Beyond Jealousy (10 page)

She heard the rustle of sheets, the quiet groan of the mattress. Ace's mouth vanished a second before he gripped her shoulders, and he turned her to face the bed.

Cruz had gotten naked, too. He lay stretched out, miles of muscle and luscious skin just a shade lighter than Ace's. His ink was sparse but perfect, from his cuffs to the piece on his shoulder--dragons, like Ace's, but done in black and gray instead of color and winding down toward his elbow. The utmost care had been taken with each and every intricate line, a mark not only of skill but of attention.

"You've always wanted him," she whispered.

Ace gathered her hair off her neck and kissed his way to her ear. "Michelangelo couldn't have built him finer."

No, and he was
theirs
.

His eyes had always been expressive, but now they were something else entirely, commanding her without a word to come closer. Close enough to touch.

Rachel slid to her hands and knees on the end of the mattress. Ace released her hair only to run his hands down her spine and over her hips, and he groaned before slapping her ass teasingly. "Get over there, sweet girl, before I do something about how good this view is."

Cruz held out a hand. She crawled over to kiss his wrist, following the strong line of his inner arm to his elbow before sinking to the bed next to him. "Tell me," she urged softly. "All those things you were thinking backstage earlier."

The bed dipped as Ace knelt behind her, but Cruz held her captivated as he traced his fingers over the curve of her breast. So gentle, but the shock of it had her trembling long before he circled the tight tip. "I was trying to decide where I'd touch you first."

"Where did you--?" Ace's nimble fingers skipped down her spine again, cutting off the question along with her breath.

Cruz closed a finger and thumb on her nipple, pinching just hard enough to arch her back. "I don't have to decide. Because he'll touch you anywhere I tell him to. Won't you, Ace?"

"Mmm." Ace squeezed her hip. "Especially if you promise to use all the dirty words."

Every single syllable shivered through her like a filthy, secret caress. "Please."

Cruz caught her chin and leaned so close that all she could see was
him
, his intense expression and his dark eyes and the tiny spattering of silver hair mixed in with his beard. "Work your fingers into her pussy. Slow and easy, one at a time, until she can't take any more. And then you can suck her clit until she comes on your face."

Anticipation pulsed between her thighs. Every coherent thought drained out of her head, and she stared at him as Ace slid his hand across her trembling abdomen.

They moved together. Not smooth or practiced, not like this was something they'd done before. Ace pulled too soon, urging her to roll to her back before Cruz released her chin, but it didn't ruin the moment.

It made it hers.

Cruz loomed over her, propped up on one elbow with the other hand cupping her cheek. And then he was kissing her, lips warm and a little rough, delicious as sin but still not enough to distract her when Ace's fingers slicked between her legs.

She parted her thighs without thought, opening for him the moment one fingertip grazed her clit. It ricocheted through her like a shot, rocking her so hard that she was still shaking when he stroked her again, more firmly this time. She arched her hips, and he slid deeper, thrusting one finger inside her.

He groaned against her stomach and pumped his finger, working it deep. "Christ, you're so damn tight. But you can take it, can't you?"

Cruz moved his mouth to her throat, and she dragged in a ragged breath. "Anything you'll give me."

"I know." His finger slipped away, returning as two. He worked them into her, rocking bit by bit as her muscles stretched, and his low, dirty laughter tickled across her abdomen. "But I've had Cruz's cock in my mouth. I know how big it is."

"So do I." They weren't the only ones who had filthy words. "The one time I almost got him out of his pants, I had to use both hands to jerk him off."

It was Cruz's turn to groan, and Ace bit her hip with a hum of approval before curling his fingers inside her. She jolted up at the caress, only to have Cruz press her gently back to the bed. He held her there, watching silently.

It was too much exposure, falling apart at Ace's touch while Cruz held her gaze, but she couldn't look away. Not even when Ace increased his pace, plunging his fingers in and out as filthy encouragement tumbled from his lips. "That's it, angel. Squeeze that sweet pussy all hot and tight around me. Show me you can take one more."

