by Zoey Thames
Lucas leaned forward, looking at her intently. “You have a talent for the culinary arts.”
She blushed a little. “First off…I blush when I’m put on the spot. And ‘culinary arts’ is way too fancy a term for what I do. I come up with a few recipes.”
“You’ll have to forgive Lucas for being an unsubtle oaf,” Dan said with a smile and a wink his way. Winking. The bastard. “He dropped out of finishing school. How about I rephrase that. We drive over seventy miles each way every Friday to come here and see you. Now, we’d do that even if the food here was a greasy, inedible mess, but those dishes you added to the menu are some damn fine cooking.”
Her blush deepened, which Lucas found utterly charming. “Thanks. They’re just a few things I threw together to expand the menu a little. Everyone seemed to like them, so…”
“Give yourself credit,” Lucas said, maybe a little too stridently, because she flinched the slightest at the vehemence in his tone. He quickly softened his voice, realizing he sounded like he was back in the boardroom. That, and Dan gave him a murderous warning look. He reached out and gently took her hand. He skin was very soft and smooth, her hands small but graceful and appealing. “All I’m saying is that you have real talent.” He gave her a warm smile, staring right into those wide hazel eyes. “Be proud of that talent. It doesn’t make you arrogant, it simply makes you a realist.”
She nodded and took another sip of her beer. “So…how did you two meet?”
He realized she was changing the subject. He wondered why. Had someone damaged her self-esteem somehow? Some other man who hadn’t treated her right? It took all of his self-restraint not to glower and clench his fists, wanting to hand out punches to anyone who would dare make her feel that way. But that kind of display wasn’t appropriate now. So no matter how much he wanted to body slam any jerk who might have demeaned or diminished her, he kept that urge to himself. Although a quick glance into Dan’s eyes quickly confirmed it. Dan felt exactly the same way.
He let it drop and simply answered her question. “Dan was trying to kill himself on that speed-death-machine he calls a motorcycle. I saved him from himself by inviting him out for a beer. He had a motorcycle. I had a motorcycle. It was a match made in heaven.”
She rolled her eyes. “Men. They always take a romantic story and stomp all over it until all the romance is squished out.”
Dan grinned. “Is ‘squished out’ the technical term?”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s the mechanical engineering term, Mr. Wise Guy. So there.”
“There’s one thing I’ve been dying to ask you,” Lucas said, knowing his voice sounded rough, intense. And wanting it that way.
Her eyes went wider. She’d heard the tone…and responded. “What is it?”
He stood from his chair and gave her a formal bow. One he’d perfected at the private school he’d attended in New York. Never knew when that kind of thing might come in handy. And right now, it looked as though it was coming in handy.
“Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
She blinked at him, her cheeks pinkening again. He loved how easy it was to make her blush. He loved how she kept her feelings so close to the surface. That she was so genuine. Then she smiled at him, and it lit up her entire face. “I’d love to.”
Dan saluted him with his beer. “Lucas, because I love you, I’m going to let you go first. But I hope the lady will save a dance for me.”
She flushed again, her eyes sparkling in the light from the lamps around the deck. Lucas held out his hand to her. She placed her hand in his, and he gave her his support as she stood.
Dan turned on the stereo and found some gentle jazz. The music was perfect for slow dancing. Enough beat to keep rhythm, easy enough to sway to. It was music to hold someone close without having to waste energy on complex steps. He put his hands on her hips. She reached up and laced her hands together behind his neck. She tilted her up so she could look into his eyes.
He’d learned how to waltz and tango at school—it was simply part of the “gentleman finishing” they provided. But he didn’t want to put her on the spot, because even as graceful as she was, he didn’t know what dances or dance steps she knew, and he didn’t want to make her feel awkward or self-conscious, even for an instant. Besides, this music was perfect for simply holding a lover close and just swaying in an embrace. Pure and simple.
