by Sam Crescent
“No, this isn’t a honeymoon,” James said. This had been his attempt at being a bastard to drive her away, and that plan wasn’t going to happen, not anymore.
He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her and not because she’d been a virgin either. She was too sweet, and he wasn’t a monster. She didn’t deserve his anger.
She’d been in the same situation as he had.
They’d both been forced into this, and he wouldn’t take out his anger and frustration on her. He’d save all of that for her parents, which he was working toward finding out some of their secrets.
“Oh, I thought it was. I’ve been having a lot of fun.”
“It’s going to get even better,” Drake said. “Trust him.”
“I own a beach house.” He told her about his beach house that was located just off the beach in a villa in Italy. It was a quiet place, few tourists knew about it, but they’d have the privacy.
Also, they’d be far away from her parents, who kept on phoning. Her mother constantly sent her text messages, offering suggestions, which made him even angrier.
“Okay. I’d love that,” she said, smiling at both of them.
“Awesome. Pack, we leave tomorrow.”
“I’ll finish up these muffins.” She scrunched up her nose and shrugged. “Can we, erm, drop these off at a shelter to enjoy?”
“Yes. We can do that.”
James left the kitchen and made his way to his office to finish making the arrangements.
“You’re falling for her,” Drake said, entering the office.
“Don’t, Drake.”
“Come on, Abby’s everything we’ve been searching for. You can’t say you don’t see it.”
“I do see it.”
“Then what the hell is wrong?” Drake asked.
“We’ve got to deal with her parents. We can live happily together all three of us, but we can’t do that with their threat hanging over our heads.”
Drake’s smile dropped. “Shit.”
“They’re always wanting more money, Drake. Always demanding more. They know about us, and I want us to be the ones to tell Abby.”
“You love her?” Drake asked.
James paused. “I don’t know. It’s too early to tell.”
“Bullshit. Before we go on this little trip of yours, know that I’m falling for her and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her as part of us. Whatever it takes.”
With that, Drake turned on his heel and left.
Sitting back in his office chair, James leaned down and pulled out the file he’d gotten from another investigator. Drake was damn good, but he was also involved so there was a certain biased approach. This independent PI, he’d gotten everything on Abby. Her grades, her life, everything, including a sister they hadn’t known about.
Maggie Bryant had been a rising star. Her voice was talent in itself, but at a young age, she ended up in the hospital. Was that what Abby was referring to? He didn’t know everything. The information was all vague.
Rubbing at his temples, he stared down at a picture of her in high school. She wasn’t smiling, just staring into the camera.
You love her.
He gritted his teeth and slammed the file closed.
The day of their wedding, he’d been so angry, but it hadn’t really been with her.
No, it had been with himself.
Seeing Abby walk down the aisle, his heart had pounded and he’d watched her. Her sheer beauty had taken his breath away, and he’d been struck dumb. He’d believed she’d been like her parents and his sudden spark of interest in her had multiplied and he’d hated it.
There’s no way he’d wanted to be attracted to anyone who reminded him of her parents. The very idea of it angered him.
Only, she wasn’t like her parents.
He couldn’t keep fighting this attraction he had for her. It wasn’t doing either of them any good.
Because he did have feelings for her.
He was falling for her, and he knew she’d fit perfectly with him and Drake.
He just had to find a way to make it work.
Chapter Ten
Abby sat on the beach and stared out at the ocean. It was late at night, and there were so few people around. Running her fingers through the dry sand, she closed her eyes.
“You’d have loved it here, Maggie.”
She took a deep breath.
Drake and James had to deal with some last-minute work thing, so she’d left the villa to enjoy the warm air.
They’d been in Italy for six days so far.
Six days of pure peace and tranquility.
Tilting her head back, she opened her eyes and stared up at the stars. They were glowing in the night sky, and she was so happy.
She didn’t even think that was possible.
“I figured I’d find you out here,” Drake said. He didn’t move to sit beside her but took a position behind her. His arms banded around her waist, holding her close.
“Hey,” she said. “You found me.”
“I knew where you were this entire time. I’ll never lose you.”
She closed her eyes, resting her head against his. “I could get used to this.”
“Then do. I know I can.”
Drake cupped her cheek and tilted her head back. She smiled up at him, and when he lowered his head to kiss her, she didn’t pull away. Kissing Drake felt as natural to her as kissing James. They were both the same. The past couple of weeks had been a blur of unmistakable pleasure. She slept between both men.
There was something going on between them though. She noticed the way they watched each other. When they didn’t think she was looking, she saw the touches. The looks, the way they clearly wanted each other.
Neither of them let it slip, and she had to wonder if there was more to their relationship than she knew.
“Drake?” she asked.
“What, babe?” he asked, stroking her neck.
“Why do you and James share?”
