by Mia Ashlinn
Relief appeared on both men’s gorgeous faces, and they grinned at each other before turning a make-her-panties-wet grin on her. Their softened cocks instantly hardened again like they’d not been sated Three Rings and a Rose
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only moments before. Closing in on her, one came at her from each side. Their sweaty, sticky bodies swaggered into touching range, and she jumped out of the way. “Hey! No! No touching,” she screeched as she batted at their hands.
“What?” Caedon asked incredulously before skidding to a hasty halt. “You don’t want us to touch you?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like that, sweet cheeks. I have to get to the shop, but I wanted to check on you both before I went to sex toy land and didn’t return for hours. I tend to get stuck there for a while.”
Micah grabbed his pants off the floor and started to redress.
Shoving one foot in at a time, he hauled his jeans up and over his hips before buttoning them. “Everything’s fine. We just needed to talk some things out. How did you find us anyway?” he asked curiously.
Tugging his T-shirt back in place, he tucked it into his pants with a boyish smile. “Not that I mind, snowflake.”
“If that’s how you two talk, I need to get to jabbering,” she joked, deliberately dodging his question. She wasn’t sure if Katie-Anne wanted everyone to know that she and her husbands had been looking at the house next door with a realtor this morning. So she held her tongue.
“Ella, you just turned us down,” Micah scolded, his grin disappearing and a scowl taking its place.
She eyed her men, raking her hungry gaze over their strong bodies, and sighed. “I don’t have time to do the things I want to do with the two of you. I’m running behind because it took me forever to find you both. Then I got distracted by your hot body, booty banging.
Now I have to run.”
Caedon laughed uproariously. “Hot body, booty banging?” Micah disregarded Caedon’s amused inquiry. Rolling his eyes, he asked, “When will you be home? We have plans for you.” Oh-la-la. “I love plans,” she countered with a wicked wink, “if they include a naked sandwich with the two of you.” 208
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A half-naked Caedon looked down at the shirt he’d just put back on before staring at his pants on the floor. “I’m mostly naked. Are you hungry now?
Ella laughed. Caedon was predictable. He would be ready for more booty action. He was quite possibly the horniest man she’d ever met. If he’s lucky, he’ll keep up with me. Maybe.
Playfully flipping her hair over her shoulder, Ella retorted, “Nope, I’m not,” then spun on her stilettos and sashayed away. “You two be naked when I get home. We’ll eat then.” She hummed all the way to the car. Yep, today is going to be perfect.
* * * *
A half hour later, Ella’s mind was rapidly changing. Today didn’t look so perfect after all. She’d just spotted Caedon’s douchebag manager, Ted McClintock, snooping around The G Spot as she’d driven down Main Street. She hated that bastard, and if he was here, he was up to something. She didn’t know what, but it was definitely something. Considering the distance from his New York and Los Angeles offices to Serenity, Kansas it had to be massive.
Ella sped into the back parking lot where she left her car every day and came to an abrupt halt, her tires skidding and squealing against the wet pavement as she did. She threw her car into park then switched off the ignition.
Grabbing her Louis Vuitton purse, she hopped out of her car and made a dash for the store. Rain pelted down on her as she ran through the lot and across the alleyway, cursing herself and her Gianvito Rossi platform sandals. What the fuck was I thinking wearing these sky-high stilettos? Oh yeah, I thought that my legs looked luscious in them.
Fashion over function, right? Well, fuck that.
Disregarding the downpour, she lifted her leg and slid her finger under the elastic strap then slipped them off. Repeating the process Three Rings and a Rose
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with her other leg, she tossed her shoes in the oversized designer purse she’d slung over her shoulder then took off running again.
She sighed in relief. That feels so much better. It was a sad shoe day when she preferred to be barefoot on slick asphalt than to strut around town in her favorite designer. Today’s perfection is turning to total suckage.
Finally reaching the back door to her shop, Ella ducked under the roof covering long enough to unlock her door and step inside. She flipped on the overhead light and tossed her handbag along with her keys onto the desk against the wall then headed for the restroom.
Once inside, she attempted to blot her smeared makeup and squeeze the water out of her sopping hair. When she looked nearly human again, she went out front to open the shop.
Halfway to the door, she looked up and cursed. Ted relaxed against her sister Reagan’s car just outside the store in the pouring rain. When he spotted her, he flashed a smarmy smile at her, and she shivered in distaste. Do I let him in? Or do I let him stand in the pouring rain and ruin his tailored suit that cost more than most people made in a month? She only had to deliberate that for a moment. Destroy the douche’s clothes, it is.
“Gabriella, open the door. We need to talk,” Ted announced.
Without censoring herself, she replied acerbically, “I don’t think we have one goddamn thing to say to each other. I despise you. You despise me. That’s all she wrote, asshole.” But instead of walking away like a smart woman, she stalked forward. She wanted to know what the fuck he was up to and why the hell he was here. She had a feeling that whatever it was would be bad for her and Micah, but good for Caedon. That’s what got Ted’s jollies off—keeping Caedon happy and raking in the dough.
