A Little Harmless Scandal

by Melissa Schroeder

  But it did a little bit. She knew she was the new member of the relationship and needed to learn where she fit. The guys were the ones in a long-term relationship. She had no idea where the three of them were headed, and she needed to make sure to remember that.

  “No.” Adam sighed. “Not what I meant at all. I was trying to let Mick know not to pressure you.”

  “I’m not pressuring her. Do you feel pressured, Seri?”

  She blinked at the use of a nickname. Only Nicola used that nickname for her.

  “No. Not at all, and a ride around the island sounds fantastic.” Mick smiled. “But, today, I want to do some shooting, and I need my equipment for that. I definitely want to do that in the future, though.”

  They didn’t say anything, just kept staring at her.

  “So, did you two want to make a day of it?”

  Mick looked at Adam, who smiled. “Sounds like a fantastic idea.”

  * * *

  “You need to slow it down,” Adam said.

  Mick looked at him. The man held him by the heart, but sometimes he drove Mick crazy. He liked to plan and plot. That was good a lot of the time, but sometimes jumping in was the better way.

  “I’m not going too fast. Jesus Christ, Adam. We had a threesome with our neighbor last night. It’s not like asking her to ride around the island today was pushing her over the edge.”

  He buttoned his pants and looked up at Mick. “I just don’t want her to feel overwhelmed by us. I don’t want to scare her off.”

  Mick snorted. “We asked her about engaging in a BDSM relationship this morning and she didn’t even blink.”

  Adam didn’t argue back, which was one of his favorite things to do.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Mick asked.

  “You rush, and I want to take it slow.”

  “No. You think you want to take it slow, but you don’t. What you want is me to push you.”

  “She’s different.”

  Yeah, he knew it. They’d shared a handful of women, but none of them had been this emotionally connected. Mick had an idea that it would be different with her. It was the connection he’d made that first day when she had smiled at him. His heart had zinged. That hadn’t happened since he met Adam.

  “She is, but I have a feeling she is okay with telling us when to back off.”

  “Okay, but just remember, slow and steady.”

  Mick watched as he pulled his t-shirt on, and inwardly sighed as he watched all that delicious bronze flesh disappear beneath it. The man did have a set of pecs and abs he liked to explore. Mainly with his mouth.

  “Hey, eyes up here, perv,” Adam said, but Mick heard the laughter in his voice.

  “I promise, no pressure.” He slipped his arms around Adam’s waist. “But no dragging your feet. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”

  “Okay.”

  But he could tell from his tone that Adam wasn’t convinced of his plan. He knew it would work. They just needed to let her taste how good it could be with them. She wouldn’t be able to resist the idea.

  * * *

  They took the Jeep out for the ride. It was one of those spectacular days that had drawn both he and Mick to Hawaii in the first place.

  The sun was high in the sky and the air was sweet from the morning rain. It was hard to remember their life in the military. One shit assignment after another, dealing with the worst scum in the world.

  This was infinitely better.

  “What are you thinking?” Serenity asked him.

  He glanced over at her. He was driving and she was in the passenger seat beside him. She'd pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and she had sunglasses on, so he couldn't see her expression. But her voice was just inquisitive.

  “That living here is better than hanging out in the desert hunting terrorists.”

  “A-fucking-men,” Mick said from the backseat.

  She chuckled. It was low and throaty, the one that always made his blood stir.

  “I can understand that. When I left LA, I went to Washington state for a year.”

  “Seattle?”

  She shook her head. “Forks. I wanted a change from Southern Cali.”

  “That is definitely a change,” Adam said.

  She nodded. “It rained all the time and, at first, it was wonderful. I would go out in it and dance around. Then, not so much.”

  “So, where did you go after that?” Mick asked.

  If Adam hadn't glanced over at her, he wouldn't have seen the way her mouth tightened. But she answered.

  “Arizona for a while. Then Colorado. After that, here. Actually, I came here for a vacation, not my first. But it was the first time I wasn't spending my time hiding from the paparazzi. This time, I rented a little cottage on the North Shore. And that's when it happened.”

  “What?” Adam asked, although he noted to ask her about the paparazzi comment later.

  “That click. Like something just seemed right being here. I moved over here two months later.”

  “Just like that?”

  She nodded. “And I have no desire to move away.”

  The light changed and he pushed aside the need to ask more questions. He wanted to know everything. What had caused her to walk away from her life, what horrors did she deal with? He knew they were lurking there behind the happy smile. He didn't think she was hiding anything from them, or that she was unstable. Far from it. It seemed that she had battled her demons and walked away victorious.

  Of course, no one walked away without scars. That kind of stuff lurked. There were quiet moments that something would pass over her expression. He knew it wasn't his right to ask. Not yet. Doing so would probably have her shutting them out, which was not acceptable.

  That thought gave him pause. Just like Mick had said, the only other lover he had felt so possessive of had been Mick. Until now.

