Peyton’s Price: A Singular Obsession Novel

by Leroux, Lucy

  “At least someone understands my pain now,” Liam murmured, his eyes growing warm as Peyton hiked up her skirts and jumped over his legs. “Doing all right, honey?”

  “I’m good.” She was better than good. She was great. Paris with her men was everything she had dreamed of.

  Deciding there was enough room between their legs and the coffee table, she attempted to celebrate with an old yoga move. Shifting her weight, she balanced herself on her forearms before resting her head on the ground and raising her legs straight up in the air. Then, she parted them, doing the splits.

  “Holy shit,” Matthias swore, sitting up abruptly. “Did you know she could do that?”

  Liam set his tumbler on the table behind him with a thunk. “If I had, I guarantee she wouldn’t have still been a virgin at twenty-four.”

  Peyton clenched her jaw to keep from giggling. She had some concerns about getting out of the pose, but she needn’t have worried. A few seconds later, she was flying through the air, supported by a pair of strong arms. Matthias gently lowered her on Liam’s lap, tugging at the zipper of her dress.

  She lost track of time after that. One heartbeat blurred into the next as she was undressed. Hands covered her skin, stroking and caressing every inch of her body. Heat and silk surrounded her. Pleasantly lethargic, Peyton gloried in every touch.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, guilt jumped up and down, trying to get her attention. Pleasure like this should be illegal… But with the help of the artificial alcohol bravado, she was able to ignore it, relaxing and giving herself over completely to the hands of these two masters.

  Liam’s mouth covered hers while Matthias’ slid up and down her neck and someone’s hands removed her panties. She was so wet it would have been embarrassing had she been sober.

  Matthias’ hands skimmed up her bare thigh, his fingers running over her heated lips before pressing inside her, teasing and stretching her until she gasped aloud, arching her back to deepen the penetration.

  Peyton moaned when his fingers were replaced by something much larger. She opened her eyes, wrapping her arms around Liam’s neck as his thick shaft forged insider her. With nothing but a few thrusts, she was almost there, panting and crying out as the first pulses of a powerful orgasm began. But he and Matthias had other plans.

  Liam pulled her close to him, his grip like iron. Peyton rested her heated forehead against his as Matthias rubbed her ass with his palm. A cool wetness trickled between her cheeks, then there was pressure and pleasure pain as he slipped his finger inside her rear, then added another before widening the space between them.

  It burned a little, but it was a good burn. Weeks of wearing a plug—albeit haphazardly—had been enough to make her comfortable with the move. Nevertheless, when she was probed by something else, Peyton had to suck in a hard breath.

  “Don’t hurt her,” Liam said over her head as Matthias pressed his length against her rosette.

  “Never,” he promised, stopping as the head of his cock widened her. “Should I stop?”

  Peyton clutched Liam’s shoulder, her lips parting. “No.”

  He murmured something in what sounded like Norwegian, his hips pressing forward until the flared end breached the tightly constricted ring of muscle, popping inside her with a groan.

  “That’s it, baby. The worst is over. Are you okay?” Liam asked.

  Okay didn’t describe it. “Yes, now please just fuck me.”

  “You heard the lady.” Liam laughed, but it turned into a hiss as Peyton flexed her muscled, squeezing him tight.

  That was all the encouragement they needed. Matthias and Liam began to move, slowly at first but building fast. They established a counterpoint where one was entering her body just as the other was leaving it. She could actually feel their cocks sliding against each other, only a thin barrier of skin separating them.

  The sensations were almost too much. The fullness and pleasure were decadent, tinged with darkness, as Matthias pistoned behind her and Liam surged into her, their thrusts building in speed and strength.

  All Peyton could do was hold on, moaning as the tight tingle of an orgasm crept ever closer. Breasts swollen, she cried out when Matthias’ hands covered them from behind, his finger pinching her nipples.

  It was too much. Peyton’s rhythm broke. A keening wail escaped her as she gyrated, grinding against Liam’s cock as Matthias groaned. Panting, he shuddered and moaned his release.

