Two Brutes, One Barista: An Alaskan Romantic Comedy (Alaskan Romance Book 3)

by Shaye Marlow

  “And hot fudge for on top,” J.D. said from behind his brothers.

  I tingled all over, just hearing his voice. My heart started to pound.

  Suzy hesitated, with eyes only for the cake. Mimi strained against her hold, with eyes only for the brothers.

  “J.D.’s okay, in any case,” Helly called. “Let in the fudge!”

  Still Suzy hesitated. Over Zack and Rory’s shoulders, J.D.’s eyes found mine, and a flash of heat swept through me.

  “Oh, let the boys in,” Dotty said. “If they misbehave, I’m sure we can think of a fitting punishment.” Zack watched her run her hand over the pile of sex toys, and began to edge backward.

  “Fine. Fine!” Suzy said, apparently unable to handle the sight of dessert escaping. “You may come in. Under one condition,” she said, holding a finger up under their noses. “You will behave.”

  Rory’s head tilted. “Define—”

  “No! There will be no definitions, no loopholes. You either agree to behave, and do so, or get the hell out, and leave your cake behind,” she said, swiping the gallon of ice cream from Zack.

  Zack and Rory looked at each other, then glanced back at J.D. “Fine,” they said.

  Suzy guided Mimi around them and out the door, then managed to find a third arm for the hot fudge. And, as the women migrated to the kitchen to get some cake, the brothers settled on the couch opposite me. Somehow, I’d been left behind.

  J.D.’s eyes flicked from me, to the sex toys.

  Heat pooled between my thighs, and I finally found my voice. “What lesson are you three working on today?” I asked.

  “How to manipulate women with chocolate,” Rory said.

  I was the only one who heard it, because I was the only one who hadn’t made a run for the cake. Suzy and Helly were hunkered over it, squabbling over the corner piece. “I’m the hostess!” Suzy hissed, trying to shoulder her friend aside. “That’s right,” said Helly. “You are. So be gracious, shut the fuck up, and back offa my slice.”

  J.D. picked up a vibrator, and turned it on. And I discovered that there was, apparently, a direct link between that ON switch, and my nipples.

  This isn’t happening. I shifted, trying to control my breathing.

  He glanced from the toy, to me, and that look on his face said, ‘I know what sounds you make when you cum.’

  Oh, god! I shook my head, trying to get him to cut it out. Not here. Not in a room with his brothers, my gramma, and most of the women on the river.

  J.D. grinned, and his eyes glinted as his deft, callused hand slid up the veined shaft.

  Oh no. No, nonono.

  Helly slapped it out of his hand on her way back to her seat. “Stop that,” she said, and pointed her fork at them. “Remember the deal you made. Behave.”

  They looked at us over a coffee table full of dildos. I looked back, while the other ladies munched on their cake. There were moans all around.

  “So,” said Rory, clapping his hands on his thighs, “what are we doing?”

  “Brainstorming,” Helly mumbled through her bite.

  “Oh, right!” said a grinning Zack. “Where were we?”

  “We went into the woods and met a bunch of Amazons. We decided if you charm them, they kill you with spears, if you run, they remove your intestines Braveheart-style, but if you stay and fight, you defeat their leader in one-on-one combat, and they judge you fit to father their children.”

  “Sounds about right,” Zack muttered.

  “You wind up chained to a bed, servicing as many Amazons as you can handle.”

  Throughout Helly’s rundown, J.D. didn’t take his eyes off of me. And you know how usually, when you catch someone staring, they glance away? Well, he wasn’t doing that. He just looked, and looked, and looked some more.

  It was my gaze that skittered. I crossed my arms over tingling breasts, trying desperately to keep track of the conversation.

  “Do we die of exhaustion?” Rory asked.

  “No. When you’re done servicing these Amazons, they send you, lean and pale, and more-or-less sucked dry, on your way.”

  Damn him. Damn J.D. and his gorgeous eyes. He knew what he was doing, and he was doing it on purpose. He was fucking with me. I knew it. He knew it.

  And, you know what? Two could play at that game.

  I got up, and got myself some cake. With plenty of icing.

  J.D.

