by Sam Crescent
There was such raw need in her eyes. He knew what she wanted and what she was afraid to ask. Simone wanted more from them. The sex was amazing. He knew that and loved having it with her, but now she wanted things to go deeper.
God help him. He wanted those things as well.
****
Cole witnessed the change inside Simone and Callum. He knew they were finally catching on to what they both desired. Simone, for all of her hard-headed approaches to life, still yearned for her dream as a young girl. Cole knew he would be more than happy to give her what she craved.
Love, a family, and happiness.
After his years in Iraq and being at death’s door, Cole knew he was done playing the field. He’d never cheat on her.
When Callum moved aside, Cole didn’t wear a condom. He wanted her naked pussy around his cock. Thrusting inside her tight heat, he stared into her eyes. Tears shone back at him. He knew it was on the tip of her tongue, and still, she held herself back for fear. Seeing her father and knowing the kind of man he was, Cole knew it would take a lot of strength for her to say what she wanted.
“Tell me, baby,” he said.
She shook her head, thrusting her hips up to his. He took the love she silently offered. Cole knew he could wait for her to speak the words. He wasn’t letting her go. Callum might chose to hide from his own feelings, but Cole was man enough to fight for the woman he wanted.
Cole made love to her. He made his thrusts slow and long. Every moment meant the world to him.
The moment they reached their pinnacle, he reached for Callum’s hand, holding his friend as he loved their woman.
They lay on the bed with Simone in the middle. None of them spoke as the sexual haze began to ease. Simone fell asleep first. Her soft sounds soothed his soul. Next, Callum fell asleep. Cole turned over gazing down at both of his friends. Both of them meant the world to him. He’d give his very life to make sure they were safe.
No matter what happened in the world, he knew his future was in that bed beside him. For the first time since he’d gotten back from the war zone, sleep came easily to Cole. He no longer dreamed of the battle filled with never ending rubble. In his dreams was a woman running through a field. A woman with raven black hair and icy blue eyes. Her body was full with a nicely rounded stomach.
Cole followed the woman in his dream as she was chasing something. The woman bent down and turned. The woman in his dreams was Simone, and in her arms was a child. Their child. Callum moved up behind her, stroking the baby’s head. He felt like he’d been stabbed in his heart. His two friends were happy without him.
Then, they turned to him. Simone’s smile brightened up her entire face. Both, Simone and Callum held their hands out to him, inviting him.
Cole took the steps in his dreams, approaching the people he loved more than anything. The child in her arms looked up at him.
“Dadda.”
Chapter Nineteen
Simone woke up the following morning. Cole and Callum lay against her. Neither man was touching her. They were facing toward her with smiles on their faces. She wondered what they were dreaming about. Then she tensed, realising she was no longer needed. They’d caught the bad guy. Her presence in their home was unnecessary. She climbed out of the bed by going down the middle so neither of the men was disturbed. When she stood at the bottom staring at them, she couldn’t stop the yearning inside her.
She wished for the first time in her life that she somehow had a prior claim to a man. Since her eighteenth birthday she’d never felt any need to keep a man around. Looking at Callum and Cole made her want so much more. There was a time when she wanted a family of her own. Fear had made her leave those dreams behind.
Turning away from her dreams, she went to the bathroom to freshen up. Once she was done, she put the coffee on then made her way to the guest room to dress in her clothes. She sat on the end of the bed she’d rarely slept in. Cole had demanded her presence in his room most nights. Her body awakened to the love they’d given her last night. The moment she asked them to make love and not fuck her, she’d wanted to take the words back. They showed too much between them. Why would they want to have her when they could have any woman they wanted on the planet?
Getting up from her seat, she grabbed her suitcases and began packing away her things. She didn’t want them to ask her to leave. If she got everything ready, she could go on her own accord.
The time passed as she put each item of clothing into her suitcase. When she was done, she rolled the case into the office where she’d been working. She looked at all the mess on her desk. Only yesterday, she’d been happier than she could ever recall.
She grabbed the files and began packing them away. Her hands were shaking with each file she finished. Tears filled her eyes, and her throat felt like there was a lump inside it.
“Don’t cry, Simone. Don’t cry.”
Her mother had cried, which only embarrassed her father.
She rubbed her eyes then cursed when more tears fell.
What the hell was wrong with her?
“That suitcase better not be packed,” Callum said, leaning against the door.
Simone cried out, looking up to see both men leaning on either side of the door. They wore running pants. No shirts. They looked like they’d walked out of an exercise magazine.
“I think she was leaving us, Callum. Don’t you?” Cole asked. The thick muscles of their arms caught her attention. They were talking about her as if she didn’t exist.
“I’m, er, I’m finishing the filing, and then I’ll be on my way.” More tears fell, and she wiped them away, cursing at the same time.
“She’s crying, Cole. I don’t like those tears.”
“I bet she never cried when she was younger.”
“Will you stop talking to me as if I’m not here?” she yelled.
