“It looked personal.” Gaby hesitated, as if she wanted to say more but had thought better of verbalizing her opinion.
“And?” Fletch’s dark brows rose in a prompt for information.
“After my initial shock wore off… You looked hot. Okay? I thought the two of you together was sexy as hell.”
“Is the coffee ready yet?” Fletch sent him a pleased grin and rubbed his chin. The faint rasp of stubble reached Liam.
“Almost,” Gaby said, clearly relieved at the subject change. “I’m starving. You guys want bacon and eggs?”
“It’s not your turn to cook,” Liam said. “I’ll do breakfast.”
“No, I owe you guys. You looked after me last night, made sure I got home in one piece.” She scowled at her coffee cup. “I don’t remember much after leaving the Cricket. Did I do anything I need to apologize about?”
“Not a thing, sweetheart,” Fletch said. “Bacon and eggs sounds good.”
Gaby poured two mugs of coffee, adding milk and a spoon of sugar to each before handing them over.
Fletch nudged him, and frowning, Liam followed his friend. They both parked their butts at the kitchen table, which already bore a heap of mats topped with a pile of cutlery.
“Just move the boxes. It’s my work stuff.” Gaby placed several rashers of bacon under the grill and turned her attention to the eggs.
“What’s in them?” Liam asked.
“Samples.”
Liam set them aside, making room for the three of them to eat while Fletch finished the table setting Gaby had started. A well-oiled machine. He glanced up and found Gaby studying them, much like she scrutinized her detailed drawings and plans for her products.
“Something wrong?” Liam took possession of the chair opposite Fletch.
“Yes. No.”
“Which is it, sweetheart?” Fletch shot him a swift wink before turning his attention back to Gaby.
“I’m trying to work out if I should ask you something.” Gaby checked the bacon and cracked three eggs into the fry pan. With her other hand, she popped down the toast. The scent of cooking bacon filled the kitchen—a comfortable, familiar aroma and one that spelled home to Liam.
“So spit it out,” Fletch said. “Maybe we can help.”
“Would the two of you help me test my samples?” Gaby turned back to the fry pan and flipped the eggs to cook both sides as if her request was no big deal.
Fletch kicked him under the table to grab his attention. He mouthed something. Liam could only guess what Fletch wanted to tell him. He didn’t care since Gaby had offered them a way to get close to her.
“What would the tests involve?” Fletch took a sip of his coffee. He was playing it cool, but Liam noticed the small boy inside his friend leaping for joy.
“Sex.”
Liam almost spat out the coffee he was trying to swallow. God, he loved a blunt woman.
“What sort of sex?” Fletch shot him a scowl, warning him to cool it.
Liam took the point and sobered immediately. Fletch was right. Gaby seemed skittish about the idea. He’d hate her to rescind the offer. No, they needed to lull her suspicions.
“Well, the two of you could…” She trailed off, her hand gesturing toward them.
“Fletch dared me to kiss him,” Liam said, straining to keep the defensive note from his voice. No. No. No! As much as he’d enjoyed kissing Fletch, they both wanted Gaby. This plan of theirs was gurgling around the toilet bowl, ready to flush away. They had to convince Gaby they required her presence in testing her products.
“It’s true,” Fletch said. “I dared him.”
Gaby’s brow wrinkled and she turned to them, toast slice in hand. “Maybe we could test my samples together.” She spoke rapidly, as if worried about the content of her thoughts.
Fletch set down his coffee and absently clunked a teaspoon against the side of the sugar bowl. “The three of us?”
“I guess it’s a bad idea,” Gaby said, apologetic. “Forget I mentioned it.”
Panic filled Liam. At this rate, Gaby would talk herself out of the suggestion before they agreed. “You took us by surprise because you’ve always kept your work secret from us before. Nothing wrong with your idea.” Did he sound excited? Too eager?
“You’d consider it?” Gaby kept her back to them while she served the food.
Liam exchanged a speaking glance with Fletch. What should we do now?
