Holly was ready to scream. Work for it? She was going crazy. What Alexei had called punishment had felt like the most exquisite torture. At first the pain had stung and bit into her skin. But then she’d been struck by the erotic quality of it. She’d felt small and vulnerable across Alexei’s knee. It had been a long time since she’d felt delicate and feminine. She’d found herself breathlessly waiting to see what exactly he would do.

And it had been possible for one reason and one reason only. She trusted him. She was shocked to find that she trusted this man implicitly. Maybe it was the earnest, heartfelt letters he’d sent every month they were apart. Maybe it was the fact that he’d been willing to sacrifice his life to save a group of strangers, but she knew deep down that this was a man who she could rely on.

She could love him if she let herself.

She wasn’t going there. Way, way too early for that.

Alexei’s legs spread wide and she found herself being shifted from his lap to the floor between his legs. The rug beneath her was soft from years of use. Her hands came up on Alexei’s knees for balance.

“You do very well, dushka.” Alexei’s dark eyes seemed unbearably hot. His hair had fallen over his forehead. He looked like a gorgeous angel, fallen from heaven. So dominant.

“You did spectacularly well.” Caleb’s hand found her head. She sighed at the feeling.

Alexei’s voice brought her attention back to him. “But now it is time to take care of me. You will take care of me while Caleb prepares you for later. Take my pants down. Take me in hand.”

She had to remind herself to breathe.

“I’m going to need your ass in the air, baby,” Caleb said.

She turned and felt her heart skip a beat. Caleb had taken off his shirt. He was wearing nothing but a faded pair of Levi’s, and even those were unsnapped, leaving a view of his spectacularly cut torso. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the doctor. She’d heard he ran every day, but it looked like he lifted weights, too. A lot of them. His body was lean and tight. He was like a sleek, predatory jaguar, built for speed and agility.

She forced herself to look away because she worried actual drool might be coming next. And when she turned back, Alexei had unbuttoned his shirt.

If Caleb was a jaguar, Alexei was a full-blown tiger. His chest was broad and covered in muscles that tapered down to a six-pack and lean hips. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. The tiger, it seemed, was awfully hungry.

“Are you going to do as I asked? Or do you need another spanking? Perhaps this time I will bind your hands and feet. I will tease that little pussy of yours, but you will get nothing.”

Nope, she didn’t want that at all. Her hands trembled as she reached for the button at the top of his slacks. She unbuttoned it, slipping the round disk through the hole and moving down to his zipper. She could feel the hard line of his cock struggling against the fabric of his pants.

She pushed the front flaps of his slacks aside. He wore cotton boxers. The tip of his cock strained at the opening, the head peeking out.

“Don’t be shy.” Alexei stared down at her, decadent anticipation in his eyes. “Touch me. Take me in hand and stroke me. I want to feel your mouth on my cock.”

How long had it been since she’d given a blow job? Forever. It had been forever since she’d touched her tongue to a man’s cock.

She pulled the waistband of his boxers down, and his cock escaped its confinement. It also looked like cocks had gotten way bigger since she’d been out of the game. Alexei’s cock was huge. Long and thick, so thick. It lay almost flat against his perfect abs. She reached out and touched it. Soft skin covered the hard muscle. It was beautifully formed, with a mushroom-shaped head and heavy, round balls. She was fascinated by the deep V where his cockhead met the thick stalk of his penis.

She couldn’t help it. She reached out and touched her tongue to the place.

Alexei groaned, and his head fell back, relaxing against the couch.

“She doesn’t listen very well.” Caleb’s hands gripped her hips, reminding her of what he wanted.

She came up on her knees, giving Caleb her backside.

“That’s better.” Caleb’s hands slid over her slightly sore backside. Even that slight pain seemed erotic.

She was between two Greek gods, and she suddenly let go of all that insecurity. If they didn’t want her, they wouldn’t be here. Alexei wouldn’t be thrusting his cock toward her face and Caleb’s hands wouldn’t be worshipping her ass. There must be something attractive about her if these two men wanted her.

