Stately Pleasures

by Lucy Felthouse

  Determined not to dwell on that particular thought, as her mood was already bad enough, she moved closer to Jeremy’s door, ready to storm in and tear the two guys a new one. If they were in there, that was. She listened carefully on the other side of the door, firstly, to make sure at least one of them was in the room, and secondly, to ensure they weren’t engaged in a conference call or something. Slamming into the room if they were on the phone would be supremely embarrassing for everyone involved, and although her kinky tasks were complete, a stunt like that could easily make Jeremy change his mind about giving her a glowing reference. And quite rightly too.

  She quickly ascertained that both Jeremy and Ethan were in the office, and they weren’t talking on the telephone. They were, though, having a discussion that sounded somewhat heated.

  ‘Mate, come on. I know it’s a shit situation, but if we don’t tell her, she’ll never know.’ Ethan said.

  ‘Talk about stating the bloody obvious.’

  Ethan gave a sigh. ‘You know what I mean. If she never knows, how will we know if she feels the same? If things can continue?’

  ‘She could end up working hundreds of miles away. I know I can easily afford for us – and her – to travel to see each other, but it’s not the same as seeing her every day, spending quality time with her, is it? Even if she does feel that way, how could we possibly make it work? She might not want a long-distance relationship. Or any relationship, for that matter.’

  Alice didn’t hear Ethan’s response. She was too busy gaping. Unless she was quite mistaken, they were talking about her. Specifically, the possibility of the three of them having a long-distance relationship when she’d left the Manor. And they didn’t just mean sex. Not simply friends with benefits, but a proper, loving, three-way relationship.

  It sounded as though Jeremy and Ethan had just as many what-ifs going through their minds as she did hers. But that wasn’t the main part of the conversation her brain had latched on to. No, the element that was now bouncing around in the front of her mind was that, although neither of the men had spoken the actual words, they clearly felt the same way about her as she did about them. The startling realisation made her nauseous. Then angry. Why the fuck hadn’t they told her?

  After a beat, she realised that, if she thought about it, they had told her. Not in so many words, but in their actions. For the past eight and a bit months they’d put her through some pretty hair-raising tasks, but not once had they actually been horrible to her. Quite the opposite, in fact. They’d been increasingly caring, considerate, and when it came to her birthday, very extravagant. Yes, they were nice guys, but why would they have gone to all of that trouble if she was just a friend with benefits? There had to be more to it than that. Yet they hadn’t said the words out loud. And if Jeremy got his way, she’d leave Davenport Manor for good without them ever saying them. If she hadn’t been listening to their conversation, she’d never, ever know. She’d go through life thinking her feelings were one-sided. That she was just a bit of fun.

  What a bastard! Suddenly, fury rushed through her body and took over her rational mind. She crashed through the office door so forcibly that it whacked into the side of the filing cabinet next to it – but she didn’t care. She was livid. So livid it was a struggle to speak. Only when she saw the surprised looks on their faces was she spurred into speech.

  ‘What the fuck?’ she yelled. OK, so it wasn’t the most articulate or intelligent start to her rant, but it was a start. And now she couldn’t stop. ‘Don’t look so surprised, boys. I heard what you were saying. About me. About relationships and all that. Were you ever going to tell me?’ She aimed the last part at Jeremy – as she knew Ethan was all for it.

  Jeremy stepped out from behind his desk, hands held up as if in surrender. ‘Hey, Alice, calm down.’

  That was the worst thing he could have said. ‘Calm down? So you think I’m wrong to be upset, do you? Upset that the two of you have been keeping this from me for God knows how long?’

  Ethan moved to stand next to his friend, put a hand on his shoulder. They exchanged a look, and Jeremy gave a small nod. With that, Ethan moved forward and took Alice’s hands in his. ‘Look, Alice. If you’re angrier at Jeremy than you are at me, you obviously heard the part about me wanting to tell you. I’ve always wanted to tell you – ever since we started feeling this way. But –’ he held her hands tighter ‘– to be fair, you’ve been keeping your own feelings quiet too, haven’t you?’

