But the sex…
Her stupid body wouldn’t let her forget how they’d felt against her, how right the joining of all three of them had been. But the seedy part of her brain made it more like a gangbang. Something dirty and whorish. She’d let two virtual strangers come inside her. Not just stupid, but insane. Sure, she took birth control, but who knew if they practiced safe sex. Just because they said they did didn’t mean shit.
Men lied all the time to get in a woman’s pants. And they hadn’t even had to try very hard. She’d come on to Josh, after all.
Mortified, she stood there wondering what to do. Where to go. Because where could she go? A glance out the window showed the snow several inches thick on the ground while more came down from the sky. Beautiful, desolate, and cold.
“Chloe? You awake yet?”
With those words, Xavier broke the spell of her pity party and forced her to come to some decisions. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she’d learn as much as she could about Josh and Xavier. Maybe there would be some way to salvage her part at work. If Josh continued to see things she needed, and Xavier passed them to her, she could still help Jack and the guys solve cases and track down their client’s missing artifacts. She could still matter and be useful to the living instead of taking care of the dead’s petty needs.
“You okay, honey?”
The concern relieved her, because Xavier sounded like he cared. He probably wouldn’t turn out to be a complete asshole if he cared. Then again, he might want a few more rounds with her between the sheets before the snow let up. Why spoil the mood and ruin his chance at fun?
She sighed and joined Xavier in the living room. That nonstop fire blazed.
“Where do you guys get all the wood?” She saw a new stack by the side of the fireplace.
“There’s a covered box outside we stack all year long.” Xavier crossed the room to greet her. He wore jeans and a flannel shirt, and he’d never looked sexier. His hair was tousled, as if he’d been running his fingers through it. But the look in his eyes as he moved toward her took her aback.
He didn’t look smug. He didn’t leer. He seemed possessive but in a good way.
As if he liked what he saw in her and wanted more.
“Morning, sexy.”
She wished she could control the heat staining her cheeks. Chloe was used to appreciation from men, but the minute they realized she didn’t put out, they turned nasty. She wondered how Xavier would act when she told him no.
His smiling eyes turned sober. “You okay?”
She nodded and forced a smile. “Fine. Thanks.” She glanced around her again.
“Where’s Josh?”
“He went out for morning exercise. Yeah, in this snow. Not me. I need the break.” He reached for her hand and held it as he looked down into her eyes. “About last night…”
Here it came. The other shoe about to drop. He’d be snide about it. No, not Xavier. He’d be über charming and wheedle his way for more.
“Thank you.”
Two simple words and a wealth of meaning behind them. Had he professed undying love or hinted about another go-round, she would have responded with something obnoxious. But his thanks stole the antagonism right out from under her.
“Um, thanks. You too.”
His smile, when it came, had such genuine pleasure she couldn’t help smiling back. And somehow her upset about last night disappeared. She enjoyed her breakfast with Xavier, who regaled her with amusing stories about growing up as a telepathic twin.
“So of course they split us up in school. We caused so much trouble together…
I remember one time when Josh was in gym class. And he got hit in the head playing dodgeball. Stunned him big time. And there I am in the middle of English class reading Charlotte’s Web in front of everybody when I dropped like a sack of potatoes. Bam.”
She blinked. “So you weren’t kidding. You guys really feel everything the other feels.”
“Oh yeah. But how do you explain that to normal people?” A good question. “I got sent to the principal’s office for fooling around while Josh was fussed over. Not a great tradeoff.”
She grinned.
“And then puberty hit. We noticed girls. Dating was a nightmare.” He shook his head and laughed. “What happened with you on the bed a few days ago is nothing. I’d be out with friends and have to hustle to the bathroom to hide a hard-on while my brother got busy without me. Do you know how hard it is to try explaining away a wet spot on the front of your pants when you’re on your own date? Man, I spilled more crap in my lap in those first awkward years… Josh too.
Until we found a rhythm that worked for us, we were known as the clumsy Cannons.”
She laughed. “That’s so sad.”
“Yeah, I’m feeling your compassion,” he grumbled while trying to hide his smile. “You sound like you’re really empathizing with me.”
“You had problems, but at least you had each other.”
“True. We both went through the same things. Oddly enough, we get along pretty well. Don’t get me wrong. We are different people, but we’re so much a part of each other’s lives.” The searing look he gave her unnerved her. “We’ll always be together, Chloe. He and I. I know it, even if he doesn’t yet.” Would make for an awkward life, trying to explain to a wife why the brother was always in the bedroom.
“My family is great. You met my mom.”
She nodded. “You’re lucky.”
“I know it. There’s so much weirdness in my family, it makes it easy to fit in.
We’re all gifted in one way or another. It’s a genetic thing, I think. Because we can trace our psychic skills through generations on my dad’s side. Every single woman married into the family had some form of mind magic. It’s like we unconsciously seek it out.”
“Huh. Interesting.”
“What about you, Chloe? I’ve talked your ear off. What’s your family like?”
“Not like yours, that’s for sure.” She didn’t like talking about her private life much, but he’d shared so much with her. The personal exchange made her feel better about having slept with him. Call her crazy, but when a man expressed interest in anything other than her body, she took it as a good sign. “I told you about my dad. He was involved with gang life and gone more than he was home. My mom was great. But she took a lot of flak for moving in with my dad. Yeah, never married. Had my brother and me and did the best she could to raise us right. She worked two jobs to put food on the table and never cut corners, never cheated at anything.” She swallowed hard, still amazed at how much it hurt to talk about her.
“My mom died years ago, right after I joined the Miami PD.” Xavier poured her a cup of coffee and nodded with sympathy. “That had to be hard for you, but I bet she was so proud.”
She blinked away stupid tears and smiled. “Yeah. Dad was in jail, my older brother had died a few years before trying to take after the old man. I think he did it more for Dad’s approval than anything else. Me? I wanted Mom to be happy. And it gave me satisfaction to put the bad guys away.” She stared at him, bemused.
“Especially when I had so much help making my busts. I know Josh saw the visions, but you reached out to me. Why, Xavier? Why me?” He opened his mouth to answer when the door opened. Josh tromped inside and quickly shut the door behind him. A waft of cold snaked past her, and she shivered. He was covered in snow, his cheeks flushed with cold, his eyes bright, hard, and wary.
“’Bout time you got back.” Xavier nodded to the counter. “Coffee’s hot.”
Josh nodded. He barely looked at Chloe before he closed himself in the bedroom and shut the door.