A Hard Choice for Hanna [Hardwick Bay 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  “I think you should be recruiting for skill, not sex,” Hanna said wryly.

  “Hey, it’s just for fun,” Kent said. “Honestly. No one on our team is super competitive. We’re all there just to play and have a good time. And we do need more women.”

  “With all the ménage relationships among our friends, we’re a bit guy-heavy right now. There’s a minimum number of women that have to be on each team,” Carter added.

  “I’ll think about it. I haven’t played in a really long time,” Hanna stalled.

  “Lisa’s playing and so is Cailynn, and we really want Karen to play, too.” Carter was pulling out all the stops to get her to commit to the team. “Our sister Jen might play if she’s around when the games are.”

  “I need to think about it. Please.” Hanna needed a bit of space to think about whether she wanted to commit to a summer of ball. What if they didn’t work out? Then she would be stuck seeing them all summer. That would suck.

  “Okay, but don’t expect us to give up.” Kent put an end to the ball discussion. “How about dessert?”

  Hanna groaned. “No way. I ate all of that huge plate of food and I’ll barely be able to walk now.”

  “Well, I need some of Owen’s pie.” Carter flagged the waitress down.

  Both men ordered pie and insisted she have a bit of each. She felt a little funny allowing them to feed her in the diner, but she didn’t think anyone noticed. She had to admit, in the end, she had a good time with the men. The three of them seemed to almost click somehow. Hanna wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or worried about that.

  Carter and Kent insisted on paying, which Hanna wasn’t really thrilled about but couldn’t get around the two. They all exited the diner into the cool May night. She was surprised at how long they had spent eating and talking. The men walked her to her car, one on each side.

  As they arrived at her little Cavalier, Kent wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing her up against his body. He nuzzled gently at her neck, breathing deeply. Hanna shuddered, loving the feel of his warm breath on her skin. He trailed his nose up to her cheek and then moved his lips over hers. Hanna moaned a little at the contact of his mouth. He gently kissed her, exploring her lips slowly, allowing her to savor the moment. He still tasted of pie and coffee, the sugary bitterness still on his tongue as he thrust it into her mouth. His tongue explored the cavern of her mouth slowly for a moment then withdrew. They were both breathing heavily when he stopped.

  Carter had somehow slid behind her. When Kent pulled back, Carter turned her to him and threaded his fingers into her hair. He controlled her head as Kent pressed her body against Carter’s. Carter took her lips firmly, exploring them expertly then coaxing her to open for him. His tongue thrust eagerly between her lips, wrapping around hers and winning the battle for dominance in her mouth. Carter withdrew only after she had gone limp against him and moaned her surrender.

  Hanna felt a little dizzy as they untwined themselves from her. She was so far gone, Kent wound up taking her keys out of her hand and opening up the car for her. Carter eased her into the seat and lifted an eyebrow at her as Kent handed her the keys.

  “You gonna make it home?” he asked.

  “I think I’ll manage,” Hanna responded drily. After all, she could see straight now.

  “Drive safe and we’ll see you soon, Hanna,” Kent said as he shut her door and the two men stepped back to allow her to start the car and head home.

  * * * *

  Kent got in the truck with Carter thinking about their dinner with Hanna. She attracted him in ways no other woman had. He and Carter had done their fair share of dating and sex, but none of the women they had seen had captivated him the way Hanna did.

  He loved the way she was able to reconsider her opinions or judgments faced with new information. Like the way she responded to his report on Carolyn. She had listened to him and he could tell she was readjusting her thoughts. He wondered what she might have said if the waitress hadn’t come along. He knew she was intelligent. Lisa had told them how she managed the clinic more or less. At the party, they also discovered she was funny and kind and had an enthusiasm for life he found immensely attractive.

  He also loved her body. She was fit and healthy, and was nicely proportioned. She didn’t dress to show off her body, and he bet if he and Carter could get her into slightly tighter clothes, the rest of the world could see how gorgeous she was. Hmm, on second thought, maybe he’d keep her sexiness to himself.

