Three to Tango Read online

  He scanned his closet for something that could compete with Mel’s look, settling on a light gray suit with a peach silk tie. She’d win the fashion-show portion of the evening, hands down. He was going to have to shine elsewhere.

  Melody stood in the kitchen with her head in the freezer. While she’d gone in there to get the martini glasses, she’d stayed there to cool her flaming cheeks. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought Jace was physically attracted to her. The way his pupils had dilated and his breathing had grown erratic. She could have heard a pin drop when she’d walked into the room. She pressed a shaky hand to her still-warm face.

  Okay, get a grip and make some drinks. As much as you want him to, Jace doesn’t do girls.

  Putting the strange moment aside for later examination, she shut the freezer door and took the shaker out of the cabinet. She poured in Grey Goose, lime juice, triple sec, and a splash of cranberry juice, then packed it with ice, put the top on, and shook.

  The front door locks tumbled as she poured a shaken-not-stirred martini into a glass. Alec walked in a moment later, looking dirty, rumpled, and totally fuckable.

  A sudden shock of intense heat rushed down her abdomen. Oh, hell-oo.

  “Long day?” She held out the chilled glass.

  His stunned expression was almost comical. Like someone had hit him on the head with a brick. If he had been in a cartoon, steam would have shot from his ears.

  She flashed a big smile. “Cosmo?”

  The weariness of his day melted away at the sight of Melody, and just like that, Alec was wide-awake. She was so vital and alive. And that dress… Why wasn’t he supposed to fall in love with her again? Oh yeah, they were friends and roommates. Something about complications. But from where he stood right now, it didn’t seem complicated at all. It was very simple. He wanted Mel. Badly.

  “Thanks.”

  Her fingers brushed his as he accepted the drink, and a bolt of heat shot from her touch to his groin.

  He took a long sip from the icy glass without even glancing at it. The tangy blend of citrus and vodka tasted almost as delicious as she looked.

  “What’s the occasion?” he asked, motioning with his glass and raking her frame with his gaze.

  Jace breezed into the kitchen. “Mel says we have to be grown-ups tonight.”

  Holy shit.

  Jace looked sexy as hell—like he’d just stepped out of a GQ cover shoot—wearing a no-doubt expensive and perfectly tailored gray suit. The crisp chrome lines complemented his eyes, turning them to intense cobalt.

  As Alec stood in awe of all the beauty around him, images from his shower daydream the week before came flooding back. His cock ached as he imagined flipping Mel’s short dress up just a few inches and burying himself deep in her pussy with one long stroke. A flash, and then Mel was behind him, plastered against his back, watching over his shoulder as Jace knelt before him, sucking him off.

  Alec took a long pull of his drink to wet his parched throat. Then cleared his throat and tried to behave like everything was normal. “Wow, you guys look awesome. And you’re putting me to shame. I’ve been knee-deep in potting soil and fertilizer all day. I look like a peasant among royalty. I probably smell like one too.” He shoved his half-empty drink at Jace. “Take this. I gotta shower. Be right back.” Then he hotfooted it to the bathroom, trying to conceal the growing tent in his shorts.

  Alec completed his shower in record time but took an extra minute to shave and slap on some cologne. Hell, he wasn’t going to play the role of the ugly friend. He didn’t own a suit, though, so he made do, pulling on a pair of tan chinos and a white dress shirt he left untucked. He didn’t bother with socks or shoes.

  Heading to the door to rejoin his roommates, he paused when Jace and Melody burst into peals of laughter. He loved listening to them laugh like that. They were so uninhibited with each other. Straining against his bedroom door to hear more, he was rewarded with another round of giggles.

  “Well, as hot as we both look tonight, he’d have to be dead not to notice. I’m predicting a very interesting night for one of us,” Jace said. “Preferably me.”

  Wait, what?

  “Think again, twinkle toes. I was hoping I wasn’t being too obvious with the dress, you know.”

  “Oh, you mean the dress that has ‘horny and single, please take me’ written all over it? No, I think it’s very subtle, honey.”

