Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Sabrina had never laughed so much in her life, or felt so much love. The movie was a hit, and the fact that William had it as part of his personal collection gave her just enough insight into who he was as a person and man to make him even more attractive to her.
It was hard getting to know one person, let alone three at once, but she was finding that an evening together was just what the doctor ordered. It was the perfect opportunity to sketch out a rough idea of what each of these delectable men was truly like on the inside.
William was soft and caring and loved to laugh, and she had a feeling he was a closet romantic. Oliver was still as stoic as ever, but she’d caught him grinning several times throughout the evening and, although he was still reserved, he didn’t hesitate to take her hand in his whenever it suited him or put his arm around her shoulders to keep her close. She was learning that he was a cuddler and not afraid to express his caring and admiration for another person.
Conner, on the other hand, was harder to read. He was still the strongest personality of the three men. He smiled often at the movie and he paid close attention to the romantic moments while lavishing attention on Binx, but she couldn’t get a read on whether or not he was as into it as the rest of them. He seemed entertained but not particularly moved. Based on what she’d observed of him so far, he was very closed off, but he knew what he wanted and was determined to get it. He didn’t hesitate in business or pleasure, but he still knew how to practice control and measure a situation before jumping in. He was a planner, if ever she’d met one.
The brothers each possessed qualities that she could appreciate and enjoy, but none of them seemed to have everything in one package. Maybe that was why they came as a package deal, she mused. Apart, they lacked things that a woman would look for and want in a partner. Together, they were the perfect balance of hard and soft, gentle and rough, romantic and practical.
Was it possible that she’d found the perfect match in all three of them?
“Are you tired?” Oliver asked as they turned off the film and television and set out to clean up the small mess they’d made in the process.
Sabrina nearly said no, but then a yawn overtook her, and she suddenly realized just how exhausted she truly was. “A bit,” she said, tempering her response because she wasn’t sure she was ready for the night to end, and she also wasn’t sure if they planned to invite themselves to stay the night or if they intended to go home and leave her to her sleep.
Sabrina herself couldn’t decide what side of the line she fell on either. On the one hand, she wanted to climb into bed and go to sleep unmolested. On the other hand, she’d already experienced what it was like to have sex with Conner, and if it was half as good with all three of them as it was with just him alone, then she was itching to give the threesome a try. Then again, the little, insecure voice in the back of her head argued, three men at once was still a pretty intimidating and terrifying yet alluring prospect that she just wasn’t sure she was entirely ready for. Could anyone ever really be ready for something like that, though?
“Your eyes are bloodshot,” Conner observed, looking none too pleased with his assessment.
Sabrina was immediately self-conscious under his scrutiny, unsure of how he was seeing her. Did she look bedraggled or unattractive in his eyes? She tucked some hair framing her face behind her ear in a nervous display that wasn’t lost on him.
“You should get some rest.”
Oliver cupped the side of her face and closed the small gap between them to bend down and kiss her forehead. “I agree. You’ve had a long day and we’ve taken up enough of your time. You could use some sleep now.”
“Well damn, there go my plans for a sleepover,” William said flippantly, although Sabrina thought she heard a note of disappointment in his voice. “Just let me finish cleaning this room up and then we can take off.”
Sabrina remained glued in place, unsure what to do and what she wanted to do as she watched the guys move around the apartment straightening pillows and clearing dishes and garbage, and putting away leftover food. It was such a domestic sight, she couldn’t stop staring.
But she had a decision to make. Did she want them to stay or go? Did she dare? The contract loomed in her mind, but she was starting to believe that throwing caution to the wind was the better way to go.
As they moved toward their shoes and the door, Sabrina made a split-second decision and blurted out the request before she could change her mind.
“Why don’t you guys just stay the night?”
Conner, William, and Oliver stopped what they were doing to look at her.
“I don’t think you have enough room for all of us, sweet.” Conner, ever the practical one, made a show of looking at the small loft space cramped by furniture and miscellaneous that made the walls kind of close in around them. It was cozy, but it didn’t leave a lot of room for much else, let alone three huge men.
Sabrina saw his point, and she couldn’t believe she was even about to suggest it, but it was the only thing that made sense. “You could…stay in my bed?”
This really caught their attention, and the men stared at her for a beat too long before silently conferring with one another with a look, much like she and Janet did. Huh. She never knew men could do that. Maybe it was a brother thing…
“Are you sure?” Oliver asked.
“Is your bed even big enough?” William added.
Sabrina spread her hands out in front of her. “California King?” The words were posed as a question because she’d always viewed the bed as massive, far too large for a single woman, but she’d never had three men in it at once, so she had no way of knowing. Their wide frames alone had her questioning everything, almost certain, now that she really sized them up, that there would be no way for them all to fit side by side.
