A Future for Three (2 page)
Hell, he'd wanted to tell her so many times what was going on in his head and his heart, but the only time he'd found the courage to broach the subject, she'd laughed as if he was joking, swatted him playfully, and left the room. Unsure exactly what had happened or why, Jason had backed away from the subject, reluctant to lose the comfortable friendships he'd built with both Emma and Casey. He rubbed a tired hand across his brow. There seemed no doubt that he would be the one to lose everything if things went south. The women had grown up together, had been friends for years before they'd met him, and he knew that if it came down to choosing sides, they'd choose each other
He grabbed one of the wine glasses and turned to leave the room, deciding to deliver Casey's wine to her, forgetting for a moment that the woman lay naked in the bathtub. He walked halfway down the hall before he realized. Standing at the bathroom door, he hesitated for a brief moment before knocking softly.
"Case? Casey?" He listened closely but couldn't hear a reply. He knocked again, a little louder, as the blood started to roar in his ears. She was tired and traumatized, and they'd left her in the bath all alone. What the hell had they been thinking?
"Casey!" His voice cracked in the middle of her name, and he belted the door a lot louder. He glanced up to see Emma hurrying down the hallway towards him. "Grab me a knife so I can open this door."
She nodded and turned back toward the kitchen, moving quickly. Within moments, she returned, handing him a flat butter knife so that he could twist the unlock mechanism from the outside. He barely heard the click over the pounding of his heart, but he pushed the door open even as his mind shied away from what he would possibly find. He fell to his knees beside the tub before he realized that he still held the wine glass in his hand. He thrust it onto the vanity counter, vaguely surprised that it didn't break from such rough treatment.
Emma dropped to her knees beside him, her hands reaching for Casey's pale face. The beautiful blonde was asleep, breathing softly, but most definitely asleep.
"Casey?" she called as she shook the other woman gently. "Casey, honey, wake up."
Her groggy, bloodshot eyes opened a fraction and then closed as she groaned.
"Babe, you can't sleep here. You're too exhausted and liable to drown," Jason said.
She didn't open her eyes again, but Casey managed to produce a sleepy smile. It was, without a doubt, the sexiest smile he'd ever seen on the pretty blonde. The type of smile that had a man thinking about sucking on those full lips as he buried himself to the hilt in her welcoming flesh. His lascivious thoughts brought him back to the realization that he was kneeling on the wet floor beside his beautiful, very naked roommate. Relief that Casey seemed to be all right warred with other, more dangerous thoughts, and he fought to control his body's reaction. Swallowing hard, he turned to Emma trying to figure a way out of the awkward situation.
What he saw on Emma's face made his cock leap to attention even faster. Emma, his sweet, timid Emma, caressed the other woman's face with such an open look of longing that it was clear to anyone watching that she was completely and utterly in love with her best friend. Jason had no doubt that Casey was a very beautiful woman, but the dreamy look on Emma's face stunned him.
Shit
.
Understanding finally belted him over the head, and he stifled a groan as all the cogs in his mind slowly clicked into place.
Chapter Two
Emma felt so relieved that Casey hadn't drowned in the bathtub that for a moment she simply forgot Jason's presence. Casey looked absolutely exhausted, but still, the woman looked beautiful, her flawless skin apparent even with the dark circles surrounding her eyes. She breathed softly, the slow, rhythmic movement making the water tremble where it lapped gently against the upper swell of her breasts.
Emma reached out and ran an unsteady hand down the side of Casey's face, tenderness and love for the woman who'd been her best friend her entire life coursing through her. She almost leaned forward to brush her mouth against Casey's softly parted lips when movement beside her caught her eye.
Hell
. Her heart thumped painfully as she realized her almost mistake. God, how embarrassing would that have been?
How to kill two friendships with one kiss—a real-life account by Emma Pace.
Yep, she was full of brilliant ideas tonight.
She pulled her hand back awkwardly and retreated to lean against the vanity.
"Uhm, I don't know what to do. We can't leave her sleeping in the bath, but she's so exhausted I doubt she'll wake up on her own."
Jason gazed steadily at Emma, a look she'd never seen before on his handsome face. He reached a hand to cup her cheek, gently urging her eyes to his own. The sweet smile that he gave her melted her heart, and she wanted nothing more than to stay right here, basking in his warmth, being the center of his attention.
"Don't worry. I'll lift her out, and you can wrap a towel around her. Then we'll put her to bed." He said it with such quiet reassurance that tears misted her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to stop them from falling onto her cheeks.
"Em, she'll be okay." Jason pulled Emma into his arms and hugged her tightly, the emotions zinging around the room as confusing as they were comforting. He held her a moment longer than she expected, kissed the top of her forehead, and then he set her away from him. "Now let's get this done before she wakes up and kicks both our asses."
* * * *
They'd managed to lift Casey out of the bath without waking her. Between the two of them, they'd gotten her into her room, dried her off, and tucked her under the covers. Emma had dried Casey down, her movements fast and efficient, none of the emotions he'd witnessed earlier in evidence.
"She's still sleeping." Emma flopped onto the couch beside him. "She woke up just as I turned to leave, mumbled a few words, and then went back to sleep. I've never seen her so exhausted."
Emma tried to hold back tears. They filled her eyes, but she somehow managed to stop them from spilling over. Jason's heart twisted in anguish for her. She looked as tired as Casey.
"Babe, she'll be okay." Jason reached over and hauled her against him, tucking her warm curves against his side, and pressed her head against his heart. He'd wanted to hold her like this for almost as long as he could remember. How ironic that he finally got to hold her against him like this and it was because she loved someone else.
