Chapter 2
Waking up from surgery, I was groggy and wished that I’d waited for Crissy to go out with me. Cleaning the bookstore after it’d been closed for six months wasn’t easy. We were still open for business, but dust lined the shelves. Because there hadn’t been traffic for months, the past few weeks had been tough with keeping feens out of the alleyway.
Opening my eyes, I saw one twin asleep in a chair nearest me. There was a blanket on the couch where the other may have been. The beeping machine caught my attention, and I noticed all the wires coming from me.
I wanted to speak, but it felt like there was a frog in my throat. I coughed a little and tried to clear it, catching the twin’s attention and pulling him from his sleep.
“Sam…” He wiped his hand across his face, and when he leaned forward, I got a whiff of a spliff. This was Tavi. He smoked, and Caesar didn’t. Identical, I’d learned to tell them apart by their personalities. Now that he raised his head, I realized his hair was loose, another Tavi trait.
“Water,” I mumbled. The single word felt like I scraped sandpaper across my vocal cords.
“On it. Let me get the nurse.” He disappeared out of the room, and when he returned, he had a team of nurses and an ice water pitcher in his hands.
“Ms. Deadwood, I want to get your vitals. We kept you here because you struggled with the anesthesia. You had an allergic reaction during the procedure.” After she took my vitals, she checked my throat for swelling and hives. “Looks okay. I’m going to have you start with ice chips. Let it rest in your mouth and melt. Swallow that, and we’ll go from there.”
I went to move my hand, but pain and dead weight greeted me. I closed my eyes and prayed for strength.
“Don’t move your injured arm. It’s broken in three places and was dislocated. The doctor had a few places to patch up.” Her voice was gentle and kind, but it irritated me probably because everything seemed to grate on my nerves.
“Here, let me help.” Tavi leaned over and dropped a few ice chips into my mouth.
They were refreshing, and I was grateful that Tavi was here. I knew it was only ice, but he was careful when distributing them, almost like he thought I”d fade away. His eyes searched my face as if he was looking for anything to be the matter. Though silly, the slight gesture made me feel cared for in a way I haven”t enjoyed in a long time.
The nurse gave me a button to help to distribute medication for the pain I was in. It, plus the miracle ice from Tavi, made waking up in this bed more tolerable. Now I could focus on more than the blundering throbs echoing throughout my arm.
I cleared my throat again. “Thank you both.”
After a few rounds with nurses and doctors, they left Tavi and me alone. He continued watching as if he thought I”d break.
”What is it that”s bothering you, Tavi?” I felt pressure from him, and I didn”t know why.
”You could have died.” He swallowed before he spoke again. ”And I could have never told you how special you are to me.”
”You”re amazing, too.” But unease was settling in because his serious expression of focused eyes and pursed lips told me more was coming.
”Will you go on a date with me? Well, with Caesar, a friend of ours, and myself.”
Huh? ”Sure, we can go out as friends.”
”No, Sam. As more than friends.”
When my eyes widened, he carried on.
”I know we”ve known each other for a while, so maybe it”s a little weird since I”ve never mentioned it before, but that doesn”t change that I”ve wanted to for just as long.”
”Okay, but you said Caesar and a friend, too. Caesar doesn”t even like me in that way and I don’t know the friend.”
”On the contrary.” The tilt of his eyebrows and wrinkles in his forehead begged to differ.
”What does all this have to do with being alive? I”m grateful. What does it have to do with you, though?”
”Now we can stop wasting time and get to know each other better.”
”Tavi, I just woke up, and you”re dropping all this on me. My focus needs to be on healing, then improving and upgrading the bookstore”s security.” I shifted carefully, unsure what to do with the bomb he’d just dropped on me. What was I supposed to do with it all? I was into it, but I technically couldn’t. It’d been a few weeks since I’d signed all the paperwork, but I’d yet to be contacted to set up a time and place for my date with my so-called husband.
”I”ll take care of you if you let me.” Tavi caressed my non-injured hand. “I don’t know if things will work out, but I’d like to try. I just don’t want the opportunity to pass us by without giving it a go.”
”Let you?” I sighed to release the tension. This was… a lot.
“Sam, you’re an amazing woman. I see it in everything you do. The store, your friends, your customers… You take care of everybody but yourself. I’m asking you to let me do that. As your man, I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of in every way.”
“My man? Tavi…”
“Yes, my sweet girl.”
I paused. It was the way he said it. I’m a grown-ass woman, and he’d made me hush up with three words. His…
If I was honest, I’d been attracted to the twins since they started working with Ward. Hell, the three of them were individual wet dreams, that played continuously in my head. Someone should deem it illegal. Ward was black, and his chocolate baldhead made me want to caress it while he hid his bearded face between my thighs. He’d gone and found himself a woman, and I respected it. She was nice, and I’d helped her a few times in my store. I liked her. Plus, I wasn’t a home-wrecker. So I’d let it go.
It left the twins, and while I wasn’t against polyamorous relationships, I hadn’t considered being with the two of them at once. They were identical, so being with one was like being with the other. How would that work, though? I couldn’t handle them doing things to each other. That was overkill. But if their focus was on me… I’d fantasized about being with multiple men more than once. The more stimulation, the better.
