by Tara Rose
So why couldn’t it also work for him and Elliot? To hell with what Asa or Tim thought. Asa and Tim had their lives, and their women, and no one said shit to them. He and Elliot weren’t children, and this wasn’t the nineteenth century. They were allowed to choose anyone they wanted to date, or to collar if it came to that.
As Kade fell asleep with Giselle in his arms, he listened to the rain on the roof and drifted into dreams where she lived with him and Elliot, and shared a bed with both men every single night.
* * * *
Elliot woke from a dream where Staci and Norm chased him, Kade, and Giselle down a dark alley lined with rotting garbage. He had no idea where such an image had come from, but the dream left him unsettled and bathed in sweat.
Soft rain struck the roof tiles, lulling him into a state where he’d love to simply go back to sleep, but dreaming of Staci and Norm reminded him that there were unanswered questions to be tackled.
Giselle was curled up on her side, and Kade was on his back, snoring softly. He’d never slept in the same bed as another guy, but he wasn’t freaked out by it. Instead, it seemed normal, as if the three of them had been doing this for years now. How crazy was that?
He brushed a lock of hair off her face, wishing she did live here with him and Kade. Then when he woke from a bad dream he could simply pull her close and inhale her sultry scent. He could do that now, but this problem wouldn’t solve itself, and it would be on his mind until he figured out what the fuck was going on.
He crawled out of bed and made his way across the hall to his office. He could access the company’s computer from his own, but he decided not to yet. He assumed that Asa wouldn’t have okayed Dean and Paolo’s visit without first confirming they actually worked for who they said they did, so he didn’t expect to find anything different in the database.
Instead he initiated a search on a site he paid for access to. It gave him the same information as Asa would have been able to find, but Elliot wasn’t looking merely for social media profiles or where each man had gone to school. Something wasn’t right, and he was determined to find it.
What’s Your Pleasure was a large fetish shop with quite an interesting history. It seemed the owner, Cheena Flores, had two employees who left abruptly a few years ago after one of them witnessed a rape and murder in the alley behind the store.
Elliot shivered even though the house was warm, and a soft breeze blew in through the open window. How prophetic had his dream been? Not that he and Kade were likely to end up running down garbage-lined alleys in Manhattan, but still…
The employees were now living in a small Indiana town called Racy, and had started their own fetish shop, Tye Me Up. Nothing seemed amiss in their backgrounds, or unusual about their lives in Racy, so he decided neither of them had anything to do with Staci or Norm.
He turned instead to the owner. Cheena had a brother named Gregory who had stock in the company. A lot of stock. Elliot decided to dig into Gregory’s background a bit more, and he’d just come across a marriage license in the state of New York for Gregory Flores and Staci Wanamaker in 1996, when the sound of bare feet on a wooden floor made him whirl around to face Giselle.
He smiled at her, hoping she wouldn’t look too closely at the computer screen. “You scared me.”
She stood next to him and brushed back his hair. “You look scared. Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Bad dream.” He minimized the windows on the computer. He didn’t want her worried about any of this until if and when there was something to worry about. “What are you doing roaming around? You should be dead tired.”
“I am. But I wanted to find you first and make sure you were all right.”
“I guess I should warn you it’s not unusual for me to be on the computer late at night when I can’t sleep.”
“Oh? Talking to other women online?”
Her voice was teasing, but deep in her eyes he caught doubt, and he hated that. He pulled her close and kissed her neck. “I’m done. You’ve spoiled me rotten for any other woman.”
“That fast?”
He pulled away to cup her face, gazing into her beautiful eyes. “No, not that fast. This has been happening all our lives. Don’t you know that? Kade and I have both worshipped you from afar for at least two decades now.”
The look in her eyes was so serious he began to worry he’d said too much, too soon. “You make me believe that. And not just with your words. With everything you do. Each gesture. And after tonight…” She sighed heavily. “After tonight, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to work and pretend this didn’t happen.”
“Who says you have to do that?”
“I just assumed…”
“Well, don’t do that. Don’t assume.” He gave her ass a halfhearted smack. “Not unless you want an ass so puffy and sore you’ll have to stand up to make your floggers on Monday.”
She laughed, and Elliot thought it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. He wanted to listen to it every day for the rest of his life. He turned off his computer and stood, taking her hand. “Come on. This can wait. Let’s get some rest.”
And then tomorrow he’d figure out some way to continue his search without alarming either one of them. Because by Monday morning, he would need something more concrete to take to Asa besides the fact that Staci was married, or at least used to be married to the brother of the woman who currently owned What’s Your Pleasure, and that she was still on the island with Paolo Greco.
Chapter Nine
Kade drove Giselle home Sunday morning so she could shower and change clothes. The guys had asked her to spend the day with them, and she hadn’t hesitated for a second other than to ask if she could run home for a moment. She told Kade he could wait in the apartment, but he laughed and said there was no way he could listen to her in the shower and not join her, so he said he’d walk around town for half an hour and then return.
She hoped they intended to make love to her again later. Everything hurt this morning, but she didn’t care. Last night had been the most erotic night of her life, and she knew that nothing would ever compare to it. She hoped they felt the same way.
