Theirs to Keep

“You’re breaking our vow.”

“And you broke it yesterday!” Bryce exclaimed suddenly. “You were with her all night!”

Roderick’s expression changed in an instant. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I snuck into her room,” said Bryce. “All I found was an empty bed, soaked from the rain.”

Another pause. Another awkward silence.

“I took her in last night,” Roderick admitted, “during the storm. She was cold. Wet.”

“I’ll bet she was,” grunted Camden.

“Look, we’re all guilty,” I cut in. “We work hard, all day long. There’s a ton of stress involved, lots of frustration. Not to mention all the built up sexual tension,” I added, “what with the three of you walking around shirtless, all pumped up from the gym…”

“Please!” Bryce laughed. “And you’re innocent? You walk around in those tiny little boy shorts all the time. The ones that hug every curve of your ass, and ride up high on the insides of your thighs.”

“So?”

“So?” he snorted. “It’s enough to drive a guy—”

“Alright,” I conceded. “Point taken.”

“Seriously, I’m talking about—”

“Like I said, we’re all guilty,” I continued. “But we’ve been charged up. I’ve been here nearly a year already, and between all three of you I haven’t seen a single girlfriend in sight. That’s unnatural! Especially considering what you look like.”

I had my robe cinched defensively as I looked them over. With their shirts off, they weren’t exactly trying to hide anything.

“What about you?” demanded Camden.

“Me too,” I admitted. “I haven’t been laid since I came down here, and it’s been building up. So when the opportunity presented itself?” I gave them half a shrug. “You can be damned sure I took it.”

The guys were looking at each now, as if deciding where to place blame. Or what to do next.

“I still can’t believe you knew,” Camden said to Roderick. “You know what we did and you took her anyway. You’re lecturing us for what we did, but then you—”

“Hey, don’t blame him,” I jumped in. I jerked my chin in Roderick’s direction. “He had every right to take me to bed. He won the bet.”

If their expressions were unbelieving before, they were absolutely incredulous now. Bryce’s jaw dropped. Camden scratched furiously at his head.

“Wedding planner,” he suddenly blurted.

“No.”

Bryce snapped his fingers. “Drill sergeant!” he said. “You were in the military, or—”

“She’s a cop,” said Roderick.

“Was a cop,” I corrected him quickly.

The others glanced at each other, looking utterly crestfallen. Their little weekly game was over. They’d lost.

“Damn,” Bryce swore. “So close.”

It was awkward now, lying between them. Subconsciously I bunched my robe a little tighter around my body.

“Look, we weren’t supposed to do this again,” Roderick eventually growled. “It’s one thing to go out and get your rocks off. But it’s another to—”