“City Commissioner on line two, Mr. Baines.”

“Thank you, Carol,” I say to my assistant. “Put him through, please.”

Anxiety runs through me. I know they were planning to announce the winners of the development bid this week, and if Carl Dekker is calling me today, no doubt that’s what it’s about.

I clear my throat and then pick up the phone. “Carl — Sam here. Good to hear from you.”

“Hey, Sam.” Carl Dekker and I go back years, back when he was just a councilman and we worked together to bring a big shopping complex to his district.

“I take it if you’re calling me, that means you’ve got news.”

He sighs. Shit.

“I do,” he says finally. “And I’m afraid it’s not good. At least not for you.”

Double shit. I grit my teeth.

“Just tell me you aren’t giving the project to Winning Bid. Anyone but them.” Winning Bid is Bennett’s company — that fucker was actually arrogant enough to name his development company Winning Bid.

“Sorry, Sam,” Carl says. He really does sound sorry. “No one can ever beat them on price.”

Figures. Bennett undercut every development company in the city — he’d been doing it for years. That was how he’d built his company as big as he had — taking losses for years and making sure no one else could compete. It’s just one of the many reasons I hate him.

Hated him?

Things between Bennett and I are confusing right now, to say the least. Something about Lila was drawing us closer together, but I’m still not entirely convinced that’s a good thing. Still, I can’t deny that the blowjob he’d given me at Orchid the other day was the hottest I’d ever gotten in my life.

Of course, I’m not about to unload all that on to the City Commissioner.

I sigh into the phone. “You know what he’s doing, right?” I say to Carl instead. “He’s driving out the competition. When no other firm can compete, he’s going to jack up his prices. You’ll be taking it up the ass from Bennett McCardiff in no time, I guarantee.”

My choice of words brings an immediate flush to my skin. Fuck. Why did I have to say that?

“My hands are tied,” Dekker says. “You know the rules on these tenders. We have to score everything by the book, and unfortunately, cost is still king. You come in under budget, you’re going to win the contract. End of story.”

“Yeah, I know, I know.” And I do know. I’d been working with the city long enough to know they do at least try to maintain the appearance of fairness and transparency. In fact, Carl isn’t even supposed to be calling me now — I’m supposed to wait for the official notification with all the other vendors.

“Well, it’s your ass that’s going to get pounded,” I tell him. God, why can’t I let this analogy drop?

On the other end of the line, Dekker chuckles. “So be it. Won’t be the first time I’ve taken it up the ass from a contractor.”

“Better you than me.” Definitely better him than me. No way was I ever planning to bend over for Bennett McCardiff — not in the boardroom and definitely not in the bedroom.

But I mean, that goes without saying. Obviously.

By the time I get off the phone with Carl, I’m tense. I pace around my office, wondering if it’s too early in the day to pour a glass of whiskey. I glance at the clock — 9:23. Yeah, probably too early.

My phone buzzes again and I pick up the receiver. It’s Carol again.

“Bennett McCardiff on line one, Mr. Baines.”

“Tell him to go fuck himself.”

“I’m sorry, sir?” Carol sputters. Of course she’s surprised. She’s very business-like, which I appreciate, and these conversations usually end with me either saying “put him through” or “tell him I’ll call back.” I’m pretty sure I’ve never even swore in front of her before.

I sigh. “Just put him through,” I say. What kind of man would I be if I let Carol fight my battles for me, after all?

I wait a second for the line to click over and then I tell Bennett myself.

“Go fuck yourself.”

To no one’s surprise, he chuckles. “I take it you talked to the City Commissioner this morning.”

I don’t answer.

“I’m sorry,” he says. Which actually surprises me. “You know business is business, though.”

I sigh. He’s not wrong. Business is business. And I would have felt no guilt if I’d been the one to beat him at the bid.

“Anyway, I’m not calling for business reasons.” He clears his throat. “I actually called to invite you to dinner. At my house again.”

“Is Lila going to be there?” I ask suspiciously.

“Of course!” he says, like I’m an idiot for asking. I let out a breath I didn’t even notice I was holding.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I grumble. We’ve defaulted to spending time with Lila with the two of us instead of separately, which I guess makes this whole sharing thing easier. Still, it’s a lot more Bennett McCardiff than I’m comfortable having in my life.

I think again of the other night at Orchid. Of his mouth on my cock. His tongue stroking my shaft. About unleashing my load deep into his throat.

Fuck. Now I have a hard-on at my desk. Not good.

“I gotta go,” I tell Bennett. I just need to get him off the phone.

He tells me to come over for eight, and then I hustle him off. Once I’ve hung up the phone, I glance at my calendar. Fuck — I have a meeting in twenty minutes — some new contractors that I’m thinking of employing. And a raging erection isn’t exactly going to make a good impression.

Carol knows better than to come into my office without knocking, so I quickly undo the button of my suit pants and yank my cock out through the slit in my boxer briefs.

