NeedMe

by Cari Quinn

  She threw back her hair and turned her head to shoot him a glittering smile. His heart slammed in his chest at the wickedness in that one look, at the utter devastation she wreaked upon him with so little effort.

  How he’d ever doubted his love for her, he didn’t know. She had him wrapped so tight that he had no hope of ever untying himself. And he didn’t want to.

  “My bad boy’s come out to play.”

  “Always.” He pinched her ass and slid the toy deeper. Deeper still. He set a hard rhythm, waiting until her moans began to level off.

  Ah, she thought she could relax. Not even close.

  With a flick of his thumb, he pushed the toy up to its highest setting and watched her explode. Her body went wild. She cried out, ripping her head up from Cale’s lap as her sex clutched at the vibe. Damn, she’d gotten the toy so wet that Tony could barely hold it still. Before she could recover, Cale slid down the bed and fastened his mouth around one of her nipples, sucking so hard that both Marcia and Tony groaned.

  Tony ate up every one of her reactions, starved for her excitement like a man for his final meal. Each whimper both gratified him and drove him mad. Right now, mad was winning, as proven by the steady drip of precum down his cock.

  Fingers shaking, he flipped the vibe to the lowest level and reached for the lube. “Hold the toy for me,” he muttered. Soon he’d be speaking in grunts and growls.

  She thrust her ass at him. The vise of pressure on Tony’s balls tightened, pulling another groan from his throat. “Hurry,” she pleaded, widening her stance. “I don’t want to come again without you.”

  “And I need this candy off my balls,” Cale added, earning a choked laugh from Tony. “If you don’t mind.”

  God, he’d never had more fun in bed. He and Marsh generally laughed a lot between the sheets but this went beyond that. The affection and love between the three of them translated so well to sex he wasn’t sure if Marcia would be able to close the door after tonight.

  Cale would, he knew. Cale could bounce back from any damn thing. He would too. He loved his best friend, loved this experience he’d gotten to share with him, but he really didn’t need to spend the rest of his life watching him come. Even the boundaries of friendship went only so far.

  Marcia, on the other hand, was the wild card. As she always was. Part of her allure. Part of why he feared losing himself to her. Could a woman like her really be tamed?

  No. Marcia tamed—whatever that even meant—wasn’t Marcia at all. He wanted all of her, the impetuous and crazy, the sexy and over the top, the quiet and thoughtful when she thought no one was looking. He wanted the whole package. For good.

  “Hey.” She glanced back at him, concern marring her gorgeous features. “Losing my buzz here.”

  “Can’t have that now, can we?”

  He reached for the lube and squirted some along his length and his fingers. They’d had anal plenty of times, mostly at Marcia’s request. He usually didn’t ask her for what he wanted, choosing instead to let her take the lead. Luckily her lead led him right where he wanted to go.

  Carefully he slipped two coated fingers inside her ass, working them in and out while she moaned in encouragement. Oh yeah, she wanted this. She always wanted it, any way he would give it to her.

  He leaned forward to kiss her back and closed his eyes against the torrent of emotions flooding through him. What if she didn’t feel the same way for him? Affection and love were two very different things.

  “Antonio?” she asked quietly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Must be trouble if she’s using the given name,” Cale said, not smiling. They all knew the Antonio treatment meant things had just gotten serious.

  Tony laughed it off. “Just want to make sure you’re ready for me.”

  “I’ve been ready for you for years,” she said, her light tone belying the double meaning of her words. At least he hoped there was a double meaning.

  “I’m ready too,” Cale put in, effectively breaking the heaviness of the moment.

  Trying not to laugh seemed futile so Tony didn’t bother. That he chuckled while he slid his painfully hard cock inside Marsh’s snug hole was definitely different. Especially since his laughter turned into moans almost instantly.

  She gripped him tightly, the thin wall separating him from the toy still in her sex seeming to disappear. Christ, he could feel every minute vibration. And then when she pulled out the vibe and he could feel her fingers pumping away, a new round of groans spilled out of him. It felt as if she were caressing him from inside out.

