Stranded (11 page)

Dawson stroked her drying hair. “I’d like to
have a word with your father.”

She shook her head. “It wouldn’t do any good.
He is and will always be a bastard.”

Holden took one of her hands and held it in
his. “So what were your plans for Thanksgiving?”

She did not want to tell them and remained
mute, not meeting their eyes.

Dawson took her other hand. “Tell us.”

“My plans included a microwave dinner, my
cat, and football.” She refused to look at them in case she saw
pity in their eyes.

“You’ve won my heart with the football.”
Holden had a lightness in his voice and she looked up to see his
smile. “You can be sure you won’t be missing that.”

“No way are we going to miss the Broncos
kicking the Giants’ ass.” Dawson rubbed the back of her neck,
smoothing away some of the tension there from talking about her
parents.

“Ha.” She scoffed at the notion. “The Giants
have a better team this year than the Broncos.”

“Them’s fightin’ words.” Dawson spoke in an
Old West cowboy drawl. “How about a wager?”

“You’re on.” She liked how the men picked up
on something she enjoyed and didn’t make her feel pathetic for
having a non-life outside of work. “When you lose, you have to walk
around naked, worship my feet, and do whatever I tell you.”

Holden snorted and Dawson chuckled. “When
you
lose, you have to wear a Broncos jersey tonight and all
day tomorrow. Even if we’re not snowed in any longer and we go into
the office.”

Her jaw dropped. “No way.”

“Does that mean you don’t have confidence in
your team?” Holden leaned his back up against the breakfast bar.
“You can back out now—”

She scowled shook her head. “No way. The
Giants are going to win.”

Dawson gave a wide grin and extended his
hand. “Then we have a deal?”

She took his hand and squeezed. “Deal.” She
released it and grasped Holden’s hand and they shook on it, too.
Holden was grinning just as broadly as Dawson.

Now her Giants just had to win or she’d be
eating humble pie and wearing orange while doing it.

* * * * *

Thanksgiving dinner was amazing. Penny had
prepped sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows; fresh
corn off the cob; boiled red potatoes to mash; thick giblet gravy;
the stuffing they’d used to stuff the bird; and homemade rolls that
were to die for.

Enough food had been prepared for the
Kennedy’s large family, so there were plenty of leftovers that they
wrapped, packaged, and bagged. The majority of them were put into a
freezer in the mudroom. They kept enough leftovers in the fridge to
last a couple of days.

By the time they’d finished putting
everything away, it was time for pregame. She curled up on the
couch between Holden and Dawson. She liked how they didn’t crowd
her, just clearly liked to be close to her.

They talked smack during the pregame and then
it was time for kickoff. The Giants won the coin toss and chose to
receive. They led the first half by 20-0 and Erika had visions of
two naked men kissing her feet, followed by many more erotic
thoughts. She’d have them where she wanted them.

Which was actually more of the same as last
night, only she’d be in control. After all, she thrived on
control.

The men didn’t look worried during halftime.
When she rubbed it in about how behind the Broncos were, Dawson
shrugged. “All the Broncos need are three touchdowns.”

“The Giants have clearly outplayed the
Broncos on offense and defense.” She crossed her arms over her
chest, feeling smug. “Twenty points is beyond what a superior team
needs to stay ahead of an inferior team like the Broncos.” She
wiggled her bare toes. “Get ready for some foot worship.”

Halftime ended and the second half of the
game began. The Broncos scored almost immediately and Dawson and
Holden gave her grins.

Dawson put his hand on her shoulder. “And it
has begun.”

“Ha.” She would have shrugged it away if she
didn’t like his touch so much. As it was, she missed his warm grip
the moment he moved his hand away.

To her pleasure, the Giants fended off the
Broncos. There were four minutes left in the game with the Giants
still up by thirteen. Unfortunately, they hadn’t scored any more
points, but they had a cushion as long as they didn’t fold.

She sat on the couch intently focused on the
game, her back up against Holden and her feet on Dawson’s lap. That
was until the ref made an extraordinarily bad call, as far as she
was concerned, and the Broncos scored another touchdown.

