A Little Harmless Scandal

by Melissa Schroeder

Adam nodded. “Mick just had to go over there this morning.”

  Mick glanced at his lover, then back to Jillian. “You are supposed to thank people who give you food, right? And you wanted to go over there as much as I did.”

  He ignored the comment. It was true that he had wanted to go over there, but he hadn’t expected to make a fool of himself. Mick had also, but he didn’t give a damn.

  “Either way, she was up and we invited her here tonight. You don't mind, do you?”

  She shook her head, her braids spilling over her shoulders. She was the picture of maternal beauty, wearing a yellow sundress and a head scarf to match. “No. In fact, I'm glad to have another woman at the table to even the playing field.”

  “There’s three of us,” Mick pointed out.

  She snorted. “It takes at least one and one-half of a man's brain to outsmart a woman.”

  Adam looked at Conner. “Do you let her talk to you like this all the time?”

  “No comment.”

  Jillian laughed and opened her mouth to say something, but something caught her attention just over Adam's shoulder. He turned to see what snagged her attention, and promptly lost all his rational thought.

  Serenity was walking through the restaurant. Jillian had been right, she called her small in stature, but her presence did not go unnoticed. She strode through the tables, a smile on her face.

  The dress she wore was a simple dress with Hawaiian white print against a red background. It didn’t even hug her curves and barely showed a hint of cleavage, but it was the sexiest thing he’d seen lately.

  By the time she made it to the table, he was already standing and pulling out the chair between Mick and him. That's when he noticed that Mick was standing also.

  “Hey,” she said, a bit breathless. “Sorry I'm late.”

  They said nothing for a long moment.

  “No worries,” Jillian said, her voice filled with amusement. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

  “Thanks.” When she sat down, both he and Mick sat down.

  “This is my husband Conner. Conner, this is Serenity Jones.”

  She smiled and Adam wasn't too sure that he didn't sigh out loud. She had the best damned smile.

  “It's nice to meet you.”

  The waitress appeared and took her drink order.

  “How is the unpacking going?” she asked.

  “We have the kitchen done,” Adam said.

  “Most important thing,” Serenity said.

  “You cook a lot?” Jillian asked.

  “Not really. Living alone makes it annoying, but having the kitchen up and running is more about food. I love food.”

  Jillian rubbed her tummy. “I have to agree with you.”

  “Have we met before?” Conner asked

  She shook her head. “I don't think so. What do you do for a living?”

  “Former FBI. Now I deal with security.”

  She chuckled. “Then not that way. At least I don't think I've ever been under investigation.”

  Conner smiled. “You just look very familiar.”

  “Hmm,” was her only response before the waitress stepped up to take their food orders.

  “I take it you’re not a local,” Mick said.

  She shook her head. “Although, I’ve lived here the longest of my adult life. I’ve been here five years.”

  “How long have you been a photographer?” Jillian asked.

  “You’re a photographer?” Mick asked.

  “I started when I was sixteen. I was just lucky enough that I can make a living off it. The rise of online royalty free sites allows me to live where I want, and there is always a demand for Hawaiian scenery.”

  “You can work from home then?”

  She nodded. “I know what Conner and Jillian do, but what do you two do?”

  She turned her head and made eye contact with Adam. He had the answer on the tip of his tongue, but his ability to speak died the moment her whiskey-colored eyes connected with his. She turned and smiled at him. Her eyes lit up and she had two of the most adorable dimples. Oh, damn, he was fucked.

  * * *

  “Um.”

  “Yes?” she asked smiling.

  “We work security,” Mick said, saving him.

  She turned away and Adam could finally let loose of the breath that had been caught in his throat. He didn’t dare glance over in Jillian’s direction. She’d detect his feelings and then she would meddle. Jillian rarely meddled but when she was pregnant, she didn’t seem to be able to help herself.

  He pushed those thoughts aside as a few strands of her honey blonde hair had escaped the bun she had on the top of her head. He had to fight the urge to reach over and touch.

  “Security?”

  “We handle a few things here and there, work on contract.”

  “If I could get them signed on as permanent employees, I would be thrilled,” Conner said.

  “You’d expect us to come into work every day. You know how that would never work for us,” Mick said.

  “If you wanted to, you could find a way.”

  “Then we would get in a fight, quit, and then Jillian would have to leave you. Do you want that?” Mick asked.

  Conner just smiled and shook his head. “You know that’s bullshit.”

  Mick waved that comment away as the waitress returned with the appetizers they ordered earlier.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but mama needed to eat, so I got us some apps,” Jillian said.

  “No worries. As I said, food is very important to me,” she said, taking a plate and filling it with tuna tartar. “I have a very serious relationship with it.”

  “And that comes from?” Adam asked.

  She smiled as she placed her napkin on her lap. “I had to keep what photographers claimed was “fit” when I was a teen. Imagine being a teen and being told you couldn’t have pizza. It was horrible.”

  From her aggrieved tone, he knew she was joking, but there was a hint of something else beneath it. She joked, but there was also pain of some sort.

