“I am so impressed, Whitney.” Mick leaned over and pecked her cheek. “I can’t believe how quickly you got this done.”
“Well, that’s Miguel for you,” she said, taking her seat. “He runs some of the best crews in town. When I got to run my first show, I had a so-called friend who totally stabbed me in the back and
“I bet he’s not cheap,” Mick commented, a little concerned about the mounting costs for the project.
“He’s not,” she confirmed. “But”-she smiled and helped herself to a steaming-hot tortilla from a Styrofoam container-“he owes me some favors and gave me a great deal. I can wipe it out with my bonus from the Paris show.”
“No,” Eddie said. “We’ll pick up the tab.”
“Whatever.” Whitney shrugged. “I’ll find the bill later, and you two can duke it out.”
Mick laughed, and Eddie snorted. They slipped into easy conversation about their workdays. Whitney’s boss was surprisingly supportive of her decision to switch jobs and had offered to slide into Whitney’s position after she left to guide her successor. Eddie and his team had served warrants without a hitch, most of it due to Eddie’s anal-retentiveness and thorough planning. There had been a violent bank robbery downtown that had the police worried. Mick hoped it was a one-time affair and not the first in a string of robberies. That was the last thing the city needed.
“And you?” Whitney asked.
“Same old, same old,” Mick answered. “Construction injuries. Car wrecks.”
Whitney’s pretty little nose wrinkled. “No details, please.”
Mick chuckled and scooped some refried beans onto a tortilla chip. “I’ll spare you this once.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a sweetheart.”
“I try.”
“So”-Whitney pushed food around her plate-“um, about last night.”
Eddie perked up and sat forward. “Yes?”
Mick listened with bated breath.
“I, uh, well”-she blushed-“I really enjoyed it. I was just wondering if that was, like, a one-time deal or…?”
Mick and Eddie locked eyes before turning their attention on her and replying in unison, “Not a one-time deal.”
She seemed relieved and sat back against her chair. “Good. I was worried it was one of those heat-of-the- moment things and that it was going to be weird and you’d toss me aside.”
“Never,” Eddie said forcefully. “You’re not disposable.”
“We want you, Whitney.” Mick reached over and took her hand. “We’ve wanted you for a long time.”
“Like a relationship?”
She seemed hopeful, so Mick pounced. “Yes. We’ve been looking for the right woman for so long.”
“And you think that’s me?”
“We know it’s you,” Eddie said. “But”-he inhaled a slow breath-“if you’re nervous or if this is too much too soon, we understand.”
“It’s just a little overwhelming,” Whitney admitted. “Can we take it a day at a time?”
“Of course,” Mick agreed. “Eddie and I were talking earlier, and we thought it might be helpful if we had some ground rules.”
“Like?” She swirled the ice in her mojito.
“Monogamy.” Eddie tapped the table with his finger. “When you’re with us, you’re with us and no one else.”
Whitney seemed affronted. “I’m not a cheater.”
“We didn’t mean to imply you were.” Mick shot an annoyed glance at Eddie. “We’ve been burned in the past.”
“I see.” Her gaze lingered on Eddie. “I’m not that kind of girl, Eddie.”
“I know,” he said, his voice thick. “I’m sorry I insinuated otherwise.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled and squeezed his hand. Looking thoughtful, she asked, “So what happens on a date? I mean, do I go out with one of you on, like, Wednesday and the other one on Friday? Do we sort of double date? Or do we not go out in public at all? Is this some kind of secret thing we don’t share with outsiders?” She chewed her lower lip. “I don’t know how this threesome thing works.”
“We do whatever you’re comfortable with,” Mick explained. “Obviously, this choice isn’t something a lot of people understand or support. Generally, Eddie and I keep our trysts on the lowdown.”
“So no dates?” She seemed a bit disappointed.
“No, we’ll take you out,” Eddie promised. “There are some places that are…friendlier than others.”
“And,” Mick chimed in, “if you’d prefer, we can always do one-on-one dates. I like the opera. Eddie hates it. Eddie loves paintball, and I hate that. There are plenty of things we can do with you without the other feeling left out.”
“On that note,” Eddie said, “I’d prefer if we avoided any one-on-one sex for a while. Just until we’re sure where this thing is going,” he added.
Mick snuck a glance at Whitney. She seemed a bit confused by Eddie’s request. He saw the flicker of realization in her soft green eyes. Yes, she understood. She may not have all the details, but she could tell Eddie had been hurt badly by someone.
“Sure,” Whitney agreed. “I’d probably feel kind of weird having sex with just one of you anyway.” She toyed with a few strands of golden hair. “So you guys won’t have sex when I’m not around either?”
“No, we won’t.”
“Um”-she coiled the hair tighter around her fingers-“what if I wanted to, you know, watch you?”
“We’d say name the time and place,” Mick answered with a laugh.
“Thirty minutes? Eddie’s bedroom?” She gave a little shrug. “He has the bigger bed.”
“Hell yes!” Eddie turned to Mick and made the universal gesture for Rock, Paper, Scissors. “Best of three gets out of dinner cleanup duty.”
Whitney giggled and pushed back from the table. “I’m hitting the shower. I’ll see you two in half an hour.”
Mick watched the sultry swing of her hips as she left the dining room. His attention reverted to Eddie, who still waited for their first match. “How about we double team the kitchen so both of us can catch her in that shower?”
Eddie grinned deviously. “I like the way you think.”
In record time, Mick and Eddie cleared off the table, threw the leftovers in the fridge, tossed dirty dishes in the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Eddie checked the front door and set the alarm while Mick hit the lights and ceiling fan. Like a couple of excited teenagers, they knocked shoulders as they hurried down the hallway.
Finger to his lips, Eddie warned Mick to be quiet as they listened outside the door of the bathroom between their bedrooms. It was much bigger than Whitney’s smaller private bath and had a ridiculously oversized shower.
Mick shucked his scrubs, socks, and boxer briefs. Eddie followed suit, stripping out of his jeans, tee, socks, and boxer briefs. Very carefully, Eddie opened the door and did a little recon. Smiling, he gave Mick the go-ahead to follow and entered the bathroom’s steamy interior. Whitney sang the lyrics of the latest Lady Gaga single. Mick fought the urge to laugh at her horribly off-key warble. It was cute but terrible.
Eddie reached for the handle to the glass door, but Mick stopped him. He mimed a nasty fall and the possibility of Whitney’s head whacking into the tiled bench inside the shower. Eddie made a face. He understood how dangerous it could be to scare her while she stood on the slippery tile floor.
Mick loudly cleared his throat and waited a full three seconds before opening the door and stepping inside the shower. Whitney didn’t seem all that surprised to see him or Eddie. She smirked knowingly. “That kitchen better be spotless.”
Chuckling, Mick wound his arms around Whitney’s waist and hauled her back against his naked body. His erection nestled between the cheeks of her pert ass. Eddie sidled up to Whitney’s front and slid his arms around
