Part 5 (2/2)

Mel let his eyes take in the sheer size of the things. ”h.e.l.l, yes. Now that is what I call a bed.”

Jake stood beside them. ”All the mattresses are custom made, and brand new. Strangely, they're comfortable for sleeping on, too.”

”You've sold us.” Mel turned to him. ”Now, what do we have to do to furnish the house we've just leased?”

”That's the easy part,” Jake said. ”Just start pointing.”

”The two of you have got me curious. What's this surprise you've been hinting about?” Emily Anne had never seen the two of them look so excited. Both men tended to be on the sober side. Blessed with a good work ethic, they took their cases seriously. She had no doubt anyone hiring them definitely got their money's worth.

As well, she knew both had backgrounds that had seen them go through tense, difficult situations. Neither man spoke overly much about his past, but she knew Mel had been a San Antonio police detective, and Connor had been a U.S. Army Ranger. He'd worked for the government after getting out of the army and had retired from that not so long ago.

Sometimes when she looked at Connor it seemed as if there were shadows in his eyes, as if he carried a burden of some sort. Maybe someday he'd tell her about it.

Neither man had lived a carefree existence, which was a nice change, really, after the lack of ambition on the part of Billy J-well, except for his dream of going to Nashville and becoming a star and being surrounded by pretty little empty-headed groupies.

Billy J never gave a thought to anything beyond the next good time. That kind of s.h.i.+ftlessness had worn on her when they'd been together. It was an att.i.tude that had never set well with her.

Lord, how could I have ever really believed Billy J was the best I could hope for?

”Part of our surprise is that tonight, instead of going out to a restaurant, we're going to cook dinner for you.” Mel grinned and she couldn't help but grin back. They'd called her the night before and made this date for tonight, and told her it would be casual. She didn't mind not getting a lot of advance notice. She understood that with some of the work they did, they weren't exactly putting in an eight-hour day. It was Thursday, and today she'd worked the early s.h.i.+ft, being on hand in the morning for the breakfast crowd, and riding out the lunch hours.

They'd been waiting for her when she stepped out of l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes at three thirty, and had driven her to her apartment so she could change out of her work clothes. They'd said casual, so she'd chosen her favorite pair of jeans and a comfortable, but not unflattering, T-s.h.i.+rt.

Now they were back in Mel's SUV but he hadn't started the vehicle yet.

”I didn't know you could cook.” That would certainly be a new experience for her. She was a good cook herself, but what woman didn't appreciate it when she didn't have to be the one to do it all the time?

”We both can,” Connor said.

”Eating out all the time gets old,” Mel said. ”And my mother has always been a believer that a young man should be able to look after himself.”

Emily Anne grinned. ”That's a philosophy I can get behind.”

”In this day and age, and in most families, both adults have to work. It never made sense to me that everything at home should fall on the woman's shoulders, alone.” Connor shrugged.

”Me, neither.” She looked from one to the other of them. She wasn't sure what it was that Mel saw on her face but he laughed, and started the SUV.

Instead of heading north out of town, toward the state highway and Waco, he turned south and drove back through l.u.s.ty. He turned down the street that led, she thought, toward the school. A couple of minutes later he pulled the car into a driveway beside a two-story brick house.

”Whose house is this?”

”Ours.”

They'd said that at the same time, and Emily Anne looked from one to the other. ”You've moved here? To l.u.s.ty?”

”We have. Got everything moved in and settled late last night,” Connor said.

”But...why? I thought living in Waco was more central to your business.”

”Well it is,” Mel said. ”But it isn't important to us to live near where we work.”

”We wanted to live close to you,” Connor said. ”Here, we're closer to your work, and your apartment, and it'll be easier all around, because your schedule is varied. We work for ourselves, so we can adapt.”

”You moved here to be closer to me?” She couldn't wrap her head around it. Oh sure, they'd told her they were interested in her for more than just s.e.x and she believed that. On one level, at least. But here was proof that they were willing to change their lives, their routines, to accommodate her.

They were business owners whose billed hours in one day could likely cover her wages for a week, and yet with this action, they'd shown her that she and her livelihood were as important as them and theirs.

”That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.”

”We were worried you might not be happy with us living so close,” Connor said. ”We didn't want you to think we'd only done this-move here-because we want you in our bed.”

”We do want you in our bed,” Mel said. ”But that wasn't the only reason we moved here.”

Connor brushed his finger across her cheek. ”Anywhere else, even Waco, if folks got the idea we were a menage, they might criticize. We didn't want you subjected to that. l.u.s.ty-well, it's safe, here, for us. Safe for us to be seen spending time together, the three of us.”

They had changed their lives, for her. Their prime consideration was for her comfort and reputation. Did it get any better than that for a woman? Emily Anne didn't think it did.

”So, what are you serving for dinner?”

She held back her smile as the men shared a look. Probably trying to figure out what's going on in my head, though they'll know that soon enough.

”Roast beef tenderloin. It's all ready to go into the oven,” Mel said.

”Good. I'm really glad you haven't started cooking it, yet.”

Both men turned to face her. ”Is there something wrong? Why are you glad we haven't started cooking yet, angel eyes?”

She met each man's gaze in turn, and found what she'd hoped to see-an arousing mix of tenderness and hope.

”Y'all told me that what happens, or doesn't, between us was up to me. That I could take as much time as I needed to take before we moved this relations.h.i.+p of ours to the next level.”

”Yes, we said that, precious,” Mel said.

”We meant it, too, baby.” Connor brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek again.

It's as if he can't stop touching me. Emily Anne smiled. ”I know you meant it. But you see, I don't need to wait any longer. I don't want to wait any longer. I want to make love with you. I want to make love with both of you right now.”

Bare minutes later Emily Anne found herself standing beside the biggest bed she'd ever seen, with one man pressed against her back and the other so very close in front of her. Mel cupped her face and used his thumbs to stroke her cheeks. He likely felt her shaking, because he said, ”Don't be afraid, precious. We won't hurt you.”

”I'm not afraid. I am nervous, of course. I've never had two lovers at the same time. But mostly, I'm excited. I want this. I want you.”

”We've never shared a woman before, either, angel eyes. So our dance tonight might be just a bit awkward.”

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