“Do as she says,” Jack mumbled as he shuffled passed, still sleep tousled.
Jonathan reluctantly released his hold, and she shot to her feet. She was going to lay into both them, but held her tongue, instead watching Jack move about in the kitchen, seemingly unconcerned with her outrage or the argument transpiring.
Did he even know why she was upset? Did he even care?
He retrieved a tall cup from the cabinet, then went to refrigerator and poured himself a glass of milk before returning to the dining room and taking a seat across the table from Jonathan.
“I’m very angry, Jack,” she finally said, breaking the silence.
“I can see that. Please sit down and we’ll talk about it.”
“I prefer to stand.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d prefer if you sat.”
“No,” Jonathan interjected. “If she wants to stand, let her.”
Jonathan’s vaguely expressed concern for her sore ass redeemed him a little in her eyes, especially since Jonathan was now at the receiving end of a very dark look from Jack.
But then the two brothers did that silent communication thing she so hated.
“Sit with Jon then,” Jack amended.
“Unbelievable. Do you all do Morse code with your eyelids or something?”
“Would you prefer to sit with me?”
What she would
prefer
to do was have a hissy fit, bitch them both out for their interference in her personal finances, then walk away. But it was hard to throw a tantrum when they were being so fucking reasonable.
Rather than choose from the options listed, she moved toward the chair next to Jonathan’s. The youngest waylaid her plans by pulling her into his lap, whispering caution into her ear before she could protest. “Pick your battles.”
She stayed put, but hoped her rigid posture reflected her resistance to the arrangement.
Jack looked to his brother. “What’s the problem?”
“Oriana is upset that we paid her bills.”
“Damn right I am,” she muttered.
Jonathan nudged her thigh gently, but she ignored the warning.
“What you all did was utterly intrusive,” she continued. “I’ve been pretty tolerant about everything else, but I won’t be moved on this. I will leave here, go back to work, and pay you back every frigging cent. I won’t be your—”
“Choose your next word carefully,” Jack warned.
Snapping her mouth shut, she folded her arms across her chest and stared him down, refusing to be intimidated. But while her tongue yearned to fling the word in his face, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It had nothing to do with his anger, or a punishment later—and using the damn word didn’t offend her any, but it was a respect thing. She loved him and respected him.
After a moment, she said, “It’s what I feel like. I came here, forced you all to take me in—a stranger, then I slept with you both. Now you’ve paid me.”
“We know you didn’t expect anything from us,” Jack said. “We did it because we wanted to. And we do not expect anything from you in return.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want this. My father would not have wanted this. If he knew that I’d allowed you to pay for his…” Just the thought alone made her bow her head in shame. “God, he’s probably rolling over in his grave right now. He was a proud man.”
“A trait he passed on to you.”
“Yes, he did. I’m not ashamed of that.”
“Nor should you be.”
“Then you’ll understand why I can’t take your money. Why it’s something I have to handle on my own.”
She’d used the life insurance money she received to pay off the majority of her father’s medical bills, but it didn’t cover all of it. Rather than sell any of her father’s possessions as she’d originally planned, she decided to work it off. It would have taken her some years to pay the rest, but that was better than giving up that which her father had so desperately wanted her to have—especially the plane. The memories attached to that…
“Your father didn’t know about the medical insurance, did he?”
The table blurred as tears welled in her eyes. She wasn’t surprised Jack would figure that out. “He wouldn’t have taken anymore cancer treatments if he knew his insurance was capping out,” she whispered. “He wasn’t eligible for assistance, not while he still possessed assets—assets he wanted to pass on to me. It was important to him that I have them after he was gone.”
Oriana swiped angrily at her cheeks. “I convinced him to grant me power of attorney—insisted on it, telling him that it would make things much easier for me to manage until he got better. My father knew he was dying, but I think he agreed to sign it so he didn’t have to hurt me more by reaffirming the truth of the matter, that there was absolutely no hope for recovery. He was trying to protect me as much as I was trying to protect him.”
“I’m so sorry, Ori,” Jonathan murmured, squeezing her a little tighter.
“After he signed the papers, I took over handling everything. When the insurance ran out, I began picking up the tab on the medical bills. At the time, I told myself I would sell his house and his plane after he died to pay off the debt. But once he was gone, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
Oriana laughed lightly, bitterly. “When I was a little girl, I used to make him promise to give me the plane one day. I told him I wanted to be just like him and run the family transport business.” She smiled sadly. “I know that’s why it was so important to him that I got the plane after he died. He wanted to keep his promise to me, even though I had grown up and left home to pursue other dreams.”
Lifting her head, she met Jack’s intense gaze. “The debt was worth the extra time I got to spend with my father. I have no regrets. But keeping your money… No, my father raised me better than that. I will not take advantage of your kindness any more than I already have.”
“If our situations were reversed, you would have done the same for us,” Jonathan offered.
Of course she would have, but she’d never admit that to them. Especially right now. That was the checkmate they were looking for.
Ignoring the trap, she focused on Jack. “Since you have already settled my accounts, I guess I have no choice now but to pay you.”
Though Jack didn’t respond, she could read his thoughts. It was all right there in his eyes: It would be a cold day in hell before he took a single penny from her.
“I
will
be paying you back. If I have to deliver the checks to your doorstep every month, I will.”
Again, he said say nothing, but he might as well have replied,
I wouldn’t cash your checks, and any money you leave will just be transferred back to your account.
