by Opal Carew
A lump formed in her throat. She wanted to tell him the moth ring was perfect. It was so beautiful, both in form and concept, but its dazzling beauty and high price had emphasized the difference between the Storm she thought she’d known, and Rafe. But she loved the ring and everything it said about him.
He gestured toward the gift box still in her hand. “I wanted to get you something special, but this time I kept it simple. Open it.”
She pulled on the thin, curled ribbon and the simple bow pulled loose. She tore away the gift wrap and revealed a small box inside. She opened it and amidst some pink, glittery tissue paper was a bottle of nail polish. She lifted the small, cylindrical bottle from the wrapping. It was white with small black speckles.
“Look at the name.” He pointed to the side of the bottle and in tiny gold letters it said Leopard Moth.
She grinned at him. “You’re kidding. How did you find it?”
He shrugged. “I had a little help from Melanie.”
Of course. And the fact that Melanie had helped him … maybe that meant she was really okay with Rafe and her being together.
“This is very nice. It looks like a designer brand.”
“No, that’s the thing. It’s a kind you get in a drugstore.”
She stared at the brand name—Accessorize—which she didn’t recognize. “I’ve never seen this brand, and believe me, I’ve been shopping enough with Melanie to know them all.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Okay. The drugstore is in England, but it’s just an inexpensive bottle of nail lacquer, as they call it. Melanie saw it on one of the blogs she follows and she thought it would be a perfect gift for you.”
“And it probably cost you ten times the price in shipping.”
“Don’t blow it out of proportion. It’s no big deal.” He took her hand again and squeezed. “It’s just a token, Jess. Please don’t turn it down. Even with shipping it was far less than the ring.”
She smiled. “It would have to be, wouldn’t it?”
“And if it makes you feel better, I also got Melanie the whole collection of those speckled polishes to thank her for listening to me ramble on about my love life and offering a woman’s perspective, so you see, your bottle just hitched a ride with her gift.”
She laughed and then gazed at the bottle, admiring it. “I love it. It was very thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
He was so sweet, getting Melanie some of the polishes, too. She’d be thrilled at getting the exotic polishes, for sure, but the fact they came from Rafe meant that she would treasure them even more. And it made her feel good to know that Rafe had confided in Melanie about everything going on between them. Jessica still worried that her friend’s feeling were hurt, but knowing that she and Rafe were strengthening their friendship was a good sign that Melanie had moved on.
She squeezed his hand and they both stood up.
“I’d better get going.” But he didn’t turn to leave.
She stepped close to him and put her hands on his shoulders, raising her lips to his in invitation. He swooped down and kissed her, his mouth moving on hers with passion. She melted against him, loving the feel of his big, hard body against hers, and the feel of his strong arms around her. His tongue danced with hers and her hormones spiked. His hands gripped her hips and he pulled her tight to him. A hard bulge pressed against her and she drew back.
“Rafe, I can’t.” There was no way she wanted to wind up with him in her bed. Not here. It would be awkward, and totally unfair to Melanie, if she had to skulk out of her bedroom with Rafe in tow.
He nodded. “I know. I didn’t mean to pressure you.” He stroked her hair behind her ear. “Would you like to go for dinner?”
“No. Not tonight.” She knew dinner would lead to sleeping together, and she still needed to figure things out.
“Okay.” He walked to the entrance and pulled on his leather jacket, but he didn’t turn to leave.
“Jess, I know you need time and I’m willing to wait, but…”
The silence that fell between them made her heart ache. “But what?”
“I need to know. What are your feelings for my brother?”
“Oh, Rafe.” How could she tell him when she wasn’t even sure herself?
“You said it was just a physical relationship, but that’s not you. I can’t imagine you giving yourself to a man if you don’t feel something for him.” He took her hand and pressed it to his mouth. The sweet brush of his lips sent tingles dancing along her arm.
“I won’t ask if you love him, but do you have feelings for him?”
She dragged her gaze away from him. “I never meant for it to happen. I just wanted something physical to keep my mind off my pain at losing you.”
“Ah, fuck.”
“I’d come from a small town to a big city. Everything was new and different. And a little overwhelming. Your brother helped me feel like I belong here.”
He gripped her hand. “Just tell me. Do I still have a chance with you?”
She sighed and gazed straight into his sky blue eyes. “I don’t know what to say. I’m really not sure what I feel about either of you right now. I just know you’re both very important to me.” She frowned. “I wish I didn’t have to choose.”
He tugged her into his arms and his mouth devoured hers, his arms so tight around her she could barely catch her breath. As his tongue dove into her and caressed with sweet strokes, thoughts of his hands roaming over her body, his lips exploring her most intimate places washed through her. If this kept on, she’d be dragging him back to her bedroom post haste.
But then he released her and turned to the door. As he shut it behind him, she stood staring at it, sucking in air.
Oh, God, how would she cope at the office tomorrow?
