The Naughty List (6 page)

Bram sidled up next to Ry. A frown marred his features. “It was a…joke?”

“Well, duh. Of course.” She rolled her eyes for good measure. “I can’t believe you both fell for it.”

For a brief moment she swore Bram looked disappointed. Ry, on the other hand, just leveled her with his patented let’s-cut-through-the-bullshit stare. “It wasn’t a joke. I know it and you know it.”

“Don’t be silly. Do you think I’d tell you all of that embarrassing stuff if it was
real
?”

The rugged planes of Ry’s face softened, but the heat in his gaze didn’t abate. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I—I didn’t say I was embarrassed.” Oh crap. Yes, she did. She really needed to learn how to choose her damn words better. She cleared her throat, figuring it was past time for a fast recovery. “Why would I be embarrassed over a joke?”

“Because it isn’t one. But judging from how flustered you’re acting, I’d say it’s a safe bet you didn’t intend for Bram and me to ever know about any of it. And that’s really unfair of you, Lace.”

The accusation in Ry’s stare was almost unbearable. A thick ball of shame wedged in her throat. She’d always been brutally honest with him and Bram before, hadn’t hidden anything from either of them up until now. But there were some things you didn’t go blabbing to your business partners, for God’s sake—like the desire to be tied up and blindfolded for a night of raunchy sex. “C-could we just forget any of this happened?”

“It’s too late for that, Lace. You can’t expect us to pretend we don’t know. To not wonder.” Ry stepped closer, his gaze drifting to her mouth. Hunger burned in his eyes.

Her heart thumped in response. She’d imagined that particular look on his face countless times, never believing she’d see it in actuality. This had to be a dream. Or another of her fantasies. The last part of his statement registered and she blinked. “W-wonder? About what?”

“You. Us.” His knuckles brushed the underside of her jaw, tipping it ever so slightly upwards as his head descended. “This.” The husky word feathered her lips, a prelude to the lush pressure of his mouth upon hers.

Disbelief and pure giddiness combated inside her while one startling thought spun through her brain in a ceaseless loop.
RyiskissingmeRyiskissingmeRyiskissingme
. His tongue coaxed past her lips and glided over hers, the sensation drowning out the delirious chorus in her head. He tasted of coffee and aroused male. It was the most delicious combination of all time. Even as she was reveling in that fact, a pair of hands slid around her hips from behind. Bram’s heat blanketed her back. There was no mistaking the hard ridge of his erection nudging her tailbone.

This can’t be happening
. But even as she was trying to assure herself of that, Ry reluctantly broke their kiss and leaned back. Their gazes crashed into each other for a moment before he glanced over her head at Bram. Some unspoken communication passed between the two men. Still dizzy from Ry’s kiss and confused as hell, she craned her neck to look up at Bram. Without warning, his mouth staked its own claim, taking over where Ry’s had left off.

Her senses reeled from the unexpected double whammy. Getting the daylights kissed out of her by Ry was incredible enough, adding Bram to the mix…it was a damn miracle she was still standing upright. As if her body was looking to change that status quo, she swayed, her knees threatening to buckle. Bram freed one hand from her waist and tunneled his fingers through her hair, managing to hold her steady and at the same time tilt her head for better access to her mouth. His tongue was just as insistent as Ry’s and possibly twice as bold.

A gruff, slightly irritated cough issued from Ry. Bram released her, his tongue taking its time to depart her mouth. Dazzled, she licked her lips and attempted to form a coherent thought. “I—I don’t understand. What’s going on here?” She’d been certain they’d be freaked out by the email. Having them all but devour her was the last reaction she’d been expecting, for damn sure.

Bram caressed her hip. “We want to give you that threesome, Lace. Along with everything else on your list.”

Shock and a hot wave of arousal careened through her at Bram’s declaration. She panned her stare between him and Ry, taking in the twin expressions of determination on their flushed features. In her mind’s eye, she pictured the three of them naked on her bed, living out the fantasies she’d barely been brave enough to commit to typewritten words.

Panic began to set in. A fantasy was one thing. Actually exposing herself—in every sense of the word—to her best friends was a whole other matter. She swallowed past the words sticking in her throat. “I think that would be a bad idea.”

