“I’ll admit it wasn’t my brightest move.”
“Ya think?” She sat back and looked at him over the top of her reading glasses. “You’re damn lucky Rhys and Korbin were wearing the white hats, literally, and not the black ones.”
“We’re in a whole new world. It’s not like it used to be.” He took a step into her office. “I don’t suppose your two guys would want to do consulting work for us, would they?”
“Would your friend be okay with that?”
“Probably, if it didn’t interfere with their jobs there.”
She shrugged. “I’d clear it with him first. If he’s okay with it, I’ll ask them for you.”
“I appreciate it. Tom’s good, but he admits he’s an old dog and it’s getting harder for him to keep up with all the new tricks out there.”
“So how badly did he chew you out for putting stuff up on the website without telling him first?” Rob had let it slip that it had been him, not Tom, who had done that part of the website.
His face reddened slightly. “No, I didn’t think it through. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
She grinned. “Yes.”
* * * *
Manny arrived a little early that evening for her one-on-one with Dr. Greene. The psychiatrist shared a suite of offices with several other mental health professionals, including the large meeting room where they held the group sessions. As Manny sat in the doctor’s private waiting room, she looked around at the various pictures on the wall. Some of them were better than average nature art pieces, mostly photographs of Florida wildlife, a few of which Dr. Greene had taken herself.
It felt more like a friend’s study than a shrink’s outer office, something that always put her at ease. It didn’t resemble the sterile, medicinal, fake-friendly waiting areas of VA docs, or less expensive private-practice doctors. Dr. Greene’s bills were only partially underwritten by the VA. Manny footed the rest herself.
The door opened and Dr. Greene appeared with a man Manny assumed was a patient. Once he’d left, she smiled at Manny.
“Hello, Amanda. Long time, no see.”
Manny stood and headed into her office. “I was just here for group a couple of weeks ago.”
“Yes, you were.” She closed the door behind them and headed for the chair she normally sat in for sessions. “And when I said you were overdue for a private session I honestly didn’t expect to see you here for a few years.” Her smirk belied her words.
Many laughed. “I’m a woman of many contradictions.”
“That you are. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on, or would you rather beat around the bush?”
This was one of the reasons Manny loved Dr. Greene, and why she was willing to pay for missed group sessions just to ensure her place there. The doc didn’t waste time on pleasantries.
Manny opened up to her and told her everything. While in the past she’d alluded to some of her feelings and some of what had transpired between her and Andy, enough that the doctor wasn’t completely hamstrung for info, this time she laid her soul open and bare.
And it hurt.
Ten minutes into the telling, the doctor handed over a box of tissues and discreetly nudged a small wastebasket toward Manny with her foot. It took her nearly forty minutes to get through the whole story. Including talking about Rhys and Korbin and how scared she was to now be in love with not one, but two guys.
And how thinking she might have lost Rhys completely shifted her brain from worry that their dynamic might not work to determined to do everything possible ensure it would.
Dr. Greene listened with her typical quiet stoicism. When Manny finished, she looked at her. “Well?”
“What are you looking for, Amanda?”
“What?”
“What are you looking for from me, specifically?”
She shrugged. “I’m telling you what’s going on.”
Dr. Greene sat forward, her elbows on her knees. “If you’re looking for me to condone or condemn your nontraditional relationship, I’m not going to do either one. You’re an adult. They’re adults. What the three of you do or don’t do, that’s between you. You don’t need my permission.”
“I’m not looking for permission.”
“Are you looking for permission from Andy?”
Manny started to protest that observation when her jaw snapped shut, biting the words off.
Dr. Greene arched an eyebrow at her.
“Andy’s dead,” she eventually managed in a whisper. “He can’t exactly weigh in on the issue, can he?”
“Exactly.”
Manny took a deep breath and stared at her for a while. “Am I a bad person?” she managed.
Dr. Greene smiled. “No, you’re a person who’s been through a hell of a lot over the past few years. Do you think you’re afraid of happiness?”
“What?”
“Maybe you’re afraid if you embrace what you love that it might be taken away from you. But that’s no way to live. That’s only half a life, if that. Life and loving means learning to live with an acceptable level of fear as well. Life is too short to keep looking back. You’re liable to miss what’s in front of you.”
Manny sat there for a moment, digesting all of that. Eventually, she nodded. “Thanks, Doc,” she said.
Dr. Greene reached over and patted her on the arm. “You’re a good person, Amanda. I think if anyone is deserving of happiness, however you choose to seek it, it’s you.”
At the end of her session, Manny stood and hugged the doctor. “Thanks, Doc,” she said
“I hope you find the answers you’re seeking.”
“I think I already have.”
“Good. See you in group?”
Manny grinned. “Me, or my check.”
She left the doctor laughing.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Manny stood on the condo’s balcony and listened as the Gulf gently lapped at the sugar-sand beach below. No sound of traffic just behind them to drown out the cries of the seagulls, the waves lapping at the shore, or the sound of the breeze.