He would’ve kissed her then if he’d been alone with her. But that wasn’t the dynamic and understanding he had with Dan. They shared everything. And if Josie was willing, they would cherish her, share her as well, whenever she was ready. So even though his cock stiffened at the feel of her lush body, at the sensation of those curves he thought of as perfect, pressed against his body, he held himself in check. It was a near thing, but he did it for Dan.
His lover needed his dance first. After that…
Well, after that, all promises were off. If one thing led to another, all he knew for certain was that he would make sure Josie had the night of her life…and so would Dan. He wanted to leave them both panting, utterly spent, lying there with a sheen of sweet sweat on their bodies, completely sated and drifting on the pleasure high that came from a staggering orgasm. And he wanted to be the one to drive them there.
The music played softly. Josie closed her eyes. He could smell her hair. It smelled like French fries. He had to bite his cheek to keep from grinning. It was such a Josie smell. Their hardworking waitress. He would never dream of mentioning it aloud, because he understood she had taken a chance staying here with them after work, not even wanting to hurry home, change outfits, and freshen up. That kind of trust and staying true to exactly who she really was as a person—unpretentious and real—was another reason he found her completely amazing. She was so genuine and down-to-earth. Aside from Dan, he didn’t have enough of those kinds of people in his life.
It was another reason he didn’t want her to know who he really was: billionaire Lucas Pearce, keeper of the Pearce family fortune. At least not yet. He didn’t want that look in her eyes to change from what was there now. He didn’t think it would; he thought he knew her better than that. But still, he wasn’t willing to risk it, because it would gut him.
The song seemed to go on forever…and nowhere near long enough. He wanted to keep her in his arms always. Hold her body close to his. At first, he had carefully kept his hips away from pressing against her. He didn’t want her to feel how rock hard his cock was right now. Didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable or pressured into anything she wasn’t ready for. But apparently she was having none of that. She pressed her hips against him. She must have felt his stiff cock, but she didn’t even flinch. And for him, it went far more than simple lust. He loved the sensation of her in his arms, so alluringly female, different from Dan’s muscles and strength. Different, not better or worse. But unique. Her.
When the music ended, it was as if he stirred from a dream. The only sounds came from the crickets and frogs. The breeze in the branches. And Dan, standing right there, clearing his throat.
“Mind if I cut in?” Dan said, flashing that charming grin.
Josie giggled. “It’s not cutting in if the song ended.”
Lucas reluctantly moved away from her, letting his fingers trail along her waist as he sought to prolong his contact with her for as long as possible.
It was a different kind of pleasure watching Dan take Josie in his arms as the next song started up. She looked so beautiful. Although he guessed she might’ve disagreed with him if he told her that right now, believing that because she had on minimal makeup and wore her work uniform that she somehow still couldn’t be stunning. As if she couldn’t still pull him to her from his center, as if she had a chain around his heart.
Josie came up to just under Dan’s chin. He didn’t feel the slightest twinge of jealousy over seeing her in Dan’s arms either. They looked good together. Josie with her brown hair and fair skin and her curves. Dan with his blond hair, b
lue eyes, lean and well-muscled. She leaned her head on his chest, her arms wrapped around him, and her eyes shut. He was holding her close, swaying gently with her.
Lucas sat on the table next to the radio, sipping at his beer and admiring them. He felt curiously calm now. This was going better than he’d had a right to hope. He owed it all to the fact that she was an amazing woman. No ifs, ands, or buts. He didn’t want to push things too fast, but the sensation of her in his arms seemed to linger with him, as if he were still touching her. His arousal was a demanding, insistent pulse in his mind that he had to struggle to keep under control. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss Dan. He wanted to be inside both of them. To claim both of them for his own.
But he had to keep himself in check. He didn’t dare chance frightening her off by moving too fast, no matter how badly he wanted her. It was bad enough that his stiff cock betrayed him while her luscious body was pressed up against him.
