Holiday in Danger (11 page)

Holly shook her head.
Billionaires
. “Well, dinner’s ready. So come eat.”

Both men sat down and Holly grabbed the wine from the counter. “Chardonnay or Merlot? Pick your poison.”

Ian took the bottles. “Let’s do both.”

Holly shrugged and carried both bottles to the table. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to get us drunk.”

Ian grinned. “What’s wrong with that?”

* * *

IAN

Ian sat back in his chair and wiped his mouth with his napkin. Holly had outdone herself. “That was delicious. Hillary’s a fool to let you leave at the end of the month. She could use you.”

Holly picked up her glass of wine, but not fast enough to hide her blush. “Thanks.”

“I mean it.” Ian tossed his napkin on the table and leaned back in his chair. He still couldn’t get over how much she’d changed. The girl he’d had to ignore was gone. They were adults now and Ian could ogle all he wanted.

He laughed out loud. “You remember that time Mandy cut her own hair? She was what, ten?”

Holly almost choked on her wine. “Oh my God. That was terrible. I was supposed to be watching her.”

“I think you were busy watching someone else.”

Holly hid behind her wine glass. “You knew I was there?”

“I always knew.” Ian pulled his lower lip into his mouth before flashing Holly a grin. She always thought she was so stealthy. She’d plop Mandy down with some books and sneak off to catch a glimpse of him doing laps in the pool or lifting in the gym. He’d tried to ignore it. She was way too young. College guys and high school girls didn’t mix.

But now?
Damn
. Those curves. That voice. The way she still looked at him with a gleam in her eye.

There was no way he was letting her walk out of his life again. Not when he had a whole month to convince her to stay. She wasn’t anything like the other women in Midnight Cove. He’d spent years fending off the barracudas looking for a rich husband to take care of them. All they wanted was someone who could keep them in the lifestyle they so desperately wanted.

Holly wasn’t like that. She seemed to turn her nose up at his house. His cars. All of it. Ian had the sense that if he’d been broke, they’d have already fallen into bed. She was just the kind of woman he’d been looking for.

He shifted in his seat. “It was flattering, having you always peeking about, seeing what I was up to.”

She took a sip of wine and winced. “Sorry. It seems so creepy now.”

Ian laughed. “It was cute.”

Holly groaned. “God, that’s even worse. I must have driven you crazy.”

“Not hardly. Well, unless you count wanting what I couldn’t have.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You were in high school. But it didn’t mean I wasn’t interested. I just knew better.”

“You mean my father.”

Ian nodded. “Can you imagine what the man would have done if we’d gotten together?”

“He’d have sent me to a convent.”

“And I’d have been shipped off to military school.”

“That’s not a bad thing.” Trent smirked and Ian shot him a look.

“Not for you. Look at you, you’re a damn warrior now.” Holly wasn’t the only one who’d changed. Gone was Trent’s bad boy persona. In its place was a businessman with a lethal right hook. “Whatever happened to the troublemaker we used to know?”

Trent shrugged. “He grew up. Besides, I still get into trouble, but now it’s just helping the good guys.”

Ian shook his head. They’d all changed so much in the years they’d been apart. But one thing he knew for sure—Trent wanted Holiday as much as he did. They hadn’t had a chance to reconnect and talk about Devin and Blake and their fiancée Summer, but Ian hoped it’d given Trent an idea. A glimpse into what was possible in Midnight Cove.

The last thing Ian wanted was to force a showdown and make Holly choose. If the threesome that’d already blazed a trail in town was any indication, they didn’t have to.

He knew it was terrible timing—someone was out there threatening him, Holly, and his business. But they’d dealt with it for one night and with the police standing watch outside, they could forget for a few hours. Indulge.

Trent and Holly fell into conversation, reminiscing about the years when Ian was away at college. The more he listened, the more he made up his mind. Ian couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to see what the three of them could do together. Holly and all her luscious curves trapped between them. Her cries of pleasure as he and Trent worked her body.