No mobs of people traipsing up and down the beach.
In fact, hardly anyone on the beach to watch the sunset in an hour or so.
Behind her, through the open slider, she heard the men bringing up the last of the luggage and groceries. “That’s it,” Rhys said. “Everything’s out of the boot.”
Their mini-vacation after everything they’d been through was a more than welcomed respite for all three of them. Artemis had been successfully demonstrated and was now under consideration by the government. Ormond, pleased with the men’s work, gave them both a raise and an extra paid vacation.
And Manny’s boss not only gave her a small raise as well, but backed off the technology issue, much to her relief.
Although Rhys and Korbin had managed to teach her how to successfully use the iPad.
The setting sun glinted off the ring she now wore on her left hand, presented to her just the night before by her guys when they formally “proposed” and asked her to spend the rest of her life with them.
No, they couldn’t legally marry each other the way they’d like, but that wasn’t important. She had what she needed—all she needed.
Them.
She turned back toward the room with a smile. Fortunately, there weren’t any rooms below them, just parking. And they were in an end corner unit, with the only unit next to them vacant. They could make all the noise they wanted.
“You guys brought way too much stuff. We’re only going to be here for five days.”
She’d brought a backpack and a small duffel bag, in addition to her favorite pillow. She wasn’t anticipating much need for clothing, except for the few times they managed to get outside the room.
Which, if she had her way, wouldn’t be very often.
“We only brought the essentials,” Rhys protested.
“You guys do realize you won’t be doing any work the next several days, right? You didn’t nee
d your laptops and all that other fancy stuff.”
Korbin started to reply, then his mouth snapped shut as he understood her meaning. “Sorry. We’re not used to having a reason not to work.”
“Bloody good reason, if you ask me,” Rhys added.
“Then come out here with me and enjoy the view for a few minutes. You won’t be seeing much of it while we’re here, either.”
They nearly trampled each other in their rush to get to the door, making her laugh. Once on the balcony they stood on either side of her, Rhys with his arm draped around her waist, Korbin’s across her shoulders.
It felt right.
Perfect.
Like for the first time in her life, she was exactly where she was meant to be.
Rhys let out a content sigh. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“You two are white like vampires,” she observed. “You won’t explode into flames or anything on the beach, will you?”
Korbin leaned over and nibbled on her neck. “Like you said, we probably won’t be seeing much of the beach over the next few days.”
“It doesn’t bother you guys what I do for a living, does it?”
“Hell no,” Korbin said. “Why should it?”
“It’s not like you’re kicking our arses, love,” Rhys playfully added.
Korbin turned her to face him and kissed her. “And if it hadn’t been for your job, we might never have met you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
They made their way back into the room, which also had a small efficiency kitchen.
They’d have very few reasons to leave over the next several days.
Korbin closed the sliders and the drapes, dimming the light. He wrapped his arms around her as she started unbuttoning his shirt. “And you can always slather us in suntan lotion if we do decide to go outside in the daylight,” he told her. “Just to make sure we don’t explode.”
“I rather think I’d fancy a moonlit walk on the beach myself,” Rhys said as he started nibbling on the back of her neck again. “Perhaps even go skinny dipping. I’ve never been before.”
“Bullshit,” she said. “We went in the pool.” Several times in the past few weeks since she’d moved in with them. Not to mention making love there with either or both men more times than she could count.
“I meant in the ocean, love. I don’t really think in the privacy of your backyard where no one can catch you is in the true spirit of skinny dipping.”
She pushed Korbin’s shirt down his shoulders. He shrugged it off and let it fall to the floor. “I think I’ve created a couple of sex maniacs,” she teased.
“No, we were always this horny,” Korbin said. “You just brought out the beast in us.”
“I thought it was the best in us?” Rhys countered.
“I’m the funny one, remember?”
“Boys, stop,” she interrupted before they could get off-track on one of their rambling arguments. “Focus. Sexy time. Girl wants to get naked and do dirty things with both of you.”
“Right,” they both said.
She giggled. “I love you guys. You have no idea how much.”
“Love you, too,” they parroted, making her giggle again.
Rhys lifted her shirt up and off her while Korbin worked on her shorts. The fact that she felt comfortable enough around them to wear shorts spoke volumes about her heart. Within a minute all three of them were naked and sprawled across the king-sized bed.
“Wait just a moment,” Rhys said, jumping out of bed and rummaging through his luggage.
“What?”
He held up a zipper-top baggie. In it, several dozen condoms and a large bottle of lube. “Supplies.” He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and returned to bed.
“We don’t need the condoms anymore, remember?”
He gave her that wicked grin that could make her instantly wet and totally disarm all of her objections in one fell swoop. “For this, I should think yes, it’s practical.”
He nudged her on top of Korbin, who obligingly slid his cock deep inside her.
She had to stop and take a deep breath to pull her body back from the brink. She didn’t want to come yet. She wanted to see what Rhys had rolling through that deliciously evil little brain of his.
