by Zoey Thames
That it was. The moon was low in the sky, but still reflected from the black, rippling surface of the river down below them. This far from the big city, the sky seemed filled with stars. Fireflies twinkled in the brush and in the trees, flickering their lights on and off as they flew around. The leaves rustled occasionally as the breeze pushed through them, and the crickets and frogs kept up an uninterrupted symphony of chirping and croaking.
“It is that,” she agreed softly.
Dan leaned toward her, his gaze intent. “Listen, Josie. I won’t lie. There’s a reason we both stayed so late tonight.”
She frowned, not sure what to say to his words. They sometimes stayed late. When she wasn’t the closing waitress, she often left before they did. She just wasn’t sure why Dan was mentioning it now. “Was there something wrong with the food?”
“God, no,” Lucas said quickly. “It was heaven. Like it always is.”
A surge of relief went through her. They’d both ordered entrees she’d created. Even though they’d both ordered those particular meals plenty of times before, she wanted them to enjoy them. In fact, she couldn’t help but want anyone anywhere who tried one of her “concoctions” (as Jim like to call them) to love them. She knew that was totally unrealistic, but she wanted it all the same.
Dan was nodding in agreement with Lucas. “Zero complaints. The food was wonderful. As usual.”
“Soooo…?” she said, looking from one man to the other. They were even more striking in the soft light from the lamps, which made their chiseled features stand out.
“We’d like to invite you to come with us,” Lucas said. “Tonight. How do you feel about coming with us to a dance club in Raleigh? I have an extra helmet if you’re brave enough to ride with us. Or you can take your own car.” He shrugged those big shoulders, but his gaze was intent on her.
Her brain reeled. This was not what she’d expected to hear. They were asking her to go with them. To the city. To dance. And she wanted to with all her heart. But… “I—I don’t know what to say.”
Dan was watching her just as closely, hanging on her every word. “Say yes. It would make my entire year.”
She snorted a laugh, despite feeling thrown off-balance. “You’ve had a crappy and boring year so far, I take it?”
“Not at all. This is simply something I really and truly want.”
Josie took a hesitant step away from them. “I…I don’t know what to say. I mean, I’m honored. But… I…”
She trailed off helplessly. How to tell them she knew they were gay and not sound like she was a creeping spying crazy woman? She didn’t know how to pull that one off.
Both men simply stared at her. She could feel them willing her to say yes, but she also knew from all the time and talks she’d had with them that they were gentlemen through and through. They wanted her to know they wanted her to come, but they also didn’t intend to pressure her into something she might not care to do.
“If you don’t like dancing, that’s not a problem,” Lucas said gently. “Maybe you’d like to come with us somewhere for a coffee or Danish? I know a place downtown that’s open until two and is amazing.”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to dance. It’s that… Aren’t you? Well, you know…” She took a deep breath. She had to go there. Because she couldn’t handle the torment of being around these two men she liked so much and not being able to do anything about it. “Aren’t you gay?”
As soon as she said it, she felt all the skin on her face turn flaming hot. Her face must look like a beet that had been soaked in red wine and set on fire.
Dan gave her a wide, naughty grin as his blue eyes sparkled. “Yes. In a way. We’re actually bisexual. So you’re right. And wrong.”
“We don’t hide it,” Lucas broke in. “But in these parts, we don’t exactly flaunt it either.”
“Yeah. I mean, no, you don’t. But…I can see it in your eyes when you look at each other. That’s love.” She felt her cheeks get even hotter. “I saw you once. Not that I was peeking. But I was taking out the recycling…”
“You saw us kissing,” Dan said, his eyes now flashing with amusement.
Kissing seemed too tame a word for it. “Soul-wrenching totality of a kiss of utter passion” might be more accurate. But you couldn’t say that kind of thing out loud. So she only swallowed and nodded.
“Don’t worry. We’re private people. We don’t make a big deal out of it. But even though we keep the PDA to a minimum around here, I’m not going to hide the way I feel either.”
