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  “No, I wasn’t. Shit, Charlie, what’s with this third degree? You got the answer you were looking for. I fucked Jim Griffin—loads of times. So what? And you wanna know something else? I loved it. I loved him!”

  She sucked back a breath at the sobs threatening to consume her. She’d missed Jim terribly since his passing, but she felt strongly that grief was a private thing and there was no way she’d break down in front of Charlie, despite her anger over the third degree.

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly, pulling her up and enveloping her in his embrace. His compassion and the genuine sorrow in his voice caught her unaware and she felt the tears she’d kept locked away since Jim’s death break free.

  “Damn you,” she said as she tried to stop crying. “Why does any of this matter? Why bring up all this ancient history?”

  “It’s my fault.” Alex’s voice drifted to them from across the room.

  Allie jerked out of Charlie’s embrace, surprised to find Alex in the doorway. Like Charlie, he’d only half dressed and was wearing a pair of tatty jeans. How long had he been listening to their conversation?

  “What?” she asked.

  “It was my fault you left. I pressured you that night by the bonfire, Allie. You were still young and I asked you for way more than you were ready to give,” Alex replied.

  “What did you say that night?” Charlie asked, and Allie could feel the walls closing in on them. The happiness of the previous night vanishing with the accusations, the jealousy, the suspicions. How could they have fallen so far, so fast? When she’d woken up this morning, she’d felt years younger and lighter than air. She hated drudging through the past, especially when none of it mattered.

  “He said he wanted a ménage. Between the three of us,” Allie replied. “But that’s not why I left town.”

  “Sure it’s not,” Alex answered sarcastically.

  Allie raised her eyebrows at him and grinned. “I wanted both of you even then, Alex. I really did. But dammit, I knew what would happen if I gave in to that desire.”

  “What would have happened?” Alex asked, and she sensed he was relieved by her words, if not wholly convinced.

  “I would have stayed. I would have ended up in bed with both of you and it would have been wonderful and terrible at the same time.”

  “Why?” Charlie asked.

  “Because I had too much I wanted to experience, to do. I wanted you, but if I’d given in to the attraction, the passion, I would never have gone off on my own. I would have let myself be sucked into your lives and I would still be working in that damn diner and dreaming of far-off places and reckless adventures. Staying here would have killed me.”

  “We would have taken you places, Allie. Let you experience all those things.” Charlie’s words were sincere, yet Allie couldn’t help the laugh of disbelief that flew from her lips.

  “Ha! If I’d told you I wanted to bungee jump off a bridge, Charlie, what would you have said?”

  His eyebrows furrowed and she watched him struggle to give her an honest answer. “I’d have said it was too dangerous.”

  She giggled at his response and leaned forward to kiss him gently on the cheek. “That’s exactly what you would have said, and I would have respected your feelings and chances are very good I would have skipped the bungee jumping even though I desperately wanted to try it. How do you feel about skydiving?”

  Alex growled. “I would have let you go, but I would have strapped you to me.”

  Allie laughed at his confession. “I went solo several times and it was exhilarating.”

  “Don’t say any more,” Charlie said quickly. “I have more than enough gray hair from just hearing Ginny read your letters over the years. I don’t think I wanna hear firsthand accounts of every reckless, crazy, insane thing you did.”

  Allie shook her head, grinning. “I didn’t think any of those things were insane. And I wouldn’t change one second of the past six years.”

  “So Griffin let you do all that stuff?” Alex asked.

  “I’d known Jim my whole life. He and my dad were good friends, but he changed after his wife died. They were married thirty years and he’d spent the majority of his life working and accumulating a ridiculous pile of money. When Charlotte died, he realized he’d wasted all those years they’d spent together, worrying about trivial things like the mortgage and his firm, not enjoying their life together, their love.

  “After we talked that night at the diner, he wanted to see some of those dreams fulfilled and he wanted to give me the opportunity to enjoy them while I was young. So he sold his business and his house, bought the fancy sports car he’d always wanted and we hit the open road.”

  “And the bedroom,” Charlie added. Allie could detect the slightest bit of resentment in his voice.

