The shoes sort of look like the Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz.
…Well, if Dorothy were a stripper.
“Hey, Darren, what’s the holdup-oh, hello,” I turn to the source of the new, male voice and it takes every ounce of self-control to keep my jaw from dropping.
Two other men have joined us, and much like Darren, they’re both drop-dead gorgeous. One of them is huge, with the massive muscles and sculpted face you expect to see on the screen of an action movie. And the other man is closer to Darren’s size, but with the same kind of dazzling good looks you expect to see on Hollywood screens.
Does Kate’s little red dress have some sort of magic powers, luring the hottest fucking guys on the planet to me? Between helping me land a job and now this…I’m starting to think my brother’s Amazonian girlfriend might just be my good-luck charm, and it hits me just how excited I’ll be to call her and Max my sisters when Gavin pops the question.
“Sorry, I was busy making a new friend,” Darren says, winking at me, “Jessie, this is Myles,” he gestures to the larger guy first, “And this is Ivan. Guys, this is Jessie.”
Myles reaches out a hand to me and I take it, immediately struck by the warmth of his skin. “Nice to meet you, Jessie,” he says, and the smile he offers is so warm and friendly, I can’t help but smile back.
Despite his intimidating physique, Myles has this presence about him that makes me relax. I feel…safe around him, which is a strange thing to feel for a very large man you’ve known for half a second.
Ivan takes my hand next, but rather than a handshake like I received from the others, he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it. The heat of his mouth burns against my skin and my heart races. He looks at me, meeting my gaze with warm, golden-brown eyes, and a wicked grin spreads across his face that makes my knees go weak.
I’m tingling all over, and my head is spinning. I’ve never been so turned on in all my life, but I can’t even tell who’s responsible for it. Is it-all of them? I’ve never felt attraction like this, but it’s pulling me in different directions. It’s dizzying.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Ivan says, drawing me out of my stupor.
His voice a surprisingly low rumble that reverberates in my chest.
“The pleasure’s all mine,” I reply automatically.
Or at least, I hope it will be.
Chapter Three
Darren
I can’t help but watch the introductions with sort of a puzzled interest. Myles is his usual friendly self, although I don’t miss the way his eyes linger on Jessie’s body. But Ivan’s the one who surprises me. He can’t keep his eyes off of her, and when he kisses her hand, I think the look of surprise that Myles makes probably mirrors my own.
“So,” Jessie asks me, “Are these two trouble, too, or do they keep you out of trouble?”
“A little of both,” I admit, laughing.
“Hey,” Myles protests, “If anything, these two,” he gestures to Ivan and I, “Are trouble. I’m practically a saint.”
Ivan and I both just look at him and Jessie laughs. “Something tells me that all three of you are the furthest thing from saintly,” she says.
I shrug, still grinning. “I wouldn’t say the furthest thing…”
“I might,” Ivan pipes up.
Jessie’s smile turns flirty. “Well, I’ve been known to get into a little trouble myself from time to time,” she says.
My cock stirs at her words, and I’m thinking trouble or no trouble, I’d like to get into her.
“Well, Jessie, would you like to come dance with us?” Ivan asks, offering her his hand.
She takes his hand and he spins her into his arms, whisking her off onto the dance floor as she squeals in pure delight. Myles looks at me and I shrug. He laughs and the two of us follow them. He and I aren’t really dancers, but Ivan is, so we humor him by coming out here and dancing with him.
Jessie is doing more than just humoring him, though, moving her body with his and clearly enjoying herself. I can’t keep my fucking eyes off her. The way she moves is intoxicating. Her hips sway and that little red dress slides up her thighs, revealing more of those long legs.
The three of us guys sort of end up encircling Jessie and she takes turns dancing with each of us. When she twirls into my arms, I catch the scent of her perfume and feel the silk of her skin against mine.
It’s almost overwhelming. Her back is pressed against my chest and my arms slide around her waist from behind. Her hips gyrate and my erection throbs in my jeans as she grinds against me, and when she flashes a little smile over her shoulder at me, I almost lose it.
I suck in a sharp breath. If it weren’t for the fact that Myles and Ivan had gotten involved, I’d probably be taking her back to my place right now. But now I’m just fucking confused and horny and I can’t think when that shapely ass of hers is right fucking there.
I spin her over to Myles. “I’ll be right back!” I shout over the music.
I make my way outside, desperate for a little fresh air and a moment to get my head on straight. I hadn’t exactly come here tonight looking for a lay, I’d come out planning to spend some time with the guys, but fuck, I’m not sure I can hold out.
I lean against the wall outside, the light breeze cooling me down and clearing my foggy head.
Myles, Ivan, and I have all been best friends since we were thirteen years old. We caused chaos together all throughout high school and after, and now, the three of us have gone from partners in crime to business partners.
Well, and…other partners. Sort of.
The three of us share a unique kind of relationship. We’d all sort of dated other people on and off, as teenagers and after, but somehow we always wound up back in each other’s beds.
It caused problems when we were younger, jealousy and arguments, even escalating to a fistfight once, but eventually the three of us talked and realized the love we have for each other and just sort of gave into our own weird “throuple” dynamic.
