A Virgin for Two Brothers (2 page)

Chapter
Two

“Look
at me, McKenna.” His voice was so deep and commanding, and somehow so familiar.
A gasp left her as she spun around to stare at the man behind her. It was he.
Really and truly.

“Christopher?”
Just seeing him reminded her of home and tears sprang to her eyes. “What are
you doing here?” She scrambled up and threw her arms around his neck. His scent
made her smile. “Where’s Victor?” Christopher and Victor Sterling had been her
father’s business associates, that is, when his business had been flourishing.

Christopher
held her tightly, his hand stroking over her hair.
 
“I like your hair up like this. It’s pretty.”
His words were soft and spoken against her ear.

With
her head on his chest, she could hear the heavy thump of his heart. It
certainly wasn’t the same tempo as her frantic one, but the longer she spent in
his arms the more
her own
heartbeat calmed. McKenna
realized he still hadn’t answered and she pulled back, but kept her arms around
his waist. It had been a year since she had seen either of them and she’d
forgotten how big he was, how intimidating and commanding. He towered over her
five-foot-five inch frame by a
t least a foot
,
and the solid wall of muscle that made up his body was hard against her softer
one. God, how many times had she imagined doing this? Of course she had been in
his embrace before, but his touch had always made her feel like his little
sister. It certainly wasn’t touch that she had ached for as she lay in bed in
the dark.
 
Now though, his touch was
different. The way his hands slid up and down her back, drawing her closer to
his body, seemed shockingly intimate.

His
eyes, so blue they reminded her of the pictures of the ocean she had seen as a
child, stared down at her with such intensity she grew dizzy. The short brown
strands of his thick hair fell across his forehead and her fingers itched to
brush the locks away. God, how long had she imagined being in his and Victor’s
arms?

Far
too long to admit.

“Wait.”
She looked around the room, reality setting back in. “What are you doing here?”
When he didn’t respond again she looked back at him, realization setting in and
her body tensing. “You…” She tried to take a step back but Christopher held her
tight. No, she couldn’t be right, could she?

“Don’t
be scared, McKenna.” She knew his words were meant to soothe, but his low
rumble increased her anxiety.

She
was shaking her head because none of this made any sense. He had bought her?
She was his
wife
? “How? Why?” Could
she not form a coherent sentence?

“Did
you actually think we would leave you to the wolves, after everything we have
been through?”

“We?”

“Yes,
McKenna. We. You’re our wife now.”

She
heard Victor’s husky voice behind her and her breath stalled. Christopher and
Victor, identical in every way possible, had been the only two men that she had
wanted with a desperation that shamed her. They were twin brothers, had been
business associates and family friends for as long as she could remember.
Despite their identical features, their personalities were at different ends of
the spectrum. Christopher, so sweet and caring, was always filled with
compliments. Victor on the other hand had a rougher side, a more fierce edge to
his voice that made everyone aware he was to be noticed. Both brothers were
intimidating and respected, and because of that they knew no one would argue
with what they said. Maybe she was the only one that could tell them apart?
There had been several embarrassing moments when even her father had gotten
them confused. The dual combination, the vast difference in their
personalities, made her desire for the two of them wash through her like a
tidal wave. There hadn’t been a day gone by that she didn’t think about them.
They had made up her adolescent fantasies, but now, being a grown woman, their
wife
, all she could think about was what
the night had in store for her.

“I
don’t understand.” Oh, she had heard them all right, but she didn’t seem to
grasp the actual words. A foggy haze had settled over her mind and body.

“Yes,
you do.” Victor’s fingers, so big and smooth, ran up the patch of skin that was
exposed on her arm. Sandwiched between the two brothers, McKenna felt beads of
perspiration dotting her flesh under the robe, causing the material to stick to
her skin. She was very aware that she was nude beneath the garment, and the way
their hands started moving over her left no indication that she wasn’t. She
liked their touch, but this was Victor and Christopher touching her. That
knowledge was enough to cause her growing arousal to taper off. She needed to
find out what was going on.

The
feeling of Victor’s breathing on her left side and Christopher’s on her right
had her eyes drifting closed. It was clear her mind didn’t care what she wanted
to do, because her arousal picked up as quickly as it had ended. They smelled
like pine and whiskey. The combination was addicting.

“You
bought me…” McKenna really wished her breathing didn’t sound so desperate and
needy. It wasn’t a question, although she knew she had meant to phrase it as
one. Just having them this close, their mouths mere inches from her skin, had
the signals in her mind misfiring.

“We
did.”

She
didn’t know who had spoken because everything around her was spinning. “But
why? Why would you do that?” A breathy moan of desire was thick in her voice.
Their dual chuckle informed her they knew too well the effect they were having
on her. She needed to get her mind back on track. Moving out from between them,
she looked at both of them. God, they were so big and powerful they seemed to
take up the whole room. This was all too strange and she was desperate to find
answers.

 
They stood side-by-side, mirror images of each
other, yet she knew the difference in them immediately. With Victor there was a
silent dominance surrounding him, wanting to take control, wanting to have her
surrender. With Christopher the need to please her, to make sure she was happy,
had always been his intent. Even though she sensed these things in them, they’d
never shown an interest in her. At least not until now...
but why
?

