SleepyHollow2BookBundle (31 page)

She shook her head, her lips still parted. “No, no. I can’t ask you to do that, knowing how it feels, and I – I see no reason why you should.”

John listened to the exchange with a feeling of detachment, unsure of whether he ought to feel overjoyed or horrified. To think that Katrina would give him and Brom her blessing, that she wasn’t outraged, or at least deeply hurt… “Do you know what you’re saying, Katrina?”

She met John’s eyes, tightening her grip on his hand again. “I know what I mean, and I know the strength of my feelings for the both of you, and I can hardly blame my husband for experiencing the same.”

John was suddenly very aware of his heartbeat and the fact that he’d stopped breathing. Time seemed to stand still as he contemplated Katrina’s words, left breathless by their impact.
 

“Very well,” Brom said. “There is no love lost between the three of us.” His hand closed on John’s shoulder, and a shiver raced down John’s spine, marking the moment as one he’d remember for the rest of his life. But what about now, the immediate future – what would any of them possibly do or say next? Well, there was one very pressing matter that Brom and Katrina needed to see to. John rose from his seat on the edge of the bed, preparing to make as graceful an exit as possible.

Brom’s hand tightened on his shoulder, vice-like. “Stay, John.”

During that same moment, Katrina’s hand had tightened around his, not so strong as Brom’s, but with a fierce grip that belied her angelic expression.

“I—” He opened his mouth and the word tumbled out, single and painfully inadequate.
 

“This is the first moment since our marriage that there has been true peace between us.” Brom spoke with care, not lessening his grip on John’s shoulder. “I’d prefer you to stay instead of ruining a good thing by leaving.” He looked away from John, turning to his wife. “If Katrina agrees?”

Katrina nodded silently, her eyes gleaming and nearly stopping John’s heart when they met his. The moment that followed was somehow both the longest and the shortest of his life. It ended when Brom exerted pressure on his shoulder, urging him back to his seat on the edge of the bed. With knees that felt in sudden danger of buckling, sitting was a welcome relief. When John had sunk back down onto the mattress, Brom removed his hand from his shoulder, reaching for Katrina instead.

John sat frozen, his heart racing, as Brom divested Katrina of her gown. Within a few minutes, she was left in nothing but her shift – a gauzy affair, half-transparent, with a little blue bow in front. Her breasts swelled full and creamy over the neckline, and her nipples showed through the fabric, perfectly rosy. Brom caressed one of her breasts, kneading it through the thin material with obvious tenderness. Katrina sighed and wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss against his neck, and then another. This couldn’t be happening – and yet, it was. John watched as if under a spell, powerless to leave, though a distant voice called from somewhere in the far reaches of the back of his mind, demanding to know what he thought he was about, intruding like this.

Brom pulled back from Katrina a little, holding her by her shoulders. “Are you sure that you love us both equally, Katrina?”

She nodded, slightly breathless from kissing, but not in the least bit hesitant. Her eyes met John’s and she held his gaze for a moment before looking back to Brom.

“Then you shall have both of us, if that’s what you’d like.” Brom ran his fingers through her long, golden hair.

She sighed, her eyes flickering to John’s again. “I would like nothing more. Do – do you think me dreadfully wicked?”

“No,” Brom assured her, and John echoed him, seeing the earnest question in Katrina’s eyes.

Her full lips curved in a slight smile, the kind one might give someone with whom they shared a secret.

A haze of disbelief had settled around John, causing his head to swim with fears and fantasies, both equally vivid. Have them
both
? God, it was like something out of a dream – the sort of dream he would have treasured, but never, ever told anyone about. Not even Brom.

“Come here, John.” Brom’s hand descended on John’s shoulder again, and Brom wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close.

John responded automatically to the familiar heat and hardness of Brom’s body, seeking something to keep him grounded. He sought out Brom’s lips, and Brom responded in kind. John gave in to his urges this time, thrusting his tongue inside Brom’s mouth and kissing him soundly, pressing a hand against the man’s chest and feeling his heart hammer away beneath, reassuringly steady. Katrina was so near that her heat warmed John too, and her soft exclamations of “oh, oh…” filled his ears, elevating his need to a fever pitch. By the time he and Brom pulled apart, blood was roaring in his ears, and his face ached as if he’d been hit again. Slowly, he turned to Katrina, half-expecting to see horror reflected in her eyes.

