An Indecent Proposition (24 page)

She considered her response as they walked into the restaurant. She’d stepped away from Erik, who helped her remove her coat while Keegan walked up to the hostess stand.

It wasn’t until she’d turned back to join Keegan that she noticed how rigidly Erik held himself.

Frowning, she searched for the cause…and found it in the woman behind the stand. She stared at him, open shock on her face. Jules recognized that shock. She’d felt it too when she’d first seen Erik.

Then the look was gone, the woman smoothing out her expression and waving them up the stairs to the dining room.

Keegan flashed Erik a look then caught and held her gaze before nodding at her to follow the hostess.

Taking Erik’s arm, she walked with him up the stairs. By the time they reached the second floor, she realized she was holding her breath.

God, this must be hell for Erik.

All these people looking at him, staring. A few noticed him right away, did a double take, eyes widening before quickly looking away again.

They had to walk past several tables and the pattern repeated at every single one. Someone would look up as they passed, notice Erik and either look away immediately then whisper something to their dinner companion or they’d openly stare for several seconds before blinking, like they were coming out of a trance, and looking away.

Two people did manage to smile at them, two women who nodded and smiled sadly at Jules. As if she were some saint who’d taken pity on a ruined man.

That was almost worse than the stares and unconscious gasps.

By the time they reached their table in a dark, secluded corner, she was ready tell the lot of these well-dressed assholes to mind their own fucking business or she’d knock a few of their teeth out.

“Jules. Hey, are you okay?”

Keegan had asked the question but she turned to see Erik staring at her with raised eyebrows. Sitting with his back to most of the room, he slowly started to smile.

Then he laughed and Jules smiled in return. How could she not?

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be this—”

“Don’t apologize.”  Erik shook his head and covered her hand, curled into a fist on the table, with his. “I’m a big boy. I can take it.”

“Don’t you want to go around making faces at people and growling? Some people are just so…so….”

“Pathetic? Clueless?” Keegan offered.

“Rude? Obnoxious?” Erik added.

Keegan leaned back in his chair, almost smiling. “Insufferable? Moronic?”

“Dude, your Irish is showing.” Erik picked up the menu. “You bust out words like that with that accent and normal American guys don’t stand a chance.”

“True.” Keegan flashed Jules a grin before picking up his menu. “You never could compete.”

The waitress interrupted whatever Erik had been going to say. She was probably Jules’ age, maybe a little younger, and had a face that probably won her a mint at the poker table. She nodded at each of them, made eye contact with Erik without blinking, took their drink orders and disappeared.

“Hell, it was never even a close competition before.” Erik continued to study the menu, a quirky smile on his lips. “I had to go and fuck up my face for you to actually pull ahead of me.”

She was so surprised at Erik’s joke at his own expense that her lips parted on a silent gasp.

“Yeah, well apparently you screwed that up too because Jules seems to find something about you interesting. And I’m guessing it’s not your amazing personality. So what do you say, Jules? Was it his personality or his wit or his looks that drew you in? Because it certainly wasn’t his charm.”

She started to laugh, trying to keep it from being an all-out bray with unladylike snorting, but she couldn’t help herself.

Erik looked at her with a gleam in his eye then glanced at Keegan for a bare second before returning his attention to the menu. “And you know shit about charm. Let me tell you about the time he fell for the TA in our second-year e-lab.”

The anger she’d felt at the way people looked at Erik slowly retreated as her dates put on The Keegan and Erik Show. They were a little rusty at it but she saw how effective it must’ve been in college.

Keegan’s sincerity shone through in everything he said. When he told her she looked beautiful, she knew he meant it one-hundred percent. And when he smiled, she felt like the clouds had just revealed the warm summer sun.

Erik had smooth charm to spare. He knew what to say and when and how to make a woman feel like she was only person in the room. But it was his underlying intensity that made a woman want to leap over the table and throw herself at him.

Combined…they were deadly to a woman’s ability to say no. And they made dinner pass way too quickly.

She barely remembered what she ate and soon forgot that there were other people around them. Three hours flew by. Two bottles of wine, dinner and dessert consumed.

