Tia

When Em first tells me his plan, I resist -- I need to be here in case Banks gets results from the lab that need to be dealt with. But when I tell Salinger’s mother of Emerson’s proposition, she’s the one convincing me it’s a good idea.

“It’s not a question, Tia,” she tells me over the phone, her tone adamant. “You need to go. Your condition is fragile, and the best thing you can do right now is to get some fresh air and relax.”

“But--”

She cuts me off, her voice stern. “I may not be your mother, but I am your mother-in-law. You don’t want to upset me.”

And she’s a formidable one at that. While our relationship started off shaky, and I’m still not sure how much I can trust her, I do believe she has my unborn babies’ best interest at heart.

I sigh into the phone and try to make a joke. “I thought that was an old wives’ tale, the angry in-laws.”

“It’s not.” There’s no hint of humor in her voice. “You don’t want to upset me, especially when you’re going to need my help come fall when you are about to deliver my grandchildren.”

When she mentions the babies, it’s clear she has experience raising children, but I can sense another layer, something that I want to cling to. Hope.

“I don’t want to disappoint everyone,” I admit knowing how much is riding on this.

“Then don’t,” she says with a tepid laugh. “But Tia, you have to be strong to get through this. And right now, you’re becoming weak because of the stress. No fault of your own, but this is a noninvasive way to correct your course.”

My perception of her has changed so much over the past few months. I used to be terrified of the Director’s wife. But now I see that under her cutthroat and cold demeanor, there lies pain over what she has lost too.

After all, she was once a mother of a daughter. She understands the risks, the potential pain. That is why she cares so much. She uses her intensity as a shield because she doesn’t care if people like her. She only cares about a cure.

And now that I am carrying Salinger’s children, it has become personal for her all over again.

I don’t want to let her down.

Anyone down.

Especially my babies.

“I’ll go,” I tell her apprehensively. “It sounds lovely, being on an island. It just feels so far away.”

“We can send a helicopter if there is any hint of a complication.”

“Do you think there might be?”

I hear her smile through the phone, and when she speaks, there’s that sliver of hope again. “No,” she tells me. “I think you are going to be just fine.”

“And if I’m not?” I ask, voicing my deepest fear.

“Then you’ll have Emerson to help.”

My husbands are understanding when I tell them that I need to get away for a few days. They will be busy with work anyway, and they seem to understand how vital it is that I lessen my stress.

They shower me with hugs and kisses before Emerson and I leave the compound. But they all want to offer me their private good-byes too. I’m glad because I need to spend a few minutes with each of them before I go. I want them to know, individually, how much I love them.

Banks pulls me to the hallway and takes my hand in his, dark eyes always intense. “Call me if you feel even the tiniest warning sign.”

“I promise.”

“And don’t forget to--”

I cut him off. “Take my supplements? I got it, Banks. I mean, Sir,” I add chuckling, not having played the role much recently since he’s been working countless nights poring over his research. But still, my body remembers what it was like to be wrapped up in his arms, held tight. Bent over. Taken. I moan ever slightly at the memory.

“I like the sound of that.” He gives me a seductive stare and I match it.

“Well, maybe when I get back we can play a game together,” I say, running my hands over his groin. My eyelashes flutter as I feel his length harden.

“What kind of game?” he asks, his voice gravelly, a sure sign that he would toss me over his shoulder and march upstairs if the other men weren’t waiting.

Biting back a smile I offer a suggestion. “I was thinking pin the tail on the donkey.”

A grin spreads across his handsome face and he pulls me into a tight embrace, I sink against him relishing this time in his arms. He feels so solid, so sure, and if he is feeling confident in me leaving for a few days, I can relax a little.

“God, I love you, Tia,” his breath hot and wanting.

In his ear, I whisper, “You mean you love my ass?”

He laughs. “That as well.”

We pull apart as Fallon steps into the hall, and I give Banks a kiss on the cheek before letting Fallon take my hand and lead me to the bathroom. I figure if I give Banks more than a cheek kiss, I would need more from him, and soon.

