by Marie Carnay
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I have to know what it’s like. I have to take this chance.” She ran her hand up Clark’s chest and he sucked in a breath, tension twisting up his insides as he waited. “I need to know if it could be as good as my imagination.”
He exhaled. “Then let’s find out.”
Chapter 13
MITCH
No turning back now. Maddie reached for Mitch, pulling him down to kiss her again. The second he’d pushed her into admitting the fantasy that filled her thoughts that night, Mitch knew this would change everything.
Tonight they weren’t in a race to see who could win her heart. They could be free. He slid his hands behind her head, tugging her upper body closer while she straddled Clark. His tongue thrust inside her mouth, swiping along the soft pillows of her lips to taste the wine that coated her words and gave Maddie courage.
She could have come to him stone-cold sober with nothing but a faded T-shirt and hair in a bun and he’d have told the truth: she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and he wanted all that she could give. Slipping his hands behind her head, Mitch held her, fingers tangled in her honey-colored tresses, mouth locked on hers as they explored this new world together.
They could have taken their time—a slow-dance strip-tease with sexy glances and dirty words, but Mitch couldn’t wait. He wanted Maddie naked and exposed and his for the taking. He reached for the hem of her dress, dragging it up by fistfuls over her body.
He tugged the fabric over her head as Clark leaned in. He grabbed her panties by the waist, pulling them down as Mitch pulled up. The dress and panties landed somewhere behind them. On the floor, the chair, the potted plant in the corner, Mitch didn’t care.
Clark made fast work of her bra and then they had her: naked and spectacular. A flush spread up her chest and bloomed across her cheeks as Maddie sat on the couch. “I can’t tell if you’re looking at me like you want to eat me or kiss me.”
Mitch knew Clark wouldn’t be able to resist.
His old friend shrugged out of his shirt with a grin. “Maybe it’s both.”
Maddie leaned forward, helping them both shed their clothes, tugging on belt buckles and buttons, yanking off shirt sleeves and shoving down pants. In seconds, the three of them had nothing between them.
No clothes, no hesitation, nothing but a simmering need that hung in the air, cloying and thick. God, he wanted her. Needed her. It didn’t matter that Clark kneeled beside him, hands roving over Maddie’s bare flesh, the same glint of excitement in his eyes.
If she wanted this night to explore her tangled-up needs and wants, then Mitch would give it to her. He’d give her anything.
CLARK
Her hands ran over their bare chests, swiping wide across pecs before swooping down abs held taut from unreleased need and pent-up desire. Damn, Clark hovered right on the edge, his dick hard and painful as he stared at Maddie.
Pale breasts heaving, tight, rosy nipples begging for his lips. She spread her legs and he took in the sight of all that glistening flesh, the gorgeous hot center of her, eager and wet for him. He reached for her, but she shook her head, eyeing him with a look that said, This is my show. My main event.
I’m the star you came to see, the deity you came to pay homage to.
Maddie snaked her hands lower, fingers trailing lightly over both Clark and Mitch’s cocks. Fuck. The sight of those dainty fingers reaching for not one, but two men… Christ. It shouldn’t make him this eager, this desperate. But as she stroked both his and Mitch’s shafts, pumping up and down in rhythm, Clark almost came.
“Jesus, Maddie. I can’t…”
She paused, lower lip pinched between her teeth, hands wrapped around their shafts. “You want me? Right here?”
“Fuck, yes.” No holding back. No hesitating. Clark needed her body, her lips, anything she would give him. He would savor it.
She glanced at Mitch. “How about you?”
He groaned in response, sagging against the front of the couch, and Maddie let out a little laugh. “Then come here and take me.”
Sliding down, she stretched out along the seat cushions, one leg pinned against the back of the couch while the other slid to the floor. Her face came to a rest an inch from Mitch’s swollen tip, and she leaned out to swipe her tongue across the flesh.
