Theirs For The Night

A Twisted Hearts Novella

Katee Robert

Trinkets and Tales LLC

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2018 by Katee Hird

Cover design by Katee Robert

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact katee@kateerobert.com.

Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

Created with Vellum

Also by Katee Robert

Wicked Villains

Book 1: Desperate Measures

Book 2: Learn My Lesson

Book 3: A Worthy Opponent

Book 4: The Beast

Book 5: The Sea Witch

Book 6: Queen Takes Rose

A Touch of Taboo

Book 1: Your Dad Will Do

Book 2: Gifting Me To His Best Friend

The Island of Ys

Book 1: His Forbidden Desire

Book 2: Her Rival’s Touch

Book 3: His Tormented Heart

Book 4: Her Vengeful Embrace

The Thalanian Dynasty Series (MMF)

Book 1: Theirs for the Night

Book 2: Forever Theirs

Book 3: Theirs Ever After

The Kings Series

Book 1: The Last King

Book 2: The Fearless King

The Hidden Sins Series

Book 1: The Devil’s Daughter

Book 2: The Hunting Grounds

Book 3: The Surviving Girls

The Make Me Series

Book 1: Make Me Want

Book 2: Make Me Crave

Book 3: Make Me Yours

Book 4: Make Me Need

The O’Malley Series

Book 1: The Marriage Contract

Book 2: The Wedding Pact

Book 3: An Indecent Proposal

Book 4: Forbidden Promises

Book 5: Undercover Attraction

Book 6: The Bastard’s Bargain

The Hot in Hollywood Series

Book 1: Ties that Bind

Book 2: Animal Attraction

The Foolproof Love Series

Book 1: A Foolproof Love

Book 2: Fool Me Once

Book 3: A Fool for You

Out of Uniform Series

Book 1: In Bed with Mr. Wrong

Book 1.5: His to Keep

Book 2: Falling for His Best Friend

Book 3: His Lover to Protect

Book 3.5: His to Take

Serve Series

Book 1: Mistaken by Fate

Book 2: Betting on Fate

Book 3: Protecting Fate

Come Undone Series

Book 1: Wrong Bed, Right Guy

Book 2: Chasing Mrs. Right

Book 3: Two Wrongs, One Right

Book 3.5: Seducing Mr. Right

Other Books

Seducing the Bridesmaid

Meeting His Match

Prom Queen

To the Rabble

Thank you for being as crazy excited about this book as I am

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter 1

“Don’t give me that look—you’re coming out tonight. It’s your birthday, Meg, and there’s only one proper way to turn twenty-three. It’s not home alone, stressing about things you can’t control.”

Meg Sanders finished restocking the beer fridge and pushed to her feet. After a twelve-hour shift of bartending, everything hurt from her worn-out tennis shoes to her shoulders. Even if she wasn’t exhausted, she’d still be looking for an excuse to say no. Just like she always did when Cara tried to convince her to go out after their shift.

She loved her friend, but Cara couldn’t seem to get it through her big, beautiful brain that Meg was broke. The combination of no money and aching feet wasn’t one that motivated her to go dancing. When she’d first landed in New York, she’d racked up more than her fair share of credit card bills living beyond her means, the freedom of answering to no one going straight to her head. She couldn’t afford to make those same mistakes again—even for a night. “I have to work tomorrow.”

Cara mimicked a buzzer noise. “You don’t work until three tomorrow. Try again.”

Meg leaned against the bar and cast a look over the room. Despite being a Saturday night, they were in the magic hour between rushes. Too late for those pre-gaming it before hitting the clubs. Too early for those same people stumbling in for the Satellite’s fabled breakfast and Bloody Mary’s to get their hangover started right. “We’re in a bar. I spend all my time dolling out alcohol to drunk people. The last thing I want to do right now is go out and be around more drunk people.”

“Honey.” Cara grabbed her arm and towed her through the doorway and into the short hallway that led back to the kitchen. She frowned, her big brown eyes serious for once. “I know you’re broke and stressed and worried about fall tuition, but if you don’t take some time to cut loose, you’re going to explode into a Meg-shaped puddle of anxiety and brains.”

Meg made a face. “You say the nicest things.”

“I say the truest things.” Cara yanked her mass of blond hair out of her ponytail and ran her fingers through it. “Come out with me tonight and we’ll celebrate your birthday right—just for a little bit. The bouncer at Bliss owes me a favor, so you don’t have to worry about cover and if you let me pick your outfit, you won’t buy a drink all night.” She held up a hand, forestalling Meg’s refusal. “Even if that drink is ginger ale. I’m not saying you need to get shit-housed. I’m saying you need to put the stress on the backburner for a few hours. All your problems will still be there in the morning.”

The only thing I want is to go to bed and sleep for twelve hours. She opened her mouth to say exactly that…but it was a lie. If left to her own devices, Meg would go home, reread the letter for the thousandth time. It would say the exact same thing it had from the moment she opened that red-stamped letter—her financial aid had run dry. Spending hours trying to make the math work in a way that didn’t spell the end of her dreams, just like she had every night this week, wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference.

Spoiler alert—the math didn’t work.

Maybe Cara was right. Maybe she just needed some time away from reality. Meg knew from years of experience that if she couldn’t find a way around a problem, sometimes the best thing to do was to check out completely and let her brain work on the solution in the background. A night of dancing might be just the thing to shock the solution loose.

Hopefully.

If it wasn’t, she didn’t know what she was going to do. Every plan Meg had for her future hinged on her ability to get this degree and leverage it into her dream job—a dream job that paid the bills. Being an accountant wasn’t glamorous and likely wouldn’t make her rich, but it was steady work that would never go away. Taxes and death were the only certainties in life, just like old Ben Franklin had said.

She would have happily broken dozens of laws as a child to have a reliable income that paid the bills. Nothing—nothing—would stop her from carving out the kind of safe space that financial security created.

But not tonight.

Nothing would happen tonight but more stress and worry and plotting half a dozen contingency plans that made her sick to her stomach to even think about.

Meg sighed. “Two hours—tops.”

Cara let loose a squeal to shake the windows and pulled Meg in for a tight hug. “You won’t regret it, I promise. It will be fun.” She bounced back. “Let’s get the hell out of here, run by my place to change, and go dance our asses off.”

Her friend’s enthusiasm spread through her until she managed a smile of her own. “Sounds like a plan.”

An hour later, wearing the smallest dress known to mankind, Meg wondered what the hell she’d been thinking. She tugged at the hem again. “You sure you didn’t have something with more yardage?”

“Oh, hush, you look amazing and you know it.” Cara nudged her toward the front of the line of people that snaked down the block. “Besides, you used to own a dozen just like it.”

Yeah, she had. Before she’d gotten in over her head with credit card debt and sold every piece of clothing that wasn’t vital—and clubwear didn’t make the list.

“It’s been a while.” It took four years to undo six months’ worth of damage, and she was never, ever going down that road again. Meg smoothed down her dress again and pushed the old thoughts from her mind. Tonight was about letting go. She could let go. She used to be able to compartmentalize with the best of them.

She was just out of practice.

Though she’d pushed a magnificent red dress on Meg, Cara had picked something similar in black that showcased her mile-long legs and pressed her boobs to gravity-defying heights. She grinned. “You look amazing. Own that shit.”

Meg forced herself to straighten her shoulders as they approached the bouncers. She might be an inch away from indecent exposure on both her chest and ass, but she’d be damned before she let anyone know exactly how uncomfortable she was. There had been a time in her life when dresses like these were the rule instead of the exception, but that was a small lifetime ago. She was out of practice with that, too.

Cara sidled up to the giant of a bouncer and went onto her tiptoes in her sky-high heels. Whatever she said worked, because he nodded, gave her ass a playful smack, and unclipped the velvet rope to let them in. He winked at Meg as she passed, but thankfully kept his hands to himself.

Inside, it was just another flavor of every other club in NYC. A bass she could feel in her bones, low lights, and a packed dance floor. Meg stepped to the side as she walked through the door, trying to get her bearings. The DJ booth overlooked the dance floor that took up most of the main floor, and the bar stretched across the wall opposite in front of a truly impressive display of bottles. Stairs curved up to a second floor with what looked like booths and plenty of spaces to watch the dancers—the VIP lounge.

She checked out the people near the railing out of sheer habit—when one was a bartender, it paid to know one’s patrons. The woman in the tiny jumper with the cut-outs likely hadn’t paid for a drink all night and, even if she had, she wouldn’t tip. Two other women seemed more focused on each other than they were on their view. They didn’t touch, despite standing close enough to mingle their exhales—they were on their first date, maybe second, and it would get hot and heavy after they left the club. A few feet from them, two men leaned against the railing. One had his back to the dance floor, his attention focused on his friend. The other…

The other was staring straight at her.

Meg froze, her breath a trapped thing in her throat. Even across the distance, those blue eyes pinned her in place and stoked a heat inside her that had no business existing. His face was all angles that should have been too sharp for beauty, but was painfully attractive all the same. Dark hair cut tight against the side of his head and left slightly longer on top, begging for someone’s fingers to sift through it. He wore jeans and a T-shirt that should have downplayed his presence, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a man who was at home in expensive suits as he was in the clothing he currently wore.

Trouble.

He said something to his friend, and the man turned to face her. Where the first guy was almost pretty—if a woman was willing to cut herself to pieces on his beauty—this one was rough and unfinished and screamed danger in a way that made her nipples go tight.

Holy shit, what is wrong with me?

She tore her gaze from them and searched the crowd for Cara. I should have known the red dress was too loud. Black would have been better. There were bartenders who were loud and put themselves out there, drawing people in and making bank off the tips that invariably followed. Meg didn’t number among them. She blended. She was damn good at it, too.

It was so much easier to move through a crowd when no one was paying attention to her, and there wasn’t a more attention-grabbing color than fire engine red.

Since Cara didn’t materialize in front of her, Meg headed for the bar. She’d bet her next paycheck Cara had already charmed a drink out of some guy. She drew in men the way honey drew bees, though she never seemed to go home with any of them. Meg had her own theories about that, but Cara was her friend so she tried not to psychoanalyze her.

Speak of the devil.

Cara peered out from behind a guy in a cheap suit and waved at Meg. She grinned at Meg’s raised eyebrows and gave an unrepentant shrug, a drink in each hand. A few seconds later, Cara was at her side, having brushed off the guy. “What?”

“One of these days that is going to backfire.”

“Without a doubt.” She held up the drinks. “Cranberry-vodka or Crown and Coke?”

Meg rolled her eyes and motioned to the darker drink. “You already know the answer to that.” They had to lean close and yell to be heard, which didn’t make for ideal conversation, but it was just as well.

Meg sipped the drink and took her first full breath in what felt like weeks. Her shoulders relaxed a little and she took another sip, letting the music drive the tension from her body. Cara was right—it would still be there tomorrow. She could take tonight and enjoy herself.

Against her better judgment, she glanced up to the two men she’d seen at the bar.

The spot where they’d stood was empty.

Irrational disappointment surged her. She tried to shake it off, the same way she’d shaken off her day. They were strangers who probably had half a dozen women ready to jump them at the slightest crook of a finger. Or they were gay. Given how her luck had been going lately, it was probably the later. Either way, neither one of them were the least bit interested in her.

Determined to put it out of her mind, she downed her drink and set it on a nearby table. “Let’s dance!” She waited for Cara to finish her drink and then towed her friend into the crowd. They carved out a neat little spot for themselves and started moving with the beat. Before long, a guy had grabbed Cara’s attention and she was happily grinding on him, stroking his biceps as she spoke in his ear. Meg’s laugh was eaten by the music. On her own again, she lifted her arms over her head, tilted her face back and let the strobing lights wash over her.

It was going great until a rough hand closed around her hip and jerked her back into a hard body.

She barely had a chance to register that someone had grabbed her when both hand and body were gone. The absence left her unbalanced and her ankle turned, sending her tipping to the side—right into a large male chest. The stranger caught her easily, his hands cupping her elbows as she found her balance again. Meg looked up…and kept looking up until a pair of devastating blue eyes stole her breath much the same way they had earlier.

The pretty guy from the VIP lounge.

She looked over her shoulder in time to see the other half of the pair dragging a drunk dude through the crowd and toward the exit. Oh. One hand released her elbow and gentle fingers clasped her chin, drawing her attention back to her apparent savior.

Not that I needed saving…

He gave a tight smile and mouthed. You okay?

How was that even a question? Women got grabbed in clubs all the time. It wasn’t okay, but it was hardly worth this level of reaction. Still, it was kind of nice and he was seriously attractive and she found herself nodding slowly.

The second guy returned a few moments later, and Blue Eyes grinned. The expression lit up his face, giving him a playful edge that had her rocking back in her high heels. He leaned down, giving her plenty of time to react, and spoke in her ear. “Dance with us?”

Wait a minute—us?

She angled back enough to look at both of them, at this smiling stranger and his much more serious partner. The vibes coming off the two were so damn strange, Meg didn’t know what to do with them, but she found herself nodding as if it was every day that two gorgeous dudes wanted to dance with her at the same time. As if they were a pair and she was…

She didn’t know what she was if they were a pair.

