by Tina Donahue
“I’m glad you liked my pep talk. Let me take care of your bandages.”
“Screw ‘em.”
She made a face.
“Not forever. For now. They’ll keep. I won’t.” He pushed off the bed and pulled her into his right side, his hand on her plush ass, her skin softer than kitten fur. “I got plans for us that don’t have a thing to do with my tat.”
He grabbed a rubber from the box and hurried her to the kitchen set. “Bend over, arms on the table. Spread your legs and lift your ass.”
She rubbed her butt. “Ah, I’m still kind of sore from Noah. Don’t tell him.” She pressed her fingers against Kyle’s mouth. “I don’t want him to feel bad.”
“Fine with me. I was going to go in the usual way.”
“What are you waiting for?” She got into position and looked over. “This okay?”
Paradise couldn’t be much better. Her skin shone beneath the light; her cleft was damp with desire. He had the old rubber off and the new one on in a flash, mounting her as though his life depended upon their bodies joining.
Tight, hot, inviting didn’t begin to describe her cunt. Shelter he craved. Not because she was pretty and built nearly as a good as a Playmate. Lots of women were great looking with outstanding bods. None of them came close to Jasmina. To say she had a good heart didn’t scratch the surface of who she was. Claiming she was wicked fun was beyond inadequate. She was excitement, comfort, tenderness and pure pleasure rolled into a dazzling package of female allure.
As he thrust his rod into her cunt, he ran the penal code in his head. Exactly as he had earlier when she and Noah came before he had. The delay had pushed Kyle close to tears but he’d endured.
The same as now.
He saw to her pleasure first, ignoring the stirrings in his rod, his boys wanting relief. They could wait. He stroked her nub lazily, prolonging her march to release.
She wiggled and pushed into him.
“Faster?” he asked.
“Oh yeah.”
He went even slower, smiling perversely.
She beat her fists against the table. “Come on. You’re killing me.”
Join the club. After a few seconds, he gave in to her needs and his sooner than he would have liked, their bodies a blur as he pumped into her pussy and rubbed her clit. With a prolonged moan she surrendered to carnal bliss. He let loose with a wild cry, pressing his fingers into her hips to hold on.
Dizzy and panting, he lowered his head. The floor was beginning to look good again, the perfect place to drop down and take a load off.
Jasmina had other plans. When he pulled out and tottered away from her, she caught up. After slipping her arm around his waist, she steered him toward the waste can to get rid of the condom and then to bed.
Noah was propped on one elbow, watching them.
“Bad boy.” She pointed her finger at him. “You peeked.”
Kyle grinned. “Learn anything?”
Noah made a derisive noise and fell back to the mattress. “In your dreams.”
“No fighting.” She plumped a pillow and stroked Kyle’s arm. “Go on. Lie down.”
He wasn’t about to argue, though he did pat the space between him and Noah. “Join us.”
“Not ‘til I take care of your tats. You guys need to do the same after you leave here. Keep your skin clean and lubed.” She paused for a moment. “If you don’t like the idea of doing so yourselves, or if you can’t because the ink’s out of reach, you should ask the women you’re interested in to help.”
Kyle stared at her. Noah lifted his head and did the same.
She pivoted and headed for the bathroom.
Chapter Six
Lauren munched Cheez-Its, this week’s must-have snack. As yet, the crispy treat hadn’t played havoc with her stomach.
She flipped another page of the proposal for the franchise.
Jasmina chewed the side of her thumb.
In the hall, laughter and conversation rang out from clients and artists. The monitor in here showed a series of images streaming from security cameras in the workstations. Ricky Martin’s Livin’ La Vida Loca rocked out of the sound system, inviting patrons and staff to bounce in time to the spicy music.
Jasmina slumped farther in her chair.
“This is amazing.” Lauren tapped the proposal. After taking a moment to run her tongue beneath her lips, she smiled. “You did great. We could actually pull this off. What’s wrong? You having second thoughts?”