Ella promptly punched in the code to her security system then ripped the door open, practically taking it off the hinges in the process. “Spit it out then get the fuck out.” 210
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Ted pushed himself off her sister’s deep blue BMW Z4 M
Roadster convertible and strutted his arrogant—but dripping wet—ass inside. He glanced around the interior of her store, staring down his nose at every item he saw. “I think you should be a bit nicer to me, ” he declared then stomped his disgustingly wet, muddy feet on the tile flooring, leaving a giant mess she would have to mop up later. “I allowed you to have two weeks with Caedon. That is immensely generous, if you ask me.”
Ella snorted. She tore across the room then skirted around the pay counter, busying herself with the monotonous job of opening the store. As she flitted around, she turned on her computer and calculator. She yanked open drawers with shaky hands before pulling out whatever item she needed and slamming them back shut. “Yeah, well, I didn’t ask you. Did I?” she asked. “It isn’t like you are doing it out of the kindness of your cold, black heart. You’re only generous when there’s something in it for you.”
Smirking, Ted strolled over to the table filled with thongs. He picked up one of the racier pairs with his still-sopping hands and chuckled. “I’m wounded by your distrust in my honorable intentions,” he remarked as he cast aside the black-and-red, lace-up, crotchless thong then fingered a less risqué pair of white silk panties. “My heart is breaking into tiny fragments. How will I ever survive?” Ella arched an eyebrow at him, sending him a look she prayed would cause him to wither up and die like a flower in the middle of a drought. Of course, he didn’t. Pure, beautiful flowers shriveled all the time, but a maggot like him was in-fucking-vincible.
“Fine,” he snapped. “Let’s cut to the chase. Caedon has a life and a career that don’t include you. So here’s what you’re going to do.
You’re going to pick up the phone and call him then tell him whatever you have to say to get rid of him. You almost ruined his career the first time. I won’t let you do it again.”
Spinning, Ella gave the bastard her back before she gave away how much he had upset her already. The best way to deal with a bully Three Rings and a Rose
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was to stand up to him. For her to do that, she had to make sure that she came off as either a strong, firm woman or a scary-as-hell, hard-ass bitch—not a wounded, weepy wuss. “It’s not up to you, Ted.
Caedon is his own man.”
Ella considered tacking on, my man, but she didn’t. It might be best to not provoke the wackjob just yet. Maybe later. She heard him stomp up behind her, his heavy footsteps far too close to her for comfort since she was alone with him.
“Listen you little bitch,” he growled as he came around the counter and grabbed her elbow firmly before forcing her to face him.
The menacing scowl on his face should have scared her, but it didn’t.
It pissed her off—but not nearly as much as what he said next. “I made Caedon Asher who he is today. You have no clue how many things I’ve had to do to get him to where he is. If you think I’ll let you or your BFF, ” he sneered, “fuck your way into his life and screw it up, you both have another thing coming. I got rid of you and whatever his name was once. I’ll do it again.”
“Excuse me?” Ella inquired, a calmness settling over her that she’d never felt before. Everything made sense about her past with Caedon in that one second, and she lost it. She snatched her elbow out of his firm grip then leaned forward as though preparing to whisper something to him. Only she didn’t. No, she kneed him in the nuts.
Ted squealed like the little pig he was and fell forward reflexively, his brain obviously going into protective mode. But she didn’t release him. Instead she put more pressure on his balls and said, “I sincerely hope you’re not saying that you broke me and Caedon up—on purpose.”
Breaking out in a sweat, Ted darted his eyes around the store nervously as if seeking an escape route that did not exist. “I–I–I—”
“Yes?” she asked, feigning innocence. “Is there something you would like to share?”
“Y–y–y—”
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“Spit it out there, buddy,” she demanded as she slowly lowered her leg, finally releasing him regretfully. “Did you or did you not break us up?”
With a gasp, Ted fell back. He stumbled and lost his balance, falling flat onto his ass with a curse, but he didn’t stay down long. He immediately scrambled to his feet and started for the door, yet he didn’t leave. “Of course, I broke you up, Gabriella,” he informed her pompously without turning back to her. “You weren’t good for him then, and you’re not good for him now. Don’t make me get rid of you again. This time I have Leila to help me, and it’ll be a lot more painful for you.”
“I’m shaking in my Christian Louboutins,” she replied. “You might have succeeded before, but things are different this time around.”
“You’re right,” he agreed as he started walking, hauling his ass across the floor and heading out the door. “This time, I’ll make sure you’re both gone for good. He won’t take you back when I’m through, and he certainly won’t turn gay for that loser writer.”
* * * *
Stalking through the back room at The G Spot, Caedon’s fist drew up into a clench so tight that his skin ached from the strain. He and Micah had snuck in the back to surprise Ella with pastries and coffee from her sister’s bakery next door. Only he’d wound up being the surprised one.
Without another word to Micah or Ella, he advanced through the storeroom, his strides long and even, despite the fire burning inside him. He wrenched the door open and walked outside with only one purpose—to beat the living shit out of his soon-to-be former manager.
Micah followed him, staying close enough that Caedon heard him breathing. The hiss of the air he sucked in and blew out sounded unnaturally voluminous. Obviously, he was as pissed as Caedon, and Three Rings and a Rose
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Caedon was grateful. He didn’t want his calm lover to talk him out of this. He needed to make sure this man knew the facts of Caedon’s fucking life.
