Down & Dirty-epub

by Rhian Cahill

  Mike’s only reaction was an arched eyebrow.

  Ethan knew the question circling in his friend’s mind and he couldn’t blame the guy for wondering. It wasn’t unusual for a woman to move through the men in their circle. But not this one. Kelly was different. “Always,” Ethan ground out through clenched teeth.

  Mike grinned. “Well, well, well. Let the fun begin.” He swept his arm in the direction of the house. “Food and drinks out back. Games wherever you look.”

  “Food first, I think.” Finn urged Kelly around Mike towards the front door.

  “W-what was that about?” Kelly asked as they climbed the stairs.

  Ethan smiled at her and gave her hand a quick squeeze. “Nothing. Mike’s a shit stirrer, that’s all.”

  Kelly eyed him sceptically but didn’t question him further. She held Ethan’s hand in an easy grip but when they stepped into the house and came across the first game her gentle hold became a stranglehold.

  “Oh. My. God.” Her words were whispered on a shaky breath and he moved closer to stop her from bolting out the door. “Is that…? Are they…?”

  Finn chuckled. “Yep. Strip poker.”

  Ethan dismissed the room full of people in various states of undress and moved deeper into the house. He tugged Kelly and Finn with him. The sooner they got to the food and the all-important inhibition reducer the better. Kelly’s hand trembled in his and he knew they were close to losing her to the shyness—the insecurities—that he’d caught glimpses of during the years he’d known her.

  Getting her drunk wasn’t part of the plan, but she could do with a couple of glasses of alcohol to loosen her up. Relax her a little. In the time she’d worked for them, he’d gotten to know her well enough to know right now she felt out of her element. It was in the rapid shifting of her eyes, the shallow breaths she took and the dampness of her palm pressed against his. He’d be damned if he let her run from them now though.

  Not when she’d finally embraced some of that wild woman he knew lived deep inside her by accepting their invitation to join them tonight.

  Two years ago, she’d come to them as an office temp—a temp who’d proven so invaluable to the day-to-day running of their architecture business that they hadn’t let her go. Of course, the fact he and Finn had fallen instantly in lust with Kelly Owens—with Kitty—had a lot to do with it. But they wanted things—craved—sexual things that most women couldn’t bring themselves to do.

  Having a threesome might be one of the top female fantasies, but very few took part in one even when offered. Kelly would take part and more. He’d—they’d—make sure they were too tempting to refuse. Getting her to go out with them was the first step. She knew of their bedroom exploits—they’d never hidden who they were from her—and judging by the outfit she had on, she’d at least considered walking on the wild side with them.

  Spotting the bar, he stopped and asked, “What do you want? Beer, wine, spirits?”

  “C-can I have water?”

  “Water?” Finn asked.

  Kelly shrugged. “I don’t drink.”

  Ethan knew she didn’t go out and party every weekend like the average twenty-something, but he hadn’t realised she didn’t drink. “At all?” he asked.

  “I prefer to stay in control and alcohol impedes that.” She swung her gaze from Ethan to Finn and back again. “Oh, it’s not that I haven’t in the past. When I was younger. But not now. I don’t go out that often and drinking at home alone seems a little pathetic to me.”

  Obviously their open-mouthed stares were rattling her if she felt the need to justify her choices. Her confession had him a little rattled too. She didn’t drink. She didn’t go out. Did she date? How did she hook up with a guy for sex? Jesus. Had she had sex? Ethan gave himself a mental slap. Of course she’d had sex.

  Hadn’t she?

  “If you don’t go out, what do you do for fun?” Finn asked.

  Kelly gnawed on her bottom lip. “Read,” she muttered.

  “Read?” Ethan tucked a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face until her gaze met his. “What do you read?”

  “Um, you know, fiction.”

  Her eyes shifted away and her cheeks turned pink, and Ethan knew she wasn’t giving him a straight answer. He thought about pressing further, but she slid her tongue out of her mouth and licked over the plump bottom lip he’d dreamt about nibbling on. His brain short-circuited as blood drained out to fill other more urgent parts of his anatomy.

