Read Menage on 34th Street Online
Authors: Elise Logan
Menage on 34th Street (2 page)
Chapter One
The beer was cold, the music was hot and the women were willing. Hunter Croft welcomed the first, ignored the second and rejected the last. After thirty-six days back on United States soil, he’d finally sated himself on the parade of tag-chasers. No, that was wrong. His body still wanted it but his head was miles away, already working through the orders he’d gotten today.
He was going home. Not exactly his idea of a perfect Christmas.
He took a swig of his beer but it didn’t help.
After more than ten years, he still had the visual burned in his brain. He’d jacked off to it often enough. Kat and Liam. Kat’s legs hooked over Liam’s arms, pussy wet and flushed, tits bouncing with every thrust. Liam’s ass clenching, leg muscles bunching to press deep. His cock wet with Kat’s moisture, his balls drawn tight against his body. The electric, life-changing moment when Liam turned his head and saw him. Nothing had been the same since.
After that night, when he’d stood frozen in the living room of Liam’s apartment, Hunter couldn’t face himself. Couldn’t face Kat. He wanted her, wanted to be the one pumping between her legs. But that wasn’t all he wanted, and that other want—the one he refused to name—was what had sent him to Parris Island, into the arms of the Corps.
The Corps and the world had changed a lot in the last decade. He’d changed.
He drained his beer and set the bottle on the bar.
Hunter’s home.
Kat Holland’s heart stopped beating as her brain replayed the two words her BFF had just uttered. Her chest flexed around a pang of longing. Nearly eleven years telescoped down to nothing, leaving the pain of his abandonment fresh and bleeding.
Kat forced her lungs to work.
Pull it together
.
“Earth to Kat.” Adele dropped a pair of chunky turquoise earrings on her desk. The earrings landed with a thunk, drawing Kat’s eyes from the computer screen and the latest convoluted, spelling-impaired update from Liam’s foster-sister. Jen always had some crisis brewing, but Adele’s words trumped anything in the email.
She shut down her computer and looked up at her friend, who held a vintage hat in one hand and a short fur jacket in the other. With a deep breath, she pushed herself to act normally. “Sorry. Distracted, I guess. I’m going to have to pass on those. I’m already working on my spring lineup.”
“Yeah, I figured, but my mother-in-law insisted you’d love them. I’ll break the news over spiced Jell-O or whatever crazy Christmas dessert she decided to make.” Adele stuffed the fur into a canvas tote.
Kat gave the earrings back to her friend. “Are you sure about Hunter? I thought he was in Afghanistan or something.”
“Not according to the latest. Are you going to try to get in touch with him?”
“Probably not. I’m sure he’ll be busy doing his Marine thing.” Kat bit her lip and checked her phone. Did Liam know? If he did, what was he thinking? No new messages. Frowning, she turned off her desk lamp. She and Adele left the room together and walked to the front door.
“I think you should.” Adele paused with her hand on the door knob and looked Kat in the eye. “I know how he left bothers you.”
“I’ll think about it.” Kat locked up after Adele and went into the living room to look out the front window. Her stomach churned. She wanted to talk to Liam, but she didn’t want to be the first to broach the topic of Hunter. Didn’t want to seem too eager.
Desperate
. Her subconscious provided the word she’d been avoiding. Shaking her head, she checked her phone again.
Nothing since before lunch. She didn’t know what to make of Liam’s uncharacteristic silence. She and her husband kept up a running stream of texts throughout the day, snapping photos and volleying comments back and forth while they went about their respective business. Rarely did an entire hour go by without a word from Liam. Did he know about Hunter’s return?
She turned to fuss with the stocking holders on the mantle. While she was arranging the heavy brass reindeers side by side, a chirp announced an incoming text from Liam.
Picking up dinner.
She let out a relieved breath and replied.
Want me to do anything??
Be ready for a three-way tonight?
Her pulse skipped. Hesitating over her response, she settled on a light-hearted answer.
Like I’d turn that down.
Anybody I know?
Stop asking questions.
You’ll ruin the surprise.
Getting naked was just what she needed. A dirty, sweaty, orgasmic Christmas Eve would kick Hunter’s ghost to the curb.
