by Lily Harlem
Dale huffed. “Jackson ain’t gonna be happy about getting low blows.” He nodded at the bar where Jackson was speaking to the bartender. “But nah, I’m not worried. He’s ready, or near as damn it. Another couple of weeks, as long as he doesn’t get injured and he sticks to the program, he’ll win.”
“You sound convinced.”
“I have to be.” He nodded at Jackson. “For him.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I don’t believe in him, he’ll doubt himself and that’s the last thing he needs. At this stage it’s all about mental preparation. His body is ready, raring to go. He’s running on neat testosterone and at peak physical ability. The kind every athlete craves and strives for. Now I need him ready up here.” Dale tapped the side of his head.
“And can you do that?”
“I have before, no reason I can’t again.”
“You’re very close.”
“Sparring partners are.” He drained his beer and banged it onto the table.
Jackson strode over then threw a bag of salt and vinegar crisps at him. “Here you go.”
“Cheers.” Dale reached for them.
Jackson sat and opened his own crisps, ready salted. “You talking about me?”
“Were your ears burning?” Jenny asked with a grin.
“Something was.” He laughed.
Jenny smiled. “We were saying how you’re going to thrash Grinder. How can you not? He doesn’t stand a chance, might as well not show up.”
“Ah, you say the sweetest things, babe.” Jackson winked at her and a sexy grin tugged at his mouth.
A flush of heat traveled over her body. Being the focus of his attention was like having a spotlight shone on her. Throw in the word ‘babe’ and her poor neglected body sizzled with a forgotten sensation.
Damn it, I’m attracted to him.
She reached for her drink, needing to do something with her hands. It had been so long since she’d been hit like this with a longing. In fact she wasn’t sure if it had ever happened before. Of course she’d admired Jackson for a long time. Any red-blooded woman would, but now… Perhaps it was because she’d made the decision to become single and that meant available. She wasn’t yet, technically, but her heart and her libido obviously didn’t know that.
She drained the last of her wine.
“Want another?” Dale asked, pointing at it.
“No, I’m good, thanks.” She smiled and hoped he wouldn’t guess her heart was beating to a wild tempo. Or worse still, he’d seen Jackson’s words had affected her in a way that turned her on fire with need.
He tipped his head, and a smile tugged at his lips. “You know what, Jenny?”
“What?”
“I think you’re gonna be just fine when you tell Billy it’s over. It’ll feel like a weight off your shoulders.”
“Yes, I hope so.”
“So you’ll do it tomorrow?” Dale lifted his eyebrows.
“I’m not sure.”
“Yes.” Jackson said. “Tomorrow is perfect. At the gym. We’ll be there if you need us.”
She swallowed. A lump had formed in her throat. “Tomorrow?”
“No time like the present.” Dale touched her hand again, encasing it the same way he had earlier. He stroked his thumb over her knuckles.
A tingling sensation spread on her skin then fluttered up her arm and set nerves tingling in her nape and over her scalp. His touch was delicate. For a big guy he was so gentle.
She remembered being pressed against him earlier, when she’d been upset—his scent, his strength, his soothing voice.
Dale.
Jesus, he’s sexy.
She pressed her fingers over her lips, barely trusting herself not to blurt out her thoughts. She fancied Dale as much as Jackson. These two hot guys had awakened something in her that had been dead until she’d decided to regain control of her life.
Trouble was, she didn’t stand a chance in hell. They were into each other. It didn’t take a genius to work that out.
What the heck was she going to do?
Chapter Four
Jenny struggled to get out of bed the next morning. Jackson had persuaded her to have another glass of wine when he’d gone to the bar to replenish his and Dale’s drinks. It had been a long time since she’d had two large reds, or so much fun.
It seemed once the decision for her to dump Billy had been made, the two men relaxed. Banter was easy and swift. Jackson had a sharp wit, Dale a playful sense of humor. She’d laughed, cracked her own jokes, forgot about all the stress in her life for a blissful hour.
But now, as she pulled on her work trousers and blouse, she was regretting staying up so late. The day would be long, topped with her promise to her ‘we’ve got your back’ men, to delete Billy’s boyfriend status, and it might even go on forever.
“Hey, Jenny,” Stella said as she poured coffee in the small kitchen at the office. “You okay?” She frowned. “You look beat.”
“Yeah, late night.”
“At the club?”
“No, not really.” She paused. “I went for a drink.”
Stella raised her eyebrows. “You did? With Billy?”
“No.” She’d said it quickly, and sharp enough to raise Stella’s eyebrows farther. “Definitely not Billy.”
“But a man?” Stella smiled.
“Er yes…two actually.” She poured coffee.
“Oh, very nice.” Stella’s smile grew, it became a grin, and her eyes sparkled. “And what are their names, you lucky girl?”
“Oh, it’s not like that.” Jenny shook her head.
“It isn’t?” Stella peered at Jenny. “That flush on your cheeks tells me it’s exactly like that.”
Jenny reached for the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. “It’s complicated.”
“All the best relationships are.”
“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”
Stella pressed her lips together and inclined her head.
