Summer's Indiscretion (8 page)

Chapter Seven

Ace chuckled as he watched Summer pout across the room. She’d just read the text message he’d hit “send” on seconds before. Her lower lip stuck out adorably as she tapped out a reply message.

“But I don’t want to. Can’t I just sit here and chat with the others?”

“When they go off to dance you sit there all alone. I don’t like that. Kemp thinks you should dance too. We’re watching over you. Maybe we’ll cut in later.”

“You will?”

Ace chuckled at her quick reply.
“Sure. Duke is outside in the work truck, so we have backup if we spot someone suspicious. Say yes to that guy walking toward you.”

Ace hadn’t meant for her to sit alone at the table. Not everyone had come tonight, so when the girls paired up with the men they came with, it left Summer on her own. He’d watched as she’d waved Grace off to dance with Ethan then fiddled with her drink napkin. She’d politely refused twice when men offered, and that’s when Ace had intervened.

She smiled at the man when he offered and nodded, allowing him to help her from her chair. Ace wasn’t happy that another man’s hands were on her but liked her sitting alone even less.

Kemp was alert, scanning the crowd but looking casual and relaxed as he did it.

Ace noticed she bit her lip when the next dance song began to play. She looked over at Ace and Kemp then smiled at her dance partner when he said something in her ear. Ace noticed when the man pulled Summer close to him, and Ace smiled as she eased away, gracefully placing more distance between them.

The song was faster paced, and she seemed to settle into the dance as he twirled her and two-stepped with her on the dance floor. She seemed stiffer than she had the other times he’d watched her dance. He remembered the poison oak and realized there was the possibility she was uncomfortable moving to the lively dance because of it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have pushed her to go dance. One look of true discomfort from her and Ace promised himself he’d cut in and rescue her.

“She looks pretty in her black dress,” Kemp said as he watched her, too.

“Beautiful.” The knee-length silky dress molded to her torso and drew his eyes to her full breasts. He wondered what she had on underneath it and wished he could find out firsthand.

* * * *

Summer did her best to smile politely at the tall, thin cowboy two-stepping with her. Her partner kept her moving on the dance floor to the faster beat, and he began to loosen up. Or maybe loosen up wasn’t the right word. He got a devilish grin on his face, and all of his
joints
seemed to loosen up. The effect was most unfortunate as he took on the appearance of a scarecrow flapping about as he moved. Worse still, he began to sing along with Ray Scott. “Do It With the Lights On” was one of her favorite songs. She loved Mr. Scott’s ultra-sexy, deep voice, and this guy was ruining it for her.

The next time I hear this song, this poor guy is what I’ll imagine! Oh, Lord, make him stop singing and flapping his elbows!

Summer decided to concentrate on the dance while listening to the singer. She didn’t want to hurt this man’s feelings, but this was the last time she was dancing with him. He pulled her closer, which made not looking at him easier while simultaneously making her a little nervous about his closeness. He sang in her ear, and she hoped he didn’t feel her shudder.

“You look so good tonight. That dress you’re wearing has got me wound up tight. There’s a tidal wave of tension building up. You know we oughta take it home and do it with the lights on, do it with the lights on.”

Oh, let’s not!
She focused on her handsome hunks at the table in the corner, dressed in suits.
Mama.
She’d dirty dance with either of them.

Her dance partner evidently thought it was pretty darn cool to use the sexual lyrics and erotic buildup of the song to press his claim on her. He rubbed against her as he serenaded her with the second verse.

“Well, I can’t take this teasing anymore. Let’s say goodbye and make a beeline for the door. We’ll see how far we make it before we have to pull that car right off the road and do it with the lights on, do it with the lights on.”

When he pressed his hardening erection against her belly she shivered. She wished one of the guys would cut in and rescue her. Maybe if she backed away a bit he’d get the message. He launched into a full-throated chorus with Ray Scott and gyrated his pelvis against her.

