I look back and forth between Sam and Bennett. Somehow the air still feels like it has an electric current running through it. All the earlier tension has faded but now a different kind of spark ignites.

Bennett approaches from across the room and tips my chin up. His lips are on mine in a second, marking me as his, devouring me with his kiss. I press my body against his. I can still taste the wine on his lips, but thankfully he seems to have sobered up. There’s definitely nothing sloppy about his kiss — it’s commanding and powerful and all consuming.

Already my legs are turning to jelly and I wind my arms around his neck to support myself. I feel Sam approaching from behind, sweeping my hair off my shoulders and kissing the back of my neck. His tongue marks a trail down my spine that makes me shiver.

They kiss me from both sides — Bennett at my front, Sam at my back. Then Bennett grabs at the front of Sam’s shirt. He yanks him forward, closer to him, and then he moves his lips away from mine and over to Sam’s.

It happens so seamlessly that for a second I’m too caught up in the moment to even realize what’s happening — that Bennett and Sam are kissing. These two men, who once wanted to tear each other’s throats out, are now devouring each other in a completely different manner.

And holy hell, is it hot.

I stand in awe and watch them for a minute, the way their hands roam each other’s bodies, the way their tongues clash and their lips tease. I wriggle in between them and start undoing the buttons of Bennett’s shirt, sliding it off his shoulders until it pools on the floor.

I scrape my nails along his dark nipples, then use my teeth to do the same. He groans against Sam, and I take that as a sign to keep going. I let my tongue trail down along his washboard abs, sinking to my knees in the process.

His cock is bulging, straining against the fabric of his pants, and I run my palm along hardness. I use my other hand to stroke Sam in the same way. They both groan now, and I love having that power over them. The power to make their thighs tense and their muscles clench. The power to pull those lusty sounds from their throats.

I reach for Bennett’s belt and wrestle it off him, then shove his pants down over his hips. His cock springs free, thick and hard and ready. It strains towards me and I wrap my hand around it before licking the tip. That earns me another moan, which makes me smile.

I keep stroking Sam as I take Bennett in my mouth. I wrap my lips tight around his cock and bob my head up and down on him, taking him as deep as I can, until he’s almost butting up against the back of my throat. Above me they’re still kissing, lost in this passionate first.

After a couple of minutes, I move off Bennett and unleash Sam’s cock, taking him into my mouth the same way I did with Bennett. I coat his shaft with my tongue, then take him deeper and deeper until he bumps up against the back of my throat. He groans, winding his hand tighter in Bennett’s hair.

Kneeling between them, surrounded by their heat, is making me dizzy with arousal. Although I tugged my dress back on when Bennett surprised us by arriving in Sam’s penthouse, I hadn’t made it to my underwear, and now I’m grateful for the easy access. I reach my hand beneath the skirt of my dress and finger my swollen clit. It’s slick with arousal and I know with a few good rubs, I could easily make myself come.

Above me, Bennett and Sam finally pull apart. I’m disappointed until I see the hungry way they look down at me.

“As much as I enjoyed that, I don’t think we should forget about our sweet fox,” Bennett says, grinning.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Sam offers.

I grin. “See how much you agree on these days?”

Instead of laughing at my little joke, Bennett scoops me up into his arms.

“Point me to the bedroom,” he grits at Sam. Sam leads the two of us down a hallway to a gigantic master bedroom, and Bennett sets me down on the plush white bed.

Bennett’s already quickly shucking his clothes off while Sam crosses the room and opens the nightstand next to the bed. He rummages around for a minute and then hands something over to Bennett.

“What’s this?” Bennett asks, looking down at the bottle of lube.

“A chance to … even the score,” Sam answers.

I hold my breath as I realize what Sam is offering. Bennett’s eyes darken, and then he nods, once. My heart surges to see their exchange, and to know what it means — that they’re both finally truly willing to give us a chance.

I pat the bed beside me, gesturing for Sam to join me. When he does, I kiss him, hoping he can read the love and pride in my kiss.

I lean back against the pillows, pulling him with me. His cock is already pressing against my pussy, as if eager to finish what we started earlier, before Bennett’s arrival. As if to finish things the right way this time. As three.

I shift my hips so that he can slip inside, gasping as he fills me. I hold his face between my hands and kiss him as Bennett climbs on the bed to join us.

I shimmy my hips against Sam, clenching and unclenching my pussy, making him groan. I run my fingers through his hair. His face changes as Bennett moves behind him, squeezing a dollop of lube between his ass cheeks, but I distract him with another long, deep kiss.

His muscles ripple under my hands as he tenses and shudders. I stroke his tongue with mine, and I feel his sharp intake of breath as Bennett pushes up against his asshole.

“Are you ready?” I ask him softly, and he nods. His eyes are filled with lust, and I find myself once again in awe of these two men, so willing to bare everything to me. With me.

Bennett pushes his hips up against Sam’s ass. It pushes Sam deeper into me, and I squeeze him again. He groans as he slowly starts to rock his hips — forward into me, backward into Bennett. Neither Bennett or I move, letting Sam set the pace for now. He’s so slow and deliberate, and the slick, slow in and out is sending me closer and closer to climax. I force myself to hold out a little longer, wanting to go as high as they’ll take me.

