Manwich

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Praise for the writing of Sedonia Guillone

Lady of Two Lairds

This is a story that I would definitely recommend to lovers of historical romance. -- FrancescaHayne ,Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Lady of Two Lairdsis one of those stories that will tear at your heartstrings from the beginning... There are a number of wonderfully poignant love scenes throughout the book. Most will leave you breathless and longing for relief. This is a very good book that deserves to be put on your keeper shelf. --Oleta M. Blaylock,Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Sedonia Guillone’sLady of Two Lairds is a fascinating trip back in time with characters you’ll remember long after you’ve finished reading the book. --Chrissy Dionne,Romance Junkies

Sedonia Guillone gives a story with enough real life joys and sorrows that any reader will be hooked. This triangle love story will make you believe that love isn’t always about just twopeople, sometimes a third makes the bonds of love stronger. The struggles that these people go through make the book a hit. -- Stacie Burroughs,TheRomance Studio

This is Sedonia Guillone at her best!Lady of Two Lairds is such a touching story. The love flows between these three who learn the true meaning of love through sacrifice, forgiveness, and sharing. -- Holly,Euro-Reviews

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Lady of Two Lairdsis now available from Loose Id.

MANWICH

Sedonia Guillone

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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 is rated:

For substantial explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable (ménage).

Manwich Sedonia Guillone

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.

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Published by Loose Id LLC 1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-29 Carson City NV 89701-1215 www.loose-id.com

Copyright © January 2006 by Sedonia Guillone 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 1-59632-196-2 Available in Adobe PDF, HTML,MobiPocket , and MS Reader

Printed in the United States of America

Editor: Ansley Velarde Cover Artist: April Martinez

Dedication

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For Mitch, always.

Thank-yous: Thank you to Mitch andAllyn , who always give me their unflinching support, and to Ansley, the editor I love.Thank you, Treva, Doreen, Allie, and MT, for making me a part of Loose Id; Skye, for the beautiful cover; and Raven, for fine tuning. Also to my critique partner, Ruth AxtellMorren , an awesome romance writer who’s helped my writingimprove so much. Chapter One

Violette gazed languidly from one naked man to the other. They reclined on either side of her, each muscular, nude body stretched out against her, the chiseled muscles a sensual contrast to her feminine curves. The musky scents of masculine sex and shaving balm combined intoxicated her senses. She smiled and lay back, drowning in the pleasure of two pairs of strong hands caressing her bareflesh ... --Between Two Captains, Chapter Six

“Valerie Martin needs you to finish writingBetween Two Captains for her, sex scenes and all.” Lauren Danner’s statement cut through the air in her office. She drummed her neatly manicured nails on the desk, waiting for Kayla’s response. Kayla, however, couldn’t speak just yet for the golf-ball-sized lump that had formed in her throat. Lauren Danner, literary agent, had just offered to let her, Kayla Morgan, ghostwrite for Valerie Martin, rising star in the world of romance writing. Kayla’s elation was marred only by the reason for the offer in the first place. Valerie Martin had been in a terrible car accident and was in a complete body cast. The accident was all over the news. She was in no condition to write and wouldn’t be for weeks to come. But the woman was incredibly organized and had a whole system set up, so as not to miss any deadlines. Lauren raised an eyebrow. “Well?” She sighed. “I hate to pressure you about this, but as you know, Ms. Martin is launching her name into the erotic romance venue. You know, covering all the bases? Burlington’s Desires line wants her for their premiere, and the deadline is in exactly one month. She has forty K written so far, out of seventy-five total.” Kayla swallowed hard.Forty thousand words written for a seventy-five-K manuscript. Thirty-five thousand more was a lot of work when you weren’t on a roll. Her grip tightened on the arms of the Empire-style chair. City traffic on the street below blared in the background of her consciousness. Her stomach veered as if she were about to descend the highest hill on the roller coaster. “I’ll do it.” She spat the words out before she could lose her nerve. Lauren exhaled sharply. “Good. I’ll give you a disk of the work in progress so you can catch up with the story.Now, about the upcoming scenes. There’s going to be a ménageàtrois between theheroine , the hero, and, well, the second hero. You can refer to the plot outline, so you’ll know how Valerie intends to introduce the second hero and create the circumstances that lead up to this love scene. Of course, once

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you have the experience yourself, you’ll be able to write firsthand about it, emotions, actions, and all. At this point, she can only surmise --” “Wait a second, what did you say?” Kayla’s listening had stopped at the wordshave the experience yourself . Everything after that sounded like thewha-wha-wha of Charlie Brown’s grown-ups.In other words, verbal blobs. “At this point, she can only surmise how the story would end.” The sudden tension in Lauren’s voice showed her determination to finish her phrase. Kayla blinked.“No, not that part.The first part.” Understanding flickered across Lauren’s face. “Oh, you meant the part about ‘once you have the experience yourself.’ Am I correct?” Kayla nodded slowly. Lauren furrowed her brow. “Don’t you remember? Ms. Martin has never written a scene that she has not experienced. It’s what makes her what she is as a romance writer.” She picked up her coffee mug from the desk and took a sip. “Which is why she’s my top client.” Which was why Kayla considered her prime achievement in the seven years since graduating college to be the very position she was in now. She scratched an imaginary itch on her cheek, wondering why she was so shocked. Lauren had already made clear to her Valerie Martin’s policy on writing from experience. Kayla had read all of her books, and well, Martin’s scenes were powerful. Whether the hero was climbing a mountain or the heroine was giving the hero a shoulder rub, she brought the readers in as if they were actually there. Oh, yeah. She remembered why she was so shocked.A ménageàtrois .With two men.Real experience. One Kayla did not already have. And she had to finish the book in less than a month.Hmm. She drew in a deep breath, suppressing the urge to ask Lauren in a tone of poignant sarcasm where she would find two such men. Evenif she’d had a boyfriend at this point in time, she could hardly imagine approaching him and asking about it. “What if ... what if I were married, or something? I wouldn’t be able to ... you know ...” Kayla said. Lauren blinked, as if the possibility had never occurred to her. “Well, we would have to move to the next person on our list until we found someone who could do it.” She leaned forward in her chair. “Your card says you’re single. If there’s a problem, of course, we can’t ask you to do this.” Kayla’s heart lurched. The situation would have made her laugh hysterically had it not been about her career . She couldn’t let this opportunity just slide from her grasp, could she? She hoped one day not to have to work at the café and to be able to make her living from writing. Lauren was offering her an easy way out, if she felt she couldn’t provide the experience. Her mind pawed through the possibilities. She could lie. She could use the best of her imagination and make up a scene, right? After all, shehad had sex before, however long ago it was. Two years and three months, but who was counting? She chewed on her lower lip. What if they found out she’d lied? What if the scene just didn’t pass muster, authenticity-wise? What a disaster that would be, both for Valerie Martin and for herself! Plus, in addition to having alienated a major star in the publishing world and getting herself blacklisted in the

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romance industry, she would have to live with knowing she’d been deceptive. Reality check.Lauren was talking about making love with two men at the same time, not sacrificing her firstborn. How bad could it be? Like choosing between eating pizza or ice cream, she imagined. Either way, it was delicious. In spite of the tension of the moment, her body began to respond to the possibility. Heat tingled in the crevice between her thighs. She cleared her throat, her decision made. “No. There’s no problem. I’m honored to have this opportunity.” Lauren nodded, all business, and pushed a piece of paper forward on the surface of her desk.“All right. Sign this form. It says you agree to do this project, that all the details and circumstances have been clearly explained to you, and that you understand all that’s expected of you. No surprises.” Kayla took the pen offered and scanned the paper. It explained all that Lauren had just said. She scrawled her signature and set the pen down, wiping her moist palm on her skirt. When Lauren had called her in this morning to discuss an opportunity, Kayla had never imagined what was in store. “Very good.”Lauren took back the paper and picked up her mug. She sipped and set it down. “You’ll just have to continue the physical descriptions of the characters. That much doesn’t need to be from actual life.” Kayla nodded. “I understand.” Her stomach tightened like a trebuchet about to fling a boulder. “Now, do you have any questions?” Lauren straightened her blazer, efficiently brushing off lint that Kayla couldn’t see. Kayla sighed. Of course she had questions. Like, for one, where would she find two willing guys to take part in her reality scene? Her question must have showed on her face, for Lauren cleared her throat and pulled what looked like a business card out of a desk drawer. When she looked at Kayla again, her face had softened.“Now, to the nuts and bolts. Here’s a card with a service. My agency is willing to cover the costs of hiring the necessary male persons for your ... needs.” She slid the card across the desk blotter. “There’s no shame in it whatsoever.” Lauren smiled. “Suffer for your art, right?” Kayla stared at the card, barely registering the wordsKnight for a Night, Male Escorts printed in small letters. Hesitantly, she picked it up. “Thanks.” With her mind reeling the way it was, there really wasn’t anything else to say. “If you have any problems, concerns, questions, feel free to call me anytime. You can now use the direct line to my office.” That last statement brought home exactly the exalted status Kayla had just achieved. She nodded. “Thank you, I will.” All she knew was that she had to get home, sort out this whole thing, and decide how to go about ... suffering for her art. “Good. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, once this is done and Valerie has recovered, she’s willing to give you a complete manuscript critique for free. And, well, I might just decide to represent your work, if that’s something you want.”

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Whoa! This was too wild. Kayla wondered briefly if she had actually woken up this morning on a different plane of existence. That is, one in which all dreams came true. If that were the case, she’d have to conjure up the courage somewhere inside herself to actually write her own manuscript. The ideas were there, churning in her imagination. However, there was this little ...hump ... to get over first. She stifled a giggle at her bad inner pun. “Um, wow, thanks.” She stood up, balancing herself with a hand on the clunky, carved arm of the chair. “And check in with me at least once every few days to let me know your progress. As you know, this project is of utmost importance, both to Valerie and to Burlington.” Kayla nodded wordlessly, clutching her purse against her. She imagined that business card burning a hole right through themicrosuede material. Once out of Lauren’s office, Kayla drew a deep breath. Waiting for the elevator, she sagged against the wall, her eyes closed.This shouldn’t be a big deal , she told herself several times in succession. After all, she’d had a couple of serious boyfriends. She had forayed into the world of adult sexuality. But somehow this seemed different.Highly more erotic than the one-on-one thing.Highly ... well ... weird? And yet the prospect, now that she’d had a few minutes to get over the shock, did start her tingling in the desire department. The elevator door opened, and she stepped in. A young blond man in a business suit smiled politely at her, then looked away, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He carried a nice briefcase and had that attorney-fresh-out-of-law-schoolappearance, or something to that effect. She suppressed a nervous giggle. Tightening her hand around the shoulder strap of her purse, she hunched over a bit, reminding herself he couldn’t possibly know about the conversation she’d just had with Lauren Danner, literary agent.Geez , maybe if he did know, he’d be willing to helpout ... Kayla scolded herself silently and stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors parted on the ground floor. Her only thought now was getting back to her apartment and sorting out her mess of thoughts and feelings over what had just happened. And what was about to happen. That is, when she found the willing partners she needed to help her ... suffer for her art. Chapter Two

I can’t believe I agreed to do this. The sentence ran over and over in Kayla’s mind the entire train ride from Downtown Crossing to Harvard Square. She emerged from the underground station into the warm June air. Skateboarders whirled around in the small brick island of the intersection. Kayla walked around them, past groups of tattooed and pierced punk rockers who hung out day and night in the central spot of the Square. She crossed the intersection onto Mass. Avenue and made her way down the busy sidewalk, past the various brick buildings of Harvard University, toward the quieter residential streets behind them, all the while trying to work up the necessary courage to call the number on the card Lauren had given her. There’s no shame in it whatsoever , Lauren had said. Yeah, that’s because she wasn’t the one doing it. Everything had seemed perfect until the moment Lauren had said that phrase:once you have the experience . She’d landed a coveted and lucrative ghostwriting position in a genre of fiction that interested her. Even the fact that Valerie Martin’s agent was right in downtown Boston, not in New York

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like most of the agents in the business, was a blessing. Instead of a plane ride, a simple ride on the T a few stops away from hers brought her to the office. Valerie herself lived on Beacon Hill and could walk to Lauren’s office. Well, she would be able to walk when she recovered from her accident. Kayla reached her street, lined with duplex houses and shade-giving elms. As she turned off the sidewalk to her own house, she glanced in the driveway. Her neighbor Shawn MacKay’s pickup was parked in the driveway, and a boom box sitting on the edge of the tiny patch of lawnblared a Beatles song, “Help.” Appropriate title, Kayla mused as she started up the steps. Her heart hitched slightly in her chest. She’d had a passionate crush on Shawn since shortly after he’d begun renting the other side of the duplex from her and her brother, Peter. Normally, she went over and said hello, even though the mega-crush she had on him made her about as self-conscious as if her pants had fallen down around her ankles in the middle of Harvard Square. Today, however, in addition to her usual adolescent unease, she felt as if she had the phraseI’m about to have a ménageàtrois with two hired men , pasted on her face. Hiding was infinitely preferable. She started to make her way up the stairs, pretending she hadn’t seen him. Good trick, considering he was maybe twenty feet away, with the radio blaring. “Hey, Kayla!” Kayla froze on the third step, her heart crashing. Slowly she turned around, a smile pasted on her face. “Hi, Shawn.” She backed down the steps and started toward him. He waved to her, smiling back, and walked around the hood of his truck, wiping perspiration off his neck with a red bandanna. Stray wisps of golden hair hung over his forehead. He’d been working on his truck, shirtless, and the early afternoon sun glinted off his chest. The man was the closest to Brad Pitt she was ever going to get. He was lean and muscled, blond hairs in a delicious covering over the generous hillocks of pectoral muscles. Even his smile resembled the movie star she often drooled over, complete with sensual, pouty lips, dimples, sparkling blue eyes, and high cheekbones. And wouldn’t you know,he had broken up with his last girlfriend about eight weeks before. Or rather, she’d broken up with him. One early morning, sipping her coffee on the front porch, Kayla had watched the dark-haired, lithe model pack her matching luggage into her SUV and take off, never to be seen again. He was still smiling at her when they met on the tiny patch of front lawn. He had a smudge of grease on his sweaty cheek. He could even make a smear of dirt look sexy. Kayla fought to keep her legs from giving out on her, wondering if he could read the ménage sign posted on her forehead alongside of the other sign that said,Yes, I find you the hottest guy on Earth. “Hi, Shawn.How’s it going?” she asked, sounding a bit too casual to be convincing. “Oh, can’t complain, except for the machine.Giving me problems today. But it’s my day off, and I’m a mechanic, so what else am I going to do but work on a vehicle?” She forced a chuckle, not liking thesimmeringly erotic effect he was having on her in this particular moment. She was losing the battle not to peek at his taut waist and stomach, down the center of which

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ran a delicious-looking trail of golden-blond hair that disappeared into the waistband of his battered jeans. He furrowed his brow, seeming to study her. “Hey, are you all right? You seem upset.” She shook her head. “No, no, I’m fine. In fact, I got a really good job today.” He nodded.“Sounds great. Why don’t we sit on the porch? You can tell me about it.” Kayla nearly gasped. That eerie, having-woken-up-in-a-parallel-universe sensation was coming over her again. In all the time he’d lived next door, Shawn had never suggested socializing, even though they’d often chit-chatted here and there when outside at the same time or when she occasionally asked him to fix a broken appliance in her house. He worked many hours, since he owned his own shop. His free time had always been taken up with his girlfriend. “Okay,” she said. “I have some iced tea in the fridge. I’ll bring it out.” “Sounds good.I’ll just put away my tools.”

Shawn watched Kayla go up the steps and disappear behind the screen door of her side of the house. He liked the way her curves filled out the linen skirt she wore and how her sleek calves flexed in her stockings with each step she took. When she was gone, he turned to retrieve his tools from the pavement of the driveway and put his t-shirt back on. He still couldn’t believe he’d worked up the nerve to make a sort of “date” with her. Since Joanne had broken up with him, he’d been suffering a lack of confidence he’d never really experienced before. Not that he’d exactly been a rake to begin with, but the relationship with Joanne had felt more akin to having his masculinity put through a meat grinder and then fed to hogs. Having regained his bachelorhood, he’d done some reflecting and realized that the few other relationships he’d had before Joanne hadn’t gone much better. He seemed to have an unhealthy penchant for women who made a job of being disappointed in him, as if they’d expected him to become something other than a small-business owner who fixed cars for a living. He’d begun to think that maybe something needed to change. At first he’d considered giving up the idea of a relationship, but certain parts of his anatomy didn’t want to go along. So, that decided, he started to rethink the type of woman he should go for. Shortly after that, Kayla had been out hanging her washing on the line in the backyard, and he’d noticed her in a way he never had before. Sure, she was pretty. He liked her soft blond hair and the way she wore it pulled back. She’d been wearing a tank top and jeans that hugged her hips, exposing her belly button. He’d always thought she was cute and was surprised that he never saw any guys hanging around, with the exception of her older brother, who owned the house, but was now working in an American bank in France. Watching Kayla pin a blouse up on the line with careful movements, he’d noticed her softness, the gentle way she handled everything she touched. She seemed like a kind girl, somewhat shy and quiet. Those qualities had touched something deep inside him, revealing a need he’d probably had for a long time and ignored.

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Silently observing her doing a simple household task in the yard in late spring, he’d found himself developing his first crush since grade school. He wiped the grease off his wrench and pliers and put them back neatly in the toolbox, carrying it up to his front porch and setting it down. Kayla had a swing on her side of the porch, and he went and sat down to wait for her, figuring she needed to change out of that cute little business suit she’d been wearing. Apparently, she’d been to see that literary agent she had spoken about in the past. He knew enough about Kayla to know she loved to write but was too shy to try and publish her own work, even under a pen name. She had a terrible fear of rejection. Well, he certainly understood that fear, especially after Joanne had called him a goddamn perverted grease monkey, along with a few other choice names that had put a dent in his sense of manhood. Joanne just couldn’t seem to understand that many men had a voyeur living inside them that loved to watch a woman pleasure herself. Had it been worth making him feel like a scum-sucker over asking her to do it? He swung back and forth, watching some kids play with a ball in the yard across the street. That scene with Joanne was still painful to think about. But it hadn’t just been the wanting-to-watch-her-masturbate thing that made her leave. Their relationship had been suffering for months. Ever since Joanne’s modeling career had begun to take off, she hadn’t wanted to know him anymore. She hadn’t wanted to be with a guy who owned an automotive shop for a living and came home with grease under his fingernails. And, well, he was all for the woman in his life having a career, but it had looked like they were barely ever going to see each other, and he’d had a lot to say about that. Joanne hadn’t liked what he’d had to say. The screen door creaked open behind him, and Kayla came out, carrying two glasses of iced tea. He stood up and took one of the glasses from her. As he’d thought, she’d changed into one of her tank tops and a denim skirt that reached just above her knees. And she sure looked pretty. His gaze stole to the smooth, pale skin of her neck and upper chest. Her breasts weren’t large, but their round fullness pressed against the knit material of her blue top, stirring his imagination, as well as some other parts of his anatomy. “Thanks, Kayla.” He sat back down and slid over to make room for her. “I appreciate it.” She smiled. And a very pretty smile it was. Her lips, already full, curved upward in a delicious way, and her blue eyes warmed in spite of that air of shyness she carried with her all the time. “No problem. It’s pretty warm today, and you looked like you were working hard.” He chuckled and wiped the cold glass across his forehead. “I was hardly working, really.” The swing moved slightly as she settled onto the slatted seat not far from him. He tried not to stare at the smooth skin of her thighs. “Well, it looks like hard work to me, repairing cars. I can’t tell one end from the other.” Her gaze settled on the two children he’d been watching a few moments earlier. She seemed hesitant to look him in the eyes. “Really, I’ve always admired that you can do that stuff.” She glanced at him, sending a frisson of warmth through him. It shouldn’t feel that good to have a woman compliment him, but it did. She nodded. “If I had a car, I’d bring it to your shop.” Peter had offered to leave her his car when he’d moved to France, but she knew she didn’t need one, living in the city, so he he’d sold it and given her the money to use for bills.

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He smiled and took a sip of iced tea. “If you had a car, I’d fix it for you. I fixed Peter’s.” Kayla’s cheeks burned a shade of pink, and she looked down. That was how they’d met. A somewhat awkward silence settled over them. Shawn decided to break it. “So, what’s this new job you mentioned before?” Her gaze snapped up, blue eyes wide. She looked alarmed.“Job?” “Yeah, you told me a few minutes ago you got a really good job today. I assume it was writing?” Her features relaxed somewhat.“Oh ... of course!The job. Yeah. A romance writer, Valerie Martin, needs me to finish her current manuscript. You probably haven’t heard of her.” He shook his head. Being a guy, the thought of reading a romance novel kind of churned his stomach. “No, can’t say I have.” She chuckled. “I wouldn’t have thought so.” He leaned against the back of the swing. It was nice just sitting there with Kayla, chatting. “Oh, wait, you don’t mean the writer who’s been in the news?The car accident?” “That’s her.Poor woman.” “I hope she’ll be okay.” Kayla nodded. “Thank God, she doesn’t have any internal injuries.Lots of broken bones that left her unable to work.” “This is the kind of thing she’s had you in the background for, I guess.” “It is. It’s a bummer that she has to suffer like that, though.” “That’s for sure. I’ve had my share of broken bones. When I was a kid, I used to love climbing trees, no matter how high or how slippery. It hurts.” “I’ve never had that happen,” she said. “I’ve never been terribly daring. I never even liked to do cartwheels.” He grinned. “Then it’s pretty gutsy of you to be finishing a manuscript for this bigwig writer.” She looked down. “My name won’t be on it or anything like that.” “That doesn’t matter. It’s brave anyway. I couldn’t do it. I can’t imagine writing a novel.” He took a sip from his glass and, from the corner of his eye, saw her staring at him. He turned. “Did I say something bad?” “No, not at all.It’s just refreshing to hear someone not talk about writing romance as if it’s as easy as writing a shopping list. So many people think that somehow it takes less work to write romance than

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something literary.” He smiled in a way he hoped was sympathetic to the lament in her voice. “I majored in English and philosophy in college, and I know how hard it is to compose anything. Writing is writing.” Her lips curved upward in a shy return smile. “I appreciate your saying that. I knew you studied those things, but I’ve never asked how you came from there to owning an automotive shop. May I ask?” He sloshed the melting ice cubes gently around in his glass. “You may. I had my own little shop from my garage at home. That’s how I worked my way through school. It was so successful, I expanded it.” He shrugged. “I like working with my hands. I studied English and philosophy simply for the joy of reading and discussing.” She was watching him again. Her blue eyes felt like a caress on his face, rather than the withering glare Joanne had given him every five minutes in the death throes of their relationship. He found kindness rather refreshing. “So, what is Valerie Martin’s book about?” She looked away, the pink in her cheeks deepening again. “Youknow, the usual -- romance. In this one, a woman is escaping an unwanted marriage. The ... hero, Ethan, is asked to track her down. They fall in love, and well, there are complications. The thing is,Valerie was halfway through when this accident happened. That leaves me exactly one month to write half a novel.” He whistled. “Wow. That’s a lot. Like I said, you’ve got guts, Kayla.” She looked down and smiled that sweet, shy smile of hers. A little fist inside him was giving him a knuckle sandwich for not having noticed her sooner. They sat and chatted for a few more minutes, until their iced tea glasses were empty. He murmured something about how he shouldn’t keep her from her writing. She did look quite distressed at the mention of writing, and Shawn wished he could help her, but he couldn’t imagine how. He thanked her for the iced tea and went down the steps, crossing over to his side of the duplex. He decided to take a shower and spend some time reading before he called his folks to find out when Ryan was coming for a visit. He hoped his younger brother would be there to help Shawn celebrate his thirty-third birthday at their mother’s house the following week, but Ryan was an up-and-coming photojournalist who tromped around the globe to exotic destinations, snapping pictures for journals such asNational Geographic and getting into spots of danger at times. Shawn shook his head,hating , as always, that he had to worry about Ryan that way. But Ryan had their mother’s stubborn nature and would never give up going to the world’s political hot spots, no matter how much Shawn implored him. Well, everyone had a wild streak, and that was Ryan’s. One day, however, Shawn decided, he’d find a way to get Ryan to stay a bit closer to home. And out of harm’s way. Shawn went into the house and to his bedroom. He pulled off his t-shirt and tossed it on the bed. As he did so, his eye fell on a book on the bedside table on what had once been Joanne’s side of the bed. Funny how he hadn’t noticed it before. He went over and picked it up.A romance by Valerie Martin. Eerie coincidence.

