The Sextet - Occupational Hazards [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

She loved them anyway. She wanted to buy a nice condo, a king-sized bed, and a cocker spaniel and share their lives together. She wanted a happily ever after for three. Tears stung her eyes.

She didn’t need a donut. She needed a damned drink.

“Earth to Tracey,” Ben said, now standing beside her desk, a coconut-covered donut in his hand. “Want this?” The donut danced back and forth in front of her eyes.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He handed the sweet treat to her and walked slowly over to Corey’s table. As the two talked quietly, turning back to cast a glance her way now and again, Tracey bit into the donut, not even enjoying the sweet rush of taste across her tongue.

Her phone rang. Grabbing the handset, she snatched it up, glad for the distraction. “Tracey Daniels.”

“Ms. Daniels, Decadent Confections is here,” the newest eye candy serving as receptionist buzzed in her ear. “Shall I put them in the conference room?”

“Please. We’ll be right there.” Dropping the handset back in the cradle, she said, “Showtime, boys.” She stood up, smoothed her hand down her linen skirt, and strode to the door, Corey and Ben falling in step behind her, each carrying the drawings for the presentation.

* * * *

“A toast!” Ben said, clinking his champagne glass against Corey’s and then Tracey’s. “The Dream Team scores again!”

A quick sip of the far-too-sweet pink champagne did little to raise her mood. Despite the fantastic day, Tracey couldn’t get her thoughts to settle. Hell, she hadn’t truly had a good thought for nearly a month. Ben and Corey had been carrying her, and she damn well knew it. If she didn’t pull her head out of her ass soon, they wouldn’t need her anymore. Not as a boss. Not as a friend.

All she wanted was one more chance. But how could she ask? They’d obviously moved on. They’d left what the three of them shared in Indianapolis behind, went back to their lives, and forgotten that one night in heaven. It was
all
she could think about, haunting her days and her nights.

One more chance—she wanted one more chance to go back and scream, “Yes! I want to be a part of your lives! Please love me the way I love you both!”

“What a day!” Corey raised his glass again before taking another swig. “Who would’ve thought a trip to Indianapolis would have ended up so fortuitous? We no longer represent just Slugger Bars, but
all
of Decadent Confections. We’ll be working for them ’til we all retire.”

“That’ll be ten years less for me than you two,” Tracey flippantly added before she polished off the rest of her champagne and wished she’d simply kept her mouth shut. Seemed the only thing that slipped out of her now whenever she was around Ben and Corey was sarcasm or self-deprecation. She hated this new side of her personality, and she didn’t figure her guys appreciated it, either.

“Drink up, boss,” Ben said, refilling her glass. “I’ll order another bottle.”

“But you guys have plenty of champagne left.”

Corey was already waving at their waitress and giving her the sign for more. In the back of her mind, she hoped they were going to get her tipsy enough she could use it as an excuse to drag them both into a taxi and back to her place so she could fuck them all night long. They could re-create the magic of Indianapolis, and she could have more treasured memories to hold near to her broken heart.

And what would they think of her then?

The rest of the champagne was gone before the next bottle arrived. The fact she drank pink champagne instead of switching to dirty martinis said everything about her state of mind. She was set on a bender, even if she had to drink something she hated just because it pleased Ben and Corey. That’s all she really wanted to do—please Ben and Corey. In so many ways…

Yep. The champagne was getting to her.

“We really should make this a true celebration,” Corey said. She hated the way her guys kept shifting their gazes from each other to her and back again.

“This isn’t a celebration?” Tracey asked, grabbing the bottle to refill her glass.

“It is,” Ben said, “but we had something else in mind.”

“Like dinner?”
And me?

“Dinner, yes,” Corey replied. “And then maybe some…dancing?”

Chewing on a salty pretzel, she considered telling them no. She should go straight home, crawl into her lonely bed, and try to maintain some professional distance. They barely functioned now, tiptoeing around the office like the carpet had been replaced with eggshells. If she let herself fall under their spell again… “I should head home.” She faked a yawn. “I’m exhausted.” Gulping down the drink, she pushed the glass aside and stood up. “You guys go on. Go have some fun.”

Two men suddenly sandwiched her. “How about we all go together?” Corey asked, helping her slip the strap of her purse over her shoulder.

“That probably wouldn’t be—”

Ben interrupted. “You’re tipsy. We really need to be gentlemen and be sure you get home safely.”

“I can hail a taxi—”

While Ben threw some cash on the table, Corey herded her toward the front door. “We’ll go together. Besides, there’s something Ben and I have been meaning to show you. Tonight’s the perfect time.”

“I really should just go home,” Tracey insisted. Didn’t they realize how much it killed her to be so close to them? Didn’t they know that spending time alone with the men she’d fallen for was nothing short of agony when she couldn’t touch them? They probably wanted to show her the place they were moving into together. That would be the only thing to make this situation an utter disaster. To find out the night she’d spent with them had meant everything to her and nothing to them—that they’d gone right on with their plans to buy a home together. Without her. “Seriously, guys. I wanna go—”

“With us.” Ben’s hand settled on the small of her back as he gave her a gentle push. “You’re going with us, Trace.”

Their subtle but gentle guidance had her in a taxi before she could find a way out of the situation. They rode in awkward silence until they hit a building she’d been keeping her eye on since it converted from apartments, remodeled, and went condo.

The place was only ten minutes from Prince and Hart, and Tracey had a real estate agent looking into any of the units going on the market. The guy had called last week when one was finally listed, but the damn thing sold before she could find a free night to get out there to see it. If she was honest with herself, she’d admit that she dragged her feet because she wasn’t ready to put her signature on a purchase agreement—not by herself. In her fantasies, her two guys would be signing on the same dotted lines as they bought a home together.

