A New Resolution

by Ceri Grenelle

  Nolan maneuvered around them, taking his place at Lore’s back, preventing her from wrenching out of their hold, not that she was trying to. His hands gently came to rest on her shoulders, making her jump. She glanced to the side, but Kieran wouldn’t let her turn her head, wanting to keep her attention on himself. He needed her to know that she could trust them, that their need for her was pure and unwavering, and that her running had just made it worse, like prey running from a predator. Kieran could nearly feel Nolan vibrating with unbridled lust behind her. He wanted to make a move but knew if they asked too much of her too soon it would all be over, and she would probably implode.

  “What we are doing, sweet, beautiful Lore, is showing you that we want you. I don’t know what made you mad, but I’d like to know so I can learn from my mistake.”

  “We don’t like thinking we hurt you,” Nolan said in her ear, his teeth nipping the shell too quickly for her to object. Her eyes fluttered at the sensation. She’d liked it.

  Kieran leaned his head down, keeping a gentle hold on her face and nuzzling his lips against hers. He didn’t kiss her, just smoothed his lips over the soft skin of her mouth, giving her a sampling of what they could give her, how good they could make her feel. If only she would say yes.

  “I’ve watched you in class, learned the way your body moves. You were so stiff when you first started, I didn’t think you would last more than one session.” Kieran smiled at the memory. He could tell she absolutely hated exercise by the tight-lipped frown she wore during the vinyasa flow. She was probably the only person he knew who became more stressed by doing yoga. “But as the weeks went by, your determination to master the discipline forced you to continue, and now…you’re still stiff as fuck.”

  Nolan snorted behind her, wrapping his arms around her stomach to inhibit her annoyed shove at Kieran’s chest.

  “Ass,” she muttered, lifting her hands to smooth down his shirt. “I hate yoga.” Kieran moved his hands from her face down to rest at her waist. He loved the sensual curves of a woman, so opposite a man’s equally beautiful but stark hardness.

  “Oh, really? I had no idea.”

  She rolled her eyes, clearly not appreciating his sarcasm and folding her arms in a defensive pose once more. “Is this why you came here? To tease me?”

  “No, Ms. Beyer,” Nolan rumbled in her ear, then moving to kiss her neck. “We came here for this.” His hand circled her neck before turning her head to face him, keeping her immobile for his kiss. Kieran felt a jerk in his groin at the sight of their lips dancing, and oh, it was a dance from both sides. Her mouth tangled with Nolan’s, meeting him kiss for kiss, bite for bite. Kieran grasped her hands, unfolding her arms and bringing the fingers of her right hand to his mouth. She moaned into Nolan’s lips, her kiss turning aggressive when Kieran slipped her fore- and middle fingers into the wet heat of his mouth, laving the digits with his tongue.

  She made a sound of protest, and they stopped, pulling back from her instantly. “Wait,” she said breathlessly. “Please, stop for a moment.”

  Her chest was rising in a rapid pace, her lungs fighting for air. “I need a second to think. Let me go, please.” Kieran met Nolan’s eyes and nodded. They let her go, but to Kieran’s delight, she didn’t immediately back away from them. He thought she meant to disengage, but after catching Kieran’s gaze, something changed. Her nervousness turned into something more, something that looked remarkably similar to the determination he saw in her when she was tackling those yoga classes.

  Lore leaned forward, rested her hands on Kieran’s chest, and pressed her lips against his. He didn’t kiss her back, didn’t take control. Kieran let her explore him, her hands rising to stroke through his hair, her tongue dashing out to taste his lips. That was the sum of his control where Lore Beyer was concerned.

  He circled his hands around her waist and lifted her off the ground, bringing them to an even level. She gasped, her mouth opening. Kieran took the advantage and thrust his tongue inside her mouth, tasting her. Nolan was there throughout it all, rubbing her back in support, letting her know it was okay. Kieran appreciated his perceptiveness to not crowd her again so soon.

  After a moment of exploration and tasting, she pulled back, another gasp escaping her lips.

  “Put me down, please.”

  Kieran did, reluctantly, and this time she did back away, pushing her long and loose hair out of her face. Nolan moved to stand next to him, taking his hand with a squeeze.

