Bend

by K. Bromberg

I felt myself tense up because, at that moment, I wasn't reading her…at all.

  My throat constricted because, fuck, I didn't know what I'd do if she said this arrangement was not for her.

  She sat down on her bed, and removed the towel from her hair, rubbing sections of her long, damp locks with it. Her brown eyes met mine and my heart actually skipped a beat.

  "Well," she said softly, "There is something else…and I don't want to hurt Eli's feelings…"

  Fuck.

  "Go on," I prodded, my voice tight.

  "Well…you know," she said, giving me a look like I should be totally clued in as to what the 'something else' was. "He kind of snores…loudly," she finished in an almost whisper.

  I felt a smile touch my mouth, my insides now unclenched because Eli's snoring was her only issue.

  "You mean it doesn't keep you awake?" she asked, her eyebrows quirking in the fucking sexy way that they did whenever she was confused or puzzled about something.

  I sat down beside her on the bed, my hand moving aside her wet locks so that my lips could graze her bare neck. I felt her shiver against me.

  "No, babe," I whispered against her skin. "I guess I'm used to it. But you know there are things to help with that? I mean I like the idea of having you between us every night, but if you're not ready for that, I totally understand. It's your call."

  She nuzzled against me, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my chest.

  "I want to sleep with you guys, too," she said quietly. "But maybe not every night, if that's okay. I mean, sometimes a girl just likes her privacy, you know?"

  "Sure, baby. I just need to know that after last night, you haven't had second thoughts. I know that all of this is something new for you. I want you to share your feelings with me, okay?"

  I felt her nod against me. "I guess I'm just not sure about the rules. I mean, are there rules? Or do we just go with the flow?" she asked softly.

  "How about we just go with whatever we're all comfortable with, okay?"

  She pulled back to look up at me, her eyes held a questioning look that fucking wrapped around my soul because I somehow knew that the next words out of her beautiful mouth were going to totally break me.

  "I have to be honest, Cain. I loved what happened last night. I loved the pleasure that both of you gave me—the attention, the words, and the feelings—all of it. And I gotta say that I think I might be falling just a little bit in love…with both of you," she confessed quietly, casting her eyes downward, a soft blush coloring her face.

  "Hey baby," I crooned, my fingers lifting her chin back up so that her gaze met mine, "Don't ever be afraid or ashamed of your feelings. I love that you just said that to me, but I've already felt it, Paige. Many times. And it's all good, because I think that I know that I'm falling in love with you, too. And I'm betting Eli isn't far behind."

  She laced her arms around my neck, and I lowered my face to hers. I found her mouth with mine, eager to explore her once again, and taste all of the sweetness that was Paige.

  Our Paige.

  But for right now?

  My Paige.

  I pulled the towel from her, and pushed her gently back down against the pillows on her bed.

  "How do you feel about having right now just be about you and me?" I whispered against her neck, as my tongue traced patterns on her soft damp skin.

  She shivered again, pressing her nakedness against me, and I could feel my cock straining against my boxers.

  "I'd like that, Cain," she said, and I could feel her smile. "Better get a condom from the nightstand," she instructed, nodding to her right.

  I obliged, mentally making a note for her to take the necessary steps for birth control so that our sex could be condom-free in the very near future.

  I'd been with many women in my thirty-one years on this planet, and I'd done my share of threesomes for sure. But it was just like I'd told Paige when she first realized what I was about. This wasn't the beginning of some threesome marathon, or even the fancier word that carried a bit more class: ménage. This was totally something else.

  And to be honest?

  It scared the hell out of me.

  But at this moment, I had more pleasant things to occupy my mind with than trying to piece together why it scared me. I would have to think about that…later.

  chapter 21

  February 22nd

  It was my birthday.

  My 23rd birthday and though I hadn't reached the age yet where I looked upon birthdays as the most dreaded day of the year, I still wasn't up for all the fuss that my men were making about it.

