STORY EXCEPTS

The idea that Avery and Clay might be some of the good guys muddied the waters and what she wanted now was clean, blue, see-your-toes-through-the-clear-water type of waters. She wanted black and white. She wanted small little boxes she could slot people into.

“Give them a chance. Just as friends. They’re good friends to have, if nothing else.”

“I’ll think about it, Lil. Now, those cupcakes aren’t going to sell themselves so I need to get my butt in gear.”

The new cupcakes were a hit, and by midmorning they’d sold out. Erin kept checking the door, cursing herself for wanting Avery and Clay to walk in. After thinking about what Lil had told her all morning, she realized she wanted—no—she needed to explain her situation to them. The thought that she might have turned them off even being friends with her filled her with anxiety and she realized for the first time how much she wanted them in her life.

Lil’s words kept bouncing around her head all through the lunch rush. Her heart leaped into her throat when she glimpsed a cruiser pulling up in front of the diner, but it was just another local officer, one she knew by sight but not by name. He ordered a few pieces of apple pie to go and a couple of coffees. Erin suspected it was to take back to the station, which meant Avery and Clay were probably avoiding her. How many of their colleagues ate apple pie on an almost daily basis?

Erin couldn’t blame them for wanting to avoid her. After all, she’d asked them repeatedly to back off and made it clear she didn’t want to be friends. Erin couldn’t complain now that they were respecting her wishes. Then why did it feel like she’d lost something?

She was only working a single shift, and around two o’clock she packed up her bag and drove the few blocks down to the station. On the passenger seat of her car sat a blue takeaway box specifically for deli items. Although the cupcakes had sold out, she’d made sure to put two aside, hoping her men would come in to see her. They had a standard vanilla base cake but apple cinnamon frosting. Considering their penchant for apple pie, she figured they’d love it.

Her men.

She shook her head. They weren’t hers. They were barely acquaintances. But if that were true, why was she looking forward to their reaction after she finally said what she’d been building up in her head to say all morning?

Erin walked into the station, resisting the urge to check her hair again and approached the front desk.

“Is Officer Sinclair or Officer Mitchell available?”

The young cop at the desk looked up from his work and gave her a smile. “Clay and Avery? No, they’re out on a call, but I’m sure someone can help you out.”

She knew he was just trying to be nice and do his job but she couldn’t help but fidget under his gaze. Just being the station was making her antsy.

“It’s actually a personal matter. Could you please give them this?” She handed over the blue box.

“Is there a message to go with it?” The cop looked at her strangely. Dropping off baked goods for officers probably wasn’t a daily occurrence.

“Um…” Damn it, she hadn’t thought this through. “If you could just tell them it’s from a friend. From one friend to another.”

Before he could respond, she turned and walked out. That had been a disaster. She was going to be the laughingstock of the station now. And what if they knew about Clay and Avery’s ménage habits? And that stupid message. What was she thinking?

From one friend to another. How lame did that sound? It didn’t even make sense. There were two of them.

Now that she was willing to consider the idea of letting Clay and Avery into her life, she was acutely aware of her lack of experience when it came to flirting or anything else. Not just in the bedroom, but in life and dating.

Her life had been so sheltered with Ryan, with no access to friends, no real life to speak of at all. The whole relationship, from the second she bumped into Ryan at a coffee shop when she was a student and up until Ryan’s death, had been dictated and maneuvered by Ryan. She wasn’t sophisticated or even that beautiful. Ryan had reminded her of that fact repeatedly. She was a plain Jane through and through. Men who looked like Avery and Clay, men who embodied the very definition of confidence and strength, could probably get any woman they wanted. And who wouldn’t want two gorgeous men?

Whatever they saw in Erin baffled her, but she knew better than to pull on that thread. She may have been lacking in self-confidence, but she knew most of that had to do with Ryan’s abuse. She wasn’t going to let him ruin this for her from beyond the grave.

ADULT EXCERPT

Erin could hardly process what was going on as Clay kicked shut the door to her bedroom. Avery lay her down on the bed, his heavy weight pinning her to the mattress. This was going so much faster than she’d planned. The thought was fleeting and it didn’t matter because the only reason she’d told herself that she should take it slow with them was because she’d been so unsure of her instincts. But as of right now, her instincts were screaming at her to get naked as fast as possible.

She’d intended to kiss them again, especially after the way Avery had grabbed her ass when they’d first arrived. But she had not intended this, had never allowed herself to imagine it would go this far so quickly. But when Avery had brushed up against her back, touching her skin, trying to reassure her she could trust them, Erin knew she wanted more. She was sick of waiting to take what she wanted.

All through breakfast her confidence had grown. Just spending time with them felt right. She had a million questions still about their ménage lifestyle, but for now, she wanted to let her body lead and see where it took them.

She’d never responded to a man, let alone two men, like this before. Never felt the burning need between her legs she hoped they could quench. It was the most instinctual and animalistic reaction her body had ever had, and she wasn’t about to over-analyze it. There was no way she was about to ask them to stop just because a part of her brain was still petrified of experiencing life.

“Erin, too many clothes.” Avery was pawing at her skirt and she lifted her hips to help him get if off. Without even hesitating, Clay grabbed her thong and yanked it off.

“Lose the top, babe.” Clay was practically ordering her around, and she realized she liked it. As she whipped off the camisole and bra, they stripped out of their uniforms, and in seconds, hardly giving her the time to admire their naked form, they were back on top of her. Avery lay next to her as Clay worked himself between her legs, pushing her knees out of the way with his hips.

Clay was kissing her, violently pushing his tongue into her mouth. He tasted like maple syrup and coffee and he moaned as she sucked on his tongue. She reached between them, wanting to feel him since she’d only caught a glimpse of him naked. Clay tensed as she wrapped her hands around his impressive girth.

He was big, not so big that it scared her, but big enough that she felt she needed to warn them. Breaking their embrace, she turned and looked down at Avery’s cock. Yup, just as big, if not thicker. She would have to say something.

Clay was making noises that were driving her wild, a mix of groans and growls as she stroked the length of him, feeling the drops of pre-cum at the tip. He sat up between her thighs and ripped open a condom Avery had dropped on the bed when getting naked.

Avery’s hand slid down her stomach and slipped between her folds as Clay dealt with the condom. Finding her already swollen clit, he circled it slowly, the pressure making her shudder in anticipation. It was too hard to concentrate when their touch felt this good.

“Clay, listen, it’s been…” He didn’t seem to hear her as he watched Avery’s large fingers swipe through her folds, wiping her arousal onto her clit. “Oh Avery, I…”

No, she needed to focus, she needed to tell them.

“Clay!” Erin practically shouted his name and he looked up, as if being brought out of a daze.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“It’s been a while, okay?”

“Shh, Erin, sweetheart,” Avery whispered in her ear, his hands caressing her shoulders and arms, reassuring her.

She looked up at Clay and he kept eye contact with her as he sat back on his heels and pulled her thighs up and open, guiding her legs around his hips. He guided the tip of his cock to her entrance, probing her slowly. “I won’t hurt you, sweetheart, never. I’ll make it good for you, don’t worry. Trust us to take care of you, Erin.”

“I’m not worried, I just…” She couldn’t finish her sentence as he thrust forward and she gasped in surprise. He pulled back slowly before pushing forward again, giving her body hardly enough time to adjust to him. But it felt right.