Knockout: Tapped Out Book 4

by Quinn, Cari

  “Easy there, tiger.” JC’s shoulders tensed and I realized he was prepared to knock some sense into me if I went too far. And more of my reservations in his direction dwindled away.

  If he was willing to fight and defend my Lily—even against me—I couldn’t hate the guy. I couldn’t even want him to disappear. Because when it came to keeping her safe, I’d take all the help I could get.

  When it came to her being fulfilled, I’d take that help too.

  “You’re not a virgin.”

  She shook her head. “No. I haven’t been in years.” She tilted her head, her color deepening. “Are you a virgin, Em? If not, then I don’t think you have room to get all up in my business.”

  JC started to laugh, and I shook my head, fighting the urge to smile. She was right. I’d been so hell-bent on keeping her chaste, and here I’d missed some dude swooping in under my nose.

  Maybe more than one dude had swooped.

  Not thinking about it.

  “Got a good point there, babe.” JC kissed her shoulder blade. “Let me just get it out there now—I’m not a virgin either.”

  Yeah, that cracked me up. I couldn’t help it.

  Lily stared up at me, her features softening, making her look even more beautiful than she had before. “I like when you laugh.”

  I sobered, but not like before. She was right. I’d been glowering and glaring and being a general asshole too much lately, and obviously, she’d noticed. I’d been trying so hard not to loosen my hold on my needs, and now they were spilling out everywhere.

  Saying nothing, I brushed my fingers over her cheek. She opened her lips again without me asking, and I nudged back inside her warm wet mouth, unwilling to deny either of us this.

  I’d been denying too much for too long.

  “That’s it, sweetheart. Right back where you left off.” JC’s hand disappeared between her thighs again as he smoothed kisses up her back. “And me too. I wanna fuck you, babe.”

  One of us jolted. Her gaze flicked up to mine and her cheeks hollowed, as if she was asking permission with her shallow sucks. My balls filled, the pressure already becoming uncomfortable again.

  I wanted to watch them fuck, and Jesus, how could I do that? How could I have fallen that far that fast?

  JC’s hand moved faster and though I couldn’t see what he was doing, her whimper traveled along my cock and made me fist my hand in her hair again. This time, I guided her up and down, fighting with every stroke not to push her for more than she could take. Slow. She needed slow.

  “You want that?” I asked, rubbing my thumb along her damp chin. I was dripping into her mouth. “Him inside you?”

  She nodded around my length, but the question remained in her eyes. If I didn’t want her to, she wouldn’t. Damn, even that knowledge made me swell between her lips.

  I glanced at JC. “Condoms?”

  He nodded and rose, picking up his discarded jeans. He flipped out his wallet and took out two, though I shook my head. I wouldn’t be taking a turn after him. Not like that. Not tonight.

  Not with Lily.

  He suited up and settled between her legs, shifting them apart so he could brush his latex-covered cock against her flesh. I was the only one still mostly dressed, and my skin felt itchy and so hot beneath my clothes. I wanted to be naked too, to be the one sliding against her pussy, to be the one causing her eyes to roll back. I edged forward and she made a strangled noise, sucking harder, her small hand curling around mine on my dick with surprising strength. She worked with tools to build her miniatures day in and day out, and she was stronger than she looked. The compression of her fingers had me breaking off an oath, timed just as JC pulsed his hips, drawing back then driving forward and pushing her face into my groin.

  Lily cried out and JC muttered something incoherent against her hair. He gripped her waist and drew back again, sliding forward slower and deeper this time, forcing her to take more of my dick whether she wanted it or not. From the avarice in her half-mast green eyes as she pulled on my shaft, she did.

  Oh, she fucking did.

  Jesus, the sounds we were making. Hungry, animal sounds. And she was wet, so wet that it didn’t take long for me to be able to hear every time he entered her. The music was still playing on low, all slashing guitars and wild drums, but I was tuned to her moans and the music of her body. Even to his. He was panting now, his movements jerky, sweat glistening on his arms and torso. When he yanked back, I saw his condom-sheathed dick was glistening too. From her. From what they were making together.

  Fuck, I couldn’t hold on anymore.

