Serving the Wolf's Den (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)

When she crawled into bed, she felt happier than she had in a long time. Following Katie’s lead, the girls were now acting more friendly toward her. The only person who seemed to truly dislike her was Joanie, Max’s number-one fan and a constant fixture at the bar. The woman tried to antagonize her at every opportunity. If she didn’t value her job so much, she would have thrown a drink in the older woman’s face instead of smiling politely whenever she delivered one of her barbed insults in front of Max or Toby. The older woman thought she was hilarious and never missed an opportunity to try to make Maura look bad.

So a few days later, when Max was in his office doing some paperwork and Toby was running an errand, she was surprised that Joanie started up a conversation with her that didn’t start with “Hey, Bitch.”

“You know, Maura, you’re a very lucky girl,” Joanie began as Maura placed another drink in front of her.

“Really. I’m surprised to hear you say that.”

Joanie took a sip of the drink. “Not bad.”

“Thanks,” she responded to the first compliment Joanie had ever given her about anything.

“So, how do you like living with my boys?”

“Max and Toby are like my big brothers.”

“Big brothers?”

“They’ve been good to me. I owe them a lot.”

“Who knows why, but I’m feeling a little charitable tonight. But then again, maybe I’m just teetering on insanity, but either way, I’m going to tell you a little secret. Max doesn’t look at you like a sister. He wants you in his bed, and so does his little brother.”

Maura felt her heart skip a beat. “And what makes you an expert on what other people want?”

“I’m not quite as out of it as you might think.” She took another sip of her drink. “Those two look at you the way I wish they looked at me.”

“You need new contacts, Joanie.”

“For someone so smart, you really are dumb as dirt when it comes to men.”

“Right. Thanks for the observation. Much appreciated.” Maura turned away from the woman and went back to wiping up behind the bar. She wasn’t about to tell her how she really felt.

“Listen to me, girl,” the older woman called to her, slurring her words a little. “This could be the only time you’re alone behind the bar without one of them hovering over you and I have a chance to open those eyes of yours to what’s obvious to everyone else with two eyes in their head. You need to take off those self-inflicted blinders you wear or you might lose out on the best thing that could ever happen to you.”

Maura turned back toward Joanie, who still reminded her of a prune with too much makeup. “Too bad I wasn’t wearing self-inflicted earplugs. It would make waiting on you a whole lot easier.”

“Damn straight,” she said, laughing. “But you’re not, so you’re going to hear what I have to say. You got two men who are absolutely gorgeous, eyeing you up like you’re their favorite dessert. Nothing says you can’t have them both if you play your cards right.”

“Joanie, you really have had too much to drink. I’m cutting you off.”

“I’m never cut off. I have my limo driver on speed dial, and Toby and Max know it. I never drink and drive. Fact is, I don’t drive. Never liked it. Luckily my last husband left me well enough off that I never have to worry about it.”

“I know you have a driver,” Maura sighed. “But tonight your brain is dangerously close to drowning in Cosmopolitans. I don’t want to be blamed for your demise here at the bar. If you want to kill yourself, do it somewhere else. Besides, you’re talking like a dirty old woman.”

Maura hoped she hadn’t gone too far. Joanie was, after all, one of their best customers. However, if Max or Toby knew what she was saying, they’d probably cut her off, too, minus the “dirty old woman” comment.

“Think what you want about me,” she said, grabbing her purse that had been hanging under the bar. “But if you’re as smart as everyone thinks you are, you’ll stop acting like you don’t want them and bed those two boys before they start looking elsewhere.”

“That’s enough.”

“Well, before I leave,” she said, throwing money down on the bar, “I’ll tell you another thing. I had my chance once to be with two men who I loved, and you know what, I ran from them. I was so afraid of what someone else would think that I couldn’t open my mind to see that when you find love, you take it and never let it go regardless of the package it comes in.”

The older woman was looking off into the distance with such sadness, Maura stopped what she was doing and without thinking put her hand on the wrinkled one that was resting on the bar. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. I shouldn’t have called you a dirty old woman.”

“Don’t you feel sorry for me,” she said, removing her hand from beneath Maura’s. “I don’t really even like you. So telling you that you have two men who want you may be the worst mistake I ever made. Well,” she said, sadness creeping back into her eyes, “the second worst mistake I ever made. It doesn’t matter anymore. Max could care less about me. It’s you he wants, and he knows his brother wants you, too. Don’t deny them or yourself.”

Joanie pushed a button on her phone and stood up from the bar. “Sheldon. I’m ready.” She turned once more to Maura. “You’re probably not woman enough for one of them, say nothing of the two of them, anyway. What a waste.”

Without another word, she made her exit. Her spike heels clattered on the wooden floor as she weaved around tables in an effort to get to the door. Maura watched her passage, hoping she wasn’t going to fall flat on her face. On cue, Antoine came over to take her arm. She smiled and let him lead her out of the bar.

When Max returned, he asked after Joanie, who usually never left the bar before closing.

“She was talking pretty crazy tonight. I cut her off.”

“Damn.” Max whistled. “You cut her off?”

“You would have, too, if you had heard what she was saying.”

“What did who say?” Toby asked, coming up behind them. “I got that stuff you wanted,” he said to Max.

“Joanie. Nothing worth repeating.” Maura turned away from them, hoping they would let the subject drop.

“I’ll tell you what she said,” a man who was sitting a few stools away called over to them.

Maura glared at the man and willed him to shut his mouth. He just laughed. “Not so sure Maura wants me to, but I’m going to anyway. It’s too damn juicy to keep to myself.”

Both Max and Toby looked over at the man who was grinning from ear to ear.

