Hot and Heavy, page 12
“I’m going to change back into my clothes.” She was trying to dismiss them, but Kayden wasn’t letting her off the hook that easily.
“That’s one non-answer and three lies,” he said.
She stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Finally, she said, “I don’t know what that means.”
“It means we’re going to finish shopping for everything you need, then we’re going to drop you off at the inn. You can take tonight to think about something.”
“What?”
“Us.” He nodded. “The three of us are going out to dinner tomorrow tonight.”
“I don’t think—”
“We’re going to dinner,” he said, speaking over her refusal. “And then Aldo and I are going to help you escape.”
Chapter Ten
Help you escape.
Those three words had replayed over and over so much, Hazel thought they must be tattooed on her brain by now.
Aldo and Kayden were going to help her escape.
How?
She might be relatively inexperienced, but she wasn’t naïve. She had a pretty damn good idea of what they were thinking.
Because…consequences.
That was the other word that wouldn’t leave her alone.
Consequences—a spanking.
Had she really said that out loud to them? She’d never had a conversation like that with anyone. Never even considered spankings or threesomes. Probably because both required a fuck-ton of trust and that wasn’t something she had to give.
So…a threesome. That was what they were offering. There was no question that tonight was a date with two men. Two men who were more than willing to help her escape and who were keeping track of her lies and non-answers because…consequences.
Boston Hazel would have already run for the hills because what the actual fuck?
But Philadelphia Hazel? That bitch wasn’t blinking an eye. Not only did it feel normal to her, it felt right.
So here she sat, on the edge of her bed, looking at the dress boots Liza had brought by on her lunch break, playing the words escape and consequences over and over and fucking over until her nipples were tight, her panties damp, and her pussy clenching.
Guess that technically meant she’d done what Kayden said and thought about it.
Keeley hadn’t gone to the office today. Instead, she and Gianna had spent all morning working in Gianna’s brand-new office on a marketing plan for the inn, while Hazel had worked on setting up a few more rooms.
After that, she’d spent the better part of an hour using one of the computers in the inn’s business center, perusing the help wanted ads. She’d made a list of several restaurants hiring waitresses—Gianna and Keeley both offering suggestions on which ones would probably earn her better tips—and tomorrow’s plan was to apply at all of them. With any luck, she’d have a job by the end of the week.
Hazel had tried to hide in her room last night after Aldo and Kayden dropped her off, her mind whirling over everything they’d said and done. The kissing game, the tour, the shopping, the way she couldn’t stop responding to what would feel like over-the-top macho bullshit from any other man.
That wasn’t what it felt like with them though. She was her own woman, independent as the day was long, yet she was overwhelmed by the desire to hand herself—her whole self—over to them, lock, stock, and barrel. Because she wasn’t just tired, as she’d told Kayden; she was exhausted and shattered. Just fucking done.
They’d given her one night off from stressing out, buying her dinner and finding her a place to stay, and it had felt like freedom.
She wanted more.
Unfortunately, Keeley was as tenacious as her brother, so hiding in her room hadn’t been an option last night. Keeley had come upstairs, inviting Hazel to join her, Gianna, Rafe, and Gio for dinner, and she hadn’t taken no for an answer. Gianna had stuck around because she was missing Elio, who had returned to Baltimore to finish his final season, and she hated cooking for one.
They’d asked Hazel about her day, so she’d told them about the sightseeing and purchases and then—overcome with nerves and two glasses deep on wine—she mentioned the dinner date, asking them for advice on how to get out of it.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go. It was more that she knew she shouldn’t go.
She’d done so well yesterday morning, managing to avoid answering any personal questions by evoking the kissing payment option.
God…that had been no hardship at all.
In the end, she kept wishing they’d ask her more personal questions because Aldo and Kayden’s kisses knocked her socks off. By the time they’d arrived at Terminal Market, she was giving new meaning to the words hot and bothered.
Her vibrator—sadly—was still in her nightstand drawer back in Boston. It didn’t typically see a lot of action, due to her working long hours, as she almost always chose sleep over self-care. But damn if she didn’t wish she had it now.
She’d been nailing it on playing it cool as far as she was concerned. Right up until lunch. When she stumbled. It had been on the tip of her tongue to complain about her countless field trips around the Freedom Trail, which would have revealed her lie about never being to Boston before.
It had been a close call, so she’d attempted to shut down completely again, tried to give herself that same stupid pep talk about getting out while the getting was good.
It hadn’t worked.
Because her attraction to them was off the charts. Aldo and Kayden were obviously interested in her, and the incredible part was that there was absolutely no competition between them. They worked as a team, which was probably why this didn’t feel the slightest bit strange to her.
She’d been determined to break the date until Keeley and Gianna got involved. She couldn’t tell them the real reason she was trying to back out, and she couldn’t claim she was uninterested because one, she was apparently a shit liar, and two, she couldn’t say it would feel weird to date two guys—it wouldn’t—because Keeley had been sitting right there with Rafe and Gio, and there was no way Hazel would insult their lifestyle choice after they’d been so kind.
