Love Under Two Financiers

by Cara Covington

  Funny he would call it that, because that was how she’d thought of it, too.

  “And the reason I was so happy to accept Grandma Kate’s invitation to stay here for a while?” Phillip looked at Jason then her. “That reason was because, when I heard about Chance and Logan marrying Bailey, and I asked my dad about our family history? Everything I learned about Lusty just slid right into place for me, and I knew why it was I hadn’t ever found anyone, either.” He looked over at Jason. “You’re the only man I would ever consider sharing a woman with, and I think that was something I knew subconsciously from the time we were kids.”

  “I guess that means that none of us have any experience in building a ménage relationship. It isn’t something I ever thought I’d want. But sitting here, with you both, I know that this is something I need to explore. You also need to know I’m not looking for a white picket fence, an SUV, some kids, and a dog. I’ve never even considered that building a family would be in my future.”

  “You just want to explore the moment? You want to know what this is and if it’s real. Right? One step at a time?”

  Jason’s question was gently asked. Leesa appreciated that more than she could say, even if she wondered if there was something wrong with her. Because, as much as she appreciated Jason’s words and gentle way of asking, she felt a kind of stinging pain that he’d accept her implied limitation without even a token argument.

  “Yes.” She pulled herself back to the moment. “Yes, I want to know what this is.”

  Jason and Phillip looked at each other for a few seconds. Phillip nodded. Jason picked up her right hand, and Phillip took her left.

  “That’s how we feel, too. So why don’t we do just that? Why don’t we see what this is and whether or not it’s real—together?”

  Was there something different in his eyes? Did she read something sneaky there? Or was she, more likely, still somehow painting Jason Benedict with the colors of Bryce Jordan?

  No wonder I have never cottoned to this romantic stuff. It’s squirrely enough to drive a person crazy!

  And then that tug in her belly spoke up, and she knew something down to her soul—and it was something solid and, she believed, very real.

  It was that one thing that had pushed her forward earlier when she otherwise would have just stayed home. Underneath all the doubts and fears, she had a firm and solid conviction that if she didn’t take this chance now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

  Leesa sighed and nodded and then let Jason and Phillip know she was addressing them both by gently squeezing their hands. They returned the gesture, and with both her hands clasped firmly, she nodded. “All right. Let’s do it. But I don’t know how to do this dance at all, so the two of you are going to have to be in charge, figure it out, and show me how it’s done.”

  Chapter Six

  “Let’s go into the living room, where we can all get more comfortable.”

  Jason’s suggestion drew her attention to him. He met her gaze, lifting one eyebrow as she studied him.

  “Good idea.” Leesa understood “comfortable” was a word with various meanings. It was one of those catchall words that could be used to describe a myriad of conditions or situations.

  Over the last few minutes, she’d felt a hunger growing within her. She absolutely approved of moving into the living room. She’d seen a very long sofa in that room as they’d passed through it and come into the kitchen.

  Maybe, in J. Coop’s mind, comfortable, in this case, equaled fooling around. I sure hope so. There had to be more to this sex stuff than just the tepid sizzle and tiny pop she’d known before. Unless Bryce was right, and I really am a frigid bitch.

  “Leesa.”

  Something in the tone of Jason’s voice snapped her attention back to him. He was standing, his hand extended, and his focus fixed on her.

  Leesa blinked, gave him her hand, and got to her feet.

  “It’s hard to keep the past in the past. We both know that. But honey? Let everything else go for now. And when you’re ready, when you want to share with us, we’ll be here for you.”

  That wasn’t the kind of thing she’d ever thought any man would ever say to her. Maybe she’d really let Bryce fuck up her life when she’d married him. She could own that, because she’d been the one to make that mistake. But standing here, in this place, at this time, she came to a sudden but very solid decision.

  She’d be damned if she’d keep mentally handing her ex-husband any kind of power or victory over her.

