Raising the Stakes: Three of a Kind, Book 2 (7 page)

Years of unspent passion unwound in her chest. It fired through her body, heating her breasts, tugging between her legs. His taste lingered on her tongue, savory and sweet. Beer and man. She wanted more of it, wanted to sip from his lips and sear his flavor into her brain forever. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, dip her hips down low and welcome him inside her. She wanted him to lay her down on the ground and claim her. Make her his. Make love to her. Make up for four years of lost time. “Yes.”

He hauled her against his body, trapping her there. His breath rasped through her ear. “Meg…”

“As much as I love Alex.”

He jerked back as though she’d slapped him.

“What?” she spat at him. “You think because now I know how you feel, I’m suddenly going to fall out of love with him?” Not a chance. Alex had inserted himself in her heart and found a permanent place there. She wasn’t letting go of him anytime soon. Maybe not ever.

He shook his head very slowly. “No, Meggy-mine. I’d hoped, but I never dared think as much.”

“Fuck, Des.” Her chest heaved, her heart racing a million miles a minute. “What am I supposed to do now? What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say your heart belongs to me and me alone. But what I want and what I know are two very different things.” He pressed his hand over his eyes.

“Why?” Megan gasped. “Why did you even tell me?”

“I didn’t want to. So help me, I tried to stay the hell away.”

“But I wouldn’t let you.” It was her fault. She’d practically torn the truth out of him. “N-now what?” Where on earth did they go from here?

“Now…” His voice was too gruff to hear properly. He cleared his throat. “Now you go back inside. Back to Alex. I’ll stay away. I promise, I won’t interfere with your happiness.”

He spoke sense. She needed to walk away from him. Walk back to Alex. But the devastation in his tone broke her heart all over again.

“Go inside, Meggy. I’ll stay out here until the game’s finished.” A ghost of a smile played on his face. Maybe it was just a shadow. “Alex is good for you. He makes you glow. Anyone who can do that is okay in my book.” As he turned away from her he whispered, “Be happy with him.”

It wasn’t his stoic decision to let her go that got to her. It was the way he held his head high while the rest of his body shook.

He’d taken maybe four steps before she cried out his name and went after him. She threw herself at him like a boomerang spinning back to its point of origin. There was no premeditation to her actions, she just moved on instinct.

He was Des, and she belonged with him.

He absorbed the impact, catching her to him with a husky moan. Cemented against his body, she placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face down to hers, sealing their lips together.

Just as he’d poured every iota of himself into the last kiss, so every ounce of love she felt for him spilled into this one. Because love him she did, and now that she knew he felt the same, she couldn’t let him go.

He held her so close there was no space for air to float between them. The uneven rise and fall of his chest matched hers as they panted together. Her breasts were wedged against the hard, square planes of his chest, and her hips pressed tight against the stiff bulge in his pants.

That he wanted her this much astonished her. For so long it was all she’d ever yearned for, and now here he was, holding her, kissing her frantically, as though terrified she’d slip away.

As for his erection, dear God, it turned her to mush. The evidence of his desire, pressing against her pussy, her clit… She could climax just thinking about it.

His hands were on her butt, pulling her closer, massaging her cheeks, pressing her harder against his erection.

She was a boneless heap of hunger. A roaring blaze of fire, wanting nothing but Des. And Alex. Des’s kiss, Alex’s touch. Des’s erection, Alex’s body. Dear God, she wanted them both. Wanted them pounding into her, showing her the love they’d both professed.

She wanted them both.

The need was a bottomless pit, making her ache and yearn. Making her writhe against Des’s groin, rub her clit on his cock. She groaned into his mouth as desire tore through her, and when he rocked his hips, she fell to pieces. Right there, caught in his arms in the darkened garden, she climaxed.

Chapter Four

Alex cleared the mess off the table and threw the ice down the sink. He stacked the beers and cruisers in the fridge and set the whisky on the lower shelf of the bar. The dining room was spotless, and the lounge room was empty.

He was the only person there.

There was nothing left to do but wait. And hope. And fervently wish that the sounds, the shouts and the silence emanating from outside were resolved soon so he and Megan could climb in his car and drive back to his place together.

