by Lori King
“Damn right I do. But I want you for more than just a night, Gaby.”
That seemed to steal any witty reply she had right out of her mouth. Her smile slipped from her face and she frowned. He watched her for a moment as she debated what to say, and taking pity on her he grabbed her hand and spun her around.
“All right, enough serious talk. Let’s go to the beach!”
He gave her a little shove and was pleased when she started moving that direction. The last thing he wanted was to scare her away by telling her the secrets of his heart. Between the way he knew he felt, and the words he had heard come out of Michael and Kendrick, he knew it was only a matter of time before they were proposing to this gorgeous woman, but that didn’t mean that she was ready to hear it yet.
Instead he would take her for a walk on the beach and start working on finding out every little nuance of her life, so that he could figure out the best plan for keeping her.
It was full dark a couple of hours later when they arrived back at Gaby’s apartment. Their clothes were damp from playing in the waves, and her calves were burning from their walk. Simultaneously her heart was lighter now, because Austin was funny and warm and a lot of fun to be with. He was way better than she thought he would be when he first stepped foot on her boat. She felt a powerful connection building between the two of them that rivaled the one between her and Michael. It was slightly scary to feel so much for both brothers, and yet she felt like she was walking on air when she was around him.
These men were nothing like Tristan. The dates they had taken her on hadn’t been pretentious and hadn’t had an ulterior motive behind them. They genuinely seemed to want to spend time with her. It was a pleasant change of pace.
“Thank you, Tex. This was fun,” she said softly as she stopped in front of her door and turned back to face him.
His hand cupped hers and tipped her face up to look at him. The three men were so tall that they made her feel small. She knew she wasn’t model thin, but with them she really felt delicate. Maybe it was the way they touched her with affection and care.
“I want to see you again soon, love,” he said hesitantly.
“I’m supposed to go out with Kendrick before we can plan another date. And I have to plan around the shop…”
“Don’t you ever take time off?” he asked, looking sweetly concerned about her.
She giggled. “Yes, the shop is closed on Tuesdays, and I have an employee that helps me. Lil, Lilliana, works three days a week, and when she’s in the shop I can come and go.”
“Good, because I want to steal you away whenever possible. Can I kiss you goodnight?” When she nodded he swooped in for a kiss.
Her mouth opened under his, and she felt herself inhale his breath. For a moment they became one being with two bodies. Her mind whirled violently, and the only clear thought she had was that she wanted him inside of her. She wriggled underneath him as he pressed her to the door behind her. Her leg rode high on his hip, and his hand cupped the back of her thigh, keeping her open to him. The length of his erection pressed against the wet material of her slacks, and she moaned with need.
To her shock and dismay he was suddenly gone. Taking a step back, panting for breath, he said, “Gaby, I want you so much, but I promised. And besides you aren’t ready.”
She felt her face draw up into a pout. “I’m ready, damn it. Just let me get these clothes off and I’ll show you how ready I am.”
Austin groaned with need and turned his back on her. Instantly guilt swamped her. It wasn’t fair of her to put him in this position. He and his brothers were trying to give her space to make a decision, and it was pretty shitty for her to push him.
Stepping up to his back, she pressed her cheek between his shoulder blades, and her hands against his hard abs. “I’m sorry, Austin. You guys have a way of making a girl forget herself.”
The sharp laugh made her jump, and she let out a yelp when he spun in her arms and pushed her up against the wall. He lifted her so that she was forced to lock her legs around his lean hips and grip his shoulders to keep herself upright. “That’s exactly what we want.” He rocked his hips against her, pressing his still-clothed groin into the V of her thighs. She felt her pulse jump and her pussy clench. “See, Gaby, we want you to go mad with desire.” He rocked again, and she moaned. “We want you to want us too much to put up a fight” –he rocked again, and this time she felt herself slipping off the edge of orgasm— “when we tell you we are keeping you forever.” The words were soft, but his cock was hard as he rocked one more time against her, and her body shattered.
