The Naughty List (13 page)

“We did. But you looked like you needed to be kissed first.” He stroked her cheek. “And I wanted to be the one to do it.”

The tender yet hot look in Ry’s eyes left her feeling all jiggly-kneed and melty inside. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to compose herself. “You guys need to stop affecting me this way at work. It’s not helping me in the least.”

“I’m glad you brought that up because that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Ry crossed his arms over his chest, the posture equal parts casual and commanding. His assessing gaze drilled into her. “Is there a particular reason you freak out whenever there’s a chance someone might look at one of us with you and speculate?”

She blinked at him. “I haven’t been freaking out.”

“Close enough. You were practically ready to jump out of your skin when Bram teased you seconds ago about biting you.”

“Well what did you expect me to do? It’s not like any of our staff knows what’s going on between us. Or should.”

“Why not?”

Ry’s calmly worded request nearly knocked her on her ass. “Hello. We’re engaged in a threesome. Probably not something we should go public with. Particularly to our employees.”

“I’m not suggesting we tell them what’s going on. Or anyone else for that matter, unless we choose to. But it doesn’t mean we have to keep it hidden like a dark, dirty secret.”

She gaped at him. “Won’t that defeat the purpose? If we start acting differently with each other, people will figure it out.”

Bram stepped next to Ry, providing a united front. “So what if they do? What’s the worst that can happen? A few jealous busybodies whisper behind our backs? Hell, I’m used to it.”

She swallowed. “Yeah, so am I.”

Ry stared at her for a long moment before swearing softly beneath his breath. “This isn’t another repeat of what you went through with Dan. Bram and I would never bring that kind of hurt onto you, baby. Believe that.”

“Does it matter? In the end, people will see it however they want, just like they did with the Dan fiasco.” She despised how her voice cracked on the last two words. She refused to give her ex the power to affect her after all this time.

Bram and Ry crossed the room in two long strides and wrapped her in the middle of their bear hugs. Ry was the first to speak. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t even thinking when I brought it up. The last thing I want to do is upset you.”

Bram nuzzled the back of her head. “That goes double for me, Lace. What the three of us share—it’s special. I don’t want to lose it. If that means keeping my mouth shut, I’ll gladly do it.”

His proclamation should have made her happy. So why did she feel so awful inside?
Because you’re asking them to live a lie.
The taunting admission churned her stomach and made her feel like the most terrible person on the planet. But it didn’t lessen her determination to protect herself from the inevitable fallout that would come once their sexy adventures came to a close. No one would criticize Ry and Bram for their part in this affair. Being men, they could get away with a lot more than her when it came to having multiple bed partners. Yes, it was hugely unfair. But it was also reality.

In this regard, at least, fantasy definitely had its advantages. No painful repercussions could come from sex that only existed in her head.

Lacey was just popping her earrings in when her front doorbell rang. She glanced at her watch, surprise flickering over her. How unlike Jana to actually be on time for once. After indulging in a quick spritz of perfume, she hurried down the hall and swung open the door as the chime went off again. She gave Jana a frazzled look. “You do realize you’re supposed to wait at least a few seconds in between pressing that thing, right?”

“Sorry, but it’s freakin’ cold out here. I can’t even feel my ass anymore.” Jana reached behind herself and smacked her butt through her leather trench coat. “Yep, nothing. I’m assuming it’s still back there.”

“Part of your problem is your coat. It has hardly any lining.”

Jana offered a cheeky grin. “I know, but my ma insists it makes me look like a streaker. I find that kinda amusing.”

“You would. So are you driving or me?”

“I will. Heat’s already on.” Jana pivoted and clunked down the driveway in her combat boots. Lacey quickly locked up her house and hurried toward Jana’s vintage Mustang. As promised, the interior was toasty warm. That slightly made up for having to listen to several tracks of the Chipmunks’ Christmas album before they pulled into the packed lot of Hooligans. She gave Jana a pointed look as the CD ejected from the player. “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for anyone over the age of twelve to own that CD. If not, it should be.”

Sticking out her tongue, Jana climbed from the car and waited for Lacey to do the same before beeping the alarm. Linking arms, they dashed toward the entrance of the nightclub, giggling like a couple of teenage girls out on a school night. After paying their cover charges at the door, they made their way to the massive bar situated in the middle of the jam-packed building.

