The Billionaires--A Lover's Triangle Novel

by Calista Fox

  “That would indicate an emergency, Vin,” Anthony shot back. “It’s good to see you, by the way. Been too long.” His gaze shifted. “Rogen. You’re looking well.”

  “As are you, sir.”

  “Little late in the day to be calling me that, don’t you think? ‘Anthony’ is fine.”

  Rogen nodded and gave a shadow of a grin. Jewel’s father wasn’t about to throttle him. She sighed with relief.

  As Sophia went into her husband’s arms, Rose-Marie crossed to Jewel, taking her hands in hers.

  “I’m so very sorry,” the older woman said, choking on a sob. “For everything.”

  “I don’t need you to apologize. I just want you to feel better. And let my parents be your friends again.”

  Rose-Marie folded her arms around Jewel. It was a fragile hug, but a comforting one.

  When Rose-Marie eventually released her, Jewel added, “And try to understand that I love your son and the man you helped to raise. Not one more than the other. But equally. I always have.”

  “They’re very fortunate for that.” Glancing over at Jewel’s parents, Rose-Marie told them, “You have a very beautiful and compassionate daughter. A woman with a heart big enough to offer double the love—to my two treasures.”

  “I think that’s as much information as we need to know on the matter,” Anthony dryly said. “Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss.”

  Jewel laughed softly.

  Rose-Marie joined Rogen and Vin. “I couldn’t be prouder of you two. And despite what I told you earlier, please know that you and Gian are what I live for. I love you all so much.”

  Rogen embraced his mother. Held her tight. Then stepped away so that Vin could get in his time with the maternal presence in his life.

  “Jewel,” Gian said. “Are you really serious about the inn and winery? Committed to them?”

  “Absolutely. Fully.”

  His attention shifted to Rogen. “And you?”

  “One hundred percent.”

  With a decisive nod, Gian announced, “Then I’ll relinquish the Angelini portion of the property to both of you. Will you do the same, Anthony?”

  Jewel held her breath. Her heart skipped several beats.

  Anthony grinned. “Of course. I think their vision for that land is the best damn idea any of us have had in a long time.”

  “Agreed,” Gian said. Then he closed the gap between him and Jewel’s father in three wide strides and extended his hand. “I’ll never forget what you and Sophia did for us. I hope you know that we’re appreciative. And sorry. Truly and deeply.”

  “It was necessary,” Anthony contended, demonstrating his own compassion. And the lengths he’d go to for people in need. Jewel was immensely proud he was her father. “Especially for Rose-Marie. Her well-being was worth the sacrifice. Though … I have missed you, my friend.”

  “No more than I have you.” They shook. Then clasped each other on the shoulder.

  “This is lovely,” Rose-Marie said with a sniffle. “Except … aside from the business aspect, I’m not quite sure Rogen, Vin, and Jewel have reconciled their issues.”

  Jewel told her, “I heard every word you said to me yesterday. I’m sorry I didn’t have any answers to give you. The truth is … Those are things Rogen, Vin, and I have to work out. Together. Just the three of us.” To her two men, she said, “I’ll admit that in Paris I wasn’t thinking of consequences or reality. But now I am. And I do understand what you were saying to me.… We’ll have to make a lot of decisions. Fortunately, in the end … we all want the same thing.”

  “And you can handle that?” Rogen asked.

  “I can do anything that keeps you both in my life. In my heart.” She drew the line at saying in my bed. No need to antagonize her father further. Though she gave Rogen and Vin a wink.

  They grinned.

  Nuff said.

  She still had one concern, though. To both parents, she asked, “Can you deal with the scandal?”

  Gian said, “We’ve dealt with far worse. Or haven’t you heard?”

  Sophia nodded. “I’m sorry for the way I acted initially, Jewel. All I want is for you to be happy. And you’re right. Both men did turn out nicely. Very upstanding and handsome, and pretty much everything we’ve ever wished for you,” she repeated Jewel’s sentiment from days before. “And California is all about alternative lifestyles, so…” She shrugged. Looked a bit hopeful over the entire scenario.

  Jewel joined Rogen and Vin and said, “I’m pretty much over the gossip already.”