She jumped up and yelled at the TV.
“Unbelievable. You need your friggin’ eyes checked.” She clenched
her fists at her sides. She couldn’t lose to Dawson and Holden. She
couldn’t.

Dawson grinned. “The Broncos are only seven
points away from winning the game.”

She turned her glare on him. “It’s not going
to happen. There’s only two minutes left and the Giants have the
ball.”

Holden smirked. “A lot can happen in two
minutes.”

“Humph.” It was true, a lot could happen, but
she wasn’t giving up on her boys, and she wasn’t going to be
wearing a damned orange Denver jersey.

She folded her arms across her chest,
remaining standing, as if that would help her team. The Giants
moved the ball down the field. Only one minute left and they’d have
the game won. Tension started to leave her body.

The Giants’ quarterback passed the ball to
his running back.

Brody Howser of the Broncos intercepted the
pass.

Erika almost screamed. The safety tucked the
ball under his arm, found a wide opening and sprinted down the
field toward the opposite goal posts.

“Noooooo.” Erika clenched her fists at her
sides as she stared on in shock.

Holden and Dawson shouted cheers of
encouragement to the Broncos’ safety.

One of the Giants’ defensive players came up
fast behind Brody. “Tackle him!” Erika shouted. “Tackle the S.O.B.”
It didn’t matter that she’d liked the friendly guy. Right now he
was the enemy.

The last thirty seconds of the game was
spinning by quickly, the clock in the upper right hand corner
almost a blur as it counted down.

The Giants’ player lunged at the Broncos’
safety a few feet from the goal and grabbed his legs, knocking him
to the ground.

But Brody landed across the goal line, the
ball in his grasp and clearly in the end zone.

“No, no, no, no!” Erika shook her head.

“Ha.” Dawson made a motion like a player
throwing the football down in the end zone in celebration.

She glared at him. “You haven’t won. It’s
tied and it could go into overtime.”

Holden snorted. “Our kicker never misses.
We’ll get the extra point.”

Erika looked back at the TV, bouncing on her
toes in nervous anticipation. “Don’t fail me now.”

The Broncos kicker sent the ball perfectly
through the goal posts.

Erika stared at the TV. They’d been twenty
points ahead at the half and they’d lost. And nearly just as bad,
she’d lost her bet to Dawson and Holden.

The next thing she knew they were pulling her
T-shirt over her head and putting a Broncos jersey on her. She
wasn’t exactly cooperating, but she really didn’t have a choice,
either.

When the jersey was on her, Dawson and Holden
high-fived each other and grinned at Erika. The jersey’s material
felt satiny against her bare nipples and went all the way to her
upper thighs.

She folded her arms across her chest and
glared at them. “I’m not wearing this tomorrow.”

“A deal’s a deal.” Holden ruffled her hair.
“Damn but you look cute.”

Before she could huff and turn away, Dawson
grasped her by the upper arms and kissed her.

Her resistance melted in spite of herself,
and her muscles went weak. Holden came up from behind her, pushed
her hair aside, and kissed her neck, sending tingles throughout her
as he settled his hands on her hips.

“We can take care of you in more ways than
one.” Holden ran his finger down her cheek. “We want to take care
of you like you deserve.”

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
Despite her declaration, the words came out uncertain, as if a part
of her wanted to be taken care of.

The men touched her, caressed her, kissed
her. In that moment she wanted them to care for her in any way they
chose. She would be theirs to do with as they wished.

Holden picked her up by her ass and she
wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck.

He started down the hall to the master
bedroom. She clung to him, feeling secure and safe, and like
nothing could ever happen to her again with these two men caring
for her.

They were wild thoughts, thoughts that didn’t
belong in her independent world. But somehow they belonged here and
now, in this place and time. And she refused to feel bad for
thinking those thoughts.

Dawson moved ahead of them and opened the
door to the master bedroom. They stepped inside and he closed the
door behind them.

Holden carried her to the bed and set her on
the floor, the carpet was rich beneath her toes. She started to
reach down to pull the jersey over her head and he stopped her.
“This goes right back on later. A bet’s a bet.”

