Lacey Temptations [Crave 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Amy J. Hawthorn

  She went into the kitchen for a glass and retrieved the pitcher from the fridge. As she filled the glass with ice and poured, Ryan came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and placing a kiss to her neck.

  Parker took the glass from her hand, brushing his against hers and leaned against the counter. Taking a long drink, he watched her the entire time. There was something in the way he looked at her. It was as if he was pondering a major decision.

  She imagined his attentive eyes never missed a detail no matter how large or small. Watching the taut muscles in his neck ripple with each swallow, she felt her own throat contract. Parker looked to Ryan with one eyebrow raised, continuing the silent man language she didn’t have a hope of understanding.

  “This land has been in my family for years and Parker helped me pick this site to build the cabin on. It’s become my home away from home and he’s spent almost as much time up here as I have.” Ryan’s dark and sly eyes left Parker’s and he came around to stand in front of her.

  Cupping her jaw, he leaned in for a breath-stealing kiss. He sipped at her lips and teased with his tongue licking into her mouth. The dark look in his eyes marked her as his possession and dared her to deny him anything he desired. That look did more to hold her captive than any pair of handcuffs could ever hope to accomplish.

  As he sipped at her mouth, his strong hands never left her face. He held on as if he would never give her up and then nipped at her bottom lip, holding it captive within his.

  Firm strokes ran up and down her sides, sweeping farther with each pass while Ryan’s hands gripped her face, possessive yet gentle. Ryan swept in for another taste of her mouth while the hot press of a kiss stamped the back of her neck. Light, grazing fingers trailed a lazy path up her side to the under curve of her breast. They paused and slid to her waist where they rested. Then they disappeared leaving her shocked. Confused. Aroused.

  She turned to see Parker had taken a step back and was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed against his chest. His sky blue eyes had darkened into a stormy gray and bored holes into Ryan.

  “Lacey, don’t move, love.” Ryan’s dark authority sounded low in her ear. Fingertips grazed up her sides in a slow glide, taking her shirt with them. Over her head and gone in a flash, the garment disappeared like smoke. The ever present embers of seductive heat rekindled. Sweet kisses alternated with wicked little bites followed her bra strap over the curve of her shoulder.

  Trapped in a sensual thrall, she couldn’t look away from Parker. Yet, Parker’s eyes were fixed somewhere over her shoulder. His face was unreadable stone.

  * * * *

  So, this is what Ryan called him up here for? Both a dream come to life and a nightmare, the vision before him threatened to knock him to his knees. Lacey’s skin blushed and made his mouth water for a taste of her sweetness. Every inch of skin Ryan bared was sheer perfection.

  Why was his best friend determined to torture him so?

  His friend’s eyes were dark, daring him to dive in and touch, sample. To take.

  But to him, Lacey wasn’t a sweep in and steal, conquer and ravage woman. She was worthy of seduction and sweet words.

  Despite trying as hard as he possibly could, he wasn’t capable of blocking the sight of her from his lower periphery. As her T-shirt flew away and her bra hit the floor, his gaze was pulled to focus on her alone. Soft round breasts, brown, delicate nipples, curvy hips, and that little dipped-in waist spelled his destruction. Ryan’s hands stroked up her belly in a sinfully slow creep. His own hands twitched with the need to feel her silken skin. Her belly dipped in on a hitching breath and the waistband of her shorts gaped, sagged, and revealed a hint of blue lace.

  Ryan lifted her breasts and caressed them with thumbs that never quite made it to her hard nipples. He watched her breaths deepen, each movement displaying the perfection that much more beautifully. She turned her head to Ryan as he nibbled and licked his way up the curve of her shoulder. Kissing, whispering, loving, they were the image of a perfect match.

  He was the invited, yet awkward as hell third wheel.

  “Lacey, tell me what you want. No secrets.” Ryan and that damnable silver tongue.

  “Touch my breasts, do something. They need more.”

  “I am touching them, love.”

  “My nipples. Please touch them, suck them. I need more.” Lacey blushed a deeper peach, but he didn’t think it was from embarrassment. Ryan was stroking her into a fine fit of arousal and Parker knew where this was headed.

