by Tara Rose
“How do you know that?” The minute the question was out of her mouth she felt like a damn fool for asking. Duh. She was here, in Ellis’s bed, naked. That’s how he knew.
“I spent the night parked in your driveway, Marisol.” He turned his attention to Ellis. “And people are looking for you, too. Luke is driving me nuts about that fucking liquor license.”
Ellis took a sip of coffee and then sighed loudly. “Yeah, that was irresponsible of me. I do have work to do. But first let’s eat, okay? I’ll be useless without some food in me. And then I’ll take care of what I need to do, and Marisol can assure her friends that I haven’t imprisoned her in the west wing tower.” He winked at her, and then he addressed Rafe again. “And then you and I can talk about how we’re going to handle this, Rafe.”
Marisol gaped at him. How could the man be so fucking calm and cool right now? Her stomach was doing summersaults. Where was her cell, anyway? Probably still in her bag. And where was that right now? She had no fucking clue.
Rafe narrowed his eyes. “Handle what, exactly?”
The corners of Ellis’s mouth turned up. “The fact that we both want Marisol, of course.” He took another sip of coffee as casually as if he’d just asked Rafe about the weather report. “I’m assuming that’s why you’re here, and why you spent the night parked in her driveway. You don’t want to give her up. Well, neither do I. So, I’d say we have a problem. Or not, depending on perspective.”
“Perspective?” Rafe looked as genuinely confused as Marisol felt, but Ellis didn’t have a chance to clarify what he meant because another knock sounded. The door opened, and the same staff member pushed in a trolley loaded with serving dishes. Without a glance toward the bed, he left again.
“Thank God,” said Ellis. “I’m about to pass out.”
Ellis dug into the food like he hadn’t eaten for a couple of months. Finally, Marisol sighed and crawled out of bed to have some, too. It’s not like both men hadn’t already seen her naked. Rafe stared at her as if she’d gone stark raving mad.
“This is really good, Rafe,” said Marisol, after tasting the egg-and-potato casserole. “You should eat something. You do look really tired.”
“I am. I’ve been up all night.” His gaze roved slowly over her naked body, and Marisol suddenly felt as if she were outside on Main Street right now instead of safely tucked away in Ellis’s mansion.
Ellis must have noticed, because he rose and retrieved another robe from inside the closet. He helped Marisol put it on, and even though it was way too big for her, she was grateful for the gesture. The silence as they ate grew uncomfortable until finally Rafe sat down at the small table and filled his plate with food.
None of them spoke, and Marisol kept her eyes on the food in front of her. She hadn’t had such an awkward meal since the year her Uncle Rich had shown up drunk as a skunk for Thanksgiving and the entire family had tried to pretend that no one noticed.
When she’d had her fill, she rose and glanced around, looking for her bag.
“Are you looking for your bag?” asked Ellis. “It’s still in the sitting room.” He started to get up from his chair. “Do you want me to get it for you?”
“No, that’s okay.” She blew out a breath and glanced from him to Rafe again, unsure what to do or say. “Okay. I give up. What do I do now? Ellis, what are your expectations from this point on? I know you have work to do, but obviously we all need to talk about this. And Rafe…I don’t even know what to say to you.”
That was the truth, at least. Yesterday, she had assumed he didn’t want her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have spent the night with Ellis, would she? Right now, she wasn’t sure about anything. “Rafe, you were so distant on the phone. I thought it was over. I thought you didn’t want to be with me. That you hadn’t been able to work this out with your parents and that was that.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I was mixed up last night, Marisol.”
“And now you’re not? Why are you here?”
Rafe glared at Ellis. It was clear he wished he could talk to her alone, but Marisol didn’t want Ellis to leave. She wanted to hash this out between the three of them, right now.