Every instinct told him it wasn’t going to happen.

He chose an armchair in Des’s lounge room, sat and rested his foot on his knee. With his elbows on the armrests, he steepled his fingers together, an old habit he’d always found comfort in during stressful times.

If anyone had told Alex he’d be forced to share the woman he loved with another man, he’d have laughed in their face.

He’d have been wrong.

The night Megan admitted she loved Des, Alex had come to terms with a very simple fact. If he wanted any part of Megan Loxley in his life—and fuck him, but he did—he’d have to throw his pride aside and accept he’d never have all of her. A piece of her heart would always belong to Des.

He didn’t doubt Megan loved him too, loved him more every day—just as his feelings for her grew on a daily basis. He just had to accept that she also loved Des. If he
couldn’t
accept it, he’d have no choice but to move on, find someone else.

Alex didn’t want anyone else. He wanted Megan. She was the one. The perfect woman. She was laughter to his solemnity. Light to his darkness. She was beautiful, sexy, intelligent and sweet. The attraction they shared made it impossible for them to keep their hands off each other. He and Megan were good together, in bed and out.

Every relationship had a negative though, and Alex had long since come to terms with their negative. Des.

At least the love Megan felt for Des was unrequited. Alex had no idea what he’d do if the man ever came to his senses and worked out what a catch Megan was.

A click and a whoosh grabbed his attention. Megan stood in the doorway.

She was a mess.

Her hair stood in disarray, her dress was crumpled. Tears streaked down her scarlet cheeks and her gaze was wild, a mixture of horror, confusion and despair.

“Alex…” His name was a guttural moan.

He bolted off the chair. His knees jerked as he straightened. Warning prickles tapped at his spine. What the…

She launched herself at him, her words tumbling from her mouth as she threw her arms around him. “Alex. I’m so sorry. God, so sorry. I didn’t mean for… Please, you have to know I love you. Have to believe it. I do, I love you.”

Before he had a chance to answer, she kissed him. Her lips begged his for a response, pleaded for his forgiveness. For what?

He stood immobile, his arms suspended in the air. Did he hold her, hug her? Did he kiss her back?

God, how could he not?

“I love you, Al. I swear.” Her mouth was frenetic.

He couldn’t help himself. He kissed her, drowned in the pleasure her mouth evoked, even as her apology worried the back of his mind. He held her waist, pulling her closer. Her skin was hot to the touch, burning, and her nipples were hard points against his chest. This was Megan at her most aroused. A woman unable to step away from the spiral of hunger that whirled within her. A woman who wanted and needed and desired. This was a Megan he recognized. A woman half-sated sexually and half-mad with need.

The half-mad with need he could deal with, he could resolve. The sexual satiation? It made him want to fucking murder someone.

“
No
!”

The roar came from behind Megan. She twirled around in his arms.

“You don’t get to do that with him.” Des’s protest bellowed through the room. “Not after what you just did with me.”

“Des.” Megan’s cry ripped through Alex’s heart. She pulled away from him and stepped into the other man’s embrace.

Des’s fury and Megan’s response to it rendered Alex momentarily immobile. Shaken, he gawked as Des crushed his lips over Megan’s. Even more astounding was Megan’s response. She gave an animalistic moan and kissed him right back.

Holy fuck, this is not happening.

Yes, it was. The woman he loved kissed the man she loved.

Fuck. Fuck, double fuck and cluster fuck. Fuck, fuck,
fuck
.

Alex acted on instinct. He wound his arms around Megan’s waist and tugged her away from Des, pulling her across the room, her back plastered to his front. She went with him willingly.

Des glowered at him.

“Fuck you,” Alex spat at him and spun Megan around. “You. Are. Mine!” That was all he said before he claimed her back, kissing her so thoroughly she couldn’t possibly doubt his words.

“I am. I’m yours.” Megan’s hands were on his back, shoving his T-shirt up. Her fingers clawed at his flesh. He’d have scratch marks there tomorrow, but he didn’t give a shit. Her hands belonged on his body, his flesh. Not Des’s.

He kissed her harder, and she clutched him tighter, digging her nails in deeper.

She tore at his shirt. “Off,” she demanded. “Get it off.”