“No.”
Lauren stopped reaching for the box of Cheez-Its. “Sure? You’re not bubbling over with suggestions like you usually are. Talking a mile a minute.”
“Now I not only talk too much but too fast too?”
“Whoa. I wasn’t insulting you, just making an observation concerning your enthusiasm.”
“I’m too blunt, aren’t I? That’s what drove Brad away, isn’t it? I hounded him with my endless ideas. Didn’t give him a chance to breathe. No guy wants a woman who’s on him constantly, nagging, nagging, nagging, telling him what to do. What dreams he should follow. How he should run his life.”
Lauren glanced past Jasmina, toward the hall. A client and Tor headed for his workstation, deep in conversation about the Marlins’ last game. Lauren left her chair, closed the door and returned, resting her hand on Jasmina’s shoulder. “Have you been talking to Brad?”
“That prick? God no.”
Lauren made a face. “Then why are you convinced you did something wrong? He cheated on you. If he didn’t like you anymore, he should have done the honorable thing and broken up, not mess around behind your back. That’s the coward’s way.”
“He was probably too scared of me to do anything else. You’re too nice, dancing around my question. I want an answer. I’m too blunt, aren’t I?”
“Right now? Yeah.” She plopped in her chair. The springs squeaked. “You think I’m too nice?”
“Not in a bad way.” She rubbed Lauren’s knee. “You’re wonderful. Like a sister.”
Lauren patted her hand. “If this isn’t about Brad, then I’m guessing it’s PMS or it concerns the other night, you leaving with Noah and Kyle.”
Even hearing their names made Jasmina goofy with desire. She wanted to grin. Cry too. She did neither.
Several moments passed in silence. Lauren waited.
“Not PMS.” Jasmina sighed.
Lauren rolled her chair closer. “Did they say you talked too much? That you’re blunt?”
“No. They were really sweet even when I tried to convince them to go into law and veterinary medicine.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Those were their dreams before they became cops. They got their degrees in law enforcement only because it was cheaper than what they really wanted to study. They’re worried about money. Who isn’t? People shouldn’t let anything get in the way of what they want to do. They should go for stuff. They could get hurt.”
Lauren shook her head. “I’m not following. Who could get hurt?”
“Noah and Kyle.” Who else?
“How?”
Was she kidding? “They’re cops. Someone could attack them while they’re out there.” She swung her arm to the door, the world beyond this office filled with creeps.
“You mean a criminal or someone they’re arresting?”
“What else?” She rubbed her forehead. “They said what they do is no big deal. Tell that to the cops who got blown away when they tried to break up a domestic dispute or when they were serving warrants. I watch the news. I’ve seen stuff on TV shows.”
Lauren ate a fistful of crackers, washing them down with several swigs of water. “Are you falling for them…both of them?”
“It’s not against the law.”
“Well no, but…”
“I’m not falling for them.” She wouldn’t. She’d come close the other night but jerked back to reality at the last moment. “I told them to have their girlfriends take care of their tats, make
sure their skin’s clean and lubed.”
Lauren held up her hand. “You lost me again. They’re dating someone else yet you still went out with them?”
“As a friend.” She shrugged. “With benefits. None of us is committed to anyone. They’re free to see whoever they want. They should. I told them I don’t intend to get involved, ever, with any man. Not like I did with Brad. What Noah, Kyle and I have is purely physical. Having fun, sex. The perfect relationship.”
Lauren chewed her crackers faster than she had before.
“You don’t approve.”
She swallowed. “I’m concerned because you don’t seem happy about your arrangement.”
“What’s not to like? They’re gorgeous. God, who would have guessed any guy, much less two of them, could be so hung. And talk about stamina. They wore me out.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. I was simply wondering if you guys talked at all.”
“Of course. I nagged them about going into jobs they’d love, safe stuff, remember?”
“I meant talk about you. Getting to know you.”
