Three Rings and a Rose (14 page)

jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, and lips thinned. This was a man on a mission. Just like Caedon was.

Hell, all of the men surrounding him seemed intently focused on their upcoming meeting. They strode in a straight line, not deviating from their path. And neither did Caedon. He moved along with them easily, not even pausing when Leila grabbed his arm and tried to stop him or when numerous light bulbs flashed near him.

As he and the eight other men passed the other partygoers by, the people parted and stepped aside. No one apparently wanted to get in their way.
Probably a good thing.

When Caedon had suggested they talk to some of the men in town about sharing, he hadn’t meant for it to be like this. He’d meant a casual talk over beers.
Not happening now.
They’d forfeited any chance they had of an easygoing conversation when they’d called for reinforcements.

Last night, while they were driving to Brooklyn’s apartment, Micah had called the people closest to Ella—her three girlfriends, Jaycee, Shannon, and Katie-Anne, as well as her brother, Tate, and her mother, Donna. However, he’d avoided calling Ella’s sisters.

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Apparently, the three women were not in a forgiving mood for either him
or
Micah.

They despised Caedon because he’d broken Ella’s heart.

However, they didn’t despise Micah. They
hated
him right now. After they’d overheard him talking to his brothers, Noah and Nathan, about his secret love for Ella and his lie by omission in regards to his sexuality, they’d given him hell when they weren’t avoiding him.

Trusting Micah to know who to enlist for help and who not to, Caedon had purposefully stayed out of her sisters’ hair. But now he was beginning to regret agreeing to include Jaycee, Shannon, and Katie-Anne. The women had turned their plans into a three-ring circus.

Thinking back, Caedon could barely believe that three women could be so diabolical. They were downright scary with some of their devilish schemes. Of course, their nefarious plans hadn’t been the worst part of including the female trio. Proving their worthiness had been.

The bloodthirsty hellions had demanded that both he and Micah prove their worthiness for Ella’s hand last night. And still that hadn’t enough. Tonight they had to meet the approval of the seven men around them.

Eyeing the men as best he could from the corner of his eyes, Caedon decided he was in a shitload of trouble. Although, he had to admit their approval didn’t change a thing. He wasn’t backing down either way. He just hated the thought of not fitting in with the people Ella loved most.

“In here,” Gray said, distracting him with his unexpected order.

Jaycee’s stocky, dark-haired husband pointed at a side alleyway then herded them around a corner and into a desolate back street. The narrow passageway felt tight—excruciatingly so. But Caedon wasn’t sure if it was because of the actual size or because of the seven men gathering around him and Micah as they trapped the two of them between their big bodies and the hard brick wall behind them.

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Mia Ashlinn

Jaycee’s other husband, Cade, spoke first. Crossing his muscled arms, the lean redhead frowned at them fiercely. “So, boys. Our wives asked us to talk to you and determine whether or not you are capable of sharing their friend, Ella. How do you plead? Capable or not capable?”

At first, Caedon was taken aback by Cade’s sterile, far-too-serious question. His wall of defense came up, and he was ready to fight. But when a smile spread on Cade’s face, Caedon knew that he was just messing with them. The rest of the chuckles around him cinched it.

These men weren’t going to test them. They were going to help them.

Thank God.

Caedon breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t been prepared to spend an exorbitant amount of time dealing with these men’s assessment. The limited time span he had been given prohibited him from taking too long in convincing them of his commitment to Ella and, if he was honest, Micah too. Not when he needed them to talk to Micah about permanent ménages. Caedon had his friend nearly convinced that this relationship would work. But he needed a tiny push to get him the rest of the way there.

Gray elbowed his husband then gave him a look. The kind of look Micah occasionally gave him when he was annoyed or pissed at him.

Only, Gray’s gaze seemed to indicate that his repercussions would be of the erotic kind.
If only I could be so fucking lucky.

