COME WHEN CALLED #6, The Punishment (Billionaire & Biker MMF Menage Romance Serial) (2 page)

Pressing his lips into a thin line, his eyes bore into hers. She could see the war in him, raw on his face. But then he blinked twice and his face visibly softened though his voice was hard. “You might be right, Evie. You might be almost certainly right and I might be the biggest idiot ever, but I will never apologize for loving someone and opening myself up for them to love me back. No matter how badly they could hurt me.” A subtle shift took place in the set of his eyes, and suddenly Evie thought he looked sorry for her. “Evie, love is an amazing, rare thing, and even if it’s not reciprocated, that doesn’t mean it’s not still worth everything. To love someone—really love them—it’s worth all the heartache in the world. And it should never be denied or ignored. A connection like that might never come along again.” He twisted his mouth into a wry smile. “I won’t ever regret loving Ford the way I do, even if it means someday I have to heal from what I let him do to me. Even if it kills me. It’ll still be worth it, to love like that.”

Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she realized in many ways she was doing the same thing, only far more literally. Letting Ford hurt her and healing later. Both of them taking what they needed from the other and dealing the consequences down the line. She blinked at Charley. She hadn’t been giving him enough credit—maybe he was infinitely stronger than her. Infinitely braver.

Charley narrowed his eyes, seeming to understand her mind was working overtime. He hesitated before adding. “At least I’ll know I gave everything to try to nurture a real love. And that’s the best I can hope for, I think…to have loved someone enough to have been destroyed by it. I guess I’d feel lucky. Some people never find someone capable of inspiring a love like that.”

A wide smile broke across Evie’s face and a tear slipped down her cheek. “God, I always feel like I want to protect you, but you don’t need any protection, do you?”

Charley wiped her face with his thumb, his calloused skin rough against hers. “Evie, my being open to love doesn’t make me weak or blind to what’s going on here. I know the danger. I’m making choices with open eyes and I’m prepared for the consequences. I’m ready to live with my decisions, no matter how they turn out for me. I just needed Ford to give us a chance, and you’re helping him do that.”

She moved her hand to his mouth, tracing a finger along his upper lip. “You are really, really special. I wish I had a tenth of your courage and heart. I really do. But I can’t do it like you. I can’t just willingly walk into the lion’s den and hope my love’s enough not to get mutilated. Especially not with Ford. He’s done and said everything he can to make sure I’m crystal clear on what a moron I’d be if I fell for him. I don’t think there’s much more he could do to try and warn me off of him.”

Charley was quiet again. Then, his voice barely above a whisper, he said, “Maybe there’s something to that? Has it occurred to you maybe he’s trying to push you away a little too hard?”

She shook her head, mussing her hair against the pillow. “Don’t do that. Don’t encourage stupid ideas. And besides, what about you? If that was the case, why would he push you and me together? Maybe he’s hoping you and I will just run away together so he can be alone and miserable like he wants.”

“I don’t believe that.” But Charley’s body had stiffened and Evie could feel the anxiety prickling off him. “I don’t think you should either.”

“No?” Evie pulled away and propped her head on her hand, her elbow on the pillow. “Charley, he’s on a date tonight. He left you and me together with instructions to fuck while he’s on a date with another woman. How stupid do we have to be to think there would ever be any chance for…for… What? What is there? All three of us? Together? What is that? Pinning down Ford is one thing, but calling the three of us some kind of relationship is another. There are just too many impossible hurdles that no sane person would take on.”

The usual light in his warm brown eyes dimmed and Evie’s gut clenched again. It was one thing for her to be hard and cynical. It was another thing for her to take hope away from this wonderful, loving man in front of her. “Charley, I’m sorry. That doesn’t mean there’s no chance for you and him.”

“No. I think I’m the only one here who sees what’s happening. There really is no chance for Ford and me. There never was.”

“Charley, that’s not tr—”

“Until you came along.”

She shut her mouth. Opened it. Couldn’t think of the right words and so just went with, “Huh?”

