Ravenous

The Finn Factor, Book 4

R.G. Alexander

Ravenous

Copyright 2015 R.G. Alexander

Editing by D.S. Editing

Formatted by IRONHORSE Formatting

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To Cookie - Love is the reason.

To Robin L. Rotham - You know why:)

To the Finn Club - Thank You!

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Thanks for Reading!

Curious: Finn Factor, Book 1

Scandalous: Finn Factor, Book 2

Dangerous: Finn Factor, Book 3

The Smutketeers!

Other Books by R.G. Alexander

About R.G. Alexander

Prologue

“What are we learning about today, Little Finn?”

Jennifer Finn looked up from her spot beneath a large oak tree and frowned, hoping the man looming over her wouldn’t see her blush and know what she’d just been fantasizing about. “I’m learning about how a properly applied Taser can thoroughly discourage pests of the private dick variety. And I’ve told you not to call me that.”

Trick Dunham smirked at her. “It slipped out. You looked so innocent, sitting on the ground all alone with your packed lunch. Where’s your roommate and her tag-a-long boy toy? You don’t usually eat alone.”

“Alicia and Raoul don’t have the same schedule this semester. Hence the brown bag. My turn. Where’s your rent money coming from if my brother isn’t paying you to follow me around anymore?”

And why am I not in any hurry to get rid of you?

Because he was driving her too crazy to think straight. It seemed as though every time she turned around the blond, bearded, tattooed investigator was there. Well, not every time. But now and then when she was with friends at the coffee shop, he’d stop by to say hello. When she was spending a late night studying at the campus library, he’d be “reading” at another table. He’d even audited one of her classes last semester, sitting behind her and distracting her at every opportunity. His showing up on her second day of the new semester didn’t bode well for her peace of mind.

And your bedroom. Don’t forget that he’s shown up in your bedroom.

Twice. She got breathless just thinking about it. Warm. She couldn’t forget that if she tried. Though, if she were being honest with herself, she hadn’t tried at all. The memory was too good not to keep.

It had been a few weeks after he’d started showing up around campus that she’d decided to turn the tables on him and invite him out to dinner. Sure, she was supposed to be focusing on school instead of sex for the next few years, but he was gorgeous and she wasn’t a robot. She’d either scare her brother’s loyal friend away or get lucky before getting on with her life. She’d thought it was a brilliant idea at the time.

Trick had let her flirt. Let her shock him with details of her behavior at the BDSM club. He’d been in a car outside, “making sure she was safe”, so he’d already known how often she went there—he might as well find out exactly what he’d been missing.

She’d asked him to come in that night, but after a kiss that made her lose the ability for coherent thought, he’d politely declined her invitation. It was only hours later, when her doors were locked and the lights were out, that the devil had shown up, slipped into her bed and asked if he could change his mind.

She’d been too turned on to say no, and he’d rewarded her for her generosity with his fingers and tongue until she nearly passed out from pleasure. Then he’d left as quietly as he’d arrived.

It was by far the dirtiest thing she’d ever experienced in her life, and they hadn’t actually had sex.

Trick was leaning his arm on the tree, studying her. “Don’t worry about my rent, Jen. I do fine. And you know your brother never had to pay me. You were a favor. We both have chips to call in. He used one of his bigger ones on you.”

“So you keep telling me. I’m honored that my private life warranted such a big, irritating chip.” She picked up her book bag and got to her feet. “But as you can see, I’m not out clubbing or going home with strangers to be chained up and whipped anymore. I’m about to head into my twenty-sixth year of life on track for my master’s degree. Jennifer is now a very dull girl with a bright future in social work. All I do is study and sleep and, if I’m feeling wild, visit the family pub. So you’ve done your good deed for Stephen. Feel free to stalk and rehabilitate someone else’s troubled little sister.”

He leaned into her, laying his hand on her collarbone and pressing her back against the tree. She barely held back her soft moan at his touch. “I did my good deed for him when I drove you home from the police station after those assault charges. Such a fiery temper to go with that hair.” His smile was wicked. “I have no desire to rehabilitate you, Jen. Not after last week. You weren’t studying or sleeping then, if you remember.”

Don’t kiss him. Don’t think about it.

Of course she remembered. She wasn’t sure how he’d gotten in a second time without waking her roommate or setting off the alarm, but she hadn’t sent him away. Again. And he’d done things with his mouth that might be illegal, making her muffle her screams in her pillow before kissing her gently and leaving her. Again.

Stop staring at his mouth.

She took a breath and licked her lips. “I have to go to class.”

“I know. The Psychology of Sexual Behavior: Sexual Identity and Gender Roles, right? Not a catchy title, but it sounds like my kind of party.”

She glared at him, forcing herself not to let his piercing green eyes distract her. “How did get your hands on my course schedule?”

“Honey, I’m a private investigator. I have ways.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Why are you doing this?”

“Would you believe I’m interested in bettering myself through higher education?”

“No.”

“How about I still think you need looking after?”

She snorted. “That would be easier to buy if you didn’t…”

“If I didn’t what?” His voice always had that sexy rasp that made her think of tangled sheets and talented tongues. “Look after you?”

In bed, his expression added, making her squirm.

“I could call my brother and have him use another chip to call you off.” The threat was a weak one, and this wasn’t the first time she’d made it. She could have called Stephen weeks ago. She could have told his wife Tasha, or let her roommate in on the fact that the guy she’d seen following Jen around wasn’t technically her bodyguard.

His grin said he knew. “You could try.”

But you won’t.

Why not? What the hell was wrong with her?

You like it. You want him to come back to your room and finish what he started.

Turning away from him, she started toward the building where the lecture hall was located. “I’ll call him unless you follow my conditions.”

“Conditions? You have conditions? Now I have to hear them.”

“I’ve been looking forward to hearing this professor lecture. He’s a highly sought-after speaker, he literally wrote the textbook on this subject and I’m actually taking his class to learn.”

“Professor Declan Kelley,” Trick murmured, keeping pace beside her. “I know. You mentioned something about conditions?”

“Don’t come in with me, sit next to me or do anything to get either of us kicked out.”

He put his hand over his heart. “I’ll be a ghost.”

She sent a glance to his bright, wrinkled shirt, sleep-mussed hair and bedroom eyes. Fat chance. “And you’re going to tell me why you keep following me. The truth.”

He held open the outer door for her. “You can’t tack on a condition after I’ve already agreed to your terms. Go. I’ll be right behind you.”

His gaze was like a hand caressing her back as she strode through the crowd of students whose clothing and hairstyles made her feel old. Had it only been four years since she’d gotten her bachelor’s? So much had happened since then—a long-overdue broken engagement, a tattoo, a few months of experimenting with kink. She smiled ruefully. Now she was back where she started, working on her MSW and being the good, well-behaved Little Finn that her overprotective family expected.

No wonder she couldn’t resist her sexy shadow.

She followed a group of people already heading into the lecture hall, stopping when a skinny boy dressed in black bumped into her and dropped his textbook and a handful of band flyers on the floor at her feet.

“Sorry.”

Jen instantly dropped to her knees and started helping to gather up the loose paper with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. Happens to me all the time.”

When her ponytail slid over her shoulder, the boy whistled. “Nice ink. What is that supposed to be?”

She leaned back on her heels and handed him his flyers. “A triskelion.” At his look of confusion, she laughed. “It’s an Irish thing.” And a kink thing, but only certain people would know that.

“Cool.” He pushed his dyed black hair out of his puppy dog eyes. “I’m Ira.”

I’m too old for you, buddy. Stop talking to my breasts. “Jennifer Finn. Can I tell you something, Ira?”

“What?”

She leaned closer conspiratorially. “The blonde girl in the front row has been looking at you this whole time.”

She’d only glanced over twice, but Jen wasn’t quibbling over details. Noticing things like that was how she made the best tips at Finn’s.

“Carrie Giles?”

She was good. Ira already knew her name. “I’d go sit next to Carrie if I were you.”

“You think?”

“I’m a woman, Ira. I know these things.”

He leapt up and walked away from her so fast she was almost insulted. “You’re welcome.”

People were walking around her to climb the stairs and find the best seating. With her luck she’d be stuck here on the floor for the duration. She adjusted her backpack and started to get to her feet.

A masculine hand appeared in front of her and a deep, attractive voice said, “Let me help you, Miss Finn.”

She took the hand, looking up with a grateful expression and a “Thank you” forming on her lips. It froze in her throat, her mouth hanging open as she looked up at the lumberjack and part-time underwear model whose touch was making her hand tingle.

Wait…how did he know her name? He looked familiar, but she would definitely remember meeting him. Or seeing him in underwear. Tall and broad shouldered, with dark hair and a strong jaw that had more than a few days of sexy, touchable facial hair. Stylish black-framed glasses tried to hide swoon-worthy, thickly lashed gray eyes, but it was his mouth that had really stopped her in her tracks. His lips were sensual and full. They begged to be nibbled on. Licked.

You’re staring like a horny tween. She licked her lips unconsciously, hoping she could find her voice before class actually started. “Thank you.”

His gray gaze lowered to her mouth as she spoke, but he didn’t respond. She smiled and let out a soft laugh, letting her thumb skim his skin. “Not that I mind, but I think you’re still holding my hand.”

The man dropped it abruptly and stepped back, adjusting his glasses. “Find your seat, Miss Finn. We’re about to begin.”

She spun on her heel obediently at the command, her smile fading as the realization hit her. He was not a student, or a lumberjack underwear model. He was her professor. He’d looked familiar because she’d seen his headshot in the back of her textbook.

Humiliation kept her head down as she climbed the stairs, taking the aisle seat on the left and wishing she could redo the last five minutes of her life. Since when were college professors allowed to look like that? Had it happened while she was planning her wedding and pouring other people’s beer? She’d almost…  Okay, she’d definitely flirted with him. She’d even made a pass with her thumb. “Bad thumb,” she mumbled under her breath.

She glanced down at the hand he’d been holding. She could still feel his touch. His body heat. Professor Declan Kelley gave good hand. She leaned her elbow on the narrow desk and rubbed her temple. This was not the best beginning for a class on sexual behavior. Hers obviously needed some work.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Trick studying her intently as he sat down a few rows below her.

Why was he looking at her like that? And what was going on in her mind? She had one man following her around and sneaking into her bed already—a gorgeous, lean hunk of bad boy who’d been all she could think about for weeks. Why was she suddenly reacting so strongly to someone else? And strongly was an understatement. Something about Professor Kelley woke up every distracted nerve ending in her body.

Maybe you aren’t quite ready to be good Little Finn again.

Opening her bag, she shook her head and pulled out her book and something to write on. She looked around at all the laptops and shook her head. She’d only been gone four years.

Take a breath, Jennifer. She could do this. Just because she was holding an ancient pen and imagining her professor taking off his glasses, throwing her on his desk and putting that sinful mouth to good use all over her body…

She shifted in her seat, and bit her lip when her jeans rubbed against her sensitive clit in a way that made her shiver. That felt too good for her to do in the middle of a full lecture hall with Professor Hot Lips looking on. She shifted again.

Don’t even think about it, you hussy.

Professor Kelley chose that moment to stand in front of the loud classroom and put his hands in his pockets. The room went silent. Of course it did. They all recognized him. They’d probably looked him up on their laptops.

“Welcome. My name is Professor Kelley and we’re here to study the psychology of sexual behavior, including sexual identities and gender roles in our society. First, because of previous misunderstandings, I want to make it clear that this is not a class where we behave sexually or learn the proper way to apply a prophylactic to a cucumber.” A few students laughed. “I’d be concerned with our education system if you didn’t know by now how to protect yourself and your partner should you decide to have sex. I’d be more concerned if you believed a penis looked anything like a cucumber. If it does, we have a clinic on campus. Go there now.” More laughter.

Jen bit the tip of her pen and studied him. He was speaking casually and eloquently, but he looked a little tense to her. If he needed some help with that, she’d be more than happy to stay after school.

“In this class we’ll be discussing every permutation of sexual relationship in the human experience. Monogamy, homosexuality, polyamory, sadomasochism and yes, even abstinence. We’ll explore the cultural, historical and psychological context of all of these genetic predispositions, lifestyle choices and sexual needs.” He sent them all a steely smile. “We will not be debating the morality of any of these subjects. That’s not our job this semester. We’re observers, not reactors. We are here to understand—the way I understand that we’ll be touching on topics that may be sensitive to each of you as individuals.”

Holding up a finger, he continued, “So rule number one of this class. Personal sexuality—yours and mine—will not be up for discussion during the lectures. This is to protect you and your privacy. In your written work, I’ll welcome disclosure, though it’s not required. I will, however, expect insight and empathy. In return, you can expect me to always respect your privacy. I will be the only one to read your work, unless you choose to share it outside of class. If anyone has any difficulties or a personal emotional response to our selected topics, my office hours are in the syllabus and my door is always open.”

Jen could easily imagine the waiting line to his office after that speech. At least ten girls in class—a couple of the guys too—looked like they’d be having a personal, emotional response as soon as humanly possible. Hell, she was having one right now.

She swirled the cap of her pen in her mouth and bit it again in frustration. She’d really been looking forward to this. Now she’d have four months of listening to that voice and watching him move, wondering what it would be like to have a private study session in her bedroom. She wouldn’t need him to respect her privacy at all.

This class would be torture. If only she hadn’t promised not to go back to the club after she’d been sentenced with community service. She definitely deserved a good, hard spanking right about now.

Declan Kelley wasn’t doing well. He knew his opening lecture by heart, could give it in his sleep, and that was the only silver lining he could find for this hour that wouldn’t end.

Jennifer Finn. He’d heard her introducing herself to a student named Ira as she crawled on her hands and knees at his feet, gathering papers. He was surprised he’d heard anything at all, because from the moment she’d bent down, all he could see was a delectable ass in form-fitting jeans, her sexy little tattoo and that hair. Beautiful red and gold hair that he wanted to take out of that ponytail and run his fingers through.

Touching her had been a mistake, but no one had stopped to help her up and he felt compelled to step in. It was the gentlemanly thing to do.

Liar.

He hadn’t wanted to let go. It was disturbing, how difficult it had been. When he caught her staring at his mouth, he’d nearly forgotten where he was and pulled her closer.

That didn’t happen. Not to him. He wasn’t used to the instant desire being near her created. The fact that she was a student made it unacceptable, but that didn’t bother him as much as the intensity of it. He’d just been thinking about the only other person who’d engendered that particular response when his day went from bad to…

Trick Dunham. His old lover was sitting a few rows below the redhead, watching him with far too much interest and amusement.

Declan’s heart started pounding in his ears and he forced himself to look away.

Why was he here? Why today? Declan had been in Europe last semester—had Trick stopped by to welcome him home? And how could he call Trick his “old lover” if he took the man back eagerly whenever he showed up at his door? He’d gotten multiple degrees and spent hours with his head buried in books just trying to figure that particular dysfunction out.

He needed to think of something else or the hands in his pockets wouldn’t hide his reaction. He just had to think it through rationally. Trick didn’t come to campus—not in all the years he’d been here. He’d never shown any interest in Declan’s field of study, unless it pertained to research in the bedroom.

Jennifer Finn. He glanced at her again, curious. What were the odds that a student named Finn and Senator Stephen Finn’s old friend and P.I. on retainer would be in his class at the same time?

What were the odds they’d both get you so hard?

Disappointment helped put a lid on his arousal. Trick wasn’t here for him. He was working and so was Declan. He had a lecture to give and he couldn’t be distracted by memories of rough, dirty sex and…

His thoughts trailed off as Jennifer Finn slid the cap of her pen in her mouth while she watched him. Then she wiggled in her seat and, after a moment, crossed her legs tellingly when she realized he was looking.

He’d never wanted to be a seat so badly in his life.

Dirty old man.

Someone asked a question and he grasped it like a lifeline, grateful when others followed their lead. He took his time answering each one, no matter how inane. Yes, the papers would count for a third of their grade. No, they would not be watching porn or that movie about BDSM. Absolutely, they would be discussing women’s sexual roles in culture and the media.

When the hour was almost up, Declan tried not to let his relief show as he quickly went over the syllabus and the first reading assignment. He had an hour break coming up and then he’d be repeating this lecture for his next class, but neither one of his current distractions would be present to tempt him.

As the students started to file out, he packed up his laptop methodically, keeping his head down to give the impression that he was too busy to be disturbed. It was an effective method to prevent students from swarming his desk and peppering him with questions instead of leaving in an orderly manner.

He was a fan of orderly. Structure was good. Erections in a sexual behavior class filled with twenty-somethings? Bad.

Trick’s raspy voice interrupted his pretense. “Flannel is a good look for you, Declan. I like it. I always thought you wore sweater vests and bow ties to your lectures. The facial hair is new. Don’t they have razors in Europe?”

His words affected Declan physically, like nails digging into his back or a bite on his shoulder. He touched his glasses and looked up at the nearly empty room with a frown. “I’m thinking of growing a beard. What are you doing here?”

“You’re more than thinking about it. I like it. And I’m auditing. I did it last semester too. I have to say it seems a little screwed up to pay to not get credit for attending a class. Who does that?”

You do.

Declan met the amused green gaze and tightened his lips. “You’re not on my attendance list. You know you have to get approved to be in my class. And actually pay.”

“I decided at the last minute.” Trick shrugged and lowered his voice. “But I already know you approve of me being here. At least, part of you does. I’m very observant.”

Declan was zipping his computer bag, ready to argue the point, when his other distraction for the day appeared beside Trick, scowling up at him. “I’m sure the professor needs to get somewhere, Trick.”

Keeping his eyes on Declan, Trick reached up to lightly tug Jennifer Finn’s ponytail. He knows what I want, Declan thought, forcing himself not to respond. The sexy, manipulative bastard.

“Don’t be mad, Jen,” Trick offered sweetly. “Declan and I go way back. We’re just catching up.”

Jen’s light blue eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. “You know each other?”

“Very well, Little Finn,” Trick said before Declan could head him off. “We’ve had sleepovers and everything.”

Jackass.

Declan closed his eyes and shook his head. “Trick thinks he’s funny, Miss Finn. He always does.”

“I know.” Her fascinated, slightly disappointed expression said more clearly than words that she got Trick’s meaning. “I’ll just go and…let you two catch up. Professor,” she added with a nod before turning and disappearing from his view.

When they were alone, Declan took off his glasses. “You shouldn’t have said that in front of a student. Weren’t you listening when I said my private life was private?”

“I didn’t.” Trick stared at him and licked his lower lip. “I said it in front of Jen. She’s used to me saying things I shouldn’t. She likes it.”

What did that mean? “Is she related to the senator? Why are you here with her?”

“His baby sister, and that’s a complicated question. I’m looking out for her,” he added. Then he winked. “And possibly getting her into trouble at the same time. Call it multi-tasking.”

“What does she call it?”

Trick laughed. “Stalking. I haven’t actually been completely upfront about my intentions, so I can’t blame her. Still, no use causing unnecessary concern.”

Was she in trouble? If Trick was following her around, Declan knew one way or another she was. From him, if nothing else.

“She doesn’t look old enough to drink,” he warned Trick and himself at the same time.

“She’ll be twenty-six this month, but believe me, Declan, she’s old enough. And not knowing whether or not she could drink didn’t stop you from losing your cool when she gave you that floorshow. I was sure for a minute you were going to join her. That would have been a stimulating intro to my favorite topic.”

Declan rounded the desk so he could keep his voice down. “I don’t care what you think you saw, but I don’t get involved with students. Period. And you should think twice about making time with Stephen Finn’s sister.”

“I’ve thought about it a hell of a lot more than twice,” Trick murmured. “And now I’m thinking about the both of you together and wondering why it didn’t occur to me before now. She liked your flannel too, Professor. I know she’d like what you can do with your tongue.”

Declan groaned under his breath and put his glasses back on. “Stop, Trick. Not here.”

“Here. Your house. Her little apartment bedroom. The more I think about it, the better it sounds. You and me with that delicious little redhead pressed between us? She’s got fire, Declan. Brains, too. And I happen to know she’s always wanted to have a ménage.”

How the fuck did he know that? It might haunt him later, but Declan wasn’t going to ask. “I’m not going to approve of you auditing my class this semester, Trick. I’m sure you understand why. And there is no way I’m breaking the board’s policy on fraternization with Miss Finn, so you can stop trying to get to me.”

Trick glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was around, then gave Declan a quick kiss on the lips, palming his erection through his pants at the same time. “You’ll break the rules, Declan. For her. I’m betting on it.” He stepped back and ran his hands through his already tousled hair. “How long is this semester, anyway? Fifteen weeks? I’ll give you eight so you can convince yourself you held out longer than most men would have. So you can torture yourself thinking about what we could do to each other. What you could do to her. And I won’t blame you if you can’t last that long. Jen is special. You’ll see. She’s as greedy as you are.”

When the day finally ended and Trick wasn’t waiting for him at home to pick up where they’d left off, Declan got mad. Trick couldn’t just come into his life after months of no contact and throw down that kind of gauntlet. He couldn’t push a tempting morsel like Jennifer Finn in his face and offer him the perfect ménage. And if he thought that staying away from Declan and holding out would make him give in, he was sorely mistaken.

Declan had close to seventeen years of dealing with Trick’s games. He’d been doing it since he was twenty-one and volunteering in the prison where Trick was serving time for a theft that his friends had committed. Declan helped him get his diploma and, in thanks, Trick had shown up at his door when he got out and blown his mind.

He’d been driving him around the bend ever since.

Declan thought about the girl. Woman. Jennifer. There were so many reasons it could never happen. Her age, her student status, her name. He didn’t associate with his family, but he still remembered how the Kelleys felt about the Finns. The sentiment was too toxic not to be reciprocated. Trick should know that.

He thought about the way she’d looked at him when he held her hand and the way her red hair swayed when she walked away. He wanted to wrap it in his fist and keep her close. He wanted to see her on her knees again, her blue eyes eager.

Never. He said it like a mantra until he fell asleep in his chair. Never going to happen.

Chapter One

8 weeks later…

Jennifer Finn was waiting for trouble. She’d been waiting since Alicia and Raoul left for their weekend in Belize. Since she’d assured them that she didn’t want to meet cousin Ernesto, the plastic surgeon who was overly fond of silk shirts.

The offer was nice, and she knew her roommate meant well, but Alicia didn’t understand. As far as she was concerned, the only action Jen had gotten since she moved in was with her “personal massager collection”.

“No one should go without for that long,” Alicia had stated with conviction. “And no self-induced orgasm can take the place of hot, sweaty, break-the-bed sex.”

Jen couldn’t agree more. Sex. She wanted it. She missed it, and no matter how many times she cried out in climax, Trick still hadn’t given it to her.

Then again, she still hadn’t told anyone about his weekly visits. Or about the plans he kept insisting he had for her and the sexy bisexual professor she’d been lusting after for weeks.

Trick hadn’t exaggerated when he said he knew Declan Kelley. Apparently they’d been knowing each other like rabbits off and on for years. The things he’d whispered in her ear about her teacher while he guided her favorite plug into her ass had been fodder for every personal massager session she’d had since.

Her only cause for concern had been the professor himself. He’d hardly looked at her since that first day. His generous notes of praise on her papers notwithstanding, she was getting more than a sneaking suspicion that he was avoiding her. Was he simply upholding his personal space rule? Or was Trick the reason? He wasn’t allowed in the class anymore, so that was a strong possibility.

The mischievous Trick obviously had a talent for making everyone nuts. Where was he? She’d sent him a text last night and he still hadn’t responded. She checked her phone again and jumped when it rang in her hand. “Hello?”

“Did you see the picture I sent of Daddy this morning?”

Jennifer leaned back on the couch and smiled. “Yes, Mama. He’s doing great with those weights now. What’s the doctor saying?”

“That his blood pressure is normal and I should start a new career as a personal trainer,” Ellen Finn said, laughing. “He feels like that TIA might have been a one-time thing, thank goodness. Are you coming to see us this weekend?”

I was hoping to be doing something else this weekend. “I actually have a lot of studying to do. Isn’t Seamus bringing the kids over?”

“Yes, but you know how your father loves to hear about your classes. We’re so proud of you for picking yourself back up after everything and doing so well.”

After almost marrying a man who tried to blackmail my family? Or after doing community service for punching a woman in the face? “I know you are, Mama.”

Her mother hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want to come over? You live so close to campus and I heard they’re throwing a wild costume party? A rage?”

“A rave.” Jennifer shook her head, trying not to laugh. Her mother wasn’t subtle. “Who told you about that?”

“Nina at the salon has a son who lives in the dorms. She says he can’t stop talking about it.”

“It’s nothing. A few fraternities are having a party and raising money for…something. I might take a study break to have a look, but it’ll just be college kids dancing around in togas. Nothing too bad.”

“If you say so.” Her mother sounded doubtful.

You’d think she didn’t trust me, Jen thought with a dry smile. She decided to change the subject. “Stephen sent me another edited picture of Tasha’s sonogram this morning. Did you get it? This time he added hats to their little heads. I’m betting by the time those kids are three months old they’ll be the most photographed twins in the world.”

They talked for a few more minutes and then said goodbye. Her mother was definitely worried about that party. Why? Did she think Jen was going to forget her degree and get engaged to a twenty-year-old boy wearing a light saber?

Jen sighed. Alicia was worried she wasn’t having sex, her mother was worried she might do something, and her brothers were…well, they probably weren’t giving her too much thought. Stephen had twins on the way, Owen was driving Jeremy crazy with wedding planning and Seamus already had four kids he was raising alone. But when they did think about her? It was probably to worry.

What was it about her that made people want to tell her what to do? Her Orphan Annie coloring? Her inability to toast bread? Or was it her tendency toward extremes? Whatever the reason, if they had their way she’d be insulated with layers of bubble wrap and only brought out for special occasions with proper supervision, no matter how old she was.

She checked her messages again. Still nothing. “Damn.”

Usually he sent some response right away. A smile. A dirty rejoinder. But then, he was also the one to initiate most of their conversations and meetings. Maybe he didn’t like her taking the lead?

Her family would definitely be worried if they knew about Trick and what she was doing with him. What she wanted to do with him and her professor. Her brothers would have simultaneous heart attacks and fall like Irish dominoes. Especially Stephen. Trick was his friend from high school and thirteen years her senior.

Stephen had no one to blame but himself. All she’d done was go to a club that practiced safe, sane and consensual BDSM. The same club his then-future wife had practically lived in and Jen’s brother Owen frequented more than he visited his mother. Stephen hadn’t had them followed. But then, neither of them was the baby sister whose last bad decision had hurt the family and revealed more than one secret relationship.

Still, it was a dick move on his part, and he hadn’t even been the one to admit to it. She’d found out from Trick himself, after she’d been arrested.

That was a fun memory.

He still hadn’t told her why he’d been hanging around after Stephen called him off. She knew it wasn’t just her irresistible charms, though since the semester had started, she’d bet her professor had something to do with it.

Did he sneak into Declan’s bed the way he did hers? The idea didn’t bother her at all. In fact, it was pretty damn hot. So hot, her body started to react the way it always did when she thought of them, so she got up and headed to the bathroom for a cool shower.

If he were here now this wouldn’t be an issue, and his absence was starting to grate. She finally had the apartment to herself and they didn’t have to worry about keeping quiet. If Trick didn’t get his ass over to her apartment, or at the very least text or call her by the time she got out, she’d take care of the problem herself, then settle in with Netflix and chocolate ice cream and forget about him.

She sent him one more text and then set the phone down on her nightstand before heading into the shower to relax. Usually a long soak complete with shaving and self-pampering helped to prepare her mentally for a night with him. However he decided to torment her, it would always end up with her in a boneless sprawl in the middle of the bed, crying tears of release. And he’d still have most of his clothes on and leave before morning.

She supposed Professor Hot Lips would call her behavior a sexual rite. The virgin bride being prepared for her wedding bed. The lamb being soothed and massaged before the slaughter. When he said it, he made it sound sensual instead of sadistic. She was creating an offering Trick wouldn’t be able to resist.

If he answered her messages.

Jen closed her eyes, letting the water soothe her. Thinking about Trick’s visits always made her remember her time at the club. Other than three-minute-missionary Scott, her idiot ex, it was the only thing she had to compare this to.

For several months after her breakup she’d thrown herself into the world of kink with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Every munch and gathering, she was there. Every demo, she was the first volunteer. And in her play, she gravitated to couples—not because she wanted a threesome with them necessarily, but because she wanted more.

Trick knew that. Was that how he knew she’d go along with his plan to seduce the professor? Did he think her experience was the perfect training for a third to have?

She hadn’t done it consciously. Back then she’d just needed the extra attention and reassurance…and a few cathartic whacks here and there. She was angry with herself for being fooled for so long and having potentially damaged Jeremy and Tasha’s relationships. Curious and full of unsatisfied desire, she’d ended up worrying her family and, in all honesty, scaring herself. She’d just been sick of being Little Finn. The only girl child of Clan Testosterone.

Growing up surrounded by three older brothers and six hulking male cousins didn’t make life easy. They were all overprotective, oblivious and hypocritical. But it wasn’t intentional, she knew. Just misguided. And they all showered her with so much love and affection she felt too guilty to seriously complain. She wasn’t above sarcasm, but that only made them laugh and did nothing to change their behavior.

Owen’s high school buddies, Tasha and Jeremy, had made life as Little Finn bearable. They’d been her only confidants for the longest time. That was why she’d gone to them when she found out about Scott. Why her heart had really broken over his actions—because they’d been the targets of his spying. They didn’t blame her, though she knew without a doubt it was her fault. If she’d broken up with him the first time she’d wanted to—in the ninth grade—it never would have happened.

Stephen’s twin, Seamus, said it was a good thing, because it had made people admit how they felt about each other. Now Tasha was married to Stephen and pregnant with twins, and Jeremy was planning his wedding to Owen.

Her confidants had officially joined the enemy camp.

She no longer felt entirely comfortable telling either one them about Trick and how much she’d come to crave his attention. She couldn’t tell anyone, which only served to make his visits more exciting.

What did that say about her?

He knew it. Knew all he had to do was smile in that wicked, knowing way, and no matter where she was or what she was doing, she’d be thinking about his hands slipping inside her panties, caressing her as he made dark promises.

She was ready for him to make good on a few of those promises as soon as possible. Specifically his promise of actual sex. He dangled the potential out in front of her like a tasty treat to keep her in his thrall. The positions he wanted to take her in, what drove Declan wild. He told her how much he wanted her and how hard it was to wait, and then he’d make her come and tell her what he wanted her to do in Declan’s next class.

Jen didn’t think the professor noticed, but she always followed Trick’s instructions just in case. Wearing a shirt with buttons that she’d play with and slowly undo throughout the lecture. Making sure she dropped a pencil or a book every day as she walked up the stairs to her seat. Wearing her hair in a bun and then taking it out and running her hands through her hair.

That move had two future psychiatrists vying for her number at the end of the lecture, but she didn’t even get a twitch from the professor. It was giving her a complex.

She stepped out of the shower and toweled and moisturized her body before slipping on her new boy shorts. The lace was uncomfortable on her already sensitive skin, but she’d bought these after seeing Trick’s reaction to the bra she’d still been wearing when she fell asleep studying—apparently the rough, tough investigator had a thing for ripping lace.

After she pulled a sheer chemise over her breasts, her gaze fell on the textbook that was still on her bed. She opened it to look at Declan’s headshot again. Trick said the seduction was just a game, that Declan wanted her to join them. But Trick wasn’t always entirely forthcoming. Which was the polite way of saying he could be full of shit if it meant getting his way.

Did the professor really want a woman between them? She hoped so, because she couldn’t stop thinking about the two men together, about joining them, and it was playing havoc with her ability to study. They were both just so…edible. Irresistible in two entirely different ways.

Trick had two full sleeves of ink on his forearms, and he dressed like a jobless student despite his being in his late thirties. He seemed easygoing and reckless—but Jen knew that was a smokescreen. There was something dangerous about him that she could sense instinctively. She imagined he was good at his job. You wouldn’t notice him unless he wanted you to, and you wouldn’t want to meet him in an alley. Not if you weren’t his friend.

Professor Declan Kelley was at the opposite end of the spectrum. After that first day, he’d worn nothing but expensive, tasteful sweaters over buttoned up shirts and jeans that looked as if they’d been ironed. He had short, thick brown hair that was never out of place and eyes that were a surprisingly stormy gray behind his black-frame glasses. He was brilliant. Smart and quick with a voice that kept a room full of easily distracted students in his thrall. And those lips… Jen couldn’t look away when he spoke. They were beautiful. Full and tempting.

Had he wrapped them around Trick’s cock and made him lose control the way she dreamed of doing? Did Trick kiss him as if he were starving? Did he bite him the way he liked to bite her?

She imagined them both naked and Trick teasing her professor. Covering his mouth as he slipped his fingers inside Declan’s ass. Tugging his hair. But in her fantasy he didn’t stop and make Declan wait for the main course.

God, she needed to get a handle on this.

She readjusted the shorts and frowned. These really weren’t made for comfort. Especially when she was aroused. The lace scraped on her sensitive skin.

Jen picked up the phone to check her messages and smiled…before she read his reply.

Job taking longer than I thought. Stakeout will probably last for a while. Will you miss me?

“Damn it,” she said, frustrated. She was finally alone in the apartment and he couldn’t come over because he was sitting in his car waiting for someone else to do something dirty?

She turned the phone around in her hand and tilted her head, wondering how best to respond. Without thinking, she took a picture of her underwear. Glancing at it, she smiled in surprise. This was a good camera. She could see every detail behind the clinging lace.

“No.” She shook her head. She couldn’t send this. She shouldn’t. Not after all the trouble Scott had caused with his phone last year. Intimate pictures and Finns never ended well.

It’s just underwear. No one would know it was you. It will drive him crazy.

She knew it would. And maybe it was her sex drive talking instead of her brain, but he needed a taste of his own medicine. Swearing at herself and throwing caution to the wind, Jen typed in a message and added the picture before hitting send.

No. But you’ll miss me.

