Not Just Business

by J Cartwright

  I knew that it would be much worse once the guys were together, but in time, I would get over myself.

  “All set?” Chris asked, walking over to meet me.

  To my surprise, he pulled me close, those huge arms of his tugging me into a tight embrace. The warmth of his body sent a shiver of excitement through me, his scent washing over me.

  “Sure,” I practically moaned, the tingling warmth between my legs making me squirm. “What’s the plan?”

  He took a step back and I almost threw myself at him, but somehow I maintained control.

  “No idea,” he chuckled, a smile spreading across his handsome face. “You know what Taylor’s like. He won’t have a clue what to do with us when we arrive.”

  I can think of a thing or two I’d like him to do to us.

  The thought ran wild in my head, the image of the guys tearing at my clothing, spiraling out of control as my imagination took over. My breath caught in my throat and I knew I was blushing, but thankfully Chris didn’t seem to notice.

  “Yeah, he can be a bit of an impulsive nightmare.”

  Nodding, Chris hooked his arm around mine and led me over to his car.

  “You’re telling me,” he said. “Seriously, he’s always been like it. I don’t think there is any controlling that man.”

  Grinning to myself I stepped into his car, feeling warm and flushed.

  I’d never really asked them much about their time together in the past, but now seemed like the perfect time.

  “How did you guys end up getting so close?” I asked when Chris sat down beside me.

  He glanced at me and smiled, the warmth in his eyes doing things to me that made me want him more.

  “That’s a long story,” he said slowly, starting the car.

  “We’ve got time haven’t we?”

  He shrugged and pulled out into the road, heading to join Taylor.

  “Yeah, guess you’re right. It was at our first job together and we absolutely hated each other. He was brash and over confident, and I was the planner. Our boss clearly saw the potential in throwing us together, so that’s what he did…”

  “Didn’t go well then?” I asked after a brief pause.

  Chris laughed, the noise so full of energy and warmth that it made me wriggle where I sat.

  “You can say that again. We locked horns and I hated every second of it. It wasn’t until our boss pulled us both up in a disciplinary meeting that we had to take things seriously. Once that happened, we managed to figure a thing or two out, and then we both realized we were stronger together.”

  I could see it now, the two guys much younger, not seeing how good they could be together. They were different ends of the spectrum, each of them completing the other, but I could see how it would take them time to figure that out.

  “Sounds fun,” I giggled, picturing them at war.

  “That’s not exactly how I’d describe it, but I’m glad we figured it out.”

  “So am I.”

  He cocked his head and looked at me curiously before focusing on the road again. There was something in that look, something I wanted to know more about, but I couldn’t pluck up the courage.

  There were so many things I wanted to say to these two gorgeous men, but I knew I never would. As much as I wanted to explore with them and just have a good time for once in my life, I kept it to myself, staring straight ahead.

  Chapter 12

  Chris

  When Taylor first sent the message I felt my head jolt. It was exactly what I wanted, but I didn’t think Emma would actually take him up on the offer.

  It was getting late already and she’d cleary had a crappy time on her blind date, something that Taylor had been teasing her about non stop since finding out.

  When she replied and said she was up for it, things went wild in my mind. It was just the three of us hanging out, but I’d come to love those evenings we spent together outside of work.

  They’d become a bit of a regular thing, and the time we spent away from the office felt different, more intimate somehow. Those feelings I had for Emma were growing by the day, but somehow what I felt for Taylor was transforming.

  Deep down I knew I needed to get over this. Clearly I wanted a relationship and that was all it was. I didn’t actually want Emma or Taylor, or so I told myself. I just wanted to meet someone and enjoy their company.

  “Nearly there,” I said, glancing at Emma out of the corner of my eye.

  She was as beautiful as ever, that familiar ache building up inside of me. A part of me wanted to pull up the car and confess how I was feeling, but I needed to keep it all to myself.

  A few short minutes later and we were pulling up outside of Taylor’s place.

  I parked the car on the drive and then climbed out, walking quickly around to the other side of the car, and opened the door for Emma.

  “Why thank you sir,” she giggled, her eyes bright as she stepped out. “First class service.”

  She added the last bit with a wink that made my blood boil.

  What is it about her that gets me going so much?

  “Don’t go getting used to it,” I teased, walking beside her as we made our way to join Taylor.

  “Took you guys long enough,” Taylor said as we approached the front door.

  He leaned out and grinned at us both, his eyes lingering on me for a second longer than I was used to.

  I figured I was just reading into things, but I couldn’t help but wonder if my revelation had triggered something. He didn’t seem put off at all by it, if anything, he seemed excited.

  “Hey, you’re the one who invited us over last minute,” I growled, shoving playfully past him.

  Throwing his arm over Emma’s shoulders, he led her inside. “Go on then, tell us how much of a disaster it was.”

  Chuckling to myself, I walked into the lounge, followed closely by Taylor and Emma.

