Riptide [Kismet Cove] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (18 page)

“I can’t talk about it. If I could, I would, but I can’t. Not yet, anyway. I know that sounds insanely cryptic and I’m sorry, but there are some things I can’t tell you yet. Things
we
can’t tell you yet.”

Jess took a step back, her arms wrapping around herself as she struggled to understand. Loss and hurt filled her along with a healthy dose of confusion. “So you love me, but you won’t tell me what’s going on? You two just asked me to move in with you. You want me to make a life with you, but you’re both keeping secrets from me. What kind of a life will we have if we’re starting out like this?”

Evan reached out for her with both hands but Jess shook her head and took another step backward, fighting to keep her tears in check.

“I want you to tell me what’s going on, Evan.”

“Tomorrow night we’re going to explain everything, I promise. There’s a whole bunch of tradition and other crap going on because of who we are and how we live. We have to try to do this the right way.” Evan crossed the short space between them and wrapped her in his arms before she could move away again. “We’ve already made our decision. We want you, Jess. If Rory’s father can’t accept that, then we’re keeping you anyway, traditions be damned. You are who we’ve been waiting for all our lives, and we’re not giving you up.”

Jess wanted to curl up in Evan’s arms and trust him, but she wasn’t ready to let it go just yet. She’d had enough of secrets and lies. Faithless boyfriends, her father’s secret affairs, her mother’s cryptic notes about coming here to find her happiness, it was all getting to be too much. Even with the comfort of Evan’s heart beating by her ear and the strangely soothing effect his spice and citrus scent always had on her emotions, Jess couldn’t just give in and trust that everything was going to be all right. She’d tried that before, and so far her batting average was abysmal.

As if he could read her mind, Evan hugged her and pressed a kiss to her hair. “I know this isn’t perfect. But you have to give us credit for trying at least. We wanted to make tonight special and to give you that necklace so you knew we were serious. Tomorrow, when you walk into Darius’s house wearing that, he’ll know we’re serious, too. The three of us are going to be together, sweetheart. We just need to weather the storm first.”

“Well, at least you’re being honest about not being totally honest with me,” Jess finally murmured and wrapped her arms around Evan’s waist. “And dinner was amazing, and so is this place. So I will agree to give you two partial credit.”

“I know this is a lot to take on trust, but it’s going to work out.” Evan’s voice softened to a whisper. “I love you, Jessica Jones. You’re the only woman I’ve ever said that to, and you’re the only one I ever will. We were meant to be together.”

“I love you, too. I’m just…scared.” She finally confessed to the tiny seeds of fear that had sprouted the minute they’d asked her to move in with them.

“Don’t be. Trust the way you feel, sweetheart. Deep down you already know we’re supposed to be together. You can feel it, just like we can.”

“Right. Why do I suddenly feel like I’m caught in a scene from
Star Wars
? Any second Obi-Wan Kenobi is going to appear and tell me to trust my feelings and use the force.”

Evan cracked up and hugged her tight. “Well, you may be onto something there. Darius does bear a striking resemblance to Darth Vader.”

“You’re not really inspiring a lot of confidence here, Ev.”

“Sorry. But now you’ve got me thinking about it…” Evan started laughing again and this time Jess joined him. By the time they had stopped snickering the wind had picked up and Jess was starting to shiver from the cold.

“Let’s get you back inside and warmed up.” Evan lifted her into his arms and carried her effortlessly back into their room. Jess idly noticed that Rory had moved the cart with their dishes out of the room, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d Rory go?” she asked, scanning the room.

“He’s in the bathroom getting set up for the next phase of the evening,” Evan answered automatically and then added. “Uh, I mean that’s what we planned, so I assume that’s where he is.”

“That’s another thing I’ve noticed. I swear you two have complete conversations without ever saying a word. I know you’ve been friends for a lot of years, but it’s just the slightest bit freaky.”

“Rory, she’s calling us freaks now. Want to spank her again?” Evan called out as he passed the bed and headed for the bathroom.

“Hey! No fair taking comments out of context,” Jess protested as the door opened and a warm cloud of fragrant steam surrounded them.

