Three for Dinner Read online

  Sean and Erik laughed.

  “Thanks for sharing, babe,” Erik remarked.

  Tesa felt her cheeks burn and lowered her gaze. Well, if she couldn’t be honest with the men—

  Three for Dinner

  Chapter 14

  Tesa skimmed her palm across Sean’s back, relishing the taut muscles beneath the smooth skin. She felt sated, they had just had sex, yet she was still wide awake. Erik slept at her other side and Sean lay on his belly, his chin resting on one arm, his eyes closed. Tesa leaned down and kissed Sean’s side, trailing her tongue along his ribs. He shivered and rolled to face her. She snuggled against his chest, drawing his scent into her lungs. She closed her eyes, grateful for the twins being in her life.

  Their talk had ended once Erik decide to explore her breasts and began tugging at the front of her robe. All pretense of trying to make him stop failed and soon he was carrying her off to bed with Sean following close behind. She sighed as she recalled the heated bout of lovemaking that ensued. A tangle of legs and arm caressed and massaged until senses were tender to the touch. Sean took her from behind while Erik entered her sheath.

  Tesa listened to the steady breathing at her back. Erik was sound asleep, one arm thrown across her waist as though possessing her. She felt contentment well up inside her. She had always wanted to belong to someone. A smile pulled her lips upward. In her wildest dreams, she had never envisioned having two men in love with her at the same time. Or that I could love two men at the same time.

  She raised her head and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was well after midnight. Tomorrow would arrive long before she wanted it to. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come, forcing the conversation they had earlier to the back of her mind.

  “Sweetheart, have you decided yet?”

  Tesa glanced at Erik. He looked gorgeous standing at the stove in the kitchen, his chest bare. “I’d watch out for hot grease, if I were you,” she remarked with a giggle. It tickled her that both twins insisted on cooking breakfast with only a towel draped around their waists.

  “My cock is protected. My nipples can take care of themselves.”

  Tesa laughed. “Well, just don’t expect me to cook for you without clothing.”

  “Oh, we wouldn’t want your gorgeous nipples to get grease splattered, darling.”

  “Or your blonde bush to catch on fire.”

  “Shut up, both of you.”

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. We have the day all planned out, Tesa,” Erik informed her, a glance over his bare shoulder in her direction.

  “Another surprise?”

  “You’ll like it, I promise,” Sean assured her. “You won’t be sorry you gave up your one day off to go with us.”

  All amount of questioning and begging couldn’t pry an answer from the men. Finally, Tesa gave up and ate her breakfast. As they drove to the restaurant, she noticed both men kept observing the architecture of the city, but neither said anything that gave her a clue about their secretive plan for Sunday.

  The hectic pace at the restaurant allowed little time for conversation let alone a brief break. Tesa was pleased with the amount of business and mentally calculated the gross receipts. At last, her dream of having a successful restaurant in New York City seemed to be coming true. When Janet rushed into the kitchen and related that there was a long line at the front door, she nearly shouted her delight. She made a special note to thank the twins. Surely, it was their dedication to their trade that kept the diners coming back.

  It had only been a week since the blackout and Erik and Sean had come to work for her. In the back of her mind she had been meaning to talk to them about wages and benefits, but every time she started to bring up the subject, one of them started removing her clothing. Before long, they were in bed and having sex and all thoughts of work were banished from her mind.

  “I’ll talk to them tonight,” she mumbled beneath her breath. She added more flour to the cookie mix and started the mixer running. She thought then of their inheritance in California. She didn’t want to stand in their way of receiving what was rightfully theirs. She bit her lip. I don’t want them to go—but I don’t want to deprive them either.

  It was a catch twenty-two, a situation that had fallout either way. If she said she wanted to stay in New York, she risked the chance of the twins leaving their inherited business to the CEO of the company to run. And neither Sean nor Erik sounded very confident with that aspect.

  If she said they should go and take care of their inheritance in their own way, she risked losing them forever. California was a long way off and asking them to commute to New York to cook in her restaurant would be asking too much. Her temples began to throb. Damn! Why does life have to be so complicated?

  Three for Dinner

  Chapter 15

  “I can’t decide,” Tesa admitted. Her brow furrowed. “I shouldn’t be the one to make the decision.” She looked from Sean to Erik. “It’s your inheritance. You choose.” She turned and walked out of the room.

