The Sextet - Dirty Dancing [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (5 page)

Her own anger bubbled to the surface—anger at herself for giving in so easily to all she’d felt for Craig for so long. Because she’d been a fool in love, she’d probably lost her one chance to try to win him over, to stop being his friend and start being something more, rather than just his one-time fuck.

Oh, who was she kidding? No man would want a depraved woman like her, especially a man as wonderful as Craig Everett.

Juliana picked up her cell and replied to his text.

needed a shower and clean clothes

Finally dropping the towel, she tugged on some faux
boxers and a tank top and pulled her hair into a ponytail as her cell bounced along the surface in response to a new message.

could have made you breakfast after we greeted the AM properly

Sliding open her QWERTY keyboard again, she replied.

sorry. wanted to get home. see you at lesson monday

Hoping that would end the embarrassing and painful exchange, she threw herself on the bed as she tossed her cell on the nightstand and brushed away the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. “I’m a fucking idiot.” Those words would probably quickly become her mantra in the next weeks—even months or years—as she regretted her actions and mourned the loss of Craig, both as a lover and a friend.

The man would probably be willing to make love again, although she doubted he would consider it “making love.” A good lay, possibly. A friend with benefits, maybe. A fuck friend, definitely. But not a potential girlfriend, let alone a wife.

The phone signaled again. Juliana snatched it and touched the screen.

coming over there

no

yes

no! no! no!

But there was no reply…

She lay down, stretched out of her big bed, and hoped he wouldn’t come over because she sure wasn’t ready to face him. Hell, she wasn’t sure she’d
ever
be ready to face him again.

* * * *

Reining in his hurt and anger, Craig punched the doorbell. He could hear someone moving behind the door, probably checking the peephole. Why didn’t Juliana live in a building with security? She was popular enough. There had to be dozens of crazies who could find her and make her life miserable. Fuck, all it took was
one
stalker and… “Open up, Jules!” He pounded his fist against the oak door.

The click of the lock sounded before she sheepishly pulled the door open. Craig brushed past her into her place. A condo? An apartment? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that she needed to be someplace more secure where she wouldn’t be so damned vulnerable. “Are you fucking insane?”

Juliana blinked a few times as if trying to process what he’d said. She’d been asleep, he realized. Her hair was bed-mussed, and she was only wearing a tank top and a feminine version of boxer-shorts. The outline of her stiff nipples through the pink top made his dick start to harden. Trying to keep his thoughts from turning so licentious, he focused on his anger. “Don’t you realize how easy someone could get to you here?”

“Get to me?”

“Yeah, some stalker or—”

“No one’s stalking me, Craig.” An exaggerated yawn slipped out as she locked the door and headed toward her open kitchen. “Want some coffee? I made a fresh pot before I fell asleep.”

“You have no idea how many nut jobs there are out there! Haven’t you heard of the weird things fans do?” he asked, trying not to shout in frustration as he followed her.

She held up the coffee pot in invitation. He shook his head. Any more caffeine and he’d be shaking. Dropping two sugar cubes into her drink, she led him into her living room where she sat down on a high-backed beige chair, folding her legs up under her. “I don’t have many fans.”

“Sure you do. Geesh, Jules. You need to be more careful.”

“I’m planning on buying a condo soon. My accountant says it’ll be a good investment.”

That came as a relief. “Get one with a doorman who checks people in like I have.” But Craig had a better idea. He just needed some more time before he could convince her to take the plunge and move in with him. Baring his feelings too quickly would surely scare her away. No, that would have to wait until he’d truly won her heart the way she held his in the palms of her delicate hands. Besides, it seemed rather…bizarre to be lecturing her about stalkers when he was coming on strong enough he might be viewed as one.

And damn, but if he didn’t suddenly want to blurt out everything.

Move in with, Jules. Then we’ll go get Alejandro and see what kind of fun we can have together. What do you say?

She’d have him taken away in a straightjacket.

Plopping down on the couch, he splayed his fingers through his still damp hair. He’d taken a long, hot shower to try to calm down before hopping in his car to drive over to her place. “Can I ask you something?” His gaze rose to capture hers.

Juliana stared at him over the rim of her coffee cup and gave him a brisk nod.

“Why did you leave?”

“I figured…you’d want me to. It’s your place—”

“What’s that gotta do with anything?”

A shrug and a frown came his way. “I figured some guys might not like to have a woman stay too late. I…I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I should have left last night.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Since we were at your place, I was the one to take that wonderful walk of shame.” Her cheeks flushed red, and she set aside her coffee cup.

“You didn’t have to leave, Jules. I didn’t
want
you to leave.”

Wide eyes stared back at him. “You didn’t?”

“No! And since I’m starting to know a little bit about how that busy mind of yours works, I’ll tell you that I didn’t want you to stay just so we could fuck again this morning.”

The red on her cheeks spread down her neck. “I wouldn’t have thought that.”

“Oh, please. You already did.”

