She sighed when Royce cupped the back of her head to hold her steady. Glancing up from under her eyelashes, she watched the abandon on his face—eyes closed, lips parted, sharp gasps and deep moans underwriting his breaths. This man, her man, who’d done so much over the years to enhance their pleasure. How could she have gotten so lucky?
Jill closed her eyes and sucked harder, pressing her tongue against the throbbing vein under his penis. She longed for a free hand to milk his balls, but couldn’t afford to lose her balance by releasing her hold on Well Hung’s chest. Rasped over his cock, her clit now raced to come with the men royally fucking her. She sucked harder still, wanting Royce to come with them. Someone had to break soon, yet she knew they’d all struggle to hold on as long as they could for one another.
Royce’s cock twitched. She felt a rush of warmth to his groin. He fucked her mouth, fingers flexing in her hair as he fought against instinct to plunge deep. So Jill gave him what he didn’t want to take—she deep throated him. Royce groaned. Her body answered, coming with him and taking the other two men along for the ride.
They separated in the aftermath while her head still buzzed from orgasm. Ken and Jerry eased her into Royce’s arms, but moved no farther. The four of them lay piled into the pillows, deep breaths the only sounds…until the phone’s shrill ring shattered the mood.
Chapter Three
“What the fuck?” Royce snapped upright. “I thought for sure I unplugged that.”
Adonis pushed to his elbows. “One of the staff might’ve thought they’d unplugged it by accident and fixed it. Let it ring.”
Jill scrambled for her flimsy wrapper. “One of the kids could be sick or hurt.”
Royce was on his feet in an instant, reaching for his pajama bottoms. “Shit.” Another ring and he threw them aside. “It’s the bedroom phone. I forgot to unplug it.” He ran toward the bedroom as he said the words, Jill on his heels. God help the person if he or she was a telemarketer.
It might be Casey Sullivan. Then what would she do? Stand firm. If the woman doesn’t understand, then she’s not someone you want to work for. It was the right stand to take, but boy, did it hurt her heart.
Royce caught the phone on the fourth ring. In that moment Jill knew something had happened to one of their children. She saw it in Royce’s expression, a mix of fear and anger. She clutched the wrapper between her breasts, feeling her heartbeat hammer into her fist.
“It’s one of the kids, isn’t it?” Ken asked from the door.
Jill nodded, even though Royce hadn’t officially confirmed it. How could so much have happened in so little time? She wished Royce would say something, deny her assumption. But he sat there listening to whoever called, despair sagging his face.
“We’re on our way.” He slammed the receiver in the cradle without looking, wrapping his free hand around Jill’s shoulder. His thumb rubbed the curve, a prelude to what was coming, but she never knew if it was more to calm himself than her.
“David decided to ride a neighbor kid’s bike without a helmet.”
She gasped and pressed her fingers against her mouth. Their son had been lusting after a bigger bike for months. They wanted him more skilled riding the one he had first.
“He fell and busted his head open on someone’s brick edging. Mom’s taking him to the emergency room. Davy’s bleeding badly. I could hear him and Penny crying in the background.”
Jill grabbed his biceps. “Penny’s hurt too?”
He shook his head. “No, just scared. Dad had a theater board meeting tonight, and Mom’s got both kids with her. Come on, let’s go.”
Royce didn’t have to say the words twice. Jill dashed for the closet.
“I’m coming too.” Ken held up a hand to stop any protests. “You two have been drinking. Plus, that’s my patient we’re talking about.”
“Good enough.” Royce yanked up his boxer briefs while Jill hauled on a pair of jeans. She watched his gaze wander to the present on the bed. His eyes widened in horror. “Oh hell, the house!”
“Don’t worry. Jerry will mobilize the crew and have it back to normal in no time. I won’t be long.” Ken hurried away, yelling instructions to the elves in the background.
“Who are these mysterious people?” Jill knew it was fear that made her ask the question after all this time. She was scared to death about David and seized on anything to shove the devastating scenarios running through her head to the background.
Royce tugged on a yellow polo shirt. He was down to shoes, socks and his pocket junk. “They’re people just like us, sweetheart. Everyone works together to help set up scenes. Ken and Jerry have been a part of the community for some time. I’ll be returning the favor soon by helping set up for others. It’s the least I can do after all they’ve done for us today. Don’t worry. I intend to stay in the background. I’m not interested in physical participation.” He was beside her now, cupping her neck in his sweaty palm. “You’re the only one I play with and I prefer to keep it that way.”
He kissed her, then hugged her tight. His arms shook. His whole body shook. Jill knew then how very frightened he was.
She slipped her arms around him. “He’s going to be all right. You know how much head wounds bleed.” Jill wondered how she knew that. “Davy was conscious, screaming his lungs out, and your mom was driving him rather than having called an ambulance.” How could she be so calm and rational when she was screaming inside?
“Van’s in the driveway and running.” Ken delivered the sentence and left.
Royce broke away from her. “We’re coming.” He shot Jill a glance. “You ready?”
She stabbed her feet into sandals. “Go. I’m right behind you.” She frantically searched for her purse while she buttoned her blouse, only to remember it was still in her car. She grabbed a hairbrush, pulling it through her hair as she ran to the garage.
