Chapter 13

thirteen

T hey gorged themselves on pancakes and Portuguese sausage later that morning. Serenity had never been one to shy away from food, but she hadn’t eaten this much in a long time. Of course, she hadn’t had hot monkey sex with two guys before either. If they kept at it this way, she would need to up her game. For that, she needed fuel.

“What are your plans for today?” Adam asked as he pushed his plate away.

“Not sure. I was thinking about doing a play day for shoots at the beach.”

“A play day?”

She shrugged. “I work, but mostly I enjoy the fact that I live in Hawaii. Just veg out at the beach. Do you two have to work?”

Adam shook his head, but it was Mick who answered.

“We normally work only four days a week, unless we get a job that pays better.”

“It’s actually a great day for a ride,” Adam said.

She had seen them go out on their Harleys once or twice, but it hadn’t been that often. They had hit the rainy season.

“Yeah. Have you ever ridden around the island on a bike?” Mick asked.

She shook her head.

“Then we must do that,” Mick said. “We could pick a beach and just go there for the day.”

“Mick.”

“What?”

Adam shook his head, but she didn’t get the communication.

“Listen, if you two want to be alone, then just say so. Won’t hurt my feelings.”

But it did a little bit. She knew she was the new member of the relationship and needed to learn where she fit. The guys were the ones in a long-term relationship. She had no idea where the three of them were headed, and she needed to make sure to remember that.

“No.” Adam sighed. “Not what I meant at all. I was trying to let Mick know not to pressure you.”

“I’m not pressuring her. Do you feel pressured, Seri?”

She blinked at the use of a nickname. Only Nicola used that nickname for her.

“No. Not at all, and a ride around the island sounds fantastic.” Mick smiled. “But, today, I want to do some shooting, and I need my equipment for that. I definitely want to do that in the future, though.”

They didn’t say anything, just kept staring at her.

“So, did you two want to make a day of it?”

Mick looked at Adam, who smiled. “Sounds like a fantastic idea.”

“You need to slow it down,” Adam said.

Mick looked at him. The man held him by the heart, but sometimes he drove Mick crazy. He liked to plan and plot. That was good a lot of the time, but sometimes jumping in was the better way.

“I’m not going too fast. Jesus Christ, Adam. We had a threesome with our neighbor last night. It’s not like asking her to ride around the island today was pushing her over the edge.”

He buttoned his pants and looked up at Mick. “I just don’t want her to feel overwhelmed by us. I don’t want to scare her off.”

Mick snorted. “We asked her about engaging in a BDSM relationship this morning and she didn’t even blink.”

Adam didn’t argue back, which was one of his favorite things to do.

“Hey, what’s up?” Mick asked.

“You rush, and I want to take it slow.”

“No. You think you want to take it slow, but you don’t. What you want is me to push you.”

“She’s different.”

Yeah, he knew it. They’d shared a handful of women, but none of them had been this emotionally connected. Mick had an idea that it would be different with her. It was the connection he’d made that first day when she had smiled at him. His heart had zinged. That hadn’t happened since he met Adam.

“She is, but I have a feeling she is okay with telling us when to back off.”

“Okay, but just remember, slow and steady.”

Mick watched as he pulled his t-shirt on, and inwardly sighed as he watched all that delicious bronze flesh disappear beneath it. The man did have a set of pecs and abs he liked to explore. Mainly with his mouth.

“Hey, eyes up here, perv,” Adam said, but Mick heard the laughter in his voice.

“I promise, no pressure.” He slipped his arms around Adam’s waist. “But no dragging your feet. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

“Okay.”

But he could tell from his tone that Adam wasn’t convinced of his plan. He knew it would work. They just needed to let her taste how good it could be with them. She wouldn’t be able to resist the idea.

They took the Jeep out for the ride. It was one of those spectacular days that had drawn both he and Mick to Hawaii in the first place.

The sun was high in the sky and the air was sweet from the morning rain. It was hard to remember their life in the military. One shit assignment after another, dealing with the worst scum in the world.

This was infinitely better.

“What are you thinking?” Serenity asked him.

He glanced over at her. He was driving and she was in the passenger seat beside him. She'd pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and she had sunglasses on, so he couldn't see her expression. But her voice was just inquisitive.

“That living here is better than hanging out in the desert hunting terrorists.”

“A-fucking-men,” Mick said from the backseat.

She chuckled. It was low and throaty, the one that always made his blood stir.

“I can understand that. When I left LA, I went to Washington state for a year.”

“Seattle?”

She shook her head. “Forks. I wanted a change from Southern Cali.”

“That is definitely a change,” Adam said.

She nodded. “It rained all the time and, at first, it was wonderful. I would go out in it and dance around. Then, not so much.”

“So, where did you go after that?” Mick asked.

If Adam hadn't glanced over at her, he wouldn't have seen the way her mouth tightened. But she answered.

“Arizona for a while. Then Colorado. After that, here. Actually, I came here for a vacation, not my first. But it was the first time I wasn't spending my time hiding from the paparazzi. This time, I rented a little cottage on the North Shore. And that's when it happened.”

“What?” Adam asked, although he noted to ask her about the paparazzi comment later.

“That click. Like something just seemed right being here. I moved over here two months later.”

“Just like that?”

She nodded. “And I have no desire to move away.”

The light changed and he pushed aside the need to ask more questions. He wanted to know everything. What had caused her to walk away from her life, what horrors did she deal with? He knew they were lurking there behind the happy smile. He didn't think she was hiding anything from them, or that she was unstable. Far from it. It seemed that she had battled her demons and walked away victorious.

Of course, no one walked away without scars. That kind of stuff lurked. There were quiet moments that something would pass over her expression. He knew it wasn't his right to ask. Not yet. Doing so would probably have her shutting them out, which was not acceptable.

That thought gave him pause. Just like Mick had said, the only other lover he had felt so possessive of had been Mick. Until now.

“Do you mind going out to Ko’ Olina?” She asked, breaking into his thoughts. “I want to get some pics of the tidal pools.”

“Sure,” he said.

She gave him that sunny smile and just like when she chuckled, his blood sang. He needed to be the strong one to make sure they didn't rush her. Mick would always be full steam ahead, but Adam had to ensure they did this right.

“And we can eat over there,” Mick said.

“Good lord. You need to eat again?” she asked.

“I'm always hungry for all kinds of things.”

Adam still couldn't see her eyes, but he had an idea she rolled her eyes.

She leaned closer to Adam. “How do you put up with him?”

“I'm just using him for sex.”

She threw back her head and laughed. The glorious sound danced on the air around him. And for right now, that was enough.