“You had Chris and I had Ben,” he said. “We both were happy and in love.”
Sunni looked up into his eyes. “What if I didn’t have Chris back then?”
“You do know that I’m gay, right?”
“You’ve dated girls, too.” She glared. “Two girls before you met Ben.”
“You remember I told you that?” Joseph smiled amusingly.
She dropped her head and stared at her pedicured toes. “And neither girl was me.”
“I see.” Joseph rubbed her shoulder. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
She shrugged his caress away. “Every guy I love is gay. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Joseph stared at her. “Hmm.” He narrowed his eyes and smirked.
“What?” She looked back, confused at his gesture.
“Sound like you said the L word.” Joseph grinned teasingly. “Do you love me?”
“I’m not in the mood for this.” She stood up. “I’m going home.”
“Okay, wait. Let’s make a deal.” Joseph stood too. “If you stay here tonight, I promise I will make it up to you.”
“Make what up to me?”
“You not being one of those two girls.” Joseph tilted his head to the side and lifted an eyebrow.
“Exactly how are you gonna make it up to me?” Sunni asked and cocked an eyebrow too.
“What would make you feel better?” He waited.
She thought about it. The feel of his lips against hers would make her feel great, but she dare not say it. “I don’t know.”
“Anything.” He licked his lips slowly.
There went the heat, swirling between her legs, threatening to cause her to spasm in orgasm right there in the living room. Why did he have to be so damn alluring?
Sunni shook her head and sat back down. “Joe, you’re drunk.” She crossed her legs.
“Actually, I only had one shot and you know that doesn’t do it for me.” He smiled and sat down beside her.
“You are such a flirt, Joe!”
“I do my best.” He placed his hand on her knee and leered at her.
“Are you serious? You want to make it up to me?” She locked eyes with him, hoping he would say the word she was longing for . . . a big, fat yes.
He scanned the room with his eyes as if he had to think about it. “Yes.”
Her heart did a happy dance but she hid her giddiness. “Why do you think you have to make it up to me and why now?”
“To answer your first question, I think Chris should’ve treated you better.” Joseph slid snug beside her. “You’re a good girl. You should get the things you deserve to have.”
“And my second question? Why now?” Sunni asked.
“Because it’s long overdue.” He smiled.
She chuckled. “You’re not serious.”
“I just want to see you happy,” he said. “So whatever I can do to make you happy, I will.”
“And what about Ben?” She kept a grin on her lips.
His smile widened. “He’ll make you happy too.”
“You’re not serious.” She giggled.
“Oh, yeah? Ask him.”
Sunni’s smile dropped and she angrily fixed her eyes on Joseph. “You two are drunk as skunks and I’m not asking Ben anything.”
“Suit yourself.” Joseph slid over on the sofa and created a wide gap between them.
“You’re serious?” Sunni asked.
“Tell me what you want,” Joseph said. “What will make Sunni happy?”
Just then, Ben came into the living area with a beautifully made sandwich. “Go ahead, tell him already.”
“What?” She shook her head. “You’re okay with this, Ben?”
“Anyone who means that much to Joe means a lot to me.” Ben looked at her sincerely. “You’re his best friend. He wants to make sure you’re happy. You’re all he cares about.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. “I’m all he cares about besides you,” she corrected.
Ben sat down on the arm of the sofa beside her and focused his brown eyes on hers. “Is that a problem?”
“It can be . . . distracting sometimes,” She admitted. “And a little awkward too.”
“It’s distracting and awkward that I love him?” Ben didn’t take his eyes off hers.
She looked away and deliberately tried not to look back. Ben was an attractive man. Even when he was offended he was good-looking and she didn’t want him to be. Nevertheless, the more she stared at him, the more she realized it. She didn’t want to like him as much as she did, but he was sweet to her, which made it hard for her to dislike him. Plus, he was too good to Joseph. Joseph never complained once. Judging by the way he made her sandwich, he was a damned good cook too.
“I’m sorry, Ben.” She stared at the sandwich and sighed. “I’m just frustrated.”
“Sexually?” Joseph gave her a flirty look. “We can fix that.”
Did she hear him correctly? She looked back a forth between Joseph and Ben. “You guys are serious!” She stood up. “Which is it, you want to make it up to me or you want to see me happy? You throw a party so you both can seduce me. Is that what this is all about?”
“Never!” Joseph said and stood too. “I’m not gonna force you to do anything you don’t want to do, Sunni, you know that. But . . .”
“But what?” She asked.
Joseph smirked. “But you know you want to.”
She did not respond to that.
“It’s perfect timing.” Ben looked back and forth between them. “Chris hurt you and we can help you get your mind off of him.”
We? Just hearing the word brought the butterflies back. “I’ve never done anything like that before,” Sunni said, still reluctant. “I never even thought about doing something like that before.”
“You mean this?” Joseph ran the back of his fingers along the dip of her neck and over her shoulder.
Immediately, she glanced at Ben to see if he would protest, but he must have took the look as an invitation because he held her hand in his and planted a soft kiss on her other shoulder. It stunned her. Ben’s soft lips caressed her skin and it felt good. Before she knew it, Joseph was kissing her neck and rubbing his fingertips along her collarbone. She never felt so many tingles and sensations at the same time in her life. Fantasizing about Joseph’s kisses and caresses never felt as good as they felt on her body now.
