Page 7

Hazel spent the next several days in a blissful pattern of moving between the two houses and two beds, sharing herself with Blake and Mason each night. By day she worked in an office that Blake had set up for her, but she often took her laptop to Mason’s workshop or Blake’s office so she could work while being close to them. It gave her time to talk with them. It was easy to be with Mason and Blake, separately and the three of them together, even when they weren’t having sex. There was no jealousy. They only occasionally teased her about being with one of them more often than the other. Their teasing often dissolved into the most delicious punishments that always turned to pleasure in the end. She was quick to learn that they both enjoyed finding reasons to call her a bad girl, which often resulted in a spanking or a deliciously hard fucking. But they always made it feel so good, and she always came screaming with an orgasm so strong she thought she might die from it. And what a great death that would be.

But now she was facing her last night with them. The week had gone by too fast. She could see the tension building in both Blake and Mason. Mason had warned her that he wouldn’t let her leave, but Blake had said it was her choice. Was it? Could they keep her here if she decided she did want to leave?

As for herself, she felt certain she wanted to leave, but the thought of it made her taste acid. If this was her last night, she did want one thing from them. To be together, fully and completely. So far, they’d only taken turns being inside her. She wanted more. She wanted it all. She wanted what Blake had promised her, that she’d take them together.

Hazel dressed for dinner that night with care. She had forgone her jeans and instead wore one of her favorite pieces of lingerie. Chalmers had been given the night off, so it was only the three of them in the house. Therefore, she didn’t mind parading around in lingerie. The black teddy she had put on was see-through, and the thong underwear, while uncomfortable, wouldn’t be on long enough to annoy her.

As she reached the large kitchen, she heard Mason and Blake talking but couldn’t hear the words clearly, just the comforting rumble of their deep voices. The kitchen table was set for three, the way she liked it. They never used the large formal dining room. Candles were lit on the table, and a serving of her favorite dish, chicken parmesan with angel-hair pasta, sat on each of the three plates. Her mouth watered at the sight. Mason must have cooked it for her to make this meal special.

She rubbed her chest, trying to ignore the sting she felt deep inside. She wasn’t going to get emotional, not now. She had to focus on sex and her plan to seduce Blake and Mason into agreeing to the idea she’d come up with. She didn’t want to let go of her own life or get too close emotionally to them, but she was convinced that if she came to them from time to time, on her terms, it could be great for the three of them. She cleared her throat, and both men turned to look her way. Mason’s jaw dropped a little, and he let out a whistle. Blake’s gaze seared her as his blue eyes raked over the lingerie and trailed along her bare limbs.

“Well now...,” he said, his tone sinfully dark.

“Forget the chicken parm.” Mason set his beer down on the counter and started toward her, his hands flexing as though he ached to get his palms on her.

Blake thrust out an arm, halting Mason in place. “Dinner first,” he murmured to his friend. “Our girl needs to eat.”

Mason shot Hazel a look that sent a wildfire of pure lust through her and made her want to forget dinner immediately.

“Fine, but the moment dinner’s over, I’m taking her, Blake. No waiting.” Mason’s tone was hard and gruff, and she shivered in anticipation.

Feeling a swell of triumph, Hazel sat down at the table and pulled her chair forward. She waited for the men to join her. She had a proposal to make to them, and she wanted them to be so desperate for her that they would agree to her terms.

Mason and Blake sat down on either side of the table, leaving her at the head of the table so she could face them.

“Given how well this week has gone, I had an idea... a proposal, if you will.”

“Proposal?” Blake arched a dark brow.

“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “The three of us get along, so I thought we could make this a more frequent arrangement. Perhaps every couple of weeks I could come stay here with you.”

“No,” Blake uttered. His soft words felt like a slap.

“No?” she challenged. “Why not?” She glanced at Mason, who said nothing and looked toward Blake.

“Tonight you choose to stay with us or you choose to go. We aren’t interested in casual relationships, are we, Mason?” Blake cut a look to his friend, who nodded in agreement.