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The cover showed a woman in a Victorian-style dress with tight corset and bodice in the arms of a big-muscled galoot whose lips were suctioned to her neck.Passion’s Embrace . He chuckled and opened to the back cover, where there was a small black-and-white photograph of the author, an attractive woman in her early forties with glitzy makeup and a perfect brunette coiffure. Somehow, he couldn’t picture Kayla, with her innocent farm-girl looks, in such a photograph as this. He went on to read the blurb. One phrase in particular caught his eye:Miss Martin is a firm believer in writing only from experience ... love scenes included. She attributes her growing success to this philosophy. Shawn read the sentence over.And then once more.Hmm. All of a sudden, he found himself wickedly curious about the manuscript that Kayla would be working on for Valerie Martin. He put the book back down on the nightstand.Mind your own business, McKay . He continued to strip off his jeans and boxers and went to the bathroom, turning the shower on.Cold. He tried to think of other things while he showered, dried off, and dressed, but the fact that Kayla was writing for Valerie Martin and that there was a book by the same author on his bedside table was too much coincidence to stop giving it his attention. That, and the fact that, well, Kayla was really pretty and sweet. This afternoon, stealing glances at her thighs and the skin that was exposed by her tank top, the full swells of her breasts against the soft material, all he’d wanted to do was ... well, for starters, do what the guy on the cover of that romance novel was about to do to the woman on the cover. Shawn heaved a large sigh as he felt his lack of confidence rear its ugly head. He thought of Joanne and grimaced, wondering how much longer he’d let the insults she’d hurled at him control his actions and feelings. Wasn’t two months long enough for that?

He decided it was. Christ! Since when did he take so long to bounce back? How long would Shawn MacKay, from a blue-collar neighborhood in South Boston, who’d worked his way into a prestigious college, graduated with honors and a double major, and built his own business, let some would-be supermodel make him feel unworthy? Shawn combed his wet hair back and looked at his reflection in the steamy bathroom mirror. Asking his next-door neighbor out for pizza couldn’t be as big a risk as some he’d taken in his life, but at this moment, it felt like one. He looked into his own eyes, trying to discern his true motivation for wanting to ask her out. Did he genuinely like her, or was there some sort of itch, some rousing curiosity he needed to satisfy? The answer wasn’t clear, and there was only one way to find out. Before he could lose his nerve, he headed out of the house, finding himself at Kayla’s door. Within seconds of his knock, he heard her footsteps on the hardwood floor of the hall. The door opened, and that shy smile spread across her face when her blue gaze met with his. She also looked a bit puzzled. “Hi, Shawn.” He pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “Hi. Kayla, I was wondering, are you working tonight?” Her eyebrows rose. “Actually, I have the night off.”

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His heart thumped in his chest. “Well, I know you have a lot of work to do on that book, but I was hoping you’d go get some pizza with me later.” Chapter Three

Ethan sighed, sweeping his gaze over the familiar room with its potted ferns, dark, carved furniture, and bright reds everywhere, from velvet upholstery to damask wallpaper. He and Charlie had found some pleasure in this place. The brothel had for him, however, lost its charms since it had become the only sanctuary for Violette, an innocent, desperate to escape a fate to which her own father had condemned her. And there was no doubt in Ethan’s mind that it was through trickery. A quarter of an hour later, he heard movement on the stairs. Through the salon doorway, he saw two pairs of women’s heeled boots descending.First, the plump, imposing figure of the madam. Quickly he set down his untouched whiskey and stood, his gaze riveted on the figure following the older woman. Violette Poole moved with deliberate, careful steps, one pale hand slipping gently along the banister. His breath caught as the two women reached the bottom and started for the salon. Miss Poole had been made up to entertain him, and she wore almost nothing except for a silken, nearly see-through chemise that outlined her full breasts, slim waist, and even fuller hips. The ruffled pantalettes she wore ended just below her knees, giving him a hint of her pale, smooth calves above the boots. He ran his gaze back upward to her face, lightly powdered. Pale spots of darker pinkblushed her cheeks. The madam had swept the girl’s coppery hair into a mass of riotous, sensual curls around her head, showing off the swan-like curve of her neck. Her graceful, pale arms hung by her sides. The sight of her caused his long-slumbering groin to tighten and his heart to race. Were it not for her expression, he would have become completely aroused. However, fear hung like a palpable force around her. Her large green-blue eyes stared at him, grieving, full of apprehension. Miss Poole looked more like a woman about to face a hanging jury rather than a woman of the night about to entertain a man.

At six o’clock, Kayla set down the manuscript and went to shower. Her stomach took turns tingling and tightening as she got ready to have dinner with Shawn. In the wildest reaches of her imagination, she couldn’t have prepared herself for the day she’d had. It had begun with getting this chance to ghostwrite for Valerie Martin and the ... research ... she’d have to do, and in the middle, she’d gotten asked out by the neighbor she had a crush on, who was, in her book, one of the hunkiest guys she’d ever met. The day wasn’t over, either. She wondered at Shawn’s sudden solicitousness. They’d been neighbors for a little over ayear, and he’d

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always been there for her when something in her house needed fixing; but he’d always had a girlfriend around, and that was that. They’d chatted enough to know the pertinent facts of each other’s lives, such as birthdays, family members, and occupations. Kayla knew that Shawn came from a working-class family and had put himself through college with honors. In fact, she’d always respected that about him, seeing what meticulous care he took of the house and truck because he’d worked hard for them. She thought now of the one time she’d complimented him on the way his truck always looked practically new. He’d told her that it took good care of him so he was returning the service. His answer had impressed her, and she thought of it often. As she combed her hair, wet from the shower, she dared to wonder if he gave as good care to a woman ... “Stop that!” she told her reflection in the bathroom mirror. This was just an invitation to have pizza. How did she know that it meant anything more than that? And anyway, she had a ménageàtrois in which to participate. If Shawn knew about that part of her writing, he’d probably lose any interest in her he might have had. Sighing, she thought of the business card on her desk underneath the manuscript. She’d spent a great deal of time this afternoon holding the little card in her hand, staring at it and completely chickening out from calling the number and making the necessary arrangements. When Shawn had knocked on her door and asked her to have pizza, she’d jumped at the chance to spend time with him, no matter whether it led to something more or not. Kayla braided her damp hair,then dressed in a peasant blouse and denim skirt. She slipped her feet into sandals and went to the front porch to wait for Shawn, who was due in about five minutes. She sat on the swing, enjoying the early evening, warm with a pleasant breeze playing in the leaves of the elms lining the street. She turned at the sound of Shawn’s screen door. He grinned at her when their eyes met, sending her system into almost immediate overdrive. Could a guy look sexier in a plain white t-shirt and jeans? The stretchy material of the shirt accentuated the sculpted muscles of his chest and shoulders. His hair was damp, combed straight back, yet one piece of it had fallen over his forehead. Strangely enough, he didn’t seem to be aware of just how gorgeous he really was. “Hi, Kayla.You’re early.” She laughed. “So are you.” He answered with a chuckle. “I’m always either early or on time. I can’t stand waiting or making people wait. When you have three older sisters and a younger brother, you do a lot of waiting. I just got sick of it.” Kayla went down the steps. “Peter always kept after me about being on time for school and such. It became a habit.” His blue gaze locked onto hers, sending thrills coursing down her arms. “You look ... really pretty,” he said. She raised her eyebrows. Was this day for real? She’d probably wake up tomorrow and find everything back to normal, so she decided to enjoy it while it lasted. “I do? Thanks.”

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With his fingertips on her elbow, he led her toward the sidewalk. “You’re welcome. But really, you didn’t know that?” She looked down, feeling heat flush her cheeks. “No.” He shook his head as they went toward Mass. Ave. “Amazing.” She glanced at his profile. “What’s amazing?” He returned her look. “Well, you seem so surprised. I’ve always wondered why you didn’t have guys lined up at the door.” She made a huffing sound, belying the sudden pounding of her heart. Shawn had spent time wondering about such a thing? “Me?” He nodded.“Yeah, you.” “It’s kind of you to say.” “It’s true.” She smiled, feeling that horrible shyness overcome her. Her mind roiled in confusion. Was he just making conversation, or was he trying to tell her something? “Actually, I’ve had the same thoughts about you.” The confession slipped from her without thinking. She’d wondered that he hadn’t had a train of women moving in and out of his house since Joanne left. “Me?” He sounded the same as she had. “Yeah, you.” He looked at her as they walked, a look of shyness mirroring her own. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. But my experience is that women are mainly attracted to me because they think I look a lot like Brad Pitt. That’s what they say. I guess there is some resemblance.” Coming from someone else, that statement could have sounded conceited, but the tone of his voice conveyed disbelief. “They do?” she asked, feigning innocence.As if she hadn’t thought the same thing a thousand times. He didn’t seem to catch it.“Yeah. But they also count on my having the glamorous lifestyle he probably has. I’m a mechanic. I like what I do, and I like to talk about philosophy if someone’s interested. But I’m not what you’d call exciting. When I’m with a woman, I like to cuddle a lot and hang out together. They get bored with me. Joanne sure did.” Kayla stared at him as they walked. What he was telling her sounded amazing. If she had her druthers, she’d cuddle with this guy all day long, no questions asked. These women must be nuts. Funny, though, she thought with a sudden flutter in her heart, now that she thought of it, the two guys she’d been involved with in the past had both made the same complaint about her as Shawn’s girlfriends had made about him. You’re boring, Kay. Don’t you want to get out there and do something? How many spaghetti westerns can a person watch before you start to smell horse dung everywhere? I’m sick of cuddling. That’s all you want to do. On and on. She’d never felt accepted for herself, something that was extremely important to her. The weird part was

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,she felt more accepted by Shawn in the short time they’d spent chatting as neighbors and this afternoon, than she ever had with John and Lou while she was dating them. However, that still didn’t mean that Shawn was interested in her as a girlfriend. He hadn’t said word one about that, in fact. Maybe he just mentioned cuddling and all because they were friendly as neighbors, and he felt comfortable enough with her. “Is that really true?” she asked. He put his hand over his chest. “I kid you not.” He looked at her and smiled. “I’m a simple guy in a lot of ways. What you see is what you get. And I’ll be honest with you.An honest mechanic.Very winning combination.” Kayla laughed. She didn’t know if he was trying to get her to like him, or just being himself, but either way, it was working.“Sounds good to me.” His smile faded. “Which part?” The question rocked through her like a lightning bolt. She cleared her throat. The guy she’d had a crush on for over a year was now looking at her like he ...liked her. In the way she wanted to be liked by him. “All of it.” His gaze remained on her.“Sounds like we’re a lot alike in some ways.” She swallowed past the nervous lump in her throat. “Yeah, it does.” Thank God, they were now crossing the busy intersection into the heart of Harvard Square. There was no time for further conversation. Once they were back on the sidewalk, threading their way through the Friday evening crowds, they walked in silence until reaching the pizza parlor. To her relief, Shawn did not pick up the thread of conversation, though it seemed to hang in the air between them. While they had pizza, they chatted mostly about their work and the people they knew, his upcoming birthday party, and her brother’s recent wedding in France. After pizza, they wandered around Harvard Square, stopping to listen to the street musicians and have ice cream. All the while, at the back of her mind, Kayla ruminated on her dilemma. She liked Shawn. He had a great sense of humor and spoke candidly about his life and family. He also seemed equally interested in hers and listened attentively. She might even dare to think he liked her, too. What would she do if something ... developed? She wouldn’t be able to go through with a ménage. And shewasn’t going to lie about it and try to get away with writing a scene she hadn’t experienced. Shawn turned to her after they’d listened to the music for a while. “What do you think?” he asked. “Should we head home?” She looked at him with a pang of disappointment. She wasn’t anxious for the evening to end. Silently, she made a decision to invite him to sit on the porch swing awhile,then nodded.“All right.” They walked back to their street in companionable silence. Kayla’s heart sped up as they neared the house. “Would you like to sit on the porch a bit?” she asked. “It’s such a nice night.” He looked at her and grinned. “Actually, I was going to invite you in to listen to some music.” At the walk to their house, he stopped and turned to her. “I’m having a really nice time with you.”

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She smiled, feeling a surge of joy, as if the heavens had opened up.“Me, too. I’d love to listen to music.” He grinned, and Kayla could swear he looked relieved and happy that she’d accepted his invitation. “Great.” With his fingertips at her elbow, he led her up the porch steps and through the door to his side of the house. His touch made her skin come alive, and she took a deep breath. Kayla had only seen the inside of Shawn’s house briefly a couple of times when she’d come to ask him to fix broken things in hers. She’d found the interior warm and welcoming, with overstuffed sofas in earth tones of a soft cottony material, vibrant area rugs against the hardwood floors, and books everywhere. The only other items in the living room were his guitar, a few ferns in clay pots, and photographs. “Makeyourself at home,” Shawn said. “Look around, if you’d like. There isn’t much to see.” She smiled at him. “I like this room. It’s very cozy.” He grinned, his eyes looking suddenly shy. “Thanks. Would you like something to drink? I don’t have much. Joanne left some wine coolers.” She nodded.“Sounds good to me.” “I’ll be right back.” When he was gone, Kayla took him up on his offer to look around. She perused the titles on the shelves, seeing mostly what must have been his books in college, about world religions and philosophy, along with literature classics and some books on cars and boats. At the fireplace, she stopped, looking at the photographs in frames on the mantle. She’d never met his family, but knew he had three older sisters and a younger brother. Her gaze lingered a moment on a photograph of Shawn with his brother, Ryan. Shawn had spoken a bit about Ryan in the past, but she’d never met him. If she hadn’t already known they were related, she would never have guessed they were brothers. His brother was taller and not so broad in the shoulders. He had dark hair and eyes. The one thing he and Shawn shared was that they were both very handsome. They appeared to be close -- her writer’s powers of observation kicking in -- judging from the way Shawn had an arm draped affectionately around his brother’s shoulders, smiling as if he were at once proudly showing him off and enjoying his company immensely. “That’s Ryan.” Shawn’s voice sounded from the doorway. She turned to see him holding a bottle in each hand. He came over to her and handed her one of the chilled bottles. She thanked him, and heclinked his bottle to hers. “Cheers.” “Cheers,” she repeated and took a sip. “I was observing that you don’t look so much alike, but you do look close. He nodded. “Observant.

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She smiled shyly. “It’s what writers do.” “Well, you’re right. We are close. I see him as my kid brother, even though he’s only three years younger than I am. However, when your oldest sister is almost fifty and the other two are forty and forty-three, that makes him and me the babies in the family.” Kayla felt a pang of envy. Even though Peter had always been a caring older brother, she’d always wished for sisters, younger and older. The closest she’d had was her cousin Elizabeth who’d lived in this apartment until recently, when their grandfather had left her a house in Maine. She’d moved there and ended up marrying a great guy. Funny, Zach was also a mechanic, who’d owned his own shop in New York, which he’d sold to move to Maine. That’s when Peter had rented this side of the house to Shawn, his mechanic, who was looking for a place. Even though she liked having Shawn there, she still missed Ellie. “Wow, how is it having such a large family?” He grinned. “I can’t speak for all people with large families, but I think I’m pretty lucky. My sisters are cool for the most part, so there have been quite a few good times for us. My dad was a great guy. He passed away five years ago. My mom can be ... tough, but she’s good-hearted.” He moved in a bit closer to her, and pleasant shivers ran through her body. “I haven’t seen Ryan in over a year. He’s been overseas shooting photographs of faraway places and writing articles about them.” Shawn’s voice tensed as he spoke. “It sounds like you’re not happy about that.” “I’m not. He’s been in Baghdad, of all places, recently. I’m really hoping he makes it back for my birthday next week. I’m trying to think of a way to keep him in the States from now on.” “I sure don’t blame you for feeling that way. I wish my brother would come back here, and France is probably quite a bit safer.” Shawn nodded and took a sip of the wine cooler. Kayla felt the sudden strong warmth of a hand on her shoulder. “Want to sit down? I’ll put on something to listen to.” “Okay.” She let him lead her to the sofa and settled into thepillowy cushions. Shawn knelt by his CD player, and in moments, Simon andGarfunkel were playing. A tremor of anticipation shuddered through her when he came and sat down close to her. If her writer’s power of observation were correct, he was acting as if they were on a date rather than just neighbors socializing. She hoped she was right. “I like Simon andGarfunkel ,” she said. He smiled.“Good, because I have everything of theirs. My eldest sister, Siobhan, was a hippie in her day. She cut my teeth on all the great ones. The Beatles, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan.” “That’s cool.” She squirmed a bit, her nervousness growing both because he sat close enough that the heat from his muscular body simmered in the air and because if he asked her about her musical taste, her answer would probably make his opinion of her join the men who came before him: boring! “What do you like to listen to?” Kayla grimaced inwardly, shrinking away a bit. “Um ... I like mostly ... classical.” She braced herself, waiting for the kind of groan she’d received in the past. When none came, she dared to look at him.

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“Me, too.Mozart was the best, in my book. I have just about everything recorded of his.” She felt her eyes widen.“Really?” “You look surprised.” He sounded a touch defensive. She sat bolt upright.“No, not at all.” She gave what she knew was a sheepish grin. “Actually, I’ve been told how boring I am and that my taste in music was one of the culprits.” Shawn’s brow furrowed, and he leaned in a bit closer, his wine cooler resting on one thigh of his jeans. “Are you kidding me? Someone actually thought you were boring?” Slowly, she nodded. “Yes.” “Who said such a thing?” “My last boyfriend.” Shawn huffed. “What a jerk. You’re not boring at all.” “He thought so. And anyway, you don’t know me, really. You might grow to find me boring.” He set his bottle on a coaster on the coffee table and looked at her, leaning back against the cushions. “Well, we have more in common than I thought. We’ve both been branded as boring.” He grinned. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty cool.” Kayla’s cheeks heated several degrees. “The feeling is mutual.” “I’m honored. I’ve been called many things in my life, especially in the recent past, but cool has never been one of them. Well, except by Ryan when he was thirteen.” She smiled, feeling the most painfully shy she ever had in her life. “One of the things thatmakes you cool is that you didn’t run away when I told you what music I like,” she said. “Why would I? It shows you have taste.” “Thanks.” “Kayla, can I ask you a personal question?” The music receded far to the background of her consciousness, replaced by the rush of blood in her ears. “I guess so.” She took a sip of the wine cooler. “Are you ... seeing anyone?” Oh, my God. She pulled a deep breath, steadying the bottle between her hands. “No. Not for a long while now.” She wasn’t about to think of the two years of abstinence she’d undergone and the fact that this gorgeous guy was sittingsoooclose ... He breathed what sounded to her hopeful ears like a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t sure.”

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“May I ask why you asked?” Her hands tightened around the bottle. “Yeah, of course.It’s just, I wasn’t sure if I had any competition.” Kayla blinked several times, her blood pumping faster through every vein in her body. Was she hearing right?“Competition?” Shawn exhaled and raked a large hand through his wheat-colored hair. Kayla resisted the overpowering urge to do it for him. He looked at her. “I’m sorry; I’m not exactly smooth when it comes to this. What I’m trying to say is ... well, I guess the best thing is just to tell it straight. After Joanne broke up with me, I started to rethink the kind of woman I’m attracted to. Historically, they’re kind of harsh. And then, one day not long ago, I saw you hanging out your wash, and it struck me that you were sweet and pretty and probably would treat a guy with kindness. Since then, I’ve been working up the courage to ... find out if you could be interested.” Kayla stared at him. This definitely had to be the strangest, most wonderful day she’d had in a long time. “Really?” He nodded slowly.“Really.” She looked down at the bottle in her hands. “Wow. I never thought it was possible.” “What do you mean?” Her cheeks tingled, and Kayla was certain they had turned a bright, embarrassing shade of red. “I mean, I never thought you could possibly be ... as interested in me as I am in you.” She said the last part of the sentence quickly, before she couldn’t say anything. She cleared her throat, watching his astonished expression. “As long as we’re being honest,” she went on, encouraged by his wide-eyed gaze, “I’ve had a crush on you since you moved in next door to me.” She exhaled sharply. “There, I’ve said it.” She leaned over and put her bottle on an available coaster. When she sat up and dared a glance at Shawn, he was still staring at her. “I had no idea,” he said softly. She shrugged, the casual gesture belying the quivering mass of nerves she had become. “How could you? I didn’t exactly broadcast it.” “No, you didn’t. But truthfully, even if you had, I’ve had my head up my ass where women are concerned.Or, rather, up Joanne’s. I probably wouldn’t have noticed.” He smiled gently, and the blue in his eyes deepened by a few magnificent shades. Her mind reeled.Help me! I’m melting! As she had earlier that day in the agent’s office, she surreptitiously wiped her nervously damp palms on her denim skirt. He moved in a bit closer, giving her a sensuous whiff of some spicy kind of aftershave. Her gaze locked onto his lips, invitingly strong and pouty at the same time.

