Grace’s Sweet Surrender (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (4 page)

* * * *

Hunter was excited to get the day over with. He felt like a little boy on Christmas morning waiting to open his presents. He couldn’t wait for his day to be over. All through the day his thoughts were on Grace. It was times like this when he looked forward to coming home to someone. When they all talked last night around the fire, he felt a connection with her. He wondered what it would feel like to have a special someone he and Brody could come home to every night. More than anything he wanted to share his bed with that someone special.
Could Grace be the one he and Brody have been waiting
for?
They had only known her for a day, but there was something about her, something that captivated him. Brody had mentioned it to him in the truck that morning that he, too, had feelings for Grace and he wanted to get to know her better as well. Just then the door to their office opened and Brody walked in, breaking his train of thoughts.

“Man, I can’t seem to concentrate on filling out the order forms for the next shipment of alcohol we need. My mind keeps wandering to Grace. I’m wondering what she’s doing right now. I keep picking up my phone to call her, and then I don’t want to seem like we are bugging her. Is it just me, or are you feeling the same way as I am?”

“No, buddy, I’m trying to get my stuff done so I could go track you down in the bar to see when you would be ready to go home.” Hunter and Brody just shook their heads in disbelief.

“Give me an hour and I’ll be ready to go.”

“That will work for me also.” Hunter watched as Brody closed the door behind him and smiled to himself. Good to know he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t concentrate all day.

On their way home, Hunter and Brody had both tried to call the house to see if she needed anything, but they got no answer. They started to worry. They had gone to the store for some things to make for dinner tonight, and Grace had made a list with a few things she needed while they were there. Brody had tried once more when they left the grocery store, but still no answer.

As they got out of the truck and made their way to the front door with the bags of groceries in their hands, they heard the dog barking. Hunter quickly opened the door and followed Duke into the kitchen. They were stunned by the sight before them. Grace was listening to an iPod with the buds in her ears, so she didn’t hear them come into the kitchen. Brody and Hunter watched as she swayed her hips to the music. She was bent over in the refrigerator cleaning it out. They could tell by the way she was singing that she was listening to The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.” She was shaking her ass and singing the lyrics out loud. She must have sensed someone in the room because that’s when she straightened to full height, and noticed she wasn’t alone any longer.

Grace dropped the head of lettuce she was holding. “Ahh, you guys scared the crap out of me. I didn’t hear you come in.” As she was holding her hand over her beating heart, she bent over to pick up the lettuce she dropped while cleaning out the refrigerator.

Brody took the grocery bags and placed them on the counter. He then walked to Grace and pulled her a hug. “We’re sorry if we frightened you, Gracie. We tried to call a few times, but we got no answer. Now we know why you couldn’t hear the phone ringing.”

“Sweetie, we were worried about you. We thought maybe something happened when you were here by yourself.” Hunter knew she could hear the concerned tone in his voice.

“I’m sorry. I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed someone’s iPod that was on the counter. I like to listen to music when I clean.”

“Not at all. You can use my iPod anytime you like,” said Brody.

“I cleaned out the fridge. Now let me put the groceries away that way you two can go get cleaned up. Dinner will be ready in an hour. I wasn’t expecting you both so soon. And I probably look a mess. I need to shower, too, before dinner.”

“Gracie, you look beautiful. I like the sweaty side of you. I can’t wait to see you sweaty more often,” Brody said with a wink.

* * * *

Grace watched them both walk down the hall to their rooms. Those two always seemed to suck all the air out of the room when they were near her. She enjoyed the comment he made about being sweaty. What she wouldn’t give to get all sweaty with those two scrumptious men. She had to keep reminding herself that they were her bosses and nothing else could interfere. Grace had been busy most of the morning cleaning the bathrooms and doing the laundry. One thing she noticed was that there was no underwear for her to put away for them. It seemed they didn’t wear any. That bought back a fond memory of watching Hunter stroke himself as he found his release into his hand the other night.

Grace quickly put the items away in the bags and ran to her room to shower. She needed to cool off before being in the same room with Hunter and Brody again.

Grace was excited about starting her new job at the restaurant the next day. As a thank you to Hunter and Brody, she told them she wanted to make them dinner tonight. She had opted to fix a pan of lasagna, salad, and some French bread. She had found all the ingredients in the fridge and cupboards that were needed.

She knew that her real reason why she was there would eventually come up, so she decided not to beat around the bush any longer and tell the guys tonight at dinner.

During dinner, Hunter and Brody thank and praised her for the delicious meal she had created for them over and over. She knew after they had all cleared the dinner dishes that she had to have the talk.

“Can I talk to you both about something?” She noticed the exchange of looks they had with one another before pulling out their chairs to sit down around the table again.

“Okay. What’s on your mind, Grace? Is everything okay?” Hunter asked.

“No. Not really.” She said as she looked at her hands under the table. “I wanted to be honest with you both about why I’m here. You both have been so kind and gracious to me. I will forever be thankful for allowing me this chance to work and live under your roof with you. But I need to be straightforward with the both of you if there is ever going to be any trust.”

Brody grabbed her hand and placed it on the table to stroke the palm, “We always appreciate honesty, sweetheart. What’s got you so bothered?”

She looked into his eyes and then said, “The day I showed up at the restaurant was the day I had made the decision to change my life for the better. I had left my fiancé, Ray, after he struck me for the last time.” Both men cursed and tensed up in anger. Grace knew it was because they were angry with Ray and not her as their eyes became soft again when they looked at her.

“Our relationship had started out good. Then he began getting more and more agitated with me and started to strike me when I did something to displease him. So, I tried real hard to make him happy. Things just got worse. He began to gamble and stay out late. I had a feeling he was cheating on me. He told me that day I left him that I was just a pity fuck to him, and he had other woman that did a better job at satisfying him in bed than me.” She winced at that and looked to see the solemn look in Hunter’s eyes as he held her other hand.

