“Will…yes,” she said. She was going to try to deny it but she just couldn’t lie to them.
Leo pulled her closer and she tried to resist. He was so big and muscular and had this tattoo along his upper arm and shoulder. All three brothers shared such intense dark expressions. He cupped her cheek.
“Is somebody bothering you? Because if so, you need to tell us, or tell Max, someone, so you don’t get hurt. Baby, you can trust us.”
She shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“You won’t,” Will interjected and took her other hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She stared into hazel eyes and so badly she wanted to trust them, to tell them she was scared and she didn’t want to get hurt.
“This guy, the one calling you, he hurt you?” Leo asked her.
She looked away. “God, please, Leo, don’t do this to me. This is why I can’t get involved with you or Will.”
“And Hank, too. We all want you,” Will added.
/> She shook her head.
“Hank isn’t interested in me. Forget that. It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, but you just need to accept the fact that now is not a good time for me to engage in some free-for-all. I’m not like that. I’m not the kind of woman you guys get involved with.”
“Whoa, slow down and wait one minute. You’re exactly what we’ve ever wanted in a woman to share.”
“Please, Leo, give me some credit will ya,” she said and pulled back. “I’ve taken the phone calls, I’ve heard the gossip.”
“What gossip?” Will pushed. He stood there looking at her like she was nuts meanwhile he and his brothers had reputations as playboys. Well except for Hank. He was just known as a mean hard ass who probably was into kinky stuff. She swallowed hard. The thought aroused her and it shouldn’t. What were these men doing to her?
“You like us, and you’re making excuses,” Leo pushed.
“No, I’m not. I won’t be some woman who you get to screw whenever you want to and even in the meeting room at work.”
“What?” Leo and Will both asked, raising their voices and drawing attention to the three of them.
She felt her cheeks warm as she lowered her eyes and then moved back a little.
She whispered as she glanced around to be sure no one heard her, “The meeting room table? I heard the gossip about you having sex in there with different women, okay.” She turned around to swim away but Will caught her around the waist.
“That’s just bullshit. We’ve never brought any women to the job and fucked them on that table or anywhere else,” he told her, his lips wet and smooth against her shoulder.
Leo cupped her cheeks. “What the hell kind of men do you think we are? You want to know the truth? Hell I’ll tell you the truth, Adel, I haven’t been with a woman sexually for months. That’s months, and the reason why is because of you.”
She felt her heart race and tears fill her eyes. Was he serious? Was it just a line? She couldn’t tell and that frustrated her. Her father, Bentley, the whole situation hurt her so badly she couldn’t even tell if Leo was lying or not.
“I’m sorry. God, I’m making a mess of things. I just don’t know what to believe. I can’t even trust my own gut instincts or feelings. I question everything because of them. Because of what happened. God, I’m so sorry, I’m so confused.” She wanted to pull away but Will hugged her from behind more snuggly.
“Shhh, don’t overthink this. Let’s just relax and enjoy the day.” He kissed her shoulder and Leo cupped her cheek. He looked at her with an expression of sincerity and care.
“We can be friends first. If that’s what it takes to gain your trust and for you to see we’re the real deal, then so be it.”
“Hey, are you guys going to come play or what?” Mercedes called out to them.
“Let’s have some fun,” Will said and they headed over toward the others to join the game. Her heart was heavy, her mind overloaded with the problems ahead of her, but then she forgot all of them for the time being and enjoyed the day with all her friends, and two new ones, Will and Leo.
* * * *
Leo sat on the blanket next to Will and Adel as the fire burned and the soft sound of a guitar echoed through the evening air. It was a clear, warm, beautiful night. Kurt Dawn strummed the guitar and everyone gathered around.
Steve and his brothers left after they finally seemed to get the hint that they didn’t have a chance with Adel. Leo hoped it didn’t cause any problems at work, but considering that if all went well, Leo and his brothers would be dating Adel, their personal assistant, a lot of gossip and changes were coming. He felt that uneasy feeling in his gut. They needed to talk to Hank and get him on board. He was resistant to change and to trusting anyone but the two of them. Once they told him about today, and what happened, hopefully he would let that guard down a little and learn to trust.