So fucking sexy. Clark watched, spellbound, while she took Mitch’s cock inside her mouth, neck taut, fingers sliding south to cup his balls. With her mouth full of another man, Maddie beckoned to Clark, hand reaching for him between her legs.
He climbed onto the couch, one knee digging into the cushion still planted on the floor, as he donned a condom. God, the sight of her. Her pussy shone, slick and needy between her legs, breasts bouncing in time to the bobs of her head.
Maddie pulled back, teasing Mitch with her tongue as she found Clark’s eyes in the dim light. She was more woman than he deserved. More woman than he ever thought he would find.
She didn’t think of the pair of them like prizes to be won or fighters in competition over her. No. She thought of them as equals.
He didn’t know if they could find a way to make this work—the three of them in some crazy sort of relationship—but at the moment, it was all he wanted. Clark hovered over her, one hand anchoring his upper body onto the couch, one slinking down to grip her by the ass.
She spread her legs, inviting him into her warm, wet heaven, and Clark accepted. Burying his dick inside her depths, crashing into her body as he gave her every inch he had. Hell. Her body milked him, muscles clamping down along the length of his shaft as he thrust.
Maddie moaned, her mouth stuffed with Mitch as she arched her back and took Clark deeper.
They were two believers down on their knees, worshiping at the foot of Maddie’s altar. She was their everything in that moment.
Their breath, their blood, their life.
Clark couldn’t see a future without her in it, couldn’t think of a day where he didn’t want to wake up to the touch of her soft skin or the sound of her gentle breath as she slept beside him.
Mitch shook, his thighs trembling as he groaned out his orgasm. It caught Clark by surprise, and he stilled, watching. Maddie swallowed down every release, Mitch’s cock pulsing with jet after jet of cum.
Her lips were swollen and covered in spit, and Clark wanted to kiss every inch of them. Taste Mitch’s release on her tongue, revel in the lingering hum of her mouth. Prove to Maddie not that Clark was the rightful victor, but that he could share. That he could be man enough to wait and watch and only then devour.
She broke away from Mitch, gasping as she wrapped her legs around Clark’s hips. It was all the invitation he needed.
Wrapping his arms around her back, Clark hoisted Maddie up, his dick still buried inside her. He sat them on the couch, her legs straddling his like they were at the beginning of the night, only now nothing came between them but the sound of their sweat-slicked skin as she ground herself against him.
Maddie reached for the back of the couch, grabbing onto it as she swiveled and pumped her hips.
Clark ran his hands up her back and down her sides, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. She wanted Mitch.
Maddie reached for him, dragging Mitch’s face closer for a kiss as Clark thrust up from below. Mitch took up position behind her, reaching around to fondle her breasts as Maddie turned her attention back to Clark.
Damn, this woman, Mitch, and the three of them together. Clark hadn’t expected it to be this good, this hot. On their own, it was incredible, but this? Pure fucking magic.
Mitch palmed Maddie’s breasts, teasing and pinching her nipples as she leaned back against his chest. Clark thrust, and she cried out. He pumped harder and she gasped.
“That’s it. Come for us, Maddie. Come with me inside you.”
She moaned and thrashed, all while Mitch held her and Clark fucked her. Together they sent her right over the edge, falling into oblivion as an o
rgasm rocked her from head to toe. She froze, muscles clamped tight around Clark’s shaft, and he came too, pumping hot and fast into the condom as Maddie moaned and whimpered above him.
So. Very. Hot.
She collapsed on top of him and Clark took advantage, standing up with her in his arms.
“What are you doing?”
Mitch answered for them both. “Taking you to bed and having our way with you.”
Maddie smiled as she lolled on Clark’s shoulder. “Perfect.”
Yes. Yes, it is.
Chapter 14
MADDIE
Maddie woke to the smell of eggs and coffee filtering through her bedroom door. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as the sound of men’s voices caught her ear. It all came back like a runaway train barreling down a mountain.