“But I can’t...” Hazel tried to calm her sudden rush of panic. “Blake... you know I need to be alone.”

She couldn’t stay, because if she did, she would fall in love with them, and when she lost them it would destroy her. Why couldn’t Blake understand that?

“I told you six years ago that I couldn’t lose someone I love ever again.” She stood, feeling more than ever like a fool. He’d told her what her choices were. Why had she thought she could offer a third option? Because she’d always tried to negotiate everything in her life, that was why. It was what made her such a good lawyer... or so she’d thought. But now fresh doubts crept in about all aspects of her life. All these years she’d thought she’d won the battles against Blake fairly. But maybe he’d let her win, maybe he’d given her those frequent victories so that their game could continue like this. Had that part of her life been a lie?

“Why don’t you sit and eat, Hazel. Then we can talk about this more,” Mason said and reached for her hand.

She flinched. She couldn’t have Mason touch her. If she did, it would make it hard to think.

“Right, Blake?” Mason asked. “Tell our girl to sit and eat her dinner.”

The black pit of despair and pain grew in her belly. “I’m sorry, but I’m not hungry anymore.” She stepped away from the table, and both men rose instantly to their feet. “I think it’s time I left. I’m going to pack my things and call a cab.” She fled the room, running all the way to Blake’s bedroom, where she tore the stupid lingerie off and dressed quickly in jeans and a cable-knit sweater.

She had everything packed, including her laptop, and was halfway down the stairs when she noticed Mason was blocking her way. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a gray henley with a few top buttons undone, revealing his throat and a bit of his chest. It was as if he knew her weakness. She longed to bury her face against his neck and feel his arms come around her and hold her until she felt safe. But that need? That was the thing that scared her. She couldn’t afford to need anyone.

“Sweetheart,” Mason said soothingly in that voice that could have gentled even the wildest of animals.

“No.” She shook her head at him. “No, I have to leave.”

“Why? It can’t be because you lost your parents. Sweetheart, loss is a part of life. The hurt you feel when you lose someone? That means what you felt was real. Grief is no less than the love lost that created it. What matters is how you grow around your grief.”

She stared at him, knowing her gaze was hard, but she had to protect herself, had to protect her heart. “Let me go, Mason.”

He moved, allowing her to walk past him. Even though letting her go was what she demanded of him, it didn’t hurt any less that he did.

“Hazel.”

She was reaching for the doorknob, but her hand froze when he spoke her name. She closed her eyes.

“He needs you to stay for the same reason you need to leave. You know that, don’t you? You both fear the same thing... losing each other. The question is, would you rather live without him and hurt... or do you want to heal by staying with him?”

Tears blurred her eyes, and she refused to answer him. She pulled the door open and rushed outside to wait for her cab. When the door closed behind her, her shoulders drooped and her breath escaped in a slow, pained rhythm. Mason’s words still echoed in her head.

Would you rather live without him and hurt... or do you want to heal by staying with him?

* * *

Blake stared at the kitchen table, his heart in his throat as his world crumbled around him.

“Blake, man.” Mason roughly shook his shoulder. Blake blinked and lifted his dazed eyes up to his friend. “You have to go after her. Let her stay with us on her terms. But you have to tell her how you feel. She needs to know.” Mason jerked his head toward the doorway behind him. “Go now, before we lose her.”

Blake couldn’t move, not at first, then he finally did. He ran for the door and flung it open. A car was driving away in the distance, and he watched the red brake lights flash briefly before the car turned onto the street and vanished around a corner. She was gone. He was too late because losing her had frozen him inside. His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed onto his backside on the steps leading up to his front door. He buried his face in his hands, trying to remember how to breathe when it felt like an avalanche had just collapsed on his chest.

Why hadn’t he let her stay on her own terms? His stubbornness, his fear of losing her, had caused him to lose her forever.

“Blake?” A soft, pained voice came from behind him. He opened his eyes and turned to stare at the figure leaning against the wall just by his front door.

