Voyeur (23 page)

she do that for him if he asked her to? Would she let herself indulge her true desires in a ménage a trois?

She'd done everything else he'd wanted—
everything.
So very perfectly, so very passionately. This would be a big step further, for al of them. He'd never shared a woman with another guy before, either, let alone a good friend. But damn, he wanted her to know that ultimate pleasure, and he

wanted
himself
to know the satisfaction of giving it to her, of knowing she did it because he asked it of her.

Riley and Sloane continued to turn up stil more items concealed on the grounds—some were hidden in the backyard and outbuildings, but most

appeared in the secret garden. Of course, Riley and Sloane were stil getting intimate every chance they got—so much that Riley knew she was too

caught up in her passion and not concentrating on solving the mystery as much as she should. An entirely new occurrence for her—since her head

was
always
in the case. Except for now. Sloane Bennett and the best sex of her life were dimming her focus.

When Aunt Mimsey invited Riley and Sloane to tea on her back porch, Riley knew it was trouble. And she was proven correct before even

lifting her aunt's dainty flowered teacup to her lips.

"Winifred tel s me you two are denying your feelings for each other," Aunt Mimsey said with a giddy, knowing grin that made Riley want to

sink into the porch's wooden planks. It was bad enough that Aunt Mimsey and the Dorchesters had figured out something was going on

between them, but a hundred times worse if they thought there were
feelings
involved. Because if Riley even
hinted
at having feelings for Sloane, she'd be humiliated. What she and Sloane shared was—at least in Sloane's mind, she knew—strictly about getting horizontal. Or,

wel , in some cases perpendicular, and once even vertical against one of the pear trees—but she harbored no il usions that Sloane Bennett

cared for her in any lasting way.

So she swiftly changed the subject "Winifred has a wild imagination. No one here has any
feelings
for anyone else— Sloane and I are

simply trying to solve this case. Which reminds me, we've come up with lots of new clues. Mostly in the garden—a
secret
garden," she

added, letting her eyes go wide. She suspected any sort of secret would catch Aunt Mimsey s fancy and detract attention from her and

Sloane.

"Oh yes, the secret garden," Aunt Mimsey said, as if it were a boring piece of yesterday's news.

Riley blinked. "You know about the garden?"

Aunt Mimsey took a sip of her tea, looking a bit wistful. "Wel , I never mentioned it to anyone, but your uncle Walter and I used to make out

there when we were first married."

Sheesh, the secret garden was a regular lovers' lane! Although it was hard to imagine Aunt Mimsey and Uncle Walter making out. Riley

suspected she looked horrified.

Aunt Mimsey went on. "I never knew why the garden existed—I assumed Winifred just wanted a pretty place to strol —but when Walter and I

went there ... wel , let's just say I spent a lot more time on my back than my feet." Then she winked.

And Riley grew even more aghast. Ugh. "You're not saying you and Uncle Walter ... did the deed there?"

Aunt Mimsey narrowed her brow, her expression a bit befuddled. "Why, dear, I'm not sure what deed you're talking about, but we had sex

there many, many times, right on the grass under the pear trees."

Riley and Sloane exchanged looks of rank disgust. "How ... romantic," Riley said dryly.

"Oh yes, it was," Aunt Mimsey fluttered on, and before Riley could stop her, she regaled them with the tale of a particularly steamy August

afternoon when she'd nearly swooned from the heat in the garden, but Walter had caught her—and made her "forget al about the weather,"

she concluded with a girlish titter.

Between Aunt Mimsey’s continued stories of sex in the garden and further accusations of a relationship between Riley and Sloane, the next

half hour was excruciating. When final y the teapot was drained and Riley managed to make their excuses, she and Sloane practical y

sprinted toward the arbor gate that would provide their escape from the yard.

"From now on," Sloane said once they were free, "when we go to the garden, we're taking a blanket."

"Maybe two," Riley concurred.

