Theirs To Treasure: Happily Ever After (Fate Harbor Book 1)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “Sam,” she screamed breathlessly. When he flicked his tongue, she begged him not to stop, then wailed when he did.

  “I could do this all night.” His voice sounded like a dream come true.

  He inserted a second finger and she covered her eyes with the crook of her arm. She was drawn into a vortex of need and pleasure that had never been seen, felt or heard of in the universe before. Colors sparked behind her eyes as his tongue circled more insistently against her clit. Josie climbed higher than physically possible. Sparks flew as she exploded into a newly created cosmos.

  “Josie…?” Arms circled her. She was under the covers of her bed, a warm body wrapped around her. “Honey, are you all right?” She looked up and realized that Sam was the warm body surrounding her, and she cuddled closer.

  “I’m perfect,” she murmured drowsily. Sam helped her to a sitting position and put a glass of water to her lips. “Here, Baby, drink this.” Josie couldn’t believe how thirsty she was. After she was finished, she thought about the fact that she was under her covers, and she had no knowledge of when Sam had gotten the water.

  “When did you get that? Why don’t I remember?” she asked, embarrassed.

  “You were kind of in a fog,” Sam explained.

  Josie looked down and couldn’t miss the erection pressed against Sam’s jeans. Sam grinned sheepishly at her. “Yeah, you definitely have a certain effect on me, Baby.”

  “Do you want to…?” she asked tentatively.

  “It’s past your bedtime.” Sam motioned to the clock beside her bed, and Josie saw it was eight-forty-five.

  “I’m hoping that you’ll dream of me. I would have left already, but I need you to come lock the door.” He’d already found her Hello Kitty nightshirt. He easily slipped it on her, and she followed him to the door. He stopped before opening it.

  “No more avoiding my calls.” Josie shivered at his authoritative voice.

  “I promise.”

  He kissed her hard, then left. Josie locked the door.

  He was right, she did dream of him.

  Chapter 9

  Chance was waiting at Sweet Dreams Desserts when it opened at six a.m. His conversation with Betty the night before had convinced him that he needed to take the red-eye home. He would just have to finish his business via teleconference. He wanted Josie and Sam to hit it off, but he didn’t want them to do it without him. Anyway, when the hell had Sam met Josie? He’d planned to introduce the two of them.

  But Chance had to chuckle. Leave it to Sam. He might be injured, but that man had always attracted the ladies. He was still smiling when he saw Elise and Josie behind the display counter. He also took note that he wasn’t the only single man waiting at the door. Josie had managed to gain a few admirers here in Fate Harbor. Elise gave him a wink when she saw him. It was good to know that he had the inside track as far as she was concerned.

  Chance stepped back and let everyone else go first. He wanted to make sure that he had as much time to talk to Zee as possible. She looked tired, and he wondered just how late she and Sam had stayed up last night. He knew that they’d left Betty and Butch’s around six-thirty, because that’s when he’d gotten Betty’s call. He’d also heard from Betty about the ungodly schedule she kept, getting up at two o’clock in the morning so she could start the baking process before the doors opened. He was going to have to see about getting her some additional help.

  Just as he got to the front of the line, she zipped to the back, leaving Elise to help him. Elise gave him a sheepish grin, and that just made him chuckle again. Nope, none of this was going to be easy, but easy wasn’t fun.

  “I think I make your boss nervous.”

  “I think that’s a good sign, Chance. All the others she handles just fine. You she hides from. What can I get you?”

  “How about some coffee and a cinnamon roll?” he answered.

  “To go?”

  “Oh no, I want to enjoy the ambience.” Elise rang him up, and he sat down at one of five little tables sitting near the front of the Sweet Dreams Desserts, each topped with a little vase holding flowers. Chance positioned his chair so he could see out the window while watching the entrance to the kitchen. When Zee came back out, she had a smudge of flour on her face. She looked edible.

