Love Under Two Benedicts (24 page)

“Oh, God. Yes. Do it again.
Please
.”

Steven gave her two more sharp slaps as he pulled his cock nearly all the way out of her then shoved it home again. Matthew thrust up, the angle of his cock pushing him deep to her cervix, giving her another tiny bite of pain.

Kelsey cried out as her climax exploded, her entire body clenching in pleasure as wave after wave of ecstasy flooded every nerve ending, every cell. Her lovers each shouted with their own completion as they each held her tight, held her fast between them, their cocks pulsing inside her. Kelsey came and came, gushing, shivering, her keening cry of pleasure tapering to a whimper.

She welcomed Steven’s weight. The sound that filled the room as they sprawled, replete, laboring for breath was fast becoming her favorite music.

Slowly, Steven lifted himself and carefully pulled his cock out of her. His hand caressed her ass. “You’re nice and red here. Might hurt a little to sit in the hot tub.”

“Worth it.” She’d read books where men had spanked their woman, but she hadn’t believed it would add anything to arousal. Now she knew better. Maybe she’d have to invest in padded panties to ease the sting of sitting. It was certainly something to think about.

Steven left the bed for the bathroom. She heard him detour to the balcony to turn on the spa.

Matthew wrapped his arms around her and slowly rolled so they were on their sides facing each other. He, too, pulled out of her carefully.

“It keeps getting better,” Kelsey said. She’d been certain that this kind of wild, uninhibited sex couldn’t be sustained. Yet, each time it got better, and each time she needed more.

“Easy.” Steven had returned. He’d brought a warm washcloth with him and gently tended to her ass.

“You all right?” he asked her. “I didn’t even stop to consider that you got banged up just the other day.”

“I’m good. What about you? I didn’t even stop to consider that you were shot earlier today.”

“Not shot, just grazed. And I don’t think I could be any better.” He lay down on the bed beside her, spooning her.

Matthew quickly kissed her lips, then made his own trip to the bathroom. When he came out, he went over to the spa on the balcony and put his hand in the water.

“This is ready for us.”

Kelsey got off the bed quickly, just in case Steven decided to carry her. Both men had a habit of doing so, and while she really liked that about them, she didn’t want Steven to put any undue stress on his
graze
.

Kelsey eased into the water and closed her eyes. “Oh, God, that feels so good. How did I ever live without a spa?”

“I hope the spa isn’t the only thing that feels that good.” Matthew’s voice, after-sex husky, came from her right.

“No, of course not. That bed’s very nice, too.”

“Smart ass,” Steven said.

“It’s certainly smarting at the moment,” she quipped. Then she opened her eyes and looked from one to the other of her men. “It felt better tonight. Better and different.”

“Because our bond is growing,” Matthew said.

“Most boys’ fathers tell them about the facts of life. Ours had considerably more to say,” Steven said.

“When two men, or three, choose to share a woman, there’s a special responsibility to ensure that the woman never feels torn, or like she’s being pulled in separate directions. Dads told us that if we’re the right three people, then a special bond grows between us. We all three become connected in a unique way.”

“That’s what I was thinking as I wanted you. That we’d be one flesh,” Kelsey said.

With her lovers each holding one of her hands, Kelsey relaxed into the heat and steam, letting the spa work its magic on her. She nearly dozed, but Steven gently shook her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Matthew holding a towel out to her. She didn’t think she’d been in the tub that long, but as he gathered her up and lifted her, she noticed her fingertips had wrinkled.

They dried her quickly, then tucked her into the bed. Moments later they joined her, and Kelsey found herself sliding into sleep, a lover on each side of her, snuggled close.

An hour later, the phone rang.

Chapter 21

The sign for the Triple K Diner on the state highway outside of Gatesville proclaimed it stayed open around the clock “because the trucks of America never stop.” Matthew pulled Steven’s Jeep into a parking spot between two semis. He’d spotted Adam’s car, his own personal one and not the cruiser, and knew his best friend was already inside the diner.

He turned to look at Kelsey. “Mandy said Ginny’s still inside, nursing that coffee. Temperature dipped down tonight, so she’s likely hoping to stay as long as she can. She’s in a booth near the back.”

Kelsey nodded, then rubbed her hands together.

She’d asked to come with him. Steven had said he’d stay behind to be with Benny, no problem, as long as they let him know how things went right away. Now Matthew wondered if his woman was having second thoughts.

“You all right to do this?” Matthew asked.

“Yes. I just don’t want to say the wrong thing to her.”

“You won’t.” Matthew thought Kelsey was the perfect person to talk to Ginny Rose.

As they got out of the car, Kelsey yawned. Matthew put his arm around her and hugged her tight. “We’ll go sit with her and get some coffee into you.”

“At this rate,” Kelsey said, “I may not be going in to my restaurant tomorrow either. Or rather, later today.”

Matthew held the door for her, his eyes spotting the woman as soon as he set foot inside the long, narrow diner.

The place featured a Formica counter with stools and a row of booths along the opposite wall that was made up mostly of windows.

Adam sat at the counter nearly right across from Ginny.

Kelsey made her way down the length of the diner. She easily slipped into the booth before Ginny even looked up and noticed her.

“Oh!” The woman looked frightened when Kelsey slid over so that he could slide in beside her.

“It’s all right, Ginny. Benny’s safe. He’s sound asleep. We just want to talk to you.” Kelsey said.

Ginny looked from Kelsey to him. He’d already decided he’d stay out of it. Seeing how tired Ginny looked and how frightened just reinforced that decision. He gave her the best smile he could.

Ginny’s eyes filled with tears.

“You must think I’m a terrible mother,” she whispered.

