Authors: Mari Carr
“You didn’t think I was going to let your actions go unpunished, did you? Carly, you placed yourself in harm’s way today. Granted, you didn’t realize it at the time, but you didn’t call me. You didn’t tell me where you were going. I intend to make sure that you never forget to do that again.”
Her face flushed. Night saw her gaze dart quickly to him. No doubt she was uncomfortable with Jon discussing such a thing in front of him.
Night turned to shoot a warning look at Jon, but one glance convinced him his friend’s intentions had changed.
He wasn’t going to share her. He was going to scare her away.
Reilly planned to use her in this mission and apparently Jon had decided to take her out of the equation completely. By attempting to push her into a threesome, Jon fully expected her to run as far from all of them as possible.
Anger pulsed through his blood at the thought of Jon intimidating her in such a way—until he looked at his friend more closely. Jon’s hands were trembling slightly, his face was chalk-white. Night could see what this decision was costing him. Jon was sacrificing his love and his hope for a future with Carly in order to protect her and keep her safe.
Jon’s gaze lifted to meet his and he could see his plea for understanding.
“Jon?” she whispered.
Anxious to ease her discomfort, Night reached across the table and took her ice-cold hand in his. “Hey, Beauty. Remember my promise. I won’t let him hurt you. At least not more than you deserve.”
Her hand jerked in his, but he tightened his grip. He swallowed heavily. He knew what he had to do. He would play his part.
She licked her lips and squirmed in her chair, looking beautifully confused. Night had to stifle the grin as he felt a slight trembling in her hand. If he was reading her body language correctly, she wasn’t afraid of their words—she was aroused.
Shit. What if Jon’s impromptu plan backfired? What would they do if she refused to run?
“I don’t understand.” Her words were surprisingly strong. Night felt his respect for her courage rising another notch.
Jon stood slowly. “Stand up, Carly.”
Night watched with amazement as she complied. Jesus, Jon had been holding back the truth from him. He wasn’t a closet Dom where his chestnut-tressed love was concerned. He’d exposed his true nature to her, and the undeniable submissiveness she displayed blew Night away.
Jon ran the back of his hand down her cheek. “I nearly lost you today.” The words seemed to be forced from the depths of Jon’s soul. She reached out to touch her lover, but he grabbed her wrists. Looking over his shoulder, Jon motioned for Night to join them.
Night knew instinctively what his friend wanted. They’d stood side by side in the dungeon for too many years. The ability to work together like this—without words—was deeply ingrained in both of them.
Walking toward the couple, he placed himself directly behind Carly. He took her hands from Jon and lightly clasped them behind her back.
“Link your fingers,” Night whispered in her ear. She obeyed as he slowly dragged his hands up her arms, reaching around in front of her until he loosely clasped her with one arm around her shoulders and another fully around her waist. Night tightened his arms slightly, pulling her more firmly against his chest in a bear hug. Her hands accidentally brushed against his rock-hard erection. He sucked in a deep breath at the sensation.
Carly stiffened in his embrace. “What are you doing?”
Every line on Jon’s face was etched with tension. Night hated the complete desolation in his friend’s eyes. Jon was throwing away everything he’d ever wanted.
Night should never have returned. Should have told Reilly to find someone else to take Cassandra down.
Now his intense need for revenge was costing his best friend the only things he’d ever wanted in his life. Home. Love.
“I was worried about you today, Carly. I told you I wasn’t an easy man to be with.”
Carly glanced behind her, her eyes capturing Night’s. Jon’s woman was canny, perceptive. Night tried to shutter his expression, to hide his own fears. Jon’s were freaking painted all over his face. Carly was on to him. Maybe she didn’t understand why Jon was being cold or why he was pushing her into his best friend’s arms, but she knew something was up.
She stiffened her spine, set her jaw, and that’s when Night realized she wasn’t going to run. The brave woman was going to call their bluff.
He needed to add more fuel to the fire, to prove to her this was no game. Night raised the arm he’d wrapped around her waist, roughly grasping one of her breasts in his hands. Jon had silently asked for his help. Night had never been able to refuse his friend, even though he knew his actions now would destroy what little bit of sanity Jon had managed to salvage from their fucked-up past.
