Secret Temptation [The Callens 3] (Siren Publishing M?nage Everlasting) (5 page)

April couldn’t believe she was going over to a man’s house that she didn’t know that well. If she’d been dating him for a while, it would have been a different matter. This was a first date and might not be the smartest move, but she’d rationalized that the University would have done a thorough background check on him or they wouldn’t have made him department chair. Besides, she was a good enough character judge to know that Blake Danforth was not only hot but honest. In fact, his sexiness was equaled only by his intelligence.

When she’d noted his address, she’d been surprised he lived in such a posh neighborhood. Maybe the University paid better than she’d thought, or else Randy had sold his large estate and purchased this place. Either way, these two were doing something right. Her father’s advice to marry someone who wasn’t after her for money came to mind. These two might fit the bill.

It was still light when she pulled up their drive. The brick home had a stately entrance, complete with two-story-tall, white columns bordering the front door. She’d expected something less traditional and more with a Western theme, but the house seemed to fit someone with a last name of Danforth.

She rang the bell, and Blake immediately answered wearing shorts, loafers, and a button-down shirt. His legs were muscled and tan as if he spent a lot of time lifting weights and playing golf.

“Come in.” He had a glass of wine in his hand.

His attire and drink were a sure sign he considered this more of a date than a tutoring session, and that worked for her. She’d brought her book with her, as she needed help with the physics section for the test. After he helped her, they could get to the kissing part.

She stepped inside, and the first thing she noticed was the grand piano in the corner. She could almost picture Randy sitting there with his long fingers racing over the ivory keys. Not wanting to linger on that piece of equipment, she studied the rest of the room. The leather and chrome living room furniture, all done in black, wasn’t what she expected. Against the stark, white walls were wildly colorful abstracts. While interesting, the style didn’t fit her image of what Blake would have in his house.

“I like it.”

“I hear it’s quite different from your parents’ home.”

She chuckled. “Very. I don’t think they’ve changed the furniture since Dustin was born. He’s my oldest brother.”

“So it’s comfortable and practical.”

“Totally. No one ever gets yelled at for putting up his feet or not using a coaster. In fact, a lot of the chairs are covered with quilts because the seats are ripped and old. My folks had the kitchen redone recently, but ask them to get a new sofa, and it would be like asking them to eat horse meat.”

“I’d like to meet them sometime. They seem like down-to-earth folk.”

“They are.” She headed for the piano and ran her hand over the highly polished cover. “You play?”

“Some, but I’m not good yet. I’m taking lessons.”

“Does Randy play for you?”

“He doesn’t play.”

Anymore
.

The few seconds of silence that followed were a bit awkward. She hefted her book. “Where do you want to sit?”

He nodded. “I’ve cleared off the dining room table. You want a drink?” He waved his glass.

“Not yet. Physics is hard enough without putting alcohol in the mix.” She sat and spread out her book, along with the stack of questions she’d prepared.

For the next hour he patiently explained the material. He excelled at detailing the physics theories in such a way she understood. If she was being particularly dense, he’d try another tactic. The only problem she was having, besides trying to act smart when sitting next to a child genius, was concentrating with all the noise coming from down the hallway.

She finally gave up. “What is that racket?”

He laughed. “That’s something you’ll get used to. Randy works out for hours every night. He has a mini gym in one of the rooms. He’s got a bench press, a pull-up bar, a Roman chair, and a squat rack. It’s quite compact, but he says it serves his purpose.”

He’d said he used to work out all the time, but he didn’t say he still did. Given his sculpted body, it now made sense. “He’s not fighting competitively anymore, is he?” Randy had said he’d quit, but she wondered if it was a lie.

His eyes widened a bit. “No, but once you have a perfect body, you don’t want to lose it. Working out has been a way of life
forever
.” He elongated the last word.

“You’ve known him long?”

“What’s your interest?”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly that. You seem to like him. It’s why you come into my office, and it’s why you’re here.”

Busted
. “That’s not true. I need help with my class.”

He grinned. “I agree, but you sought me out because of Randy. Am I right?”

If she was to reach her goal of having both men, she needed to confess. “True, but he’s not the only one I like.”

Heat raced up her face faster than Fleet of Foot left her in the dust.

