An Indecent Proposition

by Stephanie Julian

  Jules stared at the door the woman had disappeared through, a ten-ton weight now settled on her chest.

  Which was stupid. It wasn’t like she didn’t know they’d had lives before she’d met them.

  Why this made any difference at all…

  With a muttered curse, Erik shoved himself out of the car then opened the door to help Keegan out.

  She took his hand and let him, operating on autopilot.

  Her heart hammered against her ribs as she tried to tell herself it shouldn’t matter.

  But the fact remained that she didn’t know as much about these two men as she should.

  As you want to.

  Once again, she’d taken a leap without looking. Or even wondering what was on the other side.

  She should know by now that she usually ended up in quicksand.

  Through the pounding of her pulse in her ears, she heard Erik slam the driver’s door then he stopped next to Keegan in front of her.

  A united front.

  “Jules, look at me.”

  She looked up at Keegan, saw the burning anger in his eyes. Then she looked at Erik and saw the flush on his cheeks that made his scars stand out in sharp contrast.

  She wanted to reach up and stroke Erik’s cheek. Wanted to wrap her arms around Keegan’s shoulders and hug him.

  Both men looked a little shell-shocked.

  She didn’t want to leave them. But if she stayed…

  Did she really want to meet Erik’s sister? Who also happened to be the woman Keegan had wanted to marry?

  “It was years ago.” Keegan’s voice sounded like he was being strangled. “We both realized it was a huge mistake and called it off.”

  “Give the guy credit for coming to his senses before he actually walked down the aisle.” Erik’s voice held an edge sharp enough to cut.

  Neither of them sounded thrilled to see Katrina.

  “So why is she here?” she asked.

  Neither man answered, exchanging a glance that made her want to smack the backs of their heads and force them to spill their guts.

  Finally, Erik sighed. “Keegan, you should take Jules home. I’ll deal with Kat until you get back. I’m sorry, Jules. I had other plans for tonight but—”

  “I could wait until you’re finished talking to her.”

  The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and they sounded so pathetic, she had to fight a wince.

  But she’d had her own plans for tonight that involved a lot of naked skin and her in bed with her men. All hers. All night.

  Keegan and Erik exchanged another quick look, their lips flattening into straight lines.

  Keegan shook his head. “Trust me, it’s better if I take you home.”

  Okay, maybe they didn’t want her here. Didn’t want her to meet Katrina.

  She nodded, a chill running up her spine. “Of course. I’m ready whenever you are.”

  Erik muttered a barely audible “Fuck” as Keegan grabbed her hand.

  “No, damn it, it’s not fine.” Keegan shook his head. “We weren’t expecting her, Jules. We didn’t invite her. Hell, I’m not sure why the hell she’s here.”

  Erik sighed and she and Keegan switched their attention to him.

  “I’m kind of afraid I do,” Erik said.

  Keegan’s gaze narrowed. “What the hell. Have you talked to her lately?”

  Erik grimaced though he cleared it quickly. “She was at Christmas dinner.”

  Total shock made Keegan’s mouth go slack. “Shit. Seriously? In the same room as your mom?”

  Erik rubbed a hand along the side of his neck. “My dad insisted. Told her she had to show up. Doesn’t matter. Let me deal with this while you take Jules home.”

  They both focused on her again and she forced herself to hold each man’s gaze in turn.

  “I had a great time tonight. Thank you for dinner.”

  In unison, both men said, “Fuck.”

  Erik took a step forward and put his hands on her shoulders, bending down to look straight into her eyes. “Damn it, Jules. I’m not trying to get rid of you. I don’t want you to go. I want to spend the night making you come and watching Keegan fuck you until you pass out. Then we’d start all over again.”

  She shivered, her pussy clenching at the images Erik had conjured with his words. God, yes. She wanted the same thing.

  But you don’t always get what you want, do you?

  Keegan huffed out a sigh. “Fuck it. Jules, you’re coming in. I’ll set you up in the den, Erik and I can find out what the hell she wants, then we’ll get rid of her. She’s not staying here, that’s for damn sure.”