“Lick me.” Alexei’s accent had gone deeper and thicker. He muttered something in Russian. The words were like an aphrodisiac. She didn’t need to know what he was saying. He was telling her to take him in her mouth. He wanted to fuck her mouth.

She brought her tongue to the bottom of his cock where the soft skin flowed into his balls. She started at the base and licked a line up. He smelled good, masculine and clean. He tasted good. His flesh was an amazing mix of baby-soft skin and rock-hard muscle. She teased the V, lavishing it with affection.

She felt Caleb pulling apart the cheeks of her ass.

“Are you ready for me to play a bit? God, this is a perfect example of an anus. Mmmm. Look at that.”

“Suck me inside. Stop playing.” Alexei’s fingers wound into her hair. “Suck me until I am dry.”

There was a drop of arousal on the head of his cock. It sat there like a treat waiting to be lapped up. She swiped it up with her tongue. Salty. She sucked his cockhead into her mouth just as she felt something wet touch her.

“Pucker up now, sweetheart. When I’m done, you’ll open right up for me.” Caleb’s voice had gone dark, too.

She couldn’t help but jump the tiniest bit as Caleb massaged the lube into her ass.

“She is tight, no?” Alexei asked.

“Fuck, yeah, she’s tight. Tell me something. You ever done this before? The three-way thing?”

It was nice that they could hold a conversation. It really was. Of course, she couldn’t join in. Alexei thrust his cock up, as though tired of her shallow play.

“Open up, dushka. Take more. To answer your question—no and yes. Yes, I have done the ménage, but in Russia, this is done with many women and only one man. It sound very sexy. The truth is a cock gets tired after a while and womens can be demanding. And they do not want to watch the hockey games afterward. You Americans are smarter. Best to please woman and then have friend to hang.”

“Hang out with, Alexei. It’s hang out with. I’m hoping you don’t hang me. And don’t call this an American thing. This is a Bliss thing. It only happens in Bliss.”

Holly shuddered as Caleb rimmed her asshole. She tried to talk around the cock in her mouth.

“Don’t talk. Suck.”

Bossypants. She could finish this. If Alexei thought he was going to talk sports or something with Caleb while she worked on his cock, then maybe it was time she distracted him. It might have been a long time since she’d sucked a cock, but the instinct didn’t go away. She was still a woman, and a woman knew how to get to a man.

She cupped his balls, rolling them up against his body as she sucked him deep. It was hard. He was so big. He filled her mouth. She had to relax her jaw, but she finally managed to get that whole monster in her mouth. She sucked at it in long, luscious passes, whirling her tongue around the stalk.

Alexei groaned, and the Russian words began to flow.

“She’s giving it to you good. Fuck. I can’t wait to try her mouth.” Caleb pressed his finger in, little forays into her ass that had her clenching. “Relax. Let me in. Let me play with your ass.”

It burned. That finger made it hard to concentrate on the cock in her mouth. She forced herself to suck. Caleb kept at it. He fucked her ass, pressing in and then stretching the rim. He finally sighed, and Holly felt his finger sink in.

“So fucking tight.” Caleb pushed in. “This is what you wanted, Holly. Two of us inside you. Wait until it’s a cock inside this tight ass and not just fingers, sweetheart. Then you’ll know who you belong to.”

Caleb Burke was such an idiot. Only sex? There was something possessive in the way the man made love. Maybe she was misreading him. Maybe she was on her way to heartache, but it felt like more than sex.

She felt closer to them than she’d felt to anyone in the longest time. She loved her friends. Nell and Laura had been her support system for so long, her strength, but this was something even sweeter. This was pure intimacy. She opened herself to them and gave.

“Dushka, a little more. You will swallow me, no? I want to give this to you.”

And she wanted to take it. Holly took a long breath and went deep. She grasped his stalk and squeezed gently while she took him to the back of her throat. She swallowed while breathing through her nose and felt the moment his orgasm began.

Warm fluid spat in her mouth while Alexei’s hands wound in her hair. He murmured what sounded like loving phrases to her in Russian while he filled her mouth. She swallowed him down, the saltiness strangely sweet on her tongue. She was full of him. It was enough. Holly finally let the cock go, kissing it with great affection.