Three men and two women swarmed her living room. Already half the satin was packed away. No one acknowledged her, much less spared her a look. It was as if she were invisible.
Jerry cut her off halfway to her goal. Her purse dangled from his fingers. Jill grabbed it with a muttered thanks and darted for the front door. There she paused and turned to the workers. “And I thank all of you too.”
They glanced up, smiling, giving nods. That was all any of them, or Jill, had time for. They’d meet again in the future. Maybe she could volunteer her services as background elf for them. Everyone needed a little magic in their lives, like the magic Royce had created for them.
No one said anything on the ride to the hospital. Jill sat in the second-row bench seat watching Royce bounce his leg—fear and helplessness at not being able to do something. He stared out the window, scrubbing his hand over his chin, running his fingers through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck. Jill fed off his nervous energy. With every block, the knot in her stomach grew. Those scenarios she’d tried to shove aside returned with a vengeance. Concussion and coma ran circles through her brain while the specter of death laughed from the sidelines.
They reached the hospital in record time. Ken whipped into the first parking space he saw. He tossed the keys to Royce and was out the door. Jill and Royce had to run to catch up to his long-legged stride.
She spied her mother-in-law’s car, saw the bloodied handprint emblazoned on the pearl-white side and the trail of droplets leading into the ER. It didn’t prepare her for the impact of seeing Sally covered in David’s blood, coming out of the restroom with their three-year-old daughter. Penny saw her parents first and launched herself into Jill’s arms.
“He’s in there.” Sally jerked her arm toward the double doors, but Ken was already through them, Royce hot on his heels. “Penny had to potty. I—”
“It’s okay. Stay with Grandma.” Jill gently pushed Penny into Sally’s arms. “I need to check on Davy.”
Penny clutched at her hand. “He’s bleeding all over the place, Mommy.”
Her chin quivered. Fat tears trickled down
her cheeks. Jill wondered what Penny would do when she realized her favorite Dora t-shirt was ruined. There was no way they’d get all that blood out of it.
“But I helped,” she added. “I held the towel to his head.”
“That’s our girl. You’ll make a fine doctor one day.” It was Penny’s dream of the moment. The month before she’d wanted to be a chef. Jill brushed her fingers through her daughter’s soft brown hair, then kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be right back.”
Shoring up calm she didn’t feel, Jill walked toward the double doors. A nurse greeted her on the other side. “You must be David’s mom. Number six.” She pointed to the closed curtains near the end.
“Thank you.” Jill’s lips trembled with her polite smile. “For the record, he does have a helmet and has been told—”
“I have three boys,” the nurse replied. “I know.”
That worry eased. She’d had visions of Child Protective Services camped out on their doorstep. Her rubber-soled sandals let Jill approach the exam curtain undetected. She was glad of that when she heard, “You shoulda seen me, Dad. Jeff’s bike was huge, and I just jumped on and started ridin’.”
“Without a helmet?” Royce used his I’m disappointed in you voice. “Mom and I have told you a hundred times that you must wear a helmet. It’s one of the reasons you don’t have a bigger bike. You don’t listen.”
“I know, Dad, but the other kids—”
“Are going to have upset parents too when they hear what happened to you.” Jill could see Royce’s sigh, the shake of his head. “You’re lucky you only have to have stitches. You could’ve been killed.”
Silence. David would be hanging his head, maybe crying.
“You scared Mom and me half to death. Not to mention Dr. Ken here.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t split your skull wide open,” Ken told him. “The ER doc’s ordered an X-ray to double-check.”
“Will it hurt?” David asked.
“No. But I’m not going to lie, the shot he’s got to give you in order to stitch you up will definitely hurt.”
“I don’t want him. I want you.”
It was time to intervene. Jill slid the curtain open and stepped through. Big brown eyes stared at her. “Rules are rules, sweetheart,” she said. “We all have to follow them whether they make sense or not. Dr. Ken is here because he was as worried as we were, but he still has to let the ER doctor do his job.”
Tears flooded his eyes. Lower lip quivered. Still her little boy, no matter how grown up he might have felt riding free on that bike. “I’m sorry. I just… I’m sorry.” He smeared fallen tears away. Jill’s heart skittered at his bloodstained hands. She scanned his brown hair for sign of the injury, finding it in the matted, darkened strands at the side.
He needs a haircut. A stupid observation at a time like this. “So stitches and an X-ray?” she asked.
“Yes,” Ken replied. “I estimate three stitches ought to do it.”
“Am I gonna have a scar?” David asked.
“Yes, but your hair should hide it,” Ken said.
David’s shoulders slumped.
Scars…has to be a guy thing.
“Can I go home after this?” He cast his parents a woeful look. “I don’t want to spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. I want to go home. I promise me and Penny’ll be real quiet and stay out of the way of your versary stuff.”
Royce wrapped his arms around the boy before Jill could reach him. “You bet you’re coming home. And the two of you are never in the way. You are the most important things in our lives. Never forget that.”
