Chapter One (12 page)

boring existence and live in this fantasy world forever.

“So hot. Christ, you’re tight, Abby. One of the best Exhaling, she palmed his chest and gently pushed him fucks I’ve ever had.” His voice was gritty and dark, ratcheting back. He took the step, reading her signal. Then she looked at up her desire ten fold. She braced her hands on the sink ledge him, as always, immediately lost in his blue eyes. “I’m just behind her and lifted on and off his cock, letting her clit drag feeling the reality of all this.”

along the ridges of his shaft. Splintering shockwaves gripped His knowing smile and nod helped. “It’s okay. We had her pussy, tightening around her.

a great time last night. No strings.” He cupped her neck and

“Harder,” she demanded, her gaze locked on his, drew her forward for a kiss that started out gentle and friendly, watching the pained expression on his face as he squeezed her but quickly turned into something more. God, how she could ass cheeks, his fingers digging into her flesh. He pulled back get lost in him so easily. His magnetism was overpowering, the and slammed against her, striking her clit, making her cry out way he took control and led her to a dark place within her own with pain and ecstasy. “Yes, like that. Fuck me hard.”

head where this wild, untamed creature lived. In seconds she She gritted her teeth and held on, her arms shaking, her was wet, her clit pounding, her pussy aching with need for his clit swelling as the tightening spirals grew ever stronger. “I’m cock. He pressed the length of his shaft against her thigh, going to come on your cock, Mike.”

insistent, demanding, rocking against her until she clutched his He made her wild, made her feel naughty. She loved it.

shirt and whimpered into his mouth.

“Come for me, Abby. Come on me.”

“Yes,” he whispered against her neck when he pulled

“Yes. Yes, I’m coming!” Then she couldn’t hold back his mouth away. “Here. Right now.”

as torrents of waves crashed inside her, flooding him with her 53

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

juices. She screamed at the power of her orgasm. Mike grabbed

“You can stay if you’d like. I’m not trying to run you onto her and pulled her against him, grunting as he came, off.” He leaned against the closed door, his arms crossed in burying his cock deep inside her while he shuddered and front of him. “Though I get the idea you’d like to get the hell rocked through his climax.

out of here.”

Panting, she pushed off the sink and locked her arms

“No! That’s not it at all! I just have a lot to do at onto him, licking the salty sweat from his neck until he set her home.”

feet on the ground. Still trembling, she held onto him for a few

“Uh huh.”

seconds, wondering what the hell had just happened to her.

She was failing miserably at this nonchalance thing. “I God, she’d lost control. She had been about to get had a great time, Mike. Honestly. Thank you. It was…beyond dressed and leave, and he whispered her name and she fucked my wildest fantasies. Having this night with you and Seth him.

was—”

“Seth went to take a shower. He’ll be out soon. You can

“I want to see you again.”

clean up in the other bathroom if you’d like.”

She halted mid-sentence. “You do?”

She could barely meet his gaze, though he looked

“Yes. Go out with me tonight.”

unaffected by what just happened, whereas she wanted to She knew her mouth was hanging open, but she

crumple to the ground and sob. “Okay. Let me just grab my honestly hadn’t expected this. “With you.”

clothes.”

“Yes.”

With as much nonchalance as possible, she shot him a

“Tonight.”

casual smile and took off down the hallway, snatching her

“Yes.”

dress from the living room and finding her way to the guest

“Just you and me?”

bathroom. After a quick shower, she shimmied into the dress, He arched a brow. “Did you want another threesome?”

finger combed her hair, then took a few seconds to catch her Now there was a million dollar question. Did she want breath.

a threesome? Did she want to go out with Mike? Hell, at the A knock on the door had her whirling around, her heart moment her brain wasn’t functioning at all. Mike had just pounding.

asked her to go out. She assumed just the two of them.

For the love of God, Abby. Get a grip
. “Yes?”

What did she want?

“It’s Mike. Can I come in?”

