by Lane Hart
I felt his laugh rumble through me before he raised up off of my back, disposing of the condom and getting the handcuff keys.
"I can't wait to play with these again," he said as he helped me up and released my wrists.
"Oh yeah. That was … God, probably the hottest, most erotic thing I've ever done."
He smiled down at me. "Really?"
"Yeah. I've never been so … wow. That was really, really fucking hot Caleb."
"Watch out, you're going to inflate my ego if you keep saying shit like that," he said, as he rubbed his warm hands up and down my curves. "Now let me hold you for the rest of the night." He gave me a quick kiss then cradled me to him as he climbed into bed and laid me down facing him.
"I think I could get used to all this manhandling, and your restraints," I told him.
A flash of sadness crossed his face, making me feel bad.
"What are my chances Lauren?" he asked, all his joking and good mood swept aside.
"Caleb, I don't know. Not yet."
"Give me a number. You said three percent the other day. Tell me it's better than that."
"It's better than that. Maybe even fifty percent now."
His face lit up. "Fifty fucking percent? Thank God," he said with a sigh before pressing a quick kiss to my forehead.
His light blue eyes looked into mine, so beautiful and intense, like he could see down to my soul and was trying to figure out how to get there.
"I love you Caleb, and I have no idea what I'm going to do."
"I love you too, sweetheart. No matter what, okay?"
I nodded and laid my head on his warm chest. He held me tighter when my tears leaked onto him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tyler
I woke up in a slightly better mood than the night before last. I didn't loathe Caleb quite as much today, even though I had to listen to him fucking Lauren for hours, which seemed like progress. It also helped to know that Lauren would be staying with me tonight, and that was definitely something to look forward to. I still couldn't help but feel like every night she stayed with him she slipped a little further away from me.
Might as well get the morning gloating out of the way. I climbed out of bed, feeling almost back to normal other than the holes in my shoulder and thigh.
I decided to cook a few scrambled eggs while I waited for the biscuits to finish cooking in the oven. I even made enough for my competition. Oh yeah, and he used to be my best friend before all this.
Lauren came into the kitchen, wrapping her arms around me from behind and kissing my cheek.
"Good morning."
"Good morning. You ready for class?"
"Yeah. Whatcha making?"
"Egg biscuits. Want some? There's only two minutes left on the biscuits."
"That'd be great. Thanks."
I piled the eggs onto a plate then turned around and put my arms around her. "Is breakfast worth a real kiss?" I asked with a smile.
She bit her lip and acted like she was thinking it over, before finally nodding, covering my mouth with hers. Both of our mouths were minty fresh, tingling my tongue as I prodded hers. She moaned in response and just as I slid my hands up her shirt the oven timer went off.
"Time's up," she joked with a quick kiss before pulling away.
"Damn oven."
Caleb came sleep walking into the kitchen right after we sat down at the table to eat.
"There's plenty if you want some," I told him. Although thinking about what probably went on last night made me want to poison his.
"Thanks Ty."
He fixed his plate then leaned over and kissed Lauren before sitting down at the table with us. The way she looked up at him was … different. He even looked at her like he was thinking about more than just screwing her. Something had changed ...
"Fuck! You love him!" I yelled, jumping up to get out of the room. I didn't feel like I could breathe.
"How'd you-" Lauren started, her eyes wide in surprise.
"It's all over your face. Every night you stay with him takes you further away from me."
"Tyler wait!" she yelled, following me into my room. "I don't love you less because I fell in love with him too."
"I don't know if I can handle this anymore. I wasn't enough for you, but maybe he is."
"No. Please don’t say that. I can't choose between you, but don't give up on me yet Tyler, please. I'm begging you."
I looked at the clock and knew she should have left five minutes ago. "You need to get to class."
"I know damn it. I don't like hurting you both, but this is what you wanted."
"I was a fucking idiot. I should have just lived with whatever doubt I thought you had and been happy."
"No, you were right. I care about him and eventually it would have ruined us."
"Goddamn it. Just go. We can talk later. I just need some time without seeing you with him."
She just nodded then turned around and left.
…
Lauren
It was almost lunchtime Saturday when I woke up in Caleb's arms. We hadn't slept much the night before, so we were sleeping in late. However good it felt to be with him, there was always the guilt hanging over me. How sad Tyler was and how grumpy Caleb had been lately was killing me, and I didn't know what to do. I dreaded having to spend another weekend stuck in this house with the two of them verbally sparing with each other. I needed to get away.
"Hey Caleb?"
"Good morning sweetheart. Um," he said when he rolled me to my back and his lips started devouring my neck. "Can we stay in here all day and try and beat last weekend's record?"
My body automatically responded to his touch, needing him, wanting him.
"As much as I want to, that's not fair to ..."
"Don't say his fucking name," he growled in warning.
"I was wondering if maybe we could all go somewhere. Get out of the house for the day. What do you think?"
"I'd rather 'all' consisted of just me and you."
I laid there silently, hating having go through the same old argument again.
"Fine. We could go to Blue's Lake if you want."
"Go swimming in the lake?" I asked.