Ian was a big boy and he could share. But could Trent? And would Holly let them?

* * *

HOLLY

They’d been eating and drinking and reminiscing for hours. But Holly couldn’t shake the sense that something lurked beneath the surface. At first she’d thought it was stress and tension over the break-in. But as the night wore on, the mood shifted.

It was tension all right—of the sexual kind. She glanced up at Ian. He’d been watching her for a while. “Something on your mind?”

He cocked his head. “I was thinking about our trip to the beach. Do you remember?”

Holly swallowed. Forget one of the best orgasms of her life? In the parking lot of the beach? Never. “Yes, I remember.”

Ian ran his tongue over his lip. “So do I. Every detail.” He turned to Trent. “But I’m not the only one tripping over himself to get with you, am I?”

Trent shifted in his chair. “No.”

Holly stiffened. Was Ian turning this into some sort of contest? A fight between him and Trent to see who would be the one to win her for the night? If so, she wasn’t interested. Holly made her own decisions and no chest-thumping show was going to change that. She opened her mouth to shut Ian down, but he talked over her.

“I wasn’t the only one with a teenage crush, was I?”

Holly snapped her mouth shut and turned to Trent.
No way.
“What is he talking about?”

First Ian admitted he had a thing for her back then. Now Trent? That couldn’t be right. She knew the sparks were flying now, but they were adults. It was different. Back when they all lived in the Cove, he’d always treated her like a sister. Not someone he liked…that way.

Trent focused on the table. “Maybe I had a bit of a crush. It was a long time ago.”

“You never said anything.”

Trent grabbed his napkin and folded it back and forth. She couldn’t catch his eye no matter how hard she tried. At last, he answered. “What would have been the point?”

What?
He was making no sense. “I don’t understand.”

Trent stood up and ran his hand over his head. “I was a punk back then. Always getting in trouble. Cutting class. You deserved better. Someone with potential and opportunities. Not someone like me.”

Holly blinked. “You mean all that time you thought you didn’t deserve me?”

Trent didn’t answer.

“Oh my God. I was so oblivious. I thought…I mean…” Holly glanced at Ian and then back at Trent. Suddenly it’d become a million times more awkward.

“You thought what?”

“I…never mind.” She was not about to admit she had a crush on both of them. Talk about embarrassing.

“No. You can’t do that now.” Ian sat forward in his chair. “No holding back. We’ve spilled our little secrets. It’s your turn.”

Holly rolled her lips over her teeth. Could she admit it? Hell, she’d already kissed both of them. Maybe it was the wine making her bold. Or the revelations both men had shared. She wanted to tell them.

She drained the rest of her glass and met Ian’s stare. “I might have had a thing for Trent, too. I just thought he wasn’t interested.”

Trent sat up and she stole a glance. “You never said anything.”

“Neither did you.”

Ian broke the tension with a laugh. “Aren’t we something.” He grabbed the last bottle of wine and peeled back the foil. “Grown adults still acting like embarrassed children.” He uncorked the bottle and poured each of them another glass.

Holly picked it up and swirled the burgundy alcohol around in the glass. “What’s your point?”

“My point is, maybe we should all stop pretending and go for what we really want.”

Trent grabbed his glass and the tension in the room increased by a million degrees. This needed to end. Right this minute. Holly took a drink and shook her head. “I’m not getting stuck in the middle of some testosterone-fueled contest between the two of you. No way.”

Ian took a sip and grinned. “Who said anything about a contest? Trent and I are pretty damn confident, isn’t that right?”

Trent grunted his reply.

“So?”

“I think we can figure out how to share.”

“What?” It came out in a squeak and Holly sat straighter in her chair. He couldn’t mean what it sounded like.

Ian shrugged. “We wouldn’t be the first threesome in town.”

“You’re talking about that artist.”

