Stripped - Complete Series (2 page)

“So you’ve both um…tried something like this before? I mean had dates with the same woman?” Her blush deepened as she asked the question but it was impossible to hold back. How truly sheltered she must seem, when they both acted like it wasn’t anything to get in a tizzy about.

“It’s a scenario we’ve experienced a few times – but nothing more than casual,” Alec said. Then he suddenly grinned. “Just think of it as you having to get double the excitement of an actual date.”

Rebecca squeezed her suddenly very quivery thighs as she imagined Alec could be right. She had to admit, it
was
exciting, more so because both men were not just good looking but stimulating in terms of conversation and wit.

Yet she couldn’t stop from giggling nervously, her hand waving in the air. “Oh, I don’t know about that! I mean, sometimes it’s tough enough getting through an evening with
one
guy. I guess I haven’t had much luck with relationships in the last couple years or so.”

“What happened?” asked Alex curiously.

Rebecca wasn’t sure of the wisdom of getting into her failed romance life. But seeing as they actually looked interested to know, she shrugged and said, “Well, I lost my mother, who was my only family. And a few months later my long-time boyfriend left me. I guess I changed so much that he just didn’t feel he knew me at all.”

“And is that what he told you?” Now Alec was scowling as he asked the question, his voice surprisingly gritty.

“Come to think of it, he never really did give an explanation,” mused Rebecca, inwardly amazed at how little it hurt to talk about it now. “Just that what we had wasn’t really working out. I chose to believe it was my entire fault and that I’d pushed him away with my issues.”

“But what he needed to do was be there for you through thick and thin. When a man is with you he makes your problems his,” Tristan said with a flash of anger in his eyes that matched Alec’s. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s really not our place to make opinions on your past love life.”

Their concern made her feel touched, but she knew the facts and wasn’t letting anyone else take the blame but her. “It’s okay. I really was messed up inside, and couldn’t expect any sane person to want to be around me. I’m trying not to be that way anymore. I realize now that…it’s time for a change.” She let out a rushed breath, knowing the words were the truth.

“You’re ready to put it all behind you? Open up to something new?” Alec asked, while his fingers casually twirled the stem of his wine glass.

When they both looked at her so unwaveringly, Rebecca couldn’t help wondering just what those words meant.
Something new
? Her mind was going in all sorts of directions, though irrefutably returning to center on them.

“I wouldn’t still be sitting here right now if I wasn’t,” she finally admitted, her voice soft as she looked down with heated cheeks. Let them put whatever they wanted to think into
that.

Alec seemed to nod in approval. “Being in the right frame of mind is a great way to start. Because you never can tell where tonight might lead.”

Uh oh, thought Rebecca, head shooting up again to look first at Alec and Tristan. But their enigmatic expressions were hard to decipher. All she knew was that the sexual tension at the table just went up a few bars – in her case at least.

What the devil is wrong with me
, she wondered as she gulped drily and then reached again for her glass. At some point it had been refilled and she realized she’d lost count of how much she’d had to drink. Were they trying to somehow get her to lose her head – maybe end up doing something stupid?

Since neither of them had actually made any kind of moves, she just couldn’t make up her mind what they were after. She only hoped her billowing attraction to them wasn’t
too
obvious. Because even with just talking and laughing with them over general topics like sports, their favorite TV shows and their tastes in music, it was all she could do not to leave her tongue hanging out, drooling. Did they have any idea how utterly, freakishly sexy they were?

They probably did. And used it to their full advantage, Rebecca guessed. For all their charm, they could eat her for breakfast. Then she blushed again as the imagery of being eaten by either Alec or Tristan had her nipples going tight as currants.

Focus, Rebecca.
Focus
. So what if you hadn’t had real sex in months? Now you can’t seem to keep your pussy from going into drip-mode just because you’re sharing an innocent evening with two very handsome gents.

Innocent? Huh. The word ‘innocent’ and these two couldn’t be in the same sentence. They spelled out ‘SINFUL’ so loud it should be illegal.

Good wine, good food, great conversation…and it seemed natural to actually stop being nervous and enjoy their fine company. After a couple of hours Rebecca could well describe her mood as mellow.
Hmmm…
She could totally get used to hanging out with two hot brothers that looked capable of sending a nun running for the confessional with her knickers on fire.

Lust. That was all this was, Rebecca reasoned. Nothing more, nothing less. There was no shame in being attracted to both men at the same time, was there? And they’d as much as said they found her just as alluring. In fact…if she let her imagination run wild, she could actually believe they looked at her like she was theirs for the taking.

Just like they knew that if they wanted; if they only had to make the slightest pursuit, she’d be powerless to do anything but surrender.

Rebecca shuddered imperceptibly and shoved her nose in her wine glass, taking another heady sip. Shit. Wouldn’t do to get tipsy. She was already drunk in lust with these two; just a slight breeze would have her pussy dissolving in explosive spasms.

If that wasn’t pathetic then she didn’t know what the hell was.

She did feel a plunging sensation as they finished with dinner. She hated to think the evening might soon come to a close. She’d really had fun these past couple of hours with them, even though half the time she’d spent it daydreaming about what they looked like naked. Did that make her a freak? Because somehow, she couldn’t stop seeing them both, in bed – with her.

Quickly, Rebecca warded that illicit vision from her mind. She may be horny as hell, but was she really that crazy? Well, considering that each time she looked up either brother seemed to be undressing her with smoky grey eyes…could anyone blame her for getting some sexually insurgent urges?

“I feel like I don’t want tonight to end,” Alec said warmly, as the waiter went off with the paid bill. His words made Rebecca shiver with pleasure as she artlessly replied, “I was just thinking the same thing!” Then she blushed, wishing the floor could open and swallow her. Could she sound any more needy and school-girly? They must think her such a dork.

