As I sat with her, so close but not nearly close enough, it took effort not to think about all the things I wanted to do to her, all the dirty things I wanted to coax out of her. The way she whispered her true desires against my skin … I felt the heat of the embers deep inside her. She’d been suffocated for too long. There was no doubt in my mind the moment Emily released her inner desires, this woman was going to become a force to be reckoned with. I was willingly signing up for the opposition. I would gladly sate any urge she might have.
It hit me then that Emily probably didn’t know that Knox was bisexual, much less that Knox and I had been in a relationship for going on four years now. Throughout our time together, we’d enjoyed the pleasure of women on occasion. Every now and then, when the right one would come along, we would indulge, but never had one of those encounters gotten serious for either of us.
The question was: what would Emily think when she realized her former stepbrother enjoyed being with a man? Would that douse the lust I’d felt humming beneath her skin?
Or would she embrace it the way she did everything else?
If I kept this up, I got the feeling I was going to find out sooner rather than later, and the one thing I knew for certain: none of us were ready for that yet.
11
Emily
The intensity in Kieran’s gaze sent ashiver of warmth dancing down my spine. My reactions to him seemed both liberating and inappropriate. I knew deep down that I shouldn’t respond to a perfect stranger like this, shouldn’t allow myself to be seduced by his words, but here I was, wanting more. Aching for it.
I caught a glimpse of someone walking by and that was the only reason I pulled back. While I would probably give in if Kieran were to kiss me right now, I knew I shouldn’t. Not yet.
“So bloody sweet,” Kieran whispered, his breath still fanning my lips, so close but not close enough.
I was aware of movement, someone sitting behind me, pressing in too close for comfort, but for the life of me, I couldn’t move away from Kieran. I hated whoever it was because their presence had Kieran pulling back, a sexy smirk on his face, one that said we’d been busted and had to stop.
“Mind if I join?”
Once again my entire body went rigid, but it wasn’t from lust. Quite the opposite. My desire was doused as the familiar voice coming from directly behind me registered.
Knox.
I took a deep breath and reined in my lust, forcing it down while also fighting off the embarrassment. I had nothing to be ashamed about and I certainly didn’t have to answer to anyone else.
“Actually, I do mind,” I said snidely, glancing back at Knox over my shoulder. “You’re interrupting a perfectly good night.”
Looking at Knox Montgomery was like peering into the sun. I was momentarily blinded despite the fact I’d seen him a short time ago across the room. Up close, he looked just as I remembered, exactly as I’d pathetically fantasized him every night for the past two years. Every time I closed my eyes, I relived that night, the way he had so easily played my body.
The night he’d walked away from me.
And just like that, the cold fury slid into my bones, fortifying my resistance.
“Please leave,” I said, mustering up the strength to keep my voice even.
Rather than move away as I’d hoped he would, Knox scooted closer until his thigh was pressed up against mine. Instantly my body remembered every touch, every caress, and my heart kicked hard against my sternum.
“Are you sure you want me to go, Em?”
Yes.
No.
Maybe.
At the moment, I was a little fuzzy on things considering there were two men sitting in this booth with me. Both men touching me, their rock-hard thighs pressed to mine, their broad shoulders taking up all the space. But it was the heat of them, the scent of them that had my belly turning flips and my pussy throbbing with a longing to be filled.
As though my desires didn’t border on the taboo already, I found myself thinking about what it would feel like to be crushed between these two powerful, sexy men. Four hands on me, two mouths… Oh, God. I was sure I was losing my mind.
Trapped between them, I wasn’t sure what to do. Part of me wished Kieran would tell Knox to get lost because he was intruding on our moment, but he didn’t, and when I peered over at him, I found he was smiling at Knox as though they shared an inside joke.
“Do you two know each other?” I asked, my initial reaction turning into embarrassment.
“I’d hope so,” Knox said at my back. “Since we own this place.”
