Page 35 of The Brat Tamers

11

LEE

Iget home after dropping Epiphany off and go straight to my room. Neither Case nor Porter is hanging out, and I’m betting it is because, like me, they need time to process the last twenty-four hours.

The situation with Epi is complicated, but my feelings about her are not.

I want her.

I want her in my bed.

I want her at my home.

I want her in my life.

I meant what I said to her in the truck. We crossed a line. That never should have happened with a client, but we wouldn’t have met her any other way.

So, damn the consequences.

But if she hadn’t been a client, then the night would have progressed differently. We would have cleaned up, ate, talked and then fucked into the early morning. The three of us are insatiable, and it takes one hell of a woman to keep up with us, but I’m sure she can do it.

I’m not sure what happened in the house while Case and I were in pursuit, but it was something big because I’ve never seen Porter so mad. He wouldn’t speak to her, would barely look at her, which is why I couldn’t assure Epi that my partners felt the same way as I do in the truck. I have no idea what’s going on in his head, but if he’s changed his mind about her, then it has to be serious enough for me to hear him out.

I sense a fight or two on the horizon in this household. After meeting and then graduating training with them, we were flying back from our first assignment and stopped over for a two-day layover in Amsterdam. That night, after much alcohol, we shared our first woman and discovered we liked everything about it. There was no jealousy, and we complimented each other’s strengths, eviscerating any weaknesses. And the woman liked it, too. It was after that night we sought more shared experiences and had fewer experiences alone. A few years ago, we started talking about the one. The perfect female who would complete our family. I think we’ve found her, and six hours ago, I would have said that Case and Porter agreed.

But now?

If something changed Porter’s mind, would it also change mine? If not, am I willing to break the pact between us and pursue her on my own, with or without Case? I can’t imagine breaking up our family or our friendship, but I also think Epi might be worth it.

There’s a knock on my door at the same time I exit the shower, bone-weary from the last couple of days. I never sleep well while out on a mission—even one as easy as hanging out in the woods with a beautiful woman. “Come in.”

Case walks in with Porter behind him.

I raise my brow. “Can’t sleep?”

“How’d the drive home go?”

Sliding my hand down my face, I scratch at my beard that is long and scraggly. “Quiet mostly.”

“Think we’ll be looking for new jobs tomorrow?” Case asks.

I shrug. “Maybe.”

He sits on the edge of my bed and sighs. “Fuck it. It was worth it.”

Looking to Porter, I ask, “And you? Was it worth it to you?”

“That depends.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

“On what?”

“Do we get the girl in the end?”

I drop my towel and slide on a pair of flannel pajama pants. “Don’t know. She left the truck hurt and confused. I left the property frustrated, but at least I told her how I feel.”

“How we feel,” Case pushes.

I shake my head. “How I feel. With the mood Porter was in when we got to the house, I have no idea what’s going on in your head.”

---