by Krista Wolf
“You didn’t,” Bryce assured her. His hand had closed over hers now. “It’s not like—”
“Being a police officer was the two best years of my life,” she said firmly. “All the stuff I did, all the people I helped?” Her face broke into a smile. “It made me feel better at the end of the day. Always made me feel accomplished.”
“Yeah, well you’ve been carrying over the whole ‘accomplished’ thing down here with us,” Roderick informed her. “We’ve hired a lot of people over the years, and no one’s kicked more ass than you.”
“Well I have long legs,” Karissa grinned, extending one for show. At the very end, one of her sexy red heels dangled from the toe of one slender foot.
“I was always good at kicking.”
Twenty-Seven
KARISSA
Dinner was a high-end steakhouse in South Portsmouth. The guys ordered just about every appetizer in sight, and followed it up with medium-rare porterhouses as thick as my wrist.
“You guys can eat,” I’d laughed, cracking into a stone crab claw.
“Yeah well we don’t get out much,” said Camden. He sat on my right, looking incredibly hot in a jet-black button-down shirt that hugged his muscular torso in a perfect ‘V’. “So when we do get out…”
“We usually go nuts,” Bryce grinned, finishing his thought for him.
Some girls in such a situation would’ve held back a little, and ate like a lady. Not me. I dug in ravenously, enjoying a little bit of everything they put in front of us. The place was fancy and expensive, and decorated with intricate wood paneling that reminded me sharply of Southhold. The kind of place with a lounge you’d sip whiskey in afterward, or maybe cognac.
Instead we ate and then left, even skipping dessert. Before I knew it we were back in the car, and although we’d talked all throughout dinner the guys still hadn’t said a goddamn thing.
“I thought we were going to talk?” I ventured, as the car pulled away.
“We are,” said Bryce.
“Now?”
“Afterwards,” Roderick assured me from the front seat.
Camden rolled us smoothly through the city streets, making rights and lefts seemingly at random. I sat back into the leather seat and relaxed, enjoying the buzz that had come from three glasses of merlot. It occurred to me that we were going somewhere else, and that was fine by me. I was just happy to finally be away from the manor. Excited even to be dressed up for once, and out doing something other than squinting down at work orders or barking at subcontractors who’d missed deadlines.
Into a garage we went, and soon I was being helped from the car again by another strong, masculine hand. Our destination was a nightclub near the water. Three flights of stairs later we were in a beautiful glass enclosure, overlooking the lights of Newport Harbor. A DJ pumped music in from every direction. It was loud enough to be exhilarating, but not obnoxious to the point where you couldn’t hear yourself think.
“Come on,” said Bryce. “You’ll like this part.”
Smiling wickedly he led me out onto the dance floor, pulling me behind him while Camden clasped my other hand. I looked for Roderick but couldn’t find him anywhere, and then moments later I was swept up in the crowd. Spinning and whirling alongside my other two lovers, while they passed me back and forth between them again, only in a much different way.
“Ever been here?” Camden asked, his hot mouth tantalizingly close to my ear.
I shook my head. I didn’t know how to tell them I’d never been anywhere. This place, this city — even this state, it was all very new to me.
Hell, there were lots of things that were new to me these days.
The music changed. It slowed a bit, but with a different beat.
“My turn,” said Bryce.
They were words I’d heard from the two of them before, but again in a much different way. Bryce took my hand and pulled me against his body. His free hand slid past my waist and then deftly behind my body, to clasp me gently but firmly in the small of my back.
“I love this dress.”
He murmured the words into my ear, holding his cheek against mine. Our bodies were touching now, almost grinding. The music was pumping. I could feel his heat.
“It would look even better like this, though.”
One warm palm found the exposed skin of my leg, then slid its way slightly upward. It took the hem of my dress with it, inching it that much higher up on my thigh.
“Think so, huh?” I asked coyly.
“I know so.”
“Why? Because you like miniskirts?”
Bryce lifted the hem even higher — dangerously high. My pulse picked up a little as my mouth dropped open.
“This is a miniskirt,” he growled throatily. Very gently, his fingers brushed the new patch of exposed skin. “But this…” he said, lowering the hem back again, “is just plain rock star sexy.”
We were dancing. Grinding. Moving slowly, with one of my legs caught between his. Our faces had grown closer too, along with our bodies. Bryce’s breath was warm against the bare expanse of my neck. His eyes, soft but unyielding.
“You’re good at this,” I said, eying him over. He looked utterly delicious. “Maybe too good.”
He crushed me against his chest, the red-velvet fabric contrasting with the silky material of his navy blue shirt. He tilted my chin upwards, until our lips were practically touching. I was dying to kiss him. Dying to fall into him, and just let him take me.
“You make it easy.”
His nostrils flared, inhaling me, drinking me in. Then I was spinning away, my hand passed to another hand. My body pressed tightly against another body, this one taller, maybe broader, but no less strong and unyielding.
“What did he say?” Camden chuckled, his eyes going to Bryce.
“He said you can’t dance,” I teased, starting trouble. “That you had zero rhythm.”
