Strength In Numbers 1: Double Jeopardy

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Strength In Numbers 1: Double Jeopardy Page 2

by Rachel Bo


  Before he could stop himself, Josh closed his eyes, the better to savor Kendall’s delicious response. With eye contact broken, the tumult began to fade into the background and Kendall again became aware of her sweaty palm clasped in Joshua’s hand. Regaining a sense of self, she was able to withdraw from the stream of consciousness flowing between them. “What was that?” she mumbled. The men exchanged glances. Joshua ran his thumb across the back of her hand, sending a tremor through her body. “Maybe we could discuss it over dinner?”

  Kendall’s blood sang with the memory of desire—hers, his, Sutter’s. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say, yet she said it anyway. She took a deep breath. “I have a better idea,” she murmured huskily. “Let’s go to my place.”

  Sutter jumped up eagerly, but Josh hesitated, studying her. “Are you sure about this?”

  Kendall shook her head. “Not really.” Then she met his eyes and said, “But let’s go anyway.” Josh nodded, and they walked over and climbed into Sutter’s convertible.

  “So, where am I headed?”

  “Back to the shop.”

  A few minutes later, Sutter pulled into the parking lot. Kendall got out and led them toward the back of the building. “I live in an apartment above the gallery,” she explained as she started up a set of stairs that ended in a balcony. At the landing, she unlocked the door, stepped in and turned on the light. “Come on in.”

  Kendall locked the door behind them. “Have a seat,” she offered. Sutter sat in a recliner near the fireplace, and Joshua sat on the couch. Suddenly at a loss, she cast about for something to say. “How does coffee sound?”

  “Sounds good,” Josh replied. He got up quickly from the couch. “Can I help?”

  “Thanks.”

  Kendall went into the kitchen and turned on the coffee pot, achingly aware of Josh’s potent masculinity in the tiny space. He investigated the cabinets until he found the cups. “How do you like your coffee?” he asked.

  “Two teaspoons of sugar, and a dash of milk.”

  Josh grinned. “Me too,” he said. “Sutter takes three teaspoons.” He measured sugar into their cups, then stirred as Kendall poured in the coffee. Kendall grabbed the milk from the refrigerator and added a little to each cup, then she and Josh joined Sutter in the living room.

  The sun was setting and the evening had become chilly.

  Sutter pointed at the fireplace. “Do you mind?” Kendall shook her head, and moments later Sutter had a small blaze dancing on the grate. Kendall sat on the sofa and Josh took a seat right beside her. She could feel the heat of him even through their jeans. What am I doing? she thought.

  Josh sensed her anxiety and sipped his coffee nonchalantly, trying to put her at ease. “This is good.”

  “Thanks.” Kendall tried to ignore the spreading wetness in her crotch—sipping at her coffee, staring into the fire to avoid their intense scrutiny. As time stretched on, so did her nerves, until she thought her limbs might snap if she tried to move.

  To her relief, Sutter finally broke the silence.

  “Josh and I met in third grade.” He looked up and grinned. “We were best friends right away. Practically lived at each other’s houses.” At a glance from Josh, he clarified. “Well, I spent a lot of time at his house, anyway.

  “It was a while before we realized we could—feel each other the way you just experienced.” He captured her gaze with his. “We’ve never been able to do that with a single other person, until you.”

  Kendall’s heart raced. Already, she was longing to regain that touch—that frighteningly intimate contact. To cover her confusion, she leaned forward and set her empty cup on the table.

  “The first time we saw you, we knew.” He glanced at Josh again. Setting his own cup aside, he got up and came to kneel in front of her. “We’re soul mates, Kendall. The three of us. Josh and I have always known there was something—someone—missing, and here you are. You’re a part of us.”

  Kendall thought for a moment. Her heart was saying yes, recalling the instant connection she had felt to both these men, but her mind was saying this is crazy. “How can you be so sure?”

  Josh cleared his throat and then both he and Sutter were holding out their hands. The thought of baring her soul to them again was frightening; and yet inexorably, like iron drawn to a magnet, Kendall reached out to clasp their strong hands with cold, tentative fingers.

