by Jayne Rylon
Fourplay
Ever After Duet, Book 1
Jayne Rylon
Happy Endings Publishing
Copyright © 2018 by Jayne Rylon
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means—including email, file-sharing groups, and peer-to-peer programs—without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
If you have purchased a copy of this ebook, thank you. I greatly appreciate knowing you would never illegally share your copy of this book. This is the polite way of me saying don’t be a thieving asshole, please and thank you!
If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Refer to the don’t-be-a-thieving-asshole section above for clarification. :)
Version V4
eBook ISBN: 978-1-941785-93-5
Print ISBN: 978-1-941785-94-2
Contents
About The Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
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Also by Jayne Rylon
About The Book
It’s normal to drool over three devastatingly handsome, charismatic, and rich AF men, right?
Well, not when they’re your bosses.
Especially not if you find out they like to share their lovers and you can’t stop fantasizing about being at the center of their attention during boring meetings.
And definitely not when you have a former co-worker who didn't understand the meaning of the word "no" harassing you.
But that’s Kari’s life, and now she needs to decide what to do about it: follow her heart, or forfeit the chance to discover what it’s like to live out her wildest dreams.
Fourplay is book one of the Ever After duet. Kari, Ford, Brady, and Josh’s story will conclude in Fourkeeps
Additional Information
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1
Kari tried her best not to gasp or let her eyes bulge until they popped out of her skull and rolled across the polished boardroom table of the Westford, Arman, and King law firm, where she worked. Worse would be if she fell off of her chair. But seriously… What the fuck had Ford Westbrook just said?
She was pretty sure she’d heard her ultra-hot boss tell their intern, Cooper—who was in a polyamorous relationship with his girlfriend and her two other boyfriends—that, “We’re really quite jealous of you. You see, the three of us have been looking for someone like your Andi. We just haven’t found her yet.”
But that would mean he and Josh King and Brady Armand liked to share the same woman in bed. Or maybe the woman would get each of them at different times. Three incredible boyfriends. Like any one of them on their own wasn’t in the running for sexiest—and wealthiest—man in the city. Now Kari would never get the mental image of them triple-teaming some lucky lady out of her mind.
Or her wildest dreams.
Holy shitballs! That was going to make it hard for her to concentrate in meetings or during the time they spent alone together in her role as their executive assistant.
Kari understood then why the three big-shot lawyers had no intention of firing Cooper. Instead, they had turned on one of their employees, who’d ratted out a supposed ethics violation to the executive team. And that was even before they knew dirtbag Marty Schone had tried to blackmail Cooper into whoring out his girlfriend in exchange for Marty’s silence.
It was too much to think about. Her brain was shorting out.
Despite her best attempts, a strangled squeak must have escaped Kari’s suddenly very dry mouth because Brady whipped his stare to her. He studied her reaction to the bomb Ford had just dropped. The frown lines marring his handsome face made her wonder if he saw judgment rather than awe in her admittedly shocked gaze.
She flashed him a hint of a reassuring smile, hoping drool wasn’t dripping off her canines. Surely they couldn’t be self-conscious about their preferences, not if they had revealed them to their intern and to her in the process as well. But damn!
Kari subtly—she hoped—fanned herself with the manila folder she clutched in suddenly clammy fingers. It contained her own affidavit of alleged misconduct by good ol’ Marty.
Right. The paper that said she’d been taken advantage of at a work function. The one that stopped just short of claiming she’d been raped, since she could never prove what she was finally coming to accept: Marty Schone had drugged her then abused her while she was inebriated.
There was no way she would have lifted her skirt for him anywhere, and especially not in the alley behind her place of employment while her three incredible bosses were steps away. She’d never found the guy attractive, and these days he sent chills down her spine if she so much as ran into him in the hall. Usually followed by a complete inability to eat whatever lunch she’d packed.
Maybe that was why Ford, Brady, and Josh had let her in on this part of their personal lives?
To make her feel more comfortable about what she’d been forced to admit to them…
What would her bosses think if all of a sudden she started acting like a cat in heat after the revelation of their lifestyle? They might retract some of the support they’d given her since her encounter with Marty had come to light. It had taken them a while to pry it out of her, but she couldn’t hide the cold sweat she broke out in every time they were in a meeting with that scumbag. Once they’d realized what was freaking her out, they’d had her back. Completely and without hesitation.
Hell, she knew they were using Cooper’s revelation to handle her situation, even if they didn’t say it out loud.
