by Anna Lewis
“No,” Jackson finally managed, but the sound was small, so small. It was like Shelby had broken him.
“I’m sorry, Andre, but we didn’t do anything,” Shelby finished. “I’m sorry that your deal went in the shitter, but we didn’t do it. It sounds like there would have had to have been some sort of, I don’t know, brilliant spy who was able to get access to your hotel penthouse and our flat at some point in the last…oh.”
The solution dawned on Shelby.
“Svetlana,” she gasped. “It was Svetlana!”
Both boys turned to her, faces agape with relief.
“It wasn’t you,” Andre cried, rushing to her and sweeping her up in his arms.
“It wasn’t you,” Shelby replied, kissing him. “Oh thank god, thank god…”
A throat cleared behind them and both Shelby and Andre turned in that direction. Jackson Archer—one of the richest, most sought after men in the world—was sitting on the couch, dressed only in a pair of used boxers and a miserable expression.
“Jackson…” Shelby said.
“I love you, Shelby,” he said simply. “I’ve loved you for years. I was hoping that you could give me a chance, that we could start fresh—”
“Jackson,” Shelby tried again, but he kept speaking.
“But I understand. Andre is…a great guy. I know that you two will be very happy.”
Something in Shelby’s chest panged at this. She’d had fun with Andre. He was kind, he was smart, he was lovely. But he wasn’t Jackson Archer and, she was shocked to discover, somewhere deep down inside her, Shelby loved Jackson back.
“Shelby?” Andre’s hand was on her shoulder. “If you need to stay with him…”
“No,” she shook her head. “I just found you, Dre, I’m not ready to walk away yet—”
Jackson spoke without raising his eyes. “It’s okay, Shel. You deserve to be happy, so go. Go with Andre. He’s a good guy and I’m…”
“You’re mine, Jackson,” she said, finishing his sentence for him. “You’re mine and I can’t let you go, either.”
“Shelby,” Andre said.
“Shel,” Jackson echoed.
“Wait,” Shelby said, voice decisive. “I don’t have to decide, do I? What if…what if I just become the most hated woman in the world?”
“Shelby, what are you talking about?” Jackson demanded, but Andre’s brown eyes were gleaming warmly at Shelby’s words. He understood.
“I’m saying, Jackson, that I won’t settle for one of the world’s most eligible young billionaires,” Shelby said. “I want them both.”
She crossed to Jackson then, knelt before him and stroked the side of his face with her small hand. “Jackson Archer, I’ve been in love with you so long, I can’t even remember when it started. Now kiss me.”
Jackson did. He leaned forward and let Shelby press her lips against his, let her curious tongue explore his mouth. When she pulled away, his mouth trailed after her, unwilling to abandon the kiss.
“Andre?” she asked, but he understood. Andre backed her into the couch, pushing her on the cushions next to Jackson, pressing her back as he pillaged her mouth with his. Shelby’s hand sought Jackson’s hand and found it, and Jackson held it tightly as she kissed Andre.
Jackson’s hand released Shelby’s, roaming up her thighs toward the tantalizing crevice between her legs. His fingers were just beginning to explore when Shelby pulled back suddenly.
“Wait,” she gasped, then tried to think a good way to put this. She hadn’t showered after spending the night at Andre’s and it seemed a bit rude to allow a new lover to discover her when she was still a bit…disheveled from the other lover the previous night. But how could she put that tactfully and not freak out either of the boys?
“I think we should move this party to the shower,” she said.
It was a mess of discarded clothing and tangled limbs as the three lovers made their way to the enormous shower in Jackson’s master bathroom. The hot water steamed down on them from two separate shower heads and Shelby found herself pressed between both men’s firm, taut bodies.
Andre was small, slimmer, but every muscle was elegant and well-defined. Jackson had a swimmer’s body—tall, broad, strong. Shelby didn’t know which one she wanted more.
A bar of soap appeared out of nowhere and all three bodies were soon slick with water and soapsuds. A brown hand—Andre’s—caressed Shelby’s breast and she gasped in delight. Another hand, this one light and white, moved to her other breast and tenderly toyed with her eager nipple.
“Andre,” Shelby gasped and one hand tightened on her supple breast. “Jackson,” she cried and the other hand pinched her tender nipple.
