Authors: Susan Hayes
He had to be kidding.
“I mastered washing my own hands and face a long time ago. I’ll head upstairs and—”
“Come here, Ciara. Now.” He pointed to a spot in front of the sink and arched a brow, daring her to argue.
The note of command in his voice should have pissed her off. Instead, her pulse raced, and her pussy was suddenly slick and aching.
“What is it with you two and the need to be in charge all the time?” she muttered, not moving from her location.
“You think the Alliance hands out promotions to people who ask nicely? Quit giving me lip and get over here. Annie asked me to help you wash up, and I’m going to do as she asks.”
She couldn’t help herself. She laughed and joined Vance at the sink. “For Annie then. But only because I wouldn’t want you to let her down. Little girls need to look up to their daddies, not be disappointed in them.”
Vance moved in behind her, close enough she could feel the heat of his body warming her back. His arms curved around her, and he took her hands in his, guiding her to the faucet and activating it with a sweep of their joined hands. Warm water poured over her fingers, but Ciara barely noticed. Her attention was on the powerful body pressed against hers, cradling her with as much care as he’d held his little girl.
“What did they do to disappoint you?” Vance asked, his voice a low rumble near her ear as he began slowly massaging her hands.
“Who?” she replied, but she knew what he was asking her.
“Your fathers. Your family. That’s the reason there’s a ‘do not contact family’ notation on your file. You don’t want anything to do with them.” His voice was as gentle as his touch as he began lathering up the soap between her fingers, every touch a sensual caress.
“I was twenty-one. Something happened, and they had to make a choice. They didn’t choose me.” All these years later, and it still hurt to talk about it.
He finished washing her hands and held them under the water to rinse, not speaking again for several moments. “My dads didn’t chose me either, remember? They kept volunteering for off-world missions, leaving my mom and me alone on Earth. I always thought it was my fault, that if I could figure out what it was they wanted from me, then they’d be happy and stay with us.
Vance hadn’t told her his story to garner sympathy. He’d wanted her to know he understood a little of what she’d gone through. The last thing he’d expected was for Ciara to turn in his arms, throw her arms around his neck and stretch up on her toes to hug him.
“They should have stayed and discovered what an amazing boy they had,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her rain dampened curls. “Thank you. I guess all three of us got dealt lousy hands when it came to our parents. Dane and I are determined to do better for Annie.”
“Any girl would be lucky to have you two watching over her.”
“How about you, Ciara? Would you consider yourself lucky to have us?”
She shifted in his arms, her head lifting so she could smile up at him. “I think I would.”
“Then we’re all yours.” He cupped the back of her head with one hand and kissed her, his need to taste her pushing every other thought out of his head. When she uttered a soft little moan of delight and kissed him back, he knew he was in a world of trouble.
He kept her in his arms as long as he dared, savoring every sweet second of contact. It wasn’t until there was a clamor of tiny footsteps flying down the stairs that he let Ciara go. She withdrew with a smile on her kiss-swollen lips, her hazel eyes glowing as she ducked back to the sink and splashed a handful of water on her face. She was still scrubbing away the last traces of dirt when Annie reappeared with Dane only a few steps behind her.
“Hug now, Ciara,” she announced, heading straight for Ciara with her arms wide.
Ciara dropped to one knee to snuggle Annie. “One hug, coming up.”
Dane glanced down at the two girls, then flicked his gaze up to Vance and cocked a brow in silent query.
Vance nodded, and Dane’s lips turned up in a smug grin. Without a word, he wandered deeper into the kitchen and started gathering up the cutlery to set the table for dinner. Looking around, Vance was struck by how ordinary it all seemed. Everyone was pitching in to get dinner ready at the end of the day, Annie laughing, the kitchen too crowded but no one complaining. Ciara fit into their lives so easily, it was almost as if she’d always been there.
* * * *
After dinner had been cleared away, Ciara went to her room. She knew it would take Vance and Dane a while to put Annie to bed, despite the fact the little girl had been nodding off in her booster-seat by the time the meal was over. Alone for the first time in hours, Ciara freshened up and changed into new clothes, a simple green tunic over a pair of soft, comfortable leggings. Feeling better, she sat cross-legged at the foot of her bed and opened the box she’d retrieved from the rubble of her home.
