A chair scraped across the floor, drawing her attention, and the man who’d been on stage a few minutes earlier joined them.
“Well, would you look at that. They’ll let any riffraff in here these days.” Colby turned his chair backward and parked it at the end of their table, straddling it. “What’d y’all think of the show?”
“All right,” Jace said with a shrug.
“Passable,” Andre offered.
“I may be slightly traumatized,” Kade concluded.
“Fuckers.” Colby grinned and tipped back a beer. “With friends like these . . .”
Evan rolled her eyes. “I thought it was great.”
“Well, thank you, sweetheart,” Colby said, all charm and dimples.
“That’s only because she came by the third song,” Jace added.
Evan looked chagrined at that, and she gave Jace a backhanded smack on the arm. “Let’s just announce it to everyone.”
Colby’s lips curved. “It’s all right. My voice has that effect on women. And Jace needs all the help he can get.”
Jace gave Colby a one-finger salute, but there was humor in his eyes. Tessa didn’t know what to think of this strange group. They were obviously kinky and more sexually open than she’d ever seen any group of people be. But she could tell it was so much more than that. There was a comfortable affection and trust there. A vibe that spoke of deep, abiding friendship and respect. She couldn’t imagine being surrounded by a group like that.
Colby’s focus swung her way, landing on her with a full weighty examination. “And how ’bout you, darlin’? Enjoy the show or do you share your man’s shitty taste in music?”
Her man. That sounded so foreign in her ears. She cleared her throat and set her wine glass down. “It was fantastic. You sound like Josh Turner, but your songs have that old school country vibe to them. It doesn’t sound like country trying to be pop. I love that.”
His smile went broad. “Well, lookie here. Vandergriff’s got himself a woman who’s not only beautiful but vastly superior to him in intelligence and musical taste.”
Kade sniffed. “Tessa, meet my soon-to-be-former best friend, Colby Wilkes.”
Colby didn’t hold out his hand to shake hers, but gave her a nod and a smile. “Good to meet ya. And I’m glad y’all made it out tonight. I was about to go to Kade’s house and personally serenade him with my new stuff if he didn’t make it to a show soon.”
Kade laughed. “Thank God I didn’t have to go through that.”
“So,” Colby said, tapping his palms on the table. “Y’all ready to get out of here? The night’s still young. And I’ve got a fully stocked bar at the house and a heated pool.”
“Hell, yeah,” Jace said, pulling out a couple of bills from his wallet and tossing them on the table. “I’m game. How ’bout you two?”
Everyone looked to Kade and Tessa with questions in their eyes. And Tessa had the distinct feeling there was way more being left unsaid than said. Kade slipped his arm around her and gave her a pointed look that reached inside her and sent everything aquiver. “I’m not sure. Are you game, Tess?”
Her throat went dry, despite her recent sip of wine, and her stomach dropped to her toes. But she wasn’t breaking her promise to herself that she’d made with Sam. Just say yes.
She said yes.
SEVENTEEN
Colby’s house was in a pleasant, quiet neighborhood and was situated at the end of a cul-de-sac. A nice place but nothing outrageous. The kind of house you’d see as the backdrop for some family sitcom. Nothing that would indicate the people walking inside weren’t simply another group of friends getting together for a couple of drinks and some conversation on a Friday night. It was a scene that had played out regularly in her old life. Neighbors drinking poolside, sharing gossip, and trading stories.
But when this group settled poolside with margaritas, Tessa knew that it was going to be far from a normal get together. For one thing, Colby was checking the temperature of the pool. And she knew she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t brought a bathing suit. Kade stretched out behind her on the lounge chair and wrapped his arms around her. “How’s the drink?”
“Weak,” she said, her voice coming out softer than expected. “But tasty.”
“Yeah, that’s on purpose. You’ve already had two glasses of wine. Any decisions you make with me tonight need to be made sober.”