  Her climax followed, storming through her. Nirvana tightened every cell of her body. Nearly blind with pleasure, she sobbed as Matthias withdrew, the stinging pain only another nuance of the kaleidoscope of sensations colliding inside her. Then Liam was alone, bucking and lunging up to thrust into her pussy with ragged, rough strokes. Always a bit louder, he came with a shout, plunging into her one last time while he gripped her hips so tightly he was probably going to leave bruises.

  His seed was so hot it almost burned. Unable to hold herself up, she collapsed forward, falling on his chest and fighting to catch her breath.

  “What the hell?” a new voice said.

  Liam jerked, recognizing the intruder. Peyton jerked her head in the direction of the door.

  Trick stood there, his face red, hands up as if he were in a stick-up. His eyes were wide as he took in the bacchanalian scene in front of him.

  Even Matthias, who was sitting on the carpet nearly naked, didn’t seem to know what to say. Everyone just froze, staring at each other.

  Peyton found her voice first. “Oh, hey,” she mumbled, still too weak to get up.

  Trick shook his head as if to banish the vision in front of him, but it didn’t appear to work.

  He cleared his throat. “Maggie has the flu,” he announced, as if that explained his presence.

  Matthias stood, zipping up his pants as he went. He whipped off his shirt, throwing it over her as he helped her to her feet.

  Liam’s face gave nothing away as he pulled his pants up. “Is it serious? Has Tahlia been given a flu shot?”

  “Uh…no and yes,” Trick said, his mouth twisting. Peyton couldn’t tell if he was restraining a scowl or trying not to laugh.

  Matthias coughed, taking one of Peyton’s hands. “I think we should leave these two alone to talk.”

  Clutching the halves of his dress shirt together, she smiled awkwardly—more of a grimace, really—as she let him lead her out of the room.

  * * *

  “You’re sure Maggie is all right?” Liam was embarrassed, but any health concerns in the family trumped his discomfort. Nevertheless, he checked to see if his fly was done before he waved Trick over to the dining room table.

  His brother hesitated, rubbing his eyes as if he were trying to scrub certain memories from his brain. “It’s just the flu. She doesn’t even have a fever anymore.”

  “Oh, that’s good,” he hedged. “Does she need me? Should we fly back together?”

  His sister was rarely ill, but when she did fall sick, she went down hard. Normally, Jason, her husband, would be at her side, but his work at the FBI sometimes prevented that.

  “No, she’s fine. She’s resting.”

  Liam ran rough fingers through his head. “And Tahlia and the baby are okay?”

  Trick threw him an incredulous look. “Yes, they’re fine…and stop avoiding the fucking elephant in the room. What the hell is going on here?”

  Trick covered his eyes. “I think I need to sit down because it feels like I walked in on Maggie and Jason—only ten times worse.”

  He staggered toward the chair, sitting heavily.

  Liam’s neck was corded so tight he wouldn’t be able to turn his head without hurting himself. “It’s very important you remember Peyton is not our sister.”

  Trick threw up his hands. “But…but that’s how I think of her. I thought you saw her that way, too.”

  “No.” Liam slowly shook his head. “Never. I’ve wanted her for a long time.”

  “But how?” His brother looked lo
st, as if the entire foundation of his life had been realigned.

  Liam went over to the sideboard, pouring them both a drink. “Here.”

  Trick accepted the glass, but he set it on the table untouched. “I don’t understand how this happened.”

  Shit. This was harder than he had imagined it would be. Talking about his feelings wasn’t something Liam did, not even with his brother.

  With one recent exception. “I told Peyton I loved her.”

  Trick’s eyes widened. “So did I…when she left. But I guess you and I don’t mean the same kind of love.”

  “Fuck, I hope not.” Liam snorted. “Especially since you’re happily married.”

  Rising, he pushed the glass of whiskey at his brother with a meaningful glance. Sighing, Trick picked it up and took a large sip.