  “Yes, I want you both, clearly.” She sighed, smirking up at them in ironic mirth. Kieran loved these new expressions. He’d never before seen merriment and exasperation lighting her eyes from within. “Obviously I want you. But what does this mean for the two of you, for your relationship?”

  “It means,” Kieran said, letting go of Nolan’s hand to wrap his arm around Nolan’s waist, “that we are equally attracted to you. We both want you.”

  She hesitated before asking, “Is this something you do on a regular basis?”

  “Yes,” Kieran answered honestly. He would never allow her to enter into this sort of relationship with a blindfold on.

  “Oh,” she said quietly, her hand toying with her bottom lip in thought. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “We usually seek out women who would be interested in this sort of thing, women who have experience with joining an established relationship in a temporary capacity,” Nolan explained. “We’re bisexual; we both crave women every now and then.”

  “But make no mistake, Lore,” Kieran said, needing her to know their true intent. “This is not a fling.”

  “No?”

  “No.” He took her hand, unable to watch her play with her bottom lip and not be allowed to taste. “We like like you.”

  Lore stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly agape and her brow furrowed, probably thinking he was insane. Then the sweetest sound filled the room, and Nolan chuckled, his tense shoulders drooping in relief. She’d laughed. And it was the first time Kieran heard her full belly laugh. The sound was pure light and wild joy.

  “You’re both crazy.” She chuckled quietly, coming back to herself. “So you like like me, and I like like you. Now what?”

  “Now…you tell us what we did to piss you off.”

  She sighed, leaning against the doorjamb. “It wasn’t anything you did. Just the whole need-to-let-loose-and-live-a-little comment hit something I’ve been struggling with.”

  “You wanna talk about it?” Nolan asked gently, grasping her shoulder in affection.

  “I told you my dad passed away recently?” They nodded. “Well, let’s just say he was the opposite of composed and put together, something that left an impression. I know I’m his daughter. I can see in myself the same disastrous potential to become what he was. So I keep it under control, keep myself under control. It’s not a bad way to live but…”

  “But that’s not who you are, is it?” Nolan asked, moving his hand from her shoulder to neck, rubbing the silky white skin.

  “At this point I’ve spent so many years trying not to be him that I’ve lost who I might have become. I don’t know that woman. I still think I made the right choice, even if I have regrets. Becoming who I am today was my final resolution.” She huffed, pushing away Nolan’s hand and coming out onto the porch, then turning around to face them head-on. “Which is why you telling me you want to change me, improve me, angered me so much. It infuriated me. I cannot change, can’t chance becoming him.” She spread her arms in display. “So it’s this, gentlemen, this contained woman you would be seeing. I can’t chance becoming anything else.”

  Kieran couldn’t accept that. He wouldn’t allow this beautiful woman to deny becoming who she was meant to be just because she was scared of what she had the potential to become. They all had darkness and immorality in them, but that was why a person had friends and family, to pull them back if they began to descend.

  “Did you ever think that all you needed, if you ever felt yourself dri
fting down your father’s path, was someone to remind you of who you are?” Kieran asked gently. “Don’t worry so much about keeping yourself on a leash. Let us help you.”

  “That’s a very personal thing.”

  “I know, I know.” Kieran rubbed his eyes, feeling emotionally wrung out. He sent a smile Nolan’s way as he felt the man’s hand rub his back up and down. “We’re moving fast. I didn’t want to move this fast, but after having you in my arms, I don’t think I want to purposefully slow myself down anymore.”

  She snorted. A snort from Miss Composed. Hell must have frozen over. “This is above and beyond unconventional.”

  “It’s not as crazy as you think,” Nolan offered in the reasonable, lawyerly voice that could make Kieran hard as a lead pipe. “We know of other triad relationships that have been together and happy for years.”

  “I never pictured myself being in a long-term relationship with one man, let alone two.”

  “Can you see spending your time with us?” Kieran couldn’t help but ask, wanting her to say yes to them so badly. Even fighting with her felt right. “At least for now?”

  “Yes. I would at least like to get to know you better. Would you like some coffee or tea? Hell, would you like to come in off the porch?”

