STORY EXCERPT

More patrons entered the Dancing Pony, taking seats at the tables or at the bar, like Erin. As she sipped her drink she watched the movement in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar, disengaging from her stressful workday at the Refuge.

At first, she paid no mind to the shadowy figure wearing a cowboy hat that had sidled up behind her. But she stilled when she sensed his body heat as he leaned close and the brim of the jet-black felt cowboy hat hid his features. His scent was clean with a hint of leather and hay, and she smiled.

Matthias Martinez. Talk about safe spaces.

He leaned closer, and his warm lips brushed the top of her ear. A sweet shiver zipped down her spine at the contact. His body heat seeped through the fabric of her top, and every hair on her body stood up and vibrated, along with other parts in her southern regions.

“Hey.” She started to turn, about to ask him what he was up to, but he backed away into the shadows and held out his work-callused hand.

“Dance with me?”

Without a trace of hesitation, she slipped from her seat when he pulled it out for her. “I’d love to, Matthias.”

There was never hesitation where Matthias was concerned. He was sweet as honey. The walls never went up with him. But with his brother, Luka? Even the musky scent of that overbearing jerk’s cologne was enough to piss her off without him even opening his mouth[DG1]  while simultaneously turning her on, which just pissed her off even more. Luka always stirred that response, and she'd grown accustomed to it over the last several years. He was a thunderstorm to Matthias's sweet, soothing rain.

A sense of relief swept over her as she slipped her hand into his and allowed him to lead her onto the dimly lit dance floor. A Jason Aldean song started to play, and the opening strains of “Got What I Got” seemed particularly poignant. The remaining traces of her earlier stress slipped away to be replaced by a different kind of tension as he slid his strong arm around her back, tucked her close, and they glided effortlessly into the slow rhythm. The hollow between his shoulder and upper pec was the perfect height to nestle her head in, and after the day she’d had, she didn’t fight the urge.

* * * *

Somehow, Luka Martinez convinced his feet to keep moving. He could barely breathe, let alone speak. He opened his mouth to correct her assumption, but then she cuddled closer, not in a seductive way, rubbing her breasts or hips against him the way he might’ve expected from other dance partners, but merely seeking to be closer.

So, this is what it's like to be Matthias.

People mistook them at first glance for twins all the time, and if he didn’t love his younger brother so much, he’d want to beat him to a pulp. Not that it would change anything. They were just wired differently. A leopard couldn’t change its spots.

Keep telling yourself that, asshole.

When she sighed, her warm breath whispered through the placket of his button-down shirt as Erin melted against him. The hand cupped in his was so small and delicate, and when she squeezed gently as they turned, he squeezed back. Her arm tightened around his lower back, and she sighed again, her shoulders slumping as her tense posture relaxed.

“Bad day?” he whispered, not wanting to ruin her mood completely.

No, you’re just afraid now for her to find out you’re not Matthias. He would know how to make this better. The sensitive pendejo.

She nodded. “But you’re helping to make it better.”

How’s that feel?

He sighed a little to himself. Rarely did he think he’d ever made any of her days better. More exciting? Maybe. Better? Not likely.

“Was work rough?”

She’d recently started a new job, and he felt guilty for not knowing what or where it was. He knew she had a fancy degree. That was it. Matthias probably already knew, so he didn’t ask right then but promised himself he would and soon.

“You could say that. But I was also up late last night into this morning getting my new place ready to move into.”

He sucked at small talk, at least with women, but he cared about what Erin had to say, and he was impersonating Matthias, who certainly would lend a listening ear.

“Want to tell me about it?”

“The Porters’ property management company let me know all the repairs and updates were finally finished on the house and told me their make-ready service had cleaned the place up, but it wasn’t really clean. They vacuumed and mopped, but the bathrooms were not up to my standards, and the windows… I had to re-do all of that last night.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. You know, you could stay where you are—” That sounds too judge-y, and Matthias wouldn't judge. The sweet asshole. She must be dead on her feet. “How about we help you with the moving?”

She shook her head in the negative without lifting it from his shoulder. “I can handle it.”

“I know you can. But you probably need help with the furniture, don’t you? Look at it this way. It’ll give me—I mean us—a chance to make things up to you.”

Doubt was clear in her voice as she said, “You’re not the one who has anything to make up for. It’s probably not a good idea.”

“Why not?” He kept his tone purposely soft. Non-confrontational. She talked to Matthias. Luka wanted her to talk to him more than he wanted his dick stroked. 

“I’m afraid Luka will just hold my needing the help over my head.”

“What if I promised you he wouldn’t?”

ADULT EXCERPT

“Good God, woman,” Luka murmured, sliding his fingers down Erin’s shoulders and over her shoulder blades. “You're...” Looking her over, he let out a long sigh.

