Forever in Haven's Crossing (5 page)

She saw Caleb look at his brother before he began to speak. “I know we’ve given you a lot to think about, Kim, and we do want you to think about it—to take your time, as long as you need. But, we also want you to know that as soon as we saw you, we knew you were the one for us. We’re not some young, stupid, horny teenagers. We know exactly what we want—and you’re it, sugar. That being said, we know
you
aren’t as sure as we are, but damn if we’re not gonna try to make you sure. So, you hang on to the saddle, sweetheart, ’cause it’s gonna be a helluva ride.” Caleb winked at her and Logan chuckled.
God, help me…

She looked down at her glass of tea, running her finger around the rim. “I would like to say something,” she started. “I’m not good at the whole living-on-the-edge thing and not having a plan, but in less than twenty-four hours you have turned my world upside down. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it’s not what I’m used to. Talking to Myka helped me to see things from a different perspective. So, that being said…Logan, Caleb.” She boldly looked them in the eyes. “I would like to say that I’m looking forward to that ride.” And she winked, causing their mouths to drop open.
Uh, maybe I shouldn’t have been so cocky.

Both men, still with shock on their faces, got up and walked over to her. Logan took her hand and stood her up, not taking his eyes off her the entire time. “You won’t be sorry, darlin’. We’re gonna show you how you should have been loved all along. Thank you for givin’ us a chance. I know we’ve only just met, but we feel like we’ve known you forever.” He bent his head down while bringing her hand up to his mouth. He kissed the palm of her hand and then moved to her fingers. It was like butterfly kisses, sweet and gentle. She could see that Logan had a romantic side as well.

Caleb allowed him to finish and then stepped in front of his brother, giving him an elbow in the ribs. “It’s my turn, Logan,” he said as he pulled her to his chest and put his arms possessively around her waist. He bent down to cover her mouth fully with his. His warm tongue swirled around hers as if they were dancing. His kiss was not as forceful as Logan’s had been earlier, but the passion was definitely there.
So, both men are excellent kissers. I could get used to this.
Kim felt his hand rubbing up and down her back nice and slow.
Or was it Logan’s hand?
She kept her eyes closed, lost in the moment, not caring who was touching her as long as it didn’t stop. It was if their hands were meant to be on her body. Was this her destiny? She sure as hell hoped so.

The kiss was over way too soon, unfortunately. Apparently, they were concerned she hadn’t gotten enough rest during the night, since they had to keep waking her up. They decided she should take a nap and the more she thought about it, she had to agree. Caleb carried her to a huge bedroom as Logan followed behind. They tucked her into a bed that seemed much bigger than a king size, and it felt amazing. Logan kissed her on the forehead and told her they were both going to look for her phone and meet the tow truck. He made sure she saw their phone numbers scribbled on a pad on the nightstand. Kim assured them she was fine and promised to call if she needed anything. They then walked out the door, Caleb stopping only to turn out the light. As soon as they were out the door, she felt loneliness in the pit of her stomach. They had already become a part of her being, and she knew she could never let them go.

Kim slept hard and woke up not knowing where she was. It took her several seconds to realize she wasn’t in a hotel room. She got up and decided to take a shower. That was the first time she had taken off the small bandage to actually look at her stitches. She remembered how they held her, firmly but gently, as Doc performed his task. She felt safe like that, when she was in their arms. She showered and towel dried her hair before realizing she didn’t have any of her clothes there at the house. She decided to look in the chest of drawers for one of their shirts to put on, but they were empty. She then looked in the huge walk-in closet. It, too, was empty. She had just assumed that this room belonged to one of them, because it was too big to be just a spare bedroom.

Kim decided to go look in some of the other rooms, but felt strange walking around naked in someone else’s house. She didn’t even do that in her own house. She had always been self-conscious about her body and the extra weight she had put on didn’t help any. As she padded around barefoot on the carpet, she stopped at the first room she came to. It was definitely lived in. The bed was unmade and there were jeans on the floor in the corner. She found a button-up shirt in the closet and quickly put it on, rolling up the sleeves. This room wasn’t small, but it was certainly not as large as the bedroom she slept in.

She walked back to the kitchen to get a drink of water and then decided she wanted to take a look outside. She went and got her jeans out of the bathroom, putting them on with no panties on underneath. She then slipped on her shoes and headed out the door. She noticed how cloudy it was, but it didn’t look like it would rain so she decided to go ahead. Walking down the steps of the porch, she took in all the beauty of the land before her. She saw a grove of trees a ways off and decided to head in that direction, wondering if they may be fruit bearing. On the other side of the trees, there was a pond and the most beautiful wildflowers she had ever seen.
This has to be paradise.
By the time she made it to the other side of the pond, she was starting to feel a little tired and her head was hurting. There was a fallen log on the ground that she sat down on so she could rest. As she looked up, the clouds were getting heavier so she decided she’d better go back to the house soon, not knowing anything about the weather in Texas.

As she looked over at the direction she came from, she could barely see the house. She hadn’t realized how far she had walked. Just as she was thinking she only had halfway to go, it started to rain.
Great.
Not two minutes later, she saw the pickup pull up to the house. Apparently, they both saw her because they started to run in her direction.

When Logan reached her, he scooped her up, trying to shelter her from the now downpour. Caleb ran ahead opening the door and then followed behind once they were inside. As soon as Logan put her down, Caleb asked sternly, “What in the hell were you doin’ out there?” His tone surprised her and she hesitated a moment before answering.

“I was just taking a walk. I didn’t know it would start raining so fast,” she tried to explain, thinking that would be the end of it. It wasn’t.

