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Author’s Notes

If Y’all know me from my Kindle Vella days, I’m not good with titles. But I found that some readers like chapter titles.

If you feel the title needs to be changed, please let me know. I welcome any suggestions, as I’m not very good at it.

The purpose of this chapter. To show the chemistry between each brother and how Tori can be different when she’s with them. This is to help me build up the sexual connection between all of them.

Let me know if you feel the buildup.

Now, initially, it was just going to be a scene between Shawn and her. It really was, but then something happened to my brain… it went left while I was still looking right, so that happened.

Enjoy… Happy weekend reading! If I receive enough comments, I might… drop another chapter before Monday.

Let me know if you want that too.

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Chapter 12 – A Special Night

Duncan kept a steady motion, and as she looked up into his eyes, it was as if she could hear his voice in her head, instructing her to slow her breathing with his.

Deep breath in; deep breath out until their heartbeats had become one. And then he began to move them as one.

Duncan was a patient teacher, even without speaking a word. His hands and body instructed her into a much slower and complicated tango filled with sensuality and heart-racing moves.

Tori loved how they didn’t have to speak to feel each other. Duncan was clearly the better dancer among all the brothers, and she loved the connection they shared.

Was it because she had shared her first kiss with him?

Was she bonded to him? Would choosing just one brother break up their family? Or would walking away from them be the best thing because she knew she couldn’t hurt them from her selfish lust?

When the song came to an end, Duncan moved her in a deep body dip. Tori had been so engrossed in dancing that she hadn’t noticed they had onlookers who were cheering at their performance.

Duncan smiled at her, bringing her to her feet, and then escorted her promptly over to Shawn.

“Show off,” Shawn teased his brother, but they dapped like they were best of friends before Duncan disappeared in the crowd.

Kevin was long gone, and she was glad about that, but she needed to speak to Shawn about what had happened with his brothers and what was to come for them. Yes, Kevin had said they all knew what she had done, but she had to be sure this was true.

Shawn pulled her body into him, and she raised on her tiptoes. Immediately, he dipped down and kissed her.

Mechanical but much more relaxed, and when she parted her lips, she loved how he was hesitant but then dipped his tongue inside to entwine with her. She could imagine that if this had been his first kiss from a woman, it would have been a beautiful experience. He deeply groaned while pulling her tighter. Tori could feel his arousal and gasped as his arms tightened hard around her body, caught up in the kiss, and she knew he forgot they were in public, but Tori hadn’t.

She had to nudge him several times to break the kiss.

Shawn looked ardently dazed. “Whoa,” he yearned. “Tori!” Shawn fervently shook his head, but when she tried to move entirely away, he shook his head. “Give me a minute, love.”

Tori snickered, flushing as she felt his shaft pressed hard against her stomach. Loving the proximity against him, she rested her palm against his nape to calm him down. “You really don’t mind that I slept with your brothers? I didn’t mess things up for us, Shawn?”

“If you keep kissing me like that, woman, you could sleep with my brothers as many fucking times as you want,” he proclaimed.

Tori blushed, but she knew he had to be joking. Shawn placed soft kisses on her neck, making her laugh because they were both ticklish and arousing at the same time.

“Can we leave?” he implored. “Can you come with me tonight, Tori? I know you probably have a shitload of work to do, but I’d-“

Hell, she’d forsake her whole damn house project for a night with Shawn! “Yes! Shawn, yes!”

He gave her another kiss filled with longing and said, “Say goodbye to your sister and meet me outside. I’ll have them pull my car around.”

Tori almost ran out of the club and over to the restaurant where Malea was still sitting at the booth, pouting like a spoiled child. Scott was across the room speaking to two Italian men.

As Tori approached, Malea stood up, looking clearly disappointed. “How are you dancing like that with his brothers? You want people to think you’re some tramp? People who work at the hospital also come here, and rumors can start. You were practically having sex on the dance floor with Kevin! And then with Duncan, you got worse! How do you expect Shawn to even think about wanting someone like you?”

Shocked her sister could jump in her like that, Tori immediately defended herself as she picked up her purse and shawl, which she’d left in the booth while she danced. “It was only dancing, Malea.”

Her sister sneered disgustedly, “You think Shawn wants sloppy seconds from his brother?”