  “Kent.” Carter was shouting at him.

  “What? Why are you yelling?” he asked.

  “Because you’ve been off in a daydream and not listening to a word I’ve said.” There was more than a hint of exasperation in Carter’s voice.

  “Sorry.”

  Carter gave him a wry smile. “Well, at least I know what you’ve been thinking about. Make that who.”

  “Can’t help it. I like her a lot. I think she’s the one, and I want her to see it, too.” There was quiet determination in Kent’s voice.

  “I agree. I’ve told you that. I don’t see why we shouldn’t pursue her more aggressively. What do you think we should do next?”

  Take her to bed, thought Kent. Instead he said, “Not sure. Have to think on that.”

  “Guess we’ll see what we come up with in the morning.”

  “Yeah.”

  When they got back to the house they shared, Kent headed to his bedroom. It had a bathroom attached and as soon as he was in the bedroom he started shucking his clothes, heading to the shower. He had a hell of a hard-on and wanted some relief. He would have preferred Hanna, but that wasn’t likely to happen any time soon, so a shower fantasy would have to do.

  He stepped into the warm spray and let it soak his muscled body. He soaped his hands and took his substantial cock in his right hand as he leaned against the tile with his left. He began pumping and envisioning Hanna on her knees in front of him. Her sweet body would glisten with the spray from the shower, nipples erect, legs parted. He could almost smell the fresh, slightly floral scent of her hair.

  “Let me taste you,” she would say, licking her lips. “Please.”

  “Go ahead, sexy,” he rasped in response.

  She would put her lips around him and twirl her tongue around the head. He tugged harder on his cock in response to the feel of her fantasy lips. He could see the water cascading over her body, wetting her hair. She would moan around his erection and her tongue would massage the underside of his dick. His hand worked faster, tightening around the tip, which began to tingle as his orgasm approached.

  He envisioned Hanna pulling her lips from his penis and offering up her breasts to him. “Come on me,” she would say.

  He grabbed his balls in an attempt to slow the burgeoning explosion, to no avail. He was just too damn aroused to last. The tip of his cock tingled with pleasure as he shot semen over the walls of the shower, thinking of how lovely Hanna’s breasts would look covered in his seed. He groaned as the last tremors of orgasm ended and wondered how long it would be until he and Carter had Hanna between them.

  Chapter 4

  Hanna loaded the last of the bags of compost into her little car. She had also purchased a bunch of annuals to plant in her gardens. They were full of perennial plants as well, but she liked to add some of the annuals to supplement the sparse areas. Before leaving she thanked the teenager at the garden center for helping her with the heavy stuff.

  It was too early to put the little plants in the ground, but they would be safe from any late frosts under the awning by her back patio. She had already ordered her vegetable seeds online and was also starting to get the plants she was growing indoors used to being outside.

  She planned to spend her Sunday adding compost to the beds. It was the perfect day to be outdoors—sunny but still cool enough to know that it was spring and comfortable enough to be working hard.

  Hanna loved her family and was feeling guilty about staying at home instead of seeing her
parents. There was just the three of them—her and her parents. Her grandparents had passed away when she was a young, neither of her parents had siblings, and Hanna was an only child. Her dad always talked about the importance of family, how family always stayed together. The three of them could depend on family, on each other, more than anyone else. Family would always look after their own.

  Her favorite childhood memories centered on things that they had done as a family. She fondly remembered trips skiing where they spent the day on the slopes together and then curled up after a hearty dinner to watch a movie or something on TV. Or day trips to the zoo or the science center where they all had fun exploring together and checking out the displays. Even when she was a teenager and should have been trying to escape her parents, they still enjoyed those day trips.

