Trusting Them (9 page)

She didn’t have a clue. Her body wanted them. The way they touched her turned her on. No one had ever gotten her as hot as quickly as they had been able to do downstairs by the fireplace. The feel of Brady’s mouth on her breast, sucking her nipple, sent chills down her spine now that had nothing at all to do with the cold weather outside. Remembering Brock’s fingers pinching and pulling on her nipples sent heat ripping through her core. She wanted them. There was no doubt in her mind she wanted them.

The question was did she want them enough to take them both on? And, would it be worth losing them in the long run? Losing them? She laughed and shook her head. She never had them to begin with. She was on the run from a dangerous ex-husband who had already tried to kill her once. She wasn’t in any position to even contemplate a relationship with someone else, let alone two someone elses.

Her best bet was to act cool around them and let them think she’d had time to realize what she was doing and had made up her mind she didn’t want anything more from them. She needed to get out of there as soon as possible. Much more time spent with the two brothers and she would lose all of her well-placed intentions. Their charm and considerable sexual skills would soon break down her defenses and have her wallowing in their lust in no time. No, she had to convince them that she wasn’t interested in a relationship with them, or anyone, for that matter. Just the thought of what Glenn might do to them gave her the resolve she needed to get the job done.

One hour turned into two hours and then into four hours, and still the men weren’t back. It was dark outside now. The wind howled around the house. She had been drinking the water at a steady pace to keep herself hydrated. She figured the generator would run out of fuel soon, so she decided she needed to clean up some and use the bathroom while there was still light.

Jeni eased out from under the covers and blankets and stood up, holding onto the bed. The short drop took her breath, but she managed to stay upright. She grabbed the flashlight just in case she didn’t make it back before the electricity was cut off again. Then she eased across the floor in her socked feet. She managed to reach the bathroom door without falling and hoped it meant she was well on her way to healing now. Even though she felt stronger, her ribs didn’t act one bit better when she tried reaching up for a towel on the shelf.

After what seemed like hours but in reality was only a few minutes, she had washed and dried her face and brushed her teeth. She took a sponge bath the best she could while resting in between on the lid of the toilet. Finally, she felt as refreshed as she thought she could get and headed back towards the bed. Halfway there, the lights sputtered, then went out. The generator had run out of fuel.

Thank goodness she had the flashlight. She pushed the button and a thin beam of light shone in front of her. She followed it to the bed and, after taking another sip of water, Jeni turned the light off and burrowed beneath all the covers into a little ball to stay warm. She hoped the men would be back soon. She was already a little cold from having been out from under the covers for so long. Her feet were beginning to chill despite the socks and the multiple blankets on top of her. She needed them to hurry back before she got cold again.

How cold were they, though? They were outside in the blowing snow looking for cows. Surely they were about frozen in their saddles. They would need her to warm them up when they got back. Maybe what she should do is go downstairs and build the fire up so it would be warm when they got home.

The idea soon became a good one when she began to get chilly and shiver again. The fire would be a better idea than staying in a cold bed, she decided. With a new resolve, Jeni climbed back out of the bed and wrapped a blanket around her as she took the flashlight from the bedside table to guide her out of the room and safely down the stairs. She let the blanket trail behind her on the floor like a train on a wedding gown.

The fire was still going, but barely, when she managed to shiver her way back to the living room and the couch. She dropped the blanket to the floor and began hefting logs to put on the fire. She knew very little about fireplaces and building fires, but she did know they had to have wood to burn. Before long, she had a roaring fire that was actually too hot to stand next to. She pushed the couch close enough she could feel the heat, but not burn. There were four logs left in the box next to the fireplace. If she ran out of wood, she would have to figure out where they kept it outside.

Outside in the snow and ice, she reminded herself. The light from the fire illuminated the room around her but didn’t reach into the next room that had to be the kitchen, or even into the corners of the living room. The flickering shadows looked sinister on the walls, even as the popping noises sent shivers down her back.

Jeni threw the last log on the fire and worried her lower lip concerning how to find more. She needed to look while there was still a hot fire available to warm herself back up. She took the flashlight and followed its cheery beam to the other room. She was right. It was the kitchen. Next to the back door, several hooks were mounted on the wall. A coat that looked old and worn-out, along with a pair of boots, remained as if in waiting for her to use them. She stepped into the boots that were much too large and slipped on the massive coat that hung almost to the floor. She wrapped the coattails around her and buttoned them the best she could. She needed gloves. When she stuck her hands into the pockets, there they were, two thick, holey gloves that swallowed her hands whole.

Once she was as covered up as she could make herself, Jeni opened the back door and pushed her way through the snow to step onto the back porch. She pulled the door shut behind her with a great deal of trouble. Then she used the flashlight to shine a light along the porch in hopes of finding more wood.

There were two problems with that. One, the snow was a good four feet deep, having been blown up the walls of the porch, and two, the only light she had to go by was the thin beam of the little flashlight she’d taken with her. It was pitch-black without stars to light up the night. She shuffled forward until her feet hit something hard. She reached down and began pulling snow off of whatever it was to get to it. Finally, the rough bark of wood could be seen in the waning light of the flashlight. Wood for the fire, she sighed.

