Picture Perfect (3 page)

Victoria studied him, wondering what the hell that enigmatic comment meant. She loved his face, the bone structure masculine yet almost what she could term elegant, with high cheekbones, arched dark brows, and a straight nose. His eyes were midnight dark, his skin holding a perpetual tan because he loved to be outside, and his thick hair held the slightest wave. Good looks aside, she also was drawn to the man himself because he was as nice as he was good-looking and that was saying something. Considerate, intelligent, fun to be around, but also confident enough to allow her some space when she needed it. They didn’t agree on everything, but he was okay with it when they didn’t. Ross was the quintessential example of a man comfortable in his own skin, and he never tried to prove anything to anyone.

She’d fallen in love with him in about five minutes flat after they met at a cookout at a friend’s house six months before.

“I can’t help if you don’t explain.” She moved to refill her wine glass. It was Friday night, she knew she’d be staying over so she didn’t have to worry about driving home, and the merlot was excellent. “You were bothered but not jealous. I confess I’m a little confused.”

“Wade has a crush on you.” Ross made a face. “Okay, that sounds stupid. He’s twenty-five, so crush isn’t the appropriate word. He has a thing for you. It bothers him, but he’s definitely the stay-out-of-my-face type, and I can’t figure out how to talk to him about it. Or if I even should. It isn’t bugging
me
, except to the extent it
is
bugging
him
.”

Victoria sat up in her chair. If it wasn’t for what happened earlier, she would have laughed in complete disbelief. “He’ll barely speak to me.”

“Exactly. Why do you think that is?”

“I thought he didn’t like me. It has been bothering me for months.”

“Trust me, he more than likes you. And it has been bothering
him
for months.”

She admitted, “Maybe this afternoon wasn’t the best idea then.”

“Yeah, well, maybe, maybe not. I can’t decide if I want to bring this subject up so he and I can at least talk about it.” Ross stood in an athletic movement and held out his hand. “In the meantime, what do you say we move this party inside? It’s getting cool out here. We can finish our wine, listen to some music, and I’ll build a fire, if you like.”

It was true, at this elevation, once the sun went down it got chilly pretty fast. Victoria let him pull her to her feet. “That sounds romantic.”

Ross looked into her eyes. “If you want romantic, we could skip the fire and finish our wine in bed.” He leaned in close and his mouth brushed her ear. “After.”

A tingle of anticipation shot through her, and her breasts tightened. They had great chemistry in bed, and though she’d never before thought of herself as adventurous in the sex department, she trusted Ross so much it was different with him. “I hope you aren’t assuming I’m going to sleep with you, Mr. Preston,” she said teasingly, resting her free hand on one muscled shoulder.

“Hmm,” he said, and nibbled on her neck.

It felt delicious but unfortunately reminded her of Wade and earlier in the afternoon. A very real part of her couldn’t believe she’d posed essentially naked in front of two men—or three if she counted Ross. She wasn’t a prude, but she was a pretty private person. If this book idea flew, the pictures might even be published. At least it wasn’t some cheesy magazine but supposed to be artistic and more about the dynamics of human sexuality and the beauty of love. In retrospect—with the current revelation, especially—she wished she had refused to let Wade stand in for Ross for those damned book shots Andy wanted so badly. She could still feel the light sensation of Wade’s long fingers, slightly calloused from working with the horses every day, cupping her breast and the warm press of his mouth on her neck.

Unfortunately, she had the sinking feeling now she and Wade would be even more awkward with each other. He hadn’t stayed for dinner but muttered something about meeting one of his buddies in town and left almost the minute they returned from their ride. That was pretty standard procedure for whenever she stayed over.

“I’ll carry the wine,” Ross said, letting her go and picking up the bottle and his glass, “if you’ll just grab the door.”

Obediently, she crossed the flagstone patio and opened the French door that led into the kitchen. He was right. The pleasant evening was transitioning into a cold, crisp Western night.

“Fire or bed?” he asked, one brow lifted, a faint smile on his mouth.

“Can’t I have both?” Victoria asked. “We can sleep in tomorrow, and it’s still a little early.”