Bennett grips Sam’s hips, eventually picking up the pace, slamming forward into Sam. His one time rival. And now? Now I’m not sure exactly what we are, but I know I’ve never felt like this before. Never thought I would, to be honest.

A memory of my first meeting with Ava comes back to me now. I’d told her I wanted to find my limits. To know what my edges tasted like. I thought I’d just been bullshitting her to get the job, but maybe there was more truth to my words than I realized. Because here, with Sam and Bennett, I feel pushed to my limits … and I feel happy. Maybe the edges are where we find the most satisfaction.

My climax is banging on the door now and I have no choice but to let it in. I clench my muscles around Sam, clinging to his shoulders and looking back and forth at him and Bennett as I let the power of our lovemaking take me away.

Sam groans as I writhe underneath him, and then he bucks his hips into me, hard, impaling me and then stilling as he lets go. Bennett’s the last to finish, riding out both our climaxes before finally slamming one more time into Sam and then collapsing forward onto his back.

We lay there in a heap for a minute, breathing hard and still in awe of what we are together.

We spend the rest of the night like that, in bed, exploring our limits and tasting our edges. It’s everything I could have hoped for — everything I never knew I wanted.

By the time the sun comes up, my body is bent and broken but well and thoroughly satisfied. I curl up between Bennett and Sam, unable to keep the smile off my face.

“We should put that champagne in the fridge,” I say sleepily. “Then we can have mimosas when we wake up.”

“I like the way you think,” Sam says, kissing my nose. He starts to get up, but Bennett puts a hand on his arm.

“I’ll get it,” he says, standing and stretching. I admire his muscular form as he strides from the room.

Sam and I go back to cuddling as Bennett goes to take care of the champagne. I giggle and then grimace when we hear a crash from the living area, and the sound of Bennett swearing softly. It didn’t sound like the bottle breaking though.

“Bennett, could you try not to destroy my house, please?” Sam calls, laughing.

There’s no response from outside the room, and I raise my eyebrows at Sam. He shrugs. I look towards the bedroom door just as Bennett appears.

It’s my purse that I notice first, slung over his arm.

“Bennett, what are you …”

I trail off as I see my notepad in my his hand. Open. My eyes go to his face, and see the look of fury on his face.

Oh. Fuck. My notes. For the article.

“Lila, what the fuck is this?” he seethes.

“What is it?” Sam asks, looking back and forth between Bennett and I.

“That’s what I’m asking,” Bennett growls.

“Well, I’m asking you,” Sam says. “What are you freaking out about?”

I swallow. There’s a lump in my throat the size of a boulder. How could this have happened?

“I knocked Lila’s purse over when I grabbed the champagne,” Bennett says to Sam, not looking at me. “And this fell out.” He tosses the notebook to Sam, who flips through it. Tears spring to my eyes as I watch his expression fall, a sort of understanding dawning on his face.

“You were … making notes on us? On Orchid?” he asks. “Why?”

“Oh God. Okay,” I lick my lips. I pat the bed, wanting Bennett to join us so I can explain all of this, but he shakes his head angrily and stays leaning against the door frame, looking at me expectantly.

“Okay, you have to promise to hear me out,” I say. Neither of them answer, which isn’t exactly a promise, but I figure it’s the best I’m going to get. I take another deep breath.

“When I first went to Orchid …” Fuck, this is hard. “When I first went, it was because I was hired to write a magazine article about the club.”

“What?” Sam sounds shocked. “Ava would never let anyone in there to cover the club.”

“I know, but I was undercover. Other than my journalism degree, there’s nothing in the world that would tie me to the magazine. I didn’t even get the assignment from them, I got it through a friend. A former classmate.”

“You’ve been using us,” Bennett says angrily.

“No,” I insist. My voice is desperate. I’m desperate. “It was never like that, I swear. I wanted to do the auction for my story initially, yes, but everything that happened between us was real. I swear it. Bennett. Sam.” My eyes dart back and forth between them. “You have to believe me. This is all real.”

They’re quiet for a minute and I dare to let myself hope that perhaps they can see past this. But Bennett’s eyes blaze. He looks away. I look at Sam next. He meets my gaze, but his brow is furrowed. All the earlier contentment is drained from his voice.

“I think you should leave,” he says softly. That’s when he looks away. That’s when I know it’s over.

“I’m getting out of the assignment,” I tell them. Panic laces my voice. “I’m calling the editor today and telling him I can’t do the story anymore.” Something I should have done weeks ago, as soon as I realized how deep I was falling with Bennett and Sam. I curse myself.

“It’s too late,” Bennett says angrily. “How could we ever trust you after this?”

Tears are streaming down my face now. I watch helplessly as Sam gets up off the bed and walks out of the room. For a second I wonder where he’s going, until he returns a moment later with my clothes.

“I think you should leave,” he says again. His voice is tight, monotone. I don’t know what’s worse — Bennett’s outright anger, or Sam’s silent, unemotional voice. I wipe my eyes frantically with the back of my hands.

“Please, I …” I swallow. Lick my lips. “I’m so sorry. I never meant …”

But I don’t know how to finish the sentence. I never meant to hurt them? I never meant to fall in love? I never meant to blow down this fragile house of cards we’d built?

Sam doesn’t give me a chance to say anything. He just turns and stalks out of the room. Bennett tosses my purse on the bed, and then follows him out, leaving me alone in the bedroom, clutching my dress and sobbing uncontrollably.