Interchangeable Read online

  She started slowly, driving up and down, forward and back, giving him the ideal amount of friction. For the first time in a trio rather than a couple, and damn it or bless it, the third player added a whole new dimension of pleasure.

  Cooper wasted no time getting involved, pinching a nipple, nibbling her neck as Todd thrust into her.

  Dahlia gyrated on his cock. “Does it feel good being with me again?”

  “You know it does.” The pressure built, and at that rate he wouldn’t last long. He bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to stave off his release until she shuddered around him.

  “Both of you love my pussy.” She braced herself against his bent legs. “Do you need more?”

  He stared at his cock repeatedly disappearing inside her then reappearing. “Always.” He forced the word out between breaths.

  “Then fuck her.” Cooper moved behind her, holding her up by the waist.

  What Cooper offered, he took, and drove into her. Fast, hard propulsions she’d always favored. He wanted to explode.

  “Oh.” She squirmed, as if trying to get loose of Cooper’s hold.

  “More.” Cooper pulled her back in position.

  Todd’s balls tightened, preparing for his release.

  “Todd….” Her nails dug into his knees.

  They were getting to her. She has to come, come now. But until she let go, he had to hold out.

  “Dahlia, now.” He reached down toward her clit. Above all, he needed for her to climax, let him know he could still bring her there. “Come on.”

  She caught his hand and yanked him toward her. “Don’t stop.”

  Unable to process anything else, he propelled into her, prodding her closer to the edge. “Dahlia!”

  “Come, Todd,” she breathed. “Now.”

  “Now.” Repeating her words, he focused on his cock and his primal need. “Yes.” The first wave of ecstasy hit him.

  “More.” She pressed down on him.

  “Fuck!” Another set of contractions jerked through him. “God, it’s good.”

  “Come on.” Her coaxing continued.

  With the last joyous muscle spasm, he fell back. “Holy shit.”

  She let out a lone laugh. “Someone enjoyed.”

  He nodded and pulled her down to him. They always had their best conversations post-orgasm.

  Wait.

  “Now it’s time for someone else to enjoy.” She moved up until he slid out of her.

  Someone else. Right. He blinked to focus. Not only Cooper, but something else as well.

  “Cooper, it’s your turn.” She moved to her hands and knees, caging Todd.

  Because of his selfish urges, she never came. Instead, he’d taken what he wanted and forgot about her. Is that why she sought out Cooper in the first place? He wanted her to scream her release and remind her of what she missed.

  Cooper had been there the entire time, even actively participating, but without giving her an orgasm, could he watch her fuck someone else?

  Todd shut his eyes, not needing to see to know what took place next. The cellophane crunch followed by silence told him Cooper put the condom on. The way the bed dipped when he moved behind her let him know his friend took position.

  Her hair hung down and tickled his chest, and her light gasp, Cooper’s moan, and the way the bed started to thump in a distinctive beat, told the entire story.

  “Oh, yeah.” Lust laced Cooper’s voice.

  “You both love it like this.” Dahlia ran a hand down Todd’s chest.

  Every time she referred to them, it was as the ‘two of them’ or ‘both,’ reminding him they were interchangeable. He groaned.

  “Aren’t you going to watch?” One of her fingertips traced his lips. “I thought you would love to see me get pounded.”

  Yes, he needed to watch. He opened his eyes to find her still straddling him with Cooper holding her by the waist and directing her movements from behind.

  “Umm.” She licked her lips and slammed backward against Cooper. “Do you like what you see, Todd?”

  Cooper sped up. “You’re so open, but still tight.” The bed creaked in complaint from the workout. Her breasts bobbed in time with each one of his thrusts.

  Damn it. “You look hot.” The image of Cooper sliding in and out of the pussy he’d just fucked wet and open stirred something, and his spent cock twitched.

  He’d started their encounter, and he had to be part of it. Grazing his fingertips across her breasts, he gave each one of her nipples a light pinch. “You are beautiful.”