It occurred to her halfway through her shower that if she was this tired and sore, they must be as well. The reason they hadn’t attacked her this morning had nothing to do with them not wanting her. They needed recovery time. They were only human, after all. If they hadn’t wanted to be with her, they wouldn’t have both said such tender things last night, or asked her to spend the day with them.
She put on one of the dresses she’d rejected yesterday, then matched her jewelry and sandals once again. By the time Kade’s knock sounded on her door, she was ready. It was difficult to believe it had been less than twenty-four hours since she’d climbed into his Jeep before driving to the amphitheater. Now, as she listened to the birdsong and breathed in the fresh, clean scent of rain-soaked earth, she knew that nothing in her life would ever be the same again. And she welcomed that with open arms.
This time, Kade drove her to his house. “Elliot is making us breakfast.”
“Oh? I didn’t realize he liked to cook.”
Kade smiled. “Then you’re in for a treat. The man could cook up sand and make it taste good.”
“Why is he using your kitchen instead of his own?”
“We thought you’d like to see my studio.”
“Studio?”
He winked at her as he turned off the ignition. “You’ll see. Food first.”
The smell of strong coffee wafted past her nose as she followed Kade into his home. The kitchen was massive, with stainless steel appliances and a bright, cheery mural depicting the ocean and sea creatures on one wall. “Did you paint that?”
“No.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “My cousin, Estevan, did. He’s actually a third cousin, I think.” He shrugged. “You know how it is.”
“It’s amazing.” She could stare at it for hours and see something new each time she blinked and shifted focu
s, but the smell of eggs, onions, and cheese drew her back to the cooktop. “That smells heavenly.”
Elliot smiled. “I hope you like it. How’s the coffee?”
“Fabulous.” She took a seat next to Kade at the counter, and glanced around. “I could get used to this.” When a glance passed between them that she couldn’t interpret, she wanted to smack herself in the face. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
They exchanged another glance, but she was confused now because neither man looked upset. Kade shifted in his seat to face her. “What do you mean? Specifically?”
“That sounds like a challenge.”
“No, just a direct question.”
“Are you upset?”
He shook his head and grinned. “Why on earth would I be?”
“I don’t know. This is so…I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.” He sipped his coffee as if they were discussing something as inconsequential as the weather.
“All right. It’s so unreal. It’s like a fantasy. You saw where I live. My entire apartment isn’t as large as this room. I work in a bar on weekends to help my family, and if my sisters had their way, they’d sit behind the counter and drink all night while I served every customer in the place. I love making floggers, but my direct supervisor gives me the creeps. And that’s worse now that you told me he watches me so much.”
She took a sip of coffee, and then waved a hand in the air. “You two live like kings. Your homes are palaces. And yet you’re not anything like people think you are.”
Elliot turned off the burners and tipped the frying pan, spooning eggs onto plates. “What do people think we’re like?”
“Let’s see…” She thought about all the things she’d heard her co-workers and the regular bar patrons say over the years. “Arrogant. Smug. Players. Aloof. Too rich. Too secretive. Secretly married.”
“That last one is just ridiculous,” said Kade. “As if we could hide something like that on this island.”
“I know. But you know how people are.”
Elliot leaned across the counter. “We know. We’ve heard all of that before. But all we really care about is what you think of us.”
“The same thing I’ve always thought of you. We were friends. We never stopped being friends in my mind. And now…well now we’re more than friends. Much more.”
“And is this the first time it’s occurred to you that we feel the same way about you? We’ve both told you that already.”
She couldn’t help but smile. He’d nailed her, just like that. “Yes. I guess it is. It’s too much. Too good to be true. What will people say? What will Asa and Tim say to you?”
Kade brushed a finger along her arm and she shivered. “That’s exactly what we’re thinking. That you’re too good to be true, and yet here you are. So how about we make a pact? All three of us, right now. We stop worrying what anyone will think of this, and we simply run with it. We enjoy it and each other. Can you do that?”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes, I can. I can do that.”
“Thank you.” Kade leaned over and kissed her. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving.”
Breakfast was delicious, and afterwards she asked again about Kade’s studio.
He gave her a grin and a long look, and she didn’t think he was going to say anything, but then finally he rose and placed his dish in the sink. Turning, he crooked a finger at her. “Okay. Let’s go. You’ve waited long enough to see this.”
Elliot slid off his stool and placed his dish in the sink as well. “And I’ll be right back.”
Giselle added her dish to the pile. “Do you want me to wash these for you?”
Kade shook his head. “No. You’re not my maid. Follow me.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Elliot?”
“He won’t be long.”
“Where did he go?”
“Stop asking so many questions and come with me.”
Giselle giggled at the look on his face. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. She followed him down the hall, wishing they’d slow down so she could admire the tiled floors, colorful braided rugs, and wooden beams. Not only did they decorate the ceilings, but they trimmed the archways into other rooms.
