ELEVEN

Evan took a deep breath—as if that would do a damn bit of good—and nodded at Andre. “Sure. Come on in.”

He flashed an easy smile and grabbed the tray of sandwiches off the lounge chair and set it on the side of the hot tub. “Start eating, bella. I have a feeling Jace has big plans for you, and he won’t put up with you skipping meals. Don’t want you passing out.”

Something about the way he said bella—bey-yah—made her all fluttery inside. Like her female genes were wired to be a sucker for the way that spice-laced accent rolled off his tongue. Made her want to find out if those lips tasted as good as his words.

She reached over and grabbed one of the sandwiches to give her shaky hands something to do. Her normally voracious appetite had been non-existent all day, but after round one with Jace, she was already feeling a little weak. Sustenance wasn’t optional. She bit into the sandwich right as Andre peeled off his T-shirt.

Bad idea. She nearly choked on the first bite.

Hot damn, he was beautiful—hard, well-honed muscles, naturally tan skin, and a faint trail of black hair tracking from his navel down. Her gaze traveled up his torso and paused at silver glinting in the moonlight. Nipple rings. She’d almost forgotten that sexy little detail from the night in South Padre. There was something so darkly enticing about that kind of piercing on a man. A blatant, unapologetic pronouncement of sexuality.

She bit her lip, wondering what it would be like to run her tongue over one of the rings, to tug it with her teeth. She shoved another bite of sandwich into her mouth before she did something stupid. Like give Andre permission to do whatever the hell he wanted to her.

He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts and then glanced down at her. She must’ve looked like a deer in headlights; she certainly felt like one. He chuckled. “Sorry. Habit. I’ll keep these on.”

She didn’t know if she was relieved by his decision or damn disappointed. God, what the hell was wrong with her? She already had an equally potent man to herself for the weekend. How could she even be tempted to want more than that? She barely knew if she could handle Jace without melting into a puddle of uselessness.

Andre straddled the side of the tub and then slid into the water, taking a seat on the opposite side from her. “Ahh, that’s nice.”

Hell yes, it was. She was suddenly very happy for the water concealing her body because she was certain her nipples had hardened as soon as he’d gotten near. Ugh. This had to be a side effect of long-term abstinence.

He stretched his arms out along the edge of the hot tub and sank lower, letting his head rest against the side, but keeping his eyes on her. “Relax, Evan. Jace wasn’t kidding. I’m not going to make a move on you.”

Unless she asked. He didn’t say it, but the rest of the sentence hung in the steam-filled air between them. She set her sandwich down. “So, I’m not sure I get this whole thing.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Define this whole thing.”

She sighed, so many questions springing to her lips she didn’t even know where to start. “Obviously I’m new to the whole BDSM scene, but I assumed that possessiveness went together with dominance. I guess I’m confused about Jace being cool if I touched another guy when he took me on as his slave, sub, whatever, for the weekend. He certainly didn’t seem to want Colby around me.”

His lips curved. “Jace would most definitely not be cool with you pursuing some other guy. And God help the man who tried to flirt with you while you’re here with Jace this weekend. Fists would fly.”

Her brows knitted. “Then why—?”

Andre frowned as if trying to formulate an explanation she could understand. “Jace and I are roommates and long-time friends. He trusts me. We share a lot.”

Awareness smacked her over the head like a two-by-four. Duh. Why hadn’t that possibility hit her before? “You share women.”

He nodded. “We do.”

Oh, sweet Jesus. Thoughts of the two of them naked, both taking what they wanted from her, assailed her. Her internal thermometer jumped back into the red zone. But at the same time, the idea scared the shit out of her. Jace was already an overwhelming prospect, his dominance promising to send her to a place she hadn’t been before. She wasn’t entirely convinced she could handle him alone, much less add Andre to the mix. It would be sensory overload.

Although . . .

She snuck another glance at Andre. If she really did want to keep this purely physical with no risk of her emotions getting involved, maybe sensory overload was exactly what she needed. The third person could create sort of a buffer, ensuring no quiet one-on-one intimate moments with Jace. Just carnal indulgence. Her mind whirled with possibilities.

All she managed to say was “I see.”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry. There’s no pressure here. We know you didn’t list ménage as something you were open to right now. I think the only reason Jace allowed me out here to watch is he suspects you have an exhibitionist streak.”

If her cheeks weren’t already flushed from the warm water, she would’ve turned bright red. She put her hands over her face. “I still can’t even believe I did that.”

“Hey,” he said, bumping his foot against hers under the water and making her look up at him. “Don’t be ashamed. You were beautiful, and it was sexy as hell. I feel privileged that you let me stay and watch.”

She gave him a small smile, embarrassment still flaring bright within her. “So is that why you like ménage? Because you get to watch as well as participate?”

He moved forward, coming within inches of her as he reached past her for one of the sodas on the sandwich tray. Wisps of his cologne wafted past her—a soft musk with notes of ginger. Her breath caught with the knowledge that she wanted to reach out and touch him, to lick off the beads of water that tracked down his well-built chest, but she kept her hands—and tongue—to herself. He slid back to his spot and took a swig of the drink.

