Three Men and a Woman: Delilah (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Rachel Billings

  He wasn’t considering that, in most of those cases, the thing had gone as far as the four of them on his deck had taken it. But why not? Other than that maybe those others were just too chicken-shit to take what they wanted.

  He wasn’t going to be chicken-shit, and apparently, Ben and Austin weren’t going to be, either. Likely, Delilah would be the one who needed coaxing.

  Witness, her absence now.

  Lincoln thought they’d settled into it pretty well last night. Ben had kind of coddled Lilah along, and Austin had hovered over her in his he-man kind of way.

  Himself, he’d kind of sat back and enjoyed watching it. He caught Lilah’s glance a couple times and got her message. His lord-of-my-kingdom-and-all-I-survey tendency was showing.

  But they’d chatted and enjoyed the evening. They’d all relaxed into it, and Delilah had seemed comfortable with whichever one of them happened to have his arm around her or her hand in his or whatever.

  They’d used his pool as the sun set and then warmed up in the hot tub. With four naked bodies in a hot tub, something was bound to happen, and it did. They passed Lilah around a little, kissing and petting her. Ben took it the furthest, finally bringing her up on the edge of the tub and fucking them both to orgasm.

  When they were done, Austin had climbed out, picked her up, and carried her off to a bedroom. The boner he sported made his intentions clear.

  Lincoln gave them the better part of an hour before he hunted them down. He woke Lilah only a little as he took her in his arms to his own bed. They made love there, with her all sleepy-sweet. He’d have given her up if he’d had to, if one of his ménage partners had come for her. But he fucking loved falling asleep with her tucked into his chest.

  Except that she wasn’t there when he woke and appeared to be nowhere in the damn house.

  “Goddammit, Lilah! Where the fuck are you?” He had her on the phone now. Ben and Austin had both got themselves into a pair of sweats and were chugging their first cups of coffee while they watched him yell at their woman.

  She’d fucking gone to work.

  “If I don’t go to work I don’t get paid, Linc.” She was sounding so fucking reasonable.

  “Yeah? Well, if I don’t go to work, other people don’t get paid, Lilah. In fact they lose their jobs, Lilah, lots of them. But I’m not at work, Lilah. I’m here, in my kitchen, where you should be.”

  “I should be in your kitchen, Linc?”

  “Yes!”

  Well, maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say. And maybe he should stop yelling like a loon, given the arch little tone in Delilah’s voice and the way his buddies were looking at him like he’d gone off the deep end.

  He looked back at them, feeling for no reason that he could rationally explain like taking a swing. “She snuck out! She didn’t say good-bye or anything!”

  He didn’t bother covering the phone while he bitched like a girl.

  Austin couldn’t know how close he was to a fist in the face when he laughed and took the phone from Lincoln’s hand.

  “Deej.”

  That shit-eating grin was going to have to go. “Linc wants to know if you’re okay. We all do.”

  He shut the phone down, damn him, and handed it back. “She’s fine. She said we should all go to work like we’re normal people and not flaming idiots.”

  “Well, is she coming home tonight? Coming here? Did you even ask?”

  Austin crossed his arms over his chest, getting entirely too much pleasure out of Lincoln’s, what? Not panic. Not really.

  “Did you hear me ask?”

  “No.”

  “Well, then.”

  Austin went off, making Ben laugh with some comment about panties in a twist.

  Shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  * * * *

  “Delilah, will you come in here, please?”

  She still had some work to do, but it was nearing the end of Howard’s shorter workday. So she saved the contract document she’d been proofing and walked into his office.

  She intended to work late anyway. She’d been a bit tardy getting in. After all, it took a while to explain to Sarah in an early morning phone call just how she’d spent her night. Sarah had to be talked down—from livid disbelief, then worried questioning of Delilah’s sanity, then begrudging acceptance tinged with a little prurient interest. By the end of the call, she was considering whether she could leave the two Bruces alone for a few days so she could come out and get her own look at Delilah’s stable of men.

  And that was after Delilah had sneaked away from them in her next-to-nothing clothing and taken a long, soul-soothing shower in her own place.

  There were a whole lot of things she wasn’t certain about, but Delilah was dead sure that leaving Linc’s house that morning had been the right thing to do. Okay, maybe it had been a bit cowardly to sneak out, but she had to go.

  She felt a little guilty over it, what with that kind of panic she heard in Linc’s voice when he got through to her. He’d left several escalating messages on her phone while she talked with Sarah. When he finally reached her, he was in a tizzy—that was the only way to describe it. And, while it was wrong of her to have put him in that ever-so-not-Lincoln-Banks state, she couldn’t suppress a little satisfied smile.

  She’d let him—or, rather, the much more composed Austin—know that she was okay. Then, for the rest of the day, she’d ignored their calls. They’d each tried her cell phone, but she’d only answered that first call. Lincoln had used her office phone—twice—but she’d instructed him not to harass her at work and hung up on him.

  She’d left early and stayed out late at lunchtime. She guessed that at least one of them would present himself at her desk over the lunch hour, and she just wasn’t ready for it. Instead, she biked over to Katie’s to have a long, chatty lunch with her and baby Clara.

