Some Like It Hot: An Erotic Romance Anthology

“Just don’t hurt her,” Mercy paused, reached for a muffin before meeting his gaze once again, “Or him.”

Grant swallowed hard. How the hell… Was it that fucking obvious?

He didn’t get a chance to ask Mercy that question because she turned and sauntered away, saying good morning to the handful of guests who’d trickled in before the sun was fully up in the sky.

Scared that someone else was going to question him and ultimately know that he’d spent the night with Lane and Gracie, Grant took the plate and made a beeline for the back door.

???????

Grace woke up with a warm body snuggled up against her back. She didn’t move immediately, instead opened her eyes and looked at the door that led to the living room.

She knew where she was. And she knew who was there. Through the night, she’d become familiar enough with both Lane and Grant that she could tell the difference in their touch. It was strange, but oddly comforting at the same time.

Oh, yes, she knew without a doubt that she was hopelessly in love with both men. Over the moon. But that hadn’t stopped the fear from taking control of her mind. What were people going to think? This was her family’s ranch. Lane and Grant worked for her father. And her father had made a point over the years to repeatedly warn the cowboys away from his daughters.

Not that the cowboys listened. Grace happened to know for a fact that her sisters had been intimately involved with at least one man who worked on the ranch at some point. And now, she knew that there were a couple of cowboys sniffing around her sisters again.

As she lay there, her hands resting on Lane’s arm that was wrapped around her, she looked up to see Grant now standing in the doorway. She hadn’t even realized he was gone, but yes, there he was in all of his handsome glory. He looked… sad.

“What’s the matter?” she whispered, hoping not to wake Lane.

Too late.

He stirred behind her, his arm pulling her closer to him while he lifted his head from the pillow they were sharing. “You ok?” he asked Grant.

Grant nodded as he moved into the room, quickly shunning his clothes as he moved toward them.

Once he was naked, he crawled into the bed facing Grace, sandwiching her between them.

“I’ve never been better,” he told them.

Why didn’t she believe him?

Afraid of ruining the moment, Grace didn’t ask the inevitable question. She just stared back at him. For now, this was going to be all right. The rest of the world was safely locked outside and she could enjoy the warmth of these two men for the today and maybe tomorrow.

And Monday, she’d worry about that then.

Because until they had to face the harsh realities of the real world, nothing else mattered.

???????

Lane felt the tension in the air around him. He could see it in the way Grant moved, in the way he looked at them. Fear was already setting in.

He fully understood that fear. Fear of what tomorrow would bring. Fear that they’d lose this moment and never recapture it.

Last night had been perfect. In fact, it had been so incredible that when they found each other in the early morning hours, he’d been so overcome with emotion that he’d had to sit back and claim to only want to watch. These two moved him in ways he never expected.

Well, actually he had expected it. From the moment he met them. Lane wasn’t one to fall in love easily, but he’d been in love – at least a little bit – with both of them for so long that this just felt normal. But it wasn’t normal. At least not by everyone’s standards and he knew that’s what Grant was worried about. He could see it in the man’s stormy blue eyes.

Grant was thinking too much.

Wanting to erase the shadows he saw in Grant’s eyes, Lane willed him to look at him. And almost as though he could feel his request, Grant looked away from Gracie and up at him.

“I love you,” Lane said, putting it all out there. “I love you both.”

“I –” they both said simultaneously.

“No, wait,” Lane interrupted. “I’m not asking you to say anything back. I just needed you both to know. It’s true. It’s always been true.” Lane hated that his emotions were getting the best of him, but he forced himself to continue. “I don’t want this to end. Ever. But, I’m not naïve enough to think it won’t be hard. I just want you both to know that it can be done. If we want it enough, it can be done.”

Neither of them spoke, but Gracie shifted so that she was looking up at them. There were tears in her eyes and Lane leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

“I want it enough,” she told him, a mere whisper against his lips.

Lane lifted his head and met Grant’s eyes. He didn’t speak, but he nodded his head.

And right then and there, Lane knew that they could make this work. They would make it work.

There were a few obstacles that they would need to overcome first. It was just going to take some time.

And he was all right with that because he had all the time in the world. And loving both of them would only make that time pass much more easily.

The End