by Elle Kennedy
Even in the shadows, he could see her blushing. “I wasn’t hungry then. I am now.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m sorry for eavesdropping. I didn’t do it on purpose. You just came in and started talking before I could announce myself, and then I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“It’s okay.” He propped his hip against the counter and watched as she resumed the task of preparing a turkey and ham sandwich.
“So your dad is going skiing?” she prompted. “I heard you say something about the slopes.”
“Yeah, he’s heading to Switzerland for a couple of weeks, so I’ll be spending Christmas here. With who, I have no clue yet.”
“My holiday plans are up in the air too,” she confessed. “Chris and I were supposed to spend Christmas in Paris—that was the last stop on our honeymoon. And since I was supposed to be gone, my parents booked a twelve-day cruise, and now my mom is freaking out and threatening to cancel their trip. I spoke to her earlier and tried to talk her out of it, but I don’t know if I was persuasive enough.”
“Would it be so bad if they stayed in town?”
“Honestly? I’m not feeling very festive. I’d rather they enjoy themselves in the Bahamas.”
“What about you?”
She shrugged, then sat on a stool and took a bite of her sandwich. “I’ll figure something out.”
“You could spend the holidays with me.” The words popped out before he could stop them.
Claire’s gaze flew to his. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I mean, you’ve still got another two weeks off, so it’s not like you have to rush back to San Francisco. Dylan and I are doing Christmas Eve with friends, and you can join us for that, and I’m assuming he’s heading home right after dinner to see his mom, so you and I can keep each other company on Christmas Day.”
“You really want me to stay for another two weeks?” She sounded troubled.
“Why not? You already know I like having you around.”
“Yeah, but that was before…” She trailed off, averted her gaze, and focused on eating her sandwich.
“Before what?” When she didn’t answer, he chuckled. “Before you had sex with Dylan, you mean?”
She lifted her head. “He told you.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re not upset?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you the rest?”
“About his mom’s financial troubles? Yeah. Fucking sucks, huh?”
“It does. I’m glad he told you. But…I was referring to the other rest.”
Aidan raised his eyebrows. “The other rest?”
“You know, what he asked me.” She set her sandwich on her plate and reached for the OJ carton on the counter. As she poured herself a glass, she kept her head down, and kept talking. “He told me about how the two of you like to, um, you know, sleep with the same woman.”
“We do,” he confirmed with a nod.
“And that you guys want…um…you want me, I guess.”
“We do,” he said again.
She paused, and he didn’t push her. From this point on, the situation was delicate. He couldn’t bulldoze his way to results the way he’d done earlier by throwing Claire and Dylan together. It was time to proceed with extreme caution.
Which was pretty damn difficult to do when he wanted Claire McKinley more than he wanted his next breath.
She looked so beautiful tonight, the shadows dancing around her face and the light from the stove clock catching in her long hair. She’d left it loose and cascading down her shoulders, those wavy red tresses practically begging his fingers to stroke them. She was wearing the same pajamas she’d been donning all week, a pair of plaid pants and a pink tank top that outlined her braless breasts.
“For Pete’s sake, you and Dylan have perfected seductive looks to a T.” Her weary voice alerted him to the fact that he’d totally been caught ogling her breasts.
“I’m sorry?”
“Are you asking or telling?”
“Both?”
A reluctant smile stretched across her face, but it didn’t stay there for long. “I’ve been thinking about Dylan’s proposition all night,” she started carefully.
A burst of disappointment went off in his chest. That was not the tone of a woman who was about to make him a happy man.
“But you’re going to have to pass,” he finished.
“I…can’t.”
He nodded. “All right then.”
“You don’t understand. I’m…damn it, I’m attracted to you, Aidan.”
As she said the words, her brown eyes focused on his bare chest, and the lustful appreciation glimmering in her expression did wonders for his ego.
Her gaze abruptly moved to his face. “But I’m attracted to Dylan too—obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have slept with him. But two men at once? I can’t be that woman. And don’t get me started on the sleeping-with-Dylan part. I literally got out of a relationship less than a week ago—with his brother. What kind of woman sleeps with her ex-fiancé’s brother?”
Her hand shook as she brought her glass to her lips and gulped down some juice.
Hating to see her in distress, Aidan rounded the counter, took the glass from her and placed it on the counter. Then he cupped her chin with both hands and fixed her with a serious look.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t help who you’re attracted to. Dylan just happens to be Chris’s brother. Big deal. You and Chris aren’t married—you aren’t even together anymore.”
“It’s still crossing a line.”
“Who drew the line?” he countered. “Because it looks to me that the line is exactly where it should be, and you’re on the right side of it. Chris, on the other hand? He crossed a line by running out on your wedding without having the decency to talk to you, and now that bastard is lying on a beach and enjoying what was supposed to be your honeymoon. If you want to play who’s-the-asshole, then he’s the clear winner.”
Claire’s soft laughter echoed in the kitchen. He loved the way she laughed, and he loved that he had the power to bring a twinkle to her eyes when seconds ago she’d looked beaten.
