Mistress's Master: Men in Blue, Book 3 (22 page)

Too bad the shitty door would disintegrate with one swift kick.

“We’ll put in a steel one next day off.” Clint must have caught his mumbled curses.

He nodded.

“Uh…” Jambrea tugged down the thin cotton of her oversized nightshirt, which featured some ridiculous cartoon character. Her close-cropped hair was damp as though she’d finished showering not long ago. She pressed her glasses higher up her nose with one finger on the crossbar above her bridge. “Hi.”

“Can we come in?” Clint asked over his partner’s shoulder when it became apparent Matt couldn’t yank his tongue inside his mouth fast enough to do the job.

“Yeah, sure. It’s kind of a mess in here, though. I’ve been getting organized. Haven’t made it to the kitchen yet.”

“Couldn’t be worse than Clint’s apartment.” Matt swallowed hard as he willed himself to stop staring at the outline of her hard nipples. Clint’s fist to the middle of his back aided his efforts. Matt flung a glare over his shoulder. Clint smiled sweetly as though he hadn’t left a bruise the size of an orange.

“Shut up, asshole,” Clint hissed between his curved lips.

When Jambrea turned and led them inside her home, both of them hurried after her. Matt felt like a giant in her cozy living room. He easily occupied half of the free space. Hunching his shoulders helped a little. Not a heck of a lot.

“Cute.” Clint surveyed the eclectic mix of line drawings, trinkets and military paraphernalia dotted around the room. “It suits you. What’s with the Air Force stuff?”

“I was in the service for a few years right out of school. I trained as a medic before deciding to pursue nursing.”

“No shit.”

Matt let his partner do the talking. He merely observed, cataloging every detail of the woman who’d intrigued him with her disparate shy and saucy sides.

“Who’s this little guy?” Clint wiggled his finger on the glass of a ten-gallon aquarium filled with neon pink rocks and a silly plastic scuba diver blowing bubbles. A googly-eyed goldfish swam over to investigate.

“Guys, meet Parker.” Jambrea laughed when the fish smacked the surface, splashing Clint through the crack in the glass top. “He’s a fatty. Give him some flakes and he’ll be your pal for life.”

“Cool.” Clint shook some of the red, green and yellow food into the tank. Parker gobbled it up then retreated to his outrageous ceramic castle.

“So, not that I mind you stopping by before the ass-crack of dawn or anything…”

“Ah, shit.” Matt scrubbed his hand over his face. How could he have forgotten about their assignment so fast? “Sorry, we’re here on business.”

Did he imagine the flicker of disappointment in her pretty hazel eyes?

“Of course. I figured.” She wandered toward the kitchen. “Let me put some coffee on.”

“Don’t go to any trouble for us.” Clint waved her off.

“It’s for me, not you.” Jambrea stifled a yawn behind her hand. “I worked a double. Was about to crash.”

“Shit. Sorry, Jambi.” Clint deflected her toward the couch. “Take a load off. Matt will make you something to drink.”

Bastard.
Matt ignored his partner’s arm around Jambrea’s lush curves as the jerk steered her onto the comfy-looking sofa. As if Matt had a clue how to brew coffee. Though he drank about a gallon of the stuff on their late-night duties, it always came from the station’s crusty pot or some gas station along their patrol route.

How hard could it be?

Matt rummaged around on the counter until he came up with a stainless-steel container of grounds and a box of filters. He dumped a pile of the black granules straight from the tin then flipped on the faucet a little too hard.

The handle popped off.

“Oh, shit!” He jammed it back on before anyone noticed. Once the pot filled with tap water, he tipped it over the coffee. It ran out onto the counter.

“Are you finding everything okay?” He looked up from mopping the spillage with a wad of paper towels in time to catch Clint tugging her down to the microfiber cushion once more.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine.” Matt poked around the back of the coffee pot until he found a flap on the top. Hopefully putting the water in there wouldn’t break the machine. He crossed his fingers and poured.

Nothing happened.

Nice. He hit the on switch and stared long enough to be satisfied the hisses and pops sounded normal before rejoining the duo—he refused to think of them as a couple—in the other room. When Jambi tasted his coffee she’d forget all about the way Clint’s hand massaged the back of her neck while they waited for him to finish.

