Landon and Cooper both dove under the surface, making their way to her. She knew exactly where they were headed and smiled. They wouldn’t leave her alone. Never.
Then one of them wrapped a hand around her ankle. A joyous little scream left her mouth before they pulled her under with them. How long had it been since she’d trusted someone enough to play? To just laugh and be? She kept her eyes open, and Cooper floated in front of her, his mouth looming closer to her own. They kissed in a sweet, if wet tangle of lips while the fish swam around them, and Lan’s arms circled her from behind.
They let her go and bobbed to the surface. Landon smiled as he waded around her. “Hey, I want one, too.”
Of course he did. She had to treat them all equally or jealousies arose. Her aunt had taught her that. Her aunt had juggled four husbands, and she’d talked to Alea about her marriage in order to prepare her niece for the future. Her aunt had always preached loving all husbands equally because each possessed different traits that completed her. Being the center of her husbands’ world had been an honor and a blessing, according to her. Alea understood now.
She put her arms around Lan. How had she ever shunned them? She’d wanted them from the moment they had walked into her life. At one time, she’d been too afraid to take them. Here, fear was no longer a necessity. It wasn’t even an option. Right here and now was heaven.
His lips parted hers, and Alea allowed his tongue to invade and seduce. He made her melt. Once, she’d been frightened of an embrace that pressed her breasts against his chest. Now she reveled in the sensations, their closeness. He clutched her hard in return. Every day, her men wrapped her up a little bit tighter, a little bit longer. Each moment, each embrace, slowly coaxing her trust.
When Landon released her, he laughed, the sound deep with joy. “I fucking love it here.”
Then he disappeared under the surface. Cooper winked at her and disappeared, too.
And the game was on. She couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled up inside her like champagne. She swam, the water flowing around her, caressing every inch of her skin. She felt in harmony with nature as she played with her men and worshipped the sun that gave life to them all. For the first time in years—maybe ever—she was brilliantly, vibrantly alive.
Finally, she made her way to the far end of the pool and pulled herself onto the grass. Smiling in contentment, she lay flat, the air and the sun caressing her skin. She watched birds fly overhead as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Are you tired?” Landon asked, now standing over her.
Somehow it felt right to be naked here with him, seeing every inch of his body glistening and wet. Alea propped herself up on her elbows. “No. I feel great.”
Landon sank to his knees beside her as Cooper continued splashing in the pool. “Are you hungry, darlin’? If you are, I can find you some food. Just give me a minute.”
He would do it. He would figure out a way to fish without a pole or just catch the little creatures with his hands. Or he would grab the turtles and make soup. Landon always found a way to fill her belly. But that wasn’t what she wanted him to fill right now. “I’m not hungry. Or thirsty, before you ask.” She took in a deep breath, paused…and let the rightness of the moment slide over her. “Landon, I want you.”
He flushed, his skin going the sweetest pink. His cock immediately stood and saluted. “I want you, too, baby. Are you sure?”
Even swimming with them among nature had made her realize how much she longed to do everything that felt natural to her now. “I’m past ready.”
Landon glanced over his shoulder, looking back to the pond as if looking for Cooper. “Uhm, well… This isn’t the way we planned it.”
Of course they had a plan. But she was tired of following other peoples’ plans. She got to her feet. Lan’s hesitation suddenly made her feel her nudity. They’d spent so much time praising her beauty and telling her that they wanted her. Why was Lan hesitating now?
Those nasty voices from her nightmare in Colombia started circling in her head again, vultures eager to gnaw on her confidence. Still, she refused to jump to conclusions. Maybe Lan hesitated because Dane hadn’t arrived yet?
“Why does this have to be planned? I want to be spontaneous. I want to enjoy being with you”
Lan sighed and looked up, like he was trying to gather his thoughts or his patience. “Are you really sure? I think we should talk about this.”
She’d thought they would just fall on her the minute she said yes, that sex would be easy. Alea had mentally prepared herself not to freak out if she found herself underneath one of their big, hard bodies. They claimed to want her. They were together in paradise. So what was the problem?
At times, she’d behaved wretchedly to them. And they’d been so patient. She would bet these men didn’t take crap off anyone, but they’d taken it from her. They claimed to be crazy about her, and she’d begun to believe it, but…Landon wasn’t exactly jumping on her offer.
Alea wrapped her arms around her middle. “What is there to say?”
Lan hesitated, like he had something to confess that he’d rather keep to himself. Her heart twisted. Maybe it had nothing to do with a lack of desire for her.
But what else could it be?
She turned away to find the bra and panties she’d discarded earlier when she’d been sure this afternoon would be idyllic and perfect. “Never mind. Forget I said anything. I’ll find my way back to the beach.”
Landon grabbed her arm, and when she flinched and jerked away, he held up his hands. “Alea...”
She needed to get her clothes on and she needed to do it now. But Landon had scooped them up first and was holding them to his chest.
“I need my clothes, Landon. Could I have them, please?” She was fighting off that horrible panic that came from knowing just how foolish she looked.
Cooper surfaced in the pool, his gaze bouncing between her and Lan. “Lea? What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” She took a deep breath as the truth of that statement hit her. There was nothing going on at all. It appeared that nothing ever would. And she’d made a mistake hoping otherwise.
* * * *
“Dude, what the hell happened?” Cooper barked as he climbed out of the pool and stood expectantly.
If anyone had told Lan years back that he’d be comfortable standing naked with other naked dudes, he would have told them they were crazy, but there wasn’t a whole bunch of privacy in the Army. And nudity was even easier here in paradise. He’d become pretty comfortable seeing everyone walking around with their junk hanging out.
