Sexual Healing for Three (13 page)

What would Donna have done had he unleashed his true nature?

Would he have shocked and completely turned her off and scared her away? Something told him he wouldn’t have, that she had a few
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surprises of her own up her sleeves, number one being that her nature was the perfect complement to his. He didn’t know how he knew it, but there was something in the way she looked at him, something in the way she let him touch and kiss her, that told him she was seeking another’s control, seeking
his
control.

Granted, it had been a long time since he’d been in the Life, when he’d indulged his kink since discovering what it was, but the lapse didn’t stop him from recognizing someone who wanted what he had to offer, a woman who needed and wanted to be dominated.

Russ knew that it was possible he was projecting, that it had been so long since he’d fed his hunger he was seeing possible sustenance in any available woman, that he was letting all of Angela’s and Donna’s talk of soul mates get to him.

He shut off the downstairs lights and headed up the carpeted steps, checking each kid’s room to make sure they were asleep—or at least convincingly playing at sleep—before he went to the master bedroom and stripped out of his T-shirt. He’d never put back on his button-down once he’d taken it off at the barbecue. He had left it in his truck before going up to Donna’s.

The thought of her fingers caressing his bare biceps was like an electrical jolt that made the surface of his skin warm and tingly, and an organ far lower hard and pulsating.

Russ unbuckled his belt, undid and slid out of his pants, and freed the mammoth erection he had been sporting almost from the first moment of catching Donna’s arousing vanilla musk scent earlier in the evening. He peeled off his boxers on the way to the bathroom and left them on the floor in his wake as he turned on the cold water in the shower, closed his eyes, and stepped into the tub. The shock of the chill didn’t squelch his desire. At that point, he didn’t think anything would. Just the memory of Donna’s full mouth—lips so pliable and accommodating when his tongue delved inside the hot moist cavern—

had him near coming.

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He wrapped his fingers around his hard shaft and squeezed the base to curtail a fast-approaching climax. Slowly he eased his fist up to the bulbous head of his penis, thumbed the pre-cum, and used the additional lubrication as he tightened his grip and slid it back down to the base. He gradually gained a rhythm, fingers stimulating the sensitive bundle of nerves on the underside of his cock as he moved his fist up and down and teased the slit at the head of his cock with his thumb.

Russ braced his free hand against the slippery tile wall in front of him, curling his fingers into a fist as he imagined them threading through Donna’s soft feathered bob. Her mink eyes stared up at him while she wrapped her plump lips around his arousal. He pressed his forehead against the tile next to his fist and groaned at the fantasy, water pounding the overheated skin of his back and shoulders as he pumped his hips and worked himself to the edge. His balls became full and tight, icy heat riding the base of his spine like a bullet train before he toppled into the overwhelming precipice of five-fingered ecstasy.

He ground out Donna’s name through gritted teeth, hating himself for his weakness, for wanting the same woman as his brother but more, hating himself for needing her.

What kind of selfish, sneaky bastard did that make him? And how was he supposed to fix the rift between him and his brother on the one hand, while on the other hand he yearned for the woman Chance so obviously wanted?

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Chance knew his brother was attracted to Donna, knew that Russ wanted her, and he didn’t need to be a telepath or use his other psychic abilities to know this. He’d seen it in the blush of color on Russ’s face. He’d felt it in the sexual tension surrounding him and Donna when he’d gone over to break the news to Donna that he had to leave early.

He could have fought harder for his freedom and dug in with the powers that be at the hospital. It had been his hard-earned day off, after all, but he hadn’t been able to turn down a chance to assist in the treatment of numerous victims of a multiple vehicle pileup on the highway. Just another day of being chief resident of emergency services at Belfiore for him, his personal and sex life be damned.

Chance tried to console himself with the idea that there would be other opportunities to spend time with Donna, that he would surely see her again at the hospital. Never mind that the barbecue had been a fluke and not a little desperation on Donna’s part. He’d sensed her ambivalence at inviting him, at spending more time with him than necessary and proper outside of Belfiore. He told himself he’d left enough of an impression before his departure, however, to keep her on her toes, keep her thinking about him and the things he could do for her, the things they could do together if she gave them a chance.

His heartbeat kicked up a notch as he walked up the cobblestone path, toward the front door of Russ’s house, and not just from anxiety at the upcoming visit.

He wondered what had happened between his brother and Donna after he’d left. Had they gotten along on the ride home as well as it 100

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looked like they were getting along at the barbecue? Had Donna fallen for Russ’s raw power the way many a grade- and high-school-girl had during their childhood?

Chance couldn’t remember a time in his youth when Russ didn’t have some female fawning over his looks and athleticism, how they’d call the house for him and drive their mother crazy fending off all the boy-crazy girls starving for Russ’s attention. But Russ had never let the popularity go to his head. He took it in stride, modest in his appetites and dating habits, and never lording it over the guys less fortunate than him. It was one of the main reasons he was so well liked by all the different school factions, from the math geeks and chess team nerds to the debate team and star athletes and everyone in between, unlike him, the loner and outsider, even among other outsiders. It was so much easier to be alone than to risk letting people in and having to eventually explain his differences from them, his gifts.

It had been a long time since Chance had seen his brother, but he didn’t think Russ’s basic personality had changed. He still seemed like the same overprotective and bossy older brother that Chance had always known and looked up to. But how did these traits translate to Russ’s love life? Did he have a woman in his life since his divorce and Chance had nothing to worry about as far as Donna was concerned? Or was Russ available and looking?

A man would have to be blind or dead not to notice Donna’s beauty and strength, and he certainly didn’t have to be free to appreciate both. Unless Donna wasn’t Russ’s type, Chance couldn’t see his brother not being as affected by her as he was.