I wrap my fingers around my shaft and let my mind wander to Lila. Of her tight little pussy sinking down on my cock, her perky tits bouncing as she bobs up and down. Oh yeah.

I picture bending her over my desk, right here in my office, and pushing my cock into her from behind. Holding her hands tight behind her back while I thrust into her.

Fuck. My hand is moving faster now and I can feel my muscles starting to tighten.

Then the vision changes. It isn’t Lila bent over the desk in front of me anymore. It’s Bennett. His strong muscular back flat against the desk, his firm ass pointing up to me. My cock pushing its way into his tight hole. His voice calling my name as I fuck his ass.

Shit. I come right away. Hard. Semen shooting up over my desk and dripping down over my hand. I grab a couple of tissues and try to clean up the mess.

Except the real mess is the one in my head. I close my eyes and try to steel myself. I just have to push those thoughts out of my head and I’ll be fine.

* * *

That night, I pick up Lila a little before eight. She looks stunning as usual, in a tiny green dress that sets her hair off. She looks flushed as she climbs into my car, and I can tell she’s excited. I hate to admit it, but I am too. I jack the air conditioning up in the car, and not just because it’s hot as balls outside.

We get to Bennett’s a little while later and Lila leads the way up to the house. He pulls the door open before she can even knock.

He looks handsome in a pair of white shorts and a navy polo shirt. Handsome. What a fucking thought. Get your shit together, Baines.

Bennett leans in to kiss Lila and then flashes me a grin. “Thanks for coming. I thought we could barbecue tonight since it’s so hot out.”

“That sounds great,” Lila chirps. I linger behind her, until she reaches her hand out to take mine. Finally I sigh and follow them both into the house.

Except instead of stopping in the house, Bennett leads us straight through and out into the backyard. His swimming pool glints bright blue under the late evening sun. There’s also a seating area with cushioned loungers, and an eating area with the biggest barbecue I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“I had the chefs prepare everything earlier today, so all I need to do is turn on the grill and do up the steaks when we’re ready to eat,” he says.

Lila isn’t listening though. She’s already kicked off her heels and is trailing one bare foot in the water.

“We can go swimming if you want,” Bennett says, walking up behind her and kissing the back of her shoulder. “It would cool you down. Although personally, I kinda like you hot and sweaty,” he adds with a wink back at me.

I grin, despite myself.

Lila doesn’t answer, just reaches down and pulls at the hem of her dress. She yanks it up over her head, exposing her gorgeous lithe body. She’s got no bra, and her nipples pucker immediately, as soon as the air hits them. I watch helplessly, as slack-jawed as a horny teenager. Thankfully Bennett looks as dumb-struck as I do.

She’s got a tiny pair of panties on, and she shucks those off too, letting them fall in the puddle of her dress. She glances back at us over her shoulder.

“Coming?” She dives in, slicing neatly through the water, and then emerges a few feet away, slicking her wet hair back off her face.

“Nice dive,” Bennett says, already stripping off his shirt.

Lila grins. “Thanks. I took lessons at the community pool up until I was about twelve.”

Bennett undoes his shorts and lets them fall to the side of the pool, kicking them over to join Lila’s pile. I try not to eye his body while he strips down, but my eyes seem drawn to him. He’s a bit taller than I am, and maybe a little slimmer than I am, but the muscles in his chest are still broad and bulging, and his arms flex as he stretches. My eyes travel the length of his torso, all the way to the deep vee that leads to his …

I swallow. His cock. It’s not hard now, though it’s not completely soft either. He’s got a thick thatch of hair, similar to my own. For a second I imagine my face in there, breathing in his scent, taking his dick into my mouth the way he did with me. What would that be like? Would I like it?

He kicks off his shoes, then turns to face Lila in the pool. She’s treading water and gazing up at him, which means neither of them notice that my eyes stay glued to his ass. That ass. That ass that I’d imagined fucking.

Fuck. My own cock is getting hard now. And not just a little bit hard, but fully hard. It strains against my pants. I turn away from Bennett and Lila.

There’s a huge splash as Bennett hits the pool, and then Lila’s hysterical giggles. I take a few deep breaths.

“Coming?” Lila’s voice carries over to me and I turn back to see her and Bennett both looking at me expectantly.

“Sure. Yeah.”

I’m still wearing my work suit, so I take my time slipping off my jacket and setting it on one of the lounge chairs, and then removing my cufflinks, unbuttoning my shirt. I keep hoping my raging erection will subside somewhat, but the more I try to wish it away, the more it seems to surge.

Finally I peel off my pants, and kick off my socks and shoes. My cock is still hard as granite, so I decide fuck it — I’ll just embrace it. I shuck off my boxer briefs and then stride over to the pool, letting my huge hard cock precede me.

Sure enough, it works. Lila stops her giggling and instead stares up at me, her sweet lips parted in an oh.

