“Wine is for sipping, whisky is for swilling,” Ella said mildly, watching her warily. “So why don’t you care if I fucked Sax?”

Marey was in the process of sitting her glass back down. She paused, glanced at her friend and lifted it for another healthy swallow. Ella’s timing sucked.

“Just don’t let it happen again,” she muttered as she refilled the glass moments later. “I might not be so forgiving now.”

That was an understatement. She would be damned pissed, but she knew that Ella would never consider it after suspecting the feelings Marey had for him. Marey could confidently pat herself on the back that she had hidden her feelings for the man from even her closest friends. Ella had no idea until several weeks after she returned from her honeymoon. During one of Marey’s late-night let’s-consume-a-bottle-of-wine visits, Ella had revealed that Sax had been the third in the Trojan ménage James had set up.

Marey flushed uncomfortably at the memory of what she said in reply.

Touch him again and I’ll rip your tonsils out! she had informed her friend haughtily. James wouldn’t find you near as attractive then.

She sighed wearily. She had fucked herself there. Ella had tried to throw her in Sax’s company ever since.

“But you don’t want him?” Ella lifted a perfectly shaped brow with mocking inquiry.

“Don’t start lecturing me, Ella,” she snapped, pushing her fingers restlessly through her hair and wishing she had taken the time to confine the long, blonde strands to a braid or something. Anything to keep it out of her face. It was aggravating her, and she didn’t need the additional frustration.

“Who’s lecturing you?” Ella shrugged as she poured a half glass of wine, refilled Marey’s then picked up her glass and gestured to the living room. “Let’s at least argue in comfort. Why do you always have to come here looking for a fight? I have better things to do than fight with my friends.”

Yeah. Like fuck James Wyman with Saxon Brogan as a third in a ménage that made Marey crazy to think about. Not that the past exploits bothered her. Ella was her friend—more like a sister—and really, if she had to share a man in such a situation, then it would be Ella she would choose, she thought whimsically.

Damn, that wine must strong.

Sighing, she plopped down in her favorite leather chair, wiggled a bit and then cast Ella an accusing stare.

“James has been sitting in my chair,” she sniped. “He’s messing it up.”

She watched Ella smother her chuckle. No one was taking her seriously anymore.

“Well, sometimes, we share it.” Ella wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as Marey gaped back at her.

“Eww.” She jumped from the chair. “You fucked in my chair?”

“Well, I cleaned it later.” Ella was definitely laughing now. “Don’t worry, there’s no evidence left of the event.”

Marey shuddered and moved to the less comfortable recliner. “Have you fucked here too?”

“Honey, every square inch of this house has seen action this year.” Ella leaned back in her chair, her eyes sparkling with laughter as Marey grimaced in distaste.

“I guess even the floor is grotty,” she sighed as she collapsed back in her favorite chair. Dammit, she didn’t want to think about sex right now. Didn’t want to hear about it or know about it.

“Yup, even the floor is grotty,” Ella laughed at the description. “Now tell me, why would it bother you if I fucked Sax now, if it didn’t bother you before?”

Marey shot her an evil look. She deserved it. She was so damned confident and sexually wicked now that she should be burned at the stake.

“Women like you were stoned a hundred years ago, Ella,” she reminded her with aloof distain.

“That was two hundred years ago, dear,” Ella pointed out, toasting her with her glass. “Aren’t you glad we were born during a much more sexually aware time?”

“You do not want me to answer that right now,” she sighed wearily, staring back at her friend with a mixture of irritation and fondness.

“Answer me, Marey,” Ella demanded softly. “I won’t leave you alone until you do.”

Marey sighed in resignation. “Hell, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just as perverted as the rest of you.” Ella shot her a disapproving look. One Marey ignored, just as she always had.

What the hell was she supposed to say? That jealousy just didn’t come into it? She was smarter than that. Friends lasted forever, men didn’t. Besides, she knew that Ella would have never let Saxon touch her if she had known Marey was even the least bit interested in him. Being angry over it now was nothing short of ludicrous.

“Then what is your problem?” Ella lifted her glass, sipping at her wine as she watched her with those probing blue eyes of hers.

Ella had always seen too much. She had known when Vince was abusing her, when she had taken enough and was preparing to leave, when she began to fear for her safety because of his threats. They had known each other for years, their parents had been best friends, and despite their age difference, they had always been close. That bond of friendship had only strengthened as they became adults.

“Ella, you have to make James talk to him.” Marey finished off her wine before leaning forward and extending the glass for Ella to refill. “He’s making me insane. He calls. Checks the house every night. And this morning, he had the nerve to show up demanding breakfast. He’s trying to take over.”

“I see…” Ella nodded somberly. “This would be a problem.”

“It’s horrible,” Marey snapped, furious at the gleam of laughter in Ella’s eyes. “I don’t want him there. James is going to have to talk to him.”

“Vince made bail the other day, didn’t he, Marey?” Ella said then, her voice gentle, but knowing.