  “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

  Jason eased her closer and placed his index finger on her lips. “I vote we all start fresh, all three of us. That means no apologizing and no judging. We’re all exploring unknown territory. We’ll just accept each other as we are. That sound good to you, Sarge?”

  Her eyes widened, and she held his gaze. “That’s what I call myself when I’m kicking my own ass. And, yes, that does sound good.”

  “If anyone’s going to kick your ass from here on out, woman, it’ll be us.” Phillip’s hands rested on her shoulders, and his words brushed close enough to her ear that his breath tickled her.

  She couldn’t very well deny the shiver that had just shot through her, because she was certain both men felt it. “I did hear there were some triads in town that were into that kinky stuff,” she said. “Can’t say the thought of it ever appealed to me in the slightest—until just now.”

  “Oh, baby. You just set all kinds of interesting little vignettes loose in my mind.”

  Leesa didn’t know which one of them was the most startled by Jason’s quip, her or himself. She felt the tension and added another “ah, that’s what that’s like” to her life’s list of experiences. That first dose of sexual tension sure woke up her girl parts.

  “Well, now, I do believe I mentioned that I expected the two of you to lead in this dance.”

  “Until you get the steps figured out for yourself?” Phillip asked.

  Good question. Did she want to take a turn at the wheel? She’d been in charge in her own life for, it seemed, forever. She hadn’t looked to Bryce while they were married to lead the way. It didn’t seem like something he wanted to do when it came to any kind of responsibility anyway. Well, that was a clue. She’d learned that about him before they got married and… She stopped herself from kicking her own ass, even mentally, because Phillip had just said, essentially, that she couldn’t. I guess there’s my answer. “No, I don’t think so. I want y’all to lead. Period.” Another thing to add to my list, the first blank check I’ve ever issued.

  Jason led her into the living room then turned and drew her into his arms. “I need to taste you so badly right now, woman, that all I feel is desperation. My nerves have shut up. And so, sweet Leesa, shall I.”

  Leesa didn’t have a moment to think of a comeback. He leaned into her, and she felt her eyes flutter closed as he settled his mouth on hers.

  Oh, my. That was her only clear thought, and then thinking was superseded by a multitude of physical sensations. His taste teased her, a savory flavor with a trace of honey. He tasted fine, a delicious appetizer that whet her appetite for more. His hand slid slowly down her back, and Leesa edged closer. Shivers racked her, and her flesh pebbled everywhere. Her nipples drew tight, and her pussy lips softened.

  Jason’s heat warmed all the places within her she hadn’t realized were chilled. His heat seeped in, bringing that comfort she’d understood, just moments before, that she needed.

  The silky slide of his tongue and the subtle sucking of his mouth arrowed deep, awakening all that was feminine within her. His aroma surrounded her, teasing her with a promise of something she’d not even dreamed of experiencing.

  The ridge of his erect cock, concealed by his pants, nestled against the front of her, close enough to her pussy that she could have sworn she felt her clit begin to twitch.

  Jason gentled his kiss, turning it into tiny caresses on the corners of her mouth, her cheek
s, and her neck.

  She drew in a deep breath just as the press of a masculine body to her back and another different and equally delicious masculine scent cocooned her. A second hard ridge, this one nestled against the small of her back, completed the job of firing up her libido.

  This time her shiver elicited soft, deep-toned male chuckles.

  Jason lifted his head and used his thumb to brush his essence into her lips. “Very tasty.”

  “My turn.”

  She considered herself uncoordinated at best, clumsy at worst, but moving now, being turned from one man’s embrace into another’s felt like the most delicate, the most perfect ballet step ever performed.

  Then Phillip wrapped his arms around her and eased her even closer. “You have no idea how much I enjoyed watching J. Coop kiss you, sweetheart. No idea.”

  But she did. She felt it in his increased heat and in the way that he settled his lips on hers. He nestled his clothing-covered erection impossibly close, and Leesa thought she felt him give her a pulse, as if his cock flexed a greeting to her.

