Double The Risk (16 page)

She started in on heating the saucepan with the butter on the cooktop built into her island. The sound of crinkling paper told her the second order was being obeyed. As she got ready to measure out the egg mixture for the first omelet, a small chocolate drifted into her line of vision. Without looking at the delivery boy, she bent down and snatched the candy up with her teeth. Two masculine grunts punched into the room. She smiled inwardly in satisfaction.

Omelets were quick and easy when one knew how to make them. It only took a few minutes for all three to be done and plated. Only once she’d turned off the burner did she bother to look up at her guests. Their gazes were locked on her, again just like her dog, waiting for a signal. Tossing two of the plates farther down the island, she pointed to the high back seats on the other side.

“Sit,” she ordered and they did.

Figuring this was a night for wine, she poured them all a glass of chilled pinot blanc. Then taking her own seat opposite them, she ate her meal, forcing herself to take her time and not wolf it down the way she wanted. Whatever was going on, she needed to give herself a chance to get on an emotionally even keel. Besides, it might not be fair of her, but she kind of wanted to make them wait. They bore at least equal responsibility for the mess they were all in. Fortunately, the guys were willing to play it her way. They didn’t say a word, simply ate their food and drank their wine, although she could feel their occasional glance her way.

When the last morsel had been swallowed, Cassidy shoved her plate to one side and took a large gulp of her wine. “Talk,” she said, looking at the two of them over the rim of her glass.

The men traded looks. As if they’d rehearsed it, and maybe they had, they said, “I’m sorry,” in unison.

“I acted like an asshole last Sunday,” Ronan added.

“Me, too,” Diego chimed in.

Putting her glass down, she twirled the stem, thinking of what she wanted to say in response. She decided to go with her heart and not play any more games. “I’m sorry as well. The whole situation is all my fault.”

“No!” Again they spoke as one.

“I was too cavalier with your feelings. And my own, frankly. I thought I was cut out for playing the field and casual sex. I’m not. If I were, then dumping you both wouldn’t have made me miserable all week.”

Her confession cheered the two men up considerably. They broke out in identical grins of satisfaction. Oh, perfect. She’d just fed into their male egos.

“We’ve been the same,” Ronan admitted.

“I hope you haven’t been at each other’s throats.” God, now she sounded like an egotistical maniac. As if she had the ability to inspire that kind of passion in one man, let alone two.

Pursing his lips, Diego said, “Not exactly, although the thought of planting my fist in Ronan’s face might have crossed my mind once or twice.” Ronan gave him a “bring it on” kind of glance, but said nothing. “We were busy solving that case.”

“Oh, good to hear.”

“Yeah, technically, although it didn’t wind up the way we’d hoped,” Ronan added, and pain flashed across his face. “We’ll tell you about it later. Tonight, we have something more important to discuss with you.”

Finally, here came the heartfelt apology that wouldn’t make her feel any better. If it helped them, though, she’d listen calmly and compassionately. Then once they left, she’d have a really good cry. Damn, the tears were threatening to show up already.

“Go ahead,” she urged, her voice shakier than she wanted.

Ronan looked as if he were girding his loins. Obviously, they’d decided he would be the spokesman. “The thing is, Cassidy, we both like you a lot.”

Diego cleared his throat and shot him a look.

“We’ve pretty much fallen in love with you,” Ronan amended.

Oh, my. Her heart thudded wildly, and her breath quickened. It wasn’t possible. They’d known each other for basically a week. It wasn’t possible for them to have such strong feelings for her. And, yet, even as she thought it, she realized it was crazy to question their sincerity when she had the same feelings for each of them.

“I—I don’t know what to say.” She swallowed more wine to give herself a second. “I believe I’ve fallen in love with you, too. Each of you, as crazy as that sounds. I know I’ve missed both of you terribly even though we barely know each other.”

The men grinned at her again, clearly delighted with her confession.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s an impossible situation.”

“No, it’s not,” Ronan assured her. He leaned closer, his eyes gleaming. “The solution is simple. Take us both.”

“We tried that.”

“No, we tried your dating each of us separately. We want you to date us together.” His expression turned bashful. “We want you to let us make love to you together.”