  “Photographers?” Mick asked. “Were you a fashion model?”

  She laughed out loud at that. So loud, in fact, it drew attention from some nearby diners.

  “Uh, no. Too short for that. But I did some hair shots, things like that.”

  “Hair shots?”

  “Yeah, they use body parts of other people for ads. Like, I had a friend who was just a hand model. Her hands were in all kinds of ads.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard of that, but I wasn’t sure if it was true.”

  She nodded as she popped some tuna into her mouth. “My eyes were used too, so maybe that’s it,” she said to Conner. “I was in a lot of ads there for a while, but my entire face wasn’t.”

  “Could be,” he said, but Adam knew from his tone Conner didn’t think it was that.

  Adam didn’t think it was, but he knew just from the short discussion this morning and now, that Serenity prized her privacy. Adam could understand. She had apparently made a living as a kid being shoved in front of the camera. Someone like that would either love it or hate it. She had apparently hated it. So, for now, he would happily give her the privacy she wanted and wouldn’t question her.

  Adam leaned back in his chair and watched as she and Jillian discussed something about the new rail system. Serenity was animated in the discussion, and he couldn’t help but smile at a few of her sarcastic comments.

  Mick caught his eye. There was no doubt he was thinking the same thing. The woman was a delight. Sexy, funny, and smart. Three things that they always liked in their women. Mick would start pushing soon, but Adam wanted to take his time.

  Presents were always more interesting when you unwrapped them slowly.

  Chapter Four

  Serenity rolled over the next morning and groaned. The first rays of soft light were already peeking into her bedroom. She had spent the night without sleep. Again. She sat up and let out another groan. Why had she been having
so many insane dreams? She wasn't a prude, but she had never thought that seeing two men having sex would cause her so many problems.

  She stared at her ceiling and thought back to the night before. Adam and Mick had been very welcoming. She had pretty much spent most of her time on Oahu sort of separate from other people. She wasn’t a hermit or a shut in. She found it easier if she limited her time with other people though. Last night had her second guessing what she had seen.

  Having spent almost her entire childhood in Hollywood, Serenity had good gaydar. Many people would look at men like Mick and Adam and assume they were just friends. Even with them living together, their build and their masculinity would give people false impressions of their sexuality. Serenity knew better. Masculinity had nothing to do with sexual preference, as her dance teacher had been one of the most effeminate men she had ever met, and he was definitely heterosexual.

  Knowing she would get no sleep, and since she was already sweaty, she decided to go for a run on the beach. It was better she worked off this energy than sat here thinking about her insanely sexy neighbors. If she got it done early enough, she would be ready when her friend Dai came by to discuss business.

  * * *

  Mick was taking his first sip of coffee that morning, sitting on their back lanai, when he saw Serenity. She came running up the path that led down to the beach. She was dressed for running and her body glistened with her exertion.

  “Hey,” he called out. She stopped and headed in his direction. He tried not to get too excited. She was probably just being friendly.

  “Hey, yourself,” she said with a smile, looking up at him.

  Damn.

  “Are you always an early riser?”

  She nodded. “I hate it. I would love to be able to roll around in bed. And you?”

  “My military roots. Dad was military and I followed in his footsteps. But I agree, rolling around in bed is much more interesting.”

  She didn’t respond to that. Instead, she looked off into the distance. Worried he had made her uncomfortable, he opened his mouth to rectify it, but Adam interrupted him.

  “I wake up all alone and find you out here flirting with our neighbor.”

  She turned to face them both, a smile curving her lips. Mick wished he could see her eyes, but they were hidden behind her mirrored sunglasses.

  “Not much flirting. He didn’t even offer me anything to drink.”

  Adam looked at Mick. “I thought I trained you better.”

  He shrugged and looked over at Serenity. “He tries, as did my mother.”

  “You’re telling me that you are untrainable?”

  “Not in the important things.”

  She chuckled. “I need to go take a shower so you’ll have another chance to impress me with your hospitality manners another time.”

  She waved as she hurried off.

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Adam said.

  “What?” Mick asked as he watched Serenity as she disappeared around the corner of their house.

  “I think someone has a crush.” Adam leaned closer. “Someone might just be thinking of some naughty things to do with Serenity.”

  Mick turned his head and kissed him on the cheek.

  “I guess I should point out that you have one too. I saw the way you reacted to her last night.”

  Adam stepped back as he smiled. Mick turned around to face him.

  “What are you talking about?”

  He snorted. “Please, you looked like you wanted to take one huge bite out of her at dinner.”

  A flush darkened Adam’s face.

  Mick laughed, set his coffee down on the table, then pulled him closer for a hug. “You are so predictable, but this time I definitely agree.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea though.”

  “Why not?”

  Adam pulled away, then walked into the kitchen. “I need coffee if we’re going to talk about this.”

  Shaking his head, Mick grabbed his coffee and followed him. Adam liked playing with a third, which was always a woman for the two of them.

  Adam was already sipping his coffee when Mick stepped into the kitchen.

