Dying to Love Her (4 page)

Melanie arched her back, driving closer to him even as her
body protested. She’d be overtaken by the tight, building heat and quivering
muscles of an orgasm soon. “I’m almost there.”

Rook laughed with exuberant, pleasured relief. “That’s it
baby. Let it go. I want to feel you let go. Make me come.”

His permission brought her to her peak. Melanie screamed his
name with exhilaration as endless spasms rocked her body. She threw her arms
out wide and grabbed at the sheets, trying to tether her body to something real
because the man above her—the things he said, the way he made her feel—was too
good to be real.

“So good, so fucking good.” He quieted her screams with
hasty kisses, buried his head beside hers. “You don’t even know what you do to
me. The things you make me feel.”

The frenzied strokes of his pumping hips staggered as
guttural moans of satisfaction rumbled from deep within his chest. Rook gave in
to his own orgasm and then collapsed on top of her.

Pleasantly numb, she loved the way the weight of his body
felt against hers and missed it when he rolled off. He didn’t go far. Rook
wrapped himself around her and tucked her body into his. They remained like
that for minutes, she still catching her breath and realizing that he wasn’t
winded at all.

Melanie cuddled in closer to Rook’s broad chest, sheltering
herself in this dream world a little longer.

“I love to listen to your heartbeat.” He rested his hand
upon her chest and ran his thumb in a lazy circle above her heart.

“I’m sure it sounds like it’s about to explode.” She drew in
one last restorative breath and let it go, feeling a peace she hadn’t felt in
years. “Can’t imagine how many calories I obliterated after that session. Will
I still lose weight even though you didn’t bi—”

“Speaking of calories,” Alec’s voice was unexpected. “I
think it’s time you start replenishing them.”

Her panicked heart must have burned a few hundred calories
more with Alec’s arrival.

Melanie followed the sound of his voice and found him
leaning against the doorframe. Had he been watching the whole time? The
possibility actually excited her and she wondered just how far off the charts
her moral compass was willing to go.

Alec looked at her like Rook had moments ago. That she was
already feeling her lust bloom again shocked her and made her tummy flip-flop
in an uncomfortable way. She scrambled for the sheet and quickly covered up.

Guilt, embarrassment—she felt both, just not as strongly as
she thought she should. She’d just had sex with two men in the last twenty-four
hours. One still lounged happily in the bed next to her while the other looked
like he wanted to join them. A vanilla kind of girl when it came to sex,
Melanie was realizing how bland her life had been up until now. She wasn’t sure
if she could stay in this world but it was sure fun to visit.

Rook didn’t seem the least bit put out. He sat up on the
edge of the bed, pulled on some crumpled jeans from the floor and joined Alec.
“I smelled something that resembled bacon and eggs but all I see are pastries.”

Alec rolled his eyes at him as Rook swiped a danish from the
plate and nearly devoured it in one bite. “Give me a break,” Alec said. He
brushed crumbs from a green shirt that looked good against his olive-toned
skin. “I can’t even remember the last time I cooked. Next time you can try your
hand at it.”

He switched on a standing Tiffany-style lamp and walked
toward her with a smile. His stubborn five o’clock shadow had gained a few
hours of growth. It accentuated the cut angles of his face.

Managing eye contact wasn’t easy even though his gaze held
no hint of resentment. Her lips quivered and she didn’t know what to do with
them.

Alec solved her dilemma.

“I haven’t had a chance to say good morning yet.” He leaned
down and gave her a long kiss.

She could taste a hint of whatever sweet he’d indulged in
and when he pulled away she licked her lips. “Good morning,” she whispered.
Along with the tasty flavor, his kiss left her feeling like she could float
right off the bed.

He settled himself next to her and held out the plate of
fat-laden no-nos. “Have one. I had these delivered from a local bakery this
morning.”

“Isn’t that counterproductive? I’m already losing weight.
Why would I want to put it right back on?”

“Eat.” He waved temptation under her nose. “I promise your
metabolism is supercharged right now.”

A gorgeous man was insisting she eat a mega-calorie yummy
treat.
This gets better and better
. Melanie gave in and tried to decide
which one to take. “What kind are they?”

Rook collapsed onto the mattress, shaking the bed. He
reached over and yanked another danish from the plate. “Does it matter?”

“Don’t eat too fast, Rook. It’s been awhile.” Alec picked
one from the plate and handed it to her. “Here. It’s almond, my new favorite.”

Melanie took a bite. Sweet and creamy, the flaky pastry
tasted sinful. She devoured hers in record time.

“Want another one?” Alec asked with the tiniest bit of a
smirk.

Oh boy did she ever. “Nope. I’m good.” She glanced at a door
on the opposite side of the room. She had other pressing matters to attend to.
Vampires didn’t seem to sweat or have other bodily functions as far as she
could tell. She wasn’t so lucky.

