A Risk Worth Taking Read online

  A Risk Worth Taking

  Zoë Mullins

  For the last year, Fiona and Matt have been inseparable. He is the calm to her storm and she is head-over-heels in love with him. The only downside? Rumors that Matt and his best friend, Travis, used to share everything, including their dates. This wasn’t an issue when Travis lived two thousand miles away, but now Travis is back in town.

  Travis knows coming home and seeing Matt in a new relationship won’t be easy. Fiona is witty and sassy, and good god but she has the most amazing body. Seriously, how is Travis supposed to resist when Matt keeps suggesting having both of them in his bed? He isn’t thinking straight when he finally agrees—of course he wants to share Fiona with Matt. Travis expects her to say hell no, but then he sees the spark of interest in her eye.

  Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

  An adult contemporary romance from Ellora’s Cave

  A Risk Worth Taking

  Zoë Mullins

  Chapter One

  Fiona stirred on the lounger, still half asleep from the short nap she’d been able to steal in the sun this afternoon. She had heard the guys arrive home about a half hour ago, but it wasn’t until they had moved into the kitchen that she could caught the faintest whisper of their conversation. And what they discussed caused her heart to skip a beat.

  They were standing by the kitchen window, which opened onto the balcony. Matt’s excited voice carried a little more than Travis’. “I knew you couldn’t shake your head and ignore the offer forever.”

  “Not when you made the same damn offer every single day,” Travis drawled. His voice was deeper than Matt’s and he had a way of dragging out the syllables that bespoke of the last two years he’d spent living out west.

  “Persistence pays off.” Fiona heard what sounded like two beer bottles cracking together. They were toasting something.

  “The one thing I don’t know is what your Fi will think of all this.” Travis turned and looked out at her through the window. She could see him clearly through the curtain of her hair but he didn’t know that.

  “In all the times I offered, did she once protest?” Matt asked. “No. She squirmed on my lap and her pussy got wet.”

  “There’s a difference between fantasy and reality,” Travis reminded him. “When you tell her that I’m taking you up on your offer to fuck her, she may not be as welcoming as you expect.”

  Hell no, Fiona thought, even as a flush stole over her body. She’d put up with Matt’s jokes and tried hard to ignore them, mostly because they left her hot and flustered. Damn it. Matt was right. The idea made her wet. She sighed.

  At just over six foot, Travis was a little taller than Matt, and more gym-rat fit where Matt was runner-lean. Travis was naturally fairer skinned, though he tanned well from all the time he had spent outdoors. As if part of his outdoor persona, he had a light scruffy beard, just a little too long to be a five-o’clock shadow. His sandy-brown hair was shaved short whereas Matt left his dark curls long, shaggy.

  Fiona smiled as she thought of the hundred or more times a day Matt would run his hand back through his hair to get it out of his eyes. His dark eyes were always alight with laughter. She bit her lip. That was the most striking dissimilarity between the two men. Their eyes. Travis’ eyes were a startling cerulean blue. They didn’t laugh though, not often. They reviewed and evaluated, and kept a constant watch on every situation.

  She supposed that was part of his job. Two years ago, Travis had taken a transfer out west with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When they said you had to move, you moved, and there was very little room for negotiation. As much as Travis had always wanted to be a cop, Fiona knew it hadn’t occurred to him he’d have to leave the area. When an opening came up on the regional force, he’d applied, and it had brought him back home.

  It wasn’t as prestigious. They managed a large territory along the coast, but in matters of forensics and capital crime, they had to partner with the RCMP and they tended to look down on “the locals” as if they hadn’t quite made the cut. Despite the fact most of them were ex-RCMP.

  It hadn’t been an easy transition and Fiona was glad Matt had opened their home to him for the first few weeks of Travis’ return as he waited for his condo purchase to close. His unit was two floors below their own, and despite having moved in a month ago, she knew he had barely unpacked. He still spent most of his free time here, with them. Whether that was showing up for breakfast, or showing up to help her paint the living room, he had become a fixture in their lives, and she liked it.

  She had come to know that she’d need to put enough pasta on for three, or buy three steaks at the butcher shop instead of two. They did almost everything together, except when it was time to go to bed. She bit her lip to stifle a groan.

  Behind Matt’s laughing eyes, he could be a devious bastard. The first time Matt had made the offer was two weeks before Travis had moved into his own place. They had been up late watching movies and had had a couple of beers.

  Fiona had been curled up in Matt’s arms, his hands stroking her hair and shoulders. He was forever touching her. She had burrowed her head against the crook of his shoulder and had been lulled by the sound of his voice as it reverberated through his chest while he and Travis had talked. She hadn’t been asleep, but she hadn’t been awake either.

  “She is as lovely as you said she was,” Travis had told him.

  “I told you she was.” Matt’s hand had drifted down the curve of her neck, sliding along the V-neck T-shirt.

  “I’m glad you found her.” Travis had almost sounded sad.

  “I literally tripped over her at the clinic.” She had heard the laugh in Matt’s voice. He was always on the move, like a border collie, and had run into her and then fallen over her as she was waiting with one of her players at his physiotherapy office. “She’s very protective of her players and wanted to make sure she knew what the care requirements were.”