  “Coffee, light and sweet.” Nolan nodded, smiling as he guided all three of them into the house. “Kieran will have tea with sugar.”

  “Light and sweet coffee,” she said with a wink. A wink? Who was this woman? “How manly.”

  “Was that a joke?” Kieran asked, looking back at Nolan as he followed her into the kitchen. “I think I heard a joke.”

  “Shut up.” She laughed, looking at them over her shoulder to scold them. Kieran could see her struggling to hold back a smile.

  The kitchen was sparse, as he’d noticed with the entryway and living room. Off-white walls with minimal decorations and contemporary furniture that looked crisp, as though it had just come out of the packaging and no one sat on or used any of it.

  Kieran and Nolan settled on tall wooden stools that had been tucked under a marble island that seemed to double as a breakfast table. Lore worked on the opposite side of the island, arranging the coffee in a standard twelve-cup coffeemaker and filling water for boiling in a red teakettle. Noticing small hints of red throughout the kitchen, it seemed as though she allowed herself one color to liven the place up other than white, gray, or black. Kieran’s artistic sensibilities were just itching to mess with the style of the house, give it some life, some color. Lord, did this place need color. It was so flat and dull, nothing like the woman who occupied the space.

  He was ashamed to admit they’d had her so wrong. He had been looking forward to teaching her how to open up, not button her shirts all the way, and do little lazy things like wear sweatpants outside of yoga classes. But she knew all that. There was nothing they needed to teach her about living. Kieran just couldn’t understand what would have made her choose a life of stodgy rules and manners. What must her childhood have been like to make her erase any hints of exuberance from her life? He hoped she would one day come to trust them enough and volunteer the information. If not, he would go hunting, something he found equally pleasurable to gaining a lover’s trust. Something he had done with Nolan.

  “Do you need some help?” Nolan asked, resting his arms on the marble and giving her his entire focus. She looked over her shoulder and paused for a moment, clearing her throat before answering in the negative. Kieran bumped his shoulder with Nolan’s after she turned back to the stove. He knew what it was like to be on the end of that penetrating stare, the full force of Nolan’s curiosity and attention a pleasure that could feel overwhelming when unaccustomed to it.

  “How long have you lived here?” Kieran asked, wanting to keep her at ease.

  “A year or so. I bought it after my mother passed.” Having finished with the drink setup, Lore moved to the fridge, pulling out some cheese and crackers and setting them on a small wooden serving tray.

  “You don’t need to do all that—”

  “Oh, shut it. This is what a person does when they have guests. You sit. I do the work.”

  “She’s very bossy,” Nolan observed, leaning toward Kieran without taking his gaze off her.

  “Think we can fuck it out of her?” Kieran mock whispered in response, watching her eyes widen as she settled in the seat across the counter. Kieran couldn’t help teasing her; she was too put together not to indulge. It was going to be so much fun unraveling this woman, inch by delicious inch.

  “Hmm.” Nolan turned a devastatingly seductive smile in Kieran’s direction. It would have been a sin to let those perfectly quirked lips go to waste. Kieran wove one hand into Nolan’s kinky black curls, rubbing his other hand along a jaw so well-defined it could have cut glass. He pulled Nolan into a sweet kiss, short but no less effective in its goal to arouse and beguile the woman watching.

  Kieran pulled back slowly, taking his time to lick Nolan’s pouty bottom lip and give it a small nip. Nolan’s eyes were closed, and he breathed deeply into the bliss of a kiss he’d meant to use to entice Lore. Kieran may have been successful in that endeavor, but he’d also managed to enrich his and Nolan’s already over-the-line lust to the boiling point.

  A high-pitched whistling broke through Kieran’s passion-filled haze. He turned to Lore, expecting to see her rushing to pull the kettle off the stove. What he saw instead made his toes curl and his hard dick press painfully against the zipper of his slacks. Her arms were resting on the counter, she was leaning forward slightly, her eyes were glazed over, staring at their mouths, and her teeth were nibbling on her bottom lip. He wanted to do that, bite and suck that beautiful lip as he had with Nolan. There were any number of Lore’s body parts that Kieran wanted to bite and suck.