Most of the restaurant had cleared out by the time Erik said, “I guess we should get out of here. Looks like they’re ready to close down for the night.”

She bit her lip as they settled the bill, Keegan grabbing it before Erik could get his hands on it. Would they ask her back to one of their houses? She’d never been to Keegan’s and she was curious. Or would they deliver her home like this was a regular date, where they each gave her a peck on the cheek and said good night?

She didn’t want the night to end. It’d been fun, flirty, sexy and exhilarating.

She hadn’t had a night like this in…well, she couldn’t remember. 

So much worry and stress the past several years had made her feel old. Like she’d skipped all the good parts of being twenty-something and headed straight into the pressures of being an adult with too much responsibility.

While she never would’ve said anything to her mom, she’d felt like she was drowning.

Now that the debt had been cleared and she’d met two amazing men, she wanted to let loose, have some of the fun she’d missed.

“Are you ready to go?” Keegan asked.

“Only if you’re not taking me back to my house.”

Erik had already stood but now he leaned over her shoulder and put his mouth close to her ear. “And where would you like to go?”

Keegan still sat across from her, watching them. When she met his gaze, his head tilted back. “Would you like to come back to my house tonight?”

“He’s actually got an even bigger bed than I do.” Erik low rasp made her shiver.

“Yes, I would. Can we leave now?”

“Hell, yes,” Keegan said, his words a little louder than he’d probably intended.

She didn’t care who heard him. Didn’t care who saw when she pressed a kiss to Erik’s mouth then Keegan’s before they headed for the stairs and the exit.

She glanced at the wait staff still on the floor as they were leaving, thoroughly enjoying the shock on some of their faces.

Hell, if they were going to do this, she wasn’t going to hide it. If Erik was willing to come out of the shadows for her, she was going to kick down the rest of the walls.

But she didn’t think Erik was going to be the problem.

Keegan had let her kiss him but withdrew immediately, letting Erik put his hand on the small of her back as they walked down the stairs.

The drive back to Keegan’s home was mostly silent but this time, that silence held a charged sensuality.

When Erik finally pulled to a stop in front of a contemporary building that would look more at home in California than the rural outreaches of Pennsylvania, her panties were soaked.

She really needed to get a handle on her libido.

Then again, why? Why try to tame this feeling? They were hurting no one—

“Shit.”

Keegan’s low curse drew her attention as he pulled into the three-bay garage. There was another car already parked in the space at the far end and Keegan looked at it like it was a snake.

“I take it you weren’t expecting company?”

There was a tone in Erik’s voice that made her realized they knew whose car was sitting in Keegan’s garage.

And they weren’t happy about it.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Erik glanced over his shoulder at Keegan, his mouth set in a firm line.

“And why the fuck didn’t she call first?” Keegan added.

“Christ.” Erik shook his head. “Can we leave before she realizes we’re here?”

“Too late. You know her. She was probably watching through the front window.”

“How the hell did she get in your house?”

Keegan grimaced. “I gave her a key.”

“Well, you’re a fucking idiot.”

Jules was tired of being left out of the conversation. “Are you two going to tell me who’s here or are you just going to let me hang?”

At that moment, both men’s attention turned toward that open door.

Where a beautiful blonde now stood. Pale gold hair hung in a sleek fall to her shoulders. Wide blue eyes watched them, one eyebrow lifted. Her features had the perfection of selective breeding and her clothes screamed wealth and status.

“Who is she?”

Erik sighed. “My sister, Katrina.

Keegan gave a matching sigh and turned to her with a grimace. “And my ex-fiancé.”

AN INDECENT PROPOSITION

PART IV

Chapter One

“Fiancée. You were engaged. To Erik’s sister.”

Jules stared at the door the woman had disappeared through, a ten-ton weight now settled on her chest.

Which was stupid. It wasn’t like she didn’t know they’d had lives before she’d met them.

Why this made any difference at all…

With a muttered curse, Erik shoved himself out of the car then opened the door to help Keegan out.

She took his hand and let him, operating on autopilot.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as she tried to tell herself it shouldn’t matter.

But the fact remained that she didn’t know as much about these two men as she should.

As you want to.

