Romancing My Love(39)

He thanked the driver, gave him a hundred-dollar tip, and then rapped on the door. When Jake didn’t answer, he let himself in. One thing he could always count on with Jake—if he was home, his door was open. Jake was thirty-four years old, but he lived like he was running a co-ed dormitory. A trail of wet footprints led from the marble foyer across the hardwood floors in the living room and out the French doors.

Pierce set his bags down and followed the footprints to the pool in the backyard. Through the years, he and Jake had had more good times than he could count—usually beginning with meeting Jake’s buddies for a beer, or hitting an after-party once filming wrapped for one of Jake’s projects, and ending with both of them wondering what the names of the women were who’d accompanied them the evening before. Now it turned Pierce’s stomach thinking of how many faceless women he’d made out with. Even after just a couple of weeks with Rebecca, he knew he’d never go back to that lifestyle—hell, he knew after a night with Rebecca that she was the only woman he wanted.

He heard Jake’s voice before he spotted him among the harem of bikini bodies standing by the covered bar at the opposite end of the pool. Jake’s hair was a shade lighter than Pierce’s and their other siblings, but he shared the same dark Braden eyes as the rest of them. He had a perpetual tan and a body built for his stuntman career: solid muscle and ready to take a beating, as proven by the multitude of razor-thin scars that etched their way into his torso, arms, and legs. He’d somehow avoided facial scars, except for one particular scar that rode the boundary of his hairline. That particular scar came from a wrestling match with Pierce when they were teens.

Three blond, buxom women turned as Pierce approached. He had to hand it to Jake. He’d always loved big-breasted women. The blondes had large breasts that were too perfectly perky and round to be natural, small waists, slim hips, and a look in their overly done eyes that practically screamed of sex. They were triplets, Pierce realized. Hello, Ready, Willing, and Able.

“Who is this, Jake?” One of them asked as she raked her eyes down Pierce’s Armani suit. In his mind, Pierce named this woman Ready.

“Pierce. Bro, what are you doing here?” Jake came around the bar and embraced him.

“I had a meeting in town. I should have called.”

Ready was the tallest of the blondes. She looped her arm into Pierce’s. “So…You’re Jake’s brother?”

“Mm. I see the family resemblance,” said the blonde with the longest hair—whom Pierce aptly named Willing because of the way she arched her chest toward him when she spoke.

“Yeah, we’re brothers.” Pierce peeled Ready’s arm from his. “Jake, I was hoping we could catch dinner.”

“I’ve got dinner for you.” The third blonde, whom Pierce had named Able, wiggled her shoulders at Pierce.

How did I ever find women like this attractive?

“Man, you’re just in time. We’re going to a party in about thirty minutes.” Jake narrowed his eyes. “You want a drink to loosen up that stress? You look like you’re carrying the world on your shoulders. Girls, help him out of that jacket, will ya?”

“Our pleasure.” Able grabbed his collar and slid his jacket off. “Oh, this is nice. Armani.” It rolled off her tongue like spun gold.

Ready loosened his tie. “We’ll loosen you up.”

“I’ve got it, thank you.” Pierce stepped away from their hungry fingers and loosened his tie.

“So, party, then?” Jake handed him a drink.

A party was the last place he wanted to go. He’d like for the next twenty-four hours to pass as quickly as possible so he could get back to Rebecca.

“Actually, I’m beat. I’ll hang out here, if you don’t mind. I’ll catch you when you get back.” Pierce gulped down his drink and set the glass on the bar.

“Bro. Really? We just wrapped filming the last in the Trojan series. Everyone’s going to be there.” Jake draped an arm around Able and Willing. “And I’ve got an extra woman for your arm.”

Ready giggled and pressed her body against Pierce’s side.

Pierce peeled Ready’s hands from his chest again. “Nice, Jake, but actually, things on that front have changed.”

“Whoa? You’ve gone gay on me?” Jake laughed.

“Hardly. I’ve gone monogamous.” He watched his brother’s smile fade and his eyes narrow.

“Monogamous. What the hell is happening back there in Trusty? You guys are dropping like flies. I’m not sure I should come home next weekend for Luke’s party.”