  Nolan—thank the heavens for him—stood and moved around the counter to remove the kettle before it boiled over. The drop in sound brought Lore back to the present. She blushed when she caught Kieran’s knowing look and stood to pour the hot water for tea. She never got more than a foot away from her stool.

  NOLAN WAS THERE, wrapping his arms around her sexy waist and lifting her.

  “Put your legs around me,” he rasped, unable to control himself any longer. This woman might value everlasting control, but Nolan would excel at unraveling it. Getting her to fall to pieces and see her come would be the highlight of his evening.

  He pushed her against the counter near a curtain-covered window. Her arms had instantly wrapped around his neck the second he’d pounced, and she’d kept close to his skin.

  “Good girl,” he said, grinning as he saw her lust-glazed eyes. She wanted them as badly as they wanted her, and it drove him fucking crazy. He kissed her, hard and fast, biting her bottom lip and licking away the sting. He moved his hands from her waist to her thighs, inching the flowing dress up her pale, smooth legs. He rested his forehead against hers, her breath a fast breeze against his lips.

  “I want to touch you,” he said, continuing his torturously slow path up her legs. “Tell me it’s okay.” He found her neck, nibbled. He could smell the fading scent of her perfume, something light with hints of cinnamon, her own personal scent enhancing any other perfume she might have favored.

  Her hands clutched his face, playing with a texture of curls that were most likely unfamiliar to her, something she’d probably never given a second thought to but seemed to enjoy touching. Nolan looked up, needing to see why she was hesitating, but her eyes weren’t on him, they were on Kieran, and the reason for her hesitation made his heart ache with warmth.

  “It’s okay, Lore,” Kieran said, understanding what she was asking. He left his chair and came to stand at her right, leaning his hip on the counter. “He’s yours for the taking. Let him touch you.” Kier leaned forward, every inch of him pure, sexy mischief. “His hands are magic.”

  Lore turned back to Nolan, a hesitant yet small smile on her face. She nodded, trailing her hands to rest atop Nolan’s, an
d assisted him in pushing her dress up farther. She wore black lace, a fabric so soft and decadent one tug would tear it, which was exactly what Nolan did.

  The garment fluttered silently to the floor, their heavy breathing the soundtrack for the evening. He finished journeying up her smooth skin, resting his thumbs at the apex of her thighs and pussy. He could feel the heat of her so close. She kept the dark curls surrounding her wet entrance closely shorn, but the rest was perfectly smooth. She was perfection.

  “Do something,” she moaned, wriggling her hips to get his fingers where she wanted.

  “Stop bossing us around.” Kieran chuckled, leaning forward to shut her up with a demanding kiss.

  Nolan moved his thumbs toward her center and instantly felt the slick wetness of her arousal. It coated his fingers completely when he spread her lips wide open.

  “Kier, you need to feel how wet she is. She’s like hot honey.”

  Kieran slid his hand between her legs, a forefinger slipping into her cunt with ease. “Fuck, you’re gripping me tight, baby.” Kier added his middle finger, then scissored them, thrusting in and out. Her hands clutched Nolan’s shirt, her teeth biting into that bottom lip again, her moans and gasps for breath so sweet as she tried to move her hips on his fingers. Kieran braced her leg up by the knee, allowing him to stretch her wide and stand next to Nolan between her legs.

  “Ah,” she moaned again, letting go of Nolan to brace her hands on the counter and lift her hips to fuck Kieran’s fingers. She was moving as fast as he was, her head thrown back in abandon. Who was this wild and lascivious woman, moaning and cursing without any shame? It was intoxicating to watch. Nolan wished he had a third hand so he could jerk himself off to the timing of her thrusts. He slipped a finger in to join Kieran’s. The walls of her sex were pulsing, tightening on their digits. If that’s how her pussy gripped his finger, how tight would she be around his cock? He needed, needed to feel her come around his cock. Not tonight, but soon.

  “Nolan,” she groaned, raising her head to look at him. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips before speaking. “Touch my clit. Please. Fast. Fuck, I need to come. I need you to touch my— Yes, right there! I’m coming!”