“Put her down,” Winslow ordered. “She’s my guest.”

Abruptly the hands released me and I would have fallen to the ground if Hollis hadn’t been there to catch me.

“You’re making a great impression, Darwin. Have you gone out of your way to assault all our other esteemed guests as well?” Winslow said softly although there was an undercurrent of anger in his tone and his eyes seemed to darken as he addressed the giant man in front of us.

Darwin had to be just under seven feet tall and his shoulders were as wide as a small car. His whole body was huge, but he cowered under Winslow’s clear displeasure.

“I--I--I’m so sorry, sir,” he stuttered backing away slowly.

“As well you should be,” Winslow said dismissively.

He tried to explain again, “I saw her sneaking around and I thought---”

“I wasn’t sneaking!” I protested.

Hollis cut-in, “See to the other guests, Darwin. We’re fine here.”

“Yes, sir.” He turned around and quickly made his way back to the cabin.

“Good idea hiring a giant as security. He’s definitely intimidating,” I said trying to make a joke out of what had just happened hoping that they wouldn’t think I was eavesdropping although that is exactly what I had been doing.

Neither Winslow nor Hollis seemed to be in a joking mood.

“Come on, Ivy. I’ll take you back to the city,” Hollis said leading me away by the elbow.

“Ivy’s my guest and she’s staying here,” Winslow said grabbing hold of my other arm. His grip was just as strong as the giant who had just picked me off the ground.

“Get out of my way, Winslow.”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, Hollis. If you have a problem with Ivy being here, then you should leave.”

They stared at each other. Neither man moved and finally I grew tired of the stare down and said, “What exactly is going on here?"

“Winslow’s being stupid. You should not be here. Not around this crowd. It’s just not safe.” Hollis bit out.

Winslow's eyes narrowed. “And how is that, Hollis? How am I jeopardizing Ivy’s safety by telling her the truth?”

“My safety? Is the gala for escaped criminals or something? What’s going on here?” I said again thoroughly confused and feeling apprehensive at the same time.

“It’s nothing like that, Ivy. I just wanted to introduce you to some friends and family. Apparently Hollis doesn’t like my friends and family much although we pay his salary.”

“Friends? Family? Is that what you consider them?” Hollis laughed hoarsely.

Winslow didn’t respond and then Hollis slowly let go of my arm. “I have an idea. Why don’t I stick around? Keep Ivy company while you entertain your friends.”

“I would prefer you not stick around.”

“I’m not going to give you any other choice. She stays. I stay.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m being cautious,” Hollis shot back.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I threw my hands in the air in exasperation. “Listen, this has been fun and all,” I said sarcastically. “But I’m done. I don’t know what is going on here, but apparently, it’s not what I thought it was and I want no part of it. Even though I have no idea what IT is. Either you or Hollis can take me back to the city for all I care.”

“The ferry’s already left. We’re here for the night,” Winslow said turning away from us and walking towards the cabin.

Hollis stood there with me, his jaw tight. He looked like he wanted to murder Winslow. Moreover, Winslow didn’t seem perturbed by Hollis’ anger at all.

“Are you two just going to stand there or are you coming along?” He called over his shoulder.

“Come on, Ivy,” Hollis said reluctantly.

“What’s going on Hollis?”

“Just a family gathering.”

“Truthfully? Then what’s the big secret you don’t want me knowing?”

“Excuse me?” Hollis said faking ignorance.

“I overheard you two talking.”

He stopped abruptly and said, “And how much did you hear, Ivy?” Then he mumbled as if to himself, “Apparently not much since you’re still here.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just follow my lead.”

I sighed, “Is there something about Winslow’s family and friends that you don’t want me to know? You seemed more concerned about them than Winslow.”

“There are things about Winslow’s family that I don’t even want to know.”

“Winslow said he was taking me to a gala not to some sort of family filled party.”

“It is a gala. Of sorts. Anyway, just follow my lead. They’re a strange bunch.”

I didn’t know what to make of Hollis’ words, but I didn’t get another second to think about it as we approached an impatient Winslow on the front steps.

He took my hand in his ignoring Hollis and began to show me around. The cabin was more of a mansion than anything else and I stared at it in awe of how big and pretentious it looked.

“It’s pretty opulent for a cabin. Don’t you think?” Winslow said reading my mind.

I tried to be diplomatic in my response. “There’s nothing wrong with splurging every now and then, although I would guess this splurge cost more than the seven figures range.”

He surprised me by saying, “It was 14.8 million actually. My grandfather bought it, said it was a steal.”

I shook my head, “You must be loaded if you consider 14.8 million dollars a steal.” It wasn’t until then that I noticed that almost everyone was staring at us. There were at least fifty people at the party and they all literally were looking in Winslow’s direction. Some whispered to each other while others pretended to be looking elsewhere. The majority of the looks were curious, but others were veiled hostility and it was clearly directed towards me. I didn’t even know these people but some of them were clearly bothered by my presence.

“Is it just me or is everyone staring at us? And I thought we were going to a gala?”

“This is gala-ish.”

“Oh jeez, now you sound like Hollis too. No, this is some sort of family reunion where I’m clearly not welcome.”