“Hazel.” He breathed her name and realized he had barreled past her where she stood somewhat hidden against the side of the house. Her bag sat at her feet, and she had her arms wrapped around herself.

Blake surged to his feet and went to her, pulling her into his embrace before she could protest. He needed to hold her, to feel her safely in his arms so that he didn’t slip farther over the brink of madness. He cupped the back of her head and tucked her face into his chest.

“I’m sorry... I’m so damned sorry,” he murmured over and over as he clutched her to him. “Stay with us on your terms. I can’t lose you, Hazel. Please forgive me. I’m a stubborn asshole, but one who loves you with everything I have.”

She said something, but it was muffled because of the way he was holding her. She finally lifted her head.

“Before you came out here, I’d already decided I wanted to stay with you... forever. I was just working up the courage to go back inside.” She stared up at him with those lovely hazel eyes full of tears.

“You know I’d do anything for you,” Blake said. “Anything.”

She smiled up at him, and that single expression stole his very soul.

“I know. And I would do anything for you too.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him. From the first moment he’d met Hazel, she’d been his everything, and in the six years they’d known each other, that had never changed.

“Dinner is still warm, if anyone’s hungry,” Mason announced calmly from the doorway. They both turned to look at him, and he grinned softly. “Everything all right, sweetheart?” he asked her.

Hazel nodded shyly at him. “Yes... and I think I’m hungry... again,” she admitted with a laugh.

Blake put an arm around her waist as they walked through the door. No one wanted Mason’s hard work preparing such a fabulous dinner to go to waste and get cold.

After the three of them finished dinner, Blake led Hazel upstairs to his room and Mason followed. Tonight they had made their choice, all three of them, and it was time to cement their bond in the best way possible.

Mason moved first, pulling Hazel into his arms and kissing her as though they had a thousand years to enjoy each other. Blake knew what it was like to kiss her like that, and what a gift it was. He knew just how she would melt into Mason’s arms. Blake enjoyed the sight of his friend and the woman he loved kissing, more than he could say. It felt right. He and Mason were held together by their love for this incredible woman.

When Mason finally broke the kiss, he turned her to face Blake in a clear invitation to take his own kiss.

“Show him how much you love him, sweetheart,” Mason encouraged her with a gentle push toward Blake, and then he began removing his shirt.

Blake pulled Hazel once more into his arms, their lips coming together as if carved by some ancient sculptor who had cut them from marble long ago.

We are the same, she and I,he thought. Cut from the same stone.

* * *

Mason dropped his shirt to the floor and unfastened his jeans but didn’t remove them. He toed off his boots and socks, relishing the feel of the soft carpet beneath his bare feet. Then he crept up behind Hazel and slid his hands up under her sweater to stroke her belly and cup her breasts through the lacy bra she wore. She made a soft sound of delighted surprise against Blake’s mouth, and Mason grinned.

He had been holding back this week, keeping his wildness under control, afraid to spook their girl, but now she was staying. She was theirs, and it was time he showed her what that meant. He unbuttoned the front of her jeans and gently tugged them down her legs. Blake moved at the same time, capturing her wrists at the small of her back. Her panties came off next, and Mason tossed them away. He moved close behind Hazel, sliding one hand between her legs to stroke the slick folds of her sex. She trembled as he penetrated her slowly, letting her feel his fingers as he played with her. Wetness began to coat his fingers, and she clenched her legs tight around him. She was ready. She met Blake’s gaze as the other man lifted his head from Hazel’s.

Mason gave him a nod, and Blake moved backward, falling onto the bed. He took Hazel with him so she lay on top of him. She squeaked at the sudden movement, but Blake distracted her with another kiss. She still wore her sweater and bra, but Mason didn’t mind—he had access to what he needed. Her pretty bottom was at the perfect height for him. He freed his cock and rubbed the tip of it along the wet seam of her sex and coated himself in Hazel’s arousal. Then he pushed into her. It was hard not to just surge deep, but he kept his control, letting her adjust to his size and sudden invasion. Then he rocked his hips, his eyes almost rolling into the back of his head as he felt her inner walls grip him and squeeze.