Bram frowned. “Why? We thought that’s what you wanted. Your email…”

“Was something you were never supposed to have seen.” She gave Ry a sheepish look. “Yeah, you were right about that much.”

“I also told you there’s no going back now that we know.” Ry brushed her hair away from her cheek. His fingers lingered on the side of her neck, the warmth of his touch creating pleasurable tingles.

Despite her firm resolve to ignore the sensation, she still shivered. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Not to mention the business we’ve created here.”

“Neither do I.”

“Same goes for me,” Bram echoed, squeezing her waist.

She battled the desire to lean into Bram’s tempting embrace or to snuggle into the hand Ry still had curved around her nape. Instead she took a fortifying breath. “Then it’s better not to risk it, right?”

“At one time I would have agreed with you.” Ry’s focus lowered to her mouth. His irises contained enough heat to stoke a campfire. “But now that I’ve kissed you, tasted you, I’m not willing to settle for what-ifs. I want to explore the possibilities beyond friendship, Lace. And I know Bram does too. Maybe it’s time to stop playing it safe and just see where this takes us.”

He made it sound so…reasonable. Like giving in to this insanity wouldn’t inevitably result in a big crash and burn for the three of them. The knowledge that he seemed far less freaked out than her about the idea of a threesome stirred her suspicions. “Have you guys done this sort of thing before?”

Ry’s gaze flicked toward Bram. “Not exactly.”

She scooted out from between them and crossed her arms over her chest. “Either you have or you haven’t.”

Bram’s broad shoulders lifted with a resigned inhale. “There was a woman. One time, Lace. That’s all.”

She gaped at him. His answer probably shouldn’t have stunned her, particularly considering how he and Ry frequented that sex club in Pontiac. Maybe threesomes were old hat to them. No bigger a deal than going on a double date. Rather than reassure her, it only reinforced how out of her league she was with all of this. She took another step back and rubbed her arms. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”

Ry walked forward, a challenge glinting in his eyes. “How can you know if you don’t try it?”

She nibbled her bottom lip, uncertainty gnawing inside her. “If this goes bad, there might be no recovery for us.”

“It won’t.” Ry pulled her toward him, his palm curving low on her tailbone. He’d held her many times before, but the intimacy in his touch now was nearly as overwhelming as his kiss earlier. And undoubtedly that’s what he’d intended, to get under her skin and storm her defenses. “We’ve always been the three amigos. That’ll never change.” His voice held an unwavering determination.

She peered into his eyes, desperately wanting to feel the same confidence he did. Bram approached and took her free hand, twining their fingers together. “Give us a chance, Lace. We’ll prove to you that it’ll work.”

Temptation beckoned, strong and persistent, but she wasn’t ready to completely throw caution to the wind. As it was, her heart pounded out of control with the compromise she was about to suggest. She was terrified at the prospect of it, but she suspected that she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t at least dip her toes into the forbidden waters. “O-one item on the list. If any of us feel even the slightest bit weird about everything, it ends there, understood?”

Both men smiled, obviously convinced the outcome would be in their favor.

“Deal.” Ry leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, presumably sealing the agreement. He lifted his head and his lips tugged upward. “But Bram and I get to pick the item.”

She opened her mouth to protest just as Bram squeezed her left butt cheek, making her squeak instead. Voices came from the vicinity of the kitchen, announcing that the cooks had arrived to begin prepping for the day. Ry and Bram immediately released her, but not before offering her matching stares that smoldered.

Her mouth went dry even as her pussy became unbelievably wet.

Oh God, what have I just gotten myself into?

Chapter Six

Ry glanced at the clock hanging over the bar as he listened with half an ear to the story Hank Lewiston—one of the Dockside’s regulars—was regaling him with. Fortunately it was a tale seventy-eight-year-old Hank was fond of recounting, meaning that Ry had heard it more than a few dozen times and could easily recite it himself if the need arose.

He couldn’t remember being this anxious for a workday to end. Of course, being treated to the occasional glimpse of Lacey for the past eight hours and remembering the soft texture of her lips beneath his and the wet, tentative glide of her tongue only amped his torment and made him hard as stone.