  “Do you mind going out to Ko’ Olina?” She asked, breaking into his thoughts. “I want to get some pics of the tidal pools.”

  “Sure,” he said.

  She gave him that sunny smile and just like when she chuckled, his blood sang. He needed to be the strong one to make sure they didn't rush her. Mick would always be full steam ahead, but Adam had to ensure they did this right.

  “And we can eat over there,” Mick said.

  “Good lord. You need to eat again?” she asked.

  “I'm always hungry for all kinds of things.”

  Adam still couldn't see her eyes, but he had an idea she rolled her eyes.

  She leaned closer to Adam. “How do you put up with him?”

  “I'm just using him for sex.”

  She threw back her head and laughed. The glorious sound danced on the air around him. And for right now, that was enough.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A week after their first night together, Adam drove over to Jillian and Conner’s. Mick had a job and Serenity had some kind of meeting with a vendor in Honolulu. He wasn’t sure about what, but it sounded like someone wanted to sell her pictures, to tourists of course. A huge number of photographers made money that way, but from what Serenity had said, she did better than most. So, he decided to head on over to their old stomping grounds.

  Adam watched Jillian as she watched her son play in the sand. She was leaning back against her beach chair, sunglasses on, a big straw hat, and wearing a white sundress. Her hand rested on her massive pregnant belly. Every now and then she would rub it.

  “I hate this weather.”

  He chuckled. “You hate everything right now.”

  She gave him a dirty look, then turned her attention to the waves. It was the slow time of year and since the rain the other night, it had turned unbearably humid. He could understand that she was uncomfortable.

  “So, you’re going with my husband over to Maui. Any shenanigans planned?”

  He snorted. “Like that man will do anything without you knowing. And, it’s a short trip.”

  She sniffed in annoyance. It didn't ma
tter what he said. He always annoyed her these days. It was like this last time, so he was ready for it.

  “Why are you out here bugging me and not having fun with Serenity?”

  It didn't surprise him that Jillian had picked up on their relationship. It wasn't like they tried to hide it from her, but she hadn't seen the three of them together. They had been lost in their own little world, just the three of them. It seemed that they had an unspoken agreement to keep it to themselves for right now. It wasn’t that they were ashamed. Right now, he had a feeling they all wanted to keep their relationship safe, guarded. Each of them were trying to figure out where things were going. Pressure from people outside of the threesome would put more stress on them.

  He glanced out at the waves and then back to Jillian. Her gaze had moved back to her son. Her observance came from two different areas. One, their friendship. Two, it was the writer in her. Many people didn't realize how much she observed in their behavior. Especially when it came to romance.

  “She had a meeting in Honolulu with a vendor. Plus, she's busy working on a book.”

  “She's writing?”

  He shook his head and looked out at a surfer on the waves. It was still surreal that he lived in Hawaii. As humid as it was paradise. They had their issues but it was still beautiful every day. And now, things seemed settled…almost like they were completed with Serenity in their lives.

  “Earth to Adam.”

  He glanced at her again, then back out at the surfer. “What?”

  “The book?”

  “Oh, no. It’s a picture book of Hawaii, but not like those kinds of touristy books. There will be a lot of pretty pics, but she wants to show all the sides of Hawaii.”

  She said nothing and he looked at her. The look on her face worried him. She looked like she was going to cry.

  “What?”

  She sighed. “You're in love with her.”

  He felt a sharp punch to the gut. “No.”

  “If not, you're falling.”

  “I haven't known her long enough for that.”

  “There's a set time limit before you can fall in love?”

  He heard the sarcasm in her voice, and he knew if he continued denying it, he would make an ass out of himself. That wasn't enough to stop him.

  “Stop that. We have no idea where this is going.”

  She tsked. “I thought for sure that Mick would be the first one to fall. But maybe...”

  “What?”

  She laughed. “Oh, someone is so testy when he's in love.”

  Dammit. “Stop that.”

  “If you promise me one thing.”

  He nodded. Anything to get her to quit talking about love and Serenity.

  “What?”

  “Give it a chance.”

  “Give what a chance?”

  “Falling in love.” He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she stopped him. “I know you love Mick, but I have a feeling you fought that too. Now there is this woman. She's new to both of you, but I sense it. Something has shifted in your universe. Just don't freak out like you do when things change.”

  “I don't freak out.”

  She slipped her glasses down her nose and stared over them at him.

  “Really? You threw a fit when Mick's parents sold their house.”

  That was true. But it had been his first real home, the one place he had been accepted. It was irrational and stupid, but he couldn't seem to keep himself from freaking out, a little.

  “Why don't you help me up, then go spend some time with Serenity.”

  He opened his mouth to say that Mick wasn't going to be there, but she stopped him.

  “You want Mick there because he's your safe space, but also because he can help you keep her at arm's length. When it is just the two of you, it might be too hard for you to fight.”

  He hated that she was right, but again, fighting her would just make it worse.

  “Remember what I said. Go spend some time with her. You don't know each other well and maybe that will ease your worries.”