  “We turned out to be kindred spirits in so many ways…and he really did hire me initially to be his personal assistant. At the time we’d left town, he’d been on his own for nearly a year. He was tired of being alone. It was my job to make the arrangements for hotels, airline tickets and so on and, in exchange, he paid the bills.”

  “Christ, I can understand why you called it a dream job in your letters to Brooks,” Alex admitted.

  “It would have definitely been a hard offer to turn down, and my position with Jim, our relationship, was perfectly platonic the first few years,” Allie continued. “But it was hard not to love him. He was handsome, charming, intelligent.”

  “You fell in love with him,” Charlie said softly, but Allie shook her head.

  “No, I don’t think I did. I loved him dearly, but I wasn’t in love with him and he wasn’t in love with me. His heart belonged to Charlotte—always.” She took a deep breath and decided if they were after truth, she’d give it all to them. “We had sex, but our relationship wasn’t exclusive and he certainly wasn’t the only man I slept with these past six years.”

  Charlie and Alex’s heads popped up at her words and Allie struggled to fight down her laugh. “Jesus, can you guys say ‘double standard’? Have you both been choirboys your whole lives? Living chaste, pure lives and never touching women?”

  Alex shrugged guiltily and Allie knew she’d scored a point.

  Charlie continued to scowl. “I don’t want to know about your past love affairs,” he barked. “Makes me want to kill every man who’s ever looked at you.”

  “Including Alex?” she asked teasingly. Her question seemed to rock Charlie despite the fact she’d meant it as a joke.

  “No,” he admitted. “Not Alex.”

  His words were spoken quietly and Allie could sense his confusion about the emotions his best friend seemed to evoke in him. She prayed she could help them both over the enormous hurdle they were facing. She had been in love with Charlie Anderson since she was in elementary school, and her feelings for Alex had definitely grown into more than mere friendship once they’d reached adulthood.

  She’d decided a long time ago that she was in love with both of them and was so very grateful for the opportunity to share it with them. However, she wasn’t sure how Charlie would respond to Alex’s feelings toward him. Alex was obviously still head over heels in love with his best friend. Allie shook her head at the bizarre love triangle they formed.

  Alex broke the uncomfortable silence that had fallen. “So how about some breakfast? I’m sure there must be some food in here somewhere.”

  Charlie shook his head. “Somehow I seriously doubt that. Stay here and I’ll run over to my kitchen and grab some grub. You do own pans, don’t you?”

  Alex paused as if seriously considering the question before shrugging. “Hell if I know. What’s a pan?” he joked.

  Allie laughed. “Come on. Let’s move this party to Charlie’s kitchen. I’m dying to see this strange setup you guys call home.”

  Charlie grabbed her hand and started to tug her toward the front foyer, but she jerked back. “Shouldn’t I throw on some clothes? Wouldn’t want to give the neighbors an eyeful this
early in the morning.”

  “We don’t have any neighbors close enough to see our house,” Charlie answered. Allie had suspected as much, but it had been dark when they’d arrived last night and she hadn’t exactly been focused on what was outside the truck.

  “Besides,” Alex said, interrupting her thoughts, “we aren’t going outside.”

  At the front entryway, Allie noticed a door she hadn’t seen the night before. Charlie pulled it open and she was surprised to find herself in a mirror image of Alex’s house. “We don’t usually keep this door closed.”

  “If you guys wanted to keep on being roommates, why build the separate houses at all?” she asked.

  “Well,” Alex replied sheepishly, “sometimes a man needs his privacy.”

  Allie laughed at his response. “For sleepovers and such?”

  Charlie shook his head and continued dragging her toward his kitchen. “I told you. We’re not talking about that. I’m hungry.”

  “So I’m assuming by your fully stocked kitchen that most meals are consumed on this side of the duplex?” Allie asked as she watched Charlie open the fridge and begin pulling out bacon and eggs and sausage.

  “I can’t cook worth shit,” Alex confessed. “Fortunately Charlie is a master in the kitchen.”

