“She is. She’s lying.” Eric’s eyes narrowed and his face darkened.
She gulped. “Okay. I’m thinking about what Gretchen said in the foyer.”
“Better,” he said. “Continue.”
There were differences between the two that gave her pause.
Scott was open. After their plane ride to New York, she couldn’t stop thinking how incredible it would be to have his lips again, kissing her body everywhere.
Eric wasn’t so open. What was underneath all that dark danger and sexiness? Did she really want to know? God help her, she did. Eric had a tender side with Gretchen, but would he with anyone else? Would he with her?
“Megan, I’m waiting,” Eric said.
Scott was patient. Eric was clearly not.
“I’m not sure what to think or say about all this. Phoebe filled me in on how things work around here. Poly is the term, right?”
“It is. And…?”
What she’d felt coming from Eric and Scott completely unhinged her. They were like two sides of the same coin. Together they created a single steamy blend that awakened something new inside her, something she couldn’t control.
“I’m not sure that’s something I can do.” Why had she said that? Because it was true. Now would be a good time to tell them she was a virgin. Now. Say it, Megan. But the words wouldn’t come. What would they think of her once they knew the truth?
“Why?” Eric said, grabbing her hand and squeezing.
She looked into his eyes and saw something unexpected directed her way. Tenderness and concern. “I’m scared.”
“You would be stupid not to be, and I know yo
u’re not stupid. You made it on your own after the Kip debacle. That’s quite an achievement.”
Now. Tell him the part of the “Kip debacle” they didn’t know. “I didn’t really do too well with that.”
Eric put his index finger to her lips. “Let me finish. Being frightened is very appropriate, Megan. It’s how the human species has survived so long. Knowing when to fight and when to hide is critical to making it to the next day. You’ve done that and more. Scott told me about you wanting to divorce Kip but that you couldn’t get through all the government bureaucracy. What did you do? You put that away for another day and worked on what was right in front of you so that you could survive.”
She looked at him in stunned silence.
He cupped her chin. “When are you going to stop beating yourself up, Megan?”
“I don’t know if I can. It’s been so hard,” she confessed. “I’ve done my best but it’s never been enough.” Ancient tears welled up in her eyes.
“You’re kidding, right?” Scott stroked her hair. “Anyone else would’ve gone over the deep end, but not you. You’re a fighter. You get knocked down and you get right back up.”
Looking from one to the other, she began to tremble. Two men, so different in personality, brothers, wanted her, wanted to share her, wanted to win her. The truth was they’d already captured her heart. In their eyes, she saw a future that she’d never even dreamed of.
“Enough,” Eric stated firmly. “Words can only convince her so far.”
While Scott rubbed her neck with his massive hands, Eric leaned over and pressed his thick, manly lips to her mouth. Her insides exploded with wicked shivers. His toe-curling kiss went on and on.
When Eric finally released her lips, her pussy was soaked. His eyes raked over her, assessing and shameless.
Scott’s fingertips skated along the back of her arms.
A dangerous smile spread over Eric’s face, one dark brow going up. “Are you ready to take the leap of faith, little one?”
Little one. It was the first time he’d called her anything other than her name. She squeezed her thighs together, trying to quell her want. It didn’t work.
Her life had been one long spiral down, tragedy after tragedy—until now, until Eric and Scott. Hearing Eric call her “little one” and feeling Scott’s fingers in her hair awakened something new inside her—hope. Her future had never seemed brighter.