Shawn certainly didn’t mind, and Tori wasn’t going to let her sister speak to her like that anymore. “How would you know what Shawn wants? Or maybe you do, since you didn’t tell me he was in a relationship with Norman since medical school?”

Her sister instantly flushed. “He told you?”

“Kevin told me.”

Malea smacked her lips flippantly. “Of course, Kevin’s trying to ruin everything. He’s a devil’s advocate and lies like a rug, Tori. He’d do anything to get into any woman’s pants to put his venomous dick in. You can’t believe anything-“

Cutting her off, Tori said, “Shawn admitted it when I confronted him, Malea. So who’s the liar now?”

Watching her sister get caught in a lie felt empowering. Too many times, Tori had bitten her tongue, feeling guilty over being selfish her whole life, and realizing way too late that she needed to stop. By that time, she’d lost so many close relationships. She was paying the price for what she had done, but she wasn’t going to let Malea run over her with just anything anymore, especially with manipulation.

Yet, twice in one night, Tori had caught her sister in lies, and she wasn’t going to take it anymore.

With Malea being tongue-tied, Tori further pressed, “You have nerve accusing me of being a harlot when you’re fucking around right under her husband’s nose. And I know this all has something more to do with your financial mistakes, Malea?”

Malea looked worriedly past her to where Scott was standing.

Tori continued, “But I’m not going to press about it now. Like I said, you’d better start confessing to Scott soon, or I will.”

“Tori-“

Needing to get away from her sister, Tori had already started to walk away as quickly as possible, dipping through the crowd toward the exit.

The chill night air in Detroit helped her clear her head. She was glad she had swept up her shawl because it helped keep her a little warm. The pure frustration rippled down to her bones. How dare Malea accuse her of being a whore?

Even though Tori had messed up and slept with both her fake fiancé’s brothers in less than twenty-four hours.

Shawn pulled up beside her and hopped out to assist her into the car. “Is everything okay with your sister?”

“No, but I’m not going to speak about that. I need to get away from Malea mentally and physically.”

“I have the perfect place,” he said before closing her door and rushing around, doing that bounce in his walk that made her giggle and brighten her soul.

For now, she would forget reality and enjoy this night with Shawn!

Just as he sat inside, it started to rain, and the excited look on his face turned suddenly grim.

“Damn, I don’t know if I can show you the surprise in the rain,” he said, taking his phone, which had just chirped. He read something on the screen and then became excited again. “Oh, never mind. Duncan says it will pass in a few moments, and it’s headed south. We’re going north.”

“Where are we going?” she asked worriedly.

“Duncan’s letting me use something of his for us,” Shawn stated, squeezing her hand and softly rubbing his finger over the ring he’d given her. “I wanted some place private but not too far away.”

A warm chill pulsed through her veins. Her underwear needed changing, but she hoped she could refresh herself before everything got too hot and heavy.

Placing her hand over his, Tori said, “I hope this night can be special for us, Shawn.

“Oh, it will,” he promised, kissing her knuckles.

They were at a light, so he was able to lean over and she received his offered kiss.

He was becoming more passionate. The rigidity in his lips was almost none, and he always took a breathful, soft grunt after it. The sound was becoming so adorable, prompting her to want to kiss him more and more.

Someone honked behind them, startling them because the traffic light had turned green.

“Your kisses are like a breath of fresh air,” Shawn admitted as he continued to drive. “It’s like a fog in my brain clears up the more and more we kiss.”

Touched by his words, she asked, “How long has the fog been there?

“Sadly, all my life.”

Both their moods sobered.

Shawn explained, “Before and after my mother started seriously dating your dad, she was very controlling. By the time I got to high school, Duncan and Kevin had already moved out. Duncan left when he was sixteen. He obtained his high school diploma early, and Kevin forged my mother’s signature on Duncan’s military paperwork so well that no one knew the difference, and my mother didn’t bother going back and forth with the military about it. But Kevin couldn’t save me. I was too young and had to endure all her rules and punishments when I fucked up.”

She hadn’t known it was that bad. The woman she met was always laughing and happy, and that drove her sixteen-year-old brain insane. “I’m sorry, Shawn. I had no idea.”

