Coming Home (5 page)

"I need to speed up, baby," he swallowed a
heavy gasp. "You have to tell me if it hurts."

She answered with a quick wiggle of her
bottom, followed by a hiss. The action hurt a little, but she
quickly forgot when Pax knelt down and pushed two fingers into her.
It took barely a second before Caleb came too, pumping his cock
aggressively and grunting against her shoulder.

She vaguely heard Pax talk about fetching
more beer and Caleb muttered about removing the condom, but she
couldn't focus on their words. Her body felt like a noodle, unable
to move at all. Her brain had short-circuited, leaving her lost for
a verbal response. Caleb lifted her off him, laying her gently onto
the couch. He shot her one quick glance before disappearing
upstairs.

Sydney closed her eyes, drifting away as her
thoroughly sated body sank into the couch. Her skin felt raw,
bruised with their fingerprints, but she didn't have a single mark
on her. Both men had treated her like porcelain. She'd been handled
with complete care. Rolling her hips, she exhaled at the slight
ache of her muscles.

"Are you hurt?" Pax asked, worried. He
crouched down, his concerned brown eyes meeting hers. He reached
out, stroking damp hair back from her face. She noticed he'd put
his tight, black underwear back on.

"I'm waiting to wake up," she whispered, her
heart kicking up a notch when he shot one of his smiles.

"Syd, that sure as hell wasn't a dream."

"It must be. No way I just had sex with the
two men that have haunted me since the age of seventeen."

"Haunted, huh?" Pax stood, lifting her head
so that he could sit on the couch.

His thigh made a firm pillow, but she didn't
complain because his fingers combing through her hair were
wonderful.

"So you never forgot that night?"

Caleb returned before Sydney answered. He
took his place at the end of the couch, her feet on his lap. They
stroked her body lovingly as silence surrounded them. The music
must have turned off while they were in the throes of passion. The
only sounds breaking the quiet were the crackling of the fire and
the soft sighs elicited from Sydney's mouth.

"Are you sleepin', baby?" Caleb asked,
placing a bottle of beer to his lips.

"She's waitin' to wake up," Pax answered.
"She thinks it was all a dream."

A soft chuckle reverberated up through her
toes, coming from Caleb. "I suppose in a way it is a dream. Though
not the kind you get from sleep."

Turning to face them, she blushed, having no
idea how to react after this kind of interlude. Pax smirked,
tapping her nose as Caleb wrapped his fingers around her ankle.
"Shy?"

"I j-just don't know what to do now. We…" she
drifted off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Had sex," Caleb interjected. "Syd, there's
nothin' to be ashamed of. We wanted you, and you were so wet I can
only assume you wanted us too."

Pax kissed her forehead, whispering, "Wanted
you for so long."

"This is bizarre. I don't know how to deal
with this." She sat up, pulling the blanket that rested on the back
of the couch around her nakedness. Cocooning herself between them,
she waited. It seemed there was something missing in the situation.
Well aware of her reasons for allowing the sex to go ahead, she
didn't understand what theirs were. Why hadn't Pax confessed long
ago to his feelings for her?

Anxiety coursed through her, along with a
good dose of turmoil. She couldn't bring herself to regret what had
happened, but worried about where it would go now. Her lip trembled
and tears threatened to spill. The last thing she should've done
was have sex with two men. She had come to help her father in his
time of need.

Oblivious to her confusion, Pax fondled her
breast and Caleb's fingers walked up her thigh.

"Stop."

Both men stilled. Waited. Sydney climbed off
the couch, putting as much distance between them as the room would
allow. Pulling the blanket tightly around her body, she spoke with
far more conviction than she felt.

"I'm confused. I want to know what's going on
between you two. You're going to have to do some talking before I
get naked with either one of you again."

Pax stood, sauntering over to her. His body
made her mouth dry, but the smile he wore had the opposite effect
on her pussy.

"Sweetheart, we're happy to answer all those
little questions."

"We always have been," Caleb added, joining
them and placing his arm around Sydney's waist. "We've been waitin'
for you."

