“Crawl into bed,” he said as he kissed the top of her damp hair.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she said. “Just what I had on before.”
Truitt reached into one of his dresser drawers and then tossed a shirt across the bed to Rick.
“Here, put this on. It’s good to sleep in.”
Her cheeks blooming with color, she tugged the towel downward and then hastily pulled the huge T-shirt on over her head. The hem fell to just above her knees and Rick decided that he’d like to keep her like this all the time. In just an oversized T-shirt, where he could have access to her in a matter of seconds.
His dick stood up and paid attention to that particular fantasy and Rick shifted to alleviate the discomfort in his groin.
Jessie turned and crawled onto the bed and then burrowed under the covers, pulling them to her nose. Rick and Truitt crawled in after her, pressing close from both sides. After a moment she sighed in contentment and some of the shaking ceased.
“Are you sober enough to hear us grovel?” Rick asked seriously.
Her eyes narrowed. “You’ve been talking to Kirsten. I swear the girl’s obsessed with groveling. A simple apology works fine for me.”
“Does it?” Truitt asked softly. “Because we’re not just asking you to forgive us, Jessie. We’re asking you for more. A hell of a lot more.”
She swallowed visibly and stared up at Truitt and then over to Rick. “How much more?”
Rick put a finger to her cheek and trailed it softly down to her jaw and then traced the line to her chin. “Everything. We want you to be ours. We want to take care of you, make sure you stay off your knee when it hurts, make love to you as often as we can, come home to you after a rough day at work, eat your wonderful cooking. That sound like anything you’d be interested in?”
Jessie blinked rapidly and wondered if this was just a direct result of too much alcohol. Alcohol induced hallucinations, didn’t it?
She suddenly wasn’t so cold anymore. She was warm all the way to her toes and then some. Both men stared at her like ... Damn. Like they meant every single word.
“I’m still drunk, aren’t I?”
Truitt chuckled close to her ear. “No, sweetheart. Not that drunk anyway.”
“What do you want, Jessie?” Rick asked, his eyes intense as they scorched over her body. “Don’t think about anything else. Just tell me what you want. What your gut tells you.”
“I’m crazy but I want that too,” she said before she could chicken out. “I don’t even know how to wrap my mind around how such a thing works—”
Rick put his finger over her mouth. “Stop right there. All we need to know, all that is important is what you want. We know what we want. We’ll make it work.”
He sounded pretty darn convincing.
Her mouth trembled and she glanced up at Rick and then back over her shoulder to where Truitt was positioned. “You hurt me.” It had to be said. She had to get it out. She had to be sure that they wouldn’t ever think she could be capable of such a thing again.
Rick looked gutted. Guilt crowded into Truitt’s eyes.
Before they could respond, she took a breath and went on. “I know I probably don’t understand how things work, and you probably weren’t allowed to so much as speak to me. But the way you looked at me, and the fact that you said nothing while those people said horrible things to me in that room—it hurt. I know we didn’t really know each other, but I felt a connection to you both. I mean, you’d both been coming into the pub regularly. And when we finally had sex, it was like ... I don’t know. It was like we’d been leading up to it forever and had already been on a dozen dates. I know you didn’t know me. Logic tells me that you had every reason to be suspicious. But my heart was hurt because that night was special to me and I wouldn’t have gone home with you if I didn’t trust you on some basic, instinctual level. I guess I wanted that same level of trust back from you both.”
“No, you’re right,” Truitt said in a quiet voice. “We owed you that much. We did have doubts about you committing murder even in the face of some pretty damning evidence at the time. But we didn’t express those doubts to you. We didn’t give you any sign that we were anything but sure you’d fucked us over, and for that I’m sorry.”
Rick nodded. “And you were right about us not being able to talk to you or see you. But that was no excuse. We could have said we believed in you. We could have done a lot of things. But we didn’t and it hurt you. We won’t hurt you again, Jessie. At least not intentionally. I know we’re asking for a chance we didn’t give you. But give us one. We won’t make you regret trusting us this time.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Truitt’s mouth slid warmly over her shoulder again and Rick lowered his head until his lips brushed hers.
She could feel the relief pulsating from their big bodies. Some of the tension that knotted their muscles went away, leaving them more relaxed against her.
“I was supposed to move in with Kirsten,” she said when Rick pulled away. “I can’t afford rent on my place without a new job and I haven’t been able to look yet. I’m supposed to go get my stuff tomorrow. I thought you guys should know since ... well, you know, we’ll be sort of involved now.”
Truitt scowled. “Sort of involved?”
“You’ll just move in with us instead,” Rick said, cutting off Truitt before he could finish. “How much stuff do you have? I don’t want you moving anything heavy.”
She blinked in surprise. “Not much. The apartment came furnished. All I have are my clothes, a few dishes, and my TV. Shoes and stuff, maybe a few boxes worth.”
“Rick and I have duty tomorrow afternoon. We’re working a tough case. We might be late but you can go over and move what you can and Rick and I will get the rest when we get off.”
Jessie licked her lips. This was so . . . fast. And yet excitement sparkled through her veins, that new, giddy rush you got when you just knew that something was right.
“Are you guys sure this is what you want? You can’t be used to having a woman underfoot in your house.”
“It’s not under out feet where we want you,” Rick said with a grin. “But, yeah, we’re sure. We want you here. We don’t want you anywhere else.”
“I—I want to be here too,” she said honestly.
She could sense the relief in both men. She cuddled into Rick’s chest even as Truitt moved in closer behind her to spoon.
