by Sienna Blake
I glance over to Fionn. He has a look of shock on his face.
My stomach starts to curdle. Whatever is about to happen is not going to be good.
“You don’t know me,” Emer says into the microphone, “but before you get into business with these four freaks, you should know who they really are.”
“Oh shit,” Fionn bolts towards the stage, pushing through the crowd.
She taps a few keys on the laptop set up on the stage, currently projecting a slideshow of photos of the estate. Aiden took them. He has such a good eye.
The screen goes blank before a video flashes up. It slightly grainy and unsteady and looks like it’s been shot with a camera phone. The shot is through a window, one of the farmhouse bedroom windows.
My heart stops in my chest.
I see myself standing by the bed, the three O’Callaghan brothers around me. We are clothed but their hands are on me and my mouth is on them.
I know what happens next.
I remember this night.
The memory, so beautiful and precious in my mind, turns sour as I watch the most intimate moments between the loves of my life and me play out on screen for everyone to see.
The crowd gasps and exclamations of shock echo throughout the room as the O’Callaghan brothers take turns kissing me and peeling my clothes off. My cheeks burn as my breasts are revealed, as I reach into Aiden’s pants and pull out his erection, as Fionn kneels before me to pull down my panties and kiss that sacred spot between my legs.
There it is. On screen for everyone to see.
The four of us.
Getting intimate.
I want to run. But I can’t move.
I want to scream. But I can barely breathe as bile coats my throat. Fiery pins and needles stab my skin. I feel invaded. Utterly violated.
“Savannah Wolff,” my father spits out, his voice echoing through the shocked silence of the room, “you disgusting whore. You are an utter disgrace to this family name. I no longer have a daughter.” He turns on his heel and storms from the barn.
My mother stares at me, mouth wide open, skin sallow and pale, utter horror clear on her face despite no wrinkles on her smooth botoxed forehead. She slaps a hand over her mouth, glances around the room and her cheeks deepen to a pink. Then she runs out of the barn following my father.
Theo looks at me as if I just crawled out of a gutter, his mouth in a twisted snarl. “You slut. You’re disgusting. Our engagement is over.” He turns on his heel and leaves as well.
Fionn finally makes it to the podium, pushing Emer aside despite her protests and shutting the video down. The screen goes black, the noises of pleasure stop and a heavy, sharp silence descends over the room.
But the damage is done.
I feel the stares of every single person in the room. Their shock. Their judgments stripping me bare and painting my body with damned hellfire.
I open my mouth to…
I don’t know what. To defend myself? To try to explain that it’s not what it looks like? That the four of us love each other? That what they saw was an expression of the deepest love and affection? That I love each brother. They love me. What is more natural than love, I want to scream?
They will never hear me.
They will never believe me.
They will never understand.
No one will. Society has deemed an exclusive pair-bonding between two people as “right”. As “natural”. Anything else is instantly rejected. Everything else instantly deemed “wrong”.
The first person moves, breaking away from the mass and following my parents out the exit. It’s like the breaking of a dam. The crowd starts to leave as well, a bottleneck at the exit, their faces glancing towards me to send me disgusted looks.
Fionn tries to stop them, pleading with them, trying to reason with the very same people who were laughing with him and clapping his back not two minutes ago. But they don’t listen to him.
Everyone is leaving.
Every single person that could have helped us with this project. The project that we sank all of our pooled resources into. The project that was going to save us.
No one is going to do business with us.
No one.
We are utterly ruined.
Savannah
The lights are still on in the barn. I can see them out the window as I lie in bed, my loves around me. We’d taken to laying two mattresses on the floor next to each other so that I can sleep with my head next to Aiden’s, who sleeps with his legs out the opposite way, Fionn and Killian on either side of me. I can touch all three of them as I lie here.
We’d been so shell shocked, the four of us, that we left everything as it was. In a mess.
Just like our lives are.
What are we going to do?
“It’s all my fault,” Fionn says, his voice breaking through the heavy silence. He’s on my right, farther away from me than he usually is. Guilt, I realize, is making him distant.
I reach out across the mattress and find his hand in the dark. “It’s not your fault.”
“But Emer—”
“You didn’t force her to videotape us. Didn’t make her show it in front of everyone.”
“She’s right, Fionn,” Killian says, his voice cutting through with the tone of authority I’ve come to rely on. “It’s not your fault. Beating yourself up isn’t going to help any of us. What we need is a plan.”
Silence descends over us again. With it comes a rush of hopelessness.
“We’ll think of something,” Aiden says, thin hope hung over his voice like gossamer. “We just need a good night’s sleep.”
I want to believe him. I do. But the hopelessness threatens to drown me.
We have less than two days to come up with the arrears payment to the bank.
I feel Aiden’s lips press against my cheek, feel his breath swirl around my neck. I roll onto my side so I can kiss him back. Fionn weaves his fingers into my hand and tangles his legs into mine. Killian wraps an arm around me from behind.
The three of them are the only thing tethering me to this earth. To hope.
