She stalked back to the couch and handed each of them a present. “Now be warned, these are my joke gifts,” she said with a grin. “I’m saving the good ones for tomorrow.”
He and Aidan glanced at each other. “You first,” Aidan said graciously.
Dylan quickly tore the wrapping to reveal a Cliff Notes study guide to the novel War and Peace. He laughed in delight. “Best gift ever,” he told Claire.
Aidan went next, unwrapping his present to find a narrow cardboard box. He flipped it open and pulled out a black ballpoint pen, then raised his brows and glanced at Claire.
“Oh, it’s not just an ordinary pen,” she informed him. “It’s the kind that has invisible ink. You know, so when you’re jotting down your super-secret spy notes, nobody will see what you’re writing.”
Aidan threw his head back and laughed. “I love it.”
Claire was already moving back to the tree. “Okay, which one should I open?”
“The blue one,” they answered in unison.
Her soft laughter floated in the dimly lit room. “Is this the joint gift you two were teasing me about?”
“Yup,” Dylan confirmed.
She returned to the couch, resting the large rectangular-shaped box on her lap. She stared at the green bow taped to the center of the plain blue box, then gave them a dry smile.
“This is your idea of giftwrapping, huh?”
“Wrapping paper is overrated and unnecessary,” Aidan replied. “Sort of like clothes.”
Dylan nodded. “Exactly like clothes. Especially your clothes, honey. I don’t know why you bother wearing any, if I’m being honest. Now open our beautifully wrapped box.”
She lifted the lid, and a moment later, she was laughing again. “Of course. Why am I not surprised?”
Dylan and Aidan exchanged grins as Claire held up the sheer, red merrywidow and matching G-string.
“So let me get this straight, this is a present for me? Because it seems to me like it’s more of a present for you guys.”
Aidan’s voice lowered to a smoky pitch. “Trust me, you’re going to get as much enjoyment from it as we are.”
“How do you figure that?”
“You’ll really enjoy the way we tear it off you,” Dylan said helpfully.
“Hmmm. Let’s see if you’re right.” She tucked the lingerie under her arm and stood up. “Give me a few minutes.”
After she hurried away, Aidan joined him on the couch and flashed his dimpled grin. “Good call on the lingerie.”
Dylan grinned back. “I thought so.”
“You know she’ll look hot as hell in it.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“How much did it cost again?”
“Half the budget—fifty bucks.”
“Meh. So we’ll only be out twenty-five each when we shred it to pieces.”
“Damn good investment,” Dylan concurred.
It felt like an eternity before they heard her footsteps. They were both fidgeting with impatience by that point, Dylan’s cock straining against the fly of his khakis. A glance at Aidan’s lower body showed him to be in a similar state, sporting a bulge beneath his gray wool trousers.
They both hissed when Claire stepped into view.
Dylan couldn’t tear his gaze off her. The lacy red outfit hugged her mouthwatering curves, making her look like she’d just stepped out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog. Her full breasts were pushed up and practically pouring out of the built-in bra, and the little black center bow looked so naughty Dylan wanted to rip it off with his teeth.
“C’mere,” Aidan growled.
With an impish smile, Claire took her sweet time sauntering over to them. “How do I look?”
Dylan licked his lips. “Good enough to eat.”
She did a little spin, showing off the dental-floss-thin strip of lace nestled between her firm ass cheeks.
“Holy fuck, get over here,” Aidan burst out.
Dylan laughed as Aidan stuck out his arm and grabbed hold of Claire’s hand. He yanked hard and she fell into Dylan’s lap, her back colliding into his chest with a thud.
Dylan wrapped his arms around her to keep her in place. She shivered when he nuzzled her neck, then moaned as Aidan swiftly bent down and kissed one rigid nipple through the lace.
Dylan chuckled. “I think she likes that.”
“Not half as much as I do,” Aidan muttered before tugging on the lacy cups to expose Claire’s breasts.