He studied her face. “Okay, then. I’ll let you in on a little secret, but don’t let on to Randy that you know.”

“Okay.” Her pits moistened thinking about learning what made Randy Stark tick.

“The short version is that when Randy was ten and I was eight, he came to live with us. He was a foster child.”

“Dear Lord.” That explained a lot. He’d probably never found love, and that was why he appeared withdrawn.

“Randy was always driven. I was a different sort. Between the ages of maybe eight until I was maybe sixteen, I was skinny and geeky.” He chuckled. “I’m still geeky, but I’m not scrawny anymore.”

“You most certainly have muscles now.” A smile stole across her face.

“We’ll leave the geeky reference for another time. Anyway, we both wanted to be able to defend ourselves against bullies, so we took martial arts classes together.”

“Ah. That eventually led him to cage fighting.”

“Yes. I went to college when I turned fourteen, so I needed any advantage I could get.”

“That must have been tough.”

“I survived.”

The banging stopped, and the water in the shower ran. She couldn’t help but think about what Randy looked like naked. She bet his body had ripples even where ripples shouldn’t be. “I saw on the Internet that Randy was quite successful and lived in a really nice home.”

“That’s true.”

Something wasn’t quite making sense. “Why would he move to Intrigue when he had a nice life in Denver?”

Blake glanced off to the side as if he was debating how much to tell. “We like to be together.”

Oh, shit
. Her hand raced to her heart. “I didn’t know.” How could she be such a fool? They both were so hot that she assumed they were straight.

Blake leaned his head back and laughed so hard, his eyes watered. She found nothing funny about the situation. When he composed himself, he clasped her hand. Sparks shot up her arm, through her heart, and straight down to her pussy.

“We’re not gay if that’s what you’re thinking. Far from it. I know everything there is to know about Randy, and he feels safe being around me.”

Safe?
“Is someone after him?”

Footsteps pounded on the hardwood floor.

“What’s she doing here?”

April jerked her attention to the large man in the hallway. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else. Her pussy shot into overdrive. She’d never seen anything tastier in her life. His hair was wet and sticking out in all directions, but his gaze was focused only on her. The look was not one of joy.

Blake stood, acting as if he needed to protect her from the wrath of Randy.
Oh, boy
. “Maybe I should be going.”

She attempted to stand, but Blake gently pressed down her shoulder. “I’m tutoring her.”

Randy took a minute before responding. “In what? Randy Stark 101?”

* * * *

Blake was getting tired of hiding Randy’s issues. If his roommate had made it clear that he didn’t want her here, Blake would have found someplace else to tutor the sexy lady. Her intelligence turned him on, which, as a child prodigy, was a trait hard to find.

He was tired of walking on eggshells every time Randy turned moody. Since April seemed interested in both of them, he wanted her to understand the dynamics.

“Yeah. You got a problem with that?”

“No.” Randy’s anger had diffused faster than April could close her physics book.

She reached up and touched Blake’s arm. “Look, I need to go.” Her fingers on his arm turned his cock hard.

Blake shot Randy a glance. Without a word, his roommate spun around and headed down the hall.
Good riddance
.

“Don’t mind him. I think he’s just horny.” He hoped that would be an icebreaker.

She laughed. “I can tell you this, he has no interest in letting me get close enough to light his fuse.”

God, she was a wonder. “Can we see each other again?”

“I’d like that, but with my midterm tomorrow and buying furniture for my new apartment, I’m a bit busy.”

“I’ll help.”

“Help with what?”

“With buying the furniture. If I took your midterm, I think we’d both be kicked out of the University.”

She laughed then looked around. “Somehow I don’t think we have the same taste.”

None of this was coming out right. While he was good around most women, when he met someone this special, he lost his touch. “Most of this is Randy’s. His name fits him. I know what you’re thinking, that the place lacks warmth. I agree. It is stark. If he hadn’t let me pick out the paintings, we wouldn’t have any color in here.”

She twisted her lips to the side, and he wanted to kiss her.

“I do suck at decorating. If you have an eye for these things, I’d love to have you come along.”

Yes!
“What about Thursday then? Your midterm will be over, and you can relax a bit.”

She grinned. “Works for me.”

As he walked her to the door, he inhaled, enjoying her feminine scent. “Excuse Randy. He was pretty even-keeled until
you
came into his life.” He wanted her to know that Randy wanted her. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time Randy cared about anyone.

