Up All Night

by Faye Avalon

  At Marco’s sharp inhale, Beth fingered one nipple and slowly licked her lips.

  Marco dropped to his knees and sat back on his heels. “Want to let me do that?”

  His husky tone made her smile, but slowly she shook her head. Holding his hot gaze, she brought her fingers to her mouth and licked them, before sliding them down over her taut nipple again. Slightly parting her knees, she gave him a glimpse of his eventual prize.

  His nostrils flared as his gaze landed on her exposed pussy, and she trailed her fingers down over her stomach, allowing them to linger just above her slit.

  Marco glanced up, met her eyes again before moving his gaze down her body to dwell where her fingers rested.

  Satisfied that his attention was exactly where she wanted it to be, Beth slowly widened her legs and slipped her finger into her wet folds.

  Marco’s muscular chest expanded with the breath he took, and his throat contracted as he swallowed.

  Loving his reaction, Beth worked her fingers around her pussy while keeping her eyes on Marco. Soon the combination of her own fingers sliding over her clit watched by Marco’s hungry gaze brought her to the edge of orgasm.

  She arched her spine as she worked her fingers faster, and burst over that shaky edge into sensation where time seemed to stand still and only Marco’s ravenous attention rooted her to reality.

  As she came down from the dizzying climax, she dropped onto her back and withdrew her hand. She was about to bring her fingers, moist from her climax, to her mouth, when Marco reached forward and grabbed her hand.

  Hoisting himself above her and anchoring himself with one hand beside her shoulder, he took her fingers into his own mouth, licking them slowly and deliberately.

  The action pumped sensation through Beth’s body and drove heat into her core again.

  “I like the way you entertain,” he said as he slowly licked her fingers. “That was my kind of show.”

  “Happy to oblige.” Lifting her leg, she ran her foot slowly over his backside and thigh. “I might give you an encore. Later.”

  His mouth froze as he was about to take her index finger between his lips. “I might not survive. I’m on the edge here, Beth. About to completely lose it.”

  She lay back, stretching sinuously as she treated him to a lascivious smile. “Go right ahead and lose it, Marco.” She spread her legs. “Inside me. Now.”

  He stared at her for long seconds, his chest heaving, jaw tightening, then he froze as he moved between her legs. “Shit. Fuck. Need a condom.”

  She grinned as he reached for his trousers, and waited until his eyes met hers again as he ripped open the packet with his teeth.

  “Only one?” She shifted in a sensuous stretch. “And here’s me hoping to keep you up all night again.”

  His breath came in shallow pulls as he rolled on the condom. “No problem with that. I’ve got a fucking job lot of these in the bathroom.”

  She laughed, but sobered as the first push of his cock met her already throbbing pussy.

  He pushed his hands underneath her ass and raised her hips. With one potent thrust he was inside her and buried to the hilt. He stayed that way, closing his eyes as if to steady himself. Then he began to move. Fast. Hard.

  Her own climax neared as his hands dug into her hips and each powerful surge of his cock filled her. She came so violently she wondered if she’d actually lost consciousness for a brief second. But then she felt Marco’s climax as he spurt his seed into the condom.

  Breathing hard, he collapsed against her. Beth fought her own battle to calm her breathing as his tough body pinned her to the floor.

  As much as she enjoyed having mind-blowingly good sex with Marco, she loved the aftermath when she could snuggle up against him and enjoy being in the warmth and comfort of his arms.

  As he rolled onto his back, taking her with him, Beth smiled against his chest. “I really like sex.”

  “Yeah,” he breathed. “I sort of gathered that.”

  She laughed and snuggled deeper into his side. “What I mean is that I never actually used to like it. I always felt it was overrated, that I must have been doing it all wrong.”

  “If you didn’t like sex, the guy was the one doing it all wrong.”

  She gave another laugh. “I can get behind that.”