Shaking her head, she fought to understand
what they were hinting at. She faced Pax. "If you felt this way
about me when I lived here, why didn't you tell me?"

"I did tell you," he drawled. "That night
under the bleachers. Syd, you vomited and refused to talk about it
ever again. You couldn't look me in the eyes, and yet you had no
issue with getting it on with Caleb. I had no choice. I stepped
aside."

His arm came around her shoulders, and this
time she didn't refuse him Caleb squeezed her waist, adding, "And I
couldn't very well tell you we both wanted you. Not after what
happened."

"I need a drink," she mumbled, slumping to
sit on the floor. "I shouldn't even be doing this. I came to help
my father."

Caleb disappeared into the kitchen while Pax
took his place next to her. He placed a hand on her thigh. "I think
it's time we were all honest, Sydney. Startin' with that night
under the bleachers."

"We followed you that night," Pax said
softly, settling down beside her and pulling her close. He beckoned
to Caleb, pointing to the vacant space on the other side of Sydney.
They all adjusted, snuggling down on the couch, their bodies molded
together. "We heard you screamin' at Jack and wanted to make sure
you were okay."

Sydney looked from Pax to Caleb, her head
moving side to side, utterly stunned by the admission. That night
under the bleachers had been nothing like she'd remembered.

They'd followed her? Words eluded her. They'd
heard the argument with her dad. She didn't want to think about the
ramifications of what their eavesdropping could mean.

Caleb took over the story, pulling her arm
across his lap and linking their fingers together. "We hung back,
but we had no clue you were gettin' slowly shit-faced. Not until we
heard you singin' to yourself under the bleachers."

"S-so you heard what we were arguing about?"
Her stomach rolled and a wave of nausea hit her. Desperate for the
ground to swallow her whole, she could only stare at them.

"We caught bits and pieces. Though it was
only your voice we heard, not Jack's. You were kind of ragin' at
yourself most of the time."

Had she?
Sydney thought back, trying
to recall that night but her memories had been warped by time.
Caleb's statement made her wonder if she'd only heard what she
wanted to from her father. The thought didn't sit well with her.
Maybe her father hadn't condemned her writing, even though it had
been risqué for a seventeen year old. She had lied to him for years
about her occupation, and now there might be the possibility she
hadn't needed to.

"What you said made little sense at the
time," he continued. "We couldn't understand why you would yell at
Jack because of somethin' you wrote. Nothin' could be that
bad."

Pax rested his chin on her shoulder, sucking
on her neck before whispering into her ear. "But now we know.
Everythin'."

His hand trailed along her thigh, pushing the
blanket up as he went. She stuttered, flustered for what to say.
They could be playing her, getting her to admit to something first,
because they had no idea what she'd written.

"What I want to know is, did you write those
things when we were together?" Caleb drawled.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she
denied, trying to stand up. They both held her firm, keeping their
positions. Only moments earlier she melted at their touch, but now
she needed some space.

"Oh, sweetheart, your nose is growin'." Pax
tapped the tip of her nose, grinning. "I have to admit, I was
shocked but, fuck, your words make me hard as nails."

"Oh God," she groaned, another one swiftly
following when Caleb cupped her sex. His finger swept along her
folds, sliding easily through the cream of her lust. He removed it
quickly, smirking when she whined.

"We need to finish talking. Then we can play
some more."

Pax nibbled at the delicate skin on her
shoulder, lapping at the tender path he'd left. He certainly proved
to be the more demanding, more aggressive out of the two men when
it came to sex.

"It took us four months before we finally
found your books, and I'm pretty sure we've read every erotic
cowboy one there is."

"But how?" she asked, disbelief clouding her
thoughts. "How did you even know to look? My father thinks I'm a
journalist. Why don't you?"

Caleb's hand tightened around hers, his voice
husky when he spoke. "You didn't take everythin' with you you left.
You forgot to wipe the laptop."

Sydney hung her head. "I see."