It seemed only natural. Why force a choice if we didn’t have to? And we weren’t really exclusive, either. All of us liked women, and occasionally we’d end up going home with a hot girl. Mostly me, if I’m being honest. But we still kept coming back to each other, and the three of us together was intense and amazing.
So it seemed perfect. We were together, we started our business together, and everything was fucking sunshine and rainbows.
For Myles and Ivan, it was a pretty easy adjustment. But I had this constant feeling, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. Something was missing. They’re great, and I’d be fucking lost without them, but I couldn’t shake the thoughts.
And I hadn’t really found it in anyone else, either, so I didn’t think it had to do with them. It was just me, and sometimes I wondered if I’d ever feel complete.
I shake my head. I’m not trying to think about that kind of angst right now, I’m trying to figure out what the hell to do. I’ve never wanted to sleep with a girl that Ivan and Myles had met, and the idea of bailing out on the night to take Jessie home seems like a dick move.
So I won’t. I resign myself to it. I won’t be that asshole, dipping out just for a strange girl. We’ll dance with her, have a good time, and then we’ll go home.
I start to head back for the entrance when the exit I’m leaning near swings open. Jessie looks around, and her face brightens slightly upon seeing me. She makes her way over. “Hey,” she tells me, “I hope I didn’t do something that offended you or took things too far, I didn’t realize you three were all together.”
She wrings her hands as she speaks. I shake my head. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong, trust me.”
She looks puzzled. “Are you sure? You kind of ran out of there like your ass was on fire.”
I laugh. Now that we’re away from the pounding music and I can hear her a little better, I can’t help but notice how interesting her voice is. It’s low, a little raspy, and frankly, sexy as fuck.
Jessie’s cheeks turn pink, but she still looks confused. “Ok, I’m going to be blunt,” she says, “You’re confusing as hell.”
My eyebrows lift in surprise, and she continues, “I don’t understand why you’re flirting with me if you have two boyfriends waiting for you inside the club.”
I can’t help but laugh again, a little shocked by her boldness. “You don’t beat around the bush.”
She shrugs, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips. “I don’t,” she agrees, “Easier just to be honest.”
“I like that,” I tell her, reaching out and brushing a dark curl away from her face, “Sorry to confuse you. I’m a little confused, myself. But basically, the three of us share an open relationship of sorts.”
“I see,” she says, visibly relaxing a little, her expression melting from confusion to interest, “Sounds complicated.”
“It can be,” I admit, “But at the end of the day, we’re happy.”
It’s strange, I’ve never actually talked to anyone about this. We keep our relationship private, and since I’ve only ever had one night stands I picked up alone, I’ve never felt the need to explain.
It’s kind of nice to share it, especially with someone who seems to be taking it in stride, without an ounce of judgement or disdain.
Jessie searches my face, and for a brief second it’s like those dark eyes are reading my thoughts like the pages of a book. It’s almost like she can see that weird empty space, like she can feel that… something missing in me.
And before I know it, I’m spilling our whole fucking life story to this strange girl, telling her everything. It’s like she turned the faucet handle a trickle and the faucet just exploded and started flooding.
Jessie listens intently, laughing at the stories of teenage shenanigans and looking shocked by some of the hardships we all had to face. At one point, I’m telling her about an incident from high school involving a skunk, a fishing pole, and some bacon and she’s laughing so hard she stumbles, nearly toppling over.
I catch her and pull her against me, and her breath hitches, her giggles dissolving and her expression melting into one of lust as she gazes up at me. I feel myself slowly drawing closer until my lips are a hair’s breadth from hers, but the exit suddenly slams open, startling us apart.
Her gaze is still locked on mine, however, as the couple exiting leaves, and for a long time, the two of us just stare, until finally she clears her throat and looks down at the ground.
“So, um,” she takes a shaky breath, “If you guys all share each other, have you ever shared one of your…other partners?”
She picks nervously at her cuticles as she speaks, and her question hits me harder than I expect. “No,” I answer slowly, “We haven’t. And now that you say it, I kind of wonder why.”
We share everything else. How haven’t we shared someone? The idea of it immediately makes my cock spring to life. I guess we’ve all just always been so close, the idea of opening up our strange little triangle to someone else seems alien and strange.
But I like it.
And when Jessie’s cheeks start to turn the color of her dress, I wonder if maybe she wants to offer to be our first.
Chapter Four
Jessie
I can’t believe I just asked that. It was like my mouth disconnected from my brain and I had no control over it.
But once it’s out there, Darren’s reaction surprises me. The way he talked to me surprised me, too. He told me so much about the three of them, and it’s made me feel like I grew up right alongside them.
Hell, it’s made me wish I really had.
When I chance a glance up at his face, he looks intrigued. And when his eyes meet mine, I feel a thrill run through me and a flush of heat washes over my body.
His eyes search my face, like he’s waiting for me to say something, but apparently my brain has reconnected and is keeping my mouth shut to avoid further embarrassment.