So, she’d taken the old “I don’t have a thing to wear” route, which had backfired spectacularly.
Gianna had made a call that resulted in today’s lunch break powwow. Aldo’s sister, Liza, and another woman Hazel hadn’t met, Jess, had arrived shortly after one, armed with clothes, shoes, and makeup.
Any hope of getting out of the date was shot to hell as the four women excitedly rallied around her, encouraging her to try on clothes and shoes, the five of them launching into discussions on fashion, hairstyles, and shoe addictions.
Well, it was probably more accurate to say four women were discussing those things as Hazel sat on the sidelines, listening, half shell-shocked, half amazed. Hazel had girlfriends in school, but those friendships had never ventured out into the real world because she’d been working two part-time jobs from the time she was fourteen.
She’d actually started her first job when she was just twelve, which was illegal as hell, not that her mother cared. That was the year Mom decided Hazel needed to pull her weight.
Now, it was just after three in the afternoon, and she had a few more hours to kill before Aldo and Kayden arrived to pick her up. Liza had left ten minutes ago to return to work, Keeley and Gianna doing the same. Hazel assumed Jess left as well, until there was a soft knock at the door.
Walking out of the bedroom to the small sitting area, she said, “Come in.” She smiled when she saw Jess. “I thought you’d gone home.”
Jess shook her head. “Nope. I took the rest of the afternoon off. Benefit of sleeping with your boss,” she joked. “So…” Jess lifted a bottle of Chardonnay and two glasses. “I thought we could do a bit of day drinking. Just a glass or two. I figured it might take the edge off.”
Hazel smiled because a glass of wine would go a long way toward calming the frogs currently jumping in her stomach. She hadn’t had time to feel nervous when surrounded by all the women, but the second they’d left, the anxiety reappeared, and it had doubled down.
“Wine would be amazing.”
Jess poured a glass, handing it to her before pouring one for herself.
“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?” Jess asked.
“What is?”
She gestured toward the open door, where they could hear Keeley and Gianna laughing downstairs. “The Morettis, the Gallos, etcetera.”
“It is. But not in a bad way,” Hazel hastened to add, not wanting to insult Jess’s friends.
“Not in a bad way.” Jess claimed the overstuffed chair near the door as Hazel perched on the couch.
“I hope I’m not stepping over a line, but I feel like you and I have a lot in common.”
“How so?” Hazel asked.
“I told you that I’m dating Aldo’s cousin, Tony, and his roommate, Rhys.”
Jess had dropped that bomb about five minutes after introductions.
“I’ll admit, I’ve never met anyone living in a committed threesome, and now, in the course of a few days, I’ve met two coup…er…I’m sorry. I don’t know what word to use.”
Jess laughed. “Oh, you’d be surprised how many options there are. I’ve heard us described as a threesome, a triad, a throuple. Someone even called us a trinity once, although that sounds totally cloak and dagger/secret society to me.”
Hazel grinned. Jess had also revealed that she was working for Moretti Brothers Restorations, the business Tony ran with his brothers, hence the sleeping-with-her-boss comment.
“I assume all of your families are okay with your relationship?” Hazel was curious what the older generation of Morettis thought of Gio and Tony’s threesomes.
She couldn’t begin to imagine what her mother would say if she found out Hazel was dating two men at the same time. Actually, she could. It would be a litany of words like slut, whore, tramp.
Funny. Because as Hazel looked at Jess and Keeley, the only word that sprang to her mind was lucky, and it was accompanied by honest-to-God jealousy.
“The families are fine. Of course, Tony’s family had a head start. His sister, Layla, was the first Moretti to find not one but two partners. Then his cousin, Erin, followed suit.”
“Wow.”
“Right? Rhys’s sister Penny was on board from the beginning, but it took his parents a bit of time to wrap their heads around it. Don’t get me wrong. They’re lovely and supportive, but it was still an adjustment for them.”
“And your family?” Hazel asked.
“My mother and I are estranged. I never met my dad. The only family I have who matters is my son, Jasper, and he thinks Tony and Rhys hung the moon.”
Jess had been correct in her assessment. It appeared they did have a lot in common, and she found herself offering a tiny nugget because she genuinely liked the woman. “I’m estranged from my parents too.”
“I thought you might be. I traveled to Philadelphia with a girlfriend right after high school graduation. We were both on the run from shitty family situations. I sort of got the feeling…” Jess’s eyes drifted to the bruise on Hazel’s cheek, though she knew Jess couldn’t see it.
Gianna had done her makeup after Hazel tried on a mountain of clothes, and while no one had mentioned it—or the smidgeon of a black eye—Hazel knew they’d all noticed.
“I came to Philadelphia looking for a fresh start too.” It was as much as Hazel dared to say, so she took a sip of wine.
“Like I said, I know the Morettis and Gallos can be a lot to take, primarily because there are so many of them, but I want you to know that they’re genuinely good people. You’re safe here with them. It took me some time—too much time—to feel like I wasn’t imposing, but the truth is, now that I know them, they really mean it when they say they want to help.”