We spend the rest of the night like this, wrapped around each other, holding onto each other like a life raft. Trying to soothe one another.
I don’t sleep well. None of us does.
In two days, we could lose everything. Our house. Our home.
At least we still have each other. Right?
Savannah
Fionn and I spend the next day on the phone trying to get the travel reporters and VIPs from the event to speak to us. None of them will.
By the end of the day we’ve had no luck. No one has called us back. No one has made a booking. I can barely eat the dinner that Aiden cooked for us.
The day after we wake to the news story having gone viral over the internet. The corporate inbox is stuffed full of messages labeled:
Slut
Whore
You are all going to hell!
What hurts most is that I recognize some of the senders’ emails. Some of these messages are from people I used to know, people I used to call friends. I scan them, hoping, praying for one from a legitimate customer. There are none. Silent tears roll down my face.
A hand closes the laptop. It’s Aiden. He pulls me into his arms and I start to wail.
I sank my savings into this. So did the brothers. Now with no job and my parents having cut me off, I literally have less than three hundred dollars in my bank account. The mortgage payment is almost ten times that.
Tomorrow is our deadline. And I have no idea what to do.
The next day, the crunch of gravel is like the loading of shotguns signaling our execution. It’s the bank manager here to collect the arrears on the mortgage. We don’t have it. We don’t even come close to having it.
I feel sick as I sit on the couch in the living room, Aiden and Fionn sitting on either side of me, one of my hands in each of theirs.
Footsteps sound up onto the porch an
d a knock echoes through the house. I drop Fionn and Aiden’s hands.
Killian greets the man at the door, leads him in, introduces him to us as Mr. O’Connell.
Mr. O’Connell glances at me and then at the two brothers on either side of me, his brows furrowing. I’m sure he’s heard about the video.
I lift my chin and match his stare. I am not ashamed.
Aiden gets up from his seat and offers Mr. O’Connell tea and biscuits.
Mr. O’Connell blinks a few times at Aiden before politely refusing the refreshments. Mr. O’Connell is a long-standing member of this community. He probably hasn’t heard Aiden speak in over a decade.
Mr. O’Connell takes a seat in one of the armchairs and Killian takes the other. I grip my hands together in my lap, silently pleading for him to be lenient.
“I know the arrears is due today,” Killian says. “And we’ll get the money. We just…we need more time.”
Mr. O’Connell lets out a long breath, his lips pinching together. “I’m afraid I’ve run out of time to give ye. I’ve heard what you did to this place, saw the pictures on the website. Looks really good. It would have been a great business…”
Would have.
Not anymore.
He clears his throat. “I’m sorry.” He takes out a folded piece of paper from his inner jacket pocket and hands it to Killian. “I’m serving you notice. You have fourteen days to vacate the premises.”
“Fourteen days,” I cry out.
Aiden slides a hand onto my knee and squeezes. I don’t care anymore about maintaining distance. I grab his hand and hang on for dear life.
Killian is silent as he unfolds the paper, his face draining white as he reads the notice.
“We won’t leave,” Fionn says. “This is our home.”
“I’m afraid you have no choice,” Mr. O’Connell says.
I lean back into the couch and stare at Mr. O’Connell. He’s sweating, his cheeks flushed pink, avoiding all of our eyes. He doesn’t like doing this either. But he has to do his job.
Fourteen days.
Where will we go? What will we do? Our lives suddenly rip open into an abyss.
“Um, excuse me?” a female voice cuts through the stunned silence.
All our heads swivel to the front door which is ajar, a woman’s face in the gap.
She’s in her forties, I guess, striking blue eyes, light brown hair tied back off her handsome face. I’ve never seen her before. I glance around to the boys to see if any of them recognize her but it doesn’t look like they do.
“Sorry to disturb you,” she says. “I tried to email you but I didn’t get a response. I figured it got lost in your inbox.”
“Are you a reporter?” Fionn demands.
“A reporter?” She lets out a laugh. “No, I’m here because I want to book your entire resort.”
What?
Killian reacts first. He jumps to his feet, shoving the notice into his pocket. “Come in, please.”
She walks in, introduces herself to us as Evelyn Leary. Killian gives her his armchair and remains standing. Aiden repeats his offer for tea and biscuits, which she waves off.
Mr. O’Connell stands to leave, but surprisingly Evelyn raises her hand. “You’ll want to stay for this.”
She glances over to me and shoots me a wink. Mr. O’Connell sinks into his chair in silence.
“I read about your…unconventional relationship,” she says, turning to address the four of us.
Fionn bristles beside me.
Evelyn holds up a hand to him. “Before you jump down my throat, let me admit to you that I am in a three-way relationship. I run an online forum for people who also have…alternative relationships. We’re looking to hold a week-long stay somewhere…where we can be ourselves without being judged. We think this is the perfect place.”
My mouth drops open. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely,” she says, turning to me. “You’re not the only ones who have found that love works in more than one way.”
I sit in stunned silence.
Is she real? Is her offer real? Or is this some kind of sick joke? A prank?
