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Lisa's Gift

Page 11

by Mackenzie McKade


  Nicolas hurried to release Lisa’s wrists and worked to lift her into his arms. When he had her securely in his embrace he took two steps at once, heading up the stairs toward his bedroom.

  As he laid her limp body down on his bed she opened her eyes. “My purse. Get my purse.” Her request was almost inaudible.

  He turned and saw Jana disappear through the open door.

  With a brush of his hands he moved Lisa’s hair from her face. “Baby, are you okay?”

  “Fine,” she managed to say. But he knew she was anything but fine. Light, shallow breaths barely moved her chest. Her face had twisted into a mass of pain. “Water.”

  Nicolas sprang from the bed, heading for the kitchen, passing Jana on his way. The worry in her eyes reflected his own concern. Nothing mattered but taking care of Lisa.

  The kitchen smelled of garlic and a handful of other seasonings and herbs from his half-cooked dinner. From the cabinet he retrieved a glass, filled it with water from the refrigerator, and then moved hastily back to the bedroom. When he arrived, Lisa was sitting up against his pillows. Some color had flowed back into her face, still dark rings around her eyes remained. Jana was offering her a tiny white pill that she took and placed on her tongue. Nicolas handed her the glass of water and she took a small drink.

  “Thank you,” she said, laying her head back against the headboard.

  “I’m calling the doctor.” Jana sprang to her feet, moving toward the telephone on the other side of the bed.

  “No. Please, Jana.” Life seemed to spring back into Lisa. She forced a laugh that simply did not sound like she was having fun. “I’ll be okay. I just get headaches from time to time. The doctor said there’s nothing they can do for them.”

  “Bullshit!” Jana barked.

  “Really, Jana. Watch, in five to ten minutes I’ll be just fine.” She reached for her friend’s hand, but Jana was already in motion.

  Jana turned about sharply to face Nicolas. “What happened?”

  Nicolas was speechless at the accusation in her eyes. Nothing he had asked them to do would have caused Lisa’s reaction.

  Jana pressed her fingertips to her forehead. Her eyes closed briefly. “This is my fault.”

  “That’s ridiculous. We did nothing Nicolas and I haven’t done millions of times.” A huff left Lisa’s thin lips. Then she cringed like pain overtook her. She took several deep breaths releasing them slowly. “Well maybe not millions of times. Jana, calm down. I enjoyed what we did together.” She waved her hand. “Come here.”

  Jana’s movements were stiff as she approached the bed and then sat beside her friend. Lisa took her into her arms, laying her head on Jana’s shoulder. “I loved what we shared. Please don’t think poorly of yourself or Nicolas.” She held her free hand out to him and he went to her. “Beside me. I want both of you beside me.”

  Lisa’s eyes were red, tired, as he pulled back the comforter and sheets, letting both women climb beneath them before he took his place next to Lisa. When he wrapped his arm around her he accidentally touched Jana and she pulled back like he’d burned her.

  “Children, play nice together.” Lisa chastised them, sounding like she was almost too tired to speak. “I’m sleepy. Can we just sleep for a while…” No sooner did Lisa speak, before she fell into a deep slumber. The same couldn’t be said for him or the other woman in the bed.

  Nicolas didn’t know how long he had lain there when exhaustion overtook him.

  Nicolas woke curled around Jana. Lisa was nowhere in sight. His concern for Lisa remained, but it felt so good, so right holding Jana against him in his bed. Many women had shared this space, but he had never gotten the sense that they actually belonged there, as he did with Jana.

  The thought gave him pause. What the hell was he thinking? Jana didn’t even like him much after last night. And he wasn’t feeling all that great about himself either. He still couldn’t figure out what went wrong.

  As he tightened his hold on Jana, the sweet scent of her musk was overridden by a delicious smell wafting through the open bedroom door. His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since mid-afternoon yesterday.

  Who was in his kitchen?

  What time was it?

