by Sky Winters
The wedding reception was being held in the same hotel ballroom as the firefighter’s ball, a fact that was not lost on Anna. She had spent her entire shift looking over her shoulder for her dark fantasy man. After a while, she felt pretty stupid. Why would Sonny show up at a Hindu wedding? While she knew how stupid the very notion was, it didn’t stop her from being wound tighter than a clock her entire shift.
At last, seven o’clock rolled around. Anna said goodbye to Melina and the rest of the staff before making a break for the hotel gym locker room. It was the only place available quickly for her to wash off the aroma of curry that was currently clinging to her body.
The hotel gym was deserted. The only sounds Anna heard were her footsteps echoing off the tile as she approached a shower stall. The white tiles had been scrubbed to pristine perfection. It looked like the showers had never been used.
Her fingers fumbled over the buttons of her blouse and because of her sweaty palms, she couldn’t get a grip on any of her fasteners. “Ugh!” Anna exclaimed. “Get your shit together! It’s just a date. You don’t have to marry him.” Anna gave herself a pep talk as she finally stumbled out of her work clothes and turned the water on.
The hot water began to work out the knots in her shoulders and slough away some of her doubts “Okay, you can do this. Sure, Brandon is mega hot, but don’t let that intimidate you.” Anna knew she had a lot going for her. It was a shame that Pete never realized it. Deep down she knew that by dumping her, Pete had done something that Anna wasn’t sure she’d have had the strength to do herself. Years of being unappreciated and taken for granted had taken their toll on her self-worth. Anna was starting to feel better about herself, it would do her no good to backslide and she knew it.
Anna poured out a generous dollop of her rose scented shampoo and set to work. With less than two hours until Brandon picked her up, she couldn’t afford to dawdle.
***
Anna was coiffed, fluffed and powdered to perfection by ten minutes to nine. Her dark hair fell to her waist and was the most time consuming part of the entire process with the washing, blow drying, and flat ironing of the ridiculous length. All the work was worth how well her look came together from the board straight hair to the figure hugging dress to the sky high heels, which made her legs look amazing.
She waited anxiously on the sidewalk, checking her phone. Brandon had sent a text letting her know what he’d be driving, but for all her nervousness, she had forgotten. “A midnight blue Camaro. Alrighty. I’m looking for a dark blue phallic symbol. Hoo boy.” Anna had a chuckle at Brandon’s expense. She was familiar with the term “overcompensation” and how it applied to the guys that drove cars like that. She hoped that this one would be the exception.
A minute later, the car she was looking for, pulled up to the curb in front of her. Anna took a deep breath and reached for the handle when the most gorgeous man she had ever seen stepped out of the driver’s side.
Brandon Kofax looked like a blonde Clark Kent had jumped off the page of a comic book and came to life. His hair had been cropped short, and judging by the clean neckline, very recently. The intensity of his blue eyes made Anna’s belly quiver as they raked over her body… twice.
Brandon smiled warmly at her. “Allow me,” he said as he maneuvered around to the passenger side.
Of course his teeth are perfect. His profile picture couldn’t begin to do this guy justice. Brandon wore a well-tailored gray suit that perfectly hugged the lines of his body. Oh lord, there’s something about a man in a suit. He wasn’t wearing a tie, but there was still no doubt that they were off to somewhere a little more upscale than the typical chain restaurant.
As Brandon opened the door Anna, stepped in. He was shocked by the black dragon winding its way down her neck and arm. He blinked twice to make sure his eyelids could still touch each other. The mark on Anna’s body told him everything he needed to know. Brandon shut the door and quickly fired off a text to his best friend before hurrying back to the driver’s side.
His night was about to get interesting.
***
The pair had arrived at a swanky yet rustic looking restaurant with a planter box filled with cacti and succulents to greet them as Anna and Brandon approached the front door. A white pergola covered the front entrance, making Anna feel like she was visiting a friend’s house rather than a hip downtown restaurant.
Brandon once again got the door for Anna and allowed her inside first.