  Alice opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She didn’t know what to say. He was right, of course. She’d been so pissed off to discover that they loved her like she loved them that she’d forgotten what a hypocrite she was being. She could have told them first, and she hadn’t. But she had a good reason.

  ‘Y-yes. But to be fair, I was just protecting myself. I thought you two would laugh me into the middle of next week if I told you how I felt. I mean, come on. Look at me. And then look at the two of you. There’s no comparison, is there?’ Suddenly, the emotion she was feeling overwhelmed her, and she bowed her head so they couldn’t see her face when the inevitable tears began to fall.

  Jeremy stepped forward so fast Alice could have sworn he flew. He pulled her hands from Ethan’s and yanked her to stand in front of him, then put a hand beneath her chin and lifted her head.

  ‘Alice!’ He looked furious, and she was suddenly very glad that Ethan was there, because Jeremy was scaring her. ‘What the fuck are you talking about? There’s no comparison? Between us and you?’ He sighed heavily, wiping away the tears that streamed down Alice’s face. ‘God, I don’t know who it was who battered your self-esteem so badly, but I’d like to have words with them. Seriously, believe me. Believe us. No matter what you think about yourself – and we’ll do everything in our power to help you change that – there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Nothing. You’re beautiful, intelligent, funny, fun to be around. And sexy. God, are you sexy. Ah –’ he held up a finger ‘– no arguments. That’s our opinion, and we’re entitled to it, OK?’

  He didn’t look furious any more, thankfully. But he still didn’t look happy, so she nodded. Then she nodded harder because the meaning of his words had really sunk in. It didn’t matter whether she thought she was good enough for them or not – they loved her anyway. She glanced over to see Ethan bobbing his head earnestly – he agreed with every word his best friend had just said.

  ‘Just to clarify, Alice. To be absolutely sure we’re on the same page … we love you.’ Ethan said.

  Feeling heat burning her cheeks, she swiped the remaining tears from her face and opened her mouth before she lost her nerve. ‘I love you too. Both of you. At first I didn’t understand how I could love both of you. Then I came to terms with it – but I was still too scared to tell you. And the closer to me leaving it got, the harder it became. I think … I was going to leave without telling you.’

  Jeremy squeezed her hands and fixed her with a meaningful stare. ‘See, Alice? You’re just as bad as us. Well, me, anyway. Ethan’s a braver man than me. He was trying to make me see that distance didn’t matter – that we’d make it work, somehow. If you felt the same, that was.’ He took a breath. ‘Well, I guess we have that question answered, at least. But there are many more we’ll have to figure out, to be together. We know you won’t give up your career to stay here, and we wouldn’t dream of asking you to. Have you got something else lined up yet, Alice? I haven’t had any requests for references.’

  ‘You’re right – I’ve worked my arse off to get here, and I’m not going to stop now. Plus, can you actually see me as the housewife type? I’d be bored stiff. Anyway, I have applications out there, but no interviews yet. It seems people don’t like to leave these kinds of jobs once they have them. I may have to do something else while I wait for someone to retire, or die!’

  The three of them laughed. Seconds later, Alice was immersed in the delicious scent of male as Jeremy and Ethan enveloped her in a hug. She sighed happily, almost d
elirious in the knowledge that they loved her too. Finally, they were all on the same page. But they had a lot to work out first. She’d applied for positions at two properties within an hour’s travelling distance of Davenport Manor – but they couldn’t pin all their hopes on her getting one of those roles. They had to prepare for the worst.

  The phone on Jeremy’s desk rang, startling them all from their display of emotion and their separate thoughts. Jeremy pressed a kiss to Alice’s hair before disentangling himself from the embrace. He cleared his throat and reached over to pick up the handset.

  ‘Jeremy Davenport speaking. How may I help you?’

  Alice stifled a giggle. It was amazing how he’d gone from being so … well, human, to a consummate professional almost in the blink of an eye. She looked at Ethan, who also sported an amused expression. He ruffled her hair and let her go, and they waited for Jeremy to finish his phone call so they could continue their conversation. Alice was impatient – she wished the caller would bugger off so the three of them could get things sorted. It had been difficult enough for them to get to this stage; it was going to take lots more effort to work out what the hell happened next.

