Moonlight Menage by Stephanie Julian Page B

won’t wait for me if I’m late.”
    “You know that’s not true.” Duke had been waiting for her for years. So had Nic. They were done waiting. If this worked…
    And if it didn’t…
    A faint smile on her face, Tira walked back to the bed, her hands clenched in fists at her sides. As if to keep herself from touching him. “No, I don’t. Nic…”
    He looked into her eyes and saw tears forming there. He wanted to pull her into his arms and onto the bed next to him, let her body curl against his like a lover’s.
    That bitterness rose up again, quickly followed by determination. Either his plan worked or… Or what? He gave her up?
    He’d never had her.
    He’d never felt those beautiful hands caress his body, wrap around his cock. Never felt the soft silk of her sex surround him as he sank deep into her.
    And by all the fucking gods, he wanted to.
    If this didn’t work, he figured that vision of hers would be coming true soon enough and he wouldn’t be around to know otherwise.
    Forcing a smile for her, he nodded toward the door, not having to feign the weariness creeping through him. “I’ll see you when you get back, sweetheart. I just need to close my eyes for a little while.”
    She nodded, pausing only for a second before walking out. Leaving him alone to contemplate the absolute mess he could be making of things.
    Yeah, his plan could blow up in their faces. But nearly dying yesterday had made him realize they may not have much time left.
    Tira’s vision of his death, the one that kept her out of his arms, out of their arms, was bearing down on him. He swore he could feel his time running out.
    Not just on his life, but with her.
    From the first moment he’d seen her, when she’d been fifteen years old, he’d only ever wanted her to be his.
    At fifteen, she’d been tiny and precious, curious and quietly funny. And still a child. He’d wanted to protect her from everything. He would’ve killed anyone who’d hurt her.
    Sex wasn’t an issue because she was still a child and he was old enough to know better. Even at almost eighteen.
    But he had been old enough to realize that when she grew up, she was his.
    His and Duke’s.
    Though they shared no blood between them—which was a fucking cosmic fluke as far as he was concerned, considering the life their parents had lived—they were brothers.
    Born within months of each other, they’d shared a room in the house their parents had also shared. No, their life hadn’t been ready for mainstream America, but it’d worked for them.
    Until Duke’s dad had died and his mom had taken Duke and—
    Yeah, well, thinking about that just made his head hurt worse than it already did.
    “Nic, can I come in?”
    Tam popped her head around the slightly open door and waited until he nodded before entering the room.
    “Did they leave?”
    Tam nodded as she moved to the bedside and lifted his hand to check his pulse. “Wanna tell me why Tira looks like she’s ready to cry?”
    Nic had never had a sister to confide in or bounce ideas off of. He’d never had a woman in his life who stuck around longer than a few months and none of them had ever made him want to spill his guts.
    In the short time he’d known Tam, he’d discovered her to be surprisingly easy to talk to. He didn’t know if it was the nurse thing or just her personality but he knew whatever he told her wouldn’t leave the room.
    “Because I played on her sympathies so she’d come back to the bunkhouse with Duke and me to take care of us.”
    Tam’s eyes widened in shock as her hand froze in midair on its way to check his other injuries.
    “Huh. That’s almost…amazing.” Her hands began to peel back the covers to uncover his naked body. Her gaze dropped to follow her hands as they pressed and poked. “Are you sure that’s the right way to handle this situation?”
    “She told you everything, right?”
    Tam nodded. “She told me about her vision. And how much she loves you both.”
    “Did