  “Silly boy, if it said that, you’d be wearing one too.”

  Again, they broke into laughter.

  Alec tried to quiet his suddenly erratic breathing so he didn’t miss anything. A few murmured words were spoken that he didn’t catch, then Mel’s voice. “But seriously, desperate times call for desperate measures, and subtle isn’t cutting it. We have to get serious, and may the best roommate win.”

  “What can I say? When you’re right, you’re right. So we turn the heat up a bit. No hard feelings no matter who he chooses, though. Pinky swear?”

  Alec froze. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t been imagining all their recent flirting. His gut churned a bit as he tried to take it all in.

  They obviously had a bet going, and he was the prize. Hurt warred with excitement. Although the three of them were really close, he always felt like he was just on the outskirts of their twosome. And here he was again, not quite the third musketeer. He hated that they had secrets they didn’t share with him.

  On the other hand, they both wanted him. Wasn’t that some fucking stellar news? If he put aside his initial hurt, he had to admit that he wanted them too.

  Not the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, Alec came to a decision quickly.

  His roommates had no idea just how hot things were about to get.

  Melody’s eyes were glued to the bottle, her heart pounding as it spun round and round.

  It was kind of surreal how they’d gotten there. After a delicious dinner of perfectly seasoned shrimp and crisp Mandarin salad—touché, Jace—they had moved into the living room with their second round of cosmos for board-game time. While she and Jace had pored over the options in the closet, Alec had dropped an absolute bomb on them.

  “How about truth or dare?”

  Jace’s expression had been priceless, and she could only imagine what hers had looked like. They’d both been too stunned to answer, and the silence was deafening. Could a better opportunity have fallen into their laps?

  “What’s the matter? You guys chicken?”

  Jace had followed Alec’s lead and continued with the lighthearted banter. “Chicken? Oh no, he didn’t just call us out like that, Hellz.”

  “You know, I was the truth-or-dare queen back in the day,” she’d said, preening.

  “Funny. Me too,” Jace had deadpanned.

  Alec had shot them a feral smile, a mischievous glint lighting his eyes. “Well, then, I guess it’s on.”

  They’d quickly negotiated the rules, opting to incorporate another childhood favorite into the mix. The person whose turn it was to ask the question or come up with a dare had to spin a bottle. Whoever it landed on was “it.” If it landed on the spinner, the person to his or her right would be the recipient of the question or dare. In the interest of women’s lib, ladies first went out the window, and they had done rock-paper-scissors to determine the order. Alec was the first to spin.

  As the wine bottle rotated on the coffee table, Melody tried to appear nonchalant, but her gaze was glued to the whirling decider of fate. The silence was almost absolute. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room in anticipation. And she realized she wasn’t the only one holding her breath. Alec and Jace sat deathly still, lips pursed. Only their eyes gave away that they were alive.

  The bottle slowed to a snail’s pace. Finally, it stopped.

  Jace.

  “Truth or dare?” Alec asked, a challenging light in his eyes.

  “Dare.”

  Alec seemed to wrestle with himself, his jaw tightening. Again, the air grew thick as they
waited. The music that had seemed so quiet before now overpowered the room.

  I gave you all the love I got

  I gave you more than I could give

  Gave you love

  Sade’s smoky voice told a sultry tale of longing, and suddenly it felt unbearably intimate, almost uncomfortable. Melody had to resist the urge to turn it off. She looked up and found Jace staring at her, a bemused expression on his face. It was gone a moment later when Alec finally spoke.

  “All right, Jace. Kiss Mel.”

  The room grew oppressively quiet as Sade paused between songs.

  What the fuck had made him say that? He’d meant to ease into it, be cool. They were obviously both into him, but a threesome wasn’t on their radar. Alec wondered if they even recognized that they were attracted to each other. He’d let his own personal fantasy and curiosity get the better of him, and he may have just blown the whole thing. He wanted to bite his tongue off for suggesting it. Just as he opened his mouth to take it back, Jace spoke.