Nothing meant more to her than that. They’d been there for her, even when she’d doubted herself. At first, her lack of memories from that night had made it difficult to understand what had happened. Easy to blame herself for drinking too much, given that she couldn’t even say how many of those special holiday cocktails she’d knocked back.
Kari flipped open the folder and stared at the paper in front of her. The words “when I woke up, my panties were torn and dotted with dried blood and semen” blurred as her eyes turned glassy.
Josh King came over to her and squatted down by her side. His hand gripped the arm of the chair just next to her flesh, though he stopped short of making direct contact. Of course he did. He was her boss, not her best friend—though sometimes it felt like he might be both. The surprisingly deep conversations they had over lunch had become one of the highlights of her days.
For such a chill guy, he had a lot more going on underneath those smiles
of his than most people would suspect. It was what won him cases. People tended to underestimate him.
She should be more like Josh.
Kari swallowed hard, resolve forming like a shield around her spine. The steely strength he lent her helped her sit straighter. If she had any chance at bringing Marty to justice for what he’d done to her and tried to do to Cooper, she would take it. And she couldn’t be more grateful that her three bosses seemed to have exactly the same idea in mind.
Instead of flinging herself at them and crushing each of them in a bear hug like she wanted, she’d have to settle for a polite nod and an ultra-professional expression of appreciation. Because that’s what their roles permitted. Now more than ever, she needed to remind herself of their workplace boundaries.
What they’d shared today hadn’t been a secret confession from a man to his love interest. No, it had been the decent thing to do, done by three—four, if you counted Cooper, and she definitely did—very decent men she should stay far, far away from lest she do something wildly inappropriate. Again.
She scrunched her eyes closed, reminding herself for the millionth time since it had happened that she wasn’t responsible for Marty’s actions. Despite urging from her therapist, who’d gotten her to see that, it was still hard for her to fully accept.
Kari groaned inwardly as Cooper, Ford, Josh, and Brady wrapped up their meeting with huge smiles, back slaps, and the cementing of their growing personal and professional bonds. In fact, they’d just asked Cooper and his lovers to join the men on their yacht for Ford’s floating thirtieth birthday party. Kari knew all about it because she’d gladly taken on making some of the arrangements. Helping to make it an incredibly special night had been like her own secret gift to him. She stood and shuffled toward the door.
“Well, we’re hoping to see you all there.” Brady beamed as he turned his head. It was as if he’d included Kari in the invitation instead of just the general conversation. She knew better than to assume that was the case. He was nothing if not polite and very practiced in social situations.
It took an enormous effort not to wince or flinch. She was pretty sure she’d seen the last of those gatherings. Would probably have a panic attack if she ever attended another function on her own anyway.
As if he could read her mind, Ford frowned in the background. “You’ll be there too, right, Kari?”
“Me?” She shook her head as she stumbled back a step. “I don’t think—”
“Maybe that would bring back bad memories for her. Don’t push.” Josh snapped to attention when he realized she was faltering.
“It’s fine.” She held her hands up, palms out, afraid they were getting the wrong impression despite her best efforts. The last thing she wanted was to cause tension between the three partners and best friends. Not after they’d done so much for her.
“Guys, calm down.” Brady stepped between them, his voice calm and soothing as always. It settled the flutters in Kari’s stomach and gave her time to sneak in a deep, if shaky breath.
Kari murmured, “Thank you.”
Ford scrubbed his hands over the dark stubble hugging his strong jawline, then nodded. “I just want you to know that it’s my birthday and I’d love to have you there, if you’re up for it. No pressure. The whole office won’t be coming, either. Not like the last party. This is a personal gathering, not a company-wide one. If you join us, we’ll make sure you’re protected. Okay?”
Did he really think she was worried about that? No, she was more concerned she’d have too much to drink and hit on him or one—or both—of his partners. This time maybe she’d be the one to cross the lines and screw things up.
It had always seemed like a messy situation, flirting with one of them while fantasizing about what it might be like to go on an actual date sometime instead of a working lunch. Now that she knew they might like to share, she wouldn’t have to pick which of them was her favorite. Hypothetically speaking, she could have all three. At once.
Oh God. “I just don’t think—”
“No pressure,” he repeated.
They let it drop. Maybe because they were glad she didn’t plan to take them up on it. Or maybe because they really did respect her hesitance. After they walked out of the boardroom, they acted like it had never come up.
