“Come.”
Caroline opened the door and peeked in.
Like Matt and Jack, Daniel worked at his laptop. He sat at a small desk near a window. It was a gray day with little light from the window, so he had a small desk lamp on. Its golden glow bathed his bare chest.
He was sleek, brawny muscle, more bulky with it than Matt or Jack. He had just a small triangle of dark hair in the center of his chest and then a narrow swath of it that arrowed down and disappeared into his pajama pants.
Caroline swallowed hard and had to grip the mug to keep from trembling. “I made coffee.”
His sharp blue gaze heated and took her in, much as she had done with him. “I’d like to have some.” He sat back, one hand dropping from the keyboard to rest on his thigh.
She looked at that hand for a moment, her attention drawn by those long fingers, that muscled thigh. She forced herself to meet his gaze again.
Guess he wasn’t going to come get it.
“Black?” she asked.
“That’s fine.”
Still he wasn’t moving. Left without choice, she entered the room and took it to him. She meant to get only near enough to set it on a corner of the desk. But he intercepted that movement, putting his hands over hers on the mug. It cost her another step closer, to maintain her balance as he held her.
His hands were warm and, suddenly, between them and the hot of the coffee, she felt overheated.
His gaze lifted to her face. “Thank you, Caroline.”
She nodded. “I was going to make brunch. Maybe an hour or so? Would that be good?”
“That would be lovely.” His mouth quirked a little. “Make yourself at home in my kitchen.”
The man had a bit of the devil in him. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
He nodded and loosened the tension in his fingers so she could slip her hands out, leaving the mug in his.
She’d only taken a couple steps away when he spoke again.
“I like having you in my home, Caroline.”
She’d gotten to the door and had to steady herself with a hand against it with his next words.
“I also liked the way you screamed last night.”
* * * *
To her continued surprise, Caroline thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the long weekend. They started each day the same way, the guys getting work done while she prepared breakfast. Then they pursued their entertainments—the Celtics, the drive to Vermont, football. Every day included some physical activity—hiking in Vermont, a workout in the mansion’s gym on rainy Friday, and, on Sunday, Caroline teased the guys into two-on-two indoor volleyball. They’d have light lunches of Thanksgiving leftovers—with pie—and then dinner out. One evening Daniel took them to a show at the Cutler.
Once the men closed their computers, Caroline became the center of their attention. They lavished praise on her creative brunches, teasing her about having such skill in a traditional woman’s role. All three of them seemed to monitor her—was she enjoying the game? Did she need a rest? Did she want another drink?
From that first Friday morning, she felt like Daniel was one of the group. Oh, he didn’t touch her quite as readily as Matt and Jack did. There were none of the spontaneous caresses or handholding she got from those two. But he did use any excuse for casual, innocent touches. He’d put his hand on her waist when he reached around her at the kitchen sink, touch her back as she passed through a door he held, or take her hand to help her out of his car.
Except that he’d kiss her—in thanks after each meal she made, and good-night when he left her in the evening with Jack and Matt. A soft, gentle kiss, with just the barest linger. But his eyes—his eyes made more of it.
Caroline believed Matt and Jack watched Daniel’s behavior initially just as carefully as she did. But they obviously relaxed over time, their vigilance diminishing as he remained friendly, undemanding with her. He fit in well with them, foregoing much of his professor role and acting more as a friend among his buddies.
Caroline enjoyed that side of him. He seemed younger, relaxed. It had a boyish appeal, much as he’d shown when he’d toured them around his home, speaking of his family and childhood.
They had fun. There were many moments when Caroline could imagine them as a foursome. There were sweet times when Daniel’s aura of power seemed to ride more lightly on him. She understood that he had rare opportunities to relax and enjoy life, and it felt good that she and Matt and Jack could provide those moments.
But each day he found an occasion alone with her to remind her of his power, his determination. On Friday, it was when they got home from the game. They’d settled for a bit in front of the TV, watching a little comedy. Daniel rose from the couch and nudged her. “Come on,” he said. “Help me get some wine for us.”
Then, in the kitchen, when her hands were filled with four glasses, he pushed her against the counter and took her mouth. He held her head with both hands and kissed her hungrily, aggressively. He rocked his hips into her so she could feel his cock rising.
He took his time about it, and somehow, she knew he was learning her—her taste, her wants. Finally he pulled back, still holding her head, looking her over. She couldn’t help feeling like he’d taken something from her—her imprint, a bit of her soul.
Eventually he stepped back and nodded his head toward the door. “Take the glasses out. I’ll open the bottle.”
On Saturday, it was in the woods. They’d chosen the tree, a gorgeous Fraser Fir that reached twenty feet. Then Daniel had driven them to private land owned by a family friend. He took them on a trail that wound up a mountain, passing by a lovely waterfall. On the way down, Daniel cut in front of her on the trail, slowing his pace until they were alone, Matt and Jack out of sight ahead of them.
He stopped and turned so suddenly she nearly ran into him. He wrapped her in his arms, their winter coats blunting the pressure from his body. But she still felt the heat, still felt the hardness of his mouth as he took hers. He kissed her endlessly. He ran his hands down her back, coming under her coat to palm her bottom, bringing her up hard against him. Through her jeans and his, she felt his hard cock pulsing, riding against her center.