He wrapped his arms around her again and pulled her to him, his body radiating heat like an electric blanket. She felt she could stay in his arms and just let the world go by forever. Instead of answering, he kissed her, slowly at first, his lips soft and caressing. She was reluctant to kiss back, feeling she didn’t deserve his kisses for hurting him, for diminishing his optimism about true love. But soon, she opened for him and their tongues slipped to find each other. Her body and her emotions responded in unified pleasure and joy at Charley’s body heat and his sexy affection.

When he broke the kiss, leaving her breathless, he whispered, “Evie, you’re not the only one who discovered what you were missing.” She searched his eyes, trying not to interpret his words. She was in too deep already and her self-preservation instincts were screaming at her to not hear what he was saying. “I think Ford does love me, and I think he wants to be with me, but up until now it’s been impossible. I can’t ever be everything he wants, because Ford needs a woman he can dominate. He needs that sexually. It’s in his bones. But the right woman. A rare kind of woman he could actually love. I think that’s the only way Ford will ever, ever open himself to feeling love—if it’s even possible.” He grew quiet for a moment and neither of them spoke. Finally Charley added, “I was sure that woman didn’t exist because Ford never likes anyone. Ever. Until you.”

Evie chewed on the inside of her cheek. “So what were you missing that you found?” she heard herself ask, dreading the answer for the hope it might bring. Hope she couldn’t afford to have for an entire year, only to have it destroy her.

“I found you.” He smiled and kissed her softly. He spoke in between kisses. “I didn’t even realize how incredibly lonely I was trying to love that man by myself until you came along. You’re funny and brave and crazy and smart. And you have tits, which I love.” He laughed, brushing her nipple with his thumb. “And you accept me straight-up, which feels like a miracle to me. I didn’t know there was such a thing as someone like you. I didn’t even know I needed you until Ford forced you into my life. Now I don’t want to live without you. I don’t want Ford without you. I want all of us, together.” He swept her hair back over her shoulder. “That’s my secret. I’m falling in love with you. It seemed important,” he whispered, “so I thought you should know.”

She felt as if she’d been sucker-punched by the odd-couple of happiness and terror. Her chest tight, she struggled to breathe. Or at least not throw-up on him.

Charley smirked. “Okay, really, we haven’t known each other long, though it’s been intense. I didn’t expect you to pledge your undying love right back to me, but looking a little less horrified might go a long way toward soothing my ego.”

Evie choked on sob and a laugh at the same time. “Oh god, Charley. I’m sorry.” She wiped her cheeks. “I’m horrified because you’re right and I have no idea how it’s come to this. It feels like you and I have always been friends, even though I just met you. I’ve never felt a connection like this with anyone else, except Ford. You’re so good, and ridiculous and fun and…hot. I just want to crawl in your lap and never leave, unless Ford wants me to come and suck his cock, I guess.”

Her laughter bubbled in spite of her tears and Charley laughed too, snuggling her close. He pulled her leg up onto his thigh, effectively spreading her legs and pressing his cock against her pussy. “That sounds like a perfect plan,” he whispered, his voice growing husky. “I like the sound of it. I like seeing you with Ford knowing I can join any time. It’s fucking hot.”

“Charley, this is going to end badly,” she whispered.

“Maybe,” he acknowledged, tucking his head into the crook of her neck and raising chills on her arms as he nibbled her skin there. “Maybe. But I’m gonna love every second of it until it does.”

“You’re the brave one,” she whispered, rocking against him, her core tingling to life against his firm penis. “Or maybe you’re the stupid one.”

“Nah,” he whispered back, reaching under the covers to cup one of her breasts. “I’m the good-looking one.”

She burst out laughing. “Okay, stop!” she gasped. “No more funny stuff. And no more talking about our doomed romance!” She reached down, wrapping a hand around his hardness. With a squeeze she elicited a groan from him. His strong jaw clenched and unclenched. “Let’s just fuck until we forget all about love.”

“I think that’s a terrible idea, Evie,” he admonished and rolled on top of her, crushing his mouth to hers and tilting his body just enough to reach between them and direct his cock to her entrance. He rubbed the broad head of his dick in between her pussy lips before pulling his hand back up. Breaking their kiss, he pushed two fingers into her mouth. “Suck,” he demanded. She did. He moved his hand back to her sex and shoved both fingers, now wet with her saliva, into her at once. She gasped, her hips rising involuntarily, driving his fingers deeper.

