Sexual Healing for Three (38 page)

“I wondered when you’d show up.”

“I was told you were expecting me.”

“I miss you when you’re not here.”

Chance didn’t miss her sincerity or the part she left out, when you’re not here
with us
, like he was the lost piece to their puzzle.

“I called you,” she said.

“I got your message on my cell, but I was a little too tied up to answer or call back.”

“I was a little tied up myself.”

He caught the impish grin and slid a hand between her thighs. He caressed her slippery, moist folds. “I figured, rather than call, I’d just come straight over after my shift to see what was up.”

“From the looks of it, you are.”

304

Gracie C. McKeever

At her tantalizing whisper, Chance glanced down at his jutting cock as she reached for him, wrapping her hand around his hard, aching shaft. “I don’t have a condom.”

“I covered this with Russ earlier. The same goes for you, Chance.

I trust you.”

He was glad that she at least felt this for him and decided that for now it would have to be enough—for now. “That’s ni—” He almost swallowed his tongue when she put her mouth on his cock, sucking him halfway down her throat before she stopped to run her tongue along the sensitive underside of his penis.

She came back up to suck his engorged head, licking the pre-cum from his slit, then pulled him in farther, hollowing out her cheeks as the head of his dick bumped the back of her throat and he moaned.

Chance pitched his hips, couldn’t help himself. Her mouth felt so good wrapped around him, but he wanted to be inside her when he came, wanted to feel her hot, tight sheath glove and milk him.

He caught her under her arms, lifted her off her knees and up against his chest. He braced his palms beneath her generous ass as she naturally curved her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Chance guided himself toward her pussy, easily sliding through her wet canal, impaling her with one long stroke.

“Mmmm. I like the way you feel inside me.”

“I like the way you feel around me.”

She moaned and buried her face against his throat as he began to move inside her, slow at first, then driving himself into her as he slid his hands up her back, gripped her shoulders, and pulled her down to meet his thrusts.

Donna’s gasps grew louder and more fervent right before her inner muscles contracted against him and she came the same instant as a knock sounded on the door jamb.

“Breakfast is almost ready, you two.”

“We’re coming!” Chance called and heard Russ’s chuckles over the running shower and didn’t care. He continued to pump into
Sexual Healing for Three

305

Donna, finding his own release amidst her grasping muscles. He burrowed a cheek against her breasts, drawing a firm nipple into his mouth and nibbled as her quivering pussy clutched and sucked him dry.

When he caught his breath, Chance lifted his head to look at her.

“Guess we’d better go grab some breakfast.”

“If I have any hope of keeping up with the two of you, I guess we’d better.”

* * * *

They sat eating breakfast in silence, the whole while Donna planned her next move to help Russ make amends with his kids’

mother.

She’d only met Suzie twice, but she liked the woman, despite how their second meeting had ended, and she hated to see her at odds with her ex who, Donna knew, she usually got along with. She blamed herself for agreeing to go back to Russ’s house with him and Chance that day. If she hadn’t been so hot-to-trot and horny, she wouldn’t have been there when Suzie came by. And if she hadn’t been there, Chance wouldn’t have found the need to make his declaration just in time for Suzie’s arrival.

She knew she was being illogical and punishing herself for something that hadn’t been anyone’s fault, but she couldn’t help it.

Besides, she figured she might as well make good use of all her psychosocial training and fancy degrees anyway and go see what she could do to smooth Suzie’s ruffled feathers and make the other woman listen to reason.

Chance reached over to put his hand over hers on the maple table, twining his fingers with hers and squeezing as if he knew what she was planning.

She looked at him and gave him a shaky grin. She didn’t think he would tell Russ, hoped he wouldn’t because she didn’t want Russ to 306

Gracie C. McKeever

know. She knew he would insist he could handle things himself, that he didn’t need her help. She knew that he would be a typical macho male, but some situations didn’t need domination. Some situations needed finessing, a woman’s touch, and Donna hoped that Suzie would respond to a woman-to-woman talk more than an ex-to-ex talk, especially now that she’d had time to cool down. She hoped.