Jana wiggled out of her coat, revealing a skintight micro minidress in a tartan plaid fabric. When she hopped onto one of the available stools, half the men sitting at the bar craned their necks hoping to see exactly how much thigh she’d end up revealing. Jana—being her typical couldn’t-give-a-shit self—ignored them all.

Feeling significantly overdressed in her cream-colored slacks and red, glittery top, Lacey took the neighboring stool and tried not to grin at the poor shmuck next to Jana who seemed to be hypnotized by her cleavage. “You really should come with a warning label—
might create whiplash when in public
.”

“Please. This is one of my tamer outfits. And I’m actually wearing underwear.”

“Your mom must be so proud.”

“Very.” Putting two fingers in her mouth, Jana gave an ear-piercing whistle that probably had dogs from miles away baying in agony. It barely cracked a glance from the bartender working farther down the way. Jana grumbled. “This place sucks donkey balls. Tell me why they wouldn’t have more than one bartender? Idjits.”

“Yeah, it is pretty stupid. A night like this, we always have at least two on staff at the Dockside. And we never see crowds like they have here.”

“Speaking of idjits, how’d my brother take the news about me stealing you away tonight? And Ry, for that matter.”

The mention of Bram and Ry stirred up Lacey’s earlier troubled thoughts. She tried her best to cover it, but Jana’s shrewd focus narrowed on her. “Uh-oh. Trouble in ménage land already?”

“No, of course not. Everything’s…great.”

Jana arched a brow. “But?”

“Nothing. I said it’s great.”

“Sure, after you hesitated.”

Needing something to occupy her hands, Lacey grabbed one of the beverage napkins from the nearby stack and fiddled with it.

“Are you going to answer my question or make an origami stork?”

Lacey crumpled the napkin in her lap. “I think I hurt their feelings by insisting we keep our threesome under wraps.”

Jana’s husky laugh belted out in all its unrestrained glory. “Right. I don’t think that’s even possible with Bram—Mr. Love ’em and Leave ’em. As far as Ry…hmm, not sure. But I doubt he’s crying in his SpaghettiOs.”

“I don’t know.” The same twisting sensation she experienced earlier in her stomach returned. “For some reason, I feel like I’ve let them down.”

“Okay, then come out of the closet and admit to everyone that the three of you are sleeping together.”

Lacey winced at the loudness of Jana’s voice. Thank God she didn’t know anyone in this place. “I already told you I’m not doing that.”

“Oh that’s right. Because you think this is only a temporary fling.” There was no mistaking the heavy sarcasm in Jana’s tone.

Lacey glared at her. “Yes, it is.”

“Bullshit.” Jana cocked her finger warningly when Lacey opened her mouth. “You know it is. Girl, you can tell me until you’re blue in the face that you’re the kind to indulge in kinky affairs, but it won’t make it true.”

“Okay, if you know so much, then
you
tell me what this is.”

“Love.”

That single word packed one hell of a punch. Lacey reeled from it, her fingers digging into the roll of leather stitching ringing the stool. “
What?
”

The fierceness in Jana’s eyes mellowed. “It’s okay. You can admit that you love them. I’ve known it for a while.”

“Really? Then you know a hell of a lot more than I do.” She caught the stubborn glint returning to Jana’s gaze and held up a hand. “All right. I can see how you’d think that. I’m always spending a lot of time around them.”
Because they make me happy like no one else.
“We own a business together. It’s to be expected.”

“You guys have been inseparable for a lot longer than you’ve owned the Dockside.”

“Because we’re friends.”

“Friends who are now fucking each other,” Jana pointed out bluntly.

It was on the tip of Lacey’s tongue to correct her and say it was more than just sex, but she knew Jana would take it the wrong way. Just because she felt an emotional bond with Ry and Bram every time they came together didn’t mean she was in love with them.

Did it?

The twisting intensified in her stomach. “This isn’t about love.” It couldn’t be. That path only led to pain. She’d tried it once before and ended up burned. Big time. It wouldn’t happen again. “It’s about rediscovering my sexuality. Indulging in a fantasy that plenty of women out there have. It’s nothing more than that.”

Jana continued eyeing her for a long stretch, her expression skeptical. “I think you’re fooling yourself.”