  Then her thinking ceased again, and she let herself sink into Phillip’s kiss. Jason pressed against her back, and Leesa Jordan let herself, her body, and maybe a little, her heart surrender to these men and to the moment.

  Phillip’s kiss possessed her, taking her burgeoning arousal and sending it soaring. Something almost frantic stirred in her. She felt a very primal need to grab more and more, here, now, quickly, before the chance to have more all went away.

  When Phillip’s lips eased from hers, she whimpered. And when she opened her eyes it was to encounter such longing in his gaze she understood, in that moment, that he’d sipped from that cup of desperation, too.

  He, too, brushed his thumb against her lips. His look turned tender. “I’d say so far, so good.”

  The cliché did the trick of pulling her back a little from the precipice. Before she could ask exactly what he meant, Jason, still pressed against her back, kissed her ear.

  “We didn’t know if watching each other kiss you would awaken the green monster in us. What a wonderful surprise that it didn’t.”

  That had been something she’d wondered about as well. “How did you both feel when the other was kissing me?”

  Phillip smiled and then stepped back. “We should sit down,” he said.

  “We should,” Jason agreed. “This is new to all of us, and I think that talking about our reactions, with each other and with you, is really important.” He took her hand and led her to the sofa. They settled onto the luxurious piece of furniture, and she was in the middle and had each of her hands held by a man she knew, before long, she would call lover.

  “I never considered myself a man who would want to discuss his feelings.” Jason brought her hand up and kissed it. “But this is important. I don’t know why, or where it’s going to lead to, but in my gut, I know this is very important.” He angled himself so he was facing her.

  Phillip did the same, and Leesa felt something inside her shift, and…and sigh.

  “I think that’s a good idea. I’m with you on the discussion of feelings.” Leesa met each man’s gaze in turn. “That was one of the reasons that Bryce’s zingers about my being cold hit home. I didn’t feel feminine with him.” She needed to put into words what she’d just felt. “When you both kissed me, it aroused me, more than I expected to be aroused just by kissing. But when, just now, we sat down and you both turned toward me? Making me your center of attention? I felt feminine. I felt an inner sigh that this was something I’ve needed and never had, until now.”

  Jason and Phillip both grinned. Jason rubbed the back of Leesa’s hand with his thumb. “Kissing you, I felt as if that was my first kiss, ever. Seriously, that moment was so tasty and got me harder than I’ve been since I was a teen looking at a purloined copy of that porn magazine my biggest brother kept hidden in his room.”

  Leesa giggled. She couldn’t help it. She’d never giggled in her life—well, in her adult life.

  “And then when Phillip kissed you, and you kissed him back, it felt…it felt, in a way, as if I was still kissing you. I know this is going to sound corny as hell, Leesa, but for the first time, I really felt as if Phillip was one half and I was the other and we were both kissing you in the same kiss.”

  “Yes,” Phillip said. “I watched you with Leesa and the word ‘finally’ echoed through my soul. So definitely, ‘so far, so good.’ Heavy emphasis on the second ‘so.’”

  “We want you.” Jason’s words thrilled her. His tone, serious, solemn, made something unconnected to her libido shift…and become fortified.

  Last time, I rushed headlong into marriage. She’d made a mistake, one that had exacted a heavy cost from that part of her that was female.

  Jason’s tone let her know there would be no rushing headlong into anything with them.

  “I want you both, too. And for a moment, when Phillip was kissing me, that wanting became pretty desperate.”

  “For me, as well,” Phillip said.

  She looked from Phillip to Jason, and when she met that man’s gaze, she could have sworn she’d seen the light of inspiration hit.

  “We all three have had sex before, right?” Jason asked.

  Leesa nodded, even though she’d had the sense Jason wasn’t asking so much as he was confirming.

