“Hi,” Julia said, her eyes never leaving Evan.
“Hello,” Cassie said, dropping her gaze to the floor. “Sorry to interrupt.”
I wanted to slip into a black hole right then. At least Cassie had the grace to be embarrassed for me. Julia, that crazy redhead, was anything but.
She stepped into the office and held out her hand as she walked up to Evan. “Nice to meet you, uh…” A simple lift of her eyebrows came next.
He smiled and took her hand. “Evan. Nice to meet you too.” He walked over to Cassie and they made introductions as well. “I guess I’ll be heading out now.” With one long, last look that made my stomach clench, he gave me a nod. “Later, Stacy.”
After he departed, Julia turned to me. “Damn,” she said slowly. “He is yummy. Why didn’t you ever bother to mention you had a hot boyfriend?”
“Julia,” Cassie chided, “focus. This isn’t a girls’ day spa retreat. We’re at work.”
Julia frowned and shook her head. “And?”
Cassie rolled her eyes.
“If I had me about six feet, two inches of sexy with a panty-melting dimpled smile, trust me, I’d tell the world.”
I laughed. “We’ve been seeing each other a little while,” I said vaguely. It wasn’t a lie, though. Evan was my boyfriend. But so was Justin. The whole tale was too twisted to explain. “Anyway,” I said, shrugging, “he’s a good guy.”
“Mm, I’ll bet,” Julia said as she looked at me. She leaned in and whispered, “How good?”
Cassie grimaced. “Julia!”
She hitched her thumb at Cassie. “Such a party pooper, this one.”
Cassie smiled. “The execs from Valiance Corp. are here. We thought we’d have a group meeting before setting you off on your own with them. The Tulsa room in ten?”
“Sure thing,” I said. After the women left, I was free to freak out a bit. I’d gone to London and spent half a year wooing these people. I’d thought the hard part was over, but now I not only had to impress them, I had to impress my superiors with how I handled them. If all went well, I could very well be looking at a promotion. If all went horribly, I could very well be looking at an unemployment office as I made my dejected way inside.
I took several deep breaths as I calmed myself. Eventually, my heart rate started to slow. I could do this. I would do this. Throwing my shoulders back, I held my head high and left my office.
* * *
I glanced at my watch for the tenth time. “It’s getting late.” Okay, so I sounded dangerously close to whining. Still.
“Stop,” Nina said as she glanced around the upscale lounge. “James said he’d drop by here after work tonight to meet a few friends for drinks.”
“James?” I drew my eyebrows together. “The dude from the club?” She nodded and my frown deepened. “That was ages ago.”
Nina scoffed. “Not even a year.”
“That’s a long time for you to still be interested in the same man.”
She laughed. “Did you just call me a slut in not so many words?”
“Never,” I said with a smile.
“Good, because there’s only one of us who’s getting it from two dudes at once. And sometimes literally at once.”
I gave her a light punch in the shoulder and we laughed. I quickly sobered as I thought of how I could be getting it from one of those guys right now. I hadn’t seen Justin all day, though we’d spoken on the phone. He’d suggested meeting up tonight. He’d also suggested he’d make it worth my while, as if he could do anything else.
Unfortunately, he had made these wonderful, seductive suggestions right after Nina roped me into agreeing to come here. I glanced at my watch again and sighed.
“It’s barely seven o’clock,” Nina said with a toss of her blonde hair. “Get over yourself. You’re a raging sex addict now.”
I pondered that. Huh. It seemed a definite possibility so I wouldn’t argue. “Apparently I’m not the only one. I still don’t know why we’re here. Since when are you shy? Just tell James you want to hook up.”
She gave me an incredulous look. “Wow. Being in two relationships has really made you crazy. James and I dated casually, but it’s been months since we hooked up. If I just blurt out some shit on impulse, I could send him running scared. He could think I’m trying to get all clinging-vine girlfriendy on him.”
