Lucy made a soft whimper as she stood on the balcony overlooking the living room. She was out of sight of the kitchen but not out of earshot.

“Lucy? Is that you, dear? Come down for breakfast,” Elijah said, moving into sight in the living room.

“Yeah, I’ll be right down,” she squeaked. Thoughts reeled through her mind, not the least of which was the fact that the brothers wanted to “mate” with her. Whatever that meant. She had a feeling it had something to do with sex.

Her core slickened at the thought, the images from last night in the tub flashing through her mind. She panted, her pulse buzzing in her veins. She had to calm down. Whatever they were talking about was probably completely innocent. How did she even know they were referring to her? They could have been talking about anything. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions, or she might embarrass herself.

Taking deep, cleansing breaths, she stepped slowly down the stairs and turned into the kitchen. By the time she entered it, the smell of coffee made her forget she’d been worried in the first place.

Elijah passed her a steaming mug, ready with cream and sugar. She took a whiff and sipped carefully. It was prepared perfectly, and she could feel all the tension and worry she’d been holding in her body melting away with each sip.

“Thanks,” she said, sitting down at the island. Elijah slid a slice of French toast onto a plate, dusted it with powdered sugar, and pushed it toward her along with a jar of maple syrup. “Yum,” she groaned. “You spoil me.”

“It’s my pleasure to spoil you,” he said, looking her deep in the eyes. She took a sharp breath, getting his meaning. Her body gushed for him. Crap. She was so screwed. What kind of girl got all hot and horny in a weird situation like this?

She tore her gaze away and looked down at her plate. The French toast smelled like a dream and tasted even better. Elijah was an amazing chef. She’d let him bite her just for his cooking if she knew what he meant by biting.

Maybe the brothers were just into kinky sex. Could she do kinky sex with these two? She looked from Elijah to Caleb, who was drinking his coffee as he stood in the doorway to the patio, looking at the forest beyond.

She swallowed her bite of French toast. She had to admit to herself that she could indeed have kinky sex with these two men. If they didn’t scare the hell out of her before she got the chance.

After she finished eating and drinking her coffee, Caleb strode toward her and put his mug down on the table. “Come with me,” he said abruptly, taking her hand.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m going to show you our property. You’ll like it.”

“Okay,” she said, glancing back at Elijah. He smiled at her, showing perfectly straight white teeth. He gave her a little wave.

“Have fun,” Elijah said.

Caleb led her outside through the patio door. Anxiety gripped her throat. Caleb was more abrupt and demanding than his gentler brother Elijah. What did he plan to do with her outside Elijah’s sight?

“Come,” he said, leading her down the stairs and the stone pathway she’d only seen in the darkness the night before. In the daylight, their property was as gorgeous as the inside of the house.

A large shop sat off to the side of the house, and on the other side, a garden sprawled toward a meadow surrounded by forest. Caleb’s grip was tight but not biting. His skin against hers felt as comforting and warm as Elijah’s had been as he guided her through the forest the night before.

They passed through a wooden gate. “This is the garden,” he said simply. She nodded. Neatly lined rows of vegetables, melons, herbs, and berries grew in the almost half acre of land.

“Elijah and I both tend the garden. See over there, those are raspberries.” He led her farther down the path to a trellis, where berry vines grew up along twining mesh tacked between posts.

Caleb knelt and looked at the little white flowers until he came to several nodes bearing fruit. He plucked the berries so gently that it made Lucy’s breath catch in her chest. He grasped her hand and unfurled her fingers to drop the little red berries into her palm.

She popped them into her mouth. They were still warm from the sunshine and sweet as morning rain. She closed her eyes and smiled, taking in the vibrant taste of aliveness as the berries burst inside her mouth.

“Mmm. So good. They don’t taste like that in the store.”

“No, they don’t,” he said, still holding her hand in his. “There are a great many things that are better fresh from nature.” His eyes shone down on her with an inner fire that ignited her core.

“I believe you. That’s why I came out here yesterday. Speaking of which, I need to get back to my car. Could you or Elijah give me a ride?”

“No.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at Caleb as he crossed his arms defensively.

“What’s this?” Elijah’s voice called over the still garden. A chicken clucked underfoot as he walked toward them.