He released a long breath. No wonder Caity had been so shocked and hurt. She’d been the one left out of things going on right under her nose, and now he was in that role. And he didn’t like it one bit.
“Anyway, the point is this. She’s ready for us, Tris. We just need to do this the right way. My way.”
“You kissed her. What else?”
?
??Man, you’re fixated, aren’t you?”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
Matt nodded and sipped more soda. “Hell yeah. Let’s just say other parts of her taste as good as her mouth.”
“Not surprised.” With effort, Tristan tried to focus on the conversation and not what parts of Caity Matt had gotten to sample. Lost cause. “You didn’t get her naked.”
“No. But if I could’ve, I would have. And I wouldn’t have felt guilty. She’s been the goal all along. We ended up being a pleasant side trip, but we weren’t planned. Doesn’t mean we can’t alter the plan a bit now, though.”
“Seriously, Matt, I’m way too freaking hungry to try to make sense of what you’re saying. Get to the point, would you?”
And leave me in peace to try to figure out why the hell Caity kissed me.
Beyond the obvious, of course. She was clearly stretching their boundaries, between what had happened with him and from what had occurred with Matt. Whatever the hell that was.
But there was more to it. The kiss this morning had almost felt like a test. He still didn’t know if he’d passed or failed.
Caity had taken off early a short while ago, but she hadn’t said a word about anything but work to either him or Matt all morning. Nor had she flirted or teased or even flipped her hair.
Hadn’t mattered. His dick was still as hard as a damn brick.
He’d had her in his arms. Her peachy scent still clung to his skin. Their kiss had taken the many fantasies he’d had of her and destroyed them. None of them could hold a candle to the reality of Caity’s lips heating under his and hearing her soft, sweet moans.
“Her birthday’s next weekend.”
“I know that.” Impatience oozed from Tristan’s voice. “Your point?”
“I want the three of us to go up to my cabin.”
“Okay,” he began, belatedly catching the intensity of the look in Matthew’s eyes. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
“Absolutely. She wants us. And we’re going to give her what she can’t admit she needs, but first we’re going to play hard to get. No more kisses. No more looks. When she comes back in here tonight, treat her like one of the guys.”
“No. I’m not doing this to her. She has no clue what she’s playing with.”
“Tristan.” Matt’s sharp command made him suck in a breath. “She’s shy, and she’s innocent, but she doesn’t want to be. Trust me on that.”
“Caity shy?” He couldn’t hold back the laughter. “Since when?”
“Since I asked her this morning to give herself to both of us, for a start.” Matthew banged his mouse hard enough to make Tristan wince. They were always fucking with the equipment.
Which had been important, oh, a few hours ago. Now he had much bigger problems.
“You asked her to what? Are you fucking crazy? She isn’t ready for—” Words failed him, and he tensed his fingers around his soda until the plastic buckled. “She’s just not.”
Matthew wheeled away from his desk and faced Tristan across the few feet that separated their workstations. “She knows about us, and she still came on to you this morning. You didn’t kiss her, did you?”
Tristan shook his head numbly, still trying to process everything. “No. I startled her, and then I saw she’d broken her mug… No. I didn’t kiss her.”
“She knows we’re lovers, and she’s turned on by it. She’s curious. And there’s no way in hell I’m losing this opportunity to go after what we need. All three of us.” Matt’s voice lowered. “You’re not going to argue with me, got it? And if you don’t, I can promise you we’ll have what we always wanted: Cait.”