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Laid Bare

Page 22

by Lauren Dane


  The room was beautiful. Fresh flowers, a basket of fruit and cheeses and a hella big box of chocolates were waiting for them. Score. She tipped the bellman and kicked off her shoes, before opening the box and selecting a chocolate or three.

  Todd came up just a few minutes later and she’d changed into a flirty sundress and sandals.

  He handed her a sheaf of parchment paper that she unfolded, and as she read, she realized it was their wedding invitation. For that evening.

  “This is . . .”

  “Please don’t be mad. I just knew you’d overthink and find reasons to wait and everyone would want to butt in and it would be political and complicated and I wanted you to have a fairy tale because no one deserves it more than you.” He took a deep breath.

  She was beyond touched that this big, forceful, arrogant, pushy, dominant man who held her hand through the therapy sessions he’d begun attending with her once a month would plan such a beautiful thing.

  For the two-dozenth time that day alone, she threw herself into his arms and rained kisses on his face. “I just figured we’d go to the Elvis Chapel or whatever. You’re the best, Todd Keenan. I love you.”

  “Thank god you’re not mad. Brody and Adrian are here. My parents, siblings, Ben and Cope. Raven too. I asked Jeremy. He sends his best wishes, but understandably he’s not here. We had a good talk. I think he’s a good guy. Ella is back in Seattle with Hype from Brody’s shop running your café in the mornings. She said it was her present to you.”

  She burst into tears and he looked worried for a moment, until she blubbered that they were good tears.

  “What am I going to wear?”

  “Raven came down yesterday with Adrian. They’ve picked out four dresses for you to choose from. They’re in the spa where they’ll do your hair and makeup and all that stuff. We’ll say our vows outside and then we’ll all have a lovely dinner. Tomorrow we’ll hang with everyone and then you and I are on our own for a honeymoon. Come on, you have lots to do.”

  She took his hand. “Is Ben okay with all this?” She loved them both and while she wanted to be married to Todd very much and knew she sure couldn’t marry both of them, the last thing she wanted was to hurt Ben.

  “Ben helped me plan it all, so he’s more than okay.”

  “All right. But here’s my wedding present to you. I’ve been considering buying the condo next to mine. It’s bigger, two stories, with the bedrooms upstairs. Move in with me and you can work from there. That condo has a much bigger balcony; it’s like a deck actually, with a hot tub and stuff. I could create a lovely garden out there.”

  Todd knew this part would be hard. He loved her condo. It was private and central to most everything. But he loved his house too. He hated the idea of selling it.

  “My place is near the zoo and the lake. It’s closer to the café than your condo.”

  She chewed her lip. “It’s so exposed.”

  “We can talk to people about just dropping by.” He laughed.

  It looked as if she was going to cry again as she shook her head. “Not that. I don’t care so much about that.” She tried to walk away, to pace, hiding her face with her hair, which was currently a honey blond with fiery red tips.

  He caught her, holding her tight for a moment. “Hey. Share with me. This is more than giving up one place over the other. Tell me.”

  “My place is thirty-two floors up! It has a doorman and security cameras. You can’t even get to my floor without a key card or an access code I change every week! It’s safe and I can sleep at night and not be afraid. I . . . At your house, I hate when you leave to go get something or if I get there and you’re gone. I hate going inside. It’s at ground level. It has all those windows. The basement windows! Anyone could get in. I can’t. I just can’t.”

  Oh fuck, what a dumbass he’d been. It hadn’t even occurred to him.

  “God, I’m stupid. I’m sorry. Of course I’ll move in to your place, although I’m a bit uncomfortable about you buying something so expensive for me.”

  “It’s for us, really. I mean, my place is huge already, but now we’ll have space for you to work from home too. Plenty of room for a nursery and stuff when the time is right.”

  She looked up into his face, and he loved her so much it nearly hurt. He wanted children with her and that she’d consider it after what she’d suffered meant a lot.

