Men Times Three (23 page)

When he'd said he loved her, she'd put it down to the heat of the moment, but now she wasn't so sure, because she was perilously close to saying the same thing as he cupped her head. Orgasm overtook him as she groaned and encouraged him with light flutters of her tongue.

When she looked up into his gaze, he looked troubled. “TJ? What's wrong?”

“City girl,” he called her and stroked a fingertip from her earlobe along her jaw to her chin. He tilted her to look him squarely in the eye. “You spoke to Dennis. This feels a lot like good-bye.”

“It might have been,” she said, afraid he was right.

“Take the time you need to decide what you want, and call me.”

 

TJ sat in the dark of his den, his feet up on his desk, the house silent around him. A bottle of scotch kept him company as he drained a crystal tumbler. He reached for another shot and the moonlight caught the label. Jon Dawson's favorite. This was the same scotch they'd shared that night Kylie had stormed out of Jon's life.

Regrets. Jon's life had been full of them. Whenever anyone had asked what those regrets were, TJ denied Jon had ever listed them. They were too dark to share with Jon's family and the one he needed to talk with most was already dead. Jon had accepted his unmarried daughter's pregnancy until she'd told him the truth.

She couldn't even guess at the baby's father. The night she'd partied in the fraternity house she'd been drunk and high. Vague memories of several men slipping into the room with her would be the legacy she passed to her child.

Sickened by his only daughter's confession, he'd roared and thundered and threatened until Trudy Dawson had walked out of his life. For years, Jon had denied he'd even had a daughter and wouldn't allow his sons to speak of her. If her brothers had caught wind of news of Trudy, Jon had refused to hear it.

As dark and as hard a man as Jon could be, TJ was shocked at the reception he gave Kylie. After she drove off in a high lather, Jon had spit on the ground in a vile display of hatred for her exotic looks. To Jon, her almond eyes and straight black hair were the ultimate insult.

TJ had been hard-pressed to even stay with his friend that night. Disgust at the old man's ranting had nearly sickened him, until he'd seen tears and loss fill Jon's eyes. “My baby girl,” he'd said, “my baby girl is gone. And I just destroyed any hope of making things right. I wanted her to look like Trudy. I wanted to see my little girl in the child. I saw the face of a man who walked into a room and took advantage—”

“My little girl was incapable of consent. It was rape. I see that now and I…Trudy was right to leave me to my hate. I'd have infected that child.”

TJ had stayed in the end and watched the old man cry his pain away amidst a wash of scotch and tears.

A week later, the cagey old man had called and had TJ meet him at his lawyer's office. The deal for the cabins was struck and once everything had been agreed, TJ had read farewell in Jon's eyes. Within a month, Jon was gone and the wait for the granddaughters' arrival began.

If TJ had had any idea that seeing Marnie again would have this effect on him, he never would have agreed to build the cabins. He'd have talked Jon out of his crazy codicil. The entire Dawson clan would have sold the property, split the money and gone on with their lives.

Kylie would never have known of her grandfather's legacy.

Deke would still be drowning in beer after Misty's betrayal.

Marnie wouldn't have climbed out of that ridiculous car and swept his heart out of his chest.

Life would have continued on the way it was going. Saturday nights would be spent driving Deke home drunk, week-days would be spent working and wondering when the hell Eli would show up.

He considered chasing after Marnie the way he had before, but it was time she decided. She knew how he felt about her. If she didn't choose him over her life in the city, it would be for the best. He had no right to talk her into coming back. This had to be her decision. He held out hope that the deep affection he'd seen in her eyes in the garage would count for something, but he couldn't tell.

She'd had plenty of time to tell him how she felt and she'd chosen not to. Instead, he'd gone back to work on the sign and she'd headed into the house to pack her bag for Seattle.

He shifted the phone to the middle of his desk next to his feet and stared at it, willing it to ring. Marnie was going over the sex club idea with her partner in the morning.

So why was he staring at the phone right now?