“
I wanna slide that black dress off of you—”

She broke the hold he had on her. “Okay, honey. We’re done dancing. I’m not that kind of girl—”

His dance moves might’ve worked on an unattached woman, but she only wanted Ace and Kemp rubbing against her like that.

“Excuse me. May I cut in?”

Summer tried to not react outwardly to the effect that sexy, panty-dropping voice had on her. Her dance partner looked at Ace and then at Summer.

“You sure, darlin’?” He seemed disappointed when Summer nodded but obviously had enough sense to know she wasn’t going to dance with him anymore and moved away.

Another song started, and Summer savored the moment as Ace drew her against his chest. He smelled heavenly, of soap and leather. To be held within his strong arms as Jason Aldean’s “Don’t You Want to Stay” began to play was profoundly comforting.

He squeezed her and said, “You looked uncomfortable with him. I came to save you.”

“I’m so glad you did.” Summer peered up into his dark brown eyes and sighed happily as he led her around the dance floor.

Ace brushed gentle fingers at her jawline. “How do you feel tonight?”

“Happy,
now
.”

She was surrounded by his strength and warmth and didn’t want to think about returning to her seat across the club. A wave of desire rippled through her as he brushed his lips against her temple and inhaled. It had a totally different effect on her body when his cock hardened against her abdomen.

“You feel so good, kitten,” he murmured in a husky drawl.

To hell with looking like they were just dancing and barely knew each other. She tilted her head and allowed him to capture her lips in a long, sultry kiss, not giving a rip who watched.

His lips were warm and gentle as he consumed her, body and soul. Her pussy flooded with moisture as Ace slid his hands in a sensual caress over her hips and slowly up to her ribs. She couldn’t stop the moan that slipped from her lips. Did he know how his touch stimulated her?

“Come to the shop with us tonight.” Her breath caught in her throat as he continued, “Stay with us.”

She wanted to very much, but also didn’t want to lead either of them on. “Ace, I can’t—”

“Just spend the time with us. We can watch a movie. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”

Oh, believe me. I want.
But it would probably take another week before she was healed enough to have sex. She wanted them, despite the fact that it would be painful if they made love tonight.

Her cheeks must have been bright red they were so hot. “It’s not that I don’t want to—”

He put two fingers over her lips. “I understand. Just be with us. We wouldn’t want to do anything that might hurt you. We both want you like crazy, but we can wait as long as it takes.”

There was nothing on her schedule for the following morning, and she had clothing and toiletries at the boutique. “All right. But I want you to know that I’m not abstaining by choice.”

Ace smiled. “I know. But it’s good to hear, kitten.”

“Are you here until closing?” she asked as Kemp approached them. Ace slowed them to a stop on the dance floor, and Kemp smiled at her as he caressed her lower back and leaned close to kiss her cheek.

In a subdued voice, Kemp said, “I think we’ve got our guy. It’s the same one as last week, in the same basic location as the other videos were shot from. Big guy. He’s using a camera phone and he had it pointed at you two while you were kissing. That’s how I spotted him.”

Could it be the same one who broke into the shop and set the fire? Maybe shot the photograph of them on the porch?

“Come sit with us, Summer. If it’s the same guy, he would think it was odd if you didn’t sit with us after I kissed you.”

Pleased with this turn of events, she followed Ace and Kemp back to their table. Ace took out his phone and sent a couple of texts after seating her in his chair. She shivered, not knowing if it was because of the air-conditioning or the knowledge that they were being watched. Ace noticed and draped his leather jacket over her shoulders. She gathered it to her and turned her nose to sniff his spicy scent on it.

“Duke has followed him once before. He’s waiting outside in the truck, so all we’ll have to do is let him know when this guy leaves.”

A few moments later Ace looked at his phone and chuckled.

“What?” she asked as he sent a reply message.

“Duke has tapped into The Dancing Pony’s surveillance system. He said he can take care of things tonight, once this guy leaves, in case we want to spend time with the incredibly gorgeous blonde.” He held out the phone to show her the message. “His exact words.” Her cheeks warmed at the compliment.

