“Be a good girl,” he whispered.
“I will.”
She pushed her hands into his hair. The movement made the diamond in her ring sparkle. She’d hoped they could start making wedding plans today. They hadn’t even had the chance to set a date. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” Eric pulled back and looked into her eyes. “This is it, right? No more out-of-town trips until you leave for Athens?”
“This is it, I promise. Carey’s guaranteed I’ll stay here at the office and plan future projects until it’s time to leave for Athens.”
“Good, because we have a lot of things to talk about.”
“Like my surprise I didn’t get?”
“That’s one thing, yes.”
“And setting a wedding date?”
“That’s another thing.” He ran his hands up and down her sides. “Keith will probably be here by the time you get back. I want you to have plenty of time to get to know him. He’s a good friend.”
Eric had told her about his friend coming for a visit while they lay in bed last night. She’d heard a lot of stories about the famous foreign correspondent in the year she’d been with Eric and was eager to meet him. “You two need some time for yourselves without me anyway, so you can talk about old girlfriends and stuff like that.”
Eric grinned. “Us talking about old girlfriends and stuff like that won’t make you jealous.”
“Well, maybe a little. Just don’t have too much fun without me.”
“Never.”
With tears burning her eyes, she reluctantly hugged and kissed Eric once more, then stepped up to the security entrance. She passed through, picked up her large tote from the belt, and waved to Eric before turning the corner to head for her gate.
Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his slacks, Eric watched Brenna until she disappeared from sight. He missed her already.
Man, I’ve got it bad.
The intensity of his feelings always surprised Eric. He never would have believed he could care so much about a woman as he did about Brenna. There’d been other lovers in his life, other women he’d loved. What he’d felt for them was nothing compared to what he felt for Brenna. Spending the rest of his life without her wasn’t even a remote possibility.
He hadn’t planned to spend his Saturday at the office, but with Brenna gone, Eric had no reason not to get some work done.
He stepped out of the airport into the bright spring sunshine. Halfway to his car, his cell phone rang. Eric pulled it from his jacket pocket and flipped it open.
“This is Eric.”
“This is Keith.”
Eric smiled. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
“I’m flying into Sea-Tac tomorrow. Can you still pick me up?”
“Tomorrow? What happened to Atlanta, Dallas, and all those other stops you had to make that I can’t remember?”
“Change of plans. I’m tired, my friend. I need some rest. I want to do absolutely nothing for the next week except sleep late, eat good food, read, have sex with several gorgeous women, relaxing stuff like that.”
Eric unlocked his car and slipped behind the driver’s wheel. “I suppose you want me to set you up with those gorgeous women, right?”
“Hey, what are friends for?”
“I threw away my little black book when I started dating Brenna.”
“Does she have a sister?”
“Nope. Only child.”
“Cousin? Best friend? Not-so-best friend? Hell, I’m not picky. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve been laid?”
Eric found that hard to believe. Not only was Keith what women called “a hunk”, he had an exciting, adrenaline-pumping job. “You? The famous foreign correspondent? Don’t you have a girl in every port?”
“Hardly. Sweaty guys wearing fatigues who spend a lot of time in foxholes aren’t exactly my idea of possible lovers.”
Eric laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. I wouldn’t want you to suffer too much while you’re here.”
“If Brenna is as great as you’ve told me, you could share her with your best friend.”
“Sorry, friend. Brenna is off-limits.”
“Damn. And here I thought I could convince you to try a little ménage a trois, like we did in college.”
“What time does your plane land?”
“Talk about changing the subject fast. Got a pen and paper?”
“Yeah,” Eric said, reaching for the small clipboard he kept on his dash. “Go ahead.”
Eric scribbled down Keith’s flight information. “Got it.” He tossed the clipboard on the passenger seat. “So, what do you want to do first when you get here?”
“This will probably sound boring to you, but I want to have a great meal, preferably home-cooked, and relax.”
“I can handle that. I just happen to be a great cook.”
“My mouth is watering already. See you tomorrow.”
Eric closed his cell phone and laid it on the seat next to the clipboard. It’d be great to see his friend again. Keith had been to Seattle once almost a year ago, right after Eric had started seeing Brenna. She’d been out of town working, so she’d never had the chance to meet him.
He hadn’t seen Keith again until they managed to hook up in Chicago when Eric went there for a broker’s convention six months ago. They’d fallen right back into a routine, as if they saw each other every few days instead of every few months.
Part of that routine included talking about women and sex. Keith had tried to talk him into picking up a couple of gals for the night. Eric had flatly refused. He loved Brenna and had no intention of ever cheating on her. It wasn’t like college, where they were both unattached and could have sex with a different gal every night.
Or even sex with the same gal for one night.
Rubbing his upper lip, Eric thought about Keith’s joke regarding a ménage with Brenna. At least, he assumed Keith had been joking.
Of course his friend had been joking. Eric had spoken on the phone and e-mailed back and forth with Keith many times, so his friend knew how much Brenna meant to him. That thing in college with Keith’s current fling hadn’t been serious because Keith hadn’t been serious about the girl. This was totally different. Eric loved Brenna.