  “She’s a dynamo out on the court,” Travis had agreed, having come to one of her team’s volleyball games the week before.

  “I think I’m in love with her.” That was the first time she had heard Matt admit it and her stomach had done a happy flip.

  “That’s a shame.”

  “Why?” Matt’s hand had slipped beneath the neck of her shirt, cupping her breast, his calloused thumb grazing over her nipple. “Because you think that will keep you out of our bed?”

  “Won’t it?”

  She had waited for Matt to respond, hopeful that he hadn’t realized she had forgotten to breathe. “You think I won’t want to share? I won’t loan her to you?”

  “She’s not for sale, but you’ll consider renting?”

  I’ll consider renting. That had become the joke. Matt would wink at Travis and say, “I’ll consider renting.”

  And now Travis was ready to take him up on his offer. What did that mean?

  Fuck, fuck, fuck! she cursed silently. She had heard the rumors even before she had started dating Matt. That they were best friends who had shared everything. She knew that when Travis had taken the posting out west, Matt had offered to go with him, despite being in the middle of opening his physiotherapy practice. After seeing them together, she believed Matt would have packed up, left everything if only Travis had asked.

  But he hadn’t asked and she had met Matt ten months later. It had taken more than a year of coaxing to get him to trust her with his heart. It had been worth it, because when Matt loved, he loved with his whole soul. She was just as sure of his friendship and loyalty as she was of his desire for her. He wouldn’t risk that for anyone, except Travis.

  It was a hard truth to swall
ow. Sure the rumors had intrigued her, and part of her wanted to see where this insanity could lead, because she thought it could be delicious. But she was also scared of losing what she’d built with Matt if, or more likely when, it all went wrong.

  Insanity, she thought as she sat up on the lounger, pretending she had just woken up and hadn’t heard the conversation. She slipped her sundress back on over her swimsuit and headed toward the patio doors.

  “Hey guys,” she said brightly. “So what’s on for dinner tonight?”

  Travis nearly choked on his beer. She thought she was going to get away with that? He was so attuned to her body that she hadn’t a hope of hiding the fact she had heard them.

  He had seen the way her shoulders had tensed when she had realized what they were talking about. He had met her gaze through the window. Did she hope he hadn’t seen her watching them through that cascade of chestnut curls? Hardly. He knew the cause of that flush across her neck and chest.

  One look at Matt said that he had seen it too. Matt, whose body was always in motion, was calm. His goofy grin said he was sure he was finally going to get what he wanted, even if Travis had made him wait.

  “I thought we could go down to Pisces.” Matt told her, putting down his beer, and wrapping her in his arms. She smiled up into his face, clearly eager for his kiss. As Matt’s lips settled over hers, her eyes darted toward Travis. She looked at him warily for a moment before melting into Matt’s arms.

  Yeah, right, he had made Matt wait. Travis was about fucking ready to beg to be a part of that. They were so beautiful together.

  Fiona was small but not delicate. She was strong and had the kind of fuck-me curves he had beat off to since he was a teenager. Round hips, slim waist, and breasts that would fill his palms. He loved that she wore her hair long. When she tilted her head back to look up at Matt, it nearly reached her ass.

  Matt was no slouch either when it came to looks. He was nearly six-feet tall and in peak condition. He ran and he biked, two things Travis had to be dragged kicking and screaming to do. Matt’s dark hair had taken on a sheen of red highlights from the time they’d spent together outside this summer. And of course, one thing he could not forget about Matt, was that he knew how to kiss.

  Fiona licked her lips. “Excellent idea. I’ll go change.”

  She darted from the kitchen, probably excited for anything that got them out of the condo and into a public space.

  “This isn’t going to work.” He looked at Matt seriously. “She’s too into you.”

  Matt hung his head back, looking up at the ceiling as if he were asking the heavens to give him answers. Or strength. Travis had seen him do the same thing often. Finally, after seemingly receiving the answers he sought, Matt looked at him.

  “Yes she is, and I’m into her.” He crossed the kitchen and wrapped one hand around Travis’ neck. It was one of the first times since he had come back that Matt had dared to touch him in something more than a platonic, one-of-the-boys kind of way.

  “And I have never wanted to share someone with you more than I want to share her with you.”

  He wanted to believe Matt. But he had been seriously thrown to see Matt look at Fiona the way he used to only look at him.

  “So what if this time she’s my girl not yours.” Matt whispered, close enough to him now that Travis could feel his breath light against his cheek. “She can be ours.” Matt’s eyes gleamed mischievously.

  Travis couldn’t resist. He cupped his friend behind the neck and pulled him the few inches closer he needed to be. He took his mouth in a savage kiss, which Matt fought for all of five seconds before sinking into it, opening his mouth and letting Travis plunder. Travis needed this, to take back the control and to feel Matt give in. Matt always gave in.

  It had been a hard two years, being nearly two thousand miles apart. There had been no promises between them. No declarations of undying love. They were best friends, sometimes lovers, usually with a woman between them. And Matt was right, it was most often Travis’ woman, as though he lured Matt to his bed through the woman, not because they both wanted to be there.