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“Well, now that we know it’s mutual, I really want to kiss you.” His voice hadfallen a couple of notches to husky. Her breath caught softly in her throat. “Please do,” she whispered. Chapter Four

All capacity for rational thought vanished like mist as Shawn moved next to her, their thighs pressing tightly together. He reached up and cupped her cheek, thumb brushing tenderly back and forth across her skin. His other arm encircled her shoulders, fingertips brushing her bare skin. His breath was warm as he drew closer, his blue eyes simmering under heavy lids. Those Brad Pitt-pouty lips were a mere few inches away, like a long-time dream about to be realized. This was Shawn, her neighbor, one ofthe most gorgeous guys on the planet, the subject of many a fantasy in which she’d pretended he was making love to her, pretended the orgasm she was having was by his hand, not hers ... Her thoughts cut off at the first touch of his lips, soft and warm and strong. A soft sigh slipped from her throat. Her eyelids fluttered closed as he brushed his lower lip against hers, a romantic, tentative gesture, giving her the choice to stop him or to continue. Continue. Definitely continue. Forever would be nice. With her heart fluttering madly, she let him know exactly her decision. Sinking back against the cushions, her arms coming up around him, palming the hard muscles of his back, she pulled him down onto her. His heavy-lidded gaze trapped hers, and she heard his breath catch softly. “Yes,” he whispered, sliding his hand from her cheek into her hair, cradling her head as he deepened the kiss. His back muscles flexed in the most satisfying masculine way from the small movement, and the tip of his tongue feathered along the seam of her lips, which she gladly parted. Mmm.His tongue swirled languorously inside her mouth, warm and hot, bringing the heat in her sex from simmering to boiling. If this was boring, let it bore her to tears! She opened her lips wider, mating her tongue against his. She let one of her hands travel up his back, over his strong neck into the tousled, wheat-colored hair, so silky-soft against her fingertips. The other hand explored the terrain of flexing muscles, hillocks, and ridges of man. The heat from his body, the clean, musky scent of him mixed with aftershave, and the sweetness of the wine cooler on his lips and tongue heightened the blaze. Shawn’s hand slid from her hair, fingertips trailing down her cheek, sliding down the curve of her throat to whisper back and forth across her collarbone. His touch felt like sparks of heat, and she arched her back, hungry for that touch on her breasts. Where this wanton woman in his arms had come from, she didn’t know. She only knew she wanted him inside her.Deep inside. Shawn lifted his lips from hers. His broad chest heaved against her breasts, and his sparkling blue eyes smoldered. Never before had a man looked at her with such potent desire. The irises darkened with a simmering mixture of possession, desire, and forever. “Kayla.” His voice had fallen to a husky whisper.

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She stared up at him. “What is it?” His gaze roved across her face, as if he were trying to get inside her. “I really want you.” The words caressed her like a pair of hands, the touch sliding down between her thighs, stoking the already raging bonfire there.I really want you . Line or not, no one had ever said that to her before. The feeling was one-hundred-percent mutual. “I mean, I don’t want you to think I’m just ...” A thoughtful look passed through his eyes. “I can’t think straight,” he went on. “I’m trying to tell you I want to bewith you. Not just ... with you.” Wow. Kayla struggled to focus her eyes. He was talking relationship here. Her track record with keeping relationships was not good. And she’d always been cautious. Time for a new approach, perhaps? Her breasts tingled, dying for Shawn’s hands and tongue on them. Her sex felt slippery and swollen, throbbing with need. And, well, there was that little fact of her crush on him that had lasted over a year. Maybe, just maybe, there was more than a crush happening here. There was only one way to find out. She’d have to let it all flow and then see if they still wanted each other after -- to put it indelicately -- they came. If not, well, they’d have to deal with it. For one brief moment, she thought of her meeting with Valerie Martin’s agent. She certainly couldn’t go through with a ménage with two hired hands if a serious relationship was developing between her and Shawn. No. In that case, she’d have to choose. And given a choice, she’d pick Shawn. Writing jobs could come and go. But a gorgeous guy she’d had a crush on for a long time and who now seemed to like her back ... she was going to see about that first! “Okay,” she breathed. “No need to explain.” She lifted her face and planted her lips on his before he could say another word. Shawn returned the kiss deeply, plunging his tongue, hot and moist, between her lips. One large, strong hand closed gently around her breast, moving in a tight, lazy circle. His palm rubbed her nipple through the thin cotton of her shirt and bra, and she felt the bud tighten, sending waves of warmth through her whole breast. A low groan vibrated from Shawn’s throat into her mouth as the same hand moved from her breast and slipped underneath her blouse, sliding up her ribcage. His fingertips explored the lace scalloping on her bra, pushing the material aside to find her bare nipple. He rolled the already hard nub between his thumb and forefinger. Kayla moaned, grabbing up his t-shirt, pulling it out of his jeans so she could feel the muscles directly under her palms. This throwing-caution-to-the-wind thing was turning out to be hot as hell, and she opened her legs, her skirt riding up on her thighs. On what seemed instinct, Shawn moved over, nesting his hips between her legs. The bulge of an erection pressed distinctly against her slit. His hips rocked against her, grinding into her clit through the thin material of her panties. It had been forever since she’d been with a man, and she wasn’t going to last long if he kept doing that. She couldn’t ask him to stop, however. It felt too damn good. She slipped her hands below the waist of his jeans, pushed her fingertips underneath the elastic

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waist of his boxers, and let her palms come to rest on his rock-hard buttocks. Unable to resist, she squeezed, pulling him harder against her. Shawn groaned and lifted his mouth from hers. He was panting now, and his lids hooded his eyes. His face was darkly flushed. “Kayla, I’m not going to be able to stop.” “I don’t want you to stop.” His eyes widened. “You don’t?” She shook her head. “No.” He grinned.“Hot damn.My lucky year.” Yeah, right. It sounded great.Kayla Morgan making a guy’s year. She doubted it. They’d see in a little while if it stuck. No pun intended. He lowered his face to hers and captured her mouth in a deep but short kiss. Pulling away, he rolled off her and stood up, tugging gently on her hand. Kayla let him lead her out of the living room into the hall. He pushed open a door and stood aside for her. His bedroom was as cozy and inviting as the living room. A lamp on the bedside table cast a soft glow on the earth-tone rugs covering the hardwood floors, as well as on the books and plants couched on the shelves of antique bookcases. Against the other wall a large mirror sat over an old carved dresser. Shawn squeezed her hand and led her over to king-sized maple four-poster bed covered with a cozy down comforter in a soft flannel cover, which he drew back. He sat down and pulled her gently between his legs, sliding his hands around to cup her buttocks. Kayla stepped closer to him and laced the fingers of both hands through his hair. She looked down, watching his long golden lashes lie on his cheeks as he nuzzled and nibbled her breasts through the material of her blouse. He squeezed her butt cheeks again before slipping his hands under her skirt, his fingertips skating up and down the outsides of her thighs and then inside, toward her sex. Her breath caught softly in her throat when he touched her over her panties, delicately tracing the outline of her pussy lips. “You’re soaking wet,” he whispered against her breasts. He slipped two fingertips under the elastic, pushing them into her slit.

She moaned as he found her clit and rubbed the rose of slick flesh slowly in tiny circles. With his other hand, he worked open the button of her skirt, pulled down the zipper, and tugged her skirt so that it slipped down into a puddle around her feet. “Kayla,” he said softly, his fingertips tracing reverent circles over her abdomen and mound, through her panties. “You are so pretty and soft.” “Thank you,” she breathed, her eyes fluttering closed from the pleasure of his touch. He was making her feel so incredibly beautiful, like a tempting siren, or something mythical like that. The sensation was utterly

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new, and she tilted her head back, already feeling like a woman from the cover of one of Valerie Martin’s novels. She felt her blouse lifting up, exposing her stomach, followed by the warmth of his lips, his mouth slightly open, moving across her stomach. He paused at her belly button and swiveled his tongue around it before moving further south. He nuzzled her mound over the satiny cloth, then sat back to lift her blouse off over her head. Now that she stood before in him in only her bra and panties, she watched his blue gaze rove over her, head to toe. He whistled softly under his breath. “Wow, Kayla. You’re a knockout.” Her already flushed cheeks heated. Her hands slid from his hair and came to rest on the muscular caps of his shoulders. “Thanks. So are you.” He grinned up at her. In one swift motion, he pulled his t-shirt off over his head and dropped it on the foot of the bed. Even though she’d seen him shirtless before, she caught her breath at the sight of his magnificent torso, sculpted with muscles not too bulky or long, soft golden hair across hispecs funneling into a delicious trail down the center of his tight abdomen. She slid her hands over his shoulders and triceps, then to his chest, raking her fingertips through the silky hair. A soft groan escaped his throat as she explored the flat smoothness of his nipples. He slid his hands up her back, fumbling with the hooks of her bra. The next moment, he had it open, sliding the thin straps over her arms, letting the bra fall to the floor. With his large hands splayed on her back, he pulled her closer again, until her breasts were inches from his face. “Kayla,” he whispered before closing his mouth gently over her right nipple. He tugged her nipple between his lips and tongue, sending sparks of heat through her body straight into her sex. She moaned softly and clasped her arms around his head, burying her fingers in his hair once again. Shawn lifted his mouth and went to her other nipple, suckling it to the same hard peak. His hands smoothed down her back to her panties, which he began to slip off past her hips. He lowered them until they dropped by themselves into the puddle of her skirt. His fingertips once again slipped between her pussy lips, spreading her open, gently rubbing the slick flesh of her clit. His other hand went to the button of his jeans, working them open. This hot, yet tender exploration and enjoyment of her body seemed like something magical, otherworldly, an experience that one didn’t get everyday, or even in a lifetime. Kayla let herself go with abandon, felt every sensation, every inch of Shawn’s hot, muscled flesh, and reveled in the feel of his mouth on her in a way she never had before. She could only imagine that this was what heaven felt like. No wonder everyone wanted to go there! Shawn finally lifted his mouth from her breast to work his zipper down and pull off his jeans. Kayla stepped out of the puddle of skirt and panties, leaving them next to Shawn’s jeans on the rug. Shawn took her hand and grinned at her, tugging her gently to the bed. He moved aside so she could climb in. Her gaze was riveted to his naked body as she lay down beside him.

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She hadn’t seen a live naked man in two years -- magazine photographs in desperately horny moments didn’t count -- and her first look after a long time was glorious. The blond trail of hair down his stomach she now saw ended in a golden nest around the base of his cock and balls. His erection, thick and hard, was a darkish pink and veined. His thighs were sloping and muscular and covered with the same golden hair. Shawn was breathing heavily, watching her scrutiny with an expression that said,I hope you like what you see. After receiving her appreciative smile, he opened the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out a foil packet. He ripped it open and rolled the condom over his erection. Bridging her with his hands on either side of her on the mattress, he dipped his face to hers, capturing her mouth again. His tongue invaded her mouth with hot urgency while he gently lowered his body down, settling his hips between her thighs. Kayla moaned softly against his lips when his cock pressed against her open sex. “Mmm,” Shawn murmured, pulling sensuously from the kiss. He gazed down at her, a grin curving his full lips. Reaching down, he spread her open, guiding the head of his cock to her wet opening. With several small, firm pushes, he slid into her, sheathing himself until their bodies met. Kayla gasped from the pleasure of a man’s cock filling her after so long. Yet, even though the blissful sensation dazed her, the deeply passionate yet tender way he took her, as if he were afraid of hurting her and cared so much that she enjoyed their lovemaking, didn’t escape her notice. She gazed up under half-closed lids, encircling Shawn in her arms. Talk about pleasure of a lifetime. The friction was delicious beyond belief as he began to glide in and out of her with firm but gentle motions. “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered before lowering his face to hers again, taking her mouth in soft, deep kisses as he thrust inside her. “Thank you,” she breathed, smoothing her palms over his hips and buttocks, loving the way the muscles flexed with his movements. Every fantasy she’d ever had about this guy was just like this. She spread her legs wider, delighting in the way he filled her. One hand laced into his hair, feeling its silkiness against her fingertips as he smothered her cheeks and neck with teasing licks and soft kisses. “Shawn.” She whispered his name several times as his loving invaded her heart. Was it possible to happen this fast, or was it the lust of this glorious moment? The way her body was careening toward fulfillment, the pleasure gathering toward bursting in her core, it was so hard to tell. Her saying his name seemed to turn him on more, and he groaned softly each time she said it, increasing the rhythm of his thrusts. Unable to stop her body from release, she grasped his buttocks, pulling him tightly against her. The added friction sent her over the edge. The spasms caused her body to arch against him, her hands gripping his hips, her eyes screwed shut. Time froze for those few moments; her body released the ecstasy pent up inside her. She cried out softly. Saturated with pleasure, she went limp beneath him. Shawn stopped moving and gazed down at her. His body was warm and damp. The scent of sex and male musk swirled in the air around them. He lowered his face and kissed her softly. “Wow,” he

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breathed. “That was nice.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek. Kayla found herself staring up at him, unable to speak. Was this guy for real? She could only pray that the tenderness lastedafter ... Shawn slipped his hand down between their bodies and found her clit with gentle fingertips. “I want you to come again,” he whispered. He continued to slide in and out of her in a delicious gliding rhythm while rubbing her clit in tiny circles. That was it. It didn’t take long for her previously deprived body to careen over the edge again. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders, and she cried out softly as the waves of orgasm washed away all awareness except for the bliss passing through her. When she opened her eyes again, he was grinning down at her. He reached up and pushed her hair back off her face. Kayla ran her hands over his buttocks and lower back, resting on his hips. He moaned softly when her palm came to rest on his hips, and he started moving again, this time at a frenzied pace. She spread her legs wide so he could push into her as deeply as possible and lifted her face to his, locking their lips in a deep kiss. Within moments, he groaned, and his body jerked with a climax. She felt the tiny pulsations inside her before he collapsed gently, his body half covering hers. Her hands rested on his heaving back, her face pressing into his neck, breathing in his delectable, musky aroma. If anything was better than this, she had yet to find it. “Kayla, that was incredible.” His voice was husky and breathless in her ear. Kayla’s impulse was to believe he was just saying that, but something in his tone touched her.“Th-thank you. It was for me, too.” He lifted his face and looked down at her.“Really?” She nodded against the pillow. As she reached up to touch his cheek, her heart fluttered, and not just from the exertion of their lovemaking.“Really.” He grinned. “God, I’m glad you feel that way.” He kissed her lips softly,then pulled out of her. He rolled to his side, molding his body to hers, his face nuzzling into her hair. Kayla closed her eyes. “I do feel that way.” “I was kind of hoping you’d stay the night,” he murmured. “I know you have all that writing to do, but I want to hold you.” Kayla’s heart clenched.He wants me to stay . Once again, she thought of Valerie Martin and the ménage and the hired hands.An opportunity of a lifetime, perhaps. But here was Shawn, real and alive, holding her and wanting her. She sighed. As much as she’d waited for an opportunity like the one given her in the agent’s office today, she’d waited for a chance with a man like this for a lot longer.

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Squeezing Shawn more tightly in her arms, she made her decision. “I want to stay, Shawn,” she said softly. “Yay,”came the murmured response, followed by a soft, warm kiss on her shoulder and his arm closing warm and safe around her. Kayla exhaled and snuggled close, delighting in the warm strength Shawn’s body emanated. She closed her eyes. First thing in the morning she’d call Valerie’s agent and tell her she couldn’t do the job. Chapter Five

“Good morning.” Kayla heard a male voice and thought she was dreaming. The movement behind her, the palm smoothing itself over the slope of her hip and the nibbling on her earlobe ... those were real. She opened her eyes. Morning sun slanted through the window over the bed, illuminating Shawn’s grinning face and tousled blond hair. Man, she could get used to waking up to this glorious vision everyday. She smiled and turned over, stretching her sleepy body as she moved. Shawn covered her and pressed a kiss onto her lips. “You look like an angel in the morning, Kayla.” She chuckled. “C’mon. I’m sure I look a fright. But thank you for saying that.” His grin faded. “I’m not just saying that. Boy, someone hurt your confidence, didn’t he?” He smoothed his fingertips over her cheek. “I was watching you sleep and thought you were the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” Kayla stared up at him. He was a morningperson, it appeared, his dreamy blue eyes looking down at her, twinkling. He was a vision of gorgeousness, with the light gold stubble covering his cheeks and jaw, the pouty lips, and the wisps of wheat-colored hair hanging over his forehead. In that moment, her crush intensified into the beginnings of something more. “Thank you.” His grin returned. “I wanted to let you stay asleep, but I know you have to write that book. I don’t want to get in the way.” He propped his head on his elbow. “Besides, I should probably think about getting to my shop, seeing as I own it.” Kayla blinked, not sure of exactly which moment her heart had begun a footrace across her chest. Probably at the mention of her writing. She sighed and reached up to trace her fingertips over the stubble, enjoying the masculine friction against her fingertips. “I’m not going to be writing that book,” she said. His brow furrowed, and he appeared to do a double take. “What?” Smoothing her hair back with one hand, she sat up slowly. This conversation couldn’t take place lying down. Leaning back against the pillows, she gazed at him. “I was going to finish the book for Valerie Martin, until now.” Shawn sat up, still looking confused. He raked a large hand through his hair. “I don’t get it. I thought you really wanted to do this.”

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“I did. But now, I’d rather be with you.” Shawn shook his head. “You don’t have to choose.” Kayla reached out a hand to his shoulder. “I’m sorry; I need to explain this better. What I didn’t say yesterday when I told you about my assignment is that Valerie Martin only writes from experiences she’s actually had. So, if I’m to write in her place,I have to write from experience.” At this, a new grin spread across Shawn’s face, bringing out an incredible dimple in his cheek. The dimple alone caused new desire to stir in her loins. “Yeah, I read that bit about her in one of Joanne’s books she left here. Well, maybe you could use our experience of last night? I don’t mind. Heck, you can even mention my name if it helps.” The mention of last night deepened the stirrings of warmth his dimple had incited. “Believe me, I would do that in a heartbeat, but in this particular novel, Valerie is writing about an experience I’ve never had and probably never will.” Again, he furrowed his brow. “I can’t even imagine.” In spite of the fact that she was lying there naked with a man who’d made love to her the night before, she felt the heat of embarrassment prickling in her cheeks. She took an extra moment to form the words. “It’s a ménageàtrois .With two men. Valerie is making her foray into erotic romance, where the boundaries of sensuality are much ... um ... wider.” A light seemed to go on in Shawn’s blue eyes, and he nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I see.” His gaze flicked to hers. “You’ve never had one?” Kayla’s cheeks heated a few more degrees. She shook her head. “No. And now that it seems you and I ... want to be together, well, I’m not going to go ahead with that. I’d rather be with you, hands down.” Shawn’s eyes widened. “Kayla? Are you saying you chose between me and your career?” Emotions passed over his face, making him look caught between being flattered and distressed. “I wouldn’t say that. There are still writing jobs.Many of them. I can write about flower arranging or something more innocuous. I don’t mind. And I do have my other job at the café.” Another wave of shyness passed over her, and she looked down. “But there aren’t a million guys like you running around.” “Thank God for that. Can’t imagine what this world would be like.” “It would be better!” Avoiding his gaze, she waited for his reaction, unsure of the silence. “Wow, Kayla. Aside from what you said last night, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and her cheeks tingled some more. Never before had so much heat infused her skin in such a short time. “It’s just true.” She glanced up, meaning to look away again, but something in Shawn’s gaze caught and held hers. The blue in his eyes appeared to be melting, simmering. He reached up and cupped her cheek. “If there’s a woman lottery in existence, I just hit it.”