  “We leave in ten minutes,” Erik announced, poking his head into the bathroom. He clasped Tesa’s buttock.

  Tesa giggled and smeared mascara across her cheek. “Look what you made me do,” she screeched.

  “You don’t need makeup, darling. You’re beautiful just the way you are.”

  “Thanks, but I seem to think Mother Nature forgot to give me a few things.”

  “She wasn’t lax in the butt department,” Erik remarked, grabbing her ass cheek. “I like what she did with the bush, too.” He kissed her nape and clasped her left breast.

  “Stop. I can’t concentrate.”

  “We might have to take a time out before we get in the car,” Erik said. “Touching you is making me hard.”

  Tesa turned and shooed him out of the bathroom, then resumed applying her makeup. As she applied the final bit of blush to her cheeks, she caught the look of complacency on her face. I look content. She nodded and smiled.

  Tesa allowed Erik to usher her into the passenger seat of the car. “Won’t you at least tell me where we are headed?”

  “And ruin the surprise?”

  “Never mind.” She relaxed in the seat and turned her gaze out the side window. It wasn’t often she got to look at the sights of the city. As Erik turned the car out of the parking lot of the apartment complex, she took in the rows of tall buildings and the mass of traffic. Every street corner seemed to be crowded with people waiting to cross the street and without warning, a cab just stopped in the middle of the street to pick up a fare.

  “Damn! How do you adjust to all this mayhem?” Erik remarked, stomping on the brake. The car rocked with the sudden halt.

  Tesa laughed. “It’s just part of life in New York, honey.”

  Erik turned on the expressway and headed south. Tesa’s curiosity piqued. She started to question again, but then changed her mind. They were determined to surprise her and she loved them enough to respect their wishes. She looked out the side window and thought about how much she loved them.

  Since they showed up at the restaurant, she had been happy for the first time in years. She hadn’t realized it until just the last day or two. As she stood at her pastry station and listened to them call out instructions to the kitchen crew, she understood what it meant to truly love someone.

  I’m in love with two men. It didn’t seem so impossible at that moment. A smile played across her lips. Making love with them had begun to feel as normal as brushing her teeth, or putting on clothes. Her smile broadened. They didn’t allow her to wear too many clothes at home.

  The view out the window caught her attention. They had left the city and were in the suburbs. Large homes with manicured lawns graced wide streets. She turned inquiring eyes on Erik. “Where are we?”

  “We’re almost at our new home,” he replied, winking.

  While Tesa tried to digest his words, he pulled into a wide driveway and shut off the motor. She turned her head, taking in the tall brick house
and winding sidewalk leading up to the double door entryway.

  “Let’s go see the inside,” Sean insisted, opening the car door.

  Tesa followed the twins across the driveway and up the sidewalk. When Erik took a key from beneath a concrete flowerpot on the small porch, her jaw dropped open.

  Sean took Tesa’s elbow and urged her through the door of the house. A wide foyer opened up revealing a curving staircase leading to the upper floor. As Tesa looked around, she saw a large living room stemming off the foyer and an elaborate den with floor to ceiling bookcases.

  “What do you think?” Erik asked, hugging Tesa’s shoulders. “Would you like to live here?”

  “Is grass green?” she countered with a giggle. “It’s beautiful.” Her brows rose. “Is it yours?” She looked from one twin to the other.

  “It’s part of the estate. Yes. It’s ours. We can either live here, or sell it. What would you like to do?”

  Tesa felt a swell of emotion grip her insides. “My darlings,” she began, her voice breaking. She had to take a moment to compose herself. “I can’t possibly tell you what to do with your inheritance.”

  “Honey, there’s plenty to go around,” Sean explained. “Uncle John had houses in several states. When he traveled to check on stores and meet with managers, he stayed in the homes.” He spread his hands, encompassing the wide foyer they stood in. “This is where he stayed when he checked on the store downtown. The fact that he chose to live in California was only because that was where he established the headquarters of his business.”

  “And he liked to swim and surf. I understand he was good at water skiing,” Erik tacked on. He took Tesa’s hand. “Let’s look around. I think there’s a pool out back.” He led the way through the foyer to the rear of the mansion.

  Tesa was entranced with the opulence. Crystal chandeliers hung in the tall ceiling of the foyer, over a massive dining room suite, and in a small eating area in the large kitchen. Marble countertops and stainless steel appliances added splendor to redwood cabinets. “It’s truly a chef’s kitchen,” she murmured, running her hand across the marble countertop.