  “Hey, friend, do you have time for a break?” Chance called across the store. Josie started, seeing Chance still there. He watched as she looked around the bakery and saw that it was empty, so she reluctantly went to sit with Chance. He knew that his presence unnerved her. She still hadn’t figured out exactly how to classify him because of all of his flirting, which was fine by him. He didn’t want to be considered just a friend.

  As soon as she sat down, he gripped her hand and twined their fingers together. She audibly gasped looking down at their hands. Chance was confused, until he saw her unconsciously undulate her small fingers around his larger ones. Then he saw the significance of the symbolism. He brought their clasped hands up to his mouth and inserted his tongue in a crevice where their fingers met, and he heard her softly moan. Zee was a sensual woman, and he was a hell of a lucky man. He’d bet his last dollar that Sam had been a luckier man last night.

  “Can I take you out to an early dinner tonight?” he asked softly.

  “I might have plans,” she answered just as quietly.

  “Sam?” He watched as she nodded her head.

  “Come over to our house. All three of us can have dinner together.” Chance watched as her brows drew together in confusion. Betty had told him that Josie hadn’t caught on to her hints. She said that Sam had understood within two minutes of his arrival.

  “We’re all friends, and we’re all adults. I would love to cook you dinner. Sam can pick you up, and I’ll have dinner ready by the time you two get to the house. Just don’t get too caught up in any extracurricular activities, Zee, because I want to save that for dessert.” Chance laughed out loud as Josie’s eyes almost popped out of her head.

  “You can’t possibly mean…” Chance watched as her gorgeous skin flushed. “I mean, I don’t understand,” she gasped.

  “Oh, Zee! By your stunned reaction, I think you understand me just fine. I am saying, I want you to think of Sam and I having you for dessert.” Josie yanked her hand away from his and hid it in her lap, but Chance took note of the fact that she didn’t leave the table.

  “What happened last night? Did you and Sam make love?”

  “That’s none of your business,” she said with quiet dignity.

  “You’re right, it’s not.” He agreed. “But Josie, you knew I wanted you, I thought you wanted to give me a chance too? Was I wrong about that?” He wasn’t playing. Chance let her see the hurt in his eyes.

  “Oh, Chance, I was really considering that before you left. Then Sam and I…” Her voice trailed away. “Dinner would just complicate things. I’m not made out for anything complicated.”

  “I have just one question. Just one. Okay?” Here it was, all the marbles.

  “Ask,” she said softly.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “I hardly know you now, but deep down, I do.” She nodded.

  “Neither Sam nor I would ever. Not ever. Do anything to hurt you. On our honor, Josie, you mean too much to both of us.”

  She reached out and rearranged the flowers in the tiny vase. “How do you know what Sam thinks?”

  “He’s my brother,” Chance said simply. “I know his heart.”

  “But I don’t want to come between you.”

  “Not even if we ask nicely?”

  Her head shot up to see blue eyes full of laughter. “You are so full of it, Chance Reynolds.”

  He laughed out loud. “Please come to dinner tonight.”

  “I don’t know, I don’t know if I can.” Chance saw such confusion on her face, but he also saw her temptation.

  “Take some time today to think about this, Zee. Sam and I both care about you, we both want you. Come over to our house this afternoon an
d let’s see where things lead us.” Chance reached for her hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss, sensing anything more would be too much for her. He got up and waved good-bye to Elise, happy he had left Boston early. Now it was time to go have a heart-to-heart talk with his best friend.

  Chapter 10

  By the time Sam came to pick her up, Josie had already made up her mind twenty times not to go. However, each time she’d reached for the phone, images of both men tumbled through her mind—Sam’s intense green gaze when he looked at her nude body, and Chance’s devilish grin when he issued his invitation this morning.

  Josie didn’t even wait for Sam’s knock. As soon as she heard his footsteps, she opened her door and stepped out on the porch. He looked up at her. “You look beautiful, Baby.”