The orgasm surprised her, and seemed to satisfy something in him. Austin just held her as she trembled through it, riding the wave of pleasure until the world steadied again. He remained frozen in place, holding on to his own control and defying the expected norm. His eyes had darkened into a sleek pewter color, and in the dim light of the porch light, she could see the muscles in his jaw ticking.
He had an arrogantly satisfied look on his face, and she felt completely boneless as he stepped back and let her legs slip to the ground. Once she was steady on her feet, he stroked his fingers through her hair and picked up the house keys she hadn’t even realized that she had dropped.
“Go to bed, Gaby. I’ll see you soon, and we’ll finish this.”
Austin didn’t wait for a reply. He just pressed one more sweet kiss to her lips and turned away from her, disappearing into the darkness. Her body shivered in the cooling night breeze, and she could feel her panties sticking to her with her own cum. She had never behaved like that before, but she knew without a doubt that she would do so again, if it meant that he was the man holding her.
Chapter 8
Just as the other two had, Kendrick showed up the next evening as she was preparing to lock up the shop. He was wearing sweats and carrying a gym bag, and she frowned at the sight.
“What in the world?”
“You’re going to have a martial arts lesson,” he said, looking way too proud of himself.
“I am?” Excitement coursed through her body. She had asked her parents for years to let her take martial arts, and always got the same response. “Martial arts is for boys. Let’s sign you up for dance, tap, piano, voice, acting, debate…” A never-ending litany of hobbies that didn’t interest her in the slightest. Now Kendrick was offering her exactly what she wanted.
His golden gaze was filled with amusement as he waited. “You are if you go change into something comfy. Grab an extra set of clothes and we’ll stop for dinner after we get done at the gym, baby.”
Without any further encouragement, she completed her evening tasks and locked up the shop. It only took a few moments for her to change into yoga pants and a workout tank top, so they were at the gym in no time. Her nerves jangled in her belly as she watched Kendrick tug off his shirt and toss it aside before stretching. His long, lean body seemed to go on forever, and the strength in his muscles rippled visually, holding her attention.
“Gaby-baby, you better get warmed up.”
She jumped as he pulled her from her day dreams, “Oh yeah, okay. So, why tonight?”
Kendrick frowned in confusion.
“Why did you want to give me my first lesson tonight?” she asked again. He leaned over to capture her chin in his hand.
“Because, baby, I will do anything to get that hot little body pressed against mine again, and I can do it all I want when I’m putting your ass on the floor.” He sounded so smug and arrogant that she blew a raspberry at him, which just made him laugh.
“I might surprise you. I’m tougher than I look.”
They worked out for more than two hours before Kendrick decided that she’d had enough. He spent a lot of time focusing on defensive actions and explained that most forms of martial arts promoted peace, not fighting. It took several tries, but with each move she felt herself getting better, and her enthusiasm made up for her expertise.
“I have to admit, you did surprise
me, Gaby-baby.”
She looked pleased, and delicious as hell covered in a sheen of sweat, with her hair falling out of the high ponytail she wore. “Thanks, you were pretty awesome, Sensei.”
He laughed and grabbed her arm, dragging her against him. “So did I earn a kiss?”
She winkled her nose up and frowned. “Only after we shower, stud. No offense, but you don’t exactly smell like a rose, and I don’t even want to imagine my own scent right now.”
After showering and dressing in street clothes, they tossed their gym bags in the car and walked from the gym down the docks to a small restaurant next to the marina called the Dolphin.
“I highly recommend their fish tacos, but if you’re not up for ocean-Mexican food, you should get a burger,” Gaby said after they were seated and their server had delivered them both drinks. Kendrick took a sip of ice cold beer, while Gaby sipped at an Amaretto Sour and perused the menu.
“I’ll have whatever you have. I’m not a picky eater,” he said with a shrug.
“Good, because I’m a closet foodie. I adore good food, and I like to try new things,” she said with a genuine grin.
