Actually, she did know that. Just as there was no doubt in her mind that her fathers loved her mother, or that her uncles loved her aunts, there was also no doubt what fate a woman who did something to endanger herself could expect.
She considered being honest with him again. Maybe I shouldn’t. So far honesty has only netted me a display of Eli’s temper. She cast a glance at Jeremiah. He wasn’t shouting or pacing, but she knew that was only because he showed his emotions more sparingly.
She stayed where she was, but she put her hands on her hips. She kept her voice level, hoping the calm tone would penetrate. “One kiss does not give you the right to spank me, Eli Barton, so you better cool down. Now, I’m going to be completely honest with you. Under the right circumstances a spanking is acceptable—either as erotic play or, yes, as punishment—when we’re in a committed relationship.”
Eli stopped pacing and looked at her. “The thought that you put yourself in danger…” His voice trailed off.
Maybe he cares more than I know. Maybe they both do. I just wish there was some way I could know for certain.
“I appreciate that. Can you appreciate that I was a single woman, alone, and I did what I’d been taught to do? Can you both just accept that and then let it go? After all, we were only acquaintances at the time.”
“We’re more than acquaintances now,” Jeremiah said.
Eli nodded, clearly not yet able to speak.
Jeremiah had made that statement as if he was challenging her to accept it. She wasn’t sure what they were, or what they would be. But she knew she could give them this.
“Yes. We’re more than acquaintances now.”
Eli exhaled, and then he showed Nancy he was really quite adept at handling her. He walked over, picked her up again, and carried her over to the sofa. He sat and settled her on his lap.
Eli cupped her chin with one hand. “I have a couple of things to say to you, Nancy Jessop. The first is that I really didn’t like hearing you put yourself down the way you did when I picked you up earlier. It just pisses me off.”
“I wasn’t putting myself down. I have two eyes and I look at myself in the mirror every day. I am not a skinny woman.”
“Thank God,” Jeremiah said. “You have curves, and we happen to like them.”
“We do indeed. So please refrain from that kind of negative self-talk.”
Nancy really hadn’t thought she was being negative. Since they both seemed to be saying they didn’t like that, she guessed she could comply with their request. “All right, I’ll do my best not to do that. What was the second thing?”
Eli’s expression turned serious. “You will never put yourself in danger like that again. Do you understand me?”
“All right, I won’t. Not on purpose. But if you expect me to run away like a coward when danger pushes itself in my face, then you don’t know me at all.”
Eli closed his eyes, and Nancy understood he was fighting for control.
Jeremiah sat next to them on the sofa. “Baby? If you don’t understand what the thought of you in that kind of situation does to us, then you don’t understand how much we already care about you.”
Contrary to what Jeremiah just said, Nancy did understand. Here was the same dynamic she’d seen at work all her life. It was the same sentiment she’d heard from Colt and Ryder, the last time she’d come home for a visit, as they described the way her cousin, Susan, had gone after a man who’d been shooting at her house.
It was the same principle at work when Adam and Jake had related how Ginny Rose had stormed up to a parked car and hauled her former tormentor out of it with her bare hands.
So Nancy understood plenty. She just didn’t know if she was ready to accept that level of caring from these two sexy lawyers. She certainly wasn’t sure if she believed that the two of them could feel that way about her.
At least, not yet.
Chapter 5
“Well?” Tobin Lewis was tired of dragging his feet. So far, he hadn’t heard any rumblings about a special investigation, or that his name was being tossed around by the US attorney’s office with regard to influence peddling.
But it wasn’t in his nature to simply sit back and wait for the shit to hit the fan. Besides, he didn’t like the fact that a woman had gotten the better of him. He’d felt the heat of that slug just miss him as it sailed past his head and lodged itself in the wall behind him.
He’d run like he’d never run before, because he’d had no doubt whatsoever that if the Jessop woman had fired at him a second time, she’d have nailed him.
