Chapter 9

nine

B y the time Serenity returned home that night, her nerves were a jangled mess. Because she was an early riser, she had caffeinated herself to keep alert during the shoot. She had enjoyed it. Nighttime wasn't one of the most popular images to sell of Hawaii. People wanted sun, sand, and seduction. But, there was something about Hawaii at nighttime. The air was at its sweetest, less humid, and it clung to her. It was one of the things she loved about Hawaii, so she wanted to include it in her book. She'd taken the regular pics of the lighthouse and the beach at night. Then, she had driven out to the North Shore to get pictures of the moon dancing over the waves.

With all the driving, she had to make sure she stayed alert. The problem with that was that Adam had her entire body purring like a well-loved cat. Granted, other than that simple kiss a few weeks ago, neither man had made advances. She appreciated it. Now though, she was paying for it. More than likely, she was going to spend the night with her battery-operated boyfriend.

She parked in front of her house and tried not to look over at their house. If she did, and they were awake, she would be tempted to go over there. Just to chat. Just to...

Dammit. She didn't need this complication in her life. She had made it worse by reading a few ménage romance books, and then the inevitable porn search. She knew how all the particulars worked, but it wasn't something she had looked for before now. Now, she was obsessing about it. It had been a problem for her most of her life. Every shrink she had had over the years said the same thing. Her obsession over subjects tended to blur her focus. Up until she had walked away from the mess of her life ten years earlier, men had always been the ones to fill that slot. And, now there were two of them who were occupying her thoughts.

She grabbed her camera back when she heard steps behind her. Dammit. She didn't know if she could resist their invitation tonight. Not when her body wanted to betray her.

“Hey,” Adam said. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that it was both men. They were going to double team her.

Dammit. Now she had that thought in her head and the double entendre it created. Worse, they were both wearing hardly any clothing. Both were wearing tank tops. Even in the darkness she could make out the sculpted muscles both men sported. Or had she just memorized exactly how they looked?

God, she needed help.

“Hey,” she said.

“We were a little worried about you.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“It's late and you were by yourself.”

“Believe me, I know how to handle myself. I don't need a bodyguard.”

The men shared a glance. There was some kind of silent communication between them.

“Yeah, but you're our friend and we worry about you,” Mick said.

It was dark but she could see the sincerity in his gaze. She nodded. “Sorry. I'm just not good company now.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Something wrong? Naw. I just have you two standing there with tank tops on and board shorts like some kind of surfer wet dream.”

Another shared glance. She ground her teeth.

“And stop that.”

Adam's eyebrows raised up. “Do what?”

“That silent communication thing.”

He opened his mouth but she plowed ahead. “I was up at five this morning and I need to get to bed. I'm exhausted.”

They both nodded.

“Oh, good lord, stop being so accommodating.” Silence greeted that comment. “What? What is it that you two get by coming over here?”

Mick tilted his head to the side and studied her. “Get what?”

“Apparently, it's a woman yelling at us,” Mick said.

“I am not yelling!” Then she realized she was. Dammit.

Mick snorted.

“I just need to go to bed.”

“I’m okay with that,” Mick said.

“No. I need rest. In bed. Away from you. Far away from both of you.”

With that, she marched up her front steps, and unlocked her front door. She knew they were back there, but she continued to ignore them when she slammed the door shut.

If her nerves had been jangled before, they were tornado sirens now, screeching and annoying. It was all their fault. She had been happy to live in her little house by the water, away from the limelight and pressures she had dealt with during her childhood and adolescence.

She heard the creak on her front lanai. “Are you sure you’re okay, Serenity?” Mick asked.

She closed her eyes as embarrassment stole over her.

“Yes. Just tired.”

“Okay. Text us if you need to.”

“Good night, Serenity,” Adam said.

“Goodnight, guys.”

Then, she heard them walk down the steps.

“I’m just saying that she is definitely thinking about it.”

Adam ground his teeth together as he turned off Kam Highway onto the street that lead to their house.

“Yeah, that was pretty obvious.”

“Exactly. I think we should invite her over for dinner again.”

“Just let it go.”

“What?”

“I just wish you would quit talking about it.”

“I can't, because if I stop talking, then I start thinking about it, and man o man those are some bad thoughts.”

As he turned onto the little driveway they shared with Serenity, Adam's heartbeat increased. Damn, his palms were sweaty. The woman was driving him insane and she probably didn't even know it. And, as Mick continued to drone on about her and her feelings, his cock was coming up with its own ideas.