  A flash of triumph danced along her nerves. Sutter, Kendall thought. Unorganized, passionate, impulsive, his thoughts flickered into being and then disappeared almost as rapidly. Bold and confident, even a trifle arrogant. And yet—wanting her, even needing her, steeling himself against the possibility of rejection.

  Josh, on the other hand, was just as she had imagined in the store—his thoughts confident, solid, unshakeable. And all of that buoyed by an undercurrent of total conviction and a joy that pierced her to the very core—a sense of finally being whole.

  And in that instant, some part of Sutter and Josh slipped into place inside her, like the missing pieces of a puzzle. Her body shook with the force of it—an utter sense of belonging.

  Overwhelmed, Kendall pulled her hands from their grasp. She leaned back into the cushions, trembling. Sutter stood and moved to stand behind the couch. Kendall jumped a little as his lean fingers began to massage her shoulders. At first she tensed, but the bond was quiet and his touch was so welcome, so relaxing, she finally went limp. “Mmmm, that feels good.” She rested her head against the cushions and closed her eyes.

  The couch shuddered slightly as Josh moved. His fingers began to knead her thighs, just above the kneecaps. Kendall opened her eyes and started to sit up, but Sutter pushed her back into the couch. “Shhhh,” he whispered in her ear. “We won’t do anything you don’t want us to do. Just enjoy.” Kendall sighed and closed her eyes again.

  Josh’s fingers on the tops of her thighs were slow tendrils of flame, working their way up toward her hips. Sutter’s hands massaged her shoulders gently, melting her resistance, slipping slowly, seductively, lower and lower; until Kendall’s nipples stiffened in response, her top’s rough weave scratching the upright peaks through her thin lace bra as he massaged the upper swell of each breast. Kendall moaned softly. A mantle of heat enveloped her shoulders, her breasts, her rib cage. Josh pushed her legs apart slightly, massaging the inner portion of her thighs, the tips of his fingers tantalizingly close to her tingling crotch.

  Sutter smiled to himself as Kendall’s back arched and her breath quickened. He glanced at Josh. Sutter didn’t want to scare Kendall off at this point by being too aggressive. But Josh nodded, so Sutter captured the tips of Kendall’s nipples through her shirt, between the thumb and forefinger of each hand.

  Kendall gasped, a molten river of Sutter-inspired pleasure flowing down her rib cage to meet the flickering flames of desire ignited by Josh’s touch. She was intensely aware of her pants being unsnapped, of the zipper buzzing against her belly as Josh pulled it down. She felt his hands at her waist, and arched her hips as he pulled her jeans away, taking her panties off with them. Kendall reached for the hem of her sweater and pulled it off. She reached for her bra, but Sutter was there first, deftly releasing the front catch and sliding the straps down her arms. She opened her eyes briefly and looked up, catching a glimpse of him bending over the couch. He reclaimed her right breast with his hand as he kissed her roughly, his eager tongue invading her mouth. Kendall closed her eyes, sparring with Sutter’s tongue while he kneaded her nipple with his thumb.

  Josh’s hands urged her hips closer to the edge of the couch, then spread her legs wide. Kendall moaned when Sutter pulled his mouth away. A moment later, red-hot flares erupted in her pussy as Josh’s lips closed around her clit and Sutter’s tongue simultaneously began teasing her nipple. “Oh, God,” she murmured. Sutter’s mouth enveloped the dark peak while he massaged her other nipple with his free hand. Josh pressed his lips tight to the flesh around Kendall’s throbbing clit, teasing the har
d nub with his tongue. “Mmmmm,” Kendall moaned. They both began sucking—gently, at first. Occasionally torturing her nipple or her clit with the touch of a tongue or the sharp edge of a tooth. “Oh, God,” Kendall gasped, “Yes.” She spread her legs farther, flooding Josh’s senses with a surge of intense desire. A deep satisfaction settled in his core, and he began sucking harder, occasionally sliding his tongue down to the edge of Kendall’s vagina, tasting her salty emissions, tormenting her. Sutter moved his attentions to her other breast, taking the entire areola into his mouth, drawing the tender peak at its center deep into his throat.