  Son of a bitch.

  “My hands are going to be busy.” He watched said hands slide down to undo her shorts and drop them to the floor. “My mouth is going to be busy. I don’t think I can do it, babe. Maybe you should ask someone else.”

  He knew the exact moment Lacey saw the big picture. Her eyes widened, her pretty mouth parted on a deep breath, and then those honey eyes looked at him in a new light.

  Ryan sank to his knees and tapped one of her calves. “Lift and open up.” He removed her shorts from one leg, allowing her room to spread her legs. He trailed one finger from her slender ankle, up the curve of her calf and along her inner thigh, stopping an inch shy of heaven.

  “Ryan.” His friend’s name left her lips on a husky sigh. “Touch me.”

  “No. I have plans. But you can ask elsewhere. Look at the front of Parker’s slacks, baby. He wants you and he’ll treat you like a queen.” Ryan knew him well, the man might have had his sight and attention focused on Lacey, but he knew there was no way Parker could see Lacey’s arousal and remain unmoved and limp.

  He wished he could, but no. The bastard was right. His balls ached and his cock throbbed. Each time Lacey sighed in pleasure, it gave an eager little jump, ready to leap right in and play.

  “Okay.” That one little word slugged him in the gut. Ryan knelt at her side, where more than likely his hand was on her ass, and nipped the blue lace at her hip. He spoke low to Lacey but moved his focus and stared him directly in the eye, daring.

  “But, you gotta realize, he’s a stubborn one. His personal code of honor is taking a beating right now and he’s fighting mad at me on the inside. He’d like nothing more than to knock me on my ass for this. He wants in and wants in bad, but you’ll have to ask him. Probably even beg him to join. He won’t be able to resist you.”

  And sometimes, didn’t it just suck to have a friend who knew you so well? For all the knowledge and love they had for each other, Ryan chose to use it against him in a most devious way, crippling him.

  He knew the moment Lacey made her decision and committed to it, sealing his fate. The soft vulnerability left her eyes and a confident knowledge replaced it. The innocent bystander left and a sexy as fuck seductress straightened her spine. One corner of her kiss-bruised mouth quirked.

  Yep, he was well and truly fucked. They were both out to get him.

  “Tell him, Lacey. Tell him what you need. He’ll give it to you. He’s never been able to deny a damsel in distress and you are about to be distressed.” Ryan turned his full attention back to Lacey and pressed a kiss to her lace-shielded pussy, then hooked a finger between her leg and the lace. He pulled the material to one side, revealing a small patch of curls and her slit. “He knows I can leave you on the brink of orgasm for days. He knows that I’ll do it, too.”

  Her whimper gutted him. Then she slammed the final nail in his coffin.

  “Parker. Please. Touch me. Help me.” A stuttered breath entered and exited her lungs as Ryan began doing all manner of devious things to her pussy. Her eyes snared him, drew him in, and held tight. He couldn’t look to see what his friend was doing if his life depended on it. Her back arched on a gasp. “Please.” A hint of vulnerability softened her features.

  He’d never be able to deny her anything.

  “Baby. Are you sure?” There, he made an attempt at manning up and doing the right thing.

  “I’m sure. Make me feel good.” Her soft request popped the
lid on the scant vapors of his remaining restraint. He’d never remember taking the few steps across the room. One millisecond he was leaning against the counter and the next he was before her, taking her mouth in his.

  And, fuck it all, she was sweet. And so damn soft. If Ryan had cursed him to hell, he might as well take a little memory of heaven with him.

  He took the weight of her breasts in his hands and thumbed the peaks of her nipples. She shuddered in his arms. Ryan backed away, watching the two of them with an unreadable expression.

  “Make me come, Parker. Take me.” Helpless to deny her a single thing he grasp the backs of her silken thighs and lifted her to sit on the counter. Stripping the twisted scrap of lace from her hips he spread her wide and paused to take in the sight of her pussy.

  * * * *

  It had taken Lacey’s unwitting help to cripple Parker, but between the two of them, they’d finally knocked the stubborn man down. Watching Parker run his fingers through Lacey’s dripping wet pussy, where he longed to be himself should have filled him with jealousy, but it only felt right.

