Dare to be Three (Dare Menage Series Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Made Maleen: Chapter 1

  Dare to be Three

  The Dare Menage Series, Book 3

  Jeanne St. James

  Contents

  Disclaimer

  About Dare to be Three

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Also by Jeanne St. James

  If you enjoyed this book

  About the Author

  Made Maleen: An Erotic Twist on a Fairy Tale

  About Made Maleen

  Made Maleen: Chapter 1

  Copyright © 2017 by Jeanne St. James

  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.

  Editor: Leanore Elliot

  Cover Art: April Martinez

  www.jeannestjames.com

  * * *

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  Created with Vellum

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  * * *

  DISCLAIMER: Please do not try any new sexual practice (BDSM or otherwise) without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. The author will not be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in this book.

  A BIG thank you to my beta readers:

  Lesley Clark & Rita Cerdeira

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  He was dark. So dark, she couldn’t keep her gaze from him…

  * * *

  When Paige Reed spots a man across the room at a party, she’s fascinated and decides she wants him in her bed. Fortunately, her husband, Connor, doesn’t mind. He’s attracted to the powerful man too.

  * * *

  Always bi-curious, the right opportunity has never presented itself to Connor Morgan. Until now. He doesn’t mind bringing another man into their marriage as long as it doesn’t drive a wedge between him and Paige.

  * * *

  Former NFL player, Graedon Ward likes to be in control. He’s more than pleased with Paige's obvious interest. However, she makes it quite clear: it's a package deal. If he wants her, he has to take on her husband too, and past experience has taught him that’s a dangerous road to travel.

  * * *

  The chemistry between the three is explosive, but it’s Grae’s desire to share the same level of intimacy he sees between Paige and Conner that puts real pressure on the threesome. And it may cause it all to crash and burn.

  Chapter 1

  He was dark. So dark, the rich, deep tone of his skin reminded her of a ripe plum. She couldn’t ever remember seeing someone quite so black. Because of this, her gaze kept drawing back to him. It was rude to stare, she knew, but she didn’t seem to have any control over it. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him.

  His head looked smooth and beautifully shaped. He had the type of structure which made bald look good.

  Never a fan of facial hair, Paige Reed rarely liked it on a man. But this man’s goatee was neatly trimmed and fit his face perfectly. A thick gold hoop earring hung from his left ear. He wore a well-tailored suit. He probably had no choice but to get his suits either made for him or, at the very least, tailored to fit. His shoulders were broad, his thighs thick.

  She thought her brother-in-law was built like a beast, but this man outsized him. He was enough to intimidate anyone crossing his path.

  But not Paige.

  He fascinated her.

  “You find him attractive, don’t you,” her husband’s whisper came, close to her ear.

  Not posed as a question, but she answered anyway, “Yes.”

  “I’m not sure why you married me, then. I’m as pale as a person can get,” he teased.

  Paige brushed her fingers through Connor’s dirty blond hair, ruffling it a bit. “No, you’re not. You worship the sun. And it was that sexy Aussie accent of yours that caught my attention.”

  “It made you wet.”

  Paige half-shrugged and gave him a smile. “Still does.”

  Connor brushed away a strand of hair from her cheek. “Hmm. Good to know. But you like him.”

  “He’s interesting.”

  “He’s dark,” Connor stated.

  “Yes.”

  “His skin tone is extraordinary. I like it too.”

  “Should I be jealous?” she asked.

  “Should I?” Connor’s vibrant blue eyes twinkled.

  Paige laughed, shaking her head. “We’ve talked about this. Jealousy is not allowed.”

  “I wonder what he’d say if he knew what we were talking about.”

  “Or thinking,” she added.

  “He’d probably run like hell.”

  “I don’t know. I’d hope not.” Paige regarded the man across the room talking to her brother. “I’ve never seen him before. I wonder how well the guys know him?”

  “Could be Quinn’s friend. Or a former co-worker of hers,” Connor suggested.

  “Coming to Ty’s fortieth birthday party? I doubt it.”

  “Maybe he’s related to Ty.”

  “Maybe we need to stop speculating and ask,” Paige suggested.

  “You want him.” Again, not a question. Just more of an, are you sure?

  “Do you?” she asked.

  “I like what I see. But I need to find out what’s up here.” He tapped his temple.

  Suddenly, Tyson White slipped between the two of them and squatted. Even though the man had retired from the NFL years ago, he was still in extremely good shape, and his shoulders were wide enough to brush against them both.

  Not that Paige was going to complain. She and Connor always flirted with Logan’s boyfriend, now husband. But it was always in good fun. Ty loved it and neither Logan or Quinn, their wife and mother of their child, minded.

