Radiance

by Shayne McClendon

Just after dark, Elijah escorted Harper from Brie’s home and they prepared for a midnight flight to Africa.

  In the apartment, Harper said, “She’s a good person, gentler than anyone I’ve ever met. I’m sorry I hurt her, Elijah.”

  “I need you to be careful, Harper. She’s breakable.”

  After Brie and Harper settled things between them, she made them dinner and asked a hundred questions about the life they lived. She focused on things no one ever asked.

  Her interests were people and places. Their favorite place to travel, if there had ever been someone who made them “fangirl,” and how the hell did they cope with jet lag were just a few of the things she wanted to know.

  Smart, funny, and loving, time with her gave Elijah a glimpse of normalcy he’d never experienced.

  They took turns kissing her goodnight and she told them to be safe. She was the first person to say it to him, the only woman to ever be invested in his return.

  It made it difficult to leave her.

  When his bag was packed, Elijah stood beside the door, waiting for Harper. Checking his phone, he received the updates for the day from the security team.

  Frustrated, he wasted no time when his friend appeared with papers in his hand. “Stop fucking random women.” Silver eyes met his in shock. “You play roulette with her body and her safety. She’s clean, Harper. I won’t have her contaminated by your drive-thru fucks.”

  Opening the door, he handed their bags to the men waiting in the hall. “I can’t imagine how hurt she’d be if she knew.”

  Defensive, Harper replied, “It doesn’t mean anything.”

  Elijah closed the door and stepped closer. “It seems few things mean anything to you anymore. She trusts us. You can’t keep sticking your dick in anything with a pulse. It’s fucked up and you know it.”

  “Ah. I’m to add abstinence to my life. Understood, Elijah. Forgive me for filling my time with unapproved recreation while you woo the lady fair.”

  “Am I to pity you? There have been seven women in the last twenty days on three continents. The equivalent of all Brie’s sexual partners in her lifetime.”

  “Is that true?”

  He could see the surprise on Harper’s face and refused to address it. “You mock the small amount of time I give her when we’re in the same time zone when you could easily join me. Painting yourself the victim is beneath you.”

  “Abstaining is easier for you.”

  “How is it possible that you don’t know me after so many years, Harper? Brie is medically incapable of actual sex. I wait as she is forced to wait. There’s nothing easy about it.”

  “I didn’t realize…”

  “Sex means nothing to you. Those with whom you have sexual relationships mean nothing. You require instant gratification in all things. I should be accustomed to it by now.” He swung the door wide, his heart aching. “Let’s go.”

  Hours later, he arranged for a courier to deliver Brie a secure cell phone. The moment it was active, Elijah called her.

  “We left at midnight. Return isn’t set yet but I’ll let you know. I miss you, Brie.”

  “I miss you, too. Once a week. Don’t forget.”

  “Never again. I promise.”

  Hanging up, he focused on catching up on paperwork and tweaking training itineraries for his team. There were several new additions he was interested in testing.

  He had no idea what else to say to Harper.

  Nothing he said seemed to make a difference. Elijah was beginning to wonder if he would ever accept Brie or if she’d end up hurt as she feared.

  The possibility filled him with anguish.

  * * *

  On the plane, Harper stared at his laptop screen and tried to settle his racing thoughts.

  He admitted he was a selfish man. Since he was a child, he’d been coddled, protected, and indulged.

  Elijah had been his guardian all his life. A voice of reason, of logic, who thought only of Harper’s interests.

  The one time he hadn’t trusted him, hadn’t shared what was in his mind, he’d ended up marrying Danielle and caused what he feared was irreparable damage to their relationship.

  Acting in haste, he did what he wanted. The night he’d shared the news of his pending marriage, his parents were happy for him…if a bit hesitant over his choice.

  His best friend, his lover remained still, silent.

  His parents and siblings assumed he’d already known. While they celebrated, as Harper smugly accepted congratulations and teasing, Elijah excused himself.

  He didn’t return for two days.

  Realizing he was back, he tried to gain access to Elijah’s space and discovered he’d been locked out.

  He waited just outside to confront him. When he emerged, his bodyguard calmly explained that everything between them on a personal level was finished.

  Panicked, filled with regret, he tried to change the mind of the strongest and most honorable man he knew.

  “You made your choice, Harper. Had you bothered to discuss your plans with me, I’d have made my position clear. I won’t dishonor myself, I won’t live a lie, so that you can indulge yourself at the expense of a woman who doesn’t know anything about you beyond your net worth.”

  “We can be with her together,” he insisted desperately.

  “I respectfully decline your offer. I have no attachment or attraction to the woman you’ve chosen to marry.”

  “Elijah. I’ll call it off.”

  “You’ll dishonor the promise you made to her? No. She was your choice a week ago. You wanted her enough to hide the purchase of the ring as well as the proposal.”

  He stepped closer and said quietly, “Have I earned so little of your respect, your consideration, that you would have me find out in a gathering of friends and family?”

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  Green eyes looked deep and Harper knew Elijah saw everything about him, the good and the bad.

  “You failed.”

  Then Elijah went around him and walked downstairs.