She ordered pizza and sat down to binge-watch a few hours of Netflix in scratchy lace underwear while she waited for his reply. It felt nice to have the last word and show him she could give just as good as she got. He wasn’t going to turn her into his personal sex slave.

Aren’t you already there? The voice in her head taunted. You’re waiting for his next move, ready to join his fantasy three-way. You give him whatever he wants. You’re the one waiting by the phone for your instructions and wearing holey underwear.

“Fuck that,” she muttered.

There were already too many men in her life who thought they could control her. Who thought she needed their guidance.  She had a working dildo and a box full of toys that she’d thoroughly enjoyed long before Trick snuck in through her window and told her about the professor. She didn’t need either of them.

She took off her underwear and tossed it on the floor, glaring at the pointless panties and reveling in the fact that Belize was too far away for her roommate to get a headache and ask to come home. She lay down on the couch in her chemise and nothing else, and promised herself that tomorrow she would get her act together. No more obsessing about men. Or ménage. Or ménage with those men.

She woke up slowly, dreaming of Declan Kelley spanking her with a ruler in front of the whole class. Trick had joined him and was using his hands to make her come again and again as the ruler came down on her flesh.

Whack!

She opened her eyes and moaned against the hot, callused palm that covered her mouth. “It’s only me, Jen,” Trick told her, the way he always did when he snuck into her bedroom. “You must have been having one hell of a good dream, baby.”

He was sitting beside her on the couch with his hand between her legs, driving her wild. How had she not woken up as soon as he’d touched her? Her hips lifted off the couch in a plea for more, her body already close to the edge as he slipped two fingers inside her.

He took the hand over her mouth away gently, his touch a caress. “You’re so fucking wet, Jen. Were you dreaming about me?”

“I thought you were working,” she gasped. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Or knock?

“I couldn’t resist your invitation. You knew I wouldn’t be able to.” He cupped her breast through the chemise and pinched her nipple, making her moan. “You shouldn’t have sent that on your phone. I hope you deleted it and ran antivirus software.”

He wanted to have a conversation about phone viruses after waking her up halfway to orgasm?

“Brady’s boyfriend already put something on it,” she said distractedly. “It scans for bugs every hour.”

“That’s not the point. You were being careless just to tempt me. Or punish me.”

She covered the hand between her legs and pressed the heel of his palm against her clit. Yes. “It’s only a punishment if it turned you on. Did it, Trick?”

“I think it’s been too long since you’ve been spanked.”

Jen smiled sleepily, teasing him. “I think you’re right. Should we send the photo to your favorite professor? I was dreaming about him spanking me while you touched me just like this. Is he the kind of man that would spank me the way I deserve to be spanked?”

He muttered a few curses under his breath and her smile widened. She was such a brat. She used his hand to press her clit harder and gasped when the feeling sent a spark up her spine. So close.

Trick went still beside her. “You don’t need to go anywhere else for a spanking, Jen. You deserve one just for taking off those lace panties before I could rip them off with my teeth.”

She groaned when his fingers left her, desperate for her orgasm. “Please.”

Trick stood and pushed back the coffee table, lifting her off the couch to stand beside him. He undid his belt buckle and she licked her lips. “Are you going to spank me with that belt, Trick?”

“You’d probably like that,” he growled. He slid it out of its loops and caressed her hip with the leather, making her tremble. Then he dropped it on the floor in front of her. “But I’m more tactile and not nearly as sadistic as those men you used to play with.”

He unzipped his pants but stopped just shy of pulling out his erection. Evil. He was evil. “Now you’re teasing me,” she moaned. “You know what I want, Trick. Let me touch you.”

He sat down on the couch and dragged her across his lap. “Just this tonight,” he rasped. “I want you to get your spanking.”

The first smack of his hand made her body arch. He did it again. “I wasn’t lying when I said I had to work.”

He knew what he was doing. His hand was landing rhythmically all over her ass, making her squirm. The hot sting turned into need. Each time their flesh connected she wanted more. “I’m not sorry,” she moaned.

“I know you’re not.” Smack. “I was doing my best to focus on my client, and all I could think about were those damn lace panties.” Smack.

“Don’t stop.” She loved what he was doing. “I didn’t know you were so good at this.” She’d have been begging to be punished that first night.

“You have no idea, Jen. Declan’s the one with the real skills. I already know you’ve tempted him, and there will be payback. But you’re going to love it, aren’t you, greedy girl?” He pushed one wet finger into her ass and she rocked between it and his denim-covered erection.

Just like that she was lost in the fantasy again. “Yes. I want it.”

“He’s going to want inside as much as I do, Jen. He’s a big man, but he’s going to want this ass. Will you give it to him?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck, you’re so sexy, Jen. So ready for us. Show me how ready. Come for me.”

Her body responded almost instantly to his command. Damn it, she was his sex slave. “Trick. Oh God.”

Shaking against him with the powerful climax, she gasped, feeling his erection between his open jeans as waves of pleasure rolled over her. She wanted to please him too. “Let me,” she whispered. “Just once.”

He didn’t ask what she was talking about. “Not yet.”

“When?” She wanted him. She wanted every picture he painted of them together to be real. She was so ready she felt like she was going to burst. So frustrated that he wouldn’t give in to her.

Then send him away.

She couldn’t.

“Did you get the costume for the party?” he asked instead. He lifted her off of him and zipped his pants back up with a grimace while she watched.

“Maybe.”

His smile was a hard line. “I’ll be taking you. And Declan will be joining us.”

He had her full attention. “He will? I thought no teachers or faculty were allowed?”

“Costumes are for more than just role playing.”

She studied Trick with narrowed eyes. “Is this true? Are you playing with me again?”

“Doubting woman.”

“Frustrated woman. Tricky man.”

“That’s right, baby. You’ll thank me for it later. Right now you’re going to listen to everything I say and do exactly what I tell you. Tomorrow we start the final phase of Operation Three-way. That is, if you’re ready.”

“That’s a horrible name.” But she couldn’t stop smiling now. “Tell me what I have to do.”

“You wear that costume and be yourself, Jen. You don’t have to do anything else.” He climbed onto her body and kissed her until both of them were panting and clinging to each other, desperate for more. “I have to go.”

“No.”

“Tomorrow.”

“Now.”

“Tomorrow.”

“Kinky control freak,” she muttered against his lips, biting him.

“Trust me.”

She walked him to the door, laughing as he tried to resist walking through it instead of sneaking out as usual, before kissing him goodbye. As she locked up and headed to her bedroom, a part of her thought her mother was right. She should probably stay home and avoid what could possibly be one of the crazier parties she’d ever gone to.

She should, but she wasn’t going to. She’d be damned if she was going to miss that rave now that she knew Trick and the professor would both be there. With her. Who could say? Maybe she’d finally get lucky.

She was a Finn. Her family’s famous luck was bound to come through for her eventually.

Chapter Two

Declan knew he shouldn’t be here. Not only was he breaking his own rules, he was ignoring a student council request that professors and main faculty make themselves scarce. In exchange for that agreement, the campus police had a definite presence to maintain order and keep everyone safe, but so far there didn’t seem to be much need. This was more like a peaceful festival than a rave.

Though he felt like a convicted man on his way to the guillotine.

Don’t think about why you’re really here. Don’t imagine lace panties and Trick’s laughter. Think of this as research. Observe the environment.

Declan was screwed if that was the best pep talk his racing mind had to offer, but he gave it a shot. After a few minutes and a lot of focus, it actually started to work. He wandered through the crowded tents and decorated campus housing, watching groups of friends holding cameras over their heads and laughing over creative costumes as they moved through the different fraternity themes. He found himself impressed that they were able to throw something like this together in less than a month. From what Declan could see it was an organizational success. House rivalries had been put aside and the student council was given the task of running the event and people were just having fun.

When he peered into the inflatable castle outside of the next tent he shook his head and walked away without a backward glance. Maybe they were having a little too much fun. But then again, that was part of what college was about. What the students around him were doing now, what this was, was exactly what he’d thought it would be. A Bacchanalia. A Dionysian celebration of excessive intoxication, sexual expression and freedom from parental authority. A rite of passage into adulthood where, if you didn’t make mistakes—sexual or otherwise—you were doing it wrong.

Declan might not have stripped down to jump in a damn bouncy castle with cell phones aimed at his balls, but he’d definitely made his share of mistakes. Been wild. Did things he should regret.

Trick showed you how wild you could be.

Trick had also sent something to his cell phone last night that made it impossible for him to think straight. Or sleep without relieving the tension. Three times and twice more during his morning shower.

He should have stayed home. As he was driving to campus, he’d almost turned around more than once, but the image of lace covering smooth, tender flesh kept pushing him forward.

Trick was no longer playing fair. Declan had made it through the eight-week dare and he was still firm in his resolve. Trick hadn’t won. He didn’t notice Jen at all in class. The way she wiggled in her seat. The way she played with her buttons. He didn’t notice that she’d started wearing short, pleated skirts and stockings that stopped above her knee instead of jeans. And when she crossed her legs, he didn’t notice her silky bare thighs.

Liar.

He might as well say he didn’t reread her papers, studying them for insight and clues into her personality. For reasons why Trick would believe she’d join them. If he did, that would be pathetic. That would mean he’d let her get to him. Let Trick get to him with all his texts.

She cried out your name tonight.

She’s wearing your favorite color.

And last night’s image had come with his favorite: She dreamed you were spanking her.

Trick deserved a spanking. And that picture might not be of her at all, but it didn’t matter. It had done its job. Declan was here. But not for the reason Trick might think. He needed this to end now. He had other students, other obligations. He couldn’t focus if his mind was occupied with red hair, loose buttons and eloquent papers filled with intelligence and humor.

He pushed his scattered thoughts aside and moved closer to a fruit sculpture that was unmistakably phallus shaped. Where did they find someone willing to make that? He started to walk by it when he heard the gritty, sensual voice he knew as well as his own.

“Not hungry?” Trick laughed. “Too bad. I so wanted to snap a picture of you beside that in your costume. I’d call it, Death by Fruit Cock. No, that’s bad—but it would make a great name for a heavy metal band.”

Declan whipped around with a stern frown, ignoring the way his heart started to race. The skeleton mask concealed the top half of his face, and the hooded cape concealed the rest, but Trick had had no problem picking him out of the crowd. “You’ve taken enough pictures for one day, Tristan. Where have you been?”

“Uh-oh. You only call me that when you’re pissed or crazed with lust. Am I making you crazed? We can go around that building and I can help with that. I like the idea of Death coming for me.”

Declan shook his head, ignoring the strong impulse to take him up on his offer. “You’re an ass.”

“Yes, I am. But I brought you a drink of unknown origin, possibly laced with something illegal. So forgive me and take your medicine.”

Declan took the red plastic cup absently and looked at the man who was making his life a living hell.

Trick hadn’t come over to his house. Not once in eight weeks. Didn’t he understand they couldn’t play this game of chicken when another person was involved? What they did together, the way they were together… Declan shook his head. No matter how good Declan knew it would be, no one else needed to be put through those emotional ups and downs.

All these years, all his studying, and he still couldn’t explain their relationship. He just knew there was nothing ex about it, no matter how rarely they got together. He also knew it wasn’t enough. What would happen if they added a third?

If she had red hair and blue eyes, it might be worth it.

No.

“You’re staring,” Trick said, smiling at Declan. “Do you like my costume?” He was dressed as himself in a short-sleeved, brightly colored and excessively wrinkled Hawaiian t-shirt and jeans. Every Bloody Mary and green fairy that passed was giving him an interested once over. Nothing new there. Everything about Trick screamed sex and danger. An irresistible combination.

“Why are you doing this, Trick?”

Trick took a sip of his drink and grimaced. “Good stuff. Do you remember the last time we shared a woman, Declan? It was six…seven years ago now. What was her name?”

Shit. Why was he asking something like that? And what was her name? She had a great laugh. It was a holiday. New Year’s Eve. She had dark auburn hair and a great laugh and she’d suggested they ring in the New Year the right way.

Declan Kelley you are an asshole if you can’t remember that sweet woman’s name.

“Karen,” he said at last, relieved that he wasn’t a complete prick.

“That’s right. Do you remember what you said to me on the way home? You were drunk, I know, but give it a shot.”

He remembered that he’d caught Trick staring at him as they took the woman together and he’d come so hard he’d seen stars. He remembered feeling like he’d had an epiphany. Like he’d invented the threesome.

Declan remembered what he’d said.

If I ever found a woman that made me as wild as you do, I’d take you both home with me and never let you go.

“Why are you playing this game?” Because he had nothing better to do than to see how much he could invade Declan’s stable, quiet life before he snapped from sexual frustration?

Trick moved closer in the crush and scanned the crowd around them instead of giving him an answer. “I think we should stop blocking traffic.” He gripped Declan’s arm above his elbow and started to guide him away from ear-damaging music.

Declan pulled away. “I think you should stop directing. Just stop now. All of it. That’s why I came here. I’m ending this now.”

“Good. You’ve ended it. Now you can pipe down, relax and enjoy the view.” Trick stopped and gestured toward the dance floor that had been set down on the grass beside the bubble machine. It was off to the side, away from the foot traffic, and crowded with couples who were doing things that made the movie Dirty Dancing look like a polka battle in a retirement home.

He saw her right away. She was dancing alone to some mix with a hard, tribal beat. Her eyes were closed and her hands were in her hair as she lost herself to the music. Declan felt his heart stop, then all the blood rush below his belt. Jesus, she was a beauty, with her red-gold hair tumbling wild around her shoulders—some people would call her a strawberry blonde, but those people didn’t know the real color of fire.

Her eyes, he remembered, were an otherworldly light blue. The Irishman in him would call her fae. Watching her dance, she looked like something out of a dream. A wild fairy sent to tempt him to sin.

Her breasts were covered in a white halter with golden straps that left her stomach bare and a white skirt of paneled veils. He could see her thighs through the panels and his mouth watered. Her mouth was tilted in a siren smile, bee-stung and shiny with gloss. Begging to be kissed. Fucked.

Slow down, he warned himself firmly. It’s begging to be fucked by someone who isn’t you. A guy her own age who isn’t her professor.

Something in the way she moves… His late mother’s favorite James Taylor song ran through his head. There was something about her. Something that drew him in and warned him in bright, flashing neon to stay away at the same time. To not approach her to talk about class or her essays so he wouldn’t end up dragging her by her fiery hair to the nearest cave instead.

Three strikes, he repeated silently. One? She’s your student. Two? She’s your twelve-years-younger student. Three? Trick is messing with both of you.

There was a fourth strike too—the issue with the Kelley and Finn family history. He didn’t care about it, so it wasn’t so much a strike as a strange coincidence that could bite him in the ass if she was the kind of woman who held a genetic grudge. The Irish were proud of their ability to hold a grudge. Just because she was taking his class didn’t mean she wasn’t silently seething.

She hasn’t been seething. She’s been seducing.

Jennifer Finn laughed and wiped a few of the bubbles off her top, not seething at all as she swayed her hips to the primal rhythm that reminded him of rough, raw sex. His dick turned to hot, hard stone and his mind went completely blank. The foaming solution had made her top wet and her nipples hard.

He stepped closer. He could see them from here. Perky buds he wanted to suck more than he wanted his next meal. The bubbles seemed to be aimed directly at her, soaking her entire outfit until it might as well have been…

Declan tore his gaze from her and focused on the three men in varsity jackets directing the machine at Jennifer and holding up their cell phones.

His hands clenched so tightly his cup collapsed in on itself and the drink poured over his white knuckles. Where the hell was campus security? “Trick…”

“Damn it,” Trick growled beside him. “I see them. I’ll be right back.”

“Hell with that.” Declan tossed his cup, following a short distance behind him. Trick strode over to the cretins with an easy smile, but his posture was clearly a warning. It said, “If you want to keep all your limbs, you’ll walk away now.”

The sight of them turning in unison and practically running into the nearest frat house made Declan unaccountably hot. He would have kissed Trick if they weren’t on school grounds. He still might. Trick was indescribably sexy when he got tough.

Declan wiped the smile off his face as he approached her. Miss Finn. “Miss Finn?”

Blue eyes popped open in recognition. “Professor Kelley? Is that you under there?”

His mask. Shit. He’d forgotten. “How did you know?”

Her smile nearly felled him. “Your voice. It’s very distinctive.”

It was? It wasn’t anything like Trick’s easily recognizable rasp. But she knew who he was and she was still smiling at him, still moving closer with the dress that might have been made out of Saran Wrap for all it hid from him.

Focus. “I… I just wanted you to know that—” He broke off abruptly, having no idea what to say. That I can see your nipples and they look delicious? That men were filming your wet, naked body and I wanted to beat them bloody so I could watch you instead?

She laughed and his knees actually felt weak. “That what?”

“Jen,” Trick said in a low voice, appearing beside her. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear and Declan watched in fascination as her ivory skin turned a brilliant shade of red.

She looked away from Trick and up at Declan, her hands lifting swiftly to cover her breasts. “Well, damn. I’m sorry, Professor. I guess there’s nothing mysterious about my costume now, is there?”

She was sorry? Declan had the completely irrational urge to replace her touch with his own. To strip that top and pop one tight, ripe nipple into his mouth. He was the one who should be apologizing for being so lecherous.

When Trick caressed her arm as if to soothe her and she shivered, Declan noticed something visibly electric pass between them. A spark he recognized. Responded to.

Trick wanted her. With or without Declan, ménage or no ménage, he wanted Jennifer Finn.

Or he’d already had her.

A wave of arousal so strong it almost buckled his damn knees hit him and he heard Trick speaking through the lusty, red haze.

“We need to get you inside somewhere and dried off.”

“My apartment—”

“Too far.” Trick was vibrating like a live wire. Looking around as he tried to shield her from view with his body.

She sucked on her lower lip and Declan almost groaned aloud. She wasn’t even trying, but she was still seducing him. They both were. He really shouldn’t have come.

“My friend Leroy actually pledged to that house right over there,” she said. “I have a key in my bag. And yes, before you say anything, he padlocks his bedroom door and it’s weird, but there you go.”

“Why would you have a key to Leroy’s room?” Trick sounded as suspicious as he felt.

Jennifer looked at him in a way that told Declan she wasn’t intimidated by the tattooed bad boy at all. Most people were, but not her. “Leroy is only twenty-two if he’s a day and he visits his boyfriend Tony every other weekend. Also twice a week he becomes Lola for a local drag show. I have his key in case of an emergency because I’m the only one in our study group he trusts. Feel better, Captain Controlly?”

Declan’s lips quirked. He felt better, and her sass made him want to kiss her.

Everything made him want to kiss her, and ask her if those lace panties in the photograph belonged to her.

“Yes, I do. Okay then, we need to get you to his room. Hang on.” Trick stepped away to grab the purse she’d set beside the dance floor, but he was frowning again when he came back. “Walking around is going to be a problem. Get inside Declan’s cape and we’ll take you over together.”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Jennifer and Declan had both spoken at the same time, and she looked at him, her brow lowered in confusion at his rejection. “I’m sorry. You probably don’t want to get wet.”

She was killing him. He desperately wanted to get wet. “No… I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“And I don’t care.” Trick stared him down. “I’m holding her lady bag and I didn’t wear a cloak, so you get the job, Professor. Cameras could be snapping as we speak, and the last thing the Finns need is another tabloid centerfold.”

She stepped closer to Declan with her hands still cupping her breasts. “Professor Kelley? I’m sorry, but if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course, Miss Finn.” Declan prayed for strength as he opened up the voluminous cape enough for her to join him. He wrapped it around her and looked down into her beautiful face. She was close enough to kiss.

“You’re not wearing your glasses under there.”

“No.”

“He only needs them for reading. He wears them all the time to keep the sexy coeds at bay,” Trick chimed in unhelpfully.

“Oh.” After an awkward moment she turned inside the cape, facing away from him. As soon as they took a step he knew this wasn’t going to go well.

“I’ll hold it closed if you want,” she said softly when his palms grazed her breasts for the second time.

“Good idea,” he gritted out. But now he had no idea what to do with his hands, and his longer stride kept pressing his erection against her back.

“I’m just going to…” He gripped her waist firmly, keeping her safely ahead of him, and shortened his steps. “There. Better?”

“Yes. Much better.” She had a sexy voice. Seductive. It matched her movements and everything else about her.

Trick was walking into the house ahead of them, clearing a path. He needed to think about something else. He had to say something.

“I enjoyed your paper on the sexuality versus environment assignment. Using your family’s pub to study group dynamics and sexual acceptance was a good choice and your conclusions were impressively astute.”

She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Thank you, Professor. It was a good assignment.”

“I try to keep the topics interesting.”

“I don’t think anyone’s bored with your topics.” Was she laughing at him?

And this isn’t remotely awkward, but now that I’ve reminded you that I’m a stodgy professor and your GPA, and therefore your degree, is in my hands, can I come in your mouth?

He was a perverted bastard. One who was obviously not above smelling her hair and thinking of her mouth sucking on that pen while he protected her from other, less perverted, bastards.

The stairs loomed before them. “It’s up there, three doors down on the right,” Jen said as if she were showing him Mount Everest. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t take those stairs at a crawl with her in front of him. It was torture. On the other hand, the house was packed and he wouldn’t feel right about letting her walk up in her sodden, see-through costume. All the men in the place would mob her.

“I have an idea,” she said, turning around to face him. “If you’re willing.”

Too willing. He shouldn’t be as willing as he was. “If it can get us up those stairs without tripping and with a modicum of dignity, I’m willing.”

Her blue eyes gleamed with sensual interest and humor. “Wrap your cloak around me and take me away from all of this… Death.”

A breathless laugh escaped his lips and he shook his head. No. She wasn’t charming. She was a student.

She adjusted her skirt and put her arms around his neck. “I’m going to wrap my legs around your waist so you can carry me. You’ve got impressive biceps for a professor, so I know you can do it. Then we can be at Leroy’s room in under a minute.”

If you wrap your legs around me, I might take you on those stairs and show you what else I can do. “Whatever it takes.”

She hopped up and her thighs tightened on his waist. “Is that okay?”

“Fine, Miss Finn.”

His fists clenched to keep from cupping her ass and grinding her against him as he climbed the stairs two at a time. When he reached the top she was staring down at him with a small, slight frown. Why?

Trick was laughing. “Good thinking. Now let’s get her dry.”

Dry is not how I want her.

At least he knew he needed help. That was half the battle.

When they got to the door, Trick dug out her keys and Jennifer pointed to the right one that would open the padlock. Grabbing it, he opened the door and peered inside. “All clear.”

“He’s with Tony this weekend and no one else would dare come in here. We’re safe.”

“Good.”

Trick turned on the light and Declan realized he was still holding Jennifer. He set her down and stepped away, revealing her outfit to his gaze again. Her nipples, which she’d forgotten to cover with her hands again, were taunting him. He couldn’t win.

“Thank you, Professor.” She paused as if she might say more then turned and raced toward the bathroom. They heard cabinet doors open and a feminine shout of victory.

“What is it?” Trick asked.

“Blow dryer.” She leaned her head out of the door and smiled at Trick like she’d won a prize.

Declan took his mask and cloak off and looked away from that smile. The room was pristine. He could eat off any surface, ceiling to floor. It wasn’t a particularly masculine or feminine room, except for the shoes. Lining every wall were expensive, tasteful high heels. Lola, he remembered. “Can’t you just grab a shirt and sweatpants and tell your friend you’ll give them back when you can?”

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “Someone in our study group once asked if she could borrow his jacket. It was freezing rain outside and she is skinny as a rail and was wearing shorts. Leroy…” Jen shook her head. “The answer is no. I cannot borrow anything. I can use the blow dryer to make my dress less…less.” She glanced over at Trick. “It might take fifteen or twenty minutes.”

“That’s fine.” He waved her back inside. “We’re not in a hurry, are we, Declan? We’ll just be out here. Not borrowing any clothes.”

“Also the shoes,” she called through the door. “Don’t even touch the shoes.”

Trick walked over to the door and locked the deadbolt that had been installed on the inside, shaking his head. “Leroy must really enjoy his privacy. Or Lola loves her shoes.”

Declan waited until he heard the blow dryer, then strode toward Trick and pressed him against the wall near the door. He braced an arm across his neck to hold him still and glared, at the end of his rope. “Are you fucking her?”

“Damn it, Declan, what the hell?” Trick pushed Declan’s arm down and glared. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? Eight weeks, Trick. The texts, her buttons… And now tonight.” Tonight Trick had intimidated football players and Jennifer had danced naked. Tonight she’d wrapped her legs around him and given him every opportunity to touch her. Tonight both of the people he wanted were locked inside a small room with him and one of them was still off limits. “What’s your plan? Don’t tell me you don’t have one.”

Trick grinned at him as if he knew exactly what was on his mind. “I had a plan. Actually it was more like a general direction. You actually drinking was definitely part of it, but I have to admit this is working out so far. Jen, you, deadbolts. We’ll see what happens next.”

“No we won’t.”

Trick dropped his hands and slid his fingers through the loops of Declan’s jeans, pulling him closer. “Why are you still fighting it? Pride? I see the way you look at her. You want to go in there and rip that dress off. She’d let you, Declan, and I’d help. Is that was scares you? Because you know she’d say yes to us?”

“Why are you still pushing? Because you haven’t?” He saw it in Trick’s eyes. “You haven’t had her yet, have you? Tell me the truth.”

Trick tensed. “The truth is complicated.”

“Not really. Has she come for you?”

“On my fingers,” he rasped. “On my tongue. With her collection of toys, which is impressive.”

“Has she made you come as hard as you do for me?”

Trick’s lips parted and he swallowed. “We haven’t gotten that far yet. Declan, I was—”

He kissed him, desperate to shut out the visuals his words created. In his mind it was his fingers, his tongue, not Trick’s making Jennifer scream. Her bent over his desk while he spread the cheeks of her… Oh, damn.

The kiss was making him lose his train of thought. Declan knew exactly what it felt like to have him bent over a desk. He knew and he needed to feel it again. He groaned and reached down between them, undoing Trick’s belt buckle and lowering the zipper that kept him away from the hot, hard flesh he craved.

Trick turned his head, gasping. “Declan, fuck, that’s good. Wait. I… Damn. Damn, Declan, what are you doing?”

He stroked the satin-covered steel and dropped to his knees, taking Trick into his mouth. So good baby, it’s been too long.

Trick moaned when Declan took more, his hands cupping the back of his head, pulling him closer. “Fuck yeah, babe,” he rasped. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed this.”

He knew. He could taste it on the head of his cock, the hot skin stretched taut with need. He knew this body. Every inch of skin, every sound he made. He knew what Trick needed. And after weeks of teasing, Declan needed it too. Craved release. He reached up and dragged Trick’s jeans down to his ankles, feeling for and finding the condoms and small bottle of lube. He’d definitely had a plan. Now Declan had one, too.

He pulled back, letting the heavy cock slip from his mouth while Trick groaned in denial. “Don’t stop.”

“Get on the bed.”

Trick’s cheeks were flushed as he looked down at him, his eyes wild. “We can’t.”

“Eight weeks, damn you. Longer than that since I’ve had you.” Declan stood and tore open the condom’s package with his teeth. He still heard the blow dryer. “Hard and fast. We have time for that and you’re not leaving this room until we both get what we need. Get on the bed.”

Trick shuddered, his lips parting as he took off his boots and stepped out of his jeans. Declan turned, watching him walk over to the bed. “Everything.”

Trick obediently took off his shirt and Declan smiled, moving toward him with purpose. “Next time I have that cock in my mouth I’ll take my time,” he murmured. “I’ll give you what we both know you like until you’re begging and coming down my throat.”

Trick shuddered. “Why wait?”

“Eight weeks,” Declan repeated. “A man can only take so much.”

Declan studied the body he’d lusted after for so many years. Tristan Dunham was more than handsome. He was a leanly muscled wolf who used his second-hand clothes as camouflage. The tattoos added to his cover, though on him they were sexy as hell. Beneath his faded jeans and wrinkled shirts there wasn’t an inch of his body that wasn’t hard and lethal to Declan’s willpower. Even his cock, jutting out from the dark blond hair at its base, looked dangerous.

And it was, Declan thought. He was. “On. The. Bed.”

Trick hesitated before sitting on the perfectly made bed and lying back, his knees spread slightly apart. “I’m on the damn bed. Happy?”

Declan heard the thread of excitement in his voice. “You will be.”

He tossed the lube on the blanket, tore off his shirt and opened his jeans, pushing them down impatiently before rolling the condom on his erection. He hissed—God, that was good. He was ready to pop.

“Hard and fast,” he repeated roughly. That was the only warning he gave before he was on top of his lover, forcing open his mouth with his tongue and moaning at the full body contact.

Trick kissed him back, melted into him for a minute, but then he was pushing at his shoulders. “Jennifer is—Christ, fu—Declan, that’s not fucking fair. You can’t keeping teasing me.”

Hell yes, I can.

Declan slid down Trick’s body and took his cock in his mouth, reaching for and opening the lube in one smooth motion and soaking his fingers. He tossed it over his shoulder and then he was in, pushing two fingers inside Trick’s tight hole.

Those muscles clenched around him and Trick gasped. “Declan. Oh fuck that’s good. Deeper. I need more. ”

He couldn’t wait anymore. He took his mouth off Trick’s shaft and looked up into his lover’s heated gaze. “You always need more.”

Declan dragged strong thighs over his shoulders and leaned forward, raising Trick’s ass high for his cock. Finally. They both groaned with the first glorious inch. “You’ve missed my mouth, Trick? I’ve missed fucking this ass. You shouldn’t keep it from me for so long. You know who it belongs to.”

“Remind me.”

Declan bared his teeth in a strained smile and powered deep, filling him in one agonizing stroke. They both moaned. “Like that? Do you remember that?”

Trick inhaled sharply. “I remember.”

He leaned down and bit at Trick’s lips, dragging his hips back before thrusting deep again. “What about this? Do you remember now? How much you crave it? How I can make you beg?”

“Yes.” Trick reached down and took his erection in hand, stroking it. “I could have begged you sooner if you weren’t such a stubborn son of a bitch. You’ve both been driving me crazy. You keep resisting and she keeps tempting me not to wait. I have to come, Declan.”

Declan shrug let Trick’s legs fall off his shoulders, feeling them cling to his hips. He gripped Trick’s wrists and forced them over his head, keeping them pinned with one hand. “I don’t want to hear it. You don’t get yourself off, Tristan. Not with me. Not unless I let you.”

They were both strong, and Trick could have struggled, but he didn’t. Instead he lifted his hips to take more of Declan’s cock. “You don’t want to hear about her? Did that picture finally send you over the edge? I know that’s why you came.”

“You’ll send me over if you keep talking.” His free hand dropped to Trick’s throat, caressing it with his fingers in a sensual threat as he rocked his hips, grinding against the tight, firm ass he loved. “You can say whatever you want, but I win. I made it to your damn deadline without giving in and you’re still giving me exactly what I wanted.”

Trick shook his head, licking his lips. “No, I don’t think you made it. I think you’re already lost. You just won’t admit it.”

Desire took over. He needed Trick. Needed release. Harder. Faster. Yes. “It’s not going to happen.”

“Yes,” Trick moaned loudly, starting to lose his cool. “Yes, it is. Oh God, Declan, I love it. Fuck me, harder. Make me come.”

“I know you love it,” Declan snarled as the sound of their slapping flesh kept time with his racing heart. “You always love it. And if you want to come, you never get to tease me like this again. Not for this long.”

“I won’t. Fuck, babe. I swear, I won’t.”

Declan knew he was losing control. The bed was rocking, moving with the force of his thrusts, but he didn’t care. He needed more. Needed to claim Trick. Make him his. “No more texts of women’s underwear. You’ll come home with me and you won’t leave my bed until I’m satisfied.”

“You want her,” Trick gasped, still resisting. “I know you do.”

I do. Too much. “It’s not going to happen, Trick. Do you hear me? Not with her.” He felt electricity sparking at all his nerve endings and knew he was close. He lowered his hand from Trick’s throat to his cock, which was dripping precum, and stroked him the way he knew he needed.

“Fuck,” Trick shouted, senseless now. Everything else was forgotten. “I need to come. Don’t you fucking stop.”

“Never.” Declan’s voice broke as the storm broke over his body. “This ass is mine.”

Mine. So good. I’ll never stop…

They gasped together as the breath was ripped from their lungs, both of them wracked with shudders as their climaxes came together. Declan lowered his forehead to Trick’s and felt his shaky breaths blowing against his cheek. All he could hear was their breath in the silent room. Their beating hearts.

All he could hear…

Trick went stiff beneath him, and Declan knew he’d come to the same realization. He turned his head toward the bathroom door and found it open, a beautiful silhouette in the entry watching them in silence.

The blow dryer had stopped. He wasn’t sure when.

Trick forced a laughed, but his heart was beating erratically against Declan’s. “We got impatient waiting for you. But we left the shoes alone.”

She didn’t laugh. “I can see that.”

Declan couldn’t see anything. He narrowed his eyes and focused on her face. What was she thinking? Did she like what she saw?

Impossibly, his cock stirred.

No.

Trick nudged him, and he slipped out and rolled away, standing with his back to her. He rolled off the condom and pulled up his jeans swiftly. Fuck, where should he put the condom? Grimacing, he tied it off and shoved it in his pocket before turning back around to look for his shirt.

Jennifer Finn hadn’t moved. The bright bathroom light formed a halo around her red-and-gold hair, making his breath catch. Why wasn’t she saying anything? Surely she knew that he and Trick… He’d said it that first day in class. He’d implied it, but Jennifer had gotten the gist.

He was buttoning his shirt as Trick dressed swiftly, his sharp gaze returning again and again to Jennifer. When they were both as decent as they could be she moved, walking over to pick up the small open bottle of lube from the floor, staring at the circle of moisture on the carpet.

She wasn’t looking at them at all.

“Trick, could you get me some tissues from the bathroom? And then straighten the bed if you value your life, because I won’t take the blame when it comes to Leroy.”

“On it.” Trick was worried, he could hear it in his voice. Hell, Declan was worried and he didn’t know her as well. Something was definitely off.

“Miss Finn, about what just happened...”