It was a fucking miracle I wasn’t killed leaping over that railing.
He waited for the man sitting on the other side of the double bench in this small Georgetown twenty-four-hour coffee shop to answer him. Tobin sat with his legs crossed, appearing to read his newspaper and enjoy his coffee. He had no idea what the man behind him was doing. As they were each facing opposite directions, and talking very quietly, it should appear to anyone and everyone that they were two lone men who happened to be sitting near each other in the restaurant, and nothing more.
“I don’t have anything more to tell you,” the man behind him said. “I even went so far as to drop in on Cyrus. Told him I’d heard he’d had trouble with a woman on his staff, and that I’d come to offer my support in case the bitch tried to cry ‘sexual harassment.’ That’s what these damn women do, when you try to show them who’s the boss. They should all just stay the hell home and make babies and cookies, if you ask me.”
Tobin Lewis held on to his temper. Fucking moron. He wasn’t as tied in to the old boys club, aka the United States Senate, the way the man behind him was. No, the asshole sitting behind him was a member of that club himself, for all that he’d only recently been elected.
But even Lewis knew that was absolutely the wrong approach to take with Cyrus Cordell. Unable to hide his smirk, he said, “Really? You said that to Cordell? And how did that work out for you?”
“Ass-wipe choir boy Cordell thinks he’s better ’n the rest of us. He even had the nerve to call me a self-aggrandizing bastard. That’s twice now he’s lowered himself to name calling. I’m going to make it my personal mission over the next few months to ruin that bastard.”
“How many does that make, Senator? How many Washington luminaries from your own party are on your personal shit list? Must be damn near half of the sitting Senators and most of the House.” It really was an interesting achievement, considering the man had only been a Senator for two years.
“You’ll want to be careful, Mr. Lewis, or I might just put you on that list, too. I think we’re done here. I tried to do you a kindness and find out where your little whore has gone. I’ll leave it in your hands to solve your own problems.”
Tobin wondered how it was this man seemed to have so many people afraid of him. He was just a blowhard, and yes, a bully. But it wasn’t really very difficult to handle bullies. He hadn’t bothered to explain why he needed the favor. When word got out, after the fact, that someone had been making inquiries about Ms. Nancy Jessop, he hadn’t wanted any homicide investigators turning up his name.
And since he was a man of no public prominence, the man behind him would never admit to doing him a kindness, as he’d put it.
It was time, Tobin decided, to show this bully where the bear shit in the buckwheat.
“Oh, she’s not my whore, sir. I don’t think she’s anyone’s whore, particularly. In fact, I’ve never even met the woman.” At least, not in a social setting of any kind. “And she actually isn’t even my problem, she’s yours. She was taking pictures the last time we met on a park bench at the Mall. Do you recall the occasion? As near as I can tell, she snapped enough to document our entire transaction, from beginning to end.” Tobin smiled. He could practically feel the heat coming off the man behind him.
“Damn it to hell, Lewis. You’ve got to find that bitch! She could fucking ruin me!”
“I’ve been trying to, Senator. It’s a
shame your fishing expedition didn’t net you more than a nose out of joint and wounded pride. I could have used a lead at this point.”
The silence stretched out for a long minute. Finally, the Senator sighed. “There was one thing, but I didn’t know if it’s a reliable piece of information, or just a joke.”
Tobin held onto his patience with both hands. “Don’t worry about trying to figure that out. Just tell me whatever it was you learned. Please.”
“One of the bitches who works for another colleague—in fact, I believe she’s the one who moved into Jessop’s apartment—told me that she was pretty certain the Jessop woman went back to her hometown—a little pissant place in Texas. She said the name of the town was Lusty. I thought she was just taking a dig at her friend, the way these women do.”
It would be another four years before his constituents could vote this asshole out of office. Lewis considered working at cross purposes from his bosses—gathering enough damning evidence on the man and handing it—anonymously, of course—to the man’s opponent when the primary season opened.
