Tea for Three

TEA FOR THREE

Anne Douglas

® www.loose-id.com

Warning This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id® e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

***** This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.

Tea for Three Anne Douglas This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by Loose Id LLC 1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-2924 Carson City NV 89701-1215 www.loose-id.com

Copyright © May 2007 by Anne Douglas All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

ISBN 978-1-59632-476-3 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

Printed in the United States of America

Editor: Barbara Marshall Cover Artist: Croco Designs

Dedication For my friends back home in New Zealand. Mistress Mandy, you and your boys will make it to the next one. Kelvin, I know it’s an “ewww, manlove!” book, but now you can proudly add to your acting credits that you made it into a Romance Novel – an erotic one at that! To Loose Id – thank you again for the opportunity. And to my editor, Barbara, thank you for all your work!

Chapter One

Craig grabbed hold of the hard cock waving in front of his face and fell back onto the sheet-covered king-sized bed, pulling Jack down on top of him. The duvet had already been hurriedly stripped, then dumped onto the floor at the foot of the bed. “Someone’s in a rush.” Jack’s chuckle ran down through his chest, and Craig felt it vibrate through the stiff member still firmly held in his hand. “Always, when you’re around, babe.” Craig slowly drew his fist up the stiff column and, using his thumb, smeared the drops of fluid that welled out of Jack’s cock over the purpling head as Jack thrust against Craig, rubbing their groins together. “What has you so raring to go tonight?” Craig knew he was baiting the beast; after all, that had been the point of all his flirting this evening. “I was watching this hot guy all night while we were in the club. He was wearing these jeans that looked as if they had been spray painted on his tight, luscious ass.” Craig could feel said jeans crumpled under his feet, soft from years of wear, and piled into a heap from their frantic disrobing. “He kept brushing up against me on the dance floor…giving me a hard-on that kept digging into my zipper and making me ache.”

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Lacing his free hand around Jack’s neck, he pulled his lover’s mouth down to his, plunging deep as he thrust between Jack’s stubble-reddened lips with his tongue. Jack reared back and regained his feet, grabbing hold of Craig’s hips. Craig was aggressively flipped from his back to his stomach, exposing his self-confessed rather impressive ass. Craig groaned as the pressure of his body pushed his throbbing cock into the bed, providing little relief for his hard-on.

Jack ran his open hands possessively over the ass of the man splayed before him on the bed. Palming the plump cheeks, he forced them apart, exposing the tight, salmon-pink rosette of Craig’s asshole to his view. He pressed forcefully with both thumbs into the tight tunnel that gave him such pleasure, making Craig moan at the rough penetration. One thumb went farther, stroking along the front wall of the canal with the pad of the thick digit. Pulling his other hand away, he caressed tenderly over one ass cheek before landing a resounding smack, leaving a pink handprint. Three more spanks followed in quick succession, spread over both buttocks. “Someone who spends so much time behaving badly deserves punishment.” Another series of blows landed rapidly, turning the rounded flesh a brighter shade of red. “Fuck you!” The object of his desire writhed in front of him, drawing his knees up onto the edge of the bed as Craig tried to escape the slaps pounding his ass. Hooking the thumb still in Craig’s ass, Jack quickly brought Craig up short, stalling him in the position that was most useful to him – Craig on his hands and knees with his fleshy butt pointed in the air at the perfect height for Jack to slide his hard cock straight in. Craig groaned and pushed back as Jack nudged the tip of his dick up against the pink ass presented so nicely before him. “You can fuck me later. Right now I think I prefer to fuck you.”

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Replacing his thumb with the head of his pre-cum-slicked cock, Jack worked his way past the tight ring of muscle guarding Craig’s hole. From tonight’s behavior, Jack assumed Craig was craving a good hard fuck, so he grabbed his lover’s hips and slammed Craig back onto his cock. Years of carnal knowledge of the man speared on his prick meant that Jack knew just how far he could push Craig before there was any chance of causing true pain or injury. Craig dropped his chest to the bed in surrender as Jack started a heavy, pounding rhythm that slapped his belly and balls against the backside that was still pink from its recent paddling. The palm of his hand burned in sympathy, while his balls squeezed tighter, seeking release. Shaking his head in denial, Jack slowed down to a gentler motion, easing the urge to come – Craig was getting a hard fuck tonight, not a quick one. The thin cotton of the bed sheet crumpled and knotted in Craig’s clenched fists, and his ass progressively thrust back at Jack, even as Craig scrambled to brace himself against the deep, hammering rhythm Jack set. Craig would have toppled off the bed if it hadn’t been for the firm grip Jack had on his hips. “No…no, no!” Craig wailed, righting himself and tried to drive back onto the cock filling his ass, earning him another sharp slap. “I don’t think so, babe; you’re not getting off that easy after all your teasing tonight…making me watch you dance with that young stud that latched on to you.” Pulling back ’til just the thick head of his cock teased Craig’s sphincter, Jack popped his cock in and out with sharp little jabs, giving himself great pleasure as the ring of muscle rubbed the sensitive spot behind his glans, but denying Craig the deeper, harsher fucking he lusted after. “I’m on to your game, you know. Every couple of months you drag me along to a club, then flirt all night with some twink just to rile me up, so I’ll come home and fuck you

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senseless rather than make love to you.” Jack punctuated his words, alternating short jabs with longer, deeper lunges, taunting Craig and punishing him for his foolishness. “Next time you want a bit of rough, lover mine, just ask, hmm?” Looping his forearm under Craig’s hips, he forced his way deeper and then stopped, holding them both motionless, except for where his hand now stroked along Craig’s straining cock. His mate heaved in his arms, struggling to control the orgasm that was swiftly approaching.

Craig was almost insensible with pleasure from the thick, stiff cock deep in his ass, the rub of Jack’s balls against his own, and the firm grip and slide of Jack’s callused hand over the sensitive skin of his penis. His abdomen started to clench as Jack’s constant stimulation took its toll on his mastery of his own body. Surrendering, Craig let his orgasm roll over him. His body shook beneath Jack’s as his cum flooded the palm of the hand that gripped the end of his cock. “Ah, shit!” Jack jerked himself upright from his bent position over Craig’s back, pistoning his cock into Craig’s tunnel. Craig knew from experience that Jack was tumbling headfirst toward his own climax, reveling in the pleasure-pain of his cock forcing through the ring of muscles that seized tight as Craig came. Craig let loose a long moan of pleasure as Jack rubbed over his prostate again and again, not letting his orgasm set him free. Finally, he felt the flood of warm cum as Jack jerked through his climax, collapsing onto Craig and sending them both into a heap of arms and legs on the bed. Minutes later, Craig was coherent enough to try to move out from underneath Jack’s prone, heaving body. Jack rolled to the side, letting both of them come up for air, and Craig made a feeble attempt to haul the duvet up from the floor, bringing up just enough to cover them as they lay sated and tangled around one another, falling asleep moments after Jack.

*****

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Jack woke later that night to find himself alone in the big bed, fully covered again by the duvet. Craig stood naked at the window looking out over the nightscape. “What’s wrong, Craig?” Jack’s voice was gravelly and drowsy from sleep. Pushing away the covers, he rolled out of bed and quietly padded over to Craig, wrapping his arms around his broad middle and snuggling up to his back. Jack cuddled into the crook of Craig’s neck, sighing as he drowsed in the comfort of his partner’s skin. He loved the big, solid feel of Craig. Although he was a fit man, Craig was built sturdy and stocky, wide through the chest and waist with a tight, rounded ass, silky black hair, and dark-chocolate eyes. Jack was slightly taller than Craig’s five foot eleven at six feet, but leaner, and due to his daily heavy lifting in the nursery, tailored more like a swimmer – wide through the shoulders and narrow through the hips. Jack felt Craig’s sigh start at the base of his spine and move up his body before he released it through his mouth. “Do you ever wonder if there’s more, Jack?” Craig spoke quietly, in deference to the peace of the night outside the window. “More of what?” Drowsy, Jack really wasn’t making much sense of the conversation. “More to life…kids, a dog, the white picket fence? More than just work and everyday life?” Jack frowned against Craig’s neck. “I don’t understand what you mean.” Sleep tugged at him, though he knew that this was important. Craig was a straightforward kind of guy. Anything that would make him philosophical was significant. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a father, Jack? To have someone that depends solely on you, build a family with someone…leave something of you behind when you die?” Jack pressed himself closer to Craig’s back, too sleepy to really be able to understand this conversation, but wanting to give comfort to his mate.

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“I haven’t really thought about it. I know I’m bi, but I’ve always liked men more than women. And since I’m in love with you, I haven’t thought anything of it.” Jack chuckled. “Why? Are you pregnant?” Jack felt the echo of Craig’s laugh in his chest. “Are you saying I look fat?” Rubbing his hands languorously over Craig’s stomach and down to his cock, Jack groaned into Craig’s shoulder, gently biting down on the tender, sensitive cords of his neck. A tremor ran down Craig’s back, and Jack felt Craig’s skin prickle as he soothed the bite marks with his tongue. “Never!” “It’s late; come back to bed. We’ve both got an early start today.” Craig turned in Jack’s arms, pulling his lover’s face to his for a soft kiss. “Yeah, enough wondering for me tonight. Let’s get warm under the covers.” Craig led Jack back to the bed and spooned up behind him. Jack sighed contentedly as the ever-present heat from Craig’s body started to soak into his back. “Love you.” Jack quickly lost all hold on what little amount of wakefulness he had. Relaxing back into his lover’s arms, he barely heard the quiet, “Love you, too” from Craig, and his body shivered in recognition as Craig tenderly kissed his shoulder goodnight.

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Chapter Two

Agh! How did she let herself be convinced to go to these things? Wren watched as her girlfriends gyrated on the postage-stamp-sized dance floor with a group of men more likely to puke on their expensive high heels than be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – let alone manage to get themselves into a cab at the end of the night. Yet again she was left watching the party, not joining in. All things considered, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing – how reliable could it be to meet a drunken guy in a bar? It’s not as if they were trying to find Miss Right to settle down with, more like Miss are-youmultiorgasmic-because-you-may-as-well-enjoy-it-while-I-fuck-myself-senseless-then-skipout-at-the-crack-of-dawn. Not that she was bitter or anything. But it would be nice to be asked to dance just once, even if she had to turn the invitation down. She swirled the straw in the lemon, lime, and bitters that rested on the bar in front of her – at least she had graduated from peeling the labels off of beer bottles in college. Now she just watched the ice cubes clank against each other. “Can I buy you another?” Wren looked up, surprised by the friendly voice in her ear. Deep in her musings, she hadn’t noticed the empty barstool beside her had been filled by a

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rather attractive, stocky, dark-haired man with warm, Godiva-chocolate brown eyes that matched his deep voice. “It’s okay; you don’t need to do that. I was just heading home anyway.” Putting down the glass she had been idly twisting in her hand, she made a move to push her stool away from the bar when a large hand placed over her own stopped her. “Please don’t rush away; I’d really like some company for a while. I’ve been entertaining out-of-town clients all night, and I would love to spend a little time chatting with someone a lot more interesting than they are.” Catching the bartender’s eye, he motioned to him to refill their glasses. “Let me get another drink for both of us.”

Wow. Talk about smooth. While asserting control over the situation, he indicated he was no threat, asked her to take pity on him, and then just plain negated her plans with his own. Wren didn’t know if she should feel offended for being walked over, or if she kind of liked his brand of charm.

It wouldn’t hurt to spend a few minutes chatting before heading home. After all, there wasn’t anything urgent to rush away for, now, was there? Letting a smile bloom, she held out her hand. “I’m Wren.” He returned her smile and grasped her hand firmly, but delicately, treating her equally yet respectfully. His mum had obviously taught him well. “My name’s Craig. Craig Hunter.” Indicating over his shoulder, he gestured toward the dance floor. “And I’ve been officially dumped for the unofficial portion of the evening.” Looking over his shoulder, Wren realized he was gesturing at the gaggle of men around her girlfriends. “Ahhh…the catch of the evening.” Craig looked back, eyebrows raised quizzically. “I came with my girlfriends – the ones in the middle of your pack of piranhas. Poor men, if only they knew.” She shook her head in pity. “Those girls are sharks – they’ll eat them up as a snack and go looking for more.” Craig looked back over his shoulder again and laughed.

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Looking at the woman beside him, Craig decided she looked prettier close up; she was quick and witty, too. He had been watching her from across the room for about an hour as she sat at the bar, nursing her drink. He thought she looked…appealing, like someone with an intriguing story to tell. Someone that he thought might be interesting to get to know further, more than just to chat with at a bar in a crowded pub. Jack would like this straightforward woman, too; he just had to figure out how to ask her out without making it look as if he was hitting on her. They talked about nothing much for about ten minutes, until the barman remembered to serve their drinks. He laid down a twenty to pay for them, halting her movement toward her wallet. “Thanks.” She smiled shyly as she picked up her glass, almost like this was the first time someone had ever bought her a drink. Surely not. Swallowing, she gulped down a good quarter of the glass in one hit.

“Whoa, go slow there, Wren. There’s no hurry; it’ll go to your head.” Wren looked at him oddly and shrugged. “The most it’ll do is give me the hiccups. There’s no alcohol in it.” “Oh.” Craig had the grace to look chagrined at having lectured her. “I don’t drink when I’m out. Alcohol, that is, unless it’s used in cooking.” She could tell he was curious as to why she was sitting in a bar not drinking, but was too polite to ask. “The girls drag me out every now and then; they think I’m missing out on something by not hitting the pubs and bars three nights a week,” she said, answering Craig’s unasked question. “They drag you out to leave you sitting alone –” The rest of his sentence was cut off as a man, who fairly reeked of the outdoors and had blond hair that looked like a ray of sunshine,

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stepped in-between them. His back to Wren, the newcomer firmly interrupted their conversation as he put a hand on the bar to brace himself and leaned in to kiss Craig heartily on the lips. “Evening, lover. How is the schmoozing going?”

Oh, well then. That explains it – he’s gay. Figures. At least Craig had livened her evening up some with conversation. All the good ones are taken or gay. She sighed quietly and gathered up her things. Time to leave the partying to those with someone to party with.

Pushing Jack away with a hand on his chest, he scolded him. “Jack, you’re being rude. I was talking with Wren.” “Who?” Jack looked down at Craig, confused. “The lady behind you. Step out of the way, you idiot, and introduce yourself.” Leaning on Jack’s arm and pushing him to the side, he bent around to introduce her to Jack, only to find that Wren had quietly slipped away while Jack had hidden her from view. “Shit, where did she go?” Sliding off the seat, he turned around, scanning the crowd, catching a glimpse of her short, curly brown hair heading toward the front door. “Crap, Jack, you scared her off.” “What do you mean I scared her off?” Craig tried to go after her, pushing his way into the crowd and leaving Jack at the bar, totally clueless about what was happening. Frowning, Jack followed Craig. Closing in on Wren, Craig noticed that along with the bag slung over her shoulder, she carried a sturdy walking cane that she used to support her left leg. Or tried to anyway. Since it was nearly midnight on a Friday, the well-lubricated crowd wasn’t in any state to notice a woman who needed to take a little more care in their midst. One young twenty-something stumbled against Wren as one of his mates pushed him, almost toppling her. Craig watched impotently as she showed great dexterity, catching herself with her cane before she fell to the floor.

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After righting herself, she sneakily gave the moron a swift ankle tap with the end of her stick. Craig grinned as he watched Wren get a little of her own back – that tap had to smart. Craig felt a hand on his shoulder and turned slightly to better hear Jack’s question while still trying to catch up with Wren. “What are you doing, Craig?” “Trying to catch up with that woman with the cane; I want you to meet her.” Shrugging off Jack’s hand, Craig made one more dodge around a large group, hoping that he still had a chance to catch her before she made it out of the bar.

He didn’t even know her last name to try to find her if he didn’t reach her. The notion that she was someone special to him and Jack nagged at Craig; he had to catch up with her

now. As he looked up again to locate her, he saw one of the bouncers lend her an arm and help her out the door. Nice to see some folks still had good manners. All the manners in the world didn’t count, though, when he finally made it to the door to see the bouncer patting the roof of the waiting taxi, telling him to drive on. “Shit!” His jaw clenched. Stabbing his hands into his pants pockets, Craig marched out the door, sick of the noise and having to babysit clients out on the town while they tried to score a one-night stand. “Craig?” Jack was hotfooting along, trying to keep up with him as he stormed up the road to where he had parked his car. “What on earth is wrong?” He reached out and latched onto Craig’s shoulder, dragging him to a halt. “Look, I…” He stuttered to a halt, running a hand through his short hair in frustration. He really didn’t know how to describe how he felt. “She was special, okay? I don’t know how, or why, but she was someone I just felt I needed to know better. I wanted you to meet

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her. She seemed really nice…and really lonely, too…I think.” Craig felt part of his confusion fade as he realized that lonely was the aura he had been trying to decipher as he had watched her. “Really nice, how?” Craig could feel Jack’s eyes stabbing at him. Jack was trying really hard to understand him through his “turning thirty crisis.” “Really nice as in you weren’t planning on coming home with me tonight?” Craig jerked his head up. Is he suggesting I would sleep around on him? Oh, Jack. Looking hard at Jack’s concerned and worried face, he could see the fear his lover had tried to hide. “Oh, babe, no…I love you.” Reaching out, he caressed Jack’s jaw with his palm. “I’m in this with you for the long haul.”

Tell him the truth, Craig. “I just… Well, sometimes I miss women.” He sighed, knowing he wasn’t explaining this well. “More like just a woman in my life. It’s – well, it’s different than you and me – softer, more Mother Earth-like or something…” Jack looked at him like a puppy that had just been kicked. Pulling the man he loved into a hug, Craig kissed him as if he might never get the chance to again. Grabbing Jack’s hand, Craig pressed it to the front of his jeans so that he could feel the bulge behind the zipper. “Jack, you do this to me, no one else. I love you, and despite all this turning thirty, introspective crap I’m going through at the moment, I’ll always love you.” Having reached his car, Jack pushed him up against the door, crowding into him, grinding their hips together as he used his hands to turn Craig’s face up to his, kissing him harshly, dominating him with his presence. “Fuck, don’t ever leave me, Craig; I don’t know if I could take it – I love you too much.”

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Groaning, Craig reached for Jack. The man affected him like no other – his dick was rock solid, wanting him, even in this public a place. Hopefully he would be able to bend enough to get into the car. Pushing Jack away, he flipped him round, asserting himself over his mate this time, giving as good as he got. “Let’s take this home, lover; I think there’s some unfinished business here. I feel up for topping you tonight.”

“Yesss.” Jack’s moan was husky and low.

***** Wren hadn’t been able to relax after getting home from the club, so here she was, in the wee hours of the morning, easing into a hot, steamy bath, trying to work out some of the kinks in her leg and hip.

Oh, face it, girl, you’re feeling restless and horny, and you keep seeing that guy, Craig, when you close your eyes. Wren let her eyelids fall and sighed. Yup, there he was – again. That tall, blond guy was a lucky bastard. She hadn’t seen much more than the back of his sun-bleached hair and wide shoulders, but she didn’t think Craig was the kind of guy who would hang out with a man with an ugly attitude.

Pity. Wren had used a little scented oil in the bathwater, making it easy to slip her hands over her body smoothly and sensually. Even the scars along the left side of her body felt softer than their usual rough texture. Sneakily, one hand slid across her rounded belly and over her mons, her palm pushing down, trying to ease the ache centered there. She sighed and gave up the pretense. Slipping a finger between her labia, she started a gentle stroke around her clit. She added a second finger and rubbed the area between her clit and vagina, enjoying the way the touch intensified the ache. Rearranging herself slightly in the wide bath, she massaged a breast with her other hand, tugging at the nipple and relishing the way the slight sting from her gentle pinching pulsed, like an echo, in time with the throb in her pussy.

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Her head dropped back, and she bit her lower lip as she held onto the tingling sensation that preceded an orgasm. Her fingers moved faster, dipping into her pussy, a third finger moving lower and teasing the expanse between her cunt and ass. She had found out years ago she was extremely sensitive just there – fantasies of anal play were a definite sexual trigger. Prickles of tension traveled down her legs and up over her torso until she could bear it no more. Dragging her fingers over her clit, she directly stimulated herself until she cried out, shuddering as she came. Slumped in the bath, she wondered what it was about a man she barely knew that pushed her buttons so easily. Her subconscious answered her question for her.

Maybe it was because when you were fantasizing about Craig, you were also imagining a tall, lean, blond man behind him.

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Chapter Three

Jack was nervous. It wasn’t every day that you contemplated borrowing millions of dollars for a venture that, potentially, could fall flat. For three years now, his nursery and landscaping business had been running at a substantial profit. Now he was going to take the next step and branch out to other suburbs in the Auckland area – well, if the business analyst and strategist he was meeting in five minutes thought it was a viable option. He was proud of the success he had made of his green thumb, artistic eye, and people skills. He had a loyal staff, an even more loyal customer base, and the gardens he designed were regularly featured in magazines and yearly open-home garden tours around the greater Auckland area. Life was good – even if the analyst recommended against his Internet and bricks-andmortar expansion plans. Angela’s voice crackled through his two-way radio. Looking up toward the office buildings, he could see a strange car parked out front. “Boss, the analyst is here. Can you head back up to the office?”

