Any Given Sunday

by Mari Carr

  Any Given Sunday

  Mari Carr

  Wild Irish, Book Seven

  The child who is born on the Sabbath day, is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

  Sean Collins is happy working at the family pub and sharing a house with the woman of his dreams. He and Lauren are equals in every way, including in bed, where they burn the sheets. Life is good. Even if he must hide a couple of secrets to keep it that way.

  Lauren is madly in love with Sean. They share everything—almost. She can’t deny sensing…something. A certain feeling when she, Sean and their friend Chad are all together. But she doesn’t press. How can she when she’s not being completely forthright herself?

  Chad is feeling pretty miserable, and renting a room in Sean and Lauren’s home has only made it worse. In a house filled with secrets, Chad’s are doozies.

  When an opportunity arises to explore their deep desires, the trio plunges into a sex-filled, emotionally charged ménage. Long-buried feelings are revealed, changing their lives irrevocably. Whether for better or worse, only Sean, Chad and Lauren can decide.

  An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Any Given Sunday

  ISBN 9781419932724

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Any Given Sunday Copyright © 2011 Mari Carr

  Edited by Kelli Collins

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book publication January 2011

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Any Given Sunday

  Mari Carr

  Dedication

  This story is dedicated to Kelli, Jambrea and Rhonda, for their unflagging patience and unending support as I worked my way closer to Sunday.

  Trademarks Acknowledgements

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Academy Award: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Corporation

  Army: Department of the Army

  Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore Ravens

  Boordy: Boordy Vineyards

  Crown Royal: The Crown Royal Company

  Diet Dr. Pepper: Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.

  Google: Google, Inc.

  iPod: Apple, Inc.

  Jacuzzi: Jacuzzi, Inc.

  New York Rangers: New York Rangers

  Oreo: Kraft Foods Global Brands, LLC.

  Pfaltzgraff: Pfatlzgraff Investment Company

  That ’70s Show: Carsey-Warner LLC.

  Monday’s Child

  Monday’s child is fair of face,

  Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

  Wednesday’s child is full of woe,

  Thursday’s child has far to go,

  Friday’s child is loving and giving,

  Saturday’s child works hard for a living,

  But the child who is born on the Sabbath day,

  Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

  ~Traditional nursery rhyme

  Prologue

  “Where’s Chad?” Lauren asked breathlessly as they entered Sean’s apartment.

  Sean rested his forehead against hers for an extra second or two before pulling away from the kiss they’d just shared. However, the distance was too much for him and the image of Lauren in her miniskirt and silky blouse proved to be his undoing. He pressed her against the door to steal another long, hot kiss. They’d gone out for a romantic dinner to celebrate the end of their first month as a couple.

  “Chad’s out for the night,” he replied. He grasped her hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss on her palm. “Thanks for making sure I made it to the door safely, Ms. Chase,” he teased. She’d followed him up to his apartment, jokingly claiming it was the gentlemanly thing to do after driving them home from the restaurant. “Do you need to leave right now or do you want to hang out for a while?” He was unwilling to say goodbye to her after such a great evening.

  She smiled and ran her hand down his chest. “I’m not in any hurry.”

  They’d been friends forever, so there was no awkwardness between them. Years as best friends had bred a comfortable familiarity. It had also built up some pretty deep-seated need in Sean. If he didn’t get her into his bed soon, he was likely to do himself an injury. Sporting a hard-on 24/7 couldn’t be good for anybody.

  Sean stole another kiss and wondered if he’d ever experienced anything so amazing in his life. “Good. You wanna watch TV or make out?”

  She laughed. “I wanna have sex.”

  Her quick response took Sean off-guard for a second, but he was accustomed to her forthright, honest nature. It was refreshing and, in some ways, a relief. He was part of a large family that walked to the beat of a different drummer. Sometimes he worried their quirkiness was hard for outsiders to take. It was cool to just be himself—Collins warts and all—and not have to worry about scaring her away because of his unconventionality.

  “Jesus,” he muttered and she gave him a husky laugh that was sexy as hell.

  He studied her face and saw his own feelings reflected in her eyes—the look was hungry, almost feral. “I want you so much,” he confessed, running the back of his hand along her soft cheek. She was the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen. “I’ve wanted you forever.”

  She nodded. “The feeling’s mutual.”

  She grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head before he could respond. He wasn’t surprised to discover this aggressive side. Lauren was a strong-willed, opinionated woman and it stood to reason she’d attempt to take the lead in the bedroom. Leaning forward, she planted several wet kisses on his chest before using her teeth to playfully bite his pec.