  As he rose slightly to look at the clock on the nightstand next to his bed, Jana moaned and shifted onto her back. She was beautiful. He couldn’t resist tasting her as he pressed his lips to hers. Within seconds she was kissing him back, her arms snaking around his neck.

  Then she froze, which could also be said of how her icy blue eyes looked when she opened them and saw who held her. With a jerk of her head their mouths parted.

  Her palms struck his chest and then pushed. “Get off me.”

  He made no attempt to move, instead he adjusted himself further so that he pinned her to the bed with his body, his rigid cock pressed against her hip. “Jana, you have to believe that what happened last—”

  “I should have never participated. It was wrong.” The whole time she stared at his mouth. He could see that she wanted him to kiss her again. “Lisa—where’s Lisa?”

  He cupped Jana’s chin. “No! It wasn’t wrong. I won’t let you belittle what happened last night. It was beautiful. Special. Even Lisa recognized how good we all are together.”

  She shook her head in denial.

  “Dammit! Doll, you know you enjoyed what happened between us. You’re just having next morning regrets.” This happened all the time to people. They allowed their desires and their frame of mind to butt heads in the morning. In Jana’s case, it was compounded by Lisa’s sudden illness. He should have anticipated Jana’s response.

  “Now. Now. Children, I thought I told you two to play nicely.” Lisa waltzed into the bedroom holding a tray covered in food that set Nicolas’s stomach to growling again. She wore one of the transparent nightgowns she kept at his house. The kind that made him feel like he had infrared vision, able to look through shadows and see everything. In this case it was the dips and curves of her lithe body.

  “Lisa—” Jana’s face flushed as she tried to rise, but was held immobile by Nicolas’s body atop her. “Nicolas, let me go. Lisa, what do you think you’re doing?”

  Nicolas started to shift when Lisa said, “Keep her right there.” She moved closer to the bed and he could see that although her eyes appeared weary, she seemed like she was back to her same old self.

  Jana squirmed, trying to get out of Nicolas’s embrace. “Lisa!”

  Lisa ignored Jana’s cry as she set the tray at the foot of the bed, then shimmied out of her gown. Like a panther, she slowly climbed upon the bed, making sure not to disturb the tray. She looked up through feathered lashes as she crawled across the bed in a sensual sway. “Now we are going to have breakfast in bed, together.” She ran a fingernail down Nicolas’s leg, sending a shiver up his spine which hardened his cock even more and pressed it firmly against Jana’s belly.

  She gave him an agitated look that said, “Barbarian.”

  Hell. He felt barbaric trapping one woman beneath him against her will as another slinked her way toward him with a hungry expression like he was on the menu this morning.

  Lisa continued, “Then we are going shopping, together. Nicolas tells me he has something special for us.” She bent, tracing her tongue along his bare thigh. “Mmmm… You taste good. After that we are coming home and fucking, together.”

  When Jana opened her mouth, Lisa leaned over Nicolas and pressed a finger to her friend’s lips. “No argument. As you can see I’m perfectly fine. It’s Saturday. We have the whole weekend to really get to know each other.”

  Screw breakfast. He was ready to fuck now.

  What was Lisa up to? Jana wondered.

  Nicolas released Jana and she scrambled from beneath him as he twisted to lie on his back. She sat upright, glared down at him and shivered. There was no doubt in her mind he knew she had enjoyed last night’s experience. More surprisingly was that she had trusted him. It may have only been
during the throes of passion, but she had trusted someone other than Lisa, which was something she hadn’t done in a long time.

  But to accept that she liked being bound, that she liked a man dominating her, went against her grain. She should be stronger—more in control.

  Damn him! For beginning to break down the defenses she had built throughout the years.

  Yet she couldn’t deny the feelings she’d had all along of having a man be in control, and how much BDSM had turned her on when she researched it on the internet.

  Lisa crawled to one side, placing Nicolas in between them, then reached for the tray and handed it to him. Jana looked at her friend over the muscled chest of the man who sat between them in bed. The tray covered his cock and probably wasn’t very comfortable.

  Good!