  “I’ll take her back to my place.” Erik stepped away from Jules and ran a hand through his hair. “Damn it, I wish she would’ve called first.”

  Keegan turned to Erik. “Then tell her we have plans and to come into the office tomorrow. We can deal with her there.”

  Erik shook his head, though she wasn’t sure he was saying no.

  When a short silence fell, she felt compelled to fill it.

  “I take it you and your sister don’t get along?”

  “Actually,” Erik rubbed at his eyes, “we used to get along just fine. She’s just…not a happy person lately.”

  Keegan snorted. “That’s putting it mildly.”

  Sighing, Erik turned toward the door. “Look, just let me deal with this. I’ll take her back to my place and come back. Then we can put her out of our minds until tomorrow morning.” Turning, he smiled at Jules. “And concentrate on other, better things.”

  Jules loved when Erik smiled like that. It made her tingle from the inside out. But when she turned to Keegan, he was staring at the door Erik’s sister had disappeared through. A scowl marred his expression and she felt her heart stutter.

  Did he still have feelings for Katrina? Would he tell her what had happened between them? Did she even want to know?

  “Keegan.” She put her hand on his forearm. “I’ll go home if that’s what you want. I don’t want to cause you and Erik any trouble with your families.”

  Maybe their families didn’t know about their unusual love lives. Maybe the men wanted to keep it that way.

  And maybe that’s how this relationship would always be. Maybe their date tonight had been the exception. Maybe they’d never be able to acknowledge their relationship publicly.

  After all, Keegan and Erik ran a company worth millions. They held a certain position in society.

  She…didn’t.

  Keegan cupped her face in his hands, startling her. Then he lowered his head and kissed her, so long and deep, she started to feel her body give in almost immediately.

  When he pulled away, she sucked in a deep breath.

  “She’s not my family.”

  Keegan’s gaze bored into hers, the promise of what was to come later making her burn. Her cheeks were flushed and she probably looked like she’d just been thoroughly kissed.

  She didn’t care.

  Keegan turned toward the house, lacing his fingers with hers as Erik put his hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go see what the princess wants.”

  * * * * *

  Erik was pretty sure he knew why Kat was here.

  He hadn’t invited her. Would never have thought she’d actually show up. Especially not at Keegan’s. Her history with his best friend was contentious. And that was putting it mildly.

  He’d expected her to call after she’d dug into the information Erik had given her at Christmas. It’d been the only way he could think of to handle this problem.

  Kat had access to resources Erik didn’t, resources Erik needed for his investigation into the explosion. An investigation Keegan was reluctant to pursue.

  Biting back a sigh, he followed Jules into the house. He really wasn’t looking forward to Keegan’s reaction when he found out Erik had involved his sister in their business. Keegan would be pissed. And with good reason. If Keegan had gone behind Erik’s back and involved hi
s sister, he would’ve been ranting and raving by now.

  Instead, Keegan paused in the kitchen to squeeze Jules’ hand and give her a slight smile before taking a deep breath and heading toward the front of the house.

  Following behind Keegan, Jules looked around with an interested gaze as they passed through the formal dining room and into the great room in the front.

  Unlike Erik’s comfortable mess of a home, Keegan’s was all straight lines, lots of white accented with dark browns and blues. Starkly modern. No clutter, no mess. It fit Keegan to a T. It’d drive Erik crazy to live in this minimalist wonderland.

  Except for Keegan’s great room. The cathedral ceiling, the stained-glass window high on the front wall, the massive bookshelves on the back wall that went from the floor to the second-floor ceiling held books and art. A huge stone fireplace took up most of one of the side walls, and comfortable furniture spread through the room.

  Everything had a place here. The only thing out of place was Kat.

  Erik loved his sister but he’d never understand why Keegan had thought they’d make a good match. They were just so different.

  Keegan had a heart, and Kat… Well, Kat had lost hers awhile ago.

