A Valentine for Two

by Lia Davis

  West accepted the papers that Adam handed her and then she held them up. Almost pointing them at the bastard. “I want you to listen carefully, Keith. I’m only making this offer once. One time. If you refuse, we’re taking you to court. It will be all over the news and I’ll press criminal charges.”

  There was silence for a few seconds that felt like a lifetime. She never backed down, glaring at him.

  I was impressed and when she turned to look at us, I didn’t know about Sandy, but I was totally in awe of how in command she was until she winked. She fucking winked. She was enjoying herself. What a rush.

  “Mr. Ellington and Mr. Tramaine are willing to let this go if you sign a release of contract.”

  “No fucking way.”

  Man, the guy was an asshole.

  She let out a deep sigh. “Still an asshole, I see. As I was saying. You sign the release and pay me what you were paid for the other projects you stole from me and you won’t go to jail.”

  He made a big show of searching for his cell. “I’m calling my attorney.”

  “There’s no need for that,” Adam said. “I can call him. We’ll need to discuss court dates, paperwork, and filings. I hope you have the next year and a half free. I also hope you have deep pockets. This isn’t going to be cheap. My clients have given me the green light for a spare no expense trial. I’ve also recommended a very talented criminal lawyer for Ms. Henderson. That case won’t take too long to close I suspect.” He pointed to the storyboards. “Now that I’ve verified the evidence.”

  Keith lost it and like most cowards he resorted to name calling. “You low-brow sneaky bitch whore. I—”

  Both Sandy and I stepped forward to shut the bastard up, but West held up her hand in a bid to stop us. “Thanks guys, but I got this.” Slowly, as if she was taking a Sunday stroll, she walked right up to Keith. They were less than a foot apart. “Save yourself the trouble. Your words can’t hurt me and I’m going to tell you why. I may have grown up on a farm, dirt poor as you always reminded me, but I never stole anything from anyone. Not their self-respect or their courage. You did that. You were good at it. And I never screwed around on you. You were the whore in our relationship. So yeah, your words? They are hollow and empty and you’ll have plenty of time to mull them over in the cell I will enjoy putting you in if you don’t sign the papers Adam has so kindly drawn up.”

  She turned and I figured Sandy was as captivated as I was by her grace. She may have been furious, but she looked so together I wanted to crush her in my arms and tell her what a great job she’d done.

  “I’ll see you two tonight. Adam?” I was almost jealous when she put her hand on the old guy’s shoulder. “Thank you for seeing to the paperwork.”

  After that she made to leave, but not before she said, “Oh, and Keith?” We were all looking at her when she beamed. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  ***

  Sandy

  I waited until Ty shut the office door and took his usual seat opposite me before I asked, “So are you going to say it or am I?”

  “We can’t fuck this up.”

  I sat forward and rested my elbows on my knees. “Did you see her?”

  “Yes. It’s true what they say about redheads.” That made me smile and he called me on it. “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing. What do you think she’s going to bring for dessert?”

  Ty looked away and then looked back. “Does this feel like deja vu to you?”

  I wasn’t going to bring it up. Ty had taken Karen’s passing pretty bad. We both had. She’d been a special woman and in five years we hadn’t met another woman like her until Wesley showed up casting stones. “Yep.”

  “I hope it’s carrot cake.”

  I straightened and blinked. Then I realized he was answering my earlier question. My conversation with her about gingers came to mind and I frowned. “Is that some sort of joke?”

  “No. For real. I love carrot cake.”

  I didn’t miss the devious light in his eyes. The little fucker. He was screwing with me. Already. This is what I’d been missing. “I get the first slice.”

  “Yeah?” He grinned. “We’ll see about that.” After a second or two his eyes narrowed. “And no pulling any Dom shit on her tonight. I saw you looking at her in the conference room like you were sizing her up for a collar.”

  “So?”

  “Wait a week or two.”

  I leaned back and sized him up. “Why?”

