Quadruple Duty

The room they’d prepared for me was better than I expected. They’d given me one of the masters — a spacious, paneled room with my own attached bath. The bed was an antique four-poster masterpiece, but the linens were new; it was obvious the guys had taken time picking out something they thought I might like.

This is pretty sweet, I thought to myself. Sweet and thoughtful.

The bedspread was white and fluffy and comfortable-enough looking, and they’d even gone with some frilly lace bed skirt. The sheets were silky, but they weren’t anywhere near the thousand thread-count Egyptian cotton I’d spoiled myself with at home. But all that could be remedied tomorrow. Hopefully without hurting their feelings.

I brushed my teeth looking into a 200-year old mirror, wondering absently about all the past residents who’d done virtually the same thing. It was one of the things I loved about places like this. The rich history, the idea that the very walls have seen things long since gone. It gave me a sense of awe. A sense of peering backward through time.

I combed out my hair, slipped into my most comfortable pair of nightclothes, and rested my ass on the bed. The house was silent. Deathly quiet. Just outside my window, I could see the wind blowing the boughs of an ancient willow tree in the silver moonlight. Some of the leaves skimmed over the surface of the lake, creating tiny ripples on the glass-like surface.

So you’re really doing this…

Yeah. I really was. And not only was I doing it, but I was determined to make it work.

Four boyfriends.

It was a lot to handle. A lot of needs to satisfy. Not just physically — that part I actually looked forward to — but mentally, and emotionally as well. I had to keep four people happy when, usually, I could barely keep one.

That part I was unsure of. That part I’d really have to work on.

Knock. Knock.

Two quick raps at my door brought me to my feet. I hesitated before opening it, as I always did while living alone in my apartment, before realizing how silly that was. I was now sharing a house with four badass Army Rangers. Four strong, capable men who would protect me from anything, always.

“Hey there sexy.”

Dakota grinned back at me from the other side of the doorway. He had his shirt off, and was wearing only a pair of ragged sweatpants that hung very loose just below his trim, six-pack abdominals.

Suspiciously, intentionally loose.

“Hey yourself,” I smirked back at him from the doorway. My gaze dropped. “You uh… forgot to tie your sweatpants.”

He didn’t bother looking. Instead he shrugged. “Tie them for me?”

I sighed. “Probably not a good idea.”

“Right. One whole week.”

Straight to the point. I liked that.

“Yup,” I nodded, my eyes crawling over his body. His chest was beyond incredible. Big and broad, it was deliciously cut and sculpted like some magnificent statue. And his shoulders…

My. God.

Silently I kicked myself over the one-week rule. It seemed necessary at the time, but now…

“So what’s up?” I asked quietly, glancing left and right. The upstairs hallway was empty.

“Nothing,” he said. “Just wanted to check up on you. See how the pretty lady likes her new digs.”

“This pretty lady likes em’ just fine, thanks. They’re great, in fact.”

“Good,” nodded Dakota. “I also wanted to tell you I had a great time tonight.”

My smile widened. “Me too.”

He cleared his throat. “It also occurred to me you never got a goodnight kiss.”

“Oh?” I teased. “Did I miss the offer of one?”