by Bianca D’Arc
Maya nodded slowly. “I didn’t fully grasp the scope of what my presence represented, but I don’t see any problem with it.”
“Good,” Hiram replied, smiling. “Just so you know, I did clear this with your brother. He’s fully aware of my expectations for this trip. You can check with him if you need verification.”
Maya sighed. It was just like her brother to not let her in on the full picture. “No, that’s all right. I understand, now.” She tried to focus. “So, who, in particular, would you like me to try to tackle for you tomorrow?”
“If you happen to see Sam Kinkaid sometime during the afternoon, perhaps you could let him know I’d appreciate an audience,” Hiram said with a twinkle in his eye. Sam Kinkaid was the king of all lion shifters. Hiram had just asked for an audience with the king. Maya tried not to roll her eyes at the pun.
“I’ll do my best, Master Hiram.” The formal title just slipped out, and she wondered what people would assume, if they heard her calling him that. Probably something kinky. Humans were funny that way.
“I know you will, my dear. Now, I wish you a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Without further ado, he went up the stairs to whatever he had planned for the rest of the night. It was late, but the mansion was still lively with people laughing and drinking, some were playing private card games or watching sports results from far flung places in the world. They sounded as if they had bets placed on the scores of various sporting events.
Maya was too keyed up to go to sleep. Her inner bear liked prowling at night, and so did her human side. In fact, she did some of her best design work in the wee hours of the morning. She walked the wide hall, waiting for something to catch her eye, when Marlon came up beside her.
“I saw Abernathy going upstairs,” he said, his voice low, near her ear. She tried to repress the shiver of awareness that went down her spine at his nearness.
“He’s got things to do,” she replied vaguely.
“But I thought…” Marlon stopped walking and took her elbow, steering her around gently to meet his gaze. “I thought you were with him.”
“I’m traveling with him, yes. But we’re not a couple and never have been,” she clarified. “I’m…sort of…arm candy for this event.”
“Truly?” Marlon looked skeptical.
Maya nodded solemnly. “Truly. But it’s not something he really wants publicized.”
“I understand,” Marlon replied, nodding his agreement. “Nobody will hear about it from me. But this is actually good news. I was hoping to see you again. I thought maybe…if you weren’t involved with anyone—which seems to be the case, after all—maybe we could spend some time together. Maybe get a drink. Talk a bit. I really admire you, Maya, and I’d like to get to know you a bit better, if that’s something you’d enjoy too.”
Flattered and feeling a bit lightheaded at his words, which so closely mirrored her own wishes, Maya could do nothing but agree. “I’d like that,” she said softly, wondering where it could lead.
He was human. Not built for a bear shifter female. At least, not on a permanent basis. She couldn’t mate him. But there was no denying she was greatly attracted to him. She could have a little fun. A little fling. Why shouldn’t she?
She was away from home. Out from under the watchful eyes of her brother and his men. She was off the leash and had just been given time off by her new employer. There was nothing stopping her from having a good time.
CHAPTER SIX
Marlon couldn’t believe his luck. Not only was Maya unattached, but he’d found her first. Marlon knew that, if Jeff had seen her, he would’ve made the first move. They’d agreed that whoever got the chance would ask what the deal was between her and Hiram. They’d been watching her all night whenever she happened to come into the room where they were playing poker. She hadn’t behaved like a woman besotted with her man, which had led Jeff and Marlon to speculate.
They’d agreed to try to get to the truth of that particular relationship, and if there was even the smallest chance she might be interested in either one of them, to go for it. If fantasies came true, she’d be receptive to both of them—at the same time—but they didn’t want to rush things. They might never get to that point. They had to feel her out and see what she was up for, if anything.
When she’d left, they’d both gone after her, but Jeff had gotten waylaid by a business acquaintance of his father’s that he couldn’t afford to be rude to, and Marlon had left him behind. He’d taken the opportunity to follow Maya at a discreet distance and witnessed her cordial—and definitely not steamy—parting from Abernathy.
