Page 6 of Guilty as Sin

Rolf hears the tremor in my voice and offers a warning. “Don’t push her too fast.”

“Like last time?” I say, trying not to be defensive, trying to believe that he might be wrong about her.

He nods, eyes serious and unflinching. “Like every time.”

Then Zoe looks back and smiles, that dazzling, uninhibited smile that brought us to her in the first place, and I am overwhelmed by the infatuation I swore I’d never let consume me again.

“She’s ready,” I insist, pushing back my doubt and Rolf’s. “I truly believe this is what she wants. What we all want.”

He slows, not entirely convinced. “Most women don’t want to be shared.”

“They’re not her.” I watch her pace the lobby, unsteady but sure, like she’s had too much to drink or not enough of us.

Then she catches our eyes again, a look that breaks the line between uncertainty and desire. I pull Rolf with me, toward her, toward everything I want tonight to be.

Zoe waits for us near the marble fountain, each footstep feeling like an hour in my impatience to close the distance. When we reach her, I see she is more eager than I could have hoped. “Are you boys ready to take a break?” she flirts, more direct than I expect and more open than I am prepared to understand.

Rolf is silent, searching her face, then searching mine. He must see the same thing because he offers a slow nod of agreement. “She’s not what I expected either,” he admits, but the hesitation hangs between his words like the crystal drops of the chandelier above us.

The longer we stand here, the more I fear I’ll lose the thrill of the dance. “The worst that can happen is Zoe says no.”

His eyes narrow, the only sign of his genuine worry. “And what happens after that?”

My breath comes quickly, an erratic rhythm that betrays my confidence. “It’ll ruin us. If she’s not interested… If she’s not ready…” The unthinkable scenarios that flood my mind remind me how much is at stake. “But I have to know, Rolf. I have to.”

“We can’t afford to scare her away.” His words are the steady counterpoint to my uncertainty, an anchor that both grounds and traps me. He needs me to see the risk we are taking, the recklessness I’m steering us toward. “Are you willing to lose your chance?”

“Are you?” I fire back as the possibilities flood my mind.

But we have never been this close. She is still waiting, still a beacon of curiosity and intrigue. This is more than I have allowed myself to hope for, and I can’t stop now. I can’t let his doubt stop me.

Rolf shakes his head resignedly, a gesture of reluctance or consent—I can’t tell which. It doesn’t matter.

“Zoe!” I call, watching the way she perks up at my voice. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She grins, playful and tempting. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“We have a few ideas.” I take the chance I thought I never would. “Come home with us.”

Her answer is a rush of laughter, a light, carefree sound that fills me with the sense of everything to come. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d love to see where you live.”

I turn to Rolf and smile. “I told you. I think she’s the one.”

CHAPTER 5

ZOE

Arms lock around me like chains, soft ones made of silk and sinew, and I am captive, blissfully captive, in this unlikely coupling of bold and bolder, this unwritten threesome that plays out along the city sidewalks.

Karl and Rolf flank me, striding through the streets, taking turns with the intimate brush of fingers, the knowing glances that make my heart skitter like stones on a frozen lake. They are as sure of themselves as I am uncertain of anything, and their confidence is both weapon and charm, slicing me open and coaxing me closed.

We move as one along 59th Street, a seamless trio that surprises even me, both with its audacity and ease. I should be out of place here, sandwiched between these two exquisite specimens of masculinity, but the rhythm of their footsteps is so hypnotic and compelling that I can't help but fall into step. I can't help but want to belong to this strange arrangement. Rolf on my left, Karl on my right, and me in the middle, suspended between uncertainty and longing.

I look up to find Rolf's eyes on me, steady and assured, a pull so direct that I'm surprised I don't buckle under its weight. It's not just that he looks at me, but how he does it. Like he knowsme or will know me, the real me, in all my ambition, uncertainty, and desire. That thought ignites a thrill deep inside me, as heady and intoxicating as champagne on an empty stomach. He doesn't even flinch as he stares me down, turning just enough to pass the intensity of his gaze to his brother before centering it on me again, an unspoken communication that crackles in the space between us. I'm jittery with it, a string pulled so taut that I'm amazed I don't snap.

The buzz and blur of the city envelop us, making our intimacy even more outrageous. Anonymous and bold, our very existence is an act of defiance against convention. I should be terrified—I am frightened. But that fear only spurs me on. For a moment, I wonder if I've misread the situation or if my sense of confidence was mistaken for something more dangerous. What if I've let the boundaries slip too far? What if they're not the ones playing me, but I am them? There is so much of me that yearns for them both. But am I ready for the consequences?

But then there's Karl, tipping his head back and laughing, a sound that could be as easily interpreted as approval or mocking dismissal. It rushes through me, leaving sparks in its wake. I must have said something, probably something foolish, but it doesn't matter because, in the next instant, he's all focused, pinning me to him with the raw energy of his attention. The shadows of trees in Central Park lilt against his face, sketching angles and hard lines that make him seem older, more enigmatic than he did indoors. He is an elegant rogue with the courage to follow through on his audacious promises, and I realize with an unexpected pang that I want to be his rogue, too. Theirs.

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