“Braxton.”
I turn my face up to his as he looks down at me, our faces only inches apart. I search his face and realize how truly handsome he is. I glance at his lips and see they are a little dry, causing me to lick my own.I wonder what they would feel like against mine?
He abruptly sets me down on my feet and takes a step back. but I don’t miss the bulge of his rock hard erection as I slip down his body.Is he as turned on as I am right now?
Ryker clears his throat, bringing me back to my senses.
“Well, Braxton, It’s very nice to meet you. Thanks for saving our butts out there.” I throw my thumb over my shoulder, pointing out the cave entrance for good measure as I smile at him.
“Yeah, man, thanks for the save,” Ryker begrudgingly admits, as he comes over to stand beside me.
Braxton just grunts before turning and moving to where he has a pile of furs on the ground. He starts pulling off his layers and dropping them, while I just watch with a heated gaze as more and more of his body is revealed to me.
Like Ryker, he’s wearing some sort of loose brown pants with a long sleeve tunic over top. Braxton’s is a gray color, whereas Ryker’s is a soft red. When he finally gets all his furs off, he grabs a couple and comes over to us, stopping right in front of me and dropping them on the ground at our feet.
He hesitates for a moment, his fingers twitch like he wants toreach out and touch me.
I tilt my head at him asking, “What is it, Braxton?”
“You’re cold, and wet. I need to get you out of those clothes and into my furs.” His eyes go a little wide before he continues. “I mean, get you wrapped up inthefurs. For warmth.” His eyes shoot to Ryker before going back to me again. I can see another question in his eyes, but Ryker beats me to it.
“Just ask, Brax,” he says as he sighs, like he’s been expecting this.
“Are you courting her?”Courting?Like they did in olden times?
“Yes.” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise and I turn to look at Ryker. I’m surprised he was so quick and easy with his response, and a large part of me feels giddy that he said yes without any hesitation.
He glances down at me, a smirk on his lips as he asks, “This is a date, is it not?”
I had said the whole date thing as a joke really, but I can admit that I wanted it to be a date. If he can be bold with his responses, then so can I. “Yes.”
“Well, then, let me make it perfectly clear for you. I wish to court you, Penny.”
“I—” Before I can even think of how to respond, I’m cut off by Braxton.
“I want to court you as well.” I turn my surprise gaze to him.
“You do?”
He nods before replying. “Yes, but before you accept, you should know that I’m an only child. I have no brothers waiting for me to bring home a wife or anything.”
Ryker snorts beside me as I frown at Braxton. “What’s with you guys announcing your lack of siblings like it’s a bad thing? Why would I care about that?”
He looks shocked once again and his gaze moves to Ryker. Isee Ryker nod before shrugging his shoulders.
“I… I don’t have much to offer you, Penny. What you see around here is everything I own. But what I can offer you is me, my protection, my loyalty and my heart.”
Now I’m the one to stare at him in shock. I obviously couldn’t care less about money, but those other things he was offering me… those were extremely appealing.
I glance towards Ryker, who gives me a tight-lipped smile.Crap. I want what Braxton is offering me, but how could I turn down Ryker? He gives me something similar but also different and special on its own.
“I—” My eyes dart back and forth between the two of them, unsure how to handle this. I don’t want to hurt either of their feelings, nor do I want to reject either of them. I also don’t know how I’m supposed to choose. It’s like having to pick between a delicious steak and my favorite chocolate bar when I had room for both.
“You don’t like me like that, do you?” Braxton asks with a sad look in his eyes.
“What? Braxton, I’d be freaking insane not to want you like that. The problem is I want Ryker like that too,” I tell them nervously as I twist my fingers in front of me. I bite my lip as I watch them exchange a confused look. This is the part where they call me a hussy and tell me to go jump off a cliff, right?
“I… don’t understand. Why is that a problem?” Ryker’s question just confuses me even more as I scrunch my face up at him.