  I cupped the base of her head, stopping her mid-bob. She’d set up an incredible rhythm, soon losing her initial awkwardness. She still wasn’t taking much of me beyond those few accidents caused by JC, but man, she’d teased the sensitive tip until I was on the verge of coming. I’d never been worked over so thoroughly.

  “Babe, stop.”

  I was going to jerk off in my fist as I watched them fuck. Like a perv. Like a kid on the sidelines who desperately wanted to play but didn’t know if I’d still be the same afterward.

  I would never be the same after being in her mouth, never mind inside her.

  She didn’t appear to hear me. Instead, she moved faster and tried to take more of me, wetting me even further. I groaned and futilely tried to pull on her hair. She just wasn’t getting the message. She only moaned and sucked harder.

  Christ, did she want me to come in her mouth?

  “Don’t stop.” My head came up and JC’s eyes glittered while he pounded into the girl I loved. Her back arched, her butt rising as he hammered into her, not holding back anything. “She wants you to.”

  She nodded, confirming his words. And fuck, I couldn’t have pulled back then if I tried. Her cheek bulged with the head of my dick as she tried every trick to get me off.

  She didn’t need them.

  I tugged on her hair again, yanking her back as my balls clenched. Her lips clamped down on me, sealing me in her heat, and then I was coming, my dick jerking helplessly into her mouth, strings of my release escaping onto her waiting breasts. She couldn’t swallow enough. I was flooding her lips and chin.

  Goddamn, the sight of her tits heaving, painted white with me—

  “Jesus, I’m fucking coming.” JC’s broad hand slid up her spine and he gripped the back of her neck, holding her in place on my still quaking dick while he plunged again and again.

  The instant he stilled, Lily moaned around my shaft, triggering more of my spasms. His long groan as he drained himself while inside her snug pussy had my pelvis pumping again, forcing her to take those last few drops that just kept on flowing.

  Caught between us, she whimpered and bucked, her escalating cries proving that we weren’t reaching orgasm alone. She was right there too, her nails scraping the base of my length as she held onto it and poured every bit of her aggression into sucking my now spent cock.

  But frigging hell, seeing her mouth used from me and wet with my release had my sac pulling up all over again. And feeling the back of her throat open up and her start to gag a little as she went over the edge, her blind eyes meeting mine, had me letting out a shout even more intense than the one I’d let loose when I’d climaxed.

  “Goddamn.” JC slumped over her back. “Goddamn.”

  Lily collapsed between us, her eyes sliding closed, and gently, I eased free of her mouth. She said something like “uh uh”, but I didn’t let her stop me.

  JC lifted his head. “Fuck, man, you’re getting hard again?”

  There was no missing the wonder in his voice—or the gleam in his eyes.

  I turned away and tucked my semi-stiff dick back in my boxers. I’d be pounding that one out alone, probably to the memories of tonight.

  Hell, who was I kidding? There was no probably. I’d be jerking off to this for the rest of my days.

  I jerked up the zipper and flipped the button, then walked into the kitchen and braced my palms on the sin
k. My hands were shaking. Not visibly, but the tremor was there nonetheless.

  What had we just done? What had I just done?

  Worse, I’d liked it. I’d never come so hard before than when Lily had been blowing me, and I’d watched her come undone around JC’s thrusting cock.

  And JC…freaking hot-as-hell JC with his monster dick and cocky smiles. He was going to kill me. Just lay me out dead if I didn’t get a taste of him.

  What would she think if she knew I wanted him too?

  I couldn’t handle all the questions right now, because I sure as hell couldn’t stomach the answers. So I grabbed a couple of paper towels and wet them with warm water from the sink before walking back into the living room.

  They hadn’t moved. Lily was still kind of draped over the wide arm of the sofa and JC had collapsed on top of her. As I neared them, I heard their murmured voices and laughter. JC’s fingers were strumming up and down her outer thigh, casually soothing.

  They might’ve had sex, but it wasn’t purely fucking. They were tight, a unit in a way I’d never be with them. I had my own sort of unit with Lily. It just wasn’t the same as what they shared.