Fallon locks the door and faces me, his protective streak shining through his beautiful blue eyes.

“Don’t,” I say, knowing he’s worried about me, and knowing how that can make him act. “Don’t do or say anything stupid.”

He shakes his head, cupping my cheeks. His hands are so big, so firm. “I...worry. God, I can’t lose you.”

Sighing, I shake my head and place my palm on his cheek, keeping his eyes trained on mine. “I won’t run away.”

“I know.” His gaze narrows. “That’s not what I worry about anymore.”

I nod, understanding. We’ve gotten past all that. Our worries are no longer about us staying in this marriage. It’s about us living through it.

“I’ll be okay. And I’m not going to do well here if I keep opening my computer and reading worst-case-scenarios or other medical studies. At the farm, I won’t even have wi-fi. I’ll just relax and enjoy the fresh air. It’s what the babies need. What I need, too.”

“I miss you already,” he admits. The words, coming from such a rugged man, all brawn, make me melt.

“I love you, Fallon.” I wrap my arms around his neck, clinging to him.

“I love you more.”

“You know,” I say, a smile tugging at my lips as an idea comes to me. “Since there are six babies, each of you should name one.”

He pulls me into his arms. “I don’t know about all that, Tia. I think we ought to focus on you being healthy before anything else.”

I swallow back the pain I feel at his words, wishing he were more confident, knowing he has no real reason to be. He is still scared, not letting himself get attached to the pregnancy. And I understand that, but I need him to be in this with me.

I kiss him goodbye, then slip out of the bathroom, only to be greeted by Huxley.

“There you are,” he says, as Fallon comes out of the bathroom behind me. The men exchange a look and I’m glad the hallway is dark and I can’t read it. I’m starting to get the feeling they are equally unhappy that I am leaving. More than they had initially let on.

Huxley takes my hand and leads me the study. Shutting the door, he takes my hands in his and threads our fingers together.

“Will you miss me?” he asks, his tone light, but there’s an uneasiness in his eyes.

I nod. “Very much.”

“What will you miss?” he asks. The question catches me off guard like it’s a trick or a test. Like he needs something from whatever answer I’m about to give him. Validation?

“I’ll miss your sense of humor and your jokes--”

“There’s more to me than that, Tia.” He looks bruised, but that wasn’t my intent. “I’m worth more than a good time.”

I swallow. “I know. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine,” he says, pulling back, our hands falling. I want to draw him in, bring him closer, but I see that a distance between us I hadn’t noticed before.

“Have I upset you somehow?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, Tia. I shouldn’t have… look, I’ll miss you. But I want you to take care of yourself. You don’t know what you might be up against.”

“With the pregnancy?” I ask.

He tenses. “Yes. Of course. The pregnancy.” Even as he says it though, I know he’s holding something back.

But before I can ask what, Salinger raps on the door and pokes his head in.

“Can I take you upstairs to my room for a minute?” Salinger asks.

I nod and give Huxley a soft kiss on his lips. But as I leave him I have a feeling of unfinished business.

“I have something I want to give you before you go,” Salinger tells me, drawing my attention back to the moment at hand.

I let Sal lead the way.

“I’ll only be gone a few days. You guys are acting like this will be forever,” I say as we reach the top of the stairs.

In his room, he closes the door and takes my hand. “Maybe we’re getting a little melodramatic, but it’s the first time we’ve had to say goodbye to our wife. It’s a big deal.”

“I understand,” I say tenderly. “I just didn’t realize my husbands were all so emotional at farewells.”

My words seem to echo across the room.

“If anything happens to you,” Sal starts, his voice catching. “It would wreck us. You are our life now, Tia. Our everything.”

“I know,” I say, twisting my fingers in his shirt. “Sorry. I’m not taking it lightly either. I understand how serious things are. How delicate this whole situation is.”