Kendrick’s blood pressure rose as he thought of all sorts of new things he wanted to try with her. God, this is going to be harder than I thought to keep my hands off of her all night. Just having her underneath him and pressed against him at the gym had been a trial. He knew that she was aware of his desire. The erection made it kind of hard to ignore, but she hadn’t mentioned it or let on that she knew. She had just jumped back up onto her feet and braced to go again. She was a delight.
“Tell me something about yourself that no one else might know,” he asked, sipping his drink and watching her closely.
She laughed. “There isn’t anything that Quinn doesn’t know about me, so that’s kind of unfair. Let’s see, my favorite book is A Wrinkle In Time, my favorite movie is Beauty and The Beast—the kid’s version, my favorite food is fajitas, and my favorite drink is sweet tea. Your turn.”
“Favorite book right now is probably Hawke by Ted Bell, my favorite movie is any one of the Die Hard movies, and my favorite food is pumpkin pie. Oh, and my favorite drink is grape soda.”
“Grape soda and pumpkin pie! Thanksgiving with you must be like having dinner in a preschool! Favorite color?”
“Blue.”
“Mine’s yellow. Favorite type of music?”
“Blues.”
“Really? That kind of surprises me.”
Kendrick grinned at the shock on her face, “Why? I’m a man of varied interests. What’s your favorite type of music?”
“Country or R&B, because both made my dad crazy when I was a kid. So how did you end up in martial arts?”
Kendrick gave a heavy sigh before answering. “When I was a kid, money was tight. I never knew my dad, and my mom raised me herself, but to do so she had to work a couple of jobs. In order to make sure I stayed out of trouble, she sent me to the local YMCA for an afternoon program. One day there was a man there who offered to give lessons to anyone interested, and I jumped at the chance. Believe it or not, I was a kind of scrawny kid with big glasses and bigger ears. Martial arts was an outlet as well as a form of self-defense for me.”
“No way! I find it kind of hard to imagine you as an awkward kid.”
“Believe it or not, I was. I’ll show you pictures some time. Anyways, Sensei Cheng was a mentor to me, and under his tutelage I was able to fill out and learn a hell of a lot. I started entering competitions and actually winning them. It grew from there. By my senior year, Sensei Cheng brought up college and offered to help me get scholarships based on my martial arts. The problem was that school didn’t interest me anymore. I never really liked school. It was just something I had to do. The Army offered me a way to have adventures that I had never had and escape going to college. Mama wasn’t very happy, but she was very proud of me.”
“Tell me about your mama.”
Sadness still burned in Kendrick’s heart, but he found it easier to talk to Gaby than anyone else so far. Besides, the more they knew about each other, the more likely she would be to say yes when they asked her to consider a permanent relationship.
Before Kendrick knew it, the server had come by with their check and a rather intrusive thank you for coming, but it’s time to leave kind of push out the door. Gaby yawned as they walked back to the car in the gym parking lot, and a glance at his watch told him that he had kept her out way too late. He got her hustled into the car and delivered to her doorstep in no time, but he hesitated to leave her there.
Pressing a gentle kiss to her mouth, he felt his skin prickle up and his hands reach for her hips. She molded herself against his body, her every curve fitting into him perfectly. Running his hands up over her ribs, he treated himself to a palmful of her round breasts, and he was delighted by her moan of pleasure.
Thankfully she pulled away a moment later, because Kendrick wasn’t entirely sure he could have stopped himself if they had continued. She was just too wonderful in his arms to let go of.
“This was fun, Gaby,” he whispered, and she nodded. “I know, it’s late. Up to bed with you, baby. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
They kissed once more before she opened her door and waved good-bye. So what if he stood like a god staring after her for a few minutes.
It was a couple of days before Gaby was able to see any of the guys again. She was ecstatic when Michael showed up to take her to lunch at Mama Lupe’s on Monday. They clicked in a completely different way than she had with Austin and Kendrick. She loved the easy way she was able to talk with him about her dreams of building her shop, and his dreams of finding a place that felt like home.