Ben was quick to touch her breasts. She wanted to pull away for the sake of morality, but her desire for Joseph’s affection forced her to go with it. Ben left a trail of wet kisses on the tops of her breasts and hooked his finger in the top of her tank. His allure pulled her in but they moved faster than she expected. Faster than she was prepared for.
Sunni backed away from their hot hands and gentle kisses. “I need another drink.”
“Are we scaring you?” Joseph narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.
Sunni looked to Ben and cursed herself for enjoying the way he touched her. She looked to Joseph and watched his gaze melt her heart. “This isn’t right.”
Ben moved forward. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to make you feel better.”
“Why?” She needed to know. Why here? Why now? Why not years ago before she even met Chris. Why not when Joseph was single? Why did she feel these crazy emotions now?
“Because we care about you.” Ben said in his soothing voice. He put his arm around her and held her snug against his side. “We want you to forget Chris. He hurt you and we’re here to make it all better.” He caressed her shoulder, soothingly and comfortingly.
“But why?” she asked again, feeling the hot tears well up in her eyes.
“Why what, honey?” Joseph whispered as he brushed her cheek with his fingertips.
“Why did he do this to me?” She let her tears flow hot down her rosy cheeks. “I loved him. I needed him.”
“Hush.” Joseph wrapped his arms around her and Ben. “It’ll be just fine. I
promise.”
Chapter Two
Early the next morning, Sunni opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling. She looked around. She was in Joseph’s room and in his bed. She was all alone and still fully dressed. She exhaled slowly. She remembered last night and the way Joseph touched her. Ben, too, sent tingles throughout her body. It felt good to feel Joseph’s mouth on her, but she still could not stop thinking about Chris.
She sat up in bed. She could hear the two in the kitchen talking and the smell of bacon filled the air. She grew excited to see what they were cooking up. She sniffed the air again. No aromatic coffee. She would have to get on to Joseph about that.
She stretched and got out of bed. Cardboard boxes filled with old, dusty books and clothes were everywhere. On the desk beside, the computer, crumbled papers were scattered around. A neat stack of white paper caught her attention. The top sheet had black letters typed across it. Curiosity pulled her to the stack and she read a few words.
Sam spread her legs and let Joshua lick her, inside and out, as Brett watched. She held on to his tussled mane as he licked and prodded, and she moaned his name repeatedly. Sam was hot, heated, and such a wicked seductress.
Sunni chuckled. Joseph wrote about a wicked seductress named Sam?
She felt a presence behind her and turned to the door as Joseph walked in. “So you spotted my novel.”
“Novel?” She stared at the stack of papers and wondered why he would think the neat stack wouldn’t grab her attention in his cluttered room.
“Yeah, she’s a character I’m obsessed with.” He went to the desk. “Sam is a hot Goth chick with a need for dick.”
“I see.” She shook her head.
“I write about this kitten’s dirty escapades.” He ran his fingers over the pages. “Oh, man, do I wish I had a sex life like hers.”
“Sounds interesting.” She flashed a smile.
“You wanna read it?” He eyed her. “Tell me what you think?”
“You would let me read it?”
“Of course. I trust you.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“We have blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs,” Joseph said. “You hungry?”
“Where’s the coffee?” She smirked.
“Ben doesn’t drink coffee, remember?”
“But you do.”
He walked to the door. “Sometimes I have tea instead.”
She shook her head and stared at him. He paused and turned to her. He allowed a slight grin to curl his lip. “How do you feel about last night?” he asked.
“The party was fun.” She felt heat on her cheeks and decided not to mention the intimacy between them. “I look back and think I made a fool of myself crying like a baby over Chris.”
“You were fine,” Joseph said. He had a look in his eye that Sunni wished never went away. It was a gentle, caring, compassionate look. “You were hurt and you let it
out. So what.”
She had to mention something positive. “Thanks for throwing the party. I had fun while it lasted.”
“At least you had fun.” He smiled. “That was the point of having a party.”
Was he going to pretend he and Ben hadn’t kissed her, touched her with their hot hands, and made her burn with desire? “You sure it wasn’t to seduce me?” She gave him a wary look, a look that warned him he had been caught. “You sure it wasn’t to fulfill the naughty need of two horny men.”
“You think Ben doesn’t satisfy me?” He looked astonished and defensive. “You think we can’t satisfy each other? You think he doesn’t give me enough to keep me from begging you?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, suddenly feeling humiliated.
Joseph chuckled. “I like you, Sunni. Ben likes you too. And with Chris out of the picture, maybe we can explore that avenue I knew you always wanted to. Plus, it’ll probably make you feel better.”
“You want to have a threesome with me just to explore avenues you knew I wanted, and take my mind off of Chris?” She still could not believe her ears. Even after last night, the thought just seemed surreal. “I never wanted a threesome.”
“Yeah, but you always wanted me,” Joseph said.
“So you want to explore?” she asked, still reluctant.