Caleb added a second finger, and she couldn’t help the groan that came out of her mouth. The sensation burned, but it was so intimate she couldn’t deny the appeal. Alexei’s hands softened in her hair. He petted her, praising her the whole time. He told her how beautiful she was, how sexy. He promised her he’d never had a better blow job, although he called it a blowing job, and she couldn’t help but giggle at that.

“She is opening up?” Alexei asked, looking over her head. He didn’t move to fix his clothes. He seemed perfectly comfortable with that gorgeous cock of his hanging out as he watched his partner fucking her ass with his fingers.

“She’s tight, and she’s going to stay that way, but it will work. I think we need to get her a plug. I’ll get one tomorrow.”

She came off Alexei’s lap as far as the fingers in her backside would allow her to. “I am not running around town with a plug up my ass.”

Caleb shrugged. “Yes, you will. All the other women do it. Trust me, half the women in this town are playfully accessorized. Come by my office tomorrow. I’ll take care of it. I won’t touch you back here until you’re properly prepared. I want you to love this. I won’t hurt you.”

He wouldn’t. Caleb wouldn’t be capable of hurting her physically. Her heart was another matter, but she’d decided to risk it. “All right, Caleb.”

“You see, she learns to obey in the bedroom.” Alexei sounded awfully pleased with himself.

Holly groaned as Caleb pulled his fingers out. She felt his lips kiss the small of her back.

“That’s probably going to be the only place she obeys, and thank god for that. I’ll be right back.” Caleb left, walking over to her small bathroom.

Alexei hauled her up to his lap. He pulled her face to his and kissed her, his lips eating hungrily at hers. “Thank you, dushka. Thank you for pleasing me and for being the open, beautiful woman that you are. I dream of you every night. Tonight, I will not need to dream. Tonight, I will sleep beside you.”

She would sleep cuddled between them both. It would be as good as the sex. She’d never been very good at sex. She was thrilled Alexei was happy with her. Now she had to hope Caleb was happy with her, too. She would get on her knees in front of him when he returned, and she would see how he tasted.

Alexei’s mouth journeyed over and around her face to her neck. His hands were even bolder. One wrapped around her waist, but his other hand delved between her legs, teasing at the lips of her pussy. She spread her legs to give him access, and he skimmed over her clit. So close. She was close to that heavenly place that always seemed to elude her. She’d brought herself to climax a couple of times, but this felt so different.

“Please.” She wasn’t above begging. She wanted him inside her. She could feel his cock against her hip. He was already hard again.

“Nyet. This I cannot claim.”

“Because it’s my turn.” Caleb stood over her, his face granite hard. He’d shucked the rest of his clothes. He was leaner than Alexei, but his cock was just as big. Two. She had two gorgeous men. “He’s had a moment with you, and now I want my time.”

He reached down and plucked her out of Alexei’s arms. Alexei smiled a slow, sexy grin and winked at her. “I did promise to share my toy.”

Caleb’s arms went around her waist and under her knees. He didn’t look down at her. He simply walked off, taking the few steps to get to her bedroom. “Turn on the light for me. I want to see her.”

It wasn’t said to Holly. It was tossed over his shoulder toward Alexei, who was already getting off the couch. She watched as he pushed his slacks down, shrugged out of his shirt, and followed them, completely naked.

Thank god everyone was naked. It was every bit as bad as she’d thought it would be. They were so far out of her league, it was ridiculous, and yet they were here. They were with her.

Caleb stabilized himself on her quilted queen-size bed and placed her on top. He got to his knees and towered over her, taking her legs in each hand and pressing them apart. He was so lovely, his face stark in the dim light.

The light came on as Alexei entered the room. “Let me help you.”

Caleb looked up and nodded, his face almost unreadable. Alexei’s weight forced the mattress to dip. He placed a hand on her cheek and smiled down warmly. Caleb ran a hand down her torso.

“I think I want to taste you before I fuck you,” Caleb said.