His partner sprawled on the couch, pushing Jambrea past the middle of the sofa. He refused to surrender so easily. Awkward and not giving a damn, Matt squeezed into the space remaining. Not his problem the move left Jambrea practically sitting in his lap.

He grinned over her head at Clint.

The other man flipped him off, trying to turn his blatant middle finger into an innocent jaw scratch when Jambrea turned her attention in that direction.

“Oh my God.” She slapped one hand on each of their thighs. “Enough. I can’t take another second of this.”

Both men retreated to opposite corners of the couch.

Matt hadn’t meant to crowd her.

“What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.” Her nails dug into his knee as the pitch of her request rose. “Who is it this time? Please tell me no one’s dead at least.”

“Ah, fuck.” Matt tugged her to his side, smothering her fears. “Sorry, we’re idiots. Didn’t mean to keep you in suspense. It’s Lily—”

“Oh my God.” Jambrea’s face went white.

“No, no…” Clint jumped in to save Matt’s mangled attempt at comfort. “She’s okay. Mostly. She took Sex Offender.”

“Why would she do that?” Jambrea would have launched to her feet if Matt had let her. Her strength was no match for his arms, which looked enormous wrapped around her. “Doesn’t she realize how dangerous it is? The test results are insane. I’ve never seen anything like it. Especially after her dad and Izzy’s ex-husband—”

“It’s a long story.” Matt shook his head. He couldn’t describe what they’d witnessed anyway. The battle between her and Jeremy culminating in her graceful surrender still rocked him. “It came down to her or JRad.”

Jambrea nodded. “Of course. She wouldn’t do that to him. There’s something between them, isn’t there?”

“If there wasn’t before there sure as hell is now.” Clint sounded as reverent as Matt felt. Sharing in the glow their friends generated had ranked high on his list of life experiences.

“You need some of the anecdote the hospital’s been developing.” She sighed. “If you’d called me while I was still there we could’ve saved some time. How much SO did she take? Is she suffering badly? Is anyone monitoring her blood pressure? Her pulse? Her temperature?”

“I’m not sure how big the dosage was. It fit in a capsule like this.” Clint held his thumb and forefinger a half inch apart.

“Shit.” Jambrea pushed until Matt let her escape from his arms.

He missed the pressure of her breasts on his ribs. Damn, what was wrong with him? He’d already gotten laid once tonight in one of the most intense fucks of his life.

Matt shifted the bulge of his hardening cock. Not now.

“Actually,” she glanced at the clock. “I bet Lacey is still at the hospital. A three-car accident called in to the ER as I was making my last rounds. I’ll give her my codes. She can swing by on the way home.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Clint glanced up, seeking Matt’s opinion.

“Do Ty and Mason still insist on picking her up?” Matt asked Jambrea.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “Lacey complains, but she likes it or she wouldn’t allow it. All the nurses tease her about her cops.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Matt held her hand. He noticed Clint took the other. “We have to be careful not to blow our cover. We can’t be hanging out with other cops in public.”

“Stay inside. Lacey can run the stuff up quick. Tyler and Mason don’t have to get out of the car. Everyone knows we’re friends. They’ve dropped me off loads of times when my car’s been in the garage.”

“You need something more reliable,” Clint scolded her.

She shrugged. “I like my little junker. Never have to worry about door dings or whether or not someone’s going to steal it. Bessie gets the job done.”

“Do you really call your car Bessie?” Matt laughed.

“No. You get the point though.”

The force of her full grin stole his breath.

“You should do that more, Jambi.” He brushed his free thumb over the corner of her lips. “So pretty when you smile.”

She swallowed hard, causing his stare to migrate to the flex of her pale neck.

Clint cleared his throat. “I think the coffee’s ready.”

Jambrea hummed, and Matt cursed. He headed to the kitchen.

“Mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the sink.” Jambrea left him to pour three helpings while she dialed Lacey on her cell. The short exchange concluded as Clint took one of the cups Matt balanced. For once it came in handy to be giant-sized.

“Okay, we’ll see you in ten.” Jambrea disconnected then accepted a chipped vessel from him.

“Thank you.” She inhaled the aromatic steam before testing a sip. Her eyes widened before she whispered. “Mmm. Good.”

Matt’s shoulders spread wide. Damn straight.

Until Clint ruined the effect by spraying his coffee into a mist across the living room. “Oh Jesus. That’s a fucking health and safety hazard if I ever saw one. What are you trying to do, poison us?”