  Breakfast had been served in bed.

  Their bed, as a matter of fact, where I'd been sandwiched in between their well-muscled bodies all night long.

  It seemed as if my guys had some sort of a bet going amongst themselves as to which one of them would be the last one to give me the Big 'O' while I was still twenty-two.

  Officially, I believe that Eli's tongue had won that honor smack dab on my clit, although I had tried to stifle my moans so that Cain's fingers would continue that magical thrumming of my G-Spot so expertly, in order to allow me to double my pleasure even though the clock had slipped to a couple of minutes past midnight.

  "What was the actual hour and minute of your birth?" Eli had asked me, continuing his sweet assault on my clit.

  I swear to God, these men could be as competitive in bed as Serena and Venus Williams were on the tennis court.

  Finally, totally satiated and just plain fucking worn out, I had drifted to sleep, only to be awakened by the alarm at six a.m. to find the bed totally devoid of masculinity.

  Several minutes later, in they came with a tray, bearing my birthday breakfast, card and wrapped gift, along with a single red rose in a crystal vase.

  I was instructed that I had to eat my waffles, complete with strawberries and whipped cream, before I touched the card and gift.

  I gobbled my food down like a pig, as you can well imagine.

  The card was sentimental, not comedic, so I knew immediately that Cain had selected it, and he had done very well in picking out the perfect card. The front of it read, "Happy Birthday To The One We Love."

  I felt my face flush as I read the loving and poetic words printed inside, and saw both of their signatures scrawled at the bottom, with "I Love You," written twice.

  My eyes brimmed a little bit, and Cain immediately cleared his throat and ordered me to open my present.

  The box was small, so I knew that it was jewelry of some sort, but I swear to God, the tears re-surfaced again when I opened the small, black velvet box and removed the beautiful gold necklace that had three encased birthstones dangling from it.

  My stone, amethyst, was in the center and the largest of the three stones. Eli's stone, aquamarine for March was to the right; Cain's emerald for May was to the left.

  "It's gorgeous," I breathed, carefully removing it from the velvet lined box. "Thank you so much. I love it."

  Eli helped me get it fastened, and I fingered it gently, loving that the stones were close to my heart.

  "And don't forget," Eli spoke up, once he had fastened the clasp and dropped my hair back down, "We're taking you out for dinner this evening, so don't dawdle getting home from the base, got it?"

  "Yes sirs," I said, smiling up at them. They both leaned in, planting soft kisses on my cheeks.