But Kade was a man on a mission, and he led her through the house at breakneck speed. At the end of the hallway he opened a door, and then stepped behind her, placing his hands over her eyes. Giselle cried out in frustration. “Oh come on!” She giggled again. “This is silly. Just show it to me.”
He nuzzled her neck, sending shivers up and down her spine. “I’ll show it to you, beautiful.” Kade slipped his other hand into her shirt, and Giselle moaned. “But you have to say ‘please.’”
“Please,” she whispered.
“Now tell me what you’ll give me later.”
“Anything.”
He caressed her left breast, and if he hadn’t had his other hand on her, she’d have collapsed onto the floor. She melted into his embrace, not surprised to find his rock-hard bulge pressing into her ass. “Be careful, Giselle. I’ll hold you to that.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
Kade gave her breast a quick slap then released it. “You’re going to be the death of me, and I’m going to love every second of it. Walk forward. I’ve got you. You won’t fall.”
She did, and then when he finally removed his hand from her eyes, she gasped. They were in what looked like a professional recording studio, complete with a soundboard, and a room behind glass, equipped with microphones. She turned to face him. “You make records?”
He actually colored slightly, and her heart gave a strange lurch at the gesture. “Well, not professionally. But I suppose I could if I wanted to.”
“Why don’t you?”
He shrugged, and a quick flash of pain passed through his eyes. “You know how it is. The company has to come first.”
“Can’t you do both?”
“You don’t know Tim and Asa like we do.”
She knew them well enough to know they lived and breathed Phoebe’s Playthings, but she didn’t say that. Kade had a different perspective, obviously, and there might be things going on behind the scenes she didn’t know about. Plus, she didn’t want anything to spoil this for him. He was so proud of this studio, and she didn’t want to take that away from him by pushing to talk about Tim and Asa.
He was in the process of explaining the soundboard when Elliot walked in, carrying a guitar case. “Are we going to play for her?”
“I thought we might.”
“Cool.” He walked behind the glass, then she and Kade followed. Kade motioned her toward one of the corners where the antique claves he’d described at the concert were displayed under glass.
“They’re beautiful. Do you ever play them?”
“No. I’m afraid to. I’m sure they’d be fine, but if they broke I’d be devastated. I have a fiberglass pair I play instead.” He took her hand. “Come on and have a seat.”
She took a seat on the sofa and watched them set up. Kade retrieved a pair of claves and adjusted the microphone stands while Elliot took out a guitar and tuned it. Kade played the bongos for a few moments, and Giselle rubbed her arms as goose bumps covered them. It was clear he was only warming up and goofing around, but his natural talent and sense of rhythm shone through. What the hell was he doing stuck in an office all day?
She turned her attention to Elliot who, once he’d turned the guitar, ran through a variety of riffs. He played so well she was shocked. Both men could easily have been on that stage last night. They were that talented.
Elliot moved the microphone in front of his chair. “All right. We’re a bit rusty, so don’t laugh.”
“You both sound wonderful already. No laughing from me, but I might get up and dance.”
Elliot waggled his brows and she laughed. “I won’t protest that.”
“Me either,” said Kade, slapping the claves together.
Giselle shivered as they began to play. She didn’
t recognize the tune, and wasn’t entirely sure there was one. They were simply playing, feeding off each other’s cues as if they did this every day and knew each other that well. It was mesmerizing to watch them communicate through their instruments and with their eyes.
There was also no way she could stay in her seat. The beat was exotic and seductive. She stood in front of them and swayed, then began to twirl and shake her hips, dancing and clapping her hands as they played. She whooped and shouted encouragement. Their smiles and obvious delight at how much she enjoyed this kept them going until tiny beads of sweat broke out on both their faces.
That was just as sexy as their playing, and she couldn’t stand it any longer. She wanted them again. Both of them. Right here and now. And judging by the looks of lust in their eyes, they felt the same way. As they continued playing, she took off her dress and held their gazes, dancing in front of them. She moved as seductively as possible, not thinking about it now. She simply felt the music and let her body respond.
She turned and took off her bra, shaking her ass at them, and giggled when she heard Elliot chuckle. Giselle turned to face them, then slipped off her panties and sandals. She didn’t stop dancing once she was naked. They were still playing, but now she heard mistakes, and wondered how long they’d keep it up.
Finally, Kade put down his claves and stood, then Elliot put down the guitar and followed suit. Giselle threw back her head and giggled, still dancing. She moved toward the sofa but before she reached it, Kade caught up to her and pulled her close. He captured her mouth in a kiss so hot she was surprised the house didn’t catch fire.
Giselle could barely breathe let alone think as he dumped her unceremoniously on the sofa and covered her body with his. He tangled his fingers in her hair and tugged on it, not enough to hurt her, but enough that she gasped and moaned at the arousal coursing through her body.
Kade nipped at her neck, then whispered, “I’m going to fuck you so hard and so deep, you won’t walk for a week. You are the fucking sexiest woman on the entire fucking planet.”
She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. All she could do was stare into his beautiful eyes as he stood then stripped off his clothes faster than she could process. Elliot was already naked, and he crawled on top of her now, kissing her like he might never be able to again.