“As long as this property belongs to me, you’ll always have a place here. There’s no need to feel uncomfortable. Would you like to know what’s going on here?”

“Yes, please.”

Winslow opened his mouth, but Hollis popped up and handed me a drink. I took it and then he began to speak not allowing Winslow to continue.

“Every six months Winslow’s family and friends gather here for some rest and relaxation.”

“Oh is that all? You all get a bit raucous? Is that what you were hiding? I mean, I just graduated from college I’ve gone to my share of wild parties.” I was exaggerating, but I wanted to seem worldly. I honestly probably had only gone to one wild party my entire college career. I had found all the drinking games boring and had promptly left.

Winslow smiled acerbically, “More than a little bit raucous.”

“If that’s the case, I hate to sound like a party-pooper, but I’m beat. Exhausted. And I need to shower.” I tilted the wine up to my lips and took a sip.

“Shower?” said Hollis with a teasing note to his voice, “Are you feeling dirty, Ivy?”

I shot him an angry look. I knew what he was referring to and apparently so did Winslow as he replied, “You can quit being crude, Hollis. I could smell your scent on Ivy miles away.”

“Get used to it,” Hollis growled.

“You’re on my territory tonight, Hollis,” Winslow said softly, but clearly his words were a veiled threat.

“You think that’ll stop me?” Hollis said stepping closer.

Winslow said, “It should.”

I was standing between them, looking between the two of them. They seemed ready to tear each other to shreds. And that’s when a deep voice from earlier interrupted. It was the giant, Darwin. I knew that before even turning around. But when I did turn around, I realized the whole party had stopped and all the guests were standing mere inches away from me encircling Winslow. I moved towards Hollis clearly startled. How in the world had they all appeared at Winslow’s side so fast? With none of us noticing or hearing them approach. Something wasn’t right here.

And there was something about their eyes that bothered me. Their gazes seemed predatory.

“What would you like us to do, Winslow?” said an older woman studying Hollis with disdain.

“Nothing. At least not tonight. I’ll see Ivy to her room. She’s tired. We’ll be retiring early. Enjoy the rest of the party.” And with that he slipped my arm around his and led me away. I looked behind me and saw Hollis looking after us, completely unperturbed by the mob around him who looked just as threatening as Winslow had earlier.

“Call me crazy, but they’re not thinking of hurting Hollis, are they?”

Winslow shook his head. “As long as Hollis remembers his place, he’ll be safe.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, my dear Ivy, you don’t have to worry about our dear Hollis. He’ll be fine.”

“I would worry about you as well if your circumstances were the same as his,” I said not wanting to sound as if Hollis were the only man I cared about.

“I know. You have a big heart, Ivy. Big enough to care for the both of us. But just as I’m sure Hollis has said to you, I’m not interested in sharing.”

I didn’t know what to say as we continued down the long hall and he escorted me to an elevator. We stepped in silently and the elevator began to ascend. I could see down below and the guests were now scattered, again enjoying themselves. I spotted Hollis easily, leaning casually against a column with his arms folded watching us. I watched him watch us, until the elevator arrived at its destination.

I went to step out of the elevator and hazarded a glance behind me, Hollis was no longer there. Next thing I knew, Winslow was tugging me along.

“Don’t worry about Hollis. He’ll be fine. He’s pretty resilient.”

“I thought you guys were friends,” I found myself saying.

“We are. And will always be. That doesn’t change that we both want you and will do what we must to have you.”

“But the other night when we made love...when we all made love together...” I couldn’t continue talking. I was suddenly too embarrassed to ask the question that went without saying.

“We both wanted you. And neither of us were willing to let the other’s presence stop that from happening.”

“Oh,” was all I managed to say as he led me to a door and opened it.

Just as the rest of the house was a nod to modern architecture so too was my bedroom. It was minimalist and contained few items, but they were beautifully made of wood melded with metal. I looked over at the king size bed covered with pillows. I couldn’t wait to sleep. As far as I was concerned, it had been a long emotionally draining day. Being torn between Winslow and Hollis was definitely taking a toll on me.

As if sensing that, Winslow touched my cheek gently and said, “Take a hot shower and then relax. Get some sleep. I’ll make sure no one bothers you. Especially, Hollis.”

He kissed me then. Gently. Taking my face between the palms of his hands. He took his time exploring my mouth. I sighed against his lips and slipped my arms around his neck. I kissed him back, not wanting that moment to end. I knew what I felt towards both men was more than just a sexual pull that I couldn’t ignore; no they both stirred more than my arousal. I was falling for them. I was falling for Winslow’s gentleness and his ability to understand who I was as a person and my wants and needs. And I was falling for Hollis’ unwavering protectiveness, his desire to shield me and possess me in only a way an alpha male could. They were different but they both appealed to me and I knew I had to make a decision as Winslow slowly pulled his lips away from mine.

I stared into his eyes and wanted to shove everything else away from my brain and just exist in that moment.

But we both knew it wasn’t that simple. He stroked my cheek. I loved the gentleness of his warm hand against my skin and then with a frustrated sigh, uncharacteristic of him, he said a gruff, “Goodnight.”

I stared after him until he disappeared through the elevator doors.