Double Trouble: A Menage Romance (8 page)

G
age kissed
Jess and Holt’s body surged with more than lust. Letting her go at the end of the assignment wasn't happening. Not after she stood between them like a referee, demanding they stop.

Bianca only ever egged them on, pitting one brother against the other in a perpetual jealousy machine.

Not Jess. She’d done the exact opposite. Instead of riling them up, she’d calmed them down and stopped their fight. Turned their attention not to the past, but to the sexy creature smack in the middle of the present.

Holt never wanted to fall for the same woman as his brother, but here they were again. This time he wished for a happy ending. Stepping closer, he cupped Jess’s ass in his hands.
Mmm
. He’d all but forgotten what sharing a woman did to him.

His cock throbbed against his zipper and he ground his hips against Jess’s backside. Shoving his hands between her and Gage, he reached up to cup her breasts. One squeeze and she shuddered.

Screw the past and the shareholder votes. All Holt needed was this right here. A sexy woman and a chance to show her the world. So he had to share with Gage, so what?

He’d never admit it, but he loved what sharing did to a woman. Two men all over, driving her wild. It had freed Bianca to be wanton and reckless. Would it do the same for Jess?

With gentle pressure, Holt massaged her breasts, rubbing the hard little nipples around and around. She rolled her ass against him, up and down the length of his shaft as Gage kissed her lips.

Damn. So sexy.
He couldn’t wait to be inside her. Holt wrapped his arms around Jess's waist and tugged her back, breaking his brother’s kiss.

“What are you—”

Holt kicked a chair out into the center of the room and guided Jess to it. His palm wrapped around her collarbone as he eased her down. “You want us both tonight? Then that’s exactly what you’ll get.”

Her pulse raced beneath his palm.

“You might regret this.” Gage stepped up and grabbed Jess by the knees, spreading her legs until she shook her head.

“I won’t. Not ever.”

Holt leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder as his brother kneeled between her open legs.

Jess's head fell back and Holt took advantage, kissing and caressing her bare skin until she moaned. “Just like that.” He reached down, hands running over her arms to grab her tank top by the hem.

In one fluid tug, it was off and falling to the floor. Mmm. A nude lace bra barely held back her tits, every breath mashing her nipples against the fabric.

What a view.
Holt eased her forward before flicking his fingers against the clasp. The lace flew open and Gage tugged the bra off her body.
Yes.

She arched her back, breasts spilling over her ribs as Holt bent lower. He reached out and ran his fingers over her nipples, watching as they pebbled from his stroke. He’d never get enough of her moans from the lightest touch. Her squeezed-shut eyes and little pants when he pinched. How her whole body begged to be fucked.

Dipping lower, he pulled a nipple into his mouth, lapping and rolling the little nub as he palmed her other breast.
Mmm. Delicious
.

As Holt worked her breasts, Gage teased her thighs, kissing a trail up her legs until he nosed her crotch. He glanced up, tongue flicking against her inner tendon, and caught Holt’s eye.

The two men stared at each other, pain and the past and an unspoken bond searing a path between them. Holt reached down, gripping Jess under the arms, and lifted. As she dangled above the chair, Gage tugged her skirt and panties off.

“Oh!" Jess gasped as her naked ass hit the chair. “I don’t—”

Holt silenced her, dragging her face towards him before driving home a bruising kiss. She wasn’t getting cold feet now. Not when Gage’s head inched towards her pussy.

While they kissed, Gage spread her legs wide with his shoulders before kissing just above her slit. He looked up at Holt and licked, parting Jess's folds and making her cry out in bliss.

* * *

G
od
, this woman.

She was more than his other lovers. More than Bianca. She blossomed beneath their touch, never asking for anything in return.

Bianca always wanted more. Attention, time, money. A snide comment here. A criticism there. Always pushing his buttons, turning him into someone he hated. Someone mean and spiteful.

Not Jess. Where Bianca was a black hole swirling between Gage and Holt, Jess was a tractor beam, pulling them back together.

He dove between her legs, tongue lapping across her clit as she trembled and shook in his brother’s hands. A press of Gage's fingers on her thighs and she moaned. A flick of his tongue and she quivered.

Jess was a force all her own—not afraid to stand up to anyone, but not after her own piece of the spotlight.

Gage had never met anyone like her.

Buying NNT had been the best decision of their lives. Gage lapped and sucked and Jess reached for his head, holding on as an orgasm ripped through her. The first of many.

