Chapter 16

They lived, oddly enough, in Ohio. My home was in a little town right outside of Atlanta. I loved the area, with the huge old houses harkening back to a bygone era, the seemingly unhurried flow of life a refreshing change from the rush of L A or Chicago. My condo was just outside the city limits of Atlanta but very close, a good place for a single man. It looked like I'd be needing a bigger place soon.

With a lot of reluctance, we said goodbye to Canada. Despite the cold, I felt I could easily live there. The few days after the nights I spent alone with them were amazing. When we got back from the cabin, we discovered Cathy had moved everything into my suite. The first night when we were all in bed together is etched in my memory forever. We rolled around in every combination two women and a man could dream of. I managed(just barely)to satisfy each of them once. By then I was drained, so they reached for each other, and I was content to watch.

We talked about it long and hard, and mutually decided they would stay on birth control for at least a year, to make sure we were truly bonded before we brought children into the mix. They grinned afterwards. "That doesn't mean we won't practice, honey. We will. A lot."

They had closed up their house in Ohio, and put it on the market. They were in our condo, and had no intention of leaving.

I finally told then where the money came from. It was kind of funny when they found out. "Really? You're Issabella? I've read every book she's ... that you've written." This was from Cathy.

"It gets worse. I write under a couple of other names also. I'm Rock Stone."

Cathy didn't make the connection, but Tory did. "You write Battle Babes? I've read a lot of those when we were doing po ... er, had our earlier career. It helped me to think in at least one universe the women were equal to or better than the men."

I'd learn they were a little shy, now that we were together, about their past. I had cleared the air on that fast. "What's done is done. You had your reasons. And it's years in the past, and you can't rewrite history. What matters is we're here, right now, and we're committed to each other. If I didn't trust you, this would never work." I got some extra good loving, if that was even possible, from them that night.

Once Cathy understood what I'd written, she grinned, a grin that made me nervous. "We are so doing a Battle Babes movie. I was born to play Captain Titts, and Tory is Sargeant Hipps. We'll kill it."

I'd been thinking along the same lines, but that was in the future. Right now, Leah and Dorian were in L A. She was working on the Issabella script, and Dorian was a line producer on a major film. It was several steps up from his past jobs, and he credited us.

"Grolar, Scourge Of The Northlands" was a bona fide hit. Of course, we'd overrun the budget by about a million and a half, but we'd already netted ten times our investment. Cathy and Tory got good reviews, and Tory was voted "Screamer Of The Year" by a fan magazine. Their background came to light, and they were interviewed quite a bit. If any of them brought up their past, they ignored the question. They did comment on it in an interview by a show devoted to Hollywood, saying that the past would always be there, and they weren't apologizing for it. They also praised the film, thanking the casting director, Dorian, the director, and the executive producers, especially me, for giving them a chance.

In a strange twist of fate, the leading man got rave reviews, praising him for going out of character in the final scene. He, of course, took all the credit, saying he'd talked the director into it, so he could broaden his acting skills. Eric was a little pissed, but I thought it was funny.

We'd deliberately left the movie open ended, and there was already a website dedicated to pushing the movie company(us)into making a sequel. I was already thinking of storylines. We'd redone part of the script so Tory's fate was left hanging, just for that reason.

While I worked, the girls went house shopping. It took them a month before they found what they wanted. They took me to look at it, and I have to say I was impressed. Seventy-five acres of mostly pasture, with a very nice, very large barn. The driveway was a third of a mile long, ending in a circle, in front of a huge house, large columns up front, and a balcony that went all the way across the second story. Seven bedrooms("planning ahead, honey," they giggled), with more rooms that I couldn't even begin to understand the function for.

Seems both Cathy and Tory had always wanted horses, which is why they chose it. The list price was two million three, but it had been on the market for two years, and the owners were willing to negotiate. We settled on one six, more than I wanted to give but less they wanted to take. If I hadn't had two females saying "please Honey" about ten times a day, and going to great lengths in the bedroom to make me happy if I said yes, I would probably been a better bargainer.

The girls didn't know how much money I actually had. They now knew I wasn't broke, but didn't have a dollar figure. I shocked them, something not easy to do, by giving them another six hundred thousand, to furnish and renovate. I thought they were going to kill me in the bedroom, again. In short order the place was filled with antiques, or reproductions if they couldn't find what they wanted. They looked around, and hired a caretaker for the property, an Hispanic man in his early fifties, with a younger wife and two teenage daughters, who became our housekeepers and occasional cooks. There was a three bedroom bungalow located on the other side of the stables, so free housing was included in the deal. A bonus was Senor Gomez had ten years experience on a horse farm.