  She’d taken a little bit of the morning to research ABL. It was a thing she should have done from the first, even before she’d sent her resume out. But she’d used a service to help with her job search, and she’d never gotten as far as actually prepping for an interview at ABL.

  If she had, she’d have known from the beginning that the top players at the organization—CEO and division chiefs of research and engineering—were three men from her past. They were there, in their handsome and professional glory, all over the website.

  Katie knew them all, of course. Linc was Howard’s good friend, and so she’d met him on several occasions and had even sailed on the Priscilla with him. She’d gone with Howard and Dolly to a couple parties at Linc’s amazing home and had met Ben and Austin there.

  Delilah considered Katie a friend, one who could be trusted. Though young, Katie was a motherly sort who wouldn’t have harsh judgments against those she cared for.

  So she shared all. Well, not all. But she caught Katie up with the final romance of the last three months and then the big reveal of the previous night. She let Katie know about the possibility of going forward in a relationship with all three men.

  Katie expressed realistic concerns and practical questions. Then she got on the phone. Her parents were fishing in Montana, and her mom Mavis was happy to take a break out of the sun for a chance to talk with her daughter, getting a little Clara babble in the bargain.

  Mavis confirmed what Delilah had already been told and then some. ABL had been looking for Mavis’s replacement, and Delilah’s resume had popped to the top. Mavis had assumed she’d get the nod—highly qualified and a good-looker—then suddenly Linc was calling her into the office and making arrangements to switch up Howard’s temp with Delilah. Linc was paying Lilah’s wildly inflated salary, she knew. And, oh yeah, the condo in Capitola Village belonged to ABL, not to Wright Marine Science.

  Delilah left Katie’s feeling no more settled than when she’d arrived. She’d been handily manipulated—the strategy had Mr. CEO’s fingerprints all over it. She couldn’t believe the three of them had partnered up in such a wild scheme.

&nbs
p; But as she rode back to the office, she realized she could, of course, believe it.

  They were who they were, her three men. Each was a guy who would determinedly go after what he wanted. Oh, they had different styles. Linc would plot and finesse, weaving a web that captured before danger was even apparent. Ben would gentle things along patiently, like water wearing down stone. And Austin would just cross his muscled arms over his chest, tap his foot, and let the power of his looming male presence accomplish all that he needed.

  In this case, when what they wanted was her, their plan made reasonable sense. Being the men they were and the friends they were, they’d consider it a rational and honorable approach. They’d each have a fair shot at winning her.

  One of them—Lincoln?—had mentioned honor when he’d left her. She accepted that as a principle they valued, one that guided their misbegotten stratagem.

  It was endlessly annoying that they felt free to manipulate her in such a way. But she didn’t doubt that they took into account her feelings, that the plan was tailored to cause the least harm to her. That would be part of the honor code.

  And, when she thought about it, they were right in their assumption that the end game was a loving relationship, one that might make the means of it forgivable. She had, in fact, had sweet feelings for each of them. With Linc it had been just that one powerful interlude, a strong attraction that had never had a chance to grow or flame out, either one. With Ben, it had been a sweet little budding of romance, interrupted by one of life’s inescapable monkey wrenches. And Austin, well, he’d always been there, like a safe place kept ready for time of need.

  If she’d faced them across a desk in a job interview, she’d have been hard-pressed to make a choice. If one of them were to ask her out, were to pursue her, which one would she have wanted it to be?

  In fact, given what had gone before, when they’d met or known each other in the past, each of them had reason to think, to hope, if she could be presumptuous about it, that he would be the one chosen.

  Each of them was right.

  She loved them all. That was the bottom line, she realized, as she locked her bike and walked into her office. That was where all discussion, all consideration, ended.

  She loved them all. Could she continue to do so? Could they, the four of them, really manage to make each other happy in a ménage? The practicalities of it were daunting, but more importantly, could she possibly accept that the four of them could thrive in such an arrangement?

  She chuckled as she reached her desk. She’d guessed correctly. By evidence of the three extravagant bouquets, she’d had visitors. It was easy to picture what had happened.

  One large bouquet was centered on her desk, while two others had been relegated to side tables. She imagined that each of those had originally been at the place of honor on her desk and brusquely moved aside to make way for the next arrival.

  Linc had apparently come last. It was his note attached to the arrangement on the desk.

  Don’t think you can run. L.B.

  She smiled. Yes, sir, Mr. CEO.

  She found Ben’s card next. Sweetheart. You know we love you. We can make this work. Trust your heart. Ben

  And, finally, Austin. Deej. We’ll see you tonight. How could she not love them all?

  Howard had taken his usual Dolly-packed lunch at his desk. He’d no doubt been entertained by the parade of handsome men bearing flowers. Delilah was sure she’d blushed when he raised his brow as she’d passed his door on her way to that final bouquet.

  And she wasn’t the least surprised to have him call her in now.

  She sat across from him in one of the comfortably upholstered chairs that faced his desk. It was how they often ended his day, discussing anything from work issues to sailing plans to California environmental politics.

  She was entirely sure she knew what today’s topic of conversation would be, but it didn’t take long to have it confirmed.

