Keeley #2
“Yeah, that’s the one. Cara gave it to me—” I turned to Miller and explained, “Hux’s girlfriend.
” I smiled, then remembered the cookies.
“Hold that thought.” I brought the tin of cookies over to the table and opened it for Spencer.
“Carina, Jacques’s wife and Cara’s mom, made them. They’re ANZAC cookies.”
Spencer whimpered, actually whimpered, and the sound was like a lit fuse to my libido. He inhaled slowly and moaned, then reached for the tin but stopped himself short. “May I?”
“You can have all of them,” I breathed, my heart hammering in my chest and my mouth suddenly very dry.
“After dinner,” he said, as if he was forcing himself to obey a command.
Miller cleared his throat and broke the spell between us. I hadn’t realized I’d been staring, drooling over his husband like a dog with a bone.
We stuck to mundane topics after that, the conversation stilted at first, then growing a little more comfortable as time progressed.
When we’d finished, Spencer took my plate, rinsed all the dishes, and loaded the dishwasher while Miller folded the placemats and washed the remaining dishes.
No matter how much I protested, they didn’t listen, insisting that they look after it for me.
“Go and put your feet up for a minute, darlin’,” Miller ordered. “Or I’ll tie you to the chair.”
I chuckled, then froze when Spencer shot me a look that screamed, “Test me.” I scuttled out of the kitchen and tidied up the toys still on the floor in the living room that Hannah and I had been playing with after dinner.
Their gazes burned into me as I packed the last of the blocks away. I turned, watching them as they watched me from the doorway. My breath caught when Spencer stepped forward.
“We need to talk, Keels,” he said. I swallowed and pressed my lips into a tight smile before jerking my head in somewhat of a nod. He took my hand in his and guided me over to the sofa. Instead of sitting next to me, he sat on the coffee table, his movements as graceful as they were sensual.
“I'm so sorry—” I started.
“Shh, there's no need to be sorry.” He interlaced our fingers and squeezed. “Bray told you that he’d tell me what happened, and he did. The moment he got home. I’m sorry you felt like he was cheating.
He wasn’t. We’ve each been with other people since we’ve been together.
As long as we’re open and honest about it, we’re both okay with that. If anything, I’m envious, not angry.”
“Oh,” I murmured. I needed to tell them that it couldn’t happen again. That it was a once-off mistake that couldn’t be repeated.
Miller sat on the armrest next to me and ran his fingers through my hair while Spencer continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
“We understand your concerns. You need your job. You have obligations—” He waved his hand around in a circle, and I knew he meant Hannah plus every other obligation that came with being an adult. “—but we can’t keep pretending we don’t want you.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I wanted them too. But I couldn’t.
“Bray suggested keeping it casual. I’m suggesting keeping things just between us until we can figure out what to do with your work.
Maybe it won’t be a big deal.” He held his palms out and pressed his lips together in what might pass for a small smile.
“Is there an employee handbook or something you can check?”
“There is. But I already know what it says. There’s a prohibition on management dating other staff members to avoid conflicts of interest. Technically, I’m management.
I’m not Miller’s boss, but I control the team’s social media and public relations.
That’s a conflict of interest, especially if anything negative is posted. ”
“Y’all, if we can get around that—and it might be possible, so let’s assume we can—would you want this? Us?” Miller asked.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Spencer held his hands up in a stopping gesture and I waited for him to speak.
“We’re not asking for a guarantee. We’re asking if you’d want to try,” he clarified.
I nodded slowly. “If I could, I would. But there’s so much at risk. I don’t know how to make it work.”
“How about we just take it slow and see how it goes? You might decide you don’t want anything more than a hookup. If that’s what you want, we’ll accept that.”
“No strings?”
“No, darlin’. We’ll take whatever you’re willing to give.”
I nodded. “Can I have a minute?” I gestured to my wet T-shirt that was starting to make me cold and hooked my thumb over my shoulder. “I just finished bathing Hannah before you got here. I need to get out of these wet clothes, and I need a minute to think.”
“Of course.” Spencer shifted off the coffee table to give me room to stand.
I pressed my lips together in a smile that I was sure looked strained and made my way into my bedroom.
I stripped off the wet T-shirt and my leggings, slipped into my favorite jeans that highlighted my curves, and grabbed the first shirt from the pile of folded laundry sitting on my bed—a team jersey.