Logan spoke next. The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice made a shudder run through her entire body. “I tell you one thing, darlin’—if you were 100 percent right now, you’d be over my knee and I promise, you wouldn’t be sittin’ easy for at least the next two days.”
Am I supposed to respond to that?
She quickly decided it would probably be better to just keep her mouth shut. Caleb had gone to get two large bath towels and as he walked back in the room, he threw one to Logan. “Take your clothes off,” he said, as if he had said that very same thing to her a hundred times before.

“What?” she asked, thinking there was no way in hell she was undressing in front of them. She then quickly crossed her arms over her chest, realizing that they could see right through the wet shirt she had put on and she didn’t have a bra on underneath. When she didn’t begin to undress, Caleb threw the towel over his shoulder and started to unbutton the shirt for her. She stepped back from him in order to stop him, but bumped into Logan, who was now behind her.

“You’re gettin’ out of those wet clothes, darlin’, and you’re doin’ it right now.” Logan then reached under her shirt and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist. The warmth of his body against her cool, wet, naked skin made her even more conscious of his touch.

When Caleb was satisfied that Logan had a good hold on her, he stepped forward to finish his job, taking care not to hurt her arm. She now stood topless in front of them and could feel her heart beating faster and faster because of the embarrassment. She felt her face getting flushed and started to panic.

“Hey,” Logan whispered in her ear. “It’s okay, darlin’. We’re not gonna hurt ya. Are you afraid?” She took a few more breaths and managed to get out “no” in the process. She then felt like she was going to cry.
They won’t want me after they see me without clothes.
Caleb had noticed the distressed look on her face and the tears welling up in her eyes. He cupped her chin with his hand, making her look at him.

“This is one of those times when you’re gonna need to start talkin’, sweetheart. Now, take some deep breaths, ’cause we’re not doin’ anything else until we understand what’s going on here.” He let her chin go, but didn’t stop watching her.

Logan continued to hold her securely against his body while whispering soothing words, helping her to catch her breath. She could feel them communicating with one another with only their glances and nods. True to his word, Caleb did not remove any more of her clothing, but she knew he was losing patience. “The time is now, Kim. Just say the words—don’t worry about the feelings yet.”

“That’s easy for you to say!” she snapped angrily, still trying to fight the tears and now trying to fight Logan as well. He didn’t waiver, however. He just continued holding her as if she weren’t even struggling. This, of course, made her even angrier, but she didn’t have much strength left in her. She started to cry angry tears, recognizing her near defeat. “Let me go!” she cried, hitting his arms with her fists and stomping her feet. Caleb again cupped her chin and made her look at him.

“We’re not goin’ anywhere until you talk to us, sweetheart, but I have to tell you—I’m not letting you get sick from staying in these wet clothes, so you have about thirty more seconds.”

Caleb knew a woman would talk when she was pissed off enough, desperate enough, or after a good spanking, and since she was still recuperating, a spanking was not an option. He could see the damage some asshole had done to her and he figured it was probably more than one. He couldn’t let her get sick though, so desperation was the one he was going for. He started to unbutton her jeans, seeing the look of fear in her eyes.

“Okay!” she screamed, pushing his hand away. “I hate you, Caleb! I shouldn’t have to tell you anything!” She was glaring at him through her tears.

Okay, he thought, anger route it is
.
“You can hate me all you want, sugar, but it’s not gonna change a damn thing. Now, I’m gonna count to three and those jeans will be coming off. One, two…”

“Please!” she cried. “I can’t let you take my jeans off because I don’t have anything on underneath.” And then, shutting her eyes, she mumbled, “And you won’t want me after you see.”

“Did she just say what the hell I thought she said?” Logan asked angrily. Caleb nodded his head and then bent down to kiss her on the nose. He wiped the tears from her face and then told her he’d be right back. Logan began to stroke her shoulder and arm gently with his free hand, but still didn’t loosen his grip around her waist, fearing she’d take off.

Caleb was back in an instant with a big white bathrobe in his hands. He and Logan wrapped the bathrobe around her and then Caleb unbuttoned her jeans, slid the zipper down, and started to peel them from her wet body. He covered her up as much as he could, which made her relax and calm down. He could see in her eyes that she was grateful he didn’t make her stand naked in front of both of them.

He took the towel and dried her off one section at a time, all the while allowing her to wear the robe as a security blanket. Once Logan felt her body relax, he released his arm. He then took the other towel and began to dry her hair, making sure not to touch the stitches. When they were both satisfied, Logan turned her around, grabbed her by the shoulders, and gave her a quick kiss on the top of the head. He then motioned with his head for her to go to the dining room table and swatted her on the bottom as she began to walk that way. When she gasped and turned back to look at him, he smiled and gave her a wink. She tried not to smile back, but he could see the grin emerging, despite her efforts. He chuckled as she rubbed her bottom and walked away. Caleb was already at the table and had her chair pulled out, waiting. Logan picked up her wet clothes and towels and headed for a room off the kitchen, which she guessed was the laundry room. He grabbed two beers on the way back, handed Caleb one, and then opened the other and sat down.

Caleb reached for Kim’s hand and started rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. Logan just watched her, occasionally taking a sip of his beer. No one spoke for the next few minutes, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Caleb then raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “We’re very proud of you, sugar. You came right out and said what was on your mind and you didn’t even try to lie about it. Now—that doesn’t mean we agree with what you said, so that’s why we’re gonna have to come to an understandin’. I don’t know what happened to you over the years, but I
do
know there’s some damage Logan and I are gonna have to be fixin’.”

Kim looked down when she felt the tears welling up again.
Dammit, I never cry this much!
Caleb didn’t make her look up at him because he knew she was listening. “And I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but we’re gonna be doin’ that fixin’ without any clothes on. We understand you’re nervous and a little self-conscious, but once we’ve seen you a few times, you won’t even be bothered by it—hell, you might even like it.” With that, Kim looked up and smiled. Caleb raised his brow and then continued.