by Lynn LaFleur
If one of those things included warming his bed, he certainly wouldn’t object to that. He would never take advantage of a woman in pain, but maybe losing herself in some wild, uninhibited sex with him would help her forget what’s-his-name.
Pushing the image of the redhead from his mind, Patrick picked up the stack of papers he’d printed off his computer. His former manager had composed a list before she left, detailing the status of hiring more employees, new suppliers she’d notified, the progress on remodeling the twenty-four-hour restaurant in the hotel. She had been a gem, the best manager he’d ever had. Replacing her wouldn’t be easy.
Camden, his HR manager, told him yesterday that applications were already pouring in from his ads in the newspapers and online. She would do all the interviews and give him her recommendations, then he would interview the top contenders and make a decision. It could take weeks to find someone he felt could easily lead the rest of his employees. Until he did, his workload would be astronomical.
Not this weekend. Jake and Amanda would be here until Monday morning. He planned to spend all the time with them he could and simply enjoy himself. He would work until they arrived, then he would leave the office and let his assistant managers run the resort.
He heard a keycard slide through the lock on the door. Patrick looked up to see Darcy, his front desk manager, stick her head around the door and smile at him.
“I brought you a present.”
Patrick stood as she pushed open the door. Jake and Amanda entered the office, huge smiles on their faces. “Hey you,” Amanda said.
“Hey you, back.” His smile as big as theirs, Patrick rounded his desk and caught Amanda in a hug. Holding her tightly, he lifted her from the floor and spun in a circle. Her delighted laughter was like a beam of sunshine after days of dark clouds.
He reluctantly set her back on her feet and turned to his cousin. He grabbed Jake’s outstretched hand and tugged him into a back-pounding hug.
“It’s about time you two came to my resort.”
“We haven’t had the chance to see much yet,” Amanda said, “but what we’ve seen is amazing.”
“I’ll give you the full tour tomorrow.”
Amanda cradled his face in her hands, rubbed her thumbs along the bottom of his Van Dyke. “I like this. It looks good on you. The beard looked good too, but I like this better.”
“I see you haven’t talked Jake into shaving his mustache.”
His cousin touched the thick brown hair above his lips and grinned. “Amanda likes it. She said it rubs all the right places.”
“Jake!”
She popped him in the middle of his chest with the back of her hand. Patrick laughed at their antics. “Hey, no fighting in my office.” He gestured toward his desk. “I need a few more minutes to finish up what I’m doing. Why don’t you have a drink in the bar and I’ll meet you there?”
“Our luggage?”
He playfully tapped Amanda’s nose. “Already on its way to your suite.”
“We didn’t know you were putting us in a suite. If that’s the case, I insist that we pay.”
“Your money isn’t any good here, Amanda. I’ve already told you that.”
“But—“
Patrick sliced one hand through the air to stop her protest. “No arguments. I stayed at your place for a full week. Now it’s my turn to treat you.”
With a huff of disgust, Amanda looked at her husband. Jake held up both hands, palms forward. “I’m not getting in the middle of this. I know better than to argue with either one of you.”
Amanda pointed one finger at Patrick’s face. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“Whatever.” He grinned when she scowled at him. “You might as well give up ’cause you ain’t gonna win.”
“C’mon.” Jake took Amanda’s elbow and steered her toward the door. “It’s time for a beer. Take your time with your work, Pat.”
“Wait.” Amanda jerked Jake to a stop when she faced Patrick again. “Do you know if my friend Tera Connolly has checked in yet?”
“Yeah, about an hour ago.”
The smile returned to Amanda’s lips. “Did you meet her?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What did you think of her?”
Patrick studied the eager look in Amanda’s eyes. Surely his cousin-in-law hadn’t decided to play matchmaker. “She’s lovely and seems to be very nice.”
“Oh she is! I would love to castrate Roger for hurting her.”
Jake winced. “Don’t say castrate around guys, Amanda. It hurts.”
