Men Times Three (20 page)

“You should wear a hard hat,” he managed around his dry mouth. “This is a construction zone,” he said as she drew near enough to touch.

“I wanted to see the cabins up close.”

As much as she irritated him on every level, he wouldn't expose her to falling logs. “TJ, toss me your hard hat for Kylie.”

The yellow hat sailed across the yard into his hands and he passed it to her. When she took it, she brushed the back of his hand. “Is this on right?” she asked.

He adjusted it to sit more evenly on her head, aware of her fruity soap and underlying woman's scent. Before he could pull his hand back, she turned her mouth to the inside of his wrist and pressed her lips against his flesh. An electric jolt snapped and crackled down to his groin.

“Thanks,” she said lightly. “Show me the cabin wall?”

He did but kept well away from her. This was not the time to touch her again, because once he did that, he'd be lost, unable to do anything but continue. Tonight. He'd touch her all he wanted tonight.

The invitation was clear in her eyes, her body, the way she moved, even in the way she smelled. He didn't much care why or how this had happened. His raging hard-on was in full control.

“Do you have the floor plans?” she asked.

“Not here.”

“Because Holly says she hasn't even seen them.” She crossed her arms under her breasts and his mouth went dry. “Can you show me the plans tonight?”

“Sure.”

“Good, I want to start work on a different theme for each cabin.”

“Themes, sure.” This must be like decluttering. “We can take a break and look at the plans right now. Holly and Marnie may already have themes in mind.”

“They're leaving that to me. So far, they've been happy with everything I've done in the bedrooms.” Her eyes widened and said he'd be happy, too. His belly dropped as her message ricocheted through his chest. “We'll look at them later. Alone.”

He cocked an eyebrow and grinned. Her nipples rose. “Chilly out here?” He said with an obvious glance.

“Not at all. It's warm.” She lifted her silky tank top away from her chest and flapped it, giving him a glimpse of cleavage. “Some might say it's hot.”

“Hot. Yes.” His brain shut down by degrees as control shifted south of his waist. “It'll cool down tonight though,” he said. Her breasts jiggled with another shake on the material. His cock went into overdrive. A trickle of sweat slid down his temple to his cheek.

Out of the blue, she thumbed the bead. In brazen invitation she looked at her damp thumb, then licked his sweat clean off. “Mm. Tasty. I bet you're tasty all over.” She moistened her lips and stared heated come-get-me into his eyes.

He pulled her thumb away from her lips to inspect it. “A blister. You need to take care of that.” She blinked when he kissed the spot with a feather-light touch of his mouth.

Her eyes drifted closed then open again. Her breath hitched. “It's nothing. Proof of how much I want this place. I'm willing to work hard to get what I want.” Her green eyes darkened in promise.

He checked the rest of her fingertips on each hand, every blister earning another kiss. “No one should have to work this hard.” By the time he was done, she was shifting her legs and squeezing her upper thighs.

He loved the idea of her panties getting wetter with each tiny blessing of his mouth.

“Everyone should work hard for their dreams,” she murmured.

Amused at agreeing with every word, he said, “For once, you'll get no argument from me.”

He had two choices. Drag her behind the log wall where the crew might see or walk to the inn. He chose the inn and took off at a quick clip, her hand firmly in his.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked as he strode across the lot. He should steer clear of her, but he couldn't. She didn't even like him. He wasn't sure he liked her!

He dropped her hand, letting her choose to follow or not. “I need a drink of cold water. In the kitchen.”

Her throat worked and her eyes pulled at him. That talk about working for her dream had set off a chain of thoughts he hadn't had in years. He always thought he'd find his dream out in the wider world. But now, he wasn't so sure.

“I'm thirsty, too,” she said with nod.

He couldn't touch her again, not until they were alone, so he set off at an even faster clip. His balls tightened with each step.

His brothers settled their butts on the porch railing as they talked with Holly and Marnie. The women each had their feet on his brothers' knees. The closer he got, the more he read the sexual tension between the couples. Deke, never a man to hide his sexuality, ran his hands up Holly's calves.

Eli averted his gaze. “Must be something in the air,” he muttered as he bolted across the porch and into the cool quiet of the kitchen.

