Approximately 70% of people in the U.S. admit to fantasizing about group sex, and more than 50% of those people actually follow through.
Evelyn's p.o.v
I awoke to darkness. The cool night air assaulted me and suddenly I was wide awake, sat bolt upright on the soft mattress and gulping down large breaths. The nightmare I had been rudely awakened from faded away before I could recall it to memory, but I knew without doubt that James had stared in it.
He'd gotten his sweet revenge for what I'd done.
Looking around the bedroom, I realised the fire in the mantle was still glowing with amber cinders, and the moon still hung high the sky outside. I couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour or two.
'I want you.' Luca's words in the bar echoed.
I studied the ceiling, tracing the faint shadows cast by the Paris city lights far in the distance. He wanted me. Finding myself unable to fall back to sleep, I swung my legs over the side of the bed with a deep yawn, but then paused in the centre of the bedroom, starring into the dark.
The scent of sweet roses hit my nostrils and I immediately glanced over to the balcony windows, surprised to find them flung wide open. It explained how a cool breeze had awoken me from slumber.
Damn, I couldn't believe I'd left them open.
I made my way over to the patio doors, intending to shut the them before falling back to sleep. Yet, just as I made it across the room and was about to lock the doors shut, something caught my eye. Across the garden, soft moonlight glimmered across the surface of the lake and I found myself unable to look away.
Before I could convince myself that it was undoubtedly a bad idea, I had already slipped on some sleep shorts and a strappy, lace camisole. My bare feet slapped against the cool marble staircase on my way downstairs and my footsteps echoed through the foyer.
Thankfully, no one heard me silently unlock the back door on my mission to get to the lake, or so I thought. Once outside, I breathed in the scent of freshly cut grass and fragrant roses of the garden. At this early hour of the morning, the sky was still a dark lapis lazuli, the sun still hibernating and casting the world in an eternal shadow.
I followed the dainty fairy lights leading down to the end of the extensive gardens, weaving my way through the lush hedges. Other than the soft glow of the small bulbs, it was pitch black.
The lake loomed just ahead and I quickly picked up my speed, nearing the water's edge before dropping down onto the gassy bank. I submerged my bare legs in the cool water, watching as the dark water swallowed my calves into the inky abyss. I needed to clear my head.
There was something about the aspect of unknown waters that caused my nerves to prickle, sending a rush of adrenaline down my spine. The emotion was so similar to the sensation of fear I was detached from, that I couldn't help but smile.
I liked it here. I didn't want to return back to my old life in Amsterdam.
The thought was so sudden and strikingly obvious that it took a few seconds to sink in. I was due to return to Amsterdam in a week, and yet I was already beginning to miss my new home here at the chateau before I'd even left. Especially now that Alicia was visiting, it felt as though everything was falling into place.
I liked feeling useful and wanted for once.
Looking down into the dark water beneath me, I felt the sudden, demanding need to clear my head. I wanted to feel real fear. So, taking a deep breath and pushing myself off the grassy bank, I dropped down into the water below. Instantly, oxygen bubbles poured from my mouth and up to the surface as I sunk lower, but before I could make out the route of their path up, they had already disappeared.
Looking around, I could barely make out my surroundings but it didn't matter. All I could see was my new, striking red hair which floated about my face in a mass of crimson strands. My supernatural vision could only see so far into the darkness before the view fogged up.
All that mattered was the sudden pressure weighing down on me and the added fear of the unknown. The only time I could feel anything close to fear was when submerged beneath deep water. So, I shut my eyes with the knowledge that any danger could come swimming right up to me and I would have no idea; not until it was too late, anyway.
After five minutes of simply waiting in the darkness, allowing my mind to breathe in the fear while embracing the foreboding dread that came with experiencing true vulnerability, my lungs began to ache.
I was unsure of how long my supernatural breath could last, but before I could resurface for some much needed air, I felt something watching me. The feeling was overwhelming and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to resurface. I knew with every fibre of my being that something dangerous was staring at me, lurking in the darkness and heading straight for me.
I could feel it getting closer and closer but still my eyes remained tightly shut, fear coiling its way up my spine. It felt good in the worst way possible. I felt alive.
