Risky Secrets (7 page)

Keith
flashed
her a
sexy half grin. Jayne spotted Tom not
far behind him. “How’s it going?
Any more unexpected
visitors?”

“Don’t
even joke about that. I’m positive that someone was here.”

Both
men stepped inside, and Keith shut the door behind the three of them. “It could
have been an animal or the wind might have blown the door open. You need to
keep that door locked. It’ll keep the critters out.”

Jayne
shrugged. “I can deal with critters. It’s the rest that scares me.”

“Tom
and I will walk the perimeter around the house.” Keith held up a large
flashlight. “If anything is out, there we’ll see it.”

Jayne
felt more at ease with both men there. She followed them back to the door and
outside. “Be careful,” she warned.

****

Tom
had noticed a black car parked alongside the road leading them out to the lake.
He’d seen that car in town a couple of times earlier that week. A black car was
nothing rare or unusual in itself, but why had it been parked outside of
Lucky’s
often only leaving late at night when the bar got busy?
And there was always a man sitting inside. He never got a good look at him so
identification was impossible, if he even knew him at all.

“Stay
close,” Keith said. Tom stirred from his thoughts and nodded. “If this was
indeed an animal, I don’t want you getting attacked.”

“I’ve
dealt with many animals before in my life. Unfortunately, they were the human
kind,” Tom replied. It was the truth. He spent most of his adult life around
some pretty unsavory characters while working for the Leones and other lowlifes.
How could he have been so damned stupid to do what he did? He did it for the
money of course and nothing else. It had gotten him no further ahead in life.
He was an idiot for thinking it would.

Tom
followed Keith through the dark as they rounded the first corner of the house.
They’d spotted nothing so far. He prayed it would stay that way.

“There’s
something here,” Keith said. He pointed the flashlight towards the ground in
front of them. “There are footprints, and they’re fresh from the looks of it. I
did work out here today, but these are not mine.” Keith knelt down to examine
them closer. “Someone else was definitely out here at some point recently.”

“Why
would anyone want to come out here besides you and Jayne? Did she have a
visitor that we don’t know about?” It was possible, but wouldn’t she have told
them?

“Maybe.
We’re not going
to find anything else out here. If there was an intruder, he or she is long
gone by now.”

“That
makes sense. If I was a creeper, I’d head for the hills if two guys showed up.”
Tom forced a laugh to lighten the situation.

“Did
you see anything?” Jayne asked meeting them at the door. She looked less
stressed than she had when they arrived. “Come inside out of the cold.”

“Did
you have any visitors today other than me?” Keith questioned.

“No
one but you,” Jayne said. A look of utter worry and confusion fell over her
face. “Why do you ask? Did you find anything out there?”

“Yes,
there were footprints, and they’re not mine. They’re fresh, and most likely
from today,” Keith explained. “Who else knows you’re up here?”

“Only
my close friend and neighbor. Wait, and my agent,” Jayne added. “They knew I
was coming here to finish my book.”

“Do
you want me to call the police?” Keith asked. “This could be nothing, but I don’t
want to make a judgement one way or the other. It’s your call.”

“No,
it’s okay. I’m fine.”

Tom
didn’t think Jayne was telling the truth. “That’s a tad extreme,” he cut in. “I
mean calling the police when it’s probably nothing.” The last thing he needed
was to see the police up here. “We can hang around for a bit. I’m sure Keith
wouldn’t mind.”

“Would
you both?” Jayne shot them both a hopeful glance.

“Sure,”
Keith agreed. “Go back to bed and rest. We’ll keep watch.”

“You’re
a godsend. The both of you are.” Jayne reached out and touched Keith on the
shoulder and then Tom. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Chapter Eight

“She’s
certainly something,” Tom said.

Keith
watched as Jayne left the room. She looked sexy in her nightshirt that rose
just above her knees. There was nothing particularly revealing about the
garment, but she wore it well. “What was that?”

“You’re
attracted to Jayne,” Tom continued. “The signs are there like the way you look
at her, and then there’s your body language. You become a total protector when
she’s around.”

“How
can I not?” There was something about Jayne that sparked his interest. “She’s
pretty.” He couldn’t come right out and say that he thought she was hot. What
would Tom think of him if he did?

“She’s
much more than that. I’m bisexual, and I can appreciate the allure of a sexy
woman.”

“It’s
the person that does it for me and not what’s between their legs.” That’s truly
how he felt about his preference for both sexes. Though being in a relationship
with a man would be much different from only hooking up with one.

“We
share a common bond.”

“There
are tons of bisexual people in this world. It’s nothing new.” Keith wasn’t sure
what Tom was getting at. “I could go for a cup of coffee.” He headed towards
the kitchen and immediately spotted the coffee maker sitting on the countertop.
He foraged for coffee in the cupboards and after finding it, set the machine to
brew.

“Did
I say something wrong?” Tom asked, coming up from behind him. “You seem
uneasy.”

“Of
course I am. I should have called the police and reported the intruder.”

“That’s
not what I meant.”

Keith
braced himself against the counter. Tom certainly liked to talk a lot. “All
this chatting…I don’t find it easy to open up like you do. It’s hard for me to
chat about stuff like that.”

“The
last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable, Keith. I like you, and
I only want to know more about you and what makes you tick.”

“That’s
fine. I don’t fault you for wanting that or anything period. I’m the one with
the problem. It’s me who’s not comfortable in his own skin.” He paused for a
moment and watched the glass coffee pot fill. “I admire you in a way. You’re
out there, and you seem to have everything figured out. You know who you are
without a doubt.”

Tom
laughed. “I wish! Seriously, I have my own troubles.” He went silent. “I have
my secrets.”