All bravado aside, she couldn't--and yet she knew she would. Nothing about being trapped between the two of them was safe, easy, but it was the only place she dreamed of being. She clenched around Ace's fingers and moaned when it heightened the sensation, contact so close and distinct she could feel his fingertips glide across her G-spot, bringing her hips off the bed.

"Easy, sweetheart. Slow and easy." Cruz spread his fingers across her belly as he pushed her back down. His leg hooked over hers, urging it wide, holding her open. "Ace..."

"On it."

She didn't have time to wonder what
it
was. The bed dipped as Ace shifted positions, pushing her other leg even farther before settling his shoulders between her thighs. "Look at me, Rae."

She tried to answer, but all that came out was a whimper that sounded like his name, far away and trembling. Lifting her head required too much coordination with her limbs trembling, but Cruz did it for her, sliding his other arm behind her neck so that he was cradling her, holding her in place, pinned, unable to look away--

Ace met her gaze across the bare expanse of her body, and she could have fallen into his eyes. They were always dark, but now they were glazed with arousal, the black of his pupils threatening to swallow the brown irises. He moved slowly, stroking his thumbs over her pussy lips before using the pads to spread her wide.

"I've been waiting forever for this," he whispered, his mouth so close she felt every word as a puff of air over her too-sensitive clit.

Her hips jerked again, and this time the scratch of stubble over her inner thigh shuddered through her. She was still stumbling over the sensation, struggling to make sense of how such a tiny thing could shake her so thoroughly, when he lowered his mouth and his tongue touched her.

Slow at first, just the wet tug as he teased his tongue all the way up to just shy of her clit before retreating. She tried to chase his mouth, and he did it again, slower, taking his time to explore, to
torment
.

Cruz rubbed his fingers in soothing circles across her abdomen without lifting the unyielding pressure of his palm holding her in place. "I could watch him lick your pussy all night."

And he would. The words were a promise that, at some point, he would hold her just like this--captive to the sinuous lash of Ace's tongue, not letting go until she screamed. Tense anticipation curled even more tightly inside her, not only at the prospect of such unrelenting pleasure, but at the thought that Cruz wanted it so badly.

"But not tonight," she murmured, sliding her hands into his hair.

"Not tonight," he agreed. "Tonight, we're both going to be in you."

A pulse of pleasure flashed through her, jagged and bright, rebounding when Ace closed his mouth around her clit and sucked. She cried out, and he groaned his approval and worked his fingers back into her.

Three fingers.

She couldn't stay still, even with the firm, commanding pressure of Cruz's hand on her belly. She thrashed, and he shifted over her, pressing her into the bed under the weight of his body. Being pinned down sparked an even more primitive response, a satisfaction that crashed into arousal and sent her into a free fall of pleasure.

She came with a louder cry, a scream that spurred Ace to rock his fingers deeper. So wide, stretching her until the first lick of pain sizzled through her release, turning it hot and heavy. "Good girl. Good, sweet girl, taking everything we give you."

"Please." It was all she could do not to sob. "
Please
."

But Ace's fingers didn't relent, and then the large hand on her abdomen shifted down until the calloused tips of Cruz's broad fingers rasped over her clit.

Blood roared in her ears, her pulse galloping like the trains that used to run beneath the city. Their passing would shake the lamps and rattle the silverware, vibrate up through the floor to tickle her feet. This wave built inside her, its force spinning tighter and higher until the pressure exploded, shattering her in one perfect moment of bliss.

It lingered, hazy and warm, until their kisses cleared it--Cruz's on her shoulder and Ace's on her forehead--two sets of warm lips dropping lazy caresses over her skin.

She reached out as Ace's mouth descended on hers, winding one arm around his neck. Cruz slid closer, his hot skin flush against her side, and she twined her fingers with his, as well. Anchored by the two of them, just like before, but in a quieter, gentler way.

He rested their joined hands on Ace's side. "Don't be so greedy, Ace."

Ace bit Rachel's lower lip. "Who wouldn't be? She's perfect."

"Hungry," she countered, rubbing her bare legs against his. It made no sense. She should have been exhausted, spent, but she craved her next taste of him already.

