“Or saving our relationship,” Noah added.
“It became about helping you.”
Kitty frowned. “But you did strengthen your relationship.”
Shane shrugged. “It was just a bonus. We both know if we left you and went back to our old way of life, we’d drift apart again. Our mutual infatuation with you brings us together.”
“And our concern for your well-being keeps us together,” Noah added. He brushed a stray hair from her face. “We’ve shown you that we trust you by giving you the disk. Now let us show you how much we care about you.”
“But—”
Shane cupped her cheek, drawing her attention to him. “Please.” He closed the final inches between them and captured her lips. The light press sent tingles of sensation throughout Kitty’s body, and she weakened under its force.
Noah slipped his arms around her middle to steady her. Shane eased her back into Noah’s warmth. When he drew his lips away, Noah crooked his finger under her chin and turned her head to meet his gaze.
“Let us try to make it up to you.” Noah pressed his lips against hers. He felt soft and giving. Kitty groaned as she reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, invading her mouth and claiming it for his own.
Shane crouched down before her and flicked his tongue against her nipple. The action sent a spark of pleasure through her body and caused her to groan against Noah’s mouth.
Shane cupped both of her breasts, then squeezed gently as if feeling their weight in his fingers. “They’re the perfect size, you know.”
Noah tore his lips away. “Let me feel.”
Shane backed away, and Noah drew his hands up from her hips, over her soft abdomen, then around the underside of her breasts. Kitty groaned and arched her back, pressing her tight nipples into his waiting fingers. Tiny jolts of sensation shot through her like pinballs, then rolled down to the apex between her thighs.
“Let me try.” Before Kitty could think, Noah stepped to her side and covered her mouth. Shane took her sensitive nipple between his teeth. The bite was light, but it rippled through her body like a horn, blasting through all her doubt and insecurities. Pleasure followed, and Kitty drove her hand into Shane’s auburn locks. He used his tongue and lips to ease the ache, stroking the tension in her muscles until she felt tied up in knots. Slowly he moved to the other side and repeated the torture.
Noah’s hands kept busy as well. As Shane worshipped her breasts, Noah slipped his fingers around her hips and over her mound. She gasped against his mouth as he cupped her with his palm. Noah tore his lips away and kissed a line of fire along her jaw and neck. He curled his fingers into her inner thighs and gently eased them apart. Cool air brushed against her opening, making her shiver all over. Noah rubbed up and down her inner thighs, never quite reaching where she wished him to be.
“Tease,” she whispered.
She felt his smile against her skin. “Always.” He nipped the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder met.
Kitty gasped, which pushed her breasts upward and toward his waiting mouth. She exhaled on a groan as a new myriad of sensations flooded her body. “You two really know how to work together.”
“We would only do this for you, Kitty.” Shane stopped his ministrations. When she did, their gazes met, and she saw the sincerity in his green depths. “Only for you.”
Shane seemed so devoted, so sincere that a tightness formed in her chest.
“We could never pleasure another woman like we have you.” Noah’s hands inched up to cover her mound once more. “We need you, Kitty. You complete us.” He ran his finger over her opening.
Kitty sighed and sank down onto his able fingers. “You stole a movie line.”
“It’s still true,” Shane said, as he placed his hands to her breasts. “You’re good for us. We could be good for you too if you let us try.”
She wanted to try. Oh, how she wanted to try. There was still something that held her back, however.
“I think she might need more convincing, Shane,” Noah murmured from behind. He must have sensed her withdrawal. How Noah.
Kitty turned her head to face him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I think we do.” Noah turned her around and wrapped one arm around her ass and another around her back. “Lead the way.” He lifted her high into the air as if she were a feather.
Shane placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and led them back to the cabin and onto the porch. “We had hoped you would let us try to persuade you, so we took the liberty of making things more comfortable.” Shane drew back the blanket from the futon and motioned for Noah to place her down.
How much things had changed. At the beginning of this weekend, Kitty would have scoffed at having sex on a futon. It was common and dirty and uncomfortable. Now she couldn’t think of anything better. She was with the two men she loved in one of her favorite childhood retreats. There was nothing better.
Noah laid her down, then moved away. Within minutes, both men had removed their clothes and crawled under the blanket with her. Lips and hands were everywhere as the men explored her body. Kitty couldn’t tell which man was touching her where, but it didn’t matter. Both of them gave her their full attention and focused on her pleasure. Heat and desire rolled over her body, and pressure formed in her lower abdomen.
Shane palmed her breast, then gently caressed it with his fingers. Sparks of pain and desire flickered through her body from his touch. The pressure in her abdomen responded. With his free hand, Shane lifted her upper leg and draped it over his hip.
“Much better,” he murmured as he placed butterfly kisses on her nose and cheeks.
“Agreed.” Noah’s body heat warmed her back as he moved closer. He kissed first her neck, then her shoulder as his fingers slipped between the cheeks of her ass. He had brought out the lube, and his finger glided easily over the opening in her backside. Kitty shuddered as desire rose and spiraled through her body.
