by Vivian Arend
No. Fucking. Way.
Mason reached her first. Ignoring her outstretched arm, he yanked her against his body. He kissed her wildly, one hand looping around her lower back and dragging her tight to his torso. His other hand caught her nape, holding her fast so his mouth could ravage hers.
Oh God, she was going to die. His touch undid her. She longed for this, wanted it.
Couldn’t accept it unless it was going to be forever.
She thrust him away, only to be trapped by Trent for an equally bruising kiss of possession. There on the flat open deck, with crates and boxes scattered around them, she was kissed mindless, the simmering anger inside her fighting with the longing for passion, the need to tell them exactly what she wanted from them both.
Them both.
Paige ripped herself from Trent’s arms. He let her go—there was no way she could have escaped him if he’d continued to cling as tight as he’d been holding.
She stepped back and fought the tears, working to maintain the heat racing through her veins. Anger was going to be the only way to survive this.
Mason stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “You left us without saying a word.”
Trent glared at his friend. “I’m going to rip your freaking head off if you so much as utter that phrase ever again.”
Mason turned and flipped him the bird. “She did, and I want to know why. And I want to know why this was left behind like some pagan offering.”
He held out his arm and opened his fist. The long string of her abandoned shell necklace poured out to dangle from his fingers.
Paige held her hand to her chest, again trying to slow the desperate beating, slow her breathing enough she didn’t pass out right here and now. “I’m not explaining anything to you.”
At her back, someone cleared his throat, and she twirled to find the nice captain who had agreed to give her passage across to the mainland.
“Miss. I’ve just gotten word from the resort. They would very much like me to keep moving forward, so if you could go with the gentlemen and hold your discussion elsewhere, that would be best. I can’t stop the engines for any longer.”
Oh God, no. “But I can’t…”
“I’m sorry, but I’ve been told no resort passengers allowed on board. I didn’t know that, or I would have turned you down at the start.” His face scrunched with concern as he leaned nearer. “Are you afraid to go with them, miss? If so, I’ll break the rules. In fact, I’ll have me boyos throw the blokes into the drink for you.”
There were crewmen now visible in the wings, and Paige wished she could be vindictive enough to simply turn her back and escape. But she couldn’t do that, not destroy the good memories of their times together in such a cruel way.
“I’m fine. I’ll go with them. Thank you.”
She grabbed her bag from the cabin, and stepped over to where Trent and Mason waited for her. “I need a ride to the mainland, please.”
Trent hesitated. “I don’t know how much petrol the boat has. The island is closer.”
Oh God. She would have to find some other way to leave early. “Fine.”
“And we’ll talk about—”
Paige shoved her bag at Mason. “Shut up and get in the boat. I will talk about exactly what I want, when I choose. Now can we take this show off the deck of the supply barge? I don’t want this to become any more public than it already is.”
Trent went down the ladder first. Helped her into the speedboat. Found her a comfortable seat before Mason took the wheel and turned them back toward Bilby Island.
Every time one of them tried to talk, she held up a hand. It was bad enough having to explain why she’d chickened out and left. She didn’t want to have to do the whole conversation at a shouting level, over the roar of the motor.
Paige stared at the ocean and ignored the part inside that wanted to crawl into Trent’s arms and cry. He’d be warm, and he would hug her, and…that wasn’t what she needed.
Not with their plans for the future.
Her mind hurt. Did she tell them the truth and end up putting a damper on their trip?
Did she really give a shit?
The damning thing was—she did. There was no way she could destroy something they were so excited about. McKenzie had said they’d planned to do this forever. Who was she to take their dream and force it to become even a tiny bit bitter? All the mental images she had of standing on the deck and shouting at them with righteous anger dissipated like the foam swirling in circles in their wake, breaking up and being carried off on the smooth evening tide.
Should she tell them the truth? Paige sighed. She still didn’t know, and with the lights of the resort growing closer, she didn’t have much time left to decide.
…
Mason turned the wheel at the last minute. There was a far better place to hold a private conversation than back at the docks where by now all their family and friends could potentially be gathered, waiting to discover what happened. Then again, maybe Kylie had managed to keep it hush-hush—a disappearance wasn’t the sort of thing that needed to be bandied about during the soft opening.
The harbor lights approached and he maneuvered his way carefully, ignoring the jetty where Brad had moored his speedboat. Instead, he took the next channel between the buoys and headed toward Paradise.
They needed to be on board, where she could understand the implications of at least part of what they were asking. And if by some chance she didn’t want to join them…
Thoughts of shanghaiing her and lashing her to the mast until she changed her mind were probably not responsible ones to act on, but as far as a plan, they were about as good as he could get right now.
Trent stood to help as they came alongside, the bulky Paradise nowhere near as trim and sleek beside the powerboat they currently rode, but she was a living vessel, not a playing one.
Paige’s face as she gazed up at the ship held the most curious expression. As if she was finding it tough to swallow, her eyes full of moisture.
Oh damn, she’s going to cry. Mason turned off the motor and rushed to her side. She restrained him.