Aidan’s mouth closed over a rosy nipple. His throat worked as he suckled her, and Claire made a happy purring sound that brought a smile to Dylan’s lips.
Aidan’s dark lashes fluttered as he peered up at her. “You okay there, baby?”
“Uh-huh.”
Dylan amused himself by playing with her silky red hair, and watched as Aidan feasted on those delectable tits. Damn, there was nothing hotter than the sight of Aidan sucking on those stiff nipples, squeezing those full mounds, kissing the creamy valley between her breasts. His cock strained against Claire’s ass, his heart beating dangerously fast as his arousal levels skyrocketed.
“Put your mouth on her pussy,” he muttered. “I wanna see you fuck her with your mouth, man.”
Claire moaned again.
With a mischievous smile, Aidan slid down her body, grabbed the flimsy waistband of her G-string and ripped the straps. Then he threw the torn panties aside and buried his face between Claire’s legs.
Turned on beyond belief, Dylan grasped Claire’s chin and forcibly moved her face toward his. When he kissed her, she instantly parted her lips and granted his tongue access, and he plunged it into her mouth, exploring every sweet crevice while Aidan lapped at her pussy.
Claire began to whimper and squirm in his lap, rocking her hips against Aidan’s face. All that squirming succeeded in turning his cock into an iron spike. He thrust upward, grinding against Claire’s ass, the mind-blowing friction bringing him to a new level of hardness.
When Aidan slipped two fingers inside her, she shuddered and squeaked with delight. “Oh God, that’s good.”
Dylan laughed again and resumed sucking on her neck, angling his head so he could watch Aidan’s every move. So fucking sexy, seeing Aidan’s tongue slide over that wet pussy.
“You like the way he eats you, honey?” Dylan’s tongue skimmed up the curve of her jaw toward her ear, and then he took the delicate lobe in his mouth and sucked.
“Uh-huh.” Her breathing had become labored.
“How much do you like it?”
“Mmmmmm.”
“How much, Claire?”
“I…um…oh God. I’m going to come.”
And then she did, trembling wildly in his arms and pressing her face into the crook of his neck. When she bit into his flesh, Dylan felt the first tingles of release in his balls. Fuck. Fuck. He tried to stop it, clamped his teeth over his bottom lip to stave off the climax, but it was too late. Not since he was thirteen years old had he come in his pants. But tonight, on Christmas Eve, at the age of twenty-nine, he shot his load like an inexperienced teenager as the soft, warm woman in his lap shook with an orgasm of her own.
When both he and Claire recovered, Aidan rewarded them with a mocking laugh. “All right. Claire? I understand, what with me licking her up. But you, bro? Where’s that famous SEAL endurance?”
“Dude, if you were in my position and she was grinding all over your cock like that, you’d shoot your load in your pants too.”
“Maybe. But lucky for me, I get to come on her tits.” Dark eyes gleaming with purpose, Aidan stood and unzipped his pants.
He positioned himself in front of Claire, widened his stance, and started pumping his cock. His hand moved over his shaft in fast, furious strokes, the fire in his eyes darkening, burning, until finally he let out a hoarse cry and came apart. His semen sprayed Claire’s breasts, and her moan of pleasure echoed in the living room and vibrated through Dylan’s body.
Aidan’s chest heaved as he caught his breath. A
moment later, he stumbled out of the room, then returned with a wad of paper towels in his hand.
As Dylan kissed her neck and breathed in her addictive scent, Aidan gently wiped Claire’s breasts, then dropped a soft kiss on her lips, showed those sexy dimples, and said, “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”
Chapter Thirteen
Three days. She was going back to San Francisco in three days.
Saying goodbye to Dylan and Aidan.
In three days.
Claire couldn’t help but feel like she was walking the plank, about to meet an awful, painful fate—in this case, saying goodbye to the two men she’d come to care deeply about.
The two men she was falling for.
