Inside Heat by Roz Lee Page B

Jason said as he looked appreciatively at the food. “It would be real easy to get used to it.”
    Megan brought another dish to the island and her gaze locked with Jeff’s. Unlike his brother, Jeff wasn’t focused on the food, he was focused on her. “You look good enough to eat,” he said.
    “Thank you.” Megan felt a flush creep over her face that had nothing to do with the heat from cooking and everything to do with the way Jeff made her feel every time he looked at her. “I enjoy cooking, but as I said, don’t get used to it.” She poured glasses of homemade lemonade for each of them before taking a seat at the far end of the bar so she could see them both. “I made dinner tonight because I wanted to talk to you, and I thought the best way to get you to listen was to fill your mouths with food.”
    She scooped the casserole onto plates and passed them to Jeff and Jason before filling her own plate. Once they were settled with full plates in front of them, she resumed. “I’ve given this arrangement a lot of thought.” Two identical sets of eyes turned to her. “Go ahead. You can eat while we talk.” She waited until they had their mouths full before she continued. “I know you said all you wanted was sex, and I think I’ve come to terms with that, but I want to make my expectations clear.”
    Jeff swallowed, then washed it down with half a glass of lemonade. “Okay. We’re listening.”
    “Good. I won’t be the cook or the maid. I won’t pick up after you, and I won’t do your laundry. I’m not your servant or your mother. If you want those things, I’m not the woman to give them to you.”
    “We aren’t looking for any of those things, especially the mother part.” Jason shuddered at he said the last part. “Did we do anything to give you that impression?”
    “No. No you didn’t,” she admitted. “I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page here before…well, before we…”
    “Fuck?” Jason said.
    “I was going to say, get intimate, but I guess it’s a bit late for that.”
    “We understood what you meant, didn’t we?” Jeff elbowed Jason in the ribs.
    “Yeah, we understood.”
    “Second, I’m not going to move in with you.” They both sat up straighter and looked at her.
    “Why the hell not?” Jason asked.
    “Because, I’m not ready for that. I have a life. A job. An apartment. And I don’t know what I would do with myself when the two of you are gone. For now, I’ll spend time with you here when I can, but that’s all I’m willing to do. For now,” she added.
    Jeff and Jason looked at each other, then back at her. “Okay,” Jeff said. “But we want you to know you can change your mind at any time.”
    Megan inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Understood.” She took a sip of lemonade to calm her nerves and allow herself another second or two before she said the rest. “I know you both said you were looking for a long-term relationship, but I’m under the impression you mean a strictly sexual relationship – nothing more. Am I correct?”
    “More or less,” Jeff confirmed. “I’d like to think we’re friends, and that we can become better friends.”
    “Friends.” She let the idea roll around in her head for a moment. “Yes, I think we’re already friends, of a sort. I just don’t know if it’s possible for me to have the kind of sexual relationship you want without becoming more emotionally involved. I don’t have any experience with this kind of arrangement.”
    “What, exactly, are you saying?” Jason asked.
    “I don’t know, exactly. I’ve never been in a strictly sexual relationship. I guess I’m wondering what happens if it becomes something more…serious.”
    “It’s already serious,” Jeff said. “If you think it isn’t, then we haven’t conveyed the right message. We never would have invited you to join us if all we wanted was physical gratification. That’s a part of it, for sure, but we could get that with