“Yeah, the dads were pretty happy, too,” Dane said.
“But, why did Leif decide to retire?” Joshua persisted. “I thought that he and Caleb were both on their way to at least colonel-level jobs at the Pentagon.”
“Probably, but they knew that their lifestyle wasn’t going to be supported. They’ve known forever that they wanted to get married and settle down. They knew they wanted to settle down with the same woman,” Dane explained.
“I just don’t get that,” Joshua said. “Why together?”
“You still have to ask that question,” Dale asked, “even though you now swim in the same pool as the rest of us?”
“I understand it for Ian and I, because we found Olivia. Neither of us wanted to give her up. But what makes you go out looking for a woman to share?” Joshua asked.
“I can only speak for Dane and me,” Eric said. “We’ve always been attracted to the same woman. Always. One of us was always having to step aside to save the friendship, and we talked about it and realized there would come a day when the right woman would come along who would matter too much, who would destroy our relationship as brothers. And that’s when we knew we were going to have to come up with a plan. We realized we were going to have to share. The more we talked about it, the more we realized it was actually the perfect solution. Because we would both be bringing something different into the relationship, we would actually be making it stronger. We were lucky, because we already grew up in a family that was accepting of this, and we live in a community that has this lifestyle already woven into its society.”
“You were lucky,” Dale Hart said. “Unfortunately, our family didn’t understand. Dad still doesn’t accept what we’ve done. Mom has come around, especially now that there’s a grandchild. Thank God we found Fate Harbor.” Jace nodded in agreement with his brother.
“Thanks, that really helps,” Joshua said. “I’m really amazed at how the three of us together is actually a stronger relationship than if it had just been Olivia and me. However, I still have to explain this to my family.”
“It’s your deal,” Eric said, handing him the cards.
Chapter 16
Olivia had been able to keep it together until Joshua left. She knew that he was giving Ian and her time alone, and she really appreciated it. She needed this time with Ian, and she felt bad that the first thing she was going to do was cry all over him, but she couldn’t help it.
Ian had a pizza waiting for the three of them, but Joshua was out the door before the box could even be opened. Now she was sitting on the couch with Ian, and the box was still closed. He held her in his lap. She was always amazed at how small she felt in this man’s arms.
“Tell me about it, baby,” he coaxed.
“It’s been too much. It was just too much.” And then the flood of tears started. She started with how worried she’d been about him, and then ended with the boy, Christopher. He rocked her and made soothing sounds, gliding one hand down the length of her back, while the other pushed through her mane of hair to massage the tight muscles of her neck. When she had finally calmed, he tilted up her chin so he could see her.
“Oh, baby, how bad is the headache? Is it a migraine?”
“Not yet, but it’s coming,” she admitted quietly. He gently set her aside to bring her some medication and a glass of water.
“I think we can break this in half,” she said. She smiled when she saw Ian’s look of relief. It was a precious thing to Olivia to see how important she was to this man, that he cared so much about even the littlest things concerning her health.
“Do you want me to make you a milkshake?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? I’ve been smelling pepperoni for the last twenty minutes. How can I resist that?” They both dug into the pizza, and she asked for details about his time in Boston. When he explained how he had worked on Frank Brotze’s phone there in the restaurant, she hit his chest.
“I can’t believe you took such a risk! Jesus, Ian, what if they caught you?”
“They would have assumed that I was involved in corporate espionage. What could they have done in the middle of a restaurant? I was safe at all times, Olivia,” he assured her. He looked at her closely, noticing that the fine lines that had been around her eyes and mouth that indicated a headache had dissipated.
“Out of the two of us, you had the harder time. I must say, you are a pretty devious woman. That was pretty great how you got people to donate so much to the shelter.”
“That’s just charity manipulation 101. Use the media to your advantage. I actually have a couple of newscasters in Boston that I work with quite regularly. Now that I’m here in Fate Harbor, I’ll have to make friends with the Seattle broadcasters,” she said thoughtfully. Olivia started thinking about some of the things she would need to do to move her operations to the Northwest. Then she realized that her men hadn’t really spoken with her about anything permanent.
“Olivia, you’re right, you do need to start making friends with the Seattle news team,” Ian said quietly.
Olivia set down her plate, looking up at Ian, and found him staring at her with an intent expression. “Ian, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make any assumptions.”
“Joshua and I want you to assume. We’ve been making assumptions ever since we went to Boston. We love you. We want you in our lives.” He reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and then stroke the line of her jaw. “We know this relationship isn’t going to be easy. There’s going to be fallout for your charity like there was for Chance. I think my family is going to be fine with this, but I worry about Joshua’s. But, please, make assumptions, Olivia, make assumptions that include forever, okay, baby?”
“Ian, are you sure? I know you were struggling with this. I don’t want to put you into a corner,” Olivia said worriedly.
“Nothing in my life has ever been easier than becoming friends with Joshua, except loving you, Olivia. When I realized those two truths, I had to laugh. How could I have ever struggled with this decision? I was a dumbass. Making a family with the two of you is the easiest and happiest choice of my entire life.” Olivia literally sprang into his arms, knocking him into the back of the sofa, showering his face with kisses. He let her continue for long moments until he caught her lips with his, and then he began a slow seduction.
