Calling the Shots

by Christine d'Abo

  “I’m sorry, no. I need to speak with Mr. Scott in person. No one else.”

  Oliver let his arms drop and fought the urge to growl. “May I have your name then? I’ll see if Josh is available.”

  “Robert Kingston.”

  Assuming Josh was in the office, Oliver took the stairs two at a time. He didn’t like the vibe coming off of Kingston, and the sooner Josh got him out of the club, the better. Oliver strode into the office, nearly running Beth over. On instinct, he wrapped his arms around her. “Whoa. You okay?”

  Oliver’s world narrowed as he was caught by her brown gaze. She’d been laughing, smiling at something Josh must have said, and the pleasure was still there. God, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever been with.

  “I’m fine. I thought you were downstairs or else I would have invited you in.” Beth lowered her lids and gave Oliver a smirk that went straight to his cock. Wrong time, dude.

  “There’s someone here for the boss-man. He won’t talk to a minion, so I came to get you.” He stepped back, needing to put distance between them. There was unrepressed lust on Josh’s face, and Oliver knew he was going to need to spend more time in the freezer. “The guy said his name was Kingston.”

  Josh frowned. “Never heard of him.”

  “He seems official, but didn’t say what it was about and didn’t give me a business card.”

  “I better check him out then. He could be from the community watch. I’ve sent out a few emails to some other groups.”

  Oliver pulled Beth close when Josh squeezed past them. For one glorious moment, all three of their bodies pressed together. Oliver’s eyes slipped closed and he could imagine being back in Josh’s bed, naked limbs entwined with come and sweat cooling on their skin. Ghosting caresses, sense memories from their prolonged sex marathon, made his muscles tense and warmth flood his chest. Fuck, he needed to touch, be touched and never let go.

  “Oliver, if you keep this up, I’m not going to make it downstairs and will have you pinned against the wall.”

  He snapped his eyes open and stared at Josh, who’d lost his earlier smirk. Beth’s hand curled around Oliver’s side, her nails pressing into the thin fabric of his shirt. They were both so close. It would be easy to drop to his knees and beg them to take him, make him theirs. Over and over…

  Beth cleared her throat and stepped into the office. “You better get down there. We don’t want to keep Mr. Kingston waiting.”

  Before he realized what he was doing, Oliver had locked his gaze on Josh’s retreating form. The flex of his muscles under his clothing was hypnotic and set him at ease as it turned him on. God, he had to get a handle on things.

  “You okay?”

  Beth’s quiet concern snapped Oliver out of his mental descent. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  “It’s just you haven’t been acting like yourself since…” She shrugged.

  “Since the three of us had unbelievable sex?”

  Beth’s instant grin brightened the room. “I thought you might be regretting it, didn’t want to be with us anymore.”

  “No! God, it was amazing.” He hadn’t considered how Beth might be feeling, especially after what had happened. Great, he was becoming as bad as Mallory. “You were so incredibly hot.”

  Some things inside Oliver’s head chose that moment to slot together. If he was ever going to do this, take the chance to see if it was worth putting his heart out there again, then he had to stop overthinking his choices and simply act. He’d never considered himself a selfish person, but clearly he’d been wallowing again, making a mountain out of crumbs. Beth was too special to risk losing to indecision.

  Crossing to her, Oliver pressed up against her side. She’d worn her hair in a clip like usual, the long strands piled up on the back of her head. Giving in to the temptation he’d been fighting for ages, Oliver buried his nose into her curls and breathed in deep.

  His cock took an immediate interest, swelling so he was half-hard by the time he reached up and fingered the hollow of Beth’s throat.

  “You were so hot that night,” he whispered against her hair, “begging us to fuck you.”

  Beth’s sharp intake of air thrust up her breasts, exposing more of her cleavage. “Really?”

  “Oh, yeah. I would have done anything for you. Anything at all. God, I’d do anything you want even now. Just say the word and I’ll do it, no questions asked.”

  “Oliver—”

  “I haven’t been able to get you or Josh out of my head since.” Oliver lowered his mouth to her ear. “Every night I go home and picture you spread out in bed, Josh rubbing against you with that…his…cock. You were both in control, but not fighting for it. Sharing.” He swallowed. “Sharing me. I want you again.”

  Beth turned into him with a moan. “Josh has been teasing me. Keeps saying he’s going to tie you up and lock me in the room with you. I think he gets off on watching.”

  Oliver couldn’t hear Josh speaking to Kingston downstairs, but he knew the other man would be detained for a while. “We should give him a show.”

  Beth’s gasp was encouragement enough.

  Dropping slowly to his knees, Oliver kept his gaze focused on Beth’s face. “You’ve been thinking about this too?”

  She swallowed and stared down at him with her impossibly wide eyes.

  “I didn’t want to let on how much it turned me on, being with the two of you.” He pulled on the button of her fly and tugged the zipper down. “I kept thinking there was something wrong with me. That I was becoming obsessed with the idea of you and Josh.”

  “Why?”

  “Every time I close my eyes the two of you are all I can see. Together. Separate. Begging me to do something to you. Anything. Everything.”

