Erica's Choice (22 page)

Griff climbed on the bed, settling on his knees beside Corey. He presented him with his throbbing hard-on. “Lick it like you did before.”

Corey stuck out his tongue and ran it up Griff’s length. God, he was so close he could almost come from that one swipe of the other man’s tongue. “That’s it, Cor. You know what to do with that mouth of yours. You like sucking cock while you’re getting your own blown?”

His only answer was a moan that he wrapped around Griff’s dick as Erica increased the pace of her sucking. Griff turned to see her bent over Corey’s supine form, working him like she was greedy for his taste. Between her legs, her hand moved faster and faster, and her hips thrust back and forth into her own touch.

Beneath him, Corey hollowed his cheeks and Griff knew he was going to lose it. He pulled out of Corey’s mouth and started pumping hard, massaging his balls, feeling the eruption reaching its peak. Erica made a muffled squeal, her hips gyrating hard. Her orgasm ripped Griff’s from him. He came in powerful jets, streaking his come all over Corey’s chest.

“Oh, God…Griff.” Corey reached down and grasped Erica’s head, holding her to him as his hips jerked. “Baby, yeah. I’m coming now.”

Erica drank every last drop until Corey was flat out panting on the mattress, staring at the ceiling like a man who’d had a not-unpleasant knock on the head. Griff knew exactly how he felt. He dropped down beside him, while Erica found her way to the narrow space between them.

No one said a word for long moments while the rain continued to fall on the tin roof, trickling into the gutters and down the drainpipes. Gutters probably needed clearing. Griff made a mental note to take care of that when it fined up.

First lawn mowing, making breakfasts and now gutter duty. You’re acting very domesticated, Dale.
Domesticated and ashamed of himself for not being more emotionally accessible.
This way lies danger.

“Darn it!”

Erica sat bolt upright, staring at the bedside alarm. “I’m going to be so late. Darn it, darn it, darn it!”

As she scrambled off the bed, Griff drawled, “Why don’t you go ahead and say fuck it, Red. The profanity ship’s sailed already.”

“That word is only appropriate in certain circumstances.” Erica slapped him on the leg as she ran for the bathroom.

Griff laughed. Beside him, Corey didn’t say a word. Quietly he used the sheet to wipe off Griff’s stickiness. “You all right?” Griff asked.

“Yeah. You?”

“Yeah.”
Way to make the dialogue sparkle.
Sitting up, Griff reached for his jeans and dragged them on. “You were great, by the way. Phenomenal first-time effort.”

“Do I get a gold star with that glowing review?”

Griff winced. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Corey sat up and reached for his own pants, which were hanging over the timber post at the foot of the bed. “I’m not sure what to say. Is this how it always is after?”

“What do you mean?”

Corey averted his gaze. He stood and pulled on his jeans. “Do guys never hug?”

Griff’s heart fissured, expanding so far it felt like it could crack his rib cage. He stared at Corey’s broad, strong back and was amazed anew at the guy’s willingness to show vulnerability when so many men wouldn’t dare. When
he
didn’t dare.

In two strides Griff was behind Corey, wrapping his arms around his waist and drawing him back into a fierce embrace. “Shit, Cor. Anytime you want a hug, you only have to ask.”

He laughed ruefully. “Now I know why chicks always complain when you can’t read their minds. Can’t you tell what I want, dickbrain?”

Griff slid one hand down to cup Corey through his jeans. “I’m better at reading this dick than anyone’s brain. Sorry I’m such a shit. Next time you blow me I’ll make a note to cuddle after.”

“Shut up. Next time you can blow me.”

Placing an open-mouthed kiss on Corey’s neck, Griff murmured, “That can be arranged.”

“What about the time after that?”

“Meaning?”

Corey turned so he could meet Griff’s gaze over his shoulder. “Are you going to make me beg for what I want the way you do Erica?”

A mental picture of Corey bent over, screaming at Griff to fuck his tight ass fired Griff’s nerve endings. He gave the package he still had his hand on a tender massage. “Only if you like it that way.”

Griff heard him swallow before answering. Beneath Griff’s hand, Corey’s heart thudded. “I think I would.”

Damned if Griff’s thirty-six-year-old dick didn’t stir to life like it was twenty-five again. “Tease. Now I gotta go to work with a hard-on.”

Corey laughed and Griff released him with a curse. A moment later Erica came tearing back into the room throwing on clothes in fast motion. Griff went to the kitchen and put her oats into a Tupperware container, handing it to her as she grabbed her purse and keys.

“Thank you.” She leapt up and kissed him hard on the mouth. Then she did the same to Corey. “Remember to lock up when you leave. Sometimes you have to use the key though because the lock is temperamental. Here.” She fished her spare off the key ring and placed it on the kitchen counter.

Erica stared at it a moment, paling at the implications she must have only then acknowledged. She’d given them a key to her house. Whether she dismissed her concerns or simply didn’t have time to deal with them, she said nothing further as she offered them a watery smile before racing out the door.

When she’d gone, Corey glanced at the key. “Did you see that?”

“I’m not blind.”

“She gave me a key.”

“Us, mate,” Griff corrected. “She gave
us
a key.”

He tried not to grin or let his heart beat out the thrill that burrowed inside him. Could this really work, the three of them?
They’re nothing like Anna and Jack, remember?

Tamping down the surge of hope, Griff reminded himself that was no guarantee a relationship between the three of them would work. The inherent complexities of a triad provided difficult-enough waters to navigate, but the fact he and Corey worked together added another dimension. Watching him take risks on the job had never been easy, but now it was downright heartrending. Griff’s emotions ran so deep he had to cordon them off altogether if he was to continue functioning as a firefighter. He couldn’t sustain that level of self-restraint long term. Something would have to give—the job or the relationship.

