Forrest, Dawn - Sweet Water Wedding: Sharing Shannon (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (18 page)

“Shannon wants to be sure and take it slowly.”

He snorted. “She’s got a snowball’s chance in hell of putting them off.” He knew his brother better than almost anyone. James gave the impression of being easygoing and relaxed, but he was a persistent devil when he wanted something badly enough.

“That’s what I thought.”

Joshua looked at his bride to be, draped across his body like a sensuous yet comfortable garment. She felt incredible, soft yet firm. She smelled amazing, her scent he would forever associate with passion and love and laughter. She tasted even better.

“Now, unless you want to waste our rollin’-in-the-sheets time, woman, stop talking and sit on my face.”

A pleasurable hour or so later a car horn beeped announcing its arrival. Joshua cocked his head as he continued to pull on his shorts.

“That doesn’t sound like James’s vehicle, I’d better go check.”

Rachael was pulling on a T-shirt and shorts over her bikini. They had just showered and were about to lie by the pool. She followed him out from his wing of the house.

“Hello, anyone home?”

He recognized his sister’s voice. “Oh, hey, Munchkin,” Joshua called happily.

“Don’t call me that,” wailed Janet.

The hulking deputy, Mitch Mathews, stood behind her, and winced. Joshua remembered that his sister didn’t want him to emphasize her youth around the thirty-year-old deputy. It reminded her of the nine-year age difference and she was apparently worried that it would make Mitch uncomfortable. Mitch was clearly off duty wearing a pair of faded denims and a black T-shirt that did nothing to hide his heavily muscled, massive physique. Janet skipped over to her brother and gave him a peck on the cheek and Rachael a hug. Mitch shook his hand.

Joshua had always been very protective of his little sister, but she was a young woman now, and he realized that he had to give her space. It hadn’t sat well with him that anyone was dating her, but he liked and respected Mitch and knew that Janet could do a lot worse. His sister had always had a thing for the deputy and he thought that it was a serious relationship.

“When d’ya get home?” Joshua asked.

“Last night. Sorry I didn’t call, but I thought I’d get home in time for
the weekend. My exams have finished and I’ve nearly completely my dissertation. I just have to get it printed and bound, which I can do in the office here. Then it’s over and done with, what a relief. I only have to go back to college to hand it in and wait for the results. I can relax now and enjoy your hen night.” She grinned mischievously at Rachael.

“My what?”

“Ah, now don’t protest because you can’t get out of it. We are just waiting for Shannon to turn up and then you, Susan, Sandy, Shannon, and I are going to paint the town red.”

The honking of another horn interrupted Rachael’s colorful response.

“Speaking of Shannon, that should be her.” Rachael grinned. “She surprised us by arriving a little earlier than expected.”

“That’s great.” Janet ran to open the door. “Oh, James and Luke are with her, and they’re...oh my. Is something going on that I don’t know about?” She turned with a surprised expression flitting happily across her face.

“Rachael will explain later. It’s a long story that happened quickly.” Joshua deferred the details.

James entered the house, followed by Shannon, followed by Luke. A quick look of amusement passed between the friends.

“Oh, hey there, Mun—Janet,” James corrected quickly. Obviously he’d also figured out how much Janet hated being called Munchkin in front of Mitch. “Hi Mitch, how ya doin'?” The big deputy shook James’s hand and also greeted Luke.

“Oh, great, you must be Shannon.” Janet gave a little jump in excitement and smiled broadly at the petite redhead standing between her brother and Luke. She hopped forward to shake Shannon’s hand then pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. Now we can have that night out.”

Joshua stood back studying the chatting group. There were two conversations going on at the same time, the girls were discussing a hen night and the guys were talking about James’s new SUV. Only a few months ago the house had been achingly quiet and empty, now, since Rachael, it was alive and vibrant. He was surprised to like it and the possible future it foretold, one with a house full of family and kids. Rachael of course noticed. It amazed him that after such little time she knew him so well. She slipped an arm around his waist and gave him a quick squeeze.

“Do we have enough steaks for the barbecue?” she asked.

He raised his brow. “This is a cattle ranch, what do you think?”

She laughed and swatted his arm. “I meant, should I get some more out of the freezer?”

“I’d say that Mitch and Luke are capable of consuming half a steer, a few more steaks won’t get wasted. There’s some already marinated and frozen, Isabella marked them ‘grill’ on the packs. They’ll just need a blast in the microwave to defrost.”

James turned his attention to his brother. “You and Rachael go and relax by the pool, we’ll see to the food for a change, you need to rest.” He winked at Rachael. “Luke, you’re on salad and bread duty, I’ll sort the steaks, and, Shannon, you can go and get changed. Janet will show you to my rooms.”

James had casually tacked that last instruction on as he walked toward the kitchen. Joshua watched Shannon’s reaction. Her eyes narrowed for a second but she didn’t make an issue of it. That and the fact that Luke was with them indicated that things had gone well. He couldn’t quite get his head around the fact that in such a short time his family was on the way to more than doubling.

* * * *

Janet led Shannon to a wooden door at the end of the house. If she was surprised that Shannon was using James’s rooms she didn’t let on.

