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him that some of his friends tried to force you to go with them for an involuntary visit.”
Brenna hesitated then nodded. She hated calling Curtis. But to help Cam and Thorn, and all of her father’s victims, she’d do it twenty times over.
Quickly, she retrieved her purse and dug out her cell phone. Sure enough, after four rings, the voicemail took over. It was stupid to hope that one day he’d answer the phone and be happy to hear from her. Somehow, the electronic voice leaving her voicemail instructions always depressed her.
After the beep, she told her dad about the morning’s danger, indicated that she was with Cameron, and asked for a call back.
As soon as she flipped the phone shut, she looked up to find Cam staring at her with traces of pity. Thorn looked like he was suppressing a healthy dose of anger.
“I’m sorry I can’t just…produce him,” she defended, rising from her chair.
Truth was, she was a little hurt by Thorn’s silent accusation. True, he wasn’t the most sensitive guy on the planet, but for him to basically blame her…
As she walked away from the table, a strong grip clapped around her arm and tugged her back. With a whoomp, she fell back into Thorn’s lap.
Anger churning through her, she flashed a glare at him, itching for a fight. Instead, his face was contrite.
“Baby, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad for you. I know a thing or two about shitty fathers.”
A personal comment from Thorn? Even Cameron looked mildly surprised that he’d divulged something about himself.
“What?” Thorn defended. “I may come off like an asshole but I’m not completely heartless. When you look at me with those doe eyes, a heartbeat from tears, I’m as human as the next guy.”
Brenna curled up on his lap and brushed a soft kiss across his mouth.
“Tell me why you came to visit him,” Cam asked, observing Thorn kiss her neck and palm her ass.
It should be weird to be touching one of her lovers while the other watched. Oddly, it seemed like the most normal thing in the world.
“I actually came out here to…figure Curtis out. Figure us out. My problem…” She blushed.
“Which doesn’t seem to be much of a problem with us.” Thorn grinned and popped a piece of cantaloupe in his mouth.
Brenna’s cheeks grew hotter. “No, it doesn’t. But the issue caused me to lose a fiancé. Tony was a great guy, and I…” She shrugged. “I was clingy and convinced he was going to leave. About six months ago, he did, and I was crushed but not surprised. After that, I started really thinking about my life. I read some self-help books, talked to a friend. And I realized my dad’s departure from my life was hanging me up in a lot of ways, but especially sexually.”
“Your ex’s loss is our gain, and I don’t want you to worry. We’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”
“At least until my father shows up.”
Cameron stood and towered above her. Brenna looked up, up, up until she met his solemn dark eyes.
“I’m not sure that changes anything for me. When I first met you, you got under my skin right away. After last night…you’ve only managed to sink deeper. I’m in no hurry to leave.”
She tried not to gape at him. “But last night, we… I… I mean, both of you, and—”
“Yes, you made love with both of us last night and again this morning. Are you going to try to tell me that you have no sense of connection to us?”
And be honest? “No. I just never expected… I never imagined that you’d share my feelings.”
He smiled and stroked her hair. “You’re damn hard to resist. The woman who met me at the door, gun in hand, after beating the stuffing out of a punching bag showed me a needy side that night we watched you by the pool. Last night, we saw your tenacious side, your sexual side, when you trusted us with your body. And just now, you showed your vulnerable, trusting side when you told us about your relationship with your father. You don’t hide yourself, and I love it.”
Cameron’s words slid so sweet through her, intoxicating like good champagne. Everything was happening so fast, and the cautious woman who’d stepped off the plane a few days ago had been stripped bare—literally and figuratively. Her emotions split open, her sexuality tested like never before. She felt both free and terrified. What happened now?
“You surprised me too,” she admitted. “Cop with an attitude one minute, the male version of Dr. Ruth the next.” She turned to Thorn. “You, too. Mr. Badass Biker. When you call me ‘baby’ the way you do, I hear your inner teddy bear. You covered me with the blanket earlier, didn’t you?”
Thorn didn’t reply. Instead, the line of his jaw tensed—just like the shoulders beneath her hands. Uh oh.
“I know you don’t want me to care, but—”
“I don’t. I want to fuck. You and the good detective can continue your love fest after the condom is off, I’ve zipped my pants and found the door.”
She’d known it was coming, just by the look on his face. She searched those blue eyes so like a frozen Scandinavian lake. He wasn’t annoyed or unmoved or offended. Lurking deep in his eyes was fear.
Brenna had to bite her lip not to reassure him. He wasn’t in a place where he could be cajoled now. It took time to develop trust, and she’d bet someone had burned him bad. Caring and time— She stopped the thought. Time was the one thing they didn’t have much of.
Five days, that’s all she and Cam had to win Thorn over. If he hung around that long.
Why winning him over mattered, she didn’t know. Technically, she was supposed to get on a plane and return home in a handful of days. Her life, such as it was, was back in Muenster. Her waitressing job awaited. True, it was a job she hated and she made lousy money…
Brenna sighed. Well, her aunt and cousins were the only family she had beyond Curtis. Leaving them… Would be no big deal. She’d lived with them since childhood but had never been a part of them. No matter how they tried to integrate her into their tight-knit clan, she’d always known she wasn’t one of them. Was infringing. Sponging. The older she’d gotten, the more aware of it she’d become.
Last Christmas had been excruciating. Her aunt glowing in the face of her three married sons, two of them with wives expecting, had been heaven and hell. She was happy for Josh, Bryan and Billy. They were great guys who deserved all the best. Every time the family gathered, their happiness just underscored her only deficiencies. She was an unintentional afterthought, and that reality was nails to her chalkboard.
What did she really have to go back to? Not her superficial friendships. Not her run-down apartment. Nothing.
Did she dare try to turn this stress-induced affair with Cam and Thorn into something more permanent? Good question. An even better question was, would she be miserable if she didn’t try and just went home to her nothing life, always wonder what if?
Absolutely.
But what if Thorn couldn’t be swayed? What if his heart had been too damaged by whatever haunted him? It was possible. He’d looked way more terrified of his own emotional vulnerability than the goons with the guns this morning. Maybe the smartest thing would be to stay with just Cam. When it came to matters of the heart, she and Cam seemed to be on the same page.
But without Thorn, it wouldn’t be the same. She was probably crazy to contemplate scheming her way into a relationship with two men. It would always be complicated. Her aunt and cousins would never approve. She didn’t care. Her gut told her she’d be happy.
First, she had to conquer Thorn’s fear.
Her aunt had always said that the quickest way to a man’s heart was either through his stomach—or his penis. She was great in the kitchen and gaining confidence in the bedroom. Thorn was going to get to see how much.
It was definitely time for a plan.