“Just play around, you know?” Joseph tapped her arm with his fingertips. “It doesn’t have to be so serious.”
“And Ben?”
“We always talk about it.” Joseph glanced at the novel on his desk. “It could be fun.”
“What about Chris? What if he finds out?” She never wanted Chris to think the wrong thing about her. “And what about our friendship? What if it doesn’t work and everything goes sour? What then?”
“First, this is our business.” He raised an eyebrow. “No one but us three will know. Our friendship will never be at risk. If it doesn’t work out, then we just go on the way we were before. We are adults. We know how to accept when we failed and still be friends.”
She thought about all those times she wished she could have met Joseph before she met Chris. There were so many nights she wondered how Joseph’s lips would feel on hers or what it would be like to have his body, his heart. Heat between them escaladed so quickly during the party, she was sure her fantasies would now hold the images of Ben’s full lips on her skin as well. It would be torture to deprive herself of such good things.
Then another thought popped into her head. It was the image of Joseph’s lips on Ben and his most sensitive areas. She frowned. “Would you both be intimate together too?”
“That’s how we imagined it,” Joseph said.
They imagined it? Just hearing him voice the words made her blush. She wondered how they imagined the session would turn out. Successfully, she hoped. If exploring and experimenting would allow her to get over Chris and get closer to Joseph, she could not pass on it. “Let’s see how it goes.” She nodded, giving in to her desire. “But you have to do me a favor.”
“What?” Joseph smiled wide and victoriously.
“Could we take it slow and easy? Could you and Ben not go too fast?”
“Sure.” Joseph grabbed her hand and squeezed.
“I don’t just mean taking it easy with me. But I want you two to take it easy too.”
“Ah, I get it.” Joseph nodded, letting go of her hand. “You’re still a little iffy about the whole gay thing. You know two guys making love don’t make cooties no matter what your parents told you.”
“Just take it slow, okay?”
“You do understand that I have a hard time keeping my hands off of a great body like Ben’s, right?” He narrowed his eyes.
“Of course. You won’t let me forget.” Sunny forced a smile.
She knew exactly what he meant. Ever since Joseph met Ben they were glued to each other. They always were so open and happy. They had very few arguments and when they did argue they would kiss and make up within the hour. They were so close she could probably convince a stranger that they were joined by the lips; and knowing that broke her heart.
Joseph smiled and kissed her cheek. “Let’s go eat.”
~~~
Breakfast was great. Not only did it smell great and taste great, it looked great too. Ben did a wonderful job cooking and presenting it. She felt like she was at an upscale restaurant as she sat at their table.
“These are amazing eggs, Ben.” The eggs were fluffy with a sprig of parsley on the side of the oval plate on which they lay.
“Thank you.” He took a drink of orange juice. “Perfect to punctuate last night, huh?”
She nodded, assuming he meant the party. She chewed her food and watched him eat for a few seconds. She noticed Ben had very attractive lips. She looked at Joseph’s lips and remembered the many times she caught them kissing each other around some corner. It used to be unsettling at times but, surprisingly, she felt the blood rush to her face and immediately dropped her gaze to her plate.
“Sunni’s gonna read the novel,” Joseph said. She looked
up just in time to see him smile at Ben. “I told her all about our Goth chick,” he said.
“Nice. I used to have a girlfriend that resembled Joe’s character Sam.” Ben looked to Sunni while he talked. “If she did the things Sam did we probably would still be together.” He chuckled.
“Thank God she didn’t.” Joseph winked at Ben.
Ben smiled. “It was a joke, Sunni.”
She snorted. “I know. I’ll probably understand it better once I read it.”
“Honey, you’ll love it.” Joseph placed his fork on his now empty plate. “After Ben read the first chapter he’s been dying to try a few new things.” He scrunched his nose at Ben and Ben’s cheeks turned rosy.
Sunni blinked. “So, is this what prompted your discussions about threesomes?”
Ben looked to Joseph with a grin in his eye and nodded. “He made it seem so erotic when Sam did it.” He smiled. “I never wanted a foxy girl as much as I did after I read his stuff. I think you’ll like it as much as I do.”
When Ben said those words, she wanted to turn her gaze away and blush but, something made her look back and stare at Ben’s smile. He looked giddy about the idea and that explained a lot. He wanted to experience what it was like to be a character in Joseph’s novel, probably one of Sam’s playthings. If the manuscript did that to Ben, and made him consider a threesome with her and Joseph, she would definitely have to read it and see what kind of magic it worked on her.
“What is it called?” she asked.
“I don’t have a title yet,” Joseph said. “But I have a pen name. Samantha Shaw.”
“Why a pen name and why a woman’s name?” she asked.
“What do you think people will say if they knew it was a man who writes about their favorite female seductress?”
Sunni didn’t have a clue but she nodded anyway.
“It’s probably strange that I enjoy writing about a female character.” Joseph looked at Ben. “It’s just so easy to escape and get lost in another person’s life. Writing is more fun when your character is the total opposite of you. I love it.”
Sunni nodded, understanding his passion. “I love escaping into my own fictional world too,” she said.
Impersonating Sam (Seven Sins Series) Page 2