“I’m walking a thin line here, Mason. Just…take me aboard and we can talk about why I left. Don’t touch me. I need space to think.”
He backed off, hands held up in submission.
Once they’d dealt with the mooring and scrambled aboard, Mason continued to observe Paige closely. She wandered the deck of Paradise silently. She ran one hand slowly over the railing before disappearing below deck.
“What’s she doing? Why aren’t we telling her what we want?” Trent made as if to follow Paige into the living quarters, and Mason held him back.
“Let her look around. I have a feeling this is all tied together with why she left.”
He sat on one of the deck seats and stared over the harbor toward the resort. Somehow the whole thing had come down to this moment…
And he still didn’t have a bloody clue what the hell was going on.
He and Trent waited for another minute. Another.
“What’s taking her so long?” Trent paced the deck. “The galley and stateroom are smaller than the penthouse suite. There’s no reason for this.”
His own hard-won patience vanished when Mason realized the faint sound coming from below sounded suspiciously like crying. He raced down the stairs, Trent on his heels.
The galley was empty, which only left the head or the stateroom. The ship was big enough to have space for an actual king-sized mattress, and as they pressed open the door it was to discover Paige perched on the edge. The picture of the three of them that had been displayed above the headboard was in her hand, and tears poured down her cheeks.
His heart broke.
“God, Paige. Don’t. Don’t cry. Don’t tell me not to hold you. Let—”
Whate
ver else he wanted to say disappeared as she leapt into his arms and buried her face in his neck, the photo abandoned on the bed. She wept, her chest heaving as he maneuvered them until he was able to sit on a galley bench with her still clinging tight.
Trent stood helplessly at their side. He rubbed Paige’s back and leaned close to whisper soothing things.
What the hell was wrong?
It was the only thing he hadn’t thought of until now. “Paige? Did you get bad news about family or something? Do you need to contact someone—?”
“No.” She gasped between sobs. “It’s not…that. Oh man, I’m an ass. Just…give me…a minute.”
He’d give her all the time in the world if it would get her back to smiling and being with them.
Her crying slowly faded, and Trent passed her a tissue. She laughed uneasily and cleaned herself up, squeezing his neck tight for a final second.
“Nice ship, guys. She looks comfortable. You must be looking forward to your trip.”
“We are—” Oh hell.
Paige slipped off his lap and onto the seat next to him, wiping at her teary eyes.
Trent spoke slowly. “You know about the trip?”
She nodded.
“Then why…?” Mason paused. “Paige, this is fucked up. If you knew about Paradise, why did you leave without talking to us?”
She had her fingers clenched together so tight her knuckles had turned white. Trent reached out and soothed them, rubbing until she let go and grasped his fingers instead.
“God, you must think I’m such a girl right now.”
“I pretty much know you’re a girl, one hundred percent of the time. It’s one of the things I love about you.” Trent played with her fingers, his voice soft and teasing.
Mason was watching her face as Trent spoke, and the instant flash to white made him wonder if she was going to faint. Paige opened and shut her mouth a couple times before clearing her throat.
“Guys, I left because McKenzie told me about your trip. I didn’t want to interrupt something you’d been planning forever with all kinds of melodrama.” She snorted. “Of course, I screwed that up royally, so I may as well throw myself off the plank all the way. I’ve got a ticket booked to return to Canada. My five years are up. I always intended to return home then.”
Mason’s world fell apart. “You’re leaving Australia? Not just Bandicoot Cove, but Sydney and Australia?”
She nodded. “That was the plan. But the reason I left…I didn’t want to make the mistake of telling you…”
Pause. Hard swallow. Paige squared her shoulders and lifted her chin—the same moves he’d seen her make as she gathered her courage to join them on a risky maneuver in the wilds. Before taking on a fast zipline, or a dangerous section of rapids.
She tugged on Trent’s fingers where he held her captive, pulling one hand free and reaching it to Mason. He snatched it up immediately, rubbing warmth back into her cold digits.
“I wanted to be angry. I wanted to be able to hold off and not tell you this, but I’m not strong enough. I’m sorry…”
Mason clung to her fingers. “What? God, you’re killing me.”
“Not telling us is worse than anything you could say,” Trent agreed. “I’m thinking of all sorts of terrible things. Like you’re dying, or—”
Paige swung her head his direction. “No, that’s not it. It’s just that—I love you.”
Trent froze in surprise. Mason stilled as well, his hopes hovering like a bird in a windstorm looking for a safe place to rest.
She turned to face Mason, squeezing his fingers. “But I love you too.”
He closed his eyes and let blessed relief sweep over him. There wasn’t anything in his brain except this buzzing sound repeating thank God, thank God, over and over again.
Paige wiggled her hands free. “And…that’s about why I left. I’m sorry, guys, I didn’t mean to ruin—”
Trent grunted. “Holy crap, woman, you Canadians take apologizing far too seriously. We’re not sitting here in shock thinking, ‘What the hell are we going to do next?’”
Mason’s brain finally reengaged. He scooped her off the bench and back into his lap. He needed to be touching her while he explained. “I love you. So does that dickhead over there.”