She appeared shocked, but not horrified. Her eyes were round and gleaming, her lips parted and her breasts heaving slightly, as if she were breathless. The flush that colored her cheeks had spread, causing the creamy skin above her breasts to pinken too. Her nipples were unmissable, erect and straining against her delicate shift. She touched the tip of her tongue to the rim of her lower lip, her gaze darting between Brom and John’s mouths. John had never seen anyone look so beautiful. As he stared, entranced, desire rushed through him, red-hot and heedless of the absurdity of the situation and the agreement the three of them had just come to.

“Won’t you kiss me too, John?” she asked, her blush deepening.

He leaned toward her without conscious thought, pulled to her lips as if by gravity. They were petal-soft and pliant beneath his own. He kissed her more tenderly than he had Brom, gently laying a hand on her waist.
 

She gave a little moan and yielded to him, parting her lips in invitation.
 

He couldn’t help but slip his tongue inside her mouth, stroking hers. She tasted sweet – did she always taste like sugar? He delved deeper inside, half expecting to find that the sweetness was an illusion. It wasn’t. As their tongues became entwined, there was a shifting on the mattress. John was too lost in the kiss to look, but soon Katrina tensed beneath his hand, moaning. When they pulled apart, breathless, Brom was behind her, kissing the graceful arch of her neck as he cradled her breasts, teasing her nipples with his fingertips. As he continued, he looked up and met John’s gaze, his eyes burning dark with a look of desire that John recognized instantly.

Katrina turned her head toward Brom, and he kissed her as deeply as John had. John’s cock throbbed as their lips locked, and he remembered the feel of both their mouths, one soft and sweet, the other firmer and just rough enough. He wanted them both more badly than he’d ever wanted anything, and the combined desire was almost enough to kill him. When Brom reached around Katrina and grabbed the front of John’s shirt, pulling him close, sheer passion took over again.

Katrina’s breasts were soft against John’s chest, her nipples stiff against his waistcoat. He cupped a breast in one hand, his fingers brushing Brom’s as he rubbed her nipple, causing it to spring up even harder beneath his touch. Katrina moaned again, the sound nearly lost in Brom’s mouth, and a thrill of satisfaction assailed John. He played with the little bud, drawing a sharp breath when she arched against him. On impulse, he leaned down, pressing his lips to the exposed upper swell of her breast.
 

Her skin was impossibly soft, and he kissed it before leaning lower, where the sheer fabric of her shift separated his mouth from her skin. Her nipple was stiff beneath it though, and he took it between his teeth, kissing it, mouthing it. She shuddered against him, pressing a hand to the back of his head and burying her fingers in his hair, grasping it tightly. He didn’t mind the pain; rather, he enjoyed the feel of her knuckles against his skull, the eager tightness of her grip. Her nipple was firm and small against his lips and tongue, and her breast swelled sensually against his mouth as she breathed. He was interrupted when fabric brushed his chin, and he pulled away to discover that Brom had stopped kissing her and had slid his hands up her thighs, raising her shift. Now he held it gathered in his fists, and pulled it over her head as she raised her arms.

John’s cock strained painfully against his breeches as he took in the sight of her bare body – the hourglass shape of it, her shapely hips and the luscious curves of her breasts. And so much fair, creamy skin…except for her nipples, which were as pink as rose blossoms. They beckoned him, so pert and aching, he imagined, for more attention. Automatically, he reached for her, cradling the fullness of one breast and bowing his head to kiss it.

He drew its peak fully into his mouth this time, and she laid a hand on his thigh, her nails pressing sharply against the fabric and biting into the flesh below. Just inches from her fingers, his balls were tight against his body, heavy with desire. What would it feel like to have her wrap her fingers around his cock? Her grip was firm, and he could just imagine it around his shaft, bringing him quickly to release. The vivid image consumed him until she leaned back with a sigh, sinking onto the mattress, bringing him down too.

