“Do I dare ask?” Huck gave me an all-too-knowing look, his long, muscular legs stretched out in front of him as he relaxed on the sofa, a beer in his hand and a movie on TV.
I plopped down next to him, putting the bag of food on the coffee table. “There are leftovers if you’re hungry. Chili and sticky toffee pudding.”
“Let me guess...one of his many skills,” Huck grumbled, taking a long swig from his beer.
“Haven’t you ever made a mistake? I’m not saying I forgive him, but...” Then what exactly was I saying? Because that was exactly what it sounded like.
“Of course I’ve made mistakes, Avery. But that wasn’t a mistake.” He shook his head, turning to look at me, anger and frustration darkening his blue eyes. “He didn’t trip and fall, accidentally landing with his dick in a woman who just so happened to be there. No. He went to a bar, picked her up, brought her home, knowing damn well you’d eventually come back home and catch him, and then he proceeded to fuck her—continuing even after you showed up. At any point, he could have stopped himself if it was truly a mistake. But he didn’t. He consciously set out to hurt you, and that’s why I can’t believe you’re letting him back into your life.”
“Well, thanks for reminding me. I don’t know what the hell I’d do without you. All of that had simply escaped my memory.” His words tore open my wounds, reminding me of why I’d spent the last four years hating Dane. Because it may have been mean for Huck to remind me of how Dane had hurt me, but it didn’t change the fact that he had a valid point, and I knew he’d gone down that road because he was worried about me and didn’t want to see me get hurt again.
Huck draped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me to him, kissing the top of my head. “Sorry for being a shit. Still love me?”
“Yeah...I suppose.” I manage to muster up a teasing smile. Not that I could ever be angry with him. We’d been more or less inseparable since we were little. And though he’d headed out to Boston for med school, he’d luckily come back to Seattle to complete his residency—just as Dane broke my heart and I needed Huck the most. “Just like I hope you’ll still love me even after you find out that Dane’s helping me with some work problems.”
“Which means you’re going to end up seeing a whole lot more of him.” He shook his head at me. “You know I’m here for you—whatever you need. Just...for fuck’s sake, Avery...please be careful.”
“I will.” Even though it would take all I had to keep a level head and not let Dane’s charms persuade me. I was already sliding down one hell of a slippery slope, and was doing a crap job of keeping him at arm’s length. “I’m going to call it an early night. It’s been a long day.”
And tomorrow promised to be even longer if I had any hope of standing my ground with Dane.
Huck would likely be up all hours despite it being his night off, since his sleep schedule was totally screwed up due to his shifts at the hospital. When I went to grab the food so I could put it away, Huck stopped me. “I bet it would really annoy Blackthorn to know I was the one who’d eaten his leftovers.”
I had to laugh. “Probably. Shall I leave it then?”
“Might as well.” His charming smile had me leaning in to kiss his cheek goodnight. But before I turned away, he grabbed my hand and slowly pulled me onto his lap. “Avery...”
“You know I love you, Huck.” It was the truth. I just didn’t know that I could ever be in love with him. And I wasn’t willing to risk our friendship on a long shot.
“And I love you. I always have.” His blue eyes locked on mine as he cupped my face, brushing his thumb over my cheek. “You don’t owe that asshole anything. You know that, right?”
“Yeah...I know.” Yet nothing was straightforward when I clearly still had feelings for Dane. “I’m sure that he’ll be out of my life again as soon as we’re done with this job.”
“I think you’re lying to yourself if you think that’s going to happen. He was stupid enough to let you go once. I doubt he’d be stupid enough to do it again—especially if he thinks he stands a chance at getting you back.” Huck spoke with such certainty, and though he’d never really met Dane and only knew him from what I’d told him, he really did have a pretty good grasp of what was going on. “I sure as hell wouldn’t walk away from you if you were mine.”
I didn’t know what to say to Huck. But one thing was certain as it became clear that straddling Huck’s lap was getting a reaction from both of us—I needed to put some distance between us before we ended up doing something stupid.
“I know you wouldn’t—because you’re a good man. You’re also my best friend, Huck. And as much as I love you, I won’t risk ruining it.” I kissed his cheek and climbed off his lap. “Don’t stay up all night.”
“You know I will.” He waved me off as I headed to bed, my head spinning from the day’s events.