He took a deep breath, tuning into his heart rate and consciously slowing it down to an acceptable beat, determined not to jump to conclusions and assume the worst scenario. If Russ and Donna had hit it off, Chance decided by no means did this mean
he
was going to back off. He had spent too long admiring Donna from afar, giving her
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space and playing it safe. He was not going to let another opportunity to pursue a relationship with her slip through his fingers.

He rang the doorbell, determined to fight for her if he had to.

And then his brother opened the door, welcoming Chance into his house with a warm, dimples-revealing smile that lit up the vestibule and almost drained all of Chance’s assertive competitive juices away—almost..

“I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to go out and track you down or not.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Russ arched a brow. “You’re sure about that?”

The pang of guilt the gesture and question shot to his heart was unmistakable, but Chance shrugged it off with a grin.

He couldn’t change the past, only try to rectify the wrong he had done his brother by leaving home all those years ago without any real explanations.

He wasn’t running anymore. He had too much at stake, too much to lose. After almost twenty years, he knew this now. Twenty years ago, when he was a teen with so much to prove and too many reminders of his failure glaring at him every day from his brother’s long-suffering, gray-eyed gaze alone, no one could have told him that leaving wasn’t for the best. Chance wasn’t the only one who saw reminders. He was sure he was a constant reminder to Russ of how their mother had died.

“I’m sure, Russ,” Chance responded.

“Good.” Russ clamped him on a shoulder and led him farther into the house, pausing on the threshold of the living room, which was cozy with its rich-textured furnishings and flourishing earth tones, the surroundings solid and practical like their owner.

Russ jutted his chin at the six-pack of Corona Chance carried in one hand. “Nice touch.”

“I wasn’t sure how you were fixed and figured we could knock back a few and watch a game or two on TV. Hope the brand’s okay.”

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“I like your thinking. And beer’s beer to me.” Russ relieved him of the six-pack and headed for the kitchen. “Have a seat while I put these in the fridge,” he threw over a shoulder.

Chance took off his leather jacket and hung it on the maple coat tree across the room before settling into a corner of the sofa, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee and asking, “Where are the kids?”

“They went out bike riding earlier and were going to stop at a friend’s house for a visit. They should be back any minute, though, so you should get a chance to finally meet them.”

Chance used the moment of solitude to look around a little and saw the open sketch pad sitting on the maple wood table before the sofa. He leaned forward and pulled the pad towards him, admiring the sleek lines and design of the depicted building. He remembered how talented Russ had been as a teen, how much he’d loved playing with Erector Sets, drawing structures, and working construction during summers off from school. He’d known then that his brother would go into a field that had to do with building and bringing things to life.

Russ had constantly downplayed his talent compared to Chance’s, pushing his younger brother to make good on his natural gifts and go to medical school.

“I know my limitations, Chance. I’m going to be a laborer. But
that’s me. It’s what I love, working with my hands. You, you can be so
much more.”

He respected Russ for knowing himself so well, for knowing what he wanted to do with his life at an early age. But at the time, Chance hadn’t had as much faith in his own
gifts
as Russ had. It took years and a girlfriend’s fall off an obscure mountain on the other side of the world and her resultant, near-fatal injury to show Chance what Russ had been trying to show him all along—that Chance was meant to heal and help people with or without his gifts.

Russ came back into the room with a bowl of chips and two of the Corona bottles open. He handed one to Chance as he took a seat in the
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recliner adjacent the sofa and placed the bowl of chips on top of the sketch pad.

Chance nodded at it. “New project?”

“Not really. Just doodling and throwing around some ideas.

They’re always kicking around up here.” Russ tapped his temple with a finger. “I was really into it. Probably why I didn’t hear you ride up on your bike.”

“I caught you at a bad time?”

“Nah. I’m glad you came by. Otherwise, like I said, I’d have had to track you down.”

Chance chuckled, feeling comfortable and more at ease than he thought he would and despite the curiosity plaguing him.

The question was on the tip of his tongue, but Chance bit it back, not wanting to tip his hand too soon. He figured Russ would soon enough get around to what had happened after he’d asked him to drive Donna home. And if he didn’t, Chance would just have to give in and ask, except that Russ leaned forward in his seat, an intense look in his eyes when he broke the pregnant silence and beat Chance to the punch with a question of his own.

“How exactly do you feel about Donna Vega?”

“Wow, you just get right to the point, don’t you?”

“I’ve never been one to beat around the bush, Chancellor. You know that.”

Just as he knew his brother purposely used the insufferable name to throw him off-balance and get the upper hand. Chance refused to fall into the trap but couldn’t help saying, “You know how much I hate that name,
Russell
.”

“Okay look, here’s the thing,” Russ said as if his brother hadn’t spoken, “Angela seems to think that we’d both be a good match for her sister.”

He knew all about the infamous Angela’s soul mate theories. He had gotten an earful from her siblings and the woman herself during his short time at the barbecue. The jury was still out on whether he 104

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believed in them, though, despite his own spiritual experiences and epiphanies over the years.

“And what do you think?” Chance asked, watching as his brother sat back in his seat, sighed, and raked his free hand through his wavy hair. It disconcerted him more than he wanted to admit, imagining what Donna saw when she looked at Russ.

Chance wasn’t blind or stupid enough to believe that his brother didn’t possess some charms. With his grizzled good looks and tall, chiseled figure, he was the type of alpha, macho man that any number of women would find appealing.

Was Donna among them?

“I think the three of us—Donna, you, and I—need to get together and talk to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Chance blinked. He wasn’t sure he was in the same
book
,
much less on the same page. “What happened between you and Donna last night after I left?”

“I drove her home.”

“And?”