  He pulled away, grasping her face between his hands, and spoke the words dying to escape. “I love you.”

  Her breath caught at his admission and he heard her gasp. It was the first time either of them had used the words. Maybe it was too soon to speak them, but he didn’t care.

  “I love you too.”

  He smiled, the happiness in his soul too big for his body. Though they hadn’t revealed their transition from friends to couple yet, Sean was anxious to scream it to the world. He’d found the woman of his dreams. He turned around and bent down. “Climb on.”

  “A piggyback ride?” she asked, laughing. He’d been giving her piggyback rides for years. It had started one day when she got a splinter in her foot at the pier by the lake where she’d been swimming with him and Chad. Since then, whenever the mood struck them, she’d climb on and he’d race around with her holding on for dear life. She made him laugh, made his life fun.

  “Dear God,
only you would whisk a woman off to the bedroom with a piggyback ride.”

  “You prefer the fireman’s hold?” He started to turn around again but she stopped him.

  “Nope. This works.”

  Giggling, she climbed onto his back and he carried her to the bedroom. They’d been hesitant to spend too much time together in his apartment, usually holding their make-out sessions at her place. Sean wasn’t sure what was keeping Lauren from broadcasting the changed nature of their relationship to everyone. As for him, it was only his roommate, Chad, from whom he felt the need to hide the truth.

  He felt guilty, though he couldn’t understand why. Lauren and Chad had never been more than friends, but sometimes when he looked at the two of them together, as they studied or simply watched television, Sean wondered if Chad would feel he had betrayed him somehow.

  Sean backed up to his bed and dropped her onto the mattress. She laughed as she bounced, but the sound was short-lived when he turned around and crawled on top of her. They’d done some pretty heavy petting the past few weeks and covering her delicate frame never failed to provoke an intense response inside him. He was hornier than he’d ever been in his life. He kissed her hard.

  “Hurry,” she whispered.

  Sean felt the slight urge to call her to task for trying to guide this experience. He was used to calling the shots in bed, but Lauren would struggle with handing over so much control. It didn’t help that she knew him as affable and easygoing. An uncomfortable awareness crept in. There was very little he wouldn’t do for her—even hiding his more dominant nature in the bedroom.

  He pulled away from her and they undressed with haste, kissing and touching each newly revealed body part, each naked bit of skin.

  By the time they lay down once more, he felt as if he had a fever. His body was flushed, aching, his cock full to bursting.

  “God, please,” she moaned when he put his mouth against her pussy. His tongue tormented her clit and he knew she needed to be filled.

  “Sean,” she said, her fingers grasping his hair tightly, painfully, as she tried to direct him, to move him to where she needed him most. “Inside me.”

  He looked up at her. Tried to convey with a look the words he couldn’t say. This moment was too perfect.

  “Please,” she whispered, and he was surprised by the slight tremor in her voice.

  Sean rose, coming over her body and kissing her gently. “I’ll never hurt you, Lauren.”

  She returned his kiss. “I know.”

  He quickly donned a condom and when he pushed inside her, for the first time in his life he felt true love.

  He made sure each thrust was deep and easy as she grew accustomed to his girth. He ran his fingers through her soft red hair, kissing her as they moved together. Her hands touched him everywhere—his shoulders, his arms, his face. Her delicate fingers stroking his skin drove his arousal even higher and he fought not to come too soon. The moment was too perfect, too long overdue, and he wanted to make it last a lifetime or three.

  When her first orgasm came quickly, it took them both by surprise.

  He smiled and kissed her gently. “Looks like we’re compatible everywhere. Wanna go for a two-fer?”

  “God,” she cried when he continued to move in her body. “Yes.”

  He reached down and touched her clit, applying pressure, relishing the feeling of her movements below him. She was out of control, writhing on the bed and lifting her hips to meet his thrusts. The strength of her desire was contagious and, for a moment, he felt lightheaded as even more blood rushed to his cock.

  He brought her to climax once more, his movements growing less calculated, more frantic as he came closer to finding his own release. When she wrapped her legs around his waist and met him blow for blow, he knew he was a goner.

  He came and the power behind his climax felt strong enough to derail a train.

  She sighed contentedly when he pulled free, gathering her closer.

  As they lay in each other’s arms, sleep coming to claim them, Sean turned to kiss her on the brow. “I want to tell people about us.”

  She nodded once. “It’s time,” she agreed.

  For a brief moment he considered making the confession that was on the tip of his tongue, but the words wouldn’t come. There was one secret he could never tell her. Never tell anyone. Silently, he prayed it wouldn’t come back to destroy the bond they’d just forged.