  Taylor’s place was huge and lavish, exactly what I expected from him. He’d always had a dream of owning a big place, and now that dream had come true.

  The decorations were sparse, but everything looked immaculate.

  “The guy was just so dull,” Emma was explaining as she walked in. “If it’s possible to sleep with your eyes open, then this evening I mastered the trick.”

  “You should probably teach Taylor that,” I said, making them both laugh.

  Taylor shook his head and walked in the direction of the kitchen, turning to look at us both before disappearing.

  “Drinks?”

  We nodded and then he was gone, leaving me alone with Emma.

  “A few bad dates isn’t anything to feel bad about,” I pointed out. “Blind dates especially!”

  Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Emma sighed. “Yeah, I know, I was just hoping I might meet someone to help take my mind off things.”

  “Brad?”

  She looked at me and then nodded, but there was a moments hesitation. Something else was bothering her.

  “What else is it?” I asked, seizing on as soon as I saw the uncertainty.

  Her blue eyes gleamed as they met mine, her frown so cute that it made my heart race.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, but I knew she was lying. “Just a bit tired and worn out I guess.”

  “We’ll make you a deal,” Taylor said loudly before walking back into the lounge. “If you don’t find anyone good to date, then we’ll take you out on one.”

  He walked over to Emma and handed her a drink, and then came to sit beside me.

  I looked across at where she was sitting and saw the sudden excitement in her expression. She liked the idea.

  “Yeah? At the same time or is this some kind of competition?”

  Taylor turned to grin at me and then looked back toward Emma. “How do you want it?”

  His voice was so charming that it made me tremble. Every inch of me burned with desire and it was driving me wild.

  “I’ll have to think about that,” she giggled, taking
a long swallow of her drink. “Not sure I could cope with you both at the same time.”

  That only made the image in my mind worse. The idea of the three of us together was more tempting than anything else I’d ever wanted.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll go easy won’t we Chris?”

  “Do you know the meaning of the word?” I shot back, turning to look at him.

  He didn’t look away, holding my gaze for the longest time. The heat between us felt like an inferno, and for the first time in my life I had to really stop myself leaning in and kissing him.

  “Can you imagine?” Emma laughed, staring across at us. “We’d be the talk of the office.”

  She seemed to find it amusing, but at least she wasn’t completely turned off by it.

  As soon as she asked the question though, I couldn’t help but worry about what Taylor might say.

  “I’m sure it would be worth a little gossip,” he purred. “All good things come with a price, and we’d certainly be better than these stupid blind dates you’ve been going on.”

  He turned his attention on Emma now, fixing his eyes on her. Her lips trembled, her cheeks flushing red as he looked at her, and I knew she didn’t know what to say.

  Suddenly things were spiraling out of control, and I needed to get Taylor back on track before he said anything else.

  “Behave,” I said, nudging him lightly in the ribs. “You’ll give the poor girl nightmares.”

  She forced a smile, but there was something deadly serious in the way she looked at us. She wasn’t disgusted, she wasn’t afraid, she was tempted.

  Chapter 13

  Taylor

  “Come on! You saw the way she was looking at us when I was talking about the three of us being together!”

  It didn’t seem to matter what Chris saw, I couldn’t get through to him.

  After my little tease about us all being together, about good things coming with a price, he’d cut the conversation short. I could tell by the way Emma was looking at us that she wanted something, that she was more than a little tempted, but Chris was pretending that he didn’t see it.

  It was Emma’s day off, so I’d spent the entire day trying to convince Chris that what we’d seen was real, but I wasn’t getting through to him.

  “Just you chasing a fantasy mate,” he said beside me as we walked back to his. “You need to get your head out of the gutter before you go doing or say something stupid.”

  Suppressing the urge to throttle him, I walked along beside him and thought about any other way I could break through.

  This entire situation was getting away from me. It wasn’t just the look on Emma’s face when I’d talked about the three of us, but the great time we’d all had together. Having them over at mine, sharing a drink or two, it just felt right.

  Normally I was gunning to get away from people, to spend time on my own so I could recharge my batteries, but with them it was different.

  It had been like that with Chris for as long as I could remember, but now things were changing.

  I blamed it on Emma, that what I felt for her had confused me and made me think differently about Chris, but I knew that was a lie.

  “My head isn’t in the gutter and you know it,” I sighed.

  He just shook his head and walked into his apartment, leaving me to follow behind him.

  As soon as I’d seen him that morning I’d been filled with all sorts of feelings I’d never had for him. His little revelation about his sexuality had only made it worse, tempting me in ways I never knew I could be tempted.

  Suddenly I wanted more than what we already had, wanting to explore with him, but it couldn’t happen.

  “Right, what do you want this evening?” Chris asked as we stepped into his flat.

  Shrugging out of my jacket, I threw it over the nearest chair and fixed him with my most intense stare.

  “You know what I want.”

  Shaking his head, he laughed, the sound so sweet and appealing that it scared me to death.