  The physical sensations they were inspiring took Kendall’s breath away. But the real surprise came when she relaxed fully. She quit thinking about whether the situation was right or wrong and gave herself up to the moment, opening herself to the bond. A torrent of emotions flooded into her. Sutter’s barely controlled primal need, punctuated by fierce joy each time Kendall gasped or cried out; Josh’s more sedate, quiet delight at finally being able to touch her—to taste her—underscored by a rising tide of desire. Kendall shivered, writhing desperately as their two hungry mouths devoured her. She couldn’t take it, it was too much—but then her hands were convulsing, grasping the sofa cushions with a death grip. “Yes!” she screamed. Her back arched and her body shuddered as she rode the leading edge of a white-hot fire that threatened to engulf her. Josh moved his head and thrust his tongue deep inside her pussy, savoring her sweet-tart cum, the way her cunt contracted violently on his invading tongue. He immersed himself completely in their joined consciousness, trembling in anticipation of her orgasm.

  Kendall gripped the cushions, balanced precariously on the verge of fulfillment. Sutter moaned against her breast and Kendall sensed for the second time that near-painful, overwhelming pressure. Then a mixture of blissful relief and pure ecstasy flooded her limbs and she knew that Sutter’s cock had exploded. And she felt it. “God, yes!” Kendall screamed, and tumbled into bliss, her climax merging with his, unable to distinguish where Sutter’s rapture ended and hers began. Kendall thrashed violently against her lovers’ mouths for several seconds, then finally collapsed, uttering a small sob, already wanting more.

  Josh pulled himself up onto the sofa and gently pushed a sweat-soaked strand of Kendall’s hair back from her temples. “Are you all right?” he murmured. Kendall nodded, though she was still trembling. Josh knew they should probably stop now, give her some time to assimilate what was happening, but he couldn’t bring himself to suggest it. Sutter and Kendall had climaxed, but Josh’s cock was still ripe. Full and throbbing, begging for relief. He kissed her.

  Kendall’s previous sexual partners had not performed cunnilingus, so she met Josh’s kiss reluctantly at first, embarrassed to think that his mouth had just invaded her pussy. But her own scent, the taste of her juices on his tongue—it wasn’t a turn-off, like she had imagined it would be. It was like a match, rekindling the fire in her groin. Josh reached down to his pants. He slipped out of them while he devoured Kendall with his kiss. Sutter joined them on the couch, sitting to the other side of her, breathing sweet syllables into her ear, nibbling on her neck. Josh reached for Kendall’s hand and guided it to his inflamed cock, pressing her cool fingers around the hot, hard flesh.

  For a moment, an unwelcome memory flashed in Kendall’s mind, but she forced it away. Josh’s need made her nerves hum like a tuning fork and nothing was more important to her right now than fulfilling that need.

  Kendall caressed his thick shaft. As she circled the head with her fingers, a pearlescent droplet gathered at its tip. Kendall swiped the drop onto the tip of her forefinger and brought it to her lips. Smiling at Josh, she licked.

  “Kendall,” he groaned, leaning over to kiss her hungrily. He guided her hand back to his cock, wrapping her fingers around him, moving her up and down urgently. “Please, Kendall,” he rasped. “Make me come.”

  Kendall shivered as Sutter lifted her hair and began tasting the back of her neck. His fingers crept over her thigh and found her clit. “Yes,” she whispered. Kendall wrapped her other hand around Josh’s cock. He pushed the hair back from her shoulder, kissing her neck and nibbling her ear. Kendall closed her eyes and explored Josh’s manhood, relishing the frissons of pleasure that erupted through the bond as her fingers memorized the feel of him; emitting her own sensations of bliss as Sutter played with her clit.

  Sutter’s fingers slipped into her pussy and Kendall whimpered, her hands tightening on Josh’s throbbing shaft. “Please, Kendall,” he whispered, his voice shaking. Kendall opened her eyes and watched as she began pumping his cock vigorously. Yes. She wanted him to come—wanted to see his climax. Wanted to feel it inside her, the way she had experienced Sutter’s.

  Sutter had buried his face in her neck, his fingers thrusting over and over into her dripping pussy. Kendall parted her legs a little more, so that he could go deeper, and as she shifted she caught a glimpse of their reflection on the dark television screen.