“Because we like it. We enjoy it.”
She smiled. She enjoyed being the filling to their sandwich.
“Is there something more going on between the two of you?”
Out of the two men, it felt safer to ask Drake. James still unnerved her a little. The memory of his glare and words he’d spoken on the wedding were still fresh in her mind. The moment she was near him though and saw his smile, and his kindness, she forgot about it. Right now, as she thought about Drake and James together, she didn’t want to upset the happiness they’d found together.
“Why do you ask?”
“I’ve seen the way you two are with each other.” She tilted her head back, looking at Drake. “Tell me, please.”
“There’s nothing you need to know.”
And there he went evading again. She wasn’t going to hurt him or James. She got to her feet, pulling out of his arms. “I’m just going to go for a walk.”
“Abby,” Drake said.
“It’s fine. Honestly, I’m just going to walk.”
“You don’t know your way around here. I’d feel much happier if you came inside.” He held her arm, and she wasn’t willing to fight him. Walking off wasn’t in her style anyway.
“Fine. Fine.”
Even though she didn’t want to head back into the villa, she followed Drake back inside. James was pouring them all a large glass of wine.
“Work go okay?” Abby asked.
“It went fabulous. My company will be acquiring the key to the beauty section of the market. So long as we keep the integrity of the company, all will be well. This is a new venture and an expansion of our ever-growing empire.”
His happiness made her smile, and she accepted her glass of wine and shared in the toast.
Taking a sip of the liquid, she tried not to wrinkle her nose. Alcohol never set well with her.
“Ask him,” Drake said.
She turned her head to see Drake staring at her. “What?”
“Ask him.”<
br />
“Ask me what?” James asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t be afraid,” Drake said. “I’m right here.” He moved to stand behind her, clearly attempting to offer her support, but right now, she didn’t want it.
“I asked Drake if there’s anything going on between the two of you. He said no, so it doesn’t matter.”
“She doesn’t believe me.”
Not a chance. She’d watched James many times, and she recognized his now guarded look. She took a sip of the wine and wrinkled her nose, the taste still not appealing to her in the slightest.
Silence fell on the three of them, and she hated that.
Hated that she’d been the one to cause this when they’d found something together. She didn’t exactly know what that something was, but she knew it was there.
James didn’t say anything, but as he caught Drake’s hand, she watched him pull the other man toward him.
In the next second, she witnessed a kiss that would stay with her forever. James captured Drake’s mouth with his own and her own opened as she watched them. Tongues stroked together and teeth clashed. It was a hungry kiss.
A kiss they’d been denying themselves for so long.
Both of them were strong men, and she watched as they touched each other, their hands roaming.
When they broke apart both men turned toward her.
“That is the real reason your parents blackmailed me,” James said.
Now that surprised her. “What?”
“We were celebrating some success,” Drake said. “We were at a nightclub, and we let the happiness get to us. We weren’t careful and then we kissed.”
“Why would it matter if the two of you are together?” Abby asked, looking between them. “I came between this?”
“No,” Drake and James said in unison.
She was a little taken aback as they both turned toward her, and each one held her hand. The moment they touched her, she felt complete.
“We’ve been together for a long time,” James said.
“But we both knew we’d need another. A third. A woman,” Drake said.
“To share?” She looked between the two men.
“We love each other, and we both want a woman to share. We want you to be that woman,” James said.
“Do my parents know this?” Abby asked.
“No. They think we’re together and only want each other. What we want is not conventional. We know that,” James said. “We agreed to keep our relationship private. That we’d find what made us happy. We’d find the perfect woman, and in doing so, we’d be able to live it together.”
“You’d be married to James, and seeing as I work for him, it’ll explain why I’m around. It will protect us all.”
“Oh.” Abby looked from one to the other. “But, you weren’t going to allow me to be part of this, were you? At the beginning of our marriage, you hated me.”
She wasn’t an idiot.
There’s no way James would change his mind so damn quickly like this.
James and Drake shared a look.
She saw it.
“You were going to use Drake and me, weren’t you? You were going to use our time together to create your cheating scenario?” She was suddenly overcome with so much pain.
“I’m not going through with it.”
“But it started out that way, right? That’s what you wanted? Me and Drake to appear to be cheating?” They’d lied to her. Maybe it was the small sip of wine, but she was having a hard time right now to deal with everything.
“I’m not going to go through with it.”
She took a step back as she looked at the two men that she’d been falling for.
Of course they’d use her.
Why not?
“We’re not doing this, Abby,” Drake said. “We want you.”
“I think I need some time right now.” She took a step back. “I need to process everything.”
She needed to go to a room and have a good cry. She’d known something was going on, just not the true extent of it.
“Abby,” James said.
She shook her head. “Please, I just need some time.”