  Thea sat back down across from me, and tucked her skirt primly around her thighs. The group brainstormed their way south, and that’s exactly where my blood rushed as she took her first bite. It was a slow bite, a thorough bite, and by all appearances a pleasurable bite. When her lips closed over that fork, her eyes locked with mine. And then, as she slowly withdrew that chocolate-covered utensil, her lids lowered on a silent moan.

  Fuck. Fuckety fuck. Oh… fuck.

  Then, to top it all off, she licked the fork, her pink tongue flicking out, tracing those tines. She smiled teasingly, and then turned it over and licked the back as well. She was thorough. So eye-crossingly thorough.

  And then—ah hell—she found some icing on her finger. Her eyes were wide and innocent as she popped her finger into her mouth. And then she sucked it, and I gulped.

  I shifted, trying to conceal my growing erection. I’d been hard from the moment she put that fork in her mouth. I’d thought I was as hard as I could possibly get when she finished licking it. And then she’d proven me wrong. And she was smiling a little Mona Lisa smile that said she knew exactly what she was doing to me. God, I wanted her.

  “How is it,” Suzy said, interrupting my food porn torture, “that two fuckups like you can make such good cake?”

  There was a long silence as Zack and Rory glanced at one another.

  Waiting to hear what they’d say was definitely secondary to watching Thea take her second bite. Again, she didn’t let a single trace of icing escape her. Oh, she was doing it on purpose, for sure. And the knowing only made me harder. I wanted so badly to grab her, to suck her tongue into my mouth, and taste that icing for myself.

  “It was him,” Rory muttered.

  “Zack?” Suzy asked. “I never would’ve guessed.”

  “No. Him,” Rory said, elbowing me in the side.

  Suzy’s fork froze. “J.D.? You… bake?”

  She looked stunned. Thea looked stunned. In fact, the only woman who didn’t look stunned was Helly, but she’d given me my first apron, one with Ninja Turtles kicking ass all over it.

  I opened my mouth to admit it.

  “Wait wait wait,” Suzy said, holding up her hand. “That time you two nincompoops almost got into my pants, that time you made me that fabulous cake, a fabulous cake very much like this one…?”

  I knew what she was thinking. It was, in fact, exactly the same cake. I’d let my brothers answer, though, because she’d addressed them, and Thea was, in fact, still eating. Still… licking. I casually draped my arm across my lap.

  “‘Almost’?” Rory asked. “Just out of curiosity—for science—what would have made that attempt successful?”

  Suzy tapped a dainty finger against her lip. “Well… if you hadn’t broken my roof, if you hadn’t put my goat in a hole…”

  Rory pulled a pen and notebook from his breast pocket, and started taking notes.

  “If you’d maybe installed a stripper pole while I was gone, and taken the whole shirtless thing to the next level—”

  “Suzy!” Helly gasped.

  “What? It’s true! I’m a flesh-and-blood woman with a weakness for male strippers! Did you not see Magic Mike?” Her hands fluttered.

  “I did,” Helly said with a sigh. “I wrote stripper erotica for a month straight.”

  Rory was still avidly taking notes.

  “The reason,” Helly continued, “that I jumped on you is simply that you are giving them ideas.”

  “Oh.” Suzy looked contrite, and somewhat regretful. “Sorry.”

  Apparently, that satisfied Helly. “You
were asking them who the hell made that seduction cake,” she prompted.

  “Right.” Suzy looked at Rory, waiting for the answer.

  His eyes shifted. He fidgeted. His pen tapped.

  Sitting next to him, I felt the weight of the ladies’ stares. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke. “It was me.”

  “You?! But how—?”

  “They called, desperate for a favor. So, I came down to Suzy’s and baked them a cake. Simple as that.”

  Thea was smiling. “What else can you make?” she asked.

  “Sweetbreads, cheesecake, cupcakes, pies.”

  “Cupcakes?” Thea asked, her eyes alight with interest.

  “But… you’re a fighter,” Suzy pointed out.

  “I am.”

  Suzy’s brows scrunched up as she tried to reconcile those two things.

  “I bake the shit outta those cupcakes,” I said, holding Thea’s gaze. I couldn’t take much more of this, staring at her across a mountain of sex toys. I could think of a dozen ways I’d like to use each and every one of those items on her. Even the lotions; I’d enjoy the shit outta giving her tit for tat, rubbing them over every inch of her skin while those candles burned low.