Kemp grunted. “Duke just gave us the night off?”

Summer asked, “How did he access The Dancing Pony’s security cameras?”

“Ethan allowed him to tap in to the system. But you’d be amazed what Duke can do given the right tools. He has some serious skills, kitten,” Ace replied.

Chapter Eight

Summer laughed when she walked into the bedroom Ace was using upstairs at Discretion. A bed wasn’t the only thing he’d had delivered to the shop in the week she’d been gone. The wall opposite of the bed was now filled with a flat-screen television and enough home theater equipment to have any red-blooded man beating his chest.

Ace asked, “Want to watch a movie?”

Summer was sleepy but nodded. “Sure. Put it on while I go change.”

Ace and Kemp’s eyebrows both arched, and she giggled. “I keep clothes here.”

“Going to slip into something more comfortable?”

She’d thought about the T-shirt and yoga pants in the office closet but decided she might make some quick selections from a new line of loungewear they had on display downstairs.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Downstairs, Summer selected a floor-length lavender satin robe and matching lace camisole and pajama bottoms. She removed the tags and left them with a quick note by the register. Summer blushed as she stood near the lingerie counter, thinking about what had happened on it when she’d been in the shop the weekend before.

Summer slipped into the downstairs bathroom to get ready for bed. As she washed her face she heard the shower come on upstairs and smiled. She imagined whichever one was in the shower, naked with thick white suds sliding down his hard, muscular chest and abdomen.

She pictured his strong, callused hands lathering his body and wished they were her hands. She’d stroke her hand across his abdomen, going lower and lower until her fingertips finally slid around his cock and balls in the soapy suds. He’d harden in her hand and be positively enor—

Why am I doing this to myself?

There was no way she was recovered enough to make love with either of them, much less
both
of them tonight. That was a pity because the spirit was definitely willing. Of course that didn’t mean she couldn’t give
them
a little bit of pleasure. Kemp had told her the rash he’d experienced was gone, and Ace’s had taken even less time to heal because his exposure was so limited. She brushed her teeth and made the short trip back up the stairs.

Ace stood barefoot looking through a collection of DVDs as she entered the room. He’d removed his dress slacks and was now clad in his white dress shirt, unknotted tie, and white, knit boxer shorts. His legs were tanned, so the difference between his skin and the white of his knit boxers and dress shirt was an appealing contrast.

“Kitten, what are you in the mood to watch?”

Summer bit her lip in appreciation.
You, undressing the rest of the way, handsome.

He turned to look at her and a wide smile spread across his face. “Damn, you look beautiful in that. Come here,” he said, beckoning to her.

She turned for him when he twirled his finger, thinking if he liked this modest ensemble she was definitely investing in more lingerie, starting with that midnight-blue silk babydoll nightie and matching sheer robe downstairs.

“An action-adventure or comedy always works for me, but suit yourself. I’ll probably be asleep before it’s half over.”
Yeah, right. That would happen in that enormous bed, surrounded by rock-solid, hot male bodies. Who am I fooling?
It was a good thing she was okay with losing a little sleep.

He held up the DVD case for
The Hangover
, and she nodded with a giggle.

Ace pulled his tie from the collar of his shirt, folded it neatly to put away, and then unbuttoned his shirt. “Kemp is taking a shower. After he gets done I’ll take one, too. Could we wait to start the movie? There is something I’d like to ask you about.”

“That’s fine. What do you want to know?” she asked as he drew her over to the big bed.

She climbed up and positioned herself in the middle, piling a couple of pillows behind her. Snuggled down into one thousand thread count sheets, under the luxurious comforter, she sighed happily. Her body sang with exhilaration at the rightness of being there. Her heart pattered at the thought of them joining her soon, and her juices pooled from her pussy as she wiggled around, getting comfortable.

She looked up and caught him watching her with hooded eyes. “What?”