“Of course not. My mother showed a side to your father that even I had never seen. She was like a wide-eyed little girl in love when your dad was around. Happy, vibrant, and amazing. Hell, I even fell in love with her. She could do no wrong, and I had forgiven her for the past treatment until your father broke it off. Almost the next day, she reverted to her old self, but it was worse. And then she married that jerk who treated her like trash as a way to make your father jealous. That was like drinking the poison she wanted your father to take, and my mother became even more controlling and abusive until I had to stand up to her. After my first four years of college, when I could finally leave her house, I put a restraining order on her and moved fully into an apartment with Norman.” He kissed her knuckle some more. “I’m not going to spend the night talking about the past, Tori. I want us to experience the future together.”

She did too. “Yes!” she said enthusiastically. “Where do your brothers live?”

“Kevin has a house in the Boston Edison District, and Duncan has another house, but he stays mostly with Kevin. They do come over to my place when we’re going to a game since I’m right by the Arena.”

That was understandable and a relief for her because if she wanted to have a solitary relationship with Shawn, even for a little while, she didn’t need either one of his brothers around.

“Now you have to trust me tonight, Tori. All day I’ve been thinking of you and planning this night out with you in mind,” he said and made a left turn into Safe Harbor Marina. It was located across from a very popular seafood restaurant in the city, but she had a feeling they wouldn’t be going anywhere to eat dinner again.

Tori’s stomach gripped in panic, knowing they were going near the water. As he parked, he kissed her knuckles some more. A sweeping chill ran through her body at the idea of being this close to the water.

The fear was powerful, and she wanted to tell Shawn to turn the car around and take her home, or at least to his home. They could plan a special night there, but not near the water. Nothing good ever happened near the water for Tori.

To delay what she predicted he wanted to do, she said, “Where is Duncan’s home? A houseboat?”

Shawn chuckled. “No. He stays on an island out past St. Clair.”

Tori thought about the residential island her sister’s cabin was on – or had been on, but was lost because of Malea’s poor decision-making. There were millions of small islands in the Great Lakes. The majority were large enough to have small communities on them, and the smaller ones were either abandoned or very private and exclusive.

Tori felt she should be honest with him and explained herself and her sudden hesitation because she didn’t want to ruin his night and all his planning .”Shawn, you should know I’ve always had a fear of water.”

“You mean you just can’t swim?”

“Not only that, but the idea of getting into some place that has no bottom that my feet can’t touch and could kill me, terrifies me,” she admitted. “It’s why I never left the hotel room when my father would take us on family hotel trips. I didn’t want to go to the pool or the rivers to swim or be pushed in.”

“We all assumed you were being a spoiled bitch again,” he revealed.

She didn’t mind the conjecture. “It’s because I knew you guys were down at the pool and you’d possibly throw me in.”

“When did the fear start?” he inquired, concerned.

“When I was very young. My sister shoved me into a pool. I couldn’t have been but five, but all I could hear was my mother and sister laughing. Just when I thought I was going to die, my father jumped in and scooped me out. My mother said it was only two feet of water and all I had to do was stand up, but to me, it was like a whole ocean. Since then, if it’s not a bathtub, I won’t do it. My father has tried swimming lessons, but just the look of a pool and large bodies of water terrifies me.”

Shawn got out of the vehicle and came around to her side. He pulled out his phone and did something on it very quickly, but then shoved it back in his jacket.

Tori thought for sure he was going to drag her out, but he only opened the door and knelt at her eye level.

“What if I blindfolded you and held your hand the entire way?”

Adamantly, she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Shawn. It feels like you put a lot of hard work into this plan, but I can’t.”

“Would you at least come see the desert I have planned on the boat?” he compromised.

An uneasiness filled her gut, but she could see, in the distance, down a ramp, a boat was lit up—a rather large boat —and soft music was coming from it. The vessel was one of the biggest in the marina and almost sparkled like brand new.

To lighten the mood, she teased, “That’s not a boat, that’s a yacht,” she proclained.

“It’s only sixty. Well, that’s how Duncan says it because he’s seen much bigger. This is the only boat I’ve been around. He received it from a very satisfied client who had purchased a larger one. He makes occasional trips from the Great Lakes down to Florida, where some of his clients spend their summers. He keeps this in top mechanical shape,” Shawn assured her.

Remembering how highly thought of Duncan was spoken about for his mechanical skills when it came to boats, Tori relaxed a little. “And you promised you won’t move the boat?”

Shawn assured her, “I promise, Tori. We can only do what you want us to do.”

“We?”

