Her head comes up then, and her eyes dart back and forth between us. “We’re not seeing anyone else,” Alex adds. “And neither are you.”
Of course putting it that way gets a reaction. Her arms cross and her jaw firms. “Just like that?”
I kick my brother under the table. “What Alex means is that we want things to be exclusive with you. Just the three of us, no one else. On either side.”
That deflates her anger, but she’s not convinced. “You really think —”
“We want to try,” I say. “That’s the only way to find out. Right?” She still looks doubtful; I reach across the table and take her hand. “Talk to us.”
She shrugs. “Just worried.”
“You said that before.” Never mind the stereotype of women always wanting to talk; it’s like pulling teeth with Zoe. “Worried about what?”
Another jerky shrug. “We’re not them.” Megan and her men, she means.
“We don’t need to be them,” Alex says. “We need to be us.” He nudges her with his shoulder, and it sends her swaying toward the wall, almost colliding with it. “Sorry.”
I give her hand a squeeze. “We can’t promise we won’t make mistakes. But we’ll never deliberately hurt you.”
“I know that.” The way she says it makes me suspect that getting hurt is exactly what she’s worried about. She’s afraid it won’t work out. It’s not like her to be protecting herself this way; that’s not the woman we’ve come to know.
“Come on,” I say. “You only live once.” That gets me a wry smile. “What have you got to lose?”
She meets my eyes then, and there’s something in them that’s so huge it stops my heart for half a beat. Until she hides it and says briskly, “You’re right. We can at least give it a try.”
I look at Alex, and his eyes narrow slightly. He didn’t miss the undertones either. Well, we’ll just have to cross those bridges — whatever they are — when we get to them.
“Good,” I say. “So no more dating anyone but us. And we’re not seeing anyone but you.”
“Okay,” she says in a that’s-settled, let’s-move-on tone. “As long as you’re here, do you like Ethiopian food? I haven’t ordered yet.” The waitress is standing nearby, looking confused by the new faces.
“Let’s get it to go,” I say. “This booth is a little cramped.” And then we can get down to our favorite pastime of having Zoe for dessert.
36
Hood
Zoe
I can’t believe they crashed my date!
Honestly, I was secretly relieved. As soon as I laid eyes on Miles Lewis, I knew he was a dud. Not that he was bad looking … but he wasn’t a Wolf.
So there I was, going through the motions of first-date politeness, wondering if I could manufacture some reason why I had to call it off, when suddenly Alex was right next to me, and then I was in his arms and he was kissing me like I was his long-lost wife whom he hadn’t seen in a decade.
He put more than a little bit of urgency and possessiveness into that kiss. It left me dazed, and then Lucas followed it up by saying they want us to be exclusive. Which took me right back to my fears of falling for them and getting my heart broken.
Still, I know the risk is worth taking. Good thing, too, because ever since that day the Wolf brothers have been monopolizing my time.
They have different duties during the day, and sometimes one or the other of them has to travel for a job. So I’m never sure how Wolfish a given day will be. But not a day has gone by that I haven’t seen one or both of them.
Most days, it’s both. And almost always, they’re at my place rather than me being at one of theirs. I think I know why; it’s their way of saying that I’m with both the twins, equally, and neither of them has a greater claim to my time or attention.
One morning, Lucas asked me if I was emotionally attached to my bed, and I said I was due for a new one, I just hadn’t gotten around to buying it yet. I figured that was a not-so-subtle hint about all of us fitting in there together, so I put bed shopping at the top of my priority list. But when I got home that evening, my old bed was gone and a new, deluxe, extra-huge bed had taken its place.
They even had new bedding for it. “We showed them your old bedding and they said this was the closest thing they had to a match,” Alex explained. “You can get whatever you want if you don’t like it, and keep these as spares.”
I have to admit it’s a little freaky, them doing things like that. But only a little. They’ve gotten so woven into the fabric of my life that it doesn’t seem creepily intrusive for something like that to happen.
And the new bed is awesome. Big enough for all of us and extremely comfortable, and when we fell asleep that night, all tangled up together after breaking it in, I had the biggest smile on my face.
This morning, it’s just me and Lucas. Alex is supposed to be back from a trip today, so I’ll see him later. Last night, Lucas decided it was time to “punish” me for my transgressions … and can I just say hooray? I’ll be naughty for him anytime.
Right now, he’s kissing me goodbye. And kissing me … and kissing me. In a few more seconds I’m going to tear his clothes off and we’ll both be late. Reluctantly, I ease back, just a little. “Work,” I say, before I stick my tongue in his mouth.
He deepens the kiss until I start trying to climb his body, then pulls back. “Work,” he agrees in a hoarse voice. “Dammit.” Patting my ass, he turns to the door. “Don’t forget to arm the system when you leave.”
“Right.” I don’t roll my eyes at him because, fun as it would be to play more punishment games, we don’t have time. And what’s the point of having an expensive security system if I never use it? Plus I know he’s just being sensible.
“See you later,” he says. I wiggle my fingers at
him and he gives me a smile that makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. Part of me is still on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the Wolf brothers to decide they’re tired of me. And that part is still keeping watch on my heart, not letting me lower my guard all the way.
But most of me is pretty darn happy with how things are going. It’s difficult to be worried or anxious when I’m having several orgasms a day.
So I’m humming as I finish getting ready. I tidy up the kitchen and then study the control panel for the security system, making sure it’s set to maximum everything, inside and out. Satisfied, I grab my purse, punch in the code, and go out to my car.
Maybe Alex will be back in time to meet me for lunch, I muse on my way to the boutique. And then I have to decide what to do about dinner. The guys are good about keeping my place stocked with food, and they don’t mind cooking, either. On the nights when I come home to find they’ve taken over meal prep, I really feel spoiled.
But since Alex is returning from his trip, I want to make something special for the two of them. Dessert’s covered; I’m wearing a brand-new set of lingerie for the twins to discover. But dinner? Hmm, maybe chicken pesto pasta —
My car shudders as another vehicle rams into it with a sickening crunch. I struggle to get the steering back under control, but the other car rams me again, forcing me onto the shoulder. That’s when I know this is no accident.
There’s a panic button in my purse. The brothers gave it to me at the same time as they set up the rest of the security, but I’ve never imagined needing it. Now I scrabble in my purse as, from the corner of my eye, I see men rushing my car.
I find the button just as my driver’s side door is beeped open — how the hell did they do that? My frantic fingers press on it, but rough hands undo my seatbelt and yank me from the car, leaving my purse behind.
A hood covers my head and everything goes black.