As the music went on, he turned to look off the deck at the dark shapes of the gently rustling trees along the riverbank. Above the treetops, the stars glittered. It was so quiet out here, away from the city. Away from the frenzy of New York and Los Angeles, even Raleigh and Charlotte, which were tiny compared to those metropolises. No wonder he and Dan liked to head on out here when they could. To just ride and enjoy the countryside.
Soon it was his turn for another dance with her. This time he stayed closer to the railing so they could better appreciate the view and the breeze.
She laid her head against his chest as she stared out at the water. “I can hear your heart beating,” she said softly. “It’s strong. Like you.”
He chuckled. She snuggled tighter against him and sighed. It sounded like a happy sigh.
Dan was lying on the table, swinging his feet slowly, staring up at the stars. Lucas could read his lover like a book. He wasn’t bored, he was utterly content and completely in the moment. As for him, he never wanted this moment to end.
When the song ended, she started to draw away from him. All at once, he pulled her tighter against him. He captured her lips in a ferocious kiss, one electric with his need and desire for her. For an instant she tensed in surprise, and then she melted against him. Her lips parted, giving him better access to her mouth. He eagerly deepened the kiss.
A second later, Dan was with them, embracing her from behind. He pushed her hair away from her neck and kissed his way up to her ear, then nipped at her earlobe with his teeth. Josie groaned into Lucas’s mouth. It was intensely erotic, as if he were taking in her pleasure, swallowing it into himself.
She clutched at him, her tongue flicking into his mouth. He needed no more encouragement than that, thrusting his tongue against hers. Pulling her tight against him, hyper aware of her curves, her breasts pressed against him, how his hardness pressed against her, and the coil of lust tightening in his groin.
Even though her body was giving him all the right signals, he still ended this kiss. It almost killed him to stop tasting her lips and draw back enough to look into her eyes, but he did it. Dan still held her, embracing her from behind, but he waited on Lucas.
He gently cupped her cheek, holding her gaze. She was breathing quickly. He could feel her heart beating fast. It thrilled him to know they had excited her with just a kiss…and he had so much more he wanted to do to her. So many wicked and delightful things.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered, her gaze dancing from his eyes down to his lips as if urging him to claim her with another kiss.
“I didn’t come here with this in mind…but I won’t lie.” He pressed his lower half against her so that there could be no doubt how hard she had his cock. He felt like he was about to rip his way out of his own leathers. “I want you so badly it hurts. I need to pause for a second. Give you a chance to tell me to go take a cold shower.”
Dan met caught his gaze and nodded. No matter how much he wanted to fuck her, to drive her to the heights of pleasure and back, to have her naked and shuddering helplessly as he thrust into her again and again, he had to be sure.
But she didn’t answer. Instead, a determined look flashed across her face. Her hand came around to the back of his head, clutched in the short hair at the nape of his neck, and she dragged him into another kiss.
God, what an incredible woman. That was his last, clear thought before he gave into his desire, turned all his attention, passion, and every bit of his focus on her.
Nothing but her.
* * *
God, the man could kiss. The passion of his lips pressed against hers had her lightheaded and her knees weak. Her pussy ached, and there was nothing subtle about her throbbing need to be filled by his cock. Maybe two cocks at once, she thought dazedly, feeling like her skin might catch fire with lust, she was so hot for them both.
Lucas broke the kiss, leaving her breathing hard. Dan gave her no respite, taking her by the cheek and turning her head toward him so he could capture her lips in a kiss that had her thoughts vanishing in a haze of desire and passion. All she knew was that she wanted them. Here. Now. The deck was private, open only to the stars overhead and the fireflies in the trees. She wouldn’t let this moment pass her by.
Not on her life.
Dan’s cock was like a steel pipe trapped in his leathers. She had done that. She had turned him on, made him so hot and hard that she could feel his stiff length of cock throbbing against her. A greedy groan escaped her lips as she dropped her hand down and began to trail her fingers against the rigid shape. Softly, just skimming over the head and down the shaft and back up again.