She managed four trips with two pieces of wood each before she gave out and collapsed in front of the fire with her boots, gloves, and coat still on. She’d built the fire back up with two of the logs and stacked the other six sticks next to the fireplace in the box on the hearth. Then she sat on the floor with her back propped against the couch and fell asleep.

* * * *

“Hell!” Brock yelled out as they drove the last of the lost cows back into the corral. They closed and bolted the gate against the wind.

“We’ve been gone too long. The damn generator is down,” he said as they led the horses back to the stable.

“We got the horses, boss. You go check on the woman.” Their foreman grabbed the reins from their hands and walked the horses farther into the stable towards their stalls.

“Thanks. We’ll be inside if you need us again.” Brady didn’t stick around to hear the answer.

Both he and Brock braced against the wind and jogged through the thigh-deep snow towards the dark-looking house. They were both afraid of what they would find. It had been a good six hours since they had left her alone upstairs. Brock knew there had probably only been enough fuel left for another four hours at best. There was no way she would have stayed warm after that.

The idea of her falling sick again scared him. They couldn’t get her to town before tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, if even then. Even with fair skies, the wind dying down, and four-wheel drive, a trip into town would be treacherous at best. One of them should have stayed with her to make sure she stayed warm. If they lost her—well, they just couldn’t, that was all he would say.

They burst through the kitchen door and ran towards the stairs without taking off their boots or coats. When Brady slid to a stop inside the living room door, Brock cursed and tried to knock him out of the way.

“Stop it, Brock. Look!” Brady warded off a blow from Brock’s hand at his head.

Brock dropped his fist and looked in the direction of Brady’s arm. There, sitting on the floor in front of the couch was their baby girl all bundled up in one of their father’s old coats, boots, and gloves. He was almost afraid to touch her and find out if she were okay.

Brady had no such qualms. His brother brushed past him and fell kneeling next to their woman. He reached out to touch her cheek but stopped. Brock realized they both still had on their gloves and coats. He pulled off his gloves and dropped them to the floor. His coat followed quickly behind. Brady did the same. They each touched her cheek and found it warm, but not hot, to the touch. She’d managed to stay warm despite the loss of the electricity. He thanked God for it.

“Let’s get her out of the coat and boots. It looks like she brought wood in from outside. I don’t know how in the hell she managed it,” Brady said.

Brock nodded and went to work on her boots. They were easy enough to get off since they were only about six sizes too large. Brady seemed to have more trouble with the coat than anything. She finally roused enough to help them get it off of her. She smiled at seeing them and promptly fell back asleep once they had her bundled between them on the couch.

Brady looked over at Brock. “See, she would fit perfect here with us. She’s a survivor. She knew the fireplace would keep her warm, and she needed wood to keep it going.”

Brock grunted and continued massaging her feet under the blanket.

“I’m not the one you need to convince, little brother.”

“Surely she won’t leave now. I mean, after we gave her one hell of an orgasm and all.” Brady looked confused.

“One orgasm does not mean a lifetime of bliss, Brady. She is still on the run from her ex-husband and thinks we’ll only get hurt if she sticks around here.”

“Then we’ll convince her she’s wrong. We can take care of her.”

Brock shook his head and pulled her feet tighter into his lap. If only it would be that simple, he thought. She was quickly turning into the most important thing in his life, and that worried him. It obviously didn’t seem to bother Brady, though. He leaned back against the back of the couch with Jeni’s head in his lap, gently running his hands over her hair and shoulders. His brother was way over the edge with his feelings for her. It would be up to Brock to put the pieces back together when she walked out of their lives. He knew she would.

Chapter Seven

Warm lips brushed against hers as Jeni lay in a warm cocoon of bliss. Every part of her body felt comfortable for once. Not too cold, not too hot, and lying on the softest of pillows. She didn’t want to wake up. A persistent pair of lips pushed at hers until she opened to tell them to go away. Instead, a devious tongue slipped inside her mouth and woke up her taste buds with the flavor of coffee and tangy male.

Her eyes fluttered open. She found herself looking up into Brady’s smiling eyes. Neither of them said a word for nearly ten seconds.

“Morning, baby. How do you feel today?”

“Hi.” Jeni felt shy for some reason. “You’re back.”

“Got back about midnight last night. Found you on the floor wearing one of our Dad’s old coats and boots. Looked much better on you than it did him.”

“I needed wood for the fire. I hope it was okay to have borrowed it.”

“Of course it was. You could use anything in the house you wanted to. You’re completely welcome here.” Brady squeezed her shoulders, then slowly pushed her upright. She swung her legs off the couch and placed them on the floor.

“Where is Brock?” she asked.

“He went out to check the roads to see if they’re passable yet.” Brady wouldn’t look at her when he said that.

“Oh, okay.” She pushed off the couch with a moan and Brady was instantly there helping her stand.

“Take it easy.”

“I’m fine, just sore is all. How about I fix something to eat?” She headed towards the kitchen.

“You don’t have to do that. You’re our guest. Besides, you’re still coughing some. You need to rest.”