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Kayla caught her breath as his thumb brushed across her cheek. Yeah, she’d made the right choice. “But I can’t let you pass up this chance,” he went on. She stiffened. My God, was he already going to end it? Her sense of having said the wrong thing shrouded her like a dark depressing veil. “Wh-what?” “I said I can’t let you miss out on this opportunity, Kayla.” Kayla’s gut felt suddenly hollow. “Does this mean you don’t want to ...” She swallowed past a sudden painful lump in her throat. Her one attempt at throwing caution to the wind had gotten her flat on her face pretty damn fast. “... betogether?” Shawn’s grin suddenly widened. “What? Are you kidding? Does a lottery winner give up his winnings? Of course I want to be together. What I meant was ... that I can help you ... get the experience you need to write those scenes.” Kayla stared, her blood suddenly trilling in the strangest way through every vein in her body. She shook her head like a dog shaking off water. “I’m sorry; I don’t think I heard you right. Did you say you can ... help me?” He nodded and gave her a quick soft kiss on the lips. “Yes.” She couldn’t stop staring at him. If he’d told her he was from Mars, it wouldn’t have been weirder. “Now it’s my turn to explain things better. First, let me say that I want to do this because, well, I’m just grateful.” His smile faded, and he leaned in to her. “You said some really incredibly sweet things to me yesterday, and I know you meant them. You don’t know how far that went to restoring my confidence. And then, the fact that you made such a choice for me is unbelievable. You can understand why I’d feel grateful, can’t you?” She nodded. In light of his apparently terrible experience with Joanne, she could definitely see why he appreciated her choice. “I guess so.” She chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. “May I ask ... who?” “My brother, Ryan.” Kayla raised her eyebrows. Any higher and they would have jumped off her forehead.“Your brother?” Henodded, a glint in his blue eyes. She waited a couple of beats, unsure of whether to be turned on or shocked.“Your brother?” She cleared her throat. “Um ... how do you know he’d want to ... be withme? ” Shawn made a funny sound, a sort ofpshaw mixed with a grunt of disbelief.“C’mon, Kayla. One look at you and he’ll want you. He’d be crazy not to.” She furrowed her brow. A new tingle had started at the apex of her thighs, and her nipples followed suit. She had to admit, the idea was ... stimulating. “Shawn, you are so sweet to feel that way, but I don’t want to be unfaithful to you.” Shawn reached under the blanket, smoothing a hand over her bare thigh. His touch sent spirals of heat

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upward, into her pussy. “You wouldn’t be being unfaithful, Kayla. Besides, for me, Ryan and I are so close ... I can’t explain it. The bond between us is sodeep, we don’t feel jealous like that.” She looked at him. “How do you know you won’t ... in a situation like that?” Her cheeks burned, between the conversation and the heat rising in her body from Shawn’s caress on her thigh. “I know because we already did it once.” Kayla stared. “You did?” He nodded.“Yeah. Eight years ago. Her name was Peggy. We were both crazy about her. She was pretty and sweet, like you.” The touch of sadness in his tone didn’t escape her. “What happened?” she asked softly. “Well, she left us. I think she freaked herself out by being with two guys and enjoying it immensely.” He shrugged.“Like she should have hated it or something. I guess you could say that she wouldn’t let herself be happy with us. If she hadn’t left, Ryan and I would have stayed with her.” He looked at her again, concern darkening his eyes. “I’m not freaking you out, am I? God, I hope not. I really like you so much.” His fingertips had slid to her inner thigh, whispering lightly over the sensitive skin. Whether he meant to or not, his caress was having a gloriously dizzying effect. She guessed that she wasn’t freaked out at all. Just the opposite, in fact. Her breathing deepened as her body began to melt. “I’m not freaked, Shawn. Not in the least.” She watched his eyes fall to a duskier shade of blue. Apparently, their conversation and his touching her were having a similar effect on him. “Hey,” she said softly as her insides rapidly liquefied, “I thought you said you were boring.” Shawn squeezed her thigh gently, leaning in to her. A small grin turned up one side of his mouth. “I have a wild streak. Everyone does.” His face was close to hers, his breath warmly caressing her face. Those pouty lips were a mere inch away. “I don’t think I have one of those,” she murmured, her lips parting slightly, aching for his kiss. Shawn’s thumb slipped up the line of her slit, pushing gently into the fleshy lips to caress her now-swollen clit. He smiled when she gasped her pleasure. “Sure you do. I certainly got a taste of it last night.” He pressed his lips briefly to hers, not seeming to care that it was first thing in the morning and she’d yet to brush her teeth. “Did Joanne know about your ... um ... wild side?” The question left her lips suddenly, even before she’d seen it forming in her mind. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer.” To her relief, he didn’t seem to get upset about the question, though his expression grew solemn. His thumb withdrew from its activity of pleasuring her clit, and he rested his hand on her thigh. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “The answer is no. The little bit of it I showed her just added to the problems we were already having.” “Did you tell her what you told me? I mean, about you and Ryan?” He shook his head. “No. I wasn’t keeping it a secret or anything; we just never discussed it.” He grinned sheepishly. “I can tell you what happened.”

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“Only if you want to.It’s none of my business, really.” “I wanted to watch her masturbate.” Kayla stared again at him.Geez , from the buildup he’d given it, she was beginning to think he was going to tell her he’d once been a woman, or something major like that. “And that freaked her out?” He nodded.“Yeah.” He regarded her with a flicker of hope in his blue eyes. “It doesn’t seem to bother you.” She returned his gaze, a strong wave of affection sweeping through her. This guy had opened up his life to her, revealing sensitive things abouthimself at the risk of knowing she might judge him. He’d made passionate love to her, made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, and had just offered her the opportunity to be with himand give her the experiences she needed to write for Valerie Martin. By gosh, a little voyeurism was nothing to get her bloomers in a twist over. In fact, it gave her anidea ... “Not even a little bit.” She grinned, feeling her wild side begin to uncoil from within, having found encouragement and support from the super terrific guy in front of her. In one quick motion, she pulled aside the covers and reclined. “In fact,” she purred, “Just watch how undisturbed I really am.” She moved her legs apart and reached down, spreading her pussy lips open, and began rubbing her clit with two fingers. She was already wet and open from Shawn’s touching her a few moments earlier, so her fingertips glided easily over her swollen nubbin. She watched his azure eyes widen, and a curious expression crossed his handsome features. “Wow,” Shawn breathed, watching her with the fascination of a pyromaniac for fire, his attention riveted on her hand working between her thighs. Kayla moaned softly and closed her eyes. The feeling of Shawn’s captivated gaze on her naked, spread-open body caused her arousal to surge, and she reached her other hand to her breasts, kneading and squeezing her already hard nipple between thumb and forefinger. “Kayla,” she heard him whisper. She opened her eyes and saw his large erection, throbbing as he stared at her. He closed one hand around his cock and started rubbing it. She felt a smile spread her lips and kept rubbing herself. An orgasm was building fast and hard under her fingertips, stoked to an inferno by her playing with her nipple. She moaned as the wave hit, spreading through her pussy and then her womb with driving force. She cried out softly until the tiny spasm passed, and then she lay quietly, looking up at him. Shawn stopped stroking himself and bent over her. “Kayla, I can’t believe you did that for me.” He gazed down at her with wonder and appreciation. “Thank you.” Kayla smiled and reached her arms up around his neck, drawing him gently down on top of her. “It’s the least I can do,” she murmured. Shawn kissed her mouth, parting the seam of her lips with his tongue, plunging it deep into her mouth, caressing every soft nook and cranny. He settled his muscular body between her legs, pressing the swollen head of his cock to her equally swollen and moist opening. He lifted his face. His chest heaved

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against hers. “I have to be in you, Kayla,” he panted. “Please do.” She dug her fingertips into his back muscles, her desire revived, her loins aching and throbbing for the feel of him buried deep inside her. He reached over into the nightstand drawer and pulled out a foil packet, which he ripped open with his teeth. Wordlessly, she took it and rolled it on for him, eager to be filled with him, their bodies as intimately, deeply joined as possible. In one swift motion, he pushed into her and began gliding in and out with urgent strokes. He slanted his mouth over hers, plundering every crevice and moist inch of her tongue and lips as he thrust. Kayla clutched at his hips, loving the feel of his rocking motions in and out of her. She opened her legs as wide as they would go, thrusting her pelvis against his. The pleasure crashed through her. Passion set her ablaze, ripping from her in a way it never had in her life, unleashed by the man now inside her. The friction of his cock deep inside her pressed against her clit, drove her over the edge again. She moaned and dug her fingertips deeper into his hips as the waves gripped her. Shawn pulled away from their kiss, gazing down at her. He seemed to enjoy watching her come as much as he enjoyed watching her masturbate. “Kayla, you’re driving me wild,” he breathed. She smiled up at him, her chest heaving. “I think you’re having the same effect on me.” He chuckled and captured her mouth again, kissing her deeply, fervently as he thrust in and out of her. In moments, he groaned softly into her mouth, his body jerking with an obvious, overwhelming climax. His body covered hers as he gently collapsed, breathing heavily against her. Kayla rested her hands on his back, following the rhythm of his breathing. She rested quietly underneath him, listening to his breath calm andmingle with the sounds of the awakening street outside. Shawn nuzzled her hair. “I think we have some chemistry, don’t you?” he murmured. She smiled and giggled softly.“Yeah. I think so.” He lifted his face and kissed her cheek. “You’re a lot of woman, Kayla. It’s going to take two men to keep you satisfied.” She caught her breath. “Do you think so?” He kissed her again. “I don’t know. I was just teasing. But I’d love to find out.” He levered up onto one elbow and gazed down at her. “You’ll come with me Tuesday, won’t you? I’d love for you to meet my family. God willing, Ryan will be home.” A warm rush passed through her at the invitation. If the other members of his family were anything like the man they’d produced, she really wanted to meet them. And, of course, it was his birthday. “I’d love to.” He grinned. “Great. I can’t wait for you to meet Ryan. I think you’ll like each other.” He snuggled her in his arms. “Don’t worry, Kayla; he and I will give you plenty of firsthand experience to write about.”

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As saturated with pleasure as she now was, his words sent fresh flames of heat through her. Somehow, from her short time with Shawn, she had no doubt he was a man of his word. Chapter Six

Tuesday

Ethan followed her to the stairs, working to keep his gaze off of her buttocks, which pushed against the thin material of herpantalettes with each step she took. The scent of rosewater invaded his nostrils, and the sight of her luxurious pile of red curls made him want to pull the pins out and bury his face in the soft tresses. He tore his thoughts away from such desires. He was here for one reason only: to get Miss Poole out of London and away from the wolves. He wasn’t here to fall in love with her. The hallway at the top of the stairs revealed corridors of bedrooms on either side, some of which were open, revealing women in various stages of undress lounging or brushing their hair. One pretty blond caught sight of him and winked before turning her back and continuing to don her chemise. He cleared his throat and kept his attention on the back of Miss Poole’s hair as she led him to a door at the end of the corridor. She opened it, revealing a bedroom as gaudily decorated with cushions and dark, carved woods as the salon downstairs. He went in and stood by one of the bedposts, watching her close the door softly andstand in front of it. Had the circumstances been different, she would probably have come over to him and begun undressing him. As it was, she stood, her hands hanging again at her sides, watching him as if he held a loaded revolver pointed right at her. To Ethan’s chagrin, the flimsy material of her underclothes revealed to him the dark pink spots of her nipples and the triangle of hair at the apex of her thighs. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and perched on the edge of the bed, shifting so as to hide the growing evidence of her effect on him.

The knock on her front door pulled Kayla away from her reading. Her heart thumping, she set the manuscript down on the kitchen table and went to the door. Shawn stood there, a grin on his face. His golden hair was damp and combed back, and he smelled gloriously of spicy aftershave. He took her in his arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips.“Ready to go pick up Ryan?” She nodded, her stomach doing major gymnastics. Betweenmeeting Ryan, who was flying home from his assignment in Iraq and would arrive in a couple of hours for Shawn’s birthday, and the rest of his family, all in one shot, she was more than a little frazzled. “I’m just a little nervous. I want them all to like me.” He squeezed her gently before releasing her so she could lock her door. “Don’t worry. They’re all going

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to love you. I know them.” Her stomach continued to flutter madly as they took the highway to Logan Airport. She might not have been quite so nervous had her meeting with Ryan not taken on a meaning out of the ordinary. She’d taken special pains with choosing her outfit, a pale yellow sundress with china-blue flowers. Shawn glanced at her as he drove. She caught his eye, and they smiled at each other. On the outside, he appeared calm, his hands casually holding the steering wheel. Wind blew through the partially open window, ruffling his golden hair. He looked especially hot in the earth-tone stretch shirt she’d gotten for his birthday at the Gap. The material emphasized his broad chest and set off the streaks in his hair. She watched his hands on the steering wheel, loving how strong and capable they appeared. And from her experience with him so far, they were quite capable. “Are you still worrying?” he asked her. “Yeah, a bit.I want your family to like me.” “Like I said, Kayla, don’t worry. They will.” “Are you sure?” “Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll tell you the sign to look for thatsays you’ve gotten the McKay family seal of approval.” She looked at him. “And what is that?” He grinned. “About halfway through supper, my mom will look at my eldest sister and nod. She used to look at my dad and do it, before he died, God rest his soul.” Kayla couldn’t help smiling. “And if I don’t get the seal of approval?” Shawn chuckled. “She’ll look at Siobhan and shake her head with the tiniest of frowns.” Her smile escalated into all out laughter. “Does your mother know you’re aware of her little signals?” “Actually, we’ve never discussed it. She just has her little mom ways, and I let it be.” Kayla chuckled again, but inside, her gut twisted into knots. She very much wanted Shawn’s mother to nod and wondered if she’d met Joanne and what her signal to Siobhan had been then. But she refrained from asking him about it. There was enough tension for him in negotiating the late afternoon rush hour traffic in Boston and being reunited with his brother whom he hadn’t seen in over a year, who was returning from a war zone. The airport came into view, and Shawn eased into the lane for the exit ramp. “Have I told you how gorgeous you look?” he asked. Warmth flushed her entire face. She’d never get tired of hearing that. “You did, a few times, but that doesn’t matter. Thanks. So do you.” He smiled. “Thanks.” He lifted his hand off the gear and ran his fingertips over her hair, which she’d rolled into a neat bun, toying with the sensitive skin of her nape.

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Pleasant shivers coursed through her, and she was disappointed when he had to take his hand back to shift the gears. At the airport, Shawn parked the truck in short-term parking. Kayla’s gut began its dance again as they walked through the parking lot, their fingers laced together. “Will we have to wait for Ryan to get through customs?” she asked as they entered the glass walled terminal. “No. He flew into New York this morning. He’ll be able to come right through the gate.” She followed him to the gate and immediately recognized the people gathered to one side as Shawn’s family, even though she’d not met them before. It was obvious from the first glance where he’d gotten his blond-haired, blue-eyed,movie-star looks when she looked at the woman who had to be his mother. There was also no mistaking the matriarchal air of authority she exerted over the other two women, one dark-haired, the other blond, who stood with her. All three of their faces lit up when they turned and saw Shawn coming toward them. Kayla stood politely quiet while his sisters and his mother threw their arms around him, dousing him with kisses on the cheeks. Her heart thumped when Shawn turned and picked up her hand, drawing her toward his family. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Kayla Morgan. Kayla this is my mom, Margaret, my sisters Laura andUna . You’ll meet Siobhan at the house. She stayed behind to get things ready.” The blond and the brunette, both pretty, shook her hand, and Kayla didn’t register any apprehension or judgment from them as she had with John’s and Lou’s families. “We’ve heard so much about you, Kayla,” Laura said before Margaret could say anything. She was, apparently, the next to oldest and wore her blond hair in a fashionable bob. “Shawn talks about you nonstop.” “Don’t embarrass her,”Una said. Kayla looked up atUna , whose dark hair hung loosely about her shoulders. She had big, soft brown eyes that looked at her sympathetically, making Kayla feel immediately comfortable with her. “Don’t worry, I’m not embarrassed,” she assuredUna as they shook hands. “It’s actually quite nice to be made a fuss over.” Unasmiled. “Shawn’s a sweetie,” she said. “It’s good to know someone appreciates his affectionate nature.” Kayla’s heart did a strange acrobatic move in her chest, but there was no time to comment. “Oh, there he is!” Margaret said. They all turned at once. The man threading his way through the deplaning crowd in their direction could be none other than Shawn’s brother. Kayla could only think that the god of good looks had kissed this family directly on their foreheads. Tall and broad-shouldered, with soft, dark hair cut short around the sides, a bit longer on top, his

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coloring matchedUna’s exactly, along with the fringes of dark lashes and sculpted features. Several days of dark growth covered his cheeks, giving him the Indiana-Jones-returning-from-the-latest-adventure appearance. The first thought that ran through Kayla’s mind was that Peggy must have been crazy to give up being with Shawn and his brother at the same time. Then she remembered what their future was supposed to hold and felt her knees almost buckle underneath her. What if he wasn’t attracted to her anyway? She chided herself silently for thinking of these things when Ryan had just returned from Iraq and gave her attention to watching the family reunion. Shawn met Ryan halfway. Kayla watched the grins spread across both their faces when they saw each other. The brotherly affection was unmistakable. Ryan set down his flight bag and grabbed Shawn up in a bear hug. He was taller and narrower than Shawn, but no less powerful-looking. The crowd had begun to thin, and the others went over to Ryan and smothered him with hugs and kisses, tears glistening in their eyes. The family’s collective relief to have Ryan home safe seemed to fill the space around them like a physical force, and Kayla felt almost like an intruder as she stood quietly on the outskirts of their group. Shawn turned to her and picked up her hand again. “Ryan, this is Kayla.” Kayla smiled at him, feeling suddenly shy. She offered her right hand.“Hi, nice to meet you.” Ryan grinned, and even through the ruggedly heavy shadow on his face, a nice large dimple was visible. “Hi, Kayla.” His handshake was firm, incredibly firm, something Kayla had always found sexy. The calluses on his hands rubbed enticingly against her soft fingers. “Hey, you look familiar. You’re Shawn’s next-door neighbor, right? I remember seeing you briefly once just before I left.” Her cheeks burned hot, and Kayla realized with horror that she was probably blushing noticeably. “That’s me.” His eyes, the color of warm chocolate, twinkled with a hint of mischief, the same way his older brother’s eyes did. Unfortunately -- or perhaps fortunately -- his thoughts were obvious. Her stomach began a new gymnastic routine inside her as Ryan released her hand. Shawn picked up his brother’s bag, and they moved as a group through the busy terminal. Shawn’s sisters walked on either side of Ryan, obviously feeling possessive of the brother who’d been gone for so long. Kayla loved seeing the close ties they all shared and foundherself wishing her own brother would come home, at least for a visit. They all waited together at the carousel for Ryan’s luggage, and thenUna and Laura insisted on having Ryan drive back to the house with them. Shawn helped them load two duffels into his mother’s car and then took Kayla’s hand and walked back to his truck. Shawn seemed unusually quiet as he unlocked the passenger door and held it open for her. Kayla got in and leaned over to unlock his side for him. She watched him go around the back. When he slid in beside her, she put a hand on his shoulder. The hard cap of muscle quivered under her touch. “Hey, are you all right?”

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Shawn looked at her and sighed.“Yeah. I’m just so relieved he’s back. God, he could have been killed over there. So many journalists ...” He shook his head, not finishing the sentence. She squeezed his shoulder, moved by how much he cared about his brother. Shawn put his hand over hers. He lifted it off and turned to her, pulling her into his arms. He slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her deeply, passionately,his tongue slipping with tender demand between her lips. Kayla immediately melted against him. She ran her hands over his back, each ridge and swell of muscle vivid through the thin, stretchy material of the shirt, while Shawn dappled warm, dewy kisses across her cheek and down her throat. When he finally lifted his face from her neck, he was breathing heavily, gazing at her from under heavy lids. “Kayla, can I confess something to you?” Her heart fluttered, wondering what other surprises he’d have in store. So far, he’d floored her.“Of course.” He pushed back a wisp of her hair that had come loose form her bun and pushed the errant strand behind her ear. “When I proposed that whole thing to you about being with Ryan andus helping you write the book, I also had a selfish motive for it.” Kayla furrowed her brow. So far, it didn’t seem like a horrible confession. “Okay.” “I’ve been so worried about him, as you know. I hate how much he likes to go to dangerous places. I was kind of hoping that if he was with you ... he’d grow to love you and not want to leave again.” He paused and looked into her eyes, seeming to search her for something. “That doesn’t make you mad or anything does it?” Kayla almost laughed at the question, but realized it would be insensitive. Shawn was really distressed about his brother. Everyone should beso selfish as this!“Of course not. Shawn, you make me feel more beautiful and wanted with each passing day.” Relief washed over his features, and he kissed her on the lips again, softly and tenderly, causing her insides to turn to hot liquid. “You’re the best, Kayla,” he breathed when he’d ended the kiss. She smiled at him, feeling the most pleasant dizziness she’d ever experienced. “So are you.” He kissed her again before releasing her gently to start the ignition and throw the gear into reverse. “I can’t blame you for wanting him to stay here,” she said. “Thanks. It’s been rough.” “I know.” She thought of Ryan and of his strong, sexy handshake. That little twinkle in his eye when he’d recognized her as Shawn’s neighbor was unmistakable, and an unbidden image of being sandwiched in between him and Shawn sent a jolt of lava-like heat right through the crevice of her sex. She looked at Shawn, who was easing the truck out of the space and beginning the descent from the packed garage. “Shawn?”

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He glanced at her before putting his eyes back on his driving.“Yeah?” “Anything I can do to help, I will.” Chapter Seven

“So, Kayla, Shawn tells me you’re a writer.” Margaret McKay had just set her wine glass down and was looking at Kayla from across the table. Everyone at the table turned to her. That included close to twenty people, as Kayla had found out when they got back to Shawn’s mother’s house in the Dorchester neighborhood where Shawn had grown up. Of course, there were Laura’s andUna’s husbands and then Laura’s two teenage sons andUna’s twelve-year-old daughter. Kayla wiped her mouth and laid her napkin across her lap. She’d been wondering when the conversation would get around to this. So far, the only topic had been Ryan’s year in Iraq. Truthfully, to Kayla, as a topic of conversation she paled next to a journalist’s year spent reporting on the front lines, but she didn’t feel she could say that. “Yes, I ghostwrite, actually.” “Ah, I see. What types of things?” Kayla’s palms erupted in a sudden cold sweat. “Mom,” Siobhan interrupted. “Don’t put poor Kayla through the third degree.” Kayla smiled at her. She could see why Shawn spoke so fondly of his eldest sister. She was still a hippie, with her long hair a tumble of dark curls shot through with silver, loose and riotous about her shoulders. She wore a peasant blouse and skirt with Indian-style bangle jewelry hanging from her ears and wrists. The woman emanated cool. “It’s all right. I’ve ghostwritten all kinds of things, whatever’s needed, really. I’ve worked on non-fiction books about nutrition, gardening, things like that.As well as some fiction.” Margaret nodded. Judging by Margaret’s unruffled exterior, Shawn had not gone into the intimate details about her latest assignment. “Well, that’s very interesting.” “Mom, what I didn’t tell you yet was that Kayla was ready to give up an assignment just to be with me.” Shawn put his hand on Kayla’s thigh under the table, rubbing his fingertips back and forth over the skirt of her dress. Kayla’s breath caught, and she struggled to appear nonchalant. At this, Margaret’s eyebrows rose. “Is that right?” Kayla thought Margaret would immediately press for details, but instead, she appeared to chew on her son’s statement. “She would have had to go off and do research,” Shawn continued. “We wouldn’t have been able to be together.” He glanced at Kayla, causing her heartbeat to rise to a pounding crash. “It turnsout, I’ll be able

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to help her.” “And what is the topic?” Shawn grinned.“Romance.” “Ooh, gross.” The voice of an adolescent boy interjected. This from Laura’s son Robbie, who sat on Shawn’s other side. Shawn ruffled his nephew’s hair affectionately. “You won’t be saying that in a few years, kiddo.” Robbie grinned, but didn’t answer. Kayla’s face went all hot, like a tropical heat wave had passed through her skin. Margaret’s cheeks colored delicately, belying the no-nonsense matriarchal woman she appeared to be. “Well, that is admirable.” She looked at Siobhan and nodded. Shawn squeezed Kayla’s hand hard under the table. Margaret looked at her son, her brows drawn together. “And this young lady lived next door to you all that time you were dating the stick figure?” Kayla nearly erupted into laughter at the less-than-sentimental reference to Joanne. “Actually, Mrs. McKay, I’ve had a crush on Shawn for over a year,” she said, surprising herself with her bold admission. Margaret shot her son a look. “And you stayed with what’s-her-name that whole time instead?” Shawn gave his mother a sheepish grin. “I’ve since come to my senses, Mom, so you needn’t say more.” Kayla saw him exchange an amused, conspiratorial glance with Ryan. “Indeed.” Margaret’s blue eyes sparkled, demonstrating the genetic source of Shawn’s amused gleam. She looked at Kayla. “I don’t mean to speak ill of another, but that girl refused my apple cobbler. I know it’s not a dietetic food, but she didn’t even bother to try it! You can always judge a person’s character by their willingness to eat dessert.” Kayla smiled at her. “I’d never refuse a nice big helping of your apple cobbler, Mrs. McKay.” Margaret smiled and nodded in Siobhan’s direction again before looking back at Kayla. “Call me Margaret, dear. Please.” ***** “Not one nod, but two. Two! In less than five minutes.” Shawn laughed as he turned out of his mother’s driveway and down the street, heading toward downtown Boston to cross the Charles back into Cambridge. “You were amazing, Kay. Wasn’t she amazing, Ryan?” Kayla sat in the middle of the truck’s bench seat, sandwiched between Shawn and Ryan, who was coming back with them because he preferred to stay with his brother. She had to keep her legs over on

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Ryan’s side to allow Shawn to shift the gears. This put her in very close contact with Ryan, whose jeans brushed against her bare leg, below her dress. Ryan nodded, grinning. “I was impressed. Actually, Kayla, it’s a first.” She looked at him, his strong profile outlined by the streetlights. The summer evening was warm and rainy, and the shadows of the raindrops on the windshield dotted his face.“A first? You’ve got to be kidding.” She chuckled. “What about Peggy?” “She bailed before we got a chance to introduce her,” Shawn said. “She would have gotten a nod.” Ryan tensed, and Kayla wished she had the space to kick her own ass -- that is, after she’d pulled her foot from her mouth. “Shawn, you told her about Peggy?” Shawn looked straight ahead of him, the raindrops casting shadowy streaks on his face through the windshield. “I did.” “Everything?” Shawn glanced at his brother.“Yeah, everything.” Ryan looked at Kayla, then straight ahead at the road, black and glistening from the rain and glow of the streetlamp. “And she’s still here. No wonder Mom liked her.” Shawn cleared his throat. “Well, there was a reason I told her. I don’t go around dumping intimate details of my life to just anyone.” “I know that.” To Kayla’s relief, Ryan was now grinning. “So, big brother, spill it.” “Okay. You know how I was telling everyone about Kayla giving up that assignment?” “Yeah.” “Well, the reason she was going to do that was because she’s supposed to ghostwrite this romance novel that has a ménage in it.A woman and two guys. The thing is, the writer is some famous romance author and requires that the writer experience what she’s writing about. Kayla had none of that experience. So anyway, the same day she found out about this assignment, she and I got together. She told me she wasn’t going to do the assignment because she didn’t want to cheat on me.” Ryan whistled. “Wow, that’s hot shit.” Kayla tensed, knowing Shawn was about to finish the story. She was actually glad Shawn had taken it on himself to tell the tale. “It gets hotter.” “I’m listening.”

