Perfect Storm Read online

  Perfect Storm

  Chapter One

  Eden

  I think I’m going to have to get a bigger bed. It’s the first thought that pops into my head when I wake up with Nick’s arm draped over my stomach and Asher’s lips brushing against my shoulder. Last night it happened. My men showed me what it is to be loved without condition. My heart starts to quicken at the memory. I glance to my right and Asher gazes at me with a sleepy smile.

  “You’re awake.” He sounds pleased about that and pulls me in close, one hand lifting Nick’s arm up and pushing it out of our way.

  I feel it drop limply at my back. I hold in a breath, waiting to find out if the movement woke him. Nick grumbles inaudibly in his sleep and turns over.

  I shake my head at Asher. “You could have woken him up.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t.” He keeps his voice low, and damn, there’s something so seductive about that tone. The sly smile he gives lets me know what he’s thinking before I’m pulled in close enough to feel his arousal. He plants his lips on mine and I give in without resistance.

  He wants to screw while Nick sleeps right next to us? I doubt we can be quiet or still enough to manage that without waking him, but that’s the thrill, I guess. Personally, I’m a little more thrilled by the thought of Nick waking up and joining in.

  He breaks the kiss with a soft sigh. “I missed you so damn much while you were gone.”

  “I missed you too.” I will every time I have to leave him. I know it’s why I’m putting off going back to work. I’ll miss all four of them. Wait. Three. Yeah, I’m pretty sure there are only three men I’m in love with right now. I don’t know where the four came from. My thoughts drift to Blake and I shake off the image of him before I can let my mind wander too far. Three men are more than enough right now. I don’t need to drag anyone else into this.

  “As much as I enjoyed last night, I want you all to myself this morning, Eden.” His voice is still sensually low.

  I move my head to glance at Nick before I turn back to Asher. “I’m pretty sure Nick won’t wake up until it’s time for lunch.”

  There’s a glint in those deep blue eyes of his when Asher rolls me under him and gazes at me.

  “You think you can keep quiet?” His whisper has a teasing tone. One hand moves between my legs while he brushes soft kisses down my neck and collarbone. His fingers find me wet and ready. We all fell into bed naked last night, after a little more fun together. Asher and Nick seemed so at ease with each other now, so maybe my leaving for L.A. hadn’t been such a bad thing under the circumstances. My mind starts to wander to how they planned it. I can just imagine Nick making utterly filthy suggestions in Asher’s ear. It’s a turn on, but not quite as much as how easily Asher seems to be taking those suggestions to heart. He loved every minute of our threesome, and I love him all the more for that.

  I moan as he strokes me more insistently, and he stops instantly, making me frown at him. I want to ask why he’s teasing me, but there’s a warning in his dark blue eyes that makes me hesitate. Licking his lips, he shakes his head slowly at me.

  “That’s not keeping quiet,” he tells me softly.

  Oh. I bite down on my lip. If he really wants me to mute my pleasure it’s going to be sweet torture.

  His fingers know exactly how to touch me. He brings me to the brink of ecstasy in seconds, and then he removes his hand. I swallow the groan that wants to burst from my lips. Apparently teasing me is part of this attempt at silent sex after all. The tip of his cock presses at my slick entrance a moment later. He slides inside to the hilt and begins to thrust in achingly slow grinding movements.

  The bed barely moves as he fucks me gently, sparking my desire for more. I can’t believe how hard it is to keep quiet. I had no idea I was so vocal in bed. His kiss helps to keep me from vocalising how much I love what he’s doing right now. He muffles my moans and I wrap my legs around him as his movements start to quicken. It’s so intense and so different that I can barely stand it. I come hard under him as he starts to thrust the way he loves it. Hard, unrelenting. He finishes a few seconds after me, and rolls off, pulling me into his arms and hugging me in close.

  “Was I quiet enough?” I whisper.