“Which is why we stayed tonight,” Dan added. “We’re tired of hiding the way we feel about you.”
Her heart froze in her chest and then began to pound again twice as hard. “So maybe I don’t understand,” she said carefully. “Is this some kind of pity thing? Because I mentioned I hadn’t been on a date in over a year…?”
“Not even,” Dan said, running a hand through his blond hair. “If anything, I want you to take pity on us and say yes. Hell, I’ll be happy to get down on my knees and beg if I have to.”
Lucas put up a hand. His voice was deep and calm, but there was no mistaking the intensity in his eyes. “We’re not trying to put you on the spot, Josie, or make you uncomfortable. We both came here tonight for two things. First, the food. Second—and far more important—you. We wanted to see you.”
Her heart was still beating fast, and her mouth was dry. At the same time, her palms felt sweaty, and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears. This was crazy. This was something she never would’ve expected in all her years. They both wanted to bring her on a date? She struggled to wrap her mind around it. And around the flood of desire and need that came along with the thought of being with them, having their attention, their touch…
“Maybe I don’t understand.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to get herself under control again. “Because it sounds like you’re implying…both of you. On a date. With two men. At once.”
“That’s right,” Lucas said gently. “What we feel for you, we both share it.”
She felt like her knees might give out at any moment. Desperately, she threw out another reason, put up another barrier to give them all time to come to their senses.
“I don’t have an outfit ready.” She waved a hand at her waitress uniform, such as it was. A black, loose, knee-length skirt. A white, button-down blouse with the sleeves rolled up to just below her elbows, and comfortable black shoes. Never work as a waitress in uncomfortable shoes. That was one of the foundational rules of the universe. Because if you did, you would suffer. “I look like…a waitress.”
Dan grinned at her. “Look at us. We’d be even more out of place. We’d look like Yuppie Hells Angels in these leathers while shaking our asses in the club scene. But you know what, screw ’em. If they don’t like how we look, who cares. All that matters is how what we think. And I think you look damn fine, Josie. Lucas? What do you think?”
Lucas didn’t answer with words. The big, dark-haired man only answered with a deep-throated growl that sent a thrill of pure, physical lust shooting through her entire body and ended up in her pussy. She loved that sound. She wanted to hear it again. She wanted to hear it as he gripped his cock and positioned himself between her spread legs. As he pushed the large head of his dick past her outer lips, sheathing himself in her wet pussy, stretching her. Filling her—
She shook her head to try and clear it. It only partially worked. The sudden onrush of lust caught her off guard and had her thoughts fuzzy. Her clit was suddenly throbbing with need, her body feeling electrified with desire. She wanted them. Both of them. In all those wicked, carnal ways.
“We could stop by your place if you want to change first,” Dan suggested. “We’ll wait outside while you change. If it will convince you to come with us, I’ll happily stand outside in a thunderstorm and serenade you while standing on my bike.”
A laugh burst from her lips, and she quickly covered her mouth as if surprised
by the sound. Her thoughts, emotions, and hormones were still caught up in a whirlwind frenzy. She wanted to whoop with joy. She wanted to burst out in tears. Because having two men as sexy and kind and fascinating as Dan and Lucas interested in her made her feel like a goddess. And at the same time, she didn’t know what to think about being with both of them. She’d never done anything like that before. It seemed wild. Pushing the limits. And when had she ever been a limits-pushing kind of girl?
The answer was simple. Never.
“I hate to say it,” she said quickly, seizing on the first reason that flashed into her mind. “But I really did promise Jim I’d close the restaurant for him. He has to get up early and drive his daughter and granddaughter to the airport. I still have to count out the till and do the whole closing routine. By the time I’m done, it will be far too late to head to Raleigh.”
Dan looked crestfallen. Lucas did a better job of hiding his disappointment. His face remained stoic, but she could still see it in his eyes.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then pinned her with his gaze. His look was fierce. The look of a man used to getting his way in the world. One who’d had something he deeply desired denied him…and wasn’t happy about it.