  His sister turned as they entered the room, and Erik watched her expression harden until her lips looked like they might actually crack.

  This is a very, very bad idea.

  But it was too late now. Might as well put their shoulders back and bulldoze through it.

  Stepping away from Jules, whom Kat studiously avoided, Erik walked up to his sister and wrapped his arms around her.

  “Hey, sis. Good to see you. What brings you all the way down here?”

  With a heavy sigh, his younger sister allowed herself to soften in his arms for just a few seconds, reminding him of how, at one time, they’d been bound by a common enemy.

  Then he’d gone away to college and had never returned, and Kat had been left to fend for herself against their mother. It’d made her brittle. Not in the sense that she was easily breakable but that she was fractured inside. Yes, she’d shored up the outer façade, but you could see the cracks every now and then.

  Old anger rose inside. Their mother had one hell of a lot of misery to answer for, which would never happen because their mother thought she was right.

  When Kat pulled away, she gave him a small smile. “I tried your house first but the housekeeper told me you’d gone out with Keegan. So I decided to try here. Sorry if I’m,” her gaze skittered over his shoulder and her expression flooded with bitterness, “interrupting anything.”

  Giving her a warning look, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously you have something you thought I’d want to hear.”

  When her gaze reconnected with his, her expression became serious. “I do. I thought I should deliver it in person, and I thought Keegan might be interested as well.”

  The tone of her voice suggested otherwise, and Erik locked down the urge to sigh even as he battled the anger trying to get out.

  “And maybe,” she continued, “we want to make this conversation a little more private.”

  Keegan muttered, “God damn it,” before Erik cut him off.

  “Keegan. Why don’t you take Julianne into the media room and get her settled.”

  “That sounds like a good idea,” Jules agreed immediately. “I could stand to take my shoes off.”

  With a curt nod, Keegan led Jules out of the room. Keegan had installed a state-of-the-art theater, where they mostly played videogames. Damn things looked awesome on that seventy-inch screen.

  But the only games Erik wanted to play tonight were with Jules, and that meant hearing what Kat had to say, then taking her back to his place for the night. Where he’d leave her to return here.

  Kat was going to love that.

  Tough shit.

  His sister continued to stare at the doorway through which Jules and Keegan had disappeared.

  “All right, Kat. What’d you find?”

  Her gaze sliced back to his, her mouth pulled into a sneer. “Still playing your dirty games? Does she know what you expect from her? Or haven’t you told her about yours and Keegan’s fucked-up games?”

  And there she went, straight for the jugular and back into the hell that had nearly torn apart TinMan Biotronics after she’d called off her engagement with Keegan.

  Erik steeled himself against the rising tide of anger, staring at her with a steady gaze. “Do you really want to rehash this? I thought you’d put it all behind you.”

  Kat rolled her eyes and started to pace. “I thought I had, too. Then I saw Keegan and… I want to tear his eyes out.”

  “I thought you were seeing someone.”

  “I am.” Her mouth twisted. “He’s actually a nice guy. And he’s not interested in sharing me with anyone.”

  “Keegan wouldn’t have shared you, Kat. You know that. He told you that.”

  “Because you’re the only one he shares with. He told me that, too. That he’s never shared a woman with anyone else. Why do you think that is, Erik?”

  He knew exactly why, but this was an old argument, one he would never win with her.

  After a disastrous affair during her last year of college, and an even more horrendous stay at a psych hospital mandated by their mother, Kat had met Keegan and thought he was the one. The one to fix her.

  Stupid Erik had thought maybe she’d been right. Hell, even Keegan had thought so. And Keegan had loved her. It just hadn’t been enough for Kat and her demons.

  Because Keegan had brought his own demons to the relationship. Keegan had thought, by marrying Kat, he’d be cured of wanting to share women. He’d be normal. Like his parents.

  But as their relationship had progressed, Erik knew Keegan was never going to get through to his sister’s cold heart. Finally, Keegan had seen the light, but by then, Kat had heard the rumors and confronted Keegan. She’d nearly had another breakdown, though this time, she’d managed to avoid being committed.