  Family vacations had been fun as well. There hadn’t been too many of them but she remembered each and every one. They did Disney when she was little and she remembered her mom screaming along with Hanna on the rides. They had rented a cabin at a resort one summer and swam, canoed and hiked until little Hanna could barely stay awake past 8:00 p.m.

  Even her hazy memories of her grandparents were filled with togetherness. She remembered family dinners with one set or the other. She recalled that her dad’s parents liked to play cards and Hanna was allowed to sit on her grandpapa’s knee and play the card he instructed her to. She remembered, too, that both her parents had been devastated as their own parents were lost, one by one.

  After her father’s father died, the last of the grandparents to go, Hanna remembered trying to comfort her dad. She had told him when she grew up she would find a way to make it so the cancer couldn’t get anyone in her family again. Her dad had smiled and said that was a good idea and he was proud of her for wanting to take care of her family. He said that the grandparents had always looked out for the three of them, and that he and her mom would always be there for Hanna and help her as she got older. Hanna promised her dad that she would do the same for the two of them.

  So, she felt a little guilty that she had wimped out on going to church with her mom again. She still hadn’t made it to a service. Last weekend the supervisor at the local veterinary emergency clinic had begged her to come in for a few hours on Sunday. The ER was slammed with patients and one of their techs had called in sick. This Sunday was just too good to waste indoors. How could she not be in her beloved garden on a day like this?

  Hanna pulled up to her tiny garage and began unloading the flowers from her car, putting them under the awning on the back patio. It covered about a third of the bricked space and was over the backdoor. She loved the back patio of the little house. It curved outward from the backdoor all along the back of the house and flowed around the west side. Several mature deciduous trees shaded that side and there was a flower garden along most of the edge. She had patio furniture out there most of the year—a small dining set and several really comfortable lounge chairs. She went around the back garden dropping compost bags strategically around them to be opened later.

  Hanna changed into some clothes suitable for getting really dirty and found her garden gloves. Her cell rang as she was heading outside, but she ignored it, certain it was her mother. She didn’t want to ruin her day with another “discussion” about Hardwick Bay and its immoral occupants.

  The smells of spring in the garden were a balm to her soul. Hanna started at the patio garden and methodically worked her way around the gardens in the back of the property. She mixed the compost into the soil around each perennial, trying to disturb as little of the plant as possible. In the spaces between the plants she thoroughly worked up the ground to mix in the compost. By the time she was finished the gardens behind the house it was lunch and definitely time for a break.

  Hanna headed into the house to wash up a bit and get a bite to eat. As she fixed a sandwich, she checked her messages. There was one from her mom, but there was also one from Carter VanLindt.

  “Hi, Hanna,” it went. “Kent and I have missed you, beautiful. We want to have you over for dinner and a movie tonight. We’ll pick you up around six. Don’t worry about bringing anything, we’ve got it all covered.”

  Hanna wasn’t sure whether to be excited at the prospect of seeing the guys again or ticked off at their presumption she would be ready and willing at six. She could have other plans. Oh wait, who was she kidding? She had a perfectly satisfactory social life, but it’s not like she was out every night of the week. She sighed. Who was she kidding? She knew damn well that she wanted to see the VanLindt men again.

  She ate her sandwich and had a cup of coffee then decided to rest a little before heading back out to do the front gardens. She took her coffee out onto the patio and settled into a comfy lounge chair in the sun. Tink came over and hopped on her lap for a snuggle, taking a break from chasing mice. She relaxed as she looked over the backyard and envisioned what it would look like as the summer went on. She thought about where she would put some of the annuals she bought. After a few more minutes of daydreaming, Hanna took out her Kindle and read for another hour or so in the sunshine, sipping at her coffee. After her rest, she attacked the front gardens, mixing compost into all the beds.

  As she was thinking of calling an end to the day, she heard the crunch of gravel in her driveway. She looked up to see Kent and Carter’s truck rolling up the lane. Oh crap, she groaned to herself. She had totally lost track of time and was filthy, dirty, sweaty, and probably stinky, most definitely not ready to head out to dinner with the men.

