Four Love

by Rylon, Jayne

  Lorenzo laughed as Holly hid her face against his shoulder. He saluted their babysitters, then swung her into his arms and carried her into the house in time to see Trent and Owen turn toward them. But when she expected them to take advantage of her lingering arousal and the state Lorenzo had put her in, instead she realized they’d been a different sort of fired up.

  They were angry, and had been arguing.

  Because of her?

  Oh shit.

  Holly twisted until Lorenzo set her down so she could try to make things right between them all. Please, let this work. It would be just her luck to find the three loves of her life, just in time for them to break apart.

  17

  Trent couldn’t remember the last time he’d argued with Owen. They never really fought unless it was about dumb shit like what movie to watch or where to order dinner from, and never with any real heat. But the moment he’d hung up the phone with the executive liaison at the bank, Owen had lit into him.

  “I can’t believe you did that!” Owen roared.

  “Why does it matter? You were my friend before I had that money. Aren’t you going to be now that I’m broke again?” Trent tried not to let his disappointment show, but his whole life he’d had to wonder if people liked him for him or for what he could do for them. He’d thought things were different with his friends, but that didn’t mean they would be okay with sacrificing like he had.

  “I should fucking punch you for saying stupid shit like that.” Owen’s hands fisted at his side. “First, you deserved that money. It was rightfully yours. You love Holly. Your marriage isn’t fake. And you met all the terms of the trust. But mostly, it makes you look guilty as hell!”

  Oh. Well, he hadn’t thought of that.

  Trent’s ire flared, his face burning, as the back door opened and Lorenzo carried Holly into their home. From the residual wobbliness of her legs when he set her down, their entwined fingers, and their flushed faces—not to mention the eyeful he’d gotten when he glanced out the window while on the phone—it was clear they at least had made up.

  Good, because he was going to need their cool heads and interpersonal skills to smooth over the bumps he’d made with Owen.

  Holly stopped short when she picked up on the tension in the room, but Lorenzo was still blinking as his eyes adjusted to the interior after the blazing sun and Holly’s brightness outside.

  “Okay, now that that’s settled. What are we going to do about your mom? You can’t just let her have her way after she played so dirty with Holly. There’s no way in hell we’re letting her win.” Lorenzo clutched Holly to his side as they neared. Trent didn’t blame the guy. And seeing the way both of his best friends had bonded with her in his absence made him sure he had done the right thing for them all, even if they didn’t agree right at first.

  “Too late. I gave the money back.”

  “You did what?” Lorenzo gaped.

  “Gave. It. Back.” Trent grimaced. “It was nothing but trouble. I knew I never should have taken it in the first place. And now it’s gone. My mother can keep her damn empire. That’s all she has left.”

  “But the patents and your company…” Holly put her hand in front of her mouth and her eyes shimmered. And finally he understood. It wasn’t because he was significantly poorer than he’d been, twice now in his life, but because she was afraid he’d lost his shot at pursuing his dream.

  For the first time in his life, he was surrounded by people who loved him and wanted nothing more than for him to succeed. In his book, he was the richest man on earth.

  “I already told him he’s an idiot.” Owen threw up his hands, then let them slap against the sides of his legs as they fell. “There’s a twenty-four hour wait time on the transaction. Can someone please talk some sense into him before I do it with my foot up his ass?”

  “The business will be fine.” Trent held out his hand and she came to him. So he tugged her to his side, looped an arm around her, and kissed her cheek. “We’re going to be too. This isn’t going to change as much as you think.”

  “How do you figure?” Owen glared.

  “If this was only about the money, I’d have taken my inheritance and invested it in something safe. This is about doing work that means something to me. About giving back all the time. About taking what I have and making it enough, more than enough. That’s what I really want. It was never about the money. It’s about spending my life for the greater good. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I want to change the world.”

  “You’ve already changed mine.” Holly smiled up at him.

