Easing his mouth from hers, he locked gazes with her and smiled.
“You’re one sexy woman, Michaela. I could kiss you all day long.”
“But you can’t. You need to share.”
Both of them turned to see Jake and Billy standing in the doorway smiling.
She lowered her face to Hal’s chest as he chuckled and wrapped her in his arms. A place he hoped she would be more often from here on out.
* * * *
Michaela had thanked everyone for their help as they left the neighborhood.
She headed inside and sat down on the back porch as Hal called her to come on out. It was a beautiful night, the sun was setting, and she was exhausted.
Billy handed her a beer, and Jake was already occupying one of the other seats, leaving her an empty seat between him and Billy.
Billy patted the cushion. “Take a load off, Smiley.”
She shook her head, took a slug of beer, and plopped down onto the chair. The moment she did she felt her muscles sigh in relief from taking a break from all the hard work.
“Achy?” Jake asked, watching her.
She nodded her head. “I’m going to be out cold the moment my head hits the pillow.” She opened her eyes to find all three men watching her. “What?” she asked.
“You’re amazing. Do you know that?” Billy asked her.
She shook her head. “Stop. I’m just determined to get this house in great shape.”
“What made you decide to buy this house in its condition?” Hal asked, eyeing her over with that sexy expression that came so naturally to the man. She understood why his call sign was Hollywood. Hal could definitely pass as a movie star.
“It was cheap,” she replied. Then she chuckled. “I’m just kidding. I was visiting to see if this was a town, a place I would like to live, when I came across this neighborhood. The other houses are so nice, and well kept. This house looked abandoned, like someone gave up on it. I guess I wanted to give it another chance. You know, bring back the life that was once inside and outside of the home. You guys saw all the beautiful woodwork throughout. Can you believe that someone covered up those high windows with the stained glass at the top? You can’t even buy that kind of history and style. And the railing, the staircase? God, that is going to be so freaking gorgeous when it’s done.”
“Honey, you’ve got such vision. And I tell you, I thought you were nuts to buy this house, but seeing it through your ideas and through your eyes, I’m excited to see what you do with it,” Billy told her.
She smiled. “Thank you. And thank you so very much for today. I was feeling kind of down and defeated after the fire yesterday. I was afraid to turn on any lights last night so I slept with a flashlight on in the bedroom.” She chuckled and then took another slug of beer.
“You should have called us, baby. We would have come over here to keep you safe and warm,” Hal said and winked.
She stared at him. “Please don’t tell me that women fall for lines like that?”
Hal and Jake laughed.
“That wasn’t a line. I would have come over here in a flash if you needed me just to keep you company. God knows I couldn’t sleep a wink last night worried about you in this house and what else could go wrong.”
His sincerity was so apparent she couldn’t believe the heaviness in her heart.
“That’s really sweet,” she replied.
“Nothing would have happened except for what you wanted to happen between us,” Hal added.
She lowered her eyes and held the beer can.
“About that. About today,” she began to say.
Billy covered her hand.
She locked gazes with him.
“Don’t. Don’t even try to deny the attraction between the four of us, and how powerful it is. Don’t push us away for whatever reason you feel it’s necessary to.”
“We wouldn’t hurt you, Michaela. We’re good men. We’ve been hurt before and know it’s a shitty thing to do. You can trust us,” Hal added.
She stood up and walked over toward the railing where Jake was but a bit away from him.
“Trust, well to be honest with you all, trust just doesn’t come easy for me.”
“Why?” Billy asked.
She looked at him. “For a lot of reasons. Reasons I’m just not ready to share with three men I hardly know.”
“Get to know us then. Hell, baby, you can’t deny how good it was to kiss and to touch,” Billy said.
“Oh, I’m not denying it, Billy. Remember I have the marks on my back from the splinters that Jake needed to remove from the impact of your kisses.”
They all chuckled.
Billy grabbed her hand and pulled her closer and between his legs. “Sweetheart, I promise to kiss you lying down like that on a hell of a lot softer and safer surface than the upstairs attic floor.”
She chuckled as she squeezed his shoulders, and he caressed the sides of her thighs and then back of her thighs until both hands inched under her shorts and cupped her ass.
“Billy.”
She twisted out of his hold and turned around only for him to pull her onto his lap. His hold was snug, and she leaned back and enjoyed being cradled in Billy’s arms.
“Honesty is important in a relationship, Michaela. We have reservations, too,” he told her, and she sensed the concern in his tone.
Had someone hurt them before? Did they try this ménage relationship and it went all wrong? That gave her more anxiety, but then she felt jealous and concerned. What woman had gained their interest, had shared their bed, perhaps even their hearts? She gulped.
“You don’t need to tell me about the other women you have shared. I don’t think I want to know,” she said with a bit of attitude.
“Michaela, it’s a personal decision and choice a lot of people make. We have many friends, retired military and other professions that chose a ménage relationship for personal reasons. We can tell you exactly why we want this type of relationship,” Jake said.
“I want to know why. I want to understand it. But it sounds like you’ve tried it with another women and it failed.”
“It failed for lots of reasons,” Billy said and then squeezed her against him. She turned sideways on his lap and looked at him.
“Like what reasons?”
They were silent and it made her feel bad for prying, but yet, she wanted to understand why they wanted to share one woman between them when they were each so good looking, so kind and generous. They were older, a lot older, and more mature than her.
“Lots of reasons, Michaela. Things we still can’t talk about, because it still hurts,” Hal added.
She swallowed hard. “I can understand that.”
“You seem like you can. I get the feeling that you’ve been hurt before, too. Is that what makes you afraid to give this relationship a try?” Jake asked her.
“Jake, I know nothing about this type of relationship, about, well let’s just say about a lot of things.” She nibbled her lip. She couldn’t exactly tell them she was a virgin, and she also couldn’t tell them about her trust issues and fear of abandonment. Hell, she was fighting those demons herself for too many years now. It was easier to just keep fighting and hiding. These men couldn’t change that. Could they?
“I think you know more than you think. I also believe that you’re very strong-willed, determined to achieve the goals you set out to achieve. You’re independent, probably to a fault.”
“To a fault?” she asked, feeling insulted.
“I do believe Hal and I found you in the attic at the source of the fire where you could have gotten seriously hurt,” Billy stated.
“Oh, and in my office with a gun to your head, you decided that you needed to take matters into your own hands when you disarmed the gunman holding you hostage because of your lack of patience with my handling of the situation,” Jake said with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“Hey, that guy was molesting me in front of you and all those deputies. A woman has to have her limitations.”
“You could have gotten hurt,” he replied.
“It was a chance I was willing to take, Jake.”
“Well this type of relationship isn’t exactly like staring down a barrel of a gun, sweetheart, but it does involve a commitment, total honesty and exclusivity,” Hal told her.
If only they knew about the barrel of a gun and how true that was.
“Tell me why you want this.”
“My brothers and I are close. The only time we were apart was during our time serving our country. We weren’t stationed together but it didn’t lessen our connection and bond,” Jake told her.
“It’s like we felt whole and complete, but also secure with our brothers. We’re a team, and the trust we have is deeper and more genuine than with anyone else,” Hal added.
Billy caressed his palm under her tank top and over her belly.
“Our friends shared their experiences with us, and their fears as well. We’ve seen some heavy shit in the service, on the force, and in the fire department. Things that could trigger some past experiences or make us react in a way we might need our brothers in support for. We realized pretty quickly that we all want a woman, a wife, someone to share and start a family with. We’ve seen other successful ménage relationships, and we know they are real and concrete. We want that, too.”