T
he scent of Kylie's fruity bath soap drew Eli along the hall to her room. After working hard all day, he'd insisted on a quick shower. She might still change her mind; the woman had mercurial down pat and she had more to lose than he did with this arrangement. He knew he'd be leaving. He knew he could walk away.

He knew he would move on. He'd spent years perfecting the art of the short-term relationship.

Her bedroom door invited, so he slipped inside to stand with his back against the wall. Steam billowed out of her adjoining bath, water thundered into the tub. Splashing sounds and Kylie's light singsong voice came to him as he pictured soapy water sliding down her long tanned neck, between her sloping breasts. Some would cascade off her delicious nipples and bounce off the tub floor by her delectable feet.

She'd been royally pissed with him earlier. Furious because he'd refused to entertain the idea of new floor plans. Building with logs had it's limitations. Holes for electrical and cable wiring had to be predrilled in the logs. Each log had to line up exactly to provide space for running the wire.

You couldn't blithely rearrange the interior once the walls were up. He should have explained when he had the chance, but she'd been too riled to talk with.

She might actually listen after they were too spent to argue.

The water stopped running and he crossed his arms over his chest to wait for her. With one towel wrapped around her body and another in a turban on her head, she stepped out of the steamy bathroom to face him. He held up the bottle of wine he'd brought. “Peace?” he offered. “No arguments or snarky comments. At least for tonight.”

“Tonight's about our pleasure,” she said breezily. “We can fight tomorrow.” She crossed to the bed to pick up her robe. Turning her back to him, she let the towel drop, exposing her straight shoulders and trim waist. Her legs went on forever to the floor. It was the first time he'd seen her without her hair swinging free. She was beautifully formed; feminine but strong.

He could have bitten his tongue at the incredible play of muscle and silky skin that shone in the light from the bathroom door.

Unfortunately, she slipped on her cotton robe to cover herself. Damn, things had been looking up for a moment there.

She tied the belt and reached up to unwind the turban that held her mass of hair. With the towel undone, a black tangled curtain of hair swept to her hips. “I have to comb it,” she said and walked to the dresser where she picked up a wide-toothed comb.

“Let me, Kylie.” He wanted nothing more than to get his hands on her. To stroke and separate the heavy strands would feel like heaven.

She cast him a glance over her shoulder. “Yes. You may comb my hair.” She handed him a spray bottle that smelled like her soap. The label announced it as leave-in conditioner. He took the comb from her other hand and stood her squarely in front of the dresser mirror.

“Start from the bottom and work your way up.”

God, he wanted to and when he reached the top of her thighs, he'd…

“Oh, you mean your hair,” he muttered and lifted the tips of the left side. He sprayed the conditioner liberally along the hair shafts then held a hank of hair. He combed out the bottom third with long sure strokes. The well-lubricated hair separated more easily with every pass of the comb. Live silken threads. Beautiful thick sheets of hair draped his hands as he worked. Eli loved the erotically repetitive action.

Sensual and elegant, her hair wrapped around his palms until he tugged her head back with easy but steady pressure. He exposed the shell of her ear for a nibble and he heard the most delicate sigh as he tasted her. “Like that?”

“Mm.” She tilted her head even more, offering her neck.

He slid his lips down from her earlobe nearly to her shoulder. With a light nip, he saw her nipples bud into hard points and she moaned. He brushed his palm across first one then the other. “My hair,” she reminded him.

In the mirror, he saw them entwined, her robe half open, the belt loose and all that glorious hair in a cascade of black heat.

He continued with leisurely strokes of the rest of her silken fall until it shone in the golden glow from the bathroom light. She reached up behind her head to lift her hair in a sensuous sigh of movement that took his breath.

His cock rose hard and insistent. She shifted to face him with the satin of her hair twisted into a loose twine. “Show me your cock, Eli.”

He'd never been so eager as he released himself to her scrutiny. With a flick, she wrapped the twine of silk around his shaft. She began a slow steady slide of hair on his hot flesh, wrapping him up tight and releasing the pressure just when he thought he'd scream for release. “Kylie, that's—”

“Hot?”