Kat spent the rest of the afternoon decorating and tidying in anticipation of a guest. They’d bought the lovely row house at the bottom of the market for a steal, and she’d loved bringing it back with Liam. It was a good neighborhood, close to Johns Hopkins and full of wonderful restaurants and shops. With a smile, she double-checked the locks before heading upstairs to pamper herself.
By the time she left the bathroom, night had fallen. Multi-colored lights twinkled through the bedroom window, the 34th Street light display nearly as bright as daylight. The community display was another reason they’d chosen this row house. It had been a real charge to work with her neighbors on the details. The weekend she and Liam had spent hanging precariously from ladders and leaning too far out windows to get the lights up had been a blast.
Kat pulled the towel from her head. The scene in front of her made her forget all about the lights outside.
Her husband reclined on the bed, naked except for the gift-wrapped box balanced on his flat stomach. A frilly silver bow overflowed the box and curled around his erect penis.
A low-level buzz swept over her skin. She’d always associated that tingle with Liam, because whenever she saw him, that little wave of arousal swept through her. Even now, after eight years of marriage.
“Is that what you got me?” She dropped her towel and, grinning, crawled across the bed to place a kiss atop the smooth, flushed head of his cock.
Liam grasped his shaft with one hand and angled his erection away from her mouth. “This is for later. For now you can have what’s in the box.”
She stuck out her tongue but sat back on her feet and pulled the box close. Liam groaned as the ribbon tickled his balls.
“I offered,” Kat said impishly.
“Later.” He rose from the bed and went into the bathroom. “Did you leave any hot water?”
“Little bit.” She pried open the box to reveal another surprise, delicate layers of paper imprinted with the logo of her favorite French lingerie boutique.
She dug through the packaging until her fingers struck silk. Careful with the cool, tissue-thin fabric, she pulled it from the box and held it up by its tiny straps. The bordello-red confection took her breath away. Though the demi-bra was opaque silk, the midriff was sheer, delicate lace, with only a wide pleated strip of silk at the hips to hide her assets.
“Liam, this is practically a Band-Aid.” But she carefully smoothed the silk between her fingers. It felt like heaven in her hands. Kat rubbed the butter-soft material against her stiff nipples and moaned.
“Put it on,” Liam said. “I want you to wear it to dinner.”
“Um. That’s some dinner. Just what are you planning?” A second item lay nestled among the tissue paper. Kat drew out a tiny red G-string, its miniscule crotch framed in more lace. She would be the very naughtiest of the naughty in this.
“Santa doesn’t divulge his secrets and I don’t either. Get dressed. I want to look at you.”
While Liam finished shaving and dragged on a pair of pants, she brushed out her damp hair and slipped the G-string up over her legs. Her first impression of the baby doll was correct—it barely covered her breasts, leaving the full upper curves exposed. Her nipples stood prominently against the silk.
“Perfect,” Liam said behind her. “Your ass is so fucking amazing.”
The compliment, accompanied by a possessive stroke over her butt, tripped her body into sex mode. Her pussy heated and softened. “Who am I dressing for tonight? You or him or both of you?”
He didn’t answer immediately, too intent on petting her. Kat closed her eyes and focused on the light pressure of his fingers over her skin, the slow burn he roused inside her. His touch never failed to ignite.
Liam turned her to face him, tipping her chin up with his thumb. His pale blue eyes were serious, more serious than she expected. “You’re
my
wife, no matter who else we might enjoy.”
Something in his voice brought questions to her lips but Liam quieted them with a kiss. “Love you, K-K.”
“I love you, too,” she replied, bemused.
He ran his fingers through the hair at her temples, pulling it straight before releasing the dark brown curls to frame her face. “Ready?”
Taking her hand in his, he led her downstairs. The neighborhood Christmas lights cast a soft, rosy glow through the front windows.
Liam ignored the display outside and headed for the kitchen. Kat followed, equal parts curious and uncertain. When she caught sight of Liam’s third, her mouth fell open.
* * *
Hunter felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. He recovered faster than she did and narrowed his eyes at Liam. “You told me she was in California. Visiting her sister.”
Liam shrugged. “I lied.”