Swinging his head from side to side, he searched for the bastard.
However, he couldn’t find him. He saw the typical Serenity scene—
people shuffling around the walkways lining Main Street with their various umbrellas and quaint buildings that reminded him of places he’d only scene in movies—but no sign of Ted. “Monkey butt,” he cursed. Then realizing that didn’t encapsulate the fury he felt, he added. “Motherfucking son of a baboon’s ass licker.” Better.
“Damn it,” Micah swore. His massive, masculine hand appeared on Caedon’s shoulder, making him feel slightly better. “He’s gone.”
“I don’t know how he got away that fast,” Caedon commented as he whirled around, hoping that seeing his partner would calm him down. If it didn’t, Caedon wasn’t sure what he would do. Wrath had gripped him by the balls and at this point, murder was on the table, and he couldn’t afford to do that because he didn’t want to be somewhere that he couldn’t be with Ella and Micah.
As soon as Caedon came face to face with Micah, some of his rage melted, and he managed to speak again. “We were only a few seconds behind him,” he said. “He couldn’t have gotten far. Let’s go.” Micah shook his head as he reached out for Caedon. Although, he stopped just short, and Caedon knew why. He wasn’t going to touch him publicly. He wasn’t going to flash his feelings around in case a paparazzi stood close by with a camera glued to his face.
On one hand, Caedon understood, and he was almost grateful. But on the other, it pissed him the fuck off. He wanted to be able to share their relationship. He wanted the whole damn world to know that this was his man, his lover. Only they couldn’t. They both had too much to lose, especially Micah. Being a writer of his stature in the public eye, particularly in his genre, something like this could damage his career—if not destroy it. Even though Caedon had more visibility, 214
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actors did eccentric things all the time. Eventually, things would die down for him.
Micah pulled his hand back with a deep frown, a sadness in his sky-blue eyes that made Caedon’s heart ache. He desperately wanted to fix this, but he couldn’t, which made him want to get a pound of flesh from somebody. Since Ted had the corner on Caedon’s furor, it looked like he was the grand prize winner of pain-by-Caedon’s-fist.
“Let it go for now,” Micah murmured. “You need to calm down before you see him. Otherwise, you are going to do something you regret. Don’t make that mistake.”
Fuck. Micah was right. Starting a war with Ted right now might not be his wisest move. If he wanted to take care of the shithead, he needed to have a straight head because he knew Ted. After years of working together, he understood the way his ex-manager’s mind worked. He would plot and plan everything to a T. Caedon had to figure out a way to counteract his sure-to-be flawless scheme.
“Fine,” Caedon snapped, but he felt horrible before he’d taken another breath. He shouldn’t be taking out his animosity on Micah.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
Micah nodded. “It’s fine,” he said as he slapped Caedon on the back and guided him into Ella’s store.
As soon as they passed over the threshold, Caedon spotted their woman and stepped back. Uh-oh. Ella looked calm—eerily calm.
Fluttering around the store like a graceful butterfly, she appeared completely undaunted by what had just transpired between her and Ted. She picked up items, studying and rearranging them as she went, but she appeared almost bored. “Oh, you’re back,” she breathed. “I figured it would take you a little longer.”
“Nah,” Micah replied, shaking his head. “We lost the bastard.”
“And what exactly were you going to do to him?” she asked as she turned on them. Her calmness slipped ever so slightly before she wiped her face clean of emotion. “Being macho with a bully like him won’t help. It’ll just make things worse.” Three Rings and a Rose
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Ella had a point, but he didn’t care. He wouldn’t be able to behave if he g
ot near Ted, his itchy fists wouldn’t allow him to. He needed to make the smarmy man understand that he wouldn’t put up with someone controlling his life and hurting the people he loved. Caedon was no puppet.
“It’ll make us feel better,” Micah answered for Caedon. “Doesn’t that count for anything?”
Ella fisted her hands at her hips, drawing Caedon’s attention to the lovely curve, and he lost his train of thought. He lost his mind. He needed to hold her, to love her. So he hoofed it across the room and swept her into his arms.
Gingerly caressing her wavy hair with one hand, he held her to him with his other, wrapping his arm completely around her waist, giving her no room to run. She sighed, relaxing into his body, and he found himself smiling. Nuzzling the curve of his neck, she murmured
“We need to be prepared for anything,” against his skin. “He’s not going to go down without a fight. I have a feeling things are about to get ugly around here.”
Caedon did too, but he would do whatever it took to protect his loved ones, and he knew that Micah felt the same way. If that meant destroying Ted, then so be it. If that meant giving up his career, he would. The only things that truly mattered were in this room with him, and he would tell the whole goddamn word to fuck off before he gave them up.
Yeah, it’s about to get real fucking ugly.
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Chapter 22
The following morning, Ella jerked awake in her bed. Something had roused her from a delightfully delicious dream, but she didn’t know what it could have been. Anxious to know who or what to kill, she scanned the room with speedy yet confused eyes. She quickly realized two things and cursed viciously.