Many Blessings

Chapter Twenty-One

There wasn’t enough room for all three of them in the shower. Brad made an executive decision. “I’ll go start coffee and walk Pers,” he said after kissing her. “You two get in the shower. And I’m noting that our master bath will have a huge-ass shower, as well as a soaking tub large enough for three.”

Ellis smiled down at her and pulled her to him for one more kiss. “I guess we’re not two bachelors anymore,” he said.

She draped her arms around him, loving the feel of his body against hers. “Nope.”

“Last chance to back out.”

She let out a laugh. “That would be hell no. If not for my own reasons, for the fact that Sachi would turn her skeet gun on me in total frustration.”

Ellis had already eaten, dressed, and left for the office when Brad grabbed his shower. Mandaline had dressed and was heading downstairs when she heard the back door open.

Sachi frowned when she spotted Mandaline. Then she froze, a beaming grin spreading across her cheeks as she let out an ear-piercing squee and rushed Mandaline. She dropped her purse and threw her arms around Mandaline, practically knocking them both to the ground as she jumped up and down.

“Oh my Goddess! You finally got off your ass and did it! Oh my Goddess! I’m so happy for you! Where are those boys? I want to hug them!”

Mandaline finally untangled herself from her ebullient friend. “Yes, I got laid. I’m glad you’re happy. Ellis already left for work and Brad’s in the shower. Can we please not make a big deal about this in front of everyone?”

Sachi put on an atomic-powered pout. “Aww. That means I have to cancel the ‘Mandaline Got Laid’ cake?”

Mandaline rolled her eyes. “I’ll let you make me a cup of cappuccino. How’s that sound?”

Sachi grinned. “Deal. “

Ellis found himself having trouble getting into his morning routine. And not because he’d finally gotten laid for the first time in too long.

Only moments before Mandaline awoke and rolled on top of him, he’d awoken from a disturbing dream.

Making love to Mandaline had definitely been a great way to get the dream out of his head, for a while. This dream had been so vivid, felt so real that he’d expected to open his eyes and find himself in his own bedroom at the house.

In his dream, Julie was alive. She went to his closet and without a word, somehow opened his gun safe and brought out his gun.

She’d held it up with both hands, a stern expression on her face. “Keep it close.”

“Why?”

She nodded toward his bed. “Believe.”

He’d turned to see an over-under shotgun lying on his bed. A gun he’d never seen before.

“I don’t understand.” But when he’d turned back to her, she was gone. And so was the shotgun on his bed.

That was when he’d woke up.

Fortunately, making love to Mandaline pushed all that right out of his brain. Now that it was back, however, he couldn’t quit thinking about it.

Mandaline had returned from picking up their daily order from Libbie’s bakery. There were customers in the store, but none at the counter.

“I had another dream,” she softly admitted to Sachi. “This morning. Right before I woke up.”

“What?”

“About Julie. I think I know why Carl was really here.” As she told Sachi the details, her friend’s face grew hard and stony.

“Boy, would I love to get that asshole alone for a few minutes.”

“Don’t tell the guys.”

“Why not? Sic your legal beagle on the assholes.”

“Because I don’t have any proof. I go in front of a judge and say that I found out because of a dream, then it definitely will get plastered all over the tabloids.”

“True.” She chewed on an already short thumbnail. “Hexing is looking better every day, you know that?”

“No.”

“At least let me do a protection spell for you. Bind both of them, keep them the hell away from us and here.”

“I don’t know if that’ll work against assholes like them.”

“Can’t hurt.” She brightly grinned. “And if that doesn’t work, I can always offer to take them skeet shooting with me. Alone. In the woods. At night.”

Mandaline had an errand to run that morning. A few minutes before ten, she excused herself and tried to make it out the door without playing twenty questions with Sachi.

No such luck.

“Where are you going?” Sachi asked.

“I need to go somewhere.”

“You’re not taking your car?”

Mandaline felt heat fill her face. “I’ll be right back.”