“How’s your day looking?”

She dragged her gaze away from Chance to look at Russ, trying to read him, but he had his famous poker face in place.

“Work, work, and more work.”

He didn’t need to know she planned on going in a couple of hours late so that she could drop in on Suzie.

“I was going to be in the Bronx on a job today and thought maybe we could all have lunch together.”

“That’s sweet, but I’ve got appointments all afternoon.” She didn’t know how long things would take with Suzie and didn’t want to rush—from Suzie or to Russ and Chance. She didn’t think she’d be able to hide what she’d been doing if she went straight to them after Suzie.

“I can’t go too far away from the hospital while I’m on, but if you can make it there, we can grab a bite to eat together. There’s even a greasy spoon where you can have some meat, flesh-eater.”

“Good deal. I thought you were going to drag me to one of those tofu bars.”

“I’ll get you on the road to vegetables and good health yet.”

“Between you and my daughter.” Russ chuckled, then grinned at Donna, catching her free hand. “Guess we’ll have to make it another day then.”

“Okay.”

“I mean it, Donna. I don’t want to waste any more time being apart unnecessarily.”

“What about Suzie?”

“Don’t worry about Suzie. I’ll handle my ex.”

Sexual Healing for Three

307

“Sure.” She nodded. It was just like she thought, just like he handled her and everything else in his life—decisively and firmly.

She had a little surprise for him, though, because she could be just as decisive and firm when she needed to be too.

And this situation with Suzie definitely called for her to put her best social worker foot forward—for Russ and his kids.

She looked at each man in turn, wanting to give them as much as they gave her, even if it wasn’t quite what she knew they wanted from her. She couldn’t give them that, didn’t know if she’d ever be able to give that to anyone, but she knew that if she did give her heart to anyone, it would be these two men.

However, she could give them some peace of mind. “What happened to your mother was neither of your faults.”

“How do you—”

She squeezed their hands to stop their chorus, and when they both snapped their mouths shut to stare at her, she finished. “That’s not important. What’s important is that you both stop blaming yourselves and move on.”

“Will you?” Russ asked.

Donna frowned. “Will I what?”

“Move on.” Chance said.

“I…I’ll try.”

“Then we will too,” Russ said and looked at Chance who nodded his agreement.

That was all she could ask of them for now.

308

Gracie C. McKeever

Now that she was here, Donna wasn’t sure she could go through with it, wasn’t sure where to begin.

Let your heart guide you
.

She didn’t know whether that was her own advice, Angela reaching out to her from Wantagh, or…Donna lifted her gaze to the ceiling briefly and smirked.

She’d never been that spiritual coming up, despite her parents raising her and her siblings strict Catholics. Somewhere along the line, she had lost her faith, not just with Catholicism, but any organized religion. She didn’t see where any of them helped the people they were set up to help. But then too, she realized one only got out of a religion what one put in. She just didn’t have the heart to put anything into any belief system created and run by men, where most of the ancient texts and rules considered women as property instead of one half of a couple with equal rights and free will.

Angela and Chance’s spirituality was beginning to look better and better to her every day because of this, their system one that revered females as well as males.

She did agree with one passage from her youth, however—“The Lord helps those who helps themselves”—a personal mantra she carried with her always, and she was determined to do her part to help as many women help themselves as humanly possible.

Would she be helping Suzie by helping Russ? Wasn’t the woman allowed her pain? Didn’t she have the right to handle her kids the way she saw fit?

Sexual Healing for Three

309

Normally, Donna would have agreed with this, but these weren’t normal circumstances, and she didn’t think it was fair of Suzie to punish Russ for loving how he loved or feeling the way he felt. He wasn’t hurting anyone, after all, not even Donna. No, she was doing that to herself by denying her feelings and denying him and Chance access to her.

Damn, she hadn’t come here to psychoanalyze
herself
. She’d come here to get inside
Suzie’s
head.