  “Tomorrow.” He tightened his grip on her. “We’ll tell everyone tomorrow.”

  Her breathing slowed, became softer when she drifted off to sleep.

  A sound in the hallway distracted him from saying more. He listened to Chad’s footsteps walking away from the room. His heart stuttered slightly as Chad’s door closed with a soft click.

  Sean’s mind whirled over the evening, considering how it was possible to experience utter happiness and absolute sadness at the exact same time.

  Lauren loved him. Sex with her rocked his world. He’d promise her forever and mean it.

  All those things were true. However, there was one other truth—a bigger truth—tarnishing this moment.

  Chad was on the wrong side of the door.

  Chapter One

  Two years later…

  “Okay, that box goes in the kitchen,” Lauren said, directing Killian and her Pfaltzgraff dishes to the last available bit of space on the island counter. She grinned. She’d always wanted a kitchen with an island.

  “Thanks again for helping us move, K.” She smiled as Killian Collins gave her a wink.

  “Beats the hell out of working. We’re at the roofing phase on our latest job site and believe me, it was no hardship to leave that task to someone else.”

  “I really don’t think we could have done this without you and the other guys.”

  “Hey, K. Where are you?” Killian’s twin brother, Tristan, called from the hallway.

  “They found me.” Killian grimaced before yelling, “In the kitchen.”

  “Come give me a hand with this box. Fucker is heavier than shit.”

  Killian shrugged. “Duty calls.”

  Male voices calling directions to each other sounded from all around the house. Lauren followed Killian out of the kitchen to check their progress. She and Sean had loaded the pickup trucks of every friend and relative they had and started the big move at the crack of dawn. Now it was just after noon. She was starving and exhausted.

  She took a calming breath as she watched the Collins men lugging furniture and boxes into her new home. She and Sean were moving into a house in a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Baltimore with their best friend Chad. She should be excited, happy. And for the most part she was, but there was also a niggling little feeling that kept nagging at the back of her mind, telling her something wasn’t quite right.

  She’d dated Sean for two years. Moving in together was clearly the next step in their relationship. She’d been thrilled when he’d found this house and asked her to share it with him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t shake the odd feeling something wasn’t quite right. She wondered if she was rushing into this new stage before she was ready.

  She grimaced as she looked around the new house filled with boxes. Everything would be fine once they unpacked and got into a routine.

  It’s just cold feet.

  “Foosball table coming through,” Sean called out as he and Chad made their way down the hall.

  Lauren blocked his path. “Where do you think you’re heading with that?”

  “Dining room.”

  She shook her head and pointed to the right, in the opposite direction of the dining room. “Office.”

  He and Chad put the table down despite the groan of protest from Tristan, who’d been following them with two large lamps in his hands.

  Sean gave her an exasperated look. “Lauren, we already discussed this. There’s a table in the kitchen and you know that’s where we’re eating. The dining room is gonna be wasted space. How in the hell are you going t
o get any work done in an office with a foosball table in it? Think of the temptation.”

  She smirked. “I don’t find foosball to be a temptation.”

  Chad toyed with one of the plastic players on the table. “Well, I do, and I don’t want my GPA slipping this late in the game. We’re only a couple of semesters away from getting our doctorates.”

  “Sean, we’re moving into this house because we decided it was time to grow up, to leave the college scene behind and start working toward a solid future. A foosball table in the dining room sort of defeats that purpose. Besides, it only has to stay in the office until you guys finish fixing up the basement. Chad wants it down there with him.”

  Sean moved closer to her and tugged her ponytail playfully. “Why don’t we compromise? We’ll put it in the dining room until we get a dining table. After that, we’ll move it to the office.”

  She considered his compromise and decided it was a fair one. They’d already made plans to buy a table later in the week, so she wouldn’t have to wait long. “You promise?”

  Sean crossed his heart, laughing. “I’ll even seal the deal with a kiss.” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Even after two years with Sean, her heart began to race the second his lips touched her.

  “I promise too,” Chad added as they started by her. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek and wiggled his eyebrows. Her libido kicked into overdrive despite her attempts to keep it in check. Not cool. She should not get hot and bothered every time Chad touched her. She was head over heels in love with Sean.

  Still…

  She stepped out of the way as they continued toward the dining room, Tris at their heels.

  “Nice house.”

  Lauren turned around and spotted Sean’s sister, Riley, and her husband Aaron coming in with more boxes. “When did you two get here?” Lauren asked.