“Perfect,” he said softly.
* * * *
Lance led Serena to the bathroom. He carefully cleaned her up, massaging between her legs with the washcloth and enjoying her soft moans. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. He kissed her neck and shoulders, loving the feel of her bare skin against his.
“Let’s go snuggle for a bit,” he whispered. She nodded, and he pulled her into the bedroom. They lay down on the bed and she put her head onto his chest. She threw one leg over his and an arm over his waist. Liam joined them a moment later and curled up against Serena’s back.
“This is how I wish I had woken up this morning,” Lance murmured against her hair. “We should have stayed last night.”
He felt Serena shaking slightly and he looked down. He gently took her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. There were tears streaming from her eyes. Fuck, he thought. She was really hurt. Lance glanced at his brother who gave him a helpless look. Liam wasn’t much for words.
Lance kissed Serena’s forehead. “Serena, I’m sorry. We both are. We didn’t mean to hurt you. We just figured you wouldn’t want Sam finding us here in the morning.”
She nodded and sniffed. “No, that would have been awkward. But at the time, it seemed like…”
“Like we ran out because we remembered you had a kid?” he guessed and she nodded.
“Serena, we knew when we started pursuing you that you were part of a package deal,” Lance said. “If we had a problem with that, we would have backed off.” He kissed her lips gently while Liam kissed her shoulder.
Serena put her head back down and the three of them lay there for a while.
“So who’s watching the store?” she asked.
“Laura is,” Lance said. “We told her we had another business meeting.”
Serena giggled. “I wish all my business meetings were this fun.”
“I don’t,” Lance said. “I don’t want you having this much fun with anyone other than me and Liam.”
“Well, that goes likewise for me,” she said. “No fun for you two unless it’s here.”
“I’m good with those terms,” Liam murmured.
Lance began caressing Serena’s arms and hips, gradually working his way closer to her breasts. He could feel her breathing speed up. He finally brushed her nipple briefly and then moved his hand away. She groaned.
“Play with my tits,” she said.
“Bossy in the bedroom, aren’t you?” Lance said as he moved back so he could cup both her breasts.
“Damn straight,” she said. “Liam, go get the condoms.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, jumping up.
Lance lowered his head to Serena’s nipples, eagerly anticipating another round of lovemaking.
Chapter 9
Serena lay between the twins, recovering. It was almost time for Sam to get home, and they’d spent the entire day in bed. And in the shower. And on the floor. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk again. They were fantastic lovers. They were thoughtful and considerate, and made sure she’d had orgasms every single time. She had tried to keep count but lost track after nine. Not only had she never been multiorgasmic, she had never had one during lovemaking. Jack had never bothered trying, and the few times she had convinced him to try oral sex, he’d done it halfheartedly.
She sighed as she looked from one man to the other. She could see more differences, now that they’d spent so much time together. Liam had a few more fine lines around his eyes and mouth than Lance did. Lance’s ears stuck out a little farther. Liam’s face was slightly wider. She loved that they were so similar, and yet had enough differences that they were individuals. She loved that she could close her eyes and know who was kissing her. She loved—
Loved? Oh, no, she thought. I don’t love them. How could I? It’s too soon! But as she thought about it, she realized that she did love them. They made her feel beautiful and special. They were good with her son. There were so many reasons to love them. But there were a lot of good reasons not to. It scared her because her love gave them the power to hurt her. It raised her expectations, and if they didn’t meet them, she’d be devastated, especially because it would mean hurting Sam, too. Serena decided to worry about it later. For now, she was basking in the afterglow, feeling safe in the arms of her lovers. However, Sam would soon be home, so they’d better get up and clean things up or there would be a lot of awkward questions from him that she wasn’t ready to answer.
“Sam’s going to be home soon,” she said. “We should clean up.”
“You don’t want to explain why our clothes are all over the floor or what those shiny wrappers are from?” Liam said with a laugh.
“Exactly,” she replied. She kissed them both and got out of bed. She pulled on some clothes and began scooping up the condom wrappers as the men got out of bed, too. They went out to the front hall, which was the last place they’d had their clothes on.
Liam came back and handed her two more condom wrappers. “Got two more for you,” he said. “How many is that?”
Serena counted. “Holy fuck.”
Lance grabbed her around the waist and kissed her firmly. “Holy fuck is correct, honey. How many are there?”
“Eight.”
Lance stopped and looked at her. “No way.”
She nodded and held them up.
Liam and Lance exchanged a look and then a high five. “Nice job, bro,” Liam said.
“You, too,” Lance replied. “I can’t believe we managed to get it up four times today.”
“My ass believes it,” Serena said. “And I think I’m out of lube.”
“Which reminds me,” Lance said. He strode over to her nightstand and opened the drawer. He produced her vibrator. It had a ridged, silicone shaft, and a separate clitoral stimulator. “I’d love to see you use this sometime.”
Serena blushed. “I’ve worn out a couple sets of batteries since I met you two,” she confessed.
“Fuck,” Liam said, pulling her to him and kissing her hard. “You’ve got my cock hard again.”