****

The
man in black stood on the side of the rural road and carefully lit a cigarette.
One thing he couldn’t deny was that the air up here was the freshest he’d ever
breathed. Living in the city, one didn’t often get the luxury of clean air
unless it was run through some sort of shit purifier.

He
didn’t think that they’d spotted him. He recognized the friend’s truck even in
the darkness. He didn’t know who the woman was, but the friend had been up here
earlier that day and. He followed the friend. He had to figure out if this guy
was somehow connected with the money that Tom had stolen from the Leone
brothers. The pressure was on, and he sure as hell was feeling it. They wanted
this job taken care of quickly. They wanted their money and Tom dead.

He
got back in the car and started it. Going back to the house wasn’t safe. The
woman had been spooked, and he’d barely made it out of there without her seeing
him. If she’d gotten a look at him, everything would have been shot to hell.
Things would have gotten messy, and he really didn’t want that. Extra cleanup
was nothing more than a hassle.

The
motel where he was staying wasn’t bad. It was a no tell motel like many others,
but the room was decent and clean. He’d head back into Pine Bluff and take the
rest of the night off. There wasn’t anything else for him to do here. He’d take
care of business tomorrow. It would end then. He looked forward to seeing Tom
again.

****

Jayne
heard Keith and Tom talking. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she crept
quietly from her bed to the closed bedroom door to hear them better. She’d
heard the word bisexual spoken a couple of times, and it was absolutely killing
her to know the dynamics of Keith and Tom’s relationship.

“I
tend to say too much.” It was Tom who spoke now.

“It’s
okay. I’m tired and moody. Let’s have our coffee and relax a little,” Keith
replied.

Jayne
pushed against the door a little, and when it fell open under her weight, she
went scurrying into the other room. She stumbled about three steps before she
managed to stop from falling flat on her face.

“What
was that?” she heard Keith ask. And before she could get back into the bedroom,
they were there with her, staring like she had two heads on her shoulders.

Her
cheeks quickly flushed, and the palms of her hands started to sweat. What they
must think of her now? “I was coming out for a drink of water.” She cleared her
throat to emphasize what she was saying.

“Right,”
Keith said. “Did you hear anything interesting?”

“Whatever
do you mean?” she asked. “You think I was listening at the door?”

“Yes,”
Tom added. “We do.”

“Okay,
fine. Maybe I was. You two interest me. Listening to you is like research for
me.” That excuse sounded halfway believable, and suddenly, Jayne was rather
impressed with herself for thinking of it. And to think it came off the top of
her head. “Keith, you know what I write. I’ve been thinking about expanding my
writing ambitions. I think bisexuality is interesting, especially when it comes
to men.” She was nearly rambling and though it best to stop talking while she
was ahead. She feared that anything else would sound stupid coming from her
mouth.

“That’s
one way to put it,” Tom commented. “Have you ever had a lesbian experience?”

“Shit,
Tom. You can’t ask things like that. Not to a woman you don’t even know,” Keith
scolded. “Have some common sense.”

“I
don’t mind,” Jayne replied, speaking up. “No, I haven’t. I don’t have that
desire within me, but I can appreciate an attractive woman.” It felt awkward
standing around answering such personal questions. “Let’s sit,” she said,
leading them to the couch. “It’s just that I write erotic
romance,
and meeting you both… You’re the first bisexuals that I have ever met.”

“That
you know of. Many keep it hidden in the closet,” Tom said.

Jayne
was sure she saw Keith wince a little at the mention of the word closet. “My
guess is that each person had their reasons if they do. Not everyone can afford
to be so open.”

“I
understand that totally. It’s a personal choice,” Tom interjected. He rested
one arm on the back of the couch behind Jayne. “What’s your story? Do you have
a special someone in your life?”

“Not
for quite some time. I’m picky.” Jayne noted that she was sandwiched between
Tom and Keith. She felt her heartbeat quicken and her pulse speed up. It had
been far too long since she’d had…sex. Heck, she couldn’t remember what it felt
like to be kissed.

“There’s
nothing wrong with being picky. At least you’re not out there tossing yourself
at the first man that pays you a little attention. You’re gorgeous. You could
get any man if you wanted him,” Tom said.

Jayne
felt Tom’s finger brush through her hair. His hand settled on the back of her
neck and he caressed her skin lightly with only the tips. He was hitting on
her. “Thank you,” she muttered, swallowing hard.

“Keith,
don’t you think that Jayne is sexy?” Tom’s voice sounded like liquid velvet as
it passed through the air between them. His words washed over her. The
situation became surreal. She looked at Keith, and that’s when she decided to
make her move. She reached over and guided his hand to her breasts. This was so
out of character for her. Jayne couldn’t believe that she was actually doing
this. But it felt right.

****

Keith
locked eyes with Jayne. Tonight something was happening that he’d never thought
would. Was it right to go there? So many thoughts raced through his mind. None
of this made sense, and it was happening so quickly.

“It’s
okay,” Jayne said. Her voice was soft and steady. “I want this. I really do.”

There
was no denying what he felt physically. Keith’s cock throbbed inside his jeans.
Jayne’s tits felt firm under his touch as he massaged them through the flimsy
cotton fabric of her nightshirt. She moaned softly and leaned into his touch
with Tom sitting behind her, kissing her neck slowly and seductively.

“Skin
like silk,” Tom said. He glanced at Keith. “She’s lovely. I love a woman with
real curves.”

Jayne
laughed a little. “Sometimes I think I have too many curves.”

“No,
you’re perfect as is,” Tom replied. “And I’m sure Keith agrees with me.”