Page 71 of Wicked Fantasies

Heath groaned at his nonchalant attitude. “Well, that’s certainly the worst proposal I’ve ever heard. I’m embarrassed my name was even linked to it.”

“You’re proposing?” Her face was still a mixture of utter shock and complete bewilderment.

“Yep. And darlin’, I want you to think long and hard before you answer. I can see those wheels in your brain churning and I’m pretty sure you’re thinking about laying into us. Telling us we’re crazy and that it will never work and a whole bunch of other nonsense. Trust me, we’ve thought about all that and there’s nothing you can say that will change the fact that you’re our girl and we aim to keep you with us forever.”

Her mouth remained tightly closed as she studied his impassive face. She must have read his determination as she turned to Heath, no doubt expecting him to offer her some semblance of sanity.

“Heath,” she started, but Heath cut her off.

“He’s right, Kylie. We belong together. We’ve been fools not to see it long before this. I think if you look deep inside, you’ll see it’s true. Hell, Sunshine, we’ve learned to do the hard part. Living together, dealing with each other’s quirks. Colt and I know better than to try to discuss anything serious with you before you’ve had your first cup of coffee. You and I know not to say a damn word to Colt the day after the Toronto Maple Leafs lose a game. You and Colt respect my privacy when I’m buried in drawing plans for a new project.”

“Think about it, darlin’. We’ve already divvied up all the jobs. You do the shopping, I take care of the yard, Heath fixes all the things that break. We share the cooking and cleaning chores. Everything newlyweds fight about after the honeymoon won’t exist for us.”

“Colt, you’re a cop. I’m fairly certain you realize what you are proposing is illegal. As in bigamy.”

He laughed. “You don’t legally marry us both. Just one of us. Then the three of make our own private vows.”

“Fine,” she leaned back and gave him a smug look as if expecting her next question to jar some sense into them. “Who am I going to legally marry?”

Colt grinned at her transparency. Obviously, she thought this was going to be a sticking point. “We’ll arm wrestle to decide that.”

Heath laughed at the suggestion. “Good call. I was wondering about that myself.”

“Actually,” he crooked his thumb at Heath. “You’ll marry Heath. He’s got the job which requires a bit of propriety. You’ll be the future architect partner’s wife.”

“Colt,” Heath frowned at his answer, but he was convinced by the practicality of it.

“I’m a cop, Heath. Given the bizarre nature of most of the criminals we have to deal with, none of my friends there will care about something as innocuous as me living with a married couple. You’re climbing up the ladder of success and I think the partners at that firm of yours will feel better about you if you are respectably married. Besides, you’ve got better health insurance.”

Heath grinned. “Well, you’ve got a good point there. Your health plan sucks.”

Kylie frowned. “This isn’t a joke. Can’t you two try for once to be serious?”

Colt shrugged off her comment. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. We love you. You can fight us until the cows come home, but we don’t intend to back down from this until you have our ring on your finger.”

Chapter Fourteen

“That’s it!” Kylie stood up so quickly her chair fell over. “You two have lost your minds and I’m not discussing this any further. You were right about one thing tonight. The deal is off. I’m going to bed. My bed—alone.”

Colt stopped her before she could take two steps. “I understand, darlin’. You need to think our proposal over. Take your time. We’re not going anywhere. And just so you know, you aren’t either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we expect you to deal with this problem like you have everything else in your life. Head on. Don’t even think about trying to run away from this or us because we’ll drag you back. We’ll give you time to think about what we’re asking, but we’re not going to stop trying to convince you and you are not going back to your bed…ever.”

As if to accentuate his point, Colt gave her a passionate kiss that proved the truth behind his words.

While her mind continued to rebel against their unconventional offer, her body had already commended itself into their oh-so-capable hands. She wasn’t even sure when Colt’s kiss ended and Heath’s began, but by the time they stepped away from her, she had to fight against surrendering to their wishes then and there.

Colt gave her a tired grin and she realized that perhaps she wasn’t alone in her anxiety.

Was he feeling the same stress and fear about this situation?

He always seemed so in control and calm, but perhaps his heart truly was engaged and she was hurting him with her refusal.

And what about Heath? Was he truly okay with the idea of the three of them sharing a lifetime together?

While she and Colt tended to snub their noses at society as a whole, Heath was the one constantly striving for respect and success.

---