I roll my eyes and make a shooing motion. “Why don’t you go pour the wine? It’s decanting on the sideboard.”
“Decanting?” Ben grins wickedly. “My, aren’t we fancy.”
“I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve, mister,” I tell him with mock hurt. The twins merely chuckle in response before heading into the next room to set out the wine. Then, Brandon pokes his head back in.
“Do we have time for showers?” he asks. “Last shift was a bitch.”
I smile.
“Yes, but not too long,” is my refrain. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“Yes ma’am,” he salutes, and sure enough, the brothers are downstairs again in five minutes. Their black hair is damp, and they smell like mint, woods, and man. It’s intoxicating, and when they step into the dining room, I almost faint at how handsome they are. The men are pure eye candy, and I still can’t believe how turned on I am by them nearly every second of the day.
“Wow, Bess,” Brandon growls admiringly. “Everything smells and looks wonderful.”
I smile at him shyly. “Thank you. You guys ready to eat?”
Ben winks at me.
“Always, honey.”
With a laugh, we sit. I put sizable helpings of the potatoes and greens onto each plate, and add the rib eyes last. I beam at my handiwork, hoping the meal tastes as scrumptious as it looks.
A few minutes later, the men are devouring the steak, moaning at the flavors.
“Cheers to Bess,” Ben growls, “and to this incredible meal she’s made.”
I blush crimson as I clink glasses with the men.
“It was easy,” I demur modestly. “By the way, how was work today?” I ask as I cut into the steak, hoping that I’ve left it rare enough.
“Ridiculous,” Ben says as he pops a mouthful of rib eye and potatoes into his mouth. “Hmmm,” he groans dramatically. “This is amazing. By the way, have we told you about our colleague Josh yet?”
I smile at his excitement over the dinner and then shake my head no. “I don’t think so. Why, what happened with Josh?”
Ben and Brandon exchange an eye roll before Brandon speaks, his tone terse.
“Josh was supposed to be part of Operation Criminal Intent. In fact, he was supposed to be in charge of the sting when we started all those months ago. That is, until he nearly blew the whole operation.”
Ben continues the story. “So he was pushed out, which we figured was good, but then Sarge decided to put Josh back on the team, to everyone’s dismay. And once again, he’s continuing to make a mess of it all.”
I frown as I feel my heart skip a beat. “Is he making it dangerous for you?” is my low murmur. Even I can hear the concern in my voice. While I know nabbing johns isn’t the riskiest work because a lot of johns tend to be cowards, not all of them are. Some of the customers might be aggressive or on drugs.
“No Bess, we’re perfectly safe,” Brandon assures me with a calm smile. “No need to worry.”
I smile weakly, my heart settling back into an even rhythm again. “So what happened then?”
Ben shakes his head in dismay. “This guy looks like your average Joe, albeit bigger and shaggier, like a Newfoundland dog. Visually, he looks like he could be a good catch for a prostitute, and he lacks intensity, which the girls also prefer.”
“In any case,” Brandon picks up where his brother stopped. “Josh is out by the underpass, trying to make a bust and immediately the women just turn tail and retreat. The moron left his badge clipped to his inside pocket and one of them must have caught a glimpse of it.”
We groan and laugh at poor Josh’s expense.
“Sounds like maybe he should be taken off the sting again,” I say lightly.
“Want to come talk to our boss for us?” Ben asks sardonically. “Because that would be ideal.”
I wink at Ben as I speak. “Nah. You guys are the only police officers I want to interact with.”
“Good, because we like keeping you to ourselves,” Brandon growls heatedly.
“But I do have one question,” I murmur. Two pairs of blue eyes turn to me immediately.
“What is it sweetheart?” Brandon asks, his brilliant blue eyes looking intrigued. “What’s got you so curious?”
“That first night we met … well, did I look like a prostitute to you?” I ask, suddenly a bit shy. The two men look momentarily stunned but then both of the brothers begin to speak over one another in a heated manner.
“No fucking way,” Ben assures me. “You are way too hot.”
“Not in the slightest,” offers Brandon. “You were just too ripe and tempting, sitting there on that bench. It was more the location, the time of night, and the fact that you were alone.”
I blush furiously at their praise. “But something must have made you interested,” I venture, wondering what could have compelled them to approach me in the first place.