Dawn, Dakota - Blessed Times Two (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (4 page)

Brows drawn together, Trey said, “The more I think about it the more I believe
Nonno
’s story could be true. Great-grandfather must have truly saved a witch in Italy. And it looks like the blessing she cast on him and all his descendants is true. Not that I thought they were lying. It’s just that I’ve never seen the blessing in action, so I wasn’t sure, you know. How did it go...

“To your true love’s inner wrist

“you must place a licking kiss.

“If she’s yours, you will not miss

“the shudders of her bliss.

“Her nipples will come to a hard peak.

“You can have her within a week.

“Her emotions you can feel

“which shows you that your love is real.”

Troy nodded in agreement. “That’s right,
Nonno
repeated it all the time. Tonight we found out she belongs to both of us. It’s time to step up our claiming of her. She’s responded to both of us, and we can read her emotions. Even from here, I can feel her confusion, hope, and fear.”

They watched hungrily as Branda cheered Sienna on.

Trey couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad she hasn’t gone back on stage. I don’t think I could handle hearing her sexy voice again without getting a hard-on from hell. You think she sings around the house? I hope so. I love it when women sing as they move through the house.”

“Maybe if we give her something to sing about, she will, eh?” Troy replied softly, his eyes watching her closely. “Head out the back way. She just asked Sienna and Rain if they were ready to leave, and they said yes. Call me as soon as you have her address. I can’t wait to start making her ours.”

* * * *

Trey watched in horror as the three piled into Sienna’s car and sat there talking for at least fifteen minutes. Had they been taught nothing? Sitting in a car in a parking lot was a dangerous thing to do. Any psycho could come up and kill them. What were they doing in there, for heaven’s sake?

Trey’s phone rang, and before he could say anything, he heard Troy ask, “Where does she live? Why didn’t you call me?”

Disgust filled Trey’s voice. “I didn’t call you yet because I’m still sitting in the damn parking lot waiting for them to pull out.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Troy asked.

“I wish I were. From what she told you, I gather she must live close enough that we could have made several trips to and from her house by now.”

Concern colored Troy’s voice. “Do you think something is wrong? Should you go check on them?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. They just started the car. I’ll call you as soon as I know something.” Trey hung up, heart pounding with excitement. Tonight they’d find out where their true love lived. She was the part missing in their lives, and now she’d been found. From the moment she’d responded to his kiss, their lives had all changed. She belonged to the two of them, and they belonged to her.

With each turn of his truck, Trey was led closer to home. Branda or Rain must live very close to them. Heart pounding, he watched as Sienna’s car pulled into the drive of his neighbor’s house. His neighbor!

Whipping out his phone, he called Troy. At the sound of Troy’s voice he asked, “What was the name of the little girl who lived next door to us? For the life of me, I can’t remember.”

“You know, if you hadn’t asked me I could have told you. Let me think. Sylvia. No. Sina. No. Sienna. That’s it. Sienna. We haven’t seen her for at least fifteen years. Why do you ask?” Troy questioned suspiciously.

“That name sounds right. My mind went blank, but I believe you’re right. Guess what, Sienna just pulled into our neighbor’s driveway. Branda’s Sienna is the De Pescinas’ daughter. They all three just went into the house. This could take some time if they’re checking on the house for her parents then heading out to Rain’s and Branda’s houses. For Branda, I’ll be patient.” Every part of his body wanted to burst in and take her straight to his house. Straight to his extra large bed.

“Sienna didn’t move back home, did she?” Troy asked. “Last I heard, Mom said she lives in some little town an hour from here on some cattle ranch. Of course, Mom calls her Carisa’s daughter, which is why it was hard for us to remember her name.”

“I don’t know if she moved back or not,” Trey said. “All I know is that she just pulled into her parents’ house. Last I heard, her parents were out of the country. Mom did say they were going to get someone to house-sit for them if they could find someone. Branda may be their house sitter.”

“She could be. If not, they’re probably just picking up mail and checking the alarm. They shouldn’t be long,” Troy stated.

“Sienna’s coming out now, followed by Rain and Branda.” Trey paused as he watched. A minute later he added, “You’re not going to believe this. Branda is waving them away.”

“No shit. You’re telling me our mate is living next door? This couldn’t get any better.” Troy’s voice boomed with excitement.

Trey cringed. “It looks like it. Sienna and Rain just drove off, and Branda went back inside the house. Heads up, bro. I wouldn’t call her our mate to her face. It sounds a little barbaric.”

“Noted. I won’t tell her that, but it is the truth. Our need for each other is barbaric. The word mate feels right to me because she is now bonded to me,” Troy responded.

“I can understand that. If you don’t need me back at the pub, I’ll go inside and call Mom. I’ll bet she knows a lot about Branda. You know how close Mom and Carisa De Pescina are. I’m sure they’ve talked about our new neighbor.”

Troy was quick to respond. “I won’t need you here. Go ahead and call Mom. I’ll be home in a couple of hours. We can talk about what you find out and what our next move will be. See you in two.”

“Yeah, in two.” Trey hung up and immediately started dialing their mom’s number. He knew she would know at least a little information about his
vero amore
. Most likely she knew a lot.

* * * *

Two hours later, Troy walked through the door. Seeing Trey’s stricken face, he felt his gut twist into a tight knot. “What’s wrong?”

Trey wiped a shaky hand across his face. “She was attacked a little over two years ago in front of her apartment. A rapist, Roy Smyth broke her nose and cut her left forearm so bad it took well over a hundred stitches to close up all the wounds. He was in the process of taking her panties off when her neighbors rounded the corner, tackled the guy, and called the police.