Which was insane. The thought of desiring two men had shaken her up and made her feel like some sort of deviant, but falling for them? For both of them? Was it even possible to be in love with two people at the same time? And was this even love? Could she be mistaking a case of extreme lust for love?
Her head was a jumbled mess of endless questions, so when her iPhone vibrated, it was a much-needed distraction.
Since it was her boss’s number blinking on the display, she wasted no time in answering. “Hey, Barb, Happy New Year’s Eve.”
Barbara Valentine responded with a throaty laugh. “I’m pretty sure it’s New Year’s Day that matters, darling. Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Of course. What’s up?”
“Are you booked on a flight home yet?”
“No, I was actually just about to do that.” Her gaze drifted to the open laptop sitting on Dylan’s bed. She’d left him and Aidan in the living room and ducked in here to book the flight, but she’d been procrastinating from the second she’d turned on her computer.
Because she didn’t want to go home.
At all.
“Don’t,” Barb told her.
Claire wrinkled her forehead. “Don’t what?”
“Book a flight. I need you to head to Oceanside.”
“What for?”
“The firm just got contracted to do an assessment for a software company there. Since you’re already down south, I’m going to put you on it. Spend as much time as you need on site, but realistically, the job shouldn’t take more than two or three weeks. Can I count on you?”
Excitement sparked in her belly. Two or three weeks. And Oceanside was less than an hour’s commute from San Diego. She could stay here at the condo and easily make the drive to the company’s headquarters every day, and all her reports could be prepared off site.
Trying not to reveal how elated she was, she put on a professional voice and said, “You can definitely count on me.”
“I knew I could.” Barb sounded pleased that Claire was being so agreeable. “I’ll email you the details and company profile the day after tomorrow. Businesses go back to normal on the second of the month, but you’ll be meeting with the CEO on the third. That’s Wednesday morning.”
“Sounds good.”
“You sound good. The time off seems to have lifted your spirits,” Barb said, her normally commanding voice softening. “I know what a difficult time this must have been for you.”
Difficult time?
Oh right. The wedding.
“It was difficult,” she admitted. “But I’m doing much better. It was the right decision not to go through with it.”
“It’s such a shame.” Barb made a clucking noise. “Christopher is such a charming man. And quite successful.”
And a total bastard.
She bit her tongue, instead saying, “Chris is a great person, but he wasn’t the right man for me.” Since she felt uncomfortable discussing her personal life with Barb, she quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, I’ve really been enjoying my time here, so if there are any more jobs in Southern California after this contract, I’d love to be considered for them.”
Maybe she was being presumptuous, seeing as how she hadn’t even spoken to the men about the future, but she at least wanted to throw the idea out there.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Barb replied. “All right, darling, it’s time for me to lock up the office and go home to get ready. Do you have big plans for this evening?”
“Not really. Just hanging out with a few friends,” she said vaguely.
“Have fun, then. We’ll be in touch.”
After Claire hung up the phone, she did a happy little fist pump that fortunately nobody else could see, then hurried out of the room.
She found the boys sprawled on their respective couches, sipping beers as they watched the Bears game on the screen. They’d flipped a coin earlier to see which game would be their “primary” one, and since Aidan had won the toss, Dylan and Claire were forced to catch glimpses of the Niners game when the Bears one was on commercial.
“What do you look so happy about?” Aidan teased as she skidded into the living room.
“My boss just called.” She paused for dramatic effect.
Rolling their eyes, both men gestured for her to go on.
“She wants me to do an assessment on a company in Oceanside. It’ll be a two- to three-week assignment, so that means…”
Wide grins stretched across their faces.
“You get to stay longer?” Dylan said happily.
“Yep, and I can totally commute from San Diego to Oceanside, which means I don’t need to book a hotel up there. All I have to do is rent a car and I can drive back here every night.” She paused again, this time with uncertainty. “That is, if you guys want me to stick around.”
Aidan’s dark eyes took on an intense glint. “Come here.”
