Winter Fire: A Red Hot Winter Story (11 page)

“Loving it.” She sighed in pleasure. “Do that again.”

He did. It was all any of them needed. Even as the remaining tingles of the orgasm fluttered away, Garreth and Jackson began to fuck her in earnest. Jackson plunged into her and then withdrew, and Garreth bounced her on his lap, driving up her from behind.

Rachel couldn’t hold still. When Jackson plunged into her again, she thrust back against his invading cock, and when Garreth drove up her back passage, she ground down on him.

Perhaps it was the men’s past experience, but Rachel was surprised there was no fumbling, no misplaced body parts. The two of them worked in perfect harmony, bringing her such exquisite delight she thought she might die from it.

Perfect, passionate pleasure at the hands of two men.

Garreth and Jackson.

Jackson and Garreth.

So perfect was the pleasure, she couldn’t deter the build to another climax. It spiraled down upon her, overwhelming her, usurping her senses, commandeering her desires. The sensation of two penises inside her was too powerful.

The orgasm hit, the most potent one ever. It tore through her, shattering her composure. Surges of satisfaction rocked her world. Her pussy and her ass clamped down around Jackson and Garreth, milking them both.

Garreth lost control. As Rachel exploded around him, he slammed into her one last time and howled. His dick beat rhythmically in her ass, telling her he was spurting stream upon stream of semen into his condom.

His release must have spurred Jackson’s, because he froze, for just a second, before crying out in agony. He threw his shoulders back, arched his back and erupted in her pussy.

A more magnificent sight Rachel had never seen. A more incredible experience she’d never had. It was a night, a moment, Rachel knew she’d remember for the rest of her life.

Chapter Seven

They bathed together. All three of them, in the massive spa bath in the bathroom, with Garreth and Jackson soaping away every last trace of stickiness from her body. Then they climbed into bed and fell into an exhausted sleep.

In the wee hours of the morning, they woke again. Their love making was calmer this time, but just as gratifying. Rachel lay on Jackson, chest to chest, his cock in her pussy, and Garreth knelt behind them, his shaft buried in her ass.

“Last time,” Garreth murmured, seconds before they came together in a heated rush.

When Jackson disappeared into the bathroom after lovingly cleaning Rachel with a warm cloth, Garreth stood, leaned over her and pressed a kiss to Rachel’s lips. She sat up, satisfied but tender.

“Those were my marching orders,” he told her. “It’s time for me to go.”

Rachel stared at him with wide eyes. “Now? In the middle of the night?”

He smiled at her. “My job here is done. The two of you need to be alone.”

She frowned. “And you’re okay with that?” He felt no resentment?

“More than okay. I told you, you and Jack are meant to be together. Not you, Jack and me.”

She gave him a half smile. Sure, she and Jack were meant to be together, but a night of ménage sex hadn’t changed anything. Jenna still stood between them like an impenetrable brick wall.

She laid a hand on her cheek. “Thank you, Garreth. For everything.” He’d tried to give Jackson and her a start at something, and for that she would be forever grateful—even if Jackson chose to walk out of her chalet just minutes after Garreth left.

“My pleasure, sweet thing.”

“You know, when we first met, you called me an alchemist. But you’re the real alchemist here. You’re the one who’s striving to create gold where none exists.”

“You and Jackson could become gold together. You just need to work out a few things.”

She leaned forward and kissed his lips. “I hope that one day the woman you love comes to her senses and realizes what she’s missing out on.”

She must have caught Garreth off-guard, because his face fell. He looked at her with devastated, haunted eyes. “I do too,” he said at last. “But it’s not going to happen.” His skin paled and his eyes filled with grief.

He’d looked just as broken when they’d spoken last night. When Garreth had told her he knew the truth about Jenna’s past.

Oh, dear God. Could it be? Was it possible?

It was. And it made sense too. It would explain why Garreth was so desperate to get her and Jackson together: because he understood how they felt being forced apart. And he understood because, if Rachel’s guess was correct, he’d experienced almost the identical torment.

“It’s Jenna,” Rachel said. “The woman you love. Isn’t it?”

He blinked hard but didn’t answer.

“That’s why you’re so intent on things working out between Jackson and myself. You understand it all too well because you’ve been through it too.”