  “Dammit, Marcia.” He gritted his teeth. “You trying to make me come?”

  “Think so. Here too,” Cale managed, lifting his head. She’d gone back to working the candy beads off his sac, liberally wetting his balls in the process. Finally she tore off the necklace completely, tossing it aside before she encircled her lips around Cale’s shaft in one smooth glide that made both men gasp. Had he ever seen anything hotter?

  Tony surged deeper into Marcia, matching his strokes to her increasingly fumbling finger thrusts into her pussy. They stopped altogether when she hollowed out her cheeks and sucked hard on the tip of Cale’s cock.

  “Fuck yes.” Cale pushed her head down as he arched his back and raised his hips off the bed. “Swallow it,” he panted, his tugs on her hair gentling even before his body stopped twitching.

  She dropped her face to Cale’s thigh when Tony pressed his hand in the center of her back, forcing her as low as possible while he drove deep. Pleasure fountained up from his balls to his spine, washing over him in thick waves while the movements of his hips went on autopilot. Her whimpers burst through the silence just before he felt those wicked fingers slipping in and out of her sheath, pushing him into a brutally hard climax. He plunged over and over again, filling her with his hot release.

  Somehow through the haze, he heard her keening cry. Her tight walls squeezed around him, drawing out his aftershocks for so long that he literally couldn’t breathe. Finally Marcia went limp beneath him.

  In a minute she’d be asleep if they didn’t get her up and moving. In that way, she was worse than a guy. But Tony couldn’t get his limbs to work.

  Cale, on the other hand, seemed like he was raring to go. He rubbed her back and tossed Tony a grin. “Let’s eat.”

  Chapter Seven

  When Marcia woke the next morning, only she and Tony were still in bed. She heard the shower running in the bathroom and squinted at the clock. Just past four. She knew Cale worked early, but this was ungodly.

  “Somebody’s gotta sort stock from the morning truck. Usually him,” Tony mumbled, his voice sexily slurred with sleep.

  “Ugh.”

  “In two hours it’s my turn.”

  She already knew that but since he wasn’t fully conscious, she wouldn’t quibble. “So this not working thing? Maybe not so bad.” She rolled over and kissed his chin. “Go back to sleep.”

  He’d yet to open his eyes. “Already am.”

  Laughing, she rubbed his shoulder and tried not to sigh in pure female appreciation. His body made her inordinately happy. Antonio Marcus Griggs made her happy, period. If there was a boyfriend hall of fame, he’d be in it.

  She snuggled closer. How could she repay him for last night? Hmm, maybe she could dedicate her sex book to him.

  To my loving boyfriend, Tony, who epitomizes sex and makes me eager to make love too.

  Not bad. Kind of corny. She’d have to work on it when she actually began to write the book.

  Which was what she should be doing now. If she wanted to get this thing moving, she’d have to start getting up earlier and putting in some late nights.

  She grinned. Late nights spent doing things other than having wonderfully orgasmic sex with her two younger men.

  Once Tony’s even breathing told her he’d fallen asleep, she eased out from under his arm and padded to the en-suite bathroom. The shower was off so maybe Cale was decent. Even if he wasn’t, she was
pretty sure she wouldn’t mind.

  She knocked softly. Knocked again. Her smile blossomed as Cale pulled open the door and cocked a brow. He wore a towel slung so low it practically touched the floor.

  “Am I interrupting something?” she asked in her best sexy voice. The morning wood tenting his towel certainly seemed suspicious.

  “Maybe.” He openly perused her naked body in the triangle of light. Then he barked out a laugh. “Blondie, you need a shower.”

  “Well, yeah, but—”

  He grabbed her arm and tugged her inside the steamy bathroom, shutting the door with a soft click. Then he cleaned off the mirror with his arm and turned her toward it. “Some jerks wrote all over this gorgeous body.” He spoke close to her ear and she shivered. “They should be shot.”

  “Or fucked,” she whispered, only realizing what she’d said when he laughed.

