An Indecent Proposition Part III

by Stephanie Julian

  An Indecent Proposition

  Part III

  By Stephanie Julian

  An Indecent Proposition Part III

  Stephanie Julian

  Published by Stephanie Julian

  Copyright 2012. Stephanie Julian.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to a legitimate online bookseller to purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at stephaniejulian@msn.com.

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  Chapter One

  “Keegan! Stop!”

  Keegan Malone had known going to Erik Riley’s house this late had been a mistake of immense stupidity.

  He’d known Julianne was here. He’d seen her car parked out front.

  And when he’d walked into the house and realized she and Erik weren’t anywhere to be found on the first floor, he should’ve left right fucking then.

  But had he?

  No, of course he hadn’t.

  Shaking his head, Keegan bounced off the wall as he stumbled down the second-floor hall, away from Erik’s bedroom. His head throbbed with an ever-increasing headache, and he lifted a hand to rub at his temples. Which only made it worse.

  He needed his feet to move faster. He needed to be…somewhere else. Anywhere else.

  “Christ, I knew this was a mistake. Shoulda stayed the fuck home.”

  “God damn it. Keegan, don’t fucking make me run after you.”

  Ignoring Erik’s voice, Keegan kept walking. He had to get to the front door, get out of the house. If he just kept walking, eventually he’d get away. He needed to get away.

  “Keegan. Stop.”

  His footsteps faltered. That wasn’t Erik’s voice.

  His chest muscles contracted as if he’d taken a solid blow to the solar plexus. He sucked in a sharp breath then released it in a rush.

  Damn it. Don’t stop now.

  He took a few more steps, to the top of the stairs, then paused. Behind him, the floorboards creaked as someone walked up behind him. Tensing, he waited, waited…

  The hand that fell on his shoulder was not Erik’s. It was small, delicate…and had the power to destroy him.

  Get a grip, asshole.

  Christ, he was one stupid bastard.

  “Don’t go,” Jules said. “Not like this.”

  He considered ignoring her, forcing his feet to continue down the stairs until he reached the door. From there, all he had to do was turn left down the road. He didn’t have to worry about his car. He’d walked here because he’d been too drunk to drive. Now he definitely wasn’t drunk enough.

  The buzz that had allowed him to think coming here was a good idea in the first place had worn off the moment he’d seen Erik and Jules together in bed.

  And you’re an utter fucking asshole because you were the one who fucked her up against a wall earlier tonight like a Neanderthal.

  “I shouldn’t be here.”

  The words falling out of his mouth sounded slurred, like he was still drunk. Which couldn’t be right because he felt stone-cold sober inside his own head.

  “Then why are you?”

  There was an edge to her voice that cut into him like a dull knife. And he deserved it. He totally deserved whatever she threw at him.

  Christ, if she told him to get the hell out, it’d be only what he deserved.

  Forcing himself to turn, he expected her to be pissed, almost expected a slap.

  Instead, her dark gaze held worry. For him? He sucked in a breath. Why would she be worried about him?

  She should want to hit him.

  “I don’t know why I’m here.”

  “Bullshit.” Her tone held only the slightest bit of anger, and again, he wanted to shake his head. Why the hell wasn’t she raging? Hell, he was pissed off at himself on her behalf.

  So when he crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her, the edge in his voice came through. “Fine. Then tell me why I’m here, Jules. When I’m the last person you should want to see right now.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Erik put his back against the wall and let his head tilt back. From this angle, Keegan saw barely any of the scarring on Erik’s face. He looked like he had before the explosion. Before the damage to his face had made him a recluse.

  Until the night they’d seen Jules for the first time. That night, she’d been dressed in the same plain black-and-white catering uniform she’d been wearing earlier tonight when he’d—

  Damn it.

  Now she wore Erik’s t-shirt and probably nothing else.

  His gaze dropped to her bare legs, her feet planted wide. She’d crossed her arms under her breasts, and through the thin cotton he could see her nipples poking into the fabric.

  Christ, just put a knife through his fucking heart already. He wanted to drop to his knees, put his arms around her waist, and pull her against him.

  Then he’d pull that shirt up around her waist and put his mouth—

  No. There he went, thinking with his dick again. And that’s exactly what had gotten him into trouble already tonight.

  His gaze lifted back to hers, narrowed and glittering. “Yes, I’m pissed at you, Keegan. But not for the reason you think.”

  Confusion had his head swimming, but he refused to show it. The sooner he let her tell him off, the sooner he’d get out of here. Which was what he wanted.

  Bullshit.

  His chin lifted. “So tell me what I’m thinking and how I’m wrong. Am I thinking I should’ve called two weeks ago? Am I thinking I should’ve kept my damn dick in my pants tonight and talked to you instead of taking advantage of you?”