  A set of wide glass doors let light in at the rear of the room, opening onto a large patio with a cluster of outdoor tables and chairs. Beyond the seating area, an Olympic sized pool stretched to lush green lawn.

  “I think we should move in right now,” Erik said, chuckling. “We could start enjoying the pool right away.”

  “And the kitchen,” Sean added.

  “The house is entirely furnished?” Tesa asked. She marveled at the surroundings, envisioning the upstairs and what the bedrooms might look like. She bit her lip. “I love it.”

  “Then it’s settled,” Erik announced, hugging her. “We’re moving!”

  Three for Dinner

  Chapter 16

  Tesa scratched her head. It worried her that Erik and Sean looked to her to make the decision to move into their newly acquired home. What if they really wanted to liquidate their Uncle John’s holdings? What if they wanted to open their own restaurant? Just the proceeds from the sale of the mansion alone would finance a sizable business.

  “I think we should talk,” she began. She removed the cork from the wine bottle and took three glasses from the cabinet. As she poured the wine, she felt the men’s gaze on her. “I think you both should take some time and investigate your Uncle John’s holdings. You should find out what assets he has before you start deciding what to do with any of them.”

  “Are you saying you don’t want to move into the mansion?” Erik asked his brows furrowed.

  Tesa pulled in a deep breath. Living in that elegant home would be the highlight of her life, but being on the fence about their inheritance would forever be a cloud hanging over her head. “I’m afraid you might be acting too hastily and regret things after a while.”

  “Honey,” Sean said, pulling Tesa against his side. “We’ve known about Uncle John’s estate all our lives. He tried to groom us to take over when he passed on, but we both wanted to cook. Being chefs has always been our dream and nothing our uncle did changed things. Finally, he gave up, but he made us aware of his decision regarding his death and his holdings.”

  Tesa’s brows rose. Suddenly, she saw things in a whole different light. It wasn’t like Uncle John had died suddenly and his nephews were surprised by his gift to them. The plan had been in the works all their lives. She raised the glass of wine to her lips and took a sip, thinking. It would be wonderful to live in the mansion, to be with Erik and Sean, to love them and share her life with them.

  “If marriage between three people was legal, Tesa, we would propose to you, sweetheart,” Erik said.

  “We want to spend the rest of our lives with you, darling,” Sean added.

  Tesa looked at each twin, then smiled. Her heart swelled with love for them. “I think I finally understand how it is possible to love you both and how you both can love me and share me, sexually.”

  “Honey, it isn’t just the sex.” Erik clasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “The fact that we can share things, doesn’t only relate to sex, Tesa. Sean and I have always been inseparable.” He chuckled. “We’ve often been accused of having one brain between us.”

  Tesa laughed and slid her hand along his thigh. His heat shot up her arm, straight to her heart. As though sensing her reaction, Erik leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  “You share our love of cooking. Should I mention that you seem to like sex as much as we do?” Sean remarked, sliding one hand across Tesa’s shoulder and stroking the crest of her breast.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Tesa confided, catching his hand. She fought the rising urge to undress and enter into sex play with the pair. “I need to be certain that your decision about your inheritance is not dictated by what I would like or dislike.” She raised her hands and stroked each man’s cheek. “I love you both and spending the rest of my life with you would be heavenly.”

  Both men closed their arms around Tesa.

  Tesa felt loved and tears sprang to her eyes. “Alright, let’s move into the house and live happily ever after.”

  “Finally,” Erik exclaimed.

  “We have the woman we love,” Sean tacked on.

  “And I have the men I love,” Tesa added, laughing. A well of contentment surged through her insides. She closed her eyes with the belief that they would be together forever. Our love is not complicated by the fact that there are three of us—it’s just intensified. She drew in a quick breath as two pair of warm hands began stroking her body.

  About the Author

  I began writing freelance almost twenty years ago and eventually my short stories became longer. The characters seemed to take over and draw their stories out. I first submitted a novella length story to Extasy Books in 2003 and it was accepted. That was Captive Heart, the historical romance now on the site. I have twenty-four titles with Extasy Books. New ideas come to mind every day and some of them find their way on to the computer screen. When I’m not writing, I enjoy traveling with my husband Dave.

  Fawn can be reached at this email:

  [email protected]

  Fawn’s website is located at:

  http://www.fawnlowery.webs.com