Chapter Three
The sun was just creeping through the bedroom drapes the next morning when Adam rolled out of bed and headed to the shower.
“I’ll go start the coffee.”
He smiled over his shoulder as he grabbed up his clothes for the day. “That would be great. Thanks, love.”
Hailey grabbed the shirt that lay over the chair in the corner and buttoned up a few buttons. In the kitchen, she went about putting water in the coffee maker, then adding coffee to it, humming along to a song she couldn’t name.
She gasped and jumped when a loud thud sounded behind her. She twirled and bit back a scream. She knew it was Adam’s brother in theory, but the huge, dark-looking man looming in the kitchen doorway sent a streak of fear down her spine.
Drew held out a hand. “Whoa, easy, honey. It’s only me, Drew. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t know you were standing there until the last second.”
She flattened a hand on her galloping heart and tried to smile. She saw he was being truthful from the remorse on his face.
“It’s fine...” Her words stuttered to a stop when he took a giant step towards her.
They both looked at each other for a long, silent moment.
A prickle of awareness hit her core and spread rapidly through her body.
“Do I get a hug, sister?” he asked, and held out his arms.
She became even more agitated, but took the few steps so he could enfold her in his arms. She tried to keep some space between them, but he just tightened his grip.
She became aware that the only thing she was wearing was Adam’s shirt when the heat from Drew’s hand bled through the thin material, and a growing penis was against the very top of her stomach.
She pushed away from him, took a few steps back, and crossed her arms over her breasts, knowing he could probably see her nipples through the fabric. She took a sliding step toward the kitchen doorway. “I ... I’ll go tell Adam you’re he—”
“No need, love.” Adam swept past her and pulled his brother into a hard hug. They both emotionally thumped each other on the back before taking a step back.
“You look good, brother,” Drew commented.
“You don’t,” Adam said and chuckled. They both turned when Hailey sucked in a startled breath at the insult.
Drew grinned. “Hey, you don’t have to worry that he’s going to hurt my feelings. He knows I’m way more handsome than him, and it eats at him.”
Both men chuckled and started talking.
She looked back and forth between the two. She could see the similarities right away, but also the differences. They both had very dark hair. Adam’s was longer, touching his collar, while Drew’s was still military short.
They both had muscular bodies, but Drew was an inch or so taller than Adam, making him way over a foot taller than her. Adam’s skin was darkly tanned from the hours he spent outside.
Drew wasn’t as tan, but that could be the effect of being in the hospital for a few weeks.
Her eyes roamed over him, trying to find the injuries Adam talked about.
Drew had been hit by some shrapnel on his right side, which faced her.
Although she could see some small wounds on his right forearm that were still healing, he didn’t seem to be in any pain, but then men were good at hiding it.
Adam had scars because ranching is dangerous, but she saw the tattoos and scars that littered Drew’s arms and neck, making him look even more like the powerful, masculine animal he was.
She started edging towards the kitchen doorway again. She needed to get away, dress, and give herself a minute to take a breath and settle.
Before she made it to the doorway, her arm was gripped, and she was pulled to stand in front of Adam with her back to his chest and his arms tight around her waist.
His brother, Drew, stood very close and didn’t bother to take a step back to make room for her between them. She knew if she had taken a deep breath, her nipples would have brushed against Drew’s chest.
“I was just going to go upstairs and change into something more appropriate,” she said, and tried to stay calm and break his grip on her.
Adam leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “I want you to stay and meet my brother.”
Hailey cleared her throat and peeked up at Drew through her eyelashes and bit back a gasp.
She saw his focus was squarely, fervently concentrated on her.
She’d seen the same look on her husband’s face more times than she could count, and it almost always led to him stripping her bare and taking her any way he wanted until they were both exhausted.
Hailey tore her eyes from Drew and closed them. She unconsciously dug her nails into her husband’s wrists as the heat from the two massive bodies surrounding her made it nearly impossible to take a breath, much less talk.
“Um, we’ve already sort of met,” she mumbled.
“Oh?” Adam asked.
Hailey chanced another quick look at Adam’s brother. The look in Drew’s eyes caught and trapped her gaze. The sense of power, of danger about him, overwhelmed her senses. Her husband was a masculine animal, but this man was intense and would be hard to be around.
She felt an overpowering certainty that life as she’d known it was no more.
The emotion caught her by surprise, and the fact that it didn’t freak her out made her even more apprehensive.
She’d talked to this man at least a hundred times while he’d been gone.
They got to know each other through the calls, but having him in front of her, feeling his heat and seeing him face to face, was wreaking havoc on her senses and made a desperate flash of pure lust race through her.
“Yes, I unfortunately scared her when I dropped my bag on the floor. I didn’t know she was there until it was too late.”
“Aw,” Adam said mildly.
Hailey turned her gaze on Adam to see his mouth twitch, and she narrowed her eyes. “So, um, can I go?”
Adam looked down at her, smiled, and shook his head. “Not yet.”