  Jana’s indelicate snort drew Lisa and Nicolas’s attention. She simply raised a brow. From the looks of his earlier erection, the one that had jabbed her in the stomach, she would guess the rise in his knees was to put distance between his family jewels and that of the warm tray.

  Jana glanced at Lisa. She really did look like her old self. Yeah. Her eyes were drawn, but whose weren’t this morning?

  Their evening of discovery had swallowed up the night. Then whatever had happened to Lisa had stolen several more hours of sleep. Jana had stayed awake listening to Lisa’s soft breathing, while Nicolas lightly snored. It was only when Lisa turned on her side and snuggled into Jana’s back, like she used to when they were younger, that Jana fell asleep. For a moment she’d been sixteen again, safe, at least for the night.

  Jana hated the feeling of insecurity that consistently raised its ugly head. She looked down at the knife lying on the tray and wondered if there was any way to cut the head off the demon. When she looked up, Nicolas had a rather sheepish expression. His knees fell flat on the bed as he placed the tray firmly on his lap like a shield.

  Surely Nicolas didn’t think the object of her frustration hid beneath the tray? She really wasn’t mad at Nicolas, more herself.

  Jana couldn’t help the laughter that spilled from her mouth. Color flooded up Nicolas’s neck, surging across his cheeks, peaking at his ears.

  “What?” Lisa asked.

  “Nothing,” Nicolas responded sharply. His expression was priceless. Then his face softened and one of those devilish handsome grins crossed his strong features.

  Lisa leaned forward. “What did I miss?” She glanced back and forth between Jana and Nicolas.

  Damn Nicolas. Damn him for being so irresistibly sexy.

  She couldn’t help thinking about their night together. Moisture gathered at the apex of her thighs with the thought. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide the tightening of her breasts. She had enjoyed his domination. Enjoyed the fact she was forced to experience something new and special with Lisa that, on her own accord, she would have never done.

  “Nothing,” Jana insisted. “I think breakfast is over.” She tossed her legs over the side of the bed and rose.

  “But you haven’t eaten. Where do you think you’re going?” Lisa asked, getting off the bed with haste. The way she moved around the bed to intercept Jana wasn’t like that of a sick woman.

  “I’m going downstairs to get the outfit you bought me. Then I’m getting dressed. And either you can drive or I’ll call for a taxi. I’m going home.” Jana headed for the door, stopping as Lisa caught her by the arm with her fingers. Jana gave her friend a warning look.

  Home? This was the first time in a long time that Jana had referred to any place as home. But it was true. Lisa’s house did feel like home to her.

  Lisa planted one hand on her hip. Her head and shoulders wagged side to side exactly the way her mother’s used to when she was mad at Lisa. “No you don’t, young lady.”

  “Cathy, is that you?” Jana asked and then broke into laughter. “You sounded just like your mother.”

  Lisa giggled. “I did, didn’t I?” She drew Jana into her embrace. “I guess it’s true.”

  “What?” Jana asked hugging her back. Funny, but it seemed natural to be hugging her friend, even if both of them were naked.

  “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  Engrossed in each other, Jana hadn’t noticed that Nicolas had risen until he moved beside them. He again wore a pair of faded jeans, the top button undone.

  He took Jana’s breath away as she stepped from Lisa’s arms. She’d never seen a sexier man.

  “Maybe she’s right, Lisa.” He placed a palm on her arm.

  “No!” Lisa’s fists flew to her waist, knocking away his hand. “I—we have planned the weekend for fun, and I intend to enjoy myself.” Jana could see tears well in Lisa’s eyes. Perhaps it was because her friend was tired. Again, with an outburst of emotion that Jana had never seen, Lisa said to Jana, “I can’t do it without you.” Then she glanced at Nicolas. “Or you. Please, let’s put what happened last night out of our minds.” Then a smile slid across her lips. She wrinkled her nose in her cutesy way. “Well, not all of it. I believe some parts should be repeated—tonight. In fact, I insist. Now let’s eat and then get dressed.”