“Alea said that she’s ready.” To move forward. To accept them. Thank God.
Cooper’s eyes widened. “Are you shitting me?”
“Nope. But there are a few problems with that scenario.”
Coop looked down the empty trail leading from the beach. “Besides…the plan?”
“Yeah. I need to tell Alea something, and she didn’t let me get it out before she decided…I don’t know. That she was ugly or I didn’t want her or some other bullshit.”
Lan kept his eyes on Alea. She was so fucking gorgeous. The sun kissed her skin, and he could just about swear she glowed.
Cooper frowned. “Not want you? Lea, his cock is so hard it’s, like, halfway up his nose. Mine’s not any softer. How can you say that? What are you thinking?”
Okay, halfway up his nose was an exaggeration, but not by much. It sure wanted to crawl toward her and work its way inside her. “Of course I want you.”
In fact, he really wanted to jump on her and spread her legs and get inside her before she could have a second thought. When she’d said she wanted him, his whole body had flashed hot. All he’d been able to imagine was her naked and under him as he fucked her until they were both sated, spent, and he had emptied everything he had inside her.
Then the big problem had whacked him in the face with a two-by-four of duh!
“Fine. Tell me what the problem is.” Alea stared at him, arms crossed over those luscious breasts.
When she turned that arrogant frown on him, he totally understood why Dane wanted to lay her out and smack her ass until she begged for mercy. Then he would let her suck his cock in apology. Lan smiled at the image.
“I only lost one piece of luggage during my swim from the plane to the shore. I’ve dived out there twenty times looking for it.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I think the current swept it away.”
Cooper’s jaw dropped. “No. Tell me you didn’t lose the condoms, man.”
He should have mentioned it before now. “Our stash of condoms is probably growing algae on the bottom of the sea floor. Darlin’, I have no way to protect you. None of us do.”
And that didn’t make a damn bit of difference to him. He still wanted her. Actually, the idea of fucking her with no latex between them made him crazy, primal. He could mark her. He could fill her up and know that something of him lingered inside her. He stared at her and his heart stopped a little when the sweetest smile stretched across her face.
She flushed a pretty pink. A gorgeous light glowed in her eyes. God, he loved her eyes. They were a mystery to him always, but he never loved them more than when he saw them lit as though she had a fire deep inside. It was banked most of the time, but Lan got the feeling that if he could just crack that shell of hers, she could warm them all for a lifetime. “So you still want me?”
The question nearly brought him to his knees. “Always.”
She stepped toward him. “Then don’t go. I still want you, too.”
“Good.” He swallowed, trying to hold it together. “I’m not worried about disease. Not at all. We’ve all had physicals and none of us have touched a woman since we hired on at the palace, but you could get pregnant, Lea. We could try to pull out, but…” This was probably a dumb move, but he wanted her to understand what she meant to him. “When the time was right, we were going to ask you to marry us anyway. I have no hesitation making love to you without birth control. I can’t wait for a future with you, if you’ll have us. I would love to look at your rounding belly and feel the life underneath kick my palm. Fuck, I’d love that.”
“Really?” Her lips parted in surprise. Her eyes softened.
Cooper scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We all feel that way, baby. We’re committed to this, to you.”
A pink flush crept up her cheeks. “I… That’s so sweet.”
She walked toward Lan then, arms outstretched, and he let himself look at her glorious body. First, the curves of her breasts. A heartbeat later, his gaze dropped to her nipples. So fucking pretty. Her curvy waist. Her oh-so-fuckable hips and that mound he couldn’t stop staring at. Her pussy. He wanted to taste it. Coop had licked at that pussy. He’d rubbed it across his face, and Lan was pretty sure he hadn’t washed his fucking face for days so he could still smell her.
God, his cock was killing him. His heart ached, too. He started toward her, determined to meet her halfway.
“This isn’t just sex for you?” she whispered.
Lan took her in his arms. “I love you.”
“I second that.” Cooper kissed her temple and caressed her back.
Tears spilled down her face as she planted her hands on the sides of his face. “Be sure. I’m trouble. I’m difficult. I don’t want to be, and the three of you make me want to heal and be better. So I need you to be sure.”
“You be sure. If we do this, we don’t know what the future will bring…but we know the possibilities. I’ll never be as smart as Dane and Coop, but—”
“You’re wrong.” She shook her head, more tears flowing. “You’re wonderful. The future used to scare me, but not now. I see it with you and me, Dane, and Coop. I don’t care about the condoms. I don’t care about anything right now except you. Kiss me. Love me. I need you.”
Amazing that he could give her what she needed. A real princess and an illegitimate punk from Texas should have nothing in common, but his heart had damn sure spoken. He needed her, too.
Lan swooped her against his chest and devoured her lips. With her was where he’d wanted to be for fucking months. Years. All his goddamn life. He hadn’t always known her, but he’d been looking for Alea, for the woman who could make him whole.
He fastened his hands on her hips, loving the way her velvety skin felt under his fingertips. He gripped her tighter, pulling her into the cradle of his body as he eased her lips open under his and his tongue invaded. She’d given him permission. She didn’t care about condoms? Fuck. He could fill her up about a hundred times over. Everything he had belonged to her, especially his heart.
As his hands caressed their way down, he cupped that gloriously juicy ass. It was so fucking sexy. When she’d turned earlier and flashed those cheeks to him, he’d thought he might die. Again, he slanted his mouth over hers, going as deep as he could. This was heaven. His cock was nestled against her belly, the heat of her threatening to make him blow before his time, but it wouldn’t matter. He’d just get hard again. She was the one. She made his heart soft.