Jenny wasn’t surprised by this reaction. Stella was the epitome of class, discretion and sophistication, something Jenny could only ever long to be. “They’re…”
“What?” Stella set her ass against the worktop and sipped her coffee. She batted her long lashes as she took a sip. “What are they?”
“They’re handsome, and fit, both fighters you see, and caring and funny and…”
“They sound perfect. Please don’t ruin it with a but.”
“But…” Jenny rolled her eyes.
Stella groaned.
“But, they’re gay.” Jenny dumped two sugars into her coffee. She needed it this morning.
“Are you sure?”
“Ninety-nine percent sure.”
“Ah, so they could be bi.”
“Bi?”
“Yeah, into men and women. It’s not that unusual, you know.”
“Well I know that but I hadn’t really thought about it.” Jenny had just presumed they were gay. And although they seemed to enjoy her company, and even though Dale had hugged her, Jackson called her babe, it was just them being nice. They were in love and lust with each other. That much was plain to see.
She wasn’t part of the equation.
They were good men doing the right thing and looking out for her.
Weren’t they?
“I’ve this friend,” Stella said in a hushed tone. “She lives on the other side of London.”
“Okay.” Jenny wondered where this was going.
Stella stepped to the end of the small kitchen and peered outside as though checking for eavesdroppers. Apparently satisfied they were alone, she turned back to Jenny. “Between you and me, because not everyone understands these things, but I suspect you will, she has two lovers.”
“What?” It was all Jenny could do not to choke on her coffee. “Two lovers.”
“Sh.” Stella grinned.
“How, I mean…what?”
“She’s married, had been happily for
years to Coben. Then this guy turned up from his past. Edward his name is, and Coben confessed to having all these feelings for him.”
“Feelings?”
“Yeah, apparently they’d had a fling, years before.”
“Really! How did she cope? She must have been devastated to find out her husband was gay.”
“Technically he’s bi, and far from it,” Stella said. “She told him to go for it. If he wanted to be with a man, he could. It was a wise decision, but one that came with conditions.”
“And they were?” Jenny could hardly believe the conversation they were having.
“My friend wanted to watch, to be in on the action.” Stella lowered her voice. “She wanted to be there, with them, in bed.”
Jenny’s knees weakened. Her heart rate picked up and behind the satin cups of her bra her nipples hardened. She’d been thinking the same thing about Dale and Jackson. What it would be like to watch them touch each other and find pleasure. Two perfect male bodies, in tune, knowing what made a cock spurt perfectly, enjoying private time. What she wouldn’t do to be a fly on the wall when her fighters stopped fighting hard and started fucking hard. She cleared her throat. “So what happened?”
“He did it with this guy. Dead cute he is, if you like the brooding macho military look that is. He’s hard as nails, too.” Stella giggled in a way Jenny hadn’t seen her do before. It was silly, girly, fun and a bit naughty. “If you know what I mean.”
“I guess.” Jenny grinned as well. “And what about now?”
“Happy ever after. They’re all together. Turned out this bloke her husband had a crush on was also into women, and it wasn’t long before all three of them were getting down and dirty and having a fabulous time.”
Jenny had never heard Stella speak this way. She loved it. It was pally, like she was a confidante, and it seemed to seal their fledgling friendship into a sure thing, take it up a level.
“So what do you think?” Stella asked.
“About what?”
“Your two hot fighters. You reckon they’re into women as well as each other?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve seen the way they look at each other. Their gazes drip with lust.” She shook her head. There was no way they fancied her. Dale looked at Jackson as though he wanted to rip his clothes off the second they were alone. And Jackson seemed to hold in a tsunami of pent up desire for Dale she was sure would be unleashed the moment he could set it free.
Stella set down her coffee and smiled. It was a strange, secret smile. As if she knew some secret Jenny was yet to be privy to.
“What?” Jenny asked.
“Just go with it,” Stella said. “See where it takes you.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“You will. Keep an open mind.” She paused. “Men are strange creatures, as is desire. There’s no black and white. There’s a reason the GBLT community uses a rainbow. It encompasses every part of the spectrum. Nothing isn’t normal.”
Jenny opened her mouth to question more, but then shut it. What Stella had said really opened up a new train of thought in her mind. A new path of possibilities.
“I’d best get on.” Stella glanced at her watch. “My two bosses will have my guts for garters if I don’t get next week’s trip to New York organized.”
“Are you still going with them?” Jenny was envious. She’d always wanted to visit The Big Apple.
“Yes, someone has to keep them in order.” Stella laughed and pressed her hand on Jenny’s forearm. “I’ll catch you later.”
“Yeah, sure…thanks for the chat.”
“Any time honey, that’s what friends are for.”
Jenny got her head down on the books for the rest of the day, compiling data the two chief executives would need for the New York trip. Business was booming and more contracts coming in. Which was great, but it kept everyone super busy.
The knowledge that soon the gym accountancy would no longer be her responsibility was blissful. It needed to come to an end, and tonight it would.
She bit down the sharp taste of bile. There was no question she was nervous about how Billy would react to the news. He’d taken their relationship for granted for so many years. They were as good as married.
Except they weren’t. She could walk away, free as a bird, and she would. She damn well would.