“She said that she thought Maura should go to bed with the both of you. That it’s obvious you all want each other, and she’d be a damn fool not to.”

Maura felt the heat start in her neck and move upward until her face was flushed. “So, now you know why I told her she had too much to drink.”

She thought they would laugh it off, but neither of them was laughing.

Suddenly, she felt giddy, like she was the one that had too much to drink. Was it possible the reason they weren’t laughing was because Joanie had been more right than wrong? All Maura knew was that both Max and Toby were now looking at each other like they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“Damn,” Toby said, “she’s got bigger balls than most men.”

“More than even I realized,” Max said. However, his next breath was in Maura’s ear. “She’s also more observant than I ever gave her credit for.”

Maura turned to Max, but he was already reaching for a customer’s empty glass. When she did catch his eye, he only grinned. She wanted to slap that silly grin right off his face, but if she were honest, she wanted to do more pleasurable things to that mouth she wanted to feel against hers.

For the rest of the night, whenever she allowed herself to think of Max and Toby, she visualized their mouths pleasuring her pussy and other parts of her body in ways that left her breathless. She had never been with two men, but she knew she wanted to find out what it would be like to have them deep inside her, using her body in any way they chose. She thought she had taken control of such thoughts by locking them away in her mind where they could do no harm. And now with Joanie’s help, those same thoughts had every nerve ending in her body screaming for what she had tried so hard to suppress.

When it was closing time and most of the customers had gone, Maura began cleaning the bar with such fervor it practically sparkled. Hard work, she told herself, was what she needed to take her mind off Max and Toby and the erotic images that wouldn’t leave her alone. Unfortunately, it didn’t help her cause that their hard-muscled bodies and handsome faces were in such close proximity.

Her panties were soaked from what she knew she had no right to be thinking. Regardless of what she wanted to believe, she needed to remember Katie’s warning about what happened to the girls who wanted more than a paycheck from the boss. She was definitely going to need a cold shower before she went to bed if she ever hoped to get any sleep.

“Somebody’s got the cleaning bug tonight. Our place could really use a good cleaning. Max and I could make it worth your while,” Toby joked, his body touching hers as he leaned into her. His smile was devastating.

“I already cleaned your place this morning.” She felt her heart practically leap out of her chest. She turned away from him, unable to continue his flirtatious banter, only to be faced with Max, who had snuck up behind her without her hearing him. She thought for a second she was going to lose her balance when Max’s hand shot out to hold her upright. She was sandwiched between the two men. How could they know this was the perfect position in her fantasies?

“We’re taking you home early tonight.” Max still held her arm firmly in his hand. “Katie’s going to close up for us.”

“Okay, but I don’t mind staying.”

“We do,” Toby said, his breath in her hair.

“Yes, we do,” Max echoed.

“Well, since you’re my ride home, I’m at your mercy,” she said weakly, trying to laugh, before she eased herself from in between them and scooted down to the other end of the bar to look for something to do. She sneaked a look back only to see they were both still watching her. Turning around quickly, Maura threw herself into cleaning the already clean bar with renewed energy.

The ride to their house was quiet. Max drove. Toby had taken his usual seat in the back. Maura felt the tension in the air and decided it was best to stay silent since she didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t give away her feelings. She knew she shouldn’t be aching for something that was unlikely to happen and shouldn’t happen. However, she wanted them so badly she was ready to throw caution to the wind and that was a very dangerous state of mind for someone who had so much to lose.

Max pulled into the driveway. She opened her own door, not waiting for one of them to do it for her as they usually did. She ran to the front door and waited for Toby to unlock it before she bolted through to the kitchen. Her eyes searched for Bo. She should have known he wouldn’t be there to greet them, he never was, and tonight was no exception. However, tonight she could have used the diversion she knew her four-legged friend would have created.

She found some bagels in the bread drawer and cream cheese in the refrigerator. She was about to cut the bagels for toasting when Max walked up behind her.

“Is that what you’re hungry for, Maura?”

“I thought you liked bagels.”

“There’s something else that I want tonight. It’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time now.”

The knife she had been holding clattered onto the counter.

Toby was beside her. “I want what he wants, Maura. The question is, do you?”

Without waiting for her answer, Max turned her to face him. She was powerless as he lowered his head, his eyes locked with hers. She watched his lips touch hers. She felt his tongue dart between them. He groaned, pulling her hard into his chest. The kiss took her breath away along with all comprehensible thought. All she wanted was more of him as she slipped her arms around his neck. Joanie was right, her mind screamed in happiness.

Toby was behind her, his hands caressing her shoulders, moving down to cup her breasts before they inched down farther to grip her ass beneath her jeans that he pulled down as Max unzipped them. She felt them slip from her body until they were pooled at her feet. Toby’s cock, still in his jeans, pressed hard between the cheeks of her ass, his lips in her hair. She shivered with anticipation for what she had thought could never happen.

“I want you,” Toby’s voice whispered in her ear.

Max released her, only to begin unbuttoning her shirt. “Do you want us both, Maura?”

She nodded, unable to speak from the passion and lust that consumed her. She trembled from the ache between her legs. Her pussy continued to drip into her already wet panties with the pent-up desire she felt for these two men.

“Tell me what you want, baby,” Max said, spreading her shirt open to expose her lacy white bra that he easily unclasped. Toby’s arms snaked around her to twist her hard nipples between his fingers, causing her to moan. It felt so good, so right.

“I want you both,” she choked out, feeling as if she were about to float off the ground.

Max smiled. His eyes devoured her breasts. “My God, you’re beautiful. Your body was made for us.”