“Freaks, huh? And why were you calling us…” Rory stepped into view and then trailed off and frowned as he saw her still reddened eyes. “Why does it look like she’s been crying? What the hell did you say to her, Ev?” Rory lifted her out of Evan’s arms and cradled her against his bare chest.

“I…uh…was trying to explain a few things about tomorrow.” Evan ran a hand through his hair, leaving it rumpled and spiked up in spots.

“And you made her cry? For fuck’s sake, you’re supposed to be the sensitive one! Nice job, Romeo.”

“It’s okay, he made me laugh, too.” Jess nuzzled her face into Rory’s neck. “Why are you half naked?”

“I ran you a bubble bath.” Rory turned her around so she could see the massive two-person tub that dominated the bathroom. It was full of fragrant bubbles, and when she breathed in again she recognized the scent. It was the same tangerine and vanilla as the body cream she’d worn the night they’d first made love. The fact they’d gone to the effort to track that down helped her let go of her doubts. If they loved her enough to find her favorite bath gel, surely they loved her enough to keep their promises to her.

“I hope I’m not going into that massive tub alone,” she purred and kissed Rory’s neck again, enjoying the way the scent filled her nose even over the smell of tangerines.

“I was hoping to be invited to join you,” Rory murmured.

“What about Evan?”

“It’s Evan’s turn to get things organized. This is our time.” Rory lowered his head to brush a kiss over her mouth. “And I promise I won’t make you cry while you’re with
me
.”

“I heard that!” Evan called from the other room, where he had already retreated to leave them their privacy.

“Stop eavesdropping and get on with your part of the plan!” Rory called back and then gently lowered Jess to the floor, keeping his arms around her as he leaned in and kissed her again. She let her lips part, inviting his tongue to dance with hers as her fingers stroked through the dark hair on his chest. His skin was warm and damp from the steam, and as she stroked her chilled hands over his nipples she felt them pebble and tighten in response.

“You need to get warmer,” Rory whispered against her mouth and began sliding his hands down to the hem of her dress, easing it up over her hips and up to just below her breasts. Only then did he break their kiss and lift his head as he skinned the garment over her head and let it drop to the floor.

“I’ll need that to wear home!” Jess went to pick it up and found herself held where she was. “No, you don’t. Evan and I packed for you from the things you left up at our place. Leave it be, J.J. Tonight everything is taken care of. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

“I’ve never…” she started to explain but he laid a finger on her lips and smiled.

“I know. You’ve never had someone take care of you, not since you left home. You’ve got us now, though, baby. You’re not on your own anymore.”

A wave of emotion crashed down over Jess and she felt more tears stinging at her eyes. “You’re going to make me cry again,” she warned him.

“No tears.” Rory started kissing his way down her throat to her shoulder, his hands reaching around to undo the clasp on her bra and smoothing the straps down over her arms until he could draw it away and drop it onto the floor by her dress. He handed her a hair clip and watched with heat in his deep-brown eyes as she quickly twisted her hair high up on her head and fastened it there with the clip.

“All right, beautiful. Let’s get you into the tub and then I’ll join you.” He offered Jess his hand and she used it to balance herself as she stepped up to the edge of the tub and then down into the bubble filled depths.

“It’s the perfect temperature.” She slid into the water with a sigh and then waved him closer. “Come on, there’s more than enough room for you in here with me. I’ll even let you scrub my back.”

“I’m going to do more than wash your back. I’ve got plans that include washing every inch of you.”

Rory’s voice was rich with sensual promise and Jess shivered in anticipation at whatever he had planned. She’d spent time alone with both of them over the course of the last week, getting to know them better, but until now she’d never made love to either of her men without the other being there, too. She had a feeling that was about to change.

She watched as Rory stripped off his dress pants and the black boxer briefs he was wearing beneath. His cock was already stiff and leaking a few droplets of pre-cum and she felt a needy ache in her pussy as she saw him so hard and ready for her. She wanted him inside, stretching and filling her. The sight of his naked body was a source of constant wonder to her. He was all strength and power, a dark god who could have had anyone in the world, but he’d chosen her. Jess reached up to touch the pendant that hung at her throat and smiled as Evan’s words came back to her. The pendant was a symbol of their intentions and their desire for a future with her. Jess realized that every time she started to doubt herself all she had to do was touch it and she’d be reminded her two men loved her.

