Page 44 of Beyond the Rules
I stared at Tanner in disbelief. “Zarbakes?”
“Zar bakes all the time,” Tanner said, leading me out of the pantry and to the breakfast table, where said Zar was long gone, but a basket of warm muffins and a fresh cup of tea awaited, along withAiden.
The muffins were delicious and the tea helped me balance my emotions. Aiden and Tanner sat with me through breakfast, nursing their coffees, framed by the spectacular views of the canyon. Tanner did most of the talking. Aiden smiled, nodded, and watched me with caramel eyes that missed nothing. When I was done, he placed a tabletbeforeme.
“What’s this?”Isaid.
“For you,” it was allhesaid.
The tablet was on, so I scrolled down the screen to see my favorite news outlets, blogs, e-books and online magazines, updated to the day. Even my favorite tunes, podcasts, video games, movies and TV shows, stuff that I usually streamed on my laptop, had been downloaded to the tablet. I checked the settings. Okay, so it had been disabled for Wi-Fi. I had no way to surf the net, but Aiden had worked hard to give me a dose of my dailyfixes.
I got up, wrapped my arms around his big, wide shoulders and gave him a heart-felt hug. “Thank you.” My eyes shifted from the tablet, to the pantry, and back to the guys. “Foreverything.”
The tears reclaiming my eyes had both men leaping out of their chairs. You’d think a fire alarm had sounded in the house. I’d never been much of a crier, but after Daniel’s death and my stint in prison, something had broken inside of me. Tears came easy and often, as if the walls that kept my emotions in check had cracked under thestrain.
“How about we show you the shop now?” Tannersuggested.
The shop was an expansive building within walking distance of the house.Fire Forged, the sign over the door announced. What a fantastic name for their very unique brand. The men’s furnishings had a very distinct point of view, modern lines combined with rustic, rugged character, built from reclaimed materials. Tanner was the master carpenter, Aiden was the leather craftsman, and Zar was the shop’s welder and metallurgist. Judging by their works in progress, their collaborations produced extraordinarycreations.
“One more thing,” Tanner said, when we finished the tour. “This isyourspot.”
My spot. I savored that. I sat down before the shop’s ancient desktop and went at it. I played by the rules, since I’d been warned that my keystrokes were being recorded. The system needed updating and I had Aiden download a competent accounting program, but other than that, piece of cake. I’d never had a job outside of hacking, but I soon discovered that I really enjoyed my part-time gig at the shop. I woke up each day eager to gotowork.
The next few days passed quickly. My hands and ankle healed completely. Not being in the hunt was the one regret that clouded my stay, but I was never lonely or bored. From the moment I woke up, one of the guys was with me at all times. It seemed casual, but I knew it was organized anddeliberate.
The men rotated in and out between the bunker and the shop. My time in the bunker was limited, but I could code like a maniac and I managed to impress the guys with the tools I custom-built to optimize their online hunt. In the bunker or at the shop, I loved watching them work. They were as intense about their craft work as they were about everything else. All of them were sexy as hell when they went into their craftsmen mode. Although I was only fucking Tanner, my pussy was always like “wow, look at him,” pining for allofthem.
My connection with Tanner was strong. The sex was hot and I had trouble keeping my hands off his cock during regular working hours. My connection with Aiden was growing. He was gentle and quiet, always there, watching me, alert in a way that anticipated my thoughts, attentive but neverintrusive.
Every evening, after I went to sleep, he retrieved my tablet from my room. Every morning, when I woke up, the tablet was on my bedside table, fully updated. Sometimes, there was a gift with the tablet, my favorite truffles, top-of-the-line headphones, and even a brand new pair of custom computer glasses with anti-glare coating. He was totally techy sweet and generous to a fault. He reminded me of a huge, vast ocean, deep, roiling, and mysterious, quiet but ever-present.
Sometimes, after dinner, Tanner, Aiden, and I sat around the fire pit and watched the stars. When it got too cold, we retreated to the game room and watched movies, played videogames, or hung out. Aiden was as fierce a gamer as I was, and Tanner was almost as good. I found that I didn’t miss my laptop as much as I thought I would. I discovered I liked the guys’ company, very much so. Plus, I felt safe here, sheltered from the brutal world I hadescaped.
As to my connection with Zar, it was pretty much non-existent. He wasn’t around much. He never had time to talk to me and pretty much addressed me only in monosyllables. He spent long hours in the bunker. He also went to town every day. I suspected a woman, or maybe women in general, but when I asked Tanner, he wasnohelp.
On my eleventh day at the house, I woke up in Tanner’s bed, ready to start the dayright.
“Nope,” he said, when I reached for his erection, already tenting the sheets. “You’re gonna have to go out there and find anothervolunteer.”
“But why?” I protested, pouting. “You’re right here, readytogo.”
“Someone around here has to take the higher road and, regrettably, it appears that someone’s gonnabeme.”
I cocked my eyebrows at him. “What are you talkingabout?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed there’s three guys who live in this house. Of those, only one is getting laid. The other two are walking around with a severe case of blue balls. Not for anything, but it’s getting stuffyinhere.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “I’ll admit to some heavy vibes in the house, but I’m right here. Anyone interested just has to knock onmydoor.”
“Really?” Tanner’s mischievous eyebrows climbed to the top of his forehead. “Have younotnoticed that you’re not in your bedroom but rather in mine? You need to give them a chance. Zar thinks you hate him and Aiden, well, who knows what the hell Aiden’sthinking.”
“I don’t hate Zar.” I plopped back onto my pillow with a sigh. “I’m just…a little leery of him. He can be so grouchy. It’s like he wants to boss me around allthetime.”
“Zar’s hard to get. He’s type A and he doesn’t trust anyone. His ex-wife is…” Tanner crossed his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and clawed a hand in the air. “A certifiablebitch.”
“Do tell.” I lifted up on my elbows and rested my chin on my hand, unable to resist the chance to snoop. “And don’t give me the old line about asking Zar. He doesn’t strike me as the spill your guts type, so dish it out,Vazquez.”
Tanner must have decided I had a good point. “Laura’s a terror,” he said. “She tries to bleed him dry all the time and demands lots of money to keep up her socialstatus.”