  It was like a bucket of ice water thrown over her. The sight of Sutter’s hand disappearing beneath the quivering mound that was her stomach. Her pale, plump body between their lean, dark physiques. Her thirty-something features next to their youthful, unlined faces. How could they possibly want me? She tried to push the thought away, but her mind jabbered at her. Because no one their age would do this. Because a lonely, middle-aged woman, flattered by their attentions, would be less likely to resist the idea than the slender young coeds at the college.

  Kendall pushed them both from her and stood. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. She grabbed her jeans from the floor and tried to pull them on with trembling hands. Josh groaned and watched helplessly, his cock aching for release. He reached out to Kendall but she backed away.

  Josh glanced at Sutter, and Sutter stood, putting his arms around Kendall as Josh grabbed his pants and yanked them on. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  Kendall shook her head, pulling from his grasp. “Please, just go.” Her jeans finally fastened in spite of her shaking, she searched desperately for her sweater. She spotted it half-buried between the cushions of the couch and grabbed it, yanking it over her head.

  “Kendall, please,” Josh implored. Kendall headed toward the front door, pulled back the deadbolt, and held the door open wide. The two of them walked toward her. Josh hesitated at the threshold, but then stepped out. Sutter stood staring at her for a long moment, then slapped his hand against the wall. “Damn it, Kendall! What is it?”

  Kendall fought back tears. “This was a mistake.” She met his gaze steadily, willing herself not to break down in front of them. Sutter reached out, but she backed away. “Don’t—don’t touch me.”

  His eyes searched hers.

  “Please,” she choked out. “Just go.”

  Sutter shook his head, but stepped outside. Kendall closed the door quickly and threw the deadbolt. She leaned back against the cool wood and slid to the floor, finally sobbing.

  Josh and Sutter stood on the landing, listening to Kendall cry.

  “What happened?” Sutter asked, bewildered. “I thought…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

  “I felt some sort of—shock—go through the bond just before she threw us off,” Josh murmured. “But I wasn’t concentrating. I was more preoccupied with—you know. Did you feel it?”

  “Yeah. But it was the same for me. I was just enjoying—and I thought she was, too.”

  “Shhh.” Kendall’s sobs were abating and Josh gestured for Sutter to follow him down the steps. They walked around to the car. Sutter stuck his keys in the ignition, then gripped the steering wheel and abruptly rested his head against it, groaning.

  “Somehow, we blew it.” He hadn’t even realized how important Kendall was to him until that moment. Now, it felt as though she had been a part of them from the beginning. “And she’s the one, Josh. What are we going to do?”

  Josh rested a hand on his shoulder. “The main thing is not to give up.” H
is grip tightened as he glanced toward the apartment over the shop. “We found her. We won’t let her go.”

  Sutter turned his head and searched Josh’s eyes.

  “Think about it,” Josh insisted. “We’ve been living with this bond for fourteen years, and it was something we only gradually became aware of. For her, it was instant.” He shivered at the memory. “And intense. Whatever the problem is, she’ll tell us. You can’t turn your back on something like this.”

  Sutter tested the bond, and found that Josh really believed everything would turn out all right. Reassured, he started up the car and pulled out onto the street, watching as Kendall’s apartment dwindled in the rearview mirror.

  Chapter Three

  Strange Magnetism

  Kendall opened her eyes reluctantly. Her head was throbbing. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Eight o’clock. Two hours before she had to open up the shop. She rubbed her face and sat up. She still had on the clothes she’d worn the day before. She peeled off her sweater as she headed for the shower, then stopped as the raw throbbing of her nipples brought the events of the night before flooding back.

  God. Kendall retraced her steps and sat on the edge of the bed. How could she have invited them to her home? They were just kids, really. Kids? her mind asked skeptically as the memory of their touch made her body ache longingly. It had been so damn good. Kendall shook her head. No. It’s probably just a game for them. A youthful experiment. But that irritating voice in her head wouldn’t go away. The night before, it was telling her to run away. Now, it was telling her to run back into their arms before it was too late. She wished it would make up its mind.

 

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