Glutton for Pleasure (9 page)

Jace laughed but avoided her gaze, strengthening her suspicion from their earlier conversation that he was hiding something from her. “So, what are we going to do today?”

“Two choices,” Marcus added.

Her thighs tensed in readiness but the soreness between her legs made itself known. Jace patted her hand. “We don’t have to have sex—”

“Speak for yourself.” Marcus raised the paper to hide his face.

“We’ll be doing enough of that in the coming weeks,” Jace said between gritted teeth. Devi wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or his brother. “What would you do if we weren’t here?”

“Um, I actually needed to go to the mall—” A heartfelt groan came from behind the raised paper. Devi smiled. “Ahh, the universal male reaction to the mall scene. I was just about to say, I could skip it though and go sometime during the week. I just need to get a dress for my sister Leena’s birthday party next weekend.” She only had a couple of weeks with them. She didn’t want to miss spending one of her few free days in their company just to complete a chore she didn’t enjoy doing anyway.

Jace reached over with lazy presumptuousness and spread a pat of butter on the toast on her plate, which she tried to pull away. “I’m trying to avoid butter.”

“Why? Fat’s important.”

Devi surveyed her plate. “I’d say I have enough of that right here.” And on her butt too.

“Can’t be too careful.” Jace broke off a piece of bread and held it out to her.

She took it and the imp inside her had her swiping her tongue over the butter on his fingers.

She delighted in the way his pupils dilated. “Hmm, maybe you’re right.”

For a second Devi thought he might haul her over the table, but the intense look on his face relaxed and he sat back. “You know, I need to pick up some stuff too. We can go to the mall first, and then maybe out to a movie and dinner. Have you tried Gormand’s?”

Devi squinted. The last part of that sounded like fun—she had been dying to try the upscale restaurant for months, but the first part? She had just slightly more experience shopping with a man as she had with a man cooking, and she could easily say that experience had been 54

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Glutton for Pleasure

horrendous. Trying to squeeze in and out of clothes that were not meant to be put on her body type was bad enough, but to have someone standing there, tapping their foot or glaring made it much worse. And with two of them there?

Another groan came from behind the paper, echoing her thoughts. Marcus flipped the top corner down and glared at them. “I can think of about thirty things I’d rather do than go to a mall on a Sunday. A partial lobotomy would probably rank up there.”

Jace forked a bite into his mouth and true to his good manners, waited to speak until he swallowed. “Then don’t come.”

As much as she saw the good sense in that, Devi’s heart skipped a little. She wanted to spend the day with both of them. She enjoyed Marcus’s edginess as much as Jace’s mellow personality.

She shrugged and met Marcus’s gaze. “We can do something else.”

He frowned and looked back and forth between the two of them. “How long will you be?”

And so the toe tapping commenced.

“She’s got to get a dress for her sister’s birthday,” Jace said as seriously as if she would be resolving the national healthcare crisis. “So, a while. Probably at least a few hours.”

Marcus hesitated and studied her. “I’ll come.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not allowed to be a gloomy gus while we’re there.”

“Honey, you’re dragging me shopping when I’d rather be rolling around the sheets with you.

I can be any kind of gus I want to be.”

~ * ~

Had he said a partial lobotomy? Marcus should have qualified it to a full lobotomy. Yes, he would rather have his brain removed than come wallow in this disgusting place of American consumerism.

They’d only just walked into the large revolving doors of the huge mall, but after navigating the packed parking lot and winding their way through crowds of giggling teenagers, Marcus swore he’d ground away part of his teeth enamel. Why would anyone want to frequent such a place?

Yet another reason to be grateful for Jace. His brother always handled all of this stuff for both of them. Sometimes all Marcus had to do was casually mention what he needed, and within a week it would be hanging in his closet. He would have felt guilty had he not known how much www.samhainpublishing.com 55

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Jace genuinely enjoyed the whole clothes scene. Besides, his brother would be far more put out if he only wore the Walmart sweatpants he occasionally picked up with his boxers.

Hell, he wouldn’t have even come today but he could tell Jace wanted to spend the day out with Devi, and, well, he wanted to be around her too. He had known they would take a while.

