Chapter 4

four

S erenity rolled over the next morning and groaned. The first rays of soft light were already peeking into her bedroom. She had spent the night without sleep. Again . She sat up and let out another groan. Why had she been having so many insane dreams? She wasn't a prude, but she had never thought that seeing two men having sex would cause her so many problems.

She stared at her ceiling and thought back to the night before. Adam and Mick had been very welcoming. She had pretty much spent most of her time on Oahu sort of separate from other people. She wasn’t a hermit or a shut in. She found it easier if she limited her time with other people though. Last night had her second guessing what she had seen.

Having spent almost her entire childhood in Hollywood, Serenity had good gaydar. Many people would look at men like Mick and Adam and assume they were just friends. Even with them living together, their build and their masculinity would give people false impressions of their sexuality. Serenity knew better. Masculinity had nothing to do with sexual preference, as her dance teacher had been one of the most effeminate men she had ever met, and he was definitely heterosexual.

Knowing she would get no sleep, and since she was already sweaty, she decided to go for a run on the beach. It was better she worked off this energy than sat here thinking about her insanely sexy neighbors. If she got it done early enough, she would be ready when her friend Dai came by to discuss business.

Mick was taking his first sip of coffee that morning, sitting on their back lanai, when he saw Serenity. She came running up the path that led down to the beach. She was dressed for running and her body glistened with her exertion.

“Hey,” he called out. She stopped and headed in his direction. He tried not to get too excited. She was probably just being friendly.

“Hey, yourself,” she said with a smile, looking up at him.

Damn.

“Are you always an early riser?”

She nodded. “I hate it. I would love to be able to roll around in bed. And you?”

“My military roots. Dad was military and I followed in his footsteps. But I agree, rolling around in bed is much more interesting.”

She didn’t respond to that. Instead, she looked off into the distance. Worried he had made her uncomfortable, he opened his mouth to rectify it, but Adam interrupted him.

“I wake up all alone and find you out here flirting with our neighbor.”

She turned to face them both, a smile curving her lips. Mick wished he could see her eyes, but they were hidden behind her mirrored sunglasses.

“Not much flirting. He didn’t even offer me anything to drink.”

Adam looked at Mick. “I thought I trained you better.”

He shrugged and looked over at Serenity. “He tries, as did my mother.”

“You’re telling me that you are untrainable?”

“Not in the important things.”

She chuckled. “I need to go take a shower so you’ll have another chance to impress me with your hospitality manners another time.”

She waved as she hurried off.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Adam said.

“What?” Mick asked as he watched Serenity as she disappeared around the corner of their house.

“I think someone has a crush.” Adam leaned closer. “Someone might just be thinking of some naughty things to do with Serenity.”

Mick turned his head and kissed him on the cheek.

“I guess I should point out that you have one too. I saw the way you reacted to her last night.”

Adam stepped back as he smiled. Mick turned around to face him.

“What are you talking about?”

He snorted. “Please, you looked like you wanted to take one huge bite out of her at dinner.”

A flush darkened Adam’s face.

Mick laughed, set his coffee down on the table, then pulled him closer for a hug. “You are so predictable, but this time I definitely agree.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea though.”

“Why not?”

Adam pulled away, then walked into the kitchen. “I need coffee if we’re going to talk about this.”

Shaking his head, Mick grabbed his coffee and followed him. Adam liked playing with a third, which was always a woman for the two of them.

Adam was already sipping his coffee when Mick stepped into the kitchen.

“You think it’s a good idea to fool around with our neighbor? Really?”

Mick shrugged. “I didn’t say it was a good idea, but it is a delicious idea.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “And it could make everything awkward. Can you imagine if we proposition her and she turns us down?”

“Well—”

“Worse, what if she says yes and it goes badly, or even if it goes well, but she doesn’t want to continue? Then we have ruined our chances at having a normal relationship with our one and only neighbor.”

“All good points.”

Adam groaned. “I hate that fucking tone.”

Mick smiled. “What tone?”

“The one that tells me you won’t pay any fucking attention to me at all.”

“I understand your misgivings, and it isn’t like I’m going to march over there today and ask her about joining in with a threesome.”

Adam’s frown eased. “I know that. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

Mick sighed, knowing that Adam wasn’t being an ass on purpose. It was a knee jerk reaction and Mick understood why. He wished he could make it easier for Adam to accept that someone else might love him the way that Mick did. Raised by an abusive mother, then landing in the foster system when she abandoned him, Adam was very wary of strangers. Of anyone, really. It took Mick years to get him to believe he loved him.

“We’ve talked about a third for the past few years.”

“Yeah and you thought it was Jillian to begin with.”

“Well, she is into the lifestyle.”

“But not for us.”

“And have I talked about it again?”

“Yes.”

“Not seriously. And I’m not saying she’s the one, but I like her, and you do too. It is hard to find a woman who both of us like.”

“That’s true.”

“Listen, I’m not saying she’s going to be into it, but it is something we should think about.”

“I don’t know why this is so important to you.”

“To us. Don’t tell me when we play at Rough ‘n Ready it doesn’t get you hotter than when we’re alone. Neither of us enjoy being the sub, but we like to dominate. Having a woman allows that.”

Adam sighed. “I know, but I also think that it can’t be just any woman. It needs to be the right woman.”

“Okay. We need to get to know her better.”

Adam nodded, but he still didn’t look happy about it.

“Hey,” Mick said, pulling him closer, he pressed his mouth against Adam’s. He slipped his tongue inside for a taste, just a taste. He regretfully pulled back because they didn’t have time to play. “One day at a time.”

He nodded. “So, you handle the bedroom? I’ll do the living room.”

“Sounds good.”

He’d throw himself into getting the house in order, then he could start working on a plan to get to know Serenity better.