Magic of Three

by Jenna Castille

  “Sounds like a plan,” Lisa replied, turning her concentration back to her own workout, cutting him out.

  Janice leaned over and gave him a triumphant thumbs-up. A strange friend, not who he would’ve pictured for Lisa but a nice person to have on his side. He’d have to take a look into her life, see how much of a help she could be when it came time to reveal everything to Lisa and make sure nothing ugly waited ahead for her.

  Deciding to leave well enough alone for now, having achieved his small victory, he concentrated on running. He’d make sure to follow Lisa out, trade numbers and talk some more later.

  * * * * *

  Lisa’s hair dripped with sweat, hanging lank around her face. Her t-shirt stuck to her body and she didn’t even want to think about the sweat spots growing on her shorts and shirt. And here was tall, dark and handsome personified walking her to her car.

  Fate had a sick sense of humor.

  Still, she gave him a bright smile as he held open the door for her. He might believe that his friend Tim made a woman feel at ease, but he was no slouch. Traditional manners practically dripped off him. Her stomach might be taking turns churning and tying in knots but it had nothing to do with nerves. More to do with hormones, and both guys could pull that out of a woman. Just the mixture of sweat and rich cologne sent her imagination flying.

  And she was going out on a date with not one but two gorgeous men at the same time. The kind of men that made her fingers itch and her panties wet. She wondered how Julian would bring it up to Tim. Did the threesome thing just fall into place, nothing said, everything understood? She didn’t think she’d misread the situation, but how did you ask a guy you’re going out with if he has a boyfriend? And how were you expected to treat the boyfriend when he goes out with you both?

  Maybe she would need some info on ménage etiquette after all.

  As she walked out of the gym she heard a sharp whistle pierce the air, followed by what sounded like, “Whoa, baby, like to get me some of that.”

  A group of college-age guys hanging around the entrance preened and leered. All strong and cocky, they were intimidating in a mob mentality sort of way. Had Julian not been with her she’d have given them a wide berth, maybe even crossed the street. It was the type of group that reeked of trouble. Instead she only took a step closer to Julian as they passed.

  The guys said something, eyeing her and another woman entering the gym. She couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but Julian stood straighter and glared with a scalding fury in their direction. The other men laughed and raised their hands in the air, playing off whatever it was as fun and games.

  Eyes narrowed with contempt and a muscle in his jaw twitching, Julian didn’t look amused.

  “What did they say?” she asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her. She knew it wouldn’t be anything good. No way those jerks were saying nice things. Call it morbid curiosity. Also, she wondered what it took to piss him off.

  “They were being asses,” he replied, still glaring as the group started staring at another woman leaving the gym. He took her elbow and pulled her securely to his side.

  A warm glow filled Lisa, one she didn’t want to define. “That much I could tell, but how were they being asses?”

  Julian’s shoulders relaxed but his posture stayed alert. “They’re rating the women as they go in and leave.”

  Lisa raised an eyebrow, looking back at the group now crowing as an older, rotund woman walked by. “How exactly are they doing it?”

  “Do you really want to know?” he asked. Lisa gave him a pointed stare. He sighed, tucking her arm through his and moving her away from trouble. “They’re giving women numbers as they walk by. If it’s a low number they laugh about it. Toss around some insults. If it’s high they talk about what they’d like to do with her.”

  “Really?” Lisa asked, feeling morose. “And how did they rate me?”

  “Lower than I would, but higher than I’m comfortable with. They stopped before going into the comment stage.” He smirked, his mature face taking on a hint of a boyish look as he puffed up. “Guess I scared them.”

  “Too bad,” Lisa said, glancing over her shoulder again to watch a bit more of their cruel antics. “I’d like to know what they’d say.”

  “Would you really?”

  Lisa shrugged, wondering. She didn’t need other people to validate her self-image. That had been one of her ex’s hang-ups, not hers. He’d wanted one of those svelte model types. So what if she was a little heavier and curvier than was fashionable. But she wasn’t overweight and had a nice figure. She’d never lacked for male attention anyway. So why did she care about a group of men she wasn’t interested in and would never see again?

  As they reached Lisa’s car Julian stepped closer, crowding her. She looked up, ready to slap him down, when she saw the twinkle in his eye. He ducked forward slowly. “I could give you my own opinion if you’d like,” he whispered, his warm lips a hairsbreadth away from her own.

  Lisa leaned a hip against her car door, thanking god she’d picked up a rental on the way over. She twirled a lock of hair through her fingers as she met his gaze. “Would that be a good idea?”

  “It would be a good evaluation,” he promised. “Much higher than those boys gave.”

  “Oh?”

  Julian reached up and pushed her hair away from her face, grasping her fidgeting hand and placing it on his chest. She resisted the urge to run her fingers across his warm, sweaty, hard flesh. “I wouldn’t have asked you out if I didn’t think highly of you. You’re a beautiful woman. I don’t need to tell you that. You also seem like a kind person, ambitious, maybe even loyal. I’m looking forward to learning more about you.”

