The Guest (2 page)

Now, after working in several different companies in various positions,
he was finally ready to branch out and start his own company. All he needed was
sufficient financial backing and support to help it take off. That was where
Cole came in and he was all too eager to do so. Jared had been a good friend to
him during their years at school and they’d kept in touch as much as possible
during the years that followed, even though they lived in different states. He
knew Jared had been pretty disappointed that he hadn’t been able to make it to
his wedding last year, because of business related matters, and this was the
perfect opportunity for him to make up for his absence.

The voice on the GPS signaled the approach of his destination and less
than a minute later he pulled into the driveway of Jared’s town house in the
heart of the Barker Wood suburbs. He parked behind a black Jeep and got out of
the car, taking along the bag of gifts he’d brought with him. However, before he
could make it to the porch, the front door swung open and Jared’s hulking form
all but blocked the entrance.

“Right on time, Richardson! I’m impressed,” the man’s booming voice
called out as Cole made his way up the steps.

Cole’s chest rumbled with suppressed laughter. “You’d be surprised at
how punctual I’ve become these days, my man.”

Jared looked him up and down, eyeing his sweater and slacks clad figure
dubiously. “That seems to be about all that’s changed, though. After all these
years, you’re still a wimp.”

This time Cole laughed outright as he caught the big man to him in a
brotherly embrace. Jared was an inch or two shorter than his own six-foot-three
frame, but the man’s brawny build made him seem much larger when compared with
Cole. “Yeah well, I haven’t had any complaints from the ladies so far, so I
think I’m gonna stick with it.”

Pulling away, Jared turned to lead him into the house. “Those pompous
city women don’t know a thing about real men. They don’t mind settling for a scrawny,
pretty boy like you. Now my Julie, she knew good male flesh when she saw it.”

No sooner than he’d said the words did the most gorgeous raven haired
beauty appear behind them in the foyer. She caught Cole’s attention over Jared’s
shoulder, and he did a double-take to ensure she was actually there. She was
stunning, in a completely authentic, unpretentious way. Creamy, porcelain skin
created a lovely contrast with her jet-black hair and her eyes, the color of the
early morning sky, completed the package. She was tall, somewhere around
five-nine or ten, but her willowy frame possessed all the pleasant dips and
falls that were known to drive a man to his knees. Tonight, she was dressed in
a low cut, figure-hugging black and cream dress with low heeled sandals—the
ensemble was perfect for her. Jared Matthews was one lucky sucker.

“Quit ogling my wife, Richardson,” Jared said, slapping him firmly on
the back. “Julie, meet Cole Richardson. Cole, this is Julie.”

Cole gave an irreverent grin as a smiling Julie offered him her outstretched
hand. He bent his head to place a soft kiss on the back of her hand before he
spoke. “Forgive me, Mrs. Matthews, I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just hard to
believe this ogre could snag a prize such as yourself.”

She laughed softly, a sweet, tinkling which sounded like music to
Cole’s ears. “There’s nothing to apologize for at all, don’t pay him any mind.
It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

 
“Oh no, the pleasure is most
definitely all mine.”

“Alright, Casanova, if you’re done playing kiss up, can we head to the
dining room? I’m hungry as hell,” Jared said, stepping around them to lead the
way further into his home.

“Talk about things that haven’t changed,” Cole countered with a shake
of his head.

Julie rolled her eyes. “Yes, Jared does love his food.”

“Well let’s not keep him waiting any longer. By the way, this is for
you.” Cole handed her the bag he was holding as they both turned to follow
Jared’s lead.

“Why, thank you!” she cried, clearly surprised. “You didn’t need to get
us anything, you know.”

He gave an offhand shrug. “It’s just a small token, no big deal. Consider
it a very late wedding gift.”

She smiled, nodding graciously. “Okay, in that case, thanks again.”

She set the package down on a table in the hallway as they entered the
combined kitchen and dining room area. The table was already set and Jared was
just taking the final dishes over from the counter.

 
“Man, this looks great!” Cole
exclaimed as he approached. “Haven’t lost your touch, huh Matthews?”

“Never that, my friend. It was my cooking that actually won this little
lady over, you know.”

“Now
that
I do believe! You
could always cook your way into any woman’s good graces.”

Julie laughed at their shenanigans, allowing Cole to pull her chair out
so she could sit where Jared indicated she should. “He used to cook for you?”
she asked.

“Nah, not for me exactly—I wasn’t so lucky. But he’d cook for the
ladies he brought back to the flat we shared and I’d score some tasty leftovers
the next day.”

“Whatever man, you were constantly ordering takeout anyway. Us poor
folk had to cook.”