They’re probably gay, right? This doesn’t make sense otherwise.

Straight guys did not share a dance partner the way these two did. They moved seamlessly, transitioning her between them as if they done this a thousand times before. They always seemed to know where the other was, and both kept a careful distance between them and her, touching her only on her hips and nowhere else.

It was so freaking sexy, she could barely stand it.

By the second song, she already had good idea of their personalities. Blue Eyes seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, always ready with a grin that lit up his expression even as the heat in his gaze damn near melted her panties right off. This one was the kind of guy who threw himself full-tilt into life and to hell with the consequences. His sinful lips promised one hell of a good time and the way he stared at her mouth had her fighting not to lick her lips in response.

Dark and Broody was his perfect counterpart. He was bigger than Blue Eyes, his broad shoulders practically blocking out her view of the club. His short black hair was cut serviceably in a way that was just shy of military, and his short beard gave the impression of forgetfulness, rather than following any hipster trend. He wore a plain black T-shirt and jeans, and she would have thought he was just going through the motions except for the fact that he matched his hips to hers with an effortlessness that left her whole body tight. She had no business imaging how he’d use that particular skill in bed and yet…

And yet there was the way he watched her, as if he already knew what she’d taste like and savored the flavor on his tongue like his favorite kind of candy.

The song changed, shifting to one that was on every radio that month and the dance floor surged as people abandoned their drinks and crowded in. The space between Meg and her partners disappeared and she found herself sandwiched between the men. Dark and Broody had his hands on her hips, and she was braced on Blue Eyes’s chest. Dark and Broody acted as a wall at her back, keeping the worst of the crowd off them. Blue eyes lifted her hair away from her neck and his lips brushed her ear. “Have a drink with us.”

There it was again. That word, ripe with meaning. Us.

As if they were a unit and she could take them as one or reject them as one.

Getting ahead of yourself, aren’t you? He asked you to have a drink, not to…

The crowd surged again, pressing them ever more tightly together and she froze. There was no mistaking the fact that they wanted her—that they both wanted her. Her fingers flexed on Blue Eyes’s chest, kneading his pecs, and his hands dropped to her hips, just above where Dark and Broody held her lightly. His hands shifted the slightest bit, his pinkies drawing across the bare skin of her thigh just below the hem of her dress. Just that. Nothing more.

But she felt branded right down to her soul.

“Meg!”

Cara appeared at her side, her dark eyes saucer-wide. She gave what barely passed as a polite smile to the men and then grabbed Meg’s wrist and towed her into the crowd and away from them. She didn’t stop or slow down until they burst through the door of the ladies’ room.

In there, the music was slightly less deafening, so Cara didn’t have to yell when she said, “Holy crap, are you okay? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to abandon you. I thought you were dancing alone and then I turned around and they had their dirty paws all over you and—”

“Cara.” Meg grabbed her hands and gave them a squeeze. “Cara, I’m good. They asked to dance. I said yes. It’s good.”

“They…” If anything, Cara’s eyes went wider. “Oh shit, I am the worst wingwoman in the history of wingwomen. You were getting busy, weren’t you? Look at you, you’re all flushed.” She laughed and leaned against the counter. “God, I thought you were freaked out and couldn’t escape and that’s why you looked like that. But it was lust.” She gave Meg a playful smack. “Get it, girl!”

Meg glanced at herself in the mirror and, sure enough, a flush of pink stained her chest and cheeks. Even more telling, her nipples pressed against the thin fabric of her low-cut dress. She cleared her throat and tucked her dark hair behind her ears. “It’s fine. I’m sure they’ll get another partner.”

“They?” Cara waggled her brows. “I know you don’t really hookup, but this might be the time to make an exception. If I had one guy—let alone two—looking at me the way they were looking at you, I’d consider breaking my rule about going home with strangers.”

Meg adjusted her dress, half sure she could still feel the imprint of their hands on her hips, could feel Blue Eyes’s chest under her hands, could definitely feel Dark and Broody’s fingers dragging over her skin. She cleared her throat. “How were they looking at me?”

“As if you don’t know. Come on, honey. I know you’re out of practice, but you’re not that rusty.” Cara laughed. “They were looking at you like they wanted to take turns eating you up.” She sobered a little. “But, for real, you should go for it. You’re only twenty-three once. And it’s your birthday. I couldn’t have come up with a better present for you if I’d tried.” She drew her short frame up and took Meg’s shoulders. “I give you permission to go home with them and do the kind of filthy things you’ll embarrass your grandchildren with stories about when you’re old and senile and drunk on red wine.”

Meg gave a nervous laugh even as her gaze skated to the bathroom door. “It’s okay, Cara. Like I said, I’m sure they found someone else to dance with. And dancing is not the same thing as them taking me home. If there’s even a them. They’re probably not into women. It’s probably some game they play before they go home with each other and…” She opened the door and stopped short, causing Cara to bump into her.

Blue Eyes and Dark and Broody leaned against the wall opposite, twin expressions of heat in their eyes. Meg swallowed hard. “Oh.”

“You were saying?” Cara laughed in her ear. The music should have covered up their words, but Meg couldn’t shake the feeling that both men knew every word of the conversation they’d just had. Cara squeezed Meg’s shoulder. “You sure you’re good with this? I fully support it if you are, but if you need a save, I will hustle you out of here like you’re the nuclear football and I’m the head of the Secret Service.”

Meg licked her lips, and two pairs of eyes followed the movement. “It’s just a drink.”

“Sure, honey, whatever you have to tell yourself.” Cara didn’t release her. “If you change your mind, text me. Just don’t leave the club until you’re sure.”

“Yeah, okay.” That was smart. She took one step forward, and then another. Blue Eyes held out a hand, every move as imperial as a king. As if he already knew how this played out and every move she’d do before she knew.

It irritated her despite the lust beating a drum through her veins. She might want him—want both of them—but she wasn’t a goddamn sure thing.

Meg cocked her eyebrow and met first Blue Eyes’s gaze and then Dark and Broody’s. And then she took off into the crowd.

Chapter 2

The woman was a challenge if Theo had ever seen one. She cast a look over her shoulder, as if he hadn’t managed to get the hint the first time. Her look might as well have hollered, Come and get me.

He took a single step toward the dance floor, but Galen stopped him with a hand on his chest. He leaned in and spoke directly in Theo’s ear. “This is a mistake.”

“You want her, too.”

“Fuck yes, I do.” He leaned harder into Theo’s chest. “But I know you, and I know that look. This is just for tonight, Theo. You can’t afford anything more—and she doesn’t know enough to sign on for more.”

His mouth twisted at the ever-present reminder that his life wasn’t his own. More than that, anyone attached to him developed a really ugly target painted on their chest, courtesy of his uncle. He pinned Galen with a look until his friend dropped his hand. “I know what’s at stake.”

“Never said you didn’t.”

His attention drifted back to the crowd, to the flicker of red that drew him like a siren’s song. “It won’t kill us to have a little fun, Galen. A little distraction is good for the soul.”

“I know.” Galen stepped back, willing to follow Theo’s lead even as he watched his back. He gave a grim smile that was barely more than a quirk of his lips. “She challenged you.”

“Fuck yes, she did.” And damn if that didn’t make his cock ache for her all the more. She’d caught his eye the second she walked through the door earlier, obviously not wanting to be here but determined to enjoy herself all the same. Then she’d boldly met his gaze.

A long time ago, he’d been caught in one of the summer storms that ravaged his country from time to time. Before it hit, the air had a bite to it that snapped at his skin, the only warning before the skies opened up, releasing a deluge, and the thunder had boomed loud enough that he still felt it rattling around in his bones from time to time.

Even as his ten-year-old self had been sure he was going to die, something had risen in him in response. A savagely defiant beast that would not go quietly into the night. A part of Theo that never went to sleep again after that night.

Looking down from the VIP lounge and seeing her raise her chin as she took him in…

It roused the same feeling inside him.

Theo cut through the dance floor with ease, searching for her. She might play at the chase, but she wanted to be caught. There had been no mistaking the interest—the need—written across her face as she moved between him and Galen. Add in the flash of defiance that prompted her to lay this particular gauntlet at his feet, and Theo couldn’t have walked away if he’d wanted to.

He sure as fuck didn’t want to.

A hand on his arm stopped him. He glanced back at Galen and followed his friend’s gaze to the VIP stairs. The woman in red stood there, that single damn eyebrow raised as if she was disappointed by his response time. He approached slowly, enjoying the view.

She really was something. Her short red dress teased the senses, clinging to her breasts and hips and ass, painting a picture he wanted nothing more than to unwrap at his leisure. She’d left her long dark hair down, and his fingers twitched against the need to tangle there, tilting her head back for better access to her mouth. And what a mouth she possessed. Lips sinfully curved and made for pleasure. Combined with the way she moved and, yeah, she was fucking perfect.

Exactly what he needed to get his mind off the clusterfuck his life had become.

More importantly, to get Galen’s mind off it.

He closed the distance between them and held out an imperial hand. If anything, her brow arched higher, but she slipped her hand into his and stepped into him, speaking in his ear. “I got tired of waiting for you.”

“Patience, princess.”

She pressed her other hand to his chest and flexed her fingers. Unknowing or not, she’d placed her hand in the exact same spot that Galen had earlier. If Theo was one to believe in signs—and he wasn’t—then this would only confirm his plans for the night. She leaned back to get a look at his face and, this close, he saw that her eyes weren’t the blue he’d expected. They were a strange sort of green that tipped toward hazel in the low light.

She gave a brief smile. “I’d like that drink.”

He nodded and touched the small of her back, guiding her up the stairs. The U-shaped booth he and Galen had earlier remained unoccupied, which was just as well. He hadn’t been recognized since he arrived in New York several months ago, but there was always the first time. With his increasingly shitty luck, tonight would be the exception to the rule.

She slid into the booth and he followed her in. Galen, being Galen, took the other side and scooted until he could see the entirety of the VIP lounge. Assessing for threats. But Theo didn’t miss the way his friend angled his body slightly toward the woman, not quite touching her, but the slightest movement would bring them flush against each other.

He approved.

Theo left a little more space between them. He had what he wanted—she was here and she was interested. He wouldn’t fuck things up now by doing something to spook her. That said, he wasn’t a fucking saint. He draped his arms over the back of the booth and let his fingers brush her hair. “What’s your name?”

“Meg.” She answered easily, clearly having nothing to hide. Why would she? Most people didn’t move through life with the weight of an entire country on their shoulders.

Neither do I.

Not anymore.

“I’m Theo.” He nodded at his friend. “This is Galen.” The bartender—a spunky woman who somehow managed to make school bus yellow hair look good—approached with a smile. Theo lifted his voice so she could hear him over the music. “The same for me and my friend. Crown and Coke for the lady.”

Meg shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s sexy as hell or stalkerish that you were watching me long enough to know what I drank before we started dancing.”

Theo shrugged a single shoulder. “You can see a lot from the VIP lounge. You caught my eye—both of our eyes.”

“I guess I did.” She leaned back against the seat more firmly. “What brings you to New York?”

Theo waited for the bartender to deposit their drinks—bourbon for him and Galen, Crown and Coke for Meg—and leaned forward a little. “That isn’t the question you want to ask.”

She mirrored his move, bringing their faces kissably close. “Pretty sure it’s exactly the question I want to ask since I just asked it.”

“Mmmm.” He twined a lock of her dark hair around his finger, giving it a gentle tug. The desire that flared across her face in response gave away more than she could possibly know. Theo ran his thumb over the hair, enjoying this small connection. A prelude of things to come. “The question you’re dying to ask, princess, is if we’re really offering what you think we’re offering.”

She went so still, he suspected she held her breath. “And what do I think you’re offering?”

“The answer is yes, you know.” He released her and sat back. “Us. You. Tonight.”

Meg blinked and gave herself a shake. “Arrogant, aren’t you?”

“I know what I want. I don’t see a point in pussyfooting around.”

She reached for her drink with a shaking hand and tossed the tiny straws aside. Meg took a passably large gulp and set the drink back on the table. She turned to Galen. “He talks a lot and you don’t seem to have much to say.”

Galen didn’t take his attention from the VIP lounge. “In this instance, Theo speaks for me.”

Some steel slid back into her spine and the strength reappeared in her tone. “I’d rather have you speak for yourself.”

“Doubt you’d like it.”

“Try me.”

Galen gave Theo a look, and Theo nodded. No reason to hold back now. She was interested and, as he told her, he knew what he wanted. What all three of them wanted, even if Meg was understandably hesitant about going for it.

It wasn’t every night an opportunity like this came across her path.

Galen twisted to face her fully, his big arms creating half a cage, bracketing her in. The move brought his thigh against hers, and Theo’s cock jumped as her dress slid up a little. Another inch and he’d know if she was wearing panties or not.

Fuck, man, focus.

Galen leaned down, though he pitched his voice just high enough for it to reach Theo. “You want to know what I want.”

A tremor rode through Meg’s body, but she didn’t retreat. She nodded slowly. “Yes.”

