Riptide [Kismet Cove] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Susan Hayes

her earlobe. For one perfect moment the three of them were in harmony, but then Jess’s brain screamed in denial at what was happening and tore her out of her reverie.
    She broke off the kiss with Rory and let her hands fall from his hair as she found herself sandwiched between two of the hottest men she’d ever met, wearing nothing but her underwear. How the hell did this happen?
    “Jess?” Evan’s voice was a soft caress that flowed over her rattled nerves. “You okay, sweetheart?”
    Her answering laughter had a brittle edge to it that even Jess could hear. “No, I’m not even close to okay. I damn near drowned a while ago, and now I think I’m hallucinating.”
    “What makes you think you’re seeing things?” Rory asked, his voice still a husky with desire. He stroked his thumb down her cheek and she felt her pulse race at that simple contact.
    “There’s no way this can really be happening. I don’t—I’ve never even dreamed of doing this.”
    “Doing what?” Evan purred and brushed several delicate kisses from her ear to the top of her shoulder.
    “This! You, me, him! This isn’t happening! It can’t be, because I would never do something like this.” Jess took a deep breath and struggled to make sense of what was going on.
    “Sweetheart, I promise you, this is as real as it gets.” Evan chuckled near her ear as Rory tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking in his eyes.
    “You’re not the only one wondering what the hell is going on, but believe me, it is happening.” Rory gave her a smile and kissed her. It was a sweet, soft kiss that was nothing like the passionate possession she’d experienced from him only minutes before.
    Jess shivered with cold and confusion and both men reached around to hold her, nearly crushing her between them. She idly noticed they didn’t seem bothered by the fact they were holding each other as well as her, and then she shut down that line of thinking before she ended up jumping one of them again. Or both of them.
    “Uh, guys? We’re docked, right? So you can take me back to my cabin now.”
    “Not yet,” Evan murmured as he nuzzled her neck. “You need to rest a bit more first, and Rory needs to find you something to wear.”
    “Rory isn’t going anywhere, thank you.” The big man arched a brow over Jess’s shoulder to glower at Evan.
    Evan ignored Rory and kept talking to Jess as if the other man hadn’t said a word. “You’re shivering again, Jess. Get back under the covers and let us take care of you. I promise, nothing is going to happen without your permission, okay?”
    Something deep inside her whispered that she should do as they wanted. That she could trust them. She wanted to, so badly, but she needed help to make the leap.
    “Promise me. Both of you promise me you won’t hurt me.”
    “Hurt you?” Rory sounded horrified at the idea. “Never, baby. I would never hurt you, I promise.”
    “Me, too,” Evan stated solemnly. “Now will you please lie down and rest some more? You’re not ready to be up and around yet.”
    Jess smiled tiredly as she nodded and let the two men guide her back down to the mattress. They had her lie down on her side and then settled down on either side of her, cradling her between them like a pair of warm, muscular bookends. She closed her eyes as they covered themselves with the blankets again, her cheek resting on Evan’s chest and with Rory spooning up behind her. She’d never felt so protected in her life, and when Evan’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and Rory’s hand curved around her hip, she didn’t do anything but sigh in contentment and let herself drift deeper into sleep. When she had recovered from her near-death experience she’d have to decide what she was going to do about the fact she was attracted to two men at once, but for now her instincts were insisting she could trust them, and she was simply too tired to do anything else.

Chapter 5
     
    Rory