“Quiet, Cade,” Gray commanded, his deep voice whipping around them. “You’re going to scare Caedon off. We have too much to tell him before he goes in”—breaking off midsentence, he hitched his thumb over his shoulder and indicated a side entrance to what Caedon presumed to be the flower shop, Pretty Petals—“there with Ella. They both need to hear this.”

Cade grinned brashly, aiming his broad, mischievous smile at his husband. “What if I don’t want to, Mr. Blakemore?”

“Trust me, you do,” Gray countered with a scowl. “Or at least, your ass does.”

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Before Cade could respond in what was sure to be a naughty innuendo, his brother-in-law, Randy, smacked him on the back of the head. “Shut up. Seriously, we need you to behave for five whole minutes. Do you think you can handle that?” Cade appeared to ponder his decision for what seemed like five minutes then nodded. “I might be able to.” But instead of doing what he’d just agreed to, he wiggled his eyebrows and added, “If Gray will make it worth my while.”

Surprisingly, Gray barked a laugh. His dark eyes twinkled merrily, a hint of indulgence there for the world to see. This man obviously adored his husband. Anyone could see that. Despite his controlled façade, Gray didn’t hide his love.

Caedon found the obvious affection and sizzling heat between the men refreshing. This level of love wasn’t one he’d seen much of in his lifetime. People he’d known as a child in Pennsylvania hadn’t generally been this committed or demonstrative when it came to their spouses. God knew his parents hadn’t before their divorces. And shit, a good portion of his famous acquaintances found supposed love with the person who could help their career the most. Now that Caedon was here, he craved this for himself and Micah. He knew he would never settle for less.

Gray arched his eyebrows then asked, “When don’t I make it worth your while, Cade?”

Cade joined his husband in his amusement, chuckling darkly with a sensuality that was as evident as the wicked grin on his face.

“Never,” he said. “You’re damn good at making things worth my while.”

“All right then,” Gray clipped out. He smoothed his face out then slipped his arm around Cade’s waist and pulled him to his side. “Let’s get down to business.”

Micah crossed his arms exactly as Cade had a mere moment ago and frowned. “Sounds like a damn good plan to me. We don’t have a lot of time to piss around. You guys know that.”
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All of the men nodded and murmured their assents. When they quieted down, Shane said, “I don’t need you two to prove to me how much you care for Ella. First of all, it isn’t my place to judge your love for her. And secondly, my wife thinks an awful lot of you two after spending time with you last night. That says something.” He sighed. “Since I know how good of a judge of character she is, and I trust her opinion, I think you guys are capable of loving and taking care of a woman I have come to care for. But I think it’s important we talk about sharing a woman. You two haven’t shared before. Have you?”

Caedon felt a tightness in his chest that he hadn’t known was there loosen. This was what he and Micah needed. They had to understand the realities of a permanent ménage. For Micah, it was about knowing he could do it. But for Caedon, he was curious of the complexities. He had no doubt that he could share Ella permanently. He just didn’t know how. He’d never really seen it—other than a one-night stand.

Now, that he knew how to do.
Unfortunately.

“No,” Micah grumbled. “I haven’t.”

Technically, Caedon had—more times than he wanted to admit to himself or anybody else. Before he’d met Ella and Micah, he’d been a male slut. He hated to use that term, but it was the truth. He’d hated himself for it. But he hadn’t realized the reason he’d been like that until after he’d fallen in love. It was because he’d been seeking something he couldn’t find. So he’d turned to whoever would have him as he searched. Looking back, his sexual track record disturbed him. He shouldn’t have allowed his hormones to take pleasure in the flesh of a woman he barely knew. It was wrong of him.

As much as he wanted to deny his sexual nature to these men, he wouldn’t. He’d rather be an honest man than a deceitful one just to save face. “Yes, I have been with more than one woman at a time.

And yes, I have shared a woman with another man.” He halted to gulp before revealing the truth. “Sometimes there were more than two or three or maybe four of us. But it didn’t mean anything because I
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didn’t feel about them the way I do about Ella. I was a total ass.”
That
is putting it mildly.