The ledger was there, safe and sound, and so was her small stash of data sticks loaded with credits. She’d learned long ago it was best to hide anything of value. It was the only reason she’d been able to recover anything at all. Not that she would have been able to reach it without Dane. Both men had used their unique gifts to help her, and neither of them had asked for anything in return. They weren’t like any men she’d known before, except maybe Alayna’s bonded. Then again, Nikolai and Colin had never made her feel the way Vance and Dane did. She set aside the box and ran her fingers over the back of her hand, remembering the way Vance had caressed her. He’d made the simple act of washing up into foreplay, and she wanted to experience his touch again, soon.
To pass the time, she opened the ledger and wrote the names of everyone who had lost their lives when the earthquake struck. When she was done, she added two names to the front of the book. The two lives she had been able to save, Danny and Kyle. Their mother had shielded them from the collapse with her own body, sacrificing herself to save her children. It was an act of love her own parents would never have contemplated, but she suspected Dane or Vance would trade their lives for Annie’s without hesitation. They’d both shared enough of their pasts for her to know they’d chosen to be good men, despite everything they’d been through. She’d chosen to walk away, and for the first time since she’d left home, Ciara wondered if she’d made the right choice.
She was so lost in her own thoughts that when a knock sounded on her bedroom door, she started, nearly levitating off the bed in surprise. “Yes?”
“Annie’s out like a light. Vance and I were wondering if you’d like to join us outside on the deck?”
Ciara frowned as she tried to recall seeing a deck on her tour of the house, but nothing came to mind. “You can come in, then you can tell me where this deck is.”
The door swung open, and the room seemed to shrink as Dane stepped inside. He was dressed in a basic pair of jeans and a dark blue T-shirt, but to Ciara, he looked as mouthwatering as he had in his uniform. Better, in fact. She liked him this way, with a hint of dark stubble on his cheeks and a casual, easy air that wasn’t present when he was representing the Alliance.
“The deck is only accessible from our bedrooms, not the rest of the floor. We have a hot tub and privacy field out there.” He gave her a wicked grin. “It’s the one place in this house that’s for adults only. Want to come see?”
“That sounds suspiciously like a come-on line, but I really need to see this for myself. What do two bachelor men put into their adult-only clubhouse?”
He held out his hand. “For starters? A bar. I don’t know about you, but I plan on having a drink, soak in the tub, and watch the stars for a while.”
She set aside her ledger and rose from the bed to take his hand. “I’m all for the drink, but I don’t own a swim suit, remember?”
Warm fingers wrapped around hers, pulling her in close as his words wrapped around her like a caress. “I’m hoping you decide to forgo the suit, angel. But if you’re not ready for that, you can keep your shirt and panties on. I promise we’ll behave…if we have to.”
Dane had gone into her room with a firm grip on his libido and every intention of keeping his hands to himself. The plan had lasted exactly as long as it took him to walk into the room and see Ciara sitting on her bed with a haunted expression on her face. One look, and he wanted nothing more than to fold her into his arms and banish whatever demons she was wrestling with.
He’d expected her to laugh at his offer to go skinnydipping, but instead, she lifted her gaze to his and gave him a cheeky little grin. “That’s a sweet offer, soldier boy, but as it happens, I’m not wearing panties, either.”
“I’m no boy.” Heat slammed through him. His lips crashed down on hers, sealing her mouth before she could answer. He pulled her in tight to his body, letting her feel the hard shaft of his cock pinned between them, making it clear how deeply her words had affected him. Tongues tangled, bodies sliding together to create a delicious friction that had his dick throbbing in time to the pounding of his heart.
When their kiss finally ended, it was only because the need for air was too strong to ignore any longer. He sucked in a long breath, then glanced down to find her doing the same thing. “See what you do to me? I came in here determined to behave myself…then you had to go and tell me you’re not wearing underwear. I’m sure I mentioned I’m no good at resisting temptation.”
