Elle Thorpe

I held my shot glass up. “Cheers to shitty days and the hot boys who rescue you from them.”

Both guys grinned at that, and the three of us clinked out glasses together before downing them. I grimaced as the liquid burned my chest.

“No good?” Banjo asked.

“Too good.” I held up my glass. “Let’s go again.”

“‘Sex on Fire’? Really, Banjo? You trying to tell me something?”

A slow, sly smile spread across his face. “Read into my song choice however you want.”

Rafe chuckled, and I glanced over at him.

Banjo leaned back on his hands, his gaze warming me all over. Or maybe that was the tequila. I didn’t know, but either way, it was a pleasant sensation. It was nice to feel warm and safe, after a day of feeling cold and miserable. Banjo always had that effect on me. He truly was like a ray of sunshine, bottled up in a body made for sin.

“Is that what we are?” Banjo asked quietly. “Friends?”

I nodded. “Of course we are.”

“What about us?” Rafe asked. “You and me? Friends, too?”

I glanced between the two of them. They were so different. Banjo with his shaggy blond hair and freckles from the sun. Rafe darker, more serious, but no less hot with his gorgeous eyes that sparkled with intelligence and wit.

“Sure,” I said softly.

Rafe shot a look at Banjo. It made me remember the way Banjo had confessed to there being something extra between him and Rafe. Something neither of them had ever explored or even talked about. The way Rafe looked at Banjo in that second had me wondering if Banjo’s feelings weren’t completely one-sided.

“I’ve got an idea!” I said, a little too loudly. “Truth or dare.”

Rafe groaned, but Banjo bounced on the bed like a puppy dog. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I haven’t done this since that time we played with Colt, and he dared me to jump off the roof.”

Rafe shook his head, but his lips turned up at the corners adorably. “Don’t you remember how bad that was? You fucked up your ankle, and Willa had to drive you to the hospital because she thought it was broken. Nothing good comes from this game.”

I shrugged. “You’ve never played with me before.”

Rafe’s gaze clashed with mine, and something hot and heady passed between us.

“I’m in,” he said, voice tight.

I scooted until I was sitting against the wall, legs tucked up beneath me. Banjo made himself comfy at the head of his bed, back leaning against the pillows, while Rafe edged so close to me our arms brushed.

“Truth or dare?” he asked.

I bit my lip. “Dare.” My voice came out oddly breathy, like his nearness alone had the ability to physically affect me.

“I dare you to kiss Banjo.””

I raised one eyebrow, surprised. And maybe a little disappointed. Not about there being a kissing dare. I was playing with two teenage guys. Of course these dares were going to get sexual. Hell, I wanted them to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have started the game. Everyone knew party games like this were only played so you could make out with your secret crush. But he’d caught me off guard when he’d said to kiss Banjo, and not him. “You want to sit here and watch me make out with Banjo?”

He grabbed the tequila bottle and took a long, slow swig, his gaze never straying from mine. “To start.”

Heat bloomed low in my belly. I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that, but there was a hidden promise in his words that shot heat straight between my legs.

If he meant what I thought he meant, then playing this game had been a very, very good idea. Or perhaps a very dangerous one. Only time would tell. But right now, with my core already throbbing, if felt right.

“Come here, Lacey,” Banjo said, his voice deep.

A shiver rolled down my spine. He was lying back against the pillows, hands propped behind his head. I crawled across the bed, watching as his smile grew. It was infectious. And I loved kissing Banjo. I touched my lips to his and then went to pull back, knowing Rafe was watching. But Banjo’s hand shot out lightning fast, pressing to the back of my head, holding me in place. His tongue coaxed my lips open, and before I truly realized what was happening, I was falling into the kiss, tugging him close, our lips moving together. We’d kissed a lot, he and I. It was familiar, but still exciting, and the longer it went on, the more I wished the two of us were alone.