Hell, life sure had a twisted sense of humor.
For more years than he cared to remember, his fantasies all revolved around this woman—coming home to her and their children each day, family vacations, growing old together, and a lifetime of sweet loving. His cock twitched again as replays of all the ways he wanted to explore her body, mind, and soul ran through his head—her sexy curves and gentle smiles driving him to his knees in more than one fantasy. Just imagining the welcoming warmth of her body, as his cock drove deep into her, had him on the verge of violent climax every single time. Oh, how he'd love to drop to his knees and explore every inch of her with his tongue.
She rubbed her head against his chest, and he desperately willed his body to behave. He could hear her taking deep breaths, and despite his body's willingness to believe she was as turned on as he was, the rational part of his brain wondered if she was still trying to hold back tears. The answer to his unasked question came a moment later when she pulled out of his arms and surreptitiously wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her shirt. He wanted to pull her back into his arms, nearly overwhelmed by his need to protect her, but she wriggled off the couch and dashed into the kitchen.
He sat for a moment, unsure whether he should follow her or give her space for a while. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself but realized it wasn't quite working as his legs carried him into the kitchen without having consciously made the decision.
"I think I can salvage the steaks." She peered into the oven, her jean-clad ass up in the air. Lust roared through his veins, his breath catching as all the fantasies that he'd woven played in his head again. He'd been dreaming about that softly rounded ass for years, and despite the inappropriateness of his response at this moment, his cock lengthened painfully against the zipper of his jeans. He quickly stepped up to the bench, cursing his too-tall height and the bench’s too-low hang, before slipping onto one of the stools at the counter.
He thought he did a good job of hiding the hiss of pain from sitting with a too-hard, jean-clad erection, but Emma glanced over, her face a mask of concern. He tried a reassuring smile at the same time that he ground his back teeth together. Shit, at this rate she was going to start wondering about his sanity.
"Are you all right? Please tell me you didn't put your back out lifting Casey out of the bath."
He didn't quite know whether to be grateful for her concern or annoyed at her assumption that he could hurt himself lifting Casey out of the bath. Even wringing wet, Casey was a lightweight. He grinned instead, trying to get back to that safe friends ground that they'd occupied for too many years.
"Nah, I'm fine." He lifted his arm and flexed the bicep muscle, breathing more easily when she laughed at his macho behavior.
"Oh, I forgot how strong you are." She said it at the same time that she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. If Casey had been here, they would both have laughed at him. Neither woman had ever let him get away with anything. Emma and Casey had been a part of his life for so long that he couldn't imagine living apart from either of them.
Which bought him to an uncomfortable thought—what if Casey loved Emma too? Would he be the third wheel? Would the women expect him to find a relationship of his own and move away? Hell, he couldn't bear the thought of leaving either of them, but how could he stay? How could he hurt them like that?
Emma glanced his way again and tilted her head as she contemplated his expression. His only thought at that moment was escape.
"I'll just go check on Casey." Emma nodded slowly as a worried expression crossed her beautiful face. He almost forgot his erection in his haste to escape her scrutiny, and he breathed in relief when she turned back to the stove just as he lifted off the chair.
He called himself a thousand kinds of fool on his way to Casey's room. He'd lived with Casey and Emma for more than five years, had been half in love with both of them for all that time, but it was now, now when he realized that Emma loved Casey, that he couldn't keep his cock under control. Hell, it was every man's fantasy, his sexy roommates together with him watching, but he wasn't comfortable thinking of his two best friends that way. These women were far more important to him than just bedmates. He closed his eyes, took a steadying breath, and then tapped lightly on Casey's door. When she didn't answer, he pushed the door open slowly. The sight that greeted him was almost his undoing.
Casey lay sprawled on her back in the middle of the bed, the blankets tangled around her legs like she'd been trying to kick them off. Small, perfect breasts with dusky pink areolas drawn tight from the slight chill in the room teased his imagination. Again, his body kicked into overdrive.
He wanted to stretch out beside her, suck a nipple into his mouth, and play her body until she exploded in his arms. He could almost feel the moist heat of her pussy, almost smell her sweet arousal, almost taste…
What the fuck am I doing?
Hell, at this rate he might just have a heart attack before the night was through.
She moaned softly in her sleep, the words incoherent but the fear behind them obvious, and finally,
finally
, his body got the message and settled down. He hurried toward the bed, untangled the blankets, and pulled them up to her neck. She whimpered again in her sleep, so he slid onto the bed beside her and carefully soothed the hair away from her heated face.
Casey turned toward him, wriggling closer. Thank God he'd stayed above the covers. If she woke now, she'd probably kick his ass anyway, but at least he wouldn't have to explain how he ended up cuddled to her naked form.
Tenderness swamped him as she relaxed against his chest. She was beautiful, stunningly so, and every man who met her asked her out, but for this moment, this small moment in time, she was his. He let the fantasy unfold in his head slowly, unaware where his thoughts were taking him until he got there.
Holy hell
. He wanted them both. Emma with her beautiful rounded curves, caring heart, and gentle love and Casey with her slim figure, kick-ass attitude, and steadfast loyalty. Somewhere along the way, he'd given them both his heart. No other woman in the world could come close to what these two women meant to him.
How fucked up was that? He was in love with two women who were most likely in love with each other. Talk about being a third wheel. He held Casey close, gently kissed her forehead, and then closed his eyes against the unexpected onslaught of pain.
* * * *
Emma lay in her bed two nights later rehashing everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours. Casey looked even more tired than she had the day of the bank robbery. Emma knew that Casey was sleeping. In fact, she'd slept much more than usual. It just didn't seem to be doing her any good.