by Lynn LaFleur
“You had Jake.”
“That doesn’t mean I stopped caring for you.”
There hadn’t been anything sexual between them in seven years. After that much time, it shouldn’t seem so natural for Tera to lean closer to Amanda and kiss her tenderly. Yet it seemed as natural as drawing her next breath.
Amanda’s lips were just as soft as she remembered, just as giving beneath hers. Tera parted her lips, her tongue searched for Amanda’s. When she touched it, Tera inhaled a sharp breath. She gripped Amanda’s hand, tilted her head to deepen the kiss. Amanda answered each stroke of tongue, each slide of lips.
Blindly reaching out, Tera found Amanda’s other hand and gripped it too. She moaned low in her throat when Amanda’s tongue swept over her lips. She scooted to the edge of her chair, needing to be closer, needing to touch more of the woman seated next to her.
Much sooner than she would have liked, Tera ended the kiss. She rested her forehead against Amanda’s, wanting to continue but knowing they couldn’t at this time since Jake and Patrick waited for them in the bar. “We have to stop.”
“I know.” Amanda’s voice sounded thready, breathless. She squeezed both of Tera’s hands. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” She moved back so she could look into Amanda’s gorgeous blue eyes. “Tell me again why we stopped making love.”
“Stupidity?”
“Well, I won’t make that mistake again.”
Amanda laughed and Tera joined her. She slid from her chair, tugged Amanda to her feet to hug her. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Amanda moved back but kept her hands on Tera’s waist. “No matter what you decide about Jake and Patrick, you and I need some time together.”
The thought of pressing her naked body against Amanda’s made her clit gently pulse. “Yes, we do.”
Amanda kissed her sweetly, then smiled. “The guys will send out a search team if we don’t get down there.”
Knowing she was right, Tera reluctantly pulled away from Amanda. She walked to the coffee table in the living room, picked up her keycard and slipped it in her pants pocket. “I’m ready.”
She followed Amanda to the door. Curious about the mischievous grin on Amanda’s lips, Tera touched her arm to stop her before she stepped into the hallway. “What’s so funny?”
“I was thinking about how Jake would react if you and I made love in front of him. It would make him crazy.”
“What is it with men and their fantasies about watching two women together?”
“He knows about our past. Every time I come home from our yearly visit, he asks if we were together. I think he gets off imagining what we might do the whole time I’m gone.”
“So if he actually saw us together…”
“I’d get royally fucked.”
Tera hadn’t had sex in over two months. While she and Roger hadn’t exactly burned up the sheets, she enjoyed the closeness, the intimacy, of being with a man.
She’d never been royally fucked. It sounded really good.
“By the way, Jake and Patrick are both hung, and they recuperate very quickly.”
Tera moaned. Everything Amanda said made it a little easier to go along with the foursome. “You’re cruel, do you know that?”
Amanda grinned. “I know.”
Tera pushed her friend into the hallway. “Enough! I’m already horny. I don’t need any more stimulation right now.”
Amanda switched their conversation to nonsexual things as they rode down the elevator to the lobby, for which Tera was thankful. By the time they made it to the bar, she had her hormones back under control.
Until she saw Patrick and the equally handsome man who must be Jake.
The pulsing in her clit started again and her nipples tightened inside her bra. She prayed her face didn’t turn pink, the way it usually did during arousal. Thankful for the dim lighting in the bar, she followed Amanda to the table where the men sat. They both stood as she and Amanda approached.
“Took you long enough.” Jake dropped a soft kiss on Amanda’s lips.
“Sorry. We had a glass of wine and caught up a bit. Tera, this is my husband Jake. Jake, Tera.”
Jake smiled before he pulled Tera close for a tight hug. “It’s great to finally meet you.”
Tera concentrated on not crossing her eyes. He smelled as good as he looked, an enticing combination of woodsy aftershave and man. She cleared her throat so her voice wouldn’t sound choked. “It’s great to meet you too, Jake.”
