Street. And I'm happier - and healthier."
"Our sister thought there might have been some health issues at the bottom of your complete renaissance."
Renaissance. Trust Peter to find just the right word to describe what he'd been through the last few years.
He said, "Nora always was insightful. To clarify, I wasn't sick, but I was headed in that direction."
"We stopped in on our way back from our honeymoon to visit your parents," Jordan said. "We got to meet Nora and her husband, as well as your brother, Sebastian."
"Paolo is still out in Los Angeles," Peter said. "Still writing screenplays, from all I've heard."
Julian grinned, and man, it felt good to smile. "Funny that the writer in the family never has time to write - or even send an e-mail."
"How did you get the job with the twins?" Jordan shrugged. "There're so many Benedicts, Kendalls, and Jessops around, sometimes we give 'em nicknames."
"You know, I've noticed we do that more with the Benedicts than we do Kendalls," Tracy said. "You've got the twins and their brothers, the triplets. Then their cousins, the geeks."
Jordan laughed. "They've always called Morgan and Henry Flyboys, Adam the law, Jake the legal eagle, and me - wait for it - the stud."
"Referencing the fact you're a contractor, darling."
"True, but there's more of them than there are us."
"That's only because all of your cousins left town."
"True."
Julian felt like a spectator at a tennis match. Peter said, "You'll get used to it." Then he grinned. "So you're here, in Lusty, for now."
"Yeah. After, we'll see. I don't know how to explain it, but in the last year or so I've come to believe that when I find my place, I'll know it."
Peter looked at Jordan, and then Tracy, before he returned his gaze to Julian. "You don't have to explain that at all," he said. "That's something we all three understand quite well."
Chapter 7
When she'd arrived at the ranch that afternoon, Carrie had no idea of the true definition of the word "seduction." How could she have known that it would have so many nuances and facets?
She'd asked them to make love to her. Chase and Brian each kissed her sweetly, and then they took her inside. But they didn't take her to the sofa where they could snuggle and cuddle, or to the bed where they could make love.
They took her, instead, into the kitchen.
The men poured her a glass of wine, and then set about to make a simple dinner. The kitchen featured an indoor grill, and between them they grilled steaks and tossed a salad. They wouldn't let her do a thing except sit, relax, and sip.
Before she could do so, Chase cut a piece from her steak, speared it with his fork, and brought it to her lips. Brian repeated the gesture a few moments later, serving her a second small bite of the beef. The salad she fed herself, but the meat they fed her, and she thought the entire process sexy as hell.
"You didn't eat much, darlin'," Brian said when she refused another bite.
As she'd eaten, as she'd traded heated looks with both Chase and Brian. The embers of her arousal, never cold when she was near them, had begun to smolder and burn. "It's not food I hunger for."
She noticed the heat flare in their eyes, and couldn't help but be aware of their erect cocks pushing against the denim of their jeans.
They wanted her, of that she had no doubts. Yet still, they didn't take her to their bed.
The men tidied the kitchen, setting the dishes into the dishwasher. Then they led her back into the newly refurbished parlor.
She hadn't noticed they'd included a sound system with their furniture selections. Compact and expensive, the device soon filled the room with a sweet, soulful beat.
"I didn't know you liked jazz." She listened to some occasionally herself, though she preferred some rock and a lot of country.
"We've eclectic tastes," Chase said. He grinned at her in that way he had, so that his eyes glittered.
Brian dimmed the lights. The new sofa felt far more comfortable than the old one had been, but she didn't get to enjoy the feel of it for long. Chase scooped her onto his lap, as he often did, so that she faced Brian as he snuggled her close.
Brian pulled her shoes off and dropped them on the floor. He'd gotten awfully good at giving her foot massages. Sometimes, after a hectic day, she made sounds that even to