She gasped and groaned as he swept through, taking possession as he pulled her further under his spell. Before she could deepen the kiss, he pulled away on a groan.
“Shit. Chloe. Oh man, I’m so fucking hard right now.” He placed her hand over his erection, and she squeezed, amazed at how large he felt. “See what you do to me? And it’s not just me,” he said. “It’s us.”
The cryptic words made an odd kind of sense, but before she could ask him to explain, the door banged open. Xavier closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, his body trembling.
“Dammit, we talked about this,” Josh swore as he slammed and locked the door behind him. He ripped off his boots and outdoor gear before striding into the bedroom.
“I have to talk to him.” Xavier took a few more deep breaths and let them out slowly. “You are so pretty, Chloe. You have no idea what I want to do to you.” She knew what she wanted to do to him. But how would Josh react? Would he feel left out? Abandoned?
Would he want to join in?
Her entire body cried yes at the thought. Then Xavier pulled away.
He kissed her lips once more. “The HF transmitter is over by the fire. If you call through on the frequency listed, it’ll patch you through to one of my brothers.
They can send your message to whoever you need to talk to. I’ll be out in a minute, okay? We have a lot more to say. All of us.”
She nodded and watched him walk away. He closed the bedroom door behind him, and she wished she could have joined him. But maybe the bedroom wasn’t the right place. A big-ass bed. Two handsome men. And Chloe.
Fanning herself, she found the transmitter and asked someone named Sam to pass a message to Jack. Time to get her head on straight and back on track. But after she signed off, she couldn’t help wondering what Josh thought about all this.
And if he still wanted her, or if he wanted her gone.
Chapter Four
Xavier found his brother standing stock-still in the bedroom, staring out the window. Nervous and trying not to show it. That was Joshua. Always trying to be the stronger one. The rock. The levelheaded twin who followed the rules and was rare to anger.
Xavier snorted. He knew better.
Josh might be harder to rile, but when the man grew angry, he seethed with a cold rage. He could burn for hours, days, weeks. Xavier got angry quick, and then he let it go. Not so with Mr. I’m-in-Charge.
“Spit it out, bro. You know you want to.”
Josh whirled around and scowled. “Again, Xavier? We talked about this. No sex with Chloe! But just a few minutes after I walked outside, I was hot and hard and aching. What the fuck? You can’t be that hard up for sex.”
“You’re kidding, right? It’s her. Our girl. The one we’ve been waiting for.”
“You mean the one you’ve been waiting for. So we share a connection with her.
So what?” Josh turned away, but Xavier saw it.
That kernel of fear Josh couldn’t quite hide, not from his twin. “Josh, she’s not Karen.”
“I know that.”
“I don’t think you do.” Poor Josh. The one time in his life he’d tried to be independent, and he’d gotten badly burned.
Xavier knew he and his twin were bound. As if they shared the same soul but had two bodies, they liked and hated the same things. Xavier accepted it. But Josh struggled. He’d tried to go his own way. Had sought out a female for himself. And she’d been a worthless bitch who cared more about what others thought and about herself than about the caring man who’d given her everything. Even the truth about himself.
“Why the need to bring up Karen? She’s gone. It’s been years.”
“Two long-ass years. And you still won’t share with me.” Josh stiffened and wouldn’t turn around. “We’re not normal.” Xavier chuckled. “No shit. What’s your next excuse?”
“There’s no you or me. It’s always us.”
“And that’s a problem?” he asked with a softness to his voice. God, he hated to see his twin suffering. But hell, Josh had to know they would always be together.
There was no rhyme or reason to it; it just was.
“Not for me or you. But we’re never going to find someone to accept it.” Josh sounded so heartbroken in his assurance that they’d always be alone. But God forbid Xavier show him any pity. The strong-willed bastard would turn on him like a wounded wolf. Sometimes it was both heaven and hell to know Josh so well.
“Yeah, well, nothing says you can’t try a few women out while looking, right?
Come on, Josh. This is our girl. We know her. At least, we know a lot more about her than you ever knew about Karen when you started dating.”
“I’m not dating Chloe.” Josh turned a hard stare in his direction. “We have too much shit going on to deal with a stupid romance. Shit, Xavier. Since when did you become such a pussy?”
“This from Mr. Sensitive?” Xavier refused to take his brother’s bait. “How is it I’m labeled the horndog and you’re the rational one? Calling me a pussy just because I happen to like Chloe? Come on, Josh. She’s sexy, she needs us, and she’s got a killer right hook. That’s an awesome combination. Besides, we have chemistry. I swear I tingle when I touch her.”
He shifted to ease his growing erection, not surprised when Josh did the same.
They both wanted her, but his boneheaded brother refused to see the truth.
“Look. You don’t want to get involved. I respect that.” Though Xavier didn’t agree with it. “But why can’t I get some lovin’?” Josh looked at him for a good while before sighing. “Fuck it. Fine. You want her? Have at her. But leave me alone.”
“No problem. Just more of Chloe for me.” He grinned at his brother’s clenched fists and rejoined Chloe in the living room. She sat by the fire, staring into the flames. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but he did. Without having to ask, he sensed she’d be okay with them both. She felt it, that connection, like she had when he’d kissed her the first time. When Josh had been on top of her, right there with him taking Chloe. “You okay?” he asked her.
She blinked up at him, her light eyes gleaming with hidden secrets in the firelight. “Great. I didn’t have to talk to my boss. Instead, your brother relayed a message for me.”
“You going to get in trouble for not talking to him earlier?”
“Nah. Jack will sputter and threaten, but he’s just a big worrier. A teddy bear of a guy. But don’t tell him I said that.”
Xavier sat beside her on the shaggy rug in front of the fire. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
She turned to look at the fire once more, and he noticed the thick length of her lashes. So pretty, so feminine. Yet she’d kicked and punched him with an experienced hand.
“Tell me how a girl like you joined the police force, then the PWP.” She frowned. “What do you mean, a girl like me?”
“You’re small, beautiful, and sexy.” He couldn’t help looking down her body.
Those breasts were killing him. So full, so perky. He wanted to suck her nipples into his mouth and hear her moan his name.
She swallowed loudly, and he swore he could see her nipples beading against the sweater. “I’m not that small. I’m not,” she said again before he could voice his opinion. “I’m tough. I grew up in Miami in a bad part of the city. My father was a gangbanger who’s currently serving life in prison. And my brother died in a shootout over drug territory. I’ve lived a lot of life you’ll never understand.”