Patrick chuckled. He could already tell the weekend would be a lot of fun. “Go to the bar. I’ll be there in fifteen, twenty minutes.”
“Deal.” Jake tugged on Amanda’s arm again. “See you later, Pat.”
“Tera is in suite 419,” Patrick called to Amanda’s retreating back. She waved at him over her shoulder, so he knew she heard him.
Patrick returned to his desk to resume his work. Knowing Jake and Amanda sat in the bar across the lobby kept him from concentrating on the spreadsheet of estimates for the restaurant remodel. He wanted to be with them, not holed up in his office trying to make sense out of columns of numbers.
“Fuck it,” he muttered. Gathering up all the papers, he stuffed them back in the file folder and tossed it into a desk drawer. He wouldn’t be able to talk to any of the suppliers on that list until Monday anyway, so saw no reason to worry about it until then.
Patrick turned off the desk lamp, left his office and headed for the bar. He saw Jake sitting at a table for four close to the large rock fireplace, a bottle of beer in front of him. Saying hello to people he knew as he crossed the room, he made his way to the table and sat across from Jake.
“That didn’t take you long,” Jake said.
“I gave up. I’d rather be with you and Amanda. Where is your lovely wife?”
“She went up to Tera’s room to see if she’ll join us.”
A bottle of the same brand of beer Jake drank appeared in front of Patrick. He looked up and smiled at the bartender. “Thanks, Lissa.”
She winked at him. “Holler when you want another.”
Patrick watched Lissa sashay back to the bar. She had a great ass and hadn’t been subtle in letting him know he could use it whenever he wanted to. Patrick didn’t plan to get involved with another employee. Although he had a lot of female employees who flirted, letting his dick instead of his brain lead him would result in nothing but trouble.
He looked back at Jake to see his cousin grinning. “What?”
“I was just noticing the way the bartender ogled your bod. You been with her?”
“No. I don’t have sex with my employees.”
Jake’s eyebrows rose sharply. “I distinctly remember you telling me about a certain manager warming your bed.”
“That manager is gone.” Patrick took a long pull from his bottle. “Having sex with her wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Hot yes, but not smart.”
Jake shrugged one shoulder. “As long as you were both willing, what was the harm?”
“Getting involved with an employee could be very messy.”
Jake rubbed the back of a finger across his mustache. “Yeah, I guess it could be if that employee decided to yell sexual harassment or something like that.”
“Exactly.” He lifted his bottle toward Jake. “So no more getting involved with employees.”
Jake tapped his bottle against Patrick’s. “Just the sexy ladies who visit your resort.”
“A few years ago, I would’ve said hell yes. Now…” He returned his bottle to the table. “One-night stands get old. I envy the relationship you have with Amanda. You really lucked out, cuz.”
“Yeah, I did,” Jake said, a contented smile on his lips. “She’s the best. That’s not to say we don’t argue, but we always smooth things over. We made a pact to never go to bed mad at each other. We talk about
the problem until it’s solved. There have been times we’ve talked until three in the morning, but we always work out whatever’s bothering us.”
“The sex is hotter after a fight.”
Jake grinned. “Oh yeah. She wears me out. Not that I’m complaining. I love how much Amanda enjoys sex.”
“It must be good for her. She looks great.”
“Excuse me.” Jake spread his arms wide. “What about moi?”
Patrick studied the man seated across from him. Jake’s tousled mane of dark brown hair and the thick mustache, compared to Patrick’s Van Dyke and long hair that fell to his mid-back, were the only differences in their looks. Thanks to their identical twin fathers who passed their looks to their sons, he and Jake could easily pass for brothers instead of cousins. “Won’t it sound conceited if I say how good you look?”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” He shrugged and grinned. “Let’s just say we’re both studs and leave it at that.”
“Deal.”
“I agree with you about how good Amanda looks. She’s put on about twelve pounds in the last year and hates that, but I love it. The weight settled in her tits and ass, exactly where I like it.”