  Ty cocked his eyebrow at Paige. “Why are you staring at Grae like a piece of meat?”

  “Was it that noticeable?” she asked, surprised.

  “Uh, yeah. Hard to miss.”

  Paige shrugged. “He’s hot.” Grae. What an interesting first name. She wondered what it was short for. Maybe it was a nickname.

  Ty looked behind him for a second at the subject in question, then turned back to Paige. “Yes, he is.”

  “Who is he?” she asked. “Current or former player?”

  “Retir
ed. Sort of. Left the NFL after a debilitating medical issue.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like, I’m not telling you his secrets. You’ll have to find out for yourself. And anyway, why are you guys so interested?” Ty asked, suspicion thick in his question.

  Hmm. The man was a mystery she might have to solve.

  Connor spoke up, “Well, you know, there’s a certain man I’ve been trying to get into my bed for a couple years now, but for some reason, he keeps resisting.”

  Ty lifted his left hand and pointed to his ring finger. “I’m married if you’ve forgotten.”

  Connor chuckled. “I haven’t.”

  “And I have a kid.” His face lit up. “And another on the way.”

  “Oh, shit. Congratulations! You sure Quinn wants everyone to know?” Paige asked him.

  “You aren’t everyone. You’re family. But keep it on the D.L. since it’s early yet.” Her brother-in-law pushed himself to his feet and stepped back from the table. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to Graedon. I won’t warn him about the depraved things you two are probably planning for him.”

  “Oh please,” Paige retorted as she stood and took Ty’s arm on one side, her husband’s on the other.

  Ty escorted them over to Paige’s brother, Logan, who had been deep in conversation with this mystery man.

  “Hey, hot stuff,” Ty greeted his husband. “Should I be jealous that you’ve been talking to this handsome hunk of a man for an hour now?”

  Logan offered his hand, and Ty took it. Logan drew the darker man into his side, his arm slipping around his waist.

  Darker, Paige thought, but not nearly as dark as this…Graedon. She liked the name on her tongue.

  And that wasn’t the only thing she’d like on her tongue.

  Wow. She shook her head. She normally wasn’t this depraved. Something about this man just drew her in like a fly to honey. Paige held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Logan’s sister, Paige.”

  Graedon gave her a slight smile and, with a quick flick of his eyes, looked her up and down—didn’t that make goosebumps flood her body—before clasping her offered hand within his.

  His grip felt warm and firm, and his hand dwarfed hers. Paige marveled at the contrast of their skin. Their clasped hands reminded her of a yin and yang symbol: opposites, but complementary.

  Connor cleared his throat.

  Paige released the man’s hand, heat climbing into her face, though it seemed Graedon was in no rush to break the contact either.

  Logan waved a hand towards Connor. “Grae, this is my brother-in-law, Connor Morgan. The poor sap stuck with Shorty.”

  Paige glared at her older brother. He knew she hated that nickname.

  “Shorty.” The name rolled smoothly off Graedon’s tongue, and he seemed reluctant to pull his attention away from her to shake Connor’s hand. The men’s handshake was quick and firm. “Graedon Ward,” he introduced himself to Connor.

  “Interesting first name,” Connor told him.

  “Interesting accent,” Graedon remarked.

  “Connor is Australian,” Ty explained.

  “And Shorty’s husband,” Connor said, jerking a thumb towards Paige.

  Paige whacked him in the arm. “You know I hate that nickname!”

  “Well, I can’t tell him my other pet names for you.” Connor smiled at Graedon and wiggled his eyebrows.

  “He’s got a thing for brothers,” Ty warned Graedon.

  Graedon looked over at Connor in surprise. “Oh?”

  “He’s not the only one,” Ty added, tilting his head toward Paige.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare so rudely,” Paige said, grimacing at Ty’s comment.

  “Okay then! On that note, we need to go mingle, old man,” Logan said as he drew the birthday boy away.

  “You’re older than me,” Ty griped.

  “But I look younger,” Logan said, as they moved away.

  Paige’s gaze bounced back to Graedon. “So…”

  “You don’t mind your wife staring at other men?” It was a serious question but touched with a sense of amusement.

  “Well...” Connor pursed his lips for a second. “It depends.”

  “On what?” Graedon asked, once again clearly surprised.

  “On who she’s staring at.”

  Graedon shook his head, obviously confused. “You’re not worried she might be interested in the man she’s staring at?”

  “Oh, I definitely know she’s interested in who she’s staring at.”

  Paige waved her hand between the two of them. “Hello! I’m standing right here. Jeez.”

