by Zara Chase
“You’re not the only one in pain here, honey.” Milo dropped his voice several octaves as he picked up her hand and placed it on his zipper. She gasped. He was enormous, throbbing and twitching, and she could feel the heat of his arousal. “See what you’ve done to me, and I’m betting Hal’s in a similar state.”
She giggled. “Sorry!”
“You will be.” Milo fixed her with one of his wicked smiles. “I’m looking forward to having your sweet lips wrapped around this baby when we get home.”
“It would be my pleasure. But please…argh!”
Without warning her to expect it, Milo jabbed at her pussy with what felt like all four fingers, his thumb denting the thin fabric of her pants as he made a hard, aggressive assault on her clit. It was too much. Jodie covered her mouth with her hand to prevent a scream escaping, moved her pelvis beneath the cover of the tablecloth, and fell apart.
“Did you know your eyes dilate when you come?” Hal asked, grinning at her as she returned to the land of the conscious.
“It felt like my entire body dilated. Thanks.” Jodie smiled at Milo, feeling great relief, shyness, and excitement all at once. “I might be able to enjoy my dinner now.”
“And here it comes,” Milo said, sitting back, the epitome of calm composure, so the waiter could place the plates in front of them. How did he do that? She knew just how aroused he was. What discomfort he must be feeling. But from his demeanor, no one else in the place could possibly have a clue.
* * * *
“Come on,” Milo said, collecting up his credit card and leaving a generous tip in cash on the plate. “Let’s get out of here.”
They stepped out of the restaurant and found a line of cabs waiting outside. They climbed into the back of one, Jodie once again sandwiched between them. Milo slid an arm around her shoulders. Hal grasped one of her hands. The game in the restaurant had been designed to test her limits, and her courage. She had surprised Milo on both counts. He knew she was sensual, and responsive, but to have the courage to actually climax in the middle of a busy restaurant took guts. Or desperation. Shit, Milo had almost come himself, just watching her. She blew his mind, and his self-control. She was going to have to pay for that. Her cute butt was in for a real pasting when they got her home.
The cab ride was fast at this time of night, the traffic thin, as though London’s motorists knew how desperate Milo and Hal were to get Jodie between the sheets, and took pity on their frustrated condition. Milo shared a glance with Hal over Jodie’s head, aware that his buddy’s thoughts would be running along similar lines to his own. Was it too soon for them to take her at the same time?
Probably.
She’d never had anal sex before. Hell, he wanted at her arse! She’d taken to the plug like a natural, but moving on, getting her used to having her butt invaded by one of their cocks, would require patience. Jodie wasn’t quite as worldly as she liked to think. Milo shook his head at Hal, telling him both together was out of the question.
Hal paid the cab, and they hustled Jodie into the building. She watched them both with a speculative light in her eye as the elevator whisked them up to the penthouse. As though they’d already discussed it, both men kept their hands to themselves in the elevator, making her wait, and wonder. She stood close to Milo, repeatedly moistening her lovely lips with the tip of her tongue. Christ!
“That was a lovely meal, guys, thanks,” she said, walking ahead of them into the loft, swinging her hips, the little tease.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Hal asked when she headed for the bedrooms.
“Oh, I’m tired. I thought I’d turn in.” She blew them a shared kiss. “Night.”
Milo and Hal looked at one another, and then roared with laughter. She was trying to pay them back for ignoring her in the lift.
“Get back here right now, and onto your knees,” Milo said in his Dom’s voice.
To her credit, she remembered what to do. Perhaps it was an instinctive response to Milo’s tone, but she dropped her gaze and returned to their position in front of the fireplace, falling gracefully to her knees on the thick rug.
Milo had it all planned out. She could suck his cock while Hal worked her ass. Before he could open his mouth to give her instructions, his cell phone rang.
“Shit!” Talk about lousy timing. He pulled it from his pocket, but didn’t recognize the caller’s number. “Hanson,” he said brusquely.