“I want to watch.” He met Theo’s gaze and then turned his attention fully back to her. “I want to sit here while Theo slips a hand up your dress and plays with your pussy until you’re coming and we’re the only three people in this entire fucking club who know it. When you’re shaking and wondering how it can possibly get any better, I’ll have my turn.”

“You want…to take turns.” Only the slightest breathiness in her voice. Theo’s estimation of her rose yet another notch. She was no wilting flower. With the right opportunity, she’d give as good as she got.

Galen gave the slightest shake of his head. “Only to start. Theo and I have known each other a long time, and we’re very, very good at sharing.”

“Oh.” She sat back in the booth and took another big gulp of her drink. She looked downright shellshocked, and Theo stamped down on his disappointment. He’d misjudged her. Galen was usually subtler than that, but the stress of their current situation affected them both in different ways. He didn’t hold it against his friend, but damn it, he’d wanted to taste Meg tonight. She let loose a shuddering breath. “Well, then.”

Galen shifted away to refocus on the rest of the club. “Told you that you didn’t want to know.”

Meg’s mouth went tight and her eyes flashed. She suddenly laughed. “God, what a night. You sure you two aren’t serial killers or something? Because what you’re offering is usually filed under ‘too good to be true.’”

Well, shit. He hadn’t misjudged her, after all. “It’s only one night, princess. We won’t be in town much longer.”

If anything, that seemed to draw her in further. She gave him a shaky smile. “Want to know something funny?”

Where is this going? He nodded. “Sure.”

“It’s my birthday. The big two-three.”

Twenty-three. Fuck, she was barely more than a baby. Theo started to lean back, but her next words stopped him cold. Meg picked up her drink and looked into the dark depths as if it held the answers to the mysteries of the universe. “I always wondered what it would be like to be with two guys. Kind of one of those filthy fantasies you never speak out loud. I don’t do this. I don’t even hook up, really, because who has the time or energy for that shit, but damn it, it’s my birthday and I’m here and you two are seriously sexy if you’re not murderers.”

Theo took a moment to pick apart that stream of consciousness she’d just rambled out. “We’re not murderers.”

“That’s something a murderer would say,” Meg countered. She jerked her thumb at Galen. “He looks pretty murderous with that expression on his face.”

“That expression is just my face,” Galen said without looking at her. “And you already decided that you’re coming home with us, so there’s no point wasting the energy to justify it.”

Her jaw dropped and she shook her head. “Wow, at least let a woman have some pride.”

Galen moved in that crazy fast way of his. One second he was studying the VIP lounge and the next he tangled his fingers through her hair. He tilted her head back, just like Theo had wanted to do earlier. He nudged her to face Theo and dipped his head to speak in her ear. “Who needs pride when you can be coming inside of five minutes?”

Theo shifted closer, using his body to block her from sight of the rest of the VIP lounge much the same way Galen had done. “Say yes, princess.”

She met his gaze steadily. “I’m in.”

He touched her knee lightly, exerting the slightest amount of pressure. “Just a teaser for now.” He bracketed her knee, letting her feel his strength, and he could see Galen’s arm flex as he tightened his grip on her hair. Not enough to hurt—that wasn’t their kink—but enough for her to be well and truly present. “Say yes.”

Meg tensed and for one eternal moment, it felt like all three of them held their breath while they waited for her answer. If she said no, that would be the end of it. Theo would pay for her drinks, see her to a cab, and he and Galen would head back to the loft they’d rented and work off some of their sexual frustration on each other.

But she didn’t say no.

She shot a look over his shoulder. “Anyone can see us.”

“No one will see anything we don’t want them to.” Theo squeezed her knee, waiting.

Finally, she gave a short nod. “Yes.”

“You’re sure.” This from Galen, but the question that wasn’t a question wasn’t for Meg.

It was for Theo.

He nodded even as she said, “I’m sure.”

There was no going back now.

Truth be told, there had been no going back from the moment he laid eyes on her. Theo slid his hand up her thigh, enjoying the way her muscles flexed beneath his grip. Strong. Strong enough to take everything they could give her. He stopped at the hem of her dress, checked her expression, and pushed it up that last inch to reveal a pair of red lace panties.

Fuck, I love her in red.

He drew the knuckles of his fingers over the center of her, testing her. Meg gave a shuddering sigh and relaxed back into Galen, trusting him to hold her up. Galen shifted her so she leaned against his shoulder and he reached down to pull her dress higher, exposing more of her, then slowly dragged his finger under the top edge of her panties.

Galen always was a fucking tease.

Theo slid his fingers into her panties from the side, gripping the fragile fabric as he repeated the same move he’d made before, dragging his knuckles through her wetness. And, fuck, she was wet. Wet and shaking as if she might come apart before he had a chance to truly sink into this experience.

That wouldn’t do.

That wouldn’t do at all.

Theo pushed a finger into her and cursed as she clenched around him. He pumped slowly, his cock jumping at the tightness that stole over Galen’s expression as he watched Theo finger fuck Meg. Oh yeah, his friend liked to watch.

Theo withdrew his hand and raised a glistening finger. Meg watched with wide eyes as Galen leaned forward and captured his finger in his mouth and sucked hard. Fuck. Sex was always rough and intense with his friend, but the new dynamic of Meg involved ratcheted up his desire for both Meg and Galen.

He wasn’t the only one.

Theo felt more than heard his friend’s growl of pleasure. Yeah, you need her tonight. We both do.

Though his cock groaned in protest, Theo pulled Meg’s dress down. No matter what picture Galen had painted for her with his words, tonight wasn’t the night when they’d play with her in public. What are you saying? There won’t be a night like that because this is the only night you have. He pushed the thought away and captured Meg’s chin. “Come home with us.”

“You… You can’t just leave me like this.”

He leaned down and pressed a painfully gentle kiss to her lips. “I think you’ll find, princess, that I can do whatever I damn well please and you’ll love every second of it.” He set his teeth against her bottom lip as he drew away, tasting her gasp. Theo still didn’t release her. “But if you’re very, very good, I’ll let Galen play with you in the cab back to our place.”

Meg blinked, and then blinked again. “When do we leave?”

Galen let loose another of those fuck-me growls. “Right fucking now.”

Chapter 3

What am I doing?

Meg didn’t have an answer. She couldn’t think past the thrumming in her blood and the way every nerve seemed to pulse with desire. Following that need to its inevitable completion was the only thing that mattered right now. The club took on a dreamlike quality, as if nothing was quite real.

Nothing except the men who bookended her between them as they headed toward the door, Galen carving a path toward the door with his big shoulders, while Theo remained a step behind her, his hand a brand across the small of her back. They were almost to the exit when she caught sight of Cara. Meg paused and both men paused with her as if attached to a string wrapped around her middle.

She extracted herself from Theo and crossed to her friend. Cara grinned. “Best birthday ever.”

Her cheeks went hot and she managed a nervous laugh. “It’s shaping up to be.”

“Fill me in on everything tomorrow.” Cara pulled her in for a quick hug. “If you need anything, I’ll have my phone on me. Text me later, okay?”

“I will.” Some days, she was convinced she and Cara were on different wavelengths, but coming out tonight had been anything but a mistake. “See you tomorrow.”

Meg rejoined the men and they headed out the door. It wasn’t until they hit the sidewalk that the reality of her situation hit. She was going home with someone. With two someones. She missed a step, and Theo caught her under her elbow without hesitation. “You only had the two drinks.”

It wasn’t a question—he never seemed to ask questions, just make statements—but she answered all the same. “I’m not drunk. I’m nervous.”

“Mmmm.”

The fever dream dissipated with the cold wind blowing from the north. What am I doing? She didn’t have an answer now any more than she had five minutes ago. Galen dropped back to walk on the other side of her, his shoulder brushing hers with each step. She looked between the two of them, so at ease in their skin as if they knew their place in life and reveled in it.

As if they’d never gone hungry a day in their lives.

Meg jerked her gaze back to the street. Though cabs clogged the streets, neither man seemed in a hurry to catch one. She cleared her throat. “So…are you two a thing?”

Galen snorted, and Theo laughed aloud. He stroked his hand up her spine and back down again. “Nothing so official. We’ve been friends a long time. Sometimes we’re more. Sometimes we’re less.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“She wants to know if I suck your cock, Theo.” Galen’s gruff voice sounded out of place here in the open air, as if he was more comfortable murmuring in low conversation in crowded rooms than exposed like this. “Or maybe she’s asking if I fuck your ass.” His dark laugh made her toes curl in her shoes. “Your princess has cold feet.”

Theo stopped walking and turned her to face him. In there, he hadn’t seemed quite as big as Galen, but she realized that was all a front. Even as Meg watched, his posture straightened and he cracked his neck. In truth, he was taller than Galen, though not quite as massive. This is a man who knows how to hide.

But what could he possibly have to hide from?

He ran his hands up her arms and over her shoulders. “Do you want me to call you a cab?”

No misunderstanding that. He’d call her a cab, probably pay for it in the bargain, give her a pat on the head, and send her home alone. All she had to do was ask. Even with his mysteries, Theo had the air of a man who took care of the people around him.

He’d take care of her tonight, whether that was seeing her home or following through on all the dark things Galen had promised.

Meg looked up into those blue eyes that were downright electric despite the night shadows. Beautiful. She didn’t know many men who could be termed beautiful without it detracting from their masculinity, but Theo managed. Holding her breath, she reached up and touched his mouth, tracing the dip in his upper lip. He stood still, letting her touch him.

Letting her decide.

Really, there was only one option. If she walked away now, she would spend the rest of her life wondering what tonight could have brought if she’d just had the courage to take that first step. Just a tiny leap of faith. It was only one night, after all. She could go home with these devastatingly sexy men and walk away in the morning with a story to hold close to her heart in the years ahead. It didn’t have to mean anything other than mutual pleasure.

She kissed him.

Theo let her have a second, two, and then he sifted his fingers through her hair and took control. He devoured her, stoking her need with teeth and tongue, banishing the last of her hesitance to dust. She needed. He released her as she started to shake and grinned down at her. “You won’t regret it.” He nodded over her head. “Call a cab, Galen.”

The trip passed in a blur. She half expected them to make a move in the backseat, but aside from Theo keeping his arm around her, they both seemed content to stare out the window as if she wasn’t three breaths away from coming completely undone.

The cab dropped them at a building a short jaunt from Central Park. Because of course they were rich. They probably had giant cocks, too. You’re going to find out soon enough. She let Theo take her hands and tug her inside. Meg followed him through the entrance and to the elevator banks, blushing too hard to meet the doorman’s gaze.

“Meg.”

She startled and pressed her lips together. When it became clear he needed some kind of answer, she reluctantly said, “Yeah?”

Theo held open the elevator doors. He looked at her as if trying to read her mind, to lay out her history, her personality, her everything, for his perusal. “If you change your mind at any time, it’s good.”

She shivered at the intent in those blue eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to talk me out of it.”

“Never that.” A sharp shake of his head. “But I’m invested in you having a good time—we both are.”

Somehow, she doubted that applied to Galen, no matter what Theo said. The other man might want her—she had no illusions about that—but there was only one person he was there for tonight. It wasn’t Meg.

She nodded. “I’m good, Theo. I promise.”

He tugged her into the elevator, his gaze never leaving her face. “Then up we go.”

The elevator went straight to the top and opened into the penthouse suite, or whatever the stupidly expensive residence was called. She absently let go of Theo’s hand and wandered to the floor-to-ceiling windows that stretched the length of the living room. NYC’s lights created a masterpiece on the other side of the glass, a dark absence marking Central Park in the middle. If the view was amazing now, it would be spectacular in the daylight. Even if money doesn’t buy happiness, it buys views like this.

She was pretty sure it bought happiness, too, but it wasn’t like Meg would know.

All she could be sure of was that an absence of money meant stress, anxiety, and the kind of fear that followed her into her nightmares every night when she closed her eyes.

She turned to find Theo on the couch, watching her. He was just at ease here as he’d been at the club, and why not? Even without Galen at his side as a glowering presence, he seemed to own every room he entered. That kind of ease only came from being born into power. She’d seen it enough over the years—albeit from afar—to recognize that, even if she knew nothing else about him.

He crooked a finger. “Come here.” The couch was a monster-sized sectional, situated to face the view and little else. No television, no other ornamentation. What more do you need with that view?

But the lack of electronics brought home that this was temporary. Wherever these two men called home, it wasn’t this apartment. This place was set up like a show home, all cold beauty and no heart.

The room was missing something else important. “Where’s Galen?” She looked around as if staring into the shadows hard enough would reveal the man in question.

“He’ll be back shortly.” He motioned her forward again and she closed the distance between them, a magnet to his lodestone. The connection that first appeared when their gazes met over the length of the club pulsed between them like a live thing. If she concentrated, she could almost see it connecting them even before they touched.

Meg slipped her hand into Theo’s big one and he maneuvered her to stand between his thighs. He made an appreciative sound. “I don’t have to tell you that this dress is a piece of art. You look so fucking sexy in it, I couldn’t take my attention off you from the moment I saw you.” He ran his hands up her legs, stopping just short of her dress and skating them back down again to her ankles. “Runner.”