Based on that interaction, he’d made a calculated move to intercept and see if he could advance his cause. When she’d told him she wasn’t involved with Abernathy romantically, it had been music to his ears. He’d immediately pounced, asking her to have a drink with him, and now, here they were, enjoying a hot toddy by the fireplace in one of the many sitting rooms in the mansion.
The air outside had been brisk at one o’clock in the morning when he and Jeff had met with Admiral Morrow by the waterfall, but after the hot and smoky poker rooms, it had been refreshing to be outside for a few minutes. Now, hours later, it was cold outside, so they’d opted for the warmth of the fireplace in an antechamber that was otherwise devoid of people.
It was just the two of them…and the ever-present Jeff, inside of Marlon’s head, of course. Right now, Jeff was jealous as hell that Marlon had been the first one to find the lovely Maya, but those were the breaks.
“This is nice,” Maya said, sipping her drink and relaxing into the plush couch.
Marlon was seated beside her, close, but not close enough. Not yet. Hopefully, with a bit of maneuvering, he might be able to get a little closer to her and demonstrate his interest in a more…uh…physical way, but that would depend on her. He wouldn’t push. Not too hard, anyway. He’d let her set the pace and do his best to read the subtle signals women emitted. But he was still curious about something…
“If you’re not involved romantically, how did you get mixed up with Abernathy?” he asked, knowing it was nosy, but unable to stop himself.
Her head turned on the back of the couch so she could look at him without disturbing her relaxed pose. Her dark eyes were narrowed the tiniest bit.
“Why the interest in Hiram?” she countered.
“Well, he is one of the richest and most powerful men in the country, if not the world. I just wondered how you knew him,” Marlon said, rather gracelessly, sitting back on the couch and resting his head a few feet from hers on the overstuffed upholstery.
“Because I don’t seem like the kind of woman who runs in those circles,” she finished his thought for him, sounding a bit suspicious, but not angry. Then, she sighed. “You’re right about that. I prefer cotton to silk and the great outdoors to this kind of place, but I can’t say I’m not enjoying myself here.”
“Hey, don’t get me wrong, Jeff and I might come from privileged backgrounds, but we don’t really fit in among Abernathy’s set, either. We’re here to play cards, which we happen to be good at.” Marlon knew he’d overstepped a bit and tried to pull back to safer ground.
“Well, I’m here to get some attention for my designs. I’m trying to get my jewelry business off the ground, and if I can get attention from some of the high-end boutiques in the vendor area, or a few well-placed women like Sullivan Lane, it could really help get my designs out there,” she admitted. Marlon sensed the truth in her admission, but also that she wasn’t telling him the whole story.
“Nice of Abernathy to bring you along, then,” Marlon mused.
“Yes, it was,” she agreed, almost defensively. Then she sighed again, as she stared into the flames in the fireplace. “He’s an ally, of sorts, with my brother. Hiram’s invested in one of the main businesses in our town, and he seems to feel some kind of debt towards us because he washed up in the cove when his yacht sank, and some of the guys helped him survive. He was
badly hurt, but they fixed him up, and that’s how he became friendly with my brother and several of the others in town.”
Marlon hadn’t known anything about that. He tucked the information away to file with his report to Major Daniels.
“You know, I didn’t want to mention it before, but I worked with Big John and some of his guys a few years back on a mission when I was in the service. He’s a good guy,” Marlon said, trying to change the subject a bit while also subtly establishing that he wasn’t the enemy.
She shrugged. “He’s my brother. I know a lot of people look up to him, but I’ve seen him at his adolescent worst.” She chuckled, and Marlon followed suit.