“I need to think on this.”

“Uh, sure.” She leaned against the bathroom counter,

“Really.”

trying to appear calm and relaxed, offering him a smile as he

“Oh! Not in the way you think. I mean, I’m honored walked in and shut the door behind him. “I’m almost ready to you asked me out. Any woman would wet her pants being go.”

asked out by you, Mike. I think you know that. But honest to 54

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

God, my synapses aren’t firing right now. I need to go home She paused, knowing he was going to say something and regroup.”

nice, like t
hanks for a great night
.

He laughed. “Okay. I’ll call you later.”

“Go out with me tonight.”

She hoped she hadn’t just insulted him. But she really She blinked. “What?”

didn’t know what she wanted right now. She knew what she

“I know it’s stupid, but I tried to figure out the right needed, though. Distance and some time to think.

way to pose this question the whole way over here, without it Mike opened the door and let her out. Seth was waiting sounding like I just wanted to fuck you again. But it’s more in the living room, tilting his head curiously when she and than that. Though I do want to fuck you again,” he added with Mike came out of the same bathroom.

a sexy grin.

“You ready?” he asked.

Her throat constricted and she fought for breath. Okay,

“Yes.” She turned to Mike. “Thank you again. For this couldn’t be happening to her. Mike asked her to go out everything.”

with him. Seth did too. Her brain was a muddy mess and she He kissed her lightly on the lips, dragging his thumb didn’t know what to make of all this.

across her bottom lip afterward. “I’ll call you later.”

Did she want to see either of them again? And what did Her lip throbbed where he touched her and she it all mean?

shuddered her next breath. “Okay.”

“I…I guess that would be fine,” she blurted, then Strangely, the ride back to her place with Seth was realized Mike had asked her first. Was there some sort of silent. And not a comfortable silence, either. She sensed he was protocol for this? Was there some reason she had just said yes irritated about something, but she didn’t want to be the one to to Seth but she had told Mike earlier she needed to think?

bring it up.

Her brain cells needed repowering. No doubt about it.

Surely he wasn’t jealous that she’d spent time alone He snorted. “Well, that was enthusiastic.”

with Mike, was he?

She rubbed the spot between her eyebrows that
Oh sure, Abby. You’re just so incredibly desirable that
throbbed with the beginnings of a headache. “I’m sorry. I think
both these men are now going to fight over you.

I need a nap.”

It was utterly unbelievable the amount of time she

“I’ll call you this afternoon and we’ll figure it out. Go could spend in fantasy land.

rest.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, his breath crisp When Seth pulled into her apartment complex, Abby and tasting like cinnamon. She wanted to stay in the car and was convinced he was simply in a hurry to dump her and be rid lick his lips, dive into his embrace, invite him inside her house.

of her. But when she unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed the Anything. She didn’t want to let go. Yet she needed space, too.

door handle, he put his hand on her arm.

Conflicted much, Abby?

“Abby, wait.”

55

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

She opened the door to her apartment, closed it, threw her purse on the floor, kicked off her shoes and collapsed in the nearest chair.

She’d just agreed to go out with Seth tonight. And Mike was going to call her later for an answer on his proposal for a date tonight.

Fucking both of them was one thing. Dating both of them another thing entirely. And obviously she sucked at multiple guy dating because she’d already screwed it up by not answering Mike first.

Now what the hell was she supposed to do?

56

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

headache, she’d fretted the past four hours about what to do about Mike and Seth.

“Good. So, how about tonight?”

Despite how easy she thought this was going to be, she wasn’t good at letting someone down. Hell, she had no practice at it. “Seth asked me out too,” she blurted before she ended up Chapter Ten

accepting a date with both of them.

“He did, huh? And you said yes.”

Abby stared at the phone, waiting for it to ring. She still

“How’d you know?”

had no idea what she was going to say to Mike when he called.