Could he be blamed for not wanting to putter around by himself when he could be enjoying Devi for the small amount of time they would be together? So what if this whole thing smacked of a date rather than a sex-only affair? They were all adult enough to see past that.

He hoped.

Like a stray pup, he trailed after the two of them as they strolled toward the major department store. To him, these stores always felt like high-end obstacle courses, the way a person had to wind and duck and dodge their way around the many corners. Marcus sighed in relief when he spotted a padded armchair tucked into a discreet corner of the ladies’ department.

He flopped into it to watch Devi and his brother in action. Clearly Devi wasn’t used to shopping with an involved male participant, since she drew her lip between her teeth every time Jace made a suggestion or added an outfit to the pile in her arms. Jace knew his stuff and worded his opinions well, though—within a half hour, probably without her even realizing it, he had Devi agreeing with almost every word out of his mouth.

It became obvious pretty quick that Jace wasn’t going to be happy until Devi had a whole new wardrobe. He recruited two salesgirls, and smelling money, the women scurried to fetch and hang the clothes they selected in one of the large changing rooms.

“No, not that color. Cobalt blue.”

The petite salesgirl stared at Jace above the offering she had brought. “I’m not sure which…” she faltered.

Jace exhaled and walked to the far wall to fetch what he wanted.

As soon as he left, Devi released a long sigh and looked around until her gaze rested on Marcus. She tried a halfhearted smile. “You knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “I had a feeling. Don’t tell him, but if there was a straight version of that old Queer Eye show, he’d be on it. He gets a kick out of dressing people.”

She walked closer, and he appreciated the flex of the muscles in her calves. Her calves made him think of her soft thighs, though, and then what lay between them…

He shifted uncomfortably in the armchair. Erections and clothes shopping definitely shouldn’t mix. She stopped in front of him. “Is there another chair?”

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“Mmmm. Right here.” A quick tug had her resting on his thighs. He shifted again to keep her delectable ass away from his eager cock. He didn’t need any more encouragement. She gave a startled laugh.

“Ahh, how nice.” Devi relaxed comfortably into his arms as if she sat on men’s laps in public on a regular basis, which he highly doubted. “You know, I’m actually thrilled. I hate shopping for clothes, but this has been so much fun and I wanted to revamp my entire look anyway, from top to bottom. I’m so sick of wearing the same jeans. It’s like Jace knows exactly what will look good on me.”

“I know what would look good on you too.”

“What?”

“Me,” he whispered, and brushed a kiss against her lips.

“Ahem.” They looked up to see Jace standing above them. “I need her back.”

Devi stiffened in his arms. He looked past Jace to find the salesgirl frowning at them, no doubt wondering why this woman was snuggling her boyfriend’s brother. He gave a mental sigh and released her. As soon as her warm weight left his lap, he wanted to tug her back.

Jace swept her up again, and he found it hard not to feel left out. Not that he wanted to be in that maelstrom of high-thread cotton, silk and satin, but he liked being the recipient of those megawatt smiles.

The emotion within him was so unknown he took a moment to examine it. Was he jealous of Jace? No. Had it been any other man, yes, but never his brother. He needed the connection their ménages gave him. Sometimes he felt so cold inside, he wanted to crack into a million little pieces. The sex grounded him, reminded him he wasn’t alone. Through Jace, he could experience a tiny piece of what normal people felt and did.

In a new twist, he wanted to be involved here too, outside the bedroom. He wanted Devi to completely confuse the saleswomen and flirt and banter with him too. As ridiculous as it sounded, he wanted her to acknowledge that she was with both of them. Why? He couldn’t say.

Or you don’t want to say.

Whatever.

He slouched lower in the chair and glowered at the curtained-off fitting room that had swallowed up Devi. Jace had disappeared, probably to go find shoes or something. Marcus heaved himself out of the chair, and hands in his pockets, began to wander.

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He wasn’t really looking where his feet were taking him, so it was some surprise to find himself suddenly surrounded by yards of satin, lace and underwire.