This was not the Ian she was used to. There was no plundering. Instead his lips softened under hers, tempting her to taste. She glided her tongue against the seam of his lips, and he slowly opened his mouth so that she could rub against him, their tongues tangling in a languid dance as their breath began to quicken.
She relaxed against his chest, delighting once again in the dichotomy of their size. His immense arms and shoulders made her feel almost petite. They definitely made her feel safe and secure. He wrapped those arms around her and pressed his lips just a little closer to hers, making her sigh.
Pulling away, he asked, “How is your head, Livvy? Does it still hurt?” Seeing her confused expression, he smiled. With one strong lift of his legs, he rose from the sofa with her in his arms and walked steadily to the bedroom. He continued to hold her with one arm, as he pulled back the covers from the freshly made bed. She could smell the freshness of clean sheets, and that made her smile. Again, all the blinds and windows were open. The sun set late during Northwest summers, and the magical feel of a forest indoors now lightened her heart within this secluded bedroom.
Ian set her down beside the bed, and they watched one another intently as they took their time undressing. Their moods matched, each unhurried, their eyes gleaming as more skin was revealed, tempting and teasing, heightening one another’s pleasure, until finally they were both nude.
“You’re beautiful, Olivia,” Ian said, as he traced the angry red wound on her upper arm that had recently had its stitches removed.
Olivia dragged her fingers through the soft brown and auburn hair of his chest, finding the copper nipple. She bent forward and suckled the disk, and
was rewarded by a soft groan from Ian. Looking up through her lashes, she said, “You’re the beautiful one, Ian. Inside and out.”
He put one arm around her back and another under her knees, and gently placed her onto the middle of the bed, and slid in beside her, then rested his forehead against hers. “I must have done something really good in a past life to deserve you now.” He paused and took a deep, shuddering breath. Olivia reached up and stroked his cheek. She could see that something was really upsetting him.
“Tell me, Ian,” she begged.
“I keep thinking that you’ll be taken away from me, Olivia, even though we’re doing everything right, even though I know we’re going to protect you and keep you safe. I’m worried that somehow the universe is going to take you away from me.” Olivia felt the big body above her tremble.
“Oh, Ian, that’s exactly how I felt when you were in Boston. No matter how many assurances you and Joshua gave me, I just felt like you were too good to be true, and that you would be taken away from me.” She felt a tear drip down her cheek. Ian leaned down and licked it up and then trailed his tongue to brush over her full lips, tempting her into a long and lush kiss, beguiling her away from thoughts of loss.
“I choose to believe in a universe that would only give you good things, Olivia, and if that’s true, it will give you what you want.”
“I want you,” she rushed to assure him.
“Therefore, if I believe that then the universe will have to give me you.” He drifted down her body, placing kisses on her neck, on the slope of her breasts, on the curve of her stomach, on the silky hair of her mound. He gently shouldered her legs apart, and placed kisses on the seam of her sex, then whispered his tongue lightly inside the liquid petals, tempting them to open.
Olivia sighed her pleasure and spread her thighs further, allowing Ian further access so that he could delve deeper. He curled his tongue, lapping up the essence of Olivia’s passion, humming in approval. Olivia smoothed her fingers over the sleek skin of his shoulders, luxuriating in the feel of all that power at her fingertips. Then she felt his thumbs brush against her pussy, parting her labia, and she felt the push of his fingers entering her flushed and swollen channel, and she arched into his deep penetration.
“Ian,” she breathed.
“Let me make you feel good, Livvy,” he begged.
“Everything you do makes me feel good.”
He began a leisurely rhythm that soon had her writhing. “Please—oh, Ian—please.” Again, she felt tears on her cheeks at the sacredness of the loving. “Please, be inside me. I don’t want to come without you inside me.”
Ian looked up. Their eyes met, hazel and turquoise. Olivia was relieved when she saw the answering need. “Always, Livvy, I will always give you what you need,” he promised.
Ever so slowly, he moved up her body, and she felt the head of his penis parting the folds of her sex, and then he pushed his way inside her with one long, slow glide. She wrapped her legs around his waist, not wanting to let him go. He moved his hands so that they were beside her head, so that his fingers could caress her face.
He thrust, and she stared up at the beauty that was Ian. She felt so loved as his thumbs brushed away the tears, as they dripped toward her temples, and he kissed her nose, her cheeks, and her lips. “I love you, Olivia. You are my life.”
She met him thrust for thrust as they rocked together toward bliss. They remained locked together in sleep, not even parting when Joshua joined them in bed hours later.
* * * *
“Linus is off the list of suspects,” Ian told her over an early breakfast.
“How did you determine that?” Olivia asked, looking from Joshua to Ian.
“I was monitoring his e-mail. He’s been double-checking the budgets on InfoDyne with other customers. We can tell he’s suspicious of the budgets he’s been submitting to AHC. We think that’s the reason he asked Adam to schedule a Skype meeting with you for tomorrow.”