  I wanted in, so bad. I’d never wanted anything more than to be tangled up with them on that couch, feeling their skin cooling against mine. Their heartbeats falling into the same beat.

  After all those years on the outside—just beyond the boundaries of Lily’s family, and practically an orphan, for all intents and purposes on my own—I’d never yearned as much as I did at that moment.

  “Hey.” I crouched at her side and she shifted, sending JC tumbling backward into the cushions with a colorful litany of curses.

  She blinked at the sight of the paper towels. Her gaze dropped to her breasts and the sticky remnants of what I’d done. Rather than seeming disgusted, she gave me a sexy little smile and dragged her index finger through a drop near her nipple.

  My cock twitched as she licked it off, but I didn’t smile back. I was on lockdown again, every errant emotion in her direction caged up until I figured out what to do about them.

  If I ever did.

  My non-reaction didn’t go unnoticed. Her smile faltered and a wrinkle formed between her brows. I didn’t want to see worry take over her face, so I made myself aim my attention at her breasts. I cleaned them up quickly, not allowing the reality of what I was doing to pierce my brain. If I had, my semi would’ve turned into a raging erection in no time at all, just from looking and touching Lily’s beautiful tits with the damp towel between us. The thin paper wasn’t enough to keep me from feeling her soft curves and hard nipples.

  And there was no missing the change in her expression. The way her lips parted and a little gasp escaped as I brushed the towel over her nipple. As I dragged it upward to clean off the pulse visibly throbbing under her skin.

  She wanted me, still. Even after everything. I couldn’t process it. I wasn’t supposed to be her lover. Our roles had been cast years ago. I’d never deviated, not once.

  Until tonight.

  I stood and went back into the kitchen to dump out the towels. I waited a few minutes, and eventually, I heard the sounds of them moving around. Getting dressed.

  God, I hoped they were getting dressed.

  Keys in hand, I returned to the living room, unsurprised to walk in on them kissing. She was leaning up on her tiptoes and his hands were on her ass, holding her against him while he laughed into her mouth. Without breaking the kiss, he tilted his head toward me.

  I looked away.

  She moved back and turned her smile on me, dazzling me for that moment before she registered my lack of smile in return. Then she took a long, shuddering breath.

  “Time to go?” Her voice was soft, tremulous.

  “Yeah.” I cleared my throat and passed my keys from hand to hand. “It’s late.”

  I didn’t have to finish the statement. Your dad will be worried.

  Clearly, he was right to be. His mistake had been in ever trusting me. I’d thought I loved her enough to make sure I didn’t do anything that could harm her. Temporary pleasure didn’t make me the right man for her. But I’d not only not stopped it, I’d participated. Willingly.

  I could still feel her satiny lips wrapped around my dick, for fuck’s sake.

  “I don’t want this to be the end.” She looked from JC to me and back again. “I can’t imagine just doing…this once and going back to the way things were.”

  “Me either.” JC moved behind her and clasped her shoulders as he brushed a kiss over her head. “I’m not nearly done with the two of you yet.”

  Closing my eyes felt like a kind of defeat. I couldn’t face them both and my own longing and remain unaffected. Even Lance’s voice in my head couldn’t force me out of that room.

  She’s all I have in this world. Since she lost her mother, I’ve had to be her everything. But now I know you’ll protect her too. I know you’ll never let her down.

  I couldn’t breathe around the boulder sitting on my windpipe, and I definitely couldn’t tell them that I wanted more too. Needed it.

  So I just opened my eyes and nodded.

  Six

  Another Saturday night, and I was waiting for Emerson to pick me up again. Except everything had changed.

  Especially me.

  I sat next to my dad on the couch, worrying the strap of my purse between my fingers as we watched another fight on TV. I hadn’t wanted to arouse his suspicions by dressing provocatively, so I’d worn tight jeans and a thin sweater. Underneath my clothes was where I’d gone wild.

  Well, wilder.

  I didn’t have a huge collection of lingerie, but I did have a few nice pieces. Tonight’s pair was a thong and a demi cup bra that pushed up the girls nice and high. Too high, because I kept pulling up the V-neck of my sweater in case my dad noticed I was wearing clingier clothes than usual.