Noah refrained from entering her but instead ran small circles around the rim until she wiggled with need. She clenched her pelvic muscles, trying to catch his nimble fingers and drag him inside. Frustration grew, and an urgency swept through her mind. She needed both men inside of her, and she needed them now.
Noah eased his hand between her legs and grabbed Shane’s shaft. Kitty reached down between them and threaded her thin fingers between Noah’s. Together they stroked Shane, running their hands up and down his erection. Shane stopped and groaned as every muscle flexed beneath his white Irish skin. Kitty touched the tip of his cock, coating herself with the moisture she found there.
Noah let go, leaving her to play with Shane as she pleased. She continued to tease his tip and enjoyed the way his features shifted between pleasure and agony.
Then Noah returned with a condom. Together they unrolled it over Shane’s shaft and positioned his cock against her pussy. He felt hard and smooth, like velvet over steel.
Kitty sensed Noah move away. Where was he going? A blast of panic cut through her desire until she heard the unwrapping of a second condom. She let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
“Never fear, lass,” Shane said, sensing her thoughts. “Neither one of us will ever leave you again.” He kissed her lightly on her lips as Noah’s body heat returned.
“Are you ready, love?” Noah asked.
Kitty turned her head and gave him a long, slow kiss. The taste of him exploded across her senses and restored her need.
“I take that as a yes,” Noah said when he was finally able to break away. He placed a soft kiss on her shoulder, then positioned himself at her opening in her backside.
Both men pushed, and all three of them groaned. Kitty felt her body stretch from both in front and behind. They had only gone halfway, however, and she longed for the fullness she had experienced earlier. She moved between them, trying to get more of them inside.
Shane wiggled his fingers above he
r hip. “Hold my hand.”
She stopped moving and laced her fingers with his. Noah immediately covered the back side of her hand and entwined his fingers with both hers and Shane’s.
Shane squeezed their joined fingers. “On the count of three, Noah and I will push together, okay?”
She nodded, then moistened her lips. “I’m ready.”
“One, two, three.” Pain exploded through Kitty’s core as the men slid themselves home. She gasped, then relaxed her muscles as the initial spark of pain dissolved into a wave of joy.
Shane kissed the tip of her nose. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She tightened her pelvic muscles, then smirked as both men groaned.
Noah moved his fingers so that he caressed both Shane and Kitty’s hands. “I can feel you inside her, Shane.”
“I know. I feel it too.”
“It’s better this way,” Noah said.
“I agree, much better.”
Together they eased back, then pushed in unison. The friction rippled up Kitty’s center and caused her to moan.
“I think it’s better too,” she said.
The men continued to retreat and advance, and with each movement, Kitty felt her desire burn brighter, her muscles wind tighter with need. Soon her breath was coming out in short pants, and her mind blanked.
The pace quickened, and Kitty wrapped her free hand around Shane’s broad shoulders to steady herself. She let go of Noah’s fingers, moved her other hand behind her head, and drove it into Noah’s hair. Noah moaned and thrust hard into her backside.
Shane groaned as he filled her from the front. Their voices mingled and surrounded her, much like their bodies. Soon her voice joined the chorus, and she felt her body being stretched to the limit. Her heart beat faster, and the air ran thick with tension. The men’s groans grew louder, and so did hers. A primal need grew inside of her until she felt more animal than human. She tightened her grip on the men and rode the erotic sensations as they spiraled through her body.
Then Noah reached around and pinched her nipple. She arched her back as the blast of pain sent her to new heights. Both men pushed, and her body exploded into a million pieces. She cried out as the pain faded and intense elation followed.
The men’s movements quickened. Their cries became louder, their thrusts more forceful. Kitty rode through it, recognizing that they were close through her fog of pleasure.
Noah was the first to come, his cry echoing off the walls and bouncing around the room. Shane soon followed with a groan and a shudder. He curled his fingers into her thigh as he pumped deep inside her core. Afterward Shane pulled up the blanket around them, and they lay together, bodies entwined, and looked up at the stars.
“I think I believe you,” Kitty said after a while.
“You do?” Shane asked.
She turned to face him. “Before, you said you wanted to show me you cared about me. I think I believe you.”
Noah took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You should.”
She tightened her grip on Noah’s hand and turned to face him. “But it isn’t enough.”
“What do you mean?” Shane asked.
She looked up at the stars. “I’m still going to lose my father’s lifework. Being great in bed won’t help my father continue to have his sense of self-worth or keep all those plant workers employed.” She closed her eyes as fear and apprehension filled her. “It’s a lost cause.” She untangled her hand from Noah and sat up. “I’ll try to keep everything running as long as I can, but in reality we can only keep our doors open a year, maybe eighteen months. Then we’ll have to close anyway.” She sighed. “And when both of you have what you want, you’ll leave me.” Just like Ashley and everyone else. Up until now, it had been just her father and her against the world. It somehow seemed fitting that they would hold hands while they walked into the poorhouse together.
Shane sat up and kissed her shoulder. “Never. We’d never abandon you.”
“Yes, you will. And when Velvet Steel is gone, I’ll have nothing left.”
Silence enveloped them as Kitty tried to blink back tears. She wished with all her heart that she could keep the business open, but there was just no way to do it. She couldn’t create money out of thin air.