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“Well, you can imagine after what happened with Joanne, Kayla’s willingness to sacrifice this really incredible opportunity for me just blew me away. I couldn’t let her do it. So I ... told her I might be able to help her. That’s when I told her about you and me and Peggy. I thought we could ... you know ... give Kayla the experience she needs to write the book.” Kayla glanced at Ryan. His expression was difficult to discern in the darkness of the truck’s cab, but she sensed that he was chewing on what his brother had just told him. To her surprise, he wasn’t reacting with disbelief. He wasn’t outright refusing, either. Shawn didn’t take his eyes from the rain-soaked streets. “What do you think? Does that idea simply repel you?” Ryan chuckled.“Of course not. I’d have to be crazy to be repelled.” He leaned back in the seat. A few moments passed before he spoke again. “I just don’t want to interfere. If I remember correctly, you were the one who found Peggy first. She didn’t freak out until I entered the picture. I was the one who ruined it.” His voice sounded mournful. “You were with Kayla first. You two seem to have found something special.” Shawn sighed. “You didn’t ruin anything, Ryan. It’s notyour fault Peggy freaked and ran away. You remember her folks?Very uptight people. Her mom alone was tighter than a crab’s ass.” Kayla chuckled, relieved that Ryan did the same at his brother’s quip. “That’s true,” Ryan said.“But what about now?” “My dad’s gay,” Kayla said. “He lives out in San Francisco. He doesn’t pay much attention to what I do.” Now, at age twenty-nine, it wasn’t so difficult to tell people. She’d been only nine when her father came out of the closet and her parents divorced. Since then, she’d only seen her father a handful of times. Maybe with other fathers, a new lifestyle wouldn’t have crowded out their daughters, but Charles Morgan’s had. “No shit.” Ryan’s voice was full of astonishment. He looked at his brother. “Did you know that?” Shawn nodded. “I did. Kayla and I have chatted quite a bit since I moved in.” He grinned. “I think Peggy is the only part of my life she didn’t really know anything about.” Kayla smiled. “That’s true.” She began to think that she and Shawn had been more connected to each other than either had guessed. “That must have been rough,” Ryan said to her. “Where’s your mother?” “Newton. She works as a travel agent in Newton Center. Dating, but not remarried.” Kayla saw her mother a few times a month when they met for lunch or dinner. They were both pretty busy with their own lives. Ryan nodded. “You’ve really been through it,” he said softly. “Which is even more reason not to want to interfere with you two.” Shawn sighed. “You wouldn’t be interfering. Kayla’s a stronger person than Peggy ever was. I don’t think she’d just get freaked out and run away.”

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Ryan looked at her. “What about you? How do you feel?” Kayla thought of what Shawn had told her about getting Ryan to stay home and not risk his life in dangerous places. She thought about pleasing Shawn. And she thought about the chance to have two incredibly gorgeous guys make love to her at once, to be completely surrounded and held in simmering masculinity. “If what Shawn and I have is special, we can’t lose it. I trust him.” Ryan laughed softly and shook his head. “Man, Shawn, you really have changed your taste in women, haven’t you?” Shawn grinned.“Only for the better.” Ryan turned as much as the seatbelt would let him. When he did so, the denim of his jeans brushed her legs, sending shivery heat right up into her sex. Already she felt her nipples tighten in her brassiere. “Well, if you really honestly feel that way.” Kayla nodded, aware that she fast becoming breathless. “I really feel that way.” Ryan’s breathing deepened, its sensual rhythm syncopated by the scrape of the windshield wipers on the glass. “In that case, I’m honored you trust me, too.” Shawn glanced at him. “Does that mean you’ll help her?” He nodded, now gazing fully at her. “Yeah, I’ll help her.” Shawn nodded. “Great.” Ryan looked from Kayla to his brother. “Does this mean I can get started right now?” Shawn grinned. “I guess so. Just don’t get so overheated that I can’t drive. I don’t want to cause an accident.” Ryan smiled. “I promise I won’t.” Kayla’s breath caught as Ryan lifted his hand to her face and touched her cheek, his fingertips circling in a whispery pattern over her skin. His touch sent shivers through her. It was so similar to Shawn’s tender, attentive touch, yet different. The weird part was that she didn’t feel as if Ryan was a stranger. Thefact that he was Shawn’s brother and that they were so close made her feel like she’d known him for a long time. His thumb traced over her bottom lip. “Tell me about this story you’re writing.” His breath,minty from a piece of gum he’d chewed and discarded a bit earlier, caressed her face. He’d shaved before supper, and the spicy smell of aftershave invaded her nostrils, making her feel pleasantly heady. “Well, it’s about a young woman whose father is forcing her to marry a man she hates. Instead of giving in, she flees.” “Mm-hmm.”Ryan traced an invisible line from her chin to her throat. He bent his head and pressed a small kiss to her temple.

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The things he was doing to her made it difficult to think or speak. Her nipples tingled furiously while the rest of her melted against him. “Go on.” “Her father asks a friend of the family, a former army captain, to find her and bring her back. He chases her down and finds her in a brothel, about to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. The captain, Ethan, is wildly attracted to Violette, and she to him. He has no intention of forcing her to go back because he, too, hates the fiancé and blames him for some terrible things that happened to Ethan’s brother, Charles. So instead of taking her back to her father and fiancé, he makes love to her,then buys her out of the brothel.” Ryan pressed another soft kiss in the same spot and then another, moving his way down her cheek, feathering the tip of his tongue on her skin. “Where does the ménage part come in?” Shawn asked. He followed his question with a hand on her thigh, working the skirt of her dress up until he could put his palm flat against her bare flesh. His fingertips worked tiny circles on her sensitive inner thigh, and she felt her pussy moisten rapidly with the cream of arousal. Kayla took a shivery breath. Ryan’s lips were hovering close to hers, resting on her skin, his hot breath pulsing against her. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she summoned the strength to speak. She found it when Shawn had to remove his hand to shift the gears. In the corner of her consciousness she saw they were crossing the Charles River into Cambridge. Hopefully, they would be home within minutes. “Ethan hides her on his own estate, and she meets his brother, who was wounded in the Indian Mutiny of 1857.” “What happened to his brother?” Ryan murmured against her skin. Kayla’s breath caught as Shawn’s hand returned to its place on her thigh, his fingertips venturing toward the apex of her thighs where she was now soaked and swollen with need.“Terrible things. He ... took shrapnel in his hip, and then someone tried to burn him with a torch.” Shawn’s fingertips grazed her slit, whispering up and down the length. “Kayla, you’re soaked.” His voice was husky, and he pulled his hand away to shift. “I’d better get us back.” His hand remained on the gear. Ryan’s hand took over for his brother’s, his fingertips toying lazily with her vaginal lips through the saturated material of her panties. Kayla moaned softly. “Finish telling us the plot,” Ryan said. He began to nibble on her earlobe, nipping it delicately between his teeth and tugging sensuously, his breath hot in her ear. “You’re making it hard to speak.” “Try anyway, sweetheart,” Shawn said. “Charles falls in love with her. Of course, Ethan has, too, but he’s stayed away from her because he feels guilty and because he wants his brother to be with her. Meanwhile, she’s in love with Ethan, and

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she’s fallen in love with Charles, too, because he’s so kind and gentle. Ethan loves Charles and wants him to be happy. There are some other things that happen to bring the three together, but I haven’t worked it all out yet.” Ryan slipped three fingers inside her panties and spread the fleshy lips. He found her swollen clit, pinching it sensuously between his thumb and forefinger. Kayla moaned. “You guys,” Shawn said, “I’m going to cause an accident. Please wait.” Ryan chuckled. He lifted his face from Kayla’s cheek and pulled his hand away from her pussy. “All right,” he said, “But not for long.” Chapter Eight

Shawn ground the truck to a halt, threw the gear into park, and unsnapped his seatbelt. His chest was heaving as he turned to her. “Kayla,” he whispered, slanting his mouth over hers. His tongue slipped between her lips, mating hungrily with hers. His chest crushed her breasts, pushing her back into Ryan. Shawn’s hands closed gently over her breasts, squeezing them softly yet with mounting hunger. She felt a second pair of hands palm her thighs, under her dress, caressing her, moving again over her mound, caressing her stomach, and then diving under the waistband of her panties to rake through her curls and spread her lips apart. Shawn suckled and tugged hungrily on her lower lip, kneading her nipples into hard peaks through her bra and dress. Ryan’s fingertips found the swollen bud at her core, pinching and tugging it as before. Kayla moaned, her eyes fluttering closed.The musky, delicious aroma of man filled her. Hard muscles pressed against her, and masculine hands worked every major erogenous zone of her body.Shawn’s cock, bulging and erect in his jeans, pressed into her thigh. Behind her, Ryan’s erection nudged her buttocks. The question of whether someone could die of too much pleasure flitted across her fevered mind. Shawn pulled away form their kiss with a sucking sound. “Let’s go inside. There’s not enough damn room in here.” He lifted his body off hers and opened the driver’s-side door. Ryan’s hands receded, his strong fingers sliding over her wet, swollen pussy. “He’s right,” he said in a voice tight with desire. He undid his seatbelt, gently disengaging himself from Kayla so they could both get out of the truck. Shawn had covered Ryan’s luggage with a garbage bag to keep it dry. He pulled the plastic off and lifted the bags from the truck bed. He tookone duffel , and Ryan carried the other. Kayla carried the camera bag and followed them to the house. With each step she took, her panties clung to her slit from the seeping juices, and her breasts still tingled and throbbed with the ache of need. She followed them in through the back door of Shawn’s side of the duplex and upstairs. Shawn went straight to the bedroom, plunking Ryan’s bag down to the side. He looked at his brother.

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“You can unpack your stuff in the other bedroom, if you want,” he said. “But I was hoping it could wait until later.” Ryan nodded, setting his bag in the hallway and standing aside for Kayla. “Of course it can wait.” Kayla gently put Ryan’s camera bag next to the duffel in the hall and went in. Without hesitation, Shawn pulled Kayla into his arms and captured her mouth again in a deep kiss. The tip of his tongue feathered along the seam of her lips, and she parted them, her head tilting back. Again, Ryan’s hands slipped around her from the back, cupping her breasts through her dress, squeezing and kneading the soft orbs. Her nipples were already erect, and his firm touch sent more heat shooting through her belly, straight to her already throbbing sex. I can’t believe this is happening.Her body liquefied, sagging back against Ryan. Shawn’s hard front crushed Ryan’s hands harder onto her breasts, and his erection pushed directly into thevee of her thighs. Ryan’s touch receded from her breasts, slipping around to her back. The zipper of her dress came down, and Shawn helped his brother slip the dress off her into a puddle around her feet. Ryan’s hands worked open the catch of her bra, and Shawn slipped the thin straps over her arms and discarded it. Shawn gazed down at her bare breasts. He reached out and touched one erect pink bud, rolling it reverently between his fingertips, while Ryan ran his hands over her shoulders. “Isn’t she beautiful?” Shawn breathed. “Amazing.”Ryan’s breath tickled her ear in the most pleasant way. He sank his lips into the soft skin on the side of her neck while his hands roamed down her stomach and over the swells of her hips and buttocks. “Are you enjoying this, Kayla?” Shawn’s voice was pure breathless silk, and he cupped her breasts, squeezing and caressing them. “Mmm,” she murmured, unable to speak. Both men were still fully dressed while she stood between them, nearly naked but for her panties. This arrangement was turning her on big time. Shawn grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He bowed his head to one breast and laved the nipple hungrily with his tongue while kneading the other one between his fingertips. Ryan’s hand slipped again under the waistband of her panties. His fingertips raked over her mound, slipping between her lower lips, caressing her swollen, aching clit. Each tiny circle he made with his fingertips left her mindless with pleasure, and she sagged heavily against Ryan, unable to stand by herself anymore. Shawn lifted his mouth from her nipple and picked up her hand. “Come,” he whispered. Ryan pulled his hand out of her panties and eased them down, so when she stepped out of them, she stepped out of her dress as well. Perched on the edge of the bed, she pulled off her sandals and sat up, watching both men divest themselves of jeans and t-shirts, filling her vision with muscular bodies, broad chests sprinkled with silky hair, and thick, hard cocks engorged with need and pointed right at her.

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Shawn pulled down the covers, and Kayla climbed in. Shawn and Ryan settled in on either side of her, both of them looking down at her from heavy-lidded eyes. “I haven’t kissed her yet,” Ryan said. “Go on.” Ryan smiled and bent down, gently slanting his mouth over hers. Like Shawn’s, his kiss was tender and incredibly arousing, yet he had a unique flavor and musky aroma. She reached up, curling her fingers into his dark hair, soft against her fingertips. Shawn dappled warm, moist kisses over her shoulder while reaching around to play with her breast. He pinched and kneaded her nipple, causing her to moan and arch her back, pressing her backside against his cock. She felt him roll away and heard the drawer open and the ripping sound of a foil packet. A moment later, his hands were on her buttocks, gently spreading her open, pushing the swollen tip of his erection into her pussy. She was so slick fromarousal, he slid easily in all the way to the hilt and held her hip while he moved slowly, just enough to stay hard. Ryan kissed her for what seemed a long time before he lifted his mouth away from hers and worked his way down her neck and chest and then to her nipples. He took his time with each one, suckling and tugging with his lips and tongue until she was so wild she bucked harder against Shawn’s cock, crazy for release. Shawn held her steady, not letting her go over the edge. Ryan raised his head from his feast on her breasts and grinned at her wickedly. He stretched out beside her and brought her hand to his cock, placing her palm against the veined shaft. “Stroke me,” he whispered, guiding her hand up and down his rod, her fingers sliding easily over the velvety skin. Guided by his soft groans of pleasure, Kayla found the sensitive spot just under the head of his cock and pressed down lightly with her thumb as she fondled him. Shawn pulled her leg back slightly, draping it over his,then reached around her front, closing his fingertips over her clit. The double pleasure of his cock inside her and the stimulation on her sensitive bud made her moan. Ryan grasped her wrist, gently staying her hand. He leaned over, settling his body closer to her so he could kiss her and fondle her breasts, kneading her nipples between his fingertips. Kayla gave herself over completely. Her eyelids fluttered, and her head tilted back. These two men were playing her body like a fine instrument, coaxing every possible nuance of pleasure from it. She went over the edge, crying out as an orgasm gripped her, sending ripples of blinding heat erupting in her sex and radiating through her belly. She wilted against Shawn, who stopped moving inside her for the moment, her chest heaving, a smile pasted on her lips. “Oh, my God,” she breathed.

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“I think she likes us,” Shawn said, pressing a kiss into her neck. His hand played over her mound. Ryan’s fingertips skated over her breasts. “Yeah, I think so.” Shawn pulled out of Kayla and turned her onto her back, fitting his body between her legs. Reaching down, he guided his cock back inside her and bent his face to hers for a deep kiss. Out of the corner of her eye, Kayla saw Ryan retrieve a foil packet and tear it open. A moment later, he was settled down beside her, propped on one elbow, watching. When Kayla turned and looked at him, he bent his face to hers and began kissing her. She reached up, caressing his hair, whispering her fingertips down the back of his neck, and let her hand wander over his back, enjoying the hard flexing of muscles under her fingertips. His scent, a heady mixture of spice and man, intoxicated her, and she felt another orgasm begin to build. Suddenly, Shawn pulled out of her and rolled to the side. Ryan climbed onto her in his place. Kayla put her arms around him as he sheathed himself deep inside her and captured her mouth in a hot kiss, his tongue swirling against hers. He felt different, and she ran her hands over his back and buttocks, appreciating his narrower yet still muscular build. He lifted away from the kiss and buried his lips against the curve of her neck as he slid in and out of her. Kayla looked over and saw Shawn lying close by, watching her, his face flushed, his blue eyes smoldering. He was breathing deeply, the sound conveying to her his enjoyment of watching her. Being watched heightened her arousal, and in moments, her sex clenched again in the throes of another orgasm. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she cried out softly, her fingertips digging into Ryan’s back. Ryan groaned when her muscles tightened around his cock. His body jerked, and she felt the pulsing of his climax inside her as he came. He rolled to his side, breathing heavily, one strong arm draped lightly across her breasts. Shawn chuckled. “I guess Ryan likes being watched, too.” Kayla looked at him and giggled. She felt absolutely drunk, as if someone had served her a drink called “essence of man one-hundred-fifty proof.” Shawn moved closer to her and cupped her cheek, turning her face to his. Lightly he ran the tip of his tongue over her lips, slipping it inside her mouth, deepening the kiss. On her other side, Ryan was toying with her hair, his body close to hers. She reached up and ran her fingertips over his cheek, the pads of her fingers registering the damp warmth of his masculine skin and the strong line of his jaw and chin. “Kayla,” Shawn whispered against her lips. The sound caressed her like silk, and she grasped his arm, bidding him to take her again. He settled himself between her legs and slipped easily inside her soaked sheath. Once again, he put his

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fingertips against her clit, rubbing it while he moved inside her. The simmering energy of two men swirled around her, keeping her body in a state of arousal, and before long, Shawn’s ministrations led her to a third orgasm, gripping her body and wringing every last drop of pleasure from it. Kayla wilted languorously under Shawn as he rode her to his own climax. She felt the pulsing of his cock inside her as he came,then collapsed gently over her, his breath hot on her neck, his body damp, melding to hers. After a few moments, Shawn’s breathing calmed, and he rolled to her side. He kissed her cheek and snuggled close to her. Ryan did the same on her other side. Kayla sighed, snuggling between them like a contented cat. “Thank you both so much,” she murmured. Shawn chuckled. “No. Thankyou .”

Ryan’s fingertips dappled a light touch down Kayla’s arm, and his hand came to rest over hers. In a million years, he wouldn’t have expected Shawn to have a welcome-home present like this waiting for him. He nuzzled her hair, breathing in the feminine, musky aroma of her skin and sex, mixed with her perfume, a light floral scent he didn’t recognize. After a year in Iraq, making love to this woman had been pure heaven. Shawn had fallen into shit with Joanne and came up with this diamond. Ryan squeezed her hand, feeling her respond by snuggling against him. It had been forever since he had been with a woman, at least since just before leaving to go overseas, and he couldn’t remember someone ever being this soft. Well, Peggy had been pretty soft. An unexpected pang shot through him. Shit, until this moment, being in a threesome again, he just realized he’d never really gotten over her running away from him and Shawn. Well, that probably explained his lack of desire to get involved in a serious relationship since then. Even with a demanding career, he’d still wanted to be with Peggy, but after her abandonment he’d concentrated solely on his work. Closing his eyes, he pressed his lips to Kayla’s skin. She and Shawn were jabbering away together in the afterglow. Ryan listened absently to Shawn’s ideas for the scenes in her book. Admittedly, the activities his brother was describing caused his own loins to tighten again in anticipation, but he didn’t expect their ménage to be more than that, a way to help Kayla. Ryan liked her and immediately had felt comfortable with her. God knows he was physically attracted to her, but he didn’t want to invest his heart the way he had before. “Hey, Ryan, how’re you doing?” Shawn asked from the other side of Kayla’s lounging body. Ryan sighed. Until Shawn asked him that question, he hadn’t realized how edgy he still was. It would probably take some time before that feeling of always being on guard wore off, before he really knew he wasn’t in danger of getting shot or bombed.

