Lacey Temptations [Crave 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Amy J. Hawthorn

  “I’m not playing any games. I’m just showing her a few things while we’re up here. Hell, I practically kidnapped her. I might as well make her prison sentence enjoyable seeing as none of this mess is her fault and every bit mine.”

  “So you’re telling me you’re not serious about this, about her?”

  “No. There’s nothing serious whatsoever. We both know the rules.”

  “And what about me, Ryan? Where do I fit in with your good time plans with Lacey? What the hell was that down by the lake? That was the clearest invitation I’ve ever seen you give.”

  “We’ve shared before. Lacey’s made for it. She may not know it yet but she needs it. I know you, man. You’re attracted to her, I can see it. What do you say? She’s so damn sweet it makes your teeth hurt.”

  “That’s my point exactly, Ryan! She’s so damn sweet. Too damn sweet. You said it yourself. That’s what makes this entire situation different than anything we’ve done in the past. I’m not sure she knows all the rules to the game.”

  “Of course she does. We’ve discussed it openly.”

  “No, I don’t think she knows what’s going on here and you need to think about that before someone gets hurt.”

  “She’s not going to get hurt. I’ll make sure of it. What kind of guy do you think I am?”

  “Under normal circumstance, you’re a good guy. Hell, you’re the best guy I know but these aren’t normal circumstances. And maybe I’m not talking about only her. Remember that as well as you know me, I know you right back and every bit as well. I know you, damn it! And I see the lies in your eyes when you say your heart’s not involved.” Parker watched the panic seep in, clouding his friend’s features and it was not a good look for the usually calm, confident man.

  “Ryan, I see it. No matter how you spell it or write it. This is not one of your novels. You can try to hide it from yourself but not from me. Wake the fuck up, man.”

  Chapter 14

  “Lacey, would you mind giving me your opinion on something? If you don’t care, I’m having trouble with a scene and I could use some input.” Considering everything she’d been through, she seemed to be handling all the upheaval and chaos well. He couldn’t have asked for a better person to be holed up in the cabin with. The least he could do was occupy her time somehow.

  After Parker had left, he’d spent most of the previous night working on his next book, but instead of Marcy, his lead female character, all he could see was Lacey’s face. Maybe he could put her to work.

  “I’d be glad to help, flattered, actually.”

  She set her e-reader on the end table beside the couch. The apprehension on her face as she’d pulled it from her tattered tote bag that morning had made his jaw hurt until he’d given himself a headache. The strap of her bag had torn when he’d tackled her to the ground in the parking lot. She’d fingered the strap and seemed to brace herself as she opened the bag. Just like now, he’d been unable to look away. Only then it had been his worry that had held him rapt. He’d taken so much from her. A physical item in a battered purse shouldn’t hold so much weight but he couldn’t control it. He hadn’t needed the reminder that danger hunted her and he was to blame.

  She’d held her breath as she’d opened the e-reader’s case and sighed when it had turned on. The relief he’d seen on her face made him think she’d found a long lost friend. He wondered if his own relief matched hers. He’d give anything to make her happy and whole. He prayed he’d read the signals right and had made the right decision when he’d made this morning’s phone call.

  One way or another, he’d find out soon.

  He couldn’t breathe as she walked over to sit with him at the kitchen table. Even in plain black shorts and a T-shirt, her nipped in waist and curvy hips taunted him. He doubted he could wait much longer but he had to. He looked at the large clock over the fireplace. It wasn’t time yet.

  “Perfect. I’m working on something new and could use a feminine point of view. The main character, Marcy, is attracted to Luke and vice versa. They have this intense chemistry that ignites like dry timber whenever they’re near each other and this intimate, emotional connection that tugs at your heart every time you see them together. Now, Marcy’s always had this fantasy of being blindfolded and at the mercy of two lovers but Marcy’s ex was a real bastard and she still has the emotional scars.” He loved to watch her face as he talked about his work. He was so emotionally invested in his characters and it was a treat to see her eyes light up with the same genuine interest.

  But, he didn’t miss the way her lovely features fell flat when he mentioned Marcy’s ex. He was hitting close to home with the fictional Marcy’s tale.

  “What kind of pain is Marcy trying to hide from Luke?” There was just a hint of sadness to her voice and she turned her head to look out the window.

  It was telling that she instantly felt a kinship with Marcy. Her first thoughts were of Marcy’s emotional hurts. She was an incredibly caring person and it showed again and again. Learning that his suspicions of Lacey’s past relationship were true twisted his insides into knots. She and Marcy had more in common than an affinity for bondage. What kind of pain was Lacey trying to hide?

  “Shortly after she confided her deepest desires to him, he conned Marcy into giving him access to both her personal and business accounts. He professed himself to be an accountant and promised to organize all her records into a new computer program. One night after subjecting her to a horribly rough and painful ménage experience, he and his partner disappeared with everything, leaving her with nothing but bruises and shame.”

  “He really is a rat bastard. I hope you make sure he gets what’s coming to him before the book’s end.” Did she have any idea what a soft heart beat beneath those gorgeous curves? Shadows of pain filled her eyes even as she readied to defend a sweet but, fictional character.