“Poor my ass!” Laughter erupted around the table at his words. When it
finally died down, they began passing plates around and serving their meals. As
they ate, the conversation flowed freely. Jared and Cole recounted story after
story about their college days and some of the wilder mischief they brewed.
They kept Julie in a perpetual state somewhere between rocking with laughing
and shaking her head in disbelief. By the time dessert was served, the three of
them had fallen into a comfortable rhythm which made Cole feel right at home.

“Well, that was fabulous. Thank you very much for dinner, darling,” she
said after she finished off the last piece of her cheesecake.

“Yes, Matthews, that was great. Now I’m stuffed.” Cole said, patting
his stomach.

Jared laughed. “Glad to hear it, man, but I still think you could use a
little more meat on you. You sure you don’t want seconds?”

Julie chuckled as she got to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll clear
these things away and start the dishwasher.”

“Here, let me give you a hand with that.” Jared got to his feet as
well, reaching for an empty plate.

“No, that’s okay. Why don’t you guys go have a drink in the sitting
room and talk? I can handle this.”

“Are you sure?” Jared asked, quirking a brow at her as Cole also stood.

“Course! Go—drink, chat. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, thank you.” He bent to place a quick kiss on her cheek, then
indicated to Cole to follow him as he led the way into the sitting room.

As he followed the other man from the room, Cole couldn’t stop the
twinge of jealousy that cut through his chest. Until this very moment, he
hadn’t even imagined that he could want a woman to settle down with, married or
otherwise. But after watching the interaction between Jared and his wife it hit
him like a brick in the balls. He wanted someone like that—a woman to share his
life with, someone to be not just a lover, but a friend as well. The worst part
though, was it didn’t stop at that. He didn’t just want
any
woman—he wanted his own Julianne Matthews.

Chapter Two

It was really good to see Cole Richardson again after so long. They
hadn’t exchanged much more than the occasional phone call or email in the past
couple of years, but Jared still considered the man to be one of his closest
friends. One of the things that had drawn him to Cole from the very first day
they’d met was the man’s total lack of airs. Despite his prestigious background
and the fact that money was as accessible to him as a sandwich at the corner deli,
there was no pretense in his attitude and he never came off as snobbish. Jared
knew that even though his social standing was far beneath Cole’s, the other man
did not consider himself better than Jared in the least.

Now, as he poured them both a snifter of his most prized Cognac, he
relished the fact that his friend was finally in his home, after all this time.
Handing him one glass, he raised his own in a toast. “Here’s to friendship.”

“Yes, to friendship and new adventures,” Cole added.

“Indeed. Thanks for coming man, I really appreciate it.”

“I’m more than happy to be here, trust me. Now that I am, I’m sorry I
didn’t take you up on the offer to stay with you.”

“Yeah, I was wondering about that,” Jared said, after taking a sip of
his drink.

“Don’t take it personally, please. I’m just used to staying in hotels,
that’s all. But next time I’ll definitely be crashing with you for sure.”

Jared chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. “I’m happy to hear
there’ll be a next time.”

“Of course there will be,” Cole said, and threw him a devilish grin. “I’m
positive you’re on the right track with this business plan, so I’m gonna be out
here quite a bit. It’s generally hard to weasel stuff like this into my
schedule, but after meeting your wife I know it’s definitely worth the effort.”

This time Jared’s laugh was like a rumbling volcanic eruption. His
chest shook with the rippling effect of his mirth. He’d almost forgotten
 
he and Cole had similar tastes in women—so
much so that they’d actually shared one of Cole’s conquests in a heated
threesome one night during their final year. “So that was the key, huh? All I
needed to do was send you a photo of my gorgeous wife to get you to come
running over to help me?”

Cole grinned sheepishly as he lowered his glass. “Oh yeah bro, that
totally would have worked. You’re one lucky guy.”

Jared returned his grin arrogantly. “I know. So what’s up with you in
that department though? No wife yet, but how about a mistress? Or a steady
girlfriend, at least?”

“Actually, I’m in between women right now,” Cole replied with a
careless shrug.

“In between women?” Jared shook his head in exasperation. “You make it
sound like they’re jobs or something.”

“More often than not, they are exactly that. Time consuming, demanding,
energy-draining—way too much work.”

“Yikes, sounds like you’ve been attracting the wrong kinda women,
dude.”

“Probably. I don’t know man, maybe I’m looking for something that
doesn’t exist. Nobody I’ve been with has given me the kind of vibe that makes
me want to do it for the long haul, you know?”

“Yeah, I totally get that.”

“Anyway, enough about my love life, or lack thereof. Let’s talk about
this plan of yours. Have you located a site as yet?”