His brain had mushed out and he could only agree. “Yes.” He watched the mirror for their profiles then looked down his body to see her focused attention. She clasped her hair with both hands and created a thick wall.

She held the curtain half an inch from the dew-slick tip of his penis. “Now, push through,” she whispered.

The sensation was like nothing he'd felt before. Not wet, but so soft, so tight and giving at the same time. Her robe fell wide open and she leaned in close so that his cock head kissed her pubis through the curtain of hair.

He wanted to shoot this way. Spray his load all over her flat belly so his seed would drip down to coat her landing strip. “I could come this way.”

“You will.” She looked at him, her eyes a promise. “Sometime.”

He kissed her with open-mouthed greedy kisses, catching her naked waist under her robe. She shrugged it off, the hair play forgotten in a blast of need that swept him to the bed. He laid her out and took his time studying her length. Long, strong limbs, exotic beautiful eyes, soft kissable lips and golden skin, Kylie took his breath away.

He trailed a fingertip from her bottom lip, down her neck and between her ample breasts. The softness of her belly gave under the gentle pressure of his touch until he ended at the apex of her thighs. A thin line of hair guided him to her clitoris. She closed her eyes and arched toward his finger in a silent plea.

She wanted him. She wanted this.

 

Kylie waited while Eli undressed. He'd showered and had only half dressed for his stroll down the hall. He dropped his shirt and jeans in a pile, never taking his eyes from her. No socks and no underwear. She knew he was large and had admired him many times, but now, as he stood before her buck naked and ready, she saw him completely nude for the first time.

Eli O'Banion was a lover to be reckoned with. He was solid from his shoulders down and that included his package. Long, thick and fully aroused, he was a wonder.

“I like what I see,” she said. “You'll do.”

He grinned and his brown hair fell over his brow while his laser blue eyes burned with the hottest flame. When his finger had brushed her clit, she'd wanted to open for him, but it seemed too much too soon. She was glad she'd waited.

Once she felt his hands on her again, there would be nothing but Eli, and the anticipation felt exquisite.

Her knees moved restlessly as he gazed at her from the bedside.

She wanted more than a quick rough tumble. “I want long and slow and thorough.”

“Whatever you want,” he promised. “I'm your man.”

She patted the mattress and he joined her with a heavy sigh. For the first time since this idea had formed between them, she had an attack of nerves that must have shown on her face.

“You don't have to be afraid.” He scooped her close and she let Eli's heat steam along her nerve endings.

“I'm not. I just don't know how to tell you to shut up. I want to do
this
”—she waved her hand between their naked bodies—“I want to
like
this, but I don't want to like
you
.”

“I should be offended but I'm too horny to think.”

The quip was exactly the right thing to say. She grinned and relaxed as he bent to kiss her. His mouth was toothpaste, and Eli coaxed her tongue to tangle.

“You're so beautiful when you're happy. Your face lights up and your eyes shine.”

“Most men don't focus on that.”

“That's where real beauty begins.” His eyes took inventory and his hands roved. “You have luscious breasts. I love your dark nipples and your black curls here.” He skimmed her mons, making her breath catch again. “So golden,” he said, “your skin's smooth as velvet over sleek muscle. I want to touch you all over. Inside and out.”

To test her, he slid his fingers to her curls. “You're so wet.”

“Have been since we were in the kitchen together,” she confessed against his lips. “Touch me.”

Her outer lips bloomed as he swirled her moisture over her rubbery flesh. As hard as he was, she felt soft and open. He slipped a finger inside and she gave him a throaty moan of approval. She rolled her hips toward his questing hand, then bore down to take more.

So hot. So needy. “Eli, now!”

Still he swirled his tongue around her turgid nipple. He plucked the other until she threw her leg over his hip in blatant invitation.

“Kylie, look how wet you are.” He slid two fingers into her in one smooth stroke. “You could take another finger, but I'd rather have my cock inside.”

