Three Made in Heaven [Made in Heaven] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

* * * *

“Six months, Maddie!” Charlie roared. “More than six fucking months go by before you show up again.”

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

They were once again in a setting that Maddie chose, The Bronx Zoo. She was walking slowly in front of them, afraid to turn around and see the matching disapproving stares that they were surely giving her. How could she possibly explain to them the reason she stayed away? She wasn’t even sure that she should be with them now, but she missed them to point of feeling physical pain.

She wondered if her men noticed yet that they were walking through the African Plains attraction, only they were inside with the animals. Only a few feet away from them, a lion was lazing around in the grass. When Maddie finally turned around to face Charlie and Cole, she winced at the look of hurt etched on both their faces. At that moment she wished that the lion would come and attack her and swallow her up whole. She felt like she deserved nothing less. The traitor lion just continued to ignore them and proceeded with his lazing.

“I met someone,” she stated matter-of-factly.

“Is that right?” Charlie’s tone was acidic, hurt and anger radiating off him.

“That’s your big excuse,” Cole spat. “We thought something must have happened to you. And so what if you met someone? Charlie and I never stayed away when we were dating someone. Suddenly we don’t matter to you?”

“No, Cole. No, that’s not it at all,” Maddie pleaded. Her lip trembled. She was on the verge of tears.

It was true that neither of them had ever stayed away that long. As a matter of fact, as the years went by, they saw each other more and more frequently. Even after the first time, their separation was less than three months. But she couldn’t tell them about the guilt she felt for having a boyfriend and how it made her feel unfaithful to them and unfaithful to Josh.

She had met Josh in Paris. He and his buddies had also been “traipsing,” as Cole had put it, through Europe. Josh was from Connecticut, but it turned out that he too would be attending Rutgers University in the fall. She liked him. Toward the end of the summer she had slept with him. But Maddie couldn’t help but feel that she somehow betrayed Charlie and Cole. The guilt kept eating away at her every time she was intimate with Josh. And she felt as if she was lying to Josh by omission. No matter how close she became with him, it didn’t change the fact that Maddie’s heart still belonged to her men. Maddie knew that she would never stop loving Charlie and Cole, but being with them seemed impossible. And she thought that if she were ever going to allow herself to have a normal relationship, she would need to stay away from them.

Her heart ached every day for six months until the separation became too much to bear.

“Did you fuck him?” Charlie barked, his anger escalating.

Maddie gasped. “Don’t you dare speak to me that way, Charlie! And so what if I did? What did you expect? You guys get to fuck other girls and I should…what? Be celibate for the rest of my life?”

Maddie saw the wide-eyed look of horror on their faces as she wiped angry tears from her cheeks. They had made her cry. In an instant, she was wrapped in their embrace. They petted her hair, kissed her cheeks, rubbed her back, and whispered apologies.

“I
–
I’m s–sorry,” Maddie stuttered. “I d–didn’t m–mean to m–make you w–worry. I’m s–so s–sorry.”

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay. Hush now,” Charlie crooned. “Just don’t ever disappear on us again.”

“I w–won’t. I promise,” she sniffled.

Charlie and Cole held Maddie until she stopped crying. When they released her from their embrace, they each took hold of one of her hands.

“Do you love him?” Cole asked, his voice low and gravelly.

“No, I don’t,” she said easily.

Maddie thought she imagined the relief she saw on both of their faces.
After all, if they felt the same way about me as I do about them, surely they would tell me
.

“Let’s go before that lion decides to eat us,” Charlie said.

Present Day

“Shit!” Maddie sat up in the middle of her bed in a tangled mess of lilac sheets. Her knees were tucked in up to her chest and her head was buried in her hands. Damp with sweat, her whole body shook. She’d had another nightmare.

She so looked forward to spending a dream with Charlie and Cole last night. It had been over a week since she had last seen them, but that damn recurring nightmare kept getting in the way. The nightmare always ended the same, with her running down an empty, dimly lit parking lot. The sound of approaching footsteps would get her to turn around and face the man who had been chasing her. She could never see his face. His dark hooded sweatshirt would always cast the right shadow to hide even the minutest detail. Fear would seize her and render her still. He always stopped a few feet away. That was when she would notice the gun. That was when he would aim it toward her. And that was when she would wake up screaming.