It didn’t take her long to find out. He pushed her down onto Korbin. Then she felt Rhys spread her ass cheeks with one hand while he drizzled lube over her rim with the other. As he worked plenty into her ass, she closed her eyes and writhed against Korbin.
Both at the same time. Something they had yet to try, but she definitely wanted to do.
“You like that, huh?” Korbin asked. He fisted a hand in her hair and made her look at him. “Tell us, baby.”
“Yes,” she softly admitted.
“Tell us what you want.”
She swallowed hard. “I want both your cocks in me at the same time.”
Rhys’ fingers disappeared from her ass. She heard the rustle of the condom wrapper before he said, “Wish granted, love,” and then the feel of his engorged head pressing against her rim.
She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. He slowly pressed forward, not quite through, taking his time and teasing her.
“Yes, our lovely girl is going to be quite happy, I should think,” Rhys said. He stroked her back as he talked. “Going to keep her bloody well fucked so she can’t give even a second’s thought about getting rid of us.”
“Mind control,” Korbin agreed. “We haz it.”
She snickered and managed to crack open an eye in time to spot his playful smirk. “Mind control?”
“Well,” Rhys said, “I do remember us warning you about that.” He pressed forward a little more, until his cock breeched her rim. “We are rather persuasive and stubborn.”
“Not to mention madly in love with you, babe,” Korbin added.
“Yes, there is that,” Rhys said.
She let out a soft moan at the feel of Rhys’ cock working deeper into her ass. A not entirely unpleasant burning pinch that seemed to translate into pleasure signals which in turn made her clit and pussy throb with desire.
Once he was completely buried in her ass, he grabbed her hips. “And now, let’s check another item off our bucket list, love.”
Her swollen clit perfectly rubbed against Korbin’s cock in this position. She gave up trying to be in control and let the men find and set a rhythm that soon had her body flying along on a building wave of pleasure between them.
The feeling of both of their cocks inside her at the same time was like nothing she’d ever dreamed of. The double pleasure of the way they filled her, deliciously stretching her, pressing against sensitive nerve endings inside her and sending the signals straight to her clit.
Why’d we wait to do this? was the last coherent thought she had before the first orgasm of what she was sure would end up being many that evening swept through her.
“That’s right, love,” Rhys said. “You enjoy yourself. By the time we finish with you, you’ll know you’ve been well and truly fucked.”
“Amen,” Korbin grunted. “Damn this feels great, baby.”
It didn’t feel half bad from her end, either.
She braced her palms on Korbin’s chest for balance and sat up enough he could reach between them and zero in on her clit with his skilled fingers. Behind her, Rhys reached around and cupped her breasts in his hands.
The men fell still inside her as they worked to make her climax a second time. She felt lucky that no other women had truly seen this side of her men, the confident, talented lovers who had the ability to make the top of her head explode. If they had, they never would have let them get away.
And I wouldn’t have them.
No way in hell would she ever give either of them up.
She threw her head back as Rhys leaned in and nibbled along her neck. It always sent a delicious shiver up her spine when he did that, as if tied directly into her nervous system.
Korbin let out a soft moan of h
is own. “Damn, I felt that, baby. You feel so freaking tight like this. It’s great!”
Who needed a muscle-bound Alpha male with an ego to boot?
She didn’t. Not when these two guys seemed to unlock every secret about her body without even breaking a sweat.
And they love me.
It didn’t take Korbin long to get her close to the edge again. Both men sensed it, reading her body better than any book. Rhys bit down, hard, on the top of her shoulder. That sent her crashing over the edge with a cry that her men echoed as her cunt and ass tightly squeezed their cocks inside her, intensifying the sensations.
Rhys pulled her up against his chest, cradling her body against him. “Such a beautiful girl.”
Korbin wasn’t finished, continuing to play with her clit until he pulled another orgasm out of her. When she tried to reach down and move his hand, she realized Rhys had his arms wrapped around in her in such a way as to hold her tightly in place.
“Uh-uh, love,” Rhys teased. “Another. Until we’re satisfied you’re satisfied.”
Inside her something broke free, the way it always did when they took over and took charge like that. They had every ounce of her trust and she knew they’d never hurt her. Being able to let go to them, knowing they cherished and protected that trust she bestowed upon them was as heady an aphrodisiac as any previously known to man.
She shivered through the echoes of her climax while Korbin gently rolled her clit back and forth between his thumb and finger.
“Come on, baby,” he coaxed from below her. “You’ve given us more than this before.”
Then Rhys’ embrace tightened, firm, his lips pressed against her ear even as his stiff cock twitched inside her ass. “Come for us, love,” he whispered. “We’ve got all night if need be.”
Even her toes curled. Wave after wave of pleasure forced her body to squeeze their cocks, milking them, intensifying every sensation until all she could do was tremble in Rhys’ arms.
No, she wouldn’t, couldn’t fight them. She wouldn’t know where to start or how to try. If they wanted her body, they could have it.