“So why all the secrecy?” Sachi wore a playful grin.

Mandaline knew her friend was enjoying the hell out of this. “No secrecy.”

“Then where are you going?”

“I’m going to fire you.”

Sachi snorted. “No you won’t. You luuuuubs me.” She turned to head back to the counter. “Tell the doc I said hi.”

Mandaline stopped in her tracks. “How’d you know that?”

She laughed. “He called this morning to confirm your appointment. Duh.”

Dr. Smith was one of those rare, dying breeds of small-town family doctors who might even be persuaded to make house calls on occasion. His nurse only worked part-time in the summer, when business was at its slowest. So it wasn’t uncommon to find him manning the phone at the front desk when someone walked in for their appointment.

Which was where Mandaline found him when she entered his waiting room. Alone in the office, he looked up at her arrival. “There you are. Let’s go back to my office.” She followed him back and sat at the chair in front of his desk. “Now, what can I do for you today, Mandaline?”

She felt her face heat. I’m really getting tired of that. “I need a prescription.”

“You’ll need to be a little more specific.”

She sighed. “I need a prescription for birth control pills,” she mumbled.

He chuckled kindly. “May I ask why you didn’t call your ob-gyn for that?”

“She’s booked up until next month for non-emergencies. I need them a little sooner than that.”

“Ah. You do realize you should take a full cycle of them before you can really consider yourself ‘safe.’ In other words, use a backup form of protection.”

She nodded.

He reached for a file at the corner of his desk. He was her primary care physician, and had been since she was a teenager. She didn’t always get to see him every year, and she didn’t even have health insurance at the moment, but she also didn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for an office visit, either.

He glanced through her file. “I need to get current weight and vitals on you. When did you last see your ob-gyn?”

“Last year.”

“Did you get your annual and a pap smear?”

“All normal.”

He nodded. “Good.” He stood, carrying the folder. “Follow me to my lair and let’s get you checked out.”

Fifteen minutes later she left his office with a proclamation of good health, a script for birth control pills, and thirty dollars poorer for the office visit. She walked over several blocks to the closest drugstore to get the prescription filled before returning to the store a little before eleven.

Sachi was setting up a reading appointment for a new customer. When she finished with that, she followed Mandaline into the office. “Well?”

“You realize talking about this makes me very uncomfortable, right?”

“Duh. Why do you think I do it?”

“You’re lucky I lubs you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She glanced out the door to ensure no one was within hearing distance. She lowered her voice, her expression momentarily turning serious. “You all right?”

“I need serious Sachi to stay here for a moment.”

Sachi made a motion of crossing her heart with her right index finger.

“I’m scared.”

She smiled. Not her rapacious, teasing smile either, but a kind, gentle smile. “That’s good. It’s healthy. I’d be equally worried about you if you’d dove into this headfirst without a second thought.”

“You would?”

She tilted her head the other direction. “Duh. Your aura looked so gorgeous this morning when I walked in. Brilliant, pure, clear, beautiful pink. You’ve been grey and cloudy and so, so sad for such a long time. I don’t even mean since Julie…” She cleared her throat. “Your aura’s been getting cloudier and darker, like aquarium water no one bothered to change, for a couple of years now. I’ve been really worried about you. Fish go belly up if they stay in that crap too long, and I couldn’t imagine that it was doing your soul any good either.”

She sat back and stared at her friend. “Why didn’t you say anything?” she quietly asked.

“Honey, what was I supposed to say? I wouldn’t have been telling you anything you didn’t already know deep in your heart. Why rub your face in it? It was easier for me to play comic relief sidekick whenever the opportunity arose.”

“You’re damn good at that.”

She grinned. “Why thank you. Sarcasm is just one of the many services I offer.” She snapped her fingers. “Oh! Almost forgot. Jenny Nyland is coming by later to get you to notarize some sports camp forms for her.” Mandaline had become a Notary so she could perform weddings for clients, but also signed forms for friends when they needed it.

