MFM: A Menage Romance Read online

  Table of Contents

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  MFM: A Menage Romance

  Lauren Bliss

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright © 2017 by Lauren Bliss

  Cover Images Copyright © 2017 - Slava_14 - Depositphotos.com

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1

  “Oh my God, you’re here finally!” Lisa announces, rolling her big blue eyes at me, just as dramatic as ever.

  “Hey, sorry,” I shrug, standing on the doorstep to her apartment, surrounded by a mountain of bags. “Didn’t you get my message? The greyhound took a little longer than I thought.”

  When I finally arrived here after my nine-hour bus journey from hell, I guess I was expecting a slightly warmer welcome. But I probably shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, Lisa’s been my best friend since we were both little girls, and ‘thoughtful’ isn’t exactly the first word you’d use to describe her.

  “Well, come in, come in,” she urges excitedly, turning and leading the way into her totally pristine apartment. “You need to change, pronto, otherwise we’re gonna be late.”

  “Late for what?” I ask, as I grab my bags and follow her inside. As far as I know, we’d planned on a quiet first night together, just catching up on the last six months, maybe ordering in a pizza and watching some crappy movie on cable. But as always, it seems like Lisa has other ideas.

  “For the club!” she announces. “Didn’t I tell you? Change of plan, babe. I have to check this place out for work. And besides, it’s the hottest new venue in the city. Come on, Fawn, it’s the perfect thing to do on your first night here!”

  “Clubbing?” I groan, glancing over at the inviting plush white sofa – which is also gonna be doubling as my bed for the next however many weeks.

  “Oh, come on!” she giggles. “It’ll be fun, I promise.”

  “I guess,” I sigh reluctantly.

  But I know I can’t really argue.

  Sure it’s not exactly my idea of a fun evening, but I remind myself that Lisa’s my best friend and she is doing me a huge favour after all – letting me stay on her couch until I can find a job and a place of my own in this city.

  And wasn’t that part of the reason I came here in the first place – for a fresh start in a new city? Maybe it’s time for boring old Fawn Matthews to stop being such a homebody and actually live a little.

  So I grab my bag of clothes and lug it through to the sparklingly clean bathroom, resting it by my feet as I hurriedly change out of my grubby jeans, sweater and sneakers, then root around in the bag until I find what I’m looking for – this cute summer tea dress that I’d picked up just before my trip here.

  I was supposed to be saving it for special occasions, but I guess my first night out is special?

  I pull it on, fix my hair a little, then pad back out to the living room to show off my outfit to Lisa.

  “So, what do you think?” I say, giving her a twirl. “This’ll do, right?”

  But the look on her face tells me I’ve totally missed the mark.

  “Ah,” she replies tentatively, looking me up and down and wrinkling her carefully-plucked brow. “Is that really the best thing you’ve brought with you?”

  “Uh huh,” I nod.

  “Nope, ‘fraid not,” she mutters, shaking her head. “That won’t do at all. Come with me ...”

  And before I can protest, she’s grabbed my arm and marched me in the direction of her room.

  “You can borrow something of mine,” she says as she leads the way. “With your figure you’ll look amazing in anything, anyway ...”

  * * *

  “I feel stupid!” I say, raising my voice in an attempt to be heard over the blaring ear-splitting music, pumping out from the huge sound system.

  “Huh?” Lisa replies.

  “I feel stupid,” I repeat.

  My cute tea dress has been replaced by a black dress so tight I can barely walk in it, with weird little frills on the hips and a low cut V on the front, with a see-through mesh panel that shows off my non-existent cleavage.

  “Well you look hot!” Lisa replies.

  “If you say so,” I murmur, taking another sip of my vodka and tonic water, then wrinkling my nose at the sour taste, wishing Lisa had ordered us something else at the bar.

  As we stand at the side of the busy club, my awkwardness increases. I’ve always felt so out of place in venues like this – never really knowing what to do with myself, or how to behave. It’s like everyone else got some secret instruction manual. I guess that’s why I studied Anthropology at college – I’ve always preferred to stay on the side-lines and watch. And a place like this is perfect for people watching, almost like an Anthropology class in action: groups of spray-tanned girls in sky high heels, all waiting around for guys to talk to them, and prowling heavily-groomed alpha males occasionally swooping in to stake their claim. Yeah, the whole thing’s pretty cheesy, and only serves to remind me why I don’t go out to clubs in the first place.

  But I have to admit, the place itself is pretty cool – for a club. It’s actually really tastefully decorated, with thick plush carpeted areas and a shiny, lit up dance floor. The lights are low and the music – if a little too loud – is actually pretty good, and I feel myself nodding my head to the beat, despite myself.

  As a pair of girls wearing insanely high heels strut confidently past me like they were born wearing them, I shoot a self-conscious glance down at my own plain black Oxfords. They’re the smartest shoes I own, and I’d brought them with me to wear to job interviews, but compared to all the other girls in here, they look totally dowdy and schoolgirlish in comparison.

