by Sotia Lazu
Before Colin could get past his incredulity and ask what she meant, Becca stretched out on her side and laid her head in his lap.
“Ah, that’s better,” she said.
Not for him. Now she was inches from his cock. And what was he supposed to do with his hand? He closed it into a fist. Spread his arm out and propped it along the back of the couch. Not exactly comfortable.
In the end, he placed it on her shoulder. If he just rested it there, and didn’t move, he could pretend it wasn’t her flawless skin burning his fingertips. And maybe he would stop wanting to ghost his palm along the line of her cleavage and cup the breasts drawing his gaze with every breath she took.
She tossed back her hair, and a single tendril glided along the back of his hand. He moved fast, and trapped it under his thumb. It did feel like silk, and he knew it smelled deliciously.
Why had he asked her to stay? To prolong his agony?
He didn’t know what agony meant, until she slid one hand under his thigh. Colin squirmed, expecting her touch to become bolder. It didn’t, but her fingers seared him through the denim.
“I thought this wasn’t a come-on,” he managed through gritted teeth.
“Huh?” She looked up at him, and he saw real confusion in her eyes.
“Nothing. I’m seeing things.” And she’d soon be feeling them, if he didn’t calm down.
“Must be the hour.” She smiled. Her lipstick had faded to a faint pink stain, except for a thin red outline. Her mascara was smudged under her right eye, and her right cheek bore a red mark from where it pressed against his leg.
She was beautiful.
He had to say something. Something to make her stop looking at him, because if she didn’t turn those hazel eyes away, he’d pull her to him and kiss her breathless.
“So you liked Starbuck more as a girl?” He tugged lightly on her hair, and nodded toward the television.
Becca got comfortable again. “I’d totally do her.”
He gulped. This wasn’t exactly helping him calm down. He’d have to try a different subject. “Your dad—you seemed sad when you said he watched it with you. Is he…gone?”
She didn’t seem surprised by his question. “No, he’s still around, and he and my mother are still sickeningly in love. We’re just not that close anymore.”
“Yeah, time has a way of doing that to people.”
“So do unfulfilled expectations.” She drew a circle on his knee with her free hand.
Yeah, he knew about those too. “Who let whom down?” He read the answer in the tightening of her shoulders, but she confirmed it.
“I did. I wasn’t the perfect daughter he wanted me to be. Or maybe the perfect son he never had. Didn’t get into sports. Was way too interested in boys. Not interested enough in being told what to do.” She chuckled, but it sounded forced. “We’ve had our ups and downs, and when I was seventeen, he kicked me out of the house for six weeks, so I’d get over my wild ways. I’ve been on my own since I finished college, and that I put aside my degree in order to paint houses made matters worse. But we eventually reached a silent agreement. I keep my personal life away from him, and we play house once a month, when he and Mom have me over for dinner.”
She spoke in a detached, emotionless tone. A tone he’d used more than once, to explain why he and his older brother weren’t hanging out any more, even before their final fallout. A tone someone practiced because they didn’t want outsiders to see their pain. But he saw. He saw her. And she was fucking incredible.
“You’re wrong.” He had to whisper the words, because of the catch in his throat.
She rubbed her eyes, and sat up to look at him. “What?” She looked so vulnerable. So fragile.
“You’re wrong. You didn’t let them down. They did. They should be nothing but proud of the strong, independent, beautiful woman you are. Instead, they made you doubt yourself.”
Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, but her smile was dazzling. “Is this a line? Because I meant it when I said I was too tired for sex.”
He’d done this too—joke when all he wanted to do was crawl somewhere dark and lick his wounds. Still, he’d respect her choice and play along. “Come on. Not even a blow job?” He waggled his eyebrows.
She let out some kind of surprised giggle-snort. “You’re terrible.”
“But I made you laugh.” And the fact that it made his heart constrict in his chest meant more than he was willing to process.
“You did.” She locked her gaze to his, and he felt naked. Exposed.
He caught himself leaning toward her, closing the distance between them until their faces were only a couple of inches apart. Becca licked her lips, and Colin sucked in a breath. He had to escape her magnetic field, before he crashed and burned.
He straightened his body. “Let me get you covers and a pillow. There’s no way Brad is waking up. Listen to him snore.”
Becca nodded. “I’d appreciate a pair of sweatpants and a Tee, if you can spare them.”
“Sure.” Anything to get away from her for a couple minutes, to catch his breath and put his thoughts in order.
He returned and handed her the bedding and clothes. “I’ll leave you to get changed.”
“Who hurt you?”
The question hit him so hard, his ears buzzed. He dropped more than sat on the arm of the couch. “I’m sorry, I don’t—”
“You recognized my pain, because you’ve felt it. Who made you feel small and insufficient?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it now. It’s late. We should sleep.”
She looked at him a moment longer, then gave a little shrug. “You’ll tell me sooner or later. It’ll be good for you to share.” She waved him off, turned her back to him, and lifted the hem of her dress. “Go. Sleep. Goodnight.”
He mumbled, “Goodnight,” and hurried to the safety of his room. Even closing and locking his bedroom door didn’t make him safe from his thoughts, though. This night had changed things. Made them clear. Made it impossible for him to deny his attraction to her any longer.