Carly blinked in surprise, but if she wanted to tell Night to get his hands off her, she swallowed the words down.
Instead, she asked, “Are you trying to scare me?”
There was false bravado in her tone. Despite the strength of her voice, Night could hear her sudden shallow breathing and feel the hard, racing beat of her heart.
“Are you scared?” When he’d been younger, Night had been very good at reading the emotions of the sex slaves he and Jon played with in the dungeon. He’d considered that one of his greatest skills as a Master. Always knowing what his sub felt.
With Carly, the answers didn’t seem as obvious. His gut told him she was aroused, but his head rejected that idea. She’d just met him. She wasn’t a trained submissive. As Jon said, she was normal, nice, innocent.
She shook her head.
“You should be,” Jon said darkly. Night was disappointed when Carly turned away from him, depriving him of his view of her expressions. He needed more time to figure out what the hell was going on with the woman. She wasn’t trying to break free of his grip. Nor was she screaming or fighting him off. All of those were the responses Night would have expected. Reactions Jon had been banking on provoking.
Jon appeared shocked by Carly’s lack of resistance, her almost casual acceptance of their attempts to frighten her.
“Why?” she asked. Again, that strength in her tone. It was almost a challenge. Something darkly arousing and damn near impossible for the Dom in Night to resist. She had submissive qualities, but this woman wouldn’t be a slave. She’d bend to their dark demands, but only because she wanted the same things.
Night’s cock twitched, grew harder. For a second, he considered dragging her upstairs and tying her to Jon’s bed. To hell with scaring her away. He couldn’t let her escape. He pinched her nipple firmly, increasing the pressure until Carly gasped, the sound the perfect blend of pain and pleasure.
Jon narrowed his eyes at him in warning, then he answered Carly’s question. “You don’t belong here, Carly. I’ve tried to tell you that since our first night together.”
She scoffed, her resentment laced with the slightest touch of humor. “Oh, that’s right. I
deserve
better.”
Night grimaced. Apparently this wasn’t Jon’s first attempt at saving Carly. It bothered him that even though his friend had fallen in love with the woman, he’d still tried to push her away, still let his guilt about the past keep him from truly committing to Carly. Or allow her to commit to him.
Jon ran a weary hand through his hair, frustration rife in his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was angry, the kid gloves gone. “You know what I want, Carly.”
Though it killed Night to do it, he tightened his grip, wrapping one hand around her delicate throat—making sure she felt captured—then he punctuated Jon’s statement with another pinch of her nipple.
“You’re giving me to your friend?”
Jon shook his head, a cold smile betraying him. He took no pleasure in what he was doing. “Don’t sound so alarmed. I’ll be there too.”
Carly laughed. “Well, I was banking on that.”
Her words fell in the living room like a nuclear bomb, setting the world off-kilter, blinding Night momentarily. The same seemed to hold true for Jon.
Then Night saw realization dawning on Jon’s face.
She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t leaving.
She was willing to take them both on.
Confusion crossed his Jon’s face for a brief second. “Why?” Jon’s question was whispered so softly, Night didn’t hear it as much as read it on his friend’s lip.
“If I leave tonight, that’s it, isn’t it?”
Carly had seen it all, understood Jon’s plan. She knew what was at stake.
“You shouldn’t be here.” The words seemed ripped from Jon’s chest. It took all the strength Night possessed not to contradict his friend, not to release Carly and walk the fuck out of the house.
There was someone who shouldn’t be there, but it sure as shit wasn’t Carly.
It was him.
“This is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Night wasn’t sure when he’d closed his eyes. It was a coward’s escape, but it had been too hard to see the pain in his friend’s face. When he opened them again, he was shocked to see Carly wasn’t looking at Jon. Her gaze was solidly on his.
His ability to lock down his emotions was gone. He stared at her, terrified to be so naked, so exposed.
She studied his face for several quiet minutes. “You want me?”
Night swallowed heavily. How could he betray his friend? His admission was all they needed to make her leave. Maybe not tonight, but soon. The darkness in his soul was too overpowering, too all-consuming. It would creep out eventually and destroy any chance Jon might have had for a happy ending with this beautiful,
normal
woman.