Just like that, her heart started to pound. Caleb inside her. Alexei inside her. Even if it all went to hell tomorrow, she would have this night to remember forever. She would have loved them. She’d been alone for far too long. “Please, Caleb. I need you. I need you both.”

“Then you’ll have us.” Caleb leaned over and kissed her throat. He kissed his way down her torso, pausing to suckle on her nipples and to dip his tongue in her navel. Alexei stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose. Their lips were soft, playing against her skin, making her feel more wanted than she’d ever dreamed of feeling.

“Tomorrow, when you come to my office, I’m going to shave you. I want to be able to really enjoy this.” Caleb’s finger slid into her pussy. She was so wet. She’d never been so wet. Anticipation was going to kill her.

Caleb forced her legs apart and stared at her pussy. Alexei had stopped his exploration, and he stared down her body as well.

“She’s beautiful, but it will be even better when she’s completely bare. How about we split the duties? You take care of discipline, and I’ll see to her grooming and preparation. I’ll make sure she’s always ready for pleasure.” Caleb sounded so different. In control. Sure of himself. It was undeniably sexy.

His eyes were on her as he got on his belly and breathed in the scent of her arousal. When he reached out and swiped her pussy with his tongue, she nearly came off the bed. Alexei reached down and gripped one of her nipples.

“Stay still, dushka.” His fingers tightened almost to the point of pain. It was a sweet bite that caused her whole body to clench.

“Whatever you did, she liked it.” Caleb nipped at her pussy lips, feasting on her. He tortured her with his tongue while Alexei pinched at her nipples. Alexei repositioned himself so he could get his mouth on her breasts. One hand twisted on the nub while he bit gently on the other nipple. All the while, Caleb sucked and licked her pussy. He blew on her clit.

“I have tricks, baby. I’ll play them all on you before I’m through. I made a very thorough study of the female reproductive organs. These are a lovely example of labia majora. The outer lips.” Caleb kissed them, sucking each side into his mouth. “And your clitoris has more than one part, of course.”

He was killing her. She wanted to buck up, to force him to fuck her with his tongue. That muscular, talented tongue of Caleb’s hovered over her clit, but he kept talking, his breath hot on her flesh.

“You have the hood.” He reached to the top of her mound and gently pulled back on her clitoral hood. “It’s a hiding place for the good stuff. This is the clitoral glans. Look at that, baby. Yours is full of blood. It’s begging for some affection, isn’t it?”

Dying was more like it. “Please, Caleb.”

He licked at her, but it was a teasing touch. “You have a very beautiful clitoral crus. So pretty.”

He was maddening.

Alexei chuckled. “Caleb, my friend, you are much better at discipline than I am. If we ever want to torture our pretty woman, we will set up one of your anatomy lessons.”

“Well, I think I should prove that I know how to do more than just name the lovely thing.” Caleb pulled the hood tight and sucked her clit into his mouth.

Holly nearly came apart. The orgasm was stronger than anything she’d ever felt. It raced through her veins and all along her skin. Alexei’s lips tugged at her breasts, bringing them into the sensation. She felt the pleasure flow to her fingertips and toes, radiating from her pussy.

Caleb continued to lick at her clit. Every time he touched her, she nearly jumped, the pleasure threatening to start all over again. Caleb laid one last kiss on her before getting to his knees.

“I don’t need help with this part, Alexei.” His voice was hard and commanding.

Alexei kissed her one last time. He got up off the bed. “I think you do. You forget.”

Alexei tossed him a condom. Oh, god. He was going to fuck her. Caleb Burke.

Caleb shook his head and stared down at the condom like he needed a minute to recognize what he was holding. “Yeah. I should wear this.”

“You want me to leave?” Alexei asked.

She stayed quiet. She hoped Caleb wouldn’t shut Alexei out. Somehow it felt right to have him here. It felt perfect to be with the two of them, but if Caleb needed it, she would learn to compromise.

“No. You can watch.” Caleb seemed to struggle for a minute with the condom, tugging it over his cock and rolling it down.

