Her mouth popped open, and then she burst into laughter. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and then laughed harder.
“You’re a terrible flirt,” she accused.
But even as she reproached him, the realization that she hadn’t had this much fun in a very long time buzzed through her consciousness. And so did the guilt over the carefree way she’d laughed and enjoyed the small moment.
She looked down and then away, hating the helplessness that held her in its grip. She was tired of feeing like she’d never be happy again. When was enough…enough?
A firm hand gripped her chin and turned. Dillon had moved around the counter and now he stood a mere breath away, his body crowding into her space, filling it with heat.
“What’s wrong?” he asked bluntly. “Are you hurting?”
“Just get Seth for me. I’m ready to leave.”
“I’m not ready for you to go.”
Her gaze swung upward, and she had the insane idea that he wanted to kiss her. Did all the Colter men go around kissing women they barely knew? The real question was why did she let them?
“Lily?”
“Yes?” she asked in a husky voice.
“I want to kiss you. I should warn you I tend to do things I want. I’m spoiled that way. So while I’m telling I want to kiss you, the thing is I’m going to.”
“You are?”
She tried to back away but he palmed her nape and held her in place as his mouth hovered invitingly over hers.
“I am. Just remember. I warned you.”
Before she could say anything else, his lips found hers. The kiss was as aggressive and electric as he was, but also as playful. He danced around the corners of her mouth, pulled her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped before soothing the soft skin with his tongue.
“You taste every bit as sweet as you look,” he murmured into her mouth. “Kiss me back, Lily. Taste me. Show me I’m not the only one going crazy here.”
“This is crazy,” she whispered. “Dillon, we can’t. I just met you. You don’t know me. I’m here with your brother…and Michael.”
Dillon frowned. “Michael? What’s Michael got to do with this?”
“He kissed me too,” she muttered, hoping Dillon would be put off by that information. Instead he leaned back and took a seat on the stool next to her, intrigue flashing in his eyes.
“You kissed Michael, but not Seth, who is apparently taking care of you?”
She flushed until her entire face burned with embarrassment. “Seth kissed me.”
“I’m hearing a lot of they kissed me but nothing about you kissing them.”
“This conversation is ridiculous,” she protested. “They kissed me. I kissed them. It’s all crazy. They wanted to take me here.” She gestured around out the window toward the town as she spoke. “We stayed at Michael’s last night. They say crazy stuff like they want me to stay, but we only just met. I shouldn’t have let either of them kiss me, and I damn sure shouldn’t have kissed them.”
“If they were feeling even half of the insanity I’m currently experiencing, there wasn’t a damn thing you could have done to keep them from kissing you.”
She sucked in her breath until the room swam around her in bouncy waves.
“Yeah, Lily, that means I’m going to kiss you again. And I hope to hell you kiss me back.”
He placed both palms on her cheeks, sandwiching her face between his hands. Then he lowered his mouth and devoured hers. Hungry and so sensual that her pulse bounded out of control.
He lapped the inside of her lip with his tongue and then thrust inward, warm and sweet, stroking over her tongue and up to the roof of her mouth.
She swayed on the stool and reached out to grab on to his chest for support. It was like meeting with a brick wall. Her fingers dug into his muscles, and she found herself tracing the dips and caressing the bulges.
When he pulled away, he put both hands at her waist to hold her in place. His breaths came in ragged bursts, and his eyes had lightened to crystal green with shimmering sparks of awareness.
“You may not belong to Seth, but you’re sure as hell going to belong to me, sweetheart. From now on, I’m going to be the only man kissing you and damn sure the only one you’ll be kissing back.”
She slid off the stool and took a step back, prepared to either go find Seth or just go outside. Anywhere but here with this gorgeous, playful man who made her want to do crazy things like laugh. And kiss him back until he begged for air.
She’d been too long without a man. It was the only explanation for her reaction to the Colter brothers. Or maybe she’d react this way to any group of men who suddenly showered her with warmth, affection and…passion.
“Drink the rest of your OJ,” Dillon said gently. “I didn’t mean to frighten you away. I want you to stay. Make yourself comfortable.”
“I’m going to take a stab at this one,” a woman said from across the bar.
Lily yanked her head up to see Seth standing next to a petite brunette with flashing blue eyes.
“Judging by the look on my bonehead brother’s face, I’d say you no longer just have Michael to worry about when it comes to your woman.”
Crimson enveloped Lily. She could literally see the red as it crawled across her face. She was beyond mortified. She put her palm down and pushed away from the counter, intent only on escaping the awkwardness of the scene.
Dillon wrapped his arm around her waist as she tried to maneuver by and gently brought her against him under the shelter of his arm.
“Callie, girl, you know I love you dearly, but you seriously have to work on that mouth of yours before it gets your ass into trouble.”
His sister grinned at Dillon like she didn’t really give a damn what he had to say.
“I see you’ve already met my younger brother, Lily,” Seth said. “This is my sister, Callie. The baby of the Colter family.”
Lily nodded in Callie’s direction, unsure of whether the other woman really was kidding or if she was ready to tear a strip off Lily’s hide.
Callie smiled though, and crossed the room to take Lily by her good hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Lily. Seth was just telling me about you. I’m glad you’re here.”
The throb in Callie’s voice made Lily wonder just how much Seth had told his sister. Lily could hear the pity in Callie’s voice and it discomfited her.
