Rough and Ready, page 14
Rafe picked up her feet, placing them on his lap, studying her ankle. From his position, Gio could see it was slightly swollen.
Rafe gently turned it, his eyes on Keeley’s face. “You sure it’s not sprained?”
“I’m sure,” she said.
Rafe began to rub her feet, Keeley’s sigh one of relief and relaxation.
Gio wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach. It was an intimate position, but damn if it didn’t feel right. “Tell us the rest, Keeley. Then you can go to bed, sleep it off, and put it all behind you.”
“JT knew she was going to be there. She’d dumped him again…not the other way around, like he told me. He took me there thinking it would make her jealous. It didn’t. Of course, I didn’t realize she was there or what he was doing until it was too late.”
“What do you mean?” Gio asked.
“What had started as a happy buzz for him turned into a mean drunk really fast. We were out on the dance floor, and he was starting to get sloppy, staggering and shit. I suggested we leave. Told him I could drive him home and then get an Uber back to my place. He refused, tugged me closer. He told me we couldn’t leave yet, that he wanted Cassie—that’s his girlfriend—to see us. I stupidly said, ‘She’s here?’ and he turned around to point her out. She and her new boyfriend were dancing and pushing the limits of public indecency big-time. JT saw it and flipped his lid. He grabbed the other guy’s arm to pull him away from Cassie.”
“Let me guess. They got into a fight,” Rafe said.
Keeley nodded. “Both guys were wasted and out for blood. JT shoved the other guy really hard, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I twisted my ankle and went down on my ass. My phone, as you saw, got smashed. I felt it crack and pulled it out to look at it. I think that’s when the credit card fell out of my pocket. From there, the dominoes just kept falling. I heard police sirens outside, so I ran to the ladies’ room.”
“Why?” Gio asked.
Keeley twisted to give him a “seriously” look. “Because Kayden’s on the force and there was no way one of the cops wouldn’t recognize me and call him. I told you on the phone, Gio. He’s leaving for Vermont at dawn, and I was afraid… Well, I was afraid he’d cancel his trip. This is the first time he’s taken a break just for himself since Mom and Dad died. He deserves this vacation. More than that, he needs it. I would hate myself if I screwed it up.”
“So you hid from the cops,” Rafe said.
“Yes. When the coast was clear, I came out and heard the bartender yell out for last call. JT and the other guy had obviously been carted off to the drunk tank, which meant there was no way I was getting my purse out of his car, which meant no apartment key. Which pisses me off because it’s my favorite purse.”
“The one that was your mother’s?” Rafe asked.
“Yeah.” Keeley was clearly surprised and touched that Rafe had remembered that fact. “I planned to get the bartender to call me a cab, since I couldn’t use the Uber app on my defunct phone. That was when I discovered my credit card was missing. The bouncer saw me looking for it and helped. When I told him I was stranded, with no money, phone, or key, he let me use his phone so I could call for someone to pick me up.”
“Why me? Not Liza?” Gio asked.
Keeley laughed softly, the first chuckle of the night, and Gio decided that making her talk about what happened was probably helping her. Because she was becoming more animated, more like herself as she continued. Keeley was a born storyteller, and as the emotions surrounding this evening faded, he suspected her retellings would become more entertaining as she embellished it.
“Liza got a new phone a few months ago with a new number. I put it in my contacts and that was it. Same with pretty much everyone’s number. The only ones I have memorized are Kayden’s and yours.”
Gio chuckled. “Told you it was a great number.”
Gio had landed an awesome phone number, and he’d bragged about the last four digits quite a lot after he first got it.
“Nineteen sixty-nine,” Keeley muttered. “All I can remember is you saying, ‘great year, great position.’ Stupid number is stuck in my head.”
“And it’s a good thing too.”
She lifted one shoulder. “I guess. I feel like an idiot. What’s that saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? JT got me…twice.”
“That’s on him, little one,” Gio said. “Not you.”
“Yeah, well.” Those two words were loaded with disappointment. Keeley was usually pretty good at shrugging off bad dates, but this one had gotten her down.
“I’m sorry. I know you liked him.” Rafe pressed his thumbs into the bottom of her foot and Keeley moaned with pleasure. The sound went straight to Gio’s cock, as he considered all the other ways they could make her moan…in bed.
Rafe had finally admitted to wanting her too. But as Rafe said—she was different from their previous affairs. Because Gio didn’t intend to let Keeley go. He was pretty sure he’d found the one, and he was determined to hold on to her with both hands.
So why did he still feel this overwhelming need to share her with Rafe? Because Rafe said he didn’t feel different, and he wasn’t planning to stick around forever.
Then he realized the problem was…Gio didn’t believe him. Rafe was lying to him. And to himself.
Speaking of lies…
“We’re not happy about you lying to us,” Gio said, because he couldn’t completely shake free of the panic he’d felt when he had answered the phone and heard her voice earlier.
“It was just one bad night where everything went wrong. I’m a big girl. I’m going to be fine.”
“Regardless, we need to know where you’re going to be,” Rafe stressed.
Keeley shook her head. “I don’t tell Kayden where I’m going all the time.”
