The Sextet Presents... Playing in the Raine [A Toy Story] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by Mellanie Szereto

  He knows where to find me. I can enjoy the exhibit as well alone as with a companion. She focused her attention on the collection of woodcarvings. Each depicted a moment in the life of tribal natives. From the dates on the cards, they all seemed to have been made before the end of apartheid. Did they still live in poverty? Undereducated, oppressed, condemned to the same existence as their ancestors?

  Bronze sculptures lined one wall. Bowls and baskets formed out of wire filled a display table. Moving to the next room, she studied the oil paintings and photographs, ignoring the twinge in her belly at being stood up. At seven-thirty, she gave in to the need to check her e-mail for a message from Vince. With her phone in hand, she walked downstairs to the lobby for a better signal.

  No new messages. Why the hell was she disappointed when she had two amazing men interested in her? Clearly, her presumption about all three guys in the coffee shop trio playing games had been wrong. Fine, she’d go home and look forward to Friday and Saturday’s outings with Matt and Rafe.

  Tucking her phone in her purse, she shook her head and started for the exit.

  * * * *

  His instincts had been right. He should’ve broken his date with Raine. Vince bounded up the steps to the entrance of the art museum with little hope she was still there. Some things just weren’t meant to be, especially after his shitty day. Almost no sleep. Some idiot in the registrar’s office trying to tell him the paperwork hadn’t been filed so he could graduate. Car trouble. He should’ve gone home to bed.

  As he yanked open the door, a mass of red hair hit him in the chest, along with the head attached to it. His hands flew up to stop the collision from turning into an accident with injuries. They landed on a pair of full tits instead of the arms he’d been aiming for. A shock zipped from his palms to his dick.

  “Ack!” She stumbled backward out of his grasp, hands pushing at the curtain of hair in her face.

  “Damn! I’m sorry. Are you okay?” Resisting the urge to steady her again, he shoved his hands into his back pockets. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. I didn’t mean to run into you.”

  “I’m fine.” Her tone said she was more pissed than anything else.

  Hell, he hadn’t groped her on purpose. She started forward again, giving another swipe at her hair, and her face finally came into view. The redhead. He almost choked on his quick inhale.

  She pursed her delectable lips. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the final bachelor. A wee bit late for your date, aren’t you?”

  His heart skipped a beat, and he almost missed her sarcastic commentary. “Raine?” My blind date is my dream woman?

  “Smart man. Let me guess. You’re late because—You know what? I don’t want to know why. I just want to go home. Tell your friends the jig is up.” She stepped around him and headed out the door.

  She knows. She’d recognized them, put one and one and one together, and come up with three guys playing games with one girl. The problem was they hadn’t targeted her. They weren’t toying with her. Shit, he needed to explain.

  Pivoting toward the exit, he followed her out the door. As he scuttled down the steps, he glanced to the right then left to see which direction she’d taken, but she was gone. How had she disappeared so quickly?

  A flash of color in his peripheral vision drew his attention to the side of the building. Raine’s auburn hair bounced with each step as she marched barefoot through the grass, her high-heeled sandals swinging from her fingers. Her mood matched her flaming mane, if her stiff posture was anything to go by.

  He’d brought up trying to find a woman to complete his relationship with Matt and Rafe, and now he was the one fucking it up. Hesitating for half a second, he sprinted after her, wishing for running shoes and shorts instead of khakis and a new pair of oxfords. If she hadn’t altered her pace to a steady jog, he might’ve considered stopping to remove his stiff shoes.

  “Raine!” Closing in on her, he slowed to her gait. “Please let me explain.” Explain? Yeah, right. Raine, my lovers and I want you to join our threesome of bisexual dicks. God, he was so screwed.

  “Explain? You were half an hour late and didn’t bother to e-mail me saying you’d been delayed.” She swung around to face him, her hands on her curvy hips, pushing out those spectacular boobs. “And you and your buddies set me up instead of being honest. What? You thought having a contest to see who could score with me was funny? Or…or…Hell, if you wanted a kinky foursome, why didn’t you advertise for that? I might’ve answered that ad instead.” Her hair went flying every which way as a gusty breeze picked up the curtain of silk. “Doesn’t matter the age, men are all alike. Sex on their own damn terms.”