  “Really?” Lisa asked, cringing at the wispy, wistful sound of her voice and one-word responses.

  “Really.” Julian gave her another bone-melting grin. “It might have taken your friend’s interference, but I’m glad you agreed to have dinner with me.”

  Lisa swallowed. Dark desires, so out of place in the bright light of day, tempted and tormented her. Her heart twittered as she dove into uncharted waters asking, “And Tim?”

  Julian blinked, the only sign that her question took him by surprise. “And Tim, if you feel at ease with that.”

  Her body trembled but she had to ask, had to know. “Is Tim that close of a friend? Best buds since forever?”

  With a chuckle, he leaned back slightly, giving her room to breathe. He reached forward, cupping her chin and running his thumb along her bottom lip, leaving a tingling heat behind. “Why don’t you ask what you really want to know? That isn’t the question I see spinning in your mind.”

  “Is he your friend or something more?” she whispered, feeling like an idiot for asking. But the curiosity was killing her. She needed to understand what she was getting herself into, needed to know how many fantasies she might be fulfilling.

  Julian leaned closer again, his hand combing back through her hair, fanning the spark of arousal. His whisper sent shivers dancing through her body. “Something more.”

  “Then why me?” she gasped, resisting the urge to curl her body into his. “Why the date?”

  “Because something more isn’t always enough,” he said. He looked directly in her eyes, opening his soul to her. “I love Tim, if that’s what you’re asking. We’ve been together for a couple of years now. Lovers.”

  “So you’re gay,” Lisa said, body sagging as an acute feeling of loss filled her. A committed couple looking for something more went way beyond two guys who shared women, or even bisexuals who had occasional flings. Either more or heartrendingly less. “Do you need someone, a woman, as some kind of cover to stay in the closet? Because if that’s the game I’m not that woman.”

  “Not at all. Neither one of us have ever been the type to stay locked in a closet. I’m interested in you.” He ran the tip of his finger up her arm. “I’m not gay.”

  “B…bisexual?”

  “You r
eally believe in knowing everything up front,” Julian chuckled, running both hands up and down her arms. “Yes, bisexual. Equal opportunity love and pleasure. You interest me, attract me. You got the same reaction from Tim.”

  “You figured that out from a short meeting in my restaurant?” she asked, still amazed at the turn of the conversation. She’d suspected he and Tim were more than just friends and wanted more from her. Hell she’d known it in her gut. But to hear him matter-of-factly confirm it still managed to shock her. “You guys work quick.”

  Julian smirked, angling his body closer. His nearness kindled feelings she hadn’t expected, not so quickly. A deep, wild longing. She could feel his warmth over that of the blistering afternoon sun but he didn’t touch her. Only his hands caressed her skin, teasing her with his presence. “For myself, yes. I figured that out the moment I first saw you,” he confessed. “For Tim it might have been from meeting you at work.”

  Oh please let the sky fall now and put me out of my misery. “He told you about that?”

  “He told me about meeting an amazing woman at work.” Julian gave her a smile that set her pulse racing. “Then, to his amazement, there she was the next day at the restaurant I decided to take him to.”

  Lisa tried to laugh off her discomfort, seeking refuge in emotional distance since physical distance was impossible. “Surprises all around, I guess.”

  “Good ones, I hope.”

  “We’ll see.” Lisa managed to look him in the eyes. Where she got the nerve she couldn’t say. “So what now? Planning on sharing me? Playing rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to keep me or who gets first dibs?”

  Julian’s expression took on a predatory glint, sharpening his craggy features. “I’ve always been a passionate believer in sharing. Why should only one person reap the benefits?”

  Lisa broke eye contact, looking for an avenue for escape. But how could she escape from her own arousal, her own rampant desires? The warm metal of her car door grew slick under her sweaty palms. “Okay…I’m getting a little out of my depths here,” she admitted.

  “And you don’t need to decide anything right now,” he answered, stepping back ever so slightly. Lisa took a deep breath, peeling her hands off the car. Julian reached forward with a crooked finger, nudging her chin up. When she met his gaze, her own filled with confusion and conflicted emotions, he continued. “That’s what the date’s for. Getting to know you. You getting to know us. Details come later. First let’s see if we all get along. Okay?”

  Lisa didn’t know what to say. Her mind flew in so many different directions she couldn’t latch onto a single thought. Even after her talk with Janice she hadn’t imagined this situation would come up. She wanted to know more. Hell, her thighs tingled every time she looked at Julian. At the same time this addition of Tim to the equation lingered on the other side of the forbidden.

  But did she really need to decide now? Julian stared at her, his eyes beseeching. Could she say no to a simple date? Did she have to walk away?

  “One date?” she asked, floundering under the sudden brightening of his expression. “No promises?”