“I don’t,” Kelsey said. She reached across the table and laid one of her hands on Ginny’s. “One thing I noticed when I saw you with Benny in my restaurant was the love on your face for him.”

“I was just so scared. Everything went wrong. I thought…Deke was so kind at first. I’d been alone with Benny since he was born. I worked hard, never went on welfare, you know? And I hardly ever dated. Benny’s my whole world. But…but I was lonely. And Deke, he came in to the coffee shop where I worked. He seemed so nice.”

Kelsey reached into her pocket and pulled out some tissues, gave them to Ginny, and then she simply let the woman talk.

Matt knew Adam could hear every word. He could tell by the hunch of his friend’s shoulders that Ginny’s story wasn’t what Adam had expected to hear. Although his friend had said he wouldn’t judge her until he’d heard what she had to say, Matt knew he had, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from doing so.

Matt signaled the waitress for coffee. When the woman came over, he said, “Would you like something to eat, Ginny?”

She looked startled, as if she’d forgotten he was there. She shook her head. “Oh, no…I couldn’t.”

“I’ll have a ham sandwich,” Kelsey told the waitress. Then to Ginny she said, “I won’t be able to eat the whole thing. You’ll have half. All right?”

“Oh. I…yes. All right.”

Kelsey fixed her coffee and waited until Ginny had put more cream into hers.

“I didn’t know what else to do. Deke threatened to take his belt to Benny, and…and he hadn’t even done anything! I wanted to get away from him, but he told me if I tried to leave him, I’d…I’d get worse than I was already getting. Then he told me I had to get rid of Benny. I thought…I thought if my boy was safe, then I could get away from Deke.”

“Is that what you really thought?” Kelsey’s voice went soft and quiet. From the corner of his eye, Matt could see Adam at the counter straining to listen.

“No.” Ginny sobbed quietly, and Kelsey waited. Finally, Ginny inhaled shakily. “I was going to try to get away from him, but I thought he’d likely kill me.

“I didn’t really want my baby in the system. I grew up in the system. There was one family where the missus got drunk and the mister would tell me I had to let him at me.” Ginny stopped and took a sip from her coffee. The waitress returned and set the sandwich down on the table. Kelsey took half and pushed the plate over to the other woman.

Ginny never looked up, just kept her gaze focused on the table. Matt didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman so broken down. At least, not since leaving Chicago. While working as a cop in the inner city, he’d seen a lot of women like Ginny, women who’d gotten themselves into bad relationships and didn’t know how to get out. The men who abused these women always managed to totally short circuit their self-esteem to the point that they were truly incapable of escaping on their own.

Ginny hadn’t been completely broken down because she’d gotten her son to safety, and then herself.

Ginny inhaled deeply and continued. “I didn’t want that for my boy. Then I read that piece in the paper. About you and your restaurant. I cried when I read about your little boy. Then I thought you’d be good for Benny. And maybe Benny would be good for you, too. He’d be safe. And loved.

“When I woke up yesterday, I knew had to get away from Deke. I had to find my baby. I couldn’t bear to be away from him another day.” She cried quietly, and Kelsey said nothing, just handed her some more tissues.

Finally, she looked up and for the first time focused on Matthew. “You’re the law, aren’t you? You came to arrest me. I did a bad thing, leaving my boy. I deserve to go to jail. As long as my Benny’s safe, that’s all I care about.”

Matthew wanted to assure Ginny he wasn’t going to arrest her, but it really wasn’t his call.

At the counter, Adam sighed heavily. He slowly turned on his stool so he faced Ginny. “No one’s going to arrest you, Ms. Rose. We’re not here to cause you more grief. We’re here to help.”

* * * *

Kelsey was glad to be back in her own kitchen.

Tracy had done a fabulous job handling things while she’d been off, and she felt better about impending vacation time when just a couple of months before, Kelsey had been certain she neither wanted nor needed to think about vacation.

Time off was all well and good, but Lusty Appetites was her baby, and she felt at her best when she was here, taking care of her business.

Kelsey laid her hand over her abdomen. Thinking of the restaurant as her baby led to other thoughts—thoughts of building families, having babies. She thought of the future for the first time in more than five years.

She couldn’t deny to herself any longer that she was in love, all the way in love, with two men. Despite all the living examples here in this town, she wasn’t yet one hundred percent convinced that the three of them could build a forever kind of future.

But then, life didn’t come with guarantees, not ever.

Kelsey grabbed her apron and tied it on even as she heard the door to the kitchen open.

“Welcome back, boss. How do you feel? I hear you found Benny’s mother,” Tracy said by way of greeting.

“Thank you, fine, and yes, we found Ginny.”

“I bet Benny was over the moon.” Tracy set her purse in a drawer and reached for her own apron.

“He was. We weren’t going to wake him last night, but he woke up as we were settling Ginny in the room next to his. I have to admit, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”

“So what happens next?”

“Adam is going to get a statement from her about Deke and likely issue an arrest warrant for assault.” Kelsey could see again the bruises on the woman as she’d helped her into a large shirt to sleep in. Ginny had been too busy cuddling her son after that. She’d promised Adam she’d take a break after the lunch rush and take some photographs that could be used as evidence if he couldn’t talk her into going to the clinic.

“We should find Ginny a job and a place to stay here in Lusty,” Tracy said. “She’d be safe here.”

Kelsey smiled. “I was thinking the same thing. Once Michelle and Carla come in, I want to have us to discuss it. Ginny has experience working in a coffee shop. I think we could use her here.”

“That would be perfect. I think Michelle was talking about taking a couple of college courses come the fall,” Tracy said.

“Good. Now, let’s get cracking. I have a feeling there’s going to be a bigger than average lunch crowd today.”

Tracy nodded. “Everyone will want to make sure that you’re on the mend.”