  “You’re going to have to learn some serious tantric skills if you want to fuck without waking me up,” Nick murmurs beside us. His green eyes are smiling as I glance his way. “But I’m not going to complain. I’m just going to take it as a challenge.”

  “A challenge?” I clear my throat and stop whispering, now that I know he’s awake.

  “I might sleep late, but this guy is KO’d the second his head hits the pillow at night. I bet we wouldn’t wake him up,” Nick says, with a grin. “Pretty sure I could make you come without shaking the bed to hell too.”

  Asher snorts. “Just go back to sleep.”

  I feel my face starting to flush. I thought I’d be over getting flustered about my love life by now, but having two of my men lay down sexual challenges while I’m still after-glowing is just enough to twist at those feelings. I still can’t quite believe I got this lucky.

  Nick wraps an arm around me, forcing Asher to move slightly. Both of them snuggle in close and the warmth of their bodies makes me sleepy all over again.

  Chapter Two

  Asher

  I manage to drag myself out of bed before I’m late for work. I kind of wish I didn’t need to go. Eden’s contentment seems to be catching. Attempted sneakiness aside, I like Nick and last night really opened my eyes. To what this is, to what it’s becoming. If I’m completely honest, I didn’t expect to feel this good about it, but any reservations I was holding onto subconsciously are gone. There were doubts in the back of my mind, even if I didn’t pay them much notice I know they were there. Any big change in my life has come with those doubts on the side. They don’t usually disappear so quickly but I’m not going to complain about that. It feels nice to not have little niggling worries simmering away behind my happiness for once.

  I check on Eli before I leave, finding him asleep as expected. He has pain meds to take when he wakes up. Those things are basically tranquilisers. When he took one yesterday, he was flying a little before he collapsed and passed out. I’m glad the bullets I’ve taken didn’t require treatment, besides for the obvious fact that I’d be dead. If it hurt so much I needed meds to knock me out cold for a few days I was glad it was Eli rather than me.

  I get to the library early and find Ronnie kissing a guy on the steps. Recognition takes a second, what with his face mashed up against hers. I glance at his preppy college kid get-up, and then it clicks. He’s the one who came to visit his grandmother. The one who overheard her saying she’d do anything if a guy spoke to her like the asshole main character in a romance novel. I clear my throat loudly and deliberately as I walk past them.

  They break apart at the noise and he eyes me nervously. It’s definitely the same guy, even if his mouth is covered in Ronnie’s new favorite lipstick. She started wearing red again recently. It doesn’t even look smudged on her so it’s anyone’s guess how he managed to get so much of it on his face.

  “Asher,” Ronnie chides, rolling her eyes at me. She turns back to him and her tone warms right up. “I’ll see you tonight, Brandon.”

  So he has a name. He kisses her briefly again before he darts off. She follows me up the stairs and shakes her head as I let her inside the building ahead of me.

  “Did you have to do that?” She raises her eyebrows as she hits the lights.

  “Do what?” I’m playing innocent here; it’s the best way to go with Ronnie.

  “You know what,” she says, poking my arm as she walks over to open the other door. “You make him nervous.”

  “Maybe that’s a good
thing.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “There are hardly any single men in this town, Asher. Especially guys who aren’t old enough to be my dad. If you scare this one off...”

  “I’m just making sure he’s good enough for you.” Sort of. “If he can be scared off that easily, he’s not a good catch.” I haven’t even threatened what I’ll do to him if he hurts her yet.

  “That’s my decision to make.”

  I suppose it is. “Is he picking you up from work tonight?”

  She frowns at me. “Why?”

  “So I can... apologise.” And ask what his intentions are towards the little sister next door who is way too naive when it comes to the opposite sex.

  “Apologise. Yeah, right.” She shakes her head. “Why do you always turn into my big bad brother when guys start sniffing around? I like this one, Asher. So don’t ruin it.”

