by Decadent
Deke watched the exchange, and realized that he was grinding his teeth. Bastard. Kimber was everything his cousin pursued with single-minded vigor: the promise of sweetness, white lace, and innocent sighs. The fact she had a healthy hint of red in her hair was just a bonus.
Not this woman. Not this time. If Kimber was off-limits to him, Luc wasn’t getting a piece of her ass, either.
The muted slam of a door down the hall let Deke know his cousin was safely ensconced in his office. He turned his attention back to Kimber.
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“I came to ask you for a favor. I realize this is odd but . . .” She drew in a shaky sigh, then raised her chin, seeming to take her nerves in hand. A moment later, she sent him a direct stare. “Would you teach me about sex, the way you like it?”
Generally, Deke’s expression conveyed none of his thoughts. His line of work made a poker face essential. But Kimber had his jaw dropping on this one. He couldn’t have been more stunned if she’d asked him to dig a hole the size of the Grand Canyon with his bare hands.
“What?”
“I want to learn about the way you like to have sex.”
The way he liked to have sex? Like it was some foreign fucking planet?
Something here was wrong. Very wrong. Virginal Kimber couldn’t possibly want what he wanted. It shouldn’t even be in her vocabulary.
Hell, maybe it wasn’t. She probably didn’t have the faintest idea what she was asking for.
With that sobering thought, irritation doused his manners, and he shook his head. “Why the fuck would you want that?”
Kimber didn’t bat an eyelash at his language. Deke gave her credit for that—and having the guts to come here in the first place. Growing up with the Colonel and two older brothers, likely she’d heard every four-letter word known to man, and a few they’d probably made up on their own. He wondered where she’d come up with the fortitude to ask him to . . . what? Be her sexual tutor? He damn near snorted at the thought of all the things he’d like to show her.
“I think it’s time I expand my horizons,” she explained in a breezy, practiced manner. “And for all your brash attitude, you’re an honorable guy. You’d never hurt me—”
“Which is exactly why I’m going to say no to you before you get any further in that little speech.”
“I haven’t finished.”
“You shouldn’t have started.”
“I need your knowledge. I have to know how to please a man with your wants.”
His wants. As if it was easy. As if he could just draw her a picture. He held in a bitter laugh.
“Let me get this straight: You want to learn how to fuck me, but you have no clue what that means, do you?”
She bristled. “I do. You’re into ménage.”
How the hell had she learned that? Surprising. Perplexing. Disturbing. So damn arousing.
But the way she said the word ménage, like it scared the hell out of her. Deke laughed. Long and hearty, out loud and totally at her expense. “Kitten, you’re in way over your head.”
“Please don’t treat me like a child. I’m not the most experienced woman. So what? Everyone starts from scratch. I’m trying to learn. I’m not asking you for a commitment or a lot of your time. I’m talking an evening or two. What’s your hang-up?”
So the little kitten still had claws. He found that wildly exciting. She’d look mighty fine spread out on this gleaming round table, parted legs dangling, swollen pussy open to him, while she mewled, a pant away from orgasm . . .
He cleared his throat and forced himself to focus.
“Forget for a minute that you only have a vague idea what you’re asking for. Let’s get to the bigger question: Why? Why do you want to learn about ménage?”
Kimber folded her hands in front of her and hesitated. She was trying to decide how much to tell him, formulating and discarding plans. He gave her a minute to get her head together. He could wait. It wouldn’t take long for him to get to the bottom of all this shit.
“You may be aware that, shortly before you came to work for my father, he had been guarding Jesse McCall.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged.
“Jesse and I . . . became very close that summer. We shared a special connection. You could say our romance blossomed. We’ve both dated other people, but it’s just not the same. And our relationship has only grown stronger over the years. We’ve kept in constant touch via e-mail and phone calls. We share our hopes and wishes and dreams. I’ve had a lot of years to think about him, about us, and I believe he’s the one for me.”
Someone hand him a barf bag. She honestly believed that, while Jesse was churning out hits and banging a different woman on every stop of his concert tour, their friendship had some special significance in his life? He supposed it was possible—on the twelfth of never following a blue moon right after hell froze over.
“I see,” he drawled. “So what do I have to do with all this?”
“Well, about six months ago, we talked about our relationship at length. I told him I thought he was the one.” She bit her lip, hesitated. “He told me that he cares for me very much, but that his . . . lifestyle would shock me.”
Based on what the tabloids printed? “It would.”
“I’ve seen the pictures of him with different women. I’ve heard the rumors that he’s been into this whole ménage scene. I know what I need to do to have a future with him. He says he doesn’t want to taint me and thinks I couldn’t cope. I need to prove to him that I can be everything he needs.”
Holy shit. Was she completely out of her mind? She wanted him to tutor her in pleasuring the pretty-boy crooner and some unknown asshole. Did she really still have a teenage crush on the celebrity, the kind that made her squeal each time she heard his name? An immediate denial bit into his gut.
“So you think I’ll teach you, you’ll snare him, and we’ll all live happily ever after?”
Kimber bristled. “I think it’s wise to go to Jesse prepared to please him and prove I can be that special person in his life.”
“How is this urgent?”
