As she spoke, a slimy eel slithered through the mossy pool, quick as a flash, slipping behind mossy stones, darting into water so dark the eel became invisible.
The hushed air of the cave, shaded by the huge branches of a fig tree, the peace of the moment, the relative chill in comparison to the heat of feet away was a treat for the senses. To think that the locals believed Aphrodite had once bathed here made her smile, because, as beautiful as it was, she couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to have a bath here...never mind a Goddess!
Harden handed her a small hexagonal box. “Do you want some more Cyprus Delight?”
“What do you mean more? I haven’t had any from this box!” She snorted, as she peered down into the wax paper. “And you do realize when you say that I immediately think of sex, right?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m willing to be accommodating.”
“I’ll just bet you are,” she retorted, wrinkling her nose at the jelly in the box, and pushing it back to Harden. She’d been feeling queasy all morning—arguing with her guys always did that to her. Not that Harden was suffering, “You do know the box is nearly empty?”
“Can I help it that it’s good?”
“We’ll be lucky if you don’t go home with diabetes! I can’t believe you don’t feel sick. Especially after all that baklava.”
He grinned. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth.”
“Ha! There’s sweet and there’s sweet. You and Evan are practically made of sugar.”
“You say the kindest things,” he murmured with a wink, then bent down to kiss her lips. “You taste beautiful, like rose water.”
She smiled. “Who needs gum, eh? I’m glad we got that third box so Evan can try it, too.”
“I’m still shocked about you even caring if he tries some or not.”
“What? That I was thinking about him even though I’m mad at him?”
“Nailed it.”
She shrugged. “I’m used to you both not being there, and I still think about you all the time. That doesn’t change just because I’m angry.” Bella nibbled her lip, and wrapped her arms about her waist. “Do you think I was out of order saying what I did?”
Harden shook his head. “I think we’ve been together long enough to be able to say what we want to. I know Evan’s unhappy with his job, but I think he just can’t see it. We’re looking in, we’re seeing how stressed and angry his work makes him. For him, he’s so used to it, that he doesn’t expect anything else.”
Her jaw worked as she gritted her teeth. “I don’t even know where that argument came from. I didn’t mean to offend him. I thought he’d know. I mean, he’s so analytical of his work, I can’t see how he couldn’t have noticed his females are all stereotypes and typecast!”
“Evan’s been weird for the last four months, Bella,” he remarked carefully.
“You’ve seen it, too.” Relief filled her voice. “I wondered if it was just me.”
He shook his head. “It’s nothing you’ve done, babe,” he told her, wrapping an arm about her shoulder. He led her over to a long boulder and together, they took a seat.
“What is it then?” Her gaze drifted over him, silently seeking answers but her nerves got the better of her—instead, she tracked the path of another slippery eel deep in the craggy pool.
It was strange how she wanted the answer to whatever it was that was plaguing their relationship, but now she was close to learning the truth, she feared what it might be.
“You know after the Oscars after-party?”
She grimaced. “Not really. That glass of champagne did a number on the antibiotics I was taking at the time.”
“Yeah, you passed out. When we got back to the apartment, we both put you to bed and went out onto the terrace. You know how beautiful the view is in his apartment, and Evan was on a high. He had two of those golden babies in his arms, and he didn’t want to sleep, wanted to keep on celebrating.” He sighed. “We grabbed another bottle of champagne and some Scotch, and sat outside in the hot tub under the stars. We just talked, you know?”
She frowned. “Yeah, I do. What’s the catch, Harden? You sound like you’re leading up to something bad.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know if it is or not, love. That depends on you. We…kissed that night.”
Bella stiffened, then relaxed. Her mouth worked, trying to formulate an answer, and in the end, “Oh,” was all she could say.
“Yeah, oh,” he retorted.
She blew out a breath, then skimmed a hand through her hair. About to nibble at a nail, she decided to stop fidgeting and ask the most pressing question that came to mind. “Did you like it?”
Another shrug. “I suppose.”
“Did he?”
“Not enough to do it again.”
“But you want to?”
Harden sighed. “I’d like to, yeah. I think he does, but he’s spooked by it all.” He studied her a second. “How does that make you feel? That the two of us kissed?”
She turned to look at him, pressed a hand to his jaw, and tilted his head so they were looking each other square in the face. “You still love me, right? You don’t want to finish what we have...”
His bugged out eyes reassured her even before his words did. “Are you crazy? You’re the glue, Bella. Without you, Evan and I are just friends. Hell, what happened that night in LA...it was just circumstance. On my part, I figured, why not? A change is as good as a rest.
“I enjoyed it, yeah, and I’d do it again—if we weren’t as drunk as a pair of skunks, and only if you were totally on board with it. But Evan, he’s taken this to a whole other level. I don’t understand it, I really don’t, but ever since...Well, you said it yourself. He doesn’t like me with the pair of you when you two are alone in the bedroom.”
She pursed her lips. “Why? Does he think you’re going to contaminate him or something?”