 Erin wondered if they heard her heart pounding, rattling against her ribs. Clad only in her lingerie and high-heeled boots, with them staring at her with undisguised hunger, she experienced a certain age-old feminine power. They wanted her desperately, going by the tremendous bulges at their groins, but she was the one in charge.

She popped loose the fastenings on her stockings, unhooked the garter belt and her bra, and let both fall to the floor.

Luka's eyes went from wide open to hooded and sexy as he removed his shirt before he kneeled and leaned in to nuzzle the underside of her right breast. His warm breath tickled, and her tightening nipples felt hard as diamonds. He wrapped his arms around her hips and growled softly as she traced her nails over his shoulders and down his back, raising gooseflesh. Gazing up at her with sensual intent in those light brown eyes of his, he licked her nipple with the tip of his tongue.

The moment was hands-down the most erotic thing she'd ever experienced, and shivers tingled up her spine. The rasp of his stubble against that sensitive skin sent fingers of sensation through all her extremities, landing right between her legs, which were trembling.

Luka looked up at her and murmured, “I don't know what to say. No word seems good enough."

"Luka Martinez speechless? I guess there’s a first time for everything."

Her breath hitched with her soft laughter, catching in her throat as he nuzzled her other breast. He cupped them, glancing at her as if he was worried she'd shy away. The sensation of his warm, callused hands sent sharp rivulets of need through her and her raspy panting echoed in the quiet room until she noticed the music playing at low volume.

While Luka had overloaded her senses, Matthias had turned down the quilt and top sheet, and tuned her bedside radio to a country and western station. “Got What I Got” by Jason Aldean was playing. Her heart lurched, and when she glanced at Luka, she saw his smile. They’d danced to that song at The Dancing Pony. He was certainly a different man, as the lyrics described. The old Luka belonged to the past. She wanted the new, gentle, but still firmly in charge Luka who knelt, awed, before her, wanting her and only her.

Matthias returned to stand next to her, his gaze fixed on her, and he kissed her shoulder, the warm gleam of arousal in his dilated eyes letting her know he was still very much in the moment. He’d removed his shirt, his belt, and boots and socks. His wide, muscular chest and abs drew her touch as he lowered his head to kiss her lips. Her body became languid as he slid his fingers through her hair at her nape, and he cradled her as he took the kiss deeper, his touch gentle and mesmerizing.

Sensation stole her breath away as a warm tongue and lips plied her nipple. Looking down, she realized Luka had shed his boots and was once again kneeling in front of her. His playful gaze twinkled up at her as he sucked her nipple into his mouth while he kneaded the other in a gentle grasp.

"Oh, Luka!"

Matthias nibbled and pressed kisses on her throat. Her breathing came in panting huffs as they overwhelmed her with dual sensations. She couldn’t process them all, and eventually, she stopped trying.

Her pussy grew even wetter as Luka made love to her breasts and Matthias held her in thrall with his kisses. Luka glanced up at her, as if to gauge her reaction so far, and tilted his head to latch onto the other nipple, stealing a gasp from her.

Luka’s only response was a soft growl. The nipple he was lapping and sucking on seemed to have some kind of connection that echoed deep in her belly and made her clit throb with greater urgency. He released it with a wet pop and went back to work on the other one, sending another shard of need and lust through her center. His mouth curved into a smile as he listened to her moan. He knew how his time-honed skills affected her.

Over the years, she’d noticed many people had mistaken Luka and Matthias for twins because of their resemblance. Judging from stories she'd heard, women also took their personalities to be similar enough to be two halves of a whole, which had always struck Erin as unfair to both of them.

Matthias had a gentleness that contrasted with Luka's impulsiveness and his edges. Despite their unique tendencies as Martinez men, she knew Luka was more like his brother than even he admitted to.

Luka wrapped his arms around her, squeezing until his face was buried in her cleavage, and then he growled deep. The utterly male sound drew a sharp gasp from her. His expression changed as he looked up at her. “We want only to make you feel good, mi amor. We can stop if you feel rushed, but you’re so luscious we’re coming to the point of no return. We’ll take good care of you, and there’s no reason to be scared.”

He thought he’d scared her. She smoothed a hand over his cheek and smiled as she reached for the tie at the end of his braid, releasing it and spreading her fingers through his silky, clean-scented hair. She’d always wanted to do that. Be allowed to do that to him. The black waves spread across his back and his shoulders. She reached to cup both of their cheeks. “The only thing that scares me is losing out on this moment with you. I’ve wanted you for so long. I trust you both.”

“Yes,” Luka growled. “Relax and let us take care of you, baby.”