Jared didn’t mind the abrupt change of subject. He was all for getting
to the meat of the matter regarding his business proposal. They had many
details to iron out and he wanted to get as many of them covered this weekend
before Cole had to fly back to New York. But as they spoke and compared ideas,
he couldn’t stop his thoughts from drifting to Cole’s fascination with Julie.
The memory of that crazy threesome they had shared all those years ago planted
an unbelievably risqué yet utterly intriguing idea in his mind.

What if he was to invite Cole to be their guest, not just in their home,
but inside their bedroom as well? What if he offered to share his wife with the
man, just once? Julie was fantastic in bed—warm and responsive to his every
touch as well as dedicated to taking care of his needs. He wondered if she
would be the same way with Cole. Would she come alive under his ministration?
Would she be as eager to please him as she was with Jared?

He could feel himself getting hard even now at the thought of watching
her with the other man. The voyeur in him was champing at the bit at the very
idea of it. From what he remembered, he and Cole had different styles in bed,
but those differences had only heightened the experience for the girl they’d
been with. He could only imagine what it would be like to have Julie between
them instead.
 

By the end of the evening when he and Julie followed Cole out and saw
him off as he returned to his hotel for the night, the concept had concretized
in Jared’s mind. Maybe mixing business with pleasure was a very bad idea, but
for some reason his gut instinct told him this would be right. He was going to
share his wife with Cole Richardson, he had no doubt about it. He just had to
figure out how to convince them both of that fact.

****

Julie awakened to the sound of Jared’s raised voice barking into his
cell phone. She pushed up on her elbows and listened keenly, trying to decipher
his angry words. All she made out was, “can’t do this shit today, horrible
mess, don’t have time for this”, but instantly she knew there was something
wrong at his job. Uh-oh. She sat up fully when, moments later, he cut the call
off and tossed the device on the dresser with a succinct curse. One hand shot
up to course through his tousled hair as an angry scowl darkened his handsome
features.

“Honey, what’s the matter?” Julie cried, moving off the bed to stand by
him.

He dragged in a harsh breath, as if forcing himself to relax, before
pulling her into an embrace. “I’m sorry, angel. I really didn’t mean to bellow
like that and wake you, but these guys really pissed me off this morning,” he
told her, his lips feathering her temple as he spoke.

“What happened? Tell me.”

“I take one lousy day off and Rogers manages to fuck up the entire
project we’ve been working on all Goddamn month.”

“No!” Julie cried, pulling back to look up at him. “You were almost in
the clear with it! What the hell was he doing?”

Jared sighed, pulling her back to rest against his shoulder. “Fuck if I
know, baby, but Jamison thinks we can salvage it if I come in today. So I’m gonna
have to go over there in a few.”

“But didn’t you tell him you took the whole weekend off? You’re not
even supposed to be on call, dammit! What about Cole, have you forgotten about
him? You were supposed to show him the site you found and work through the
budget for your new offices.”

“I know Jules, but I do still work for Technisoft. Until I hand in my
resignation, I’m still obligated to fulfill the tasks outlined in my job
description.”

Julie knew he was right. He really had no other choice in the matter.
Jared was a man of principle and he always took his responsibilities seriously.
His reputation at Technisoft was spotless and even though he was currently
working on moving to operating his own company, she knew he wouldn’t want to
leave on a sour note.

 
She heaved a sigh of her own, to
calm her nerves a little. “So where do we go from here? Just let Cole waste the
day waiting for you to get done with whatever it is you’re going to have to do
to get things back on track again?”

His hand trailed up her back, rubbing across the upper section in slow,
calming circles. “No, I have no idea when I’ll get done so that doesn’t make
sense.”

“Exactly. He’s come all this way to help us out, the least you can do
is make time for him.”

 
“Would you mind taking him over to
the site for me? You know all the ideas I have, you should be able to put them
across to him just as well as I would.”

“I don’t know, Jared. This is your baby, you should be the one to—”

“I’ll add my two cents later on if necessary. Right now though, I just
need you to do this for me.”

“Won’t Cole be upset that you pawned him off on me?”

Jared chuckled softly, shaking his head as he looked down at her.
“Upset? Hell no! I’m sure he’ll be completely content to spend time with a
beautiful, intelligent, fascinating woman. Trust me on that.”

A giggle erupted from Julie’s chest and she rolled her eyes as she
pulled out of his embrace. “You sound like you’re putting me out to him!”

He shot her a wicked grin. “Would you mind if I was?”

“Oh please, as if you could!” she said, shaking her head. “Besides, a
rich, worldly man like Cole Richardson wouldn’t even want little ole me.”

Jared folded his arms across his massive chest, one eyebrow quirking
upward. “Don’t you dare put yourself down like that, angel. What man wouldn’t
want an amazing woman like you?”

