by Aubrey Rose
Aidan had fallen silent, but from the corner of her eye, she noticed the furtive glances he threw at her neckline. She had to fight the urge to pull up her shirt and cover it.
“If you ask me”—Marc’s lips thinned to a grim line—“it’s the kind of necklace you wouldn’t see someone wearing every day. It looks valuable and probably needs safekeeping.”
“I don’t know about valuable, but there is something about it and how I feel wearing it. I’m drawn to it, and I don’t want to take it off.” And it’s not as if she were planning to be out running around town or something.
Aidan choked on his coffee, and Marc shot him a sharp look.
“Is there something I should know here?” Jayde straightened in her chair and pinned them both with a hard gaze. “You two seemed to be arguing when I came in, and now you’re acting strange about my necklace. What’s going on?”
“Are you a superstitious woman, Jayde? Do you believe in the metaphysical?” Marc asked.
She contemplated that, wondering what it had to do with anything. “As in, do I believe in ghosts or fate or something like that?”
Marc smiled at her. “Something like that.”
“I don’t put a lot of time or faith into things I can’t control. I think you are what you make of yourself, not necessarily what destiny has in store for you. I like to believe I have more choice than that.”
His expression stilled, looking more serious than before. Where the hell was he going with this conversation?
“What about something as basic as balancing energy? There’s good and evil in everything we do, but in order to keep things peaceful, there must be a balance.”
Jayde spread some cream cheese onto the second half of her bagel as she considered Marc’s words. Where had all this come from? Was there something in the water around here? It was a little early in the morning for philosophy. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Did Katriona tell you anything about where the necklace came from?”
Jayde paused. Again with the necklace. Her mind wandered back to the note she’d almost forgotten. Maybe she should have read it all. She took a small bite of her bagel and chewed slowly. Her powers of observation weren’t all that keen, but her instincts screamed that she was missing something here.
Marc’s finger brushed her lip, catching her off guard. Before she could move away the soft touch reawakened the sexual feelings she’d managed to bank down.
His finger came away with a tiny spot of cream cheese, which he licked slowly from his skin without taking his eyes off her.
Wicked thoughts of what he could do with that finger invaded her mind as she fought to breathe normally. Her breasts tingled, heavy with arousal as the tips strained harder against the fabric of her tank top. She should be embarrassed—mortified, actually—because her wild thoughts included masturbating right here in the chair as the two of them watched.
If they wanted to talk about energy, how about the sexual energy that buzzed in the room around them? Or was that just her imagination getting the best of her? Her body burned hot with desire until her skin itched with it, making her crazy and unable to sit still. Her heart raced as she tried to compensate with big gulps of breath.
“Jayde, are you all right?” Aidan’s hand touched her arm, and she didn’t know whether to pull him closer or jump up and run. All her senses were on overload, and she couldn’t control her reactions. Her eyes fixated on his full lips as he spoke; she wanted to kiss him, to taste the sweet sin she knew she would find there. Aidan’s face blurred as her body clamored to get close.
Marc caught Jayde’s arm as she slumped slowly to the side. “Shit, her arousal is too strong.”
“What the hell happened?” Aidan looked toward Marc in confusion.
“It’s being amplified by the necklace. There’s a lot of power stored in that thing, and with the three of us struggling with our own attractions, her body wasn’t ready for that overwhelming physical pull.”
Aidan picked her up and carried her toward the couch. “What does she need?”
“To take the damn thing off.”
Aidan cringed. “Obviously she knows nothing about her role.” He sounded as doubtful as he looked. “We could just tell her what she is and who we are, and see how she takes it, but she doesn’t seem ready to understand.”
“Not yet. As far as she’s concerned, we’re strangers living in her grandmother’s home. We have to give her some time to get to know us.”
Aidan moved beside her and brushed the springy curls from her face. The soft, reassuring strokes to her arms and face, the whispered words he murmured to settle her... Already Jayde had made an impact on them both.
