She was trembling from fury. She couldn’t remember ever being so angry. She had shared things with Wicked. He had been her comfort, someone to be at ease with, someone she had thought understood. Pain seared her chest even as she acknowledged the fact that she should have expected it. Had even once suspected it.

“I’ll resign,” she snapped. “I’ll be damned if I’ll continue to work for you any longer.”

Lucian shrugged mockingly. “You’ll be too tired to work anyway, once we’re finished with you, so do what you please.”

Her teeth snapped together as she fought to hold back her screams of outrage.

“I will not be your toy,” she informed him coldly. “Yours or Devril’s.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’ll be much more that that, Tally,” he told her darkly. “Like it or not, the countdown starts now. Enjoy your freedom while you can. I told you, baby, you made a mistake in the office that last day. You gave no quarter, damn you, I better not hear you asking for it.”

“That sounds like a threat.” She fought for imperious calm but was afraid she came across as viperously snide.

“I prefer to see it as a promise,” he told her enigmatically. “But you can take it however you like. We will have you, Tally, eventually.”

“In your dreams.” She was shaking in fury now. Fury and lust. She didn’t know if she wanted to kill him or fuck him.

“Tally?” Terrie called out firmly. “Now.”

Tally’s lip curled insultingly as she stared at Lucian a second longer before she turned and hurried toward Terrie’s voice. She was flushed, furious and just plain tired. Dealing with Terrie now wasn’t something she was looking forward to.

Chapter Seven

Terrie had no emergency. Tally was almost amused when she realized her friend had followed Lucian and Dev, determined to protect her from whatever plans they had. The emergency had been no more than a ruse to get her out of their arms and back into the house so Terrie could assure herself that Tally knew what she was getting into.

She was furious, but a tiny part of her was amazed and in awe that they had managed to fool her so effectively. It had never been done before. This was a first for her. It would be funny if she weren’t so damned mad.

“You can sleep here.” Terrie led her into the guest bedroom nearly an hour later after a less than polite argument on the merits of Tally spending the night.

Tally would have preferred the drive home to staying in a strange bed, but when Terrie got that wounded, hurt look on her face, it was damned near impossible to say no. They had been friends for too long, had been through too much together to let a man destroy that friendship.

“I’ll get you one of my gowns,” Terrie said softly as Tally sat wearily on the bed. “You know where everything else is.”

“Terrie, this really isn’t necessary.” Tally sighed. “I would truly prefer to just drive home.”

“And I would prefer that you stopped hiding from me,” Terrie said in that wounded voice Tally hated so much. “You’ve barely spoken to me in the last few months, Tally.”

“Jesse keeps you pretty busy.” Tally shrugged. “And we’ve done things. We’ve gone out to dinner and drinks.”

Tally stared around the bedroom, avoiding Terrie’s gaze. She didn’t want her friend to know exactly how much she missed the late night chats and periodic sprees to the tattoo artist or piercing salon. Terrie was one of the few friends she had that could appreciate such excursions.

“All very polite and very chilled.” Terrie plopped down on the corner of the bed. “Are you upset over that night with Jesse?”

Tally grinned. Now that had been fun. Seeing Jesse Wyman cuffed to the bed, so horny he was about to explode as she and Terrie tormented him, was a pleasant memory. Knowing it only made him more wary of her made it all the more sweeter. Now there was a man who understood that it just wasn’t wise to tempt her fury.

“No. I’m not upset over that,” she chuckled. “I actually enjoy that deer-in-the-headlights look he gets each time I remind him of it.”

Terrie’s burst of laughter spurred her own.

“Yeah, he’s even more scared of you than he was to start with.” Terrie fell back on the bed, giggling at the thought. “He dares me to even mention it.”

Tally shook her head as she lay back as well, staring up at the ceiling. “That was fun,” she admitted. “It’s even more fun knowing he’s wary now. Perhaps that’s why he refused my request to stop the transfer to Conover’s.” She sighed, admitting she may have shot herself in the foot now.

Terrie breathed out roughly at that. “That wasn’t why.”

Turning her head, Tally watched her questioningly. “Then why?”

Terrie glanced at the door. “You can’t breathe a word that I told you. I don’t think I’m supposed to know.”

Tally rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She waved her hand expressively. “Pinky promise and all that stuff. Now spill.”

“Lucian made it a condition of the merger,” she said softly, as though afraid the walls had ears. “I remember hearing them discuss it one evening before the wedding. Jesse was astonished at the request, until Lucian uhh…” She stifled her laughter.

“What?” Tally could feel her nerves increasing now.

“Well, Lucian informed him quite frankly that if he and Devril didn’t fuck you soon, their dicks were going to rot off from lack of use.” Terrie was fighting to hold back her laughter. “I thought it was hilarious. Then, Jesse made some weird comment about twins and their bonds and they began discussing the merger again. But I sensed an undercurrent there. Lucian isn’t playing, Tally. He intends on sharing you with Devril.”

“Hell.” She stared up at the ceiling again, trying to make sense of why Lucian would go to such lengths to get her in his bed.

