Fifteen
Danielle held out her palm to shake hands but Suzie laughed and threw her arms around Danielle, giving her a warm hug. When she released Danielle, who had stiffened at the unexpected contact, Tasha stepped forward and hugged Danielle, too. Her slim arms encircled Danielle’s body and she gave a quick squeeze, then stepped back.
“Great, you three have managed the introductions,” Trey said as he returned to the room. “Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Do you want something to drink?”
Trey led them into the kitchen, where his sisters sat on the tall stools at the counter eating area. Danielle opened the fridge and took out the pitchers of lemonade and iced tea that she’d prepared earlier and placed them on the counter. Trey placed four glasses on the counter beside the frosty pitchers.
“We’re having lasagna for dinner, since I know how much you love it, Tasha,” Trey said.
“With garlic bread and Caesar salad?” she asked as she poured herself some lemonade.
“Of course.” Trey sipped his iced tea. “How was the drive?”
“Great,” Suzie answered. “Good weather all the way here.” She glanced at Danielle. “So, Danielle, what do you do?”
“Me? Oh, I’m self-employed. I develop Web sites for small businesses.”
“That’s sounds like fun. Do you work from home?”
“Mostly, though I do spend some time with my clients determining their needs. What about you?”
Trey placed a tray on the counter with a selection of cheese and crackers and a few red grapes as garnish, then went to the sink, where he began washing lettuce for the salad. Tasha popped a grape into her mouth, and Danielle took a slice of cheddar and placed it atop a stone-ground whole wheat cracker.
“I’m a guidance counselor at a high school.”
“At the same high school Tasha goes to?” Danielle asked.
“Oh God, no,” Tasha said in such an animated voice, especially given her quiet demeanor so far, it caught Danielle off guard. “That would be awful. My sister working at the school I go to!”
Danielle would have thought it would be great, but she wasn’t really an expert on sister relationships. Didn’t Tasha and her sister get along?
“Don’t mind her. No teenager wants her big sister anywhere near her friends . . . or her social circle.”
“So, little Tasha is going to university next year,” Trey said as he sat down on the stool beside his youngest sister.
Tasha didn’t look all that little. She was tall and slim with a well-proportioned figure, long straight dark hair, and the same warm brown eyes with gold specks that Trey had. Whether Trey saw it or not, she was definitely a young woman.
They chatted for a while, then Trey served dinner. They made plans to visit the university the next day, mostly for just a look-see, since it was a Saturday. They’d do a full tour on Monday.
After cleaning up the dishes, they all watched a movie in the living room before calling it a night.
Danielle followed Trey into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, feeling odd going in there with him while his sisters were in the house.
“So, what do you think of Suzie and Tasha?”
“They’re beautiful—and so nice.”
He stroked her cheek. “Then why do you look perplexed?”
“No, it’s just that . . . I found it weird . . .”
“What’s weird?”
“They hugged me. When they first got here. But they don’t even know me.”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She leaned against his familiar warm chest.
“Danielle, you’re my girlfriend. That means you’re part of the family.”
Part of the family.
As simple as that. She would love to be part of his family. To have many more nights like the one they’d just had. To feel like she belonged.
After changing into her nightgown, she climbed into bed beside Trey. As nice as the evening had been, as she lay there, it felt like something was missing. It took her only a moment to realize that . . . it felt strange lying in bed beside Trey without Jake.
In the morning, Danielle blinked open her eyes as bright summer sunshine washed across her face.
“Time to get up,” Trey said as he stood by the window fastening the last few buttons on his shirt.
She rolled onto her back, away from the glare, and tucked her hands behind her head.
He strolled to the bed and prowled to her side.
“Looking sexy to entice me back to bed won’t work.” He rolled over her, planting a hand on each side of her shoulders, and leaned down to kiss her, then nuzzled her neck. “Well, maybe it
will
work.”
Delicious tingles danced through her body and she longed to rip open her nightgown and pull him into her depths. Instead, she flattened her hands against his chest . . . his hard sculpted muscular chest . . . and pressed him away, still very conscious of the fact that his sisters were nearby.