“There is the fire I remember. I think she wants us, Cole.”
Simone felt her temple begin to throb as a headache began to take her.
“What are you two talking about? I’ve done what you needed me to do, and now I’m moving on.”
Both men advanced into the room. “Here is the thing, we don’t want you to go,” Callum said.
She frowned. “What? Why don’t you want me to go?”
“You’re the right woman for us,” Cole said.
“No, you don’t do relationships. You share and then move on.”
“Not this time, Simone. You’re the one we want. You’re not leaving here without one of us. In fact, I think we should call Daniel and ask him to send all of her stuff here,” Callum said.
“I think that is a good idea. I’m not working today. I’m taking Simone back to bed and not letting her go until she can’t move without thinking about me,” Cole said.
“You’re doing it again. This is not fair of either of you. You’re not proclaiming your undying love for me.”
“No, you’re right. We’re not.”
Her heart shattered. “Then why don’t you want me to leave?”
Callum caught her face between his hands. He was staring at her intently. “Because the thought of seeing you walk out that door and never seeing you again breaks me, Simone.”
“It’s not love.”
“I know. Why does it have to be love? Can’t we just see where this goes?” Callum asked.
“He may not be in love with you, Simone, but I am,” Cole said.”
She turned to look at the other man. Cole stared at her from where he stood across the desk. His arms were folded as he stared at her. “I’m in love with you, Simone, and I’m not letting you go.”
“You’re best friends. I don’t want to come between you.”
“Callum is in love with you. He just doesn’t know it yet. Let me tell you again. You’re not going to your apartment, and you’re not leaving me,” Cole said.
Simone stared at the other man unsure what to say. “I love you, too.”
“Then come here and kiss me.”
>
She pulled out of Callum’s hold going to Cole. Simone charged into his arms as a fresh wave of tears began to fall.
“I’ve got you, baby. I’m never letting you go.”
Her tears of happiness fell.
Callum came up behind, moving her hair out of the way. “I may not know my feelings about you yet, Simone. What I do know is I’m not letting you go either.”
They held her close refusing to let her leave. When she tried to grab her suitcase, Callum grabbed the handle taking it through to his room.
“This is never going to work,” she said.
“It will work,” Cole said, taking her to his bed.
“How?”
****
One year later
Callum stared at the gorgeous raven-haired woman seated at the bar. She’d caught his attention the moment she’d walked into the room. Cole was smirking at him. He’d never known a woman to take his breath away.
“Stop smirking, Cole. You’ll lose that sophisticated look you’ve been going for,” Callum said. He sipped his drink unable to look away.
“I’m going back to my room. Remember to play nice, and I’ll see you soon.” Cole threw down some notes. He watched his friend leave the bar before grabbing his empty glass and going to the bar.
The woman glared at one of the men who approached her. He was about to stroke her arm when she slapped him and growled something. The man disappeared looking rather pale. Callum walked up to the bar, holding his glass up for a refill.
He turned toward the woman. Simone looked as gorgeous as ever in the deep purple gown he’d bought. His hands were shaking with nerves. The past year had flown by so quickly he couldn’t believe how happy he’d been.
“So, you and Cole have gotten me here. Why?” she asked, turning toward him. Her lips were painted a dark red shade. The colour contrasted with the pale creaminess of her skin. He knew every inch of her skin as he’d heard her come apart more times than he recalled. Her scent and sounds were highly addictive. Callum smiled recalling the time he’d demanded her presence while he’d been working out. She’d stormed into the gym with her hand on her hip.
He’d been lifting weights and sporting a huge erection. While he finished lifting weights, he’d demanded she remove all of her clothes and fuck him. The memory was a sweet one to him.
“This was the bar where we first met.”
“I remember.”
She rested her chin on her palm staring up at him. “Cole told me to wait at the bar. What do you two have cooking?”
“The rest of our lives.” He threw down some notes then took her hand in his. Going with his gut, he walked her to the elevator. When the doors closed, he pressed her against the corner of the stall. He thrust his cock against her watching her eyes dilate with need.
“Now this is déjà vu, for me,” she said, putting a hand on his cock.
“It is for me as well, babe. You don’t know how many times I’ve thought of this moment,” he said.
“How often?”
“I think about it all the time. This was the moment I should have realised you were mine.”
“I know.”
“This time will be different though,” he said, stroking her nipples through her dress.
“Why will it be different?” she asked. Her lips were swollen from his kisses. He wondered if her ass was still red from the spanks he’d given her hours before. She was their woman in every sense of the word. Callum knew that now, clearer than he’d ever thought possible.
The elevator doors opened to the top floor. He took her hand leading her to his door. Pulling a blindfold from his back pocket, he covered her eyes.
“I don’t like this, Callum.”
Her fingers tried to take the blindfold off.
“Trust me, baby. You’ll love it.”