“It’s great that you’ve had as much fun so far as we undoubtedly have,” Tristan added, his tone just as warm and sending pinwheel tingles up her arm when he rested his hand on hers. “Alec and I don’t always get the chance to unwind. And it’s rare to find a woman who appeals to us on so many levels. We’re glad you agreed to make it here tonight. ”

“So am I,” Rebecca breathed, incapable of remaining immune to the spark of heat from his touch, or from Alec’s gaze as he turned to her.

“I can only agree with Tristan; it’s not so easy getting to meet a woman whose personality we find equally fascinating – and you’re fucking hot as well so it’s win-win for us.” Alec’s sexy grin could strip a girl’s panties off like paint – in a trice. She almost couldn’t think when he smiled like that.

Like he knew her every hidden, decadent desire and could spend all night fulfilling each one.

“Stop saying that,” she heard herself whisper, averting her gaze as her cheeks flushed deeper. “I’m not hot.”
Hell
! Rebecca couldn’t help swearing internally at herself. Anyone would think a couple of good-looking men had never paid her a compliment before. And why did her nipples feel so achy beneath the layers of lace and silk?

She saw Tristan and Alec share a smile that curled her toes with excitement at the sensual promise hinted there. Then Tristan said, “You don’t have to take our word for it. You only need to look around the room and see how many of the guys can’t seem to peel their eyes off you. You don’t know what it is about you, do you?”

She stared at Tristan, shaking her head mutely. The brush of his thumb over her knuckles had her breath hitching at the exquisite intimacy of his touch.

“Then I’ll tell you,” Tristan said softly, leaning just that bit closer till their eyes were level. “It’s the way your whole demeanor screams ‘untouched’ in just the way that makes a man want to peel back all those protective layers. And then ravish your sweet innocence till you beg to be claimed completely.”

Rebecca’s soft gasp escaped from her parted lips at the smoky husk of Tristan’s voice, and her eyes darted round to note that indeed, more than a few male eyes were looking her way with frank admiration and interest. She’d been so sure it was the brothers getting all the attention. The new revelation made her stomach twist in pleasurable knots.

“I don’t know what to say. Nothing like this has ever happened to me,” she said, biting down on her bottom lip. She faced them both again and wondered if they understood what was happening to her; how they both individually set her pulse racing, making her core tighten and surge with a wanton need. She looked from one to the other and suddenly, she realized they had to know exactly the effect they had on their senses. They’d be no strangers to having a woman panting for them within hours of having met them. Even within the first minute she’d set eyes on them, Rebecca had known she wanted them. Without even knowing then if she had a right to.

“The more reason why you should welcome the experience,” Alec said, and he placed a hand underneath her chin to tip her face up to meet his gaze. “You said earlier that you were ready to open up to new things. Tonight, for a start, we want you to forget about comfort zones and boundaries. Just act, don’t think. Can you do that for us, Rebecca?”

God, that voice…when he spoke her name like that it did things to her. Left her breathless and near senseless to boot. She couldn’t decide what exactly flared in the air around them. Maybe she was reading it all wrong, and there was nothing at all suggestive in anything that either Alec or Tristan had said so far. And maybe it wasn’t hard-edged lust she saw mirrored in their look-alike grey eyes. They couldn’t possibly both desire her - or did they? Because that would just be…insane. And totally, terrifyingly tempting.

Already, Rebecca felt the tendrils of enticement curl up from her inner thighs to spread all around her quivery frame. The brothers had her thinking thoughts forbidden, wicked and bad in all the good ways bad could be. For once in a long, long time, she was beginning to consider possibilities that involved her being set free from her self-imposed chains of doubt and repressed desires.

If only she could really take the chance and let go…

Forcing her mind to focus, she finally found her voice and replied to Alec’s words, saying on a whisper, “Well…I guess that depends on what you both have in mind.”

Rebecca wished she didn’t have that soft, sultry invitation in her tone. She really didn’t want these two having any ideas. They both seemed capable of pouncing on her, just like two tigers on a lone, imprudent gazelle in the wild. Even with the other people around them, she still felt like she was in a danger zone. In danger of falling prey to whatever temptations it was their silken voices and silvery eyes promised…

Whatever happens, don’t give in
, Rebecca’s inner voice warned. You
can’t
give in.

As if reading her inner turmoil, Tristan said lightly, “The night’s still young. So maybe we should simply enjoy each moment as it comes. What do you say we finish up here and try somewhere more exciting?”

“Oh…okay. I hadn’t really planned a night on the town, but…” Ugh; she hated her indecisiveness and her abject fear of spontaneity. What was she so scared of anyway?

She was just so used to being in control of situations, of being in charge because it made her feel more secure. But around the two brothers she felt like she was losing her hold on everything that held her back and it was frightening as well as stimulating.

“There’s a great club downstairs who’ll let us in if we’ve got on a tie. Luckily for Alec and me, we’ll meet the dress code,” said Tristan, his smile teasing. “While you, beautiful will have no problem at all getting in.”

Rebecca went pink again, unable to stop the blossoming pleasure that heated her insides at Tristan’s words. Okay, so she liked hearing that he thought she was beautiful. That maybe, just maybe they weren’t simply being nice - and probably felt as attracted to her as she was to them.

So she decided that despite her inner doubts, she very well couldn’t say no to spending more time with Alec and Tristan. After all there was no harm in a little dancing – and if she could manage it, some flirting with these two hunky specimens, was there?

It was the most she could hope for; especially since she had zero intention of giving in to the strange, raging needs that made her heart pound frantically and sent a sizzle through her deepest core…

*

Rebecca never wanted to stop feeling this way - like she was floating, high above the ceiling of the thumping club. Maybe it was all the wine and cocktails she had swirling in her system that had her feeling so charged up.