Page 1 of Doubly Tied

Prologue

Fifteen years ago…

Ani hugged herknees as she sat on the covered porch swing, watching the rain come down in buckets.April showers blah, blah, blah. A wistful sigh escaped her lips.

Her father’s herb garden needed it, though, so she was grateful for the weather. But it was Friday night, and she was all alone.

Daddy was busy at his restaurant, and her sisters had left for the evening. It was prom night. She’d done her duty, taking pictures, and serving punch and snacks for Sage, Ginger, and their dates as they waited for the limo to pick them up.

She smiled appropriately and complimented them, as was their due. She couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

“Ani, what are you doing tonight?” Ginger asked, her hand grasping the doorknob.

“Nothing. Just reading,” she replied, and lifted the new adult romance novel she’d gotten from the library earlier that week.

“Ooh, that’s a good one.” Ginger winked.

Her redheaded sister loved books even more than Ani, though a love of reading was something all the sisters shared. Ani would have preferred getting dressed up and going out, but she was only in eighth grade. It would be at least two years before she’d be invited to anything as glamorous as a high school dance.

Sigh.

Sage and Ginger had both looked so pretty. Ginger wore a very pretty shade of yellow and Sage was decked out in a super tight black dress with crisscross straps on her back. Daddy must not have seen that, otherwise she was sure he’d have objected.

Still, Sage looked gorgeous! They both did. Ani got chills thinking about the day she could wear something like that.

Feeling left out was no fun, but someday soon it would be her dressed to the nines with a bunch of cute guys drooling at her feet. The thought gave her chills.

Yes. A grin lifted the corners of her lips. Ani pushed her glasses back on her face, stopping them from sliding off the straight slope of her nose.

Someday it will be me.

***

Present day.

Ani woke up with satisfaction oozing from her pores. Last night really happened. She’d met and had the most incredible sex of her life with the two hottest cowboys this Jersey girl had ever seen.

Holy hell.

She looked around at the enormous four-poster bed, landing on the two empty spaces beside her. The navy silk sheets felt cool and soft across her sensitized skin. Kinda kinky, but she liked it.

The bedroom was very masculine, with its heavy wooden furniture, sleek stone floors, and an absence of paintings or photographs to soften the space. There were two carved statues on either bedside table, one of a bear, and the other a wolf.

Beautiful. She noted the superb detail of each piece and silently praised the craftsmanship of the artist. The sun peeked in the room through the blinds on the floor to ceiling windows, illuminating tiny dust motes as they floated through the air. Ani wondered at the time as she rolled over and moved to stand.

A delicious ache filled her body and she let loose a groan, stretching her limbs as she searched for a robe or shirt to cover herself with. Finding none, she made do with the large flat sheet, wrapping it around her fluffy body toga-style.

Damn.

Ani ached in places she didn’t even know she had. Call it a chubby girl curse, or maybe it was because her day job meant she spent hours behind a desk instead of outdoors getting good old-fashioned exercise.

She hated gyms. Felt claustrophobic breathing in the recycled air and watching other people gasp, moan, and sweat while they worked out. Gave her the willies.

Besides, no gym could’ve prepared her for the shenanigans she’d engaged in just last night. Brody and Mayne were positively insatiable. A satisfied grin spread over her kiss-plumped mouth.

Where were they, anyway?

Ani peeked behind one door, finding a closet instead of a bathroom.

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