Her teeth tugged at her bottom lip, but after a second’s hesitation, she moved around the island and slipped between his and Jace’s chairs. Jace swiveled on his stool, bracketing Evan from behind with his spread knees, but not touching her. Evan’s eyes widened a bit, the awareness that she was caged between two men obviously not lost on her. Good.
Andre tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, then cupped her jaw. “Any more doubts? If so, you need to tell me now.”
She shook her head, her cheeks coloring. But there was humor in her expression. “No, I’m officially a hussy who wants two men.”
Jace chuckled behind her. “Doesn’t make you a hussy, pet. Just makes you awesome.”
“Makes you perfect, actually.” Andre ran a thumb along her moistened bottom lip, and her entire body shuddered, causing her pert nipples to strain against the thin material of the dress shirt. Man, he loved that—loved that a simple look or brush of skin could rouse her. He hoped to get the chance to explore that gift to its fullest. Bring her to the edge with the slightest of touches, warm breaths, and sensual suggestion. Have her half out of her mind with desire before he even allowed himself the pleasure of being inside her.
Imagining all the possibilities had his dick throbbing, and he closed his eyes briefly to reel himself in. He prided himself on his patience, but the repeated erotic overload with no release was taking its toll. If he didn’t stop weaving fantasies about all the ways he wanted to be with Evan he was going to shoot off like an excited teenager before he even got her naked.
When he opened his eyes again, Evan was watching him, a shy smile teasing at her lips. “I’d love to know what you’re thinking, sir.”
“How ’bout I show you instead.” He leaned forward, unable to resist sampling her mouth for another second. She let out a little sigh as her lips parted, accepting his kiss and then matching his pace when he dialed up the intensity. The earlier kiss had been a test of his restraint, but now he had no more reason to hold back. Right now he was going to indulge in what he’d wanted since the moment he laid eyes on her in that hotel lobby.
He moved his lips to her neck and blazed a trail of open-mouth kisses down her throat and sternum, savoring her flavor. Mmm. Like salted caramel—sweet femininity mixed with earthy arousal. He nuzzled her breast, eliciting a shiver from her, then claimed her nipple through the thin shirt, sucking and teasing until the cotton turned translucent. She let out a soft moan and arched backward, leaning into Jace’s arms for support.
Andre glanced upward to catch Jace staring down at the scene, green eyes swirling with hunger. Andre’s own desire jumped up a notch as he met his friend’s gaze. These were the moments that kept Andre going. The times when the barriers of friendship and sexuality fell away and he got to indulge in both a beautiful woman and his best friend without worry. Nothing else ever gave him the same feeling of freedom. And he couldn’t deny that having Evan between them added a sense of rightness that he hadn’t felt before.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Jace asked.
“So beautiful.” Andre brought his full focus back to Evan’s sweet, yielding flesh and tugged at the open collar of her shirt. “I barely slept last night thinking about how good you felt against me. Don’t make me wait another second to see you naked.”
Her hands lifted to her top button, but Jace grasped her wrists and pulled them back. “Allow me, pet. It’d be my pleasure to undress you . . . for Andre.”
Andre could tell those last two words were difficult for Jace to add. Damn. Never before had he seen the guy struggle so much with sharing. Jace thrived on ménage—it was part of who he was, his sexual makeup.
Guilt niggled at Andre. Maybe forcing Jace to play second with Evan was a bit cruel, but there was no going back now. It was for everyone’s own good. He couldn’t stand by and watch Jace fall for the wrong girl again. He hadn’t stepped in when he’d suspected Diana was more manipulator than submissive to Jace. He’d thought his own mixed-up feelings for his friend had clouded his judgment. But then Diana had crushed Jace in a way that Andre had feared could never be repaired.
He wouldn’t stand by again—even if Evan’s effect on Jace was unintentional—and watch Jace get hurt. Andre would do whatever it took to protect Jace from himself.
“Are you okay with me undressing her?” Jace asked, his voice tight.
Evan looked at Andre, her pupils dilated and her face flushed with heat.
He nodded. “Yes, please do.”
Jace lowered Evan’s arms to her sides and then reached around her to start unbuttoning the shirt from behind. He worked from the top down, each unfastened button revealing another tempting expanse of smooth ivory skin. And even though Andre had seen her naked the night before, he found himself holding his breath as he waited to see all of her again, knowing that this time he wasn’t restricted to keeping his hands to himself.r: Roni Loren
“Uh-oh. Why don’t we just forget I said anything?”
“Not a chance.”
Silence fell between the three of them while she finished cooking, and Jace worried that Andre had pushed Evan back into her shell with that ridiculous question. But when she divvied out portions onto plates and turned around, her easy smile had returned. She set a plate down in front of each of them and rolled her eyes as she took in their expressions. “Relax, guys. I’m not going to run out the door because you asked me a question. I’d just rather not discuss my relationship while I’m here.”
That made two of them. Jace would rather forget Dr. Dan existed at all, at least for the weekend. “We promise not to tread there again, Ev.”
“It’s fine. Now eat before it gets cold.” She pointed at their plates, and they both obliged her. She joined in, taking a few bites from her own plate as she studied the two of them. Her gaze turned serious. “Listen, I know this is an odd situation, and I’m still figuring things out as I go along here. But I want you both to know that when I’m with you, I’m fully with you. I’m not thinking of anyone else or anything outside of here. Okay?”
Her declaration had Jace wanting to be with her again right at that moment, but he forked a bite of scrambled egg instead. If he jumped her every time he had the urge too, they’d never make it through a meal. “Same here, babe. You’re our sole focus this weekend.”
“Our obsession, really,” Andre added, his expression comically solemn. “I doubt either of us could even conjure up the image of another woman if we tried.”
She laughed and pointed the piece of bacon she’d lifted off her plate at him. “You’re only obsessed because you’re the one who hasn’t gotten laid in the last twelve hours.”
Andre looked her up and down with unabashed appreciation. “Don’t sell yourself short, mamacita. Me wanting you has nothing to do with a few hours of deprivation. If it were only about a stiff dick, I could’ve gone back to the main house last night.”
Her nipples became noticeable points beneath her shirt—Andre’s words as good as a pinch—and Jace’s mouth went dry. Andre leaned forward on his elbows and peered into her mug. “Well, would you look at that? Seems you’re all done with that coffee.”