by Tina Donahue
Sinfully Wicked
Tina Donahue
Two brothers—one woman—unforgettable passion. Years before, Nikki fell in love with Mitch and Connor, only to ultimately betray them both. Now she’s back and in need of their help.
Powerful and commanding, Mitch has never stopped craving Nikki. Connor hungers for her just as badly, but isn’t ready to forgive. If she needs some fast cash by working at their gentlemen’s club, she’ll have to audition—by stripping for them.
Aroused by their shameless scrutiny, Nikki’s willing to do whatever it takes to be near them again…even if that means being punished in the BDSM room or starring in one of Connor’s erotic films. Mitch won’t have it, however, unless he and Connor are the ones enjoying her body.
On a sultry weekend, Nikki surrenders to their lust, reawakening a timeless bond and the beginnings of forgiveness.
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Sinfully Wicked
ISBN 9781419939860
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Sinfully Wicked Copyright 2012 Tina Donahue
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Syneca
Photography: Loraine Kourafas, RJ Lerich, Luxora/Shutterstock.com; Romancenovelcovers.com
Electronic book publication March 2012
The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.
The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.
Sinfully Wicked
Tina Donahue
Dedication
To Jill for making me laugh, Marie for your unwavering support and Tim for just being who you are. I don’t know what I’d do without friends like you.
Author Note
After writing many one woman-one man romances, I decided to try my hand at a ménage with my last effort, SiNN being the result. I’ve received so much praise from both fans and reviewers, I wanted to try another. Sinfully Wicked is Nikki, Mitch and Connor’s story. Enjoy.
Chapter One
She smelled of magnolia and musk, the mingling of helpless female and seductive predator. A curious combination, but who said she couldn’t be both?
Hell, she was a freaking mess. Her palms were clammy with anxiety, her nipples tight with expectation. The kind a woman experiences when she’s about to be spanked, then hopefully laid…long and hard.
Yeah, right.
She paced the spacious office like something wild and caged. Her high heels clicked on the shiny hardwood floor, keeping time with her pounding pulse. No matter how much she needed it—and by God, she did—soul-stirring sex, followed by aching tenderness, wasn’t going to be on the menu this afternoon. Going to the men she’d betrayed years ago, brothers she’d truly loved, didn’t count as the smartest thing to do, but Nikki Blaine needed their help.
At the burgundy leather sofa, she stopped, clutching the arm for support, the secretary’s words ringing in her mind that Mr. Wade would be with her in a few minutes.
Nikki hadn’t bothered to ask which Mr. Wade the young woman had been talking about. She would have bet a year of her life that this room belonged to Mitch. Scented with leather and something woodsy, it was darkly masculine with rich mahogany walls, copper accent lamps topped by bronze-colored shades and classic cherry furniture. Solid and imposing.
Her attention drifted to the desk. That baby was nearly as long as a bed and wide enough for two people, maybe even three.
Don’t go there. She had no right. It wasn’t as though she could waltz in here after nearly fifteen years and expect Mitch to give her a hug or a welcome home fuck…if he showed up at all.
Where is he? Nearly a half hour had passed since his secretary had led Nikki inside. After Mitch’s initial shock had worn off, had he decided against seeing her? Did he figure she’d behave as cruelly as when they’d been in high school?
Sucking her lower lip, Nikki circled the sofa, pausing at the photos of him and Connor from well-respected business magazines. She was intimately familiar with these images, having seen them when she lived in New York prior to her ex-husband’s arrest. Through the years, she’d followed Mitch and Connor’s many successes, wanting only the best for them.
Smiling softly, Nikki reached for the first photo, taken outside Wicked, their wildly popular gentlemen’s club. The reason she was here today.
Please say yes. Please show up. If neither of them did, Nikki wasn’t certain what she’d do. On a heavy sigh, she halted, her hand stalling before she could touch either of the brothers’ likenesses. At the edge of the glass, she caught Mitch’s reflection.
He stood in the doorway to his office, bathed in the gauzy light pouring in from the arched window. Beyond it, Atlanta moved at a far more sluggish pace than Manhattan ever had, with today’s oppressive humidity forcing everything to an exaggerated Southern crawl. Feeling as though she were moving in slo-mo, Nikki turned.
Her heart stopped for a moment, then sped up as she regarded him quickly, afraid she wouldn’t have the chance to get her fill. At six-three, he made the sprawling room seem small, his body a man’s, lean yet muscular, no longer a lanky teen. Ruggedly handsome, he wore his thirty years well. There were laugh lines at the corners of his beautiful hazel eyes. They looked golden behind his sooty lashes, complementing his olive complexion. Combed away from his forehead, his chestnut-colored hair was longish in the back and on the sides.
