Chelsea and Ethan were their best friends-well, other than Zack. But they would never in a million years understand what was going on. Would they? No.

But this was a temporary thing because Zack was leaving in a week. Maddie pushed away the wave of sadness that thought brought on and pasted on a party smile.

Hours passed in a whirl of glittery lights and sparkling champagne, speeches and prize drawings, chit chat and laughter. Much later, when she and Aidan and Zack finally connected again, they moved away from the crowd, into the shadows of the neatly carved hedges. Maddie said, "You two are giving me an inferiority complex."

They both lifted eyebrows at her and exchanged baffled masculine glances. "Huh?" Zack said.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?"

She smiled. "You're both so frickin' accomplished. You with your big project and mega deals. Zack with his Pulitzer, sounding so smart about things happening on the other side of the world. Important things."

"Babe," Zack said. "You sounded pretty knowledgeable too, when you started talking about how complicated and dangerous things have become for journalists in Syria."

She shrugged. "I learned a lot when you were missing."

"Yeah. I guess you did." His voice softened into a sexy rasp. "Also, been watching you flit around all night. You're amazing. The way you talk to people...make them laugh...plus you're gorgeous and sexy."

She smiled. "Aw. Thank you. I'm having fun. And it actually seems like you might be too, even though you didn't want to come."

He gave a crooked grin. "I guess I'm having an okay time. Black tie and champagne's not my usual comfort zone. More like boots and cargo pants and beer."

"It's not like we do this every weekend. Maybe that's why you guys look so especially sexy in those tuxes. Because it doesn't happen very often."

"Good thing," Aidan said.

"She's right." Zack gave Aidan a wolfish look. "You look fucking hot in that tux."

Maddie's eyes popped open and her blood sizzled. Immediately the air around them went electric. To her surprise, Aidan gave Zack a wry smile. "Asshole."

"I gave you a compliment!"

"You're pulling my chain."

"Ha. Pull this." Zack dipped his chin.

Maddie watched this with heated fascination.

Zack tipped his head with the arrogant air of a man who knew he had both of them at his command. "Can't wait to see you two together," he continued in that low tone. "Fucking in those oh-so-classy clothes."

Her tummy flip flopped. She blinked at him. "Oh," she breathed.

"Maybe we should start now." Zack bent his head closer to her. "No one's around. Aidan could unzip his pants, pull out his cock and pull up that pretty skirt."

Her heart exploded into a rapid percussion. Her eyes did a sweep of the area to see who was close enough to hear them. Luckily no one, but her pulse raced. She remembered Chelsea noticing the sexual tension between them earlier. If she saw this...

"What are you wearing under that sexy dress?" he asked.

She rolled her lips in and then burst out laughing. He lifted an eyebrow and one corner of his mouth quirked. She glanced at Aidan, whose mouth was still open and his eyes dark. "No way in hell are you seeing what's under this dress." She tried to stifle more giggles. "I'm wearing Spanx."

"Ah. Dude." Aidan shook his head. "She won't let me see her wearing them. Probably for the best. I've seen them in the laundry."

"They are the unsexiest undergarments in the world." She gave another snort of laughter.

Zack grinned. "I'll take your word for it. You can get rid them before we commence."

Her skin went hot again. "Um. Okay." Holy hell. Commence what? Now she shivered. "But as for what else I'm wearing under the dress...nothing."

Zack smiled and brushed his hand over her breast in a casual gesture. "Nice."

"Maybe it's time to go," she breathed.

"You know what I like about you?" Zack leaned in so his mouth was right at her ear. "How much you love sex."

Her pussy squeezed. She captured her bottom lip in her teeth and looked up at him through her eyelashes, then over at Aidan. His smile went wicked. "She does." Aidan also moved closer. Now she was sandwiched between the two men. A warm slide of lust pooled low in her belly.

"I love sex with you," she clarified. "Both of you." She met Aidan's eyes and the understanding there. But then despair trickled through her like ice water. What would happen when Zack left?

Not that things had been bad between her and Aidan. They loved each other. They'd been trying. Only now they knew what had been missing, it was hard to imagine going back.

She took a deep breath. She didn't want to ruin this magical evening with worry. Tonight adrenaline bubbled through her veins like champagne and now her insides were twisting and heating with excitement.

"If you're done here, let's go," Zack ordered.

"Okay."

