Chapter 9
~
Rhea
By Saturday, I was still dreaming of all three of the men.
Even though my romp with Beck had been rudely interrupted by an emergency, the time that I did have with him had me head over heels.
The feeling of Ash inside me was still lingering in my mind, too.
And then there was Calder, whose charm and stoic strength had rooted itself firmly in my heart.
I sat on the daybed I’d put in my very own bay window — which I still couldn’t believe I actually had — sipping coffee and staring out into the neighborhood.
From here, I could let my dreams run wild.
I could imagine Ash taking me to the waterfall again, this time diving into the water and having my way with him.
Or him having his way with me. Either way, I was sure that it would be world-shattering.
Then there was the adventure with Beck. Maybe we could go to some remote desert and roll around in the dunes. Or get a camper van and tour the country for a while. Or just have sexy picnics in every state.
And, of course, Calder could take me to all of the nicest restaurants, dressed like I just came from Hollywood. He made me feel like a queen, not a princess. Like I was the most elegant being he had ever laid eyes on.
How was I supposed to choose just one of them?
I sighed, and took another sip of my coffee as I stretched my legs out in front of me.
It was a great problem to have, but one that I would eventually have to solve.
But what would it be like if we could just keep going like this?
If I never had to choose? It was a silly thought, but one that I could fantasize about all day.
That was, until a loud knock ripped me out of my thoughts and had me spilling coffee over my arm. Luckily it wasn’t that hot anymore.
I got up from where I sat and walked to the front door. I wasn’t expecting visitors, but it was possible that Calder, Beck, or Ash wanted to see me. The thought of that had my heart already beating a little bit faster than usual.
I put the mug down on my way and wiped the coffee from my arm as I approached the door. When I opened it, my fantasy was standing on the front porch.
The three guys stood shoulder to shoulder, each wielding a set of tools and a determined look.
I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms. “Hi, guys. What… What’s this about?”
“Look, Rhea,” Calder started, speaking firmly and evenly in a way that already had the butterflies fluttering.
“Here are the facts. Your house is a death trap, and we’re getting it up to code.
Honestly, none of us want to have to rush over here to drag you out from under an eroded beam or to pull a nail out of your leg or anything else. ”
I was stunned. I had noticed a few spots that could use some attention, but the way Calder described it, it sounded like my house was at the edge of being condemned.
“Uhm, it’s not that bad, is it?” I replied, but the expressions from all three of them told me that maybe, just maybe, it actually was that bad. “Well, I was going to hire a handyman to fix some things. You really don’t need to spend your free time —”
Ash held up one hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re trained for this.”
“You could always bring us some snacks as a thank you,” Beck added with a grin. “Crisps, if you have them. Oh, wait, a lemonade. Both!”
“I promise you,” Calder continued, his eyes serious and easy to fall into. “Nothing you say will change our minds on this.”
“I believe that.” I sighed, since I knew that eventually they would get me to relent. “Okay, fine. You have a deal. You can fix my house, and I’ll give you some snacks and drinks. Not sure that’s fair payment, but I’m not going to argue with you.”
“Good,” Calder said, before looking from Ash to Beck as he continued talking. “Ash, you start on the roof. Beck, check the inside and see if there are dangers. I’ll begin with the porch fence. It’s just not sturdy enough.”
Before I could say anything, the three of them nodded to one another, and split up.
They moved quickly and with determination, as if they already knew exactly what had to be done and how to do it.
I was left standing by the front door, still a bit stunned that they wanted to spend a day doing manual labor.
Then, I realized that the temperature was pretty high, and that probably meant that their shirts would go flying pretty soon.
Well, I won’t be complaining about that, I thought, bouncing back into the house to find where Beck had gone. I hadn’t really seen any problems inside, aside from a spot of mold in one of the bathrooms, but I was pretty sure I could take care of that.
I found him at the door to my bedroom, shaking his head as he repeatedly opened and closed it. As he did so, the hinges squeaked, a noise which I was still struggling to get used to. It wasn’t very high up on my list of things that needed to get fixed, but it was annoying.
“I can’t believe you’ve been living like this,” Beck said when he turned to me. “Your own personal torture chamber. It’s tragic.”
“Oh, come on,” I giggled in return. “It’s not that bad. It’s just a squeaky door.”
“Not for long.” Beck glared at the door as if it were his sworn enemy. “This beast will never have the opportunity to squeak again!”
Now, that did sound nice. It made me wonder if there were other “small” issues in the house that I chose to ignore just because it would be too much effort otherwise.
Actually, it was probably riddled with them.
Now I was certain that was a good thing, though.
The more problems they found, the longer the guys would stay; and that sounded fantastic.
Above me, I heard heavy footsteps on the roof. “Ash really went up there?”
“I mean, we’re on roofs all the time,” Beck pointed out, like it wasn’t a big deal at all. “You should watch me climb one. I’m definitely more elegant than Ash.”
The name was said with a grumble. I found myself feeling amused by his jealousy, and I was wondering what Ash would look like on a roof. He probably was shirtless at this point, and maybe Calder was, too. Beck was still wearing his, though perhaps not for long.
“I’ll let you get to it, then,” I said teasingly. “Try not to make too much of a mess, okay?”
“No promises,” Beck smirked, and I saw an inkling of longing in his eyes before I turned away.
I knew it probably wasn’t the right thing to do, but I wondered how much I could ramp the competition up between them while they were at my place.
The idea of it excited me, and I was sure that I wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation of pushing all of it along.
With that in mind, I headed outside to see what Calder was up to. I found him crouched on one end of the porch, working on the fence. Right now, it looked more like he was pulling it apart.