  Running her fingers over his light dusting of dark chest hair, Beth bit back the question she wanted to ask, unsure if now was the right time or place. But somehow it was important for her to know. She had to plan, had to research and learn new things. If she didn’t know the sort of activities she was up against, she’d never have a chance of keeping him satisfied long term. “Can I ask you something?”

  His fingers toyed with her hair. “Right now, you can ask me anything.”

  She snuggled a bit more, placed the palm of her hand against his chest and felt the reassuring beat of his heart. “What exactly does a threesome involve?”

  She felt the slight tension that moved into his body. “Pretty much what a twosome involves.”

  Ignoring his low tone, she raised her chin to look up at him. “What I mean is, what are the mechanics?”

  ****

  Marco swallowed hard. He should have anticipated this. Beth wasn’t the sort to discover he’d indulged in a threesome and not want chapter and verse. Damn. He should have prepared himself. But, in his defence, her bawdy show had frozen his brain and sent all his reasoning powers down to his cock.

  “Two men, one woman.”

  She hoisted herself up onto her elbow and stared down at him, frustration ripe in her gaze. “And you—take turns?”

  “Shit, Beth.” Fucking hell, did he have to spell it out? “Don’t tell me you’re that naïve?”

  “Not naïve, but I want to get things clear in my head. For instance, do you prefer group sex to one-on-one, and if so, what happens in a threesome that turns you on so much.”

  He narrowed his eyes. Was there something beneath a simple curiosity? “I like sex, period. I don’t have preferences. Right now, being with you is the only thing that turns me on.”

  She smiled, but it seemed a little wistful. “That’s a clever answer, but I think you need constant stimulus between the sheets. How long before you maybe start wanting another threesome?” She stayed his response by touching her finger to his lips. “What about one with me?”

  As her words filtered through his brain, he raised his head from the pillow and looked at her. “What?”

  “It makes sense.”

  “Makes no fucking sense to me.” Unable to lie still, he eased himself up to sitting. “Maybe it’s you who needs the constant stimulus.”

  “Marco…”

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed, shocked at the rush of anger squeezing his ribcage. “If you want to experiment like that you go find some other guy.” Shit. The thought of any other guy touching Beth made him insane. What the hell was she thinking?

  “I don’t want anyone else.”

  Her softly spoken words anchored him to the bed. He wanted to tell her that he felt the same. That she was the only woman he wanted. But he refused to give in to the impulse. It was just the thought of sharing her that was making him feel all this possessive shit. He didn’t know why he was getting so damn incensed.

  She scrambled up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Forget I said anything.”

  He felt the press of her ample breasts against his back, the brush of her knees cradling his hips. His breath hitched, along with his cock.

  She pushed her body harder against him, but for some reason he couldn’t let go of his irritation. Did she want another man touching her? Despite her assurance that she only wanted him, was she looking to experiment?

  Beth’s hands brushed over his stomach. “Don’t be mad,” she said, letting her fingers drift to his hardened cock. “It seems a shame to let all this go to waste.”

  He shifted, turning so that she was beneath him. He felt that possessive flare burn
his chest again as he covered her body with his. Damned if he was about to let her go before he’d had his fill of her, before he’d taken from her everything she was able to give. In return he’d let her take whatever she needed from him.

  As he looked into her sultry blue eyes, he decided that if she was looking for sexual excitement and adventure, he would be the one to introduce her to it. He would direct it, control it. And ensure that whatever she wanted, he would provide. Only him.

  He had a few short weeks in which to take her on a journey she would never forget.

  Chapter Ten

  “You’re kidding me.”

  Marco glanced across the dining table and noted both shock and humor in Ethan’s expression. “Not fucking kidding. It’s what she wants.”

  Amber topped off Marco’s coffee. “She actually said that?”

  Marco wasn’t sure why he’d revealed the gist of Beth’s revelation to his two closest friends, but he needed to offload. He hadn’t been able to shake the possibility that giving Beth the sexual adventure she obviously craved would involve bringing another guy into the mix at some stage.