Nikki reined in her urge to run her fingers through his thick, wavy locks, to touch and smell him, her face buried in the hollow of his neck, her body pressed to his, lost in his heat and strength. Protected at last. Home.
A preposterous notion that made it difficult for her to move, impossible to speak, but still she hoped.
His expression wasn’t guarded or indifferent as she’d feared. Wonder flooded his features, no different from when they’d been in her parents’ garage after their first kiss. She was fifteen then. He’d been a year older and seemed so worldly. Life hadn’t been easy for him or Connor. She’d fallen in love with both brothers, but it was Mitch who’d made the initial move.
They’d been horsing around that afternoon, mercilessly teasing each other. Mitch finally settled the score by tickling her into submission. Before Nikki could catch her breath or slug him, his lips brushed hers. Their velvety warmth surprised. His bristly cheeks thrilled. She’d wanted him to hold her in his arms forever. Later that same week, Connor kissed her. Nikki never wanted to le
ave his side.
There was no guilt in what she felt. Both brothers accepted the other’s claim on her just as she had, treating it as needed and natural. For the most part, their relationship remained innocent. They were her dearest friends, like none she’d ever known.
Their bliss lasted three months, ending when school started that fall.
Pained at the loss, wanting back what she couldn’t have and sure as hell didn’t deserve, Nikki stepped closer.
Mitch’s crisp white shirt rippled with his quiet breathing. He’d opened the collar, wore no tie and had folded the sleeves to mid-forearm. Dark hairs dusted his skin, sending a thrum of pleasure through her. He had the look of an executive in crisis mode, prepared to get his hands dirty to make things right.
Nikki wanted his hands on her, exploring her breasts, nipples and especially her cunt. It ached dully, congested with more than a decade of desire. How long had it been since a man craved her to the exclusion of everything else? Since Mitch and Connor, she couldn’t recall. Even in the early years of her marriage, when she’d convinced herself she was in love, her ex had worshipped wealth, image, power, not her. She stared at Mitch’s fingers, wonderfully long, the tips blunt, recalling his eager yet loving touch. It took all of Nikki’s will not to glance at his fly and see if this moment excited him as much as it did her.
When he didn’t move or speak, she risked another small step, her heels tapping on the floor, the distance still yawning between them, no different from the past. “Hi…thanks for agreeing to see me.”
Longing flared briefly in his eyes, making the years fall away. And then he smiled.
His reaction should have comforted Nikki, but it didn’t. He wore the same expression a man gives to a stranger he doesn’t care about, his emotions buried beneath polite disinterest.
Okay, she’d earned that and so much more for what she’d done to him and Connor. Shame made her want to apologize. Yearning made her ask, “How are you, Mitch?”
His fingers curled into loose fists. He shoved them into the front pockets of his beautifully tailored navy pants. “What brings you here, Nikki?”
Despite his blunt question, warmth continued to roll through her. His baritone was deeper than she remembered, deliciously rough and male, bearing a hint of his Midwestern accent, the same as Connor’s and hers. They’d all been transplants to Georgia as kids, making them as foreign to the locals as tofu at a Texas barbecue.
She wanted to smile at the memory. She wanted to ask him how much he knew about her problems these past months. Surely he’d seen the newspaper articles or caught some of the awful reports on the internet and TV. Even 60 Minutes had done a piece on what had happened with Bob Simon looking grimmer than usual. So in answer to his question, that was what had brought her here. And as soon as Nikki had the courage to bring it up, she would. “How’s Connor?”
Mitch inclined his head to the area behind her.
He was already in here? Watching? Listening?
Nikki reacted with a full body blush at Connor being in the other doorway, his approach muffled by the Persian area rug. His amazement at seeing her wasn’t nearly as nice as Mitch’s initial wonder, but it was no surprise. Outside of their height and powerful builds, they were nothing alike in personality or looks.
As Mitch’s fraternal twin, Connor was younger by thirty minutes, his complexion lighter, his features more classically beautiful, his eyes so dark they looked black. He wore his sable hair shaggy, like a rocker. Completing his bad-boy image was his close-cropped beard, a diamond stud in his lobe, black tee and jeans.
His attire was as laid-back as his personality was intense. Arms crossed over his chest, he demonstrated his artist’s temperament and long memory. Nikki watched his transformation from stunned to wary. That more than anything kept her rooted in place even though she missed him as badly as she’d missed Mitch, hungering to feel his arms around her, his breath on her skin.
“Connor, hi,” she offered.
He opened his mouth, then closed it without saying a word, choosing instead to stare at his brother. Mitch offered no explanation as to her presence, nor did he try to comfort because of it.
Desperate to break the awkward silence, Nikki spoke without thinking. “How’s your grandmother?”
Both brothers frowned, their reactions remarkably similar.
