by Lolita Lopez
The smack of skin against skin echoed in the kitchen. For Ramon’s sake, Frank hoped the sheriff and his deputies arrived quickly. Tom was a professional fighter. Those fists of his could do real damage.
But when Frank descended the stairs and go this first look at Lexi, he suddenly prayed the sheriff would be delayed. Ramon deserved worse than whatever Tom gave him. The blood on Tom’s face made sense. He’d probably kissed Lexi to try to calm her down and settle his own nerves.
“Jesus, Lexi.” Overcome with emotion, he rushed to her. He dropped to his knees in front of her, not caring one bit about the jarring pain that accompanied the sudden impact. She sat in a chair, her face bloodied and bruised. Someone had worked her over with their hands—and the gun now held in his. He tucked it into the waistband of his cargo shorts and carefully cupped her neck. He gazed into her eyes, one of them nearly swollen shut, and tried to keep it together. “Oh, baby.”
Her lower lip wobbled. It had been split by someone’s fist. He glanced to his left and spotted Allie in the corner. Someone had tied her wrists and ankles together with the cords from the drapes framing the wine racks. She had blood on her shirt and her knuckles. Tom hadn’t hit her so they weren’t defensive wounds. The truth smacked him hard. Allie had hit Lexi.
Meredith stood over the other woman, her aggressive stance daring the lying tramp to make one move. He noticed Meredith’s night gown was badly torn. Her own face was swollen from a good smack. What the hell had happened here?
Across the room, Eddie sat with his head in his hands. All those sins had finally come home to roost. Frank could only imagine the kind of guilt the man felt, much of it deserved. Frank remembered what Ramon had shouted. What had he wanted? Some kind of code? Frank looked at Lexi’s father with renewed disgust. What kind of father let two people beat his daughter over a stupid code?
Frank carefully pressed his lips to Lexi’s. “I’m so sorry we weren’t here. We should have come with you this morning.”
Lexi shook her head. “Ramon probably would have shot you.”
He couldn’t argue with that. Wanting her to feel safe and secure again, he stood and lifted her out of the seat. He cradled her on his lap and kissed her tenderly. “I love you, Lexi.”
“I love you, too.” She sniffled and buried her battered face against his neck. “I want to go home, Frank.”
“Soon,” he promised her. “We’ll go home as soon as this is all over.”
“Frank?” She said after a few silent seconds.
“Yeah, honey?”
“So much for our poolside margaritas and relaxation!”
It was awful time to do it but he couldn’t help it. The fear and tension finally gave way to laughter. He was still chuckling when sheriff’s deputies filed down the stairs, their weapons drawn. He lifted his hands and informed them there was a gun in his waistband. A deputy approached and removed it.
“Yeah, baby,” Frank said as chaos erupted around them, “this one is definitely going down in the books as the worst vacation ever.”
Chapter Eight
Almost a week later, Lexi inhaled the warm night air and smiled. She quickly cut that out when her face twinged painfully. She’d skipped her pain pill in favor of a watermelon margarita Frank had whipped up from scratch. The scent of citronella and the yellow glow of twinkling lights strung up around the pergola in her backyard provided the perfect ambience for their low key night.
With her head on Tom’s lap and her bare feet resting in Frank’s, Lexi was stretched across the comfy outdoor sectional. Originally, she’d had simple wicker seating out back but both men were way too big for the dainty looking furniture. A trip to the store had fixed that problem. The newer, sturdier furniture she’d purchased a few weeks earlier opened up all sorts of new possibilities for backyard nookie.
Not that she was interested in that tonight. She looked worse than Tom after one of his championship fights. Hell, she looked worse than most of the dumb ass kids who sparred in parking lots and illegal fight clubs. The memory of Ramon and Allie knocking the crap out of her was one she wouldn’t soon forget. The knowledge that her father had been willing to sit there and watch her get beaten to protect his business wouldn’t ever fade. She was going to need therapy for that one. Lots and lots of therapy.