I stared at her blankly as the seconds passed. Finally, I arched an eyebrow. “What?”
She waved my question off. “Anyway, he called me today to see what I’d been up to—it’s been a few weeks since we’ve talked—and he mentioned he was coming here. ‘What a coincidence,’ I said, ‘I am too!’ And”—she spread her arms—“here we are.”
I groaned, letting my head fall back. “I don’t want to be here.”
“There he is,” she said excitedly. “James,” she called.
I lifted my head and pasted a smile on. No need to be rude to James just because I was feeling the urge to kick Nina’s ass. “Where?” I said as I glanced around.
“Behind me, coming up.” Nina popped open her compact and gave herself one last mirror check.
My smile froze. “Nina,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to hurt you.”
Frowning, she lowered her compact case. “Why?”
“Happen to know who one of James’s friends is?” I asked lightly.
She shook her head.
I glared at her. “Nathan.”
She looked back, before whirling around to face me again. “Shit.” She gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry?”
I ignored her and polished off my cocktail. I needed straight liquor. The super-hard stuff. Maybe moonshine.
James walked up and kissed Nina’s cheek. I shook his hand as we reintroduced ourselves. He gestured toward Nathan, whose face had broken into a broad grin upon seeing me. “This is—”
“No need for introductions,” Nathan said, slapping him on the back. “I know Nina, and I definitely know Stacy.”
“Really?” James asked, nodding. “Small world.”
“Tiny,” I mumbled before trying to drain the last minuscule droplets of cocktail from my painfully empty glass.
“Yeah,” Nathan said. “Stacy’s my ex-girlfriend.”
“Whoa,” James said as he looked around. “Hopefully this isn’t awkward or anything.”
Yes!
“No,” Nathan and I said in unison.
“Not awkward at all,” Nina muttered. She stood up and linked her arm with one of James’s. “Come with me to the bar?”
I narrowed my eyes at her back as they walked away. I was going to strangle her for leaving me alone with this guy.
Nathan immediately took advantage of the lack of prying eyes and ears. He sat down and scooted his chair closer to me. “How long have you been back?”
I shrugged and looked around the room. “About a month.”
He paused for a few seconds. “A month?” His voice was tinged with hurt. “And you weren’t ever going to tell me? I’ve tried calling you a few times, but I always go straight to voice mail. I’ve left you messages and—”
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t feel like talking to you.”
“Since when? You seemed all right with it when you were still in London.”
“I don’t—” I sighed and met his eyes. “I don’t want to fight with you, Nathan. That’s why I didn’t take your calls or call you back.”
Shaking his head, he gave me a puzzled smile. “What would we fight about?” He covered my hand with his.
“I’ve been seeing someone since I got back.” I swallowed past a lump in my throat. “Two someones.”
“Good Lord,” he said, pulling his hand away from mine. “The same ones you told me you were dating before you left for London?”
“Yes.” I took a deep breath. How could I admit to what I was doing? Dating, sleeping with two friends? Crazy how it seemed so natural for me until I needed to speak the words. Did I need to speak the words,
though? It wasn’t any of Nathan’s business who I slept with.
The man had called me a bore in the sack and then dumped me. He didn’t really get a vote. “We started seeing one another again after I returned.” There he had it. That was all he deserved to know.
“Stacy,” he said gently as he shook his head. “When are you going to stop playing around with these fools so we can start our life together?”
I stared down at the table. What I had with Evan and Justin didn’t feel like playing around, even though that’s what it was supposed to be.
I raised my gaze to Nathan’s and a little smile touched my lips. “My life has already started without you.”
Eight
A couple of weeks later, I was at The Biker Alley for the second time in my life. Only this time, Nina hadn’t dragged me to the smoky, grungy downtown bar. I’d willingly gone on the back of Justin’s motorcycle. A friend of his and Evan’s was playing with his band tonight. Evan said he’d try to make it, but with his bar opening soon, he had some last-minute things to take care of. I’d pouted, but he sent me off with a kiss and told me to have fun.