“Is Jodie there, please?”
Milo frowned. “Who is this?”
“Mike Pearson.”
“Just a minute.” He looked down at Jodie. “Who’s Mike Pearson?” he asked.
“Oh, I gave him your number. I hope you don’t mind. He’s making some travel arrangements for me.”
“Why?” Hal frowned. “You planning on going somewhere?”
“Yes,” she said, not meeting his gaze. “Islamabad.”
Chapter Fourteen
“She’ll call you back.” Milo cut the call and glared down at Jodie, who was still kneeling on the rug. “Get up,” he said curtly, anger coursing through his veins.
She did so, looking dazed and nervous, her face deathly pale. “I can explain,” she said.
“This ought to be good.” Hal’s tone was laced with icy, incipient rage.
“Sit!” Milo pushed her toward a settee and then sat with Hal on the one facing it. If she was within his reach right now he might very well throttle her.
“I’m not a dog.” Jodie tossed her head, a trace of annoyance breaking through her anxiety.
“Islamabad,” Milo reminded her.
“Well, there’s another group I’m involved with,” she replied, addressing the remark to her folded hands.
“Actively involved?” Hal asked.
“Yes.”
Milo was definitely going to throttle her. “And you didn’t think to tell us about it because…”
She shrugged. “It didn’t seem relevant.”
“Jodie, what planet do you live on?” Anger rendered Milo’s voice rough and raw. “You had plans to take yourself off to one of the world’s major danger spots, and didn’t think it was relevant.” He ran a hand through his hair, wondering if she really was that naïve. “Geez!”
“Let her explain, Milo,” Hal said quietly.
Jodie shot Hal a grateful smile, which Hal ignored. “This group is raising funds to help the Syrian refugees who are now in Pakistan, in urgent need of aid. A boatload of supplies is on its way, and I’ve volunteered to go over and help with the distribution, that’s all.”
“You’ve what!” Milo and Hal yelled together.
“It’s perfectly safe.” She lifted her chin and treated Milo to a defiant stare. “Someone has to go.”
“Perfectly safe?” Milo was too mad to sit still. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been angrier with anyone, which was saying a lot. He stood up, towering over her, giving full vent to his blistering rage. “Of all the hair-brained, irresponsible…Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“I won’t be going alone.”
“You won’t be going at all,” Hal said.
“The hell I won’t!”
“Jodie, I thought you had some common sense.” Milo took a deep breath, endeavoring to regain some composure. That was a hard ambition to achieve, given her gross lunacy and total disregard for her own welfare. When Milo thought what could, probably would, happen to her over there, his blood ran cold. “Pakistan is a hotbed of terrorist cells.”
“I know that. I’m not completely dense.”
“You could have fucking fooled me. Do you know what happens to Western women who get caught interfering in places like Islamabad?”
“You’re thinking kidnapped?”
Milo rolled his eyes. “The idea crossed my mind. That or worse.”
“Oh, the statistics show those incidents are few and far between.” She flapped a hand in careless dismissal of his concerns. “That’s why they hit the news when they do happen
.”
Did she actually just say that? “Really?” Milo replied, scathingly.
She stood to face him, no longer looking nervous, but angry. “Yes, really. I’m not as stupid as you appear to think. I’ve done my research. I’ll be protected. Besides, it’s none of your damned business what I do.”
“Do your famous statistics show how safe the daughters of prominent would-be senators are?”
“No one would know who I was,” she replied, sounding a little less sure of herself.
“Darling, they’d know you were on your way before you boarded the plane,” Hal said, his jaw rigid. “They probably wouldn’t be able to believe their luck, or your naivety.”
“I’m having trouble with that one myself.” Milo ran both hands through his hair this time. “Didn’t you remember what I said about not contacting any of your do-gooding friends? Not only do you disobey me, but you gave the fucking guy my cell phone number.” Milo shook his head. “Fucking unbelievable.”