  Alice didn’t even pretend not to listen to Jeremy’s end of the telephone call. Though he wasn’t saying very much at all. He was nodding a great deal, and muttering lots of “OK”s and “I understand”s – but whatever the caller was saying to him was obviously pretty shocking, as his face had lost all its colour. His eyes grew wider and wider, until Alice began to worry they’d pop right out of his head. Even more worryingly, it looked as though he was receiving some bad news.

  ‘It’s fine, honestly, Erin. Of course, we’ll miss you desperately, but there are certainly no hard feelings from my perspective. Just don’t be a stranger, OK?’

  Alice’s heart pounded. She tried hard not to jump to conclusions, but it was impossible. It sounded like Erin had exercised her right to extend her maternity leave. If memory served, that would probably be to the maximum 12 months. Which meant … she had another three months at Davenport Manor! She no longer had doubts about whether they’d want her to stay – shocked as she still was that they felt the same, she believed they were telling the truth. Because why the hell would they lie?

  Jeremy concluded his phone call. Alice noticed his hand trembling as he lowered the handset back into its cradle. God, if she hadn’t heard his half of the conversation, she’d have thought someone had died, or something. So why was he so shocked? It wasn’t as if he was going to be left without a property manager for three months, was it?

  Jeremy leant against the edge of his desk and rubbed his hands over his face, then raked his fingers through his hair. Alice’s own fingers ached to smooth the mussed locks back into place. Particularly as he now looked as though he needed some comforting.

  The silence was deafening. She glanced across at Ethan, who was looking expectantly at his friend. She knew he’d have realised what was going on – he was a bright guy, and if she’d worked it out, he would have too.

  Eventually, Jeremy spoke. It was clearly an effort for him to get the words out. And it was only when he’d finished speaking that Alice realised why. ‘That was Erin.’ Nobody pointed out that he was stating the obvious – they’d heard that much. ‘She’s, uh, she’s not coming back.’

  ‘In a fortnight?’ Ethan’s face brightened. ‘What, she’s going for the full 12 months’ leave? That’s great! It means we get to keep Alice for longer!’ He grabbed Alice and swung her round, laughing and pressing kisses to her face and hair.

  ‘N-no,’ Jeremy replied. He cleared his throat, and spoke more firmly. ‘I mean, she’s not staying away another three months. She just phoned to hand in her notice. She’s not coming back at all. She’s decided she wants to be a stay-at-home mum. I’ll ask if she’d make it official by sending me a letter, but it seems as though we’re now in the market for a new property manager.’

  Not for the first time that day, Alice’s mouth gaped. Realising how unattractive it probably made her look, she snapped it shut and attempted to get her thoughts in order. ‘God, I can’t believe it. I thought she loved her job – and I can certainly understand why.’

  ‘Well,’ Jeremy replied, a smile tugging at his lips, ‘it seems motherhood has changed her. And although I shall miss her, I certainly respect her decision.’ He turned to his friend. ‘So, Ethan, I suppose we’re on the lookout for a replacement. Do you know anyone that might be suitable for the role?’

  Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘Well, I seem to remember there were a couple of hopefuls when we interviewed for the maternity cover. Perhaps we could give them a call.’

  Alice knew damn well that they were winding her up, but she couldn’t stop herself. ‘Hey! You’ll do no such fucking thing. I’m right here, you know. And now I know you need a permanent property manager, you’re never getting rid of me!’

  Jeremy and Ethan laughed at her indignant tone.

  ‘We’re just teasing you, Alice. Are you mad? Did you really think we’d send you away now? Knowing how we feel about you, and with Erin not coming back?’ Jeremy said, flashing her a smile. ‘You’re not going anywhere, missy. It seems we have a lot to sort out. Both professionally and personally.’

  ‘Personally?’ She gulped. She knew work-wise he meant dull paperwork and stuff, but personally? What did he want to change in their private life? Weren’t things good as they were?

  ‘Yes, Alice, personally. What are your thoughts on doing some renovation?’