  It would be so easy to lose himself in them, giving and giving until there was nothing left. It would be like Mallory all over again, only this time there’d be nothing left of him when the fire died and the ashes blew away. He’d be worse than broken if they betrayed him after that, he’d be obliterated.

  But neither of them were Mallory. He couldn’t imagine Beth being so cruel to him, and Josh was possessive but not all-consuming. Oliver could do this, take what he wanted and walk the tightrope between lust and insanity.

  He didn’t have to lose his heart.

  He could walk away when they were done.

  Oliver thumbed the soft skin above her panties. “I’ll fuck you until Josh and Kingston can smell you downstairs. I’ll do anything you want. Lick your cunt until you’re screaming so loud they hear you down at Pulled Long. Just tell me.”

  Beth’s breath hitched, her lips parted in a wide O as he caressed her. “We shouldn’t do this.”

  “Why not?” Oliver blew hot air against her denim-clad pussy, loving the way she squirmed beneath him. “I want to taste you. Feel your fingers pulling my head closer until you can’t take anymore.”

  “Oliver…”

  “I want to push my fingers into you and feel how wet you are. Please let me.”

  “We’re at work.”

  “I don’t think Josh would mind.” He pressed the heel of his palm to her pussy and leaned into the contact.

  “But I do.” Her white-knuckled grip didn’t lessen. “Not going to repeat past mistakes.”

  “What?” Oliver froze. The floor was hard beneath his knees, sending tendrils of pain through his legs. The discomfort rose until it took root in his chest, squeezing his heart.

  You were a mistake, Oliver.

  “I…”

  A horrible mistake. Best thing I ever did was run and get as far from you as I could.

  Beth snapped her mouth shut as her gaze shifted to the door. He didn’t need to look to know Josh was standing there. He could feel the change in the air, the scent of the other man reac
hing him across the room.

  “Don’t let me interrupt. The show was just getting good.”

  This time when Beth squirmed, Oliver did nothing to stop her. Too shell-shocked to care, he didn’t move a muscle. “Sorry, Josh,” he said, hating how dead his voice sounded.

  “I told you I didn’t mind as long as the club isn’t open. Oliver, you’re a hard temptation to pass up, especially when you’re on your knees.”

  Fuck, what the hell is wrong with me? Beth moved away, rejecting his touch, rejecting him. Josh, someone he shouldn’t be attracted to, moved in close. The brush of his fingers down the back of Oliver’s neck dragged reactions from his body he should be ashamed of.

  When had the world gotten so fucked up?

  Right around the time Mallory had walked out on him.

  No, before then. Back when he realized the pain from the tattoos turned him on, when he loved the way Brandon would boss him around while he was inking him up. It wasn’t normal. There must be something wrong with his brain for him to get off on stuff like this. It wasn’t the way things should be.

  “Beth, it’s okay. You two are beautiful together. I’d never ask you to stop if it was something you wanted.” Josh held out his hand for her even as he squeezed the back of Oliver’s neck. The touch did nothing to calm Oliver’s rising panic. Just the opposite. But he couldn’t move, needing to see Beth, watch her reaction.

  For a moment, Oliver thought she was going to listen to him. Her gaze bounced between them—Josh standing imposingly above him, Oliver half panting with a lust that brought his guilt to another level. Beth’s smile was barely a twitch of her lips and certainly didn’t come anywhere close to reaching her eyes.

  “Josh, I can’t. Not here in the office.” Her voice wavered as she spoke, the sound going straight through Oliver’s heart.

  “This isn’t the coffee shop. Sex is part of the deal in this environment.”

  “It’s not that.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “You know that’s not the problem.”

  “I thought you didn’t regret what we did?” The question left Oliver before it had fully formed in his brain. Not that he was sorry he asked. If things were going to go tits up, he wanted to know sooner than later.

  Beth stiffened. “Oliver, this actually has nothing to do with you.”

  That didn’t exactly make things better. He should have known better than to push for this. While he knew Beth was attracted to him, it took more than that for a relationship to work.

  Getting to his feet, Oliver ignored Josh’s firm touch to the small of his back. This was about Beth. The few feet that separated them was a chasm he wasn’t ready to breach. Instead he smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets.

  “This is why I hesitated.” He shrugged at her frown. “I didn’t want to risk our friendship with sex. I thought—” God, what was the point. He spun on his heel and strode away.

  “Don’t you dare leave.”

  Josh’s booming voice stopped Oliver dead in his tracks. He couldn’t turn around to face them. Oliver knew he was being irrational. He’d learned to recognize the signs of his brain beginning to spiral down into loathing months ago, but he didn’t know how to yank himself back from the brink.

  “The last thing I wanted to do was ruin things by acting on my desires.” He managed to keep his voice even. “Beth said ‘Stop,’ and I did. If I stay…” He squeezed his hands into fists. “I just need some time to cool off. I’ll be fine and things can go back to how they were before.”

  Josh moved behind him, standing close without touching. “Running away won’t make this better. We need to talk about what happened.”

  “I’m not running. Just taking a breather. I’m not a coward, but I need…I just need some space.” Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Oliver met Josh’s concerned gaze. “Sorry. What did Kingston want?”