The other men seemed understanding. Several of them nodded while others mumbled their approval for his honesty. Caedon felt himself flush. He’d expected them to be pissed that he’d had ménages before, especially when they weren’t loving, committed ones like in Serenity.

Caedon darted his eyes to Micah, desperately needing to see his response. But not surprisingly, he was stoic, his face an empty mask.

The man wouldn’t be likely to show how he truly felt about Caedon’s past love life in front of these men. Although, when he got Caedon alone, he’d probably rip into him for it. Micah tended to be possessive of Caedon. Even though he didn’t seem to realize it, his friend had never approved of his past. When they’d been living with Ella, they’d fought about it more than once.

Micah had claimed it was because he worried about Ella’s feelings. But sometimes, Caedon had wondered if it wasn’t more than that. Especially since Ella didn’t seem to mind that he’d had a steady stream of lovers in his past. She’d said it didn’t matter whether or not he’d had one lover or one hundred lovers
before
her—as long as he kept his dick and hands to himself and her now that they were together.

Caedon found it slightly humorous but mostly ironic that his woman hadn’t generally gotten very jealous. She had said it was a wasted emotion. In fact, the first time he recalled her showing any sort of jealousy was the night they’d broken up. That evening, she’d shown a side of herself that he hadn’t seen before. And he’d experienced a dark side of himself he hadn’t known even existed.

* * * *

Two years ago, June 3rd…

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The lyrics to “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal belted out of the speaker on Caedon’s cell phone, and he glared at the telephone receiver in his hand. He’d known this call was coming. He’d dreaded it. But now here it was, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

If he were a coward, he would get up from the bed in his room and walk out the front door. However, he wouldn’t stop there. No, he’d keep going until he left the bed and breakfast the production company had rented out for the actors and crew. Hell, he wouldn’t stop until he found a place where no one knew who or what he was, a place where there was no phone, television, magazine, or internet service.
But unfortunately, I’m no coward, and running isn’t the
answer.

With a sigh, Caedon used his long legs to slide to the top of the bed where he reclined against the mahogany headboard then answered his phone. “Hello,” he murmured.

“You damn hypocrite.”

Yeah. Just what I expected.

“Gabriella,” Caedon said. He could hear the resignation and the pain in his own voice. But he didn’t feel like masking it. He was too exhausted, and he figured it wasn’t worth it anyway. “It isn’t what you think.”

“I’m sure it isn’t,” Gabriella retorted in evident disbelief. “You bitched at me over
Micah.
You accused me of cheating on you with my best fucking friend. Yet you were out last night, having the time of your life with some pretty actress who needs to eat a damn cheeseburger.” She paused, and he heard her sniffle before she continued on. “Do you know what I was doing, Caedon? I was at home—
alone
. You were out carousing and getting drunk. Meanwhile, I sat here by myself like a pathetic loser, stuffing my face with junk food while I cursed you in one breath then practiced my apology in the other.”

She snorted, but he could tell it was halfhearted at best, and the hurt in her voice overrode what he suspected was supposed to be
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contempt. “Hell, Caedon, you may or may not have been screwing Adeline fucking Raines while I lay in my bed, wishing you were with me. I wanted to hold you and talk to you and work things out. But I can’t do that by my-fucking-self.”

She was right. He’d been irrationally jealous after receiving a handful of photographs of her and Micah in an intimate clench. When he’d called her in a fit of possessive rage, he’d said a lot of things he hadn’t meant. But that didn’t change the fact that she’d hurt and angered him, too. She’d turned to Micah for comfort
before
he’d turned to Addy for friendship. She’d let Micah hold her. She’d allowed
him
to be the man who helped her deal with the scandal. Not Caedon, never Caedon. It was always Micah she needed when the chips were down, and it killed Caedon. He wanted to be the one she turned to. Just once, he wanted her to need him more than anyone else.