Shelby was pressed flush against Jackson, her face resting against his broad chest as she panted with pleasure. She could feel the eagerness of his cock, already recovered from her enthusiastic hand job, against the softness of her belly.
Behind her, Andre clung to her back, pulling her toward him and kissing small love bites down her shoulder. Every so often, he’d involuntarily jerk his hips toward her and Shelby would feel the eagerness of his erection grind against her ass.
She was balanced in this delicate purgatory. Everything was perfect, for the moment. But she couldn’t stay here forever. They all needed to make a choice and make it soon.
“Andre, Jackson,” she muttered. “I need you, I need both of you, I can’t, I don’t…”
Shelby didn’t know how to decide who got to fuck her first.
She felt a probing at her entrance and looked up to see Jackson smiling past her, looking instead at Andre. A slight turn of her head revealed that Andre was grinning right back at Jackson.
The finger between her legs slid inside of her, then she felt another movement, another finger slipping inside and she understood. Both of them were inside her right now.
“You don’t need to pick, baby,” Jackson whispered.
“We’ve got you,” Andre added.
Their fingers worked in tandem sliding in and out of Shelby with firm intensity. Someone—she wasn’t sure who—moved their thumb to her clit and started rubbing slow, soft circles.
She was close. She was so close now.
But Shelby wasn’t a taker, she was a giver. It wouldn’t be all right with her if she came and her boys didn’t.
“Jackson?” Shelby repeated. “Andre? What about you?”
“Shh, we’ve got this taken care of,” Andre whispered against her neck.
Shelby looked down and back. Andre had his cock in hand and was sliding his fist along the shaft in perfect rhythm with his finger inside of Shelby. If front of her, Jackson was jerking himself off, too, matching time to both Andre and Shelby.
It was too beautiful.
“I’m so close,” Shelby moaned, echoing Jackson’s words from earlier in the morning. “I’m so close, boys, I’m so, so close…”
She could feel the fire beginning to curl deep within her belly. Her orgasm was so close now, she could practically taste it, but it wasn’t quite there. She needed something else.
“Jackson!” she cried. “Andre! Say my name, please. Say name until you come.”
Both men sped up their thrusts as they murmured Shelby’s name, pressing the word into soft kisses onto her skin. “Shelby!” they cried, sometimes over-lapping, sometimes in unison. “Shelby!”
Finally, with a cry of infinite pleasure, Shelby felt her orgasm wash over her like the sea, hitting her with wave after wave of pleasure. A gasp sounded over her shoulder and she felt Andre go rigid behind her, then the hot splash as he came on her lower back.
Another gasp, and Jackson was coming, pulling Shelby’s mouth to his as he kissed her through his release.
The three of them stood there, letting the hot water wash over them. Jackson tightened his arms around Shelby, Andre did the same.
“So,” Jackson finally asked, his voice light and playful. “Are we going to have to fight over who you work for?”
; “Nah,” Andre answered. “We’ve got pretty strict HR policies about sleeping with your coworkers.”
Jackson laughed. “Luckily, we don’t.”
“Actually, Mr. Archer, we do,” Shelby replied. It came as absolutely no surprise to her that Jackson Archer didn’t know anything at all about company policy. What was surprising to Shelby was that she didn’t care. Not even the littlest bit. “Although, I suppose we could have those rules changed.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Andre had to raise his voice to make himself heard clearly above the running water of the dual shower heads. “I’ve been thinking about creating a separate company to oversee all the sustainable energy components of my businesses.”
“What are you talking about?” Shelby asked.
“Oh!” Jackson jumped in. “Actually, I was thinking about starting something similar—”
“You were, Mr. Archer?” Shelby said, then caught her mistake. “I mean, Jackson?”
Jackson smirked at her. “I was, actually, Ms. Stuart. But I definitely don’t have much time to run it. I mean, I’m super busy trying to deal with all the other business things I don’t understand, I probably wouldn’t have time to really run it properly.”
“I’m having the same problem, man,” Andre said. “I’d love to start up that company, but I definitely don’t have time to run it. Or search for a quality CEO to run it.”
Jackson grinned. “If only we knew someone super smart, and capable, and who has some pretty in-depth knowledge of our business dealings.”