  “So remind me why we’re here again?” I ask Lisa during a slight lull in the blaring music.

  “I’m scouting,” she replies, like I should know what that means. “For a venue for Megan’s next party?”

  Megan – I’ve learnt from earlier as I was being bundled into this excuse for a dress – is Lisa’s boss, at the Events Management company where she works.

  “Oh my god,” Lisa continues, as I let my eyes drift once more around the room, “last week? We got invited to the VIP section of the Sky Lounge and we got vodka shots all night. And Megan is amazing. All of the clothes she wears are designer. And she gets a Brazilian blowout every week. Hashtag lifegoals! And she once dated Brody Jenner.”

  “Who?” I ask, but Lisa just rolls her eyes at me. As she continues to talk, I notice that she’s constantly scanning the room, like she’s in the process of looking for hotter, cooler people to hang out with.

  So I guess you’re wondering why I’m even friends with her, right?

  Well, our friendship’s always been this way. Out in public she’ll be like this, acting like some ice-cool socialite, but every now and again, when
we’re on our own, she’ll let her guard down completely, and that’s the Lisa I love spending time with. She can be totally funny and goofy and make you feel like you’re the only person in the whole wide world. And did I mention she can be genuinely hilarious?

  I’ve known her since we were kids – just six years old. Her dad built us a tree house in the grounds of her parents’ farm, and when we hung out up there, it really did feel like we were the only two people in the world.

  Also I’ve always been so terminally shy - it’s not like I had many other friends growing up. I was always this way, I don’t know why. As a kid I did talk and play with a few other girls, too, but as we both became teenagers, that’s when Lisa really started exerting her influence on me. She said she didn’t want me hanging out with the nerds. But at the same time, she was also spending time with the popular girls, but never really got around to introducing me to them. At the time, strange as it sounds, I felt flattered – like she wanted to keep me all to herself. But then, every now and again, she’d go to their parties and of course I was never invited.

  All of a sudden my thoughts are interrupted, as Lisa clutches my arm in a grip tight enough to almost cause me to spill my drink, then hisses in my ear, “Quick, Fawn, laugh like I’ve said something totally hilarious.”

  “Why?” I ask, puzzled.

  “Just do it, please?” she pleads, shooting me that puppy dog expression I can never say no to.

  So I leave a beat and then – inwardly cringing – I throw my head back and try to force out the most convincing laugh I can, which Lisa joins in with a moment later. I’m still wondering what the hell is happening, when all of a sudden the answer struts into view: two guys, heading this way.

  What a surprise.

  They look like brothers – tall, handsome, well dressed in simple black t-shirts and expensive looking jeans, and well built in a way that no doubt comes from countless hours spent in the gym. In other words, exactly the kind of guys I’ve always been totally invisible to, especially when standing next to Lisa, who’s already preparing herself for their arrival, tousling her long blonde locks and pushing out her ample cleavage.

  Great, I think, as my heart starts to sink. So that’s the rest of the night planned out. I’m just gonna have to stand here like some awkward third wheel, watching on as they both flirt with her as usual ...

  “Good evening, ladies,” one of the guys says, “are you enjoying the club?”

  And as he speaks, weird as it sounds, his big dark eyes never leave mine for a moment. I look away shyly, my gaze flitting towards the other guy and WTF, it seems like he’s staring at me, too.

  “It’s great,” Lisa butts in, before I can answer his question. “This place is awesome. Do you come here a lot?”

  The two guys look at each other and smile, like some private joke is passing between them. It’s crazy just how similar they are, both with dark hair, dark eyes, their faces flecked with stubble. But there are subtle differences, too; the guy on the right is maybe a little more built, while the guy on the left is slightly taller, his face a touch thinner. Yeah, they might be brothers, but they’re definitely not identical twins.

  “It’s pretty cool,” I add, trying to raise my voice to be heard over the music, “but maybe a little loud?”

  Again the two guys look at each other, and again the first one speaks. “Well in that case, I insist you join us in the VIP? It’s a little quieter there ...”

  “Sure, we’d love to!” Lisa announces, pushing herself forward, increasingly desperate for them to notice her.

  “Great,” he smiles, “follow me ...”

  I try to give Lisa my best what the hell are you doing, we don’t even know these guys look, but it’s no use. She’s already trotting off after them, and as usual all I can do is follow ...

  * * *

  “So, seats in the VIP?” Lisa asks excitedly, once we’re all sat around a table in the plush dimly lit area which – thank God – is a little quieter. “Should we know you guys?”

  “That depends,” the guy who’s so far done all the talking smiles back, “We’re not celebrities, if that’s what you mean. But yeah, this is our club.”

  At this new titbit of information, Lisa’s eyes widen and she leans forward on her chair. “Oh my God, that is like amazing!” she gushes. “Because actually? That’s the whole reason why I’m here. To find a new venue for my business, for this party we’re hosting? And ...”