  “But something I bet that none of us has ever really done? None of us has ever built a relationship—a romantic relationship. Not one that mattered. Not one that, at the heart of it, was the desire to learn about another person, to explore what such a relationship can mean.”

  “You’re right. And isn’t that kind of sad, for all three of us? I’ve been married, but you know what? As an adult, I’ve never even been on a real date.”

  “I’ve been on dates,” Jason said. “And there was nothing wrong with any of the women I dated. Sometimes, those dates included sex. But sitting here with you I can tell you that they weren’t important. I was never fully invested in the moments spent on those dates. The relationships were all…”

  “Superficial? Like, you were there but a part of your mind was thinking about, oh, maybe work or something you’d read that was really interesting?”

  Leesa knew that when Jason met her gaze, he understood that she’d been guilty of the same inattention during times spent with Bryce, that same thing, in essence, that he was admitting to.

  “Yes, that’s a good word for it. Superficial.”

  “Wow, we all three of us have a lot in common,” Phillip said. Then he used his index finger to indicate the three of them. “This, right here, matters. We really do want you, Leesa. But we want more than just sex. Does that scare you?”

  “Maybe a little.” Leesa sighed. “I swore, after my divorce, that I was going to remain single for the rest of my life.”

  “I can understand that, after what you experienced,” Jason said. “But tell me one thing. If you’d never met or married Bryce Jordan, do you think that would have been something you’d have promised yourself when you left the military?”

  “No.” She’d never felt negative about getting married, though during the first few years of her enlistment, thoughts of marriage—a husband and kids—had been on the back burner. A “someday in the future” kind of thing.

  She’d never been anti-marriage, or anti-men, until Bryce had put her through the wringer and the ink was dry on the divorce papers.

  “No,” she repeated. “That response was totally a reaction to my own not-very-happy experiences.”

  “My excuse for not having tried before?” Jason held her right hand with both of his.

  He used his thumb to stroke the back of her hand. She wondered, looking into his eyes, if he was even aware of that stroking.

  “My only excuse was my focus on building the company, trying to be a ‘successful man.’ But I have the feeling that true success, for anyone, has little to do with financial gain.”

  “I can tell you both now the reason I never
really tried to build a solid relationship is because it never felt right.” Phillip looked at her but then glanced at his cousin, too. “And I also understand now the reason it didn’t feel right was because I really was meant to share my woman—my mate—with you, J. Coop.”

  “I guess, then, that we’ll learn as we go,” Jason said. “And, yes, Leesa, we’ll lead in this dance we’re going to learn together. If that’s how you want it, we’ll lead. But…” He used one hand to cup the side of her face. To touch her or to ensure she met his gaze? Didn’t matter. She gave him a slight nod to let him know she was, indeed, paying attention to him.

  “But if at any time you begin to feel uncomfortable or something doesn’t seem to fit just right? Baby, you have to let us know. Maybe eventually we’ll get to know you so well that a look or a gesture will tell us what words could, if they were spoken. But right now, you need to promise us. Our leading doesn’t mean we would want to go against your will or your wishes.” He leaned in and gave her a fast kiss. Then he grinned as he added one more word.

  “Necessarily.”

  Chapter Seven

  Wednesday evening closing time, Leesa took her last look around the kitchen of Lusty Appetites. Jason and Phillip were waiting for her in the dining room. She felt a need to be in a hurry and wondered about this newest path her life had taken and the changes she already felt in herself.

  Leesa had never minded a busy work schedule. In the army, she’d often had a very long workday. Unlike regular “grunts,” the food services staff could work twelve, and sometimes thirteen, hours a day. So she was used to it being busy, and since cooking and devising menus was what she loved to do, it had always been all good.

  But right at the moment, she was itchy to be done, because, in about five minutes, she was going on her first date with those two Benedict cousins.

  Her stomach had butterflies, and her hand shook, just a little, as she reached for the switch that would turn off the bright overhead lighting, leaving only the small light over the sink on.