Two Masters for Samantha 2: In Their Hearts [Awakenings 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Michele Zurlo

  Most people who had grown up with the boys, Sam had found, had no shame when it came to admitting they couldn’t tell Stef and Lex apart.

  “What did Stefano say?” She wanted to know how much of their dirty laundry he’d aired.

  “He didn’t say a lot. He said you were coming down here, and he asked me to make sure you got settled okay. He also asked me to call in and report on you, but I refused. Sam, is something going on? Did you guys have a fight?”

  She shook her head. “Not a fight. A longstanding disagreement. They’re always flying off to work on some never-ending deal and I got tired of it. I said I was moving here, and if they wanted to see me, they’re welcome to visit.”

  Sabrina halted and stared at Samantha with wide, sympathetic eyes. “You broke up with them? God, no wonder Stef sounded so agitated. Oh, Sam, I’m so sorry.”

  “I didn’t break up with them. I moved out.” Samantha turned and kept walking, forcing Sabrina to keep up.

  “What’s the difference?”

  “Exactly,” Sam retorted. “It doesn’t matter where I live because it’s not like they’re ever home. It’s like they visit for a couple of days, and then they’re off on something else. Well, they can continue to do that, but I’m not going to stay in Florida. I never wanted to live there anyway.”

  “Have you told them how you feel? It’s very important to be honest.”

  Samantha had never been out of touch with her feelings, but she knew that personal experience had prompted Sabrina’s question. “They know. I’ve been very clear about everything. The final straw was this past week. I had two showings in San Diego. One was huge, and the other was smaller.” From the expression on Sabrina’s face, she was hurt that Samantha hadn’t shared her news with her family. “Don’t be upset, Sabrina. You guys have all been very helpful and supportive, but I wanted to see if I could be successful on my own, without people I knew would buy my stuff because they’re family.”

  Sabrina sniffed and pressed her lips together. “I don’t buy your paintings because you’re family, Sam. I buy them because they’re good. But I know what you mean. You want to achieve independent success. You got your first real introduction into the art community through me because I know Treva Andreas. I get it. I’m not happy that you’ve kept this from me, but I understand.”

  Sam gave Sabrina a quick, spontaneous hug. “You’re the best sister-in-law ever. I’m so glad you’re in my life. Anyway, I told Lex and Stef at the last minute because I wanted them to come, and they both forgot. They got home and I wasn’t there, so Alexei called to find out where I was. It was the middle of the freaking show. It was like a slap in the face. Then I got home, and they apologized, and we had a nice weekend together. Come Monday morning, they pack up and leave. They didn’t even tell me ahead of time that they were going. I found out when I went to Stef’s room and he had a suitcase on his bed. I lost it, Sabrina. I’m so mad at them that I can’t think straight.”

  She’d packed some of her painting supplies so that she didn’t have to wait until the rest of her things were shipped.

  “Oh, honey. I don’t even know what to say to that.”

  Sam swallowed the threatening tears. “I know you don’t like them very much. You don’t have to say anything.” As much as they’d hurt her, she didn’t want to hear anybody malign them.

  “That’s not true,” Sabrina said as they approached the building that would be the last to undergo renovations. It would house the staff and crew while they worked. “I like them just fine. They make very good stepbrothers.”

  “Jonas doesn’t like them.” It bothered Samantha that her family didn’t embrace Alexei and Stefano the way they did Sabrina and Rich, her sister Amanda’s husband.

  “That’s not true, either. He’s not happy with them, mostly, I think, because he doesn’t think you’re as happy as you should be, but he doesn’t dislike them. As a matter of fact, when you’re not the topic, they get along a little too well. They plot together, those three.”

  Sabrina led her inside the massive structure, greeting workers by name as they made their way to the elevator. A larger man, broad-shouldered and meaty, stopped them before they got on.

  “Mrs. Spencer, the costs to ship the trash are too high. We’re dumping it ten miles out on the west side so the current will take it away from here.” The man looked Samantha up and down as he talked, an appreciative gleam in his eyes.