“I hope you like this place. It’s one of my favorite restaurants. The owner and chef work with local farmers and ranchers to create their menu.”
The poor girl didn’t know what hit her as Brandon sauntered up to the host stand. Her green eyes grew wide and she wiped her hands on her pants. “Ca- can I help you?”
Anna bit back a grin as Brandon leaned it and turned on the charm.
“Yes. I have a reservation for three under the name Kofax.”
The hostess’ hands shook as she turned the page of her black leather book and found his name. “R- right this way, Mr. Kofax.”
“I think you’ve positively dazzled that poor girl, Brandon. And I think you made the reservation wrong. She said it was for three people?”
With an “awe shucks” shrug and a half-smile, Brandon slid into the booth and nodded to the now blushing hostess. She handed them their menus and scampered back to the host stand; no doubt to tell her friends about the stud at table twelve.
Anna turned the paper printout over in her hands, wondering about the reservation for three. “Care to enlighten me about this reservation situation?”
A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Brandon’s mouth. “The restaurant didn’t make a mistake. The reservation is for three. I have a friend coming to join us and he’ll be here in a few minutes. Oh good, they got more of the snapper.”
Anna set her menu down and folded her hands. “Hang on. I thought this was going to be a one-on-one. You didn’t tell me we’d be a trio tonight.” Anna watched as something flickered in Brandon’s eyes. For a moment she thought she imagined it, but whatever it was, gave her a little jolt south of her belly button.
“I promise you, you will have a good time tonight. Scout’s honor.” Brandon held up the three-finger salute and did his best to put on an innocent face.
“Were you even a scout?”
“No, but my brother was so I’m a scout by proxy.”
Anna chuckled despite herself. Brandon had been evasive, but was disarmingly charming. If he turned out to be a downright liar, Anna would be sure to never call him again, but for now she’d let it go. Besides, Brandon said “he” so their third wheel wasn’t another woman and Anna was comfortable with that. It meant no weird stuff.
“Sorry, I’m late, Brandon. I got caught at the station and couldn’t get away.”
Anna stiffened at the sound of the familiar baritone. It couldn’t belong to who she thought, could it? With a deep breath she turned her head to examine their third wheel out of her peripheral. The soft lighting glinted off a mop of almost black hair. “Shit,” she whispered to herself.
Brandon stood and clapped the new arrival on the back. “No big, man. Sonny, I’d like you to meet Miss Anna Nash. Anna, this is my friend Sonny Adams.”
Anna felt the heat burning in her cheeks and refused to look either of them in the eye. “Hello,” she mumbled. “We’ve met.” She was starting to feel like the universe had a real fucked up sense of humor.
“You’ve met?” Brandon looked from Anna to Sonny. “Oh! She’s the one from the ball?”
Sonny nodded, but couldn’t take his eyes off the blushing woman or her serious ink. Somehow, he’d missed seeing that the first tie he’d met her. “It’s good to see you again, Anna.” Although it felt like, no time had gone by since their last encounter. He had been thinking and fantasizing about her since they met.
Brandon dropped back into his seat. “Take a load off, man. I was just debating on which bottle of wine to order.
Sonny sat next to Brandon, still staring at Anna. He couldn’t believe his luck! Another chance to get the woman into bed. If they played their cards right, he and Brandon would have her naked by the end of the night.
Brandon carefully watched Anna. She refused to look either of the men in the eye and her cheeks were still tinged with blush. “What do you want to drink, Anna? Do you prefer red or white?”
Anna’s head snapped up, betrayal and anger burning in her eyes. “I’d prefer if you take me home now.”
Brandon tilted his head. “Oh? Why?”
Anna felt the anger burning through her veins. “Probably because this isn’t what I signed up for. Let’s just say, there was no truth in advertising.”
Sonny smirked and looked at Brandon. “I’m pretty sure, my name wasn’t even mentioned in the conversation.”
Anna shot daggers at Sonny. “No it wasn’t. I also didn’t see the fine print where I was going on a date with what I thought was a nice guy and wound up with a total asshat for a third wheel.” She turned back to Brandon. “Please, take me home.”
