"Unique. Smart. Fun. Sexy. Beautiful."
Ben smiled. "All those things and more. She's warm. Generous. Everything I've ever wanted. Maybe everything I never even knew I wanted."
Alex nodded. "Exactly."
"And the worst part is, we have no idea how Victoria feels. She might see us as just a vacation fling."
Alex sighed. "Yeah, that's a possibility. But the only way to find out is to tell her how we feel."
"Scary thought." Ben stood and walked to the doors leading out to the terrace. He stared out over the water, then turned to face Alex. "I'm going to be honest with you, Alex. I've never been more scared of anything in my life. I've faced monster waves, the end of my career, and nothing was more daunting than that. But laying my heart at a woman's feet and asking her to love me back--that is something that scares the shit out of me."
Alex stood, too, and walked over to Ben. "I've never told a woman I loved her before. Hell, I've never had these feelings before. She could shoot us both down, you know."
Ben took a long swallow of beer, staring at the can before lifting his gaze to Alex. "There would be a lot of good reasons for her thinking we were both crazy. I mean, we both travel nearly all year long. And she has a career where she travels as well. This could never work."
Alex went back to the sofa and sat. "It's a pretty fucked-up situation. But you know what? We don't even know yet how she feels. Maybe she feels the same."
Ben raked his fingers through his hair. "God, I really hope she does the feel the same."
"So maybe we should talk to her about it first, and figure it out from there?"
"Yeah. You're right about that. Let's give it a few more days. She wants to spend Christmas with us. We'll do Christmas, then talk."
Alex nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
"And whatever happens when we tell her," Ben said, "we'll deal with it. Either way, we know how we feel. And we'll accept whatever her decision is."
"Agreed."
At least Ben knew he and Alex were on the same wavelength as far as their feelings for Victoria.
The bigger question was--how did Victoria feel? And how would she react when they told her how they felt about her?
Chapter Thirteen
After the competition ended, everyone packed up and left.
Everyone except Victoria, Ben and Alex.
She was glad they had decided to stay through the holidays. To her, the holidays always meant vacation. Though she normally didn't mind spending Christmas alone, this year she would have felt something was missing.
Which got her to thinking about Ben and Alex again.
Soon they'd be off to their next surfing competition, and she'd head back to New York.
And they'd never see each other again.
The thought of it made her rub her stomach. She'd been doing that a lot lately, and she knew why.
She was in love with them. With two men. It was the most ridiculous thing ever.
Or was it? And how was she ever going to tell them? Would they laugh at her and tell her it had been fun sex, but that was all? And would they run like hell to get away from the crazy woman who thought she'd fallen in love with her hot island flings?
She might be insane for even thinking she was in love. What the hell did she know about love, anyway? Sure, she'd had friends who had fallen in love. But it had never happened for her and she'd been more than satisfied with how her life had turned out. She had a great career that made her happy.
She didn't need all this . . . turmoil.
But she'd never run from anything in her life, and she didn't intend to start now.
She planned to tell them today. And if they laughed at her, or abruptly left her, then she'd deal with it.
It wouldn't be the first Christmas she'd spent alone.
She'd gotten small gifts for Ben and Alex and they were going to a holiday luau today to celebrate Christmas.
She'd stayed with them last night in their suite. Actually, she hadn't spent a night alone since the first night they'd all slept together. Normally she liked sleeping alone, sprawled out on her big bed, but she was growing accustomed to sleeping with one of them on either side of her. She'd occasionally wake up in the middle of the night, knowing she could reach out and touch both of them.
And if one--or both of them--woke her to make love . . .
Well, a woman couldn't complain about being wanted like that, could she?
This morning she told them she had a few things to do before the luau, so she'd headed back to her suite to shower and get ready. She'd put on her makeup, chosen a red sundress--appropriate for Christmas--and was slipping on her sandals just as they knocked on the door.
When she opened the door, her breath caught.