  Guilty? Me? No. Okay, maybe a little. What I’d done last Saturday night was the craziest thing I’d ever done. And I was going to do it again. I hoped.

  Oh, how I hoped.

  This past week with the guys had been surprisingly normal. Emerson had been scarcer than usual, though he’d offered to give me rides when he saw me at work and always seemed to be his usual solicitous self. He’d just been quiet. JC, on the other hand, hadn’t shut up. He’d invited us both out for lunch a couple of times, breaking from work on the gym with his crew, and he’d filled in all the gaps in the conversation with his insane stories. Even Emerson had laughed a few times.

  None of us had brought up the threesome. Neither of them had tried to kiss me or feel me up or any of the things I might’ve assumed went on after being totally naked and wanton with two super-hot guys. Then again, what did I know?

  I intended to take the initiative tonight if they didn’t. JC had suggested we come over and watch a movie and hang out, which I hoped was a euphemism for “screw like bunnies”. If it wasn’t, I was through being a shrinking Lily. Assuming I didn’t chicken out.

  “Where are you and Emerson off to tonight?”

  Dad’s deep rumble as he popped the top on his beer startled me. “Um, our friend JC’s house. He’s the one Emerson and I went to see last weekend.”

  “You’re seeing an awful lot of that young man.”

  Do not blush. Oh, if he only knew. “Sure am,” I said cheerfully as the door buzzer went off. “That must be him.”

  In truth, I doubted it. He usually texted me when he arrived, especially if he was hoping to avoid talking to my father. In the old days, he’d always made sure to stop by to talk to him, but lately, he’d been more distant for some reason. And call me crazy, but I doubted he’d be hurrying upstairs for a chat tonight.

  “You tell him to come on up here. I haven’t seen him in far too long.”

  I nodded and didn’t reply as I hurried across the room. Oh, he’d just love that.

  Hitting the intercom, I leaned close to whisper into the speaker. “Em, is that you?”

  �
�Em? Who’s Em?” The female voice that replied definitely didn’t belong to my best friend. “Oh, you must mean Emerson. Hello, hottie. Lucky you, getting to spend all your free time with him.”

  I frowned. The voice was disturbingly perky and familiar. “Jenna?”

  “One and the same. I’ve brought reinforcements. Car, say hi.”

  “Hello, sexy. Hope it’s okay we showed up without calling. I had a rare night free from nursery rearranging and we wanted to get freaky.” Carly’s sigh gusted into the speaker. “Or you know, eat shrimp by the pound at Red Lobster.”

  I had to laugh. Jenna Walsh was the other part-time receptionist at The Cage, and we’d gotten to be friends during the last few months. Carly Anderson Costas was her best friend, and the wife of Giovanni, the most bad-ass fighter who trained at the gym. Carly was slightly younger than I was and married and pregnant with her first kid, which blew my mind. I had enough trouble trying to remember to maintain my ancient Honda, forget taking care of another human being. Carly seemed pretty chill about the whole thing, though.

  I liked both of them a lot and really appreciated them inviting me into their circle, since I’d never had many female friends. Somehow I’d just always gravitated to guys, but Jen and Car were a ton of fun. Any other Saturday night, I’d be thrilled to get an invite to hang out with them.

  Just not when I was hoping to get banged into next Sunday.

  “Aw, dammit, I’m so sorry, but I’m waiting for Emerson to pick me up to visit another of our friends. He just got a new apartment. You know, housewarming type deal.”

  How many times could I use that excuse? Until I got caught, probably.

  “Dang.” Jenna again. “Oh, well, we knew it was a long shot. What about next Friday night? We’re doing a double-date type thing, visiting a club in the city, Purgatory, while Car can still shake her groove thang,” Jenna teased. “You have someone you can bring?”

  I bit my lip. I had two someones. Did that count? “Sure. I’ll find a date,” I said, wondering if I was just setting myself up to be a third wheel.

  Emerson had a fight Friday night, as he often did, but maybe afterward, he’d be up for swinging by the club. JC too. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? I was officially done with the chickenshit stuff, so I wasn’t going to just assume the worst.