She nodded and swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

“Sit with me.” He waited for her to murmur a yes and then he pulled her down to situate her in the corner of the couch, her legs sprawled over his thighs. Theo unbuckled her strappy heels with careful fingers and tossed them away from the couch.

It all felt so…strange.

She’d fully expected for the pair of them to fall on her the second they walked through the door, had even braced for that eventuality. Instead Galen was MIA and Theo was tracing abstract patterns up her legs as if he had all the time in the world. She swallowed hard. “Theo—”

“Not yet.” He squeezed her thigh and started working down the other leg. It wasn’t until stillness crept over his body that she realized what they’d been waiting for.

Galen.

He stalked into the room from the hallway and tossed a handful of shiny foil packets onto the coffee table. Condoms. Galen draped himself on the long leg of the couch, well out of reach. He and Theo shared a charged look that changed the atmosphere in the room in the space of one heartbeat to the next. Meg barely had a chance to process that they were green light, full speed ahead, when Theo shifted closer and kissed her.

He took her mouth as if he had every right to it—as if it had been his all along and he was just now assuming ownership. Meg melted into the contact and tried to turn to face him, but he used a hand on her hip to shift her back to his chest. He kissed down her jaw and set his teeth against her neck. “Open your eyes, princess.”

She hadn’t even realized she’d closed them. Meg opened her eyes as Theo hitched one of her legs up and over his, spreading her wide. The move bunched her dress up around her hips, leaving her with only her panties covering her. Her gaze landed on Galen, whose languid posture was as relaxed as a tiger about to pounce on its prey. He watched Theo coast a hand down her stomach and pull her dress higher yet and then palm her pussy. His touch was light, teasing, but the hard cock pressing against her bare ass through his jeans was anything but.

“She’s so wet, Galen. Wet and…” Theo slid his hand beneath her panties and pushed two fingers into her. “Tight. It’s a good thing we’re in the mood to play.”

Play.

Like she was a toy they’d share between them.

Meg didn’t know how she was supposed to react to that, but desire stole her concern and took her pride in the process, leaving only the need for Theo to keep touching her. She rocked her hips to take his fingers deeper, but he gripped her with his free hand, forcing her still. His breath ghosted against the shell of her ear. “Should we show Galen what he’s missing?”

With anyone else, the game would be just that—a game. Fun, sure, but ultimately disposable. Meg didn’t really know either of them, and they obviously had a history as deep as time itself. She should have felt like that.

And yet…

Theo’s touch, while authoritative and demanding, was nothing less than reverent. And Galen’s gaze was on her as much as it was on Theo. They were here with her—not someone else.

Did she want to show Galen what he was missing so he’d get his ass over there and touch her, too?

Fuck yes, she did.

Meg made a noise that must have been enough for Theo, because he tugged her panties to the side, framing her pussy for Galen. The only reaction they got was a tightening in his jaw and his dark eyes going molten. Theo laughed softly. “I’ll tell you a secret, princess. I’ve never met a man with better control than Galen. It’s downright supernatural. It’ll take a better show than this to get him over here to put his hands all over you.” He nipped her earlobe. “If you make it very, very good, I’ll even let him use his mouth.”

There wasn’t enough air in the loft. There couldn’t be. Her breath hitched in her lungs, and it took her two tries to force words out. “What if I want his cock?”

This time, Theo’s laughter filled the room. He sat up, taking her with him, and positioned her on his lap with her legs on either side of his thighs. “Tell her, Galen.”

The other man spread his arms across the back of the couch, his features cold. “You have to earn my cock, princess.”

His arrogance should have been a turnoff. It should have made her want to put him in his place and make him earn access to her.

Instead, a part of her that she’d never give voice murmured deep inside her. I want to earn your cock, Galen. Tell me what I need to do. Meg slammed her mouth shut hard enough that her teeth clicked to avoid giving those traitorous words voice. She took a breath, and then another. Only when she was sure she wouldn’t betray herself did she lean back against Theo more firmly. “Fuck him. I’d rather play with you.”

Theo didn’t laugh again. He skimmed off her dress and tossed it aside to join her shoes, leaving her in only her panties. A few seconds later, his shirt joined the growing pile. “Lean back.”

Meg obeyed immediately. The shock of his bare skin against her own drew a small sound from her lips. There wasn’t a soft spot on his body, and he caged her with his chest and arms, holding her open for Galen’s perusal.

She twisted to offer him her mouth, needing to taste him again, and Theo didn’t hesitate to give in to her unspoken request. His tongue twined with hers, and he cupped her bare breasts and pinched her nipples to aching peaks. Theo spread his thighs, forcing hers wider, she felt Galen’s gaze all over her.

On the curve of her neck. Following the path of Theo’s hands. Centering where her tangled panties left her pussy partially exposed. Her skin sparked as if he’d reached out and touched her. Or maybe Theo’s ministrations were responsible for the growing lightning storm inside her. It was too much and not enough and she whimpered against his mouth. “Stop teasing and touch me.” She grabbed his hand and pressed it between her spread thighs. “Please, Theo. I’ve been aching since the club.”

“Can’t have that.” He drew her wetness up around her clit with a single finger and circled the sensitive bundle of nerves, easily finding the motion that made her entire body go tight and hot. She opened her eyes and met Galen’s gaze as her orgasm spiraled closer and closer. A challenge. I’ll get what I want, and you’ll have to watch while it happens, knowing you could have been a part of it.

Theo, damn him, seemed to know exactly what roads her thoughts traveled. He slowed his pace, dragging it out. “You see how he looks at you. He’s seconds away from stalking over here, smacking my hand away, and licking that pretty pussy until he takes your orgasm for himself.”

She made that soft whimpering sound again. She couldn’t help it. The whole situation was overwhelming her senses, dragging her into a place where every part of her centered around these two men. “Theo, please.” Meg didn’t know what she was pleading for.

An orgasm. Theo. Galen.

All three.

“I’ll make you a deal, princess,” he murmured in her ear, his finger never stopping its slow circles that seemed designed to keep her on the edge but never take her over it. “I’ll let you choose this time. Who do you want to gift this orgasm to?”

“Both.” The answer tore itself from her lips, too true and far too telling.

For the first time since she’d caught sight of him in the club, Galen grinned. His white teeth flashed and his dark eyes lit up with amusement, the whole effect knocking him from attractive to downright dangerous. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

A night.

It’s only for a night.

You can’t fall in love with a person—let alone two people—in a single night.

Theo kissed the back of her neck. “Good girl.” He slid his hand out of her panties. “Stop playing and get over here, Galen. We’ve got to take care of our girl.”

Chapter 4

Each step that Galen took ratcheted Meg’s pulse higher, until spots danced along the edges of her vision.

“I feel like that when I watch him sometimes, too.” Theo slid his hands up her arms and caught her elbows, arching her back, and offering her breasts to Galen. He kissed one of her shoulders and then the other. “It helps if you breathe.”

But she couldn’t draw in air. Not with Galen pulling his shirt over his head in a smooth movement, revealing a chest that would have been at home on a gladiator in ancient times. Muscles roped his frame, not a single inch missing the chance to be its best self. A sprinkling of dark hair dusted his chest, trailing down to disappear beneath the band of his jeans, broken only by a handful of angry scars.

He stopped in front of them and dragged his thumb over her bottom lip. “This mouth was made for one thing.”

She caught his thumb between her teeth and bit him, just hard enough to get his attention. To prove that she wasn’t helpless, that she wasn’t here because they’d steamrolled her into it. She felt off-center and floaty and needy, all wrapped up into a desperate package—but she wasn’t weak.

Meg lifted her chin and met his dark gaze. “Then do something about it.”

There it was again. That thread of amusement that struck her right down to her core. She shifted, but Theo held her caged and spread. She rocked her ass back against his cock, desperate for him to lose control the same way she was on the verge of doing. For someone to lose control. But Galen just stood there, staring down at her with his mouth quirked in something that, on any other man, she’d call a smile. He released her mouth and shook his head. “You haven’t earned my cock and you damn well know it.”

Galen braced his hands on Theo’s thighs. His knuckles dragged along her inner thighs, close enough to where she wanted him that she felt the air move against her exposed clit. Galen leaned down, his dark eyes intent, and Meg braced for the experience of being kissed by this intense man.

But he didn’t kiss her.

He dragged his rough cheek against hers, and she twisted as best she could to watch him take Theo’s mouth. Meg stared in shock as they kissed. No, calling it a kiss was too mundane by far. Galen and Theo came together like two titans clashing, like opposing forces of nature, where one had to submit or they would destroy each other.

Theo shifted his grip on her elbows to one hand and used his free hand to tangle his fingers in Galen’s hair. He wrenched his head back, and Galen groaned softly. She felt that groan as intensely as if it had come from her throat instead of Galen’s. Theo raked his teeth over his bottom lip as they parted. His blue eyes were darker than they’d been before, as if feeding off the lust and need filling every corner of the room. He ran his thumb over Galen’s bottom lip, mirroring the move Galen had done to Meg. “You get his cock when I say you do, princess. Not before.”

Through some unspoken agreement, they reversed positions. Theo released Meg’s arms and Galen caught her wrists in a single hand before she had a chance to fully appreciate her freedom. He dropped onto the couch with Meg sprawled on his lap. She huffed out a breath. “I can move on my own, you know.”

“We like moving you.” Theo knelt between their spread thighs. “And you like being moved by us.” He caught the band of her panties with his thumb. “Are you attached to these?”

Her words caught in her throat like live things, fumbling over themselves to vocalize whatever it took to take this thing with them to the next level. To satisfy the aching desire pulsing through every nerve in her body. She shook her head, mute from the need to say too much.

“Good.” He ripped them off in a single move and tossed the ruined fabric aside. “Wider, Galen. I want to see all of her.”

Galen responded, spreading his thighs and parting her legs further. Theo ran his thumbs up the dip where her thigh met her pussy, exploring her, his expression intense as if committing every bit of her hidden self to memory. He glanced at Galen, and that was all the other man needed to guide her hands down to the couch on either side of his hips. “Don’t move.” He spoke softly in her ear, as if too much volume would break through the spell Theo wove around them with his touch.

He wants his hands free, too.

Lust made her head spin. Meg nodded, drunk on their presence. “Okay.”

There it was again, that quirk of his lips. “Good girl.” He ran his hands up her stomach and cupped her breasts as Theo dipped his head and dragged his tongue up her center.

Her body went hot and cold, tight and unfurled, all at the same time. She gripped the edge of the couch cushions with everything she had and bit her lip hard. It was only when Galen nudged her back to lean fully against his chest that she realized she was frozen in a half sit-up, waiting for Theo’s next move. The man between her thighs chuckled, the sound vibrating across her skin to her clit. “Let Galen watch, princess. He lives for it.”

Galen moved her hair to the side with one hand and dragged his mouth along the line of her shoulder up to her neck. His short beard prickled against her skin, which only made the slick slide of Theo’s tongue even more of an intoxicating counterpoint.

Her brain couldn’t handle the onslaught of sensation. Theo’s hands gripping her thighs as his mouth worked her pussy. Galen playing with her nipples as he sucked on the pulse point in her neck. A sound came out of her mouth that she’d never heard before, a keening cry that was more animal than human.

“There you are,” Galen murmured.

Theo speared her with two fingers, and then a third, spreading her almost painfully, the sensation completely at odds with the way he sucked her clit. He met her gaze and then looked over her shoulder, and she knew he and Galen were watching each other as Theo ate her pussy.

The realization sent her hurtling into an orgasm that blanked what few thoughts she had left in her head and bowed her back sharply enough that she would have toppled off Galen’s lap if both men hadn’t held her down. Words penetrated her pleasure, and Meg realized it was her speaking. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh my god, oh shit.”

Theo brought her down gently. He gave her clit one last thorough suck and shifted to ever-widening circles. He nipped her thigh and sat back on his heels. “We’ve barely gotten started.”

She blinked at him. “I don’t know if I can survive more.”

“You can take it.” This from Galen. He reached down and cupped her pussy, his big fingers squeezing her ass in the process.

Theo snagged one of the condoms from the coffee table and tore it open. “Change your mind, princess?”

“Is that a trick question?” They’d just gotten her off harder than Meg had gotten off in…ever, probably. Like hell was she walking out of this apartment before she discovered the rest they had to give her. It was hard to keep her composure with her breath tearing itself from her lungs with each exhale, but she lifted her chin. “I want this.”

“Good.” He didn’t take his gaze from her face as he unbuttoned his jeans.

Meg had no such self-control. She stared at his cock. Holy shit. She’d known he was big—he’d had the damn thing pressed into the curve of her ass like Galen’s was right in that moment—but he was big. “Oh, fuck.”

“That’s the idea.” Galen lifted her and turned her around as Theo caught her hips. She ended up with her hands braced on either side of Galen’s neck on the back of the couch, her legs spread wide on the outside of his thighs, her breasts nearly in his face. Meg looked down the long line of his body to where his cock strained against the front of his jeans, but Galen touched a single finger to her chin and brought her face up. “Not yet.”

Theo stroked a hand down her spine and gripped her hip as he guided his cock to her entrance. She tensed, part of her worried—hoping—he would slam his entire length home in a single shot. She should have known better. Theo held her too tightly for her to thrust back and teased her, pumping his cock into her an inch as a time.

