Forrest, Dawn - Sweet Water Wedding: Sharing Shannon (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (23 page)

She looked into his eyes and what she saw made words superfluous, because his need matched her own. Their lips met and she could hear blood music, a steady swishing in her ears, and her heart beating hard in her chest as if it would break through and fly away. She placed her hand over his heart, confirming a pounding duet.

Their tongues danced and explored each other’s mouth. A blasphemous thought crossed her enraptured mind; that this was akin to a religious experience. It was as if his breath carried part of his spirit and she took it into herself as she breathed him in. Shannon entwined her fingers through his hair, pushed her body closer and deepened the kiss with savage intensity. They were in a vortex of desire; all emotion, passion and need were channeled through that kiss. She didn’t want it to end. She needed more.

“Hey, who’s out there?” a feminine voice called.

“Bloody hell,” heaved Shannon in frustration.

James swore under his breath, then opened the door and shouted, “It’s only us, James and Shannon, give us a minute.”

Rachael squinted into the night. She obviously couldn’t see much but recognized the voice.

“Oh, hey, no problem, I’ll see you inside. Do you want to come in for a coffee, James?”

“No thanks, Rachael, I’d better get back,” he called out.

* * * *

They stayed still for a second, settling their breathing. His self-control was frayed, but the interruption had returned gravity and bought them crashing back to reality. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t want their first time to be a quick fuck in the front of his car. His whole body had been one throbbing ache since watching Shannon on her knees, worshipping Luke’s cock. And it really had been an act of worship, untaken with a passion and reverence unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Luke was one lucky bastard.

He gave a humorless laugh, shaking his head, “It’s like being a teenager all over again.”

Shannon leaned her forehead to his. “Well I can only speak for myself but a kiss was never that good in my teens, in fact never that good...ever.”

“I know.” He had kissed hundreds of women, but only hers had branded his heart. He couldn’t express that it was like opening himself to a great well of feeling and that maybe he already falling in love with her. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Shannon must have sensed his deflated withdrawal because she held his face gently between her small hands and said, “I had a great time with you today, thanks for looking after me. It means a lot to me.”

“It was my pleasure.” He smiled, but of course he had wanted more. She could probably feel the outline of his erection pressed against her butt. At this rate his cock was going to have a permanent button pattern embedded along its length. Slowly and carefully she unwrapped herself from his body and dropped out of the vehicle.

“Good night, James,” she murmured regretfully.

He nodded, winked, and waved as he pulled away. That little redhead was unintentionally leading him in a merry song and dance. Except for the fact that his dick was pointing the way he wouldn’t know down from up. He had to admit it though, courting was a lot of fun, frustrating definitely, but fun-filled with sweet anticipation. He envied his partner’s carnal knowledge of her, but realized that today they had made significant progress toward the ultimate goal of having her together. He just needed to bear that in mind and keep his eye on the prize.

* * * *

As Shannon watched the red taillights disappear she tried to fathom out her behavior. She wasn’t an exhibitionist, yet she had dropped to her knees in a garden and sucked a man’s cock in full view of another, and it had aroused her more knowing that James was watching. That was so far out of her box as to be unreal. Her comfort zone had clearly got a whole lot bigger because she didn’t regret it at all, she just felt a bit confused and a whole lot turned on.

A low cough snapped her out of her reverie.

“Did I interrupt something?” Rachael sounded apologetic.

Shannon sighed wistfully. “Yes, but don’t worry about it, I’ve a sneaky suspicion we’ll be picking up where we left off.” She shook her head to help clear her thoughts. “Anyway you gin-soaked reprobate, how are you feeling now?”

“I’ll live.”

Chapter 14

The following week was busy, and James lamented the fact that he and Luke hadn’t had chance to be alone together with Shannon. They still had to work and both he and Shannon had responsibilities concerning the wedding. They had talked and had fun but always in the company of others. There had only been time for a few snatched kisses. Even so James knew that he was definitely falling in love with Shannon and that Luke was ahead of him. They’d been friends and lovers with a lot of woman and from experience he knew that what they felt for Shannon was different.

Rachael’s mother and father arrived on Monday and of course family and friends turned out to welcome them. James had the distinct impression that Rachael’s father, Richard Harrison, was at first taken aback by Joshua’s size and physical presence but he seemed to relax after Joshua had taken him and his wife, Meg, aside for a private talk.

Rachael’s older twin brothers, Liam and Cameron, arrived on Wednesday. Apparently staying true to their exuberant form, they entertained everyone until the wee small hours. James liked both guys and fortunately they seemed to get on well with Joshua, their future brother-in-law. They all had a lot in common with engineering backgrounds and working in the oil industry. He thought that they would be good to have along to the surprise bachelor party he was planning next week. The more strong guys they had to help kidnap his brother the better, because he strongly suspected that Joshua wouldn’t go quietly.

James had at first bristled with irritation when the twins hugged Shannon closely and teased her, but he soon realized that it was brotherly in nature and relaxed. Rachael had mentioned that her brothers were considering leaving Britain and returning to Ridge Water. She had also hinted that they were interested in the polyandry lifestyle. He knew a few pleasant women that liked causal threesomes and the thought of introducing them flitted across his mind. He dismissed the idea because the guys were looking for the real deal, not something casual, which was another thing they now had in common. Still he knew a few girls from ménage families that he might be able to orchestrate a meeting with, especially as they were attending the wedding reception.