Luckily Fletch read his mind exactly. “Gaby, of course we’d like to help you, but we need to discuss the situation first. We’d hate sex to fuck up our friendship.”
Gaby picked up two plates and strolled over to the table. She set one plate in front of each of them before returning to collect hers and the rack of toast. “More coffee?”
“Sit. I’ll grab the coffeepot.” Liam sprang to his feet and returned to the table with both the coffeepot and the milk.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested testing with you guys. You’re right, of course. I was wrong to spring the idea on you.”
“Gaby, shut up,” Fletch said in a kind yet determined tone. “Give us a chance to speak for ourselves.”
She pressed her lips together until they practically disappeared, making her look like a prim maiden aunt. After leaving them, she’d taken the time to comb her hair and clean off the makeup she’d worn the previous evening. God, she was beautiful. Liam’s heart hurt every time he looked at her. She kept her black hair long and it had a natural curl, twirling into cute spiral curls that called out for tugging. Sometimes she straightened her hair, but he liked it this way best—wild and free. She took after her European father most, but she had a lot of her mother in her too.
He’d bet she’d received her love of life from her grandmother. Harriet Te Whare was a wonderful woman, and both he and Fletch adored her. During their teen years, they’d spent many hours at Gaby’s grandparents’ farm, either riding horses or swimming at the river.
“We don’t want to spoil our friendship either. I can’t speak for Liam, but I’m not dating anyone at present. I’d like to help with your testing. Truth is, I’m dying to learn more about your work. You’re always closemouthed about your experiments. I’d enjoy helping you.”
“I’m in,” Liam said. “I’m not seeing anyone either. Besides, we’ve known each other for a long time. We’re helping you with your work. Why would that cause problems? Hell, Fletch and I kissed this morning. We’re still talking.”
“Are you going to kiss again?”
Fletch shared a swift glance with him before turning back to Gaby. “You want to know because?”
“I want to watch.”
Chapter Four
Gaby drew a sharp breath, aghast at her words. The truth was she’d frozen on seeing the two men kiss. Shock had yielded swiftly to surprise and speculation. They’d appeared comfortable, focused solely on each other.
A part of her had envied their closeness. Marc might have enjoyed the sex with her, but it was never totally about pleasure. Their coupling was always about the condoms. How did they fit? How did they feel? Did they perform to expectation? Did they need a different scent or should they tweak the design?
Sex with Marc was business, on his side at least. Part of her still ached to pick up the phone and ask him to continue with their friends-with-benefits deal.
“Gaby?”
“What?” Oops, she’d zoned out on them. “If you’re that relaxed with each other you’re naturals for helping me to test my sex toys. Besides, neither of you seemed to have a problem with kissing me. I figured the actual sex part wouldn’t create a problem either.”
“What about the risk of pregnancy?” Liam asked.
Gaby sent him a look of approval. “It’s always possible one of the condoms might break because they are test models. We do tests with machines first before we use people, but I’m on the Pill just in case. I take regular physicals and I’m clean.”
“Liam and I had blood work done last month. The
y tested for everything.”
“How come you had tests? You never mentioned them,” Gaby said, diverted from her worries.
“Our rugby coach wanted to check our end-of-season fitness levels. The sports medicine department at the university where his daughter works needed volunteers so they worked a trade. They poked and prodded us for an entire weekend,” Liam said. “You were concentrating on a work project at the time.”
“Oh. Okay.” Gaby buttered a piece of toast and cut it in two. “Do you guys have any plans for the rest of the weekend?” She cringed inwardly, knowing she might come across as sex-starved. “The testing is time-sensitive. I need at least some results this weekend so I can work on finessing my design. James and Alice want to market the chosen product during the run-up to Christmas. Christmas is coming so I need to get a move on with the testing. I…” She trailed off, aware she’d lost them both somewhere. They were staring at each other with wide eyes. Shock.
Heck, she’d traumatized them with her blunt demands.