Desperate, she writhed against him, her body undulating over Galen’s. “More. Theo, more.”

Galen caught her mouth with his. His tongue tangled with hers as Theo shoved into her to the hilt. Galen broke the kiss before she could fully sink into it, and he sat back with a satisfied smirk as Theo started fucking her.

Oh. My. God.

Theo drove into her again and again, drawing a sob from her lips with every stroke. Pleasure spiraled through her, drawn from his cock, pulled forth by the way Galen watched them both. She was so…so…so close.

Everything stopped.

Theo went still, buried as deep inside her as he could go. He kept one hand on her hip, holding her in place, and braced his other on the couch back. The new position pressed his chest to her back, and it should have made her feel caged and claustrophobic but…

Meg didn’t feel anything but safe.

Galen moved, sliding down the couch to sit on the floor. What is he… “Oh fuck.” He captured her hips, his hands partially overlapping where Theo held her, and then his mouth was on her. “Oh god.”’

“Not god, princess. Galen.” Theo started moving again in long, slow thrusts that annihilated her ability to do anything but take the sensations they dealt her.

Galen never stopped his onslaught. There was nothing cold or restrained in the way his mouth moved over her pussy. He tongued her clit even as Theo fucked her, his fingers clasping her thighs hard enough that she hoped there would be bruises tomorrow. A physical token to prove this had actually happened. That it wasn’t all some fever dream she’d wake up from in the morning and laugh about as she went about her normal life.

Meg clung to the back of the couch hard enough that her knuckles went white. The sight of Galen’s dark head between her thighs, of knowing exactly how close his mouth was to Theo’s cock… Her body went tight and she moaned.

Theo, damn him, seemed to understand perfectly. “Another time, it would be a stroke for your pussy, a stroke for his mouth.” His dark chuckle rumbled against her neck. “You’d like that.”

“Yes,” she gasped. Like didn’t begin to cover how that image made her feel. The pleasure they dealt her wound tighter and tighter, so acute it almost hurt.

Theo laced his fingers through Galen’s hair again, holding his face to her clit. It was too much. What they were doing to her was too much. How could one person survive this much pleasure?

Meg’s orgasm buckled her knees and drew a scream from her lips. It was only their hands on her that kept her on her feet, and even then, every bone in her body turned to liquid lightning. They held her in place as Theo kept fucking her, his strokes becoming wilder, less controlled. He came with a curse, and they both melted into a puddle on top of Galen.

She wasn’t even sure how it happened. One second she was trying to figure out how to lock her knees to keep from collapsing, and the next her head was in Galen’s lap and Theo was stretched out next to her between his friend’s thighs. Meg opened her mouth to say…

There was nothing to say. Two orgasms—three if she counted Theo’s—and even as a part of her purred in pure satisfaction, there was no mistaking the fact that this wasn’t over yet.

That she didn’t want it to be.

Theo climbed to his feet and disappeared down the hallway leading deeper into the apartment. A few minutes later, he walked back in, his jeans done up. He pulled her to her feet and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Hungry?”

Meg blinked, her mind scrambling to make the jump he obviously had. “Is that an innuendo?”

“I’m starving.” He took her hand and pulled her along with him into the kitchen just off the living room. It was situated to maximize the view of the park and city, the bar overlooking the window and everything top of the line.

She stopped in the middle of the kitchen and watched as he dug through the fridge. For what felt like the millionth time that night, she couldn’t shake the certainty that she’d tumbled into some alternate dimension. The feeling only became more pronounced as a soft weight settled over her shoulders. Meg looked down to find that Galen had draped a thick robe around her. She pulled it closed out of habit and was halfway through tying it before she registered that it smelled like sandalwood and spice.

Theo.

She shouldn’t be able to tell the difference after such a short time, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she wore Theo’s robe. Galen smelled like clove cigarillos, though there was no smoke in the mix, which made her think he’d just been handling them. Former smoker. She was sure of it.

Meg clutched the fabric closer to her throat, irritated at herself for finding comfort in something so meaningless as wearing a man’s clothing. Even this man—these men.

Galen sat on the corner of the counter near the stove, where he could see the entire room—and the door—without moving. He seemed to do that in every room, which reminded her of the special forces guys who came into her bar sometimes. She could always tell which of them were still enlisted and which had been out for long enough to successfully settle into civilian life. The ones still in the military moved the same way Galen did—as if expecting an attack at any moment. Even when they drank, there was an air of something about them that had even the most idiotic drunks keeping their distance.

He turned his head and met her gaze, as if daring her to speak what was on her mind. Meg crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe…I should go.”

“You don’t actually want to go, so no point in playing the reluctant virgin card.” Theo pulled a stack of Chinese takeout containers from the fridge and set them on the counter to inspect them. The words weren’t harsh, exactly, but they stung all the same. He glanced at her, blue eyes devoid of the amusement she’d come to expect there.

The truth snaked through her to take up residence in her stomach. It was all an act. When she’d first met them, she’d assumed Galen was the ringleader. He was so intense and, even if he let Theo do the talking, his presence overwhelmed her with proximity alone. Theo had seemed safe by comparison. Normal, even, if she didn’t think too hard about the fact they were obviously some kind of item.

Meg had been so, so wrong.

There was only one man in charge here, and it was the one currently holding out a container of fried rice as if in a dare. She licked her lips and took the container, because there was nothing else to do. She had no business being intrigued by these two beyond what they could give her physically, but being around them was like holding one of those Russian hatching dolls in her hand. Every time she thought she had their number down, a new layer would be revealed.

It’s only been an hour or so. How many layers can they possibly reveal tonight?

There was no telling.

She stared at the food and finally set the white box aside. “What is this?”

“Chicken fried rice. Seemed a safe enough bet. Everyone likes chicken fried rice.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

Galen hadn’t bothered to put his shirt back on and every breath seemed to send a ripple through his muscles. “Theo is trying to give you a chance to process, princess.” He snorted and leaned back against the cabinets. “We barely tested the waters and you were on the cusp of hyperventilating.”

“It’s called an orgasm, Galen. You should learn to recognize it,” she snapped back. If there was one thing Meg couldn’t stand, it was being handled. She’d dealt with that bullshit from the time she was a child, first after her father left, and then later whenever the subject of the unending bills arose with her mother. With her teachers sending pointed notes home about being properly fed and clothed, she’d learned to recognize what a furrowed brow or nervous hands meant.

Bad news was coming.

These men weren’t delivering bad news, but they were treating her as if she was some idiot who didn’t know what she’d signed up for when she left the club with them. She’d just come harder than she ever had before and, damn it, she wanted more.

She wanted what they’d promised her.

Meg took them in, from the guarded way Galen held himself, able to spring into motion as the slightest provocation, to the carefully casual way Theo leaned against the counter as if he really was the least dangerous person in the room.

She took a step backward, and then another. Meg kept her expression contained, but she almost laughed at the disappointment that flickered through Theo’s blue eyes. Don’t have my number down quite yet, do you? She twisted to look behind her, taking in the single hallway that undoubtedly led to a bedroom—or more. The front door was in the same direction, which seemed to be where they expected her to go from the tension filtering into their bodies.

To leave.

“Theo. Galen.” She waited for them to look at her and dropped the robe. Meg crooked her finger at them and tried to act like she was cool and collected and not about to bolt at the sheer hunger that flashed through their expressions. “Come and get me.”

Chapter 5

Damn it, Galen liked her.

He slid off the counter and glanced over to find Theo watching him. They’d known each other so damn long, had gone through so much shit, he didn’t have to hear his friend’s words aloud to know what that look meant. “Shut up.”

“Told you so.”

“You didn’t tell me shit.” He started across the living room, heading in the direction he could hear Meg’s footsteps as she fled. A quick touch to the front door confirmed it was still locked and secure. He hesitated, even though every instinct he had shouted for him to chase Meg, to bear her down to the floor, to fuck that sexy smirk right off her face.

It didn’t matter what he wanted, though.

Not entirely.

“Go.” Theo didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t have to. Even without his public speaking training, Galen was so fucking attuned to him, he could pick up a whisper across the room if he concentrated. A necessary skill he’d developed over the years. Theo had a nasty habit of biting off more than he could chew because his eye was so focused on the game that he didn’t acknowledge the threats rising up against him. He saw the big picture, and he was brilliant at putting all the pieces into place to get the end result he wanted.

If Galen had one skill set, it was keeping Theo safe.

Even from himself.

He turned and walked backward, pointing a finger in his friend’s direction. “This is only for tonight.”

“Mmmm.” Theo smiled. “Guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

He could stand around and argue, but what was the point? They had tonight, and Galen would make damn sure it was enough. They’d left the club early enough that no one had paid them much attention, which meant no one should be able to connect them to Meg. She would wake up tomorrow with some good memories and he and Theo would move on. They’d got what they came to New York for, and it was just happy coincidence that they found Meg before they left.

It couldn’t last.

For anyone’s sake.

They were safe enough for now, and that was all that mattered. Theo had it right when he accused Galen of being too tightly wound. If he didn’t let off some steam soon, he was going to start making mistakes.

The price of his mistakes was already too high.

He shoved the thought from his mind and turned to pick up his pace. Meg had reached the bedroom by now, and she’d have realized there was no escape. Against his better judgment, his heartbeat kicked up a notch and his adrenaline surged.

It was just a game, after all. Tonight was the only thing in the last six months that didn’t have deadly stakes and he’d be a fool not to enjoy it as much as he was able.

He stalked into the room and barely had time to brace before Meg threw herself at him. Galen caught her as she wrapped her legs around his waist and gave him a smug look. “I caught you.”

“I was the one meant to catch you.” He let his gaze drip over her full lips and down to her flushed chest, her full breasts tipped with pink nipples gone dark from both his and Theo’s touch.

“Spoiler alert—you did.” She tightened her thighs around him and tangled her fingers in his hair, the feeling twin to when Theo had done it earlier. And, damn her, she knew it. Meg leaned in and kissed his neck, his jaw, the sensitive spot beneath his ear. “The question is what you’re going to do with me.”

Fuck him, who was this woman?

Galen turned them and backed to the bed. He sat down and disentangled her. “That’s not the question.”

Meg seemed to sense the direction of his thoughts. She slipped to her knees, as graceful as a queen. He’d know. He’d seen more than one in his time. Galen pushed the thought away—just like he always did when memories of home threatened to intrude on his new reality. Meg brought him back with an open-mouthed kiss to his chest, working her way down his stomach. She paused just above the line of his jeans, her breath ghosting over the skin she’d just licked. It sent goosebumps rising in waves across his entire body and his cock hardened impossibly in response.

She looked up, her eyes an intoxicating green in the light of the bedroom. With her lipstick smeared from their mouths and her eye makeup smudged, she looked exactly like what she was—a sexy as hell woman who’d just been well-fucked.

Night’s not over yet.

As if she could hear his thought, she licked her lips. “What’s the question, Galen?”

Did Meg know the power of his name whispered in that throaty voice? If she didn’t, he sure as fuck wasn’t going to tell her. Galen braced on hand back on the bed and lifted his brows. “The question is what you’re going to do to me?”

Meg unbuttoned his jeans with shaking hands, but there were no nerves in evidence on her face. Only eagerness. As if she couldn’t control herself well enough to get his cock out because she could already taste him on her lips.

It was so sexy, he could barely stand it.

It only got better when Galen looked up to find Theo leaning against the bedroom door, watching them with the possessive look of a king surveying his kingdom. Galen gave his head a small shake. No, Theo. This isn’t for keeps. It didn’t matter what Theo thought, because they were leaving tomorrow. End of story. There was no space in their new life for any woman, let alone this woman. Even knowing her a few short hours, Galen knew that Meg would offer nothing but complications.

Pleasure beyond imagining, maybe, but it wasn’t worth the trouble her presence would bring.

She stroked his cock, slamming him back into the present. Galen tore his gaze away from his friend as Meg licked him experimentally, as if savoring his taste. Her satisfied smile might as well have been a mule kick to the chest. Then there was no time for thinking because she sucked him deep, until he bumped the back of her throat.

And then she took him deeper yet.

His growl drew Theo. Galen sensed his approach even as he kept his attention on Meg. She closed her eyes as if the feeling of his cock in her mouth had her blissed out. That made two of them. He looped her long dark hair around his fist to keep it clear from her face and create an unobstructed view of his cock disappearing through her red, red lips.

“You’re a vision, princess.”

Galen glared at Theo. His friend knew damn well what he was doing with that nickname. From anyone else, it would be a charming endearment. From Theo, it was a declaration of intent. Don’t you fucking dare, he mouthed.

Theo leaned down and took Galen’s mouth. His kiss drowned out all Galen’s common sense, just like it always did. It didn’t matter how many mistakes they made or what bullshit landed in their lap from circumstances beyond their control. They always had this.

Theo broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Galen’s. “Oh, I fucking dare, Galen.”

That’s what he was afraid of.

* * *

Meg barely had a chance to sink into her enjoyment of sucking Galen’s cock before she felt Theo behind her. She tensed, waiting for him to slide inside her, but he just grabbed her around the hips and hauled her off Galen’s cock and onto the massive bed. It was like landing on a cloud. She sat up, her protest dying on her lips at the sight of both men stripping out of their jeans.

