He stroked the side of her face until her eyes opened and she slowly turned her head back to look at him. “No, babe. I’m not angry that you agreed. I could never be angry about that. It was my stupid idea, remember?”
“Not stupid,” she said softly.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for tonight and what I put you through.”
She pushed away from him, shaking her head. “Sorry? For what? Because I have to tell you, I’m not.”
“I behaved like a jerk. I should have asked you if you really wanted a threesome. I should have asked if there was anyone you wanted more. I should never have pressured you. I should… I…” His Adam’s apple jerked as he swallowed, remembering the anger that had engulfed him when Sam had tied him to the bed, when he’d been forced to watch. “I was insane thinking I could share you.”
“Ssshhh.” She pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. Her touch was soothing, as if she could sense his fear, his feelings of inadequacy. “You did give me a choice, remember? So did Sam. It’s not like he hurt me or anything. We had a safe word-I could have used it any time.”
He didn’t want to remind her that a safe word was only good if the other person backed off. But Sam would have stopped-or he never would have trusted the bastard in the first place. Some of his anger bled away. And he had the rest of his life to make it up to her. For now, it was enough she forgave him.
For someone who had seen the worst life could throw at a person, she was so forgiving, so open. He was going to buy her the biggest diamond ring he could find. A diamond that would tell every other guy in the world “hands off, she’s mine!”
If she’d wear it.
Chapter Ten
His stomach grumbling, Mark eased his arm from under Jodi and pulled the silk sheet over her. She squirmed, tugging her pillow closer beneath her but stayed asleep.
He picked up the remote Sam had used earlier and turned off the big screens one by one. Finding his blue jeans was more of a challenge-he ended up unearthing them from under the comforter they’d kicked off the bed. And his underwear was nowhere to be seen. Hell, he’d just go commando.
“Be right back, babe.” A soft mewl escaped Jodi’s lips when he bent down to brush a kiss across her forehead.
Barefoot, he padded from the room and climbed the stairs to the main level. A green-tinged light spilled from the office into the hallway. The creak of the leather chair, and a snap and hiss of a can opening told him where Sam had disappeared.
Time to settle that account.
His feet on the desk, ankles crossed, Sam leaned back in the chair, staring at the flat- screen television on the far wall, a Heineken in his hand. His leather pants had been traded in for a pair of grey fleece track pants, and, like Mark, he wore no shirt.
Muttering, Sam lifted the glass in a salute to the screen. The screen with an image of Jodi sleeping.
Mark cursed under his breath. Sam had been watching them this whole time?
With a snort of disgust, Mark walked into the room and flicked off the television. “And you accused me of being a voyeur.”
Sam scratched idly at the scar on his chest. “Considering the glass house you live in, you shouldn’t be tossing stones at me. ’Sides, I didn’t have the sound turned up.”
As if that made a difference.
Mark stared down at his friend. “Do you want to tell me why the fuck you thought it necessary to tie me up, old buddy?”
Sam placed the can on the desk, turned it until a dark circle of moisture imprinted on the blotter. Lifted it and placed it beside where it had been. Turned it again, making another circle.
“I did what I had to,” he said finally.
Mark folded his arms across his chest. “You want to explain that?”
Another circle joined the others on the blotter. Then a fifth and a sixth. Sam finally lifted his gaze and met Mark’s. “I didn’t want to see you toss away a sure thing playing the games we played in college. You’re not cut out for that lifestyle, Mark. And from what I’ve seen of her, neither’s Jodi.”
“If you thought it was wrong, you could have walked away. You could have not agreed in the first place.”
Sam met his gaze evenly. “You said if I didn’t help you, you’d find someone else. Couldn’t take that chance.”
“So you took control by tying me up.”
Sam lifted the glass halfway to his lips then stopped. “Only way I could think of to prove my point.”
“That having a mйnage is a college game? Just how did tying me up prove that?”
“My point was that you love that woman.” Sam stabbed his hand through the air toward the television. “And she loves you. Didn’t you see how she was looking at you when she asked you if she should continue? Shit, man, it was soul-deep love. Jodi’s a one-man woman. She deserves a one-woman man. Someone who’ll protect her. Love her. Who won’t share her with anyone else. She’s too damn special to have you offer her around to your friends so you can get off.”
Mark snorted, but his anger evaporated as fast as a water drop on a hot griddle. He slumped into the chair on the opposite side of the desk. “You’re right. I do love her. But I didn’t realize that until tonight. What tipped you off?”
“Every time you said her name you got this goofy look on your face.” Sam took another sip of his drink, then held up the can and glared at it, frowning. “But you were so damned determined to bring me in as your third, kept telling me it was just like ‘the old days’. That you two were just partners having a little fun. You were trying too hard to convince yourself, ya know?
“And then tonight…when I touched her…I’ve never seen that look on your face before. You looked like you were ready to tear my head off.”
“I was,” Mark conceded.
“Yet you let me continue. Let her think you were cool with sharing her. And that was flat-out wrong.” Sam set the can down and gave Mark a hard stare. “So I figured I had to do something to get through that thick skull of yours. Make you realize how good you got it.”
Mark ran a hand over his scalp. “Yet this conscience of yours didn’t stop you from fucking her, did it? You want to explain that one?”
One of Sam’s shoulders pulled up in a halfhearted shrug. “It was all her choice. She could have used the safe word at any time. And don’t forget that when I put the proposition to her, she asked you and you said-”
“I told her she could trust you. I let it go on.” Mark scrubbed at his face, then dropped his hands into his lap. “I get your point. No more mйnages. I don’t think I could hold myself back if another man touched her. I’d probably rip his head off.”
Sam closed his eyes and exhaled noisily. “Thank the good Lord above for that! She’s a special lady.” Sam leaned forward, planted his elbows on the desk. He pointed at Mark as if his fingers were a gun. “But you hear me, Mark, and you remember me well. If you mistreat her, if you fuck around on her, I’m gonna be on your ass like a hound dog on a hare. We straight?”
“You’d have to get in line,” Jodie said from the doorway.
“Thanks for the offer, Sam, but if Mark ever fools around on me, I can take care of him myself.” Jodi scissored her fingers together. “And I’ll be more brutal than Lorena Bobbitt. If he fools around on me, Mark won’t have any balls to tuck into his jockeys by the time I’m done with him.”
Both men immediately crossed their legs.
Sam barked a laugh and pounded his fist on the desk so hard the phone jumped out of its base. “I think you’ve finally found someone who can keep you in line, ol’ buddy.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Mark grinned back. “Come over here, Lorena.”