“Why?”
“To get you here. Now are you finally going to finish what you started, or are you going to disappear for another ten years?”
Kat snapped her head around to look at her husband. “What the hell, Liam?”
Liam leaned against the door frame and shrugged. “I love two people in this world. You and him. When I found out he was stationed in D.C., I figured it was time to fix things. So I invited him over.”
“There’s nothing to fix.” Hunter’s feet itched with the urge to leave, but need rooted him to the spot. He
needed
the petite woman who stood in front of him with her half-bared breasts and her shocked, yearning eyes. That need, and the unwelcome desires associated with the two of them, scared the shit out of him. What the fuck did it say about him that he felt safer being shot at in Afghanistan than he did being propositioned in a kitchen in Baltimore?
“Kitty-Kat, why don’t you go unzip his pants and show him how much you’ve missed him,” Liam said, ignoring Hunter’s protest.
Her big brown eyes widened even more, a question in them that Hunter no longer knew her well enough to read. Liam could read her, though, and he nodded in Hunter’s direction. “Go on, babe. He’s not going to turn you down once you’ve got him in your mouth.”
Hunter stood frozen as Kat crossed the kitchen. Red silk did nothing to conceal the outline of her nipples and did everything to push his buttons. She made eye contact with him and his resistance flagged. Wasn’t this exactly what he’d convinced himself he wanted?
“It’s been a long time, kitten,” he said, the words rough in his throat.
She swallowed and whispered, “You left.”
“You were going to marry Liam. What was I supposed to do?”
“You didn’t have to go.” She dropped her gaze to his chest and lower until she fixed her attention on his cock. It pressed against the fly of his jeans so hard he thought the zipper might break under the strain. “Will you unzip for me? I want to watch you do it.”
Hunter drew a fortifying breath. Across the kitchen, Liam hadn’t moved. The bulge at the front of his pants left no question as to his interest in the unfolding scene. Hunter searched his old friend’s face for signs of jealousy and found none. He searched himself and found exactly what he was afraid he might find.
Jesus.
“Hunter...” Kat licked her lips.
His willpower where she was concerned had never been very strong. He took a step forward, plunged his hands into her hair, and crushed her lips beneath his.
Liam grunted but didn’t say anything or move to interfere. Not waiting for Liam to change his mind, Hunter twisted her hair around his hands and drew her up on her toes to match him. Off balance, she stumbled and landed against his chest, her hands flattening along his sides. Her tongue met his, urgent and hungry.
Hunter relished her warm weight and the sweet flavor of her mouth, two sensations he’d longed for in the years without her. But she wasn’t his to take, not like this. Liam had offered him something physical, nothing more.
He wrenched his mouth from the kiss and stared down at her. Kat’s lips were red and wet, parted as if she wanted him inside again.
If Liam wanted to give his wife away, if she agreed to being used for whatever scheme Liam had in mind, Hunter wasn’t going to question it. Disentangling his hands from her hair, he palmed the top of her head and pushed her down to her knees.
While Kat shifted her weight on the floor, easing back onto her heels, Hunter lowered his zipper. The relief he felt without the constricting pressure of briefs and jeans lasted only an instant. The sight of Kat’s slick red mouth, the white curve of her breasts, the dark crescent of her lashes against her cheeks, all of it combined to harden his cock to the point of pain.
He watched intently as she drew him in. Every molecule in his body strained toward her, but when she sucked him deep into her throat and moaned, he glanced up to gauge Liam’s reaction. Oh,
God
.
Chapter Two
Cock aching, Liam divided his attention between his wife and his friend. Kat’s blissful moan, muffled by Hunter’s thick shaft, brought a smile to his lips. Nothing gave him more pleasure than indulging Kat’s every whim, especially when he pinpointed the whim even before she knew it existed. With a little luck and Hunter’s help, tonight Liam was going to make another of Kat’s dreams come true.
Maybe one of his own dreams, too, if he played things right and if Hunter’s desire for Kat hadn’t faded over the years. Judging by the strained tendons in the other man’s neck, it hadn’t faded one bit.
Liam met Hunter’s eyes over Kat’s head.