I need another drink
.

Ben told the driver to pull up to the building’s front door. Before she could ask why, Corey stopped her by pressing his finger against her lips. “Patience, Tracey. Trust us.” He ran his fingertip over her bottom lip before he pulled his hand away. The simple action set her blood on fire.

Ben crawled out of the taxi and reached a hand in to help her out while Corey got out on his side. Flanking her on either side, they led her to the front door. The doorman was evidently gone for the evening, but Corey entered a code in the front security pad, and the lock clicked open. They crossed the terrazzo floor to the ornate elevator. Ben pushed the up button while Tracey stared at him. “What are you two up to?”

“Be patient,” Ben replied.

“If either of you tells me to be patient one more time…” The elevator doors opened, relieving her of coming up with some dire consequence that they had to know she’d never inflict.

They rose to the eighth and top floor, the same one as the condo she’d meant to look at. A million questions started flying through her mind. Were they the ones who bought the condo that had popped up on the market? How ironic would that be? Her dream men had bought her dream home. Without her. She swallowed hard, trying to get the lump in her throat forced down as tears stung her eyes.

After heading down a long hall, they stopped at an ornate entrance door and Corey opened the deadbolt with a key. Eight H. It
was
her condo.

Fuck my life
.

Stepping inside, she let her anger swell. It wasn’t fair! If she’d only taken a few hours away from work, she could have owned this place. And it was every bit as perfect as she’d imagined. Fucking perfect. From the hardwood floors to the cathedral ceilings with exposed wood beams. Even the furnishings were what she’d planned—a black leather sofa, an intricate Persian rug, and a gas fireplace.

“So you bought this place, huh?” Her voice sounded like she’d swallowed pure lemon juice, and it took all her strength not to start weeping.

“Yep. Moved everything in last weekend,” Corey replied, kicking off his shoes. “Want a tour? You’ll have to ditch the stilettos. Trying to keep the new floors nice.”

She didn’t want a tour. She wanted to go home to her pathetic and very lonely place and cry her eyes out. “I really should be leav—”

Ben stopped her by slipping her purse from her shoulder and tossing it on the breakfast bar. “Kick your shoes off, Trace. Come see our new home.” He knelt down and slid one of her shoes off before helping remove the other. He set them aside before he kicked off his own.

Taking her hand in his, Corey led her through the great room toward the master suite. Done in shades of gold and brown, it was earthy and inviting—especially the king-sized four-poster bed on the raised dais. A skylight above it was the cherry on top.

A tear spilled over her lashes. Before she could wipe it away, Ben stepped in front of her. He captured her tear with his thumb. “What do you think, boss? Pretty nice, huh?”

All she could do was nod. The lump in her throat seemed to close off all her air.

Corey wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Think you might like living in a place like this?”

Another nod as she realized they were so close she could catch both of their unique scents, which made her other senses reel. If she was going to keep any kind of sanity, she needed to get some distance between them.

“Then we’re here to give you another chance,” Ben said, leaning in to press his lips against her cheek. “One more chance to make the right choice.”

“What do you mean?” she squeaked out. “Make the right choice?”

Corey’s lips brushed against her neck, his tongue tracing the shell of her ear. “The right choice, Tracey. To move in with us. To
be
with us.”

“Here with us,” Ben said before kissing her lips. After a second of gentle pressure, she opened her lips to his insistent tongue, and he kissed her the way she’d imagined since the trip to Indianapolis. He stroked the roof of her mouth before letting his tongue duel with hers.

Moving behind her, Corey pressed his hips against her backside, the feel of his engorged cock leaving no doubt that he still desired her. “With us,” he said. “We want it to be the three of us. Always. We bought this house to be our home.”

Tearing her mouth away from Ben’s, she let out a small sob. “But work…what about work?”

“Work is work. This is our lives,” Ben said, framing her face in his hands. “Let the worry go, Tracey. Just let it go. For once in your life, take what you want and just…live.”

“We love you, Tracey,” Corey said, making her heart leap into a frantic beat.

“You do?” Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and she couldn’t seem to stop them.

“We do,” Ben replied. “We have for the longest time.”

Her heart felt near to bursting.

Chapter 8

This wasn’t real—it couldn’t be real. “You love me?” Tracey asked, fearing her happiness rested firmly in four strong hands.

“We love you,” Ben and Corey replied in unison.

“I…I love you too.” Once the words were out, the rest followed behind in a tumble of emotion. “I do. I love you both. I’ve loved you since the moment you came to my office that first time.”

“Well, then…” Ben pressed another kiss to her lips. “Does that mean yes?”

She sniffled and nodded. “Yes! Of course yes!”

“And you’ll stop worrying about work?” Corey’s hand worked on the zipper of her skirt. “You know, we can always form our own firm.”

“I don’t care about work!” And Tracey meant it. For the first time in her life, her career wasn’t the most important thing. She’d ignored love her whole adult life, wanting to be more, to do more. Funny, but what she’d neglected was herself. Her emotional well-being. “Can we do this? I mean…three of us, together? People will talk…”

“Who cares?” Ben replied. “People will always find something to talk about. So if they figure out we’re a threesome, we’re grist for the gossips. But only for a while. They’ll eventually find something else to talk about.”

“Besides,” Corey added with a quick kiss to her shoulder as he worked on pulling her shirt from the waistband of her loosened skirt. “Think of what they’ll say—about how hot they’ll think you are to be able to satisfy two younger guys all by your pretty little self.”

“You’re a cougar, Tracey.” Ben lifted her shirt over her head and cast it aside. “They’ll think you’re insatiable and a fantastic lover.”

“And they’d be right.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, Corey tugged her back against him and licked the sensitive skin of her throat. “You are a helluva lay, Tracey Daniels.”