Night nodded.
Her expression cleared. Carly James had turned a corner, made a decision. For a second, Night found himself jealous of her self-assuredness because he’d never been more confused in his life.
She turned back to Jon. “This is what you’ve been hiding from me.”
Jon lifted one shoulder slowly. For a second, Night thought it looked as though Jon were afraid to move at all, too terrified of spooking her. “I warned you, Carly. I want everything from you. Everything.” Jon’s gaze traveled over her shoulder and met his. “He’s my best friend. Everything that’s mine is his.”
“I know.” It was a simple admission on her part, but Night felt those two words race through him like a shot of adrenaline to a man whose heart had stopped beating.
After all these years, could Carly be the one woman who would complete them? Save them?
Her fingers rubbed against his cock again—and this time it wasn’t an accident.
“Carly?” Night had never heard such anguish and love mixed together as Jon spoke her name.
Carly trembled in his arms. Night tightened his hold. The three of them stood frozen for several moments until Night heard the one small word he knew would change his life forever.
“Yes.”
Jon was shattered by Carly’s response.
Part of him had hoped that by pushing her into Night’s arms, she would run scared. Reilly fully intended to use her in his mission to bring Cassandra down. Desperate to save her from that fate, he’d intended to force her hand. He was certain that by thrusting the idea of a threesome at her, she would leave. Escape him and his black soul forever.
Now, with a single word, she’d given him the greatest gift he’d ever received. He glanced at Night—Carly locked tightly in his embrace—and saw the same look of reverent disbelief on his friend’s face. She wanted them both. Just when he felt as though he couldn’t love her any more, she blew him away with her generosity and seemingly endless supply of compassion.
“Upstairs.” Night made the quiet demand before releasing her, only to turn her slightly and lift her into his arms. Jon followed closely behind as Night carried her to the bedroom. Placing her back on her feet, Night reached for the hem of her shirt and swiftly pulled it over her head.
Jon expected her to rebel against this sudden disrobing. She was still uncomfortable standing naked before him. No matter how many times or ways he tried to tell her she was beautiful, she truly didn’t believe it yet. He was amazed as he watched her stand unmoving for his friend’s perusal. Something had definitely changed, blossomed, opened up in her tonight.
Night, however, was far from motionless or quiet. His hands worshipped her, touched her everywhere as he told her over and over how lovely she was.
The sight of her shapely body continually left Jon speechless despite the fact he’d seen her naked countless times. He could appreciate Night’s overwhelmed response.
Walking toward them, Jon took his place behind her and unhooked her bra. He heard Night gasp as he pulled the lacy material away from her body.
“Jesus,” Night whispered. Jon watched him fall to his knees. Reaching around her, Jon lifted her breasts and offered them to his friend. Night’s tongue swiveled around the pink areolas several times as her nipples grew larger and harder. When it seemed he couldn’t resist any longer, Night sucked the flesh firmly into his mouth. She moaned and squirmed, Night’s attention to her sensitive breasts setting her body on fire. Jon continued to hold her, pushing her into his friend’s mouth. He couldn’t take his eyes off the image of Night kneeling before her, worshipping her with his mouth as her hands tugged and pulled Night’s hair, holding her to him.
Finally, Night released her and clumsily stood back up. “More,” he demanded, and Jon knew what he meant. Turning her to face him, Jon reached down to undo the fastening of her jeans. When he had them unzipped, Night pulled them down her hips. She kicked off her tennis shoes and the jeans were quickly shed as well. Jon had only a moment to notice she was wearing the new black thong he’d bought her before he heard a snap and the panties fell away.
“Sorry,” he heard Night mumble, and he chuckled.
“You’ll never be accused of having too much patience,” Jon teased and he was thrilled when Carly joined in the laughter. He still couldn’t believe she was really here. Really letting them both touch her and love her.
“Well, I must say I’ve finally found something you both have in common.” She looked at him as she spoke. “In your haste to get me naked, neither one of you has bothered to remove a single piece of clothing.”