Cassidy’s mouth dropped open. She stared back at them speechless. It was the craziest idea she’d ever heard of, except hadn’t Todd the Drink Server already put the idea into her head? Men were men the world over it seemed, gay or straight. She’d treated the suggestion at the bar as more of a joke, and yet she hadn’t tossed the idea from her memory. Besides, how much difference was there really between fucking two men on alternating nights and fucking them at the same time?

She might have been two minds about the idea, but her body had no qualms. Excitement flushed through her, leaving her wet. Her breasts tingled with the memory of how each of these men had lavished them, as well as the rest of her body, with devoted attention.

“You can’t be serious,” she finally said.

“I was skeptical at first,” Diego admitted. “I’ve had the benefit of a few days to mull it over, however, and I honestly believe it can work.”

Jazzed from the discussion, Cassidy jumped up and paced away from her seat. She turned back to them with her arms folded over her erect nipples, giving herself a quick goose. “Less than a week ago, you were practically at each other’s throats. What makes you think you can share me like that?”

“Because you’ll be the boss,” Ronan explained. “We cede control to you entirely. You lead, we follow, inside the bedroom and out. Diego and I won’t worry about how much time and attention each of us gets from you. We’ll trust you to be fair.”

“Seriously? You think that will work?”

Diego stood up and Ronan followed suit.

“We’re committed to giving it a try,” Diego said. “We know it may not be easy, but you matter too much for us to just walk away.”

It was madness, utterly foolhardy. Three-way sex and a three-way relationship? Who could juggle such a thing? Of course, she’d heard that polyamory was more common than people thought. People did make it work. The question was, could she? Could these two men in front of her do it? The speculation would drive her mad. There was only one way to know for sure. Tonight would be the test, and if it failed, she’d be no more miserable than she already was.

And if it succeeded?

She took a deep breath, not even trying to hide it from the guys. This was a huge step she and they were about to take, and she wanted to convey to them she wasn’t taking it lightly. “Okay. We’ll try it. For tonight only. If things go well, we try the weekend. After that?” She shrugged.

The first expression that crossed both men’s faces was relief, as if they’d been dreading her answer. Their faces quickly morphed into each man’s version of a smile. Diego’s was warm and melted her heart. Ronan’s was edgier, sexier, and it revved up her heartbeat. Their differences made the possibility of this three-way arrangement working more likely as together, they made her feel extra special.

She headed out of the kitchen at a slow pace without saying another word. The men didn’t hesitate to follow her. Their compliance made her smile. She led them up to her bedroom, a place each of them was familiar with. When she entered, however, it held a new sense of excitement, of danger even. She turned to look at her lovers and, just thinking the word in the plural, sent a frisson of arousal down her spine. Ronan and Diego stood a foot inside the room, their respective gazes locked on her face, waiting for her to give them the signal to continue.

It was sweet and a little intimidating. She wasn’t used to being the center of such intense attention, and she also wasn’t used to being handed the lead in a relationship. She hadn’t exactly been a doormat with Thomas, of course. Theirs had been this really civilized, almost bloodless partnership. The idea of calling the shots with two hot men worshipping her at her command was heady stuff. Understanding they were determined to let her make the first move, she made it.

There was no way to choose between them based on need or desire, so she went in alphabetical order based on last name. It was as rational a choice as any. She sauntered up to Ronan, keeping her gaze on him, and gave him a quick kiss. Turning to Diego, she did the same. It wasn’t much, but it was a start, and she liked the experience so much, she did it again. This time she started with Diego and she lingered, letting her lips slide across each man’s until they parted and let her in. By the time she was done, all three of them were breathless.

She stepped back to slow things down and rev them up. Without giving a command, she led by example by pulling her T-shirt off. Braless as she was, she knew a moment of self-consciousness as the guys’ laser-like focus homed in on her breasts. The heat in their eyes as they looked, however, overrode her second of embarrassment. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her boxers and shimmied out of them. Then she stood fully naked in front of her men.

Her men. Yes, she could get used to that concept pretty damn quick.

“Your turn, boys,” she practically purred in a voice she didn’t recognize as she yanked the scrunchy out of her hair and shook her head. Just like that, she’d turned into some kind of movie vixen. The thought thrilled her.