  As Lisa continues on, I again sense eyes directed at me, and sure enough the other guy is staring straight at me now. He’s still not spoken, but he’s giving off this brooding calm, and I can tell he’s listening intently to everything that’s being said.

  “How rude,” the first guy laughs, looking first from me then to Lisa, “we haven’t even asked your names.”

  “I’m Lisa,” she announces before I can even open my mouth. “And this here is Fawn.”

  “Fawn,” the talkative guy repeats to himself, before reaching out to shake my hand. “That’s a very pretty name, it suits you,” he smiles, and I know it sounds crazy – I mean, this is probably just some thing he says to every girl – but in that moment, I really do believe him. He seems totally genuine and interested in me.

  What the hell?

  “And you are?” I say, feeling awkward and self-conscious as his big dark eyes never leave mine for a second.

  “I’m Mason,” he replies, his low voice sending a weird shiver through me despite myself. “And my silent partner here is Maxwell.”

  “Mason and Maxwell,” I repeat with a smile. “Got it.”

  “So does he ever speak?” Lisa laughs.

  “Only when he has something important to say,” Mason replies, his eyes once again turning to me as he speaks. And I can feel Maxwell’s burning gaze locked onto me, too.

  This is totally crazy, I think, my nervousness and excitement increasing by the second. Why the hell are these two guys both so interested in boring old me?

  “And what do you do, Fawn?” Mason asks.

  “Oh, Fawn here is unemployed,” Lisa launches in, now crossing and uncrossing her legs, trying her absolute hardest to show them off to these two guys who weirdly don’t seem to be at all interested in her.

  But maybe that’s just part of their plan, I think. Maybe its her they want all along, and they’re just using me to get her all frustrated, so she’ll have to just totally throw herself at them.

  Yeah, that sounds about right ...

  “So we should work together for sure,” Lisa continues, now running her slender fingers up and down the stem of her wineglass. (We’ve moved onto champagne once we arrived in the VIP – Lisa insisted on it, once it was clear Mason and Maxwell were buying the drinks.)

  Now I sense that Mason is trying to ask me something else, but even here in this private room, the music has picked up in volume, getting louder and more pulsing as the main club fills up.

  “Huh?” I say, leaning in, trying to strain to hear him.

  “I said, so what would you like to do? Are you looking for work ...”

  I start to answer him – trying to mention that there’s so few jobs within my field of study – but I’m having to constantly raise my voice to battle against the insistent beat of the drums and after only a few strained words, I just shrug and throw up my hands and say, “Oh never mind, it’s not very interesting.”

  “Say,” he announces to us all, “why don’t we take this back to our apartment? Fawn’s right – it is pretty loud in here ...”

  Woah, these guys move fast, I think. And I’m about to tell them about my nine hour greyhound ride and how all I want to do right now is sleep, when Lisa pushes in and shouts, “Awesome! That’d be amazing.”

  I try to give her a WTF look, but she’s already knocking back the rest of her champagne and standing up ready to go. I watch as Mason and Maxwell lead the way, back out through the VIP towards the exit, and as Lisa makes to follow them, I quickly grab her arm and pull her back.<
br />
  “Are you sure this is a good idea, Lisa?” I say, worriedly. “I mean, we hardly know these guys.”

  “Oh my God,” she replies, rolling her eyes at me like I’m a baby. “You’re such a square. And anyway, this isn’t about that. You heard them. They own this place. This is a perfect opportunity for my job, Fawn. For my career. This is basically the networking opportunity of the year. And anyway, they’re cute, right?”

  “I guess,” I say shyly.

  “You guess?!” she laughs.

  “Okay, they’re hot alright,” I sigh, feeling my face burning with embarrassment, the way it always does when I talk about boys.

  But it’s true. They are hot.

  “So which one do you want?” she giggles, grabbing my arm now as we set off to follow them. “I’m thinking Mason for me, and you can have whats-his-name, the strong silent one?”

  “Lisa!” I laugh, totally mortified now, wishing she’d just change the freaking subject.

  But at the same time, I can’t help but wonder which one I do like more. Mason was certainly charming – warm and funny and totally genuine, but with an undercurrent of seriousness and sincerity. But there was something about Maxwell, too. His silence. The sheer intensity he gave off, that I have to admit I found pretty hot. And the truth is, weird as it sounds, I really can’t decide which one I like more ...

  Outside, as we step into the cool night air, I notice that the guys have already managed to flag down a cab, and Mason holds the back door open for me, giving me a wry grin as he says, “This way madam, your carriage awaits.”

  It’s totally goofy, but it cracks me up and makes me relax a little, which I guess I s a good sign, considering I’m getting into a car with two guys I’ve only just met.

  Yeah, there’s something warm about him, something playful and warm, and it sets me immediately at ease.

  I climb into the back seat, only registering a moment later that he’s followed in after me, while Maxwell has come around the other side of the back of the car, too – so that the three of us are in the back together: these two guys I hardly know and little old me, sandwiched tightly between them.