KnightsOfPleasure SKelly_Nook (9 page)

Her
hand reached for her bag and her car keys, but as fate would have it, she'd
left it too late.

"Mornin'
beautiful. Is that coffee I smell?" Tyler strolled into the kitchen,
dropped a kiss on her head and wandered to the cupboard.

"Make
that two, will ya?" Logan yawned his way into the small space, filling it
with the energy of two sleepy, rumpled and happy males.

Susannah
threw up mental hands and cursed herself for thinking too long.

"Good
morning." She stood. "I've made myself a cup. Hope you don't mind."

"Not
at all, babe." Tyler stared at the microwave. "Glad you feel at home."

She
sucked in a breath but said nothing.

Logan
heard her, though. "What is it, Susannah? You okay this morning?"

His
gaze pinned her and she could feel him trying to see inside her mind. It was
the weirdest thing. "Yes, I'm okay."

"No,
you're not." Logan frowned. "Let me get my coffee. We need to talk."

She
chuckled and strolled to the little counter, leaning on it as the men sat down
at the table. "Go ahead. Caffeinate your brains. I know I can't think
until that first one hits the neurons."

There
was silence for a minute or two, punctuated only by sips and sighs as the first
blissful waves of caffeine began to work their magic.

"Okay."
Tyler leaned back. "Let me say this right off the bat. You, my dear, are
one incredible woman."

"Double
for me." Logan nodded. "Last night was beyond belief. Record-book
magnificent."

Susannah
thought carefully, choosing her words. "Me too. No arguments there, guys.
Both of you cared for me and showed me things, made me feel…well, it was the
most amazing sex I've ever had."

They
grinned, not quite smugly, but close enough.

Susannah
bit back her own wry smile.
Tell a guy he's
hell on wheels in bed and he'll be your slave forever.
Sophie's words came
back to her. That girl was right on the money.

"So
the problem is…" Logan encouraged her, making gimme gestures with one
hand.

"I
don't know what to do now."

"Uh."
Tyler blinked. "Come back to bed?"

"She
doesn't mean
now
now, asshole. She
means in the weeks ahead." Logan snorted disdainfully at Tyler, then
glanced back at Susannah. "Right?"

She
nodded. "Yes. Kinda. I'm not good at this kind of talk. I don't know what
to say or what to ask." She took a breath. "I'm really confused by
this. Physically it was great but I'm afraid it may mess me up a bit mentally."

"I
can sort of understand that," said Logan. "We're used to it. We enjoy
it. But when it's your first time…"

Susannah
stared at them, trying to step away from the sex and see them as men. Logan
leaned forward, cupping his coffee in both hands, his gaze steady on hers.
Tyler lazed, legs out and crossed at the ankles, one hand playing with the mug
on the table, the other scratching his bare chest.

They'd
both pulled on jeans but left everything else bare.

They
were wonderful, edible delights who had turned her sexual world upside down.
And at that moment Susannah knew what she had to do.

"I
have to go, guys."

"What?"
Logan sat up.

"Seriously?"
Tyler straightened.

"Yes.
I have to go. I can't deal with two of you. You both deserve a hundred percent
of whatever woman you choose. I can't do that. There's not enough of me to go
around, and too much of you. Does that make sense?"

"No."
Logan shook his head. "No, it doesn't make sense. We're not asking for
percentages, Susannah. Just you."

"I
know that, Logan. Last night was an awesomely wonderful experience and I'll
carry the memory of it with me forever. Don't ever think otherwise." She
twisted her hands together in front of her in an awkward and unusual display of
nerves.

"However,
I've learned that in challenging situations, I need to trust my gut. And my gut
is telling me that sooner or later, any kind of threesome we set up is going to
shatter. To fall apart. Someone will want more, someone's feelings will be hurt
and the whole thing will become an unmitigated clusterfuck."

"No,
I wouldn't…we wouldn't…" Tyler stuttered, his brows creasing into a frown.

Susannah
stopped him, holding out her hand like a traffic cop. "Don't, Tyler. Just
think for a minute. You two have been sharing for years now. How long has your
longest relationship been? Under these circumstances? How long have you
actually shared the same woman?"

As
silence fell, more pieces clicked into place in Susannah's head. These two men
were giving women pleasure, yes. But they were also managing to hide from
anything approaching real commitment.

They
were still playing at sex. It was still a game to them, every bit as much of a
game as it had been when they began it all those years ago.

Finally
Logan looked up. "Maybe three or four months?"

She
spread her hands. "I rest my case, guys."

"But…"

He
moved, as if to stand, but again Susannah held up her hand and obediently he
sank down. "No buts." She picked up her purse. "I will say one
thing to you both. Thank you. Thank you for a night I'll never forget."

Turning
to leave, she heard Logan's voice. "Then choose one of us. Please. Don't
go like this. Don't go away angry."

She
stopped and thought about Logan's suggestion. "I'm not angry, Logan. I'm
leaving after the most wonderful night and I'm grateful beyond measure. But
choose? That would be almost impossible."

Then
another thought struck her. "If I had to?"

Could
she do this? Could she be this honest? Then, as if a weight dropped from her
shoulders, she realized--yes, she could. She owed them the truth, painful
though it might be.