Oh.

Oh.

Galen’s scars descended down his hips and over his thighs, breaking up the dark hair dusting there. His cock glistened from her mouth, and her whole body went tight at the sight of him fully revealed.

Theo slid off his jeans in the same casual way he seemed to do everything. A man sure of his place in the world, and at ease as a result. His body was leaner than Galen’s, more a slicing sword than a blunt war hammer, but no less carved from muscle. Even having had his cock inside her, she still shivered at the sight. He was freaking massive.

They were both freaking massive.

They moved toward her as one, climbing onto the bed, and she let loose a nervous laugh. “It’s like being in a candy shop and having to choose my favorite flavor.”

“That’s the beauty, princess.” Theo stopped in front of her on his knees and urged her up to kiss him. “You get two favorites tonight,” he murmured against her lips. He kissed her as Galen moved up to her back, mirroring the position they’d held while dancing.

Except nothing stood between them now.

There were no witnesses to watch Galen cup her ass and slide his big hand down to spear her from behind with two fingers. Or to see Theo use his tangled hold on her hair to guide her to kiss first him and then Galen. Or to view her take each man’s cock in her hand and stroke them.

Meg was a lifeboat caught between a raging sea and a hurricane. On their own, Galen and Theo were larger than life. Together… Together, she didn’t have words. They overwhelmed her even as they kept her grounded. Her entire existence narrowed down to their hands on her body and their mouths taking turns claiming hers. To the orgasm even now threatening.

Not yet.

I’m not ready for this to end.

Theo guided her to her hands and knees in front of him, her ass pressing against Galen. She reached for his cock, but he held her still with his grip on her hair. “Not yet.”

Galen’s weight behind her disappeared, and she heard the sound of a condom ripping open. Meg’s heart thundered in her chest, her breath sawing through her throat with anticipation. It was happening. She looked up Theo’s body, momentarily stunned by the possessive way he watched her. As if he owned her, body and soul.

In that moment, it might even have been the truth.

He used his free hand to stroke a thumb over her cheekbone and down to her lips. “Another night, I’d take your ass while he took your pussy. And the next time we’d switch. We’d both claim you in every way possible.”

She shivered. “Why not tonight?”

He didn’t answer, and she didn’t get a chance to ask again. Galen returned to his position behind her and urged her legs further apart. She had to brace both hands on the bed to keep from tumbling face-first into the mattress. Theo wrapped a fist around his cock and gave it a rough stroke. “Open.”

As if there was any other option.

There had only been one outcome from the second she agreed to come home with them, and every moment of the night since had been leading to this moment, to having both of them inside her.

She took Theo’s cock into her mouth as Galen’s slid into her pussy. Both men moved slowly, testing her, and she could do nothing but take what they chose to give. With Galen’s rough hands on her hips and his cock filling her impossibly full, and Theo damn near cutting off her ability to breathe…

Panic flared.

Theo’s grip was harsh in her hair even as he stroked her face gently with his free hand. “Relax, princess. Take what we have to give.”

They held perfectly still as she fought to obey. Meg took in a long inhale through her nose, and then another. She could do this. She wanted to do this. On her next exhale, she gave herself over to them. Her body relaxed inch by inch and a slow, glorious languor spread through her. Pleasure overtook her need to be in control, and she gave Theo’s cock a hard suck to convey that she was ready.

“Good girl.” He withdrew and thrust slowly into her mouth, Galen mirroring his movements between her legs. Letting her get accustomed to being overwhelmed so completely.

Then Galen slid his hand from her hip to her clit. He stroked her with his fingers the same way he’d done with his tongue. Her body flashed white hot and she moaned around Theo’s cock. They picked up their pace, fucking her closer and closer to the edge of the abyss. She reached up and gripped Theo’s thighs to steady herself. His muscles flexed beneath her grip and Galen’s hands spasmed on her hip and clit, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were kissing above her back while buried deep inside her.

As she pictured that, pictured herself between them as if watching it from across the room… it was too much.

Meg came screaming around Theo and Galen’s cocks.

Just like that, whatever little control they’d displayed snapped. Galen drove into her again and again, his curses filling the room. Theo was more careful, but only barely. He fucked her mouth even as he wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumbs. The blend of harsh and caring, rough and gentle, shoved Meg under again. She sobbed as she orgasmed. She wasn’t sure she believed in a god, but she tasted heaven in Theo and Galen’s touch.

The men came within seconds of each other, each one half of a coordinated dance that had been going on long before they met Meg tonight.

Theo pulled out of her mouth and urged her up to claim a kiss. He stroked her hair away from her face. “If you could see yourself right now, princess.” He kissed her again and flopped onto his back, tugging her and Galen down with him.

They ended up in something resembling a pile. Galen’s breath was harsh on the back of her neck, his big thigh pressing against her throbbing pussy, his arm draped over Theo’s stomach just below where hers was. She lay with her head on Theo’s shoulder, her leg hitched up and over his hip.

Perfection.

Meg let her eyes close and concentrated on relearning how to breathe. That had been… She didn’t know how to put it into words. It’s good it’s only tonight. I couldn’t experience this more than once without losing myself completely. That was one thing she could never do. It felt too wonderful to give herself over to them. Too good to submit.

Meg didn’t submit to anyone. Not indefinitely.

She shivered, and both men shifted closer, eliminating what little space there had been between them. It felt wonderful. Even more terrifying, it felt right.

“I’d like to see you again.”

Meg tensed, distantly aware that Galen also went rigid behind her. She didn’t open her eyes—to do so was to break the spell they’d created in this room. “You said you’re leaving town.”

“We are,” Galen growled.

“Yeah, we are.” Theo stroked a hand down her arm and back up Galen’s. “But we’ll be back in a few weeks. Let us take you out on a proper date, Meg.”

The use of her real name, rather than the pet name he’d lavished on her all night, let her know exactly how serious Theo was. Just like she knew exactly how unhappy Galen was with this unexpected twist from the way he didn’t seem to breathe behind her. Not from anticipation. No, nothing so simple as that would turn him from the languid man who’d just enjoyed a good time back into a predator. He might as well have put up a neon sign screaming “No!”

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and lifted her head. “It would never work.”

“It’s dinner.” Theo didn’t smile, his blue eyes serious. “No harm ever came from dinner.”

“I can list half a dozen examples that prove that plenty of harm can come from dinner.” She should move, should put some distance between them so she could think clearly, but Meg wasn’t willing to come back down to earth yet.

Galen growled against the back of her neck. “It won’t work. Once Theo has his mind set on something, he’ll see it through and to hell with the consequences.”

“Taking me out to dinner is hardly the end of the world.” She cursed herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Damn it, she was supposed to be putting a solid stop sign at the end of this night and leaving it as a fond memory—not letting Galen bait her into agreeing to it.

But he only laughed harshly. “It might be for you.”

“Galen, enough.”

“One night, Theo. You promised one night. Don’t go back on your word now.”

They aren’t talking about me. Or they are, but this has nothing to do with me.

Meg eyed the door, but there was no getting out of this bed with any mount of stealth or grace. “It’s a moot point what Theo does or does not want. You couldn’t be clearer that you’re not interested in dinner, and I already said no.” She poked Theo’s chest. “You’re outvoted.”

“That’s not how it works.”

“That’s exactly how it works.” She shifted, but they made no move to back away. Meg sighed. “Now, either you can hold off arguing until morning or you can keep fighting while I get dressed and catch a cab home.” She lifted her head to look around, but there didn’t seem to be a clock in the room. “What time is it, anyways?”

“Don’t worry about it.” This from Galen. Apparently he’d decided to shelve his fury for the moment, too, because instead of curses against her skin, he pressed a thorough open-mouthed kiss against the sensitive spot at the top of her spine. “It’s not morning yet.”

Her eyes slid shut without her brain giving the command. It took Meg two tries to get the words out. “I… You can’t possibly be ready again.”

“One night is all we have. You can be damn sure we’re going to get our fill.” It sounded more like a threat than a reassurance, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Meg relaxed back into his body, bending her head forward to give him better access to her neck.

Theo sighed. “Make no mistake—we will be revisiting the topic in the morning.”

Meg grabbed the hand Galen had on her hip and guided it between her thighs. “What did he say?” she murmured, a small smile on her lips. What he was doing felt good, but it felt even better to put Theo in his place. He might think he could steamroll right over her—over them—but he was outvoted, and she had no intention of letting him have his way.

“No idea.” Galen nipped her neck and then soothed the spot with his tongue. “I was too busy taking full advantage of having you in my bed to worry about his grand plans.”

Theo growled. “Point taken.” He shoved Galen’s hand from her pussy and slid down to settle between her thighs. “You two win—this time.”

Chapter 6

Meg woke up alone. She stretched, enjoying the way the expensive sheets felt against her naked body and smiled. Holy crap, that really happened. Even if she wasn’t waking up in a strange bed, her memories of the night were played out in delicious aches and pains on her body. She sat up and pushed her hair back from her face. A quick look around the room found her dress, her shoes, and her purse laid out on a chair across from the bed. After a quick detour to the massive bathroom off the bedroom, she pulled the dress on.

The apartment was eerily quiet, and Meg smothered the disappointment threatening to sour her stomach. She signed on for one night. Better that neither Theo or Galen had stuck around for awkward morning-after conversations. Obviously Theo had reconsidered his determination to take her out to dinner, which was just as well.

Meg didn’t have time to date, let alone to enter into a complicated relationship already in existence. If Theo and Galen weren’t together-together, they were still more than friends. Being third to anyone, let alone these two, was out of the question. Fun for a night? Hell yes. Fun for weeks or months or, god forbid, years? No way.

The only thing she could handle right now—in between school and her job—was to focus on getting the money she needed to pay for her last year of college to finish out her degree. That was it. As things stood now, she was going to have to try to get another job this summer—or two—just to close the gap between her current bank account and the money the school needed to keep her enrolled. Nowhere in her insane schedule was there time for anyone else.

Really, she barely had time for herself.

She checked her phone—it was noon, which gave her plenty of time to get home, heat up some ramen, and get to work on time—and slipped her purse over her shoulder. After a quick consideration, she hooked her fingers through her shoes instead of putting them on.

Meg reached the bedroom door and paused. Was she really going to sneak out like a thief after last night? Awkward morning-after conversations or not, she should at least say goodbye to the guys. Last night had been beyond fun, and souring it with her cowardice was a shitty thing to do.

She headed back to the nightstand and pulled the top drawer open. There were the usual knickknacks and random shit in it, but nestled near the bottom was a small pad of paper and a marker. Before she could talk herself out of it, Meg scrawled her number across the first page and ripped it out. She folded it in half and set it on top of the pillow.

If they call—and that’s a big if—it doesn’t mean I have to answer.

Satisfied she’d left things on the right note, so to speak, she slipped out of the bedroom and padded down the hallway. Voices stopped her before she made it halfway to the door. Theo and Galen spoke softly, but the volume didn’t detract from the intensity of the conversation.

She should just leave.

Nothing good ever came from eavesdropping.

Meg shifted her shoes to her other hand and crept closer to the mostly-closed door. Through the crack, she could see a desk and computer. The office. She frowned and focused on what the men were arguing about.

“I swear I will knock you fucking senseless and throw you in a trunk before I let you endanger yourself because you’re thinking with your cock instead of your head.”

Movement through the small slice of the room she could see. Theo dropped into the office chair, putting his profile in her view. Unlike last night when he’d been dressed casually, this morning he wore a suit that fit as if it had been made for him. Expensive. Really expensive.

Meg knew they had money, of course. Someone didn’t live in an apartment overlooking Central Park without some serious heft to their bank account. But that suit drove reality right through her post-coital bliss.

They were from different worlds.

Whatever issues he and Galen had—were currently having—he wasn’t going without. He wasn’t hungry and worried about where his next meal would come from. He wasn’t working sixty hours a week and going to school another twenty just to get by.

Theo crossed his arms over his chest. “No one is coming for us, Galen. If they were, it would have happened months ago, before I left Thalania in the first place. Phillip’s grip might be absolute in our country, but it’s sure as fuck not as far-reaching as you seem to think.”

“I’m not worried about his reach.” Galen cursed long and hard, sounded like he wanted nothing more than to throttle his friend. “As long as you’re alive, you’re a threat. You know that, so stop acting like you don’t. He might be willing to play nice until Edward gets on the throne, but the second they put the crown on your brother’s head, it’s over. He’ll send one of his people to dispose of you quietly and you’ll become just another unsolved legend. The missing prince of Thalania.”

The missing prince of Thalania.

Meg sagged against the wall, her mouth moving as she tried to draw in breath. She knew about Thalania. Everyone knew about Thalania—even people who didn’t spend their entire life filling a world map with pins for the places they wanted to escape to.

The tiny little kingdom was nestled in eastern Europe and had the good fortune of never having been conquered by its powerhouse neighbors. From the way the media talked about it when it came up, one would think it was a land of milk and honey. A paradise that supported itself from within and kept strict trading alliances with a handful of other countries. One still ruled by a royal family that could trace its lineage back to the country’s founding.