  Or hell, if all else failed, I could just toss her across the pile, and take her right there. Briefly, I wondered what effect that’d have on Suzy’s sales.

  THEA

  They’d put a troll under a bridge, and as I finished my cake, they discussed ways to get past it. J.D. leaned forward with apparent interest in Helly’s story, concealing the erection that I’d damn well noticed.

  I washed the last of J.D.’s awesome chocolate cake down with a fortifying sip of sangria. “Why do we have to attack it?” I asked, feeling just a little reckless as I gazed across at him.

  “What do you suggest?” Helly asked.

  “Well, you did mention monster erotica. Why not seduce it?”

  “Okay,” said Helly. “The troll threatens you. You step closer, holding your hands out, an invitation in your eyes.”

  “She takes that invitation,” I said. “She drops to her knees in front of you.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath from several parties.

  “Go on,” Helly said.

  I took a deep breath. “She pulls you close, her big hands on your butt.” I spoke to J.D., only to him, my eyes locked with his. “Her breath is hot through your pants. She nudges her fingers up under your shirt. She teases you, running her tongue along your waistband.”

  J.D.’s blue eyes burned.

  Dotty clapped her hands. “And? What happens next?”

  For the moment, I was able to overlook the fact that she was my grandmother. I had to, because the other way lay insanity. “She finds you hard and ready, but she doesn’t touch you. Not yet,” I said. “Instead, she works her hands up your back, massaging, watching the desire grow in your eyes. She’s savoring this.” I was. Oh yes, I was.

  I had everyone’s attention. Helly was scribbling. The brothers were riveted.

  “You’re up on the road, anyone could come by, but she doesn’t seem to care. All she wants is you. In her mouth,” I added, giving J.D. a slow smile. “She’s eager to taste you, to make you groan. She wants to swallow your cum.”

  Clearing his throat, Zack crossed his legs.

  “Is it him she wants?” J.D. asked. “Or would she settle for anyone who crossed her bridge?”

  “Oh, it’s definitely him. Only him. There’s something about him, something special. Compelling. It could be all his flexing muscles—”

  “Or his ridiculously sexy chin,” Helly added.

  “He just… does it for her. She wants him badly.”

  “What if he had proof that she wasn’t so picky? What if he saw her with another man on that bridge?” J.D. asked.

  I frowned, derailed by his weird hypothetical. “I’m sure it was innocent. Or maybe she was going in for the kill, eager to add his skull to her collection of bones.”

  “She was holding his hand,” J.D. said. His expression was intense, a little angry.

  I leaned back in my seat, gazing at him, realizing, finally, where he was going with this. I’d wondered why he hadn’t come back, when he’d promised so fervently that he would. Had actually experienced some doubts because of it, thought maybe he’d found our encounter lacking. Thought I might’ve been too quiet, or too loud, or too wet, or too easy. Heck, he’d been all over the world, probably been with all sorts of women. He’d had a little fun with me, gotten a taste… and he hadn’t come back.

  But now, it was coming clear. He’d seen us, me and Pierre.

  “Maybe,” I said, “she was listening to him tell about one of his patients, who has leukemia.”

  J.D. snorted.

  The ladies were looking back and forth between us. While most of them looked confused, Dotty practically glowed with delight.

  “She opens your pants,” I said, refusing to be sidetracked. “She pulls you out, finds you huge and so very hard. She strokes you, rubbing up and down your shaft—but not for too long. You’re flushed dark with arousal, throbbing in her hand, and she doesn’t want to make you cum too soon. She wants you, needs you in her mouth. She touches herself, anticipating how you might taste. How you might feel inside her.”

  “She does?” J.D. asked, his voice rasping. His eyes had darkened, and he shifted again, draping the other arm. The pose would’ve looked more natural if he was on either end of the sofa. But he was in the middle, which made his hunch awkward-looking. It spoke volumes that, in that moment, I thought he was sexier than ever.

  “Oh yes. She’s touched herself to thoughts of you. Many times. It’s a conditioned response at this point. She just hears your footsteps on her bridge, and she’s ready. Dripping wet,” I clarified. “But, she wants to pleasure you first.”