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“Angela, can you send her down here? She may as well get an idea of the scope of things and how we run straight off.” Plus, he hoped that he might feel a little more comfortable in his element, rather than being stuck behind his desk feeling incompetent. Craig was the whiz behind the desk; Jack’s forte was in the physical. “Let me check if that’s okay with her.” He could hear her starting to question the analyst before she cut the link. “Jack?” “Yeah?” “She says she should be able to make it down there all right. Can you meet her halfway at glasshouse one?”

Make it down here? He grimaced, offended that someone would think it difficult to navigate in his almost compulsively neat nursery. “Sure,” he replied tersely, insulted by the perceived slight. He rounded the corner of glasshouse three and instantly saw what Angela had been too polite to tell him. He felt a complete bastard for both his snippy reply and outraged thoughts – his analyst had a pronounced limp and walked with the aid of a cane. That, combined with her full, rounded figure and short, dark hair instantly sparked a memory – his new analyst was the woman he had watched Craig chase out of a bar three months ago.

What to do? If I say, “Hey, I remember you,” I’m going to look like an ass. If I don’t say anything and she remembers me, I still look like an ass. Running with the less embarrassing of the two options, he decided to plead ignorance. Reaching for her, he held out a hand, both in greeting and to assist her off the last step down from the office complex. “Good morning. You must be Ms. Browne. I’m Jack Roseman. Please…call me Jack.” Her hand was soft and feminine with long fingers, yet sure, as she firmly shook his hand and gracefully accepted his help.

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“Thank you, Jack. Please call me Wren; I keep looking for my grandmother when someone calls me Ms. Browne.” Jack knew he was supposed to say something more, but he was entranced. He could see what had made Craig run after her, even after such a brief encounter. Her eyes twinkled, her curly hair bounced with life, and despite her obvious physical handicap, she fairly radiated energy. He felt the tug of her hand as she pulled it out of his grasp. She cleared her throat awkwardly while he stood there staring, then turned to the glasshouses in front of her. “Shall we start here? I would like to get an idea of how you run things out here – really, it’s more important than anything in the office. Anyone can make an office run well, but if production doesn’t keep up…”

Speak, Jack, speak. Don’t let yourself go now! “Ah, yes, of course… I totally understand what you mean, and I think that’s why many other nurseries haven’t done well when they’ve tried to expand.” Aiming for the gentlemanly approach, Jack gently took Wren’s arm and guided her toward the rest of the property. “Hopefully, the systems that I’ve been putting into place over the last few years are going to be just the thing for launching us into this expansion…”

***** It was the end of a long day, and Wren had only just left. Man, was she a taskmaster

and a half. Jack chuckled at the thought. Craig already knew this was the day for Jack’s first meeting with the business strategist, so he wasn’t expecting him home ’til late. Leaning back into the one luxury in his office – a much-too-expensive leather office chair that for the cost should make his coffee and serve it, too – he mulled over his thoughts about the woman that was Wren. Obviously, he really didn’t know her at all. Five hours, even if they were full of constant talking, did not a solid friendship make, but she intrigued him nonetheless. Grabbed

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him by the balls if he wasn’t going to be polite about it – and he often wasn’t – though he did

try to use the courteous behavior his mother had attempted to drum into him as a teenager. Wren was an enigma to him. He hadn’t forgotten about Craig’s confusion after his thirtieth birthday. Jack’s own inability to understand that restlessness centered firmly on Craig’s reactions to the woman he had just spent the afternoon with. The same woman he was going to be working closely with to make his business expansion viable, successful, and hopefully extremely profitable. He was still confused about Craig’s attitude three months ago. Was Craig craving the

“normal” side to life? Jack had written off normal a long time ago. Despite being bisexual, and therefore, theoretically doubling his dating pool, he hadn’t really thought he would ever find someone that he would love exclusively above all others. He definitely hadn’t ever found anything close to that with a woman. Not that he ever complained about the sex. Sex with a woman was just plain different than with a man, and frankly, women had never made the earth move for him, not the way it did when he made love with Craig. Men, in general, did more for him than women. And it wasn’t just that he had a major hard-on for Craig either – he was truly in love with the man. If Craig said jump, he would ask “how high” and not think twice about it. He would do anything to make Craig happy, and Wren was something he needed to understand to make sure Craig was happy. Jack hadn’t been joking that night when he had told Craig he didn’t think he could cope without him. For Jack, Craig was it, the stuff weepy romance novels were written about, his soul mate. Panning around the dusk-darkened room, Jack’s gaze came to rest on the desk that had been added to his usually spacious office. Wren would be sitting at that desk for the next three to four weeks, working closely with him to help him achieve the next goal in his life. It

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was selfish of him, but he was going to use every moment of that time to learn more about what made Wren Browne tick and why she had fascinated his partner. Picking up the phone, he dialed his home number blindly. Since it was late, and Craig would have been home at least for a good half hour, Jack only had to wait through two rings before it was picked up at the other end. “Hello?” “Hey, babe, I just wanted to phone and let you know I’m on my way.” Jack heard the phone fumble as Craig probably put it to his shoulder. “Excellent! I actually made it home early today, so, for a change you’ll be coming home to dinner all made for you.” Jack could hear Craig rattling around in drawers and the timer dinging on the oven. “I figured since you were meeting the analyst today, just getting to come home and relax would be nice.” Jack smiled, touched by his lover’s gesture. “I better get going then. It shouldn’t take me long to get home at this time of night; ten minutes, fifteen if I manage to get all the red lights.” “Okay, see you soon then. Drive safe.” “Bye!” Jack laughed as he heard Craig’s handset go crashing to the bench or floor, and listened to Craig’s cursing on the still open line. There was a reason that Jack did most of the cooking. Not because he was usually home by four in the afternoon and ravenously hungry by the time Craig got home after six, but because Craig and kitchen appliances just didn’t mix well. Picking his keys up off the desk, he made his way out to the car, turning off the lights and locking up as he went. Better get home before he burns the house down.

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Chapter Four

That’s me! Jack refreshed the Web page just so he could watch his nursery appear on the screen again, enthralled with how cool, yet professional, it looked. Wren was absolutely amazing when it came to business. Heck, she was amazing everywhere else, too, but damn was she a whiz when it came to strategizing and getting things done. She was the queen of lists! It had been three weeks since he had watched Wren walk into his nursery, and in that time she had reviewed, analyzed, and implemented, and now they were in the process of building up enough merchandise to open the West Auckland branch. They already had premises leased and waiting for the refurbishment that would start next week. In six weeks’ time they would begin stocking the store, and in eight weeks they would be opening. As for the rest of New Zealand, as of noon today they could buy Roseman plants from Invercargill to Ninety Mile Beach via their new, hip, but professional, Web site that was packed full of high-color, professional product photographs and articles about how to design a good garden.

Life was good and looking even better every day. He felt…satisfied.

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Sitting in their home office surfing the Net, Jack was comparing his Web site to the others out there and smugly thinking his was much better. Wren had done well in employing the recently graduated Webmaster. Trent now worked full-time for Roseman Nurseries, both as Webmaster and online order coordinator.

Wren. The computer screen faded away as Jack thought more about Wren. Craig had been right that night in the bar; there was something unusual about Wren. It wasn’t an obvious trait that you could pin down – but a joie de vivre that made Jack want to know Wren as a friend rather than just as his analyst. Shifting uncomfortably, Jack adjusted himself. For the first time, he was looking at a woman and admiring more than a good-looking body, and he wanted to learn more about Wren even as he lusted after her. He was starting to get an insight into Craig’s crisis and how he craved a woman’s touch at times. When he looked at Wren, Jack saw soft and gentle – womanly – whereas he looked at Craig and saw a hard, strong, sexy man. He loved everything about Craig. His strength, his stocky body, his spicy, musky smell, and especially the way Craig fucked him. All his previous relationships had been with genuine bottoms; until Craig, he had never felt right about being topped. Now? Oh, man, Craig could put his nice, thick cock in his ass anytime – day or night. When it came to being fucked by Craig, he was developing an addiction. “Want a cup of tea before bed?” Craig hung his head around the office door, startling Jack. “Yeah, I do. I’m feeling peckish, too; are there any biscuits left?” “Yup, I picked up some more from the bakery today, so they’re fresh.” Logging off the computer, Jack followed Craig back down the hall of their renovated farmhouse, into the kitchen.

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“So, you never did tell me this wunderkind strategist’s name,” Craig called back over his shoulder. As Craig reached the kitchen bench, he flicked on the electric kettle and turned, resting against the bench as he waited for it to boil. “Well, funny you should say that.” Jack sat at the kitchen table, looking and feeling sheepish. “You’ve actually met her.” “I have?” Craig looked stumped. His eyes blanked as he contemplated, trying to remember meeting anyone who was a business analyst and strategist. “Yeah, her name is Wren Browne.” Craig’s eyes jerked back to awareness. “Wren? My Wren Browne?” To say Craig seemed shocked was an understatement. “Yeah, that woman you met at that bar a few months back.” “Oh.” Craig straightened abruptly and turned back to the counter, fiddling with tea bags, cups, and spoons; inspecting the bench with a single-minded determination to avoid looking at Jack.. “So, she’s been working with you?” “Yeah, she has. And you were right, you know.”

“I was?” Craig’s head jerked up, looking at the reflected picture of the kitchen in the darkened window in front of him. He watched the murky image of Jack sitting at the table, abstractedly fiddling with his fingers. “She is something special, and like you said then, I’m not quite sure how or why, either.” Jack’s body strained, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t quite know how. “Look, when you turned thirty, I didn’t understand entirely what you were going through… I mean, I got that you were having a crisis.” Jack used finger quotes to accentuate the Oprah/Dr. Phil-type saying. “But I didn’t really understand it. I’ve never had with a woman what I have with you; I just couldn’t conceive the whole home-and-hearth-with-two-pointthree-kids mentality. I don’t know that I really do now, but I do get why Wren fascinated you that night.”

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“What’s she like?” Craig put their cups of tea quietly on the table and sat down beside Jack, watching him steadily, curious as to Jack’s observations of the woman who had been lingering in the back of his mind for the last few months. They couldn’t be bad, judging by the warmth of Jack’s smile. “She’s amazing when it comes to business, Craig. The woman is a dynamo at organization, strategizing, and implementation. My God! What she’s gotten done in three weeks!” Jack chuckled. “And the people she’s networked!” Shaking his head in wonder, Jack carried on. “She manages to find small businessmen and women with the best prices and ability and funnels all her work through them. If she can find a local retailer instead of a big corporate one, she does it. As for her, personally? Well, she’s a very kind and considerate human being. A lot of the people she recommends have some form of disability – that realtor she dealt with out in Henderson for the new branch? She gets around with two canes faster than you and I could on roller skates – and talk about knowing real estate. She had her finger on the pulse of everything going on around town, and just exactly who would be most receptive to our refurb requests. Wren uses these people because they’re the best, not because she’s doing someone a favor.” Craig felt his eyes crinkle as he grinned at Jack’s rambling enthusiasm. “So she’s a good friend to have, huh?” “Yeah.” Craig was trying to figure out what was going on in Jack’s mind. He was usually very forthright, tending to speak first then think later. The fact that he was taking time to consider what he said next made Craig take notice. Jack stilled, becoming serious, reserved, not at all the gregarious self he was only moments before. “Look…like I said, I don’t totally understand where you were coming from about ‘needing more,’ but after getting to know Wren, at least in a professional capacity, I’m beginning to realize that I’m closer to identifying with it than I thought.” He was tensely

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tapping his finger against the half-empty mug of tea. “I want us to get to know her better.” Jack moved restlessly on the chair.

Jack, of all people, was unsure how to carry on? Craig studied Jack’s body language, seeking clues to his emotional state. “I’m not sure why, and I don’t know what it means at this point. But, you know what? I would love to be her friend.” He shook his head and laughed nervously. “God, listen to me; I sound like a kid in high school trying to cozy up to one of the in-crowd.” Craig laughed along with him. “No, you don’t. You sound like a person who’s met someone extraordinary, and who you think would be a nice person to have in your life. I think I’d rather have one person like that than ten people I don’t give a flying fuck for.” Standing, he took the cold mugs to the sink. “Tell you what, ask her ’round for a barbeque and swim on Saturday afternoon.” “Good idea. I want you to get to know her, too. You really will like her.” Coming up behind Jack, he ran his hands over Jack’s shoulders, feeling the tension running through them. Craig leaned down to whisper in his ear. “How about you come to bed and I give you a massage?” “Just a massage?” Jack’s voice was rough as he asked the question. “Only if you want it to be.”

“Hell, no!” Jack was in the bedroom, naked and lying on the bed, grinning, before Craig could lay his hands on the massage oil.

***** She heard the click of the telephone as Jack disconnected. Silence hung pregnant in the room. “Wren?” She looked up expectantly. Something had been on Jack’s mind all morning. Hopefully, this time, he would get whatever question he wanted to ask out.

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“Yes, Jack?” She smiled as she watched him chew on his lip for a second. She knew him well enough at this point to know that he was nervous about something, but she had no clue what it could be – the implementation was running as smooth as silk. “Well, I was wondering if you’d like to come over for a barbeque, and to cool off in the pool, on Saturday afternoon. I’d really like you to meet my partner, Craig.” Jack chuffed. “He wants to meet the business mastermind behind all the expansion – I think he thinks I’m making you up.”

Well, that came out of the blue – I wasn’t expecting an invitation. “Thank you for the compliment…I think.” Wren laughed. “I’m so busy during the week, that on the weekends I just relax. I put my briefcase in the study, shut the door and forget about it till Monday.” Jack looked disappointed, thinking she was going to decline. “A barbeque and a swim would fit nicely into my plans to do very little but unwind.” Wren smiled as Jack broke out in a big grin. Sometimes he was like a big friendly dog – easy to please – but at others he was like a little terrier, persistent and stubborn once he got his teeth into something. “Good, I’ll leave you a map of how to get to our place. We live out Clevedon way. How does about three p.m. sound? Then we can have a dip before dinner, eat early, and have another after if we want.” Wren knew she most likely wouldn’t do any swimming at all, but had a feeling she would enjoy the company either way. “Sure, that sounds wonderful, Jack.”

Strange how a dinner invitation can perk up your day – even if the invite is from two gay guys.

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Chapter Five

Most days Wren didn’t understand the rest of the world, let alone herself. So why had she shaved her legs, and stuffed her swimsuit and a towel in her bag – just in case? It wasn’t like she was planning on going swimming or anything … but it was so damn hot today that the idea of splashing about in a cool pool sounded entirely too wonderful. Why on earth had she accepted Jack’s invite?

You know why – you’re bored…and lonely, and spending a few hours with some interesting near-strangers is something better to do with your Saturday afternoon than sitting at home with yet another book. Well, they were good books! Wren now knew all sorts of things from those erotic romances – pity she’d never had the chance to try any of the ideas out. Rummaging through her bag, she made sure she had all the essentials – sunscreen, hat, cover-up, swimsuit. She made sure her sunglasses were on top of her head and closed up the bag. Heading to the kitchen, she plucked up the dessert she had spent the morning making. Her mum and dad had taught her that it was rude to not bring something for your hosts. She had decided that two grown men wouldn’t say no to some homemade dessert – even if they

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possibly were New-age guys with gourmet-chef tendencies. Besides, her fruit caramel sponge pudding was fairly close to award winning, even if she did say so herself. She locked the kitchen door behind her, then made her way to the car and carefully stowed the dessert in the backseat, along with her tote bag. Absently rubbing her scarred hip, feeling itchy from the stunningly hot day, Wren really started looking forward to at least dangling her feet in a cool pool.

***** Oh my God, it’s the guy from the bar! Wren had barely knocked on the door before it was quickly opened. She was greeted by a smiling face, attached to the handsome, dark-haired man with a chocolate voice, who still appeared in her secret, late-night fantasies. “Wren!” Craig’s sun-bronzed face lit up with a big welcoming smile. “Craig? It is Craig, right?” Wren was almost at a loss – had she gotten the directions mixed up and come to the wrong house? “Yup, you remembered!” Well, duh…of course she remembered! “But…” An arm reached around Craig and grabbed the dessert bowl, while Craig took hold of her bag in one hand and her arm with the other, walking her into the house. “Jack?

Jack was the blond guy?” Speak of the devil; a chagrined cough came from the owner of the hand that now held her pudding. “I have to fess up, Wren. I didn’t tell you that I recognized you from that night at the club.” A light blush ran across Jack’s cheekbones as he shrugged. “I… Well, I was a bit embarrassed actually. I was kind of rude, pushing my way in the middle of you two chatting – truly, I hadn’t realized you were talking with one another – and I really wanted to make a good impression on the best analyst and strategist in town.”

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Jack and Craig just stood and watched as her face got redder and redder, obviously waiting for her to blow her top. She blew all right – into loud peals of laughter, leaving both men looking at her, stumped. “Oh…my…” Wren couldn’t get enough air into her lungs to say more. Forcing herself to calm down, she managed to carry on. “Jack, you idiot! I was already on my way home when Craig sat down to chat. When I saw you greeting Craig so heartily, I just decided it was time to make a quiet retreat and leave you to it. Believe me, I wouldn’t have thought any worse of you when it came to your business expansion.” Craig broke out in a grin, while Jack was still a little more abashed with a smaller smile. “Come on out back, Wren, and take a load off by the pool. Today is the perfect day for doing nothing but swimming and lazing around with friends.” “I’ll just take this to the fridge.” Jack took a doorway that obviously led to the kitchen, and Craig took her arm again and showed her out to the rear of the house. They had an inground pool surrounded by stunning lush gardens. “Oh, my.” Wren was amazed at the profusion of flowers and immaculately kept gardens and shrubs. “This is Jack’s work, I assume.” It was beautiful. Flowers overflowed with scents, and shrubs and trees burst with life. “And you would be correct; this is one of his continual works in progress.” Craig took her bag over and put it down by the large table, waving her to one of the pillow-clad sun loungers. “He does a lot of experimentation here. We have a bit of everything here in Clevedon. Cool and salty air off the harbor, but moisture, with the fogs in winter, and during summer, it can be as hot as Hades out on the flats.” Wren watched as Jack came up behind Craig, laying a hand on his shoulder in a manner that showed the men’s comfort with each other.

Man alive, what a good-looking couple they make. “I guess that means that you have been listening to my gardening rambles?”

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Craig laughed as he, too, sat down in a lounger. “Every word! It doesn’t mean that my black thumb has gotten any greener, though.” Jack laughed as he put a cooler down under the table with one hand and a tray of glasses and mixers on top of the table with the other. “Now that we have all our confessions over and done with, who’s for a drink? ’Cause it’s bloody hot, and I know I need one!”

“Come on, Wren; go get your suit on and come get in the pool with us.” Craig wore a little-boy-pleading expression. “We know you must be feeling hot and sticky. Come on. We won’t bite… I swear!” Craig started making Jaws theme-track “da-dum’s.” “Oh, all right, all right! I’ll go get changed and have a swim – don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.” Wren picked up the bag sitting beside her lounger and made her way into the house as Jack called out from the far end of the pool. “First door on the left, Wren.” “Okay, okay…pair of first-class nags you two are, aren’t you?” Wren left the sound of them chuckling at the back door and turned into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Stripping out of her T-shirt and capri pants she stopped to take stock of herself in the mirror. The main reason she didn’t go to the pool or the beach anymore was because of the strings of ropy scars that started at her left knee, went up her hip and buttock, missed some of her lower back, and then carried on up her left shoulder and a little over her upper arm. The same drunk-driver car accident that had killed her mother when she was fifteen had left her hip unable to bear weight or move properly and her skin scarred for life. “Well, they asked for it.” The reflection that looked back at her from the mirror was wryly resigned. Wren knew that she was a big girl, but she was still perfectly proportioned despite the weight. In fact, if she wasn’t so discomfited by her scars and people’s reactions to

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them, she would proudly wear the more trendy, closer-fitting and lower-cut clothes. But general opinion thus far had shown her that people didn’t look past the scars to see the woman underneath, so she stuck with dowdy, baggy clothing that made sure people couldn’t see. Unhooking her bra, she let her full, round breasts swing free and then stepped out of her panties, folding both neatly with the rest of her clothes. Reaching for the swimsuit, she steadied herself against the counter so she could step into the one piece without ending up in a heap on the floor. “Agh, I hate this! Stupid hip!” Jiggling and wiggling once she was back on two feet, Wren slid the suit up over her generous hips and curved belly, then looped the straps over each arm, rearranging her breasts to make sure they were encompassed in the form-fitting Lycra. When the suit was settled in place, she pulled out her sarong and tied it around her hips, hiding away her scarred leg. Once she got in the pool it wouldn’t matter whether she was covered or not, but ’til then at least, the fabric gave her some reassurance that she wasn’t scaring people or exposing herself to ridicule. She took a moment to fluff her short, curly hair before she left the room, looking over herself in the mirror again. “Well…thank goodness they’re gay… I guess.” As if that would make her feel any better about it all.