There was a small studio apartment connected to the barn, at one time housing for a groom, and they redid it into an office, where I could work without being disturbed. I was touched, not expecting it at all. Five months later we moved in, and hosted a small party. Eric and Savanna, now a permanent couple, Dorian and Leah, seven months along and into the waddling duck stage, which I teased her about. She just grinned when I asked if her sex drive has slowed.

Dorian answered. "I intend to keep her pregnant for years to come. her drive is so high I stay exhausted. I'm thinking seriously about investing in a battery company, the way she goes through them." Leah flushed and giggled, then asked how sturdy the bed in their room was.

We laughed, joked about the movie, did a little talking about a sequel. Leah couldn't drink, and Dorian never had much. The girls were sipping champange and giggling, while Savanna and Eric were hitting the bourbon pretty hard. I was sipping my rye, just enjoying the companionship.

Leah had to go to bed pretty early, and of course Dorian went with her, despite her protests he stay and have a good time. I was sitting in an easy chair while the girls were all piled on a couch in front of the fire. Eric pulled up a chair beside me. He waved a hand around.

"How much did all this cost?"

Something about the way he said it irritated me. Eric tended to be jealous sometimes, for no good reason. I hadn't been around him much in the last few months, because for all practical purposes I was married. I looked him over while we talked. He seemed a little thicker, his face a little more flushed than alcohol would cause.

"Oh, I got a pretty good deal on it, but I didn't buy it for me. It's a present for my girls."

He snorted. "Oh, that's right, THE GIRLS. They've really got you pussywhipped, don't they."

I sat up, looking at him more closely. He was high on something, I'd bet on it. I surprised him by laughing. "Yes they do, and I'm loving every minute of it. If a man has to be pussywhipped, those two are definitely the route to take."

"Don't you miss it? Going out on the prowl, pulling some sweet little piece just because you can? Pounding her to get off, just for the physical relief?"

For the first time I frowned. Where was he going with this? "Oh, sometimes I look at a cutie and wonder if she's a screamer, but that's it. When you've got two of the hottest women on the planet in your bed, willing to fulfill every fantasy you've ever had, what could you be looking for? I'd bet this house there's nothing better out there."

I decided to change the subject. "So, you and Savanna? Going anywhere with that?"

For the first time tonight he actually gave a true smile. "Yeah. We're getting pretty serious. I think I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Well, well, sure didn't see that in his future. "Really, you're going to settle down? No more aspiring starlets in your future?"

You could have knocked me over with a feather at his answer. "Oh, I'm not giving that up, and Savanna has two guys and a woman she's been seeing a lot of while I'm out of town. They've even joined us a time or two. We've had several talks about this, and we agree monogamy is really overrated. If you truly love each other, it shouldn't matter who you share your body with."

Without a doubt, I was looking at a disaster waiting to happen, but what he said next threw me for a loop. "You should be used to it, living with two women who share you. What do you say, we're all together tonight, maybe we can play a little? I know that's what Savanna wants. She's probably talking about it with them now. You know they've played before, right?"

He grinned. "And you haven't experienced heaven until she takes you in her mouth. The girl has skills brother, I kid you not."

I looked over at the girls, their heads together, giggling. I knew I was about to snap. I'd had anger problems in the past that had come out after my wife left me. Beat the shit out of a guy for hitting on the girl I was with, he ended up in the hospital and I ended up on probation, with court ordered anger management sessions. They actually helped. But when I got a full head of steam up and blew, it could be very ugly. I got up right in the middle of his spiel and walked out, before my natural inclination to kill him took over.

The girls called out to me but I kept walking. They wanted Eric and his whore, they needed to go for it. I'd hire somebody to help them move, because they sure as fuck weren't living with me any longer.

I went to the studio, locked the doors and turned out the light. I'd just changed the locks and haven't given them their keys yet, so I knew I couldn't be disturbed. I sat in the dark, brooding. Twenty minutes later I heard steps on my gravel path. The door rattled, then they knocked.

"Will, honey, are you in there? Please come out if you are. Talk to us baby, you got us freaking out here. I've never seen you look so pissed, honey. Did we do something wrong?"

That was Cathy, as soon as she stopped Tory started. "Please, baby, please. Talk to us."

I almost considered coming out until I heard Eric. "He's not in there. He'll get over his little sulk and come home later."