Point of Seduction [Sunset Point] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Lori King

  “Yes. Me and my three husbands own Mama Lupe’s down the street.”

  Amber’s green eyes were as wide as dinner plates now. “Did you just say three husbands? You’re married to three men?”

  “Oh yeah. Honey, hasn’t anyone told you about Sunset Point Island before you came here?”

  “No. Obviously, some things were left out.” Amber glared at Trinity, who simply grinned at her.

  Since Gaby and Quinn had grown up on the island, Gaby took over explaining the abridged version of the island’s history, filling the other women in on how the island community was founded. “So, what brought you to the island, Lexa?” Gaby asked before taking a sip of her drink.

  “I was actually born here, too, but I haven’t been back here in more than twenty years.” Lexa paused for a drink before explaining further. “My mom took off one night, just grabbed me and ran. She always called this place the island of sin, sex, and wickedness. Now I’ve come to think it wasn’t this place, it was her illness. My mother’s a schizophrenic, and I guess something got all messed up inside her head about Sunset Point and my dad…and their lover.”

  Lexa sighed. “I only found out today that my parents were in a ménage relationship. They were all going to get married and then… poof. Mom bolted. Now she’s hospitalized, my father’s dead, and I’ve inherited a marina and a fucking trust fund I never knew existed.”

  Gaby stared at her, unsure of what to say. How was she supposed to respond to something like that? She knew now why she recognized the woman. It was vague in her brain, but she could remember playing with Lexa as a child. They weren’t close, but the memory of the scandal was pretty darn clear. Chris Fox’s wife and daughter disappearing into the night was big news on an island this small.

  Deciding that the best avenue was to just let the past lie, Gaby flashed Lexa what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Lexa glanced at Trinity and gave her a lopsided grin. “I just found out about the trust today. Now you know why I could really use a damned drink, or six, and that was before my employee started trying to hit on me.”

  “Well, welcome back to the island. Drink up, honey,” Gaby said, trying her best to keep an understanding smile on her face. “Take a break from all of that and have a little fun tonight.”

  “Trust me when I say I’m looking forward to it,” Lexa agreed.

  The women ordered another round, enjoying each other’s company. It felt good hanging out with a group of women who were so different than her, yet surprisingly similar. Gaby felt at home with these girls, and she was finding it easier to let go of the frustrations she was carrying.

  “Gaby, what happened when you told your men about Tristan?” Quinn asked, sipping at her soda like she hadn’t a care in the world. Gaby glared at her, but her friend just smiled serenely and rubbed at her belly.

  “I told them the basics, and they are letting me handle it,” Gaby said shortly, hoping Quinn would let it go.

  Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “Ahh. So I see you chose not to tell them the whole story.”

  “Q, let it go.”

  “Gabbers, I’m worried for you. Tristan isn’t the kind of man to give up when he wants something specific. What if he shows up?”

  “To quote my men, ‘Then he’ll have to go through the entire SPPD to get to me.’ I’ve got this under control Q. Trust me.”

  Quinn sighed, but she backed off, and an awkward tension settled between the two women. It wasn’t like Gaby had hidden the story from her men, she just didn’t want them to do something rash based on Tristan’s rantings. Just like always, Tristan was overreacting to her rejection, but he would get over it. In fact, he was probably already over it and whisking away some nubile young debutante with more money than brains right now. That was just the way Tristan Rogers worked. She wasn’t going to let him stress her out.

  The bar was growing more crowded, and Gaby’s mind drifted to her men again. She wondered what they were doing tonight to occupy themselves. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to spend time with them, but she was afraid they would start to think she was clingy if she hung on them all the time. Men didn’t like clingy women, and she certainly didn’t like clingy men. It was better that they have some time apart. Forcing her mind away from her men she turned on the only other woman she knew was dealing with boy troubles.

  “So, Trinity,” Gaby began. “What’s up with you and the very delicious Lieutenant Stone?”

  Reece choked on her drink and coughed. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I’m so sorry about the other night.”

  “What happened the other night?” Lexa asked as they all stared at Trinity in curiosity.