Justin held my hand as we entered. A few people openly stared as we made our way to a table, but I was getting used to it. I just smiled before pulling Justin in for a searing kiss as soon as we were seated. I made a point of sucking his tongue slowly when he slipped it into my mouth.
“Damn,” he said breathlessly. He pulled back, clearly amused. “What was that for?”
“We’re drawing looks. At the very least, I want a reason.”
He smirked. “Makes sense to me,” he said before pulling me back in for more. “Suck it again,” he said before sliding his tongue between my parted lips.
I smiled and did exactly that. I only hoped The Biker Alley crowd was getting a good show. By the time we came up for air, everyone seemed to have adjusted to our interracial, overly affectionate presence. Even the bartender, Hank, was no longer giving me wary glances. Progress.
Perhaps on my third visit, I may even get a “hello” from some of these folks. I scanned the room, taking in the big, burly tattooed men and the women—some of whom were also big, burly, and tattooed. Yeah, my warm greeting could still be a ways off.
“Come on,” Justin yelled over the deafening music. “Let’s dance.”
“To this?” I asked dryly. I wasn’t sure what was playing, but it didn’t seem like something to dance to. From the blaring guitars, not to mention the bar we were currently in, I could only guess that it was rock music.
“Yeah, smart-ass,” he said, pulling me up by my hand. He smiled, bringing my body close. “To this.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Really? You want to dance? Because I was thinking we could go out behind the bar like we did that one time…”
Justin gave my ass a playful smack. “Oh, we’ll do that too.” He led me to the small dance floor. “But first…”
I laughed as he twirled me around. Just then, a slow song—still rock—began playing. I nuzzled his neck as he held me close. We swayed to the music and I peered up at him. He was impulsive, sometimes reckless, always cocky. I loved his way of not giving a damn what anyone thought, his passion in whatever he did. I just loved being with him. I loved his confidence, his passion, and just being with him. I loved… him. And if I were forced to choose, would he be my choice?
“What’s going through that pretty little head of yours?”
I gave him a sly smile. “You don’t want to know.” Hell, I definitely didn’t want him to know. He’d jump on his motorcycle so fast I’d be stuck here with the unwelcoming biker crowd.
“Ooh,” he said, pressing me against his cock. “Now I have to know.”
“I just love…”
His blue eyes searched mine. “Yeah?”
I gave him a shaky smile. “I love being with you, that’s all.”
Justin stared at me a moment. “That’s all?” he asked quietly.
I nodded, pressing my face against his chest before he saw the lie that was probably so clearly written on it. Even though he and Evan had made it clear, this time, that they weren’t seeing anyone else, I didn’t kid myself. That didn’t mean I was special to them.
Oh, I thought they loved me, sure… in the way Evan loved art and Justin loved sports. They didn’t have this heavy weight on their hearts, however. The weight of wanting what you would never have. They weren’t in love with me. But I knew for certain that I was in love with both of them.
“I love being with you too.” He spun me around again. “Now let’s dance our way to Hank and get some drinks.”
I laughed as he maneuvered us through the crowd, all the way to the bar.
“A beer for me,” he called to the gruff-looking bartender. “And whatever my baby wants.” He twirled me again so I was facing Hank.
The man raised his eyebrow as he regarded me.
Justin pressed against my back as he leaned in. “It’s loud as fuck in here, Hank, so maybe you didn’t catch that,” he yelled. “I said a beer for me and whatever my baby wants.”
I gave Hank my brightest smile. “I think I’d like a Screaming Orgasm.” Justin definitely brought out my mischievous side and I had to admit I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the way Hank’s eyes narrowed at my audacity.
Justin wrapped an arm around my waist. “And I think I just may give you one or two before the night’s over.”
I laughed just as Hank grunted and ambled off to get the drinks.
Justin chuckled near my ear. “Did you have to order that?”