Sure, they wore shorts and button-down short-sleeved shirts, but they still took her breath away. Alex wore a white shirt and Ben wore black.
"Aloha and Merry Christmas." She kissed them both and invited them inside.
"Merry Christmas," Ben said. "You look beautiful."
"Gorgeous as always, Tori," Alex said. "We'll be proud to have you by our side today."
"Thank you. Both of you." She was going to miss being with them.
Blinking back the stupid tears that for some reason decided to well in her eyes, she smiled at them. "I have gifts for you."
Ben arched a brow. "Gifts, huh?"
"Yes. Hang on a second."
She went into her bedroom and brought out the gift bags. "They're silly little things, really. Nothing much."
They sat on the sofa with their bags. Inside each of the bags was a New York T-shirt, something one would get in the tourist section of her city.
Thank God for her assistant and express shipping.
They both laughed.
"Hey, you have to have something to remind you of me."
"Thanks," Ben said. "This is perfect."
"I love it," Alex said.
Then they both pulled out watches. Separate and distinct, Alex's had a leather band and Ben's was chrome.
"They're world-time watches, so you can set them for whatever time zone you're in, and also for New York. So you'll always know my time. A small way to remember me."
Alex came over and kneeled in front of her, pressing a kiss to both her knees. "It's perfect. Like you. Thank you."
Ben had already put his on. He came over and brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her. "I love this. I . . . thank you."
"You're welcome. If it hasn't become apparent, I'm having a difficult time thinking about leaving both of you."
Ben looked over at Alex, who nodded. "Alex and I are having the same problem. Actually, there's something we both want to say to you. We wanted to wait until after Christmas, but maybe now is the right time."
"Okay." Her heart started pumping fast. She had no idea what was coming, but she took a deep breath.
Alex got up and sat next to her. He picked up her hand. "I've never met anyone like you, Tori. You're the first person I want to see when I wake up in the morning."
"And I want you in my bed every night," Ben said. "You're smart, beautiful, and I love making love to you. More importantly, you make me feel things I haven't felt in a very long time. I'm in love with you, Victoria."
Alex squeezed her hand. "I'm in love with you, too. When I get out of the water, you're the face I look for in the crowd. You're the one I want cheering me on."
She couldn't breathe. She hadn't expected this. "You both love me?"
Alex smiled at her. "Yes. We do."
"Are you sure?" she asked. She needed them to be sure.
"Of course we're sure," Alex said. "I'm sure. I don't take this lightly, babe. Love is a big goddamn deal."
"I was in love once," Ben said. "A long time ago. It kicked my ass, so trust me, I know what it feels like. It's painful as hell and the best damn thing in the world, both at the same time."
Ben had nailed it. That's exactly what it felt like.
Her hear
t was racing so fast she felt dizzy. "I'm in love with both of you. At first I thought it was ridiculous. I mean, how could I love two men? How could I love both of you? It happened so fast and I've been overanalyzing it to death over the past few days. But it's there and it won't go away and I don't want it to. So here's the fact. I love you both and there's no explaining it. I don't want to analyze it."
She turned to Alex. "I love you, Alex."
"I love you, Tori." He kissed her, and she felt passion and love in his kiss.
Then she turned to Ben. "I love you, Ben."
Ben cupped her face. "I love you, too, Victoria."
He brushed his lips across hers, and her heart ached with the tenderness of his kiss.
This time, she didn't try to hold back the tears that welled in her eyes. She let them fall down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry. I'm not normally the emotional type."
"Be as emotional as you need to be," Ben said. "This kind of thing doesn't happen to us every day, either."
She leaned back on the sofa and squeezed their hands. "The question is, now that we're all in love, what the hell do we do about it? You two travel all the time. So do I. And we'll never see each other."
"We'll make it work, Tori," Alex said. "We get time off. We're not constantly at surf events. And when we're not, no matter where you are, we'll come find you so we can all be together. Or if Ben's busy and I'm available, I'll see you. And if I'm not available but Ben is, he can see you."