“You can have whatever you want with me, sweetheart. Remember that.”

The seriousness in his voice rendered her speechless, but she didn’t have to respond because he walked out of the open kitchen, set the wine on the coffee table, and then went over to kneel by the fireplace. She settled on one of the comfortable leather couches and tucked her feet under her, wineglass in hand as she watched him deftly bank the logs he took from the built-in spot for them in the adobe wall, add kindling, and scrape a match. The blaze caught in a minute or two, the wood snapping.

“I love the smell of pinyon burning,” Victoria murmured when Ross joined her on the couch and comfortably settled his arm around her shoulders.

“Nice fire, good wine, a beautiful woman…what more could a man want?” He did look relaxed, which was nice. His job tended to be stressful, and sometimes it took him a while to decompress.

“Hot sex?” she supplied with a laugh. “Just an educated guess here.”

“Yep.
Very
hot sex.” He gave her a wicked wink.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

His mouth brushed her temple, and his warm breath sent a pleasant shiver through her body. “That sounds promising. Do you have something special in mind?”

“Hmm. I’ll have to think on it.” He smelled fantastic, like sage and fresh air with a hint of Ross mixed in.

“Fair enough. In the meantime, care to make out on the couch in front of the fire?”

His smile was one of the first things she’d noticed about him. Slow and so damned attractive. Even when he wore one of his designer suits she was reminded of a handsome cowboy because there was just a hint of untamed male in it.

The rhythm of her heartbeat increased, and her breasts tightened. “I might be persuaded into a kiss or two.”

Dark eyes gleamed and his voice deepened. “Where? Here?” Long fingers skimmed her lips and then traced a path downward over the curve of one breast, lightly toying with her nipple through her blouse. “Or here?” Without waiting for her answer, Ross cupped his hand between her thighs. “Or here?”

“All three might be nice,” she said, the sudden heat and dampness between her legs undeniable.

“Feeling adventurous tonight, Tori?” He rubbed seductively, putting pressure on her clit through her jeans and underwear.

She sucked in a breath because it felt so good. “Maybe.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” he said before he leaned forward and claimed her mouth in a hot, demanding kiss, his fingers already busy with the top button on her pants.

“Bedroom,” she murmured against his lips.

“Later,” he answered.

Chapter Three

Wade parked his truck down by the barn, going inside to check on the one mare they had about to drop her foal. She looked fine, contentedly taking the apple he’d brought her, swishing her tail.

“Not a momma tonight, Chica,” he told her, rubbing affectionately between her ears. “But I’m thinking maybe tomorrow.”He left her with a small, reassuring pat on the rump and walked up to the house, his hands shoved into the back pockets of his jeans. He took his time, strolling along. It was cool now, and he could smell the tang of a fire. A part of him wished it was later because he imagined Ross and Victoria were still enjoying cozy conversation and a drink or two in the living room, but the friends he’d met for dinner had wanted to see a movie he had absolutely no interest in, and truth was he was pretty damned tired from rebuilding that fence.

Then there was the little matter of holding Victoria’s bare breast in his hand earlier in the day. Why the hell did that have to happen anyway? To his dying day he’d remember the smooth, firm weight of it cradled in his palm, the silk of her skin under his mouth, the satin texture of her hair against his cheek…

Jesus. He’d been bad off before, and what were things going to be like now? When he’d walked up to the house after that little photo shoot, he’d been literally shaking like a dead leaf in a high wind. It wasn’t just seeing her without her clothes on or touching her like a lover either, because the worst of it might her personality. Sweet enough to help out Andy because they were friends, even-tempered, had a great sense of humor, didn’t play games…she and Ross hadn’t ever even had a fight that he was aware of, and she also had the one thing Wade considered to be most sexy of all in a woman, and that was brains.

Nice, pretty, perfect body, and smart.

Dating your brother
, a mocking voice reminded him.

Son of a bitch. He didn’t want to see her. Yet he
did
want to see her.

This situation sucked.

