Playing Jax [Wylde Shore 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Jan Graham

  “It’s taken thirty-five years to meet a man who sparks any kind of sexual desire in me Meg. I don’t want to risk waiting another thirty-five to find the next one. I want Steve Jax.”

  “But losing your virginity?” The last word of Meg’s sentence was barely audible.

  “Oh please, don’t whisper it like it’s a dirty word.” Rhia knew her irritation was starting to show. “Anyway I don’t classify myself as a virgin. I mean the churched screwed me didn’t they?”

  “Rhia! When did you learn to curse? And statements like that only make you sound bitter.” Meg looked horrified before turning to Angel and giving her giving her an I blame you for this glare.

  “What?” Angel asked innocently. “If I had anything to do with her cursing she would have said the church bent her over and fucked her.”

  Meg slapped Angel on the arm. “Not helping!”

  “Come on Meg, it’s simple. She wants Steve so let’s help her get him.” Angel’s tone became serious. “Besides, Steve needs Rhia as much as she obviously needs him…he just hasn’t admitted it yet.”

  “You’re right.” Meg replied. “Rhia, are you positive this is what you want to do?”

  Rhia nodded enthusiastically and her education began.

  The crash course in sex education began in the do-it-yourself aisle and continued until they’d covered every square inch of the warehouse. Angel and Meg not only assisted to select the items they thought may be helpful, but they explained in explicit terms what each one would do. Of course, Angel’s explanations were far more confrontational than Meg’s. By the time they reached the end of the store, Rhia had a selection of items that didn’t look that pleasurable at all. The wireless, remote-controlled egg Meg had insisted she buy was accompanied by the story of her sister wearing a similar thing to work one day, and Barry having the remote control. It clearly fell into the too much information category but at least she now knew Meg appeared to have a healthy sex life. The other items awaiting purchase included a rabbit vibrator, a mini massager, a mini butterfly, and a finger tickler with interchangeable heads.

  “Why do I need all these things?” Rhia questioned. It seemed like a lot of gadgets.

  “Every woman’s orgasmic needs are different. Some women climax through clitoral stimulation only, some vaginal and clitoral.” Angel replied. “You aren’t sure what turns you on, so we need to cover all bases.”

  “You’re going to have to experiment until you figure out what you like.” Meg added.

  Rhia held back a sigh. She already knew what turned her on. His name was Steve and, unfortunately, he wasn’t in the shopping cart.

  When she arrived home, Rhia carried two bags with her, each loaded full of supposedly tempting delights. She was intrigued by most of the toys she’d purchased. A couple of the items sent fear racing into her heart, especially the anal training kit. Angel insisted it would come in handy once Rhia had satisfied herself with the regular items she’d acquired and wanted to try something more. Rhia doubted she’d ever want to try that much more but she brought it anyway.

  She’d never thought of her bottom as an avenue for sexual pleasure but according to Angel, and more surprisingly Meg, there could be benefits to anal sex. Apparently there was erotic joy to be found in far more activities than she’d ever imagined. As they’d shopped, Angel explained many of the items in the aisles dedicated to kinky BDSM activities and the plethora of fetishes that people engaged in.

  Apparently Rhia needed to understand these if she wanted to entice Steve to her bed. According to Angel, Steve was strictly a dominance and submission kind of guy. Which, from Rhia’s limited understanding, meant Steve would be the boss and Rhia would submit to his commands. That was fine with her. She didn’t want to be in charge, and she was happy to do whatever Steve instructed her to do when they had sex.

  “Did we buy you wine glasses?” Meg’s question snapped Rhia back to reality.

  “Yes, but I put them in the top cupboard because I probably won’t use them much. I like the occasional glass of wine, but I don’t drink a lot.”

  “Well, we’re using them today.” Angel placed the two bottles of white wine they’d brought on the way home on the dining table.

  “I don’t need you two here while I sort all these things out. I’m quite capable of cleaning them and putting the batteries in on my own.” Besides, I’ll probably need to drink both those bottles myself before I use any of this stuff.