A fierce need to protect her welled in his own gut as he considered their options. A protector was only as strong as his witch needed him to be, and right now their saucy witch was headed for big trouble.
“What happened?” Jayde whispered.
Marc looked up to see her wide-eyed and wary. “Relax, sweetheart. I think the stress of the past few days is starting to get to you.”
She looked between the two men and struggled to sit up. “I didn’t get much sleep last night or the night before...”
Aidan picked up her hand and took the opportunity to bring it to his lips for a quick kiss. “None of us were prepared for the loss of your grandmother. It will take some time to feel normal again.”
“How come she never told me about either of you? You seem to know her so well.”
Her soft words wrapped around him, reminding Marc of Katriona. A witch like no other. Jayde had a lot to learn about her heritage. “It’s human nature to think you have all the time in the world, when actually, we never really know.” Even protectors have limits.
“I guess I should get up and do something around here.” She sat up and pushed herself off the couch, stretching her limbs as she moved.
Marc stared down at her, caught up in the sad glow in her eyes. “What are you planning to do?” He didn’t want to push her now; she had plenty to think about.
“I don’t know yet. Go through some of the paperwork the lawyer gave me, get the lay of the land, that kind of thing. There’s a lot to do.”
Marc nodded in understanding. “Aidan and I are here to help you in any way that we can. We do all the handyman jobs around the house, and right now there is a plumbing leak with our name all over it.” Whatever it took to stay close.
“Thank you.” She turned and left the room, and Marc shoved his hands into his pockets, doing what he could to stay calm. They had to give her space and hope that time didn’t run out before she faced the truth.
Aidan had moved in behind him, close enough for the heat of his breath to flutter against Marc’s neck. “You really think we’re doing the right thing with her?”
“I guess I could have tied her to the bed and had my way with her—or should I reserve that position for you?” A grin tilted Marc’s lips.
“Smart-ass.”
“She’s smart and beautiful. She’ll come around.” There was no room for failure.
Chapter Four
Jayde gasped as the long, strong fingers inched along her inner thigh, closer and closer to her pulsing center. “Please, please...” Aidan had been stroking and teasing her for what seemed like hours. Her entire body throbbed and twitched with every new press of his lips against her skin and touch of his rough hands. Desperate to fuck, she struggled at the bonds holding her wrists to the headboard. “Please.”
“Not yet, beautiful.” Marc’s voice caressed her ear. He’d stretched his body against her side while Aidan had settled between her parted thighs. The hard length of Marc’s cock pressed against her hip, distracting her until she’d grown mindless with need, tears tracking down her face. He caressed her neck with his lips, nipping and licking. “You can wait a little bit longer. It will be better that way, trust me.”
The ability to respond left her when Aidan slid a thick finger between the drenched folds of her sex, spreadi
ng her moisture all around. “I think she’s ready.”
Marc turned to Aidan. “What about you? Are you ready?”
Aidan’s eyes darkened and filled with a deep lust. Without answering, he bent over and licked the head of Marc’s cock, and for a few minutes, all she saw was Aidan’s head bobbing and Marc’s eyes closing in ecstasy. When Aidan shifted back to her, his hot tongue swiped against her own skin as well, feeding her desire. She wriggled and fought against her bindings, desperate for more.
“Do it.” Marc’s voice had deepened, and he too looked on the edge of his control.
Aidan rose up and slid his hips close to Jayde’s. The head of his cock nudged at her moist lips, teasing but not entering. She tilted her pelvis in an attempt to get more of him inside, but he pulled back.
“You are being a very bad girl. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up watching instead of participating.” Aidan’s words seemed harsh, but the quirk of his mouth told Jayde he wasn’t all that serious. But she was, and she needed him right now.
“Please fuck me. Please.”