“That’s it, sweetheart, grip my cock,” he growled as he surged deep in her again, making her whimper against Blake’s mouth. He fucked her slowly, taking his time, but he didn’t let himself come. When he felt she was close to coming, he pulled out of her and tapped Blake’s knee with one hand—the signal that they would share her together now.

Blake shifted his hips, moving Hazel up the bed a bit. He undid his own jeans and thrust into Hazel’s wet heat. She let out a little cry of pleasure, and Blake held still, letting her adjust to the sudden invasion.

Mason retrieved the tube of lube from the nightstand and drizzled it against the puckered hole of Hazel’s ass, working one well-coated finger inside her. He and Blake had worked on stretching her ass all week, and now would be the true test. Could she take them both?

He pressed against her entrance, pushing in inch by inch as she gasped and parted, taking him little by little. He could feel Blake’s cock through the inner wall that separated them. When Mason was finally, fully inside her, she was panting hard and moaning. Blake released her wrists, and she braced herself on his chest, staring down at him wide-eyed. Mason wanted to be beneath her next time, wanted to see her face as she was completely filled by them.

“Good girl,” Mason praised gruffly. She gasped at his praise as he stroked a hand over her hair before he gripped her waist. Blake held the globes of her lush ass, and the two of them moved in perfect tandem. One slid in and the other slid out while she wriggled, groaned, and trembled between them, taking them as they moved faster and harder. Mason wanted to stay buried in Hazel’s body forever, to never let her leave this bed, such was the exquisite feeling of taking her like this.

His thrusts grew almost punishing as he let go of his fears and worries. She wasn’t leaving, she was staying. She was his. He and Blake shifted their rhythms, matching their thrusts into her at the same time, and it sent their good girl off like a grenade. She screamed and tensed, her body clamping down on both their shafts so hard Mason sucked in a harsh breath.

“Fuck!” Blake roared, and Mason couldn’t speak. He emptied himself into Hazel’s ass, his vision blurring as he felt his entire body reduced to one infinite point of joy and pleasure.

When he came back to himself, he was still buried balls-deep in Hazel, and she collapsed on Blake’s chest, her soft pants reaching Mason’s ears. Blake’s hand stroked her back in soothing patterns as he murmured soft things that made their girl smile, and she closed her eyes.

Mason trailed his own fingers over her spine then down over her ass and along her thighs as she shifted, getting more comfortable. He grinned. Only this girl would fall asleep with two men still inside her.

Mason withdrew, and she still didn’t stir. He cleaned himself off in the bathroom, stripped out of his jeans and briefs, and returned to the bed. Blake then let him take Hazel into his arms so that Blake could climb off the bed and take care of himself. Mason removed Hazel’s sweater and bra, and she murmured something drowsily but let him strip her.

When Blake rejoined them, sandwiching Hazel between them, she finally woke up a little and looked between Blake and Mason, her eyes playful but tired.

“Happy anniversary,” she said with all the contentedness of a sleepy kitten.

* * *

Hazel couldn’t help but grin up at the two men who’d stolen her heart six years ago.

Mason laughed, and Blake rolled his eyes. “This was one hell of a game this year,” Mason said. “I almost thought for a minute you might actually leave us.”

She put a hand on Blake’s heart and then on Mason’s. “I would never leave you,” she vowed to them. “Never. I’m yours.”

“We know.” Blake nuzzled her neck and placed a soft kiss there.

She cuddled between the two men, marveling over how intense their anniversary week had been. Every year they played a game, taking turns as to whose fantasy they would play out. No matter how the game began, it always ended with love and devotion between the three of them. She’d lost so much in her life so early on that she needed to remind herself every year that she was blessed to love and be loved by Blake and Mason. It had been her idea to start the role-playing games as a way of reaffirming the love they shared.