“I guess that would alter your perspective a bit,” he agreed.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. I know he’s good at what he does. I just…” She turned slightly to look at Marlon again. “It’s part of the reason I want my business to take off. I don’t want to be beholden to Johnny forever. Right now, I’m living practically on his sufferance. He’s given us shop space rent-free, and all his friends in town are cutting me and my business partner all sorts of breaks on things because they know we’re short on funds. I’ve put everything I have into supplies and equipment. My partner, Jayne, prospects for most of the precious and semi-precious stones we use. That isn’t cheap, and I only work in gold.”
“I can see where that kind of thing could get expensive real fast,” Marlon allowed. “But, if all your work is as lovely as this…” He reached over and touched the gold and pearl confection at her throat, his touch lingering on her warm skin. He had to clear his throat before he could finish his thought as the moment elongated. He lowered his hand, breaking the contact. “If it’s like that, I think you have nothing to worry about. I bet you leave here with enough contacts to make a real go of your jewelry business.”
“Well, Sully already said she wants to wear some of my work at the Oscars, and she and Shelly dragged me around the vendor rooms, talking to various boutique representatives. I’ve got some tentative meetings set up with their buyers.”
“See? You’re already on your way. Making contacts and putting your work out there,” he said, truly glad for her.
Now, if he could just get closer to her, the way his body was starting to demand he would. It was strange. For the first time in recent memory, he was almost a slave to his libido. His body craved contact with Maya’s. He wanted to kiss her and touch her. His spirit wanted to mesh with hers, impossible as that sounded.
He didn’t understand it. Even when he’d been a randy teenager, he had never felt this strong a pull toward any woman. It was like…magic. Yeah. Like magic. Just like Maya.
And he was powerless against the spell she was casting over him.
“Where are you?” Jeff’s voice came to Marlon, and he could’ve cursed.
“Give me a break. I found her first,” Marlon griped. “Things are just about to get interesting here, and you interrupt. You have the worst timing of any person I’ve ever known.”
“Don’t you remember we agreed to try to do what our buddies did?”Jeff reminded him.
Two of their fellow Gemini Project teams had found women willing to be shared. Women who loved both members of the team that was joined at the mind. But those had to be rare instances. Marlon and Jeff had both expressed doubts that they would ever be so blessed to find a woman like that. They had, however, agreed to try. In fact, they’d agreed—before ever laying eyes on Maya—that the next woman they both became interested in, they’d try their luck and see what she thought about the situation.
Marlon hadn’t expected to meet someone so quickly. Or someone so special. Still, he’d agreed. And both of them held up to their ends of a promise.
Marlon gave a mental sigh. “All right. But, if she balks, you skedaddle, right?”
“Of course,” Jeff replied, his tone insulted. Marlon gave him the location and then refocused his mind on the woman so close, yet so far from him on the wide couch.
Maya couldn’t believe the almost magnetic pull Marlon had on her. She’d never experienced anything like it…except with his friend, Jeff. It had been all she could do not to swim over into the next lane and start sliding her body up against Jeff’s earlier in the pool. But that would never do. She’d restrained her inner bear, who wanted to go wild and crazy with Jeff—and Marlon.
It didn’t seem to matter to her bear which man she ended up with, as long as she did end up making love with one of them before the night was through. Her inner grizzly was a shameless hussy. That’s all there was to it.
She realized the moment had stretched when she moved. She couldn’t really help herself. She reached out and touched Marlon’s cheek, enjoying the slight roughness of his beard coming back. His eyes smoldered, and he stilled at her sudden move. After a few breathless heartbeats, he covered her hand with his, sliding her fingers around so he could place a gentle kiss on her palm.
“You feel it, too?” he whispered.
Mutely, she nodded, watching him closely. Would he understand? Would he be willing?
Scratch that. Of course, he was willing. She could tell that without any of her enhanced senses. The man was ready for anything, and her move hadn’t scared him off. Quite the contrary.
She moved closer and touched her lips to his, and then…magic. He joined in the kiss that seemed to have no beginning and no end. Just a meeting, a recognition of two parts of a whole that had never met before.