  He was feeling mellow after the meal Amber had served up in what he now came to think of as Ethan and Amber’s home. Soon after they’d hooked up, she had moved in to Ethan’s Regency townhouse in one of Brighton’s more prestigious areas and made it her own. It was warm, comfortable, and filled with the love the couple shared.

  He didn’t want to question why the thought made him both happy and frustrated. It wasn’t as if he ever wanted that type of life for himself.

  “Marco?” Amber prompted. “Beth actually said she wanted a threesome?”

  “Sort of.”

  “She used the words?”

  “Amber.” Ethan stroked a hand along his fiance’s arm. “What the hell does it matter what words she used?”

  “It matters.” Amber rolled her eyes and gave him a look that said men before turning back to Marco. “As does the context and her tone of voice. Which were what?”

  “Context?” Marco was starting to wish he’d never opened his mouth. “We’d just had sex.”

  “Hmm.” Amber narrowed her eyes as if she were trying to work it all out in her head. “Knowing you, that means the sex was good, so she definitely wasn’t unsatisfied or pissed at you. Was she pissed at you?”

  “No.” He thought back to their sort of argument about Amber. “Well, before we had sex maybe, but we’d sorted that. Everything was fine, then she throws this threesome thing at me.”

  “Hmm,” Amber said again. “I don’t know Beth that well, but I’d say she’s feeling insecure. Did she say anything else?”

  “Yeah.” Marco sipped his coffee. “She said knowing about the threesome made her crazy.”

  Amber’s smile was a little smug as she sat back. “There you are then. That’s what this is all about. Now she knows about the three of us, she feels out of it.”

  “She’ll just have to get over it.” Ethan’s frown reflected how Marco felt right then. “Unless you want to line up some other guy to scratch her itch.”

  “It’s not an itch,” Amber said softly. “It’s simple insecurity. We all know each other, intimately, and she feels on the periphery of that.”

  “It’s not something I can do anything about. Can’t change what happened.”

  “Like I said.” Ethan ran his finger around the handle of his coffee cup. “She’ll have to get over it.”

  “There is a way to resolve this.” Both men looked at Amber who sat with her elbow on the table, head propped on her hand. “We could have a foursome.”

  Abject silence echoed in the dining room for all of ten seconds as both men stared at her. Then expletives punctured the quiet.

  “Shit.” Ethan gaped at his fiance.

  “Fuck.” Marco looked at her as if she’d lost her damn mind. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “Too fucking right it’s not.”

  Amber waved away Ethan’s objection with a brisk hand. “It makes perfect sense.” She sat forward, ignoring her fiancé’s glare. “Let me tell you how I see it. Our wedding is in two weeks, right? Well, this could be a final fling for both of us before we tie the knot.”

  “Hell, Amber I—”

  She cut Marco off with another wave of her hand. “You care about Beth, right?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Which makes this all the more perfect. Two birds, one stone if you like. Beth gets to feel like she’s part of us and Ethan gets a chance to dip his wick one last time before the wedding.”

  Ethan spluttered into the wine he’d just grabbed. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

  “No. If we’re all together and agree to this it’s not cheating or anything like that. It’s a decision perfectly reasonable adults of sound mind make to resolve a problem.” She turned and smiled sweetly at Ethan. “But if you ever decide to dip your wick into any other woman’s candle after we sign on the dotted line, you will be forever out of action in that regard. Get my drift?”

  Ethan slugged down more wine as Marco picked up his own glass. “This is crazy.” He couldn’t quite get his head around sharing Beth with any man, let alone Ethan. And he could imagine how Ethan felt about letting him anywhere near Amber again, and he couldn’t blame his friend. Not for a millisecond.

  “Let me get this straight.” Ethan’s jaw could have cracked steel as he continued to glare at his fiancée. “You’re giving me permission to fuck another woman while I watch another man fuck you?”

  Amber smiled wickedly, obviously enjoying the two men’s reaction. “Not exactly fuck, handsome. What I have in mind is a whole lot of, shall we say, fumbling?”

