Forbidden Awakenings (Awakenings #1) Read online

  “What’s going on through that beautiful head of yours that has you blushing?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow in her direction.

  She bit her lip as she turned away. “Just thinking about last night.”

  “Oh.” And a moment later, he slid his hands over her hips, around her stomach, and rested his chin on her shoulder. “And what about last night are you thinking about?”

  Elle laughed. “Oh, you know, a little of this and little of that.”

  “I want details, woman,” he growled against her skin.

  “Yeah?”

  He nodded, his tongue sliding along her neck.

  “Your hands,” she whispered. “The way you touched me, the way you … held me against you while making love to me.”

  “Hmm,” he hummed. “I liked that part, too, but you know what my favorite part of last night was?”

  Elle shook her head.

  “Hearing you declare how much you love me as you came, knowing that in that moment you weren’t holding back, that you weren’t afraid. That feeling, that incredible and amazing feeling, makes every part of my body tingle, beautiful.”

  She turned and looked at him. “You know you don’t have to sweet-talk me, right? I’m kind of a sure thing.”

  Though she expected him to laugh, he didn’t. Instead, he moved so that he was standing in front of her, his hands sliding around and cupping her face. “Don’t put yourself down like that. You are not a sure thing, Elle. None of us see you as an easy lay, and if Callum or Sadie do, I’ll make sure they don’t ever again.”

  “I … I didn’t mean it like that,” Elle stammered.

  “Then what did you mean?”

  She sighed. “Just that you don’t have to keep wooing me. I’m already yours. My heart, my body, my soul, they all belong to you, Callum, and Sadie.”

  “But I like wooing you,” he said, smirking. “It makes you blush, and I like it when your cheeks turn red for me, beautiful.”

  And right on cue, her skin warmed.

  “Yeah, just like that,” he moaned, stroking his fingers across her heated flesh. “Let me romance you, Elle.”

  “Okay,” she said, dramatically. “If you insist. I mean, who am I to prevent you from showering me with love?”

  Derek laughed. “A stubborn, but beautiful woman.”

  “Oh, I’m stubborn, am I?” she scoffed. “You’re the one who waited how many years before you let Callum fuck you?”

  He pressed his lips together. “Touché.”

  Elle laughed.

  “But in my defense, I was scared.”

  “Are you still?” she asked, and when he shook his head, she added, “Why not?”

  He blew out a heavy breath. “I, um, I don’t know. Being with you three, knowing that I’ll spend the rest of my life wrapped in your arms, loved and wanted, makes me feel content, satisfied with who I am, where my life is going.”

  “You really want forever with us?”

  Derek frowned. “Don’t you?”

  “I do,” she admitted, more to herself than to him. “But I’m not sure how that will work.”

  “Well, we’ll start with a romantic dinner somewhere,” Callum said, drawing their attention to the doorway where he and Sadie were standing. She was in front of him, and he had his arms wrapped around her. “There might even be flowers and candles. Right, Der?”

  Derek smiled. “Yep. And I would imagine that we’ll dress real nice, too. I mean, like five-star, beautiful.”

  “And after a nice, relaxing dinner, Derek and I will coax the two of you onto the dance floor,” Callum continued. “And we all know how sexy you two are on the dance floor.”

  “Damn straight,” Derek moaned. “And when the time is right, we’ll drop down on one knee.”

  “Taking your hand in ours,” Callum dragged Sadie into the room and over to them, “we’ll say something cheesy. Something like how since the moment we found you, everything feels better, or how the thought of just one breath without you has us needing to hold you tighter.”

  “And, um, how you both have given us the strength to let go of our fears and allow ourselves to be honest about our feelings, to love one another and you with our whole hearts,” Derek murmured, a tear sliding down his cheek.

  “Then, we’ll ask you to marry us,” Callum whimpered.

  “Both of us,” Derek said, reaching out and grabbing Callum and Sadie’s hands, placing then on top of Elle’s. “And you’ll say yes, of course.”

  “We will?” Sadie asked, and he nodded. “What makes you thinks so?”

  Callum and Derek shared a look before they shifted their eyes to her.