She climbed over his lap and put her all into the kiss…the moment…the man. Her senses were completely tangled up in Marlon. She wanted him with every last fiber of her being. Her inner bear crowed in triumph. She had the man she wanted under her paws—well, hands—and she was going to enjoy every last moment of this encounter.
Maya was grateful that Marlon didn’t seem too taken aback by her turning the aggressor on him. Quite the contrary, he seemed to like it. A lot, if the hard length pressing against his zipper was anything to go by. Her inner bear wanted to ravish him and claim him for her own.
The thought made her pause in her headlong pursuit of pleasure, but not for long. She kissed him with all that was in her and wanted more. He responded with all the ardor she could have wished for, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he was every bit as involved in this as she was. Until…
She heard the door to the room open, and her inner bear went on alert. Danger? Or merely an interruption? Then, she scented who it was that stood at the door as the portal shut behind him. She heard the snick of a lock, and her pulse raced.
“Pushing it a bit, don’t you think?” Marlon groused silently to his friend and partner.
“I couldn’t help it. You guys were driving me crazy. You know there’s spillover on the telepathic level during situations like this. It’s why we’ve both been sex starved for so long. Give a guy a break,” Jeff said in reply. “She doesn’t look upset.”
“Yet,” Marlon pointed out. “Better prepare for a strategic retreat, just in case.”
Maya wasn’t sure what to think when Jeff just stood there. She felt a faint buzzing along her magical senses. Something she’d felt a few times in the presence of these men—and unlike any sensation she’d ever felt with any other beings. They were human. They didn’t have magic of their own, but there was something about them… She couldn’t put her finger on what it was—and it wasn’t unpleasant—but it was definitely weird. She gave them both a suspicious glance.
“What’s going on here?” She meant her question on more than the obvious level, but they seemed not to understand the magical connotations. Maybe they were as innocent of magical knowledge as they seemed, but she couldn’t be totally sure with her senses vibrating at certain times when they were all together.
“Jeff and I…” Marlon began, then stopped, seeming unable to find the right words. She shifted and was about to lift herself off his lap, but his warm hands stayed her. “Hear us out, Maya. Then, if you want to punch us both in the nose, we’ll
let you.”
What the heck were they talking about? She didn’t want to hit either one of them. Far from it. But, if they kept her waiting much longer, she was going to growl. That was for sure.
Jeff moved closer, coming up behind her, step by step. She watched his advance over her shoulder, wondering if they were about to suggest what her hussy of a bear so desperately wanted them to suggest—though her inner bear had never shown any inclination toward a threesome before. Neither had her human half, in fact. She’d never been as wild as some of her contemporaries. She’d had flings, but only with one guy at a time. Why did she, all of a sudden, want to take a walk on the really wild side?
She didn’t know the answer to that, but she did realize one interesting fact. The only two men she would even consider doing something as crazy as a threesome with were these two. Nobody else. Just Marlon and Jeff. Her bear was adamant about that.
And wasn’t that interesting?
Jeff stopped about a foot from her. The moment was thick with expectation. She could scent apprehension from both men, but also overwhelming desire that made her blood run thick through her veins. Jeff reached out and touched her shoulder. A light touch. A tentative touch, full of question and purpose.
“If you don’t want this, just say so. We aren’t pushing anybody into anything. Just asking. And you can always decline,” Jeff murmured quietly as his hand swept gently up to her neck.
“I…” She had to clear her throat lest the growl of approval from her inner bear come through. “I think…” She tried again. She had to make sure she understood what they were asking. “Both of you? Together?” She held Jeff’s gaze as he nodded, then she looked to Marlon, and he nodded as well, his expression as serious as she’d ever seen it. She could still plainly see the fire of desire in his eyes. In both of their eyes.
Damn. Was it getting hot in here?
But she had to know one thing. “Do you two make a habit of this?”