“Okay. Good.” He reaches into his dresser and grabs a black jewelry box. “Then take this seriously too.”

“What is it?”

He gives me a crooked smile. “I couldn’t let Emerson be the only one to give you a diamond ring.”

I pull the top of the box back and reveal a sparkling solitaire diamond ring. It’s gorgeous. I don’t know much about jewelry, but I know it’s worth a fortune.

“Sal,” I sigh, shaking my head. “This is too much.”

“No. It’s perfect. And it was my grandmothers’.” He tilts my chin up and kisses the tip of my nose. “See, Em isn’t the only thoughtful one in the bunch.” He takes it from the box and slips it onto my pointer finger. “I want you to have it.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say, admiring the way it sparkles.

“Just like my wife.” He pulls me close and kisses me. His lips are soft and the kiss deepens as he holds me. I close my eyes, allowing myself to give into this moment, knowing every second I have with my husbands is precious.

There are no guarantees.

We pull back and look into one another’s eyes, my heart stirring for him. “So, is this ring your way of marking your territory before Emerson takes me to meet his family?”

Salinger nods, a smile spreading across his face. “I know my family isn’t the same as his, we don’t have a farmhouse and homemade pies. But my family does love you, Tia. So much. Even if it isn’t conventional, it’s still love.”

I give a small nod as he kisses my forehead. “I know.”

A knock on the door forces us apart.

“Tia?” Giles calls from the other side. “Can I say goodbye now? Em said you needed to leave in a second.”

I step away from Sal and meet Giles in the hall. Without hesitation, he lifts me up off my feet, pulling me into the air, causing me to laugh as I’m caught off guard.

“God, it’s good to hear you laugh, woman,” he says, holding me tightly, then settling me down at his hips. I wrap my legs around his waist, my hands around his neck as I catch my breath, so caught up in his eyes my heart aches.

“You scared me,” I say, the laugh still on my lips, still catching my breath as he carries me into his bedroom, the door swinging shut behind him.

I can see in his eyes what he intends, and my body shivers with the same need.

“The smile looks good on you,” he says, pressing my back into the door. “And you know what else?” he asks, using one hand to undo his blue jeans.

“What?” I ask, both shocked and deliriously turned on. My husbands never cease to amaze me. Just when I think I have one of them figured out, I once again find myself shocked by something they say or do.

“My cock looks pretty damn pleased to see you, too.”

I laugh again, as his thickness pressing hard against my ass. But I want him in me, to fill me. I want to leave the compound with him being the last thing my body remembers. I may be laughing, but there’s nothing funny about what I’m suddenly craving.

“Are you asking for a quickie, Giles?” I ask, lowering my chin as a wave of lust washes over me.

He lifts his eyebrows, wiggling them, and I burst out laughing again.

“I can’t take you seriously with those brows, Giles,” I say.

He somehow manages to hold me up while simultaneously easing down my leggings and before I know it, my panties are pulled to the side and my slick pussy is sinking down against Giles’ eager shaft. I open for him, so ready to come, to have him take me hard against the door.

“You can take this seriously, though, can’t you?” he asks, his eyes hungry now.

His cock is so big as it fills me up, and I gasp for air, the sensation of sitting on him, my back against the door, erotic.

“Very seriously,” I pant as he rocks against me.

His mouth is on mine then, and his kiss is deep and full of love. His lips are soft and smooth, and our lips part, our tongues swirling around, devouring each other completely. My nipples tighten as he fucks me, and I love exploring this naughtier side of my husband. Every ounce of Giles is honorable and even his jokes have a purpose. He wanted to make me smile. He knew I hadn’t in so long.

He also wanted me to come against him before I said goodbye.

And as I run my hands over his shoulders, as he takes me hard and fast as our farewell, I’m reminded once more how lucky I am.

I may not know what the future holds, but right now, inside of me, I hold the lives of my husbands’ babies. Our children.

Saying goodbye is hard, but knowing these are the men I have to come home to makes the farewell less bitter and more sweet.