“His lair is through there, you’ll find a bathroom off his bedroom. I’ll see you by the pool. Come on, Mitch, let’s go and get changed.” She headed toward the stairs with her beefy boyfriend hot on her heels.

Shannon felt a little uncomfortable as she entered through the solid, thick wooden door. This was James’s private domain that he had skillfully manipulated her into and at the same time let the family know that there was something between them. She shrugged, they’d have known soon enough anyway. As she looked around it occurred to her that James was well off. Of course he was, with the ranch, the oil wells, and the partnership with Luke. It must add up to a fair whack of cash or rather assets. She liked that the fact he didn’t advertise his wealth and could see that understated style in the decor of the house, it was comfortable and homely yet the furniture was clearly of an excellent quality. A lot of the pieces looked as if they had been handcrafted and specifically made rather than generic so-called designer items where one paid for the label.

She passed through a room that was half study, half lounge. It was fairly plain yet cozy with a sofa and two overstuffed armchairs. There were paintings of horses and family photographs on the walls. She didn’t want to pry but couldn’t help having a closer look at an older photograph that caught her eye. It showed two boys and one girl toddler stood in front of a lovely brown haired woman who appeared to be caught mid laughter. Two tall, handsome men, one with sandy light brown hair, and the other almost black, flanked her. Obviously it was the Ryden family, taken some years before the accident because Janet looked about four years old. It made Shannon sad to think that their parents’ lives ended so suddenly and too soon.

Shannon slowly passed through another door that led to James’s bedroom.
Wow,
who would have guessed?
She had been expecting a plain light room, similar to the lounge, but instead the decor had a Japanese influence. There was a huge black lacquered bamboo bed with red sheets and black cushions. It dominated one end of the room and faced the large predominantly glass gable end looking west onto the garden. There were sliding wooden shutters on the inside for privacy and shade. Vases of green bamboo stems were strategically placed on black and red lacquered furniture that had touches of gold. Her feet sank into a gold colored, plush woolen rug as she moved further into the room. She inhaled deeply through her nose and instantly recognized James’s scent. Her heartbeat quickened in response. She looked at the bed and imagined what they could get up to in it. A soft snort escaped her nose as she tried to dismiss her reaction to being in his room.

Another door led to a large bathroom with all the modern conveniences. The shower looked amazing with jets positioned all over the tiled walls. Shannon quickly found her bikini and sarong in her bag and changed. She wrapped the sarong around her waist and armed herself with her factor seventy sun-cream, floppy-hat, and sun top for later if she needed it. The temptation to look in the bathroom cabinet was huge. Was it stuffed full of condoms or herpes cream? Did he have athlete’s foot? She resisted taking a peek, telling herself that James was entitled to his privacy.

Shannon hurried out leaving her clothes folded neatly on top of a chest of draws and her underwear in her bag. As she opened the main door to the rest of the house and hastily walked through, she collided with James. The impact sent her bouncing backwards and she would have fallen over if James hadn’t snagged her arm. It had been like hitting an oak tree.

“Hell, are you okay, I was just about to knock and...er...” James appeared to lose track of what he was saying. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m okay, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Shannon wondered why James was having trouble focusing on her face.

“Er...sweetheart, is it cold in here or are you just happy to see me?” James bit his lower lip. He was staring at her chest as if it had some kind of tractor beam.

“What?” Shannon was puzzled for a second before her gaze shot down to where his eyes were riveted. The sudden movement when she’d ran into him must have dislodged her bikini top because one creamy globe, topped with a very erect nipple, had escaped. “Oh, God.” She cursed under her breath as her hand flew up to cover the wayward bit of flesh. She tucked her boob back in the bikini cup muttering, “How embarrassing,” and blushed profusely.

James had the nerve to chuckle. “At least one part of you wants to get to know me.”

She sensed a little uncertainty in his comment and responded, “There’s definitely more than one part of me that wants to say hello and you know it.”

He perked up, “Well I’m here and ready when you are.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Shannon grinned up at him, “Any time anywhere right?”

“Well, here and now would be great.”

“Jeez, just go and get changed will you.” She waved him away with her hands. “Put some distance between me and your hormones before I...never mind. Where’s Luke?” she blustered.

“Kitchen. Tossing,” he paused for effect, “salad.”

“Okay,” she took a step back and turned around. But before dashing off she looked over her shoulder pointedly at his erection outlined beneath his jeans and added, “Maybe you could give yourself some of that salad treatment.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve driven me to it,” he muttered, loud enough for her to hear as he went into his rooms.

That gave her something to think about. A part of her was secretly flattered that she had such an effect on him but of course she had to wonder if it was any different with other women he found vaguely attractive. She stopped in mid-stride; perhaps she was letting her own paranoia and inexperience get in the way of seeing the truth of the situation. These rancher types seemed refreshingly direct and both men had been very clear and honest about what they wanted. Was there any reason to doubt them? She should cut them some slack and not be a tight ass, oops, unfortunate term to use given the circumstances. Now
that
really was something to be worried about.

Shannon took a steadying breath, squared her shoulders and headed to the kitchen. She stood in the doorway watching Luke crumble feta cheese into the salad. He was a hottie, looking just as good in casual clothes as in a business suit. She knew that he looked even better without any clothes on at all.