  Sabrina drew herself up. Though she was smaller than this man, her authoritative demeanor made her appear larger. “Mr. Morin, I told you not to do that. Very clear guidelines for trash removal were set forth in the agreement you signed. Cutting corners like that means the cost of cleaning comes from your fee. You will cease immediately.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever. Who’s this dish?”

  Sabrina’s eyes cut the man like lasers. Samantha didn’t like the way he’d referred to her, but before she could deliver a scathing set-down, Sabrina fired a shot. “Ms. Spencer is one of the island’s owners and your superior. You will treat her with dignity and respect.” She turned to Sam. “Samantha Spencer, this is Skip Morin, the lead contractor for the tear-down.”

  Instead of apologizing, Skip’s grin grew. “Two dishes. I’m starting to like this job more each day.”

  His manner made Samantha uncomfortable. “Mr. Morin, we are not ‘dishes.’ If I hear you using such disrespectful language again, I’ll replace you with someone who possesses basic manners.”

  With a shrug, he turned and left. Samantha leaned closer to Sabrina. “I don’t like him.”

  “Nor do I,” Sabrina said. “He’s good at his job, but he’s a Neanderthal. It’s difficult to find someone who will move here for three months. Most people have families they don’t want to leave for that long.”

  Once inside the elevator, Sabrina picked up where they’d left off before the interruption. “Alexei and Stefano Morozov are used to being the center of their universe.” She squeezed Sam’s hand. “I don’t mean that as a criticism, just a statement of fact. Their mother adored them. It was sickening to see, especially since she pretty much ignored their sister. Their father groomed them for executive success. They’re handsome, wealthy, and charming. Every woman either of them ever dated fell at their feet and wept when they were cast aside.”

  Samantha hadn’t fallen at their feet when they’d met. Lex and Stef had worked their way into her affections, and she’d knelt willingly.

  “You’re the first to demand more. You’re right to do so, of course. You deserve to be treated like a queen, and they haven’t been doing that.”

  She took offense to Sabrina’s assessment. “They treat me very well.”

  “When they’re around,” Sabrina continued. She inserted a keycard into a lock and opened the door. “This is my room. We’ll give the porters a few minutes to finish setting your suite. Anyway, I’m proud of you for speaking up. Having quantity time with your lovers is very important in a relationship. Lex and Stef need to learn to understand that you come first.”

  Samantha sank onto the sofa and accepted a bottle of water from Sabrina. “Jonas has his hands full with you.”

  Sabrina flashed a grin. “He likes having his hands full.” She sat on a chair across from Sam. “Seriously, though. Lex and Stef have been conditioned since they were little boys that it was their responsibility to not only run Morozov Industries, but to make it grow. They bought my grandfather’s empire, and they’ve merged with Galen Enterprises. All the big players from our youth, and they’ve gobbled them up. My mom has worked on Dmitri, getting him to see that life is no fun when it’s all work, all the time. You’ll need to do the same thing with your boys.”

  Samantha frowned. “I don’t want them to give up everything for me. They’re very good at business stuff, and they like doing it. I have my art, and that appears to actually be taking off.”

  Sabrina leaned forward. “It sounds like you’re not a hundred percent sure what you want. You seem to know what
you don’t want. Perhaps hanging out here and doing the design work will help you clear your head and figure things out.”

  At last, someone understood the state of her mind. Sam had been hard-pressed to put her mental disarray into words, but Sabrina had summed it up nicely.

  “It’s late,” Sabrina continued. “I say we have some drinks and catch up. I haven’t got to spend time alone with you in far too long.”

  An hour later, Samantha helped Sabrina to bed. The smaller woman couldn’t hold her alcohol very well. She’d let slip a few too many things about Jonas that Sam would rather she didn’t know. The image of her brother wielding nipple clamps might just give her nightmares.

  “Two pregnancies,” she slurred as she tried to remove her socks. “Now it goes straight to my head.”

  Sam assisted and covered Sabrina up. “You should be fine in the morning.”

  “Sam, you’re a beautiful woman.”

  “I’m not kissing you goodnight.”