  “Okay, I swore I’d never tell you this, but something West said on our Thursday date night made me realize that maybe I should.”

  As soon as her name was mentioned I was giving a fuck about the topic. “Oh?”

  “It has to do with that stun-gun episode. But first I should probably explain about West’s cherry picking from the Jewish faith.”

  And he was losing me. “You know how I feel about religion.”

  “Yeah, yeah. It’s personal. Got it. This has to do with power exchange.”

  I raised a brow at him. “I’m listening.”

  “And confession.”

  I raised my other brow. “Sexual?”

  “Could be.” When he saw both my brows drop and me scowling he rushed out, “She’s wicked smart and this is fascinating. I’m going to help you so you can help me.”

  This sounded like classic Ty double speak, much like the occasions when I got roped into paying the tab during a night out where he invited all our so-called friends. “You have one minute. Go.”

  And by the time he was done, I was sold.

  That’s when I knew that Wesley wasn’t the only wicked smart person in our soon to be triangle. Ty was a fucking genius.

  Chapter Eight

  Wesley

  I’d barely lifted my hand to knock on the beautiful wood carved double doors when they opened. By the scent of his cologne, I knew it was Sandy even before we were face to face. “Hi.”

  “Hi, Red. What do you have here?”

  I handed him the box, trying my best not to sigh. The guy was always impeccably dressed in expensive suits that were tailored to perfection, but tonight he was wearing dark slacks and a white, form fitting, T-shirt. Jesus wept, he was fine. “Cake.”

  He took the box from me and tried to see inside it while I tried not to stare at his bulging biceps flexing as he maneuvered the carton. “Carrot?”

  “Very funny. It’s red velvet.”

  He stopped trying to see inside and grinned. “Now who’s being funny?”

  I wagged my finger at him. “Red for Valentine’s Day. No talking about red hair or gingers tonight, got it?”

  He stepped back and waved me in. “Sure. The way you said that makes me think there’s something else you want to talk about.”

  “Oh, there is.” And wouldn’t he be surprised. “Which way?”

  Once he pointed in a direction I asked him. “Where’s Ty?”

  “He’s here.” He put his free hand at the small of my back and guided me. “He’s been waiting for you. We both have.”

  I looked up at him. Not because of the words, more due to his tone. It was low and kind of husky. “Are you okay?”

  “Not really.”

  Before I’d even fully processed his reply he took hold of the back of my blouse and fisted his hand in the material, stopping me. Automatically, I turned toward him. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve missed you.”

  I don’t know how he did it, but he balanced the cake box in one hand, and he managed to pull me into him with the other. Not that I was going complain. “I missed you t—”

  That’s all I got out because he curled down and kissed the hell out of me. Seriously. There was no easing into this embrace, it was borderline assault and I loved every minute of it. The bolder he was with his mouth, tongue, and teeth, the quicker the tingles were to throb and chase at lightning speed through me, landing with electric-type pulses between my legs. The sensations were so intense I feared my knees would give out unti
l— “Ow.”

  He bit my chin. Hard enough it probably left a red mark, but then even worse, he stepped back and used his free hand to smack me on the ass. “That’s a little payback for last time.”

  “Last time? What, at my house?” I used my small clutch purse to scratch the nonexistent sting away from my bottom so he’d feel guilty. Not that he did. It only took me a split second to see that idea was a lost cause as he didn’t appear to have any remorse when he grinned. The handsome bugger. “Did I spank your bottom?”

  His grin widened. “You bit me.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. I found I was a little breathless. An intense guy like Sandy taking the time to tease me like this? Yeah. I was slightly out of sorts. But then it came to me that this is what he was going for so I had to say something. “And I’ll bite you again if you drop that cake. Which way to the kitchen?”

  I knew the direction so I didn’t wait for him to show me when I turned and headed down the hall. I was nearly to the double arched entryway when I saw the huge collage of bright colors, reds, yellows, greens, oranges, whites and I stopped.