Dummy. She knew better than to ask about the woman. Their grandmother had been the source of their problems when they were kids. Not that Mitch or Connor would ever admit to it. They’d defended her without pause.
“She’s fine,” Mitch said. He went behind his desk and sat, gesturing Nikki to one of the wing chairs facing it.
Her legs were too watery to move with any grace, so she remained standing, as did Connor.
Mitch pressed back in his chair. The springs squeaked. “What brings you here, Nikki?”
Her belly cramped at what she was about to ask and might not get, but she didn’t have any other choice. “I saw your ad. I need a job badly.”
Connor uncrossed his arms and moved close enough for Nikki to catch his clean scent. A lime fragrance, fresh, citrusy and so arousing she had to suppress a shiver.
“We advertised for an attorney?” he asked Mitch.
“No,” Nikki answered, pleased he knew about her former career, worried as to how he’d found out. “I’m not doing that anymore.”
Neither brother asked why.
Okay, so they knew most of the gory details. Nikki decided to explain the others. “Because of what happened, I’m pretty much unemployable in New York or anywhere else in the nation, at least as an attorney.” She shrugged, trying to make light of it. “You need waitstaff and performers at Wicked. I’d like to apply for one of those positions.”
Mitch arched his brows.
Connor blurted, “Wicked’s a gentlemen’s club.” His attention dropped to her chest, lingering there. “The waitstaff is topless.”
“Or bottomless,” Mitch cut in, sounding as distracted as his brother as he took in her length.
“Sometimes both,” Connor added, then cleared his throat and continued, “depending upon the room.”
“Yeah, I know,” she murmured, as breathless as they were. “I read the magazine articles about it. It sounds like an amazing place. Does full nudity pay the most?”
Mitch stood. His chair rolled back, smacking the credenza. Gone were his arousal and earlier detachment, replaced by an expression that was decidedly pissed. “Is this a joke?”
“I need the money,” Nikki said, forgetting pride or dignity. Nothing mattered now except survival. “I’m certain you understand why. You did read or watch the news reports about what my ex-husband did, right?”
Mitch and Connor exchanged a glance. Their silence and expressions told Nikki they knew that Ty Jeffries was no longer the golden boy everyone had worshipped. He’d always been a thief and a fraud, no different from Bernard Madoff, another wealth manager who’d scammed his clients.
“My parents got caught up in Ty’s scheme,” Nikki said. “They’re going to lose their home, their only remaining asset, if I don’t get them some money and fast. I know you pay very well at Wicked.” Way better than an entry-level admin or customer service job. From what Nikki had heard, some of the girls made enough to afford ivy-league degrees or buy their own homes in upscale neighborhoods.
She spoke to Connor. “I’ve seen the website you set up for it. Totally amazing. It reminds me of the artwork you did when we were in school.” She turned to Mitch. “I don’t have the luxury of looking for work anywhere else. Even that orange vest and dream job at Walmart isn’t going to happen with my past.”
He didn’t return her smile. “You didn’t have anything to do with your husband’s scams.”
“Ex-husband,” she corrected, recalling the quickie divorce and enormous amount of money she’d paid a prominent criminal attorney to clear her name. It kept her out of jail, ruined her financially and didn’t change the public’s opinion of w
ho they thought she was. “That photo of me being hauled away in cuffs left a lasting impression in most people’s minds. A lot of them don’t believe that Ty forged my signature to those checks and documents. They’re convinced I had something to do with his scam or that I knew about it. They’re not prepared to forgive.” She snuck a peek at Connor.
His arms were back over his chest, his stance distant and unsympathetic.
Suppressing a sigh, Nikki tried to reason with Mitch. “Nudity doesn’t bother me. Been there. Done that.”
Connor grunted.
“I have,” she insisted to him.
“You’ve worked in a gentlemen’s club before,” he said.
“Well no, but I have been to parties in the Hamptons thrown by the financial wizards of Wall Street. You know, the kings of the world?” She gave him a wry smile. “I doubt any gentlemen’s club, even yours, could be as wild.”
Neither of them said a word. They appeared disappointed, as though they’d expected better of her.
A long time ago, Nikki had too. Then loneliness crept up, refusing to leave. Ty’s frequent absences and his increasing disdain that she wasn’t the prettiest, wealthiest, most pure bred of their group began to wear on her. Nikki had ached for a man’s embrace, someone to love and require her just as she was. Imperfect sure, but still worthy. For a few brief moments at those lust-fueled parties, she’d felt desired by the other men…adored.
“Just give me a chance,” she murmured. “Please.”
Mitch sank to his chair and opened a drawer. “No.”
Although Nikki had warned herself to expect that response, her throat still constricted. “I really need this, Mitch.”
“Because of your parents,” Connor said.
That and wanting to be able to eat and have a place to stay other than a shelter. “They really believed in Ty,” she explained.