"Like Alex said, we'll figure it out. If we want something badly enough, we'll move mountains--or oceans--to make it work. And we want this. We all want this."
She heaved a sigh. "Oh, God. Could we really? Would you really do that for me?"
Alex picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. "Hell yes we would."
Now that the emotions had settled, it was time to think logically. It couldn't be just them moving mountains and oceans to get to her. "I've worked my ass off all these years to build my agency, to gain this measure of success. It's time to start enjoying the fruits of my labor. I've thought about hiring another agent or two to help me handle the workload. Which would mean I could take a step back, let them handle the day-to-day and I could see the two of you more often."
"I know we'd both love that, but it can't just be on you to come to us," Alex said. "I've been doing some thinking as well. I'm thirty-five and I can't ride those monster tubes like the young guys forever. I'd like to go out while I'm on top. I haven't even discussed this with Ben yet, but after this year's competition I want to start transitioning more into managing and promotion and less into active surfing."
Victoria looked to Ben, who nodded. "You know I'd love to have you partner with me in that aspect of the business. But you have to be ready to walk away from the waves."
Alex nodded. "I know. And I'll be sure before I do it."
Ben picked up Victoria's hand. "We'll make it work. We have to, because we love each other."
"Speaking of that," Alex said. "We got a gift for you."
Victoria cocked her head to the side. "You did?"
"We did." Ben pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her.
She cradled the velvet box in her hand, then carefully opened it. Inside, was a delicate silver chain necklace with three diamonds. Inscribed in the middle was the word: Ours.
Victoria took the necklace out of the box and dangled it in front of her. "Oh. This is beautiful."
"It means we're all one, and you are part of both of us," Alex said.
The tears fell again. "I love this. Thank you both."
She kissed them both, then pulled her hair to the side so Ben could put the necklace on her while she looked at Alex beaming a smile at her.
She stood, then held her hand out for both of them. "I need you to make love to me right now."
They went into the bedroom and undressed. Victoria lay on the bed and Ben put his mouth on her sex while Alex slid his fingers into her.
"Yes," she said, lifting her hips, watching as they pleasured her. "Make me come like that."
They worked in tandem, switching off so it was Alex sucking her and Ben pumping his fingers into her. They both drove her crazy, and when she orgasmed, she cried out, knowing this was what she wanted to spend the rest of her life experiencing.
They both put on condoms, taking turns sliding their cocks inside of her. Their patience and the way they watched when the other was thrusting into her was such an incredible turn on. And the sensation of feeling two different cocks inside of her pussy was amazing. Alex would fuck her for a few minutes, then withdraw and move away so Ben could take his place.
She came--then came again--and again.
And they both came inside of her, Ben watching her and stroking her breasts while Alex came, then taking his place and taking her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss, groaning against her mouth when he came.
After, all three of them lay sprawled on the bed.
"We still have time to make the holiday luau," Alex said.
Victoria smiled, turned over onto her belly to face her two men. "Or, we could order room service and have holiday sex the rest of the day."
Ben grinned over at Alex. "There's a reason we love this woman."
"Because she's so smart and has such phenomenal ideas."
It was the best Christmas she'd ever had. Spent with the two men she loved.
Keep reading for a special preview of the next Play-by-Play novel from New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton
UNEXPECTED RUSH
Available soon from Berkley
"Men suck."
Harmony Evans tossed her purse on the kitchen table of her mother's house and sat next to her best friend, Alyssa. It was Thursday night--family dinner night at Mama's house. Everyone was coming over, as it always was at Mama's. Right now she'd prefer to be sitting in the corner of a dark bar, nursing a dirty martini. She was going to have to settle for sweet tea because, short of death, you did not miss Thursday night dinner at Mama's.
She'd already come in and kissed her mama, who was holding court in the living room with Harmony's brother Drake and some of his friends, giving her time to catch up with Alyssa.
