Three (21 page)

Can I really walk away from all they’re offering me? Near constant love and affection that I’ve been without for far too long? A home that they’re offering as my own? To live near my mom’s tribe? Not to mention unbelievably mind-blowing sex? I mean panty-dropping, bend over and beg for it sex?! I never even knew I wanted sex. And now that I’ve had it, could I actually give it up? Amber’s always saying how hard it is to find a man that knows what he’s doing in bed. And I found TWO! What are they teaching the guys up here in Alaska?!

They pulled up to a quaint little diner named Bacon.

“Well that says it all.” Simone chuckled, looking at the word made out of strips of bacon and the O was a sunny-side up egg.

“Yep, you can never go wrong with bacon.” Jackson said as he helped her out of the truck.

“I’m assuming this place is pretty popular with the men of Fairbanks.” Simone hopped down and held the hand Jackson extended to her.

“Oh we come in droves. They have great food and just like the name, nearly everything on the menu has bacon in it.” Jackson held the door open for her.

As Simone walked into the restaurant, she instantly spotted Xander at a curved corner booth. Her heart fluttered at the radiant smile that spread across his beautiful face. His shaggy blond hair brushed his face, his eyes glowed at the sight of her and the stunning muscle defects that were his dimples pulled together the heavenly work of art that was his angelic face.

He slid out from the booth and walked to meet her halfway. Wrapping his strong arms around her waist, he lifted her off her feet and kissed her soundly in front of the whole dining room.

“Xander…everyone is watching.” Simone hissed under her breath. Her face turned beet red, not sure how to act with them out in public for the first time.

“Eh. They’ll get over it. I missed you.” Xander smiled down at her as he placed her back on her feet.

“It’s only been a few hours.” Simone shook her head with a smile as she walked to the table.

Xander turned to Jackson and clapped him affectionately on the back as they followed Simone. Jackson slid into the curved booth first, then Simone scooched in next to him and Xander finished out the sandwich on Simone’s right.

“Is there a reason why more often than not you’re on my left side”, Simone asked looking at Jackson, “and you’re on my right?” She finished looking at Xander.

“Well, I guess it’s because I’m left-handed, so I favor the left of a woman and Xander’s right-handed, so he favors the right. I never really thought much of it. It’s just something we’ve done from the start.” Jackson shrugged, looking over at Xander.

“Huh, you’re right, we do. I didn’t think much of it either. Does it bother you?” Xander asked.

“Oh no, not at all. Just wondering.” Simone smiled at him.

“Okay, good. Maybe one day we’ll switch it up to throw you off and spice things up.” Xander grinned rakishly and waggled his eyebrows, making Simone giggle. “So I hear that you saved the day today.” Xander changed the subject.

“I didn’t do anything special. Anyone would have in my position.” Simone brushed off the praise.

“I don’t buy that. You’re a remarkable woman.” Xander caressed a finger down her cheek. “You have so many sides. Shy, intelligent, focused, independent, passionate, sexy and brave. That’s a whole lot of amazing wrapped up in one gorgeous woman.”

Simone hadn’t blushed so much in her entire life, as she did in the presence of these two men. “So…what’s good here?” Simone dodged as she grabbed the menu. Both men chuckled, but let her off the hook and decided to order instead of embarrassing her with more compliments.

As they ate and interacted with each other, Simone felt the frequent glances that they received. Looks that ranged from innocent curiosity to blatant carnal interest, all the way to downright disgust. And the guys weren’t helping the situation either. They touched her affectionately; brushing her hair behind her ears, rubbing her hands or arms with a stroke of a thumb, stealing kisses and even feeding her from their plates, letting her sample their meals.

When they were finally done and walked out to their trucks, Simone breathed a sigh of relief at finally being away from the constant scrutiny. Xander walked with them to Jackson’s truck. Xander opened the door for her before turning her into his arms for a warm embrace. Pulling back a little, he brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her softly.

“Are you ready for tonight?” Xander asked after he pulled his full lips away from her.

“No.” Simone said honestly.

“It’ll be fine, Si. They’ll love you.” Xander comforted her.

“We’ll see. I have absolutely zero experience with meeting a guy’s family. I have no idea how to act or what to say.” Simone said frantically, working herself up.