  Sabrina giggled. “If I swung that way, you’d be second on my list. I mean it. You’re good looking, too. Really, don’t let those boys trample all over you. Once they think they’ve conquested you, they’ll turn their attention to the next big thing. You gotta let them know that you’re a continual challenge. And you are. If they can’t appreciate you, then you gotta find someone who can.” She flipped onto her stomach and immediately turned back over. “Nope. That’s not gonna work. Is ‘conquested’ a word?”

  Sam couldn’t help it. She let loose with a full belly laugh. This was the first time in five years that her prim and proper sister-in-law had let down her hair and her guard. She’d been drunk with Sabrina before, but no amount of alcohol had negated her innate reserve.

  “You’re completely toasted,” she said.

  “Yep. That doesn’t make me wrong.” Sabrina closed her eyes.

  “Sabrina?”

  “Hmm?” she answered without moving an inch.

  “I’d be second on your list? Who’s first?”

  Her mouth curved in a sinful smile, but she didn’t say a word.

  Samantha didn’t know where her room was, so she climbed into the huge bed with Sabrina. She woke to the sound of groaning. She opened her eyes to see Sabrina sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands.

  “Sorry,” Sabrina said. “I’m hungover. I can’t remember the last time this happened.”

  Samantha crept from the room and found the ibuprofen in her purse. “Here.” She gave Sabrina two pills and a bottle of water.

  Sabrina drank the whole thing. “Did you pass out here?”

  “No, I slept here because you never showed me which room was mine. I didn’t get a key from the front desk.”

  Sabrina nodded. “My fault. Check-in is closed. Your key is on the counter next to the microwave. I meant to give it to you. You asked for a three-bedroom suite, but we only have two bedrooms available. You’re down the hall.”

  Stretching, Sam yawned. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head to my room so I can get a shower and stuff.” She scooped up her carry-on bag and left Sabrina alone with her headache. If she knew her sister-in-law at all, she knew Sabrina wouldn’t want witnesses if she were going to toss her cookies.

  The day proved to be busy, so busy that Samantha barely had time to think about the fact that neither Alexei nor Stefano had called her. Every now and again, a pang would hit her heart, but she powered through it.

  She spent the day meeting with Heather. Because she’d been there only once several years ago, and she hadn’t been looking at it with an eye toward owning it, she had Heather give her the grand tour. She found the Domme to be very subdued. The air of a predator wasn’t exactly gone, but it was tightly leashed.

  Toward the end of the day, Sam stood on the concrete promenade lining the beach, looking out over the ocean. Sunset would come later, and it would happen on the other side of the island. For now, she enjoyed the brightness of the sun glinting off the water.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Heather leaned on the railing next to her, a serene smile on her face. “Every time I’m banging my head against the wall in my office, wondering why I do it, I come out here. It makes me feel less lonely for a little while.”

  This was the first personal thing Heather had said all day. Samantha had wondered why Heather had remained aloof. As a people person, Samantha had begun to wonder whether Heather actually liked her. In general, Sam liked people. She loved talking with them and getting to know them. Since Lex and Stef had come into her life, she’d become painfully aware of the number of acquaintances she had, and how few true friends she had accumulated over the years. Setting up a D/s relationship with two men was a reality check. They demanded more from her than she’d ever given anybody, delving deep and forcing her to bare her heart and soul.

  Part of her knew how much time and effort they’d spent in shielding her from the nastiness out in the world, and she loved them for it, but it had also taken them away from her. Asking her to come with them to New York was a huge step, but it had smacked of desperation. She didn’t want a desperate act. She wanted them to truly crave her presence.

  Samantha shook away her morose thoughts and focused on the dark-haired woman next to her. “Why do you do it? You’re a Domme. You have to get better offers all the time.”

  The rich sound of Heather’s laugh wafted out over the empty beach. “I do. Rich men come here all the time, proposition me, offer to give me anything I want if I’ll come away with them.”

  “Anything you want. That’s pretty awesome.” Samantha had taken two men up on a similar offer once.