Although—even dismayed to find that apparently everyone they knew had indulged their sexual appetites in the garden before them—Riley

never once thought about not returning there with Sloane. In fact, al this talk about it had her thinking she could use a little release right this

very minute. "Want to go now?" she asked, tilting her head hopeful y.

He didn't even blink. "Wait here. I'l find the blankets."

And it was only when Sloane left her standing in the lush green grass behind the Dorchesters' house that her mind cleared enough to realize

a potential y frightening truth: if Aunt Mimsey knew about the garden, that meant, technical y, she was a suspect, too!

Braden padded down the stairs, listening to the sound of Laura's fingers dancing across the keyboard. He couldn't believe anyone could type that

fast and felt bad knowing he was about to interrupt her when her work was clearly flowing wel .

Selfish son of a hitch,
he thought.
You can’t even wait a couple of hours, until the sun sets, to talk to her?

But no, he couldn’t. And as for being selfish . . .

Al along, from the moment heel seen Laura through the webcam, every move he'd made had been for
both
of them. Bringing
her
pleasure brought
him
pleasure. And this was no different. The only selfish part was the interruption, but he had a feeling she'd forget al about that very soon.

"Hey snowflake, take a break for a few minutes?"

The typing ceased as she looked over her shoulder. She wore another one of those skimpy tops he liked so much and had shoved her hair behind

her ears. "You're real y pushing your luck today," she told him, but teasing fil ed her voice. She rose to her feet as he plopped on the couch, patting the spot beside him.

As soon as she sat down, he eased his arms around her delectable curves and lowered a kiss high on her chest. From there, he lifted his mouth to

hers—and damn, no matter how hot things got, he stil got off on just kissing her.

"Wel ," she said, a bit breathless, "this is the kind of break I like."

He grinned but grew more serious as he lay her back on the sofa, stil in a loose embrace, stretching his body out alongside hers. "You know what I’ve been thinking about al day?"

She shook her head.

"Last night," he informed her, his voice going deep at the memory— and the knowledge of where he was taking this.

"What
about
last night? Pizza with Tommy?"

He lowered his chin, gazing down on her as he ran one palm over her tummy, up under her top. "Yes and no."

She peered up expectantly, clearly waiting for him to go on.

"I was also thinking about how much you loved being fil ed with two cocks last night in bed."

A pretty—and predictable—pink blush stained her cheeks. She'd mostly gotten over her shyness about discussing their sex, but he'd known such a

statement would bring it back out. "Don't go al nervous on me, honey. We both know it excited you—a lot."

She swal owed visibly. "You could tel ?"

She thought she'd hidden it somehow? He couldn't hold in his smile. "Yeah, I could tel , and it got me real y hot." He'd seen Laura in a high state of arousal many times now, but something about last night had been different. Perhaps a deeper surrender? Something he'd felt more than seen? He

wasn't sure how, but he'd known it instantly.

"Wel . .. okay. Yeah, it felt.. ." She swal owed again, a testament to her nervousness on the topic

"Tel me."

"It felt like ... I was being consumed, taken, from al directions. Just... an incredible ful ness I can't put into words. Almost overwhelming. I. . . couldn't control my response."

He grinned, liking her answer, especial y the last part. Then proceeded with what he'd come down here to say, lifting one hand to her cheek. "I want to give you the real thing now."

"Huh?" she asked, peering up at him, beautiful y wide-eyed. He let his voice drop an octave to tel her, "I want to give you two cocks, baby. Two men

—at the same time. I want you to be with me and Tommy. Tonight."

Laura let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Braden."
She couldn't fathom what he'd just suggested. "Are you . .. are you serious?"

His hand skimmed up her side until the tip of his thumb brushed over her nipple, through her top. The pleasure bit through her as he replied, "I'm
very
serious."

She sucked in another deep breath, her mind whirling. She couldn't deny That she’d suffered hints of the same inconceivable desire when Tommy

had been there last night. Yet ... she couldn't possibly do something so very hedonistic. "God, Braden, I . . . don't know."

"Because the idea doesn't appeal to you? Or just because it sounds forbidden?"

