Party of Three: A H.O.T. Cops Novel (17 page)

But then she raised her gaze to Ethan—and one thing came back. The bond she felt with him. It was something like that starkly intimate sensation she’d experienced with Rogan a little while ago—but with Ethan … oh God, with Ethan it ran deeper because it was about so much more. Somehow the look they exchanged spanned their whole history together and every aspect of their lives. It said,
Look how dirty we can be together and still have sane, productive, sensible lives to return to.
It reminded her that he gave her
everything
—everything from love and security to the hottest, nastiest sex she could never have imagined.

“I want to come in your mouth,” he murmured down to her.

Oh Lord. He’d never done that before. It was kind of like her ass with Rogan—something he’d always wanted but she’d feared a little. Yet without even weighing it, she kept her eyes on his and gave one more nod, that easily. She was that excited, that pleasured, that eager to please him. She wanted that liquid part of him inside her, shooting down her throat, spreading all through her body in a whole new way. She wanted to feel that powerful explosion of ejaculation in a whole new place.

“Aw baby,” he rasped at her acquiescence, clearly as surprised by it as she was. “I love you.”

And oh, she loved him, too. And she wished she could tell him. But she would just have to say it in a different way now, even if it was still by means of her mouth.

Behind her, Rogan persisted in plunging incredibly deep and hard with each thrust—and though her thighs pretty much
had
given out on her now, he held her up, anchoring one arm around her waist, and he also braced her knees with his. And as Ethan pistoned with smooth precision in and out between her welcoming lips, she remembered the advice of a girlfriend back in college—a group of them had sat in a tiny dorm room as Deena Fightmaster had instructed them in the art of swallowing. She’d said to do exactly that, to try to loosen the throat muscles and keep swallowing, swallowing, swallowing to avoid being overwhelmed.

And that’s when Ethan said, “Aw baby, honey, now, now—I’m gonna fill your perfect mouth with my come.” And even as Rogan rammed into her from the back, she concentrated on opening her throat, and then the warmth filled her mouth and so she swallowed briskly, again, again, over and over with Ethan groaning his pleasure above her until she knew his climax had ended.

And as he drew his cock out of her now-unbelievably-exhausted lips, she knew the sense of yet another new bond with him—she’d taken him inside her in yet another hot new way and it came with a surprisingly warm sense of satisfaction that flowed through her body the same as she imagined his semen doing right now.

“You okay?” he whispered tenderly, lifting her chin with one bent finger.

Even without her mouth filled, though, she still couldn’t speak. Not yet. So she simply offered another nod and hoped he somehow understood how much she meant it, that he could see it in her eyes—and he just answered with a replete sigh that told her all she needed to know.

“Jesus Christ,” Rogan said behind her then. “Fuck, I’m gonna come, too. I’m gonna come so fucking hard in this tight little cunt.”

And then he did, ramming into her even more forcefully, pleasure warring with utter fatigue inside her as her arms gave out, leaving only her ass raised in the air as he delivered those last ferocious drives, groaning deeply with each.

All she knew after that was the need to rest. Although it came with total satiation.

She heard Rogan’s voice. “Aw, babe, you are so fucking phenomenal, so fucking amazing.”

And Ethan’s, coming softer. “I love you, Mira. You’re perfect.” And then his kiss, tender on her swollen lips, and then another on her breast as she found herself rolling to her back in the sand.

The sun was like a balm, caressing, comforting, and over the course of a few minutes the warm rays began to feel almost healing to her, like some reenergizing treatment that was restoring her, bringing her back to life.

She was aware that Ethan lay on her left, Rogan on her right, all of them recovering from what they’d just shared. Her body had never felt so well-used—so thoroughly well-pleasured—in her life, and as a small, slightly naughty-feeling smile stretched her sore lips, she summoned the strength to say, eyes still skyward, “Ethan?”

“Mmm-hmm?”

“Thank you for my birthday present.”

Chapter 10

M
ira stood before the mirror in the small bathroom, naked and refreshed, having just left the shower. She ran a blow-dryer over her long brown locks for a minute, to take away some of the dampness, but she’d leave the rest to dry on its own, knowing it would curl prettily by the time she sat down to her birthday dinner with her two lovers.

