Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
When I didn’t say anything, Tristan jumped in. “He’s actually been on his best behavior since she arrived.”
“But you yell at everyone on the phone. Is that just displaced aggression?” Drew asked.
I grinned. “Nah, that’s just doing business.” It was one of my favorite parts of it.
Drew kicked at a clump of snow. “So why are you telling us this?”
“Firstly, so you two don’t fall head over heels for someone who’s not in the same place. And secondly, because she needs our help.”
That got their attention. “We are helping her,” Tristan said.
“Yeah. Food and shelter. The same as we’d do for anyone.” Well, except that asshole Brookmeyer at work. If you try to take credit for my idea, you’re on my shitlist. But if you do that and eat my leftovers out of the fridge, you’re my enemy for life.
“What else should we be doing for her?” Drew asked.
“Well, for one thing, you can stop tiptoeing around her.”
“Us?” Tristan said. “You’re the one who barely even speaks to her.”
“Because I intimidate the hell out of her. Trust me, trying not to scare off our young guest has been hell on earth.”
“I still don’t see how that was your best behavior,” Drew said, but I ignored him.
“The point is, she’s not intimidated by you two. So stop acting like she’s a China doll who’s going to break if you touch her wrong.”
“We didn’t touch her wrong,” Tristan grumbled, and Drew’s head swung around. Apparently, he hadn’t been aware anything had gone on between Tristan and Sierra.
“She’s the most repressed woman I’ve ever met,” I continued.
Drew wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes, but I didn’t think he was truly mad. He never was. “Sexually, you mean.”
“Right.”
“It’s not surprising, given her background,” Tristan said. “She grew up in Hollywood. She was a child star. You know what she told me? Her first real kiss was with an actor old enough to be her father. She was seventeen at the time.”
I gave a low whistle. “That’s fucked up.” Though not exactly a surprise. She didn’t act like a person who’d had a normal, healthy upbringing. Then again, who had?
Now Drew was staring at Tristan. “Seriously? That’s awful.”
Tristan nodded.
“But… I think it’s fair to say our Sierra has shown herself to be willing to open up to new experiences. Wouldn’t you agree?” I asked.
Both of them nodded. It wasn’t like they could dispute that point.
“So, I think we should help her with that. You both already have.”
Neither of them said anything. I knew Tristan like I knew myself, and this conversation wasn’t sitting well with him—yet, he couldn’t deny anything I’d said.
“We came up here to work, not to worry about Sierra,” he said.
“Yet, that’s what we keep doing,” I responded, and Drew nodded. “But we are still getting some work done. So is she. But I think that if we clear up a few things between us, we’d all be better off.”
“What do you propose?” Drew asked me. He knew me well enough to know I always had a plan.
“If she wants to explore, let’s let her. We know what we’re doing. We can make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”
“And we won’t take advantage of her the way those assholes in Hollywood did,” Tristan added. Then he looked at me. “Do you think she’d be open to sharing?”
“What?” Drew asked.
“I think so, yes.” Over the years, Tristan had come to trust my ability to figure out what women wanted—in the bedroom, at least.
Drew finally caught up. “You two have shared a woman before?”
“It’s been a while,” I admitted, and Tristan nodded.
“What makes you think she’d be into that?” Drew demanded.
“She’s already made out with two out of the three of us.”
“So?”
“So, that means she likes all of us.”
“Except you,” Tristan said.
“Except me.” That was what I got for giving her space.
“We’ll let her decide what she wants, of course,” Tristan said. “But would anyone here get their feelings hurt if she wants more than one of us?” His eyes were on Drew, who shook his head.
“I just want her to be happy.”
What a boy scout. But I couldn’t argue with what he said.
“Don’t worry, we won’t let things get out of hand,” Tristan assured Drew. “After all, it’s not like we have any condoms with us.”
“I do.”
Drew’s jaw dropped. “You brought condoms to the middle of the woods for a stay with two other men?”
Tristan arched an eyebrow. “Which one of us were you planning to fuck?”
I didn’t dignify that with a response. “I bring condoms everywhere.”
Tristan rolled his eyes, but I’d long since learned that it was better to have them and not use them than vice versa. “So, what do we do?” he asked.
“Simple. We let her know that we’re up for some exploration as well, because we are. And above all, that no one’s going to shame her for her desires—or how many of us she chooses to enact them with. Agreed?” I knew Tristan was on board, so I turned to Drew.