by AJ Wyatt
“The hose?” Talon asked irritably.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Get ready!”
I blasted them, and they tightened up and turned around. Vice made sure to get his hair in the stream, and Talon held his hands out defensively, yelling, "Enough! That's enough!"
When it was over, all four of them faced me, and an impish grin spread from one to the other.
“What?” I said.
“Should we?” Vice asked.
“Yes,” Yuri said. “It is only fair.”
They charged as a group, and I used the hose to my best advantage, but against the four of them, there wasn't much I could do. They got me overhead, and carried me to the pool.
“Don’t you dare, you bas—”
The water was actually really lovely when I crashed down into it. They wanted to play games? Fine. I had a game they'd like.
I climbed out, sopping wet. I let them get a good look at my soaked t-shirt. Then I stripped and let my shirt and shorts fall to the ground. I gave them a chance to see the bra and panties. They were a very nice combo. And then those hit the ground too.
“How many showers are there?” I said. “Four, I think. That means someone will have to share. I wonder who it'll be… I guess I'll just pick a room at random…"
I started up the stairs to the house, and their faces were stoic, but below the waist? Not so much. They all started to swell down below, and I hid my smile of satisfaction as I took my time heading in.
“Better hurry,” I said, “Or I’ll get a shower all to myself.”
That got them moving, and all four made a mad dash for the doors, crashing wildly on the tiles, laughing and chasing past each other, shoving and tackling to get to the stairs. The question was, did I really have to guts to get in the shower with one of them?
“Am I taking this too far?” I asked Trib.
“There are six showers,” Trib said. “If you count the one by the pool, literally right behind you.”
“That’s not exactly an answer…”
“Are we really going to pretend like you’d listen to me if I gave you one?” She asked.
"Touché," I said. "You wanna split a shower?"
"I'm taking a bath. You could always take turns, you know."
“The hot water will be all used up.”
Trib rolled her eyes and headed inside.
“You know, I was crazy worried about you,” I said.
“Now you know how I feel behind my computer screen when I’m watching you almost get killed.”
“How did we ever get into this ugly business?”
“The CIA offered to pay for my college,” She said, and she winked and went in.
I laughed and followed her.
Now…which shower to choose? I promised it would be random, and I really didn't know who had claimed which bedroom. So I got upstairs and decided on a game of eenie-meenie-minee-mo, and picked a door to head through. I tried not to glance at anything in the bedroom that would give it away and waded through to the steamy, luxurious shower room.
Each bedroom had not only a bathroom, with sink and toilet, but a separate room for bathtub and shower, with a gorgeous jacuzzi tub and a big walk-in shower with multiple heads for maximum luxury. The glass was completely steamed over, but whoever was inside must have known I was there, and they drew a small heart on the glass with their finger.
I opened the door and let myself in.
Talon was standing there in all his glory. He'd just shampooed, and I watched the bubbles trail down his abs, across the swell of his cock, and down his thighs. The showers had seemed so huge when I'd seen them before, but now it felt tiny and close. My butt was still pressed to the glass.
“Come on in,” he said.
I smiled nervously and took a step further in. The water cascading from the rainfall shower head above poured over me, and I got underneath to wet my hair. He watched me, his gaze traveling over my body. He was half-hard already and getting harder. I had to wonder: is this going too far? It felt like it might be. But it also felt like what I wanted, and I go after what I want.
I tried to tell myself that I might have to kill him, but I didn’t believe that anymore.
He could try to kill me. A hot shower might be his best chance. I could be wrong, and he could do it, go out and tell the others it was done, and they would just leave. My father's death would be unavenged.
But another part of me was starting to believe something: My father had trusted these men. Whatever had happened, maybe one of them betrayed him, or maybe he was wrong. People make mistakes.
I didn’t believe in my heart that Talon had betrayed my father. I didn’t believe he had anything to do with his death. Had they been friends? Trusted confidants? Partners?
I wanted to know.
“Talon…”
“Shh,” he said. “The time for talking is definitely later.”
He put his hands on me, and I knew he was right.
13
He kissed me gently and then more passionately, playing at my lips and tongue the way he had before. Biting at my lower lip until it just nearly hurt and then letting go. My eyes were closed under the water, but as his hands crept across my back, pulling me close to him, I felt his cock sliding between my legs. I spread my legs a little to give him room. He got harder and pressed against me, rubbing with the head of his cock at my pussy.
My own slick wetness dripped over him, making us both slippery.
The teasing of his cock made the tension in my legs almost an ache as I swelled. I moaned as he kissed my neck, sucking playfully at me and nibbling at my ear.
He backed away and found the shampoo.
I didn't ask what it was. I was sure it was a thousand dollars a bottle or something. Herbs from the Himalayas, probably. Moonbeams and unicorn tears. Whatever billionaires put in their hair. I knew it smelled terrific because I'd smelled him, and every scent he put on his body was a treat.
“Turn around,” he said.
I did, and he massaged the shampoo into my scalp.
"That feels amazing," I said as stress bled out of me.