She shook her head, smiling at Trick with thanks and—regret? Resignation. “You didn’t shock me, Professor. I’m a big girl.” She dabbed at the spot for a minute before standing up again, her skirt still veil thin but all her important parts mostly covered. “Thank you both for the fashion rescue. I don’t think raves and I are the best mix anymore. Not now that everyone feels the need to record all their mistakes via cell phone. I know I’d rather forget mine.”

She didn’t wait for, or seem to expect, an answer. Instead she found her bag and, holding it to her chest, walked toward the door.

Hell.

“Jen, hang on a second.” Trick strode over to her while Declan put his cape back on. It felt like an anchor around his neck, but he couldn’t walk back through that mob without it. “Talk to me.”

“We can talk later,” she said, still pointedly not looking at Declan.

He joined her at the door as Trick fumbled with the deadbolt, his hunched shoulders revealing his frustration. “Miss Finn?”

She finally looked at him then and he could see the spark in her blue eyes. Anger? At him? “Don’t forget your mask, Professor Kelley. You don’t want to spoil everyone’s fun.”

The door opened and she was the first one outside. Declan put on his mask and started after her, but Trick put a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Don’t.”

“Why not? Did you tell her about us before you decided on this plan of yours? If you didn’t, you’re the real asshole, and she should be throwing daggers at you not me.”

“She heard you,” Trick answered quietly, seeing her disappear around the corner. “While we were… I knew she was there before you said it. I think she heard you.”

It’s not going to happen, Trick. Not with her…

He thought about how it would sound out of context. Outside of his messed up mind. “Fuck.”

“Pretty much.”

Chapter Three

Not with her…

Jen wasn't sure what she was feeling as Trick drove her back to her apartment, so she kept her thoughts to herself. He was quiet too. Either he was respecting her need for space or he was afraid of giving her an opening to tell him off.

It was probably for the best. She knew he hadn’t been planning to end up in Leroy’s room, flat on his back with Declan… He loved games, but he wasn’t that cruel. On the other hand, he really should have tested the waters before he spent months seducing her with promises of the world’s most erotic ménage. Should have talked to the man he was obviously intimate with about the expectations he’d given her, and made sure Declan was open to it before she made a fool of herself flirting with him for months.

Not with her.

Jennifer ran a hand through her tangled hair. She was angry and hurt, and trying not to let it give her an inferiority complex¸ but more than anything else, she was disappointed. She’d gotten her hopes up way too high and now she was paying the price.

It wasn’t Declan’s fault he didn’t want her—he didn’t know her that well and he had a right to say no as much as she did—but the letdown was epic. After watching that scene on the bed, she would have gladly torn off her damp clothes and joined them right then. Leroy’s wrath would have been worth it for five minutes of Declan Kelley’s undivided attention, especially the kind of attention he’d given Trick.

The saying, Those who can’t do, teach, was now utterly disproven. This teacher knew exactly what he was doing when it came to sexual behavior. When he took charge of Trick, something inside her had instantly submitted, as if she were the one he had pinned down for his pleasure.

His dominance came as a surprise. Trick had always struck her as the prime example of an alpha male. He ran the show. Except, apparently, when the restrained psychology professor was on top. Then he seemed more than willing to submit. Declan wasn’t the tamed one. He was a caged beast, but when he got free…

She pressed her thighs together. She shouldn’t have been watching, but she hadn’t been able to look away. Nothing at the club, on the free online sites she would secretly visit when she was supposed to be studying on her laptop, no fantasy plucked from her mind or the pages of a steamy romance novel—none of it had prepared her for the raw, animalistic sexuality that both men had exuded as they came together.

It was clearly an erotic battle Declan was used to winning. She’d envied Trick in that moment. She’d wanted to move closer so she could see everything, but she hadn’t dared—something she was glad of when he confronted Trick mid-act about his plans for them.

Not with her.

Why not? What was wrong with her? Was she not curvy enough? Did he think she was too inexperienced? She could have rocked those glasses off his smug, sexy face if she’d wanted to. If he’d been wearing them. The point is he would have loved it.

Not with her.

Trick turned the car’s engine off and Jen looked around in surprise. They were at her apartment. That was that then. They’d literally given it the old college try and failed. At least Trick had gotten laid. Someone deserved to be happy about the evening.

She reached for the door but his hand stopped her. “Jen, wait.”

Pulling away from his hand, she glared at him, her anger flaring up to protect her from another rejection. She couldn’t take one from him too. Not tonight. “I don’t think we need a play-by-play. It didn’t work out. Maybe you should let him pick out your third next time. That way everyone will be happy.” She shook her head and sighed, hating how mean-girl that sounded. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I think I forgot why I’d sworn off men the first night you came into my room. It took a few months, but I remember now.”

She launched out of the car and did her best to storm off with dignity in her Star Wars slave-girl dress, working off some frustration by stomping up the stairs to her building and mumbling to herself. She was suffering the sting of Declan Kelley’s rejection, horny and jealous that they’d both had sex and she hadn’t, and she was one hundred percent certain Leroy was going to notice the lube spot on his carpet.

Ice cream. She needed ice cream.

Her keys jangled in her trembling hands, but she managed to unlock the door and slip inside. She was just about to give the door a satisfying slam when Trick grabbed it and forced it open.

Suddenly breathless, Jen darted back and held up her hand in warning. “Stop right there. I mean it, Trick. I’ve let you get away with a lot of breaking and entering because I’m a masochistic jerk magnet in dire need of therapy, but it ends now. Your foreplay fetish is not worth what happened, and you could have prevented that if you’d bothered to ask what other people wanted. I swear I’ll call my cousins to arrest you if you don’t turn your ass around and go.”

“Solomon and James?” Trick kicked the door closed behind him and started stalking her, a hard smile on his lips. “Call them.”

“I will this time,” she declared. “This isn’t fun anymore.”

He winced at her words but didn’t retreat. “We both know exactly what will happen.”

“You’ll get thrown in jail.”

He nodded. “Maybe. Or maybe they’ll just call your brothers.”

Shit. They would. That’s exactly what they’d do.

“You’d hate what would happen afterward, Jen. The same thing that happened right after your fiancé got run out of town.”

She remembered too well. The looks they’d given her. The concern and pity. The disappointment after her arrest.

“You’re a grown woman,” Trick continued. “You don’t need them interfering with your personal life again.”

“Don’t try to manage me. Brady’s not a cop anymore,” she blustered. “I could get him over here right now and he wouldn’t tell a soul. He doesn’t like you.”

“Your cousin loves me, he just won’t admit it.” Trick’s lashes lowered over brilliant, knowing green. “I’m a handy guy to have around. But you don’t get to bother him. He and Tanaka are elbow deep in serious shit—that is, when they aren’t balls deep in each other. What they’re involved in isn’t allowed to touch you, so that option’s off the table. Come on, Little Finn. Don’t you think you’re tough enough to handle me without backup? Talk to me. Yell at me. Hit me. I can take it.”

“I don’t want to handle you. Not right now.” She sighed and shook her head. He was so frustrating. “You should have talked to him before this happened.”

He ran his hands through his hair, making the short ends stand up. “Yeah, I didn’t think everything through. But you don’t know him like I do. You don’t know how much he wan—”

“Fuck what he wants, what about me?” She slid off her heels and walked into the kitchen, keys still clenched in her hand. “You made me… I didn’t like feeling that way. What he said—”

“He wasn’t thinking straight.”

He followed her and she turned to point in his direction. “You weren’t thinking straight. You, Trick.”

He backed up, defensive. “I know what I’m doing. Trust me.”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure you do.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked away from him again, needing the distance. “You love him. I can hear it in your voice when you talk about him. And you clearly both want each other.” God, did they want each other. “I saw how much tonight. Maybe you were feeling like you needed to bring more to the relationship. Something or someone else. You’ve been watching me, for a reason you still haven’t revealed, and you know what I like, so of course, I was the obvious choice.” She took a steadying breath so she wouldn’t cry. “But you have nothing to worry about, Trick. He looks at you the way my brother looks at Jeremy. The kind of look that makes other people feel like leaving the room or finding an ice bath to sit in. You don’t have to find a third, Trick. And honestly, it wouldn’t be fair to them.”

They’d only end up alone and hurt that they’d been locked out of something that beautiful.

She glanced at him in time to see his scornful look. “That’s what you got from what happened tonight? I’m an insecure jerk who just wants Declan to love me? I used you because you happened to be in my line of sight? After reading all those textbooks of yours, that’s the best you’ve got?”

She was trying to rationalize it in her mind, she knew. To make sense of Trick’s dogged pursuit and Declan’s quick rejection. “All I’ve decided is that this strange relationship of ours is unworkably one-sided. You never told me how close the two of you were. You didn’t fill me in on exactly how little he knew about your idea. It was fine when we were in bed at night pretending. It was exciting and forbidden. But it’s not… This is too complicated.”

Trick sighed. “Shit, this was not my plan, Jen. How do I make this right?”

“Do you want to tell me about the deadline? Why you pushed him so hard? Pushed us?”

After long minutes of silence she took a deep breath and moved away from the counter. “That’s what I thought. I have to get out of this stupid dress and burn it. I think you should leave.”

“No.”

She threw up her hands. “Then there’s beer in the fridge and I’ll be expecting you to tell me about you and Declan Kelley when I get back. Those are your only options.”

When Jen went to move past Trick, he grabbed her and she gasped as he pressed her against the wall, rubbing his hardening erection against her back. She reached behind her to push him away but he gripped her wrist and held it still, ripping the back panel of her dress with his other hand until it was dangling by a frayed thread. “An ultimatum? You mean if I don’t tell you, you won’t let me do this?”

“Trick,” she cried when his thick fingers slid inside her panties and one of them filled her without warning. She was still aroused, despite her anger. And he knew exactly what she liked. How to play her body perfectly. He’d been practicing for months. “You should stop.”

She wished she meant it.

“You know what to say if you really want me to stop, Jen. You know, but you never do.”

Their safe word. The one he’d given her that first night he’d come into her room. The one he reminded her of like a challenge or a dare. The one she never used.

“Will you say it now?” He added another finger and curled them inside her, pressing deep and massaging in a way that had her moaning against the wall. His thumb slid through her arousal and then it was pressing between the cheeks of her ass. When he forced it through the tight muscles, she swore and he laughed darkly. “What about now? Do you want to say it now, baby?”

“Oh God.”

“That’s not it.”

Don’t stop.

An image of Declan taking Trick filled her mind and her hips tilted, pushing back into his hand and forcing his thumb deeper. This ass is mine, Declan had said, the bed shaking while Trick begged for more. She wanted to feel that. Wanted Trick to take her right now. No fingers, no toys, but all of him stretching her, owning her. Showing her what Declan made him feel. “Please.”

“You love it too much to make me stop,” he whispered, his sandpaper voice full of desire. “I don’t have confidence issues, baby. I know you love what I do to you. Whatever I do to you.” He thrust deep. “Tell me to stop.”

“No!” She couldn’t. Not when he was touching her this way.

“I don’t sneak into your room at night, slip under your covers and have my way with this sweet pussy and tight little ass just because you’re there damn it.” He bit her neck sharply, making her gasp before he spoke again. “And I don’t do it for or because of Declan. I can’t stay away from you. Me.”

He let go of her hand and pulled her hips back until she bent at the waist, clinging to the wall for balance. His thumb left her and she felt his finger caress her clit before coming back to fill her ass. The others slid further inside her sex. Deeper. Everywhere. He was everywhere. “Trick.”

“I want you.” His voice was a guttural rasp. “You don’t know hard it’s been for me to keep these boundaries in place. And you don’t make it any easier, baby. You take everything and beg for more without hesitation. I touch you and you open for me.” He added a second finger to her ass and she blew out a ragged, moaning breath, overwhelmed by the pressure and fullness.

“That’s right,” he crooned. “Open for me. Damn, that’s pretty. You were made for this. Made to be filled front and back. If my plan hadn’t gone sideways in your friend’s room—”

“Your plan wasn’t to be fucked?” she gasped, unable to help herself. “From the way you were shouting, it sounded like you were getting exactly what you wanted.”

What she wanted.

Trick’s hands grew rough, his movements a little faster, adding a slight pinch of pain. God, yes. Like that.

“Did you like seeing that? I didn’t plan it,” he said harshly. “I wanted it, but I didn’t plan it to go that way. You were the reason he went so crazy—”

“I don’t care, Trick,” she cried. “I don’t care, just don’t stop.”

“Jesus, you’re killing me,” he muttered hotly. “Greedy girl. You’re so tight, baby. You’re going to feel so good gripping my cock.”

“Please.” She wanted that so much she ached. “Do it, Trick. Fuck me. You don’t have to wait anymore. Just take me. Take me the way he took you.”

As soon as she said it she climaxed, muscles clenching and her body quaking as her orgasm crashed against her. Her knees were like jelly, and it felt like his touch was the only thing keeping her from turning to a puddle on the floor.

When the waves settled to ripples, he backed away, slipping out of her and leaving her empty. Shivering. He went to the sink and washed his hands, then opened her refrigerator and took out a cold beer while she slid around on the wall to watch him.

He wasn’t looking at her, but the hand on the beer wasn’t entirely steady. “Go change. When you come back I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Jen hugged herself and walked to her bedroom obediently. She washed off her makeup and brushed her teeth in the bathroom, putting her hair up into a ponytail before finding a pair of plaid boxer shorts and a faded, overstretched t-shirt.

Fuck lace panties—after the night she’d had, she’d be damned if she wouldn’t get comfortable.

When she finally came out again he’d made a glass of iced tea and heated up a slice of pizza for her.  “That’s all that was in your fridge,” he said with an apologetic shrug.

“Raoul usually does the shopping but he was busy getting ready for Belize.” She grinned. “He also usually does the cooking.”

“Lucky Alicia.”

“Lucky me for having her as a roommate. I think she’s used to being pampered. Her family is at the ‘I own a desert island’ level of wealthy.”

“Nice. I own a star. I think. Some little girl brought me a plaque after I found her runaway dog.”

“That’s so sweet. Damn. I have nothing to compare that to.” Jen frowned, joining him on the couch. “I study hard. I complain about my family. Every Finn dinner and Finn Again I bring home a copious amount of leftovers. That takes talent and stealth, let me tell you.”

She leaned forward, picking up the hot pizza and taking a generous bite. Trick pushed a stray hair behind her ear as she chewed.

“You’re gorgeous, Jennifer Finn. Just like this. Beautiful, did you know that?”

Her cheeks heated and she looked down at her food. She wanted to ask why she wasn’t good enough to sleep with if she was so damn gorgeous, but after she swallowed, she just murmured her thanks and then took another bite.

“You don’t know. Really? I mean all the Finns are attractive specimens, but they seem to know it. Why don’t you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think I’m hideous or anything. I’m not saying I wouldn’t kill for a little shimmy in my shake. I’d like Tasha’s curves and Owen’s luck, but I do okay.”

“Did Scott ever tell you?”

She set down her pizza. Thinking about her ex always made her lose her appetite. But she wanted to tell Trick. Maybe if she opened up, he’d return the favor. “He didn’t speak a lot as a rule,” she replied dryly. “Unless he was complaining.”

“You were with him for a long time. He must have had a few redeeming qualities.”

So everyone claimed. Even her friends in high school gave Scott the benefit of the doubt for her sake. Surely Jennifer Finn wouldn’t be with him if he weren’t something special. Her brothers would have sent him packing. But she was, and they didn’t. She wiped her mouth, took a sip of her tea and turned to meet his gaze. “You want the truth? I warn you, it’s kind of sad and clichéd.”

“Tell me.”

“I was shadowing the nurse and school counselor for a report in my last year of middle school. They were my two role models. Compassionate, but tough. Intelligent though incredibly underappreciated, in my opinion. Scott came into the nurse’s office with injuries. A lot. He’d say he fell or got into a fight with a bully, but no one really believed him. It was obvious he was being abused at home. He came in to see the counselor and we started talking while she was on the phone. Back then, he seemed more sad than angry, but I made him smile.” She shrugged. “He wasn’t with me because I was Jennifer Finn or because I was pretty. He needed me. No one had ever relied on me or trusted me with anything before. It was that simple. And in the beginning, I helped. He smiled more. The fact that he didn’t idolize my brothers the way every other male of the species seems to was also a nice change. At first.”

“Florence Nightingale Syndrome?” Trick queried, stealing a circle of pepperoni off her pizza.

Jen snorted. “You need to stop auditing classes. Especially if you’re going to play on your phone instead of pay attention.” She tilted her head, thinking. “It was dysfunctional. But by the time I realized it, being his girlfriend had become a habit. A security blanket. No one asked who I was dating or worried about what time I got home. No one liked him, and my brothers gave me a hard time, but I guess they considered him harmless. ‘As long as I was happy’ was what my mother would say whenever they got too out of hand.”

“No one noticed you weren’t?” Trick’s expression was disbelieving.

“It’s not that simple,” she defended. “They noticed I wasn’t unhappy. He made a lot of mistakes with his own life, and we fought, but he never actually hurt me.”

“You deserve so much more than that.”

“I’m not sure I did back then. I still defended him every time he did something wrong. Every time anyone tried to talk to me. Even when I knew they were right.”

“Because you have a good heart, Jen. You wouldn’t be working toward getting this degree, to spend your life helping people if you didn’t.”

Or she was a sucker with horrible taste in men. “Sometimes I think it was just stubborn pride. I wanted to be right about him. I wanted to save him. Change him. But no one can do that. I mean, I know people can change, but it has to be their choice. They have to put in the work. You can’t drag someone kicking and screaming down the path you think they should go.”

She saw Trick shift uncomfortably and knew he’d understood what she was trying to say. “It all worked out in the end, though. Stephen’s happy, Owen’s happy, Seamus is usually happy, though I wouldn’t mind him having an actual date once in a while. And Scott is gone and forgotten, having taught us all a valuable lesson in monitoring our public displays of affection. Problem solved.”

“You didn’t add yourself to the everyone’s happy list.”

She’d be happy as long as Scott was living in a box somewhere complaining about his shitty life to his only friend, Dead Cat. But she didn’t need to say that out loud. It sounded petty.

“I’m happy everyone is happy.” She patted his knee before getting up to take her plate to the kitchen. “Thank you for that. I was starving.”

Jen depressed a button at the base of the trashcan with her toe and tossed the paper plate and napkin inside. When she turned around, Trick was right beside her.

“I’m thirty-eight.”

She wondered vaguely if he’d hit his head. “Yes, I know. I’m twenty-six.”

“I have a record, and that’s something that kind of runs in the family. My father died in prison and I was raised by my older brother—who is currently serving a life sentence—but I haven’t been in serious trouble with the law since I got out when I was twenty-two.”

She’d known he’d been in prison before. The rest was new. “Okay.”

“I got my Associate’s in Criminal Justice online, the same for my P.I. certification. I wanted to be my own boss and help the helpless, like some dark, sexy vigilante, but the truth is, most of the time I’m just taking pictures and spying on people for money. That is, when I’m not doing favors for friends who don’t pay me a dime.” He cupped the back of his neck, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s not a career choice most would make willingly, unless they loved film noir or were writing the Great American Novel.”

“Are you?” she asked softly, noticing how nice he smelled. Like sex. His scent mingled with Professor Kelley’s. Declan’s. Tristan and Declan. Those were two lyrical names. They sounded good together. They looked good together.

Stop forgetting you’re mad at him.

“Am I what?”

“Writing a great big novel?”

He shook his head, stepping closer. “Don’t have the patience for a whole book. Or the skills to make it great. I do write a little when the job is really boring and I’m tired of playing Sudoku. Dirty limericks for nights at the bar.”

Oh, he had skills. So many skills. And she had a feeling his job was way more exciting than he made it sound. “Why are you telling me this?”

Trick’s hands found her hips through the plaid cotton. “You shared something personal, I shared something personal… We’re sharing.”

“I shared something personal.” She slid her fingers underneath his shirt and curled them into the fine hair on his chest. His eyes closed momentarily. “You’re not sharing, Trick. You’re lowballing.”

Green eyes opened in surprise. “I’m what?”

Jen smiled and yanked his chest hair a little harder than necessary. She lowered her voice, adding a rasp as close to his as she could make it. “I’m old, I live in my car and I have horrible taste in clothing.” She tried not to laugh as she mimicked him. “I can’t commit to a novel or ringing doorbells or actual sexual intercourse so don’t start shopping for dresses or expect me to be nice to your mother.”

Trick stepped back and crossed his arms, staring at her in disbelief. Then he started to laugh. A real, full-throated, down-to-his-muscled-belly laugh that made him clutch his sides.

It was a wonderful sound. Contagious. Jen couldn’t help but join him.

Her chuckles changed to a shriek when he reached out and picked her up in his arms, ignoring her feet paddling air as he carried her back to the couch and sat with her legs on either side of his hips.

Cupping her face with his hands, he smiled tenderly, his eyes sparkling. “You think I have horrible taste in clothing?”

“Everyone thinks that.” She pushed out a small breathless laugh before leaning into his hand. “And you need to invest in an iron, but you don’t have to keep my expectations low by making yourself sound worse than my ex—which isn’t possible, by the way. I’m not looking to be saved or swept off my feet.” She put her hands on his chest, over his heart. “I like this though. It might be the longest we’ve talked since you started stalking me. Though you still haven’t told me about you and Declan. Or why you were watching me in the first place.”

Trick sighed. “Noticed that, did you?”

She nodded, settling in and resting her hands on his shoulders. “Tell me something. Anything. Share.”

He studied her in silence for so long she wanted to scream. Then he dipped his chin in agreement. “All those things about me? All that lowballing? It’s all true, Jen. Your family knows it. Declan wears rose-colored glasses where I’m concerned, but I think that’s because I keep it light. Keep it short. Weekend Trick is fun, day-to-day Dunham? Not so much.”

“Well, you can be irritating and you’re so used to dancing around the truth you could medal in it, but I’d probably miss you if you weren’t around.”

“Thank you?” He shook his head. “You need to stop with all this flattery, Jen. It’s going to my head.”

She wasn’t going to let him distract her. “So you two have a come-and-go relationship? You come, you go?”

Trick grimaced. “It doesn’t sound good when you say it like that, but yeah. We’ve been like that since we were in our twenties.”

“All the way back then?” she gasped melodramatically.

“No teasing or I’ll spank you again.”

Jen shivered in his arms. “Why?”

“Why do I come?” he asked, gripping her hips and dragging her closer. “You know him. He’s beautiful, brilliant, challenging, and sexually twisted in the best way.”

She bit her lip. “Why do you go?”

Trick frowned. “He doesn’t trust himself. He has too many rules. He doesn’t know how to have fun.”

He was rocking her against his erection. How was she supposed to concentrate?

“He seemed to have fun with you,” she pointed out. Declan’s sounds of pleasure were going to haunt her fantasies. “You obviously trust him.”

“Mmm, I did. I always do. And yes, we always enjoy each other.”

She loved the way he said that. “Too many rules?”

He nodded, glancing down as he guided her in a rhythm that felt a lot like third base. Maybe fourth. She wasn’t sure.

“A little like your brother, Stephen, I think,” he said. “Whereas I embraced my shady past, those two had the gall to rise above it. To make something of themselves. But that takes discipline, I’m told. That road has rules that must be followed.”

She thought she knew what he meant. The only time—other than this—when she’d strayed from her structured Little Finn path, it had ended in handcuffs. And not the good kind. “Was… Oh.” She gripped his shoulders more tightly and took charge, rocking her hips against him and increasing the pressure. His jeans were rough through her cotton boxers, rubbing against her in just the right way. “So Declan was like you and Stephen? Was he in your group?”

“We weren’t a boy band, Jen, we were troublemaking punks.” Trick sounded amused. “And God no. Declan was as far away from the streets as you can get. But until he was eighteen, he had to suffer through regular family visits with the Kelleys. His cousins made our little gang look like a boy band. And man, did they hate the Finns.”

“What? Why?” Her attention immediately shifted from Trick’s jeans to his words, and she stopped her impromptu bump-and-grind to pay attention.

He frowned at that. “Your grandpa and theirs had some Irish mob drama that the Kelleys never let go of. No one ever told you any stories?” When she shook her head, he sighed. “Ned Finn and Rod Kelley were friends at one point, then they weren’t. Honestly, there’ve been so many tales over the years, there’s no way to know which ones are true. But Kelleys blame the Finns for everything bad that happens in the world. It’s just a habit now, harmless unless you have to eat dinner with it once a week.”

Like Declan did. “So Declan hates Finns? Me? Why would you—”

“No, Jen, no. He doesn’t hate Finns at all. He’s just not used to… those kinds of relationships, I guess. Once his mother died, he cut off all ties with his father’s family because of how miserable they were. And his mother didn’t have any family left for him to know.”

“He doesn’t have anyone?”

“He has me.”

“Off and on?”

Trick nodded, looking grim.

Jennifer couldn’t imagine it. Everywhere she turned she saw someone she was related to. Two family dinners a month, babysitting, wedding planning, nights at the pub… She’d been struggling to have something belong to her that wasn’t connected to her family. How would it feel to have no connections at all?

Was that why Trick had hatched his plan? “What started you thinking about ménage?”

“I’m a man, Jen. I was born into this world, I cried when they spanked my ass, and then I started thinking about it.”

She laughed. “You know what I mean. If it wasn’t to please Declan, then why?”

He looked down, obviously trying to find the words. “It’s not for any one reason or any one person. That first day in his class, I knew. It was a damn light bulb over my head. How I feel about you. What I feel for him and what I know he wants. Your fantasies and responsiveness. It was perfect. It is perfect.”

“How do you feel about me?”

And why had she asked him that, dammit? She didn’t mean to put him that much on the spot.

Trick pushed up her shirt and stared at her breasts, watching the nipples harden beneath his gaze. “The first time I saw you walking to your car to get your bag, I was wondering what Stephen’s baby sister was doing wearing an outfit like that in public. Little leather shorts that barely covered your ass and fishnet stockings.”

Embarrassed, Jen pulled her shirt down. “It was the club parking lot, not a church picnic. Everyone was dressed like that.”

“I was close enough to see the black electrical tape that covered your nipples under your white pullover, and I knew as soon as you went back inside that shirt would be off so everyone could see.”

He was that close? She’d never seen him.

“You had a smile on your face and your hair in braids… I don’t think you know what a turn-on that is to a guy, baby. That contrast. Innocence and sin all wrapped up in one beautiful woman. I only saw you walking to and from your car, but I swear I wasn’t thinking about Declan that night. I was thinking about that tape. Wondering what it would be like to look down at you on your knees with nothing but that tape over your nipples and those sexy shorts. What it would be like to touch those braids and see you smile at me.”

Her mouth went dry. “Oh.”

“Months of following you around, and though I still dream about that outfit, your sass is what really slays me now. Your strength and your fearless sensuality. If you want something, you go after it. And you have a hunger that reminds me of…”

“Declan,” she finished.

Leaning close, he took one nipple into his mouth over the fabric of her shirt, sucking hard, making her buck against him. Then he drew away and nodded as he took in his handiwork. “I thought if anyone could help me break through his rules, it would be you.”

“He said no, Trick. It doesn’t get clearer than that. He doesn’t want me.”

His piercing gaze pinned her. “Declan Kelley wants you so bad it’s almost painful for me to watch.”

“Um, were we at the same party? Because I don’t remember it that way.”

“Baby, don’t you know a man running scared when you see him? What happened in that room was all about you. Well,” his smile was sinful. “That’s why it started. He knows he’s cooked—he’s just denying the fire as long as he can. I gave him eight weeks to hold out and he thought he’d resisted temptation, but you, Jennifer Finn, were made to tempt him.”

“How’s that?” she asked doubtfully. Trick had given Declan eight weeks to hold out, and her eight weeks to get so turned on she’d be ready for anything. He was wicked. Smart, but wicked.

“You exist. You’re his Crackerjack prize for being a really good boy. A passionate, kinky, smart and beautiful redhead who loves three-ways and thinks man-on-man action is sexy.”

“How do you know I love three-ways? Strictly speaking, I’ve never had one.” She pushed him back against the couch, trying to see if he was telling the truth. Did he really believe Declan wanted her that much? Did he want her that much?

“How do I know? Who’s been sneaking into your bed, making you come for almost two months now?”

Jen sighed. “All that tells you is I’m easy and I respond to foreplay.”

His eyes burned with something that made her ache. “You’re not easy, sweetheart. You just know what you want. Which is why I’m hoping some part of you wants to give me another chance. Give Declan another chance.”

Did she? Tonight was a painful lesson in disappointment. She still wanted them both—she’d be lying if she said she didn’t. But were Trick’s words of encouragement enough to make it worth giving this ménage a second chance?

She thought about Declan’s expression as he pinned Trick down.

“Tell me what you want me to do next.”

Chapter Four

Declan took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before he acknowledged the bright, inquisitive and dependably verbose student in the first row. Today’s intro might take longer than he thought.

He usually enjoyed the lively debates in his lecture hall. For being such a natural part of life, sex was always a surprisingly controversial topic, particularly here at home. Whenever he traveled across the Atlantic for conferences and guest lectures, he always got the same question: Why is a country that’s such a beacon to the rest of the world when it comes to freedom, self-determination and independence so hung up on what other people are allowed to do in their bedrooms?

“We’re young,” he’d say with a laugh, putting everyone at ease. “Give us time.”

Of course after the lectures, when he stopped being a professor, Declan acknowledged his own hypocrisy. His own reluctance to fully and freely embrace his personal desires.

Don’t look at Jennifer Finn. Not yet.

Today was the first day of a new topic and he needed to be present. Nothing got the students more involved than the section of the course on multiple partners and the psychology of shared intimacy.

You could have had them both.

He slipped his glasses back on and forced a smile. Question. A student had a question. “Yes, Miss Giles?”

The blonde smiled and lowered her hand. “You mentioned polyamory’s portrayal in the mainstream media. Don’t you think it says something about our society that we’re inundated with cable and reality shows focused on one man with multiple wives or lovers? I mean, how many sister wives and cable series set in Utah do we really need?”

The bored-looking boy in black beside her—Ira, Declan remembered—sent her a smirk and spoke up. “I don’t watch reality television, but every time I go to the movies I see one girl and two guys. Or one girl and a werewolf and a vampire. Or one girl, one baker and one guy who’s unfairly trapped in the friend zone through no fault of his own. Seriously, Professor, we should skip this topic and discuss why young adult novels are full of girls who can’t make up their minds.” The smattering of masculine chuckles was short-lived, but the uncomfortable silence that followed was not.

Oh, Ira, Declan thought sadly. She’ll never go out with you with lines like that.

Carrie Giles frowned at him. “Those are love triangles. The girl has to choose one at the end. Only one, and that’s what I’m saying. One man and five women who each get a day or two on the calendar to spend time with him? Believable and in some places socially acceptable if not entirely legal. One woman and two men? She’s either forced to choose, she’s a harlot that needs to be run out of town, or she’s the really good single friend of two gay guys who want to have a baby. I think that’s a huge double standard.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Declan agreed immediately. “And it’s a topic we’re going to be delving into over the next few weeks as we discuss polyandry, polygyny and so on. There does seem to be an explosion of interest in polygamy and, as Miss Giles has rightfully pointed out, it is notably androcentric. That is, primarily emphasizing masculine interests and points of view.”

“Maybe modern women are just too smart to get saddled with more than one man,” a girl in the third row responded.

“Or too busy earning money so the men can stay home and play online poker,” another student laughed. “At least, that’s what my mother says.”

Ira held up his hands and shook his head. “I know when I’m outnumbered.”

Declan smiled. “Smart man. But let’s table this for next time. Today we are going to watch a film, since I know a lot of you are still recovering from last week’s costume rave. I’d like to congratulate you on not destroying school property or getting arrested on the grounds. Though I do hear one video of a young man’s unfortunate journey through a bouncy castle has gone viral.”

The class broke into fits of laughter and he raised his voice. “This is your only break, because we have a lot to cover. It’s a film about two sides of the poly coin. Interviews with a family in Tibet with one woman married to three brothers. And, yes, a modern day family in Utah with one husband and multiple women he considers wives. There will be a quiz this Thursday, so I expect all eyes glued to the screen, phones off and notebooks out. Pay careful attention to the dynamics. What emotional roles are at play? What psychosexual needs are being met, if any?”

“Why can’t we watch Fifty Shades, Professor?” a voice called out.

“Or Debbie Does Polygamy.” Another male voice made everyone chuckle again.

“This class isn’t long enough to discuss why neither of those is an option,” Declan replied dryly. “Ira, can you get the lights?”

He forced himself to walk slowly up the steps, passing the crowded rows of students with a calm he didn’t feel. She was in the very back row today, the only empty row in the lecture hall. As if she were waiting for him.

Trick had called and confirmed she’d heard his declaration. That he’d hurt her—exactly what he’d been trying to avoid by refusing. He needed to apologize and explain himself.

You could have had her come to your office.

And then they’d be alone, instead of surrounded by witnesses who would be shocked if he took advantage of a student during a lecture. He paused by her desk and set a square post-it on her open notebook.

Follow me.

He opened the door that led to the narrow box of a room that housed a single chair and a laptop linked up with a sound system and projector. He didn’t have a teaching assistant this semester, and it gave him the perfect excuse to be in here alone. With her.

Declan started the film and then turned off the lights in his section until the projector’s illumination was the only to be seen in the lecture hall. The sound was at a higher volume than usual, and a few students in the front row jumped when the Tibetan music started to play along with the introduction to their topic.

They’d get used to it quickly, and he needed the cover to keep their conversation private.

The movie was a bit on the dry side for the topic, but Declan found it was good to start more risqué sections with anthropological studies or historical references. It kept the conversations from devolving into the pornographic. Most of the time.

The door opened slowly, quietly, but he heard it. Heard her shut it behind her and walk toward him until she paused at the window-sized opening in the wall that might have revealed her presence.

He scanned the heads of his students to make sure they were all turned toward the screen before moving away from the projector to join her. He didn’t stop until he was a step away from where she was leaning against the wall.

