Desired (Two Marks 2)

“We grew up together—he’s like a brother to me,” she added, like she was selling me on him.

“Um, yes. Cord seems great, too. I mean, I came here with him.” I tried to assuage my guilt at finding Nash equally interesting.

Her eyes widened. “Oh. I mean, I know what happened in there but I didn’t see you come in. Terrible hostess, sorry. But I had no idea you came together.”

“We met earlier, at the diner. That’s where I’m working.”

“So you came here with Cord and then ran into Nash. And then they fought.”

I nodded. “Both of them said they found me, which is weird.”

Shelby glanced toward the house and looked deep in thought. “Okay, wow. Yeah. I’ve known Nash forever, so I can vouch for him. Cord, I’ve only known for a short time, but he’s great. The town doctor. There’s no reason you can’t have both.” She sent me an impish smile.

My mouth fell open at the idea. Both? Me? I shook my head. “Oh, I-I could never. I don’t want to lead a guy on just because I’m confused about what I want. And it isn’t nice to come with one guy to a barbecue, and chat up another.”

My mother had trained me to be ruthlessly polite. To smile and not stir up any kind of drama or fuss. It seemed I’d done both, without even trying.

She waved her hand as if that didn’t matter. “What if you weren’t confused?” Shelby challenged. A gleam came into her eyes, like she was planning something. “What if you really wanted two men?”

I frowned. I couldn’t even find words to express to Shelby how outlandish her suggestion was. Two men.

She stepped in and lowered her voice conspiratorially, even though all the party guests were out back. The sun was low in the sky now, hidden by the trees, and the temperature was dropping fast, yet I was warm all over.

“Guys in this town are a different breed,” she said. “There’s actually quite a bit of polyamory here. I have two guys.”

I was pretty sure my mouth dropped open and stayed that way. “What?” I tried to keep my tone neutral, but I could practically hear my mother’s scandalized tone ringing in my ears.

“You met Gibson, but I’m also with Ben. We’re in a relationship. I mean, we’re practically married.”

A slender woman with dark hair came around the side of the house. “Hey, Shelby. Mind if I join you?”

Shelby beckoned her over. “Caitlyn! Perfect timing. Come back me up, here. I was just telling Rachel—oh, Rachel, this is Caitlyn—that threesomes are a regular occurrence in West Springs.”

“Oh, right. I heard two guys were fighting over a woman inside.” She came to stand with us, making a little circle. Her dark hair was long and pulled back in a ponytail. She wore jeans and a Granger State sweatshirt. I’d driven through Granger not long before I stopped in West Springs.

“That was me. Unfortunately,” I said.

Caitlyn smiled. “Well, they’ll probably work it out. Shelby’s right, threesomes aren’t unusual here.” Even in the fading light, I could see her blush. “I have two amazing boyfriends.”

I shook my head. “You ladies are blowing my mind right now. I can’t believe this. You both have two boyfriends?”

I wasn’t sure if I should feel like a total prude, or in awe. How did it even work? I had so many questions but I’d just met these women. I was sure they didn’t want me asking how they had sex.

“I hate the word boyfriend. I mean, there’s got to be another term, a better one, for what I have with Gibson and Ben. We live together, and we’re committed long term,” Shelby explained.

“Exactly. I’m with Wade, and Gibson’s brother, Landry. It’s weird, I know,” Caitlyn said. “But this town has a long history of it, going back to early settlers who probably didn’t have enough women to make a community without a little sharing.”

Caitlyn looked to Shelby, who nodded. “Gibson and Landry are Wests. Their ancestors founded this town. The way I’ve heard them say it, if one husband died, the wife and kids were protected and cared for by the other one. I think it’s romantic.”

When it was worded that way, and from what I knew of the Wild Wild West, they made sense.

Caitlyn grinned. “All I know is that it's pretty wonderful from my standpoint. I get twice the attention.” She waggled her brows and I laughed, my body suddenly flush with the inkling of what she meant.

I never even wanted one man’s attention before, but now these women had me strangely craving two.

At the same time.

And that was just crazy. It was so not me. I’d never even really had Chester. Would he even fight another guy for me? I was convenient. Easy. Not something he… craved. It was clear Cord and Nash both craved me. Enough to fight over.