“Bella Donna has another name, which I won’t reveal because I respect her privacy, however, she did sign a contract with me that allows me to speak about our experiences working together. That clause is in here as a way to advertise without asking my clients to write lengthy testimonials, but, in this case, it is going to act as the light Ms. Donna would probably prefer I not shine on the entire situation.

  “Nearly a year ago, actually the day before Valentine’s Day last year, she contacted me wanting to become a client. After our initial consultation, I had some doubts. While I appreciated her strong personality and determination, I had a gut feeling, something that over the years I have learned to trust, telling me that this would very likely be a challenging person to match.”

  I gave the camera a rueful smile.

  “But I have also never been one to back down from a challenge. Despite my instincts, I agreed to work with her and help her discover love.

  “This was a disastrous decision from the beginning. Just gathering information about her, her personality and her type was difficult. She was constantly telling us that she did not want to do our jobs for us and that we should just know what would work for her. We managed to finally get past those hurdles and built what I believed to be a strong profile for her and her future partner.

  “I should add that during this process, Ms. Donna refused to work with any of my team, insisting that, as she put it in an email to me, she was “such a high-profile client” who would “undoubtedly grow” Wilde About Love and have my phone ringing off the hook in no time. Again, these are direct quotes from her, and I will be posting the screenshots of these interactions on my business website with personal details redacted for her privacy.

  “The first date was…not pleasant for either party. Although, as I said before, I had a bad feeling about working with Ms. Donna, we all know that bad first dates aren’t all that rare and can be fairly common, so I wasn’t completely surprised. I had even told several of the people who I work with closely that I expected there to be three rough matches before we found ‘the one’.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “What the hell was I thinking with air quotes?”

  Max shushed me from my right side. “Quiet… This is riveting.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the screen, but a flicker of pride glowed on the inside. Having Ryder and Max so fully invested in the ups and downs of my life meant more than I was able to find words for but managed to make the corners of my eyes burn a little from unshed tears.

  “There were a total of fourteen matches that I made for Bella Donna over the eight-month duration of our contract. Of those people, I had eight refuse to ever work with me again. All of them reported back that she was rude, selfish and outright insulting in several instances. Finally, I chose to terminate early and refunded her money in full. The ship wasn’t just sinking. There was barely a mast visible above the water. That may be a terrible metaphor, but trust me when I say that it was an understatement, compared to the reality.

  “Unfortunately, as I found out when Ms. Donna released her first video in early January, she wasn’t happy with our parting and decided to attack my company by strongly implying that my relationship status meant I was unqualified and a hypocrite.

  “I took the initial strike against me as just a disgruntled former client who wanted to get something off her chest and assumed it would all blow over. That was, until her most recent post.”

  I took a deep inhale at the exact same time as my past-self did on screen. Not only was what I was about to say incredibly personal, but it was a very public statement about the two men sitting on either side of me. And the internet lived forever, so publishing this video meant the words about to come out of my mouth could never be taken back.

  “Bella Donna crossed a very different line most recently and put me in a position where I needed to speak out. I can’t promise that I will never speak on this issue again, but I am hopeful that she will make the right choice to let this entire situation die after this, and we can both move on.

  “As I said, I didn’t want to jeopardize Ms. Donna’s privacy by giving out personal information, but, unfortunately, she did not afford me the same level of respect. She not only put me in a spotlight but also shined it on Max and Ryder Murray.

  “These two men have been incredibly close friends of mine for three years since I first stepped foot in Max’s coffee shop—which, side note, is a small business I highly endorse anyone watching this video to patronize.

  “Ryder and Max both have been the pillars that held me up through many ups and downs over the period of time that we’ve known each other. They are incredibly important to me, and I love them both deeply. Ms. Donna took a few pictures out of their true context and created a narrative that not only assassinated my character but cast a dark shadow on both of these men.

  “What she did get right was that Max is married to Ryder. They have been happily married for many years and are still happily married.

  “However, what she got wrong has compelled me to come forward with a personal truth that, while not something I am ashamed of, is something that isn’t always widely accepted. I am not having an affair with Max behind Ryder’s back, but we are in a relationship.”

  I squared my shoulders on the screen, but the me that was viewing was wishing the cushions would swallow me up before I said the words coming next.

  “Ryder, Max and I are in a polyamorous partnership. All three of us are committed to one another and deeply in love with each other. This was our private reality and one that I am grateful to have, but one that Ms. Donna has necessitated we share, due to her inflammatory statements and insinuations.

  “The phrase ‘love is love’ is often proclaimed, but not always inclusive of polyamorous relationships. To be completely honest, it was not something I ever expected for myself, but when you have not only one but two amazing, attractive, generous and loving men tell you that they care for you as much more than a friend, you have a reason to reevaluate what your future will look like. I love both Max and Ryder and, just as equally, love the depth of their relationship with each other.

  “After this video does whatever it is going to do out in the universe, I would love for our personal life to return to being ours as much as possible. I’m not happy with what necessitated the creation of this video or my chance to give this proclamation, but I am not in the slightest sorry to be able to share my unique happily ever after.