“Thank you,” she said because she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Still nestled in Dillon’s firm grip, Lily tried to twist away, her gaze going to Seth’s. But Seth didn’t look annoyed or even jealous. He looked intensely focused on Dillon, studying his every movement down to his facial expressions.
Dillon tightened his grip on Lily, not allowing her to move away, all the while carrying on a conversation with his siblings that Lily had promptly tuned out the moment she tried to escape.
“We need to talk, Dillon,” Seth said in a quiet voice.
Dillon’s lip curled up belligerently. “Yeah, it seems so.”
“And Michael. This involves Michael as well.”
Callie wrinkled her nose and then proceeded to pry Lily away from Dillon’s side. “I’m going to suggest that I take Lily out to the house. Mom will love having another chick to cluck over, and I can get the dads to cook us some lunch. That way, we won’t be swimming in testosterone when you buttheads have your little talk.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea, Callie,” Dillon said. “Have Adam look over her arm while you’re there. I’m still dying to know how the hell she got herself shot, but I’m sure Seth will explain it all to me, won’t you, Seth?”
Seth scowled. “Lily stays with me. She’s not going anywhere.”
“Oh come on, Seth. Do you really want her present when you three start bitching and moaning and having your pissing contest? I wouldn’t blame her if she ran screaming all the way back to Denver.”
“You’ll take care of her, Callie. I’m charging you with her safety. Make sure she stays with you.”
“She should have been staying with you.” Dillon’s eyes glittered as he stared Seth down. “Don’t bitch at Callie when you left her here at the bar alone. She’s hurt, and anyone could have walked in here.”
Seth’s eyes narrowed at the insult.
Callie cocked her head. “For God’s sake, both of you. She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“Do it for me and my peace of mind,” Seth insisted. “Okay? I need to know she’s all right and more importantly that she’s not off on her own somewhere.”
Dillon snorted again, and Seth shot him a murderous look that told him he wasn’t going to take much more from his younger brother.
Callie shrugged “Well, okay. I’ll try not to overexert myself wrestling down a tiny little thing with one arm tied to her waist. I mean, I’d hate to hurt myself.”
“Sarcastic little wench,” Dillon muttered. “Is it any wonder I love you so much?”
Callie reached for Lily’s hand and squeezed reassuringly. “Come on. I’ll drive you out to the house. I guarantee you won’t want to be around for this. Things are about to get messy. Men talking about their feelings are never a pretty sight.”
Lily stifled her laughter at Callie’s irreverence, but she also had a very real concern over what would happen in her absence. She wasn’t entirely certain what was going on, but she knew it involved her, and the last thing she wanted was trouble between the brothers because of her.
“I’ll pick you up later, okay, honey?” Seth said.
Lily nodded but as she walked away, she looked to both men and felt the strangest flutter deep in her chest.
Chapter Eleven
The drive was quiet, and Lily was grateful that Callie wasn’t one of these people who had to fill the silence with meaningless chit-chat or ask a hundred questions.
Callie’s mini SUV took the switchbacks up the mountain with ease, though Lily was still nervous about the proximity to a sheer drop-off.
Still, the view was spectacular, and Lily couldn’t help the deep sighs of appreciation as they climbed higher.
When they pulled up to the sprawling cabin, Lily gasped in delight.
“This is where your family lives?”
Callie smiled. “Breathtaking isn’t it?”
“You’re so lucky,” Lily said wistfully. “This is a beautiful place. And so private.”
Callie paused as she opened her door. Then she looked at Lily. “Uhm, has Seth told you about our family? About our fathers?”
Lily nodded. “He said you have three fathers.”
Callie looked relieved. “Okay. I just didn’t want you to walk into a situation and wonder what the heck was going on. Or that maybe you were being kidnapped into a cult.”
Lily laughed and eased out her side of the car. She waited for Callie to lead the way, and as they neared the front door, nervous bubbles scuttled up and down her throat.
Callie opened the door. “Mom? Dad? Anybody home?”
She motioned Lily inside, and as Lily stepped into the living room she was reminded in a lot of ways of Michael’s cabin. It exuded the same homey feel but on a larger scale. The furnishings were rich and masculine looking, but Lily could see touches of femininity in the curtains and the colorful pillows arranged on the couches. Pictures of the family hung on the walls and covered every available surface of the coffee table and end tables.
Over the fireplace was a large portrait of the entire family, and Lily got her first look at the “dads”.
There in the middle of all the men were Callie and her mom. They all looked so happy, and the love reached out and wrapped Lily in its warm embrace.
This was a place that screamed home. Babies and children. Laughter and good times. The knot in Lily’s throat grew until each breath was agony to draw in.
“Callie, you’re home early. Didn’t expect you in until late tonight.”
Lily turned to see who she assumed was one of the dads a few feet away.
“Hey, Dad. I brought Lily home. Was hoping you’d fix us some lunch?”
Lily smiled at the wheedling tone in Callie’s voice.
Callie turned to Lily then. “Lily, this is my dad, Ethan. Dad, this is Lily. She’s a friend of…Seth’s.”
Ethan walked toward Lily with an outstretched hand. His eyes were warm and welcoming, and he wore a gentle smile.
“Hello, Lily. It’s very nice to meet you.” His gaze dropped down her bound arm, and he frowned.
“Are the other dads around?” Callie asked. “I thought Adam could take a look at her arm. And where is Mom?”
Ethan chuckled. “I’ll be happy to fix you ladies something to eat. Why don’t you get comfortable? I’ll holler at Adam and your mother. They’re out with Ryan. I think they just came back from riding.”