  Trinity snorted out a laugh. “Reece caught me and Jackson in the alley behind her shop.”

  “You…” Gaby burst out laughing as the mental image of Jackson Stone getting caught with his pants down flashed into her head. “Oh my god. I can’t wait to tell my guys about this!”

  “Speak of the devil and he shall appear…” Lexa said slowly as she looked at Trinity. “I know you wanted to take a break from your guys, but I think your time just ran out.”

  Gaby spun in her chair to see Jackson coming in the bar. Hot on his tail was Maxwell King, and Gaby’s brain went into overdrive. The way the two men were eating Trinity up with their eyes assured that there would be no misinterpretation of their intentions toward the woman.

  “Who is the other guy, Trinity?” Amber asked.

  “That is Maxwell King, ass extraordinaire.” Gaby bit her lip to keep from grinning as Trinity tried to ignore the two men who were clearly taking up her attention suddenly.

  “He does have an exceptional ass,” Lexa murmured. “Oops, I guess the alcohol is kicking in.”

  “Good. Have another,” Reece said, looking around for their waitress.

  “Next round is on me,” Trinity said as she stood, heading toward the opposite end of the bar from where Jackson and Maxwell were sitting, glaring at her. Gaby forced herself to turn away from the coming fireworks show as Trinity leaned on the bar near another man and purposely ignored Maxwell and Jackson. This was none of her business, and she was not going to get involved.

  Quinn jumped next to her, and Gaby jerked her eyes back to her friend. “What’s wrong?”

  The pale color of Quinn’s normally olive toned skin had Gaby’s heart racing, but she shook her head. “Nothing, just a twinge. I’ve been having Braxton Hicks for weeks, it’s nothing new. My due date is next week, so I could go at any time.”

  “Shit! You make that sound like you’re Mount Vesuvius about to erupt!”

  “If you’ve ever seen childbirth you would know that that is exactly what it’s like,” Quinn said with a laugh, leaving Gaby cringing.

  “Should we head for home?” Quinn shook her head no, but a second later she flinched again and then arched her back.

  “Okay, maybe I should go home and lie down. I worked all day long today, and I think this kiddo is telling me it’s time to get off of my feet.”

  Gaby was downing her drink and scooping up her purse in a heartbeat, standing to hold a hand out to Quinn as she eased from her barstool. Before they took a step they were brought up short by Trinity, Jackson, and Maxwell exiting the bar as a unit. Gaby giggled at the confident wink from Trinity.

  “Give ‘em hell, Trinity!” Lexa shouted.

  “Do you need some cupcakes to take home with you to sweeten them up?” Reece asked with a wink.

  “I don’t think they need any more incentives. They look like they’re going to eat her alive,” Quinn said with a chuckle.

  “Don’t let them push you around, honey!” Gaby called out.

  Amber laughed. “Oh, you guys have a thing or two to learn about Trinity. Don’t hurt them too much, honey! Go easy on them! They are just men after all!”

  “I make no promises!” Trinity called back to them just before she was yanked out the door followed by the sound of laugher coming from everyone in the bar.

  “Looks like Trinity
is going to have a good night tonight.” Quinn giggled. She and Gaby said their good-byes to the other girls, and weaved through the crowded bar to the door.

  “Watching Trinity with Maxwell and Jackson, kind of makes me wish I hadn’t told the guys I would be busy all night,” Gaby said with a wink as they emerged out into the night sky. She inhaled deeply, smelling the sea on the breeze and smiled up at the stars.

  “Umm…did you by chance tell your men where you would be?” Quinn asked speculatively, and Gaby’s eyes jerked back to her friend. Following her gaze she spotted the three men exiting the same doors that they themselves had just left.

  Fuck a duck. Those three followed her. They followed her on her girls’ night. What were they thinking? It only took a moment for the men to realize that they were caught, and they slowly made their way to stand in front of Gaby and Quinn.

  “Well? Do you want to tell me why you were sitting in the same bar that my friends and I just happened to be enjoying a guy free girl’s night?”

  Austin’s eyes narrowed, and he pinned her with his gaze. “We were having a drink.”