It certainly was an option to think long and hard about. For now he only sighed. “Well, that’s something, anyway. It won’t take me long to determine if Lusty, Texas is a real place, or not.” And if it was, being a small town, it shouldn’t take him long to find out all he needed to know about Nancy Jessop. He’d really expected the woman to turn those pictures over to federal investigators by now. He usually handled those kinds of transactions in a slightly more private way. But the senator seemed to believe there were people watching his every move. He said he couldn’t risk being seen with Lewis. Maybe that was the truth, and maybe it was the truth with a shading to it.
“You keep me informed, Lewis,” the Senator said. “That woman has just been pushed to the top of my shit list.”
Tobin had to work at making his voice sound respectful. “Of course, Senator Davies. When I find her, you’ll be the first one to know.”
* * * *
Nancy looked from Eli to Jeremiah. “I don’t see how y’all can be pissed at me for something that happened when we weren’t even on friendly terms.”
“Then I guess you’ll just have to figure it out,” Eli said. “But I meant what I said. Don’t do that again. We’re here now, and it’s our job to protect you.”
“What are you planning to do, talk legalese to any future assailants until they turn their weapons on themselves?”
Jeremiah laughed. He sat back on the sofa. “You’re a smart-ass. I like that.”
“So do I,” Eli said. He shifted her on his lap, and Nancy couldn’t prevent the moan of pleasure. The way he’d moved her had pressed his erection against her hip. She was already aroused and that just made her arousal…more.
“I guess talk of spanking got you hot.”
They’d talked about more than spanking. Did he know, or was that a lucky guess? “I had no idea you were a mind reader. One has to wonder why you haven’t won the lottery yet, with skills like that.”
“Let’s see, then.”
Nancy gasped. Eli lifted her, and Jeremiah pulled her slacks down. He made quick work of slipping her sneakers off her feet too, and then she was left with only her blouse, her bra and her barely-there thong panties.
She’d worn them to try to eliminate the telltale lines beneath her slacks. Now she wished she’d worn something a little….more.
It didn’t matter that they were going to see her naked shortly. This, somehow, felt different. It felt almost uncomfortably intimate.
Jeremiah tilted his head, presumably so he could get a look at her ass. He inhaled sharply. “Mmm, baby, you’re so damn wet I can see your nectar glistening against your pretty little slit.”
The look of heat in Eli’s eyes made her heart thud heavily in her chest. She hadn’t meant to push him—well, not much. She’d only intended to have a little fun with him. The wanting on him and on Jeremiah felt so honest, she returned it full measure.
“I am wet and yes, talk of spankings seems to have that effect on me.”
He laid her across his lap, his movements infinitely gentle. He eased her panties down just a little, probably so he could see her entire bottom, and she felt her face get nearly as warm as her ass would be if he had actually spanked her.
“I’m looking at this beautiful ass, imagining what it’s going to look like after I lay my hand across it a few times. And I can smell your heat. Sweetheart, I’m so damn hard right now. I want you.”
It was difficult to maintain an air of dignity when one was half-naked and sprawled across a man’s lap. But she really loved that tone in Eli’s voice, so she gave it her best shot. “When we’ve gotten to know each other better, I’ll probably be fine with the concept of your need to exert control by spanking me. But I’m going to warn you right now. I mark very easily, but that doesn’t mean I’m hurt. I understand that you’ll need to spank me for you, and I really will likely be okay with that. And I understand why you felt the urge to lay me over your lap and do just that a few minutes ago. I told you something that made you feel out of control, and this would have been one way for you to get some of that control back.” Nancy had no doubt that she’d extend that intimacy to these two men—and likely a lot sooner than she thought now. She really did want to experience this—whatever the hell it was growing between them. All she could do was hope that they didn’t play her false the way Tony had.
“You understand that, do you?” Eli lifted her and set her gently on his lap. She moved so that she straddled him.