She took another step back, and they let her go. She went to the spare room, sat on the bed, and stared at the floor.
It shouldn’t hurt this much.
There’s no way it should hurt, but it did.
Because James and Drake were not just two strangers to her.
In a short amount of time, they’d become so much more, and now she didn’t want to think of her life without them.
****
Three days they’d given her.
James stared at her back where she sat on the beach. Drake had gone into town to grab some supplies. His idea of winning her back was with some food. It wasn’t a bad idea, but James knew he’d hurt her.
He and Drake had talked about it last night.
They wanted Abby for keeps.
For the rest of their lives.
They wouldn’t hide who they were from her, not anymore. He trusted her.
Heading down to the beach, he took a seat beside her, giving her space that she said she needed. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms, but he didn’t.
The past three nights had been horrible. She fit between him and Drake so well that he missed her constantly.
He watched as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. It didn’t stay there for long as the wind picked up, flicking it out of the way.
“We never meant to hurt you,” James said.
She laughed. “You did. You just didn’t care.”
“I thought you were like your parents.”
This made her chuckle. It was forced though. Forced humor.
“I hurt you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said.
“I was on cloud nine,” he said. “I’d gotten another breakthrough in my career. Drake and I are always in a good place. He’s been with me through the highs and lows and one night of losing myself in an alley with him, your parents caught the entire thing on camera. They had pictures and a video.”
“Does it really matter if people knew you were together?” she asked.
“I guess not. Drake and I, we like our privacy more than anything. It’s no one else’s business what we do or who we do it with. I love him. I will do anything for him. We knew it wouldn’t be enough though. We wanted a woman to share. To make us whole. So we decided not to make our relationship public.”
“I can see why you did that,” she said. “I get it.”
“Your parents wanted me to marry you. They said I had to pay for their silence. I’m married to you, and their demands for money stay the same. They spend it so damn fast. I didn’t want to hurt you. Not even a little bit.”
“I know,” she said. “I guess, I wanted to believe that this was all natural with us, you know. That my parents hadn’t created something toxic, but I should have known they would. I should have known their vileness would spread.” Abby sighed. “I take it you’ve heard of Maggie?”
“Your sister?”
“Yes.”
“I know of her. I had a PI investigate. I don’t know the full story.”
“She had the most beautiful singing voice. She could have been a real star someday.”
James waited as she took a break.
“My parents wanted the success. The fame. They made Maggie compete so much. We’d travel so much. I’d do all my homework in the back of a car. They would make her perform, and then we’d move on to the next competition. After some time, Maggie got sick, and they wouldn’t listen. They kept on forcing her until one day, she was about to hit the big time, but she stopped. She couldn’t do it. She went into the hospital one day, and she never came out. She threatened my parents that she’d never sing again. They’d never have the wealth they wanted. She was about to hit the big time. I often wonder if my parents did something to her in the hospital.”
&nbs
p; “They never forced their dreams on you?”
“I didn’t have any talent. I couldn’t do anything. I was nothing to them. No one. I couldn’t help them with their dreams.” She shrugged. “I was thinking about Maggie, and I cut myself on the knife. I just needed the pain to stop.” She shook her head. “I’ve given them power when they didn’t deserve it. I allowed my pain to get in the way.”
He saw the tears in her eyes. He pulled her in close. “We both have. I guess I can’t be angry with the situation anymore.”
“Why not?”
“I’m with you,” he said. “I wouldn’t have even had anything to do with you, but here we are.”
“Here we all are,” Drake said, sitting down on the sand with them.
“That didn’t take long,” James said.
“I know. I only needed a few items.” Drake reached out, taking her hand. “How are you?”
“I’m okay.” James watched as she squeezed Drake’s hand. “I will be.” She looked toward him. “Would you like that divorce?”
“No.” He didn’t even hesitate.
“But the two of you?”
“Abby, both of us want you. We want to give this a try,” Drake said. “James isn’t just speaking for himself. He’s speaking for the two of us. I know we weren’t completely truthful at first, but we’ve given you the truth. James and I are together, but we want you to be part of that.”
She sniffled, and James got closer, needing to comfort her.
“I’m so sorry for what my parents did,” she said.
“Don’t cry. No more tears. There’s nothing to be sad about.” James felt like a complete and total asshole. He’d not been the best husband.
He was all over the place.
Her parents had pushed him into a corner, and he didn’t know of a way out. He’d lashed out at Abby, and in doing so, he’d caused this.
“I’d wanted to make them pay. I thought you were like them, and I was going to use you to get them out of my life. I’m not proud of it. Not even close. I’m sorry for my part in this, Abby. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s the last thing I want to do. I know I’m the one to blame for all of this. Let me fix it.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Drake said.
“Maybe there is,” Abby said. She looked from him to Drake.