To the Moon and Back Read online

  “Yes,” she answered softly. “I woke up and was thirsty.”

  “Then let’s get you something to drink.” Emmet clasped her hand in his, then guided her toward the kitchen. He flicked the light on, led her toward the fridge, and opened it. “What would you like, love?”

  “Water, please.”

  Emmet reluctantly dropped her hand so he could pour her a drink.

  “Thanks.” She said as she took the glass from him and gulped it down.

  “More?” He held the jug of water up.

  “Yes, please.”

  Gripping her wrist gently in his hand to keep the glass steady, he poured her another glass of water. Jodi walked around the counter, climbed up onto one of the stools, propped her chin on a hand, and sighed. “You’re still dressed.”

  Emmet smiled when she blushed. “Yeah. I was kinda wired, knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep so I didn’t bother going to bed.”

  She nodded. “Where did you and your brothers grow up? Other than the south, that is.”

  “We were raised in Lubbock.”

  “Texas?”

  “Yeah. Our folks owned and ran a ranch. They sold it a few years ago, relocated to West Palm Beach in Florida. They’re in one of those retirement villages and are having the time of their lives.”

  “That’s a big change from a ranch.”

  “It is.” Emmet nodded. “My dad wasn’t enamored of the idea when my mom put it to him, but it was getting harder and harder for him to keep up with everything on the ranch. When he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, he decided enough was enough. He asked us if we wanted to buy him out, but we still had time to serve in the Marines. Plus, none of us could see ourselves working our asses of for so little return. Also, we all wanted to be able to help keep others safe and being in law enforcement just seemed like a natural progression after the Marines.”

  “You didn’t like the ranch?”

  “We loved it when we were kids, because there was so much freedom and wide open spaces, but the ranch was pretty isolated, and we knew we wouldn’t have much opportunity to meet the woman we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with and settle down. Not a lot of women like being away from cities or towns and all the opportunities they offer.”

  “You must have met some pretty narrowminded women.”

  “A few.”

  “What made you move here to Slick Rock?” she asked.

  “We served in the military with a few of the men living here. When we heard about the unusual relationships, we jumped at the chance to move.” Emmet kept his gaze locked with hers as he answered her question, hoping that she’d pick up on his attraction, but she glanced away from him. Her cheeks turned a bright pink color and he couldn’t help smiling. Jodi was so sweet, gorgeous, and sexy, he wanted to sweep her up in his arms and ravish her, but after hearing what her uncle had done to her, he also didn’t want to scare her. He and his brothers were going to have to lay things out for her, to tell her that they wanted a relationship with her but were concerned that they would send her running.

  “What’s going on?” Walt asked as he sauntered into the room.

  Emmet kept his eyes on Jodi as she answered. The blush on her cheeks darkened as she eyed his brother’s bare chest over. Walt had pulled on his jeans and zipped up, but he’d left the button undone. Emmet lowered his gaze to pulse point in her neck and was happy to see it fluttering rapidly. When he glanced at her chest and saw how hard her nipples were, he almost groaned.

  “I woke up thirsty and wanted a drink. Emmet hasn’t even been to bed.”

  Walt grunted, ran his fingers through his tousled hair, and headed for the coffee pot, which he’d set up last night before going to bed. He pushed the button and started the coffee.

  “You all don’t have to stay up with me,” Jodi said. “I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.”

  “You didn’t.” Leaning his hip against the counter, Walt looked at her. “Went to be too early last night. We’ve been pretty busy at work, and I was pretty tired. I should’ve tried to stay up later, then I would have probably slept later.”

  “Is that coffee I smell?” Dirk asked as he entered the kitchen. Once more, Emmet watched Jodi take in one of his brother’s naked chests and muscular bodies, and he wished he’d taken his own T-shirt off when he’d heard her coming toward him when he’d been sitting in the living room, but he hadn’t thought about it.

