Kings of Asphalt (Club Chrome 1)

attract a lot of accountants. Do you think that’s weird?”

Delainey’s comically perplexed expression was enough to lift Zoe’s spirits a little. “There’s nothing wrong with accountants. They’re good with money,” Zoe said, trying to help. “I mean, frugal and financially responsible can be very sexy.”

“Yeah. Sure it can,” Delainey retorted, stuffing a piece of spinach in her mouth with a wry expression. “Excel spreadsheets and budget programs are soooo sexy. The last

one spent the entire dinner talking about how important it is to budget for emergencies. And then he asked to split the check.”

“Oh, ouch,” Zoe commiserated, unable to stop from comparing Hunter and Jax to the stereotypical accountant type. She really knew nothing about either of them aside from the fact that they had criminal records and fucked like beasts in heat. Her cheeks immediately pinked with heat and Delainey’s eyes widened with knowing and called her on it.

“You better spill, girl. I know that look! Who are you seeing? And why haven’t you told me?”

“Calm down, Delainey,” she told her, her gaze darting to the other restaurant patrons. “I’m not actually seeing anyone…not in the traditional sense…” Good lord, how was she supposed to explain her experiences with Jax and Hunter? How does a person admit that they’re engaging in a sordid threesome with two of the hottest bad boys to walk the planet? She licked her lips and reached for her water with an embarrassed laugh. “It’s nothing. We’re not dating.”

Delainey’s eyes widened even more. “A one night stand?” When Zoe didn’t immediately correct her, she gasped with scandalized delight. “Are you kidding me? No, wait, I need details. I mean, not the whole in and out but, well, up until that point.”

“I told you it’s nothing,” Zoe said, wishing she’d lied about dating some harmless guy from Delainey’s dating site because now Delainey would hound her until she caved. What if she just told Delainey the truth? Just threw it out there and let the judgment fall where it may. Delainey was her oldest and dearest friend. They’d been fast friends since freshman year in high school when they were both chubby outcasts always crushing on the quarterback even though he didn’t know either of them existed. They’d bonded over disappointment and expanding waistlines and a fair amount of late night ice cream dates when life had served up a bowl of rotten lemons and if she couldn’t trust Delainey with her secret, then who could she trust? All that being true, it was still hard to actually admit what was going on. Zoe opened her mouth but the words felt stuck. You can do this. Just admit that you’re falling in love with two incredibly bad men who managed to change your life with the talent in their pants. Ha! Sounded simple enough.

“The suspense is killing me,” Delainey complained, chomping harder on her lettuce. “C’mon, Zoe, this is cruel. Just out with it. What could be so bad?”

“It’s not bad, per se,” she hedged.

“Yeah? Then spill the juicy details.”

Zoe let out a tight breath she’d been holding and decided, screw it, let’s go for it, and said, “Well, here’s the deal, I was chasing down a story idea about The Kings and I happen to run into two guys whom I thought I could interview but as it turned out they were not amenable to giving interviews and instead they…um…screwed my brains out. Yep. That’s about it in a nutshell. Are you going to eat that crouton?”

Delainey stared, her mouth dropping open and giving Zoe an unflattering view of her half-masticated salad. Recovering, Delainey swallowed with effort and then gulped down some water to wash it down when it stuck. “Are you kidding me? Wait a minute…what story and just how exactly?” Delainey looked boggled. “I have so many questions.”

“That’s mostly it.” Well, not entirely but as Delainey continued to stare as if Zoe had just admitted to stripping on the side, she wasn’t sure if she should share any more details. “And, you know, it’s complicated.”

“Complicated. Huh. I can imagine. I wish I had a complicated relationship status.” Just then Delainey nearly choked as she caught what Zoe had really said. “Did you sleep with them both? At the same time?”

“Um, yes.” Zoe cringed.

But Delainey didn’t squeal or shriek or gasp. In fact, she just continued to stare in a way that made Zoe wish she would just freak out and get it over with. The thing was, something like this was so far afield of anything they’d ever known that it was hard to metabolize, even for Zoe. “What are they like?” Delainey’s quiet question shocked Zoe. “Are they…gross?”

“No, not at all. They are the hottest guys I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zoe admitted without hesitation, adding wistfully, “They’re the kind of guys we used to daydream about except with more muscles and more tattoos.”

“They have tattoos? Of course they do, they’re bikers,” Delainey answered herself as if irritated for asking such an obvious question. “What’s it like?”

“What is what like?” Zoe repeated, not wanting to misunderstand and inadvertently share too much.

Delainey glanced around first to see if anyone was within earshot, then whispered dramatically, “Being with two men at once.”

Zoe colored. Oh, so she hadn’t misunderstood. She cleared her throat, prepared to be all clinical about the situation, as in, yes, being with two men is physically pleasurable, as one might expect when two different people are worshipping a woman’s body simultaneously, but what came out was more gushy an

d fangirl-like instead. “It was the most amazing experience of my life! I mean, at first, I was totally shocked, because, oh my God, who aside from porn stars have threesomes in real life, right? But then, it just happened and it was so incredibly hot and dirty, and wonderful, that I think I’ll never be able to go back to vanilla sex again.”

“Vanilla?” Delainey blinked. “What does that mean?”

“That means, you know, regular sex.”

“Oh.” Delainey, suddenly remembering her salad, pushed a sodden piece of lettuce around, saying, “So, are you dating them both? Now I understand what you meant about things being complicated.”

“Oh, that’s not the half of it,” Zoe said, frowning. “In the bedroom, things are amazing. I mean, they have bodies for days, and they really know how to, um, you know, make things happen, which, incidentally, has made me realize that I’ve been settling for far less than I deserve in the sex department. Did you know that I never came with Teddy? Nope. Not even once. Not that I would’ve had a chance because he was one and done in two blinks. All he did was grunt a few times and then leave a mess on my stomach to clean up.”

“I thought you said you enjoyed the sex with Teddy.”

Zoe laughed. “I lied,” she admitted. “But then what did I have it to compare to? Now, I know and I have to say, there’s no putting that genie back in the bottle.”

“So, back to my original question…are you dating?”

“No.”

“Oh. So it’s just a sex thing?”

Zoe lost her smile. Ouch. Hard to admit but yeah, what she had with Jax and Hunter was purely sexual, right? It wasn’t as if she knew anything about them or if they cared to share anything about themselves that wasn’t sexual in nature. Did she want more? What did that mean in the overall scheme of things? She didn’t know. Crap, she didn’t have answers to the tough questions. Realizing Delainey was still waiting for an answer, she nodded glumly. “Yeah, it’s a sex thing.”