“It’s fine, I understand. I’m pretty interested in getting my package back, too.” Cassidy offered with a smile.
Or at least he had been this morning. They’d both been so desperate to know what was in that package. Even Nash, who normally didn’t get nervous about anything, had tossed and turned most of the last week, waiting for the letter. That was, until they’d opened Grace’s package instead. Now he didn’t give two shits about what was in Cassidy’s envelope. He would again—eventually—once everything was settled between them. But not today.
“Victoria would kill me if I didn’t come to the party. She wouldn’t care what excuse I had.”
Nash had no trouble believing her. Everyone in town had experienced Victoria’s lethal tongue and fiery temper at some time or another. Given how important this party was to the town—and Victoria and her father, the mayor—he didn’t find it hard to believe there would be hell to pay if Grace skipped the event.
“No problem.” Any time spent with Grace was time well spent. Even at a fancy party where no one wanted them to be.
“Besides, it would be a shame to miss this.” Nash sipped at his drink, trying to pretend he enjoyed it as he inspected the ribbons and evergreen boughs hanging from the ceiling. “I don’t know that I’ve seen more elaborate Christmas decorations before. You guys did a great job.”
Grace shrugged. “That’s all Victoria and Lydia. I only handled the toy drive.” She pointed toward a pile of toys in one corner, with a slightly higher proportion of books than action figures.
That was their Grace. Always thinking of others. Decorations and party favors would be trivial to her when people needed help.
“They’re going to the Piedmont group home.” She sipped her drink, looking toward the dance floor. Yet the words still hit him like an arrow to the chest. Not only was she helping kids that had no one else, but she’d organized the charity to deliver toys to the same home they’d been raised in.
He had no doubt she was the one who decided to give the toys to that particular home. Or that the choice of recipient was a coincidence. That was just like their Grace to remember the home he and Cassidy had been raised in. Even though they’d only told her once, months ago.
She nibbled her bottom lip. Her eyes glanced up at him before shifting back to the dance floor. There was no disguising the slight blush to her cheeks. Her breasts pressed against the deep neck of her dress as she took in several deep breaths. Everything inside his body seized. She was the most amazing, adorable, sexy, hot, fantastic, thoughtful, gorgeous woman he’d ever met in his entire life.
He couldn’t hold back much longer. His cock was already harder than steel. His whole body vibrated with need. If he had to wait much longer he might explode. He didn’t care if it was rude or unfair to her. He only cared about getting his hands on her as soon as possible.
It was time someone showed Grace how amazing she was. And he was more than happy to be that person. Or more accurately, one of those people.
“What do you say we get that envelope now?”
* * * *
Grace stared at the men in front of her. The two men were her walking, talking wet dreams. She thought they looked good trimming her hedges, but she was having trouble not drooling on them in their suits. Her own personal versions of James Bond. Except more dangerous looking, more hurt and broken, in a way only a lot of love could fix. That and a lot of dirty sex. The kind that curled your toes and made you scream out so loud the neighbors threatened to call the police.
She could happily make them both scream. She’d suck on Cassidy’s cock until his eyes rolled back in his head. At the same time Nash could fuck her from behind, thrusting into her so hard the headboard smacked against the wall.
Yet his question startled her from her quiet reverie. What the hell had she been thinking? Did she really think that she could make them both scream and come? It had to be the alcohol getting to her brain. That was the type of thing she wrote about. That’s not who she was in real life.
Nash’s slightly irritated tone concerned her. It had seemed like they were enjoying the party. Even now, the way they looked at her didn’t say they wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. Though she wasn’t exactly sure what the look in his eyes said. But it didn’t remind her of a man about to flee.
“Umm…sure. Lydia’s desk is in the back room.”
“Lead the way.” This time it was Cassidy, and again he didn’t sound upset or focused on leaving. If they’d been at the Two Step bar on a Friday night she might have categorized his voice as a sexy growl. The kind of tone you might hear when a man asked a woman to come home with him.
But that couldn’t be what she heard. Her crazy brain was running away from her again. If they were at the Two Step, Cassidy wouldn’t be asking her to leave with him. And at the Christmas Ball it was even less likely. At least if they were strangers at the Two Step, he wouldn’t know how boring she was. He might think there was a wildcat beneath all her reservation that could come out to play. But Cassidy and Nash knew the truth. There was no wildcat underneath her boring facade, just more nerdiness.
“Okay.” As much as she tried, she couldn’t keep the disappointment from her voice. At least to herself. She hoped they didn’t notice it.
Placing her drink on the bar, she turned away from the party, toward the back of the building.
Tonight, the town hall was filled with Christmas trees, decorations, and most of the town’s occupants, but on a normal day the Frostbite Falls town hall held a less exciting purpose. It was the home to the town offices, including the town clerk and the mayor’s offices, both of whom were housed in the far side of the building. Far from the festivities.
With a sigh, she maneuvered through the crowd toward the offices. Dutifully, Cassidy and Nash followed her, twisting and turning through the crowd of people and down the hallway toward the town offices. Neither said a word, but they stuck so close to her their heat was a constant presence against her back. For a second she could have sworn their breaths brushed her skin, but she must be crazy. There was no reason for them to remain that close. They couldn’t get lost in the short hallway.
