Chapter 26
Eva
The door hadn't been shut for more than a few seconds before it opened again and Keely popped her head in. "Are they gone?" she whispered.
"Oh my God!" Dani cried, getting up and going to hug her sheepish sister. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she told her, returning the embrace.
"The guys were pissed," Susie told her with a grim look.
"Oh...I know." She sighed and came over to sit on a recliner on the other side of the room from me. "Lock lost his mind on me. What was I supposed to do?" she asked, looking around for support. "Sit here not helping when I knew I could?"
"You don't think Static had it under control?" Gwen asked, genuinely puzzled.
"He did, but there's one thing I know and that's 'the more lawyers, the better'. " She grinned at Dani.
"That's Mom's quote," Dani replied with a laugh. Dani cocked her head, looking at her sister. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean?" Keely squeaked.
Even my brows shot up, but now the rest of the women were studying her as though they were a group of felines, and she was a little mouse. She was acting out of character.
"What happened," Kit demanded.
Keely sighed. "You're my friends...right?" Everyone nodded, so she continued, "And that means you can't make fun of me."
"Well..." Jordan said. "It actually means we're honor bound to make fun of you. I think?"
Gwen nodded. "That's what it means."
"But we'll do it with the very best intentions, and you'll know you're in a safe place and loved," Sloane added, in a soft tone as her baby squirmed in her arms.
Keely huffed. "Not sure I want to tell you then," she replied with a pout.
"Now you have to," Kit told her.
"Fine. Lock was...over the top pissed off."
"Sounds about right," Daisha said.
"He's crazy when he's mad," Tori explained to me, though I'd gotten to see a bit of it.
"He...spanked...me." Her words were so low and said while Tori was speaking, but everyone froze, staring at her with mixed emotions. Almost every jaw in the room was dropped open in shock.
"Wait," Seek said, a smile creeping over her face. "You're going to need to say that again. And louder. And then say it a third time."
"He called me a child. A brat. Then he pinned me to his motorcycle and spanked my ass. Twice!" She glared at all of us as some of the others began to giggle. They were doing their best to stifle the laughter, but it wasn't working. Dani wasn't even trying; she just broke out laughing.
"It's not funny!" Keely declared, crossing her arms over her chest.
I thought back to last night. One of the times we were making love, Idaho had smacked my butt. It was shocking, but the feeling had somehow amplified the pleasure. A thought formed in my mind. "But did you like it?"
Silence, then, "Eva!" Gwen had gasped my name on a laugh. She then turned to Keely. "Did you?"
My head snapped up and my eyes widened in horror as I realized I'd said that out loud. I looked over at Keely and cringed. "I'm so sorry," I gasped. "I-"
She held up a finger, a rational expression settling on her features, chasing away the embarrassment. "Now wait," she ordered. "That's a reasonable question."
My lips twitched at her logical response.
"One I'd really like to hear the answer to," Seek added with a knowing grin.
Keely sighed. "Yes, okay? Yes! It was...different." Her cheeks were flaming red. "And I don't think I minded it as much as I should have."
"Well, there you go," Dani said, smirking at her sister.
Jordan grinned over at Gwen. "I told you."
Keely glared at them both. "Told her what?"
"That you and Lockout had chemistry," Jordan answered.
Gwen nodded in agreement. "It's true."
Keely huffed and looked away. She was clearly uncomfortable talking about this. "He's just...so frustrating!"
"Maybe he's frustrated because you're frustrating," Sloane suggested, gently adjusting her baby in her arms.
Keely frowned at her, but she didn't argue the point. "I'm going to go change," she muttered.
"You should probably get a shower," Kit told her with an evil grin. "You know...to clean up."
The women laughed as Keely flipped us all off and stormed out of the apartment.
I laughed along with them, shaking my head. They really were so much like my sisters and me when we were together. They were family. And though they were laughing at Keely and giving her a hard time, they loved her, and would gang up on anyone outside their circle who tried to do the same.
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up to find everyone staring at me. My eyes widened as I glanced around at them. The mood was a little more somber now, though I didn't know why.
"We've been waiting patiently," Seek told me.
"F-for what?" I asked.
"For you to tell us that you slept with Idaho," Jordan blurted out.