  Rory had taken a folder of order forms and set it on his lap. He propped his chin, attempting to look thoughtful. “Go on,” he said.

  “She touches you with her tongue,” I said. “It’s a fiery touch, but light at first. She licks across the head of your cock—” there, I said it, and felt like the word gave me some sort of dirty, awesome power “—sampling your precum. Salty and sweet. She loves it. She’s hungry for more. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get enough.”

  A couple of the ladies were fanning themselves.

  I felt certain J.D.’s gaze could have melted steel. “She runs her tongue around the head,” I continued, “enjoying the smooth, satiny skin, breathing in your slightly musky scent. You’re shining in the sun, wet from her mouth, before she finally takes you in. Her mouth is hot,” I said. “Hot and tight, and so perfect. Her tongue lashes you as she sucks. She does it hungrily, looking up at you, letting you see how much she wants you.”

  “Fuck,” J.D. muttered, shifting again. He glanced around desperately, his breath coming fast and deep. But inevitably, as I continued, his gaze was drawn back to me.

  “She takes you deep, so deep her nose presses your pelvis and you’re worried you’re cutting off her air, but it feels so fucking good. She takes as much of you as she can swallow, as much as you have,” I said ruthlessly, dizzy with how far I’d gone, with how wicked and daring I was being. “You’re growing harder in her mouth, and she’s touching herself. Dragging her wet fingers up to squeeze her heavy breasts. Pinching her nipple before going back down, pushing as many fingers in as she can take. She’s sucking you frantically, pulling you even deeper with that hand on your ass.

  “She wants to taste your cum. Wants to feel you spurt in her mouth, over her tongue,” I said, watching him. “She wants to swallow—” I breathed deep “—every… last—” I slowly licked my lips “—drop.”

  J.D. shot to his feet, knocking his shin against the coffee table in his hurry. A couple sex toys toppled to the floor.

  “J.D., what the hell?” Helly demanded.

  He was already at the front door, where he paused. “I… gotta check on the Jeep,” he said. Then he
was gone.

  We were all silent for several long moments, contemplating.

  Helly took a swig of her sangria. “So, wow,” she said.

  “I feel like I need a cigarette,” Annie agreed.

  Suzy grinned at me. “Ever tried phone sex?”

  But, without J.D. there to focus on, to talk dirty to, I was no longer feeling brave. I avoided their eyes. “Ah, no.” I couldn’t believe I’d just done that. And—oh god—it’d been in front of my grandmother. I didn’t know what’d come over me, and suddenly I was mortified. Face flaming, I tried to sink into the cushions.

  “You wanna finish your scene?” Helly asked.

  “No, please. You go ahead,” I said meekly.

  Rory was shaking his head.

  Helly nodded and continued with the brainstorming, but there was no way I was gonna be able to pay attention now. J.D. was out there, all those glorious muscles and golden hair—with a massive erection, which I’d given him. And which I really, badly wanted to play with. See it, touch it. Taste it.

  I looked toward the door with longing, wanting to follow him out, wanting to see what would happen. But stepping out now would be way too obvious.

  Rory was giving me a look that said he knew what I was thinking. The expression was kind of… taunting. Almost as if he knew what I’d do, knew I’d give in.

  Which—I crossed my arms—he didn’t.

  A vision of J.D. assailed me, one of him standing in a doorway, wearing nothing but sunshine and a kitten. God, my nipples were painfully hard. I took a fortifying sip of the sangria, trying to stay calm and carry on. I could stay on the couch. I could pay attention to the Choose Your Own Adventure. I could even contribute. I would contribute.

  Another memory: J.D. holding me, his hand warm around mine, the river spinning away as we danced. My heart raced. And, shit, I was looking at the door again.

  J.D. leaning in to me, foam on his lip, mischief in his eyes…

  I shot to my feet.

  Current affairs caught up to me a little at that point, as I realized everyone had stopped talking to stare at me. “I—” My eyes flicked to the bathroom, but it wasn’t outside, where J.D. was. And to the kitchen, but it wasn’t outside. “I…” need an excuse. Back to the door I wanted so badly to go through—where J.D. had gone.