In the dim light, her hair was still like fire. Red and gold and breathtaking. She had the sides pulled back in slender braids and let the rest tumble wild around her shoulders.

She looked so damn young.

And she was all in white again. A white cardigan over a simple sundress with the top two buttons undone. Not her usual style, he knew. Jennifer Finn’s favorite colors were bright purples and blues.

You didn’t notice her?

She was watching him in wary silence, as if she were afraid to move in case she startled him. Afraid he might say something to hurt her again.

Or she’s remembering you with your hand around Trick’s neck and your dick up his ass.

Declan moved closer and leaned in so he could whisper in her ear. “I assume you know what I want to talk to you about?”

She nodded and he closed his eyes when he caught the scent of her shampoo again. He still couldn’t pin it down, but it was like a field of damn wildflowers. “Since I haven’t gotten a threatening message from Leroy and you came in to class today, I know I can count on your discretion.”

“Of course,” she whispered.

He knew. “I’d deserve it. I wanted to apologize for—”

“I understand, Professor, but there’s no need. You can’t choose who you want. And it wasn’t fair of Trick to force the issue.”

Trick knows what I want. He always has.

She didn’t understand at all. He placed one hand above her head on the wall for balance. The other found its way to her cardigan’s collar, just touching the soft fabric. “You think I don’t want you?”

Let her, his rational mind urged him. It will make this easier.

“Am I wrong, Professor Kelley? The context seemed fairly clear.”

He sighed. “I think anyone who’s seen me at my worst has the right to call me Declan, Jennifer. Or…you prefer Jen, don’t you?” Trick called her Jen.

“Whatever you’d like, Declan.”

His fingers tightened on her sweater. “Can you say that again?”

She frowned. “What? Declan?”

His cock was attempting to bore a hole through his pants. He looked down in surprise when he felt silken skin instead of fabric beneath his fingertips. They were resting on her collarbone now. Still safe. Still normal. Nothing too inappropriate. Her skin was softer than the damn sweater. Fuck.

“Wanting isn’t the issue. Sometimes wanting something too much can be unhealthy and dangerous,” he murmured. “People who aren’t prepared for that kind of intensity can be hurt.”

She studied him for a moment. “What if someone was prepared? What if they wanted intensity? Does their potential partner have the right to deny them, to make the decision for both of them, based on fear of what might happen?”

He narrowed his gaze. “Trick told me you have experience with kink, though I’m not sure I should believe him. Do you understand why control is key when it comes to the more dominant sexual personalities?” He was supposed to be apologizing and ending this. What the hell was he thinking?

“Trust me, you should believe him.” Her lips curved slightly. “Are you a Dom, Declan?”

“If I were?” He pressed a little harder with his fingers and savored the quick breath she took.

“I’d probably submit.” She met his gaze and he saw the sparkle. The knowledge. “But you were talking about staying in control.”

He felt like he might be losing control of this conversation. “What if you knew certain things, certain people, challenged that? You’d hesitate before jumping right in. Until you knew you were strong enough to resist temptation.” Or they were strong enough to handle you.

“I’m not so sure,” she answered quietly. “I love a challenge. And temptation.”

He moved in closer. Unable to resist her pull.  “Does all your experience come from clubs with the safe, sane and consensual rules? Or did you have a boyfriend who wanted to experiment?”

“Trick didn’t tell you how he met me?”

Declan frowned slightly. “I assumed it was through your brother.”

“He was responsible, in a way. And yes, my experience comes from a BDSM club I used to go to. Have you been to one before?”

What he wanted was to find out how things with her and Trick had started, but he answered her, knowing it was only fair. “I’ve been to BDSM clubs in the past, both for intellectual curiosity and personal edification.”

“I just went to be a bad girl.”

Her amused admission stole his breath and sent the last of his IQ to his cock.

“And were you?” he asked instead, his voice strained.

“What?”

“Were you a bad girl?”

Jennifer’s lids drifted to half-mast and her lips parted on a sigh. “I did get punished a lot.”

Sweet Jesus. Declan studied his fingers as they slid down to the buttons of her sundress. “I like this dress. Almost as much as I liked that costume you were wearing the other night. But I think you know that. Tell me the truth, Miss Finn—did Trick dress you for me today? Did you submit to that?”

Her breath was coming a little faster, her skin heating so he could smell her clean, sensual scent. “He made suggestions.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“Why you like bad girls dressed in virginal white or why he wanted me to wear this today in particular?” She gasped when the tips of his fingers stroked the skin between her breasts. She liked that. “He knew you were going to apologize and thought I could change your mind. About the ménage.”

“I do like your honesty,” Declan murmured, watching another button open under his touch. Her honesty was destroying his control. “But you’re a beautiful woman with a good head on her shoulders. How did Trick convince you this was a good idea when you thought I didn’t want you?”

“I wanted to talk to you, either way.” Her voice broke when Declan grazed one nipple with the back of his knuckles. “About what happened in the room.”

“What happened was I lost control.” Of my mouth and my dick. “I was angry at being denied gratification. So I took it, damn the consequences.”

“Trick was with you,” Jennifer pointed out. “You didn’t take anything he didn’t want to give. I saw it on his face when you… I couldn’t look away.”

“I was afraid I’d shocked as well as insulted you.”

“Shock isn’t the word I would use, Professor.”

“Have you ever seen two men together before? Not playing at the club. Fucking.”

“Not in person.”

Her answer intrigued him. “Videos?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “I…I watch them online.”

“You watch men having sex with each other?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like what you see?”

“It was better in person. The way you took him. Your bodies straining and your hand…” She unconsciously raised her hand toward her throat, then she looked away as if she were blushing. “You didn’t have to hold back with each other. You didn’t need to try. I loved it.”

“Are you by any chance a tease, Miss Finn?” he growled. “Or did Trick teach you how to say all the right things?”

“I’m being honest. You said you liked that.”

“There are so many good reasons why this can’t happen.”

“Can I ask you a question, Professor?”

“Yes.”

“Despite all your good reasons and denials, you haven’t taken your hands off me, and you’re unbuttoning my dress.”

His fingers paused. “That isn’t a question.”

“No.” Jennifer placed her hand over his and slid it inside the fabric until it was cupping her bare breast. “It’s a fact.”

“You and your damn buttons.” He kissed her. He couldn’t resist.

She parted her lips for him without hesitation and met his tongue with her own. Openly sexual and unashamedly curious. As hungry as he was.

He unbuttoned two more buttons on her sundress, pushed aside the fabric and cupped and squeezed her breasts with both hands, closing his fingers over hard nipples and tugging lightly. She moaned into his mouth and pressed herself against his palms, asking for more.

She was so responsive. And bold. He felt his jeans open and her fingers pulling out his erection before he could lift his mouth to protest. “What are you doing, Miss Finn?”

“Studying polyamory?” She laughed softly as she said it, her eyes gleaming in the dim light when she looked down at him in her hand. She swallowed. “Oh God.”

Declan wasn’t feeling masculine pride as she reacted to the size of his erection. That would be juvenile. “You still think you want the both of us?”

That you can take both of us?

“Oh yeah.” She blushed when she said it, but her fingers tightened on his cock, making him grit his teeth. “Let me prove to you how much.”

She dragged his hand away from her breast and down to her skirt, lifting it so he could watch as their joined hands disappeared beneath her white panties.

He’d seen her through transparent fabric and in a texted photo of lace, but feeling the smooth, hairless folds, so wet there could be no doubt about her state of arousal, made him a little insane.

“We can’t do this here,” he whispered harshly. “I mean at all… Jesus, I don’t know what I mean.”

“But you want to.”

“I’ve wanted to do this every time you came to class in one of your skirts.”

“I wanted you to.”

Damn it. Declan groaned. “You’re so fucking soft. Wet. I’ve never touched a woman who waxed everything.”

She moaned as he explored her. “Do you like how it feels?”

Did he like breathing? “Yes.”

“I do too. Everything is more sensitive. Spanking. Sex. Your touch feels…so good, Professor.”

Jennifer Finn was temptation made flesh. Hot, wet flesh. “I want to see you. Look at you. Will you let me?”

“Yes,” she whimpered, pressing his hand more firmly against her as she stroked his erection.

At her consent, he yanked her underwear to the side so hard he heard a tear, then dropped to his knees. It was dark, but the projector’s light was enough for him to see her pale flesh. “Beautiful. I need to get closer. I’m going to put your leg over my shoulder.”

“God…”

She held his head for balance as he placed one of her legs over his shoulder. He spread her lips wide, seeing her arousal glisten in the dark. It beckoned him to come closer. To drown in her taste. All he had to do was lean forward and bury his tongue inside her until she came.

He shouldn’t.

He couldn’t. Not here.

“Declan?”

“Yes?”

Her hands tightened in his hair. “You can kiss me, if you’d like. Don’t you want a taste?”

He huffed out a ragged laugh against her clit, tilting his head back to look in her eyes. “You are a bad girl aren’t you? Trying to make me keep you after class?”

“Only if it’s for a spanking.” Her laugh was breathless.

Declan growled. “It might be. Now let’s see if the bad girl knows not to scream and let her classmates know what the teacher is doing between her legs.” Before she could respond, he buried his face in her bare flesh. “Mmm,” he hummed against her clit. He could hear her gasp in response, and he swore he felt her blood race a little faster in the thigh pressed against his cheek.

Just one taste. That’s all he could have. All he would take.

He breathed her in and he was lost. She smelled like heaven. His tongue traced her petal-soft outer folds and her calf pulled him closer. She liked that.

Just one taste. Remember where you are. Who you are.

His lips closed over her clit, sucking tenderly, learning her. She shook against him, but didn’t push him away. He sucked harder and she pressed closer. Jennifer liked a firm touch. A little rough. Like Trick. He could give her that.

She doesn’t know what she’s asking for. She barely knows you.

He traced the soaking opening of her pussy before stiffening his tongue and thrusting it deep inside her, moaning a little at the muscles that clenched around his him.

So good. Tight, wet pussy that tastes like honey. More. I need more.

“Declan,” she whispered urgently, tugging on his hair. “Oh God.”

He heard the growls coming from his chest, knew he was pushing her, almost lifting her off the ground as he pressed deeper, his tongue greedy and desperate as it fucked her.

Yes. Give me more. Let me show you how I want you.

“Oh. Oh shit,” she groaned, then he one of her hands left his head to cover her mouth, muffling her moans as she came in his mouth. He could taste it, feel it happening. Feel her body shake. Still he couldn’t stop.

Again. I need more. Every fucking drop of honey.

He wanted to tie her to his bed until his hunger was sated. He wanted to fuck her. He wanted to watch Trick take her before he had them both. He wanted to do things to her body that might get them all arrested.

Declan lowered her leg to his waist as he rose and stood in front of her with his erection hard against her thigh, and she shuddered as he kissed her with her taste in his mouth. He already wanted more.

“You should be stopping me,” he said against her lips. “This is what I meant about wanting too much.”

“I’m not complaining,” she gasped, taking his lower lip between her teeth long enough to make him moan. “Neither was Trick.”

“He sent you to me all in white with your pretty red hair in braids because he knows my weaknesses. I’m sure he knows yours too. But for him when it’s over…. You and I have other concerns. We need to keep our heads and think this through.”

I would take this too seriously. I would need to own you both. He knows that better than anyone.

She nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “I am keeping my head. He told me to wear lace underwear after I agreed to the butt plug, but I drew the line.”

Declan felt his blood rushing in his ears. She was wearing a butt plug? Now? His hands immediately slid under her skirt and went to the seam of her ass. “You have lace underwear?”

She gasped when he spread her cheeks and fingered the plug. “Oh God. Wha—what is it with you two and lace?”

He lined his cock up with her sex and slid it through her arousal, torturing himself with what he couldn’t have. Not here. Not now. “So good.”

Not ever, if you were a better, stronger man.

“Lace?” she prompted, breathless.

“All true Irish boys have that secret fetish. Something about lace doilies. I’ll tell you about it later.”

She tightened her leg around his waist, got on tiptoe and started rocking against his erection. “I thought we were going to keep our heads.”

She’d be so tight if he took her while that plug was inside her. Or Trick. Fuck. “I didn’t think you’d be using a sex toy in my class. You’re not playing fair, Jennifer.”

Jen swallowed. “I’d rather have the real thing. What you did to Trick…for example. Have you ever done that with a woman?”

“Do you need me to say it? Yes, I want your ass.” He pressed on the plug again before digging his fingers into the flesh of her cheeks. “Each time you brushed against me when you were wrapped in my cape, I wanted to lift up your skirt and take you.”

“I might have done that on purpose.”

“You deserve to be spanked right now, but if I bent you over I’d have to take that plug out and show you exactly what I did to Trick. How it felt.” She was soaking his erection with a fresh flood of arousal and he swallowed, desperate to taste her again.

Her eyes were wide. As if she were looking at a different person. And in a way, Declan knew she was. He was hanging on by a thread. “I could take you right now.”

She licked her lower lip. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He shook his head. She couldn’t say that. Not now. Not when he was so close to losing it. “No, it’s not okay, Jennifer. The things I want to do to you aren’t okay.”

That didn’t stop his hips from pumping against her, his erection grinding against her heat again and again, until he knew he was in danger of embarrassing himself.

“This is crazy,” he groaned. “Do you—are you on the pill?”

Jennifer shivered. “Yes. And I get tested at the clinic…I mean, I’m safe.”

She was anything but safe. “I am too, but you can never be too careful. I’m always careful, Jennifer. Always. But now? I don’t have a condom handy and there are fifty people on the other side of this wall but all I can think about is how good it would feel to get inside you without anything between us. To know my come is dripping down your legs when you walk back to your seat in your pretty white dress.”

“Oh God.”

Exactly. “But I won’t. You and Trick may be having wild sex every night, but I can’t afford to—”

“We haven’t,” she interrupted, a catch in her voice as she reacted to his words. “I’ve asked. I’ve wanted to, but he won’t. For two months he’s touched me, kissed me and given me orgasms, but nothing else. I think he’s waiting for you.”

Trick, what are you doing to this poor girl? To me? Some caveman remnant was sneaking out from under his inner rock and demanding he claim her first.

Who are you trying to fool?

It was more than a remnant. Trick wanted him to have her. She was offering herself. She was responsive. So wet and tight and ready, he could have her right now. There was time and she was protected. Just once.

No.

Declan let her go and stepped back, running a shaking hand over his face before reaching for his zipper. He couldn’t let himself look at her again. “The movie’s almost over. We need to straighten up and I need a few minutes alone so I don’t embarrass myself before my next class.”

For the first time Jen looked uncertain. “Okay.” She shrugged her cardigan back over her shoulders and buttoned her sundress, trying and failing to fix her underwear.

“I’m sorry. I swear, I only meant to apologize. I went too far.” The second I had you alone. He looked down at his pants, forcing his erection back inside with a wince. “Trick has a lot to answer for.”

When she didn’t respond he looked up to find her glaring at him, her arms crossed indignantly. “What did I say?”

“Talking after intimate moments seems to be an issue for you. Have you always been prone to self-sabotage?”

He frowned. “Are you analyzing me?”

“I may be in braids but I’m not in grade school.” She took a step closer. “I’m twenty-six. I’ve gotten my bachelor’s degree, been engaged to an idiot, gotten chained and flogged and yes—had sex in a sadist’s paradise. More recently, I’ve been stalked by a private investigator who likes to bite and stick his tongue up my ass and tell me what to wear while talking about how great you are in bed. Don’t let the sweet dress fool you, Professor. I’m not a child and I make my own decisions. This situation is on all three of us.”

He knew he was staring at her with his mouth open like an asshole, but he couldn’t help it. And she wasn’t finished. “As to the fraternization issue? I get the rules about teacher-student relations in theory, but I think there should be exceptions for returning students and bonus points for life experience. People should be allowed to pursue both higher learning and sexual partners simultaneously, as long as no favoritism is shown.”

He started to respond but then she pointed at him accusingly. “And anyway, I’m not the one who couldn’t keep his hands off my body or his tongue out of my pussy in the middle of an educational documentary. Now I won’t have notes for the quiz on Thursday and I’ll have to eat my sexual frustration at the commissary’s dessert buffet, because just like the man you have no problem fraternizing with, you give me the icing but none of the cake. You’re both all foreplay and no finish. And I’m not a halfway kind of girl.”

She gave him a “How do you like them apples?” look before straightening her skirt and heading for the door.

“Miss Finn?” He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to get the words out.

Jen paused, looking back at him.

“I may have misled the class about a quiz so no one would fall asleep. And I’ll expect us to finish this conversation tomorrow in my office at two-thirty. This issue is not resolved.”

She frowned at him, but something sparked back to life in her eyes. “Talk about an understatement.” And then she was quietly opening the door and disappearing from his view.

Declan felt like he’d been hit by a freight train. A slender twenty-six-year-old freight train who tasted like honey and told him off like a trucker.

And she had the most beautiful red hair and blue eyes he’d ever seen.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered, to no one in particular.

He pulled out his phone and texted Trick.

We need to talk.

The response was instantaneous.

You liked the dress?

You’re a bastard.

I knew it. Aren’t you still in class?

Showing a movie.

R rated?

Meet me at the bar.

Did you watch porn without me?

No, Declan thought. I was in porn without you.

Meet me at the bar after my last class.

Did you know she’s wearing a butt plug?

Yes.

I’ll meet you at the bar.

Declan slipped the phone back into his pocket and ran his hands over his face. God, he could smell her in his beard. Taste her. He wanted to call Jennifer Finn back into the room and make her come again. He wanted to take her home and have her for dinner. He hadn’t been this obsessed since—well, since the first time he’d been with Trick.

And look how well that turned out.

Trick was the reason he knew he had it in him. This kind of hunger. He wasn’t lying when he warned Jennifer about wanting things too much. When it came to his old lover, he considered himself an addict in the truest sense of the word. The highs, the crash and the long painful withdrawals that came with their now-and-then relationship reminded him to keep the rest of his life simple. No extremes.

What he had with Trick, and what he was already starting to feel for Jennifer Finn was extreme and it wasn’t simple. On an intellectual level he didn’t like what he felt. The possessiveness. The sexual aggression.

With Trick, it at least made more sense. They’d spent hours together talking and studying as Declan helped him prepare for his high school equivalency. They’d bonded over the absence of their parents—Trick had helped him grieve for his mother—and the criminal, negligent elements in their extended families.

Trick made him laugh. He’d been behind bars and Declan had never known a man so comfortable with himself. So at ease in his skin. It was clear after a few sessions that Tristan Dunham did not belong in prison. He was a bit of a troublemaker, but at the bone he was one of the good guys. He’d just had a few bad breaks.

It wasn’t until Trick had knocked on Declan’s door on his first day as a free man that the spark of interest between them had become an all-out conflagration. Trick said he’d seen it in his eyes the minute they met, but Declan had never had a clue what was inside of him. Sometimes it still scared him. The more he wanted something, the harder it would be to lose it.

With Jennifer Finn, his feelings weren’t based on time together or shared history, yet each time she smiled at him or spoke to him, each time he was close enough to touch her, they grew stronger.

And now that he’d had a taste, he knew it would be impossible to resist what Trick wanted. What they all wanted.

If Trick felt it too, Declan didn’t know how he’d waited this long to have her. How he’d touched her and never taken her.

It was one of the things he meant to ask him at the bar.

And then Trick would tell him about the first time he’d met Jennifer, and every graphic detail of what they’d done together until this afternoon.

God, he was messed up.

Chapter Five

“You’re an angel, Jen. A saint to do this for me on your study day.”

Jen smiled up at the grateful Tasha, finishing her task with one final stroke. “Well, I’m caught up on all my assignments and you know I’ll do anything for your lemon tarts. Which is why you brought over a dozen. One for every toe,” she joked.

“Lord, please tell me I haven’t grown two extra toes. I haven’t seen my feet in days.”

Her roommate’s voice drifted from the kitchen to the living room. “A dozen? I’ll gain a hundred pounds.”

Jen smirked. “Only if you eat them all before I’m finished giving the Senator’s wife a pedicure.” She patted Tasha’s foot. “I was teasing. Ten toes and all done. In case you can’t find them later¸ they look gorgeous in fire engine red.”

“Funny.”

She’d laid out the kit her mother had given her last Christmas as soon as Tasha had called with the request. “Call it hormones, but if I have to deal with people wandering in and asking me questions about Stephen’s policies or the twin’s due date while the nail lady pretends she doesn’t notice my swollen ankles? I might cut someone.”

Jen had nothing but sympathy for her saucy, beautiful sister-in-law. She knew from the family grapevine that it wasn’t just reporters following her around. The Senator’s wife had accumulated a few secret admirers since she started to show.

Stephen was not pleased with the Baby Bump Brigade’s existence. He’d been fine until he knew they had their own website bursting with pictures of his wife running errands and coming and going from the doctor’s office. He’d been livid. And that was before he found out half of the Brigade were men who thought pregnant women were hot.

Tasha had always turned heads, but she was even more stunning now, if that was possible. Her mother said Tasha had “the glow”.

“It doesn’t happen to all pregnant women,” Ellen had assured Tasha weeks ago. “In fact, it’s rare—unless you’re married to a Finn. Then get used to it, because that glow is our gift for a lifetime of raising the handsome, troublemaking devils.”

Jen gathered up her tools and went to the bathroom to put them away and wash her hands. When she came back, Alicia was admiring her handiwork, tart in hand. Jen snatched it and took a bite.

“Hey!”

“Hey yourself,” she said around flaky lemon goodness. “I’m saving you from that ridiculous liquid fast you’ll go on as soon as Tasha leaves and you feel guilty for eating something with more calories than air.”

Alicia looked at her fingers and wiggled them, then pushed at the skin on her calves. “I should. I’m still suffering from Belize. They had food everywhere. If we weren’t having a five-course meal, we were being stuffed with fattening treats and appetizers. I’m bloated like a balloon.”

Tasha pushed herself up to a sitting position and glared at Jen’s sexy Latina roommate. “Alicia? I know you’re young and you don’t know any better, but you need to hush now. Have you seen this belly? I have two future six-footers baking on a high heat in here and I can’t unhook my bra or lace my sneakers without help. That’s bloated.”

Jen chuckled and both women turned to her with raised eyebrows.

“Oh, look, Little Finn is laughing,” Tasha sassed, but her green eyes were full of good humor. “Miss High Metabolism thinks we’re funny. Just because she can eat everything that isn’t nailed down and a single walk around the block gives her muscle definition, she thinks we’re funny.”

“She has no soul. I’ve heard rumors that gingers have no souls.”

Jen sent Alicia a warning look that made her giggle, then gave up and grinned at Tasha. “Don’t even start. I would Freaky Friday with you in a heartbeat. You know how long I’ve been jealous of your breasts.”

Alicia sighed, staring at them. “I am too.”

“Stop admiring me or I’ll cry,” Tasha warned. “It’s happening more and more lately and I’m only six months in. I’m exhausted, I’m weepy, I can hardly stand to be in the same room with myself. At this rate I’ll die of dehydration by month nine.” She made a face. “Let’s talk about something else. Alicia? How was the family wedding?”

Jen watched her friend push her thick waves of hair from her face with a scowl. “Lots of food. Lots of family handing Raoul babies and dropping hints the size of anvils. The groom’s mother kept trying to read my palm to tell me when he’d propose.”

Tasha laughed. “How did Raoul handle it? The babies and marriage attack?”

“Too well.”

Tasha and Jen shared a look. “What do you mean?” Jen asked.

“I mean I love him, but he’s so together he makes me nervous. We’re not even married and he’s already the perfect husband,” Alicia griped. “He cooks and cleans. If he took up knitting he couldn’t be more settled in. I don’t want to be an old married couple yet. What I would like is a little more…” She paused, shaking her head.

“Romance?” Tasha asked.

Alicia waved that away.

“Mr. Darcy?” Jen queried playfully, knowing Alicia’s obsession with Pride and Prejudice.

“Everyone wants that, but no. Hunger,” she finally said, reaching for another tart.

Oh. Break-the-bed sex, Jen remembered from their previous conversation. She  leaned toward Alicia consolingly. “What about the paddle I got you for your birthday?”

Her roommate lifted her shoulder. “He really likes the paddle. But we only have that because you got it for us, you know? He would never have thought of that on his own, and I’m usually the one to suggest we use it.” She made a face. “I don’t want it to sound like he’s not a great lover. He is very sensual. But I’m afraid I’ll scare him away if I tell him what I want.”

“You have to tell him.” Tasha had her experienced BDSM-switch face on. “He can’t know what’s going on in your head if you don’t calmly and clearly communicate what it is you want.”

“The problem is I’m not sure. Not specifically. But I want to experiment. To find out what we both like. To try new things. I don’t want us to be comfortable with each other by the time we get married, you know? I want to be irresistible to him.”

Jen couldn’t help but think about yesterday. Declan. There was nothing comfortable about that. She’d nearly screamed in frustration when he sent her away. She was going to go crazy waiting on these men to stop circling and make up their damn minds.

“You’re the one sitting on that mountain of diamonds, honey. If you want something different, you have all the control. Just let him know.”

Jen laughed at Tasha. “Is that how you’ve turned my brother into your love slave?” She looked at Alicia conspiratorially. “You should see him at the family dinners. The way he can’t stop touching her? I think her diamonds must be magical.”

Tasha’s smile was satisfied. “If it’s magic, we’re equally under that spell. I could tell you things about Stephen’s stamina that—”

“No!” Both Alicia and Jen said at the same time, making Tasha laugh.

Tasha’s phone buzzed and Jen’s beeped at the same time. She looked down at her texts and sighed. “Wow.”

“I know,” Tasha sighed. “Owen is going to drive Jeremy around the bend before we ever get to the wedding.”

Alicia covered a gasp with her hand. “He didn’t change the date again, did he?”

“No, thank goodness. But he does keep changing his mind about the details, and Jeremy keeps scrambling to change them. I swear he’s doing it on purpose.”

Jennifer shook her head. “He knows exactly what he’s doing. Owen was a brat when he was sixteen and he’s a brat now.”

She lifted her fist instinctively for Tasha’s bump of agreement. “You don’t have to tell me about your brother. I’m just glad Jeremy has so much patience. On the other hand, he was the one to propose. And that speech earned him a hell of a lot of brownie points.”

“Points he’s almost used up with his bridezilla impersonation.”

The three women chuckled before Tasha turned her attention to Jen. “Tell me your news, Little Finn.”

“My news?” Did her voice just go up an octave? Shit. Tasha was great at reading body language. “Other than classes and homework and some more classes, there’s nothing new with me.”

Such a liar. And she knows it.

“Mmmhmm. So I shouldn’t tell you I’m wondering whether to go to my husband with certain information Brady decided to share with me? I think he thought I already knew.”

“What?” The giant jerk. She knew he was worried about Trick hanging around her. He’d told her. He didn’t need to tell everyone else. He definitely didn’t need to tell Stephen. Not yet. She’d never get what she wanted once the Finn men got involved.

Alicia smiled curiously. “I’m missing something.”

Tasha tilted her head, sending her brown curls tumbling. “I think we all are, aren’t we, LF? I was under the impression you’d swung your pendulum back to being the good and dutiful Finn princess again, impervious to my bad influence.”

Please don’t say it.

“But now I know that it was all a distraction so you could play with blond, inked and wicked.”

“Who?” Alicia asked.

Shit.

“The tousled detective, Trick Dunham.”

“Her bodyguard?” Alicia sounded so surprised, and why shouldn’t she be? Jen hadn’t told anyone. Specifically Alicia. “That can’t be true. Ever since Jen moved in and her first semester started, she’s home in her own bed every night. Alone. I’m the one who sets the apartment alarms, so I know.”

Jen’s pale skin gave her away, turning bright red as the two women stared at her. “We might need better alarms, Alicia.”

Alicia made a high-pitched sound of surprise and Tasha laughed so hard she had to hold her rounded belly. “Oh boy. That woke them up. From what Stephen’s told me, a better alarm wouldn’t matter. Trick is… well, he’s tricky. And not someone I would have guessed was your type. I was so mad at your brother when he first told me about him watching you at the club, but he is cute, isn’t he? In a wrong side of town kind of way.”

“You’re sleeping with him and you didn’t tell me.” Alicia grabbed a lemon tart and took a large bite, obviously shocked and hurt. “Isn’t he forty or something?”

“He’s thirty-eight. And we’re not having sex. He just stops by.” And makes me come until I cry while you’re sleeping.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

“I’m sorry.” Jen was a jerk. “It’s complicated. I was embarrassed. Not by him, but by the way I was behaving. And the longer it went on, the harder it got to let you know. Please don’t be mad.”

Alicia tugged on a curling strand of hair, considering her plea. “I understand. It’s like that time I borrowed your favorite jacket to go to a club. I set it down to dance and somewhere between the margarita competition and the guy juggling lit torches one sleeve caught on fire. Then I couldn’t take it home because you’d realize I’d borrowed and destroyed it, so I gave it to a homeless man. It looked really nice on him though.”

Jen’s eyes widened as she listened. “That didn’t happen,” she argued, confused. “That weird neighbor robbed us before he moved out. He stole some of your dresses and the necklace your grandmother gave you. That’s why Raoul got the alarm.”

Tasha was already laughing when Alicia sent Jen an innocent smile. “I was too embarrassed to tell you. Please don’t be mad.”

“You burned my favorite jacket?”

“You let a kinky old detective break into our apartment?”

“I’m having so much fun,” Tasha laughed. “We should get together more often. Forget political scandals and crime fighting. This is where all the action is.”

Jen couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t really care about the jacket, as long as Alicia wasn’t mad at her. “I’m glad our dirty laundry amuses you.”

“Stephen would be livid,” Tasha said with a conspiratorial look.

“Which is why you won’t tell him.”

Tasha gave a nod of agreement. “Which is why I won’t tell him—as long as you clarify something for me. It’s been months since Stephen called Trick off. Has he been hanging around all that time?”

“Yes,” Alicia answered for her.

Jen sighed. Of course she wouldn’t keep that to herself.

“Why? Are you in trouble, Jen?”

“No.” At Tasha’s look, Jen shook her head. “I swear. Other than Trick, I’m currently trouble free.”

“And you’re telling me you haven’t slept together yet?”

“Everything but,” Jen confessed quietly, blushing.

“Why? Does he wear a promise ring? Is he a virgin?”

Jen snorted. “Not even a little bit.”

Tasha frowned. “I know he’s kinky because Brady mentioned something about testing a flogger but—Oh. Do you have a consensual arrangement? A regular play date?”

It would make everything so much easier if she just said yes. She glanced furtively at Alicia and shook her head. “Nothing that formal. Safe word, yes. Some toys. He likes to make me do things… But no floggers or handcuffs. He’s very hands on.”

“I’m getting jealous.” Alicia grabbed another tart and got to her feet. “I’m going to run to the store. Raoul left me a list so he could make something special for dinner tonight.”

Jen frowned and Alicia licked her fingers. “I can see you need to talk alone. Usually I’m very good at picking up on things, and Tasha is the resident sexpert.” She sent an apologetic expression to Natasha. “Is that an insulting thing to call a pregnant woman?”

Tasha grinned. “Not at all. I’m going to be a mother, not a nun.”

Alicia glanced back at Jen. “You’ve both inspired me to talk to Raoul. Maybe tonight he can pretend to sneak into my room and ravish me.”

“Little Finn, your roommate is a keeper,” Tasha declared. “I promise to bring lemon tarts next week just for you, plus a new toy for Raoul.”

“I’ll start running five miles a day in tart anticipation.”

When the door closed, Tasha grabbed Jen’s hand and pulled her up onto the couch beside her. “Tell me everything.”

This was Tasha. Tasha, who spent as much time at the club as Owen had. Tasha, who had regular three-ways specifically with bisexual men. Actually specifically with Jeremy until Owen started dating him, Jen mused.

Her family was getting complicated.

The point was, nothing was news to Tasha. Nothing shocked her. She’d probably experienced everything Jen had recently been through with Trick and Declan. It would definitely make Jen feel better about her own behavior.

Enemy camp, remember? Pregnant with your brother’s twins?

Jen had to risk it. She desperately needed someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn’t judge her. So she told Tasha everything.

Almost everything.

Tasha listened quietly to every new detail. She was obviously restraining herself until she knew Jen was finished. “That’s it. That’s my news.”

“Is that all?” Tasha asked quietly.

“Isn’t that enough?”

“Of course it’s enough.” Tasha raised her voice so suddenly Jen leaned back. “What the hell is he thinking? What are you thinking, young lady? And a professor, too? This is madness. Wait until your father gets home!”

Jen had crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders defensively until she heard the last sentence. She looked up in confusion and a warm hand pulled her close so her head could rest on Tasha’s round stomach. One of the babies was kicking. Tasha brushed her hair away from her face soothingly. “I know. That was horrible, wasn’t it? I’ll need to practice if I’m going to sound remotely believable when my kids grow up and have kinky secrets of their own.”

Relief relaxed her muscles, but she lightly whacked Tasha’s leg anyway. “You scared me. I think you’re ready.”

“I’m sorry. You looked so sure someone was going to yell at you, I thought I’d get it over with.”

Tasha always understood. Always. Even when she didn’t. “So, you don’t think its madness?”

“Oh, no, it’s absolutely madness. I mean, are you kidding? But how lucky does it feel to be you right now? Trick is all bad on the outside, with good gooey filling. Although making you wait is cruel and unusual, it’s also kind of romantic when you think about it. And this professor sounds enough like the opposite of Trick to be intriguing. Nerdy, repressed men can be some of the dirtiest lovers. And they’re a couple? Both bisexual?”

Jen nodded. “On and off, but when they’re on? Very intense.”

“So what you’re telling me is gorgeous, well-hung, bisexual Irish bookends want to make you the filling in their sandwich and pleasure you senseless? Oh yeah, your life is so hard.”

“I didn’t tell you they were well-hung.”

“Am I wrong?”

Jen smiled in answer. “Do you think I should do it?”

“Will you drop out of school and lose yourself in an orgiastic haze until you end up being arrested again?”

“No.”

“Will you let the dirty Professor Hot Lips give you a passing grade for your favors?”