The bartender chose that moment to finally show up with the drink menus. Lacey accepted one, grateful for the much-needed reprieve from Jana’s persistent grilling.

She only wished she could get a similar respite from the worried doubts brewing in her head.

Chapter Eleven

“If there was one thing I’d hoped to never see in my lifetime, it was Santa in a Speedo.” Grimacing, Lacey turned away from the spectacle of the white-haired, potbellied patron gyrating on the dance floor in the tight red spandex swimsuit. This was one of the pitfalls of hosting a beach-themed party during the Christmas season. “Would someone please go get a towel for that guy?”

“I’m on it, boss.” Dwayne, one of the busboys, hurried in the direction of the giant umbrella in the corner. Thank God they’d decided to use beach towels in the display.

Bram stepped out of his and Ry’s office and slung his arm around her shoulder. “Wow, look at Santa shaking his Rudolph.”

She stifled a groan. “Way to ruin my favorite reindeer for me.”

“I try, darlin’. I try.”

She glanced toward the closed door behind them. “Is Ry still on the phone with his uncle?”

“Yeah. He’s attempting to wrap it up, but it might be a while.”

Holidays were tough for Charlie Hollister since he’d lost his wife on Christmas Day ten years ago. She knew that Ry felt incredibly guilty not being able to spend more time with his uncle, despite knowing that his cousins were there to watch over Charlie day and night and ensure that the depression didn’t result in him holing up in his house. “He’s a good nephew.”

“I was thinking of suggesting the three of us pop in on Charlie sometime before Christmas Day. That’s if you don’t mind.”

She squeezed Bram’s hand. “That’s a wonderful idea. Count me in.”

Bram stared at her for a long moment without saying anything. Unsettled by the intensity in his eyes, she nibbled her lip. “What is it? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?”
Damn spinach salad.

“No.” He glanced toward the bar before lowering his voice. “You have no idea how damn much I want to kiss you right now.”

“Oh.” Her gaze slipped to Bram’s lips, and she imagined their firm pressure upon hers, the coaxing glide of his tongue.

“Christ, Lace. If you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna want to do a lot more than kiss you. Right here with everyone watching.”

She took a shuddering breath before refocusing on the revelers partying on the dance floor. Bram’s fingers trailed down her spine and lingered near her tailbone, dangerously close to dipping into the crease of her ass. “Come home with us tonight. We can relax in the hot tub. Drink some wine. Fall in bed together and fuck like rabbits.”

She gave a shaky laugh. “You really know how to tempt a gal.”

“Is that a yes?”

She nodded. “But only because I’m dying to soak in the hot tub.”

His grin let her know that she didn’t have him fooled.

Three hours later, Bram’s tongue was inside her mouth, delivering the lush, blistering kiss he’d enticed her with back at the Dockside. Meanwhile, Ry’s tongue was swirling over her clit. They hadn’t even made it out of the entryway of Bram’s house. Gasping, she dug her fingers into Bram’s shoulders, holding on for dear life as a fierce, unexpected orgasm swept her up in its riptide. She cried out, her thighs reflexively clamping around Ry’s head. He groaned, each tug of his lips, teeth and tongue extending the beating pulse of her climax until she thought she’d pass out from the overwhelming pleasure of it.

Weak and incredibly sated, she slumped back on the rug with a satisfied sigh. “That. Was. Amazing.”

Ry and Bram both chuckled and stroked her arms and legs. Bram nuzzled her neck, his teeth nipping her lightly. “Does this mean you’re not mad about having to wait an extra few minutes for the hot tub?”

“Keep giving me orgasms like that and I’ll never be mad again. About
anything
.”

“Deal,” Bram and Ry said in unison. While Bram went to get the hot tub ready, Ry stretched over her and claimed her mouth. She could taste herself on his tongue. The reminder of what he’d been doing to her seconds ago triggered a renewed spiral of desire. She twined her arms around him, holding him close. The familiar emotional rush seized her, making her tremble.

Ry lifted his head and looked at her. His fingertips traced her cheek. “Thank you.”

She giggled. “Um, shouldn’t
I
be the one saying that right now?”

He rubbed his nose over hers, his rumbling laugh vibrating beneath her hands. “I was referring to you coming over tonight.”