“We can give it a try,” Conner grunted, and by the stern look on his face, Sabrina grew concerned that he wasn’t all that pleased by her suggestion. Did he prefer to go home? Maybe she’d read the situation all wrong and overstepped…
“What side of the bed do you normally sleep on?” Oliver’s question was unexpected, but it held merit.
“The left.” So she could roll out of bed easier in the middle of the night for the inevitable trip to the bathroom and also wake up with the warm glow of sunlight on her face.
“I call left,” Oliver announced, and happily began heading for her room.
“Hey!” William was already in hot pursuit. “You can’t just call dibs like that.”
The men continued their argument, for the first time sounding just like brothers, and Sabrina looked to Conner, who continued to be rooted in place, watching her with a critical eye.
“Are you sure this is what you really want? We don’t have to stay.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s late.” If it were her, Sabrina wouldn’t be too keen on driving home at this hour either. It was easier for everyone to just settle in and catch some sleep. Besides, it was the weekend. They didn’t have anywhere to be tomorrow. Well, other than Conner, but she didn’t know what his schedule looked like exactly. Then she remembered… “Oh, that’s right. You’re leaving tomorrow. I’m sorry if I imposed—”
Conner held up his hand to stop her. “It’s no imposition. I’ve just sensed that this is all a bit overwhelming for you, so I thought it best to move slow until you warmed up to everything.”
“You mean having sex with all of you.”
He smirked. “Yes. Believe it or not, we’re used to moving pretty fast, and women don’t tend to complain. I think it’s a sort of rush for them.”
“I can see the appeal.” They shared an amused look. “I’ve just never done anything like this before. It’s all so new, and I’m not really sure how to go about…any of it.”
Conner stepped closer. “You have nothing to worry about. You’re in good hands.”
Six good hands, to be exact. Where would they all go on her body? How would they navigate it? Did they have scripts, routines so they didn’t get in each other’s way? If they’d done this sort of thing before, as Conner suggested, then Sabrina wondered what that meant about their sexual orientations. Did group sex make them…gay? Incestuous? She had so many questions.
“I can see that brilliant mind of yours working overtime.” Conner reached out and stroked her hair back from her face, allowing his fingers to trail down one side to the very ends until they dropped off. “Tell me what’s bothering you. Maybe we can fix some of that.”
How did one ask such sensitive questions? Did she even want to know the answers? Maybe it would just be better to shelve all the serious talk and get down to business, stop worrying about things that probably wouldn’t matter in the long run. It wasn’t as if any of this would end up in a serious relationship.
But Sabrina didn’t get this far in life by living in the gray. She found knowing the truth, every gory detail, as essential to breathing. It was how she managed to climb as high as she had in the company, how she managed the business well enough to garner the attention and become a source of salvation for a Fortune 500 company that had otherwise always been known for its expertise in the expansive field of business.
So even if she wanted to shrug her shoulders and assure him that nothing was wrong and then drag him back to her bed and dive into it naked with his brothers, she knew she had to have her answers. She needed to set her mind at ease so she didn’t drive herself insane with wonder.
“Are you guys gay?” she blurted out. As per her usual method, she just ripped the band-aid right off.
His eyebrow did that little pop toward his hairline that she’d noticed he had a habit of doing when he was surprised. “Not at all.”
“Then why…how does this work? I mean, if you like having…orgies?” Was that the correct term for it? “It’s only logical that…parts…would touch.”
Conner cleared his throat, but not out of discomfort. He was choosing his words wisely. Before he spoke again, he crossed his thick arms over his chest in an unconscious show of guarding himself against her question, and possibly his answer.
“We’re brothers. We’ve always been very close. There’re no real boundaries between us, and there never have been. We don’t look at each other in that way, though, not sexually or anything of the sort. Our interests have always been closely aligned, too, and we’re often attracted to the same things. Like women.” He looked at her pointedly. “Rather than fight over who gets what and where and when, we choose to share. It’s not like when we’re fucking we touch each other’s dicks or even want to. We just do what we want to whoever we’re with and circulate around each other.” He shrugged, still struggling with his explanation. “I guess we know each other well enough to sense who wants what and we accommodate. It’s like a natural dance, and somehow it just works. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“So…I guess I just have to experience it for myself then?” Sabrina chuckled, and he followed suit. The idea of it was comical for a reason she couldn’t name. Maybe it was just the absurdity of it all. Sabrina Colloway, daughter to a well-known business tycoon and often viewed stuffy, stuck-up CEO, was venturing into the great unknown and about to explore uncharted territory in the form of a foursome that would undoubtedly leave her battered and broken, but hopefully, oh, so satisfied.
Conner tipped his head toward her room. “I don’t hear any more arguing. What do you say we go back there and find out if we all fit.”
As he placed his hand on the small of her back and Sabrina started walking, she couldn’t help wondering if he was talking about the bed…or her.