Alexei settled himself into the small chair she used for reading at night. He was a huge hulking presence, making her chair seem more delicate than it really was. He sat back, utterly relaxed, with the singular exception of his cock. It strained upward. Alexei guided his hand up and down the gorgeous monster, his other hand toying with a condom. He was waiting his turn.

But Caleb had found his footing again. He wet his dick in her juices, sliding it all over. The nerves in her pussy lit up again. She’d been pretty damn sure she couldn’t come again after what he’d done with his tongue. She’d been perfectly willing to lie back and let them do their worst, but now she reached up to clutch at Caleb’s shoulders as he placed his cock at the edge of her pussy.

“Baby, you’re so tight. Even here. Shh. I don’t want to hurt you.” His dick teased at her entrance, shallow thrusts that made her want more.

“You’re hurting me now. Fuck me.” His caution was going to kill her.

“You should give woman what she wants, my friend.” Alexei’s hand kept up the slow drag on his dick.

“Demanding thing, aren’t you? How the fuck did you hold out for years, baby? You’re too hot to languish. Well, we can make up for lost time.” Caleb gripped her hips and started to thrust.

Oh, fuck, he’d been right. She was too small. Even as the burn hit her, she pushed down on him, trying to take more. She didn’t care that he was too big. She wanted him inside. She wanted to know what it felt like to have him.

He was ruthless. He held himself up as he worked his dick in. Shallow thrusts that gained more territory every time he moved. She tried to pull at his hips, to get him to go deeper. She’d never felt so wild. She’d been a good girl all her life. She’d been the one who always did the right thing no matter what it cost her. She’d been faithful to a man who had cheated on her with most of the female population of Denver. When they had needed money because his family had cut him off, she’d quit college to put him through school. When she’d gotten pregnant and his family had finally taken him back, she’d gone and endured their insults because she’d made vows. She’d promised, and she’d held herself to that promise right up until the day the world was torn out from under her.

No more. Now she could see the half life she’d lived. Always afraid to make waves. She wanted this.

“Holly, calm down.”

“No, I want this.” If Caleb refused her, she wasn’t sure what she would do.

He stopped and pulled out. Her heart threatened to break. He didn’t want her. She’d screwed up.

Caleb rolled over on his back and tugged on her hand. “Come on. Take me. Take me however you want, baby.”

His body was laid out for her. Every inch of his six feet two inches was waiting for her.

“Caleb, I…” She wasn’t sure what to say.

“Kiss me.”

She leaned over and kissed him, her heart coming back to life. He was doing this for her. For all of Caleb Burke’s gruff ways, he was a compassionate man. She could see that he wanted to dominate her, but he gave her what she needed.

“I love you, Caleb Burke.” She loved him with her whole heart. She had almost from the moment she’d seen him.

“Holly.” He swallowed as though there were words in his throat, but he would never let them out.

She placed a finger to his lips. He didn’t need to say a thing. He was damaged, brutally so. He’d lost his wife. That was all she really knew. He might never love again, but he should know he was loved. She would give him what he needed. A pass. “Hush. You don’t have to say it back. I just needed to say it.”

She mounted him. His cock thrust up between his legs. She gripped him gently and placed his dick at her entrance. So good. He felt so good. Every muscle rippled as she let gravity do its worst. She lowered herself onto him inch by delicious inch. Caleb’s hands clutched the bed sheets under him as though he was trying hard not to take control.

She worked her way down. She was so wet that despite the size difference, she slid onto his cock. He was big and thick inside her. She was already full. What would it be like when Alexei was with them? She let her head fall back as she took him as far as she could go. Every inch of her pussy was filled with Caleb Burke. She experimented a little, bouncing up and coming back down.

“Oh, god, you feel so good. More. Holly, fuck me harder.”

It briefly flashed through her brain to tease him the way he’d teased her, but she wanted him too badly. She ground down on him, loving the groan she elicited from him. His hands found her hips, seemingly unable to stay out of the game for a minute more. He circled her waist and forced her down on his dick.

“God, that’s it, baby. Fuck me hard. Ride me.”

