Drayton is hot and mysterious, and Mike takes care of her. Together, they have great sex and a mostly stable relationship—one Julia thought satisfied her. After all, how can she complain about having two sexy men at the same time?
Then everything starts to change. Drayton is keeping a dark secret that threatens more than their arrangement. It might actually threaten their lives. And Mike keeps becoming more alpha than she’s ever known him to be.
What once was fun and casual is now a tangle of conflicting desires. Drayton wants to keep his freedom. Julia wants a real commitment.
And Mike…well, Mike just wants her.
Then everything starts to change. Drayton is keeping a dark secret that threatens more than their arrangement. It might actually threaten their lives. And Mike keeps becoming more alpha than she’s ever known him to be.
What once was fun and casual is now a tangle of conflicting desires. Drayton wants to keep his freedom. Julia wants a real commitment.
And Mike…well, Mike just wants her.
EXCERPT:
She was smiling at Drayton, thinking she needed to spend more time with him like this, since she’d been focused a lot more on Mike than on him lately, when he asked into the silence, “What are you thinking about?”
“You,” she admitted, putting down her glass and leaning back in her seat. “Us. Our relationship. Do you ever want any more than what we have?”
She had no idea why she’d voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind for a couple of months now. She knew it went beyond the bounds of their established relationship. But it was honest, and Drayton felt safe at the moment. She really wanted to know.
He blinked slowly. Glanced away for a moment. Then turned back to meet her gaze. “I’m happy with the way things are.”
She gave a little nod, feeling a drop of disappointment. “Oh. Okay.”
“Aren’t you happy?”
“I am. I mean, what girl wouldn’t want great sex with two amazing guys. But, still, sometimes I wonder…it just sometimes feels like something is missing.”
He shook his head and leaned toward her. “Nothing is missing. Everyone, in any kind of relationship, sometimes wonders if something is missing. That’s because life can never offer us everything. We choose what’s most important to us and accept that there are some things we’ll never have. If you have some romantic notion about getting everything without giving up anything, you’ll always be disappointed. Life isn’t about perfect happy endings. They just don’t exist. It’s about choosing. And then about giving up what we don’t choose.”
She thought about his words and then nodded slowly. “Yeah. I know you’re right about that. But don’t you ever want to be close to us—with more than just your body.”
“You,” she admitted, putting down her glass and leaning back in her seat. “Us. Our relationship. Do you ever want any more than what we have?”
She had no idea why she’d voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind for a couple of months now. She knew it went beyond the bounds of their established relationship. But it was honest, and Drayton felt safe at the moment. She really wanted to know.
He blinked slowly. Glanced away for a moment. Then turned back to meet her gaze. “I’m happy with the way things are.”
She gave a little nod, feeling a drop of disappointment. “Oh. Okay.”
“Aren’t you happy?”
“I am. I mean, what girl wouldn’t want great sex with two amazing guys. But, still, sometimes I wonder…it just sometimes feels like something is missing.”
He shook his head and leaned toward her. “Nothing is missing. Everyone, in any kind of relationship, sometimes wonders if something is missing. That’s because life can never offer us everything. We choose what’s most important to us and accept that there are some things we’ll never have. If you have some romantic notion about getting everything without giving up anything, you’ll always be disappointed. Life isn’t about perfect happy endings. They just don’t exist. It’s about choosing. And then about giving up what we don’t choose.”
She thought about his words and then nodded slowly. “Yeah. I know you’re right about that. But don’t you ever want to be close to us—with more than just your body.”
AUTHOR INFO:
Claire has been writing romance novels since she was twelve years old. She has a PhD in British literature and, when she's not writing, she teaches English at the university level.
She also writes contemporary romance under the pen-name Noelle Adams.
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Claire-
WEBSITE: http://clairekent.com/
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