Aidan called the car service to pull up on Columbus. She excused herself to use the ladies' room before they left. In the small stall, she hesitated, then wriggled out of her Spanx. She rolled them up as small as she could and stuffed them in her purse. Couldn't get it closed. Oh well. She held it in both hands as they made their way across the pavilion and past the glowing, splashing fountain. The two guys held her arms to help her so her spiky heels wouldn't catch in the bricks. Then she was in the backseat of the town car, once again a hot guy on either side of her.

A big, warm hand landed on each of her knees. She swallowed, looking down at them. Her world narrowed to the interior of the car, lights and shadows sliding by beyond the windows. There in the warm dark interior, her skin tingled and she felt breathless and edgy. Aware.

They both caressed her bare thighs, sliding up under her dress. How far would they go? They couldn't do much with the driver right there in front of them. Heat flared in her along with an aching hunger.

"Sweetheart," Aidan whispered. "Where's your underwear?"

She smiled. "What underwear?"

Both guys jolted and hissed in a breath. Exploring fingers moved higher. And higher. Aidan's brushed over her pubic curls. "Damn," he muttered. "Were you bullshitting us earlier about what you were wearing?"

"No."

"Maddie, you dirty girl you," Zack murmured.

She jerked her head toward the driver. They'd kept their voices hushed but still... Although it was a little exciting that someone could overhear them...know what they were doing... Dear god, she was a dirty girl. Her smile deepened.

They feathered kisses over her neck, her throat, her shoulders, bare in her strapless dress. Zack ran his tongue up the side of her neck to her ear and caught her lobe in his lips. She let her head fall back against the leather upholstery as they touched her legs, parting them so they could dip into her wet folds. If the driver could see them in the mirror, two guys making out with her...her veins heated at the thought, her pulse beating in a mad frenzy.

"Can't wait to get you home," Zack whispered.

Home. The word registered then floated away.

"Both of you," Zack added.

The air inside the car swelled with vibrating heat.

She got braver and reached for their laps. Hey. Two-no, make that three-could play this game. Her fingers brushed over hardness beneath the fine wool of their tuxedo trousers. She curled her fingers over the thick rods and gave a gentle squeeze that had both men sucking wind. "Mmm. Nice. I can't wait either."

Chapter Eighteen.

Aidan was throbbing everywhere as they entered the condo. His body had been humming with sexual tension pretty much the entire evening, aware of the sexy couple he was with. Maddie looked so hot in that strapless black dress and strappy heels, and Zack was all broody bad boy in a tux that showed off his broad shoulders and lean build. And Zack was flirting with him.

It made him so fucking hot.

All night in the back of his mind he'd been wondering what Zack had planned for them. What kinds of things was he going to make them do tonight? Excitement shimmered close to the surface at the thought of giving up control to Zack, and then the way Zack had looked at him with hot eyes, the way he'd casually brushed his hand over Aidan's ass as they mingled in a crowd, the things he'd said...made Aidan even hotter, contemplating even more wicked things Zack could do.

"Your bedroom," Zack growled once they were in, again taking charge immediately. "Turn the lamp on. I'll be right there."

That made it easy. No awkward wondering what to do. Aidan and Maddie exchanged glances. He took her hand and led her down the hall and into their bedroom. Inside, he released her hand and crossed to the lamp beside the bed to flick it on. A warm glow spread around the bed, the corners of the room remaining shadowed.

Zack appeared in the door. He'd lost the tie and undone the top buttons of his shirt. He carried a coil of rope in his hands, and a wicked smile curled his lips.

Aidan's dick twitched.

Zack moved toward them. He stroked a hand over Aidan's shoulder through the suit jacket, then Maddie's bare skin. "Stand back to back," he ordered them in a low tone. "Arms at your sides."

With a sideways glance at Maddie, questions burning on his tongue, Aidan complied. Maddie moved too and their backs pressed together. To his shock, Zack began to circle them both with the rope, starting at their hips and wrists, binding them together, their arms trapped at their sides. Holy fuck.

Aidan closed his eyes at the sensation of the rope embracing him, snug and firm. The helplessness. He swallowed. He wasn't completely helpless...his legs were free...but how could he move with Maddie tied to him?

When they were securely bound, Zack moved them, turning them and adjusting their position, his hands strong and sure on them.

"Look." He gestured to the mirror across the room.