Once again, she’d taken a leap without looking. Or even wondering what was on the other side.

She should know by now that she usually ended up in quicksand.

Through the pounding of her pulse in her ears, she heard Erik slam the driver’s door then he stopped next to Keegan in front of her.

A united front.

“Jules, look at me.”

She looked up at Keegan, saw the burning anger in his eyes. Then she looked at Erik and saw the flush on his cheeks that made his scars stand out in sharp contrast.

She wanted to reach up and stroke Erik’s cheek. Wanted to wrap her arms around Keegan’s shoulders and hug him.

Both men looked a little shell-shocked.

She didn’t want to leave them. But if she stayed…

Did she really want to meet Erik’s sister? Who also happened to be the woman Keegan had wanted to marry?

“It was years ago.” Keegan’s voice sounded like he was being strangled. “We both realized it was a huge mistake and called it off.”

“Give the guy credit for coming to his senses before he actually walked down the aisle.” Erik’s voice held an edge sharp enough to cut.

Neither of them sounded thrilled to see Katrina.

“So why is she here?” she asked.

Neither man answered, exchanging a glance that made her want to smack the backs of their heads and force them to spill their guts.

Finally, Erik sighed. “Keegan, you should take Jules home. I’ll deal with Kat until you get back. I’m sorry, Jules. I had other plans for tonight but—”

“I could wait until you’re finished talking to her.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and they sounded so pathetic, she had to fight a wince.

But she’d had her own plans for tonight that involved a lot of naked skin and her in bed with her men. All hers. All night.

Keegan and Erik exchanged another quick look, their lips flattening into straight lines.

Keegan shook his head. “Trust me, it’s better if I take you home.”

Okay, maybe they didn’t want her here. Didn’t want her to meet Katrina.

She nodded, a chill running up her spine. “Of course. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Erik muttered a barely audible “Fuck” as Keegan grabbed her hand.

“No, damn it, it’s not fine.” Keegan shook his head. “We weren’t expecting her, Jules. We didn’t invite her. Hell, I’m not sure why the hell she’s here.”

Erik sighed and she and Keegan switched their attention to him.

“I’m kind of afraid I do,” Erik said.

Keegan’s gaze narrowed. “What the hell. Have you talked to her lately?”

Erik grimaced though he cleared it quickly. “She was at Christmas dinner.”

Total shock made Keegan’s mouth go slack. “Shit. Seriously? In the same room as your mom?”

Erik rubbed a hand along the side of his neck. “My dad insisted. Told her she had to show up. Doesn’t matter. Let me deal with this while you take Jules home.”

They both focused on her again and she forced herself to hold each man’s gaze in turn.

“I had a great time tonight. Thank you for dinner.”

In unison, both men said, “Fuck.”

Erik took a step forward and put his hands on her shoulders, bending down to look straight into her eyes. “Damn it, Jules. I’m not trying to get rid of you. I don’t want you to go. I want to spend the night making you come and watching Keegan fuck you until you pass out. Then we’d start all over again.”

She shivered,  her pussy clenching at the images Erik had conjured with his words. God, yes. She wanted the same thing.

But you don’t always get what you want, do you?

Keegan huffed out a sigh. “Fuck it. Jules, you’re coming in. I’ll set you up in the den, Erik and I can find out what the hell she wants, then we’ll get rid of her. She’s not staying here, that’s for damn sure.”

“I’ll take her back to my place.” Erik stepped away from Jules and ran a hand through his hair. “Damn it, I wish she would’ve called first.”

Keegan turned to Erik. “Then tell her we have plans and to come into the office tomorrow. We can deal with her there.”

Erik shook his head, though she wasn’t sure he was saying no.

When a short silence fell, she felt compelled to fill it.

“I take it you and your sister don’t get along?”

“Actually,” Erik rubbed at his eyes, “we used to get along just fine. She’s just…not a happy person lately.”

Keegan snorted. “That’s putting it mildly.”

Sighing, Erik turned toward the door. “Look, just let me deal with this. I’ll take her back to my place and come back. Then we can put her out of our minds until tomorrow morning.” Turning, he smiled at Jules. “And concentrate on other, better things.”