“Here, sit.” Patrick pulled out a chair for her. “What would you ladies like to drink?”
Amanda slid into the chair opposite Tera. “We were having merlot in Tera’s room. That works for me.”
Patrick looked at Tera. She nodded. “Works for me too.”
He motioned to the bartender. “Lissa. Merlot for the ladies. And more popcorn.” Once again seated, he faced Tera. “Is your room okay?”
“It’s beautiful.” Tera scowled at Amanda. “But I’m furious at you for paying for it. I asked Patrick to give you a credit and let me pay for it, but he wouldn’t do that.”
Amanda narrowed her eyes at Patrick. “He’d better not or he’ll be in big trouble.”
“I’ll repeat what Jake said earlier in the office—I’m not getting between you two. I did what Amanda told me, Tera. Any problems, you take them up with her.”
Amanda’s impish grin tempted Tera to kick her beneath the table. Since she didn’t like violence of any kind, she resisted. Barely.
The bartender brought two glasses of wine and two bowls of popcorn. Tera’s stomach growled at the scent of the buttery kernels. She hadn’t eaten since early this morning. Trying to be a lady, she placed a few kernels on her napkin instead of pulling a bowl right in front of her and digging in like cattle at a feed trough.
Jake tossed a kernel into his mouth. “The popcorn’s good, but I’m hungry for protein. You got a hot dog place or something like that around here, Pat?”
“I do, but I can do better than that. I have a ton of food at my place. Fruit, chips, crackers, cookies, queso—“
“Stop,” Amanda said. “You had me at cookies.”
Patrick chuckled. “Dinner will be served at seven, but we can go up now and get a snack.”
“I vote yes on that.” Jake stood, pulled back Amanda’s chair so she could stand. “Grab your drinks, ladies.”
“Can we do that?” Tera asked Patrick.
He smiled. “Since I own the place, we can do anything we want.”
Her stomach clenched in hunger, but this time not for food. One corner of his mouth lifted more than the other when he smiled, giving him a rakish look. It made her think of a pirate.
Amanda picked up her wineglass, linked her free hand with Jake’s. “Lead the way.”
Patrick placed his hand in the small of Tera’s back to guide her. It wasn’t an intimate caress, but her body treated it as one. How strange for Patrick to affect her so strongly when no other man since Roger had interested her in the slightest.
Tera glanced at Amanda as they all stepped into the elevator. Perhaps this awareness of Patrick was due to her and Amanda’s kiss. The kiss had brought back so many memories of when she and Amanda were lovers. They’d seen each other every year since college graduation, had shared a hotel room, even shared a bed and they both slept in the nude. Yet there had never been anything intimate between them since they became involved with their guys.
She watched Patrick insert a keycard into a slot high on the panel and press the 5. No, her awareness had nothing to do with Amanda. Her breath had caught at the first sight of Patrick at the reservation desk.
There had been the typical losing-her-virginity boyfriend in high school, and two boyfriends in college before she met Roger. She hadn’t been with another man since Roger came into her life.
She had the feeling sex with Patrick would be the hottest thing she ever experienced.
The elevator opened directly across from
a large wooden door. Patrick used his keycard again, held the door open so they could enter. They walked into a kitchen similar to the one in her suite, but much larger. A huge plate window in the living room let in the last rays of the sun setting behind the mountains.
“Nice digs, Pat,” Jake said.
“I call it home.”
Amanda walked through the kitchen into the living room, then turned right. “I’m going to explore.”
“Of course you are.” Jake shook his head. “She has the curiosity of a cat,” he said to Patrick.
“I have an excellent housekeeping staff, so she won’t find any mess.”
“I’m poking through drawers,” she called out from what Tera assumed was a bedroom.
“Geez, Amanda, don’t you believe in privacy?” Jake said loud enough for Amanda to hear him.
“There’s nothing fun in here.” Amanda walked back into the living room and kept going straight. “Is your room this way, Patrick?”
“Amanda!”