Across the pool from them, Evan, Jace, and Andre had pulled together a few loungers, making a space large enough for the three of them. Jace was playfully kissing Evan on her neck and Andre was peeling his shirt off. Colby had walked to a panel on the wall of the house and was turning on music. Tessa swallowed past the knot of nerves that was building in her throat. “Decisions?”
Kade pressed a kiss behind her ear, sending goose bumps down her side. “Yes. Lots to choose from the fantasy list tonight.”
She gripped her drink tightly, the sweat of the glass dripping onto her lap, as she watched Jace reach out and flick one of Andre’s nipple rings. Colby walked by them, giving them a glance as he made his way to the edge of the pool. “I’m guessing being a voyeur is one of the options.”
“Yes,” Kade said, his touch growing bolder as he coasted fingers along her thighs. “And that’s fine if that’s all you choose to do tonight. Watching can be unbelievably hot.”
“And being the exhibitionists is the other choice of the two?” she asked, leaning back into him, her body heating beneath his fingers and illicit words.
“Absolutely,” he agreed. “Great option as well. But there are more than two choices, Tess.”
Her gaze shifted from the triad across the way and landed on Colby, who’d taken off his shirt to reveal a body that would’ve been at home on Mt. Olympus. Jesus. “More than two?”
Her eyes were glued to Colby as he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down along with his underwear without hesitation or reservation. What he revealed had her face going hot and her tongue pressing to the roof of her mouth. Part of her felt wrong for staring. She was with Kade and in complete lust with him and his gorgeous swimmer’s body. But hell if she could look away from the beast of a man slipping naked into the pool. There were some things that required you to stare.
Kade snorted behind her.
“What?” she asked.
“I asked you something and you didn’t hear a word. You’re giving me new reasons to hate my best friend. You love his music and can’t take your eyes off of him getting undressed. A guy could develop a jealous streak.”
She set her drink down and turned in his arms with a grimace. Jealousy. It’d been a running theme in her marriage to Doug. Any time she glanced at a guy, whether with appreciation or not, Doug would get annoyed and call her out. “God, I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have looked, I—”
His smile was slow and knowing. “You really didn’t hear what I said before that, did you?”
She bit her lip. “No, what did you say?”
He slid his hand around the back of her neck, pinning her with his gaze. “I said you have the option of watching a threesome tonight or having one.”
Every muscle in her body froze. “What?”
His fingers drew circles along the nape of her neck. “It’s up to you, Tess. If you want to just stick a toe in the water tonight, we can relax here, watch Jace, Evan, and Andre. Enjoy the view. Or you and I can give a little show of our own. Or if you want to really push your boundaries, that man you were just ogling can join us. Your call.”
She tried to wet her lips but her tongue wouldn’t work. Kade and Colby? “You want to share me? With your best friend? I thought you said you were getting jealous . . .”
The whole idea had her body stirring and her mind scrambling.
“He’s too cocky to get jealous,” said a deep voice from beh
ind her. She turned around to see Colby peering at them, his forearms braced along the edge of the pool, body concealed by the water, and his hazel eyes sparkling with mischief. “Plus, he wouldn’t make the offer unless he trusted that you’re solidly with him.”
Tessa’s heartbeat was pounding too loudly in her ears and she was starting to sweat—and not in a cute way. She looked back to Kade, who was watching her with evaluating eyes. He pushed her hair away from her face. “This is an absolutely no-pressure decision, baby. I want to give you your fantasies, whatever you’re ready for.” He looked over her shoulder and raised his voice. “And if Colby’s too disgusting to contemplate touching, I completely understand.”
“Hey!” Colby said, splashing water their way.
She laughed and pressed her forehead to Kade’s shoulder, the joke loosening that fist of tension a bit. “I don’t know, Kade. A threesome seems so . . .”
“Hot? Sexy? Dirty?” he offered, a smile in his voice.
“Slutty,” she said honestly. Isn’t that what had first crossed her mind when Sam had told her she’d been in one?