“Is that the bathroom? I’d like to clean up if I could.”

“Sounds good to me.” Rook shot off the bed and was in the
bathroom before she could stop him.

Melanie huffed and yelled after him. “Hey, I called it
first.” She looked to Alec for help when she heard running water. If she
thought he’d be an ally, she was wrong.

Alec stood, placed the plate on a side table loaded up with
books and removed his shirt, nice and slow. Not as bulky as Rook but equally
tall, he was perfectly chiseled and had the right amount of chest hair to tempt
her to run her fingers through it.

“There’s plenty of room in my shower for the three of us,
Melanie.” He unbuttoned his khaki pants and dropped them to the floor. Naked
and semi-aroused, Alec’s heated stare held hers, making it clear not only did
he want her to join them, he expected it.

She was practically panting by the time he turned and walked
into the bathroom.

This was a whole new view of Alec and she looked her fill.
His
butt. My God his butt is perfect. Just like the rest of him.
Melanie
flushed with hot excitement and it only got worse as she imagined dipping her
tongue into the two dimples crowning his ass.

Rook yelled from the bathroom and it sounded like he was
already enjoying what was supposed to be her morning shower. “Come on, Melanie.
Two guys taking a shower together just isn’t fun if there isn’t a pretty woman
in the middle.”

“Not if you’re gay,” she yelled back, hesitating and then
scooting off the bed. She winced slightly, her body still recovering from Rook
as she secured the sheet around her.

“I think we’ve made our sexual preferences clear,” Alec
countered. “At least I have. I don’t know about Rook. What do you think? Should
I be careful about dropping the soap in here?”

Melanie giggled. Men who could make her laugh—that was up
there with guys who could make her hot and needy with just one look. Rook and
Alec excelled at both.

On her tiptoes, she headed toward the bathroom. Thinking
about all those lucky drops of water washing down their bodies, she had to at
least take a peek. Actually strolling in there and taking a shower with
both
of them—that was the kind of sexual leap she wasn’t sure she was ready to take.
Ever.

Alec’s muscles had as little give as the glass tiles that
surrounded him. He turned on the second showerhead and stepped in beside Rook,
who already had his face planted under a stream of water. He ached. That was
new—usually his body performed at one hundred percent. Alec craned his neck and
let the jets pummel his body.

The virus in Melanie’s blood had already started to go to
work, preparing his body for the change back to human—but it would be the
second dose of her blood taken within forty-eight hours to make the change
permanent. That wasn’t a lot of time to convince her that she belonged with
them. If they didn’t complete the transition soon, the unique strain of the
virus she carried would cease to work for them and they would remain vampires.

Sure, maybe they’d come across another match in a decade or
two and begin the process all over again but she wouldn’t be Melanie. Alec dug
his fingers into the top of his shoulder and rubbed. Walking away wasn’t an
option. Neither of them was prepared to lose her now that they’d found her.

The wooden floors creaked in his bedroom. Excited heat shot
through him, tightening those muscles the warm water had loosened. Alec wiped
the water from his face and the heavy thoughts from his mind.

“Did you hear that?” Rook looked over his shoulder, his hair
thick with shampoo.

He raised his eyebrows in silent acknowledgment. His body
hummed with vibrant anticipation. It took all the control he had to turn around
slowly.

His open shower took up the far wall of the bathroom. Alec
caught a glimpse of Melanie as she peered around the doorjamb. She was hanging
onto the sheet like her life depended on it. Her gaze quickly flitted away but
not before he’d caught her lusty look.

“See anything you like?” He angled himself in such a way
that she got a clear view of the undeniable effect she had on him. Tonight he’d
reveal his heart and convince her that what they had was so much more than a
business arrangement.

“Was that question aimed at me?” Rook spun around, looked
him up and down. “Because now that you ask I’ve always admired your eyes.”

“I think he was talking to me.” Melanie stepped into the
bathroom, her shoulders hunched up to her neck. She made a show of looking
around at everything except them. “I was just checking to see if my clothes
were in here. Where did you put them last night?”

Her hair was tousled, what little makeup she’d had on worn
off and Alec could stare at her for hours. He had most of last night while Rook
spooned her from the other side of the bed.

“I’m not sure I remember,” Alec teased. “Maybe if you join
us it’ll jog my memory.”

Melanie’s eyes lit up and she stomped forward. Her step
stuttered then abruptly stopped.

Smart girl.
If she got any closer he’d have dragged
her into the shower, sheet and all.

“That’s bribery.”

“I call it negotiating.”

How could he take her indignant tone seriously with those
dimples of hers threatening to break through? Melanie wanted her soapy flesh
slipping between theirs as much as they did. Alec didn’t doubt that. She just
hadn’t worked up enough nerve to listen to what her body begged her to do.

“Take off the sheet and bring that sweet body of yours over
here. I promise Rook will behave himself.”