* * * *

“You look like crap,” Angela stated bluntly. Maddie managed to get one foot in the door of their shared office before Angela noticed the dark circles under her best friend’s eyes. “Another nightmare?”

“Yep.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Nope.”

“Care to move past monosyllabic sentences?”

“What’s there to talk about, Ang? Some creepy guy chases me and tries to kill me. I wake up before he has the chance. The end. Can we drop it please? We have a birthday party coming in at noon.”

“You know what you need?” Angela continued as if Maddie hadn’t spoken. “You need to get laid, Mads! Seriously, woman, it’s been like, what…a year?”

It was actually closer to two, but who was counting, she thought. Maddie had no desire to just get laid. She had her trusty vibrator to scratch her itch when she needed it, and two gorgeous, hunky men to fantasize about. She was twenty-four years old with all of two past lovers to speak of. And sadly, the best orgasms she’d had so far came courtesy of Mr. Purple Rabbit. She was pretty sure a quick lay wasn’t going to remedy that.

“You know, Kellan told me that a new cop transferred over—”

“I don’t want to be set up, Angela!” Maddie huffed, cutting off her friend. She could be so exasperating when she got something stuck in her head. Unlike Maddie, Angela sowed quite a few oats in college before meeting the love of her life, Officer Kellan Walker. Instead of getting a speeding ticket two years ago, she got a hot date, and the rest, as they said, was history. Angela and her cop boyfriend had been living in coupled bliss ever since.

“See, that’s why you need to get laid, Maddie. Maybe then you wouldn’t be all snippy with me for trying to help.”

“I’m sorry, Ang. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

“You’re forgiven. But you’re lucky that I love you. Come on then, let’s get ready for the party.”

Thankfully, they had too busy a Saturday for Angela to broach the subject again. And although Angela could be persistent, she at least knew when to back off.

Maddie and Angela were the proud owners of Water Lilies Paint Gallery. It was a paint-your-own pottery and plaster crafts place that also sold art supplies. They even hired someone to teach pottery and art classes weekly. This place was a dream come true for both women, and thankfully, they were doing great. Yes, Maddie was a smart, independent businesswoman. She was also the proud new owner of a one-bedroom condo. Granted, her parents contributed the majority of the down payment for said condo, but still. Things were going great, and yet…she couldn’t be more miserable.

* * * *

“It’s so peaceful here,” Maddie said with longing. “Man, I wish I was really here. Is the water really this blue, Charlie?”

They were sprawled out on an extra-large beach towel, big enough to comfortably accommodate all three of them. Maddie lay on her back sandwiched in the middle. Cole was on his side facing Maddie while Charlie lay on his front with his head pillowed by his crossed arms. The pale sand stretched out for miles on either side of them. Crystal-blue water stretched out in front of them, kissing their toes when a gentle wave brought the water closer. Mountains and lush greenery engulfed them. Waimea Bay, Oahu, simply put, was breathtakingly beautiful.

“I should have imagined it more turquoise in some areas,” Charlie answered. He sounded a little out of breath and his voice was low and husky.

“When were you here?” Cole croaked. He too sounded breathless.

“Um, last January. A few buddies and I went surfing here.”

“Okay, what’s wrong with you two?” Maddie knew something was up with them. She just couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

“What do you mean?” Cole asked. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“You’re both panting like dogs in heat. And don’t tell me it’s too hot because I know you can’t feel it.”

“We can feel it, all right! Do you actually own a bathing suit like that?” Charlie threw in.