Of
both
of them.

She tilted her face to Cruz's and nuzzled his jaw, drawing a growl before he found her mouth. His kiss was different--deeper, more demanding. He groaned against her lips as he reached down to curl his hand around the back of her thigh.

One tug and she was facing him, her leg draped over his. "You've been waiting for Ace for a long time, haven't you, sweetheart?"

Her answer didn't matter, because they all knew the truth. She felt it in the way Cruz watched her--and in the way Ace's breathing quickened as he positioned his cock. No more teasing, no hesitation, just the broad head pressing into her as Cruz held her open for him.

As wet and ready as she was, it still hurt a little, just enough of a stretch to awaken nerve endings that tingled in anticipation of more. "Oh, God."

"I know, angel." Ace withdrew a couple of inches before thrusting forward, driving deeper with a choked snarl. "
Christ
, you're still so fucking tight."

The edge of pain faded under a sudden throb of pleasure so sharp it stole her breath. She reached for Cruz to steady herself, bracing her hands on his chest, but that didn't keep her hips from grinding against his when Ace thrust again.

For a moment they were frozen there, tangled together, panting, Ace so deep it curled her toes and Cruz's thick shaft a tormenting pressure against her clit.

Cruz hissed, sliding his hand to grip her ass, holding her there with no escape. "Fuck her just like this," he rumbled, low and rough, clearly expecting Ace to obey.

And he did, driving her against Cruz's erection over and over, until the man's shaft was slick, and every hard rock turned into a glide that sizzled through her. Ace turned her face with a rough hand on her chin and caught her gaze.

"Watch me." He rocked harder, and they all moaned as the movement ground her hips against Cruz's. "I need to see this. You. Coming around my cock.
Finally
."

"Ace." Her voice was so damn dizzy. "I need you."

"You have me, angel." His face was so close, but he didn't cover the distance and kiss her. He watched her as if she was the only thing he wanted to see, the only thing he could ever need. "You'll always have me."

The tension swirling through her wound tighter, and she curled her fingers, digging her nails into Cruz's skin. It would be so easy to believe Ace's words--with that look in his eyes, that intensity, how could she doubt him?

No, there was nothing false between them right now, no lies and no hiding. She drew in a shaky breath and released it with a near-sob. Her limbs were trembling, every nerve ending in her body on a collision course with orgasm--and she couldn't look away from those eyes.

Not until he used the hand on her chin to turn her face again, and Cruz was watching her, too, the affection he'd always given her so easily tinged with a darker edge, one echoed by the bite of his fingers digging into her skin. "You've got both of us," Ace rasped in her ear. "No holding back."

No, none, not even if she wanted to. The tension shattered, and Rachel bucked between them. Every movement swept away all sensation, replaced it with something hotter, sweeter, until she was sure she'd die if it got any better.

And then it did.

Ace groaned and dropped his hand to her shoulder, pinning her upper body to his chest. He slammed into her again and again, rough and fast and out of control until he came with a hoarse snarl.

Ace had always talked about how good he was, teasing jokes that turned out to be nothing but the truth. As he moved, she tried to ask him if he was ever wrong about
anything
, but all that came out was a broken plea, one that Cruz answered by rolling her over and pulling her up to her knees.

He stroked a soothing hand up her spine, urging her to relax her upper body on the blankets. "You still with us, sweetheart?"

She turned her cheek to the bed and grasped the covers in her fists. "No."

Ace's hand joined Cruz's on her back, warm and strong but different, and not just because every inch of her skin was hypersensitive. Cruz's fingers were broad and rough--both in texture and the way he touched her, hands shaking, fingertips digging in too hard. He was anxious and needy, still too hungry for the lazy path Ace traced along her side and across her belly.

But he didn't stray lower. He lingered there, circling her belly button over and over as anticipation drew tight within her again. "Tell him to let go," Ace whispered. "You're the only one who can."

The idea of Cruz surrendering his self-control, even for a heartbeat, was unfathomable. But the
possibilities
, holy shit. Her elbows gave way, and her upper body sank fully to the bed. "Cruz?"