As she turned off the dryer and set it on the sink, she went still, peering at herself in the glass—at her face, her eyes. Because she’d never felt more … empowered. And she wondered if that was the sort of thing that showed on a person.

Mainly, however, she noticed only her sun-kissed skin, like a blush on her face, though blessedly more tan everywhere else. Even her breasts, never exposed to the sun before, had fared well because her companions had so diligently, repeatedly kept them covered with sunscreen.

So she didn’t look any different. Not in the sense she was expecting anyway.

Or did she? Maybe around the eyes?

Maybe if someone looked closely now they’d be able to see that she had secrets. Hot, naughty ones. Maybe they’d see that she was a braver, more daring woman now who had faced her darkest desires.

Or maybe it was all in her head. But it didn’t matter. She found herself smiling anyway, since whether or not it was visible,
she
knew the truth and always would.

After dressing in a pair of cute khaki drawstring shorts and a flowered tank that hugged her shape, she exited the bathroom to find the cabin quiet and still. As Rogan had promised, the spot where the splinter had been on the sole of her foot felt fine now and was only a pinprick dot she could barely see when she sat down on the sofa to check it out. Still, even if she’d have preferred her flip-flops, she immediately grabbed a pair of ankle socks from her weekend bag, along with a pair of canvas tennis shoes to keep it protected. After putting them on, she ventured outside.

Descending the cabin’s porch where she and Ethan had had sex just this morning, she took in the lush, green surroundings. So much had happened so fast since they’d arrived here that she’d barely had a chance to notice how much she liked this place.

The cabin lay nestled in a sea of tall, old trees that felt rooted in time, with wildflowers blooming all around, giving her the sense that nature really owned this place and they were just visitors. Bunches of tiger lilies peeked from the tall grasses at the yard’s edges, and delicate pink lady slippers blossomed at the bases of a few of the trees. Daisies and black-eyed Susans bloomed in small flower beds below the porch and around the cabin’s walls.

A glance off to the left revealed still more trees, some of their trunks covered with ivy or moss, and nearly hidden in the greenery she noticed a thin trail making a winding path toward a more thickly wooded area. And though normally she’d feel more wary than lured by such a trail leading off into the unknown, for some reason she suffered the urge to follow it.
Hmm, maybe I really
am
braver now. In lots of ways.

Still, she decided this probably wasn’t the time to just go wandering off—especially when she spotted Ethan down on the dock, a large cooler and a couple of shopping bags resting nearby.

And when she realized he was covering the picnic table there with a lavender tablecloth, and that a few lavender and white balloons were tied to one end of the table, her focus shifted completely from the wooded path to the man in the distance. She couldn’t help smiling as her heart warmed. Lavender was her favorite color. And he’d clearly gone to some trouble to make her birthday dinner more than just another meal.

God, he was a good man. And though this whole trip had begun to restore her faith in their relationship, she was really beginning to
feel
that now, bone deep.

Funny—giving her a hot ménage à trois had seemed like the ultimate gift, yet it was
this
, watching him set a special table for her birthday, that tightened her chest and reminded her how perfect they really were for each another.

By the time she descended the stone steps that led to the lake, Ethan stood at the nearby grill, tongs in hand, the cooler she’d spotted before by his side.

“Hey, you,” she said sweetly.

He looked up with a smile. “There’s my pretty birthday girl.”

She met his gaze, feeling more simply, deeply good inside than she had in a very long time. This was indeed the guy she’d fallen in love with. “The table looks wonderful, Mr. Thoughtful.”

He just shrugged, a hint of a smile playing about his lips. “Well, I wanted to make it special.”

“You did. You are. In every way.”

He looked pleased, comfortably confident, maybe as if he could feel what she felt, too—her coming back to him, in a
real, true
way. It wasn’t that she’d ever left, but any distance that had grown between them was now diminishing.

She could smell the grill as Ethan began extracting the steaks from a sealed package he’d pulled from the cooler.

And then she looked around, remembering to wonder, “Where’s Rogan?”