  “Because you can’t live without us anymore than we can without you,” Derek explained.

  “No, no, we can’t,” Sadie admitted, leaning her head on Callum’s shoulder. “And of course we’d say yes. Right, Elle?”

  When the three of them looked at her, she nodded. “But it’s not that easy, is it?”

  “Why not?” Callum asked.

  “Because legally, I can’t marry all three of you,” she pointed out.

  He frowned. “Guess you’re right.”

  “I don’t mean to be the party-pooper, I just …” She trailed off and shook her head. “I want nothing more than to be your wife, but would I be a Davis or a Flores? Or, hell, even a Williams? What about children? Who will father whose children? Please tell me that I’m not the only one who has considered all of this?”

  “Of course you’re not,” Sadie assure her, sliding her hand out from between theirs and raising it to her cheek. “I think about it all the time.”

  “So do I,” Callum said. “I imagine our children running throughout the house, the sound of them laughing. We’d be good parents. Our children would be happy.”

  “I’m sure they will be, but … I don’t know, I just don’t know how this will work. I love you three so much my heart aches when I’m not with you, but there’s so much that we haven’t even considered.”

  “Okay, so let’s consider it now,” Derek said, folding his arms in front of him. “One of your concerns is about us having children, right?”

  Elle nodded.

  “Well, I guess I just kind of assumed that we’d let nature decide paternity, that we’d raise any children that we have together. Callum and I would be their fathers and you and Sadie would be their mothers.”

  “You make it sound easy,” Elle scoffed.

  “Why can’t it be?” Callum asked.

  “Um, how about because every time we turn around, we find ourselves having to justify our relationship to someone?” She brought her hand up to her chest. “I know that we’ll raise our children with love and compassion. We’ll give them the acceptance that Sadie and I don’t have, but we’ve already lost our parents, and your parents don’t even know about us, Derek. What if they don’t accept us, either? What if we spend the rest of our lives having to justify our love to everyone? Am I the only one who’s overwhelmed by all of this?”

  “No, we are, too, honey,” Sadie whispered, leaning over and wrapping her arms around her. “We don’t have to decide everything right now, and it’s not like we’re getting engaged right this minute, either.”

  “We’re not?” Derek whined. “I was looking forward to the celebration sex.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “I’m starting to think all you care about is sex,” Elle snickered.

  “Just sex with you three. You’ve ruined me for anyone else,” he clarified.

  “Good.” Callum smirked, reaching over and palming Derek’s left cheek. “But this ass is mine, babe. All mine.”

  “And mine,” Sadie said. “One day, I’m going to buy myself a strap-on, and when I do, I’m going to fuck his ass while he’s fucking you.”

  “And who will be fucking me?” Elle asked, sliding off her stool and toying with the hem of the T-shirt she was wearing. “Seems to me that you’re all getting fucked, but I’m not.” Sliding the shirt off, she smiled whe
n all three of them shifted their eyes down to her bare breasts. She tossed the shirt on the stool before she turned and walked toward the door. “Guess, I’ll just have to take care of my own needs.”

  Elle had barely taken two steps when she felt a pair of hands grab her waist and turn her around so that she was facing them. Derek smirked as he hoisted her up and flopped her over his shoulder.

  “Your ass is mine, beautiful.” He laughed and then took off upstairs. Callum and Sadie followed, and as Derek threw Elle onto the bed, they began to strip off their clothes.

  Derek dropped to his knees, gripping her thighs, and dragged her to the edge of the bed. Then, without giving her a chance to utter a sound, he leaned forward and thrust his tongue between her wet slit.

  “Oh, God!” Elle cried out, her back arching off the bed.

  Derek moaned, but didn’t say anything as he licked her, tasted her, made her tremble with need and want. Sadie crawled onto the bed so that she had a knee on either side of Elle’s head and lowered her pussy onto her lips. Elle wrapped her hands around her thighs, needing to taste her. The bed shifted once again and Elle looked over to see Sadie with Callum’s cock in her mouth.

