Whispered Words

Chapter Eight

Xavier flinched as his mother put her hands over his shoulder and concentrated. The heat in her palms tingled and burned for a minute.

“Stop being such a baby.” She kissed his cheek and finally removed her hands.

He rotated his shoulder and sighed with relief. His mother did excellent work.

She handed him a handheld mirror, and he looked at the smooth skin. Not even a scar.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Sure, honey.” She paused and looked again at Josh’s leg. His brother lay on the table next to him. Movement outside the room indicated business during the night. At his look, she shrugged.

“Flu epidemic. Good thing you had your shots, hmm?”

“Good thing I had them forced on me, you mean.” Xavier grinned to take the sting from his words. His mother was hell with a needle.

“I liked your girlfriend.”

He and Josh exchanged a glance. They’d been waiting for this.

“And?”

“And what? She’s clearly attractive. Seems in good health, though she’s a bit small for a Cannon.” She studied them both and slyly grinned. “I suppose she fits you two well enough.”

“Mom.” He couldn’t hide the flush creeping over his cheeks. Neither could Josh.

The evil woman laughed. “I’m sure your father is grilling her as we speak. He took her home.”

“She can’t go home. There’s a problem—”

Before Xavier could jump off the exam table, his mother put her hand on his chest and shoved his sweater in his face. “She’s fine. He took her back to your house. We know all about her secret admirer. You told Sam, and of course he told us.”

“Oh, right.” Xavier felt stupid.

“Way to go, braintrust. Now you look pathetic and lovesick.” Josh’s humor didn’t make him feel any better.

“At least I didn’t let myself get stabbed by an old man and his cronies.”

“Asshole.”

“Boys.” Their mother sighed and turned her attention to Josh. She settled her hands over his leg and worked her magic. “I have patients to see. Amanda’s down with a cold, so I’m it for medical unless the folks out there want a hospital. So if you’re done needing me, and you’re finished telepathically sniping at one another, get your butts home.” She took her hands away. “Josh, I did a lot of surface work.

You’re still going to be stiff and sore for a few days, so take it easy.” She moved to the door but stopped before she left. “You two want my advice?

Slow down with Chloe. Give her some time to fall in love with you. Because if she’s not there already, she will be. Who couldn’t love my boys?” Then she smiled at them and left.

Xavier turned to Josh. “She has a point.”

“That she does.” They walked together outside, Xavier helping Josh.

While they’d been seen to, their brothers Kyle and Justin had retrieved their truck from the mountain and had left it out front with a big You Owe Us taped to the inner windshield.

“Idiots,” Xavier muttered with a grin. His younger brothers got into more trouble than he and Josh ever had. Hell, the only one of his siblings who could do no wrong in his parents’ eyes was May, their kiss-ass younger sister. Which made him ask, “What’s with May, anyway?”

“Who knows? I think she’s up in Canada helping a friend of hers with something.”

“A girl friend, or a guy friend?” Xavier asked, more protective of her than the others were.

“Hopefully a guy. I’d hate to think of our sister as perpetually dateless. And I’m pretty sure she’s not a lesbian, so a guy would be more her speed.”

“Jesus, Josh. You’re a nut, you know that?”

Josh’s laugh turned into a grimace as he climbed into the truck.

“If you’d have waited a minute, I’d have helped you.”

“I’m good.”

“I can see that.” Xavier made sure to let the sarcasm seep through his words.

“Come on. Drive. We have a woman to woo.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to give her too much time to rethink what she sees in us.”

“Good point.” Josh scowled. “But make sure you drive the speed limit. The roads aren’t that safe, Xavier.”

“Control freak.”

“Yeah, but we’re still alive, aren’t we?”

Xavier had to give him that one.

They made it home in record time, keeping to the speed limit, since hardly anyone was on the road at two in the morning.

After letting themselves inside and resetting the house alarm, they relaxed, feeling so boneless and tired, their thoughts merged and settled into one voice.