  Her breath hitched. “Todd.”

  “Keep it up, she needs to come.” Cooper leaned forward.

  Todd rose up on his elbows. Should he be the one coaxing her clit to orgasm?

  Dahlia squealed. “Oh, God.”

  “I’m there.” Cooper didn’t let up. “Come on.”

  Todd rose to kiss her and she started to sit up. “Cooper.”

  “Baby.” He tried to push her back down.

  She swiped his hand away. “Come on, Coop,” she panted. “Do it.”

  “You asked for it.” He succeeded in pushing her forward and grabbing her by both wrists.

  She fell onto Todd’s chest and he caught her. “Kiss me while Cooper comes.” She pursed her lips at him.

  Giving in, he kissed her, long and hard.

  Breaking the kiss, she hid her face in Todd’s chest. “Come on, Cooper.” She pointed her ass up, the perfect position for Cooper to propel into her.

  Also the perfect position to hurry up a supercharged man, prodding Cooper toward his end. She rushed him, but why? He created a rhythm and she thumped on his body.

  “Dahlia,” he moaned.

  “Now, Cooper.” Her voice pleaded with him to end this.

  Something tormented her. What?

  “Come Cooper, let her feel it.” Todd wrapped his arms around her.

  “I am.” With one last lunge, he let out a shout of pure satisfaction.

  At last, he slumped over her, kissing her neck. “Incredible.” Letting go of her wrists, he lifted his head.

  Dahlia didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. No more quips or teases. For someone who loved her sex and readily went with them, everything was off.

  Todd shook his head. She hadn’t come with Cooper either. That was not the payback he wanted.

  What is she hiding now

  Chapter Five

  Dahlia allowed Cooper to remain inside her as he recovered. She kept her eyes shut and swallowed, trying to divert her attention away from the fact she was in the same bed with the two men she both loved and betrayed.

  Her muscles contracted. She’d tiptoed on the edge of her own orgasm for too long. Focused on anything to distract her, she thought about their shattered business, the way they threw her out and even stealing their money to stave off her own pleasure. Once it didn’t work to wane her arousal, she knew she had to end the whole escapade. If she gave in, she risked destruction. Not having an orgasm was her self-imposed penance, a fantasy she would never have to remember. She gave them the one thing she had to offer, and in the process turned into the whore they’d called her.

  Also, she refused to come against a spent cock.

  She took a breath, considered her plan, and pushed up. Her action created the desired effect. Todd let go and Cooper pulled out, giving her the opportunity to step out of the bed without appearing as if she were trying to escape.

  Her muscles ached without any reward for their effort. She headed toward the front of the bungalow.

  “Dahlia,” Todd called after her. “Where are you going?”

  Looking over her shoulder, she caught them both studying her. With her obligation fulfilled, she’d never have to watch her back again. “Bathroom.”

  Cooper nodded as if giving his approval.

  She sped up until she reached her desired destination, and closed the door behind her.

  Alone, she turned on the water at the sink. Once she doused a washcloth, s
he put it up to her face, allowing the liquid to cool her down, but nothing worked.

  The desire to crawl back in the bed and have them finish what they started overwhelmed her, but she had to leave. The night she slept with Todd she’d damaged them. When Cooper admitted he wanted her and she gave in, she destroyed her only family. She’d spent too long giving in to her own desires and before she could suggest they live as a threesome, they shut her out.

  With them keeping an eye on her, she couldn’t sneak away. She crossed her arms and glanced out the oversized window looking over a slightly obscured view of the ocean, a picture perfect place to luxuriate or escape. Too bad she hadn’t grabbed her stuff in order to slip out.

  Instead, she would have to confront them. The thought churned her stomach, but she had to do it for all of them. Before she gave in to her heart, she rushed out of the bathroom.

  “Dahlia.” Todd stood near the bed and held his hand out to her.

  Though she yearned to resist, she stepped to him. Five years did nothing to blunt her memory of what Todd Shelton did after sex. Ever the ideal lover, he had no trouble cuddling and caressing, and he loved to talk.