  “Thank you.” Trent put his face in his hand. “I’m probably being selfish by doing it this way because I also like the thought of building things from the ground up like I was before my dad died. Besides, I can’t see any other solution.”

  “Whatever it takes, we’re with you,” Holly promised, then looked over at Owen and Lorenzo, who were nodding. “Somehow we’ll get through this and back on track. We’ll think of something. Some way to get through this as long as you’re not in trouble. Your mom will drop the charges now right?”

  Even she didn’t sound entirely convinced. In the ominous stillness, the ringing of Trent’s phone jarred them all. Trent answered before it could rattle his nerves again. “Hello?”

  “What are you doing over there? Your account manager at the bank just called to verify the directive you called in.” Ford asked, sounding only slightly annoyed. “Don’t you think you should consult with your lawyers before making such drastic moves?”

  “Not when they’re the right thing for everyone I love,” Trent responded without hesitation.

  “And what about you?” Kari asked from the other end of the line. “Holly isn’t going to be able to be happy if you’re not okay too. Even if you let that transfer go through, you’re short some cash. Your mom is a selfish piece of shit. She’ll come after you for the rest of the money. You know she will.”

  Ford chimed in. “I don’t think Kari’s wrong, but I do think she’ll only be wasting some of her precious funds if she does. There’s no way you’re going down for that when you’re legally entitled to the money and I’ve heard from an inside source that they have more than enough to nail her on the kidnapping conspiracy. Here’s what I think you should do.”

  Everyone stood still barely breathing.

  “Instead of sending it back to your mother, donate it. Let’s say half of it goes to research on kidney disease and support of families fighting the disease, including the funds already allocated to Holly’s mom. The rest could be earmarked for funding green energy solutions.”

  Owen grinned. “I’d had a similar thought, but not one that genius. This way Trent could still tap into some of it for startup costs and Holly’s mom is in the clear. Meanwhile if his mom tries to come after him, she’ll look bad to the rest of the socialites, which would never do.”

  Holly melted against Trent so he propped her up.

  He looked down at the woman in her arms, who nodded and hugged her tighter. “I’m good if you are. We’ll figure the rest out so we can keep going on our research before someone else beats us to it. Especially now that the schematics will be on record with the patent applications, it will be important to move quickly.”

  “What if you got an infusion of cash from angel investors to bridge the gap or, hell, to increase your funding beyond even what your inheritance was?” Brady asked.

  “Venture capital?” Trent groaned. “I didn’t want a bunch of opinions watering down my ideas. But I guess, if we have to…”

  “The man said angel investors.” Josh jumped in. “And if you take our money, we’ll let you do whatever you want with it. You were doing just fine on your own. Well, actually, I take that back…with Holly’s help. So my one stipulation is that you hire her on as the head engineer of your company.”

  “What?” Trent could hardly breathe.

  “Are you saying you want to invest in Trent’s inventions?” Holly asked.
r />   “Of course they do, girl!” Kari cheered. “They’d be dumb not to get in on that, and my guys are anything but stupid.”

  Lorenzo and Owen both came closer, waving their hands and nodding their heads.

  Trent couldn’t speak past the knot in his throat.

  So Holly did it for him. “Thank you, all of you, so much.”

  She buried her face against Trent’s chest, which gave him the strength to accept his friends’ generous offer. “You’re sure?”

  Owen and Lorenzo shot him looks like he was nuts. He probably was, but how could everything be coming together so perfectly? To be able to do this on his own, without his family’s money making it possible, was everything he’d been working toward before the world had turned upside down a month ago.

  “Absolutely.” Ford didn’t seem to have a shred of doubt. “You’re going to make us even richer, and help a lot of people while you’re doing it.”

  Trent could only think of one reason he would say no.

  “So what do you say, Holly? Will you do it? Will you accept the position as head engineer and as our wife? For real. Nothing fake about it?” Trent stared down into her eyes, which turned a bit glassy with unshed tears.

