Foundations: The Power of Three Love Series Read online

  “Oh, where did the wounded ego go?”

  “You replenished it when you told me I was irresistible.” I shook my head at his ridiculous but true statement. I was about to tease him more when he continued with a large grin. “Well, you two have slept together, so maybe we should make it even.”

  My eyes darted in his direction. “Ah, I was wondering when we’d talk about this,” I mentioned, slightly amused by his little dig.

  “Sorry, that was sort of a dick thing to say. We weren’t together, but to know you two shared that kind of chemistry is hard to take. He always talked about a woman he wished he’d kept in contact with. When he spoke of her, it made me wonder if things would have ended differently … if he and I would have still ended up together.” Ah, my handsome Italian was a little insecure.

  I put my fork down and reached out to pull at his hand. “You and Arden have built a life, and I’m coming in, new to all of this.”

  He cleared his throat, fidgeting with his napkin, then rubbing the visual tension at his shoulder when his lips turned upward, causing me to match his smile. “I’m not upset by the past you share.”

  “It was one night,” I interjected because one night couldn’t compare to the many years they’d been committed to one another.

  “Arden talked about you for a year, how he wished he’d gotten your number. But he was sure you were a Southern belle, and he was coming back to Illinois.”

  “What did he tell you about me? See, it’s hard to believe that one night meant so much to him.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I know, but hell, Ell, it doesn’t diminish how much I heard of that magic moment. I’d been in love with Arden for years, so hearing about you, his Savannah girl, drove me insane.”

  “You were jealous, Daimen Torano, of little ole me?” I teased.

  “Fuck, yeah. But gotta tell you—when we’re all finally together, we’ll both be claiming you, Elliot Arnold. You’ll be both of ours, and because I’m falling for you by the second, I won’t be letting you go, not anytime soon.”

  My heart fluttered at the sound of such devotion, and I couldn’t stop smiling.

  32

  Arden

  Scarlet was sitting on my desk just minutes after I’d arrived at the office, invading my space and privacy. I was used to being blunt with Scarlet on many levels, but this was new, and I wouldn’t be sharing much with my nosy little sister. I did give her one little nugget to end the pestering—Elliot watching us make love—and she thought it was beautiful.

  “Well, that’s obvious. I have never seen you make love, but it has to be beautiful to transcend time and space.”

  I couldn’t help it, and I laughed. “Scarlet, did you read that in one of your romance novels?”

  “No, this is more than just a pretty head of hair, you know,” she smarted while gently patting her head with obvious flair. Her reply put a smile on my face, especially after her little drunken wine binge. “You know, I can hold the office together tomorrow. Head back to the lake tonight,” she offered.

  Groaning and not the good kind, I explained, “I can’t. I have a meeting with Spencer. We can’t go on like this. I hate these get-togethers, and he’s such a smug SOB about winning two years ago.” In my mind, I always knew that I was the true winner because I ended up with Daimen and that was all that mattered. I paused in my thoughts long enough to think about business at hand to ask, “Have you heard anything back from Spence concerning hiring a CFO?” Having a CFO would give us a break from the entire monthly budget meeting Spencer insisted on.

  “We’re working on setting up a sit-down with Brock Spaulding. You’d have to pay off his contract, but he’s interested.”

  “Well, when we can finally convince him, that’ll be one less thing that Daimen will have to worry about. I hate him dealing with Spence. But I’ll be in the office tomorrow for an hour to chat with Andrew about some engineering issues, then on the road by ten to get back to Daimen and Ell.”

  “I’ll hold down the office. I’m the glue of this place, after all.” She stood to leave, but I wasn’t quite finished. Something was on my mind, and I’d planned to get it out while she was evidently in a good mood.

  “Scarlet, one more thing.” I asked, “What happened the other night?”

  Her eyes instantly dropped. “I can’t talk about it, not yet.”

  Of course, I understood it dealt with that prick Jeffery, but she’d open up soon enough in her time. “Okay, you know I’m here for you, little sis. Anytime.”