Just then, the server arrived. “Hi! My name is Janey and I’ll be taking care of you this evening. Can I start you off with some wine? We have an excellent Portuguese red we just got in or perhaps a Chenin Blanc from Oregon if you’re feeling a little less adventurous.”
Before Anna could protest any further, Brandon ordered. “We’ll have the Quinta dos Murcas Assobio Douro, please. Three glasses.”
The server nodded and took off to the bar. The reclaimed wood furniture and barn wood floors lent an air of rustic sophistication to the place. While Anna could appreciate the vibe, she still wasn’t thrilled with situation she was put in. It didn’t matter that she’d had wet dreams about Sonny, she still felt duped. “I don’t know why you bothered ordering anything. I don’t want to stay.”
“Am I really that bad? You’ve only met me once.” Sonny kept a straight face, but deep down, he was hurt and confused by Anna’s reaction.
“And that one conversation was enough. I don’t like guys like you, Sonny. Or guys like you Brandon.”
“Guys like me?” The two men asked in unison.
“Yes, guys like you. Brandon, you’re a con artist and Sonny you’re a cad. If neither of you want to take me home, I’ll call a car.” She reached into the depths of her purse to fish for her phone.
Sonny made to take her purse, but stopped himself midway. “Tell you what, Anna. Just give us a chance until the end of dinner. If after that, you still feel the same way, I’ll take you home myself.”
Why did that statement feel so loaded? “Fine. You have until that check hits the table to change my mind.”
Sonny and Brandon both exhaled. That was all they needed, they were sure of it.
Chapter 5
Brandon had ordered a mess of shared plates for the table. The trio had a little bit of everything from the marinated olives to the pig skin noodles to the blackened octopus. Brandon wanted to get in a little bit of all of his favorites. Since he and Sonny were splitting the bill right down the middle, he didn’t worry about the cost as much.
Anna spent most of the dinner giving the two men the stink eye while they chatted away about work and weekend plans. At first, she had even refused to eat, but the aroma of the parsley croissants and marrow pate was too much to handle. Soon enough, she was picking at a little bit of everything. “Oh my god,” she said at her first bite of pig skin noodles. “These are amazing.”
Brandon and Sonny both stopped mid-conversation to stare. “Whoa! She speaks!” Sonny joked.
“Ha ha, guys,” she said. But Anna couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed of herself. She had been rude to them, she felt justified in being so, but the proper Southern Girl in her couldn’t abide by such behavior and forced her to stop. “So, um. You’re both firefighters?”
Brandon spoke first. “We are. Sonny and I have been friends since we were kids. Like, the fifth grade I think? We do everything together.”
“That’s cool. I’m kind of jealous f you guys. My childhood best friend dicked me over in college so I don’t have one of those anymore.”
Sonny leaned in a little closer. “What happened?”
Anna chuckled and shook her head. “She fucked my boyfriend.” Neither man responded, which encouraged her to keep talking. “Jokes on them though. She trapped him by getting pregnant. Now they’re married with four kids and they’re both miserable. He cheats on her pretty regularly and she just takes it.”
“Man, that makes me glad we have the arrangement we do,” Brandon said, shaking his head.
“What arrangement is that?”
Sonny piped up. “We just share women.”
Anna blanched. “Share? As in…”
Brandon finished her thought. “As in women in the bedroom? Yes, we do. In fact, it’s a pretty rare thing when we don’t.”
“You mean, you guys are regular about the,” she almost couldn’t say the word without blushing. “threesome thing?”
“Yeah. And we haven’t met a woman yet that didn’t mind,” Sonny answered with a wry grin.
“Huh.” Anna slouched back in her chair, a little overwhelmed. “So tonight is supposed to be that?” Despite being a little overwhelmed, Anna wasn’t totally opposed to the idea. A fact that caught her a little by surprise.
Brandon reached out and took Anna’s hand. “Only if you want to. We don’t ever force a woman to do what she doesn’t want to.”
