Page 56 of Down and Dirty (Italian Stallions 1)

It was that thought that drove him forward.

Tony cupped Jess’s cheek and placed his lips on hers.

Their first kiss.

And it packed a punch.

Jess’s lips parted on a gasp, and he took advantage, running his tongue along the line of her mouth. Her tongue darted out to touch his, the two of them sharing each other’s taste. She was delicious, and he wanted more. So fucking much more.

His hands drifted to her hair, his fingers closing around her long dark tresses. Typically she wore it up in a ponytail, but tonight it was down, loose. Jess didn’t resist when he deepened the kiss even more, her own hands rising, mimicking his as her grip tightened around his hair.

He’d had long hair since high school, something he’d taken a lot of good-natured ribbing for from his dad and brothers. Not that he cared. He was used to it being long, and he was perfectly aware that a lot of women found it sexy.

He’d never been so fucking turned on by a kiss in his life. His cock thickened. There was no way Jess couldn’t feel the hard length of it pressing against her ass.

Then Tony felt a shift lower down on the couch. He hadn’t forgotten Rhys’s presence. Not at all. Having his friend there was spurring him on, driving Tony to move them forward to where he knew they both wanted to be.

With Jess.

Tony broke the kiss, drawing the backs of his fingers along the soft skin of her face. He held Jess’s gaze for a second, then looked over at Rhys.

Jess followed the direction of his stare, both of them recognizing the burning need in Rhys’s expression. Jess sucked in a sharp intake of air.

Rhys still held her feet in his hands, so when their attention turned to him, he used that grip to his advantage, tugging at her feet with just enough force. Jess slid down the couch, losing her balance and falling to her back, her head resting on the cushion between Tony’s outstretched knees.

Tony sat still as Rhys shifted, kneeling over Jess, caging her beneath him. Rhys lowered his head and stole his own kiss. The three of them were close, intimately close, as the temperature in the living room quickly rose.

Rhys remained above Jess, supporting his weight with his elbows and knees, holding himself above her. Jess’s hands found their way to his shoulders, her fingers bunching into the material of his T-shirt.

Tony watched as the two of them kissed, his cock thickening even more as his best friend kissed her. He fought to clamor his way through the barrage of emotions sweeping through him. He’d kissed hundreds of women in his life, but none of them had ever moved him like Jess.

While he’d known of Rhys’s shared interest in the woman, Tony had still been concerned that once they reached this place, once they crossed the line, he’d feel jealous.

What he hadn’t anticipated was finding pleasure in observing his friend kiss the woman he wanted. Needed. Cared for.

Loved?

He was too old for such a romantic sentiment, love an emotion he’d never managed to perfect. He shook that thought away, focusing instead on the here and now.

Tony was a dominant, demanding son of a bitch, who preferred to control the play in the bedroom. Unable to remain apart, he placed his hand on Rhys’s shoulder, pressing his friend back and up, wanting to join in.

Rhys allowed it, lifting his head and looking at Tony curiously. Tony didn’t have a clue what kind of lover Rhys was in the bedroom, neither of them the type to fuck and tell. It occurred to Tony—belatedly—that they needed to have that conversation before they allowed things to go too far with Jess.

Shit, they needed to discuss a lot more than just the sexual mechanics.

Jess rose between them, her face flushed, her breathing shallow, rapid. Their kisses had just as powerful an impact on her.

“Jess.” Tony reached for her, intent on having those kiss-swollen lips once more, but Jess moved unexpectedly, rising from the couch before either he or Rhys could touch her again.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“What?” Rhys asked. “Why?”

“I can’t…we can’t do this.”

Tony scowled. “Of course we can.”

She shook her head, backing away from the couch. Neither of them sought to pull her back, but Tony sensed Rhys wanted to do so as much as he did.

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