Prowling the Vet (7 page)

Oh my God! They’re
all crazy!

Laura pushed herself away from the strange redhead and stood up.
Her legs were shaky but she didn't need a lot of strength. She was leaving.

“Last night Brandon took my sister home!” she practically yelled
at Renee. She could feel Tyler and Brandon nearby but couldn't bring herself to
focus on them.

"She’s blonde, a size four, and wouldn't know one end of a
horse from the other!"

A muffled laugh sounded and Laura finally faced the two men who
had both kissed her mere moments ago.

“You two will never convince me that you truly both want me—not
with me as I am. Big, loud, opinionated, and I’m certainly not ever going to
fall meekly into some…some…” She struggled to find the word, “Weird ménage
relationship!”

Both men opened their mouths and she turned to run away. She got
through the house and held tight to the bag still slung over her shoulder.

The front path seemed much longer the second time around, and
her heart was thumping in anticipation as she hurried along the road to her
car. One of them would follow her, she was sure of it.

“Laura
wait
!”

Brandon. Shit.
Laura fumbled with
her keys and opened the car door just as Brandon caught up with her.

“Don't you dare touch
me!
” He stopped
in his tracks, backed up, and came around her car, talking over the roof.

“I'm sorry we laid all that on you at once. We didn't mean to
scare you off.”

Hot tears pricked her eyes to see the big macho jerk looking
sorry.

“What?” she demanded, blinking rapidly to dispel the
tears.

“Look, I don’t believe the legends either, but…”

“But what?”
Laura looked at
him, watching the fidgety restlessness in his hands as they moved from his hips
to the car and back again.

“You’re special.”

Laura rolled her eyes and huffed. She’d heard those lines
before, and not once had they been anything more than words.

“I won’t believe that. Not after last night. You’ll never
convince me that you could like me after I know you picked up my sister.”

Brandon clenched his jaw and his blue eyes pinned her.

“Your sister is a good time. Not the kind of woman you take home
to your mother, and I bet that you’ve never dated a man like me either.”

Laura glared at the man in front of her for a moment, angry at
Brandon for summing up her sister so easily. Their parents were dead, and Laura
saw Belle as a reflection of her.

The problem was, despite the anger, he was right. She finally
glanced away and shrugged her shoulder. He had a point, but she was not going
to admit it.

“I don’t know enough about you to judge that.”

She glanced back at him and Brandon tilted his head, smiling at
her, his cheekiness obvious in every line on his face.

“I’m a builder by trade. Love my family, but they say I have an
abrupt personality. I know I can be arrogant and I’m so honest I’ve been told
I’m cruel. I find it really hard to lie. I weigh about two hundred pounds and
the last time I checked, I only have about four percent body fat.”

Laura’s breath hitched in her throat as her eyes fell to Brandon’s
massive biceps,
and
 
the
way his shirt clung to his thick
chest. She’d slipped her hands onto his belly while they’d kissed, and she’d
felt nothing but rock-hard abs and hot, smooth skin.

She had to be honest. “No, you’re not like any of the men I’ve
dated.”

She twisted her keys in her hand and shuffled her feet.

“I know you need to go, Laura, but I can hear how fast and hard
your heart is beating.”

What? How could he
know that?

Brandon continued, “I know you feel this, too, so please just
think about it. We’ll be home all day tomorrow if you
wanna
’
come by for a beer or something?”

Laura nodded without meaning to and gave him a small smile. She
already knew where they lived. “I’ll think about it.”

He gave her another smile that was so radiant it made her knees
weak. She fell into her car and turned it on.
What the hell am I doing?

She waved to the big Viking as she drove off, her heartbeat
still thudding like the traitor it was in her ears.

Chapter
Five

Tyler lifted the glass jug with trembling hands and poured water
into three glasses before he returned it to the table. He was more than
slightly disgusted with how nervous he was as he looked out the window for the
twenty-seventh time. It was past noon now, close to one-thirty, he thought.
Shit! How long did he have to wait?

“Do you think she’ll come?” Tyler called out to his brother.
Brandon groaned and stalked over to him.

“Yes.” Brandon clipped him over the back of the head, hard, and
pain spread through his skull.

“
Ow
!” He turned and snarled at his
brother, who was way too calm for a moment like this. “Don’t you care at all?”

A sound outside caught his attention and Tyler jumped to his
feet, his heart thumping against his rib cage. This was it.

“You need to calm the fuck down.” Brandon glared at him and
headed off toward the front door. A knock sounded and Tyler jumped.

Oh shit! She’s
here.

“Hey.” Brandon’s drawled tone made Tyler roll his eyes. His
brother was seriously going to screw this up. He’d have to balance out
Brandon’s idiotic behavior even more than normal.

“Hey back,” Laura responded, her husky voice almost flirty in
its response.

Good job, big
brother. I underestimated you again.

Footsteps sounded along the parquetry floor, and Tyler
suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine when Laura stepped into their
kitchen. Her green eyes sparkled with good health, though she was obviously
trying not to stand out in any way.

Her beautiful body was covered in a loose, plain white T-shirt,
and long khaki
cargo’s
. Her skin glowed, yet there was
no makeup on her face, eyes, or lips.

“Hi.” She smiled at him, placing a bottle of red wine on the
bench in front of him. “Thanks for the invitation.”