Gwen smacked her arm, giving her a look of disbelief.
"Sorry," Jordan muttered.
"Oh," I said softly, then frowned. "How does everyone know that?" I demanded.
"Everyone?" Kit asked.
Feeling the heat creeping up my neck, I admitted, "Earlier, the guys said they'd bet on it and were trying to figure out who won."
"Tell me they didn't," Dani groaned.
"I was...mortified."
"I'm sure you were, Sweetie," Seek said. "And trust me, we're going to have a talk with our men."
"That wasn't okay," Gwen said. "You're new to our group and don't know how the dynamics work yet."
"And I assume you're a virgin," Jordan added. She thought about that, then continued, "Well, not anymore."
Gwen smacked her again with the back of her hand.
"Sorry!" Jordan gave me a puppy dog look with a hopeful smile.
How could I be mad at these women? "I don't understand how everyone knows."
"Besides the fact that you're glowing?" Susie asked.
I touched my cheeks, feeling the heat in them.
"Ignore her," Kit told me. "She's a romantic at heart."
"It's true," Susie admitted. "I am."
"It has more to do with Idaho than you," Jenny told me. "He's been obvious about his interest in you since he got here."
My brows drew together as I thought about it. "I mean, he kissed me a few times." More than one of the women were biting their lips to hold in excitement. It almost made me smile. "But almost every time afterward he was such a jerk, I figured he regretted it."
"Oh no," Dani said. "That's not regret. That's him trying to fight his feelings for you."
"Why would he do that?" I asked.
"Because he's a guy," Kit said, rolling her eyes. "I swear they all do it. The only feelings they are comfortable with are anger, hunger, and horniness. Anything else confuses them."
"Especially these guys," Seek said with a shake of her head. "They're so stubborn and set in their ways."
"And if they think they're not good enough for us..." Gwen trailed off, frowning. I studied her face, wondering why she suddenly looked so sad. As far as I knew, she was single, but her words made me wonder if there was someone she was interested in.
"Then they push us away," Jordan finished for her.
"Ricochet didn't do that," Gwen pointed out, the sadness disappearing from her face as she realized I was watching her.
"Yeah, yeah, your brother's a saint," Jordan said with a grin. "Just not in bed. There he's-"
"No!" Gwen slapped her hands over Jordan's mouth.
Laughter echoed around the room again.
"Sloane," Jenny said softly. "Why don't you go lay down for a nap?"
The other woman's eyes were drifting closed as she sat there listening to us. "I don't want to miss this," she said with a yawn, as she pried her eyes open.
"There's not much to miss," I told her.
Seek snorted in amusement. "I doubt that." She looked over at Sloane. "You can sleep in my room if you don't want to go down the hall."
"You're sure?" Sloane asked me. "I'm so tired."
"I'm sure," Seek assured her. "Go rest."
She smiled gratefully, then got up and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Then every eye zeroed back in on me and I froze. "Um..."
"One thing you need to know about these men," Kit told me, "is that they fight settling down with everything they have."
"Most of them," Dani corrected. "But not all."
"It's obvious that Idaho fits in the fighting his feelings category," Seek told her. "Just like his brother. Who knew they'd be so much alike?"
"They're twins," Gwen said with a laugh. "All us twins are a lot alike."
"That's true," Seek agreed.
"So, what do I do?" I asked.
"You tell him how you feel," Jenny said with a smile.
I nibbled my lip, wringing my hands together in my lap. "And if he doesn't really have...feelings for me?" I asked. They all shot each other amused looks. "The...the only reason I slept with him is because I'm leaving," I admitted.
"What?" They all chorused in loud voices.
"Shhhh," Dani said afterward, casting a look toward Seek's room where Sloane was resting.
"Sorry," Jordan said, then shot me a hard look. "What do you mean you're leaving?"
Sighing, I explained about the phone call with my father. They didn't speak for a few seconds after I stopped talking, absorbing what I told them.
"And you think he'll make you go home?" Gwen finally asked.
I nodded, misery settling in me once again.
"And you slept with Idaho because..." Daisha let the sentence trail off.
"It probably wasn't fair since I'll have to leave, but I didn't want to go home as the same person," I admitted. "My father will probably lock me up in the palace until he can find a suitable man to marry me off to. And I'll be stuck in this life I never wanted."