  “You think it’s a good idea to fool around with our neighbor? Really?”

  Mick shrugged. “I didn’t say it was a good idea, but it is a delicious idea.”

  Adam rolled his eyes. “And it could make everything awkward. Can you imagine if we proposition her and she turns us down?”

  “Well—”

  “Worse, what if she says yes and it goes badly, or even if it goes well, but she doesn’t want to continue? Then we have ruined our chances at having a normal relationship with our one and only neighbor.”

  “All good points.”

  Adam groaned. “I hate that fucking tone.”

  Mick smiled. “What tone?”

  “The one that tells me you won’t pay any fucking attention to me at all.”

  “I understand your misgivings, and it isn’t like I’m going to march over there today and ask her about joining in with a threesome.”

  Adam’s frown eased. “I know that. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

  Mick sighed, knowing that Adam wasn’t being an ass on purpose. It was a knee jerk reaction and Mick understood why. He wished he could make it easier for Adam to accept that someone else might love him the way that Mick did. Raised by an abusive mother, then landing in the foster system when she abandoned him, Adam was very wary of strangers. Of anyone, really. It took Mick years to get him to believe he loved him.

  “We’ve talked about a third for the past few years.”

  “Yeah and you thought it was Jillian to begin with.”

  “Well, she is into the lifestyle.”

  “But not for us.”

  “And have I talked about it again?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not seriously. And I’m not saying she’s the one, but I like her, and you do too. It is hard to find a woman who both of us like.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Listen, I’m not saying she’s going to be into it, but it is something we should think about.”

  “I don’t know why this is so important to you.”

  “To us. Don’t tell me when we play at Rough ‘n Ready it doesn’t get you hotter than when we’re alone. Neither of us enjoy being the sub, but we like to dominate. Having a woman allows that.”

  Adam sighed. “I know, but I also think that it can’t be just any woman. It needs to be the right woman.”

  “Okay. We need to get to know her better.”

  Adam nodded, but he still didn’t look happy about it.

  “Hey,” Mick said, pulling him closer, he pressed his mouth against Adam’s. He slipped his tongue inside for a taste, just a taste. He regretfully pulled back because they didn’t have time to play. “One day at a time.”

  He nodded. “So, you handle the bedroom? I’ll do the living room.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He’d throw himself into getting the house in order, then he could start working on a plan to get to know Serenity better.

  Chapter Five

  Four hours later, Adam sat on one of the breakfast bar stools. Every muscle in his body was aching, but the house was starting to come together. “I think we made a big dent in the house today,” Adam said as he took a long swig of beer.

  “Yeah,” Mick said looking out the front window.

  “Stop doing that.”

  “What?”

  “You look like a creeper.”

  He shook his head, but didn’t move his gaze away from the direction of Serenity’s house.

  “What?”

  “There’s a dude over there.”

  “And?”

  “Well, just, I didn’t think she was involved with anyone.”

  “She never said that,” Adam said. “You assumed because you wanted her so badly.”

  “Still, she went out with us.”

  “She didn’t go out with
us. She had dinner with a group.”

  Wanting a look at the guy because Adam couldn’t help himself, he frowned when he saw the truck.

  “There’s no guy.”

  “I saw the back of him when he went into her house.”

  “Don’t get like this. She can have friends. Hell, she can have lovers.”

  Mick tossed him an angry look.

  “Tell me you don’t want her.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Mick, we just met her. She had a whole life before us. And again, you’re creeping me out, so I am sure you will creep her out by this behavior.”

  Mick grunted, and returned his gaze back to the house.

  This was a bad sign. Mick was already starting to obsess, and that could be a problem. He wasn’t a weirdo, but he tended to latch onto ideas. Once he did, he could never let them go. It usually ended with him being horribly disappointed and broody. And then Adam would have to kick his ass.

  “Mick.” No response. “Vincent.”

  He made a face, but finally turned his attention away from Serenity’s house. That was half the battle won.

  “I know you’re attracted. I am too. But she’s our neighbor and she seems like a sweet woman. Let’s take it one day at a time. If she’s involved with someone, it isn’t any of our business.”

  “But… Shit. You’re right.”

  Adam watched Mick as he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. He followed him and continued to study him.

  “What’s up? There’s something else bothering you.”

  He shrugged and tore at his beer label. “Nothing really.”

  “Mick, you don’t go all depressed on me unless there’s something nagging at you.”

  He sighed. “We’re good, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  He wasn’t really, but he knew this would just fester if he let it go. Setting his beer on the counter, he stepped in front of Mick, and settled his arms over his shoulders.

  “I know that, but there’s something else. Something that’s bugging you.”

  “I don’t know, really. We got the house, now what?”

  He should have known. Mick was a happy person. Constantly in a good mood, even at six in the morning. But, he leaned toward being goal oriented. His parents had raised him that way. It made him a kick ass security expert, but sometimes, it made it hard to live with him. He just didn’t always seem to understand goals are good, but they don’t always come to fruition.