The Sextet - Occupational Hazards [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (8 page)
Authors: The Sextet
She wasn’t stupid, though. She’d been smart enough in school, and, according to Sue, she had a degree in hotel management and was sharp as a tack. Maybe she didn’t like men. Hell, maybe she didn’t like
him
. If Sue had told her anything about their company, she might’ve let slip the fact that the three of them lived together, though he wasn’t sure Sue had figured that out. Still, Sue was a smart old gal. She might have seen their partnership for what it truly was.
Outside, Luke was wrestling with one end of the huge plastic tarp while Derrick held the other end at the top of a ladder braced against the eaves. Part of the tree was still leaning against the house, but the upper branches were now clear of the roof.
“Be careful,” Ty shouted as Derrick stepped off the ladder and began to make his way across the steep, shingled surface. “Part of the roof is rotten. I’m not sure—”
His words were cut off with a cry as the weakened structure gave way and Derrick disappeared. Part of the tarp followed him through the hole.
“Holy shit!” Luke exclaimed. Flinging the tarp aside, he raced to the front door with Ty hot on his heels.
Ty took the stairs two at a time, having no idea what he’d find. In all the time they’d worked together, none of them had ever sustained a serious injury. Oh, sure, they’d all had their fair share of the cuts, scrapes, and bruises that went along with the job, but Derrick could be bleeding, unconscious, or even dead for all he knew.
He and Luke skidded through the doorway together and were treated to the sight of Angelica crouched beside a slightly dazed Derrick while she checked him for injuries.
Wearing nothing but a thong.
Chapter 2
Derrick Delaney thought he’d died and gone to heaven. One minute, his heart was in his mouth, the next, it was trying to pound its way out of his chest as the image of Angelica swam before his eyes. Naked.
She might have been labeled as cute overall, but her tits were enough to turn a gay man straight. Not that he was technically gay—like both of his buddies, Derrick was bisexual. He blinked to improve the clarity of the amazing vision before him. The fact that they were right in front of his face gave him an excuse, and being a bit rattled from the fall made his lack of gallantry understandable. Then again, he dared any man with a grain of sense to look away when something that beautiful was in his line of sight.
“Are you okay?” Her fingers threaded through his hair, as though searching for bumps to explain his lack of response. She glanced over her shoulder at Ty and Luke. “His name’s Derrick, right?”
Luke was gaping at her like a hooked bass. “Uh, yeah. Derrick. His name’s Derrick.”
“Derrick.” She raised her voice slightly. “How many fingers am I holding up?”
She was waving three digits in front of his eyes, but all Derrick could think about were the two gorgeous, rounded, rosy-tipped globes that graced her chest. “Two,” he whispered. “There are two of them.” Licking his lips, he imagined what it would be like to suckle the luscious nipples he was already caressing with his eyes. “And they’re absolutely beautiful.”
At first, she seemed shocked by his level of incoherence, but as the meaning of his comment sank in, her entire body blushed. She drew back, crossing her arms over her chest. Derrick winced.
That was a dumb thing to say.
Though it was perfectly true.
“Oh, please. Don’t hide them. They might be the last things I see before I die.”
Luke’s smile was wicked. “What a way to go.” He wasn’t looking at her chest, though. He was staring at her ass.
Derrick had to revise his assessment of her nudity. She was wearing a thong, and he could only imagine what her butt must’ve looked like with only a thin strip of fabric separating the cheeks—even disappearing between them. The mere thought had his balls tingling like crazy, and he didn’t give a damn if Angelica could spot the bulge in his jeans or not. On the other hand…“My right leg feels kinda numb. Maybe you should check my femoral pulse.”
Angelica started to reach toward his groin, but obviously thought better of it, tucking her hand back under the opposite breast.
Each of her hands was holding a soft, delectable tit. Derrick gazed at them with envy. “Wish those were my hands.”
Angelica gasped. “He’s delirious!”
“No, he isn’t,” Luke said bluntly. “He’s an incurable slut. But that’s part of his charm.”
* * * *
Luke O’Malley heaved a sigh of relief. He’d been frightened out of his wits when Derrick fell, but with Angelica mooning him, all he could think about now was ripping off her thong and sinking his stiffening cock into that perfect ass. Shaped like an upside-down heart, it was the answer to his wildest erotic dreams—those that concerned women, anyway. When it came to men, Derrick had the hottest butt he’d ever seen, and Ty ran a close second. Luke was already salivating at the thought of biting into that succulent behind when he felt a pang of envy for Derrick’s view of her rack, along with a touch of jealousy that Ty was also getting a good, long look at her posterior assets.
“Can we fuck you?” The words were out of Luke’s mouth before the thought registered in his brain.
“Will you two
please
shut up?” Ty snatched up a robe that lay draped across the antique dresser in the corner. “You’re embarrassing her to death.”
Ty didn’t waste any time getting close enough to wrap Angelica up in the silky fabric.
The traitor.
“Yeah, there you go, being noble,” Luke said. “Too bad
she
wasn’t the one who fell through the roof.”
“Excuse me?” Angelica might have been embarrassed, but she still had spunk. “You wish
I
had been the one to fall through the roof?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Luke mumbled. “I just meant that he ought to be more worried about Derrick than whether or not you’ve got any clothes on.”