My lungs burned in a painfully familiar way, similar to the feeling of blood hunger, but I swallowed the sensation down, ignoring the tight constriction in my throat. I needed to overcome the fear. Simply clenching my teeth together, I stood my ground, but somewhere in the darkness it got closer. Tracking me like a skilled predator after easy prey.
A tight pressure gripped my shoulders and before I knew what was happening, my eyes popped open and a furious face met mine. Sapphire eyes glared down at me. I opened my mouth in shock, trying to push away but it was too late as Luca gripped my waist and pushed up to the surface with me wrapped up tight in his arms.
My lungs gave one last painful stretch before I resurfaced the water with a sharp gasp. I coughed up half a litre of grimy lake water with wet hair plastered to both my cheeks and deep scowl set in stone across my lips.
I heard Luca spit out a disgusted mouthful of water beside me before I could gather my bearings. The sky was still a dark canvas above us, the full moon acting as the only source of light.
"What the hell were you thinking trying to drown yourself?" He demanded, turning to face me before closing the small distance between us and swimming to where I was currently trying to re-catch my breath.
I couldn't reply, still trying to rid the horrid pondweed from my tonsils.
"You don't like it here? Then just say something! Don't-" his nostrils flared as he glared down at me. His eyes were filled with an intoxicating mix of pain and confusion. "Fuck! Don't try and kill yourself."
I coughed out another lungful of water before lifting my head to meet his, afraid of the intense emotion lurking behind his gaze. "I wasn't trying to drown myself, I was just swimming!"
"It sure didn't look like swimming from where I was standing. You were down there for twenty minutes, not coming up for air even once, that's longest I've ever seen." He growled, treading water slowly as he watched me.
Had I really been under that long? I hadn't even noticed.
"What's it to you?" I grumbled, turning away from where he stayed in the middle of the lake and swimming for the grassy bank closest. Luca didn't swim after me, but he did move to shallower water, his chest no longer submerged by the inky waves.
He looked dangerously handsome in the moonlit water, heavy breaths leaving his parted lips in quick succession, wet strands of hair dripping down his forehead and just begging to be pulled. I swallowed deep, trying to rid my mind of his irritatingly high sex appeal.
"It has everything to do with me and you know it." His predatory eyes stalked me down and I didn't realise I was being backed right up against the grassy bank of the lake until he was stood right before me, trapping me in a cage between his arms. "Is this about James?"
"No." I tried to regain my breath. It wasn't a complete lie. "I just wanted to feel something real. Fear."
"I wasn't lying when I told you I wanted you." His eyes were dark and dangerous, a promise of sinful things to come. "I won't ever let anything happen to you, Scotty. Never again."
"I know." I breathed in the seductive scent of his aftershave as his hands gripped the bank at either side of my body, forcing his hips to press against mine. I sucked in a breath at the close contact. We had known each other for little over a month now, and during that turbulent time I'd come to trust the man stood before me, more than I was willing to admit.
"Does that bother you?" He asked as he leaned forward, dragging his lips from the shell of my ear down to my lower neck without ever making any actual contact. I was practically whimpering at the loss of his touch. "Does it bother you that I'd put your life before my own?"
"Yes." I admitted just as he bent his elbows, leaning dangerously close to my lips. "I don't want you to come to harm because of me."
Before I had the chance to ask what he was doing, Luca hoisted me out of the water and up onto the riverbank's edge. I let out a breathless giggle as he propped my ass on the bank and slid between my parted thighs. The lacy, camisole top clung to my chest, heavy and wet, but I couldn't take it off as I had nothing on underneath. I coughed again, clearing my throat of water and reassessing Luca from my new advantage point above him.
His hands slid up my exposed thighs slowly, eyes never leaving mine. "I would die before letting anyone harm either you, Jax or Lewis."
I tried not to let the stab of rejection show on my face. He didn't regard me any differently than he would anyone else in our team, he saw me as a friend. I was his coworker and my feelings were irrational.
"But would you go for a late night swim with Lewis or Jax?" I whispered, running my hands down his drenched shirt before collecting the material at the bottom and then pushing it up over the toned ridges of his abs. He let me peel the shirt away from his chest, revealing toned abdominal muscles and golden skin. "Track them down and undress them in the water?"
The wet material clung to his shoulders and he reached to the back of his neck, helping me to pull the the shirt over his head before tossing it somewhere forgotten on the grassy bank.