  Liam sat back down. “I do love Peyton. I love her so much it hurts. And I mean the way a man loves a woman. I know that doesn’t make sense, but I was in denial about it for a long time. You don’t know how close I came to fucking it all up. But there were complications…”

  Trick whistled. “Damn, your gift for understatement is surreal. I take it you are referring to Matthias Raske?”

  “Yes. He’s a part of this…like one-third of it.”

  Trick inhaled, scrubbing his face. “And you and he are both sleeping with Peyton? I wasn’t having some sort of twisted Freudian hallucination?”

  Liam swallowed. “We are,” he said, barely managing the words over the weird lump that had taken residence in his throat.

  There was more he wanted to say, but explaining it properly felt utterly impossible.

  “But, Liam, how can you do that? You hate sharing. When we were kids, you used to break your toys rather than let me use them.”

  Liam closed his eyes, laughing as he remembered what a little shit he’d been before his parents had passed. That’s not you anymore. Well, it was, but there was way more to him now. At least, he hoped there was.

  “I don’t just share her. She shares me. And we share Matthias.”

  “Huh?” Trick stared without comprehension.

  Liam put his hands under the table, clenching and unclenching his fists several times. “I’m bisexual,” he said shortly. “I was involved with Matthias a few years ago. Right after we met, then for several months after.”

  “Oh.” That was all he got. Trick lapsed into silence, apparently at a loss for words.

  “But I’m not gay, no matter what Calen says,” he said.

  “Calen knows about this?” His brother’s expression grew irritated. “You told him about Matthias, but you didn’t tell me?”

  Liam put up a hand. “Actually, he was around when Matthias and I met. Caroline introduced me to him a couple of years ago at the launch of one of Calen’s European clubs. Long story short—Calen is too fucking observant. He put two and two together when I started spending all my free time with Matthias. Things were intense between us. But we ended our relationship after a few months…”

  He stopped, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t like recalling the last fight that had ended their affair. Both Liam and Matthias were cutthroat in arguments. They had said things that were hard to forgive. Or so he had thought at the time. But now he knew them for the excuses they were. His resolve to walk away had been based on his insecurities about being with a man.

  “After it was over, there didn’t seem to be any point in mentioning it to anyone else,” he said after a minute. “I thought being with a man was a one-off. I’d never been attracted to any others—not in any way I’d recognize. Calen didn’t think it was an isolated incident, though. He kept pushing me to come out of the closet.”

  “Except you are in love with Peyton,” Trick supplied. “You are in love with her, right? I don’t have to kick your ass for getting her involved in this, do I?”

  “No, you don’t,” he said repressively. “My feelings for her are real. Although I didn’t call it love back then. But I was in some hardcore denial. My focus was on our business and building an empire. Then I stumbled into something with Matthias, and it was surprisingly great…until it wasn’t. For a long time afterward, I thought there was something wrong with me. I felt wrong. Dirty. Definitely not clean enough for Peyton.”

  “Wow,” Trick croaked. “So when she ran off with Matthias, that must have been hell.”

  “I deserved it,” Liam conceded. “I did everything wrong. I cut Matthias off, or at least I bottlenecked our communication to almost nothing. And I ignored my feelings for Peyton until I drove her away. I almost married a woman I didn’t love for fuck’s sake. I’m just lucky that when Peyton ran, she ran to Matthias—and that he was willing to give me a second chance to make things right.”

  “Wow.”

  Liam needed another syllable. “You said that already. What do you think?”

  He held his breath, waiting.

  Trick winced. “Are you sure Peyton is doing this multi-partner thing because she wants to or because she wants to be with you?” He leaned forward, his eyes intense. “Could she be indulging you? What if she’s giving you what she thinks you want so she can be with you?”

  Liam sighed, but he couldn’t fault his brother’s overprotectiveness. Patrick did see Peyton as a sister.

  “I considered that, but I think if I weren’t in the picture, she’d still be with Matthias. He has his foibles, but he’s a good man. In many ways, he’s a better one than me. It may have torn my insides to shreds when I wasn’t here in the beginning, but he’s the only man I can think of who might deserve her.”