“No, we really do need to get up,” she said.
Trey kissed her again, then rolled away. “Okay, but if you change your mind . . .”
“I know.” She grinned. “You’re ready and willing.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, the gentle caress of his lips still haunting her. She showered, pulled on a pair of jeans and a turquoise T-shirt, and headed toward the kitchen.
“Morning, Danielle.” Tasha glanced up from the magazine she was reading while sitting on the couch in the sunny living room. Hickory lay by the window in a patch of sunlight on the carpet.
“Good morning, Tasha. Did you sleep well?”
“Uh-huh. Trey and Suzie are in the kitchen making breakfast.”
Danielle nodded and pushed through the door.
“Hey, Dani. Want a coffee?” At her nod, Trey poured some coffee into one of the tall red stoneware mugs he knew she liked and handed it to her.
“May I help with something?”
“No, you just enjoy your coffee,” said Suzie. “Trey and I have this under control.”
“But—”
“Really. Trey and I work well together.”
Danielle poured a little cream in her coffee and a teaspoon of sugar, then sat at the counter and watched them. They did work well together, Trey turning the sizzling bacon, then pulling it out with tongs and placing it on a stack of paper towels to drain, while Suzie poured the beaten eggs into a frying pan, then glided a wooden spoon back and forth in the pan. The toaster popped up and Trey tossed the toast onto a plate, put a couple more slices of bread into the toaster, then buttered the fresh toast.
She sipped her coffee while she watched them move around the kitchen handling the various tasks like a real team. It probably seemed like the simplest, most ordinary day in the world to Trey and his sisters, but to Danielle, the simple pleasure of a morning breakfast with family seemed like the best thing in the entire world.
Finally, breakfast was ready, and they all sat down at the dining room table, which Tasha had set, to enjoy the hot breakfast together. The kidding and camaraderie around the table made Danielle realize just how much she’d missed by never being a part of a close group of siblings.
As they finished, Suzie said, “Is your friend Jake joining us for dinner tonight?”
“I didn’t ask him, so no. It’s just us tonight.”
Danielle noticed a hint of disappointment in Suzie’s eyes, then it quickly dissappeared. “But we could invite him,” Danielle said.
“Really?” Suzie perked up. “I mean, I haven’t seen him in years and I just thought, well, it might be nice to catch up.”
“Sure, I’ll call him and invite him along,” Trey said with a shrug.
Suzie turned her gaze to her eggs, but Danielle noticed the twinkle in her eyes.
Uh-oh.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Suzie had no idea how . . . complicated . . . things were between the three of them, and she knew Trey would die if she found out.
In the short time she’d known Suzie, Danielle had begun to feel a strong attachment to her, and she didn’t like the idea of her being disappointed.
Jake stepped into the busy restaurant and noticed Danielle and Trey sitting side by side, looking very cozy, with Suzie across from them. Suzie smiled at him brightly.
“Hello everyone.” He sat down beside Suzie as they all greeted him.
“You remember my sister Suzie,” Trey said.
“Of course.”
He’d met Suzie on a couple of occasions over the years, but they’d never spent more than a few minutes together. She wore a stylish black dress with a plunging neckline, her dark hair swept into an elegant up-do. She certainly looked a lot different than she had when Jake and Trey were in college. Back then she’d had braces and glasses and been painfully shy, her head always buried in a book.
“And where’s Tasha?” Jake asked.
“She has friends in town,” Suzie said.
“Ah.” That was answer enough. Any teenager would rather hang out with friends rather than a bunch of
old
people like them.
It was strange sitting across from Danielle, as she and Trey sat close together, acting like lovers—exclusive lovers—while he just watched. He longed to slide in beside Danielle and stroke her long, silky thigh, to kiss her warm, full lips . . . but tonight, she was Trey’s girlfriend.
“Jake, I was surprised to hear that you’re still single,” Suzie said as she eyed the menu. “There must be a lot of women in your life, a handsome guy like you.”
