Working as an assistant for the metal band Serration is
Alicia’s dream gig—a far cry from the cubicle she abandoned at her old job. She
promised herself she wouldn’t become starstruck, but the band’s frontman,
Vince, proves very hard to ignore. She manages to resist him on a daily basis,
but soon she finds herself thinking about the keyboardist, Emerson, all the
time.
The two men’s closeness confuses her a little, and Vince’s
promiscuous reputation makes her wary, but when Emerson invites her to Vince’s
summer house for a week-long getaway, she jumps at the chance. A single day in
such close quarters convinces Alicia of one thing: these two men want each
other as much as they want her. Will they only see each other as rivals, or
will they give in and let her lure them both to her bed and her very willing
arms?
Excerpt:
Excerpt:
Vince made his way
down the stairs quickly and flung the front door open. A smile came to his face
as Emerson and Alicia stepped out of the car and turned toward him in unison,
both of them pushing their hair out of their faces in an equally synchronized gesture.
As he smiled and locked eyes with Alicia, a mixture of lust and jealousy
swirled inside him. He would love to get her in his bed, but he was far more
interested in getting Emerson there instead. Knowing the two people before him
were likely to sleep together soon, and picturing what it would be like, made
him ache in a way he didn’t fully understand, even as it turned him on a
little. When he switched his gaze to Emerson, the other man’s guarded
expression made Vince’s smile fade.
“How was the drive?”
Vince asked.
“Good. No
traffic.” He moved around to the back of the car to retrieve the bags.
Vince came forward
to help. “I had a guest room made up. Across the hall from yours.”
“Put my stuff
there. Give her my room,” he said, keeping his voice low.
Vince hesitated,
but then he picked up two of Emerson’s bags. “Okay.” He glanced back to Alicia,
who was admiring the house and walking away from them. “Will it even matter?”
he added playfully, nudging Emerson’s leg with his knee.
Emerson’s
frustration showed in the firm set of his mouth and the white-knuckled grip he
had on the bags. “Her having the choice matters. My room is nicer, so put her
there. I’ll tell her it’s mine if she asks, but I’d rather not make a big deal
out of it.” He sighed and brushed past Vince. “I’m not like you, Vince.”
I wish you were. Vince didn’t even try to hide his emotions as he
watched the retreating form of the man he loved. He took two deep breaths and
reined it all in, however, before turning to Alicia.
“You like it?”
She nodded. “It
looks familiar.”
He motioned for
her to follow him inside. “It’s vaguely based on a famous house in Cologny in
Switzerland.” When they reached the foyer, he pointed to a montage of pictures
on the wall between two windows. “The Villa Diodati.”
“Ah. The Frankenstein
house. Yeah, I saw it in a documentary on
the novel. Who designed this one?”
“I did, a little.
Someone who knew what he was doing did the actual designing, but the idea was
mine. We went back and forth for weeks to get it exactly the way I wanted it. I
plan to eventually sell my other place in the city and live here all the time.”
“It’s a lovely
setting.” Her eyes took in everything as she turned slowly.
“I love being
here. I hope you feel welcome. Let me know if you need anything.”
Emerson coughed,
and Vince looked up at the landing. “Coming, darling.” Smiling broadly at
Emerson’s scowl, he gestured for Alicia to go before him up the stairs.
She shook her head
as she did so. “You guys are here to relax. Don’t get him all pissed off the first
day.”
“You think it
pisses him off?”
She looked very
thoughtful as they slowly made their way up. Had they talked about him in the
car? Or had she simply noticed how much Vince teased him? He hardly knew any
other way of showing affection, and he wanted to show Emerson so much affection
it drove him half mad some days.
“Maybe a little.
He really cares about you.”
Vince’s heart sped
for a moment. Had he said that or had she come to the conclusion herself? “I
love him more than I love anyone else in the world.”
They both stopped
after the words had tumbled out. He tried to say something else, but she beat
him to it.
“Then listen to
him. He’s worried about you. He loves you, too.”
What did that
mean? Before he could ask, Emerson came down the hall and took his own bags
from Vince. “Thank you,” he said curtly. Turning to Alicia, he said, “I’ll show
you yours. Hope you like it.”
Alicia gave Vince
a sweet smile before walking away. He leaned against a pillar, his stomach
churning. Emerson was worried about him. His mind whirled with all the
different ways he could interpret that. He glanced down the hall and their eyes
locked, the other man giving him a questioning look. Vince smiled and nodded,
and Emerson put his bags down in the hall and then followed Alicia into the
room he usually occupied. Vince tore down the stairs, needing some
fresh air and a good, long run.
Buy from Evernight
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookstrand
Buy from All Romance eBooks
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Bookstrand
Buy from All Romance eBooks