  She stood up and headed over to the truck. “Sorry, I completely lost track of time,” she apologized.

  * * * *

  Carter looked at Hanna and smiled to himself. She had a big smudge of dirt on her cheek, her hair was wild and sticking up all over the place, and her clothes were grimy. She was beautiful. When she had stood up, he caught the expression of complete happiness on her face. It was wiped away as she saw the truck, replaced with one of surprise, then embarrassment.

  “The gardens are really coming along. Losing track of time was obviously worth it,” he said with a grin as he and Kent got out of the truck. “I bet you’ve done a hell of a lot of work today.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been out here all day pretty much,” she replied. She grimaced and said, “It will take me a while to get cleaned up. I’m sorry I’m late. I can just head over to your place in a bit.”

  “I’ve got a better idea,” said Carter as inspiration hit. “Why don’t we help you put your tools away, then grab a bathing suit and change of clothes and have a nice soak in our hot tub? I bet that would feel really good after a hard day’s work.”

  Hanna looked at him intently. He was hoping she would succumb to the temptation of hot water and jets. Kent had already gone over and started to pick up her shovel and other tools.

  “I’m not sure. I feel a little funny about it, but it really is tempting,” she finally said.

  “Come on,” Kent’s deep voice contributed to the conversation as he strolled over with her garden tools. “You can soak and relax with a glass of wine before we put dinner on.”

  Hanna still hesitated for a few moments. “Okay, but I’m still going to shower here first, otherwise I’ll leave a big disgusting dirt ring around the tub.”

  Carter figured that was a pretty good compromise, and the best he was going to get at this point. “Great, you do that while we put the tools away. Where do you want them?”

  “In the shed. There are racks on the left wall to hang them,” she instructed as they walked toward the house. “Thanks for helping me tidy up.”

  “We’d help more if you want,” Kent said suggestively, a little grin on his face.

  Hanna shot him a surprised look. “Ha ha,” she said drily, narrowing her eyes a bit. “I think I’m plenty old enough to shower by myself.”

  She headed into the house and Carter and Kent continued on to the shed. Carter was surprised that Kent was so flirtatious with Hanna. He was usually so quiet, but
Carter sensed some of his reticence around women was easing. Carter figured Kent knew both of them wanted Hanna. They decided they were going to continue to pursue her until she either gave in or convinced them that she wasn’t going to go for a relationship with the two men. He snorted to himself. Like he was going to let the latter happen.

  The two men racked the few tools Hanna had been using in silence. They wandered back to the house slowly, admiring the gardens and patio. When they got to the house, Kent paused.

  “I think we should wait out here,” he said.

  “Really? You don’t want to go in the house? I sure as hell do.” Carter was surprised.

  “I do, but I don’t think Hanna would be thrilled if she came out of the bathroom to find us waiting to ogle her,” he replied slowly.

  Carter considered this for a moment. Unfortunately, thinking about Hanna in the shower didn’t do his already hard cock any favors, but he figured Kent was right. If they wanted her to be comfortable enough to use the hot tub, she would need to trust that they wouldn’t be barging into her space. He flopped into one of the deck chairs. “I guess we wait here then. Not that this is too much of a sacrifice.”

  Kent sat as well, taking the chair beside him. They both had worked around their place all day, too, and it was nice to be quiet and absorb the surroundings. There was a bit of sun on the patio where they were sitting. From their vantage points they could see the larger flower gardens in the back, neatly worked up and weed free, as well as the large patch of earth that would be the vegetable garden. Hanna had feeders up in a few spots and various little birds came and went as they sat in silence. Carter wished he knew what some of them were.

  A little gray cat approached them. It leapt up on Carter’s chair and crawled onto his lap. He kept still as it sniffed him. It butted its head against his chin and started to purr. He gave it a little pat. Apparently satisfied, it leapt over to Kent and gave him the same treatment.