Alyssa laid her hand over Harmony's and cast a look of concern. "And why do you hate men? Is it Levon?"
Harmony wrinkled her nose, preferring to never hear the name of her now ex-boyfriend again. "Yes."
"Did you two break up?"
"I did not break up with him. He gave me the classic 'It's not you, it's me' speech. He's doing so much international travel with the law firm, and he just can't devote enough time to the relationship, so it wouldn't be fair to me to lead me on when he knows he can't commit. He went on with more excuses but it was all blah blah blah after that." She waved her hand back and forth.
Alyssa's gaze narrowed. "What a prick. Why is it so damn hard to find a man of value, one who will respect a woman and give her honesty?"
"I have no idea." Harmony pulled one of the empty glasses forward and poured from the pitcher that sat in the middle of the table, already filled with tea and ice and loaded with so much sugar she'd likely be awake all night. At this point, she didn't care. She'd work it off in a gym session tomorrow. "All I know is I'm glad to be rid of him. It was bad enough his bathroom counter had more products on it than mine did."
Alyssa laughed. "There you go. What does a man need on his counter besides a toothbrush, soap, deodorant, and a razor?"
"According to Levon, there was stuff for his beard, trimming devices, facial scrub, moisturizer--separate ones for his face and his body. An entire manicure set for his nails, for use when he wasn't off getting mani-pedis, of course."
"Of course," Alyssa said, then giggled.
"Oh, and the scents. Let's not forget his entire rack of colognes."
Alyssa nodded. "The man did reek, honey."
"I think he owned more perfume than I do."
"Never a good sign. See? You dodged a bullet."
"I
did."
Alyssa lifted her glass. "Let's toast to that."
They clinked glasses. "To men we're lucky to have not ended up with," Harmony said.
"What are we toasting to?"
Harmony looked up to find Barrett Cassidy standing at the kitchen table. He was her brother Drake's best friend and teammate, and since the guys both played for the Tampa Hawks football team and Barrett also lived in Tampa, Thursday nights meant Drake would drag his friends over to the house for dinner.
One of the nicest things about living in Tampa, as a matter of fact. She'd often thought it had been fortuitous that her brother had been drafted by the hometown team. It had kept him close to home all these years, and of course, one couldn't beat the awesome eye candy her brother brought home now and then.
Especially Barrett. Most especially Barrett.
"We're toasting the end of Harmony's relationship with a man who was absolutely not right for her," Alyssa said.
Barrett arched a brow, then gave Harmony a sympathetic look. "Really. Sorry about that."
Harmony shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about. Alyssa's right. He wasn't the man for me."
"Then I guess I'm . . . happy for you?"
She laughed, and she could tell this was uncomfortable for him. "Come on. Sit down and have a glass of iced tea with us."
"I'm not sure I want to wade into these waters. Breakups are not my territory."
"Oh, come on, Barrett. Surely you've dumped a woman before," Harmony said, pouring him a glass. "Or you've been dumped."
He pulled out a chair and sat. She'd never realized before how utterly . . . big he was. He'd always kept his distance from her, preferring to hang with Drake, so this was the closest she'd ever been to him. Both he and Drake played defense for the Hawks. Barrett was absolutely pure muscle. Just watching the way his muscles flexed as he moved was like watching liquid art. She could stare at his arms for hours, but she tried not to ogle. Not too much, anyway.
"I've been dumped before, sure," Barrett said. "And maybe I've broken up with a woman or two."
Alyssa leaned close to Harmony. "He's downplaying being the one who dumped the woman."
"I heard that, Alyssa."
"I meant for you to hear me, Barrett. You're just trying to be the good guy right now because we're roasting the not-so-good guys."
Barrett narrowed his gaze. "See, I told you I shouldn't be sitting here. If you're gonna want to bad-mouth my species--which you have a right to, since some asshole broke up with you, Harmony--then I should leave. Also, I'd suggest something stronger than iced tea. It helps."