“You’re so unromantic,” he grumbled. “But if fucking’s what you want, that’s what you’re gonna get. No foreplay. No more kisses. I’m just gonna fuck you.” He pulled his fingers out and impaled her sex immediately with his thick erection, causing her to cry out at the intensity of his size forcing into her. She was tender from her body seeing so much use lately, but the pain was good.

Goddamn it was good.

She couldn’t believe how quickly her body responded to him. Almost instantly she was wet enough to allow his thrusts to slide in and out easily, and he took full advantage, kneeling back and hooking his arms under her thighs, pulling her legs wide as he buried his cock in her, pulled shallow, and then buried it again with a grunt. She gasped, her fiery orgasm exploding so quickly she only had time to utter, “God, you feel good! I’m going to—” And she was off the cliff and flying, her orgasm shattering through her as she writhed under the big man.

Her vaginal muscles contracted and released in her climax, milking his cock until seconds later Charley finished too, with an incoherent sound, pumping hot cum into Evie. As his thrusts slowed with his waning ecstasy, she heard the door latch click and jerked her head toward the sound to see Ford in her room, closing the bedroom door behind him.

CHAPTER TWO

STARTLED, EVIE JUMPED, her heart leaping to her throat. Charley, however, spared only an exhausted glance toward the door before collapsing on the bed next to Evie, his spent cock sliding from her. Ford stood at the door with his hand on the knob, quietly watching the pair before crossing in front of the bed, heading to Evie’s bathroom without a word.

Light stretched into the bedroom and across the bed when Ford turned on the bathroom light, bathing Evie and Charley in a dim spotlight. Leaving the light on, Ford returned, carrying a towel. He tossed it on the bed. “Looks like I’ve already missed the fun,” he said. “Too bad.” Strolling to the window, he turned his back and stared out into the night, thoughtfully giving them a moment to clean up privately.

Charley picked up the towel and pressed it to Evie’s thighs. She took over, cleaning herself of his cum before handing the towel to back to Charley and pulling the sheet up over her naked body.

Disparate thoughts warred inside her—annoyance at Ford’s interruption of her loving time with Charley, excitement that Ford was home from dinner and in her room, perhaps seeking sex from either she or Charley, or both, meaning his date likely hadn’t gotten any. Since Evie was there only to provide carnal pleasure, jealousy about Ford’s orgasms seemed the only emotion she was justified to feel.

“Ford?” Charley said, getting the man’s attention. Ford turned to look at them and then dropped his head. Evie saw his chest expand as he took a deep breath before moving back to the bed. He was dressed in the clothes Evie assumed he’d worn to dinner—a thin, turtleneck sweater that looked fantastic stretched over his athletic chest and shoulders, and elegant, dark pants. The indirect light illuminated his face so that it nearly glowed, making him look like an angel.

But Evie knew better.

He looked devastatingly handsome, standing there watching them silently, and she both loved and hated him in that moment. “Did you just get back from dinner?” she asked when she couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“I’ve been back for a while,” he answered softly. He looked away, as if trying to organize his thoughts. Finally he turned back to them, his eyes hard. “I wasn’t going to come in here,” he said emphatically. “Yet…” He lifted his hand, palm up, and then let it drop in a gesture of futility. “Here I am.” His last words sounded defeated.

He focused on Evie and frowned, reaching out and pulling the sheet off of her.

“Hey!” she complained, grabbing at the fabric.

“Evie, stop.” His tone was sharp and she stilled, unsure of the mood he was in and what it meant for her and Charley. “I won’t fight you for what I’m already entitled to.” She slowly loosened her grip on the sheet and allowed him to pull it down to her knees, exposing her diamond-hard nipples and her pussy, still damp with her juices and his best friend’s cum. She didn’t take her eyes from Ford’s, her heart pounding during what suddenly felt like a stand-off.

Ford stripped naked on the lower half of his body, never moving his glaring eyes from hers. Evie lay perfectly still. Frozen. Watching him. Was he going to just crawl on top of her and fuck her? Use her like his living sex doll just to get off, after he’d treated another woman to a proper date?