“Kayden has you on that Find My Friends app,” Rafe pointed out.
“He told you guys to babysit me, didn’t he?” she asked, clearly annoyed.
Gio tightened his grip around her. “Doesn’t matter if he did or didn’t. We’re always going to look out for you. And even you have to admit this wasn’t a good situation for you to be in tonight. Alone in South Philly at two in the morning, with no money and no way to get home.”
She blew out a long breath and Gio could see his words had sunk in. “It wasn’t good. I promise to tell you where I’m heading when I go out. But only until Kayden gets back.”
She relaxed in his arms, and he realized if they remained here without talking, she’d be asleep within minutes.
“Keeley,” Gio said.
“Yeah?” she asked drowsily, her eyes drifting closed.
He bent his head to her ear. “Open your eyes. We’re not finished yet.”
His close proximity took her by surprise, as did the soft kiss he placed on her cheek.
She turned to look at him, clearly exhausted. “You said if I told you everything I could—”
“I know what I said. But you need to understand something. We don’t need the promise you just gave us. You don’t have to tell us where you’re going.”
“Rafe said—”
He cut her off. “Because you owe us.”
She frowned. “For the ride?”
Gio shook his head. “For not telling Kayden about tonight.”
“Oh. What do you want?” she asked.
“A date.”
Rafe shifted slightly, and Gio glanced his direction, could see his friend fighting to make a decision. He’d better make it quick.
Finally, Rafe gave him a subtle nod. He was on board.
“A date?” Keeley sat up, holding his gaze, waiting for him to continue.
Gio forged on. “With me and Rafe. Tomorrow night.”
“With both of you?” She glanced from Gio to Rafe, as if to confirm that he was cool with the request.
Rafe ran his fingers along her cheek and gave her a smile. “We’re tired of running off all those other guys. It’s high time we staked our claim.”
“But I didn’t think you…” Keeley paused, and Gio got the sense she was confused by exactly what they were offering. He could understand that. However, rather than ask about their intentions, she changed gears. “You both slept with Jill.”
Gio nodded. “Yeah. We told you that.”
“And you said she wasn’t the only one.” She bit her lip, and Gio was amused by her uncharacteristic shyness.
Rafe shook his head. “There were two others.”
Keeley’s eyes widened as she digested that information. “Oh,” was all she said.
Gio was glad to finally be able to admit it. He didn’t want to hide this part of himself from her anymore. He remembered his shock the first time they’d gone to bed with Jennifer, how amazing it had been. He and Rafe worked well together in the bedroom, and he’d loved sharing. Probably because—as a twin—he’d shared pretty much everything in his life, starting with the womb.
And as incredible as that night with Jennifer had been, Gio knew with every fiber of his being that sharing Keeley would be a million times better. But there was a lot more to discuss, and tonight wasn’t the time.
“I can see you’re tired,” Gio said. “Let’s get you settled in a guest room. You can get some sleep and we’ll continue this conversation tomorrow during our date.”
It spoke to Keeley’s level of exhaustion that she agreed to delay the discussion. After a good night’s sleep, he suspected they would be subjected to no less than two hundred questions involving their past affairs.
“Okay.” She rose from the couch, and they followed suit.
Gio held his hand out to her palm up, thrilled when she took it without a moment’s hesitation. He clasped hers tightly, and he led her upstairs.
Rafe followed, the two of them walking her to the door of the guest room. It was right next to Gio’s, also across from Rafe’s. Gio went ahead and accepted that he wasn’t going to get a second of sleep tonight, already hating the walls that would separate the three of them from each other.
After every single one of his good-night kisses with Keeley, he’d gone home, jacked off in the shower, then spent a restless night dreaming of all the things he wanted to do with her.
Tonight, he had a strong suspicion just one hand job wasn’t going to cut it.
“Let us kiss you good night and then you can turn in,” Gio said.
“Kiss?” she murmured, her sleepy brain struggling to keep up.
If Gio were a gentleman, he’d let her go straight to bed. She’d had a rough night, and there was no doubt they’d shocked her with their demand for a date.
But he couldn’t stand how sad she’d looked earlier, how defeated. He wanted to erase some of the heaviness from her eyes, wanted to give her something other than that asshole JT to think about as she drifted off to sleep.
He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers. Within seconds, he knew he’d made the right decision because Keeley kissed him back like she meant it, all traces of her previous grogginess gone. Her hands found their way to his neck, her fingers sliding through his hair.
She giggled breathlessly, and he pulled away for a second, giving her a curious look.
“Your beard tickles,” she explained, before instigating the next kiss. It lingered, and despite the late hour, he suddenly felt as if he could stand here all night, sharing the same air with her.
However, he wasn’t the only man who wanted her, and now that Rafe was on board, he intended to make sure his friend stayed there. For as long as possible.
It took every ounce of strength Gio possessed to break away from her, aware that he could go on kissing her for the rest of his life and never want for another thing. It was a powerful realization.
Keeley slowly opened her eyes as the kiss ended, and then Rafe was there, ready to take his place.
Rafe softly said her name, drawing her attention to him, then…
Gio had always thought himself a decent kisser, but it was clear he could learn a few things from his best friend.