He ran a hand over the back of her head. “I have a feeling you’re not using that word in the positive way. Do you think Evan is a slut?”
She lifted her head. “Of course not.”
And she meant that. She’d watched the triad interact with each other. There was so much affection and genuine love there. And those guys looked at Evan like she was the most precious thing ever put on the earth. They were sexy together. Not trashy. Not wrong. They were three people embracing their sexuality and relishing it.
“Then why would you assign that label to yourself if you decide to indulge a little tonight?” There was no judgment in his voice, just genuine concern and curiosity.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a little scared,” she admitted. “Scared that no matter how much the idea excites me right now or how much I enjoy it, I’ll look back at this tomorrow and realize I’ve lost my mind. I’m also scared that if I keep pushing past fences, I’m never going to find my way back into my own yard. You make me want things I shouldn’t.”
His eyes went soft. “Why shouldn’t you, baby?”
“Because when it goes away,”—when you go away, her mind filled in—“everything normal is going to seem mundane.”
He cupped her cheek in his palm. “It doesn’t have to go away. The people around you right now prove that. If you like kinky, it’s out there for those who seek it. Your reactions to this aren’t responses I’m creating in you, they’re things I’m uncovering. Vanilla sex works for most of the world. It doesn’t for me. And maybe it doesn’t for you either. And I don’t think you need to worry about mundane. I don’t plan on finishing your lessons anytime soon.”
She smirked, his little speech quelling the rising anxiety in her. He made it all seem so easy, feel so very okay, like she deserved to have whatever made her feel good without shame or guilt or worry. Like he would think no differently of her no matter what her decision was. “You know, if your CEO gig doesn’t work, you may have potential in the pied piper business.”
He laughed. “Maybe, but really, tonight is your call. I just want you. I don’t care how we go about that. We could go back to your place and forget all these options altogether. This is about what you want.”
She moved her hands up his chest, feeling his heart steadily beating beneath her fingers, and sighed. This man was undoing her—lace by lace, button by button, soon there’d be nothing left to protect her from him or from the secret parts of herself she’d locked away in her own brain. She took a long, full breath and let her chest fall, breathing out the anxiety. “I think I’m ready to be a little scared.”
“Yeah?” he said, his brows lifting.
She glanced back at Colby before looking to Kade again, her resolve building block by block within her. “Yeah.”
“Brave girl.” He gave her that smile that could’ve melted her panties right off her body and ran his hands along her arms. “I promise you’re safe with the two of us. I wouldn’t let just anyone touch you. I’d trust Colby with my life. And you always can say the word if you want anything to stop. We’re going to make this good for you, Tess.”
She nodded, a little too breathless to speak. She was going to do this. She was really going to do this. Two men. Doug would’ve burned her at the stake in a public square if she’d ever suggested a threesome.
Kade gave her one last long look, as if to make sure she was one hundred percent sure, and then he untied the belt holding her wrap dress in place. The two sides fell open, revealing the obscene bra—not that it really had any business being called a bra. All it did was lift and frame her naked breasts for display. Kade’s eyes went molten blue when he took in the view.
“Fuck, it’s even better than I expected,” he said, cupping one of her breasts and running a thumb over her already sensitized nipple. “Lose the dress. But keep the lingerie on.”
She scraped her teeth along her bottom lip, the command giving her something to focus on besides her nerves. She tucked her knees under her and slipped the dress off her shoulders, leaving her in the bra and crotchless panties. Kade turned her around so she was facing away from him.
A soft moaning sound came from in front of her, and she peered across the pool. Jace and Andre had divested Evan of her dress as well. She was on the lounger between them, the silver chain that hung between her breasts glinted in the light from the pool. And Andre was shirtless and on his knees, his back to Tessa and his dark head between Evan’s thighs. Jace was lying alongside her, kissing her all over, worshipping every inch of bared skin like she was some goddess to pay homage to.