“Adam hasn’t told me about that,” Olivia said as she scooped up another spoonful of blackberries and yogurt.
“He’s probably going to call you. Linus e-mailed you, but I know you can’t access your e-mail,” Ian said with a wry grin.
“When the hell are you guys and Chance going to restore my access?” Olivia demanded. “My migraines have stopped.”
“Now that’s a bunch of bullshit,” Ian replied. “You needed half a pill last night.”
Joshua’s head immediately snapped up from his plate of bacon and eggs. “Olivia Ann, what brought on a headache? Was it the situation with Christopher?” he asked.
“That was mostly it, but I had also been stressed about Ian,” she answered reluctantly. She reached out to both men, grabbing their hands. “I really have been getting better,” she reassured them.
“Don’t you think that part of the reason you’re getting better is that you haven’t been involved with AHC? Don’t you think you needed a break?” Ian asked softly as he brought her hand to his lips. Olivia looked into his eyes and was immediately thrust back to the previous night.
“You’re right, I have been needing a break for a long time. I just haven’t had a reason to take one before you and Joshua came into my life.” She lifted her other hand and kissed Joshua’s knuckles tenderly. She gave her head a slight shake, breaking the moment. “I’m so glad to hear that Linus is in the clear. He’s been with AHC since the beginning. He’s been a real rock to Chance and me.”
“Everything I’ve discovered has proved that out,” Joshua said. “I’ve had a friend of mine do background checks on all four of our suspects, while Ian has been monitoring them online. Linus seems like the most solid performer, with Barry coming in a close second.”
“I really thought Richard would have been second,” Olivia said. “I don’t know why, maybe because Barry is an attorney. That’s pretty bad that I have a prejudice like that,” she admonished herself.
“Barry has an exemplary reputation in Boston. He’s been doing business for over twenty-five years, and his client list is like a who’s who in Boston. Meanwhile, Richard is experiencing some financial difficulties. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that there has been some money changing hands between InfoDyne and Richard,” Joshua stated.
“Damn it,” Olivia said in a disgusted voice. “I can’t believe we let someone with those kinds of problems on the board.”
“In all fairness to you and Chance, his money problems developed after you selected him, so cut yourself some slack, okay, Olivia Ann?” Joshua asked.
“Yeah, but one of the things we really tried to look at was the character of the people we selected. Obviously, if he could accept money and pull some underhanded things like this, then he has some significant character flaws. I don’t care if they did come to light after we selected him,” Olivia stated firmly.
Joshua and Ian looked at one another, realizing that there was nothing they could do to stop Olivia from blaming herself.
“I’ve got to get going,” Ian said, “and Leif and Caleb will be here any minute.” Olivia looked at the clock over the stove, and went to get her purse and go to the bathroom.
“How bad was her headache?” Joshua asked Ian.
“She only needed half a pill,” Ian said. “She told me about Christopher. Do you really think she’ll be able to visit him this weekend?”
“Sam seemed to think so.”
“How did the class go other than that?” Ian asked.
“She was absolutely amazing. She’s so good running at AHC and being an executive, it just didn’t occur to me that she would be that great with kids. Ian, she was fantastic. She has a real gift,” Joshua said.
“You know becoming a mother is important to her, don’t you?”
“We never talked about it,” Joshua admitted.
“Well, it is. You’ll need to think about it,” Ian said.
“Have you?” Joshua asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Ian said softly. “I’ve thought about i
t from that first day when I saw her scar. I want that with her.”
“Let me get my head around this. Do you think that’s something she wants right away?” Joshua asked.
“If she could, I think she’d want to try tomorrow. I haven’t asked her, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. I think she’s scared though. She lost an ovary, so it cuts her chances in half. Just think about it, okay, Joshua?”
“I will,” he promised.
“Hey, Joshua, the guys are here,” Olivia called from the living room.
Joshua laughed when he saw that instead of Leif’s SUV, they had driven Caleb’s full-sized cab truck, and that it was filled with materials to upgrade the playground.
“Guys, Shirley will be so grateful when she sees all of this,” Olivia enthused. Leif and Caleb looked embarrassed. Joshua continued to chuckle under his breath, knowing that this was just a way for the two men to spend more time at the school and in the presence of the charming Isabella. He was surprised that Olivia hadn’t picked up on that, as well, but then he figured that it might just be something that only another man would be aware of.
“This looks like a project that might last until the end of day tomorrow,” Joshua said. “I appreciate the fact that you’ll be able to spend both days with Olivia, actually.”
“I really don’t think I need three bodyguards, Joshua,” Olivia said.
“I would rather err on the side of caution,” Joshua said. “What’s more, the school and the children can really use the upgrade to the playground. Aren’t those new basketball hoops I see in the back?” Joshua asked.
“Yep,” Caleb replied in his normal taciturn manner.
Olivia peeked inside the back. “Joshua, look at that, they must have bought out the sports-supply store! I see dodge balls, a tetherball pole, basketballs. And is that stuff to line a baseball field?” she asked.
“Yep,” Caleb replied.
“What are those poles for? And is that welding equipment?”
Protecting Olivia [Fate Harbor 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 21