Theo…

Meg rubbed her chest. Oh my god. If Theo was the man Galen seemed to be indicating, he was none other than Theodore Fitzcharles III. Former crown prince of Thalania.

I have to get out of here.

It was one thing to play at the idea of having an affair with a pair of rich men who seemed to come and go from the city as they pleased. It was entirely another to dabble with royalty—even former royalty. It was sheer dumb luck that there hadn’t been a horde of press haunting the club last night to see her leave with them. The last thing she needed was her name attached that kind of dumpster fire.

The party boy prince who had somehow managed to lose his throne and devastate his country in the process.

Meg didn’t have the details—Thalania was on her list of places she wanted to go someday, but it wasn’t high on the list—but even she knew that he’d been banished in disgrace. Knowing what she did about the atrocities committed by people with that kind of power and money, she wasn’t interested in finding out what Theo had done to earn his punishment.

She had to leave, and she had to leave now.

She hesitated, casting a look back at the bedroom where her number lay on the pillow, about as innocent as a bomb ready to go off on her haphazardly balanced life. I’ll change my number if he can’t take a hint. That’s easier than walking back into that bedroom.

With one last peek through the gap in the door, she traced Theo’s profile with her gaze. He really was beautiful in the way of fallen angels. But a fallen angel was just a prettier name for a demon, and Meg had more than her fair share of demons in her life already. She couldn’t afford another one—another two.

No matter how wonderful it felt when they made her come.

She touched the door, a silent goodbye, and walked down the hallway and out the front door. It hurt. Even though she knew it was the right call, her chest felt tight and her stomach twisted itself in knots. Meg slipped her heels on and took the elevator down to the main floor. By the time the doors opened, she had herself together. Whatever path Theo and Galen were on, she wished them the best—but they would damn well continue on without her. One night was all that was promised, and one night had been more than fulfilled.

She’d miss them, though.

After spending a night in bed with a prince and his bodyguard, how could a normal guy compare?

* * *

Theo exhaled the second he heard the front door shut softly behind Meg. “She’s gone. Are you fucking happy?”

Galen stalked to the computer and pulled up the security cameras of the building. They had access by virtue of owning the penthouse suite. They watched in silence as she took the elevator down and walked out through the lobby with her head held high. Theo didn’t relax until she hailed a cab and slipped into the backseat.

For all his attempting to convince Galen that the danger wasn’t actively pointed in their direction, Theo had no intention of playing fast and loose with the lives of people around him. Just because he was more or less untouchable for the next year didn’t mean his monster of an uncle wouldn’t paint a target on anyone Phillip decided had come to matter too much to Theo.

One night shouldn’t be enough to gain his uncle’s attention.

More most definitely would, no matter how careful they were.

“You’re right.” He cursed. “Is that what you wanted to hear? You’re fucking right.”

Galen watched him with an unreadable look on his face. At least, it would be unreadable to anyone else. His displeasure was there in the tightness of his jaw and the steely expression in his dark eyes. “I liked her, too, Theo.”

That admission deflated the last of his anger. He wasn’t really pissed at Galen. The entire situation was beyond fucked, and it wasn’t unfucking itself anytime soon. Right now, his options numbered at two—run or hide. Neither sat well with Theo. He preferred to meet his problems head-on and deal with them permanently.

It wasn’t in the cards this time.

Not with his two younger half-siblings in the mix. Their uncle wouldn’t hurt Edward. He needed an heir to sit on the throne and, even if he could dispose of Theo easily enough, taking out all three of the Fitzcharles siblings would raise suspicion.

But their little sister Camilla didn’t have the same protection.

And in a year, neither would Theo.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. Last night had been a revelation in a way he wasn’t prepared to deal with. He and Galen had shared women before, but that was before. Before their lives were turned upside-down and shaken until they were unrecognizable. Back then, it had been all fun and games and bullshit.

Meg hadn’t known who he and Galen were. She hadn’t recognized him, hadn’t made the connection between Theo and Theodore Fitzcharles III.

It felt good to just be Theo.

It felt like maybe he might be able to make a life with the ashes of everything he’d ever known burning down around him.

Galen was right, though. To indulge himself—to indulge both of them—with Meg was to endanger her. Theo might be a bastard, but he wouldn’t drag an innocent woman under with him just because she made him feel good. Whatever problems Meg faced were of a much more mundane nature than princes and crowns and assassins in the night. He wouldn’t change that, not for anything.

He let his hand drop. “We need to get moving.”

“Yeah.” Galen pushed away from the computer and headed for the door. “I’ll get the bags.” He hesitated in the doorway. “We’ll find a way through this, Theo. I won’t let the bastard win. Not again.”

Theo nodded. There was nothing else to do. They had an impossible battle in front of them, and there was no way to get through it without casualties. Meg wouldn’t be one of them, and that had to be enough for him.

He didn’t want it to be.

Theo headed back into the bedroom. He stopped just inside the door and stared at the bed, memories from last night imposing themselves over the white sheets. Meg’s moans, her cocky smile, her laughter.

Damn it, Galen, I like her, too.

Even if his didn’t have a country-load of baggage he was carting around, Meg had made her preferences pretty damn clear when she snuck out without saying goodbye. Maybe he’d pushed too hard about having dinner, but Theo didn’t believe in playing games when he saw something he wanted.

He wanted Meg.

They both did.

He started to turn for the door and paused at the sight of a folded piece of paper on the pillow. He crossed the distance in two large steps and picked it up. A number scrawled across the paper, written in the pen he kept in the nightstand.

An invitation.

A slow smile drew his lips up. So she hadn’t wanted to leave the door fully closed on a possible future dinner…and more. Theo slipped the paper into his pocket and took one last look around the room. Regardless of what he wanted when it came to Meg, they had to leave the city for a few weeks while they ran down one of Galen’s seemingly endless leads. One of them would carve a path home. It had to.

But when they got back to the city…

Theo ran his thumb over the folds of the paper. An honorable man would leave Meg alone. He’d take last night for what it was and move on with his life. He wouldn’t call her, and he sure as fuck wouldn’t see her again.

Theo turned for the door. Maybe he really was that much of a bastard after all, because he had no intention of leaving Meg alone. He’d handle the danger for both of them—for all three of them.

“Game on, princess.”

* * *

Theo, Galen, and Meg’s story continues in a brand new full length novel, FOREVER THEIRS! Despite Meg’s best efforts to move on, when Theo and Galen show up in her life again, she finds herself in over her head—and in danger.

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* * *

Enjoy a sneak peek of FOREVER THEIRS now!

“Meg, someone puked in the bathroom.”

Meg Sanders closed her eyes and counted to ten very, very slowly. It didn’t change Jonah’s words—or their implication. By the time she turned to face him, she had her expression under control. Mostly. “You’re telling me…”

“I’m clocking off.” He held up his timesheet. “My shift ended thirty minutes ago and I’m about to go into overtime.”

If she let that happen, cleaning up someone else’s puke would be the least of Meg’s worries. “Okay, go ahead.” Their boss had a notorious temper when it came to overtime, and they’d all learned to avoid going over the allotted hours whenever possible. Jonah was a decent dude, and she didn’t want to drop that hammer on him. “I’ll take care of it.” Last call had already been sounded and the lights were all up. If the last four people didn’t file out soon on their own, she’d call them cabs and kick them to the curb.

Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. Jonah clocked out, and she must have looked as miserable as she felt because he herded the patrons out and waited for her to lock the door before he headed for his car.

Yeah, Jonah was a good dude.

He’d even blushed a little when he’d asked her out a few weeks ago, and took it well when she turned him down. She might have cited her insane work schedule that would only get more insane once school restarted in the fall, but the truth was far more pathetic.

How could anyone compare after she’d been with a prince and his bodyguard?

What was supposed to be a single night straight out of her dirtiest fantasies turned into the standard she was in danger of comparing every future relationship to. Not that she could call being picked up at a club on her twenty-third birthday and going home with two guys for the sexiest night of her life a relationship. It wasn’t. The amazing sex was just that—sex.

Even if she was starting to suspect it had ruined her for life.

No use thinking about it now.

They left. They never called.

You’re the one who snuck out without saying goodbye. They probably took a hint.

Meg laughed softly at the absurdity of her spiraling thoughts. She found the mop bucket and hauled it to the sink and squirted some soap into the swirling water. Easier to focus on her hurt pride than the money stress she couldn’t quite escape. The deadline to pay her fall tuition was this week and she hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact after all the hours and tips and even a second job she was still short.

Seriously short.

Short to the tune of two thousand dollars.

Not that much money in the grand scheme of things, but it might as well have been on the moon for all Meg could access it. She’d gone so far as to fill out a couple credit card applications, but they sat unsent on her desk at home. They were just a temporary fix. Fall tuition would turn into spring tuition, and even if she could scrape together the money this time, she wouldn’t be able to do it next time. Better to just bow out gracefully now and leave her degree unfinished.

But she hadn’t filled out that form, either.

She was stuck in place, unable to move forward or go back. If she dropped out, she was no better than what her mother had always called her: a fuck-up destined to retread the footsteps of her family for as long as living memory. Poverty. A marriage or four. Crippling debt that she’d never be able to climb out from beneath. A job that slowly sucked every bit of joy out of her life.

She couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t go back to that small town and that dingy trailer and face the family she’d given the middle finger to when she turned eighteen and graduated with honors. Meg had worked too damn hard to put herself in a position to make something of her life.

Look at her now.

Cleaning up someone else’s puke.

She wheeled the bucket down the dim hallway to the pair of bathrooms situated near the back door. The bar could stand in for countless bars across the country. The lights a little too low, the floors a little too sticky, the alcohol a little too cheap. But it was what passed for her second home. She loved most of the people she worked with, and if her boss was kind of a dick, well, that went with the territory.

Meg took a slow, deep breath and pushed open the first door. The smell of vomit sent her reeling back a step, but she mastered her response. Just get it over with and you can go home. Home, to her tiny apartment filled with secondhand furniture. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was hers and she loved it. There was only this filthy bathroom between her and her lumpy bed and damned if she’d let the stench permeating the air beat her.

She got to work.

It was, in short, awful.

Jonah hadn’t caught the mess in time and part of it had dried. When the door swung open behind her, Meg was cursing up a storm and scrubbing with the mop at what looked like melted cotton candy and corn. Never eating either of those things again. She didn’t even realize she was no longer alone until a masculine chuckle rolled through the bathroom.

She jumped and swung the mop around, nearly braining… Meg froze. This was it. She’d finally lost what was left of her mind, because transitioning into an exhaustion-fueled hallucination was the only explanation for him being here. She blinked and blinked again. He didn’t disappear. “Theo?”

Theodore Fitzcharles III, former Crown Prince of Thalania, propped the door open with a leather shoe that was no doubt designer and gave her a pained grin. “Hey, princess.”

She looked from him to the half-cleaned vomit to the mop in her hand. For one second, Meg seriously considered whacking him with it just to rumple him a little. Even when he had her pinned to a couch and was fucking her within an inch of her life, Theo never ceased to look perfectly put together. The man was downright pretty, though he was too masculine for that adjective. His face was all sharp angles and full lips and blue eyes that held stories she could only guess at. Tonight, he wore a plain white T-shirt that looked like it might have been ironed at some point, and a pair of jeans that probably cost more than Meg’s monthly rent. She couldn’t even hold it against him, because it was so purely Theo.

No, she couldn’t hold that against him.

But she could hold the fact that he’d been MIA for three fucking months against him.

She considered the mop in her hands again, but ultimately decided going after him with it would just prove how angry she was. Meg dunked it into the dirty water and went back to cleaning. “Didn’t expect to see you again.”

“Do you normally leave your number when you don’t expect to see someone again?”

He had her there, but she’d never admit it. She’d left her number when she still thought the night had passed with two strangers whose only real sin was being so rich it blew her mind. It was only when she snuck down the hall that she’d learned the truth. Theo was the exiled prince of Thalania. An exiled prince came with more baggage than she had, and that was saying something.

But she hadn’t gone back for her number.

She still wasn’t sure why.

Her excuse of not wanting to face them in the light of the morning didn’t hold up to three months of absence. Meg scrubbed harder at the mess on the floor. “If it was an invitation—and it wasn’t—then it was one to call me. Not stalk me to my place of business and show up after hours when I’m alone and defenseless.”

He laughed. The bastard laughed. “Defenseless, Meg? Never. If there’s anyone defenseless in this scenario, it’s me.”

The words proved what she’d already suspected—he wasn’t going to be any more honest with her now than he had on that night three months ago. If he’d told her who he really was in the club, she might still have gone home with them, but at least she would have done it with eyes wide open. But he hadn’t been honest—neither of them had. She opened her mouth to tell him to get lost, but that wasn’t what came out. “Where’s Galen?”

Theo shrugged. “He had a few errands to attend to.”

Another suspicion proved correct. “He doesn’t know you’re here, does he?” Theo might play to his own set of rules, but Galen had one priority: Theo. He’d made it very clear that he had no intention of continuing anything with Meg. It was the one comfort she’d had. She and Galen outvoted Theo.