Hazel valued Jess’s words. They helped alleviate some—but not all—of the guilt she felt over staying here for free.
Kayden had talked to her about gut feelings, and Hazel’s gut was telling her this was a good place, that she could trust these people.
That didn’t mean there still wasn’t a little voice in her head warning her to get the hell out.
Of course, that wasn’t because of them but because of her. Who she was. What she was running from.
“I appreciate you saying that,” Hazel said.
Jess smiled. “I wish someone had said it to me. Because I wasted a lot of time trying to reject Tony and Rhys’s help, certain I had to do everything on my own. My stubbornness and my pride put my son in some bad, even dangerous situations.”
“I might know a thing or two about pride,” Hazel admitted.
Jess gave her an understanding smile. “I know you’re nervous about tonight’s date.”
“It’s a date with two men.” Though as she said it, she knew that wasn’t really what was causing her anxiety.
“Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it,” Jess joked, and they both laughed. “Seriously, though, Kayden and Aldo are two of the good ones. They won’t hurt you, Hazel.”
Jess’s gaze slid to her cheek again, only for a second, but long enough for Hazel to understand what she meant.
Hazel didn’t reply. She couldn’t.
Jess topped up her own glass, then held out the bottle to Hazel. “Bit more? I don’t want to get you drunk, but you’ve still got a few hours to go until the guys get here, and wine and girl talk is as good a distraction as anything.”
Hazel nodded, rising to offer her glass, grateful for Jess’s company. “Sounds like exactly what I need.”
“Great.” Jess stood as well. “Now…where do you stand on being a bad influence?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Let’s go downstairs and see if we can convince Gianna and Keeley to play hooky with us as well.”
Hazel took another sip of wine. “I may not know them well, but I have a feeling we won’t have to do more than show them the bottle.”
Jess laughed, the two of them walking toward the door. “One day in and you’ve already got our number. I think you’re going to fit in just fine.”
Fit in.
Hazel wasn’t sure she’d ever heard two more wonderful words.
Actually, that wasn’t true. She knew two better ones.
Escape.
Consequences.
Hazel paced the floor of her bedroom suite, wishing she’d consumed the rest of Jess’s wine. She’d hung out with the women for an hour or so, none of them drinking more than a glass.
Actually, Gianna hadn’t had any at all, proclaiming it was too early in her employment to start drinking on the job. Keely had told her it was fine, but Gianna held resolute.
The impromptu happy hour lasted until Keeley and Gianna insisted they had to get back to work. Jess had headed home, and Hazel had come back to her room to freshen up her makeup and get dressed for her date.
She glanced at the clock. They would be here in half an hour, and she’d worked herself up into one hell of a state.
She had no business staying here, but leaving—given her lack of funds, car, and job—wasn’t really an option. Or at least not a smart one. She suspected there were plenty of cheap motels she could stay in, but without a job, she couldn’t afford more than a few nights at best.
Then she forced herself to admit the real reason she was staying. After just two nights in this inn, sleeping in a soft bed, in a safe place, she was reluctant to return to the real world.
Because in her real world, she didn’t get to just “help herself” to someone else’s food, she wasn’t given a shit-ton of clothes from virtual strangers, she didn’t have two sexy men ask her out on dates, and she never—ever—felt totally safe.
Hazel jumped slightly when her phone rang. She’d gotten a charger yesterday while she was out with the guys, but she hadn’t remembered to plug the phone in until just before the women had converged.
Glancing at the screen, she groaned when she saw it was her mom.
Aaaaaaand there was the real world, calling at the worst possible time. Because of course it was. This was why Hazel couldn’t have nice things.
Picking up the cell, she answered, “Hello.”
“Where the fuck are you, Hazel?”
Hazel shouldn’t have answered. Because as much as she hated it, this was how every conversation went between her and Mom. Mom would snap at her for something, Hazel would push her buttons, and within minutes, it would devolve into her mother cussing her out, calling her every name in the book.
Unfortunately, she’d been stressed out about the police parked in front of their building since the night she left Boston and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. The problem was, she wasn’t sure if it was better to wonder if they’d been there to arrest her, or to know for sure.
“I’m looking for a job.” Hazel didn’t bother to add that she wasn’t looking for that job in Boston.
“It’s about time. I’m out of cigarettes, and there’s no fucking food in this house. Bring some home with you.”
Hazel frowned. “I’m not coming home.” She’d been gone three nights. Had her mom not even noticed?
“What’s that supposed to mean? I need cigarettes, Hazel. And wine. Stop fucking around and get your ass home!”
“I’m not in Boston, Mom. I haven’t been there since Saturday night.”
“You haven’t? Are you with Dennis?”
That question took her aback. “No. Of course not. Is he gone too?”
“Haven’t seen him in days.”
So she realized Dennis was gone but not her daughter. Lovely. The maternal instincts ran strong in her mom.
“Where are you?” Mom asked.
“Pennsylvania.” It was a big state. Hazel decided that answer was enough information for her mom, considering she didn’t even care enough to know she hadn’t been home the last three nights.
