The Jeep came to a halt and they piled out.
“And this is where we’re staying? Boy, this sure is remote,” she said, intrigued. The driveway was a good eighth of a mile, and as she scanned the full circle of the site, there wasn’t any sign of civilization as far as she could see. The cabin itself almost seemed to have sprung up out of nature, Laura’s view took in the timber steps, made from solid logs cut to fit, and the solar panels on the roof.
“Solar?”
“I said it was an eco-cabin,” Mike reminded her. “We have electricity, running water, and a grey water recycling system.”
“Is there a bathroom?”
“Yep. No worries. It has all the luxuries!” he assured her. A deck light glowed and she realized how close to winter they were. It was just barely 4pm and already dusk was settling in. They had to be back at 10am tomorrow. An image of Jillian hit her, how soft her skin was, how her chubby fists felt in Laura’s hair.
“We have everything we could possibly need,” Dylan added, a bit cryptically, hefting some luggage in each hand. Mike grabbed a bag as well, his other hand reaching into his front pocket. Watching him fumble and dig for the keys, Laura saw ample evidence of just how excited Mike was for this night. The two men emptied the Jeep in two trips. Laura hung back as they finished unloading, joining Mike on the front deck when they were done; Dylan remained inside. Mike’s arm slid about her waist, confirming what his jeans had already hinted: this night was planned as a sexfest.
Mike gave her a look of warmth, love and teasing that made her toes tingle and—for one lovely, fleeting second—she felt transformed. All her worries and insecurities disappeared as if desiccated and blown away on the wind, carried off like dust she needn’t ever worry about. The thought of making love with him made her body rev up reflexively…
But her mind quickly ground to a screeching halt. Sex was the last thing she wanted to want. As if dragging her limbs through concrete, she moved toward him, a sense of dread and angst filling her. She wasn’t supposed to feel like this! Making love was what she was supposed to want, right? Stalling for time, she pretended she was still admiring the cabin. She noted there were no curtains on any windows, and why would they need them?
They were completely isolated. Only a deer or a fox would see them if they walked around nude.
Poor deer. Wouldn’t want to see me naked, either, she thought, and then clamped down on the negative words. Stop it! This intrusive voice wouldn’t stop cutting her down, and she wished desperately she could spend the night curled up with her eReader, even here. The only time the voice went away was when she kept her mind occupied with books. Crawling into someone else’s sensual world, where the hero and heroine possessed so many faults, and love overcame all...
“Hey,” Mike said gently, unlocking his knees to level himself with her, hands cradling her face. “What’s going on inside that gorgeous head?”
Panic kicked in to high gear. How could she admit what she was feeling? Impossible. She didn’t want him to doubt that she loved them. Or wanted them. Or needed them. But how could she say what she was really experiencing? The fissures in their relationship that this kind of revelation would bring were just too dangerous.
Better to keep it to herself.
A shaky, deep breath and she caught his eyes, making herself fake a brightness and freedom she definitely did not feel. “Just…thinking about Jillian.” Not a lie. Well, not...technically.
“You can think about her tomorrow,” he said in a dark, steamy voice, his lips taking hers. His hands were on her, fingers sinking in to her waist, lips owning her and then his tongue seeking to find her, all the motion so fast she felt a fire flare within, making every cell warm instantly.
As his tongue traced her teeth and his arms tightened around her, whatever train of thought she had until that moment died quickly. Melting into his arms, she was dimly aware of a light vanilla and sandalwood aroma mixing with the taste of Mike, making her wonder… Their sex life as a triad had morphed over the past year. Sometimes she slept with Mike. Sometimes Dylan. Sometimes both. No one seemed to get jealous or bitter or angry: they made it all up as they went along. Often if she was with one of them like this, the other would join in, a second set of warm hands were on her, always very welcome if not expected. A flash of memory, of Dylan’s palm on the small of her back, then riding down to grasp her ass, made her smile through Mike’s kiss, which seemed to ignite him. Her mind began to nag more and more insistently, urging her to note the absence of Dylan’s hands on her, and finally made her break away from Mike and ask, “Dylan? What is he—?”
Smiling, Mike pushed the door to the cabin open. As she turned, she saw the answer.
Candles.
Hundreds of them. Dylan had been lighting them, encircling the interior of the round little house, a glow that warmed her further. How precious. How startling and wonderful. As dusk settled in out here on the deck, the warmth the candles cast over the interior made the cabin seem like a sanctuary.
She and Mike stepped through the door just as Dylan crossed by it, pecking a quick kiss on her as he walked past, his target the fireplace. The care they’d taken to set up this moment made her appreciate both men.
Mike stared down at her, eyes ablaze. “Some wine?”
“I’d love some,” she replied, giving his arm a caress of thanks, of affection, of appreciation. She took in the rest of the interior. Sexfest, indeed. The bed was enormous—bigger than a California King—and dead center in the middle of the circular room. A cream-colored net, suspended from the ceiling, draped down over the huge, down-comforter-covered mattress, more pillows sprinkled about than an entire Bed, Bath and Beyond could even contain. Underneath the scented candles’ perfume, the room smelled like the fresh cedar the cabin was made of, a scent of comfort.
Mike brought her a shining wine glass half full of a lovely rosé. She gulped half down without thinking and he chuckled. Eschewing alcohol because she was nursing, she hadn’t had more than a sip here and there since Jillian had been born. Drinking so much so fast would hit her hard. Loosening up couldn’t hurt, right? “Same old Laura,” Mike laughed. Her lack of appreciation for good wine had been a joke when they’d met, and now it was a running tease between them.
The answering laugh came out of her unbidden, her muscles relaxing, the room like something out of a fantasy, all a pale, creamy glow, with the darkened forest peeking in through the wide windows like a protective mother, tree branches embracing the tall, circular building. It really felt as if this cabin had grown out of the ground like a tree, the knots in the wood visible in the walls, the scent of cedar filling the room.