“Sure. I mentioned the franchise thing to them. Actually to Kyle. At that point, Noah had passed out. But we talked about my associate degree and college while we were eating in bed.”
“Uh-huh.”
Damn. “Uh-huh, what?”
“Nothing…they don’t want to see you again?”
“Who said that? We’re going to Demonios tonight after work.” One of the hottest clubs in town. “They moonlight there, doing security, and can get in for free.”
Lauren didn’t comment.
Jasmina gripped the arms of her chair. “Did they call while I was at the bank? Have they canceled?”
“No. I haven’t heard from either of them. Are you certain you can handle this? I’m not being critical but you’re worried about running them off by simply being yourself, when there’s nothing wrong with you. Brad cheated because of a defect in his personality not yours. You’re scared they’ll get hurt when they’re working. Now, you’re panicked because you think they canceled. Sounds to me like you’re beginning to care deeply about both of them.”
She went hot, cold and hot again. “I want to have a good time, that’s all. They’re fun guys.”
“Then why aren’t you smiling?”
She did. Her lips trembled. Giving up, she pushed out of her chair. “I should let you get back to work. Thanks for talking to me.” Before Lauren could respond, Jasmina fled the room.
* * * * *
Noah gripped his steering wheel, trying to throw off his shitty mood but couldn’t. The red light didn’t look as if it would ever turn green and his back still hadn’t healed to the point where he didn’t notice the tat. Lubing the damn thing had proved a pissing nightmare even with Jasmina’s perfect solution. All he had to do was ask the women he was interested in to help.
Clearly, those babes didn’t include her.
Rather than calling former girlfriends, he’d bought two back scrubbers, one with a long handle, the other a yards-long strip of some kind of space-age fiber he could hold in his hands. Once he had that baby slathered with the ointment, he worked the thing up and down his back. What a fucking mess. At one point, he nearly phoned Kyle to draft him for the job, but Noah had nixed that idea and finally took care of himself.
He’d wanted Jasmina to tend to him. Was that so pissing wrong? He’d thought she’d had the same great time he had. Laughing, screwing around, enjoying wild monkey sex. Then bam, she killed the romance with her breezy comment about the women he and Kyle were interested in. As if either of them had mentioned or even thought of anyone else while they’d been with her.
After she’d dropped her bombshell, Noah had found talking difficult, if not impossible. He’d wanted to ask her where the fuck she was coming from but hadn’t, recalling what she’d said earlier about preferring to mess around, nothing else, except the remote possibility they might become friends.
A woman who was into a guy didn’t talk as she had.
Another wave of heat hit him, frustration rather than the miserable weather causing this flash of discomfort. He jacked up the air-conditioning.
Kyle turned the blower on his chest and slouched against the passenger side door, quiet as a mourner at a wake. Since their evening in Jasmina’s apartment, neither of them had discussed the matter.
Tonight, they’d both dressed in black jeans, boat shoes and long-sleeve dress shirts—his gray, Kyle’s brown. The uniforms they wore when they worked security at Demonios. Noah had folded his sleeves to mid-forearm and wore his shirttails out to hide his weapon. Kyle had done the same with his.
“What if she stands us up?” Kyle turned from his window. “Do you think that’s why she told us to meet her there?”
Noah hit the accelerator, roaring through the light that was finally green. “She’s coming from work. Didn’t she say that?”
“So fucking what if she did? Did someone ban us from the parlor? We’re not allowed to show our faces there anymore? If so, why not let us pick her up at her place? We sure as hell know where she lives.”
“She wants to keep this casual, remember?” Possibly wanted them to be less than friends now. Could be they’d moved down a notch to mere acquaintances.
“Maybe she’s bringing a date.”
Noah hit the brakes. His pickup screeched to a stop, rocking at a red light he’d nearly run through. Shoving the gear in reverse, he backed up until the grille of his vehicle was behind the white line. He turned to Kyle. “Why in the hell would she do that?”