  Rhia upended the bags onto the table. As Meg poured the first glass of wine for each of them Angel began helping take everything out of its package.

  “Why do I need to clean them? They haven’t been used?” Rhia dutifully began to spray the vibrator and other items with the cleaning solution as instructed.

  “Do you know who made them, touched them while they were being packaged? It’s better to be safe than sorry.” Meg spread out a towel in the centre of the table for Rhia to place the items on to dry.

  “And that’s the same excuse you gave me for buying the condoms. Sex toys won’t get me pregnant, Meg, so I don’t need condoms. And even if I was having sex, why would I need three boxes. That’s thirty condoms. It will take forever to use them all.”

  “Depends who you find to have sex with.” Angel laughed at her friends.

  “She’s not finding anyone, remember? She’s found him, even though the flowers say no.” Meg teased.

  If they weren’t so beautiful and they hadn’t come from Steve, Rhia would throw the darn things away. Meg had to be misguided in her interpretation. They were flowers to say he was sorry for upsetting her, no other meaning implied.

  “Okay, now it’s time for our treat.” Angel waved the DVD temptingly before their eyes.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding. We can’t watch that.” Meg tried to look horrified, but a giggle gave away her amusement.

  The last thing Rhia ever expected to do was sit with her sister and new friend, drinking wine and watching a porn movie. However, she’d done a lot of things in the last two day she’d never imagined doing. She’d engaged in so many firsts since she’d moved in they boggled her mind. She’d read her first erotic romance novel, been sexually aroused and then passionately kissed by a sexy man, cried with her friend over coffee because of said sexy man, secured her first job outside the church, gone shopping for sex toys, watched porn, and if she kept drinking she’d be able to add getting a little bit tipsy to that list of firsts.

  It had been a lovely day, but now she thought she needed to go to sleep. Wine seemed to have a sedating effect on her. She stretched out on the floor while Meg and Angel continued to discuss the impracticality of the sexual position the woman on the DVD was in. From the comfort of the lounge, Meg gave Rhia a gentle kick and instructed her to go and try on the corset and matching leather mini skirt they’d convinced her to buy. She made her way reluctantly to the bedroom with both items.

  The corset had come with a free G-string and the leather mini looked more like a belt than a skirt. She was positive the thing wouldn’t fit her. Even if it did fit, it wouldn’t cover her in a modest fashion. She thought of the lacy bra and panty set she’d worn under her dress when she’d visited Steve before glancing at the items in her hand. If the underwear set was an indication of the sort of trouble she could get herself into, what would this outfit do for her?

  The possibilities were endless.

  * * * *

  Steve made his way back from the city. At least he didn’t have a hangover when he left Zane’s house this time. After staying at The Dungeon until closing, the two men made their way to Zane’s terrace home in the inner city. They sat around till dawn, talking, joking and generally enjoying each other’s company. After collapsing into the spare bed, Steve had slept most of the day. It wasn’t what he’d planned to do on the first day of the weekend, but he’d benefited from the relaxing time away.

  He assumed Rhia would have received the vase and flowers by now. He didn’t know why he let the all-night flor
ist convince him to send flowers that symbolized he couldn’t be with Rhia. She wouldn’t realize what they meant. Who in the world knew that flowers supposedly had meanings? It was the most stupid notion he’d ever heard of. Rhia would see the flowers and the card saying sorry and assume they meant he was interested in her. After all, there were only two reasons men gave women flowers. Flowers said, Hey I like you and I’m doing something nice to get into your pants, or they said, I fucked up. Please don’t be angry because, I want to get back into your pants. That was it, plain and simple. No hidden message or color coding, flowers were all about sex. Unless you were in a relationship, then they were about sex and love.

  Sex, love, and relationships were not the message he wanted to send to Rhia, which was why he needed to see her face-to-face and explain more effectively why they should only be neighbors and platonic friends.

