Destined to Be Three (23 page)

Appearing from nowhere, a work-roughened hand tipped her face up with a finger to her chin. The calluses on his hand wouldn’t feel good against soft skin to most women, but it did to her. It reminded her of his hands on her body. Having capable hands on her was overwhelmingly erotic. She wanted a man who knew what she needed and who gave it to her ten times over.

Cade’s finger lifted her chin until her face was at an angle that she had to meet his eyes. Her eyes clashed with his green ones. She could see the sincerity and the love shining like a beacon in the darkness. There was a hint of regret there, too. “Darlin’, we weren’t going to let you go. You know better than that.”

Her chin wobbled, and her eyes moistened, but she needed to stay clearheaded. In a few minutes, she could become a giant bumbling mass of emotional woman. She
would
become one, she knew, but not yet.

Gray closed in on them with the soft eyes of a man looking at something precious to him. “My love, you’re not going anywhere. If you try to leave again, we will follow you to the ends of the earth and drag your ass back home where you belong.”

She believed him. They weren’t meant to be apart. The last years had been no more than a blip in their lives, a learning experience that would have a profound effect on them and their future. She would never be able to say that she was grateful for their time apart. However, there were life lessons to be learned and many of the most important ones were taught the hard way, the way that would be nearly impossible to forget.

Blinking rapidly, she attempted to stop the tears that were coming. She wouldn’t be able to hold them off much longer.

Gray tapped Cade on the shoulder. Both men kneeled at her feet, each taking one hand in theirs. Her battle to contain her tears was lost, and they spilled out of her eyes, trekking down her face like rain on a windowpane.

Cade was the first to speak the words that would be carved in her heart deeper than their initials in the tree. “Darlin’, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. You’re my best friend, my heart, and my soul. Now, you’re my woman, and Gray is my man. So, Jaycee, will you marry us?”

A squeeze from her other hand had her turning toward Gray, but she still held on to Cade’s hand, not allowing the physical connection to be severed. This was about all of them together.

“Jaycee Elizabeth Dalton, I know that I have made mistakes in the past, and I know that I’ve been wrong, but that has changed.” Gray paused as though he was processing his thoughts and choosing his words carefully.

She wanted so badly to stop him, to help him or something. Not because she didn’t love a mushy Gray, but because Gray didn’t like being sentimental or emotional. She saw his Adam’s apple working as he swallowed in apparent nervousness.

With a quick breath, Gray continued his speech. “No,
I’ve
changed. I’ve learned a million lessons that make me a better man for you and for Cade. Not a perfect man, but you wouldn’t want that for me any more than I would for you. The past few years have taught me that there are so many things that I don’t want, and only a few that I do. I don’t want a life without you or Cade, and I don’t want to miss out on marriage and kids. I don’t want to miss growing old with the two of you, and I don’t want to be laid to rest without each of you by my side. All I want is you, Jaycee.” Gray pivoted his head toward Cade and said, “And you, Cade. Forever.”

Instead of immediately turning back to Jaycee, Gray spoke to Cade. “You’ve been with me every step of the way since the day your mom brought you to the ranch twenty-nine years ago. I know that I don’t tell you often enough how I feel, but I want you to know that I love you, and I don’t want to spend a day without you by my side. Will you marry me and Jaycee?”

Saying Cade was stunned was an understatement. He stared at Gray with a blank expression. It was as if Gray spoke to him in French when all he understood was English. Jaycee thought it was adorable and had to fight the urge to hug him for being so damn cute.

Gray chuckled, lightening the seriousness in the room. Since Cade was speechless, Gray pivoted his head back to her, giving her his undivided attention. “Jaycee, sweetheart, I love you. Will you marry me and Cade?”

Wiping her tears with the back of her hands, she told the men exactly what they wanted to hear. “I love you both so much. Yes, I will marry you!”

Her excited squeal had the power to wake a person six feet under the ground and, apparently, Cade, who looked from Gray to Jaycee then from Jaycee back to Gray, and said, “Hell yeah, I want to marry you both so I can fuck you anytime and anywhere I want to.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “Only you, Cade.”

Jaycee realized something while Gray was teasing Cade. No one had proposed to Gray. They both had proposed to her. Gray had proposed to Cade. But Gray was the odd man out. Not allowing that, she pulled both men to their feet, kissed each one of them soundly, and fell to her knees.

Gray was disconcerted, his brow furrowed and his lips turned down in a slight frown. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was confused or because he understood what she was up to and disapproved. Her caveman probably didn’t like this, but he would have to deal.

“Cade McCoy, I haven’t really been able to say all of the things that I’ve felt for you through the years. For this reason or that, I never felt it was fair to any of us for me to share these feelings when we weren’t free to be together. I couldn’t tell you how much more I wanted from you or how much you mattered to me or how grateful I was to have a man like you in my life. I have years of pent-up emotions that I felt the need to hide. Now that I can tell you freely and clearly, I want to spend the rest of our lives together so I can tell you as often as I want how much I love you. Will you marry me?”

Cade nodded solemnly, but there was a distinct twinkle in his eyes.

“Grayson Allen Blakemore—”

“Hey!” Cade interrupted her proposal, and she really wanted to smack him until he said, “You can’t propose to Gray without me.” The petulance in his tone was thoroughly amusing. His personality was making itself known, which meant the romantic moments were about to conclude and someone was getting naked.

