Awakening Her Racy Passion [Racy Nights 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

“Hey,” said Trent. “Ria fell at work tonight. I was there with Maddox and Julie when it happened. I took her to the ER and pushed her through the red tape to get X-rays. Nothing’s broken.”

Wyatt stared at Trent like he’d just told him that Martians had landed on the front lawn. “Okay.”

“And then we talked about Marisol, and what Ria intends to do about that situation.”

Wyatt shifted his gaze toward her for a second, and Ria resisted the urge to reach up and smooth out her hair. She was sure it looked like she’d been rolling around in bed.

“Are we still having dinner later?” His voice was tight, like it had taken effort to ask the question.

“Yes. Of course we are.”
Unless you don’t want to
.

Wyatt glanced at his twin again. “So now what happens?”

Trent stood up. “Ria is going home to get some sleep, that’s what.”

She took that as her cue. Ria rose, scooped up her coat and put it back on, then grabbed her purse. Both men still eyed each other, Wyatt from the third step down and Trent from the sofa. She wanted to say something—anything—but she had no clue what. Nothing that raced through her mind seemed appropriate or useful.

She didn’t even say goodnight. She merely left. But she sat in her car for several minutes, watching the front of the condo, before she headed home. She wanted to shout her joy from the rooftops, but at the same time she was crying so hard she almost had to pull over.

Could she be any more of a complete fuckup? She’d more than likely just ruined things with Wyatt, and now any chance she might have had with Trent was ruined as well. He and Wyatt would talk, and then both men would decide she was trouble with a capital “T” and they both needed to stay the hell away from her. How could one evening have started out so fucked up, progressed to sheer perfection, and then ended as fucked up as this one had?

By the time she crawled into bed, she’d made three decisions. She was going to fall all over herself apologizing to Wyatt at dinner later, assuming he didn’t cancel their date. She was going to speak to her parents as soon as possible, and she was going to ask Luke and Peppi if she could move in above the bar. And assuming she moved back in with Peppi, she was then going to talk to Peppi about college and ask her help in choosing a degree.

She couldn’t spend the rest of her life working for her brother, and she couldn’t keep glancing over her shoulder every time someone walked into that bar, hoping it wasn’t someone in the BDSM community. This was ridiculous. She had to start living her own life, but first she had to make amends for the horrible things she’d done last summer.

* * * *

Wyatt felt like someone had punched him in the gut and then kicked him in the ass as well, just for fun. He finally took a seat in the armchair because it was either that or sock his brother in the jaw. “I don’t know what to say right now.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say either. She fell on her hands and I offered to take her to get them X-rayed, but it was only her and Luke working tonight, and she wouldn’t leave until after her shift.”

“So you were just doing your health care provider thing.” He knew his voice sounded sarcastic, but he didn’t care.

“I was. I swear that’s how it started out.”

“So what changed?”

“She was all emotional tonight. Kept watching me, Maddox, and Julie. And then when I drove her to the ER after her shift, she told me how she wanted to make things right with everyone, but she didn’t know where to start. She was crying. She told me she was afraid that too much time had passed and she’d never be able to make amends.”

Wyatt nodded slowly. She’d told him pretty much the same thing. “How did that progress to what I just saw?”

“I don’t know.” Trent ran his hands through his hair, and Wyatt studied his face carefully. The poor guy looked like he’d just been hit by a truck. Was it possible that Ria was more of a sexy siren than either of them had anticipated? What the hell had she done to him tonight? “I swear I don’t know. You should have heard the things I said to her, right before I kissed her. I was like a runaway train. I couldn’t stop.”

“She is very pretty.”

Trent gave him a droll look. “It’s more than that. You know it is. I’ve seen the way you look at her. She’s under your skin as much as she’s under mine. Christ.” He rose and began to pace. “What the hell are we going to do here?”

“I wish I knew. But right now, I have to try and sleep. I really do. I can’t show up in court half-asleep.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Did we wake you? Is that why you came downstairs?”

“No. I had to take a piss and I heard moaning down here.”