  Zane hadn’t agreed with his choice of flowers or with the decision he’d made to ignore the attraction to Rhia. In the end they’d agreed to disagree on whether Steve had deeper feelings for her than he was letting on, and the subject had moved to Zane’s infatuation with Mercedes.

  Steve parked his bike in the driveway and stared across the street at Rhia’s house. He recognized both cars parked in the driveway. Meg and Angel were visiting.

  Great…just fucking great.

  He summoned the courage to walk across the street and knock on the door, deciding there was no time like the present to face the wrath of three women rather than one. Well, maybe the wrath of two and the tears of one. Angel had been furious with him the last time he’d seen her, not that he blamed his sister. She’d been justified in her outrage at his treatment of her new friend. He hoped the anger had diminished. As for Meg, she was an unknown quantity. He didn’t know whether she would be happy that Steve wasn’t going to pursue Rhia or not.

  As for Rhia, hopefully she was over her tears. She didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who let her emotions rule her. Then again, unrequited interest was probably hard to deal with. Steve was definitely finding the whole situation hard to deal with. Not that his interest in Rhia wasn’t returned, but maintaining the restraint not to become involved with her was Steve’s difficulty.

  You’re already involved you idiot. You bar up every time you see or think of her. You nearly lost control and fucked her. You made her cry, sent her flowers, and now you’re going to face the lion’s den of her sister and friend. That’s involvement.

  Steve pushed the thoughts away. At least with Meg and Angel in the house it would be easier to resist his urge to kiss Rhia. There would be no repeat performance of yesterday morning, well, at least not today.

  Not ever…dickhead. No repeat performances ever.

  As it turned out, Steve didn’t need to knock. Angel and Meg suddenly appeared on the veranda. It looked like they were attempting to make some kind of quick exit, which didn’t make sense to him. And they were smiling and friendly, another oddity he didn’t have time to analyze.

  “Hi, Steve. The flowers are lovely, although Rhia’s a bit confused about what they mean. I’m sure you’ll clear that up though.” Meg almost ran to the car as she spoke.

  “Rhia’s in the bedroom. She’ll be out soon. Go in, get comfy, she won’t be long.” Angel reached for the car door and then turned. “Oh, by the way, sorry about yesterday. I should have talked to you calmly instead of flying off the handle like that. Gotta go, come by for a chat soon.”

  Steve stood motionless, fixed to the spot as Angel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to accompany the apology. Before he could gather his thoughts to reply, she was gone, tires screeching as she accelerated up the road.

  What the hell just happened? That was not the reaction he expected from either woman. There had been no yelling, no disapproving looks. Angel had apologized. What the hell was that about? She had no reason to apologize. Her actions and verbal tirade had been justified. He’d behaved badly, making Rhia cry. He shrugged and entered the house.

  Maybe all three women were affected by the flowers, believing he was going to pursue Rhia. In effect, the delivery of the flowers acted as an, I’m sorry for upsetting you to all three women. If that was the case, then it was money well spent. It also proved that the florist was full of shit. Women obviously didn’t think flowers had any deeper meaning than men did. Meg admitted Rhia was confused by what they meant. That wouldn’t last for long. He would clear any confusion up as soon as Rhia emerged from her room.

  “Where are the two of you? Didn’t you hear me? I want to know if I’ve got this on right or not.” Rhia emerged from the bedroom and made her way down the hall, her attention focused on adjusting the outfit she wore.

  Steve wasn’t sure if his light-headedness resulted from the shock of what she was wearing or the sudden rush of blood that swelled his cock to the point of explosion. He wanted to howl and fall to his knees before her. Instead, he regrouped, hoping his voice would still work. She was heading straight toward him. He tried to move to avoid the collision headed his way but the lack of blood in his extremities had him immobilized.