  “I’m truly sorry, Paige,” Graedon said, bowing his head to her. “That was rude of us.”

  She blinked. Rude? Not unlike her staring.

  Now, since she stood next to him, she realized how large a man he truly was. Though she was small, or nicely put, petite, hence the “Shorty” nickname. She had to look from her five-foot-two inches up to Connor’s six-foot-one. But this Graedon, he had to be an inch or two taller than her husband. While Connor wasn’t skinny, the other man definitely outweighed him by—Paige guessed—at least fifty pounds. His hands were large, his fingers long. Good for gripping a football, of course. She wondered how old he was and how long ago he left the game. “How do you know Ty?”

  “We played football together in college.”

  “Ah. And you went on to be pro?”

  “Yes, I was lucky enough to be drafted.”

  “You retired?”

  Graedon hesitated for a few seconds, then answered, “Yes, a while ago.”

  All right, she didn’t want to keep bombarding him with questions. She definitely wanted to get to know him better, but she didn’t want it to seem like an inquisition.

  Oh, but she had so many questions on the tip of her tongue.

  What do you do for a living now? How old are you? Do you live around here? Would you like to have sex with my husband and me?

  The last one might be a little much. She certainly didn’t want to scare him away. And here she thought she would be bored at Ty’s fortieth birthday party, but then she spotted his man. She realized she was staring again and her face became heated. “I need to get a drink. Anyone else?”

  “I’ll get it, honey,” Connor said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What do you want?”

  “Something with alcohol. Surprise me.” Connor knew her tastes well, so she wasn’t worried he’d come back with a drink she didn’t like. Wait. Had she ever met a drink she didn’t like? Oh, yeah. Gin and tonic. Blech.

  “Anything for you Graedon?”

  “A gin and tonic, please. Thank you.” He gave Connor a wide smile.

  Paige swore it just lit up the whole room. Of course, he would want a drink she hated. But she wouldn’t judge him for it. Much, anyway.

  “I’ll be back shortly,” her husband said, kissing her cheek then heading toward the makeshift bar in the corner of the large room.

  Her eyes never left Graedon while her husband kissed her—while his, in turn, never left hers. Until her nipples beaded under the thin fabric of her dress—then his gaze dropped but quickly returned to her face.

  “I don’t know how you can drink that awful shit.”

  “It’s an acquired taste.” He studied her face.

  Paige tried not to squirm as he ran his gaze from the top of her head to her chin, then just high enough to land on her lips. She unconsciously licked them and then tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. “I don’t think any drink that you need to learn to appreciate is worth drinking. So many other choices.”

  He stared at her mouth while she talked. She fought the urge to dig into her clutch purse to reapply her lip gloss.

  “Choices are wonderful, but sometimes you want one specific thing. So, you work for it until you achieve it.”

  “We’re still talking about drinks, right?” she asked.

  He finally raised his eyes to meet hers as a wince of surprise and the
n clarity flickered in his gaze. Like he’d shaken himself mentally, getting out of some sort of fog.

  She hoped it meant that he felt attracted to her.

  Suddenly, he leaned toward her, and she froze. He reached out and whisked away something on her face with his thumb.

  She stared at him curiously.

  He held his thumb up. “Eyelash. Make a wish.”

  Paige knew exactly what she would wish for. She pursed her lips and blew lightly, the eyelash spinning towards the floor.

  “I hope your wish comes true,” he murmured, not breaking their locked gaze.

  “Me too.” Little did he know he was her wish.

  The seconds ticked by and neither even blinked.

  His eyes were like very deep wells of dark brown. Dangerous if you fell in. His thick eyelashes were surely the envy of some women. His lips were dark and thick, reddish at the center like he’d been sucking on a cherry. Those luscious lips parted...

  Paige waited for the words to escape, to flow over her. She just knew he was about to say something intriguing.

  “Sorry, there was a line at the bar.” Connor approached, handing her a tall glass filled with pinkish-red liquid, a maraschino cherry, and a tiny plastic straw. He handed Graedon a short glass filled with ice, a lime wedge, a stirrer, and the clear toxic mix that made Paige scrunch up her nose.

  Graedon nodded at Connor, thanking him.

  He was such a gentleman, but one she bet knew how to be not-so-gentle at the right times. She covered her sigh by sipping on her drink. She had no idea what the concoction was, but it tasted fruity, and it went down smooth.

  Connor upended a beer bottle and took a swig. Some local microbrewery. No piss water—what Paige called regular beer—for him.

  “So, what do you do for a living, Connor?” Graedon asked after squeezing his lime wedge and stirring his drink.

  Connor slid his arm around Paige’s waist and gave her a small squeeze.