Ellis rose. “Unfortunately, I really do have to work, at least for the morning. But may I ask you both to do something? Please come back later. I want all three of us to talk. I think it’s the only way to work this out.” He glanced at Marisol, and a sudden change came over his face that she couldn’t quite interpret. “Unless of course I’ve assumed something that isn’t true.” His voice was full of uncertainty.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, gazing at her with as much intensity as he’d done several times last night. “Unless I’ve incorrectly assumed that you want to see me again.”
She swallowed hard. How could he believe that after everything they’d done? “No, you haven’t incorrectly assumed that, Ellis.”
“And, may I also assume you want to try and make things work for you and Rafe again as well?”
He wasn’t upset. Marisol could hardly believe what she saw in his eyes. He wasn’t upset or jealous. How could he be so damn understanding and accepting of such an arrangement? It was almost too good to be true. “Yes. I want that, too.”
Rafe let out a sound between a gasp and a moan. “You do?”
She turned to face him. “Of course I do, Rafe. I’ve waited eighteen years for you to come to your senses.”
“So what now?” he asked.
“Now, I have to get some work done,” said Ellis. “And Marisol needs to let her friends know she’s alive. Can we agree to meet back here around one this afternoon? We have a lot to discuss.”
How had he done that? He’d completely defused an extremely awkward situation with a few simple sentences. The man wasn’t human. “I’m okay with that. Rafe?”
“All right. For your sake, I will.”
Marisol suddenly remembered she didn’t have a car. “Um, I need a ride home.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ellis was grateful for all the work he had to do, otherwise right now he’d probably be in jail for assault. Or more than likely in the hospital because he seriously doubted that he could effectively kick Rafe’s ass without getting his balls handed to him in the process. When George had called upstairs to say that Rafe Rodriguez was at the front gate, Ellis’s first instinct had been to have George call the police and have Rafe escorted off the property
But then Marisol’s confession last night had come back to him. It hadn’t been a surprise to hear her say it, but Ellis had known right then and there that Marisol wasn’t going to simply forget about Rafe, no matter how much of a dick he might have been to her after they’d made love Friday night. And if he were being honest, he should have known that all along.
He and Rafe hadn’t really been friends in school, but no one in their tiny high school had been unaware of the hot and heavy romance between Rafe and Marisol. And Ellis had also known about the times Sean had been stupid enough to ask Marisol out. He, Maddox, and Chase had had to intervene with Rafe because word got around that Rafe was going to kick Sean’s ass after school one day. Rafe had clearly never gotten over Marisol, and she’d never gotten over him.
Ellis had called on every ounce of restraint this morning to play it cool as a cucumber. Neither Marisol nor Rafe had even suspected how much anger and jealousy Ellis had struggled with all through breakfast, or how badly he wanted to order Rafe out of his house for the rest of his life. He wasn’t upset at Marisol. He knew as soon as Rafe walked into the room that everything she’d told him about how she wasn’t sure where she and Rafe had left things was the truth. She had honestly believed Rafe didn’t want to try and make things work between them. Would she have stayed with him last night if she hadn’t felt that way?
He didn’t want to try and analyze why Marisol had spent the night with him, or why she’d let him do everything he’d done to her last night. Not until they all
talked later, at least. He didn’t want to believe she’d only been drowning her sorrows over Rafe in his bed, but it was entirely possible that’s what she’d been doing, even unconsciously. He hoped not, because the simple truth was that he was smitten. But Ellis knew the reality was that Marisol might not want him. She might want only Rafe. And if that were true, he’d have to deal with it. But if it wasn’t true, they had a real mess on their hands.
Ellis made a few urgent phone calls, including the ones needed to start the process of transferring Luke’s liquor license, and then he met Chase Taylor at the proposed new site of Luke’s Bar to make sure it was even feasible to house it there. They both decided it was, and when Ellis called Luke to tell him it was a go, he had to pull the phone away from his ear at the sound of Luke’s reaction. To say he was happy was an understatement.