As he had last time, Rafe cupped Keeley’s face in his large hands, stared deeply into her eyes for a moment, just long enough to let her know what was coming. Then he lowered his head, his lips plundering, conquering. Their tongues touched, then Rafe nipped her lower lip, prompting a cute squeak of surprise and maybe even a spark of pain from Keeley. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as she tried to pull him closer.
Rafe didn’t budge, didn’t give an inch. With his actions, he made it clear he was in charge, and she was there for the ride.
Keeley moaned into his mouth, her body shifting in a way that told them she wanted—needed—more.
It took her a little longer to open her eyes after Rafe broke off this kiss, and she blinked several times as if seeking focus, clarity.
“Rafe,” she whispered with such longing, Gio’s already erect cock thickened even more.
Rafe drew his knuckles along one side of her face. “Take tonight. Think about what we want. Decide if you want it too. But really decide, Keeley. Because this attraction between us…it isn’t going to be sated in just one night. Sleep well.”
His words seemed to bring her to her senses. The spell broken, Keeley gave them an adorable little finger wave, then entered the guest room.
He and Rafe remained where they were, outside her closed bedroom door. Gio got the sense Rafe wanted to say something, but after a moment, he simply nodded his head once and returned to his bedroom.
Gio stood alone in the hallway for a minute more, silently sending up a prayer that this time, Rafe wouldn’t walk away.
Chapter Nine
Once Keeley was in the privacy of the guest room, she closed the door and leaned against it, sucking in some much-needed air.
Her breathing was shaky as two emotions fought for dominance.
Arousal and shock.
They wanted to take her on a date.
Both of them.
Rafe had told her to take some time to think about what she wanted, but she’d be damned if she needed it.
She knew what she wanted, and it was them. The realization that they wanted her too was a dream come true, and there was no way in hell she was walking away from it.
If the JT thing had happened a couple months ago, perhaps she would have taken it a lot harder. She would have had her heart hurt by the stupid asshole again, but right now, she felt none of that. Because…it wasn’t JT who’d been consuming her thoughts, her fantasies, her sleepless nights.
It was Gio and Rafe and those sensual, passionate, mind-blowing kisses of theirs. Years of flirting, of crushing on them, and nothing. Then, last week on the dance floor at Eclectic, she’d thought perhaps the bro-code had been officially kicked to the curb. Because there’d been no denying the chemistry between the three of them. Gio’s hands brushing her breasts, Rafe’s erection rubbing against her ass as they did the bump and grind.
She’d had to leave the floor after one dance because her arousal had reached dangerous peaks, and she wasn’t sure she could keep the next dance from advancing to an X-rating.
When they’d returned to the table, she realized she’d obviously misread the sexy dance. Because once again, Gio had responded to her bold comments with his normal brand of harmless flirting, while Rafe brushed it off, his emotions locked down, the usual wall that told her nothing was going to happen between them back in place. She’d known in that instant she was still in the kid-sister box, doomed to only ever sleep with them in her fantasies.
She’d thought giving JT another chance would help her move past her unrequited desire for Rafe and Gio. It hadn’t. JT hadn’t hurt her feelings tonight. Not really. He’d just wounded her pride. And pissed her off. He’d used her, and she fucking hated being used.
But now, in the blink of an eye, everything had changed. All she could think was “be careful what you wish for,” because while she’d dreamed about Gio and Rafe for years, she never—NEVER—thought they’d be interested in her, and she never—NEVER—imagined it would be the two of them together rather than separately.
She was surprised they’d pulled away from her after those good-night kisses a few minutes earlier. Because, holy fuck, if those weren’t “let’s get it on” kisses, then she clearly didn’t understand kissing at all. But they’d stepped away and said good night. Which she was grateful for and annoyed about at the same time.
She sighed, the sound ridiculously happy.
How in the hell could it have gone from one of the worst nights of her life to one of the best in less than an hour?
They wanted her.
Her!
It was heady and wonderful…and overwhelming.
Rafe had been right to tell her to get some sleep. She needed some distance to consider what they were saying because right now, she was thinking with her libido. Rafe assured her it wouldn’t be a one-night stand, which was awesome. But that also didn’t really tell her what it would be…because he’d told her point-blank he wasn’t looking for a committed relationship.
And it sounded like what he and Gio did together in the bedroom couldn’t be classified as a relationship anyway. It sounded like it was just casual sex.
How had Rafe described it? Exploring a kink?
Keeley wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She’d slept with men without love being part of the equation before, but she wasn’t sure she would be able to keep her heart safe with Gio and Rafe. They’d been stealing little pieces of it here and there for a decade, starting with the night her parents had died.
She pushed away from the door and walked to the bed. Tonight had been…a lot. She was overtired and overwrought.
Of course, she was also overhorny—was that even a word?
“Enough. You’re not doing anything else tonight except sleeping,” she muttered to herself as she stripped out of her jeans and slid her bra off without removing her shirt. That and her panties were going to have to serve as her pajamas. She wished she’d thought to ask one of the guys for a clean T-shirt, and briefly considered using that as an excuse to seek them out again.