From the corner of her eyes she saw a few shadowy figures head into the mayor’s private office. If Mayor Willis knew his office was used as a make-out spot, he’d explode. Yet every year some lucky couple ended up in that room. Something about the evening wear and the cold season had everyone wanting to cuddle up close.
But then again, maybe it was nothing like that. Maybe they were headed into the office for another purpose. If anyone saw her walking into the county clerk’s office with Nash and Cassidy, they’d probably suspect they were sneaking off for a little hanky-panky, as well. Nothing could be further from the truth.
How many times had she wished to be one of those couples? To be hauled off the dance floor and kissed in some quiet back corner or darkened office. But that had never been her lot. She was the quiet mousy best friend. Not the girl ravished in a coat closet.
Lydia’s desk was the third from the door. Grace picked the envelope off the desktop and held it out to Cassidy. “Here you go.”
He stepped close, grabbing the package, but he barely looked at it. His dark eyes concentrated on her. His body shifted a few inches closer than necessary. She jittered at the proximity, her stomach flip-flopping hopelessly.
“You didn’t open it.”
She shook her head. “Of course not. It’s not my mail.”
“You weren’t curious what was inside?” The slow seductive curl of his words had her temperature skyrocketing. He couldn’t be doing that by accident, could he?
“Sure, I was a little curious, but it’s not addressed to me.” When neither of them spoke, she continued on, needing to fill the silence rather than focus on the two men staring at her. “It’s a federal offense to open someone else’s mail. It’s punishable by three years in prison and up to ten thousand dollars in fines.”
“And you always do the
right thing, don’t you?” The edge to the question confused her. It wasn’t angry or upset, more inquisitive. Seductive almost.
“If you mean follow the law, then yes. I always do that.” She didn’t even speed. She didn’t see the point. She’d arrive at the same place either way. What was the big deal in getting there a few minutes later?
“And what about not illegal acts, princess, just naughty ones?” Cassidy ran his finger down her arm, startling little goose bumps across her skin.
She tried to focus on breathing as they stared at her. The way they looked at her, talked to her, and now touched her. It was insane. These two hulking slabs of man couldn’t possibly want her. Round, bookish Grace. They probably had dates lined up for later tonight. Dates that were adventurous and wore leather and didn’t get their tongues tied up at one little compliment.
No, they must have no idea the impression their words gave her. She needed to stop this. The sooner the better. Before she started to believe what they said.
“Did you bring my package?” She stepped a fraction back, easing just out of Cassidy’s reach before she realized exactly what she said.
Both men smiled at her double entendre, but thankfully neither commented. Reaching behind his back, Cassidy drew the package from the back of his pants and placed it on the desk before her.
She fought back a scream as she stared at the envelope. The top seam was ragged and ripped. Her heart pounded double time in her chest. Her precious manuscript. The one no one knew about, not even her best friends, was exposed. She glanced up into Cassidy’s gorgeous blue eyes, “You opened it.”
He nodded, not looking anywhere near as ashamed as he should have. At least in her opinion. “Before I realized it wasn’t mine.”
She couldn’t completely fault him. She could have done the same herself if Brooke hadn’t noticed the postmark first. But the feeling of being naked before them wouldn’t go away. “Did you read it?” She hated the scared tone of her voice, but she couldn’t stop it. No one but her editor and her agent had read her book, not even Victoria. It always felt too vulnerable to show that part of herself to anyone. That space she reserved only for herself.
Both men nodded, and her entire body shook. The idea of letting the earth swallow her whole sounded really damn good.
This was why they’d been acting so weird all night. They’d read her book. They’d read her fantasies. They probably thought she lived like her characters. Having sex with multiple men at a time, in public, even letting them punish her with a harsh spanking. Boy, would they be disappointed when they found out the truth. The real her was nothing like that. She wasn’t sexy. She wasn’t experienced. She wasn’t any fun at all.
“Thank god we did.” Nash smiled at her from just behind Cassidy’s shoulder. “We were about to fight each other to the death for you. Now we don’t have to.”
She didn’t know which emotion to process first. The outrage that they assumed she’d be interested in committing what she wrote about without asking her, or the complete shock that they both wanted her. No one had ever talked about wanting her that way.
Shock won out. “You were going to fight to the death over me?”
Nash laughed, clasping a lock of her hair and wrapping it around his finger. The motion was so sensual she almost had to remind herself to breathe as she watched him wind her hair around his skin. “Not exactly, sweetheart, but we were afraid what would happen if you picked one of us over the other. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d had to watch you kiss and snuggle with Cassidy on our couch.”
She didn’t know what to say. Her jaw dropped. Her mind tried to form words, but nothing came.
“Don’t act so surprised, princess. We can’t be the first men to want you this bad.”
Yes, they could be. Because they absolutely were.
“If you don’t close your mouth, I’ll have to put it to better use.” Cassidy’s eyes traced down to her lips, even as his body shifted closer, filling in the space she’d put between them and then some.
