Oh, wow. I swallowed a breath because his admission made excitement flutter inside me.
“I’m not Travis,” he continued. “There are things he can give you that I can’t, so if I’m standing in the way of you two—”
“You’re not,” I said in a rush.
Maybe it was true that Travis could offer me things Clay couldn’t, but it went both ways. Clay gave me an experience Travis didn’t seem capable of, at least not without Clay’s direction.
Relief scrubbed away Clay’s worry. “Okay. Good.”
When he leaned in and slanted his lips across mine, it momentarily voided all thoughts from my mind. His mouth was warm and his tongue lush, and even though this kiss was clearly scripted, I melted all the same.
His skilled mouth pressed to mine while his hands caressed the curves of my body, moving as if he had complete ownership over me. Didn’t he? Like Noir, I felt jointly owned. And Clay’s domination wasn’t what I expected it to be. Sometimes it was subtle persuasion, not force. Requests instead of demands.
It was fucking irresistible.
I’d been filled with trepidation coming over here and admitting what I’d done. The last place I expected to end up was in his arms, him kissing me and acting like there was nothing to forgive.
“You’re not mad us?” I asked.
“No, I’m not upset with you.”
His meaning nearly slipped past me because his touch was so distracting, but I paused. “And Travis?”
He exhaled, reluctantly straightened, and gave me a pointed look. “I’m disappointed with him.”
I was compelled to defend him. “But why not me?”
“Because he’s supposed to have more self-control.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just tell me you wanted it to happen?”
“I did, but he’s a dominant and I trained him better than that. He shouldn’t have given in to what he wanted so quickly.”
I sucked in a surprised breath. Clay had trained Travis? The idea was . . .
Hot.
Oh, my God, it was so hot. What had that been like?
For once, Clay was oblivious to the effect he could have on me. “I’ll discuss it with him when he gets here.” His gaze traced over my lips as if considering kissing me again. “When I called to set a time with him tonight, he told me you ran into each other at work today.”
“We did.”
“Nashville’s a big city, but I knew there was a chance it’d happen since you’re both in the same field.”
“It was pretty surprising,” I said pointedly, “coming face-to-face with Dr. Eckhart.”
Clay matched my tone. “And it was pretty surprising when I asked last night if he’d left, and you said yes.”
I pressed my lips together. “I’m sorry about that.”
He turned serious. “I shouldn’t have withheld information from you, and I’m done doing that. We both need to be better about communicating.”
I was about to speak when the doorbell rang out, making my heart skip. Travis was early.
“Go downstairs,” Clay said calmly. “I’ll get the door.”
I hesitated. “We said we were going to talk to you together.”
His eyes stayed fixed on me, even as he began to move toward the doorway that led to the entryway. “It’s all right. I have a plan.”
Warmth spilled through my limbs. “Of course you do.”
I went down the steps slowly, trying to hear what was happening at the front door, but it was quiet. Had Travis been as surprised as I was to see Clay was home? Or had Clay already told him? Everything had happened so fast when I’d discovered him in the kitchen, we hadn’t gotten much of a chance to talk details.
I was still kind of hazy on where things stood with the three of us. Clay had said it was okay for me to have feelings for Travis, but he’d also told me he was jealous. Plus, he’d been worried enough about losing me he’d declared an emergency to his work and rushed home.
My feelings for both men were getting more complicated by the minute.
The prototype chair had been moved to the corner and the folding table we’d used the first time we’d played together stood in its place, waiting. I walked to it and skimmed my hand across the top, letting my fingers trail over the soft, smooth material, my fingertips following the line of a seam.
I hadn’t been able to do much admiring of it last time, but like all his other work, the table was exquisite. Steam filled my body as I remembered how the scene had played out. Would his plan for tonight be similar to what we’d done last time?
The stairs creaked as two pairs of footsteps came down them, and then Clay appeared, followed by a pensive-looking Travis.
The muscles in my center tightened. It was the first time we’d been together in the same room since the night at the club, and things were so different now. Travis’s gaze swept the room, found me, and zeroed in, which made my muscles squeeze harder still.