Page 23 of Nailing Studs

“So you’re saying you wouldn't mind? If I dated you and Taylor at the same time?”

“I’m saying we see what happens. Hell, maybe once you really get to know us, you won’t want to spend time with either of us,” he continued. “The thing is, no pressure. We want to make your house beautiful again. We do our thing, you do your thing, and we all get to be friends, no matter what happens. Is that cool with you?”

Well, when he put it that way… I nodded, trying to figure out how I would handle having two men I liked hanging around all the time. On one hand, pure heaven. On the other…pure torture. What if I wanted them both?

I gave myself a mental shake. There was no what if—I wanted them both, and I knew it. And not just to date at the same time, with the intention of eventually choosing one of them.

I must have looked like my brain was going to explode because Dom reached out and covered my hand with his. “I know you have more questions, but let’s wait until tomorrow to talk? That way Taylor can share his thoughts, too.”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. How, though? How do three people have a conversation about their mutual attraction without feeling conflicted?

We arrived back at the house and Dom walked me up the porch steps. At the door, he leaned against the wall, looking mighty fine…and like a load had been lifted off his shoulders. Calmer. More at peace. Part of me wanted to invite him inside and start this getting-to-know-you thing right away, but my mind was reeling.

“Thank you so much for lunch,” I said. “The food was great, and I loved the diner.”

“My pleasure.” He tapped the wall and pointed at me. “Noon tomorrow?”

“Sounds good.”

He reached out and cupped my face in his hands. His fingers were rough and hot, and I closed my eyes to savor the feeling. I waited with bated breath, wondering if he was going to kiss me, hoping he was going to kiss me. Instead, he rested his forehead against mine. I 0pened my eyes and stared into his, and as seconds went by, neither one of us moving, I swear I could feel our hearts beating in time. Just as it had with him at the diner, time seemed to slow, and my knees went weak as I breathed in his scent.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, and in that moment, I felt we shared an intimacy that transcended any physical experience I’d ever had with another man.

“Dom,” I whispered.

He moved his thumb, grazing my bottom lip, then pulling it down a little, encouraging me to flick out my tongue to taste him. He closed his eyes, ground his forehead gently against mine, then stepped back.

“I already told you I want you, Kayla. Don’t ever think otherwise. But I’ve just thrown a lot at you. And tomorrow…well…you’re going to understand exactly how much I want you. And how much Taylor does, too. Before anything happens, before I take even your mouth, I want there to be total honesty between us. Because once I taste you, I’m not going to be able to stop. Do you understand?”

I took a shaky breath and actually reached out to place a steadying hand on my front door. “I understand,” I whispered.

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After he drove off, I stepped inside and closed the door, then collapsed against the front door, not stopping until I was sitting on the floor.

What in the world was I getting myself into?

* * *

That night, when I was finally able to move again, I put my clothes in drawers and settled a few of my items from the NYC apartment into Tabitha’s house. As I did so, my brain moved a million miles a minute. Dominic had said they both were attracted to me. They both wanted to spend time with me. That tomorrow I was going to find out just how much he and Taylor wanted me.

He suggested I could date them both at once. But since then, I started to wonder if he meant I could have them both. To date. To fuck. Individually and maybe even together.

And God, if that was what he meant, could I do it?

It was one thing to fantasize about it but another to go through with it.

Really, it just seemed way too good to be true.

Which is why, on my second glass of wine, I began to wonder if the whole reason they were offering to fix up my house was so I’d feel obligated to fuck both of them. Did they think they could buy my body that way? But then I really thought about it and almost burst out laughing. I was being ridiculous. Neither Taylor nor Dom had to buy any woman. Women probably threw themselves at them 24/7. And besides, the bid they’d given me to restore the house had been six figures. What men in their right minds would consider spending that kind of cash for the honor of having sex with me? None.

The Tabitha side of my brain agreed, screaming, Oh, quit ninnying, Kayla. Taylor and Dom can want to date you and help you fix up the house at the same time. How many women you know get attention thrown at them from two very different hot guys? Go and enjoy yourself, silly.

It was Tabitha’s voice in my head that finally settled me. We would talk about everything tomorrow, just as Dom had said. Until then, I would try to put aside my fear and trust what Dom and Taylor had shown me thus far. That they were good men. Attractive, charming, complex, good men who wanted to help me. And wanted me.

Period.

* * *