“Fine, he’s the asshole,” she relented. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not comfortable with…you know, with what you guys want from me.”
He traced the seam of her lips with his finger, felt her mouth tremble beneath his touch. “Does it make you uncomfortable, or does it scare you because you’re actually tempted to do it?”
She looked flustered. “I…I just can’t. Please don’t push me on this, Aidan.”
“I would never, ever push you into something you didn’t want.” He searched her gaze. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded. Without hesitation, which spoke volumes about the trust she had in him. The notion warmed his heart.
“Dylan won’t push, either. We’re the kind of guys who are fully aware that no means no.”
To his surprise, Claire suddenly reached out and touched him. Her fingers stroked his cheek, and he sagged into her touch, oddly comforted by it.
“You are pretty damn amazing, you know that?” she murmured.
He swallowed. “So are you.”
Their gazes collided and held. Tension gathered in the air, slowly transforming into awareness the longer they stared at each other. Aidan’s chest felt hot, tight with excruciating need. His cock hardened, except this time it was all for Claire.
“I want to kiss you,” he said gruffly.
Her eyes widened, hand dropping from his face. “Aidan…”
“One kiss.” He let out a ragged breath. “Give me one taste, sweetheart.”
“It’s not a good idea,” she whispered.
“No, but I’m still asking for it.”
She got very quiet, but her gaze was still locked with his, and just when the silence dragged on a little too long, just when he thought she would shoot him down, she opened her mouth and said, “Okay.”
Aidan
didn’t waste a single second. He lowered his head and took possession of her mouth, kissing her hungrily, desperately, days and days of pent-up need spilling over and turning him into a greedy bastard who wanted to do nothing but take, take, take.
Claire’s little moan of pleasure got his blood going, fueled the urgency flowing through his veins. He angled his head and deepened the kiss. Thrust his tongue between her parted lips and explored her mouth, purposefully, thoroughly, needing to remember what she tasted like in case he never got this opportunity again.
He memorized every detail. She tasted like orange juice and toothpaste. Smelled like lavender. Felt like heaven with her full breasts pressed against his bare chest.
The last thing he wanted to do was wrench his mouth from her soft, full lips, but he’d asked for only one kiss, and he was a man of his word.
Breathing hard, he broke the kiss and edged backward.
Claire’s breathing was just as labored as his, her big brown eyes glazed and shining with passion. “Aidan…” Her voice quivered. “I wish I could be who you and Dylan want me to be.”
He smiled. “You are. You’re exactly who you should be, sweetheart.”
She blinked in surprise.
“And don’t worry,” he went on. “Dylan and I will be perfect gentlemen from this point on. Like I said, we won’t push.”
“No?” she said doubtfully. “Then why am I anticipating a seduction attempt or two?”
“I promise you, we won’t try to seduce you.” With that said, he headed for the doorway, then paused, unable to resist a few flirtatious parting words. “Unless you ask us to.”
Chapter Ten
“That is the saddest excuse for a tree I’ve ever seen,” Dylan declared in disgust.
Next to him, Aidan voiced his agreement, then turned to Claire and said, “Come on, McKinley, you can’t expect us to buy this tree.”
“I can, and you will,” she said sternly.
She didn’t care that both men were looking at her like she’d grown a mustache. Out of all the trees in the lot, this seven-foot evergreen was the one she’d set her sights on, and she wasn’t going anywhere until that tree was strapped to the top of Aidan’s SUV.
Dylan let out an exaggerated sigh. “This is really the one you want? Really?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s all patchy—that entire branch over there has no needles!”
“Don’t care.”
“And it leans to the right. Who wants a Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa tree?”
“I do.” She crossed her arms. “Look, you know nobody else is going to buy this tree. Don’t you think it deserves a good home?”
“It deserves to be tossed in a wood chipper,” Dylan retorted.
“You deserve to be tossed in a wood chipper.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That’s your best comeback?”
“Children, please.” Aidan raised his hand to silence them, then glanced over at her again. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll buy this tree, but only if Dylan and I get to bail on the Walmart portion of the day. I’ll give you my car keys and you can get the decorations and gift wrap by yourself.”
She beamed. “Deal.”
“I can’t believe you’re humoring her,” Dylan muttered. “Come on, man, this tree is going to look shitty in the condo.”
“You’re going to look shitty in the condo,” Claire said sweetly.
“Wow, another solid comeback, McKinley.”
“Thank you.” She caught the attention of the lone attendant in the lot and waved him over. “We’ll take this one,” she called, pointing to the neglected tree.
Dylan grumbled the entire time it took to pay the attendant, haul the tree to the car and secure it on the roof.
Claire, on the other hand, felt triumphant and pretty damn happy. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. These past couple of days with Dylan and Aidan had been a total blast—well, if you ignored the sexual tension that continued to hover over the three of them like a canopy.
But just like Aidan had promised, neither man had tried to change her mind about the crazy threesome subject that had been broached.