  “Oh please.” Her face screwed up in a frown, which he found hot as fucking hell. “If I hadn’t wanted you tonight, you would’ve had my knee in your balls.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Erik wince and run a hand through his hair. He hadn’t bothered to get it cut for a couple of months and he used the length as a screen to hide behind.

  But Keegan had noticed he’d been doing less of it lately…since that first night they’d spent with Jules. The night this had all started.

  “Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you knee me in the balls? I fucking deserved it.”

  Her eye roll was worthy of an Oscar. “Jesus! How can you be so freaking dense and so insanely smart?” She actually stamped one bare foot, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “You know what? Maybe you’re right. Maybe there is nothing to talk about. Maybe this is all just—”

  “Stop. Just…stop.” Erik’s voice cut through the lust and the anger and the guilt raging in the air between Keegan and Jules. “You two need to figure this out on your own—”

  “Oh no.” Jules turned and took a step back so she could see both of them, pinning Erik in place with a pointed index finger. “You don’t get to bug out on this. You’re right. We need to talk. All three of us. Right now.”

  No one moved.

  Keegan flashed Erik a look but Erik was staring at Jules. The lust on Erik’s face made Keegan’s guilt flare white-hot and he knew exactly what he had to do.

  “Fine.” Keegan nodded at Jules. “You wanna do this? Let’s get it over with now.”

  Jules sucked in a deep breath as Keegan turned and headed downstairs, calling ove
r his shoulder, “I’ll be in the study.”

  For a second, she stood there, listening to his footsteps on the stairs. She found herself holding her breath, waiting for him to open the front door and leave.

  She only released that breath when she heard him come to a stop somewhere in the front of the house. The floors in this old place announced every move you made. Which made it a miracle that Keegan had snuck up on them.

  Then again, she hadn’t really been paying much attention to anything other than Erik.

  God, she wanted to close her eyes and crawl into a hole, but she’d gotten herself into this mess. Now she needed to dig herself out.

  Even though she had no idea what the hell she was going to do when she did.

  Well, what do you want to do?

  Good question. And no easy answer.

  She wanted this entire mess to just go away. She wanted to return to the first night she’d met Erik and Keegan and enjoy that time again. That night had been…amazing. Special.

  She’d thought it’d been a one-night-only event.

  And then everything had gotten so screwed up.

  “I assume you’d like to get dressed before you go downstairs.”

  Erik’s quiet statement roused her from her muddled thoughts, and she raised her head to look at him. His expression showed nothing, but the stillness of his body said so much.

  Her head began to throb, and she just barely managed to keep herself from rubbing at her burning eyes.

  “Yeah, I think that’s probably best.”

  Which didn’t mean much at the moment. Her normally rational thinking seemed to have deserted her.

  She was having sex with two hot guys. It was the basis for thousands of rom-coms. Though none of the heroines in those films slept with both men at the same time. In those stories, one of the men went home empty-handed.

  Will we ever get that happy ending?

  Okay, she really needed to stop talking to herself and go talk to them.

  Erik watched her as she turned toward his bedroom. She realized he’d pulled on his jeans only, his body bare from the waist up. Every time she saw those scars on his torso, she wanted to run her fingers over them, stroke them so he didn’t think she was repulsed by them. She truly wasn’t.

  And the scars on his face made her want to press kisses to them. She couldn’t make them all better, couldn’t heal him physically. But she could show him he was still desirable.

  Yeah, you’re a real humanitarian.

  With a shake of her head, she headed back to the bedroom. But just before she crossed the threshold, she stopped and turned. Erik hadn’t taken his eyes off her. His very hungry eyes.

  Grabbing the hem of his shirt, she pulled it over her head and tossed it to him. For several seconds, she stood there naked, totally gratified to see the hunger turn to absolute lust. And to see the physical evidence in the growing bulge behind his zipper.

  Then she turned and walked into the bedroom.

  Tease.

  She thought about that as she pulled on her panties and bra. But her brain skipped a beat when she thought about putting on her catering clothes.

  Gross. But she refused to walk out there in her panties and bra.

  Which was ridiculous because they’d both seen her naked.

  “Fuck.”

  She dropped onto the edge of the bed, took a deep breath, and let her head fall forward.

  Now what?

  What did they do? What should she say? What could she say?

  Something dropped onto the bed beside her and her head snapped up.

  Erik stood at the foot of the bed, where he’d set a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

  “I didn’t figure you wanted to put on your other clothes.”

  Her gaze met and held his, even as her eyes burned. “Thank you.”

  He grimaced and huffed, the sound holding so much self-disgust she almost smiled. “Yeah, I’m a real gentleman. Come down whenever you’re ready. We’ll be there.”

  He walked out without a backward glance.

  And all she could think was, God, the man has a great ass.

  “Ugh.”

  What the hell was wrong with her?

  Pulling on Erik’s clothes, she tried not to think. Which was easy to do for a few seconds because his scent drenched her, a mouthwatering mix of sandalwood and sharp citrus.

  It made her hungry again. Horny.