It had been a hard day, and I hadn't really acknowledged it at all. My body certainly remembered. He rinsed my hair and repeated with conditioner. The conditioner spilled over me when he rinsed it, making my whole body slippery. He came closer until his cock slid up my low back, running his hands across my tits and down my belly to the soft sensitive skin around my upper thighs.
“Don’t tease me,” I groaned. “I need it.”
“Who’s teasing?” He whispered. But I could hear the grin in his voice, the bastard.
Fine, two can play at that game.
I reached behind me and took him in my hand, squeezing him gently and sliding my hand across the length of him and back. I slid further down and rubbed my fingers across his balls and dragged my nails up his thighs and across his belly.
“Now that’s teasing,” he growled. “You’re playing a dangerous game. Are you sure you want it?”
"Yes." It was true, and there was no reason to pretend I didn't. No reason I could think of anymore.
“Alright. No teasing then. I’ll give you what you want.”
His fingers slipped between my legs quickly. He knew exactly how to find my clit, and began rubbing at it, making smooth circles. I was so wet that his fingers easily teased me open as he massaged the inside of me, not too deeply yet. Just a bit to warm things up.
I struggled against him as he made me cum, but he held me firm with his other arm wrapped around me. When I was done shaking, he turned me to face him and lifted me effortlessly. He put my back against the wall of the shower and slid his length into me. I was wet and ready for it, and it felt so good. So soon after my orgasm, I was so sensitive that I came again right away.
Most men will go faster just out of instinct when I cum, but Talon slowed down. Instead, he made the orgasm ache as it came out, drawing it out longer until it finally died away, my whole body shaking and limp in h
is grasp.
Then he went harder, our bodies slapping together under the water. I screamed with how good it was, begged for more, begged for him not to stop, and he obliged, growling with pleasure as I came again.
“Talon,” I mumbled, “I think I’m going to pass out.”
He lowered me gently down, sliding out of me as we went. I turned the heat down on the water and let the coolness flow over me.
“You didn’t finish,” I said.
He looked embarrassed. “I often don’t.”
“You don’t like to make a mess? Or you don’t like to lose control?”
He frowned. “You’ve been talking to Vincent too much.”
“Here…”
I pushed him back against the wall and slid down his body, relishing the feel of his skin against mine. I took him in my hand.
“You’re swollen so hard,” I said. “You must be ready to burst.”
“Rayne…you don’t have to…
“Shhh. The time for talking is later.”
I kissed him gently on the tip and then licked him. He moaned, and his cock twitched in my hand. He was so close. I could feel his heartbeat in my hand. A cruel woman might take this opportunity to return some of the teasing he’d done, but he’d made me cum so hard, so many times that I was feeling very generous. I took him between my lips and sucked gently, stroking him with my hand as I gradually increased the pressure. He was shaking with it, his hands pressed against the wall.
“It’s okay,” I purred, making him look at me on my knees. I know he liked the view. “I want you to.”
When I took him in my mouth again, he didn’t last more than a few seconds. He cried out as he let loose, and I took it.
I rinsed my mouth under the water and put my arms around him.
"It's been a while, huh?"
“I’ve been with women, but…well, I just rarely finish.”
“I get it,” I said, giving him a last squeeze with my hand. “You ready to get out?”
“I could stay in here all night, honestly.”
We dried off and kissed. It was tender, and his eyes were full of consideration. Suddenly, we were both very awkward. I couldn't think of what to say, and it seemed he couldn't either.
“That was amazing,” he said finally.
“Yeah, it was.”
I left him to dress and got my own clothes on in my room. I didn't feel the emptiness that I sometimes felt after sex when I was on a mission. Instead, I felt fuller, somehow. As if being with him had given, rather than taken. It was a rare feeling for me. I’d had plenty of great sex, but so much of it was lust. Hot soldier guys at the Marine Corps bars, hot guys in foreign locations while I was on missions for the CIA. I took what I could get when I needed it. But the need I felt for Talon was different.
I wasn’t horny anymore. I was satisfied, but… I still wanted more. I almost wanted to go back to his room and have him again. Take him to bed and just…not leave until morning.
I sighed.
That’s not the life you’ve chosen.
Downstairs, everyone was eating dinner. Yuri had thrown together a meal from scratch. Beef stroganoff with fresh veggies from the garden out back. It smelled incredible, and suddenly I was starving. I grabbed a bowl and heaped spoonfuls in. The fridge was stocked, so I grabbed an ice-cold beer and slumped down on the couch near Trib, who was tapping away at her laptop with a bowl of stroganoff in her other hand.
Before I took the first bite, I noticed how…quiet it was. Yuri, Vice, Magnus, Trib. All of them were silently eating, each very interested in the bowl in front of them. When Yuri ate a potato chip, the sound carried so we could hear every bite.
Trib cleared her throat and leaned over to me.
“You, uh, left the door open on the bedroom,” she whispered.
“Oh.”
“Everyone sort of…heard.”
“Oh,” I said. It felt more funny than embarrassing, and when I looked more closely, all of the guys were shifting uncomfortably and clearly rock hard in their pants. Yuri's jeans were ready to burst. Magnus looked like he'd hidden a prize-winning zucchini in his sweats, and Vice looked absolutely serene, pitching a tent in his athletic shorts. He was the only one not doing anything to hide it.