“I’ll be honest with you, Josie,” he said quietly, yet his voice seemed to hum with power and command. She knew he was some kind of career businessman, but right then he sounded more like a commander or world leader determined to fight for what he wanted. “I’d do anything you asked if it would convince you to come with us, to take a chance on us. But you have responsibilities, and I respect that. And I respect you for putting those first. I would never dream of raising my desires over yours.” The edge of his mouth quirked in a hint of a smile. “Listen to me. I’m talking a lot, but what I’m really saying is that I’m disappointed—” He cut off with a sharp laugh and shook his head. “Hell. That’s putting it mildly. Devastated is more accurate. But I’m hoping you’ll give us another chance. If not, I’ll understand. We’re not here to pressure you.”
“Never,” Dan added. “One word from you and we’re gone.” He leaned toward her, giving her a charismatic smile that had probably been getting him in trouble since he was old enough to walk. “I know this is a lot to spring on someone all at once. Lucas and I are together, and we always will be. I love Lucas. He loves me. That love is like a rock foundation in our lives. But there’s room in our hearts and our lives for more. More than you can believe.”
Her friend Christie’s horoscope prediction about mysterious strangers, her future, and a life-changing evening suddenly popped into her mind. What if the universe was handing her exactly what she wanted, and she was too afraid or too narrow-minded to accept it? Shouldn’t she live a little for once? She needed to be bold enough to enjoy life when it sent something good her way. Why was she so eager to return home to her empty apartment? Was she crazy? These two gorgeous men had just asked her out. Dancing or coffee, it didn’t even matter. What mattered was that they were inviting her into their lives, to spend more time with them. Because they cared. She could read it in their eyes, on their faces.
They weren’t strangers. They were here every Friday night and sometimes even on Saturday. She knew all kinds of things about them. Lucas was originally from Cincinnati, and Dan came from San Francisco. Both of them were businessmen, although they seemed to dislike talking about work and avoided it. They must be relatively well off, judging from those two fancy motorcycles and the generous tip they always left her. One that was so big she felt guilty accepting it. Not that they’d ever put any conditions on giving her a big tip though. They were gentlemen. Heck, she even knew Lucas’s mother did step aerobics and that Dan’s grandpa had fought in Vietnam.
They weren’t strangers. Not by a long shot. They were friends. Her spirits lifted every time she saw them. They made her feel good, and they didn’t even have to try. It was simply who they were.
“Listen…” she said, drawing the moment out because she couldn’t help it. Her momma would’ve been ashamed of her for doing it, for making these men dangle on her every word, but part of her was enjoying their attention too much, plain and simple. They were both watching her as if she were the most important thing in the entire world. She realized how much this meant to them, and it thrilled her, made her feel warm and wanted and also a little afraid. But no way was she going to turn away from this.
Besides, Christie claimed Josie’s horoscope had mentioned her life would change tonight. Who was she to stand in the way of the universe working its universal will?
“Listen,” she repeated, swallowing hard, hearing the click in her throat. “I can’t ride all the way out to Raleigh and back, much as I want to. But…” She waved a hand around at the restaurant deck, at the electric lanterns giving warm light and the tiki torches, the trees down the slope, and the dark ribbon of river. “But it’s a beautiful night right here. And we have plenty of beer. Maybe I can bring out the stereo from the back. We could hang out… Maybe dance. Talk. All while never having to leave county limits.”
They both smiled at her.
Those smiles set her heart soaring and made her stomach flutter with nervous anticipation.
Oh, God, what had she gotten herself into?
What wonderful, terrifying, potentially life-changing thing had she just gotten herself into?
CHAPTER THREE
Lucas had always been a realist. He was known for it when he was sitting in on board meetings, when evaluating the market positions of his companies, trading stock, buying real estate, and making deals. He knew what he wanted. That was how he’d brought Dan into his life.