Oh, wow! Craig’s eyes bugged open, though he managed to keep his tongue in his head. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jack trying to hide his surprise. Wren was quite something when she wasn’t buried under layers of baggy clothes. She had Junoesque curves in all the right places – a round ass, and large breasts that sat high with a perfect amount of bounce.

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Walking back over to the lounger, she dropped her bag then fumbled at her hip, worrying at the knot holding her sarong closed. Finally releasing the ties, she dropped the length of fabric to the lounger and turned toward the men. While she had her back turned, he and Jack had already had a chance to register shock at the extent of her scarring to each other, and in the split second before she turned to face them had composed themselves to show none of the effect it had on them. Craig knew the scars didn’t worry him in the least and was sure the same went for Jack; neither of them was that vain. While perfect bodies were nice, the person underneath the skin mattered more. Craig knew he, at least, was angry that Wren had to suffer the pain that her scars must cause her every day. Thank goodness she was hesitating to get in the pool; it gave him time to think away the hard-on building in his shorts. As he swam past Jack, he brushed up against Jack’s groin with his hip – Jack was having the same problem with his own errant cock.

Well, now isn’t that interesting – Jack has never reacted to a woman while in my company before. Craig came to a stop and rested his head on his arms on the edge of the pool just below where Wren stood, letting himself admire Wren’s long, curvy legs as he looked upward. “Well? What are you waiting for? Come on in!”

Oh, man, why did they have to be gay? The two men lounging in the pool had been wandering around the whole afternoon – shirtless. Two well-sculpted chests, one set of cut abs and lean hips, and the other nice and solid through the waist and thighs – both the epitome of handsome, strong, virile men. Sighing at the sight of all that bronzed, wet, and entirely unobtainable flesh, Wren held her breath and dove in.

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“So, you’ve both been very good at avoiding the topic.” Wren watched them over her glass of juice. “Huh?” Craig wondered if he looked as baffled as he felt. “The scars.” Wren pulled aside the sarong, baring her leg to the men. “Aren’t you going to ask?” He had to bite back a moan. She didn’t realize what a picture she made reclined on the lounger with a leg cocked at the knee, hair in disarray. “Why would we?” He felt discomforted that she expected to be quizzed like some sideshow freak. “It’s your choice to tell us anything about your past, Wren. We can see, obviously, that there was some accident, and that’s why you need a cane for extra support. Why do we need to know anything more?” Despite his reassurances, Craig just knew Jack was itching for details. He didn’t spread gossip or information, but Jack never liked not knowing. Though he didn’t pump people for highly personal information they didn’t want to share, either. Wren jerked upright, unconsciously flashing more of her creamy inner thigh. “You really don’t want to know?” Jack sat up, too. “Look, he says he doesn’t want to know, but me? Tell me, pretty please?” Craig looked at Jack, appalled, while Wren regarded him coolly. After a moment or two of everyone staring at Jack and his silly behavior, they all broke out in a round of group laughter, realizing he was hamming it up to break the stretching tension. “You silly chook, of course we want to know, but like Craig said, it’s your story to tell, Wren, and you will when you feel comfortable doing so.” Jack walked over and bent at the waist to give Wren a quick hug. “We aren’t rubberneckers out for a sick thrill.”

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“Thank you, Jack.” Wren smiled back happily. Evidently people who weren’t freaked out by her scars were few and far between. That didn’t make him feel very charitable toward his fellow man. Quickly turning his back to Wren and facing Craig, Jack stood upright again. Craig immediately saw his partner’s problem, which in turn caused a slightly stiff problem of his own. “Want to help me in the kitchen, Craig? We may as well get started on dinner.” “Can I help?” Craig watched Jack’s eyes pop out at Wren’s suggestion. “No, no, you lie out here and get the last of the sun.” Craig peered around Jack to watch Wren make herself more comfortable. “We’ve everything fairly much done already. We just need to throw together a salad to go with the steaks.” Besides, if they didn’t keep her out at the pool, how was he going to suck down the little afternoon snack that bulged in Jack’s shorts? “Okay then, just yell out if you change your mind. I really don’t mind helping.” “You relax; next time we’ll put you to work while we bask in the heat.” She gave them both a sunny smile before laying back and sliding her sunhat down over her eyes.

After making their way to the kitchen, they stood at the window, watching Wren as she lay snoozing in the last of the day’s heat. Jack stood with Craig at his back and his shorts at his ankles. Craig’s arm reached around his waist and slowly stroked Jack’s cock with a firm fist. “She doesn’t have a clue, does she?” Jack was having a hard time concentrating, awed by the view and the sensations tingling from his balls.

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“Wren? No, she doesn’t. Not about how sexy she is despite her scars, or that we’re bi, not gay. Though at least since she thinks we’re purely interested in men, she’s very relaxed around us.” “I don’t like those scars.” Craig’s hand jerked on his cock, not in a pleasant way, then stopped. “What?” Craig’s tone was not very complimentary to Jack. “No, not like that.” He turned a fraction to frown at Craig. “I heard her say to Angela in the office that it was a drunk-driving accident; she shouldn’t have to be hurting all the time because of some drunken idiot.” “No, she shouldn’t.” With a quick glance out over the pool area to make sure Wren was still dozing, Craig sank to his knees. Jack stepped back to give Craig easy access as his tongue swiped across the head of his prick. One lick and this man had him wanting to beg. “Jesus, Craig.” He grunted as Craig swallowed him down, taking him farther into his mouth each time he bobbed his head on Jack’s hard shaft. The heat of Craig’s mouth as he pulled away, cheeks hollowed, and the press between his tongue and the roof of his mouth on the way back down made it hard not to come like a novice. Wrapping his hands around the back of Craig’s head, Jack wound his fingers through the short, silky hair, and guided Craig’s mouth more forcefully onto his cock, controlling the action, but not quite gagging his lover. “Shit, you do that so well, babe.” Craig surrendered his hands, letting Jack take control of the rhythm. Craig used only his mouth on Jack, his now-free hands pushing down his shorts, exposing his thick, damp, engorged cock, stroking it in time with Jack’s movement of his head.

Craig loved it when Jack got aggressive during oral sex – when he grabbed his head and fucked his mouth. Craig loved being able to hand over the reins and just enjoy the raw sex

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sometimes. Making love with Jack was amazing; however, primal fucking had its place in the bedroom, too. They each had their own preferences that had changed over time. Jack hadn’t wanted to be fucked, and Craig hadn’t been into giving head. Now, Jack begged Craig to fill his ass, and Craig loved to set his need to control aside and submit to Jack’s long cock shoving its way down his throat. They didn’t have much time, and it didn’t take long for either man to reach a crisis point. Craig knew his moans sent a vibration down Jack’s cock that, combined with him still watching the lovely woman out the window, sent him crashing quickly over the edge. Jack buried himself as deeply as possible in his throat, holding Craig’s head hostage, spurting cum that Craig eagerly swallowed. Rearing back with a gasp, Craig leaned back on one arm, propping himself up, furiously stroking his cock while Jack looked down, mesmerized, as Craig masturbated himself to a climax. Craig lost it when he saw desire flare again in his lover’s eyes. He thrust up into his fist with a groan, shooting cum over his hand and the floor. Seemingly well satisfied, Craig sighed and looked up first to the clock, then to Jack. “It’s amazing what you can do in three minutes, isn’t it?” Jack sniggered as he reached for his shorts. “Just hurry up and get off the floor, you show off. I’m hungry, and I’m sure Wren is, too.” Jack tossed down a couple of paper towels. “And please, don’t slip on that mess you made on the floor when you stand up.” Craig smirked. Life was good when you could come hard and fast one minute, then be laughing with your lover the next.

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Chapter Six

That Saturday afternoon proved to be the first of many spent lounging around the pool, discussing absolutely nothing over a bottle or two of wine until the warmth of summer finally died. Once the cool of autumn finally made its presence felt, Jack, Craig, and Wren had moved on to spending at least one night during the week eating and relaxing together and spending their Saturday afternoons helping Jack winterize the garden, or getting out and enjoying the sights around Auckland. They enjoyed visiting museums, attending performances that one of Wren’s close friends, Kelvin Jones, acted in or produced, and visiting local art exhibitions. Auckland came alive during autumn, and their friendship thrived along with it. Wren, of course, had long since moved on from working with Jack, and was deeply involved with a new client. Jack was up to his ears in propagation and seedlings, trying to keep up with the volume of new business that the Web site and new store branch was generating – his expansion was exceeding his greatest expectations. Meanwhile, Craig had received a promotion; he was now working as a project manager rather than just a consultant. All of them were working hard and had odd extended hours most days, which meant the three of them couldn’t always get together, but they still managed to catch up

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with each other two or three times a week, even if it was only as a couple, not a trio of friends. “So, is this restaurant as bad as I think it is?” Wren was driving tonight, and Craig was two glasses of wine over his usual two-glass limit. Wren tsked at Craig’s unusual rudeness. “Well… I wouldn’t say it was bad bad, but something is definitely not right that’s for sure. I don’t know if it’s the waitstaff or the kitchen.” Wren poked at what was left of her steak. “I suppose cold steak could be a delicacy somewhere that someone would want to pay twenty-five bucks for.” “Yeah, but not here. Let’s get going. I’m not even going to try for dessert; the sixtyminute wait for our main course was enough.” Craig dropped enough cash on the table to cover both of their meals and the bottle of wine; the only thing that had arrived to the table in a timely manner. “Want to drive down to Mission Bay and get an ice cream before heading home?” Craig looked pathetically hopeful. Wren looked at her watch to find it was only nine p.m. – still plenty of time before she needed to be home. “Sure, why not.”

After she parked the car, Craig took Wren’s elbow in his usual, helpful fashion as they made their way past the myriad of restaurants, bars, and cafés that lined the Mission Bay waterfront, strolling until they came to the ice cream parlor. Farroll’s was always popular, so after a ten-minute wait they were able to make their way over the road to perch on the edge of the fountain, licking and slurping at their monstrous desserts. “Oh, man, these always taste so good, and are so bad for my waistline.” Wren stopped nibbling at her cone when she sensed his regard.

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“Why do you say that, Wren? There’s nothing wrong with your waistline. It looks just fine to me.” Craig frowned, wondering why she always hid herself away behind her clothes. “You’re too smooth, Hunter. Do you say that to all the guys?” Wren chuckled all the while licking around her lips, lapping up the smeared dairy treat. “I bet all that sweet talking got you in many a man’s pants.” “Humph!” Turning his back to the street, he gazed out over the lights of Devonport on the opposite shore. “Nice night, isn’t it? I’ve always liked coming down here just before winter really hits. Even then, there’s still something…you know. All the wild wind off the sea, and the water from the fountain flying everywhere.” Sheesh, he needed to lay off the red

wine; it made him wax lyrical. Wren snuggled up closer to his side. “Brrrr! Don’t have winter on us just yet; I’m still holding onto the last days of warm weather. I hate the cold now.” “You do? Why would you hate winter?” “Well, I didn’t when I was a kid; we used to go skiing every winter.” Wren shrugged with a sigh. “After the accident…well, the cold is a killer on my hip now.” She shrugged. “Not that it would stand up against the harshness of skiing.” Looping an arm around her shoulder, he dragged her in closer, sharing his warmth, taking a sneaky opportunity to hold her close. “Hmm, that accident…” His sentence faded off with expectation. Craig hoped that he might learn a little more now that Wren was comfortable with them. “Drunk guy, two cars. You can fairly much guess the outcome.” Wren had gone quite still and hushed. “My mum was driving, and I was in the passenger seat. It was a country road at night, so no streetlights, and the guy was driving up the middle of the road.” Wren was so preternaturally still that he could feel the tension rippling through her body in spite of the layers of clothes.

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“Mum died on impact – I never really got all the details. To tell you the truth, I don’t want to know. The car spun somehow, or maybe it was pushed from the momentum of the other driver hitting us, but our car got turned around in such a way that the fencing along the roadside crushed in the left side of the car. I can’t imagine what speed he was going.” Understanding her need to ramble, he didn’t interrupt. This wasn’t a time for questions. “The car was an older model, so no side airbags or anything like that. I ended up with most of the car wrapped around, and in, my side. My hip and upper leg were smashed to smithereens. You’ve seen the scars. They used to be worse, but with some cosmetic work, and time, they aren’t as bad as they were. The doctors didn’t think I would ever walk well again because of my hip. Maybe it was just being so young. I have almost full range of movement; it’s just not strong anymore.” Craig grieved quietly with her now that she had finished her story. Wren meant a lot to him, and knowing that she’d lost her mother, along with total control of her body to a drunken idiot made him mad…really mad. It also made him sad enough that a tear slid down his cheek as he hugged her close. “Oh, baby. How old were you?” As he rocked them gently side to side, Craig felt Wren start to unwind. “I was fifteen. Old enough that I can remember how much fun Mum was, but young enough that I missed her desperately through the rest of high school – not that I really attended much high school after the crash; I spent most of it in hospital.” The two of them sat for a few minutes, decompressing and enjoying the crisp night air. Even the racket of the cars and people’s voices from the restaurants and bars behind them lent their own ambiance to the most popular piece of harbor front in Auckland. “Come on, you; take me home.” Standing, Craig pulled Wren up and linked their arms together for the walk back to the car.

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Pulling up outside the big renovated farmhouse, Wren smiled over at him. “Door-todoor service tonight?” Craig liked to watch her smile. Her lips were a pretty raspberry red, and since she usually only used lip gloss, they always had this sexy shine – that shine drove him a bit nutty at times, fantasizing about them in a pouty O around his dick. “No need to see me to the door. You need to head home; it’s getting late.” Wren nodded in agreement, then twisted to forage behind the passenger seat for his briefcase. “Wren?”

“Hmm?” Turning her head, Wren found herself almost lip to lip with Craig. “You have some ice cream…right here.” She hesitated, captured, as a warm tongue licked a spot to the side of her mouth, then across her lower lip, finally retreating to let a pair of warm lips press against her own with a sigh. Lost in the sensation, she didn’t stop to think that it was Craig kissing her. Instead, she basked in the warmth of the kiss given by a handsome, attractive man. With a groan, Craig pulled away and reached for the door handle. He looked surprised and a little shocked at what he had done and exited the car quickly, telling her to drive safe. Following him with her eyes as he walked away, she stared quizzically through the daze he had left her in and tried to figure just what that had been about.

Well, that was weird. She touched her hot, swollen lips, almost wishing that the kiss hadn’t ended. Must have been the wine – it always gives him unusual ideas.

***** Exiting the movie theatre, Jack took Wren’s arm and, like usual, threaded it through his, offering help and friendship.

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“So, what did you think?” “About the theatre? How cool is that – lounge chairs, wine, and fancy coffees –” Jack broke in impatiently, stopping on the footpath to look at Wren. Of all things, the outdoorsman was an art-house movie buff. “No. The movie… What did you think? Did you think it was as good as they said it would be?” “Well, with a title like Kinky Boots, I was hoping it would be fun, and it was.” Hugging his arm a little closer, Wren got him walking back to the car again. “It was a little Priscilla,

Queen of the Desert with that last stage scene, but, you know, I really enjoyed it. It was worth the drive over to see it. Pity Craig is down in Hamilton tonight.” His employer had sent him to see to a client personally. “Yeah.” They walked companionably along. “It’s getting late; I better get you home, my dear.” Coming up to the parked car, Jack opened the door, handing her in with a flourish and a kiss on the back of her hand, while she giggled at his antics. She was still grinning when Jack got in the driver’s seat. “Prince Charming lessons, huh?” It was hard to tell in the street-lit darkness, but she would swear he was blushing. “Well, it never hurts to treat a lady nicely, my mother always told me.” He shrugged, then reached to start the car. “I usually stick my big size-twelve feet in it with women; I can never quite say the right thing.” Patting his leg in sympathy, she chuckled. “That’s pretty much the same for me, but with men. I never learned how to flirt – all that time in hospital never really gave me a chance to earn my ‘wings,’ so to speak.” “We are a right pair, aren’t we – both great with people, but absolutely useless with the opposite sex.”

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They had gone to see the small-release movie at the Lido in Greenlane, about threequarters of an hour away from home when the Southern Motorway ran slow. As they pulled into the heavy traffic at the Greenlane roundabout, Wren quietly watched the headlights flickering on Jack’s face as he concentrated on getting through the interchange onto the Southern Motorway.

He really is a handsome man. She mentally sighed. Why are all the good ones taken? “It’s lucky you have Craig then, isn’t it?” Jack shot her a lusty grin. “Yeah, it is.” When they pulled into the driveway of her Papakura townhouse a quick twenty-five minutes later, Jack exited and came around the car, assisting her again. The way the two men aided her in an old-fashioned, gentlemanly manner always made her feel good. It didn’t feel like they were pandering to her disability, yet they were offering a hand or arm. It gave them quite an old-world charm. “You don’t have to walk me to the door, you know.” Wren was amused by the fact that Jack and Craig refused to drop her off and leave; they always walked her to the door. “Nah-uh. My dad drummed this into me as a teenager – you walk your date to the door and make sure they get inside safely. I felt sorry for my sister’s dates that didn’t behave according to the rules Dad set out.” “You know, Jack, you try to make out you’re the rough, tough, hands-in-the-dirt, manly man, but really, underneath it all, you’re just a southern gentleman at heart, aren’t you?” “Nah, I just don’t want your dad, or Craig, beating the shit out of me if something were to happen to you. I feel happier that you’re safely tucked up.” He took the house keys from her hand and opened the lock, reaching his hand around the frame to hit the light switch. She looked up at Jack; both of them still stood on her doorstep. “Want a cup of tea before you drive home?”

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“No. I better get going. I love playing in the dirt, but six a.m. starts are a killer – I’m getting old… I need my beauty sleep.” Wren smiled at Jack’s joke. Old? Who was he kidding;

the man was in his prime. “Okay then, drive safe and call me on the weekend once Craig is back, so we can get together.” Putting her back to him, she stepped over the threshold, then turned back, ready to shut the door. Jack still stood there with a strange look on his face. “Wha –” She broke off mid-sentence as he took a step closer, wrapped his hands around her shoulders, and pulled her into him, kissing her very, very thoroughly, leaving her gasping for breath by the time he put her away from him. Jack looked at her, taken aback, then spun on his heel and bounded down the front steps to his car, waving out a quick goodbye. She didn’t shut the door until she saw his taillights turn from the end of her driveway, standing fixed to the spot as her confusion made her face hot.

What the hell was going on?

***** Okay, this wasn’t one of his best ideas. But he was being a chickenshit. He’d spent most of the night awake, trying to figure out why the hell he was risking his relationship with Craig by kissing Wren, and he hadn’t come up with any better solution than to just own up to what happened. Maybe it was time for his mid-thirties crisis. He’d figured out a few things last night. One of them was that he understood Craig a lot better, now that he was attracted to a woman for more than just the physical. The second was that he was heading up shit creek without a paddle. Could he just forget he felt anything for Wren, and be happy with Craig as his lover and Wren as his friend? Still none the wiser, Jack pressed a button on his phone, sending the short but succinct text message to Craig – HLP! I kissd wren.

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Jack really wasn’t sure what the reply would be. Would Craig be outraged, horrified – disappointed with him? He didn’t expect the reply – ok. i did 2, wot now?

Whoa, Craig had kissed her, too? Jack frowned. Here he was, feeling as guilty as sin, and Craig had done the same thing? How did he feel about this? Jack thought about Craig kissing Wren and a strange excitement bubbled through his body. When he thought about Craig kissing another anonymous woman, jealousy burned in his gut. Yet, imagining him again with Wren made his chest flutter. How freaking perverted

can I get? He thought about his reply and texted back – not sure, r we gd? Craig’s reply was thankfully quick – yes! Luv u! Jack hadn’t realized how tight his chest had been until the pressure around his heart released while reading Craig’s response. Even in the face of Craig’s admission, the guilt had rested heavily. He quickly sent off a final message – luv u 2, and with a lighter heart headed down to the glasshouses – he had some seedlings to re-pot.

Two hours later, Jack looked down to where his cell phone hung off his belt. It had beeped, telling him he had a text message. Can u share?

What on earth does that mean? Share wht? He texted back to Craig. Not wht who. Who? What was Craig suggesting, share who? Wren, Craig replied.

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He gulped, and looked around the potting area, checking to see if anyone had seen Craig’s scandalous suggestion. Share Wren? Both of them? Did he mean separately, or together? For the first time in his life Jack could envisage making love with a woman – not fucking her, but making love. While he stared in astonishment at the screen, the phone beeped again.