Evie had agreed to the deal, and Ford had every right to come home and do what he wanted with her under their agreement, but she couldn’t get her mind right about it. Her feelings were all over the place. She was angry, annoyed, jealous…yet her body betrayed her.

No matter whether it was right or wrong, Evie wanted him to do it. She wanted him to ditch his elegant date to come home, tear off Evie’s panties, shove his cock in her and get off. She wanted him to do it, and the proof was a clear as the juices spilling onto her thighs, the tightness twanging in her pussy. All she had to do was squeeze her thighs together and she was nearly there already, and he hadn’t even touched her.

It was simply the truth of it, and she was as unsettled by it as she was turned on.

She looked down at his nakedness, visually tracing the curve of his quad muscles with the agitation of an addict. She felt Charley shift next to her and she was sure he was relishing the sight of Ford’s body just like she was. Ford sat on the edge of her bed and she could see his penis, heavy and thick, as it rested on his thigh. She couldn’t stop staring at it in the dim light, feeling anxious, like it was a bomb set to go off at any moment and she was too close to it. He put his hand on her bare knee and his eyes swept over her. Even his intense gaze on her naked skin made her breath catch. She felt Charley scoot closer to her, his heat comforting on her gooseflesh.

“What do you normally wear to bed, Evangeline?” Ford raised his hand and ran the back of his fingers over one of her breasts, brushing her nipple and sending a thrill through her as her skin rejoiced at his touch.

“A nightie,” she breathed. “I like lingerie.”

“You will not wear a nightie to bed in my house. You’ll wear only panties. I like removing panties.” He raised his hand to her chin, tilting her head to look at him. “I want you ready for fucking whenever I might feel like taking you. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered and everything inside her twisted with a twang of pleasure so sharp she had to bite down on a moan. What he’d just said to her was… Well, she didn’t know what it was, but it was not romantic. Yet, even so, she was instantly throbbing at the idea of going to bed nearly naked every night in case Ford decided to pay her a visit in the dark to use her body for his own pleasure. Ford’s dominance over her was like a drug, and she couldn’t get enough.

He put his hand back on her leg and slid his palm up her thigh until his thumb was millimeters from her sex. The feel of his fingers so close to where she wanted them was immediately all she could think about. Charley kissed her shoulder, mentally bringing her back to the room, and suddenly she felt awkward lying between the two men, naked, exposed and wanting Ford as she was. “Did you have a nice dinner?” she asked to fill the silence, her voice wavering.

“Yes, thank you for asking.” He leaned over her and found the curve of her neck with his lips, tasting her, and she couldn’t stop her small moan. “My dinner companion was lovely—educated, cultured, tall, attractive.”

A pang of jealously punched through Evie at Ford’s description of the woman. Charley found her hand and squeezed it three times. She tried to find comfort in that but she couldn’t stop her traitorous brain from picturing the lady at the table of some fancy restaurant, sitting across from Ford. Rich, expensively dressed, a mane of shining hair, perfectly coiffed, laughing throatily at Ford’s clever wit, crossing and uncrossing her long legs, touching his arm… The other patrons must have thought they made the perfect couple.

Jellybeans.

Teeth gritted, Evie reminded herself that Ford was there now, in bed with her and Charley, trailing kisses down
her
neck, not the long, elegant neck of his dinner date.

Ford spoke between kisses. “I, on the other hand, was terrible company. I could only think of you and Charley, here, alone, enjoying each other without me. And you Evie,” he nipped at her neck, causing her to suck in her breath, “craving my direction. Wanting me to tell you what to do to me and to Charley.” Charley shifted, pressing against her, and she could feel his cock against her hip, slowly thickening again. “All I could think about the entire dinner with this beautiful woman was when I could politely excuse myself and come back home to both of you.”

Her anxiety burst like a bubble at his words and a thrill rocketed through her. She tried to resist responding, but her lack of self-control easily bested all the warning bells going off in her head. Being with Charley was so easy—teasing with Charley was so easy—that maybe she’d momentarily forgotten that being with Ford was not easy. In her giddiness at his admission she ribbed him as she would the other man. “Ford, you like us. I didn’t think it was possible, but you wished we were your dates tonight, didn’t you? You know, that can be arranged. I like nice dinners. Don’t you, Charley? Imagine how they’d talk!” Her voice was teasing and she turned to Charley at the end of her words. That’s when she knew she’d made a terrible mistake.