“Jesus. I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Don’t be. You’re only human. Try and get some sleep, okay? I’m going back to bed. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Wyatt tried to sleep but he knew it wouldn’t happen. He kept picturing was his twin on top of Ria, and the look on her face, lust-filled and completely oblivious to anything else. How long had it been since he’d seen that look on a woman’s face? Too long. He wasn’t upset with Trent because he totally understood how a man could get completely carried away with a girl like Ria. She was sexy but didn’t know it. That alone was more seductive than the most obvious attempts to get a man into bed that any woman could make.

And she was vulnerable and afraid right now. Those were two things that neither of them had ever been able to resist. They were the reason that Wyatt had never been able to find what he was looking for in a sub, and they were the same reason that Trent had followed Deanna to Indianapolis three years ago. The same qualities that made both men forget their own fucking names ended up being their downfall, each and every time.

Was getting involved with Ria a huge mistake for them? She wasn’t using them. He didn’t get that vibe from her. She’d seemed as embarrassed and confused as Trent had at being caught. She’d barely glanced at him, but the tone of her voice had left no doubt that she sincerely still wanted to have dinner with him. There had been no trace of playing games in either her body language or her eyes.

So where did that leave him? And where did it leave Trent? They couldn’t both have her. Wyatt’s mind tried to go there, but he wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t that the idea of sharing a woman or a sub, in or out of bed, with his twin was repulsive. But they’d never discussed it seriously. As a fantasy, sure. And given the number of ménages currently in Racy, the subject came up quite often. But in reality, could they do that without killing each other over jealousy? Wyatt had no clue. And, he was quite certain Trent would never go for it at any rate, especially given his recent history with Deanna.

No. That wasn’t a workable solution for them. They’d have to figure something else out. One of them would have to back off. The trouble was Wyatt didn’t want to. Not even after he’d seen them making out like horny teens. What did that make him? A chump? No. He wasn’t. And Trent wasn’t an asshole who would hurt him on purpose. He knew that.

He finally fell asleep about two hours before his alarm went off, and when it did, he felt like someone had beaten the shit out of him. But work was work and he had to go. Maybe he could sneak out of the office later this afternoon and catch a nap before dinner.

Dinner. How the hell was he going to get through that? What would he say to Ria? How had he landed in this shitstorm?

* * * *

Wyatt pulled up to the Rodriguez house and was about to turn off his car and get out, when Ria emerged from the side door of the garage. She had her coat on, but his gaze traveled down to high-heeled black boots and he sucked in a quick breath. If she had on a short skirt as well, he was fucking toast tonight. So much for his resolve to keep things casual. Did this girl have any idea how pretty and sexy she actually was?

She didn’t even wait for him to open her door. She slid into the passenger seat and cast a nervous glance toward the house. “Let’s go. I had a talk with them earlier and things are not stable in there.”

“All right.” He pulled out of the driveway and headed downtown. “What prompted the talk?”

“When Trent and I talked last night, or early this morning I guess, he helped me realize that until I confronted my parents, I couldn’t move forward with making things right between myself and Marisol. So, I did.”

“Wow.” Wyatt was impressed, with both Trent and Ria. “What did you say to them?”

She gave him a sheepish glance. “I told them I wanted to make up with Marisol, and that it was time they accepted her and Alexa. I said that Luke and Rafe were their only sons, and both loved them and missed them, and that it was also time they accepted their lifestyles and tried to understand them, because you only get one chance at life, and when people are gone, they’re gone.”

Wyatt swallowed hard as memories of the night of his parents’ fatal auto accident flashed through his mind. “I can understand that.”

“I know you can. Both you and Trent can. You lost your parents when you were too young. I reminded mine of that this afternoon. I told them that they’re blessed to still be here for all their children, and they shouldn’t waste this time with any of them.”

Wyatt stopped at a red light and gave her a long, searching look. Where had she been hiding this strength and courage of conviction? “What did they say?”