“Roy was sentenced to five years in prison. The police know him well. He has a long criminal record. They are hoping to prove he was involved in a few other crimes, so they can keep him in prison for a few more years.” Trey’s voice shook with anger.

Troy poured them both a drink and handed Trey his before he said, “That disturbing bit of information makes me remember that she seemed unsure of herself when we met. Now we know at least part of the reason why.”

Trey groaned and closed his eyes in misery.

“That means we will have to proceed with caution. I felt her pain. I don’t think she’s ever felt the pleasure of a loving, giving touch.” Two deep breaths later, Troy continued, “Did you tell Mom she’s ours?”

Looking even more miserable Trey answered. “Yes. I didn’t have a choice. You know Mom. She wouldn’t give me the information I needed until I told her about Branda’s reaction to us. You know Mom doesn’t gossip.”

“That means the family will descend upon us in two weeks,” Troy remarked.

Trey nodded. “Mom said they’d all be coming to meet her two weeks from now. I tried to put her off, but she said that wouldn’t be necessary, that the blessing will make sure we have her within a week. That will give us one week alone with her before the family shows up to meet her.”

Excitement laced Troy’s words. “We’ll have to move fast. I know she likes cinnamon. We’ll bring her a large cinnamon candle. One from Ella’s shop. She sells the best ones. We can act like we’re welcoming a new neighbor to the neighborhood. She’ll, of course, be shocked that there are two of us and that she knows us. We have to get her to invite us in so we can get to know her better and start making her comfortable around both of us. So we can test her response to us a little more.”

Trey was looking more excited by the minute. “Let’s do it. Let’s make her ours.”

The twins bumped fists then started fine-tuning their plan.

Chapter Four

Branda had just seen out another happy customer then returned to the kitchen to start cleaning up when she heard the doorbell.
Darn
. She hoped nothing had happened to the cookie bouquet in such a short time. She had some cookies left over, but not enough to start over.

She opened the door without looking out the peephole, so sure she knew who it was. As she opened the door, she asked, “Is every—”

It was the hunk from the bookstore and the pub, standing there looking back at her in surprise. Switching her gaze to the other person standing next to him, she felt her knees go weak. There were two of them.
Holy shit
. Her nipples hardened painfully at the mere sight of them. Crimson stained her chest and cheeks as she knew it always did when they were around. They probably thought she had some kind of skin problem or that she constantly had a sunburn.

What were they doing at her front door? Which one had she met? Why was she so hot for them?

Before she could overcome her shock, one of them smiled, showing off his dimples.

Her panties dampened. She loved his dimples. God, he was gorgeous. Correction, they were
both
panty-wettingly gorgeous.

The other one smiled and handed her the largest candle she’d ever seen. “You’re Branda, right? What a pleasant surprise to see you here. We just found out someone had moved in, so we brought a candle over to welcome you to the neighborhood. The world sure is a small place.”

She nodded as she took the candle. “Small.” Unable to resist, she raised the candle to her nose. The smell of strong cinnamon greeted her senses. Mmmm. “Thanks for the candle. I love it. It smells great.”

One of the hunks stepped closer to her.

“We’re glad you like it. Seeing you here is quite a surprise. Karma must be putting us together. Maybe it’s
good witch karma!”

One of them smiled and asked, “Mind if we come in? I can’t believe you live next door to us. How do you know the De Pescinas? Our mom and Carisa are very close friends.”

Relaxing a little, Branda stepped back. “Come on in. You mind if we talk in the kitchen? I just finished a job and need to clean up. It’ll drive me crazy if I don’t get on it.”

The one to the right quickly stepped into the house as he answered her. “Sure, sounds great. We can help you clean up.”

“No, you don’t have to. It won’t take me long,” she said as she led them to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, she took one more whiff of the candle then put it on the counter. After pouring them ice water, she placed a plate of fresh cookies in front of them. “Which one of you have I met?”

They looked at each other then answered, “Both of us.”

The one of the left took over. “You met me at the bookstore. My full name is Massimo Troyson Cortino. Please call me Troy. This is my twin, Fortino Treyson Cortino. We call him Trey. You met Trey at Gaven’s Sports Pub. I was upstairs working and couldn’t get down to talk to you. I told Trey about meeting you.” He paused for a second and searched her eyes. “We’ve been helping Gaven out at night until he gets fully staffed. I was happy to see you at the pub, and now I’m even happier to find that you live next door.”

Still a little dumbstruck, Banda nodded. “Run your names by me again.”

Their names slid smoothly off Troy’s tongue. “I’m Massimo Troyson Cortino, and he’s Fortino Treyson Cortino.”

“Wow, those are unique names.” She wondered if their parents loved them or hated them.

“Yeah, Massimo means greatest, and my name, Fortino, means fortunate. Our papa wanted us to have strong Italian names. Please call us Troy and Trey. It’s less of a mouthful,” Trey said with a wink.

“Troy and Trey it is.” Love. Their parents probably picked strong names because they loved them. Love. Her heart tattooed a wild beat. It was strange, but she already loved being around them and felt right in their presence.

“These cookies are great by the way,” Trey mumbled around his last bite.

Branda smiled. “Thanks. They’re how I make my living. I make edible bouquets. Speaking of your friend, Gaven, I’m making some fruit and cookie bouquets for him next weekend.”

“The Kirkland party?” Troy inquired.

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“We’ll be there, too. Helping out wherever we’re needed,” Troy said as he picked up another cookie.

“Do either of you need a cup of coffee? Coffee goes well with sugar cookies. I love coffee,” Branda said a little nervously. The sexual tension shooting through her body was driving her crazy.

They both said, “Sounds great,” at the same time.

Laughter bubbled out of her. “Do the two of you do that very often?”

Trey answered. “Yes, but we seem to do it even more when we both want to please a woman like yourself.”