Ty let go of Angelica with obvious reluctance and extended a hand to Derrick. “C’mon, man. You’re not hurt.”
“But I could have internal injuries,” Derrick protested, though he did manage to sit up without any assistance. “All sorts of terrible maladies that won’t show up for days and days.”
Ty rolled his eyes as he pulled Derrick to his feet. “Yeah, right. I know you too well, Delaney. You just wanted an excuse to drop in on her unannounced.”
Derrick assumed a wide-legged stance, arms folded across his broad chest. “Hey, I’m not the one who came running into a lady’s bedroom.
I
fell through the roof by accident.” Pointing an accusing finger at Ty, he added, “You should have warned me sooner. It’s your fault we saw her naked.”
“I am
not
naked!” Angelica exclaimed. “But I need to be. If I don’t get a shower and get to the bank on time…”
Ty was succinct. “You don’t get a bigger loan and we only do half of the job.”
“Right.”
“Guess we’d better get out of here, then.” Derrick sounded about as morose at this prospect as Luke felt.
Luke sighed with regret, but decided he’d better apologize or fucking Angelica would be out of the question. Forever. “Sorry about what I said. I
did
mean it—and I’m not a bit sorry I saw you almost naked—but I
am
sorry if you were offended—”
“I’m sorry, too. Though your tits really are beautiful,” Derrick added wistfully.
Ty took both Luke and Derrick by the arm and steered them toward the door. “I think you two have said enough already. Not that I don’t agree.”
Angelica watched them go, trying to decide if she’d imagined the playful wink that accompanied Tyrone’s parting shot. Had she actually been propositioned by all three of them?
Oh, surely not…
Still, the thought that they might have been serious was sending signals to parts of her body that normally remained in a stupor no matter who was hitting on her. Letting her robe fall open, she ran her fingertips over her nipples. They were hard and tingly, and even her own touch set off a fire that raced through her, setting her clitoris aflame. A few more strokes had her doubled over in the closest thing to an orgasm she’d had in a very long time.
Stripping off her robe and thong, she made a beeline for the shower. She could deal with her sexual desires later. Right now, she needed money and lots of it if she wanted an excuse to keep those guys around. Whatever they were selling, she was buying.
* * * *
The loan officer was apologetic, but firm. “I’m afraid your original loan has already gone through, and although adding more to it is
possible…
”
His weak smile indicated that it was not. “Money is tight these days. I would recommend using the insurance money for the roof and perhaps taking on a partner to help pay for the rest of the remodeling.”
Partner.
How many times was she going to have to hear that word in one day? Too many, apparently—and not a prospect in sight. No one in her family was interested. They already had jobs, families, and other obligations. No time to help with the running of a B and B, and certainly no money.
Crap.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to make do with the money I’ve got. I can do the painting myself, I suppose.”
And probably make a total mess of it.
“Thanks.”
For nothing.
She left the bank intending to drown her sorrows in a tall cup of chai from Starbucks, but decided she’d better save her money for more important matters. Her next stop was the insurance agency, where she was pleased to find that her agent was far more understanding than the banker. After all, a house without a good, solid roof would soon be a total loss.
Thank God.
The whole partner issue returned to occupy her thoughts as she drove home,
sans
chai. Where in the world would she find a partner? Advertise on Craigslist? Stand on a street corner, holding a sign? She’d heard that the guys who did that made a ton of money. She could dress up like a bag lady and make a killing. If she didn’t get arrested or escorted out of town.
Pulling into the driveway, she saw that Ty and the others were still hard at work on the tree and already had the tarp spread out over the roof.
Thank goodness it isn’t raining
. She glanced around and realized that there were only two of them out there with chainsaws. Derrick was missing.
Taking a deep breath for courage, she figured she’d better face the music.
Ty saw her first and shut off his chainsaw, giving her a wave as he pushed up his goggles. The epitome of hardworking masculinity, he was dirty, sweaty, and had wood chips sticking to the parts of his face unprotected by the goggles. “How’d it go?”
“Insurance is a go. The bigger loan is a bust. I guess you guys will just have to do as much as you can until I run out of money. Looks like I’ll have to do the painting and refinishing myself.”
“We can still buy the paint for you. We get a discount.”
Thank God for small favors.
“That’d be great.”
“Did the bank have any other suggestions?”
She smiled bleakly. “Yeah. The same as yours. Take on a partner.”
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded as though giving himself permission before plunging on ahead. “What about multiple partners supplying labor, rather than money?”
Angelica was pretty sure he hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, but for some reason the “multiple partners” thing seemed sort of kinky. No way was she jumping to that conclusion, but the way he’d been winking at her made her wonder whether he was talking about a business partnership or something more intimate.
Where the hell is Joan when I need her?
“I don’t get it.”
He nodded toward Luke who was cutting the smaller limbs down to firewood length. “I mean the three of us not charging labor, giving us equity in the house. You could buy us out eventually, or we could stay on as partners. Well, actually our business would be partnered with your business, rather than us as individuals, but you get the idea.”
So, it
was
strictly a business deal.
See? You never
do
get these things right…
“Sounds complicated.” And probably was.
Very
complicated.
“Maybe. But you’d always have us on call for any repairs.”
It made perfectly good sense. A lot more than one tiny little woman trying to paint a three-story house inside and out all by herself. The mere thought of it made her back hurt.