“That bad?” He glanced at Jambrea, who shrugged.

He chugged a little, the burn on his tongue disguising the taste for an instant. “Nasty! Shit. Sorry.”

Matt barely resisted wiping his palm over his tongue.

Jambrea giggled. “It’s the thought that counts. We all know things could be worse.”

That sobered them pretty damn quick.

“How is Lily?” She blushed. “I’ve heard it can hurt really bad if you’re exposed to Sex Offender and you don’t…”

Matt looked to Clint. Clint stared right back, unwilling to bail him out of the sticky situation. They let the silence linger too long.

“Oh.” Jambrea blinked. “Right then.”

“Morselli had a party. He used her as the main attraction.” Matt couldn’t think of a polite way to phrase it. “There were a lot of guys there.”

“They gang raped her?” Tears pooled in Jambrea’s eyes, making them shine.

Matt framed her face with his hands. She looked tiny compared to his thick fingers. “I promise you they didn’t.”

Clint edged nearer. He rubbed her back, soothing her terror. “I can’t explain it, Jambi. It was like she gave herself to JRad and let him use her. Not in a bad way.”

“It was amazing.” Matt tried to rescue Clint. “He directed the action, selecting the guys who could be what she needed, when she needed it, even when she was completely out of control and couldn’t fend for herself. He knew exactly what to do. She loved every minute.”

Jambrea worried her bottom lip between her teeth.

“I promise. She wanted it. Every guy she fucked, she screamed for more. She came over and over. They all worshiped her.”

“I believe you.” She wilted a little, sagging against the cushions.

Matt noticed she crossed her legs one direction then the other, fidgeting between him and Clint. Did they make her uncomfortable?

“Then what’s this about?” He brushed his fingertip over the swollen patch on her lip.

She sucked in a breath.

“I wondered… Did you?” Her brows lifted as she turned to Clint. “And you?”

Honor refused to allow them to lie, despite the damage it might do to their prospects with this sweet girl. “Yeah. I did. We both did.”

She scrunched her eyes closed. “I see.”

“Does that bother you?” Clint chafed the goose bumps rising on her forearm.

“A bit.” She winced. “If I’m honest, I’m a little jealous.”

“Only a little?” Matt could have decked Clint for making light of her feelings.

Still, she smiled in return. Damn.

“Yeah, I mean I’m used to guys passing me over for women like her.”

“What the fuck is
that
supposed to mean?” Matt’s hackles rose.

“You know, skinny, sexy, petite…”

“Fuck that bullshit.” Clint angled her jaw toward him, refusing to allow her to evade the rare frustration etched onto his face. “You’re adorable exactly as you are.”

“I’m not saying I disagree.” She shut him right up. “But other guys have.”

“Neither of us would.” Matt couldn’t believe men would be that blind or stupid.

“Thanks.” She snorted as if she didn’t think he was dead serious.

Jambrea might as well have triple-dog dared them.

Matt leaned in while Clint scooted closer, trapping her between them. “You like the idea of Lily with all those guys? Have you ever had sex with more than one man at once?”

He cupped her jaw in his hand to prevent her from giving herself whiplash, which she would if she continued to glance back and forth between them so much.

“It sounds pretty hot. A crazy thing to dream about. You know, like Lacey with Ty and Mason. That’s got to rock.” A light blush spread up her neck to her cheeks. “Not that I’ve really thought about it or anything.”

“I gotta say, I have. About a million times.” Clint surprised the hell out of Matt with that revelation. “Nothing I pictured compared to what I witnessed tonight. The intensity blew me away.”

Matt cleared his throat when they waited for him to respond. “I wouldn’t have expected to enjoy sharing my partner with someone else.”

“That phone pole in your shorts didn’t seem to have any trouble with it in the heat of the moment.” Clint dropped his stare to where Matt’s half-hard dick inflated rapidly toward full-on erection.

“All I know is how much better it could be with someone I was already attracted to.” He dropped his face close to Jambrea’s, lowering his voice along with his lips. “With you.”

Matt groaned when his lips encountered her pliant, parted mouth. He exposed his curiosity and pent-up desire. She consumed every scrap and begged for more with plaintive whimpers. When the rasp of Clint’s encouragement broke through the haze in Matt’s mind, he hesitated for an instant.