“Well, nothing I can repeat.” She laughed nervously. “Not even in English. And, I’m pretty sure I’ll be moving into the apartment above the bar with Peppi very soon. I called her and Luke today and they both said they’d be fine with me doing that.”

“I’ll help you move.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that.”

When the light turned green, he eased onto Market Street. “How do you feel right now?”

“Free. That’s the best way I can describe it. I feel as if I’ve been carrying around a big sack of flour and now I’ve finally dumped it somewhere.”

He pulled into the parking lot and found a spot, then turned off the motor and faced her. “Are you going to cry?”

She laughed again. “I might. Listen, I need to get this out before we go inside. I am so sorry about last night. I mean this morning. I don’t know what happened. But I never meant to hurt you by kissing Trent. You have to believe that.”

“I do believe it.”

“Really?”

“Really. But we do have a problem, because he likes you, too. A lot. As much as I do. And I’m not sure what we’re going to do about that.”

She didn’t answer for a few seconds, and his heart skipped a beat as she gazed into his eyes. Hers filled with a clarity that he didn’t dare believe was real. She wasn’t upset or repulsed by what he’d just said. She was turned on. He’d bet his last two paychecks on it. Holy shit. What was going to happen here?

“I like you both, too.” Her voice was quiet, but it overflowed with lust and certainty. There was nothing hesitant about it.

“What do we do, Ria? I have to know.”

“I don’t know, and that’s the truth. But for now, let’s go have dinner. I can smell their marinara sauce all the way out here.”

He pulled her close and kissed her hair, which didn’t smell like marinara sauce. It smelled as fragrant as a spring day. He wanted to kiss her lips as well, but he knew if he did, they wouldn’t make it inside for dinner, and he was hungry. But later…the possibility of later loomed in his mind as he released the embrace and exited the car, sprinting around to her door this time before she could open it. He was a gentleman, after all.

Ria secretly loved it when guys opened doors for her, but she was so unaccustomed to it that she never knew how to react. Couple that with the fact that she was still shivering from Wyatt’s quick kiss on the top of her head, and she hung onto his hand not because it seemed the polite thing to do as he helped her from the car. It was because she was drunk with desire, and afraid she’d slip on the ice in the parking lot if she didn’t.

Gino’s was crowded every night. It was one of the few downtown businesses that had escaped damage from the tornado, and the increase in business after that had never died down. Ria wrapped her hand around Wyatt’s arm as they stepped inside, where Vito Santori was greeting customers tonight. Vito was a warm person who had a smile and a handshake for everyone. Wyatt had obviously called ahead, because Vito led them to a table tucked into a corner where they’d have some privacy.

On the way there, she spotted Gina with Zach and Harrison, as well as Kari, Noah, and Adison, sitting with them. They all waved, but the looks on their faces ranged from mild disbelief to outright incredulity. Ria’s earlier elation at finally having it out with her parents was replaced with the same fear that she’d expressed to Trent, earlier that morning. She was never going to climb out of this pit. How did she ever expect to overcome this? She could waltz in here with both Wyatt and Trent every night and it wouldn’t change a damn thing.

Wyatt helped her take off her coat, then wolf-whistled as he eyed her perfect black dress, which helped dim the images of Gina and the others shooting daggers at her from across the room. She’d worn the dress on purpose, of course, and had paired it with the red-and-silver jewelry that Marisol had given her two Christmases ago. Wyatt wouldn’t know that, but she did. She’d worn it as part of her commitment to making things right one day with her former best friend.

“You look incredible.”

“Thank you.” She let him push in her chair, and then eyed his sexy ass in dark gray dress pants as he turned to walk around the table and take his seat. His royal blue button-down shirt brought out the color of his eyes, and his tie featured a rendition of Van Gogh’s
Starry Night
. She couldn’t stop staring at it. “I love that. Where did you get it? Busler’s never had anything so unique.”

He chuckled. “No, they certainly didn’t. And I don’t imagine that once they rebuild it, that will change. I got it in Chicago.”

“I love Chicago. Marisol and I used to go there once a month, even if all we did was walk up and down Michigan Avenue, drooling over boots.”