A Delicious Taboo (3 page)
At the moment, he hoped she would be receptive and an eager participant in the evening’s planned activities.
The ease with which she relaxed into a chair caused a broad grin to spread across his face. Her growing comfort level would definitely work to their advantage.
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Van approached the table and handed her a chilled goblet filled with white wine. “I know you’re not a big beer drinker, so I thought you might enjoy this.”
Mel took a sip, her eyes sparkled, growing wide, and she licked her lips. “Mmmm, this is Wolf Blass Chardonnay…it’s my favorite. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome,” Van replied. Score one, the men, he mused silently.
The two made small talk, and Van lit the grill as they heard the roar of Mel’s motorcycle pulling into the driveway. The nerves she’d exhibited upon first arriving seemed to resurface at the sound of Jake and Philip’s voices mingling with Calen’s as the motorcycle was silenced. He delighted in the way her lips quivered when she fidgeted in the chair. Her sparkling eyes darted to the gate as the three men came into the backyard.
Calen set Mel’s helmet by the door to the house and slumped into the chair beside her.
“It handles beautifully. What a sweet ride.”
“Yeah, Melanie, that’s one gorgeous bike,” Philip told her.
“You got our steaks burned yet, Van?” Jake called over from the bar.
“Sure do, Jake. And don’t mind the crunchy bits on yours, I dropped it by accident,”
Van joked.
With a grin, Jake flipped him off.
* * * * *
“Thank you,” he said, before placing a kiss on his lips. “Dinner looks fantastic.”
When he pulled away, they both glanced across the table to see Mel’s eyes darkened.
Curiosity mixed with the heat of excitement flickered in their emerald depths. The brilliant red color staining her cheeks stirred the arousal Van was trying so hard to keep at bay.
“And it smells incredible,” Philip commented as he took his seat. “I’ve got to tell you, dinner here is a hell of a lot more exciting than at our place.”
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“What are you talking about?” A cocky smirk played on Calen’s lips. “You guys order up a mean deep-dish pizza.”
“Oh, jeez.” As Mel snickered, Van noted her color and breathing returning to normal.
Her animation was infectious.
Accepting the bowl of Caesar salad from Jake, Mel placed a serving on the side of her plate before passing the dish to Calen.
“Mmmm,” she moaned, sucking a smudge of dressing off her thumb. “This is homemade,” she said with a smile toward Van. Though not as vibrant, a pink hue still dusted the tops of her cheekbones. “You made this?”
Offering a nonchalant shrug and attempting to ignore the ache between his legs, Van deposited a scoop of grilled vegetables on her plate beside the salad.
“Don’t be modest, Van,” Mel continued as Calen set a small T-bone in front of her. “It’s terrific, and I love that you’ve used anchovies and not the paste. Most people don’t use either, but it’s the secret ingredient in good Caesar dressing.”
“Well, thank you.” He grinned in amusement at the sudden flush that crossed her features as Jake’s bare forearm brushed along hers.
The tangy aroma of mesquite scented the air as they dined on the grilled steak and prawns Van had prepared. The potatoes and roasted vegetables had been a good choice too.
He noticed the fun and light-hearted conversation had aided in easing Mel’s earlier nervousness. She’d taken to the good-natured teasing among himself, his lover, and their friends as easily as if she were at Taboo Delights, laughing and joining in the entire evening.
Philip reached for the pitcher of water beside him and began filling tumblers. “We’re glad you joined us this evening, Mel,” Philip said, passing her one.
“Thank you.” Her smile was warm as she accepted the glass. “Me, too. Though I have to admit I was a little surprised at your invitation, guys.”
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“Why?” Jake asked, digging his fork into a steak and lifting it off the platter in the middle of the table. “We’ve been dying to get you away from the club and alone.”
Van bit back a chuckle as a shade of crimson rose from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears. With a furrowed brow, a shiver coursed through her body as she seemingly contemplated Jake’s words.
“I…uh…” A brief flash of sadness flickered in her eyes, and her smile faded. “It’s…uh, been a long time, that’s all.” She’d mumbled so low under her breath, he almost missed it.
