by Vivian Lux
"Fucker," I hissed.
She nodded. "And since I'd always worked so hard to make other people happy, I wasn't even sure what it was I wanted." She traced her finger across the table. "But what I definitely did not want was a husband who came home from boys' night smelling like some other woman's perfume."
"Holy fuck."
"I threw my wedding ring into the gully between our properties," she declared with an evil grin. "Some days I wish I hadn't though. I could have sold that thing and bought myself a nicer delivery truck."
I was floored. "You just walked away?"
She nodded, then cocked her head. "You seem surprised."
"I'm not surprised," I confessed, lifting her fingers to my mouth. "I'm in awe of you. You've got bigger balls than I do."
Her eyes gleamed. "I'll take your word for it."
I swallowed hard and she must have caught the look of desire on my face because she lifted her chin. "You okay?" she challenged, licking her lips.
"I'm okay," I told her, brushing my fingers under her chin and tilting it upward. "As long as you're here."
She licked her lips again, adding a delicate sheen to the bee stung pinkness. Like a magnet, I felt myself pulled, and suddenly I was leaning across the table and kissing her.
She melted against me as I drank her sweetness in, long and slow. I stood up, still kissing her as I walked around the table to be closer to her, searching her mouth as I drew nearer.
Every nerve in my body seemed to be firing at once. I slipped my hand behind her neck, cupping the back of her head to draw her nearer. And Bee, sweet Bee, threw her hands around my neck in a way that made me want to do a victory lap around the building.
Fuck, she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I couldn't believe my fucking luck. She wanted my body against hers, she didn't hold back, and at that realization, my cock was suddenly pressing hard against my pants, everything tight and uncomfortable, straining towards her.
All at once I heard a noise. A strange one that made me pull back. I turned to see that Jackson was standing there watching us, his expression unreadable.
"I thought you might want dessert," Jackson drawled. "But I see you started without me."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jackson
Finn's lips curled up in a snarl. He looked at me and I lifted my chin in a challenge. No I'm not ready to give up the game, I told him in a glance. Not yet.
Did it bother me that he was kissing her? That she was kissing him? It should have, I'll tell you that much. I should have felt like now she was off limits, but for some reason, seeing the two of them entwined like that only made me want to try harder with her. Him kissing her wasn't a rejection, no. It was a fucking invitation.
Because the way she looked at me, with those heavy, sleepy, just-fucked eyelids slitting her shining eyes, well fuck, it only made me want to kiss her myself.
Finn leaped back from her, banging his knee on the underside of the table. "I'm going to look for that missing bottle of dry Riesling," he muttered in his haste to get away from me, probably to keep me from punching him in the face.
I got it. I appreciated it.
"I already checked the wine cellar," I said, as casual as can be. "It's not there.
"I'm looking anyway," he barked.
I watched him rush away with some amusement.
And then slid into the booth and took his place.
I looked at Bee. Her lips were parted, her cheeks flushed. Fuck, I liked seeing her like this. Even if I wasn't the one who made her this way, I could still fucking appreciate the effect. "Now," I told her. "I want your opinion on something."
She eyed me warily. Her cheeks were still pink and each little freckle stood out on her pale chest. And I'm not going to lie, my dick was as hard as a diamond. If she reacted this way to just Finn kissing her, how over the top would she be once I did?
And how incredible would she feel squirming against my tongue?
"About what?" she said again and I realized I'd never finished my sentence.
I leaned back in the booth. "The dessert menu," I told her.
Her eyes flashed with interest, but I could see that she was still holding back. "Please, sit down, I'm not going to bite." I told her with a grin. "Unless you want me to."
"Don't flatter yourself," she said archly.
"It's not flattery if it's the truth," I told her.
Her cheeks colored with angry heat, but she sat down anyway and I licked my lips trying not to lean forward and grab her by the face and claim her lips for myself.
Instead, I leaned back even more, trying to put some distance between us as I spoke. "I'm tweaking the dessert menu too," I told her. "Shall I bring out the tray?"
She pressed her lips together. I could almost see the mental arithmetic she was doing, calculating the precise mix of pleasure she would allow herself. When she finally nodded, I felt a burst of triumph in my chest.
I always did think of food as foreplay.
"I'll go grab it," I told her, standing back up again. Her eyes slid down my body and I could tell that she could see the shape of my cock through my pants. She looked away with an inadvertent squeak.
I was totally fucked for this girl, there was no escaping it.
I pulled the dessert tray from the refrigerator and hesitated. Desserts were my weakness, I’d be the first to admit it. Always had been. And there was no denying that I was showing off for Bee right now, trying to impress her, competing with Finn for her attention. So it would be silly of me to bring this out only to have her be disappointed.
But on the other hand, I really did believe she could teach me something I didn't already know. I trusted her opinion, especially when it came to baking.
And that was why I was already carrying it out to her before I really had time to think it through.
Finn had returned with a bottle of wine and already opened it and set it out on the table. He must have been off looking for stemware, because he was nowhere in sight, thankfully. I looked down and saw it wasn't the dry Riesling, but I didn't care when Bee looked up at me with those plump lips pursed in thought.