Funny thing was, she was as disappointed as she was relieved. She knew they both still desired her; their hot gazes followed her all over the condo, and with Dylan doing classroom training at the base all week and coming home with Aidan at four o’clock every day, the three of them had been spending a lot of time together. Having dinner. Watching movies. Kicking ass in Call of Duty on the boys’ PS3.
All very innocuous activities, and yet Claire was liable to self-combust any day now. Memories of her encounter with Dylan continued to haunt her, mingling with the memory of Aidan’s kiss. The carnal images even followed her into slumber—she’d had so many dream orgasms she’d lost count.
God, how was it possible to feel such overpowering desire for two men? Equal desire, to boot, because she wasn’t drawn to one man more than the other, and as troubling as it was, when the three of them were together, she felt like everything…made sense.
Which made no sense, damn it!
“Oh, so now you’re a Silent Susie after making us listen to you babble about that tree for the past forty-five minutes?”
Dylan’s sarcastic voice brought a much-needed interruption to her crazy thoughts. “Sorry, did you say something?” she asked.
“I asked if you were cool with Sal’s Diner for lunch. We’re in the mood for breakfast food.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Good, let’s get this show on the road then.” Dylan proceeded to prove that his gentlemanly nature didn’t extend to seating arrangements by shouting out, “Shotgun!”
Since he beat her to it, Claire grudgingly got into the backseat, while he turned to gloat at her from the passenger seat.
Aidan slid behind the wheel, started the car, and a moment later, the tree lot was nothing but a speck in the rearview mirror. When they came to a stop at a red light, Aidan glanced at the festively decorated storefronts in the plaza to their left, then mumbled something that sounded like “California Christmas”.
Claire was perplexed. “Did you just say ‘California Christmas’?”
Dylan twisted around to grin at her. “Don’t mind him. He’s got this idiotic idea that Christmas doesn’t count unless it’s celebrated in Antarctica.”
“Snow,” Aidan burst out. “It’s not Christmas without snow.”
Claire laughed. “Oh, you poor East-Coast baby.”
“Have either of you even experienced a snowy Christmas?” he challenged.
“No,” she admitted.
“I have.” Dylan sounded smug. “A couple of years ago the team went wheels-up two days before Christmas, got sent to frickin’ Russia, and I can’t emphasize how cold and unpleasant that experience was.”
“Well, no duh,” Aidan retorted. “You were carrying out an op—of course you didn’t get to appreciate the snow. You need to be in the holiday spirit in order to get the full effect.”
“Naah, I’d rather just celebrate in the sunshine, open some presents and then hit the beach.”
As Claire laughed, Aidan just mumbled a few unintelligible words and sped through the intersection.
Twenty minutes later, they were seated in a red vinyl booth at a family-style diner near the harbor, with Claire and Aidan on one side, Dylan on the other. After a perky blonde waitress took their orders, Claire glanced at Aidan.
“I keep forgetting to ask you, but why did you leave Chicago? Did you get stationed here?”
He shook his head. “No, my dad and I moved here when I was a teenager. He owns an architecture firm in Chicago, but he wanted to open a second branch on the West Coast. After high school, I joined the navy and made San Diego my home. Dad stuck around for five years or so to get the new office off the ground, then left it in the hands of his second-in-command and went back to Chicago.”
“So what is it you do on the base? What’s your rank?
”
“Lieutenant junior grade.”
“And the job description part?” she pressed when he didn’t expand.
His dark eyes grew shuttered. “Naval intelligence.”
“Okay…which means…?”
On the other side of the booth, Dylan rolled his eyes. “Honey, he does a lot of super-secret intelligence stuff that he’s not allowed to talk about. I don’t even bother to ask anymore because I know I’ll just get the same vague non-answer.”
She laughed. “Fine, then I won’t ask either. Hear that, Aidan? You can continue your super-secret life in peace.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he said dryly. “I appreciate that.”
As they waited for their food, the subject changed to the holidays again, and Dylan’s expression turned glum. “I’ve decided not to talk to my mom about the money shit until after the New Year. The holidays are her favorite time of year. I don’t want to upset her.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Claire said.
It still angered her that Chris and Shanna had withheld such important information from him. If she’d known Chris had been lying to her about Dylan having complete knowledge of the situation, she would have rectified that a long time ago. Dylan should have been told that his mother had been spiraling out of control, and now that she knew him better, she had no doubt he would’ve done everything in his power to help Shanna.
“So you’re going to spend Christmas with her then?” she asked.
“Actually, no.”
Both she and Aidan looked at him in surprise. “Since when?” Aidan demanded.
“Since she called me this morning and told me she got invited to spend the week in Palm Springs with one of the ladies from her gardening club.” Dylan shrugged. “I told her to go. With Chris out of town, it would be just the two of us, and I’d rather she have some fun with her friend, considering what a tough year she’s had.”
“Here you go, guys.” The waitress strolled up to their table juggling three plates in her hands.
She served Claire and Aidan without comment, but when she set Dylan’s plate in front of him, her entire demeanor changed. Suddenly she was toying with a strand of her hair and smiling prettily at him.