When Ronan and Diego hesitated, she put sternness into her voice. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

Ronan had trouble with authority, he admitted it freely. In this case, however, he jumped to obey. It was beyond hot the way Cassidy stood like a naked goddess issuing orders in a low, sultry voice he’d never heard her use. His cock was already stiff and aching. He knew without looking that Diego was in a similar state. They both grabbed their shirts first and tore them off. It was easy for Ronan to do given he’d opted for the comfort of a T-shirt. Diego was right there with him, though, pulling open his button-down fast enough to send a couple of buttons flying, then yanking the shirt over his head.

Yeah, they were both primed.

Jeans, shoes, and socks were next, and of course, underwear. And now he couldn’t avoid seeing out of the corner of his eye the impressive rod his partner sported. As he and Diego had discussed, neither of them had been in the same room as another man’s hard cock. But he stuck with the plan, which was to focus on what really mattered—Cassidy. She was beautiful and sexy as hell, with her curvy body enticing a man to go through hell just to touch it. Her plump breasts bounced on her every breath, and the nipples were hard points. His mouth watered in anticipation of sucking on each one as soon as Cassidy allowed it.

Standing there, waiting for her direction was killing him. His body vibrated with the need to claim her. The same impatience radiated off Diego. Shit, this was hard, but they’d agreed it was the only way this thing had a chance of succeeding. Cassidy’s gaze bounced back and forth between then, her lips curled up in a slight smile. She was getting off on the power she had over them, and that was hot as hell. He’d never seen himself as the submissive type and still didn’t, but there was something about the confidence of the woman that cranked his arousal.

“I think,” she finally said when the room had filled with the tension of three people’s need. “I’m going to let you guys off your leash. Show me what you want from me.”

Ronan needed no further coaxing. He strode over to her and, wrapping one arm around her shoulder, pulled her into a kiss while he cupped one breast. He claimed her left side only, however, leaving the right one open for Diego. His partner wasted no time, either, reaching Cassidy a half a second behind Ronan. Diego clasped her waist and dropping to his knees, took her right nipple into his mouth. Cassidy cried out, the vibration ricocheting inside Ronan’s mouth. Liking the sound and the feel, he pinched her left nipple with thumb and forefinger to make her do it again.

Her hand grabbed his ass, and she dug her nails into his flesh. He hissed at the bite of pain and rocked his dick against her side. Except he didn’t just rub against her soft skin, he felt something rougher and harder against his rod. Diego’s arm. His mind shorted for a second at the jarring realization, and he tilted his hips back. Cassidy stopped him by pressing him forward again with her hand. She was right, of course. There was going to be a lot of accidental touching between him and his partner. If Ronan couldn’t handle that, the whole effort was doomed.

He let her guide him to a place where he once more rubbed against both people, and this time, he concentrated on the feel of Cassidy and not Diego. His partner moaned long and low. Ronan popped open his eyes long enough to look down. It was Cassidy’s hand fisting Diego’s hair that had pulled the sound from the man, likely nothing more than that. What did it matter anyway? He was kissing Cassidy and fondling her breast, and if this was all he accomplished, it would almost be enough.

Almost.

Breaking the kiss, he pressed his forehead against Cassidy’s. “We need to move this party to the bed.”

With heavy-lidded eyes, Cassidy nodded her assent. Diego apparently agreed, because he let go of his treat and stood up. He didn’t let go of her, though, and neither did Ronan as they led her backwards to her bed. She couldn’t see where she was going, but she obviously trusted them to get her safely to their destination. The bed was only a few feet away. When they arrived, Ronan arched a brow at Diego. The other man gave a quick nod of assent and let go of Cassidy long enough for Ronan to scoop her up and deposit her as gently as he could in the middle of the bed.

He followed her down so that he lay on his side facing her. Diego raced around to the other side of the bed and mimicked Ronan’s position. The fit was tight as it was only a queen-sized bed. Ronan made a mental note that if this relationship worked out, they’d need to go king. That detail could wait. For now, things were right as he’d hoped. Cassidy was lying restlessly between her two lovers, and her face wore an expression of impatient arousal. Ronan wasted no more time and latched onto the nearest breast.