I grabbed the bottle of wine that sat on the table. Watching her, I lifted it to my lips, checking to see if she was going to object. She was watching me with wide eyes, but it didn't say a word, so I took a swig from the bottle. Fuck, I needed something to steady myself if she was going to keep looking up at me like that.
And then I set it down and placed the tray in front of her.
"Oh my God," she said, leaning forward with her eyes shining. "I think I've died and gone to heaven."
I grinned. "Here, try this first," I told her.
It was a simple panna cotta with fresh blueberries from one of the local farms. Nothing fancy. I scooped it up, spooning it up into her mouth. She licked her lips, eyeing me warily, but then leaned forward, too interested in tasting the dessert to defy me.
I swallowed as she closed her eyes. The fork slipped between her lips and I had to suppress a groan when I saw the way they closed tightly around it.
She held it in her mouth for a moment, licking her lips, and I reached out to swipe a fleck from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes fluttered open and she swallowed.
"In your professional opinion," I said slowly, and she blushed and reached for the wine bottle, eyeing me. "Tell me what you think."
She swallowed and licked her lips again. "Your balance is a little off," she said, slightly haughtily. "Two sweet.
I nodded slowly. "It's true. I like things that are sweet," I told her again. "But not too sweet."
She grinned. "You should sprinkle the top with Kosher salt," she said, licking her lips again.
A light bulb went off in my brain. "Brilliant," I said, leaning forward. "You're absolutely brilliant." She blushed even harder now, her whole face red. "Here, try it again to be sure." I reached out with the fork.
As she leaned forward, I leaned in too, catching the corner of her mouth with mine and brushin
g a quick kiss past her lips.
She looked up at me with wide brown eyes, startled, but not moving away.
I bent down, taking her face into my hands. Then I leaned in and kissed those full, sweet lips.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Bee
My brain was buzzing, like a live wire. Disbelief and confusion swirled around,
But above all that, there was excitement.
Jackson kissed differently from Finn. He was slower, more deliberate, like he wanted to take his time to taste me, while I had been certain Finn wanted to devour me whole. Jackson's fuller lips nibbled along my jawline to whisper against my ear before seeking my mouth again. Slow and sensuous while Finn's kiss had been hard and unyielding.
My eyes flew open as I suddenly realized what I was doing. Kissing one guy, then another? Comparing them?
What the hell was I doing?
Who was I?
Startled, I pulled back, feeling weak. Jackson watched me with careful eyes as I grabbed the wine bottle and swallowed deeply. He pressed his lips together, licking them once, and then looked troubled as he reached for the bottle to take a swig too. We both looked down at the table.
"I finally found the glasses," came a voice from beside us.
We both looked up, and I blushed to see that Finn was standing there. Had he seen? Did he think I was some kind of slut for kissing Jackson? When I had been kissing him only a moment ago?
What the hell had gotten into me?
Jackson nodded at Finn's words, and then held out the bottle of wine. "We figured out a workaround," he said, shrugging. Finn looked at it, and then grabbed it and upended it down his throat.
There was a beat of silence, electricity crackling through the air. I stared at them both and my breath quickened a little. Did they get sexier every single time I looked? Jackson with his dark halo of hair, olive skin, white teeth, beautiful smile. Finn with his golden glow, floppy hair, easy dimpled smile, snapping blue eyes. It was like they were a set. One light and one dark, a matched pair, perfectly composed like one of Jackson's dishes. Two extremes, and me caught in the middle wanting them both.
Kissing them both.
"What are we doing?" I breathed.
And then I suddenly realized I had said that aloud.
After a long moment, Jackson was the first speak. "You want to be with him," he said, nodding toward Finn. "Don't you? I see how you look at him."
I swallowed. What else was there to do but tell the truth? But I couldn't seem to make the words come, and instead I only nodded mutely.
Jackson nodded, his lip curling into something that wasn't a smile, but it wasn't snarl either. He took a quick swig from the wine bottle and then looked at me with through narrowed eyes. "Then kiss him," he said.
I gasped and swallowed hard. "You're asking me to kiss him... in front of you?
His voice was hoarse, thick. "Show me how much you want him," he said.
I looked at Finn, frightened, but excited too. He was standing there with his hands in his pockets and I ached with how badly I wanted him to touch me.
"You guys are best friends..." I started to say.
"We're a team," Finn interrupted.
Jackson's lip curled upward into a smile I didn't quite understand. "We don't compete when it comes to women...,” he said slowly, glancing between Finn and me. "So kiss him."
I reached over and snagged the bottle, slamming the bright, fruity wine down my throat without tasting it at all. My body hummed with the desire to kiss Finn and the wrongness of doing it in front of Jackson.
The dangerous, exquisite wrongness.
I stepped forward, and stood on my tiptoes. Finn's eyes were so blue they resembled sapphires or the deep waters of the ocean. Were they always that dark? Or had they changed? Was I drunk? I had to be because I was straining upward to reach him, my hand snaking around his neck and pulling him down to me.