If anyone had told him before today that he’d be itchy with anticipation over the prospect of sharing Lacey with Bram, he’d have accused them of being fucking crazy. While he did wish he’d be going solo on this seduction, the truth was he’d take Lacey any way he could have her. If that meant agreeing to a package deal, so be it. At least it would be with Bram. There’d be no damn way he could watch any other man sinking his cock into Lacey and not want to rip their balls off. Plus it helped having that previous experience with Bram. He knew what to expect, and in an odd way, they worked pretty well as a team when it came to pleasing a woman in bed. Shannon—their one-night stand—sure hadn’t complained. If anything, she’d been disappointed when he and Bram declined her offer of another future rendezvous. But he and Bram had gone into it knowing they didn’t want to make it permanent. There’d been no sense in leading the woman on. So they’d happily parted ways that night, and he’d been convinced it’d be a fond memory never to be repeated. Certainly not with Lacey.

Despite his best efforts to pay attention to the rest of Hank’s rambling tale, Ry’s thoughts wandered to the upcoming evening. He and Bram had come to the same conclusion that they needed to get the ball rolling fast, before Lacey got cold feet and changed her mind. He knew how she tended to overanalyze things. If they gave her even a day to mull the situation over, she’d find a million more reasons to talk herself out of it.

He intended to do everything in his power to keep that from happening. He wasn’t averse to using all of his sexual wiles to seduce her into this threesome, and he knew Bram was more than game too.

As if the man in question had read Ry’s mind, Bram stepped into view at the opposite end of the bar and gave a subtle nod toward the rear hallway. Taking the hint, Ry clapped the back of Hank’s shoulder. “Hold on a sec. I’ve got to go check on something in the kitchen.”

Hank shrugged before shifting in his stool and transferring his attention to the unsuspecting guy in the neighboring seat. Feeling a little guilty for unwittingly foisting Hank on the poor dude, Ry escaped the bar and strode in Bram’s direction. He met up with him outside the men’s john. “Did you talk to Lacey about meeting us over at your place?”

“No, she’s been avoiding me like the plague. Every time I went into her office, she dredged up some excuse to be somewhere else.”

Ry grunted. “She can’t hide forever. Why don’t you grab takeout from the kitchen and head home to get everything ready? I’ll work on Lacey.”

“Don’t let her duck out on you.”

When it came to going after what he wanted, Ry could be like a Rottweiler scoping out a juicy porterhouse steak—one determined sonofabitch. There was nothing in this world he wanted more than Lacey. “Not a chance.”

Bram grinned. “Maybe I should stop by Jana’s place first and pick up some handcuffs. They might come in handy tonight. In more ways than one.”

Bram’s sister owned Wicked Delights, a lingerie store that also stocked some interesting adult novelties. Ry’s cock thickened behind his fly as he pictured Lacey stretched naked on Bram’s bed, her wrists cuffed to the posts and her lips wrapped around Bram’s dick while Ry buried himself balls-deep in her pussy.

Fuck
. Smothering a groan, he covertly adjusted himself. He must not have been as discreet with the gesture as he’d assumed because Bram cocked an eyebrow, his smirk widening.

“So is that a yes on the handcuffs?” Bram chuckled. “Hell, she did say she wanted to be tied up. Almost the same thing.”

“We might have to save that for another night. She’s probably going to be nervous as it is.” Judging from her current behavior, that was an understatement.

Bram scratched the nape of his neck, his expression thoughtful. “Speaking of which, we never did decide which item we’re marking off the list tonight. Did you have a particular one in mind?”

Yeah. D—all of the above.
Much as the idea of indulging in an all-night sexual smorgasbord fired his cylinders, he acknowledged that patience would be the name of the game this evening. Getting Lacey hot and desperate for more would ultimately buy them the opening they needed. Hopefully one taste wouldn’t be enough for her, just like he knew it wouldn’t be for him. “Let’s play it by ear.”

Bram nodded. “I’ll see you at my place in a few then. Good luck with Lace.”

Dragging in a deep breath, Ry watched Bram head for the kitchen. He wasn’t so much worried about the heavy convincing he had ahead of him as having to fight the urge to peel off Lacey’s clothes and bend her over the arm of the couch while he devoured her pussy. His cock once again nudged at his zipper, giving a resounding
hell yeah
to that scenario.