Jack? His hand started to shake as he read the message on the screen. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he replied.

Shr wren 2gethr? He leaned back against the high work table, his legs unsteady from the concept of sex with Craig and Wren – at the same time. Bisexual porn had that combination all the time, but he had never thought of partaking in such a situation in real life. Scrubbing his face with his hand, he dropped the phone on the bench top and stepped away, as if it were a bomb about to go off.

Good God, it was the perfect solution. When the phone beeped again, telling him of the next message, he had to force himself to pick it up and read the screen.

Yes only 2gethr, u me wren. U sure? Yes both luv her. It had taken him hours after that kiss last night to come to that same conclusion.

Ok Gd I make plns call u 2nite. Was it that simple? What did this mean in the long term for him and Craig?

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Despite his concerns, he was aroused and rock hard. Shaking, he clipped the phone back onto his belt and tried to carry on with his afternoon’s work. At three o’clock, he threw in the towel with only half the job done and went home. With images of Craig, Wren, and him together in bed running around and around in his head, he was good for nothing. At least at home he could take care of one part of the problem. Reclining back in the driver’s seat of the car and with one hand on the wheel as he drove, he released the button and zipper on his jeans and released the pressure on his cock.

Yes – briefly stroking himself through the soft knit of his underwear – there was something he could do about the hard-on Craig had given him by suggesting a threesome with Wren. He pulled his T-shirt out of his pants and made sure it covered his lap. No point in

getting arrested on the way.

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Chapter Seven

“You’re sure about this, Craig?” It was Friday night, and the pair of them sat in the car outside Wren’s house. “Yes, as long as you want this and aren’t just doing this because I want to, I’m sure about this.” Craig watched Jack, looking for any sign of uncertainty. They’d talked for hours about their feelings for Wren the night before and decided that Craig’s crazy idea was worth trying. Peeling his eyes away from Wren’s driveway, Jack looked straight at Craig. “This is a first for me, you know…wanting a woman like this. Usually the woman is available, wanting a good time, and the experience is pleasurable. But this…” Jack waved his fingers, searching for the right description. “This is totally new.” Jack swallowed, visibly showing his uncertainty. “This is kind of scary, Craig.” Leaning over to Jack, Craig took his lover’s face in his hands and kissed him tenderly. “Jack, this doesn’t change the way I feel about you. This can go one of two ways – Wren loves the idea and we all have a wonderful time –” He shrugged. “-- or Wren hates the idea and never speaks to us again.” Craig caressed Jack’s cheek with his own, their stubble

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prickling against each other, and whispered in his ear. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I think there’s a lot to gain.” Jack nodded his head in agreement. “All right.” Jack gathered his courage around him. “Let’s do this, and hopefully I won’t make an ass out of myself – you know me, ‘Mr. Suave!’” The self-deprecation was clear from the tone of his voice.

Tightening the belt on her chenille robe, Wren hurried to the front door. She looked through the security window to see who had rung her doorbell and saw two handsome men. Unlatching the chain, she opened the door wide, ushering them inside. “Hey, guys! It’s good to see you!” Leaving Craig to shut the door behind him, Wren trailed the pair behind her like a momma duck and her ducklings as they followed her into the lounge. “Want to share my bottle of wine?” She turned to face the men expectantly, only to meet twin faces of – hmm…what? They looked scared but, all…sort of macho and uncertain, and at the same time determined – it was very peculiar. “Is something wrong?” She cocked her head questioningly. “And do I need to refill my wineglass before you tell me?” Craig halted abruptly at the lounge door, changing direction and heading for the kitchen. “A glass of wine would be good; I’ll go get the glasses.” Sitting down in her favorite comfy chair, she tucked her good leg underneath her bottom and waited, watching Jack as he stalked around the room, unable to stand still. “For goodness sake, Jack, sit down. You’re like a cat on a hot tin roof!” He jerked, as if she’d surprised him, and turned toward her, stepping over to the sofa and sitting on one side. “Sorry, Wren.” Craig came back with two more glasses and stood as he poured them both a drink, topping up hers as well. He then handed Jack his wine and took a seat beside him. Both men

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gulped back at least half a glass of the expensive Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc without tasting a drop. “Okay, that’s it.” She leaned forward, putting her wineglass on the coffee table with a clink, unintentionally flashing both men a rather tempting display of a creamy, fleshy breast. “What has you two so wound up?” Jack looked…constipated? She could see the words tumbling over in his brain, no sooner forming a sentence than he rejected it, wanting to say something, yet coming out with nothing. When he finally did speak, it was emphatic, shocking, and definitely dramatic. “I…that is we want to sleep with you.” Jack almost collapsed in on himself with relief at having managed to get the words out, while Craig studied her expectantly. “You want to…” Wren’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped as all of a sudden Jack’s words struck home. She screeched in shock. “You want to what?” Oh, no. That just wasn’t fair; she had to have heard wrong. “Both of us…Jack and I, that is… Well, we’re both attracted to you – really attracted to you, and we’d like to explore that attraction further.” “But – but – you’re gay!” Wren heard herself stutter. Of course she had her daydreams, or nighttime fantasies more like, but those kinds of things never came true. Did they? The two men looked at each other, then back at her. “Umm…no…we’re not. We’re bi.” Craig looked a little shamefaced. “We just never said anything.” “But, I have tended to prefer men. Well, ’til now, that is.” Jack seemed as disconcerted as she felt. What made it worse was the tingle and unexpected warmth between her legs. Her brain might be saying holy shit, but her body was saying yes, please! Not knowing how to respond, she closed her flapping jaw shut with a snap. Ohmigod. The two men she secretly most lusted after in the whole wide world were here, in her lounge, asking her if she would consent to having earth-moving, sky-shaking sex with them?

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Wren felt like a Ping-Pong ball, bouncing back and forth between the two faces in front of her. Her eyebrows must be in her hairline; her surprise was that great. “Wren, this isn’t something we’ve done before. It’s a totally and utterly new experience for us, too, so we probably have gone about this all wrong. Jumped in when we should have eased our way around to it. We’re asking if you’d think about joining us tomorrow afternoon, so we can see…well, see where this might lead.” Jack sat, nodding during this little speech. Then carried on where Craig left off, not giving her a chance to get a word in edgewise. “We know you’ll need to think about this. We really did before we came here to ask – think about it, that is – we didn’t come here on some random whim.” Jack took another big gulp out of his wineglass. “So this is our plan: if you’d like to explore this idea, come to our house at four tomorrow afternoon. We fairly much will take it from there, and do our level best to make this an experience all of us will enjoy.” Now that they had said their piece, they both jumped up out of their seats, shaking down the legs on their pants as they stood tall again, and made a dash for the door. Jack came to halt just before the door and turned back. Wren still sat in her chair, stunned and unable to move. With her brain spinning awkwardly like a top about to drop, she didn’t know that she’d actually stay upright if she tried to stand. “I just had a thought… Ahh, we’re both clean.” Jack was flushing profusely. “We do have unprotected sex since we’re monogamous…until now that is, but we regularly get tested, so…so we’re clean.” He had blushed beet red telling her their health stats, but obviously he felt it important that she know they were responsible and healthy. He smiled gently. “I hope to see you tomorrow, honey.” The front door clicked shut. The retort of the lock ricocheted through the suddenly quiet house, and still she sat there, staring at the doorway her two friends had just exited, waiting for them to come waltzing back through with an “Aha! We fooled you!”

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But they didn’t. She blinked, breaking the trance she was suspended in, and gasped in the air she hadn’t been breathing since Jack had first spat out his question. Oh. My. God. They were asking her, of all people, to have a threesome? With her hand on her heart, she practiced some of the deep-breathing exercises she had used when in the hospital to calm her panic attacks. “Bloody hell! Two men just asked me to have sex with them? At the same time? Holy…” She couldn’t believe it. Then a light went on in her head and she wailed out loud. “But, I haven’t ever slept with anybody!”

Could she do this? Wren thought about how long she had waited for the time when someone would want her. She understood perfectly how teenage boys felt with their hormones running wild, full of unrequited lust. She wasn’t celibate by choice, more by circumstance. The drunk who had taken her mother’s life, along with Wren’s perfect mobility, had kept on taking. First through denying her her teenage years and all that went with them, from deep friendships, to exploring her own sexuality, to now, where men took one look at her cane and relegated her to good-friend status. She was a damn good friend, if she did say so herself, but that didn’t keep her warm at night, or ease the sexual tension that any red-blooded woman would want assuaged.

Could she do this? Wren snuck a sideways glance at the book she had hastily covered when the doorbell rang. She had been purchasing erotica and erotic romance for years off the Internet. The particular story she had sat down with a nice bottle of wine to read was about two best friends who fall in love with the same woman and decide to share her. Ménage had its own shelf on her bookcase; it had always fascinated her and turned her on something wicked. She might not have ever found someone willing to take a chance and

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have sex with the “damaged girl,” but she sure as hell had fantasized about it with any number of sex toys. She wasn’t an aging, spinster miss from some Regency novel, throwing herself on the ravishment pile with hopes and dreams that her rake would find himself forever enamored of her, the looked-over wallflower. No, in fact that was one thing Wren was sure of. Jack and Craig were one of the most solid couples she knew. But even the most solid relationships needed new life now and then. In fact, since they all knew the score of who loved whom, she felt oddly comfortable with the idea, in spite of her surprise. She felt enormously flattered that they felt attracted enough to her that they would ask her, of all people, to be the third in their little step out of normality. She still wouldn’t have the whispered words and sweet nothings of a full-time lover, but at least she would have tasted that which she had yet to partake of – actual, physical sex with man; not a battery-operated boyfriend. With one foot still tucked under her thigh, her slightly raised toes began tapping on the floor. Her static shock was slowly being replaced with an anxious awareness of certain parts of her body that told her brain to butt out and let them do the talking.

Would her “technically” being a virgin put them off? “Only one way to find out.” Her already-decided subconscious mind had her reaching for the cordless handset that sat on the coffee table and dialing the number that after all these months she knew by heart. If they had gone straight home, Jack and Craig would be only halfway there; she could leave a message for them to find when they got home. Waiting for the machine to pick up, she involuntarily twisted the belt on her dressing gown around the fingers of her right hand, really hoping that her virginity wasn’t going to be an issue – because this was one fantasy she was going to grab at with both hands.

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Walking through the back door and around Jack, who was fiddling with getting his keys out of the lock, Craig was the first to see the message light flickering on the answering machine. Coming to a halt in the middle of the short hallway, Jack plowed into him from behind, not realizing that Craig had come to a dead stop. “What?” “There’s a message…” Jack peered over his shoulder, and both men stood staring at the potential Pandora’s Box known as their answering machine. “If it’s from Wren, that wouldn’t be good, right?” Jack’s voice floated quietly from behind Craig. “I mean…if she was really disgusted about the idea, she would get back to us straightaway, wouldn’t she?” “Think glass half-full, Jack. Maybe it was a no-brainer, and she’s phoning to tell us yes. You know Wren and her need to organize.” He was working hard to convince himself, and Jack, to look on the bright side. Jack grunted a “humph” and pulled himself up tall, stepping around Craig and hitting the play button on the machine. “Hi, guys, it’s Wren. I finally managed to get my jaw off the floor and get myself together – you fairly much gave me the biggest shock of my life tonight.” There was an obvious pause. “Look, there isn’t really any other way to say this, so here goes. I’ve never slept with anyone… I … Well, technically… I’m a virgin – God, that sounds so Brittany Spears, doesn’t it?” Wren’s rushing ramble of words betrayed her anxiety. “So, well… Anyway, I wanted you to know, and if that changes the way… I mean, if you don’t want to do this now, just call me and leave a message. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Bye.” The machine clicked off, and silence filled the house again.

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“Craig?” Jack hadn’t moved from his spot in front of the answering machine. His hands gripped the side table so hard his knuckles were white. “Yeah?” “Wren hasn’t ever had sex before.” “Yeah, I heard.” “No one else has ever touched her.” Jack’s voice had lowered an octave and had gone scratchy. “Yes.” His own voice was little more than a whisper. “Does that turn you on as much as it does me?” “Yes,” he managed to choke out. “So we are still doing this?” “Hell, yes!” “Go pick up the other phone.” Craig raced for the bedroom extension as Jack reached for the phone, dialing Wren’s number.

There was no way Wren was going to be able to sleep tonight, so she sat with her arm around a cushion, feet under the covers, waiting for the phone to ring, and desperately hoping that it wouldn’t. When she heard the first peal of the electronic ringtone, she grimaced sadly, waiting to hear the voice of rejection through her answering machine. Clutching the cushion closer and trying not to let the tears pooling in her eyes fall, she held her breath so she wouldn’t miss a word. “Wren? If you’re there, pick up.” Jack barely paused long enough to give her a chance to pick up the handset. “Should we leave a message, Craig?” “Yes, we should,” she heard Craig say.

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“Are you sure? This is kind of important to just leave a message.” “Oh, for Christ’s sake, Jack…” Wren could hear Craig’s frustration loud and clear as the two debated back and forth. “Wren, we got your message, and we know you said don’t call, but we wanted you to know…we’d be honored to be your first lovers, and we’ll do everything possible to make it the best experience that it can be.” “Yeah, what he said.” “Damn it, Jack, you’re an idiot!” “You know I’m hopeless at this shit, what did you expect?” They must have realized they were still connected, and the machine recorded a loud click as they hung up, still arguing about Jack’s lack of refinement. Giggling, feeling like she’d just won a million dollars, she bounced up and down on the bed, squeezing the life out of the poor pillow she had been ready to sob into. “Ohmigod – I’m going to get laid.” She giggled harder as she realized what she had just said, then hiccupped. With her hand delicately over her mouth she grinned cheekily – it

must be the wine.

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Chapter Eight

Wren had sat bolt upright in her bed at three a.m., frantic as she realized the enormity of what she had to get done that morning. Pedicure, manicure, legs waxed…maybe somewhere else tidied up, too. Hair. And then there was question of what to wear. Theoretically she wouldn’t be wearing it for long, but she’d like to have something nicer than a boring cotton bra and granny panties on when she got to taking off her clothes – right? So now that she was denuded, exfoliated, smoothed, moisturized, and styled, she stood on Jack and Craig’s front doorstep, ready to destroy the morning’s work. Her pretty dress whispered around her calves as she tried to get up the courage to knock on the front door.

Just do it girl! Standing here doesn’t do anyone any good. Ring the bell! With one last bolstering breath she pressed, expecting to hear footsteps down the hallway to the front door; instead, with a wicked sense of déjà vu the door was pulled open with a rush before she even got her finger off the button. Standing in the open doorway were two nervous-looking men with shy, sexy smiles on their faces. “Wren.” Craig held out his hand.

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She placed her hand in his, and Craig drew her over the threshold and into his arms with a gentle kiss on her lips. She could feel the heat of Jack as he came up behind her, pressing close, the slick warmth of his kiss to the soft corner of her neck and his whispered words making her shiver. “Thank you for trusting us.” They released her, and each took a hand, gently tugging her toward the lounge room. “We thought we would start things off slowly – we didn’t think any of us were exactly ready to jump straight into being naked and rolling on the bed.” Craig was being very practical and was, indeed, right. All three of them were taking a chance on the encounter. If they rushed it they could ruin not only the moment, but also a good friendship. “Oh, wow!” Both men smiled at her exclamation. They had gone all out, and their lounge was now fitted out for seduction. Scented candles glowed around the edges of the darkened room, and a light, exotic, musky aroma hung in the air, accented by the fragrant bouquets of fresh flowers, more than likely from Jack’s garden. Soft cushions were piled on the couch, fresh towels, oils, and a massage table sat off to one side. “You did this for me?” She was quite shocked; she hadn’t known what to expect, but this hadn’t been it. “Well, not all for you, since we’ll be enjoying it all as well…but, yes, we did this for you.” Jack held out a slinky satin wrap. “We’re going to leave the room for a minute and let you slip into something more comfortable.” The corny old line made them all laugh and broke down some of the tension. “Leave on what you feel comfortable with. Then lie face down on the massage table.” She didn’t know if she could get any words out, so she nodded as the two men exited the room. “Wait!” Jack and Craig stopped on the threshold. “What are you guys going to be doing?” They gave each other a big playful grin then turned back to answer her question. “We’re going to slip into something more comfortable, too.”

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“Oh.” She couldn’t get more than that out, because of the big chunk of “ohmigod” sitting in her throat when she visualized what more comfortable might mean for the men. Shorts? Maybe covered with silken robes to match hers? Naked? The options and images were endless. Craig flicked the stereo remote, and then dropped it on the table before he left the room. “When the first song finishes we’ll come back in. Okay?” Still speechless, she nodded to say she understood.

Okay, you can do this, Wren! This is what you came here for. Quickly unzipping the dress and folding it neatly, she left her bra and panties on, but took off her shoes. She had spent a small fortune on the lingerie set; Jack and Craig were

going to get to see it! She knew she was a full-figured woman, but considering how little of it there really was, the silk and lace underwear did amazing things to her body. Pretty damn

hot, if I say so myself. Sliding into the satin robe, she tried to figure out how to get onto the massage table – she always had difficulty with this because of her leg and hip. Usually there was a physiotherapist there to help her.

Just think about it, Wren; it’s not that hard. She grabbed one of the tall chairs nearby and pulled it over, using the seatback as a prop to hold herself steady as she swung her leg awkwardly onto the table without losing her balance. From there, it was a little shuffle and wiggle sideways to get into the center of the table. She had to undo the front of the short, kimono-style cover-up so it didn’t get all twisted underneath her, but she figured it was going to be coming off at some point anyway – might as well make it easier on everyone. When a warm hand circled her ankle, she started. She had been so lost in talking herself out of her anxiety so she could relax that she hadn’t heard the calming, sensual song

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finish, let alone the men come in. A totally different touch gently settled on the back of her knee. “You two are quiet movers when you want to be.” The twin chuckles behind her helped ease a little more of the nervous strain that was holding her taut.

This is Jack and Craig. They aren’t here to hurt me…just relax! She heard the chair she had used as a prop being pulled away so all sides of the table were free. “Shit! I’m sorry, Wren; we didn’t even think about your leg and getting up on the table.” “It’s okay, guys. I’ve had a whole lot of years to get used to what I can and can’t do. It’s always easier getting down once a massage has loosened things up.” The hand on her ankle gently brushed its way up her calf, raising a sensual tingle as it slowly progressed. “On that note…you need to tell us what will and won’t work with your leg and hip. We thought a massage would help loosen up your hip, but what should we definitely not try to do?” “Umm…well…I’m kinda new at this guys – put me in the hot seat, why don’t you?” Both men’s hands made lazy circles at the top of her calves and the backs of her knees, almost, but not quite, tickling. “Sometimes I don’t know until I try something, but I can’t stay lying for long on my left side before my hip starts to ache. There is one thing though –”

Just spit it out, Wren! “Well…you know that position where you curl up the person on the bottom and put their butt up in the air?” Both men looked nonplussed as they visualized what she meant. “I think I know what you mean.” Hands that had paused now started on their way again as Craig answered. “Um…the last guy that did that ended up with a black eye. It really freaking hurts.”

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“And you know this, how?” Jack sounded curious and…a little gruff? Wren felt a little spark inside as she recognized his protective tone. Maybe his manner was a sign that he didn’t like the idea of another man touching her. “Physio. Lots and lots of physiotherapy and having your body twisted into a pretzel for you.” “And you really gave someone a black eye?” Craig seemed impressed. “Umm…yeah.” Hopefully it was only her face blushing. She’d never had to worry about what else on her body might blush when she was embarrassed before. “He pushed me too far one day, and I clocked him a good one. His wife thought it was funny and told him she always knew he would push his luck too far one day.” Her body began to tingle in a whole new way as a pair of hands slid up her legs, gently caressed the tops of her thighs, and ran along the elastic edge at the bottom of her panties. They were cunning devils – by keeping her distracted with small talk, they had gotten her past feeling awkward from their touch. Now, she was feeling distracted for an entirely different reason, a very heated and increasingly moist reason. “Okay, then no dramatic acrobatics – I like Craig’s nose right where it is.” All three of them chuckled. Warm oil dripped onto her legs, and she felt every drop as it ran off the edges of her body. The caressing hands moved away from her panties and went back to where they had initially begun, before starting a wonderful, deep, stroking massage of her feet that had her moaning. Jack and Craig pretty much kept her that way for the next half hour, gently sliding away the wrap at one point so they could access her back easily. It was an odd combination of sensations. Her muscles were relaxing, but at the same time she felt incredibly tense with sexual anticipation.