“Yes. Later.” At this moment she would have
agreed to anything. “I promise.”

He grasped the bottom of the jersey and
pulled it up and over her head.

***

Holden’s gaze swept over Erika’s perfect
breasts and the soft curves he wanted to feel pressed against his
much harder body. He glanced at Dawson and saw the same desire in
his gaze.

He sensed that Dawson’s feelings for Erika
were growing, just as his own were. Her strength, the depth of her
character, her intelligence, and all that Holden had learned about
her made him want her with a fierceness he couldn’t begin to fight.
It was a feeling deep inside, far more than something as simple as
sex.

Truthfully, it had never been all about sex.
The moment he’d walked into his living room and saw her standing
there, a strong sensation had rippled through him in waves. In her
eyes, he’d seen his soulmate.

A soulmate that happened to be his cousin’s,
too.

Holden ran a finger down Erika’s breast to
her nipple that hardened at his touch as he looked into her gaze
and tried to grasp the situation.

Yes, it had never been just about sex, but
sharing with Dawson? Holden was having a hard time at coming to
terms with that. They both wanted her, both wanted to please her,
both wanted to take her to heights she’d never known before.

The sharing part, on a long-term basis, was
an idea he was going to have to work on. He knew it was not
entirely unusual, but it wasn’t the norm. In Erika’s case, was he
willing to go outside the norm? Would Erika be willing, for that
matter?

Dawson moved behind Erika and eased down the
bike shorts she was wearing, flinging them aside after she stepped
out of them. She was perfectly bare now, a woman who always looked
comfortable in her nakedness, never shy. It was refreshing as well
as a huge turn-on.

He cupped her face in his hands, searching
the blue of her eyes. “What do you want, more than anything right
now?”

“I want you to take me.” She looked over her
shoulder at Dawson. “I want you to both take me.”

Dawson’s eyes grew darker as he glanced at
Holden and then back at Erika. Holden’s cock grew even more rigid
as he looked at Erika, too. They’d never taken a woman in the pussy
and ass at the same time. The idea of pleasing her in that way
caused Holden’s blood to burn. It was a dominant act, putting the
woman into a submissive position, and damned if it didn’t make him
fucking hard as hell to know that she would be submitting to
them.

“I get Erika’s ass.” Dawson, still behind
her, ran his fingers up and down her bare skin along her sides and
she gave a little shiver as she leaned back into him.

Holden took a step forward, pressing her
against Dawson so that she was pinned between them. She wrapped her
arms around Holden’s neck as he brought his mouth down on hers,
tasting her. God, she tasted so damn sweet, her mouth so soft, her
kiss melding with his, lips, teeth, and tongue.

When Holden raised his head, he glanced over
her shoulder and saw Dawson. Without saying anything aloud, they
picked up Erika and settled her on the bed. She looked so beautiful
with her tousled hair and a sultry look in her eyes as she leaned
back on her elbows.

Holden watched her as he stripped off his
clothes. By her expression, he knew she couldn’t wait for him to be
naked, so he did a little strip tease of his own.

With one knee bent, Erika braced her arms and
elbows on the bed as she watched Holden and Dawson strip out of
their clothing. Her nipples were hard points, her pussy wet and
waiting for a cock to fill it. Her belly flip-flopped. She’d let
the men know she wanted them both inside her at the same time and
right now she wanted that more than anything.

She hadn’t known what she was missing. Having
two men make love to her at one time was beyond anything she’d
stopped to consider.

When Holden was naked, she rose up onto her
knees on the mattress. He was close enough for her to reach out and
grasp his hand. She tugged until he was sitting on the bed. She
felt a wildness and aggressiveness within her that she set free.
She felt no hesitations inside her that she may have felt in the
past. She was confident, as if she could conquer anything, do
anything.

She slid onto Holden’s lap, feeling the bump
of his erection against her folds. She wiggled on his lap, causing
him to groan as she ground down on him. She grasped his biceps and
brought the fingers of her other hand to the tattoo on his chest
and shoulder. Like she’d imagined a thousand times, she traced the
tattoo with her fingertips, sliding them over the intricate
tattoo.