“Yes, I won’t lie. Seeing another guy pleasuring a woman, bringing her to the edge, definitely does it for me. As does having someone watch me do the same thing. But ménage is more than that. It pushes everyone to heights you can’t get to with just two people. It’s intense and edgy. Add in BDSM to that and it’s unbelievably hot.”

Desire stirred deep within her at the picture he painted. Then another thought hit her, but she wrangled in her next question before it slipped out.

He smiled. “Ask your question, bella. I can see it on your face that you just swallowed one back.”

God, was her every thought that obvious? Or was it just a dom thing to be able to read people so well? She cleared her throat. “Okay, so, when you and Jace are sharing, do you two, you know . . . interact?”

The idea sent a strange thrill humming through her veins even though it shouldn’t. She’d seen enough male-on-male action at home to last a lifetime.

He glanced past her shoulder as if to make sure Jace hadn’t come out of the house yet. “It happens from time to time. Things get hot, and boundaries that exist outside the doors tend to weaken. But a woman usually seeks ménage because she wants all the focus on her, so we typically oblige that desire.”

She considered that for a moment. “So are you and Jace together outside of here?”

His smile turned wry. “We’re not lovers, if that’s what you’re asking. We keep the sexual play confined to when we’re with a woman. Jace is pretty open sexually, but he’s primarily straight.”

“And you?”

He shrugged. “Not as much.”

“Care to elaborate? Or is that too personal of a question?”

He took another long sip from his bottle. “It’s fine. And honestly, if I could figure out a hard and fast label for it I would. But I guess most would call me bisexual. My relationships have been exclusively with women. But I do find myself on occasion sexually attracted to a guy and have acted on it . . . within the confines of a place like this. I don’t broadcast it. The people in my life wouldn’t understand.”

“I guess ménage serves a few purposes for you then. The whole cake and eat it too thing.”

He smirked. “I wouldn’t say I’ve got the whole cake, but a pretty good slice I guess.”

She frowned, something in his tone telling her that wasn’t the full story, but it wasn’t her business. She grabbed her own soda and uncapped it. “So what happens when Jace takes on someone solo like this? Do you go and find someone as well?”

He shrugged. “Guess I’ll figure that out. He hasn’t gone solo in years.”

She stilled, the bottle halfway to her mouth. “What?”

* * *

Jace paced around the living room. He’d set Evan up to be alone with Andre, thinking that his oh-so-suave friend would open up her mind to the possibility of ménage. This one-on-one thing was crazy. Jace hadn’t even fucked her yet, and he was already surging with things that hadn’t been in his vocabulary in years—possessiveness, jealousy, protectiveness. He could put a fist through the wall knowing that in a few days she’d return to Dr. Dan’s bed—a guy who clearly wasn’t giving her what she needed, at least not in the bedroom.

Jace raked his hands through his hair. What the fuck was wrong with him? He should’ve known better. Something about Evan had always tested his limits, had made him question himself at every turn, and apparently her effect on him hadn’t dimmed with time.

Damn, he needed to change this dynamic fast or he was going to end up getting himself in trouble. But the thought of Andre entering the picture had him all knotted up. Sharing a woman was the ultimate turn on for him. It fed all his kinks in the most decadent ways. And he could already tell Evan was attracted to Andre. There was no doubt she’d gotten off on him watching as Jace made her come. But now Jace had this ridiculous urge to race back out to the deck, pluck her out of the water, and hoard her away all for himself.

What if he walked out there and she was fooling around with Andre? Would he be turned on like he normally would be or would he want to kick Andre’s ass for touching her? He sank onto the leather chair in the living room with a groan. Christ, he didn’t know the answer.

Evan’s melodic laugh drifted into the house from the deck, hitting him straight in the solar plexus. Andre was making her laugh. Probably laying on that charm that came so easy to him and flirting with her in Spanish, which seemed to get women to drop their panties faster than anything Jace had ever seen. Smooth motherfucker.

Or maybe Andre had already won Evan over and was running his lips along the tender column of her neck, tickling her with his tongue, sliding his hands over those beautiful tits and nestling himself between her naked thighs.

Jace shot to his feet and stormed toward the back of the house. He shoved open the door and steeled himself for what he may find when he stepped onto the deck. But as the hot tub came into view, all he saw was Andre sitting opposite Evan, a broad smile on his face. His friend’s eyes darted Jace’s way, and Evan turned her head.

Her skin had gone dewy from the steam and her normally straight hair was curling around her face. She looked like a beautiful water nymph come to life. A tentative smile teased at the corner of her mouth along with a definite ripple of apprehension. The combination nearly sucked the air from his chest. She was happy to see him, but was also knocked a bit off balance by his presence. Everything a sub should feel for her dom.

The women he chose to be with these days didn’t take the sub thing all that seriously. It was fun and games. Roles played. He kept it at that level now because true D/s stripped down too much, not just for the sub but for the dominant. It exposed people’s deepest vulnerabilities, shone light into those ugly corners. He’d learned that the hard way. But Evan had never played this game, so she was coming at it green, with an honesty that he was finding hard to resist.