Which only meant one thing—he should never be alone with her again.
If he was, he couldn’t be held accountable for what happened.
Chapter Six
“Mr. Daniels?” Simon opened the door without knocking. “Mr. Miller is here for you. Again.” The hint of a smile on Simon’s face indicated he believed there was something naughty behind Brad’s consecutive visits. He wasn’t entirely wrong.
Brad bypassed Colin’s assistant, pushed the door all the way open, and waltzed right in, as if he owned the place. “Told him you’d see me.”
“It’s okay, Simon,” Colin said. “Go get us a couple iced mocha lattes and two bagels with lox, from that place I like.” That place was on the other side of downtown San Francisco, and Simon’s trek there and back would afford Colin and Brad some privacy.
“Sure thing, boss.”
“Thanks for last night,” Brad said, once there were no prying ears around. “Becca said you were the one who insisted we stay over.”
Had Becca told him about their conversation too? How close they’d been to kissing?
“I just wish I’d been awake.” Brad gave Colin a grin too cheeky for a straight male to be gracing his best friend with.
Colin maintained his calm despite Brad’s sexy dimples. “No problem. You could have thanked me over the phone, though.”
“Yeah, but I need a favor, and thought I’d ask up close.”
“I still haven’t agreed to the last one.” Colin snorted. “You sure are a demanding little bitch lately, huh?”
Brad chuckled. “This one is going to make you some money, so I’d hear me out, if I were you.” He made himself at home on Colin’s couch, and propped a loafered foot on Colin’s lacquered table.
“For the last time—I’m not a gigolo.” Colin kept his voice light, but he resented the implication money would override his concern for their friendship. Especially
after how hard he tried to be good the night before.
“I’m still not sold on that, but this is something entirely different. My mother needs you to move a property for her.”
“And you couldn’t call to tell me that?”
“Eh, there’s a lovely little bistro right around the corner from the apartment. Thought we’d do lunch. And maybe talk?”
“About your crazy-ass idea again?” And how crazy was Colin for not finding it so preposterous any longer?
“If that’s what you want.”
“Fuck off, Brad.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do, dude, and you’re throwing a wrench in it.”
Colin shook his head. “Let me make some calls and tell Simon we don’t need those coffees after all, and then we can head out.”
“I’m driving.”
“Knock yourself out.”
***
The place was within walking distance of the western side of Golden Gate Park, and the bistro was indeed lovely. Small, dimly lit, and quiet, it was a pleasant break from the frantic lunchtime atmosphere of most places Colin chose for a quick bite.
The discussion topic was less relaxing.
“Have you given it some thought? Becca’s birthday present?”
Had he done anything but? “Yeah, and I still think it’s a lousy idea.”
“Why? We’re three adults making informed choices.” Brad’s voice was quiet. Conversational. He wasn’t disagreeing, his tone said. He just wanted to understand. Colin knew it was a trick Brad learned in law school, before he gave up law to manage his mother’s construction company. “Nobody’s getting hurt,” Brad said, “and God knows you’ve been part of a threesome before.”
He had. He’d been on one end of several, as well as smack dab in the middle of a couple. Hell, he participated in a full-blown celebratory orgy, when he first bought half of D&M Realty.
But he hadn’t cared about any of the other participants, and he cared about Brad. “You two have been together for a very short time. Are you sure your relationship can take this? Shit, screw your relationship with Becca. You’ve only known her for five minutes. Are you sure you won’t resent me when you see me balls deep in your woman?”
Brad cringed. Colin didn’t know if it was because of the visual or his crudeness, but he went with it. “See? You can’t even deal with the thought.”
“I can’t deal with the old lady behind you hearing what’s spewing from your mouth.”
“Hey! It’s not— You’re the one who wants to do this.”
“That doesn’t mean I want the whole establishment to know.”
“All right.” Colin lowered his voice to a whisper. “You want me to fuck your girlfriend, while you’re inside her too. You want me pounding her pussy, while your cock is inside her ass.” Fuck, he was turning himself on, but he had to make sure Brad got the entire picture. “But are you sure you’re cool with us locking gazes over her shoulder, while we thrust inside her? Or are you going to keep your eyes shut the entire time? You’ve never done this before. I have. I’ve felt another guy’s cock rub against my own. Do you know what that’s like? Do you realize our balls may slap together?
“You said we wouldn’t be doing anything to each other, but we’ll both be there, Brad. Naked. Inside the same woman. Your girlfriend. Are you sure you can deal with every aspect of this?”
Brad was flushed, his tanned skin turned almost crimson on his cheeks. He was clearly uncomfortable, but was he convinced?
Colin narrowed his eyes, waiting for a response that took too long coming. “Well?” he asked.
Brad splayed long fingers on the table, framing the enormous bowl of Cobb salad in front of him. “You’re right,” he said, and for a moment Colin teetered between relief and disappointment. His buddy had seen the light.