She
walked back into the little kitchen and dropped a kiss on Logan's head. "Logan,
if I had to choose, I'd choose you."

Tyler
jerked in his chair. "Why not me?"

She
moved to Tyler and repeated the light kiss, brushing his soft mussed hair away
from his forehead. "Because, Tyler darling, you never once called me by my
name."

And
with that parting comment, Susannah walked to the door of the suite and let
herself out.

Epilogue

Three months later
…

It
was cold, wet and thoroughly miserable, much like Susannah herself. She'd
suffered through the holidays, survived another January and wondered if she
should just accept the fact that her emotions were on the edge of shutting down
completely.

Christmas
parties had resulted in several men who might have interested her, but somehow
their attempts at flirtation had fallen flat.

Or
maybe it was Susannah who was flat. After all, she'd had the best there was, in
her opinion. Where the fuck was she supposed to go from there?

Luckily
she'd stumbled into an opportunity to flex her cyber muscles and a case had
appeared on her desk just before Thanksgiving; one that had intrigued and
challenged her. At least it was something useful and productive, leading to an
enhanced knowledge of Internet crime and some interesting conversations with
Federal authorities who were already pursuing similar interests.

Television
shows notwithstanding, most law enforcement folks weren't averse to sitting
down over a beer and exchanging ideas. Case details weren't offered, of course,
but trends and new concepts were out there for everyone to chew over.

Susannah
had not only chewed, she'd munched and swallowed. And now had a couple more
Internet-based crimes to pursue. Glancing out of the window, she thanked her
lucky stars for the work, which kept her inside where it was warm. Cold wet
feet were to be avoided at all costs.

The
phone rang and she saved her work, turning to answer it.

"It's
eighty-two and sunny. When are you going to be here?"

Sophie's
cheerful voice brightened Susannah's office and she found herself grinning. "When
you buy my ticket, babe. It's getting near tax time. My accountant has kids in
college."

"Hah."
Sophie's elegant snort rang in Susannah's ear. "You're going to miss the
Tampa Renaissance Faire, you know."

"Really."
She drawled the word. She could think of other things she'd mind missing, but
given her experiences, not too many. Going back there, seeing those guys…uh,
no.

"Maybe
your two friends will be here."

"Don't
know."

"Oh
for Chrissake, Suz. I know you slept with the two of them. You've never said
so, but I know it. Woman's intuition. So just spill the beans, why don't you?
Get it off your chest. You'll feel better."

Wise
to Sophie's ways of ferreting out information, Susannah assumed what she liked
to think of as her enigmatic smile. "Sorry, sweetie. Need to know
information."

"I
need to know." It was a wail.

"No
you don't."

"Why
not?"

"Because
you don't give me any peace as it is. If I told you anything more, you'd be
merciless. I'd have to rename you Torquemada."

"Aha."
Sophie pounced. "So there
is
something to tell. I knew it."

"Oh
for…" Exasperated, Susannah ran her hands through her hair. "Let it
be, okay? Just leave it alone." She paused. "It hurts, Soph. First
time I've said that, so let's just leave it there."

There
was a moment's silence. "Okay, hon. I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was
picking at a scar."

"Honestly?
Until I said it, I didn't know either."

"Which
one?"

Susannah
closed her eyes and saw him, Logan, dark hair and smiling eyes. Heard his voice
again, felt him…well, enough of that.

"The
dark one."

"I'm
looking at the photo again. Not sure how you picked, but can I have the other
one?"

In
spite of her confused emotions, Susannah giggled. "Sure. Tyler's one hell
of a stud. If I ever see him again, I'll send him to you."

"Hang
in there, sweetie." There was sympathy in Sophie's tone.

"What
are you doing? You going to the Faire?"

"Yeah."
A gusty sigh followed. "I'm covering it again for the Gulf Meadows News.
Only this time, they're online. So I get to upload digital photos, not deal
with print anymore. Kinda cool, actually."

The
conversation rambled a little as both Sophie and Susannah discussed the effects
of technology on their respective little worlds.

"Got
corsets?" quipped Susannah.

"Nope.
I'm going as something different."

"Really?
It is a Renaissance Faire, ya know, kiddo. In case you missed the reference…"

"Har
har." Sophie sighed loudly. "You are so funny."

"Well?
What are you going to wear then? C'mon. Inquiring minds and all that."

"Um…"

This
hesitation was unlike Sophie and made Susannah sit upright in her chair. "Sophie?
Costume?"

"Don't
laugh."

"I
won't, I promise. You didn't laugh at me in my corset."

"Okay
then." Another pause. "I'm wearing leather."

"Ouch.
In Florida? I know it's February, but isn't that going to be hotter than hell?"

"No."

That
was much too short an answer for Susannah. "Deets, sweetie. Give. Or I
shall make your life miserable. And you know I can do it."

"I
have a new outfit. It's…it's sort of along the lines of
bondage gear
."

Susannah
blinked, swallowed, and blinked again. "By bondage, you mean
Kitten with a whip
type stuff?"

"Kinda."

Biting
her lip, Susannah shook her head at herself. The mere thought of delicate
little Sophie Lewis in leather, studs and six inch black spikes…well, it was
completely outrageous. "Oh my."