Kiss Is a Four-Letter Word (2 page)

Simon smiled and dabbed at her leg with gauze. "This doesn't look too bad, thankfully. You're sure you didn't break anything?"

Sherry shook her head then winced as the cotton stuck to her cut. "I think it's worse than it looks."

"We should make sure," Eli said, running his hands up and down her shins.

Sherry stared at him. He was totally copping a feel.

Simon rolled his eyes. "Oh please, stop groping her legs, Eli."

Eli snatched his hands away. His cheekbones glowed faintly pink.

Simon looked at her. "Do you have any clean water?"

She nodded and pointed to her bicycle. "It's in the tree."

Eli and Simon looked down the trail. Her bike hung from the lower branches of a maple, the only tree with any substantial height on this particular trail.

"What the hell?" Eli muttered.

Sherry laughed. "Yeah. That was pretty much my reaction, too."

"How did it get up there?" Simon asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Well, I was riding down like usual. Suddenly the trail grew teeth and bit my wheel. I went endo. The bike went airborne. That's pretty much all I know." Sherry pursed her lips. "At least I didn't hit my head. That would've sucked."

Eli stood up, shading his eyes from the sun. "I think it'll take both of us to get it down from there." With his back to her, Sherry couldn't help but stare at his ass. It was high and firm and the muscles in the back of his thighs flexed as she watched him. His shoulders were equally impressive. His tattoo peeked out of his left shirtsleeve.
Damn, he's fine.
Sherry tried to talk herself out of swooning as he started down the trail.

“
Eli's going to need a hand." Simon handed Sherry the gauze and stood up. "Hang onto this. We'll get your bike down for you." He smiled warmly at her and her heart fluttered. The man was dangerously pretty.

"Yeah, okay," she said faintly. Jesus. The two of them were enough to make a girl do stupid things––and she was past that, right?
Nope.
A really dangerous thought popped into her head. Her brother Zeke had two lovers, Eric and Carrie, so why couldn't she? They'd been together five years now, and Sherry wanted that. She wasn't ashamed to admit she was greedy. She wanted two guys in her bed, just like Carrie. She eyed the men slipping and sliding down the rocks of the trail.
Hmmm
.

"I don't think this is going to be as difficult as I thought," Simon called up to her. He braced himself against the trunk of the tree while Eli went around the other side.

Sherry nodded and waved at them, her mind spinning. Would they go for a ménage? She bit her lip, considering. Neither of them pinged her gaydar. Not that
that
meant much. To her knowledge, neither her brother nor Eric had ever considered the other as a lover until Carrie entered the picture. She looked down the trail, absently holding the gauze to her leg. No way. They'd never go for it. Those were two of the straightest guys she'd ever met. She sighed. Pity.

Well, at least they were nice enough to give me a hand.
Sherry watched them tug at her bike. A couple curses and one crazy jump later they'd managed to shift it until the handlebars lifted free of the branch. Simon grabbed the top tube of the frame and lifted it down. Eli took it from him as they began the slippery climb up the hill. The trail wasn't really meant for feet, and Simon nearly fell when a rock turned under his shoe. Sherry bit her lip.
It’s much easier to ride down this mess on a bike.

"You okay?" she called.

"I'm fine," Simon panted, scrabbling the last few feet and plopping down beside her. The strong length of his thigh pressed into hers. She didn't mind, which was odd. As much as she liked to look at handsome men, Sherry didn't particularly enjoy it when they made advances. Her personal space was sacrosanct. For some reason, these two didn’t bother her. Weird.

Eli leaned her bicycle down near theirs on the opposite side the track then joined them. "I've got your water."

"Thanks." Sherry took the bottle from him and rinsed her leg. Thankfully the cut had already stopped bleeding. She dabbed at it then held a clean square of gauze in place while Simon taped it. When she was sure the makeshift bandage wasn't going anywhere, she tipped her head up to thank him and caught him staring at her.

"Thank you for stopping. I owe you one," Sherry said. She eyed him speculatively. At the very least she was going to kiss one or both of them before they left. To hell with being careful. And damn her nervousness with strange men. Opportunities like this didn’t come around often.