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He ran his fingers through Kayla’s soft hair, finding it, as well as her scent and her soft body, a great comfort, more of a comfort than he wanted her to be. “I’m okay. I’m actually a bit relaxed for the first time since I can’t even remember when.” He held a lock of her hair against his cheek. “This helped a lot.” Shawn chuckled. “Glad to be of service.” He felt his brother grow more serious in the following silence. “I’m just really grateful you’re home safe, Ryan.” “Thanks, Shawn.Me, too.” “I hope you’ll stick around a while.” Nestled comfortably against Kayla, he decided to stay around until Kayla had gotten the experience she needed to finish her book, and then he’d head off to D.C. and see what kinds of assignmentsNational Geographic was looking for next. There were probably military situations in Africa or Eastern Europe that bore reporting, or some such excitement as that. For the moment, though, he was content to stay here with Shawn and make love to Kayla.Until he had to leave again. “Yeah, I think I will stick around for a bit.” Chapter Nine

The sound of rain woke Kayla. She opened her eyes to a room gray with predawn light. She blinked and turned her head toward the sound of the water, only to see the bathroom door ajar, light shining from inside, and hear the spray of the shower. No rain. It was Shawn, up incredibly early, getting ready for work. She heard breathing next to her and turned her head again. Ryan lay asleep beside her. The dark fans of his eyelashes rested against his tanned cheeks. His brown hairrioted this way and that, and dark stubble shadowed his cheeks and jaw, giving him that sexy Marlboro man look. He sighed in his sleep and turned over, apparently undisturbed by Shawn’s shower. Not one man, but two. The words slipped mischievously through her thoughts. Her mind echoed with memories of the previous night, a night that could only be described as the most incredible one of her life. It made milestones like high school prom and college graduation look like complete non-events. Her body tingled pleasantly in response. A woman could get used to this arrangement. That was, however, providing Ryan developed any feelings for her that would keep him coming back. Strangely enough, this was her primary concern. The way he’d responded to the mention of Peggy led Kayla to believe that he might just be living for the moment here, with no desire for a future commitment. Shawn was hoping his younger brother would fall in love with her and want to stay around. But what if she and Ryan didn’t share the necessary chemistry, the way she and Shawn did? In spite of her concern, Kayla couldn’t help smiling to herself at how unconventional Shawn really was.

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After all, how many guys wanted to share their girlfriends with their younger brothers? She didn’t know any others personally and figured that such men were as rare as tits on a bull. And women found Shawn boring.Boring, my ass! Cautiously, so as not to wake Ryan, she lifted the covers and slipped out of the bed, padding barefoot across the cool hardwood floor to the bathroom. Once inside, a cloud of warm steam immediately enveloped her. “Shawn?” she said just loudly enough to be heard over the spray. The curtain was pulled aside, and Shawn poked his head out. He smiled at her immediately, his blue eyes sparkling, his golden hair darkened from the water and plastered to his head.“Hey, beautiful.” He pulled the curtain aside a bit more. “Join me, and I’ll scrub your back.” She returned his smile and planted a kiss on those pouty lips before stepping into the tub. The hot water and steam caressed her back while Shawn’s gorgeous, wet, naked body pressed against her front. “Mmm,” he murmured, dappling soft kisses on the side of her neck. “This is the best way to start the day.” Kayla’s eyes fluttered closed, and she tilted her head, giving Shawn complete access to the damp skin of her neck and throat. Her fingertips skated over the wet, hard ridges of muscle on his back, her breasts fused wetly against his chest. Down below, Shawn’s erection rose and pressed into her belly. After a moment, he pulled away.“Down, boy.” He grinned. “Look what you do to me, woman.” “I’m glad.” She smiled lazily as he put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. Seconds later, a warm, soapy washcloth lathered and massaged her back. Damn, he was good at this! Her body relaxed and grew pliant under his scrubbing. When he’d finished, she took the cloth from him and did his back, enjoying the play of sudsy water cascading over his muscles, making them gleam. “All done,” she said when she’d scrubbed every possible inch of his back. Shawn took the cloth from her and set it aside. He kissed her softly, his large hands on her shoulders, and then looked down at her, his blue gaze appearing to study her with concern. “How are you? Not too weirded out?” She shook her head.“Not at all. It was incredible, Shawn. Thank you.” “Do you think you want to, you know, keep going?” He sounded hopeful. She nodded. “Yes. But I’m not sure about Ryan. I mean, what if he doesn’t --” “Shh.” Shawn silenced her with a finger to her lips. He brushed his thumb tenderly across her cheek. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I know him. In spite of last night, he’s emotionally shy. Just spend some time with him and be the way you always are. He’ll definitely fall for you.” She looked at him. “Like I always am?” He smiled.“Yeah.Sweet and kind.”

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“Thank you.” “And luscious.”His blue gaze raked over her wet naked body, and he heaved a sigh.“Of all the days to own a business and have to go to work.” She grinned, her skin tingling from the praise. “I’ll see you tonight after I get off work.” “Most definitely, girl.”He turned off the shower and reached for two towels. Ryan was sitting up in bed, smoothing a large hand over his sleepy face. He blinked when he saw them, as if focusing his vision, and raked his hand through his unruly hair. Kayla felt suddenly self-conscious and pulled the towel more tightly around her. “Good morning,” Shawn greeted his brother from behind Kayla. Ryan’s gaze went from Shawn to Kayla. “Don’t you two know what an ungodly hour this is to be up?” Shawn chuckled. He went to a chest of drawers and began pulling out clothing. “Sorry, buddy.Got cars to fix.” Kayla sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, holding the towel closed. She smiled at Ryan, yet felt awkward about leaning over and kissing him. Unlike with Shawn, she didn’t feel at all certain of where she stood with him. He seemed as tentative as she. “You should go back to sleep if you need to.” But Ryan shook his head.“Nah. Once I’m up, I can’t. Besides, I flew west yesterday. You gain quite a bit of time that way.” She nodded.“Yeah. My brother always says that when he flies home for a visit. Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Oh?From where?” “Paris. He lives there with his new wife,Christiane .” “Has it already been six months since Peter got married?” Shawn had finished dressing and approached the bed wearing his usual -- and what was to Kayla, sexy -- work outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. “Yes. I haven’t met her yet, though. Well, over the phone. She sounds really sweet.” Shawn nodded. He bent over and planted a soft kiss on Kayla’s lips. “I’m off.Running late. I’ll pick you up tonight when you get off. Hey, Ryan, why don’t you take Kayla to breakfast?” Kayla’s cheeks burned, and she glanced at Ryan. He looked back at her, uncertain. “Do you want to?” Disbelief filled his voice, as if she would never want to go with him. She smiled and nodded, glad for an opportunity to get to know him a bit. “I’d like that.” “Cool.” Shawn looked pleased and a bit relieved. “See you tonight.” He smoothed Kayla’s damp hair

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back affectionately,then left. An uncomfortable silence settled over them. Kayla felt more awkward than she had the first time she’d read one of her short stories to her creative writing class back in college. And just as naked. “Well, I guess I’ll get dressed.” Ryan pulled the covers off. “I’ll shower and shave and all that, and come knock on your door.” “Okay.” She got up and slowly gathered her clothes, avoiding looking at him as he went to the bathroom. It seemed ludicrous somehow to be so shy about looking at his lean, muscular form crossing the room or about him seeing her naked, considering the night before. But she couldn’t help it. She dressed quickly, made the bed, and went downstairs and to her own apartment to dry her hair and wait for Ryan. ***** Kayla had just finished putting her hair in a ponytail when Ryan knocked on the door. As it had earlier, a wave of shyness passed over her as she opened the door and looked up at him. In spite of her timidity, the sight of him caused that familiar tingling and heating in all the right places. His dark hair was combed back, and his stretchy t-shirt hugged the muscular contours of his torso. Slightly baggy jeans put the perfect finish to his sexiness. The man gods had smiled on her in a big way. He returned her gaze, appearing equally shy. “Hi. Are you ready?” She nodded. “Ready.” He stepped aside so she could close and lock the door behind them. “You don’t carry a purse,” he observed, following her down the porch steps. “Only when I need to look official, you know, businesslike,which isn’t often, thank goodness. Pantyhose, purses, and I don’t mix.” She pocketed her house key in her khaki clam-diggers. The early summer morning was proving to be another beautiful one with a cloudless blue sky. Kayla took a quick survey of her front garden, which she’d labored to fill with azalea bushes and beds of pansies and asters. “Nice garden,” Ryan commented.“Didn’t see it last night, pulling up in the dark.” Kayla could just hear Shawn saying to him,Well, that, and you were a bit preoccupied. “Thank you,” she answered. “I finally grew a green thumb after many failed attempts.” “Shawn told me about how hard you worked in that garden,” Ryan went on. “He said what a nice person you were from what he knew of you.” Kayla looked at him as they fell into step on the sidewalk, her heart quickening. “He talked to you about me?” He nodded, grinning what looked to be slightly mischievously. “Through e-mail, while I was away. A couple of months ago he told me he was working up the courage to ask you out.”

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Her heart fluttered. Wow! All thattime, and she’d had no idea. Well, part of it was that Shawn hadn’t shown her how he felt, and well, she also spent so much time holed up in her house, writing and watching spaghetti westerns, all while eating pizza, when she wasn’t pushing cappuccinos at Java. Not exactly what one could callgetting outmuch. “Hey, would Shawn want you telling me all this?” Ryan shrugged. “Knowing my brother, he’d be mad for about eight seconds, and then he’d forgive me. He’s pretty easygoing, except for things like keeping his house and truck clean. Besides, if he’d wanted to keep it secret, he wouldn’t have told a journalist.” She chuckled.“Fair enough. In any case, I’m certainly grateful that he finally did ask me. I ... um ... had been waiting for that moment, actually, thinking it would never come.” Ryan glanced at her as they walked.“Yeah. I remember what you said last night to my mom.” She nodded. “He’s a great guy.” “Can’t argue with that.Shawn’s my best friend in the world. He practically raised me. If it weren’t for him, I’m not sure I’d have pursued photojournalism.” He fell silent as they turned off of the residential street into the busy environs of Harvard Square. For a few minutes, they weaved their way through the rush of backpack-toting students and professors with coffee cups in one hand, briefcases in the other, who crowded the sidewalks, mixed in with summer tourists and people on their way to work. Kayla led Ryan to a small place off the main thoroughfare that served great breakfasts. Couched in a booth, surrounded by the smells and sounds of eggs and sausages on the grill and coffee brewing, she felt that awkwardness pass over her again and was glad for the distraction of looking at menus and ordering. She mentally prepared a possible list of conversation starters, but Ryan spoke before she did. “Hey, I was thinking that it’s pretty wild how things worked out.The timing and all. It occurred to me when you said you’d been waiting for Shawn to ask you out. And then, youknow, the three of us.” At that moment the waitress served their coffee. Kayla tore the top off a creamer and poured it into her mug. “Yes, I agree. To me, it was kind of magic. I had begun to think life didn’t have any of that, but then this really weird, wonderful thing happened to my cousin, Elizabeth. She used to live in Shawn’s apartment with her brother, Paul. Our grandfather left her his house in Maine in his will, and when she went there to live, she found this handsome guy living in her house, claiming her grandfather had left the house to him.” Ryan’s eyes widened. “Wow! That’s beyond wild.” Kayla took a sip of coffee and shook her head as she set the mug down. “That’s not the really wild part. The magical part of it was that she’d been dreaming about this guy for months. You know, erotic dreams where he’d come to kiss her and stuff like that.” Ryan shook his head.“Amazing. What a wild coincidence.”

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“It wasn’t a coincidence, as it turned out.” Kayla explained the whole situation while Ryan shook his head in astonishment the whole time. “The funny part is that Zach was a mechanic who owned his own shop. Only he was in New York and had sold it when he inherited the house. There’s a bit of coincidence, I’d say.” Ryan chuckled.“Just astonishing.” Kayla sat back and took another sip of coffee, finding that in telling the story, much of the tension she’d felt hovering between her and Ryan had melted away. During breakfast, Ryan told Kayla more about his time in Iraq, about the people he’d met and the close calls he’d experienced with bombs and gunshots. As he spoke, Kayla could sense how Shawn had felt while his brother was away, experiencing his fears for Ryan’s life as if she were inside Shawn. She, too, began to hope that Ryan would stay here, or at least take on assignments that didn’t take him into such immediate danger. After breakfast, they walked back to the house, chatting companionably. At the bottom of the porch steps, Ryan stopped and turned to her. “I had a nice time,” he said. Kayla nodded, feeling a blush coming on, something she felt happened way too easily.“Me, too. Thanks for breakfast.” “You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I guess I should let you get to work.” “Actually, I have a little bit of time. I was really hoping to see some of your photographs, if it’s okay.” Ryan looked at her with an expression of surprise. “You want to see my shots?” He sounded like he didn’t think she’d have been interested in his work in a million years. “Yes, I really do.” A shy smile came to his lips. “Okay. I’ll get them and bring them down.” ***** Sitting close together on Kayla’s futon, their thighs touching, Ryan passed the photographs to her one at a time, lifting them from the pile on his lap and setting them onto hers. Kayla stared, wide-eyed, at the shots of women in veils, and little children living in rubble- strewn neighborhoods. Other pictures were of machine-gun-toting soldiers, both American and Iraqi. The thing that struck Kayla so poignantly was the stark emotion of the subjects and the dramatic angles that brought her right into the picture, evoking her own feelings. “Ryan, these photos are incredible. You’re a terrific photographer.” “Thanks. You really think so?” “Absolutely.”She held up a picture of a little girl with wide, dark eyes, looking into the lens with a haunting expression of sadness. “This is unbelievable. I love it. This one’s my favorite, I think.My gosh , what a beautiful little girl.” She shook her head. “What a world she has to grow up in.” “I’ll make you a copy of that one, if you’d like.”

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Kayla looked at him. “Would you? Thanks!” Ryan’s dark eyes gazed at her as if he still couldn’t believe she liked his work so much, and Kayla sensed a conflict going on inside him, as if he were trying to decide whether to believe her. “I’ll frame it and put it up right here in the living room,” she added. “Wow, I don’t think anyone has ever framed one of my pictures. Well, except my mother. But you expect a mother to do that.” Kayla snorted. “Not necessarily.” He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? Your mom wouldn’t do something like that?” She shook her head. “No. I talk to her about once a week, and she rarely even asks me how my writing is going. She’s kind of selfish.” “Oh. Sorry.” Ryan’s sympathy sounded heartfelt. “Don’t be. It’s okay. I was mad at her for a long time, until I realized that she was just that way and I could still have my own life.” They were silent another moment before Ryan lifted the pile of photographs gently from Kayla’s lap. The brush of his hand against the tops of her thighs sent warm tingles through her denim skirt. “Speaking of mothers,” he said, “I promised mine I’d go over there and spend time with her today. It was her condition for letting me stay here with Shawn instead of at her house.” Kayla smiled. “I understand.” “And that leaves you time to write.” He stood up, the photographs tucked in the crook of his arm. He looked down at her, a glaze of shyness sweeping over his features. “I guess I’ll see you tonight.” Her cheeks warmed. “Yes, tonight.” He hesitated. “Thanks again for asking to see my work.” “No problem. It’s awesome.” A tiny smile curved his lips. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on her lips. It was brief and tentative, yet tender, and sent spirals of heat through Kayla’s body. He lifted his lips away and looked at her a moment longer. “See you later.” She nodded, momentarily unable to speak in the aftermath of the sweet kiss. She watched Ryan go out the door. Chapter Ten

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Violette caught her breath upon her first glimpse of Charles Carrick.Ethan’s junior by three years, Charles possessed the same rugged features, strong jaw, piercing dark eyes, and powerful build. The only physical difference between them was Charles’s hair color, the hue of soft sand. Charles looked up at her from his wheelchair, his eyes wide, as if he were seeing a ghost. His firm, masculine lips curled in a snarl, showing her how bitter his experiences had left him. For a mere moment, she detected a softening in his gaze as it roved the length of her figure, from her hair, down her dress and stockings, to the low, delicate heels of her shoes. “Violette, I presume?” His tweed jacket bunched as he wheeled himself over the library’s Oriental carpet, closer to where she stood in the doorway. “Ethantelegrammed me he was bringing you here.” The hard tone in his voice was reflected in his eyes, and the gentle appreciation she’d seen in them vanished. “Yes. I’m pleased to meet you.” Her pulse quickened. She felt as if she was invading his privacy, yet she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. In spite of the fact that Ethan had made passionate love to her the night before, something about the man in front of her moved her. Perhaps if Ethan’s attachment to her had been more than physical, she would have been content, but it wasn’t, and she craved something more.Which was precisely why she had fled her home in the first place. She waited for Charles to invite her to sit by the fire. No such invitation was forthcoming. “Ethan seems to think I need a nursemaid,” he said, wheeling around so that his back was to her. “I assure you, I do fine on my own.” Violette cleared her throat. “I don’t wish to patronize you, Mr. Carrick. Your brother is concerned. He cares about you. He thought you might want some company.”

Kayla sipped her coffee while she perused Valerie’s progress on the manuscript. The writer had gotten a little bit further than this scene before her accident. Not much longer before the first ménage love scene with Violette, Charles, and Ethan. Already, her lovemaking with Shawn and Ryan had enriched her perspective, she noticed as she read the scene between Violette and Charles. There was so much that could change to enhance this scene alone. The fact that in real life Ryan was a photographer, a creative person, gave her the idea to make Charles a sculptor or painter. She could play with this scene. Charles didn’t have to be bitter, did he? He could be complex, someone who dealt with his injuries by channeling creative energy. An idea hit her. What if Charles didn’t know Violette was coming? What if he assumed his brother had found her to model for one of his paintings or sculptures? In that case, he would greet her when she went into the room and tell her to get undressed, assuming she knew she was there to model. Kayla grinned to herself over the rim of her coffee cup. The ideas were flowing in the juiciest, most intriguing way. She didn’t like Charles’s surliness. Ethan’s character was already dark and intense. She decided to make Charles friendlier, someone who put Violette at ease and captured her heart with his gentle nature. Also, having Charles ask Violette to take her clothes off from the get-go would make for immediate sizzle and quite interesting dialogue. The passion between them would flow quite naturally. And then,a

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segue to the ménage would also follow. The possibilities seemed endless. She set the mug down on the kitchen table, taking a moment to remember the night before. She closed her eyes, recalling the way Ryan had gotten her wet and wanting while they were still in the truck, the torrid eroticism of having Shawn watch while Ryan was on top of her, inside her. Her sex began to pulse again. If Shawn and Ryan were home right now, she’d march upstairs and beg them to make love to her again. But Shawn had gone into the shop early this morning, and Ryan was visiting his mom. She thought about Ryan. Something about him reminded her a bit of Charles’s character in the book. He seemed sad about something. He’d been a wonderful and sensuous lover last night, but she felt a part of him had remained distant, unable or unwilling to become emotionally part of the threesome. Kayla sighed as she pensively sipped her coffee. There were so many reasons Ryan could have been that way, not the least of them a product of having spent all that time in Iraq. She couldn’t imagine someone not being affected by such an intense environment.That, and his terrible experience with losing Peggy. She looked at the screen of her laptop, intending to continue readingBetween Two Captains , but the clock on the corner of the screen told her it was time to get ready for work. Reluctantly, she rose from her chair to shower and dress. Eight o’clock that night seemed like an eternity away to see Shawn again. He and Ryan were going to meet her in the Square for supper and then head back home for some more “research.” Shoot, if all research could be like this, maybe she would switch careers and simply become a researcher. As she put her mug in the sink and went into the hallway toward her bedroom, she began to think that maybe there was something to Valerie Martin’s writingphilosophy ... ***** “Hey, Ryan, is something wrong?” Shawn frowned at his brother’s pensive expression. They stood on the sidewalk outside the café where Kayla worked, waiting for her to finish. All around them, the crowds of the summer evening thronged down the sidewalk. In the background of people noise, the Andean music of a group of street musicians wafted through the air, mingling with the traffic sounds. Shawn had been concerned about his brother since the moment he’d seen him coming out of the gate at the airport. It couldn’t have been easy for him this past year, working in the middle of a war zone. Some of his colleagues hadn’t returned and never would. Shawn didn’t want to underestimate the toll this could take on Ryan. “You’re my little brother. I worry about you, you know?” Ryan shrugged. He’d never been one to talk easily about his feelings, even with his brother. Their dad’s death had hit Ryan the hardest, when he was just entering adolescence. Ever since then, he’d been quiet, driving himself very hard in school and then with his career. If Shawn hadn’t encouraged him to develop his artistic tendencies, Ryan would have ended up in an office, pushing his way up the corporate ladder in a place completely unsuited to his nature. Peggy’s leaving them had only worsened his tendency to close up.

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“I don’t know. I’m tense, I guess. I can’t get used to the idea that I can walk around out here and not have to ... worry.” Shawn nodded and patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah, that must be rough.” He cleared his throat. Actually,Ry , I was hoping you’d stay around.” “I will for a while.” “I didn’t mean for a while, Ryan. I meant for real.To live.” He lifted his hands in a pleading gesture. “You know you have a place with me.” He watched Ryan’s face for his reaction. Ryan pushed his hands into his jeans pockets. “I know. Thanks.” Shawn sighed. “There’s a ‘but’ behind that thanks. I can hear it. I hope I didn’t force last night on you.” To his relief, Ryan shook his head. “Hell, no, you didn’t. What guy would pass that up? She’s a knockout and just as sweet. You lucked out.” “Sounds like you like her.” Shawn felt hopeful, although there was something in Ryan’s responses that bothered him. He could only hope Ryan would open up about it. “I do like her.A lot.” Shawn listened carefully to the tone in his brother’s voice. “Sounds like you don’t want to like her.” Ryan sighed, and Shawn recognized the expression Ryan had always worn since he was a kid, whenever he finally decided to ’fess up about his feelings. “You should have been a psychologist, Shawn.” He smiled. “It’s not too late for that, I suppose.” “Well, you’re right. I don’t want to like her. She’s everything I would want in a woman.Everything. Right down to the way she adored my photographs.” “And this is bad?” Ryan sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “No. It’s not bad. I just don’t want ... I don’t want her to be another Peggy. It still hurts. It never went away. I loved her, man. I can’t go through that again.” Shawn put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. Ryan had always brought out his protective, fatherly streak, even though they were only a few years apart. Once their dad had passed away, Ryan had needed Shawn to look up to, and old habits died hard, for both of them. “Ryan, truthfully, I can’t guarantee you anything. Relationships are messy, and there are always risks. But I honestly believe that what happened with Peggywon’t happen with Kayla. First of all, she’s older than Peggy. She’s experienced a lot of loneliness, bad relationships. She really appreciates what she has. I told you, she turned to me and said she was going to give up this assignment because being with me was more important to her. She’s got guts and heart.”