“Act like yourself. And just say whatever you would say to anyone you’ve just met.” Xander reasoned.

“I don’t do that very well in general. You do remember when I first met you last week. Not so great.”
Dear God…it’s really only been a week! Not even. It feels like it’s been a year. Good Lord, these guys wear me out!

“So what, you’re a little shy. It’s no big deal. What would be a problem, was if you talked a mile a minute while cursing like a sailor and belched in between forkfuls of food. You don’t do any of that, at least not that I’ve noticed. So relax.” Xander winked at her, kissed her softly and then helped her into the truck. “See you two in a couple of hours at the house. We’ll get ready and then head out.” Xander said before closing the door.

“Xander’s right. You’ll do fine, just be yourself.” Jackson leaned over and kissed her forehead and then started the truck to head back to the mill. “So I need to go back to the mill for a little bit. Apparently I need to have another safety meeting with my employees. Then I need to make a few calls. But we can head back home a little early, so you can relax and get ready for tonight.”

“Alright.” Simone responded as she tried to control the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of the night to come.

Chapter 11

Simone braided her hair again for the third time. She had been switching back and forth, unsure if she should wear it down or braid it in her normal side braid that rested against her shoulder and breast. And after the men had insisted that the evening was a casual affair, for her outfit Simone had eventually decided to go with a pair of semi-dark washed skinny jeans, a fitted cream sleeveless sweater with a wide brown belt. She also chose a long-sleeved light brown sweater that draped in lovely folds on either side, and then finished off the ensemble with a pair of brown faux leather knee-high boots and dangling tarnished copper circle earrings.

She took another gulp of the wine that Xander had brought up to her and stared at herself in the mirror or a moment.
Screw it!
Opting to keep the braid, but putting a different spin on it, Simone French braided her hair around one side of her head and braided the rest to lay to the side, in the
Katniss Everdeen
fashion.

Though Amber had loaded her luggage with new clothes, shoes and accessories she hadn’t gotten around to makeup. So with nothing else to do to make her reflection look any better, Simone sighed, shrugged and then walked out of the master suite to meet her men.
Huh…
my
men.
She heard them chatting downstairs and she made her way down and found them in the kitchen.

As usual the sight of them took her breath away.
They’re just so…so…male!
Blatant virile, manly, red-blooded, powerful men. Her mother would have called them hunks and Simone smiled to herself at the memory.

They both wore relaxed fit jeans and boots, their usual. Jackson wore a charcoal gray fitted zip-up sweater that molded over his massive shoulders, tree trunk arms and narrowed waist. The color made his silver eyes glow. And Xander paired his jeans with a winter white sweater with a large collar. His too formed over his sculpted physique; broad shoulders, rippling arms and long tapered waist. The light color matched his personality and bright smile.

One was dark and one was light. One serious. One easy-going. Yin and yang. Two extraordinary men separately in their own right. Together…
magnificent
. And when their eyes lit on her as she walked around the corner, Simone felt like she was the only woman on earth. They did that to her…made her feel like she was the center of the universe. Their universe.

“You look breathtaking.” Xander said warmly as Jackson huskily grunted his agreement.

They both strode over to her to take turns greeting her with soft intimate kisses. Overwhelming her, as was their habit. “You both look amazing.” Simone said breathlessly as she backed up, needing a little space to think clearly.

“Thanks.” Xander said giving her butt a pat.

“Thank you.” Jackson said running his index finger and thumb down her braid, inadvertently -
or not
, caressing her breast with the back of his finger.