Kari should have been relieved. Except that damn party was all she could think about for the next several weeks. Every time she took a call from the caterer about the gourmet food they’d be serving or decided on flower arrangements or set up designated parking with the marina or hired a local up-and-coming DJ to provide entertainment for the night, she felt like Cinderella dreaming of the royal ball.
Where was her fairy godmother, damn it?
2
“It’s probably best if you don’t stare at Kari’s ass considering she’s already been traumatized by a dumb fuck she works with.” Brady knocked his shoulder into Ford’s.
Josh noticed even the physical jarring didn’t dislodge his friend’s gaze. He tracked the woman until she rounded the corner to her office.
Josh couldn’t quite blame him. Sure, every instinct he had was screaming to chase her down and make sure she was okay. The lawyer half of his brain admitted that wasn’t all, though. He wanted to comfort her, smother her in hugs and gentle kisses until the ragged emotions he’d seen in her eyes during their meeting faded away. Then he’d confess that he’d been dreaming of being more than her friend or boss for months.
But if Brady took issue with them staring at her, he certainly wasn’t going to approve of that sort of intimate advance. More importantly, Kari wouldn’t welcome it either. That was the only reason Josh didn’t pursue her.
“No. She was traumatized by a dumb fuck she worked with.” Ford spread his feet and crossed his arms, making his suit jacket rumple. Josh felt like it was in danger of bursting at the seams. Sort of like him and his two best friends. “With Cooper’s statement about Marty’s blackmail attempts, we’ve got him by the balls. He’s gone. I can’t wait to drag his ass in here and break the news.”
Josh tipped his head to each side, cracking his neck in the process. “Let me call the security guard for the building and make sure he’s ready to escort that douchebag out of here after we’ve had our little chat. I don’t think we should take any chances. He might go ballistic on Kari or Cooper when we wipe that smarmy tattletale smirk off his fucking face. For that matter he might come for us. As much as I’d love to introduce my fist to his face, none of us can touch him, not even in self-defense.”
“Because you don’t trust us not to seriously fuck him up?” Brady asked with a growl that made Josh pretty sure he would be right in that assumption.
“Right. But also because we don’t want to leave ourselves even a tiny bit exposed to a malicious lawsuit from him. We need an impartial witness and someone official to do any manhandling required.” Ford’s mouth twisted into a snarl. They all knew how badly he wished he could kick Marty’s ass on the way out the door.
“Then let’s do this.” Josh gestured toward the landline conference phone on the boardroom table. “The sooner he’s gone, the better off we’ll all be. Kari especially.”
“Guys, even once he’s out, it’s not going to change things. Not enough. Kari still has to live with the issues Marty’s attack caused. We’ve got to be careful around her,” Ford droned on, lecturing them like always. Josh tamped down his irritation. The man was doing what he thought was best, trying to protect a woman they all cared strongly for. “Besides, we’re lucky she hasn’t sued us for giving him the opportunity to attack her. I wouldn’t even fight a suit if she brought one against us. We should have done a better job looking out for her…and the rest of our employees, of course.”
Josh snorted. Each of them knew Kari was more than hired help to them. Hell, she kept their lives in order. Without her, they’d never be able to operate the business—or their personal lives—half as efficiently as they did with her overseeing operations. During the
five years she’d worked for them, she’d become an integral part of their team, blending into the executive unit seamlessly.
“Zip that up, Ford. Your guilty conscience is showing. It kills me as much as it does you to know what happened right under our noses.” Josh put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean we’re responsible for someone else’s actions.”
“Hmm.” It wasn’t an agreement. Not even close.
Ford had always had a savior complex, ever since his own mother had been abused by her boyfriend and he hadn’t been able to stop it. Each of them volunteered at the animal shelter just to keep him from filling their penthouse with a herd of misfit pets they weren’t home often enough to care for properly.
Brady backed Josh up. “He’s right about that.”
“Fine. Then all we can do now is support her and help her recover. Not make things worse.” Josh wondered if Ford was talking to them or reminding himself at this point. “Besides, she’s closer to Cooper’s age than ours. How stereotypically pervy is it to lust after your young, gorgeous administrative assistant? Even if she was by some miracle into the freak show we’re after—”
“No. You’re not going to do that anymore.” Brady swiveled to face Ford. “Beat yourself up for how you’re wired. Go ahead. But you’re not going to make me or Josh feel like shit for our desires anymore.”