  Erik sighed. “Are you going to tell me what you found out, or are we going to end up pissed off and screaming at each other again?”

  He’d had enough of those bouts to last him the rest of his life.

  Nodding, Kat became all business. She was so good at submerging her feelings. But her eyes… He caught the lingering hurt before she could hide it.

  One more thing you can’t make better.

  “You’re right,” she said, meeting his gaze straight on. “I’m sorry. I talked to Stilinski, gave him the information you gave me. You’re right. It was Eggert Labs.”

  * * * * *

  “I’m really sorry about this, Jules, I had no idea she—”

  “I realize that, Keegan.” Jules smiled at him but it was a struggle when she had all these wild thoughts banging around in her head. “And there’s nothing to be sorry about. I know you and Erik had lives before I met you.”

  She just hadn’t known Keegan was engaged to Erik’s sister. He and Erik would’ve been family. Talk about fucked up.

  Keegan grimaced. “Yeah, but I know how my engagement to Kat must look to someone who knows about…our preferences.”

  “You really don’t have anything to explain to me.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  She waited but he still seemed to be debating what to say. So she decided to give him a little help.

  “When did you meet her?”

  He smiled, just a quick twist of his lips. “Our senior year in college. Erik didn’t talk about his family much. They’re kind of…dysfunctional.”

  She raised her eyebrows and he laughed, sounding a little more like himself. “Yeah, I know how that sounds. But Erik’s family might have a lock on crazy.”

  Kicking off her shoes, she sat on the nearest black leather couch and pulled her legs under her while Keegan remained standing, leaning against the wall in front of her.

  “What about your family?”

  He didn’t stop to think. “Traditional Irish Cathol
ic. I’m the oldest of six. When I was eight, my teacher realized I understood high-level math and knew I needed advanced training. When I was ten, my parents sent me to live with my aunt and uncle in Boston so I could eventually attend MIT. By the time I was in college, the rest of my family had moved, as well.”

  “Must have been tough, being away from your family that young.”

  His smile was a little more natural now. “As much as I fought with my brothers and sisters, I missed the hell out of them when they weren’t around. My aunt and uncle are great, but they didn’t have kids. They were kind of at a loss as to what to do with me so they overcompensated. I’ll admit I was fairly well spoiled.”

  “Sounds like you had a good childhood.”

  “I did.” He glanced at the door and his expression tightened again.

  She wanted to make this better for them but had no idea what to do.

  “You should go out there and back up Erik.”

  “Yeah, I should.”

  Instead, he walked over to the couch, put both hands on the cushion behind her head, and bent to kiss her.

  Hard and demanding. She wanted to melt into the couch and let him follow her down. Her stomach clenched, her heart stuttered, and she reached for his shoulders to hold him to her, kissing him back with as much passion as he put into it.

  Groaning low in his throat, he made her shiver in response as she opened her mouth to his tongue. He flicked it against hers, teased and taunted, making her shift restlessly on the cushion, an ache building low in her gut and radiating to her pussy.

  When he pulled away, his cheeks flushed and his eyes intent, she smiled up at him, stroking one hand against his cheek.

  “I’ll get Erik to take her back to his place, but he’ll be back. We have plans for you.”

  She smiled, a little of that weight leaving her chest. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good. I don’t want the night to end yet.”

  After another brief, hard kiss, he turned and stalked out.

  Leaving her alone with her jumbled thoughts.

  * * * * *

  By the time Keegan got back to Erik and Kat, they were huddled over a file, side by side on the couch.

  Stopping in the shadows of the hall before they noticed him, he watched as they discussed…whatever they were discussing so intensely. Kat had a law degree that she used to defend her father’s consulting firm from whatever sludge might be tossed its way. And since Arthur Riley consulted with some of the richest men in the country, she made a healthy amount of money and wielded a fair amount of power. What business exactly Arthur consulted on, Keegan had never understood completely.