Aidan looked. His eyes met Maddie's in the mirror, hers huge in her small face, her lips parted. His own mouth was tight, his jaw clenched. He studied the image-both of them fully dressed, the elegant black suit now striped with pale rope, Maddie's smaller body the same, ropes crossing her bare chest and shoulders. His fingers curled into his palms at the erotic sight.

"Beautiful." Zack ran his fingers over Aidan's tight jaw, then Maddie's cheek.

What was he going to do to them like this?

Nerves fluttered. Excitement curled inside him.

Aidan was in control, all the time, at work-directing people, making decisions, solving problems. Now, at this moment, control having been taken away from him, he could only let go of it. And the relief of that spread through him in a melting heat. He felt his muscles relax, his jaw slacken. He closed his eyes and let the voluptuous pleasure of giving up control flow through him.

He opened his eyes and met Zack's. There he saw lust and excitement and...hope.

Zack had needs too. And the idea that Aidan could fill those needs added depth to his pleasure. He wanted to do this not only for himself, but for Zack.

"Okay?" Zack asked quietly.

Aidan still didn't know what was going to happen. He had to trust Zack. Was he strong enough to release all his doubts and worries and leave everything to him? Everything?

He nodded.

He looked back at the mirror to see Maddie watching with fascination. Again their eyes met and they shared a moment of connection, the feeling of being in Zack's control...together...owned by him.

His head went quiet and his heart felt free.

"I only have control because you give it to me," Zack said, as if reading his mind.

Aidan nodded, one corner of his mouth kicking up. "I know." It was true. Zack wasn't taking control away from him...he was relieving him of it. He was setting him free.

Zack moved around them. He kissed Maddie's mouth and her bare shoulder. He stroked her breasts through the chiffon dress. He circled again and Aidan sucked in a sharp breath when Zack's hand cupped his erection through his suit trousers. He gave a rough squeeze that had fire ripping through Aidan's balls.

That wicked smile played on Zack's lips as he fondled Aidan, then moved again to stand in front of Maddie. Zack held her face and kissed her, long and slow, with tongue that Aidan could clearly see in the mirror. Fuck, that was hot.

When Zack drew back Maddie gazed up at him, beautifully entranced. Aidan's dick pulsed.

Zack's hands wandered down over Maddie's body, over the ropes, and he lowered himself to the floor to kneel in front of her. Aidan watched the show in the mirror, feeling the vibrations of Maddie's body pressed to his, her inhalations and trembling. He heard her sighs and gasps as Zack ran his hands up her legs, beneath her dress. He caressed her thighs for long, heated moments, then pushed the dress up to expose her to him. Standing sideways to the mirror, Aidan couldn't see the same view Zack could, but knowing she was bare beneath the dress made his blood sizzle.

The soft sounds escaping her mouth intensified. Aidan groped and found her fingers and squeezed her hands.

"Tell him." Zack's warm breath brushed over her, his mouth at the juncture of her thighs. "Tell him what I'm doing to you."

"Oh god." Maddie whimpered. "He's...he's licking me. Kissing me."

"Spread your thighs, Maddie. Good girl."

They both had to shift to balance as she widened her stance. The leg visible to Aidan looked so sexy, long and smooth, muscle flexing in calf and thigh as she planted high heels into the rug. Bare all the way to her hip, the dress crumpled at her waist. Zack held it there as he leaned in, mouth on her pussy.

Aidan watched Zack's dark hair as he pressed into Maddie's softness. Her trembles increased and he tightened his own muscles to keep them from topping over.

"His tongue's inside me. Oh god. Now he's licking me again."

"You taste so sweet. Amazing. Love licking you, tasting you on my tongue." He slipped the fingers of one hand between her thighs and Aidan's dick lurched again.

"Now...now his fingers are inside me," Maddie said. "Oh yeah...that feels so good."

"Wanna make you come, baby." Zack kissed her thighs, then went back in.

Aidan could only feel the tension increasing in Maddie's body, her fingers tightening around his. He planted his feet, still in shiny black dress shoes, more firmly into the floor, holding her up as she came, soft cries surrounding them, her legs shaking.

Fuck. Sensation sizzled up his spine to his brain. His heart thudded wildly, and his balls grew tighter at the base of his throbbing cock.

Zack massaged her legs, up and down, up and down, sitting back on his heels. Aidan watched him lick his lips, studying Maddie's pussy. Aidan was struck by the gentleness of Zack's touch even as he emanated power and command.