  There were just enough cells left functioning to project images on the inside of his skull. Images of Kelly using that tongue and mouth to drive him insane while Finn fucked her from behind.

  Jesus. He wasn’t going to make it through the night at this rate. “Right. Water.” Ethan turned and all but lunged for the bar.

  The guy on the other side took a step back and eyed him warily. “What’ll it be?” the barman asked.

  “Two beers and a water.” God. Had he ever ordered water at a bar?

  “Coming right up.”

  Ethan waited. He kept his gaze forward, didn’t dare turn around and look at Kelly until he could manage some control. All she’d done was lick her lip and he’d wanted to shove her up against the nearest hard surface—preferably his best friend—and have his way with her. The hand-job he’d given himself before heading out tonight hadn’t made a damn bit of difference to his level of arousal.

  He wanted to get out of here already and they hadn’t even had a drink yet. It was going to be a long night. Ethan glanced over his shoulder to see Finn leaning over to whisper in Kelly’s ear. She smiled up at his friend and Ethan wanted to kiss that smile. Wanted to feel those lips curve against his before he thrust his tongue between them.

  “Here ya go, mate.”

  Turning back to the bar, Ethan found two beers and a glass in front of him. “Thanks.” He grabbed the glass with one hand and wrapped the fingers of the other around the bottle necks. Heading the few feet over to Finn and Kelly, he hoped he could make it through the next few hours without ravishing the woman they’d finally convinced to go out with them.

  Finn watched his best friend walk towards them and knew Ethan was fighting for control as badly as he was. Fuck. They’d be lucky if they didn’t scare the crap out of Kitty with their horniness. It was their own fault. The women had been few and far in the past since she’d come into their lives. With each one they’d bedded the dissatisfaction had grown until they’d known. No one but Kitty would do.

  Their discontent had even led to them doing something they hadn’t done in years. They’d tried taking women to bed separately in an effort to find some kind of relief. But even that had been a dismal failure. That was when they’d given up on finding what they wanted—needed—with anyone else.

  Planning and plotting the best way to get Kitty in their bed had led them here. Finally, months after the first invitation to go out with them, she’d said yes. And Finn wasn’t ashamed to admit he’d just about come in his pants right then.

  He took the beer Ethan held out and chugged half of it down. The cold soothed his throat but didn’t put a dent in the heat rising inside him. Finn shook his head. At this point there was only one thing that would cool him off and she was standing beside him in complete ignorance of all that he wanted.

  Kitty sipped her water and scanned the crowd. Her eyes widened with every second, and he had to admit there were some interesting ideas of what decently clothed meant. A woman to their right had what appeared to be a scarf wrapped around her body. It barely covered her tits and pussy, but she seemed completely comfortable with her near-naked state. Kitty on the other hand, was completely uncomfortable.

  She kept tugging at the hem on her skirt even though you’d have to lie on the ground between her feet to see anything more than her mile-long legs. A vision of those smooth limbs wrapped around his waist while he pounded into her flashed through his mind. The image drove his blood at breakneck speed through his veins until it pooled in his groin
with a bone-deep throb.

  He needed a distraction.

  Finn spotted the food table on the other side of the yard and used his beer to point in that direction. “Let’s get something to eat.”

  When they reached the spread, Finn picked up a plate and handed it to Kitty. He grabbed another two and passed one to Ethan before turning to survey the choices. “What the fuck?”

  “Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Ethan murmured.

  “Um, I’m not all that hungry.” Kitty lowered her plate to the table.

  “Who’s Mike dating at the moment?” Ethan asked.

  “Why?”

  Ethan glanced around before saying in a low voice, “He’s a steak man. Only a woman who’s spreading her legs for him could convince him serving raw fish at a party was a good idea.”

  Finn laughed. “You’re right.” He put his plate back and reached for Kitty’s hand. “C’mon. Let’s take a look around inside.”

  Kitty glanced at Ethan before answering. “Okay.”