A broad grin slid across his face as he pushed his cock inside her, the weighty thickness of him stretching and filling her to capacity. The hard touch against her inner walls had her panting for breath as the sensations sizzled to her brain.
“Oh...oh yes!”
“I think she likes that.” Marc grasped Aidan’s hips and slowly pulled him away, watching her as Aidan’s cock slid back out of her pussy. “Oh yeah, she likes it, all right. In fact, I bet she’ll be screaming in orgasm after just a few strokes.” At the word stroke, he pushed Aidan’s hips hard against her pelvis, filling her, stretching her...
Marc was right; she wouldn’t last much longer. The energy of her imminent climax rose higher.
“Bend over,” Marc said to Aidan.
While still buried inside her, Aidan bent over, and his lips latched onto her right breast, licking and nipping the hardened nipple. Marc moved in behind him, and despite not being able to see exactly what he was doing, the mere thought of him sliding inside the tight passage of their lover made her shiver. Aidan wiggled inside her as he anticipated Marc’s move, and the looks on both men’s faces were of soul-baring pleasure. Aidan’s licking turned into biting, and his breath came out in sharpened pants. His lids grew heavy with the bliss of Marc pushing against his backside, filling him.
“That’s it, my love. Relax so I don’t hurt you.” Marc’s low moan ignited a flurry of sensation low in her stomach.
With a groan and a sharp nip from Aidan, Marc surged forward. His final push left Aidan nowhere to go but harder inside her. When the extra nudge rubbed him against her G-spot, she lost complete control, letting out a scream as her orgasm tore through her.
“Fuck.” Aidan cried out with each spasm of her vaginal muscles clenching down on him. “She’s so tight. She’s milking me, and I can’t hold back.”
Marc bucked against them both as she cried out in continuing pleasure, unable to control the sensations flowing over her...
Her screams tore Jayde from her sleep as her body convulsed around her fingers. The orgasm pulsed through her as she rode it out to the end, wringing every ounce of pleasure she could, before her fingers slipped free and she turned to bury her face in the pillow. Again.
It had happened again.
She fought for breath as her mind replayed the intense dream once more. The memories and sensations had seemed so real. Even her nipple ached where Aidan had bitten down that last time. Her body trembled from the cool breeze blowing through the window across her sweat-soaked skin.
Why is this happening? Every night since she had stepped through the doorway of her grandmother’s home, she’d become consumed with thoughts of sex and erotic dreams. Before that she’d never had a dream so vivid that she’d actually had a real orgasm. Sure, the superhot, hard-bodied men in the apartment across the hall were incredibly sexy and had been kind and welcoming to her, but they were so obviously into each other not her. She’d seen them exchange looks that would have scorched her had she gotten in between them.
That was probably what had her going like this to begin with. As she fell asleep alone every night, thoughts of their hard and slick bodies rubbing up against each other turned her on more than she ever imagined possible. Never before had erotic thoughts of two men making love entered her fantasies, let alone gotten her going so much that she fell into incredible sexual scenarios every night in her sleep.
Jayde glanced at the clock and realized she might as well get up. The sun would rise soon, and she had a lot to do today. This way she could get some things done before she had to face her gorgeous and arousing neighbors, who managed to keep her from doing what she had planned. They’d become invaluable companions the last few days, but they were also distracting as hell.
She smiled and hurried through her shower, trying not to think about Marc and Aidan, but Marc’s commanding voice wouldn’t go away as she fantasized again of him taking both her and Aidan together. Her breasts grew heavy, her nipples as hard as the moonstone around her neck. In her mind’s eye she saw him standing in front of her, the waves of his dark hair framing his chiseled face and his knowing brown eyes watching her every move as he guided her onto her knees in front of him. Blood rushed to the juncture between her thighs, and her wet folds plumped up with the weight of her desire.
Her head fell forward, pressing against the cool tiles of the shower. How could two men have such an effect on her? She fought against the sensual haze threatening her long enough to finish her task and get dressed. But the moment she walked out of her apartment and spied their door across the hall, her knees buckled and her body longed to go to them.