Marey leaned back in her chair, lowering her head to stare into the pale liquid that filled her glass.

Yes, Vince had made bail.

“That has nothing to do with it,” she whispered. “I’m not a coward, Ella.”

But she was. She could feel that knowledge crawling through her mind, mocking her with the sterile, lonely life she led.

“I never thought you were a coward, honey,” Ella sighed. “Just frightened. And I never blamed you for that. But you have to fight back sometime.”

Marey avoided her gaze, shaking her head as she swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“He would go after Sax,” she finally whispered. “Not me.”

And she couldn’t bear the thought of that.

“And Sax is man enough to rip his face off,” Ella snorted. “Come on, Marey. Vince only whips on people who are smaller than he is and you know it. Sax would grind that little bastard into dust.”

“Or Vince would hurt someone else, and frame him again,” Marey snapped. “Or do something to cause his brakes to fail, or any number of things that could end up destroying him. Dammit, Ella.” She stared back at her miserably. “I can’t let that happen. Can’t you see that?”

“Vince is out on bail. Once he goes to trial, he’ll go to jail,” Ella pointed out.

“For how long?” Marey sneered then. “A year? Two?”

She sat the glass of wine on the table that separated their chairs as she rose to her feet. Crossing her arms over her chest she paced to one of the wide windows on the other side of the room before turning back to face her friend.

“I’ve grown used to being alone—”

“You’re full of shit,” Ella snapped. “You’ve grown used to hiding, Marey. Risking nothing and having nothing, and letting Vince terrify you. I won’t have James talk to Sax.” She lifted her chin stubbornly. “I think he’s doing the right thing, and I think he’s the right man for you. So forget it.”

“You’re such a bitch!” Marey snarled.

“Takes one to know one,” Ella snapped back childishly, frowning back at her mulishly. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and Sax will spank it out of you. Oh, but you might enjoy that. I’ll tell him to hold off on it for a while.”

Marey narrowed her eyes warningly. Ella’s response was a cool little smile as she moved to her feet, facing her defiantly.

“That’s low,” Marey growled furiously.

“No, dear, low is telling you what a magical tongue he has,” she sighed mockingly. “And how much he fairly loves to eat pussy. The man is a connoisseur. He can go at it for hours, and leave you screaming for more.”

Oh, she didn’t need to hear that. Her pussy flooded, her juices easing from her vagina to coat the bare, waxed folds beyond as she remembered just how good his tongue was.

Ella’s expression was mockingly ecstatic, her eyes gleaming in confrontation, her lips curved into a satisfied little smile.

“And he has stamina…” She drew the word out pleasurably as Marey breathed in slowly, reining in her response. “His cock stretches you, makes you burn, makes you beg…” She closed her eyes dreamily. “He’s almost as good as James.”

“Glad to know I rate in there somewhere.”

The sound of James’ amused, deep voice had both of them jumping in startled awareness as they turned to stare at the door.

He lounged against the doorframe, incredibly handsome, sinfully sexy. Marey well understood why her friend had been so besotted with him for so many years.

“This is a private conversation.” Despite her furious blushes, Ella drew herself up haughtily and faced her husband. Though Marey had no problem seeing the arousal that flared in her eyes.

“So I heard.” His lips curved in a smile, his eyes gleaming with laughter. “Very interesting one as well,” he mused as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Should I let Sax know you’re up for a visit?”

“No!” Marey’s furious exclamation joined Ella’s as they both faced him now.

He chuckled in response.

“Go play or something, James.” Ella waved her hand at him dismissively. “This is girl talk.”

“So I heard,” he drawled. “But maybe you would both like to know that Sax is due here in about ten minutes to go over a new product that’s in design at the moment and to share a beer while he bemoans a certain woman’s stubbornness. Marey might want to run while she has the chance. He’s just waiting to catch her out of that fortress she owns, and she looks pretty primed right now.”

He glanced to her breasts and Marey’s gaze dropped to the royal blue silk covering the full mounds. Her nipples were poking against it like a four alarm signal for an all-night fuck.

Her gaze flew to Ella’s in horror.

“This is your fault,” she snapped. “I didn’t need to hear any of that.”

“But you still love me.” Ella grinned.

“Bitch,” Marey snarled again. “And yes, I still love you. But I am gone like the wind.”

And she wasted no time in running. Sax was on a very, very short leash right now, and she knew it. As much as she loved Ella, there wasn’t a chance in hell she was sticking around to see him. Because her own desires were on an even shorter leash, and growing fiercer by the day.

Chapter Three

She locked her doors when she got home. Ignored the doorbell, thanking God that Ella hadn’t given Sax the code into the house as she had the gates. The next morning, she did likewise. Cowardice? Hell yes, she told herself fiercely. Sax terrified her where her weakness to him was concerned.

She finally slipped out around noon, unable to cancel her meeting with Ella at Delacourte to complete the planning for the annual Christmas party. She slipped in without incident. Getting out wasn’t as easy.

“When are you going to stop running from me, Marey?”