Lydia's Twin Temptation (28 page)

Ace Webster’s big, black Hummer was parked on the circular drive, adjacent to the window they were currently
flagrantly
positioned in front of. Through the windshield, Ace made eye contact with him, his hands still tightly gripping the steering wheel. He looked ready to commit murder. Chance cursed softly as he caught sight of the vehicle, too.

Stirring, Lydia looked up between them, seeking another kiss or caress, and her eyes focused out the window. “Oh, fuck a duck.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Chance kissed Lydia’s shoulder, refusing to lose the moment completely, and said, “The next time we have a ménage it won’t end quite this abruptly.”

Sounding mildly panicked, Lydia replied, “I know. I’m sorry. This is entirely my fault.”

 Clayton shook his head. “Not really. We should’ve remembered to remotely lock the front gate. Sorry, Lydi,” he said with a reluctant-sounding groan as he pulled his cock from her ass. Chance heard the door slam on Ace’s vehicle.

A bereft sound slipped from Lydia’s lips as Chance pulled out, too, and rose from the chaise. After she quickly wiped off the lube, he helped Lydia into the sheer, silky robe she’d worn downstairs, noting that it really didn’t cover much. The scent of sex hung in the air, and Chance fought the wave of irritation that threatened to ruin his sex-induced endorphin rush. Dealing with an angry brother had not been on his post-ménage agenda.

A big fist pounded on the front door, and Chance strode from the room to answer it once they all had on their robes. Keeping Ace waiting was probably not in their best interest. He turned his head to check on Lydia standing in the entry to the living room as he opened the door. He never saw the fist that slammed into his jaw a split second before pain erupted and everything went black.

* * * *

Lydia screamed when Chance jackknifed back from the door and landed flat on his back on the tiled entryway. He laid there motionless as she ran to him, her knees colliding painfully with the cold, hard floor. The tingle and throb of heightened awareness faded to be replaced by mounting irritation that this was the aftermath of her first ménage experience. More tires screeched on the concrete outside as the scent of rain-soaked air wafted through the opened door.

Clayton hovered over the two of them for a second and then stood between them and the front door.

“Just who in the hell do you think you are, Webster?”

Ace growled in that menacing way he had that struck fear in the hearts of men and made her want to slug him back as he yelled, “I’m one pissed-off big brother. That’s my baby sister you’re taking advantage of. How am I supposed to act?”

In a trademark, lightning-speed jab to the jaw she probably should’ve warned both men about, Ace laid Clayton out cold alongside his brother.

Lydia heard the distinct sound of a woman clearing her throat and wondered what was next. She couldn’t help the tears that overflowed as she tenderly touched Chance’s swelling jaw and then the already enlarging puffiness under Clayton’s left eye.

The very angry-sounding woman replied on Lydia’s behalf, “Oh, I don’t know, you big ignoramus. Maybe try acting like an adult instead of a thug?” The woman made a disgusted sound and then shoved Ace out of the way like he was a twink. It didn’t escape Lydia’s notice that he allowed her to.

The blonde woman came closer and knelt down to Lydia as she crouched in her barely there cover-up, which was meant to entice, not hide anything. The woman was beautiful, dressed impeccably from her tailored top down to the high heels on her feet.

Ace defensively replied, “They were fucking my sister. I did what any red-blooded big brother would do!”

She looked at Lydia sympathetically and then a glitter came into her eyes before she turned back to Ace. “Which is what? Act like a great, big
jackass
?”

“They were right
there
!” Ace pointed into the living room where the double chaise lounge now sat, the large bath sheet in disarray. “I could see them through the window,
fucking
!”

Ace gave a full-body shudder and scrubbed his face and eyes with his hands like he’d just seen something disgusting. She wanted to kick him in the balls. Hard.

Appearing outraged, the blonde stood and rounded on Ace as Kemp walked in behind him—joy of joys. If Lydia hadn’t been so upset she might have enjoyed the moment as the woman got right in Ace’s face.

“Do you mean to tell me that you interrupted their ménage? You
interrupted
their ménage?
You?
” She hollered the last word, and some secret, unspoken communication occurred between them in the next few seconds.

Kemp closed the front door behind him and shook his head. “I wish you’d answered your phone, Ace. We could’ve talked this out so there wouldn’t be any of this mess to deal with. You should’ve listened when Summer tried to tell you.”