Taking a sip of her water and setting her glass back down, Mel picked up her knife and sliced into her steak. “Enough about me,” she said, and Van picked up on her attempt to steer the conversation away from her. “I want to know how you guys met and became couples.”
“Well,” Philip began and shot a look at his lover seated across the table. “Jake rear-ended me in the parking lot of the building center in Harriston.”
“I was tired of ogling him from afar.” Jake laughed and sat back in his chair. “I wanted to meet him.”
“As it was, we were working on the same new home site, Heaven Heights,” Philip continued. “Welland Construction was one of the builders within the survey, and my dad had been awarded a couple of contracts with smaller developers installing the kitchens and baths in their homes.”
As Philip shared a loving glance with his lover, Mel’s soft moan was loud and clear in the momentary silence.
“I’d been watching Philip for a couple of weeks and just knew I had to meet him. But I could never drum up enough courage to approach him.”
“That’s cute, Jake.” Mel snickered. “I never pictured you the shy type.”
The seductive wink Jake sent her way had Mel shivering in her seat and biting her lower lip.
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“Yeah.” Philip chuckled at their exchange as he set the bowl of potatoes back on the table. “Now, I’d been eyeing Jake too, but at the time, I figured with his ‘beach boy’ good looks, he probably didn’t have anything between his ears.”
“We’re still not sure he does,” Van smirked.
Jake took the opportunity to flip Van off again, with a grin. “When I spotted him leaving, I jumped in my pickup and followed Philip to the store,” Jake interjected with a shrug. “Before he pulled out of the parking lot, that little voice in the back of my head screamed, ‘It’s now or never.’ So I nudged the back of his truck.”
“Nudged?” The tone in Calen’s voice teased. “If I remember the story correctly, you had to replace the bumper along with the tailgate, didn’t you, Philip?”
Philip nodded, his lips curled upward. “And my shoulders and arms ached for a week following the impact.”
A giggle burst from Mel’s lips. “Oh, Jake.”
“I looked up in the rearview, saw that it was him, and thought ‘Jesus, the man is an airhead,’” he said with a shake of his head. “I got out of my truck ready to blast him, but when we were face-to-face and I heard his voice, I knew I was done.”
“I said, ‘Ah, wow, man, I’m really sorry about your truck…so, do you want to go grab a beer and maybe something to eat?’” Jake grinned.
“And as they say” -- Philip returned his lover’s smile -- “the rest is history.”
“That is so sweet.” Mel’s smile was warm, and her eyes danced with genuine enthusiasm.
Philip reached under the table to adjust the growing discomfort between his legs. Not a single iota of his being attempted to dismiss the carnal thoughts swirling around in his mind.
At nearly the same moment six months earlier, he and his lover expressed their interest in the lovely Melanie Drake. And during the subsequent months, the two had been calculating the perfect moment to announce their intentions to her.
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What surprised Philip most, however, was the interest their best friends also shared in their woman. As he looked back at the numerous occasions the foursome had spent in the club since meeting Melanie, the signs had clearly been there.
Tonight, Mel’s comfort level was evident and very encouraging. She was relaxed, enjoying the casual atmosphere of his friends’ home.
When the four men set out days earlier to put their plan of seduction into motion, Philip had been a little skeptical. Now, as he sat across from Jake and the woman he hoped would join them as their lover, he knew the right decision had been made.
“Okay,” Mel giggled, wiggling in her chair. “Now you two. Spill it. How’d you meet?”
“Van was dating my sister.” Calen smirked.
For a few minutes, Calen allowed his thoughts to take him back to a specific afternoon shortly after he and Van began seeing one another.
Coming out the front door of his parents’ home, he spotted his father and Van seated on the porch steps in conversation.
“Well, you boys have a nice time,” his father said as he and Van were leaving for a movie.
Calen turned to his father and with a chuckle said, “Well, aren’t you going to tell Van to have me home at a half decent hour?” His father had shot him an “Are you serious?” look.
“Come on, Dad…is it because I can’t get knocked up? What if he tries to take advantage of me?”
