Desired (Two Marks 2)

“You love waitressing?” Cord asked.

I glanced at him through my lashes. “I like the people. The community. I’m earning my own money from hard work, not from my parents. It’s… rewarding, but I’ll say it again. I’m the worst waitress ever.”

Nash’s chuckle reverberated through me and he gave me a squeeze. “You’re a damn cute one, though.”

I laughed and I felt my cheeks heat. I reveled under his praise, even if he was only trying to make me feel better. “Thanks.”

“You’re looking for a profession?” Cord prompted. “Something besides working for Bessie?”

I shrugged and my shoulder slid over Nash’s bare chest. “I guess. My parents wanted me to study political science in school, so I could be the wife of a senator—not a senator myself, mind you—but I really have no interest in politics.”

“What do you have an interest in?” Nash asked, his finger sliding up and down my arm.

No one had really ever asked me that before. I had always gone along with my parents. Blindly. Meekly. Maybe it was their fault to assume I’d be content with whatever they said when I was little. But it turned into mine when I didn’t voice my unhappiness. But, I had never considered myself unhappy until recently. Why had it taken me so long to change from a sheep to a lion?

“I always thought if I had a different life—which, of course, I didn’t believe was available to me at the time—I would be a teacher.”

“High school?” Nash wondered.

“No, elementary. Kindergarten, maybe. I love kids.”

Cord stiffened slightly, and I lifted my gaze to his.

“What?” I asked.

He was silent for a moment. “Rachel… you should know that I can’t give you children.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t, beautiful. I want kids. So much.” He raised his hand and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. “A little girl with blonde curls.”

“How do you know? I mean, did you have measles or something?”

“Or something,” he replied. “Instead of speaking clinically, I’ll tell you that I’m firing blanks.”

I had no idea how he knew that. I was healthy but I couldn’t be sure I could get pregnant. Not until I tried.

“The doc likes his facts, beautiful,” Nash said and Cord nodded. Cord’s shoulders relaxed slightly. It seemed Nash understood better than I did.

Cord set his hand on my thigh and his thumb began to stroke. “I know we’re not there yet, and the marriage to Nash was just for show, but if you stayed in West Springs with us, we’d need Nash to have children.”

My brows dipped in confusion. It was such a strange way of thinking. “Is that why you were willing to share me with Nash? Because you didn’t think you were the full package alone?”

I almost wished I hadn’t asked the question—it seemed too intrusive, but Cord immediately nodded.

“Yes. And for other reasons.”

What else could there be besides him not being able to have kids?

“What reasons?” I probed.

He and Nash shared a glance. “That’s a topic for later. After…”

“After what?”

“After you’ve accepted that you’re ours,” Nash supplied. “Fully accepted.”

“What we just did doesn’t count?” I asked.

They shook their heads. “When you’re ready, when you accept both of us as yours, then we’ll fuck you together,” Cord said. “One of us in your pussy, the other in your ass.”

My inner walls clenched at the image he painted. I smiled, looking between them to make sure this was just flirting. He was flirting, right? We were naked, and things we’d just done… But they were going to do the double penetration thing?

“She’d better accept us,” Cord took on a teasing tone and tweaked one of my nipples, “because I have no intention of ever letting her go.”

Yes, they were definitely flirting. And teasing me with something that sounded really darned good. My chest swirled once more with that wonderful warm feeling.

“So, a teacher? That shouldn’t be too hard.” Nash looked to Cord. Clearly we were done talking about babies and firing blanks and butt stuff.

“Right,” Cord said. “You could probably get your teaching certificate through Granger State. We certainly have an elementary school here.”

“Just one?” I laughed.

“Just one.” Cord’s gaze traced my face. “Could you live in such a small town?”

“Definitely,” I answered without hesitation. Strangely, West Springs had felt like home the moment I arrived. Just like Cord and Nash had felt like home the moment I met them.

Everyone was so kind. I absolutely adored the sense of community and taking care of each other they seemed to have here. Plus, if I was going to keep two men—oh God, was I really considering this long term?—it could only happen in a town where threesomes were already common. Caitlyn and Shelby had set my mind at ease that it wasn’t all too crazy around here. Bessie, too.

“Good. It’s settled, then,” Cord said to Nash in that teasing tone. The corner of his mouth tipped up and his gaze raked over me. “We’re keeping her.”