“My brothers and I,” He said, obviously. “You do understand that at all times you have the power over us. It’s why Kevin had to stop dancing with you when you didn’t want to. We can not do anything you do not want us to do.”

Tori never looked at it like that, but the whole idea was very sensually powerful to know. The thought of having control over three very gorgeous, powerful brothers at her beck and call enticed her to her core, and she knew she’d need a new change of panties very soon. Looking around for a bathroom, she asked, “Is there a bathroom on the boat?”

“Yes,” he said eagerly.

Shivering a little more as she stood up from the vehicle, it wasn’t because of the evening wind blowing their way. He reached down and grabbed her shawl, placing it over her shoulders, and took her hand gently, rubbing his finger over her ring finger tenderly.

They started toward the ramp, but when she got inches from going down the ramp, she glanced at the dim evening water of the Detroit River, and her legs locked up.

“Shawn,” she said in fear.

He stopped and pulled her close to him. “I can get the blindfold.”

“I don’t think it will unlock my legs,” she said pitifully. “I’m sorry, I don’t-“

“Shh,” he said softly and took a blindfold from his jacket and put it over her eyes. “Take a deep breath and just listen to my voice, Tori. Okay?”

She nodded, holding him tight, grateful for the blindfold.

Shawn began to sway and lightly rubbed her back. “Do you know why my mother made us all learn ballroom dancing? My father wasn’t a very nice man to her. He married her immediately after graduating from high school. She was three months pregnant with Kevin at the time. Did you know Kevin had a twin, but she died? She would have been our sister.”

Somehow, she found humor and said, “Or she didn’t want to be around Kevin either.”

He chuckled. “Oh, that’s a good one, Tori, and quite possibly true, but my mother didn’t want her sons ever to force a woman to do what they didn’t want them to do. Since her father wasn’t a very nice man, she had to find a way to instill in her sons what consensual means. She wanted us to feel what mutual consent was and not just assume it.”

“Feel?”

“Yes. You may not want to do something, but you do it only because you feel you must.”

“Because you said so.”

“Yes, Tori, but we shouldn’t accept that as your permission. We can’t accept your agreement to something we want to do until we feel your permission.”

She wondered why he continued to speak on behalf of his brothers, but she didn’t ask.

“May I pick you up, Tori?” he inquired in almost a whisper.

Feeling relaxed, she nodded.

Shawn swept her up in his arms, but he didn’t move. Tori calmed down when she realized he wouldn’t move until she said something.

Hesitantly, she asked, “Are you going to take me on the boat?”

“Not until you say so, Tori,” he confirmed, softly kissing her neck.

Wrapping her arms around him, she said, “You may, Shawn.”

Feeling him move when she gave permission gave her a potent arousal, and she didn’t mind him taking her down the ramp and stepping on the boat. He didn’t stop until he descended some more stairs and gently deposited her on the floor. Promptly, he removed the blindfold to reveal that they were in a very nice, stately room with a low ceiling and a large king-size bed in the center. Behind her was a wet bath. The amenities were tight, but agreeable, and if she didn’t look out the windows, she’d imagine she was in a small, very luxurious hotel room.

Her eyes were drawn to the bed again. For one man, it was spacious, and even with company, it was more than enough room.

“You want to freshen up before dessert?” he questioned.

Dragging her eyes away from the large bed, Tori looked at Shawn. “Thank you for being patient with me.”

“Always,” he said, kneeling to her feet and carefully taking off her shoes. “Being barefoot will help you ground yourself from the sway so that you won’t get sick. And I’ll have a ginger shot at the table waiting for you.”

When he stood up, Shawn pulled her in his arms and kissed her forehead. She swept her hand up to his chest and felt him tense. Smiling, secretly knowing his nipples were tender and aroused, she completely forgot they were on a boat for a moment.

“Thank you for giving this evening I’ve planned for us a chance, Tori,” he said gratefully.

Stepping into the wet bath, Tori was glad she always kept a palm-sized kit to freshen up with a dollop of baby oil and a small container of shea butter. Her purse was too small to hold an extra pair of underwear, but she hadn’t predicted she would be out long enough to need an extra set. There was a sealed guest travel case in the bathroom that contained a toothbrush, deodorant, and face wipes.

It was going to be a commando night, but did she really need panties tonight?

___ *** ___

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Her Substitute Husband… His Brothers (c) 2025 Sylvia Hubbard All Rights Reserved

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