“You might need a whole new fence,” he said over his shoulder. He’d probably heard my footsteps approaching. “This thing is rotten to the core. Surprised you haven’t fallen right through yet.”
“I’m not in the habit of crashing into porch fences,” I joked, and he turned to look at me.
From this angle, he was absolutely delicious.
As I’d thought, he had pulled off his shirt, and it was neatly folded beside him.
I could see the muscles in his back and shoulders move, a testament of power and yummyness.
“Nobody plans on it,” Calder replied in a way that made me uncertain if he was being serious or not. “But it’s a real safety hazard.”
“In that case,” I said, leaning closer to him. “Then I thank you for being my hero and saving me from a porch fence disaster.”
He smiled and nodded at me. “Anytime.”
It felt as if he was flirting, but holding back at the same time. Was he being defensive? Protecting his own heart? Was jealousy driving him to refuse to open up to me? I didn’t know, but it definitely made me curious. Maybe I was overthinking it, and he was just really focused on the fence.
I heard Ash moving again, then a few thuds like someone jumping, and the steps behind me creaked.
When I looked, Ash was ascending onto the porch in all of his shirtless glory.
My heart skipped a beat. Now I had two shirtless Adonises in close proximity, and both of them were into me.
It was like living in a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.
“Roof’s gonna be a three-man job,” Ash announced, glancing from me to Calder as if he’d come down to make sure that there were no shenanigans going on here. “It’s a mess. We should do the fence first.”
“I’ve got that covered,” Calder answered firmly, peering past me at Ash.
It was almost as if they were trying to out-peacock each other with their impressive handyman skills.
Like they both wanted all of my attention.
I didn’t mind it. In fact, it made me feel irresistible, so much so that I could feel my confidence skyrocketing.
I wanted to see if I could push it a little further, if I could truly get them to compete at a primal level.
But I held myself back, deciding that the choice would eventually make itself clear.
In the meantime, I would simply enjoy it all as it unfolded.
“It’d be faster if we worked together,” Ash pointed out simply, though he did move to the other side of the porch. “Meet you in the middle? Or… Slightly further to your side?”
Calder laughed dryly. “Please. You think you’d reach the steps first? Can you believe this guy, Rhea?”
“Mm,” I said with a teasing shrug. “I suppose we’ll have to see, won’t we?”
“You heard her,” Ash said as he crouched down by the fence. “Bet I’ll make it first, even if you do have a head start.”
“What’re the stakes?” Calder asked, rubbing his hands together. “Extra date?”
“Sounds good to me,” Ash nodded, readying himself. “First to the steps wins one of the other’s dates with Rhea. You good with that?”
I laughed, and couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. “Absolutely.”
“Hey, Rhea,” Beck appeared in the door, wiping his forehead with his own shirt. It didn’t look like he was particularly sweaty; it was more like he didn’t want to be the only one still wearing all of his clothes. I had no complaints. His runner’s body was yet another treat to look at.
“You finish the door already?” I asked, truly impressed. “You sure you fixed it properly?”
“Oh, uh, no,” Beck said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “Still have to re-do the hinges. But I was wondering if… I mean, I thought I’d ask you for something to drink. A snack maybe.”
“He’ll eat you out of house and home,” Calder warned. “Never stops chewing.”
“It’s good practice for the mouth,” Beck replied quickly, his eyes still on me. “Means my tongue really knows what it’s doing.”
I bit at my lip, holding back the fire that was building inside. “I’m sure it does. But, uh, yes, of course, I’ll get to it.”
I made my way past him and to the kitchen to try and calm all of my hormones down.
The heat outside had started getting to me, and I was starting to breathe faster.
The animal in my soul wanted to awaken, and I wanted to let it; which meant that I needed to get myself under control before I went out again.
In the kitchen, I took a damp washcloth to dab at my face. It didn’t really help, but I had to do something.
Right, let’s catch our breath, I thought. Focus. You can handle three hot guys fixing your house without losing your mind.
I put my hands on the counter and did a few stretches to release some of the building energy, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough for long.
I’d need to do something about it later, when everyone had left.
I couldn’t exactly ask one of them to stay to help me with that.
Even if I could, I had no idea which one I’d ask.
Through the open window, I could hear snippets of their conversation. I decided to eavesdrop for a moment, and maybe that would be enough to distract me.
“The apartments?” Beck was saying. “They’re saying arson?”
“Yeah,” Calder answered almost flippantly, like it wasn’t a particularly interesting thing. “I really didn’t think it would be, but they found traces of flammables.”
“Didn’t they also find an out-of-place sock?” Ash added, and I almost laughed at that. What an odd thing to be evidence. Still, seemed like I’d moved in just in time for the drama.
“People living there insisted it wasn’t theirs, so, I guess.” Calder sounded like he had something better to do than speculate. “Point is, they’re investigating it more seriously now. Anyway, I need the bathroom.”
I hopped away from the window and started pulling out glasses when I heard Calder enter the house.
But he didn’t go in the direction of the bathroom.
His footsteps came closer, and when I turned around, he was standing in the door to the kitchen.
He had a serious look on his face, one that sent my heart racing.
Damn, guess I won’t get time to calm down after all, I thought, swallowing.
“I was wondering,” Calder said, taking slow, deliberate steps toward me.
“Yes?” I asked in a near-whisper.
“Do you think I could have another chance to get that date right?” Calder was now standing close enough that I could feel the heat from his skin.
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning. “I had a great time.”
Instead of saying anything else, Calder reached forward and tipped me.
I found myself laying back in his one arm, looking up at him for just a moment.
Then, he kissed me, and I saw stars behind my eyes when I closed them.
I reciprocated with passion, and soon, we were a tangle of hot limbs and wildfire in our souls.