  “It looks just fine to me.” Collision avoided, Rhia stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him in horror. She gulped, her gaze flicking to the dining table. The blush mesmerized him as the most delightful flush of pink filled her cheeks. Steve forced himself to breathe. The black leather hugged her form perfectly, the swell of her breasts made more evident by the heave of her chest as she, too, tried to breath with some form of regularity. The curve of her hips had been accentuated by the way the corset clipped tightly into her waist and the little leather skirt sitting firmly against them. The skirt came to the top of her thighs, barely covering the front of her. Steve wondered whether the roundness at the bottom of her butt cheeks peeked out from beneath the skirt at the back. His fingers moved involuntarily as he fought the urge to reach forward, raise the bottom lip of the skirt and see what she wore underneath. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  No, not the most beautiful, what about Kathy?

  Steve cursed silently to himself at the thought. How had Rhia managed to push his thoughts of Kathy aside? Rhia definitely fell into the beautiful woman category, but Kathy was his only love. This slight infatuation with Rhia distracted him, simple as that. Infatuation didn’t equal love. He could be fascinated, even intrigued, by Rhia and his reaction to her. It didn’t mean anything more than that, and it didn’t mean love. No one could replace Kathy, his soul mate, his one and only. Rhia was a passing fancy, albeit an all-consuming one. He refused to allow himself to believe anything else.

  “Where did Meg and Angel go?”

  “They were leaving when I arrived, said you’d be out soon.” Steve forced himself to look her in the eye. If he continued to let his gaze rove over her body he would carry her to the bedroom and take her. That was not an option. “They let me in. I only came by to see if you got the flowers.”

  “I did. They’re lovely.”

  No, she was lovely. Steve moved back toward the door. He quite obviously made her uncomfortable, and horny. He didn’t want to do either. Rhia’s reaction to him had been immediate and strong as his was to her. His cock ached for the chance to be buried between her legs. He needed to say what he had to and get out quick. He crossed his arms over his chest and braced his legs slightly apart, willing his muscles to relax, camouflaging his now trembling fingers in fists resting within his folded arms. He couldn’t remember ever wanting to touch someone as much as he needed to right now. The one thing he couldn’t cover was the raging hard-on that filled his jeans. He wasn’t even going to try.

  “Meg mentioned you were a bit confused about why I sent them. I did it because yesterday morning I behaved badly and upset you. I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear when I tried to explain why we couldn’t have sex. I’m not unable to fu—,” Steve quickly changed his choice of words, “have sex. I just don’t think it’s wise for the two of us to do so.”

  Rhia cleared her throat before
speaking. “I thought yesterday morning was amazing. I want to do it again.” She raised her head and looked him in the eye. She was obviously nervous but a steely determination filled her eyes. “I don’t understand why we can’t have sex. I want to know why you don’t want me.”

  Jesus, she thought he didn’t want her. How could she think that? He wanted her more than anything, but he couldn’t allow himself to get involved with her. He needed to make her understand. He needed to make himself understand. Steve began to doubt he would convince either of them. Obviously she had no intention of letting him off the hook. She wanted answers, and the look on her face told him she intended to get them.

  “It’s not that I don’t want you, Rhia. I’m sure you realize that I do. You’ve felt my attraction to you.” She glanced at his groin. Yes, she’d not only seen the evidence of his attraction, she’d ground herself against it, begging for relief. He forced himself to focus on the subject at hand and spoke firmly. “The thing is, as a Dom, I expect my women to be submissive, and not just in the bedroom. I take control of relationships. I expect total compliance to my word, and if you should disobey me, then I administer punishment swiftly and forcefully. I have dark needs and desires that only the most capable submissive can deal with. Unfortunately, for many reasons, not limited to your inexperience in sexual matters and in knowing your own desires…you are not that woman. Therefore I’ve decided we cannot allow a repeat performance of yesterday morning. Do you understand me, Rhia?”

  Steve watched her closely. She looked like there was a war going on inside. A part of her definitely wanted to tell him to go to hell. Her eyes flashed with annoyance. She moved to put her hands on her hips but apparently changed her mind. Her hands returned to her side, and she lowered her head. She still hadn’t answered. Steve moved toward her, standing close enough to feel the warmth of her body but not touching her.