  “Of course, we can’t have a true happily ever after without putting things back to rights, now can we? But we’re still climbing up the hill of conflict on our way to the happy ending. Now a little time has passed and Marcy and Luke have promised to share every fantasy with each other and they have except for that one last fantasy of Marcy’s. Yet she’s understandably afraid to confide in Luke. Keeping the secret is beginning to take its toll on their relationship in the bedroom and her own conscience, but the last thing she wants is to lose Luke. She is just starting to believe that he really may be the man of her dreams but those doubts are still lurking in the back of her mind. From here I’m stuck. Beyond this situation, I can’t find a clean way to bring in Mark for their third, without having the plot sound too clichéd and unoriginal. Do you have any ideas?”

  “They need to be honest with each other. Most of your readers are intelligent and expect more than the same old tired plots. If I want twisted and wacky, I’ll watch a soap opera or reality TV. The honesty between your characters is one of my favorite elements from your first books. I don’t think you should change that. Your readers are too smart.”

  “I agree with you on the honesty factor. I was just hoping to find a new twist without any game playing between the two of them. Okay, why don’t we work backward? Put yourself in Marcy’s shoes. How do you feel about ménage? Why does it appeal to you?”

  “Why does ménage appeal to Marcy or to me?” Her voice lowered a notch and the sound went straight to his cock. Equal parts husky and sweet, she was his ultimate weakness. Guileless and true, there wasn’t a false bone in her body.

  He moved from the chair on the other side of the table where he’d set up his temporary office to sit by her side. She shifted so they faced each other.

  “Either. Both. Does ménage appeal to you? Have you ever had two men touch you at one time? Have you ever imagined it?” If she had any idea how turned on he was by this discussion, she would run for the hills. The thought of taking her to a plane of arousal that would make yesterday’s fun by the lake fade to nothing in comparison had his cock threatening to burst free from
his jeans.

  He’d been the third for Parker before. In his mind he could easily picture her skin flushing in that pretty peach color and writhing from the ecstasy that the two of them combined could bring her. Was Parker willing to return the favor?

  “No, I’ve never had two men touch me at once, and certainly not in a sexual fashion. It makes for an extremely erotic thought, but I’ve never considered trying it for real. In Marcy’s case, again, the experience would have to be rooted in trust and honesty. She wouldn’t settle for anything less from her partner. By giving in to the bondage and ménage at the same time, it would be the ultimate in sexual faith. The totality of completely abandoning your control and the knowledge that your partner would provide for your every sexual need is potent stuff. I can see why it might appeal to some women if they were with the right man or men.

  “Unfortunately, those seem to be far and few in between. Not to mention the difficulties that would come with finding a suitable third. That can’t be as simple as placing a classified ad. You would have to have equal trust in that person as well. As sexy and pleasurable as it might be, it just sounds too complicated for real life.”

  “What if you did have a strong connection with your partner and it was something that played a prominent role in his fantasies?” He had shifted his body slightly and smoothly moved his legs so that one was between hers and the other pressed close on the outside of hers. His hands found themselves idly rubbing circles on the satin skin of her hips. He simply couldn’t resist the soft lure of her silken skin and delicious scent.

  “I don’t know. There would be a lot of what-ifs involved, I’m sure.”

  “Don’t you think that when it comes to desire and love, that if you have that ultimate trust in your partner that the what-ifs should be thrown out the window?”

  “In theory, yes. But what if your partner is not worthy of that trust and it’s abused? It would leave you broken and scarred. Scared to try again. What if it left you damaged so badly that you were ruined for all other men? It would be near impossible to ever give up that control to another again, especially in a situation that held so much potential for heartache.”

  Her quiet and somber voice was going to bring him to his knees. She was the sweetest person he’d ever met and to think that someone would take advantage of that and leave her hurting was enough to make him consider murder.

  And that was twice in the past few days that he’d felt so savagely protective of someone. Yes, he was a nice guy, but never before had anyone stirred emotions that fired so strongly inside him. She made him feel like a knight of old, standing tall and ready to slay her dragons.

  “Lacey, baby. Tell me what happened. I know it wasn’t good, but I swear to you I won’t judge. I may want to commit murder on your behalf but you’ll always be safe with me.” He wanted nothing more than to pull her tight into his chest and never let go.

  “We’re talking about your book, remember?” The shutters were drawn tight and she wasn’t letting him in. The disappointment twisted in his gut. But he could be patient when it counted.

  He leaned close and gave her ear a little lick and as he gave it a nibble, he couldn’t stop himself from painting one of the many pictures that had haunted him since their first kiss in the parking lot. “Picture yourself bound to my bed, at my mercy, and blindfolded. You’re wearing one of those delectable little scraps of lace that I saw you buy. Did you know that as you were shopping, I imagined you in each one as you held it up to consider? Each new vision was more devastating than the one prior. I was putty in your hands long before I knew your name.”

  * * * *

  He pulled into the driveway and parked beside Ryan’s car. He hoped they were both okay. The entire drive up to the cabin he’d replayed Ryan’s cryptic voicemail in his head. The only thing he’d said was that he had something big in the works and needed his assistance. Today. He was adamant that whatever it was couldn’t wait. Oh. And while he was at it, could he stop by and pick up Ryan’s phone order from Crave. He had no idea what was in the large black-and-purple shopping bag, but he suspected Lacey would soon find out.