“Let’s get to bed.”

“I am so tired.”

“And my leg hurts.”

“How about a shower?”

The buzz of thoughts swirled between them, and neither could say who had conceptualized which idea. Crabby and tired and aching, they showered. Josh went first. Then Xavier forced himself to clean up.

He exited the shower with a towel around his waist and found Josh snuggled up next to Chloe in his huge bed.

Xavier didn’t care that Chloe had taken Josh’s bed, but he knew his brother would make a big deal of it come the morning. Smiling to himself, he studied the pair, contentment and a surprising warmth creeping over his soul. The two were more than people he loved.

For so long he’d thought of himself as half, a mirror of Josh. No matter how hard he and Josh worked, how much pleasure he received from helping others while doing his job, something remained out of reach.

Seeing Chloe, he knew what he’d missed. The other part of his heart.

He joined them in bed, falling in love all over again when she murmured his name and reached out to him in sleep.

She snuggled into his arms, and when she moved, Josh muttered under his breath and plastered himself to her back.

Xavier could feel her against Josh’s front, and his brother felt her curves brushing Xavier’s chest. Three people joined as one. If not in body, then in mind and heart. Or so he hoped. Chloe seemed like a woman on the verge of love. She’d been so afraid when Josh had passed out. Xavier chose to view her upset as a good sign.

Now they just had to figure out the details of a life together. But not before he and Josh reminded Chloe where she belonged. That thought in mind, Xavier drifted into sleep.

Josh woke with the notion of seducing Chloe, an idea Xavier had planted before falling asleep. Not that Josh needed added incentive. He leaned closer to Chloe and inhaled. The scent of his citrusy soap lingered in her soft hair.

Everything about her was soft, though he knew she’d hate to hear that. Her skin, her hair, the lashes on her eyes. Even that soft pelt between her legs. He loved the thin strip that led to his favorite spot in the world.

That pussy called to him. He kept seeing her in his mind’s eye, an image he’d been dreaming about—her belly round while she tried to gather an unruly set of twin toddlers to her side and he and Xavier laughed with her as they gathered up their small family. The image of Chloe pregnant with their child, a third child to follow twins, filled him with joy. It meant he had a possible future he’d always wanted, not just with any woman but with Chloe.

He should have known Karen would never work. But he’d been so lonely, so unfulfilled. He’d thought if he had something serious with a woman, his cravings for normalcy would go away. He still felt guilty he’d pulled apart from Xavier. His brother had never tried to be anything but himself. Yet Josh had tried to be normal when it was crystal clear he wasn’t.

Karen hadn’t wanted anything to do with Xavier. And the whole psychic thing had only convinced her he was someone to be avoided. A freak with issues. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, but he could no longer avoid the notion she’d been with him for his money. The Cannon name stood out in the circles around town.

His parents gave generously to charities, hospitals, and the library. And between his and Xavier’s investments, they didn’t worry about going out on jobs all the time. They could pick and choose their assignments—or rather, pick and choose the work their father or Kyle handed them.

The love inside him threatened to burst. Chloe and Xavier and him. Together.

The perfect unit. Forever.

He ignored that last dangerous hurdle they had to deal with and let himself concentrate on now. Chloe would always need him, and she had to know it. Had to feel how much they loved her. He knew of an easy way to show her, a pleasurable way to tie her to them.

“Bro, wake up.”

The psychic prod didn’t move his brother, so he pinched his arm.

“What?”

“Shh. Don’t wake her yet.”

Xavier yawned and opened a blurry eye. His gaze fell on Chloe, and the warmth in his smile reflected in Josh’s heart. “God, I love her. Really love her.” Xavier looked at him. “You feel it too. All of us together, right?” The vulnerability there made Josh literally hurt. He gripped his brother’s arm.

“I’m so sorry about Karen. I know it’s always been us, Xavier. Us and Chloe.” Xavier let out a relieved breath. “It’s about damn time.”