Garreth rubbed a hand over his eyes, looking suddenly bone-weary.

“She loves you too?”

He nodded.

“But she won’t act on it because you’re Jackson’s friend.” Jenna staunchly believed that if Jackson could not date her friends, then his friends were strictly off-limits to her. Since the
incident
, she’d had a very strong sense of fairness and justice.

He gave her a sad smile. “I’m like you. Off-limits to the Brooks twin I love.”

“God, Garreth, I’m so sorry.” Her heart broke a little then. For him and for her. For the two people helplessly in love with the twins who refused to openly love them back—regardless of their feelings for them.

“Me too, sweet thing. Me too.” He shrugged. “That’s why I’m going back to Canada. I can’t have her, and I can’t bear to see her with anyone else. It’s killing me.” He gave her a self-deprecating smile. “Pathetic, huh?”

As pathetic as her being in Sydney. She suspected he’d deliberately used the very word she’d used yesterday. “No. Just sad. Just very, very sad.”

And then, because she didn’t know what else to say, she stood up and hugged him. He hugged her back, holding her tight.

“Make it work, Rach. Don’t let Jackson walk away. You have him in your bed. Now keep him in your life.”

“I’ll try,” she promised. And she would. But what could she do? Jackson had protected his sister for twelve years. He wouldn’t stop now. Not even for her.

“Where’s Gazza?” Jackson looked around the room, expecting to see him. Rachel was curled up on the couch by herself.

“He left.”

“Voluntarily?” Would surprises never cease?

She nodded and bit her lower lip. “He said we needed to be alone. You and I.”

Ah, that they did. He and Rachel, alone. Just the two of them. For the rest of their lives.

Not going to happen.

Fuck that. Jackson crossed the room to sit beside her. When he opened his arms wide, Rachel moved into them without hesitation. She crawled onto his lap and wound her arms around his neck. He held her close. Held her tight. Held her to him and refused to let go. Ever. A wave of love rolled through him, so powerful it made him shake.

Over two years ago he’d vowed to never touch her again, never make love to her again. He’d broken those vows. Smashed them to smithereens. Christ, he should have known it would come to this. Should have realized he’d never be able to hold back.

He and Rachel were meant to be together. They were interlocking pieces of the puzzle called love. What the two of them shared wasn’t a passing whim. It wasn’t a quick fuck when his sister wasn’t looking. It was the real thing. Walking away wasn’t going to make it less real. It wasn’t going to make his feelings go away. They’d tried that route. Tried it for years, and look how successful they’d been.

Not at all.

“I love you, baby.” The words were out before he realized he’d spoken them. “I love you so damn much it hurts just to be near you.”

Rachel looked up at him, meeting his gaze. Her eyes filled with tears. “It hurts more when we’re apart,” she whispered. “I hate it. Hate not being near you. Hate not being able to talk to you. I h-hate not seeing you.”

Christ, what a fucked-up situation. They couldn’t be together, and they couldn’t survive apart. With a frustrated groan, he crushed his lips over hers, kissing her with every iota of passion and love he felt.

If Rachel had sat lifelessly in his arms and merely accepted his mouth, the force of his kiss may have hurt her, but she wasn’t passive. She kissed him back with just as much emotion. Just as much passion.

Frustration and dissatisfaction swirled around them, a couple supposed to be together and forced to be apart. Fuck, it wasn’t right. Wasn’t fair.

He pulled away to catch his breath, and her scent filled his nose. She smelled of him. And of sex. And of Gazza.

She smelled of Garreth. His woman smelled of his housemate.

No fucking way. Never again. Last night he’d been prepared to share. Now the scent of another man on his woman made his hackles rise.

Without thinking twice, he rose, still holding Rachel in his arms. Within seconds they stood naked in the shower beneath a torrent of scalding water.

Making love to her with Gazza had fucked with his head. The thought of Garreth touching his woman still made him so irate he could do his friend serious injury. Yes, sharing a woman with his friend was erotic beyond his wildest imagination, and sharing Rachel with Garreth… Christ. He was getting hard again just thinking about it.