He huffed. “My thoughts have wandered down that particular trail. But I really don’t know what’s going on in that weird brain of his. A year ago, I’d have said you were speaking bull. That Evan wasn’t like that. But he’s really acting like a dickwad, and I have no idea what to do to change the situation. I can’t go back, and if I’m honest, I wouldn’t. It was a kiss, for Christ’s sake. Nothing more, nothing less. I have no idea why he’s making such a big deal out of it.”
Letting her brain cogitate the matter at hand, Bella murmured, “Because it was a big deal to him?”
“Can’t be. Why would he act the way he is, if what happened was important to him?”
She sighed. “For God’s sake, Harden, what happens on the playground? Little boys are mean to little girls when they have a crush on them. Fast forward thirty years and you have the same situation. He’s running from something that creeps him out. Especially, well, let’s face it. You know what his dad is like. Mike is a jerk, and I bet he punched it into Evan’s head that anything gay was wrong.”
“Yeah, I can see Mike doing that,” Harden admitted gruffly.
“Exactly. So, if all of a sudden, Evan likes something gay, that was never going to end well. I mean, there’s a reason I’m his public girlfriend, and your private one. Anything unorthodox, and Mike would freak.”
Harden grimaced. “What do you think we should do? I’d like to say the situation wasn’t as bad as I’m letting on, but it is.”
“I think it’s worse, babe. These last few months, I’ve known something was wrong. But, I’ll be honest, it never cropped up because you’ve hardly been at home together. I’ve felt how something was pulling us all apart, I just didn’t know what it was. You should have told me. Evan can be a secretive sod, but you’re not like that.” She shook her head in disappointment at his unusual behavior.
“I’m sorry I kept it from you.”
She slapped her hand down against his knee. “So you should be. I expect this moody shit from Evan, but not you.”
He sniggered. “Yeah, I guess that’s the way it works.”
“Dam
n straight. Evan’s about as in touch with his emotions as a fighting bear. That’s why this situation is freaking him out, and why he’s so out of sync emotionally, that he doesn’t even realize he detests his job.”
“Are you okay with me and him kissing? You never really said.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. As long as what we have together, all three of us doesn’t sway from the path, then yes, I’m alright with it. If anything”—she grinned— “I wish I’d seen it.”
His brows rose in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah.” Her grin turned sheepish. “I mean, apart, you’re most women’s version of a wet dream, but together?” She raised her hand to her head, pressed her pointer finger to her forehead, and like a gun, pulled the trigger. “Braingasm.”
Cockily, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I didn’t know brains could -gasm.”
Her tongue slipped into his mouth and danced against his. She shuddered at how little it took for her body to crave him, for all of her to need all of him. “Seeing you two together would probably reap a miracle,” she teased, as she pressed her forehead against his. “But no, I’m not jealous. More than anything, I’m curious because I’ve wondered how it would be if you two ever got physical.”
He cocked a brow, intrigued, then grimaced. “I’m not sure if your curiosity will get you anywhere, love. Evan definitely isn’t interested.”
“As he says, ‘methinks the lady doth protest too much.’”
He grunted. “I think you listen to Evan too much.”
“I just like the quirky things he says,” she told him with a smile.
Harden rolled his eyes. “I would never have guessed!”
Reaching for his hand, she tucked her fingers inside his. “Maybe we should talk to him about this.”
“I don’t see how we can. He won’t talk about it with me. At all. If I try to broach the topic, he just storms off.”
She pondered the situation for a moment, then turned to him with a sneaky smile. “I think I have a way.”
“Do tell.”
Tapping her nose, Bella murmured, “Just wait and see.”
* * * *
“I love it here,” she told Evan four hours later, as they both stood on the terrace overlooking the sea. “We traveled North and ate baklava, and look what Harden bought me.” She raised her arm to showcase his gift—a bracelet made from filigree gold and silver metal. It was like metal lace, ornate and unique.
Evan sighed. “That should have been my gift to you. I’m sorry I was such a jackass earlier on.”
“We’re all entitled to our bad days.”
“Maybe, but it’s not right that I took it out on you. I don’t even know why it was a bad day.” He lifted a hand and rubbed at his temple. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me at the moment.”
Bella pursed her lips, debating whether to stay quiet or to say her piece. She was used to keeping the peace, not wanting anything to spoil the time they had together, but that hadn’t gotten them anywhere. Neither man had shared the momentous event that had happened after an awards after-party. If she had no voice during the good times, because she wanted the few days’ they spent as a unit to be happy, then she had no voice during the bad times either.
Knowing she might have her head bitten off again, she murmured, “You’re not happy with a big part of your life, Evan. That’s why.” She paused, wondering what his reaction would be, and was relieved when he just grimaced.
“How can I not be happy, Bella? I don’t understand it. I have a job that most people would kill for. I earn a fantastic wage, get to do exactly what I want to do...it’s ridiculous to even suggest that I’m not happy with my work.”
She realized it was a given that he presumed she was talking about his job. “But?”
He cocked a brow. “What do you mean?”
“It sounded like there was a ‘but’ coming.”
“You know me too well,” he mocked, then sighed. “But, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not happy, and maybe I haven’t been for a while.”
“For four months?” she asked, slipping a hand around his waist and bringing herself closer into his side. They were so close that she felt him freeze.