  The eighteen months that followed were filled with wedding planning, trying to adjust to his new wife, and his desire to get her pregnant as quickly as possible.

  Harper hid his pain over the loss of the only person who loved him despite his mistakes, his selfishness, and his inability to show adequate appreciation for anything in his life.

  When he wasn’t with his wife, he sated himself, soothed his pride, by fucking women in every location. Elijah refused to interact outside of his position as personal security and Harper’s attempts to gain his attention were futile.

  Soon after Danielle’s death, his mother died and his father withdrew into deep grief.

  Lost, alone, and confused, Harper started drinking and whoring. Barely able to maintain his daily responsibilities, it was Elijah who prevented his complete ruin.

  He dried him out, banned him from women, and forced him to take a vacation to pull his shit together.

  On the fourth day, Harper begged Elijah to take him back, swearing everything would be different if only he’d reconsider.

  That the dangerous man accepted his apology was amazing. That he didn’t kill Harper when he returned to cycling women in and out of his bed was a shock.

  Elijah started acting as a third to limit how much access the greedy women who gravitated to him had to Harper while he was at his most vulnerable.

  That his best friend never wanted any of them was information he’d only recently received. It broke part of him to know he’d been no better than the tyrant in Elijah’s childhood.

  He’d pushed him, all but forced him to engage in ways he wouldn’t have chosen for himself.

  All of it, he’d done out of love for Harper.

  If he didn’t fix what was wrong with him, he’d lose Elijah again. He knew the next time the loss would be permanent.

  Chapter Twenty

  Mid-May 2015

  The day
Brie and Harper came to an understanding of sorts, she finally saw the potential of what the three of them could have together.

  She tried to rein in her hope without success.

  Elijah provided her with a secure cell and it would have been hard to explain her pleasure when he checked in with her at least once a day.

  They’d been gone a week when she received a text at one in the afternoon that asked, “Are you busy?”

  Three seconds after she responded she wasn’t, Elijah called.

  “Hi. I miss you.”

  “I miss you, Brie. What are you doing?”

  “Painting. What are you doing?”

  There was rustling in the background. “Just finished training a new unit in the middle of nowhere.”

  “That sounds fascinating. Are you tired?”

  “No but they are.”

  It made her laugh. “Of course they are because you’re superhuman. What are you going to do now?”

  “Just got out of the shower and will attempt to get some sleep for the first time in two days. I wish you were here.” He grunted. “Strike that. There are bugs the size of my forearm. I wish I was there.”

  She listened as he prepared for bed somewhere else in the world. Something told her not to ask too many questions.

  “Eww, yuck. So do I. Hold on for a minute. I’m going to set the phone down.” She locked up the apartment.

  In her bedroom, she stripped down and climbed in her bed. When she was settled, she picked up the phone.

  “You’re in bed.”

  “I’m keeping you company.”

  “Fuck…that’s a lovely image.”

  They talked and laughed for more than an hour. Finally, she told him, “You need sleep, Elijah.”

  “Too hard to sleep.”

  “Is that a pun?” He chuckled. “Orgasms always help me sleep. It’s the only way I get any these days.”

  “An even lovelier image. Tell me about this phenomenal new sleep aid.”

  “Well, I like to take a stupidly long shower before I get in bed. It relaxes stiff muscles. Once all the lights are off, I wonder where you are and what you’re doing.”

  “Usually something boring.”

  She smiled. “I like to imagine you’re just getting out of the shower. In my mind, you’re always just getting out of the shower or waking up.”

  “Interesting.”

  “I like imagining you relaxed. You’re always on the go. Sleeping and showering force you to settle for a moment.”

  “You have a lovely heart.”

  “Last night, I imagined you were just waking up and that we were all tangled together. You did that full torso pet over me that gives me shivers.”

  “Noted.”

  “You rolled us and held my wrists over my head with one hand while you stared down at me. Honestly, I was ready to come at that visual alone but I held back to make it last.”

  “Brie…” She listened to him inhale deeply. “Are you naked?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you touching yourself?”

  “Do you want me to?”

  “Yes.” There was the sound of rustling. She slid her hand over her belly and settled her fingers over her mound. “Are you wet?”

  “Very.” She whispered, “Are you stroking yourself?”

  “Yes.” Thinking about the way his hand looked wrapped around his length made her moan softly. “You like watching me fist my cock.”

  “It fascinates me. The strength in the movements, not gentle like you are with me. The way the muscles in your arm flex, the veins visible under your skin. It’s just so…god.”

  “Don’t come, Brie.”

  “Mm. Okay.”

  “Put two fingers in your pussy. Imagine they’re my tongue.” She gasped. “I love the taste of you. No matter how long I eat you, you’re always slick and warm and inviting.”

  Sighing his name, she stroked herself steadily.

  “One day soon, I’ll experience it with my dick. I hope I don’t embarrass myself.”

  “Don’t worry,” she told him breathlessly. “If you come quickly, it takes the pressure off. Hmm, you’ll make more and more and more for me.”

  “Fuck. The thought of thrusting inside you, hard and deep, until you scream for me.”

  “I want that, Elijah. I want you wrung out from the pleasure of taking me in every way you need, any way you want.”