  She was right. He, Rafe, and Matt hadn’t considered being up front with her from the beginning. They’d wanted to make sure she liked all of them before risking rejection, and he should’ve e-mailed her about his car trouble.

  Looking at those sparking green eyes, he still couldn’t believe he’d found the redhead who made his heart race. Even pissed, she was breathtaking. “I’m sorry, Raine. I didn’t think to let you know my battery died. If you’ll have a cup of coffee with me, I’ll explain why we chose you. I swear we’re not the perverts you’re assuming we are. It’s kind of a complicated story.”

  Her mouth turned downward as her jaw muscle flexed. “Does it involve being abducted by aliens or bewitched by a sorceress?”

  Swallowing a laugh at her outrageous suggestions, he shifted in his uncomfortable shoes. “No aliens or witches. Want to walk? Or we can take my car. It has a new battery.”

  “No coffee. Let’s sit on the bench over there.” She led the way to a concrete slab on two concrete legs several strides away at the sidewalk. Better an uncomfortable seat than aching feet. “Explain to me how this wasn’t a way to use me.”

  “The personal ads weren’t about sex. Well, not directly anyway.” Scraping his hands through his hair, Vince debated telling her everything. The truth was supposed to come out after the three dates and as a group. Did he have a choice? “Rafe, Matt, and I are…lovers.” He waited for her to laugh, cringe, run away, but she didn’t. “We’re not gay, and we aren’t looking to experiment with women. We’ve been in a committed relationship for almost two years. The problem is…we don’t want to live the rest of our lives without a woman to love and share. We’re bisexual. Something’s missing, so we decided to try to find a woman who would love all of us and we all loved. To become part of us.”

  Raine had no clue what to say. Vince had shocked her with his candidness, and she wasn’t easily surprised. Of course, Matt’s comment about broadening horizons made absolute sense now. Rafe. Companionship and fun. Pythagorean Theorem—a hint at their love triangle?

  He kicked off his shoes and sat in silence beside her. His serious expression didn’t change, but a million thoughts had to be running through his brain—the same as her. Why me? Why was she drawn to each of them? Is the feeling mutual? Yes, she’d fantasized about some bedroom fun with the three of them, even thought about propositioning them, although she probably wouldn’t have gone through with it. But Vince was suggesting long-term if they all shared an attraction. No, not attraction. Love.

  Digging in the grass with her bare toes, she struggled for some response. “I’ve never been in love…or had a sexual relationship with three men at the same time. Okay, I get why you guys didn’t tell me.”

  “One issue sort of handled, one to go. Do you forgive me for being late? Because it’s all or nothing. Matt and Rafe are going to be really pissed at me for wrecking our shot with you, but we’re a package deal.”

  I’d have to be dead to resist those dark brown eyes. Puppies had nothing on Vince. She’d also had to replace her own car’s battery a few weeks ago. “You’re on probation.”

  “Thanks. Maybe we should start over.” Offering his hand, he smiled. “Hi, I’m Vince. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Raine. What was your favorite part of the exhibit?”

  His touch sent prickle
s up her arm. “Nice to meet you, Vince. You’ve already seen it, haven’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Matt and I went the first day, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing it again.”

  Resisting a snarky remark, she thought about his question. “I liked the photographs. Real people in real life.”

  “Me too. My favorite is the wall hanging with the elephants. The vivid colors.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Last night I almost broke our date. I’ve been completely infatuated for days with this incredible redhead I saw at the coffee shop. Then I saw your e-mail. I had to give you a chance.”

  She turned toward him, cocking her head to one side. “You wanted to meet her instead of the woman who answered your ad?”

  “Yes and no. PlayingInTheRaine attracted me intellectually. The redhead was pure animal attraction. I made the guys agree not to talk about you before we all had a chance to meet you. No wonder they’ve avoided me since their dates.”