  “Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to listen, and I look forward to being able to resume my passion for helping people discover the love they deserve—the one I am fortunate enough to experience.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Ryder

  Being an attorney meant I was never really at a loss for words and managed to come up with responses fairly quickly, but Morgan’s very public retort to the vicious accusations hurled at her had rendered me speechless—and more emotional than I’d ever expected to become when we’d first settled in for our little mini watch party. Even if my brain could formulate something to say, I wasn’t sure I could trust my voice to speak.

  Morgan fidgeted with the hem of her shirt and kept her head bowed. “So, what do you two think?”

  Max managed to recover faster than I did. He laid his index finger on the side of her chin and rotated her face toward him where he took her lips in an obviously possessing kiss. “I think that I don’t have any idea how in the hell you managed to make me feel so damn much and make me so damn hot at the same time, but fuck, Morg, you have driven me crazy in the best way possible with that video.” He gave her another kiss and grinned. “And you didn’t even have to take your clothes off for me to react this way.”

  I took my lead from Max, first capturing his mouth because it just looked too fucking good for me to ignore, then moving on to claim Morgan. “I vote for rectifying that little caveat in a much more private way than broadcasting for anyone with an internet connection to find it, hmm?”

  She drew her brows together in clear confusion for a moment before realization dawned and her expression melted into that of a confident vixen, pinning me with a saucy smile. She stood and moved to face us, keeping one hand behind her back. “I’m holding up either one or two fingers, who wants to guess first?”

  I nodded over at my husband. “He’s the risk taker.”

  “Two.” Max practically shouted the single syllable, and I tried to figure out exactly what game Morgan had concocted in that beautiful brain of hers.

  Her grin broadened, and she whipped her shirt over her head. “Then I guess that means you’re getting a blow job.”

  Max let loose with a long, low string of expletives, and he lifted himself enough to remove his pants, clear evidence of his physical reaction to her statement already straining against the thin material of his boxer briefs. Morgan stripped off her pants as well, but far slower than my overly excited husband, blatantly enjoying his response to her statement.

  I tilted my head to one side, not minding my view in the slightest. “And what does that mean I get?”

  Her gray eyes blazed with wanton desire, and she moved to straddle my lap, wearing only a bra and underwear that did very little to conceal anything, especially when I had every single inch of her creamy skin memorized. I was almost positive I could pick her out blindfolded simply from running my hands along her supple curves.

  She leaned forward and nipped at my earlobe, which added an unexpected amount of gasoline to the inferno raging inside me. Each time we’d been together, she’d gradually grown more bold and confident. Seeing her take exactly what she wanted was a massive boost to my own ego.

  “You get to pick, handsome. I’ll be on my knees for your husband. You can decide exactly what you do with that.” As if she hadn’t just stolen every drop of oxygen from my lungs and brought my heart to a skidding halt, she slid off my lap and removed the last few remnants of clothing before doing exactly what she’d promised.

  Although my throbbing, aching dick pleaded with me to strip as well, I couldn’t seem to tear my gaze away from Morgan as she oh-so-slowly took Max’s full length into her mouth without breaking eye contact with him. I trembled as desire coursed through my veins, making every inch of me scream for her, for Max, for both…now.

  I wasn’t sure which direction my clothes went, too desperate to shed them all. I got on my knees behind her, but hesitated for a moment as a new idea began to take shape. I grabbed a pillow and pushed it between her legs which resulted in a startled yelp from Morgan, but she didn’t take her lips off Max’s cock.

  Turning, I maneuvered myself beneath her and gripped her ass firmly, bringing her down to kiss the part of her I was desperate to taste again. During the day, Morgan smelled of citrus and happiness. But when I was worshiping her most sensitive area, basking in the heat radiating from her core, she smelled of hedonistic desire and passionate need.

  I wanted to draw out every second of this. I wanted to bring her to a screaming climax over and over and over until she begged me to stop. I wanted to spend the entire fucking night right here.

  She let out a guttural moan as I circled her clit with my tongue, tracing an oval around the tiny bundle of nerves before swiping across the top, which made her legs twitch in response. Over and over and over I repeated the exact same pattern to increasing growing noises from above, even though I could tell they were still muffled around Max’s thick, stiff rod.

  “Oh shit.” I bit back a smile and focused on the gift I’d been craving as Max became more vocal. “Whatever the fuck you’re doing, baby, keep it up. She looks so damn gorgeous on the brink of an orgasm, don’t you, beautiful girl?”

  Although I’d initiated the pet name for Morgan, hearing it in Max’s voice somehow managed to make it so much more meaningful—and so much damn sexier.

  I pushed two fingers inside her, and less than a second later, Morgan threw her head back, releasing Max from her mouth and gripping him with her fist instead. She screamed, pressing herself harder against me as she chanted “yes” over and over and over like she was in a hypnotic trance, only so much louder.

  I slid out from under her and got on my knees, caressing her spine. Max was stroking her hair, and she had her cheek resting on his thigh. I kissed her shoulder blade softly. “That’s good. Give him a break. I need to get a condom, and I have no intention of missing my husband come from your talented mouth.”