"It was no problem. We're just glad you weren't badly hurt," Eli said. He'd grabbed his water bottle too and Sherry watched as he took a long swallow. The stubble on his face gleamed as a trickle of moisture ran down his jaw.

"Hey," she said quietly when he was done. Her heart was pounding away in her chest but she ignored it. "Eli."

Eli looked at her. Sherry reached up and touched a finger to the wet trail on his face, running it along his cheek. She suppressed a giggle at the surprise that flashed over his expression.
He's about to be even more shocked
, she thought, sliding her hand around the back of his head. She tugged gently. His mouth opened. Sherry smiled and tugged a little harder. He leaned in, still adorably confused. Sherry shifted her weight and leaned up to press her lips to his. From the corner of her eye she could see Simon watching them, dumbfounded. She leaned back slightly.

"Don't worry, Simon. You're next," she murmured against Eli's mouth. Into the shocked silence that greeted her statement she dove in again, this time tilting her head until her lips fit perfectly against his. He smelled like cinnamon. Sherry kissed him, lips closed––once, twice, then she touched the tip of her tongue to his mouth and slipped inside when he gasped.
Mmmmm. Definitely cinnamon
, Sherry thought, licking his tongue. It danced against hers for a moment when suddenly he took control, knotting his hands in her hair. He tilted her head further and devoured her, licking, nipping, and finally sucking on her bottom lip. When he came up for air, Sherry knew he was just as aroused as she was. A quick glance down at his groin confirmed it. She wondered if he regretted the jeans shorts
now
.

She tugged her hair from his hands. Simon's thigh still pressed against her leg. She didn't have to do more than tilt her body sideways to sling an arm around his neck. She pulled and Simon leaned in willingly. His blue eyes were almost swallowed up by the black of his pupils. Sherry knew he'd been watching her and Eli kiss. She knew he liked it. When he dipped his head, she let her mouth fall open. He kissed her hungrily, swooping inside where Eli had been just a moment earlier. His lips were warm and sweet.
They must have been eating cinnamon candy or something
, she thought, then his tongue stole stroked hers and she stopped thinking altogether.

Eli held her steady as Simon licked at her teeth and nibbled her upper lip. Eli sat so close his cock nudged against her hip. She gasped as her hand dropped down, making Eli groan. His dick was thick and really, really hard beneath her fingers. Before she could figure out what to do, Simon kissed her again, trailing his lips down her jaw to nibble under her earlobe. She moved her hand away from Eli and ended up accidentally shoving it into Simon's lap.
Holy cow, he's huge too.
When he pulled away, Sherry trembled, completely overwhelmed. Her palms tingled. Why the hell did ever she think she could flirt and kiss them and still feel like she was in control?

"What the hell was that?" Eli asked.

Sherry mentally slapped herself.
Get a grip!
She cleared her throat, hoping she sounded nonchalant. "Just a thanks. For stopping and helping with my bike." She twisted her fingers in her shirt, wondering if they could tell how shaky she felt. She'd never been kissed like that before. She looked at the two men, trying to gauge their feelings. Eli quirked an eyebrow at her. Simon just looked at her, his blue eyes intense and knowing.

Crap. They totally know how inexperienced I really am.
She'd teased them and suddenly stumbled onto the perfect moment she'd yearned for, the thing she'd most wanted ever since that weasel screwed with her in high school. This is what she'd been waiting for. Somehow she knew these men were different. Every other guy she'd dated had left her cold. Every other kiss she'd experienced had been boring. Pointless.

Lately it gotten so bad that Sherry had begun to test guys by how well they kissed. Kisses never lied. She knew when a man was going to be a loser and when they weren't as soon as they locked lips with her. Eli and Simon were definitely not losers. Sherry felt panicky. How could this be happening to her now? She wasn't ready!

Eli smiled and leaned in again. "It was really no problem." His voice was low. Growly. Sherry's pussy clenched tight. Holy fuck, what bottle of crazy had she opened here? Eli touched her lips with his mouth, and God help her, Sherry was going to let him kiss her again, when a shout from the top of the hill startled her into pulling away.

