The Reunion (11 page)

“Anyway, some of these women
directors specialize in films for women and for couples. Adam liked their work
and supported their efforts. He believes it’s a way to help people who are
having difficulty in the bedroom or are in danger of shriveling up due to
boredom.”

“Another grand cause,” Sarah teased.

“To a certain extent, yes. Anyway,
that’s how we met. We were introduced and he hung around and watched me work. I
didn’t start seeing him for another year or so after that.”

“How did you wind up in the adult
entertainment industry?” Sarah swallowed, hoping she didn’t sound judgmental.

Maria snickered. “I’ll want to know
more about how you settled for advertising over your art.” She paused. “One
thing sort of led to another. I majored in dance at NYU, attending part-time.”

“You did. College.”

Laughing, Maria ticked Sarah’s
belly. “Don’t be so surprised. I got good grades, too. But I never had enough
money to go full time. I started dancing at clubs because the money was better
than I was making clerking in a department store. I’ve always been easy with my
body, so stripping came naturally, and I learned I really enjoyed turning on guys
and women. Turning on an audience that couldn’t touch. It was a form of play
for me and for them, and it was always dance.”

“One of these days will you show me
in the dance room downstairs?”

“Of course I will. As for the porn,
it started as much out of curiosity and a dare as anything. I made pretty good
money. It didn’t hurt that I was a Latina. I was moving up the ladder and the
pay scale, but my personal love life sucked.”

Sarah snickered. “Adam came along.”

“Something like that. So I stay
involved in other ways. I may yet want to try my hand at directing. Adam will
bankroll me, but I haven’t tried that yet.”

“I think you’ll be good at whatever
you set out to do. You’ve crammed a lot into your life. In some ways I’m
jealous.” Grimacing, Sarah added, “I’ve done the same old same old for so long
I nearly failed take the opportunity to fly out here.”

Maria flashed an eyebrow. “But you
did, and you’re not disappointed.”

“Not at all.” Sarah squirmed closer.
“You were worth the trip. And we may get Adam to come around. Imagine! I didn’t
even know you existed until you met me at the door. If I hadn’t gotten up the
nerve to come out here, we never would’ve met.”

“I like that word
we
.” Maria
pecked at Sarah’s neck and hugged her tight. “You’re a pretty damn spunky lady.
Adam Granger doesn’t stand a chance facing the two of us.”

“I’m not so sure,” Sarah said,
fighting the feeling that all was not well in nirvana. “So, Maria, does Adam
love you?”

Maria withdrew and scowled. “That’s
not a word in his vocabulary. He cares for me more than he has for anyone,
unless for the image of you.”

“Do you love him?”

Maria didn’t flinch. “Yes.”

“Yet you still take other women to
your bed.”

“Yes. Loving a woman is quite
different. I haven’t found a woman I could be true to.” She offered a quirky
smile. “Yet.”

“Oh.” Sarah worked at staying calm
while considering the import of Maria’s words. “But you wouldn’t give up Adam
for the right woman.”

“No, the right woman would have to
love him as much as me. All sides would have to have equal strength.”

“Like an equilateral triangle.”

“Exactly.”

“I wonder if that’s possible.”

Maria sighed. “Maybe it isn’t.”

- o -

While nursing his morning coffee on
the deck, Adam heard the women rummaging in the kitchen. They were late. He
didn’t have to spend much time pondering why.

He was still uncertain what to do
with them, though he didn’t want anyone to think he was running from them, either.
So he’d come back to the house in the wee hours of the morning. He’d checked to
make sure they were sleeping before going to his couch in the office. He’d
thought about joining them this morning, but decided not to.

His gut remained in knots. His brain
was as clear as the sky over the ocean, which was not visible at all because of
low hanging fog.

The women came onto the deck and he
sat up straighter. As usual, Maria sat next to him and Sarah sat across from
them. Both were attired in light tank tops and mini-skirts. Sarah crossed and
uncrossed her legs seeming completely unaware of what she was showcasing for
him. Or was she flashing her pussy for Maria?