"Syd, I needed answers when you cut and ran.
I had no clue why you ditched me, baby. I searched, eventually
finding a file on my laptop. I remembered you used it while the
shop repaired yours. It was only a couple of chapters, but it was
enough to make me understand." He hooked a finger under her chin,
lifting her head. "Kickin' my ass to the curb was shitty. Real
shitty. I deserve an explanation."

Her throat closed, causing her words to sound
tight, strangled. "I was confused, my feelings so mixed up."

Caleb raised a brow when Pax kissed the back
of her neck. It soothed her to have them close. The truth would
hurt Caleb, though it was time to get it out and stop hiding.

"If you knew why I left—why I couldn't marry
you, why didn't you come and find me?"

"Not our place, baby," Caleb answered.
"You're the one who bolted like a newborn colt. Think about it, the
first time we try anything you turn us away—"

"And vomit," Pax added.

"Yeah, and that. Then you end it all, packin'
up your stuff, never to return. Why would I chase you when I'm
still not sure what it is you want? Sure, I can read, but I'm not
stupid enough to think that's what you want. You left me! I put a
ring on your finger, you seemed happy. Damn, we
were
happy,
Syd, but then you pack up a leave without a single
explanation."

"I came back," she protested, ignoring the
pain that oozed from his words.

"I guess you did, but you never came back to
me
."

She met his green eyes, seeing nothing but
hurt swimming in them. Remorse had her stomach churning.

"Oh, if only you knew the times I came hoping
to see you. Shit! Caleb, you were never around when I came
home."

"I was. I watched you." He linked their
hands, bringing them to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "Every damn
time."

Shrugging Pax off, she held Caleb's face with
her free hand. His stubble scratched her palm, and he trembled
beneath her touch. "Hurting you was the last thing I wanted; when I
left I thought that would stop the pain—that you could find someone
else. I couldn't marry you feeling the way I did. It would have
been so unfair to both of us. What I felt was just too strong."

"And what was that?"

"Wrong," she stated bluntly. "It felt wrong
to want you both so
badly
. I refused to pick just one,
especially given that Pax had no idea I lusted after him. He showed
no signs of wanting me. I was trapped. Wanting another man while
being with you would have driven a wedge between us. Don't you see
that?"

"So you bolted," Pax said, caressing her
back.

She nodded, sighing when Caleb turned and
nuzzled her palm. "My head is throbbing."

Both men threw their arms around her, holding
her close to their bodies. She closed her eyes, reveling in the
sensation of being swamped by hard sinew and musky male. It felt
delicious.

"I just need to know somethin'," Caleb
uttered, leaning back to look at her. "You keep sayin' you
felt
or that you
had
. I want to know if you still do…
want us, that is."

Stiffening, she worried her bottom lip. "This
is going to come out wrong no matter how I say it, so I'm just
going to blurt it out. I enjoyed this. I enjoyed being with both of
you, but I doubt right now is the best time to make a decision. I
have my father and the fire to deal with. Can you understand that?
For now? Both of you?"

Pax grumbled and Caleb's shoulders sagged.
They were taking her words as rejection, just like she thought they
would. The simple fact that too much had happened in the last
forty-eight hours for her to think clearly overwhelmed her. It
still seemed like life imitated art, but her books weren't real.
"Guys, please? I'm asking for a little time. You can't drop this in
my lap and expect me to absorb it." She kissed Caleb quickly,
spinning around to kiss Pax, too. "I'd like to sort my father out."
Her hands slid down each of the men's torsos. "But that doesn't
mean I can't stay here and… enjoy the sights."

Both men whooped, grinning in excitement. Pax
picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder as though she weighed
nothing. She squealed, slapping at his back in a fake protest but
stopped the moment Caleb's hand rubbed the cheeks of her ass. Syd
groaned, sticking her butt out, hoping he continued his
exploration.

"Think your bed is large enough for three,
Pax?" Caleb shouted, spanking Sydney once.

She moaned loudly, knowing her men had only
just started their fun.

Sydney woke with a start, one side of her
body numb. It took her a few moments to realize it had lost feeling
due to Caleb being sprawled across her body. His arm lay across her
chest, his head pinning her shoulder to the bed. Apparently he
didn't want her to leave.