  “Thanks. Not sure what I’d do without you two in my life.” When she turned, it was obvious she was done thinking about what Jeffery had promised her for years. Oh, how I wanted to hurt that man. Before I could give serious thought to it, my phone beeped with a good morning text. It was almost eleven, and my sexy bastard was just starting his day.

  Daimen: Hey, Babe. You made it safely?

  Me: I was about to text you, hon. I did. What are you up to?

  Daimen: Ell gave me a hand job, and I gave her a pretty good orgasm.

  Fuck, he was direct. Pulling at the erection growing against my fly, I tried to adjust it. This time giving a very pleasurable moan at the idea of my two loves getting each other off.

  Me: You smug bastard. That made me hard just at the thought.

  Daimen: Her hand was made to jerk me off.

  The vision has me moaning more. I reached for my phone and used the automated system of SOPHIE to lock my office door. Pulling my cock out, I continued with Daimen.

  Me: Tell me more. I’m pretending my hand is Ell’s and that my cock is yours she’s stroking.

  Daimen: Fucking hell, you’re getting me hard.

  Me: Where are you?

  Daimen: In the gym. Ell is on her way. She has to freshen up to come sweat apparently. She’s fucking perfect.

  Me: Tell me more about your orgasm.

  I was stroking my cock with my own images in my mind, but I needed him to paint me a more vivid picture.

  Daimen: Her hands were warm, and she loved my piercing. I told her just wait until I pushed inside her little cunt. She giggled at that thought. Her laughter can make me hard. Can you imagine it in your mind?

  Me: Fuck yes! Tell me more, please.

  Daimen: I was rolling my thumb and finger around her nipple, and her moans were high pitched but pulled at my heart. Then my other hand worked her clit and her taste; fucking peaches, babe. She didn’t see me, but I licked her juices off my fingers.

  Me: Oh, fuck, I’m so close.

  I was stroking so hard at this image he’d painted for me.

  Daimen: Call both of our names. I don’t fucking care if Scarlet hears you.

  Too late, my desk was now a mess, but I did certainly moan their names loud enough that Scarlet had to hear me, and I didn’t care.

  Me: Mission accomplished. Thanks for the sext this morning, handsome smug little bastard.

  Daimen: I love you too, my fucking beautiful asshat of a man.

  Our words of affection never made sense to others, but it did to us, and that was all that mattered.

  33

  Daimen

  Our gym was furnished with all high-end equipment. It was really one of my favorite things to do—sweat out for a good workout, But I loved the fact I was in our gym getting my man off two hours away. Somehow, it did something to my ego. Ell was right. My ego didn’t need much encouragement, but that was part of me.

  When my little girl finally made it to the gym, not only had my texts made Arden come, but I was also on my third mile on the treadmill. “For a second, I thought you might have gone back to bed.”

  “No, I wasn’t sure what I had in the closet. Since I didn’t pack for myself, you crazy ass cavemen.”

  “Do you have everything you need?” I glanced down at her as she stepped on the treadmill next to me, and her short shorts and sports bra were going to be responsible for a hard-on if I didn’t suppress my dirty thoughts.

  “Hell, I ha
ve enough clothes for a two-week stay,” she joked.

  “Oh, good. That’s what we were going for, Ell. Now, get your cute ass running.”

  “Bossy much?” she said.

  “Well, I have to be since you’re so fucking stubborn.”

  “We’re quite the pair.” She turned my way and winked. It was the second time today she did that. And fuck me, if it wasn’t another turn-on.

  Before starting her workout, I stopped my machine, walked up behind her, and circled my arms around her thin waist. She didn’t resist, so I kissed her down the neck. She turned her head my way as her aroma hit me. “You smell so good, beautiful.”

  “And you smell rugged,” she said, turning around, so we were standing face-to-face.

  “Oh, is that the nice way of saying I smell?” I questioned. Truth be told, my body wanted to dirty her up too.