My eyes met his and I offered a coy smile, seductively challenging him to make a move. "Would you let Lewis or Jax see you like this?"
"And if I said yes?" He asked, causing me to glance down at him. My heart skipped a beat at seeing his eyes locked on mine with such primal heat. The reflection of the dark water made them look more of a murky blue, than their usual bright shade. His body pressed closer to mine and the water splashed up against my bare thighs, covering me in a peppering of cold droplets. "We have shared women in the past."
"All three of you?" I asked, my breath short and choppy as he kissed the sensitive spot just below my ear and I tilted my head back to allow him unlimited access. He took advantage almost immediately, surrendering me wordless to his skilled tongue. Between kisses, he breathed an answer.
"Yes, sometimes." He pressed a soft kiss to the shell of my ear before pulling back to look me in the eye, gently cupping my chin and forcing me to meet his intense gaze. "But I'm selfish, and sometimes I don't like to share. Jax likes to watch though, voyerism gets him off and I'm always more than happy to oblige his kink."
Oh God.
Despite my lewd background as a call girl, my cheeks still heated at the image Luca had just created. As I absorbed the bombshell he'd just dropped into my lap, he let his hands run up the sides of my camisole top, fingering the lace straps and tracing circles against my collarbones.
"Surely you're no stranger to sharing the object of your desire?" He asked, a devious look in his eye as he leaned forward to press a soft kiss to the swell of my breast. As his skilled fingers slid down the straps of my camisole top, baring my breasts to the cold night air, my nipples hardened. His gaze dropped to my chest and the desire in his eyes caused desire to flame within me. I was set alight by his seductive gaze.
"Eve?" He asked, wanting an affirmative answer. My head tilted back just as his mouth pressed against mine, kissing me for a long second before teasingly pulling away. "Tell me."
"No."
His head dipped down and his lips found my hardened nipples, drawing one into his mouth and softly biting down. I moaned, whimpering for more. It had been more than a month since I'd divulged in any carnal desires. My hands dragged through his messy, dark hair, tugging at the wet strands in encouragement when he started to pull away. Not so quick, Mister.
His breath was heavy, eyes hard. They weren't the only body part of his that was currently hard, rock hard to be exact. "I'm not continuing until you give me an answer."
Reluctantly, I met his steely gaze. "Ihaventeverhadathreeway."
He pulled back a little, tilting his head with a confused grin. "You're going to have to speak up little one, I can't hear you."
I moaned, trying to hide my face but his palm found my chin, forcing me to meet his demanding gaze.
"Eve." He encouraged, his fingers finding the sensitive skin at my upper thigh. Faster than I could comprehend, my shorts joined his shirt somewhere forgotten on the gassy bank behind me. Sliding the seam of my lace thong aside, he began inflicting his torture, his thumb rubbing mindless circles against me.
"I have never shared a person." I admitted, too engrossed in his mind blowing fingers. "I was completely monogamous with Adam, and as a Call Girl it was just too dangerous to trust two men with my body at once, too vulnerable. I just never did it."
"You're so sexy." He breathed, kissing the sensitive skin beneath my ear. "If you want to, we could change that for you. We could show you what it's like."
"Please." I moaned when his index finger pushed deeper inside me, wrapping my right leg around his waist. Licking my lips, I tried to contain the building lust within me. Although, with Luca's hands on my body, in my body, it seemed nearly impossible.
"Please what?" He teased, driving me insane.
"I-I don't know." I threw my head back in ecstasy, trying to hold onto some small piece of sanity.
"Come for me now." He bit down hard against the flesh of my ear, lightly breaking the skin, his breath a harsh whisper. I could feel his exposed canines, hunger and lust both merging into one burning sensation. He didn't stop his assassination of my senses as I tried to bite down on a whimper. "Let me feel you come against my fingers."
That was my undoing and when he finally pulled back to look down at me, his dark gaze dragged over my exposed skin, breasts still sensitive and heavy in the cool night air. The man sure knew his way around the female anatomy.
"That was... fucking amazing." I finally managed to form words just as he wrapped an arm around my waist in order to hoist me down from the bank. Picking me up in his arms, he tugged me back into the lake, deep water instantly splashing up around us.