  He pushed up from his leaning stance, skirted the counter, and then took a seat beside her on the far side near the wall. His cock was so fucking hard it was aching, and he couldn’t stop himself from perusing her sexy body over. The shirt she was wearing had ridden up and barely covered her pussy. She had a body a grown man would weep over with her lush, full breasts that looked to be more than a handful. His fingers twitched and his palms itched to feel those voluptuous globes in his hand. He could picture her flesh spilling out from between his fingers.

  “Emmet?” Walt drew his gaze. “Coffee?”

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat when his voice came out sounding hoarse.

  “Jodi, do you want coffee, tea, or would you prefer something else?” Walt asked.

  “White coffee, please, no sugar.”

  When Emmet saw movement on the other side of Jodi he noticed that Dirk was sitting next to her, too. He’d been so caught up in his carnal thoughts he hadn’t seen his brother moving.

  Once everyone had the cups of java, Emmet decided that it was beyond time to tell Jodi that he and his brothers were attracted to her and wanted a relationship with her.

  He just hoped she didn’t look at him and his brothers with fear in her eyes.

  Chapter Nine

  Everywhere Jodi looked there was bare manly flesh. Walt and Dirk weren’t wearing shirts, and she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes of their sexy, ripped muscles. Even though Emmet was wearing a T-shirt, she could still see he was just as toned and brawny as his brothers. The shirt he was wearing wasn’t tight, but it was firm against his upper body and she could see his muscles flexing under the cotton.

  Her mouth was dry from all the panting she was doing, and no matter how much she drank she couldn’t seem to quench her thirst. There was a pool of liquid heat low in her belly, but that wasn’t the only part of her that was responding to all the testosterone emanating from the three handsome men.

  While she’d tried to keep her eyes from wandering, she couldn’t seem to stop looking at them even if it was from the corner of her eyes.

  Emmet cleared his throat and spun his stool so that he was facing her profile. She turned her head and met his gaze, quirking an eyebrow in question.

  She held her breath when he reached toward her and sighed when he stroked a finger down her cheek. Goose bumps raced over her skin, her areolae contracted and her nipples tightened into harder peaks.

  Her heart was beating so fast, she was having trouble catching her breath. Her pussy and panties were soaked, her clit was throbbing, and her inner muscles wouldn’t stop clenching.

  He held her gaze locked to his, and though she wanted to look away from him, she couldn’t.

  She unconsciously leaned toward him when he cupped her cheek in his palm and closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of his skin against her own. She felt him move closer, his warm breath puffing against her lips. She parted her lips and exhaled just before he pressed his mouth to hers. When his lips brushed against hers, and she held her breath, but in the next moment he was gone, and she opened his eyes.

  The hunger in his brown eyes seared her from the top of her head to her toes, making her shiver.

  “My brothers and I are very attracted to you, love. We want to have a relationship with you.”

  To say she was shocked at his words were an understatement. Jodi thought they’d have been revolted after what she told them her uncle had done to her, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She drew back from him, exhaling with a rush of air from between her lips and gazed at Walt and then Dirk. Both of them we
re watching her with a lustful intent she’d never expected to see from one man, let alone three. She’d seen the anger in their gazes as well as the Sheffield deputies when she’d glanced at them as she’d told them what had happened to her, but there was no trace of fury, pity, or revulsion as they all stared at her as they waited for her to reply.

  Jodi wanted to say yes, but she hesitated. She’d been alone for so long, she wasn’t sure she knew how to interact with others unless it was in a business capacity. She wasn’t sure she knew how to be a team player or how to behave while in a relationship with three men. Yet the yearning to be theirs was so powerful, she couldn’t say no, either.

  The more she thought about Emmet’s declaration, she stronger the craving to be with them grew.

  She didn’t want to go back to her empty house, and not because she was terrified that the men or man who’d broken in would come back.

  The pain she’d been carrying around with her for so long wasn’t totally gone but it was way less than it had been. She no longer felt as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. The stain of guilt, of self-blame was gone and she felt lighter than she ever had.