The adobe house had a Spanish style portico across the entire front of it, and he stepped into the coolness of the shadowed overhang, pausing with his hand on the door, listening for the sound of voices inside. Nothing. Good, maybe they were already in Ross’s bedroom. At least that would save him from having to mumble something moronic in an attempt to be polite.

He opened the door, walked in about five steps, and froze.

They were not in Ross’s bedroom but instead on one of the angled couches arranged to best see the spectacular view of the mountains and still enjoy the fireplace. The room was dark, but with the fire built up enough he had a clear view. Clothes were strewn across the floor. Jeans, a blouse, and God help him, a pair of black lace panties…

Victoria was naked, half reclined against one of the arm rests, eyes closed, her delicious breasts quivering with each shuddered breath. Her knees were bent and apart, Ross’s dark head between her open legs. His brother was wearing only jeans, barefoot, his lean body prone as he moved his mouth against her pussy.

She moaned, the sound slicing right through Wade, and as both of them seemed to be concentrating on her obviously approaching orgasm, it didn’t seem either of them noticed he had walked into the room.

Even if he was sentenced straight to an express ride to hell, Wade found he couldn’t leave to save his life, riveted to the spot like his boots had been nailed to the floor.

Her fingers curled into Ross’s hair, and she arched, panting, her blond hair spilling over the dark leather in a shining gold curtain. A small cry rang out as she came, her slender body tensing, her skin taking on the telltale pink flush of sexual release.

Beautiful.
It was all he could think, but then again, he was surprised he could think at all because every drop of blood in his body had rushed to his prick. That wayward part of his anatomy hardened faster than he ever remembered.

How to escape gracefully was a real problem at the moment, for not only did Ross murmur something and lift up to kiss the plane of her stomach, but Victoria opened her eyes. Limp in the aftermath of her climax, her head was tilted in Wade’s direction, and the dreamy look of contentment on her face was suddenly replaced by a startled realization of his presence. His brother noticed him standing there at the same time, levering himself up on the couch and running his hand through his already disheveled hair.

Wade cleared his throat. “Yeah, you guys might want to use the bedroom next time.”

“You’re home earlier than we expected.”

“Sorry.” And what he wished—what he
really
wished—was that at this point he could just negligently stroll away as if none of it bothered him. In college, where there wasn’t a lot of privacy available, he’d walked in on his roommates before with their girlfriends. Maybe not in quite so graphic a position, but he’d certainly been in the room before and heard the sounds that indicated what might be going on, but he’d just ignored it and gone back to sleep.

Of course, none of those girls had been Victoria.

This was not at all the same. Goddamn it, he wanted to feel the same amused indifference, but he just…
didn’t.

“This is your house. You don’t have to be sorry.” Victoria said in a strangled voice, “Ross, hand me your shirt or something.”

“Why?” His brother didn’t move. “I’m willing to bet my half of this ranch that Wade’s really admiring the view. Remember our earlier conversation about him?”

What conversation? Wade had managed to turn his leaden feet to leave, but he halted, giving his brother a sharp look. He’d wondered more than once if Ross didn’t sense how he felt about Victoria. His older brother had even asked him about it in a roundabout way once, but he’d just been evasive because he was guilty as charged.

Victoria didn’t say anything, just stared at Ross, who reached out to circle one perfect pink nipple with a fingertip. “How,” he asked in a husky voice, “adventurous are you feeling, Tori?”

“Ross!” Her gaze flicked back to where Wade stood. It about did him in when she whispered, “You can’t be serious.”

* * * *

This was a risk, but then again, the old adage “nothing ventured, nothing gained” seemed appropriate. The more Ross thought about it, the more sense it made to him, but it needed to make sense to Victoria.

Damn, she was so gorgeous with her honey-colored hair around her shoulders and that kickass body sprawled naked next to him. But as good as the sex was, he’d enjoyed just as much the conversation over they’d had over dinner, and every time she laughed or just looked at him his heart tripped over itself. This wasn’t just about sex.

Ross knew he was in love with her. Deeply. It was different from anything he’d ever felt for a woman before.

The trouble was, Wade was involved, too, and he knew his younger brother. He didn’t do anything halfway. He’d always been that way—all or nothing.