"Yeah. Hell, ask Jess and her brother to come too and run interference. Maybe we won't try to drown each other with so many witnesses."
"Okay, let me go call her and ask Tyler what he thinks."
He growled against my ear as he nipped it. "From now on every time you say his name I'm going to spank you."
"Then I might have to say it more often," I teased. Caleb rolled me so I was lying chest to chest on top of him, then swatted my ass cheek.
"Get out of my bed before I tie you down, and keep you from ever leaving."
"That would definitely piss Tyler off," I said just to antagonize him. His palm came up again like I knew it would, and this smack was harder and louder.
I climbed off of him and when my feet hit the floor goaded him. "You better keep it down, or Tyler might hear you," I said as I headed for the door. Just as I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open I felt another sting that made me cry out. I smiled but didn't even turn back around to look at Caleb. I knew if I did I'd end up back in his bed with another heap of guilt piled on me.
Only when I was in the hall did I realize I was naked. My clothes were in Tyler's room, since Caleb had never offered me space in his dressers. Well, he had before he left, but not since he got back and found me in Tyler's bed. So, I did the walk of shame in that direction.
I was surprised to find Tyler still in bed asleep. He'd been staying in bed more and more lately, and I was pretty sure it wasn't because of his injuries. I was starting to think it was depression. I dressed before I sat down on his bed and woke him up.
"Good morning sleepyhead," I told him, rubbing a hand through his short blonde hair. He finally blinked up at me a few times and stretched his big muscular arms above his head.
"Morning beautiful. What's with the wake up
? It's Saturday."
"Yeah, so let's go out and enjoy the sunshine. Want to head to the lake?"
"Ugh," he groaned. "All three of us?"
"Well yeah. And I'm gonna call Jess and she if she wants to come with us and bring Jonathan along."
"Who's Jon-, never mind. The chance to see the two of you in nothing but bikinis without a bunch of men throwing dollars at you is too good to pass up. Let me know when you're ready."
"Awesome."
I left his room in search of my cell phone. I never remembered which man's room I left it in to charge, but then I finally found it sitting on the kitchen counter and called up Jess.
"Hey girl, what's up?" Jess answered.
"Hey, what are you and Jonathan up to today?"
"Well, I'm planning on sitting at home alone, while he is spending the weekend playing some new war game at his friend's house.
"Oh, well, would you want to go to the lake with us? We're going as soon as everyone's ready."
"'Us' as in you and Tyler?"
"Me, Tyler, and Caleb actually."
"That's … unexpected, but good for you I guess."
"It's complicated, but let's not go there right now, okay? So are you in or out?"
"Mm, let's see, a beautiful day at the lake with you and two half naked hotties, or staying here and watching stupid, unrealistic, soul crushing romantic comedies until I want to claw my eyeballs out? Hell yes I'm in."
"Great, so we'll pick you up in about an hour?"
"I'll be ready. So since Caleb's available, has he mended his broken heart yet?" she asked and I almost dropped the phone.
"Ah, I'm pretty sure he's seeing someone."
"Damn. Well you can't blame a single, sad, lonely girl, that's never experienced the big 'O' with a man before, for trying, right?"
"Never?"
"Nev-er. Ever, ever."
"Jesus, that's …"
"Pathetic? Yeah I know. See you in a few."
Chapter Twenty-Three
Tyler
I should've stayed home. It was hot as fuck and I couldn't get in the lake with my still healing wounds. My back felt sunburnt, the fish weren't biting, and I was ready to poke my eyeballs out after watching Lauren and Caleb in the water.
I pulled in my line and headed back to our lounge chairs and cooler to drink myself into oblivion. And damn it, the way Jess was looking back and forth between all of us, I was probably going to have to play an annoying round of WTF twenty questions. Although the closer I got to her the more I was sure she was checking me out. Her jaw had dropped open, and I knew she couldn't claim her pert nipples showing through her skimpy white bikini were due to the cold. It was ninety-five fucking degrees out in this bitch, and she hadn't touched even one of her little manicured toes into the cool water.
Fuck if it wasn't nice to have someone as hot as her looking at me like she wanted to screw my brains out. Lauren sure as hell hadn't looked at me that way in the last two weeks. I told myself it was my injuries, because I didn't want to see it for what I was starting to think it really was.
After putting my pole away I reached down and lifted Jess's bottom jaw so it met with its other half.
"Like what you see short stack, or are you just trying to catch flies with your pretty little mouth?"
"Are you always so … cocky?" she huffed, turning her head away. I took that opportunity for a closer inspection of her incredible rack, and with the tiny pieces of white, almost see through fabric covering them, there wasn't much left to the imagination.
"Yes. Are you always so … perky? Fuck, are you even legal?"
Her sunglass covered eyes turned back to look up at me and she smiled. "I'm twenty-one actually, which makes me legal for everything."
"I'd need to see two forms of identification to believe you. So, you work with Lauren?"
"Yeah," she said on an exhale.
"I hate I missed you the night I stopped by."
"I usually dance in nothing but a white t-shirt and heels, and take it off after a random man soaks me with a bottle of bubbly to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me," she said.