“Yeah. Now that I’m no longer the hardhead, we need to figure out how to get Chloe to accept us. I think she’s close, but she’s not there yet.”

“We’ll give her as much time as she needs, but I don’t think it’ll be too hard.” Xavier blinked at him. “She was out of her mind worried when you passed out. I’d call you some more names about being weak, a pussy, half a man, but it helped her see how much you mean to her.”

“I’m glad you’re not going to call me any names.” Josh snorted. “So let’s wake up our bossy princess.”

“You hear what they called her on the mountain?”

“Little bit?” Josh laughed silently. “She didn’t like that much, could you tell?”

“Tinker Bell. Now that fits.”

Josh grinned. “Good to have a little ammo. I know things with Chloe won’t always be easy, but brother, they’re going to be so good for us.” His smile dimmed.

“We just need to take care of that stalker situation at her house. She can’t go anywhere without us for a while.”

“She won’t like that.” Xavier frowned. “But she’ll have to get over it. We need to fix that. But now we need to fix this.” Xavier looked down at himself, and Josh felt the same. Aroused and needing Chloe. “How about this time, I get her ass?”

“Oh yeah. She’s so tight.”

“All over. Her pussy gets so hot.”

Their remembrances of Chloe turned them both on to the point they needed relief far sooner than they should have. While Xavier took the lube and condom from Josh’s nightstand, Josh went to work on waking Chloe to a brand-new day. His way.

He gently rolled her onto her back and stroked her satiny skin. With a light touch, he caressed her from her cheeks, down her neck, and over her shoulders. He let his fingers slide over her chest, coming to rest on the hardening tips of her nipples.

The succulent buds tightened under his fingers, and he drew his fingertips over the full globes that never failed to mesmerize him. Then downward, over her taut stomach. His Chloe worked out, and it showed. A slender line delineated the muscles of her stomach, and he traced her ribs until she shivered.

“Wh-what?”

“Shh. Just touching you, honey.” Absorbed in her, he didn’t look up but continued to trail his fingers lower. Swirling his path over her hip bones, her waist, and back to the center of her core. He petted the hair over her pubic bone. Gratified by her soft moan and the way she parted her thighs, he continued.

He felt Xavier touch her lips, sensed the kiss making his woman hotter.

Smiling, he continued his erotic exploration, his touch so light it felt as if he touched silk and air and woman all at once.

Her legs were firm, her thighs tight. She quivered when he grazed her labia, but he didn’t move any closer to the ripe bud between her thighs. Her clit looked slick, and his mouth watered. But he didn’t stop. He touched her knees, her calves, her dainty feet. Her toenails needed paint, a bright pink or a red to emphasize her femininity.

Being so close to her, he was aware of how small she really was, how easy it would be to dominate her. Despite her feisty nature, he and Xavier could easily overwhelm her.

That she would put up a fight if he tried aroused him to no end.

He didn’t want or need a weak woman. He wanted someone strong enough to handle him, and Chloe had already proven herself in so many ways.

“Please. You two are torturing me.” She moaned and tilted her hips, seeking what he intended to give her.

“What do you want, Chloe?” Xavier asked, his voice husky.

“I want both of you. Inside me.”

“Where inside you?” he asked, and Josh saw that his brother had already donned the condom and lube. Which left her pussy and mouth to him.

His mouth watered. “Come here, Chloe. I need you to suck my cock.” He sat up with his legs spread, his dick rock hard.

She didn’t hesitate as she rolled onto her hands and knees and took him to the back of her throat in one smooth move.

“Shit.” He felt her laughter around him and brushed her hair back from her cheeks. “Oh yeah. I want to see those pretty lips wrapped around me. That’s so fucking hot. Yeah, baby, suck me. Good girl.”

She moaned and started when Xavier knelt behind her on the bed and palmed her ass. “That’s right. A good girl deserves a treat, doesn’t she?” Josh dragged his hands through her hair, content to sit there forever. “She does, bro. Her mouth is heaven.”