  Josie had put on one of her few dresses and taken time to use the flat-iron on her hair, so it now fell midway down her back. She knew she was twisting her hands in the straps of her purse, but she couldn’t help it. She was so nervous. Chance had made it clear what he intended for this evening, and the fact that she was on this porch meant she was considering it. What did that make her? Maybe Sam was here to tell her that he was opposed and offended. Oh God, she hadn’t considered that. She whirled around and reached for the doorknob.

  “Whoa, girl,” Sam stood behind her, his arms encompassing her waist. “Josie, what’s wrong?”

  She pulled to get away from him. She couldn’t stand the thought of what he must be thinking of her. Just last night, she’d had the most wonderful experience of her life in his arms and now she was thinking of betraying him!

  Just because Chance said that Sam wanted to make it a threesome and that this was the way Fate Harbor worked didn’t mean Sam was actually onboard. He probably thought she was awful. She had to get away, she just had to. She grabbed the doorknob and tried to wrench herself out of his arms.

  He gently but firmly kept hold, just moving with her. She could tell that he wasn’t allowing her to injure herself. That was when she finally gave up. She just collapsed in his arms, waiting to see what he would have to say.

  “Are you mad at me?” She sobbed out the question. Oh God, he must hate her.

  She fought against him again, and again he held her until she quieted. She clung to his strong arms, sheltered, her back resting against his chest. His chin rested on the top of her head.

  “Baby, I don’t understand, why would I be mad at you?”

  Josie was relieved that she didn’t have to look at him. The night was warm for Washington, and Sam wore a short-sleeved black T-shirt. She rubbed her fingers up and down his muscled forearms, enjoying the warm texture, the soft dark hair.

  “I’m betraying you.” She felt a soft exhalation of breath at her ear.

  “Is that why you’re running? You’re worried about what I think?”

  Josie could only nod.

  “Baby, I knew about this plan before we came back to your place last night. I wouldn’t have let things go so far if I wasn’t sure that I would be onboard with all three of us.” Sam placed a kiss at her temple. “But Chance and I want to talk to you. Have you ever considered something like this before?”

  Josie whirled around in his grasp. “Of course not! I’m not sure I’m considering it now, to be absolutely honest,” she bit out. “But it’s either this, or just let you both go, and somehow I can’t seem to do that.” Josie was still amazed at how important these two men had become to her just over a month’s time.

  She watched as a slow Sam-smile broke over his face.

  “Thank you for that.”

  He leaned in and his mouth met hers. She luxuriated in the feel of his firm lips as they caressed the waiting softness of her mouth. Finally, he lifted his head. “We need to go, before I take you back into your apartment. I promised Chance I wouldn’t do that.” Josie saw that he was serious and couldn’t help but smile.

  Once again, he led the way down the stairs, and this time since she was wearing black heels to go with her dress, she was actually somewhat relieved that he would be there if she mis-stepped. When they got to the parking lot, she saw that he was still driving the Audi.

  “I thought you only got to use that while Chance was out of town,” she teased.

  “Chance wants you to have the most comfortable seats possible,” Sam explained seriously, as he handed her into the passenger seat. He fastened the seat belt around her. It was such a little thing, but it warmed her each time he did it. Josie remembered that Chance had done the same thing the first time she’d met him as well.

  In the short drive to the house, Sam asked Josie how her day had gone at Sweet Dreams. The big dilemma of the day was when Mr. Larsden had asked her to lie to his wife. He didn’t want Mrs. Larsden to know how often he was coming to the bakery and how many bear claws he was eating. Elise had saved Josie by saying she would do all the talking when his wife came in and asked any questions.

  Sam chuckled and explained that they made the same kind of deal over at Hart’s Diner last year. Apparently, Svenga Larsden thought that her husband sampling food other than her own was the same as sleeping with another woman.

  By the time they got to the house, Josie felt much more comfortable. She also told Sam about what was going on with her sisters. Two weeks ago, Sarah had brought up the fact that one of the girls in her study group hadn’t been pulling her weight. Sarah had wanted to blast her, but Josie had talked her off the ledge.

  Sarah had called today to thank Josie because it turned out that the girl’s parents were going through an ugly divorce and she really needed support, not criticism. Josie really missed her sisters, but the Skype sessions helped.