“Christmas is coming?” Liam exchanged a glance with Fletch. His lips quivered and seconds later, he exploded into laughter. He fell against the table, almost toppling off his seat.
“What?” Gaby didn’t have to pretend confusion.
“You’ve found your marketing angle,” Fletch said with another guffaw. “That’s a perfect slogan for a sex toy. All going well, everyone will come.”
“Oh! Brilliant.” Gaby flashed them an excited grin. “Why didn’t I think of that before? I’ll tell James and Alice on Monday. Hopefully by then I’ll have a better idea which toy we’ll market.”
“Are we allowed more details?” Liam asked.
Gaby tossed them an uncertain look. “Either of you have experience with anal sex? Some guys are a bit squeamish about anything outside the bounds of traditional.” She found herself tensing, waiting for their reply. Please say you’re okay with this. Testing on her own wouldn’t be much fun, and she hated to dwell on Marc. Having Fletch and Liam around would distract her.
“Anal sex is fine,” Liam said.
“Have you…um…with each other?”
“Not yet,” Fletch said.
Mid-swallow, Liam let out a peculiar choking croak and Fletch clapped him over the back.
“Fuck, don’t say things like that when I have a mouthful,” Liam said once he could breathe again.
“So you’re okay with kinky?”
“We’re willing to try anything you throw at us. Right, Liam?”
Liam shot Fletch a swift glare before turning back to her. “If there’s something we’re not happy about, we’ll let you know. Will that work?”
“Perfect.”
“Fletch and I need to check on the building site, but we’ll be back midmorning. Is that okay?” He glanced at Fletch again, and the two seemed to communicate without words.
“I’ll get everything ready. I wanted to sort out the paperwork anyway.”
“Did you see Suzy Richards last night?” Fletch asked, changing the subject.
“She wandered her hands all over Jeremy Collins, the guy from the Children of Nature cult,” Liam said. “Doesn’t he already have a woman?”
Gaby relaxed into their local gossip with relief. “Last time I saw her she was heavily pregnant. I wonder if Suzy realizes she’d be woman number two or even three.”
Five minutes later, the two men left. A low-level thrum spiked in her pussy and she shuffled around on her chair, tightening her thighs to coax out more of the sensation. Magic pulsed in the air or at least—she hoped it was enchantment. The more she considered her suggestion, the better the idea sounded. This wasn’t a mistake. She valued their friendship. The last thing she wanted was to find somewhere else to live.
Kissing Liam and Fletch this morning had revved her motor. She couldn’t wait to see how they dealt with her sex toys.
* * * * *
Fletch followed Liam from the house, waiting until they were far enough away before demanding, “What the fuck are we doing? There’s no pressing need for us to visit the site today. What if Gaby has second thoughts about this while we’re away?”
“We need to talk over what we will and won’t do.”
A quiver of anticipation rocked Fletch. He knew where his boundaries lay, but perhaps Liam was right. It was better to discuss this away from Gaby. “Fair enough. We might as well check the progress on the site. Are we going in my vehicle or yours?”
“Mine is pointing in the right direction.” Liam fished his keys from his jacket pocket. “Do you think Gaby will change her mind?”
“Knowing Gaby, no. She seemed…I dunno…excited.”
Liam unlocked his SUV and jumped behind the wheel. “That’s what I thought.”
“So what’s your problem?” Fletch liked confronting things, demanding answers in order to plan ahead. This topic fell into the category of strategic planning. Six months ago, almost to the day, he’d looked at Liam and realized he’d wanted more from him than friendship. The idea shocked the hell out of him at first. He’d seen Liam with a woman—Jenny May—and jealousy hit him over the head. They’d ended up fucking her together and it had turned into one of the most satisfying sexual encounters in memory. After much thought, he’d realized Liam’s presence made the difference. He’d enjoyed the surge of cock against his own, hadn’t minded the closeness or intimacy with another man because it was Liam.
“I wanted to know how far you’re willing to go.”
