My mother’s slanted opinions and unfair demands echoed in my ears. They were quickly silenced by the bell announcing my arrival. I didn’t have room for her in my thoughts. Not tonight.
Will opened the door before I had a chance to knock. He looked freshly showered, shirtless, his hair falling in dark wet strands every which way. He smiled and pulled me close for a kiss that instantly took my breath away.
He stepped back enough to look me over. “Wow. I feel underdressed. You look…damn.”
His ravenous gaze worked me over from head to toe.
I had a closet full of cocktail dresses, and more times than not, no place to wear them. So tonight I’d chosen a satiny cream dress with thin straps and an almost indecent slit up the thigh. Late summer was quickly becoming early fall, but the days were still hot and I could pull it off. His gaze fell to my feet, where I wore matching cream-colored heels that laced up the ankles.
“Good God,” he murmured. “I think tonight’s going to be a real exercise in restraint, princess. I’m ready to fuck you through the door, but our friend has been waiting oh so patiently, and I can’t deny him now.”
My breathing became ragged, and my confidence wavered.
Will pulled me close again. “Shh, don’t be scared.”
I exhaled an unsteady breath. “But I am.”
His gaze softened with concern. “We’re not trying to take anything from you, Olivia. This isn’t about us. You’re the center of it all. You and your pleasure. If it’s not making you happy, it’s not what we want. Okay?”
I nodded, heartened by his words but still wary of the unknown. How could I please two men with appetites like theirs? I was one woman, perpetually frightened of falling short, historically out of my depth when it came to enjoying sex for the sake of sex.
“I don’t want to do something wrong.”
“It’s just us, here and now. Open yourself to it. Give in to it. If you do that, you’re doing everything right.” He stilled. “Do you want this?”
Was he asking my brain or my heart? Because they were of two opinions on the matter. “I don’t know what I want until I’m in the moment. I’m trying to feel my way through all of this, and even though it always feels right with you, sometimes it’s scary too.”
“Tell me what you’re afraid of.”
I reached for that honesty I’d promised him our first night together. “I’m afraid of getting hurt. Of feeling used. I don’t want to be someone you…fuck and dispose of.”
He winced, and his hold on me tightened a fraction. “I won’t hurt you.”
“And Ian?” His name left my lips in a whisper.
Will licked his lips, his gaze serious. “Olivia, I have a feeling this is new territory for all of us.”
“Not for you two.”
He shook his head. “You might be surprised. We’re all taking risks here. You have to trust me.”
“I do trust you,” I murmured.
He released a breath, relief smoothing his gorgeous features. “Ian’s in the living room. Do you want a drink?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.” Three fingers of scotch would certainly have eased my nerves, but I wanted my wits about me. I had to know what I was going into.
“Go get comfortable. I’ll be out in a little while. You don’t have to wait for me.”
I nodded, but those last words had me shaky on my feet again. I inhaled a steeling breath and left Will’s embrace to find Ian sitting on the long leather couch in the living room.
I paused a few paces away. The heat in his gray-eyed gaze threatened to turn me into a puddle on the floor. That and he was sexy as hell—chiseled features carved by the gods and an enviable body. I bit my lip, suddenly scared and anxious by the prospect of seeing the man totally uncovered. All the way down to the substantial erection that he was already sporting through his jeans.
“You’re trying to kill me in that dress, right?”
I laughed and smoothed my hands down the slick material. I bit my lip, imagining his hands on me instead, the way they had been earlier. He’d barely left an inch of my sparsely clothed body untouched at his father’s studio. I hadn’t wanted him to stop, but he seemed to possess more willpower than I had.
“You look nervous.” His voice was low, as dangerous as his lascivious gaze.
I stared down at the floor, gathering my courage. “Guilty as charged.”
“You have nothing to be nervous about. You’ve got both of us by the balls, Liv. Enjoy it.”
He motioned me to come closer, and that small vote of confidence spurred me forward until I stood between his thighs. He gazed up at me, his jaw set tight. His tongue traveled along his lower lip as he drank me in.
“That first night, I heard you coming all night. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think straight. I’d wanted you before, but that’s when I knew I had to have you.”
My heart hammered, and my nipples beaded under the dress. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the way he touched me at the studio hours before. I was on fire for the man, and nothing could soothe me except having his hands on me again.