At least they’d been able to get rid of the pictures. Ramon had left behind the camera the night he was thrown out by her mother. After some snooping, Lexi’s mom had realized what Ramon was trying to do to them. She’d erased the pictures and destroyed the memory card. Lexi figured there were probably copies floating around somewhere but she wasn’t going to dwell on a maybe.
“Did your lawyer ever call back with a time for the meeting?” Frank stroked her bare calf with one hand and sipped his beer with the other. “I want to make sure I’ve got everything covered so I can drive the two of you down.”
She glanced at Tom. He brushed his bruised and swollen knuckles over her cheek. Like her, he was going to have to answer more questions at the sheriff’s department. “It’s at eleven o’clock at the sheriff’s department.”
“My lawyer set mine up for one o’clock that afternoon.” Tom traced his thumb across her lower lip but carefully avoided the split section. “He says it’s just a formality.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” Lexi interlaced her fingers with Tom’s. “With Mom and Dad’s lawyers breathing down their necks, they’ll want to close this case as quickly as possible. You didn’t do anything wrong. Not really.” She considered how badly Ramon had looked when they wheeled him away on that gurney and tucked him into an ambulance. Tom had worked him over but hadn’t caused any lasting damage or fatal injuries.
“I’m not worried.” Tom shrugged his shoulders. “I was protecting you and your family. End of story.”
“Thank god we live in Texas.” Frank lifted his beer and took a long drink. Lexi couldn’t argue with that. Of all the states to get involved in a home invasion, this was on the one to do it. The so-called Castle Law gave Tom a great deal of protection.
“How’s your mom?” Frank played with her big toe. “She looked really shaken up when she left the lake house.”
Lexi sighed as she recalled her earlier phone conversation with her mother. “She’s so embarrassed and feels incredibly guilty. I don’t think it’s easy to hear that you were conned so easily. Finding out that Ramon and Allie have worked this scam on half a dozen other couples wasn’t good for her self-confidence.”
“And the divorce?’
“Moving forward,” Lexi answered, no longer feeling conflicted about it. “They’ve gotten so much wild press about this home invasion thing that I have a feeling Dad will play nice and give her what she wants.”
“If he’s smart,” Frank agreed. “Having the whole world talking about the woman who conned you into believing she was pregnant and then ripped you off and nearly killed your daughter has to be pretty humiliating.”
“It’s not good for business either,” Tom said. “I saw some of the posts popping up on finance blogs. They’re unflattering.”
“That’s life.” Frank shrugged. “When you’re the face of a business as big as Eddie’s, you’ve got to be careful. People start to confuse the failings in your personal life with your business life. It sparks worry.”
Lexi nodded slowly. “I’m kind of sad about it though.”
“About what?” Tom rubbed her earlobe between his fingers.
“Not having a baby brother or sister,” she admitted. “I always wanted to be a big sister. You have no idea how lonely it was growing up in big, empty houses.”
The talk of pregnancy forced Lexi to recall the argument she and Frank had that night in the lake house kitchen. She’d forgiven him completely for his uncharacteristic outburst. Whether he’d ever completely forgive himself was doubtful. “They were swingers.”
Frank choked on his beer and spluttered noisily. Coughing, he wiped at his mouth and then used his shirt to swipe away the
beer splattered on her bare leg. “You’ve got to stop doing that when I’m drinking something, Lexi. You’re going to kill me.”
She laughed and lifted her foot toward his face. She used her big toe to rub his cheek. “Sorry.”
“Who were swingers?” Tom stared down at her in confusion.
“My parents,” she clarified. “That’s how it all went bad between them, apparently. Mom got pregnant with me and it was high risk. Dad couldn’t keep it in his pants. He started going to the parties without her and, well, you know. The rest is history, right?”
Frank grasped her hand. “That’s why you asked about what would happen if you got pregnant.”
“Yeah. It was just tearing at me.”
Frank squeezed her fingers. “That wouldn’t happen with us, Lexi. We wouldn’t step out on you.”
“I’m sure my mom thought the same thing.”
“Hey,” Tom said gently and tipped her chin up a bit. “Frank’s right. We love you and we respect you too much to hurt you like that. Besides,” he added with a teasing grin, “we’ve got each other to mess around with if you were out of commission. Hell,” he laughed, “we might even let you watch.”