  “What else did you make them agree to?” They’d planned this…conspiracy carefully.

  “I didn’t make them agree. We just thought we should have some rules since we’re in a relationship. No cheating. That meant no sex unless we all okayed it. Nothing more than a friendly kiss and some handholding. No make-out sessions. No groping. At least, not on purpose.” A flush colored his neck and cheeks. “I swear I was only trying to keep you from falling.”

  He was either a master of deception or an open book. His embarrassment appeared genuine. Give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t have to explain his association with Matt and Rafe. “How did you guys get together?”

  His smile convinced her that the memory brought him pleasure. “We met at a walkathon for diabetes sponsored by the hospital. My grandma and Rafe’s dad both have Type II, and Matt’s sister has juvenile diabetes. We hung out and talked for a while after the event was over, found we had some things in common. A couple months later, we became roommates. They’re my best friends.”

  Did he know how lucky he was to have found love? Hell, she was nearing forty and hadn’t come close to finding that special person. Somehow, he’d discovered two. “Do you share a bedroom? One bed? What happens when one of you doesn’t want to, um, have sex?”

  Chapter 8

  Raine’s curiosity about the logistics of his relationship with Rafe and Matt surprised and excited Vince. Was she truly thinking about the possibility of joining their threesome? Or did the novelty of the situation drive her interest? He’d tell her the truth and hope for the best.

  “Sometimes, we make love all together. Other times, two of us. We’re secure enough in our commitment that I know Matt still loves me even if he has sex with Rafe while I’m upstairs working in my studio. The same goes for every other combination. We set aside at least one day a week to eat a meal together and make us a priority. Usually it’s two or three days.” He turned sideways to face Raine. “If you become part of our lives, we’ll talk about your expectations. Jealousy won’t work with four people involved. We have to trust in each other’s love, or the whole thing will fall apart.”

  She nodded, but in what respect he wasn’t sure. “You don’t need me. You shouldn’t risk damaging what you have with Matt and Rafe to bring in some unknown factor. I’d hate myself if I broke up your relationship because I wasn’t the right woman. You realize you have all the necessary body parts and openings to have real sex, don’t you?”

  Was she playing devil’s advocate? Or was she concerned about them not really needing her? “Let me ask you this. Is masturbation with a penis-shaped vibrator as good as having a flesh-and-bones man in your bed?” Her eyebrows rose as her lips formed a straight line. What kind of men had she slept with that a dildo beat out a dick? “Okay, maybe that wasn’t a great example. Rafe, Matt, and I miss having a curvy woman in our arms, someone with soft hands and smooth skin. We want to be able to go down on a lover with a clitoris and a vagina. We need male and female to be happy. Does that make sense?”

  She stared at him without blinking for most of a minute. “You’ve all met me. What happens now? Do you vote? Unanimous—I’m in? Split decision—I’m dumped by all three of you?”

  They’d been so focused on their needs and wants, they hadn’t considered how their candidate would feel about being kicked to the curb by a trio of men, one or more of whom she liked. Raine had a valid point. Shouldn’t she be allowed to have a say in the decision? “We planned to talk after my date with you tonight, but circumstances have changed. If we all liked you enough to keep our second dates, telling you about our relationship and our search for the right woman was next. Obviously, you already know. I’m giving you first choice. Matt and Rafe would agree that at this point, you should tell us whether you’re interested in our offer. Do you not like any of us? Are you open to the kind of lifestyle we want to have?”

  Did Vince expect answers to his questions right now? Raine could honestly admit to herself she enjoyed the company of Vince and his lovers. They felt…comfortable. But if things didn’t work out, she’d end up with more heartache than she’d ever experienced in her life.

