Chapter 37 - Tunnel

*Devon*

It felt so good to be forgiven for my fuck up. I really just wanted to take Serena back to bed, the vixen. She was my new addiction. She had my adoration. I want her again. And again, and again. I could take her now, in the basement, along the back of that couch over there, but I won’t. Not just yet. I have another plan for later. She needs a break from us but the need to get her pregnant seems so urgent. I don’t know why or how we all got on the pregnant train, but the station is far behind us, if she’s not knocked up by now, then there is a problem.

I can’t remember if we left the tests at home. If Paul brought them with us, he hasn’t said anything about it. I’m sure we will all get a little alone time with her this weekend. We all need her attention as a group and separately. I don’t mind sharing her, it’s not a jealousy thing, maybe because it’s my brothers I’m sharing her with, but I like having her to myself. I love her voice, her laugh and her giggles. She’s so cute when she giggles. I go out of my way to tell her jokes just so I can hear them.

Man, I love her. It’s wild to feel this fiercely about another person. I don’t know what to do with such big emotions most of the time, but since it’s just us, I tell her.
We have reached the door of the tunnel, but I stop and turn her towards me.

“I know I’ve told you that I love you and I do, so much. But it’s more than that, Serena. There is this well inside me that fills up with all the feels when you are with me, and I feel so alone when you’re not. I’ve never felt like this before, with anyone. I’m going to devote my life to making sure you are happy. Just know that, okay? If I ever screw up again, know it comes from a place of utter devotion. Not because I want to hide or keep secrets. I just want to do anything to please you. You are my everything.”

Serena looked at me with the adoration I craved and missed for the few days she was mad at me. I sighed in contentment even before she spoke.

“I never imagined that I would be in a relationship with three men. It wasn’t even a dream or a fantasy for me. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be, navigating this path we have chosen. Mostly because of the different roles you each fulfill. I see each of you as individuals and you each call to a different place inside me that I never knew was empty. You cook to feed my body and you’re all growly when you fill another part of me. You’re sweet and tender when I need you to be and then rough and almost violent at times too. Which I adore, by the way. You fill my soul with wonder, Devon. I love you on your own merits, I swear that I do,” she told me earnestly.

And I fell for her a little more, when I didn’t event think that was possible.

I pulled her into my arms and kissed her passionately, letting my hands roam. But I stopped it from going further.

“Come on, you little distraction, lets see where the tunnel leads, hmm?”

She gave me a shy smile, which was just one more sweet thing about her, she had this innocence that called to my dark soul.

I scanned my palm, and the door opened. I flipped a switch for the lights and the hallway lit up. We stepped inside and I closed the door behind us.

“We began this tunnel when we had the house built. On plans, it shows as a sub-basement, but in reality, we expanded it about half a mile into the tree line. We did a lot of the work ourselves and hired an out-of-town contractor to finish it up. We didn’t want anyone local knowing about it. If you don’t know, you can’t tell.”

Serena looked at me curiously. “What made you build this? Are you afraid of something specific happening?”

I grabbed her elbow and turned her towards me. The tunnel was narrow, and I was having her walk a little ahead of me. The passage only went one way and there were no turn-off’s. She certainly wouldn’t get lost, but I liked touching her and having her near me. Close enough to touch.

I looked into her eyes so she could see I was telling the truth.

“We’re not afraid of anything, but we are wary. Our father has been getting more and more unpredictable. This dinner isn’t the first time he demanded our presence, just the most recent. The last time, he tried to force Paul and by extension, us, into doing something, he ended up cutting us off financially.”

I started walking again, my voice sounding hollow and echoing slightly even though I kept my voice low.

“By that time, our business had grown and thrived, and we didn’t need him anymore. Even if we had, Paul still would have said no. Dad wants us to take over his businesses. They are mired in a lot of grey areas, and we didn’t want that to be our lives. We make plenty of money legally and that’s they way we want it to stay.”

“He kept us away from the public eye as best he could while we wee young. He’s a secretive man, but he didn’t want people to know about us and use us a leverage against him. He’s in business with a lot of bad dudes. The girl I met the other night, her dad is one of them. If dad is trying to marry us off, I wouldn’t be surprised if she is there as well. Lavinia actually called her dad while sitting with me and asked him where they were going this weekend. He often takes her as his plus one. Her dad and she will most likely be there.”

I waited to see if Serena would have an outburst of anger. She had just forgiven me, and I wasn’t ready for that to end. But she didn’t get mad. She became contemplative instead.

“So, this girl, Nina, you called her, while you were drunk,” she began. “She’s the daughter of one of your father’s business partners. She and her father are going to be at the dinner, but now she knows what we know. What are the chances she will tell her father so that it gets back to your father? Do you think your father may already know, that you know, he’s planning something?”

It was a valid question; one I wasn’t sure of the answer too.

“Whatever happens, we will protect you. I don’t expect her to be loyal to me, but she didn’t seem upset that I had a girlfriend I was crazy about. She may keep the secret just so she can watch what happens, who knows? Either way, we are as ready as we can be.”

We reached the end of the tunnel and there was yet another palm reader. This time I picked up Serena’s palm and placed it on the pad. The door immediately opened. The light was different here as we stepped out of the tunnel and into a room.

I watched Serena’s eyes light up when she saw where she was.