She smiled at that, hesitant but genuine. “Okay, I did. That wasn’t why I left though.” She gave another dainty shrug. “I just figured it was up to me to go. Before… Well, before…”

“Before I asked you to, right?” Unable to sit still, Craig jumped to his feet and started pacing the length of the room. “I’m trying to understand you, but… What do I have to do to convince you I’m not a jerk, that I wasn’t out for a one-night stand?”

She shrugged.

A frustrated growl rumbled in his chest. “You really have a great opinion of me, don’t you? I told you, I don’t hook up with girls for sex. Not my style.”

“Why me?” she asked in a voice that hardly qualified as a whisper. “Why did you sleep with me when you don’t…hook up with girls for sex?”

That was the one question he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer. “Well, because…you’re…different.”

“Different?”

“I like you, Jules. A lot.”
I love you, actually
. “I was kinda hoping…we could be…exclusive for a while. You know…date only each other.”
Yeah, that was smooth. Wanna go steady, Juliana? I’ll take you to the fucking prom, too…

If
this
was so hard, what in the hell would it be like to broach the topic of a threesome?

Juliana got to her feet, still unsure of whether she could trust his words or her own heart. One of the reasons she hated dating actors was because they were sometimes too damned good at saying things with what they interpreted as the “proper” amount of emotion. She approached him slowly, watching his eyes as she reached for his hand. Cradling it between hers, she asked, “You mean…just us? Like we’re a…couple?”

Craig nodded, reaching out with his other hand to brush her ponytail over her shoulder. “I know I didn’t say it very well. But yeah, I want us to be a couple.”

“For how long?”

“C’mon, babe… Who the hell knows?”

Although she shouldn’t expect him to fall to his knees and declare his undying love, Juliana couldn’t help but take offense to his choice of words. She dropped his hand and started to step away, but that hand grabbed her upper arm and tugged her in front of him. “I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I want to, Craig… I do. It’s just…”

He leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead, and she closed her eyes to savor it, feeling almost cherished. “Why don’t we just take things one day at a time for right now? Okay? Let’s just…be with each other and see where this takes us.”

Like she even needed to give it a moment of thought. “Okay.”

He cradled her face in his hands. “You mean it? Really?”

She nodded as she pressed her own hands over his.

Craig dropped his mouth to cover her lips, the kiss so gentle it brought tears to her eyes. When he pulled back to look at her, he smiled. “You won’t regret this. I promise. I make a helluva boyfriend.”

A smile crossed her lips. “I just bet you do.”

He kissed her again, long and deep, letting his tongue lazily rub against her own. When the kiss ended, he eased back and stroked her bottom lip with his thumb. “All I want to do is take you to your room and make love to you again.”

“So what’s stopping you?”

He breathed a heavy sigh. “An appointment with my agent. Anyone else, I’d just blow it off… But…”

This, she understood. Craig had a fantastic agent, one of the best in Los Angeles, and if the guy made time to meet with him on Saturday, Craig would be an idiot to cancel. “We’ve got our dance lesson Monday. We’ll see each other then.”

“Yeah. And after…we can go back to my place. I’ll make you dinner, and then I’ll make you see stars.” He kissed her once, hard. “Promise.”

Holding hands, they walked to her front door. Craig kissed her once more, then took her hand and pressed it to the fly on his khakis. Her fingers caressed his hardened cock through the material. “I’m gonna make all your fantasies come true, Jules. Everything you ever dreamed of, I’ll do it for you.”

He slipped out the door before the first tear fell.

Craig was offering her everything a “normal” woman could ever want, and she’d hold on to it with both hands. Yet, she feared the bad side of her, the one that needed more than one man could give her, would roar back to life. Once he knew the type of person she was deep down inside, all her…strange passions, he’d leave her behind. Sure, sex with Craig had been good. The guy was talented, but he was just one guy. Thoughts of Alejandro with the two of them kept intruding, all but ruining the experience with Craig.

Craig would be a fantastic man to have in her life—someone she could lean on in good times and in bad. What she needed was a chance to see if two men could truly please her. She needed to experience ménage for herself, rather than just read about it. Would that help her learn to live in reality? God help her, she just didn’t know for sure.

I’m truly a fucked-up woman
.

Because no matter how hard she’d tried to push it aside, to make it go away, the desire to discover what having two men in her bed and in her life would be like wouldn’t budge. She
needed
them.

And Craig and Alejandro would never understand.

* * * *

Alejandro unlocked the door to let Craig and Juliana into his studio. Immediately picking up on the change in the sexual energy between them, he let a smile spread across his face. They’d taken his advice, and if he read their body language right, they’d finally acknowledged and acted on their mutual attraction, although there was still…something blocking them from total connection.

If he was correct, perhaps their connection might lead them to realize they desired a threesome and would want to explore that with him. As he watched them with their heads together, talking softly, he felt a satisfaction in his part in helping bring them together. But his job wasn’t done yet, not if he wanted his ultimate goal. No, they needed a little more pushing for them to be able to take that important final step, the step that could change all their lives for the better.

Craig and Juliana were special to him. Since both were what he’d consider middle-grade celebrities, that made them more cautious than most. It was clear Juliana had never acted on her desires, while Craig might not even have acknowledged his. Such a pleasure it would be when they both finally unleashed all the longing they kept bottled up deep inside.