He stood and scooped her up in his arms. She voiced a weak protest and flailed her arms about, but Gage shushed her with a kiss to the temple. “There’s three of us, babe. We need a bed.”

Holt led the way down the hall to his corner bedroom. With views of the city out of wall-to-wall windows, he had the more impressive space. And the bigger bed.

Gage set Jess down on the expanse of gray cotton sheets and stepped back to marvel. Firm, ripe breasts begging for kisses. Ass with enough meat to hold onto. Lips curved up in a smile. Jessica Woodson might be his undoing.

Shedding his clothes, Gage watched as his brother approached the bed. They hadn’t done this in years. It still brought the same thrill. One woman. Two men. Nothing but heat and sex. Orgasms all night.

Jess rose up on her knees as Holt stepped forward.

“Lay down, I want to taste you.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

Jess reached for Holt’s cock, stroking as she found Gage’s eyes in the dim light. “I told your brother, next time it was your turn.”

Holt turned to glance his way as Jess slid down onto her belly. Her lips wrapped around Holt’s cock and his eyes snapped shut.

Just wait, little brother. Just wait
.

A few laps of her tongue and Holt was entranced, body swaying to her movements, hands roving through her hair.

Gage stepped up to the bed and ran his fingers down Jess’s back. She shimmied her ass at him.
Mmm
. He loved invitations.

Up and down, over and around, he stroked her bare skin all while she worked his brother’s cock. Holt grabbed the bed post, holding it like a mast in a storm.

Jessica was unbelievable. So soft and supple. Strong and daring. A contradiction of a woman. Gage wanted to learn all her secrets. Unravel her thread and tease her darkest desires into the light. His cock strained as he unrolled a condom.

Fucking her like this…
Damn
. The bed sank from his weight as he positioned himself.

One nudge. Two. Jess shook beneath his hands, pussy slick with need. With a groan of his own, Gage sunk himself deep. Christ, she gripped him so tight. One look at her body trapped between them and Gage knew he’d never last.

* * *

O
h my God
.
One MacIntosh brother was incredible. Two? Jess moaned around Holt’s shaft as Gage took her deeper. His cock sliced through her heat, his hips bottoming out against her ass. This was a million times more intense and erotic than anything she ever dreamed of. Decadent, even.

She gripped Holt’s hips as his hand wove through her hair. Spit drubbed out her mouth and down her chin as he thrust again and again.

With Gage controlling her hips and Holt controlling her head, all she could do was surrender to raw sex and power. Desire and pleasure.

Jess had spent her whole life in hiding. Every decision she made, whether it was turning down a front-line position or pushing herself harder in taekwondo, it was all about safety. Defense.

She operated on a constant need to be in control and be vigilant. Her mother died because she hadn’t been careful enough. She stuck her neck out and took a risk and ended up with her blood splattered all over the pavement.

Not Jess. Her father wouldn’t let her be another victim. She’d always looked at sex and love and relationships as something that could steal her freedom. A sacrifice and a threat.

Gage shuddered as he reached out, his hand snaking around to stroke her swollen clit. Jess cried out, mouth still stuffed with Holt’s cock. This wasn’t sacrifice.

Jess had never been so alive. So powerful. So glorious.

The MacIntosh brothers were lost inside her, barreling toward a cliff of bliss and ecstasy and she was right there with them.

Jess had brought them to their knees with lust and desire. Maybe more?

Holt reached down to stroke her pendulous breasts, pinching her nipples as Gage flicked her clit. Tangled up in the two of them, Jess wasn’t a wallflower anymore.

She was a damn neon light, a blinking banner stretched across the entire skyline of New York City.
Here I am world, it’s me! I’m alive and beautiful.

Gage dug his fingers into her flesh, slamming against her with every thrust.
Yes! Yes!
She stroked Holt with one hand, bobbing her head and working his shaft with all her might. She wanted his release to rocket down her throat and fill her up.

Jess reached for his balls, squeezing gently, and he bucked into her. The salty tang of his orgasm coated her throat and sent her soaring.

Before she could take a breath, Holt captured her mouth, shoving his tongue past her lips and licking up the remnants of his release.
Oh my God.
The pair of them. Jess reeled.

Gage rubbed her clit again and again until her muscles clamped around him. Another thrust, a deeper slide into her slick heat. One more stroke of her clit and Jess came in a burst of hedonistic wonder.

