Naked in Paradise

Excerpt

Her heart began to pound so hard she feared it would leave her chest. She was sure they could hear it. It was so loud. Ignoring what that look did to her wasn't just difficult, it was nigh impossible. She wanted nothing more than to act as though nothing was wrong. That not one thing between them was different. But she was forever changed.

How could she pretend she didn't want them? To pretend as though her body was not betraying her arousal as liquid heat slid silkily from her core to soak her panties, making her slick with need. If they bothered to lean close, they would smell it. She could smell it. Or maybe it was her imagination.

What could she do? She had to do something before she fell apart in some weird hysterical mess. Instead of doing nothing, standing there, in front of the stove, twisting her hands together and lusting after these two men, she decided to do something. Anything was better than giving herself away. How would she ever live with herself if she made her arousal known and they rejected her? What if they thought the same thing Jacob thought? That she wasn't even adequate in bed. Could she live with another rejection like that?

Angel wasn't sure she was strong enough to handle their dismissal, no matter how gently they did it. Not knowing one way or the other was better than a rejection any day. Besides, how would she ever choose between them? They were both hot, with a capital H.

Finally picking a course of action, she decided that searching the cabinets was a good idea. She hoped to find some vinegar that she could turn into a dressing of sorts. She'd never made any with butter before, but butter and vinegar dressing over her dandelion greens and plantain would be better than nothing.

Glancing back at her pile of greens, she decided to steam them instead. Steamed greens would taste much better with butter instead of some strange vinegar mixture she tried to use as a salad dressing. Then there was all those mini-bottles of hot sauce that came in every MRE package. They could make use of that as well.

She'd just finished washing the greens and set them on a burner when Derek reached around her waist and turned the burner off.

His breath brushed her neck as he leaned closer and inhaled. "You always smell so good. Even using our soap and our deodorant, you always seem to smell sweet." He lightly brushed her shoulder with his lips.

Angel's knees almost buckled at the contact. She grabbed the counter for support before she melted into a puddle on the floor where she stood. What in the heck was happening to her and why did she seem so powerless to stop it?

Mace moved closer and pressed his lips to her other shoulder, nibbling lightly. "Did you know that we can smell your arousal? The sweet cream that slides from your slick channel smells as sweet as you do and intoxicates us. You cannot hide it."

Derek growled against her neck and she shivered at the sensation of his warm breath brushing the sensitive skin there. It sounded so strange, so primal she could almost believe they were something more than they seemed. She shook her head to clear it. They were so close. Too close. Their proximity made it hard to think, to breathe. Even the air seemed thick. Too thick to draw into her lungs as she attempted to gather her failing wits.

"You cannot deny wanting us. It is there in the way you move, the way your heart pounds when we draw near. It is in your very breath."

Goodness, Derek could talk. If she wasn't careful, he would talk her straight into one of those beds. Suddenly, a vision of the two twin beds pushed together into a king-sized bed, filled her mind and she almost groaned. She couldn't do this. She couldn't be with two men at the same time. She was too staid, too boring. Even Jacob had known that.

What had he called her? Vanilla. That was it. He'd said she would always be vanilla and why should he settle for someone so plain, so boring as she, especially when she wouldn't put him above all else? If he thought saying that would make her change her mind, he'd been mistaken. His cruel words merely fueled her desire to train for the marathon. To prove that she wasn't just vanilla. A marathon winner couldn't possibly be something so plain. Could she?

Now she knew what he meant. She finally figured it out. She wasn't exciting enough in bed for him. He'd callously taken her virginity, not bothering to see to her needs, then called her a prude. Angel didn't like to think of herself as a prude. Maybe she was just inexperienced. The thought gave her pause. What if she did sleep with these two men? She could hardly get farther from vanilla than that. Having a menage a trois was definitely not vanilla. It was at least strawberry, wasn't it?

When they each cupped one of her breasts and feathered their thumbs over her erect nipples, she was lost. Nothing could convince her she was something plain ever again. It took courage to do what she'd done over the last few days. She'd had the courage to fight her way free of her captors and she had the courage to stay here with these men for the last few days. Now, she would have the courage to grab onto this opportunity and hold on tight.

Didn't every one of her friends at work fantasize over this very thing? What would it be like to have two men dedicated to seeing to her pleasure? Perhaps now she would find out.

The two hands at her breasts and the two mouths nibbling at her neck were enough to make her moan. The sound came from somewhere deep within her. Being so daring felt strange, yet wonderful. Never in her life had she had the courage to step forward and take what she wanted like this. This time, however, she intended to do just that.