It was useless to fight. Neither was going to concede to the other. So why bother discussing it any longer?
“I’m sorry for your loss, Oriana,” Jack said, his voice low. “I won’t pretend to know what you went through. I lost both my parents, but I had a family support system. We had each other. You faced your father’s death alone.”
“I didn’t share that with you to garner your sympathy.” She knew how bitchy that sounded, but didn’t know another way to say it. “While I do appreciate your condolences, what I really want is your understanding as to why I can’t take your money, and why I must leave here.”
Why did saying that last part out loud hurt so much?
“I didn’t know your father,” Jack said, “but through your eyes I can see that he was a good man, a great father, and that he loved you very much.”
She nodded, swallowing hard. “He was both of those things, and yes, he loved me very much.”
“Do you love me?”
The question caught her off guard. “What?”
“Do you love me?”
Oriana glanced back at Jonathan to see if he could offer her a clue as to where his brother was going with this. Jonathan just gave her that look that said, ‘
go on and answer the question.’
She turned back to Jack. “Yes, I do. I love all of you. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Then we are going to give your father exactly what he wanted, and what he
would have
wanted.”
Wait a minute. Who was this man in front of her? “Really? We are?”
“Yes, we are. He obviously wanted what every loving father wants for his daughter. He wanted you to be healthy, happy and well taken care of. He didn’t want to worry what would become of you after he was gone.”
“I—I don’t understand.”
“We’re getting married.”
Her mouth dropped open, shock not allowing it to do much else than hang there.
“My brothers and I will love, honor and cherish you, and we will make sure you are healthy, happy and well taken care of. This was what your father wanted for you, yes?”
“No,” she croaked.
Jack raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think that’s what he wanted?”
“No—well yes, of course he’d want those things for me, but…” She rubbed her eyes. “You’re confusing me. One minute we’re talking about the money I owe you, the next you’re proposing. This is crazy. No.”
“Why?”
“Because it doesn’t fix anything, Jack. Is this your way of circumventing the money issue? I won’t stand for it. I won’t. Or do you feel obligated to ask because I pointed out that I now feel like a whor—”
Jack moved around the table so fast that it didn’t even register in her brain until after he’d yanked her out of Jonathan’s lap and pulled her into his arms.
The kiss was consuming. It was all she could focus on—the way her body melded against his, the way his lips moved against hers, the way his tongue swept into her mouth and commanded all her senses. Moaning, she pressed closer, growing dizzy as he ravaged her mouth, her limbs becoming weak and heavy, like she was drunk from the pleasure of him. He tightened his hold, steadying her to the assault, but did not let up. If anything, he deepened the kiss, and she melted—liquefied.
He pulled back slightly, his breath caressing her lips. “I love you. Please marry me.”
It was on her tongue to say yes, but she hesitated, trying to remember why she had told him ‘no’ just minutes earlier.
“Stay with us. Let us love you.” Jack’s mouth met hers again, soft, teasing, coaxing, his hands lifting the hem of her shirt as his fingers splayed upon her hips. The cooler air brushed against her bare bottom, warmth speared her core. “Let us take care of you,” he breathed.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
No, she couldn’t… Could she? Could she spend the rest of life with three sexy brothers who loved her, wanted nothing more than to dote on her—who would pamper her silly? Oh, God. A lifetime with three men who didn’t want her to do housework, and she genuinely loved them, loved spending time with them. Why the hell hadn’t she said ‘yes’ yet?
Oh, that’s right. They were fighting. About money.
You’d think we were already married.
The kiss became more urgent, heated, impatient, and his hands moved higher, feathery caresses across her ribs. Desire flooding her, she moaned and rubbed against him. Moving in, he cupped her breasts, his thumbs brushing over her hard nipples.
He broke the kiss. “I’m not beyond seducing the answer I want from you,” he said softly, removing her shirt. “I love you too much to play fairly. So just say yes.”
Oriana’s breath hitched as he pulled her close again. His romantic words, so unexpected, moved her in powerful ways—which, when accompanied by the searing paths his mouth made across her skin while his fingers stroked her swollen clit, had her climaxing passionately in his arms.
So she’d only known the guys maybe two weeks. Fuck it.
So they were fighting just moments earlier. Fuck it.
So what if Jack just seduced her into compliance. Fuck it.
What were those three small things in the grand scheme of things? She wasn’t a girl who minded a little risk. It made life that much more exciting. And the rewards to be had if it all did work out…
“Yes,” she gasped, as the last residual tremors subsided. “You win. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Jack laughed softly, kissed her forehead. “Try not to sound too despondent.”
“I’m not. I’m happy.”
“Thank you for saying yes.”
She feigned a forlorn sigh. “I didn’t have much of a choice, anyway. I told Jordan the other day that I would say ‘yes’ to you if you asked. God forbid should I end up in the corner for lying again.”
Reaching down, Jack picked up her shirt. “I think you look darling with your nose pressed into the corner.”
Lifting her arms, she allowed him to redress her. “You should tempt me like that. You’ll make me want to break rules.”
“What’s going on,” she heard Jordan whisper.
Looking over her shoulder, she found him standing next to Jonathan, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Ori has just agreed to be our wife.”
Jordan looked disappointed. “Damn, I missed it.”
“I’m surprised you were able to sleep through it.”
Oriana turned back to Jack. “I think you need to start gagging me.”