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“Wren, honey, can I take these off? I can’t get at your hip properly.” She answered Craig by tilting her hips slightly so he could pull her panties over her hips, down her legs, and off her feet. She sighed as his hands carried on their work at her hip, easing the discomfort from the tense muscles and scar tissue. She had never felt pampered like this before; a normal massage would never again be good enough. But then there would never be this sexual tension thickening the air in a masseuse’s office. Jack had his way with her last piece of clothing, deftly unhooking her bra and pushing it to the side. It wasn’t until five minutes of massage later that he gently maneuvered the straps over each arm, essentially leaving Wren naked. In her lethargy, she turned without thought when the request came. When she felt hands working slowly up the front of her legs, she realized what she had done, what she had exposed, and her eyes snapped open. Jack and Craig stood on either side of the table, each wearing nothing but very small briefs – black for Craig to suit his dark coloring, and a bright royal blue for Jack to match his eyes. Both pairs of briefs were straining to hold in their bulging erections.

“Oh, my!” Two pairs of heavily lidded, heated eyes looked up to hers, burning her with their intensity. As they turned, she could see the residue of the oil they had been using on her shining on their chests and abdomens. Had she appeared suddenly in the middle of some Playgirl magazine shoot? Mmm, all that warm, glowing skin! She should have felt shy and embarrassed, but after she tamped down the instinctive urge to cover up, she let all her restraints go and allowed herself to feel good about having the two men inspect her so intimately, and so lustfully. Tonight was her night to explore sex for the first time, and there was no way she would feel ashamed for doing so with these two gorgeous men. What a way to be initiated to lovemaking.

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“Oh, my, indeed, Wren.” Jack cocked his brow. “Look what you’ve been hiding under those baggy suits of yours.” She blushed again as she watched Jack’s eyes drop away from hers and run down her body. The lump in his briefs twitched as he went back to his work on loosening up her damaged thigh. They managed to complete the entire massage before they touched anywhere particularly intimate. The sensuous massage had turned her whole body into an erogenous zone that burned for something more. It had been over an hour since they had started when the first gentle touch came to her breasts along with the soft caress of fingertips over her mons; she bit down on her lip, trying to stifle a whimper.

Finally. The teasing was too much, yet much too little. Having long since closed her eyes and retreated into the sensations of the increasingly erotic massage and the gentle sound of the sensual instrumental music, she was hesitant to open them and let go of the essence of the warm cocoon they had wrapped her in. However, once she did, she was glad. The men still stood on opposite sides of the table, bent at the waist, about to apply more than their fingers to their task. She watched Jack’s tongue swirl around her nipple as it began to tighten and peak, then felt the heat of Craig’s mouth as he softly kissed his way across her stomach to where his hand splayed across the dark brown curls that hid her sex. Jack’s tongue was replaced by his hot, wet mouth, and he suckled her nipple, pulling and tugging gently on the flesh, then releasing it with a soft pop. Wren raised her hand and ran it through the blond, shaggy hair that hung over Jack’s forehead, streaked with gold from so much exposure to the sun.

Releasing the breast he was cosseting, Jack looked into the slumberous eyes of a wellrelaxed woman. “Is this okay, Wren?” The slow blink of her lowered lids and the sexy little

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grin said it all. “We have some more surprises in the bedroom if you’re comfortable with moving.” “You want me to move? You’re kidding, right?” Wren’s normally alto voice was even huskier, full of the sound of sex. Both Craig and Jack looked down at Wren, trying hard to disguise their looks of dismay. “You can try pouring me into the bedroom if you like – you surely can’t expect me to be able to move after you just turned me to custard?” Jack made a small snort of amusement, while Craig chuckled. Most women in this situation would be a quivering bowl of jelly from fear and anticipation, unable to get a sensible word out. But Wren? Wren took it all in stride, seeking the next level with a smart remark. “I think we can help some with that.” Sliding his arms under her knees and shoulders, Jack lifted Wren into his arms. Her little shriek of surprise pleased some Neanderthal instinct deep down inside that liked the idea of dragging his woman back to his cave. “Wrap your arms around my neck.” No sooner had he said it than Wren had him in a headlock. Pausing, Jack looked down at the sexy bundle of woman in his arms, taking note of the surprised, wide eyes. “Wren, honey, I’m not going to drop you.” “Put me down, you fool, I’m too heavy!” Wren’s eyes got even bigger when Craig came up beside them and stung her bottom with a light smack of an oiled hand. “Wren, trust us. We aren’t going to do anything that might hurt you. Besides, you aren’t too heavy, and don’t even think about bringing out the ‘too fat’ line.” Craig’s errant hand ran over the leg and buttock not pressed to Jack’s chest, then as he leaned down to kiss her surprised face, over the soft flesh of her rounded stomach and breasts. “You’re beautiful and soft and womanly, Wren. If we didn’t think you were attractive and sexy…well, we wouldn’t be about to make love to you, would we?” Staring back, she shook her head absently, struck mute by Craig’s little speech.

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Jack wondered if this was the first time someone had complimented her body shape instead of condemning it. She really did appeal to both men, for exactly the reasons Craig had told her. Last night, as they lay discussing plans for today, they had wondered, why Wren? They had tried to visualize someone else in her place. With each name either man suggested, replies of “too bony, too sharp, too skinny for those fake boobs” came back. As soon as they moved on to more substantial women, their responses changed to “soft, nice curves” and even “a comfy ride.” Visualizing Wren between them again, the reply of “perfect” had been instantaneous from both men. “Let’s take this to the bedroom. While carrying Wren isn’t a great effort, she’s as slippery as an eel with all this massage oil everywhere.” There was laughter in the sarcasm as he carried on toward the master bedroom.

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Chapter Nine

Craig stood to the side, watching Jack lay Wren down gently on the big king-size bed that dominated the space in their bedroom. Jack’s impressive shoulders flexed as he situated Wren where he wanted her, and Craig couldn’t resist moving behind Jack to run a hand down the gloriously muscled back and warm skin of his lover. He and Jack had decided to not overemphasize the fact that they were partners tonight, since it was Wren’s first sexual experience. Their needs were important, but secondary; tonight needed to be special for her. Still, he had a need to connect with Jack. After all, this evening had come about because of their need to experience something new, too. Pulling away, Craig moved around to the left side of the bed, leaving Jack on the right. They both shifted, almost as if one, to lie on either side of Wren, propping themselves up on their elbows and gently trailing their fingertips over her lush body. She was too tempting not to touch. Like a little boy with a new toy, Craig stroked the smooth skin. “Craig, will you please kiss Jack?” Both sets of fingertips came to a halt as they jerked their heads around to face Wren more directly, watching her blush. “I…I…this isn’t all about me; I want to see you two together, too.”

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Wow, their little Wren Browne was a lot more progressive than they had taken her for. Maybe straight vanilla wasn’t the theme of the evening. Well, as vanilla as sex with two guys could get, anyway. “It doesn’t bother you?” Craig queried, his hand starting back on its path to a new destination. His fingertips threaded their way through her curls, teasing and testing the dampness there, gently moving down her thigh and encouraging her to open up to him. Craig needed to taste the heat of her arousal as soon as possible. “What? Seeing you and Jack together?” She seemed perplexed as she looked at him. “Why would I feel upset about seeing two people share their love for each other? It’s beautiful.” She gave a little embarrassed shrug of her shoulders. “And two hot guys together? It’s pretty damn sexy, if you ask me.” That caused a definite reaction in Jack. He choked, drawing both Wren and Craig’s gaze to where he hovered over one of Wren’s breasts. “Watching two guys excites you?” Wren’s breasts jiggled beneath Jack’s mouth as she nodded. Craig closed his eyes and groaned along with Jack, ironically wishing the same thing as his partner – that they were naked instead of wearing the very-confining briefs. “What the lady wants, the lady gets,” Craig hoarsely whispered. He leaned over Wren’s body and reached for Jack’s mouth, greedily nibbling at his lips and plunging his tongue deep. They moved closer, pressing their lips firmly together as they sank further into passion. “Oh…my.” Wren’s murmur was almost inaudible. Her hands slid up over their shoulders, caressing as they gently worked their way through Craig’s dark curls, and Jack’s golden shag. She cupped her hands gently to their napes, surely feeling the twin groans echo through the back of the men’s throats at her touch. Breathing heavily, they moved apart, and as Jack put his lips back to her breast, Craig turned back to Wren and their gazes clashed.

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“Now, back to the main course, I think.” Craig was already moving his body so that he knelt between Wren’s open legs. He wanted to drink of the juices he could see shining amongst Wren’s curls. Jack released the breast he had been nibbling and sucking on to watch as Craig arranged Wren’s legs over his forearms and pushed his hands under her bottom, lifting and tilting her pelvis so she was more open to him. Before he went any further he looked up at Wren. “Does this hurt?” “No.” He could see desire flaring in Wren’s eyes, but he also felt her body tense a little – no doubt she was nervous about what was going to happen. “At any point, if your hip or leg aches, just say stop and we will. This is all about pleasure, Wren, not about suffering through any pain because you think you have to.” He continued to stroke her bottom with the flat of his hands, easing her strain, but stoking his own. “O-okay.” She sounded meek, breathy, and very affected by what was happening. Settling himself more comfortably on the bed, Craig pulled Wren’s hips up to his mouth and kissed across the curls on her pubis, then down, using his thumbs to gently open her folds and expose the innermost parts of her body to his sight, taste, and smell. Craig bent his head and tasted the pink, flushed skin that was already slick with her juices. Her musky flavor burst over his tongue, so different than Jack’s taste. He gently lapped over the previously uncharted territory. That he was the first to touch or taste her in this manner was an added emotional layer, making the experience deeper than he could have envisaged. She quivered as he circled around her clit, moaning as he laved the little bundle of nerves with the flat of his tongue.

What would her essence taste like combined with Jack’s, or his own? The possibilities were a heady proposition.

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“Craig’s good with his tongue, isn’t he, Wren? He has this thing he does where he curls it around…” Jack shivered; it looked as though he was reliving just how that tongue felt. “Mmm…it really is rather lovely.” Jack moved up the bed a little, leaned over, and then took Wren’s chin in his hand. Turning her face to his, he gave her the same hedonistic kiss that he had shared with Craig only moments before. With a decadent sigh, she opened her mouth so his tongue could explore the cavern of her mouth. Pulling away from Wren’s pussy so he could watch his partner and their lover embracing, Craig couldn’t tear his gaze away from them. If he hadn’t already been rock hard, the erotic sight of Jack and Wren together would have had him there in an instant. As it was, it elevated his heart rate so much he felt a pounding throb throughout his entire body, not just in his engorged cock. “Do you have any idea how hot that is?” Craig heard the strain in his voice. Two pairs of lust-filled eyes looked back at him. He let his fingers continue to sweep and caress the increasingly wet flesh of Wren’s pussy. He slid his underwear down and kicked them off, then slowly crawled his way up Wren’s body, one of his legs sliding between Jack and Wren to link them all together. He leaned in, lifting Wren up with a hand under her neck to meet his lips. She shyly pressed her mouth to his, tasting her essence on a man’s skin for the first time. Groaning, he broke away and roughly grabbed Jack, pulling him in for a much harder kiss, sharing the taste of the woman they surrounded with him.

The hard column of Craig’s erection pressed down on her belly, branding her with its torridity. Wriggling her hips in frustration caused a definite reaction as Craig thrust against her instinctively. His fingers and tongue had been wonderful, gently petting her, softly but very surely building her up to a climax, and now, surrounded by the heat of two very male

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bodies, she ached for much more. She longed to be filled up by that warm flesh in a way that a cold piece of plastic never could. Jack broke away from his kiss with Craig. Liquid gushed from her pussy when she realized Jack was licking her shared essence from his lips. “Why don’t you grab those wedges and then let me sit behind Wren?” Jack said. It was no sooner suggested than both men were moving. Craig pushed back onto his haunches then climbed off the bed; Jack stood for a moment to remove his briefs, then was back beside her, lifting her torso up, and slipping in behind her. Craig pulled two wedgeshaped pillows from beneath the bed. What on earth did they plan on using them for? She watched, confused, as Craig jammed the larger wedge behind Jack’s back so it supported him as he reclined back. Jack lifted them both off the bed with his pelvis as Craig slipped the smaller wedge more under her buttocks than Jack’s. “What on earth are those?” She wriggled curiously against the soft fabric, feeling well supported with Jack behind her. The wedge under her pushed her pelvis up, opening her to Craig as he climbed back on the bed and crawled between her positioned thighs. “Just a little something we found on the Internet one day.” Jack’s deep voice was right beside her ear. “We saw them in a movie once. They’re called Liberator Shapes.” Craig now hovered in front and over her and Jack, his arms on either side of their bellies. Jack’s hands crept under her arms, gently cupping her breasts, kneading them and presenting them for Craig as he nuzzled at them, curling his tongue around the pointed nubs of her nipples. “They really take the work out of sex – everyone gets to have a good time – and right at the moment they’re perfect for making sure you don’t end up with a sore hip.” These marvelous men had thought of everything to make sure that she enjoyed this experience, knowing that a little more care would make this first time unforgettable.

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Heat poured from Jack’s muscled body as he cradled her. His long, erect cock nestled in the small of her back while his thighs and calves surrounded her firmly, enveloping her. He lifted his knees, putting his feet flat on the bed, and her legs followed. Her legs and hips were supported, yet Craig had full access to her lower body, of which he made the most of. The trembling started again as he licked her pussy in long, delicate strokes. Her back bowed as Craig quickly roused the throbbing, tingling sensation that usually came before her orgasm, and she cried out, reaching back to link her arms behind Jack’s neck and pulling him forward as she strained toward release. “That’s it, Wren. Fight it; let him take you as high as you can go before we make you fly, baby.” Jack kept up his whispered encouragement as Craig centered his attentions on her clitoris. He alternated licks, flicking the tip of his tongue back and forth, and pressing flat down, swirling around her clitoris as if she were an ice cream while his fingers gently, and oh, so maddeningly stroked in and around her channel. Every now and then she felt Jack jerk beneath her, his hips straining against her lower back. After he did this two or three times, she made the connection. Every time Craig took his mouth away and used his fingers on her, he was instead using his mouth on Jack. Feeling Jack’s solid length running up the small of her back, she closed her eyes and imagined Craig taking his lover’s balls in his mouth and rolling them around, maybe using that very talented tongue to rim his puckered hole. Her fantasy was broken when Jack unexpectedly curled his body around hers and groaned. “Stop, Craig; no more or I’ll lose it.” Jack was panting in her ear as he tried to control his body. Wren swore she could actually feel Jack’s cock throbbing as it lay sandwiched between them. Turning her head slightly, she could see the battle raging as he tried to gain control. “Wren?” Craig drew their attention to where he sat back on his haunches, his latexcovered, engorged member bobbing in front of him. She stilled, fixated on the glory of the

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man in front of her. In his own way, he was perfect. Solid and substantial to Jack’s leanness; the dark to Jack’s light. “Are you ready Wren?” Jack’s lust deepened voice whispered and echoed into her ear. Biting her lip, she nodded. Craig rose up over her, pulling her well-supported legs around his waist, his penis gliding over her wet folds, lubricating himself before nudging at her center.

Looking down into Wren’s ever-expressive face, Craig knew that she had no doubts about what was going to happen. She felt safe and cared for between them, and trusted them to not harm her. Locking his gaze to hers, he slowly sank into Wren’s slick, hot vagina.

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Chapter Ten

Oh, my! Her head fell back onto Jack’s chest as she let her eyes close, concentrating on the sensations Craig sent rocketing through her body. Her muscles felt deliciously stretched, finally being used. The wonderful heat burned its way through her belly like it never had with any toy. Caught between the lust radiating from each man, her body flushed, prickling as the slow stroking stoked the internal flames higher. Letting her senses go, she surrendered to the need to feel, not think. All the while, Jack whispered dirty thoughts and suggestions in her ear, telling her exactly what he did to Craig, how he fucked or sucked him, and what it felt like to have him do the same in return. Jack wove pictures with words of exactly how she would feel to Craig as he plunged into her body, how she was affecting both of them – how she was affecting him. Craig leaned in and, taking her lips with his, thrust his tongue slowly into her mouth in the same rhythm he had set with his hips. Jack’s hand slid down over her belly to where she and Craig thrust together. Slipping his hand in between them, his fingers sought where she was most sensitive. The easy caress of his fingertips found the supersensitive spot just above

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her clit that was guaranteed to drive her senseless. They homed in when she moaned and broke free from Craig’s lips, and tried to move her restless body away. “Oh, no, honey. No running away from me.” His other hand moved, wrapping more firmly around her waist, pulling her to him tightly so there was no way she could escape. Surrounded by both men, there wasn’t far she could go, but now she was locked in tight between their overheated bodies. “It’s too much, Jack…I feel… Oh God, I don’t know how I feel… I can’t concentrate.” She shook her head from side to side as she tried to find something to grab onto, some point amongst all the emotions, sensations, and lust that she could anchor herself to so she didn’t burst into flame. “Too much is good, baby. Too much is how it should feel every time.” Nibbling on an earlobe and her neck, Jack continued to stroke her, steadily increasing the pressure and speed of his fingers, his hand pressed against her fluttering stomach as she clung to the edge, unsure how to let go. “Wren, baby. Look at me.” Craig’s husky tone dragged her too-heavy lids open, and he used a hand to tilt her chin up. “It’s okay to let go. Concentrate on me; I’ll be there with you every step of the way.” His dark brown eyes mesmerized her, trapping her gaze as she wallowed in the fire burning there. Craig’s stroke deepened, became more forceful, as he changed the angle slightly so he pushed down more on her mons, adding the weight of his body to the pressure of Jack’s fingers on her clitoris. “Come for me, Wren. Let us see just how beautiful you are.” Those chocolate eyes demanded she obey, and she felt her grip slipping, the burn becoming too much. Her back bowed and she cried out. Craig’s lips crashed down on hers as if he were stealing the sound for his own. Craig tore his lips away, fighting for his own breath. “Jesus…that’s it, baby.”

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She felt every inch of him inside her. Her stomach arched up against his as she climaxed, clinging to Craig as if she were trying to crawl into him. “Wren, open your eyes; see what you do to him!” Jack’s voice was insistent, breaking through her haze and forcing her to look up at Craig as his orgasm took him. His body seized tight, shaking hard, his face a picture of exquisite agony that quickly dissolved as his muscles went limp and he slumped down over his lovers’ heaving bodies. “Craig?” Was that supposed to happen? “Yeah, baby?” His voice was muffled against her neck, and she felt his breath, hot, humid, and rough against the delicate skin of her nape as his forehead rested against Jack’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” She was even more puzzled when she felt the chuckles rolling through both men. “Wren, honey, the only thing wrong with Craig right now is that stupid grin plastered to his face.” Jack’s reply was wry. “Get off, you oaf, and let Wren and I get some air.”

“No!” She didn’t want to lose the delicious weight of Craig pressing her into Jack. “Don’t go…” “He’s not going far, love, just to the other side of the bed; I haven’t finished with you yet.” “Oh.” The word was small, wondering, and cautious of just what Jack meant. Craig had collapsed on his back, sated, and still trying to catch his breath. More than just her legs felt like jelly as Jack used the strength built from hard work to roll her to her side, up against Craig, draping her left arm and leg over the hot, sweaty body of his mate. He moved behind her, but she just didn’t have the will to turn and look, and snuggled closer into Craig.

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Jack took the wedges that had been so useful from the bed; with Craig on one side of Wren, they didn’t need to use them as added support for what he wanted to do. There had been an intimate connection to the pair as they had made love – but feeling connected wasn’t as good as being connected – it was his turn to teach Wren a few new things. Sheathing himself, Jack moved over on the bed and stretched out on his side behind Wren. As he gently stroked her spine, her overheated flesh shivered and goose bumped, and more than likely, the nipples he couldn’t see beaded with anticipation. “Craig, turn towards me some so Wren can lean on you.” Like a limp noodle, she let Jack rearrange her over Craig’s body again, this time with her leg lifted forward and up over his hip, opening and exposing her from behind. With his head pillowed on his arm, Craig watched his lover and smiled, figuring out what Jack was planning. “Snuggle up close, honey – lean on my chest,” Craig insisted, his voice low and urgent. Maybe he knew how desperately Jack wanted to be inside Wren. Drawing closer, Jack pressed against Wren’s back, forcing her into Craig’s body for resistance. His arm crept over her waist, pulling her ass against his cock. “Jack?” With her head now pillowed on Craig’s crooked arm, Wren’s voice was muffled. “Sshh…relax, Wren. Let me love you now.” Bending his leg and putting his foot flat on the bed amongst the tangle of legs for leverage, Jack slowly slid his cock into the warm heat of Wren’s pussy, tugging her hips firmly back as he tilted his pelvis, penetrating her to the hilt. His slow, teasing glide changed to a more forceful thrust as Wren cried out asking for “more,” her voice muffled by Craig’s mouth and probing tongue. Jack felt the shift of legs as Craig pressed his free hand against Wren’s mound, adding more stimulation with his fingertips and she quickly started to thrash between them. “Ohmigod…I…I can’t do this again!” Wren wailed.