He rolled to cover her. “You fit so well.” He slid his palms to her ass and tilted her up to receive him.

He brushed her slit with his sheathed cock. “Clever man,” she said as she grabbed his ass and widened to take him in.

“Fully charged.” He nodded. “You're so fucking soft, like slippery hot satin.”

Enough talk. She hooked her legs around his hips. “Now.”

“Now,” he said. He kissed her with deep need. He pressed his full head in an inch and her inner walls softened in welcome.

She hitched her legs higher. “I'm full. I feel so—”

“Right. You feel so right,” he said against her lips.

“Yes.” She sighed.

He rocked and slid in deeper. His cock throbbed inside her as his heart hammered against hers. He lifted her hips higher and stilled.

So deep, so thick. So hard.

Oh, yes, the man was thorough to a fault. She kissed heat and hard man. To slow herself, she set her face into the crook of his neck to breathe him in. His palms settled on her hips as he measured the span of her from waist to hipbone. The sexy feel of him testing her went to her head and she moaned.

Eli kissed Kylie again and again while keeping his pace slow. Buried inside her sweet wet heat, his balls contracted hard as walnuts. “Can you move?”

She rolled up, then down, pulling on the head of his cock with each tight millimeter. “Oh. That's good, so good.”

He pulled out to his tip, then slid in again, watching her eyes widen with the new sensation. Her hips rolled with his and soon picked up his new rhythm. Her breathing changed, quickened, as her eyes rolled back and closed.

He licked his thumb and used it on her clit. He rolled the nub with each buck of his hips.

“Yes. Do that again.” Her breath went ragged as moisture flooded her pussy. He felt the slick slide, scented the fresh arousal.

She was fully with him now, open and yearning and rocking her pussy along the length of his cock. She cried out and he felt contractions surround him. Deep, strong, her walls grasped and clasped and eased and took, milking him.

“Hold me. I'm coming!” The words burst free as his first surge began. She wrapped her legs tighter, held him in her arms and rocked him into the abyss.

Heart hammering, he lost all control and slammed into her. He shook with the power of orgasm and held her tight. Her face shone with joy and surprise and something close to affection filled her gaze.

If it were any other woman, he might believe it.

In the first blush of the aftermath, he dropped his lips to hers once more. She grinned against his mouth. “That was wonderful. Thank you.” She wriggled her hips as if to suck even more sensation out of him. “You're very good at this.”

He rolled off and tucked her into his side. “You're a natural. And it's I who should thank you.”

Her hand trailed down his belly, bringing a clutch to his gut. He could take her again, right now. “You like that?” she asked.

He nodded. “Don't you?” And he ran his hand down her warm silky belly to her curls. He grinned when he felt her muscles jerk in response. His forefinger found her round nub and swirled. She sighed and let her legs fall open. “Greedy already?”

He didn't bother to wait for confirmation and slid his finger into her. He rested his head on her belly and plunged in as deep as he could go. “You feel okay? This isn't too intense?”

“It's wonderful.”

“I'll be right back. Stay just like this.”

Once in the bathroom he disposed of the condom, then returned to her. He set his hand palm down on her belly to hold her in place. “We're not finished yet.”

“We're not?”

He shook his head, and when her eyes glowed with heat, he said, “You need more.”

“I do?”

He couldn't tell her how much more he wanted. This may be their only time, especially if they went back to sniping at each other.

“I'll give you whatever you need.” He knelt at her feet, opened her legs and hooked them over his shoulders. “You're rosy pink and luscious.” He parted her outer lips to expose the deeper darker pink of her slash. “I'm going to kiss you. Right here.” He touched the tip of his finger to her clit, then rimmed her labia. “And here.”

She jerked.

“And then, I'm going to slide my tongue in here.” He slipped a finger into her sexy little hole and turned so she felt the pull of his knuckle.

“Oh, God,” she muttered. “Yes. Do that.”

“You'll come again. Do you want to?”