“Me? You’ve got that wrong. He only tolerates me because my father told him he had to teach me to ride.”

“If Randy hadn’t wanted to help you, he would have said no.”

“My father might have let him go.”

“Randy has more money than most. He doesn’t need the job. If your father had fired him, he would have gotten another job at a Home Depot or something.”

She pressed her lips together as if trying to figure Randy out.
Good luck with that!

He knew it was probably too soon, but he gently ran his hands down her arms. “Give him a chance. I want him to be happy.” He glanced to the ground, trying to figure out how to broach the topic without scaring her off. One of the reasons he’d accepted the offer to be in Intrigue was because of the town’s open acceptance of ménage marriages. “We come as a package deal, just so you know.”

Tension rippled up her arms. She blew out a breath. “I figured.”

“Are you okay with that?” God, the invisible red light was blinking in his brain, telling him to slow down or he’d ruin any chance of being with her, but every cell in his body told him she was the one.

“Can I think about it?”

He wanted to kiss her, hug her, then jump up and down for joy. Instead, he put on his most serious face. “I fully expect you to.”

“Good. What time on Thursday?”

“How about noon? We can catch a bite to eat then shop till we drop.”

She chuckled. “Works for me.” She told him where her apartment was located.

“I’ll meet you there, and I’ll bring a tape measure. Having the dimensions before we shop will save us a lot of grief.”

She tapped his chest. “You are one smart man, Blake Danforth.”

“So everyone tells me.”

He wanted to lean over and ravish her, but if he started, he might not be able to stop. Instead, he walked her to her car and watched her drive away.

He and Randy needed to have a talk—one that involved some behavior modification on Randy’s part. When he got inside, his roommate was at the piano pounding away. It was his way of banishing the demons that ravished his soul.

As soon as the piece finished, Blake placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let me get you a beer.” It was his way of getting Randy to cool off. He nodded.

He retrieved a beer for Randy and poured another glass of wine for himself. “We need to talk about April.” He didn’t hear the groan, but from the way Randy’s shoulders temporarily sagged and his jaw loosened, he had inwardly shown his disapproval.

“You like her?” Randy said.

“Yes.”

“You’ve only seen her a few times.”

“I know, but I like the way she handles herself. She’s confident but tentative at the same time. There’s a purity about her that I like.” The fact that Randy didn’t get up and leave was a good sign. “I don’t know why you’re being a dick all of a sudden. What happened to your cool persona?”

He drank half the beer. “I’m cool.”

“You’re full of shit. Just being around her sets you off. This wall you’ve built around yourself is self-defeating.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. April is a pest, that’s all. A harmless pest at that. I can take her or leave her.”

Blake was getting tired of him being in denial all the time. “Why can’t you tell that she sees who you really are?”

He slammed the bottle down on the table. “She knows I’m a cage fighter who’s past his prime. So what?”

“You’re more than that, and she wants a piece of you.”

He waved a hand. “She’s a spoiled rich kid. She’s not for me.”

“You’re rich, too. What are you talking about?”

He shrugged then finished off the rest of his beer. Blake was a bit surprised he hadn’t stormed back into the weight room, which was his safe haven. “Look. I muck stalls and take care of the horses. That’s all. She’s well educated.” He closed his mouth and widened his eyes. “I get it. You want her.”

Blake didn’t lie to himself. “Yes, but I also like to share, and right now you’re fucking things up for me.”

“I’ll do her if she wants.”

He blew out a breath. “She’s not that type. I don’t see her as the one-night-stand type. She comes from a stable family where they have long, loving relationships. While she didn’t say so, I can tell she admires a man who achieves. A man who lives up to his potential.”

Randy laughed. “What are you saying?”

“You could be famous if you chose.”

“You are so full of it.”

“We both know you’re a musical genius.”

“If I pursued music, I’d be poor and miserable.”

He was getting nowhere with the same old conversation. “As they say, try it, you’ll like it.” He waved a hand. “I’m not worried. I have faith that April will change your mind. Mark my words, the three of us will be in a ménage relationship by year’s end.”

Randy smiled and cocked a brow. “You going to put a wager on that?”

“Resistance is futile, my friend. Just name your price.”