  “On one condition.” Holly propped her hand on her waist, making Trent sure he’d agree to anything to have her on his team.

  “Which is?”

  “The first five million I make in salary and from the stock options you’re giving me as part of my sign-on package, I’m paying back into the fund you’re going to set up for kidney disease patients and research efforts.”

  “I didn’t lend that money to you, I gave it to you.” He would have argued, but Lorenzo and Owen were shooting him glares that said they’d never forgive him if he fucked this up.

  “Those are my terms.” Holly backed up a step. Though it was away from him, it was closer to Owen and Lorenzo. She reached out and took one of their hands in each of hers. “We do this together, on even footing, or not at all.”

  “You know, she’s right.” Trent nodded.

  “Um, guys. She’s always going to be right.” Kari sounded as if she was rolling her eyes. “You might as well get used to that now.”

  They all laughed, but Holly the most.

  “We’re going to need reps and technicians and stuff too if you guys want in on this.” Trent turned to Lorenzo and Owen. He didn’t want them to think that Holly got preferential treatment. He cared for all three of them, and if they could do this together…they might just have a shot at the life they’d all hoped for but couldn’t quite believe could be possible.

  “I’m in. Besides, Lorenzo’s getting too old for stripping anyway.” Owen smirked.

  “Hey!” Lorenzo swiped at him, but Owen dodged.

  “See? You’re slow, old man.” Owen laughed until Lorenzo got him back.

  “Let’s see who can last longer in bed, huh? Then we’ll talk about who’s the old man.”

  Holly’s brows rose.

  Ford cleared his throat. “It sounds like you might have some celebrating to do. So say yes, and let us get off the phone so we can start doing what we need to keep Trent’s ass out of jail, his mother annoyed, and lots of people on their way to a better life. Do we have a deal?”

  Trent looked at Holly, Lorenzo, and Owen, taking his time and thinking through each of their situations before he drew a deep breath and said, “We do. And thank you.”

  “No need,” Brady said as a clap came in the background. Were they high-fiving over their part of the bargain? “We’re going to be the ones thanking you before this is over. I’m sure of it.”

  “We love you,” Kari called as they wrapped things up. “Call Andi and me later, Holly. Way later. Go…be together.”

  It was wild to have someone understand exactly what was important in his life and to his soul. So Trent took his friends’ advice and hung up so he could show his wife and her lovers exactly how he was feeling about them in that moment.

  18

  For a minute, they stood there, staring at the phone as if trying to wrap their heads around everything that had just happened.

  “I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know what the future is going to bring. But if we’re in this together, we have a better chance of making it through and getting where we want to be. I do know that.” Trent put one hand on Lorenzo’s shoulder and the other on Owen’s. The guys huddled around, with Holly at their center.

  “I’m already there.” She looked up at them with a smile that wasn’t even forced. Despite the news and the drastic changes in her world, she felt rock solid when near her three incredible men.

  “Well, just in case you get locked up, maybe we should fool around one more time so you have some fond memories to see you through the lonely nights,” Lorenzo teased.

  “Hey, quit that.” She pinched his nipple. “Ford, Brady, and Josh aren’t going to let that happen.”

  The guys definitely had a different sense of humor than she did. Instead of being horrified, Trent seemed relieved. Maybe Lorenzo’s jokes took away some of the seriousness of the situation.

  Either way, Trent said, “Yeah. That’s a good idea. I don’t plan to have sex with anyone not in the room for the rest of my life. Besides, I’m not really into anal, unless I’m the one doing the fucking.”

  Holly shivered because they both knew how good it could be.

  But so did Owen. He shocked her by winking then saying, “Hey, don’t knock butt stuff until you try it.”

  Lorenzo whipped his stare to Owen and then to Holly, who high-fived Owen. They could learn, they could grow together, and they could teach each other how to live their best lives. She laughed and tried to hug her three guys at once, but they were a lot for one woman’s arms.