  “Come here and see the ocean.” Cooper motioned for her.

  While Todd remained a sure thing, he continued to be a crapshoot, the man who could go for a second round, fall asleep, hold her, or watch TV. “Ocean’s great.”

  She glanced at the wall with a picture of the ocean rather than the real thing.

  Todd took her hand and from behind, Cooper put his hands on her waist. Unsure, she debated whether she’d been trapped or found. “Guys….”

  “Don’t speak.” The strong demand she would expect from Cooper instead came from Todd.

  “That wasn’t supposed to be you.” She covered her mouth, wishing to take the words back.

  “What?” Todd tightened his hold.

  “We all need to talk.” Cooper pulled her back toward him, his hold secure, safe. Those types of statements never left Mr. Montgomery’s mouth.

  “Wait!” She shook Todd’s hand off her and shrugged Cooper away. “What is wrong with the two of you?”

  “You’re not walking away this time.” Cooper reclaimed his space.

  Todd joined them. “Explain what you just said.”

  Caught between them, she stared at one then the other. Three points to a triangle.

  Todd crossed his arms. “What wasn’t supposed to be me?”

  Heat filled her face and she longed for a breeze to blow through the open panels.

  “If we’re the same, how do you know the difference?” Cooper lifted his chin toward her.

  In an attempt to atone for at least some of the wrongs she had committed, she tried to take nothing further from them, not even an orgasm. Maybe a little more would tilt karma in her favor.

  She exhaled her defeat and admitted the truth. “I know the difference.”

  “Are we, or are we not, interchangeable?” Todd asked the question, but they both stared at her.

  She faced him first. “You were always the perfect man. The man who stayed after he slept with me, the man who would want me even when I looked bad. Sometimes I would just catch you looking at me.”

  “Okay, so that made you go to Cooper?” As if waiting to catch the answer, he held his arms out.

  Instead of acknowledging him, she turned to Cooper. “You always surprised me. My stomach twisted the moment you showed up at my place. Would you stay and if you did, did you want to, or was it just because you wanted a quick lay before we had to go to work?”

  “Dahlia,” he whispered.

  “When it first started, I got off on having both of you want me.” She spun back toward the open wall, wondering if she should give in and run into the ocean. “I loved the way you would both sneak off and kiss me.” Reliving the memory, she touched her lips.

  The men stayed silent, or rather Todd and Cooper stayed silent. They were not one unit.

  The black ocean outside their room transformed from a powerful force ready to absorb anything in its path into the perfect canvas to see her memories. “Every time Todd kissed me, he did it like he couldn’t believe I wanted him. When you kissed me, you acted like you owned me.”

  Todd put a hand on her shoulder.

  One tear fell and she wiped it away. “If I wanted Chinese food, I told Cooper, he always knew the best places. But if I wanted subs, only Todd could get the lady at the shop to put on the extra dressing.”

  “Keep going.” Cooper came up beside her.

  At their touch, their closeness, she arched her back to abate the shudder down her spine. If she revealed everything, she didn’t know if she would be able to leave, but she owed them this.

  “Shopping and movies belonged to Cooper.” She swallowed. The images fast-forwarded through her mind, giving her a snippet of every outing she shared with the two of them. “The theater and ball games–”

  “Me,” Todd interrupted.

  “Then there were the nights we all worked late. You spent hours coding and designing and I became part of it, part of the two of you, and we all fell asleep on that disgusting couch in the loft.” She shook her head. “Those were the best nights, better than having sex, better than sneaking around. You were sure to find out my deception. Every day I woke up and wondered if the day had come. I almost wanted it to be, but at the same time I couldn’t stop.” Tears blurred her vision, making everything as wavy as the ocean outside.

  “I couldn’t stop because during those few months I had it all. You were my only family.” She blinked and looked between them. Nothing had changed. “You were never the same, I needed both of you and couldn’t choose. Couldn’t choose and face you, and then I thought maybe the three of us could be together like this. I always loved both of you.”

