Page 39 of Dangerous Men

Right. Of course. When he said he had a room here, I should have assumed… he meant a hotel room.

And now I’m alone. In this tiny elevator. With both of them. Going to his hotel room. My cheeks heat, a nervous flutter of excitement rolling through my stomach.

I shift a little, wriggling in Alec’s arms, my thoughts preoccupied by the two of them. Ash is leaning against the wall of the elevator, looking impossibly relaxed and almost offensively handsome. And Alec…

Alec’s arms feel so good wrapped around me like this. Almost as good as his mouth had felt before, when we…

I gulp nervously.

“I love this dress,” Ash says suddenly. He straightens and steps toward us, running a finger up the slit of my dress and sliding it under the fabric. It’s so reminiscent of the way Alec had touched me earlier. A small noise escapes me—half gasp, and half whimper.

Alec’s hands tighten on me.

“Do that again,” he demands.

“Do… what again?” I ask.

Ash’s fingers creep below my dress, inching high enoughto brush against the hem of my panties, almost deliberately. I bite my lip and whimper.

“That.” Alec turns his face to stare down at me. There’s a naked hunger in his eyes as he meets my gaze. “Make that sound for us again, darling. That beautiful fucking sound.”

He’s going to kiss me again, isn’t he? Alec shifts his face a little lower, and my eyes flutter shut in anticipation.

The elevator stops too suddenly, the cheerful ding alerting us all that we’ve reached the penthouse. A warm flush creeps up my neck.

I swear Ash is smirking, and there’s a smug look on his face when Alec carries me inside…and into a penthouse unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

“Wow.” I lift my head from Alec’s chest to look around the room we’ve entered, completely stunned.

“Do you like it?” Alec asks, sounding genuinely interested in my reaction.

Like it? I love it. The penthouse suite is massive, a kitchen bar to the left of us, a California king bed tucked away in an open bedroom to the right, and floor-to-ceiling windows directly in front of us. The city lights sparkle like stars below us, stretching as far as I can see. My eyes linger for a moment on the bedroom, caught by the giant wall-sized mirror by the bed, and when the implications of that mirror’s placement hit me, I glance away quickly. I don’t want to think too much about why Alec would want a mirror reflecting his bed.

Alec carries me to the kitchen bar and sets me on the counter, letting my legs dangle. The ice pack the doctor gave me is dripping, condensation soaking the towel, wetting my dress. I give my ankle another experimental twist and then set the melting bag of ice on the counter next to me.

“I’m so sorry we had to leave you alone like that, Babygirl,”Ash says, coming up to stand next to me, leaning against the counter. He wraps his arms around my hips, turning my upper body toward him and pulling me into a hug.

“Oh!” I gasp, surprised. I’ve never been much of a hugger. But his arms are so warm and gentle around me. I let myself relax against him, craning my neck to look at him. “It’s fine, really. Did you take care of what you needed to do?”

“We did, yeah,” Ash says. “But you don’t need to worry about any of that.”

He smiles at me, such a warm and honest smile, and then lowers his head to kiss me. Ash’s lips are so soft and sweet against mine. Soft, and… completely unexpected.

Alec is right there, standing just inside the room, watching us, and I’m a little shocked at the suddenness of it all. Too shocked to really kiss him back.

Sensing my hesitation, Ash pulls away. He frowns at me, looking worried.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks, stroking my arm. “What’s wrong? Is it your ankle?”

“No, no, I… I’m fine,” I stutter, my body tense in his arms.

Alec moves forward just as Ash drops his arms from me and steps back, rubbing the back of his neck and looking self-conscious. The mood in the room has shifted, and panic brews in my chest.

I’ve screwed it up. Whatever this is, whatever it could have been, I’ve screwed it up before it even started. It shouldn’t surprise me. I can barely remember the last time I was with anyone but Chase in… that way. I dated a bit before him, but nothing worth remembering, and certainly nothing likethis. And even though I’ve started to come alive again these last few months, I’ve never been very confident sexually. It’s no surprise I’m making a fool of myself. Of course I’m here, in a hotel roomwith two of the most beautiful men I’ve ever encountered, and so stuck in my head that I’m completely frozen.

I don’t even know how to behave in a situation withoneguy, and I definitely don’t know how to managethis. Whateverthisis. I’ve ruined it, haven’t I? Before I can open my mouth and even start to explain the mess going on inside my head, Alec breaks the silence.

“Sydney, look at me. Did Ashton kissing you upset you?” His hand reaches out to caress my shoulder.