  Her deep dark secret was out, and there was no need to hold herself back anymore.

  The dreams she hadn’t allowed herself to think about were right in front of her, and all she had to do was reach out and take them.

  “What are you thinking about, baby?” Walt asked.

  “Talk to us, sweetie,” Dirk said as he entwined his fingers with hers.

  “I don’t want to get hurt,” she said quietly, tugging her fingers from Dirk’s and wrapping her hands around her half-full coffee mug.

  “We’d never do anything to purposely hurt you, love.” Emmet caressed a hand over her head. “We knew the moment we met you that you’re the woman we’ve been waiting for.”

  “How?” she asked.

  “How did we know?” Walt raised an eyebrow.

  She nodded. “You hardly know me. How do you know that I’m right for you?”

  “We older than you, baby,” Walt replied. “We’ve had a few short-term relationships that didn’t work out.”

  “We’ve also shared a woman between us a couple of times, and though we knew those women weren’t right for us since they just wanted to fuck a Marine and be able to brag to their friends, we’d never been so excited,” Dirk said.

  “We discussed sharing a woman between us one night over a few beers, and we all agreed that’s what we wanted long term,” Emmet stated. “We just needed to find that one special woman we were all attracted to. Moving here was a step in that direction, because we knew if we ever did meet the woman of our dreams, she wouldn’t be disparaged for living the way she wanted to.”

  “We know you’re attracted to us, too, baby,” Walt said. “We’ll give you all the time you want and need to make up your mind. We won’t pressure you, Jodi.”

  Jodi swallowed, her mouth once more dry, and she sipped at her coffee. She wanted to say yes more than anything, but she was scared of getting hurt. She wasn’t sure she could survive getting her heart broken. She’d been dealing with more emotional pain since she was a young girl than most people experienced ever in their lives. Even though she felt as if the emotional scars were finally healing, she was terrified of going back to the dark place she’d been locked in, of being consumed on the inside by the dark shadows which had been blotting her heart and soul.

  But she also knew that life was all about taking risks and going for what you wanted. If she said no, she might end up regretting her decision. She didn’t want to look back and think if only. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone and lonely.

  She seen how happy the other women in Slick Rock were, how protected and how loved they were.

  There was no denying the attraction blazing between her and the three men. Each moment she spent in their company and she got to know them more had the fire burning inside of her getting hotter and hotter until it was almost impossible to ignore.

  “I’m scared.” She winced when those words came out of her mouth since she hadn’t meant to voice them, again.

  “What are you scared of, love?” Emmet asked.

  “Of getting hurt,” she replied honestly, shaking her head when she realized she was being repetitive.

  She squeaked with surprise when Emmet lifted her from the stool and into his arms.

  “We’re scared too, baby,” Walt said.

  “You are?” She was shocked at Walt’s words. The three Kyson brothers were all so muscular, good-looking, and confident, she hadn’t thought that anything would frightened them.

  “Hell yes, we are.” Dirk stood. “Carry her to the living room where we’ll be more comfortable.”

  Emmet nodded, hitched her higher up against his chest, and walked toward the living room. Jodi tugged the hem of the T-shirt she was wearing down to make sure her ass wasn’t hanging out. She was still wearing panties, but she didn’t want to flash anyone.

  While she knew she wasn’t fat, because of what had been done to her, she’d always worn clothes that kept most of her body hidden. She wore shirts that hid her breasts, and she’d never worn anything that showed off even a hint of cleavage. She didn’t dress like a nun or a school teacher, but she didn’t flaunt her body, either. Right now, she was wearing less than she’d ever worn in front of another person, but the three men hadn’t made her feel uncomfortable by ogling her scantily clad body.

  Emmet sat on a sofa cushion with her on his lap, her back pressing against his front. Walt and Dirk nudged the coffee table closer to her, then perched on the edge of it. The two men were so close to her, one of their legs touched against the outside of hers.