Fletch frowned. “What do you mean?” The jealousy he’d experienced when Liam hooked up with Jenny May hadn’t been because of a woman.
Gay.
He’d worried for about two seconds. He enjoyed fucking a woman, yet the experience improved a hundredfold with Liam. He’d done some online research and emerged enlightened and a bit disturbed. A few sleepless nights and he’d reached a decision. He wasn’t gay but he was attracted to Liam.
He had to tread carefully.
Liam’s confession about his feelings toward Gaby offered an opportunity, one too good to pass up. His two favorite people in bed with him. Nope, only an idiot would turn down a chance like this.
“When Gaby was talking about anal sex, I don’t think she meant just with her. She meant us having sex with each other.”
“That worries you?” Fletch sneaked a glance at Liam. He didn’t appear distressed. Yet.
Liam concentrated on the tarmac. Not that Sloan traffic clogged the roads or anything. “I don’t know what to friggin’ think. It feels as if this sex thing is spiraling out of control and we haven’t done anything yet.”
“We don’t have to do anything.”
“I want to do this.” Liam’s smile was rueful. “I’m willing to do anything. I don’t think I’ll even hesitate at kinky because it’s you and Gaby.”
Something twisted inside Fletch at Liam’s words. The ball of tension in his gut dispersed. “That’s what I was thinking. It’s not as if any of us would gossip. I trust both you and Gaby. I thought I’d approach this with an open mind.”
“We might be overanalyzing the situation anyway,” Liam said, taking a right turn onto Marchant Road.
They passed two paddocks of Hereford cattle with their distinctive chestnut-colored bodies and white faces. Three horses and a paint pony grazed in the corner paddock where he took another right onto Davies Road. The building site was at the end of the road, a huge mansion of eight bedrooms, two reception rooms, luxury kitchen plus a wine cellar, gym and indoor pool. The customers expected the best and willingly paid for materials of the highest quality. The building was a joy to work on, especially with Liam at his side. They both relished building things and worked together well. Hopefully this would extend to loving Gaby.
* * * * *
Nerves stuttered through her the entire morning, only increasing when a vehicle pulled up outside the house.
They were back. Did she want to go ahead with this? She paused a beat. Hell yeah. Imagining the two of them naked and at her
disposal had her wet enough to start right now. No need for foreplay, that was for sure.
“Hey,” she said, striving for casual and friendly when they walked—no prowled—into the kitchen. Two dangerous, sleek cats. Inwardly, she scoffed at her thoughts. Her mother always said her reading material helped to push her onto the path to ruin.
“Smells good.” Liam came to a halt. “I thought it was my turn to cook.”
“So you keep saying. I made a casserole. Dinner can cook, leaving us free to do other stuff.”
“At least she’s feeding us,” Fletch said. “We should give thanks.”
“Fletch!” Cripes he made it sound as if she was forcing them into slavery. Her gaze roved their chests. Both were equally attractive and muscular from physical work and sports. “You would make good slaves. I do like to eat grapes.”
“We’ll peel your grapes anytime,” Liam said.
Fletch chuckled. “We’re looking forward to this. I can’t wait to play with your inventions.”
His comment prompted a question. “The pair of you speculate about my work?”
“Of course we do,” Liam said. “Hell, most of the single men and half the married ones wonder what you guys get up to at Fancy Free.”
“I bet.” Gaby patted the focaccia bread dough. “I’ve heard every suggestive come-on line in the book.”
“Not from us,” Fletch protested.
“No, thank goodness. It’s earned you guys a ton of points. I’m nearly done here. I’ll finish off the bread and leave it to rise.” She tossed a grin at them. “Don’t start without me. If there’s any kissing, I want to watch.”
“We’re men. We do everything in a hurry,” Fletch said.
She winked. “Not everything, according to Jenny May.”
“And they accuse men of gossip.” Liam shook his head and departed in the direction of the bedrooms. Once again, her gaze drifted to his backside, faithfully outlined in faded denim. But this time Fletch caught her.
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