Cade got down beside her, close enough that their shoulders were touching. “Okay, Jaycee. You go first. Then I’ll take my turn. I’m awfully good at that.”

She elbowed him in the side. If he didn’t stop, she was going to have to take him in hand.

“Grayson Allen Blakemore, you’re my first, my last, and everything in between. We have taken more than one wrong turn, but we always manage to find our way back to one another. Even after all this time, we couldn’t be kept apart. It’s like a cosmic force draws us to each other. As long as you are you and I am me, I will keep coming back. Every single time. No matter how near or how far, I’m yours. Just like I’m Cade’s. We are, and always have been, destined to be three. In my heart and mind, I know the answer to this question, but I still want the chance to ask. Gray, will you please do me the honor of becoming one of my husbands?”

“Yes.” His answer was simple and to the point, but it still had the power to make her feel as though she was flying high in the sky, as if she could run a marathon in her socks, and as though she could dance on air—all at the same time.

“I love you, Gray,” Cade said. “I really do, but I can’t take much more of this sappiness. Maybe we can continue this later, when we are basking in the afterglow, but it’s too much right now. We’ve already covered all our bases. We love each other. We lust after each other. We want a happily ever after. I am going to ask you this as nicely as possible in my current condition, and please don’t take long in answering.” Cade smirked, the smart-ass. “Will you marry me and the sexy woman next to me?”

All three of them burst into laughter, and she knew this time they had gotten it right.

Chapter 21

“Yes, Cade. I’ll marry you,” Gray said with a laugh, and then it appeared as though a thought had occurred to him. His laughter died away, his face filling with ill humor.

Uh-oh.
She could tell he’d just remembered what she’d done downstairs.

“Cade and I voted for tonight to be candles and roses, Jaycee, but after a stolen car and your little stunt with Ethan, I have changed my vote. I cast my ballot for punishing our little hellcat. What about you, Cade?”

Serious uh-oh.

“Whoa!” She sounded like a referee at a sporting event. If she had on stripes and a whistle around her neck, she would be set. “I did not steal the damn car. It’s mine.”

“Not yet it wasn’t,” Gray contradicted with a dark scowl marring his flawless face.

She jumped to her feet furiously. “I didn’t know that I was stealing it, asshole.”

Cade tsked her and said, “Language, language, young lady.”

Jaycee wanted to ignore him. She really did, but she couldn’t resist responding. With a blasé shrug, she replied, “It’s a talent.”

Gray advanced on her, moving with the speed of a pissed-off cheetah. “How in the hell did you not know you were stealing it? The car was a gift we hadn’t given you yet. You didn’t even wake us up to ask.” He stopped, his face going darker than before if that was possible, and redirected his line of questioning. “Why didn’t you tell us you were leaving in the first place?”

Well, hell.

Trying to keep a level head, she counted to ten before she answered, “I didn’t want to wake you guys. You both looked so peaceful, and I know how difficult sleep is for you, Gray.”

Cade groaned as he stood up. “Not a good answer, darlin’.”

“Do you think we enjoyed waking up to find you gone?” Gray asked, covering the rest of the distance between them but didn’t touch her. She wasn’t sure if it was a rhetorical question or not so she kept her lips zipped. “I threw a damn toaster through the kitchen window.”

I’m dead meat.

“Don’t forget the hole in the wall, Gray,” Cade pointed out with a far-too-amused chuckle.

Are you fucking insane? Shut up!

“I’m sorry,” Jaycee apologized, rubbing Gray’s big, strong chest.

Gray looked through her as if she wasn’t in the room and spoke over her, “What’s your vote, Cade?”

“Hey,” she yelled and poked Gray in the shoulder. “I’m right here. And I’m still confused as to when we became a fucking democracy.”

A grin that would lead a nun into sin and make any woman on the planet spread her legs appeared on Cade’s face. If she had even one self-preservation instinct when it came to them, she would run. Instead, she arched her back enough to point her hard nipples in his direction and smiled at him challengingly.

Cade lowered his eyes to the pointy nubs and cursed. Without looking away from her chest, he responded to Gray. “Yeah. I vote for spanking and butt plugs. By butt plugs, I mean our dicks. Those are the best kind.” Lifting his eyes slowly and sensually to her face, he told her, “No silicone for you tonight. You see, darlin’, we didn’t get to fuck that virginal asshole of yours last time. After tonight, we will stuff a plug up your ass whenever and wherever we want. Clenching your muscles to keep the plug in place will drive you mad. There is something magical about knowing your woman is crazy with lust out around the town and can’t do a damn thing about it.” He grinned wickedly. “I’m thinking we should take you on a nice, leisurely romantic dinner and a carriage ride with the largest butt plug we have. I’ve even got one in mind.”

“We win,” Gray stated, reaching for the hem of his T-shirt and pulling it over his head.

The sight of his ripped muscles gave her pause. Her eyes traveled over his brawny chest, moving to the lines on his hardened abs. Damn, she wished he would lose his pants so she could savor every yummy inch of him. A tease of that body wasn’t nearly enough for her.

In any other case, she would have jumped on him, but she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Mentally, she wiped the drool off her chin. “I didn’t get a vote on becoming a democracy, nor did I get one now.”