  Trent watched them with something more than friendship or relief in his eyes. There was heat and longing that only one thing was going to fulfill. She didn’t even see him move, but suddenly the world flipped upside down as he put her over his shoulder and the four of them migrated to his room without a word of instruction necessary.

  By the time she’d hit the bed and bounced a few times, Owen and Lorenzo were mostly naked. They worked together to rid her of her pajamas while Trent stripped, giving her plenty of eye candy with his long, lean body.

  “Why do I get the feeling you two weren’t really kidding around out there?” Trent looked between Holly and Owen.

  “Because we had one hell of a morning yesterday. Didn’t we, Owen?” Holly shoved him onto his back and crawled between his legs, unable to stop from smirking as she took in his eager gaze and his rock-hard cock, which definitely wasn’t going to make it believable even if he tried to call her a liar.

  “Yeah. We did.” He put his hands under her shoulders and pulled her up so her face was level with his dick. He didn’t have to ask. She licked along his shaft, making him shudder.

  “Do you want this?” Trent pulled a package from his nightstand. Inside was a purple plug with a flared base. “I bought it for Holly, but maybe…”

  “It is for me. Anything that makes you guys enjoy our time together more means I love it too.” She took the package from him and showed it to Owen. “Wouldn’t it feel amazing to wear this while I go down on you?”

  He groaned. “Yeah. But… You guys don’t think it’s weird? And you get that I’m not into you two, right?”

  Trent laughed and doubled over, making Owen’s cock lose some of its stiffness.

  When Lorenzo smacked Trent’s gut with the back of his hand, he stopped. “Sorry. Sorry. I’m only laughing because of course I know you’re not into us. Wait. Were you seriously worried? Have you been hiding this because you think we wouldn’t understand?”

  Lorenzo muttered, “Idiot.”

  “Do whatever you like best.” Trent shrugged. “And if you ever again imply that I’d be some kind of judgmental prick about it, I’ll be offended. I’ll give you this one for free because I see you were really in your head about it. Damn, Owen.�
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  Owen scrubbed his hand over his face, then ripped at the package. Holly figured it said something about his desire that he was able to get it open with his bare hands, and in a hurry too.

  While he caught the lube Trent tossed him and slicked the silicone, she took him into her mouth again and started to get him fully hard. Except it wasn’t until she accepted the toy from him and began to slide it into his welcoming body as she sucked his cock that he grew in her mouth to his full length and girth.

  “Damn, maybe I should have bought one for myself.” Trent came up behind Holly, her ass in the air as she serviced Owen. “Since you both seem to like it so much.”

  Lorenzo made a sound of agreement. Owen relaxed as his friends cheered them on, as she’d known they would.

  From behind her, Trent kept talking, only turning her on more. “Holly likes it too, Owen. She’s soaked.”

  He dipped a finger inside her, then withdrew it slowly before showing it to their friend. Owen thrust upward into her mouth, making her choke a little even as she slid the plug to its base in his ass. She gave it a test tug. It wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Are you going to fuck her or what?” Owen asked. “Between the stuff that happened this morning and having everything I’ve ever wanted, this is feeling a bit too good.”

  “There’s no such thing,” Lorenzo reassured their friend. “But I’ll even the score for you.”

  Holly couldn’t see exactly how he contorted himself into position, but somehow he ended up on his back between hers and Trent’s legs so he could fit his talented mouth to her pussy. He concentrated on her clit, making her moan around Owen’s shaft.

  Owen speared his fingers into her hair and held her steady so he could fuck up into her mouth, doing all the work while she concentrated on accepting the pleasure Lorenzo rained on her clit with his lips and tongue.

  If she could have, she would have asked Trent to fuck her. But she didn’t need to—he was there, fitting the blunt tip of his cock to her pussy. He cursed as he pressed into her heat and slickness, working her open so she could take him deeper on every forward pass. She wondered if he could tell that Lorenzo had been there not so long ago and if that fired him up as much as it did her.