“Let her explore, Jake. I don’t mind.”
“Oh wow! Tera, come here.”
Tera followed the sound of Amanda’s voice into a luxurious bedroom decorated in hues of blue, gray and off-white. She found her friend standing on a balcony, looking out at the mountains. Tera joined her, folding her arms across her stomach and clasping her arms to retain her warmth.
“I can see every bit of the resort from here.” She turned to Patrick as the men joined them. “Do we have this view from our room?”
Patrick nodded. “Your suite is directly below mine. It’s the nicest one in the hotel.”
“Next to this one,” Amanda said with a grin.
“True.”
“Are you the only one on this floor?” Jake asked, slipping his arms around Amanda’s waist.
“Yes. The rest of the floor is for storage. It’s half as large as the four floors of the hotel.”
“It’s so beautiful,” Tera said softly. “I certainly don’t have views like this in Boca Raton.”
“You have the ocean,” Patrick said, stepping closer to her.
“And I love it. But there’s something so majestic about the mountains. Especially when they’re covered with snow.”
Amanda shivered. “Okay, enough of this outdoor stuff. Where are the cookies?”
Tera took one last look at the mountains before she followed the others back into Patrick’s suite. Once she closed the door, she looked at the king-size bed dominating the room. What an incredible view to have while making love.
Sensing she wasn’t alone, Tera glanced toward the door to see Patrick standing there. His gaze met and held hers. “You look lovely with the mountains behind you.”
The heat in his eyes proved he wanted her, just as much as she wanted him. With a simple yes, she could lie in that huge bed in Patrick’s arms, feel his hard cock sliding in and out of her pussy, while the mountains provided a backdrop of beauty.
It was oh so tempting.
“You’d better hurry, Tera,” Amanda called, “or there won’t be any cookies left.”
Amanda’s voice broke the spell. Tera had never made love with a man she barely knew. She wasn’t sure if she could start now. “Coming.”
Patrick stepped back when she approached the doorway, but caught her arm before she could walk through it. She peered into eyes dark with desire. His gaze dropped to her lips. Tera licked hers in reflex.
He leaned closer as she lifted her chin. Their lips met in a soft kiss of hello.
Patrick lifted his head and once again gazed into her eyes. “I had to taste you.”
He left her standing in the doorway, her hands over her stomach to hold it in place while everything zinged and pinged inside her. If a simple kiss affects me so strongly, how will I react to the feel of his hands on my body?
She wondered if she had the courage to find out.
Chapter Four
The shrimp scampi had just the right amount of butter and garlic, the sirloin was tender and juicy, the vegetables perfectly cooked and flavorful. Patrick made a mental note to compliment his chef for the delicious meal. Davis always prepared everything superbly, but he’d outdone himself tonight.
Patrick gazed from Jake to Amanda and back to Jake. It was nice to have people he cared so much about in his home. Conversation had flowed freely throughout dinner, touching on subjects from horses to skiing to the ocean to climate change. Everyone had an opinion, making the discussion lively and interesting. He noticed Amanda and Tera agreed on almost everything. Having so much in common must be why they were such good friends.
His gaze traveled to Tera. A delight to look at, definitely, but also intelligent and witty. She wasn’t afraid to laugh, even at herself, when Amanda told an embarrassing story about something that happened in college or during one of their yearly visits. She freely gave her opinion on every subject—sometimes adamantly opposed, sometimes strongly agreeing.
He, too, had a lot in common with her.
Noticing she drained her wineglass, he picked up the bottle of merlot and splashed more into her glass as soon as she set it back on the table. She looked at him and arched one eyebrow.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Nope. Just want you to enjoy yourself.”
“I am.” She gave him a soft smile, then turned it toward Amanda and Jake. “It’s been a wonderful evening. You can’t beat good company and good food.”
“I’ll second that.” Amanda touched her glass to Tera’s.