Skin. Sweat. Orgasms. Clark and Mitch and their muscled bodies sprawled out on her queen-sized bed. It had always been huge before. Now, not so much. She stared at the rumpled sheets. Last night had been incredible. The best sex of her life.
But it couldn’t be more. It would never work. A hollow pang settled in her middle: the fear of what would happen when Clark and Mitch came to their senses. It would all be over before it began.
Low laughter brought her attention back to the present. They were still there, making breakfast and chatting. The least she could do was join them. After cleaning herself up and tugging on workout gear, she emerged from her bedroom.
Clark and Mitch sat on her barstools, shoveling steaming eggs and toast into their mouths while they talked and laughed. Never in a million years did she expect to see something so ordinary and unattainable all at the same time.
Two amazing men who had practically worshiped her body the night before, sitting in her kitchen, eating. If only they could slow time and let it drag on forever. But the world outside beckoned and soon Clark and Mitch would be back in reality.
A place where no one would accept what they had found. A place where she would have to choose.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Mitch leaned over and gave Maddie a kiss on the cheek as she walked into the room.
“Morning.”
As he let her go, Clark did the same. “Did you sleep well?”
She pulled away from them and gathered her hair up into a high bun on top of her head. “Yep.”
Clark eyed her with a mix of confusion and concern and Maddie looked away. “Going for a run?”
She yanked open the fridge and peered into it so he wouldn’t see her face. “If that’s okay. I’m meeting Harlow in a few minutes. She’s trying to convert me into a jogger.”
“Tell her not to go all crazy with the mileage. I like your ass just the way it is.”
It should have been funny, but Maddie found herself sniffing back a rise of emotion. She pulled out a carton of orange juice and turned to face them. So damn handsome.
Clark with his curious grin and Mitch with his scratchy beard. She wanted to run to them both and let them wrap her up in their arms and tell her it would all work out. That it would be okay.
But that wasn’t going to happen. I have to get out of here. She forced a smile on her face. “You guys don’t mind if I go, do you?”
She poured a glass of juice and chugged it down. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. I’ve got extra towels in the hall closet and food, obviously, and…” God, I’m making a fool of myself. The glass of juice shook in her hand and she gulped it down before discarding it in the sink. Dishes could wait.
Clark answered first. “If that’s what you want, sure. We can see ourselves out.”
“Thanks.” Maddie grabbed her keys and purse and planted a quick kiss on each of their cheeks. “I’ll see you soon.”
Before either man could say a word, Maddie bolted for the door. She dug out her phone and called Harlow as she pushed the button to the elevator. Please be awake. Please.
Her best friend answered on the third ring. “Damn, woman. Do you know what time it is?”
“Tug on some yoga pants and meet me outside Octane ASAP. I need help.”
“You need your head examined.”
“Please, Harlow. It’s important.”
Between an enormous groan and a handful of curses, Harlow agreed. “You owe me a fancy coffee. One of those things they put in a blender and add all sorts of crap to.”
“Deal.” She hung up as the elevator arrived and Maddie slipped into it. Running away from the two best things to ever walk into her life might be childish and immature, but she didn’t know what else to do.
She needed to think, and staring at their handsome faces and kind eyes wouldn’t make that happen.
Half an hour later, Harlow plopped down on a bench in the park and gave her the death stare. “Let me get this straight. What you’re telling me is that I’m so talented, I found you twice the match?”
She sipped her frothy, frozen concoction and waited.
At last, Maddie sat down next to her and nodded. “I guess. But it’s not a good thing.” She eased a croissant out of a bag and chomped. Damn it if butter and chocolate didn’t taste good anymore.
Harlow nudged her with a shoulder. “You still haven’t told me what freaked you out this morning. Stop stuffing your face full of flaky pastry and talk to me.”
With a scowl, Maddie stuffed the rest of the croissant back in the bag and turned to face her best friend. Admitting all the crazy thoughts and feelings running through her wouldn’t be easy.