  “Well, whatcha got for me, Hellz?” He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a leering grin.

  She pressed her hand to her forehead as if in a swoon and put on her best Southern belle accent. “Dear Lawd, if this is a dream, don’t wake me.”

  Dropping her hands to the floor, she crawled over to Jace on all fours, her lips puckered comically.

  Jace leaned forward and kissed her, a light brush of lips, then pulled away.

  “No way. Not gonna cut it.” Alec snorted, trying to disguise the tightness in his throat. “That’s how you kiss your aunt. I want to see some tongue. What kind of sham are we running here? Queens of truth or dare, my ass.”

  “Ew, you kiss your aunt on the mouth? You might want to call somebody about that, honey,” Jace joked. “And anyway, it was the first dare. You have to leave something to work up to. You don’t have the crème brûlée before the salad, do you?”

  “I don’t have the crème brûlée at all. Wait, what’s crème brûlée?”

  Melody forced out a stiff laugh at the boys’ banter, but in reality her brain had short-circuited. Jace’s lips had been so warm, so soft against her own. She resisted the urge to press her fingers to her mouth.

  “Fine, whatever. If that’s how you want to play it.” Alec looked away, shaking his head in mock disapproval.

  Jace’s gaze cut to hers, and his eyes narrowed with determination, zeroing in on her lips. Melody wondered if he could hear her heart pounding, because she couldn’t hear anything else.

  He bent low, his warm breath fanning her mouth. “Okay?” His voice was almost a whisper.

  Unable to speak, she nodded, mesmerized by his darkening blue eyes.

  Jace ran just the tip of his tongue over the bow of her top lip and then traveled to the bottom. Her mouth parted, and he accepted the invitation, entering with a slow, sensual slide. His lips were firm, his tongue magic as he made love to her mouth. An ache swelled low between her hips, and her nipples pebbled. The focus and passion so evident in his dance translated beautifully to kissing, and he led her masterfully, mercilessly.

  Melody trembled with the effort of holding still when every instinct urged her to grab his head and latch on to him, to fall on the floor and pull him over her so he could use that magic tongue on the rest of her body.

  Of all the times she had dreamed about it over the years, she had never imagined kissing Jace would be this incredible. Once she’d come to terms with the fact that he would never feel that way about her, she had convinced herself they wouldn’t have any chemistry.

  She so was wrong. This was like taking a breath of air after being underwater too long. Exhilarating, heady, necessary.

  She let out an involuntary whimper, breaking the delicate spell.

  Jace pulled away and gave his head a shake. He tried to quiet his harsh breathing, but it was no use. As he came back to earth, he realized he wasn’t the only one breathing hard.

  Alec sat on the edge of the couch, leaning toward them, nostrils flaring, chest heaving. Mel sat back on her heels, darkened eyes wide in astonishment as the pulse in her throat leaped.

  With a start, Alec sat back, shifting in his seat. He began to clap slowly, then with more exuberance as he let out a wolf whistle. “Damn, you two really can’t turn down a challenge, can you? Well done.”

  Alec’s praise washed over Jace like fine wine, and he smiled.

  Mel grinned too, still looking a bit dazed.

  Good.

  Jesus, where the hell had that come from? Why would the fact that he’d affected her make him so happy? And why had he enjoyed their kiss so much? This was about Alec, not him and Mel. He had never looked at Mel sexually before this silly bet of theirs. But he had a zipper full of stiff cock for the second time with only Mel to blame that told a different story.

  “Who needs a refill?” Alec asked as he stood.

  “Me.”

  “Me too.” Jace stood as well. “Be right back.”

  Jace made his way to the bathroom to splash cold get-with-the-program water on his face, while Alec picked up the glasses and went into the kitchen.

  “Need help?” Melody asked as she pushed herself up from the floor and followed Alec into the kitchen. She couldn’t just sit there on the living room floor alone. That would give her way too much time to think about what just happened between her and Jace. She’d been down that road many times, and no matter how hot that kiss was, she knew her feelings for Jace would never be returned.