  “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to kiss me?” Matt asked him, pulling away, wiping his lips. “You’ve been home nearly three months.”

  “Eight-eight days,” Travis grumbled as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “We said this would end if we ever fell in love with someone.”

  “I was always in love with someone,” Matt said, his eyes narrowing on Travis. “Now I’m in love with her too.”

  Travis looked away, staring at the floor for a minute. He had to pull himself together if this was going to work. He was actually happy when his cell phone rang. He answered it, walking away from Matt to the living room. The precinct wanted him in tonight. Awesome. Just what he needed, another shift.

  He walked back into the kitchen where Fi had joined Matt. Their heads were bent close together as they looked at the newspaper on the island.

  “I’ve got to head in to work,” he told them. “Rain check?” He barely waited for them to answer before ducking out the front door. His condo was two floors down, but it seemed like another lifetime away.

  Chapter Two

  Matt watched as Fiona put her team through its drills. It was Saturday afternoon and he was early to pick her up. He always came early because he enjoyed watching her work. She was passionate about coaching. Her players were some of the best fifteen-year-olds in the region.

  He sighed. He hadn’t talked to Travis, except by text, for the last three days, and Fiona hadn’t asked anything about what he knew she had heard.

  He grimaced. When had life gotten complicated? When Travis had been transferred to Alberta, Matt had figured it was for the best. Travis had been his best friend for more than twenty years, since grade school. He wasn’t sure when he had fallen in love with him, but his leaving made Matt realize it. Matt’s heart had been broken.

  So he had done what everyone getting over a breakup does. He had eaten too much ice cream and then thrown himself into his work. His friends still tried setting him up. They didn’t realize he had just been through the worst breakup in a decade of dating. He hadn’t been interested in anyone until he stumbled over her. He didn’t know what he’d have done if one or both of them had said no.

  “Hey,” she said, bouncing over to him. “You were like totally zoned out.”

  He covered quickly. “I was trying to think what we should do tonight.”

  “Stay in and fuck like bunnies.”

  “You have such a dirty mouth.” He teased her. “I might need to see what I can do about that later.”

  “Promises, promises.” She grinned at him and he kissed her.

  Some of the girls on the court made “oooh-whoo” sounds, and she pulled away.

  “I’m just going to make them run laps, and we can be out of here in about thirty minutes,” she promised, turning back to the girls.

  The girls groaned when she ordered them to fifteen minutes of laps. She turned back to him with a happy shrug that said, It’s nice to be in charge.

  The suggestion of fucking like bunnies replayed in Matt’s head late into the evening, even though they had been cajoled into going out for dinner with some friends and then out to see her old roommate Ryhann and her band play at the Fox and Hound Pub.

  Matt kept the thought top of mind, and made sure Fiona couldn’t forget it either. She wore a short summer dress and he kept his hand running along her thigh throughout dinner. She finally threatened him with a lonely night with only his hand for company if he didn’t stop. He laughed, but dialed it back a bit. Now in the darkened pub, he dialed it back up.

  When she returned from the bathroom he had moved their things so they sat on the far side of the table along the long bench seat. He straddled it with his back to the wall so he could watch the band, and motioned for her to sit in front of him. She crossed one leg beneath her and leaned back against his chest.

  The rhythm of the music ma
de the floor pound. The place was crowded, the band and food were amazing and by this time in the evening, most patrons had a good buzz going. He tossed his jacket over her lap. She looked up at him questioningly, because the bar was too loud for private conversation. He winked at her and brought a finger to his lips as if to say, “Ssh, it’s a secret.” She narrowed her eyes but leaned back against him.

  He had no doubt she knew exactly what he was planning as he slid his left hand around her waist. She melted into him as he inched up her skirt, the jacket hiding what he was doing.

  He hated that he couldn’t see her face, couldn’t see her try to hide her excitement when he trailed his fingers over her thin cotton thong. Instead, his eyes darted around the room to make sure no one was paying them any attention, protecting her as he played with her.

  He brought the pint of beer up to his lips and took a deep swallow, before touching his cool lips to her neck, reminding her that to everyone else they were just another couple, enjoying the band.

  But with his left hand, he continued to play. Stroking up and down the thin slip of cotton. He could feel it grow wet beneath his ministrations. She shifted restlessly against him, arching slightly to give him better access.

  He grinned against the top of her head. He grabbed her right hand in his and held it in place against the scarred wood table.

  He slid the fingers of his left hand past the elastic of her panties, sliding deftly between her slick folds. She was so wet. Her hand tensed under his and he realized how excited she was by this very public play. He caught her clit between his index and middle fingers and began a deep, slow massage. Just enough pressure to keep her on verge of orgasm.

  As she grew accustomed to his touch, she relaxed against him. It no doubt felt good, if the scent of arousal hitting his nose was anything to judge from, but she wasn’t at risk of coming right there and then.

  He relaxed too. He liked to know he could keep her on brink, and that she would have no doubt how much he wanted her. His cock was pressing uncomfortably against his fly but he too could manage. He liked riding that edge.