by Desiree Holt, Lisabet Sarai, Lily Harlem, Elizabeth Coldwell, Wendi Zwaduk, Imari Jade
Bryanna grimaced. What’s eating him? And when did she get to be his favourite?
“We won’t let anything happen to her,” Collin finally said. “You have my word.”
“Thank you for volunteering,” Jonathan replied. “Should anything happen to her I’ll kick your ass first…and then Axil’s.”
Axil looked at her and she shrugged. Everyone knew Jonathan was gay and had no romantic interest in her, so she must be of some monetary importance to him.
“If I keep her happy and safe then you guys will stay in line,” Jonathan explained without anyone asking. “I’ve known for a long time how you all feel about her.”
All the guys feigned innocence, which made her feel all warm inside. “I love you guys, too.”
“But not as much as you love Axil and Collin,” Kurt teased.
Bryanna smirked at him. “Not true. Drop your boyfriend and I’ll be all over you like white on rice.”
Kurt, for the first time ever, was at a loss for words.
* * * *
“Did you think we’d ever be standing here?” Axil asked Bryanna as they walked down Broadway holding hands.
Bryanna nodded. “I knew it from the first moment you announced you wanted to be a musician and form a rock and roll band.”
Axil lifted her and sat her on the edge of the fountain near a hotel. “And you had faith in me, even back then?”
“Apparently, since we’re one of the hottest groups in the United States.”
Collin watched the two of them as he leaned against a tree nearby. He’d been trying to get Bryanna alone all evening, but Axil had been monopolising her time since they’d arrived in New York.
Axil used a finger to move a wave of auburn curls away from Bryanna’s eyes. “I couldn’t have done it without you and the rest of the guys, but especially you. You believed in me when no one else did.”
Collin blew out an exasperated breath. Axil could be such a big baby at times.
“One of these days we’ll play Carnegie Hall,” Kurt said. “We’ll all be dressed in tuxedos, including Bryanna, and an orchestra will play right along with us. Man, I can just see it. We’re going to be big.”
Damon gave him a high-five. “I’m thinking bigger…the Kennedy Honors and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.”
These guys are too much. None of it made any difference to him without Bryanna to share it with him. More than once he’d dreamt of growing old with her, and Axil not being anywhere in the picture. He kept hoping Bryanna would come to her senses and realise she had to cut the friendship apron strings and send Blondie on his way. But looking at them together right now, he didn’t see that happening. A sane man would just walk away and find some other good woman to love…but he’d never professed to be sane. It would be interesting to see how the night would end. Would Bryanna be with him or with Axil or just go back to the hotel room and go to bed alone?
Chapter Seven
“We might have to make the decision for her,” Axil said to Collin as they sat in the lounge of the hotel late the next night, after the paparazzi had gone home and the rest of their band mates were up in their rooms, hopefully sleeping after their sold-out concert.
“I know,” Collin said with a sigh. Neither of them was drinking anything stronger than water. “We can’t continue like this.” Last night Bryanna had just gone back to her room, leaving both men hanging.
“But can you be man enough to just walk away, yet continue to be around her everyday as a member of Simmer?”
“I don’t know,” Collin replied. “I never thought about it. What about you?”
Axil shrugged. “Bryanna and I have been together so long. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life.”
“We’re not talking about disappearing out of her life. As long as we’re a member of Simmer, we’ll always be together. I’m speaking romantically. Can you let her go?” Collin asked.
Axil shook his head. “This is not just a physical thing I feel for Bryanna.” He rapped softly against his forehead with a finger. “It’s emotional. We share the same thoughts, anticipate each other’s needs and finish each other’s sentences sometimes.” What Collin was proposing was preposterous. He didn’t even want to think about it. He wanted to marry Bryanna and for her to be the mother of his children. “What about you?”
Collin shook his head. “I wake up every morning with her on my mind. I think about her my every waking minute, and her image is the last face I see in my mind before I go to bed.”
“Sounds more like an obsession,” Axil replied. He raised a bottle of designer water and saluted Collin.
“Then we haven’t accomplished anything with this discussion. We’re still in the same place…a fork in the road.” He sighed. “We should force Bryanna to make a decision.”
Axil leant forward. “How?”
“Bryanna thinks she can continue to have a relationship with both of us, and so far it’s been working for her…but making us miserable. Why not call her bluff?”
“You mean both of us walk away and find someone else?” Axil asked incredulously.
“No. I mean see if she can really handle both of us romancing her twenty-four seven.”
Axil brow wrinkled. “You mean all three of us?”
Collin nodded. “It’s bound to come to a head. She’ll discover that it’s foolish to try to date both of us.” He paused. “I don’t know about you but I want to get married one day and have a couple of kids. It might be quite awkward having Mother, Father and Uncle Axil living under the same roof and in the same bed.”
Axil scratched his head. Collin didn’t seem the paternal type. “I still don’t know. I don’t think I can tolerate you for twenty-four seven.”
“Same here,” Collin said. “But we’ll test it tomorrow at breakfast.”
Axil nodded. “I hope you’re right about this.”
“What’s the worst that can happen?” Collin asked.