“Oh yeah?”
His blue eyes flashed as he pulled me away, spinning me to a different section of the dance floor. He moved effortlessly, gliding along. Pulling me through the crowd, until we were even closer to the thumping, pumping music.
Wow.
For a long time we danced, with Camden alternately spinning me off and pulling me close. He slid tightly against me, then pushed away. Put his face against mine, his five o’clock shadow tickling and teasing me, before pulling back again to look me over, head to toe.
Then Bryce showed up… and my body became theirs.
It was just like having sex with them; being traded off as a partner but in public this time, before an entire crowd. Even so it was no less intimate. Back and forth I went, touching them, feeling them, grinding against their hard, beautiful bodies. Dancing with first one and then the other, when I wasn’t sandwiched deliciously between both at the same time.
I was growing hot in my dress. I’d been more prepared to be wined and dined than spun around a busy dance floor, my shoes — kicked off to the side before we’d even started — more suited for strutting than whirling around. Still, none of it stopped me. The heat, the sweat, the pulse-pounding music thumping its way through my body… I was in for all of it, and I was loving every second.
It’s been a long time since you did something like this.
A body spooned me from behind, and I turned to face Bryce with a welcoming smile. This time I slid my arms over his shoulders, still moving my hips in rhythm to his.
“Kiss me.”
My words were drowned out by the music, but he understood them nonetheless. He moved closer, drawing his face near mine. I was dying to taste him. To feel his hot mouth, crushed against my lips…
But at the very last second he turned his cheek.
Damn!
I was shocked, astonished, playfully angry. But before I could do anything else, another pair of arms went around me from behind.
“We have to talk first…” Roderick’s voice growled directly into my ear. His hands were clasped tightly against my bar
e midsection, right where the fabric of my dress criss-crossed and left a smooth expanse of heated flesh.
I whirled, spinning into him. Roderick’s crisp white shirt had three buttons undone, which seemed totally uncharacteristic of him. I realized he’d been watching us from the bar, the whole time.
Standing there, surrounded by all three of them now, a new rush of heat swept through me.
“And when are we talking?”
His mouth was full beneath his beard, his lips wet as our faces drew nearer. His breath smelled sweet, like whiskey.
“Now.”
Twenty-Eight
KARISSA
They took me from all sides, guiding me back toward the nightclub’s exit. Roderick produced my shoes and I stepped into them. Arm in arm, with me in the middle, the four of us made our way outside.
“My GOD that feels amazing!”
The ocean breeze was near-orgasmic, as we made our way along the sidewalk. A small path led down to the water. We walked it together, cooling down, catching our breath. Moving away from anyone else, until we were leaning against an old wooden railing, looking out over the bay.
“So…” I purred, turning into the wind. I pinned my hair back over both ears and smiled. “Let’s talk.”
The guys were adorably awkward for a moment, glancing at each other to see who’d take the lead. I expected it to be Roderick. This one time however, he took a step back.
“Well we had our own talk,” said Camden. “Just as you asked.”
I arched a mischievous eyebrow. “And?”
“And we all decided the same thing,” said Bryce. “We all loved what we did with you. None of us would’ve changed a thing.”
“I see.”
“Maybe we’d have been more transparent about it with each other,” Camden added quickly. “But that’s water under the bridge now. None of us blame the others for… for…”
“Breaking your vow?”
They nodded in tandem.
“And what exactly was your vow?”
“To collectively leave you alone.”
I turned my face into the wind and laughed. “I guess we can all see how that worked out.”
“Yeah…” Bryce said sheepishly. “It’s just that, well—”
“We hired you on instinct,” Roderick finally interjected, “and we kept you on for your abilities. When it became clear you were exactly what we needed, you became even more attractive to us.” He paused for a beat, his dark, penetrating eyes burning into mine. “And you were pretty damned attractive to begin with.”
“So were you,” I noted. With a smirk, I added: “Still are.”
“Maybe,” shrugged Camden. “We weren’t considering that part, though. We were more focused on trying to not want you.”
“Not want me?”
“Yes.”
I chuckled. “I don’t know whether to be flattered or disappointed in that.”
“Be flattered,” replied Bryce. “And trust us it wasn’t easy. Obviously we didn’t want to scare you off, or mess up a good thing. But you’re beautiful, Karissa. Every single day you stomped around our worksite looking amazing and breaking our hearts, all because we couldn’t have you.”
“But you could,” I mused. “And you did.”
“Yeah, well… we went about it the wrong way,” said Camden. “We were weak. We gave in to temptation. For that we’re sorry.”
“No apologies necess—”
“But what we’re not sorry for,” interjected Roderick, “is how we feel about you. All of us.”
A ships horn rang out, somewhere out on the distant horizon. For a few long seconds, no one spoke.
“So what now?” I asked. “Obviously we can’t put the genie back in the bottle.” I sighed and leaned back against the railing. “Not that I’d want to, personally.”
“Well we talked about it,” said Bryce, “and we came up with three different possibilities.”
I nodded, my lips curling into a smile. “Ah, choices. Now you’re talking.”