“Harden told you,” he stated, voice low. The very lack of emotion had her burrowing deeper into him. Evan was a complex mixture of passionate yet secretive man, and his voice always reflected that. He was prone to bursts of temper then somber periods of silence. Maybe it was the artist in him, but a monotone wasn’t for him...and yet, that was how he was speaking.
“He told me something both of you should have told me four months ago. Why keep something like that from me?” she demanded, a scowl on her brow as she stared up at him. “Are you that used to thinking of me as a doormat?”
His eyes widened at that. “No! Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then why not tell me? Dammit, Evan, I’m your partner. I deserved to know something as important as you two kissing. I know we’re not as close as we used to be, and I know I try to whitewash over our problems when we’re all together, but I’m a part of this relationship, too! How would you like it if I started making plans with Harden without you? Or how would Harden appreciate it if you and me decided to do something without his say-so?”
“There was no decision made, Bella. That night was a...it was an aberration. Neither of us meant for it to happen, and it sure as hell wasn’t planned.”
“No, but you both decided to keep it from me. You made it into a dirty secret by withholding it from me.”
He shook his head, then stopped to sigh. “I guess you’re right. I want to argue that it wasn’t important but maybe it is.”
“Of course, it is! For God’s sake, Evan, we both know you’re not happy with your job, and haven’t been for a long time, but if your relationship with Harden was up in the air, is it any wonder that you’ve been so down, so unsettled? How long have you known each other? Twenty-five years?”
His nod was brisk.
“Exactly. The time you’ve known him outweighs the time in your life where he wasn’t a part of it. When a building block in your world suddenly starts to work its way loose, it’s only natural that your emotional reaction is so huge. If you hadn’t bottled it up, we could have talked about it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Bella! For God’s sake, it happened once, and it won’t happen again.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not gay.” He sucked in a steadying breath. “Neither is Harden. Hell, you’re proof of that.”
“Have you never heard of someone being bisexual? Christ, Evan, this is the twenty-first century as far as I can recall. You don’t have to choose being one over the other.”
“It’s wrong. It would be like fucking my brother.”
She frowned at that, something about his tone rubbing her up the wrong way. “Bullshit. Harden and you are close, closer than any brother granted, but you’re also two completely different individuals. You’re each other’s family by choice, not by blood. And if you really felt that way, then the kiss wouldn’t have happened at all.” Evan tensed and tried to move away. “Do you really want to start and end the day with an argument?”
“No, but don’t keep going on about this.”
“Okay, I won’t. But just know I’m pissed off at the pair of you. You have my blessing to kiss and fuck, Christ, I’d be the first to want ringside seats, but you don’t do it behind my back! Do you understand me?”
His mouth worked, and she could just tell he wanted to decry her words. But her “blessing” had ensnared his attention, just as it had with Harden. “You’d want to watch us together?” His voice dropped. “You wouldn’t be disgusted?”
She cocked a brow. That one word said a lot. Disgusted...there spoke his father, only through Evan. “Do you think I’m dead from the waist down? Of course I would want to watch. I’ve always wondered if you two wanted to touch each other like that, but since it never came up, I ne
ver mentioned it. As it is, the idea of you two kissing would be like my version of porn.” She turned into him, slid a hand up and over his shirt-covered chest, and then cupped the back of his neck. Bringing his head down lower, closer to hers, she whispered into his ear, “When you two are away, working, and I’m all alone in that big house of ours...neither of you are there to see to my needs. I’ll be in that big bed, all by myself, and I’ll think of the next time we’re together and what we’ll do.”
His voice was husky as he whispered into her ear, “What do you imagine?”
“I think of you touching me like I’m touching myself. I think of you licking my pussy, of Harden sucking and playing with my nipples. And when I’m really horny, and I need to get off fast, I think of you between my legs, your mouth driving me insane, and I imagine Harden is behind you, his cock in your ass, fucking you as you make me come.”
She heard his breath skip a beat, before he murmured, “You really get off on that?”
Bella nodded. “I think of so many things. I imagine Harden sucking your cock, or you sucking his. Both of us sucking him, or vice versa. But watching you kiss as you jack each other off…?” She didn’t have to fake the shudder that rushed over her. “Yeah, that really gets to me.”
“Why?” he asked, astonishment lacing his tone.
“Why not? You’re both beautiful guys, Evan. I love watching you anyway. Why wouldn’t I love watching you touch each other?”
“Because it’s wrong.”
She pulled back and glared at him. In the dying twilight, it was probably hard to see her face, but he couldn’t miss the black scowl she aimed his way. “Don’t you ever say that to me. Nothing is ever wrong in love. Nothing. Just because your dad is a jackass where this stuff is concerned doesn’t mean you have to be as well.”
He shook his head. “It is wrong.”
“How can something you want be inappropriate? Something that causes no other person harm or ill? When you kissed Harden, did it feel wrong? Really?”
Evan squared his jaw, and for a second his mulishness made her want to slap him. He relented however with a sigh, then whispered, “No.”
Three's Never a Crowd [The Corsakis Hotel 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5