“He’s been in Europe for the last few years. I’ve missed him terribly. But he’s finally coming back to the States. Back to Texas, but just for a few months. We’ve made plans to see each other, find out where our relationship is going. It’s my chance to prove to him we still have that special connection.”
Special connection? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
“First of all, the guy is an international pop star. He’s had something like three number-one albums in the last two years. He’s got women falling all over him. And you know it.”
She raised her chin. Pride. She had it in spades. Just another thing that made him hard for her.
“Which is exactly why I can’t afford to go unprepared. I’m aware of the competition for his time and attention. I’m aware that I’m not as worldly as the groupies who hang around him. But there is a connection between us. I want to take it to the next level. I think he does too, but is afraid of hurting me.”
“Second of all, you’re way too innocent for this.”
“That’s why I’m asking for your help. I refuse to go to him and run the risk of seeming like a child. Why the interrogation? How difficult can this be?”
“You think I can draw you a fucking picture, and that’s going to tell you all you need to know about ménages?”
“I was prepared for an explanation, maybe a demonstration . . . depending.”
Un-frigging-believable. “An explanation would do jack squat for you, kitten. It wouldn’t help you prepare the way you’d need to. A demonstration would blow you away.”
She frowned, her frustration clearly rising as fast as his arousal. “If that’s the case, I need to know it now, before I commit to Jesse. A small demonstration—”
“Would make you run screaming out of here so fast, it would set records. You couldn’t handle this.”
“Why? Doe
s it include bondage or whipping?”
Deke’s eyes widened in surprise. Kimber even knew about such things?
“Don’t look so damn shocked. I’m not a child anymore.”
“Maybe not. But you’re a virgin. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Yes. So what? I’ve saved that for Jesse.” She tossed a glossy curl behind her shoulder and acted as if a twenty-something woman announcing she’s a virgin was the most normal thing in the world. “Deke, I know you don’t owe me anything, but I’m asking as nicely as I know how for your help.”
“Fuck how you asked. Yeah, it was nice. Whatever. It’s a damn stupid request.”
“If you’re worried about my father being angry—”
“Hell, yes, he’ll be angry. But that has nothing to do with why I’m saying no. Kimber, this isn’t the sort of sex a virgin has.”
She paused, pondering. Then she stood. “Okay, I get it. I don’t . . . light your fire or whatever. Fine. I’ll figure something else out.”
He should let her believe that and let her go, but Deke couldn’t. She had to understand that she lit his fire—and was now playing with it.
Deke stood and blocked her path. “You think you don’t light my fire?” He looked down toward his cock, thick and hard and straining the front of his jeans. A moment later, her gaze followed suit. Her little gasp only made him harder. “Kitten, you have no idea the thoughts that have been running through my mind since your request that I teach you all about sex fell out of that pretty, fuckable mouth. I doubt you want to know.”
Fresh color stole up her cheeks. She glanced at his crotch again. Bit her lip. She did that when she was nervous and thinking.
“Yes, I do, if it has anything to do with sex the way you like it. The way Jesse likes it.”
Annoyance spiked in Deke. If he ever touched Kimber, big if, she wouldn’t be thinking about that pansy-ass pop star. She’d be too damn busy coming.
But saying no to her felt like he was turning his balls inside out. Hell, she was serving herself up on a platter for his lust. The lust he’d been harboring for over five years. Lust that created a nagging ache in his cock and clawed at his gut to be quenched.
Innocent. Virgin. Danger!
Time to put a stop to this now. She thought she was adult enough to handle ménage? Yeah . . . He could scare her off in about two seconds. And he’d better, before he did something crazy like grab her, touch her, drive her to the brink, then stuff her full of cock.
“The sex I like isn’t sweet or pretty or romantic, kitten. It’s raw, sometimes a little painful for a woman. It can require a spine of steel and a lot of stamina.”
Kimber tensed, swallowed again. She was nervous—but intrigued. Curiosity swirled in those pretty hazel eyes. Finally, she nodded. “Go on.”
Deke stepped closer. He couldn’t resist. Now he could smell her. Peaches and brown sugar and a hint of female arousal. Were his words making her hot—or was it knowing she could turn him on that got her wet?
Another foot forward, and he leaned into her personal space, putting his lips near her ear. “In my bedroom, ménage means two men simultaneously pounding a woman to orgasm and driving her so insane, she forgets her name and screams the roof down.”
Deke leaned away to gauge her reaction. Her mouth opened on a silent gasp, but no sound came out. Her eyes widened, pupils dilating just as quickly. Oh, shit. On some gut level, the idea appealed to her? His cock was ready to do the tango, despite his brain doing its best to shut off the music.
“Help me understand. For you, why ménage?” she barely managed to whisper. “Why not make love to a woman, you know . . . just the two of you?”
“Two men can make a woman come so utterly undone, she’s willing to do anything for her lovers’ pleasure. And I get off having a front-row seat.”
More color bloomed in her face. The scent of female arousal now hung heavy in the air. Her nipples peaked, even as her tongue danced nervously across her lips.
“I understand.”
His gut clenched at the sight of that little pink tongue. “Do you?”
