No Place Like Home (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (9 page)

* * * *

When she pulled up in front of Annie’s place, she saw a familiar sedan parked out front with Craig leaning against it. He really wasn’t a bad-looking man, a little pasty maybe, from working inside, and he could probably stand to spend a little time with a personal trainer as he was already developing a little pot belly, but his features were pleasant, and his demeanor was pleasant, and other than cheating with Cindy, he wasn’t a bad guy. He’d make some woman very happy, just not her.

He walked up to her. She waited. He hesitated and then blurted out, “I just had to come and apologize to you. What I did was unforgiveable, and I’m sorry. I should have had the guts to tell you to your face that I was falling for Cindy, but I didn’t want to hurt you, and I didn’t want to hurt her, and I just made such an absolute mess of things.” He teared up. She could see his emotions on his face, his sincerity, and suddenly she felt it in her heart. She could forgive him. They had just been going through the motions because they made a good couple on paper. And she could have been more honest, too. She hadn’t really been in love with him, but he was the safe choice.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to hug him. He hugged her back, dirty clothes and all. “I’m so sorry, Cass. And if you want, I’m willing to try again.”

“No, Craig. It was partially my fault, too. I kept you at a distance emotionally. If you love Cindy, go to her. Tell her. Don’t make another mistake.”

He hugged her tight, the joy shining in his face, and he leaned down and kissed her hard. “Thank you. You don’t know what your approval means to me. Well, I should be going. It’s a long drive back.”

“Yes it is. Have you eaten? It’s late, and it’s raining, so the roads are slick. Why don’t you come in and have a quick bite to eat and crash on my couch. Then I’ll fill you up a thermos of coffee for the road and you can make an early start of it.” He looked down at his clothes and the dirt that she’d transferred to him with the hug. “You can clean up as well and throw your clothes in the washer. I can borrow you a T-shirt from Annie’s husband for you to sleep in.”

He studied her face. “Yes, thank you. I will take you up on your offer.” She turned and headed up the stairs.

When she got Craig settled with a bowl of pasta, she checked out his shirt. The mulch stains would definitely need some serious soaking, and the smell wasn’t pleasant for someone unused to it. “I’ll be right back.”

She knocked on Annie’s door and then let herself in. “Hey, Annie,” she shouted. I have a half-naked man in my apartment. Does Steve have an old T-shirt I can borrow? Sweatpants would be great, too. Long story, but I have Craig up in the apartment, wearing only his boxers.”

She thought she heard Steve on the phone, but she didn’t pay attention as Annie came down the stairs with the requested T-shirt and sweatpants in her hand.

“What? Craig? Craig’s naked in your apartment?”

“Nah, I got mulch over his clothes when we hugged, and now they are in the washing machine while he eats. But I want to get him something to wear tonight. The couch is a bit scratchy and his skin is sensitive.”

“He’s going to sleep on the couch?”

“Um, yeah. Did you think he was going to sleep in my bed?” She looked at her friend. “Craig and I are
not
getting back together. He drove out to apologize. And we talked it out, and we decided that we should have broken up a long time ago, and I wished him well with Cindy. I think he really does love her. But it is late, and his night sight is pretty bad, and with all the rain, I told him to sleep on the couch tonight and get an early start. Anyway, gotta run. See you tomorrow.”

She headed for the door. “And one more thing, Annie. I accept the partnership. I’m staying in Hope.”

* * * *

The alarm went off at six. She got Craig’s clothes out of the dryer and made him some toast and coffee for the road while he showered. Then she saw him out the door. He stopped and gave her a quick kiss. “I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again, so I just wanted to say, you are an amazing woman, Cassie. I know, someday, you’ll find the man for you.” And then he left before she could reply.

Which was just as well. She didn’t know how he would react if she told him she had found two men who were right for her.

She hummed to herself as she stepped into the shower and lathered up. She was going to take special care getting ready, rubbing in the special grapefruit-scented location into her skin and carefully drying her hair so it didn’t frizz. Then she sat down and waited. They hadn’t set a particular time. She waited some more, brooding on the fact that she hadn’t been able to find them Friday. The optimistic part of her tried to make excuses.
Surely there was a logical explanation, and she was not going to panic or jump to conclusions
. But when the clock struck 10:00 a.m. and there was no sign of her men, no call, no text, nothing, her temper and fear boiled over. Her first impulse was right. They were bastards, she decided.

She stomped down the steps and knocked on her friend’s kitchen door. Annie gestured for her to come in. She rushed forward, hugging Cassie when she saw the tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Where are those two bastards?” Steve pointedly picked up the two little ones and tiptoed out of the room. “They were coming to take me out today. And they said they were working all week, but when I went down to the courthouse and the jail and the law office, they weren’t there, and no one knew where they were. Have they found someone else?” She sobbed on Annie’s shoulder. “I can’t bear it if they break my heart again. I don’t care if they are your brothers. This time I’m going to kill them.”

Steve reentered the kitchen, this time without the little ones. “I thought you were back with Craig? I was surprised to see him leave early this morning.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was on the phone with Markus last night when I heard you in the background talking about having a naked Craig in your apartment. You and Annie were shouting. I think he might have heard as well because he hung up on me. And then this morning I went out for a run and I saw him leaving. And, I guess I should have mentioned this, Annie, but I think I saw Jackson sitting in his cruiser across the street watching Craig leave. The cruiser was gone when I got back.”

Cassie could only stare openmouthed. But Annie knew what to do. She whacked her husband in the arm, several times. “And you never thought to say anything? And just why were you on the phone with Markus anyway?”

“He wanted me to tell Cassie that they were still stuck in Seattle, but that they thought they would be getting a favorable ruling for their young offender diversion program and to tell you they’d be back midday on Saturday.”

“And...”

