Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2)(29)
“How can you say that? You barely know me,” she argued, pulling her arms away and crossing them over her chest protectively. She couldn’t help but feel stung by the rejection.
“I know more than you think. You’re a brave, strong woman, with a big heart, and a huge capacity for love. You’ve been hurt in the past, but that doesn’t stop you from helping the ones that have hurt you, and you’re in love with my brother.” His last words were like a slap to her face, and Zoey took a step backwards.
“What?”
He shrugged, “It’s plain as day to me, and a few days ago, I would have never considered making a play for the woman my brother wants as his own, but hearing about Rachel, and the guys, well…it just has me thinking.”
“Stop it. Right now. Don’t start getting it in your head that just because I’m living here with the three of you, that we’re all going to suddenly fall madly in love with each other. You three are mostly jerks, who are cocky and a pain in my neck. Why would I ever want to be saddled with one of you, much less all three of you?” She was breathing hard, but she wasn’t sure if it was because what he said made her nervous or turned on.
“Why? Oh that’s the easy part. Because, Zoey, sweetheart, we can give you this…” His head dipped, and she had a second where she knew exactly what he was going to do, but she couldn’t stop it. She wanted him to kiss her. In fact, she had almost a desperate urge to fuse her mouth to his to prove to both of them that there was no chemistry.
Her plan backfired, because the moment their lips met, electricity sparked in the air and coursed through her body. She moaned as he took the kiss deeper, cupping her jaw with his hands to hold her in place and making love to her mouth. Her body melted into him, and she moaned when he nipped her lip before pulling back with a deep sigh.
“Yep. I knew it. You taste like the perfect sin, woman. Now, are we going to take this up to my bed and continue it, or are you going to walk away?”
He was challenging her. Fire lit the depths of his blue eyes, and she could feel the flush that covered her own neck and chest. Her body wanted his, there was no doubt about it, but she couldn’t take the next step with Dalton, until she resolved her feelings for Tanner. Polyamory might work for the Brooks family, but everyone around knew that Zoey Carson was better off alone.
Pushing away from him, she shook her head to clear the lust, and then glared at him. “I’m going to walk away, because like you said, I don’t want to be wanted out of pity or some misplaced desire for a future. In a couple of weeks I will move out, and in a couple of months you will leave Stone River, so there is no point in starting something neither one of us have any intention of finishing.” She turned and took a few steps toward the house before his voice stopped her for a moment.
“You can run, Zoey, but you can’t hide. There is something special between us, and I know it’s there between you and Tanner too. I don’t know about Clint, but something tells me that fate wouldn’t have brought the four of us together in this moment in time, if it weren't for a damn good reason. Good night, Zoey.”
Doubling her speed, she let the dark swallow him up behind her as she booked it for the well-lit ranch house. She wasn’t sure what she needed right now. Space, time, a good hard fu-ck? Maybe a little of everything. Dalton’s words hit too close to what she herself had been thinking, and it scared the hell out of her.
She wasn’t like Rachel. There was no happy ending in the future for broken Zoey. Hadn’t she had that proven a dozen times over in just the last month? Besides, once Dalton and Clint spent more time in Stone River they would find someone else to catch their fancy. Some other woman who was prettier and had a lot less baggage. She just needed to focus on finding a new place to live as quickly as possible…and keep her hands off the Keegan threesome.
Easier said than done, a small voice in her brain taunted her as she flew through the front door and straight down the hall to her room. Locking the door behind her, she dropped onto the bed and let her emotions take over. Her heart broke for Dalton and his dead friend, Ben, for Clint and his broken dreams of acting, and for herself and Tanner, what might have been, but they would never know. It was just one sadness after another, and she found herself sobbing herself to sleep.
Chapter Seven
The next week flew by, and Zoey barely had time to think about her situation, much less lament it. She had always been a morning person, so every day she woke with the sun and made breakfast. It seemed to surprise Tanner that she would meet him in the kitchen for coffee and breakfast. Clint and Dalton would wander in right before she had to go to work, and all three men took the time to wish her a good day. If she didn’t know any better, she would almost feel like she belonged there with them.
Work consisted of filling out paperwork, answering phones, filing, and running errands for her bitchy boss, Helen, who she nicknamed, Helga the Hooker. Helen was in her early fifties and a bitter biddy who seemed to have no compassion for the students she worked with. How she ever got a job as a children’s social worker was anyone’s guess. Zoey knew she was stuck if she wanted to stay in Stone River. Small towns weren’t exactly the ideal place for someone in her career, so she forced herself to grin and bear it. According to some of the other staff, the administration was watching her closely to see if she could ultimately be Helen’s replacement. It wasn’t much, but it was a sliver of hope in her dismal world.