Serena laughed and pulled away. “Finish getting dressed,” she ordered. “Sam will be home soon.”
Lance came over to her and looked her in the eye. “Do you want us to still be here?” She nodded and he kissed her tenderly.
“What should I tell him about us?” Serena asked hesitantly.
“Tell him to get used to seeing us around,” Liam said, coming up behind her. “We’re not going anywhere.”
The three of them stood there for a moment, Serena sandwiched between the twins as they held her. Serena closed her eyes and sighed. She thought about Sam and his reaction to the news of her relationship. He seemed to genuinely like Liam and Lance, but she hadn’t had any relationships since he had been born. She worried that he wouldn’t like sharing her attention. She knew that her heart was big enough for all of them, but sometimes kids saw things differently.
Serena, Liam, and Lance broke apart when they heard a loud knocking from the front door.
“Put the condoms in my nightstand with the vibrator,” she said. “And throw those wrappers in the garbage beside it.”
She went out to the front door and opened it. Sam ran inside.
“Hi, Mom!” he said and hugged her.
“Hi, sweetie,” she said. “How was school today?”
“It was awesome!” he said. He began his usual after school recitation of everything that had happened but stopped when he saw Liam and Lance coming down the hall. He ran to them and threw his arms around each of them in turn.
Serena felt the tears pricking at the back of her eyes again. Maybe he would be okay with this after all. She loved that Liam and Lance seemed to be just as fond of Sam as the boy was of them. She wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve these men, but she was glad they were here. She walked over to stand with them, and Liam kissed her first, followed by Lance. She looked at Sam, waiting for his reaction.
“Ewwww!”
Sam said. “Kissing is gross!”
They laughed, and Serena was relieved that Sam’s opinions on kissing seemed to be the biggest problem at the moment.
“You might change your mind when you get older,” Lance said, ruffling his hair. “Now, who wants to go out for dinner?”
“Me!” Sam said. “Why are we going out?”
Lance looked at Serena. “To celebrate your mom being the most awesome lady in the world.”
Serena smiled. “It’s a bit early for dinner isn’t it?”
“We should go home first. If it’s okay, we’d like to pick up some things to leave here,” Lance said. “We’re hoping to spend a lot more time with you, Serena.” They want to leave some things here? That’s a big step. Was she ready for it? She certainly liked the idea of having them around more often. And she thought it would be wonderful to fall asleep with them at night, preferably after some intense lovemaking. It would make it so much easier if they could stay the night, and not have to run out to shower or get changed in the morning.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Let’s go get your things.”
The men each kissed her tenderly, and then the four of them left together. When they reached the SUV, Sam scrambled eagerly inside. Serena was in jeans now and could have easily climbed in on her own, but Lance helped her up, using the opportunity to kiss her soundly. She smiled at him and he climbed in the back beside Sam, who was babbling excitedly about the DVD player. Then she looked over at Liam sitting behind the wheel. He turned and smiled at her, then licked his lips suggestively. Serena giggled as heat rushed through her again, even after an entire day of sex. Liam put the car in gear and headed out of the parking lot. He drove through Hedon Falls and headed out the other side.
“Don’t you live in town?” Serena asked, confused.
“Technically, it’s within the city limits,” Liam explained. “But it’s about ten kilometers beyond any other developments.”
“It’s the house we grew up in,” Lance volunteered from the backseat. “We inherited it when our parents died.”
Serena suddenly remembered the article. “I saw the articles in the clippings you left with the agency. I’m so sorry.”
“It was hard,” said Liam quietly. “But justice was done, and we’ve had a lot of time to heal.”
Serena reached out and placed a hand on Liam’s arm. He smiled again.
The car slowed, and Liam turned into a private drive. It carved a path through an otherwise untouched parcel of forested land and continued back for some distance before coming into a large clearing. Nestled among the trees was a sprawling two-story, gabled house with stone and wood on the exterior. The driveway continued on a circular path in front of the door and had a large parking area to one side. Another paved drive led around the side of the house, and this was the one Liam followed.
“This is your house?” Sam exclaimed. “It’s ginormous!”
Serena agreed. They were pulling up to a four-car garage, and when Liam pressed a button on the visor, the garage door on the end closest to them slid upward. They pulled in, and as Serena looked around, she noticed a sports car, an old car that had to be a classic of some kind, and two ATVs.
The SUV had barely stopped before Sam jumped out and ran to the sports car. “You have a Porsche! That’s awesome!” He circled the sleek silver vehicle, admiring it from every side. “Can you take me for a ride?”
“Another time, kiddo,” said Liam. He closed the garage door and locked the car. Then he led them to a door and punched in a series of numbers on the keypad. The lock clicked open.
Serena called for Sam, and they followed Liam into a large mudroom with laundry off to one side. They removed their shoes and walked through another door into the biggest kitchen Serena had ever set foot in. It was dominated by a large quartz-topped island with a prep sink, cooktop, and dishwasher. Gorgeous dark maple cabinets flanked the sink. Above the sink was a large window overlooking a large patio with a hot tub and swimming pool. Beyond that was an open expanse of grass and more forest.