He watched Tera sip her wine, noting how her throat worked when she swallowed. Her hair fell over one shoulder to tickle the tip of her breast. She wore a sweater in a shade of golden beige that gently hugged her generous breasts. Three gold chains in various lengths draped down the front of her sweater, drawing his attention to her curves.
Patrick’s cock twitched at the thought of touching those curves. He’d always been a tits and ass man. Long legs didn’t hurt either. He could easily imagine Tera’s legs wrapped around his waist while he fucked her. Or all that incredible auburn hair flowing over his skin as she kissed her way down his body. Oh yeah. He would love to have those full lips sliding up and down his dick.
He recalled the feel of her lips beneath his when he kissed her in his bedroom. He didn’t know what came over him, but he couldn’t resist tasting her. It had taken all of his willpower not to draw her down to his bed and kiss her until she was breathless before he removed her clothes.
That one little taste of her hadn’t been nearly enough.
Jake sat back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. “Man, that was deelish, as Amanda says. Do your guests always eat this well, Pat?”
The question dragged Patrick out of his fantasy of naked skin rubbing together and back to real life. “Davis is my chef in the steakhouse. He prepared our meal tonight. There are two other restaurants in the hotel—a twenty-four-hour family-style place and a fifties-style burger joint. There are also six places for food or snacks in the resort, including one that serves hot dogs.”
“Sometimes there’s nothing better than a hot dog,” Jake said with a grin.
“That’s true.”
“You said earlier today that we’ll get the full tour tomorrow.”
“Right after breakfast. I’ll walk you through the entire resort.”
Jake shook his head. “I can’t believe what you’ve done so far. You started with just a ski lodge four years ago and you’ve turned it into a five-star hotel and resort.” He gave Patrick a thumbs-up. “You done good, cuz.”
“So have you, with your horse ranch.”
“It’s getting there,” Jake said with a shrug. “Still a lot of work to do.”
“There’s always work to do when you own a business.” Leaning back in his chair, he swirled his wine in his glass. “How do you feel about expanding?”
“Amanda and I want to do that, but it takes time and money. Why are you asking?”
“Because I’m thinking about adding a
stable to the resort this summer. If I do, I want you to supply the horses.”
Patrick almost laughed at how wide Jake’s eyes grew. “Are you shittin’ me?”
“I’m completely serious. Horseback riding is the number one request my guests make on our customer comment form. I want to give them what they want. Plus I believe horseback riding would bring in more summer tourists. The hiking trails and other warm weather activities draw people, but I want the resort to be as busy in the summer as it is in the winter. You interested in a deal?”
A smile spread over Jake’s face from ear to ear. “Hell yes, I’m interested.” He looked at Amanda. “What do you think?”
“I think it sounds like a great idea.”
“Good,” Patrick said. “We’ll talk more about it tomorrow.” He shifted his attention to Tera. “Sorry to mix business with pleasure. You told me when you checked in that you work with the public. What do you do?”
“I’m the manager of the largest department store in Boca Raton.”
“She says that as if it’s no big deal,” Amanda said. “Tell Patrick how much sales in that store shot up after you took over.”
“Patrick and Jake aren’t interested in that, Amanda.”
“Yes, I am.” Patrick smiled. “I love hearing success stories.”
“Twenty-five percent increase in sales in the first six months of Tera’s management,” Amanda said, pride in her friend obvious in her voice. “Sales have steadily increased three to five percent every month since then.”
“Very impressive.”
A becoming blush flowed into Tera’s cheeks. He liked that touch of shyness and lack of conceit. “Thank you. I enjoy my job. I get along well with most of my employees. Others…” She held up her hand, palm down, tilted it back and forth.
Patrick laughed. “I understand what you mean.” He sat forward in his chair again. “Any chance I could steal you? I lost my manager today.”
“Why?”
“She wanted to be closer to her family in New Mexico. She went to work at one of the ski resorts north of Santa Fe.” Pushing his plate to the side, he rested his folded arms on the table. “I start interviewing potential managers next week. You could save me all that frustration by letting me hire you right now.”