  “Do you like them? They’re for you. We have no idea how we’ll get them to your place, but for tonight we wanted you to be able to enjoy them during dinner.”

  “Sandy...” I didn’t know what else to say. There must have been two hundred stems of various flowers. Hydrangea, gladiolas, roses, lily of the valley, heather, and a few I couldn’t name. The collection of vases grouped together reminded me of a Monet painting I’d seen once. A landscape bursting with life and vitality. Beautiful.

  “And Ty.”

  I turned when I heard his voice. He was standing in a different entrance, one that led out to a patio I guessed. “Oh, Ty. They’re beautiful.”

  He leaned one shoulder against the thick woodwork that wrapped around the archway, and smiled, “Not as beautiful as you.”

  I eyed him, then the flowers, before I shifted to look at Sandy. Damn it. They were ready to make me choose. I just knew it. Which meant I’d be robbed of my moment of truth before it even happened. I’d spent a lifetime getting to this point and all afternoon practicing how I was going to hit them with it. “You can put down the cake.”

  “West brought cake?” Ty called. “Is it carrot?”

  I frowned at Sandy. “Did you tell him about that?”

  Sandy shook his head. “No, that’s our thing.”

  “You get a thing?” Ty said, coming up behind me. He rested his hand on my lower back and leaned down to speak in my ear, “Nice skirt. Sandy likes the blue one.”

  I shivered and brought my shoulder up to rub against my ear to stave off the thrills his warm breath riding my skin had created. “I don’t have a blue one. It’s black.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s short, that’s all that counts.”

  “Okay. That’s enough.” I ducked around him and put some distance between me and the two of them. “Before this gets out of hand, I have something I want to say to you guys.”

  Neither of them moved, but their staring at me? Yeah, totally freaking me out.

  “We’re listening, Red.”

  I put my purse down on the table with all the flowers, stopping to touch one of the silky tulip petals, before I braced myself and got this over with. “I’m not going to work for Tradelines. It would only complicate things.”

  “How so?” Ty sounded disappointed and I didn’t blame him. I’d been upset about this decision for weeks. Cementing my belief that the hardest choices in life were always the right ones, no matter how much you wished them to be wrong.

  “I don’t know whether either of you guys have noticed, but I’m attracted to you. Both of you. Now I know what you’re thinking.” I started pacing, mentally going over things as I walked back and forth, because this next bit was going to be awkward for all of us. “You guys think this is no big deal and it’s easy enough, but it’s not.”

  “That’s not what I was thinking. Was that what you were thinking?” Ty asked Sandy who shook his head.

  “No.”

  I stopped and came right out with it. “It’s like this. You’re the serpent.” I pointed at Sandy. “And you’re the rainbow,” I said indicating to Ty. “One is full of dark temptation, which you gotta know I love and the other is full of sunshine, something I couldn’t live without, so I can’t choose. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes.”

  I shot a look at Ty, but it was Sandy who spoke up, “We understand. You’re a cherry picker. You’re thinking if you put the two of us together we’d be the perfect guy for you.”

  Oh my God. They got it. “Exactly. I’m so relieved you understand. It’s really very simple. We can’t work together and I don’t think we can be friends either because I’m not a saint. I’d likely slip up one day and wind up in bed with one of you and then the other guy would be mad. You see what I mean?”

  “I think I got it. You?” Sandy asked Ty.

  Ty nodded. “Heard.”

  Why were they both smiling?

  “I probably should have waited until after dinner to bring this up, but I couldn’t put it off any longer. It’s been—”

  “—bothering you?” Sandy unpacked the cake and left it on the counter. “Is this why you didn’t want to see either of us over the last few weeks?”

  I mockingly cringed. “Yes. You were...and Ty was...and then there was me who was...well, let’s just say I’ve kept Duracell in the black this month.”