  “Come for me, Brie,” he told her hoarsely.

  Moaning, she allowed herself to let go of her need and came harder than she ever had alone. Gasping for breath, shaking, she murmured his name like a prayer.

  His low growl on the other end of the line followed by her name made her climax last a long time.

  “You are fucking spectacular.”

  “I feel the same way about you, Elijah.” Sighing, she asked softly, “Do you think you can sleep now?”

  There was a long pause. “You’re so giving…yes.”

  “I’m going to take a nap, too. Sleep at the same time so I feel like we’re together.” She wanted to ask when they were coming back but she didn’t. “Goodnight, Elijah.”

  “Brie?” She hummed. “I miss you badly. Goodnight.”

  To her surprise, she fell into a hard sleep and woke up after dark. Taking a moment to center her thoughts, she sent Harper a text to say hello and tell him she missed him.

  He wrote back, “Ditto.”

  Smiling to herself, she said aloud, “Gotta start somewhere.”

  Throwing back the covers, she went to shower and change. She felt like hanging out with her friends.

  * * *

  The men were gone for three weeks and Brie killed time with physical therapy, work for the winery, and several projects she’d taken on for Tawny’s men. When she wasn’t working, she painted and sketched.

  Anything to keep her mind busy.

  After wrapping her gift for Natalia’s unorthodox bridal shower, she headed downstairs to meet the others for the drive across town.

  Natalia, Riya, and Tawny were already in the M’s car and she waved at Rodney as she left the lobby. He opened the rear door with a huge grin. “You look great, Brie!”

  “Thanks. Better every day.”

  Harper’s car pulled to a hard stop behind them and Brie’s eyes widened in surprise. Elijah stepped from the back, lifted her into his arms without a word, and returned to the interior.

  The moment the door closed behind them, they fell on her like starved men.

  “I-I have to…”

  They kissed her silent and kept kissing her until she forgot what she was going to say, what she meant to do, and where she was supposed to be.

  Holding her between them, they slipped off her leather sandals and stroked their hands up her legs, gathering the Bohemian chic skirt she wore as they went.

  “You smell fantastic,” Harper said at her neck. His fingers slipped under her panties and stroked over skin that was freshly waxed, highly sensitive, and already wet.

  Elijah pulled down the layered tops and bra she wore and exposed her nipples, taking one into the wet heat of his mouth while they worked their hands over her folds together.

  The climax happened so fast, it was embarrassing.

  Groaning low in his throat, Harper painted her lips with his wet fingertips and devoured her mouth.

  Elijah murmured, “Again. We have time before she’s technically late.”

  Sinking to the floor of the limo, Harper stripped her panties down her legs and buried his tongue in her pussy. Brie screamed, the sound muffled by Elijah’s mouth. He held her breasts in strong hands and broke the kiss to lick and suck them.

  They touched her everywhere and she overdosed on it.

  When Harper lifted his head, his chin was slick with fluids from her body. He gripped her neck and sat her up. “Taste your pussy, Gabriella. It’s fucking delicious.”

  He shared her flavor and her head spun from more stimulation than she’d ever received at one time.

/>   “Switch.” Elijah practically shoved Harper out of the way and took his place between her legs. Pushing his fingers deep, he lapped at her slickness with a low moan.

  Releasing her clit with a soft suck, he growled, “Get it. I want to know she’s wearing it when we drop her off. She’s so fucking wet.”

  Half her mind registered Harper removing something from a side compartment and handing it off as he cupped her breast and licked warmly over her aching nipple.

  “I already cleaned it for you, Brie. I wanted it ready the moment I had your pussy exposed.”

  While she watched, Elijah carefully inserted a curved toy inside her that made her gasp in surprise and longing.

  “It isn’t about the size but the shape…and the little extras.” He tied fine strings around her hips with a wink of one gorgeous green eye. “So it stays in place. You’re slick.”

  A low vibration caused her to whimper. Gripping Harper’s hair, she watched Elijah lap around the toy and circle her clit. She exploded, dropped her head to the seat, and shook so hard she held them to keep from falling on the floor.

  The vibration stopped and she inhaled carefully. They watched her ride the orgasm and played with her hair.

  When she could speak, she whispered, “Welcome back.”

  Chuckling, Harper said, “I had no idea you possessed the best place to eat in New York.”

  Laughing weakly, she managed to say, “I’ll return the favor when I can lift my arms.”

  “You’re going to the party. It’s important to you.” Elijah stroked her face.

  “I don’t…I’m kind of shaking and ridiculous right now.”

  Grinning, Harper commented, “Mm. You look fantastic.”

  “Brie.” Sensing a different tone, she opened her eyes and stared into his as she tried to regain her composure. “Leave the toy in place. We’ll pick you up in a few hours.”

  She nodded, practically delirious.

  He gave her a wink and put her panties in place, pressing his flat palm against the wet skin through the lace. They sat her up and straightened her clothes.

  The movement made her eyes widen. “Fuck…um, Elijah?”

  “We’ll see you in a little while.”

  They took turns kissing her stupid. Then she realized they were parked in front of the club.