He’d seen the man riding his Ducati when Lucas had been on a trip to evaluate the profitability of investing in a new Extreme Sports network. He’d gone over and struck up a conversation. The conversation had led to beers. The beers had led them to discover a mutual love of motorcycles. Which had led him to invite Dan to his private racing track near Daytona. Haley had been a sports photographer at the time. Things between the three of them had quickly rocketed from there. Although much had changed since those days, including Haley moving on with her life, his love for Dan had never once dimmed. But he also realized that three-way relationships where all three partners were equally in love were rare…and special. But being a realist didn’t mean he wouldn’t pursue his dreams and desires with every bit of his strength in determination. So he could tell Dan was nervous, picking at the label on his beer bottle as they waited on the deck for Josie to finish up the books and the rest of the closing duties. And that only made Lucas want to reassure him.
“Don’t worry,” he said gently, meeting and holding Dan’s gaze. “She didn’t kick us out on our asses. Half the battle is already won.”
Dan chuckled ruefully. “I think it was a near thing.” He grinned and touched his neck. “I know some people say scars are sexy, but maybe my mangled grill almost scared her off.”
“Like hell,” he growled, frowning at his lover. “When I get you back into my bed, I’m going to make you pay for that wrong and completely unfunny comment. I’ll have you feeling like Superman getting the blowjob of a lifetime.”
“And that’s exactly why I made it. To spur you to new heights.”
Laughing felt good, especially after all the edge-of-the-seat tension and suspense after coming clean to Josie. The fact this felt as high-stress as any company merger or initial stock offering only cemented the fact in his brain that he really, really wanted her in their lives. But he also wanted her to make her own choice, based on the real them. Not some billionaire, playboy, top-ten eligible bachelor image that he and Dan were sometimes slapped with. He wanted Josie to choose them for them and no other reason.
And it looked like she had.
Which made him not want to screw this up. Because being a realist made him appreciate how special this could be, how delicate it was, and how fragile the road to new love could be. Still, he was damn well determined to make this work. And
when he put his mind to something, he didn’t let anything stand in his way.
They both turned at the sound of the door opening. Josie smiled at them as she stepped outside. She carried a portable stereo in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.
“All done,” she said. Her voice sounded a little nervous, a bit hesitant.
He intended to nip that hesitancy in the bud right away. He didn’t want her feeling awkward. It had never been awkward between them before, and it was now his mission to put her at ease.
They both stood as she approached their table. They also both moved to pull out and hold her chair for her. Lucas relented and let Dan do the honors. Love was about sacrifice, right? Maybe he’d arm-wrestle him later for the next up.
She chuckled as she took her seat and set the stereo on the table. “All this attention. It’s going to go to my head if you’re not careful.”
“Good,” Dan said, sitting as well. “Every lady deserves to be treated like royalty.”
That earned a laugh from her. She glanced at Lucas, grinning wisely. “Did I ever tell you that your boyfriend is quite the smooth talker?”
Lucas raised his beer and gently clinked it against hers. “That he is. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t completely right.”
She took a sip from her beer and blew out a big sigh. “Nice and cold. Nothing better than a cold one after a long shift.”
“Exactly,” Dan agreed. His lover had tastes that reflected where he came from, no matter what his portfolio looked like now. Which meant he preferred beer to wine and turned up his nose at fancy liquors, although Lucas had been slowly opening his eyes to the wonders of a good glass of scotch.
“Did you finish all the closing tasks?” Lucas asked, wanting to keep her talking. Mostly because he enjoyed hearing the sound of her voice.
“All done. I don’t know how Jim does this night after night. You know he hasn’t had a vacation in five years?” She spun her beer bottle slowly in her hands, frowning as she stared off over the deck railing. “I know he wants to retire, but he doesn’t have enough money to live on, so he has to keep this place open and keep working in the kitchen of his own restaurant. He wants a sailboat more than anything. I was hoping revamping the menu would bring in a few more customers, but I just don’t think enough people know about this place. Maybe if he did some advertising…” She shook her head and glanced at them. “Sorry. I was thinking out loud. I know I’m rambling.”
