Zach stopped his pacing and waited until Graham met his gaze. “If she eventhinksno, then it ends there.”
Graham nodded. “Just wait and see. Give her a little time to mull over the idea. What do we have to lose? You want her. I want her. We only have a few days to make it happen. If we can’t tie her to us, she walks away forever. I didn’t figure you’d let that happen without a fight, and ...” Graham paused meaningfully. “I’m not willing to let it happen either.”
Zach eyed his friend, amazed that he’d given voice to his feelings about a woman. It had only taken a fucking apocalypse. Zach’s thoughts went back to Ro. “She looked so ... fragile or something … when she told us what went down before.”
Graham inclined his head. “She didn’t look fragile when she devised and executed her escape, did she? And she sure wasn’t fragile when she grabbed a backpack and left Chicago by herself.” Graham paused. “That girl is gutsy as hell and willing to take a risk. Why shouldn’t she take a risk with us?”
Zach exhaled a long breath. “I still think you’re an asshole for the way you set this up. Just know that the second she says no, which could be as soon as we walk back in that door, I’m backing off.”
“Agreed. Now, this is what I’m thinking …”
Ro clenched and unclenched her fists while she replayed the conversation in her head. Each time, it seemed like the roar of the blood in her ears got louder and her heart pounded harder. Her initial stunned silence had given way to anger at Graham’s highhanded declaration. And then to curiosity. And then to arousal. Apparently Graham and Zach were her one-way ticket on the crazy train.
Zach had promised to come back within the hour. Ro couldn’t begin to imagine what she’d be feeling in an hour. At this point, she put fifty-fifty odds on homicidal or horny.
She grabbed the pillow on the end of the couch and hugged it. How the hell was a girl supposed to respond to something like that? Total meltdown? Hunger strike? Striptease? Her mind raced with the possibilities. She had options. Hell, she had ataser. She could suck it up and mount another escape attempt. Except the scariest thought running through Ro’s head was that she didn’t want to run from this. She sort of ... wanted to reach out and grab it with both hands. Or she could tell them both to fuck off. It would work. She was confident they’d back off. And then they could refuse to provide the escort Graham had promised.
Dammit. She wanted to smack that “I dare you” look off Graham’s face. Cocky asshole. She glanced toward Graham’s bedroom. Memories of last night—before she’d had her mini breakdown over Zach’s comment—came rushing back. She’d been drowning in the heat from Graham’s kiss. Graham had claimed to be up front about what they wanted. Was that what this was? Their declaration of intent? Way to score perfect tens on the shock factor, Conan. He had to be expecting her to balk. Ro thought she’d made it pretty damn obvious that she wasn’t down with taking orders from anyone. Exhibit A: her escape attempt this morning. She couldn’t really call his bluff, because she didn’t think he was bluffing. But she could turn the tables on them—make her own demands. She’d been branded a slut in her past life for something she hadn’t done. Why not earn that scarlet letter now? Everything was different. She had nothing to lose. And maybe a hell of an experience to gain ...
Graham. Zach. One hundred percent focused on her. Naked. Ro shivered at the thought. And it wasn’t a shiver of disgust.
“I have terms.” Zach pulled up short as he and Graham entered the cabin. Graham grunted as he rammed into Zach’s back. Zach had considered whether they’d need to wear protective cups to confront her. Based on the no-nonsense tone of her voice, he might not have been far off.
“Terms?” Zach responded, glancing to Graham, who’d taken a seat on the couch next to Rowan. Brave man.
“I don’t do well with being told what to do. Call it a personality quirk.”
“Rowan,” Graham started, but Ro cut him off.
“You had your say. Now it’s my turn.” She shot them both a silencing stare, before muttering to herself, “I can’t believe I’m really going to do this.”
Graham quirked an eyebrow, and Zach barely restrained his own grin.
“This is how it’s going to go down, boys. You called it earlier: I’m in no shape to travel at the moment. I get it, and I see the wisdom in waiting. But I need you both to promise that whenIsay I’m well enough to travel, youwillget me home.”
Graham started to speak, but Ro’s gaze hardened, and she continued, “I think what we’re about to do requires a hell of a lot of trust, and if you can’t trust me to know when I’m fit to travel, we have a serious problem.”
Zach and Graham both nodded, albeit Graham more reluctantly.
“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’ll let you make that call. Within reason. If either of us thinks that you’re putting on show to get out of here faster, we will call you on it,” Graham said.
“Then I guess you’ll just have to give me a reason not to want to get out of here faster,” Ro countered.
“Done,” Zach said. “You tell us when and where, and we’ll—”
She took a deep breath, as if digging up her courage, and interrupted him. “Here. Now.”
She glanced at him and then to Graham and seemed to lose a little of her newfound bravado. “But I have to admit, I am completely out of my depth here. Should we … um ... flip a coin to see who ... um ... goes first?”
Zach couldn’t hold back a chuckle at her hesitant, yet practical, suggestion.
“Not necessary.” He pushed off the wall and rounded the table to stand in front of Rowan. Bracing one hand on the arm of the sofa, he leaned down, invading her personal space. Her pupils dilated and her breathing accelerated. “I get first dibs on fucking that smart little mouth of yours.”
Holy shit. This was really happening.
Ro could feel her mouth drop open, liable to catch flies, at Zach’s blunt declaration. She’d pegged him as the beta in this triad, but she was wrong. He was just as much of an alpha as Graham.
Zach caught her chin in one hand. “Just like that, doll.” He slid his thumb across her bottom lip, and she couldn’t stop her tongue from darting out to lick it. Zach slid the digit in her mouth.