Because some woman had damaged him. She was pretty sure it was his ex-wife, but she hadn't pried.
"Boyfriend?" Didn't they just want to sleep with her tonight?
"I'll be a good boyfriend, but I'll want a lot of sex," Tate said. "The average person has it one hundred three times a year, which is one point nine eight times per week. That's not enough."
"But we don't have to work that out tonight," Eric insisted, glaring at Tate. "Let us take you to bed and show you all the affection and pleasure we can offer you. We'll satisfy you so completely that you won't want to walk away tomorrow."
Belle heard the speech, but it didn't make any sense. "I don't think the question is whether I'll walk away. Isn't that what you usually do the morning after?"
Eric looked stunned. "You think this is just a fuck for us?"
Wasn't it? "I don't know. You tell me."
"We want a relationship." Tate's expression was so earnest, it stunned Annabelle. "The average male is age-"
"No numbers," Kell cut in. "You agreed."
Tate clapped his mouth shut for a moment, then apparently decided he had something else to say. "This is more than sex for me. Way more."
"Exactly," Eric added.
Amazing. She looked at Kell expectantly. If he didn't think he'd be much of a boyfriend, where did he stand on this relationship business?
"You're a remarkable woman," he murmured. "There's no way I could use and discard you."
"I don't understand." They'd kept their distance for over a year. "What changed?"
"In some ways, everything," Eric said. "But in other ways, nothing at all. We don't want to let you go, Belle. We've always wanted you, but what would you have done if we'd asked you out your first day at the office? Or the second? Or even a month after you'd come to work for us?"
She winced. Okay, so she'd been a bit scared of them in the beginning. After the way her last boss had treated her, who could blame her? The thought of working for three big, gorgeous men had terrified her. After they'd offered her the job, she'd thought of turning them down, but she'd desperately needed the income. She had been living paycheck to paycheck. Her mom didn't have extra funds to help her get back on her feet, and Belle refused to be a burden.
"I might have been a little … intimidated at first."
"A little? You wore turtlenecks in August." Tate's face softened. "We all knew you were scared of us, so we did our best to make you feel comfortable. We fell into a pattern of keeping our distance. You should know I wanted to offer you my penis the minute I saw you."
"Tate!" Eric barked at him.
She heard Kellan sigh, but Tate's ridiculous honesty broke the tension. Belle laughed at the mental image those words painted and relaxed into him, leaning on his big body for strength. She imagined Tate wrapping a red bow on his penis and gifting it to her like most men would a dozen roses. She giggled even more.
He bent and curled his thick arms around her tentatively, like he was terrified she would balk. He wasn't lying. The rapid beat of his heart gave his feelings away. This big, gorgeous, unbelievably gifted man wanted her. As he urged her against his body, he nestled close to her in a sweet hug, and she felt every inch of what he planned on offering her brush against her stomach.
Whoa. That was not some small penis. Tate was built on big lines-everywhere.
"I would miss you so much if you left, Belle. I understand you want a career that makes you happier, but please don't leave altogether." He sighed as if a profound worry had just settled on his shoulders.
Belle clutched him both to give him comfort and for her own strength. Despite his facts and percentages and sometimes slightly abrasive nature, he had a big heart. "I don't want to leave you guys. And you're right that I would have run. I was more afraid of my previous boss than I let on. I joke about it now, but he was aggressive."
"We sat down that week you first came to work for us and talked about your skittishness," Eric admitted. "We were all interested in you, but suspected that something or someone had you spooked. On top of that, we worried our lifestyle would be difficult to explain. You wouldn't be the first woman who didn't get it."
She couldn't imagine anyone turning them down. "You can't possibly have a problem finding dates."
Tate shook his head. "Dates, no. Relationships, absolutely. Most women don't want to deal with three men. You would think it's the demanding sex that would give them pause. But no. It's often the laundry. Accordingly, I began doing my own."
"You're determined to be an idiot, aren't you?" Kellan asked, shaking his head.