  She felt the skepticism on her face as her eyebrow rose sky high on her forehead. “Really? A drink? And that’s all you were doing?”

  “Gaby, we’re worried about you—” Kendrick started in, moving to her side and running his fingers down her cheek. She jerked back and glared at him.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re our woman, and another man has threatened you,” Austin answered pointedly, making both of the other men cringe.

  Trying to ignore the pleasure at being called “their woman” she chewed on the fact that they were trying to protect her. With a heavy sigh, she crossed her arms. “Guys, I promise you that Tristan is nothing to be concerned about. He’s just an arrogant asshole that can’t take rejection. If I give him time—”

  “Gabriella Larkin, I will not let you lie to your men or to yourself for that matter! Tristan has been harassing you for months!” Quinn stood with her hands on her nonexistent hips and her legs slightly spread. She was preparing for a battle, but Gaby knew that there was no point in arguing this. She couldn’t combat Quinn and all three men, especially when she knew that Quinn was mostly right.

  “Okay, so it’s gone on for a while, but that doesn’t mean he’s actually going to travel down here to the island! He’s all talk! Trust me!”

  Austin grabbed Gaby’s hand and she turned to face him. “That’s what you told us the other day when you promised us that he wasn’t a problem. How many times has he called you since then, Gaby?”

  She felt a hot flush crawl up her cheeks and she hesitated, “Umm…”

  “Four,” Michael said, looking hurt and angry when Gaby turned shocked eyes to face him.

  “How do you know that?” She whispered the question as dread filled her stomach.

  “I looked at your cell phone,” Kendrick answered.

  Her mind was racing faster than she could process all of her thoughts. They had gone behind her back and invaded her privacy because they didn’t believe her. They didn’t believe her. They didn’t trust her. They were sneaking around behind her back. They followed her! The thoughts pummeled her gut while simultaneously she was thinking about her own crimes. I lied to them. I purposely didn’t tell them the whole truth. I kept it a secret, but why? Who am I protecting?

  Before she could come up with a response, Quinn groaned loudly and bent at the waist. “Hey, umm guys, do you think you could possibly call my men? I think I need to go to the hospital.”

  Three matching looks of shock and horror stared back at Quinn, while Gaby dug her phone out of her Hermes clutch and hit the speed dial for Quinn’s house. Rolando answered, and she could hear the panic in his voice when she explained the problem. Clicking her phone off, she turned to her men like a general preparing her troops.

  “Okay, I need two of you to go to Quinn’s house on Magnolia Lane and watch her boys so that her men can meet us at the hospital. Austin, you can drive me and Quinn to the hospital, and once her men get there, we’ll go on over to Quinn’s to help with the kids. We’ll discuss this later.”

  “Umm, Gaby I don’t…I mean…Kendrick and I have never…shit…I don’t know anything about babysitting!” Michael fumbled, taking two steps backward with Kendrick close by his side.

  Gaby stepped forward and gripped his hand, tugging him down for a kiss. When their eyes met he seemed to calm down instantly. “It’s okay, Romeo, you’ll be fine. The boys are Mason and Zeke, and they should be getting ready for bed by this time of the night. Just hold on until I can get there. I can’t let Q go to the hospital alone.” Michael nodded, and she turned to Kendrick. “Can you do this for me, please?”

  She received another sharp nod, and after a quick kiss she turned back to Austin, who had actually moved to Quinn’s side and put his arm around her shoulders in a supportive way. Quinn smiled slightly and nodded, confirming the plan was good with her. “Thank you, guys.”

  They all went different directions. Austin and Gaby helped get Quinn into her car, and Austin drove them to the hospital. It only took minutes to get there, but it seemed like hours later the three Valdez brothers stormed into the emergency room doors. Gaby smiled at the three pale faces as they charged her direction in search of their wife.

  “Where is she? Is she okay?” Emmanuel’s eyes searched Gaby’s for reassurance.

  “She’s in with the doctor now. They hooked her up to a monitor immediately and are waiting to see if she’s in real labor.”

  “I knew we shouldn’t have let her go out. She’s due next week! What if something had happened?” Rolando’s temper was flaring, and his dark eyes flashed with anger at himself.