Willing ran her finger along the waistband of Jake’s low-riding jeans. “Monogamy is no fun. Right, girls?”

The other girls Mm-hmed in agreement.

“I wasn’t in Trusty. I was in Reno.” Pierce grabbed his jacket from where Able had set it on the bar.

“Girls, give us a minute, will you?” Jake watched them walk to the far end of the pool before joining Pierce at the bar. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I thought I’d see if we could catch dinner.”

“Not that. What’s up with the monogamy shit?” Jake glanced back at the girls and shook his head. “Pierce, look at them. How can you turn that down?”

“Jake, you do realize that you’re only a few years away from forty, right? Don’t you ever want to have a real life? A family?” Pierce laughed at the words coming from his mouth. “Listen to me. Shit, give me that drink.” He took Jake’s drink from his hand and gulped it down.

“No shit. A real life? Man, I have more women than I could ever want. What more is there?” Jake glanced back again. Able blew him a kiss.

Pierce slapped his brother on the back. “I never thought I’d be the one saying it, but, Jake, there’s a hell of a lot more than tits and ass out there waiting for you.”

Jake squinted at him, moved in close and searched his eyes, then drew back. “Well, you’re not high. What the fuck? Am I being punked?” He made a show of looking from side to side.

Pierce shrugged, unable to repress his smile as he thought about Rebecca. “I met a woman and she changed everything. Rebecca Rivera.” Rebecca. He shifted his eyes to the blondes. Rebecca was ten times as pretty as they were, and he didn’t need to interview the blondes to know she was ten times as smart as all three of them combined.

“I bet a night with the triplets could change that.” Jake raised his brows with a mischievous grin.

“No, thanks.” He turned his back to the girls. “I know what you’re thinking. The same thing I was thinking when Wes and Luke each said they were in love. Not me. Never me.”

“Shit. It’s not even a consideration. You can do what you please, but life is too sweet right now to change a damn thing.” Jake shook his head. “But I will skip the party so we can hang out.”

“No. You don’t need to do that. Go. Have fun. I’ll be here when you get back. We can catch up then.”

Jake pushed from the bar. “No chance in hell. Family first. Just give me a minute.”

Two hours later, they were eating dinner at the Palm, an exclusive restaurant that catered to the stars. Jake loved nothing more than flashy lights and starstruck women. While Pierce enjoyed fine meals and used to enjoy the company of racy women, he didn’t need the fanfare.

“Jake.” Brad Parlor, an A-list actor recently named Sexiest Man Alive by The Stars magazine, opened his arms as Jake rose to greet him. “How’s it going, man? I heard you were wrapping up Trojan. That’s gonna be a blockbuster.”

“Thanks, Brad. I’m slated to work on your movie next month.” Jake touched Pierce’s shoulder. “You know my brother, Pierce. He’s in for the night.”

Pierce rose and shook Brad’s hand. “Good to see you again.”

“I was down in Texas last week, hit your casino and lost a few grand.” Brad flashed the smile that won women over worldwide.

“Sorry, man, but hey, thanks.” Pierce sat back down while Jake talked to Brad and then greeted two brunettes with hugs and promises to call.

Until tonight, Jake’s lifestyle hadn’t seemed like it was lacking a damn thing. Pierce watched his handsome and charming brother in action while he longed to be with Rebecca, and that longing made him realize all that Jake was missing out on. Sex before Rebecca was fun, a great stress reliever at the end of a grueling week. Making love with Rebecca filled his soul with emotions that carried through their intimacy, making it more meaningful, and in doing so, more intense and passionate.

God, he missed her.

Jake was busy with a blonde now, making small talk about the party he’d skipped. Pierce pulled out his cell to text Rebecca. He must have forgotten to turn the ringer on after he got off the airplane, because there was a missed call from her. He turned his ringer on, thinking of how she’d have reminded him to do it if she’d been traveling with him, then dialed her number.

The call went to voicemail, and he left her a quick message. “Hi, babe. Just missed you. Hope your night is going well. I’ll talk to you later.”

Jake settled back into his seat. “Sorry ’bout that. You sure you don’t want to hit the party later?”