“She could leave both of us and hook up with Kurt. You know she thinks he’s hot.”
Collin raised a dark eyebrow in disbelief. “That would be a bad case scenario, but not the worst.”
“What could be worse?”
“She could leave both of us and hook up with Jonathan?”
Axil reached for his water and took a big sip. “You’re right. That would be simply disastrous.”
* * * *
Bryanna’s phone rang around eight the next morning. It was Axil. “Hello.”
“Good morning, darling. It’s time to rise and shine.”
Bryanna scanned her mind for whether she had to be somewhere this morning. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember an appointment. “Am I late for a meeting?”
“No, not a meeting.”
“Then why the hell are you disturbing my beauty sleep?”
Axil chuckled. “You’re always beautiful. Come have breakfast with me. I’m lonely.”
Bryanna sighed. She could strangle him. Axil knew she wasn’t a morning person, especially the morning after a concert. “Can’t you have breakfast with one of the guys?”
“Probably, but I prefer to spend our last day in New York with you.”
Bryanna sat up in the bed. “Everyone else is still recovering from a hangover, aren’t they?”
“Probably. Kurt met someone last night, so I don’t think I can entice him out of bed unless I offer him Collin.”
Bryanna laughed. “You are so bad.” But it was so true. When Kurt met Collin he took one look at the svelte, blue-eyed singer and fell in love. Collin having a soft girly voice only added to the infatuation. Unfortunately, Collin did not return his feelings. Kurt had said he understood, but every now and then she’d catch him sneaking a doe-eyed glance at Collin. “I doubt Collin will be switching teams any time soon, no matter how cute Kurt is.” She yawned and stretched. “Give me about thirty minutes. I’ll meet you downstairs in the restaurant.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Axil replied. “See you then.” H
e hung up.
Bryanna pushed the covers from her body, rose and walked into the bathroom to shower. After dressing, she put on her dark shades and stepped out of her hotel room.
“Good morning, gorgeous.”
Bryanna looked up startled. “Collin?”
“What? You don’t recognise me?”
He did look especially delicious in a brown sweater and tan slacks. “What are you doing up and about so early?” Like her, Collin wasn’t a morning person.
“I thought I’d come over and invite my favourite girl to breakfast.”
Bryanna eyed him curiously. Collin was acting unbelievably chipper, and he had shaved and put on cologne. “I was just about to meet Axil for breakfast in the restaurant.”
“Great,” he said, locking arms with her. “The more the merrier.”
Bryanna sniffed him playfully. “Are you drunk?” She didn’t smell alcohol or tobacco, just sexy, dark, brooding male.
“No, I’m perfectly sober.” He led her towards the elevator. “Why do I have to be drunk to invite you to breakfast?”
“It’s not the inviting me part. It’s the not making a face when I mentioned Axil’s name.”
“I’ve decided to take your advice and try to get along with him. It’s not like Axil has ever done anything to me, and he is our fearless leader.”
If he fed her any more bull, she wouldn’t have room for breakfast. But it would be good if the two of them could get along.
They entered the restaurant. Axil had already appropriated a table.
“I hope you don’t mind me barging in on your breakfast with Bryanna,” Collin said to him.
“No,” Axil said. “And since for some reason Bryanna likes you, I guess I need to get used to eating with you, too.”
Collin chuckled and agreed.
Okay, this was too spooky for her. Had something happened last night between them after she went up to her room? Or am I still dreaming? Bryanna pinched herself. Ouch. No.
Axil sat at her right and Collin made himself comfortable to her left. A bit too close for comfort and both of them smelt great, which in some aspect made her very giddy.
A waitress appeared and took their order. More people entered the restaurant, including Kurt and a dark-haired man who resembled Collin.
“Do you have a younger brother?” Axil asked Collin.
“Funny. Yes, and he’s an adorable blond like you.”
In three years since they’d met, this was the first bit of information he had shared about his family.
They gave the waitress their order and she left.
“How old is he?” Bryanna asked Collin.
“Who?” Collin asked.
“Your younger brother?”
“Nineteen,” Collin answered. “He’s a sophomore at Boston University.”
“So you’re from Massachusetts?”
Collin smirked. “Yes. What’s with the fifty questions?”
“Well, you’ve been with us for three years and we know absolutely nothing about you.” She paused. “Why didn’t you go home for a visit when we were there?”
“Because we don’t have any family there anymore. We were orphaned at a young age.”
“Oh,” Bryanna said. “Sorry for prying.”
“No, you’re right. There should be no secrets between us. You can ask me anything.”
He was being too generous.
“I have nothing to hide,” Collin replied. “Ask away.”
“What are you and Axil up to?”
Axil chuckled. “Of all the questions you could have asked him, that’s the one you come up with?”
“Humour me,” Bryanna said. “You two have been at each other’s throats since forever. Now this morning, you’re able to sit down and eat breakfast together without fighting. What gives?”
“Okay, you busted us. We decided to call a truce for your sake,” Collin replied. “We realised that it was wrong to ask you to choose. So since you obviously want to date both of us, we’ve decided to share you.”