An image flashed in her head—her, between the two men, their hands roaming her body, their straining cocks rubbing against her. Her pussy

spasmed at the very thought, and she quietly admitted, "The second."

His eyes darkened at her answer, making her pool with wetness between her legs. Resting his forearm between her breasts, he tilted her chin

upward. "It's al in your head, honey."

Her voice came breathy. "What?"

"The idea of it being forbidden. It's just something society taught you, but its not real, it doesn't mean anything. And if you want it, you should have it. I
want
you to have it." "Why?"

He slid his knee between her thighs, pressing warm against her cunt through the jogging pants. His large bulge pressed hot and hard at her side,

giving her the urge to turn toward it, to take
that
between her legs. "I want to give you the ultimate pleasure, something most women just fantasize about but wil never have."

"Oh." Her voice came too light, barely there. As always, she wondered how he managed to make such things sound almost normal. And was she

truly considering this—two men, at once? She had to catch her breath as the thought—and the images in her head—struck her anew. Stung with

harsh temptation, she swal owed nervously. "And you want to do this . . . tonight?"

"Yes." Spoken plain and simple and quietly commanding—classic Braden. He clearly knew it worked on her, made it easier for her to acquiesce

and give in to her baser desires.

She bit her lip, peering up at him, stil agonizingly aware of the stiff erection at her hip. "I know this shouldn't matter, because in a few days I’l probably never see you again, but. . . wouldn't you think of me differently afterward? Because when this is over, I want you to... remember me

fondly."

His eyes softened, peering down on her. "There's no other way I
could
remember you, snowflake. Sweet. Sexy. Exciting. Brave. Nothing bad. I promise." He ended with a deep, tender kiss, his tongue twining with hers and making her pussy cream further.

She found herself lifting her hands lightly to his face, her fingers grazing the dark stubble there. Her breath came short. "What if . . . what if we were to ... to start this . . . and I suddenly realize I just can't do it?"

Only a few inches separated their faces. "Then you take my hand, look into my eyes, and tel me you just can't do it. And we'l stop."

"Real y?"

"Of course" He sounded a little surprised. "Laura, you may think I’ve made you do things you never would have otherwise. But I've never real y
made
you do anything. And I never would—not if you truly didn't want to."

She nodded softly, instantly. It was true. She might like to think he almost forced her at times into the wild things they shared, but he never real y had.

He just knew exactly how to persuade her. And she feared he was frighteningly close to persuading her again right now.

"You trust me, don't you?" he whispered, his dark eyes connecting deeply with hers.

She nodded automatical y.

"Then you'l do this for me."

She almost nodded again, but this time caught herself. "I'm . . . I'm stil not completely sure. Part of me wants to, madly,
shockingly,
but. . . part of me just. . ."

"Just what?"

She drew in another long, deep breath. "Part of me worries how I'l feel afterward. Part of me isn't sure I can be that wild, even for you, Braden."

Now it was he who let out a labored sigh. "I can
tell
you how you'l feel afterward, honey. Wel -pleasured.
Phenomenally
wel -pleasured. That's al ."

"You're so sure I won't have any regrets?"

He cast only the slightest of smiles. "This is your Vegas, Laura."

She tilted her head against the throw pil ow, confused. "Huh?"

"What happens on the mountain stays on the mountain. It doesn't change your life or change who you are. It's just about pleasure."

She'd never believed that Vegas saying. Everything you did affected who you were. And Laura knew that if she gave into this temptation, this desire

that burned deeper inside her with each passing moment, it
would
change her. She just wasn't certain if it would be a change for the better or the worse.

And yet, Braden had taught her so much about pleasure. He'd never asked her to do anything that didn’t turn out to be an experience to savor. He'd

shown her greater delights than she'd known she was capable of. Maybe he was right. Maybe she should simply turn off al her usual worries and let

herself sink even deeper into the sensual world he'd built for her since coming here.

To her surprise, he sat up on the couch, the departure of his firm thigh leaving the spot between her legs woeful y empty. He patted her knee and