Training the Help [Hedon Falls 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (19 page)

Sophie stood up and turned. When her eyes met Kendra’s, a deep flush began to spread across her neck and face. The extra color made her glow with vitality. Kendra moved up to her and reached into the fridge for a bottle of water. With satisfaction, she noted the way Sophie’s eyes traveled over the front of Kendra’s shirt.
At least I know she still wants me
. They stared at each other for a moment before Sophie lowered her gaze and moved out of the way without a word.

Kendra sighed. “Sophie, this isn’t going to work.”

Without turning, Sophie replied, “What’s not going to work?”

“The silent treatment. I know you don’t want to have a physical relationship with me, but I could still use a friend.” Kendra paused for a moment, unsure how to express her feelings. “I don’t have any friends, really. Anyone I knew from when I was younger just wants things from me now. They don’t want to just hang out and talk. They don’t want to go shopping with me in disguise. They want everyone else to know exactly who they’re with. But you’re not like that. You don’t seem to care who I am, you just want to know me. And besides Jack, you’re the only person I can be myself around.”

Kendra could see tears brimming in Sophie’s eyes. The younger woman ran into Kendra’s arms and they held each other as they cried. After a few moments, Kendra lifted her head and brushed a gentle kiss across Sophie’s lips. “Friends?” she asked.

“Friends,” Sophie replied with a nod.

“Good. Maybe tonight we can watch a movie and eat popcorn and talk about boys, or something like that.” Sophie laughed and the sound was beautiful to Kendra’s ears. She felt a lot better than she had last night.

Their evening was a lot of fun. They had acted like a couple of teenagers, playing truth or dare, gossiping, and giggling until late into the evening. They decided to watch a movie and settled in on the couch in the screening room with popcorn.

It wasn’t long before Kendra noticed Sophie’s deep, even breathing. She was lying with her head on the opposite end of the couch and Kendra could see her eyes closed, the long lashes fanning out against the top of her cheek. She looked so peaceful when she slept. Standing, Kendra went to Sophie’s room to retrieve a blanket. She draped it over the sleeping woman and crouched down in front of her just to look. She reached out and carefully brushed a piece of hair off Sophie’s face. Taking care not to wake her friend, she leaned forward and kissed her softly before heading up to her own room.

Things were a little easier between Kendra and Sophie after that. Kendra enjoyed the time they spent together and they learned a lot about each other. Being friends was easy, and though Kendra would certainly take more if Sophie offered it, she wasn’t going to push. She had to work out her own feelings. She loved her husband and had no desire to leave him. Yet, she couldn’t deny that what she felt for Sophie was beginning to seem just as intense. Her stomach fluttered when Sophie was nearby, and she looked forward to every moment together. She often dreamed about Sophie at night. It was almost as if she was falling in love. Kendra had slept with women before, but she’d never been in love with any. Did she love Sophie? Kendra’s confusion seemed to grow with every moment she spent with the other woman.

When Jack arrived home on Tuesday evening, her heart leaped at the sight of him. He pulled her into his arms and his kiss ignited a flame of desire inside her. The muscles in his back rippled against her hands as she clung to him. His erection pressed into her stomach and she loved that they could still both desire each other like this, even after ten years. So many celebrity marriages ended quickly. When he lowered his lips to her neck, she gasped. His kisses left a trail of fire behind them, which created a large pool of heat between her legs.

He lifted his head to look at her and his brown eyes were dark with hunger. As he slid a hand down to squeeze her ass, he murmured, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered. Then she grabbed his head and pulled him down for another kiss, forgetting everything else as she lost herself in the sensation. Hearing the sharp sound of a door slamming brought her back to the present. She pulled away from Jack a little bit and turned her head in the direction of the sound. It was Sophie’s room, and Kendra suddenly felt a little sick. She looked up at Jack. “Sophie—”

“I’ll go talk to her,” Jack said softly before planting one last kiss on Kendra’s lips. She watched as he pulled off his jacket, tossed it over the back of a chair, and strode off in the direction of Sophie’s room.

Jack always enjoyed coming home to his wife. It was true what they said about absence making the heart grow fonder. She always greeted him with passion, and more often than not, an intense round of lovemaking. But this time, there was someone else he was just as eager to see. As he walked toward Sophie’s room, he realized that he had missed her just as much as he had Kendra. He wanted to pull her into his arms and feel the warmth of her lips against his, the softness of her body against him. But first, he needed to talk to her. He was concerned about Sophie not wanting to continue training with Kendra. Possibly she was uncomfortable with being with a woman. Kendra had told him how she fingered Sophie to orgasm that first time. That story had made his cock throb almost painfully. He wanted to watch it happen sometime, but it wouldn’t if Sophie didn’t continue her training.

He knocked on the door to her suite. When there was no response, he opened the door and went inside. He found Sophie curled up on her bed, sobbing. His heart clenched. He hadn’t stopped to think how she might feel to see him kissing another woman. If he saw Kendra with someone else, he’d be hurt and angry. He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch Sophie’s back. She jerked away from his touch and he had to resist the urge to grab her and force her to look at him.

“I missed you, Sophie,” he told her.

“Whatever,” she mumbled.

Anger flashed through Jack. His hand snaked out and smacked her sharply on the ass. She yelped and turned to glare at him. Before she could say anything, he yanked her hands together and pushed them over her head. He climbed on top of her and kissed her, hard. She squirmed and struggled underneath him at first, refusing to respond to the kiss. But he didn’t relent and it wasn’t long before she was kissing him back and bucking her hips up against him. Gripping her wrists with one hand, he brought the other down to grasp at her breasts, the soft flesh filling his hands. He could feel her stiff nipple pressed against the palm of his hand and pinched it between his fingers. She groaned against his mouth and his cock hardened even more. He dragged his lips from her mouth to nip at her neck and collarbone, drawing more gasps from her.

