A SECRET SIN

17

A man Bishop’s age stood in the living room, a whiskey in hand. He didn’t seem surprised to see

us, though he gave the impression of a man who didn’t rattle easily. He was handsome in a rugged

way. Strawberry-blond hair with green eyes and a swath of freckles made harder with a square-cut

jaw and facial features so masculine he could have walked off the set of a Vikings episode. And he

stared at me with an intensity I didn’t quite understand.

“What’s going on?” I blurted, all manners forgotten. I had thought we were going to talk about our

relationship and finally come to an understanding, but the presence of another man completely threw

me.

Something was horribly off, but I had no idea what.

“I’m giving you what you want,” he said in a cool voice.

A wave of confusion washed over me, my eyes cutting to the other man. “What do you mean?”

“You want to experience life without limitations. I’m here to give that to you.”

I looked from one man to the other, totally baffled.

“Pippa, I’d like you to meet Callum.” Bishop extended a hand toward the stranger.

The man set down his glass and crossed the room to place a kiss on the back of my hand. “It’s a

pleasure to meet you,” he murmured.

The gesture was so intimate, so unexpected, it set my stomach to spin cycle.

I turned to Bishop, leaving Callum at my back. “Is this…? Are you suggesting a threesome?”

My spine stiffened as Callum brushed the hair off my shoulder and pressed his lips to my neck.

“This is whatever you want it to be.”

Holy s**t, is this real?

Two men? At the same time? I’d never even contemplated that in my daydreams. I’d been trying to

achieve normal, never even imagining something so adventurous. A threesome would definitely be

different and new. Was that what I wanted? A swarm of emotions clouded my head, preventing me

from determining just how I felt.

My gaze sought out Bishop’s for direction. Was this what he wanted? Considering the way he was

acting, I didn’t get the impression he was excited about the prospect.

“Why are you doing this?”

A hint of emotion returned to Bishop’s eyes in the form of angry sparks. “Why?” he asked, closing

in with Callum at my back. “I told you already. I’m giving you what you want. You want to see what

it’s like to be with other men. To keep your options open. This is the perfect opportunity.”

Callum’s hands cupped my waist. My heart hammered so fast that I couldn’t catch my breath.

Bishop continued, his words growing more passionate. “You’ve told me you don’t want to be tied

down. That you want to sample what’s out there. This is me showing you that if that’s what you really

want, I can give that to you. For you.”

Was he offering some sort of open relationship? I was stunned. My brain couldn’t keep up.

Bishop raised my hands over my head. “Maybe you want one of us to watch. Maybe you’d like

both of us at once. That would be a new experience, wouldn’t it, kitten?”

Callum trailed his hands down my sides, his hard length now pressing into my backside.

Was this really happening? Would Bishop share me if that was what I wanted? I’d read stories

about that sort of thing, and it had always sounded hot, but the reality was a far cry from my fantasies.

Maybe it was the glacial severity in Bishop’s normally warm gaze, or maybe the fact that I didn’t

know Callum at all, but every muscle in my body was tense with apprehension.

This didn’t feel good. Not at all.

“I don’t think I like this,” I stammered, tugging at my hands to free them.

Bishop held firm. “You don’t have to resist, Pippa. This can be anything you want it to be,” he

urged.

Tears burned the back of my throat. I couldn’t stand the torment any longer and twisted harshly

away from them both. “Stop it! Just f*****g stop!”

“Why?” he demanded. “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

“I never asked for any of this.”

“Then how am I supposed to take it when you push me away and grind on other men at a club?

You told me specifically you didn’t want to be tied down. All I’m f*****g asking is that if you need to

explore, you do it with me. Is that so goddamn much to ask?”

Bishop had ripped open his chest and put his heart on display but done it in a hurtful, callous

manner that wounded me deeply. He made me sound like the most heartless, shallow woman on earth.

And maybe I was. It would explain the gaping chasm that hollowed out my chest, making me feel

utterly empty.

We both turned to see Callum silently retreat from the room. The small break acted as a valve

releasing a fraction of the pressure filling the air around us.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, eyes unable to meet his as they filled with tears. “I truly didn’t mean to

upset you tonight. It was actually the other way around. I thought about us all week. What I wanted

and needed, and the difference between those two. I could sense where I was headed. That I was

going to commit to giving us a try and stop pushing you away. It felt like I was handing over my

independence, so I decided to go out. Like a retirement party. One last hurrah. When I saw you there, I

just sort of panicked.”

I finally lifted my gaze, showing him my hurt. The unexpected pain of feeling like an object to be

passed around. He made out his actions to sound like a generous offering when, in reality, it felt like a

defensive blow to lash out when he hadn’t understood my reluctance to jump into a relationship.

“f**k, this isn’t how this was supposed to go.” He coaxed my face to his, but I closed my eyes to

shut him out. It was more than I could take.

I hadn’t wanted Bishop to know just how deeply he’d upset me, but a treacherous breath hitched

in my throat. His body stiffened the instant he felt my spasm.

“Please, don’t cry.” Bishop cupped my face in his rough hands and brought our foreheads together.