  “You’re sweaty, but that doesn’t bug me; especially when you look so good.” Her flirting was adorable. We were skin to skin when her next sentence hit me so hard, I almost fell over. “I’m falling for you quick.” Her face remained nuzzled in my neck.

  “Me too.” The five little words she’d just spoken caused my breathing to level out. Her presence in our life was what we’d always needed, just as Arden had insisted. Or how he claimed she was the one, even before realizing she was the one for both of us.

  We were sharing these moments with one another, and the foundation of what we were creating was becoming as clear as the skyscrapers she designed.

  34

  Elliot

  Daimen hot and sweaty should be illegal. The man, who rivaled an Italian god, was on the treadmill, and his ass was on display for only me. What a fine ass he had too.

  After we sparred for a couple of minutes followed by some sweet talk, because that was our thing, I started the treadmill for my mile walk. Casually, out of nowhere, Daimen spoke while running, without even breathing hard. “I talked with Arden. He made it back to the office.”

  Arden, I missed him. It was odd that only forty-eight hours ago, I was fighting whatever this was between the three of us. Now I missed his playfulness. But being with Daimen was everything I’d wanted it to be. We were forging a closeness I was coveting by the second. “So what is our guy up to?”

  Daimen’s curious look said it all, and I only shrugged. “Well, our guy,” he started, “was eager to hear about our morning activities in bed.”

  My breathing instantly hitched. “What? You told him in detail, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, he wanted so much information. He got off on his desk, literally.”

  I stopped walking as the treadmill continued, walking me off. After a little laugh on my part, I wanted to climb under the machine.

  “What? You’re shy now, little girl? After we have our way with you, we’ll cure that little bit of embarrassment. We’ll mark every part of our penthouse and every other property we own with you, with us.”

  How could he be talking like he was on a Sunday stroll? The sweat continued to seep down his beautiful body, muscles ripped like the hulk, and he was talking like I was talking to him. NO, forget that, I was having a hard time catching my breath, and it had nothing to do with the tenth of a mile I’d walked.

  “It’s hot, thinking of Arden getting off on us making each other come, right?” If his body wasn’t enough to make me have an orgasm, his deep laugh certainly did things to me. Again, my mind was no longer in control of the treacherous bitch my body had become.

  I was ten seconds away from stopping his treadmill in the hopes of showing him we could dirty up the home gym today, but my phone started to ring. I tried to ignore it, but whoever it was called again. Only one person did that, and if I didn’t answer, she’d continue. I put my finger to my mouth to indicate complete silence. “Hey, Mom.” My mother never understood my “you have shitty timing” tone, but with the small smirk on Daimen’s face, he got me.

  “Elliot, dear, we are in Chicago. Where are you?”

  “You’re in the city? Why?” I asked, and my “oh, shit” tone became more animated.

  “Well, darling, we love seeing the look on your face. You’re always so excited to see us.” It was more like terrified, especially now.

  “Mom, I love your visits, but I’m out of town on a work thing.” I looked at Daimen, and I couldn’t read his expression now that I’d lied to my mother. “I won’t be back until Sunday night. I was whisked away so I could concentrate on pressing matters without the everyday interruptions.”

  “Oh, darling, I hate that you’re so busy. You know when I was your age, darling, I was married and popping out babies.”

  Ah, this again. She never stopped. “There is still time for this, Mother. Popping out babies and all.” Now, Daimen understood the lack of truth I shared with my mom. “Mom, I’m late for an engagement.”

  “Engagement? I thought this was work related.”

  “It is. We are just in some negotiations, that’s all,” I said as I arched my eyebrows toward Daimen. He gave me a thumbs-up for the on-the-spot ad-lib because, though this was not work, the rest was true.

  “Okay, dear.” My mom would sound sincere to those around her, but I recognized her manipulative Charlotte Arnold tone that told me she wanted me to pack up and head her way. Oh, that would not be happening.

  “Mom, stay and enjoy the city. Andrew has the new key. I had to get my locks changed but stay there for a couple of days and go see a show,” I offered, though I didn’t figure they’d contact Andrew if their life depended on it.