He had been a perfect gentleman yet again, and had left her at the shop with a quick kiss on her lips that afternoon. She felt like a big old goober when a wave of longing swept over her as she watched him walk away.
“You got it bad, chica.”
The words startled her even though she knew that Lilliana was in the shop. Turning to look at the slight woman with short black hair, she frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“I know the look of love, Gaby. I’ve seen it on my own face when I look at my men. You’re falling hard for the three of them.”
Gaby inhaled sharply and stared at her employee and friend. “I’m not ready to talk about it, Lil.”
Lilliana shrugged, “Okie dokie. Whatever you say, but trust me, I know the look of love when I see it.”
“Don’t you have to be on your way to pick up the girls?” Gaby stomped across the shop refusing to acknowledge the words coming out of Lilliana’s mouth. Even if they were true.
“I’m on my way now. Gaby…” She paused and waited until Gaby met her gaze. “I know you’ve been hurt, but don’t make the mistake of letting a good thing slip through your hands because you’re scared. You’ve been around ménage relationships long enough to see that they aren’t a bad thing, no matter what your family thinks.”
Gaby nodded silently and then blinked back tears. “Thanks, Lil. I’ll see you later, okay?”
Lilliana nodded and went out the door, leaving it jingling behind her. Gaby collapsed into one of the slipper chairs feeling like she had been through a hurricane. She wanted nothing more than to be happily in love, but she knew her father would flip out when she announced her relationship with three men. Not to mention how her three men would react when they realized that she was an heiress to a multimillion dollar fortune.
She just needed more time to figure it all out.
Gaby was at her sewing table when the doorbell jingled someone coming in the shop. A quick glance at the clock showed that it was near closing time, and her heart leapt in her chest. Having seen Michael earlier today, she hadn’t anticipated an evening visit, but she was sure that was the only person who would be coming in this late. Jumping up from her table, she stepped out the door to find her father standing in the middle of her boutique looking ridiculously out of place.
“Hi, Daddy! What brings you back to the island?” she said as he moved to his side to accept a hug and a kiss on the forehead.
He stepped and placed his hands on her shoulders to look her over. “Well, I got a phone call from Gladys saying that she needed a donation for her fundraiser, and she dropped the hint that you were in a new relationship. I knew that couldn’t be right because you would have told me if you were, so I came down here to clear it up.”
Gaby rolled her eyes. “Daddy, I am twenty-eight years old, I think I can handle my own relationships. Besides, don’t you have a standing tee-time at the golf club in Dallas on Fridays?”
“No golf game is more important than my daughter’s happiness. Now, tell me, are you ready to pack up this shop and come to work for me? You can keep doing your crafts if you must, but I need someone to turn the reigns of my various investments over, too, and I would prefer it be my own daughter. At some point I want to move back to the ranch and live out my old age raising cattle.”
“I have told you before that I am a designer, not an investment banker. I don’t do crafts, I design clothing, and I’m not interested in taking over the reins for you. Not to mention, the day you give up being the CEO of your own corporation will be the day they lay you in the ground. Dad, why did you really come here?”
William looked irritated as he drew himself to his full height. “Are you dating three men, Gabriella?”
She hesitated for a brief moment. Her father had never approved of the ménage lifestyle, saying that it was improper and repulsive. If it hadn’t been for trying to keep her out of the media spotlight he probably would have never bought property on the island. He was raised in small town Texas, very traditionally, where money didn’t cleanse a man of his beliefs, so there was no way he was going to accept her new relationship easily. She could lie, but eventually the secret would get out, and she didn’t want to have to hide the guys. Tipping her chin defiantly and meeting his dark-brown eyes she answered, “Yes, Daddy, I am. Michael, Austin, and Kendrick are new to the island. They took positions on the police force, and we hit it off right away, but let me point out that they know about each other. So I’m not doing anything wrong.”