This year had been her turn. She’d given it a lot of thought, and when she’d made her decision, she’d outlined her plan for the two of them. She wanted to be fought over at the bar, then rescued, only to be kidnapped and shared between them. She’d wanted to be at their mercy, feel like she’d been gifted to Blake and given to Mason. That fantasy of hers had been inspired by the night she and Blake had first made love while in law school.

She had beaten him at the moot court competition and agreed to get a drink with him. One thing had led to another, and they’d ended up back at his apartment. It was obvious from their first kiss that what lay between them was explosive. He’d taken her to places she’d never dreamed of with his passion and shown her what she’d really wanted from a lover. But as she lay contented in his arms, they both heard a door open. A blond-haired man the same age as Blake stood in the bedroom doorway watching them with hooded, lustful eyes. Blake peeled the sheets off her still sweat-dewed body and offered her to the other man. They’d taken her between them, pleasuring her until she thought she’d die from it. That was the first night she’d met Mason, the first night she’d been shared between them.

The chemistry had been explosive, but more than that, the love that had come so easily, so quickly between her and her two men had been astounding. But it had always been terrifying to feel so much for both of them so fast. She’d fled the next morning, determined to keep her distance, to never trust her heart, but damn them... she couldn’t stay away. She belonged with these two men as surely as they belonged with her.

So she’d done the crazy thing and gone back to them. With her heart on her sleeve, she’d walked into Blake’s apartment to find both men desperate to know where she’d gone. Blake jerked her into his arms, holding on to her as if she were the very air in his lungs, and Mason quietly smiled and took his turn holding her once Blake felt able to let her go. It was impossible not to trust that kind of love, the love that bound them so deeply together that fear had no place left in their hearts.

Next year it would be Mason’s turn, and Hazel knew he had plenty of ideas of how he wanted their anniversary to go, but things were changing, and soon they would all face a far different future. Sometimes it was hard to imagine she’d been crazy enough in love to marry Blake just a few months after sleeping with him and Mason, or that she’d had a private ceremony with Mason just outside his home by the lake to tie herself to him too.

The three of them had been inseparable ever since, and while Hazel wasn’t Mason’s wife on paper, she was as married to him in her heart as she was to Blake.

“I think it’s time we told Blake about your anniversary present,” Mason said as he traced circles on her bare shoulder. She looked up at him, her nerves suddenly spiking. “Go on, sweetheart. Tell him.”

Hazel rolled over to face Blake, and his gaze searched hers for answers, but he didn’t press her to speak right away.

“I... um... so you know that Mason has been working on some special projects for clients?” Hazel said as she brushed a lock of dark hair back from Blake’s blue eyes, and his worried expression softened.

“Yes,” Blake said slowly, showing patience even as she danced around the subject.

“Just tell him, sweetheart,” Mason encouraged.

Hazel swallowed. “Well, one of those special clients is me.”

“You?” Blake still wasn’t following.

“Yes. Mason has been building a cradle... for me.”

“Why would—” Blake halted himself, his eyes going round as he realized what she was saying. “You’re pregnant?” Blake breathed.

“We’re pregnant,” she corrected. “We’re going to be parents.”

Blake’s eyes darkened with emotion, and he looked at Mason, who continued to smile. A child. The thing they’d all been wanting. It was finally the right time.

“How long have you known?” Blake demanded.

“Three months. It’s still early, but I wanted to be sure before I got your hopes up. Mason figured it out sooner, otherwise I would have told you both at the same time.” She’d been worried he’d be upset by that, but he seemed too happy to be mad.

Blake pulled her into his arms, kissing her soundly.

“We’ll be careful. No more role-playing. We’ll—” Blake began.

“Hush.” Hazel placed a finger on his lips. “It’s fine. I’m fine. We can still have our special anniversaries—we might just need to have a babysitter.” She laughed softly, and Blake relaxed.

“Are you feeling all right? Mason and I can get a little rough. I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”

“I’m okay. I promise I’ll let you know when to go easier. But right now, the best thing you can do is just love me... both of you.”

“Forever,” Mason and Blake said at the same time. She knew with all her heart they would.