  “First, I have no worries, and second, how much better can I know her...if you get my drift?”

  “Sexually, yes. But now, you need to get to know her. I bet you barely know anything about her childhood, or her life after she left acting.”

  Her being right was not good for him. But then, it wasn’t like he was avoiding it.

  “What?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Seriously, I meant to ask her questions.”

  “But?”

  Adam shoved his hand through his hair. “Okay, I lose control. I see her and all I can think about is getting her naked.”

  There was a long moment of silence, then she laughed in his face.

  “Gee, thanks for being so understanding,” he said.

  “Oh, my, how the mighty have fallen. Mr. Big Bad Dom can’t control himself. This is too much. And, more than likely, Mick is the same way with her, right?”

  He nodded.

  She shook her head. “You’re both head over heels for her. How about Serenity?”

  He wanted to deny her assumption, but it would be stupid and false. He was falling for her. “It’s only been a week since our first time together.”

  “So?”

  “It’s too soon.”

  He couldn’t see her eyes behind her mirrored sunglasses, but he had a feeling she rolled her eyes.

  “It’s not. Don’t push it, but don’t short yourselves either. If this is something you want, make sure that she knows.”

  “Oh, she knows.”

  “I don’t mean sex. I mean HEA.”

  “What?”

  “All these years I’ve talked about writing my books and you haven’t paid attention? HEA equals happily ever after.”

  He grunted. He wasn’t ready to admit out loud that was what he wanted. He wanted the three of them together. Mick had no problem admitting it, but he had always been the dreamer. Adam needed his feet firmly fixed on the ground.

  Until Serenity.

  She had changed the dynamics of Mick and Adam’s relationship. He had known she would, but it was a bigger change than he had expected.

  “Does she play?”

  Both Jillian and her husband Conner lived in the life.

  “No, but she is interested.”

  “It’s not like it is something that you need though, right?”

  He nodded. “But, I think she’s definitely a submissive. She likes to do things we tell her, and she is okay with both of us controlling things. Mick wants to take her to Rough ‘n Ready.”

  “That is a good idea.” Jillian slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on. Quit thinking too much and help me up.”

  He stood, then held his hand out for her. She took it and he helped her up. She cringed.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, embarrassed that his voice had risen in alarm.

  She smiled. “No, other than being a fat pregnant woman.”

  “I’ll get Sammy.”

  “I am okay with that. I’ll start walking back up to the house.”

  “Let me help you.”

  “You can’t leave Sammy.”

  “I’ll have my eye on him. You can’t walk up there by yourself.”

  He took her by the hand, and while keeping his eye on the little boy, he helped her up the incline. Once they reached the top, he let her go.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay. And Adam?”

  He turned around. “Yeah.”

  “Remember to be happy.”

  For a moment, he didn’t catch her drift, but when he did, he nodded.

  “No, really, you three deserve it.”

  The way she phrased that was weird, but he only nodded and started back down the incline. Jillian was right about one thing. He needed to know more about the woman he and Mick were falling in love with. The best way to do that was spend time with her. With that in mind, he set off to gather Sammy and his toys, so he could head back to his hous
e and Serenity.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Serenity had just closed her email and stepped away from her computer when she heard the vibrations of Adam's Harley. He had gone out a couple hours earlier without stopping by. It didn't bother her…much. Okay, it bothered her a lot, but she couldn't say anything to him about it. They had no set rules to their relationship, right? They were just having fun, and that was what she liked.

  Only, now, it made her feel sad that he hadn’t stopped by.

  Trying her best not to look out the window and make him think she was a creeper, she thought about a nap. She was low on sleep and wanted to do some more night time shoots. Before she could make it to her room, she heard footsteps on her lanai, then a knock.

  She hesitated.

  “Serenity.”

  Damn, he knew she was home. And why was she being such an idiot by not going to the door?

  She walked over and opened it. He was leaning against the doorjamb, a sleeveless t-shirt showing off his biceps and old jeans that rode low on his hips.

  “You didn't have to work today?”

  He shook his head and then let his gaze slip down her body. Dammit, when he did that, it made her feel as if he were touching her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  A few days later, Serenity found herself alone. The guys had a job together on Maui, and she was taking the time to work on her book. Unfortunately, she was spending more time thinking about the guys rather than doing her work.

  These two men were starting to get to her. She knew that they probably did this all the time, but it was new for her. Hell, she'd only had two normal relationships in her lifetime, only one as an adult. James had been her first love, a costar, and just as screwed up as she was. They remained in touch via email.

  She met Brad about a year after she moved to Forks. He was funny and sweet. He'd soothed her soul and never asked her for more than she could give. In the end, both acknowledged that they wanted other things and parted as friends. It was part of the reason she had moved to Arizona. She needed a change and nothing says change like moving from Forks to Tucson. Since then, she'd had a few hookups here and there, but nothing too serious. She wasn't built for that.