  Finn noticed she did that a lot. Only it was usually at work. She was already in sync with them in a way he knew would translate well in the bedroom. And now his mind was back to the fantasy reel of hot sex with Kitty that he’d been replaying over and over since first laying eyes on her.

  The second she’d walked into their office, all iron-pressed and covered in a knee-length black skirt and stark-white business blouse beneath a shapeless jacket his lust metre had hit the red zone. She’d turned up for her first day of a four-week temporary position and all he could think about was how many positions he could get her into.

  Naked.

  Attempting to shove all thoughts of getting Kitty naked from his mind, Finn led the way inside. He put his empty bottle on the first available flat surface and moved them deeper into the house. The first game they came to was a very adult version of Spin the Bottle, and while he’d enjoyed the game on previous occasions, the thought of someone else getting to do one of the highly sexual dares written on some of the game cards with Kitty had him moving on.

  Fast.

  Next was Truth or Dare, but he recognised one of the guys sitting in the circle, and even if there’d been space for the three of them to join the game, Finn wouldn’t suggest it. He bypassed the strip poker—no one was seeing Kitty without her clothes but him and Ethan. Hurried past the Seven Minutes in Heaven happening in the hall closet and eyed the game of Suck and Blow with little excitement. The idea of playing with anyone other than Kitty and Ethan held no appeal.

  Being here held no appeal.

  “Finn?” He turned to find Kitty staring at him with confusion and a small amount of trepidation. “Aren’t we going to…?” Her gaze darted around.

  “Yeah, Finn. Aren’t we gonna play?” The teasing tone of his best friend’s words made Finn frown.

  How did he say he didn’t want to play with others without scaring Kitty off? But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to get out of here and go somewhere the three of them could be alone. Would she go for that? He spotted a guy wondering around with a plate of sushi and the perfect idea presented itself.

  “You know I’m kinda hungry, and to be honest, I’m not up for playing games on an empty stomach. Why don’t we get out of here and go somewhere there’s more appetising things on the menu?”

  “Great idea.” Ethan grabbed Kitty’s drink and placed it on the tray of a passing waiter. “Let’s go.”

  “L-leave?” She stood her ground when Ethan tugged on her hand. “But don’t you want to…?”

  Finn found it amusing that she was stuttering and struggling to form complete sentences. It was either the risqué party or them that had her flustered, and the only way to find out which was to remove her from one. And letting her out of his sight wasn’t going to happen tonight.

  He grinned. “Nope. I’m starving.”

  It was the truth.

  But it wasn’t food he was ravenous for.

  Chapter Two

  Kitty hoped she was doing the right thing leaving the party with her bosses. Then again, if she was going to do the right thing she shouldn’t have accepted their invitation in the first place.

  She didn’t say a word as Ethan led her to Finn’s ute. When he opened the passenger door, she slid across the bench seat until her thigh butted up against Finn’s, who’d already climbed in behind the wheel and had the engine roaring to life. The cab was cramped with the three of them, and being this close to the two men who starred in her late-night fantasies had her insides revving higher than the V-8 motor under the hood.

  “What do you feel like?” The question came from Finn, and Kitty scrambled to come up with an answer that wasn’t sex.

  “I vote for pizza,” Ethan said.

  “Um, I’m fine with anything that isn’t raw or from the sea.” Kitty shuddered. She’d never had the stomach for seafood.

  “All meat pizza?” Finn asked.

  “Barbeque sauce?” BBQ meatlovers was her favourite.

  “Done.” Finn put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb.

  “Let’s get takeaway and head back to our place,” Ethan suggested.

  “Great idea.” Finn took a corner a little fast and Kitty had to grab the dash to stop from falling in his lap.

  “Oh, um, okay.” Kitty’s insides shuddered, her stomach dipped and rolled and her throat closed, making it hard to draw breath. And it had nothing to do with Finn’s fast driving.

  She’d been so certain she could do this, except now that she was faced with the possibility of her fantasy coming true, she had the urge to run. But the fear was laced with a ribbon of excitement, and it was that streamer of exhilaration threading its way through her veins—lighting up every nerve—that kept her from bolting.