  Rogen stepped forward and hugged her. Gave her a kiss on the cheek. Though his eyes burned—he was clearly looking forward to doing much more than that when they had some privacy.

  Vin repeated the gesture but whispered in her ear, “You won’t regret this. Rogen and I will make damn certain of it. Every night.”

  A ripple of excitement chased down her spine.

  “I have no doubt.” She squeezed him back.

  Then Rose-Marie suddenly declared, “My manners! Good Lord, I haven’t offered anyone a cocktail.”

  Everyone laughed, relieved the tension had broken.

  Gian said, “Shall we all retire to the patio? We have a new cognac I’d like you to sample.”

  No one could argue with that.

  Jewel linked arms with Rose-Marie and smiled at her. Sophia joined Jewel on her other side and they strolled through the mansion. The men followed close behind, engrossed in business matters pertaining to the release of the property next door.

  She heard Gian say, “I’ll expect your letter of resignation on my desk first thing Monday morning, Vin. You’re going to be busy with legalities for the inn and winery.”

  Jewel shot a glance over her shoulder. Let out a small gasp when she discovered Vin staring at her ass. He dragged his gaze away and told Gian, “They did ask for my legal counsel.”

  “Offer still stands,” Rogen assured him. “A bit modified, however. How about a third of the partnership?”

  Jewel grinned. Now they were getting the numbers right.

  “I accept,” Vin said. To Gian, he added, “With all due respect, sir.”

  “The three of you have always been thick as thieves. Why would I expect anything different now?”

  Jewel returned her attention to the mothers.

  She said to Rose-Marie, “You know, I love doing all those girly mother-daughter things, like shopping, pedicures, a movie on a rainy Saturday, lunch in the city.”

  “I would like to think of you as my daughter-in-law,” Rogen’s mother said. Even though Jewel knew it would be a concept for Rose-Marie to gradually ease into, it offered hope.

  Jewel teased, “That would entail twice-monthly Sunday jazz brunches on the terrace of the Scion Inn with me and my mother. That is, until our inn opens.”

  “I’d be delighted.”

  Sophia asked, “Do you have a name yet, Jewel?”

  “DeVine Inn. Since we’ll also have a vineyard on property.” She spared a glance to her left, to her right. Then asked, “What do you think?”

  “Heavenly,” her mother said.

  Rose-Marie laughed softly. “I can’t think of a more appropriate word. Indeed … heavenly.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  “That was one seriously twisted path we traveled today,” Jewel said as she sipped her martini. She sat near the foot of a double chaise-longue chair on Rogen’s patio, which was alight with flames from the fireplace, the lava stone–filled planters, and a star-studded sky. She was situated between both men, her legs tucked under her. They flanked her with their hunky bodies. Exactly what Jewel preferred.

  Rogen said, “It sure as hell wasn’t easy seeing my mother that distraught.”

  “Not easy knowing I’ve played a huge part in her trauma, either,” Jewel commented.

  “It wasn’t personal, Jewel,” Vin reminded her, always the voice of reason. Which she adored. “You can’t help that you shared some similarities to Taylor. Like Rose-Marie said, it w
as never your fault.”

  “Still, I feel bad about how life exploded around them. Everyone, really.”

  “What your parents did for mine,” Rogen said. “That was something. To let my parents cover up all the emotional horror unfolding in our house by faking a feud … That’s pretty serious stuff.”

  With a nod, Jewel said, “I’m still blown away by it. Except that I can see from your parents’ side how hard … how excruciating … it would be to surround themselves with their nearest and dearest friends, who’d not encountered any tragedies. Who had precisely what your parents wanted—a healthy daughter. A family that wasn’t shattered. To not have to send away their only son because of how tumultuous and tenuous the environment had become.”

  “I’ll admit,” Rogen said, “though it’s painful to think of it, that I’d rather my parents sent me to Trinity than to have gone to the extreme of committing my mother to a mental health facility.” He shook his head, as though his thought hadn’t quite come out right. “I know she needs help, and I’m relieved she’s getting it. But she’s lived an extremely productive life—has devoted herself to charities and volunteering—because she could come and go, and live in her own home. Not some institution. Do I believe what they did was right by forsaking the relationship with your parents? No. But—”

  “She’s your mother, Rogen,” Vin said. “All you want for her is to be healthy and happy.”