One afternoon, downstairs in the bakery, she had interrupted a shared kiss between the two. Before they had noticed her standing behind them, she had watched in utter fascination as Marc’s fingers tangled in Aidan’s black, silky hair, pulling the man to him. Their dark and golden skin tones had showcased their pink tongues sliding against each other, and her panties had instantly gotten damp with arousal. Later, walking up to their door, she’d heard distinct masculine moans coming from the room, and she’d imagined their writhing bodies on a bed. Now here she was again, driven by an obsession beyond her control. She found her hand sliding under her skirt and slipping under her panties to seek out her throbbing center.
She longed to be in their room every day and night, sharing the bed with them. Both their dark hair and muscled bodies would look incredible all over her fair skin. They were big men, Aidan about six feet and Marc taller by at least several inches, with a sexual aura that she swore she could taste whenever they came near her. It reminded her of spice cake, dark and rich with a variety of pungent scents, yet a constant underlay of something sweet and sinful.
It didn’t help that Aidan flirted with her incessantly, and between his smoldering gazes and touching her every opportunity he got, her will to resist—or at least act like a civilized woman—seemed to diminish. And yesterday, when Marc had again brought up the precious stone she wore around her neck, Aidan had reached for it, picking it up to admire. The simple brush of his fingers against the top curve of her breast had sizzled down to her aching sex, pushing her body so close to an orgasm, she had literally whimpered. Mortified by her inappropriate behavior, she’d hastily made an excuse and a quick getaway. But not before she heard a rumbling laugh from Marc, a sound any normal woman would have been insulted by.
But not her. She’d found it so erotically arousing that as soon as she’d gotten into the bathroom and locked the door, she’d practically torn her panties off and stroked herself to orgasm.
So distracted by her own needs and cravings for these two men, she didn’t hear the doorbell until someone started chiming it nonstop.
She quickly smoothed her skirt and hurried down the stairs to see who was so persistent. She opened the door to a young woman, a teenager, more likely, with a belly swollen from pregnancy.
“Can
I help you?”
“Are you Miss Jayde? I ran into Mr. Black this morning over at the diner on Rose Street, and he suggested I come by and talk to you.”
The simple, earnest expression shining from the woman’s face startled her. She couldn’t imagine what they would have to talk about, but her manners kicked in, and she invited the young lady inside. Together they walked into the shop, and Jayde couldn’t miss the longing on the other woman’s face as she looked around the room.
“What can I help you with...uh... I don’t know your name.”
“Beth.” She fidgeted with her hands, which rested on her belly. “I’ve come to find out if I still have a job here, Miss Jayde.”
Jayde sat down hard on one of the easy chairs, sinking into the soft fabric. Dear God, she hadn’t even considered whether her grandmother had any employees. In fact, she’d been avoiding dealing with the bakery since she’d arrived.
“I...uh...”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just come here and put you on the spot like this. But I loved working here almost as much as your grandmother did. And with the baby coming in a couple of months, I really need this job.” She once again tapped lightly against the swollen belly.
As much as Jayde hated to turn the woman away, she didn’t know what else to do. “I’m not sure, Beth. I don’t have the same talents that my grandmother did in the kitchen. I’ve been considering shutting down the store permanently.”
“That’s not what Katriona thought. She told me often that you and she shared the same gifts. You even look like her.”
“That is very kind of you to say.” The eager hope in the other woman’s eyes threatened Jayde’s resolve, until she decided on a compromise. “I’ll tell you what. Give me a day to think about it, to play around in the kitchen, and we’ll see what happens.”
“Oh yes, that’s more than fair. Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do to help? I’m pretty good in the kitchen myself.”
The thought of embarrassing herself in front of a witness, when her idea blew up in her face, made her cringe. “Not yet. I think this is something I need to try on my own the first time around.”
