Page 6 of The Forbidden Trio

“Yeah. He came into the bar where I was having a drink with an old friend. I’m not usually the bar type, but Paul walked in, the hot American import, and I ended up hanging out all night just to talk to him.”

“And to ogle me,” Paul interrupted.

“Yeah, that, too.” He turned back to Jessie. “He has a really nice ass. And I liked him right away. I still do.”

He reached out, stroking a hand over Paul’s T-shirt-clad shoulder, and a rush of envy went through her. If only she could touch Paul so casually, express her desire for him so openly.

If only Noah would touch me like that.

Jesus. She really was a mess. She didn’t even know who she wanted. And nothing was going to happen, anyway, so she may as well get over it.

But she was wet and aching, as badly as she’d been in the shower.

They spent the rest of the ride listening to music, watching the scenery change from rolling hills to dense clumps of pine as they chatted. Noah was warm and open and easy to talk to—he was easy to like, even if he weren’t this hot. But damn, the man made her mouth water, and she had to keep squeezing her thighs together in the backseat of the Jeep, reminding herself that all she was going to do was look.

By the time they reached their campground on the edge of Lake Tahoe, the sun was lowering in the sky, casting darkening shadows over the crisp blue, touching the water in the lake with silver. Fir trees dotted the edges of the lake, which sat like an enormous blue bowl, cradled by the surrounding mountains.

They got out of the car, and Jessie raised her arms over her head and stretched her back, breathing in the crisp, clean air. It was so gorgeous here—she was glad she’d come, despite her uncontrolled surges of lust. Paul came around the side of the car and slid an arm around her shoulders.

“Can I tempt you to get some food ready while we put the tent up?”You could tempt me into doing almost anything.

But she bit her lip, keeping that thought to herself. “Sure. I saw the ice chest in the back. I’ll take care of it.”

They spent some time getting the camp site together—tent assembled, wood for a fire laid out in the pit, a cooler full of food and their backpacks just outside the tent. The sun dove into the horizon in a blaze of summer color—shades of pink and gold casting long shadows against the trees and touching the boughs before sinking, leaving them in darkness other than the light from the fire they’d built and two Coleman lanterns.

Dinner was easy, pan-fried steak and potatoes wrapped in foil and baked in the fire, along with a bottle of wine, followed by another. Conversation was just as easy and the guys were entertaining. Noah and Paul sat side by side, laughing, touching, yet somehow still making Jessie feel included.

“Noah, why don’t you tell Jessie what really happened the night we met?”

Noah grinned. “That’s your story to tellyourfriend, babe.”

Jessie groaned, laughing. “Do I really want to hear this?”

Paul winked at her. “I think you might, sugar. It’s an interesting tale. I would have told you sooner, but I wasn’t sure until tonight that you’d want to know. Or maybe I’ve just had enough to drink.”

“Yeah, blame it on the alcohol, Paul,” Noah teased. “You know damn well you’ve been wanting to spill to her.”

She glanced from Paul to Noah and back again. Their eyes were gleaming in the firelight, a shared grin on their handsome faces.

“Okay, okay—someone tell me already!”

Paul shrugged, the muscles in his broad shoulders rippling beneath his plain white Tshirt. “I went out that night after checking out the car I was there to pick up, just wanting to have a beer before heading back to my hotel. When I walked into that bar, there he was, like some misplaced golden surfer boy.”

“Thanks for objectifying me.”

“You know you like it.”

Noah grinned. “Yeah, I do—coming from you, anyway. But just so you know, Jessie, I can’t surf for shit,” he said, making her giggle. Then, turning to Paul, he said, “Go on and finish the story, babe.”

Paul reached out and brushed a finger down Noah’s cheek. “I saw right away that the guy he was with wasn’t his date, which made me pretty damn happy, so I moved in and bought him a beer. We started talking, and eventually his friend, Joe—his name was Joe, wasn’t it?—decided to take off. We must have talked for a good two hours—”

“Flirted, you mean,” Noah interjected.

“Talked, flirted, laughed. Checked out your tight abs under your tight T-shirt.”

Noah smoothed a palm over Paul’s stomach. “Talk about tight abs,” he murmured.

Jessie shivered, her skin lighting up as if Noah had touched her. She’d like that— she’d like them both to touch her. But that wasn’t happening, and she really did want to hear where this story was going.

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