David frowned. “Then why did we have to go in the first place?”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Resignation weighed Royce’s words. He looked beaten, haunted, exhausted.
“Well, it wasn’t,” David replied petulantly.
Jill thought she saw Royce wince. How in the world had David managed to turn his mistake back on them? Truly, they were dealing with a master manipulator and he was doing a damn fine job of pushing every single one of Royce’s guilt buttons.
“I’m sure the doctor will appreciate some room to work when he gets back.” She edged her way past Ken to stand at David’s bedside. “Why don’t you go sit with Penny? She’d probably feel better if she could see you,” she told Royce.
David clamped his bloodied hand over Royce’s forearm. “No, I want Dad to stay. I’m a big boy now, Mom. I can take it.”
Jill supposed that if he couldn’t it would be a good lesson to remember for the future. Still, she glanced at Royce for confirmation. He looked as if he’d been dragged through a keyhole in the last half-hour. Royce gave her a single nod. Jill brushed the hair away from David’s forehead and gave him a kiss, and didn’t care how much it might embarrass him “in front of the guys”. It said a lot that David didn’t complain or try to wipe it off. He could pretend to be all macho, but he was still her little boy deep down inside.
She scooted around the bed to give Royce a little moral support—a kiss, a squeeze to the arm, then let her fingers trail away in a caress. Once she closed the curtain behind her, Jill heard David say, “If I keep my hair real short, maybe then everyone can see my scar.”
She shook her head. Definitely a guy thing.
As before, Penny threw herself into Jill’s arms the minute she cleared the double doors. Holding her tight, Jill sat beside Sally.
“I’m so sorry, Jill,” she said. “They’ve played before. I never—”
“David knows the rules. He won’t be riding any bike again until he can prove to us he can obey them.”
“I want to go home, Mommy.” Penny burrowed into Jill’s chest.
“We will as soon as we’re done here.”
She expected Sally to argue and was surprised when she said, “I’ll run back to the house to get their things. It’ll save you a trip and get you home quicker.”
“Thanks.” Jill had a feeling it’d be a long time before Sally took the kids for another overnighter.
Chapter Four
Another typical night in the Osbourne house.
They’d returned to a house devoid of any signs of the sexual fantasy romp that had occurred hours before. Their toys were tucked away in a box on the top shelf of their closet. The dinner Royce had planned for their Arabian fantasy waited in the refrigerator to be nuked. The kids loved the finger food—chicken and vegetable kabobs, couscous balls, dates for dessert. It made a fun end to what had been very tense hours.
With David and Penny tucked away and sound asleep in their beds, Jill searched for some way to wipe that morose look off Royce’s face. He’d put on a good front for the kids, but Jill could still see it lurking under the façade. Hell, she could feel it. She didn’t have to see it.
Royce was kicked back in his recliner, remote clutched in one hand while he stared at the blank TV. It was time to put a smile back on his face.
“Hey.”
He looked up when she nudged his foot.
“The night can still end on a high note.” She crawled astride his lap until her crotch was over his. “Granted, I’m not as inventive as you, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
Royce set the remote on the end table and placed his hands on her hips. So far there was no interest below. Granted, they’d had a lot of sex earlier.
Jill brushed the backs of her fingers over his cheek. “I’m sorry our night didn’t turn out the way you’d planned. I know how disappointed—”
“No, honey.” He pressed her hand against his cheek, then kissed her palm. “It’s not that.” He sighed, closed his eyes while he shook his head, then opened them once more. They glistened with unshed tears. Jill knew what he was feeling before he said the words.
“What kind of parent am I?” He squeezed her hand. “To unplug the phones just so I could fuck my wife? What if something really bad had happened? All I can think about is—”
“Shh.” Jill butted her forehead to his
. “You’re a great dad, a superb husband. I’m the luckiest woman in the world. All you did today—”
“Could have been a tragic mistake.”
She understood his point, but… “It wasn’t. By some instinct, you left one phone plugged in and you didn’t waste any time answering it.” Jill laid her head on his shoulder, watching Royce process this information.
“The kids are getting older,” she said. “We’ll have more time to play the way we did before they came along. I’ve been thinking along those lines myself. Between the two of us, I’m sure we can be inventive. I’d bet our partners in lust could be convinced to stop by for a late-night visit. Think of all the quiet foreplay we can have during the day, knowing what the night will bring.” A look, a touch, a secret smile could all say I’m going to fuck you tonight.
Her words seemed to pierce through Royce’s despair. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if he were afraid to let go. Time for the coup de grace.
“I’ve even done a little research on how to deliver and receive a soundless spanking.”
That roused his penis. Jill smiled. “And I found the perfect tool.”
And he was fully erect.
“I see I now have your full attention.” She pushed upright. “I might even let you practice a little later. First, it’s time you opened the present I bought you. Care to call it a night?” She swirled her fingers down his chest, his hard cock, his thighs until she stood before him, hand extended. “Coming?”
“Not yet.” He pushed the footrest down and grasped her hand as he stood. “But it sounds like I might be soon.”
“Not too soon, I hope.” Jill molded herself against him and flashed her tongue over the point of his chin. “Turn out the lights. I’ll be waiting.”
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