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“Thanks for not calling Brody.” Jane pushed away from Rys as she addressed Brooklyn. Rys kept his arm wrapped around her waist. Having the cops show up would have just topped the already shitty night. If the sheriff had shown up, he wouldn’t have thought twice about hauling in the twins and Trevor just for the sake of proving a point. “Let’s go, guys.”
William took her hand, and Rys led them back to his truck and helped her inside the cab. When they both flanked her and Rys pulled out of the parking lot, she rested her head against the seat. She closed her eyes and sighed. All she wanted was to go to sleep and put this horrid night behind her. The ride to her house was less than ten minutes, so when someone gently shook her, she was surprised she had fallen asleep.
“Come on, sweetheart.” William’s voice was right by her ear, and she couldn’t help but smile. She rested her head on Rys’s shoulder and felt him stiffen. Obviously, he was still upset. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” William pushed her hair off her shoulder and leaned down to kiss her cheek. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating, and she looked over at him. He was so close, his mouth just inches from hers. Her heart started pounding quickly, and she wondered if he could hear it. She could feel it beat in her ears, feel it pound in her throat. The air shifted, and she clenched her hand in her lap.
William’s eyes dipped down to her mouth. Oh, God. Is he going to kiss me? Everything seemed to still as they stared at each other. She could feel Rys beside her, feel his heat through her clothes as it seeped into her body. Being between them, feeling her arousal grow, seemed to snap her out of whatever haze she was in. Clearing her throat, she ducked her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“William.” Rys’s voice, right behind her, was tight and held a silent warning.
“Thanks for the ride.” She moved toward William so she could get out of the truck, and after a moment, he let her out of the cab. William wrapped his thick arms around her once her feet touched the ground and kissed the top of her head.
“Everything will be okay, Janey. We won’t let anyone hurt you.” She pushed away from him and looked into the cab. Rys was watching her with a strange expression on his face. The shadows of the night wrapped around him, hiding half his face and making him seem dark, frightening.
“Aren’t you guys sick of that?”
“Sick of what?” There was confusion in William’s voice, and she looked up at him.
“Always taking care of me, keeping people off my back? How in the hell can you have a life of your own if you’re always watching out for me?” She rubbed her eyes as she finally spoke up and told them how she felt. “A girl isn’t going to be okay with our relationship. No one in town is.” She didn’t want to push them away, but the truth needed to be brought to everyone’s attention. How much longer could their friendship last with everyone against them?
“Jane.” Rys ran a hand over his hair, and she watched the muscles in his bicep flex and move. “We don’t give a shit about what people think. We love you, always will.”
“We will always watch over you. Always.” She felt William’s hand engulf hers but kept her gaze on Rys.
“And about other girl—” His gaze shifted, and she knew he was looking at William over her head. Whatever he was about to say, he didn’t finish. He cleared his throat and turned his attention to the windshield. “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
She wanted to believe him, but that just wasn’t how her life turned out. Rys and William were the only solid thing in her world. If she lost them, then her life would really be bleak. She could easily see herself slipping into the hopelessness that her mother had been in when her father deserted them. No, she couldn’t think like that, couldn’t worry about losing the two of them. She loved them, was in love with them.
Chapter 5
Rys watched Jane walk into her house. He had to grip the steering wheel tightly and force himself not to go after her. His emotions were turbulent, a storm just starting to crest inside him. William climbed back in and slammed the door behind him.
“What the fuck was that about?” Rys turned and leveled his twin with his stare.
“What?” William eyed him.
“You know damn well what the hell I’m talking about.” He exhaled and backed out of Jane’s driveway. “Did you think I didn’t notice you wanted to kiss her, that you almost did?” Rys gritted his teeth as he drove them into town and to their ranch. Will didn’t say anything for the longest time, and when Rys thought he wouldn’t, he finally spoke.
“It’s hard being around her.” Will’s voice was low. He was looking out the passenger side window, but Rys could see his reflection in the glass. His brother looked lost in thought, almost lost in his feelings. He could understand that. “I love her so damn much, Rys.” Will did turn and face him after that. “Every time I see her, I want to kiss her, pull her into my arms. I’ve wanted her for years.”
Rys exhaled. He had known as much, even though Will had never admitted it. “When I told you I was in love with her, why didn’t you tell me you were too?” Because this was Jane they were talking about. She would no doubt freak the fuck out if he told her they wanted her at the same time.
"I don’t know. I tried to bury how I felt, because you and I both know it would never work out. For one thing, we would scare the hell out of her if we admitted our feelings, told her we wanted her. You know damn well if we asked her to be ours in every sense of the word, she would bolt. I can’t lose Janey. She means everything to me, Rys.”
He tightened his hold on the steering wheel again. “I know, Will. I feel the same way, but there is going to be a time when the truth comes out.” His brother murmured his agreement. “And Will?” He waited until he turned to look at him. Rys pulled into their driveway and turned off the truck. The sound of the clicking engine cooling filled the silence. “We are going to tell her how we feel.”
“You think that’s a good idea? What if she shuts us out, runs from us?”
Rys let his twin’s words sink in. “She can run, but I’ll be damned if I let her get away. She belongs with us. She was meant to be ours, and we are just going to have to prove that to her.”
Chapter 6
The incessant and annoying buzzing by Jane’s ear had her drifting toward consciousness. She blindly reached out and slapped her hand on her alarm. When it stopped, she buried her head deeper into her pillow, and the sound started up again. Sitting up, she pushed strands of her long, dark hair out of her eyes.
After the third ring, she realized it was her phone ringing and not her alarm. She grabbed it off the bedside table and rubbed her eyes before looking at the screen. One glance showed it was seven in the morning, and Rys was the one intruding on her sleep. Instantly, her heart beat a hard rhythm.
“Hello?” Her voice sounded husky with sleep, and she cleared her throat.