  “No promises,” Julian replied, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. Barely a brush of lip on lip but it rocked Lisa to her core. “Get your cell and program in my number.”

  She fumbled for the door handle behind her, afraid to break away from him and lose the feeling of connection. “What about you?”

  “You have a pen?”

  She reached in her car, scrambling around in the middle console. It took a few moments of rummaging for her to find a pen beneath the mass of junk. Julian took it from her and raised his forearm. “Shoot.”

  Lisa rattled off her number and he wrote it on his skin. She smirked.

  “What?”

  Lisa shrugged, holding in a chuckle. “Just a high school flashback.”

  “Hey, if something works, stick with it.” He shot a playful wink before he tossed the pen back to her. “Now your turn.”

  Lisa pulled out her cell and programmed in the number he gave her. “That’s my home number. With our shifts, either Tim or I are usually home. If not, it’s forwarded to my cell. Day or night you can reach me there.”

  “So if I have spur of the moment second thoughts, I can get you?” she asked, half joking, as she chewed on her lower lip.

  “Nope, no second thoughts.” He pulled her into his arms, reached up and tapped a finger against the tip of her nose. “I won’t answer the phone for second thoughts. And you don’t seem like the type to stand a guy up. You’d call first. So get that whole ‘second thoughts’ thing out of your mind.”

  Lisa felt a goofy grin cover her face but couldn’t seem to shake it. Damned if the man didn’t know her pretty well already. “Aye, aye, sir. No second thoughts, sir.”

  “See, you’ve already got the whole taste of this relationship down pat.” He looked over her shoulder, mentally ticking off the possibilities. “Sir, I like that.”

  Lisa shoved his shoulder, pushing him away from her. Arms akimbo, she gave him a mock glare. “If this is going to be a relationship, don’t get too used to it. I don’t play that whole male dominant game anymore.”

  Julian gave a wickedly evil grin, wiggling his eyebrows and twirling an imaginary mustache. “Shoot. I love playing games, especially in the bedroom. And that was one of my favorites, even if I usually have to play rock-paper-scissors to pick who gets to be the dominant male. Oh well, guess we’ll have to work on finding out what games you like to play best.”

  “That all depends on who I get to play with,” she tossed back at him, leaning against her doorframe with arms crossed and watching the lust tighten his body. Good, glad I’m not the only one. She glanced down, couldn’t resist the temptation of a quick peek at his growing erection.

  “That’s the nice thing about being with me and Tim,” he whispered, pulling her back in his embrace. “You always get a choice of playmates.”

  Lisa looped one arm around the corded muscles of waist and the other hand around his neck. “And if I don’t want to choose?”

  “Hell, that’s even better,” he murmured moments before sealing her mouth with his.

  Lisa shivered as pure electric lust flowed through her body, charging her as much as sticking her finger in an electric socket would have. She whimpered, arching forward and clutching him closer as her knees shook. Her nipples tingled, peaked and ached beneath the soft cotton of her sports bra.

  The exotic taste of him, dark spice, filled her mouth and dimmed all other sensation. She wanted to wrap herself in his taste, wallow in it, let him suck her into the dark maelstrom of drugging desire. She felt his presence throbbing into her with each heartbeat, bringing her closer to her greatest fear and greatest desire.

  Total loss of control.

  He groaned into her mouth as she slipped her tongue between his lips to lap at his mouth, gather that flavor to savor. He shuddered in her arms, shoving and pressing her against the doorframe as his own legs trembled.

  She purred as he slid his tongue into the recesses of her mouth, exploring her, luxuriating in her. He matched her thrust for thrust, an imitation of what they both wanted—his cock pounding in her hot, wet, aching pussy.

  Finally lack of air had her pulling back. Lisa panted, closing her eyes and leaning against his hard chest to fight the dizzying spins flying through her head. What am I getting myself into? She heard the rumble close to his heart before he bellowed in laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” she whispered into his t-shirt, unable to gather enough energy after his mind-blowing kiss to act insulted.

  “I’m going to have a hard time keeping my hands off you, love,” he replied as he rested his chin on the crown of her head. He held her close, rubbing her back as though he couldn’t bear to release her, to take his hands off her. “Tim’ll be hopeless. He’s never been good at resisting temptation. And you’re more than a simple temptation.”

  Lisa took a moment to enjoy the contact, snug
gling into him and absorbing his strength instead of pulling away. “Then it’ll be up to me to keep the two of you in line,” she teased.

  Again his steely chest shook beneath her cheek. “That sounds interesting,” he said between laughs. “What’ll you be wearing? Something lacy and clingy, or are we talking a black leather and whip moment?”

  Lisa chuckled, enjoying his quirky humor in spite of herself. “You are a bad, bad man. What am I getting myself into?”

  “I believe I’m the one trying to get into something.” She pulled out of his arms, mock disgust on her face. Julian smirked. Lisa grinned back. “But enough innuendos for now. Time to get you ready for work, so you can make sure you have tomorrow evening off.”