Surprise

MADISON

“Morning, sleepyheads!” Liam called through the door.

“I won’t come in, because I don’t want to see anything I’ll regret. But I’m making you breakfast, and I’ll need to see all three of you downstairs in thirty minutes!”

The look on her face must’ve been cute, because both twins chuckled.

“Okay. Thanks, Liam.”

“Yeah, sure. Please be presentable!”

Levi kissed her. “Well, I guess we need to get up, ’Flake. Liam has spoken.”

“Or we could use those thirty minutes productively,” she suggested.

“Very tempting,” Levi growled against her ear before pulling back. “But thirty minutes won’t be enough.”

“And we have all day, so we can revisit that idea later,” Ethan reminded her.

“Ezra really went hard on you two,” she said, outlining his mouth with her finger before moving up to his jaw, passing over his cut cheek until her finger reached the bruised skin around his eyes.

“We’ve had worse. He was actually pretty easy on us.” He smiled reassuringly before letting her roll onto her back.

“How nice of him,” she said sarcastically before gently tracing Levi’s bruises and cuts as she had done to Ethan’s. “You look like a mirror…same bruise, opposite side.”

“He wanted to make sure you could tell us apart.”

She only managed a faint smile at Levi’s playful tone. “God, I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, there’s nothing to be sorry about,” Ethan said. “We knew what we were getting ourselves into, and your brother knows things about us that made him react that way. We can’t really blame him. It’s all warranted.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think the fact you two were practically man-whores before is an excuse to get into a fight.”

“Thanks, ’Flake.” Ethan chuckled. “But considering we were ‘man-whores’ then, and are with his innocent and only sister now…someone we swore to look after and protect as our own, mostly from people like us…”

He raised both eyebrows.

“I guess it gives him good enough reason to knock us around a bit,” Levi finished.

“But he’s been just as much of a man-whore as you! And now he’s with ~my~ best friend,” Madison said indignantly.

“Yes,” Levi replied. “Which is why he’ll come around sooner or later.”

She sighed. She sure hoped so.

And preferably sooner rather than later.

“Shall we get ready now?” Ethan asked. “I’m afraid Liam will come and grab us if we aren’t down soon.”

“Okay. And Ethan?”

“Yes, ’Flake?”

“Don’t disappear on me again.”

“I won’t. I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

Ethan kissed her quickly before slipping out of bed. “Now let’s get going.”

***

“So where are we going exactly?”

When they’d come down for breakfast, Liam had given her a big hug, then told her the twins had been planning a surprise getaway for her, with his help, and in light of what had happened with Ezra, were moving it up to today.

He felt her getting away for a few days would be good for her and Ezra both.

Her brother needed time to cool down, and she and the twins could use some time away from the pressure of their strained relationships with Ezra.

He’d pointed out that their type of relationship came with all sorts of pressures built in, so why not take this time to enjoy each other now?

He didn’t, however, give away the surprise, leaving that for Ethan and Levi.

Ethan pulled the car into the parking lot of the local harbor, where Levi was already waiting. “If we tell you now, it’s not a surprise anymore.”

Levi opened the door and helped her out. Ethan grabbed her bag, and they all walked down the dock.

“~Now~ can I know where we’re going?”

Madison turned her best puppy-dog eyes on the twins, but neither of them seemed to be affected. They just shook their heads and kept walking.

Finally, they stopped.

“Wow,” she whispered. The yacht in front of her was simply amazing. “Is it yours?”

Levi nodded and held out his hand. “Shall we go on?” When she took it, he laced his fingers with hers and tugged her onward.

“You like it?” Ethan asked.

“I do. You know what I’m realizing? That I know very little about your world outside of mine. For instance, that you have a ~floating house~.”

“Well, get ready, because we’re here to discover everything about each other.” The sly smirk on Levi’s face was dangerously sexy. “We’re gonna have enough time for you to ask anything you want.”

Ethan smiled. “Provided it doesn’t violate attorney-client privilege, of course.”

Once they’d boarded and settled in, both twins took off their shirts.

“Ready when you are,” Ethan teased.

Madison smiled coyly at them and pulled her dress over her head, revealing a tiny green bikini that showed off her curves.

“Let’s go then.” She walked to the flat foredeck, swinging her hips on purpose, and lay down on a lounge chair. And when she peeked back at them, she giggled at their identical lustful expressions.

She was looking forward to the next couple of days.

***

Lying supine on the lounger with her legs bent and slightly parted, Madison enjoyed the direct heat of the sun on her skin.

The twins were at the helm of the boat, sharing the role of captain.

“Are you enjoying the ride, ’Flake?” Levi called.

“I am. It feels so good up here with the light wind and splashes of water. But you know what would make it better?” She propped herself up on her forearms for a better view.

“No. What?” they chorused.

“If you two were over here with me.”

Ethan joined her and sat on the edge of her chair. “Well, luckily for you we’re almost there.”

He leaned over and captured her mouth in a passionate and hungry kiss, and she grabbed his neck and locked her fingers in his hair to pull him closer.

“Oh, come on, you two!” Levi shouted playfully. When he didn’t get an answer, he honked the horn.

Ethan and Madison jumped and pulled away from each other. She started laughing, but Ethan was annoyed.

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you leave us alone for even a minute?”

“Well, where would the fun be in that?” Levi answered, laughing along with Madison. “Besides, we’re here.”

He maneuvered the yacht into a bay, close to the only visible dock.

Madison gazed in wonder at the small island. A thick stand of trees covered a hill on the left, and palm trees dotted the beach in front of her.

To the right, beyond the dock, sprawled a huge estate.

“Where are we?”

“Welcome to Palm Tree Bay,” Levi said, smiling happily. He switched the engine off. “Don’t worry about covering up. No one else is here.”

Madison collected her stuff and walked toward Levi, then wrapped an arm around his naked waist.

“How come no one’s here? It’s beautiful.”

“It would be trespassing, babe.”

“Are you saying this is a private island?”

Ethan joined her at Levi’s side. “Yes, ~our ~private island.”

Her mouth dropped open at Ethan’s words. She’d known their family was rich, but…

“Why didn’t I know anything about it? I’ve known you my entire life.”

“We didn’t either until a couple of months ago,” Ethan explained with a shrug. “Apparently our grandad kept it a secret from his own children and left it to us when he died.”

“Yeah, he never liked his own children or nephews. ‘Levi,’ he used to tell me, ‘they’re all a bunch of spoiled brats—never follow their example.’”

The twins gathered everyone’s belongings on the dock, then led Madison up a ramp and onto the wooden pier that connected the dock to the beach.

When they reached a solid wood gate, Levi unlocked it. “I can’t wait to show you around.”

The excitement in his voice made Madison excited too.

She stepped through the gate and looked around the estate, almost hypnotized.