“Ready to roll?” Xander asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” Simone sighed in resignation.

~~~

They rode in Xander’s truck to his parents’ house. Simone sat in between them as they bickered good-naturedly with each other, trying to make her laugh and ease her nerves.

“You know damn well that I got better grades than you!” Jackson taunted Xander.

“Pssh. I was always on honor roll!” Xander shot back.

“What?! That’s because you cheated off of me, jackass!” Jackson said incredulous.

“Don’t listen to him, Si. He’s just jealous ‘cause I’m brilliant.” Xander took his eyes off the road for a second to smirk down at Simone.

“Ha! He was too busy being the class clown to even pay attention to what the teachers were saying. So he copied my homework and looked over my shoulders during tests. He even got caught once because he was too dumb to change any of the words on a book report. His parents grounded him and stopped us from hanging out ‘til the semester was over.” Jackson scowled at Xander over Simone’s head. “That was the first semester he finally aced his classes on his own.” Jackson finished smugly.

“Whatever, Jax. My mom will defend me. Just wait.” Xander said confidently as he pulled up to a beautiful three story cedar home, nestled in against a dense forest.

The driveway was U-shaped and Xander parked the truck behind some of the cars that were already there.

“Well, everyone is here already, so you’ll at least get to meet them all at once and get it over with.” Xander smiled encouragement down at Simone.

“Great.” Simone said with half sarcasm and half false bravado.

“Come on, beautiful.” Jackson slid out of the truck and held his hand out to help Simone down.

Xander walked around the front of the truck to meet them and they both clasped her hands as they guided her up the icy path to the front door. The red door swung open before they had even reached it and a beautiful older blonde woman stood at the entrance with a big smile.

“Hi, mom.” Xander greeted the woman giving her a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hey mom, wasn’t I smarter than Jax, and got better grades than him?” Xander said after placing her back on her feet.

“You certainly tried, Alexander. But at least you were pretty.” His mom said with a straight face, patting his arm affectionately.

Jackson burst out in huge guffaws of laughter and Simone squeezed her lips together in an attempt to hold her giggles in at the look of horror on Xander’s face.

“No loyalty.” Xander grumbled under his breath as Gail went in to give Jackson a hug.

“Hello, Jackson. I swear you get bigger every time I see you.” Gail said fondly.

“You always say that.” Jackson said deeply.

“It’s no less true. I swear you shot up out of nowhere and you both nearly ate me out of house and home when you were teenagers.” Gail patted his chest and then turned her focus on Simone.

“So you must be, Simone. I’ve already heard so much about you from Delanie.” Gail said brushing away Simone’s offered hand, and instead pulled her in for a warm hug.

“I bet you have.” Xander rolled his eyes.

“Well, it would be nice if my son would call me and let me know what is going on in his life and I didn’t have to find out from his sister.” Gail scolded as she let go of Simone. She clasped Simone’s hands and held them out at her sides to get a better look at her. “Well my my, aren’t you lovely. No wonder the boys snatched you up.” Gail praised, as Simone blushed and ducked her head bashfully. “Oh my goodness! And shy too?! They probably didn’t even know what hit ‘em.” Gail winked at her.

“T…thank you.” Simone finally stuttered out.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear. Where are my manners? I’m Gail. Nice to meet you.” Xander’s mom greeted Simone more formally, holding out a hand for her to shake.

“Simone Staton. Nice to meet you too, Gail.” Simone replied softly.

“Gail, what’s taking you so long in here?” A deep voice rumbled as a man that was Xander’s twin thirty years in the future came up to the group.

“Oh Frank, calm down. I can be out your sight for a few minutes without you going into a tizzy. I was just greeting the children and meeting the boys’ new girlfriend.” Gail scolded as he came up to her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Xander’s dad looked at the trio and when his eyes fell on Simone, they widened and stayed there a moment. “Wow! Well aren’t you a looker.” Frank exclaimed. “Nice job, boys.” Frank held out his hand to fist bump Xander and Jackson, who chuckled at the older man.

Meanwhile, Simone thought she’d die of mortification. Her face had never felt so heated before. She figured she was probably as red as a beet by this point.

“I’m Xander’s dad, Frank.” The tall older man held out his hand.

“Hello, I’m Simone.” She said, barely able to keep eye contact as she took his hand to shake.

“Come on. Get your coats off. Everyone’s in the kitchen, hovering over the stove waiting for dinner to be done.” Frank said.