“Summer, what they were doing was inappropriate!”

Summer’s mouth popped open, and she put her thumb and pinky to her face as if making a call and said, “Hello,
pot
? This is the kettle. Did you know you’re
black
?”

“But—but it’s different for us! We’re engaged—”

Continuing with her “call,” Summer held up one professionally manicured fingertip to interrupt him. “Oh! I see! You
know
you’re black. You’re just a different, more
acceptable
shade of black. My mistake.”

Summer growled at him and made a fist then turned away from him to crouch down by Lydia again. By this point Chance and Clayton were starting to come around, probably due to all the yelling, and Summer
tsked
as she checked Chance’s jaw and Clayton’s eye. To Lydia, she said, “Honey, they both look like they’re going to be okay. Kemp will keep Ace from beating on them anymore. Let’s get you upstairs and into some clothes, okay?”

In a mild state of bewilderment at the woman’s intervention on her behalf, Lydia let Summer draw her cover-up closed. Summer helped her stand then gave Ace a nasty look before she put her arm around Lydia and led her up the stairs.

Lydia could hear Kemp talking calmly to Ace as they went upstairs.

The beautiful woman quietly said, “Lydia, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I regret very much that it’s under these circumstances. My name is Summer, and I’m your brother’s fiancée.”

“Ace is engaged?” That was a total surprise to her. He hadn’t called her or said a word to her about it.

Summer smiled weakly and replied, “
Great
. He’s downstairs acting like a caveman and leaves me to be the one to tell you. Both of your brothers are engaged, Lydia.”

“To who?”

Summer bit her lip and said, “Me.”

“Ace…
and
Kemp?” Summer nodded straightforwardly, and Lydia said, “That great big…”

“Hypocrite? Yeah, I know. Trust me. He’ll apologize when we get back down there. Once he figured out you were in town, and I started putting two and two together, I tried to explain to him but he just wouldn’t listen to me. As soon as Kemp got to the house we followed him, knowing this was where he’d go. I tried to call Chance because I happened to have his number in my phone but no one answered. Now I understand why.”

“Yeah. We turned off all the phones. We get…interrupted a lot,” Lydia replied as she pulled clothing from the bureau and a top off a hanger in the closet. She slipped into the bathroom and tidied up a bit and quickly dressed.

“With a ranch this big, I imagine you do. I tried to tell him that Chance and Clayton are in love with you. I don’t know where he got the impression you were having a fling.”

“I don’t know either. I haven’t talked to him in over a month. I can’t believe he hit them both.”

“Me either. He and Kemp are super protective of you, aren’t they?”

Lydia rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Like pit bulls. I’m twelve years younger and according to them I’m still a teenager who doesn’t know her own mind. After mom and dad both passed away they got even worse. Kemp at least will listen to reason before he starts plotting revenge.”

Summer snickered at that and then said, “Well, let’s go downstairs and see if they made peace or broke anything else. You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Lydia hurried downstairs and heard the men’s voices coming from the family room. She rushed into the living room to remove the towel from the chaise lounge and all the other evidence of their hot, little tryst and noticed that the rain was still pouring down in torrents.

She went into the kitchen and made ice packs for both of her men. Summer was already seated on the couch next to Kemp when she walked in, and Lydia smiled when Summer winked at her. Clayton and Chance both sat on the couch opposite Summer and Kemp while Ace sat in the upholstered chair. Lydia handed Clayton his ice pack after looking at the swelling around his eye and then went to Chance and applied the ice pack to his jaw.

Chance flinched and took the ice pack from her with a look of gratitude and said, “Ace, you know Clayton and I would never take advantage of a woman, no matter her age. If we had a baby sister, I would feel protective, too, and might even have reacted the way you did if it was put in my face like that.”

Lydia thought Chance and Clayton were being very good-natured about the situation, considering Ace had essentially barged into their house and sucker punched them. He wasn’t going to get off so easy when it was her turn. She stood beside Chance until both men said what they needed to say, eyeing her brother as the irritation inside her built to a peak. It almost sounded like Chance was making an excuse or identifying with Ace.

Clayton gingerly pressed the ice pack to his eye and broke in, “It all boils down to this, guys. We love your sister. Bottom line. We’d never do anything to dishonor or embarrass her. We didn’t anticipate having company, with that storm blowing in, when we set up in the living room with the drapes open.”

