If anyone had told him when he’d woken up at dawn that he’d be ending the day naked and cuddling with Claire McKinley, Dylan would have accused them of smoking too much crack. But here he was, lying in bed with Claire’s warm body nestled beside him.
On sheets that smelled like Aidan.
Fuck.
As he breathed in that familiar citrus scent, he battled a spark of guilt, then ordered himself to snuff it out. He refused to feel guilty. Aidan had known exactly what would happen when he’d barricaded the two of them in this bedroom. He’d even left them protection, for chrissake.
But although the guilt faded, it was replaced by a tremor of distress and a pang of longing. Aidan should be here too, damn it, and his absence brought an ache to Dylan’s heart.
“You don’t still think I’m a gold-digger who hates homemakers, do you?” Claire’s quiet voice broke the silence.
He had to smile. “No. Do you still think I’m a selfish manwhore who couldn’t be bothered to help his mother through her gambling addiction?”
“No,” she said softly.
“Good.”
He stroked her bare shoulder for a second, then reached up to rub his forehead. Just saying those words—gambling addiction—had reignited his anger and confusion. He couldn’t believe Chris and their mom had been keeping such a monumental secret from him. They’d almost lost their family home, for f**k’s sake. Why the hell wasn’t he told?
“I should call her,” he said absently. Then he thought better of it. “No, I should fly home and talk to her in person.”
“Your mom?”
“Yeah. I want to hear all this from her. I want her to explain to me why she and Chris felt compelled to lie to me for more than a year.”
“I really do think she was trying to protect you. You’re her favorite, and I bet she was scared of disappointing you. I mean, you should hear the way Shanna talks about you. She’s insanely proud of every little thing you do, and she acts like the sun rises and sets for you. That woman adores you.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I know, but that’s no excuse for lying to me about something so important.”
“I’m sure everything will make more sense once you sit down and talk to her,” Claire assured him. “Just don’t go in ready to attack. Coming clean about the addiction was difficult for her.”
She should have come clean to me.
He bit back the juvenile response. Claire was right. His mom had tried to shield him from the darkness, the way she always did.
“Okay, I’ll reserve judgment until I hear what she has to say.”
“Well, that was easy,” Claire said with a laugh. “Are you always so quick to see reason?”
“Hey, I’m a reasonable guy. Aidan’s the pigheaded one who needs a lot of convincing.”
The thought of Aidan evoked another rush of distress. He drew in a deep breath, only to inhale a lungful of Claire’s lavender scent. Damn, she smelled good. Felt good too, pressed up against him like this.
But it was wrong.
This was wrong.
“You okay?” she murmured. “You tensed up all of a sudden.”
Misery crawled up his spine. “Shit. Claire. I think this was a mistake.”
It was her turn to tense up. “What are you talking about?”
“Us sleeping together. It was a mistake.”
The sheets rustled as she sat up. Her ponytail was a mess, most of her hair falling out of it, and she yanked the elastic off as she stared at him with hurt in her eyes. “I thought you wanted it.”
“I did. I wanted it badly.” He paused. “But we can’t do it again.”
Her mouth tightened. “I see.”
He sat up too, a weary sigh slipping out. “What happened between us just now…it was amazing. No, more than amazing. Probably some of the best sex of my life. But I can’t let it happen again.”
“Why? Because of Chris?” She ran a frazzled hand through her tousled auburn hair in an attempt to smooth it out.
“No, because of Aidan.”
She was quiet for a moment. “Because he wants me too,” she finally said.
Dylan wasn’t surprised she’d picked up on that—Aidan didn’t exactly take a subtle approach when he was attracted to someone.
“Yeah, he does.”
“Are you worried he’ll be upset that you and I hooked up? You don’t want me to be stuck in the middle between you two?”
A laugh burst out of his chest. “The exact opposite, actually.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means I want you to be in the middle.”
Several seconds ticked by before understanding dawned in her brown eyes, which widened in a flash. “You mean…you want me…and you…and…”
“Aidan,” he supplied.
“You want me to sleep with both of you? At the same time?”
Her red cheeks revealed her embarrassment, but Dylan also didn’t miss the brief flash of interest in her eyes.
Shit, she was intrigued by it. She was honest-to-God intrigued.
Unfortunately, Claire’s next words stuck a pin in the balloon of hope floating around in his chest.
“That’s insane,” she sputtered. “I’m not…I can’t…that’s not an option, Dylan.” She shook her head in dismay. “Do you guys do that often? Have sex with the same woman?”