“Because I know you. It’s okay, Abby. We’ll do it She supposed to she could try the truth. She wasn’t another night.”

much of a liar. That was Chad’s area of expertise and he’d She stared outside her window, watching little kids play been damn good at it. Maybe she should call her ex-husband on the gym equipment in the park across the street while she and ask for some lessons.

rubbed her throbbing temple. ‘I feel awful about this.”

She snorted at the thought.

She heard his soft laugh on the other end. “Why? It’s no That would never work. Unlike Chad, she was terrible big deal. Quit worrying about it, okay?”

at hurting someone’s feelings.

Guilt pounded at her stomach like a jackhammer. She’d Of course, Mike would have to care about her to be never quit worrying about it. “Okay.”

hurt, right? And he didn’t really care about her, so how could

“I enjoyed fucking you last night.”

she offend him by turning down his offer of a date tonight?

His whispered voice, low and dark, sent shivers running Simple, really.

through her. And just like that, she was wet. Her nipples The phone rang and she nearly fell off the arm of the tightened and she felt the urge to place her hands between her couch.

legs and rub her clit. How did he do that to her? “I enjoyed it

“Honestly,” she murmured to herself. Her pulse raced, too.”

but she forced calm into her voice as she picked up the cordless

“Later, Abby.”

and pressed the button.

The click in her ear was a shock to her system. He

“Hey babe.”

turned her on and left her hanging. Aroused, needy and primed.

“Hi Mike.”

With one fucking sentence.

“Get some rest?”

Dammit.

“Yeah, a little,” she lied. Instead of resting, working on She was so easy.

her paper or doing something to eliminate her pounding 57

Jaci Burton/
Wild, Wicked & Wanton
/Unedited Advance Reading Copy Berkley Heat/May, 2007

Shuddering out a sigh, she placed the phone on the To distract herself, she worked, focusing on the final table and forced herself into her work, though it was damn hard paper that was due next week. It helped to take her mind off to concentrate. What she really wanted to do was call Blair or Seth and Mike, to concentrate on something else besides men Callie for some advice. But she wasn’t going to do that. It was and sex. Before she knew it, four hours had passed and it was time to make her own decisions about her life, without her time to get ready for her date with Seth. Instead of calling, he’d friends’ input.

emailed to suggest he pick her up at six. She saved her file and Whatever those decisions were. It wasn’t like she was took a shower, then stood in front of her closet trying to figure in total control of what to do about Mike and Seth.

out what to wear.

Then again, maybe she was. Maybe she really was in Shit. She’d never even asked Seth where they were charge. They both asked to see her again. Why couldn’t she going.

admit it was possible they were both interested in her? Had Damn, damn damn. Now what was she supposed to Chad beaten down her self-esteem so badly she couldn’t even wear? She supposed she could call him, but that would be admit that two fabulous men found her interesting enough to lame. After debating a few minutes, she grabbed a flowered want to see her again? That this ménage thing they’d shared sundress and slipped it on with some low-heeled sandals. That last night had sparked their interest enough to want to pursue would work for either semi-dressy or casual.

her individually? That maybe there was more to their interest in She dried her hair and left it down tonight, put on a her than just sex?

little makeup, earrings and a bracelet and called it good.

And what if they did? Did she want to date both of Tonight, she was going out as Abby Lawson, not them?

someone else.

God, could she handle both of them? They were so As the minutes ticked by and she waited for Seth to different. Talk about a study in contrasts. Seth was sensuality pick her up, she was actually amused by how nervous she was.

personified, coupled with intelligence and warmth and caring, A few times she stared at the phone wanting to call Blair or and he made her feel safe. Mike, on the other hand, was a Callie. Frankly, she was surprised they hadn’t called her or walking, ticking sex bomb. He made her feel reckless and wild showed up at her place demanding every sordid detail about and utterly out of control, a heady feeling she didn’t mind last night.

admitting she enjoyed.

Then again, maybe they thought she was still with Mike Could she choose between them if she was forced to?