“And then Cassie got back with Craig, so I didn’t think she’d care.”

“I did not get back with Craig. If you are going to eavesdrop, at least eavesdrop on the whole conversation! He came by to apologize. We aren’t getting back together.”

“But he stayed over?”

“Yes. On the couch. That’s why I borrowed the clothes. Did you think he’d need a T-shirt and sweatpants if he was sleeping in my bed with me?”

“Oh. Good point.”

Annie hit her husband on the arm one more time for good measure. “Cassie, what are you going to do? You know their hearts must be breaking. And you know the boys aren’t going to chase you if they think you’ve chosen someone else. They can be pretty pushy, but they would never try to break up a couple. You are going to have to go after them.”

“You are right. Wish me luck.” Cassie headed out the door, determined to fight for her men. She’d lived in fear that they would leave her, but she never thought they’d think she would leave them. She straightened her backbone. She would fight for her men, and if she lost them, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying.

The drive out of town to the Lansing farmhouse where the twins lived wasn’t very long. She’d only glimpsed the house from a distance when they went to the lake. She didn’t realize just how much work they had done on it until she got close. New paint, new doors, and shutters. The front lawn was just that, a lawn. Well, when she moved in, that would change.

She pulled up behind Jackson’s cruiser and beside Markus’s truck and parked. She got out and walked slowly to the door and rang the bell. For a long time nothing happened. She waited and then rang again. They had to be in there, and she wasn’t leaving until she talked to them.

Finally, she heard footsteps. The door was flung open and grim-faced Jackson and Markus stood there in their jeans and T-shirts, looking good enough to eat, that is, except for their identical expressions.

“Well, what do you want? If it’s about your boyfriend, he’s in town in jail. You’ll have to go down there to bail him out. I am not working today.”

He moved to close the door, and she stepped forward, blocking it so that he’d have to push her out of the way to close it.

“What the hell do you mean my ‘boyfriend’ is in jail?”

“He was driving with a broken taillight.”

“It wasn’t broken. I saw it when he drove away this morning. The lights were fine.”

“It was broken after I hit it with my billy club. Like I said, you’ll have to go downtown to bail him out. Maybe you can take him home and give him some TLC?”

“Why would I do that? His girlfriend can sooth his nerves. You just have to call the jail and have him released. He didn’t do anything.”

“His girlfriend?” The twins’ expressions changed, and they watched her intently.

“Yes, his girlfriend, Cindy. The one I walked in on sucking him off? Turns out they are in love and the idiot didn’t know how to break it off with me since everyone including his boss expected us to marry. We talked it out. He apologized. I forgave him. But it was late and raining, and he has terrible night sight. I insisted he stay the night on my couch and head home early this morning after sunup.”

“You are
not
getting back with him and moving back to the city?”

“Ask Annie. I told her last night I was taking the partnership and staying, no matter what happened with us. This is home, and I’m staying. Now if you don’t want me anymore, I’ll understand. And if you aren’t in it for the long haul, let me walk away now before I fall deeper in love with you both.” She glared at them, daring them to speak.

Suddenly they both grinned and swept her into a big three-way bear hug. “You are moving in here with us, and your first big landscape project will be to transform this place. We’ve almost finished the interior renovations, but we’ve left the outside for you.”

She grinned. “I’ve already started working on some ideas. But first, you have to get Craig out of jail.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Jackson. “No sex until he’s out of jail.”

Jackson grinned and walked over to the phone. He put in on speaker so she knew he wasn’t pretending. “Greta, it’s me, Jackson. That guy in cell three, you can let him go. Tell him it was all a mistake and we are dropping all the charges. Thanks. Oh, and, Greta, please update the schedule. I’ll be unavailable all weekend. He clicked off the call and turned to Cassie.

“Let’s celebrate,” exclaimed Jackson, throwing her over his shoulder and starting up the wide staircase. Markus followed behind them, up the stairs and through the door into the master bedroom. Jackson set her down carefully in the center of the huge bedroom. She looked around. The room was dominated by the biggest bed she’d ever seen. It was a four-poster bed with a slatted headboard. She saw Markus grinning as he followed her gaze. “All the better to tie you to, my dear. Now let’s get naked.”

The two men efficiently stripped her naked and pushed her to her knees. They quickly removed their own clothes and stood in front of her.

Cassie knew what she had to do. Jackson was slightly nearer, so she took him into her mouth first, holding him at the root with her right hand, while she reached out her left hand to grasp Markus’s length. Working her mouth over the head of Jackson’s cock, she worked her hand up and down over Markus. She heard them both groan. She moved her mouth to Markus while her hand pumped over Jackson. She knew they were close and redoubled her efforts.

She could hear their groans and she could tell they were getting close. She redoubled her efforts and was shocked they pulled away.

Looking down at her, their faces intent, they both quickly pumped their own cocks.

“Open wide and tilt you head,” Jackson commanded, aiming toward her mouth, and ropes of cum jetted out as he milked himself. Some went in her mouth while others hit her chin and slid down her body to drape across her breasts. Before he was finished Markus came as well, adding his load to his brothers. They paused for a moment to admire their handiwork, enjoying the sight of their woman draped in their cum, marked as theirs. The brothers found it immensely satisfying on a primitive level.

Cassie looked at her men and licked her lips, swallowing their cum. Their distinctive slightly salty-musky tastes merged. It was ambrosia. She closed her eyes and savored the taste. When she opened them, she could see that they were getting turned-on again, both cocks now semihard and getting harder by the second.

“Rub our cum into your body,” commanded Jackson, and she was happy to oblige. She raised her hands up to her breasts and started massaging the cum into them like it was the most exclusive body lotion. When she got to her nipples, both men groaned. “That’s enough. Get up on the bed and lie on your back.”