He pulled a glass out of a cupboard while Kylie walked in after him. He turned on the cold water faucet and slipped the glass under the stream. The water ran clean and cold. “In the third world a glass of clean water can be hard to come by.”

He shut off the water and leaned against the counter, facing her. He raised his glass and drank about half while she watched. God, she was fine.
Fine.
And tonight…

He let his eyes wander to her chest. “You sure you want to wait for tonight to go over the plans?” He dipped his fingers into the cold water and flicked droplets across her chest. She jerked at the cold shock. Before she could sputter and ruin the moment, he said, “You looked so hot, I thought you needed to cool down.”

She wet her bottom lip with her tongue, then she dipped his fingers in the water again. In a deft move, Kylie slid his water soaked fingers across her left nipple, then her right. Each one budded harder.

“In for a penny,” he said and snagged her upper arms. He dragged her close, slipped his hand into her hair and tugged her head back. When her neck tilted enough, he took her mouth in midgasp.

Kylie tasted like nectar and need as he slipped his tongue against hers. Blood rushed, leaving his brain on autopilot. She welcomed his tongue, lips firm and coaxing. She used her hips in a full-on body press and the metal edge of the counter bit his naked back. Her hands fluttered down his naked chest to land on the heavy leather of his tool belt. She moaned and pressed her soft belly against him.

Her softness pressed against his rising cock while she opened her thighs in invitation.

He kissed her deeply and allowed all the sensation he could muster. Grabbing her hair, he bent her head back to trail his lips down her neck to her collarbone. He cupped her breast and stroked her nipple with his thumb until she moaned assent and nipped at the skin behind his ear.

Kylie was tall and fit against him without adjustment. A first for him and the idea of stretching her out naked, her long limbs ready to entwine with his, made him harder still. He slipped his hands inside her tank top and lifted it to expose her nipples. Like black rosebuds, her nipples stood erect. “Teardrops, like I thought,” he murmured.

Heavy on the underside, her nipples slanted upward, inviting his mouth to suckle. He accepted the invitation and rolled first one then the other with his tongue and lips. Salty and warm, her tits filled his mouth and brought another slide of rocket-fuel heat to his back.

She responded with a gasp and slid one hand to the back of his head to hold him to her. Her other hand slid along his turgid rod. When she reached beneath and cupped him with a definite squeeze, he nearly lost control. She fondled him as he tucked a finger up the leg of her cutoffs to her crotch.

“You're wet,” he whispered with a groan pulled from his deepest fantasies of her. Too many days of denial called and teased as he circled the prize of wet folds. She sucked his lower lip, mashed her full breasts against his chest and slipped her arms around his waist.

His cock rose higher, her scent came to him, jasmine-sweet and aroused.

“Unh,” she groaned with a nearly imperceptible movement downward on his hand. “Yes, do that.” She shivered in his arms.

“You're ready to come so soon?”

“Close,” she muttered between kisses. “I've thought of this a time or two.” The confession rang true and must have cost her. She was so hot, so wet. Something had turned her on. Not that he cared what it was, he was just glad to be on the receiving end.

He set one finger to her center and pressed inside her slick heat. She shivered around his hand and gasped with urgent need as he worked his finger inside her. She shuddered again as another slide of moisture coated his hand.

She tugged at his fly, brushing against his erection with clumsy speed. “Yes, touch me there. I want—”

A hard rap on the glass startled them both. “Christ! It's TJ.” Eli stilled his hand, while she groaned against his lips.

“Can he see anything?” Her voice was breathy and high.

He turned his head enough to catch sight of his brother's ugly profile in the window. “No, he's not looking inside, he's looking at Marnie.”

Kylie sagged in relief as TJ's voice barreled through the window. “Break's over. Back to work.” TJ sauntered off the porch toward the cabin.

“Tonight,” Eli promised and released her.

She gasped again at the sudden loss of his hand between her legs. “Eli, you can't leave me hanging.”

“If I don't go now, TJ will come looking for me. One glance at you and he'll know what we've been doing.”

“And what have we been doing?”

He chuckled as he washed his hands. “Finally agreeing on something?”