  “I know I’m asking you to give up more than I am and Cope will have to come into downtown every day, which will suck for him. The place next door comes with three parking spots, though. I mean, obviously it’ll take some planning and coordination. The permits take a while and the contractor told me it would take months to get the connecting wall down and arched. We’d have to talk about what you wanted and if you wanted it and, oh man, I’m just babbling.”

  “Let’s go get ready for our wedding. We can talk about all this stuff tomorrow.” He smiled and led her out of the room.

  After being massaged, manicured, pedicured, facialed (in a non porn way) and hairdone, Erin slid into the dress she’d chosen. Clearly Adrian and Raven knew her well because each dress was perfect in its own way.

  The one she chose was a soft pink, floor-length gown with a V-neckline and off-the-shoulder spaghetti straps. The bodice fit snugly and the skirt was organza and was close to her body, but still felt feminine and flowy.

  Her hair was pinned up with flowers and she chose not to carry a bouquet.

  “You look so beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before,” Brody said as he came into the room where she waited to go to the ceremony. “You glow like magic.” He kissed her. “I’m so honored to walk you down the aisle today. Todd is good people.”

  “I think so. Look at me in a fucking pink wedding dress with a train! Who knew? Also, thank god I’m not on my period, ’cause this dress fits like a glove but last week I’d have looked like a sausage.”

  Brody laughed. “Aw, now, you look spectacular. You deserve a happily ever after.”

  Adrian would be her dude of honor and Todd’s father would be his best man.

  “Ready?”

  Erin nodded, and they walked down a hall where she blushed as hotel guests saw her and oohed and ahhed. And then she oohed and ahhed herself when double doors opened up to a courtyard lit by dozens of candles. She walked down the steps toward Todd, who looked beyond edible in a dapper tuxedo.

  The ceremony was a blur. Todd had been happily surprised when Brody handed her the ring she’d sent him out in search of. For two hours, he’d sent her pictures via cell phone as she’d been prettified for the ceremony, until he’d found something she knew was perfect immediately.

  Lorie hugged her and kissed her cheeks. “Welcome to the family! We’re so happy for you two. Next month won’t you let Dean and I throw you two a reception? For all our friends and family who’ll want to meet you?”

  Erin was touched and accepted. They’d eaten a spectacular meal and had laughed and talked until the wee hours of the morning, until she and Todd finally staggered back to their room, where rose petals had been spread on the bed and the bathtub had been filled just right.

  “Damn, if you want to quit the security business I think you’d have a bright future as a wedding planner.”

  “I already have a bright future,” he said, tossing his jacket to the side.

  She tutted at him and hung it up, then moved to him again to undo his cuff links and to unbutton his shirt.

  “I love French cuffs. They’re so elegant and glamorous.” She drew his shirt off and hung it as well.

  “That dress . . . You look like a goddess, Erin. I lost my breath when I saw you come out those doors. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I love you so much. I’ve never been happier than I am right this very moment.”

  “Let me try to make you even happier,” Erin said, reaching for him.

  28

  Todd took a shower and watched her sleep for a while after he got out. His wife, nestled in the blank
ets, her hair covering her face, a leg poking from the covers in a long, creamy expanse.

  What a lucky man he was to have her, to have those big hazel eyes looking up at him with such love and trust. They’d made love and fucked and made love again until after the sun had come up.

  He heard a light tap on the door and when he peeked, he saw it was Ben. Todd smiled as he let him in.

  Ben had helped with the planning, knowing that Erin would be another man’s wife. All the while, loving her. Todd and Erin had talked, in between bouts of sex, about turning part of the second condo into a living space for Ben so he could be there with them. As they’d sealed their relationship officially, they’d both understood they wanted Ben to be a more established part of their lives too. More important, they wanted him to feel and understand they desired him to be theirs full-time and not just when it fit into their schedule.

  “Hey, is she still sleeping?” Ben asked as he came in.

  “Yeah. I, um, tired her out. We didn’t get to sleep until dawn. You could have come with us, you know. I know Erin told you that.”

  Ben grinned. “I expect there will be times when I want to have her all to myself and I figured your wedding night would be a time you wanted that.”