He rutted into her at length, until she was panting, nearly coming. Abruptly he set her back, separating their bodies, dropping his head onto her shoulder while his own harsh breaths settled. Finally he stood back and lifted an arm, motioning her on. She was barely steady on her feet. She was a good distance away before she finally heard him follow along.
Sunday, he waited for her as she brought his coffee. He opened the door, even before she knocked, and drew her in. Without speaking, he took the coffee, set it on the table beside the door, and then took her.
He was full against her, the door at her back. This time, there was nothing like heavy woolen coats separating them. There were only their pajama bottoms below and on top, just her thin camisole between her skin and his bare chest.
He kissed her, hot and moaning at first touch. He drew her hands up, lifting his mouth to mutter an instruction. “Put your arms around me.” The moment she complied, he covered her breasts with his hands.
Groaning some more, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, he mashed her breasts. His palms massaged them then his thumbs and fingers took her nipples. He worked them aggressively, tugging and squeezing.
His hard cock, huge and pulsing, rocked into her, stimulating her clit through the layers of flannel.
She whimpered, so immediately turned on, so hot and needy.
He took his mouth from hers, pressing his forehead against the door rasping harshly at her ear. “Caroline,” he grated out. “I heard you again last night. You screamed again. More, this time.”
It was true. She’d been so needy when Matt and Jack had taken her to bed. That kiss Daniel had given her when they were up the mountain, that heated groping, had left her hot and bothered all the rest of the day. And when she was finally in bed, with Matt and Jack filling her, she’d r
emembered it, remembered him, Daniel. She imagined having him there, having him, too, fucking his cock into her.
She would, indeed, find something to do with her mouth.
She hadn’t been able to hold back her screams. Couldn’t silence them, even with the thought that Daniel could be listening. Or maybe especially with that thought.
He pushed his body up hard into her, holding her against the smooth, old oak of the door. One hand left her breast, and she felt it then, sliding under the elastic waist of her pants.
Like he knew her intuitively, his fingers went right to her clit. He rubbed her, keeping one hand working on her tit, too.
Within seconds she exploded, crying out, bucking against him. He took her mouth again, muting her cries, and absorbed her convulsions with the large bulk of his own body.
He shuddered as he held her, and she knew he was close to coming himself, with just the stimulation of her pelvis cradling his hard cock. He took long moments to settle, gentling his kisses, soothing her with his hands, slowing his breathing.
At the end, he rested his forehead against hers. Then, kissing her once there, he opened the door and sent her out.
That night, when she was in bed with Matt and Jack, Caroline didn’t just think of Daniel. She wanted him.
* * * *
Daniel found watching the three of them leave on Monday morning harder than he could have expected. It was a cold, gray day, and the house was entirely too dark and empty once they were gone.
He’d enjoyed having Jack and Matt around remarkably well. They’d fallen into a comfortable camaraderie that focused on typically guy things—watching sports with a beer in hand, razzing each other, and appreciatively eyeing their hot woman. It wasn’t a kind of relationship he’d found easy in the past. The men he knew generally fell into the category of colleagues or rivals. He hadn’t had friendships with guys since he was in college himself, and none of them had lasted once he’d moved on to graduate school and then work in academia. He’d been so very focused on his studies, fast-tracking past his peers and, to be honest, not paying very much attention to them.
He couldn’t exactly regret it, but he saw now what he’d missed. Or, perhaps more likely, he’d finally found a couple of guys who truly appealed as friends. They were both so bright but also well grounded. They knew how to relax and have fun. They worked hard but enjoyed their lives—a lesson he was learning, better late than never.
And, they came with Caroline.
He was getting used to it now—his cock stirred whenever he thought of her. He wanted her in his life.
Yeah, he wanted her sexually, that went without saying. It was more than clear that she was a sexual goddess. She had an incredibly sensual nature. He could see it in every touch she gave to Matt and Jack, or received from them. She was unbelievably responsive—melting to his kisses, coming with barely a touch to her pussy. And she went wild when she was fucked.
He’d heard it each night, unashamedly listening while Matt and Jack double-fucked her. Oh, he’d heard her screams—the girl could come. But she wasn’t the only one getting off. It wasn’t all about her. Without a doubt, the guys had an equally good time of it. They’d have her, and then they’d come back for more.
She knew how to please her men.
Sure, the sex was a big, hot draw, but it wasn’t the whole deal.
She’d made his house a home, made him feel like he had family there. He’d felt it that first morning she’d brought him coffee. She was caring. She paid attention.
Matt and Jack adored her, but it was clearly a two-way, or maybe he should say, three-way street. She’d noticed on Thursday when Jack had been thinking of his own family, had sent him out of the room to give them a call, and had wrapped him in a warm hug when he came back. She’d teased Matt into closing his laptop on Saturday when, Daniel knew, the dude would have spent the whole day working out a problem he was having in the lab.