But she didn’t know what else to do. Harlow never failed in the advice department. Being a matchmaker gave her an uncanny ability to see what others couldn’t.
“I think I’m in love with them.”
Harlow’s eyes lit up and a smile rounded her cheeks. “That’s amazing.”
“No. It’s terrible.”
“What? How is falling in love a bad thing?”
Maddie focused on the bag, folding the paper back and forth while she explained. “Because I need to choose. I can’t be in love with two men. It’s ridiculous.”
“Is that what they think?”
Maddie’s eyes rolled so high, she strained a muscle. “Of course they do. They’re lawyers, Harlow. They work in big firms somewhere in all those buildings.” She waved at downtown, the skyscrapers looming over the park tucked against Lake Michigan. “No one at their offices would accept me. Us. Whatever this is.”
She sighed and slumped against the wood slats. “It’s futile. If I can’t pick one of them, then I’m going to have to end it with them both. I can’t ruin their careers.” Her chest ached and her stomach flipped at the thought, but Maddie couldn’t see another way.
When she’d started this whole dating thing, she’d been afraid of commitment. Afraid of the thought of marriage and babies and the future. Now she’d give anything to have it all with Mitch and Clark.
She kicked at a rock. “I’ll have to say goodbye.”
Harlow sat next to her, brows pinched as she focused on the city stretched out before them. The silence carried on for so long, Maddie checked to see if she’d fallen asleep.
“Isn’t this the part where you wrap me up in a hug and tell me it’s all going to work out? That I need to just accept them and be brave?”
Harlow reached for her hand. “For once, I don’t have an answer, Maddie. If you don’t think love is enough, then I don’t know what to say. But don’t run away from something that could be amazing just because you’re scared.”
She squeezed Maddie’s hand and continued. “You owe it to Mitch and Clark to give them a chance. Let them decide what they can and can’t handle. It’s their jobs, not yours. Give them a chance to prove you wrong.”
“I don’t want to hurt them.”
Harlow raised an eyebrow. “Or is it that you don’t want to be hurt?”
Maddie looked away. Harlow might not understand, but this wasn’t about fear of hurting herself. If whatever she had with Clark and Mitch couldn’t work, then Maddie had promised
herself she’d end it.
But the thought made her choke. “I can’t do this to them, Harlow. I love them too much.”
No matter how many times she thought it over, Maddie couldn’t see a future where she loved two men at the same time. It didn’t make sense. No matter what her heart told her was right, she needed to end it.
It was time Maddie told Clark and Mitch their affair was over. They had to get on with their lives without her.
Chapter 15
MITCH
“You really think she’s taking up jogging?” Mitch stood on the edge of Maddie’s living room, looking down on her view of crowded city streets. It wasn’t a luxury apartment, but it got the job done and afforded her a nice place to work with morning sun and plenty of space.
Clark didn’t hesitate. “Not a chance. Did you see her eyes darting around like we’d caught her in a trap? She was panicking.”
“Because we were here? At her place?” Mitch scratched his short beard and turned toward her wall of books. She had everything from art history and tutorials to row after row of design guides. “I thought she’d appreciate our cooking.”
Clark snorted. “I’m not sure she knows what to do with us, Mitch. Two guys in this tiny, little space?”
“I don’t think it’s the size of her apartment that’s got her pulling athletic clothes out of her closet.”
Mitch walked over to Maddie’s workspace, a white desk tucked into the corner of the living room. A corkboard filled the wall above it, crowded with fabric swatches and illustrations of her current project. He still couldn’t believe she’d turned a love of art into a career as a designer.
Her apartment was part bohemian, part modern, with the oddest assortment of things Mitch had ever seen. But they all went together in a bizarre way.
More importantly, they all reminded him of Maddie. She was it for him. He knew it. Madeline Trubedeau was the love of his life and no matter what she said or did or how many times she pushed him away, he was going to make her understand.