“You told me not to use my own phone.”
“And you didn’t ask if you could give out my number.” Milo was trembling with rage. “Grow up, Jodie. This isn’t only about you.”
“No, it’s about the refugees, who seem to mean so little to you. And for your information, Mike isn’t a do-gooder. He’s just making travel arrangements for our group. I expect he’s heard about my arrest and wanted to know when I’d be free to travel again.”
“You are not going to Islamabad, Jodie, you can forget that.”
“Who made you my father?” she demanded, eyes blazing. “I’ve already got one overcontrolling parent. I don’t need another.”
“Apart from the fact that you can’t travel right now,” Milo said through tightly clenched teeth. “I also happen to be your legal representative. It would be suicide if you went, and I have a duty to protect you against your own fucking stupidity. Do you have any idea what they do to Western women over there?”
“We already covered that.” Jodie wrapped her arms around her torso and shrugged. “Besides, you’re overreacting.”
“Find another way to help,” Hal said, defusing the tension with his quiet voice of reason. “Something less dangerous. We understand you’re passionate about your causes, and we admire you for that. We just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I guess I have no choice to find another way, since I can’t travel.” Jodie did not look happy about that. Tough! “I’ll only be holding the others up.”
“Thank fuck.”
Milo expelled a slow breath, doing his best to rein in his violent temper. When it got away from him like that, it scared him. Still, on this occasion he had justification to get mad. Her rank stupidity, thinking she could swan around the world, righting all its wrongs single-handed, would anger a better man than he’d ever be. His blood ran cold when he considered the most likely outcome, had she made it to Islamabad. He realized at that moment just how much she’d come to mean to him over the past couple of days, accounting for his violent reaction to her foolishness. Hell would freeze over before he allowed her to doing something so stupid. Handcuffing her to his bed for the next six months suddenly seemed like a good way to keep her in line.
“You sure know how to kill the mood,” he said softly, his temper evaporating as he visualized her naked and shackled, at his complete mercy.
“I don’t want to argue with you, Milo,” Jodie replied. “We obviously won’t ever see eye to eye on this topic, and since I can’t go, there’s no point talking about it.” She turned away from him. “I think I’d better go to bed.”
Milo nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”
His phone rang again. Thinking it was Jodie’s travel agent, he took the call without checking the caller ID, ready to tell the guy to take a hike.
“Mr. Hanson, it’s Bisset here.”
Shit, Jodie’s father. That was all he needed. “How can I help you?” he asked curtly, remembering how badly their last conversation had gone, and in no mood to speak to the tyrant right now.
“Is Jodie there? I need an urgent word.”
“Just a moment.” He put the call on hold and nodded to Jodie. “It’s your father. I’ll put him on speaker.”
“He hasn’t got anything to say to me that you need to hear.”
“Even so.” He pressed the speakerphone button. “Jodie’s right here,” he said.
“Jodie?”
“Dad, what’s up?” Jodie shared a worried frown between Milo and Hal, which is when Milo realized that Bisset didn’t sound like his normal bombastic self.
“It’s your mom, honey.” He sounded as though he was only just holding it together. “There’s no easy way to tell you this.”
“Tell me what, Dad? You’re worrying me.”
“I’m sorry, baby, but this afternoon your mom tried to take her own life.”
“Oh my god!” Jodie clasped a hand over her mouth. “I thought she’d gotten better.”
“She’d been doing fine. I think perhaps the pressure of the campaign tipped her over the edge. It’s all my fault.” His voice cracked. “I’ve put too much pressure on her. I know how fragile she is. I never should have—”
“What happened?”
“She overdosed on her sleeping meds. Fortunately I came home unexpectedly and caught her in time. She’s gone back into rehab.”
“Is she in the usual place?”
“No, honey. It’s a new facility.” Hal handed Jodie a pen and piece of paper, and she jotted down the address. “No visitors for several days, though. She has to be given time to stabilize and start therapy before she sees anyone from the outside world.”