Part of the love he felt for Brenna meant wanting to please her in every way possible. Brenna was a very sensual woman who loved sex, and loved it frequently. Having two men make love to her at the same time would certainly give her pleasure.
Eric drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Can I do it? Can I share Brenna with another man, even if he is my best friend? Can I watch Keith touch, kiss, fuck, the woman I love?
Shaking his head, Eric chuckled while starting his car. Keith was teasing. We’re both thirty years old and beyond college pranks.
Still, the idea grew in his mind on the drive from Sea-Tac to Olympia. Brenna was always willing to do whatever Eric suggested, and she came up with some great ideas herself. He couldn’t think of a sexual position or act they hadn’t tried. They’d made love in every room of her house and his condo. They’d made love at both their workplaces, and in both vehicles. This would be something new, something different.
Something to please his woman.
What a wild wedding present.
Eric grinned as a plan began to formulate. Yeah, it just might work…
Chapter Six
Eric chuckled as he watched Keith collapse on the couch. “How can you be tired? You just spent four hours sitting on an airplane.”
“I just spent four hours sitting on an airplane. That’s why I’m tired.” Keith let his head fall back to rest on the couch. “Getting on a plane is harder some days than others.”
“You log a lot of air miles.”
“Too many.” He tilted his head and looked at Eric. “I’m too young for burnout.”
“After a week off, you’ll be itching to get back to work.”
“Maybe.” He rubbed one hand over h
is face. “Don’t mind me. I’ve just spent the last two months in the Middle East seeing things I wish I hadn’t seen. I’ll be all better after a drink and something to eat.”
“Let’s go in the kitchen. I’ll fix us that drink, then start dinner.”
A spark of excitement lit Keith’s eyes. “Food? Real food? Something I don’t have to order off a menu?”
“No menus. Everything in this house is the chef’s choice.”
“I can live with that.” He struggled to stand. “Lead the way.”
In the kitchen, Eric gestured for Keith to sit on a stool at the center island. “You still drink bourbon?”
“That’ll work.”
Eric glanced at his friend often while preparing their drinks. Despite his tan and sun-streaked hair, Keith did look tired, and older than his thirty years. The e-mails Eric had received from Keith lately told him his friend had been in Europe and Asia practically full-time for almost six months. Getting only a short time at home every few weeks had to be tiring.
“You want to talk about those things you wish you hadn’t seen?”
“No.”
That “no” didn’t sound very convincing to Eric. “Seeing people who have so little makes you appreciate how lucky you are, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Keith said softly.
Eric set Keith’s drink in front of him. He watched his friend raise the glass to his mouth and drain half of it.
Keith returned the glass to the bar. “Good bourbon.”
“Thanks.” Without asking, Eric added another shot to Keith’s glass.
“It’s the kids, you know?” Staring into the amber liquid, Keith rolled the glass between his palms. Silently, Eric sipped his own drink, giving his friend the chance to talk at his own pace.
“They have nothing, Eric. No running water, no electricity, very little to wear, almost nothing to eat. God, just looking at them hurts. I wanted to pack up every one of them and bring them home with me.”
“Tugged at your heart, huh?”
“Big time.” Keith took another sip of his bourbon. “I never thought of myself as the dad type. Seeing those kids…”
“Seeing those kids made you realize there’s more to life than hopping around the world.”
“Yeah.” Keith cleared his throat. “We’re getting way too serious here. I’m supposed to be on vacation.”
Eric believed his friend needed to talk more about what he’d experienced, but pushing Keith wasn’t the way to get him to open up. “Okay, no more serious stuff.”
“Good.” Keith sipped his drink. “So, where’s Brenna? I’m eager to meet her.”
“She’s in Reno. Her company is installing the outside lighting of a new casino.”
“Sounds like she travels almost as much as me. Do you ever go with her?”
“Not so far. But I will go to Athens in August. Her company is doing some of the lighting at the Olympics. She’s in charge of the lighting at the opening ceremonies.”
“I’m impressed. She must be good.”
“Her company’s been steadily growing. Sometimes I wish it wasn’t so successful.”
“She’s gone a lot?”
Eric nodded. “More often than I like. But I knew what she did when we got together, and I try to be supportive.”
“It’s hard to be supportive when you’re alone in your bed.”
“True. I like it much better when she’s in my bed with me.” Eric drained his glass and set it on the bar. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Then I’d better get busy.”
Eric washed his hands, then crossed the floor to the refrigerator. He removed lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, and radishes. Carrying them back to the island, he set them on the bar in front of Keith. “You can make the salad while I start the steaks.”
“Hey, I’m a guest.”
“Guest, hell. Get busy. Wash your hands first.”
“Nag, nag, nag. You sound like my mother.” Keith walked to the sink and washed his hands while Eric added a cutting board, large bowl, and knife to the bar. Leaning against the counter, Keith dried his hands with a paper towel. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. I like it.”
“How come you and Brenna don’t live together?”