“Screw that.” Rook rinsed the last of the shampoo from his
hair. “Why do I have to behave myself?”

Melanie arched her brow. “Maybe Rook’s not the one I’m
worried about.”

“For you to say that shows how little we know each other,”
Rook practically purred. “Come in here so we can rectify that.”

Alec grabbed a bar of soap, rubbed it between his hands and
breathed in its oatmeal-almond scent. “Mmm, this reminds me of that pastry I
enjoyed watching you eat. Do you have any idea how transfixing your lovely lips
can be? All I could imagine was that perfect, lush mouth feasting on me.”

He rubbed the suds across his chest, getting off on the way
her eyes followed the path of his hands. “If I smell as good as that danish, do
you think that will tempt you to get in this shower? I’ll let you nibble on me
whereever you want.”

She settled in her stance, digging in. Her tone was less
confident. “I—” She nervously licked her lips. “I just want my clothes, okay?”

“Have I ever mentioned stubborn women turn me on?”

Melanie’s stare traveled over Alec’s body and stalled below
his waist. She cleared her throat. “So I see.”

It took all his restraint not to run his hand down his
waist, cup his balls and give her a show. Relieve the ache that began as he’d
listened to Rook and Melanie having sex earlier. He and Rook would always want
time alone with her but this morning all he’d wanted to do was join them in
bed.

“Obviously she doesn’t think she can control herself around
us, Alec,” Rook goaded her further.

“Can’t control myself?” Melanie raised her voice. “I once
sat next to Ryan Gosling on a plane for three hours and only accidently touched
him three, four, maybe five times tops. That’s control.”

He didn’t know who the hell Ryan Gosling was but the guy was
an idiot if he hadn’t had trouble keeping his hands off her too. Get him on a
plane with Melanie and forget the mile-high club. She’d have her first orgasm
before takeoff.

“That guy from
The Notebook
?” Rook chuckled. “Total
lightweight. I’ve been giving women orgasms longer than he’s been alive.”

Melanie flung the sheet away from her body and barreled
between them. “Fine, I’ll give you two a good lathering and then we’ll see who
can’t control themselves.” She yanked the soap from Alec’s hand, stuck her
tongue out and furiously ran the soap over Rook’s abs like they were an
old-fashioned washboard. “Are you going to behave as was promised?”

Rook sent him a hard look that softened as soon as he turned
his attention back to Melanie. “I didn’t make that promise.”

She stopped cleaning Rook within an inch of his life. “But
you’ll keep it, won’t you?” Melanie’s boldness began to break down, her
vulnerability exposed in the pitch of her voice.

Alec wanted to wrap his arms around her and pledge any vow
she needed.

She glimpsed back over her shoulder at him and he tore his
gaze up from her beautiful hourglass figure. “You need to behave too. Girls
like me, we don’t do this. I don’t know how this works.”

Alec flexed his fingers. She knew exactly how this worked
and that’s why his sweet Melanie, traditional when it came to sex, was
hesitant. Behaving around her took all his strength. His mind ran rampant with
all the experiences of the flesh he and Rook could introduce her to, a
threesome being just the start.

Easing forward, Alec nestled his body behind hers. Crowding
her between them would only increase her anxiety but he couldn’t help himself.
She needed to learn not to resist the passion that bound her to each of them.

“We’ll let you set the pace and only take this somewhere you’re
comfortable with.” Rook raised Melanie’s chin to look her in the eyes. “If that
means just taking a shower we’re fine with that. No pressure.”

He clenched his jaw so tight he didn’t know if it would ever
unhinge again. All he felt was pressure building to claim her as their one and
only. Alec wrapped his arms around her waist, his moist skin sticking to hers.

“You’re in charge, Melanie.” Alec left a whisper of a kiss
on that soft spot behind her ear. “From this point on you have all the power.”

She’d always had it. The power to end their future before it
even began, just as she had the ability to breathe new life into their
frozen-in-time bodies.

“I guess since I’m the client here that old adage, ‘the
customer is always right’, applies,” Melanie said, with a jittery laugh.

“Forget the contract.” Alec’s words came out harsher than he
meant them to. The only business either one of them had in mind when it came to
Melanie was the business of making her fall in love with them.

“Tell us what you want.” Alec softened his tone. “It’s not
in our vocabulary to ever say no to you.”

For him it was the simplest of decisions. He wanted Melanie
for whatever years as a man he was blessed to have.

“I don’t know,” she said on an exhale, her shoulders
relaxing a bit.

“Yes you do.” Rook stroked the side of her face. “That
telling blush of yours gives everything away. You’re just too shy to ask. You
don’t ever have to be timid with us.”

Rook grabbed a bottle of shampoo from the shelf, popped open
the cap and squeezed a dollop into the palm of his hand. “If you’re relaxed,
it’ll be easier to tell us what you want, easier to share your body. Let us
show you how good we can be together.”