  Elle could feel her orgasm building as Derek sucked and licked her pussy, alternating between clit and the inner walls of her labia. Squirming, she struggled to keep her orgasm at bay, needing and wanting Sadie to come with her, but Derek sucked her clit into his mouth, flicking his tongue across the swollen flesh, and she was done for. Her body shook and a scream spilled out of her mouth as her climax peaked.

  “Oh, Jesus fuck, Elle,” Sadie cried out after releasing Callum from her mouth. “So close, baby. So fucking close.”

  Elle tightened her grip on Sadie’s legs and attacked her labia. Her lover’s orgasm hit her hard, flooding her mouth and tongue with her sweet nectar, and Sadie slid onto the bed, sated and satisfied.

  Derek stood up and stripped off his pajama pants before climbing onto the bed, grabbing the back of Callum’s head and crushing his lips against his. Pushing him back onto the bed, he shifted so that he was sitting between his legs. One hand came to rest on his thigh, while the other wrapped around Callum’s cock, causing him to groan and lift his hips.

  “More,” he begged.

  “I want to fuck you,” Derek said. Callum’s eyes flew open. “I know you’re scared, but I want to be inside of you, to claim you as mine, because, babe, you are mine.”

  Heaving out a heavy breath, Callum nodded. “Okay. Just … just, you know, be gentle.”

  “I won’t hurt you,” Derek promised, leaned down and kissing him again.

  Sadie and Elle shifted on the bed so that they could watch as their lovers came together once more. Every time she watched them, whether it was them kissing, fondling each other, or making love, Elle’s heart fluttered, and once again, she was reminded of the power of love.

  Derek reached over and pulled open the drawer on the nightstand, grabbing a bottle of lube and a condom. Placing the condom on the bed, he opened the bottle and squirted a hefty amount of gel on his fingers.

  Then, he placed his free hand on Callum’s thigh, massaging his flesh while pressing one finger against his virgin ass. Callum gasped as the finger penetrated through his tight barrier.

  “Oh, my fuck!” he exclaimed, slamming his hand on the bed and reaching toward Elle and Sadie. Both women grabbed his hand, holding on top him. “It’s … it’s … it’s amazing.”

  “Right?” Derek laughed. “Ready for more?”

  Callum simply nodded.

  Being gentle, Derek added another finger, and then another until he had three sliding in and out of Callum. The looks of pure passion and need on their faces was breathtaking.

  Derek grabbed the condom and held it out to Sadie. “Open this, please.”

  She smiled as she took it and ripped the foil package open with her teeth. Then, she gripped his cock and rolled the latex down his shaft, giving him a firm squeeze before releasing him. Derek groaned as he picked up the bottle of lube and added more to his fingers. Then, sliding his hands over Callum’s thighs, he spread his legs out and then pushed them up.

  “You ready, babe?” he asked.

  Callum nodded. “I … I think so.”

  “I love you. You’ve always been my best friend, and now, you’ll be my lover.” Derek gripped his cock with one hand as he leaned forward and slowly pushed just the tip of his shaft inside Callum. “Oh, God.”

  “Don’t stop,” Callum begged, his hand tightening around Elle and Sadie’s. “Please, I need this.”

  “So do I,” he murmured under his breath.

  Derek was gentle as he made love to Callum. He started with steady, even strokes, making sure that he wasn’t hurting him. Their bodies moved in unison, perfect and amazing. The love the two men shared for each other was evident in the way they touched each other, the expressions on their faces, and the pure lust radiating off of them. They were beautiful.

  “I’m … I’m close,” Callum gasped, snaking his hands down his stomach and wrapping it around his cock. However, Derek pushed it away. “Babe!”

  “I’m getting you off,” he grunted, his pace picking up as he started stroking Callum. “This orgasm belongs to me. I own it. It’s mine to do what I want with.”

  Callum writhed and mewled, whimpering with need as Derek continued to make love to him. Elle could feel her heart racing as she and Sadie watched and waited for them to come together, to seal their relationship fully.

  “Please, please, please,” Callum chanted, panting hard.

  “Now, babe, come for me now!” Derek ordered.