  For both of them.

  Which made no damn sense at all.

  She wanted to fall on the bed and flail around, just for a few seconds, like a toddler having a temper tantrum.

  Instead, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to clear her mind, at least for a few minutes.

  But all too soon, she was trying to make sense of all the different thoughts running through her head.

  This isn’t right. You need to let either one of them go.

  But, damn it, she didn’t want to. Call her selfish. She didn’t care. It was their own damn fault for spoiling her that first night. She wanted both.

  Yeah and how’s that going to work?

  People in this town already thought she was a slut. What would they call her if she started hanging out with two guys? Two older, wealthy guys? And god forbid anyone found out they’d paid her to sleep with them.

  “Argh.”

  No more stalling. Straightening her back, she stood.

  She knew what she should do. Now she just had to do it. Taking a deep breath, she headed downstairs.

  As her foot hit the last step, she almost faltered, her knees wanting to lock so she couldn’t go any farther.

  She pushed ahead.

  And when she stepped into the only room on the first floor with light shining through the doorway, she caught back a sigh.

  They’d taken up positions on opposite sides of the room. Keegan sprawled in a leather wingback chair, staring at the wall beside him. Erik stood in front of the bay window, hands shoved in his pockets, bare shoulders hunched.

  Both seemed to be in deep thought, and she had a few seconds to observe them before Keegan turned and snagged her gaze. She didn’t make a sound but Erik must’ve heard Keegan. Or maybe they were just that attuned to each other that Erik sensed a disturbance in Keegan’s force.

  She would’ve laughed at her own joke if it’d been even the least bit funny.

  Neither of them spoke so she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “So, how do you want to do this?”

  She sent the question out there, not really knowing how they’d respond. Not sure how she wanted them to respond.

  Keegan spoke first. “I don’t think that’s the question you want to ask, Jules.”

  She thought about what he’d said for a few seconds before she realized that’s exactly what she’d meant to say. “Actually, it is.”

  Keegan’s brow furrowed as he thought that over, like he was trying to find the bombshell hidden in her words.

  It took him at least half a minute but he finally shook his head. “I’m not sure there is any way to work this.”

  She’d expected him to say something to that effect but it still hurt. “So you don’t even want to try?”

  He rose from the chair with an explosion of movement then began to pace. “Try what? A relationship between the three of us? Are you serious? How the hell would that even work?”

  Her heart pounded, her lungs tightening with anxiety. And anger. “I don’t have a clue. I’ve never done it before. I guess the question is would you even want to see if it could work? I know you and Erik have taken other women to bed together before. You’re too good at it.”

  Erik snorted but didn’t turn from the window. And he didn’t say anything. Keegan sliced a vicious look at his friend, but Erik continued to ignore him.

  “So…” She infused as much sarcasm as she could in her tone. “Let me guess. You didn’t do relationships. You only did sex.”

  She knew she was right when Keegan stopped to glare at her
before continuing to pace. When she slid a glance at Erik, she saw he’d bowed his head.

  Her hands went to her hips as her temper continued to build. “So that’s your response? Ignore me? Not going to work. Why the hell did you come to that reception tonight, Keegan? If you didn’t want anything to do with me, why didn’t you just leave me the hell alone?”

  His lips twisted. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay—”

  “Bullshit.” She slashed a hand out in front of her, and he halted in his tracks. “Jesus, could you please not lie? If that’s all you wanted, how did we end up fucking in a closet?”

  Keegan flinched and the blush leached out of his cheeks. “I’m sorry. You’re right. That’s unforgivable. So slap me. Tell me to fuck off.”

  He took a step closer and she had a brief flash of fear. She’d been hit by a man before, by the one man who never should’ve laid a hand on her. Her father had slapped her when she’d confronted him. After he’d left them. After he’d cleaned out the bank accounts and moved in with his new girlfriend.

  But as Keegan drew closer, she saw his anger wasn’t fueled by rage. It was directed inward.

  “Why don’t you just tell me why you’re afraid to even try?”

  When his gaze flashed at Erik, she knew what she was thinking was right. This wasn’t only about her. This was about Erik as well.

  Maybe Keegan did have sexual feelings for Erik that he wasn’t willing to admit. Maybe she was simply a scapegoat. Or a standin.

  Her anger started to get the better of her.

  “You want him, don’t you? I was just a way to be able to have him. Christ, I’ve been such a fool.”

  Keegan had been shaking his head almost since she started to speak. “That’s not it. God damn it, Jules.”

  “Then explain why you look at Erik like you have something to say to him but don’t know how. What could you possibly not be able to tell him?”

  A tense silence fell and she heard two sets of heavy male breathing. With another shake of his head, Keegan turned away from her, yanking his hand through his curls. Which was exactly what she wished she could do. Sink her hands in his hair and pull his head down so she could kiss him. Then she wanted Erik to plaster himself against her back and kiss his way down her neck to her shoulders.