She was standing on their lanai when they pulled up. She turned when she heard them drive up. She smiled, but it wasn't one of those sunny smiles. Instead, it was guarded. He hated that. He didn't want her to think she had to hide her feelings from him.

“What do you think she wants?” Mick asked.

He shrugged, but said nothing. Mick was already slipping out of the truck.

“Sorry, I thought someone was home because Mick's truck was here,” Serenity said.

“We were working the same job today, so we rode in together,” Mick said.

He could barely hear them because he was still sitting in the truck like an idiot.

“Are you going to join us?” Mick asked.

Adam didn't respond. It was hard to talk around the lump in his throat. He grabbed his gun and slipped out of the truck. It was then that he noticed she was holding what looked like the mac bread she had brought over when they first moved in.

“I just wanted to apologize for last night.”

Mick glanced at him, then looked back at Serenity.

“There's nothing to apologize for.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but Adam wanted to have this conversation in private.

“Let's go inside and talk about it.”

“No, really. I just wanted to drop this off.”

He heard the fine sheen of arousal in her voice. She wanted them, wanted to experiment. But she was a little wary.

“We promise not to bite,” Adam said.

She sighed. “I can't promise that on my end.”

His libido went into overdrive.

“Yeah?” Mick said. “Then you definitely need to come in.”

She was wavering, it was easy to see. She looked to Adam.

“That's a good idea. Hands off unless you want differently.”

“Okay.”

Mick smiled at him and walked up the stairs to the lanai. As he unlocked the door, Serenity continued to look at him as if she were waiting for him to say something. Again, he wasn't able to speak, because at the moment, he was overwhelmed. This woman was gorgeous, that much was true. But there was a true light within her that was easy to see. And it drew him like a June bug to a light.

As soon as Mick had the door opened, she turned and walked in. Damn, she was going to kill him with those cutoffs.

He followed the other two through the door. He set his gun down on the counter.

“Give me a sec,” Mick said as he grabbed Adam's gun. He knew he was going to put them in their side table drawers.

Alone with Serenity. Damn.

It only took a few seconds for Mick to return, but it seemed like a lifetime. She continued to stare at him with those amazing whiskey-colored eyes.

“I will happily take the offering,” Mick said, taking the bread from her.

“Oh,” she said, the look on her face told Adam that she’d forgotten she was holding it.

“Now, tell us why you must apologize,” Mick said.

Her tongue darted out over her full lower lip and Adam groaned.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said shaking his head.

“Tell us,” Mick insisted.

Her eyes widened and for good reason. Mick seemed easy going, but he was a Dom and that was his Dom voice. It was what made him so damned irresistible. The two sides of the coin.

“I-I…”

“Mick,” Adam said. “Give her a little space.”

Mick made a face and took a step back. He sometimes forgot how intimidating he could be. Adam looked at Serenity.

“Now, tell us. Why should you apologize when you were just being truthful?”

“I think it’s a bad habit. No. I know it’s a bad habit.”

“What is? Apologizing for your feelings?”

“No, for taking out my feelings on someone else.”

He shared a knowing look with Mick and he nodded. He was going to be the one who did the talking right now.

“And stop that.”

“What?” Adam asked.

“That silent communication you two do. It is a little disconcerting. I told you that last night.”

He almost looked at Mick but stopped himself. “Sorry. I think it’s just habit. We’ve been together for so long. We work in the field a lot, so it’s just something that helps. And when we’re playing, we often share the role of Dom.”

“Oh, yeah, forgot about that. I don’t do that.”

“And you don’t have to,” Mick said. “If you were interested in learning, we would be happy to teach you. It adds another level to lovemaking, but it isn’t something we have to have.”

Adam almost rolled his eyes. He knew Mick had bought toys just for her, so he was going to use everything in his arsenal to get her to experiment.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Why don’t we just try to play a little? A little kissing, then see where it goes from there. You say stop, we stop,” Mick offered as he looked at Adam. “Right?”

He nodded, trying to keep his brain focused on the question, but he was too busy creating more fantasies in his head. He knew that there was always a chance she would stop them and push them away. And it had never really bothered him in the past, but with this woman, it felt somehow different.

“So, what do you say, Serenity?” Mick asked.

She studied Mick then she looked at Adam. She was still, almost as if she wasn’t breathing, but Adam could sense the inner turmoil raging inside of her. It wasn’t an easy thing to decide, especially for a woman who had only known them for a month.

“And you want this?” she asked.

He could only answer her honestly.

“Almost more than my next breath.”

Her expression lightened. And something close to relief flited through his system. Just that little lift in her spirits made his heart happy.

“Then my answer is yes.”