  "I love you guys," I said softly.

  ~~~

  Work was the usual. I did think it odd that Darin made it a point to come by my station and wish me a Happy Birthday. I doubted very much if he would've even remembered when my birthday was had it not been for the February calendar on the bulletin board that marked birthdays for the staff in our department.

  "Big plans for the birthday girl?" he asked, giving me a sexy wink.

  "Naw," I said, not looking away from my computer screen. "Dinner out with the roomies. They insisted."

  "Did they now?" he asked, quirkin
g a brow, and getting a bit of a devilish grin going.

  Really dude?

  What's up with that look?

  "Is there something you want to say, Darin?" I asked, giving him a slight glare.

  "Just wanted to wish you the best on this special day," he said, walking away. "You've been looking great, by the way."

  I contemplated his curious behavior. I mean, I was so over all of the bullshit that I'd encountered with him, having chalked it up to "That's life" and gone on my way, hardly giving it much thought anymore. I certainly didn't confide in him—or anyone for that matter—about my relationship with Cain and Eli. I wasn't the chatty type about my personal life; I never had been.

  It dawned on me that Darin, with his "you’re looking great" compliment just might be trying to rekindle something with me, and if that were the case, he was definitely barking up the wrong tree.

  These past couple of months with my guys had been an experience for me, and not one that I'd likely ever want to part with.

  I mean sure, there had been feelings within me that were confusing at times; little pangs of jealousy on the nights that I had opted to sleep in my own room (mainly to get a good night's rest due to Eli's snoring) when I'd hear the familiar headboard banging against the wall.

  I had realized that they were going on without me, and yes, I had felt a bit jealous and insecure about that, I'll admit.

  But then I had thought it through, and had realized that if I'd gotten up and went into their room, they would've immediately welcomed me into their bed, and made love to me so hard that it would've taken my breath away, as always. So, I had reminded myself that it had been my choice, and not theirs, to sit this one out.

  The only other aspect of it that still bothered me a bit was the fact that I knew I was head over heels in love with Cain. You see, I lay awake one night and totally dissected the dynamics of my relationship with these men.

  And here's what it boiled down to: we were all in love with one another and the depth of each person's love couldn't possibly be measured. I might've been a bit more in love with Cain; Eli might've been a bit more in love with Cain, but I was fairly certain that Cain was in love equally. And maybe that's exactly what was needed to make this all work out.

  But what about long term? How could this possibly work out long term if it continued being kind of lopsided like that, I had wondered?

  And even if it did work out well, what then? I had to think about my future, and I guess on one's birthday, there was a tendency to do just that.

  I mean, somewhere in my future I knew that I wanted children. Marriage wasn't mandatory for that to happen, so at least that wasn't an issue.

  I felt my eyes roll with my thoughts. Here I was, presuming things that I had no right to presume only two months into this…relationship.

  My thoughts and reflections were interrupted when my cell vibrated on my desk. It was Trace.

  "Hey," I greeted him.

  "Happy Birthday, lil' sis," he replied, very cheerfully.

  "Thanks," I replied, smiling into the phone.

  This was the first we'd spoken since New Year's Day when I had groveled. I had called him back that evening and told him to never mind, that I was staying put for now. Blessedly, he hadn't asked for any detail. He'd probably just been relieved that I wasn't moving in. Things were still a bit uncomfortable. I had decided that the next move would have to be my brother's, and I was glad that he'd made the move.

  "So, do you have plans for dinner tonight? Lindsey and I would love to take you out if you haven't made other plans. I probably should have called sooner, I know."

  I was silent for a moment, not quite sure how I should respond. "Well, Eli and Cain planned on taking me out to dinner tonight for my birthday."

  "Hmm," he responded, "How about if Lindsey and I join the three of you?"

  Shit.

  "I'm not sure what restaurant they had in mind," I replied slowly, "But I guess I could find out and give you a call back?"

  It came out as a question which is so not how I wanted it to sound. Like I didn't want anyone else invading my inner sanctum with these men.

  Luckily, Trace hadn't noticed. "Great—call either me or Lindsey with the time and place. We have a gift for you, and well, it's been a while since we've seen you, you know? I think we need to mend fences, Paige. I know that I want to and I hope that you do as well."

  "I do, Trace," I replied. "I just felt like maybe you guys wanted to put me out of your lives…forever."

  "You're family," he sighed. "You're stuck with us, and we're stuck with you because that's what being a family means, got it?"

  I nodded and squeaked out a "yes."

  ~~~

  It was easier to reach Eli than Cain during working hours, especially around lunch time. I finished my now-cold cup of hot chocolate that I'd bought from the vending machine earlier. That was going to me my lunch after that huge breakfast I'd inhaled.

  Eli's office phone rang several times before he picked up.

  "Chambers," he answered, using his brusque workplace voice.

  "It's me," I said, looking around to see how much privacy I had in my cubicle. Eli had an office, so there were no worries there.

  "Hey babe," he greeted, his voice softening. "How's your birthday going?"

  "Good so far," I sighed, feeling my belly tingle like it did whenever either one of them used some form of endearment when speaking to me. "But I did get a phone call from Trace."

  I explained the conversation to him. Eli had no issue whatsoever with Trace and Lindsey joining us, in fact, he offered to phone Darcy to see if she and Easton wanted to join us as well.

