Naughty Holidays 2021

CABIN BY CANDLELIGHT

Chapter One

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Samantha McCoy woke up to an empty bed. Not exactly unusual, regardless of whose bed she woke up in. Eight years of marriage and seven years into the polyamorous relationship they had with Elijah Penn and she was still alternating bedrooms much of the time.

Not exactly a problem. Not most of the time, anyway. If she looked at it from a practical standpoint, she had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, both set up with her things as though it was as natural as breathing. So what if she had double the amount of things, at least her pillows were only getting half the use, right?

Oh, sure, they had the playroom where the three of them had fun, something she always looked forward to. But it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same because it wasn’t their room. It was … it was a sex room, not a bedroom, and by God, Sam wanted one room. Just one single room where the three of them could sleep together, dream together. Just be together. All the time.

As for what had prompted this crazy idea to combine their lives into one… Well, that was the bigger issue. The one where, on the mornings after a night she spent with Logan, she found herself waking up to an empty bed despite the early hour. The man was working too much and she suspected she knew why. Only he was pretending that it was just business as usual, when in reality, she got the feeling he was working with his twin to come up with a new club design.

If the man only knew he wasn’t nearly as subtle as he thought he was. Sam had long ago picked up on his tells, of which he had many. The way he glanced down briefly at the very beginning of an explanation told her he wasn’t being entirely truthful. The way he tugged on his left earlobe and glanced to the side told her he was dodging her question entirely. And the way he smoothed his hair back, then rubbed his neck told her he was frustrated with her.

Yep. The man had many tells.

Add that to the fact he spent more time in his home office these days than he ever had before, and Sam was convinced he was up to something. As for why she suspected it was with Luke … well, that was because Sierra had told her Luke was doing the very same things. The twins were up to something.

“You’re awake.”

Sam peered over at the door and saw Logan leaning against the jamb. He was dressed in a black Henley and dark jeans, looking as remarkable as the first time she’d seen him. Logan could rock the casual look as easily as he could a suit and tie, but what impressed her more than his smoking-hot body and the washboard abs he hid beneath the designer labels was the sprinkling of gray at his temples. His once black hair was going salt-and-pepper as he aged, and she found it immensely hot. 

“Sam?”

“Hmm?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter.”

She frowned. “You’ve never minded that it went there before.”

“And I wouldn’t now except you’ve got to finish packing. Our flight leaves in a few hours and we need you to be ready.”

“I want a new bed,” she blurted, propping herself up and allowing the sheet to slide down below her bare breasts.

Logan’s gaze slid from her face to her breasts, just as she’d predicted it would.

“What do you think?” she prompted, discreetly straightening her spine to thrust her chest forward.

He smiled that sexy, mischievous smile that she loved so much.

“About the bed,” Sam clarified.

It clearly took effort, but his gaze lifted to her face even as he adjusted himself as though she couldn’t see him.

But rather than come at her like a starving man, Logan waltzed over and grabbed the garment bag he used when he was taking his suit on a trip.

“Wait!” she declared, sitting up straight and grabbing the sheet. “Why are you taking a suit with you? This is supposed to be a vacation.”

“It is a vacation,” he said. “Now get up and get ready.”

He turned and slipped out of the room, leaving her fuming behind him.

He was most definitely up to something, but two could play that game.

Sam got out of bed, started toward the bathroom, but made a detour at the last second, heading out of the bedroom. She was naked, but that would only save her time in the long run.

“Good morn—” Elijah’s words cut off as he looked up from the iPad in front of him. “Bloody good morning,” he muttered, leaning back and watching her as she headed for the coffeepot.

No, Sam would never tire of that. Both of her men were blatant in their desire for her, and that was something she craved like air and water. They had the ability to make her feel like she was the only woman in the world. She had long ago expected the novelty to wear off as she’d heard happened in many relationships, but it hadn’t. And for that, Sam felt incredibly blessed.

Pretending she had no ulterior motive for being naked in the kitchen, Sam went to the coffeepot, found her favorite mug already sitting beside it waiting for her. That was Logan’s doing, she knew. Elijah’s romantic gestures were more overt, and she honestly appreciated them both equally.

She could feel their eyes on her as she poured her coffee, doctored it with cream and sugar, and took a sip to test it.

“Perfect,” she said, turning around to face them both as she held the mug with both hands.

She smiled at Eli, loving the way his eyes darkened as he blatantly stared at her nakedness. Something else she appreciated about him was that, even after seven years, he still found her sexy.

“Come here, love,” he said with a grin, holding out his arm and gesturing her toward his knee.

Sam waltzed over, casting a sideways look at Logan, who was now standing with his arms crossed over his chest. Obviously he was in a hurry to get out of there, hence the reason she was going to take her time.

Oh, they wouldn’t be late, she would make sure of that, too, but if she had to hurry through her shower simply so she could enjoy a little morning greeting from the men she loved, she would certainly rush to make it happen.

But first the morning greeting.

Sam stepped into Eli’s arm, let him guide her down to his denim-clad knee as she pretended to only care about the coffee in her hand.

“She thinks she holds all the cards,” Eli said.

“She does,” Logan agreed, still watching her intently.

“I think she might need a lesson in who’s really in charge here.” Eli chuckled. “What do you think?”

Sam’s gaze swung to Logan as he approached slowly. When he reached down to take her coffee mug, she reluctantly handed it over.

“I think she won’t be needing this right now.”