A thought passed through Mandaline’s mind. “Why do you think Julie didn’t have me witness those forms for her?”

Sachi tilted her head again, back to serious. “Why do you think? For starters, she left things to you. That’s probably a conflict or something. And because she probably didn’t want you to know. My guess is that, based on her taking the paperwork with her, she suspected something bad might happen and she wanted her ducks in a row in case they did. And if they didn’t, you’d never be the wiser.”

Mandaline thought back to the day before Julie died. “She saw something,” she told Sachi. “She had a vision and wouldn’t tell me what.”

Sachi slowly nodded. “Yeah. Probably. She was always good like that. Prescient flashes. Spooky good, even in my book.”

“She still went. And wouldn’t let me go with her.”

“Don’t go there again,” Sachi warned. “Past is past. Written. Done. Unchangeable. She made her choices. She also likely saved two lives. Maybe three by not letting you come with.”

“Sounds like you’re starting to warm to Sami and Matt.”

Sachi suddenly found her cuticles very interesting. “I’ve held too many grudges in my life,” she quietly said. “Some deserved, some not. This is one I know I have to let go because they don’t deserve it. They deserve my friendship. That’s one way I can honor Julie’s spirit.” She gave Mandaline a quick hug and darted out the door.

Once again, Sachi the enigma had briefly appeared. Sachi the wounded spirit. Sachi the lonely one.

“Hey!” Mandaline called out after her.

She stuck her head in the doorway. “Yeah, boss?”

“You shooting tonight?”

“Six rounds. I reloaded after I got home yesterday. Why?”

“No reason. Just wondering. Don’t forget we’ve got that investigation tomorrow night.”

Sachi cocked an eyebrow at her but gave her a thumbs-up before she headed back to the counter.

Mandaline turned to the computer to do some work. She knew if Sachi was going shooting tonight, it meant she would unwind and come in tomorrow relaxed and back to her usual playful, snarky self.

It also meant Mandaline wouldn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about locking the doors as soon as she could and kicking everyone out so she could have alone time with her men.

Mandaline went upstairs to find Brad had been busy in the warehouse. Wearing nothing but shorts, and with sweat pouring down his handsome body, he’d dug out two dressers and rearranged the furniture and boxes enough to give him a small, clear working space.

She leaned against the doorway. “Wow. You’ve been busy.”

He walked over and leaned in for a kiss. “I won’t give you a hug. Don’t want to get you all sweaty.”

She grinned. “I don’t mind sweaty sometimes.”

He laughed. “This is the bad kind of sweaty. I wanted to make an area to work so you didn’t have to go through everything just for me.”

“I appreciate it, but I still have to sort through everything at some point.”

“I don’t want to make more work for you.”

“I think I need more work right now.” She let out a sigh. “Keeps my mind occupied.”

He touched his nose to hers. “I can think of plenty of ways to keep your mind, and body, occupied.”

“I’m sure you can. After the dry spell I’ve had, you never know. Might be you two asking for mercy in a few days.” She reached down to the front of his shorts, where a large bulge had grown. Cupping him through the fabric, she found him very hard and ready. She stared into his sweet brown eyes. “Mercy, mercy, mercy,” she teased, squeezing him with each word.

His brow furrowed. “You’re playing with fire.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. That quickly devolved into a startled shriek as he threw her over his shoulder in one sudden movement. Kicking the warehouse door closed behind him, he carried her to the bedroom as she laughed.

“Warned you, baby,” he said. He pulled the bedroom door closed behind them before dumping her on the bed.

She pushed herself up on her elbows. “Thought you said you were all sweaty?”

He pulled his shorts down and off. His stiff cock sprang free. “I am.” He knelt over her and pushed her back down onto the bed. “And soon, you will be, too, little witch.” He leaned in and kissed her, hard, taking her breath away.

He also moved fast. Before she could recover from that, he’d turned around, pulled her skirt up, and yanked her underwear down so he could bury his face between her thighs.