When my lips met his, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and sighed, melting against him. He groaned against my lips, freeing his hands from his pockets to let them wander around the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. I gasped against his mouth when I felt his hardness stab into my stomach. Undeniable, unbelievable hardness that had my core clenching in a second. If his hands weren't on me, holding me up, I might have just dropped to the floor in a puddle. His tongue swirled with mine, rough and dominating, devouring my mouth and filling my senses with him. His woodsy smell, the taste of the wine, the feel of his body under his clothes, the heat that rose from his skin and his sounds... His sounds, the muffled noises he made in his throat as he kissed me so hard I thought I might pass out.
When I pulled back, gasping, spots swam in front of my eyes for a moment. I blinked to see that Finn was staring at me, eyes darting back and forth as he searched my face for a second. I could hear his question hanging in the air, but he didn't ask it. Instead he let his hands drop. Stepping back he lifted his chin. "Kiss Jackson now," he commanded.
I looked back to see that Jackson had been watching us the whole time. His fists were clenched at his sides, white showing at his knuckles, stark against his olive skin. But his face was calm, almost... intrigued. No not intrigued. Interested.
Fascinated.
And deeply turned on.
I shook my head, starting to protest in spite of myself. This was wrong. This wasn't how things... worked.
But Finn shook his head — calm, composed and completely in charge. "You want him too," he said, and it wasn't a question. "So kiss him. Make your decision," Finn ordered.
I turned to see that Jackson was staring at Finn, but his eyes dragged away, landing on mine.
When he stepped forward, I closed my eyes, waiting for the searing heat of his mouth on mine, and when it came what little was left of me seemed to melt away.
From outside of myself I heard Finn's thick voice rasping orders. "Hold her, Jackson," he commanded. "Kiss her like you mean it."
Jackson groaned against my mouth, his tongue swirling against mine. I heard the sound of breath hitching, but I didn't know if it was mine or his... or his. "You should see this," Finn said in a voice I barely recognized. "How flushed she is. I bet her toes are curling right now."
At that, Jackson pulled back. His eyes were dark, so dark there was no more iris left, and his breath was coming quicker. "I want to see that," he said, his voice filled with dangerous promise. He took my arm, spinning me around. "Kiss her again," he told Finn. "Make her toes curl."
I yelped a little, finding myself passed between them, like this was a game, like this was a fantasy.
Except it was very real. Dangerously real.
When Finn took me by the arms, pulling me flush against his body, I gave myself over to his kiss, his different kiss, and wondered what it meant about me that I could to kiss one man while another man's taste still lingered in my mouth.
And what's more, that I liked it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Finn
Kissing her was like falling off a cliff and figuring out you could fly all at the same time.
A fierce possessiveness, like I'd never felt before — a sort of raw, animal desire — burst in my chest. I growled into her mouth, clutching a fistful of her hair and yanking her head back to claim her mouth more deeply. Somewhere outside of myself, I heard another noise, a growl much like my own, and I pulled back, wrenching my lips away from hers and looked over to see Jackson watching, fists balled at his side, his eyes wide and wild.
I knew what he was feeling, because I could feel it myself. He wanted her.
I wanted her.
But what did she want?
I looked down at her. Her eyes were half lidded, as if she were in a kind of drugged and sleepy stupor. She sagged against me, and the feel her body, soft and compliant in my arms, sparked something inside of me.
"Kiss him again," I heard myself say.
Her eyelids fluttered. Was it confusion? Or was it something else? I wasn't certain. I h
ad no idea what I was doing passing her back to Jackson like this other than... Well...
I liked it.
When he took her again, pressing his mouth to hers, sliding his hand up around her neck, I could watch her face.
I couldn't see her face when I kissed her myself.
But this way, watching them, I could see her wild eyes and the way she let her shoulders fall back. I could see the way her hair brushed her shoulders, the way her hips arched forward in a sinuous line. I could feel her when I kissed her. I could smell her, taste her, hear her.
But I couldn't see her.
And somehow, even though I knew this was completely impossible, I wanted it.
Was impossible?
Because clearly it wasn't. It was happening right now. I had tasted her, and now I could see her. I could possess her with my mouth, and then devour her with my eyes as I watched her with Jackson.
It was the most amazing fucking thing I'd ever seen in my life.
"Kiss her," I said, barely recognizing my voice. "Harder," I told him.
She let out a whimper, which was answered by Jackson's angry growl. He yanked her hair back, pulling her in closer and sliding his hand down her back. I clenched and unclenched my hands, but they were still trembling as I watched this. My whole body was vibrating with the need for him to...
To keep going.
"Put your hands on her," I demanded.
"Where should I put my hands?" Jackson murmured against her mouth.
My fists opened and shut, tracing the lines of her body from way over here. "Touch her neck," I told him.
She gasped as he slid his hand around her soft neck, his hands drifting down to her shoulders. I groaned though my clenched teeth. "Now kiss lower," I said.