  He started in his usual blunt fashion. “You have Lincoln Banks making an embarrassment of himself. I’m supposed to sneak out to my own parking lot for a look and report back to him about how you got to work today. I assume you’ll save me the indignity?”

  “I biked.”

  “I’ll let him know.” Then the gruffness faded, and he grinned like a kid. “It was a fine thing to see the cocky kid brought so low. His just deserts, no doubt.”

  Delilah didn’t know how to respond.

  Howard saw that his joke had fallen flat. “The boys have you in a bit of a pickle, eh? Why don’t you tell me about it?”

  She knew she could—Howard had become like a grandfather to her, though she would never, ever have a conversation like this one with either one of her grandpas. But Howard had played a small part in this business, and she knew he was concerned for her.

  Still, the words came hard.

  He helped. “I’ve gathered that they all had the hots for you. They wanted you out here so they could see what developed, yes?” He looked her over. “Maybe it hasn’t turned out so well. I’m sorry for my part in it, if it’s brought you grief.”

  She waved that away. “It’s not at all your fault. And it’s not grief, either. Exactly.”

  She sat back and took a long breath. “I’d met each of them before. In one way or another, I’d had a”—she lifted her hands—“an attraction for each of them. And they for me, I guess it’s fair to say.

  “They thought, if they brought me here, it might work out for one of them. For me and one of them.”

  “But they all three fell for you.”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “And you, for all three of them?”

  She had her fingers over her mouth. All she could do was look at him and nod.

  “Can you choose one?”

  Still looking at him, she slowly shook her head. “I don’t know how.”

  “Are the three of them willing to—?”

  “Share?” He nodded.

  “They say they are.”

  “Then do it.”

  Howard pushed to his feet as Delilah raised her brows in startled reaction. Okay, this was California with its plenitude of alternative lifestyles, but the man was in his seventies. She wouldn’t expect him to give thumbs-up to a four-way love affair. She watched him as he walked to a window. He turned and leaned against the sill, his right hand making jingling noises in his trouser pocket.

  She knew what was there. His keys—to the office, his Caddy, and his boat. His lucky coin—a Spanish doubloon he’d found off the coast of Peru, back in his youth when he’d dived shipwrecks. And a boatswain’s pipe whistle, a gift from Dolly that was partly a joking reference to his captain-of-the-ship personality and partly a true safety measure for their sails together.

  He sniffed a little and looked at her. “You know Dolly is my second wife. I love her, heart and soul.” He turned his head enough to look out the window. “My first wife was Priscilla. I loved her heart and soul, too. If somehow she could come back. If somehow I could have them both, if they would both consent to love me…”

  He looked her way again and spoke with utter conviction. “I’d give my life for a single day of it.”

  He walked over and sat down across from her again. He leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. “I have a brother, Ted. A totally decent guy, no different from me, really. He’s never found love, while I was blessed with it twice.

  “Love is a gift, one that not everyone is given. If you’re lucky enough to find it, you should take hold good and tight. It’s not a thing you should say no to.”

  After a long moment, he stood and walked around his desk. He bent over to kiss her forehead and pat her cheek. “Don’t be afraid to take what’s yours.”

  * * * *

  Delilah wasn’t surprised that there were four pairs of male feet on the porch as she coasted her bike to a stop at her front steps.

  Or only a little, anyway.

  The fourth pair, belonging to her neighbor, Nabendu, was th
e only set she hadn’t been expecting.

  The other three shifted as their owners stood. Linc, still in his I’m-the-CEO bespoke suit. Ben in what she assumed might be his work clothes—khakis and a green polo with the ABL logo on it. And Austin, his jeans and boots suggesting that his bike was in its usual spot in her carport.

  Ben’s Jeep wasn’t in sight, but Linc’s Lexus was parked right in front of her house, just like the space had been saved for his highness.

  Maybe those two had ridden together.

  They all stood watching her, no doubt appreciating the short shorts she’d changed into for her ride home.

  Well, not all of them were looking at her shorts. One of them had his attention elsewhere. Nabendu was all aflutter, likely overwhelmed by the excess of testosterone on her front porch. While the others maintained watchful silence, he came down the stairs.

  “It’s an embarrassment of riches, honey.” He looked back up at her men, appearing unable to choose which one deserved his best consideration.

  She could relate.

  “I wasn’t sure I should leave you alone with them. I was afraid they might bully you.”

  She smiled and patted his hand where he’d taken her arm. “Thanks, Nabendu. I’ve got it.”

  “Apparently you do, girl.” He spoke dryly, his attention still flitting from one to another of the three hot, handsome men. Then he sighed, fully aware of where their interest was focused. “You call me if you need me, honey. You know I’d be happy to help out.”

  She chuckled and watched him go up his own steps and into his house. She was sure he’d be peeking through the blinds at his little corner window.

  No matter, really. She turned her own attention to her…embarrassment. Ben looked relaxed with a warm, reassuring smile on his face. Austin stood with his usual posture—arms crossed over his chest, his strong legs and boots planted like he was an oak tree taken up root on her front porch—his expression direct, determined.