  “Is that it?” Sandy asked, and he didn’t seem amused by my joke. Didn’t he know I was trying to lighten the mood so we could have our last supper together without any hard feelings? If they had any idea how horrible that thought made me feel—last supper— they wouldn’t be staring at me so intensely at the moment.

  “I think it’s enough. I’m walking away from a contract that could set me up for life. Not to mention stepping away from the opportunity of having the best sex of my life with one of you guys. Is that it?” I repeated his blasé question, getting a little hot under the collar if you wanted to know the truth. “If that doesn’t qualify as sacrificing enough, then I’m a monkey’s Aunt.”

  Sandy’s lip twitched as if he was fighting the urge to smile, while Ty frowned. “How do you know it would be the best sex of your life?”

  I made a face that said, come on. “I’m throwing you a bone here since I’ll never know. We’ll never know. Besides, what should I have said, mediocre?”

  Ty laughed, but Sandy shook his head. “When I asked if that was it, I meant, are you finished with your speech?”

  I mouthed the word ‘oh’ and then mimed the action of locking up my lips and throwing away the key.

  Sandy played along with universal motion when he followed the direction I pretended to throw the imaginary item, staring at a point on the floor a few feet from us. The silence was notable, but then the look he gave me when his gaze returned to capture mine, fairly sizzled. And when he spoke, shattering the quiet, warning bells went off in my mind. “I wouldn’t lose that if I were you.” He gave a curt nod toward the spot where the imaginary key lay. “I don’t like to be locked out.” His tone deepened, when he said, “Make no mistake, Red. I’m going to order you to open your mouth for me in a few minutes, so be prepared.”

  His words were like a physical caress. A very intimate one.

  “Are you going to tell her or would you like me to?” I looked at Ty and then back at Sandy. Truthfully, my heart beat so fast the pulse of it sounded loudly in my ears. It forced me to pay closer attention in case I missed his answer.

  “Go ahead.”

  Ty walked right to me and put a finger under my chin, tipping it up. “We want you. The only choice you have to make about us is not to make one.”

  I thought he was curling down to kiss me, but then at the last minute, just before our lips met he shifted to speak in my ear.

  “All you have to do is answer a few questions...”

  The next few minutes didn’t see
m real. More like bizarre, but once we established a certain equilibrium with our intimate dialogue, I began to relax. He did too. He wasn’t as intense as he had been. I was happy about that, because he was the rainbow.

  “So there’s no need for us to use protection.” He pressed his nose against my temple and rubbed it back and forth. I got goose bumps. “Good. Skin to skin is so much better.”

  “Do you like to suck cock, West?”

  The small muscles at my center tightened. Almost as though he’d physically touched me there. “Yes.”

  “How much?”

  I couldn’t lift my shoulder to press against my ear this time as he was too close. His warm breath releasing across my lobe made me shiver. “Enough that I can... come.”

  “Mmm...” That silky growl wrapped around me. “You’re a cock worshipper which means we’re two very lucky guys. What about bad girl fun? Do you like your bottom played with?”

  Funny, but I wasn’t embarrassed or shy about the topic when I answered. It seemed normal somehow. “Yes.”

  “Have you ever fucked with two men before?”

  I shook my head and then found myself leaning my forehead into him, pressing the side of my temple against his jaw. “No.”

  He put his arms around me, holding me tight. “But you want to. With Sandy and me.”

  I breathed in through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. “Yes.”

  “Sandy likes to watch before he takes over. Do you want to see what I mean by that?”

  When I nodded he held me tighter.

  “Good girl. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of unless you want to be. All you have to do is say no. Anytime, for any reason and we stop. Okay?”

  He was being so patient when he really didn’t need to be. I wasn’t made of china. Maybe I should tell him that. “I’m okay. It’s okay.”

  “I’m glad to hear that, sweetheart. Very glad. I want you to bring your hands behind you. That’s right. Grip the table.”

  I did as he said until my upper half was angled back, breasts and hips thrust forward.