Ry licked his glossy, swollen lips, then turned his head to smile at me. It was then that I realized that he had known I was there all along. “Did you enjoy the show, pretty girl?” he rasped, his voice slightly strained from the rough treatment his throat had been given.
Gage’s own tone was still gruff when he answered for me. “She didn’t just enjoy it. Did you, Parker?” He stared at me intensely, his eyes darting to my chest with barely concealed hunger before going back up to my face. His expression dared me to deny what we all knew was the truth. I just took a deep, shuddering breath and chose not to answer. “That’s okay,” he said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the leather couch, “you can keep your little secret. I won’t tell.” A smile played on his lips, making him look more approachable than I’d seen him since we’d met.
I pushed away from where I was slumped against the wall, standing straight on my shaky knees, pretending that my world hadn’t been knocked off its axis. “I’m sorry I watched,” I said softly, not really sorry at all. It was the hottest thing I’d ever seen. But I really shouldn’t have watched; it was intrusive.
Gage’s eyes opened at my words, and he lifted his head to stare at me intensely. “Don’t be. Having your eyes on me made me come harder than I have in a long time.” His words made my cheeks flame with pleasure I shouldn’t have been allowed to feel.
We were crossing boundaries we probably shouldn’t be. They were in a relationship, and I was in their town, in their home on a temporary basis. I’d now seen two of the three men I’d somehow come to lust after in ways I shouldn’t have. I should be ashamed of myself for watching Ry in an intimate act with his partner. But instead, I craved more of all three of them. It didn’t help that they seem to be encouraging it. How could I continue regretting it when they were provoking me to do even more?
I paused internally. Except that Dante certainly was not encouraging anything that had to do with me. Seeing him naked shouldn’t have happened, and I felt terrible about it, even if it was an accident. But then, he had seen just as much of me as I had of him, so I suppose that made us even.
A tiny voice whispered in my head, saying if Dante, or either of the other two, ever asked for more, I wouldn’t hesitate for even a second. A larger voice scoffed, knowing that would never happen.
“Come on, pretty girl,” Ry said, standing up and walking towards me while holding out his hand. “Let’s go to dinner.”
Chapter 17
Parker
Dinner that night was just the three of us. Dante didn't show, and, of course, the other two men noticed my disappointment.
"He's going to need a push," Gage said.
I turned my gaze to him from where I had been eyeing Dante's empty chair. "I'm sorry?" I asked, wondering if he meant what I thought he did.
He gestured to the seat. "Dante. He's going to need a push. He believes he's damaged and unwanted."
I drew my eyebrows together in confusion. "Why?"
The idea that he was unwanted was absurd. Dante was gorgeous. I didn't know him, and had barely said a word to each other, even though we'd seen each other naked. Still, even in the simple interactions that we had, it was obvious that he had a good heart. I've seen him with animals. Anybody who cared for animals the way he did was a good person. He'd even given me butter first. I laughed to myself at the memory of the previous evening.
"What is it?" Ry asked with his usual cheerful expression.
I shook my head and picked up my knife so I could slice off a piece of the delicious smelling steak in front of me. "I was just thinking about how Dante seems... unapproachable, but really is just a big softy."
Ry burst out laughing. I watched with a smirk as he kept laughing so hard that he gripped his sides and had to wipe tears from his cheeks. Even Gage covered a smile with his hand as he watched Ry laugh uncontrollably.
When he finally finished laughing and was gasping for breath, he said, "Please let me be there when you tell him that."
Gage reached for his beer bottle and took a drink as he eyed me, his smile being replaced already by his typical seriousness. "What makes you say that, Parker?"
I took my own drink from my glass of lemonade before answering. After I set the chilled glass back down, I picked up my knife to cut off more steak. Ruby was an amazing cook. "I was just thinking about the first time I saw him," carefully avoiding the mention that I'd made a bad impression the actual time I'd first seen him. "He was petting and playing with the goats. They were bouncing around him, head-butting him, and nibbling on his pants," I explained. "Animals know when somebody is a good person or not. If he weren't, he wouldn't have been caring for those goats the way he was.”
Gage just nodded at me knowingly. "I can see why you're good at your job; you read people well."
"I can't read you," I replied softly. Gage was very closed, making it difficult to get a read on him. His expression was carefully blank at my words. I was unsure whether he was offended. He was that good at hiding his internal thoughts. "Don't get me wrong," I said. "There are certain things that I can tell about you. You're dominant," I thought of the way he was with Ry in the study. I felt heat rising to my cheeks at the memory. I shook it off. "You dislike injustice," I continued,thinking of how angry he was when Ry told him about the poor woman and her fiancé. "Other than that..." I let my words drift off before shrugging. It wasn't something I tried to do. I didn't purposely read everyone I met. Call it an occupational hazard, maybe just a talent that I possessed. Gage was just somebody I couldn't get a proper read on. Did I think he was a good person? Yes. But there was little more that I could say about him. We'd had several dinners together, but he was so closed down that even his microexpressions were difficult to get a read on most of the time.
"How about a swim, pretty girl?" Ry cut in on my thoughts. I glanced over to him, an undeniable disappointment filling me. That pool was truly amazing.
"I didn't bring my bathing suit," I replied.
"You can grab it from your cabin, or we could just sit by the pool," he said. "We wanted to talk to you about something." He glanced at Gage, and I looked over it as well to see Gage staring at me intensely as if waiting for my response. With my curiosity piqued, I agreed.
We all rose from the table, and after grabbing a fresh beer, we walked outside. I followed behind the men as they made their way through the pool gate and past the still water until we reached the backside of the grotto.
The waterfall made a pleasant background noise as we sat surrounded by lush foliage. There was a group of chairs I hadn't noticed the previous night, tucked into the lush greenery, making the sitting area intimate and secluded. A strand of twinkling fairy lights was strung up, giving just enough light to see by without brightening the small space.
We each held our ice cold beers as the glasses sweated in the warm Texas spring air. As we settled in, I eyed the two men curiously.