I slipped it on over my sparkly sport bra, ran a brush through my hair, and looked at myself in the mirror.
I barely recognized the woman looking back at me—she was so much stronger in nearly every aspect of her life than I’d given her credit for.
All except one.
I hadn’t realized how much of my confidence Simon had stolen when he walked out.
But knowing Brayden and Spencer wanted to try something—whatever I was willing to give—had my confidence rushing back in, filling a void I’d tried to push into a dark corner of my heart.
I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin, biting back my smile.
These two men both found me attractive, and that was a hell of a thrill.
But was that enough? Five minutes before they’d arrived, I was adamant that nothing was going to happen.
If I agreed to do this, I was risking everything.
Hannah’s and my future depended on my job.
So why was I now trying to talk myself into this madness?
Or maybe I was trying to talk myself out of it.
Had I already made a decision? Oh, God. I think I had.
If we kept this a secret, a one-time hookup—well, two if you counted me sleeping with Miller in my office—I could have my cake and eat it too. And who didn’t like cake? It never really hurt anyone. This wouldn’t either. Surely. I could be professional, and I was positive Miller could too.
I needed this.
I was desperate to feel something other than constant overwhelm. I needed to be reminded that I was desirable. I sucked in a breath and watched my shoulders fall as I exhaled. I was going to do this. I was going to have sex with them. Two men. Two freaking sexy men. At the same time.
If I didn’t chicken out. With my mind made up, I padded back into the living room and stopped at the doorway, wringing my hands as nerves assailed me with the force of a Category 5 hurricane.
Spencer held out his hand. “C’mere, Keels.”
I stepped forward and swallowed hard. This was it. Time to tell them.
“I want to,” I whispered. The kaleidoscope of butterflies in my stomach was doing loop-de-loops, and I was giddy and dizzy at the same time. I had more to say and conditions that needed to be added. But for now, telling them yes was all I could say without my nerves getting the best of me.
Spencer’s groan lit a spark of desire in me, but Brayden growled, and I froze. “Why the fuck are you wearing Rune’s jersey?”
I blinked, my eyes wide. I looked at the number printed on my arm. He was right. It was Rune’s jersey. I hadn’t even looked at which one it was when I’d picked it up.
“This is old and comfortable?” I squeaked.
He stalked over to me, his eyes narrowed.
I stepped back until we were toe to toe with my back pressed against the wall.
He gripped my chin just firmly enough to make my breath catch and lifted my face to his.
He was still wearing his shoes, while I was in socks.
That extra inch had him towering over me.
I’d never really felt petite before—my height almost always put me eye to eye with my partners, and Simon was two inches shorter than me.
But right now, Brayden’s sheer size overwhelmed me.
“Take it off, darlin’.”
I flicked my eyes over to Spencer. He was still sitting a few feet away, watching our interaction, his arms crossed over his chest and his teeth pressed into that luscious bottom lip.
“But—”
“Look at me,” Brayden growled. My breath caught and he pressed his forehead to mine. “Darlin’,” he said softly and my eyes slipped closed. He hadn’t frightened me with his tone, but that reassurance, the gentle time-out he’d just given me, was enough to let me know that I was safe.
“Miller—” I started, unsure how to ask them to move this to the bedroom.
“It’s Brayden,” Spencer corrected.
He stood slowly and stalked forward. My breath caught. Spencer touched the fabric like it insulted him, and I bit back a whimper. “Take off the jersey, Keeley. You don’t wear another man’s number on your back.”
My pussy clenched, my panties getting wetter with every word they spoke. Possessiveness and jealousy didn’t do it for me.
Except with these two.
Apparently cocky and grumpy weren’t the only red flags that turned me on.
“I don’t have anything on underneath it,” I whispered. Well, nothing except the comfortable sports bra I’d changed into when I got home.
“So go topless,” Brayden ordered. He brushed his lips over my cheek, the gentlest of moves so in contrast with the directness of his tone.
There it was again—his reassurance without words.
He gave me sense of safety; his question about whether Simon scared me reverberating through me.
Instinctively, I knew if I wanted to, I could refuse, and he’d go back to his Labrador puppy self.
I loved that about him—his ability to communicate all that with one simple move.