Their hands were warm and soothing on her skin.
“I was so scared,” she whispered.
Truitt tensed and then his lips nuzzled past her hair and to the spot just behind her ear.
“You don’t have to be scared anymore, Jessie. I’m sorry for what happened. We didn’t trust you, but that’s going to change. From now on we’ll ask before we make up our minds.”
She nodded, accepting the earnestness in his voice. Rick tipped her chin up and then maneuvered so she could look him in the eye.
“I’m sorry too, Jessie. Give us another chance. We won’t let you down again.”
She smiled and then yawned. Rick caressed her jaw and then eased her back until she was snuggled against him once more.
“Sleep, sweetheart. We’ll get you moved tomorrow and then we’ll go from there.”
Chapter 12
J
essie woke to a warm mouth nuzzling the soft skin just below her ear. Her pulse sped up, and she sighed as teeth followed the wetness of a tongue and grazed up to her earlobe.
“Mornin’,” Rick said huskily against her skin.
She stirred, then stretched lazily and turned more fully onto her back so she could stare up at him. On her other side, Truitt also woke and snuggled up close to her, his palm caressing a line up her waist to her breasts.
“Morning,” she returned.
“How are you feeling? Headache?”
She considered his question for a moment and then shook her head. “I’m good actually. What time is it?”
“Nearly ten. Truitt and I are going in after lunch. I couldn’t resist waking you to see if you were up for . . .”
He leaned down to kiss her, his mouth moving hotly over hers.
“For what?” she whispered as he pulled his mouth away.
His grin was slow and wicked and sent chills cascading over her body. “For us to make love to you for a couple of hours.”
“Oh.”
“Is that a good ‘oh’ or a bad ‘oh’?” Truitt growled.
She turned, feeling deliciously naughty and a little more confident of herself than she had the first time they’d had sex. Leaning up, she nibbled at his firm jaw, enjoying the rasp of stubble on her tongue.
When she got to his mouth, she licked over his bottom lip and then kissed him.
“Definitely a good ‘oh,’ ” she murmured.
He cupped her chin in one hand, returned her kiss, and then pulled away to stare into her eyes. Intense warmth and desire radiated from his gaze. Buzzed over her like a tangible burst of fire.
“Take off your shirt,” he ordered softly.
Not hesitating, she slipped the T-shirt over her head. Rick took it from her and tossed it away. She knelt between them as they leaned against the headboard to stare at her.
She felt beautiful. The way they looked at her made it impossible for her to feel any other way. There was clear adoration in their gazes but there was also intense need and desire.
“Play with your breasts,” Rick said, giving his own command. “Fondle them and touch your nipples.”
She blushed and her breasts immediately began to ache. She hesitantly slid her hands up her belly to cup the tender mounds and brushed her thumbs over the taut points.
A shudder worked through her body, tightening every muscle in its wake. She pinched her nipples between her fingers and gently plucked until they were dark and rigid.
“Tell us what you want, Jessie,” Truitt said in a soft voice. “Tell us how to please you. Today we’re yours. We have a hell of a lot to make up for.”
Oh hell. She had a buzz going on that had nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with an overdose of sexy, seductive males.
She ducked her head for a moment, but Rick put a finger underneath her chin and gently nudged upward. His smile was warm and delighted as he took in her shyness.
“Come here,” he said huskily.
Rick pulled Jessie into his arms until she straddled his lap. Arms full of naked, sweet woman ... Was there anything better? Her pink-stained cheeks were adorable and the way she peeked at him and Truitt made his heart squeeze.
“Now tell us what you want.”
She smiled shyly again and glanced over at Truitt, who was every bit as captivated as Rick was.
“I want you both. Like last time. Can we do that again?”
“You mean both at the same time, one in your pussy and one in your ass?” Truitt asked.
Rick winced at just how bluntly it came across but Jessie’s breathing sped up. She seemed to like the crudeness of his explanation.
She nodded, her bottom lip caught firmly between her teeth. He was intrigued by the mix of sensual tigress and shy kitten. At first she’d seemed determined and comfortable to take the initiative and be aggressive with her wants and needs. Then she’d backed off and had become shy and self-conscious.
He wondered if she even knew how beautiful he and Truitt found her. Or how desirable. Or how he couldn’t look at her without his gut twisting into a knot.
He reached up to push her hair over her ear, stroking his fingers through the thick tresses. He let his hand wander down her body, over the generous curves of her breasts, to her waist and then to her hips.
“You’re beautiful, Jessie,” he said hoarsely. “So beautiful that my hands shake around you.”
She stared back at him, eyes wide and surprised. Happiness exploded deep in their warm brown depths and she sparkled. It was the only word to describe the way she lit up.
He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her flush against his body. Her breasts pressed against his chest, soft and silky. He nibbled delicately at her neck, inhaling her scent as he kissed his way up to her mouth.
“What I want to do is lay you out between me and Tru and shower you with so much love that you damn near pass out.”
She moaned softly and went limp against him, her curves melded to his harder body. Carefully he leaned forward, holding her as he lowered her to the bed.
She landed with the softest of bounces, her hair splaying out around her head. She stared up at him and Truitt with lazy, passiondrugged eyes that practically begged for them to touch her.
As if she ever needed to beg them for anything.
Truitt stood and rapidly pulled his clothing off in impatient jerks. Then he crawled back onto the bed and stretched out next to Jessie.
Rick backed off the bed as well but he was slower to undress, his gaze never leaving Jessie as she focused on Truitt and the gentle caresses he bestowed on her.