  “Yes.”

  “You can’t justify their actions for them,” Vin added. “And Jewel was right. We can’t change the past. So let’s stop trying. Let’s cut it loose. Because now we have a future.”

  Jewel lifted her glass. “Salut.”

  They tapped rims.

  She polished off her martini and handed over the glass to Rogen, who deposited it, along with his, on the small table next to the lounger. Vin did the same.

  Jewel stretched between them, facing Rogen. She said, “I’m sorry I let all the gossip go to my head.”

  Rogen’s fingers glided across her collarbone. “It was a bit in-our-face when we came back from Paris, with not much time to prepare for what we’d encounter from the rumors.”

  She kissed him. Then craned her neck toward Vin behind her. Kissed him, too. She breathed him in and said, “God, I’ve missed how you both smell. All the heat. The virility.”

  Returning her attention to Rogen, she fisted his tee at the waist and pushed it upward and over his arms and head, tossing it aside. Her hands skimmed his muscles and they flexed beneath her touch.

  He sighed sexily. “Something tells me we’re not going to have any trouble working out all the logistics of this arrangement.”

  “We’re pretty creative people.” She kissed him.

  Then Jewel turned to Vin and toyed with the top button of his dress shirt. He gave her a devilish grin.

  “I know you’re dying to rip it open,” he said. “Go ahead. I have a closetful of expensive shirts, remember?”

  Heat blazed through her. She gripped the opening at his pecs and yanked forcefully, sending buttons flying.

  “God, that just feels so good,” she told him.

  He kissed her. Wildly. Passionately. The way he always did.

  Rogen worked the zipper on her dress and she wiggled out of it with his help while still kissing Vin. Then Rogen’s hands were on her and she had to tear her mouth away and gasp for air as everything inside her ignited.

  She unfastened Rogen’s belt and jeans while he toed off his boots. Jewel dragged the denim and his boxer briefs down his legs. Then repeated the process with Vin.

  Her tongue swept along exposed skin, rock-hard muscle, his cock. Then she did the same to Rogen. He pulled her on top of him and kissed her senseless. Sensually. Hungrily. Making her pulse skyrocket.

  Vin shifted and twined his fingers in the sides of her lace thong. He eased the material over her hips and down her thighs. She maneuvered with him to get the scant lingerie off her. Then she straddled Rogen’s hips. His hands caressed her breasts as she kissed him.

  One of Vin’s hands whisked over her belly, causing the flesh to quiver. He stroked her pussy lips, already moist from her escalating desire. His other hand covered her ass. Then his fingers traced along the cleft, taunting her with her very favorite thing—forbidden pleasures.

  Jewel had a palm flattened on the cushion at Rogen’s side. She licked the other and rubbed the head of his cock. Then closed her hand over it and slid down to the shaft, pumping slowly.

  “Yeah,” Rogen said on a sexy groan. “Like that.”

  Vin slid two fingers inside her and stroked while also rubbing her clit. He was on his knees beside Rogen’s hip, positioned to set a quick, steady pace.

  Rogen’s mouth closed over her nipple and he sucked hard. Jewel let out a little squeal of delight.

  “This really is too decadent for words,” she said. “But I don’t feel guilty anymore. I just … feel.”

  And how fucking wonderful that was!

  Vin worked her faster. Rogen suckled her other nipple. And Jewel cried out when the radiant orgasm took hold of her.

  While she still vibrated from the climax she guided Rogen’s cock into her pussy. He plunged deep, gripping her hips to steady her as he fucked her.

  “Yes,” she told him, their gazes locked. “That’s incredible.” Her forearms rested along his chest as she leaned over him.

  He shifted her hips away and pulled out of her. Vin squirted lube over her skin and then eased into her small, tight hole.

  “Oh!” Jewel moaned loudly. The variance in sensation from Rogen in her pussy to Vin in her ass was exquisite.

  He pumped slowly a few times. Then withdrew. Rogen entered her again.