Her whole body seized up, gripping Gage in a vise as pleasure shot through her veins. He spasmed inside her, pumping hot and thick into the condom as her orgasm flooded her with so much more than delight.

“
A
ren’t
you getting ahead of yourself?”

Jess glanced up at her best friend. “Maybe?” The past two weeks had been some of the best of her life. Days following Holt and Gage around like a shadow, learning about their business and preparing the pieces for NNT. Nights tangled up in their arms.

Jess had fallen into a strange and wonderful world she never wanted to leave. The MacIntosh brothers had scooped her up out of boring, routine Atlanta and into a fantasy beyond her wildest expectations.

Wendy held up a blue chiffon dress and Jess crinkled her nose. “Beach party?”

“Summer cocktails in the Hamptons.”

“I can see it.”

Wendy shoved the dress back on the rack. “Exactly my point. The Jess of a few weeks ago would have laughed me right out of the store. This isn’t like you.”

Jess exhaled. “It’s not me. I’m still the same woman I was before, Wendy. I’m just in a new place with new people.”

“What about all the old people you’ve left behind?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Me.”

Oh
. Jess let the clothes fall back into place and scampered over and wrapped Wendy up in a sideways hug until she squeaked. “You are my closest friend in the whole world. I’m not leaving you anywhere.”

Wendy extricated herself with a pout. “If you move to New York you will.”

Jess blinked. “Who said anything about moving?”

“If things are as smashing as you say they are, why would you go back home?”

“I live there. Atlanta is my home. I wouldn’t up and move just because of Holt and Gage.”

“Even if they asked you to?”

Jess exhaled. She’d spent the entire trip living on overdrive, focused only on the moment. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. Like you said, this might all be over next week.”

She squinted at the striped tank top in front of her on the rack. Every time she let herself ponder things she shouldn’t, reality crashed back in. “I don’t really know how they feel about me, Wendy. I could be reading them all wrong.”

“And all those orgasms they give you are what? Your imagination?”

Jess hoped her blush didn’t burn too hot. She needed to remind herself and Wendy about the facts. “They’re ladies men, Wendy. It's their MO. So I have a crush, so what? That doesn't mean they care.”

She stepped over to the next rack and flipped through the clothes without really seeing them. “I'm not fooling myself.”

Wendy walked around the rack and gave Jess a hip bump. “Sorry I was hard on you. I forgot you’re the logical one. That new smile threw me off.” She picked up another dress and held it up. “So how about this? The party's at a night club, right?”

Jess nodded. The minute Holt mentioned a private party at Swallowtail in Tribeca, Jess had asked if Wendy could fly up. She couldn’t imagine spending an entire evening pretending not to be more than a biographer without her.

All those people, fancy dresses, and unlimited liquor. She’d drink two champagne cocktails and drape herself all over the MacIntosh brothers and ruin everything. If she had to act like a normal party goer and blend in, she needed a partner in crime. Only Wendy would do.

“Thanks again for coming. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“A chance to party like it’s 1999 in New York for a night? Wouldn’t miss it.” Wendy pulled out a slinky midnight blue number. “How about this?”

Jess nodded. “That has serious potential.”

* * *

H
e’d never meant
for this to happen. Somehow between showing Jessica the behind-the-scenes of their lives and kissing every square inch of her body, he’d done more than pass the time.

Holt had fallen in love. The last time he’d gone down this road, his world fell apart. His father had lost faith in him, he’d ruined his relationship with Gage. The woman who came between them left. Holt had led with his heart and it had destroyed everything.

Would this be any different?

Jess’s words echoed in his head. How she would be the one to bring them together, not tear them apart. He wished it were true, but he couldn’t get a read on his brother.

The man was so stoic and closed off. A dangerous, always in control businessman who didn’t see love was worth sacrifice. Holt looked out the office window to the streets of New York. Later that night they would be hosting a charity gala together.

Jess would be there in her official role as biographer, not their date, not the woman he loved. She would be a glorified employee. A stranger. He frowned into the afternoon sun.

“Something on your mind?” His brother’s voice startled him and Holt turned around.

“I didn’t hear you come in.”

“You were preoccupied. With something or someone?”

“Both.” Holt walked over to the espresso machine and busied himself with making a coffee. Anything to keep his brother from seeing his face and knowing the truth.

