Sunday Snippet

Happy Sunday, Readers!

I’m thrilled to announce The Power of Three is now available in paperback! If you love steamy MMF Menage, you can’t miss out on the Triple Passion Play series. I’ve planned four books spaning a twenty-year period to tell Ken, Tommy and Trisha’s story, starting with thier first tryst as horny, college students. The trio will face many struggles, highs and lows as they answer the question: Can three people truly love each other equally?

How do two best friends in love with the same woman work out the logistics of a smoking threesome? I’m not going to spoil all of Rock You Like a Hurricane, but I can’t resist giving you a little taste.

***

Tommy had hugged her before, but he had never held her close this way. His hard chest supported her shoulder while his soft, yummy-smelling hair brushed against her neck and cheek. For some reason, he smelled just like Ken tonight. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, taking in his fragrance. Oh! Her eyes flickered open. What was that stirring beneath? He was getting hard!

Trisha’s breath caught in her throat, and she pursed her lips over the smile she was repressing. As her eyelashes fluttered she caught the look on Ken’s face, and he looked as if he had been punched in the gut. Was he jealous? She couldn’t have these two fighting—that scenario wasn’t part of the plan.

Scooting back into her seat, Trisha used both hands to shove Tommy away. “Unhand me, you troll!”

“Troll!” Tommy shrieked, his face scrunched and his lips twisted.

“Well, when you make that face,” she said, playfully. “I saw a deck of cards over by the snacks. Let’s play poker.”

Tommy grinned and gave a nod. “Sure, but Ken will wipe the floor with us.”

Trisha shot a look Ken’s way, offering him a smile and a wink before awkwardly looking away while nervously playing with her hair. Ken spoke up. “As much as I’d love to rake you two over the coals, we don’t have any chips.”

Well, here’s my opening. Hope my voice doesn’t crack. Trisha lifted her face, cutting her eyes at him seductively as she answered, “Who needs chips when we have clothes?”

You get the picture, lighthearted and fun but still sexy as hell. After all, our triangle of lovers are still just kids there, but things get more serious in The Power of Three.

***

Trisha’s mouth hung open as she stared at Tommy’s serious expression. Turning her head, she locked eyes with Ken and he shook his head. Trisha laughed, placing her hand on the side of Tommy’s face as she continued to look at Ken. “Good thing he’s so pretty to look at.”

“Tell me about it. Without those looks, he’d starve to death,” Ken agreed.

“You know, it does make a difference in sales positions,” Trisha stated.

“No arguments,” Ken agreed. “It’s the only reason I’d ever agree to work with him.”

“Hey! Are the two of you calling me dumb?” Tommy finally seemed to catch on to the joke.

“Awww, no way. My baby is so smart and handsome,” Trisha said, ruffling his hair as she giggled. Tommy grabbed a throw pillow and conked her on the head with it before hurling it at Ken. Without missing a beat, Ken knocked it away with his free hand.

“Regardless of how misguided my idea was, it doesn’t change the fact that Ken and I have both been feeling neglected,” Tommy said, looking to Trisha for answers.

“Okay, I’ll just start by saying you two are way off base. I’m crazy in love with you both, and I have not been avoiding either of you,” she replied.

“Then why wouldn’t you quit working at the grocery store when we told you the business was making enough money to pay our bills without you working a second job?” Ken said.

“I even took over paying the household bills and those checks haven’t even been hitting the bank account. Are you building a getaway fund to run off and leave us?” Tommy asked.

Trisha ran both hands through her hair, pushing her mane back and holding it as she shook her head. “Your imagination really has been working overtime.” She stood up and walked to the dark-stained, oak dresser pushed against the wall, opening the bottom, right-hand drawer and removing something from underneath the clothes. Returning to Tommy’s side, she dropped everything she was holding out on the bed. Ken moved closer taking a look as Tommy straightened up the all the stray colorful brochures, laying them out over the covers.