She’d pulled Matt into the group, into the fun they’d had that day, when his nature would have kept him at his computer instead. But she hadn’t forgotten his concern. She asked about it during their quiet car ride home, questioning until he laid the problem out. She wasn’t satisfied until Jack and Daniel were involved, too. By the time they got home, they’d found the solution together.
The mansion had felt like a home again with her in it.
She was smart, sensitive, and intuitive. She had a good, warm heart and made the people around her feel loved and cared for.
He was determined to be one of them.
And, by God, he was going to get to fuck her.
Chapter Ten
The weeks between Thanksgiving and semester break were wickedly busy for the guys. Jack and Matt were trying to finish up the last of the experimental work they’d have to do so they could focus on writing their dissertations. Plus they had final exams for the courses they taught and had to post extra office hours to meet with panicky students.
Caroline was busy, too, with papers due and finals, and extra shifts she was working. She’d more or less moved in with Matt and Jack, as, often, that was the only way she saw them. They’d come home late and fall into bed with her. She knew they were tired on the nights when all they did was wrap an arm around her and sleep.
She made a habit of taking meals to the lab more often. Usually, at least one of them would actually take a break and sit with her, even if the other just gave her a quick kiss, grabbed some food, and went back to work.
Sometimes she’d see Daniel and invite him to join them. Eventually, she started to knock on his office door and would sit and chat with him a bit. She could see how it brightened his day when he looked up to see her there.
On one of those visits, he made an arrangement with her—a date, he called it. Their first.
She knew he was busy, too, even though he’d told her he shut down his research for the break. Often, on her short visits, there would be a line of students waiting to meet with him when she left. She learned he taught Biochem I, the biggest class in the department. It was unusual for a full professor to teach an intro course, but he routinely volunteered to do it.
She understood what that was about. He believed it was an important class, where students first learned to think like biochemists. It was the most important class, he thought. It deserved to be taught by the best.
And that would be—Professor Daniel Ryan.
So he was writing the final and meeting frequently with his work group leaders.
Still—he had time to make a date.
Tuesday night. Casual, he told her. Wear outdoor clothes.
He picked her up at her home. She’d rushed to get done at work and guiltily put off until Wednesday tackling that last paper she had due. She wanted to spend this time with him, looked forward to it. Almost, it was enough to make her feel guilty, feel unfaithful to Matt and Jack. But they encouraged her, apparently perfectly comfortable with whatever feelings she developed for Daniel.
She was glad he’d told her casual, because she’d more than used up her clothing budget when she’d gotten a couple more things to wear during their Thanksgiving stay at the mansion.
But there was casual and then there was casual. He looked incredibly hot, standing there on her doorstep. He wore a dark-gray woolen Hawthorne coat and had a Native American muffler loosely wrapped around his neck. His jeans were of soft black denim that fit well. Very well.
He seemed to like the way she looked, too. She wore jeans faded from many washings, also soft and well fitting. She’d topped it with a cashmere sweater in gold tones that she knew highlighted her eyes.
He greeted her and took her hand, seeming ready to pull her through the door. But he stopped there, her hand in his, and stepped closer. He leaned in and kissed her. His lips were soft and warm, rubbing gently over hers. His fingers squeezed more tightly on hers, and he stepped in, circling his other arm around her, drawing her in. The kiss became more intense as he sank in to taste her, opening her mouth and usi
ng his tongue.
Caroline lifted her free hand to his waist and clenched her fist in his coat. It was an effort to steady herself against the demands—oh, not just of his mouth or his desire, but of that power that was there in his very presence. It was a lovely, taken feeling, a heady sense of being wanted and cherished, possessed and protected all at once.
She fell into it, losing herself in him, in his powerful body and his dark taste. She’d have likely stayed there forever.
But he finally lifted his head, his eyes searching hers. She knew he was satisfied in what he saw. She could see the glimmer of it in that heated blue of his eyes.
She was his. If there had been any doubt of it before, that was done.
He’d won her, owned her now. And it pleasured him to his primal core.
He held her gaze a long time, determined, she knew, to make sure she understood what had just passed. He wanted her to acknowledge it.
His eyes darkened as she made him wait. Apparently he wasn’t a particularly patient man. Finally, he nudged, squeezing her fingers.
“Yes.”
She may have said it begrudgingly, with a bit of annoyance and maybe a certain amount of fear.
But she’d said it, and that was clearly what counted for him. He grinned, unashamed at his blatant manipulation, and tugged her hand. She followed him down the steps and along the street to where he’d parked his car.
He settled her in and then was quiet as he drove, reaching over just one time to press her fingers.
Courage, he was saying.
She drew a deep, quiet breath. It was laced with begrudgery, annoyance, fear.
But she had to admit there was also a thrill in accepting this man into her heart.
He took her skating at Frog Pond, and it was lovely.
It was a black night, the skies clear with a bit of moon and stars just visible against the city lights. The air was crisp. It felt cold against her cheeks and sharp in her lungs when she drew hard breaths with her exertions. All around, trees were draped with lights, making it a magical wonderland as they circled the pond.
Three Men and a Woman: Caroline (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 15