As Jackson helped Simone out of her coat, she breathed a sigh of relief that the first meeting with Xander’s parents was over. And since she’d already met his sisters, all she had left to meet was Christopher and Ethan. Though she wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing Bethany again after the last disaster.

With two hands at her back, Jackson and Xander led her into the house, towards the kitchen. As they walked in, four blond heads looked up from their conversation. Delanie was sitting on the counter and she jumped down when she saw them. She immediately walked over to Simone and gave her an affectionate embrace.

“Hi, Simone! I’m so glad that you came. Would you like a glass of wine? You’re probably so nervous. But don’t be, we don’t bite. Well maybe Beth does, but don’t pay her any attention.” Delanie whispered the last part as she rambled on, pulling Simone further into the kitchen and away from the shelter of Jackson and Xander.

The two younger blond men stared at Simone with eyes bugged out of their heads. One even had his mouth agape. Delanie pulled Simone over to the table where both men were sitting.

“This is Christopher. But we call him Chris. He’s the middle child. So he’s the mediator. Translation: he has to put up with all of our crap. Chris this is Simone.” Chris stood up and shook Simone’s hand firmly.

“Nice to meet you, Simone.” Chris said politely.

“Nice to meet you, Chris.” Simone responded quietly.

“I’m the most important one to meet, Simone.” The other blond who had been gaping widely, piped in as he shoved his brother out of the way. “I’m Ethan. And now that we’ve met, you can come to your senses and forget these two and start dating a
real
man.” Ethan said, bending dramatically over her hand and kissing it rakishly.

“Simmer down, baby bro.” Xander taunted as he pushed Ethan back down into his chair and pulled Simone to him.

Even though Simone couldn’t have been any more embarrassed and uncomfortable, she knew she still had to greet Bethany. She looked at the still sour-faced woman leaning on the sill of one of the windows.

“Hello, Bethany. It’s nice to see you again.” Simone lied.

“Simone.” Bethany nodded her acknowledgement, not willing to do much more.

“So what’s for dinner, Ma?” Xander asked, diffusing the tense interaction.

“Oh, nothing big. Just some baked Cornish hens, roasted red potatoes in rosemary and olive oil, some mixed veggies and homemade rolls.” Gail listed off as if the fancy spread was nothing more than chicken fingers and fries.

“Nice. I’m starving.” Xander said, rubbing his flat tummy.

“It smells wonderful.” Simone said softly to Gail.

“Thank you, dear. I hope you like it.” Gail smiled at her. “Please, sit. Boys, will you help me set the table?” Gail asked Xander and Jackson.

“Of course, Gail.” Jackson said, first pulling out a chair for Simone at the huge kitchen table.

Ethan plopped down next to Simone and grinned at her devilishly. “So what brings you to Fairbanks?” He asked curiously.

“Her mother’s tribe is here. The Tanana Tribe. She came to meet them for the first time.” Delanie answered for her. “Have you went to see them yet?”

“No, I haven’t. I’m a little nervous and I’ve been a little distracted.” Simone blushed, ducked her head and glanced briefly at the two men pulling out dinnerware and speaking softly with Gail.

“I bet you have.” Delanie giggled.

“Have you dated two men at the same time before?” Ethan asked like it was a normal conversation, like the weather.

“No.” Simone continued to look down, her lap all of a sudden becoming the most interesting thing in the room.

“She was a virgin before she met Xan and Jax!” Delanie burst out and Simone wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

“LANIE!” Gail shouted out the young woman’s name in shock. “You have
got
to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself. That is no one’s business but Simone’s and the boys’. And that is definitely not an appropriate discussion to have at the dinner table. That goes for you too, Ethan. Now apologize to Simone for your rudeness.” Gail scolded at a chagrined Delanie.

“Sorry, Simone.” Delanie apologized.

“It’s okay.” Simone said, barely above a whisper.

“So…what do you do, Simone?” Frank asked, deflecting the awkward situation.

“I just graduated from nursing school. And I have a job at a doctor’s office in Seattle when I get back.” Simone said before realizing her mistake.

“So you’re not staying?” Gail asked, stopping in the middle of placing a platter on the table.

“Um…I…” Simone stammered.

“She’s only been here a week, mom. We kinda took her by surprise. And that would be a big move, so she has to take some time to decide.” Xander came to her defense across the room as he grabbed some silverware.

“Hmm…well, I guess that’s true. Well, I hope you decide to stay. I’ve never seen these two so happy before.” Gail smiled lovingly at Xander and Jackson as they walked up to the table with the rest of the food.