Happenstance(19)

“Great,” Banks says dryly, before returning his attention to me. “As I was saying, we went out for a beer and…” He pauses to adjust the collar of his dress shirt, which I already know smells incredible. Smoky and sweet. “I think it’s safe to say we were all dumbstruck by what happened on the tram. I don’t know how else to describe it. But none of us has experience with—”

“Objection.” This from Tobias. Obviously. “I’ve been in a foursome.”

“Not without getting paid, I’m guessing?” Banks says.

Tobias gives a very sage nod. “You are correct about that. Maybe it’s you lot that owes me money.”

“I am leaving in thirty seconds,” I inform them with a bright smile.

This pronouncement makes Gabe very unhappy. He shifts right to left in his boots and seemingly forces himself into speaking. “After what happened with my brother and ex, I haven’t dated anyone. Didn’t have any interest. It’s definitely a shock to me that the first time I do have some interest—a lot of interest, Elise—I’m sharing her with two other dudes. It doesn’t really make any sense after what I’ve been dealing with personally.” He swallows, visibly confused by the next thing he says. “But it didn’t exactly feel…wrong, either.”

It's a challenge to keep my expression neutral when the memories of last night are crowding in from all sides, making me ache in places I shouldn’t be aching while on the clock. But I can feel Gabe’s calloused hands taking ownership of my breasts, his slow tug of my nipples through my shirt and bra. I remember Banks’s breath on my mouth, panting, hungry. And Tobias…I truly hate him for making me obsess over what he’d been planning to do before the lights came back on and the spell was broken.

I’ll tend to the pussy, of course.

The word “tend” makes me think of farming.

Like driving a tractor. Or plowing.

Had he planned to plow me? Am I overthinking this?

“When I said we had a drink, I lied. Slightly.” Banks glances briefly at the men beside him. “It was more like three. By the time we got to the third one, we admitted that, uh…”

“We loved the idea of you getting the maximum amount of pleasure,” Tobias finishes, heat replacing the amusement in his blue eyes. “Maybe it’s the fact that we all met you at the same time, but the sharing felt good, because it benefited you. Don’t get me wrong, there is some definite jealousy among the ranks. If two of us turned our backs, the third would rob you like an art thief with a chance at stealing the Mona Lisa.”

“I prefer to be compared to the Birth of Venus, but okay.” It’s getting very difficult to pretend that my knees aren’t shaking. “Point taken.”

That dimple makes a brief appearance on Tobias’s cheek. “I think I speak for all of us when I say, we want you individually, all to ourselves, but this situation…”

“It calls for something more evolved,” Banks finishes. “You do. You will get more satisfaction out of the three of us. None of us can find fault with offering you more. In fact, it seems like a crime to do otherwise.”

“We’d like another chance to worship you. Do you happen to have an opening in your schedule?” Tobias’s gaze runs down the front of my apron and snags on my thighs. “Today would be great. Within the next hour would be preferable. Happy to host at my place.”

There is an intense flutter between my legs that I’ve never really experienced before. It’s like a second heartbeat. It’s instinct. My body is quite aware that they would give me something that it would never forget, but my brain is very adamant that pursuing this…arrangement is a bad idea. This, these men, is something I wouldn’t be allowed to do halfway. My intuition is telling me they would require all of me. Every little bit.

I don’t even know what all of me looks like.

I haven’t given my all to anything in a really long time.

“Just a brief rundown. You’ve come here to ask for a foursome.” I look each of them in the eye. “In broad daylight. Stone cold sober.”

They trade glances and nod.

“Why me? Is it just because I’m…I seemed willing—”

“Why you?” Gabe growls, his brows pinching together. “Why you?”

Tobias nudges Banks with his elbow. “She’s asking, why her.”

There’s a tic in Banks’s right eye. “First of all, you are fucking beautiful, Elise, just in case you haven’t been told so a thousand times in your life. Second…” He stops to shake his head, his wingtips carrying him a step in my direction, making me very aware that I’m against the door. “The second reason is not very easy to put into words. Except to say, as soon as you stepped onto the tram, you had all of us by the throat. And overnight that hold only got stronger.”

“It’s like it was supposed to happen,” Gabe adds, almost to himself. “The four of us being on the same car. The electrical shortage.” His eyes lift to mine, then travel down over the curve of my neck, his chest beginning to rise and fall at a quickened pace. “All of it.”

“We realize that sounds quite insane,” Tobias says, serious for once. “I half expected them not to show up today. I thought perhaps my imagination was making everything that happened sharper. Stronger. But now that you’re standing back in front of me, I know I was wrong. I didn’t imagine any of it. We didn’t.”