by Celia Kyle
She stowed her tray and snagged the glass of apple juice with crushed ice from the counter and went to the stairs. It didn’t take her long to get to the top compared to what it would have had she been in the shape she’d been in just two months prior. She hadn’t intended on losing weight or getting into shape before her trip, but working in a bar and being on her feet all day did things to her body that no gym had managed. Maybe it was because she had a reason to go to work every day whereas she lacked that motivation in regards to the gym.
Nic approached the door with care, not wanting to disturb poor Chris if he was asleep. This cold had really knocked him on his ass, several times, in fact. Each time he started to feel better, he’d jump back into work and then get sick all over again. Ian said that his lover was nearly better, but still, Nic worried.
She turned the knob, and a groan filtered through the door. Poor guy, he had probably relapsed. A muffled Yes caught her off guard. Yes, what? She flinched and prayed she wasn’t walking in on some wet dream. With a deep breath, she eased the door open. And then time stood still.
Chris lay nude, sprawled across the king sized bed against the wall, hard cock in hand.
Should she close her eyes and scurry back down the stairs and send Ian back in her place? Yes.
Would she? Not for a million dollars.
She’d been fighting her attraction to Chris and Ian since before she took the job at Trasola, and she was going to pretend, just for a little while, that the man stroking his cock was hard… for her.
Chris, with his dirty blond hair and rugged features wasn’t every woman’s dream man, but he starred in her dreams, fantasies, each and every night. Sometimes, it was just her and Chris, and others… it was all three of them tangled together.
He stroked his cock, squeezing the base and then sliding his hand up along the shaft to the tip and then back down again. Up… and down. Over and over again. Head tilted back, mouth hanging open, he breathed deep, panting harder with each pass.
From her position by the door, she could easily see the glint of pre-cum coating the tip of his dick, the bit of evidence that his fantasy was quickly coming to an end.
One of his hands snaked up his body, caressing and stroking the firm muscles of his abdomen and then chest. His fingers, the fingers she’d seen make dozens of drinks, squeezed and pinched his nipple. Chris arched into his own touch, writhing and moaning while he caused himself a hint of pain to mix with his pleasure.
And she watched, panties growing wetter by the second, while he fondled himself and sought his release. Watched, rapt, as the droplets of pre-cum grew in size and dripped from the head of his cock. Stared while he tugged on his nipple, the skin turning red from his assault.
Chris’s moans and groans grew, and breaths came in sharp pants. His hips rocked in time with his tugs as if he fucked an imaginary partner. Ian. She licked her lips and fought the urge to dash across the room and swallow his cock. Her clit pulsed and twitched in her cream soaked panties, and her fingers tingled with the need to find her release. She wasn’t that perverted.
On the bed, Chris tensed, back arched and lifted from the bed, body strung tight and still as if time really had stopped. And then… then he gasped, a great inhalation of air as semen erupted from the tip of his cock, coating his stomach and chest in great strings of white that she ached to taste. More and more of his seed pulsed from the head of his dick until the pulsing and his breathing seemed to return to normal.
Thoughts of dashing down stairs and pretending none of this had happened shot through her mind. But when Chris rolled over and reached for something on the other side of the bed, his back to her, he knocked something from the mattress. It didn’t take a great deal of staring to see what had fallen.
A book.
Her book.
Two for One.
Anger and embarrassment overrode her need to give Chris privacy. She sat the glass down on a nearby bookshelf and raced across the room, scooping the book up with one swift movement.
“Nic? Wha—”
“Where did you get this?” She demanded. Her tone harsher than any she’d ever used with him before. She didn’t give a damn if he was still coming down from his orgasmic high. Betrayal burned through her gut. She knew where he’d gotten it, just as she knew where it should have been since it left her possession. One man had access to this book, and one only.
Cole had given it to Chris and Ian. Cole had betrayed her by exposing her deepest desires to two of her friends. What hurt the most was that they’d had the book for who knew how long, and they hadn’t acted on… anything.
Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them back. She couldn’t do this. Not now. Two days and she’d be in Europe, and in that split second, she knew what she had to do to retain her sanity until her trip.
“It doesn’t matter.” She turned on her heel and marched down the steps. Ian said something to her, but she ignored him. She had her sights set and she wouldn’t be deterred.
Without knocking, she busted into Cole’s back office and slammed the book down on his desk. “I. Quit.”
Chapter Six
“Fix it.” Cole demanded.
Chris figured his only chance of survival was to play dumb. The vamp looked like he was out for blood, and he didn’t know what the fuck had pissed his boss off. “Fix what?”
Cole smacked him upside the head with a book. “This. Fix this mess you idiots made, and get her the fuck back, Chris.” Cole threw the book into his lap and Chris’s eyes widened, mouth dropping agape.
Oh, shit.
“Oh, shit is right, idiot.” Cole paced. “I gave that to you two in hopes that you’d figure this shit out for yourselves, and instead you’ve made a fuck up out of everything.” The vamp fixed him with a hard burning glare. “Tell me, Chris, what exactly did Nic see before she took the book back, and then thumped it down on my desk. Cause sure as shit, I’m picking up the scent of fresh cum on those pages.”
Chris gulped. “Uh…”
“You are an idiot.” Ian shook his head at him.
“I wouldn’t be talking too quickly, Ian. You’re part of this too.” Cole declared.
“Me? I haven’t done—”
“Exactly. These pages are a hell of a lot dirtier than they were when I dropped this off two months ago. Now, do I have to take out a god damned billboard to point you two idiots in the right direction, or do you understand what you’ve got to do now?” Cole’s gaze bounced between him and Ian and Chris felt a light bulb turn on in his mind.
“No.”
Cole focused on him. “Yes.”
“But, Ian is my ma—”
Cole cut him off. “And you don’t think you can have more than one, jackass? Cause I’m telling you now, the scent your mate throws off when Nic is in the vicinity is about to drive half the Weres crazy down in that damn bar.” His boss shook his head as if in disbelief. “You’ve got twenty four hours to fix this, gentlemen. I suggest you figure a few things out and, I don’t know, communicate or some shit before you show up at her apartment.”
“We’re going to…” Chris’s voice trailed off while he tried to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Shut. Up. Chris.”
He snapped his mouth shut.
Cole nodded and disappeared through their apartment door, his heavy boots thumping on the stairs.
They were both silent, nothing but their breathing filling the quiet in the room, and the sounds of Cole and Mia cleaning up the bar downstairs. Chris sniffled and Ian sighed.
“Was he saying—”
“I didn’t mean for it—”
They spoke at the same time, both of them talking about the same thing. Chris snapped his mouth shut and waited for Ian to speak.
His lover, his mate, snagged a chair from the kitchen area, flipped it around and straddled it so he facing him.
For what seemed like hours, they stared at each other. Neither spoke or moved. Just stared. Finally, Ian broke the si
lence when Chris didn’t think he’d be able to take it any longer. His worst imaginings were pinging through his mind.
Did Ian not love him anymore?
Did he prefer the idea of Nic over him?
Worst yet, did Ian have any inkling of his feelings for Nic?
Their perfect, two-man world was crashing down around Chris, and he couldn’t fathom what any of it meant.
“He’s telling the truth, you know.” Ian murmured.
Chris swallowed the lump in his throat and fought to keep his tears at bay. His worst fears were unfolding before him.
“I… She is… It’s like this…” Ian ran a hand through his hair. “Dammit. She is my mate, but no more or less than you are, Chris. It doesn’t change anything, and I don’t have to claim her.”
Chris stared at his lover, the man who he thought would be by his side forever. Emotions swirled through him like a tidal wave. Anger, fear and hope warred for dominance within.
