The Gift of Three

by Kaitlin Maitland, Allie Quinn,

  “We would never do anything to purposely exclude you.” Dom’s quiet certainty burned her.

  Thea wasn’t good with words, but she had to try anyway. “I had a crush on my brother’s business partner Brody almost all my life.”

  “Okay.” Alec frowned, and she knew he was wondering where she was going with this.

  She thought about Brody’s longtime lover, Micah. “I’m sure the two of you know Micah Porter. You can’t hang around the club and not know him.”

  “We know Micah,” Dom said. “He’s about as different from Brody as I am from Alec.”

  Thea mulled that over. She’d never really thought about it in that context, but Dom was right. “I hated him from the beginning, but I think that’s because I had this stupid teenaged crush on Brody.”

  “Is that why you made a pass at him?” Alec gently cupped her cheek. “Neither of us cares about that incident.”

  “I know, but I want you to understand why my brother thinks the worst about me.” Thea wished she didn’t feel so stupid and inexperienced. “I’ve never been good with the social stuff, you know? I suck at dating and relationships. My brother spent years watching me throw myself at Brody. After the incident at the club, Jax started treating me like a sex addict or something, but that’s not how I really am.”

  Dom tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. “How are you?”

  “I think I’ve become so sure I’m going to get rejected that I want to reject guys first, even when I’m having sex with them.” She held her breath, hoping desperately that her words had made sense to them.

  The thoughtful expression on Alec’s face almost tore her in two. “Meaning that you’d rather never let a lover come inside your body than feel like you’d given him that final shred of intimacy, only to have him fling it in your face the next morning.”

  “Yeah, that about covers it.” She felt like a child trying to explain to two grown men why she wasn’t good enough for them.

  “I love you anyway, Thea,” Dom murmured.

  Alec nudged her. “We love you no matter what.”

  In all her wildest dreams, she’d never imagined receiving a gift like this. All this time she’d been forcing her sex partners to back away before the final act of completion, but these two men were more than partners. Dom and Alec were her lovers, and she wanted everything they had to give her.

  She swallowed back her apprehension and her insecurity. “I want to give the two of you everything. I want to be with you in every way. And I want to take a chance that this will last.”

  Alec kissed her mouth with a fervency that made her senses reel. His hot tongue slid silkily alongside hers, coaxing her to explore him in return. Behind her, Dom’s lips tickled her shoulders. He lingered on her neck, nibbling and then laving her sensitized skin with the flat of his tongue. She moved restlessly between them as her desire rose to new heights.

  She was on fire inside. Every nerve sang with the certainty that this was where she belonged. They stroked her hips, ribs, and ass. She welcomed the touch and begged without words for more. She arched her back and thrust her breasts at Alec while questing backward toward Dom with her ass.

  Alec twisted and rolled her sensitized nipples until the puckered buds were throbbing with each beat of her heart. When Dom lifted her leg and hooked it over his uplifted knee to open her legs, she moaned at the promise of penetration. She wanted so badly to feel them inside her. She’d take one in her cunt and one in her ass, both of her lovers connecting within her body.

  Dom used two fingers to splay her pussy open, but it was Alec who traced her slick folds and circled her clit. They stroked and touched her until her mind was numb to anything else. Alec’s tongue was still in her mouth, but she could only focus on their magic touch between her legs.

  Heat built at her core, and tension settled in her lower back. Thea cried out when it all snapped and she was flung into a powerful orgasm that seemed to go on and on. She clamped down on their hands, but they didn’t stop moving. It was almost agony to be pushed higher and higher.

  Dom used his hand to probe between her ass cheeks. He brushed against her tight hole, and she involuntarily tightened her muscles.

  “Relax, sweetheart,” Dom rumbled. “We’ve got you.”

  Alec dipped his head to lap at her nipples, and the distraction helped her unclench her asshole. The coolness of lubricating gel accompanied the sensation of Dom’s finger breaching her anal entrance. It was an exquisite feeling, and she hummed with the expectation of being satisfied in this most basic way.