Lexi smacked his arm. “You’re terrible.”
“You know you love us.” Tom bent down and kissed her forehead.
“Yeah, I do.”
“We were thinking of having a do-over on this vacation thing.” Frank drank the last of his beer and set it aside. “Would you like that? We’d have to do it in July though. That’s the earliest I can get away without it causing problems.”
“I’m a little skittish,” she confessed. “This last getaway was a disaster. Not one margarita and nothing but mayhem!”
“What about Atlantic City?” Tom asked. “A friend of mine is putting on a tournament around the Fourth of July. It promises to be pretty good.”
“A fight tournament?” Lexi scrunched up her nose. “I’ve never been to a live fight. Just watching them on TV makes me queasy.”
“Really?” Tom seemed shocked by her admission. “Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have asked you to sit with us and watch the last one on pay-per-view.”
She shrugged. “You guys enjoy them. It’s how you make your living. I decided I needed to give it a try.”
“You and Frank can skip the tournament then and hit up the casinos or see some shows,” Tom suggested. “I have to go to be ring-side. I promised Billy I’d do him this favor.”
“Why am I just hearing about this? And why are you doing that asshole any favors?”
Lexi glanced at Frank and noticed how annoyed he looked. She got the feeling there was some history with this Billy guy.
“Because,” Tom said firmly, “Billy gave me my start in this business. I wouldn’t have my career if it wasn’t for him.”
“If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t have sustained a kidney blow that threatened to end your career before it even started,” Frank shot back angrily. “Fuck that guy, Tommy. You’re not going.”
“I’m sorry but when did you become my father? You don’t get to tell me where I can and can’t go.” Tom’s hand cut through the air. “The contracts are already signed. I get a cut of the profits for being ring-side and doing some of the pre-fight ads and interviews.”
“And when were you going to tell us?”
Lexi’s eyes widened at being included in the dispute. Though, Frank did have a point. “He’s right, Tom. It would have been nice to know that you were planning to take off to Atlantic City in a couple of weeks.”
“I wasn’t ever planning on going by myself,” Tom argued. “I didn’t finish inking the deal until the evening before we left for the lake house. It just slipped my mind.” His mouth turned down in annoyance. “This really isn’t a big deal. It’s a professional favor. That’s it. I’m going to shake some hands, do some cheesy commercials, give an interview or two and make some cash. We’ll enjoy a nice suite, gamble and have wild vacation sex.”
Lexi considered Tom’s explanation. She turned back to Frank. “Okay, I’m not seeing the problem here. Gambling and sex? I’m all over that.”
Frank snorted with amusement. “You would be.” His gaze moved to Tom’s face. They shared a meaningful look that she didn’t quite understand. The story with Billy the promoter was bigger than she could grasp. Though she wanted to ask, she sensed this wasn’t the time for that conversation.
Frank sighed loudly. “Fine. Let’s go to Atlantic City.”
“You could sound a little more excited,” Tom chided.
“Yes!” Frank punched the air. “We’re going to Atlantic City!”
Lexi giggled at his silliness. The tension between the two men dissipated. Tom leaned across Lexi to cup Frank’s jaw. She watched as Frank melted under Tom’s tender touch. Frank pressed their foreheads together. The two men silently communicated their apology and forgiveness. Her heart swelled at the sight of the two sharing their silent language. It was one borne of many years of friendship and love.
She’d been worried about trying to compete with that but had quickly realized that wasn’t the point. They were always going to have a deeper, different bond. That’s what made their threesome work so well. It was the very reason both men could love her so completely and passionately without the risk of jealousy.
Tom flicked his tongue against Frank’s mouth and coaxed a slow, sensual kiss from him. Frank indulged Tom’s request but pulled away after a few delicious moments. He glanced down at Lexi and then back at Tom. “We can’t, Tommy. Not tonight.”
Lexi put up her hands. “Don’t stop on my account.” She remembered what Tom had teasingly said earlier. “What was that about letting me watch?”