  Charlie grumbled at the comment. “He could learn if he wanted. Plays dumb so I have to do all the cooking.”

  Alex gave his friend a friendly punch on the arm. “Hey, I do the clean up, so it’s not a completely one-sided deal. Plus I split the grocery bill. Don’t make me out to sound like such a mooch.”

  Charlie dropped the food on the counter and grabbed a pan from a cabinet. “Think you can get a pot of coffee going, mooch?” he joked.

  “You’re cruising to get your ass kicked,” Alex said as he reached for the coffee pot. Allie watched their easy camaraderie and grinned. She knew it would kill Charlie to hear her say it, but the two of them had been together so long they sounded a bit like an old married couple.

  She sighed, feeling left out. Despite the fact they’d known her since she was nine, they shared a history she would never be a part of.

  “What’s wrong, Allie-cat?” Charlie asked.

  She shook her head, unwilling to share her petty, envious thoughts. “Nothing. The kitchen looks like one of those places where the roles have already been assigned. There doesn’t seem to be anything left for me to do.”

  Alex grinned evilly and she immediately regretted her remarks. “Oh, now I wouldn’t say that’s true.” He approached her as he spoke and Allie heard rather than saw Charlie coming toward her from behind.

  “Alex,” she said, lifting her finger in warning. Charlie’s strong hands gripped her waist and before she could react, her T-shirt was pulled over her head, leaving her completely naked. She tried to grab the shirt out of Charlie’s hand, but he flung it into the far corner of the room as Alex reached for her hips and turned her back toward him.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as Alex nibbled sweetly at her throat.

  “I was thinking you’d make a tasty appetizer,” he murmured.

  “That’s funny,” Charlie said from behind her, his hands enveloping her rear end, playing with the sensitive skin there. “I kind of fancied using this sexy body as a plate.”

  “If you think you’re putting runny eggs on me and dipping your toast in it, you’re nuts,” she said, cursing her sudden breathlessness. Their hands were all over her and she was struggling to remain in control. Her body had surrendered itself to them completely last night, leaving her mind fighting futilely for a single foothold on sanity.

  Strong hands lifted her onto the kitchen table and Allie rejoiced in the idea of not having to support her weight any longer—until she felt herself being stretched out on the surface. Two hungry bears stared down at her and she wondered if they’d both been wrong.

  She didn’t feel like an appetizer or a plate—but rather suspected she was about to become the whole damn meal.

  Chapter Five

  Alex looked down at Allie spread across Charlie’s kitchen table like a feast fit for the gods. After their heated session in the shower, all three of them had fallen asleep in his bed. As he studied Allie’s curvy frame, he wondered how in the hell they’d managed to keep from actually having intercourse with her. One look at Charlie’s face proved his friend was wondering the same thing.

  “You look good enough to eat,” he said, walking to where Allie’s knees dangled over the edge.

  Charlie remained by her side and bent down to suck one of Allie’s tight nipples into his mouth. Allie gasped at Charlie’s attack and Alex grinned. Years of being with his friend had proven to him that Charlie liked his sexual play with a rough edge to it. Spreading Allie’s legs apart, he could see by the moisture pooling between them that she seemed to enjoy that fact.

  “Yummy,” he muttered as he leaned forward. He breathed in the scent of her sweet arousal, taking his time as he approached, savoring Allie’s growing cries. Obviously Charlie’s ministrations to her breasts were pushing several hot buttons in their beautiful hellion and he couldn’t wait to notch the play even higher.

  Slowly he drew his tongue along her slit, tasting her tangy juices and fighting against the need to consume her whole. He felt as if he’d waited a lifetime for this. His head said he should appreciate the moment while his body demanded entrance and instant gratification.

  Allie’s hips thrust up toward his mouth as he played with her clit, using his teeth and tongue to drive her to the peak. In just a short time, he’d become addicted to her orgasms, the lovely way she tried for only a moment to hold back before diving headlong into the release. Allie came like she lived. Fast and furious and ready for anything. She was perfect for them. Again the thought that she was really here, letting them touch her, staggered him.