“Oh, please,” Van had all but shrieked; however, the desire in his eyes gave his thoughts away. “As if I’d be…”
“Come on, baby,” Calen had grinned at him. “You know you want me.”
Both Walter Maxwell and Van had rolled their eyes and broken out in laughter. Once composed, the older man turned to Van. “Is h t ere enough room for this smart-ass and his A Delicious Taboo
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inflated ego in your car, son?” With a broad grin, he placed a sympathetic hand on Van’s shoulder and added, “And are you sure you want to go out with him?”
“Yes, sir.” Van chuckled. “I’m sure.”
Calen’s dad stood shaking his head at him. “Well, you better just go, Cale, before this fine young man thinks you’re too high maintenance and leaves you behind for being such an ass.”
Melanie’s soft utterance of surprise brought him back to the conversation. “Huh?” she asked, her confusion furrowing her brow.
“Carla and I weren’t dating.” Van shared Calen’s chuckle. “It was one dinner.”
“Sweetheart,” Philip said, gaining Mel’s attention. “The four of us are bisexual. We have all dated women at one time or another.”
The four men studied her for a moment as she seemed to process Philip’s words.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” she replied quickly. “I made an assumption…”
“You didn’t offend any of us,” Jake told her as he placed his hand atop hers. Mel’s eyes dropped to Jake’s hand covering hers, and the healthy pink blush from earlier came back to her cheeks in an instant. “We choose to share our lives with a partner who is a man.” In a huskier tone, Jake added, “Perhaps if the right woman were to come along…”
Again her body shuddered gently as the four of them continued to watch her.
Jake’s sentence went unfinished as Van spoke up to fill Melanie in on how he and Calen met. “Calen’s sister, Carla, came in as a client to the tax office where I was working at the time, and after our meeting, she invited me to dinner. The entire evening she spoke of nothing but her brother.”
“Little did we know” -- Calen chuckled deep as he shared a loving glance with Van --
“we were being set up.”
“Set up?” Mel asked with innocent curiosity dancing in her bright green eyes.
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“Yes. I drove her back to her parents’ home, and there was Calen sitting on the porch.
Carla invited me to stay for a bit, and I accepted.” Van held Calen’s gaze across the table.
“After introducing us, Carla disappeared into the house, never to be seen again that night,” Calen stated.
“How romantic.” Mel sighed. “Love at first sight, huh? I totally believe in that,” she stated with excitement.
“Care to tell us?” Calen prompted her in a low, sexy voice.
Following yet another shiver, Mel dropped her head, but not before Calen caught a glimmer of uncertainty on her face. “Maybe later,” she muttered under her breath. As if the unpleasantness she was apparently thinking of seconds before had passed, she again glanced at each of them with a smile brightening her already radiant features. “So have the four of you always been friends?”
“Calen’s mom and my mom are best friends and have been ever since we were kids,”
Jake told her. “We attended the same grade school and high school, but never really hung out in the same circles.”
“Ironically,” the huskiness of Van’s deep voice entered the conversation, “the four of us joined the football club around the same time, what, three…four years ago now, and we’ve been close ever since.”
“You are very lucky to have each other.” Although her voice was sincere, her darkened gaze revealed a hidden sadness.
Without thought, Calen’s heart had him reaching out to touch her just as Philip’s voice drew her attention.
“You have us too, sweetheart,” Philip stated with a wink.
A dark blush tinted her cheeks, and her eyes grew wide. Mel’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Dinner was followed up by Philip’s strawberry-vanilla cheesecake and a shot of cognac.
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* * * * *
Despite the heavy T-shirt she wore, the tight peaks of her large nipples pressed against the knit fabric.
Van knew his lover must have read his thoughts when Calen suggested, “Let’s tidy up, and we’ll move our party into the living room. There’s a chill in the air.”
Everyone stood, and began collecting and piling up items before heading through the back door.
“What are you doing?” Van asked when Mel entered the kitchen with a stack of plates.
“I’m helping,” she replied. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, taking the plates from her. “You’re our guest, Mel; you’re not helping. We’ll do it.”