Teasing him. Arousing him even further.
He growled and thrust his hips at her. He pushed his cock, hidden only by a layer of leather, against her hand. Seeing evidence of his pleasure made her feel even bolder. She began to stroke him with more friction, feeling his cock jump and twitch at her touch.
Not to be outdone, Lucas pressed up against her from behind, his thick cock nudging insistently into her back. She might’ve made some quip about how she had her hands full with two sexy-as-hell, horny-as-hell men, but Dan was kissing her senseless, while Lucas’s big hands cupped her breasts. He slowly caressed them, working over her curves, making her nipples peak with desire even though she was still wearing her blouse and bra.
From the front, Dan’s nimble fingers began to undo the buttons of her blouse one by one. She wasn’t even paying attention, because Lucas moved from behind her into her view. He stared straight into her eyes as he began to pull off his leather jacket. He yanked off his shirt, and she bit her lip to stifle a groan of pure lust.
His chest was perfect, all sculpted muscle, ridged abs, and firm pecs. He looked like a sculpted statue of a god. And after he stepped out of his boots, unzipped himself, and his cock sprang out, she almost called out to the nearest god in delight. His cock was just as big as the rest of him, curved slightly upward, the head tinted red, the slit wet with precum.
Her head swam with barely controlled passion. Dan had her blouse open and slid it down her shoulders. She was breathing hard, watching as Lucas stroked his hand along his hard length with lazy, powerful strokes. He stared at her with smoky, half-lidded eyes. Dan deftly removed her bra, allowing her breasts to tumble free. Lucas’s eyes opened wide again as he took the sight of her naked chest in.
“God, you’re perfect,” Dan growled, his searing-hot gaze traveling over her bare skin.
Josie flushed with pleasure at his words and at the desire in Lucas’s eyes. Dan ran his hands up her sides, caressing her breasts. Then he took possession of her lips again in an openmouthed kiss that had her eyes closed and a moan lingering in her throat.
She leaned back, giving him easier access to her breasts as he pulled her nipples gently, teasing them, pushing the pink tips, stroking with his thumbs. He touches kept her on a razor-edge of arousal, climbing steadily toward her peak. Her pussy was sopping wet for them both. Her eyes fluttered open again because she didn’t want to miss the heavenly sight of Lucas
naked. Lucas still watched them both with passion blazing in his eyes and his hard cock thrusting outward from his big, muscular body. The tip of his long, perfectly formed cock and now his fingers gleamed with precum as he stroked himself. She wanted to lick them dry, but when Lucas started for her, the tension coiling in her pussy was nearly too much.
Dan had bared her breasts, but she still wore her knee-length black skirt. Lucas surprised her when he went down on his knees in front of her. Dan moved around behind her, his hands back on her breasts where she wanted them and his kisses on her neck sending waves of gooseflesh across her body.
With greedy fingers, Lucas pushed her dress up, bunching it in his right fist and holding it around her hips. The sight of her white panties, clinging to her curves, pulled a shuddering breath from him. She loved that sound. She could listen to it every night.
Slowly, tormenting them all, he drew her panties down her legs centimeter by centimeter. The musky scent of her arousal must have reached his nose, because he closed his eyes in bliss and breathed in deeply.
He nudged her legs apart. She was trembling as she spread herself for him, and she knew he felt it. Felt her need. Reveled in it. He remained on his knees before her. She tilted her hips toward him, eagerly spreading her legs even wider. His eyes opened and he met her gaze as he leaned between her thighs. His tongue slid lightly over her outer lips. A gasp escaped her lips, but she edged toward him again, desperate for more. Her trembling increased. Her need seemed to drive him onward. She desperately wanted to be moaning in pleasure, losing her mind to Lucas’s tongue, to Dan’s kisses and his hands on her breasts.