  “Go wake her up. We’re supposed to meet everyone for a late lunch before they all go back home tonight.”

  Ben quietly stalked to the bed and Todd admired the way he moved. He’d been close to Ben for most of his life and he’d grown closer to him over the last months with Erin than he’d ever been before. It wasn’t that Ben was male or female; it was that Ben was Ben. That’s what made him appeal so much.

  Logically, Todd knew it was weird. He knew he should be jealous and territorial, but he wasn’t. Erin had enough for both of them and they certainly had more than enough for her. Both of them loved her, wanted her safe, and in turn, cherished her. Ben didn’t have that history Todd had with her, but they were building their own memories.

  Todd didn’t know what to call it; he only knew it worked.

  Ben drew her close as he got into the bed. Warm and sleep-soft, she came willingly, snuggling into him with a smile, her eyes still closed.

  “Morning. Mmm, you smell good. Like coffee. I need it.”

  He laughed. “You know the way to make a man feel wanted.”

  She smiled, her mouth against his neck. “We missed you last night. You’re staying this week, right?”

  He swallowed. He’d wanted her to ask. When they’d planned it, he and Todd, Ben had been truly happy for both of them. But he wanted Erin to want him too, wanted her to ask him to stay with them. It would take some planning with Cope, who knew what was up and thankfully never judged. But there was no way he’d turn down the opportunity to be with them both this week. Far away from home in a city that wouldn’t bat an eye at two men squiring one woman out on the town.

  “I’d love to.”

  “Mmm, good.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I need a shower and to brush my teeth.” She scrambled over him, getting him all worked up, and kissed Todd quickly on her way into the bathroom.

  “I told you that you were welcome,” Todd said, grabbing the phone to order up some coffee.

  “I wanted her to ask.”

  “I’m moving into the condo when we get back.” Todd told him about the way Erin had reacted to moving into his house and Ben’s gut tightened.

  “I fucking hate that she’s scared. God, I wish I could rip this fucker apart with my bare hands.” The way she sometimes winced at loud noises or jumped when someone surprised her broke his heart.

  “Get in line. Ben, we’d like it if you’d consider moving in. She’s buying the condo next door to hers and remodeling. Apparently it’s huge. You can have your own space, but we talked about taking the master in the other place and knocking out a wall between it and the adjoining bedroom to make one giant bedroom. For all three of us.” Todd got up when room service brought coffee. Erin emerged from the bathroom, looking ridiculously pretty in a little dress and with her hair pulled back. She wore just a tiny bit of makeup and, as always, Ben was aware of how naturally beautiful she was.

  She fell on the coffee, giving Todd a kiss and settling on the couch next to Ben.

  “I heard you two as I was getting dressed. We don’t want to pressure you, Ben. But we want you to know we want you with us. We’re going to have an office space for you guys and you can have your own rooms too. I expect we’ll all need that from time to time. Everyone needs space that’s just theirs alone.”

  Ben took her hand. “I love you, Erin.”

  She blinked back tears and smiled. “What a lovely present. I love you too. I know this is odd and people won’t understand. I’m not sure I do, but I love you. We love you. Whatever you decide, you have a key card, so I want you to come and go as you please. I don’t want to pressure you or rush you or whatever. “

  “Gorgeous, this last year has been a lot about unexpected happenings. I figured eventually I’d find the woman for me and I’d marry. But the woman for me is married to someone else. Luckily, I love him too and he’s willing to share. If you two are okay with it, I’d love to move in. More than love it.” He shrugged, speechless at how fabulous he felt.

  She bounced happily and he laughed. “Yay! I have a meeting with the contractor next week so you can come and we can talk about what we’d like to do.”

  “I should have known you’d already put this into the works.” Todd smirked.

  “I didn’t know you’d be asking me to marry you and carting me off to Vegas! But I hoped we’d be able to live together and didn’t want to pass up the opportunity when the people next door moved out and sold. I’m forward-thinking.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and Ben hugged her, kissing her neck until she laughed and relaxed.

  She swung around, straddling him. “I’m not wearing any underwear. Don’t you think you should do something about that?”