I’m rescued by the exit door creaking open again. We both turn to look and see Ivan and Myles stepping outside. “There you guys are, we were starting to think you ran off without us!” Myles says.
“Nope, just getting to know each other,” I say brightly, hoping my face isn’t as red as I think it is.
“Oh, yeah?” Ivan looks at Darren with an inquisitive, mildly confused expression.
“Yeah,” Darren says, and I see a wicked smile spreading across his face that both thrills and scares me, “Actually, Jessie here had a little suggestion for us.”
Myles looks at me. “Yeah? What kind of suggestion?”
My face has to match my dress now, brilliant scarlet. He’s not talking about-
“When I told her about our little situation, she asked if we’ve ever brought one of our outside partners into bed with everyone else, and it got me thinking that we haven’t. And maybe we ought to.”
His voice is a low purr that makes all of my nerves tingle. And his eyes stay locked on me, keeping a thrill humming through my veins.
I want to be the first one they share. I can’t bring myself to say it out loud, but I desperately want it. And that scares me a little. I had done some crazy things when I was living out in Seattle, but despite that, my sex life was incredibly vanilla.
In fact, I could probably count the number of times I’d even had sex on my fingers. The only guy I’d been with had been my high school boyfriend, and when I’d caught him cheating on me, I’d spent a long time avoiding men, and then as things spiraled downwards, I’d been too caught up in everything to even think about opening myself up to someone else.
So the idea of diving right into the deep end should terrify me. But I’m ready to jump.
“Really?” Ivan’s amber eyes meet mine, “What an interesting suggestion. And does Jessie perhaps know someone who’s interested in such a thing?”
His tone is teasing, but somehow also inviting.
I swallow hard, channeling that ready-to-jump feeling to let it power me and chase away the butterflies. “Yeah,” I answer, my gaze locked on his.
I want to come up with a sassy, clever response, but my brain fails me, so I go for the second-best thing. I step close to Ivan, grip his shirt, and pull him down to my height to kiss that snarky mouth of his.
He makes a choked little sound of surprise at my forcefulness, but makes no effort to pull away from me. In fact, he threads his fingers through my hair, cupping the back of my head and kissing me back.
A little moan escapes me when his tongue plunges between my lips and his fingers tighten in my hair. I feel like a wildfire is spreading through my limbs. His hard, muscled chest is pressed against my body and it makes want more in a way I’ve never felt before.
Myles clears his throat and we finally break apart, breathing hard. “Well then,” Ivan breathes.
He seems a little dazed and doesn’t continue the sentence. I turn to Myles, hoping I hadn’t offended him by just shamelessly planting a kiss on one of his boyfriends, but to my surprise, he simply tugs me over to him by the arm and bends low to sweep his own mouth over mine.
This kiss is different, a slow, deep burn that makes me ache for even more. I feel downright tiny in his embrace, which is a strange and new sensation. His massive hands slide down my back, making me shiver, and come to rest at the top of my ass. I stand on tiptoe and coil my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
“Well, is that a yes from the two of you, then?” Darren asks drily.
Laughing, Myles releases me. “It is from me,” he agrees.
“Me, too,” Ivan says.
They all look at me, and I couldn’t possibly say no even if I wanted to. Desire is pounding through my body like a second heartbeat, and I’ve never been so turned on in my life.
“Yes,” I breathe, and in a flash, Darren slams me against the wall and ravages my mouth with his own.
I never realized how different a k
iss could be, but each man is completely unique. Darren’s kiss strikes like lightning, electric and violent, lighting me up from the inside out.
His body is pressed against mine and I can feel the thick ridge of his erection against my thigh. Heat floods my panties and my nipples harden within my bra. He pulls one of my legs around his waist and runs his hand up my bare thigh until his hand slides under my dress to cup my ass.
“Should we maybe take this back to our place before Darren gets carried away?” Ivan asks, sounding amused.
Darren tears his mouth from mine, his breathing ragged, and nods. “Yes, let’s.”
My voice is tremulous and breathy when I speak. “I should let my friends know,” I choke out, “So they won’t worry.”
“Hurry back,” Darren growls, reluctantly letting me go.
I scurry inside and quickly explain what’s going on. Kate and Max encourage me, but to my surprise, Lacey hesitates. “Are you sure about this, Jess? These guys are total strangers.”
I’m touched by the sisterly concern. “I’ll be ok,” I assure her, “I’m tougher than I look.”
I flex a bicep at her and she smiles, but she still insists on putting one of those emergency apps in my phone, where I can contact all of them with one button and send out an alert. She also sets up a “Girls Only” group chat with all of us in it, and my heart swells.
“Thanks, Lace,” I hug her, then the others, promising to keep in touch and make sure they know I’m safe before I dart off.
There’s a brief moment where I wonder if they might have changed their mind and left without me, but that anxiety is relieved the second I step outside. They’re still waiting for me, talking quietly amongst themselves. They look up at the sound of the door. “All set?” Myles asks hopefully.
I nod eagerly. “Let’s go,” I breathe.
Just One More (Just Us Series Book 2) Page 2