“Damn you,” Hunter muttered.
Liam ignored his curse. All he’d done was bring Hunter’s needs out into the light. “She wants you. She always has.”
“Then you should have stepped aside and let me have her.” Hunter’s head dropped back against the wall beside the door. When Kat stiffened, he flexed his fingers in her hair and guided her mouth on his cock, forcing her to maintain her slow, steady rhythm.
“She doesn’t want
only
you.” Hunter had never understood that about Kat, that she had a huge heart and a starving sexuality. No one man could be everything she needed.
Fortunately for their marriage, Liam had no qualms about inviting guests into his bed. He accepted and encouraged Kat’s occasional desire for multiple outlets while she accepted and encouraged his occasional need for another man. But he wanted more for them. More than occasional.
On the floor, Kat squirmed. She didn’t pause in attending to Hunter’s cock, but her free hand clenched convulsively on Hunter’s thigh and her toes curled, signs she craved attention. Pushing away from the wall, Liam moved to kneel behind her.
“Don’t let him come in your mouth, Kitty-Kat.” He pushed her hair off her nape and kissed the shell of her ear. “Make him wait for your sweet pussy.”
Kat’s eyelids fluttered and she relaxed her jaw. She tipped her face up to watch Hunter as she licked at the underside of his shaft. Hunter groaned and Liam’s groin flexed in sympathy. He’d been the recipient of that magical little caress more times than he could count and it never failed to push him close to the edge.
Rewarding Kat for her restraint, Liam reached between her legs to stroke her. She inhaled sharply at his touch, her flesh sensitive and ready. The silk of the G-string clung damply to her lips, but Liam nudged it aside. He wanted her bare flesh, the naked wetness of her pussy. Sliding his fingers through her heat, he circled her clit with his middle finger, a slow caress that never failed to drive her crazy. Her hips picked up the rhythm of his touch and circled with him even as she bobbed her hot mouth over Hunter’s cock.
God, he wanted to taste that hard length with her. He ground his teeth together against the urge and focused on making his wife moan. It was almost enough to make him forget how much he wanted Hunter.
* * *
Kat whimpered and rolled her hips backward, trying to draw Liam’s fingers inside. He evaded her and drew a wet line from her pussy to her ass, where he thumbed her cheeks apart. Her dark passage clenched, reacting to the promise of a stretching fullness.
Above her, Hunter held her hair and pumped slowly into her mouth. The head of his cock slid over her tongue and prodded at her throat before drawing back to test the strength of her clinging lips. She held him through every stroke, not letting up on the suction that kept his flavor on her tongue. Hunter’s warm, musky scent overwhelmed her senses. He was so familiar and so unfamiliar at the same time. She could feel his resistance in the tension of his body and she worked at him, dedicated to wearing down his resolve. She wanted to taste him, to feel his release splashing in her mouth, but even more than that, she wanted to know his cock inside her.
Abruptly, he pushed her back into Liam’s arms. Kat stared up at Hunter, on the verge of begging, but he spoke before she had to.
“Stand her up and bend her over,” Hunter ordered.
Liam didn’t hesitate. He drew Kat to her feet and turned her to face him. She opened her mouth for a kiss, which Liam gave generously and unconditionally, his tongue stroking hers with an intimacy bred from years of carnal knowledge.
Hunter crowded behind her until his wet cock prodded her buttocks. Kat relaxed, letting his cock slide easily along the crease of her ass. She moaned into Liam’s mouth as Hunter jacked himself between her cheeks.
As much as she enjoyed Liam’s passion, she was desperate for Hunter. Breaking the kiss, she whispered, “I want him inside me.”
Liam nodded and drew her forward. Hunter’s cock slid away but he didn’t leave her bereft for long. Following closely, Hunter reached around her to palm her breasts. He rubbed the silk over her nipples and pinched both tight peaks through the thin cloth. Wetness flooded her pussy and ran sticky between her thighs.
“Please,” she moaned.
“Lean over here, K-K.” Liam sat on one of the kitchen chairs and unzipped his pants. He fisted his cock, drawing it out for her to see.