“Are you sure?” Frank looked so uncertain. “I mean, you’re still in a lot of pain so you can’t join us.”
“Says who?” She honestly didn’t feel like having sex. Being jostled around while making love was sure to make her facial injuries ache fiercely but that didn’t mean she couldn’t join them in another way. “How about a dirty little game of Mistress May I?”
Tom laughed and sat back against his end of the sofa. He helped Lexi into a sitting position, his strong arms guiding her up slowly so her face wouldn’t pulse as her blood pressure changed. “Mistress May I?” he repeated. “I’m interested.”
She glanced at Frank. “What do you say, Master? You up for a little competition?”
Frank chuckled at the idea of Lexi taking over his game. “Well….maybe just for tonight.”
Grinning with excitement, Tom rose from the couch and gestured to Lexi’s empty margarita glass “Mistress, may I refill your glass?”
“Please do.” She moved around the throw pillows and got comfortable on the couch. She pointed to the open patio space a few feet in front of her. “Mistress says strip, Frank.”
Shaking his head but smiling, he started peeling off his shirt. She enjoyed the wide expanse of sexy, tanned skin. Tom handed her the margarita glass. The edge was free of salt to accommodate her busted lip. She sipped the yummy watermelon mixture. Boy, Frank really knew his way around a bar. She’d take a couple of margaritas over those gross pain pills and their weird side effects any day.
“Mistress, may I strip?” Tom stood next to Frank who was down to his boxer briefs. Those quickly joined his pile of folded clothes on the low square ottoman they used as a coffee table.
“Yes, you may.” Her greedy gaze roamed every inch of Tom’s body as it was revealed. She didn’t think she’d ever get tired of looking at that muscled physique or those tattoos.
Judging by the way Frank couldn’t keep his eyes off of Tom, he felt the same way. “Mistress, may I flick my tongue around Tom’s nipples?”
“Oh, my!” Lexi playfully fanned herself. “Get right on that, Frank.”
Chuckling, Frank dipped his head and slowly dragged his tongue around the darker circle. Tom sucked in a sharp breath. Frank used that skillful tongue to flick and trace Tom’s nipples. He moved from
left to right and then back again. He sucked hard and made Tom groan.
“Mistress, may I touch Frank?”
“Where?” She raised an eyebrow and waited for his answer.
“Everywhere?”
She shook her head. “Pick one spot.”
“His cock and balls,” Tom decided finally. “May I?”
She nodded and gestured to Frank’s throbbing erection. Tom wrapped those long, thick fingers of his around Frank’s shaft and stroked from the tip to the base and back again. His other hand reached a bit lower. He palmed Frank’s sac. Moaning, Frank subtly pumped his hips, gaining a bit more stimulation from Tom’s hand. She should have dinged Frank for that movement but she was too mesmerized by the sight of Tom’s hands working Frank’s package to be a stickler. Even in the low light provided by the tiny twinkling lights strung up around the patio, Lexi could see the shiny, clear fluid dripping from the tip of Frank’s cock. Tom swirled it around the head of Frank’s dick and then tightened his grip on Frank’s erection as he moved his hand up and down that rigid length.
“Mistress, may I torment Tom now?” Frank spoke through gritted teeth. His toes were curling against the flagstone. She had no doubt he was desperately trying to stave off a building climax.
“Oh, yes, please!” She sipped her margarita. “And, Frank, make it a really good show for your mistress.”
His eyes flashed at her instruction. He’d always exceeded her expectations in every way. Lexi had no doubt he’d blow her mind now.
Frank grasped Tom’s shoulders and pushed him toward the ottoman. Tom fell forward, his hands on the square piece of furniture for support. His butt was perfectly presented for Frank. The way they were situated, she was getting a nice side view of the whole thing.
Kneeling behind him, Frank grasped Tom’s ass cheeks and pulled them wide apart. He stabbed his tongue between those tanned, flexing muscles and started to rim Tom. Lexi’s belly wobbled at the sight of Frank tonguing Tom’s tight pucker. There was just something so naughty about rimming.