“Sweetheart, I’m so glad you left that two-bit bastard. He doesn’t deserve you,” Hunter said.

Grace didn’t know why she told them more about her secrets, but she felt at ease when she was around them.

“There’s more I need to tell you. All my life I have had one disappointment after another. I grew up in an unstable home. My mother’s boyfriend sexually abused me and was placed in jail the night I found my mother dead from a drug overdose. I was in and out of foster homes most of my life. No one has ever wanted me or shown me any love or compassion as much as you two have.” The grips on her hands from both men grew tighter.

“Oh, Grace, I’m sorry you’ve felt as though you’ve gone through hell and back all your life. Thank you for being so open and honest with us. You’ve revealed to us what a strong and smart woman you are for surviving those situations,” Brody said with warmth in his eyes as he looked at her. He then pulled her to her feet and lifted her onto his lap. She enjoyed the affection and warmth in his embrace as he held her close to his body.

She then looked up into Hunter’s eyes. “We would never hurt you, Grace. I know you barely know us, but please believe us when I say, we may be big, intimidating men, but we would never hurt you in any way.”

And she did believe and trust them. They had been nothing but sweet and easygoing with her. They were her gentle giants, and she never felt anything but treasured while in their presence.

After she opened her heart to them, Hunter and Brody had decided to open a bottle of red wine for them all to enjoy while sitting on the porch. Wine had made her sleepy sometimes and after the long talk she had with them, she was ready for bed. She had yawned and told them that she was tired and wanted to turn in for the night. Grace was excited to start her new job tomorrow and wanted to be well rested. Things were looking up and she couldn’t wait to move on with an optimistic start.

* * * *

They all drove into work together the next day. Grace had insisted on driving her car, but the men said they didn’t plan to work all afternoon. Hunter and Brody had gotten most of their work done the day before.

Brody watched from the bar as Jamie showed Grace where they kept everything and the proper way to set up the tables. She seemed to get the hang of things quickly around the restaurant. After a while she was able to take over the station by herself while Jaime watched from the side. It seemed to Brody that Grace was going to work out perfectly in every aspect of their lives. The more he got to know her, the more he realized how smart, sexy, and playful she was. She did a great job around the house yesterday, and now she proved to be a good waitress also. Jamie walked up to the bar and broke his thoughts.

“I know you are aware that Grace has the hang of this already. I see you have been watching her all afternoon. I also can see that she holds Hunter’s interest also.” Brody looked up to see Jamie watching him as he then diverted his eyes away from Grace. “It is
so
obvious that you are interested in her.”

“Busted... Well, as you know, Hunter and I have been looking for that someone special for a long time. She definitely fits our perception of what we want in a woman. Grace seems to hold our interest. I won’t deny that.”

“Be careful with her. She seems to be hiding something. I tried to ask her about what brought her here to Burley, but she just said she was looking for a job. She didn’t want to expand on it and walked away from the conversation we were having.”

“I know how you feel, Jamie. Hunter and I try to talk to her about her past, but she doesn’t seem to want to open up to us, just yet. How are you feeling? Do you want to go home now? I think Grace can handle the rest of the tables. Seems she had a good teacher. She’s got the hang of everything around here.”

“How about this weekend we can go out to dinner and dancing? I have a feeling by then she will need the night out from the week she has had. Wes has been asking me to try out the new bar they opened across town.”

“Jamie, are you sure you want to go dancing in your condition?”

“Heck no, I just finally have someone I can girl talk with instead of listening to you three when we go out.” Brody tried to hide a smirk. “Besides, I like Grace. I can already tell she and I are going to be good friends. I’ll have Wes get ahold of one of you this week.”

Brody watched the little ball of fire walk to Grace and let her know she would be on her own for the rest of the day. She smiled at Jamie then looked over her shoulder and smiled at Brody. Grace made Brody feel like a schoolboy with his first crush.

* * * *

Grace had an amazing day. She loved working at the restaurant with Brody and Hunter around. Every time she turned around one of them was there asking her if she needed anything or how was she doing. They were so sweet…good-looking…and funny. By the time she had finished with her last table, Hunter had come up to her to see if she was ready to go home.
Home
. She had never really had a home to speak of. The home she was raised in when her mother was still alive was not what you could consider a stable environment. Her mother had brought men home all the time, along with the drugs they had to offer her in return for a place to crash for the night.

As a kid, Grace mostly stayed in her room and kept to herself. She never brought any of her friends around. She was embarrassed of the living environment and would rather go to her friends’ houses to play. Even as a kid, Grace knew her mother was out-of-control. She had never had a real home with her mom growing up and while living with Ray, things grew cold and emotionless. Homes were supposed to feel warm and welcoming, like with Hunter and Brody’s.

Grace was tired and ready to go home with those two hot guys. She was ready to do a lot more with them, but she had to remind herself that she only worked for them and that was that. She didn’t want to complicate their arrangement by bringing impure thought into their working relationship. Brody walked to the table she was sitting at while counting her tips for the day.

“Ready to go, Gracie? Hunter is going to meet us out back by the truck. He grabbed a couple of the specials tonight to-go for dinner so we don’t have to cook tonight.”

“That would be wonderful. I just want to go home and soak my body and feet in the hot tub tonight. Is it okay if I use the hot tub?”

“You are welcome to use anything in the house, anytime. You don’t need to ask. Maybe we’ll join you, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course, I could use a glass of wine while we are at it,” Grace said to Brody as they made their way to the back entrance of the restaurant.

Hunter was waiting for them as they got in the truck. Brody helped Grace get in the middle of the bench seat.