Drawn to Liam’s familiar flavor, she spread her feet for balance and bent, trusting Liam to keep her from falling. Hunter caught her around the waist while Liam supported her head and shoulders. Holding Liam’s thighs for balance, Kat closed her eyes and gave herself over to the two men who’d once been such prominent features in her life.
She heard the rustle of a condom wrapper and then Hunter’s erection bobbed heavily against her inner thigh. He plucked the G-string from between her cheeks and gripped her left cheek hard, his thumb in her crease. He held her exposed while he positioned his broad head against her entrance. Kat moaned around Liam’s cock and arched her back, angling her hips to receive Hunter. His blunt fingernails dug into her hip a millisecond before he swore and speared into her with one long, rough thrust.
“He likes your pussy, Kat.” Liam petted her neck, coaxing a whimper of pleasure from her throat. “He’s grinding his back teeth together so hard, he might hurt himself, that’s how much he likes your pussy.”
“Shut the fuck up, Liam,” Hunter grunted.
If she were able to speak, she might have echoed Hunter’s sentiment. Hunter had been out of her life for a long time, and he’d never been deep inside her like this. She wanted to focus on the sensations assaulting her.
Fully aware he might never be part of her life this way again, she concentrated on feeling. Hunter clutched her hips like a man clinging to a ledge, like he’d fall to his death if he let go. His thick erection was different in shape and angle from her husband’s cock. More, he pumped differently than Liam, who had made an art out of slow, gliding strokes. Liam liked to take his time and savor the moment. Hunter seemed to prefer fast and wild. Just as Kat thought she had his rhythm figured out, he altered speed or depth.
He released her left hip and reached beneath her, tunneling through her folds to find her hard, distended bud. His strokes slowed and deepened, holding at the end of each plunge.
“She likes clockwise circles,” Liam supplied. His voice told Kat he was close to coming, too. His voice and the salty flow of precome across her tongue.
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Hunter growled the words as he caught her clit between his fingers.
Hot sparklers of pleasure burned through her system at Hunter’s rough touch. In hopes of another little pinch, Kat clenched Liam’s hips and sucked hungrily to distract him from the other man. The distraction worked. Liam twisted his hands in her hair and bucked beneath her, pushing hard into her mouth. His heavy grunt was followed by a long moan. His cock flexed against her tongue and his familiar, slightly bitter taste flooded her mouth.
As if Liam’s climax were a signal, Hunter withdrew. Kat didn’t have time to object before he yanked her from Liam’s lap and pulled her down to the floor. She braced her hands against the cool wood and held her breath, unsure of Hunter’s next move.
He sank to his knees between her legs and hauled her backward by the hips. Kat tried to look at Liam but she couldn’t see him past Hunter’s shoulder. And then she didn’t care. Hunter’s cock rammed deep and he draped his broad chest over her back, covering her with his bigger body.
A sharp lance of heat spiked up her spine and exploded behind her eyes. Her moan echoed in her ears, drowning out the heavy drumbeat of her pulse. As Hunter’s strokes shortened and became more erratic, he once again found the trigger spot between her thighs. The first quick pet stole her breath and the second sent her over the edge.
Kat gasped with the force of her climax, and again with the force of Hunter’s. He jerked within her and shoved deep, his groin sealed tight against her ass. His cock thickened with the force of his release. The wave of it rolled through her, setting off aftershocks and stealing her strength. She went completely limp, folding down to the floor with Hunter’s weight at her back.
A stillness fell over the kitchen, punctuated by the chorus of their ragged breathing. Hunter’s heartbeat against her back provided the bass line. Eyes closed, Kat tried to memorize the rhythm.
Liam moved first. The chair creaked as he shifted his weight. Behind her, Hunter tensed. He withdrew his softening member and climbed to his feet. Kat shivered on the floor, the air cold against her back. She didn’t have the first clue what to do next.
Hunter broke their post-coital tableau. His zipper rasped in the silence, followed by the sound of the trash can opening and closing.
One of the kitchen chairs scraped loudly on the linoleum as Hunter knocked it out of the way. He strode from the room without a word.
Kat released a ragged breath. She looked up at Liam, whose mouth was bracketed by deep frown lines. “We shouldn’t have done this.”