“You told me a couple of months ago you two were thinking about starting a family. Is that in the plans?”
Jake nodded. “Amanda gets one of those birth control shots every three months. Her next one is due in April, but she isn’t getting another one.”
“All right!” Patrick clicked his bottle against Jake’s again. “Congratulations.”
“She isn’t pregnant yet. I may have to work really hard to make a baby. Night and day even.”
Patrick chuckled when Jake bobbed his eyebrows. “Such a sacrifice you’re willing to make.”
“Hey, it’s a dirty job…”
“And messy, if you do it right.”
“Oh yeah.”
Patrick laughed along with his cousin, then signaled to Lissa for two more beers. “Not messy for me. I haven’t gone bareback since the time with you and Amanda.”
Jake didn’t speak again until Lissa walked away from the table. “How do you feel about a repeat of that time?”
Patrick paused with the bottle raised halfway to his lips. He’d thought about a repeat just this morning. He couldn’t help but think about the hottest sex he’d ever experienced, but would never have brought it up to Jake or Amanda. Jake had been the one to convince Patrick to have sex with Amanda two years ago. It had to be up to Jake now if something happened again between the three of them. “I’m open to ideas.”
Setting down his bottle, Jake leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “What do you think about a foursome?”
His cock liked the idea. It gave a hard twitch in his briefs. “With Tera?”
Jake nodded. “I don’t know if Tera will go along with it. Amanda’s going to talk to her about it.” He glanced toward the entrance to the bar, as if checking to make sure the ladies hadn’t arrived yet. “Amanda and Tera were…good friends in college.”
“You told me that.”
“No, I mean good friends. Really good friends.”
The lightbulb went off in Patrick’s head. “They were lovers?”
Jake nodded again. “They experimented a little and decided they liked it. For about eighteen months, they did whatever two women can do together.”
Patrick leaned forward, which wasn’t easy considering the instant hard-on he’d gotten at the mental picture of Amanda and Tera having sex. “Is your dick hard?”
“Like a ski pole.”
“Good. I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering.”
Laughing, Jake sat back in his chair. “Pretty hot to think about, isn’t it?”
“Scorching.” Patrick had to take a drink of his beer to try to calm his body. “What about since college? Haven’t they visited each other?”
“Yeah, they meet once a year in New Orleans or Biloxi for a four-day weekend. Amanda said they haven’t had sex since college. I never had a problem with it if she wanted to be with Tera, and I told her so. Amanda said it was fun in college, but she and Tera are happy being platonic friends.”
“What makes you think Tera will go along with it? Isn’t she still getting over her ex-fiancé?”
“I don’t know for sure she’ll go along with it. It’s up to Amanda to convince her.”
“What do you think? You know Tera, don’t you?”
“Nope. I’ve talked to her on the phone when she’s called Amanda, but I haven’t met her.”
“So we may be talking about something that will never happen.”
“True.” Jake gave him a crooked grin. “But like I said, it’s hot to think about.”
It certainly was. Amanda and Tera kissing, breasts pressed together, mounds rubbing, soft hands sliding over silky skin.
Oh yeah. Very hot.
“Would we watch or participate?” Patrick asked.
“Hopefully both. I haven’t watched or participated with two women since college.” Jake shifted in his chair and winced. “We have to change the subject or my jeans are gonna strangle my dick.”
Patrick laughed. He knew exactly how Jake felt since his cock was trying to crawl down his leg for more room. “Okay, we’re officially changing the subject.” He lifted his beer bottle toward his cousin. “To having a good time on your vacation.”
Jake tapped his bottle against Patrick’s. “I’ll drink to that.”
Chapter Three
Tera blinked, certain she hadn’t heard Amanda correctly. “Could you say that again?”
“I asked what you think about having a foursome with Jake, Patrick and me.”
“A foursome as in sex with four people involved?”
Amanda nodded. “Exactly.”
