A dark thrill.
Peregrine paused at the end of the hall and a woman appeared and pulled the heavy doors ajar. On the other side lay a hallway with an entrance leading to private rooms. One of the doors was ajar and I could see a faint red, flickering light on the other side.
Peregrine pushed the door open and ushered me through with Merrick at his heels. Inside was a small room with a single table in the center and plush, black leather seats encircling it. The lights were low and the chandelier overhead flickered with faint, red candlelight. There was a black bag in the middle of the table and Peregrine picked it up and pressed it into my hand.
“Go change,” he said.
I left them there, both standing with their brows lowered and their hands in their pockets. Silent and tense. In the bathroom, I washed and stripped my dress and heels. In the bag was a dark red slip and a matching lace thong. My mouth was so dry and my hands shook so badly it took me four tries to clasp the back of the slip. Then I stood, looking at myself in the mirror, wondering how I’d gotten to this moment.
I knew how I’d gotten here. I was fucking angry that my husband couldn’t love me and I wanted to do something reckless about it. And probably because deep down inside, all three of us wanted this badly enough to risk the fallout. I was only human and both my husband and his rival were two of the most beautiful men I’d ever met. The images tumbling through my brain felt unholy and I needed these men to make them reality.
My God. I clenched my fists, shaking.
What was I doing?
I swallowed the dryness in my throat and turned to leave the bathroom. When I stepped out, Peregrine and Merrick were talking quietly, but they stopped when I arrived. Merrick’s mouth parted and his eyes gleamed as he looked me over with obvious desire. Peregrine leaned forward in his seat and beckoned me to him.
They both looked hungry. Like starved wolves.
I drew near and Peregrine took my hip, looking up into my face.
“Are you sure you want this?” he asked.
“It’s only fun if you’re all in,” Merrick said lightly.
I nodded. The aching pulse deep between my thighs begged me to do this and I was going to listen. I’d lived all my life shut behind closed doors, too afraid to stand up for myself, too afraid to admit I had needs. But now I had two of the most beautiful men I’d ever met waiting to pleasure me and I wasn’t going to walk away from that now.
“I want this,” I whispered.
Peregrine’s jaw twitched. “Go to Merrick.”
I hesitated.
“He knows your safe word,” said Peregrine. “You can trust him tonight, angel.”
A flood of warmth moved through me as I broke away from Peregrine and approached Merrick. He reached out and placed his hands on my hips and pulled me gently to the space between his knees. He was tall like Peregrine and though he was sitting down, I still only stood a few inches above him. My heart thudded loudly in my ears as his fingers flexed.
“Permission to get her wet,” he breathed, not taking his eyes from me.
Peregrine sat back, crossing one leg over the other. He took out a cigarette and put it unlit between his lips. His eyes simmered and narrowed.
“Granted.”
The word fell from his mouth like a stone, hard and cold. Merrick’s fingers slid up the silk covering my stomach and his middle finger rested between my breasts. Waves of heat moved through my hips, but the only thing I could think of was my husband’s eyes on me. Watching this man touch me with molten gold bubbling in his gaze.
“Is there anywhere on her you don’t want me to touch?” Merrick said.
“Not with your hands,” Peregrine said. “Just keep your dick in your pants and we should be fine.”
“My mouth?”
“Your mouth is fine.”
Merrick’s gaze locked on me, his black lashes stark against his sapphire eyes.
“Are you comfortable with my mouth on your breasts, sweetheart?” he asked.
My breathing slowed a little. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it hadn’t been this. Merrick was clearly aroused, his throat flushed, and a hard rise in his groin. But he was holding back, waiting for me to want it. And Peregrine sat just a few feet away, ready to protect me at the slightest provocation. I nodded and Merrick gave a soft moan, tugging down the strap of my slip.