He had to smile. “Okay, I’ll give you that one. But who won in the end, sweetheart?”
She blinked innocently. “I’d say I did.” She glanced at the game board, where all of her red pieces sat in the end zone.
“I still say you cheated,” he grumbled, wanting the last word.
“You wish. It’s not my fault you can’t stop staring at my breasts when you should be concentrating on the cards. Talk about a lack of discipline.” Xavier choked on a laugh.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap. I’m still adjusting to being awake during the day.” Chloe stood and stretched. But when she noticed him and Xavier staring at her, she quickly lowered her arms and muttered to herself as she left the room.
“Awake during the day? What, is she a vampire?” he asked his twin.
“No, dumb-ass. She works nights at PowerUp! Remember Mom talking about signing up at that new gym in town? When we get back, I think we should look into it.”
“Maybe.” If they lived long enough to try. It still bothered Josh no one had heard or seen Werlin in the past week. He’d kept track of Otis and his two brothers, the only ones not currently incarcerated or dead, and the ones to worry about when it came to a vendetta.
“So…”
“So.” Josh waited for Xavier to say what was on his mind. He found it interesting his brother had resorted to verbal communication, when for so long they’d passed mental messages back and forth. To make it easier for Chloe to join their thoughts, maybe?
Xavier swore. “Hell, Josh. Quit being so damn difficult. Have you looked lately?”
“No.”
“Well, do it. I want to see if Chloe’s in danger.”
“And I don’t?”
Xavier shook his head. “You’re in that self-denial thing you’re so good at. You want her, but you’re afraid. So you pretend you can ignore her, when we both know you can’t stop thinking about her. It’s a classic Josh move.”
“Yeah, and you don’t think before you do. A classic Xavier move,” he snapped back. “I’m not afraid of shit.”
Xavier laughed at him.
“What’s so funny?”
“Bro, you sound exactly like Chloe. It’s almost eerie how alike you two are.” And why that pleased him, Josh couldn’t say. “I’m not—”
“Yeah, you are. So alike, it’s scary. Now quit stalling and take a look.” Josh gritted his teeth. But the thought of Chloe in danger worried him. He cleared his thoughts and relaxed, pleased when the cloudy residue of time settled over his concerns. The return of his gift was a welcome relief, like regaining his vision or hearing. Finally right with himself, he allowed the future to unfold.
And that was when he saw Xavier hidden under a bed. A knife sticking out from Chloe’s shoulder. Watched as an average-looking man with crazed brown eyes stabbed him in the neck, then went after Xavier. A glance around them showed an unfamiliar bedroom. What might have been gray or green walls around a large bed.
Scattered clothing. Chloe’s clothing. A few pictures on the dresser, but the room was otherwise draped in chaos.
And then he saw himself slouched against her bedroom door, keeping something out while Chloe shouted something. The vision went dark as the sound of bullets impacted, but he had the impression of Chloe smiling down at him. He blinked into the present once again.
“Tell me.” Xavier looked worried.
As well he should be. Josh shared the vision, and they both quieted, lost in thoughts of how to save the woman who meant more to them than she should.
“We tell her.” Xavier rose from his seat at the table.
“What? No. We need to protect her.”
“Oh? I was under the assumption you wanted her out of here and out of our lives as soon as possible.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Dammit.” Josh cut Xavier off before he could reach the bedroom door. “Don’t.
You’ll influence her future. She’ll leave us too early.”
“Move. She needs to know.” When Josh refused to budge, Xavier shook his head. “This is stupid. I could just tell her without speaking, Josh.”
“But you won’t. Because it still freaks her out, knowing you’re the voice she’s been hearing.”
“Well, yeah. But I’m surprised you knew that.” Xavier gave him an appraising look. “You’re paying more attention to her than I’d thought.” A wide smile spread over his face. “Good to know.”
Seconds passed. “Oh, fuck it. Fine. We’ll tell her.” Josh followed Xavier into the bedroom and stopped at the sight of Chloe wearing one of his flannel shirts and nothing else. She knelt in the middle of the bed, as if waiting for them. His shirt covered her from her shoulders to her knees, but she hadn’t buttoned it. And the hint of her flesh as she shifted turned him on big time.
“Well?”
Josh took a step forward before he could stop himself. And then Chloe took charge.
Chapter Six
Xavier hadn’t been sure she’d go along, but he couldn’t have been happier.
Chloe had doubts. He understood that. But knowing Josh needed her had triggered her compliance. A generous woman, his Chloe. Their Chloe.
Xavier watched his brother try to resist Chloe and fail. Good move on her part, to wear something of Josh’s. His brother was all about ownership, a possessive bastard who needed to better learn how to share.
Satisfied she’d give them a shot at the future they all needed, he waited for Josh to relent.
“Don’t you want me?” She eased the shirt open and cupped a breast. Her taut nipples were a pretty pale brown, her size full enough to fit in his hand yet not spill over. And he had large hands.
Josh swallowed hard. “Yeah.”
Xavier wanted to shove him forward. To ask why he hesitated when everything they’d ever wanted knelt on the bed, his for the asking.
But he knew. Karen’s rejection had killed something inside his brother. Xavier had never admitted it, but she’d damaged him as well. Like Josh, he secretly hoped for a sense of normalcy. He knew they’d never be the average family on the block, but the chance at a wife and children meant something. Karen had been the first woman Josh had actively pursued with permanence in mind. Not including Xavier had been his first mistake. Picking the wrong woman his second.
Josh knew better now, but he was gun-shy. The sex last night had been incredible, but would Josh have the courage to step forward and experience it again? Because Xavier had felt the deeper sense of connection among them. More than the physical, their joining had touched something stronger. A sense of self mirrored between all of them.
“Scared?” Chloe taunted and sucked a finger into her mouth.
Josh growled and knocked her to the bed. His mouth on hers, his hands ripped the shirt from her as he kissed his way down her body.
In seconds he’d found her clit, and he drew her into his mouth, licking and sucking while he moaned his surrender.
“God, she’s hot.”
“Yeah.” Pleased Josh spoke to him, included him despite his obvious fixation on Chloe, Xavier leaned down to kiss her. The temptation of her breasts called, and he cupped the smooth mounds, loving her feminine differences. When she arched into him, he deepened the kiss and tugged at her nipples.
Her loud moan increased his urgency to take her.
“Together this time.” The image Josh sent him turned Xavier’s lust into a raging inferno.
Xavier released Chloe to strip naked. Then he took over for Josh. They switched places, with Josh now savoring her breasts.