“Jack,” she gasped, which was followed closely by a moan as he tweaked her nipple again. “Jack…please…”

He ignored her and began to work his hand underneath her shirt, longing to feel her soft skin under his fingers and hoping to get his mouth on her sweet tits. He wanted her so much. He needed to be with her.

“Jack! Books!” she cried out. “Books!”

Jack froze. She was using her safe word? Why the hell would she be doing that? He lifted his eyes to look at her. Moisture filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. He shifted off of her and sat up, confused. “Sophie, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” she cried. “What’s wrong is that you’re married to Kendra. You can’t come in here and act like this when she’s just in the next room! It’s not fair to me and it’s not fair to her.” Sophie jumped up off the bed and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Jack spit out a curse and stomped over to the bathroom door. “Sophie!” he bellowed. “Get out here, now!”

“No way!”

Jack inhaled sharply. He wasn’t sure what happened to his sub, but he didn’t like her defiance. “Get out here and talk to me, or your ass will be so sore you won’t sit down for a week!”

“Fuck you!” she screamed. “Sir!”

He felt as though she had slapped him. He had no idea what was wrong and he couldn’t fix it if she wouldn’t talk to him. He didn’t like feeling like there was a situation he couldn’t control. Resisting the urge to break down the door and drag Sophie out, Jack spun on his heel and strode back to the kitchen. Kendra was sitting at the table and looked up at him.

“Well?” she asked. “Did she say anything?”

“After locking herself in the bathroom, she said, ‘Fuck you, Sir.’”

Kendra’s jaw dropped. “She didn’t?”

Jack’s mouth was drawn painfully tight. “She did. And she won’t say what’s bugging her.”

“What’s bugging me is you two and all your fucking lies!”

Jack whirled to see Sophie standing at the door to the garage. She had her coat on and her keys dangled from her hand.

“I’m going out for a while,” she said. “I suggest you two have a chat while I’m gone.”

Before Jack or Kendra could say anything, she had slammed the garage door and they heard her car start up a moment later. Jack stared at the door. She was right. He couldn’t keep lying to Kendra. But he was scared that if he told her the truth, he’d lose both of them. He turned toward his wife, who was staring down at her hands. With a deep breath, he sat across from her and pulled her hands into his.

“Kendra—” he began.

“Jack—” she said at the same time, and then laughed nervously. “Please, let me talk.”

He wasn’t sure what Kendra needed to tell him, but it couldn’t possibly be as bad as his confession, so he nodded at her and waited.

Kendra took a deep breath and exhaled it in a whoosh. “I fucked Sophie.”

Jack stared at her for a moment, not comprehending. Before he could say anything else, she continued.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I caught her using the Sybian in the playroom, and it was so hot. It had been so long since I’d been with a woman and I just couldn’t help myself. And when she started calling me Mistress, it was just amazing.” She paused and searched his eyes. “I love you, Jack, but she gives me something that you can’t.”

Shock took charge of his body, shutting down his ability to move or to speak. One thought raced through his brain. Kendra fucked Sophie. The same woman he was fucking. And he didn’t know how he felt about it. Anger at Kendra’s betrayal, guilt over his own infidelity, relief that he wouldn’t have to hide much longer, and under it all, arousal at the thought of the women he loved naked and pleasuring one another.

“Jack? Please, say something.”

He thought about it for a moment before speaking. “As surprised as I am by that, it makes what I have to say a little easier.” He inhaled deeply and then continued. “The truth is, I slept with her, too. And it was just like you said. I got carried away. I wanted her so badly, and she agreed to go to the playroom. I couldn’t stop myself.”

He watched Kendra’s face, looking for some reaction. She sat in silence for a few long moments, before she jumped up and ran from the room.

“Fuck,” Jack muttered as he followed her. She tore up the stairs and into the master suite. When he caught up, she was lying on the bed crying. “Kendra, what’s wrong?”

She sat up and threw a pillow at him. “You fucking bastard!”

Confused, Jack said, “I don’t get it! You slept with her, too!”

“I did, but it’s not like you’ve got a pussy I could suck! You can’t give me what she does. But if
you
want to fuck a woman, you’ve got your wife!” Her voice echoed through the room.

Anger gripped Jack. “I don’t care if she’s got a pussy or a dick, you fucked her. Just because she’s the same sex doesn’t make it okay. If it’s wrong for me, it’s wrong for you, too!”

She opened her mouth but Jack cut her off. “Stop it, Kendra! It’s a fucking double standard and you know it. And she gives me something that you can’t. She submits to me. She lets me be the Dom that I need to be, and you know firsthand how arousing that is. You would never dream of being the sub that she is. So according to your example, it should be fine for me, too.”

She looked at him for a moment, her mouth opening and closing without a sound. Without a word, she stormed out of the room.

* * * *

Sophie sat in her car, looking out over the waterfall that gave the town its name. Watching the water tumble over the rocks was relaxing. She sipped the hot coffee in its paper takeout cup while she thought about her employers. She felt terrible about the way she had behaved, but they had put her in the position of having to keep secrets from both of them.
Don’t kid yourself, Sophie. You are the one who put yourself in that position. They just helped
. She sighed. It was true. If she hadn’t been so horny and if she’d had better self-control she could have avoided all of it. She couldn’t blame Jack and Kendra for her mistakes. And as difficult as the decision was, she knew she had to leave them. It was a great job, but it wasn’t worth the heartache.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the ringing of her cell phone. That’ll be one of them, she thought as she answered the phone without checking the display. “Hi,” she said.

“You finally decided to answer my call.”
Fuck!
It was Tony.

Annoyance flared. “Tony, stop calling me. It’s over. We’re done. Go fuck yourself.”

“You stupid little—”