employees.”
Heath grinned. “I could understand that might get sticky.”
“I wouldn’t want shit to get awkward and lose him as an employee. Cam’s a huge asset to our team since he’s a retired trooper. He also lives in one of the cabins on the property. That could make it even more uncomfortable if things went south.”
“I was only thinking about one night.”
“It only takes one night for shit to go sideways.”
Heath sighed and suggested, “We could watch him fuck Cara.”
“You’d have to ask for her consent first. And then him, of course.”
A gleam filled Heath’s brown eyes. “Think he’d be into it? Is he committed to anyone?”
“Down, boy, down! Yes, he’s single. He’s also divorced. One reason he didn’t mind moving onto the property. Fewer expenses for him, more money for child support.”
“I hear that. If I had kids with my ex, I wouldn’t mind paying child support. I do mind those massive alimony payments so she can buy the latest designer bags and shoes.”
“ Oof .”
“Yeah. If she was struggling to make ends meet, I wouldn’t mind helping out until she could get on her feet. But those manicured toenails are wedged into Louboutins, so knowing that makes paying alimony even more painful.”
Dayne patted his chest. “As soon as Cara gets here, we’ll help take that pain away.”
“I wonder why she came this weekend when she told you she couldn’t make it…”
“I don’t know,” Dayne answered. “But I’m not complaining. My bed and shower are big enough for the three of us.”
Heath chuckled. “That they are.”
Cara somehow managed to extract herself from the tangle of hairy, muscular limbs without waking either man.
“Her men” was now how she thought of them.
Two months ago, she showed up at the resort unannounced.
She had known Heath was spending the weekend with Dayne and she didn’t think she could get away.
But come Saturday morning, the thought of the two of them having “fun” without her made her pack an overnight bag, pack up Buttons, and drive the three hours north.
She didn’t regret it.
Well, Dayne and Heath made sure she didn’t regret it.
Now, both Heath and Cara were Dayne’s personal guests just about every other weekend.
Buttons was getting used to all the livestock.
And the barn cats. And the chickens. Luckily, besides thinking she could intimidate a cow—she couldn’t—she hadn’t caused any injuries or fatalities.
She didn’t want her dog to get banned from the resort.
If so, she wouldn’t be able to visit as often as she did.
Both she and Heath fell into a pattern of making sure they were on the property at the same time. Would she mind if Heath came more often to spend time with Dayne? No. Heath said the same about her.
But it didn’t feel right if one of their triad was missing.