This subject surprised Tera so much, she had no idea what to say. She rose from the loveseat and walked to the kitchen to refill her wineglass. Amanda followed, sliding onto one of the three barstools at the island that divided the kitchen from the living room. “I’ve shocked you.”
“Well, yeah.” She held up the bottle of merlot toward Amanda, silently asking her if she wanted more. Amanda pushed her glass closer to Tera. “I can’t believe you would suggest I have sex with your husband. I haven’t even met him yet. And I just met Patrick two hours ago.”
Amanda patted the stool next to her. “Sit by me. I want to tell you a story.”
Tera dragged the wine bottle across the island as she rounded it to sit down. She had a feeling she would need more wine before Amanda finished her story.
“Nineteen months ago, Patrick came to visit Jake and me for a week. I’d heard about him for years, but it was the first time I’d met him. I thought him charming and gracious with a wicked sense of humor to go along with the incredible good looks. We hit it off right away. He treated me with respect at the same time he teased me like crazy.”
Tera’s lips turned up in a small smile. Patrick sounded like the perfect man.
“I didn’t know Jake had planned a special birthday surprise for me—a ménage with him and Patrick.”
Unsure how to respond to that little bomb, Tera remained silent and let Amanda talk.
“I was shocked, of course, and hesitant to go along with it. I didn’t want to be intimate with any man but my husband. Then they started giving me a massage, and one thing led to another.” Amanda released a happy sigh. “Jake and I have an amazing sex life, but that evening… Tera, it was beyond amazing. I can’t think of an adjective strong enough to describe it. I came five times.”
“Wow.” She had trouble achieving one orgasm with Roger, let alone any more than that. Correction—she used to have trouble. Since Roger no longer shared her bed, the only orgasms she experienced came from her fingers or vibrator. And that didn’t happen as often as it should due to her insane work schedule. She planned to indulge herself in some nice, long, self-pleasuring sessions while here. She hadn’t wanted to bring a vibrator with her, not knowing if any airport
security personnel would look in her luggage, but her fingers would work just fine.
“Tomorrow is Patrick’s thirtieth birthday,” Amanda continued. “I want to give him the same birthday present he gave me. And I want you to be part of it.”
Tera couldn’t imagine being with another man so soon after her breakup with Roger. He’d broken their engagement two months ago, but she still felt the betrayal deep inside her heart. She wouldn’t be able to let go and enjoy herself sexually, let alone make the right moves to be sure her partner enjoyed himself. “I don’t know, Amanda.”
Amanda reached over and squeezed Tera’s hand. “Tell you what. Why don’t you think about it? We should go downstairs and join the guys. You’ll have the rest of the evening to get to know Patrick and Jake. You can make your decision then. And if you don’t want to, it isn’t a problem.”
“But you’ll be with Jake and Patrick, even if I say no?”
Amanda nodded. “Jake and I have already talked about it and decided we want to do this for Patrick’s birthday.”
Tera looked at Amanda’s soft hand on top of hers. So many times in college, that hand had touched Tera with tenderness and passion. She and Amanda had remained friends for years, yet had never been lovers again. They’d both become involved with the men they planned to marry. Anything between them had been pushed aside to make room for their soon-to-be husbands.
Tera no longer had a soon-to-be husband, but she had her best friend close enough to touch.
Turning her hand over, she laced her fingers with Amanda’s. She focused on their hands as she asked her next questions. “What about us? Does this foursome include us being together, or would we only be with the guys?”
Amanda remained silent. Afraid she’d said the wrong thing, Tera lifted her gaze to her friend’s face. “Would you like that?” Amanda asked softly. “Because I would.”
That confession surprised Tera almost as much as Amanda’s idea of a foursome. “You would?”
“We haven’t been together in a long time, but I’ve thought about it.”
“You never said anything.”
Amanda shrugged one shoulder. “I figured you weren’t interested anymore since you had Roger.”