27. Kylie
27
KYLIE
“Are you guys almost ready?”
Unlike the party we’d gone to together, this time it was Mason, Jude, and Parker who’d taken forever to get ready. I’d been dressed for our dinner for at least five minutes. My hair was up in a loose updo and I had on a gorgeous evening gown I’d borrowed from a friend. The shiny gold and bronze material hugged my body like a cocoon. The neckline in front was revealing, and my back was bare almost to my waist. The strappy sandals I’d put on were extra visible due to the high slit along one leg.
There was a knock at the front door. “Is that the food? I can get it.”
“No,” several voices shouted.
“Stay out there,” Mason added.
Jeesh. They were really being divas tonight.
Abandoning the amazing mountain view, I went back to my bathroom for one last look. I was pleased with how the updo looked, but I’d toned down the eye makeup for once, and I wasn’t used to seeing myself like that. But the whole reason I’d used so much eye makeup in the first place was to help disguise the heterochromia, and I didn’t need to do that with my guys. I’d still worn some mascara, though. There was no way in hell I’d go on a date without it.
The smell of pasta filled the air—we’d ordered from a local Italian place. My stomach rumbled. What was taking the guys so long?
Jude emerged from the bedroom and my heart skipped a beat. He was wearing a suit. A black, fitted, fancy, gorgeous suit. His shirt was the color of dark steel, and his tie was black. It made him look every inch the tall, dark, and handsome man he was, and it reminded me of another man as well. “Shall I make you another vodka martini, Mr. Bond?”
He grinned. “Shaken, not stirred.”
I was pretty damn shaken up by the way he looked. And then, Mason joined us.
Holy shit.
He was in a suit, too, and he looked like a freaking cover model. The dark suit jacket emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist so well, it had to be tailor-made. His dress shirt was white and his tie royal blue. It made the blue in his eyes look twice as bright.
Parker was close behind him in a navy three-piece suit. As always when he dressed up, he looked older and more mature. It was a good look on him.
I licked my lips, but my hunger had nothing to do with the smell of the food coming from the bags Parker brought over. I didn’t even notice it anymore.
“You look beautiful,” Jude said, appreciation in his eyes.
“So do you three.” My voice was barely a whisper, but it was like the three hot-as-sin men, dressed in their finest, had sucked all the air out of the room. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just the champagne in the fridge.” When had they gotten that? It hadn’t been there last night. Parker winked as he passed by to retrieve it.
Mason stepped in close, taking a deep breath. “You smell amazing,” he said huskily. His finger slid under the shoulder strap of my dress. “And you look amazing. Where did a nice girl like you find such a sinfully slutty dress?”
“It’s your sister’s.”
“What?” Mason jumped back as if I’d stabbed him. “Please tell me you’re fucking with me.”
“Nope.” Behind him, I noticed Jude and Parker trying not to laugh.
He scowled. “How can I fantasize about peeling it off you when I know it’s Alyssa’s?”
“Sorry,” I said. He was being ridiculous, but, well, I’d always known he had family issues. “I won’t borrow clothes from her again.”
“Or just don’t tell him next time,” Jude suggested with a grin.
“Shut it,” Mason muttered, still disgruntled.
“I think you look gorgeous,” Parker said.
“Yeah. No fair calling the dress sinfully slutty, man.” Jude clapped Mason on the back. “It’s not what a woman wears, it’s what she lets you do after dinner.”
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. “Is that a famous saying or something?”
“It should be.” Jude winked at me.
“Can we eat now?” Mason said, and the three of us set out the food while Parker poured the champagne.
“That was delicious,” I said at the end of the meal, patting my stomach. “I’d love to eat more, but I don’t know where I’d put it.”
“Maybe you’d have more room if you took off that damn dress,” Mason grumbled.
I grinned. “Are you trying to get me naked?”
“Pretty much always,” he said. “But right now, that dress is truly messing with my head.”
“Sorry.” I actually was sorry it’d upset him, but truth be told, I loved how good I felt in that dress and how sexy it made me feel. Alyssa definitely had a bigger clothing budget than I did.