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“Yes, you can.” Grinding against her ass, Jack slipped his hand around and down, meeting and tangling with Craig’s fingers as together they stroked the swollen bud. The double intensity made Wren shudder as the two men pressed her between them. “Come for me, Wren,” Jack growled into Wren’s hair. “Let me feel that hot pussy clamp around my cock.” The shudder became a shake as Wren careened into her climax, sweeping Jack up in the heat and movement. With a final thrust, he came in a trembling rush, reaching around to clutch both his lovers as he lost himself in the pleasure.

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Chapter Eleven

Waking early in the morning dark, Wren climbed out of the jumble of body parts and made her way to the bathroom. She hummed happily to herself as she sat on the toilet pondering what had happened the evening before. She couldn’t imagine a more spectacular way to lose one’s virginity – an erotic massage to relax, followed by the amazing care taken by two men to assure her satisfaction on the way to achieving theirs. And it was hot. Hot, amazing sex. What more could a girl ask for? The hum dipped a little into the deeper ranges as disappointment pinged because it had been a one-time-only event, but soon chirped up again. After all, it wasn’t every day a girl got her ultimate fantasy when she was “deflowered.” How many years had she fantasized about two men in bed, with or without her? Too many. Enough to feel a little disappointed, almost, that there wasn’t more boy-on-boy action. Wistfully, she finished in the bathroom, taking time to clean up a little with a warm washcloth. Clicking off the light, she opened the door to find a moonlit tableau of two striking, naked men wound around each other. With a wry smile, she saw her time with them was over and turned to leave for the spare bedroom.

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“Where are you going, Wren?” The question wasn’t loud, but rang out over the peace of the night anyway, surprising her. Turning back, she saw the glint of moonlight in the two pairs of eyes watching her. “You two were cuddled up; I thought I would leave you to sleep and head to bed in the other room.” “We were cold waiting for you to come back; besides, you can’t carry a tune, Wren. Your humming is enough to wake the dead, let alone people in the next room.” She gasped at the insult; they had been listening to her. How embarrassing! “Come back to bed, Wren. You’re like a toasty electric blanket, only much nicer to cuddle up with – so nice and soft.” “Jack, you are so not good with a compliment,” she huffed out. But at the same time she walked toward the bed, drawn to them as well as the heat and comfort they offered. She crawled up between the men as they rolled apart to make space for her. Settling after a few moments of wiggling to get comfortable, Wren lay with Craig’s legs tangled with hers, and her head in the crook of Jack’s arm. One to the back and one to the front, each wrapped an arm around her torso and pulled themselves close. “You okay, baby?” Craig asked his question softly. “No regrets? We didn’t hurt you, did we?” “No regrets, Craig, and I feel great. You both made me feel amazing.” She broke off; this wasn’t exactly an easy conversation to have. But at least it was dark enough to hide her discomfort. “Want to know why I was humming?” “Mmm-hmm.” Jack rumbled into her ear. “I was humming because I was thinking that a girl couldn’t ask for a better first time, and I got to live out a fantasy at the same time.”

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“A fantasy?” There was a pause. “Oh…two men at one time?” Things were getting too personal. Stupid, considering all that had happened, and how well she knew these men, but she had to keep hold of herself. She had to separate last night from everything else. “I have to be away early; how about we sleep?” Wren hoped Jack and Craig would take the hint that the previous conversation was over. As far as she was concerned, the very, very pleasant interlude was over, and it was back on the firm-friends track. If she let herself daydream about what if, she knew she would be sporting a painfully broken heart.

***** “Good Lord. I am totally knackered.” Wren collapsed on her couch as Jack followed her into the room. “You know, Jack, as far as clients go, you were a dream.” He watched her toe off her shoes and stretch her feet out. “This new job is kicking my ass. Every time I get something finished, he decides he wants to ‘improve’ it.” She held her hands up, making air quotes. “The guy has as much class as a camel.” Jack tried not to watch, he really did – Wren stretching her arms out above her head and exposing her belly was just too much to ask a man not to ogle. And he definitely was a man, and after their night together, he was a man very aware of this particular woman. “So you’re saying I’m perfect, huh?” “I wouldn’t go that far.” Lowering her arms, she laughed at him. “I can’t let your head get too swelled up; you might not get it through the door.” Standing, she walked through to the kitchen. “Wine?” “If it’s white, I won’t say no to one glass.” If she didn’t have a limp, he would say she sashayed toward him with the bottle and two glasses. “A glass of wine will help both of us relax while we make lists.” “My favorite pastime.” She put everything down on the coffee table and pulled a pad and pencil from a drawer in the television cabinet before sitting down. Jack knew her lists well from having worked with Wren, but even Craig had gathered she was a bit anal about

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making lists. Wren knew she had a list problem, though, and laughed along with them when they teased her. He poured them both a half a glass of wine, setting one beside Wren and cradling his own as he sat back in his chair. Since he was driving, he knew she wouldn’t offer more, so he sipped slowly. “So, the barbeque.” Jack valued his employees. The staff barbeque he held at home around the pool was one of the ways he said thanks for a job well done. With all the changes in the company this year the party had been pushed back a month. He hoped the last warm days of autumn held – there was nothing worse than trying to have fun while your teeth chattered. He hated organizing the damn thing, though, so this year he had pulled out the puppy-dog eyes and cajoled Wren to help him out. “I don’t know how you managed to convince me to help you.” Wren caught him looking contrite. “Ah, yes. That was it – I’m a sucker for pretty pleases and puppy-dog eyes.” He laughed; Wren had a very sarcastic wit at times. He enjoyed exchanging barbs with her, and when she and Craig got going it was better than a daytime soap opera. Friendly insults were thrown left and right, caught, and then lobbed right back. “So where is Craig, anyway? How come he gets out of barbeque list-making duty?” Jack watched her sip her wine. This fixation he had with Wren had not eased – so much for last Saturday getting her out of his system. If anything, she was more firmly entrenched, and watching her lips pucker up to sip at the edge of the wineglass was about to have some very embarrassing effects. “He got called down to that Hamilton job again. He got a phone call at the last minute this morning, so he decided to stay the night and drive back tomorrow rather than drive tired.” “Yeah, that road is a mess with all the roadwork lately.” Wren rubbed her hands together in gleeful anticipation. “That means we can give him all the crappy jobs.”

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Jack laughed, but inside he was wishing that those hands were rubbing up and down his cock rather than against each other.

Damn, what the hell is wrong with me?

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Chapter Twelve

Looking around at the party in full swing, Wren was satisfied. Their plans had worked perfectly, and there wasn’t an unhappy face to be seen. Although that might have had something to do with the copious amounts of alcohol being consumed. Feeling rather warm and cozy herself from several glasses of wine, she let her type-A side relax. After all, no one here was drinking and driving. They had made certain of that by hiring minivans to collect everyone from their homes, and to do the reverse trip later that evening. There was no way that she would let someone drink and drive after the mess it had made in her life. She felt the heat of a body behind her as a pair of strong arms grabbed her around the middle. Judging by the wet shorts, the person was male, so it was either Craig or Jack. She didn’t know anyone else at the party well enough that they would take liberties. “So, are you enjoying yourself, honey?”

Craig. Leaning back into the strong chest, she sighed. “Yes. I am, actually. Everything fell together perfectly.”

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“Like there was any other choice with Miss OCD on the job.” She felt the warmth of Craig’s breath whisper past her ear as he chuckled at her indignant “humph.” “And we wouldn’t have you any other way.” She loved how these two men always made her feel comfortable. They accepted all the facets of who she was – even if she was gimpy, anal, and an obsessive list maker. Letting the alcohol lull her inhibitions, she shoved away the nagging thoughts telling her she shouldn’t let Craig hold her like this. Instead, she let herself forget and just enjoy the sensation of a strong, warm man cuddling her. Tomorrow would be soon enough to remember that Jack and Craig had each other to crawl into bed with, and she had no one.

Surveying the mess in the backyard – the cups floating in the pool and the ravaged platters on the table – Jack nodded, satisfied that the mess reflected the level of enjoyment of the evening. The only thing that would top off his night would be to drag his lovers to bed and sate himself in them. He’d watched Craig wind himself around Wren earlier in the night and had wanted to wish away the party so he could join them. He’d wanted to press his front to Wren’s, sandwiching her between the two eager cocks that were hard for her. He didn’t think it odd that the only jealousy he felt was that he wasn’t close to them. In his slightly drunken state, Craig and Wren were one and the same – his lovers – plural, not singular. Tripping over the sill as he came in the back door, he stumbled into a warm body whose curves filled his large hands. He managed to halt their tumble to the floor, holding Wren almost as if he had dipped her at the end of an old-fashioned dance. Time stood still as he studied her face, watching her expression change from shock to something else. Something else he felt sure was lust and affection.

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Jerking Wren to her feet, he pulled her in close, pressing her to his chest as he plundered her mouth. She tasted of sweet, mellow wine and heat. Fire burned through his body as his cock throbbed against his jeans. As they bumbled their way down the corridor, he refused to let her go. Jack herded her toward the bedroom where he knew Craig waited, determined to quench his lust inside his lovers on the soft surface of the bed, not a hard hall floor. They almost fell as they hurried each other over the threshold of the bedroom, and Jack jerked to a halt. Ripping his mouth away from Wren’s, he gasped for breath as he looked for Craig and found him reclined on the bed. Naked, with his cock in his hand, stroking as he greedily watched Jack and Wren together. “I see you’re starting without me.” Craig’s voice was rough – rusty from too much partying, and thick with desire. Propping himself up with his arm under his head, he continued to watch them, still stroking himself slowly. “Why don’t you both come over here so I can play, too?” He heard the command in Craig’s words, and Jack turned a glassy-eyed Wren around in his arms to face the potent man on the bed. With a little push, he directed her toward Craig. “Strip for him, Wren.”

She felt outside of herself – as if she was watching an old-time vignette of two men daring a woman to entertain them. Her conscience kept poking at her, but the warmth of the alcohol wouldn’t let her acknowledge it. She was drunk, sure, but not so drunk that she wasn’t making a conscious choice as she reached to undo the knot of her sarong skirt. As it flowed away from her hips, she reached behind her neck to undo the knot of the swimsuit halter. The whole time Craig held her gaze, searing her with his intensity.

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Two aroused males breathing hard overrode any other sound in the room, and her breathing became just as heavy as Jack stepped up behind her. His hands went to the sides of her swimsuit, tugging it down over her belly and thighs, exposing her to Craig. As she stepped out of the suit, Jack’s hands reversed their path back up her legs, this time caressing her skin rather than the soft Lycra. When he stopped at her mons, she felt the prickle of his chest hair against her back. He stretched his arms so he could press down into her slit, sliding a finger into her pussy and stroking around her clitoris until she arched back into him in pleasure. Gently peeling his sticky skin away from her, Jack pushed her forward onto the bed, forcing her to her knees between Craig’s splayed legs. “Go to him, Wren. Feel how hard he is. Stroke him; kiss him for me.” Her conscience was mute as she crawled her way up Craig’s body, pausing briefly since she felt bold enough to lick her way up Craig’s thick member. Stretching out over his length, she felt him – hot and hard – against her belly. His eyes hadn’t left hers as she came over him, and he grabbed her under the arms to pull her up high enough to ravish her lips. They both groaned around their dueling tongues as Jack joined them, the delicious weight of his naked body bearing them down into the bed. “Mmm, the only thing better than this would be being in the middle.” Jack’s rumble was peppered with nips along her neck and shoulder, making her squirm. “I want more,” Craig said as he toppled them to the side. She watched him reach out and nudge Jack onto his back, pressing tightly against her hips as he lay over her thighs. He was careful not to lie too heavily, but he still gently rocked his erection against her as he took Jack’s cock in his hand, angling it toward his mouth. Wren was captivated with the scene playing out in front of her. She’d fantasized about how two men came together, and here it was, right in front of her – two hot, sexy men making love to one another.

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Wren didn’t dare breathe for fear of shattering the moment – she didn’t want them to stop. Seeing them together turned her on something fierce. Craig’s tongue lapped at the swollen head of Jack’s cock before taking him deep in his mouth, his cheeks hollowing when he drew back. Wren was certain she heard Craig humming, and judging by the way Jack clenched and groaned beside her, it was as effective as all her erotic novels suggested. Jack’s hand came up to hold Craig’s head in place as he pumped his hips up. “Yeah…suck me!” Craig jerked his head out of Jack’s hold, and on all fours, he clambered across her legs and into position between Jack’s thighs. “I don’t think so, Jack. I have better things in mind for you.” Wren jumped as Craig directed his next words at her – she thought they had forgotten she was even in the room. “Wren, baby, grab the lube off the dresser for me.” Reaching for the requested bottle, she turned back in time to see Craig pin Jack to the bed with his arms behind Jack’s knees. The graphic image the two big, virile men made together took her breath away – Craig loomed over Jack possessively, while Jack grinned up at his lover, waiting for the moment when he got what he had wanted all along. Moving back beside the pair, she proffered the bottle. “I’m not the one who needs it, Wren. Jack’s ass is the one that’s about to get fucked.” His growled words and harsh tone shocked her, but she was perversely excited by Craig dominating Jack. Staring at the point where Craig’s thick erection rubbed over Jack’s balls and equally erect cock, she gulped, and felt a gush of heat through her pussy.

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Chapter Thirteen

Be careful what you wish for, Wren, because sometimes you get exactly what you want. Her hand only shook a little as she flicked open the bottle top and drizzled the slick lubricant over both men’s cocks, making sure to flood the area enough so that the fluid ran down into the crack of Jack’s ass. “Is that enough?” A grunt was her only reply as she watched Craig position himself at Jack’s ass. “Ready, Jack?” The question was moot as Craig was already sinking into Jack’s body, the lube greasing his way so he sank in smoothly and easily. As for her? She didn’t know what she wanted – to watch Craig fucking Jack, or Jack’s face as he was fucked? Both options were straight out of her deepest, darkest fantasies. But Craig spoke, startling her out of her Ping-Pong reverie between one end of Jack and the other. “Jack, you aren’t a very good host. You invited Wren, but left her all alone.” Craig had himself under complete control, despite the alcohol. She didn’t hear one waver or hitch in his voice as he kept pumping into Jack. “Move up closer to Jack’s head, Wren, on your

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knees.” She saw the silent, eye-to-eye instruction to Jack, but didn’t understand what they wanted from her. “You know what to do, Jack.” “What –” She squeaked with surprise as Jack’s strong arms lifted and rotated her, so that she now faced Craig, with a knee on either side of Jack’s head. Craig reached around Jack’s leg, and with his hand around her neck, pulled her toward him to ravage her mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue as he mimicked the rhythm with which he fucked Jack. The broad work-roughened palms of Jack’s hands splayed over her ass, angling her pelvis forward and widening her stance slightly. Then, oh, Lord, she felt the soft, delicate touch of his tongue opening her pussy wide so he could plunge in and feast. When she whimpered into Craig’s mouth he pulled away, tilting her chin up when it dipped toward her chest so he could see her eyes. “This isn’t hurting your hip?” The words were sharp, intense, but she knew they were because he cared. “No… His tongue…” Jack pulled her hips down a fraction more, and she shook like a leaf as he attacked her clit with the flat of his tongue. “Oh, damn… I think I’m going to come.” She closed her eyes and saw flashes under her eyelids, stars of pleasure that sparkled as Jack licked and sucked. An erotic lack of oxygen, as Craig continued to kiss her and whisper encouragement into her mouth, made her body clench, curling tight on itself before flinging her, trembling, into the abyss that grayed her vision and had her gasping for air. “Easy, baby, easy. Just breathe. Look at me, Wren, and breathe.” Craig was holding her face again, encouraging her to inhale with him as she hiccupped her way back to sanity. “Jesus, Wren. That was a beautiful sight.” Craig had stopped pumping into Jack so he could hold her upright; the twitches of Jack’s hips and his groans told them he needed them to finish him. With a cheeky grin, Craig smiled at her, wiping away a little tear from the corner of her eye with his thumb. “I think we need to give Jack a little punishment.”

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Moving off Jack, Wren followed Craig’s whispered commands and lay on her back with her feet dangling over the edge of the bed. With a smooth movement he pulled away from Jack, leaving him empty and unsatisfied, and flipped him over to lie on his front. Wren tilted her head to the side and watched the heavier man cover his lover, pressing him into the bed. “I think it’s time you got what you wanted – to be the middle man, Jack – the ultimate torture, if you ask me.”

Did the man know how much pleasure Jack got from his so-called torture? Jack suspected Craig knew exactly how well his demands to service Wren affected him. She was sweet and succulent, and gloriously wet. And if Craig hadn’t been buried balls-deep in his ass, he would have shoved her down and slammed his cock in that tight pussy of hers. He was a man caught in the middle – fuck or be fucked – but Craig had a solution to his dilemma. “You’ve gone partway to being a proper host, Jack, but Wren needs more than an agile tongue. I think she deserves something else.” Craig’s weight was a delicious pressure on top of him, and when Craig withdrew and stood he missed him all the more. When a condom dropped down beside his hand he got the message, stopped grinding into the bed, and sat up. He rolled the condom over his cock, innately understanding it was his job tonight to pleasure Wren – to give her satisfaction – while Craig saw to his own and Jack’s needs. When he turned back, he found Wren sprawled with Craig’s head between her legs. He’d adjusted her body to make sure they would all achieve the maximum pleasure with the least amount of discomfort. Pulled to the very edge of the bed, Wren’s pussy was at the perfect height for a man to worship while he knelt on the ground as Craig did. Thank

goodness for the new high-profile mattress. It was just right for what Craig had in mind.

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Craig made way so Jack could shift between those soft, open thighs, and Jack admired Wren’s body as he covered her. The alcohol loosened his tongue, making him say things even he normally wouldn’t. “You’re so plump and pretty, Wren.” Jack ran his hands over the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. “So many curves…soft and perfect.” Gripping Wren’s hips gently, he pulled her closer to the end of the bed, sliding his cock along her slit, echoing Craig’s earlier movements. “I really like that, Wren. Craig is all hard and manly, but you’re all cushy…cuddly even.” Concentrating on pushing himself deep into Wren’s vagina, he felt her tense but didn’t examine why. By the time he was seated fully her body was soft and fluid again as she moaned in pleasure. “Open your eyes, Wren,” Craig barked out from behind him. Since Jack was avidly watching her face, he saw her gaze shift to look over his shoulder. “Do you want this?” It was obvious to all of them what this was. Last weekend was one thing. They had made love to Wren, but as individuals. Now they were about to fuck – together – a totally different ball game. “I know what this is, Craig. Jack is going to fuck me while you fuck him.” Hearing those words tumble from Wren’s mouth surprised him. He had wondered, through the haze of wanting to fuck someone, if they had maybe coerced her into this situation – rolled her along in the sensations so she had no sense. “I want it.” Despite the drink freeing her inhibitions, her voice was firm and her eyes clear. She knew exactly what she wanted. “Good.” Jack had been silent – bar the heavy breathing – but grunted as Craig penetrated him again. Craig’s entrance drove him farther into Wren, and he pushed Jack down with a hand on his shoulder until his chest hair rubbed against Wren’s breasts. He could feel the points of her nipples against his as Craig’s thrusts rocked him back and forth. If it hadn’t been such ecstasy, it might have been agony. Jack’s ass blazed as Craig showed no mercy and pummeled him with his cock. In turn, Jack’s cock scalded as it

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tunneled through the flaming heat of Wren’s cunt. He had to close his eyes to concentrate as his vision blurred. He wanted to feel every sensation his lovers generated, and wished he could be in their minds, feeling what it was like to give and take from him at the same time. It was just too much – too much pain, too much pleasure, too much love. The blinding flash that accompanied the admission that he was in love with both Wren and Craig was the final straw, and his cum boiled out of his balls, blinding him with the intensity of his climax. “Ah…Jesus… I’m coming!” Jack felt the tendons in his neck strain, and his arms trembled as he locked them so he wouldn’t collapse on Wren. She arched into him and screamed as she found her own release, her breasts pressed up to his chest as the orgasm twisted through her body, her fingers on her clit trapped between them. His bowels burned as he heard Craig’s roar after two more strokes and felt cum flood his ass. Bloody hell, we all

came together? What are the odds? Sounding like he was fighting for air, Craig crumpled down onto his back, nearly collapsing Jack onto Wren. With strength he didn’t think he could spare at this point, he pushed up and away from Wren. Craig slid down his back and landed in an ungainly heap on the floor, the drink and sex finally taking its toll. Wren’s head lolled, as she, too, fought to fill her lungs. Her breasts heaved, and even after such a spectacular climax, Jack felt a tingle from watching the flesh move and sway. Pulling back the covers, Jack burrowed his way underneath with Wren at his side and succumbed, finally, to sleep.