“You both look quite pleased this
morning,” he said, trying to keep his voice devoid of emotion.

“Shouldn’t we be?” Sarah declared. In
any other context, he might describe her smile as bashful. “I trust you found
my note.”

“I found it.” He patted the pocket
over his heart.

“Did I disappoint you?” Sarah asked
in a hushed voice.

Maria squeezed his thigh, sending
him a cautionary signal. Maybe Sarah was more vulnerable about all this than he
thought. He wasn’t about to blow everything to hell, at least until he wanted
to. “No. You surprised me. I didn’t know you were into women.” He pursed his
lips. “Clearly you are into Maria. How could I be disappointed in what I
witnessed last night? You were magnificent.” He glanced at Maria. “You were
both magnificent.”

“I am so pleased you watched us,
Adam.”

If a woman could purr, then Sarah
was purring.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about
me. I don’t want you confusing me with the idealized image you may still hold
of me from our high school days. I’m not that young innocent girl—I probably
never was. But now I’m a grown woman with multiple wants and needs. I don’t
bruise easily. Not anymore.”

“I could see that.”

“When you make love with me next,
Adam, I don’t want you making love with a fantasy.” Sarah crossed her arms and
narrowed her eyes. “I want you making love with me—flesh and blood, Sarah Atkinson.”

“I know.” Why had his heart stopped
beating?

“And I don’t want you thinking Maria
somehow snared me in a trap. I seduced her willingly.” Sarah beamed brilliantly
at Maria. “And thank God, I did.”

Adam caught Maria’s flushed look of
happiness. “I know you seduced her. That was evident. Apparently, you are quite
adept at the art of seduction.”

“So when will you join us, Adam?” Sarah
looked at him frankly. She wasn’t begging. She wasn’t commanding. She was
simply naming her expectation.

“I don’t know if I will.” Adam wasn’t
sure he believed his own words. He wanted nothing more than to bed the two eager
women awaiting his response. But could he risk himself in their arms? If
nothing else, he’d buy time to sort out his own reactions. “Maybe it’s time you
tried seducing me.”

Sarah sat across from him and stared
for the longest time. A tiny smile crept across her lips and he knew she was
about to call his bluff. Then she nodded, accepting his challenge. “Maybe I
will. That might be fun.”

He watched Sarah wet her lips and
run a palm over a breast. She tweaked a nipple through her top and gave him a
come hither look of expectancy.

Adam rose to his feet. “I’m not that
easy, Sarah.” He turned to Maria. “I’ve already had a bagel. I’ll be in my
office if I’m needed.” Without glancing again at Sarah, Adam ambled toward the
kitchen.

- o -

Maria giggled, clapped a hand over
her mouth and giggled some more as she watched abject disbelief cloud Sarah’s
features.

“What’s so damn funny?” A rosy blush
crept up Sarah’s cheeks.

“No need to be embarrassed,” Maria
said lightly. “You looked quite appealing, but Adam’s changed the rules of the
game. Now it’s our turn to seduce him. Mainly yours, I suppose. But I don’t
intend to be left out—nor do I imagine he intends that, either.”

“So it’s still a game,” Sarah
murmured. She folded her hands in her lap. “I’ve always been good at games. We’ll
have to cook up something special for our friend Adam.”

With satisfaction, Maria admired the
spunk of her new lover. Sarah wouldn’t wilt under Adam’s surliness. “Knowing
him, it may take more than one assault. Adam can be quite tenacious when he
makes up his mind, and right now it appears he’s decided to play hard to get.”

“That’s the game he honed back in
Bumper, Iowa. At least it’s a game I’m familiar with.” Sarah’s smile spread ear
to ear.

“You’re cooking up something good, Pepper.”
Maria hugged herself. “I can hardly wait. And until Adam gets off his high
horse, I don’t have to share you.”

