Destiny Calls by Samantha Wayland (best books to read for knowledge .txt) 📕

At least she felt safe. Stupid. But safe.

She jumped when Patrick wrapped himself around her back, his arms banding around them both.

So damn safe.

Leaning back, she ignored the press of Patrick"s chest to her shoulder blades and looked up into Brandon"s bright green eyes. They were filled with compassion.

Wisdom. She remembered how Ethel used to say he was an old soul. Destiny could see it sometimes too.

“Will you come home with us?” he asked, watching her carefully.

“I can"t, Bran.” As much as she wanted to.

“Would you have come to stay with us at Ethel"s if this had happened and we weren"t all sleeping together?”

She had to think about that for a moment. Then she had to be honest. “Yes.”

“Why?” Brandon asked.

“Because you"re my best friends.”

“Do you trust us?” he asked gently.

“Of course I do.” More or less.

Brandon only continued to look at her, lifting one brow. She should have known he would be difficult and make her talk about this shit. He"d missed his calling as a shrink.

She sighed, resigned to explaining what Brandon already knew. Though, maybe Patrick would do well with a reminder. “Okay, I don"t trust the idiot behind me not to fuck up everything with all his romantic bullshit about love and forever and—” Brandon cut her off. “Let"s not talk about forever. Or happily ever after, or whatever crazy shit he was going on about.”

Patrick shifted behind her and she knew he was battling to keep his mouth shut.

She shared a little smile with Brandon. Irritating Patrick was always a favorite past time and today she couldn"t think of anything she wanted to do more.

“We"re still your friends, Des. Still just Brandon and Patrick.” JustBrandon and Patrick? It was laughable that he seemed to think they were harmless.

“And when one of us is in trouble, we turn to each other, right?” Brandon continued.

She shrugged. When she didn"t say anything, Brandon frowned.

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Samantha Wayland

Damn it. She couldn"t deny Brandon. She hated the hurt look as it stole across his face.

“Fine. Yes. Always,” she conceded.

Brandon"s expression immediately cleared and he nodded, as if something had been decided. “Right. Always, including now.”

She grimaced, knowing where he was going and determined to stop him. “Things are different now.”

Brandon slipped his hands from between her back and Patrick"s belly. “Yes, they are. Now I can hardly draw a breath without wanting to touch you. Wanting to be touched by one of you.”

She gasped, heat and need roaring through her body when Brandon clutched Patrick"s hips, chasing him up against her ass more firmly. All three of their bodies rocked together, reminding her of what she could be sharing with them instead of another long night alone.

She shook her head, trying to keep it clear. It wasn"t easy. Her exhausted body cried out for them.

Freaking Brandon. He could talk a nun out of her habit and that was if she didn"t know how well he kissed, how incredible he tasted, how his hips could…

Damn.

It cost her dearly, but she pushed against Brandon, moving away from them both, leaving their soothing warmth.

They stayed where they were, looking at her with alarm.

“I"ll come home with you,” she offered, watching how they both sagged with relief.

“For now,” she added.

They glanced at each other quickly and she could guess what they were thinking.

“And,” she continued, stepping back when they reached for her at the same time,

“we aren"t sleeping together.”

Patrick looked disappointed, as she"d expected, but Brandon just laughed. She held her ground when he trailed a finger down her cheek.

“You can sleep anywhere you want, Destiny, but I"ll be curled up in that nice big warm bed with Patrick.”

The look Patrick sent Brandon was so hot it should have lit his hair on fire. Then Patrick turned those damn laser-beam blues on her.

She told herself to be resolute, even as her body begged her to relent. God, she wanted to relent.

Another stroke of Brandon"s finger brought her attention back to him. “Come on, Des. What could be better? What has ever been better? Three friends, one bed. It wasn"t a crazy idea, it was a great one.”

She remembered how mind-boggling great it had been, damn it.

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She just didn"t know if she had the guts to try it again. No amount of incredible sex was worth risking what little family she had.

Patrick drove his truck, fighting off the tension that had been riding him for hours, his eyes focused on Destiny"s BMW in front of him, carrying the two people he loved most in the world.

Jesus, he"d dodged a bullet.

Actually, it was more like Brandon had shoved his stupid ass out of the line of fire.

He"d never have been able to talk Destiny down from the ledge and back into their arms.

Every day he was getting a keener appreciation for Brandon"s talented mouth. In so many ways. In fact, he intended to appreciate the heck out of it as soon as they got home.

He started drifting into the next lane and shook his head, struggling to focus on something that would allow him to drive at the same time.

Brandon had said the right things to Destiny, soothing her while still being honest.

Listening to him, Patrick had felt more hope, more conviction than ever before that the three of them could work.

Best friends. Trust. One bed.

How did Destiny not know that was the perfect recipe for a happy marriage?

He sighed. How would she know? Her idiot parents had done an outstanding head job on her. She was scared and he couldn"t blame her. Then his big mouth had sent her running.

Happily ever after. He didn"t know when he"d started wanting it. Or why. But as soon as he had, he"d thought of Destiny even while acknowledging he had not one clue how he was going to get past her defenses.

Turned out his best weapon for that was Brandon.

It was hard to believe that a month ago he"d never kissed his best friend. Never spent more than a passing drunken moment wondering about it. Patrick"s