  Now she was even more confused. What the hell did any kind of work on the house have to do with her? Unless he wanted her to help him sort out the planning permission. But that made no sense …

  ‘Oh for God’s sake, Alice! What do you think I’m on about? I mean knocking our three bedrooms into one! Walk-in wardrobes, a bigger en suite, and, most importantly, a bigger bed.’ He wiggled his eyebrows saucily. ‘We might even use it to sleep, sometimes.’

  Alice walked over to give him a playful swipe. She never got the chance. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her so she was pressed up against him. With his free hand he gripped her chin and captured her lips in a smouldering kiss that turned her pussy molten within seconds. She succumbed to him, returning his kiss for a minute or so before pulling away and murmuring, ‘That sounds like a perfect plan to me. In fact, I can’t think of anything better.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ Jeremy said. ‘We’ve waited for you for a very long time, and we hated the thought of having to let you go. Now we don’t have to, I’m a very, very happy man.’

  ‘That makes two of us,’ Ethan said from close behind her. She turned in Jeremy’s arms to face her other lover, reached up and slipped her arms around his neck. He bent and kissed her, his skilful lips and tongue sending her pussy into a complete meltdown.

  Sandwiched between the two sweetest, kindest, most attractive men she’d ever met, Alice sent her heartfelt thanks to whatever deity might be listening. She was the luckiest girl in the damn world.

  ‘Hey, Alice,’ Jeremy murmured into her ear.

  She didn’t pull away from Ethan. Instead she made a “uh-huh?” noise into his mouth, knowing Jeremy would hear it.

  ‘I love you.’

  That stopped her in her tracks. She pulled away from Ethan and looked at Jeremy over her shoulder. Grinning, she said, ‘I love you too.’ Then she turned back to Ethan. ‘And I love you.’

  Ethan’s dimples appeared, more pronounced than ever. ‘I love you too, Alice.’

  ‘Wow.’ Jeremy trailed his hands up and down the fabric that covered Alice’s stomach. ‘That wasn’t so hard, was it? Why on earth didn’t we say it before?’

  Now it was Ethan’s turn to take a playful swipe at his friend. ‘For fuck’s sake, mate, that’s what I’ve been telling you! It all worked out perfectly, and then good old Erin went and put the cherry on top of our perfect threesome cake, didn’t she?’

  ‘She sure did. And you know what? I couldn’t be ha
ppier. I am deliriously, sickeningly happy.’ Alice sighed, easing herself out of their grasp. ‘And now I have to go and work through the emails in my inbox. I can’t just leave them for Erin, now, can I?’

  ‘You’ll do no such thing,’ Jeremy said, pulling her back onto him and pressing his erection into her arse crack. ‘We’ve just had something seriously important happen, and I think we should mark the occasion.’

  ‘I second that motion,’ Ethan said, leaning in for another kiss.

  Alice closed her eyes and let the moment take her. They were right: something major had just happened. And her emails could wait – she had for ever to take care of them.

  For ever. The thought both thrilled and terrified her. She’d never thought about for ever with a man before, much less two of them. And with the perfect job and a beautiful home thrown in too. She was indeed blessed.

  She abandoned all thought and reason as Ethan’s lips met hers, and just concentrated on the physical sensations. And they were plentiful. When his tongue sought hers, she poured every iota of passion she had into kissing him back. Jeremy’s teeth nibbling the side of her neck multiplied her arousal many-fold, and she moaned loudly.

  ‘Fuck, Alice.’ Ethan pulled away. ‘You drive me crazy. You know, in the good way.’ He grabbed her wrist and pressed her hand to his crotch.

  She couldn’t help the blush that came to her cheeks. But she ignored it, and cupped and stroked the hard cock beneath her hand. Pushing her arse back and rolling her hips meant she was stimulating two delicious and eager pricks at the same time.

  Jeremy growled, reaching up to cup her ample breasts. ‘You sexy little wench. It’s hardly surprising we’re under your spell, is it?’ He pinched her nipples almost brutally, and she squealed and writhed beneath his touch. Then she clamped a hand to her mouth, remembering that the door was open, and that anyone could hear them.