She let out a loud moan as he shoved her thighs apart, his tongue quickly finding her clit. He spread her lips with his fingers, completely exposing her to his eager mouth.

Looking up, she realized his cock bobbed between his legs, mere inches above her mouth.

She didn’t care how sweaty he was. She wiggled an arm free and grabbed his cock, guiding it down to her lips.

His turn to let out a moan. As she swallowed his shaft, the sound of his pleased noises reverberated through her pussy. He lowered his body onto hers, pinning her in place. All she could do was lick and suck while he licked and sucked her. And when he pulled the first orgasm from her and she tried to move away, he wouldn’t let her escape, forcing her to lie there and let him quickly draw a second orgasm out of her even as his shaft stubbornly remained hard and ready between her lips.

Not that she didn’t enjoy sucking him, because she did.

She just wanted that cock inside her, fucking her.

He laughed at her plaintive whines after orgasm number three left her breathless and shivering under the weight of his body. He lifted his head. “Oh, baby, you just stay right where you are. I’m not nearly done with you yet.”

She let out another whine as he once again began licking her, gently nibbling and sucking on her clit while inserting two fingers into her sopping pussy and slowly fucking her with them.

Her hips tried to rock in time with his motions, making him laugh. “See? You know you want more. Don’t try telling me it’s too much pleasure. I know better.” He finger-fucked her harder, faster, inserting a third and drawing yet another climax out of her after several minutes.

That was when he suddenly got off her, startling her.

He stood and flipped her over, pulling her to the edge of the bed so her feet were on the floor. He shoved her skirt over her back and pulled her panties all the way off her. When she tried to push herself up, he put a gentle but firm hand between her shoulder blades and pushed her back down. “Stay, baby. You teased me, this is my time.”

She heard the nightstand drawer open and after a moment, he stepped between her legs. She fisted the covers as she felt the sheathed head of his cock pressing against the entrance to her cunt.

Then he hooked an arm around her waist. “You got yours, now it’s my turn.” He thrust hard and deep, making her cry out with pleasure. His fingers and tongue had more than prepared her pussy for the sudden intrusion.

He folded himself over her back, his lips in her ear. “You like that, don’t you, baby? You like us taking you like this?”

She closed her eyes and tried to fuck herself against him. “Yes!”

He grabbed her hips and took several long, hard, fast thrusts into her pussy before stopping again. He shoved her shirt and bra up before reaching under her to find her nipples. He cupped his palms around her breasts, his thumbs and fingers rolling and teasing her aching peaks. “Reach between your legs, baby. Play with yourself.”

She needed no further encouragement. She slid a hand between her legs and found her clit and started eagerly rubbing it.

“That’s it,” he said. “I’m not coming again until you do—”

They were both startled by the sound of the door opening and Ellis laughing. “Well, now I know what’s on the menu for lunch.”

“Come and get you some,” Brad said. He pinched her nipples just hard enough to get her attention. “Who said you could stop playing with yourself, baby?”

Her hand had fallen still when Ellis walked in, but now she started again.

Ellis walked around the bed, his blue eyes dark and smoky with desire. He shrugged off his jacket and hung it over a chair before kicking off his shoes. “I don’t have a lot of time,” he said. “Have a client due in less than an hour.” He shucked his slacks and also neatly draped them over the chair. Then he pulled off his briefs. His cock also rigidly stood at attention.

She licked her lips.

He crawled onto the bed in front of her, his legs spread, and gently cupped her head in his hands. “I think I want this right now.”

Her hand moved faster between her legs as she opened her mouth wide, eager to taste him on her tongue. He slid his shaft over her tongue, taking over and fucking her mouth as Brad slowly began fucking her pussy again.

Oh…my…Goddess! Was this really happening? These two hunks wanted her? Her eyes dropped closed and she let out a cry, muffled by the cock in her mouth, as another orgasm washed through her.