“You’re right,” Brad said again. “I haven’t done this before, but I want to. I’ve thought of everything you just mentioned, talked about it all with Becca, and we both want to. If being with us freaks you out, I can understand and accept it. Your choice to make. But it’s not your responsibility to protect my relationship with her, and I doubt it says much about our friendship, if you think I’d risk it for one night of fun. I wouldn’t ask you for this, if I thought it would drive a wedge between us, but if you can’t handle it, we’ll forget we ever had this discussion.”
Colin was speechless. This assertive side of Brad was one he’d never seen before. And he liked it.
Oh, fuck.
Why was he hesitating? All he needed to do was tell Brad he wasn’t into having sex with the both of them—that he wasn’t into Becca—and the subject would be closed.
“Well?” Brad arched an eyebrow. He seemed cool as a cucumber now, and Colin felt his own temperature rising.
He was in control. He had to remember he was in control, no matter how messed up the situation was. He sucked in his lower lip and motioned for the waitress. “I’ll have another glass of red,” he said when she approached.
Brad folded his arms over his impressive chest. “So we’re going with the, never-had-this-convo option?”
“Shut up.”
“I mean, I get it, but Becca will be upset. She was really looking forward to it.”
Colin’s wine came, and he guzzled half of it down before speaking again. “I told her I wasn’t crazy about the idea.” He wanted to know how much of the previous night Becca had shared with Brad. If she’d kept her offer for a…one-on-one prelude to the main thing from him, Colin would put a final end to things then and there.
“And she told me she proposed a way for you to get more comfortable with it.”
“She did.” His cock, still half hard from earlier, stirred at the memory of her in his kitchen, suggesting the two of them had sex first.
“And you—”
“I said you wouldn’t go for it.”
“Like you said I would ultimately regret sharing her with you.”
“Exactly.”
Brad smirked.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He produced his phone and typed something before slipping it back into his suit jacket that hung on the back of his chair. “You having anything else? I need to pop by the office for a few.”
“Nah, I’m okay, but aren’t we seeing the apartment?” Colin asked for the bill, and handed the waitress his credit card.
“Shit. Yeah…” Brad tossed a set of keys on the table, already getting up to leave. “You go right up. Third floor, second to last apartment on your left. Check it out, and I’ll be back in an hour or so, tops.”
“Or we could come back tomorrow?”
“No, no. You go. I’ll catch up.”
Chapter Seven
Colin took the stairs up, wanting to see the condition the building was in. Mint didn’t begin to cover it. The interior appeared to have been renovated quite recently, and if it was Brad’s construction company who undertook it, they had to have a new crew. New painters, at least. The coating was flawless.
He didn’t even pant—thank you, three hours a week at the gym—but by the time he hit the third floor landing, he was breaking a light sweat. He should have taken off his jacket before the climb.
He did just that outside the apartment, and folded the jacket over his arm before pushing the key into the lock. It only took a half turn for him to open the door. Made sense that the place wasn’t locked up. What could someone steal from an empty property?
He toed the door open, and looked at the floor. Hardwood, and unmarked. Excellent. The smell of fresh paint greeted him as he passed the threshold, and he made sure to keep clear from the pale yellow walls. He generally disliked yellow anything, but in this case they infused the light that entered the large windowpanes with a warm glow. The place would be bright till late in the afternoon. He was giddy with excitement over handling the case on Mrs. Miller’s behalf. This beauty would earn him a hefty commission that could buy him some time away from the city.
“Brad? I
s that you?” Becca’s voice reached him from the other room, and every muscle in his body tightened. He wasn’t ready to see her. The previous night had shifted something inside him, and until he knew how to change things back, he had to keep his distance.
He held his breath for a heartbeat, and closed the distance to the window to look outside. Location was a big selling point in his profession. He could move property overlooking a sewer, if he spun it the right way, but the unobstructed view to Golden Gate Bridge would sell itself.
Also, if he pretended not to hear her, maybe she’d stop calling.
“Brad?” The voice was closer now.
“No. It’s me.” His breath fogged the glass. He squeezed his eyes shut for a minute, until he finally gathered the courage to turn and face her.
The view inside the apartment was as curvy and magnificent as the scenery outside. Becca’s hair was in a tight bun, but the rest of her appearance didn’t share the severity of her up do. A loose, faded blue T-shirt hung low on one shoulder and reached down to the middle of her thighs. It looked like she wore nothing underneath. Colin’s gaze zeroed in on the hot pink bra strap visible. The color looked striking against the pallor of her skin. Maybe he could focus on that, instead of the trickle of sweat gliding down her neck, and disappearing between her breasts.
“You need something?” she asked. Her voice was throaty. It scratched down his back like he wanted her nails to.
Fuck. He had to stop wanting her. “Brad said I should come up and see the place. Didn’t realize you’d be here.”
“I wanted to do the bedroom before I left. Want to watch?” There was nothing innocent about the way she asked the question.
Colin found himself following her down a short corridor and through a door to his right. The room they entered was as large as his living room, but that wasn’t what gave him pause. Unlike the living room that was unfurnished, the bedroom held a king-size mattress smack dab in the middle of the floor. And the ceiling was mirrored.
He pulled at his lower lip. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. All he could think of was pushing Becca face-first onto the mattress, and finding out what was under her shirt.