This was Megan at her sexual peak. She was hunger and lust all wrapped up in one, and Alex would never, could never, deny her.

He ripped off the offending material.

The action cost him. By the time his shirt landed on the floor, Megan was gone. She’d stepped freely back into Des’s arms and was kissing him, groaning into the fucker’s mouth. Buttons flew across the room as she ripped at his shirt.

Bastard.

Des didn’t have to break the kiss to get his shirt off. He just shrugged it over his shoulders.

If Alex followed through on his gut impulse now and yanked Megan out of Des’s hold, he’d hurt her. His need for her and his fury at Des would compel him to act with brute force. No matter how fucking mad he was with jealousy, he would not harm Megan. Not for anything. Ever.

Even if she had voluntarily kissed another man. Not just any other man—the one she’d professed to love for four fucking years.

Shoving back every natural instinct he had to haul Megan away from Des, he took two careful, shaky steps forward. He’d give her the choice. He’d let her decide. His groin pushed against Megan’s butt and his chest pillowed her back. No anger, no aggression. He would not harm her.

“I’m right behind you, baby,” he whispered. “Just turn around and you’ll find me.”

Megan stilled.

“That’s it, sweetness. Look at me. Turn around and look at me.”

Slowly, so slowly Alex thought she’d never bloody finish, Megan released Des and turned to him. She stared up into his eyes. Her pupils were huge, dilated with desire. The tears from minutes ago had all dried. And there, swirling in the midst of her startling green eyes was a determination Alex had never seen before.

“Al!” Her smile left him dazed and gulping for air.

“Yeah, baby. It’s me.” His heart pummeled his ribs.

“Alex.” She sounded out his name, articulating every letter, telling him clearly she was not mistaking him for Des in any way. “I love you.”

So why the fuck are you letting
him
touch you?
“I love you too, baby.”

“I know.” Her smile grew. “Kiss me,” she said, and he did, tunneling his fingers in her hair.

He kissed her with every bit of love he felt, until she purred in his arms and writhed against his aching cock. It was almost perfect. Almost. Except for the man behind her. The shirtless, seething man who stared daggers at Alex.

How could Alex possibly sport a massive fucking erection when the biggest threat in his life, his good friend and mortal enemy, stood less than a meter away, plotting ways to murder him and grab his girl?

Megan rubbed against him, caressing his chest with her breasts and grinding her pussy on his cock, making the ache and the desire all the more unbearable. Soft noises escaped her throat, gluttonous groans and mesmerizing moans.

When he could bear the tension no more, Alex raised his head and, without releasing Megan, looked at Des. “She’s mine.”

Des’s expression blackened.

“Al, wait—” Megan began.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t stop now, not even for her. This needed to be said. “You had four years to claim her,” Alex notified Des. “You didn’t. I’m not giving her up now.”

Megan nipped her way up his neck until her mouth found his. “Good,” she whispered. “I never want you to give me up.”

She kissed him. Slipped her tongue in his mouth and demanded a response. Alex was a goner. He responded, kissing her back even as he silently challenged Des with his gaze. But he could not possibly keep his eyes open when her hand landed on his pants, closing over his erection. His cock jumped at the contact and he groaned out loud.

“I’m here too, Meggy-mine.”

The whisper wasn’t meant for him, but damn it, he heard Des’s words loud and clear. The asshole was employing the same tactics Alex had used just minutes ago.

Megan did not release his lips, but her tongue ceased its sinful exploration of his mouth.

“I’ve been here all along,” Des said. “Just too damn blind to see what was in front of me.”

Fuck! The very thing Alex had dreaded was now a reality.

Her lips parted from his, making him ache.

“If you want Alex, tell me now,” Des said. “I’ll walk away. I’ll leave you alone.”

Alex glared at him through narrowed eyes. Fucking hero. Alex would never have the courage to walk away from her.

Des’s mouth was beside Megan’s ear, his hand on her neck. “I love you, Meggy, but if you want Alex, I’ll step aside.”

Megan’s head slumped backwards, landing on Des’s shoulder. He lowered his face and rubbed his cheek against hers, a move so fucking tender Alex wished he’d thought of it first.