  Alec began rubbing a quick rhythm against her front entrance. The maddening motions were just below the threshold of climax, and she growled her frustration. Then the rounded head of Dom’s cock probed her anal opening, and she was lost.

  Dom tunneled into her ass in tiny increments. The friction alone sent her spiraling into another orgasm, and she gasped as her frustrated body bore down on Alec’s fingers. She wanted more. She wanted both their huge cocks inside her.

  She struggled to form words. “I’m ready.”

  With the synchronicity of true partners, they filled her in perfect tandem. Dom seated his full length inside her ass just as Alec slid his cock into her pussy. She was bursting with her men and loving every second. Adrift in a sea of pleasure, she clenched and unclenched her hands helplessly. Dom caught her hands and laced his fingers with hers.

  “Hold tight,” Dom said. “We’re going to finish together.”

  Dom and Thea’s hands made contact with Alec’s shoulders as Alec and Dom began the erotic push-pull of double penetration. She squeezed her eyes shut. Stars exploded behind her eyelids as the pressure and heat built to unbearable levels. Their ragged breathing kept time with the beat of her heart. Each of their strokes connected her deeply to the sheer beauty of their joining.

  “So close,” Dom rasped. “You both feel so damn good I can’t hold back anymore.”

  Thea cried out as she was flung over the edge of oblivion. Her body seized, and she let herself free fall into orgasm. She bowed her spine to welcome Dom’s cock even deeper as she felt him climax. His cock throbbed, and she absorbed the sensation of heat as he spent his essence inside her.

  Alec shouted and thrust hard against her. He trembled as he too bathed her depths with his seed. The intimacy of the act sent Thea to the stars. She shuddered as their combined passion wrung one last orgasm from her body.

  It wasn’t anything like she’d thought. Instead of feeling apprehensive or used, she had the sensation of belonging to something much bigger than herself. She wasn’t just Thea Bequette anymore. She belonged to Dom and to Alec, and they belonged to each other and to her. There was security in knowing they had her back, no matter what life threw their way.

  This is what family feels like.

  * * * *

  Thea blinked sleepily, wondering what had woken her. Alec’s lean body was stretched out on her left side. He slept on his back with her head on his shoulder. Dom’s bulk was to her right, curled protectively around her with one arm flung over her body and his hand resting on Alec’s flat belly. They were snuggled together beneath her down comforter, the fire having burned to embers.

  A light knock made her frown. It was Christmas morning, and she was in bed with the two best presents ever. She did not want to move for anything. Especially not when she had a strong suspicion who was at the door.

  Another knock, this one just a touch more insistent. Thea grumbled and wriggled carefully out of bed. Dom’s arm weighed a ton, and he was sleeping deeply. Plus, she didn’t want to disturb Alec by crawling over him and accidentally elbowing him or sticking a knee somewhere important.

  When she was finally able to extricate herself, she hopped around on the cold floor. The frigid air raised goose bumps on her naked body. She snagged her bathrobe off the floor near her nightstand and put it on. It didn’t help. Getting back in bed with Alec and Dom would be about the only thing to warm her inside and out. She glanced
back at their sleeping forms and smiled before heaving a giant sigh and heading for the door and her idiot brother.

  She cracked the door and peeked out. “What?”

  “Can I come in?”

  “No.”

  He looked so uncomfortable she almost took pity on him, but there was only one room in her apartment, and she wasn’t about to give her brother an eyeful of Dom and Alec. There were limits to her tolerance for weird.

  “So…” Jax hedged.

  “Dom’s truck is the size of a tank, and it’s sitting in the driveway.” Thea didn’t even bother trying to sugarcoat it. “Don’t even pretend you don’t know they’re here.”

  “They?”

  “Yeah. Both of them.” Thea couldn’t stop the smile that threatened to bust wide open on her face. “We’re together. All of us.”