  His friend finally bent his head to take Lacey’s breast in his mouth. He knew well the sweet softness Parker was experiencing. She was heaven sent. She tossed her head back on a moan and arched, allowing him full access to her gorgeous body.

  “Now. Please.” He could see the fine tremors running through her. She was on the edge. Parker removed his fingers from her slick heat. He undid his pants and pulled his cock free, then hesitated.

  Without a word, afraid any interruption would bring Parker crashing back to reality, he handed Lacey a wrapped condom. The woman had it out of the foil and on Parker before the man could blink, let alone think to object.

  “Shhh. I’ll fix it, baby. Hold on.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he could see the bright pink polish on her toenails as she hooked her legs around Parker’s hips, urging him closer.

  He could practically feel the softness of her skin beneath his own palms as Parker grasped one cheek of her ass and used it to anchor his first glide into her body. His own cock jumped at the memory of how tight and hot her sweet heat had been. Insistent, throbbing, it was not okay at being left out of the fun this time.

  But, surprisingly he was. Parker’s harsh groan and hushed whispers were, in an almost twisted sort of way, a balm to his conflicted heart. Yes, he wanted Lacey, but he couldn’t have her. He wasn’t good for her.

  But Parker would be. He really would treat her like a queen and make sure her every need, whether it was sexual or emotional, was met. She couldn’t hope for a better mate and partner than Parker. He would see to it that they ended up together, no matter what it cost him.

  Pink fingernails tangled in Parker’s hair and clenched tight. Parker’s hips pumped at a steadily increasing pace. “Ryan, damn you. You kept her on the brink for too long and I can’t hold on much longer. She’ll need you, too.”

  Fuck. Him.

  No, he couldn’t leave her hanging and it wouldn’t do to shame Parker by not making sure Lacey was well taken care of first. He went to the bag from Crave.

  * * * *

  She was an aching, quivering pile of need. Parker filled her, stretched her, and knew exactly where to go with that monster cock of his, but she was poised on the brink and couldn’t make the final leap. She was strung tight, ready to snap free. Yet something was missing and she didn’t know what she needed to fill the clawing desire that burned her from head to toe.

  “Let me have a taste, pretty Lacey.” Swift and sure he took her mouth in a ravenous kiss that blew her mind. Coaxing and claiming, teasing and taking. Warm male flesh lurking beneath the cooled surface with a hint of sweet tea went straight to her head fast and potent. He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and held her captive as his hands continued to explore her body. He released it with a reluctant pop as if unwilling to release his favorite treat.

  “Parker, shift a little, let me in.” Ryan appeared at their sides, a dark tormented look on his face. “We’ll fix it, baby. Hang on. Lift her up.” Parker grasped her ass and raised her from the counter. Ryan moved to stand at her back. “Lean back, Lacey. I’ve got you. We’ve got you. Let Parker see that pretty clit of yours.” Dark and low, his voice in her ear sent ripples of heat straight to that clit. She did as he commanded and leaned back fully against his chest. One hand cupped her breast and took her nipple in a firm, biting grip.

  Parker rocked her on his cock, each easy, rolling motion, reached deep, filling her. Ryan’s hold on her breast only increased the swollen, heavy weight and the tug on her nipples shot sharp darts of pleasure all the way to her pussy.

  Ryan gave her a moment to catch her breath as he leaned back to give her a dark look that dared her to deny her pleasure at having two men touch her at once. She was speechless with shock and overwhelmed with arousal. She couldn’t have put two coherent words together if her life depended on it.

  “There it is. Look at the pretty, hungry little clit. It’s begging for attention, Ryan.”

  “You do the honors. I’ve got something else that needs attention back here. Our Lacey is a naughty girl. She’ll like this.” Already exposed by Parker’s big hands, she felt the press of cool, wet fingers at her bottom. Dark pressure hinting at sinful pleasures to come assailed her. The tight ring of muscle gave way, allowing Ryan’s fingers entrance to that virgin part of her body. He worked at her entrance, timing his movements to Parker’s so that there was a constant barrage on her senses, never a single moment without having her body filled with one of them.

