Brooke Roberts

Vacation, finally.

In the past, this would mean long days at the beach catching waves and relaxing, but since the year-end presentation two weeks ago, I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched every time I leave the house.

To make things worse, the "gifts," as Raffi decided to call the deliveries, started arriving more frequently. Each one was different but clearly indicated a knowledge of my routine.

First came a box of my favorite chocolates, followed a few days later by a package with a new Billabong John short, exactly my size, accompanied by a card wishing me a great vacation and to enjoy the gift. The next day, I received only a letter asking why I had thrown away everything I had received. One afternoon, after meeting Liv at a café near her house, I received the necklace I had admired in the window of some boutique.

What unsettled me was that they were delivered to the concierge of our building, making it clear that they knew where we lived. However, questioning the delivery people yielded nothing, as they were all hired through a prepaid delivery app, never having seen who sent the items. The emails registered on the app were fake, created from around the world, and used only once.

I sigh, lying on the grass of the garden while I wait for my dogs to find their scattered balls. My dogs—I could no longer think of them as belonging to any of the guys or even imagine my life without their constant companionship. The same could be said for their owners. I look up at the blue sky, reflecting on all the changes lately.

All of this was supposed to be temporary, but I've been living here for over two months now, and I can't even consider packing up and looking for another place. This was no longer their house but ours. Our home.

A wet ball falls on my thigh, and I prop myself up on my elbows to see Apollo sitting and waiting for me to throw it again.

“Good boy!” I praise, scratching his ears before throwing the tennis ball as far as I can.

It doesn't take long for Banguela and Cerberus to run towards me, and I could swear they were competing to see who would reach me first.

“Calm down, you two,” I scold them, but they're too excited to stop, and I end up in a sandwich of paws and fur. I cover my face to protect it from their licks and hear when Apollo joins the party. I can't stop laughing as I'm attacked by them.

“Babygirl, lunch is ready,” Raffi calls from the door, and he must have noticed my situation a second later because his laughter joins mine. “Hey, you freeloaders, don’t attack someone who’s already down.”

He disperses the dogs and extends a hand to me.

“That’s what you get for spoiling them; they don’t listen to you.”

I roll my eyes and turn to the three furry ones around us.

“Sit!” All three obey promptly. “Lie down.” Again, they do as I ask. I turn to him with an arched eyebrow and shrug. “I think I’ve got everything under control; they were just showing how much they like me.”

Raffi wraps his arms around my waist, leaning in and licking my lips before claiming them in a hot kiss. His tongue explores my mouth while his hand moves down to my ass and squeezes, pressing my body against him.

“I’m just showing you how much I like you, babygirl,” he says, pressing our foreheads together and locking my gaze with the intensity of the emotion in his blue eyes, so clear they seem gray in the sunlight. He pulls back and extends his hand to me again. “Come on, let’s have lunch. If I’m late again this week, Kyle will have a blast lecturing me.”

“You can’t blame me for being late, Rafael,” I complain, even though I know it’s partially my fault.

“Of course I can. You distract me and I forget I need to go to work.”

“And, if I may ask, how exactly do I do that?” I ask, giving his arm a light slap and heading into the kitchen.

“You exist, Brooke, plain and simple. Why would I want to go sit in a room full of men when I could stay home with you, doing much more fun things?” His suggestive tone makes it clear what he has in mind.

The night Raffi joined Kyle and me changed our relationship. Our friendship was still there, but all the flirting and teasing that I used to brush off now ended with our bodies pressed together and our breaths coming in ragged gasps.

“The way you talk, you’d think I’m going to turn into a pumpkin at night,” I tease, serving myself some of the chicken and potatoes he prepared.

“No, but at night I need to share,” he comments, which makes me stop. I turn my gaze to him as he calmly assembles his plate.

Our three-way nights hadn't happened again, but that didn’t stop either of them from claiming my body at different times. I was doing what Liv suggested that day at the beach: enjoying my time with them. If I was attracted to both and wasn’t deceiving anyone, what harm could it do?

“Are you jealous?” I ask quietly.

“No, Brooke.” He sets his plate on the counter and turns to me, placing his hands on my arms. “We’ve talked about this several times. What I meant is that I like having these moments with you all to myself.”

He takes our plates to the table, and before I can say anything, he adds:

“And don’t worry about Thorne; he’s okay with our little arrangement.”

“Alright then,” I agree, sitting down next to him.

We have lunch while chatting about trivial things, and as soon as we're done, Raffi gives me a kiss and goes to change for his shift at Hades’ Men Corp. I’m already washing the dishes when he returns, intertwining his hands around my belly, pressing his body against my back, and resting his head on mine.

“See? How can I leave?”

“Stop with the drama, go to work,” I retort, shaking my head in disbelief.

“One more kiss and I’ll go,” he declares, turning off the water before I can even respond.

His hands grip my waist and lift me onto the counter. He positions himself between my legs and grins mischievously before pressing his lips to mine in a passionate kiss.

His tongue explores my mouth, one hand moving up to massage my breast while the other descends to cover my sex over my shorts. He rubs his palm, creating a delicious friction against the seam of the fabric on my most sensitive spot. I can’t control the moan that he swallows. As I grind against him, Rafael bites my lower lip and pulls back, a wicked smile on his red lips from the kiss.

“Now, I won’t be the only one waiting for tonight,” he winks at me and adjusts his erection in his pants before leaving.

“You owe me, Rafael!” I call out, hearing his laughter in the hallway. “Tonight is movie night,” I add, but he’s already gone.

I take a few moments to compose myself and finish tidying up the kitchen. Less than twenty minutes later, Seth walks in, and Banguela runs to greet him.

They think I haven’t noticed that they’re doing everything they can to keep me from being alone. The three of them act like the letters and gifts are nothing, but I know that not getting answers bothers and worries them.

“Lunch is still warm, Seth,” I say as a greeting.

“I’d prefer to eat after our workout. I’m just making a smoothie. Did you just have lunch?” he asks, opening the fridge and grabbing what he needs.

“No, it’s been almost half an hour. I just need to change, and I’ll be ready,” I inform him.

“Are you sure? We can wait a little longer to avoid any risk of indigestion.”

“I’m sure. It sounds more like you want a break. Was work tough today?” I ask, opening the cabinet and grabbing one of the dog food packages. I fill each bowl with the respective food, as each dog has its own, and as soon as I stand up, they’re already around me.

“Banguela,” Seth says in a neutral tone, but the pitbull looks at his owner and sits in front of the bowl, extremely obediently. Apollo and Cerberus, however, don’t waste a second and attack the food. “You can eat,” my friend gives permission to the poor thing who was almost drooling.

“That’s cruel,” I say, putting everything away.

“It’s discipline. Go get dressed; we’ll start as soon as I finish here,” he retorts and turns on the blender, preventing me from responding.

I quickly put on leggings and a t-shirt, preparing for the workout that has recently been focused on muscle strengthening and practical fighting. I have to use everything Seth has taught me to at least manage to evade him long enough to run to the other side of the mat. Out of the last fifteen attempts, I managed three, which I found absurd, but he seemed extremely satisfied with my progress.

***