  “We’ve been honest with you, sweetie, we’ve laid everything out on the table for you to see. Please, return the favor,” Dirk said.

  “You feel the attraction, don’t you, baby?” Walt asked.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Is the only thing holding you back your fear of getting hurt?” Emmet asked.

  She nodded again and sucked in a deep breath, answering, “Yes.”

  “We get that you’re scared, sweetie,” Dirk said. “Entering into a new relationship is risky. We’re all putting ourselves out there to get hurt, but let me tell you, we would never purposely hurt you, Jodi.”

  “We’ll do everything in our power to protect you, baby, and not just from the danger that seems to be surrounding you,” Walt said.

  “We’d protect you from ourselves if we thought it was necessary,” Emmet stated. “We’d cut off our own arms if we ever hurt you.”

  “Emmet’s right, baby,” Walt said. “We can’t promise that we won’t fuck up and hurt you emotionally, because we’re only human, just like you are, but we aren’t going to set out to deliberately piss you off or hurt your feelings.”

  “We’re all in the same boat as you are, sweetie,” Dirk said. “We’re all putting our hearts on the line, but we’re willing to take the risk and hope that everything works out between us all. Are you, Jodi? Are you willing to give us a chance to prove to you how good we can be together?”

  They’d all been so honest with her. She’d believed that everyone always lied to get what they wanted, but the men and women living in and around this town were nothing like the foster families she’d lived with over the years. The adults in the numerous foster houses she’d lived with hadn’t really given a shit about the kids they were supposed to be looking after. All they’d cared about was themselves and the money they received for taking parentless kids in.

  She’d lived with emotional pain all her life, surely she’d survive another hit if things didn’t work out between them. She still had her business and her new friend and business partner. Once she paid off her student loans and got her head and hopefully the rest of her body above water, she’d live a comfortable life. Sure, it would be awkward if she encountered the Kyson brothers around town if they broke up, but she was a matur
e woman and could deal with that.

  When Jodi realized where her thoughts had led her, she flipped the coin and looked at the other side of it. She had everything to gain if a relationship between them and her worked. She have three strong, sexy men to lean on, and they could lean on her. She wouldn’t have to go home to an empty house or a cold bed. She’d know what it was like to be hugged and loved.

  Jodi really had nothing to lose.

  All she had to do was reach out and grab hold of what they were offering.

  She drew in a deep breath, glanced at Emmet over her shoulder, then met Dirk’s and Walt’s eyes. “Yes,” she finally answered Dirk’s question.

  Emmet clasped her hips, turned her until she was facing him, and set her down on his thighs again. He cupped her face between his hands, staring intently into her eyes. “Thank you, love. You won’t regret your decision. We’ll make sure of it.”

  Before she could respond, he breached the gap between them and opened his lips over hers.

  Jodi wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned as his tongue stroked into her mouth, swirling it around before rubbing it along hers.

  She’d thought her body was afire before, but that was nothing compared to the heat coursing through her blood as he kissed her. Her breasts felt so heavy and her nipples were hard and aching, but each time she breathed in through her nose and her chest expanded, they brushed against Emmet’s chest. The pleasure shooting down between her legs was intense, and she was so wet her panties were soaked through.

  By the time he lifted his lips from hers, she was panting.

  “I need a taste, too, baby,” Walt said as he sat next to her.

  She reached for him when Emmet passed her over to his older brother, and in the next moment she was in his arms as she straddled his thighs.

  Walt wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her closer, and she whimpered when his hard dick pressed against her hot, achy pussy. The fingers of his other hand combed into her hair at the back of her neck and head. He applied pressure and brought her mouth closer to his. She closed her eyes, sighing just before he kissed her. Walt tasted as good as Emmet did, different but both of them tasted oh so good. He was more aggressive than his youngest brother, too. Emmet had coaxed a response from her, but Walt demanded it.