AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rory’s one word said it all, answered so many questions for me. War. These two had seen battle and survived, but they were changed by it. I knew them well enough, even after seven years, to know they weren’t the same. Some of the anger left me then. They had been fighting to keep me and Lily safe. I couldn’t complain about them staying away.
Occasionally, I’d thought about the possibility of running into them again and how I would handle it, but I never got far with that line of thinking because it seemed impossible. Especially now that I knew they were in some far off desert fighting. It had been a hopeful daydream that I might one day see my high school crushes again, nothing more. In my daydreams it was always one day. I never thought that day would come because I had no reason to go back to Bridgewater, not with Grandma gone. There hadn’t been anything there for me there after that, not even them. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that they’d track me down. And that when they did, they’d stand before me and lay claim.
I might have moved away from Bridgewater seven years ago, but I’d been born and raised there, and I knew the town’s customs. When Bridgewater men claimed a woman, they meant it for life. When they took me in the truck bed that hot summer night, they’d made me theirs. Even after all the time that had passed, to them, I still was theirs.
If I took a moment to admit it, I still wanted to be.
Panic made breathing difficult. I had a feeling my every thought and fear was written on my face and I did my best to keep it under control. Placing one hand on top of the car, I took a deep breath. “I’m not looking for a relationship. I don’t want you to prove anything to me.” They continued to stare, but they didn’t interrupt. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ve moved on, and I think you should, too.”
Cooper broke the staring contest first. He dropped his gaze and lifted a hand to scrub it across his face. He looked exhausted and worn out.
Some of the anger seeped out of my tone. “Look, I’m sorry you came all this way—”
Rory’s jaw clenched as he glanced from me to Cooper and back again. “Just one dinner.” His tone was firm, harsh almost, but his eyes were practically pleading.
I had no idea what was going on with these guys, but I couldn’t bring myself to say no. Not right away, at least. Somehow it would have seemed cruel. How could one dinner hurt?
Rory must have sensed my hesitation because he crossed the distance between us in a few quick strides, stopping when he was right in front of me, blocking me in between his hard body, the car door and the car itself. So close I could smell his aftershave. He tilted his head down so he could speak softly. “Look, Ivy. You know as well as I do that we won’t give up so easily. If there’s no man in the way, no ring on that finger, then there’s still a chance.”
I glanced up at him and wished I hadn’t. His slow smile was still sexy as hell and it made my belly clench as I remembered in vivid detail exactly what those lips felt like against mine. On my neck, my nipples, my inner thighs. He reached a hand out and brushed the back of his fingers along my cheek, as if I was something precious that he’d just discovered. Or someone he’d lost who’d now been found. My eyes fell closed at the tender caress. “Please, give us one night to show you just how good it could be.”
Oh, my fucking stars. His low, sexy voice alone would have been enough to make me swoon. But add in that smoldering gaze and the hint of a promise that they’d rock my world—needless to say, my panties were wet. All he had to do was talk, for Cooper to give me a heated stare and I was more aroused than I’d been in years. My breath came in short pants as my brain processed his words and tried to come up with a reasonable response. By that I meant a response in which I didn’t launch myself at him and beg him to fuck me right then and there.
I was telling them no and with just a few words I was a panty melting mess.
Focus, Ivy. I couldn’t have them. These men were strictly off limits. I had to think of my family. My daughter.
But Rory’s dark gaze never wavered, and while I couldn’t see Cooper, I could feel his eyes on me as well.
That was when it truly hit me. They wouldn’t give up. Not now, not ever—not unless I gave them a chance.
A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my chest, but I managed to swallow it down. What the fuck was I supposed to do? If I said no, they wouldn’t stop until they’d changed my mind. Maybe even show up at my home. Not maybe, definitely.
“Are you all right?” Cooper asked. He’d come to join us and his eyes were crinkled up at the corners in concern. “You look awfully pale.”
I nodded quickly. Yeah, I was fine. Great. I licked my lips and both of them stared at my mouth. “You have to admit you too are a little overwhelming.”
They both grinned and it was possible I might have just come from that alone. Sweet baby Jesus, they were gorgeous. One fair, the other dark, but both…wow. I felt so small beside them, so feminine. They were bigger than I ever remembered. And their muscles? God handed out a few extra for these two.
I could either give these guys what they wanted and try my damnedest to get them to accept the fact that I’d moved on—okay, not really at all—or I could live in fear that they would show up unannounced on my doorstep.
My sigh was far from gracious. “All right, fine. One dinner.”
They glanced at each other and at me like I’d just found the cure for cancer.
“That lacked the eagerness I was hoping for, but I’ll take it,” Rory said. He leaned in closer. “I’ll take you, any way I can get you.”
I imagined him taking me bent over the hood of my car, up against a wall, from behind…all kinds of dirty possibilities made me practically whimper.
We agreed on a time the following night—that would give me the opportunity to get my head on straight. Hopefully. I got Rory’s phone number and promised to text them my address.
Cooper just shook his head and his gaze dropped to my lips. Instinctively, I licked them and I heard a rumble from deep in his chest. “It took us seven years to find you. We’ll call you.” He pulled out a cell from his shirt pocket and typed in the digits I gave him. Only then were they reassured and stepped back.
Before I could question my sanity or start hyperventilating, I said my goodbyes and slipped into my car.
It wasn’t until I was standing there in the foyer of my aunt’s house that I realized I’d never stopped at the s
tore for groceries. I’d driven home in a trance, not even remembering parking the car into the driveway. Soon, I’d have to go and pick up Lily and I needed to pull myself together beforehand.