  “Ah.” Jax shifted back and forth on his feet, looking uncomfortable. “Are you happy?”

  She thought of the moment before the party when he’d asked her why she couldn’t be happy. “Yeah. I really am.”

  “Then I guess I can deal.” Her brother gave her a real smile. It reminded her of their father. “Merry Christmas, Thea.”

  “Merry Christmas, Jax.” She started to close the door, but he caught it. She gave him an expectant look.

  “Oz asked me to eat Christmas dinner with him and his family. You want to come?” Jax didn’t actually look as though he wanted her to say yes. Oddly enough, she didn’t care.

  Thea thought about the skilled cook crashed out in her bed and their equally yummy construction-working partner. For once she was completely confident that she was about to have the best Christmas of her life. “Actually, I’ve got this covered.” She leaned out and gave Jax a quick peck on the cheek. “Have fun with Oz.”

  She closed the door on her brother’s awkward response. Silly Jax. Now that she’d finally found her place, it was time for him to move on and find his. If he could ever manage to pull his head out of his ass.

  Thea dumped her robe back on the floor and tiptoed back to the bed. She climbed carefully over Alec’s sleeping form and wedged herself right between him and Dom. She sighed in total bliss as their heat quickly took her from icy cold to toasty warm.

  Alec stirred and canted his body toward her and Dom. “I love you guys.”

  His sleepy, sexy voice made her heart dance.

  “Damn straight,” Dom said with a grunt. “I love you both, even if Thea just froze my friggin’ legs with her toes.”

  Thea bit back a wild giggle and basked in their unconditional acceptance. “Merry Christmas to both of you. Loving you two is the best thing a girl could ever wish for, and I’m hoping to show you both how thankful I am over and over until next Christmas rolls around.”

  ~ * ~

  Loose Id Titles by Kaitlin Maitland

  Daggertail

  * * * *

  Book-related title

  (a Book title “Enter theme” story)

  * * * *

  The BOSTON AVANT-GARDE Series

  Strung Out

  Crescendo

  Impetuous

  Encore

  Bellicoso

  Chiaroscuro

  * * * *

  The CLAN McKINLOCH Series

  Stars, Stripes & Xmas Bells

  Hearts, Candy & Clover

  Junebugs, Haunted Hauses & Jack-o-lanterns

  Kiss Cam Connection

  (a Missed Connections story)

  * * * *

  “Mistletoe Madness”

  (a Clan McKinlock story)

  Part of the anthology The Gift of Three

  With Allie Quinn and Ceri Grenelle

  Kaitlin Maitland

  Kaitlin Maitland is an avid reader and a rabid horse enthusiast with a love of drama in everyday life. She began writing at the age of twelve after growing tired of waiting for her favorite authors to write sequels. Now she’s scrambling to write her own sequels while keeping up with a variety of exciting new characters and settings. Kaitlin makes her home in the Midwest, and while she has yet to travel to a distant planet, she finds plenty of story-inspiring drama close to home.

  Find out more at http://www.kaitlinmaitland.com.

  * * * *

  The Naughty List

  Allie Quinn

  Dedication

  To Rachel, Ben, and Stephanie, with love.

  To everyone who has ever felt they are on the naughty list.

  And to everyone who loves decorating for Christmas.

  Acknowledgement

  To Ann Curtis, thank you for your hard work. I couldn’t ask for a better editor. Thank you to everyone at Loose Id who worked to bring my book to life. To my family and friends who support me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to everyone who reads my words, thank you and enjoy! Merry Christmas. May you find love, peace, and a happily-ever-after ending!

  Chapter One

  Jake McGrew watched her as she worked. She was up on a ladder, hanging Christmas decorations, wearing perfect-fitting jeans that showed the best curves he’d ever seen. He’d been watching her for the better part of an hour from various places as he checked out the mall. When she reached up to hook lights around another branch of the gigantic tree she’d spent all morning assembling, he’d caught a glimpse of creamy skin above her jeans waistband. His mouth watered.