Tessa’s body went tight all over, the erotic tableau almost too much to take in all at once. She’d never been particularly interested in watching porn. And most people from the outside looking in would probably label what was in front of her as such, but there was something unbearably gorgeous and right about the three of them together. You could feel the reverence among them. They were in love and unashamed and completely entranced with each other. The scene was dirty, but it was beautiful. And for the first time, Tessa realized those things didn’t need to be mutually exclusive.
Kade kissed her shoulder. “Let’s get in the pool, gorgeous. Your turn to make those pretty noises.”
She let him take her hand and guide her to her feet. Colby peered up at them from the edge of the pool, his hazel eyes tracing over her body with open interest. She should’ve felt self-conscious or awkward considering her outfit and the circumstances, but somehow Kade’s warm hand on her back and Colby’s inherent relaxed state sent a sense of calm going through her. She was, of course, nervous about what would happen since she’d never done this before. It was like climbing up the roller coaster tracks, feeling unsure of what the rush down would feel like. But she was no longer freaked out by the idea of it all. This didn’t have to be some big, life-changing incident. This was just her and two drop-dead gorgeous men having a fun night together.
Kade guided her down the pool steps until she was submerged to her waist, and then he passed her off to Colby so that he could slip out of his clothes. Colby’s big hand closed around hers and he tugged her further into the pool. The warm water lapped at her exposed skin, making her body ache with awareness.
“Hey there, darlin’,” he said, his voice as gentle as if he were talking to a skittish deer. “You sure about this?”
She appreciated the question and that he kept a bit of distance between them even though she was intensely aware that he was naked beneath the water. She gave a little nod. “Yes. Are you?”
He chuckled and slicked back his wavy, dark hair. “That saying about there are no stupid questions is a lie. If my best friend wants to share his beautiful submissive with me, I am more than happy to oblige you both.”
She frowned. “Submi
ssive?”
The conversation with Sam came back to her. Dominance. Submission. Sam and her training.
The water moved behind her as Kade slid into the water and wrapped his arms around her waist. His naked body pressed along her back, making her insides melt. “Just a term, Tess. The person in charge is the dominant, the one following the commands is the submissive.”
She turned in his arms, the water rippling around her. “So you’re a dominant?”
Something flickered in his blue eyes. Worry? Concern? “I am. So is Colby. Does that bother you?”
She rubbed her lips together, tasting chlorine and margarita salt, and considered the question. “No, I don’t think so. I’m just not a hundred percent sure what that means for me.”
He pushed her hair away from her face with wet fingers. “All it means for you right now is that we’re going to take the lead. There’s no pressure for you to decide what to do next. Just enjoy. And if something isn’t working for you, you let us know.”
She swallowed hard. Part of her thought she should take issue with this submissive role. Wasn’t that what Doug had always tried to make her be—the polite, obedient wife who was there as an accessory to the man of the house? But she had a feeling that’s not what submissive meant for Kade. Plus, she’d asked him from the beginning to take charge in bed, so she couldn’t exactly blame him for continuing to do that. God knows, she didn’t want the responsibility of making the moves tonight.
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”
“Close your eyes, baby,” he said, sliding a hand into her hair. “Let yourself go and savor this.”
She let her lids fall shut and his lips touched hers—warm and unhurried, a kiss that bloomed slowly and sent a sensual elixir through her blood. Her hands curled around his hips as his tongue stroked hers, and her muscles softened one by one, her nerves melting into the warm water surrounding them.
But when calloused palms closed over her breasts from behind and a hot mouth sucked water droplets from her shoulder, she gasped into Kade’s kiss. Kade didn’t release her though. He kept his fingers wrapped in her hair, holding her in place, as Colby cupped her breasts and drew her nipples between his fingers. The sensation shot straight downward and she involuntarily rocked her hips against Kade. His erection brushed against the wet lace of her panties, making her clench with need, but he seemed in no rush to stop the slow and tortuous approach.