  When they went through the front door, wonderful smells coming from the kitchen greeted them.

  “We’re here!” Sam hollered as he led her toward the back of the house. They found Chance in the dining room. The table was set, and all the food was spread out.

  “Don’t think I wasn’t timing the two of you!” Chance said with a twinkle in his eye. He swooped in and embraced Josie in a huge hug. He held her back, and then bent down for a soft kiss. “I was glad to see it was more or less twenty-two minutes, which tells me that Sam kept it in his pants.” Josie burst out laughing. The man was incorrigible!

  “Let’s sit down and eat some dinner and just get to know one another as friends. Then we can relax in the living room over dessert and maybe—and I stress the word maybe—get to know one another as more than friends. Okay, Zee?”

  Josie looked up at Chance’s earnest blue eyes and then over at Sam’s steady green eyes. She’d never felt so nervous in her life. She looked at the table.

  “What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”

  By the time dinner was over and Sam escorted her to the living room, Josie was anxious and in pain. What the hell had she been thinking wearing heels for this length of time? She damn well knew what she’d been thinking. She was having dinner and possibly sex with two of the hottest men she’d ever met, and she wanted to look her best, which meant wearing high heels. Each step shot another jolt of pain upward into her spine. She would slip them off as soon as she got on the sofa, but she knew the damage had been done. Soon her back would spasm, and she didn’t even have her medication with her.

  Only in the last eight years had Josie ever stopped to take care of herself when the pain got this bad. From the age of fourteen to twenty-six, she’d been forced to fight through the pain, often without a brace, without medication, and just get on with whatever she had to do. Really, she’d gotten soft if she thought about it. Or, another part of her mind piped up, the part that quoted her doctor, you’ll end up doing further damage to your vulnerable vertebrae, if you don’t take care of yourself. Pain is the best indicator that something is wrong. God, Josie hated that voice in her head.

  Josie knew that more than likely she had once again compressed one of her disks against a nerve by wearing the heels. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, that had been the problem whenever
she’d overextended herself working or taking care of her sisters. A simple nerve flare-up was enough to cause severe pain. Once, she’d actually ruptured a disk that required surgery, over ten years ago. She knew she was nowhere close to that because she wouldn’t have been able to walk. So, she sucked it up and walked cautiously to the sofa, then eased herself into a reclining position, hoping neither man would notice her less-than-smooth movements. As soon as she was seated, she toed off her shoes. Sam took them and put them over near the fireplace, before coming back to sit next to her.

  “Back hurting?” he asked casually.

  Josie gave him the best smile she could. “Oh, no, I feel fine,” she assured him. Just then, Chance walked in carrying a tray with mugs of coffee and dessert dishes. She watched as Sam looked up at him sharply.

  “What’s wrong?” Chance asked quickly, as he set down the tray.

  “Josie just lied to me.”

  She felt a shiver run down her back at the dark tone of Sam’s voice, and she jerked her head to look at him, amazed that he had just called her a liar to Chance. Sam looked deadly serious, then turned back to her.

  “Sam, you’re out of line.” She stated firmly.

  “You did lie, Baby. You’re in so much pain I could feel it coming off you in waves as we walked from the dining room.” Sam’s voice sounded like a growl. It was beginning to make her angry as well.

  “Is he right, Zee? Are you hurting?” Chance’s trademark smile disappeared as he squatted down in front of her, looking directly into her eyes.

  “Yes, Chance, my back is hurting. But it’s nothing really, it always hurts some,” Josie rushed to assure him.

  “Ask her how long it’s been hurting, Chance.” Josie turned to glare at Sam. When did he become such a tattletale? Chance stroked his hands down the front of her thighs, and she turned her attention back to him. His blue eyes brimmed with concern and worry, and she couldn’t stand it. She reached out and touched his cheek, then frowned, because even that little bit of movement hurt. Chance gripped her wrist, pulled it back from his face, put it back down into her lap, and turned to Sam.