He lay on top of her, his lips still at her breast, his hips against her body. His erection was pressed flush against her thigh, and it felt sinfully good to have her beneath him. Too good. He raised his head and rolled, sinking onto the mattress beside her, cupping one of her breasts, unable to bring himself to give up contact completely. She sighed, her chest rising and falling, her nipple a warm pinprick against his thumb.

The mattress shifted, and Brom lay down on the other side of her, stripped to the waist. When had he removed his waistcoat and shirt? A quick look revealed that they lay on the floorboards, forgotten. He looked every bit as tempting as she did, his muscles hard and defined, his cock fully erect against the front of his breeches. Brom cupped Katrina’s other breast, teasing the stiff peak between his thumb and forefinger, then abandoning it in favor of smoothing his hand over her belly and eventually slipping it between her thighs, where her dainty curls were as golden as the hair that streamed over her shoulders.

She uttered a small gasp of surprise as Brom slid his fingers over her folds, touching the bud above. Was this the first time he’d touched her there? John tore his gaze away from the sight for just a moment, glancing at her face. Yes, he’d be willing to bet that it was. Brom had been a proper suitor and gentleman – thanks, perhaps, to the fact that he’d had John to bear the brunt of his passions. And now… Well, it was difficult to imagine anything more erotic than the sight of Brom introducing her to this, bringing her body to life. She arched against the mattress, moaning as he moved his fingertips in a circular motion. John cupped her breast more firmly by reflex, touching her nipple in a similar fashion, then pinching it lightly between his thumb and forefinger. He was rewarded with another gasp.

He quickly became absorbed in her signals, everything from the rush of her breath to the slight movements of her hips and the way her breast swelled beneath his hand as she breathed. It was a shock when his name tumbled from her lips. “John, do you intend to ever undress?”

He met her eyes as his face heated. Strange that he should be embarrassed by her request when he lay beside her with his hands on her naked body, still tasting her on his tongue. She’d pressed one hand against Brom’s bare chest, her nails digging into his skin as he touched her, now at a lazier pace. Judging by the slight smile on his lips and the lust in his eyes, he seemed to be enjoying her fierce grip.

In truth, John wanted nothing more than to remove his clothing and lie naked beside her, feeling every inch of her softness against his body, his cock. But did he dare? His clothing was as comforting as it was frustrating, an effective barrier between him and her sweet, bare body. God, but he wanted to ravage her, to—

“Of course he does,” Brom said, his dark eyes flickering up to meet John’s. An instant later, he pulled his hand from Katrina’s body and reached across her, his fingers settling on the top button of John’s waistcoat. He undid it, his eyes gleaming with deliberate intent.

As Brom’s fingers stirred against his chest, they roused even more desire in John, and he couldn’t help but think of the pleasantly rough feel of Brom’s calloused fingertips against his skin, the powerful thrusting of Brom’s hips as he— “I can manage,” John said, pulling back from Brom’s hand, fearful of being driven mad with desire and embarrassing himself by coming then and there. Once he’d said it, he had no choice but to continue, removing his waistcoat and tossing it aside, followed by his shirt. Then he was in a state of undress to equal Brom’s, but he and Katrina were both watching him, as if expecting more. His cock throbbed, begging to be freed from the confines of his breeches, but another part of him resisted.

Brom rose to his knees, quickly undid the front fall of his own breeches, slid out of them and tossed them aside, along with his stockings. His cock stretched erect from a bed of dark curls, thick as always. Despite his familiarity, John felt a pang of admiration at the sight of it, followed by nearly overwhelming longing. Katrina was staring too, and her breath caught in her throat with a small hitch. John took advantage of her distraction and finished stripping, tossing his clothing onto the floor. Katrina turned to look at him, and his cock seemed to grow even harder beneath her gaze. He eyed her nearest hand, which lay on the linens, and indulged in a blissful moment of fantasy, during which he imagined her fingers closing around his shaft.