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Chapter Fourteen

Well. This was awkward. He had stumbled into the kitchen to find both Jack and Wren, sitting with their heads in their hands. Three cups of coffee and an ibuprofen bottle sat on the table between them. Craig rummaged around the bench trying to find his sunglasses, hoping that the comforting dark lenses might help to block out the sun, the mess, and the glaring blunder of last night. He wouldn’t call it a mistake because he had loved every minute – that he could remember – of it. There were a few hazy bits – like why he woke on the floor with a shoe for a pillow and a dressing gown for a blanket. “I have to go to a family lunch today.” Wren’s hoarsely whispered words were too loud and cut through his brain like a knife. Jack snorted out a laugh that ended in a deep groan as he pressed the heels of his hands to his temples. “I’ve got to clean up here then go to work… All that bright light…” Craig sighed as he sat down; he was no better off in the feeling-healthy stakes. At least he had nowhere to be today. He wanted to bring up what had happened last night, but didn’t know how. A car horn tooting outside made all three of them wince.

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“I have to get going; that’s the taxi I called. I think I’m hung over and suffering, not drunk, but I think I’ll just get one of you to drop my car off tomorrow, anyway.” Wren used her cane to push up and away from the table heavily, grabbing her handbag as she headed down the hall. Her soft words sounded like a yell as she called goodbye, leaving Jack and Craig to their combined misery. “Jack…did we…?” “Yeah, we did.” Jack pressed his hands into his closed eyes. Reaching for his sunglasses, he looked up at Craig. “At this point, I don’t know if we just fucked up majorly, or… Fuck… I don’t know what.” Craig watched Jack rise and walk out of the room like a man who had had a stick shoved up his ass. It wasn’t really appropriate, but he had to grin; Jack had had a stick of one form shoved up his ass last night. Laughing made his head hurt, and now it was his turn to massage his temples.

Wren flinched as the taxi hit another pothole. She swore the driver was trying his best to kill her – he hadn’t been happy at having a “country pickup.” The guy was getting paid; what the hell was his problem? At least she wasn’t able to dwell too long on the night before, as there seemed to be an abundance of holes in this road. She was confused about last night. Not the act itself – she had enjoyed that immensely – but why. Why had they taken her to their bed again? Did it mean anything, nothing, or was it just the drink? Their hangovers this morning told the true tale of how much they had had to drink last night, even if it had felt like much less.

What did last night mean to her? Behind her sunglasses, her head throbbed. Her brain rattled painfully as the taxi hit another pothole, and the pain took her mind off of her confusion. Wren rubbed her temples, trying to ease the ache.

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What did it all mean?

***** Fingers rustling though the shrubs he was pruning, Jack whistled off-key. When he was happy, he hummed, but when upset, he whistled. And lately he was as off-kilter as a Weeble – wobbling but not quite falling down. He was confused, and he didn’t like it one bit. So he kept whistling. A few months ago life seemed simple. He and Craig were settling in for the long haul; business was good, their house comfortable, and the sex… Well, the sex was superb. Then Wren burst into their lives, opening his eyes to something Craig already knew was in his blood – that something more that they could gain from a woman. How was this supposed to work? Was Wren now a beloved friend, with benefits? Was she taking Craig’s place in his heart? Jack shook his head as he denied that question outright. If anything – and this was partly why he was so confused – Craig and Wren had an equal standing in his heart. He worked by rote, his long hours of experience guiding his hands as he continued to plug away at pruning. What had they collectively done last Friday night? Why hadn’t Wren stopped them? Hell, why hadn’t he or Craig? And why had he leapt on Wren like a letch? He had so many questions, and he couldn’t answer any of them. He continued to stew as he worked, only sure of one thing – something had changed in their lives. Something big.

***** Craig stared at the flashing cursor on his screen. The page should have been filled with a systems-requirement definition for his new client. Instead, it was blank, unlike his mind.

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He accessed the link to the personal flash drive that he had inserted into his USB port earlier. For the fifth time today, he clicked on the file that would bring up the picture of Wren, Jack, and him taken Friday night at the barbeque. Unconsciously, the three of them presented a united front to the world. Supporting each other, linked together side by side. He hadn’t yet emailed the photo to Wren, or printed it off to show Jack. He wanted to hold onto the possibilities it showed for just a little longer – until he figured out how to make them a reality. What they had discovered Friday night had been amazing. It had been heady stuff to dominate Jack and Wren, taking from Jack to give him pleasure and showing Wren a more intense side to sex. Deep down, he couldn’t say they had just fucked. It was more than that.

Damn the alcohol for giving them all an excuse to ignore the intense chemistry they had found together that night. There had to be a way for him to have what he wanted.

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Chapter Fifteen

Jack dragged himself through the front door and into the kitchen, hoping to find Craig. But the house was silent and dark except for the kitchen light. He shrugged out of his jacket and toed off his shoes, and too tired to even think about food, he wearily started to search for Craig. Jack finally found him sitting in one of the deck chairs outside in the dark, his head flung back as he contemplated the stars. “Sorry I’m so late home; one of the irrigation system’s main hoses shat itself today. We had to water two acres of plants by hand.” He winced as he rotated his shoulders, trying to ease some of the ache from carrying buckets of water to places the hoses couldn’t reach. “I’m only thirty-two, but doing that more than once would make a twenty-year-old feel like an old man.” Craig just stared at the sky, saying nothing. Easing himself down into the chair beside Craig, Jack knew that his contemplative lover would eventually break his silence. Deep, quiet thought as he stared into the night sky was how Craig dealt with his worries or stress. On the flip side, Jack raged. A good argument never hurt anyone in his book, and more often than not cleared the air to everyone’s

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satisfaction. When an argument wasn’t enough, a punching bag hung in the garage for him to work off his excess frustration. “So… I’ve been thinking…” He was a little surprised that the statement brought forth no reply from Craig, who just continued to stare at the heavens. “And I’m confused. On one hand, I love you like crazy, and try daily not to do anything dumb to drive you from my life.” He paused and sighed, gathering his courage. “Then on the other hand…there’s Wren – lovely, gorgeous, zaftig, funny, sharp-as-a-tack Wren. With whom I think I’m as in love with as I am you.” Jack, too, stared at the stars, hoping his confession to Craig hadn’t been one of those dumb things he tried not to do. Silence reigned for minutes. When Craig’s reply finally came, he jerked in his chair, startled that the stillness had finally been broken. “If you could have me and Wren, would you?” Turning to Craig, he found his lover concentrating on him intensely, as if his answer would solve world hunger or cure cancer. He answered as truthfully as he could. “In a heartbeat.” “I sense a ‘but’ in there.” “Not at the expense of what we have now. If it’s a choice of our relationship or one with Wren, Wren will only ever be a friend to me.” Jack shifted uneasily. “I could quite easily love her the way I do you.” The last statement was quietly said. The words had greatenough import without them being said at volume. He wouldn’t lose Craig to gain Wren. Craig sat back and stared absently up at the stars again as he processed Jack’s declaration.

After an hour of introspection, feeling only comfort in the silent company, they retreated to the house to shower and then go to bed. Connected but apart, the pair lay on their backs, their hands touching.

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“I want it all, Jack. I want you. I want Wren. I want kids and a dog…everything.” Craig surprised even himself with his out-of-nowhere declaration. It was what he had been working toward all week, but tonight, right at this moment, it was finally crystal clear. He

wanted it all. “I want us to take the risk and grab for it.” Jack didn’t reply, probably sensing there was more to come after such a bold statement. “I want to ask Wren to move in with us. Not just into the house – into our bed.” Again, Craig paused to listen to Jack’s quiet breathing. Craig counted as Jack inhaled and exhaled, making it to one hundred breaths before Jack replied, simply and succinctly, “Yes.”

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Chapter Sixteen

With a wicked sense of déjà vu, Craig and Jack parked their car in Wren’s driveway. After a week of very little contact with Wren, they were both nervous and cautious. They’d both had phone conversations with Wren, but unusually, hadn’t seen her in the flesh. Considering they were used to seeing her at least once during the week, Craig was concerned that they’d shot holes in their plans before they even got off the ground. Unbuckling his seatbelt, Craig leaned over and slowly kissed Jack. “Just like before, Jack. We state our case and hope for the best.” “We’re asking a lot of her, Craig. Should we do this?” Craig knew that Jack felt emotions even more intensely than he did, and his lover was scared of losing Wren’s friendship. Jack would be second-guessing himself the whole way. “How can we not?” The answer was pretty simple to Craig. “No, you’re right. We have to try.” Jack reached over to squeeze Craig’s thigh as if to reassure him, then opened the door, turning to exit. “All for one, Craig.” “And three for us all.” Craig was glad his retort made Jack chuckle.

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Bloody hell, here it comes. The big kiss-off. Wren had heard the car pull up and had snuck a peak to see who had come to visit. She had suspected she would see Craig and Jack tonight, after canceling out on the planned Wednesday-night movie. She was right, and now she stood in the hallway, chewing at her thumb as she waited for them to come to the door. She counted to twenty very rapidly after hearing the door bell chime, then opened the door, hoping that her acting skills were up to par and they couldn’t see her nervousness. “Hey, boys, I didn’t expect you here tonight. I was planning to come out to see you tomorrow morning.” Oh, crap, stop babbling, woman! “We aren’t interrupting anything, are we?” Jack sounded very formal, and Craig stood so military straight he looked as if he had a poker up his ass. “No. Just me, a book, and a box of chocolates.” Now doesn’t that sound pathetic for a

Friday night? “Godiva?” Jack had managed to break the tension with his fervent hope that there was a package of his most favorite and expensive sweets. She had to laugh. If she didn’t, she just might cry. “Not tonight, just a bag of Rose’s caramels. Godiva costs too much for more than a special treat.” “Oh.” Jack pouted as if she had taunted him with the chocolaty treats then whisked them away. As a group they walked into the lounge, taking their usual, familiar seats. “So, what’s new? Sorry I had to cancel on Wednesday. I had to go see Aunt Betty.” She wasn’t about to tell them she’d stood them up to make an unsolicited visit to her mother’s sister. “Did you still go?”

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Two heads shook, and the mute tension hung between them again. Jack turned to Craig and nodded, as if telling him to be the one to speak up. Wren gulped, waiting to hear the worst. “Wren, how do you feel about me and Jack?” Craig asked his question softly. She’d turned her head with the fool hope that looking away from them might make their brush-off easier to accept, but now jerked back to face them, taken aback. “What?” The unladylike yelp just came out; sometimes being ladylike had to take a backseat. “Do you have feelings for me and Jack? Please…tell us the truth.”

Okay…take the bull by the horns, Wren. Tell them the truth. “I like…I think I more than like you both. More than a good friend should. I’m physically and emotionally attracted to you both. But –” Craig cut her off mid-sentence. “Would you consider a relationship with one of us?”

“What?” The lump of horror in her throat didn’t let her get her question out well. What the hell were they asking? What the fuck kind of person did they think she was? “What the hell do you take me for? Do I look like a homewrecker to you?” Her voice was low and urgent, her temper about to blow, and she was looking at two prime targets. “There would be no way, no way, I would want to get between you and Jack, Craig. You two are the most in-love people I know.” Unable to sit any longer, she started to pace in front of the sofa. Anger and disappointment coursed through her heart that they would think so little of her. There is

something worse than the big kiss-off – go figure. “Look, I get it, okay?” Didn’t she just. “The threesome was a kinky experiment for you. I have no bloody grand designs that one of you is about to propose marriage, two kids, and a cat, all right?”

And didn’t that make her want to bawl her eyes out.

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Jack twitched as if Wren had slapped him. What on earth was the woman going on about? “Well, that’s where you’re wrong. We are thinking about kids, cats, and dogs.” If it hadn’t been such a serious topic, Jack would have felt smug when Wren stopped her pacing in such a hurry she lost her balance and toppled into her chair. “Oh. My. God. What are you suggesting?” “Well… Craig has this little problem.” Jack ignored the strangled cough and heated glare from the seat beside him. “He’s a greedy SOB who wants it all.” Jack took a deep breath. “I can’t blame him. When it comes to you and Craig, I want the whole goddamned cake, too.” He looked at Craig, nodded his head toward Wren, and they both stood, moving to kneel on either side of her, each taking one of her hands. “Wren, we’re asking you to consider something…well…unusual.” Wren hadn’t uttered a word, but her big, round eyes flicked back and forth between him and Craig, trying to figure out what was happening. “Craig and I find ourselves in a strange situation. We both feel a lot for you, too, Wren. A lot more than just good friends should and we…we…” Shit,

now I clam up? “What Jack is trying to say is that we would like you to consider taking our friendship a step further.” Jack watched Craig come to a verbal standstill as well. After a shoulder-raising inhale, Craig carried on. “We’d like you to think about coming to live with us.” “Live with you?” Jack admired Wren’s expressive eyebrows as they arched high, uncertain. “The same way that Craig and I live together, love; we want you in our lives, in our bed.” He hoped he hadn’t done his usual trick and ballsed it up. This was one thing Jack did not want to get wrong. Maybe he should have just left it to Craig.

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Pulling away, Wren sank back into the chair, her hands covering her face. “You want me to be your girlfriend? Both of you?” She peeked at them between her fingers, watching them as they both nodded. “A bit more than just a girlfriend, Wren; we’re hoping for something a little more long term. We want to settle down, not party around, and it feels…well, right, that you’re part of it all.” Jack broke off, looking to Craig for reassurance. “But we aren’t asking you to make that decision right now. We just want you to consider the possibility.” “It won’t be easy. We don’t hide that we’re a couple, and while some won’t think twice about the three of us together, there will be many who will badmouth you.” Craig was always the sensible one, able to see both sides of an issue. Jack was glad Craig remembered the bigger picture that he often forgot in the heat of the moment – Craig was the planner, Jack the reactionary. “There’s a lot for you to think about. Especially since we, your favorite twosome, have this habit of popping in and dropping bombshells on Friday nights.” This, at least, made her smile. Jack watched as Craig took Wren’s face in his hands and feathered a light kiss along her lips, satisfied that things had not gone as badly as they’d thought they might. His relief made him feel soppy and camp, so he sighed. When two curious faces turned toward him, he grinned. “You look so pretty together.” That made them all chuckle. Wren reached for him and kissed him slowly, sharing with him what she had with Craig before sitting back with a sigh. “I really don’t know what to say to you both. I was expecting the big kiss-off.” Jack could feel the tension again in the leg that rested against his. “After last Friday…” She tapered off, leaving the words hanging. “Yes. Last Friday – we’d like to apologize for that.” Craig looked away from Wren, uncomfortable. Jack knew why – Craig had yet to accept it, but he had a huge sexual-

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dominance streak that he tried not to acknowledge, and it had come out to play last Friday night. Between the two of them it was a power play, one that Jack was progressively beginning to enjoy being on the bottom of. He had finally understood that being fucked didn’t make him any less of a man – in fact, it was quite empowering to make Craig go all commanding on his ass. It was probably topping from the bottom or some other BDSM term, but that’s not what it was about for them. The power play kept them keen, but the loving was still there. The sweet, tender times, when one moment morphed into another without any battle for supremacy and the only thing that mattered was accepting love that was freely given were no different than any other relationship. In the end, it didn’t matter who was on top, but they sure as hell enjoyed battling out who it was going to be. “Why? What do you need to apologize for?” Wren looked away, shy. “I liked it. I just wish we hadn’t drunk so much, though it didn’t feel like it at the time; that hangover was a killer.” Both of them goggled at their curvaceous, recently-a-virgin Wren. “You didn’t mind that things went a little out of the box?” “No. Should I?” Jack shook his head and could see Craig echoing the movement. Wren was constantly surprising them. At first appearance she was much like the little bird whose name she carried – a bit nondescript. People forgot that same bird was also smart, very curious, and not afraid to go after the competition. Wren proved more fascinating every day. “I guess not.” Jack hummed. Things were looking up.

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Chapter Seventeen

Reginald Browne sat quiet and intent, knowing that his daughter would eventually figure out what it was she had come here to say. It wasn’t the first time she had called up needing a sounding board and quasi-impartial advice. He worried about his little bird. He and Jeannie couldn’t have named her better despite the obvious quirkiness. Wren was a derivative of Lawrence, D.H. Lawrence to be exact, one of his favorite authors. However, Wren reminded him more and more of that cocky little bird with a big voice, like the sparrows who tilted their heads as they pipped and peeped at you, demanding their due. Underneath all the complex layers, he could also see the vibrant passion of her namesake waiting to burst free. His daughter had worried him of late. He craved for her to find a life partner like he had found in Jeannie, her mother. But he saw how she held herself aloof, letting her scars be a barrier against more hurt. Of course, he hadn’t yet met anyone worthy enough of his daughter. A person who didn’t see a scarred body, but instead, the blooming soul hidden inside the imperfect package. Man or woman, he wasn’t biased, he just wanted his daughter to find someone who loved her unconditionally.

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Maybe today was the day. Maybe that glow she’d barely held by a string the last time he’d seen her was love.

Jack and Craig had said their goodbyes with little fuss the night before, leaving her with a head full of thoughts that bounced and echoed around, generating more questions than answers. So, she had called her father this morning and asked if she could visit. Now, she sat in her father’s cozy Mt. Eden villa, relaxing with a cup of tea and a slice of Sally Lunn bun. She didn’t quite know how to start this conversation – after all, you don’t usually come asking your father about your boyfriend, let alone your bisexual male lovers who wanted you to move in with them. But Wren had a drastically different relationship with her father than most other children. Reginald Browne was an educator, poet, and author, and was surprisingly liberal and encouraging, considering his old-fashioned values. He was also the best father a girl with no mother could have. Together, they had beaten the system that said Wren wouldn’t walk again, and together, they had overcome the heartache of losing their beloved mother and wife. Wren had been a late-in-life baby. Her parents had never had the luck of having another child, but they didn’t mourn what they didn’t have when they had so much in each other and in their small family unit. She had inherited a little of both of them. Her passionate, creative mother had given her courage and heart, while her father’s English literary ways had given her free-flowing structure and a desire to perform. An odd mix indeed, but it made her who she was. “Dad?” “Yes, sweetheart?”

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“Something happened last night. Something pretty big.” She stopped and sipped at her tea. “Remember Jack and Craig?” “Of course I do, honey. You spend a lot of time with them. I’m almost jealous.” She heard the lightness of his tone and knew her father was joking with her. No friend or lover could ever break the bond they had built during those long, hard years of therapy. “They…umm, they asked me something quite shocking.” Scooping up a little of the icing from the fruit bun, she licked it off her finger. “They asked me to come live with them – like husband and wife live with them.” Her father showed no overt shock, but slowly put his teacup back down on his saucer. “They asked you, or one of them asked you?” “They… Together… As in the three of us.” “Oh.” The word was stated simply but with a wealth of meaning. It was a statement and a question, but not a judgment. “And how do you feel about the idea?” “That’s just it, Dad. I feel a whole lot about it, some of it good, some of it just downright confusing.” “Well, let’s look at this logically. Where’s your list?” Her father knew her much too well. She handed over her list – pros one side, cons the other. “So…” She watched her father’s eyes flicker side to side as he read down her neatly prepared list. “The first and last question I’m going to ask is this – do you love these men? The answer to that, sweetheart, will answer every question on your list.” Despite the fingerprint-marred lenses of his spectacles, Wren felt the keen, cutting edge of his regard slicing through to the most important thing of all. “Yes. Yes, I think I do, Daddy.” The admission was spoken cautiously, with little volume, and a whole lot of trepidation. She was twenty-five, hadn’t ever had a long-term relationship, and now declared that she was in love with two men – a big change of pace.

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“Honey, look at me.” She turned away from gazing out the window and back to her father. “You’re worried about what I think of you, aren’t you?” She nodded, unsure of what else to say. Leaning over the table, her father took her chin in his hand and kissed her on the forehead like he had when she was a little girl. “I can handle it, sweetheart. What I want to know is, can you?” Wren took her father’s hand and held it in hers on the table between them. “Jack and Craig have something special; they always will. Can you handle that – knowing that there’s something different between them and the relationship they have with you?” Trust Dad to be able to pare down to the core of things so easily. “I think so.” She felt her cheeks flush pink. “It…umm…” Sheesh! How do you tell your dad that gay sex turns you on? “Ahhh…” He smiled knowingly at her. “A fan of slash fiction, are you?” She nodded, so damned embarrassed to be having this conversation with her father that her throat had jammed up. Her father stood and came around the table, pulling her up into an enveloping bear hug, comforting his little girl just because she needed it. “Sweetheart, living life is hard. Everyone runs the risk of failing, of having their heart broken by a person they love. It’s not something special or unique.” He stroked his hand over her hair like he used to in the hospital, when the agony had made her skin too sensitive to touch and her body had been too sore for a cuddle or hug. “The love you have for somebody is very unique, but heartbreak? Not so much. “Sharing your life with someone is hard, sweetie. But on the flip side, love can be damn easy with the right person, even if the rest of your world is a mess.” She nodded her understanding against her father’s chest. They were a case in point – despite losing Wren’s mother, they had banded closer together to fight with a united front.