The
way they watched her, like they were hungry and she was the only thing they
wanted, made her very aware that all of this, this whole situation, was
surreal. The black suits they wore molded to their ridiculously toned bodies.
Victor’s tie was red, the color of blood and power. Christopher’s was a bright
blue that made his eyes blaze. Staring at the two of them caused realization to
finally
set in. The reality of why
they had bought her. They were doing this to help her father, to help her. Of
course they wouldn’t want her to be purchased by an old man that would do
unmentionable things to her. They didn’t want her in the sense she wanted them.
That knowledge caused McKenna’s shoulders to slump in defeat. God, she had
probably made a complete fool of herself. There was no doubt in her mind they
knew she had been turned on by their presence.

When
her father’s business had failed and her mother became ill, the Sterling
brothers had tried to help out financially, repeatedly, but her father was a
proud man and wanted to earn his own way in order to take care of his family.
Walter Grey hadn’t been able to stop her from being in the auctions, couldn’t
stop her from giving him the money she earned from it. He would deny
Christopher and Victor, but he hadn’t been able to deny her. It was her choice,
her right as the eldest to make sure they were taken care of. All her life her
father had made sure they never wanted for anything, and the first time that he
needed help she hadn’t hesitated to step up and take that responsibility off
his shoulders. There had been yelling, demands that she not go through with it,
but in the end he knew as well as she that this was her decision.

All
of it had been for nothing, however, because Victor and Christopher had done
what they wanted to do initially anyway. They had helped a family they loved,
had spent years around, and a man that they were closer with than their own
father.

She
took a big breath because her next words hurt her before she even uttered them.
“I understand why you did it, but I wish you hadn’t.”

Chapter
Three

McKenna’s
head was still lowered when she sensed them approaching. Fingers, gently placed
under her chin, made her lift her head and she found herself staring into
Victor’s blue eyes. There was an emotion in them that she had never seen in his
cool exterior.

“I
know what you’re thinking. We did this because the thought of you up on that
auction block, knowing that one of those men would buy you and claim you as his
wife, was something I,
we
, couldn’t
handle.”

“I’m
not your responsibility.” The disbelief in his face as she spoke was evident.

“We’ve
known you since you were a shy pre-teen, watching us like we were something
special.” Christopher shook his head, but there was a small smile on his face.

“We
know you, McKenna. We know everything about you. If you think we don’t care
about your wellbeing, you don’t know us very well.” Victor’s hand stroked her
shoulder as he spoke in a soft, yet still commanding tone, which sent warmth
spreading through her.

There
was no doubt in her mind that they cared about her, and the fact that they went
to these kinds of lengths to show it startled her. What she didn’t understand,
couldn’t comprehend, was how were they were supposed to move on with their
lives if they were married to her? Would they bring more women into their home,
and hide her away like a dirty little secret? Maybe they would give it some
time and then file papers for her release. Although it was rare for a man to
release a wife he bought at a virgin auction, given the fact it was a waste of
money, it had been known to happen. Is that what Victor and Christopher would
do? She almost prayed they would, even if her reputation would be ruined over
it. She wouldn’t be able to find a husband because everyone in the city would
know that not one, but two husbands, didn’t want her. Even so, despite knowing
her reputation would be soiled, she knew she could not watch them be with
another woman. They may not have feelings for her in the same sense she had for
them, but she didn’t want their lives to be changed all for the sake of them
thinking they needed to take care of her and her family.

“I
can’t allow you to change your lives for me. What will happen when you fall in
love and decide to get married for real?” Because she knew this marriage wasn’t
real, it couldn’t be. They could tell her until they were blue in the face that
they didn’t purchase her for the sole purpose of ensuring her family didn’t
become destitute, but in the end she knew that’s exactly why they did it. They
were honorable men, ones that had put everyone before their own selves. They
knew when to come off hard and demanding, but in this day and age if you didn’t
show your strength, others would throw you to the wolves.

Victor
and Christopher looked at each other for a suspended moment and then turned
their striking blue eyes back toward her. Victor took a step closer, not saying
anything, but he didn’t have to for her to feel his intent fill the room.
Whatever he was about to do, it was filled with determination.

“There
are no others for us, McKenna.” His hand cupped the side of her face. His
palm
was so large that it covered her whole left
cheek, causing a slight thrill to go through her. McKenna felt wholly feminine
with these two men, her girlish form so very slight compared to their
masculinity.

She
didn’t respond because in reality words failed her. The way he stared down at
her, as if there was no other female on the planet that could compare to her,
stole all reason, all thoughts out of her mind. She felt Christopher’s hand
gently land on her shoulder and she tore her eyes away from Victor to look at
him. His expression matched his brother’s, all steely determination for her to
understand them.

“Do
you still not understand?” Christopher held a hard expression, but his soft,
calming voice told her that inside he was just as affected as she was. She
wanted to lift her hand and run her fingers along the smooth, tanned flesh of
his face. They were fifteen years her senior, but their youthful faces had
fooled many. Their intelligence and success made her feel small in comparison.
“You are all that we want. If you’ll have us, we can give you everything your
heart desires.”

“You’ll
be taken care of, and cherished. Your family will never want for anything.”
Victor’s deep voice was by her ear and she closed her eyes in pleasure. “All
you have to do is accept us. Both of us.”

How
many times had she dreamed of hearing them say these things? It seemed like a
dream now, that she could finally be with not one, but both of the men she
loved. Her family would be taken care of and her mother would get the proper
health coverage she needed. Despite the pleasantries of it all, the cynical
side of her couldn’t push back a nagging thought.