  “I don’t have any clothes other than the dress I wore last night,” Jana said, thankful for a reason to put distance between her and Nicolas as she stepped away.

  “Oh yes you do.” Lisa winked at Nicolas. “Courtesy of our host. We’ll dress for his pleasure. As a sub, your Master’s pleasure is all that matters. Now let’s eat. Everyone—back on the bed.”

  Master? Nah… This lifestyle wasn’t for her. Or was it? Jana wondered as she crawled upon the bed. She watched Nicolas slowly slip his jeans off and move to the bed. With ease, he situated himself between them. His warmth touched her and for a moment her breath stilled. A tight release of air slipped between her lips.

  Lisa was the only one who talked as they ate. “Jana, thanks for last night. I knew the three of us would be great together.”

  Okay, this was where Jana needed to express her concerns. She set her plate containing her half-eaten breakfast back on the tray, eased off the bed and then stood. “Lisa, I fully understand your desire to play this game, but it’s not for me.” There. She’d said it. This lifestyle wasn’t for her.

  Then she thought about the BDSM website she had visited and its revealing questions. The only question she answered with an absolute no had been being tied up. Last night threw that one out the window. Maybe, just maybe, she should go along with Nicolas and Lisa and see what this lifestyle offered. She had already taken the first steps.

  Jana shivered at the heated glare she received from Nicolas as he rose from the bed and walked around Lisa to invade Jana’s personal space. She fought the urge to step backward. His presence overwhelmed her.

  Before she was aware of what was happening he had her in his arms, devouring her mouth. She thought to fight, but her body thought differently. All her defenses melted like ice on a summer’s day. It was senseless to resist. The only way she would succeed was to put distance between them and it didn’t seem like that was happening any time soon.

  When he allowed her to catch her breath he placed his mouth next to her ear. “Do you want to play this game with us, doll? It’s your choice.” He nibbled on her earlobe. “I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want to do.” His voice was low, sensually twisting and drawing her closer into his sexual spell. When he kissed her neck chills raced up her body. “But if you concede,” his warm breath blew across the area he had just kissed, “you must obey me without question.” He waited for a moment and then said, “Do you agree?”

  Jana was confused. Her head told her no, but her body screamed yes. She wanted to know more about this world. Wanted to share in what Lisa and Nicolas had.

  “Yes,” she whispered as her eyelashes brushed her cheeks.

  He ran his tongue along her neck and her knees slightly buckled. “Choose a safe word.”

  Safe word? “A what?” she asked.

  “A word to us
e that will tell me that you want to stop this game. And then I’ll never touch you again.”

  Now that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Since she had a taste of him, doing without was simply out of the question. “How about, stop.”

  He tried to stifle his amusement, but she heard the laughter in his voice. “Choose another word. That one won’t do.”

  “Red.”

  “That’ll do. Now, on the chair across the room is a box with your name on it.” Deep and sexy, his voice wrapped around her like rope, each word binding her closer to him. “Take it with you to the guest bathroom. After you shower, get dressed.” He moved his palm to rest on the small of her back. Then his hand slipped down to grip her ass. She startled but didn’t say anything. “Leave your hair down and free. You will be rewarded for your obedience. Now go.” The firmness in his tone made her shiver.

  She took a step backward. Her eyes locked with Nicolas’s. Her nipples beaded, revealing how his words had affected her.

  Jana glanced at Lisa and saw only reassurance in her friend’s nod. Could Jana do this? Excitement raced across her skin.

  “Trust me, Jana. You’re mine.” The determined look in his eyes said he believed it to be true.

  She was his.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was noon by the time Nicolas pulled his truck out of his driveway. The sun was bright as he flipped his visor down, shading his eyes. He was looking forward to their trip to the mall.

  Lisa was her cheerful self. “Isn’t it beautiful today?” Her vibrant personality made him smile. She chatted on about how each day should be cherished as if it were the last.

  Several times, Lisa attempted to pull Jana into the conversation, but Jana acted preoccupied and only gave clipped answers as she gazed out the window.

 

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