“There is something to be said for
that,” Sarah said, with a gleam in her eye. “Yes, I believe we ought to have a
photo shoot in the gazebo this afternoon. When do you think we can get some of
your women friends to show up for picture shots?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“I’m ready.” Sarah rose and marched
into the kitchen.

Maria opened Adam’s office door
quietly and entered, bringing him a second cup of coffee. She placed it on his
desk. “Are you okay?”

Heaving his shoulders and avoiding direct
eye contact, he nodded. “Sure, why not?”

“I could think of a few reasons.”

His gaze settled on hers. She
witnessed pain before he was able to hide it.

“How was she?”

“Succulent.” Maria wasn’t going to
lie. “You know, like when you take the first bite of lobster soaked in butter. It
is so scrumptious you’re not sure you dare take a second bite for fear it will
disappoint. That’s Sarah.”

A flash of emotion flickered across
Adam’s face before he muttered, “I know. But you took a chance and went back
for more. So will you take her from me?”

Startled, Maria chose her words
carefully. “You’ve done little to hold onto her, if that’s what you want.”

“I took her slow,” he said,
defensively.

“Right. Even then you threw it back
in her face by leaving her bed.” Maria didn’t quite know how to respond to this
Adam who was slumped before her. He’d always seemed so strong—defiant, when
necessary, but always resilient.

“I don’t know what I want from her.”

“If you want to use her up and send
her back to Chicago, you’re making good progress. If you want to hold onto her
as more than a whimsical sex toy, then you’re doing a damn poor job. Maybe
you
should be practicing the art of
seduction—romantic seduction, that is.”

He raked his fingers through his
hair. “Maybe I should throw both of you out.”

Maria glared at him put her hands on
her hips. “That’s your choice.”

Adam stared stoically back at her.

“You’re fighting a myth, Adam. Sarah
was right when she said she’s not your teen angel or youthful fantasy. She’s
capable of bleeding. And thank God, she’s capable of loving.”

Without waiting for a response, she
spun on her heel, leaving Adam to brood alone.

- o -

Two weeks later, Adam fumed while trying
to concentrate on contracts spread across his desk. Sarah Atkinson wasn’t as
adept at seduction as he’d supposed. Either that, or she was damn slow. Oh, she’d
made suggestive remarks and made sure he hadn’t forgotten what her body looked
like.

Her nipples often loomed large
behind silk and her pussy frequently played peek-a-boo from behind short skirts.
Once in a while, she’d bend over to pick up a stray piece of something from the
floor he hadn’t noticed. It was those times when her entire gorgeous ass came
into view. That view was intoxicating. There were so many things he wanted to
do to her ass, but he’d stayed in control of his lust thus far. Barely.

While he’d been trying to appear
unaffected, Sarah and Maria had found an endless number of ways to enjoy
themselves. Maybe he wasn’t needed. He’d watched his women a few times from the
anteroom, but that amounted to self-flagellation, which he wasn’t into, so he stopped
watching. The gazebo was another of their favorite love nests. And he hadn’t
been able to pull himself away from the scene of Maria eating Sarah poolside. Sarah
had sat spread-eagled on the pool’s edge while Maria remained in the water.

They made time to swim each
afternoon. They always swam in the nude. It had only been a matter of time
before the pool became another venue for sex. He’d never been invited to join
them for a swim. He should just go out there some afternoon and dive into the
water. It was
his
damn pool.

Sarah had rolled her big round eyes
at him when he caught them going at it in the kitchen. She was propped on the
kitchen counter with her thighs wrapped around Maria’s head. She’d blown him a
kiss and given him a small wave before he could turn and exit. Her squeals
followed him down the hallway to his office. He should’ve at least pulled out
his cock and plowed into Maria’s bare ass. But that thought hadn’t even
occurred to him until he was slouched at his desk.