He opened the door looking at what Cole had done. Red roses were dotted on every surface. Rose petals led the way to where the coffee table had been. Cole was knelt on one leg with a ring in his hand. They’d each picked a ring and knew she’d wear both. Callum knew they both couldn’t be legally married to her. He and Cole had worked through the finer details.
“The room smells beautiful, Callum.”
“Good.”
He took her hand leading her to the room. “I’m going to let your hand go. Stay still and don’t take the blindfold off until we tell you,” he said.
“We?”
Callum knelt beside Cole. He took the ring out of his pocket and presented the box in front of her.
Taking a deep breath, he stared up at her.
“You can remove the blindfold,” he said.
She pulled it off and gasped. Simone stared around her at the room then at them. Her eyes widened when she saw both of them on one knee before her.
He saw her eyes fill with tears.
“What is going on?”
“I thought it was only appropriate that I tell you my feelings for you in the same building, in the same room, where we met one year ago today.”
“We met one year ago today?” she asked, teasing them.
“You’ve got that right. You came into the bar cursing men. You shot them all down but me. I took you to this very room, and since that moment I’ve been addicted to you.”
Tears fell from her eyes. She licked her lips as she looked at him.
“Cole once said that I loved you, but I didn’t know it yet. He was right, Simone.” He licked his lips feeling the nerves getting the better of him. “I love you. I’ll never stop loving you. I know there is no other woman out there who I want more than you. You’re my world, and I never want to wake up another morning without you.”
“I love you, too,” she said.
“Then would you do Callum and me the honour of becoming our wife?” Cole asked, presenting the rings.
“You’ve been planning this for weeks, haven’t you?”
“Just say yes, baby, and get us out of our misery.”
“Yes. Absolutely, yes. Yes, yes, yes, and yes.”
She went down on her knees before them, taking their faces between her hands. “I would love to be both of your wife.”
Callum smiled. For one year he’d been doubtful of the love he felt for Simone. Now, he knew without a shadow of a doubt his feelings for her. The future never looked better.
Epilogue
Daniel Allusifa stared down at the invitation in his hand. His little sister was getting married. On the card the name was Callum. He knew Cole and Callum would have a second personal celebration to bind her to Cole.
“Are you going to the wedding?” Brian asked. Brian was a long time friend, and they’d known each other since college. He was the one person Daniel trusted with secrets.
“She’s my sister. I’ll be the one walking her down the aisle.” Simone had phoned him and begged him to be the one to do it. She’d cut their father out of her life completely.
“I don’t know how you do it. If my sister was dating two men, I’d lose it.”
He knew what his friend meant. The moment he’d realised what was happening, Daniel had to keep himself together. He’d wanted to beat the shit out of both men. Simone had always been a free spirit. He imagined she got it from witnessing their parents’ break-up. He’d been at boarding school through most of it while Simone was at home. She’d been raised differently from him. Their mother had sent her to a public school.
“Simone is happy, and that is all I care about.” If it took two men to make her happy then he wouldn’t come between them.
“You’re a better man than I am. I’d have killed the bastards by now.”
Daniel knew his sister would hurt him if he ever tried to hurt her men. She was protective of them all the time. He liked the new relationship he was developing with his family. His mother had stayed in the country even as news of his father’s impending marriage was broadcast all over the place. Malcolm was marrying a twenty something actress even as he was fighting the charge of corporate espion
age. John had really given up everything. Daniel didn’t hold out much hope for the marriage lasting or of Malcolm being out in the world for long.
Shaking his head, he ordered another strong coffee to go with his lunch. He wished it was a beer. The day was starting to wear a bit thin.
“Whom will you be taking as your date?” Brian asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. A date never entered his head.
“You’re going to your sister’s wedding alone? Haven’t you considered what we talked about before?”
Daniel felt his cheeks fill with embarrassment. After one too many beers a few days ago he’d confided in Brian he hadn’t had sex in months. All the women around him expected something from him. He wasn’t up to giving them a relationship outside of sex. It was easier to find relief from his hand than it was to find it in a willing woman.
“Don’t start,” he said. Brian had suggested he advertise for a woman to supply sex.
“You’re being a chicken, Daniel. There are women out there who will supply you with sex for a short fee.”
“I’m not advertising for a call girl, Brian. That’s not the way I work.”
Brian shrugged his shoulders. “I know you wouldn’t do it, which is why I did it for you.”
His friend pulled up the newspaper. Daniel saw the advertising pages. “You did what?” he asked. His anger rising as Brian circled an advertisement then handed it to him.
He took the paper and read the detail out loud. “Man, looking for companion with benefits. Salary will be discussed on interview.” Daniel threw the paper at his friend. “Are you insane? I’m Daniel Alluisfa, not some faceless person. This is bad for my company and bad for business.”
“No one will know it is you. You will pay an extra fee for her discretion. It is a perfect solution.”
He stared at his friend in silence. “You’re insane. Completely insane. I think we need to take you to the hospital so they can have you tested.”
The waiter came and handed them the bill. Brian placed some notes on the tray then waited for the guy to leave.