  Heather shrugged. “Most of the men who proposition me are over fifty, divorced multiple times, and not in shape. They tend to be bratty or looking for a mama. I don’t want that. I want a man I can love, not just one I can dominate. I want a partner who lets me call all the shots, but who is still man enough to treat me like a woman. And I want him to be under forty. Shit, that sounded bad.”

  Samantha laughed. “No, it didn’t. I know what you meant. You want an alpha sub. People think that because you’re a Domme, you don’t still want to be pampered and taken care of.”

  Shaking her head, Heather laughed. “People underestimate you, Sam. You present yourself as this lighthearted, ditzy artist, but you’re actually very sensitive and perceptive. Forgive the mention, but I once told Helene that you were going to be a strong sub. She thought you’d end up as a baby girl, you know, with a Daddy Dom to take care of you.”

  Sam could take care of herself, and mentions of her brother’s ex-wife didn’t upset her. “Helene never took the time to get to know me. I didn’t hate her, but I hated what she did to my brother.”

  Thoughts assailed her, of Helene’s selfish ways, of how shattered her brother had been when she’d left. Her heart felt sick. She needed to call Stef and Lex, to tell them that her feelings hadn’t changed, that she still loved them both so much.

  “She treated everybody like shit if they stuck around long enough,” Heather continued. “Let’s grab some dinner. Tessa Blue of BlueLife Designs will be here in the morning. You’ll want to sit down with her and choose the colors, fabrics, all that stuff. I’m so glad you’re here to do it. I hate decorating. Managing, maintaining, entertainment—I can do all that. Decorating is not my forte.”

  Samantha smiled, but her mind was thousands of miles away. What were Alexei and Stefano doing right this moment? She had no way of knowing, and she was too proud to call either of them to find out.

  Chapter Four

  Tessa Blue was a fairy come to life. She stood perhaps five feet without shoes, which she wasn’t in the habit of wearing anyway, and she was petite. She made Sabrina look large by comparison, and Sam could swear that Sabrina found that idea amusing.

  The other thing that smacked a person in the face about Tessa was the fact that she liked blue. Her eyes were blue. Her clothes were mostly blue. Even her long blonde hair had been dipped in blue. The only thing n
ot blue about her was her assistant, Peaches. He had dark hair and eyes, and he was dressed in a peach shirt and white linen pants that tied at the waist. He towered over her with his tall, willowy form, but he was still shorter than Samantha. She estimated him at about five seven. A locked chain encircled his neck. It had a design that managed to be both elegant and masculine.

  “Hey, Sammy,” Tessa said, a serene smile lighting her face. “Heather told me I’d find you on the beach.”

  Samantha had come out early to watch the sun rise, only there was no easy way to get to the other side of the island, and so she had to be content with observing its effects—the way it chased away the morning shadows and lit the water. Still beautiful, but not quite what she was after.

  The name Tessa used gave Samantha’s heart a little thump, but it wasn’t too bad. All her life, people had shortened and changed her name around to suit them. She didn’t mind. She’d met Tessa and Peaches the night before, a hurried hello as the exhausted pair had scurried to their suite.

  “Hi Tessa, Peaches. I hope you had a good night’s sleep.”

  Peaches nodded politely. Tessa’s laugh tinkled out over the sandy expanse. “Excellent, thanks. I have some ideas for redecorating already. Don’t you think all the beds should be bondage friendly?”

  “Yes,” Samantha agreed. “The cost of the custom furniture is going to kill the budget.”

  Tessa shrugged. “A place like this, ordering in bulk? I know a couple of suppliers who can do it if we give them a few months notice, which can happen. I’ve been through the buildings, and this place needs a lot of updating. Furniture is not what’s going to drain your budget.”

  They were on the same page with that too, but then again, Tessa had been selected by Sophia and Ellen because they all thought the place needed a major overhaul.

  “We’re going to start with two guest buildings and twelve private cabins. Once those and the public buildings are finished, we plan to reopen.” They needed to begin turning a profit before they tackled some of the other structures, and they’d identified at least one guest building that would be removed so they could put the private cabins in that location.