“Can’t I at least call to find out how she is?”
“Sure you can. You have the number. But you can call me. I’ll be kept informed.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.” There were tears in Jodie’s eyes. His anger with her now completely forgotten, Milo slipped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head against his chest, eyes briefly closed, tears seeping from beneath her lashes. Instead of the tough campaigner she wanted the world to see, she was now a little girl, alone and vulnerable in a foreign country, sideswiped by her dysfunctional parents, unsure what to do. Milo’s heart broke for her. “Will she be all right?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“I’d come home, but I can’t travel. This stupid arrest thing.”
“I could really do with you here, darling. Perhaps, if it gets cleared up, you could—”
“Is Paul with you? Does he know?”
“He knows, but there’s nothing he can do.”
“He could support you.”
“I’m okay. Paul has responsibilities. He can’t just…”
Milo tuned out, wondering where this was leading. There was something not quite right about it, but he couldn’t put his finger on what was bugging him. Jodie finished her conversation with her father, having promised to return to the States the moment she was free to travel.
“Looks like you’ve gotten your wish,” she said, flashing Milo a watery smile. “I definitely won’t be going to Islamabad now.”
Before Milo could respond, his phone rang again. This time he did check the display, and took the call.
“Raoul, how’s it going?”
As he listened, the pieces fell into place. What he hadn’t been able to figure out about Bisset was now crystal clear.
“Yeah, that makes perfect sense,” he said, grinding his jaw.
“That’s what I figured. Talk to Jodie about it and let me know what you decide to do.”
“Will do. Oh, and Raoul, can you do me a favor. Jodie’s mom has been taken into rehab.” Milo reeled off the address. “Can you check on her status for me?”
“Sure thing. What are you thinking, buddy?”
“I’ll let you know when you get back to me.”
“Fair enough.”
Jodie and Hal were both looking at him when he hung up. “Why did you ask Raoul to check on Mom?” J
odie asked. “Dad’s already given us a report on her condition.”
Milo shrugged. “It’s probably nothing. Just a gut feeling.”
“What did Raoul want?” Hal asked.
“He’s identified the guy who took your picture outside the nick,” Milo replied, sliding an arm around her waist.
“Oh, who is he?” Jodie asked.
“He’s a Yank who works for a senatorial campaign.”
Jodie nodded. “It’s as we thought. Someone’s done this to me to undermine Dad.”
“No, sweetheart.” Milo swallowed. There was no easy way to tell her this. “The guy actually works for your father.”
* * * *
Jodie’s mouth fell open, and she couldn’t seem to close it again. She heard voices saying her name, expressing concern about her, but they seemed to be coming from a long distance away. Her head spun, her stomach lurched, and her knees trembled so violently they were unable to support her weight. Milo’s strong arms caught her just before she crumbled to the floor.
“Come and sit down, darling.” His tone was gentle, caressing—very different from the contemptuous anger that had ripped through her like a knife just moments ago. “You’ve had a shock. Rest your head between your knees and take a moment.”
“I’m okay.”
“You don’t look it.” Hal hovered on her other side, an anxious frown creasing his brow. “Let me get you some water.”
She lifted her head when Hal returned with the water. At least the world was no longer spinning. She sat back, sipping the water, a hot man on either side of her, watching her closely. She felt a little better now. As the shock wore off, it was replaced with a slow, virulent anger that burned its way through her insides like an incurable disease.
“He’s responsible for everything, isn’t he?” Jodie knew it was true, but still had trouble believing it. “Everything that’s happened, my own father did it to me.”
Milo’s eyes bore into hers, and she could sense he had transferred his anger from her to her father, where it belonged. She had her caring, compassionate, devastatingly proficient Milo back, fighting in her corner. And Hal, too. His reassuring presence, the feel of his hand squeezing hers, gave her hope. She needed them, both of them, and they were telling her without the need for words that they were there for her.