But if Garreth ever came near his woman in a sexual way again, his housemate would not live to see another day. Their era of threesomes was over. Tonight had been the last hurrah. Tonight they’d crossed a line. They’d slept with the woman Jackson loved, and as hugely arousing as it had been, it had also disturbed Jackson no end.

“The water’s too hot,” Rachel complained.

He set his face in a stubborn frown. “It has to be this hot. It has to burn away every last trace of Garreth from your skin, from your memory.”

Rachel squared her shoulders as water sluiced around them. “Don’t you dare take your frustration out on Garreth.” She scowled up at him. “He isn’t the issue. He’s not what’s keeping us apart.”

Jackson scowled right back at her. “He slept with you! You slept with him.”

“Is that the problem?” Rachel demanded. “Me sleeping with your housemate? Seriously? It’s just about sex?”

“What the fuck else could my problem be?” Jackson shot back. “Every time I close my eyes I see him fucking you. Fucking the woman I love.”

“Garreth did this for us.” Her voice grew louder as she became more agitated. “He did it for you and me, so we could be together. He said you’d come after me if you felt threatened enough by the idea of him and me in bed together.”

Jackson had to give his housemate credit. “The little bastard knows me too well.”

“He’s not a bastard.” She glared at him. “He’s your friend. And he’s a damn good friend if you ask me.”

“Maybe so. Doesn’t mean I didn’t fucking hate watching him touch you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re mine, damn it.” It was his turn to raise his voice. “You are mine. Not his.”

Rachel shrank back, moved away from him, as far away as the shower stall would allow. “No, I’m not.”

“What the—”

“I’m not yours, Jackson.” Her voice was calmer now, as was her face. “I never have been. Not in all the twelve years I’ve loved you.”

A muscle worked in his jaw as Jackson tried furiously to think of a reply. Nothing came to mind. She was right. Didn’t matter how much she loved him or he loved her, not once had she ever truly been his.

Reality had demanded she never would be.

If Jackson were honest with himself, one hundred percent honest, he’d acknowledge that the anger he’d targeted at Garreth had in fact stemmed from the situation that kept him and Rachel apart. It was their forced separation that infuriated him. It wasn’t Garreth.

Rachel reached behind him and turned the tap, switching off the water. Silence and steam filled the bathroom.

Drops of water slid from his body, landing with tiny splashes on the floor.

“I love you, Jackson,” Rachel said quietly. “I always will. But Jenna might as well be standing between us, right now, pushing us apart. I can never be yours, because neither of you would ever let that happen.”

A sense of powerlessness suffused him. “She’s my sister. I have to protect her.” At least Rachel understood that much. Agreed with him on that.

“Protect her from me?”

Jackson froze.

“That’s what it all boils down to with us,” Rachel told him. Her hands began to tremble. “You’re protecting her from me. From her best friend. Because if you’re with me, then Jenna stands a chance of being hurt again.”

She placed her hands over her chest. The tremor was no longer restricted to her hands. Her whole body began to shake. “I’ve become the girl with the power to spread the rumors in high school. The one capable of ruining Jenna’s life. You won’t be with me because I might hurt Jenna.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I love Jenna. She’s my best friend. She’ll always be my best friend. I could never hurt her. No matter what happened between you and me.”

Rachel’s words struck him with the impact of a bullet.

Holy fuck. How could he have never seen it in this light before?

By refusing to be with Rachel, Jackson wasn’t protecting Jenna from all the evils out there in the world, he was protecting her from
her own best friend.
A very real best friend, not a teenager with an infantile and selfish view of the world.

Rachel wasn’t the selfish bitch who’d ruined Jenna’s life. She was the woman who’d drawn his sister out of her shell and helped her find herself again. The woman who’d dried Jenna’s tears every time she’d cried, who’d lifted her back up every time she’d stumbled. The woman who’d given up her life to move to another city, just so she wouldn’t be tempted by Jenna’s brother.

Christ, Gazza had called it the minute he’d met her. He’d seen what Jackson hadn’t been able to. That in trying to protect Jenna from an old hurt, he’d turned Rachel into a possible threat.

Rachel wasn’t a threat. She never had been. She never would be. She was the person who’d made his sister’s life richer, and if he’d just give her the chance, she could be the person who’d make his life whole.