“So is her ass.” Xavier grunted and groaned, and Josh felt his brother’s finger slide slowly into her ass. The warmth around his digit made him want to thrust deep and come. “Slow down, Josh. Please. I want to come inside her, not in the damn condom.”

Josh barely managed to hold on. He pulled Chloe off him and swallowed hard.

“Hold on, honey. Just a minute.”

Xavier shifted behind her, and then he pushed forward.

“Damn.” Chloe shuddered and bent her head, her hair falling like a silken waterfall that tickled Josh’s thighs. The feel of those strands sliding over his cock and balls was a torture all its own.

She moaned. “Xavier, you feel huge.”

“Chloe, I am huge,” he said with a laugh that quickly turned into a groan. “I want to fuck you so hard. Jesus. You’re tight.” Josh couldn’t wait, not when he felt Xavier pulling out and pushing in. His brother rocked in and out of her, slower thrusts that grew faster and harder as their arousal climbed.

“I need you, Chloe. Take me.” Josh moved to his knees and drew Chloe upward, her ass no longer up in the air while his brother fucked it.

“Yes,” she hissed and took him in her mouth again.

He tilted his head back and gave himself up to her touch. Just as Xavier came hard, he reached between her legs and pushed on her clit. She groaned and shook, her orgasm sucking Josh’s seed when she tightened her lips over him and blew his mind.

“Fuck. Chloe,” Josh shouted as he emptied inside her, loving the feel of her lips and tongue over him.

The sight of them joined once more stole his breath, and he slowly withdrew and lay down, his heart racing, his breath coming fast. Perfection, no doubt about it.

He’d do whatever it took to keep this woman and keep her safe. And if she didn’t like it, too damn bad.

Chloe couldn’t catch her breath. Once more, the Cannon brothers had made her lose her mind. Could a woman really have an orgasm every time? In her experience, no. Then again, this was new. Newness would eventually wear off. Yet she’d never felt this intensity of attraction before. She looked at them. Twins. Both of them appealed to her on every level. Their looks, their size, their strength. She couldn’t deny their intelligence and their psychic ability tied into hers.

She’d made the decision to keep them when she’d seen them both being tended to by their mother. They clearly loved their family, and the warm affection flowing among the Cannons cinched her desire to be a part of that.

Hell, their parents could be world-class assholes and I’d still want them. But it made her wonder, how did their parents feel about her? Racially diverse, short, and not good enough for their sons, probably. Hell, they even knew she worked for the PWP. Sure, their dad had seemed to like her well enough. His type respected strength. And though Chloe had odd looks, she considered herself fairly attractive, if not the Susie-homemaker type. But their mom couldn’t possibly approve of her, not really.

Xavier withdrew, and she sighed.

“Such deep thoughts. Aren’t pretty girls supposed to be empty-headed?”

“Ass.”

“Oh yeah.” He palmed her cheeks, and she flushed. “Only thing better than fucking you is fucking you bare. That way I feel every little squeeze of that ass before I come inside it. But the condom’s cleaner.” He left the bed, and Josh pulled her close.

“Stop worrying, honey. Let’s face a few facts. We love you. You love us. And we’re going to live happily ever after.”

She blinked down at him, trying not to let his deep, dark eyes mesmerize her.

“Pretty simple.”

He shrugged but didn’t look away from her. “I’m a simple guy. I have few needs. A hot woman to take care of, a brother to do my laundry, and cable so I can watch the games.”

“Take care of?” She raised a brow, not pleased with the way he’d worded that.

But by the smirk on his face, he knew it.

“If I’d said, ‘woman to take care of me,’ you’d have been all over my ass.”

“True.”

“And I need a break before I can get hard again. But then I’m coming inside you. Unless you wanted to swallow me some more, ’cause baby, I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

She bit his lower lip and laughed when he flinched. “You’re a tease, you know that?”