  This was the best part of his job. As the mall owner, he could step out of his office, see his mall filled with holiday shoppers, know he created happiness, and watch all the action and the reactions of the customers. He did not regret for one moment hiring Maggie Little to decorate his mall. She’d had four helpers earlier assisting her while the mall was closed to get the last bit of decorating finished. Working the graveyard shift had been at her request. She had wanted to get the decorating done while no one was moving about. Not only had he agreed, but Jake had stayed all night, too, watching her at every opportunity. He looked around. She just had this tree and another in the main courtyard left to decorate. She must have sent her team home and stayed to finish herself.

  As she hung the lights, her breasts swayed. Her last name was Little, but her breasts were far from it. They would fit nicely in his hands or mouth.

  Her dark, shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a single ponytail that also swung as she moved. Her lovely blue gaze met his. She smiled.

  His heart somersaulted while his cock did its own little dance for joy. He wanted her. Plain and simple. Since the moment she’d stood in his office and signed a contract to do the job and he’d heard her voice and seen her easy smile, he’d wanted her. Everything about her, from her soft, spicy scent to the way she met his gaze, called him to her.

  As the days had gone by, that interest had only intensified. Her deep, haunting voice every time she spoke seemed to melt right through him. He’d really thought that once she’d left his office, his interest would wane, but so far, that hadn’t been the case.

  In fact, he’d taken every opportunity to step out of his office and watch her as she worked. He stood on the first level of the mall. Her ladder put her above him a few feet in the center of the court. Hell, if he’d been on the upper level, he could probably have looked over the railing and seen down the top of her blouse.

  She still held his gaze. His heart raced. Fuck, he hadn’t felt this kind of response since…

  He refused to think of his last affair. It had ended badly. There was no sense in digging up old aggravation.

  Jake stepped closer, watching as she hung up what appeared to be a long, curled piece of paper. “What is that?”

  “It’s Santa’s naughty list,” she called down to him.

  “Are you on it?” he teased, making her laugh. “Better yet, am I?”

  She looked back at him. Was that a warm, pink blush he saw sliding up her cheeks? Damn, yes, it was.

  “Should you be?”

  He smiled at her. Thinking what he was thinking, hell yes, he should be on it.

  When she returned to
her work, Jake stepped away from the courtyard and out of earshot. He reached for his cell phone and pressed speed dial to reach his best friend, business partner, and partner in crime, Andrew Harper.

  Andrew was in Donovan’s Cove, a little town forty miles down the coast, putting the finishing touches on their fifth and newest mall before its grand opening later that week. While Jake knew the business side of running their malls, Andrew knew the construction and detail side to building them and the maintenance in keeping them running. It was, among other things, what made their partnership work so well. Growing up together and being best friends hadn’t hurt either.

  Andrew answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”

  “How’s it going down there?”

  “Right on schedule. As far as I can tell from this morning’s managers’ meeting, every store should be able to open on Black Friday, on time, after everyone’s had his or her fill of Thanksgiving turkey. So we’ll be able to get in most of the Christmas rush.”

  Jake watched Maggie as she stepped down a rung and continued stringing lights. “That’s great.”

  “Did you need something?”

  Jake’s cock twitched as he watched her. Oh yeah, he needed something, all right. “How soon can you get here?”

  “Is there a problem?”

  “I want you to meet Maggie, the girl I hired to put up decorations.”

  The line was silent for a long moment.

  Then Andrew chuckled, deep and full. “Oh, so we’ve decided to jump back into the pool finally, huh?”

  Jake let out a long breath. “I just want you to give me your opinion on her before I make any propositions. I don’t want a repeat of the last time.”

  “You need to let it go and stop taking it personally, my friend. If a woman can’t handle both of us, it’s her problem, not yours. Or mine.”