  “Excellent.” Ethan tapped the screen on his phone and brought the device to his ear. “Hey, Jimmy.”

  Kitty couldn’t hear more than a murmured voice, but she couldn’t miss the friendly tone from the guy who’d answered Ethan’s call, or the genuine smile on Ethan’s face.

  “Can we get the usual?” He glanced at his watch. “We’ll be there at about seven-thirty to pick it up.”

  While Ethan finished his call, she turned her attention to Finn. He navigated the streets with both hands firmly wrapped around the wheel, the veins in his wrists and on the backs of his hands bulged. Moving her gaze to his face, she saw the muscle in the side of his jaw twitching. She knew that tick—had seen it many times at work. He was stressed about something. “What’s wrong?”

  “Huh?” He briefly glanced her way before returning his eyes to the road.

  “You’re stressing about something. I thought maybe you didn’t want—”

  His hand landed on her leg and he squeezed his fingers for a split second before rubbing them in small circles on her thigh. “Oh, I want.” He squeezed once more then put his hand back on the wheel.

  Kitty couldn’t think. That fleeting touch of bare skin on bare skin sent her nerve endings dancing and bubbles of sensation exploded throughout her body. Shivers raced over her and the heat sitting low in her belly sank, grew hotter—turned wet. Her pulse accelerated, skipping along faster than her lungs could keep up with and she breathed short and sharp in an attempt to ease the sudden panic shrinking her chest—strangling her throat.

  He’d hardly touched her and she was acting like he’d had his hands all over her.

  “Hey.” Ethan gripped her chin with his fingers, turned her to face him. “You okay?”

  She held her breath and nodded.

  “Are you sure?” He stroked his thumb over her jaw. “Talk to me, Kelly.”

  Air rushed from her lungs.

  He rarely used her real name. Everyone called her Kitty and had for as long as she could remember. The concern in Ethan’s gaze, the gentleness with which he cupped her face and the knowledge that she’d blow her chance to be with them if she didn’t get herself under control had her dragging in a deep breath.

  “I
’m fine.” She fumbled for an excuse to explain her weird behaviour. “I, um, I’m just hungry. I haven’t eaten since lunch.” The small lie rolled off her tongue with ease.

  Ethan’s brows shot up his forehead, disappearing beneath the shaggy blond locks that always fell in his eyes. “Damn. You must be starving.”

  “Good thing we ditched the party then,” Finn said. “You’d have starved to death if we’d stayed.”

  There was humour in Finn’s voice, but in reality she probably would have become faint in a few hours. She’d been too nervous to eat at all today. She wasn’t one of those women who starved themself to be thin, but she had to admit—if only to herself—that she’d scrimped on her meals since purchasing tonight’s outfit a week ago.

  Ethan let go of her face and grazed his fingertips along her jaw, sending chills down her neck. She sucked in a deep breath and turned to stare through the windshield. “I’ll be fine after I eat something.”

  Kitty hoped her words were true. Hoped she could pull this off. Hoped the potent animal magnetism of the men either side of her didn’t overwhelm her. And hoped like hell she didn’t chicken out.

  Finn turned into the driveway and hit the remote for the garage door. The smell of the pizza they’d picked up hung heavily in the cabin of the truck, but it wasn’t hunger for food that drove him. He pulled in beside Ethan’s Audi and switched off the engine—the grinding whirr of the roller-door closing echoed through the large area and drowned out the voice of doubt nagging in the back of his mind. Now they were here—with Kitty—his gut tightened with a shaft of fear. What if they screwed this up?

  Ethan climbed out and Kitty slid across the seat after him. The hem of her skirt slid as well. All the way up over that curvy arse of hers. Creamy flesh filled his vision and Finn sucked in a breath when what he was seeing hit him like a punch to the stomach.

  Her arse was bare.

  A hard swallow strained his throat. And the hard cock in his pants strained his zipper. He stayed in his seat, his eyes glued to Kitty’s spectacular rear end. Her skirt remained hung up on top of her round curves for long seconds where Finn thought he’d go out of his mind if he didn’t reach across and touch her.