  It felt as if Ryan’s arm across her body, toying with her breast, was the only thing anchoring her to earth.

  “Here, baby, let’s finish you before you pass out.” Parker’s eyes, storm-cloud blue in their intensity, looked directly into hers. He took her clit in his fingers and circled it. He rubbed the swollen nub and applied more pressure.

  His gaze flickered, left hers, and looked over her shoulder. He gave a small nod. A brief moment later the pressure at her ass increased and Parker gave a hard pinch to her clit with the exact amount of pressure she needed. Her body exploded. A blinding, all-consuming rush began at her core and jumped to every cell in her body. She’d been electrified from the inside out, leaving her shattered and boneless.

  She felt Ryan’s fingers leave her body and watched him leave the room while Parker slid himself from her and pressed a tender kiss to her temple. Holding her close, he carried her to the couch. He laid her down as if she were made of crystal, tucked a throw pillow under her head, and covered her with a nearby throw. Turning his back to her, he righted himself, straightened his clothes, and promptly laid his head on the closed refrigerator door with a loud thud. Closing her eyes, she hugged the pillow closer. How could she help him understand that she was a grown woman and capable of fending for herself? She didn’t need a knight in shining armor.

  The sounds of the refrigerator door opening and closing were closely followed by the back door doing the same.

  Chapter 15

  The cold slide of beer down his throat quenched his thirst but did nothing to release the tension in the back of his neck. Or his pounding head. Or the fist clenched so tightly by his side it ached.

  The clear night sky with its limitless possibilities and countless stars did nothing to distract from the questions burning in his mind. Clearly Ryan had a reason for pulling him into this situation with Lacey, but he had yet to figure out why he’d done so.

  From that first night they’d met in college, they’d done nothing but look out for one another. It had been the first time in his life he’d had someone other than his mother in his corner, and he hadn’t even known the man’s name yet.

  He’d come from nothing and with no other options for a future he’d practically killed himself working for a sports scholarship. He’d gotten in by the skin of his teeth with a hard-earned baseball scholarship. His mom had been so proud and to this day, she had no clue how hard it had been to see it
through to the end and get his degree. Playing with a team that hated his guts had been four years of utter hell.

  Every time he faced his team since that fateful night when Ryan had saved his life had been like walking into a nest of vipers. All thanks to one player. Derrick Roland. A man with a sense of entitlement larger than his own head, he’d walked around like he’d owned the school. He’d been the team’s star player and came from money to boot.

  He remembered the night he and Ryan met as if it were just last night.

  He’d been invited to a frat party with the rest of the team. Young, dumb, and eager, he had fallen in line. Liquor, willing girls, and pretty much every sin you could imagine. It had been there, free for the taking.

  Derrick, who’d never been denied a thing in his life, had taken a liking to one of the cheerleaders. Looking for a bathroom, he’d stumbled on them in a bedroom. Derrick had Sara pinned beneath him on a bed and she’d been fighting him, tooth and nail, but had been no match. Standing shocked in the doorway, he’d hesitated until Sara cried out the word “no.” Tears ran down her face in heartbreaking streaks.

  Without thought, he’d shouted and barged in to break it up. Pissed, drunk, and possibly high on who knows what, Derrick had come at Parker like a charging bull. No stranger to fights, he’d held his own until half the team had come to Derrick’s aid. In a contest between the rich kid star pitcher or a nobody catcher from the wrong side of the tracks he’d lost hands down. It had been four against one.

  Until Ryan had shown. Chance put him walking down the hallway at the right moment and all it took was the sight of Sara’s tear-streaked face and an unfair fight and he’d waded in to even things out. Ryan went up against two drunken sophomores giving him a fair chance at Derrick. It was all he needed.

  Derrick had pulled back to throw a punch, he’d deflected it and the pitcher’s hand went through the wall.

  Thankfully one of the other cheerleaders pulled Sara out and called campus security, ending the melee. With pack mentality running high, he didn’t have one doubt that Ryan had saved his life that night. It hadn’t mattered that Derrick had clearly been in the wrong. You always backed up your teammates, no matter what. You sure as shit didn’t fuck with the team’s star player. And a catcher always took care of his pitcher. Always.