  “Interesting style of punishment, I’ll grant you that.” He pulled her hair to the side and moved his lips against her neck, making whatever he would say next unspeakably erotic. Even if he asked her to pass the toothpaste she would probably feel a hot rush of moisture between her thighs. “Your shower has the most inspiring heads.”

  That she wasn’t expecting. She laughed and pinched his arm, well aware of the erection cradled against her bottom. However he’d been inspired in the shower he obviously hadn’t worn out said inspiration. “Glad you find the accommodations pleasant.”

  “Very pleasant. In fact,” he scraped a hand down her torso, his destination clear, “these are the kind of accommodations a man would love to visit again and again.” His words burned against her neck with silent promise.

  What did he mean by that? Did he want more than one night? They hadn’t explored everything, that was for damn sure. After they’d had their late-night diner feast, they’d all collapsed and gone to sleep.

  There was so much left they could do with one another. So much they could enjoy.

  “Thought you were the love ’em and leave ’em type, Mr. Parker,” she teased, meeting his pale blue gaze in the mirror. Today the blue seemed more intense, more like the hottest point of a flame than an arctic winter. “Don’t repeats hurt your rep?”

  “Not too concerned about my rep. Also not terribly concerned about love.” He cupped her breasts and rubbed her nipples with his thumbs, focusing all the heat in her body on those two areas. Almost all the heat. “You already have someone who loves you. What I want from you is a bit more basic.”

  She swallowed and concentrated on keeping her expression relaxed. “You keep saying that.”

  “Yup. And it’s just as much true today as last night. Maybe more so. You might want to think about that, Blondie, before you start putting offers out there that some men are more than willing to take you up on.” With a long, meaningful look at her in the glass, he patted her bare butt and stepped away.

  “You’re leaving?” she asked when he reached for the doorknob.

  “It’s what I do,” he said, a half-smile tipping up his mouth. A moment later he shut the door behind him.

  Marcia braced her hands on the sink and stared hard at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look bad. Actually with her seductively tousled hair and low-lidded eyes, she would’ve put her age at just over thirty. Okay, thirty-two. If she squinted just right, she could pretend her face appeared soft with sleep and wasn’t beginning to lose its definition.

  Hell, she’d kept up pretty damn good with her men the night before and she would again if—

  If. What did she honestly expect to happen? Did she really think Tony would go for another night with Cale? Asking for what she wanted was one thing. Asking for the impossible was another. She cared too much about Tony to risk their relationship over something temporary, even if it was amazing.

  No matter what, this couldn’t continue forever. She wasn’t in love with Cale. As hot and fun as he was, he wasn’t lifetime material. True, she hadn’t made it all the way to forever in her mind with Tony but she knew she wanted a lot more time with him.

  Tony wasn’t a diversion or a momentary pleasure. He was the real deal. Honest, loyal, wonderful beyond belief. The kind of man a woman could build a life with, were she not scared shitless at the possibility.

  She frowned and pushed her hair over her shoulder, still staring at her reflection. She’d taken charge of her sex life and had an almost-in-progress advice book to prove it. The rest of her life might be a little harder to manage but a gal had to start somewhere, right?

  Right. Today, she needed to start by taking a shower.

  Then she’d tackle her laptop and get started. If things went well—why wouldn’t they?—she’d crank out five thousand words before lunch. Maybe more. After last night, she was feeling especially motivated.

  Just before she pulled back the curtain, she noticed the smeared pink highlighter on her breasts. Though the letters had blurred into an almost indistinguishable pink blob, she got the gist. “Sex and candy,” she murmured.

  Cale had a point. That would be an awesome chapter title. Maybe she’d start there.

  Smiling, she stepped into the shower and cranked up the hot water. She felt so inspired she might even clear ten thousand words today. No problem.

  * * * * *

  “This blows.”

  Marcia stared at her laptop screen and stabbed the delete button over and over until the entire paragraph she’d written disappeared. But not to worry. She hadn’t lost her entire day’s work. Oh no. She’d been camped out at her kitchen table for six hours, so she knew she had to have a lot to show for it.