* * *
The next few days at work weren’t as bad as she’d feared. She’d barely spent any time alone with Dane and he kept everything on a business level. Rafe was out of the office most of the time at meetings.
Things between her and Melanie were back to normal. When Melanie had arrived home on Sunday night, Jessica showed her the nail polish Rafe had given her, and thanked Melanie for her part in it. Melanie had hugged her and then insisted that Jessica put on the polish right away.
She glanced at the trendy, speckled polish on her fingernails and smiled. Last night, Melanie had insisted on touching up her manicure with black tips which, paired with the white polish with black speckles, gave her nails an edgy, designer look. She even added a pearl accent on each tip. It was funny that Melanie would insist on such a dramatic look for Jessica in the office, when she would only wear subtle, neutral tones herself.
Melanie’s plain Jane office attire was such a contrast to the bright colors and trendy clothing that she wore on her off time. She seemed to have a real need to conform when she was at the office. And rules meant everything to her.
Jessica remembered how she used to be before she’d met Storm. She’d been far more uptight back then, but her heated relationship with the badass musician had freed something inside her, and she hoped Melanie would learn to loosen up someday. Life was too short to play by other people’s rules.
“Fancy manicure. Melanie’s doing?”
She glanced up at Dane’s voice and nodded. He looked spectacular standing there in her doorway. His tailored charcoal suit accentuated his broad shoulders, and the hint of a shadow on his square jaw enhanced his natural masculinity.
“Do you need me?” she asked.
His lips turned up in a smile and he stepped into her office. “Now there’s an understatement.”
Her eyes widened at the unexpected sexual innuendo. Her body heated as she thought about him calling her into his office, then closing the door and commanding her to strip down to nothing.
There was no doubt about it, spending the past several nights alone after the constant attention of two sexy men had left her more than a little hot and bothered. She wanted nothing more than to race into his office and b
e dominated by him, his deep voice commanding her to do dirty, sexy things to him, then his hard body satisfying the deep craving within her.
Oh, God, why had Storm turned out to be Dane’s brother? And why had he returned and complicated things so dramatically?
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest we do anything about it. Right now. But I would like you to come to my place after work. We need to talk.”
* * *
Jessica stepped out of the limousine and walked toward the entrance of the Ritz-Carlton. A doorman opened the door for her.
“Mr. Ranier will be down in a moment. You can wait in the lobby.” He gestured to a sitting area with an off-white leather sofa and chairs and a square, light wood coffee table.
“No need. I’m here.”
Dane stepped toward her, smiling. She followed him to the elevator and soon they were entering his luxurious apartment. She crossed the elegant living room to the couch and sat down. He poured a glass of white wine and handed it to her, then sat across from her.
“So you said we need to talk,” she began, holding the tall stem glass in her hand.
She wasn’t sure how he intended to tackle the issues between the three of them, but he was a problem solver and always took charge. He must have something in mind.
“That’s right. The current situation is intolerable. I don’t want to compete for you, especially with my brother.”
Did this mean he was giving up on her? But his gaze drifted down her body and she shivered at the possessive look in his eye.
“We need to find a way to satisfy everyone involved.”
At the sight of his heated gaze, images flashed through her brain of him dragging her into his arms to satisfy his needs.
“And how do we do that?” she asked.
“You said the other day that neither of us owns you.”
She frowned, wondering where he was going with this. “Right.”
“That’s not entirely true.”
Her eyebrows arched. “What do you mean?”
He walked to the executive leather chair he had by a cherry wood desk in the corner and turned it to face her, then sat down. “Come over here.”
At his authoritative tone, she immediately stood up, set her glass on the table and walked toward him.
“Stand in front of me.”
She stood three feet in front of him, his sharp gaze gliding the length of her body, sending heat humming through her.
“If I order you to do something, you’ll do it, correct?”
At his firm, demanding tone, she nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“So in a way, I am your master.” He smiled. “So I own you.”
“That’s not really true, I—”
“Silence.”
She shivered. If he wanted it, he had full control over her. She knew it. And he knew it.
It would be a scary thought if she didn’t trust him as much as she did, but in reality he always put her pleasure first, so it was an extreme turn-on. Desire washed through her and she longed for him to order her to kneel in front of him and unzip his pants and then tell her to draw out his big, swollen cock, proof that the situation turned him on just as much as it did her.
“Now, unbutton your blouse and step closer.”
“Yes, Mr. Ranier.” She unfastened the buttons quickly as she stepped toward him.
He drew her blouse apart and his gaze fastened on her lacy bra. His finger stroked over the swell of her breasts and tingles danced across her flesh.
“Now I want you to go into the bedroom and put this on.”
He picked up a black bag from his desk and drew out a thin black leather strap with silver studs. He held it up and she realized it was actually a harness with silver chains dangling from it. And it would cover absolutely nothing. He handed it to her and then pulled a couple scraps of black leather from the bag. “Put these on, too.”