“I try.”

Xavier rejoined them. “If he’s bothering you, we can tie him up and take turns shooting him.” At her questioning look, he explained, “Paintball in the backyard.

Makes for good target practice, and it’s fun.”

“And colorful,” Josh added with a grin. “Or we can use live rounds when Xavier annoys you. Because he will, no doubt.”

Chloe lost her smile as she stared at these two men who’d come to mean the world to her. In just a few short days, her entire life felt like it had changed.

“Chloe?” Xavier lay down next to them and stroked her back.

Josh shifted her so that she lay half on him and half on Xavier.

“My half of the blanket,” Xavier said with a smile. “Now tell us what’s wrong.”

“This is too soon,” she blurted, aware of all the things that could happen to take this new happiness away. She’d be better off not to get so invested. Advice that came too little, too late.

“It’s not, though, is it?” Josh asked softly. “It’s been building for—”

“—sixteen years,” Xavier finished, his eyes smiling.

“But I didn’t know you guys then. This is new,” she ended, her excuse more than lame. Hell, she felt the same way they did, and the smiling bastards knew it.

“Yes, I love you both. And I don’t know why. And if your smiles grow any larger, they’ll split your faces wide open,” she grumbled.

Josh laughed. Xavier didn’t, but she could tell he wanted to. God, she loved them both so much.

“But what does this mean, really? Yeah, I feel it, tied to you, in love with you.

But day-to-day? Where do we go from here?”

Their hands moved in tandem over her back, and she wondered if they were aware of it. Probably not. Both of them seemed so in tune with each other—and her—right now. One person, yet not. And she knew that no matter how much alike they were, they would always be two sides of the same coin. Not the same side of the coin but different sides.

“We go wherever you want to go,” they said at the same time and laughed at each other.

Josh continued. “Chloe, we want a life with you. Marriage, kids, everything.”

“But my work is dangerous.”

Xavier snorted. “Yeah, all that personal training at the gym is scary.” She frowned, and he laughed.

“I’m teasing. Look, what we do is dangerous too. Are you asking us to quit our job?”

“No, why would I?” The thought hadn’t occurred to her.

“Then why should we ask you to quit yours?” Xavier shrugged. “If you like what you do, we’re fine with it.”

She swallowed hard. This couldn’t be that easy, could it? “You mean that?

You’re not just saying that to sucker me in?”

“In to what? Our devious death trap?” Josh asked. “Honey, you forget.

Anything that’s out to harm you comes to me first. And then Xavier will warn you.

We’re a unit. Sometimes we’ll be apart, because grown people do that.” The patronizing tone of his voice set her on edge, no doubt as he’d intended. It should have been strange that he knew her so well, yet it wasn’t.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know you two for so long, but now it’s like we’ve always been together.”

“Welcome to my world,” Xavier said and crossed his eyes at his brother.

She sighed, so happy yet afraid to reach out and grab it. “Marriage? Kids? I don’t know if I’m ready for all that.”

“You will be.” Josh’s eyes twinkled. He looked smug, and she knew he’d had glimpses of their future.

“Josh, be nice.” Xavier nudged his shoulder.

“I will if she will.” Josh dared her to argue.

“You’re an ass, you know that?” But she couldn’t keep the affection from her voice. She rubbed his nose with hers and accepted his kiss.

“But I’m your ass.” He squeezed her right butt cheek. “I’m not as sexy as this, but I try.”

Xavier huffed. “Your humor is juvenile at best.”

“Oh. Big word, bro. Still trying to impress the little lady? Maybe if you had moves like mine, you wouldn’t need to pretend you’re a human thesaurus.”

“I’m surprised you know what that is.”

“Hey, I’ve used one before.” He grinned up at Chloe. “To prop up a table with a bad leg.”

Chloe laughed at the pair of them. “So we’re going to try to make this work. At my pace,” she warned.

They nodded in tandem.

“Oh man. What am I getting myself into?”