Jen made a face. “Definitely not.”

“Are you still on the pill and taking precautions?”

“Yes, Natasha.”

“And are you still planning on using that beautiful heart of yours to help people in pain and save the world? As Finns do?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Then who am I to tell you what you can or can’t do with your body?”

Her body wasn’t the problem. “I’m not the best judge of a man’s character.”

“Prison changed you.” When Jen rolled her eyes, Tasha laughed. “But I’m being serious. You’re a different person now than you were with Scott. More confident. What we’ve been through in the last year or so? Everyone’s different, but I think you’ve grown the most—if you don’t count stomach girth. And you’ve done it while we were all too caught up in our own crazy romances and insecurities to notice.”

Jen smiled, loving that she could call this woman her sister. “You noticed.”

“Because I love you the most, but don’t tell your brothers.” She chewed on her lip for a moment. “And because I love you, I should tell you this won’t be as easy a sell as Owen and Jeremy, or Stephen and I, for that matter. As a one-time couple experience, sure. As a relationship…”

Jen forced a snort. “I’m not bringing them to the Finn Again. This is sex. It’s not serious. I mean it’s intense, but… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are you sure it’s not serious?” Tasha looked doubtful. “Trick and Stephen go way back.”

“I know. They hung out in the same—”

“They did more than hang out. They took turns saving each other’s lives.”

“The chips?”

“The what?”

“Trick said they each had chips to call in. That I was one of Stephen’s.”

“I know Stephen helped Trick get out of his house one night before his brother killed him. He was drunk and he’d beaten Trick pretty badly, and somehow your brother knocked out his, packed a bag and got Trick safely to a friend’s. They were young enough that, if he’d called the police, Trick would have been taken from his home and put in child services, which he didn’t want.”

Her heart ached for Trick. “That’s one hell of a chip.”

Tasha nodded. “But he’s earned his fair share, Jen. Stephen told me that a few years later Trick took the fall for him. Just him. A whole group of young hoodlums, all of them swearing loyalty to each other, disappeared on Stephen as soon as they heard sirens. Trick stayed. He hid him and got taken to jail for something he’d warned everyone not to do.”

Jen didn’t understand. “Stephen never committed an actual crime.”

“He came close, but Trick made sure no one knew how close. And he never asked for or accepted anything in return.”

“He really did that? Took the blame for my brother?”

Tasha nodded. “It was just stealing, not drugs or murder. But it went on his permanent record.”

And now her brother was a sitting senator and Trick found lost dogs and cheating wives. When he wasn’t breaking into her bedroom.

“He seems to make it a habit,” Tasha continued. “Helping people, I mean. Ken told me Trick recently helped relocate some people who were close to him. He made sure no one would ever find them, so they’d be safe. Ken said he’d owe him for life.”

“Does Brady know about that? Because he doesn’t like Trick at all.”

“Probably because he suspects his intentions for you. And that’s what I’m trying to tell you. He appears willing to put his good relations with a man who could destroy his life with one line of code, and a state senator who still owes him a favor, at risk to spend time with you. Not to mention incurring the ire of a Marine, his police chief brother and every other alpha male in your family. Do you think he did that—broke into your room and spent months seducing you—because he had some nights free? So he could get his old lover to have a one-time ménage?”

“Maybe?” She honestly hadn’t been thinking beyond tomorrow. Her office meeting with Declan. “I don’t know.”

“Well I do. Just like I know you aren’t as casual about this as you’re pretending to be. I can see it in your eyes. Of course, I could be wrong,” Tasha backtracked, obviously seeing that she was upset. “I am pregnant.”

Jen’s lips twitched. “You’re going to use that as an excuse for everything, aren’t you?”

“For a few more months, yes. Then I’ll have the new mother excuse. With Finn twins, that should last a few decades.”

Why would Trick put himself in such an uncomfortable situation? Tasha was right, it didn’t make any sense for a fling.

She couldn’t deny the combustible chemistry between them, though. All of them, which seemed unusual to her. Special. Trick drove her wild and made her want to laugh and hit him and give him a taste of his own medicine before begging him to touch her again. He was relentless and reckless and he called to something fun and playful inside her.

Declan was… Well, he was new. She almost felt guilty for how intensely she’d responded to him. How carnal their make-out session in the classroom had been.

He’d warned her about his lack of control, but when got to his knees and took her like that with his mouth... She shivered a little with the memory.

Jen didn’t want to stop what Trick had started. And now that she knew Declan wanted her, she had to know both of them. Together.

But you don’t know them, not even Trick, as well as you should.

It felt like she did. And what they’d awoken inside her wasn’t going anywhere until it was satisfied. That would take both of them finally giving in to their desires.

“Did I lose you? Earth to Jen?”

“Huh?” She blushed, sitting up and pushing her hair back. “Sorry.”

“You’re phone is ringing.”

She reached for it, then grabbed Tasha’s hand. “You won’t tell Stephen?”

“I’m insulted you’re asking. Is it because I’m pregnant?”

Smiling in relief, Jen reached for the phone. “Hello?”

“Are you alone?”

Declan. She got up and walked toward the kitchen. “My sister-in-law is visiting. We were having a girls’ day. But I can talk.”

She smiled when she heard him swear under his breath. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“You’re not. What are you doing right now, Professor?”

“Right this minute?”

“Right this minute.”

“I’m sitting in my car across from your apartment, telling myself to leave.”

Her lips parted and she looked around madly for her flip-flops. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Oh. I had drinks with Trick yesterday after class. Wouldn’t let him go until he’d told me everything the two of you had done together. Now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Uh-huh. That’s interesting. Why don’t you come up so we can talk about it?” She blushed, gesturing to Tasha that “he” was outside and that she’d be back in ten minutes. Tasha clapped silently, gave her a thumbs up and stood, reaching for her purse to leave.

“On your girls’ day?”

“She was actually leaving as you called.” Jen mouthed Thank you! and blew Tasha a kiss, signaling that she’d call her later. “I’m alone.”

He made a pained sound. “I can’t come up to your apartment.”

“Why?”

“I think you know why.”

Jen leaned against the door. “Can’t control yourself without a classroom full of witnesses and a distracting documentary?”

“I nearly took Trick in the men’s bathroom at the bar. I would have if some idiot hadn’t threatened to call the police. Let’s say the last few days suggest a lack of willpower on my part.”

Jen closed her eyes and bit her lip, instantly picturing Declan and Trick together in a bathroom stall. “I wish I’d been there.”

He laughed roughly. “No you don’t. But I do. Which is why I can’t come up. Not until we all come to an arrangement together.”

An arrangement. All of them. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure I’m not leaving this car.”

Then she was going to the mountain. She opened the door and walked down the steps. “Did Trick tell you how we met?”

“Yes. And about your fiancé.”

She grimaced. “Oh.”

“I forced it out of him. I wanted to know if I had reason to be jealous.”

Her laugh was genuine as she snuck down the sidewalk, looking for his car. She thought it was silver. She should have paid more attention when her brothers talked about cars. “I can’t explain how not jealous you need to be.”

“What are you wearing? I’m talking about masochism in class soon and I’m doing research.”

She saw him leaned his head back on the driver’s seat, obviously on speakerphone, and smiled. “Never mind me, you’re wearing a t-shirt. I’ve never seen you in a t-shirt before, Professor Kelley. It’s weird, running into your teachers outside of school, isn’t it?”

He sat up straight and started looking around. He saw her as she came up to the passenger side door and knocked on the window. “Can I come in?”

“Hell,” she heard before he hung up the phone and the lock popped up.

When she got inside and closed the door, they were both quiet for a long, awkward minute. Then another. Jen was suddenly aware that she had no makeup on, her hair was back up in a ponytail and she was braless in a faded purple tank top and her inside shorts. She would tug them down, but there wasn’t enough fabric. She’d planned to look sophisticated and sexy for their meeting in his office. To wear something that would stop him from thinking of her as a younger student.

Even in a t-shirt and jeans, Declan looked put together. She shifted in the large, comfortable seat and glanced over at him. “I’m sorry. I don’t always think before I act.”

His hands were clenching and unclenching on his thighs as he studied her. “Do you usually dress before you leave the house?”

She half-laughed in disbelief. “I’m dressed. Not for dinner and a movie, but all the important bits are covered. I guess I should have thrown on a pair of jeans but I…” Didn’t want to give you the chance to drive away. “I’ll go grab something.”

He looked around at the windows and swore under his breath. Then he locked the car doors before she could reach for the handle. “That seat goes all the way back. The lever is on the side.”

Did he want her to lie down? His expression didn’t give anything away.

She leaned back. He was right. It went all the way back. “This is nice. Comfy. I bet it’s great for road trips.”

He shifted in his seat to face her, his tight lips curving slightly at that. “I tell you I don’t think I can be alone with you and control myself, and you decide to come down to join me in a confined space in your underwear.”

“Shorts.”

“Those are not shorts.”

“I’ve seen people run marathons in shorts exactly like this.”

“I don’t want to see you running, Miss Finn. I want to see you pushing them down to your knees.”

Jen gasped and her eyes flew to his. “What?”

“We’re going to talk about what comes next with us, and I want to see you. Touch you, while we do it. Trick told me you had a safe word and, after yesterday, I think it’s obvious we need one. What is it?”

“Teal.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Red wouldn’t work, he said. My hair… And no one ever says teal accidentally.”

Declan nodded, his gray eyes heated. “Push them down, Miss Finn.”

“You’re parked on the side of the road! What if someone sees?”

“You think I’d let that happen?” he demanded. “Down, now. To your knees.”

Oh God. “Everything?”

“Are you using your safe word?”

She wasn’t. She lifted her hips and pushed her thong and shorts swiftly to her knees, her heart pounding in her ears as she thought about getting caught. It was turning her on. “There.”

“I want that top off too,” he added, glancing in his mirrors.

“Declan, I have an apartment right upstairs. A bedroom with a door.”

His fingers came down with a hard tap between her legs and she cried out in surprise and excitement. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, Professor?”

She grasped the hem of her top and started to pull it off. Declan tugged the fabric from her grip and dragged it up her arms to her wrists. She watched in shocked silence as he used the tank top straps to knot it to the headrest, effectively trapping her with her arms above her head. “You’re a little kinkier than I thought, Professor Kelley.”

“You have no idea, Miss Finn. But you didn’t stop me.”

He took off his glasses and stared at her body, absently caressing her thigh with his hand. He was silent for so long she started to squirm, wondering if he liked what he saw. “We were going to talk?”

He slapped her pussy again. “Oh,” she moaned softly, wanting more. “I’m sorry, I just thought—” Slap. “You said you wanted to talk—” Slap. Slap. Slap. “Oh, please.”

“Please what?”

“More, Declan.”

He leaned over the console, practically on top of her so he could look into her eyes. “You like that?” He did it again. The sting a little sharper.

“Yes.”

“Is that what you want? Are you being a bad girl just to make me spank this pussy? Is that why you came outside like this?” Slap. Slap. “Is it because you know you need to be punished?”

She didn’t hesitate. “You’re the psychology professor. If you think that’s why I did it, you shouldn’t stop until I’ve learned my lesson.”

“Fuck.” He lowered his mouth to kiss her hungrily, biting at her lips while his cupped hand spanked her sex again and again until she was wet and writhing against him.

He lifted his mouth just far enough away to look into her eyes. Her skin was on fire but he wasn’t stopping. “I could make you come like this,” he muttered darkly, the sound of his hand landing on her flesh loud in the enclosed car. “But then it wouldn’t be a punishment.”

Was it a punishment now? She moaned when Declan stopped to slip his fingers through her soaked folds, one dipping inside her. “I should have come up to your apartment.”

He shifted in his seat, grimacing, and she saw the erection straining against his jeans. She licked her lips. Hungry and shivering with endorphins. “If you had, I could give back a little of what you gave me yesterday.”

Sometimes she couldn’t believe the things that came out of her mouth, but Trick and Declan brought it out in her. With them she was a siren. Shameless and sexy and irresistible. “Don’t you want me to?”

“More than you know.” Declan watched her as he slid his fingers in his mouth, tasting her arousal. He closed his eyes and made a sound of frustration so pained she could feel an answering ache inside her before he turned in his seat and buckled up.

Jen tried to sit up but her wrists were still bound. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking you home,” he told her as he started the car.

“Your home? Wait. I’m still trapped in this shirt.” She struggled with the knot. “Declan, you can’t drive all the way to your house with me naked in the passenger seat.”

He wasn’t bending. “We’ll take back roads.”

“Declan we—”

“Do you want your ménage? The one Trick’s been promising?”

Jen worried her lip, looking out the window as the scenery started to fly by. What was the Finn motto again? All in or not at all? “Yes.”

Declan pushed a button in the center console and the phone started ringing.

“Hey, I wasn’t expect—”

“Trick?”

“Yes?” Trick said warily.

“I’m on the road to my house. I have Jennifer Finn naked and bound in my passenger seat. Are you busy right now?”

The line was silent for a solid minute, then, “I’m on my way.”

This was really happening. “I need to call Alicia. She’ll be worried when she gets back from the store and I’m not there.”

“Number?” Declan bit out. She gave it to him. “Tell her you’ll be gone all night.”

She did and luckily Alicia didn’t pepper her with questions, like why was she calling from a strange number when she had her phone and why she hadn’t locked the door when she left. Jennifer was glad. She didn’t want Alicia to mention their earlier conversation. Girls’ day was a sacred thing.

After they hung up, the car was heavy with anticipation and sexual tension. She felt vulnerable. She was hot and tingling from the spanking, her arms locked over her head, and the vent was blowing directly on her nipples. She wiggled around, trying to get comfortable.

Declan took one hand from the wheel and covered the mound of her sex. No slapping. No tickling. Just holding it in his hand. It was strangely soothing and arousing at the same time.

“Are we there yet?”

He smirked. “Don’t start or I’ll pull over and we’ll never make it home to Trick.”

Home to Trick. Did he realize how his voice deepened with pleasure when he said that? “Do you live near campus?”

“Not far.”

“Do you have any pets?”

“Miss Finn?”

“I know.” She sighed. “But I’m tied up in a car with no cover and no idea where I’m going, and I realized I don’t even know if you’re the kind of man who likes animals.”

His fingers tightened on her and she shivered. “Is this too fast, Jennifer? Tell me now. Do you want to go back? This doesn’t happen without your full consent and participation.”

“No,” she assured him. “I mean, yes, I am definitely in. I’m just feeling a little…exposed.”

“I see.” He caressed her tenderly, finding and lightly circling her clit without looking away from the road. “I love animals, but I don’t currently have a pet. I travel a lot between semesters.”

“We don’t have any either because Alicia’s allergic,” Jennifer volunteered, watching his hand. “But my brother Owen got Jeremy a puppy about a year ago. They named him Badass. Everyone loves him.”

“Jeremy?”

“Owen’s fiancé. The wedding was supposed to be this month but now it’s Christmas Eve? I can’t believe you don’t know this. It’s all over the news because my other brother Stephen is a senator.”

“That, I knew.” Declan sent her a strange look. “But I don’t usually pay too much attention to local news, I’m sorry. Are your parents okay with the marriage?”

“Are you kidding? My mother has been over the moon since they got together. Dad too. Jeremy is practically family.”

“Practically?”

“He’s been Owen’s best friend since high school. He stayed at our house a lot because…well, his parents didn’t react well when he came out.” Declan didn’t respond to that and she studied his handsome profile. She remembered what Trick had said about Declan’s family. “Was your mother like that when you told her?”

Declan smiled. “She acted like it was perfectly normal until the day she died. When I first worked up the nerve and told her I liked a girl and a guy in school, she praised me for being smart enough to keep my options open. She said it was a sign of an open mind and a creative spirit. She was a bit of a hippie, and she loved art.” Then his smile faded. “My father’s family doesn’t like change, as a rule, and their minds are as closed as they come. I can’t imagine them attending a wedding like that. Not even for a relative.”

Jen couldn’t imagine keeping her family away. “That’s sad.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I think my Uncle Sol is like that, even though two of his sons are openly gay. But then, he doesn’t seem to like anything and we rarely see him, so everyone ignores it.”

He started massaging her again. “Anyone else? I heard you played with a married couple. A man and woman.”

She frowned. “Trick really did tell you everything.” Did he mention the arrest?

“Of course he did. Did you enjoy it?”

The way he purred that question made her forget about everything but where they were going. She lifted her hips into his hand, needing more pressure. “I didn’t like her, particularly after she started talking trash and pressed charges for one little punch. So I’m not sure I can count that as a same-sex experience.”

He laughed. “Probably not.”

“There is this beautiful girl from Jamaica in two of my classes. I could imagine kissing her.”

“And now so can I.”

This was nice. Strange, but nice. Still, the way he was touching her made her desperate to get to his house and join Trick. She rocked against his hand, her need rising as she prayed they didn’t drive past a curious trucker. “Are we there yet?”

“You’re almost there just thinking about it, aren’t you, Miss Finn?”

“Kissing a girl?” she joked weakly.

“Trick and I kissing you.”

God, he was sexy. “Now I am.”

He pressed two fingers against her clit and started to rub in a circular motion.

“Yes, like that,” she groaned, arching her back.

She didn’t realize he’d stopped the car until he leaned over her again, the two fingers of his left hand filling her now as he sucked a nipple hard against the roof of his mouth.

“More,” she whimpered, tossing her head against the seat. “Declan!”

He groaned above her breast. “Come and I’ll give you more right now. Come on my fingers like the bad girl you are.”

Small explosions traveled through her sex and up her spine. She heard him growling as he felt her climax soak his hand and his teeth dug into her breast again.

The passenger door opened abruptly. “Did someone say more?”

“Trick,” Jen gasped breathlessly, heat flooding her face as one more fierce contraction burst through her.

He laughed and studied the scene with a wicked expression. “What did you do to him, sweet Jen?”

“You started it.”

Declan lifted his mouth and looked up at Trick with a feral smile. “Whoever’s to blame, I’ll be finishing you both tonight. As many times as I want. However I want.”

Jen saw Trick shiver. “Then we’d better get started.”

Chapter Six

Declan was sporting the mother of all erections as he rounded the back of his car.

“You got here fast,” he said as he handed Trick his keys and then freed Jennifer from the seat so he could take her into his arms. “I thought you had to work today?”

Trick had a shit-eating grin on his face as he studied the red marks on her naked body and the shirt that was still twisted around her wrists. “The advantages of being my own boss,” he said, not taking his eyes off her. “I put off the job so I could patch that hole in my bathroom wall before more animals made it their home for the winter. Now I’m free in time to see this.”

Declan shook his head. “I don’t know why you won’t sell your brother’s house and get a nice apartment. You could stay here until then. It wouldn’t be long. The market is good and that’s why he signed it over to you in the first place.”

“I don’t take things that aren’t mine.” He winked at Declan. “I’m rehabilitated.”

“Open the door. With the key, please.”

“Spoilsport.”

Jennifer started to giggle and he looked down at her. “What’s so funny?”

Her blue eyes were laughing at him. “I don’t know. I just never imagined my first ménage would start with a conversation about real estate over my naked body.”

Declan tightened his grip, forcing himself not to look below her neck. Not to think about the skin he was touching. “I’m trying to get you inside so I don’t fuck your naked body into the pavement and give my respectable neighbors a show.”

“Oh.” Jen stopped laughing abruptly and turned away from his penetrating gaze.

“His respectable neighbors couldn’t see you unless they had a helicopter, Jen. Don’t let him scare you.”

Declan felt her relieved breath against his chest. “This house is huge. Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

Trick opened the door and smiled at her as Declan carried her over the threshold. “You didn’t know our professor was loaded? Your roommate’s family has nothing on this guy. The first time I got my foot in the door, I was casing the place. I could have retired on my own desert island with a bag or two of his knickknacks. Of course, fifteen minutes later I decided I’d rather steal a kiss.”

“Which is why your career as a criminal was so short-lived and unproductive.” Declan sent him a tight-lipped grin. “I need your help, Trick. I need you to take her.”

Because I can’t let her go.

Trick studied Declan’s body language with astute green eyes for a moment and then stepped forward to reach carefully for Jennifer. Taking a few steps back, he set her on her feet and pulled up her shorts gently. “I think a breather is in order, yeah?” he said as he untied her tank top. “Declan, why don’t you go grab a drink while I give her a little tour of the Kelley mansion?”

That might be a good idea. He needed a minute to catch his breath. He didn’t want to scare her.

“Trick?” Jen looked up at the blond with a frown, but something in his expression made her nod slowly. “Okay. I’d like that.”

“I’ll be in the library.”

Trick walked away with Jen in tow and Declan heard her say, “He has a library?” before he turned and forced himself not to follow them.

He hadn’t been consciously planning for this to happen today. Jennifer had been right to hesitate—it was too fast and she didn’t know him well enough to make an informed decision.

But when she got into his car, shared her safe word and let him spank her bare pussy, waiting had no longer been an option. His darker urges had won out over his common sense. He’d practically kidnapped her.

She said yes.

What if she hadn’t? He hoped he would have been able to turn around, but a part of him wondered. All he’d known was he needed to get her here. In his home. Under his roof.

Declan found his way to his personal sanctuary and glanced briefly at the shelves overflowing with books, the Botticelli on the wall, the long desk covered in paperwork and novels and the recliner where he spent most of his nights on his laptop, working on lectures. The house was too large for one man. He spent most of his life in three of its rooms—the library, the kitchen and the bathroom.

Trick harassed him about it. Said he needed to stop living like a moody ghost in a castle and make more friends. “Have a party. Rent out a few of these rooms to circus folk and make some extra pocket change. Get a horse. I hear rich people love owning horses. It could graze in your living room and you wouldn’t even notice.”

Declan flipped open a book, his lips quirking at that memory. Trick was probably right, but Declan didn’t want any of that. He wanted something entirely different…and they were already here. Now he just had to figure out what to do with them.

And how to hang on to them.

“I thought you’d forget about that drink you need.” Declan looked up to find Trick in the doorway, the bottle of champagne in his hand.

“Why did you bring that?”

“I thought it was the best way to celebrate the start of our new adventure.”

Declan frowned as he watched him work on releasing the cork. “Where is she? She shouldn’t be alone after I…”

Trick chuckled. “She’s doing great. She was more in shock at the size of this place than her naked arrival. It was cute. But the second she saw the master bath, she lost her mind and made a lot of incomprehensible but happy female noises. I gave her arnica gel for the marks and left her to experience the wonder that is your shower. Showers relax her, and I thought you and I should touch base before we take the next step.”

The cork popped and Trick caught it before it hit something valuable. Declan leaned heavily on his desk. “The next step of our adventure? How can you be this relaxed? She came to see why I was loitering outside of her apartment and… Well, you saw what I did to her.”

“I did. She didn’t seem to mind, Declan.”

His fingers flexed as he remembered how much she didn’t seem to mind. “She’s too young to know any better.”

“I won’t tell you how stupid you sound sticking with that argument. You don’t believe it.”

“She’s young, sexually speaking. The quick-finish fiancé you told me about? A few months of reckless behavior at a fetish club? She’s still experimenting.”

“Don’t forget all those hours she’s clocked in bed with me.” Declan glared, but Trick just shook his head in disgust. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know we were grading her. I didn’t come prepared.”

“I’m not—” Declan took a calming breath. “I’m not grading her. I’m trying to make sure that we don’t end up hurting her or scaring her away.”

That I don’t go too far, the way I did with you. That I don’t ask for too much. He didn’t have to say it.

“You didn’t seem that worried about scaring her away in your driveway. The fact that she was still willing to talk to you after you—in your own words—accosted her in the sanctity of the classroom? Doesn’t that prove that you’re the one who’s scared, Declan? Not her. Not me. You.”

“Accost might not have been the best word, but it was still irresponsible. She’s one of my students, and because of the subject, I do everything in my power to ensure their privacy and protection, as well as respect their sexual and social mores in—”

“Here we go.” Trick took a swig of champagne from the bottle. “We’re not in a lecture hall now, Professor. You’re talking to me, so talk to me. You always do this. Speak around the issue like I won’t understand what you’re going through.”

Declan frowned. “I do? I don’t mean to.”

“But you always do.” Now Trick was the one pacing. “So tell the truth, now, when you can’t use passion as a cover. I dressed up your crush and served her to you on a pretty platter and it got you so hard you didn’t give a damn about your rules, or even about respecting personal space. You saw someone you wanted and you went after her. The same way you went after me. That’s human. It happens. Get over it.”

Declan accepted the bottle when Trick handed it to him, studying the man he’d known for so long. Loved. He’d been so lost in his own needs and anxiety that he hadn’t wondered how Trick was handling this. He was risking a lot for Jennifer. For the three of them. “You’re right,” he said, his voice calmer now. “I’m sorry.”

Trick’s eyes, so sharp and piercing, looked at him in surprise as he took a drink. “It’s okay,” he finally said. “I’ve had weeks to wrap my head around this idea. Months. I should have talked to you about it instead of throwing down that dare.”

Declan wanted to kiss him. Instead he sighed, thinking of Trick’s association with the Finns. “What about her family?”

“The one that’s overflowing with protective men in positions of authority?” Trick huffed out a laugh and lifted one shoulder. “She’s the baby, and the only girl, so who knows? If and when they find out they might take turns seeing how far they can kick me down the street.”

“And what would they do to me? Someone they don’t know. Someone whose last name is Kelley.”

Trick walked over to him and stole back the bottle. “The Finns aren’t like those assholes. And they’re not going to ‘name a bridge after you’ and drop you in concrete. But even if they were, you obviously don’t give a shit or you wouldn’t have trussed her up and brought her home like a delicious, naked holiday ham.”

“I give a shit.”

“Well I don’t. Here’s what I do care about. She’s here. We’re here. We all want the same thing. And you spend too much time hiding alone with Freud and Jung, convincing yourself you’re a deviant monster instead of a man with a passionate appetite who enjoys exploring his primal side more than most.”

Declan took the bottle, set it down on his desk and reached for the collar of Trick’s t-shirt, yanking him closer. “Says the tough ex con who picks locks for fun and plays at being a sleazy private detective as cover for your high IQ and that secret quest for sainthood.”

“I am a sleazy private detective. It says so on my tax returns. And I’m aiming for brooding vigilante, not saint.” Trick lowered his hand to cup Declan’s balls through his jeans, making him tense. “Either way I’m trouble, and that’s one of the things you like about me. It’s why you let me in.”

“And I’m the deviant who always wants to chain you to my bed so you can’t escape.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t say that.” Not when you don’t mean it. You never stay.

Trick looked into his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated.

Declan covered Trick’s hand with his own and pressed. “If you were trying to calm me down so I wouldn’t scare her away, you’re getting a failing grade.”

“Finns don’t scare easily, Kelley.” Trick’s rasp was more pronounced with need. “But we do need to remember to take it slow. Not that she can’t handle it, but she’s never been a part of a ménage before. She doesn’t know how intense emotions can run. She has to be our focus. Her pleasure, our end goal.”

Declan narrowed his eyes. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“It’s from the suggested reading material in your syllabus. Torn Between Two-to-Four Lovers: A Guide to Group Pleasure.” Trick laughed at Declan’s expression. “What? I read, remember? High IQ?”

Damn the man for coming so prepared. Declan sent him a heated look. “I’ll need you.” I always need you. “You’ll need to hold the reins. Pull me back.”

“I will,” Trick promised. “If I have to. I’ve been looking forward to watching you take her.”

Declan swallowed hard. “Watching? I thought we were taking her together.”

“We will. But I’ve been imagining this for a while now. Indulge me.”

“You just told me it’s her we need to indulge. She trusts you.”

“She should probably be involved in this conversation,” Jen said, her voice dry, but amused, “before you two start a sexy round of rock, paper scissors and ruin the mood.”

Declan had a feeling he might be blushing but refused to acknowledge the heat in his cheeks as he stepped away from Trick to look at her. “Did you enjoy the shower?”

“The shower was so good if I’d stayed in it a minute longer you’d never have seen me again.” Her hair was still in a ponytail and only slightly damp, but her body was heated and glinting with moisture. She had a forest-green towel wrapped around her, but that was all. Declan was thinking about how easy it would be to remove it when he noticed she was also holding a basket in her hands.

He frowned at it. “What’s that?”

“This is a basket. You have a beautiful home, Professor. I’m guessing it might have its own zip code, but it’s lovely.”

Trick laughed, the tension in his body uncoiling at the sight of her. “I’ve mentioned turning it into a disco or a home for aging stallions, but he always says no. I’m surprised you found us so quickly.”

Jen studied them with a mysterious smile on her face. “I could hear you talking all the way in the living room. I just followed my ears.”

Declan tried to remember everything they’d said. “I’ll have to look into sound proofing.”

Her smile widened. “Good idea.” She lifted her basket. “I found this in the bathroom doing nothing but looking pretty with a group of its decorative friends, so I used it to gather supplies on my long journey through your house.”

“Little Red Riding Hood,” Trick murmured. “You sure are looking good.”

Declan raised an eyebrow at the song lyrics, but Jennifer laughed in delight. “What big, cheesy lines you have, Trick. Let me show you what I brought.”

She held up a bottle of water. “Hydration is key in these kinds of situations. I found this in the kitchen. These, I found in your bathroom.” She showed them a bottle of lube and enough condoms to last them both three days.

“You have a lot of faith in our stamina, Miss Finn.”

“I’ve seen you in action,” she quipped before setting down the basket, her expression suddenly serious as she met Declan’s gaze. “Have you changed your mind again? Do you not want me to join you?”

“No,” he croaked, his throat tightening until he had to clear it. “I mean yes, I want you to join us.”

“Good. I have a few conditions first.”

“Uh-oh.” Trick looked at Declan with a grin and stepped closer to her. “More conditions.”

She kept her eyes on Declan. “I want to make sure there are no more concerns between us. You do say in class that communication is the key to all healthy forms of sexual expression.”

“What do you want to know?”

She shook her head. “I want to tell you what I know about this Kelley issue.”

Declan frowned. She’d heard that? “It’s not an issue for me, Jennifer.”

“This is all I know. My grandfather’s name was Ned. He was an Irish mobster who died before my mother and father were married. I know Dad and Uncle Sol had broken their ties with him before that and his father’s criminal record was one of the main reasons Sol decided to be a police officer.” She tilted her head. “I know every time my Dad hears the song Ned of the Hill he cries, and Seamus said it’s because it reminds him of his father. And I know he keeps a locket with a picture of his family when he and Sol were babies by his bed.”

Declan took off his glasses and folded them carefully. “That’s all?”

Jen nodded. “That’s it. At least, as far as I know. At no family dinner, no holiday, no crisis in our family have I once heard the last name Kelley—or anything about my notorious grandfather. Dad’s not a big believer in holding on to the past. He’s good like that.”

He shook his head. It was hard to believe, but she was obviously telling the truth. Declan wished he’d known that kind of family. The one she described.

She walked slowly until she was standing right in front of him. “Still, it would be interesting to find out what really happened to cause the rift. Ned and Rod were friends for life, then enemies until their untimely deaths.”

Declan’s lips curved. “That sounds like a song.”

“We’re Irish,” Trick reminded him with a shrug. “Everything sounds like a song.”

“We should research it and publish the story of Kelley and Finn,” Jennifer said. “It has everything—drama, friendship, betrayal, sex. I’ll make a note.”

She dropped her towel on the floor and reached around him, feigning interest in the papers on his desk as if looking for a blank page to write on.

“Sex?” Declan’s erection came back to painful life as her naked body pressed against his. He could see Trick licking his lips as he eyed the supple, rounded cheeks of her ass.

She stopped shuffling, straightened and looked up at him with bright blue eyes. “Sex,” she confirmed. “No story is complete without it. Two generations later, another Finn and Kelley realize the stupidity of holding a grudge and blaming all your problems on someone else’s long-dead ancestor. They have an insanely passionate threesome, doing unspeakably dirty things to each other to celebrate this newfound peace, until none of them care about what really happened, or why.”

“I told you,” Trick murmured, and Declan knew he was talking about Jennifer. She was one of a kind. Perfect for them.

He couldn’t stop staring at the pink skin between her thighs. The marks from her earlier punishment was still there. His marks. He wanted to feel the heat of them against his lips.

She put a firm hand on his chest. “Wait one minute, Professor.”

“You’re naked. Waiting is off the table.”

“Trick?” Jen motioned him closer. “I haven’t given all my conditions.”

Declan felt Trick’s hand on his shoulder and laughed. “Think you can stop me?”

“No, but she can, because she’s asking.”

Fuck. He studied her through heavy lids. “What else?”

Her hand caressed him through his shirt, almost unconsciously. “We’ve almost covered everything, I think. I’m old enough, I’m a discreet returning student not a minor, and I don’t particularly care about the Irish sob fest that is our genealogy. But you had one more issue, didn’t you? Something about scaring me?”

“Were you listening to that entire conversation?” he pushed out through his clenched teeth.

“Enough. Can I have your promise that if I use my safe word, you’ll stop? Both of you?”

“Of course,” Trick answered immediately, squeezing Declan’s shoulder hard.

“Even if it kills me,” Declan agreed.

“Then I trust you.”

She couldn’t know how conflicted those words made him feel.

“As for my concerns and issues? I think the both of you already know I’m open to just about anything, particularly role-play. I don’t like cruelty or serious mind fucks. I’m not a bitch or a whore…but I kind of love being a bad girl.”

Oh Jesus. She was negotiating.

“I don’t like sharp objects or being punished with neglect or withholding. If you need to punish me, you’re responsible for my well-being and safety at all times, and that includes any after care.”

“Are you done?” Declan was hanging on by a thread.

Her smile was pure temptation. It reminded him of Trick’s. How did she do that? “Almost, Professor. I want us to be together in every way possible. You two have me so wound up I’ll unravel if I have to wait too much longer. But I understand and respect the relationship you and Trick share. More than that—it turns me on. Seeing you together was an experience I wasn’t able to thoroughly enjoy due to our misunderstanding. Instead of the two of you flipping a coin for first place, my last condition is that you give me an up close and personal replay right here and now. I want to watch you together. Let me enjoy it as much as you do.”