“How about we dim the lights?” Jude suggested.
“Excellent idea.” I got to my feet, but Parker put his hand on my arm.
“We’ve got this,” he said as he and Mason got to their feet. Jude procured some white candles in little jars. He set them on the table and lit them while Parker turned off most of the lights, leaving one on behind the bar. “How’s that?”
“Perfect.”
Jude smiled at me in the dim light. “It’s about to get even better.” He pulled a stool out from under the shelf by the window. I heard a mellow note, realizing his guitar was back there, too.
Parker walked over to me, his hand outstretched. “Shall we?”
Excitement flickered through me as I stood up. The three of them treated me like a princess. And I felt like one. A princess who’d somehow managed to meet three Prince Charmings.
Jude played something soft and sexy as Parker guided me around the open space. The fabric from the dress swirled around my bare legs as we moved. Slits that high weren’t exactly practical, but they were sexy as hell. I also liked the feeling of Parker’s warm hand on my bare back as he twirled me around.
The beautiful music slowed and then ended. Parker stepped back. Disappointment stole over me because I’d wanted to keep dancing with him. But then I saw Mason waiting for me.
Jude began another song as Mason held me in his arms. I felt the warmth of his skin even through his bespoke suit. I’d never seen him look as handsome as he did tonight, and he was a good-looking man to begin with. It was a shame he couldn’t appreciate what I was wearing. Suddenly, it seemed sad rather than humorous.
Mason twirled me around more confidently than Parker had, but I liked dancing with both of them. When the music finally slowed to a stop, there was another man I wanted to dance with. “Can I dance with Jude?” I whispered.
To his credit, Mason realized I’d asked how it might be possible, not for permission. He nodded and let me go with a small nudge on my back in Jude’s direction.
When I reached Jude’s corner, I suddenly felt shy. He was such a talented man. He played guitar beautifully enough to make me weep. He could play anything at all on the piano. And when he was with his band, he was like a rock god. “Would you dance with me?”
Jude’s smile warmed me, as it always did. “Of course. But what should we—” He broke off as music filled the room. I looked back to see Mason setting his phone down on the table, the screen glowing. He’d come through for me. For us.
I liked the way Jude held me as we glided around the room. It was somehow half possessive and half respectful. I couldn’t quite explain it, but it seemed very in character for him. He was occasionally possessive and always respectful.
As the song ended, I didn’t want to leave his embrace—both because of the way he made me feel and also because I was slightly chilled.
“It’s cold in here,” I observed.
Mason appeared at my side. “We have a plan to keep you warm tonight.”
I grinned. “I bet you do.”
Jude smiled down at me. “That wasn’t innuendo—we actually do have a plan.” He held out his arm and I linked mine through it. He led me toward the kitchen, but I stopped when I realized the door to the balcony was open slightly.
“No wonder it’s cold?—”
“Shh,” Jude whispered, and I stopped talking because he’d never led me astray before.
Parker stood in the cozy little seating area that we never used because it hadn’t been the right weather for a fire. I saw something flicker behind him and I understood. The guys really did have a plan for tonight—one they’d obviously worked out beforehand.
Parker smiled at me, and it almost made my heart break to see how handsome he looked in his suit. “Since it’s such a cold night, we figured it was a good time for a fire.”
I beamed at him, feeling immensely fond of him.
Jude spoke softly in my ear. “Parker overheard you saying you’d never seen us use it.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” I whispered back. And I hoped against hope that I’d experience more than one first time with them this evening.
Mason sat down on the loveseat opposite the fireplace. I settled next to him while Jude and Parker took the armchairs on either side of the coffee table.
“What’s the next part of the plan?” I asked.
“Now, hopefully, you take off your dress,” Mason said, with equal parts of desperation and lust in his voice.
“I can’t,” I said lightly. “I’m not wearing anything underneath it.”
His face broke into a scowl until he processed what I’d said. “Wait, you’re not wearing any panties?”
“No. You tore one pair off me and tossed another pair at Jude. I figure my panties aren’t safe around you.” I winked at him.