Again that light sensation lifted her, almost as if she were hovering on her seat. She’d be rid of the ball and chain that was her duty to Billy.
Duty?
Yes, that’s how she’d looked at it. He’d been there for her when her father was sick and dying and taking all his frustrations out on her. So it was her job to be there for Billy after his accident and he’d needed to refocus his life. But that was a long time ago now.
Life was ready to be changed. Shaken up. She’d paid her debt and was going to stride out into the world as a new woman.
She smiled as she finalized the information Andre and Tristan would need and backed it up. It was a red letter day, or rather a red letter evening.
The sooner it happened, the better.
And knowing Dale and Jackson were there, if she needed them, provided the last fiber to the strength she’d summoned.
It would all be okay.
The evening was sunny and Jenny was looking forward to the walk to the gym and a few warm rays. She brushed her hair, added a spritz of perfume and a slick of lip balm, then closed her computer down.
“See you, Jenny,” Stella said, walking past. Her hips swayed and her heels clicked. She managed to look as fresh as she had when she’d walked into the office eight hours ago.
“Bye, Stella, have a nice evening.”
“I will.” She smiled and secured her red polka-dot handbag at her shoulder. As she stepped into the elevator, Tristan rushed from his office.
“Hold it,” he called to Stella.
He nodded to Jenny in his usual austere manner then strode past her desk.
Jenny stood and pulled on a light cardigan. Pushing her arms into the sleeves, she peered around the wall toward the elevator.
Stella had her finger on the button, holding the doors. She was smiling broadly as she looked sideways.
Tristan rushed in.
But instead of standing next to her, he moved in close behind, slid his hand around her waist and whispered something into her ear.
Stella tipped her head back and giggled, a particularly wicked, dirty laugh.
Jenny was aware of her own eyes widening as she took in the intimate scene.
Tristan and Stella?
And she’d thought Andre and Stella were the hot item.
But it was Tristan…
That didn’t make sense. The way Andre was with Stella was always a little too familiar, his gaze appreciative and his smiles so quick. Stella was so at ease with him, in a way that suggested there was more between them than personal assistant and boss—she stood a little too close, got away with teasing him on occasion, and often brought him cakes when she went across the road to the bakery.
And now Tristan was pressed up against his personal assistant and clearly had plans on doing much more.
Jenny quickly stepped back as the elevator doors began to close. New light was shedding on so many things. Dale and Jackson. Stella and the two chief execs. The wife with two gay lovers happy in a threesome relationship.
Her mind spun with it all. For so long she’d had her head in the sand. Working, working and then working some more. Yet now, it was as if her decision to change her relationship had opened her eyes to other people’s, no matter how unconventional they were. And from what she saw they were good, happy, loving relationships full of passion, fun, and desire. It was what she wanted. Intimacy, lust-filled liaisons, trust…orgasms.
She picked up her bag and headed toward the elevator, knowing she’d have a few minutes wait as it returned from the basement where Tristan kept his car.
Orgasms.
Blimey, when had she last had
one of them? Sex hadn’t been on her agenda for a while now. Billy had been an okay lover, way back when they were doing it, but she had nothing else to compare. He’d been her only one.
As she watched the floor numbers climbing up again, a new knowledge came over her. Without Billy she’d be free to take another lover. The idea was thrilling and a little scary. She wasn’t exactly brimming with experience. What if her techniques were terrible?
She sighed. There would be only one thing for it when the time came, which she was sure it would. She’d have to bite the bullet and go for it. Even if it was out of her comfort zone. Nothing worth having was ever easy. And sex in her life, with a hot guy, a plethora of orgasms, was definitely something worth having.
Chapter Five
The gym was quiet when Jenny arrived. Billy was nowhere to be seen and Michael was in the corner watching TV. There wasn’t the usual snap, snap of fists on punch bags and the radio, which often played Billy’s loud, thumping music, was mercifully silent. The speed bag hung still in the corner.
“Hey, Jenny,” Michael said with a smile as she walked in. “You’re early.”
“Am I?” She glanced at her watch. It was only six o’clock, so it was a bit early for her. Had she left the office before she should have? No, Tristan and Stella had headed off. Or maybe…maybe they had somewhere to be together.
She smiled as she headed toward the room at the back of the gym. Good for Stella, if she could handle two devastatingly gorgeous guys in and out of the bedroom, she deserved all the fun she could get.
Two men. Imagine that. Jenny would be happy with one. One who wasn’t Billy, of course.
She poured a coffee and took a sip as she stared out of the leaflet and Post-It note-littered window at the quiet training area. A boxing ring stood in the middle, the ropes sagging slightly. Soon they’d be tightened, and the corner pads changed for purple, which was Jackson’s fighting color. She’d seen fights here before, but not one of Jackson’s. She didn’t like the thought of him taking too many hits. He was handsome with his rugged, ‘should’ve shaved’ look, and he already had a scar over his right eyebrow which segmented the dark hairs that grew there. Although a black eye and bloody nose was inevitable, she shuddered at the thought of anything worse—shattered bones, concussion, beaten up ribs and kidneys.