“That’s it, baby,” Brad encouraged, picking up speed and driving her deeper onto Ellis’ cock with every stroke. “Nothing but pleasure. Think about nothing but how good it feels having our cocks in you.”

Her fingers now had a life of their own, a series of smaller orgasms rolling over and over, one into another, until her entire existence felt like nothing but a blaze of pleasure keeping her suspended in a sweet bubble of passion between them. Their energy flowed over and through her, mixing with hers and pulling more sweet release from her body.

Ellis’ hands tightened on her head. “Getting close,” he grunted to Brad.

“So am I.”

She let out another cry as the most powerful climax yet ripped through her.

“That’s what we like to hear, sweetie,” Brad said. He released her breasts and returned his hands to her hips, fucking her cunt hard and fast as her muscles squeezed his cock. Every stroke bottomed out inside her, stretching her pussy, filling her, while Ellis deeply fucked her mouth and grew harder and hotter against her tongue.

Brad came first, his fingers digging in as he let out a long groan. Then Ellis exploded, his cum splashing across her tongue as she struggled to swallow it all. Winded, she limply lay and sucked on his softening cock while Brad caught his breath.

Ellis stroked her hair. “Wow,” he whispered.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, his pleased smile and gorgeously clear aura breaking her heart with its beauty.

If she could do that to him, to both of them, bring them that much joy, she’d never again question the whys or hows of them coming together.

If being with her healed them, and maybe herself in the process, then it was right no matter what anyone else thought or said.

Ellis made her let go and leaned in, kissing her sweetly, deeply, tenderly. “I love you,” he said.

Brad withdrew and placed a kiss in the center of her back. “Love you, too,” he echoed.

She fumbled for and found their hands, squeezing them. “Love you both,” she said.

They all jumped at a knock on the bedroom door. “Not to be a buzzkill,” Sachi said from the other side of the door, “and I hope I waited long enough to interrupt, but someone better put a gag in her mouth next time. Sound carries.”

Mandaline felt her face go supernova hot, but the two men laughed.

“Sorry,” Brad called out. “We’ll be quieter next time.”

“Thanks, Tarzan,” Sachi replied. A moment later they heard her going back down the stairs.

Ellis snickered.

She rolled over onto her back and clapped a hand over her eyes. “Oh. My. Goddess. How the hell am I supposed to go back downstairs?” she whispered.

Brad leaned in and kissed her. “I would suggest a shower first. And don’t forget, you are the boss. If you want to do the sweaty with us up here during lunchtime, it’s your prerogative.”

Ellis kissed her again before getting out of bed. “I’ll make us some sandwiches.” He grabbed his shoes and clothes and headed for the bathroom.

Brad, the condom still on his wilting cock, stretched out next to her with a pleased grin on his face. “I did warn you, baby. So did Ellis. I believe fire hoses and cold water were mentioned.”

She studied his face, his sweet brown eyes. His aura also seemed clearer, although he hadn’t been in as much emotional pain as Ellis had started out with. “You two won’t get jealous of each other and get in a fight over me, will you?” she softly asked. “Although I guess it’s kind of late to ask that.”

He laced his fingers through hers and drew them to his lips. “Never, baby. I don’t think we could have made it work with two different women, to be quite honest. I think we always were meant to share the same love.” He kissed her again. “He needs someone to help look after me. In his mind, he does,” he added. “Maybe he’s a little right. And face it, you’ve been through a lot. I think two men need to tag-team you. I think you’re such a strong person, whether or not you realize it, that you’d inadvertently chew one man up and spit him out. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, either. You never were meant to be with Carl. He wasn’t strong enough for you in more ways than one. I also don’t think there are many women out there who would support and encourage my relationship with Ellis the way you can.”

He sat up and pulled her up with him. “Let’s eat and grab a shower. I’ll go down first and suss things out before you come down.”

“I really don’t want to screw this up,” she whispered.

He frowned. “Screw what up?”

“This. Us. The business. Everything.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her again. “You won’t,” he assured her. “We won’t let you. None of us.”