  “Not going to happen.” Again silence, then Ethan frowned. “Define fumbling.”

  Obviously warming to her suggestion, Amber folded her arms on the table and leaned even further forward. “The way I see it, we could all go away for the weekend. Then we have a nice meal, all get tanked, and then get naked. It’ll be fun.”

  “And if we’re not exactly fucking,” Ethan said parodying Amber’s earlier statement through gritted teeth. “What the hell else are we doing?”

  “You’ve got hands and a mouth, handsome, which you use to devastating effect if I might add. Not every sexual encounter has to involve your amazingly spirited cock.”

  Marco had the strange feeling that he was on the periphery of some weird universe where he was merely a disembodied entity watching a surreal play.

  His mouth felt parchment dry and his throat tight, but finally he found his voice. “You’ve created a monster,” he advised Ethan, remembering how a few short months ago, Amber’s sexual confidence had been at rock bottom. Which was the reason Ethan had turned to Marco in the first place. “If this isn’t off the wall, I don’t know what the hell is.”

  “Yeah.” Ethan turned to Marco. “Let’s not forget you had a hand in that creation.”

  “It’s the most insane idea I’ve ever heard,” Marco felt compelled to point out when Amber’s fervor didn’t seem in the least dampened by their lack of enthusiasm. “If nothing else, Ethan won’t let me get my hands on you again. And there’s no way in hell he’s getting his hands on Beth.”

  As their eyes met, Marco knew he was right in speaking for his friend. Daggers shone from Ethan’s fiery gaze which he knew was reflected back in his own.

  “Oh for heaven’s sake. It’s a perfectly good plan and you two are ruining it with your provincial attitudes.” Still with her arms folded, Amber sat back. “It will work perfectly. We can all get involved in the touchy, feely stuff, but when it comes to the main event we pair off.”

  “Like I said, a monster.”

  Although he’d always considered Ethan allowing him into his and Amber’s bed the mark of a desperate man, this was the first time Marco had any real idea of how difficult it must have been for his friend. It demonstrated how much Ethan loved Amber, enough to put her needs first. Marco didn’t think he could do the same, and
it wasn’t as if he even loved Beth. He was fond of her, sure, but he wasn’t in love. This sick feeling at the thought of another man anywhere near her was down to that possessive streak she brought out in him. Nothing more.

  “Look.” Exasperation was ripe in Amber’s tone. “This is all about Beth feeling as if she’s part of our group, right? Well, that’s not going to happen no matter how many dinner parties and charity functions we attend. The only way it will work is if we do this.”

  She turned to Ethan and reached for his hand. “Marco did it for us,” she said softly. “This is our chance to return the favour and to help him.”

  Ethan squeezed his fingers tight around Amber’s. The color had drained from his face and the anger had left his eyes only to be replaced by something haunted and desolate. He turned to Marco. “You’re really serious about this woman? You’re coming up close to the time you usually move on, so if you plan on dumping her soon anyway, this whole conversation is moot.”

  What did he say when he didn’t know the answer himself? Damn. He wasn’t used to having to deal with the conflicting thoughts swirling around inside his head.

  He took a breath. “Not sure it could be labeled as serious, but let’s say Beth’s the first woman I could maybe stretch my one month rule for.”

  “Then put the idea to her,” Amber advised. “See how she feels about it.”

  The nausea swimming in Marco’s stomach intensified. He was more than happy to push the sexual boundaries with Beth while it was the two of them. He was in fact relishing the idea of introducing her to his arsenal of favored activities between the sheets. But the thought of sharing her? The thought of breaking his one month rule for her? He’d never had a woman who pulled at him enough to make him question himself on either of those things. And what if Beth was up for Amber’s idea? What the hell would he do then?

  He looked down at the remains of the chocolate dessert sitting in a pretty glass bowl in the center of the table and was thankful he’d saved this particular conversation until after he’d had a chance to devour two helpings. Right now he wasn’t sure he could get even wine or coffee down his rigid throat.