Trick swore until the air around him turned blue while Declan studied the flush rising up her smooth, pale skin. He’d never met another woman like her. She’d been carried in, naked and bound like a pirate’s plunder, and now she’d just flipped the script on all of them. She was calling the shots.

She didn’t care about any of it. Their age difference, the fraternization policy, not even their strange family history. All the things that had him in knots, she’d brushed away like specks of dust.

Jennifer Finn demanded a command performance. She stood there like Eve in the Garden, as if she’d stepped out of one of his paintings just to witness Declan making love to Trick.

He had the strangest desire to kneel at her feet. He wanted to worship her with his tongue and teeth until she cried out in ecstasy. To make her as wild as her seductively direct words were making him.

“Do you agree to my conditions?” She asked when he hadn’t responded.

Declan reached for the back of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, kicking off his shoes at the same time. “I agree.”

“Trick?”

“You know me, Jen.” Declan could hear his arousal and it fed his own. “I’m up for anything, as long as you are. Agreed.”

As he took off his pants, he was aware of her hungry gaze and what it did to him. Somewhere during her list of dos and don’ts, he’d found some control. She wanted to watch, and he wanted to please them both. Nothing else mattered. Not anymore.

Chapter Seven

Jen wasn’t sure what had come over her. Maybe she was channeling Tasha’s sexual confidence. Maybe it was that kinky car ride—she didn’t know. It didn’t matter now. In this moment they were hers and they were going to give her exactly what she wanted.

Standing in Declan’s library completely naked, watching these two beautiful men strip at her command, was more than surreal. But she knew she wasn’t dreaming. She could still feel the heat from the spanking Declan had delivered on the way over. This was happening. Finally. It felt like she’d waited forever.

Trick grabbed a bottle of champagne and walked toward her, and Jen had to focus all her energy on not melting in a puddle at his feet. She’d never seen him like this. Completely naked with all the lights on, the erection she’d had pressed against her so many times in full view.

He was beautiful, different, as if his irreverent armor had been stripped away and she was seeing him for the first time. Still wicked. Still a sexy son of a bitch. But there was something more that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

And he was going to be hers. But first he was going to be Declan’s.

He took a swig from the bottle and then pressed it to her lips, tipping it back so she could drink. “You are always surprising me, Jen,” he whispered as she took a deep drink. The bubbles made her nose twitch and he laughed, kissing her breathless.

She caressed his strong jaw, threading her fingers through his blond beard while he tasted the champagne on her tongue.

When he came up for air, there was something soft and full of promise in his bright green gaze. “Your turn, Declan.”

Jen’s eyes widened when she realized Declan was right beside them, waiting. Trick handed him the bottle, and Declan tipped it against her skin instead of her lips, his storm-cloud gaze never leaving hers as the cool liquid spilled onto the tops of her breasts and hardened her nipples.

She gasped when he dipped his head to lick one; opening his mouth over most of her small breast and sucking so hard she felt it in her clit. His beard scraped her skin, and his tongue... God, yes. Her hips started moving of their own volition, her body empty and aching. When Trick followed Declan’s example with her other nipple she moaned, cupping their heads with her hands.

Yes. Both of you. Don’t stop.

Declan’s lips left her breast to skim her neck, her chin, before nibbling at her lower lip teasingly. “Are you sure you only want to watch? You said you weren’t a halfway kind of girl.”

She tugged Trick’s hair and tried to hold on to her resolve. “Let’s start with that, at least. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”

Trick lifted his mouth and groaned. “I didn’t know you were such a voyeur.”

“Neither did I.”

“She’s a very bad girl,” Declan agreed, but she could see his frustration. He wanted her. Wanted both of them. She couldn’t doubt the desire in his eyes. The proof in every touch.

“Kiss Trick,” she murmured, running her hands up and down their arms, loving the feel of the muscles shifting beneath their skin. “I want to see it.”

Trick’s smile was a masculine challenge. “Maybe I’ll kiss him instead.”

Jen’s sex clenched at the possibilities those words brought to mind. Declan cupped the back of Trick’s neck in response, the move rough but almost playful as he pulled him close.

They came together with an ease and intimacy that was instantly arousing, eyes closing and everything else melting away as their tongues lazily battled for dominance.

Jen was still touching them both as she watched, as aroused as if they were kissing her. Nothing would ever match this, she knew. The anticipation and pure eroticism of this first time.

“So damn sexy.” She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud until they both moaned and the kiss became more aggressive. Urgent.

They liked knowing she was there. Watching.

She tore her gaze from their mouths and looked down over broad chests and muscled abs to watch their erections rubbing against each other as they kissed. They were evenly matched, beautifully made. They were going to take her together.

“You two are making my legs wobble.” She got to her knees beside them caressed their strong calves. “Why don’t you come down here where I can see you better?”

Declan tensed but Trick bit his lip until he growled. They knelt on the floor, still kissing as if they couldn’t get enough. Declan turned his head so Trick was biting his jaw and studied her in a way that made her quiver from head to toe.

“What is it, Declan?” she asked.

“You look good on your knees.” His voice was dark with promise. “I thought so the first time I saw you.”

Jen squeezed her thighs together, unable to hide her reactions from him. “And I wanted to know what those lips would feel like on my body. You’re both so beautiful together.”

He shook his head, a short laugh escaping his throat. “We’re not beautiful.”

“Speak for yourself,” Trick joked. He ran his hand down Declan’s torso and stomach, wrapping his fingers around his thick shaft. “I’m stunning.”

“You are,” Jen sighed, unable to stop her hand from gliding over his hip. “Declan, I can see why he makes you wild. He looks so lean and dangerous. Like he can’t be tamed.”

Declan groaned at her words and reached out to grip her ponytail, pulling the band out so her hair tumbled to her shoulders. His fingers threaded through it while his hips pumped forward into Trick’s firm grip.

“That’s better.” His lashes lowered and he looked down at the hand stroking him. “God, that’s good.”

Jen loved his hand in her hair, but when it left her to pull Trick in for another, deeper kiss, she didn’t mind at all. She was as lost in it as they were. This kiss was all Declan. He was hungry, eating at Trick’s mouth as if he were trying to consume him, his other hand covering the one on his shaft and increasing the pressure.

He needed more.

“I think Trick loves your mouth as much as I do.” She smiled when Trick moaned in agreement. She traced her fingers over Declan’s hard thigh. “I bet he begs when you wrap those full, sexy lips over his cock.”

Declan leaned back and looked into Trick’s eyes. “She wants to hear you beg, Tristan.”

“God,” Trick breathed when the professor smiled.

“You did tell me to indulge her.” He gripped Trick’s erection and positioned himself on his hands and knees in front of him, his mouth opening over his lover’s erection.

Jen licked her lips, watching Trick react to Declan’s talented mouth. She knew how skilled he was. How greedy. From the sounds Trick was making and the flex of his sexy behind, he was just as spun as she’d been by Professor Hot Lips.

“If you want me to beg, Declan, you’ll have to—Fuck. Yes, like that. Please, damn you.” Trick gripped Declan’s hair with white knuckles. “You said you’d take your time. So take it. Don’t fucking stop.”

She slid her hand between her legs, shuddering with desire as she watched Declan take his time. His thick lashes brushed his cheeks and his lips were stretched wide as he lowered them again and again to the base of Trick’s cock. He took it all, and Trick was an impressive looking man.

He was growling low, but the expression on his face was almost blissful as he gave Trick what he wanted. He loved him. Loved pleasing him. Loved making him beg.

“Yeah,” Trick moaned. “Don’t stop now, babe. I’m nearly there.”

So was she. She moaned when she slid one finger inside her and his lashes fluttered. She saw one hand lift off the floor and reach toward her. What did he want?

“Jen,” Trick gasped. “Come join us.”

She moved closer until she could reach out and touch them and Declan growled again, pulling them down so he was lying on his side. He gripped her hand and placed it on his thick shaft, groaning raggedly at her touch.

“Suck his cock, Jen,” Trick rasped. “He needs you.”

Yes, she thought crawling close and lowering her mouth to lick the head of his cock. Her eyes closed. God, he tasted good. She took him in greedily, mimicking what he was doing to Trick. Both men moaned in reaction.

“God, Declan—Jen, whatever you’re doing don’t stop… Fuck, that’s good. So good, babe.”

Holding Declan with one hand while she sucked him, she slipped the other back between her thighs. She was so hot. Aching. She wanted to watch Trick’s face as he came. Wanted to watch Declan pin Trick down again and claim him.

Wanted them both inside her.

“Yes. Please, babe. Yes.”

Trick came chanting Declan’s name and jarring them all with the thrust of his hips. Jen took more of Declan, loving the male, salty taste of him, her fingers rubbing her clit as she got closer to her own climax.

I want to make you come, Declan. I want to please you.

She sensed Trick move away to collapse with one last, deep groan and then Declan was in motion and she was on her back with her knees pressed against her shoulders. Trick handed him a condom.

Yes. Please. Finally. “Declan?”

His expression was feral, hungry, but he didn’t saw a word. He was staring into her eyes as he rolled his condom on with one hand and guided his erection inside her.

“Oh God.” Jen cried out as he filled her slowly, her tight muscles giving way to his unrelenting cock. Her position made her helpless to do anything but take him. She wanted all of him. She wanted more. “You’re…Oh God, Declan, please.”

She heard Trick’s sexy bedroom voice before she saw him move closer. “How does she feel?”

“Tight,” Declan growled. “Hot.”

“She’s so wet.” She saw Trick lick his lips as he watching Declan’s cock disappearing inside her. “I need to…”

Declan leaned back as Trick lowered his head between her legs, licking her clit and groaning at the taste. When he moved away Jen cried out as Declan thrust deeper. Faster. God, so deep. “Yes. Yes, Declan. I need it. I need—Yes.”

“So good. You’re gripping me so tight,” he muttered. “I couldn’t wait anymore. Can’t stop.”

“I’m close,” she gasped as each thrust seemed to go deeper than the last. Her whole body was on fire, burning for him. “I have to come. Declan.”

Her climax had him shouting against her skin, his thrusts erratic as he reached his own release. It was like a hurricane, tossing and spinning her around until she washed up on the shore, limp and happy to be alive as Declan gently rolled off of her.

She wasn’t sure how long she was on the library floor, but as the last ripples of her orgasm faded her mind began to float lazily from thought to thought.

She could get used to this.

She shouldn’t get used to this.

Was she flying?

Jen opened her eyes. Trick. Trick was carrying her. “How are you walking?”

Trick was still glistening with exertion and satisfaction when he smiled down at her. “I was born. I cried. I thought about ménage and then one year later I saw a cat I desperately needed to pet. It just sort of happened.”

She laughed weakly, leaning her head on his chest. “You know that’s not what I meant. Where are we going?”

“To the bedroom. I think our professor has plans for you, young lady. He was muttering something about detention.”

If detention meant he planned on another round, she was more than willing. She saw Declan’s broad shoulders as he strode ahead of them to open the bedroom door, heading for the bathroom she’d just showered in. Trick, however, was carrying her to the bed. He tossed her on the king-sized mattress covered in a rich azure blue comforter, crawling up after her and kissing her lips tenderly. “You blew my top off, Jennifer Finn. Declan’s too. You might be stuck with us for a while.”

She secretly wished that were true. “I was just the magician’s assistant. You two were the main attraction.”

He laughed and adjusted the pillows against the headboard, leaning on them before pulling her against him, his legs on either side of her and his arms wrapped around her. “No. I think you’re more like the lion tamer,” he murmured. “He’s a passionate man—”

“You think?” She shook her head at the understatement.

“He responded to you in a way I’ve never seen before.”

She didn’t know how that could be true. Trick had known him for so long. “What do you mean?”

He hesitated and then said, “Did you happen to notice any of his art in your wanderings? The paintings in his library?”

She shook her head. “I was a little preoccupied.”

“His mom was a painter, and watching her work while he was growing up gave him a taste for fine art.” He gestured with his head and she followed his gaze to the wall across from the bed to a gorgeous impressionist painting of a nude woman.

“I don’t know much about art, but it’s beautiful.”

“It’s you,” he corrected. “Or the idea of you, anyway.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Declan’s collected a lot of paintings over the years and they all have a few things in common. They’re all of beautiful, sensual women with flawless white skin and hair made of fire and gold. I hadn’t really thought much about them over the years, but one night after a fight, I found myself on my back with my knees in my chest and my pants around my ankles and Declan…”

He sighed, pulling her closer. “It was one of those moments, you know? I looked up on the wall and there she was. Everywhere, in a dozen different scenes and styles. She was watching us and smiling. Waiting.”

Jen was breathless from the images his words had evoked. “She?”

“You. The memory of that moment really stayed with me, I guess, and the first time I saw you, it was like I knew you. Like I’d had you and it was the best sex I couldn’t quite remember having.”

She blinked. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

“And the more I watched you, the more I got to know you, the more I knew—”

Declan walked back out of the bathroom and looked back and forth between their faces. “Knew what?”

“That you’d be in there forever,” Trick said smoothly, “and damn, I was right. What took you so long?”

The more he knew what?

For a minute, Declan just stared at them cuddling in the middle of his bed, and despite his forbidding expression, Jennifer was sure there was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

“I was cleaning up so I could take care of Jennifer,” he finally said, moving closer, a white box and a wet washcloth in his hands, “And now I feel like you’re planning something again.”

“I usually am,” Trick said, making Jen laugh.

Declan held out the box to Trick, who pulled out a wipe and picked up Jen’s hands, cleaning them while Declan climbed between her legs and placed the hot washcloth on her sex.

“I feel like I’m at the spa. Do you give facials?” As soon as she said it out loud, she regretted it. Both men laughing only made it worse. “I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

“How are you?” Declan sobered first. “Any second thoughts?”

She frowned, startled. “None. You?”

He started to move the heated cloth against her. Sensual strokes that she felt in her clit. “Only about my lecture tomorrow. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to discuss the all-male harems of the Umayyad Caliphs of Cordoba, or the concubines of the Chinese emperors, without using the two of you in a demonstration.”

Jen dug her fingers into Trick’s arms as Declan continued to stroke her sensitive skin with the washcloth. “Maybe I should take a sick day so I don’t distract you.”

“And ruin your perfect attendance, Miss Finn? Don’t you dare.”

“I think I’m clean now.” She pressed back, away from the touch, not willing to admit she was already turned on again. “Thank you.”

Declan tossed the washcloth on the floor and gripped her thighs firmly. “There’s only one way to be sure.”

He lowered his body to the bed and pressed his face between her legs, inhaling deeply.

“Oh God.”

Declan moaned and traced every inch he could reach with his tongue. He sucked her clit until he heard her gasp, then licked it before circling her entrance. She knew he’d found what he wanted.

“Wet again.” He hummed against her clit and she shivered. “We have that in common, I think. One taste of something we want doesn’t satisfy us—it consumes us. Makes us ravenous for more. And I want more of you, Jennifer. I’ve wanted it again since I had a taste during our last lesson.”

“Wish I’d seen that,” Trick muttered.

“Get ready for an instant replay.” Declan spread her thighs further apart and started to fuck her with his tongue.

“Ah. Oh, Declan. Trick…”

“I’m here. I’ve got you.” Trick held an arm around her chest, cupping her breast with one hand as he watched Declan aggressively take what he wanted. “Jesus, he loves it, Jen. He needs it. Give him more.”

Her body’s response to his command was immediate. The flood of arousal made Declan growl with pleasure, his tongue going deeper and his nose pressing her clit. She was already so sensitive she came after a few minutes, but Declan didn’t stop. Not after the second, stronger climax. Or the third. She was crying as waves of release overlapped and threatened to consume her as his fingers joined his tongue inside her when Trick’s ragged voice drifted over her shoulder. “Declan, give her a minute to catch her breath.”

He lifted Jen away from Trick and, finding two condoms in the nightstand, ripped one open and swiftly rolled it on his lover’s reinvigorated erection. “Declan?” Trick murmured, his cheeks flushed as Declan kissed him.

“I can’t wait anymore.” He protected himself and reached for Jen again. “Jennifer, can you take us? I need to have you. Both of you.”

“Yes,” she said with a throat hoarse from shouting. Her eyelids closed as she shuddered. “That’s what I want.”

There was a deep rumble in his chest as the storm in Declan’s gray eyes intensified. “Straddle him.”

She licked her bottom lip and nodded, “Yes, Professor.” She looked down into Trick’s hungry eyes and swung her leg over his lap. Her palms pressed into his muscled chest and dug her nails in just enough to make him smile. She lowered herself onto him, whimpering when she felt the coarse hair at the base of his cock scrape her bare mound.

“Jesus, Jen,” Trick swore. “I knew. I knew you would feel like this.”

“Lean forward,” Declan growled close behind her. His tone made her clench around a gasping Trick, both of them waiting for his next command.

“Kiss him.” His voice was laced with need. “I have to get inside you. Need to have you both. Now.”

Trick had been training her with the plug and his fingers but there was no comparison once she felt Declan. The blunt head of his cock pushed steadily into her. No hesitation in his movements as he thrust his length deep inside her. So full. God, he was thick and hard and—“Declan.”

“Baby.”

They were both inside her. The feeling was almost too much. Pressed between their heat and strength, filled by both of them. Yes.

Declan reached over her to kiss Trick hungrily. Then he raised back up and slid his hands into her hair, tugging until she tilted her head back. “Mine,” he groaned, taking her mouth as his hips started a rhythm Trick quickly matched. They intertwined their fingers at her hips, both men guiding her. Owning her.

Jen was having a hard time finding her breath as they took her. She could feel them thrusting in and out, faster than before. She could hear them whispering encouragement and swearing with restraint, but everything else faded into the background as the two men claimed her.

Her men.

Declan moaned. “You’re so fucking tight, Jen. I can’t get enough.”

“Don’t hold back, Declan,” Trick demanded hotly. “She likes it rough. She can take us. She can take both of us.”

When Declan took the challenge she lost her ability to think. To breathe. All she could do was take what he gave and cling to them both as the world spun off its axis and flung her into space.

“Never.” He kept repeating it with every thrust, his hips pounding against her, jarring her body down onto Trick’s shaft with every thrust. “Never get enough. So good, I’ll never get enough.”

“So good, Jen,” Trick echoed. “Perfect.”

She could feel it coming. Another wave so big it would swallow her whole. Wash away everything she was and leave nothing but bones. “Declan, Trick, I’m… Oh God.”

“Jen!” His shout joined hers as they came together. It was too much. She’d thought what they did in the library was the sexiest thing she’d experienced. This was more.

Mine, he’d said earlier.

Did she have to turn in her lady card for loving the sound of that?

Was she a fool to hope he meant it?

She was lying there panting, her cheeks damp with tears she didn’t remember shedding, her head on Trick’s shoulder and Declan leaving kisses along her spine. Her body was trembling, shuddering with aftershocks, and she couldn’t remember ever feeling more complete. More vulnerable. Alive. Was this normal? Trick had said “emotionally intense” but this? How did someone handle this? What would Tasha do?

Scratch that. Tasha was shameless.

And what are you?

Trick sighed. “We have a big problem.”

“We do?”

“We do,” he said, amusement and wonder in his voice. “There may not be enough condoms in your basket to make it through this night.”

She gasped and laughed breathlessly as he made his cock pulse inside her. She might not have to worry about what came after this, she thought, swallowing hard. It was very possible she wouldn’t make it through the night.

Chapter Eight

“Natasha Rivera Finn.” Jen glared over the vegetables she was chopping for the salad. “You promised.”

“I know I did. And I haven’t told my husband, his brothers or anyone who has the name Finn on their birth certificates. But I had to tell Jeremy. We tell him everything and he’s always kept your secrets.”

“Yes.” Jeremy leaned against the kitchen island and made a face. “I remember the last one Owen found out about. I couldn’t sit for days. Good times.”

Tasha reached out to pat his arm. “That’s the price you pay to be a co-captain of the Little Finn fan club. Jen, you know we support you and we’d never do anything to hurt you. If you want to date Trick, that’s your business.”

At least there was that. Tasha hadn’t been able to keep their recent conversation entirely to herself, but she’d only shared a half-truth. As far as Jeremy and Ken knew, Jennifer was in a secret relationship with Stephen’s friend, Trick Dunham. Tasha had managed to keep Declan a secret.

Jen hadn’t wanted to put anyone in that position. She shouldn’t have told her what had happened between her, Trick and Declan—that they’d finally gotten together—but Tasha had called and worn her down.

Now there were three people in her mother’s kitchen staring at her with equal parts concern and surprise. Three people in love with Finn men—men who had ways of making them talk. Jen highly doubted Ken and Jeremy would look as calm as they did if they knew she wasn’t just sleeping with one inappropriate man, but two.

She shouldn’t have come tonight. Should have said she was studying for exams and stayed away from her inquisitive, well-intentioned family, but her mother wasn’t willing to hear that excuse again. She’d specifically asked for her help in talking some sense into Owen. Thanks to her last debacle of an engagement, Jen had experience with the difficulties of renting party halls and hiring caterers and entertainment. Ellen Finn was getting worried that all of Owen’s last-minute changes were going to ruin the celebration she and Jeremy were hoping for. So Jen had come. Alone.

She missed her men already.

“Talk to us, Little Finn,” Tasha begged. “Jeremy, she’s not talking and she’s slaughtering those innocent vegetables.”

Jen shook her head and lifted the knife, gesturing to the quiet man standing beside them. “I’m not mad, Tasha. And I know Jeremy always kept my secrets. But what about him?”

“Me?”

“Ken?” Tasha sounded surprised. “Ken is one of us. He’s been in the lifestyle longer than I have. He’s taught classes on respecting the privacy policy at the club. You remember him from your first night there, don’t you? He doesn’t go around telling other people’s secrets.”

Jen stared at Tasha without blinking. “You said he could destroy Trick’s life with one line of code.”

“One line, huh?” Ken moved closer, grabbing a carrot and popping it into his mouth. He smiled at Tasha where she was seated on the stool beside the island. “I’m flattered. It’s a little more involved than that, but you’re not wrong. Still, I wouldn’t do that to Trick.” He sent Jen a piercing look. “Though I have to admit I’m surprised he let things get personal. I mean he acts like he’s careless, but anyone who pays attention would know he isn’t.”

Jen tried not to take that as an insult. “What do you mean? He isn’t still working for Stephen. No one’s paying him.”

Ken tried to reach for another carrot and Tasha slapped his hand. “You know what’s he’s been doing, don’t you? Spill, Tanaka.”

Ken tilted his head, his long ebony braid sliding over his shoulder. Brady’s lover was a beautiful man. “I can’t tell you everything. He and Solomon have already gotten more involved than they should be.”

“Does this have to do with that group? That thing Stephen’s dead assistant was mixed up in that had everyone jumping at shadows for weeks?” Jeremy looked concerned.

“Yes.” He looked at Jen. “And when one of those shadows started to take shape, someone started taking an interest in your family again. When I mentioned you being the most vulnerable target—young female on a crowded campus with your history, etcetera, Trick offered to help use his contacts to get us more information as long as you were protected. I agreed, of course, but it quickly became clear he meant to do it himself.”

Jen set down the knife, wondering why Trick hadn’t told her. And what did, with her history mean? “So he was protecting me from something you and Brady got mixed up in? Can you explain to me why your boyfriend doesn’t like Trick after all he’s done for you?”

Ken’s smile was soothing. “Trick doesn’t make it easy. It was clear his interest in you was personal. Abundantly clear. Your man enjoys ruffling Brady’s feathers.”

Was that why he was always around?  Another person determined to protect her.

You know him. You know that’s not the only reason.

Jeremy came up beside Jen and pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and hugged him back. “I’m not supposed to approve of this match, but I can’t say I don’t feel better knowing someone like Trick has your back. What those two stirred up is a hornet’s nest. You don’t want to get anywhere near it.”

He was probably right. “I suppose I have to forgive her for telling you now,” she sighed. “She is pregnant.”

Jeremy chuckled. “We both know she wasn’t that great at keeping a secret before she started using her unborn offspring as an excuse.”

“What?” Tasha’s voice rose. “Hello. Sixteen years and you had no idea about Stephen. I am the winner of keeping secrets. Usually.”

That was true. No one knew that Stephen and Natasha had had a casual, no-strings relationship that lasted over a decade. Then again, Tasha hadn’t known that Stephen had never considered it casual.

If Scott hadn’t filmed them having sex in the backseat of a parked car as payback for Tasha’s spurning his advances, they might have kept that secret forever. At least something good came out of Jen’s heartbreak.

“No one knew that I was in love with Owen for closer to nineteen years.” Jeremy challenged. “I win.”

“I knew,” Tasha responded smugly. “And I kept that secret too. Crown the queen.”

Jen smiled despite her mood. “She has a point. Also…Mom and I sort of knew for years.”

Jeremy looked stunned. “You did not.”

“Oh, and Brady told me he knew before he joined the Marines,” Tasha supplied helpfully.

“Was there anyone who didn’t know?”

“I didn’t.” Ken sent him a dazzling smile. “But to be fair, I didn’t meet you until you were a couple.”

Jen shrugged. “We had no idea Owen had similar feelings, if that makes you feel any better.”

“It doesn’t.”

Ken chuckled. “I give you both all the credit in the world for holding out. I can’t imagine keeping my hands off Brady for that long.”

Jen knew exactly what he meant. She’d only been with Declan and Trick for about a week and a half and she was still struggling just getting through her school days without them. Declan’s class had become an experiment in torture for both of them. Trick was glad he’d been kicked out that first day. He said listening to Declan talk about sex without being able to touch him would be agony.

He was right.

Jeremy snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Little Finn. I think we’ve lost her.”

“I know that look,” Tasha sighed, a glint of concern in her eyes. “She’s definitely got it bad.”

Jen laughed nervously. “I do not. Let’s talk about something else. Like the wedding.”

Jeremy growled. “Let’s not.”

“Why don’t you just give in and have it by the lake?” Jen asked. “It’s so beautiful there. I know Stephen and Tasha had their wedding there, but what does it matter? That’s where you two finally got together.”

“Tell Owen,” Jeremy said, still frowning in frustration. “I would marry that man in a closet or a Christmas canoe, he just has to make up his mind.”

“Ellen was planning something more elaborate,” Tasha warned. “She loves you both, and she wants you to have a special day to remember.”

Her mother was pretty hung up on Owen’s wedding. Jen knew it was for them, so they would both know she was proud of them and overjoyed that they’d found each other. She also knew how many friends her mother had lost when the news about the engagement went out.

“They were never my friends,” Ellen had assured her stiffly when Jen helped her cross names off the invitation list. “Because I don’t associate with narrow-minded bigots.”

Those rejections had only made her more determined to give Owen and Jeremy the wedding of the century. If she could, she would invite the entire city and have it televised like the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Owen would probably love that.

Jeremy grabbed a large salad bowl from the cupboard and sighed loudly. “Between Tasha’s pregnancy, this wedding disaster and new and exciting secret-keeping, I’m thinking we should cancel family nights and Finn Agains until things are safe and boring again.”

Ken laughed at that. “From what I’ve seen, things are never boring in this family. Just varying degrees of crazy.”

What degree of crazy was she, Jen wondered. She was in a relationship with two men. At least, it felt like a relationship. She and Trick had been practically living at Declan’s house, and no one was saying anything about ending it.

The only people who knew were Tasha and Alicia. She’d had to tell her roommate where she was disappearing to every night. They hadn’t known each other too long but, other than Tasha, Alicia was one of the few friends she trusted. After seeing the shocked look on her face, Jen could only hope she hadn’t made a mistake.

Jen was in shock, too. She hadn’t realized it would be like this. That the need would keep growing. That they’d treat her like an equal and make her feel safe and protected at the same time. Precious, but not fragile.

She’d never known a relationship could be this good. Hell, she’d never known sex could be this good. Now she understood what all the fuss was about. Why Owen and Stephen acted like they’d lost their minds and publically declared themselves for Jeremy and Tasha.

Oh God. Now she knew? Was she in love…with Trick and Declan?

She couldn’t be. It was sex. Great sex. Phenomenal, mind-blowing, Guinness Book of World Records-breaking sex. It wasn’t love. Love would be a disaster.

“We’ve lost her again,” Ken said, amused. “Someone grab the knife.”

“God,” she groaned to no one in particular. “Why does everything have to be so complicated?”

Jeremy laughed. “Believe me, I feel your pain.”

“I’m not so sure,” Tasha muttered. “I feel sick, but that should pass in a minute.” She slid off the stool carefully, but before she could take a step her beautiful face contorted in pain and she doubled over, clutching her stomach.

Jen and Jeremy were both beside her before her scream brought the rest of the family.

“Damn it,” Tasha cried, clutching Jen’s hand so tightly she lost all circulation. “This hurts so much. I’m scared, Jen.”

“I’m here.” She looked up in time to see Stephen turn white as a sheet and collapse on his knees beside his wife. “Stephen’s here, Tasha. We’re taking you to the hospital.”

A moment later her cousin Rory moved Jeremy out of the way and started checking Tasha’s vitals and asking questions. “I radioed in. The ambulance is right around the corner. Just breathe, Natasha.”

But Tasha was too busy screaming in pain to hear him.

***

“It’s been hours. Jennifer. We should go and find a doctor.”

Shawn Finn put his arm around his wife and pulled her back down when she tried to get out of her seat. “It’s been two hours and Stephen and Rory are both back there with her, sweetheart. We’ll have news as soon as they do.”

Jen hugged herself, smiled weakly at her father and continued her walk around the waiting room. There almost weren’t enough seats to accommodate all of them. Brady and Ken. Wyatt and Noah. Solomon, James, Owen and Jeremy. Seamus had to take his kids home, but he was on his way to the hospital now.

It was too soon. That’s what everyone was thinking, but they were too afraid to say it out loud. Tasha was only six months pregnant with twins and it was too soon for them to arrive. Which meant that something was wrong.

Something was wrong with her sister and best friend, and she was helpless. All she could do was wait and pray.

“Jennifer?”

She spun around so fast it made her dizzy. “Declan?” She forced herself not to run as she moved swiftly toward him, aware of all the attention that had suddenly focused on the strange man who knew her name.

Her mother’s voice was weak with worry. “Honey? Is everything all right?”

“Yes, Mama,” she answered, still in shock. “Declan is a…friend from school.”

“How nice that he came to check on you.” Ellen turned to Shawn again. “Let me go find a doctor.”

“Can I talk to you outside?” Jennifer took his arm and he followed her out of the sliding doors and down the walk until the bushes concealed them from view. “What are you doing here?”

He cupped her shoulders and studied her face, his own etched with concern. “When we got your text, Trick had already been called out for some job or else he’d be here too. Have you heard anything yet? Has a nurse or a doctor come to give you an update on their status?”

Suddenly overwhelmed, Jen collapsed into his embrace and started to cry. He put his arms around her without hesitation, rocking her as he kissed her forehead. “It’s okay, baby. She’s going to be okay.”

“She was fine,” Jen sobbed. “Teasing me and joking and then she just— She’s healthy. Every checkup, the doctor says she’s healthy.”

“That’s a good thing,” he soothed. “From everything you and Trick have told me, Tasha is a strong woman. They’ll find out what’s wrong and she’ll be fine.”

She looked up at him, her tears blinding her. “She’s over thirty-five and this is her—Declan, what if—”

“Don’t even say it, Jen. Don’t even think it.” He kissed her damp cheeks, lingering on her lips for one tender moment before lifting his head again. “She’ll be fine.”

Jen heard Seamus snarl and stiffened in Declan’s arms. “Step away now and I won’t hurt you.”

She turned toward the parking lot, ready to explain who she was kissing when she saw three men shadowing Seamus. Two of them had cameras.

“Can you confirm that the Senator’s wife has gone into labor three months early?”

“Seamus,” another man called. “Was it the stress of the wedding? I heard the senator’s been receiving threats about his brother’s upcoming marriage to his same-sex partner, Jeremy Porter.”

Reporters. Jen grimaced, her fists clenching. Luckily most of them had enough respect to give the family space before descending like vultures. All but three apparently.

Seamus was doing his best to ignore them, but worry was shortening his temper. He wasn’t used to it the way Stephen was. “No comment. I won’t repeat myself.”

Declan stepped forward as the four men reached them. Ignoring Seamus, he stared down the others in a way that made them pause and shift uncomfortably. Jen had only seen that expression once, when an offensive student was kicked out of class. She knew what it could do. “The Finn family has no information to give at this time. No amount of questioning will change that. So you gentlemen have a choice to make. You can turn around and wait patiently in your cars because it’s a free country. Or you can leave and wait for a statement from the senator’s office like everyone else seems to have enough sense and respect to do.”

“Who are you?” One reporter asked belligerently, looking around Declan at Seamus. “Is there gonna be a double wedding now? That’d make headlines.”

Seamus stepped forward “You know what would make headlines? I can give your friend an exclusive about a reporter who conveniently broke his arm in the parking lot of the hospital.”

The reporter backed up. “Fine. Fine. I’ll wait in my car.”

His friend followed his lead, leaving the third man standing awkwardly on the curb. He was short and balding, holding a disposable camera in his hands. He didn’t look threatening at all. “I’m not a reporter,” he offered, his face pale.

Jen moved closer as Declan and Seamus towered over him. “Then why are you here?” Declan asked.

“I know Natasha.” He swallowed anxiously and, seeing Jen, moved closer with a relieved smile. “You’re Little Finn, right? Maybe you could help me.”

Jen’s stomach knotted. The man was giving off some seriously squicky vibes. Tasha knew him? “What do you want?”

He held up the camera. “When they allow visitors, maybe you could take a picture for me? I don’t think she’d mind. It’s for the website.”

“The Baby Bump Brigade?” Jen growled, clenching her fists.

“You know it?”

“You’re the ones who follow her around and takes pictures of her every move.”

He scowled. “It’s a free country and a senator’s wife belongs to the people. If she’s going to die or lose the babies, we have a right to know. When we saw the ambulance, everyone was very worr—”

One minute he was standing there and the next he was on the ground cupping his bleeding nose.