Maddie nodded. She did in fact own a bathing suit like the one she was wearing, though she didn’t think her white plunge monokini was all that revealing. The center part that split down to her belly, however, definitely made it sexy as hell, and Maddie felt a sudden electric charge in the atmosphere. Now Maddie was the one who was breathless. After all, it wasn’t like she hadn’t noticed Charlie and Cole in all their muscular glory. She wanted to eat off of their perfectly sculpted abs. Was an eight-pack even possible? Apparently, on the two of them it was. She counted. She thought perhaps the two of them needed a career change. Instead of Charlie being a financial accounting manager at a bank and Cole a veterinarian, the two of them should be modeling underwear on gigantic billboards.

Maddie noticed that she now had their full and undivided attention. She turned her head from side to side to find both men looking like they wanted to devour her.

“Did you actually wear that in public?” Cole asked.

Maddie sat up suddenly, infuriated with herself.
And here I thought they actually wanted me.

“I should have known you two were just pulling the big-brother act.”

“What are you talking about, Maddie?” Cole pleaded. “What did I say wrong?”

“God, even in a stupid dream I can’t have what I want,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard him. “Like either of you would ever really notice me. I could strip naked right now and you—”

Charlie pounced. He had her on her back, his mouth passionate and demanding on hers, effectively cutting off her rant. Maddie had no time to react. All she could think about at that moment was Charlie’s mouth possessing hers, their tongues twining together. One of his hands was tangled in her hair, the other was at her hip, and he had his leg draped over one of hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She couldn’t stop from moaning when his teeth gently nipped at then sucked on her lower lip.

She felt another set of lips on her shoulder and whimpered. Charlie released her lips to kiss her neck, and Maddie turned to look at Cole. She saw love, lust, and pure adoration in his eyes. He gently touched his forehead to hers before claiming her lips. His kiss was just as searing as Charlie’s. Her hand fisted in his hair as he ravaged her mouth. Meanwhile Charlie trailed kisses all along her neck and behind her ear, causing her to shiver.

“If you had actually stripped naked, baby, I would have fucked you until you screamed,” Charlie whispered in her ear. “I still could. Would you like that?”
Kiss.
“Hmm?”
Kiss.
“Would you like me to fuck you?”
Kiss.
“For Cole and I both to fuck you?”
Kiss
. “Tell us what you need, baby.”

Her response was garbled, mostly because Cole still occupied her mouth, but also because she had never been this turned on in her life. Charlie’s words thrilled her to her core. She felt a tightening ache in her belly, and the muscles of her sex clenched in anticipation and need. She wanted both men to fill her up, to take everything she had and make it theirs.

“How could you not know we wanted you?” Cole asked when he finally released her lips. He moved on to ravage the other side of her neck.

“Well…ahh…” Maddie could barely speak, she was panting so hard. They were driving her crazy.

“Answer him,” Charlie ordered as he bit into her shoulder. Her response was a cross between a cry and a moan. Charlie and Cole briefly stopped their ministrations to look at her, but their hands never left her body.

“Well, neither of you ever made a move on me before,” she said, still slightly breathless. “Why is that? What else was I supposed to think?”

Cole sat up and ran a hand through his mussed-up hair, while Charlie lay on his side propped up by his elbow. Cole drew circles on her thigh with his free hand while Charlie splayed his free hand across her stomach. It looked as if both men were contemplating how to proceed with their explanation.

Cole noisily blew out a breath and said, “Maddie, Charlie and I are both in love with you. We have been for a very long time.”

Maddie gasped. She looked at each of her men. The sincerity radiating off of both of them was enough to melt her heart. At that moment she could have been related to the Cheshire Cat, with the size of the grin she wore. “You both…love me?”

“We do, baby,” Charlie said. “We weren’t sure if you even wanted us that way, but we didn’t want to make you choose if you did.”

“I take it you guys have discussed this? What If I don’t want to choose?” This time she was the one who pounced on Charlie. “Oh, Charlie,” she cried and hugged him hard. Then she sat up on her knees and hugged Cole fiercely. “I could never choose between the two of you. I love you both so much.” She took Cole’s face in both her hands and kissed him softly on the lips.

“You would be with both of us?” Maddie heard the hopeful tone in Cole’s voice.

“That’s all I ever wanted,” she said.