* * * *

Shannon cheerfully undertook her chief bridesmaid and best friend duties. She kept Rachael calm, assisted with a few vet visits, ran errands, helped to double check things like the catering and flowers and attended the wedding rehearsal. Now she was enduring the final dress fitting before the wedding.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you for not making me wear peach,” Shannon said, grateful for the deep green dresses that the bridesmaids would be wearing.

“Are you kidding? I knew that you would be miserable in anything remotely peachy,” Rachael explained. “I also avoided red because I remembered you once saying that with your complexion it made you look like a ketchup bottle.” Shannon snorted a laugh as Rachael continued, “This color suits your red hair, Janet’s dark brown and Susan’s blonde. I’m going to get changed in private,” she blushed and mumbled. “The dress has a few modifications that only Joshua will ever see.” With that intriguing statement she quickly ducked into the changing room.

The three bridesmaids looked at each other and shrugged but didn’t say anything. They all were vaguely aware that Joshua wasn’t a ‘vanilla’ kind of guy. Janet threw a questioning look at Millie, the seamstress, but she just smiled and shook her head while making a zipping gesture across her mouth; she wasn’t saying a thing. When Rachael reappeared, there was a collective gasp of appreciation from the four of them.

If there was something kinky or odd about the dress, Shannon couldn’t see it. Rachael looked gorgeous in the white raw silk creation. The outfit was a relatively simple design, with a long A-line skirt falling to the floor and a strapless fitted bodice overlapping and finishing at her hips. It actually looked like a complete dress but Shannon knew it wasn’t. The neckline was scooped low and finished with a hanging of gauzy thin chiffon that emphasized Rachael’s generous breasts without revealing a thing.

“You look beautiful.” Shannon smiled at her friend as the others nodded in agreement. There was no danger of anyone upstaging the bride. The girls chatted lightly as the final adjustments to their dresses were made.

“Now we mustn’t overindulge over the next week and a bit,” Susan warned, patting her tummy and hips, “I may even have to forgo a date night.”

Shannon was surprised. “You have a date night? I thought that was for couples with kids.”

“Do guys ever really grow up?” Susan sighed. “No, my date night is for my big boys. Sometimes they need a bit of one on one time with me. We go out for dinner and stuff, just either me and Colin or Mark, and well, you know, have a night to ourselves. We do it maybe once a month.”

Shannon couldn’t contain her curiosity given that she might be facing a similar relationship.

“How did you get married to two men Susan, you’re not from Meadow Ridge County, and isn’t polyandry one husband too many?” she chuckled.

Susan barked a laugh. “Before I met them, that’s exactly what I thought about monogamy. I most certainly wasn’t looking to settle down with even one guy let alone two. I was the new teacher in town, and I met Colin first when I took my cat to the vet.” She smiled, clearly remembering when she’d first laid eyes on him. “Colin said that he had never been so happy that the rules about doctors not dating patients didn’t apply to vets and pet owners. To cut a long, convoluted story short, I couldn’t resist either of them. They whisked me off to Vegas for a quick civil marriage ceremony to Colin. Afterwards we had a family binding service in the local church here where we all said our vows.”

Shannon was still grappling with the idea of someone having two husbands, so she asked Susan if she wouldn’t mind explaining some of the mundane yet important aspects.

“We considered all the legal stuff very carefully. We have additional contracts regarding property and assets should something go wrong or heaven forbid one of us dies. I have kept my maiden name and of course the guys have kept theirs. Everyone in Ridge Water who knows us calls us by my surname. She laughed. “We are ‘The Joneses.’ Our children will have my surname, but the registered father will depend on DNA results. Both the guys will be equally active and involved no matter who the biological father is and will include all the children in their wills. We will try to work it out so that they have at least one child each. Other people do it differently. Fraternal polyandry is more common here. Luke’s fathers are brothers, as were the Rydens.” She smiled and nodded in Janet’s direction. “They just registered all the kids in the oldest man’s name who was also legally married to their mom.”

“Sounds complicated, why bother getting married at all in this day and age?” Shannon sounded exasperated.

Susan shook her head. “Ah, Shannon dear, you will find that as much as some things here are very different, some things are regarded as tradition and for many, sacred. Marriage, when a commitment is made, is regarded very seriously indeed here. I think that’s why the divorce rate is so low.”

Rachael grinned and squeezed Shannon’s hand. “Well at least that’s one thing that you could tell your mother!”

Shannon rolled her eyes. “Please, guys, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it is very, very, early days.”

“That may be,” chortled Janet, “but you’ve got James’s tail in a spin, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen him so totally and carefully focused about a woman. I’m just warning you because he tends to get what he really wants, but is so charming that you’ll say yes before he’s actually asked the question.”

Great, two smart guys, one who is a genius level manipulator. My odds just get better and better.

“I’m beginning to think that resistance is futile. Where’s that ‘luck of the Irish’ when you need it?” Shannon mused.

“Honey, if Ryden and McKay want you, I’d say it’s sitting in a pile on top of you,” drawled Millie with a sly grin, to everyone’s surprise.