Ian nodded. “Summer Crenshaw. She’s engaged to Blake and Devin.”

Trent spoke up. “Seems they have a good thing going. The guys run a surf shop and Summer has a gallery upstairs.”

Holly cocked her head. “You know them?”

He rubbed his head with his palm. “Ian might have introduced us.”

What had started out as an ordinary dinner had morphed into something completely insane. She might have fantasized about the three of them doing the nasty, but to talk about it? Like it could actually happen? Complete insanity.

“I think the wine has gone to both of your heads.”

“Other parts, too.”

“Ian Knowles! You are ridiculous.” Holly balled up her napkin and threw it at him.

“No. I’m all grown up. And I know what I want.”

“And that is?”

“You. Any way I can get you.”

Holly’s mouth fell open.
This is crazy.
She shifted in her seat and turned to Trent. He’d talk some sense into Ian. “What about you, Trent? You can’t possibly agree with Ian.”

Trent licked his lips and Holly shuddered. “I don’t think you should discount it just because it’s out of your comfort zone.”

Holly pushed back from the table and stood up. She couldn’t concentrate with both of them staring at her like they wanted to rip her clothes off and pin her to the table. Which would be…awesome.
Oh, God.
She was such a tramp.

She grabbed her wine and walked into the living room.
Whoa
. While they’d been talking, the repairmen had come and fixed the door. It was like nothing had ever happened. The glass was back in place. The floors were spotless and gleaming.

Footsteps sounded behind her and she inhaled. “So this is what being rich gets you?”

Ian’s hand slinked around her waist. “Among other things.”

“I’m not for sale, Ian.”

“I never said you were.” He slid closer and his breath warmed her cheek. “But don’t discount what we could have just because you’re scared. People would accept it here. It’s Midnight Cove.”

Holly bit her lip. She couldn’t deny the way both men made her feel. But to fall into bed with them?

Trent walked around the pair of them and stopped in front of her. His dark eyes found hers and her mouth fell open. She couldn’t deny the need in his eyes or the lust barely kept in check.

“I’ve spent too many years making up for the past. I’m not that guy anymore, Holiday. And I want you. Just as much as Ian does. Let us in. Let us take care of you. Even if it’s just for one night.”

“I don’t want a one-night stand.”

Trent’s lips twitched. “Neither do we.”

Ian’s arm pulled her tighter against his chest and Holly swallowed. Could she do this? Could she open a door she thought was closed forever?

Trent slid closer and reached out. His fingertips brushed her cheek and Ian leaned in, trailing kisses across her collarbone.
Oh my God.
She’d been single for so long she’d forgotten what the touch of a man could do to her. With two? She might explode.

Trent stroked his thumb across her cheek and she leaned into his palm. “Don’t think, Holly. Just say yes.” He stepped closer and her whole body hummed.

Ian brushed her hair to the side and planted a kiss behind her ear. “You’re trembling. Your body’s betraying you.”

“I…I…”

“Want us.” Trent brushed his lips across her cheek. “Say it. Tell us you want this.” He kissed her, lips feather light against hers, and Holly surrendered. To the heat, the need, and the promise of a night to remember.

Her lips fell open and she moaned. “Yes. I’m saying yes.”

TRENT

A
MOAN
SLIPPED
past Holly’s lips and Trent was a goner. Screw holding back and brooding over whatever she felt for Ian. He wanted her as badly as he ever had before. More. She couldn’t walk out of his life or fall into Ian’s arms without giving it a chance.

He’d thought for years about how she’d feel wrapped in his embrace. How her body would fit against him. How she’d cry out when he sank deep inside her. Now he’d know. So Ian was there too. So what? Ian was right. They wouldn’t be the first threesome in Midnight Cove.

The town didn’t bat an eye. Sure, there were probably whispers behind their backs, but if Summer and her men could proclaim their affection out in the open, Trent and Holly and Ian could tumble into bed behind closed doors.