Jules loved when Erik smiled like that. It made her tingle from the inside out. But when she turned to Keegan, he was staring at the door Erik’s sister had disappeared through. A scowl marred his expression and she felt her heart stutter.

Did he still have feelings for Katrina? Would he tell her what had happened between them? Did she even want to know?

“Keegan.” She put her hand on his forearm. “I’ll go home if that’s what you want. I don’t want to cause you and Erik any trouble with your families.”

Maybe their families didn’t know about their unusual love lives. Maybe the men wanted to keep it that way.

And maybe that’s how this relationship would always be. Maybe their date tonight had been the exception. Maybe they’d never be able to acknowledge their relationship publicly.

After all, Keegan and Erik ran a company worth millions. They held a certain position in society.

She…didn’t.

Keegan cupped her face in his hands, startling her. Then he lowered his head and kissed her, so long and deep, she started to feel her body give in almost immediately.

When he pulled away, she sucked in a deep breath.

“She’s not my family.”

Keegan’s gaze bored into hers, the promise of what was to come later making her burn. Her cheeks were flushed and she probably looked like she’d just been thoroughly kissed.

She didn’t care.

Keegan turned toward the house, lacing his fingers with hers as Erik put his hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go see what the princess wants.”

* * *

Erik was pretty sure he knew why Kat was here.

He hadn’t invited her. Would never have thought she’d actually show up. Especially not at Keegan’s. Her history with his best friend was contentious. And that was putting it mildly.

He’d expected her to call after she’d dug into the information Erik had given her at Christmas. It’d been the only way he could think of to handle this problem.

Kat had access to resources Erik didn’t, resources Erik needed for his investigation into the explosion. An investigation Keegan was reluctant to pursue.

Biting back a sigh, he followed Jules into the house. He really wasn’t looking forward to Keegan’s reaction when he found out Erik had involved his sister in their business. Keegan would be pissed. And with good reason. If Keegan had gone behind Erik’s back and involved his sister, he would’ve been ranting and raving by now.

Instead, Keegan paused in the kitchen to squeeze Jules’ hand and give her a slight smile before taking a deep breath and heading toward the front of the house.

Following behind Keegan, Jules looked around with an interested gaze as they passed through the formal dining room and into the great room in the front.

Unlike Erik’s comfortable mess of a home, Keegan’s was all straight lines, lots of white accented with dark browns and blues. Starkly modern. No clutter, no mess. It fit Keegan to a T. It’d drive Erik crazy to live in this minimalist wonderland.

Except for Keegan’s great room. The cathedral ceiling, the stained-glass window high on the front wall, the massive bookshelves on the back wall that went from the floor to the second-floor ceiling held books and art. A huge stone fireplace took up most of one of the side walls, and comfortable furniture spread through the room.

Everything had a place here. The only thing out of place was Kat.

Erik loved his sister but he’d never understand why Keegan had thought they’d make a good match. They were just so different.

Keegan had a heart, and Kat… Well, Kat had lost hers awhile ago.

His sister turned as they entered the room, and Erik watched her expression harden until her lips looked like they might actually crack.

This is a very, very bad idea.

But it was too late now. Might as well put their shoulders back and bulldoze through it.

Stepping away from Jules, whom Kat studiously avoided, Erik walked up to his sister and wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey, sis. Good to see you. What brings you all the way down here?”

With a heavy sigh, his younger sister allowed herself to soften in his arms for just a few seconds, reminding him of how, at one time, they’d been bound by a common enemy.

Then he’d gone away to college and had never returned, and Kat had been left to fend for herself against their mother. It’d made her brittle. Not in the sense that she was easily breakable but that she was fractured inside. Yes, she’d shored up the outer façade, but you could see the cracks every now and then.

Old anger rose inside. Their mother had one hell of a lot of misery to answer for, which would never happen because their mother thought she was right.

When Kat pulled away, she gave him a small smile. “I tried your house first but the housekeeper told me you’d gone out with Keegan. So I decided to try here. Sorry if I’m,” her gaze skittered over his shoulder and her expression flooded with bitterness, “interrupting anything.”

Giving her a warning look, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously you have something you thought I’d want to hear.”