She took them. A black leather bra and skimpy panties. She walked to the bedroom, anticipation quivering through her. With one command from Dane, this had gone from being a discussion to a sexual tryst. She should think of Rafe and stop this right now, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be with Dane. To feel his hands on her. She wanted to touch his body. To watch him come, knowing it was his desire for her that gave him so much pleasure.
Quickly, she stripped off her clothes and pulled on the bra and panties, then arranged the harness on her body. The straps surrounded her breasts and the chains cascaded in rows down the front of her midriff. She turned her back to the mirror and glanced around at her reflection. From the back, she might as well be naked.
She walked into the living room again, loving the heat in Dane’s eyes as he watched her walk toward him.
“Over to the pillars.” He pointed toward the dining room.
There were two architectural columns framing the large opening between the living room and dining room. He had wrapped two leather straps, with chains attached, around each column. He fastened a leather band around each of her wrists, then fastened the chain from the column to the ring on one wrist band with a carabiner clip. He took her other arm and drew it sideways until her arms were stretched apart, then fastened her other wrist in the same manner.
He did the same with her ankles, drawing her legs apart as he fastened the chains.
He stepped back and smiled as he admired his work. She stood spread-eagled in front of him and her core ached with need. Soon he would touch her and as soon as he did, she would go up in flames.
“There was another thing you said the other night. Do you remember?”
It was hard to think with his hot, blue gaze gliding up and down her body.
“I’m not sure.”
“You said that maybe you’d continue sleeping with both Rafe and me. Did you mean it?”
Oh, God. “I don’t know. I said it because I was angry. And I don’t want to choose between the two of you.”
He stepped close. She could feel his heat behind her and his breath on her ear.
“Tell me. Wouldn’t you find it exciting if both Rafe and I made love to you at the same time?”
She hadn’t meant at the same time, but his words elicited enticing images of both Dane and Rafe caressing her body. Their hands gliding over her naked flesh. Their lips nuzzling private, intimate places.
Her breathing accelerated.
His cheek brushed her temple and she shivered.
“So,”—he murmured softly in her ear, his breath sending wisps of hair caressing her cheek—“the question is, if you had the opportunity…” his lips brushed her neck and she sucked in a breath. “Would you have sex with both of us at the same time?”
“This is crazy. There’s no way Rafe would agree to that.”
“But Storm would.” At the sound of Rafe’s voice, her gaze shot across the room to where he stood watching her, his gaze unreadable.
Forever
Jessica sucked in a breath as she stared at Storm leaning against the doorway, exceptionally sexy in jeans and a T-shirt stretched across his broad chest, his tattoos spilling from the sleeves. Was he really here for a threesome with her and Dane? Or had Storm just walked in on them and she hadn’t really understood his words?
“What are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly, intensely aware of her skimpy, leather attire, and Dane’s hard body close behind her.
Storm pushed away from the doorframe and stepped toward her.
“I thought I’d made that clear.” At his deep, edgy tone, shivers danced along her spine. “I’m here to bring your deepest fantasy to life.”
Oh, God. Images from the past fluttered through her brain.
She’d once told him he was her fantasy come true—a badass rock musician with a fetish for wild adventures. He’d then asked her what other fantasies she had. Other, even more interesting sexual adventures he could bring to life for her. After a lot of prodding, she had finally admitted her deepest, most secret fantasy of having a threesome with t
wo men. But she’d also told him she’d never consider doing it in real life. That night, he’d insisted they role-play it, though. He’d blindfolded her and told her another man was touching her. He’d even used a vibrator to give her the experience of double penetration.
It had been one of the most intense sexual experiences of her life.
But could she really do it with Dane and Storm?
“Why do you want to do this?” she asked.
He stepped close and stroked her cheek. “Because, baby, I want to prove to you that I really am that adventurous, badass, rock musician you fell in love with. You asked me once if I would ever turn down a challenge.”
“And you said only one.” And they’d both known he’d been referring to her fantasy, because he would never share her with another man.
“And you said you’d never actually live out your fantasy,” he said. “But things have changed. Since you’re already sleeping with both of us,”—he shrugged—“why not go all the way?”
He was trying to prove he was still the same man she’d fallen in love with. Be the man he thought she wanted him to be.
“Rafe, you don’t have to do this to prove—”
He cupped her breast, and stroked over her leather-covered nipple, stealing the breath from her lungs. Then he leaned close to her ear.
“Admit it, baby. You want to do this.”
Dane’s hand stroked over her naked ass, then his finger slid along the soft leather crotch of her thong.
She ached inside, wanting both of them so bad her sex clenched painfully.
Her gaze locked on Storm’s sky blue eyes, and she drew in a deep breath.
“Dane, why are you doing this?” she asked.
His arm slipped around her waist and he pulled her tight against him. The hard bulge in his pants pressed into her.
“Besides the fact I’m totally turned on?” He nuzzled her neck. “I think Rafe should see how much you like to be dominated in bed. Plus, the idea of watching you come while another man fucks you is extremely hot.”
