Rye tried to hush me as he placed soft kisses along my neck. “Shhh… it’s okay. I wanted this. I wanted you, too.”
I pressed against his chest with the palm of my hand. “Wait, I came over here to see where you kept the first aid kit.Youwere the one who kissed me.”
Rye stopped kissing and sat up, still straddling me with his muscled thighs. “Only because you came over to seduce me.”
The bold statement had me gasping and shoving him away, wiggling out from underneath his weight. “I most certainly did not!” I scrambled to find my clothes, now mortified that I was naked in front of him. Clutching my yoga pants, T-shirt, and bra, I couldn’t find my panties. A chuckle had me looking at the bed.
Rye had my panties and was dangling them from his finger in front of me. With a smirk, he teased, “Wasn’t that you who said, and I quote, ‘I need you to take me, to claim me, to fuck me… to make me explode’?”
I couldn’t believe he’d remembered that verbatim, would mock me even if it were true. “You’re an arrogant ass,” I snarled, snatching my panties from his hand and storming to the door. Completely nude, I turned around to face him. “Do you like what you see? Well, this is the last time you’ll ever get that pleasure!”
My body radiated with heat, both from passion and embarrassment as I made my hasty escape, slamming his door behind me and the sound of Rye laughing.
16
Goldie
The next morning, I stood in the kitchen gazing out the window at the livestock. Slate-gray skies and threatening thunderclouds formed the backdrop for the day to come. Daydreaming about each one of the brothers in a sinful and wicked way, I ran my fingers along my lips, remembering the way Banks’ kiss had seared its way into my entire being, yet I still hadn’t had the opportunity to feel his cock pressed deep inside of me like I had with Jay and Rye. Aside from a kiss, I still had nothing more with Banks other than lust-filled fantasies. Thoughts of merging our bodies together and exploring each other in ways I could only imagine had my pussy dampening. God, what were these three men doing to me?
At least my worry about the awkwardness that would be between Jay, Rye, and me this morning was moot. I’d braced myself when I entered the kitchen, only to find them all gone. I told myself it was relief and not disappointment that had me give a big sigh. I didn’t know how I was going to act, and sure as hell didn’t know how they would treat me from this point on. Would we pretend nothing had happened and move on? Could we look at each other and not wonder what we’d do if we were given the opportunity again? Would the brothers share with each other the details of being with me? Would they be all rightsharingme? Could we keep it from reoccurring? I supposed the biggest question was did I want it to happen again? And what about Banks? Did I want to experience more than just a kiss and lurid fantasies with him, too?
My thoughts were broken when Kit walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, Goldie.” She looked around. “Where’s everyone?”
I shrugged. “I guess they had work to get to early. I woke up to find them all gone.” When she nodded and grabbed her egg basket, I had a thought. “Hey, be careful. You don’t want to get into trouble for breaking their rules.”
“Rules?”
“Yes, you know—don’t go outside.”
Kit tilted her head and then giggled. “The chickens are outside, silly. The guys just don’t want us to wander too far from the house.”
Suddenly, I felt a bit stupid. Had I just been so ready to fight against their rules that I hadn’t even really listened to what those rules were? “Hmm. Well, then, how about after breakfast before we work on the garden? We need to see what’s already in the ground and plant some more.”
Kit’s smile dominated her entire face. “That sounds like fun!” She clapped her hands in glee. “I hope we can plant tomatoes. I love tomatoes.”
“Tomatoes it is, then.”
“And maybe some flowers?”
I thought about the yellow roses covering the trellis, their fragrance wafting in my open window to follow me into sleep. I’d have to fix the trellis pronto. “I think we can do that. What is your favorite flower?”
“Lilacs,” she said, her eyes bright. “They are so delicate but so pretty.”
Like you, I wanted to say, but before I could, she clapped her hands again.
“And we need fruit! What about you, Goldie? What’s your favorite fruit?”
“I love lemon trees. There’s something really special about having fresh lemons in your kitchen. It reminds me of Granny G. She planted a tree when I was just a little girl, and now…” I paused, hoping the tree had survived the fire. Not wishing to dwell on that thought, I said, “She taught me how to make everything from lemonade to lemon meringue pie.”
Kit’s smile was still in place but wasn’t quite as bright. “You’re lucky. I never met my grandma. It was just my mom, my dad, my brothers, and me. We had distant cousins, but I didn’t really know them well. They worked with my dad and brothers in the family business. After my parents died… well then, it was just my brothers and me.”
“I was raised by my grandparents,” I confessed. “My mother had me when she was a kid and took off before I was a year old. I never knew my dad. Even though we lost Gramps, that’s what I called my grandpa, when I was little, Granny G not only brought me up, but made sure I knew I was loved. You’re lucky you have your brothers.”
“I am. They take really good care of me.” She looked a bit wistful and then smiled. “And now we have each other, too. I’ll get the eggs.”
Taking advantage of her absence, I left the house the proper way—through the front door. I jumped off the porch and raced around the side of the house. It wasn’t hard to find the trellis. There were several broken twigs and yellow rose petals scattered at the base of the trellis. I leaned back to look up at my window. It looked a lot higher than I’d thought last night. Shaking my head, I dragged the trellis out of sight, and I hurried back inside.
I didn’t want to have to explain to Kit why the trellis was broken. Moving onto my next task, I ran upstairs to get the wicker basket that we’d put into the bathroom to use as a clothes hamper. I was a bit alarmed at how full the basket already was. Three men who worked from dawn to dark generated a lot of dirty clothes.