  She turned slightly and gripped my wrist before I could move. “No. I…” She bit her lip and her gaze bounced between Max and me. “I’m on birth control, and I want to feel every single centimeter of you inside me.”

  I closed my eyes against the onslaught of emotions mixed with the heady need that her words created. How this woman could manage to make love to my heart and mind just as much as she did my body seemed impossible. When I lifted my lids, my stare connected with Max’s and even without words, I knew he was thinking the same things.

  Holding the base of my cock, I poised with the tip at the entrance, aching to fill her. “Are you sure, Red? This entire thing has moved at warp speed, but there’s no reason we need to go any faster than you’re comfortable with.”

  Morgan reached between her legs, gripped me and, before I could utter a single word of protest, pushed me deep into her.

  “Fuck.” Max drew out the word over several syllables and tipped his head against the back of the couch. Morgan returned to her ministrations of pleasuring him with her mouth and I did my damned best to keep from exploding at the welcoming warmth of her. She clenched her muscles around me, and I could have sworn I growled as she pulled out a far more animalistic side of me.

  I dug my fingers into her round ass and moved her back and forth along the length of me as I drank in the view of her head moving up and down in my husband’s lap. I followed her rhythm as she lavished her full attention on Max’s dick, every time she kicked the pace up a notch, I followed suit as I thrust into her.

  Max flew his fingers into Morgan’s fiery auburn hair, and he gripped tightly. I kept my hold of her delicious rear end with one hand and reached the other around to tease her clit, rubbing harder the faster I drove my hips against her.

  He arched his back and screamed, mostly nonsense mixed with words of praise and affirmation and love, both of our names repeated over and over and over.

  The sight was nearly enough to make me explode, but I was hellbent on making sure I didn’t reach that pinnacle alone.

  I pressed as deep into Morgan as I could, stroking the tiny nub and applying pressure to her back entrance, making a mental note to revisit that particular position very soon. Fair was fair, and Max had had the pleasure of burying himself in her tight, voluptuous ass, and I definitely wanted to take my turn.

  Morgan shuddered beneath me, reaching for Max and screaming for me. Nothing I’d ever heard before sounded as sweet as her broken cries of ecstasy as she uttered my name on her climax. I joined her, focusing my attention on Max as I poured myself inside Morgan.

  She lay with her head still in Max’s lap, panting like she’d run a marathon, and I was barely able to make it to my feet without stumbling and making a fool of myself. I collapsed back onto the sofa and gently tugged Morgan up into her previous position, sandwiched between us.

  Her heavy-lidded gaze and smile looked like she was drunk, and my chest burned with pride at being part of the cause. She turned her attention to Max and frowned.

  “How the hell did you manage to keep your shirt on through that?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Max

  “A first Valentine’s Day with someone is stressful enough, but when that someone’s business is literally love…” I rolled my eyes. “How in the hell do you buy a gift for the human Cupid?”

  Ryder tapped the glass case that covered glistening rings in a variety of sizes and colors, the bright, gleaming diamond being the strongest contender. “There is always something like this?”

  I snorted. “We’ve gone from zero to one-o-five in every aspect of this relationship with Morgan. Maybe we should put the brakes on when it comes to actually proposing.”

  “We did have a three-year friendship before anything else happened.” He shrugged. “It isn’t like this is some instalove romance novel. And, really, all we are doing is delaying the inevitable, anyway.”

  He had a point, which was incredibly annoying because Ryder always had a point and that bastard was usually right. I held my hands up in a surrendering gesture. “Fair enough, but I am still against it for right now. I want to take more time picking out a ring that she will love and not just grabbing what’s available because it’s Valentine’s Day and we have no idea what to do for her.”

  Ryder held up his index and middle fingers. “Two rings.” He patted my biceps with the back of his hand and pointed to the storefront on the other side of the highway. “I think I figured out our perfect gift.”

  We hopped in his Audi, and he made a few quick maneuvers before pulling into the parking spot. I peered up at the brightly colored building and chuckled. “Okay, okay, you win. This is definitely a great idea.”

  I pushed open my door and flashed him a wide smile. “But I call dibs on the alien.”

  * * * *

  All my pride at the specially crafted gifts we’d each made for Morgan disappeared as soon as we entered our house. Deep red rose petals began at the door and trailed toward the living room.

  I set my gift bag on the floor, and Ryder followed suit. I lifted my shoulders in a silent acknowledgment that I had no idea what Morgan had planned and followed the floral path.

  As if I’d stepped out of my reality into some romcom with an over-the-top grand-gesture-type ending, the petals ended in a heart shape in the center of the room, and Morgan stood inside it. The woman herself took my breath away more than any of the other details of the room—which included enough candles to probably get the Fire Marshal called on us. She wore a full-length ball gown with a strapless sweetheart neckline. It started as a dark navy blue at the top, faded into ivory at the bottom and held threads of gold woven sporadically throughout. The full, wide tulle skirt flared out around her.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11