  And experience. And enjoy.

  No doubt about it, Ryan wouldn’t quit until little Lacey was well sated.

  If whatever he wanted was truly pressing, then Ryan wouldn’t have asked him to make a detour. And he was all business about this maddening stalker case. The intense fury that consumed Ryan each time they’d discussed Lacey’s involvement was all too clear. There would be no playing games with Lacey’s safety or making light of the situation she’d been pulled into.

  So maybe he should be suspicious of Ryan and not worried. The discreet bag sitting on the seat beside him was more than likely harboring evidence backing up that conclusion. If there was anything or more to the point, anyone who could short circuit Ryan’s moral compass, it would be Lacey. He’d bet his life on it.

  My god, the woman was too sweet for her own good. She really needed a good man to watch out for her. There was no telling how many people had taken advantage of her in little ways over the years simply because she was too nice to say no. Hell, it would probably take two strong men to watch out for her.

  Oh hell. No. He needed to get that idea out of his head right now. That was not happening. He’d already made his decision. Lacey was for Ryan. Ryan was for Lacey. There was no room for him in the equation. None.

  He walked up the porch steps and knocked.

  * * * *

  She couldn’t help but close her eyes and fall into the spell cast by his deep voice and wicked words. Arousal and a vicious hunger licked at her every cell, inflaming her. She could easily see the naughty image he conjured.

  “Now put yourself in place behind the blindfold again and you’re surrounded by sensations. Now, instead of two hands pleasuring, there are four worshipping your every curve. Instead of one desperately hungry mouth at your breast, there are two, one at the breast that aches so badly and another between your legs, devouring the sweetness gathering in your pussy as we take total control and bring you more pleasure than you could ever imagine existed. Two rock hard cocks, fierce and ready to fuck you into oblivion. Picture it.” His hands moved up and palmed her breasts as he described more explicit images. His thumbs rubbed lazy circles over her nipples, urging them into hard, sensitized points.

  “Lacey, what could be better than two friends working together to bring a woman to heights of pleasure she has never known before? I can think of nothing more sexy and intimate than lovers sharing their most uninhibited acts with each other.”

  Under his spell, she was ready to take matters into her own hands and unbutton his jeans, when a loud knock at the door broke through the arousal-induced fog clouding her brain.

  “That must be Parker, but let me double check, stay put.” Stay put? Like she had any choice? Because of his teasing, her legs had less strength than liquefied rubber. There was no way she could stand, let alone walk.

  Ryan looked out the window to verify that it was Parker and then let him in. As the two men stood next to each other, she had the fleeting thought that pairing them together should be illegal. Or, at the bare minimum, someone should stamp them with a panty-melting warning label.

  With Ryan’s tall, dark, and handsome vibe and Parker’s broad shoulders and alpha male stance, they were truly a lethal combination. She was a fairly articulate woman, but when you put these two men in front of her, she lost the ability of speech. She gave herself a mental pinch in the arm and forced herself to break out of her trance and speak up.

  “Hi, Parker. How are you? Have you found out anything about Ryan’s stalker?” She watched as he removed his dark sunglasses to look directly at her. His square jawline had a serious edge to it and the severity of his tone comforted her. This man lived and breathed his job.

  “I have the computer guys looking over the e-mails that have been sent to Ryan’s fan mail account as we speak. They seem to think that there may be some possibilities there. My ba
llistics guy said the casing they found was from a .308. It could be used in a variety of rifles and will be impossible to trace without the actual weapon it was fired from. In this part of the state, they are pretty popular with deer hunters so everyone and their grandfather has one.

  “How are you two holding up? I hope this hasn’t been too much of an upset for you, Lacey. I have your keys and I parked your car at your house. I contacted your supervisor and told them that you were participating in an investigation and would need some time off. She said to tell you not to worry that you had more than earned a vacation. If you make a list of things that you need I can pick them up for you this evening or tomorrow. Ryan, do you need me to get anything for you?”

  “No, I don’t need anything, but come on in here and at least get something to drink. It’s a long drive up here and I’d like for you two to get to know each other a little better.” She couldn’t help but wonder over the change in his tone as Parker came in to lean his shoulder against the doorframe to the kitchen.

  “Ryan, I’ve made the trip up here countless times, you know it’s not a problem. It’s a relief to get away from the traffic and craziness that plagues the city. It’s good thinking time but I shouldn’t stay long. I wanted to give you two a personal update and bring by that package you mentioned.”

  She wondered how much the worry over Ryan’s case had taken out of him. His eyes were bloodshot and dark circles lined the bottom of his blue eyes. Those tired eyes looked directly at Ryan and seemed to communicate some sort of silent guy speak. She wished there was something she could do to ease his burden. It tugged at her heart to see such a stouthearted man go it alone.

  Despite his denial she’d pour him a drink of iced tea, whether he wanted it or not. In the grand scheme of things it didn’t amount to anything useful, but she felt the need to do something.