Fighting fires was what Griff did. He’d been doing it for fifteen years and he couldn’t see himself switching careers. He knew Corey felt the same. No two ways about it, if he had to give something up in order to save his sanity, it would be the relationship.

Besides, he’d already promised Corey he’d walk away.

Just not yet, Griff told himself as he watched Corey pick up the key and kiss it like it was a winning lottery ticket.
Just let me have a little longer.

Chapter Thirteen

She should never have given them that key.

The changes had seemed harmless enough in the beginning. Instead of calling first to ask if he could visit, Erica arrived home from school one Tuesday to find Corey’s dilapidated Ford in her driveway and him already inside, making himself at home by using her shower. The surprise made her heart jump with a mixture of ire and excitement. Determined to lay down some ground rules about what he could and could not use her spare key for, the intended diatribe died on Erica’s lips when Corey emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, wrapped in only a towel and a whole lot of sex appeal.

“Hey, baby.” The lingering dampness on his body wet her blouse as he walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her feet off the ground. “God it’s good to see you.”

All thought of haranguing him disintegrated at the weary words. “Bad day?”

“One thing after another since I started this morning. There was a three-car prang on the inner-city bypass, and this afternoon an old couple lost the house they’ve lived in for fifty years because of a faulty tumble dryer.”

Erica stroked the tired lines on his forehead. “How awful.”

“I know. They were a nice couple too.” Corey brushed the hair back from her face and offered a ghost of a smile. “Do you always look this good when you get home from work? If so, I’ll have to make sure I’m here to meet you more often.”

That reminded her why she was supposed to be peeved at him. “What do you think you’re doing, letting yourself into my house, by the way?”

“Saving time. I was going to come around anyway, and this place is closer to the station than my apartment.”

Erica arched a brow. “Oh you were going to come over anyway, were you?”

His slow smile brimmed with self-assurance. The soft kiss he placed on her lips teased her annoyance away. The feel of those lips, the hard crush of his body molding hers to it, took Erica’s breath. Against his lips, she asked, “Don’t they have showers at the fire station?”

“I wanted an excuse to be naked in your house.”

Erica reached for the towel wrapped around his waist, barely concealing the jut of his erection. “Since when do you need an excuse?”

He pleasured her right there in the kitchen, hoisting her onto the counter and feasting on the cream that dripped from her pussy. Then he took her to bed and stretched her body with his, twice, before they even thought of dinner. They ordered Chinese food and stayed up late watching movies—Erica made him sit through
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
, for which he declared she owed him a favor. They tussled that one out in bed and Corey didn’t leave until morning lit the sky.

At no time during those hours did Erica ask him to give the key back.

Two nights later she arrived home to find a note stuck to her fridge.

Red,

You never did get those smoke alarms replaced, did you? Bad, bad girl. Have gone to get stuff to cook dinner, your pantry is in a sad state. No end to your sins, is there? I’ll be back in a bit to feed you and discuss appropriate punishment. Warm up for me, G.

While Erica tried to control her wild speculations about what Griff meant by
appropriate punishment
, she walked from room to room. Her old alarms had been replaced by some state-of-the-art-looking system that would probably go off if one of her neighbors lit a cigarette. Erica battled to keep the spark of her annoyance alive, but it suffocated beneath the heavy weight of her arousal. Griff was coming back and he wanted her
warm
for his
punishment
.

By the time he walked in the door, Erica had showered and changed into a more casual skirt and top that Griff seemed to appreciate. She’d already surpassed warm, and her body teetered on the edge of spontaneously combusting all through dinner. But Griff talked about his day, asked her about hers, discussed world politics and conspicuously said nothing about his note or his intentions until Erica burst out impatiently, “What did you mean by punishment?”

Griff merely arched his brows as though he had no idea what she was talking about.

“In your note.” Erica scowled. “You said you’d be back to discuss appropriate punishment because I’m apparently a poor housekeeper.”

“Oh, that.” He grinned. “Your punishment was me deciding to have you for desert instead of an entree. Why, what did you think I meant?”

Erica flushed so hot she regretted not turning on a fan. “Nothing.”

Griff smiled knowingly. “You’re blushing, Red.”

“It’s like summer weather tonight. I’m hot.”

“You bet you are. A hot, dirty schoolmarm who wants me to spank her pretty behind.”

“Oh, you horrible man!” Erica pushed back her chair and tossed her napkin onto her empty plate. “I’d never even thought of it until you put it into my head.”

“But it’s in your head now. Why not give it a go?”

Griff’s chair scraped as he shoved it away and stood. The lethal intent in his golden gaze made Erica take several steps backward. “No. I never said I wanted to…” Her protest trailed off as Griff started moving toward her. “Griff, please. I couldn’t.”

“Oh, you could. And you will.”

Griff kept coming, unbuttoning his shirt as he stalked her. Erica’s heart pounded, her backwards steps hastened. When Griff pulled the hem of his shirt from his jeans with a forceful yank, Erica squealed and bolted down the hallway, into her bedroom. She tried to slam the door shut but she wasn’t fast enough.
How hard did you really try, Erica?
Deep down she knew the semblance of protest was merely for show, part of the fantasy she hadn’t even been aware of having.

Dale Griffin brought out the most perplexing behavior in her.

“I mean it, Dale.” Erica tried to inject a stern tone into her voice. “I’m not the kind of person who does things like this.”

“You mean the kind of person fucks two guys at once? Who eats cock like it’s the last meal she’s ever going to have? Who comes extra hard when she takes it up the ass?”

“You bastard.” Did he have to go out of his way to remind her how depraved she’d become? “A gentleman would never throw a woman’s sexual performance in her face.
Corey
would never push me to do something that frightened me.”