but it was loud enough to lodge in edgard's heart and his soul.

as much as he craved the affectionate side of this man, edgard lifted trevor's face and pecked him on the mouth. "same goes. but chassie needs you. go to her now."

another quick kiss and edgard retreated, snatching up his clothes and heading upstairs without looking back.

chapter sixteen

"where's he goin'?" chassie said just to break the awkward silence.

"he's givin' us some time." trevor crouched in front of her. his eyes searched hers, the pale blue irises clouded with concern. "talk to me, baby."

when chassie didn't respond, trevor curled his hands around her hips, jerking her forward. his quick movement surprised her so much she flinched. dammit. she hadn't meant to do that.

the muscle in trevor's jaw rippled, a sign he'd clenched his teeth together.

she reached for him, the need to soothe automatic. she took time to glide her hand up his arm, wanting the contact of his skin on hers. "trevor, you startled me, that was all.

i wasn't recoiling from your touch."

"you sure?" trevor's scrutiny was the most intense he'd ever given her. "i don't want no secrets between us."

"i'm sure. it was..." were there words to describe how she'd felt at seeing her husband's unadulterated joy at being with another man?

"was what?"

"not what i expected."

trevor's face inched closer. "explain that right now."

"i thought i'd hate it. before, in the kitchen? when we were just talkin'? i figured i'd probably jump in and put a stop to it if it was more than i could handle."

"you didn't stop us."

"no. part of me was relieved."

"why?"

"because now i know it isn't me."

he squinted at her. "what wasn't you?"

chassie focused on the continual stroke of her thumb over the cut of muscle in trevor's biceps. "you have a voracious sexual appetite, trev. i understood that when we hooked up. and i...well, i told you i wasn't overly sexually experienced."

"that never bothered me, just like it didn't bother you that i'd been with more'n my fair share of women. even some women you're good friends with."

"i know. it's just sometimes, right after we'd made love or had sex or whatever, you'd get this far off look in your eye. you didn't realize you even did it. bein' paranoid, i had it in my mind that i hadn't measured up and you were disappointed in me in bed and didn't want to say anything."

"chassie, baby, you know that's not-"

"let me finish." chassie mustered the courage to look in trevor's eyes. "today, after seein' this, i realize that was wrong. you weren't critiquing my performance. you weren't even thinkin' about me, were you?"

he briefly squeezed his eyes shut and blinked them open. "fuck. i'm sorry."

"don't be. like i said, i'm more relieved than anything."

"relieved? that i was thinkin' about another...man?"

"crazy female logic, right? it hurts, yeah, but it probably makes no sense when i admit i'd be even more freaked out if it were a woman lodged so deeply in your thoughts."

a scowl distorted his face. "but now?"

"but after seein' you and edgard together, i understand you get something from bein' with him, something i can't give you, even if i become the perfect lover. you do the same for him. there's a need. there's a connection. i saw it and it felt a lot more like love than experimental man-lust from your past." when trevor's eyes darted away, she demanded, "i'm right, aren't i?"

"you askin' me if i love him?"

chassie shook her head. "i'm tellin' you i'd understand if you did."

a heavy pause lingered before trevor met her eyes.

her stomach lurched at the raw emotion he didn't bother to hide. "jesus, chass.

what did i ever do to deserve you?"

they'd suffered enough emotional turmoil with no clear solution, so she strove to lighten things up. "maybe the question oughta be what should you do to keep me? i need reassurance you find me as enthralling as the brazilian. because, darlin', he is one smokin' hot specimen of man flesh."

trevor frowned.

chassie wasn't finished. "you've got that all-american boy next door look, tall, built and handsome, with your tousled blond hair, blazin' blue eyes and shit-eatin' grin.

then there's this jaw that seems made of granite and the sexy dimple in your chin." she let her fingers trace the delineated lines of his triceps, biceps and forearms. "you're all hard muscled shoulders, chest and pecs, ripped abs. this set of pipes are highly lickable."

she bent her head, her tongue following the path her hand forged. "and don't get me started on your lower half."

"am i sensin' another 'but' here, wife?"