  “I meant to eat.”

  Winking playfully at him only made him laugh louder.

  “Seriously, you need to get a grip,” he said. “I’m just gonna order pizza since you’re being weird as always.”

  He marched off and grabbed his phone, calling up the local pizza delivery. I watched him from where I stood, my eyes fixed on my best friend.

  Chris was gorgeous in a way I’d never really appreciated until now. Looking at him brought something to life inside me I never knew was there, but now I couldn’t deny it.

  There were so many things I wanted to explore with him, to experience, but I didn’t even know where to begin.

  “OK, food’s on the way,” he said, walking into the lounge and grabbing a seat.

  I went to join him, slumping down beside him as my thoughts ran wild inside my head.

  We’d done this hundreds of times before, spending the evening together, drinking and eating pizza, but this time it felt different.

  I felt nervous, something I wasn’t used to.

  “I get that you’re only playing around Taylor, but you need to be careful what you say around Emma.”

  It wasn’t the first time that Chris had wanted me to behave, but it felt like the worst time. He really thought I was messing around, that this was all a joke to him, but I was serious.

  What I wanted was him and Emma, although I couldn’t quite explain why I wanted it so badly.

  “Maybe I’m not messing around,” I said, trying to think of how I could explain this to him.

  He turned to look at me, chuckling again.

  Those big brown eyes burned into mine, his handsome face doing things to me that scared the hell out of me. His body was huge, thick arms and broad shoulders, hard and warm, just what I wanted to experience.

  The need was overwhelming, the hunger erupting within me.

  “I’m being serious,” I said.

  His smile flickered for a second, but then it was back.

  “Yeah? For how long?”

  He was right to have his doubts. I was notorious for moving from one partner to the next, none of my relationships lasting for more than a few weeks, but for them I could change.

  “I don’t know, but you and Emma make me want to find out!”

  He raised an eyebrow as I blurted out my confession. My tone was serious, not a hint of a joke, and for the first time it seemed to sink in for Chris.

  “What? I thought you were just kidding about the three of us?”

  His eyes never left mine which only made this harder to talk about. The sheer need to kiss him, to feel those rough lips on mine, was eating me up.

  “I don’t know Chris,” I sighed. “Emma’s been all I can think about for a while now, and recently, well, so have you.”

  “What?” He gasped.

  Suddenly, I was very conscious of how close we were sitting on the couch. I could feel the warmth of his body, the smell of his aftershave filling my nostrils, luring me in. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to feel him against me, but I needed to hold back.

  There was too much on the line, too much to lose if I messed this up.

  “I’m as confused by this as you are,” I said slowly. “You, me, we’ve always been great together, so maybe it makes sense that I would want more? Then there’s Emma, and the three of us are just perfect!”

  Chris nodded, blowing out a long breath.

  “I know what you mean,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I’d never thought about things between you and me, but you know nothing is ever going to happen right? And then there’s Emma…”

  “You saw the look on her face when I talked about the three of us together. She’s at least a little interested! And anyway, why won’t anything happen between us?”

  Chris shrugged those huge shoulders, but he didn’t put any distance between us. We were just inches apart, the warmth of his breath drawing me in.

  “Because, there’s too much that could go wrong. Also,
this is just a stage for you. You don’t want me and you know it.”

  “Oh do I? I’ll show you a stage!”

  Without thinking, I closed the gap between us, pressing my lips to his. Surging against him, I threw my arms around him, holding him close, shock running through me when he kissed me back.

  After a brief moment he pulled away, eyes wide and uncertain.

  “No,” he growled, but then he gave in, throwing those huge arms around me.

  He returned the kiss, our embrace so much more intense than the one before, and that’s when I knew. I needed to be with Chris, with Emma. I needed them both more than I dared think about.

  Chapter 14

  Chris

  Things were happening, things I never expected to, and I couldn’t make myself stop. He was my best friend and business partner, but now my fingers were tangled in his hair.

  Everything about this moment was perfect, leaving me aching in his arms as I held him close.

  Taylor Maxwell was kissing me, and I was kissing him back.

  His hard body pressed against me, my fingers tight against him. His hands roamed all over me, the soft groan of his excitement escaping between us as our tongues danced together.

  The heat rose to an uncomfortable level, my length hard in my pants as my excitement ripped through me.

  Summoning all my strength, I pulled away, my eyes fixed on his gorgeous green eyes.

  He stared back at me, confusion and lust in his eyes. His lips curved up, that delicious smile tearing down the walls I tried to throw up between us.

  “We can’t,” I gasped. “This can’t happen.”

  Leaning in, Taylor reached out to touch my face. “Why? You seemed to be enjoying that.”

  His thumb trailed lightly against my lips, summoning another groan from deep within me. Right then, the last thing I wanted to do was stop, but I knew we needed to take a breath.

  “You know why we have to stop,” I moaned, trying my best to stay strong. “This isn’t real, it’s just fun to you.”