When he was finally able to get off the call with Luke, he and Chase went to the warehouse where plans were already underway to bring it up to code so the court offices and city government offices could be housed there until Main Street and Market Street were rebuilt. Ellis spent an inordinate amount of time listening to pointless debates about the number of cubicles that would be needed and whether the bathrooms on each floor would be adequate. After he finally convinced everyone that the space was temporary, and that there was no Plan B so they just needed to make it work—and make it work now—he was able to get away and think about Marisol again.
He hadn’t wanted to spend this much time with any woman since Faith. And even then, Faith had always been in a snit about something. Everything from Ellis’s wardrobe to the brand of toilet paper he bought had been fair game. With Faith, day-to-day life had been about doing what she wanted to keep her happy, and in turn keep her submitting to him in bed. She’d had so few hard limits in their play that Ellis had thought he’d died and gone to Dom heaven. But in the harsh light of day, it had been exhausting dealing with her constant criticism.
Marisol wasn’t like that. Ellis had never spent such a pleasant, carefree day with Faith as the day he’d spent with Marisol car shopping. And last night had gone far beyond any expectations he’d had. Marisol was more sexy and fun in bed than he’d ever been able to imagine she might be. What cruel twist of fate had placed her in his path the exact same week she’d discovered that her puppy-love crush wasn’t a crush at all, but a burning ache in her soul? Fuck it all.
By the time Ellis pulled into his driveway, less than an hour before Rafe and Marisol were due back at his house to talk, he knew there was only one clear answer. And that was assuming Marisol wanted him as much as she wanted Rafe, and her confession last night hadn’t merely been uttered in the heat of the moment. They would either have to make her choose, or share her. Ellis was completely out of his element as far as the latter was concerned. He needed his cousin’s advice. And he needed it quickly.
* * * *
Marisol hated having to rely on anyone for a ride. Rafe told her that her car would be fixed no later than Thursday, which right now felt about as close as next spring. She was still so mortified that he’d shown up at Ellis’s house this morning that she hadn’t spoken to him at all during the drive home this morning, other than to say “fine” when he told her what time he’d pick her up later. After he’d dropped her off, she’d gone inside to take a long hot shower and then called her friends.
When Ria heard where she’d been all night she literally screamed into the phone so loudly that Marisol’s left ear still hurt, hours later. Ria had wanted details but Marisol hadn’t been in the mood. All she’d wanted to do was cry.
She’d told Ria that she would give her details another time, but at that moment she was dead tired and needed a nap. It wasn’t a lie, but telling Ria that had only fueled the fantasies she’d then gone on to spin out loud. Marisol had rolled her eyes all the way through Ria’s imaginary version of how she and Ellis had spent the night, and it had taken her almost a half hour to finally get off the phone.
She’d tried to nap, but it had proven futile. She kept seeing the anger and confusion on Rafe’s face and the calm demeanor Ellis had shown. Had that all been an act? It had to be. How the hell could he not have been upset that Rafe had basically forced his way in? No one was that unaffected.
Now, as Rafe drove her across town toward Ellis’s house, she tried once again to make sense of everything that had happened in the space of a few days. What was she supposed to do now? Would they make her choose? Would they both dump her ass and kick her to the curb? This was an impossible situation.
“Are you all right, mi tesoro?”
Rafe’s voice was so tender, and it was so wonderful to hear him call her his treasure instead of chiding her again, that Marisol began to cry. “I don’t know, Rafe, and that’s the truth. I’m so confused.”
“I’m sorry, Marisol. Please don’t cry. This is all my fault.”
She twisted in her seat to face him as she wiped away her tears. “No, it’s not. Please don’t say that. This isn’t anyone’s fault. It just happened.”
“If I hadn’t been so cold to you on the phone yesterday, you wouldn’t have spent the night with Ellis. I pushed you away and gave you no reason to hope.” He wasn’t angry. His tone was one of resignation and acceptance. Marisol was stunned.
“You know it’s true, Marisol.”
Did she? She wasn’t so sure. To say she’d been totally charmed by Ellis yesterday was putting it mildly. Then again, would she have let herself relax so much and enjoy the day with Ellis if Rafe had left her with any clear indication about where they stood? “Rafe, I don’t know why I stayed with him.”