Jen glared down at him. “You’re lucky my brother wasn’t here,” she snarled, not taking her eyes off him. “You wouldn’t be getting up.”

“But I—”

“I mean how dare you? My sister is in there, in pain and scared, and you want a picture for your website?” She started towards him again but Declan wrapped his arms around her, lifting her feet and inch off the ground.

“Calm down, tiger. I think he got the message.”

The man stood up slowly, pinching his nose to stop the bleeding. “She broke my nose. I need to see a doctor.”

“Your call,” Seamus offered tightly. “But don’t complain too loudly. You’ll have to walk through a waiting room full of Finns, and in a minute, they’ll all know why you got beat down by a girl.”

He muttered nasally as he walked by them and through the ER doors. “I just wanted a picture.”

When he disappeared her hand started throbbing like crazy. “Ow!”

Declan pulled back and cupped it gently. “Can you move your fingers?”

She could, but she didn’t like it. “It hurts.”

Seamus came up beside her, forcing Declan to let her go as he lifted her in his arms with a laugh. “Of course it hurts. You broke his nose, baby girl.”

She smiled down at him. “Why do you sound so happy about it? He could sue me and I don’t have any money.”

“He won’t sue you,” Declan assured her, watching them closely. “In fact, I doubt he’ll ever speak of it again. To anyone.”

“I agree. And that’s the second time you’ve coldcocked someone for talking about our family. You’ve grown into such a brawler.” Seamus was still holding her. “How is Tasha?”

“No word yet. Unless they sent someone in the last few minutes.”

He nodded, letting her feet touch the ground before he spoke again. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Seamus held out his hand and shook Declan’s firmly. “Seamus Finn. I want to thank you for your help with that. I might have lost my temper the way my sister did. But I doubt they’d be walking away as easily.”

Declan’s smile was more reserved. “Declan Kelley. They shouldn’t have been here to begin with. Sensationalizing personal trauma for headlines isn’t journalism.”

Seamus was still nodded, but Jen saw his expression change. “Kelley?”

Did he recognize Declan’s name? “I bet I can go catch those reporters. I still have one good hand.”

Declan frowned. “You’re starting to sound like Trick, God help me. You need to go inside and get some ice on that.”

“Wait, Trick?” Seamus sounded surprised. “Are you friends with Trick Dunham?”

And that made a difference, Jen realized. The set of her brother’s shoulders relaxed and he was smiling again. Good lord, was this Kelley versus Finn nonsense really a thing? How had she not known?

Declan shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t want to take up your time. I’m sure you’re anxious to get inside.”

Seamus glanced down at his sister and nodded. “We are. Like you said, we need to put some ice on Rocky’s hand. You’re a good man for helping out, Declan. Come into the pub sometime and I’ll buy you a round.”

He put his arm around Jen’s shoulder but she resisted, slipping out of his hold. “You go on. I’ll join you in a minute.” Seamus studied her until she raised her eyebrows. “Now?”

He nodded and walked away reluctantly, glancing at them over his shoulder before he disappeared.

“He’s the relaxed brother?” Declan murmured in disbelief.

Jen sighed, gripping his jacket with her good hand and pulling him back down the sidewalk until they were in shadow. “Yes, but it’s been a bad night.”

“Of course it has, I’m sorry. What do you need from me?” He slid his hands into her hair and cupped her face. “Just tell me and I’m here.”

She kissed him. She’d wanted to thank him for coming when she called, for stepping in to help her brother… She wanted to show him how much it meant to her. His lush lips opened and the tender kiss deepened. Changed.

Declan lifted his head and she smiled up at him, a fresh tear escaping down her cheek. “You’ve already given me what I needed. Why don’t you go home and I’ll call you if anything changes.”

He didn’t like that idea. “I want to be here in case you need me.”

“I know and I love that, but everyone inside is tense and worried and walking the edge. I don’t think this is the best time for introductions.”

Declan kissed her again before stepping back and shoving his hands in his pockets. “I understand. You should be with your family now. Just know that Trick and I will be waiting for you when you get home. You know we can’t sleep without you. And don’t forget to put ice on that right away.”

“I will.”

She cradled her hand and watched him walk to his car and drive away. What was happening? This was more than ménage. More than sex. His walking directly into the lion’s den to check on her proved that more than anything in the last few weeks.

It also confirmed her fears. She was in love with him. With both of them. What was she going to do?

“Jennifer.” Her mother’s voice was almost shrill, and so unexpected it made Jen jump and turn around, her heart in her throat.

The look on her mother’s face scared her. “Oh God, is Tasha…?”

Ellen winced and shook her head, holding out her hand. “The doctor just came out with Rory. Tasha is stable and the babies are healthy and strong and still waiting a while before they join us.”

A sob of relief escaped her throat and her mother reached her in seconds, wrapping her in her warm, familiar embrace and kissing the top of her head. “I know, baby. I was scared too. She’ll have to stay the night so they can keep an eye on her, but she’s fine. They’re all okay.”

“Thank God,” Jen said, pulling her mother closer and wincing at the pain in her hand. “Ow. I really think I do need to get some ice.”

“I heard you punched the Baby Bump ringleader.”

She laughed as her mother walked beside her toward the waiting room. “I did.”

“Your brother’s going to give you the key to the city for that.”

“He’s not the mayor.”

“Stephen will find a way. Now let’s forget everything else and go take care of our boys.”

Chapter Nine

Declan looked at his clock again and scowled. Had the damn thing stopped working? He’d only had two appointments with students to discuss how they could improve their grades, but he was required to keep his door open to walk-ins for another twenty minutes.

Jennifer would be out of her last class by now. She was no doubt on her way back to her apartment for the night. Damn it. He’d wanted to see her before she left. Wanted to kiss her and convince her that it would be just as easy for her to come back home after her family obligations. That she could study for her exams until she fell asleep on her books just as easily with them as she could in her apartment. He’d been working on being less distracting.

It had only been a week since Jen’s sister-in-law, Natasha, had been hospitalized with what seemed to be a combination of Braxton Hicks contractions, or false labor, and preeclampsia. The first wasn’t anything to be the concerned about, but the second meant the Finn family lockdown would continue until the twins were born and Natasha Finn was out of the woods.

Jen had been struggling to keep up with schoolwork and being there for Tasha, which meant a lot of their time together over the last week had been comparatively tame, after what had come before.

Declan didn’t care. He still craved her, now more than ever, but as long as he could take care of her, talk to her, he was able to maintain. She slept in his bed. The smell of her shampoo filled his bathroom every morning. And Trick was more than willing to help him take the edge off.

He couldn’t describe the new peace he’d found with this arrangement. It was like a switch flipped inside him, and it had happened the morning he’d woken up in his bed with both of them curled around him like cats.

He whistled now, for God sake. He’d sat on his living room couch and watched Jennifer attach something to his cable box that put every National Geographic and History Channel documentary at his fingertips. And he could watch them with Trick and Jen lounging beside him.

But nights like these, when her family took her away and she stayed in her own apartment, complete with alarms, locks and a diligent roommate… He didn’t enjoy the reminder that she wasn’t actually living with him.

He felt like a selfish ass. He loved how close she was with her family. Despite her complaints about their overprotective nature, he appreciated how well taken care of she was. She was loved and she loved them in return. Declan actually wanted to be a part of that now. Because it was a part of her.

He thought about Trick. He couldn’t push so hard he pushed her out the door. He’d learned that lesson. Trick always came back, but he had a feeling Jennifer Finn wanted something more than on again, off again. She’d said it herself. She wasn’t a halfway kind of girl. Which worked out well because he was definitely not a halfway kind of guy.

He wanted everything. Trick and Jennifer in his house and in his bed. In his life in every way possible. He knew, more than most, how complicated their relationship would be on a long-term basis. But what they had was worth the complications. It was too good, and they were too completely fucking perfect for him, for it not to work.

The knock on his door made him glance at his clock again. Fifteen more minutes. “Come in.”

“Professor Kelley?”

His blood heated and his heart started to race. “Miss Finn.”

She smiled and ducked her head coyly, her glorious hair swooping down to cast half her face in shadow. She was playing with him. God, she made him smile. “Can I be your last appointment for the day?”

“I always have time for my students.” He stood, desperate to kiss her, but the door was open and the building was still buzzing with activity. “Close the door and sit down.”

She closed and locked it, and Declan could only be thankful that his office was a cramped cubicle with no windows but the one behind him, covered with a closed blind. “Jen.”

“Yes, Professor?”

“Come here.”

She set down her book bag and walked toward his desk. She wasn’t wearing white today. She had on a fuzzy purple sweater and a black, knee-length skirt with matching thigh-high stockings. She was covered head to toe, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to his erection.

Jen walked around his desk and slid past him until she was sitting on his desk. “I wanted to see you before I left.”

“I’m glad, Jen.”

“Where’s Trick? He didn’t call at lunch.”

“I wouldn’t worry. You know that case he’s been working on seems to be heating up. I’m starting to think it’s not the usual cheating spouse.”

She nodded, her smile dimming. “I don’t think so either. But I wanted to thank you both for being so understanding this week.”

“Is she doing better?”

“Tasha’s meds are helping a lot. Her swelling is down, and she’s already complaining about the bed rest order.”

“I have a feeling your brother can’t be swayed.”

Jen smiled. “Not when it’s about her health, no.”

Maybe she didn’t want more than this. Just to touch base. He could do that. Declan sat down in his chair and steeled himself to resist her, caressing her concealed calves and counting backward from one hundred. “We’ll do whatever we need to do to help, you know that.”

“I do.” She paused. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’m right here. Always.”

She placed her low-heeled shoes on either side of his thighs and started tugging up her skirt until it was bunched around the tops of her thighs.

“I mean I’ve really missed you, Professor. Let me prove how much.”

Declan dropped his gaze and let out a low, agonized breath. “Jesus, Jen.”

“They came with a matching bra.”

“We’re in my office during office hours.”

“You’re right.” She sighed in disappointment and started to close her knees slowly. “I guess we can do this another time.”

“No.” His hands stopped her and pushed her legs farther apart. “It’s too late for that now, Miss Finn.”

She was wearing white lace underwear.

“Take off your sweater,” he ordered, his desire drowning out his common sense.

Jen obeyed and he felt a growl growing in his chest when he saw her breasts encased in lace. “You’re going to have to stay quiet. I know how loud you can get.”

Her light blue eyes were bright with need and she swallowed. “I’ll be quiet.”

“You won’t.” He unzipped her skirt and pushed it up until she could pull it over her head, leaving her on his desk in nothing but her heels, thigh-highs and delicate white lace. “You’ll want to scream, need to, because you’re a bad girl, Miss Finn. And you want to be punished.”

“You like me bad, Professor.”

“I love it.” He gripped her thighs and lowered his head between them, kissing and tonguing her through the lace, over it. Teasing her until she squirmed and scattered his papers.

“Declan, please.”

He blew on her clit. “These are still office hours, Miss Finn. Do you need to be spanked until you remember?”

“Yes,” she moaned. “I mean no, Professor. Oh God, you know what I want. It’s been so long.”

Two days. He pushed back his chair and stood, hands tangled in the lace and smiling when it tore apart easily in his fingers. He kissed her and she moaned at her taste on his tongue. He drank in the sound, loving that she came to see him. Loving her.

“Right here?” he rasped, his hands caressing her through the shredded lace. “On this desk?”

“Please, Declan.”

He quickly undid his pants and shuddered when he gripped his cock. “Shit,” he growled. “I don’t have a damn condom.”

Since they’d been together, he’d started stocking up. He had them in the car. He had them in every room of his house. He didn’t have them in his campus office and he’d used the two that had been in his wallet on Trick.

“It’s safe. I’m… You know it’s safe.”

“Wrap your legs around me.” He swore and guided his erection inside her hot, tight pussy. “Just for a minute. Fuck. Fuck, Jen.” He looked up at the ceiling and bared his teeth, already close at the feel of her around him with nothing between them.

“Yes,” she cried as quietly as she could. “Fuck me, Declan.”

He had to. And it was good. It was fucking heaven and the Fourth of July being inside her like this. Every primal instinct, every possessive thought he’d ever had, came rushing back at the feel of her heat squeezing him. He wanted her to be his. Completely his.

He wasn’t gentle. He growled, covering her mouth with his as he took her so hard and deep the heavy desk rocked. She loved it. “I’ve never taken anyone like this, Jen. Without a condom. Not even the first time.”

“Do you like how it feels?”

He growled. “I knew a spanking wouldn’t be enough for such a bad girl. You needed the lesson to really sink in.” He sank all the way in and she trembled against him. “We’re going to pound it into you and go over it again…fuck…and again until you want to scream.”

Declan was close to losing it. She was clinging to him and moaning his name, making him weak. He couldn’t last; he needed her to come too badly.

“Come for me. Right here, so every time I sit in my office I’ll get hard thinking of my dick deep inside you. Of tearing pretty white lace panties and tasting you on my tongue.”

She cried out, her body jerking against him. Yes. He came with her, unable to hold back. Unable to restrain his hoarse shout of completion as he burned up in her flames.

Mercy. He touched his forehead to hers and fought to catch his breath. He couldn’t remember ever coming so hard. He moaned again as he felt it drip out of her.

Mine.

He was a troglodyte but he didn’t care. He’d marked her again. She wouldn’t sleep in his arms, but he would be what she went to bed thinking about. He’d made sure of it.

As long as you don’t make it a habit.

Jen’s weak laugh drew his attention. “Do you have a towel or an extra shirt in that desk? If you don’t, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to leave with my dignity intact.”

“I don’t want you to leave at all.” He slid out of her with a groan and opened his bottom draw, pulling out a white undershirt. “There it is. Stand up for me.”

She pushed herself up and he watched the proof of his claim dripping down the inside of her thighs.

“Declan!”

“Sorry. Got distracted.” He cleaned her as thoroughly as he could, drying himself as well before he tucked and zipped and made himself presentable.

She was slipping on her skirt when he realized, “Your bra.”

Jen looked down. “What about it?”

He stalked her and her lips parted. “Wait, Declan. You can’t mean to—Oh, damn it, Declan.”

Declan grinned at his handiwork. The lace was dangling from the bra’s frame, both her breasts bared. “That’s better.” He playfully kissed each nipple until she swatted him away.

“I’m never buying anything with lace again.”

“You don’t have to,” he assured her. “Trick and I will make sure you never run out.”

She tried to glare but her blue eyes were sparkling with laughter. She was so beautiful it hurt. He was crazy about her. Head over heels.

He couldn’t say it now. It was too soon. Just because he’d known for a while didn’t mean she’d feel the same. He’d known with Trick too, told him, and that son of a bitch was apparently waiting for retirement to set in before he responded in kind.

They want you. They’re with you.

For now he would make that enough.

When she was dressed she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thank you, Professor.”

“My door is always open.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “Your mother is taking you over to your brother’s?”

“Yes. She wants it to be just the girls, so she’s sending everyone else away for some quality time with Tasha.”

“Will you call us when you get back to the apartment?”

“I will.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She kissed him once more. “Don’t have too much fun without me.”

“If we do, we’ll reenact it for your viewing pleasure when you get home.”

Jen stuck out her tongue and opened his office door, waving before she disappeared.

“Love you,” he murmured, licking his lips to savor her taste.

He looked around his office at all the papers that had fallen to the floor and sighed. She’d left chaos in her wake.

A scrap of torn lace was dangling from his inbox.

He could get used to it.

***

He’d just gotten out of the shower and was walking toward the library in his pajama bottoms when he heard the doorbell. Declan grinned like an idiot at the sound, hoping it was another delivery. He’d gone on a small shopping binge in the last few weeks. Toys. Restraints. A gaming system, because apparently the Finns had a thing for Xbox and Jen was sure he’d enjoy a particular fantasy game. Two kilts—because even though Declan had found some fairly compelling evidence that the Irish invented the damn things—Jennifer had read a book and now she wanted a night with two “Highlanders”.

And he and Trick wanted Jennifer to have everything she wanted.

His smile disappeared when he opened the door. “Hello again, Seamus Finn.”

Jen’s brother wasn’t alone. Four Finns stood with him in Declan’s doorway, doing their best to form a well-muscled wall of intimidation. Memories of holidays with the Kelleys and the stories they told about Finn vengeance and betrayal made him hesitate and study each of their faces.

The blond Finn’s eyes reminded him of Jennifer’s and something inside him relaxed. He stepped back and motioned them inside. “I wasn’t expecting company. Do you mind if I find a shirt?”

“We’ll wait,” Seamus said, looking around the cavernous foyer that led to the living room he’d only just started to enjoy.

By the time he got back, they’d all come inside, wandering around as if they were lost in a foreign land. He remembered Jen’s reaction to his house and smiled. It was a ridiculous house.

“I don’t understand,” one of them was saying.

“The whole wall,” the blond insisted. “He doesn’t have a monitor because the whole wall is his television.”

Declan grinned. There was only one Finn that would be that impressed. “You must be Owen,” he said to the blond. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

Owen started to smile until he glanced at the tall man beside Seamus. “Yeah, thanks.”

Seamus completed the rest of the introductions, and Declan realized he already knew them well from his conversations with Jen and Trick. Chief of Police Solomon Finn was a tall lean drink of water. Serious, smart and potentially sexually repressed. At least, according to Trick. “As in, walk straight into the closet and shut the door behind you,” he’d laughed when Jennifer pinched him in response.

Jen’s brother Owen was everything she’d described. Attractive and confident in his skin. His boyish charm concealed some iron. He was used to going after—and getting—what he wanted. Solomon’s brother Noah Finn was a pretty boy who loved a laugh but never seemed to miss anything. It was clear he didn’t think they should be here.

And then there was Brady. Declan narrowed his eyes. Brady was the handsome redheaded giant who didn’t approve of Trick’s association with Jen. He’d recently found love with a man named Kenneth Tanaka, according to Jen, but he’d also seen more than his fair share of hell.

Declan shook his hand first. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Brady. You’re a genuine hero, and as little as it means coming from me, you have my gratitude for your service.”

Brady frowned suspiciously. “Thank you. You’re Professor Declan Kelley?”

Did he expect a grizzled old man with a cane up Jen’s skirt? “I am. I saw all of you at the hospital but it wasn’t the right time or place for introductions. Would anyone like a drink? I only have beer or water. I forgot to stop at the store on my way home.”

A few of them looked tempted but Solomon shook his head. “We didn’t come to drink with you. This won’t take long, Professor, but if you don’t mind, we do need to sit down and have a chat.”

Declan nodded and they all moved into the living room. He let them sit and get comfortable while he remained on his feet, pretending to clean his glasses. He studied his guests and considered his next steps.

A few weeks ago he’d worried that the Finns would be mirror images of the dysfunctional Kelleys, something he’d already cut out of his life. Their presence proved he couldn’t have been more wrong.

His mother would have loved this. Even if he explained the obvious masculine posturing for a prospective suitor in psychological terms, she would just sigh and shake her head. “They’re here because they love her. That’s all. That’s family.”

And he had to agree. Everyone in this room loved her. It made him calm. Confident. Clear in his goals.

He knew what and who he was. He wasn’t Trick. He could fight, if he had to, but he’d rather save his aggression for consensual play.

He wasn’t like his father’s family either—angry at them for showing up to defend Jennifer’s honor and ensure her protection. He applauded their good intentions, as long as they understood before they left that there was nothing they could say or do to affect his relationship with Jennifer. She was the only one who could push him away now.

They’d come to educate him, but Declan was the teacher. And if there was going to be a lesson, he was going to be the one to give it. And hopefully, they would all listen. “Since you don’t want drinks…I think it’s safe to infer that your sole purpose in coming en masse to my home is to show a united front while warning me away from Jen. Is that right? I can appreciate that, but before you put your plan into action, I’d appreciate some clarification.”

Noah, his curls a lighter blond than Owen’s and clearly the youngest of the group, leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms. “Handsome, rich, his wall is a television and I feel like listening to him talk is making me smarter. Why are we here again?”

“Shut up, Noah.” Brady sent his brother a look of warning.

“What is it you need clarification on, Kelley? We’re here on Jen’s behalf.” Solomon was leaning forward, elbows on knees. Both his tone and posture were meant to throw him off his game. Declan knew he and Seamus were the ones he needed to direct his attention to. They were in charge of this.

“For the record, she would never ask any of you to come here. If Jeremy Porter were here I’d wonder, but he’s not. The Jennifer Finn I know is a mature, beautiful woman who is more than capable of fighting her own battles.” He saw the agreement in their eyes and continued. “She’s independent and aggravatingly stubborn.”

“Why do you say she wouldn’t ask us to come here?” Seamus asked.

“Because she’s the little sister whose problems everyone wants to fix.” Declan held up his hand when Seamus started to argue. “If she knew about your visit, she’d see it as another sign that she hasn’t earned the trust she believes she lost when she let her ex-fiancé into your lives.”

“So for the record, you’re clarifying that she’ll be pissed? I’m pretty sure I covered that in the car on the way over.” Owen glared at Seamus.

Seamus was looking more than a little uncomfortable. “I can see that you’ve gotten to know Jen, but no matter how old or independent she is, she is my baby sister. She’s a Finn. We take care of each other.”

“And you’re a Kelley.” Solomon studied him carefully. “Any relation to Gerald and Roddy?”

Declan nodded. “We share the same paternal grandfather.”

Brady slapped his hands on his tree trunk thighs, drawing their attention. “Did that grandfather give you all this? Because this is not the house of a college professor.”

Declan sent Brady a small, amused smile. “It isn’t the house of a crime lord, either. The Kelleys aren’t wealthy. I haven’t seen them in years but I’m guessing Solomon can confirm that for me. My mother, who raised me alone, was very wealthy. This is…was all hers.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Seamus offered, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. “I recognized your name when I met you. My father doesn’t talk about our grandfather much, or the people he had dealings with. But I know the name Kelley.”

“Jen had no idea. But you do?”

Seamus shrugged. “A bit. Bad blood. Rumors. When we were younger, Dad said once every few years a Kelley or two would come into the pub and accuse him of stealing the sunshine in winter, but things never got out of hand.”

“And every time someone named Kelley gets arrested in my precinct, they swear they’ve been framed by a Finn,” Solomon said, his voice wry.

“Reason twenty-six,” Noah snorted.

“Excuse me?”

“Sol the Elder likes to say his father’s Irish luck ran out when he fell in love with a Kelley. That was reason twenty-six on his list of why love is for suckers.”

Declan had never heard about a thwarted romance, but it was apparent that none of them had been inundated with the same negativity the Kelley children had from birth.

He shook his head, laughing softly. “She said my name didn’t matter.”

“It’s not exactly a ringing endorsement,” Brady said, challenge in his blue gaze.

“No, but you’re obviously not here because of it.” He glanced at Seamus, moving to cut off the next potential argument. “I’m a thirty-seven-year old professor with two master’s degrees and tenure. I’m asked to lecture in universities throughout Europe, I’m well-respected by my peers and I’ve never been involved with a student at the college.”

“Until now,” Solomon said.

“Yes. Until now. I struggled with it myself, but I would have made the same decision regardless. And despite my standing, I would accept an offer at another college and commute or stay home and take up baking before I would put her educational goals in jeopardy, or terminate our relationship.”

That statement made an impact.

“Your class is about sex?” This from Solomon.

“I discuss the psychology of sexual identity and gender roles. I allow my students to study sexuality through a broader lens and put modern prejudices and practices into historical context.” He kept his gaze steady on Solomon. “Education and communication is how we eradicate homophobia, interracial prejudice and the violence that follows both. Your family is an outlier, I’m afraid. Whole-hearted acceptance is not the norm.”

“So sex, but not sexy,” Noah said, sounding disappointed. “And just when I was considering a change in careers.”

“Can we go on record again? I’m not enjoying talking about sex and my sister. The last time I found out she was going to the club? I’m still not over it. I’d rather have a beer and watch something on the professor’s wall.” Owen was rubbing his forehead and eyeing the door.

Declan glanced at all of them again and narrowed in on Seamus. He didn’t want to be doing this. He also hadn’t thought it entirely through.

He waited until the pub owner met his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell Owen or Noah about him before you got here?”

Seamus, Solomon and Brady knew what he was talking about, but the other two seemed confused.

Seamus rubbed his face in frustration and sighed. “I didn’t think we were going to have a therapy session about it. I thought we’d say what we were supposed to say and get it over with.”

“What didn’t you tell us, Seamus? Who is him?” Owen leaned forward, staring at his brother. “You’ve been acting off since you got that call. Who was it?”

“Mom.”

“Seriously? Our mom? Bullshit. She wouldn’t approve of strong-arming Jen’s boyfriend, not in a million years.”

Their mother knew about them? How had she found out? Declan got a knot in the pit of his stomach. Jen was spending the evening with her mother and she had no idea.

“Not unless Trick was her boyfriend too,” Brady said quietly.

And then all hell broke loose.

“Brady, damn it—”

“Trick? What the hell does he have to do with—”

“Jennifer and two guys?” Noah’s words silenced everyone. “I could have gone all year without knowing that brat was getting more action than me.”

Declan was losing his calm and his audience. But he didn’t care. All he could think about now was Jennifer being cornered by her family. Her mother. He’d had a scenario forming in his head about her parents for weeks. Winning over the matriarch and author with time and patience. Letting her see how happy and fulfilled her daughter was. Then he’d have a serious talk with Shawn about his intentions.

But if Seamus was any indication, he wasn’t going to get the chance to ease anyone into the idea. Ellen Finn knew and she obviously wasn’t keen on her daughter being in a poly relationship.

“Talk to us, Professor,” Brady said, his voice still low. “I’ll listen. Tell us why it’s healthy and reasonable for a girl of twenty-six to be shared by two older men—her college professor and an ex-con who stalked her and wore her down. Why shouldn’t her family worry that she might be making a mistake?”

Declan strode over to Brady, his hands clenching at his sides. “You can attack me and make insinuations all you like, but Trick is off the table and you know why. You have no problem using him when it suits you. I know he’s helped you and your boyfriend in the past, and I know you’ve been going after some pretty sick bastards. Maybe that’s warped your perception, I don’t care. Trick Dunham is a good man and he’s been loyal to your family since your only date was a magazine and a hand towel. Show him some damn respect.”

Brady opened his mouth, then closed it again. Declan hoped he was smart enough to keep it that way.

“You’ve been a little bit of an ass lately, Gigantor,” Noah offered. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I thought you and Ken might be having bedroom troubles and you’re, you know, a mutant.” Brady glared and Noah shook his head. “I know. Shut up, Noah.”

“My ears were ringing,” Trick grunted from the foyer, causing six heads to turn his way. “Well hell. You finally throw a party and I miss all the fun.”

“Trick.” Declan ran toward him, catching him as he started to slump. “Damn it, what did you do now?”

Trick shrugged as if his left eye weren’t swollen shut and his lip weren’t open and bleeding. “Me? Don’t be such a nag, Declan. You can have my body anytime you like, but you can’t stop me from hanging out with my friends.”

Seamus knelt down beside Declan. “You need better friends, Trick. Here, I’ll help you get him to the couch. Noah? Find some ice.”

“Finns, Finns, everywhere,” Trick chuckled, wincing. “But I don’t see my Jen.”

“She’s with her mother,” Declan murmured. “She’s fine. You, I’m not so sure about. Is anything broken?”

“Not physically, but can you break pride?” he mused. “A few years ago I took a hit more gracefully. This time I’m fairly certain I threw up on someone’s shoes. He wasn’t happy about it.” Trick tried to focus on Seamus. “You found out, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief. It took forever. If you could wait a few more minutes until the room stops spinning, you can hit me if you want. It’s not Declan’s fault. Stephen told me to watch her and I couldn’t stop. She’s so beautiful, Seamus. And funny. She makes Snooty the Hermit Professor over here laugh all the time. Of course, she calls him Professor Hot Lips.”

“I’m sure. I don’t want to hit you, Trick. Hell, I don’t want to hit anybody, except whoever did this to you.” He looked at Declan. “Do you have any idea?”

He shook his head. “He’s been working on something the last week that’s kept him busy. He wouldn’t talk about it.”

“He was trying to get a name for us.”

“Brady.” Trick smiled and winced again as Noah handed Seamus ice wrapped in a hand towel. “I don’t try, it just happens. I’m that good. Top pocket.”

Declan reached into the pocket of his shirt and felt a folded piece of paper. “You’ve got to quit saying yes to these guys. You should stick to lost puppies and cheating wives from now on. Or let me know what the hell you’re doing so I can help.”

“That sounds like a country song. Cheating puppies and lost wives.”

Owen whistled. “Someone really rang his bell.”

Declan forced himself to remain calm as he got to his feet and looked up at Brady. “I hand you this and you thank him for his help. You don’t badmouth him, you don’t treat him like he’s a criminal. You thank him.”

Brady nodded, frowning thoughtfully. “You love him.”

“For most of my life, yeah. Is that a problem?” Declan handed Brady the paper.

He didn’t look away. “That depends. Can you ever love her as much?”

God help him, he already did. “I think that’s something she deserves to know before anyone else does.”

Brady nodded again, moving to sit beside Trick. “Thank you, Trick. Ken and I couldn’t have gotten as far as we have without your help. This has been a difficult job for everyone and I… I’m sorry I’ve been such an ungrateful son of a bitch.”

Trick patted his arm. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

Solomon laughed, a surprising sound that reminded Declan he was in the room. “I think we should get out of their way now. Professor Kelley? If you wouldn’t mind walking us out?”

He waved the other men out the door, rolling his eyes when Owen paused to look back at the living room. “Are we still mad at him? Because as long as sex-with-my-sister talk is off the table, I vote we have the next Finn Again right here.”

“Out,” Seamus said, shaking his head.

When the three men were alone at the door, Solomon glanced at Seamus, who nodded. “We’re not saying we approve of what’s going on here.”

“And we’re not saying we don’t,” Solomon added carefully. “But out of respect for what Trick just went through for Brady, and in light of today’s conversation, we think there’s something you should know.”

Declan had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like it.

Chapter Ten

“I’m fine, Ellen, I promise,” Tasha insisted from her pile of pillows. “I feel better than I have in weeks. My ankles aren’t swollen anymore, and I’m nowhere near as tired.” She made a face. “Of course now that I have energy, I’m not allowed to get up and use it.”

“No, you’re not, young lady.” Ellen smiled to soften the command. “Your only job is to take care of yourself and my grandchildren. And that means you have to let us wait on you.”

Jen heard the doorbell ring and grinned. “And today, the pampered pregnant princess will eat like a queen. Just this once and you shouldn’t tell Stephen.”

Tasha looked at her hopefully. “Ruby’s?”

Jen nodded and laughed when Tasha let out a whoop of delight. She signed for the bag and started getting the plates ready, hoping her mother was feeling better. She’d been quiet on the way over. It worried her when her mother got quiet. Was it just Tasha’s health or was something wrong with her father?

“Jennifer?”

She didn’t look up. “Hey. Do you want to take her plate in?”

“I know.”

Jen frowned, spatula paused as she looked at her mother in confusion. “Know what?”

“I heard you and that man who came to the hospital. Your professor. I know you and Tristan Dunham are staying with him. Together.”

This wasn’t happening. She wasn’t standing over steaming lasagna while her mother confronted her about having a threesome. She couldn’t know. How would she know? “Mama, maybe now is not the best time to be having this conversation.”

“Jennifer Finn, you will sit down and listen to me right now.”

Jen set down the spatula, walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Her mother hadn’t spoken to her like that since she’d started a fire on the kitchen stove when she was nine. “I’m listening.”

Ellen Finn was ringing her hands together. She looked so pale with her shock of red hair curling around her face. “I know after that incident with Jeremy and Owen I told you that I’d be proud of anything and anyone you chose, as long as it made you happy.”

“I remember. Mama, sit down with me, please. You’re scaring me a little.”

“I said any one, Jennifer. One. You can’t have more than that. It just doesn’t work.”

Jen’s hands were shaking. Her mother couldn’t understand. “What if it did?”

“Excuse me?”

“What if it worked and I finally felt what Jeremy feels for Owen? What Stephen feels for Tasha? They aren’t your ordinary couples, either. Can’t I have what they have?”

Her mother held up two fingers. “Couples, Jennifer. Two make a pair. There are only two sides to a coin, two figures on a cake, two people in a relationship.” She took a breath. “Don’t make this mistake, Jennifer. The others we could fix, but not this one. We can’t fix this one.”

She loved her mother more than her own life. She admired her and the way she cherished and supported her family. But what she was saying right now hurt like a physical blow. “But that’s my job, isn’t it? I’m the Finn who makes mistakes. And no one ever forgets them. I was engaged for years to a man like Scott? Mistake. I hit a woman and got arrested? Mistake. Forget that I wasn’t happy when I was with him—you didn’t order him away. Forget that I was defending my family—the way I’ve seen my brothers do a million times. Forget that everyone in this family makes mistakes.”

“Not those kind—” her mother started.

Jen laughed. “Owen slept with nearly every woman in this city he wasn’t related to by the time he was thirty-five. Seamus is such a soft touch he’ll be—”

This time Ellen cut her off. “Your brother’s generosity isn’t a mistake, Jennifer Finn. Neither are my grandchildren. Don’t you ever say it.”

Jen ran a hand through her hair. “I wasn’t saying that. I only meant that no one in this family is perfect.”

Tasha’s voice startled them both. “She’s right, Ellen. Even Stephen was on his way to becoming a criminal before he went into politics.”

Jen shook her head. She’d been too loud. “Tasha, you should be lying down.”

“Oh, I’m not missing this, angel. Ellen, will you help me get to the table?”

Jen felt sick to her stomach. Guilty. “I’m so sorry. You’re supposed to be relaxing.”

Tasha sat down but held on to Ellen’s hand. “I’m carrying your grandchildren. I’m family now.”

Ellen squeezed her hand, looking worried and uncomfortable. “You’ve always been a part of our family, Natasha.”