  Finally.

  Her body was gyrating wildly on the table, responding hotly to Charlie’s mouth and fingers on her breasts and his tongue at her clit. He reached up and roughly shoved two fingers into her dripping cunt. She cried out and her climax shook the table with its intensity.

  “Shit,” he heard Charlie mutter. “Fuck breakfast.” His friend leaned down to lift Allie in his arms. “Bedroom,” he commanded over his shoulder to Alex. “I’ll be damned if I’m spending one more minute waiting to get inside this sexy body of hers.”

  Alex grinned and followed them into Charlie’s room. Both of them were fairly large men, which led to their purchase of king-sized beds. Placing Allie in the middle on her back, Charlie quickly crawled over her body.

  “I need you,” he said to her, and Alex wondered at the sound of apology in his friend’s voice as he spoke to her.

  Allie smiled and enveloped him in her arms, their sweet embrace taking his breath away for a moment. Alex gripped the cherry railing at the foot of Charlie’s four-poster bed as Charlie kissed her gently before pulling back to strip away his pants. His motions stirred something in Alex and he crossed to the bedside table, pulling open the drawer. He reached in and grabbed a condom, thrusting it into his friend’s hand.

  Charlie was positioning himself over Allie and looked up in surprise at Alex’s offering.

  “Shit. I never forget…” Charlie said, mostly to himself.

  “Allie could make a man forget his own name,” Alex teased. “Hurry up.” As he spoke, he gestured at his own cock, fighting against the constraints of the suddenly too-tight denim.

  Charlie grinned and shook his head. “No way in hell am I hurrying up. You’ll just have to wait your turn.”

  “Or,” Allie purred from the bed where she’d been quietly watching their exchange, “you could take off those damn jeans and let me have a taste of that. It’s clear neither one of you intends to feed me a proper breakfast.”

  Alex knew she meant her words as a tease, but it only served to enflame them both.

  “Oh yeah,” he said, quickly stripping off his jeans as Charlie finished putting on the condom. His
friend gripped her hips and turned her onto her stomach.

  “Hey!” she squealed as Charlie’s motions caught her off-guard.

  “Hands and knees,” Charlie demanded gruffly. “I want to watch you suck Alex off while I fuck you from behind.”

  Allie quickly complied while Alex climbed onto the bed and sat with his back against the headboard. Allie bent down and for the second time took him into her hot mouth. Alex groaned as she accepted his girth more easily this time, swallowing him nearly to the back of her throat on the first pass.

  “Fuck,” he whispered as Allie paused. Opening his eyes, he found Charlie’s gaze on Allie’s mouth around his cock.

  “I can’t tell you how hot that is,” Charlie said, their gazes connecting.

  Allie squirmed a bit in her own impatience and Alex grinned. “Better take care of our girl. I think she’s getting a bit annoyed with waiting for you.”

  Charlie gripped Allie’s hips and placed his cock at the entrance to her body. She tried to push back on him and Alex watched Charlie’s firm hands halt her movements. His friend would control this encounter and the idea of Charlie’s power ratcheted up his own desire. As Charlie pushed into her body, Allie began to suck his cock with such fervent intensity his vision went black. For a moment, Alex was sorry he’d agreed to the blowjob, wishing he could take the time to watch his friends making love. Allie’s talented tongue and teasing teeth were certainly distracting him from any chance he had at enjoying the tableau before him.

  Charlie’s thrusts became stronger, harder, and Alex felt Allie struggling to hold on. He glanced up and sensed Charlie’s regret once again as his movements lightened up, slowed a bit.

  “I’m sorry,” his friend said through gritted teeth. “I’m trying to hold back. Feels too good. I’m too rough but I need this, her—”

  Alex reached down and pulled Allie’s mouth off his cock. She seemed too mindless with her coming orgasm to realize she’d released him. Glancing up, he saw Charlie tense with the battle to soften his thrusts. Alex scooted down until his body was lying flat under Allie’s. The position left his legs stretched out between Charlie’s but either his friend didn’t notice or he simply didn’t mind.