“God, I love your reasoning,” he said, perking up. “Who said girls weren’t logical?”
“Wait, someone said girls weren’t logical?”
“No, never,” Jude said quickly. “Can we get back to the fact that you’re not wearing anything under that dress? Please?”
“She’s shameless,” Parker said, with a quick wink at me. “Can you imagine a good girl going on a date with no panties?”
“No,” Jude said.
“And no good girl would go on a date with three men,” Mason added.
Though I knew they were messing with me, my stomach tightened with delicious tension.
“As I said, she’s shameless,” Parker said, shaking his head.
“She should be punished for that,” Mason said gruffly, and my breath caught in my throat.
“How?” I said hoarsely.
Jude’s eyes gleamed in amusement when he noticed my reaction. “Spanking seems appropriate for a first offense.”
I gasped, trying to wrap my head around the thought of it. I expected Mason to take the idea and run with it, but instead, he said, “Or we could order her to take off the dress.”
I started to roll my eyes and then I caught myself because he truly seemed bothered by it. “How about you take off your shirt instead?”
“Gladly.” He got to his feet and pulled off his suit coat. I watched, mesmerized, more and more of his powerful chest was exposed as he undid each button. He looked incredibly sexy in a suit, but he also looked amazing bare-chested, too. He pulled the shirt off his arms and started to toss it onto the loveseat, but I grabbed it instead. Then I tugged on his arm and he sat back down. I got to my feet and put my arms into the sleeves. It was huge on me, but I rolled up the sleeves so they wouldn’t cover my hands. Then I did up the buttons.
“That’s hot,” Parker said, looking at the way my leg emerged from the long slit of the dress.
“It’s about to get hotter,” I said, and then it gave me an idea. I stepped around Parker’s chair and moved in front of the fireplace. Heat from the flames warmed my back. The heat on my flushed face was more from what I was about to do, not the fireplace. I reached a hand under Mason’s crisp white shirt and slid one shoulder strap down my arm. Then I did the same on the other side.
I was still fully covered, but the only thing holding up the slinky dress was the hand I’d clamped to my waist.
Jude sucked in a sharp breath, while Parker seemed not to breathe at all. He just waited and watched.
I let the dress fall to the floor. For a moment, no one moved. No one breathed. I was still covered by Mason’s large dress shirt, but we all knew I was naked underneath. And hell, with the light from the fire behind me, maybe they saw the outline of my curves better than I thought.
I kicked the dress in Parker’s direction, and he scooped it up, leaning over, depositing it on a shelf by the wall that was well out of Mason’s line of sight. Smart man.
Then Mason stood and moved to my side. He cupped my face in his warm hands and leaned down to kiss me. He didn’t try to brush up against me or squeeze my ass—he just kissed me. “Thank you,” he said when he released me.
“You’re welcome,” I said, my voice so soft that he might have only seen my lips move. But he knew what I said.
Jude stood up to join us. “You look really hot in that shirt.” His eyes glinted in the light from the fireplace. “Although I’m not sure you need that many buttons.”
I grinned and undid two at the top so the shirt was open all the way down to the valley between my breasts.
“Nice,” Jude said, hooking a finger at the opening of my shirt and tugging lightly. But he didn’t try to spread the sides of the shirt open or anything like that. “Now, I believe there’s still the matter of what punishment you deserve for brazenly coming to dinner without panties on.”
Arousal filled me, but part of my brain wanted to argue. Since when did guys take offense to a woman not wearing panties? But the majority of my brain wanted to see where it might end up.
Jude watched my expression closely and then, apparently satisfied with what he saw, he turned to Mason. “Why don’t you go sit down?”
Mason nodded, and for some reason, it made me more sure than ever that those two had shared a woman before. They worked well together—a fact boding well for me, making me weak at the knees.
Jude put an index finger under my chin, raising my head. He gave me a very thorough kiss and then sighed. “I’m sorry, princess, but the punishment for a first offense like that is a spanking.”
“I understand,” I said solemnly, and I heard Parker chuckle softly behind me.
Jude took my hand and led me back to Mason. “Lay down on his lap, Kylie.”