She tilted her head in surprise. “We are.” Her hands grabbed his butt and she squeezed hard, then tugged his tool belt. “Wear this tonight,” she whispered in his ear. “I find it…inspiring.” Her breath warmed through to his belly and he grinned before sidestepping her to reach for the hand towel. He should have washed up before touching her but the moment had called for inspiration not logic.

“I'll wear it. Anything to help inspire you.” He winked at her. “I love the scent of the fruity soap you shower with.”

She nodded and patted his ass as he walked out on leaden legs. Leaving her was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

T
J tossed his hard hat to Eli so Kylie could put it on. The sparks between those two would cause a lightning strike if clouds rolled in. He wiped his brow with his forearm and focused on his true objective.

Marnie. She sat with her feet on the railing, her chair tilted back and a look in her eyes that screamed come and get it.

The rhythmic trail of her hand along her thighs was a sure-fire sign that she wasn't thinking of the cabins or the work being done.

He wasn't sure what had triggered her train of thought, but he didn't care. Fact was, she wanted him and that always brought on a firestorm.

Deke walked beside him and sucked in a deep breath. “I'm not sure we're going to get much work done after this break.”

“You just keep your eyes on your own woman.” He cut Holly a glance. Whatever had affected Marnie had Holly in its grip as well. “What the hell got these women so—”

“Horny? Who the hell cares?”

He followed Eli onto the porch. Marnie dropped her feet to the floor to allow his brother to pass. The second TJ settled his butt on the railing she bracketed his hips with her feet. From this angle, he had a clear view up her creamy thighs to her crotch. Deke was in the exact same position.

“Those logs are big,” Marnie said. Her eyes looked fevered, her voice husky. “Slipping them into place like that takes a lot of strength.” Her knees drifted together, then apart. She let her gaze roam across his chest and down to his lap.

He braced his hands on either side of her feet.

Holly spoke next. “And I had no idea you were so talented with that crane. Such precision work. You really know how to handle those logs, Deke.”

Suddenly Eli stormed across the porch and into the kitchen as if the hounds of hell were after him. But it was only Kylie, intent on catching up.

A look passed between Marnie and Holly, followed by suggestive smiles tossed at the men. Holly stood and held out her hand to Deke.

He dogged her steps around the corner of the inn, leaving TJ alone with Marnie. “What's going on?” But the glow in her eyes was all the answer he needed.

For the first time since that summer all those years ago, he saw the light of admiration in her eyes. He'd bask in her appreciation all day if she'd let him.

He never wanted that light to dim. He wanted it in his life from now on.

She stood and flowed into his arms with a kiss that rocked through to his soul. “Thomas John. You don't need instructions, do you?” Then she took his hand and tugged him along the porch and into Jon Dawson's woodworking shop.

“Jesus, Marnie. The place is full of people…” The protest died as she shoved him against the closed door and dropped to the floor. She worked at the buckle of his tool belt, then looked up at him with a grin.

“I think I'll leave that on.” She opened his tab and fly and yanked his jeans down to his knees.

Already erect, he leaned back against the shop door and closed his eyes with anticipation. Her mouth slid over his full tip and down his shaft in a smooth slide. Sensation rolled in waves up his back as he clasped her head to hold her there. Heaven! She suckled and tongued him and eventually opened her throat to take every inch.

“I love your taste,” she said between slides. “So salty. So you.”

He braced her shoulders between his knees and rocked into her mouth again and again in an easy rhythm. When her hand cupped his sac, he nearly lost it, but there was no time for finesse and he wasn't going to come alone.

Not like this, not with her. Not today when he'd finally seen that look in her eyes.

He coaxed her off her knees. “Take off your shorts.” She obliged in silence while he draped a heavy leather apron across the top of the workbench. He lifted her naked butt to the bench and fitted himself to her entrance.

“Do me, Thomas John. Fuck me hard and deep.” She draped her knees over his elbows and scooted closer. He fit his thick head into her pussy and let the sensation overtake them as she opened to receive him. “I need you. Now.”

She was wetter than she'd ever been before. Wetter. Hotter. More swollen. She shuddered when he didn't move. He felt the inner clenching of her channel as he slid in another millimeter. “I'm not going to last, so you'd better be ready to come when I'm in deep.”

