Page 65 of Wanting More
Hayden's cool, challenging tone and unmoving stature only fanned the flames of Joel's growing rage. "That you're a piece of-"
Sapphire saw Joel's fist forming and reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Joel, please," Sapphire yelled, pulling his hand back.
His skin was hot against her touch, and Sapphire could feel the immeasurable strength in his wide forearm as she wrapped both hands around it. She also knew he could easily snatch it from her grip as if from a child, but surprisingly he let her stay his hand. Tugging him backward, Sapphire felt some of the trapped air in her chest release as Joel allowed her to pull him backward a few steps.
"Come over here," she ordered him gently as she kneeled at the end of the bed. Somehow, she moved Joel until he stood at the other corner of the bed while Hayden remained at her left. A part of her felt as if she now knew what those tiny referees felt like standing in the middle of two great powerhouse boxers.
Seeing the fearsome expression on Hayden's face as he watched her, Sapphire reached for his hand as well. Immediately he took it.
With both men on either side of the bed, tethered by her grip, she looked at each one, noting the anger slowly ebbing out of their glinting eyes as they looked at her. A surge of power, feminine and elemental, took hold of her. It felt like she was accomplishing something that no one else could.
Doing her best to ignore the powerful feeling coursing through her, she gave them both a soft smile as she tilted her head in thought. "You both have already given me so much…done so much for me. But, can I ask you for something else?"
Neither one said anything, but she could see the expectation stiffening their broad bodies.
Pulling them a little closer until their knees hit the side of the bed, she stopped. "Can you…sleep with me tonight?" She asked in a rushed breath, noticing the fine details of their faces as the question hit the air. Or how Hayden's hand tensed in hers or how Joel's eyes seemed to darken. The undercurrent in the room seemed to sizzle as she continued her confession. "Every night when you both come home, I wake up and listen to your bikes coming around the side and powering down. I feel…content," she admitted, licking her suddenly dry lips, "knowing that you both are home. I always fall back to sleep deeper than before because I know you're now one floor down."
Hayden groaned.
While Joel tilted his head back, exposing the bulge of his Adam's apple as he looked up at the ceiling as if seeking a higher source for strength.
Heat prickled at her ears, and her shoulders dropped. What was that? Were they bothered by her admission? Sapphire hurried to let go of them as the embarrassment smothered any lingering feeling of power she may have felt.
Sapphire looked down at the door ahead of her, trying to devise a way to escape with the little bit of pride she had left, but the movement around her brought her attention back up. Stepping back toward the head of the bed, each man grabbed a section of the comforter and pulled it back.
Joel gave her an expectant look at where she was sitting in the middle of the bed. Understanding and relief banked the fires of embarrassment, and she hurried to scoot back until she was nestled in the middle. Almost in disbelief, she watched as they both laid down on either side of her, bringing the covers up and over her body.
"Thank you," she whispered just as Hayden clicked off the lamp at his side.
She bit back a smile at the deep grunts she received as a reply.
With only the greyish glow of the early morning sky peeking in through the thin curtains, the room was draped in shadows. Around her, the world was quiet and still save for the rise and fall of the two powerful chests on either side of her.
Was this really happening? Was she in bed between them right now? A part of her wanted to pinch herself but didn't. Each of her arms was only a hair's breadth away from the naked flesh of either Hayden or Joel's arm. Yes, dear God, this was real. Somehow, she had impulsively worked her way into this crazy situation. Sapphire closed her eyes and tried to control her spiraling thoughts. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Oh God, they were going to hear it and turn over and look at her freaking out.
This was such a bad idea, she repeated in her head as she tried to prevent herself from hyperventilating.
Ever so slowly, Sapphire tilted her head left and then right before coming back to the middle. She bit her lip and internalized the scream she wanted to let out. They were both awake! Quite awake, staring up at the ceiling like massive, angry Gods.
Guilt ripped through her. Oh God, they were angry. They were all three in this weird, awkward threesome burrito because of her, and they were just gritting their teeth and baring it because of her. Or were they still just angry at each other? Sapphire wanted to groan; it was most likely both.
Beneath the covers, she reached for both of them. Only able to reach the top of their forearms, she ignored the flinch in both of them at her touch and slid her hands down along their arm in a silent request. A triumphant smile spread across her lips as each man lifted their hand, allowing her own to slide up their forearms and past their wrists and grip their hands. Boldly she brought them both to her stomach, closing her eyes at the weight and heat of them against her.
"Don't let me be the cause of any anger between you two," she whispered tentatively in the dark.
Neither said anything.
Sapphire pressed on. "When I first moved in and saw how happy and close you two were, I was a little jealous—I still am. I always wanted a sibling. At least with someone else there, growing up beside me, I would have had someone to lean on," she paused. "I’d rather move back to the motel before getting in the way of the friendship you both have."
Their hands tightened into her shirt. The bed jostled around her, and she looked to see them both shifting onto their sides. Their pale chests reflected the little bit of nocturnal light as they walled her in close on either side. She met their piercing gazes only for a second. Laying like this between them, Sapphire could feel her bravery wear away, leaving her exposed.
Both men looked at one another over her, and the charge in the air between them returned.
Finally, Hayden spoke, his voice low and coarse next to her ear. "You're not in the way."
Joel's hand tightened in her shirt, gripping the fabric in his fist. "And you're not going anywhere. Now go to sleep."