“We practically do. Half of my clothes are at her house and half of hers are here.” Eric laid two thick T-bones on a broiler pan. “We just never made it official.” He chose seasoning salt and pepper from a cabinet and proceeded to sprinkle them over the meat. “That’s gonna change soon. I proposed to her last night.”
Keith smiled. “Hey, that’s great. When’s the big event?”
“We didn’t get the chance to set a date before she had to leave. That’s our first priority when she gets back.”
“I envy you, man,” Keith said softly while walking back to his stool. “I don’t even have dates, much less anything more serious.”
“You were always the one who didn’t want to get married, who wanted to play the field and see the world.”
“The world is a big place to see alone.” Keith picked up a cucumber and started to peel it. “So, are you gonna help me while I’m here?”
Eric paused while sliding the pan of steaks under the broiler. “Help you?”
“You said you threw away your little black book, but surely you know some single women. You and Brenna could go out with me and Kate.”
“Kate?”
“I’ve always liked the name Kate.”
Eric chuckled and closed the oven door. “Kate works.”
“Okay, so you and Brenna could double date with me and Kate. A nice night out, dinner, dancing, a good bottle of wine, then back to her place for some…you know.”
“You’re sure she’ll want to…you know?”
“Absolutely. I’ll charm her so thoroughly, she won’t be able to resist me.”
“Of course.” Struggling not to laugh, Eric leaned against the cabinet and crossed his arms over his chest.
“So, Kate and I will go back to her place. And if you and Brenna want to tag along, we could have a real party.” Keith waggled his eyebrows and grinned.
Eric didn’t return the grin. His friend’s joke was too close to what might actually happen to be funny.
The amusement quickly faded from Keith’s face. “Hey, man, I’m shitting you. I’m not trying to horn in on your lady.”
“What if I want you to?”
Keith’s mouth slackened and he dropped the tomato he held. He had to do a fast juggling act to keep it from falling to the floor. “You want to run that by me again?”
Eric walked to the bar and stood facing Keith. “I know you were joking when you mentioned the ménage with Brenna, but I’ve been considering it. It might be a good idea.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, I am. Brenna is a very passionate woman. I think she’d really enjoy it.”
“Whoa.” Keith laid down the tomato and knife. “We haven’t done anything like that since college, and then only once.”
“Didn’t you like it?”
“Well, yeah. It was wild.” A crooked grin touched Keith’s mouth. “Naomi was wild. She wore out both of us and could’ve taken more.” He rubbed his upper lip. “I haven’t exactly been celibate since then, despite the dry spell lately, but I think that was the best sex I’ve ever had. It was certainly the most…intense.”
“So you’re willing? Consider it a wedding present for Brenna.”
Keith laughed. “It’d be a hell of a wedding present.” Picking up the tomato again, he began to slice it. “You sure she’ll be okay with it?”
Eric walked back to the stove and turned the steaks before he answered Keith. “I think she’ll be apprehensive at first, then curious, then very turned on.”
“Very turned on is good.” Keith scraped the tomatoes into the bowl and picked up the stalk of celery. “So, do you have this all planned out?”
“I have some ideas…”
<
br /> * * * * *
Brenna waved at Eric as he pulled up to the curb. With the tight security at Sea-Tac, Eric couldn’t come inside the terminal and wait for her at the luggage carousel. Luckily, the weather was still beautiful, so it hadn’t bothered Brenna to stand outside the terminal and wait for her ride.
He met her at the trunk. After a quick hello kiss, he opened the trunk and placed her suitcase inside. “How did it go?”
“Good.”
“Did you please the wife?”
“Finally.” Brenna walked with Eric to the passenger side and waited while he opened the door for her. “She’s actually a tightwad. After I told her how much all the changes she wanted would cost, she was willing to back off a bit and leave everything to the ‘experts’.”
“I knew you’d win her over.”
Brenna watched Eric shut her door and jog around the front of his car. God, he was gorgeous. He wore tight faded jeans and a gray polo almost the same color as his eyes. She’d casually mentioned three months ago how much she liked longer hair on a man. He’d been letting it grow ever since, until soft waves now covered his ears and touched his neck. The longer length looked so good on him.
Everything about him looked good. She could hardly wait to get him alone and tear off his clothes.
Eric slid into the driver’s seat, cupped her neck, and drew her toward him for a deep kiss. “Welcome back,” he said with a smile.
Brenna touched his cheek and let her fingers glide over his lips. “I’m glad to be back.”
After checking his side mirror, Eric pulled into the traffic leaving Sea-Tac. “Do you want to go to your house first, or straight to my place? Keith can’t wait to meet you.”
“Why is it I’ve never met Keith? You two have been friends for over ten years.”
“He’s only been here once since you and I have been together. You were out of town working.”
“Oh.” Brenna didn’t doubt that. She’d been out of town working a lot lately. That would change once she and Eric were married. She’d been training new people, and they were just about ready to test their wings. As soon as Brenna knew they could handle the load, she’d tell Carey she wanted less time on the road and more time at the company working on the initial planning stage so she could stay in Olympia with her husband.
Two Men and a Lady Page 14