At least they had until he showed up here without his shadow in tow.

Theo gave another of those shrugs that meant nothing at all. “Contrary to what you seem to believe, we’re not attached at the hip.”

“Could have fooled me.” She waited, but he seemed content to lean against the doorframe and watch her, so Meg gave a shrug of her own and got back to work. Ultimately, his presence there changed nothing. The second she walked out of that apartment three months ago, she’d decided to leave everything—everyone—in it behind. “We’re closed.”

“Meg.”

She didn’t want to look at him. That way lay dragons. He was too attractive, too magnetic, and he knew it. But she couldn’t resist him murmuring her name in that tone of voice. She just didn’t have it in her. Meg sighed and met his gaze. “It’s been three months, Theo. You said you’d be gone a couple weeks, tops. Even if I was interested, and that’s a big if at this point, the opportunity has passed.”

“I’d like to take you out for dinner. Or a drink.”

His ability to steamroll right over what she’d just said was a neat trick, but not one she planned on indulging. “Goodbye, Theo.”

“Wait. Fuck, Meg, just … wait.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and, for the first time since he appeared, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. As if maybe he hadn’t slept much since she’d seen him last. Doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. He let his hand drop and pinned her with a look. “Shit got complicated after we left New York, and we had to jump through some hoops until things calmed down. I wasn’t going to come back here or risk contacting you until I knew it was safe.”

She splashed water onto the floor and got back to scrubbing. “Theo, I had fun that night. So much fun. But that’s all it was—fun. Your life is complicated. My life is complicated. There is such a disconnect between the two, it’s absurd.”

“Who the fuck cares about the disconnect? We connected. You and me and Galen.”

She couldn’t argue that, so she didn’t try. This Theo was hard to deny, but she remembered all too well how he got when those blue eyes went calculating. He’d been raised the Crown Prince of Thalania, which meant he’d been raised to lie from birth. He wanted her, and he’d say whatever it took to claim her like some kind of trophy. She was a girl who grew up in a trailer, and he was a guy who’d grown up in a palace. There was no way he could see her as anything other than a trophy.

He sure as hell didn’t see her as an equal.

What could she say to get through to him? “Theo, what does that apartment cost you a month?”

His gaze went shuttered. “I don’t see how that matters.”

“That answers my question.” She laughed a little, the sound as broken and sad as the room they currently stood in. “I’m a year away from getting my master’s degree and I can’t even pay my tuition no matter how hard I hustle. I have no doubt that your problems are real and present and more than valid, but it’s like worrying about how to fly a rocket to the moon when I can’t even afford a car. We live in two different worlds.”

“Princess—”

“No.” Meg held up a hand, forestalling whatever argument he’d prepared. “I’m not a princess any more than you’re a pauper. And that’s okay, but let’s be honest right now. You’re standing there wearing designer right down to your skin and I’m cleaning up someone else’s puke for barely more than minimum wage. We’re too different, Theo. No matter how good the sex is, it would fall apart at some point, and it would fall apart ugly. I’m choosing to keep the memory of that night a happy one without all the emotional baggage three people would bring to any relationship.” She shook her head, barely believing the words out of her mouth. Three people. Hot as hell in the bedroom for a single night, but in a relationship?

A recipe for disaster.

Theo sighed. “You’re not going to get anywhere the way you’re doing it.”

She blinked. “Actually—”

He was already moving. He snagged the mop from her hands and nudged her out of the way. He curled those perfect lips at the mess on the floor and muttered something about idiot drunks, but before she could say anything, he started scrubbing the floor with a vigor she hadn’t been able to muster.

Meg should stop him.

Any moment now, she’d step in, demand the mop back, and finish the job she started.

But the strange sight of Theo doing manual labor kept her rooted in place. What was he playing at? Meg didn’t know, and the not knowing twisted something up inside her. No matter what his goal in coming here, she was being reasonable, damn it.

Reason always prevailed.

He finished in half the time it would have taken her. Neither of them spoke as he carried the bucket to the utility sink and washed it out. What was there to say? No matter what plans Theo held when he showed up, this was goodbye. It had to be.

He dried his hands and turned to face her. “What else do you have to do before you lock up?”

“I’m nearly done.” She’d saved the worst task for last, which was just as well. The last thing Meg needed was him hovering while she tried to count out the till or something that required actual concentration. She cleared her throat. “You should leave.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

It wasn’t quite a denial of her command to get out, but it was clear he wouldn’t be going anywhere until he did exactly as he intended. Meg set her jaw and went through the motions of closing up. Theo’s presence shadowed her every step despite the fact he never moved from his spot near the back door. It didn’t matter. She could feel him taking up more than his fair share of space, his energy too much for this dingy bar.

After double checking that the front door was locked and the Open sign was off, Meg headed for the back door. She nearly missed a step. God, he was so gorgeous it actually hurt to look at him. He wasn’t as brutally large as Galen, built more like a blade meant to slice and stab than a crushing war hammer. But his white shirt still stretched across serious muscles in his shoulders and chest, and she knew from experience exactly how much strength he could bring to the table.

Stop that.

Stop thinking about that night.

Theo held the door open for her and she caught a whiff of his scent as she stepped past him. It stopped her cold. Sandalwood and spice. A combination she would associate with the best sex of her life until her dying breath. Meg closed her eyes and inhaled, taking in every bit of him she could manage, a junkie in need of the smallest fix.

She couldn’t say yes to whatever he was proposing. It might start with dinner, but it wouldn’t end there. And wherever it ended would only result in her plans derailed, her heart shredded, and her life in shambles.

No, Meg couldn’t say yes.

She forced herself to open her eyes and keep moving. She locked the door behind her and headed for the street. Theo kept pace easily. “No car?”

Who drove in New York? Oh yeah, someone as rich as sin like Theo. “I take the subway.”

“The subway.” He said the words like talking about shit on the bottom of his shoe. “No. Absolutely not.” Theo fished a set of keys out of his jeans and pushed a button, making a car down the street chirp. Meg didn’t need to look at it to know it was expensive. Of course it was.

She clung to her patience with slippery fingers. “Goodnight, Theo.” If she got into the car with him, she had no idea where she’d end up. Not because Theo was some crazy murderer, but because Meg didn’t trust herself with him. Throw Galen into the mix and she was a goner.

No, her only option lay in running as far and as fast as she could.

“Meg.” There it was again, that hint of growl in her name. He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming her despite there being a good foot between them. “Meg, let me walk you to the subway station.” He reached out and tucked a flyaway strand behind her ear, his thumb brushing across her jaw as he withdrew. That tiny touch had lightning dancing beneath her skin. She wanted him. Good lord, she wanted him. Meg was Pavlov’s dog panting for another taste.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She reached out without having any intention of moving and touched his bottom lip. Meg dropped her hand immediately, the memory of his lips on other parts of her burning through her body. What was she thinking? She had to get out of here and she had to do it now. It took every bit of will she had to step back and then step back again. “Please don’t come here again.”

Theo studied her with those gorgeous blue eyes. He seemed to see more than she had any intention of showing, and she held her breath as he considered. Finally, he nodded. “Okay, princess. I won’t come back here again.” He shifted closer and cupped her jaw. Even knowing she should shove him away, Meg couldn’t help leaning in, a flower seeking his warm sunlight. His lips brushed hers, the contact so fleeting she was half sure she imagined it.

And then he was gone, releasing her from the trap of his touch and moving back. “You know where to find me should you change your mind.”

“That won’t happen.” It might happen.

“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” He chuckled and headed for his car.

“Arrogant ass,” she muttered. Theo might be sin personified, but he was wrong on this note. She would not be seeking him out.

Meg headed for the subway, every step leaching out the spark of energy being in Theo’s presence had brought her. By the time she made it home, she wasn’t a woman who’d caught the handsome prince’s eye. She was just a graduate student with more debt than she knew what to do with and no magical solution for how to keep moving forward.

The door to her apartment was perpetually off its level, so she had to throw her shoulder into it to get it both opened and closed. The flimsy deadbolt wouldn’t keep out a mouse determined to break in, but she’d never had a problem with that sort of thing in the years she’d lived here.

A quick shower and she collapsed face-down in her bed. Normally, she worked too damn hard to be anything but completely exhausted at the end of her days and sleep came with little effort, but tonight her mind wouldn’t stop racing.

Impossible not to compare her shitty bed with the one in Theo and Galen’s apartment, the one that had fit all three of them with ease and felt like sleeping on a cloud. Meg rolled over and cursed into her pillow. Stop it, stop it, stop it. There are a thousand and one reasons why staying away from them is the only choice you have, and you know it. Good sex is the only reason why saying yes would be great.

Good sex did not outweigh all the bad. It just didn’t.

She had to remember that.

Seconds ticked into minutes into hours as Meg watched the city lights play across her ceiling. She had a meeting in the morning to explore financial options with the college, and she needed not to be totally exhausted for it, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Damn Theo.

At six, she gave up and took a shower. As she got ready, she rehearsed what she’d say to the financial advisor. They saw cases like hers all the time, and unfortunately the college wasn’t in the business of charity. Meg’s financial aid had run dry last year, and she wasn’t in a position to petition for grants at this point. She was up shit creek without a paddle, and that’s exactly what the financial guy would tell her when she sat down with him.

But she had to try.

Worst case, I take a hiatus and spend a year saving money and working my ass off and complete my degree next year.

It wasn’t the end of the world if she had to defer. It just felt that way.

She carefully applied her makeup—a low-key lipstick and eyeshadow meant to look like she wasn’t wearing anything at all—and dressed in her one good professional outfit. A dress she’d rescued from her friend Cara’s donation pile and made adjustments to, and the heels she’d worn when she graduated high school. They weren’t fancy, but the black pumps completed the look better than boots or flip-flops would.

An hour later, she knocked on the door and stepped into the office. “Mr. Taneka?”

“Come in, come in.” He didn’t look up from his computer as she approached the faded chairs situated in front of his desk. They’d only met a few times over the course of her college career, but she was always struck by how small Mr. Taneka was. Physically, he could only be termed delicate, but that impression didn’t last once he opened his mouth. His voice was a deep bass and his attitude, frankly, sucked. He was fewer than five years out from retirement, and his complete lack of give-a-damn was never more apparent than when she’d asked him for help.

Now, she was here to ask for it again, hopefully with a better outcome.

Meg had nowhere else to turn.

She watched the clock as he finished doing whatever he was doing on his computer. It could have been solitaire for all Meg knew. At ten minutes, she cleared her throat.

Mr. Taneka sighed. “You’re still here?”

“Well… yes.” She clasped her hands together and fought to keep her voice even and neutral. “We haven’t had our meeting yet, Mr. Taneka. Fall tuition is due this week and I’m hoping you have a solution that will help me keep from having to take time off.”

He sighed again, louder this time, and sat back. “Ms. Sanders, I don’t know why you’re wasting both our time.”

“Excuse me?” He’d been blunt before, but this was above and beyond. She pressed her lips together to keep from screaming in his face. What did he have to worry about? He had a cushy office job and his path through retirement and beyond was all but assured.

She didn’t have the luxury.

She didn’t have any luxury.

Mr. Taneka gave her a look like she’d escaped a mental ward to storm into his office and ruin his day. “What game are you playing, Ms. Sanders? Your tuition is paid in full.”

Meg blinked. “What? That’s impossible.”

“On the contrary, I have the information right here.” He turned the screen to face her. Sure enough, the balance owed was at zero.

Impossible.

She was two grand short yesterday. Meg wasn’t the type of person who just magically misplaced two thousand dollars. How could—

No.

No, he wouldn’t dare.

She cleared her throat. “Would it be possible to see the source of that payment?”

“Ms. Sa—”

“A name, Mr. Taneka. I just need a name. Please.”

Another of those long-suffering sighs. He clicked a few buttons. “A Mr. Theo Fitzcharles made the payment at five this morning.”

That son of a bitch.

Order FOREVER THEIRS now!

Acknowledgments

This book was something special right from the beginning, and it’s process—from the first hint of a story idea, to the actual writing process, owes thanks to many people.

Thank you to Marissa Vann and Maria Bender McConnaughy for playing along with my musings about what a normal girl dating a prince would look like. Meg isn’t going to run off with the butler, and Theo is nowhere near as extra as Richard was, but you helped get this idea off the ground and running!

Big thanks and hugs to my beta readers, Andie J. Christopher, Jan Meredith, and Crystal Perkins. You helped me give this book a little extra something, and your enthusiasm was the best! I’m so glad you love this trio as much as I do!

Thank you to Piper J. Drake, Åsa Maria Bradley, and Lauren Hawkeye Murray for listening to me muse about this story for months before finally pulling the trigger on writing it. You know I have to talk something to death before I take that first step, and you gave me the pushes I needed to get moving!

Thank you to the Rabble for being so freaking excited about this idea, even before you knew any of the details. Writing a ménage story was on my bucket list for a really long time, and your reactions to my teasers has made it totally worthwhile and an amazing experience! I promise I’ll be torturing all of us with more teasers for the next book soon!

Big thank you and lots of love to Tim. You know what you did. Kisses!

About the Author

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

www.kateerobert.com

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