Blissful Surrender (Bliss #3)(39)
Author: B.J. Harvey

“Well,” Sam announces, “Sean has just realized that him and Zander were banging the same chick at the same time.”

“Hang on. At the same time? As in a drunken threesome story?”

I choke on my whisky as both Zander and I shake our heads. “Fuck no!” we both say loudly in unison.

Sam and Kate start giggling and Helen just looks confused. “Hang on, at the same time? As in she was seeing you both at the same time?”

Kate pipes up, her face beaming, “Yep. My best friend Mac was never one to limit herself to just one man. She actually had three friends with benefits at the same time.”

Helen slaps her hand down on the table. “Holy crap. I need to meet this girl. That is f**king awesome.”

“Women …” Rico growls under his breath which just makes Sam and Kate laugh even more. Fucking fantastic.

“Hang on, that would be like saying Zander and Sean have had sex through association. That’s hilarious,” she continues.

It’s the only time I can say that I wish the world would swallow me up whole.

“Oh my god!” Sam starts saying. She tries to pull her hand out of mine, but I tighten my grip.

“No, no running,” I say, my voice automatically slipping into Dom mode.

“I’m not going anywhere, Sean. I just want to get drunk now. The mere thought that you and Zander have f**ked the same girl is waaaaay too close for comfort.”

“It was almost two years ago, sweetheart. I would’ve told you had I known. You must know that.” I release her hand and run my palm up her arm, rubbing her skin reassuringly. My heart is racing; it’s the first time I’ve actually been afraid that she’d leave again.

“It’s okay, Sean. I know you weren’t a saint for the past ten years, but now I have an excuse to drink copious amounts of alcohol and have a laugh.” She leans toward me, giving me a gentle kiss on my lips before looking me dead straight in my eyes, her lips still touching mine. “And then you can screw my brains out to erase the thought of you and Zander.” She moves away and laughs out loud, her carefree attitude contagious as I just look at her and smile.

Fuck, I love this woman.

I look over at Zander and he gives me a grimace before I lift my chin, making sure he knows that everything is okay. Kate sees us and loses it again, leaning into Zander’s side and laughing.

Rico speaks up, thankfully changing the topic. “Dinner was awesome, guys, but you know me and my sweet tooth, Sammy. I just know that your dessert is going to be epic.”

An epic dessert to conclude an epic dinner party.

Definitely one for the books.

Chapter 19: “Hey Brother”

Sam

I’m in a deep sleep when I’m woken up by a phone ringing. My body feels like a dead weight in the bed as I struggle in that wonderful no man’s land between being awake and being asleep. I roll over and look at Sean’s alarm clock beside the bed, grumbling at the fact it’s only 3 a.m. and someone is calling us.

Sean’s arm wraps around my waist and I snuggle deeper into his side. There is something about burrowing into a nice warm hard body that is comforting, and arousing. Fuck! How can I want to go again when he only just finished with me a few hours ago? I must be an addict. Addicted to Sean Miller. Fuck, if this keeps up we’ll end up screwing each other to death. On the bright side, what a way to go!

The phone starts ringing again and I hear a growl rumble in Sean’s chest. “This better be f**king good,” he mutters as he moves away, sitting up against the headboard and shifting to reach the phone.

He sighs before answering the call. “Ryan, this better not be what I think it is.”

My body goes tense as I think of all the possible reasons for Ryan calling his brother in the middle of the night.

It’s been four months since I came back into Sean’s life. Four fantastic months without drama, without Ryan f**king up, and without middle of the night phone calls. This can’t be good.

“Mmm,” Sean hums, listening to his brother. I sit up beside Sean, resting my head on his shoulder. I can only hear a jumble of sounds coming down the phone, but when Sean’s body goes deathly still, I know it can’t be good.

“You’re f**king shitting me, Ryan. Ten thousand?” the room is suddenly quiet. Sean is breathing hard and I know he’s trying to control himself, but after the last time Ryan was beaten up in the club, Sean’s patience for his brother is all but run out.

“What the f**k do you expect me to do, Ry? It’s not like I have ten grand in cash just lying around my house …”

More silence, more noise down the phone.

“He said what? Oh, f**k this shit. Ryan, you made your bed and I told you that I was done with this crap, but that bastard has gone one step too far now.”

I sit up straight and watch Sean’s features, his jaw twitching as he grinds his teeth loudly. “Where am I going?”

I jump out of bed and chuck some yoga pants and a hoodie on, foregoing a bra and panties because there is never much of a need for them with Sean around. I turn the bathroom light on and go to the sink to wash my the sleep out of my eyes.

I look at Sean in the mirror, feeling his penetrating glare. Shaking his head, he breaks his gaze. “Okay. I got to get dressed and sort Sammy out. Then I’ll be there. Tell the bastard I’m on my way. And Ry … do what you have to do to stay safe, all right?” He nods his head and my breathing hitches.

Ryan is in trouble. Serious trouble.

“Yep, okay. See you soon.”

He slams his phone down onto the bed and stands up, stalking naked toward me. “Sweetheart, I know you got the gist of that conversation, but you need to get back to bed.”

“No, Sean. I’m a cop. This is what I do. I can help.”

He continues advancing on me until his naked chest is touching mine. “Sammy. It’s because you’re a cop that I’m telling you that you need to step down and get back into bed. This is my business. Ryan has been f**king up for as long as I can remember. It’s not the first time I’ve tried to get him help, and it’s definitely not the first time he’s relapsed. He’s got himself into a bad situation and I’m going in to get him out of it. They’ve threatened him, and they’ve threatened the club, then they got stupid and let him get ten thousand dollars in the hole. Without the money, he has nothing to play with. He’s run out of cards and run out of luck, ten f**king years too late. Now, they threatened me and my ‘cop’ girlfriend, and that’s one step too far.”