“Hell if I know,” he said easily. “Haven’t seen him since he went into the shower after me. He’s not in the cabin?”

She shook her head.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll turn up. Especially when he smells the steaks grilling.”

“Do you need any help?” she asked.

He gave her another sexy grin. “Nope, birthday girl, this one’s all on me. You just relax and enjoy.”

And she couldn’t keep a fresh smile from unfurling on her face.

“What?” he asked her, clearly curious what had brought it on.

“I don’t know,” she told him, shaking her head. “I’m tired, but at the same time I’m just not really in a … relaxing sort of mood. I still feel … energized.”

He slanted her a teasing, sexy look. “Today was good, wasn’t it?”

She nodded in reply, then spoke honestly. “I never knew I could be that way, feel those things, without cowering in shame.”

“You were beautiful and amazing. You know that, right?”

She gave yet one more comfortable, confident nod. She did know that. She
felt
beautiful and amazing. “I love that you can still love me after that. I love that you … gave me all this. I never knew I wanted it—I mean
really
wanted it—as more than just a fantasy, which is so much more … simple. Not real. But to experience it, with you, and to know it’s okay … that’s just”—she stopped, shook her head—“beyond my wildest dreams.”

He leaned forward, placed his hand on the back of her head, and lowered a kiss to her forehead. “Of course I love you—always. And I didn’t know it was possible, Mira, but I think maybe I even love you more now than I did just yesterday.”

She gave her lip a bashful, almost flirtatious nibble, looking up into his blue eyes as she grabbed his hand and squeezed. And they stood like that, just soaking up the moment, and the newness that had suddenly blossomed around their relationship, until he finally said, “Well, I better get these steaks on if we’re ever gonna have this birthday dinner.”

She smiled. Then, for some reason, thought of the little trail up by the cabin. “Do you mind if I take a walk for a few minutes?”

“No, but where to?”

She pointed up into the treed area. “I saw a path and I guess I’m wondering what it leads to. Probably nothing—it’ll probably just fade away. But thought I’d check it out.”

He looked to where she indicated and said, “Just be careful. Could be snakes around.”

And she nodded, figuring that was a good piece of advice. “I’ll watch where I’m going. And I’ll only be a few minutes.”

“Sounds good.” He turned toward the grill and picked up the package of steaks once more. “Let Rogan know we’re eating soon if you see him. Don’t want him messing up your birthday dinner,” he added with a wink.

“Got it,” she said, still smiling at him and enjoying the simple fact that Ethan was a planner, and that it was one more thing they had in common—they both liked things to turn out the way they envisioned and expected.

Of course, this weekend was
nothing
like she’d envisioned, and she’d managed to roll with that—eventually. But as she took the twisting stone steps back up the hill, she still found herself looking forward to the simplicity of the dinner, too—maybe because, even as well as she was handling this party of three
now
, change didn’t come easy, and their steak dinner would feel familiar, like one part of the trip that would come off mostly as she’d anticipated. Even if there was a third person present.

And she was looking forward to later, too, to more fucking. To her astonishment, it didn’t seem to matter that her entire body nearly ached with fatigue—she still just kept wanting more and more. Her skin felt hypersensitive to every touch, every stimulation—even the shower had felt sensual. And now a light breeze sifting through the trees wafted over her flesh to leave her slightly aroused.

Maybe it was because they’d had so much sex already in the last twenty-four hours—maybe it was a snowballing sensation; the more she got, the more she desired. Or maybe in the back of her mind she was growing aware that this weekend wouldn’t last forever. When it was over, it was over—and though she and Ethan hadn’t discussed it and she
had
wondered about it, she just had a feeling this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would never come back to her. And now that she was fully enjoying it, she knew she had to get all she wanted, all she could take, before they all headed back to their real lives tomorrow afternoon.

As she found the little path she’d seen a few minutes earlier and started down it into the trees, she began to realize the area was even more densely wooded than she’d expected. As she put one foot in front of the other on the thin trail, she was careful to watch her footing and, as Ethan had advised, keep an eye out for snakes or anything else worrisome in the thick, low-lying brush and ivy between the trees.