Tyler grinned back at her and nodded his head, not quite sure
how to speak at the moment. Action was probably better. He walked across to the
overhead cabinets and pulled out two crystal wine glasses.

“You want a wine, Brandon?” He knew the answer, but he didn’t
want to appear rude by not offering.

“Me?” Brandon barked out a laugh and headed over to the fridge,
pulling out a beer and popping the top with fluid, practiced ease.

Tyler shook his head and opened the bottle of wine, pouring the
two glasses quickly.

“Thanks for coming over,” he said as he handed Laura a glass and
indicated where they should sit.

She looked delicious, yet she was playing down her sensual body
as much as possible. It was funny, really, that she thought by wearing loose,
plain clothing, he wouldn’t desire her. She underestimated his imagination so
much.

“I’m not really sure why I’m here,” Laura muttered as she sat
down on one of the armchairs opposite him.

Tyler sat on the couch and watched his brother prowl forward and
fall into the armchair closest to Laura.

“Because you want to know why you feel the way you do.”

Her gaze connected directly with his, and the green seemed to
swirl in their depths.

“And how exactly do I feel, Tyler?” She placed her wine down on
the coffee table and crossed her arms over her impressive boobs.

Ah…crap.

He swallowed and thought quickly. How to handle this exactly?
He’d done nothing but think about it since Brandon told him what had been said
yesterday, but now that he was faced with Laura’s pouting lips, he just wanted
to dive over the table and
pash
her senseless.

“Your heart races when we’re around. You are physically
attracted to both of us, despite how different we look, and you feel safe in
our presence.”

Laura’s mouth dropped open and her arms fell down so that her
hands ended up in her lap.

Yep. Honesty is the
way to go.

Tyler waited, his eyes glued to Laura’s gorgeous lips as she
finally closed her mouth and wet them. The sight of her pink tongue sneaking
out to run along her full bottom lip made all his blood flow directly to his
cock.

“How…” She cleared her throat and her eyes darted over to
Brandon for a moment before coming back to him. “How do you know that?”

Tyler grinned, thanking his mother for all the stories she had
told over the years.

“It’s described in the legends, but it’s also how we feel. Both
Brandon and I are attracted to you to an almost painful level, and when you are
touching us, we get a sense of both peace and fire. Like coming home, but being
passionately swept up in a storm.”

Yeah, that about
said it all.

Laura stared at him for a minute,
then
glanced at Brandon. “Is that true?”

Brandon looked away, then rose to his feet and headed over to
the kitchen for another beer.

Bloody coward.

His twin was way out of touch with his feelings. Tyler opened
his mouth to fill the silence, but as he watched Laura slump like a deflated
balloon, he forgot what he was going to say.

“I’m still not sure why I actually came, Tyler. I mean…it’s
crazy.”

He smiled at the beautiful woman in front of him, more of her
delicate nature showing with each minute they spent with her. So much strength
of mind, and a beauty that was obviously soul-deep. He shivered, tingles of
sensation skittering along his spine as his eyes drank her in. Laura would love
them with enough passion and intensity to keep them both deliriously happy for
the rest of their days. They just had to convince her of that possibility
first, and his bloody stupid twin, too, by the looks of his behavior.

“It doesn’t matter why you came, just that you’re
here
.” His voice rose on the last word,
his nerves getting the better of him once again. Butterflies kept flying around
his belly, making his breath hitch and his voice squeak. It was fucking
embarrassing.

Laura stared at him for long moments and Tyler shifted in his
chair. They needed to talk, to get to know one another better.

“How long have you been a vet, Laura?”

Her eyebrows rose up and Tyler waited while watching Brandon out
of the corner of his eye. He sat back down and began chugging on his second
beer.

The biggest day of
our life, and he’s getting pissed.
Fucking wanker.

“About three years. Four years at college, four years of
university, and a year of residency.”

Tyler did some quick math in his head.

“So you’re thirty-one?”

She nodded, interlinking her fingers in her lap and twirling
them around like an adorable teenager who couldn’t sit still.

“Yes.”

Tyler grinned, looking over at Brandon who was also looking
pleased. Hopefully, that meant Laura was ready for a family, because God knew,
Tyler wanted kids as soon as he could get them. It was all falling into place.

“That’s perfect, really. Brandon and I just turned thirty-two.”

Laura nodded again and continued to twirl her fingers in her
lap, looking lost and uncomfortable.

Tyler had to take control of this, but he didn’t want to push
her too hard. “You look really nervous Laura. Can I help you feel better some
how?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

He moved back in his chair, trying not to look intimidating.

“Have you got any questions? I can’t imagine how weird this must
be for you.”

Laura looked between them and twisted her skirt in her lap
between her fingers. “I’m just trying to get my head around all this. I know I
shouldn’t be worried about this, but I’m already mentally listing all the
reasons this isn’t going to work.”

Tyler gestured for her to continue and ignored the grunt his
brother gave in response. Brandon must be really struggling with his lion if he
couldn’t even manage a sentence.

“Well, for one,
there’s
two of you!”

Tyler smiled as kindly as possible. “Yeah, and we both want you
more than any woman we’ve ever met.”

“But I work so much, what if I can’t give you enough attention,
or affection or something?”

Wow, that was what
she was worried about?

Tyler shrugged. “We’ll sort all that out. Three-part families
like ours have been working for the perfect pairs in our line for centuries.”