“Lean back.” Alec slid his hands along her waist—stealing
every chance he had to feel her supple skin—and guided Melanie under the water.

She dipped her head and Alec smoothed his hands through her
hair, making sure every luxurious strand got wet. Then Rook worked the
fresh-scented shampoo in with all the care of a masseur.

The moans she tried to keep under control soon broke free.

“I think it’s safe to say that you like this.” Rook
continued to work over her scalp as Melanie swayed under his touch. “Alec, why
don’t we see what else she likes?”

With pleasure
. Alec reached around and pulled the bar
of soap from her. Quickly he built up lather and returned the soap to the
shelf. “How about you let me give you a massage?” He ran his hands across her
shoulders then down her arms. “I’ll maintain strict professional standards.”

How long he could manage that he didn’t know. Every second
he touched her his body coiled tighter, ready to pounce.

“How can I say no?” she sighed. “This feels wonderful. Don’t
be surprised when I melt into a puddle on the shower floor.”

He memorized her body from head to toe, avoiding the most
tempting swells. For his self-control he was rewarded with the discovery of
secret spots that made her quiver, like the backs of her knees. Alec traveled
up her thighs, going further then he knew he should—but damn, she made him
weak. He couldn’t hold himself back.

Alec went for that part of her body that had been teasing
his cock with every slight touch. Her ass. He began at the top of her
beautifully flared hips and reached down and around until he squeezed her ample
cheeks.

His mouth moved before his brain as his fingers dug into her
flesh. “I told you last night how much I like your ass. It’s a masterpiece,
Melanie. So full and round, shaped for pleasure.” He pressed his erection
against her. “Has it ever been fucked?”

Instantly she clenched her muscles but the ragged sigh she
let loose kept him pushing further. He slipped his hand lower and sought her
warm, soft center.

“You professional standards are questionable, by the way.”
Rook glared at him.

Alec’s fingers slipped along her folds.

Melanie hissed and spun around. She faced Alec and wiped
droplets of water from her face. “I don’t know what I was thinking, getting
into this shower.” She couldn’t even look him in the eyes. “I can’t—I don’t
think I can do what you want.”

Those few bites of food he’d sampled this morning lurched in
his stomach. “I’m an ass. I pushed too fast too soon.” Alec took her hand in
his. “You’re not ready for—”

“It’s not that. It’s just, I’m—” Melanie’s face flushed with
shy embarrassment. “I’m sore. A girl can only take so much. I need time, that’s
all.”

In her eyes, the lashes wet with drops of water, he saw
trust—and he didn’t want to give her a reason to believe it wasn’t right to
bestow it upon them. “You have it. All the time you need.”

Rook hugged her from behind. “I hurt you earlier, didn’t I?
Fuck, if you’d told me I’d have stopped.”

By most standards, Alec considered himself well-endowed.
Melanie’s admiring looks had proven that. But Rook had the kind of kickstand
that could prove challenging for a woman. It wasn’t something his friend
boasted about. Moments like this were why.

As if remembering a fond dream, she closed her eyes and
relaxed against Rook. Water poured over her body, washing away the soapy trails
they’d left. The rapid rise and fall of her perfect breasts gave away her
excitement. “You’re not easy—but trust me, any discomfort I felt I thoroughly
enjoyed.”

Melanie’s eyes flickered open. The heat in her stare had
Alec worried he might melt to the shower floor too. She licked her lips. “Of
course, I’m sure we can find some way to pass the time. Not all of me is sore.”
She stepped away from a panting Rook and turned off both streams of water.

She stood before them naked, brazen, not trying to hide any
part of her body. Why she wanted to change anything about her feminine form he
didn’t know.

“You said I could call the shots.” She challenged them with
a hard look. “So both of you stand back against the tile and close your eyes.”

His erection twitched with excitement. Not that he liked
being told what to do but a little confidence suited her. If she wanted to play
the mistress for a while he was man enough to let her. Of course that only
meant later she’d better let him be her master.

In unison they stepped back against the cool, damp tile.
Alec closed his eyes. Seconds passed like minutes and he listened to the soft
fall of feet against the floor, the smooth whip of a towel dragged from its
metal rack.

Rook joked, obviously hearing the same thing as him. “Oh so
it’s okay for you to get warm with a towel while you leave us over here to
shiver alone, wet and cold. Come back and keep us warm.”

Something soft rested on his toes and Alec didn’t think
getting warm would be a problem much longer when her hand cupped his balls. He
let out a body-shaking groan and opened his eyes.

Melanie knelt on a folded towel, perfectly poised between
their ready cocks. It felt like his heart was being squeezed tight. How could
one woman appear so wanton and chaste at the same time? The combination of her
innocent eyes and seductive smile would be his undoing.