“Well, I’m assuming he didn’t force you to.”
“No, of course not.”
“Were you drinking yesterday?”
Ouch. She let it slide for now. “No. Not a drop.”
“Then he seduced you, Marisol. Plain and simple.”
He had. All day long he had. But she’d known it was happening and she hadn’t minded. “You’re not upset that I was with him last night, are you?”
Rafe snorted. “Would you feel on safer ground if I told you I was?”
“Not really. It’s just that I don’t understand why you aren’t shouting at me right now, or demanding an explanation.”
“Because you don’t owe me one. Marisol, don’t mistake my lack of yelling or threatening to kick Ellis’s ass for apathy. I’ve waited eighteen years to have you back in my life, and I am well aware of the fact that once I had that chance, I blew it.”
“You haven’t blown it, Rafe.”
“Only because I drove over here this morning.” They pulled up to the gate, and after Rafe gave George his name, the gate slid open. “I made myself do it, Marisol. I knew it was the only way to even have a hope of winning you back.”
She didn’t know what to say. As Rafe pulled into the circle out front, Ellis opened the front door. He’d been waiting for them. “Rafe, tell me how you came to that conclusion.”
He almost smiled. “I will. Inside. I want to tell Ellis, too. Time to come clean, you know?”
She exited Rafe’s truck, and her heart gave a strange lurch at the look in Ellis’s eyes as she climbed his front steps. It was a cross between relief and happiness. Had he been worried she wouldn’t come back?
He took her hand and led her inside, and then they followed him up to his sitting room. No candles lit the room this afternoon. Instead, the drapes were open and filtered sunlight bathed the room. Ellis’s house was set into heavy woods, so he had on several lamps as well. The ambiance was so soothing, and Marisol felt more relaxed now than she had for several days.
“Have a seat,” he said, pointing toward the sofa. “Rafe and I will take the chairs.” He’d pulled two armchairs close to it, but far enough away so that she’d have her space as they talked. He gestured toward the coffee table in between the sofa and two chairs. “Help yourselves.” There was bottled water and an assortment of nuts and cheese.
Marisol wasn’t hungry
but she picked up a bottle of water and a cube of cheese just to be polite. Then she looked at each of them in turn, unsure what to do or say.
“I was just about to tell Marisol why I came here this morning.”
She popped the cheese into her mouth and watched Rafe’s face carefully.
“I talked to Luke last night.”
“I thought you said you spent the night parked in Marisol’s driveway?” Ellis’s gaze was sharp. Gone was his cool demeanor from last night. The fangs were out, and this was serious.
“I did. He found me and got into my truck. I had no choice but to listen to him. He reminded me how our parents haven’t accepted his relationship with Alexa and Chase, and that they still don’t know he’s one of her Doms. He brought up the fact that Alexa was no longer welcome in their house now that he was living with her and Chase, but that she had been when they thought Luke was simply dating her, and before they knew Chase was as well.”
Rafe took a deep breath and reached for a handful of nuts. “He told me that I was an idiot to let them stop me from being with you, if that’s what I really wanted.”
“He actually said that?”
“Yes, Marisol, he did. Luke said those exact words. He told me that women don’t grow on trees, and especially not women that we hang our hearts on for eighteen years. He said he’s always admired me for my strength. Not only physically, but for my strength of character. But he said right now I was acting like a stupid kid who couldn’t have his own way, and that if I continued to act that way, I’d lose you forever.”
Marisol could hardly believe what Rafe was saying. Ellis was now watching her as carefully as she watched Rafe.
“And then he told me that he’d almost let Alexa get away because of his pride when he realized he’d have to share her with Chase, and that if he had, it would have been the worst mistake of his life. He’s crazy about her, and he’d do anything for her. He asked me if I thought relationships like that were easy to come by, and of course I told him no they weren’t.”
