Page 22 of Mister Lane

“Why are you lying, Sunshine?”

Oh no. “What?”

His narrowed eyes studied me, checking every micro expression on my face. “So, if you’re fine, you won’t mind if Brandon and I take turns fucking your pussy?” He tilted his head, and I could swear his grin was mocking me.

I wanted to clench my thighs at his words, but not because I was turned on. I mean, he always made me a little hot and flustered, but at that moment, I was more worried about the state of my vagina and how it would feel to have more friction against it without at least a nice long soak and some pain meds.

Before I could figure out how to answer without giving myself away, he looked over my shoulder at his brother. “Why don’t you get our girl ready?” He looked back at me, his gaze boring into mine, as he said his next words. I had to swallow back a reflexive wince as his eyes filled with challenge. “Finger her real good until she’s dripping wet. Then we can take her nice and hard.”

I felt Brandon slide his hand from behind me, over my belly, and down until he reached my clit. He started with gentle circles that actually had me relaxing within seconds. It felt so good with his light touch. The pleasure was there, but it was such a slow build that I wanted to sigh into it instead of scream.

He had me so relaxed and almost ready to beg him to increase the pressure that when he slipped his fingers from my clit to my opening, I didn’t have a chance to hide my reaction to the sudden flare of pain. Brandon stilled immediately at my sharp inhale while Brayden obviously had been waiting for proof of what he’d already known.

“Sorry, sweetness,” Brandon whispered as he pulled his fingers away and kissed my shoulder. He used both his arms towrap me up in a warm embrace, allowing me to use his chest for support as I sagged under the weight of Brayden’s disappointed stare.

“What, exactly, do you think is going on here, Emily?”

It was the use of my actual name that had me blinking back sudden moisture from my eyes. I let my chin drop and stared blankly down at the floor. Brayden slid his hand from where he’d been lightly holding my neck and folded his arms across his chest. Having him pull away from me made keeping the tears at bay impossible. I watched helplessly as one fell to land on the carpet, only to immediately vanish as it soaked into the fibers. “I just didn’t want you to be disappointed in me,” I whispered.

“Why would we be disappointed?” Brandon asked, sounding confused.

“I know why,” Brayden said softly. I peeked up at him through my lashes, but he was looking toward the bed. “She thinks we only want her for sex.”

He sounded… sad? Had I somehow hurt him? My chest ached at the thought. It wasn’t intentional. I shook my head to deny his words. “No.”

“No?” His lips tipped up in one corner, but his eyes remained desolate. “I’m going to ask you again, Emily. What do you think is going on here? You. Us. Now. The future. What does it all mean to you? What do we mean to you?”

I shook my head again. “I just didn’t want to disappoint you, okay? I’m sore, but I should be fine in just a little bit if you have some ibuprofen or something.”

Brandon’s arms loosened, then fell away, and I immediately missed his warmth and support as he stepped around me to join his brother. Shoulder to shoulder, they both stared at me. Twin bodies that could be on the covers of a men’s fitness magazine, one with eyes holding disappointment, while the other held pain.

“Is that what you think about us, sweetness?”

“I-” I glanced between them, looking for the answer to the question before it finally hit me. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. “I am so sorry.” I didn’t bother trying to stop the tears as they came this time. I stared at the hurt in Brayden’s eyes—a man who was strong and confident. The man who’d pursued me from the moment he’d seen me. The man whose feelings I’d just reduced to nothing but lust.

I stepped forward until I reached Brayden and placed my hands on his shoulders, using them to help me lift up to my toes. I stared him in the eyes as best I could, given our height difference, wanting him to read my sincerity clearly.

“I’m sorry.”

His expression softened as he looked down at me. After several heartbeats where I waited while holding my breath, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. I relaxed into his hold and rested my cheek on his chest so I could look at Brandon, who was watching with a carefully guarded expression. I had really hurt them by failing to see what was in front of my eyes this whole time.

“I was stupid,” I began quietly. “Of course, you would never want to cause me pain.” I let out a sigh and let my shoulders slump. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I just don’t want to lose you guys. I... maybe I thought if I didn’t say no to sex whenever you wanted it, if I could keep you satisfied, you wouldn’t get tired of me. I don’t know…” My words drifted off, and I closed my eyes, no longer wanting to see the disappointment that still lingered in Brandon’s expression.

I felt a fingertip graze along my cheek and realized Brandon was wiping a tear away. Then he ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “First of all, I never want to hear you call yourself stupid again. Do you hear me, sweetness?” I slowly opened my eyes to see Brandon gazing at me, the guarded disappointment goneand replaced with a gentle smile, one I returned, though mine was a bit wobbly. “Secondly, I’m glad you understand that we would never hurt you.”

Brayden leaned down and inhaled my neck, running his nose up to my ear. “Do we want to fuck you? Of course we do. You’re beautiful and sexy,” he nipped the sensitive skin under my ear before soothing away the sting with his tongue, making me shiver as heat rushed through my veins. “But that isn’t why you’re here. I think you know that.”

I cleared my throat and pulled back so I could meet his eyes. “I think I do know that,” I agreed.

“We’ll keep working on it until you know for sure.” He kissed my lips gently, just a simple brush of his against mine, but it was soft and sweet, and I had to fight back another wave of emotion. When he pulled back, there was warmth in his smile. “Since the moment I saw you on the security footage, looking so anxious but hopeful, you stirred something inside me. I knew I needed to know more about you.”

“He wasn’t wrong.” I turned to Brandon to see him regarding me thoughtfully. “I mean, he’s my brother, so I’m supposed to say something like ‘for once’, but the truth is, Brayden has sharp instincts. I’ve always trusted him, and he’s never been wrong before. But this time…” He brushed his hands through my hair and sighed, as if he enjoyed the simple act of just being able to touch me. “He’s never been more right. Getting to know you and spending time with you have been the best moments of my life. Your wit, your sass, your kindness—these are all the reasons that made me—” he darted his eyes to his brother and back to me again, “that made us fall slowly and deeply for you.”

My breath caught, and I looked at both men, my gaze bouncing between them, searching for the truth. “You…”

“Our pretty little whore made us fall in love with her.”

I shook my head at Brayden, unable to hold back a watery smile. “I’m only a whore for you.” I took in a deep breath, then eyed both men again. “Only for the men I love.”