“India?” Tommy asked, holding one of the brochures. Ken reached down and took one of the others.

Trisha nodded. “It was supposed to be a surprise for Christmas. I kept the job at the grocery store so I could save up to pay for the trip.”

Ken eyed the brochure, crinkling his nose before lifting his gaze to Trisha. “Why India?”

“I did some research. It’s the only place in the world I could find that allows polyandry,” Trisha explained.

“Really?” Tommy asked.

“Well, not all of India, just in a remote part up in the mountains. That’s why the expense is so great. We’d have to fly in and then get a helicopter to take us as far as it could. Then we hire a guide to get us the rest of the way. Plus, it’s usually just for brothers, so I needed bribe money for the cleric.” When Trisha finally stopped staring at her feet and looked up at her men, she realized they were somewhere between gob smacked and holding back tears of laughter. “What?”

“What the fuck?” Ken asked. “Brothers?”

Trisha shot him a look of indignation. “Yes! They allow polyandry because there are so few women in the area so a couple of brothers can marry the same woman. It keeps inheritance in the family or something.”

“Wow, sounds…oppressive,” Tommy replied.

“How so?” Trisha asked, angrily.

“I dunno, but I can’t see most women being down with that sort of arrangement. Wouldn’t you agree that our situation is special?” Tommy explained.

“Yes, but…” Trisha was searching for a way to defend her idea.

“I’m thinking your master plan wasn’t so great either,” Tommy said, a teasing glimmer in his eyes brightening up his expression.

Trisha pursed her lips and rolled her eyes before laughing. “It seemed like a good idea to me.”

“It was a sweet idea,” Ken said, softening the blow until he added, “just misguided. No way would the United States recognize the marriage here.”

“Well, I know that,” Trisha retorted. “Obviously, it was just going to be ceremonial. At least our marriage would be legal somewhere.”

“So will we be packing up all of our belongings and moving to Bum Fuck India Mountain?” Tommy asked, clearly enjoying having someone else in the hot seat.

“Oh, fuck both of you,” Trisha replied and gave a defeated sigh.

“Yes please,” Tommy retorted.

As both men laughed at her expense, she bitched, “Try to do something nice…” Ken handed his bottle to Tommy and grabbed her around the waist. She playfully beat him against the chest. “I thought you would be touched.”

“I am,” Ken said. “How about you, Tommy? Are you touched?”

“Absolutely, I’m not hiking my way up the Indian Alps for a Deliverance style greeting from the locals, but I’m completely choked up by the sentiment,” Tommy said with a chuckle.

“Jackass,” she muttered toward Tommy as Ken nuzzled against her neck.

“Now, now, Tommy’s being glib but he’s right, we don’t need to waste cash on a ceremony that’s no different from the one we’ve already had.

“Now I feel stupid,” Trisha replied sheepishly.

“Don’t feel stupid,” Ken started.

Tommy interrupted, “Good thing she’s pretty!”

Trisha’s body tensed and she clenched her fists.

“Shut up, Tommy,” Ken said as he started to finesse Trisha’s clothes off.

“Oh, my bad,” Tommy replied as Trisha’s shirt came off.

Trisha struggled playfully, feigning resistance. “No way, don’t think I’m falling for your charms.”

“But baby,” Tommy stood and closed ranks, trapping her between him and Ken. His large hands slide over her shoulders, his thumbs hooking under the straps of her bra and pulling them down her shoulders. As if they were performing a choreographed scene, Ken’s hands scooted up Trisha’s back, his fingers nimbly unfastening the undergarment. As the clothing hit the floor, she stood, surrounded and naked from the waist up.

I’m still writing book three, but I can tell you the dynamics will change again as the Tommy, Trisha and Ken prepare for the arrival of thier first child. Tommy’s name is on the marriage certificate, but will he be pushed out when Trisha gives birth to Ken’s son? Enjoy this (unedited) teaser.