  She scrolled up the page and frowned. Two paragraphs. Really? All of two hundred twelve words. Three hundred and fourteen if she counted the Table of Contents. Sex and Candy would be chapter thirteen, under the subhead Fun With Body Parts.

  Which sounded kind of zombie-ish actually. Not sexy. None of this sounded sexy. Even her opening sentence sucked. At the rate she was going, there would be no happy ending either.

  She blew out a breath and shoved aside her pad of notes. What had she been thinking? She wasn’t a writer. Tony was right. She barely even read. Instead of expanding her mind, she’d let it atrophy under her perfectly coiffed curls until nothing remained but fluff. Business degrees didn’t mean squat when she was sitting in front of a shiny screen that mocked her with its blankness.

  Writing sucked. Being a writer sucked. Who even read anymore? People wanted pictures. That’s why porn was so popular. Men had the right idea. It was a lot less work.

  She sighed and reached for her glass of soda. Another thing? She didn’t drink coffee, and from the sixteen writers’ blogs she’d read this morning while waiting for inspiration to hit, she needed to. Unless she gave up her soda habit for java, she’d probably be stuck staring at this empty page from now until forever.

  The one thing she liked so far was her title. Keeping The Motor Cranked: Tips, Tricks and Advice From The Frontlines of the Women’s Orgasm Movement (WOM).

  She could picture the merchandising now. Hats, jackets, cute little tank tops all emblazoned with the acronym WOM in a bright red lipstick font. This book was her ticket to self-satisfaction and monetary security, she just knew it.

  If only she could make it to page two.

  Her cell phone went off and she grabbed it like a drowning woman when presented with a life preserver. The outside world! Someone to save her from this stinking shitpile of a non-book. Thank God.

  Seeing Tony’s name, she smiled wide enough to make her cheeks hurt. “God, Tony, I’m so glad it’s you.”

  “Marsh?” Worry immediately crept into his tone. “What’s the matter? Are you okay? Did something happen? Should I come home?”

  Her smile turned into laughter. Damn, she adored this man. More and more by the hour. “No, sweetie. Everything’s fine.”

  “Do you not feel good? I could bring home soup. You know The Daily Bread’s always got a great lunch special.”

  Yep, he was a prize all right. Her
prize, and she wasn’t giving him up. Sure, he could get a little fretful at times but at least she knew he cared. He wasn’t one of those strong, silent types who wouldn’t reveal emotion unless someone put a gun to their head. Someone like her father, for example, who hadn’t given her mom even one anniversary card in forty-two years of marriage. Or Spencer.

  Or Cale.

  Yeah, Tony definitely had his good points.

  “I’m perfectly fine, I swear. Not sick. Just a little tired and stressed out. You were right. I can’t write a book.”

  “I never said that.”

  “You implied it, and you were right. It’s beyond me. I’m meant to sell books, not write them. I just can’t get it together enough to get words on the page.”

  Tony’s string of muttered curse words made her blink. “You can do anything you put your mind to. Do you hear me? Lately you’ve been putting yourself down too much. It’s not like you. What happened to my girl who could take on the world?”

  Good question. What had happened to her? Somewhere between quitting her job and deciding to write this book, she’d lost her belief in herself. Maybe it was just a natural consequence of being at a crossroads in her life. Or maybe she was just getting older and reality had become more of a bitter pill than she’d been prepared to take. Whatever the reason, she didn’t like this new wishy-washy version of herself.

  Last night she hadn’t had any insecurities at all. How could she, when faced with two incredibly sexy men who ravished her with their eyes every time she walked into a room?

  Cale doing that was a recent development. But Tony had been appreciating her for years. All of her. Her looks, her personality, her mind. In his eyes, she could do no wrong.

  God, she hoped she deserved him. She still wasn’t sure she was worthy of Tony’s adoration. But she’d make him proud—and in the process, herself too.