  "You don't have to go to all that trouble," I argued. "I don't want everyone making a big deal of my birthday and feeling, well…obligated or anything."

  "Hey, no trouble at all, babe," he laughed. "Besides that, with Easton there, we're pretty much guaranteed that he'll pick up the tab."

  "Eli, you're so bad," I giggled, swiveling my chair around so that I could toss my empty paper cup into the trash can.

  "I know, babe, but you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"

  I felt my cheeks flush as I recalled the delicious, "bad" things he'd done to me last night in our 'family' bed as we had started calling it.

  "Would you?" he pressed softly.

  "No, Eli. I wouldn't have it any other way," I confirmed.

  "Okay, so I'll make the arrangements with Darce, and I'll give Lindsey a holler, so that we're all on the same page for our Paige tonight at La Chaumiere."

  "Now that was cheesy," I giggled. "But I love you anyway, especially since we're eating at La Chaumiere."

  "Love you," he said. "See you at home later."

  "Bye," I said softly into the phone, as I swiveled back around in my chair.

  My smile froze when I saw Darin Murphy standing no more than three feet from me, in my cubicle, with a look on his face that told me he'd heard everything. He was just trying to digest it in his own mind.

  Men like Darin weren't used to dumping a chick and not having them heartbroken (like Darcy was) about it. At the very least, I'm sure he took offense to the fact that I didn't at least stalk him a bit afterwards; or try to find out who his latest conquest was at the academy. That just wasn't me.

  Well…not anymore.

  "Excuse me?" I said, clearly irritated that he hadn't made his presence known.

  He quirked a brow at me, his eyes narrowing infinitesimally as he spoke. "That explains it all," he said, his lips forming a stiff smile.

  "I beg your pardon?" I asked, feeling my blood pressure shooting up at his total disregard for my privacy.

  He shook his head, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as if he were feeling some sort of strain. "The way you've been acting the last couple of months; all happy and bubbly—and not giving any of the dudes here a second glance. Several of us have noticed the subtle but definite change in your demeanor, hell—you're in love with your roomie, aren�
�t you?"

  I immediately tensed up.

  "That's really none of your business, Agent Murphy," I snapped, trying my best to give him an arctic glare.

  "Well, answer me this, Paige. Does the other fag know his dude is bi? And that Eli's a cheater to boot? I could've sworn Darcy said Eli was gay." He scratched his head in faux confusion.

  "It's none of your damn business what goes on in our house or in my life. I'll thank you to keep your nose out of places it clearly doesn't belong."

  Oh, I was pissed. That much was obvious and, if I had given a damn at the moment, I might've re-thought those words that had just been spoken.

  By me.

  "Our house?" he said, echoing the words I'd just put out there in anger. "Fuck me," he laughed, "You're banging both of them, aren't you?"

  "You're out of line, Darin," I deadpanned, trying to keep my cool before I let anything else out of the bag in anger. "What did you need? Why are you here?"

  He turned around and looked at me, and I could tell he now was feeling kind of…stupid. "I was going to see if you wanted to get dinner—you know, for your birthday. Sounds like you have other plans."

  He turned and left my cubicle before I had the opportunity to tell him that having dinner with him—ever, wasn't going to happen.

  I put my head in my hands, wondering just how long it would take for Darin to spread some vicious gossip about me around to the rest of the office staff.

  And then I remembered: it's only gossip if it's not true.

  Still, I couldn't think that anyone I worked with would have the nerve or the audacity to ask me straight-out about my private and personal life.

  Darin had no class.

  I was betting the rest of my colleagues did.

  chapter 22

  I snuck out of work an hour early, wanting nothing more than to put this day behind me. Darin's innuendos had unnerved me. I didn't need him stirring up any drama, especially since my internship was ending next month, and I had applied for a permanent position with the bureau.

  I beat both Eli and Cain home, going to my room to take a shower and change into something suitable for La Chaumiere. If I even had anything suitable, that is.