Charley’s face blanched and he shook his head once almost imperceptibly before he nervously looked back at Ford. She turned back to him as well, her stomach dropping. She hadn’t been able to resist making the point to Ford. She knew she was right, though she’d tried to keep the accusation light. Ford would be sensitive to such an idea, but if he could push her past her comfort zone, then dammit, she could push him too.

Ford sat back, his face hard. “Honestly Evie, it ruined my night. That’s why I wasn’t going to come in here tonight. I don’t enjoy feeling beholden to people. What I enjoy is doing whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want to do it. That’s how I arrange my life—to ensure just that.”

Evie didn’t respond. She’d pushed him too far, too fast. No matter how strongly she believed it was true, clearly Ford wasn’t ready to admit it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was only teasing.”

“And that’s exactly the problem. You’re too familiar. I’m greatly concerned at how quickly you’re feeling—” Ford seemed to search for the words. “—settled into my home and my life.” He swept a glower at Charley and then back to her. “I am not your boyfriend, Evangeline, and neither is Charley. I am your employer—your temporary
employer—and Charley is my best friend with whom I share your services. That’s the extent of our entanglement. Are we clear?”

Charley’s fingers dug into her palm as he squeezed her hand too tightly. Tears at Ford’s words pricked in Evie’s eyes but she’d be damned if she’d let him see them. His bucket of cold water over her head was one thing, but hurting Charley, who genuinely and deeply loved Ford, was another.

“Mr. Hawthorne,” she made certain her voice was steady. “You’re absolutely right about where I fit in here, and you have my apologies. In fact, I’m thankful you set me straight. It wouldn’t be smart for me to get confused about what’s happening here. But still…” She took a deep breath, her inner rebel not willing to let the matter go unpushed. “I can’t help but suggest that you take Charley on a date sometime. You might be surprised how much you enjoy it.”

“Evie, don’t,” Charley said under his breath.

“A date? Charley is my best friend. Enjoying each other when we’re sharing you doesn’t change our relationship. Our friendship is no different now than it was before you came.”

She closed her eyes, feeling sick, knowing her actions had provoked him to say those words out loud. Her heart broke for Charley and she mentally cursed herself. Why had she pushed Ford? She knew she couldn’t win against him. She felt Charley’s chest expand against her side as he took a deep, slow breath. He pushed himself to kneeling and reached out to place his hand on Ford’s shoulder. “That’s right Ford. Nothing’s changed. We have the same fun we had before. No worries.” Evie blinked and swallowed, taking a moment before forcing her eyes from Charley to Ford again, feeling miserable.

If Charley was taking care of everyone else, who was taking care of Charley?

Ford looked from his friend to her, the moonlight reflecting off his cheek, throwing his handsome face into sharp relief. He gazed at them quietly for a long time. She couldn’t read his eyes and she didn’t want to. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned her head away.

Finally Ford spoke. “I’m sorry, both of you.” She jerked her gaze back at him, utterly floored by his apology. “I don’t mean to be so harsh. I just…” He shook his head, looking back to the door. “I wonder sometimes if we should continue this, especially when it starts to confuse even me. Maybe we’d be smarter to call it all off.” His voice sounded tired.

Her stomach twisted at the words, and she fought rising panic, but her heart skipped when he looked back at her. His eyes were boring into hers, and she saw his own desperation not to end it. His own panic at feeling the way he did. So unsure of what was going on inside him. She could see it in the way the moonlight lit his pale eyes, and the emotion she found in them was deeper now, somehow, than before, as if tonight his eyes were open right through to his soul.

He was floundering in territory he didn’t understand, and he was looking to Evie to help him.

Her lips parted, and her chest rose, as if even the breath in her body was drawn to him, but she refused to uncross her arms and reach for him, hold him, assure him it was okay to feel the way he did. She beat down that feeling inside her, angry at herself for even having it. She wouldn’t help him. She wouldn’t help him hurt them.