I dive in to the deep end, then swim my way back over to where Lila is treading water. The water is the perfect temperature — warm for the sun, but still cool enough to be refreshing. I pull back up to the surface, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. I can touch the bottom here, but it’s still almost up to my shoulders.

Lila paddles up to me and wraps her arms around my neck.

“That was quite the entrance,” she says.

I grin and lean in to kiss her. The kiss goes from hot to scorching in seconds and before I know it, she’s wrapping her legs around my waist. Damn, this girl is amazing. I’m not inside her, but I can feel my cock pressed between my abs and her pussy, and she grinds against me as she kisses me.

I’m dimly aware of Bennett coming up behind her, and then his hands reaching between us to fondle her tits. He’s close to us, and suddenly I can feel just how close.

His cock spears towards me. Right under Lila’s ass, brushing up against her, but brushing into me too. Despite the cool water, my skin turns hot.

Bennett doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to me though. He’s still playing with Lila’s tits and kissing the back of her neck. I try to focus on her lips against mine, and the sweet feeling of her pussy lips against my cock, but all I can think about is how close Bennett’s cock is. It’s right there. So close I could reach out and touch it.

Reach out and touch it.

Touch it.

The thought catches me like an electric shock. My cock surges. I know I’m going to do it. I’m going to …

I unwrap one of my arms from under Lila’s ass and support her with my other one, letting my hip take some of the weight. The water makes it easy to hold her up, though. With my free hand, I reach through the water, waving, feeling, until …

I grasp my fingers around Bennett’s cock. He stops kissing Lila’s neck. His mouth opens in surprise. He looks up at me and I force myself to hold his gaze. If I’m going to jerk him off, I’m going to damn well look him in the eye.

A soft groan escapes his parted lips. Lila stops kissing me for a second and looks at him, then she looks back at me. In an instant, she knows. I don’t know how, but she does. I see the soft smile spread over her face, though she doesn’t say anything. Instead she goes back to kissing me, bobbing her body slightly so that she’s rubbing my cock. Damn, that feels good.

I wrap my hand tighter around Bennett’s cock. It’s actually pretty big — though mine’s bigger, of course — and I can barely wrap my hand all the way around it.

I slowly stroke my hand along the length of his shaft. He groans again. I jerk him off the way I do myself, squeezing and tugging at the shaft, skimming my fingers over the tip whenever I reach the end.

It feels insanely erotic to have his dick in my hand, and especially to be able to draw those moans out of him. And even though I’m pretty confident that I know what I’m doing when it comes to pleasuring a woman, there’s something about knowing that I can imagine every sensation Bennett is feeling, that I’ve felt the same sensations in my own cock.

I keep stroking his cock, fisting it, tugging it. I can’t see anything happening under the water, but I can see the way his jaw is tensing. He likes this. He’s going to come.

Bennett gives a grunt and then his cock jerks in my hand. A thin stream of semen shoots out into the water, clouding and then dissipating as it spreads out and sinks. Bennett’s eyes flutter closed for a minute and he licks his lips.

When he opens his eyes again, he looks resolved.

“Let’s get out of the pool. I have a proposal for all of us.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we’re sitting around on the white loungers, sipping German beers that Bennett’s brought out. The sun is setting now and the air is finally a few degrees less than scorching. Lila’s wrapped up in a fluffy white towel, her damp red hair hanging down over her bare shoulders.

Both of us are looking curiously at Bennett, who’s rubbing his hands together. He sits on the edge of his lounger, his bare feet resting against the wet terra cotta tile. He looks back and forth between Lila and I.

“God, would you spit it out, McCardiff?”

“Right.” He laughs lightly. “I guess this is more of a proposal for Lila.”

Lila raises her eyebrows. Her eyelashes are still damp and they looker darker and thicker than usual, framing her curious green eyes.

“Go on,” she prods.

“I was wondering how you would feel about taking Sam and I … at the same time.”

Damn. The idea instantly sends a rush of blood to my cock. Taking her at the same time. Fuck yeah.

Lila gnaws on her lip. “You mean …”

“I mean, I’d take you in the ass while Sam fucked your pussy. I did promise to take your ass, after all,” he grins.

Lila smiles back, but I can see the nervousness in her eyes. She looks back and forth between us. Her pupils are dilated and her nostrils flare, so I know she at least finds the idea intriguing.

“I’m scared,” she admits. “But I want to.”

Somehow her honesty makes her even more adorable. Most of the women I meet at the club are willing to do anything for the cash. Lila’s just being herself, regardless of the money on the line.

“We’ll go as slow as you need to,” Bennett promises, looking to me for confirmation. I nod.

“Definitely. You set the pace.”

Lila’s nodding now. “I trust you guys. So I agree … on one condition.”

“Anything,” Bennett says smoothly.

Lila’s eyes flash, and her face breaks into a wicked grin.

“If I’m going to take it up the ass, so are you,” she says to Bennett.