“I like the happy, contented sounds you make.” His deep voice reverberated in the quiet of the room.

Unable to reply, she smiled up at him and patted the spot beside her, delighting in his warmth as he drew near. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You mentioned a few days ago that you’d had an experience with a threesome, but it sounded like it wasn’t a good one.”

Figuring it was best to get the issue out of the way, Summer didn’t hesitate. “Yes. And no, it wasn’t a good first experience.”

The memory of the disappointment she’d felt as her one and only ménage had crashed and burned flitted through her mind.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked at him, hoping that didn’t change the way he saw her. Facing her on the bed, Ace took her hand from her knee and gently stroked her palm and fingertips, sending a little flurry of tingles up her forearm.

“If it’s not something you want, please don’t feel pressured to try a threesome with us, kitten. I never want you to look back on anything we do as a bad experience.”

Summer shook her head. “I wouldn’t have a problem making love with you both at the same time. It’s just…”

“Could you tell me what happened?”

Summer watched Ace’s face as she explained. “It started out just fine, good in fact. They made sure I was ready and everything went smoothly until…‘Guy number two’ started thrusting into my ass. H–He lost control and couldn’t slow down, got too hard and fast, then came. It hurt and I never got my momentum back. ‘Guy number one’ came soon after.”

She referred to them without names because she didn’t think Ace would care to know. “‘Guy number two’ was a friend of my boyfriend’s. Beyond that friendship there was no relationship motivating him to be more…careful or considerate. If he’d cared more perhaps it would’ve turned out different.” Summer shook her head to dispel the memory of how used she’d felt. “I was left hanging.”

And wasn’t that the story of her life? “Left hanging” was a pattern that had developed over the years. Looking into Ace’s understanding eyes, she hoped she wasn’t repeating that pattern again.

“They offered to help me out, but I was hurting, frustrated, and quite frankly, pissed off. I called a halt to it, they apologized and left. That was my freshman year of college. Later on, the two of them became a couple. They wanted to try again, but I wasn’t interested anymore. It’s not as much fun when the one in the middle doesn’t get to come.”

Ace kissed her knuckles, smoothed the comforter over her knees, and leaned in to her. “That was with college boys. You’re with men now. Men who have a bit more restraint and staying power. Are you worried that we’ll leave you hanging, too?”

Summer bit her lip, at a loss to explain. His question brought to mind all the other worries she had. She didn’t have any illusions about what they were doing, but she needed more. Perhaps more than they were offering.

Facing possible rejection, she steeled herself to answer. “No, and yes.” Ace nodded silently, looking her in the eye. He smiled and waited, evidently knowing she was choosing her words carefully. “No. I imagine that a ménage with the two of you would be beyond all my fantasies. I have no doubt it would be good with you.”

She looked into his eyes as she continued. “And yes, but in the metaphorical sense. My love life has been neither prolific nor lucky. It’s always the wrong type that’s attracted to me, and blind dates have been a total disappointment. I want more than dashed hopes and disappointment. I’m not saying I’m looking for the perfect man…or men. I’d just like…” What was she doing? Telling him what she wanted like he was going to jump up and down and holler,
“Pick me! Pick me!”

“Something that could last?”

She looked up at his unexpected words.
Did
he understand what she was trying to convey?

“Someone who won’t let you down?” Kemp said from the doorway.

Her breath left her in a gust when she looked up and saw him leaning casually against the doorframe, a towel wrapped low on his hips. Words failed her, both because he was huge and all muscle but also because their words surprised her.

In her experience, guys who talked this early about relationships that lasted generally had something wrong with them. In the past, statements like theirs would’ve sent up a red flag in her mind, but looking in their eyes, she thought they might be serious.

“Yes. Exactly. Discovering that I’m dating a dud is disheartening and embarrassing. Having had several of those in a row, I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t want to invest in a relationship for fear of what I’ll find after I’ve made the commitment.”