  Chapter Three

  Eden

  Nick is kissing my neck when I awaken for the second time. It must be close to noon. His insistence on sleeping late makes me aware that I must have lost the entire morning already. Not that I have all that much to do, but still. I could have been writing a song, or planning dinner for tonight... Yeah, okay, I shouldn’t complain. I literally have nothing else to do. The songs come easily now, I don’t have to rush to get them written down. I relax into Nick’s arms as a melody begins to weave together in my head. It’s a power ballad. A thrill runs through me. It would sound so good live, the beat vibrating across the stage, heat bearing down from the spotlights above, warming my skin. The crowd cheering for more. They go wild for those big numbers. I love when it sounds like they’re drowning out my voice with theirs. There’s no greater rush than having thousands of fans memorise every word of something you’ve created.

  I open my eyes as Nick starts to move behind me. He’s getting up. He says something and I don’t pick up the words. “Um, what?”

  “Bathroom,” he says, with a nod before he goes into the en-suite.

  I lay back against the pillows. I’ve got that itch under my skin now, that unrelenting desire that chews away at me whenever it’s been too long since I’ve toured. Shit. I want to go back to work. I groan and close my eyes. Why now? When everything feels like it’s finally clicking into place.

  Nick and Asher and getting along, Eli’s not going to be far behind... I open my eyes and sit up quickly. Eli. He got hurt. I should check on him. I move out of bed and look around for something to throw on. Nick’s T-shirt will cover enough. I pull it over my head and cringe at the tangled mess my hair has gotten into. It’s going to be a total pain to brush out. I leave the room and check next door. I’m not sure where they took him. I wander down the hall until I find where he’s sleeping. I guess Nick put him here so our bedroom antics wouldn’t disturb him.

  He looks as contented as I’ve ever seen him. Sleeping Eli seems less burdened than waking Eli. I go over and sit carefully down next to where he’s lying. He doesn’t stir. He’s out cold. I place a kiss on his temple and feel the Goddess light travel into him. It makes my lips tingle.

  “Rest well, Sheriff. You’re going to have your hands full when you’re feeling better.”

  I move back, knowing he’s safe and sound. My enemies are gone now. I don’t have to worry about my guys getting hurt. We’re all safe right now. I shouldn’t even be thinking about leaving them.

  I leave the room and find Nick standing naked in the doorway across the hall.

  “I was just about to come find you,” he tells me.

  I smile back. “Look no further. I’m right here.”

  Chapter Four

  Asher

  The air-con stopped working just after three. While I was checking orders that came in for the college in Haleton, and Ronnie was reorganising some of the popular genre shelves. I got the ladder and checked it over. No dust in the filter, and no obvious reason for the damned thing giving up the ghost. It was going to get unbearably hot, remarkably quickly. I knew it from past experience, and my assistant did too.

  “Oh crap on a stick,” Ronnie cusses, hands on her hips as she walks over. “That damn thing broke down again?”

  “I’ll call Leo.” The repair guy lives locally, so there’s a half-decent chance he’ll be able to come quickly.

  “Leo’s in Mexico for his Mother’s birthday this week.” She presses her lips together, then shakes her head. “That kid he had working with him is out of town too. We’re out of luck.”

  I can’t think of anyone else who could help. “I’ll check online for instructions. Maybe we can get it working again on our own.”

  “I’ll check for the instructions. You go find those desk fans from the last time.” She waves me away as she goes to the computer behind the desk.

  I’d forgotten about those. “Good call.”

  I head for the back room and realise I’m going to have to go down into the basement. Ordinarily that wouldn’t bother me. Today, for some reason, it was making the hairs on my neck stand on end. I shrugged the weirdness off as I moved toward the basement door. The pull-cord for the lights is at the bottom of the staircase. It’s not the safest feeling to walk down these rickety stairs with a complete absence of light. Ronnie point blank refuses to ever come down here, which will be why she sent me on this mission.

  I swallow as I start the walk down into darkness. My nerves are on edge and they don’t calm when I hit the lights. A slow hiss from the pipes makes me shiver. I need to get the damned fans and get back up there before I start to imagine things in the shadows.