Neither Killian, Fionn nor Aiden say anything either.
Evelyn glances around at us all, studying each one of our faces in turn. “You’re not convinced. Let me show you how serious I am.”
She rummages in her small black handbag and pulls out a slip of paper. “I have a check right here for the full deposit. I’d love to book a full week in September. If you’ll have us, of course.”
A check.
Killian takes the check from her, his hand shaking. He studies the slip of paper, our slip of hope.
“It’s a bank check, by the way,” Evelyn says. “The bank has verified the money is in the account. It’s not going to bounce.”
Killian looks up, a smile sliding across his face. “Ms. Leary—”
“Call me Evelyn, please.”
“Evelyn, we would love to have you.” He holds out his hand to her. She stands and takes it.
My head spins as I try to process what the hell is happening.
Killian thrusts the check into Mr. O’Connell’s hands. “I’d like to make a deposit into our bank account. You can take the arrears out of that.”
Mr. O’Connell glances at the check, his eyes widening before he nods and folds it into his pocket. “Yes, sir.”
Killian turns to us and makes a show of ripping the notice in half and throws it aside.
Oh my God.
We’re saved. The farm is saved.
I let out a squeal and launch myself into Killian’s arms. I feel Aiden and Fionn close around us too, and I am surrounded by the loves of my life.
We hug for what feels like ages. But we can’t stay like this. We’re not alone.
When we pull away Mr. O’Connell has gone. But Evelyn is standing there beaming at us. “You guys are so cute. I made the right decision coming here.”
I run over to her and pull her in for a hug, which she reciprocates after a slight pause.
“Thank you,” I say when I pull back, my voice shaking with emotion.
“You’re very welcome,” she says before she takes her leave.
The three loves of my life crowd around me and I feel wrapped in their warmth.
Evelyn pauses at the door and turns to look at us. “One day we won’t have to hide who we are. Until then, thank you for making this a safe place for us.”
Killian
“This calls for a celebration,” Fionn says, a grin on his face. “And I know just the thing…”
He walks over to our da’s wooden cabinet. The one my da made himself with Fionn’s help years before he died. I guess I should have seen that Fionn was more of a builder like our da. I should have encouraged his natural talents instead of trying to push him to do work that didn’t suit him. Our da and Fionn always had a special relationship because of it. I guess part of me was always jealous of it.
Fionn pulls out a bottle of liquor from the cabinet and holds it up.
“Fionn,” I say in a hushed voice as I spot the label. Middleton, 14-year-old single malt whiskey.
“He would have wanted us to open it someday,” Fionn says. “The day has come.”
I am silent, my insides warring.
I can feel Savannah’s eyes on us, questioning.
“It’s the bottle of whiskey my father bought on their honeymoon,” Aiden explains. “He was going to save it for a special occasion.”
“Fionn, you can’t open it,” Savannah cries.
“Yes, he can,” I say, surprising everyone including myself. “And he should.”
Savannah’s eyes widen. “Killian, don’t you think your parents wouldn’t have approved of—”
“Our parents loved us,” I say. “All they ever wanted was for us to be happy. To be loved and to love. You make us happy—you make me happy.”
Savannah runs to me, flinging herself into my arms. I kiss her hard, my arms closing aroun
d her and crushing her to me as if I could pull her into my body.
I feel this strange connection with her, with my brothers and with my parents. I feel like they might really be watching down over us, smiling. It feels right. Real. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.
I pull away to look at her.
Vixen.
Angel.
Queen.
I grab her around the back of the neck so she can’t look away. “I fucking love you,” I growl.
Her eyes widen. For a moment I think I’ve gone too far. Said the wrong thing. I decide I don’t care. I love her. She needs to know it.
Then that brilliant smile widens. “I love you, too.”
My heart grows wings and I feel like I’m soaring, high on her love.
She undresses me, her hands graceful and deft. I rip clothes off her, hungry and desperate. I’m aware that Aiden and Fionn are undressing, too. But all I can see is Savannah.
I need to be inside her.
She pushes me down onto the couch and positions her pussy over my aching cock, so ready for her. And when she slides down I almost black out from the intense wave of pleasure that rides through me.
“Fuck me, you feel so good.”
She chuckles. “I plan on doing just that.”
In utter awe, I watch her ride me, slow at first, Aiden and Fionn standing on either side, their free hands stroking themselves, taking turns or leaning their heads down to kiss her or suck on her bouncing breasts.
Then we move faster, urged on by each other’s excitement, until we come together. She and I wrapped around each other. Fionn coming across her tits.
She has me.
I’m hers.
She owns me body, heart and soul.
I sit, sated on the couch, my head spinning at the orgasm come-down, as Aiden lays her on the rug on the floor, pushes her knees up, and makes love to her as tenderly as only Aiden can.
“I love you, Savannah.” His sweet words fill the room, mixing with the sounds of heavy breathing and soft moans like a symphony. There are tears in her eyes and love in her words as another orgasm hits her. I feel it, too. My dick swells with want, with love.