“Hell, yes. The men in this town outnumber the women. And they are, every last one of them, macho as the day is long.” Then she leaned forward and gave him a small, chaste kiss. She lowered her voice to a whisper and said, “This seems to be a common male reaction when the female ‘woman’s up.’ And you should probably know, I might even consider doing something just so you’ll spank me.”
She held Eli’s gaze until she saw that he believed her.
His expression turned a little mischievous, and he looked over at Jeremiah. “What’s wrong with this picture?” he asked.
Jeremiah didn’t miss a beat. “Our Nancy has too many clothes on.”
“I have too many clothes on? I’m half-naked while the two of you are fully dressed!”
“See, you agree. You’re only half-naked. That makes it unanimous.” Eli set himself to unfastening the buttons of her blouse. The moment he had the last one undone, Jeremiah got to his feet and peeled the garment off her. All she had left was her bra and a tiny scrap of satin barely covering her slit.
“Oh, good! She has one of those easy-to-access front closures on her bra.” And with that, Eli very quickly opened that closure. Jeremiah removed the bra from her body, too.
Nancy moaned when her breasts fell into Eli’s waiting hands. Her eyes, half-lidded, focused on his expression. “Oh, look at these beauties.” The look of awe on Eli’s face was undeniable.
Using his thumbs to caress her nipples, he began to drive her insane. She’d never received so much pleasure from having her breasts handled. Eli dropped his left hand from her, but before she could complain about that, Jeremiah’s took his place.
They cupped and caressed, arousing her. Nancy let her head fall back against Jeremiah’s stomach and gave herself over to enjoying the sensations.
Finally she’d found two men who knew how to handle a woman’s breasts. They weren’t rubber balls to be squeezed to exercise male hands. They were delicate, life-giving girl parts, and oh, yes, the sensation of Eli’s and Jeremiah’s hands on her breasts felt wonderful.
Nancy jolted when Eli reached down and brushed his fingers against her cotton-covered pussy.
“Sweetheart, you’re damp.”
“Gosh, I wonder how that happened?” It took some effort to sound surprised.
Eli’s grin said it all, but then Jeremiah bested him. “Maybe she’s having an allergic reaction to those panties,” Jeremiah said. “We should probably take them
off her. Just to be safe.”
“Good thinking,” Eli said.
Nancy giggled and then squeaked when this time Jeremiah lifted her. Eli wasted no time whipping the tiny scrap of satin from her body.
“I’m not sure this is going to be safer.” Nancy couldn’t prevent the breathlessness. She was naked with two men who clearly knew what they were about. Tiny quivers of lust ran through her, wrapped in threads of excitement.
Now that she’d stopped pushing Eli and Jeremiah away, and pushing away the way they made her feel, she knew the truth. She was more than just a little attracted to these two men. Nancy put a stop to her train of thought. She was attracted, as they were, and they were about to act on that attraction. That was all that was going on here. Wishing for anything more would just be asking for trouble. She had the emotional scars as proof of that.
“Do you want to be safe, Nancy?” Eli’s voice had gone deep, and the sexy tone not only pulled her out of her own spiraling thoughts, it got her hotter.
He followed up his question with a gentle up and down stroking of her slit. She could feel her pussy’s reactive moisture coating his fingers.
She deliberately took his question a different way. “I am safe,” she said. She could give them this much. She could let them know that she trusted them not to hurt her—at least not physically. “With the two of you, I know I’m safe.”
“Yes, you are.” Jeremiah bent over her at the same time he lifted her face. His mouth covered hers, and she drank him in.
Wet and wonderful, the slide of his lips seduced her, the glide of his tongue teased her, and his flavor—oh, his flavor just melted her and made her yearn for more.
Nancy reached up and laid her hand on his cheek. She loved the slight bristle under her fingers, and the way the hot aroma of him—pure man—enveloped her.
Love Under Two Undercover Cops [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
