Taking Turns (Turning #1)(48)

Yeah. It might be that.

So I say, “Yes.” Because Quin is right. Bric is right. “I’m a dirty f*cking whore.”

“Just like us,” Bric says. “We’re all dirty here.”

“Be dirty with us, Chella,” Quin says. “I’m gonna be dirty with you no matter what. I’m counting the f*cking minutes until Sunday night. But it gets so much better when you give in completely.”

I take a deep, deep breath and then let it out in a long, controlled exhale. “I need to think about it. It’s a big decision for me. It’s one thing,” I say, gathering my courage. “It’s one thing to date three guys at the same time.”

“You do that often?” Smith laughs. “Jesus Christ, Chella. I really do love you now.”

“No,” I say. “Not anymore. But it’s another thing altogether to let you…”

“Fuck all your holes at the same time?” Smith finishes.

“For f*ck’s sake, Smith,” Bric says, pounding a fist on the table. “Would you shut up and let her finish.”

“Sorry.” He laughs. “I’m sorry.”

But he doesn’t look sorry.

“I need to think about it,” I say, looking at Bric. He’s the sensible one, I can tell. The boss of this place. He’s running the show. Keeping Quin’s big personality in check. Keeping Smith’s deviant side under wraps. “I just want to go to the party and forget about it for a while. I don’t even want dinner. I just want to have fun and come home, and then sleep on it. Can I do that? Please? With no more comments?”

They all look at each other, silent for once.

And then Smith says, “It’s just a peek, Chella. If you stay. It’s just a peek into the forbidden. You can leave any time you want. It can last one night, or one week, or one month, or… forever.”

He says the word forever softly. Almost hesitantly. It makes me look at him differently for a moment. Like he’s a person and not an *.

“It’s carnal, and sensual, and erotic, Chella,” he continues in that same voice. “That’s all it is. A small trip into the dark.”

“A peek,” I say, remembering our toast.

“Just a peek,” Quin echoes. “You don’t even have to like us. You can just do it once and leave. Or you can keep the plural relationship going for a while, try it out. Get to know us better. We’re not bad guys. We just like to have some really sick sex.”

I smile at his words. Smith was right the other night when he said I’d fall for Quin first. I like him already. So what does it mean for the other two? I can see why Rochelle fell in love with Quin. He’s sweet. He’s not overpowering like Bric. But he’s still in control. And he’s not demeaning like Smith, even though he says some of the same things. It’s different coming from Quin. It’s fun, not dark.

“Come on,” Bric says, pushing back in his chair so it makes a scraping sound on the floor. “Let’s go to the party. Have some fun tonight. You can think about it later.”

Smith and Quin both stand as I do. All our chairs scraping across the floor together.

I let Bric lead me downstairs and wait as he gets our coats. He helps me put mine on and then takes my hand and leads me out to the car. When I get in, he slips in next to me, leaning forward to tell the driver the address of the party before making the blacked-out partition go up to give us privacy.

He scoots close to me, puts his arm around me. His kiss is soft and slow. And my tongue responds. When he pulls back I look him in the eyes. We smile together.

“Did you ever just want love, Chella?”

“Huh?” I ask.

“Did you ever just want a guy to love you for you, Chella? And not your body? Did you ever want him to just hold you, and kiss you, give you all the attention you crave, with zero expectations?”

I let out a small laugh. “Those guys don’t exist.”

“I’m that guy,” he says. “As Number Three, I’m that guy.” His hand finds its way under my dress and he softly caresses my leg. His other hand is on my breast, squeezing lightly. “I will kiss you, and touch you, and talk to you. And at the end of the night I have no expectations for sex. Didn’t you ever want a guy to give you all those things and not want something in return?”

God. That’s the dream right there. Unconditional love.

“If you stay and say no to the ménage, that’s what you’ll have with me. I will shower you with gifts, and affection, and attention. I will buy you anything you want. I will take you places and give you new friends. A new life. I’ll make your dream come true, Chella. Whatever that dream might be. And I’ll still be able to lick your *,” he says, kissing my mouth again. “And you can still suck my cock if you want. You don’t have to go to bed filled with longing. There are so many ways to make our time fun without f*cking.”

“But I can’t ever have more, can I?”

“You can with Quin,” he says. “He can give you what I can’t. And more. He can be your boyfriend, if you want. Two days out of the week you can have the closest thing to perfect. He’s got no real rules other than to know you. Intimately. And Smith, just forget about him. Almost everyone does. He doesn’t have to be a part of this if you don’t want. Just cut him out. Tell me no and it’s done. He’ll never be anything more than somebody in the shadows. You can have everything you need in a relationship, Chella. And you can have it right now, for as long as you want.”