"That sounds so..." Jenny broke off, searching for the word.
"Archaic," Jordan supplied.
They all nodded in agreement. "If you're not a duchess, why can't you marry who you want?" Dani asked.
"I can, sort of. He has to meet the requirements," I told them.
"Like, come from a good family. Have a clean background.
But..." My lips thinned out into a grim line before I kept speaking.
"I don't want those men. I don't want to live under my father's thumb anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I love him. I love my family. But that life isn't something I want."
"So you slept with Idaho because you wanted to have sex before you were married?" Susie asked, looking puzzled.
My cheeks flamed again and I looked away. "Yes."
"That's not all it was," Kit said softly.
My eyes darted away from hers. These women saw too much.
"It was her way of taking control of her own life," Seek stated. "At least in one area."
She was right. And there was the other thing.
That small little truth I wasn't admitting to anyone.
It had been hard enough to realize it myself.
I was falling in love with Idaho. I'd been trying to deny it.
How can you fall in love after only a few days?
Love at first sight was really only in the movies and romance novels, right?
But I couldn't deny how I felt anymore, not when he was here in person and my heart raced every time I saw him.
When I thought about never seeing him again...
it was like a physical pain in my chest.
"You don't have to tell us," Dani said, reaching over and squeezing my hand. "But we're here if you need us."
"Thank you," I whispered, blinking rapidly as tears stung my eyes.
Keely chose that moment to walk back in the door and saved me from further scrutinization. I heaved a breath of relief as all the attention turned back to her.
"So what are you going to do about the sexy president?" Seek asked with a grin.
Keely groaned, rolling her eyes up toward the ceiling. "I have no idea," she admitted. She looked over at her sister with a pained expression. "I have something I have to tell you."
Dani straightened up, looking worried. "What?"
Keely seemed to be searching for the words to break what was, obviously, going to be bad news.
"The FBI approached my firm. They have an opening that they want to fill with a civilian contractor.
" Dani's eyes widened, but Keely continued before her sister could interrupt.
"The FBI is saying the job is mine, if I want it. "
"Would it be here in Tucson?" Dani asked, swallowing hard.
"No. I'd have to go to Washington, D.C. for at least six months, for training. Then maybe, I'll be able to come back. I'm not sure yet because I'll have to negotiate my contract with them." She gave Dani a watery smile. Both women were fighting back tears.
"You'll miss the birth of my baby," Dani replied mournfully.
"I know, but I'm going to do my best to make it back here and then spoil the hell out of my niece or nephew."
"You've already made up your mind?" Kit asked.
"Well, no, but my firm is pushing for this. Hard," she replied with a rueful smile. "They want the prestige that will come with having one of their lawyers working with the FBI."
"Are they forcing your hand?" Gwen asked.
"In a way. My employment contract with them is iron clad," Keely said with a wicked smile. "I made sure of it. But... They could make it so I could never promote. Never make partner if I don't do this." She looked down, then shot Dani an apologetic look. "And it would be pretty amazing to do."
"What about Lockout?" Jordan asked.
Keely's lips pursed together as she thought about that. "I can't wait around and turn down amazing career offers for a man who doesn't want me."
"Doesn't that show from today prove that he does?" Jenny asked.
"Not if he doesn't say the words," she admitted. "I don't have the patience to play games with him. If he can't come out and say it… Look. I have some time to think about this. I need to talk to Mom and Dad. To get my head wrapped around the idea. And..."
"Decide if a sexy biker is worth turning the offer down for?" Seek concluded.
Keely shot her a grim look. We all knew Seek was right, but Keely wasn't willing to admit it out loud.
"So let me get this straight," Seek continued. "We've got two brothers, twins, in love with two women here." Keely's brows furrowed, then she looked over at me and grinned. "And both women are contemplating leaving anyway. You're both crazy."
"I don't have much of a choice," Keely and I said at the exact same time. We stared at each other in shock that our words matched up so perfectly.
I wanted so much to take control of my life, but I wasn't sure how to accomplish that. Staying here. Being with Idaho. Being surrounded by his family. It was a dream. One I wanted to make into reality. I just didn't know how.