“No. Ali, look at me,” he insisted, waiting her out till she did. No accusation, no judgment. So why was unease slicking over her skin?
This was dangerous territory, but his face was calm and close. “I trust you. I’m yours, babe. No matter what, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” His hand cupped an ass cheek, thumb stroking the curve of her hip. Not lighting her up, but placating. “I’m just saying that the world has changed. The rules have changed. It might pay to have an open mind where this situation with the three of us is involved.”
“What are you trying to push me into now?”
He cocked his head. “My love, I would never try to push you into anything. You wound me. Relax.”
“Right.” Ali nestled back down next to him. Hiding. Maybe. A little. She was just pulling it al together in her head, what to say and how to say it, when he pre-empted her again.
“He’s attracted to you. I don’t think you see how much.”
“I get that things have changed, but …”
“But?”
She said nothing – for al of a minute. “But I'm probably the first female he's seen in a while and his alternatives aren’t great, Dan.
Sex-wise it's down to you, me or his fists. His being attracted to me doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot.”
“Hmm.”
What the hell did he mean? Hold up. What if it wasn’t about her? “Are you attracted to him?”
“I’m very attracted to you. I’m not letting you go.” He brushed his lips over hers, reassuring, teasing. “But what, hypothetical y speaking, would you think if I was attracted to him?”
The picture hit her full frontal. Finn and Daniel na**d and sweaty, hands and mouths all over each other. Her heart raced. Her mind was a far filthier place than she ever suspected. “Ah, really?”
“No, hypothetical, remember. I love your inner kink. You always have this vaguely stunned expression when it rears its head and bites you on the ass. A dead giveaway,” Daniel chuckled, then groaned when the movement jarred his ribs. “Damn. But the fact is, you wouldn’t mind if I did want him.”
“I might get jealous. I don’t know. I’ve never been in that situation. Am I in that situation?”
“Again, no. But …”
“But …” Would she deal with it? Yeah, probably she would. There were no doubts in her mind that Daniel was committed to her, and yet, this conversation had a dangerous feel to it. Like the ground was shifting beneath her feet. The topic they were covering was all highly unstable. “It’s a risk, Dan.”
“Babe, you over-think everything. Our life is one God-awful risk these days.”
“True,” she sighed. “Is there a point to this bewildering conversation about who you have no interest in sleeping with? I’m a straightforward kind of girl. Just spit it out.”
“Straightforward? Yeah right,” he said, again with the laugh. “The point, my girl, is this. If you wouldn’t mind me doing it, what makes you think I would mind in the reverse-case scenario?
“Because if you wanted Finn it would possibly mean you’re after something I can’t give you, namely a real-live working penis. Maybe that’s small-minded, I don’t know. This is complicated. I wasn’t expecting …”
She cleared her throat, tried to form a straight line in her head. Maybe that was the problem
– straight lines didn’t always apply. “I
won’t risk losing you for a frolic. You’re too important to me. Not to mention Finn deserves better. I won’t treat him like a cheap thrill when we’re talking of building a future somehow somewhere. Sex complicates things.”
Dan nodded. “Alright, though I never said short-term. See how it goes. Be open-minded. Two men devoted to pleasing your very sweet self? Have you ever thought about that?”
Her filthy mind filled with images.
“Holy shit. We’re gonna need more Eves in this garden.” She moaned and hid her face against his side, taking comfort in the warm and familiar scent of him. Admitting to any sex fantasies did not feel smart. Nothing about this was safe. She might be in love for the first time in a long time and he was talking about adding someone else. Historically, one-on-one proved enough of a challenge to her. How could she possibly keep two men happy? The idea was ludicrous.
“Daniel … You’re so cool about this and, and I’m so not. At all. What happens if we find another woman? We turn it into a circus act and take it on the road? Sounds like you’re using the end of the world as a flimsy excuse to have an orgy every other night of the week.”
He grunted in disapproval. “I disagree, and you’re getting jealous. There’s no need. This is about you and me and possibly him.
That’s all.”
“The three of us?”
“The three of us.”
“Wow.” Right. Sure. It sounded so simple. No chance for broken hearts at all. “No, Daniel. No.”
“Okay.”
Ali raised her head, mouth tense. “That easy?”
“Yep. It’s your choice. I just wanted to make sure you knew you had one.”
“Right. Wel , my choice is no. Meanwhile, this is doing my head in.”
“Enough of that talk then.” Daniel nodded, satisfied. “Instead, let’s discuss why you tried to cover my eyes earlier. Because baby, if it had been a kinky sex game I would have been on board, but I’m thinking it was something else.”
“It was nothing,” she said. “You need to rest. Sleepy time.”
Daniel rubbed his jaw against the top of her head, ruffling her hair. “Nah, I’m fine and so, very much, are you. Time for round two, cowgirl. And this time, we’re going to take it nice and slow with our eyes wide open.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The criminals were back at it.
Smoke lingered in the air at first light, making Finn’s pulse spike and his brain snap to attention. Adrenalin had it over caffeine any day of the week, even after a shit night’s sleep. He jumped to his feet, circumnavigated the Datsun to find the lovebirds tangled up and sleeping. “We have a situation on our hands.”
“Finn?” Al asked in a husky voice. She blinked big gray eyes at him from where she lay wrapped up in Daniel. Her hair was all tussled, and there was a general well-fucked appeal to her.