"You are exquisite, Scotty." He bent down to press a soul searing kiss against my wet lips, his arm still tugging me tight against him. "Oh, and I won't forget about what you just agreed to."
Pulling back to meet his eyes, I whispered, "Well, I hope you don't mind sharing me."
His eyes scoured down my exposed body from above the dark water, and it was obvious he was imagining the curves hidden beneath. The breasts he'd just teased with his hot tongue.
"I guess we'll just have to see." There was something dangerous about his shadow cast expression, but before I could question it, he cocked a suggestive brow and dove under the water. I tried to suppress my breathless giggles as his fingers found the ticklish skin at the back of my knees.
"Luca!" I spluttered, losing my balance and toppling beneath the surface with a shriek of laughter when he hoisted me high into the air. I didn't know when exactly I'd get to experience this other side of Luca, shared with Lewis or Jax, but I was looking forward to it.
We stayed in the water for a while, playfully splashing each other and attempting to dunk the other under when they least expected it. He definitely had the upper hand. After emerging from a particularly large splash, I smacked his chest with a giggle.
"Hey!" I coughed up a mouthful of water and he shot me an apologetic grin before swimming closer, closing the small distance between us. "That was unfair."
"Sorry, I forget you're not as durable as the other two." He held up both hands in mock surrender and I accepted his apology. We were silent for long seconds, simply drinking each other in from across the water. My eyes traced the muscles along his chest, my gaze catching on the three tattoos on his chest.
Lifting my palm, I placed the tip of my index finger on his ice cold skin, tracing the intricate design with fascination. I didn't voice the question, but he filled in the blanks for me.
"This first one-" his hand carefully repositioned my finger so I was hovering over the poppy flower design. Our eyes met and I waited for him to continue. "This is for my mom. Poppies were her favourite flower, and as luck would have it, her name was also Poppy."
Was. Past tense.
"Luca, I'm so sorry." My eyes filled with sympathy at the pain he tried to hide from his tone.
"There's no need to apologise. It was a long time ago. A drug overdose when I was Seventeen." His lips turned down in a tight frown.
I didn't know what to say, so instead I gripped his hand a little tighter and guided it along with mine down to the second tattoo closer to his ribs. I lingered on the next intimate patch of skin and he froze.
"A snake?" I asked, tracing the serpent's scales and following the path of its coiled body. It looked sly and cunning, even from just the tattoo. I brought my hand away for just a second, unsure if I should continue. It seemed personal.
"It's for my father." His eyes shuttered and he looked away, something hard behind his gaze. I could tell he didn't want to explain much more. "It's kind of hard to explain."
I didn't want to force him into telling me something he wasn't ready to and so moved on.
"And this one?" The last tattoo was a cursive line of Chinese symbols stretching down his rib cage. The symbols were detailed and I had no idea what they meant.
"Ah. This one, well, this one says: 'Live, Laugh, Love."
Live, Laugh, Love. Possibly the worst, cheesy quote mass printed on every teenage girl's bedroom wall. It's been scientifically proven.
That was it. I couldn't keep a straight face, an uncontrollable giggle blurted out and I immediately slapped the back of my hand up to my mouth, trying to contain myself. It was an actual tattoo. This ink was going to be tattooed into his skin for life, I had to be sensitive.
Between the occasional giggle, I tried to give a serious response. Come on. Compose yourself, Evelyn.
"Oh, Luca that is-" I suppressed a bright smile, "-that is truly lovely. It's so- erm, so masculine and unique!" I couldn't even get out the last word without another chocked giggle. The only worse tattoo he could have shown me would be a butterfly on his lower back. Unless... Oh God, I hope these are the only three tattoos he has!
He was quick to cut me off.
"It was a dare from Lewis, I lost the bet and well, I was very, very drunk when it happened." He shrugged with a soft smile. "But for all I know, it could say 'I'm a jackass' or 'I've got a tiny penis.' I can't read Chinese symbols but at least it's a good conversation starter."
"Well, look on the bright side, if it does say you've got a tiny dick, then at least it's accurate?" I teased, and suddenly a tidal wave of water splashed up over my head and I was submerged back under the lake's surface. Spluttering my way back up to the surface with flailing arms, I was greeted by an unapologetic grin.
Okay, so maybe I deserved that one.