Thanks to some clever bargaining by their attorneys, the shareholder vote was still three weeks away. That gave them plenty of time to lose themselves in Jess’s body and for her to finish the assignment.

He finished brewing the coffee and frowned as he brought the steaming cup to his lips.

The whole idea was weak at best. Buying NNT and using it to get favorable press… Wasn’t there an easier way to accomplish the same thing?

Holt voiced his concerns without turning around. “A smear campaign still has potential. It would be a good backup to Jess’s reporting. We might not even need her.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Holt turned and leaned on the counter. “Nicky Gordon has to have tons of skeletons in his closet. What if we go on the offensive? Get the board to distance themselves from him because of the bad press?”

His brother had taken up residence on the edge of the desk, perched like a king on his throne. “How does that help matters?”

“The rest of the shareholders will do whatever the board says, you know that. If Gordon loses control, we can buy the company and never need Jess to write anything.”

Gage pushed off the desk and walked past him to the coffee machine. He made himself a cup without a single glance Holt’s way. Three years older and every bit the first born. It wasn’t his office. The least he could do was ask. His brother's constant sense of superiority wore thin.

Gage sipped the coffee before addressing the issue. “How is stooping to Nicky’s level a good thing?”

“It’s an option.”

“What if it backfires? What if he drags our skeletons out into the light?”

“Nicky's must be worse.”

Gage raised an eyebrow. “Would Bianca agree?”

Of course he brought her up. “She has nothing to do with this.”

“What if some reporter tracked her down and secured an exposé?”

Holt shrugged. “So we both dated her? So what? The world is changing, Gage. If you ever stopped working for more than a minute at a time, you’d see that.”

“No one would accept us if the story got out.” Gage drained the dregs of his coffee and practically threw the mug on the counter. “We didn’t just date her at the same time, Holt. We were in a relationship with her. We
shared
her.”

God
. He never gave up. “So what? Who cares? We’re rich, single, and we can do whatever the hell we want.”

“Not if we want Father’s company back.”

There it was. Father’s company. Always. That’s all Gage ever thought about. Didn’t Jess matter at all? Didn’t Holt?

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe you want MacIntosh Hotels more than me.”
Shit
. As soon as the words slipped out, he knew it had been a mistake.

Gage looked at him like a stranger. “Are you saying you don’t care about his legacy? Or the MacIntosh name?”

Holt ran a hand through his hair. “Of course I care. But everyone knows we don’t own the Hotel chain anymore. So we don’t get it back, fine. We’re still successful. We’re billionaires for God sakes. Doesn’t that count for something? Isn’t that enough?”

His brother stared at him with those dark, unreadable eyes of his. Even when they were kids, Holt never got a handle on him. Was he mad? Happy? Nervous? Gage always kept his feelings to himself.

“Say something.”

Gage turned the gold ring he wore around in circles. Their father’s ring. “The only reason we are who we are is because of MacIntosh Hotels. That’s the company that gave us our wealth. Our name. Our whole fucking start, Holt.”

“I know that.”

“Then act like it! If it weren’t for the Hotels, we’d be nothing. Dad would have worked in that same blasted factory as Granddad, packaging toothbrushes all day. We would too!”

“The past is the past, Gage. Sometimes you have to let it go.”

His brother threw up his hands. “Just like you’ve let Bianca go, right? All these years and you still resent me for it.”

Holt opened his mouth, but no words came out. Sometimes his brother made a good point. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. “This isn’t about Bianca. It’s about Jess.”

“Excuse me?”

“I care about Jess. I don’t want to give her up when this assignment is over.”

Gage was silent for too long.

“You don’t feel the same?”

“My feelings don’t matter. This fling we’ve been having, you know it can’t go anywhere. It never could.”

“Because of the vote."

Gage nodded. “The vote, the acquisition, the piece she’s hopefully putting together. We won’t look so sympathetic if it turns out the woman writing the biography on us is also our illicit lover.”

Holt blinked. “Is that all she is to you?”

“We need the good press, Holt. Not another fucked up relationship. Look at how well we handled the last one.”

Holt exhaled. He didn’t want to think about Bianca Sutherland ever again. She had been the wedge that drove them apart. The whole reason they were in this mess. Some memories were meant to stay in the past.

Jess was different. He just needed to get his brother to see it. “We should have a back-up plan in place.”

His brother walked toward the office door. “Fine. You do what you think is necessary. I for one hope we don’t need it.”

Holt raised his mug. “I’ll drink to that.”