She went to him without delay, squeaking in delight when he pulled her into his lap. “You know how fucking bummed we’ve been that you were leaving?” he said gruffly. “We don’t want you to go, Claire.”
Dylan spoke up in a low voice. “If it were up to us, you’d never leave.”
Her heart did a somersault, then took off in a gallop when Aidan leaned in to kiss her. His lips were firm, his tongue insistent as it slid into her mouth. He kissed her until she was breathless, then pulled back and smiled. “So yeah, we want you to stick around.”
She smiled back. “Okay.”
“Good. So now, what do we want to do for dinner? Anywhere we go will be packed tonight, so I vote for staying here and grilling up some steaks and maybe—”
Dylan’s ringing phone cut Aidan off midsentence.
On the other couch, Dylan swiped his cell off the glass table and checked the screen. His chiseled features instantly tensed. “Fuck.”
“Who is it?” Claire asked in concern.
“It’s a France country code.”
Claire’s back stiffened, prompting Aidan to run a reassuring hand up and down her spine.
Dylan answered the phone with a curt “Hello”. Then he stopped, listened, and sighed in resignation. “It’s only three p.m. here, but happy New Year all the same, big brother.”
Since she could only hear Dylan’s side of the conversation, it was difficult to get the full scope of what was being said, but Claire understood the gist of it.
“Yeah…no, nothing major, just chilling here… Good, because I’ll be there too…yeah, I’m flying in to see Mom the day after tomorrow.” Dylan paused for several seconds, and then his face twisted in disgust. “No fucking kidding, Chris.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Right, of course. Uh-huh…yeah, whatever…I’ll see you Tuesday.”
He hung up and tossed the phone to the other end of the sofa as if it carried the Ebola virus.
Claire met his eyes. “What do you mean, you’ll see him Tuesday?”
“I was actually coming to talk to you about that before you raced in here with your good news.” His expression conveyed a whole lot of annoyance, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. “I was going to tell you not to book anything commercial. My Coast Guard buddy got back to me and he’s agreed to fly me home the day after tomorrow. My Lieutenant Commander approved my leave request, so I
have a day pass to see my mom.”
Right, because he still hadn’t spoken to Shanna, Claire remembered. And now she also recalled that her and Chris’s return flight from Paris had been scheduled for New Year’s Day, so he would be back in town the day before Dylan flew in.
“What did he say that made you so mad?” she asked quietly. “When you swore at him?”
Dylan’s mouth tightened. “He said, and I quote, ‘I guess I should give Claire a call when I get home’.”
A gust of anger swept through her. “He guesses?” She stumbled off Aidan’s lap, too pissed to sit still. “You know what? I’m coming with you on Tuesday. It’s definitely time for me to have a talk with your brother.” Sarcasm filled her tone. “You know, the talk we should have had the day of our wedding.”
Rather than argue, Dylan just nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Now stop pacing and c’mere, honey.”
She inhaled deeply and willed herself to calm down. Chris might be an ass, but she refused to let him affect her this way. She wasn’t normally an angry person, and she hated this awful feeling of rage constricting her chest.
This time she slid into Dylan’s lap, exhaling in a slow rush as his arms came around her.
“What should we tell Chris?”
Dylan frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, your mom knows that you brought me back to San Diego, so he’s going to find out I stayed here. And I’m a terrible liar, so if he asks me what you and I did, my stupid cheeks will reveal the truth.”
Both men laughed. “She’s got a point, bro,” Aidan said from the other couch.
“I don’t plan on telling him that I slept with you,” she told Dylan, “but if he suspects something and calls me on it, I don’t think I can lie.”
“You don’t have to lie. If it comes out, it comes out. Chris is a big boy. He might not like that we’re dating, but he’ll get over it.”
She blinked. “We’re dating?”
Dylan rolled his eyes. “Of course we are.”
Confused, she slowly turned to Aidan. “Are we dating too?”
Those adorable dimples made an appearance. “Of course we are.”