She scoffed, waved him off and then went about selecting a suitable
outfit for the day. “You’re biased so your opinion doesn’t count.”

“Maybe so, but I still don’t want to hear that kinda self-deprecating
talk from you, ever. You got that?”

“Fine! I’m amazing,” she said, offering an overly bright smile.

 
“Much better. Now what about you,
do you find him attractive?”

His question caught her off guard and she froze, her breath catching in
her throat. What the heck was that supposed to mean? And what was this all
about anyway? Was he trying to test her loyalty to him, was that where this was
coming from? She’d certainly never given him any reason not to trust her and
there was no way he could possibly think she would even contemplate cheating on
him with this guy she’d just met. But then she recalled how her mouth had gone
dry at her first look at Cole and the way her pulse had quickened when he’d
enveloped her much smaller hand with his. Had Jared noticed those things? Had
her face betrayed the wayward thoughts she’d had during dinner?

Before she jumped to any undue conclusions though, she sought
clarification. “Ah, excuse me?” she asked, slowly turning to face him again.

“Oh, come on, Jules!” he said, holding up his hands in surrender.
“Don’t get your panties all in a bunch like that. I didn’t mean anything
remotely offensive by what I asked.”

One of her brows shot up. “What did you mean then?”

“The guy’s fucking hot, or that’s what every single woman we’ve ever
encountered seemed to think. I just wondered if you agreed with them, that’s
all.”

“Really? That’s all? You’re sure there’s nothing more to it than that?”

“Not a damn thing more … honestly.”

“Hmm … well, in that case I have to admit, he
is
kinda tasty.” She shot him a wicked, evil grin as she turned
back to her task.

“Tasty, huh?”

“Yep, downright delicious!” she said, then hastened to add, “In a
totally different way than you, of course.”

“Mmm hmm, I bet.”

Julie chuckled, eyeing him closely in amusement. “Oh, come on, Jared!
Don’t get your panties all in a bunch like that!”

“Haha, you got jokes!”

Julie giggled a little harder. “Sure do.”

“Alright, have your fun. I’m gonna go fix us some breakfast while you
get ready. Cole should be here by ten.”

“Will you still be here when he arrives?”

“Doubt it. I want to get over to the office ASAP. I’ll send him a
message regarding the change of plans beforehand, though.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want to just spring it on him like that.”

“Yeah.”

He turned on his heels and left the room, leaving Julie with countless
questions running through her mind. Surprisingly, her curiosity was centered on
a certain dark-haired, grey-eyed hunk. She’d be spending the day with him,
instead of grading papers like she’d planned to. Her nerves were already strung
tight at just the thought of seeing him again. She was positive there wasn’t
anything difficult in the task her husband had asked her to assist with, but
she wasn’t so sure about how easy it would be to be with Cole all alone for
that length of time.
 

The instant attraction she’d felt toward him last night was something
she didn’t even want to admit to herself. She felt like a total slut for even
thinking the man was attractive. After all, she had one of the most wonderful
husbands a girl could ever ask for, a man whom she knew many of her friends envied
her for. Good looking, caring, attentive and great in bed, he was the perfect
package—there was absolutely no need for her to have a wandering eye.

But then Cole Richardson was something else entirely. He was simply
beautiful, with a face any male model would die for and the kind of rangy frame
that alluded to subtle yet potent strength. Where Jared was light, Cole was
dark. Where Jared was thick and ropey, Cole was lean and sinewy. The two men
had very little in common physically, yet she was just a drawn to Cole as she
had been to Jared when they had just met. It was crazy, but right off the bat,
she’d found herself wondering what kind of lover Cole would be—the gentle,
attentive kind who liked to take things slow and easy or the fiercer, more
intense kind who would want to break her to his will?

Then a totally unexpected thought sprang into her mind. What would it
be like to have
both
men, so very
different yet so alike, attending to her every sexual need at the same time?
Each one loving her, worshipping her body in his own unique way. She could
imagine it now—heaven on earth, bliss beyond her wildest dreams. She’d probably
come a thousand times in that one eventful night, as her senses were inundated
with pleasures untold.

And what the hell was she doing anyway? What decent, well-thinking
wife
would be standing in the middle of
her matrimonial bedroom, having such utterly immoral thoughts? Her cheeks
flamed when she checked her reflection in the dressing table mirror and caught
the way she was clutching the clothes to her chest, eyes dilated with barely leashed
desire. Jesus! She must have lost her mind. Spurring her feet into motion, she
rushed to the bathroom, hoping a long, cold shower would cleanse her of the
wanton desire that had suddenly taken her over.