Twin Temptations by Carol Lynne Page A

let me talk to him. I don’t know what’s going on with the three of you, but I’ve never seen him like this.”
    “I’ll be waiting at the bottom of the steps.”
    Sonny hung up and flushed the toilet, hiding the phone away in his pocket. “You ready for another cup?” he asked walking back into the living room.
    Ranger turned his head and looked at him through half-closed eyes. “Doesn’t matter,” he sighed, “nothing does.”
    Stopping by the kitchen Sonny filled a cup for himself before carrying the pot to the living room. He topped-off Ranger’s and set the pot down on the table. “Drink,” he pointed toward the cup. “Then you can tell me why nothing matters.”
    Taking a sip of the hot brew, Ranger stared into the black depths. Sonny thought he was about to drop off again when he finally spoke. “I can’t do it anymore.”
    “What can’t you do? Are you talking about your new relationship with Lilly? I thought you really like her.”
    “I did. I do. But…I’m jealous.”
    “Jealous?” Sonny didn’t understand. Ranger and Ryker had bedded several women in the past, why was this one making him feel this way? Setting his cup down, he scooted closer to Ranger, who it seemed had curled in on himself. “You’re jealous when you see Ryker making love to her?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And she doesn’t let you make love to her?” Hell, maybe Ranger wanted Lilly all to himself.
    “I haven’t really tried.”
    Sonny rubbed his eyes. It was like trying to get a piece of candy out of a child’s hand. “I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand. Why are you jealous?”
    In a moment of sudden rage, Ranger threw his cup across the room. “Because she gets to make love to Ryker.”
    Trying to calm his brother, Sonny cupped his face. “I love you so much and I really am trying to understand…”
    Before he could get any further, Ranger broke down, tears pooling in his eyes. “I’m sick. That’s why I have to go away. I love him so much, and I want to make love to him. And I know that’s dirty and wrong, but I can’t help myself.” The tears began running down his chiselled cheeks as Sonny pulled him into his arms.
    “Are you telling me the two of you have never had sex?” That was totally unbelievable to him. He’d never known two closer people in his life. The love they had for each other was completely pure, whether the rest of the population felt so or not. The idea that Ranger had never allowed himself to physically demonstrate that love with Ryker broke his heart.
    He hugged Ranger tighter, rocking him back and forth. “I had no idea. We all just assumed…”
    “We kiss, we jack each other off, but there’s a line we promised we wouldn’t cross. It never hurt like this until I watched Lilly and Ryker make love for the first time. They love each other so much that it wasn’t just about sex. It was like, while I watched, their souls joined.”
    Ranger pulled back and buried his face in his hands. “I’ve thought of nothing since but making love to him.”
    “Tell him.”
    “No, I’d rather just leave than to have him look at me with disgust.”
    “Ranger, forget about what society thinks for a minute. Who told you not to make love to the person you love most in the world?” He already had a good idea, but he needed to hear it.
    “Dad. He came into our room one night after we thought everyone was asleep. We were almost eighteen, but we still couldn’t sleep apart. So after everyone else was down for the night, Ryker would crawl into bed with me. We didn’t do anything then, not even kissing. We just needed to hold each other. But one night Dad came in and caught us. He screamed at us and told us we were disgusting. That we were too old for that kind of thing and it would only lead to us fucking each other like a couple of sick perverts. We promised him we’d never do something like that. Then we begged him to allow us to sleep together at night.”
    Ranger looked into his eyes.