Her eyes flared into twin flames of need as she reached for his hips to draw him in. “No worries, partner, I'm ready.”

He thumbed her clit and watched as she rolled her head back and braced herself on the bench. He cupped a breast and squeezed and plucked the nipple as he slid his shaft in to halfway.

He pulled out and saw the gleam of her juices coating his cock. The sight took him over the edge of reason and in one deep stroke he plunged in.

She crooned at the pressure and bounced her ass to take more. He rubbed her bud harder in wider circles and moisture flowed over his scalding flesh.

The rush took him over then and he pumped without thought, without reason until her breath hitched and her vaginal walls clamped and released in orgasm. She bit her lip and groaned as sensation rose and he spewed into her with a wild burr of release. “Marnie, God! I love you. I love this.”

When he opened his eyes, she kept hers closed for a moment to savor the glow. He pulled out and stepped back. “Are you okay? We forgot protection.”

She closed her legs quickly. “I'm healthy, if that's what you mean. And I use birth control.” She slid off the bench with a little hop.

“I'm healthy, too. Regular blood donor.” He tucked and zipped and grinned. “Great way to spend the break. What gave you the idea?”

She slipped a finger into his tool belt and tugged. “Are you kidding? Men really have no idea, do they?” She kissed him before he could answer.

When she was done blowing his mind again, she opened the door and sauntered along the porch to the table and chairs. She raised an empty tumbler, filled it with ice cubes from the ice chest and then splashed tea into the glass. She cocked her hip and raised the tumbler like an offering, her eyes full of sexy promise.

It was then he recalled she hadn't said it back. The big
L
word.

Hm. Too late to take it back, and he didn't want to. She had huge decisions on her plate and she needed all the facts in order to make the right one for her.

And the fact he loved her was salient. At least to him.

Hm.

He'd be patient. She was still getting used to him. Still more in her element in her dance club than here in the quiet trees and the sighing woods.

She passed him the drink. “I'm going to set up a Web site for the inn. If Holly and Kylie have their hearts set on running the place, even for one season, then it's the least I can do.” She lifted the corner of her mouth in a sheepish gesture. “I know how hard it is to get a business off the ground. If I dig in my heels, I'm only being a bitch.”

“And if you help with the Web site, you'll feel better?”

“You got it. I love Holly like a sister and I don't want any hard feelings over my decision on the inn.”

“So, you think you want to let Dennis change the focus of BackLit?”

“I didn't say that. I'm still going over his figures, asking questions. It isn't the kind of business you can find in a phone directory. But there are definite possibilities for profit there.” She put her hands on her hips and blew out a frustrated breath. “There, I said it. I'm intrigued by the profit margins.”

“Profit makes the world go round.”

She chuckled. “Spoken like a tried-and-true capitalist. And I happen to agree.”

“You've got a lot to consider.”

She set her palm to his cheek and stretched to bless his cheek with a kiss. “Yes, I do.” Her eyes shone and he knew she'd heard his too-soon declaration and had added it to her considerations.

“I know you'll work this out. You're smart enough to know exactly what you want.”

“Thanks, Thomas John.”

The use of his full name made him think of sex again. She only used it when she was feeling warm and friendly, like those first moments of recognition when she'd arrived. Once she'd seen the clearing out back, she'd reverted to TJ.

“Let me see the Web site when you're done.” Creation would give her a sense of ownership of the inn, in spite of her desire to sell. That emotional connection to the place would act in his favor. “You'll want to link to the locals. Chamber of commerce, the tourist association.”

He drank the icy tea then peered into the kitchen. Eli had his arms full of Kylie, and from the looks of things, they were about to finally set off that lightning storm. He could leave them be for a few minutes. Or not and drive Eli batty.

He rapped once on the kitchen window, keeping his face averted so as not to embarrass Kylie for her lack of taste in men. Hah! Take that, little brother.

“Break's over,” he called. “Back to work.” He gave Marnie a wink and a soft squeeze on her ass before he sauntered back to the cabin. “Hey, boys,” he called to the crew. “I hope you're ready to get back to it. Nothing like a short break to revive a man.”