Donna took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, knew she had taken a big chance by just showing up unannounced, and silently castigated herself for the next several seconds before Suzie opened the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“We have nothing to discuss.” Suzie started to close the door, and Donna slapped her palm against it to stop her.

“Please. I just need you to listen to me for five minutes.”

Suzie stared at her, wavering.

“Please, Suzie.”

She silently nodded and opened the door further to let Donna into the apartment.

The vestibule featured a vaulted ceiling that Michelangelo would have been proud of and which made Donna feel as if she was entering hallowed halls, as if she wasn’t nervous enough already.

Suzie led her into the living room, a neat, spacious area outfitted in eclectic and modern furnishings, and pointed her to the overstuffed taupe sofa. “Have a seat.”

Right at that moment, Kim came into the room, her expression lighting up when she saw her father’s girlfriend. “Hi, Donna!” She ran over and gave Donna a big hug.

Donna eagerly returned the show of affection, her chest tightening with emotion, especially when the young girl pulled back to smile up 310

Gracie C. McKeever

at her. She had her mother’s eyes, but that dimpled smile definitely belonged to her father.

“How’s my dad?”

Suzie cleared her throat right before Donna responded.

“Your father was fine the last time I saw him. And how are things with you, kiddo?”

“They’re okay except that Wes and I might not be coming to my dad’s for the summer like we always do.”

“Kim. That’s enough.” Suzie gritted her teeth. “Why don’t you go to your room now? Ms. Vega and I need to talk.”

She had been relegated to the formality of a title and last name.

That wasn’t good.

Kim gave Donna a beseeching look as if to consult with her before she obeyed her mother. It was a big mistake.

Suzie extended her right arm and pointed toward where Kim had just come. “Kimberly Elizabeth Merrick, go to your room now!”

The girl’s face fell as she scrambled to leave her mother and Donna alone and returned to her room. Somewhere down a hall in the distance, a door slammed amidst the sniffles and cries of a confused and wounded teenage girl.

Donna noticed Suzie’s flush and felt for the woman. She also felt for Kim whom she knew loved both her parents and was caught in the middle of their tiff.

She wanted to tell Suzie not to be too hard on the girl, but knew she was already on thin ice where the other woman was concerned and didn’t want to jeopardize their tête-à-tête before she had a chance to speak her piece.

Suzie took a seat on the sofa, and Donna followed suit, edgy as hell when she turned to face the other woman and wondered what had been on her mind to make her come to Suzie’s house.

You’re here to help Russ. Whether you love him or not isn’t the
point. Making things right between him and his ex any way you can is.

Sexual Healing for Three

311

Suzie folded her arms across her breasts in an obvious defensive gesture. Long gone was any pretense of civility. Long gone were the woman and mother happy with her ex’s choice of lover. In her place were Donna’s judge and jury.

At least for now, Donna thought, though she didn’t know what to say to Suzie to change her from foe to friend.

She took another deep breath and stared at Suzie, words suddenly spilling from her. “Whatever you think of me and my relationship with Russ and his brother, please don’t let it make you make a bad decision. Don’t take Russ’s kids away from him.”

“That sounded rather heartfelt.”

“It was,” Donna said, ignoring the other woman’s sarcasm.

Suzie closed her eyes and sighed as she uncrossed her arms. She opened her eyes to meet Donna’s gaze, her own glassy and brimming.

“I’d be lying to you if I told you I haven’t considered doing just what you said. But I wouldn’t do that.”

“You wouldn’t?”

Suzie shook her head, the tears rolling down her cheeks now, and she did nothing to stop them. “I couldn’t do that to Russ. I know he loves his kids, and he’s a good father, the best father Kim and Wes could ever have. It would kill them—the kids and him—if I separated them.”

Donna took a tissue from the package in her bag and handed it to Suzie. She moved closer to wrap an arm around Suzie’s shoulders as the other woman first patted dry her eyes, then blew her nose with the tissue.

“I don’t know where this is coming from.”