“I think I have an idea that may help us all out,” Noah offered.
Both Kitty and Shane turned to face him.
“What?” Shane asked.
Noah looked first at Kitty, then at Shane. “We buy out Velvet Steel as planned but keep Kitty’s father on as an active consultant.”
Shane widened his eyes. “Just like Kevin.”
Kitty frowned. “Kevin? You mean Kevin Albright?”
Noah met Kitty’s gaze. “Yes. Kevin reports to us and the rest of the board, but he controls most of the operating decisions.”
“That way your father will still have some control.”
“We could even keep the name as a division of S&N Steel. It would be relatively autonomous.”
Kitty thought for a moment. “My father would like that. He’d like it a lot.” She frowned. “But that doesn’t leave any room for me.”
“You’ll be too busy to worry about stuff like that.”
“Too busy?”
“As our personal assistant.”
Kitty frowned. “You mean fetch you coffee and stuff?”
Shane laughed. “No. Sorry, bad joke. You’ll have a seat on the board and take part in all the major decisions at S&N Steel.”
“You’ll help guide the company as we expand. It would mean a lot of travel to our sites in Europe,” Noah said.
“France, Germany, England,” Shane added.
Kitty smiled. “I think that could work. That could definitely work.”
Shane stood and started to dress. “Then we better get moving. We need to iron out some of the details before you make our case to your father tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
Noah shrugged. “Why wait?”
Why wait indeed. Kitty stared at the two men. “I can’t believe you’re willing to work with me on this. You didn’t have to do that. You would have gotten Velvet Steel anyway.”
“But this way is better, don’t you think?” Shane winked at her.
“Better get used to us compromising, love,” Noah said. “We’re a team now.” He stood and held out his hand.
Kitty stared at the hand as realization dawned. She wasn’t alone anymore. These two men had managed to scale the walls around her heart and let themselves inside. They cared for her, not the game-faced Kitty she was forced to show the world, but the real her. They had seen all of her faults, and it didn’t matter. It was a rare gift. No matter what happened to Velvet Steel or her father, these two men would be by her side, helping her through it all. For the first time in a long time, Kitty’s heart felt at peace.
She smiled and placed her hand in Noah’s. “Okay, let’s get to work.”
“Great.” Shane placed a kiss on her cheek after she stood. “I’ll go make us some coffee. It’s going to be a long night.”
Epilogue
Monday Afternoon, Velvet Steel Headquarters
“What time is it?”
Noah looked at his watch. “It’s five minutes after the last time you asked.” He lowered his arm. “That pacing isn’t going to make her come out here any sooner.”
Shane stopped walking and shoved his fingers through his hair. “I know; I know. It’s just that we spent so much time on this…”
Noah stood and put his hand on Shane’s shoulder. “I know. I’m worried too.”
Shane met his gaze. “I can’t believe she didn’t want us to go in with her. We could have helped with the negotiations.”
“And how would that have looked? This is her regularly scheduled Monday meeting with her father. If she went in with the two of us in tow, he’d be a tougher nut to crack. Old Clint Velvet would feel like we were ganging up on him. No, Kitty was right. It’s better if she does this herself.”
“But—”
“Shh. We’ll be fine.” Noah cupped Shane’s cheek and stared into his eyes. “Even if this deal falls through, we’ll still have her. That’s all that matters.”
Shane sighed and leaned his forehead against Noah’s. “You’re right, as always.” He rested his hands on Noah’s hips, then hooked his thumbs through the belt loops on Noah’s khakis. “I just wish we could have given her some more emotional support.”
Someone cleared her throat behind them. Shane rolled his eyes and dropped his hands. Noah smiled and moved away. Together they turned to Clint Velvet’s secretary, who looked like she might have suffered a mild heart attack.
“If you wish to continue, I’ll have to ask you to take that outside,” she said.
“Don’t go and worry that pretty little head of yours,” Shane said. “We’ll behave.” He nudged Noah as he walked past him to his seat. “For now,” he whispered.
Noah smiled and took his seat. How much things had changed since last Friday night in the club. Before all of this began, Shane had been nervous about their relationship, afraid of what people might think. Now, thanks to Kitty, he was more openly affectionate toward Noah, more giving. For the first time in a long time, Noah felt at peace. No longer would he have to deny his feelings for Shane—or Kitty, for that matter. He knew this meeting was important to Kitty and Shane, but it wasn’t a big deal for him. No matter what happened, they would always have each other. In the end, that was all that mattered.
The door to Clint Velvet’s office opened, and Kitty walked out into the waiting area. She looked a little frazzled and worn, but when her gaze fell on them, she smiled wider than the Grand Canyon.
Shane stood. “Well, what happened?”
Kitty kissed Shane on the cheek as Noah rose to his feet.
“We did it,” she said. “I can’t believe we did it.” She turned to Noah and kissed him on the cheek as well. His heart warmed at the intimate contact.
The secretary cleared her throat once more. “I must ask that you take this outside.”
“Yes, of course.” Kitty motioned for them to grab their jackets. “Come on quick before he changes his mind.”
Velvet Steel Page 18