“It looks beautiful on you,” Rory told her as he stepped into the tub and settled his large frame beside hers before lifting her up into his lap. “I knew it would.”

“I love you,” she said as she let his hands guide her to where he wanted her to be, lying with her back to his chest, her legs falling outside of his and her head resting on his shoulder.

“I love you, too. You have no idea how glad I am you got caught in that rip current and nearly drowned.”

Jess laughed. “What a romantic way to put it.”

“We were there to save you, and we always will be. You’re ours to protect and love now, baby. I was starting to wonder if we’d ever find you.” Rory’s voice was thick with emotion and he buried his face into her hair, holding onto her tightly. As he took a deep breath she heard him groan softly and he reached between them to free his cock so it nestled along the seam of her pussy. “God, you smell so good.”

“It’s funny, but I never really noticed how someone smelled until I met you two. Just catching a whiff of your cologne helps me relax.” She closed her thighs slightly, squeezing his dick between them. “And maybe it makes me just a little horny.”

“Only a little?” Rory stroked his way down her belly to cup her pussy in his hand, his fingers drifting through her trimmed curls. “I bet I can make you feel more than just a little horny.”

Jess sighed and let her legs fall open, craving his touch. “I bet you can, too.”

“Mhmm, but not yet.” He lifted his hand away and Jess mewled in protest.

“First I get to bathe you, then I’m going to make you come, and then I’m going to fuck you.” Rory snagged a washcloth and squirted more of the bath gel onto it, working it up into a thick lather. “And once we do that, I’m going to dry you off and carry you back out, and then Evan and I are going to fuck you again.”

Rory’s words were turning Jess’s mind to mush and jacking her arousal up to a pussy-melting eleven out of ten. Needing some relief, she reached between her legs and pressed her fingers against her clit, only to have Rory’s fingers curl around her wrist and move her hand away.

“Don’t even think about it. You’re going to wait for me.” His lips drifted over the curve of her ear and he blew across it before whispering, “I want you so badly right now I hurt, and I want you feeling the same way.”

Jess whimpered as Rory began running the washcloth over her stomach, moving in slow, lingering circles across her skin. He left no part of her untouched, and by the time the cloth reached the swell of her breasts Jess was panting softly. Rory’s cock bumped and rubbed along her labia, and every touch made her clit throb in response. The sensual caress of soap and cloth made her hyperaware of her body. The heat of the water, the quiet fizzle of the bubbles as they popped and released more scent into the cloud of steam that filled the room, and the way the hairs on Rory’s chest tickled her back, all came together in a sensory overload that had her reeling.

As the cloth swirled over her breasts her nipples hardened into tiny buds and she lifted her head to watch a wave of goose bumps flow over her skin.

“Lie back and close your eyes. We’re just getting to the good part,” Rory instructed and she complied. If there was any mercy in the world, he’d be getting to the good part very damned soon, before she started begging. Jess wasn’t sure just how far off that point was, but she knew that it wouldn’t be long.

Rory finished washing her breasts and worked higher, lifting her arms one at a time to wash all the way to her fingertips and then back to her shoulder. “Close your eyes tight, I’m going to wash your face.”

She felt the gentle touch of the cloth and kept her eyes closed as he carefully washed away every trace of her earlier tears. As he finished he turned her head toward him and brushed a tender kiss to her mouth. “You can open your eyes now, J.J.”

He was still watching her as she peeked up at him, and Jess felt herself getting lost in the depths of his eyes. Tonight there was no mask in place and she could see his feelings for her clearly, his love and his desire gleaming so brightly there could be no mistaking it.

“I have a request to make before this goes any further,” she said, smiling.

“And what’s that?” A flicker of concern passed over Rory’s features as he cupped her cheek with his hand.

“If I’m dreaming, please don’t ever wake me up.”

“Now you’re just getting sappy.” He chuckled and kissed her again as the washcloth slid down her stomach again and he rubbed it against her pussy, his index finger pressing the cloth between her folds with gentle pressure. “I think we need to finish getting you cleaned up.”