  Focus on Alec, she reminded herself. Only Alec.

  “Sure.”

  She opened the freezer, took out the ice, and held it out for Alec. His gaze drifted from her face down her neck to her stiff nipples. He licked his lips and turned away.

  “I’ll mix. You get the glasses.” His voice had that sexy low growl again that did funny things to her already jumbled insides.

  In the center of the kitchen, a large island took up most of the floor space, so as he stood at the counter mixing ingredients, she had to turn sideways to walk past. As she did, she made sure her breasts brushed against his back, lingering a little longer than necessary. Her nipples tingled, and she was rewarded with his low hiss.

  “Excuse me,” she whispered in her best seductive voice.

  She grabbed the clean glasses, then headed back the same way she’d come, again rubbing against his back. “Excuse me.” Another seductive whisper.

  He froze, then put the shaker down with a bang and turned to face her, fierce expression on his face and fire in his green eyes. He gripped her hips in his hands and jerked her forward until her pubic bone rode his erection.

  “Is this what you’re after, Hellz?” His voice was like gravel.

  He ground his cock against her, and she groaned, wetness flooding between her legs. He lowered his head and captured her mouth. If Jace’s kiss had been a dance, Alec’s was a battle. Consuming, raging hot, and furious. She wanted nothing more than to slide her ass up onto the countertop and beg him to fuck her senseless.

  She thrust her hips against his, matching his intensity. His hard, strong hand closed over her breast and plucked at her waiting nipple as the other pinned her hips to his. She gasped, tearing her mouth away. “Jace will be out in a second.”

  He nodded, pressed his forehead to hers, and took a deep, shaky breath. Then he abruptly dropped his hands and turned. The sound of the bathroom door opening spurred her into action. She moved to Alec’s side and busied her hands cutting a lime. No easy task when her whole body still quaked.

  “Got everything?” Jace called from outside the doorway.

  “Yup, be right out. See if you can find another CD. That one has been around twice already,” Mel said, her voice shakier than she would have liked. She scooped up the drinks and walked slowly toward the door.

  “See you out there,” she whispered.

  Alec was glad Jace hadn’t come into the room. He needed another minute to get himself under control. He’d been a hairbreadth away from fu
cking Mel right there in the kitchen, and his cock hadn’t caught on to the fact that it wasn’t going to happen. He was so hard it hurt. A case of blue balls was not what he’d signed up for tonight.

  He wondered briefly if he should tell his roommates he knew about their bet. Judging by the tone of their conversation, it didn’t appear that they were just out to see who could fuck him first. It really seemed like they were both into him. How he’d gotten so lucky, he couldn’t fathom.

  Six months ago he would have been over the moon to have landed either of them. They were both great catches. But now? He had his sights on the whole package.

  He wanted the three of them to be a team. If two got together, someone would invariably be left out. He’d felt just a tiny bit of that already, and it wasn’t fun. Even if they thought they could all handle it, eventually it would eat away at the relationship, and someone would end up hurt. That was the last thing he wanted, because he loved them both, and they loved each other. He didn’t want to lose either of them or for them to lose each other.

  He just had to convince them that they belonged together. All of them.

  Where to start?

  One at a time. Mel first—she’d be much easier to convince. She was already halfway there, having loved Jace for the past ten years whether she wanted to admit it or not. And judging by the reaction to that kiss between them in the living room…

  “Time to get back out there.” He turned on his heel, grabbed a bag of chips, and headed through the door.

  Glancing at his roommates, Jace couldn’t help notice the atmosphere had changed again, but he couldn’t put his finger on how. Despite the weird moment with Mel, he’d hoped that truth or dare would continue, and he would get his chance to make some sort of impression on Alec. Sure, Mel would never suggest that they kiss, just like he would never suggest that Alec kiss Mel, but he could ask some provocative questions and maybe find out if Alec had ever thought about, or had been with, a man before.