  He’s been truthful with me. The least I can do is return the favor. “I like Matt and Rafe, and I’ve decided to suspend your probation. Most guys wouldn’t have come clean. I appreciate that. The foursome—I’m not sure what I think of it. Has it crossed my mind? Yeah. I remember the coffee shop. I’d just responded to your ads, and I couldn’t imagine three better men to have placed those personals. Good-looking, friendly, polite. I don’t know if I can actually do it. The possibility of rejection is a huge deterrent.”

  “I’m not on probation anymore, and you like all of us?”

  She nodded, unable to read his serious expression. But do you like me?

  “Wait here. I’ll be right back, I promise. I need to make a phone call.” He pulled his phone from his pocket as he stood, then bent to remove his socks. “I hate new shoes.”

  She watched him walk out of listening range, the cell in his hand, with fingers tapping the touch screen. Her stomach tied itself in knots. He’s calling Matt and Rafe. What if one of them says no? She’d enjoyed her dates with them and thought they had as well. But what about Vince? He seemed to like her.

  Hell, what did she know? She’d gone out with Gil-the-slimeball. Reading the men she dated wasn’t one of her strengths. Maybe she should stick with her plastic playmates. They couldn’t hurt her, unlike the man standing with his back to her. He held the phone to his ear, but she couldn’t tell if he was talking, listening, or waiting for someone to answer his call. If she knew what was good for her, she’d make a mad dash for her car and go home.

  Stay or go? She adjusted the hold on her purse strap. Stay or go? Picking up her sandals, she glanced toward Vince. He still stood facing the fountain. Stay or go? She pushed to her feet, straightening her skirt as she took a tentative step away from the bench. Could she tolerate being dumped again? And by three men at the same time? I’m a fool for thinking I could do this. I’m tired of being pushed aside.

  Her steps quickened as she headed for the parking lot behind the art museum building. She didn’t look over her shoulder to see if he’d noticed her disappearance. The action would only slow her down.

  * * * *

  Ending the call, Vince let out a quick exhale before he turned to walk back to Raine. He tucked the phone in his pocket and looked toward the bench. His legs froze. Fuck! She’s gone. She hadn’t waited to hear the verdict. For whatever reason, she’d left.

  He scanned the grassy area for a flash of red hair. Nothing. He huffed out a sigh. Rafe and Matty would be seriously pissed at him when he got home, and he deserved it. They’d found a woman they all wanted, only to have her take off while he got their approval. Evidently, his probation had been revoked. Or she might’ve chosen not to get involved with more than one guy. Damn, he couldn’t catch a break today.

  With a stop at the bench, he grabbed his shoes and socks then headed for his car. The half-mile walk didn’
t ease his disappointment. Raine was everything he wanted in a woman. Matt and Rafe had said the same. Slipping behind the steering wheel, he leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. How the hell could he fix this?

  * * * *

  Gripping the knife, Rafe focused on slicing apples for tomorrow morning’s French toast casserole. Cutting off a finger or two would be a bad thing. What the hell was taking Vince so long to get home? He said he’d try to talk Raine into coming with him. Rafe still couldn’t believe they’d found the right woman on the first attempt.

  The front door banged closed, making his pulse jump and his hopes sink. Vince never slammed the door. Something’s gone wrong with Raine.

  “Vin?” Matt pushed away from the table where he’d been chopping walnuts. He jogged past Rafe into the living room. “What happened?”

  Setting down the knife, Rafe followed. Vince stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking like he needed a bottle of Scotch, hold the glass. He glanced Matt’s direction, then to Rafe.

  “I turned around to walk back to her, and she was gone.” Rubbing a hand over his razor stubble, Vince lowered his gaze. “I had car trouble and was late. She was leaving as I got there. This is my fault.”

  Matt shook his head, sending wavy hair swinging back and forth. “She’s sweet and understanding. If you explained about the car, she wouldn’t be mad. She probably started thinking about three big dicks coming at her and freaked.”

  “The plan was my idea. I fucked it up.” Sitting on the bottom step, Vince rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head. “I blew it.”

  “You’re going to just give up on her?” Matt strode to the staircase. “I’m sure as hell not letting her get away that easily. Come on. We’re going to her house.”