  “Ro, you couldn’t have stopped her from going into labor!” Gaby said with a laugh. Austin stepped up behind her, and she quickly introduced him to Quinn’s husbands.

  The doctor stepped out into the waiting room a second later and explained that he wanted to monitor Quinn for a little while to be sure what was happening was real labor.

  Stepping closer to Sebastian, Gaby hugged him. “Do you guys want us to stay until you know?”

  He sighed and hugged her back affectionately, “No thanks, Gabbers. We can handle this part, but could you go relieve my children from your men? They looked like fish out of water when we left them.”

  The ride to Quinn’s was silent and awkward, but Gaby couldn’t think of anything to say to Austin. She didn’t know if she had royally screwed up with the guys, and she hadn’t decided if they had messed things up permanently with her. She just had way too many things in her mind.

  When they reached Quinn’s front door, Austin stopped her and turned her to face him. “Gaby, I know you are upset with us, but I need you to understand why we did what we did. We’re worried about you. Right now, you’re the closest thing we have to family, and if something happened to you because we didn’t take this threat seriously, it would kill us. I know that you believe that Tristan isn’t a threat, but from what I’ve dug up on him, I feel like he is.”

  “Why didn’t you just ask me, Austin?”

  “I didn’t think you would tell me the truth, and to be honest, I think you’re giving Tristan too much leniency. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me for stepping on your toes to protect you?”

  Gaby stared into his gray eyes, watching the emotions roll through them like storm clouds. He was putting it all on the table, but he hadn’t mentioned her own perfidy in the situation. She sighed heavily. “I didn’t exactly tell the whole truth, but I don’t know where we stand just yet, so it didn’t seem right to dump my problems on you guys.”

  “It’s not dumping, Gaby. It’s being honest and asking for help. We’re police officers. We’re supposed to protect everyone, but especially our woman. How do you think we felt when we realized that you were hiding Tristan’s phone calls from us?”

  “I should have blocked his number. I meant to, but I just never did it. I don’t take him s
eriously because I know him. In time he will quit, I just know it. Now, can we go in and rescue your brothers, please?” she asked with a small smile.

  Austin’s look of relief eased the tension, and he followed her into Quinn’s house. To their shock, Kendrick was on the floor on his stomach playing cars with six-year-old Mason, while Michael rocked in a rocking chair with a sleeping three-year-old Zeke on his shoulder. They were the picture of contentedness and seemed to need no rescuing.

  She stared at the tableau with her mouth agape until Austin chuckled beside her. “Well it looks like they have it under control.”

  “Aunt Gabbers!” Mason jumped to his feet and ran for her, wrapping around her in a hug. “Kinrick and Mike were playin wif us!”

  “I see that, Mason! Were you having fun?” Gaby asked, settling the child on her hip as she moved further into the room.

  “Uh huh, my daddies is at the doctors havin’ a baby wif mommy!”

  “Well, maybe. We were just there, and they were checking her out. You might be a big brother again by morning!”

  “I don’t want ‘nother brother.”

  “Sorry, buddy, but you don’t get to pick whether you get a sister or a brother.”

  “I know. I asked Santa for a puppy, but mommy says I get a brother ‘stead.”

  All four adults chuckled at his take on the situation while Mason watched them in confusion. “Kinrick says that I hafta go to sleep soon. Will you read me a story?”

  She stared into Mason’s angelic brown eyes and felt her heart go mushy. “You bet, big guy. But you better tell Kendrick and Michael thank you for hanging out with you.”

  “Thank you! Can you come back tomorrow?”

  Kendrick smiled at Mason and ruffled his dark hair, “We’ll see, little dude. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of you in the future.”

  Mason climbed down from Gaby’s arms and ran off toward the bedroom with a cheer. Gaby followed a little more slowly, and once she had read him a book and helped tuck both boys in bed, she headed back out to the living room to face off with her three men.

  Standing in the doorway of the living room, she eyeballed them. Michael perched on the edge of the rocking chair awkwardly, while Austin and Kendrick had settled on either end of the couch.