“I’ve heard about such things. Read them. Physically, I understand how that works. Um . . . what—what about emotional bonds?”
“Emotional bonds?”
He must be from Mars, because that question was definitely from Venus. What about the curiosity he’d expected? Stuff like: Where did the cocks go? How did a woman handle two men at once? Those he could answer. In detail. He’d love clueing her in about the dueling slide of dicks, one in her tight pussy, the other in her untried ass.
Damn, he had to stop thinking like this before his jeans strangled his erection.
“How do you make relationships work without petty jealousy interfering?”
“There’s no relationship. Just sex . . . any way it can be accomplished in threes.”
“Oh.” She blinked, then looked away. “I should have realized . . . you’re not the relationship type.”
“Lust works just fine for me.” Anything more had catastrophic potential. Been there, done that—and he didn’t want to think about the nightmare that had happened next.
“Well, with you, lust works fine for me, too. I—I just want to learn whatever you can teach me.”
Still? “Are you serious?”
Kimber clutched at her purse and squared her feminine little shoulders. “I drove over a hundred miles today to talk to you, a man I haven’t seen in five years. One who’s never liked me much. I swallowed my pride to admit to you why I want this and the fact I’m still a virgin. Would I have bothered if I wasn’t very serious about learning to please Jesse and deciding if this is something I want in my life?”
Jesse. There was the prick’s name again, right from her mouth. Stupid Backstreet Boys copycat son of a bitch. He and his melodious falsetto constantly topped the charts. Deke couldn’t imagine why any man wanted to sound like a female with the whole world listening.
“I’m not the man for the job, Kimber. I’m not doing it.”
Her lips tensed. Her fingers tightened around her purse strap. “Why not?”
“A million reasons. I don’t do virgins. Period.”
“I didn’t ask you to do me. In fact, I want to save my virginity for Jesse. I don’t know why you’d say no to at least some explanations of the . . . acts involved.”
“Because explanations aren’t going to cut it, kitten. You won’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into until you’re getting pounded by a pair of hard cocks.”
“Tell me what you mean. Pounded where exactly? In what way? With the intent to create pain?”
His assertion hadn’t shocked her in the least. Her questions stunned the hell out of him. Wasn’t she freaked? He sure the hell was.
“I’m not having this conversation with you. You want to learn about ménages, keep reading.”
“As you pointed out, words aren’t a substitute for real experience.”
“Then let the girl-voiced pretty boy give you the experience. It won’t be me.”
“Fine.” She maneuvered around him. “If you don’t want to help me, let me think . . . Who did you hang out with when you worked for my dad? Oh, Adam Catrell. I remember hearing whispers about him. He lives near here, doesn’t he? I’ll just go look him up. And if he’s not interested, wasn’t Justin Wheeler a friend of yours, too? He might be willing to help me. See you later.” She bolted toward the door.
Deke bristled. Oh, yeah. Both Adam and Justin would be more than happy to help her—right out of her clothes and right onto her back. But neither was known for being gentle. Virginity wouldn’t mean a damn thing to either of them. They’d see fresh, sweet meat and dive in, teeth bared, like hungry dogs.
It’s her choice . . . her problem. Deke tried to tell himself that.
Yeah, but if he just let her walk out the door now, she’d get mauled by that pair of ravenous rottweilers. The thought really pissed him off. She’d be overwhelmed in minutes . . . and for some damn reason
, he just couldn’t let that happen. Residual loyalty to the Colonel or something.
Damn. He was going to have to dissuade her from pursuing this path before he sent her on her way. Grinding his teeth together, he mentally sorted through the ways in which he could do that. They were, unfortunately, limited. And so far, talking hadn’t done jack shit.
Time for action.
Deke grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. Her breasts, sweet and firm, burned his skin as if his shirt didn’t exist. He hissed at the contact. Fuck! The girl had always gotten to him. Five years later, her effect was only more pronounced.
Kimber gasped as their bodies brushed. Her gaze skittered up to his. Awareness burned across her face, glowed in those dilated hazel eyes. From her expression, Deke wondered if this was the first time she’d felt something for him beyond annoyance.
The possibility wasn’t comforting.
This plan better take three minutes or less . . .
“Wait.” His fingers tightened on her arm before he forced himself to relax his grip. “I get that you’re serious. I’m reconsidering your request. But it has to be all hands-on demonstration.”
She swallowed. Her pulse jumped. God, she had no idea how perilously close she was to being laid out on the kitchen table for his afternoon snack.
“Okay. Who would, um . . . join us?”
Luc took that cue to saunter into the kitchen, with a sultry smile and a hard-on that was impossible to miss. So his good ol’ cousin had been listening? Deke turned Kimber to face him.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Luc drawled.
Deke felt Kimber tremble in his arms as she met his cousin’s stare. He fought an instinct to soothe her. The point was to show her exactly what she was getting into, make it so fast and furious, she’d dismiss the plan on her own. Comforting the girl was the last fucking thing he should do.
“You and Deke share . . . ?” Her voice shook.
“We do.”
Even her exhalation trembled. She was nervous. Good. Finally, something had gotten to her. Now it was time to ramp up her hesitation into a full-blown no.