“But you do.” He replied. “You know you do. Could you have not claimed me? Could you have walked away when recognition settled in your bones?” Ian opened his mouth to speak and Chris talked over him. “Because I’ll tell you, Ian, I couldn’t have. Not for one second.” He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “And if we’re being honest here, I can’t.”
“You can’t what?”
“Let her slip away.” In for a penny… “I thought my attraction to her was just that, an attraction. You know, left over hetero tendencies or some shit.” He stared into his mate’s eyes. “I had you, my mate. It had to be residual pussy addiction or something. But that’s not what this is, is it?”
Ian stared at him, piercing green eyes delving into his mind as if scouring each and every nook and cranny he could find. “You’re not mad?”
He shook his head. “We’re mated, what makes you think that if there was going to be another that it wouldn’t be someone we both wanted. We’re Weres, Ian, not men.”
Chris felt his fear and anger drift away under Ian’s scrutiny. From Ian’s searching stare, he could tell that his mate was concerned.
“You’re sure?” Ian cradled his head in his hands. “I feel like I’ve led you down the gay trail and now I’m fucking everything up.”
Chris barked out a laugh. “The gay trail? That’s almost as bad as my pussy addiction.” He shook his head. “Love you, you know that you bastard. Cock or pussy, you’re still you.”
The side of Ian’s mouth kicked up in a smile. “What if I had both?”
Laughing, Chris chucked a pillow at his mate. “Idiot. No time for fantasizing when we’ve got a perfectly good pussy, which we both want, not far away.”
Ian sobered. “She’s really pissed though, isn’t she?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah, she caught me rubbing one out up here and then ran off. I figure she’s just the teeniest bit upset.”
Ian snorted. “Not hardly. I’d say we’re royally screwed if we don’t do some fast talking when we show up there.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, we’re not the best talkers.” Ian shook his head. “Play you rock, paper, scissors? Loser has to explain things.”
“You are a sneaky bastard. How about the full-Were in the room explains things?”
“I like my idea better.”
Chris scoffed. “You would.”
“Ready? On the count of three. One… two… three…”
“Fuck.”
Chris lost.
*
Nic sunk into the warm water in her bathtub and let the soothing heat wash her stress away. Two days. Not even two days, really, and she’d be on her way for a month of traveling and exploration. Trasola and its employees forgotten.
The betrayal still stung though. The thought that Cole had picked men out for her; that they’d been in front of her all this time, and they hadn’t done anything, really stung her pride. Added to that was the fact that Cole had made his selection so close to ‘home’, and her emotions took another tumble.
The whys slithered through her mind, bringing with them a whole truckload of self-doubt and self-hatred.
Had it been her size? Nic didn’t have a problem with her wide hips, thick thighs and generous breasts, but some men did. Obviously. Though, no one in the bar had ever had a problem hitting on her. Maybe she just managed to turn every man she actually wanted within a hundred foot radius gay.
Was that it? She’d always thought that a person was either born gay or they weren’t, but then again… Marvin had sure played the sweet hetero boyfriend for a good long while. She’d never thought that Ian was anything but gay, and she knew Chris had to at least be bi… So, why couldn’t they ‘take one for the team’ and give her a night filled with fantasies? Cole, the infamous matchmaker had obviously thought they were up for it. So, why weren’t they?
Maybe… Maybe they just weren’t into chocolate. Nic was raised to look past a person’s skin color. When she found a man attractive, it was because of him as a person, not because he was black, white, or Hispanic.
She eased deeper into the tub. Regardless of the reason, the three men had engaged in some sort of conversation about her and the book, and no one had come a knocking. Period. Maybe… maybe she could finagle a little threesome fun over in Europe. It wasn’t like the States had a monopoly on sexually adventurous men, right?
She sighed. Right.
Disappointment settled in and she chided herself for being angry that the men hadn’t wanted anything to do with her. Cole was human, sort of, and was liable to make mistakes occasionally. Maybe he’d just misread Chris and Ian’s relationship. At work, the two seemed entirely devoted to one another. They didn’t paw each other constantly, but secret looks passed across the bar most of the night. Both men kept their public displays of affection to a minimum, but they didn’t wait around once cleanup was done for the night either.