“Hey—” Trent protested.
“But we were waiting to be able to show you the ship before we asked if you’d like to travel with us.”
It was Paige’s turn to flap her jaw wordlessly.
Trent leaned across and snatched up her hand again. “Just as proof I can talk for myself, I love you, Paige. While the past year has been incredible, it’s not enough anymore. I want it all. I want to introduce you to my family and have you sleeping in my bed all the time.”
“All the time you’re not sleeping in my bed, or we’re not in yours.” Mason caught her chin in his hand and turned her face toward his. “But it’s about more than the bedroom. We want you to join us as we laugh with our friends, and kick back over the holidays with my brothers and sister.”
Paige shook her head. “Both of you? I thought it was impossible, that’s why I left. I mean, it is impossible.”
“Not if we want it to work. It’s true, you can’t marry both of us—”
“Marry?” The word squeaked out, and Trent punched Mason in the shoulder.
“You have fucking lousy timing for someone who claims to be a romantic.”
“Never said I was a romantic.”
“Then what the hell are you doing writing romance novels?”
Paige laughed. It was still a little shaky, and Mason tucked her tight against his chest and cradled her close.
“Yeah, yeah, I suck dingo balls. But it’s part of this discussion. We’ve all been keeping secrets from each other out of good intentions. Enough of that.”
Trent nodded. “If we’re going to make things work with three of us in the picture, we’re going to have to cut the crap.”
Paige sniffed. “And I have to stop being such a girl.”
Mason chuckled. “The fact you’re a girl is part of your charm, love.”
She squeezed her eyes tight for a moment, lashes wet with moisture from her tears. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. When McKenzie said you two were going away and I wasn’t going to be part of it, I couldn’t even stick to my plan to fulfill all your final fantasies this weekend. I just thought about escaping.”
The pain in her voice dragged daggers down Mason’s back. “I’m sorry my big idea of making it a surprise ended up hurting you.”
“Me too.” Trent squatted on the floor in front of them and looked into her eyes. “So as a part of being a threesome and not a duo—we obviously need more total disclosure. Mason and I both love you, and that means the whole deal. We’re not doing this all romantic and shit and actually proposing right now because we don’t want you to feel pressured into anything. But down the road? We want it all.” He frowned. “You were leaving…I thought you had a full visa? You don’t have to leave Australia, do you?”
Paige shook her head. “I got my immigration status years ago. Pastry chefs are in high demand.”
“But you quit?”
“Yeah.”
Trent grinned, then cleared his throat. “Paige Kingston, since you’re unemployed and all, would you do us the honor of accompanying us on a trip up the coast of Australia for the next six months? Unscheduled stops to include sandy beaches, hiking trails, kayaking spots of interests, and wherever catches our eyes.”
A small smile appeared curling up the corners of her mouth. “I don’t know. Does that include having to put up with you calling me Sheila when you’re cranky?”
Mason snorted. “Does it include us having to put up with you asking if we’re going to throw another couple of shrimp on the barbie?”
She raised a brow.
“Don’t all you Aussie men do that? And carry big knives and—” Paige let out a huge sigh and cuddled up to him again. “Oh God, I’m so exhausted. My mind is numb, as if I’ve been walking on the edge of a cliff and one wrong move would send me falling to my death. And now—I can’t believe we’re not only okay, but together even better. It’s…incredible.”
Mason squeezed her tight, relieved as well, but highly amused. “You really are being a girl today.”
Trent smacked him one.
“What?”
“Arsehole.”
“Wanker.” Mason grinned at his best mate. After nearly fucking the whole thing up, it appeared they still might get a chance for everything they’d dreamed of to come true.
They sat, the three of them curled close together. Paige in his lap, Trent at their feet caressing her hands with a slow, smooth repetition. The ship swayed gently, rocking them as peace filled the cabin.
Then Paige stood and turned to face them. There was a light shining in her eyes that he’d missed seeing lately, the one that reflected her sheer joy and enthusiasm for life. It was good to see it back where it belonged.
She lifted her chin resolutely. “I would love to travel with you. I need to make a few calls and cancel my flight. And we need to talk about other details, like how will your families take the idea of me being the scarlet woman who led you astray into a terrible, wicked lifestyle?”
Trent raised a brow. “Is that what you’re planning on doing? Terrible, wicked things? Because I’m totally down with that.”
“Me too. Wicked gets my vote.” Mason leaned back in his chair and ogled her. “Plus naughty. And if you really feel up to it, evil acts of perversion—I could use a little research for my next novel.”
“You’re not going to put me into a book, are you?” she asked.
Mason drew an X over his chest. “Not anymore, darling.”
Paige narrowed her gaze. “What does that mean?”
He grinned, letting all the worry and fear of the past hours slip away, reveling in the joy rising on her face. “You were the inspiration for my last three heroines. I’m going to have to find a new prototype, or my fans will get sick of reading about strong-willed, gorgeous brunettes tangling the sheets with their Aussie lovers.”