I stripped down naked and slipped between the crisp, cool sheets, my thoughts drifting between Dane and Huck.
Curse them both.
As complicated as my life was with work, the last thing I needed to do was muck things up further by getting into any sort of relationship. I just needed to stay focused, especially if I was going to find out what was going on at GTC.
Yet I’d just climbed off Huck’s lap and first thing in the morning, I’d be having breakfast with Dane. Talk about not complicating things.
And though I’d managed to hold strong up until now, more and more, my hormones were overriding any logical and sane thought going on in my head. It was just a matter of time before I totally screwed up and let Dane or Huck persuade me into something I should know better than to get involved in.
It certainly didn’t help that I hadn’t slept with anyone since Dane and I broke up. No wonder my hormones were running rampant.
I’d come close to sleeping with Huck once or twice, but somehow managed to halt things before they got too far. Yet now that Dane was back in the picture, I had no doubt that Huck would feel like he had to act now before it was too late. And it certainly didn’t help that Huck hated Dane for what he put me through. Huck would like nothing more than to put an end to Dane’s plans to win me back.
And though I had a history with both men, Dane was still the one who’d won my heart—but he was also the one who broke it.
Before I could drift off to sleep, my phone buzzed with a text. Dane. Of course.
“I can’t stop thinking of you.”
“Go to sleep, Dane.”
“That would be easier to do if you were here in my arms.”
Yeah...I bet it would. Except that I highly doubted either of us would be getting any sleep then.
“Sure...because sleep is exactly what you’d have in mind if I was in your bed. Riiiight.”
“I’m sure we’d get to it—eventually. And just think of how soundly you’d sleep after I’ve made you come, over and over again.”
I groaned, knowing all too well what that man was capable of with that gorgeous body of his. Because Dane wasn’t just brilliant, he was also one hell of an amazing lover. Images of our times together flashed in my head...his hands gripping my hips as he fucked me from behind, his body draped over mine as he bit my ear, the intensity in his every movement making me feel like he’d claimed my very soul when he had me screaming out in pleasure.
My hand drifted down between my legs to stroke my swollen clit, desperate to relieve some of the pressure that had been haunting me all day, first with Dane, and then only made worse when Huck pulled me onto his lap, since it was damn hard to ignore his massive erection.
“You still there, baby?”
I was. But I was a little busy at the moment, especially when my brain had now managed to conjure up both Dane and Huck into one hell of a sexy scenario. I’d never been with two guys at once, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever go down that road in real life. But this wasn’t real life...this was a fantasy in my head, which meant it was mine to enjoy.
But first...I needed to get rid of Dane.
“Just go away, Dane.”
There was a bit of a pause in his texts, which suited me just fine since I was currently dealing with Fantasy Dane and Huck, my body sandwiched between their naked muscular forms as they ravaged me. Lying back against the pillows, Dane pulled me down onto his cock, so I found myself riding him as Huck positioned himself behind me—
“Rae?”
—his well lubed fingers pressing against the tight pucker of my ass. My body relaxed around the odd sensation as Huck slowly worked his fingers in and out, before pulling them free, the head of his slick cock pressing against my entrance. He wrapped his strong arm around my body, holding me to him as he rocked his hips forward, forcing his massive cock into my ass, even as Dane slowly fucked me, his mouth on mine, eagerly swallowing up my needy moans and gasps as my body tried to accommodate both men at once.
“You know...whatever you’re doing might be more fun if I was there to help you.”
Bastard. He was interrupting my train of thought, and I was already so close to coming, since my little fantasy was doing a stellar job at getting me off.
I ignored his text and got back to Fantasy Dane and Huck, who were both doing an amazing job of fucking me, my body overwhelmed by the sensation of taking both men at once, pleasure and pain ratcheting up as their pace quickened, my orgasm torn from my lips even as they both came, filling my body with their hot cum, their cocks pulsing deep inside.
My heart hammered inside my chest as I took one deep breath after another, since I hadn’t just come in my little fantasy.
Knowing Dane was still waiting, I texted him a quick response.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I love it when you come. Maybe tomorrow we can do it again—in person. Sweetest dreams, baby.”
I just had to laugh, since I highly doubted Dane and I were picturing the same fantasy.
If he only knew.