by Eve Vaughn
“This is very good, Serena.” Dalos smiled at her appreciatively.
Serena merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She continued to stuff the savory stew into her mouth. They took her lead and the majority of the meal took place in silence. After a while she couldn’t stand it.
Placing her fork down on the table and closing her eyes tightly, she blurted, “I love you, Dalos and Maddox. I think I’ve loved the two of you from the first time we met, but I was too much of a coward to tell you. I was afraid you’d eventually grow bored with me.” Serena stopped to catch her breath. “Whew. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, I made an apple pie for dessert.”
Both men looked at her with amazed expressions. Why did they just sit there like that? Had she revealed too much too soon? Maybe if she made a joke of it they wouldn’t think anything of it. Her face grew hot with embarrassment. “So, uh… I guess apple pie is out of the question…”
She stopped as both men got out of their seats.
Each man grabbed an arm to haul her up out of the chair. “Silly woman. I never thought we’d hear those words from your lips. You have no idea how much joy fills me to hear you say it.” Maddox groaned, burying his face at the side of her neck.
“You mean… you love me too?” It felt like all of her wildest dreams were coming true.
Dalos smiled. “I can’t remember a time when we didn’t.”
Serena wiggled out of their grasp to read the expressions on their faces. What she saw made her heart do somersaults. She saw compassion, understanding, warmth, and most especially -- love. When she’d come here with them, Serena never thought it was possible to be so happy in a single moment. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
Maddox raised a dark brow. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
She sighed. “Honestly? Because I was scared the two of you would eventually get tired of me. All my life, I’ve been the boring one in my family. Except for my talent of creating sex toys, I was as exciting as dry white bread. To top things off, Joe wreaked havoc on my self-esteem. I now know what a weasel he is, but what he said affected me more than I realized.”
Dalos nodded with apparent understanding. “I could imagine that. But why would you think we could have discarded you so easily after all we’d shared? It was more than just fucking. We made love.”
“The two of you seemed to withdraw a little when you brought me to the island. I thought I’d been used.”
Maddox was in front of her in two strides, taking her hands in his. “Did it cross your mind that perhaps we were scared too?”
Serena looked at Dalos who nodded in agreement. “Get the heck out of here. You two were scared? Whatever for?”
Dalos cupped the side of her face. “Just like you, we were afraid you could have been using us to prove a point to your ex. We needed to be sure of your feelings. I guess our worries were unfounded.”
Serena laughed in resignation. “We were all silly, weren’t we?”
“Yes,” both men agreed in unison.
Serena threw herself into Maddox’s arms and pressed her lips against his before doing the same to Dalos. “I love you two so much. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Each man wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tightly against their hard forms. She backed away from them, a smile splitting her face. “Since we’ve wasted so much time, how about that dessert now?”
Maddox frowned. “I’m not sure I’m in the mood for pie.”
“Who said anything about pie? The dessert I had in mind is of a different nature. How about the two of you follow me upstairs and I’ll show you what I had in mind?”
Smiles touched their lips as they registered her meaning. Serena then led them upstairs as she thought of all the desserts she’d share with them over the course of their lives.
Eve Vaughn
Eve Vaughn has enjoyed creating characters and making up stories from an early age. As a child she was always getting into mischief, so when she lost her television privileges (which was often), writing was her outlet. Her stories have gotten quite a bit spicier since then! Eve likes to read, bake, make crafts, travel, and spend time with her family. She lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and pet turtle. She loves to hear from her fans, so feel free to contact her at [email protected], join her yahoo group at [email protected] and visit her website at http://www.evevaughn.com