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“I’d wish your mother alive in a heartbeat, Wren, but I thank every god ever thought of that I had the time I did with her. I want you to have that. Loving someone for a short time is better than never having loved anyone.” Still holding her tightly, he murmured into her hair, “Take a chance, sweetheart; this might just be the best thing to ever happen to you.”

***** “We are doing the right thing, aren’t we?” The words fluttered across the sweat that clung to Craig’s chest, sensitizing his skin. “This isn’t about some gay identity crisis, is it?” Craig lay on his back, with Jack pressed to his side, using his chest as a pillow as they recovered their senses. Craig let his hand drift into the damp strands of sun-bleached hair that splayed out from Jack’s bent head. “No. If it were just you, or just me…maybe.” He swept the strands away, exposing the nape of Jack’s neck and stroking circles over the slick skin, seeking a connection with his lover via touch as well as words as he tried to reassure him. “I know when I turned thirty it seemed like I kept looking at the other side of the fence, thinking the grass was greener. But that wasn’t it.” Jack reached out, twining their free hands together. “I guess I understand you better now.” Another zephyr-like brush of air drifted over Craig’s belly as Jack sighed again. “All I wanted was you. I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong, why I wasn’t enough, until I felt something click inside and I realized that what I felt for you, I felt for Wren, too.” Jack’s confession ripped across Craig’s sated glow. He’d been confused about the cravings he’d had for a woman in his life, and he’d known Jack was equally confused. He hadn’t realized that Jack had thought Craig’s crisis was because something was wrong with him.

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“Oh, baby. No. Giving you up was never an option. It was never about you not being good enough.” Flipping Jack over, he rose up above him, his thighs around Jack’s hips, hands to the bed beside his head, trapping him. The next words weren’t going to be easy. “You were right in a way; there was something you couldn’t give me.” Jack went stiff beneath him, hurt making him close his eyes to hide from the pain. “It was the same thing I couldn’t give you, either.” Little butterfly kisses over those closed lids brought them open again. “Wren is the only one who can give us both that same thing, Jack. Just the same way that we’re going to be able to give her something only we can.” “And if she doesn’t want us?” Craig smiled down at his lover. “After seeing the way she hung off our every move the other night, I don’t think it is a case of not wanting us.” He shrugged. “Not choosing an unusual relationship – that I can see. But you know what, love? She’s so tough and strong in ways she can’t see; she can survive anything life throws at her.” “You’re right.” Apprehension still rode Jack’s body; something was still bugging him. “You’re still feeling blue, aren’t you? I don’t quite know how you have the energy since I just fucked you to a standstill.” Since his own cock had begun to fill from being in the dominant position and having all Jack’s bare skin on display, Craig wasn’t surprised to feel Jack’s cock tap against his, hot, hard, and ready again. “Not blue, anxious.” He really was worried over something. Craig cocked his head, questioning. “What if she does say no? I haven’t ‘found’ women all of a sudden – just Wren… I don’t want any other woman but her. What if she says no…do we stop trying?” Jack probably wasn’t conscious of it, but he was gently rocking his hips, seeking to soothe himself by rubbing against Craig. “Hell, no! If she says no, we’re going to keep trying until she says yes.” Rearing back off his arms, he sat on his haunches, grasping both of their cocks together in one hand. Still hot

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from their previous lovemaking, sticky with cum, and now fresh pre-cum, his fist easily glided over both members. He rubbed the slick skin together, teasing and taunting them both. “Use both hands.” His head jerked up at Jack’s unexpected words. “Cup them together…like it’s Wren, and we’re both fucking her.”

Shit. Jack could really come up with some interesting ideas sometimes. “Like this?” He must have had it right as Jack moaned and flexed his hips, trying to push deeper into the cavern of Craig’s joined hands. Just like Jack, he groaned out loud. “Jesus, Jack, what made you think of this?” A second pair of hands pressed around his, generating more resistance on his pre-cumslicked hands. Craig watched those impressive abs tighten as Jack sat upright, bringing their heads into line. Then the hot wash of Jack’s strained breathing blew over his cheek. “Logistics…” The rumble of words in his ear shivered down his spine. “If we were to both fuck Wren, how would we do it without hurting her?” Jack was obviously affected as his breathing became choppy. Just like mine. “When you wrapped your hands around both of us, I started wondering what it would be like to feel your cock beside mine, plunging into Wren’s hot, wet pussy.” The visual was too much for Craig. As Jack slid his cock up beside his again, he succumbed to the heat and pressure, reveling in the friction. He thrust quickly as he came, flooding his hands with cum and coating Jack’s shaft and head as he, too, frantically sought relief from the agony all the words and actions were wreaking on his body. “Fuck! I’m going to come!” Having recovered just enough to have some sense, Craig pushed his palms together tightly, pulling his penis free and linking his fingers together around Jack’s still hard cock. Freeing his hands, Jack fell back onto the bed, thrusting hard into the tight tunnel of Craig’s fisted hands, almost bucking Craig free as he fought for release.

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Better hold on tight and ride ’em hard, cowboy! Gripping Jack with his strong thighs, Craig clung to his partner, refusing to be thrown off. “Come for me, Jack. Come now.” Jack’s eyes flashed open. Surprise, relief, and ecstasy rode his body as he unconsciously obeyed the command. Jack let loose with a raw cry as his cum spurted over his belly, mingling with Craig’s as it ran down his sides to the bed. Laughing, Craig looked down at his ragged lover. “I guess this means you get the wet spot again.”

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Chapter Eighteen

Who the fuck would be banging on their door at six thirty on a Sunday morning? Stumbling out of bed, Jack grabbed a towel that had been dropped on the floor the night before and wrapped it around his waist. He hoped whoever was ringing his doorbell could hear him stomping angrily down the wooden floors of the hallway. Flicking the locks open before jerking back the door, he opened his mouth to growl at the SOB who was waking him up way too early after a long night of hard loving. He pulled up short when he saw who waited on his doorstep. “Wren?” What on earth… “Jack.” She stood, prim and properly dressed and made-up, with her purse over one shoulder and an official-looking file folder in the other hand. Uh-oh. Ignoring the accoutrements, Jack went with the gut reaction when you find someone you know and love on your doorstep at an ungodly hour of the morning. “Is something wrong, Wren? Shit…is your dad okay?” He reached out and pulled her over the threshold and into his arms, holding her tight despite the fact he was naked, bar the towel. When she laughed, he set her away from him a little to look into her face.

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“Everyone is fine, Jack.” Cocking her brow, she took in his lack of clothing and physical disrepair. “And since you’re walking, I’m guessing you and Craig are just hunkydory, too.” She took a step back and moved out of his arms, leaving him feeling lonely…and just a tad cold in the crisp morning air. “I… Um, that is… Ahhh, I’ve come to negotiate.” Jack had seen Wren wrangle the best businessmen down and hogtie them in less than ten seconds, so why was she so nervous? Where was cool, calm, and collected Wren…and what the hell did she mean negotiate? They stood eyeing each other warily.

“Craig!” Jack’s bellow echoed down the hallway. When they heard the ominous thump of a fully-grown man hitting the bedroom floor, both Jack and Wren cringed. In short order, Craig padded out of the bedroom wearing nothing more than a pair of satin boxers. “Wren?” “Good morning, Craig. I hope I didn’t wake you up too early.” Considering that Craig looked more asleep than awake, and it was six thirty in the morning, Jack was quite impressed when he managed to make a sensible reply. “Morning… What’s with the folder?” Craig rubbed at his eyes, trying to focus without his contacts in. Jack didn’t think Craig would appreciate him saying he looked like an adorable, but very sexy teddy bear. “Negotiation papers.” “Oh.” Wren and Jack watched, mouths gaping, as he turned and stumbled back to the bedroom. “We can do that in bed, can’t we?”

It looked to be a pretty moot point since Craig was already crawling back under the covers. Jack motioned Wren to precede him down the hallway to the bedroom, but remained

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standing guard, arms crossed and legs apart, watching her as she sat on the edge of the bed. Did he think she didn’t understand what she had done? Wren knew she had walked right into the lion’s den with her foolish lists. But this was the only way she knew how deal with the situation – make lists and plans, and see them through, altering for circumstances as they came up. Craig had left his boxers on the floor and crawled back under the covers, but she felt his awareness. He was putting up a good front of being relaxed, but the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. She swallowed, unsure how to start. Having spent a restless night, she had eventually given up the pretense of sleep and dressed, waiting for a semi-decent hour to arrive on Jack and Craig’s doorstep – hopefully soon to be hers as well. “You said something about negotiating?” That chocolaty voice came softly from behind her back. “What do you mean by that, Wren? We asked you a pretty cut-and-dried question. Yes or no. What’s your answer?” Trust a man to make it seem so simple when it wasn’t. “There’s more to it than that.” She looked up when Jack took a step closer, still looking wary and defensive. She knew just how he felt – this was an enormous life change for her, too. Feeling cornered didn’t make it any easier. “Like what?” She’d never heard that tone of voice from Jack before. His growl was low and raspy, and sounded like he’d spent a hard night screaming as he came or had just swallowed a shot of fiery Irish whiskey. Rummaging amongst her papers and trying to avoid his burning stare, she handed Jack a sheet. This wasn’t going quite the way she had thought it might. “Here…here’s part of it.” Her hand shook as she held it out, and despite the coolness of the early hour, her skin was clammy. Jack took the paper and started reading down the list.

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He recited the list for Craig’s benefit. “Discussion points. Where do we live?” “Here, with us,” Craig answered in counterpoint to Jack’s recited question. “Where do I sleep?” “Here, with us – starting to see a trend here yet, love?” She blushed at Craig’s chuckle, shifting, feeling uncomfortable as the bed moved when Craig rolled to his side, closer to her. She forced herself to stay seated on the bed and not run. They would catch me before I made

it to the front door anyway. “How does Wren fit into our relationship?” A strong arm crept around her waist, pulling her farther onto the bed and planting her bottom beside a warm, naked, and very male chest. “You are an integral part of the puzzle. It’ll be Jack, you, and me. Think married couple, but with three people.” One big hand now pressed against her tummy while the other came around her other hip, and smoothed up her thigh, lifting her skirt higher with each stroke. “Formal recognition.” “A big white wedding, if that’s what you want. After all, Jack has created the perfect outdoor setting for it in the backyard. If you just want a formal written agreement giving us privileges akin to a married couple, that’s okay, too.” “Children.” Wren looked up as Jack’s voice cracked a little on the solo word. His face was still taut, but she caught the flicker of something else in his eyes. Longing? “Yes, yes, and yes. As you can tell, that worries Jack a little.” The skirt hem rose higher, and Craig’s hand moved underneath, reaching the crease of her thigh. “But not for the reasons you think. Like me, he’s been resigned to never having children, even though he would make a great dad. We would be honored to have children with you, if you so wished.” She felt the small shrug where his shoulders pressed into her lower back. “If you don’t, we won’t complain either, but we might try, just a little bit, to convince you.”

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“Sex.” Jack snorted in a most uncomplimentary manner and looked away from the paper and to her lap, where Craig was slowly exposing her to his view. “What on earth do we have to discuss when it comes to sex?” Craig’s hand had almost reached its destination, and when she halted him with her hand over his, he stilled, waiting for her answer. Pushing his hand aside, she slid off the bed, avoiding Jack and moving to the window. She pressed her hands together, trying to settle their trembling, and watched the sunrise as it faded away to low morning light.

Good Lord, how do I ask this? “Will the bedroom door always be open?” “What do you mean, Wren?” The question came from the bed. Not from the naked body that had silently moved behind her to press into her back and spread his delectable heat through her clothing as he reached around her waist. “I know what she means, Craig. I worried about the same thing a few months back.” Male fingers worked at buttons as she waited. “She wants to know if we’re going to exclude her, shut her out of the bedroom, while we have time to ourselves.” Jack hit the nail right on the head. Now what will their answer be? “I guess we haven’t been as clear as we’d hoped to be,” Craig said. “No, Craig, she has a valid point. I don’t think even we discussed it, as we both took it as a given.” Pain thundered through her chest as if it was ten years before and she still lay in that damned hospital bed with a broken body. This must be what a broken heart feels like;

damned if the broken ribs hurt less. Jack was still plucking at her blouse buttons and pushing them back through their opposing holes. Stiffly, she covered his hand with her own and pulled it away, silently intimating her refusal of his advances. She stepped aside again, out of his arms. “In that case, my answer is no.” Two harsh, disbelieving intakes of air sounded out behind her.

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Hurrying over to the bed, she grabbed her bag from the floor, not bothering with the folder full of useless lists – what was the point? They could just as easily dispose of them. How stupid her questions must look to them. Her hip ached in sympathy with her chest, causing her to stumble as she passed through the bedroom door. Reaching out to steady herself on the doorframe, she took a deep breath, collecting herself. “What the hell does that mean, Wren? You can’t just say no like that and then walk away!” Craig’s shout was just on the dull side of a roar. Did they really think she was the type of person to live in an unequal relationship? Did she seem that easy to press into submission? “You want us to shut you out? What the fuck weird reasoning have you got for that?” The angry growl came from just to the left of her. Jack sounded no happier than Craig, even if he wasn’t being as vocal with his anger. “What?” Spinning too quickly on her bad leg, she saw the room tilt and waited for the inevitable impact. Jack reached her before her ass had a chance to kiss the floor, roughly hauling her up against his chest. “What did you say?” No one could ever say she didn’t know how to give as good as she got. Her screech rivaled Craig’s muted roar and Jack’s dangerous growls of indignation. Her clenched fists only bounced off Jack’s chest as she tried to pummel his answer from him. “Answer me, damn it!” With no hands to hold it, Jack’s towel fell to the ground as she struggled against him. “Why on God’s green earth would you want us to shut you out?” Craig came up to press himself to her back, holding her hips tightly, a naked man in the front of her and a naked man behind her while she dangled between them. “We want an equal partnership, Wren. While there might be private times between you and me, or you and Jack, or me and Jack, no one would ever be excluded.”

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The tension drained from her body as she realized that she had misunderstood. She’d been so certain there had to be something wrong with something so right, she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. Jack hadn’t been saying they expected to lock the door on her; he’d been saying they had assumed the opposite.

“Why would you want it any different?” Wren’s forehead had come to rest on his chest. Craig nuzzled at her neck as he questioned her, while Jack looked down at the top of her curly-haired head as it rocked side to side. “I don’t.” Hazel eyes tilted up to meet his, shining with tears. Hopefully her tears were the happy kind – he didn’t deal well with the unhappy variety. “I…I…” When she couldn’t get the words out, Jack tried not to grin. For once, it was Wren lost for words. “You got the wrong end of the stick, love? Maybe well and truly stuck your foot in it?” Her eyes sharpened and her lips pursed as his smirk grew. “You might say that – if you weren’t much of a gentleman.” She jerked in his arms and gasped when Craig growled at her and nipped at her nape with his teeth. “Never let it be said that we aren’t gentlemen. But as a gentleman, I only intend to ask this once more nicely. If we have to ask again, we’ll be decidedly dastardly in execution until we get the answer we want.” As Craig spoke, Jack felt his hands working at Wren’s skirt, pulling it up to her waist. He wasn’t surprised when Wren wrapped her thighs around his waist, but he was surprised to find Wren wore no underwear. “No panties, love?” Craig grunted, obviously taken aback as he, too, came up against bare skin. Wren stared up at Jack wordlessly, biting her bottom lip as his cock slid into the vee of her legs, his hard shaft quickly becoming slick from the moisture pooling there.

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“So, once more, gentleman-like. Will you do us the honor of being our lover, wife, friend…?” A large hand came up over Wren’s shoulder and curled around Jack’s neck, joining the three of them together. “And maybe, in time, the mother of our children?” For the first time in his life, Jack couldn’t breathe. Air hung in his lungs, caught in limbo as he waited on Wren’s answer, an answer that had become vitally important to both he and Craig. Wren cocked her head to the side just like her sparrow namesake and bit her lip a little harder as her cheeks flushed. “Do I have to offer a ladylike answer?” Craig rumbled again and pushed forward with his pelvis, making Jack stumble back and almost lose his balance. Before he could unbalance further, Craig plucked Wren from his arms and carried her to the bed.

“Yes, damn it, yes, you do!” How this woman turned him inside out! As he loomed over her reclining form on the bed, Craig realized he’d been had. He felt the energy rolling off her now and saw the emotions on her face, including the radiant smile she had failed to suppress by biting her tasty bottom lip. The something more Craig had been seeking looked back at him; Wren had laid herself bare for him, accepting him and his lover as her own, welcoming them into her heart and body. “It’s about time, woman.” He was so outrageously happy he laughed, pushing down on the bed and bouncing Wren between his outstretched arms before he leaned down to ravish her lips. “Jack is a bear when he’s blue, honey, and he’s been very blue the last few days.” “Hey!” Jack’s outrage made him laugh again, and scooping Wren into his arms, he rolled them so she ended up lying on top of him, his cock notched against her hot, slick entrance.

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Thrusting his hands into her cap of curls, he pulled her face to his. “Up for something new, baby?” Wren’s nostrils flared as she tried to contain her arousal, but failed miserably, even whimpering as Jack ran a hand over her exposed buttocks. He stepped up between Craig’s spread legs to rest his erection between her cheeks and rock back and forth. There was a gasp, and Craig saw the question in her face. “Not today, love, but soon.” Wren jerked in his arms, then melted with a moan. “You’ll love it, too. But we’ve recently had some other devilish and definitely ungentlemanly ideas.” Craig knew exactly what Jack had been doing when one hand came back into view, bringing his fingers to his mouth, sucking them deep and licking the thick shine from them. Jack’s other hand was still not to be seen. “Here…here is another story,” Jack said. “Mmm…you taste good, Wren.” That errant hand must be the reason Wren now lay pliant on his chest. Flexing his pelvis, Craig thrust deep into her channel, and then, catching his lover’s eye, he nodded. “Do it, Jack; let me hold her and keep her comfortable.” The smooth, broad tip of Jack’s cock prodded at the barrel of Craig’s shaft, seeking entrance beside his in the warm cavern of Wren’s pussy. “What are you two doing to me?” Wren’s mewled question excited Craig; she didn’t show fear, just curiosity. “One day soon, baby, we’re going to fuck your ass, but not today. Instead, we’re going to both fuck that sweet little pussy of yours.” She buried her face into his neck, panting as Jack pressed himself deeper, careful to go slowly so as not to hurt Wren, letting her body stretch to accommodate the difference in size. “We both need to be inside you, love, to show you how much a part of us you are.”

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Wren alternately gasped and whimpered, biting her lip as she let it happen. “You can take it, baby. We’ll take it slow and easy, let you get used to how it feels.” Craig stroked her hair, wanting to calm her so she could relax more and take them easier. Craig had fucked Jack’s ass, sucked his cock, and wrapped his hand around it more times than he could count. But nothing felt as exquisite as the soft skin covering Jack’s hard shaft slicked with Wren’s juices and sliding along his cock. “Jesus, Jack…” Craig hissed in pleasure as the big vein along the bottom of his cock throbbed against Jack’s. “Shit, I think I’m going to embarrass myself.” Jack started a very slow, short, measured stroke, caressing both Craig and Wren intimately while Craig lay still and Wren tried hard not to wriggle. Gritting his teeth, Craig reached between their bellies, his fingers seeking out the taut nub that Wren was grinding against his pubis, determined to make her pleasure his own. He was rewarded with a gasp as she ground down against his searching fingers. “Pinch me…please, I need just a little more.” Ever the gentleman, Craig gave his lover what she needed, a little flick of his forefinger against her clit. The little spike of pain sent her into spasms that squeezed around their dicks. “Fuck!” The final gentle thrust of Jack’s cock against Craig’s was accompanied by a wash of warmth as Wren’s orgasm sent Jack into his own release.

Shit, no condoms. Perversely, this aroused Craig more. Jack withdrew on a groan, and Craig rolled them so Wren lay under him. He thrust hard into her, Jack’s cum slicking their joined bodies as his balls slapped against Wren’s ass. “All ours, Jack, everything we could ever want, and she’s all ours.” A peal of erotic laughter rang out from beneath him followed by a snort of disgust from beside him. “If you think that, Craig, you are one deluded man. The woman owns us. Look at her; she’s the one with all her clothes on!”

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Wren’s sexy, satisfied smirk was the last straw; her heels hammered against his ass as he pounded into her, demanding that he come for her. He did the only thing he could; he surrendered to the one person that completed his union with Jack.

Maybe turning thirty hadn’t been so bad, after all.

Anne Douglas I started writing with the encouragement of my friends (who tell me I always have a tale to tell – I think that’s a good thing) to support my growing Erotica/Erotic Romance habit. Writing, along with the Handcrafted Boutique Children’s Clothing business that is my “day job”, is what my husband calls my “excuse for not doing housework” – too right, mate! I am a transplant New Zealander currently living in Florida, so my American friends get a laugh out of translating “Kiwi-speak” to American for me – car park…parking lot…elevator…lift…Oy! Visit Anne on the Web at http://annedouglas.blogspot.com, or email her at [email protected].