  “Except for you,” Trick argued loyally.

  Liam huffed. “Oh, I don’t deserve her. I have no illusions about that. But I won’t give her up. And I can’t give him up either. Matthias is a part of our relationship. I know that may be difficult to hear. I’m not asking for your approval—”

  “My what?” Trick scowled. “Why are you worried about that?”

  Liam considered him, taking in all the changes he’d noticed. Trick had the Tyler looks and charm, but his easygoing nature was a cover. Inside, he was a man of deeply held convictions and drive.

  “I know polyamory isn’t mainstream, no matter what the TV shows portray. My relationship would never be sanctioned by the Church, and that’s something that’s important to you right now.”

  “Wait, hold up.” Trick got up, moving down the table before taking a seat next to him. “Is that why you didn’t tell me about Matthias? Or about your three-way with him and Peyton?”

  “Well…”

  “Damn it, Liam. I go to church because I had the crap scared out of me when Tahlia was in trouble. It hasn’t changed my view on the world or how I feel about you.”

  This was old territory. His brother had been exposed to a hefty dose of opium and God knew what else during an unfortunate episode with Tahlia. He’d had a vision—one he couldn’t explain at the time. But Liam could.

  “You were hallucinating, but that’s beside the point. You didn’t know all this about me. I didn’t know how you were going to react.”

  Liam hesitated. “You don’t think me being with a man shows…weakness?”

  Trick frowned as if he didn’t understand.

  “There are some in our business who would think that,” Liam pointed out. “They might not want to do business with us if they knew. It’s not exactly conventional.”

  His brother made a pft sound. “Those people can go fuck themselves. We’ve built our business doing things our way, and we’ve done a damn fine job so far. That’s not going to change because you finally found someone—or someones—you care about.”

  Suddenly, Trick leaned forward. “But you do have a problem. A big one.”

  Liam’s heart sank. “What is it?”

  “You’re the one who has to tell Maggie you’re sleeping with her best friend. And that there’s another man in the mix.”

  Liam coughed, choking on a guffaw. “You know, I think I’m going to let Peyton hand
le that.”

  Trick tsked, shaking his head pityingly. “Coward.”

  “Guilty as charged.” Liam laughed, standing and clapping his brother on the back. “Let me check if Matthias and Peyton are dressed. I want you to have dinner with us.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Smiling, Liam left the room with a spring in his step. He felt lighter and more relaxed than he’d been in a long, long time.

  Chapter 34

  Peyton forced a smile at the lecherous creep trying to see down the front of her dress. Fortunately for Iver Kuznetsov, he was too short to get a particularly good look, although she was almost sorry about that. If only he would make his lewdness a little more obvious, she would feel justified in decking the man.

  Except he’s your host and that would ruin Matthias’ oil deal.

  They were in the short pervert’s penthouse in London. It was one of the creep’s many properties, or so he claimed in a misguided attempt to impress her. However, neither that nor his extensive collection of nudes Renaissance paintings made a dent in her estimation of him. The man had all the appeal of a yeast infection.

  I wish Liam were here. Lover number two had taken the Caislean jet for a quick trip to Miami, but he was due back early tomorrow. Of course, that meant she had to handle this crowd on her own. Matthias was being monopolized by a cluster of Middle Eastern oil tycoons.

  There had been a muffled gasp when he entered the room. Apparently, lover number one rarely did business in person. The excitement when they spotted him had been palpable. And like a good partner, Peyton had mixed and mingled, taking part in the conversation until it became obvious she needed to make herself scarce so a deal could be finalized.

  Regrettably, their host had someone to negotiate on his behalf, which meant he could trail her through his abominably decorated apartment.

  Iver was a class-A turd. Peyton shuddered as he put his sweaty hand on her arm to guide her over to a slightly obscene Roman mosaic hanging behind glass.

  Peyton’s smile grew brittle as she avoided looking directly at the out-of-proportion phallus proudly jutting from the man in the mosaic.