Realization and understanding took the place of her hurt and anger as she rationalized the night’s events. Cole had made a mistake. Period. He’d given her book to a couple that were too dedicated to one another to allow someone else in, even casually. She couldn’t lay the blame for that at Chris and Ian’s feet, and neither could it be placed at Cole’s. Instead, her irrational reaction was hers and hers alone. Dammit.
Now, she felt the need to apologize, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. After her outburst in Cole’s office, and ceremonious resignation, she sure as hell didn’t want to go through the embarrassment of apologizing. Oh well, sometimes people had to do things just because it was right, not because they liked doing it.
Nic stood in the tub and carefully stepped onto the bathmat. She pulled her towel from the warmer and wrapped it around her. The soothing heat from the towel worked with the residual warmth of her bath to keep her relaxed while she formulated a plan. Once dry, she slipped into her favorite silk robe and padded through her apartment, into the kitchen. Half way to the freezer for a pint of ice cream, a knock at her front door interrupted her journey. Damn.
She figured Cole must have tracked her down to talk about her quitting. Couldn’t he at least have had the decency to wait for her to drown her sorrows in some ice cream before she had to apologize for her behavior? Men. Some of them really had no manners.
She tightened the belt on her robe and swung the door open. “Cole, I’m so—”
Not one man, but two stood on her front doormat; the two men who had starred in her fantasies, and then, just this afternoon, her nightmares. Ian and Chris. “Um, hi.”
Neither man said a word. Ian, her self-appointed bodyguard, stood behind Chris, his expression, a mixture of annoyance and fear. Odd, considering he could probably take out anyone that approached him whether he was in the form of a cat or man. Chris looked nervous. He fidgeted and his fingers twitched as he stood before her. Something was up, and this time it wasn’t his cock.
God, what if Cole talked to them? What if…
Chris gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing along his neck. �
��Can we come in?”
No! “Sure.” She smiled. At least, she hoped it was a smile. Nothing could be more embarrassing than the chance that Cole had spilled the beans entirely then sent these two to smooth things over.
She plastered a smile on her face. She could do this. “Sure.” Nic opened the door wider and stepped aside, gesturing for the two men to enter. She closed and locked the door behind them before following them into the living room where they’d wandered.
“Have a seat. Do either of you want anything?”
A chorus of no’s rose before she even finished the question. Okay, then. No drinks.
She settled on the love seat, which left the couch to the two men. At least there’d be some distance between them. Having them near, even under the current circumstances brought her body to attention. A buzz of arousal simmered in her veins, reminding her that she was a woman and they… were two lickable men.
She cleared her throat when neither of them spoke. “Um, not that it isn’t great to see you two, but, um, is there something you needed? Wanted to talk about?”
Like a Band-Aid. Get it over with and then get them gone. I can do this.
Chris swallowed and opened his mouth… only nothing came out. He tried again and managed a squeak. The third time, he was able to form words. “The thing is… I… No, we… See… What happened was…”
Ian stared at Chris, a look of utter disbelief on his face. “You suck at seduction. I should have just lost on purpose if you were going to act like a damned teenager on his first date. How the fuck did we ever get together, you idgit?”
“Fuck you, asshole. I’m trying here and you’re ruining it. She’s fucking special and deserves to be approached gently….”
Seduction?
Both men turned to her, and their penetrating gazes zeroing in on her was a little more than she could stand.
“Yes,” Chris answered. “Seduction.”
She covered her mouth. “Oh, shit, I said that out loud?”
Ian’s rock hard expression softened. “It’s okay, sweets.”
“No, it’s really not. Look, I understand that you two are here… Okay, I don’t really understand why you’re here, and I’m sure it has something to do with Cole threatening to rip your balls off or something, but seduction or anything that goes along with it isn’t necessary. I was going to call Cole to apologize and—”