“Yes.” I turned around and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “You make me naughty.”
He gave me a sexy smirk. “Oh, do I?”
I nodded.
“Care to prove it?”
I slid my hand down between us and rubbed his stiffening cock through his jeans.
His eyes closed just as he sucked in an uneven breath. “Shit, okay, you win.”
I smiled and stroked him harder.
“Fuck.” He snapped open his eyes. “Stop it, woman, before you make me come all over myself.”
“Where else would you rather come?” I asked innocently.
Justin rubbed his thumb across my lower lip as he stared at it. Then he slowly lifted his gaze to mine. He gave me a wicked smile. “Anywhere you want.”
Fortunately, Hank chose that moment to reappear with our drinks. There was no telling if I could have otherwise resisted taking Justin’s cock out right there at the bar and dropping to my knees. We made our way back to the table and prepared for the band to take the small stage. I scanned the room. “I hope Evan makes it.”
Justin took a swig of his beer and glanced around. “I’ll text him, if you want.”
“No, that’s all right. He may be busy.” I was still getting the hang of this dating two friends thing. Even though Evan and Justin obviously knew, and accepted, that I was seeing both of them, I couldn’t help but be mindful of how I treaded in situations like these. If Justin found it offensive for me to bring Evan up, he never showed it—or vice versa.
Still, wanting to text one while on a date with the other seemed rude. But they were friends. I sighed as I sat back in my chair. I couldn’t exactly blame my uncertainty on anyone else; I’d chosen this weird arrangement. Oddly, I still wasn’t regretting it.
We watched the band perform a set before they took a break. I’d paid only partial attention to the songs. Not only was I rather new to the rock music scene, but Justin was a constant distraction. He’d pulled my chair close to his and after he had casually rested one arm behind me, music had been the last thing on my mind.
He turned to me. “Want another drink?”
“I shouldn’t.” It was a Thursday night. I had to work tomorrow.
Justin laughed. “I didn’t ask if you should have one.”
I pressed myself to his side. “A drink’s not what I want anyway.”
His eyes darkened with lust. “No?” He leaned close to m
y ear. “What do you want?”
I jerked my head in the direction of the back exit. “I’ll show you.”
“Well, now you’ve got me curious.” He stood and offered me his hand. As soon as we made it outside, behind the bar, he pushed me against the wall. “Show me what you want.”
I slid my hands down to unbutton his jeans before unzipping them. “This,” I said, wrapping my fingers around the rigid flesh of his cock.
Justin released a trembling breath beside my ear. “Mm,” he murmured. “You can have that whenever you want.”
My nipples stiffened. “Promise.”
His blue eyes held a devilish glint. “I promise.” He grabbed a condom from his pocket and tore open the wrapper.
I cursed myself for not wearing a skirt or dress. It was best to give these guys easy access because, nine times out of ten, sex occurred at inopportune times and in less than ideal places. Like now. Did I really want to wriggle out of my jeans and stand out here bare-assed behind a biker bar? I stared at Justin’s cock as he rolled the condom on.
Yeah, I do.
I slipped out of my flats and ditched the jeans in a flash. After casting a few furtive glances around, I yanked up my tank top and bra in one motion. I moaned and closed my eyes when he bent down to suck my nipple. His fingers teased the other, making it harden more.
Justin eased his free hand down to rub the wet ache between my legs. “You’re ready for me, baby.”
I gasped and moved against his hand. “Yes,” I said breathlessly.
Justin picked me up and I pushed my panties aside so he could get to where I needed him most. He lowered me onto his cock. “Shit,” he said roughly. “You feel so damn good.”
So did he. I couldn’t find the strength to tell him at the moment, but I thought my yelps and moans said enough.
Grabbing my ass, he set the pace, which was ever quickening. I lifted and dropped back onto his throbbing shaft—repeatedly. Harder and faster until he was slamming into me wildly. “Ah, fuck,” he yelled. “I’m close, baby.”
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