“First and foremost, we could go back to the way things were,” said Camden. “We keep things professional, all four of us. The whole thing lives on as a happy memory, and we chalk it up to letting off some pent-up sexual steam.”
The idea was practical, but also a letdown. It made me a little sad.
“Or?”
“Or we could keep having fun, if that’s what you wanted,” said Bryce. “Go about what we’ve been doing, pretty much. Only without the secrecy and without the guilt.”
My stomach erupted with butterflies.
Holy shit.
“Without the secrecy and guilt sounds nice,” I admitted.
“In that case we’d keep everything out in the open,” Camden added. “Nothing hidden. No hard feelings. We’d just be… well…”
“Fuckbuddies,” I blurted.
He shrugged, almost apologetically. “Yeah.”
I rubbed at my chin, thoughtfully. Fuckbuddies. With three individual guys — all living under the same room. Could I really do that?
Aren’t you doing it already?
“Or?” I asked.
They looked at me and blinked. Like they were trying to figure out what I was thinking.
“Or what?”
“Well you said there were three choices,” I replied. “So what’s the third?”
This time it was Roderick who stepped up. He stood before me, his expression placid. His eyes soft, yet serious.
“Or you could be our girlfriend.”
Twenty-Nine
KARISSA
If my stomach had butterflies before, now they’d had babies. Somewhere deep in my belly, I felt an eruption of warmth and heat.
“Girlfriend,” I repeated flatly.
“Yes.”
“To all three of you.”
My mouth was suddenly dry. I tried to swallow, and found that I couldn’t.
“And h—how would that work?”
Roderick took another step, until we were toe to toe. His face looked different. Like he was about to say something of extreme importance, for once without a hint of sarcasm.
“You’d date all three of us,” he said. “Exclusively. And of course you’d get the same from us.”
“So…”
“We’d be a four-way relationship,” he explained. “Which isn’t that far from the three-way relationship we already have with each other, only we’d be adding you.”
Bryce cleared his throat noisily. Roderick smiled a little.
“Okay, and we’d be adding sex, too.”
“Three… boyfriends.” The words seemed to weigh a thousand pounds each. “Simultaneously.”
“Well not simultaneously,” Camden chimed in. “I mean, not always, anyway.”
“No, no,” I managed, with a sly smirk. “Simultaneously is good.”
“He means all three of us would be your boyfriends at all times,” said Bryce. “No pick-your-day-of-the-week bullshit. No ‘taking turns,’ or anything like that.”
“Oh.”
“We’d share you,” Roderick said, and the word sent a lightning bolt of excitement through me. “Other than there being three of us instead of one, it would be like any other relationship you might’ve had.”
Oh I doubt that, the little voice in my head snickered.
“Of course, we’d want to know a little more about you,” Roderick went on. “More than we know right now anyway, which is virtually nothing.”
I paused for a moment, then nodded slowly. “In time.”
“You’d be our girl after all,” smiled Bryce. “We already care about you. We’d need you to open up at least a little more, when it came to your past.”
My past. It was part of the deal, apparently.
“Speaking of the past…” said Camden, “we need to tell you something else.”
“What?”
“Full disclosure, we’ve done this before.”
They held off, waiting for my reaction. I didn’t
have much of one.
“I know,” I nodded slowly. “I figured, anyway.”
Roderick glanced at the others before turning back to me. “We’ve… dated the same girl in the past. Kept her as a girlfriend, and then—”
“Listen,” I said, shushing him with a finger. “It’s okay. You don’t need to explain. I don’t need to know.”
The guys looked to each other, all three of them exchanging the same glances. It was cute in its own way. But it was also something else.
“My past is my past, right?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Bryce immediately. “Of course.”
“Then yours is yours,” I shrugged. “What’s the harm in leaving the past behind us? Especially if we plan to move on?”
Bryce smiled a little. Camden nodded.
“You do intend to move on, right?”
“Of course,” answered Roderick immediately. He was holding my hand now. My finger was still extended as he lowered it between us.
“Then it doesn’t matter,” I said. “Really.”
On a whim I stood on my toes and kissed him. The kiss was slow. Soft. Sensual. Perhaps made even more so, by the others watching.
This is CRAZY, Karissa.
“In time maybe we’ll share,” I murmured, “like I said before. But for now?”
The others had closed in, forming a semi-circle. I slid a hand behind Camden’s head and kissed him too.
Totally batshit crazy.
“For now we enjoy what we have,” I said softly. “Most people never do, you know. They harp on the past or prepare for the future, but they never stop to consider what’s right… in… front of them…”
Sliding in Bryce, I melted against his body. His lips crushed mine and I gasped into his mouth.
Three boyfriends…
His tongue penetrated my mouth, exploring it hotly. A pair of hands settled over my hips. A rogue palm slid behind me, cupping my ass.
Holy fucking shit.
“Well?”
Roderick breathed the word into my ear, just as I broke my kiss with Bryce. I was standing between them, full-lipped and breathless. My mind spinning with a beautiful myriad of open-ended thoughts.