Bryanna looked at him and then at Axil, whom she directed her next question to. “Define share?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. The three of us do everything together from now on—eat, sleep and…” He didn’t finish the sentence.
“Date?”
Axil nodded. “Do you think you can handle it?”
“That depends on what your definition of date is,” Bryanna replied.
“Everything Bryanna. Do you think you could take both of us to your bed at the same time?”
Bryanna reached for her grape juice and sipped some through the straw. “Sure,” she replied. Oh my God, what have I got myself into?
Collin cleared his throat, reached for his coffee and sipped. “Then it’s settled,” he said.
“Seems so,” Axil replied. “The family that plays together stays together.”
* * * *
Bryanna couldn’t remember what she had eaten. Take both Axil and Collin to her bed at the same time? Ridiculous. Or is it?
Bryanna rolled over onto her back on her bed and tried to conjure up a scene in her head…one taking her from the front while the other taking her from behind. She giggled and blushed shamelessly. No way. Not even in her biggest fantasy. They were still trying to trick her into choosing because they knew she would never agree to this. Maybe she should call their bluff and see which one backed down first. She reached for her phone and first dialled Axil’s number and invited him out to dinner with her, and then she called Collin. Both men agreed. I’ll show them not to mess with me.
* * * *
Most of the group was drunk by the time they returned to the hotel, but Collin and Axil were stone-cold sober as they said goodnight to the rest of the gang in the elevator and rode up with her to their floor. Both of them escorted her to the door and looked lustfully at her as she opened the door. Collin was certain she would panic.
“Come on in, fellows,” she replied bravely. “Let’s get this party started.”
You could have knocked both of them over with a feather, especially Axil—the look on his face almost comical when he realised their plan had backfired.
Bryanna kicked out of her heels, turned on the music and began a seductive little stripper’s dance, much to Collin’s delight. He’d plopped down in the room’s only chair to enjoy the show as she wiggled out of her little red slinky dress.
Axil sat down on the bed.
Bryanna walked over to Axil, stooped down and kissed him while standing in nothing but her underwear.
Axil slid his arms around her and kissed her back.
Bryanna broke away from him then slid over to Collin, sat on his lap and kissed him, too. Collin pushed his tongue into her mouth and French-kissed her. Bryanna’s nipples budded beneath the lacy red bra. He slid his hands down her back, making her arch and moan. He gently helped her descend to the floor and rose to get out of his shirt, well aware that Axil watched his every move.
Collin helped her back off the floor and unsnapped her bra. Her breasts fell free, and then he turned her to face Axil.
Axil rose from the bed to join them in the middle of the room. He removed his shirt and then reached for her breasts. He cupped them in his hands and gently teased the nipples while Collin sidled up behind her, swept her hair aside and planted kisses on her neck and down her back.
Bryanna’s mind fought against what was morally right. The pleasure they were bestowing on her made the decision for her.
Axil moved lower, kissing her stomach.
Bryanna gasped as his warm breath tickled her skin. He slipped his fingers into the waistband of her panties then slid them down to her ankles. Bryanna lifted her feet to step out and Axil tossed them aside.
Collin moved towards the bed, taking her with him. He sat down, positioned her on his lap facing Axil and spread her thighs.
Axil’s eyelids lowered at the sight and Collin’s generous invitation. He dropped to his knees, crawled over and buried his fac
e between her creamy folds.
Bryanna moaned from pleasure and surprise. Who was this man between her legs giving her pleasure with his fingers and mouth, and where was her boyishly shy Axil?
Collin’s erection strained against her bottom through his jeans. While Axil took his time savouring every inch of her from below, Collin massaged her breasts and kissed her senseless. He whispered into her ear. “Only for you, Bryanna.”
Axil pushed two fingers deep inside her and moved them around. Collin continued to French-kiss her. Axil touched her clitoris with his tongue and she whimpered with delight.
Collin’s tongue played inside her mouth while his fingers pressed and squeezed her breasts. Their tongues plunged into her mouth and cunt simultaneously, sending her over the edge. She came, feeling the ripples of ecstasy from her breasts down to the pit of her stomach.
Axil moaned below her as she drenched his face with her juices. He raised his head, gasping for air and then licking his lips. “She tastes like honey,” he said to Collin.
“I told you,” Collin replied.
She slid from Collin’s lap to kneel before Axil and kissed his lips. She came up for air long enough to turn to Collin. “Strip,” she demanded.
Collin obeyed, rising and wiggling out of his trousers, briefs and shoes while she gave Axil a little face time.
“You surprise me, darling,” she told Axil.
“Collin said you’d like for me to do that to you.”
“Thank you,” she told him. “But I only want you to do what you feel comfortable doing.”
“Don’t worry.” Axil stroked her face. “I have no complaints.”
Bryanna giggled. “Let me see your gorgeous body while I thank Collin for his kind suggestion.”
While Axil rustled out of his clothes, Collin waited patiently.
Bryanna turned to him on her knees and cupped his balls while he sat on the bed. She signalled for the completely nude Axil to join them. He hesitated a moment then sat down next to Collin.