"Sherry! Is everything okay?"

Shit!
It was her brother Zeke. She winced, then slapped a smile on her face and waved. "Yeah! I'm fine, Zeke." Simon and Eli edged away from her. She didn't have to look to see that their interest had probably deflated faster than a punctured bicycle tire. Her brother rode halfway down the trail and slid to a stop, hopping off his bike and ditching it on the side. Sherry watched his eyes go from Eli to Simon to her bloody leg.

"Oh shit, you're bleeding. Are you all right?" He crouched down and touched her leg lightly. Sherry rolled her eyes. She wasn't made of glass, for God's sake.

"I'm fine, Zeke. Where's Eric?" The sound of gravel answered her question as Eric careened down the track toward them. "Yeah, never mind." She smiled at Eric. He eyed Simon and Eli suspiciously. For their part, neither Simon nor Eli showed any sign of intimidation. On the contrary, Eli sat up straighter while Simon pasted on a welcoming smile.
Odd that I can already tell which of his smiles are fake and which aren't
, Sherry thought.

"Eric, Zeke, this is Simon and Eli. I fell off my bike and they stopped to see if I was okay. They were nice enough to extract my bike from the tree, too." Sherry bit her lip to keep from laughing as her brother scowled at Eli. She glanced at Simon and frowned. He was glowering at her brother and Eric. Even though he was slightly smaller and more finely boned than Eli, she had the feeling he was the more dangerous of the two men. She scrambled to finish the introductions.

"Simon, Eli, this is my brother Zeke and his partner Eric." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than both Eli and Simon relaxed.
Hmm.
She thought it might have something to do with the way Eric touched Zeke's shoulder. It was obvious the two men were involved. Of course, Sherry noted that her brother's frown had deepened. Not surprising. He was usually cranky and over-protective around her boyfriends. Or in this case, the two big strangers sitting extra close to her. She pinched her brother's leg, trying not to laugh when he jumped and sent her a glare.

Be nice
, she thought at him. Sibling radar worked. He gave her a look, but sighed and sat down, sliding a hand up her leg to inspect her wound more closely. The faker. Sherry knew he wasn't concerned about her cut. He just wanted to knock Eli's hand away from her calf.

"Zeke, seriously, I'm fine," she said, her voice warning him off. He ignored her and held out a hand to Eli.
Hmpf
. Of course he'd pick Eli first. Her brother was rather perceptive.
Butter up the more obvious predator before handling the other one.

"Hi. Thanks for giving my little sister a hand," Zeke said.

Eli nodded and shook Zeke's hand, then Eric's. Zeke turned to Simon next. "Thanks."

Simon nodded shortly and shook hands as well. "We were happy to help." He stood up and brushed the dust off his shorts then grabbed his and Eli's helmets. "Anyway, we've got to get moving. We have a dinner thing we can't miss." He sent Eli a look, then tossed his helmet over. For a moment Sherry thought Eli was going to throw it back at Simon's head, but then he shrugged and stood up as well, strapping the plastic onto his skull.

"Yeah, we promised my mom we'd be home for dinner. We don't visit her often enough, she says."

Simon grinned suddenly. "You don't. You're a terrible son."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Like you visit your dad a lot?"

"He lives in the middle of Pennsylvania. It's a three, three and a half hour drive," Simon protested good-naturedly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Eli had his bike back on the trail. "Excuses, man. Nothing but excuses."

"I'm going to tell your mother you were picking on me," Zeke said, clipping his right shoe onto his pedal. Sherry watched, slightly irritated and a lot disappointed.
Stupid Zeke and Eric
. She was sure she could have gotten another kiss if her brother and his lover hadn't caught up with her.
I might even have managed to get hold of their phone numbers.
She licked her lips, wondering if maybe she'd hallucinated those kisses. It didn't seem real. Were they really as earth-shattering as she thought? She touched her mouth absently.

"Sherry, it was nice meeting you. I'm glad you weren't seriously injured," Simon said, turning to her and holding her gaze for a moment. She allowed herself one last sigh as his blue eyes flashed over her body.