However, Tavi was here trying to persuade me that being with them was a good thing. He’d discussed his needs, but how did Caesar feel? Caesar usually held back when I was around. I’d seen him flirt, experienced small doses of it, but nothing that would make me give away the farm. If it were just Tavi, I’d probably be all in. I’d seen the man dance a little, and he knew how to groove. If that’s how he moved when he had sex, I was in trouble. Who was the friend?
All that aside, I wanted to be wooed by the next man I was with. I didn’t want it to be a business arrangement like the one that I was currently in. And this kind of felt like one.
“Tavi, words won’t win me over. You”ll have to show it if you’re truly interested in me. I don’t need grand gestures and expensive things. I need genuine interest and affection. That way I won’t waste your time and you won”t waste mine. Plus, right now things are complicated with me.”
“I can do that.” He lifted my hand and kissed the slightly bent knuckles, warming the skin there.
Maybe…
“And if Caesar wants to date me, he’ll have to do the same. I can’t have you being his wingman–you being the go-between. He’ll need to speak up for himself and make his own moves. I don’t even know the third person. It sounds like you”re the voice of reason for them and I need them to step up and show me that it”s what they want.”
“But you’re not against it?”
Hell no. “I’m not opposed, no. I can’t say I’m for it, either. I’m not sure that I believe it can work. So, if the three of you were up to showing me it can, I’d have been open to the possibilities. However, not now. I’m going through a lot and need to handle what’s already on my plate.”
“All we need is the chance.”
“I understand, I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have gone for it before. I’m saying I can’t now.”
“I think this is a risk worth taking. Especially since I don’t plan to let you go.”
Possession. While I knew it could be bad, I also loved when a man owned all of me. Maybe I needed help, mental health-wise, but if a man wasn’t afraid to claim me and make it known, I became a melted mess all over him as long as he wasn’t overbearing. There was such a thing as going too far.
“Tavi…” a chilling tremor started low in my spine and warmed as it spread. This could be the worst decision or the best one I’d ever done.
“Yes. I’ve never been more sure about any other woman. Maybe it’s the feisty behavior, red hair, the way you lick your lips when you’re nervous, or the way you calculate every bold move you make. Sam, you’re like a rainstorm in the middle of the desert. And I’m thirsty, baby.”
His eyes seemed to peer into my soul. He held me steady with them and dared me to say anything different. Feeling caught, I squirmed, which only intensified his hold on me. He pinned me with just his eyes, and it made me wonder… What would it be like for him to use the rest of his body? That’s when I firmed my decision. As much as I knew, the guy that I was supposed to marry didn’t exist and it was all a ruse to scare me. Maybe I could date them to see what it was like before the marriage stuff kicked in.
“Dating the three of you is a lot. If you’re demanding everything from me, I need you to honor it, too. I don’t want to be hurt unnecessarily. I”d like a heads up if you’re going to be dating outside of us.”
“We’re hyper-focused. Giving what we want all our attention means there’s no room for anybody else. Can you handle being the center of attention for all of us?”
I was failing under just his assessment. To have Tavi and Caesar? And Tavi was the lesser evil. Maybe this wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. That didn”t even factor in the third person.
“We’ll see.” I lifted my head, putting my best foot forward. “Why are you avoiding talking about the third person?” I asked.
“I’m not. I only need to verify with him that he’s onboard with all this.”
“Will I ever meet him?” I asked, wondering if the third person existed.
“Yes, if he’s still onboard.”
I eyed him suspiciously.
“What would you like for lunch? Unless hospital food is your thing, then you can just order from their cafeteria.”
“Tacos.” I blurted the first thing that came to mind. I didn’t regret it either. They sounded amazing right now.
“Consider it done.” Tavi kissed my hand again, winked, and stood up. He pulled out his phone and became immersed in it for a bit.
I closed my eyes to relax a little. I woke up to Caesar walking into the room with bags of food and a drink carrier. His scowl relaxed when he looked at me. There was a half smile on his lips, but it fell when he got near. Schooling his features, he sat everything down in front of Tavi and took a seat on the couch. His eyes looked me over, but he didn’t say a word. Normal Caesar behavior.
“Shrimp, fish, chicken, or beef?” Tavi asked.
“Why must I choose?” I tried not to drool, but the sound of tacos had my mouth salivating.
“Hard or soft?” His wicked eyes twinkled, making me giggle.
“Soft.” I squinched my nose and tried not to look at him. Though, I knew he was judging me.
He rolled the bed table and put two plates there. He loaded one of each taco, but I stopped him when he got to the beef one. I wanted that in the hard shell. He added pico de gallo and sour cream to them all for me. I raised the back of the bed to a sitting position and started eating. Eating my beef taco first, I only could eat half of the rest. I never got to the Spanish rice, guacamole, and grilled onions.
“Where did you find this deliciousness?” I had a stuffed belly, but my eyes kept returning to my plate.
“It’s a small place downtown. They have lots of amazing foods.”
I didn’t doubt it. These tacos had turned me into a believer. I listened as the two of them ate and talked business, but their voices faded as I went back into my dreamland, wondering if I’d made the right decision.