***

Thomas Marks sat across from his father, Dr. Randall Marks, at the family restaurant where they agreed to meet for breakfast. The old diner’s wagon wheel wallpaper and chestnut wood tables provided a comfortable sense of familiarity but Dr. Marks’s stiffness, slow speech and carefully chosen words let Tommy know his dad had something unpleasant on his mind.

“So Dad, how was the medical conference?”

“Riveting,” Dr. Marks replied sarcastically, offering what appeared to be a genuine smile. “So how’s Trisha getting along?” His gaze crawled all over Tommy’s face, likely observing every blink and twitch.

Tommy looked down at his toast and scrambled eggs, moving the yellow bits around with his fork as he answered, “Well, you know…about to pop and snapping like a turtle. San Antonio heat is hard on expectant mothers.”

“Yes, I would imagine so. Austin wasn’t much easier on your mom, my dear fourth child,” Dr. Mark’s serious expression lightened a hair but his blue eyes dimmed quickly.

“I know. You’re the jedi. I’m the padawan.” Tommy chuckled before taking a bite of bacon and washing it down with his juice.

“So…Ken must be excited,” Dr. Marks finally dropped the hammer.

Tommy wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and took a deep breath before looking his dad straight in the eye. “Is there something you feel you need to say, Dad?”

Dr. Mark’s shoulders slumped and he sighed, his face a mixture of emotions. “I just don’t get it, son. I know you say you wanted it this way, and I tried to accept your unique relationship the best I know how but I never thought this thing between the three of you would last…sharing your wife with your best friend, and now she’s having his baby…I don’t…I know you say you’re happy, but…”

“Dad, I am happy.” Tommy touched his head, cautiously patting his blond hair to make sure the meticulously gelled back locks were still in order.

“For now, but those two are getting ready to share a bond you can’t even imagine…not until you have one of your own.” Dr. Marks nervously tapped his fingertips against the tabletop.

“It’s my baby too…legally more so than Ken’s since I’m Trisha’s husband.”

Dr. Marks grimaced. “Legal, smegal…I’m talking about emotions…the love you have for your own flesh and blood is special. Protecting your own is ingrained in a man’s DNA. You’re on the verge of standing on the sidelines, watching Trisha and Ken share looks and smiles and a kind of joy that transcends things like a certificate of marriage.”

Tommy’s pulse reacted to the ache in his chest. His dad had probed a sore spot, grinding against some nagging insecurities. Fears of Trisha and Ken growing closer and freezing him out surfaced from time to time, but Tommy always shoved those doubts right to the back of his mind. The bond and commitment he shared with Trisha and Ken was solid. He was sure of it.

“And I don’t understand why you had to change your name when you and Trisha got married. I mean, I get Trisha taking your name, but you and her both changing your last names to Marks-Davidson?”

“You can change your name to whatever you want when you get married,” Tommy replied before taking a sip of coffee.

Dr. Marks rolled his eyes. “You know that wasn’t what I meant. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. What happens when Ken finally decides to get a wife of his own, and you and Trisha still have his name?”

Tommy gave his dad a sideways look and tilted his head. “Umm…I’m pretty sure the baby takes Ken’s option of walking away clean off the table. For better or worse, the three of us are committed to each other.”

Rubbing his temples with both hands, Dr. Marks was clearly exasperated, but he sighed and gave it another try. “I guess it’s too late to turn back now anyway. Your wife is already pregnant with another man’s child, but I want you to understand that you messed up. When those two hold that baby and decide they want their child to have a normal childhood with two parents, are you prepared to lose your wife and your best friend?

Is it me or was Tommy’s dad sort of harsh? In the final book in the series, Triple Passion Christmas, readers will find out if our trio was able to stand the test of time. Where are they twenty years after thier first night of passion? I’m going to make you wait for that one, but I think readers will enjoy the ride.

***

Read Triple Passion Play right from the start with Rock You Like a Hurricane.