  Callum convulsed on the bed, his back arching, changing the angle in which Derek stroked the inner walls of his ass.

  “Oh, God, I can’t hold off,” Derek cried out, his hand tightening around Callum’s legs. “Now, babe, now!”

  Spurts of creamy semen spilled out of the tip of Callum’s cock, landing on his chest and stomach. Derek roared as he stilled his hips, ejaculating into his condom. Pulling out of Callum, he scooted back and leaned over, licking the come off Callum’s torso.

  “So fucking good,” he moaned, lapping every inch he could get. Once he had it all, he flopped over on the bed, laying on his back. He slipped the condom off, tied it in a knot, and placed it on the table before looking over at Elle, Sadie, and Callum. “Damn.”

  “I know,” Callum laughed. “Amazing, right?”

  “Yeah,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “We have a lot to still talk about. A lot to consider about the future, but I’m not letting you go. Not ever. I don’t care if we have to move to deserted island and raise our kids away from civilization, I’m not giving up on us.” He lobbed his head to the side, looking right at Elle. “I love you too damn much to let you go.”

  “Me, too,” she murmured, hoping that they wouldn’t have to go to such extremes.

  —FA—

  Late in the afternoon, Elle once again found herself sitting in front of her easel with her paints open. More than a dozen times she’d lifted her arm to start painting, just to let her arm flop against her leg. She wasn’t sure what was stopping her, why she was fighting the urge to create something incredible, something new and fresh, but she still found herself unable to place the tip of the brush against the canvas.

  The sound of the doorbell pulled her out of her stupor. With a sigh, she dropped her brush onto the tray and slid off her stool, walking through the house to the front door. Derek and Callum had taken their cars to get oil changes, and Sadie was upstairs, working on some new designs. Elle suspected that she was hoping to do some redecorating around the house, but she kept that opinion to herself.

  Pulling open the door, she found the mailman standing there with two large boxes stacked up next to him.

  “Elle Reid?” he asked, and she nodded. “I need you to sign for these.”

  He held an electronic keypad out toward her, which she took.

  “What is it?”

  H
e laughed. “I don’t know. Not allowed to open your mail.”

  “Oh, yeah, right,” she mumbled, scribbling her name across the screen with the stylus before handing it back to him. “Thanks.”

  “Have a good day.” He tilted his head toward her before turning and walking down the front to his truck.

  Elle scooted the boxes into the house and over to the couch. Sitting down, she pulled the first box onto the coffee table and sighed when she saw the return address: Texas.

  “Who was that?” Sadie asked, walking downstairs. Elle looked over at her, causing her to frown. “What’s wrong?”

  “They’re from my parents,” she said. “Looks like they sent them to the apartment, but the post office forwarded them here.”

  “Oh.” She sat on the couch next to Elle.

  “Yeah.”

  “Want me to open them?” Sadie asked, placing her hand on Elle’s thigh.

  She shook her head. “But thanks, anyway.”

  Elle pulled the tape off the top of the box and opened the flaps. Tucked inside the box were all the pictures of Elle and Sadie that she’d left in her bedroom inside her parents’ house in Texas.

  Laying on top of them was a piece of paper. Elle picked it up, recognizing her mother’s elegant handwriting, and read it out loud. “We’ll send the rest of your belongings as we get it packed up. We’re praying for you, Elle. Think seriously about whether this is the life you want.”

  “Wow,” Sadie groused. “What a bitch”

  “Yeah,” Elle whispered, crumpling the letter and letting it fall to the floor. She reached in and picked up a picture of them taken during Elle’s thirteenth birthday. Sadie’s family had moved in next door six months before hand, and Elle had convinced Helina to let them wear make-up. Of course, they put too much on, but they’d had so much fun.

  “Honey,” Sadie spoke in quiet, soft tones.

  “This makes it pretty damn clear, doesn’t it?” Elle snarled, pushing the box away and standing up. “They’re really done with me. Ridding themselves of any part of me. They’ve probably turned my room into a shrine to Ivy.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sadie murmured.

  Elle turned to her. “Why are you sorry? You’re not the one who’s ruined everything.”