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Ryan exhaled. “I know, but ...” He fell silent. Shawn squeezed his shoulder. “Look, after what I went through with Joanne, I wasn’t too anxious to get involved with someone, but, well, this is different. You can’t control when the right person comes along. Kind of does away with the plans in your mind.” Ryan didn’t answer. “Just give yourself time, Ryan. Don’t worry.” Shawn saw Kayla walking out the door of the café. Her blond hair was pulled back, and she wore that sexy denim skirt that stopped just above her knees. He loved the way her calves sloped, tapering to narrow ankles. Funny the things a guy found attractive in a woman. He also really liked the way her blue eyes lit up and the sweet smile that spread across her lips when she saw him. Shawn watched a delicate bloom of pink color her cheeks as she approached him and Ryan. He grinned, knowing exactly the cause of her blush. When she reached him, he held his hand out to her, drawing her close to him for a kiss on the cheek. She hugged him and then turned to Ryan, embracing him and reaching up to kiss his cheek. Shawn watched Ryan’s face for his response to Kayla. To his relief, Ryan smiled, and Shawn saw that his brother was really glad to see her. He only hoped Ryan would let himself love again. Love Kayla. Kayla turned again to Shawn and slipped her arm through his, drawing close. Down below, his groin immediately tightened. “So,” she said. “Where do you want to go to eat?” Shawn looked at her, wanting nothing more than to divest her of her white t-shirt and little denim skirt. “I was thinking, maybe we could just take out a couple of pizzas and go home.” He watched her cheeks flush pink again. She smiled, her blue eyes darkening slightly.“Sounds good to me.” “Ryan?” Ryan grinned. “Let’s go.” ***** Peter Morgan put his seat back and removed the headphones. The movie wasn’t interesting, and anyway, the altitude of their plane made his ears pop so much he couldn’t concentrate. And he was tired. With any luck, they’d be landing in the next couple of hours and getting through customs would go smoothly. When the flight attendant passed by with the beverage cart, he ordered himself a Diet Coke and a Perrier for his wife. Christianeput her hand gently over his. “Are you certain,cheri ,zat it was wise not to tell your sister you are coming?”

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He linked his fingers withChristiane’s and turned to her. “I wanted it to be a surprise, honey. Kayla tells me each time we talk how much she misses me. We were always pretty close. I basically raised her. Besides, she hasn’t met you yet, and I wanted it to be an extra big treat.” Christianeshook her head of golden waves, looking doubtful. “What if she isn’t home? You will be so disappointed.” Peter chuckled. “If I know Kayla, she’ll be home. She never really goes anywhere. She’s kind of ... boring.” Christiane’sgreen eyes widened. “Pierre,zat’s a terrible zing to say about your ownseester !” He looked at her, charmed at how her French accent thickened whenever she was astonished or reproachful. “I didn’t say it to be mean, or even critical. It’s just the way she is.” “Well, Pierre, everyone has a wild part ofzem , you know.” Peter stiffened and felt heat gather under the collar of his polo shirt. He undid the top button. “Hey, this is my little sister you’re talking about.” “Oui,moncher, I know. But if you remember, I used tozink you were a bitennuyant yourself.Zat is, until you showed me your --” “Christiane!Hush.” He leaned in to her. “We’re in public,” he whispered. She winked at him, her green eyes twinkling.“Precisely.” Peter stared at her, feeling a touch jittery all of a sudden. Why didChristiane have to try and make him feel nervous about his sister? He’d never been terribly concerned about Kayla doing anything crazy. She’d always been a tame girl who got good grades in school and never dated more than one guy at a time. As far as he knew, she’d only been serious -- i.e. slept with -- two guys at the most in her twenty-nine years. He shook his head and took a sip of his soda.Nah. There was nothing to worry about. Kayla wasn’t the type to get aroused by kinky things like, for example, having sex in public or anywhere there was a risk of being found. And he only liked to do that once in a while. He closed his eyes, his fingers still intertwined withChristiane’s . He began to relax a bit. If he knew his sister, he’d find her sitting in front of the television, watching one of those spaghetti westerns she enjoyed so much, with a pizza box open on the coffee table in front of her.Alone. Chapter Eleven

“Okay, so how are you going to introduce the whole ménage thing into the story?” Shawn looked at her. He was halfway through his third slice of pizza. The three of them had nearly annihilated the first pie and had already discussed opening the second box, which sat under the one open on the coffee table in Kayla’s living room. A Beatles CD played in the background, and the room was filled with the aroma of melted mozzarella and tomato sauce.

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She sat next to him on the futon, with her plate on her lap. Kayla considered his question as he chewed a bite of pizza. She’d given the matter some thought, but hadn’t formulated a clear idea about it. “Well, I’m not sure yet. Here’s the situation. Violette feels rejected by Ethan because he won’t go near her. She believes he only made love to her that first time because she demanded it of him. She loves him and is grateful to him for the way he helped her, and she’s also grown to love Charles, probably because she feels he needs her in a way Ethan doesn’t. And Charlesis genuinely falling in love with her, too.” “Does Ethan realize what’s going on?” Ryan asked from his place on the floor on the other side of the mission-style coffee table. Kayla nodded. “Yes. Valerie has written in that much.” She quickly relayed her idea about Violette ending up modeling nude for Charles’s paintings. Both Shawn and Ryan greeted her idea enthusiastically. “How does Ethan feel about her deepening relationship with Charles?” Shawn asked. “Well, at first, he’s jealous, but then he admits, at least to himself, that he’s not exactly warm and loving with Violette. He’s never touched her since that first time, and she has no real reasonnot to love someone else. He’s beginning to search for a way to prove to her he loves her. He’s not used to expressing what’s in his heart and goes about it in a more indirect way.” “I know,” Shawn said. “He tells Violette to be with Charles because he knows how she feels about him, and he wants both her and his brother to be happy, right?” “Mm.”Kayla nodded while she chewed another bite of pizza and washed it down with a sip of wine cooler. “So that’s where I pick up the writing. The last scene Valerie wrote before her accident was this one, where Ethan tells her to go to Charles.” She fell silent and began to eat the crust of her third slice. Shawn looked at her thoughtfully. “You’re stuck there, aren’t you?” “Yes, at the moment. Even though I’ve now had the experience of ...” She hesitated on the word “ménage” as her heart rate sped up suddenly. “... aménage. But in writing fiction, the whole situation has to be introduced in way that’s believable to the reader. The emotions of the people involved have to lend themselves to the men sharing the woman. I just have to get the dialogue going, I guess, and then it will flow.” Her face heated as she spoke. Shawn and Ryan were quite an attentive audience, and she was unaccustomed to the rapt expressions that had come over their faces, as much as she was still getting used to having two wonderful men want her so much. Shawn’s brows furrowed. “What about the way I proposed it to you?” Kayla reflected. “I’m not sure. For us, it was credible because you were touched by the choice I’d made, and it was your way of expressing love and gratitude in return. InViolette’s case, she’s in a situation where she’s under duress. She doesn’t feel loved by Ethan and is hungry for that deeper connection. So, it’s quite complicated.” Shawn’s blue eyes lit up suddenly, and he put his plate on the coffee table. “I just had an idea. You want to hear it?” She set down her plate and wiped her fingers with her napkin.“Definitely.” He leaned in closer to her. “When you said that bit about creating a believable situation, I had to put

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myself in the characters’ places. Okay, what if this is Ethan’s chance to break down a bit and confess how he feels? You know,tell her the real reason for why he’s saying this. Then, she’ll be touched, happy that he does actually love her, but by this time, it’s too late, in the sense that she’s in love with both men. They can conclude that a ménage is the perfect solution.” Kayla smiled, feeling the rest of the story fall into place from Shawn’s idea. Now, it would just be a matter of writing the scenes to fit the storyline. “It works for me.” Shawn turned to his brother. “What do you think,Ry ? You’re a writer.” Ryan nodded. “It does sound good. The way you presented it, all the loose ends are tied up neatly, and the guys get the girl.” Kayla couldn’t help noticing the sadness in Ryan’s voice. “Okay,” Shawn said. “Now, let’s imagine that first scene between Violette and her two men.” His voice had already fallen several notches to husky, and he moved closer to her, pulling away one of the decorative pillows so that there were no obstacles between him and her. “Where are they? How are they dressed?” His shoulders and chest muscles flexed against his t-shirt as he inched closer to her. The soft glow of lamplight gleamed in his blond hair. Kayla’s breathing deepened. “Perhaps they’re sitting much like this.In a den or a study, by the fire.Fully clothed.” She glanced at Ryan, who was watching her intently, his dark eyes smoldering. The glaze of desire in them caused her nipples to tingle, and her breasts surged with the deep breath she took. Shawn reached out and touched her cheek. “Ethan is saying to her right now, ‘I want you to be with Charles. I see the desire you have for each other. I’m not blind.’ What is her response?” Kayla looked at him. A strange sensation overtook her, as if she could feelViolette’s character from the inside. “What are you saying, Captain?” Her voice was soft, hiding her dismay mingled with the exciting prospect of going to Charles’s bed. “What is this game you play with me?” Shawn frowned. “I’m not playing a game with you, Violette. I ... Charlesloves you.” Kayla felt a sweep of indignation. “You’re cruel, you know that? Using two people’s tender emotions for each other as a way to ridyourself of me. When arethey coming, sir?” “When are who coming?” “My father and Richard Graves.Surely you’ve told them I’m here now. Perhaps you lied and said I wasn’t ruined. I’m certain that your jealousy will not allow you to keep me under your roof a moment longer.” She started to rise, caught up in the role she was playing. Shawn grasped her arm, keeping her firmly in place. “I assure you I’ve not revealed your whereabouts to anyone, least of all those lowlifes.” He paused, gazing on her with tenderness and passion. “Violette, I’ve not treated you with love. I’m not gentle with you. I ... I know that.” Kayla’s heart fluttered, and her sex pulsed madly. In the book, Ethan had been incredibly tender with Violette in bed, much like Shawn was with her. “You were gentle with me, sir.” Her voice softened.“In

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private.” She heard Ryan’s breath catch softly and felt his gaze on her, watching, fascinated. “Perhaps.However, I still leave your heart unfulfilled. Charlie is a kind man. He gives you the attention and care that I don’t.” Kayla stared at him for several moments as her understanding of the character Ethan’s psyche dawned. “If I didn’t know better, Captain, I’d say this was your way of telling me you care for me.” Shawn nodded, fully engaged in his role as Ethan. “Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.” Damn, he was good! Kayla heaved a deep sigh. Her gaze was fixed on Shawn’s full, strong lips. All she wanted right now was him and Ryan all over her. However, she still feltViolette’s pain that Ethan would be so willing to let her go, even if it was out of love. “As kind as you are to wish my happiness with Charlie, it hurts that you don’t want me anymore.” “Don’t want you? Of course I want you.” Kayla looked at Ryan. “We’re speaking as if Charlie doesn’t even exist. He might have something to say about this.” Ryan blinked as if snapped out of a trance. Apparently, he’d considered himself more the audience than one of the characters. “Am I supposed to be Charlie now?” Shawn grinned.“Only if you want. But what do you think he’d say? Don’t forget, he’s in love with Violette. He knows she loves him back, but that she was once also Ethan’s lover and has feelings for him, too.” Ryan looked reflective for a moment. He cleared his throat after several quiet moments. In the background, a Paul McCartney CD played “Yesterday.” “I ... love Violette,” he said. “I want her.” He paused and looked at them. “Am I still in the wheelchair, by the way?” Kayla chuckled. “No. His love for Violette encouraged him to walk, which the doctors had told him he would someday. You’ve recovered enough to walk with a cane. You limp a bit, but that’s all.” Ryan nodded. “Because I love her so much, I can’t ask her to choose between us.” Kayla looked at him. “Charlie,” she said softly. She held her hand out to him. “Please come here.” Ryan rose from the floor and came around the table. He grasped her hand, sending electric warmth prickling through her skin. He sat down close beside her, his thigh pressing into hers. Kayla swallowed hard, her heart pounding, her breasts heaving. The warmth generated between the two powerful male bodies made her dizzy, stealing from her the capacity for rational thought. “I admit, at the risk of angering you both, that I couldn’t choose between you. No woman could.” Shawn leaned close to her, his breath warm on her skin. “Don’t choose, then, darling.” He punctuated his statement with a soft kiss on her lips. The kiss lasted only for a moment, yet left her nearly breathless. She opened her eyes when he lifted his lips from hers and blinked several times. “Thank you,” she whispered.

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She turned to Ryan, gazing at him from under heavy lids. “Kiss me, please.” Ryan reached up and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb over her lips. “Who are you?Violette or Kayla?” “Kayla,” she whispered. Her sex throbbed like crazy, and she felt her juices seeping out, making her slippery and ready. He smiled.“Good, because I like her.” He leaned over and slanted his mouth softly over hers. He skimmed the tip of his tongue across the seam of her lips before ending the kiss. Shawn took his turn with her again, taking her mouth deeper this time. He demanded the parting of her lips with his tongue, sliding it into her mouth with a possessive thrust. Kayla murmured a sigh. Shawn’s scent and taste filled her, and she melted, sagging against the back of the futon. She opened her eyes as Shawn pulled his mouth away, grinning at her like a Cheshire cat. “We’re at your disposal,” he said softly. “Whatever you want, you can have.” He leaned over and nibbled her earlobe, sending shivers through her. “Just tell us what you want,” Ryan said, brushing his hand across her breasts, over her t-shirt. “You want us to eat you?” Shawn’s blue eyes had darkened to a striking shade of cobalt. An errant lock of hair hung down over his forehead. He put his hand on her thigh,skating his fingertips up and down, teasing the sensitive skin dangerously close to her pussy. “We’ll take turns eating you while the other one sucks your delicious tits. Would you like that?” Ryan gently pinched down on her right nipple, as if to emphasize Shawn’s words. The pleasure of the tiny pinch was nearly blinding. “Yes!” she cried out softly. Shawn chuckled, reaching both hands under her skirt. He grabbed hold of her panties, slipping them down her legs and over her bare feet. Ryan took fistfuls of her t-shirt and pulled it up, bidding her to raise her arms. He let her shirt fall to the floor and undid her bra while Shawn unbuttoned her skirt and slid the zipper down, leaving her completely naked. “Please get undressed,” she breathed.“Both of you. I want to see your bodies.” They both grinned, this time seeming even more turned on by her fevered request. “As you wish,” Shawn said, immediately lifting his shirt off over his head. The movement tousled his hair and caused a ripple of flexing chest and abdominal muscles. The blond hair on his chest now gleamed in the soft light. She caught her breath and turned slightly to watch Ryan. He was wearing a button-down shirt, making the process more torturous, slowly revealing every inch of muscled chest covered with swirls of silky dark hair.

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Shawn stood up to pull off his jeans. He opened the button and pulled down the zipper, giving Kayla an eyeful of tight stomach and, below that, a thick nest of pubic hair. She noticed he wasn’t wearing his boxers. He slid the jeans down past his narrow hips, his erection springing free of its prison of clothing. In the next moment, he was completely naked. He pulled back the coffee table and knelt before her. Taking hold of her knees, he opened her legs. To her right, Ryan was pulling off his jeans, his gaze on her open sex, moist and glistening. Shawn reached out and rubbed her swollen clit with his thumb. He bent his head down and flicked the tip of his tongue along her inner thigh, stopping at several points to suckle on the sensitive flesh. Ryan bent over her, capturing her cries of pleasure with his kiss. His hands made light, soft circles over her breasts and nipples, rotating the rosy buds into stiff peaks. Kayla sank back against the futon, lost in a mindless world of pleasure. She closed her eyes, one hand wound into Shawn’s hair and the other in Ryan’s. She felt Shawn’s face move forward, his lips skimming her slick flesh. A hot, moist stroke moved over her clit, back and forth, with just enough pressure to send waves of white-hot bliss through the tiny nub. She sucked in a breath as her pussy muscles clenched. As if on cue, Ryan pulled his mouth from hers and bent his head to her breast, capturing one of her nipples in the moist, warm suction of his lips. He tugged gently, distending the hard peak. The tingling pull made an invisible line of fire right down to her sex, pooling in the swollen flesh under Shawn’s mouth. She moaned and arched her pelvis toward him. He responded with the warm slide of his strong hands cupping her buttocks, pulling her clit tighter against his feasting tongue. He slipped a finger inside her, sliding it in and out, sending her over the edge. Her vaginal muscles clenched again.Waves of orgasm plowed through, emanating from around her clit and spreading through her whole sex. Her belly burned deep inside, and she bucked her hips, her cries ringing out. Ryan pulled away from her breast and took her lips. Kayla went limp on the cushions, breathing heavily, her mouth open against Ryan’s, their breaths intermingling with her sighs of satisfaction. She felt Shawn nuzzle her inner thigh, then rest his cheek there. Kayla finally lifted her mouth away and looked down her body at Shawn. She smiled lazily. “What next, my lady?” Shawnasked, his sensuous lips in a pouting grin. Ryan stirred against her, his erection pressing into her hip. The sensation filled her with the sudden hunger to taste him. “I want to do for you both what you did for me.” Shawn raised his eyebrows.“Sounds intriguing.” Kayla felt deliciously wicked, like a decadent child in the most wonderful playground in creation. She thought of Shawn’s penchant for voyeurism. “I want you to watch me suck Ryan’s cock,” she said in the silkiest voice she could muster. Her words visibly hit their mark. Shawn’s lids closed halfway over his dusky azure pools, and his breath

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caught softly. She smiled with satisfaction and leaned over to kiss Shawn. The tang of her musk coated his lips. She kissed him open-mouthed, her tongue flicking over his bottom lip, lapping up her own salty juices. Her hand wandered lazily to Ryan’s cock, finding the velvety skin, rubbing the pads of her fingertips up and down, over the swollen head, down the shaft, and over his balls, which she gave a gentle squeeze. Shawn was panting into her mouth, his arousal silently urging her to give him some visual pleasure. She pulled away from their kiss, grinning down at him wickedly. She slid off the futon and onto her knees,then bent over Ryan’s groin, guiding his cock to her mouth. He sucked in his breath with the first slide of her tongue across the head. She swiveled her tongue over the dark pink flesh, pushing the tip of her tongue into the tiny opening. He moaned and wound his fingers into her hair. From the corner of her eye, Kayla saw Shawn watching her from under heavy lids, his lips slightly parted, breathing heavily. Satisfied at his enjoyment, she closed her eyes and put her full attention on Ryan’s cock, sheathing it in her mouth further and sliding her tongue up and down the hard length. He tasted delicious and musky. The feel of his erection pulsing against her tongue renewed the throbbing in her pussy. She receded up to the head, plunging back down, taking in as much of him as she could. He groaned and whispered her name. Kayla increased the rhythm of her movements, sliding her hands over his hips. In the background, she heard the small sound of a foil packet being ripped open, followed a few moments later by Shawn’s hands closing on her hips, pulling her backside out toward him. His fingertips probed her opening, spreading her pussy lips apart. The head of his cock pushed into her, pressing deliciously against her clit. She moaned around Ryan’s shaft, massaging the base with the palm of her hand as she continued to anoint the silky, veined skin. Shawn anchored his hold on her hips and pushed deeply into her, all the way until their bodies met. His large hands tightened on her hips as he ground against her, rubbing against her sweet spot, shattering her senses. Kayla moaned again as Shawn’s erection filled her, pressing sensuously against the walls of her sheath, pulsing against her clit. She increased the pressure of her lips around Ryan’s cock, eliciting one groan after another, his fingers grasping her hair in a rhythm that matched the bobbing of her head. Behind her, Shawn’s strong torso leaned over her back, his lips pressing onto her damp skin. He pulled her pelvis tightly against his and reached his hand around her front to rub her clit. The delicious friction sent her spilling over the edge again, her pussy muscles clamping around Shawn’s cock as the orgasm ripped through her. Her lips tightened around Ryan’s shaft, and she tasted salty droplets of pre-come on her tongue. “Kayla,” Shawn whispered roughly, his body jerking inside her.

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She felt the pulsing of his climax inside her, and he locked his arms around her stomach, resting his heaving chest on her back. She pulled her mouth off of Ryan to catch her breath. His cock still throbbed, seeming to beg her for release. He smoothed back her hair, looking down at her with dark velvet eyes. His handsome face was flushed with want. She smiled up at him. “I want to please you,” she whispered. Shawn pulled out of her with a kiss on her back. He reached into the pocket of his jeans lying nearby on the floor and pulled out a foil packet, which he handed to her. She ripped it open and rolled the condom onto Ryan, then rose up and straddled him where he sat. Anchoring her hands on his shoulders, she impaled herself slowly on his cock, which he held upward for her. His hard length filled her deliciously. She leaned forward and kissed him deeply as she began to rock back and forth against him. He moaned into her mouth, his hands splaying on her hips. Kayla squeezed the ring of her vaginal muscles around Ryan’s cock. He groaned and threw his head back, ending their kiss, his chest heaving. She felt a third hand on her, toying with her breast, and opened her eyes. Shawn was sitting next to them, watching her while he caressed her. She moved her right arm off Ryan’s shoulder so Shawn could lean in andkiss her. His lips were warm and soft, and his tongue invaded her mouth. Locking her arm lightly around Shawn’s head, she kissed him hungrily, feeling a third orgasm build in her sex. Shawn held her steady with his hand on her upper arm,then pulled his lips from hers to bend down and suckle her breast. He tugged her nipple greedily, sending heat shooting to the crevice where she and Ryan were joined. Ryan pulled her against him, and she went over the edge, an orgasm pulsing through her pussy. Shawn lifted his head away, and she put her hands on the top of the futon cushion, bracing herself to ride Ryan’s cock harder. She squeezed him again as she worked him up and down, bringing him closer to his own fulfillment. In the next moment, his fingers tightened on her hips, and she felt the jerking and pulsing of his climax inside her. She rode him until his body unclenched and she felt him relax, then stopped her movements and sat astride him, raking her fingertips over his soft chest hair. After several minutes, Shawn reached out and helped Kayla slide off of Ryan. He pulled her gently against him, bringing her to lie with her butt in his lap and her legs draped across Ryan’s lap. She leaned back against Shawn, breathing in the musky scent of sex rising from their three damp bodies, and reached for Ryan’s hand, lacing her fingers through his. “You guys are spoiling the hell out of me,” she murmured, her eyes closing contentedly. Shawn reached up and caressed her hair. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. In the stereo, the CD had changed to the soft, ethereal tones ofEnya , and Kayla let the sounds caress her along with Shawn’s and Ryan’s hands. In her peripheral vision, the glow of a car’s headlights shone around the closed blinds on the living room window.