“Who said anything about you resisting?” she asked.
A split second later, she was yelping in shock as he gave into instinct and hoisted her into the air before draping her over his shoulder. He deliberately smacked his hand down on the rounded curve of her ass, keeping it planted there to steady her when she jerked in surprise.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“This is me, not resisting. Wish granted. Hang on, angel, we’re going for a little walk.” He headed for the hallway, intent on getting her outside and hopefully into the Jacuzzi.
She squirmed on his shoulder. “Make it quick, caveman. This isn’t the most comfortable way to travel.”
Without missing a beat, he used his telekinetic ability to lift her an inch off his shoulder, giving her a smooth, more comfortable ride.
“Show off.”
“One more comment out of you, and I’ll dump your sweet ass in the water, clothes and all.”
“I already soaked one outfit today. If I get these wet, I’ll be running out of things to wear soon.”
Fuck. If she didn’t intend to get her current outfit wet, that meant she planned to take them off. Dane broke into a jog. This evening was looking better and better.
“In a hurry all of a sudden?” she asked with a lilt of laughter in her voice as he turned into his bedroom and made a beeline for the doors leading onto the deck.
“You’re teasing a man on the edge, you know that, right?”
She shifted beneath his hand, her body tensing slightly. “How big an edge?” she asked.
“Vance and I haven’t so much as looked at a woman since Christine. Only two females have ever set foot in this house since we moved in. Annie and Alayna.”
He felt her tremble, then relax again before murmuring, “Then you better make my drink a double.”
“Whatever you want, angel.”
“I think we all want the same thing. I’m just not sure how we get there from here.”
“That’s easy. Say yes. That’s all you need to do.”
They stepped out onto the deck to where Vance was waiting. Dane set Ciara down between them and waited to see what she said next.
Her gaze bounced between them for a moment, and her lower lip vanished between her teeth. Finally, she gave a tiny nod. “Yes. My answer is yes.”
***
CHAPTER NINE
Ciara barely had time to look around before she found herself sandwiched between two hard, eager male bodies. She caught a quick glimpse a wide expanse of deck furnished with several chairs and lounges. There were a few lights subtly placed around the space, but the glow they gave off was dim enough she could still see the stars overhead. There was a small bar of polished wood set up under an overhang, and even a vid-screen attached to a protected section of the outer wall. The hot tub took up most of the available space, the water roiling from the force of the nearly silent jets, and hot enough to create wisps of steam that floated over the surface.
Those few details were all she managed to register in the brief seconds before her lovers trapped her between them and began their seduction. Vance’s mouth slanting over hers as Dane delivered a string of kisses down the side of her neck. Hands caressed her, stroking and teasing. Dane’s hands landed on her hips, pulling her against him as he ground his cock against her body. Vance cupped her breasts in his large hands, kneading gently as his tongue swept into her mouth.
Need swept over her in an irresistible wave, and she let herself be carried away by it. This was what she craved. To be wanted, to be connected to others again. She was so tired of standing alone and apart.
Her shirt was lifted up, baring her breasts to the chill air. Her nipples pebbled instantly, but before she could cover herself, Dane was whispering in her ear.
“Arms up. I need to see you.”
She lifted her arms, and her shirt came up over her head, forcing Vance to retreat from his kiss so Dane could undress her.
“Do you mind? Next time try warning me first,” Vance grumbled.
“Sorry. I’m out of practice,” Dane answered, and Ciara gave in to the need to giggle.
“And now she’s laughing at us. Nice job, asshole.”
“I think it’s adorable the way you two squabble,” she said, still snickering softly.
“Adorable? This is your fault, Foster. You had one job. Invite her out onto the deck, and now she thinks we’re cute…”
Ciara reached for Vance, sliding her fingers into the waist of his pants and tugging him closer. “I also think the two of you overdressed. If I’m going to be naked, so are you.” She glanced around them. “Please tell me the privacy screen is already up.”
Vance dropped his gaze to her breasts and licked his lips. “You’re thinking too much. Close your eyes, Ciara. Let us take care of you.”