“Sounds like both of you want to date me, and clearly you won't leave me alone until I agree to it.”
“So ...” Liam attempted to guess at her whole plan again. “This is like a real life 'The Bachelor' episode? Is one of us going to get a red rose at the end?”
“This is three people, having fun, but also being open and honest and fair about it. If I go out with Wulf, Liam will know, and vice versa,” she said. “Basically, the same arrangement you had before, only this time, I'll get to be involved in the conversations.”
“You don't think this is kinda weird?” Liam asked.
“Oh, it's totally weird. But also kind of exciting, and definitely sexy. Two men fighting over me?” she teased, pretending to fan herself. Wulf glared at her.
“Don't get ahead of yourself – nobody's fought, yet,” he pointed out.
“That reminds me, though. No sex,” she said.
“I'm sorry, what?” Liam looked like he'd short circuited for a moment.
“I won't be sleeping with either of you. I mean, geez, that would be gross, wouldn't it?” she laughed.
“Then what's the point?” Wulf asked. She pulled her clutch off the table and held it in her lap.
“If you honestly mean that, then I guess there's nothing else to talk about,” she replied, staring right at him.
He looked angry. Beyond angry. Completely and totally pissed off. For a moment, she thought he was going to call it. Get up and walk away. But this was Wulfric Stone. He didn't take no for an answer, and he certainly never lost, and especially not to a man like Liam Edenhoff. He glanced at Liam, then went back to looking at her.
“Alright. You want to play games with us, then fine. We can play games. But I'm warning you – I'm much better at this than you,” he told her. She nodded and slowly moved to stand up.
“True, but on the other hand – I learned from you, which is like learning from the best,” she pointed out.
“Wait, wait, wait – what did we all just agree to here? What the fuck is going on?” Liam demanded.
“Little miss Tocci here wants to be part of the action. Thinks she can play in our big boy games, thinks she can teach us a lesson,” Wulf explained. Katya glared at him, then placed her hands flat on the table, leaning low over it. Both men flicked their eyes to her chest, which caused her to smirk.
“We'll see how long you can last,” she said in a soft voice, then glanced at Liam. “Both of you. You say all these great words. Make these big promises. But what happens when it's not so easy? When your prey isn't so weak and stupid and ignorant?”
“Katya, we never -” Liam tried to argue.
“You say you want to be with me,” she interrupted him. “That I'm perfect for you.” She turned back to Wulf. “That I'm all these things to you. Is that still true?”
Both men were silent.
“What about when it's hard? Easy to say those things when everything is rosy and you're getting fucked regularly. What about when I'm a raging bitch and won't let you touch me?” she questioned. Again, both men were silent. “What about when I wear an outfit like this, and I remind you of how good that time in the shower was, or how incredible you were in the pool. Remind you of how long it's been since either of you saw me naked. What happens when it gets really, really hard, and I just walk away?”
She'd been dropping her voice while she spoke, and ended in a husky whisper. Her double meaning was not lost on anyone. Wulf was breathing slowly and heavily, not showing any emotion. Liam was staring at her with hooded eyes, looking like he was ready for dessert. She let the moment hang for a moment, then she sprang upright, grabbing her purse off the table.
“So you two can just think about all that and if you still want to see where things go between us, give me a call,” she said in a cheery voice as she took a compact out of her clutch and checked herself in the tiny mirror.
“Where the fuck do you think you're going?” Wulf demanded. She laughed and put the mirror away.
“You didn't think I dressed up for you, did you?” she asked, then laughed harder when his glare turned homicidal and Liam looked like he wanted to strangle himself. “Oh no. No, no, no. I have a date tonight, remember? So while I'm off doing that, you two can just sit here and think about all the things I said, and the way I looked, and the fact that I'm not wearing one piece of underwear under this dress.”
She wanted to witness their reactions. See Liam's jaw drop and Wulf's nostrils flare. Wanted to watch their heart rates increase. See if she could get at least one of them to beg her for sex by the end of the night. It was a real possibility with Liam, she knew. Wulf would be a much, much harder egg to crack. Begging was a long way off and would require a lot of effort.
Which is why when she turned around, she didn't look over her shoulder to see if they were watching her.
Besides, she knew they were.
12
Wulf watched Katya walk away and resisted the urge to chase her down. To tackle her and hold her down and possibly choke her to death. Or kiss her. Have sex with her right there in the middle of the restaurant.
Goddamn she looks good. Has she ever worn that dress before?
“Is she really going on a date?” Liam asked. Wulf had almost forgotten the other man was still at the table.
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“I was there when he asked her out. She told me she was going to cancel.”
“She lied.”
“Obviously.”
“What are we going to do?”
Liam's voice came out as a heavy sigh, and when Wulf glanced over at him, it was to see that the other man had his head in his hands.
“Do you want her dating some random stranger?” Wulf asked. Liam jerked his head up.
“Of course not. I mean, you're bad enough, but at least I know what I'm dealing with,” he replied.
“Exactly. I'm not happy about this, but if it's the only way she's willing to deal with me, then I have no other choice,” Wulf said.
“Deal with us,” Liam corrected him.
“You're just an obstacle,” Wulf replied.
“Fuck you.”
“Do you think she was serious about the no sex?” Wulf ignored the insult.
“Yes. She's a lot stronger willed than you think, Wulf. I've been on the receiving end of her frigidity. She can hold out through some, uh, tough persuasion,” Liam assured him.
Wulf took a deep breath and counted to ten. It had all seemed like a game, in the beginning. Him and Liam laughing about their sexual conquest. But then they'd stopped talking about it, because it had stopped being a game. It was easy to forget that the whole time – beginning to end – Wulf had been seeing Katya, Liam had been there, too. Had been chirping in her ear, planting ideas in her head, worming his way into her heart, and apparently trying to seduce her via “tough persuasion”.
“I think I might actually be ill,” Wulf admitted out loud.
“Too late for me. Do you think she'll sleep with this guy?”
“For his sake, I hope not.”
“Why?”