  “He’s a lawyer for Allison. Wanted to see if I was going to press charges, and apparently wanted to try and rile me up about the club being vandalized. Totally irrelevant to our current conversation.”

  “Ah. Are you going to? Press charges?”

  “No.”

  Oliver stepped away but couldn’t quite bring himself to leave. “I’ll be down in the freezer finishing the inventory.”

  The entire time Beth hadn’t said a word. Whatever he’d done to upset her, she wasn’t about to share with him. Better to put distance between them.

  Any man would be a better choice over you, Ollie.

  “Oliver—”

  He moved before Josh’s hand made contact again.

  The cold of the freezer wouldn’t help this time. Instead, Oliver took the stairs two at a time and strode out into the afternoon sun.

  Chapter Eleven

  Josh stood on the catwalk above the main club floor and watched Paul and Sadie’s approach up the stairs. Sadie had emailed him weeks ago about arranging a special surprise for her husband’s birthday, and Josh had taken pains to pull everything together. Paul’s birthday present was currently waiting in one of the private rooms, and Josh had no doubt his friend was going to remember tonight for a long time to come.

  Josh hadn’t allowed any of the staff to help with the setup, wanting to keep the event private, while at the same time taking some small pleasure in being a part of things. If he couldn’t be there with them, this was the next best thing.

  Sadie was breathtaking in a strapless PVC dress. Light glinted off the surface, bending as she moved closer to where he waited. Paul held her hand but walked a step behind her. Josh had no doubt his friend was staring more at his wife’s ass than where he was going.

  “Now aren’t the two of you a sight for sore eyes.” It was easy to wrap an arm around Sadie and kiss the side of her neck. Josh made sure to look at Paul, winking as he did. “Happy birthday, dude.”

  “So I take it you know all about her plans for me this evening?” Paul’s smirk widened into a smile. “This one won’t tell me a thing.”

  Sadie rolled her eyes. “It’s called a surprise. A new concept for you, I know. Just go with me on this one.”

  “Who am I to argue with the lady?” Josh stepped back and held out the key for her. “To your specifications. I took care of everything personally.”

  “You’re not joining us?” There was a curious note to Paul’s voice.

  Sadie hadn’t mentioned anything to him about participating. A few months ago, Josh would have taken Paul’s question and worked it to his favor, maneuvered his way into their bed for a night of fun and hot sex. It would have fueled his dreams for weeks and his guilt for months.

  Now, though, a quick glance toward his office and the woman who was currently inside belayed any attempt he would have made. “This is between the two of you. Take your time and enjoy. Paul, you know the security code if you want to stay later than close.”

  Their twin expressions of confusion and surprise brought a smile to Josh’s face. He’d always have a place for the couple in his life. If either of them ever needed anything, he’d never hesitate to help. But it was time he moved on and found something of his own. His own birthday was fast approaching as well, and for once Josh wanted to avoid any regrets.

  Watching Sadie and Paul make their way down the hall wasn’t as painful as it might have been at one point. Instead, Josh found his attention drifting to Beth, who’d been holed up in the office since Oliver walked out on them. Casting a quick glance around the club to ensure everything was fine, Josh strode through to his office, shutting the door behind him.

  Beth didn’t acknowledge his arrival. She was pounding away at the keyboard, working on something that undoubtedly could wait until another day. She was the type of woman who’d take on complete responsibility for the situation. While Josh hadn’t figured out exactly what past demon had sent Oliver running, he did know why
Beth was so upset.

  Moving to stand behind her, Josh placed his hand on the back of her neck. “You’re going to burn yourself out.”

  “These need to get done, Josh. God, I can’t believe you’ve let these meeting minute notes go so long.”

  “They can wait.”

  “Not really. We need to have them for the next board meeting. Shouldn’t you be down on the floor?” Her fingers exploded in a flurry of keystrokes. “I can take over down there if you need a break.”

  Suppressing a growl, Josh pulled the computer chair away from the desk and spun Beth around to face him. She didn’t seem surprised so much as resigned, letting her hands fall to her lap.

  “Yes, Josh?”

  “You’ve been avoiding me since Oliver left.”

  “I’ve done no such thing.” She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “I haven’t left the office all night.”

  “But you’ve hardly said two words to me.”

  Josh dropped to his knees, spreading her thighs wide and inserting himself between them. Her skin was warm beneath her shirt as he burrowed his way beneath. Beth’s breathing never changed, but her eyes were wide and wild. He wrapped his hands around her sides and held her still.

  “You wanted Oliver to go down on you earlier.” He didn’t need her to respond to know the truth of his statement. The expressions of lust and adoration on her face when he’d come into the office was what he’d wanted to put back. “You would have let him if I hadn’t interrupted.”

  “No.”

  “Liar.” Josh rubbed his thumbs across the skin below her bra. “Why did it bother you so much, me walking in on you?”

  Beth closed her eyes and turned her face away. He could feel her breathing deepen, which only served to encourage him. Shifting forward, Josh pressed his lips to the side of her neck and breathed in deep.

  “I hope you weren’t thinking about Mitch. Oliver isn’t him. He would have treated you right.”