  In moments he had his pants undone and his cock out.

  She leaned in and spoke in his ear, her breath sending shivers down his neck. “I want you in me naked. It’s time. We’ve been careful and tested. Give it to me.”

  Across from them, he heard Todd groan and get up to walk behind the small couch he and Erin were on.

  Ben swallowed hard and, without much finesse, thrust up, into her, and nearly died at how she felt. She made a needful sound, low and deep, and squirmed on him as he banded her waist with his arm and held her so he could control the pace.

  “Open up.” Todd spoke from where he stood behind Ben and soon the wet sounds of Erin’s lips wrapped around Todd’s cock began to echo against them. Her fingers dug into his shoulders to hold on and keep her balance.

  Ben licked up the side of her neck and loved the soft sound she made in response. She rocked against him, grinding her clit against his pubic bone.

  “That’s the way, gorgeous. So wet and hot, you feel better than I could have imagined. And you have to know I’ve imagined a lot.”

  She laughed, Todd’s cock still in her mouth. Ben leaned his head back in order to watch the way her mouth worked Todd. Fuck, that was hot. Her eyes were open, locked with Todd’s. One of Todd’s hands cupped her cheek gently, reverently.

  Yes, it was complicated. No, Ben had no idea how he’d even begin to describe what they had to anyone other than Cope and maybe a very few others. He didn’t know what they’d do about kids when they came along. But he knew he cherished this with everything he was. He’d protect it with his life, and he’d love Erin until he drew his last breath. What they had was special and wonderful. He knew how lucky he was.

  One of Todd’s hands landed on Ben’s shoulder and squeezed as Todd groaned. Ben watched as Erin closed her eyes a long moment before opening up again and turning to Ben.

  “Your turn.” Erin waggled her brows at Ben.

  Todd laughed and kissed the top of Erin’s head and then Ben’s before moving back to watch the two of them with a lazy smile.


  “Should I play with your clit, gorgeous?” Ben whispered into her ear and she nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder.

  The cool, slick surface of the barbell met his fingers as he began playing his fingers against her. The corresponding tightening of her cunt around him told him she was as close as he was.

  “I can feel so much more this way,” he managed to get out in a strangled whisper.

  “Me too,” she said, nuzzling into his neck and kissing him. He pressed a bit harder and her teeth grasped the meat of his shoulder as she came all around him.

  It was too much, her body hugging him like liquid fire. He pushed into her one last time and came for what felt like fifteen minutes.

  She kissed his mouth, tasting of herself and of Todd too. He tasted her, taking what she gave like the gift she was.

  “Okay, now we have to go eat with everyone. First dibs on the bathroom,” she called as she pulled up and off his cock and ran into the bathroom.

  Ben crowded in with her, liking to watch as she touched up her lip gloss and finger-combed her hair again. She was a bundle of contradictions, incredibly feminine but with an edge. Ink on her back, rings in her nipples, funky hair and rock and roll written all over her. Somehow, on her, all those edges and contradictions combined to make the kind of person who drew your attention when she walked into a room.

  That she loved him seemed a miracle.

  “I know how you feel,” Todd said as they let her out into the hallway first. “Every day, at least five times a day I have the same thought.”

  “Am I that obvious?”

  Todd shrugged. “With us, yes. But I haven’t seen you slip in public. It may happen one day, but whatever. We’re adults and we can make our own choices. If and when it comes, we deal with it.”

  “You boys want to stop whispering and get over here? The elevator is here.”

  “As my lady commands,” Todd said and they went to her.

  29

  “How’s the construction going?” Ella asked when Erin arrived to work.

  “The contractors are awesome. Turns out they’re related to Ben and Cope, so the project is ahead of schedule right now. They should be done with the basic stuff by Thanksgiving. They’ve already torn out the wall between the condos and have finished the arching and all that jazz. Now they’re working on the office space for Todd’s and Ben’s apartments. They’ll start on our master bedroom when they’re done with that. It’s all very noisy and dusty, but I can’t wait to see the finished project.”

 

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