  At letting out the last of the secrets she’d held on to with a death grip, she swayed, but before her knees gave out or her heart was crushed worse than her pride, a set of arms caught her.

  No, they weren’t interchangeable. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know who caught her. The way Todd’s arms wrapped around her, as if he was terrified he would squeeze too tight, gave him away.

  He supported her, took her chin and kissed her. Not the hard mashing of mouths that happened when they’d arrived, but a real kiss, soft, building passion, so familiar. She had tried to forget, yet still she craved him. She ran fingertips over his muscles, grazing the scant bit of hair on his head. Maybe five years ago she should have gone with the solid choice, the man who would have given her a family, a house, even a dog.

  Then suddenly Cooper joined them, electricity following him, the air changing before he touched her.

  Todd kept hold of her but turned to give his former business partner access.

  She tensed.

  They nodded at one another, and Cooper curled his hand around her neck. Just short of joining his mouth to hers, he stared into her eyes.

  “What?” She gasped at how intently he studied her.

  “It’s finally you.” He pulled her toward him and kissed her. In the way she always dreamed he would, Cooper kissed her. Soft caresses of lips that belonged together. Still in Cooper's embrace, she tilted her head to Todd once more.

  Todd’s kiss warmed her, a homecoming on Christmas morning.

  They stood together, the three of them. Once more a triangle, but all the points touched at last. In what seemed to be synchronized movements, she alternated her kisses between Todd and Cooper. Each took a turn nuzzling, touching and paying overdue attention to her shoulders, her breasts, her torso, stoking her already sensitized nerve endings back to a state of desire. The harsh need that started their journey tangibly changed. They slowed down, their caresses soft, light and thoughtful.

  Cooper trailed his lips down her neck. When his hand grazed her stiff nipples, he knelt, kissing her stomach. As his fingertips searched out her core, Todd took over her mouth.

  She tightened her hold, never wanting them to stop.

&
nbsp; “Let us show you what we can do.” He kissed her and kneaded her breast. “This is for you.”

  The words left his mouth as Cooper lowered his to her center. Her legs gave out and she fell in to Todd.

  “Let’s get her to the bed.” He scooped her up.

  At the loss of the source of pleasure, she whimpered, but as he placed her on the bed and Cooper returned to his position between her legs, the sensation of being swept away consumed her again.

  Todd kissed her mouth, both her hands, then her breasts. Nothing changed, he’d always worshiped her.

  Like his coding, he studied her, precisely and down to every last detail. Like his programs, she purred, a willing recipient to his attention. No, she couldn’t resist, couldn’t push them away.

  As in everything, Cooper worked differently. The design master of aesthetics and nuance, he acted on instinct, put all the pieces together in a gorgeous package to bring her to her end. He took his time paying attention to every part of her, kissing her inner thighs, sucking in all the right spots. Her world swirled and she fought to stay lucid.

  Todd slid lower, and she assumed they would change positions, but Cooper put one of her legs over his shoulder and inched over.

  Opening her eyes, she leaned up on her elbows.

  Todd took her other leg and moved next to him. “She needs to come.”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m working on.” Cooper chuckled.

  “I think you need a partner.” Todd ran one finger down to her core.

  “I think I do.” Cooper nodded.

  “Oh God.” She twisted the sheet in her fist.

  Both men lowered their faces and she fell back on the pillows.

  Cooper’s mouth toyed with her, bit by bit bringing her closer and Todd came in, letting his tongue delve inside her. The men worked together but differently to ensure her satisfaction.

  No, she’d never had an issue with mixing them up, and never would.

  The orgasm she fought earlier surged, but she needed to hold back, take advantage of the moment.

  “She’s right there.” Todd replaced his tongue with two fingers, giving her something to grip.

  “Come on, baby.” Cooper returned his mouth to her clit and took hold of her hand.