“This kitchen is gorgeous!” Serena said.
“It better be,” Liam said. “The designer charged a fortune.”
“We had it redone four years ago, along with a lot of the rest of the house,” Lance told her.
“I guess the aquarium business is pretty lucrative,” she said.
“We do fairly well,” Liam said. “But we’re actually from old money.”
Serena laughed. “Old money? You’re not snobby enough!”
“This land has been in the family for a very long time,” Lance explained. “It had a small cottage, but our grandparents lived right in town. When they passed away, Dad sold their house and built out here. The house was paid for right from the start, so our parents were able to invest a lot of their own income. Thankfully, we’ve been lucky with the markets.”
“Plus, they had a very sizable life insurance policy,” Liam added quietly. “And it paid double because their deaths…weren’t natural.”
Serena’s heart ached again. Liam had talked about healing, but clearly he was still hurting. It would be so awful to lose a parent the way they have. She reached out to take his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
“Look at the size of that fish tank!” Sam yelled from around the corner.
Serena walked around the island to the family room. The area was warm and inviting. A fireplace dominated one wall, and a large Monet print hung above it. The picture window looked into the backyard. There were lots of places to sit and they all looked exceptionally comfortable. As she turned from the window, she saw the tank Sam had already discovered, and she gasped.
The aquarium ran from the floor almost to the ceiling and it was at least twenty feet long. Lights illuminated the contents. Sand, rocks, coral, and a variety of other plants were spread throughout and dozens of fish swam through the water. She approached the tank in amazement. It was stunning.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Lance moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Our dad had that put in a couple years after the store opened,” he said. “They had to pour a concrete slab in the basement and put up half a dozen posts to support it.”
“I see Nemo!” Sam cried, pointing at a tiny clownfish poking its head out of a pale pink anemone.
Liam moved up beside Serena and took her hand. “Dad always wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef. He called this Dalton’s Barrier Reef because it was the barrier between the living room and dining room.”
“Dads are always good for corny jokes,” Serena said.
“He had some of the corniest,” Lance said softly. “This was the only reef he ever saw in person, though. He died before he had a chance to go.”
A lump formed in Serena’s throat. She squeezed Lance’s arm with her free hand, and Liam’s with the hand he held. They stood quietly for a while just watching the fish darting around.
“It’s very relaxing to look at,” Serena said a few minutes later. “Even Sam’s calmed down. That’s not an easy feat.” The boy was sitting cross-legged with his chin on his hands, silently watching the fish.
“Well,” said Lance, loosening his arms. “Do you want to see the rest of the place?”
Sam jumped up immediately. “Yes, yes, yes!” he cried.
Liam laughed and led them around the tank. On the other side was a large, formal dining room with matching table, chairs, buffet and hutch. Beyond that was an even larger, formal living room that looked largely unused. The foyer had two sets of stairs, one on either side.
They walked up the nearest steps. At the top, Liam pointed out a guest room and a bathroom. Then Lance opened the door to a large bedroom. “This one’s mine,” he said.
The room was tastefully decorated and featured a massive king-size bed. The simple mission style matched night stands, a dresser, and a chest of drawers. On the wall opposite the bed hung a large flat screen TV. A walk-in closet was beside the e
n suite bathroom, which had no tub, but a large, glassed-in shower.
“This closet is the size of my bedroom!” Serena exclaimed as she looked around.
“And it’s grossly underutilized,” said Lance. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I made it that big.”
They left the bedroom and the hall turned. Another guest room was on one side and the other had a large office with two desks, bookshelves, and filing cabinets. At the end was the other set of stairs and the door to another bedroom.
“This is my room,” Liam said as he opened the door.
It was even larger than Lance’s. His furniture was also part of a matching set, but this bed had four tall posts, and drapes hung along the sides, though they were tied to the posts. She walked over to the bed and ran her fingers down the bedposts. Then she put her hands around it and began shaking the post. The bed barely moved.
“What are you doing?” Liam asked.
“Just seeing how sturdy these posts are.”
“Why?”
“Just in case we want to tie something to it.” She looked into his eyes and smiled at the look he gave her. “I have read Fifty Shades of Grey, you know.”
He let out a soft moan as she moved away to explore the rest of room. A small sitting area with a love seat, two chairs, and a coffee table was arranged facing a big-screen TV. When Serena looked, she saw the closet was just as large as Lance’s. The bathroom took her breath away. There was a glassed-in shower here, too, only it had dual shower heads on either side of the door.
“Two shower heads?” she asked Liam.
“His and hers,” he replied with a grin that made Serena’s stomach flip.
“I could go swimming in that bathtub,” Sam said, pointing to the large Jacuzzi soaker.
“There’s a pool out back so you don’t need to,” Lance said.
“How did you end up with the bigger room?” Serena asked Liam.
“I’m older.”
“By a whole four minutes,” Lance said. “But he never lets me forget it.”
“We need to grab some stuff,” Liam said. “Do you want to watch TV while we pack?”
Landing the Big Ones [Hedon Falls] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 9