When we eventually broke apart, we were both breathless. Banjo threw a smug, shit-eating grin in Rafe’s direction. Rafe simply smiled into the bottle then took another swig.

Banjo sat up a little straighter, focusing on me. His gaze hovered on my lips. “Truth or dare, princess.”

Truth would have been taking the coward’s way out. Everybody knew that. “Dare.”

“Kiss Rafe.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s all you two got? You’re just going to dare me to kiss each other? You both know I’ve already done that.”

“And more,” Banjo said with a laugh.

I shot him a look, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Fine,” I said to him. I turned in Rafe’s direction. His icy-blue eyes watched me, and I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe. Hadn’t this been what I’d been waiting for? Over the last couple weeks, I felt like I’d gained permission to kiss Banjo whenever I wanted, at least if we were alone. But I didn’t have that with Rafe. He still felt forbidden. But that didn’t stop me from wanting him.

“Gotta stop staring at me like that, princess,” Rafe said lazily, “Or someone is going to have to dare me to do a lot more than just kiss you.”

I swallowed hard. I leaned in, letting my lips brush by his ear. “You don’t need to be dared for that.”

It was supposed to come out teasingly, almost a joke, but with a snap of his hand, Rafe dragged me across his lap and laid his mouth over mine. And God, it was good. I closed my eyes, snaked my fingers into his hair, and let his kiss rock me to my very core. Beneath me, his erection stirred, and that put a whole host of new ideas in my head.

When we finally pulled away, I glanced over at Banjo, feeling the tiniest bit guilty, even though he’d been the one to dare me. I expected to see jealousy in his eyes. But all I saw was heat.

“Well, fuck.” He pulled a pack of cigarettes from the nightstand and lit one up, not even bothering to crack a window.

Messing around with the two of them. Kissing them. Letting them take my clothes off. More than once. Banjo’s shirt hadn’t lasted long once we were all in bed together. Hands had wandered. Tongues had made me squeal. And still, I’d gotten nothing more than a feel of their chests. They were treating me with kid gloves, refusing to go any further until I was sober. I was pretty sure I’d sworn never to drink again, because even this morning, after two mind-blowing orgasms the night before, I wanted more. Of both of them. I couldn’t choose one over the other, and so far, neither had even hinted at making me.

On the exhale he murmured, “If you two are gonna kiss like that, then I need a smoke. And maybe a cold shower. That was hot.”

A tiny laugh escaped me, and I sat back against the wall. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

“Why?” Rafe asked, motioning for Banjo to pass him a cigarette. “You’re young and hot. You should be doing stuff like that all the time.”

“Do you?” I asked.

“Make out with girls while my best friend watches? Hasn’t happened before, but I’m not against it.”

Interesting. I took another shot of tequila. It was really starting to course through my system now. Not only turning me on but loosening my lips. I wouldn’t betray Banjo’s confidence, no matter how drunk I was.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t help things along a bit. I had two seriously hot guys in front of me. Two hot guys who were both a little drunk, and judging from the way they’d just kissed me, plenty horny.

“Rafe. Truth or dare?” I asked.

He took a drag on the cigarette and blew the smoke in my direction. “What do you think?”

“Dare.”

“Fine, dare it is. Do your worst, princess.” He was so full of arrogance. It was going to be fun to surprise him.

“I dare you to kiss Banjo.”

Rafe coughed. “Say what?”

“Kiss Banjo,” I repeated. But then I felt bad about pushing him into something he might not want to do. I didn’t want that. I just wanted to see if under the guise of a dare, he might do something he’d been secretly thinking about for a while. “Or you can switch to truth,” I added on, giving him an out.

He glanced at Banjo. And there it was again. That look. Something that screamed barely concealed attraction. I was sure of it.

He handed me the cigarette. “You good with this?” he asked Banjo.

Banjo grinned. “Are you? I’m a fucking excellent kisser, Rafe. You might just fall in love if you kiss me right now. Lacey can vouch for me.”