“She might think we’re bringing dates. She practically told us to go out with someone else.” He frowned. “I thought she had a good time. Maybe I was dreaming.” He pressed his shoulder against the door. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for forever but I don’t want to have to fight a bunch of other guys to get close to her. Some exclusivity for a little while would be nice.”
“Don’t count on it.”
The light blinked green. Noah accelerated and swerved around a slowpoke in front of him. The old man behind the wheel sneered. Noah resisted giving him the finger.
“Maybe we should call off tonight. Kill this whole thing.”
Kyle turned to him. “Do you want to?”
No. He couldn’t wait to see her. “Do you?”
“Maybe she was having a bad night. She might be different today.”
“You mean, not so willing to pawn us off on someone else?”
“Did we come on too strong? I’ve been thinking about this for days. I don’t know anymore. Did we?”
Noah tried to recall exactly what they’d done or said, most of the details lost in a haze of remembered pleasure. An image of Jasmina kept popping into his mind, her eyes blurred with desire, skin flushed, ass lifted, legs parted. “Wait a sec—she begged me to fuck her.”
“Holy shit, you’re right. Same with me. When you were sleeping and we were at the table, she asked me what I was waiting for. I was moving so fast to keep up with her, I nearly ripped the rubber to get the damn thing on.”
Okay, she was into them. Which meant she was either scared of getting hurt again—as Tor had implied—or she was playing hard to get.
Noah considered the last possibility. Naw. Jasmina was too honest and direct to play games. Wasn’t she?
He screwed up his face, uncertain as hell. Crap. This was like being a teenage girl, wondering if the pimply glee club guy was going to pop the question about prom.
“Screw this.” He made a right into the street for Demonios. “I want to see her. I intend to have fun. If it’s only for tonight or a few more days, I’m going for it.”
Kyle smacked Noah’s arm.
What the fuck. He bared his teeth.
Kyle pointed at his window.
Noah slowed his pickup, rolling past the entrance to the club, craning his neck to catch the street scene. A line of patrons waited t
o get inside, more guys than women, many of those dudes trying to score.
Like the two SOBs next to Jasmina, one leaning in damn close, grinning as he talked to her, the other tapping her cute shoulder purse, glittery red like her tube top that stopped short of her navel. Sparkly red jewels dangled from her bellybutton. Her black short-shorts were made of some kind of shiny material and skimmed her hips. Her heels were super high, hair loose, the ends floating on the dank breeze.
Noah’s pulse raced, his cock stiffened and his stomach fell simultaneously because of how awesome she looked and because those guys had noticed.
Kyle turned to him. “Are those her dates?”
How was he supposed to know? He just got here too. Muttering an oath, he turned into valet parking.
The kid manning the post grinned. “Hey, guys. Working tonight?”
“Nope.” Noah tossed his keys to the young man and headed toward the club, Kyle at his side.
Noah reached Jasmina in seconds, her baby powder fragrance washing over him, weakening his knees, strengthening his resolve. The guys talking to her glanced over.
Noah ignored them and faced her. Hell, he crowded her. “Hey.” With his hand resting on her throat, he leaned in, capturing her mouth, claiming her for everyone to see.
She went still then sagged against him, clutching his shirt. He slipped his tongue between her lips, arm around her waist, his kiss fevered, honest, demanding and finally tender. She made a quiet, feminine sound he heard more clearly than the thunderous bass roaring from the club. He drew his thumb over her silky cheek and snuggled his cock against her cunt. She opened her mouth even more, pushing his tongue aside so she could fill his mouth. Once she had, they kissed for minutes until each of them needed a breath. Easing away, she sucked air and blinked slowly.
Kyle had his arm around her in a sec, pulling her into him. “Hi.”
Before she could respond, he kissed her, one hand on the back of her head, the other slightly above her ass. She settled into him, gripping his right sleeve. They went at each other for minutes. She inhaled deeply as Kyle finally released her, though not by much. He grabbed her left hand.