That was more information than she thought Ace deserved considering he’d gotten an eyeful because he’d showed up
unannounced
.

Ace nodded, looking mollified, and turned to her. “Anything you want to say? You can start with why you are in Divine and I didn’t know.”

Fury, white hot and indignant, raced through her at his fatherly tone. “I’ll
start
by telling you that you’re a
fucking asshole
. How about that?”

Ace’s jaw dropped, and he adopted a hurt look at her words.

Lydia balled up her fists as she continued. “Don’t give me that kicked-puppy-dog look, you big jerk. You fell in love and didn’t think I might want to know.
Both of you!
” she added, glaring daggers at Kemp, who looked like he wanted to crawl under the sofa. “You couldn’t be bothered to call me and tell me that you were both engaged to Summer, who is
way
too good for you, by the way. I’m twenty-eight years old, damn it. If I want to go gallivanting over half of Texas, that’s my call and not yours. When are you going to get that through your thick skull?”

Adopting the self-sacrificing, paternal tone that drove her nuts, Ace replied, “Probably never. I’m sorry.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I was angry when I came over here, but seeing the three of you together—”

“Stop right there,” Summer interrupted icily, holding up her fingers in a “mouth closed” gesture. Lydia thought she looked ready to growl at him, and her admiration for this woman grew by the second.

Ace held out his hands defensively. “But seeing them like that—”

“Ssht!”
Summer repeated.

“But my sister—”

“Ssht!”

“But—”

“I’ve got a whole, big bucket of
‘ssht’
for you, big boy, plus a photograph of a ménage a trois that’s gone
viral
on the damned Internet
.
Give it a rest, Ace.
You
interrupted
them
in a tender moment, arriving unannounced. You should apologize to them for that, too.”

Lydia watched Ace’s face as Summer spoke and saw the moment real sorrow and repentance came into his eyes, as well as a faint twinkle of admiration for Summer. He turned to Lydia and sincerely said, “I should have listened to Summer, Lydia. I’m sorry. Can you forgive your nagging mother-hen brothers?”

Kemp grunted and said, “Don’t include me in this fiasco, dumb-ass. I tried to warn you.”

Ace turned to Chance and Clayton and said, “I’m sorry about your faces, guys. I was out of line.”

Both of her men shrugged, and Chance said, “As long as the matter is settled.” He winked at her as he adjusted his ice pack.

Lydia grinned and turned to Ace. “Of course I forgive you. But no more nagging. From
either
of you,” she added, turning to look at Kemp. He looked happy to not be in the hot seat, sitting beside Summer. He quickly gave her the thumbs-up gesture. “It’s been months since I’ve seen either one of you.”

Ace and Kemp both gave her affectionate hugs as Summer, Chance, and Clayton looked on with smiling faces. Kemp muttered, “We’ve missed you, baby girl.”

Ace said, “We sure have, stinker. I guess we should also say welcome to Divine.”

“I like it very much, so far.”

Luckily, the ranch hand’s plans for eating the huge meal outdoors hadn’t been foiled by the storm. Ace, Kemp, and Summer were invited to stay, and the ranch hands never said a word when they saw the shiner Clayton sported and the dark, swollen bruise Chance now had on his jaw. After the rain had stopped, everything was set up on the pavilion at the rear of the backyard.

Summer and Lydia were in the kitchen stirring up pitchers of sweet tea when Lydia asked, “What did you mean earlier when you mentioned a photograph of a ménage that has gone viral on the Internet?”

Summer explained to Lydia how she came to be the target of a smear campaign aimed at the polyamorous couples in the area.

“Things have been very quiet since Elizabeth Owen and Leroy Paggs are out of circulation, courtesy of the State of Texas. I hear you’re going to be catering for Maya’s wedding reception.”

“Oh! Yes! With a little help from an old friend,” Lydia replied with a big grin. LuAnn would be in town by that time. “Grace put me in touch with the owner of Rudy’s and he’s going to be helping me, so that I can also make the wedding cake. I invited Maya to have the wedding reception here, since their house is only barely under construction on their ranch to the east, and Grace will be right at nine months pregnant and won’t be up for hosting a wedding reception at their ranch on the other side of the creek. It made sense to invite them to have it here, considering where the wedding is taking place. Transport for all the guests will be a cinch.”

“Very true and ingenious.”

“The pavilion is big enough to hold everyone and we can bring in cooling units to keep the expectant ones comfortable.”