She studied his expression and couldn’t recognize the emotions he was trying to conceal from her. The way his eyes narrowed and the rigidity of the skin around his eyes told her he was hiding something from her. She stayed silent as the men talked about the ranch and a few of the people they knew.
****
Adam’s arms tightened around her waist as his brother took in everything about her. He knew what he’d see. His shirt, which she was wearing, hit her at the knees, only showing the bottom half of her legs and tiny feet. Her long, wheat-colored hair was messed up from a night of loving and sleeping.
He looked down and smiled. He knew his brother was getting a hint of what her breasts looked like because the material covering them was pulled tight by his arms. The fabric was so thin her nipples stood out, and he could see the outline of them clearly.
She’d only buttoned the middle two buttons, or they had come undone.
But it spread enough for his brother to see the top swells of her breasts.
****
Drew’s brows knitted together when he caught the way her hand shook. He reached out and cupped her chin in the palm of his hand and lifted. “Are you afraid of me?”
She tried to shake her head, but his grip tightened. “I think you’re going to tell me what I want to hear.”
“No, I’m...”
“I couldn’t take it if you were.” His tone was soft with desolation
Hailey cleared her throat. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m ... nervous. I’m sorry, but we’ve just met.”
Drew tilted her chin up with one hand and pushed her hair back with his other, so he could see every expression on her face.
“No, we haven’t,” he declared. “We’ve been talking for four years.”
“I mean, in person. Seeing someone over a video chat is way different than him standing as big as a mountain in front of you.”
Drew’s mouth quirked up in a grin. “A mountain? I know I’m big, but hey!” His gaze roamed over her again. “It might have something to do with you being small enough to put in my pocket.”
Hailey jerked her head back and scowled up at him.
“In your pocket!” she exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Drew said, and laughed. He laughed harder when she stomped her foot.
“I’m not that small,” she groused.
Adam chuckled and leaned down. “Sweetie, you are tiny, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Hailey grumbled and relaxed back against her husband. “Can I go now?”
Adam squeezed her one more time. “Go, but don’t think you’re going to hide up there all day.”
Hailey pulled away, crossed her arms over her chest to hide the state of her nipples, and scowled at Adam. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Adam laughed, but seemed to bite back any words he wanted to say.
Both men listened until she’d gotten to the top of the stairs.
“Jesus, how do you keep your hands off her?” Drew asked as he wiped an agitated hand down his face. “Damn,” he grumbled as he grabbed two cups from the shelf, filled them with coffee, and handed one to Adam.
Adam sat down. “I can’t when we’re inside, and I do it a lot, but outside, the men keep me from dragging her down to the ground. No way do I want them to get pictures of her like that in their heads.”
Adam critically eyed his brother. “How are you feeling?”
Drew shrugged and kept his gaze on the cup he held between his hands.
“They fixed me up pretty well physically. I have full mobility in both my arms and legs that were hit. It doesn’t even look really bad.
The emotional crap, I’m having a problem with.
They have me on anxiety meds if I need them, but it would be the last resort. I hate taking drugs of any kind.”
He watched Adam’s jaw clench. He knew the thought of his brother being hurt and now having to deal with the PTSD made him physically ill, as it would him if the instances were reversed.
“We’ll get you through this.”
Drew looked up at his brother and nodded. “Being here is going to help tremendously. The peace and quiet, horses, and family. That’s the best medicine.”
A smile crossed Drew’s face. “Knowing I was coming home to her made me fight harder to get home quicker.”
Adam chuckled. “I can understand that.”
Drew drank his coffee for a bit. “Is she going to be able to handle both of us?”
Adam nodded and took a drink from his cup.
“Yeah. She’ll not only handle us. I’m betting she’ll thrive with the attention.
She had no attention, or it was abusive attention growing up, so now it seems like she craves it more than I think the average woman does.
She’s happiest when I’m able to give her my undivided attention.
Between the two of us, she’ll glow with it. ”
“You’ve told me about her childhood. Is that bastard father of hers still alive?”
Adam shook his head. “No, he died shortly after the girls left home.”
“Where’s the sister?”
“Somewhere in Oklahoma. They talk on the phone once in a while, but they don’t have a close relationship. Also their father’s doing. He didn’t like it when they played together, giggled together. He separated them as much as he could.”
“Why would a father do that?” Drew asked.
“I’m guessing he was a sick fuck. I don’t care. The bastard is gone. Hailey has us now, and we’ll make up for everything she didn’t get growing up.”
“I hope I’m a part of it. You sound so sure, but how can you be?”
“Because I know that woman like the back of my hand. It might take time, but she’ll accept you as her other husband.”
Drew nodded. Inside, he was still troubled.
He didn’t know what he’d do if she didn’t want him.
He didn’t care about the ranch as much as he did about a relationship with Hailey.
He’d wanted it since the first time he’d seen her on video.
He’d do what he had to do to get her to accept him.
At the same time, he’d try to get over the ghosts of his past and heal.
He didn’t want her to have to deal with any of it. Ever.