As she smiled warmly at him, then tucked some loose strands of glossy dark hair behind her ear, he got the distinct impression that shy little Suzie was flirting with him—and quite brazenly, too. Which made things damn awkward. He’d be the first to admit that his sex life was unconventional, if not downright wild, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to make a move on Trey’s little sister. Just the idea was creepy as hell.
“Actually I don’t date a lot of women.” He ever so slightly emphasized the word “women” and winked at Trey and Danielle.
Suzie didn’t seem to notice, but Trey’s gaze darted to the menu and he cleared his throat.
“I have a lot going on in my life right now,” Jake continued. “Not much time to date.”
Throughout dinner, Suzie showed great interest in Jake’s work. Trey and Danielle kept involved in the conversation, too, but Danielle seemed a little distracted. Jake wondered if Trey was stroking her leg, or if she was stroking Trey. Jake longed to feel her hand graze his leg, then stroke over his rising bulge. . . . He was getting hot at the thought of being with her again. Wishing he could be with her right now.
When she rose to go to the ladies’ room, he wanted to excuse himself, too, and drag her into the men’s room for some dirty exciting sex in a stall. But Suzie went with her.
An awkward silence between Jake and Trey followed, which he had never experienced with Trey, and Jake was glad when Danielle and Suzie returned. The awkwardness between Trey and himself was weird, but he realized it was a natural result of the fact that Danielle’s acting as Trey’s girlfriend had changed the balance of the relationship among the three of them. Right now, Jake was an outsider. He wasn’t allowed to touch Danielle, or hold her. To kiss her. He had to treat her like his friend’s girlfriend. The problem was, it felt all too real. Jake felt like a fifth wheel, and he didn’t like it.
Man, he wished this week were over so things could get back to normal. So he could ravage Danielle within an inch of her life.
Danielle waited beside Suzie and Jake as Trey unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for her.
“Actually, I was going to ask Danielle if she could ride in my car to the club,” Jake said.
“I could ride with you,” Suzie suggested.
“Well, I wanted to get Danielle’s advice about something.”
“That’s a great idea,” said Danielle, stepping in. “I’d love to give you some advice.”
Suzie looked disappointed, but she got into Trey’s car.
“I’m parked around here,” Jake said.
Danielle followed him along the parking lot, then around the building. As soon as they turned the corner and were out of sight of Trey’s car, he dragged her into his arms and captured her lips. His mouth assaulted hers with passion, and when he finally released her, she was breathless.
“God, I’ve missed you.”
She smiled at him. “You saw me only yesterday.”
“I guess, but . . . now it feels like you really are Trey’s girlfriend and I’ll never be with you again.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body close. “It’s just pretend, remember?”
“I just hope you two do.”
They walked to his gorgeous red Mustang and he opened the door for her. He settled into the driver’s seat beside her, then took her into his arms for another passionate kiss. His hands began to rove over her body. When he lightly caressed her breasts, her nipples blossomed in need. She stroked her hand down his hard chest, over his stomach. As she grazed over his growing bulge, she felt heat growing in her belly and rising through her body.
She wanted to tug out his big cock and swallow it down right now, then climb on top of him and glide it inside her.
A car engine started behind them, and reluctantly, she drew away from him.
“We really should be going. They’ll be waiting for us.”
Trey watched Jake and Danielle walk to the table where he was sitting with Suzie waiting for them. They had taken a long time to get here and Jake’s hand was resting on Danielle’s lower back as they walked together. Had they stopped for a quick intimate encounter on the way? Jealousy boiled up in him, but he realized they hadn’t taken that long getting here.
What the hell was wrong with him? Why did the thought of Jake spending time with Danielle . . . being
intimate
with Danielle . . . drive him crazy? After all, they’d been sharing the woman for weeks now.
Danielle sat down beside him and he breathed in the subtle herbal fragrance of her hair. He slid his arm around her and drew her close.
“Hi, sweetheart.” He kissed her, loving the feel of her soft full lips under his.
When they drew apart, he caught Suzie smiling at them. Jake’s expression, on the other hand, was unreadable.
“Suzie, would you like to dance?” Jake asked.
“I’d love to.”