Marcus reached out to handle a barely there bra of what looked like gossamer tissue. Devi said she wanted to change her wardrobe from top to bottom. Surely they couldn’t forget the more intimate garments.

“It’s called Wings of the Fairy. It’s the newest design by Fredrico. Are you looking for a particular size?”

Marcus withdrew his hand hastily and looked down at the birdlike woman with the chirping voice. “Uh, no. I don’t think this would support my, ah…”

“Wife? Girlfriend?”

“No!” At her startled expression he mentally kicked himself. Who else would a man buy lingerie for? Too bad short-term sexual partner was not a P.C. comment. “I mean, yes. My girlfriend.” It didn’t sound so bad. In fact, it sounded more comfortable than it should. “I need to pick out some things for her.”

“Do you know her size?”

Finally, something in which he had complete expertise. “36D in bras—size seven panties.”

He stroked a finger along the satin underwear on the low table to his right. Panties with ties at the side were a definite must have. They would cut down on ripping. Maybe.

Unlike Jace and Devi, he could care less about labels, so he zipped through his shopping expedition within fifteen minutes, choosing a wide array of undergarments guaranteed to please all three of them.

He winced when the cashier read him the total. Why did women’s underwear cost so much?

Such tiny pieces of fabric shouldn’t be so expensive.

“Your girlfriend’s just going to love all of this,” the clerk bubbled. Her face was flushed, no doubt from the charge she got from swiping his poor credit card. She misunderstood his flinch.

“Oh don’t be embarrassed. Lots of men come in here to purchase stuff.” She nodded to a man browsing at the far end of the department. “That guy comes in every other week and buys his wife something. He says it keeps the passion going. So you’re headed in the right direction. Keep it up.” With a wink, she handed his card and receipt back to him.

He stuffed them in his wallet and gathered his four bags up, his gut churning. Keep it up?

They only had a couple of weeks. What would he be keeping up?

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Marcus looked down at the bags in his hands as he walked back to the ladies’ department.

The purchase had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, and now he questioned it. Did it smack too much of something a boyfriend would do? He had enjoyed imagining Devi in each ensemble, her café au lait skin framed by each piece. In reality, how many would he really get a chance to see her in?

“Where were you?”

The question jerked him out of his musings and he looked up to realize he had reached the ladies’ department. Jace stood there, frowning in concern. “I figured you wouldn’t be leaving your seat ’til we were done.” Jace’s eyes widened when he saw the bags in his hands. “What did you buy?”

Marcus shrugged in discomfort. “Nothing much. Just went by the lingerie department.” He cleared his throat. “You know, to save us some time. Otherwise, we’d be spending another two hours there after this.”

Jace’s lips quirked, but he didn’t comment. He nodded to the dressing room. “Devi’s in there. If she needs an opinion on something, do something more than grunt, would you? I need to run over to the men’s section.”

Jace clapped him on the shoulder and headed off, leaving Marcus alone. He glanced around to make sure no saleswomen or customers lurked behind clothes racks and then walked straight into the dressing room. The floor-length doors to the closest two cubicles were wide open and empty. He could hear Devi humming from the last little room.

He needed to put this affair back on track.

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The door opened behind her and Devi jumped and gasped. When the hulking man appeared in the mirror, she slapped both arms over her naked chest before she turned. “Marcus!”

As if he walked into ladies’ dressing rooms on a normal basis, Marcus eased inside and set bags emblazoned with the store’s logo to the side before he closed the door and locked it. “You should lock your door.”

She glared at him. “I can see that. Do you mind? You really aren’t supposed to be in here.”

“And you really aren’t supposed to be covering yourself up. Didn’t we discuss this last night?”

“We can discuss it later. Now please get out before someone sees you.”

“Hmmm. No, I can’t do that.”

“And why not?”

One minute he was two feet away and the next he had her pushed against the mirror, hands pinned to her sides, the glass cold against her bare back. “Because,” he whispered close to her ear, “I think you’re forgetting what our agreement was about. We haven’t had sex in”—he looked at his watch—“seven hours. What kind of affair is that?”