Adam quickly looked down so none of the others would know they hadn’t done that, either. A quick glance told him James had been inspired to do the same.
“We’ll woo her,” James said.
“We will. You don’t have to worry about the details of that—or about Pamela.” Adam got to his feet. “Worrying about our wife is our job. Oh, look, the coffee’s ready. James, grab the cream and sugar for Pamela. We’ll just take this out to the women and be right back to help y’all to finish up in here.”
He made quick work of grabbing the pot off the stove—his mother still preferred a stove top percolator so that was what his folks had. He was hoping, between the kitchen and the dining room, that there’d be the opportunity for a quick private word with James.
“Was that laughter I just heard from the kitchen as we left?” James whispered his question as they paused in the hallway between the rooms, out of sight of anyone.
“Nice of the old men to be amused with our predicament,” Adam said.
“We’ll handle it. We do love her, and I know to my soul that she loves us, too.”
“Then let’s see what we can do to hurry this evening along so we can take our Pamela home. The first thing we have to do is show her one of the greatest benefits of being married to two Jessops.”
The look in James’s eyes told Adam he didn’t have to elaborate. Just the idea that their woman could be miffed with them made him feel sick inside. It was way past time for them to hold her and make love to her so she could have no doubt whatsoever how they felt about her.
She was their very heart—and they wouldn’t, either of them, have had it any other way.
* * * *
“I enjoyed meeting your family.” Since it had only been a few blocks between their house and where her in-laws lived, they’d chosen to walk. Adam had taken her left hand. James had reached for her right. Yes, this is what I need. She’d also needed to be in a setting where she could see with her own eyes that there were indeed other families living this…this ménage lifestyle.
Pamela would have to think about what Maria and Grandmother Chelsea had said as to how to handle her husbands—but later. Right this moment was for spending time with her men. She had no idea how to go about making love to two men, but she guessed they did. Beyond the level of whatever personal experience they might have had, Pamela couldn’t imagine their fathers and grandfathers wouldn’t have departed crucial “how to” information to them.
“I know they enjoyed meeting you,” Adam said. “You have four champions in our fathers and grandfathers, we can tell you that.”
“I do?” What an odd thing for Adam to have said. But that was how he was at times. Whenever he felt a little unsure of himself, he’d sometimes say things that another person might take the wrong way.
James chuckled. “You certainly do. We were given the Spanish Inquisition, and nothing would do but they assure themselves we were taking proper care of you.” James met her gaze. “It’s one of the oldest of family traditions, here in Lusty. We were raised to understand that our woman comes first. That means a man’s fathers are his champions, until there’s a daughter-in-law.”
“One thing I did learn tonight was where you get your kindness from. I was thinking that earlier as I watched the way your grandfathers behaved toward your grandmother—and the way your fathers paid attention to your mother. They were taking care of their wives. You’ve been that way with me already.” She had an image of walking through an outdoor art festival, each of her hands captured by a Jessop man. “I think you’ve been doing that since the beginning, and at the time I just didn’t see your behavior for what it was.”
“Have we?” Adam asked. “I know we’re both a bit awkward. I guess we were worried you might…I don’t know, maybe misinterpret the things we’ve said, or might say. As I believe I already mentioned, smooth of tongue we are not.”
“You’ve nothing to be worried about. You’ve been taking good care of me.” They had reached home, and Pamela looked up at the steps and the pretty porch that curved around to her right. She’d noticed earlier that a ceiling fan had been installed on the ceiling of that porch, and she thought that might be a fine place to sit on an evening. Their yard—what she’d seen of it—was a very good size for being in a town. As a bonus, because they were at the end of a cul-de-sac, there were no houses behind them.
“We want to do more than take good care of you. We want to make love to you.” Adam raised her hand to his lips. “Will you come upstairs with us? Will you let us have you?”
“I’m not a virgin.” She said that in a rush. It had been something that had been on her mind off and on since she looked down as Adam had slipped his ring on her finger. “I had a relationship in college…well, let’s just say it wasn’t a great experience, and I do wish now that I’d waited but…”
“Shh.” James lifted her right hand and kissed it, as his brother had done to her left. “We’re not virgins, either, sweets.” His grin was as cute as it was swift. “What happened before we met belongs in the past. We promise we won’t disappoint you.”
“Maybe that’s what I should promise you, all things considered.” That had certainly been the opinion of Lionel Locke, and one that she’d taken to heart.
“You can’t disappoint us,” Adam said. “So put that out of your head right now. I’m going to ask you again so you know the past is past. Will you come upstairs and