“Did you hear?” I asked Trib.
"I had my headphones on," she said, which wasn't really an answer. But, from the way that she blushed and couldn't look me in the eye, I guessed she'd heard fine, headphones or no.
Vice cleared his throat.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said, “but I’m afraid our hiatus at the ranch will have to end soon. By our, I'm referring to Talon and me, of course."
I had a mouth full of stroganoff.
“MMhwy?” I mumbled.
“Our dear father’s funeral is tomorrow, and that is one event we can’t miss. Everyone will be there, and we’ll need to be on display, front and center.”
Right where someone could take them out. Any time an assassin can know in advance where and when someone will be, it's bad news. Of course, a funeral like that… there'd be some diplomats there, a lot of rich folks, scions of the financial district, and patriarchs of old Dallas. There'd be security out the wazoo. I still didn’t like it.
“It’s a bad idea,” I said.
“Blair will be there,” Talon growled as he came downstairs. “I won’t let these people scare me away from my father’s funeral. I will be there.”
“Trib…” I said.
“I’m on it.”
She put down her stroganoff and started clacking away at the keys. We’d need all the information we could get. It would be a late night, figuring out all the ways someone could get to the boys. Being with Talon, really being with him, felt different than just screwing someone. It was something more than that. It felt almost…real. And I wasn’t about to let someone take him from me.
Whoa, when did I start thinking of him that way?
I rubbed at my temples. He wasn’t mine, and it wasn't real. I needed to drill that into my heart before she got us both in trouble. Both he and Vice were sources of information. If I wanted to know who killed my father, I needed them. If it felt like I needed more than that, I’d just have to tamp that down and squish it away like an unwanted bug until the mission was over.
Yeah, that would work. It was going great so far.
“I’m your plus one,” I told Vice.
I gobbled stroganoff and headed out back to the fire pit. It was gorgeous at night, with the stars overhead unmarred by the city lights in the distance. This was the natural night sky, and I loved it. A nearly full moon even made an appearance over the pool. The waterfall cascaded down from a hot tub that must have seated twenty people. Still…
Trib’s research would take a bit, so I cranked on the heat and hit the bubbles. By the time I was done scarfing stroganoff, the hot tub was steamy and tingly on my toes. I glanced back at the house. Everyone was inside chatting. Yuri looked like he was telling Vice quite a story. Both of them were doing shots of Jewel of Russia, some of Yuri’s favorite vodka. Personally, vodka always tasted like gasoline to me, a frequent source of argument between us when we were together.
What didn’t we argue about?
Something was freeing about having been naked in front of everyone. Nothing they hadn't already seen. I slipped out of my sweats and t-shirt and climbed into the hot tub, relishing the tickling of the bubbles and the way the heat sang across my skin. When the hot water bubbled up between my legs, I felt a much deeper sensation. I was still very sensitive down there after my rendezvous with Talon. The air was cool, and one of my nipples got rock hard before I slipped under the water. Just the left one. Why does that happen? I massaged it a little to let the heat seep in.
It felt soooo good.
The hot tub was so big I could swim in it. Not laps or anything, but I could dog paddle around, roll over onto my back, and float while looking up at the stars. It was wonderful.
Trib wandered p
ast in her bikini.
“The pool’s mine,” she said. “You tell them if they try to come by. I’m taking my top off for sure.”
"You're a wild woman. Don't worry. If anyone tries to sneak by, I'll shoot them."
“Even you couldn’t hide a gun in there.”
“You’re not wrong.”
I floated on my back, musing about how I would hide a gun in a hot tub. If it were small enough, maybe… A huge male figure towered over me, and I suddenly found myself being shy. I pulled my body under and hid in the bubbles.
Magnus was wearing a towel. He’d brought two.
“Everyone else has trunks,” he said. “But none of them will fit me.”
"You can come in," I said. "The pool's off-limits."
“We can do halves,” Magnus said. He dropped his towel and climbed in, savoring the heat across his Swedish muscles. “Ah, that’s it! Nothing like a good soak. I’m glad you got in first, or I wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t turn it on just for me.”
“Trying not to stand out?” I said. “I know Swede’s don’t like to think they’re special. You’ll have to excuse me if I disagree.”
Magnus laughed.
“It’s okay to think you’re special, but you’re not supposed to say it. We don't mind if you say it, though. Americans are allowed to call Swede's as special as they like."
“Do you miss it?”
“Sometimes. There’s the snow and the land. It’s beautiful. Of course, it is beautiful here as well, but in a different way. There’s something about your language and your people that you miss. Like feeling a little hungry all the time.”
I found his leg with my toes and brushed the hair of his calf playfully.
“Hittade du något att måla?” I asked him. I hoped it was pretty close to what I intended: Have you found something to paint? Was I his last subject? I was curious. If he told me he was painting the vistas or the longhorns, I'd feel a little jealous. My own personal artist.
“Inte än,” he replied. He was looking at me hungrily. “I haven’t. You shouldn’t speak Swedish to me when you’re looking like that and tickling my legs. It reminds me of when I was young, and girls wanted me to chase them.”