 

Deke watched Kylie stride out to meet Eli, who'd suddenly fallen out of step and lagged behind. A second later, TJ tossed his hard hat across the yard. Deke shook his head. About time Kylie and Eli sorted out their shit. They'd been in heat for days, but too stubborn to admit it.

He liked the arrangement he had with Holly. They'd started with hot sex and continued that way. The things she could do with her tongue drove him wild.

His next glance at Holly nearly felled him in his tracks. She had her feet on the porch railing about hip width apart, like Marnie did. He'd been with her long enough to read her signals and one of them was the habit she had of pressing the sides of her breasts together with her arms. The effect was a line of cleavage that drew a man to thoughts of soft flesh surrounding a hard cock. “I'm not sure we're going to get much work done after this break.”

After that he went on automatic as he drew close enough to read the full-out arousal in Holly's gaze. He stood between those elegant legs of hers and watched as she pressed and released her tits. Asking for it. Just begging.

Eli rushed into the kitchen in a burr of male need with Kylie quick as a mink on his heels.

With TJ and Marnie shooting sparks of their own, he took the lead and tilted his head toward the corner of the inn. Holly stood, took his hand and they left the porch without a word.

Her hand was hot in his, and she leaned close to brush her nipple against his bare arm. “It was hot in the crane,” he said. “I'm a little sweaty.”

“You smell like a man. My man. And that's all I care about. Now, take me somewhere we can be alone.”

He couldn't help being surprised. He'd been a pig all week, demanding sex whenever, wherever the mood struck him. He wasn't sure why, but he'd needed to fuck her time and again.
Fuck
being the operative word. He hadn't been gentle. He hadn't been kind.

He'd been driven by some primal need to possess, a need he'd been powerless to overcome alone. The fact that she hadn't kicked him to the curb made his head spin. “Are you sure? I haven't been the easiest man to live with—”

“Shut up, Deke, and follow me.”

He didn't need to hear it twice. She led him through the front door of the inn and up the stairs with a speed that made him wonder what he was in for. Once inside the front bedroom, she closed the door, pushed him onto the bed and straddled him.

“Holly?” She'd been aroused quickly many times. She'd teased and coaxed and flirted his cock into full erection time and again, but she'd never been aggressive. Not like this.

He couldn't believe the speed in her hands as she undid his jeans and stripped them down to his knees. He tried to kick his jeans off and undo his tool belt at the same time but he was trapped. She pushed his hands away from his buckle. It was the oddest feeling to be trapped in his own jeans, unable to free himself.

But this was Holly and the lust in her gaze made him settle in for a great ride. “Won't the buckle on my belt hurt you?”

“No. I like the belt on. Leave it.” She ran her hands over the leather. “Yes, I like the belt.” She stripped off her shorts in a deft move and licked the sweat off his belly. “You taste good, Deke, like a man.” Her fingers swirled through his chest hair and pulled a few strands taut.

He felt the pull and his hips jerked in response. “Like that, Deke? Do you like that I'm taking you instead of the other way around?”

He nodded without speaking, half afraid he'd say the wrong thing. Her scent wafted up from between her legs, so heavy with desire he wanted to ask for a taste, but this new version of Holly might say no, so he asked for nothing.

“You lay there and take it, Deke. Like I've had to all week. You've fucked me raw ever since I saw Jack and it's my turn now.”

Jack! That bastard had bullied and frightened her and Deke had been a hair's breadth from that same behavior all week. Ashamed, he settled back to let her have her moment.

Not that it would hurt him any to be under her thumb for a change. He deserved this slice of comeuppance. “Okay, you've got my attention.” And her taking charge was kind of hot. Correction, a whole lot of hot.

“Good.” She spit on both hands and spread the saliva all across her delicate palms, then braced each hand on either side of his cock. She rolled his shaft between her wet palms. Quick strokes while his skin slid and pulled.

He arched, shocked by the wild twist, but she didn't stop, just worked him harder, faster until the tip of his cock wept with pre-come. His balls contracted and flexed.

“No, you can't come until I say so.” She gave him a powerful twist that racked his balls into hard nuts. “You will eat me now and like it.”