“Then sit down with me.” When Ellen was sitting across from Jennifer, Tasha nodded. “Now we have a real girl talk. As far as I’m concerned, Ellen Finn, you are my mother. My family… You took me in. You did the same for Jeremy and you know how he feels about you. You’ve been like a mother to Sol’s children too, and every one of them would do anything for you. Even your books are all about inclusion and understanding.” Tasha sighed. “This isn’t an ordinary situation, I know. Maybe we can’t understand what Jen is going through right now. What she’s feeling.”

Jen stared down at the table, trying not to cry. Her mother was ashamed of her. Apparently she’d crossed the only line Ellen Finn had without even knowing it.

“I do understand what she’s going through.”

She looked up at that. “What?”

“Oh God.” Ellen covered her mouth as if trying to hold back the words. But she couldn’t. “I know. I never thought one of my children would make that mistake. That my baby girl would... I didn’t want you to suffer for my sins, but that’s exactly what’s happening.”

“What are you saying, Mama?”

“Ellen,” Tasha leaned closer, reaching for her hand again. “Did you and Shawn have a…a special friend?”

Ellen wiped her face, laughing unhappily and shaking her head, unable to meet either woman’s gaze. “Shawn had a best friend. Someone he grew up with and trusted. His twin.”

Jen’s head was spinning. “Uncle Sol?” Grumpy, bitter Uncle Sol, who went through wives like Kleenex and tossed them aside just as easily after they’d given him a child? “You and Sol?”

“And Shawn,” Ellen whispered.

Jen glanced at Tasha and saw the woman who never met a kink she didn’t like at a loss for words. She couldn’t blame her. She could hardly believe it was true. This was her mother. Her sweet, innocent, baking-cookies mother. “How? When?”

“I met them at a church dance, of all places. I was young and they were both so handsome, two beautiful copies who spent the night taking turns asking me to dance. Only me. The attention and flattery went to my head, I think. By the time the night was over, I’d agreed to go out with both of them. It was scandalous, of course, but I didn’t care. They made me feel special.”

Jen knew that feeling.

“They were so similar in appearance, but as I got to know them, I could see the differences. Solomon was ambitious and serious and determined to cast a bigger shadow than his father had. Shawn made me laugh, and sometimes it seemed he didn’t take anything seriously. Except for me…and his relationship to his brother.”

“And after that first date?” Tasha asked, obviously fascinated.

Ellen ran her hands nervously over her hair. “There were more. They had this game, a competition between them to impress me. To be the first one to steal a kiss. The first one to… But they never told me I had to pick. I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to. I fell in love with the way we were together. So much that I lied to my parents, packed a bag, and the three of us spent most of the summer in a beautiful, secluded cottage. Playing house.”

“Oh my God,” Jen whispered, so shocked she couldn’t hold it in. “Mama, oh my God.”

“I know.” Ellen seemed close to tears. “It didn’t seem wrong when we were alone, but we got careless. People who lived there—strangers—started to say things. Look at me a certain way when I went into the grocery store. I know Solomon was feeling it too. He had joined the police force to do good things and he’d fought so hard to be respected. To not have people look at him and say he was his father’s son.”

Tasha was rubbing her stomach as if her children needed protection from the sadness. “So you broke it off?”

Ellen’s smile was bemused. “I didn’t. I was ashamed, Solomon was ashamed, neither one of us could stop suffering about it, but we weren’t the ones to end things. We weren’t strong enough. Shawn was. He said he loved us both so much he couldn’t bear to see us that way if he could do something about it. He said he’d leave town and I could marry Solomon and raise his children without scandal. Without him.”

“What happened?” Thinking about her father’s selflessness brought tears to her eyes. He hadn’t changed.

“I cried. Solomon… He thanked him and promised he’d take care of me and keep in touch. He was relieved his brother was leaving. I don’t know, but I think it was at that moment that I realized I loved being with them both, but I was in love with Shawn Finn. He was the one I wanted to be the father of my children. The one I wanted to laugh with every day until I died. The one I couldn’t be without.”

“That’s beautiful, Ellen.” Tasha wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand.

“Is it? I handled it so badly. Solomon never forgave either one of us, but he didn’t leave town either. It took me a while to understand why when he was clearly so unhappy. He still loves his twin brother, you see. I know he does. I’m the problem. I’m the reason it’s taken so long and it’s always such a struggle to get them in the same room. My inability to resist having both of them together destroyed their relationship.”

Uncle Sol suddenly made sense to Jen. Despite all his marriages and his house full of children, he’d always seemed so bitter and lonely. Like he was missing something vital. His brother? Or his brother’s wife?

“You see now, right, baby? You see why you can’t continue living with them? How this could worry your father and bring it all back for him? How many people you could hurt?”

“Ellen, wait, that’s not fai—”

“I see, Mama.” Jen interrupted Tasha. She felt oddly detached, like someone in shock, but it made things easier. She could see it. Declan and Trick had been together for years, but Trick had never seemed ready to commit. Until now. She could see them being happy together without her. She could also see the pain that having both of them would cause her family. Her mother. Her father.

It wouldn’t work anyway. Couldn’t work. People would forgive a lot for love. But all the stories and all the songs—every great romantic masterpiece known to man ended with two people joined as one. Everyone drew the line at three, not just her mother. No one could love more than one person—not at the same time—not if it was real. That’s what people always said.

It feels real.

She’d never meant to fall in love with them. Hadn’t she told Tasha a few weeks ago that she didn’t see Finn family dinners in their future?

When had it happened? When had she started thinking about them in terms of forever? One of their late-night talks in bed? When she was studying with Trick massaging her feet and Declan typing up his lecture, his glasses sliding down his nose?

They were so natural together that it didn’t seem wrong.

You kept it a secret. You knew.

She thought about the things Declan had taught the class about poly relationships. That the culture defined the rules but not the desires. In the end though, culture usually won.

Her family won. They had to. She couldn’t hurt them just because she was selfish enough to want more. Too much more. One more than was allowed.

Jen pushed herself up and went back to the lasagna, preparing the plates and reheating them one at a time in the microwave as the other women watched in silence.

Every muscle in her body went tight when her mother touched her arm. “Jennifer?”

I can’t talk to her. Not now. “Tasha needs to be in bed. I think we’ve upset her enough. Will you take her while I get her lunch ready?”

She wasn’t willing to talk about this anymore. She hurt for her mother, but right now she was hurting too. At least Ellen Finn hadn’t left her ménage without the one man she really loved. Jen had to give both of them up and be alone. That seemed to be the only way she wouldn’t end up hurting someone. The only way everyone else would be happy.

***

“Are you sure about this?” Alicia was frowning in Jen’s bedroom doorway as she packed up her things. Her cousins Noah and Rory had come over to help her move, and they were downstairs loading boxes into Rory’s truck.

“I talked to the dean and was able to make a schedule to test out of the rest of my classes for the semester, since it’s nearly over. Next year I only have one class at campus—the rest is field work and I’ve already picked out the hospital so I’m all set.”

“You don’t have to move out.”

Jen sighed. “I do. Tasha won’t sit still for anyone and she has a few months to go before she can safely deliver. Owen and Jeremy are getting married at Christmas and they need help with the planning, since most of the venues are already booked. Dad needs to get more exercise and I—“She pressed her lips together and folded the last of her clothes in her suitcase. “It’s better for everyone if I stay in Stephen and Tasha’s guest room for now.”

Alicia came in the room and took her hand, stopping her. “Have you talked to either of them?”

“I can’t,” she whispered. She’d sent them an email like a coward the night her mother dropped her bombshell.

The next day she’d found out that Trick had been beaten up during one of his cases and she’d wanted to go to him, but she knew if she did she wouldn’t leave. She’d dropped Declan’s class, which wouldn’t look good on paper, but she couldn’t bring herself to face either of them. At this point she was just struggling to make it through the next minute. The next breath.

“I was worried when you first told me about them,” Alicia admitted. “But then I saw how happy you were. You’re a good person, Jen. You deserve to be happy.”

Jen pulled away. “Not everyone gets to be happy, whether they deserve it or not. Sometimes you have to forget what you want and do what’s best for everyone.”

Noah and Rory were standing in the doorway. From their expressions they’d heard every word. “To hell with that,” Rory said, frowning. “What cereal box did you read that piece of wisdom on, Martyr Oats?”

Noah came over to her and pulled her into his arms. “She does seem to be rushing to the front of the Finn Spinster line in a hurry. I always thought it was going to be Solomon or James who suffered for the family, but no. It’s this one. The pretty one with all the brains and potential.”

“I prefer threesomes,” Rory admitted with a shrug. “Have them all the time. I don’t know why it’s such a big deal.”

“For men, I guess it isn’t.” Alicia glared at them on her behalf. “Men can get away with anything.”

“She has a point.” Noah looked at Rory. “You in particular. I’m not sure why, it’s not like you’re better looking.”

Rory glared. “I am, but that’s not why. It’s because I don’t care what anyone says or thinks. I just do it. Nine times out of ten I get away with it.”

Jen pushed Noah away and turned back to her suitcase. “This is the last of it. Just let me close it up.”

“No.” Noah pushed Jen’s hair back and studied her swollen eyes. “This isn’t right, Jen. I didn’t agree with the army that marched over to your professor’s house to warn him away, but I’m glad I was there to watch him talk them all down. He’s a good talker, that Declan Kelley. And he had some great things to say about you. He didn’t give up. Why are you? How can we help you fix this?”

She started crying at the mention of his name. “You want to fix this? The way Ken and Brady fixed things for Tasha and Stephen? Will a blog make this better, do you think? Make it okay for me to—” She shook her head. “The problem is there’s no bad guy to fight or run out of town. You can’t make loving two men suddenly acceptable, just like you can’t make your father stop his decades long hate-fest and forgive my parents for breaking up their three-way.”

She slapped her hand over her mouth as the two brothers and Alicia stared at her in shock.

“Holy shit.” Rory spoke first. “My father and Aunt… Holy shit, Jen. I might not be able to have sex again.”

“He won’t. Not for a week at least,” Noah agreed.

Alicia sighed. “Your family is so much more interesting than mine.”

Jen wasn’t going to talk about it ever again. Her mother didn’t deserve to be the subject of gossip. “Don’t joke. My mother only told me so I’d be able to make an informed decision.”

Rory frowned. “Really? That sounds more like a helping of guilt pie to me. I didn’t think Aunt Ellen served that kind of thing.”

“You don’t understand. She feels responsible for Dad and Uncle Sol’s relationship.”

Noah crossed his arms. “I get it. But she’s not. I lived with that man my whole young life. He’s carrying around more baggage than three Brady’s could carry alone. She isn’t the reason he’s an asshole. She might think that—hell, he might think that—but it’s not true.”

“She said he wasn’t always like that.”

“Wasn’t always obsessed with appearance?” Rory asked. “With competition? With putting a good foot forward to represent the Finn name and make people forget his dad was a likable mobster?”

Jen bit her lip. Her mother had mentioned that.

“Do you know your father used to come to our house once a week without fail for years to try and talk to Sol?”

She shook her head.

“He’d wait in the driveway and we’d go out and talk to him. Sometimes he’d throw a ball around or tell us stories about the trouble he and Sol would get into when they were kids. But our father never let him in. Not once in, what, ten years?”

Rory nodded. “Yeah, he’s a stubborn bastard.”

“That doesn’t change anything. Not for me.”

Noah ran a hand through his curls and made a sound of frustration. “I don’t usually do serious, so everyone should mark this day in your calendars. Trick and Declan aren’t Sol and Shawn. They grew up in a different time, they had different issues and, to be honest, they never would have been able to share her forever. Not if my father was part of the equation.

“Trick and Declan aren’t brothers in competition, they’re lovers who both seem to be crazy about you, too. Declan isn’t worried about the Kelley name and frankly, he’s financially comfortable enough not to have to give a shit about anything. And Trick comes by that personality trait naturally.”

He gripped her chin gently. “Most importantly, you’re not Ellen Finn. You are Jennifer Finn and you’re my favorite cousin because you never follow the herd. You don’t need anyone else to prove how spectacular you are, but you deserve to enjoy happiness if you find it. However you find it. So let’s get you to Tasha’s so you can pay whatever penance you feel you need to pay, but think about what I’m saying. You decide what kind future you want to have, because you’re the one who’ll have to live in it. Alone or not.”

“What he said,” Rory agreed. “If Sol taught us anything, it was how not to have as many regrets as he does. It turns you sour.”

She wanted them to be right. She wanted to have a choice. When she gave Alicia her key and let Rory drive her to Tasha’s house, she closed her eyes and let herself imagine the future she wanted. She managed to stop crying before they carried the first box inside.

Chapter Eleven

One week later…

Jen rolled her eyes as she walked back to the guest bedroom from the shower and heard the noises coming from her brother and sister-in-law’s room. She hoped Stephen was being careful, but ever since the doctor said Tasha was doing well and sex—particularly oral—could actually be a positive thing on occasion? There was no stopping her.

She wouldn’t be surprised if Tasha had paid that doctor in tarts to get that particular prescription.

Her heart twisted, just a little, and she told herself it didn’t hurt as much as it had yesterday or the day before. As long as she kept herself busy and focused, it would eventually get better.

It had been five days since she’d written the letter. After a few sleepless nights spent thinking about what Rory and Noah had said, Jen had finally let Tasha bring up the subject she’d been avoiding. They didn’t talk about Ellen, but Tasha had shared what she went through after she left Stephen when she was trying to protect him from a scandal. How she’d rationalized it, and how wrong she’d been. Then she’d gotten her BDSM teaching face on and told Jen about all the poly relationships she’d seen in her years at the club that were successful and why they worked.

“It’s about the people in them, Jen,” she’d stressed. “Do they bring out the best or worst in each other? Do they enjoy sharing or is everything a competition? Are they together because it’s forbidden and sexy, or because they’re in love and they can’t imagine living another way?”

So she’d written her letter to Declan and Trick. She’d told them everything. Everything she’d learned from her mother, everything she’d been thinking. She poured all her concerns onto the pages until she felt drained. She’d finished by admitting that she was in love with both of them, and if they wanted to talk, she would pick up the phone.

They hadn’t called.

Jen opened her bedroom door and pulled the towel off her head, drying her hair. When she saw her phone blinking on the nightstand, she went over to swipe her finger on the screen and nearly dropped it when she saw a text from Trick.

She opened it and gasped. He’d sent back the picture of her lace underwear. The one she’d taken when she was trying to entice him over to her apartment. Beneath, he’d typed a message.

If you still want to talk, come to the backyard.

Her blood started racing through her veins in a way it hadn’t in days. Her hands were shaking with adrenaline as she looked around her room, expecting to see him. Nothing.

If she still wanted to talk? She closed her eyes and felt the heaviness that had been weighing down her heart start to lift. It wasn’t too late. She hadn’t lost them, not completely. They were still willing to talk.

She tightened the belt on her robe and nearly slid down the stairs with her phone in her hand. The backyard was surrounded by an eight-foot wall, it’s only entrance a secure steel door with an alarm. For a state senator, Stephen was a rock star, and he and Tasha received a lot of attention, which is why police cruised the block up to three times a night.

Trick might have been able to bypass her cheap apartment alarm, but that?

He’s tricky, Tasha had said.

He sent the text. They had to be here.

Opening the kitchen door that led to the patio, Jen held her robe closed and peered outside. It was too dark to see anyone. She looked down at her phone, ready to text them when she saw Declan step into the light, adjusting his glasses before slipping his hands in his pockets.

He looked tired. “You’re here.”

Declan studied her wet hair and white bathrobe with hungry, storm-gray eyes. “Yes.” A small smile teased his lips. “Trick wanted to break into your room and relive old times, but I’m not a very good criminal and this is too important for games.”

She came outside, shutting the kitchen door and leaning against the house. “I agree. Is he with you?”

Trick appeared from the shadows beside Declan. “Of course I’m here. Who do you think got our professor through the door?”

“You broke into Stephen’s backyard?”

“I would have. But his beautiful wife texted me the code instead.” Trick came closer and lifted his hand to her cheek, using his thumb to wipe the tears she didn’t realize she’d started crying. “Don’t break my heart, Jen. Don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry,” she said to both of them as Declan joined them on the patio. “For the email…all of this. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just…I didn’t know what else to do.”

“No one did,” Declan admitted, reaching for her hand and tangling his fingers through hers as if he had to touch her. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, not when other people were involved.”

“We didn’t know about your mother.” Trick shook his head. “I still can’t believe that.”

“Solomon knew.” Jen’s lips parted in surprise at Declan’s words.

“He did?”

“For years, apparently. He only told Seamus after your mother had him warn me away. Your brother is still a little rattled.”

She knew. Seamus hadn’t made it to the last family dinner. Everyone noticed. They also noticed that Jen was still avoiding her mother and that Shawn Finn was quieter than usual. Sol, of course, was a no show.

“No one tried to warn me away.”

“You were pretty bruised up at the time, Trick.”

Trick smiled tenderly when she reached up to touch the faded bruise on his cheek. “Or they knew I’d kick their ass and chose to be talked to death instead.”

“We all have our strengths.” He pulled Jen into his arms. “I lost mine the day you sent that email. When I didn’t see you in class and you weren’t at your apartment, I nearly lost my mind. Don’t you know how we feel about you?”

She hoped she did. “Why did you wait?”

It wasn’t fair for her to ask, not after she’d broken things off, but if they’d gone through what she had in the last few days, she wasn’t sure why they hadn’t called.

Trick cupped her hip, both of them surrounding her, making her feel safe. “You said a lot of things in that letter. Maybe more than you realized. I thought we needed to take a breath, a step back and see if we could have answers for you when we showed up at the senator’s door.”

“What kind of answers?”

Declan pressed his lips to her temple. “You said you thought we’d be happy without you. That we should be together, just the two of us. To be honest, there was a time when I thought you were right. But Trick and I talked it out honestly for the first time in our lives and realized it wasn’t true. We love each other, we always have, but no matter how strongly we felt, we never quite came together. Never balanced out.”

Trick’s fingers curled into her skin. Caressing. Massaging. “The first time I saw the two of you in the same room, it all fell into place for me. I knew we’d fit. I knew you were the missing piece.”

“We are happier together with you, Jennifer Finn. We don’t work without you.”

She smiled at their words, another tear slipping down her cheek. “I love you both so much.”

“I love you, too. I have for a while. But just so you know, you don’t get to do that to us again,” Trick warned her, a vulnerability in his voice that broke her heart. “Leaving like that? I don’t think either one of us could take it, Jen.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“My turn.” Declan tilted her face to look into her eyes with all his heart there for her to see. “I love you. I didn’t know I wanted a family until you showed me what it meant. I didn’t know I could live in more than one little room. Will you come back and make our house a home again?”

She started to nod but then bit her lip. “I have a condition.”

Trick’s chin dropped to his chest. “Fuck.”

“What is it?” Declan asked.

Jen smiled down at her two beautiful men. “You have to sneak through a senator’s house and help me break in his guest bed.” Or break it entirely.

“Is that all?” Trick asked, shaking his head. But his smile was wicked.

“Isn’t that enough?”

Declan surprised them both by picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. “I’m in.”

“I thought you said you weren’t a very good criminal, Professor.”

Trick laughed and opened the door, leading the way. “I’ll protect Professor Hot Lips,” he promised. “I know how Stephen fights. I can take him.”

“New condition. No one tries to take my brother anywhere, and I’ll wear those lace panties you like.”

“Deal,” Trick and Declan said at the same time.

She smiled. She loved her men.

***

Declan was nervous. It had taken a few weeks and a lot of his famous “talking people to death”, but he and Trick had finally put it together. The Finns had agreed to have the family dinner at his house.

They needed to accomplish more than one goal tonight. Survival was just the first step. The next was getting Jennifer to talk to her mother. And Declan was determined to talk privately with Shawn Finn.

The bribe for Jeremy and Owen would just be icing on the cake.

Trick was dressed handsomely in tailored, ironed clothes for a change. Jennifer was anxious about doing this without Tasha, but she was still basically confined to her bed until the C-section, and Stephen didn’t want to take any chances.

Seamus was the first to arrive with his children. It was an obvious show of support for Jennifer, who hugged him tightly and then laughed when Wes and Penny ran around her in circles, asking questions about the house. Young Jake was just taking everything in with wide eyes, his hand firmly clutching Little Sean’s.

“She looks good with kids,” Trick murmured.

He couldn’t start thinking about that or he’d never stop. “She’s got field work next semester and a master’s degree to focus on first. Look, Owen and Jeremy are here.”

“I’ll give them a tour and get the plan rolling,” Trick said with a smile, going over to greet them, and stopping on his way to grab two beers. Smart man.

Noah came up to Declan first with his brother Wyatt, holding out his hand. “Good to see you again. I wasn’t sure I was going to. Wyatt? This is the man with the wall who teaches college girls about sex.” He winked at Declan. “You’re his new life goal.”

“I’ll stick to putting out fires.” Wyatt smiled easily. “You just keep starting them, Professor.”

Trying not to choke in surprised laughter, Declan nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

He noticed Shawn and Ellen Finn hesitating in the foyer and excused himself. This had to work, he told himself. He’d make this work. “Mr. and Mrs. Finn, welcome. Thank you for giving us the chance to host the dinner tonight. Jen’s really been looking forward to it.”

Ellen Finn was looking around his house with raised eyebrows, but she sent him a tentative smile and took his hand. He counted that as a win. Shawn, who looked a lot like Owen with more gray in his hair, put his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. “Got a place you and I could sit and talk, son?”

“The library, sir.”

Shawn kissed his wife’s cheek tenderly and nodded. “Show me to your library.”

Declan and Trick had planned to talk to Shawn together, but he was in a deep discussion with Jeremy and Declan didn’t want to disturb him. It was disconcerting as hell, having “the talk” with a man like this, a man who knew too much about him for not knowing him at all. But he was ready for any argument. If he’d gotten Solomon and Brady to back down, he could handle the Finn patriarch.

He hoped.

Shawn took one look at Declan’s recliner and made a beeline for it. “This is my kind of chair,” he sighed, leaning back. “You have a nice house, Kelley. A little on the obnoxiously big side, but this room I like.”

“So do I, sir.” He leaned against his desk. “I practically lived in here before… Before,” he finished lamely.

Shawn nodded. “Any brothers or sisters?”

“No, sir. My dad died before I was born. It was just my mother and I.”

“Too bad. Family is a blessing.” He shifted in the chair and sighed again. “Ellen is a wonderful woman and the love of my life, but she’s been too hard on herself, and too hard on Jennifer. That’s the way with mothers and daughters, I think. And fathers and sons, for that matter. We see ourselves in miniature, growing up right before our eyes, and we try to stop them from making the same mistakes we made. Which isn’t really fair, when you think about it.”

Declan wasn’t sure how to respond. “No, sir.”

Shawn was staring at the bookshelf, but his eyes seemed farther away. “Maybe I’m an old sentimental fool, but when I look at my children now? At my wonderful nephews that we’ve finally gotten to see more of this year? When I think back to that summer and the life I was heading toward before it happened? I’m not sure we made a mistake. Despite what and who I’ve lost…I don’t think love can ever really be a mistake, Kelley. Do you?”

Now I understand why Jen believes you hung the moon. “I think I love your daughter, sir. We both do. And more surprisingly, the wonderful woman you raised loves us back. I think this is an unusual and uncomfortable situation, but I know Jennifer is a Finn to the bone. She’s all about her family, we almost lost her once because of that, and so I’ll be damned if the first gift we give her for loving us is taking that away. Sir.”

Shawn smiled and his blue eyes lit up like Jen’s. “Guts and honesty. She likes that I bet. You know, we finally got a law passed so my son can marry the love of his life, but I’ll be honest in return—I don’t think we’ll see one for you three any time soon. No matter how much you love each other.”

“I know and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Mr. Finn.” Declan swallowed.

“Shawn.”

“I want to marry Jennifer, Shawn,” he blurted like a nervous prom date. “I’d ask her today if I didn’t think she’d run out the front door screaming. But Trick and I have already talked to my lawyer and drawn up a will for her and—if she decides she wants them—any children we might… Sir?”

Shawn was laughing. He pushed himself up to his feet and put his hand on Declan’s shoulder. “You should change your name, son. If I didn’t know any better I’d call you a Finn. When you go in, you go all in, don’t you?”

Declan smiled and reached up to adjust his glasses. “Yes, sir.”

“Good man. Life is too short for doing things halfway.” He paused at the door. “But it’s also nice to slow down and enjoy what you have right this moment. Let’s get through this next bit and see where it takes us.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jennifer was watching for him when he reappeared in the living room. She came up to him, kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “What were you doing with Dad?”

“Talking. It would be strange if I asked him to adopt me, wouldn’t it?”

She smirked. “Yes. We don’t have to break every sexual taboo for your research, Professor. Save some for my cousins.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Did you see your mother?”

“I did.” Jen smiled hopefully. “I think we’re better. She hugged me a lot. We’re having lunch next week. This brought up a lot for her and she says she’s thinking about talking to someone.”

“Good.”

Trick joined them and handed Declan a beer. “Jeremy is in. Says Owen hasn’t stopped talking about the house for weeks and he’ll get with Tasha and start working on Ellen right away.”

Jennifer frowned. “Working on her for what?”

“Christmas. Weddings. The usual.”

“Actually.” Jen looked around. “That’s genius.”

“I know,” Declan and Trick said at the same time.

Jennifer shook her head, but she was smiling again. “Noah said he and his brothers are planning an intervention with their father. Apparently it was Brady’s idea.”

“Christmas is looking more interesting all the time.” Trick nodded toward the kitchen staff Declan had hired for the evening. “I think dinner is ready. Are we?”

Declan smiled at the two people who held his heart and let the conversation and laughter all around him seep in to his soul. He hadn’t known how alone he’d been. How much he’d been missing.

This was what loving Trick and Jennifer had given him. Complication, noise, mess, laughter and sex and—as his wise future father-in-law Shawn Finn once told him—love. And love was never a mistake.

“We’re ready.”

Look for Finn Again, a Christmas anthology,

with A Curious Wedding: An Owen and Jeremy quickie.

Coming Soon!

Thanks for Reading!

I truly hope you enjoyed this book. If so, please leave a review and tell your friends. Word of mouth and online reviews are immensely helpful to authors and greatly appreciated.

To keep up with all the latest news about my books, release info, exclusive excerpts and more, check out my website RGAlexander.com. Stop by my group blog, Smutketeers.com to enter the frequent contests and free book giveaways each month.

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Curious: Finn Factor, Book 1

Are you Curious?

Jeremy Porter is. Though the bisexual comic book artist has known Owen Finn for most of his life—long enough to know that he is terminally straight—he can’t help but imagine what things would be like if he weren’t.

Owen is far from vanilla—as a dominant in the local fetish community, he sees as much action as Jeremy does. Lately even more.

Since Jeremy isn’t into collars and Owen isn’t into men, it seems like his fantasies will remain just that forever…until one night when Owen gets curious.

Warning: Contains explicit m/m nookie. A lot of it. Very detailed. Two men getting kinky, talking dirty and doing the horizontal mambo. Are you reading this? Do you see them on the cover? Guy parts will touch. You have been warned.

Available Now!

Scandalous: Finn Factor, Book 2

Will it be Scandalous?

If Natasha Rivera is involved, the answer is usually yes. The owner of The Twisted Tart bakery has never been shy about expressing her opinions or her desires. The only secret she ever kept had to do with her feelings for a certain Finn and the details of their unusual relationship.

When reformed bad boy Senator Stephen Finn asks Natasha to join him for a week of political intrigue and kink, there’s no way she can say no. Nothing has changed. His star is still on the rise and she is still too wild to be tamed. Once they get their hands on each other they’re bound to cause a scandal…but it might just be worth it.

Recipe of Warning: Take one outspoken, sexually confident woman and a repressed former bad boy. Combine until sparks fly. Add voyeurism, exhibitionism, spanking, excessive quantities of explicit sex, a kinky house party and whatever pervertible you have on hand…thoroughly shake the mixture until your wrists hurt or your batteries run low. Mmmm. Yummy warning.

Available Now!

Dangerous: Finn Factor, Book 3

Do you like it Dangerous?

Brady Finn has been a cop and a Marine, but he’s never been in a situation as dangerous as this one. Waking up naked in the bed of a man he’s wanted for months—with no memory of how he got there—was only the beginning.

Rope Dom Ken Tanaka knows kink isn’t Brady’s scene, but he still can’t resist the tall, redheaded Boy Scout. When their search for a missing person requires Brady to go above and beyond the call of duty, they’ll both do what needs to be done for the mission—and give in to the undeniable passion between them.

Will their explosive chemistry last once the job is over? Or will taking that chance be more dangerous than either man is willing to risk?

Warning: Explicit male/male sexy times. Voyeurism, role playing, rope. And, once again, very serious about the graphic gay sex. I’m not sure why you don’t believe me… Also? An Evil League of Evil! Good kink vs scary villain kink (you’ve been warned), Finn Club rules and the aftereffects of The Great Rumming of 2015. I SAID RUMMING. Dirty minds.

!!!BONUS FREE READ!!!

A Curious Proposal: An Owen and Jeremy quickie

You should at least read the first chapter of Dangerous before starting this.

Available Now!

The Finn Factor Series

(for the reader who enjoys variety)

Book 1: Curious (m/m)

Book 2: Scandalous (m/f)

Book 3: Dangerous (m/m)

Book 4: Ravenous (m/f/m)

Book 5: Shameless (?)

The Smutketeers!

Erotic romance authors R.G. Alexander, Eden Bradley and Robin L. Rotham can be found regularly at their group blog, The Smutketeers. It’s a place for them to keep fans up to date on their newest releases, promote other great erotic romance authors, prove that a positive view of female sexuality is good for the world, and have reader contests with fantastic prize giveaways and general smutty shenanigans. Stop by www.Smutketeers.com to join our wonderful group of readers and sign up for our newsletter.

Check Out This Fantastic Title from Eden Bradley!

The Training House, Book One: Girl

In those breathless moments between pleasure and pain lie the most poignant truths…

I have signed myself over to The Training House: my devotion, my obedience, my body. It is what I have always yearned for—to lose myself in powerlessness. To be made to. But this place is more than anyone could possibly prepare for, especially the Master of the House. He is too stunning, too commanding, bringing out a yearning for submission in ways I have never imagined, and I am lost in nearly unbearable desire.  He uses my body until he brings me to tears, then tenderly wipes them away, enslaving me to him instantly, body and soul. I cannot imagine existing without him, without his wicked touch, his strict and sensual command…

Until I meet another slave, and he changes the game of kink for me forever. How can I decide what my heart wants most, without risking losing it all?

WARNING: This book contains consensual behavior which may be considered violent or uncomfortable for some readers. Do NOT try this at home!

Available Now @ EdenBradley.com

***

Don’t Miss This Smoking Hot Read from Robin L. Rotham!

Custom farmer Joe Remke once thought he would never be happy again. Fortunately, Ariel Jane Pender and Brent Andersen had other ideas, and now the three of them are building a farmhouse—and a future—together. Toss in the occasional orgy with Hake and Mandy Stivers, and life just doesn’t get any better.

Or so Joe tells himself when his darkest fears whisper to him at night, urging him to leave while he can still survive on his own.

But it may already be too late—Mandy and Hake are coming for the holidays, and they’ve got a lot more than visions of sugar plums and noncon role-play dancing in their heads. The bombshell they’re about to drop could put an end to Joe…

Or give him the faith he needs to stay forever.

Reader Advisory: This book contains boys on boys, girls on girls, ménage, noncon-roleplaying, D/s and most everything you love about Robin L. Rotham books.

Available Now @ Robin L. Rotham

Other Books by R.G. Alexander

Fireborne Series

Burn With Me

Make Me Burn

Burn Me Down-coming soon

Bigger in Texas Series

Big Bad John

Mr. Big Stuff

Big Trouble-coming soon

The Finn Factor Series

Curious

Scandalous

Dangerous

Ravenous

Shameless-coming soon

Billionaire Bachelors Series

The CEO’s Fantasy

The Cowboy’s Kink

The Playboy’s Ménage

Billionaire Bachelors Trilogy

Gaia City Superheroes Series

Who Wants To Date A Superhero?

Who Needs Another Superhero?

Invitation to Eden

Multi-Author Continuity Series

Falling or Flying

Children Of The Goddess Series

Regina In The Sun

Lux In Shadow

Twilight Guardian

Midnight Falls

Wicked Series

Wicked Sexy

Wicked Bad

Wicked Release

Shifting Reality Series

My Shifter Showmance

My Demon Saint

My Vampire Idol

Temptation Unveiled Series

Lifting The Veil

Piercing The Veil

Behind The Veil

Kinky Oz Series

Not In Kansas

Surrender Dorothy

Mènage and More

Truly Scrumptious

Three For Me?

Four For Christmas

Dirty Delilah

Marley in Chains

Anthologies

Three Sinful Wishes

Wasteland

A Kinky Christmas Carol - Marley in Chains

Bone Daddy Series

Possess Me

Tempt Me

To The Bone

Elemental Steam Series Written As Rachel Grace

Geared For Pleasure

About R.G. Alexander

R.G. Alexander (aka Rachel Grace) is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author who has written over 30 erotic paranormal, contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy books for multiple e-publishers and Berkley Heat.

She is a founding member of The Smutketeers, an author formed group blog dedicated to promoting fantastic writers, readers and a positive view of female sexuality.

She has lived all over the United States, studied archaeology and mythology, been a nurse, a vocalist, and now a writer who dreams of vampires, witches and airship battles. RG feels lucky every day that she gets to share her stories with her readers, and she loves talking to them on Twitter and FB. She is happily married to a man known affectionately as The Cookie—her best friend, research assistant, and the love of her life. Together they battle to tame the wild Rouxgaroux that has taken over their home.

Sign up for the Smutketeers Newsletter for updates on contest giveaways and New Releases.

All for Smut and Smut for All!

To Contact R. G. Alexander:

www.RGAlexander.com

www.RachelGraceRomance.com

www.Smutketeers.com

Facebook

Twitter

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Thanks for Reading!

Curious: Finn Factor, Book 1

Scandalous: Finn Factor, Book 2

Dangerous: Finn Factor, Book 3

The Smutketeers!

Other Books by R.G. Alexander

About R.G. Alexander