“No,” Liam said. “This is exactly what we should have done. We’re just a decade too late.”
Cradling the ache Hunter had left in her body, Kat straightened and sat back on her heels. “Now what?”
The sound of the front closet opening galvanized her into action. She leaped to her feet and took two steps toward the door before she looked back at Liam.
“Go ahead and go to him.”
She searched her husband’s eyes for a sign that he meant something other than the words he spoke, but she found no hint of double meaning. That was one of the many things she loved about Liam. He meant what he said and said what he meant. She never feared stepping into a verbal or emotional trap with him.
With Liam’s blessing, she whirled and chased after Hunter. He’d run once. She knew in her gut if she let him leave now he’d run again. He was just opening the door, and a frigid wind blew in, snaking around his big body and slicing across her bare skin. Reminded of how little she wore, Kat dove around Hunter and threw herself against the door, slamming it closed.
The forceful move jerked Hunter’s hand from the knob. He took half a step back.
“Don’t go. Liam doesn’t—please. I don’t want you to go.”
Hunter’s knuckles gleamed white as he clenched his fists. He didn’t look at her, fixing his gaze on the door over her head. “You’re married.”
“I still don’t want you to go. Please stay. I don’t want you to go. I never wanted you to go.”
“You are a married woman. You took vows.” He lowered his gaze a fraction to look at her. His hazel eyes were flat and cold. “Vows you broke in that kitchen with me.”
Kat flinched but held her ground. “You didn’t seem to mind a few minutes ago.”
He leaned down until his face eclipsed everything. “I minded.”
She lifted her chin, determined not to back down even though a flutter of fear stirred in her belly. “You didn’t act like it.”
“No?” He grabbed her chin and forced her head at such an angle that she couldn’t look away from him. Kat’s heart raced behind her ribs, sped up by a combination of anxiety and interest. Hunter’s lips thinned. “You think I don’t mind that Liam offered you up like something he owned? I fucking minded. And I fucking hate that I took you anyway.”
“Hunter,” she whispered. The pain and anger scraped over her, leaving her raw.
What had they done?
He stiffened, every muscle locking down. Apprehension spiked through her at the sudden flare of emotion that turned his eyes stormy gray-green. She froze against the door, hardly daring to breathe.
He released her as if burned by her skin and braced his hands on either side of her head.
Only then did she see Liam. He’d moved up behind Hunter, close enough that any movement would press Hunter’s back into Liam’s chest.
After a minute of tense silence, Kat lifted her arms from the door and rested her hands against the lapels of his overcoat. “I missed you. You didn’t have to leave. You could have stayed with us.”
“And done what? Watched you climb into Liam’s bed over and over again?”
“You could have joined us. I—
we
—wanted you just as much as we wanted each other. I thought the three of us would be together for...” Her breath hitched and she stopped herself before saying “forever,” which she worried would only insult him now. “For a long time. Stay now. Please.”
“What do you
want
from me?” Hunter straightened, his back coming flush against Liam. “I thought I could do this, but I can’t.”
“Do what?” Liam slid his hands over Hunter’s shoulders, his fingers curling to rest an inch from Kat’s.
Hunter stared at her but spoke to Liam. “This. I always wanted more. I need more.”
Liam crowded against him, his lips a breath from Hunter’s ear. Hunter’s chest rose and fell in fast, uneven breaths. Suddenly Kat knew what Liam was trying to do.
Oh
,
God
. The risk was enormous. If Liam failed, Hunter would never forgive him. Them.
“How much more do you need, Hunter?” Liam’s voice was low, enticing. It was the voice that never failed to melt her insides. Even now, when the seduction wasn’t directed at her, she felt the renewed throb between her legs.
Emotions flashed in Hunter’s eyes, thawing the terrifying cold. She got so caught up in trying to read him that she didn’t realize he was moving until his fingers dug into her biceps. With a low snarl and a curse, Hunter hauled her off her feet and dragged her up against his chest. His lips crushed hers, channeling all of his conflicted emotions into the kiss. She stiffened and automatically tried to shove his tongue from her mouth with her own. Hunter had the advantage of strength and fury. Despite her panicked bid for space, he overpowered her.