The warmth of Brandon’s hand helped to steady her. “Really? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure you both refused me a ride to keep me here.”
“Sex is totally different. We wanted you to give us a chance– me a chance, really. Brandon hadn’t had a chance to make a bad impression on you like I did.”
Sonny looked a little sheepish. He continued to surprise her; Anna didn’t think he had a shameful bone in his entire body. “I’m actually glad you guys made me stay. I’m having a good time. Thank you. I do have one question though.”
“What’s that?” Both men said in unison.
“Ah! Cut that out, it’s creepy!” Anna shook her head to remove the Children of the Corn imagery out of her head. “What happens when one of you has feelings for the girl you’ve been sharing?”
Sonny and Brandon looked at each other for a moment before Brandon spoke. “You know; it’s never come up. Neither of us has ever been in love before.”
Anna gaped at them. “Never? Neither of you has been in love before? That’s crazy to me!” Then it dawned on her. The sharing of women might be the reason why. They can’t form attachments the way they do things. The threesome agreement is also a method of emotional protection.
“Nope. And that’s fine,” Sonny answered. “No attachments, no problems.”
Now that Anna understood, she was a little more willing to come along for the ride. “That’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Being in love bites. Trust me, I’ve done it and I really wasn’t a fan of the fall out.” Anna took a bite of food to end the conversation. She hadn’t meant to bring it up, but she did not want to talk about Pete.
The guys got the hint and didn’t press her further.
They ate in silence a little while. Anna mulled over the idea of being with both men. What would that be like? How would the logistics of that work? A threesome had never really been on her radar so she hadn’t thought about it before, but now that she was, the idea was arousing. Both men in front of her were gorgeous in their own way. Sonny being a little darker while Brandon was fairer. They were both built roughly the same way and were in phenomenal shape. Their looks would certainly not be a problem. They were also shifters; another experience she hadn’t had. “Can I ask you what sort of shifters you guys are?”
Brandon answered as Sonny had a mouthful of food. “Dragon. We’re both dragon shifters. Every guy at Station One is a dragon shifter. We’re part of the same clan.”
Anna grinned. “Dragons? You’re all aware of the
irony of that, right?”
Sonny chuckled. “That fact is not lost on us.” His eyes flicked to the dragon head on Anna’s neck.
She noticed the casual look. It was the third one from Sonny and Brandon had been caught staring a few times too. “Does my tattoo bother you?”
“No. I was just curious as to where you got it done and what made you pick it,” Sonny said.
“I’ve had it for about five years now. I got it done at this funky little place on First Street.” Both Brandon and Sonny’s eyebrows shot up, but they let Anna continue her story. “There was only one woman who worked there and she did my tattoo. I wandered in looking for something, I wasn’t sure what, but after talking with her for twenty minutes, this is what we came up with.”
Sonny leaned in to Brandon. “She has no idea, does she?” he whispered. Brandon shook his head. “Do you remember the conversation you two had?” Brandon asked.
“Not really. We talked a bit about my ex, who I was with at the time, and where I saw my life heading. She was more like a soothsayer than a tattoo artist.” Anna’s belly suddenly filled with a million pairs of flapping wings. The two men in front of her knew something she didn’t. “Um, anyway, she told me the dragon would guide me down the right path and lead me to where I needed to be. I wasn’t too sure about the meaning she gave it, but the design was really cool so I went for it.”
Neither man spoke, but Sonny felt a weight he didn’t know he was carrying lift off his shoulders. “You met Nikki. She’s one of us and has a unique gift of being able to find the chosen ones for us.”
“Chosen? What are you talking about?” Anna hadn’t ever regretted her tattoo before, but she was now seriously considering it.”
Sonny elbowed Brandon. “You can tell the story more coherently than I can. Why don’ you take this.”
“Dragons are a little different than other shifters. We’re harder to match with a mate than others. Each clan has, for lack of a better word, a matchmaker that finds the mates. I can’t explain how they do it, but they have a knack for finding those with the right spirit.”