"Ah. A strip club classic, and that sound's really fucking hot. I'd love to see it, but I have to stay away the club. Don't want to murder any of the pervy bastards that look at her."
"Well, it looks like your boy is about five seconds away from fucking her in the middle of the lake. Shouldn't you be more … homicidal?" she asked, tilting her head up at me, waiting for a response. I pulled a beer out the cooler then sat down in the chair beside her.
"I plead the Fifth on that one. What else you got?"
"How's the recovery going? I haven't seen any updates on the news in weeks." I cringed at the mention of the media coverage. They'd been rabid while I was in the hospital, but the GPD kept them away, and released the most minimal statement possible. Didn't matter though, cop gets shot, cop shoots suspect, and suspect is taken into custody was always breaking fucking news.
"Almost back to normal."
"You sound so enthusiastic."
"Waiting for the doctor to release me, but I'm still on probation while they investigate. So who the fuck knows when they'll actually let me go back to work."
"I get the feeling that work isn't the only thing you're pissed about."
"How about we talk about you instead? Where's your man?" I asked, and she looked quickly away.
"Don't have one."
"Right."
"I get my fill of men every weekend, thank you very much."
"You mean you don't actually like to strip, or I'm sorry, 'dance erotically'?"
She shivered, actually shivered in the middle of summer. "Creepy horny men staring at my private parts and trying to cop a feel. What's not to love?" she said sarcastically.
"If it bothers you so much then why do you do it?"
"Because I make more in three days than I would working three minimum wage jobs in a week."
"How much do you make?"
"On average? A thousand a weekend."
"Holy shit! I didn't know Lauren made that much. No wonder you both work there. Hell, if a male strip club paid that much I might have to sign up."
"You'd make damn good money too, especially if you were a naughty policeman. Every woman would be begging you to arrest them, frisk them, and take them downtown," she said, stretching her arms up over her head in the lounger.
I barked out a laugh, at the same time my cock instantly hardened underneath my thin as fuck board shorts. Images of doing precisely that to her flooded my mind. Cuffing her wrists behind her back to have her at my mercy. Running my hands all over her sexy little body until she came. Having her on her knees sucking me before standing her up and bending her over to fuck her against the car.
"Every woman?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering if she meant herself included, so I could add that fuel to the fantasies.
"Every woman. Young, old, single, married," she said to me with a smile before looking back out to where Caleb threw Lauren playfully back in the water. "But they would all be wasting their time."
When Lauren surfaced in the water she started heading for the shore, looking like the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. There was a big grin on her face until she looked up and saw us watching her. And fuck if her itty bitty black bikini wasn't molded to her like a second skin, barely hanging on to cover her nipples. If she turned around I'm sure her perfect ass would be hanging out.
Jess reached over and closed my mouth that I hadn't even known was hanging open.
"Who's catching flies now big man?" she teased with a smirk.
I stretched over to the cooler, flipped open the lid and grabbed a handful of ice.
"You're looking awful hot. Here, let me help you cool down," I told her, then slapped the dripping ice onto her flat stomach and held my hand over it.
"Ahhh! Get your hand off me you bastard!" she screamed, but I made the mistake of pulling my hand away, leaving the pile of ice.
While I was still laughing Jess scooped up the melting pile, leaned over and crammed them down the front of my shorts and held them there.
"Fuck that's cold!" I jumped up and away from her to shake the cubes out.
"You two look like you're having fun," Lauren said, grabbing up a towel and wrapping it around herself. She looked … jealous. Good. That's basically how I'd gotten her after Caleb left.
"Your fun-size friend has been eye-fucking me, and I think I'm offended. There's more to me than just a nice package," I joked. Jess scoffed and Lauren gave a small smile.
"But the package is a fine one, it's too hard to get past all this," she said, splaying her hands across my bare chest and down my stomach.
I grabbed her wet hip to pull her closer. "Bet you didn't know that I also have a little bit of a brain. I scored a 2250 on the SAT, and received a full scholarship, academic not athletic, to State."
"Really?" Lauren asked with a smile.
"I know, it's hard to believe since I usually act like such a dumbass."
"But you didn't graduate. You dropped out of school to become a police officer? Why?"
I wasn't going to go all Debbie Downer on such a nice day, especially when Lauren was actually touching me for a change.
"Oh you know, protect and serve and all that crap. But mostly to meet women. Apparently some of them seem to think the uniform is sexy as fuck."
"You know I do. In fact, we've never played out that fantasy of mine from the first day we met."
"The one where he arrests you, frisks you, then takes you downtown?" Jess interjected and laughed.
"Yeah, something like that," Lauren responded then stretched up to wrap her arms around my neck to kiss me.
Since it was my night with Lauren, I thought for sure we'd finally end up fucking. But nope, she fell asleep on the couch and was out the rest of the night after I carried her to bed.
...
Caleb's nights were eating away at me. Lauren and I still hadn't actually had sex since before I was shot, and the other types of physical contact had been dwindling. I was more than ready to revive our sex life, and just needed to convince Lauren she wouldn't hurt me. I was starting to wonder if she preferred to be with him on the nights she spent with me.