  My imagination ran pretty wild when I was a kid. My parents blamed reading too many horror books. I like to think I’m more tethered to reality as an adult, but honestly, after everything I’ve experienced since Eden came back to town, I know now better than ever that anything is possible.

  The fans are dusty and one has become a home to spiders. I don’t have anything to use to remove the creepy-crawlies so I pick it up by the base and shake it out vehemently. They fall and scatter. I inspect the fan before declaring it arachnid free. I grab up the other and get the hell out of there. I almost leave the light on. Then I realise how shit it would be to come down here next time and find out the light won’t go on because the bulb is out.

  Climbing back up the stairs in the dark, at least I’m walking towards the crack of light that is the hallway of the back office area of the library.

  I breathe a sigh once I’m out of the basement. There are cobwebs on the fans so I take them into the kitchen to clean them before I bring them out into the library.

  Once they’re clean, I carry them into the library and position them at the desk, where myself and Ronnie will now mostly be trapped until closing, or at least until we can figure out how to get the air-con to work again.

  “Did you find instructions?” I move toward Ronnie and she jumps, trying and failing to cover the screen.

  Her eyes are wide as she glances me over. “Scare the hell out of a girl, why don’t you?”

  “Talk about scaring the hell out of someone, what were you just looking at?” It’s some kind of fetish porn, as far as I can tell from my glimpse. I know she reads racy books. Those are bad enough. Particularly when she starts reciting passages as she walks around the library.

  “None of your business,” she says, standing in front of the screen and turning slightly to fiddle with the mouse and close the window. “A girl’s allowed her secrets.”

  “They’re not secrets when you use a work computer to look them up.” My gut instinct to let it drop is overridden by the stronger desire to never have this happen again.

  She rolls her eyes. “I’ll remember that the next time.”

  “So you didn’t look up those instructions?”

  Her mouth drops open in a silent ‘O’. Then she turns around and sits back down. “The instructions. Right. Yeah. Give me a minute.”

  I’m almost tempted to tell her to set up the fans and I’ll get the instructions, but I don’t want to acc
identally open that window she closed. The flash of leather and skin that I did get was more than enough. I just hoped it was her thing, rather than something the guy she’d started seeing was into. As much as she seems to love the bastard men in her romance novels, I like to believe she has more sense than to want those qualities in a real life boyfriend. Maybe I’m deluding myself.

  “So, yeah,” she says. “The model we have is discontinued. It has a printable manual but if it turns out we need a new part, it might not be easy to get it.”

  “Too bad Leo’s out of town.” I wouldn’t be able to find out for sure if we needed a new system until he checked it over. That means using the fans for the week and hoping we don’t fall victim to heat exhaustion. “Print the manual. I’ll see if I can work out what’s wrong.”

  She clicks something and turns around. “It’s printing.”

  As if on cue, the printer next to the back office door starts to whir to life.

  “How many pages?”

  “Eighteen.”

  That shouldn’t take too long. I plug the fans in and switch them on. One of them has a bit of a rattle. I switch it back off and tighten everything before I switch it on again. Better.

  “It’s hotter than hell’s ball-sack in here,” Ronnie says with a groan.

  She isn’t exaggerating. Already, the room was warming to near stifling conditions. The fans will help. Probably only whenever we’re standing directly in front of one, but still. It’s better than nothing. Marginally.

  Sighing, I remove my suit jacket and hang it over the back of a chair. It isn’t enough. The vest comes off next, then the tie. It’s funny how much those things can feel like they’re choking you when it’s too warm. I barely notice it most of the time.

  “Ooh, impromptu striptease. Nice,” Ronnie says, laughing at me.

  I roll up the sleeves of my shirt. “Well, this is as far as it goes you’ll be disappointed to know.”

  “You win some, you lose some,” she tells me with a shrug. “Sounds like that manual’s done.”