Rafe shook his head. “Shut up, dickhead. Kiss me then. Blow my mind.”

If I hadn’t been trying to play it cool, I might have squealed with excitement.

Banjo sat up and shifted across the bed. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, breaths becoming ragged.

I couldn’t do anything but watch.

“Fuck it,” Rafe murmured. He leaned in, lips locking with Banjo’s.

Banjo was quick to respond. He grabbed Rafe’s face and pushed him back until his head hit the wall. It was rougher, harder, all the softness they’d had with me gone out the window while they both tussled for control. They grappled with each other, a violent mess of lips and teeth and tongues.

But then something changed. They found a rhythm. They went from fighting, to melding to the other. Moving in unison, both giving as much as they got. There was something beautiful about that kiss. Something that got me deep in the feels. Something that told me the two of them had been waiting to do this longer than eith

Banjo groaned, sitting back. Rafe opened his eyes, and both of them turned to me.

“Did you get what you wanted out of that?” Rafe asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

I grinned at them. “Did you? Because that was the hottest kiss I’ve ever seen.”

Something silent passed between them.

Rafe moved in first. “Time for a new game,” he whispered, kissing me again with a determination that guided me to the middle of the bed.

Behind me, the mattress shifted, dipping beneath Banjo’s weight as he maneuvered in behind me.

My breath quickened. “What game?”

Rafe shifted his mouth to my neck, kissing me there until my eyes fluttered closed and my head dropped back.

Banjo moved to the other side, placing a kiss below my ear. “One where we get you very naked.”

My eyes flew open. “We? As in both of you? I can’t…Banjo, I…” He knew I was a virgin. There was no way I was going to lose my virginity in a threesome. That was just too much.

But all I saw in Banjo’s gaze was solid strength. Safety. Someone I trusted. Some of the butterflies in my belly disappeared.

“Rafe,” he said.

Rafe glanced up from my neck, his gaze slightly unfocused.

“Third base,” Banjo commanded. “Nothing more. Got it?”

He looked at me, then back to Banjo. “Even if she begs for it?”

Oh my God. I just about melted into a puddle.

Banjo chuckled behind me. “Especially then. Leave her something to dream about.”

Oh, there would be no problems there. This was already something right out of a dream. A super-hot dream I never wanted to wake up from.

Rafe leaned in and kissed me again, while Banjo gathered up my hair, kissing the back of my neck and pushing my shirt aside to kiss his way down my shoulder. His fingers trailed down my back, eventually coming to rest at my sides.

“Gotta get you naked, baby,” Banjo whispered in my ear. “Trust us. We won’t go too far.”

“I do,” I whispered back.

“Good.” Banjo lifted my shirt.

I wished I’d worn nicer underwear, but I hadn’t exactly expected to be doing this when I left the house this morning.

Neither boy seemed to care. Rafe’s gaze raked over my skin, my chest, my cleavage, before he tilted my mouth up to meet his again. His kisses were drugging, pulling me into him, making me feel more than I’d thought possible. It suddenly didn’t seem like a big deal that I had two gorgeous guys kissing me. They were slowly stripping me of my clothes, vowing to make me feel good, but to also go at my pace. Why exactly had I been nervous? Stupid, when what they were promising seemed oh-so-delicious. And just a little bit wicked.

“Have you two done this before?” I asked.

Banjo’s fingers rolled over my spine, unsnapping my bra and drawing the straps off my shoulders. I shivered as he pushed it away, dropping it on the floor

I smiled softly. He was so cute. So sweet. He’d taken such good care of me last night, and in the cold, sober light of the morning, I appreciated that. It would have been easy to get carried away. To go all the way with the two of them, and though I’d thought I wanted that, I realized this morning I hadn’t been ready for it. Not for both of them

“Every word on those photos is true, princess. Every. Single. One.”

My eyes flew open, and my palm connected with his cheek in a stinging slap. “You’re a liar.” I seethed.

It would be hours later before I realized Banjo had never said I love you back