“Jesse isn’t telling me much about this,” Terrie told her worriedly. “But I get the impression, Tally, that whatever happens, it won’t be with just one of the brothers. And it won’t be just occasionally, as it is with the others. Jesse makes it sound as though Dev and Lucian will share you permanently.”

That worried Terrie. Tally could see the concern in her friend’s gaze.

“Yes, well, let them plot and plan.” She shrugged as she gave her friend a smile filled with false confidence. “I can handle it, Terrie.”

The thought of both men sharing her, taking her on a daily basis, wasn’t nearly as worrisome as the flare of excitement and mingled possessiveness she was beginning to feel for both of them.

“Tally, can’t you tell me why you’ve been upset with me?” Terrie asked her, suddenly changing the subject, surprising her with the question. “We’ve been friends for so long. I hate having this between us.”

Friendships equaled complications, especially when they were as close as she and Terrie were.

She took a deep breath and turned back to look at her friend. “I’m not upset with you,” she said in resignation. “I’m upset with myself.”

Rising from the bed, Tally glanced at Terrie’s questioning expression before pacing to the high window beside it.

“I came into the office the evening you were there with Jesse and Lucian,” Tally finally said, a wry smile tipping her lips. “I was horribly jealous, you know.”

“Jealous?” Terrie turned back to her at the incredulous question. “Why?”

“Because you were with Lucian,” she said softly, seeing the moment that Terrie realized exactly what she meant.

Terrie blinked in surprise. “You wanted Lucian?”

Tally grimaced lightly at her own admission. “Terribly, I’m afraid,” she said. “But the problem is, Terrie, I know that once I’ve been with him and Devril, I won’t want to let either of them go. I’m a greedy person, I’ve told you this before. They can hurt me,” she said simply.

“Oh. Dear.” Terrie was staring at her in amazement. “Uhh, Tally, are you in love with Lucian and Devril?”

Tally moved to the chair beside the window and sat down heavily. “Perhaps.” She shrugged. “So you see, it’s becoming rather complicated.”

“Pretty surprising to me,” Terrie admitted as she pulled one of the plump pillows from the head of the bed and wrapped her arms around it. “What are you going to do?”

Tally smoothed the skirt of her dress slowly, watching as her fingers adjusted the hemline as though being certain she did it right. When she finally raised her gaze to Terrie she had managed to get a handle on her emotions.

“I have several applications in at a firm in New York,” Tally finally admitted. “If things work out, I’ll be leaving soon.”

“You’re running?” Terrie asked incredulously. “Tally, you never run.”

Tally leaned back in her chair, assuming a careless pose of negligent indulgence. “Well, it appears I do after all,” she finally said with a self-deprecating smile. “A very odd feeling, I must admit. But, I’ve found no other answer.”

Terrie shook her head in protest. “Why fight them? If you want it, why not go for it? Holding back doesn’t sound like something you do, Tally.”

Normally, it wouldn’t be, Tally admitted silently. She had never conceded defeat in her life. It rankled that she would now.

“In this case, holding back is the only answer,” Tally said softly. “Trust me, Terrie, it would never work, and I don’t want the heartache when it doesn’t. It’s best that I leave as soon as possible.” Better for her heart definitely. As well as Lucian’s safety, if he ever decided he was tired of her. She feared she might kill him if he took another woman after her.

Terrie watched her closely for long minutes as the silence deepened around them.

“I love how you lie to yourself, Tally,” she finally said gently, rising from the bed as Tally watched her in surprise.

“I never lie to myself,” she snapped in defense.

Terrie shook her head slowly. “I love you like I love my own sisters.” She sighed. “So I can tell you, you are lying to yourself. It’s losing all that hard won control that you’re terrified of, not any heartache you might suffer. Lucian threatens that. You can’t push him away, you can’t intimidate him, so instead you’re going to run.” She grimaced mockingly. “Lucian won by default because you’re not brave enough to see which of you is the strongest. You’re afraid you’ll lose, so you’re giving up.”

“I don’t think so,” Tally snapped, uncomfortably aware of the fact that often her friend saw too much. “Lucian has nothing to do with my control.”

“Of course he does.” Terrie laughed gaily. “He shakes it every time he looks at you. And don’t even try to tell me he didn’t almost have you out in the garden. I heard those moans. You’re losing your edge, Tally, and you can’t handle it.”

Tally came to her feet slowly, her eyes narrowing on the other woman. “Not in this lifetime.” She managed cool humor but she could feel the anger whipping in her mind.

“Really?” Terrie crossed her arms over her breasts, her expression mocking. “Prove it.”

“Prove it?” Tally felt like snarling. “And how do you expect me to do that? There’s nothing to prove.”

“Isn’t there, Tally?” Terrie was serious now. That was always a bad sign. “What about proving to yourself that you’re worthy of love? But beyond that, there’s proving that you aren’t a coward. We both know how much you hate cowards.”

Tally snarled. “That’s playing dirty, Terrie.”