  “Oh, dear, one more thing,” my mother started, “we ran into Keith. That’s how we found out about your job.”

  “You ran into Keith on the streets of Chicago? With everyone else, you ran into my ex?” I was positive there was more to the story.

  “Yes, well, we ran into him once we called and met him for a late breakfast, that is.”

  “Mom, Keith and I are done, and he treated me horribly too. You’re aware he cheated on me several times? Right?”

  “Well, Elliot, people make mistakes.” Her voice was cheerful as if he hadn’t ripped my heart from my chest and danced on it. “Anyway, dear, he seems to think there is something between you and your boss even though he is …” She lowered her voice to whisper, “Gay.”

  “Mom, it’s not a disease. I’m not going to catch it, you know?” Daimen looked intrigued by my side of the conversation.

  “What I read is that his boyfriend was straight, and he turned him,” she added just for dramatics.

  “I’m a girl. They can’t turn me.”

  “But what if they want their cake and eat it too? And poor Andrew, he’s so cute. I went to find you at your new job. I asked him if he was still into boys, and he told me he was still gay. What a shame. You two would make cute babies together.”

  “Mom, he’s into men, not boys. Don’t make it sound so sick.” My voice grew in pitch as I became angrier. “Andrew doesn’t have a disease either. He’s not going to recover from being gay,” I said as I did air quotes, solely for Daimen’s entertainment. “Now, if we are both single when my biological clock starts ticking, maybe we’ll fornicate together to have a baby. Wouldn’t that be a sight at the next family reunion? Your single daughter’s child whose father is gay.” I had Daimen in full hysterics.

  “Elliot, don’t be ridiculous. Now, why are you working for those disgusting men?”

  “Mother, do you know they’re some of the most loving and caring guys there are? You should see how they take care of their employees.”

  “Well, that one, I swear, he was flirting with me. How disgusting.”

  “I can’t believe you went to my work too. Oh, for fuck’s sake, Mother.” And I needed the full F word for her to understand my disgust.

  “Elliot Charlotte Arnold, watch your mouth while speaking to me, young lady.”

  I wasn’t sure what else I could say to my mom, but I’d have some fun for now. “And, Arden … yes, Mother, he probably was flirting i
n his own way. He’s quite playful. But was it disgusting because of his lifestyle or the fact that you’re a married grandma and you felt flattered by him?”

  Daimen had to have heard my mother’s loud gasp. “Elliot, what has come over you?”

  “Mother, I really do have to go now. My boss needs me. Plan a trip to Chicago for next weekend, and we can do something fun. Just no more surprises. I hate that you wasted a trip when I won’t be there. I love you.”

  Hanging up before she could say another word, I narrowed my gaze at Daimen. “Don’t say anything.”

  “Good lord, that’s your family? I only heard your part of it. You’re quite sexy when you’re that sassy. Shit, that’s why I always find you so fuckable,” he added.

  I ignored his final statement. “My whole family is a shit show. Well, except for one; Levi. He’s his own kind of wild, and I love him for not giving two shits about what others think of him.”

  “Who’s Levi?”

  “My twin.”

  “Ell, you have a twin?” Daimen’s eyes hit me—startled at this revelation.

  “I’ve told you before, I’m sure of it! Maybe it was Arden. That must be it. He’s more like I am. He’s been in relationships like this before, and he’s as loyal and loving as they come. He’s a fireman in the town over from where our parents live. Though he’s trying to get on with a house here in Chicago.”

  “You know what’s good for relieving some of that stress, right?” He placed a kiss on my forehead, and I loved the tenderness.

  “Is sex on your mind all the time?” I asked, resuming my workout on the treadmill.

  “With you near me and Arden in my life, fuck yeah, it is.”

  * * *

  My reflection in the mirror looked different. Something had changed in me. Somehow, when I arrived, I was still fighting whatever this was even though I’d told myself I wouldn’t. But now, I was embracing this. And it wasn’t the orgasms, though they were hot as hell and memorable as sin.