She balanced herself on his chest and took off. She fucked him, letting his hands steady her. She felt wild and free, powerful for maybe the first time in her life. She found the perfect angle and worked it. His cock slid over some place deep inside her as she ground down on him, her clit hitting his pelvis in perfect harmony. She went off like a rocket, the second orgasm even more powerful than the first. She was barely starting to come down when Caleb took over. He rolled her on her back, rearranged her legs, and thrust back in.

“You know how hot you are? Do you know how hot you make me? Fuck, baby, watching you come is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t for one moment think you aren’t beautiful.” Caleb didn’t hold back now. He pounded into her. He reared back and shot forward. He leaned down and joined their bodies, cock in pussy, belly to belly, her nipples pressed against his chest. He kissed her and completed the circle of their bodies, his tongue thrusting in her mouth, and he came. His body stiffened, and he lost control. His hips hammered, but she could taste herself on his tongue. He ground down against her, and pleasure flared to life again.

She might have been frigid before, but there was nothing cold about her now.

Caleb’s body stiffened one last time before he slumped on top of her as though all his strength was gone. He kissed her, his tongue playing, but it was a lazy thing now.

He finally rolled off her. “Do you feel better, baby?”

“Thank you.” He’d given her exactly what she needed.

But that look was back in his eyes. Now that the sex was over, it seemed Caleb was back. “I’m going to go clean up. I’ll get you a hot towel.”

“If you want to go, you can. It’s okay.” She’d play it his way for now. He’d given her what she needed. If he needed space, she would give it to him.

He seemed to come to some decision. “No. No. I want to stay. Alexei got to watch. I want to watch, too.”

“I am thinking I should be the one to go, dushka.” Alexei’s voice was still deep, but he sounded smaller now.

God, she’d told Caleb she loved him.

Caleb rolled off the bed. “I’ll leave you two alone for a minute. I don’t think you should go, Alexei. I don’t want that. I thought I would, but I don’t.” He walked out after a momentary pause but left the door open behind him as if he needed the reminder that he was welcome.

“Why would you leave?”

“Dushka, you love him. It is plain. He is foolish man who is allowing hurt to silence his mouth. He loves you, too. Perhaps it is better I leave you to work out.”

And just like that, she finally understood that this wasn’t a game for Alexei. He honestly thought they could make this whole thing work. He wanted it to work. He wanted her, and not for a little while. He wasn’t biding his time.

“Nothing has been real for you, has it?” She thought about what his life had been like. He’d told her in his letters. He’d written long passages about what his life had been like since his brother had been killed. Every moment of his adult life had been a lie. He’d lied to go into the mob, and he’d hidden huge pieces of himself to stay alive.

He shook his head sadly. “No, my dushka. It has not been real. This is real to me. I want for your happiness. I see you with Caleb, and you are so happy with him. You are in love with him. I will take that as consolation. I cannot be the third. I cannot be the one who is merely here for fun.”

He meant every word he’d said to her. She’d discounted him because he was so much younger, but he knew what he wanted. He’d said he wanted her, and he’d meant it. He didn’t play games anymore. He needed something real. He wouldn’t accept less. She finally got it.

She had power over both these men. She would never abuse it. It was a gift she’d waited for all of her life.

She didn’t bother to cover herself up now. The instinct had been strong an hour before, and now it fled. It was right to be naked in front of Alexei. He was hers. He’d offered that huge heart to her on a silver platter, and she’d been too insecure to see it. She wasn’t stupid enough to turn him away. Beneath his rough, gorgeous exterior was a man with a breathtakingly beautiful soul. “Alexei, I love you, too.”

He shook his head. “No. You do not have to say.”

She took his face between her palms. “Alexei, I love you. I love you. I love you. I’ll say it until you believe it.”

He looked up at her, his eyes so serious. “I love you. I never say this to any woman except my mother. No woman but you.”

She took his hand and led him to the bed. She lay down and pulled him on top of her. “Make love to me.”

“With much pleasures, dushka.”

He spread her legs and worked his way inside after rolling a condom on his cock. Holly sighed as the pleasure built, and she vowed she would do anything to keep her men.