"yep. but i'd totally be lyin' if i didn't admit feelin' a bit lightheaded when faced with edgard's dark good looks, slumberous eyes, killer smile and sexy accent. all those yummy extras wrapped up in a lean athletic body that knows its way around ropin', ridin' and ranchin'? mmm. he fills out a pair of wranglers like nobody's business. but when ed stripped to nothin'? and i caught my first look at his big, long-"

trevor smashed his mouth to hers. when their tongues twined, she was slightly shocked at trevor's altered taste-she detected a hint of edgard's mouth as well as a hint of semen. this close, she could smell edgard's scent on trevor's skin. just then trevor seemed to remember edgard had come in his mouth not ten minutes past and he stiffened.

"it's okay. i don't mind," chassie said against his lips and took the kiss to the hungry, needy pace she craved.

before too long trevor's hands started to wander. thumbing her nipples through her shirt, squeezing her breasts. impatiently unsnapping the buttons on her blouse and releasing the front clasp on her bra.

she loved the way his callused fingers rasped against her hot skin and gooseflesh broke out across her chest and arms as a result of his touch.

his hand spanned her belly and eased over her waistband. he tapped her knees, a signal for her to spread herself open. when he stroked the seam of her jeans and found them damp, he abruptly ended the kiss. "christ. you're ready. from watchin' me and ed together?"

"umm-"

trevor made a snarling noise, pushing chassie until her shoulders bounced on the cushions. then his face was inches from hers. "it drives me fuckin' crazy that you're turned on. take off the pants. now."

no surprise her demanding husband reappeared and hadn't been permanently cowed by edgard's aggressiveness. she smiled slyly and shimmied out of her jeans.

"why're you still wearin' panties?"

"because you said to take my pants off. which i did."

"fine. we'll do it my way." trevor clamped his hands on her hips, scooting her down until her lower half hung off the couch as he rolled her plain white panties to her ankles. once he had them off her body, he slingshotted them across the room.

"hey-"

"spread 'em. i wanna see every inch of that sweet pink pussy."

chassie stretched her legs wide and trevor's hands flexed on her butt as he lifted her to his mouth.

he inhaled before he did anything else and a shudder rolled through him. "goddamn i love the way you smell. i like tastin' you even better." he deftly licked at the slick spots dotting the inside of her thighs.

every time he repositioned his head, either his prickly beard brushed across her hot tissues, or the soft strands of his hair teased her clit. then the middle of her thigh. the curve of her knee.

chassie shouldn't be embarrassed by how fast she heated up, but at times she wondered if it were normal.

you went beyond normal when you demanded your husband and his male lover perform for you live like some gay burlesque show.

yet, her voyeurism hadn't bothered either edgard or trevor. so maybe the only shame in their exhibition was in the feeling there should've been shame when there was none.

then trevor's mouth was sucking on her sex, returning her focus to how much he loved giving her pleasure and she thought of nothing else.

lapping at the syrup that coated her folds, he said, "mmm. mmm. mmm." that humming noise sounded again right before trevor jammed his tongue deep into her channel. he flicked faster inside her walls, tasting her from the inside out.

her hands landed on his head and she tried to direct him to where she wanted his mouth.

trevor lifted his face and looked at her. "i'm inclined to make you wait."

"easy for you to say. you already got yours, gave edgard his and i had to sit there and do nothin' but watch."

trevor's expression didn't change. "you didn't touch yourself at all when ed and i...?"

"no, and it was hard not to because, god, it was really something to see. trevor, i ache."

his gaze dropped to the bit of flesh poking out from between her pussy lips. he murmured, "can't have that." then trevor fastened his mouth to her clit and began sucking. the impact caused her to arch into his mouth hard enough she felt the bite of his teeth on her pubic bone.

between his concentrated attention and the live porn as foreplay, her blood pooled in that nerve-rich tissue and coiled like a hot snake hissing to be unleashed. the licking, throbbing sensations coalesced and the climax ripped through her so quickly she couldn't moan, she couldn't speak and she was fairly sure she stopped breathing. chassie clutched handfuls of trevor's hair as she rode out the orgasm on his face.