“We can appreciate taking it slow, Summer. There are no skeletons in our closets waiting to surprise you,” Ace replied as Kemp stepped into the room and lifted his overnight bag from the end of the bed.

“I forgot to take my bag in the bathroom. Be right back.”

Summer watched in appreciation as he sauntered out of the room. Through the towel she could make out the curve of his perfectly tight butt and had to stifle a soft moan. She felt positively petite around all their masculine strength and size.

Ace reclined beside her on the bed, facing her, and propped his head up in his hand. He stroked the top of her lavender, satin-clad thigh, and his warm touch felt reassuring. “Summer, we want you to feel safe with us.”

“I do, Ace. Have no doubt about that.”

“But your heart is safe, too, kitten. We’re not out to control you, or use you for our own gratification. We feel very lucky that you like us both and are open to exploring with us together.”

Summer felt like the fortunate one as he kissed her knuckles again.

“I don’t mean for you to feel like you have to make a declaration of some kind, Ace. I needed to make sure you knew where I was coming from. I just need something…sane right now. I need to feel safe.”

“We want that for you, too,” Ace replied as he stroked her calf and her ankle. “Especially in light of everything else you’re experiencing right now. You’ll be safe with us tonight.”

Kemp padded barefoot into the room, dressed in dark-green, baggy, knit pajama bottoms. Summer’s eyes were riveted to his broad, muscular chest and taut abdomen.

Ace chuckled softly and said, “I’m going to take a quick shower, kitten. I’m sure Kemp would like to cuddle and talk with you, too.”

Pulling her eyes from Kemp’s glorious physique, Summer smiled at Ace as he gave her a quick, soft kiss and then rose from her side.

Kemp stood by the bed for a few seconds, gazing down at her. Maybe she should’ve felt nervous, but she didn’t. She felt safe. Her mind flashed back to that morning the weekend before, when he and Ace had stood outside his Escalade while she tried to figure out how to unlock the door.

He joined her on the bed, taking Ace’s place, as she heard the shower come on in the bathroom again.

“You look beautiful in that color,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “How’s the rash?”

“I should be good as new by next weekend. Did Ace tell you I can’t make love with you tonight? I’m not healed up enough yet.”

The guilty look on Kemp’s face spoke volumes. “Yes. I still feel terrible about that. But, darlin’, there wouldn’t be any pressure on you even if that hadn’t happened. I’m happy you’re spending the evening with us. Though, it may be an equal part of torture with you looking so beautiful in this,” he said, indicating her ensemble. “I missed you and I’m glad to have some quiet time with you.”

“It was lonesome at my house. I thought about you and Ace a lot. I also made progress with getting ready to move. I’d accumulated a lot of stuff in the years I’ve lived in that house.”

Kemp nodded and replied, “I know. I saw you going back and forth to your Dumpster several times this week. You were a busy little bee.”

Summer was surprised by his comment. “You were watching over me, too? I thought you and Ace were trading off watching the shop. When did you sleep?”

“The three of us, me, Ace, and Duke, rotated keeping watch. We talked about it and none of us was comfortable with you staying by yourself. We’ve got another friend coming from San Angelo to help out as well. He’ll be watching over Margot and making sure all the girls are getting home safely.”

That was going to go over like a lead balloon with her sister. Summer giggled. “Does Margot know about this?”

“Not yet. We don’t like to be stretched so thin, and it will allow us more flexibility to bring another guy in.”

“This is getting to be a big, expensive-sounding undertaking.”

Kemp lifted a lock of hair from her shoulder and rubbed it between his fingers. “Summer, it’s become a
personal
endeavor for us. We were concerned when we heard about the blog. Then Grace got harassed while driving. Rachel and Maya had that trouble with the arsonist. Then Maya got hurt. Even though her situation was separate from what you all are going through, it still reinforced our desire to get to the bottom of these attacks. It’s on multiple fronts, too, which makes it harder, because we needed more manpower than we had. We think we found a link to that blog, but we want to approach it carefully because there is an innocent woman involved.”