Automatically she snapped her jaw closed, swallowing deep before she spoke again. “Like what?” The rusty drawl of her words didn’t sound familiar at all. That wasn’t her voice. She had no idea what was happening to her. All she knew for sure was she really liked the way they looked at her. The way their lips turned up in confident smirks.
“I think you know.” Nash’s response was barely more than a groan.
Before she could question them further about this impossible idea they both might want her, Cassidy stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers.
The feel of his mouth against hers was pure bliss. Rough and forceful, without being too demanding, Cassidy molded his mouth to hers. His arms wound around her, yanking her into the hard plains of his body. Automatically her arms wrapped around his neck, needing the support to keep from collapsing right on the spot.
For one crazy second she thought about pushing him away. Forcing some air in between them so she could think straight. There had to be something wrong with them. Maybe a drug had been slipped in their drinks. That made more sense than Cassidy and Nash both being interested in her.
At the swipe of his tongue along the seam of her lips, all other thoughts vanished from her mind. All reason gone, she eagerly opened her mouth, inviting him inside.
Cassidy’s tongue twisted with hers. His hands stroked down her back to grip her ass. The especially hard bulge between his legs brushed against her stomach and sent shivers of longing through her body.
This morning, the idea of Cassidy being interested in her had seemed ridiculous. But it was hard to deny when the evidence rubbed against her belly. His arms held her so close she almost couldn’t breathe. But she had a feeling that dizziness had nothing to do with a lack of oxygen and instead with the man embracing her. A man who had starred in more than one of her nightly fantasies.
It was hard to believe this was real. So close to a dream or a story she would write, she couldn’t believe it. But if it wasn’t really happening she didn’t want to know. It was too damn good to give up for a little thing like reality.
Cassidy pulled back, panting against her cheek. “Have you ever been with two men before?” Nash stepped closer, caging her in between their warm bodies. Another rush of longing shot through her.
She shook her head. Of course she’d never been with two men before. There weren’t a plethora of men lining up to take a chubby book nerd to bed, let alone many that wanted to fuck her in pairs.
“Two sets of hands, two sets of lips, two tongues…” His words drifted off, letting her imagine what else she’d have access to in pairs. She had a pretty active imagination—her editor could attest to that—but she didn’t need much to figure out where he was going.
“You’ve never experienced anything like it.” Nash’s voice was pure seduction, and she had no trouble believing him.
“I’m sure.” She half mumbled before she even realized she was speaking, eliciting a smile from each of them.
“Would you like to?” Cassidy’s hands at her waist kept her body planted against his.
Nash placed little kisses up her throat. A quiver of lust rushed through her. “You’d love it, sweetheart.” Their hands landed on her hips, slowly tracing up her sides as his lips continued to explore her skin.
“It would be good research for my writing.” She tried to play it cool but was pretty sure she failed miserably. Not that it mattered. If Nash and Cassidy fell for the ploy right now, they probably didn’t deserve to take her home to begin with.
“I’ll be your test subject any day, sweetheart,” Nash nipped at her earlobe, and she barely restrained her gasp of surprised excitement.
Turning her head, he pressed his mouth to hers. His kiss was instantly hot and intoxicating, forcing her to spread her lips and invite him in. She gripped his waist, holding on as he plundered her mouth. His teeth nipped at her bottom lip, pulling a gasp from her. She liked what he did to her, a lot more than she’d ever
realized she would.
No one had ever kissed her like this. All her previous boyfriends treated her like she was spun sugar that might break at the slightest provocation. Even Victoria treated her lightly, rarely using that authoritative voice on Grace that told the whole world to do her bidding or else. Everyone thought of her as sweet, kind, or gentle. Everyone except Nash and Cassidy, who had no trouble biting her skin and pushing for more.
It was because they’d read her book. They’d seen her inner thoughts, the ones she kept from the rest of the world. It had to be. But regardless of the reason, the idea of being taken and fucked, hard and fast by these men, had a moan escaping her throat. Once she was sure they both heard, and understood, on a primal level at least.
“Is that a yes?” Nash whispered against her lips. He stepped a little closer, his big muscular body pressed against her. The noticeable bulge of his hard cock pressed against her back, sending shock waves of heat through her.
Her mind fogged over, lust taking over all internal functions. She wasn’t sure which part of her agreed. Her logical side knew she’d never get this opportunity again. The naughty side wanted such a delicious and wicked encounter. And the writer side reveled in the idea of having a new experience to recall for her next story.
But whatever side it was made the decision quickly. “Yes” was all she could manage to say. It was more than she expected to say as Cassidy cupped her right breast in his hot hand. She couldn’t be sure, but to her ears, the word sounded more moan than agreement. They got the point either way.
“Thank god,” Nash screamed out, before turning her head, planting a quick kiss on her lips. “Let’s get out of here.”
She barely restrained the whimper of regret as they pulled away from her. Cassidy grabbed her hand and tugged her to the door. “Did you drive here?”
She shook her head. “I walked.” Her house was only a few minutes from the mayor’s home, where Victoria lived, right across from the town hall. With parking at a premium for the event, she hadn’t seen a reason to bring her own car.
Sweet Snowfall [Frostbite Falls Christmas 1] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Page 4