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She sighed and snuggled in comfortably, her body warm and molded to the two men underneath her. The sound of footsteps outside and a key in the lock of her front door made her eyes fly open. She gasped and sat up, her gaze flying to the door as it opened. Frozen like a deer in headlights, she found herself staring back at her brother and his wife, both watching her draped naked over two equally naked men. Chapter Twelve

“Kayla, what the hell is going on?” Kayla clenched her teeth, her cheeks prickling with lava-like heat. “Turn around!” she shouted, scrambling to her feet and snatching a pile of clothes. At least Peter and his wife had the grace to turn immediately at her shout. “I told you we should have called her first,” she heardChristiane say. “Zisis a terrible invasion.” Her sister-in-law’s kindness made her immediately like her. If she had to get barged in on by her older brother, thank GodChristiane was there, too. Ryan and Shawn extricated their clothing from her hands and began to dress hurriedly. Kayla glanced at Shawn, who looked concerned, but not alarmed. Ryan, however, looked morose as he pulled his jeans on. “Thanks,Christiane ,” Peter answered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I just walked in and found my little sister naked with two men, and all you care about is that we interrupted her.” Christianechuckled. “Dammit, woman, how can you laugh at a time like this?” “Easily,moncher ,” she answered. “I am French.” Kayla hooked her bra and pulled the straps up. Shawn held her t-shirt out for her, helping her slip it over her arms and head. She was glad for his calm demeanor. Whenher , Shawn’s, and Ryan’s nakedness had been fully concealed, she turned to her brother, glowering at the back of his navy-blue polo shirt. “You can turn around now.” As he did, she watched him take in the disheveled room, the cushions strewn on the floor, the pizza boxes, plates, and wine cooler bottles. She knew exactly what he was thinking -- Roman-style orgy. Strangely, she was glad to see her brother, but she would have done anything to change the circumstances. “Hi, Peter. I didn’t know you were coming home.” “Do you want us to leave?” Shawn asked her softly. She shook her head. She felt safer with him there. “No.” Peter sighed. “I wanted to surprise you.”

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His confession of brotherly affection smoothed her ruffles a bit, and she couldn’t help smiling. After all, Peter had flown all the way across the Atlantic to surprise her. “Well, you did.” “This isn’t funny, Kay.” Peter shook a finger at her like she was a little girl who’d eaten candy before supper. “I thought you were trustworthy. I’d always believed you to be a moral person and now --” “Hey!” Shawn’s voice cut Peter off. “Mind your own business, Shawn,” Peter answered. “You know him?”Christiane asked. “He’s my mechanic.Wasmy mechanic. What is it with the women in this family and mechanics?” “Zeyare talented withzeir hands,”Christiane interjected. “Christiane!”Peter said. “Kayla’s the finest woman I’ve ever met,” Shawn said. “She’s kind and loving and sweet and sensitive.” Warmth spread all through Kayla at Shawn’s words, right to her toes. “Not to mention she has impeccable taste in men.”Christiane’s green eyes twinkled. Kayla snickered. Shawn grinned. “Thanks.” He looked again at Peter. “I’m sorry we upset you, Peter. But I love her.” Kayla’s gaze flew to his face. The room tilted. “You do?” she heard herself say. He looked at her, his blue eyes radiating tenderness. “Yes, I do. Couldn’t you tell?” Kayla could not prevent the grin that spread across her face, tensing her cheeks. “Yes. It’s just so ... hard to believe.” She looked at her brother. “He loves me, and I love him.” She looked at Ryan, whose face emanated upset. She reached for his hand. “I’m growing to love Ryan, too,” she said. Ryan looked at her, his brown eyes wide. “You are?” She smiled up at him, nodding. “Yes.” Christianenudged her husband’s side with an elbow. “And you told me she was boring.” Peter’s face flushed scarlet, and he shot a withering glare at his wife. She continued to smile, her eyes sparkling with mischief, not unlike the way Shawn’s did much of the time. “Christiane, I’m so glad to meet you finally,” Kayla said. “I am pleased to meet you, too, Kayla.” Kayla smiled at her sister-in-law, a pretty woman with a delicate, heart-shaped face, owl-huge green eyes, and flaxen hair. She looked like a runway model in herhoundstooth skirt suit.Beautiful, sweet, and

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funny. No wonder Peter was so wild about her. He had to be. It had been quite a stretch for her staid, accountant-banker brother to take the plunge in France. She breathed a sigh of relief. “How about I make some coffee, and we can all get acquainted?” ***** Two hours later, Kayla trudged up the stairs after Shawn, with Ryan behind her. Things had gone well with Peter, and the five of them had had a nice chat over coffee. Shawn and Ryan had helped her straighten the living room and do the dishes, while Peter andChristiane settled into Peter’s bedroom. Although she was relieved that Peter had calmed down and ended up being supportive of her relationship with Shawn and Ryan, she felt troubled by Ryan’s quiet, almost sullen demeanor. Her confession of growing love for him had not seemed to dispel the dark cloud over him. She found herself worrying that he was angry with her for some reason, and the thought distressed her. They went into Shawn’s bedroom. Shawn turned down the covers and stripped off his t-shirt. Kayla sat on the edge of the bed, watching Ryan unbutton his shirt. “Ryan, can I ask you something?” He turned to her. “Sure.” She felt Shawn’s weight on the bed as he sat down on the edge close by. “You seem really upset. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Ryan finished unbuttoning his shirt and slipped it off, hanging it over a nearby chair. He sighed and stood, leaning his weight on one foot, his hand resting on the back of the chair. “I appreciated what you said downstairs, Kayla, about how you’re coming to love me.” Kayla furrowed her brow. “I’m confused. That doesn’t sound like something to be unhappy about.” “Ryan’s afraid to haveanother heartbreak , like he had with Peggy.” Ryan shot his brother a look. “Shawn.” “Sorry,Ry .I can’t help being the overprotective big brother in times like this.” Kayla stood up and went over to him. “It’sokay, Ryan.” She put her hand on his arm, feeling the hard muscle quiver at her touch. He looked down, obviously avoiding her gaze. She squeezed his arm tenderly. “I know you barely know me. I can understand you’d be afraid.” She smiled. “But I don’t plan on going anywhere. You’re a wonderful man.” She picked up his hand and pressed it to her lips. When she looked up at him, she was surprised to see his dark eyes mist over. “When a woman has this kind of incredible fortune, she’d be crazy to give it up, ever.” Thankfully, Ryan smiled. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “Thanks, Kayla.” His hand came up to cradle the back of her head, his fingers weaving into her hair.

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“Give it time, Ryan,” Shawn said from his seat on the bed. “You’ll see; it’ll work out.” He paused and cleared his throat as Kayla and Ryan pulled back from the embrace. He grinned at his brother. “But you’ll have to stick around long enough to find that out.” ***** One monthlater ...

“Kayla, this manuscript is incredible!” Lauren Danner’s voice beamed right through the phone. “Valerie will be thrilled. She’s recovering quite nicely and will be well enough to do the edits. But I can tell you now, I don’t see anything major that needs work here.Incredible, Kayla.Just stupendous!” Kayla’s heart sped up, and her hand shook as she held the phone. The first thing she’d do after hanging up was go to Shawn’s shop and tell him in person what Lauren had said. Ryan was in D.C. for a staff meeting, so she’d tell him that night, when he called. Thank God, he’d be back in a couple of days. Then they could reallycelebrate ... “Thanks so much, Lauren. I’ve appreciated the opportunity.” “No, sweetie, I’m the one who’s appreciative. You not only captured the eroticism of the ménage scenes, but the way you interwove the relationships between Violette and the two men! I felt like I was there. And that first conversation when Ethan tells her she doesn’t have to choose between them -- I didn’t know whether to take a cold shower, or break out the Kleenex to wipe my tears!” Kayla’s face heated, remembering the birth of that scene. “May I ask you a personal question?” Lauren’s voice lowered conspiratorially. “Um, I guess so.” “The emotion you portrayed so well between the characters -- you couldn’t have gleaned that from using a male escort service. I was wondering how you were able to convey such feelings of love from a simply erotic experience.” Kayla’s heart fluttered again. Lauren was a sharp woman. “Well, I ... fell in love.Twice.” A moment of silence passed on the other end. “My gosh, Kayla, that issooo incredibly hot and romantic. You lucky thing!” Kayla chuckled. “Yes, I’m very lucky.” “Well, my dear, your luck is about to increase. What say you send me something of yours, and I’ll try to find placement in New York for it?” She let out a small gasp and put her hand over her heart. “I ... I’d love to. I just don’t have anything written yet.” “That’s not a problem. Take a few months; write something like you wrote for Valerie, only in your own voice. You have the wonderful experience now that you need. When it’s finished, e-mail it to me. We’ll

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get it cleaned up and start sending it out. What do you say?” Hot tears rushed her eyes and slipped out onto her cheeks. She swabbed at them with the heel of her hand. “Um ... I say yes.” “Great! Well, I’m going to go now and give Valerie a call to let her know the manuscript is finished. That stress off her alone will help her feel better.” “Okay. I’ll be in touch when I’ve got something written.” “Sure thing.And Kayla?” “Yes?” “Congratulations.” Epilogue

Not quite two yearslater ...

“Here’s to our girl.” Shawn raised his champagne glass, holding it over the center of the table. Dressed in a dark suit and tie, he looked more like he should be at the Oscars, toasting Harrison Ford, rather than in a nice Italian restaurant in the North End, celebrating the upcoming release ofTwo Men and a Lady. Ryan and Kayla lifted their glasses. Ryan looked at her. The candlelight cast a soft glow on his dark hair and in his eyes.“To Kayla, for having the guts to overcome her fear about becoming a famous author.” He smiled at her, his eyes full of love. Kayla giggled softly,clinking her glass against theirs. “Come on, guys, it’s notthat big a deal.” She took a small sip of her champagne. They were both staring at her in silence. She put down her glass. “Okay, it’s a big deal.” Shawn grinned. “You bet it is, woman. We’re proud of you.” He sipped his champagne and set the glass down. “I knew all along you had it in you. In that moment when you told me you were choosing me over writing that book, I thought,There’s a woman with guts. ” “And then, when your brother walked in on us,” Ryan said. “You stood up to him, the way you wanted us to stay with you. And then you told him point blank you loved us.” He shook his head. “You’re the only one who didn’t see how courageous you really are.”

Kayla’s blood sang through her veins, and it wasn’t only from the champagne. She looked down at the

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white linen tablecloth. “You guys brought it out in me. I lived like a wallflower before you came into my life.Both of you.” She looked at both of them. “Really, I felt like I finally had something worth standing up for.” “I love you, Kay,” Shawn said. “I love you, too, Kayla.” Ryan reached out and touched her cheek. Kayla blinked back hot, salty tears. “I love you guys, more than anything.” “We know.” Shawn reached for her hand and squeezed it. “So,” Ryan began after a couple of moments’ silence. “This night is your celebration, Kayla. After dinner, what do you want to do? Anything you want.” She looked at him, blotting an escaped tear with her linen napkin. “I have everything I want already.” “That’s sweet,” Shawn said, “But we really want to do something special for you.” Kayla sighed.“All right. Give me a minute to reflect.” She fell silent and took another sip of champagne just as the waiter served their salads. She thought about the possibilities of what she might want. They’d already gone to Paris last year and visited Peter andChristiane , so she didn’t really feel like traveling somewhere. There was nothing she wanted; she already felt like the richest woman in the world. No, her greatest pleasure aside from writing erotic romance was having it. She liked nothing better than slipping under the sheets between the two men she loved and feeling their hard, naked bodies surrounding her. She never tired of it. She teetered on the verge of refusing anything special, but their expectant gazes made her feel guilty. They so much wanted to make her happy. As if they already hadn’t! Then an idea lit in her mind, shooting tingling heat straight into her slit. She shifted in her seat. There was only one thing she could think of, something that they hadn’t tried in bed, even after two years. Not because they didn’t want to, but because they always got so heated up and finished before trying it. “Okay, there is one thing.” Shawn’s eyes lit up, and he leaned forward. “What is it, Kay?” She felt herselfblush, knowing the dim lighting in the restaurant hid the color in her cheeks. A wicked grin spread across her face. She leaned in, beckoning them closer so she could speak more quietly. “I want you both inside me at the same time.” Shawn and Ryan sucked in their breaths in unison. Shawn exhaled, and Ryan chuckled. Kayla looked at each of them. “Well, can I have that?” Shawn shook his head.“No, absolutely not.” Kayla stared at him. She appealed to Ryan. “Am I hearing correctly?” He nodded.“Yep. No can do.”

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She furrowed her brow and set down her fork. “I didn’t think that was asking so much.” Shawn started to laugh. “Ha!Just kidding.” He put his hand over hers. “I thought you’d know we were joking.” Kayla laughed. “Well, if I remember correctly, your acting skills were quite impressive the night we did that little role-playing thing for the book.” “She’s right, Shawn. You were a little scary. For a moment there, I thought you actually believed you were that guy.” Shawn laughed. “Maybe I picked the wrong career.” He looked at Kayla, capturing her gaze. In the glow of candlelight, his eyes smoldered a dark shade of blue. “I kind of wish you’d waited until dessert to spring that request. It’s going to be hard to get through dinner now.” He leaned over and put his mouth to her ear. “I want you right now,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling her ear. The tiny gesture stoked a fire in her loins. Immediate images of Shawn and Ryan both inside her at once, crushing her in between their powerful bodies, rocking her to heaven, made her hand tremble, and she nearly spilled champagne down the front of her dress. “Well, we’re here now. The food’s on its way.” Ryan put his hand on her thigh under the table. God, he was devastatingly handsome, his dark, smooth hair combed back off his forehead, his dark eyes gleaming now with lustful promise. “Eat fast.” ***** “Finally.”Kayla smiled silkily at both of them. She sat down on the edge of Shawn’s bed, feeling herself begin to salivate at the erotic promise about to happen. The meal and the ride home had seemed interminable, and she’d refrained from touching Ryan and Shawn, and they her, until now. She watched greedily while they pulled off their jackets and slung them over the chair. Watching them undress had come to be one of her great pleasures in life, and she indulged in it as often as possible. The anticipation of watching them uncover their gorgeous masculine bodies pulsed in her loins, never failing to start her juices flowing. By the time they got around to stripping her, she was usually all wet and ready. She guessed that she was voyeuristic, too. Shawn grinned at her while he undid the cuffs of his shirt. Ryan had worked his open and was loosening his tie. When his gaze met hers, he stopped and threw her a seductive smile, causing his dimples to show. “You do this for me,” he said, his voice tight and husky. She smiled at him and toed off her shoes. She rose from the bed and reached up, finishing the removal of his tie. His Adam’s apple slid up and down in his throat, and she lifted onto her toes and pressed her lips to it, feeling his large, warm hands splay on her back, rubbing over the thin material of her black dress. She lowered back down and started on the buttons of his shirt. Slowly, she undid each one, delighting in the greater amount of hard chest that appeared. Her fingers itched to skim over thosepecs and slide around the small nipples. When the shirt was open, she slid it back, off his shoulders, and leaned forward, pressing a kiss in the center of his chest. The dark hair was soft against her lips, the most delicious contrast to the hard, quivering muscle it covered.

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She pulled the shirt off and slung it over the growing pile of clothing on the chair. Turning to Shawn, she found he’d unbuttoned his top buttons but now stood watching her, his eyes velvety under heavy lids. Her pussy tingled at the way his desire literally simmered between them, and she reached for his remaining buttons, undoing each one with deliberate slowness. Behind her, Ryan’s hands went to the zipper of her dress, lowering it slowly. His warm fingertips skated over her bare back and worked open the latch on her bra. She had nearly unbuttoned Shawn’s shirt the whole way when Ryan slid his hands underneath the silky cups of her bra and palmed her breasts. She sucked in her breath, her hands splaying over Shawn’s chest. She moaned softly when Ryan thumbed her nipples, teasing them into hardness with little pinches and caresses. She fell forward, her mouth locking onto Shawn’s chest, and began her exploration, tasting his warm, salty skin, breathing in his musky scent. Absently, she pushed the shirt off and away to let her hands roam a heated path over his shoulders and back, testing every ridge and slope. Though now very familiar, she never found his terrain of muscle any less exciting. The possession and mastery Shawn and Ryan had over her, the potent blend of tenderness and passion they showered on her, made every moment with them deliciously new. Shawn reached up and pulled the dress off her, bringing the brassiere along with it. His eyes smoldered with hunger, and his full lips parted slightly. He dropped her clothing to the floor and slid his hand into her hair, closing his mouth over hers. His tongue made hot strokes over hers, his hand cradling the back of her head, pulling her face gently against his. She surrendered to the kiss, her back arching, while Ryan’s hands squeezed her breasts before sliding down her stomach and taking hold of the waistband of her black stockings. His palms grazed her thighs as he slid the soft material down. Carefully, he lifted each foot, until her stockings were gone and he was working her panties off the same way. Shawn pulled away from their kiss, panting. “I can’t wait anymore,” he breathed. He undid his slacks and pushed them off, ushering her over to the bed. He pulled down the covers and bade her to sit. He stood in front of her; his cock, erect and full, was a few inches from her face. She reached out and took it in her hand, stroking it lovingly. Ryan finished undressing and came over to her. She reached out and took his shaft in her hand. She loved the feel of holding both their cocks at once.Both erections in her hand, pulsing and veined, hard for her. She leaned over and took the head of Shawn’s cock into her mouth, suckled it greedily, and then did the same to Ryan. “Okay, that’s enough.” Shawn put his hands on her shoulders, urging her back into the bed. “Ryan, get underneath her.” Ryan grinned.“Sure thing.” He climbed into the bed and lay down, reaching out for Kayla. Without hesitation, she straddled him spreading herself open with her hand. He guided his cockhead in, pushing it just inside. She moved up and down slowly, lubricating it with her gathering cream. She moaned softly and impaled herself in one swift movement. Bridging his body with her hands, she pushed her buttocks outward and began sliding up and down. Ryan’s eyes closed, and he groaned softly, reaching up to fondle her breasts as she rode him. Shawn took some lubricant from the drawer and smoothed it over his cock. He set the tube down and

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climbed onto the bed behind her. He straddled Ryan’s legs and reached to her bottom. Kayla stopped moving when she felt his fingers over her anus. The pressure from his fingers heightened the fullness of Ryan’s cock inside her, and she moaned, trembling from the anticipation of both of them filling her at once. He eased a finger inside her, spreading the lubricant, preparing her. “Are you sure about this, Kayla?” he whispered, smoothing a hand tenderly over her back. Kayla’s body pulsed and pounded, and all she wanted was both of them inside her. “Yes, please,” she breathed, her head tilted back, her hands resting on Ryan’s hips. “Okay, sweetheart.Lower yourself down a little.” Obediently, Kayla crouched lower over Ryan, who reached up and stroked her hair. Shawn spread her open, and she felt the head of his cock press into her anus. Slowly and carefully, he pushed in a bit further. She sucked in her breath as he filled the tight sheath. She heard him catch his breath. “God, it’s so tight in there,” he rasped. Two gentle hands anchored on her butt cheeks, and he began to move very slowly, tiny, careful movements that pushed the back wall of her pussy harder against Ryan’s cock. The world seemed to shatter into a million glittering shards, and she threw her head back and moaned, feeling completely, gloriously filled with man. Ryan bucked his pelvis gently against her, sending ripping cords of heat spiraling through her sex. His hands went to her breasts, fondling and pinching the nipples, drowning her in sheer, mindless ecstasy. Shawn began to move a bit faster, working his thrusts against Ryan’s movements in her pussy. Kayla’s hair hung down, brushing against Ryan’s chest, and she braced herself with her hands on the mattress, wondering if she might catapult out of her own body. She cried out as tingling, pulsing heat whip-corded through her sex, up her gut, into her breasts. Shawn’s hands tightened on her buttocks, and she heard him groan. He slid in all the way and pushed against her backside, pressing the inside walls of her pussy tighter against Ryan. Ryan’s cock ground against her clit, and that was the end. Her orgasm erupted in a tight wave, escalating intensely through her sex, radiating into her belly. She moaned loudly with each wave, her body jerking from the intensity of the contractions. Kayla collapsed onto Ryan’s chest, her body heaving. “Oh, my God,” she breathed against Ryan’s skin. Shawn’s hand caressed her back. His cock was still hard and pulsing in her behind. “Do you want me to pull out, Kay?” he asked softly. She shook her head and rose up on her hands. Ryan held her arms for support. “No. I want you to come.If you want.” He leaned over and kissed her damp back. “It won’t take long. You’re so tight in here.” He took hold of her hips again and started moving, slowly at first, then in longer, hotter strokes.

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Kayla exhaled with each thrust. Even though she’d had a mind-blowing orgasm, the feel of Shawn’s cock buried in the tight passage was very pleasurable, especially since Ryan was also still sheathed inside her. In moments she felt Shawn tremble and heard the raspy groan he always made when he came. She felt his cock pulsing inside her, and then he slid out, leaving a sudden strange emptiness. Shawn’s hands slackened on her hips, and he was breathing heavily. “Wow,” he breathed. “Kayla, come lie down.” Ryan, too, turned his body so that he slid out of her. He took hold of her arms and guided her down, onto her back, underneath him. Her legs fell open like the petals of a flower, and he slid inside her again, lowering his mouth to hers, their lips closing passionately together. If she hadn’t been so blown away, she would have orgasmed again from Ryan’s lovemaking. But her body was completely spent, so she caressed Ryan’s back while he brought himself to completion, spilling his seed inside her. He collapsed gently on her, his cock still hard inside her, while Shawn lay down on her other side, toying with her hair and kissing her shoulder. Kayla took several minutes to catch her breath. “I swear sometimes, this can’t be reality,” she said softly. “It’s too damn incredible.” Ryan kissed her cheek. He slid out of her and rolled to the side, snuggling up against her, his arm over her. “I feel the same way,” he murmured by her hair. “Each day I wake up and you’re still here.” Kayla smiled and pressed his hand to her lips. “I’m not going anywhere, Ryan. There’s nowhere to go. I’m already in heaven.”

Sedonia Guillone

Sedonia Guillone lives on the water in Florida in winter and on the rocky coast of Maine in summers with a Renaissance man who paints, writes poetry and tells her she’s the sweetest nymph he’s ever met. When she’s not writing erotic romance, she loves watching spaghetti westerns, cuddling, and eating

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chocolate. Visit Sedonia on the Web at www.sedoniaguillone.com.