  “Oh, God.” Her head dropped to Rogen’s shoulder. All Jewel wanted to concentrate on was the difference in the pleasure her two lovers brought her, in two very different spots. The stroking of Rogen’s cock. Then Vin’s. Then Rogen’s.

  “Fuck,” Vin murmured. “Those moans of yours drive me crazy.”

  “What you both do to me drives me crazy,” she said.

  While Vin gently pushed farther into her, Rogen coaxed her hips downward, so that his dick slid between her slick folds while Vin was inside her.

  “Yes,” she whimpered. “You can’t imagine how good it feels to have you both stroking me. Making me wetter. Hotter.”

  Vin gave Rogen his turn and he thrust assertively, hitching her breathing and her pulse.

  “Oh, yes,” she moaned, barreling so quickly toward orgasm.

  Rogen pulled out and Vin slipped in. Her folds glided along Rogen’s thick shaft again. Then the head of his cock rubbed her clit with a quick tempo and just the right amount of pressure as her body rocked from Vin’s pumping.

  Fire roared through her veins. Beads of perspiration popped along her nape.

  Jewel’s breasts brushed over Rogen’s pecs with every thrust, her nipples tightening against the sweep of his hot, smooth skin and chiseled muscles. She rode his cock while Vin continued to pump steadily.

  Erotic sensations kept swelling within her. Searing. Tingling. Tempting.

  “I want both of you,” she told them on sharp pants of air. “Inside me.”

  Rogen’s grip on her hips tightened to keep her in place. The tip of his cock nudged her opening.

  “Are you sure?” Rogen asked.

  “Yes, yes,” she assured them. “I’m about to come. Give me what I need. Right now.”

  She was so wet. Opening to them. Ready for them.

  Vin eased out just to the point of the head of his erection nestling within her. Rogen inched in that much as well.

  Exhilaration exploded down Jewel’s spine and deep in her core.

  “Oh, God.” It was too much and yet somehow not enough. “More.”

  “Fuck,” Vin all but growled. So heatedly. “It’s good for us, too, baby. Take it slow.”

  Not heeding the warning, she rolled her hips.

  “Jewel!” Vin scolded and encourage
d at the same time.

  Rogen pushed farther into her. So did Vin.

  Jewel could barely breathe and her heart thundered. “Oh, Christ.” The two of them filling her was like nothing she’d ever known, nothing she could ever have been prepared for. Vin was leaning over her. Her chest was pressed to Rogen’s. They surrounded her, carefully moved within her. Stroking, pumping, thrusting.

  Sending her to some incredibly primal, wicked place that made her lose touch with everything … except heat and sensation.

  And when those sensations burst wide open, Jewel screamed.

  “Oh, fuck!” Vin’s cock throbbed and his body convulsed as he came.

  Rogen drove deeper, faster. And then she felt him surge and explode inside her, filling her with heat and moisture.

  “Yes,” Jewel moaned, the rush of desire setting her off again with enticing ripples.

  They stayed in that place for endless moments, Jewel crushed between the two of them in the most sinfully delicious way.

  She could have stayed there forever.

  Eventually, Vin withdrew. He flopped down beside her on his back. Jewel unraveled from Rogen and lay between them. They all still breathed a bit heavily.

  Rogen told her, “I love you, Jewel. I always have and I always will.”

  She kissed his cheek. “I love you, too.”

  Then she rolled toward Vin. “And what about you, surly?”

  He chuckled. “I suppose I love you a little bit.”

  She held up her hand, pinched her index finger and thumb together until there was just an inch of space between them. “About that much?”

  His brow crooked. He used his own finger and thumb to push hers in a quarter of an inch. “Maybe that much.”

  Jewel let out a healthy laugh. “You asshole! Play nice. Or I’ll slap you again.”

  “If that’s the game you want to play, then expect me to smack that very fine ass of yours before I fuck it again.”

  Liquid fire replaced the blood in her veins. “You wouldn’t tease a girl, would you?”

  Vin pulled her onto him and said, “You are no girl, Jewel Catalano. And for the record, I am very much in love with you. Forever.”