“But who on earth could that person possibly be?” Andre said, sarcasm practically dripping.
Shelby knew exactly what they were up to.
“Okay, you two,” she said, swatting playfully at both men in the steamy shower. “I’ll run your damn company, if that’s what it takes.”
The men gave each other a wet high five over Shelby’s head, splashing her with droplets of hot water.
“But,” she continued, “I’m not going to be a pushover CEO. I’m going to be demanding—”
Both men nodded.
“I’m going to have to make some tough business decisions—”
They nodded again.
“And I’m positive that the three of us will probably need to have meetings. Lots and lots of meetings, if you get my meaning?”
Andre and Jackson nodded in unison. They definitely got her meaning.
THE END
= Bonus Book 2 of 11 =
Cosmically Yours
Rapidly dashing between corn stalks and trees was a woman with purple hair. She was rushing to the site of this great light that glittered over a small area in the field. Her hair whipped behind her in flashes of purple and blue, a reflection of the beautiful cosmos that beckoned her to enter it. As she darted between the yellow and green of the corn, she heard her name being called from just a few yards behind her.
“Amelia...”
Strange, enormous flowers came into view, dazzling her with their myriad of colors, and filling her nostrils with a sweet scent that lured her to the light. The field grew thicker with these flowers that illuminated the ground, their bulbs seeming to glow brighter, as the sky above grew darker. Though she had never been here before, she could have sworn it was familiar and reached out to touch the soft petals of the absurd flowers that stood as tall as the corn stalks. The length of their stems was incredible, their petals stretched towards the sky as if calling for the universe to bring down something otherworldly. A slew of colors decorated them, colors that she could not identify. But they inspired such happiness that she pushed on.
The beam of light glowed in the distance, expanding and compressing every so often as to alarm the runner. Her heart was beating fast inside her chest as her legs pumped smoothly against the moving earth, feet trampling stalks that were in her path. The light dimmed suddenly and she thought she might not make it in time to see what it was. For all the years seeking this strange, beautiful light, it would be such a disappointment not to be allowed entry into it. This dream had been a persistent part of her existence and she was determined to discover its meaning, even if it meant pushing the physical boundaries of her body and mind.
Amelia sprinted harder as a loud ringing filled the air and vibrated the very fabric of existence. Heart pounding, she came upon a clearing that seemed to sit outside of time, every minute stopping in that moment as she crossed the threshold into it. She spun around as her eyes danced across the stalks surrounding the area, their stems pushed down to the ground to create a gentle circle. Looking up, she found a metal structure that hummed faintly in the evening breeze coming from the north. It clicked a few times as a circle formed above her head, watching as the metal separated to allow the same light gradually to come into view. It enveloped her and defeated the darkness around the small circle while pulling her up towards the sky, a floating sensation overcoming her body.
Light of weight and filled with hope, Amelia smiled while floating up into the metal craft. It was as if everything had finally come together and she would be able to see the true nature of this elusive detail in her life. All of her dreams had featured this moment where she was weightless in the glittering light that catapulted her into another world enveloped by mirrors. She looked around to find herself looking back in every direction, turning only to find more clones of her image. They floated in a vast black hole dotted with bits of light that shimmered brightly. It seemed such an odd thing to be caught in a small space that seemed so large, but that’s how she had always felt on earth. This place offered a sense of refuge from the daily torment she felt being trapped on that planet, having mostly nothing to do with social norms and regular human contact.
It wasn’t that Amelia was a hermit, not exactly. She simply felt that her life was meant for something much greater than attending college and obtaining a degree in astronomy. Her eyes yearned for the great sights beyond the atmosphere, a universe filled with endless possibilities that stretched towards the far reaches of existence. But how could she discover that by engaging in the ridiculous social demands of her town? She didn’t find much of a need to be part of a group or even to hold a relationship, yet she yearned for the intimacy that the cosmos might provide. Her desire was to know the world and that beyond it, to become one with everything all at once.
Unfortunately for Amelia, in her cream she would always begin to fall from the mirrored room that depicted the many different forms of her against the cosmos. The lightness would fade and her body would hit the sheets as she gasped for air, realizing that oxygen didn’t exist past the atmosphere where she was catapulted. As she sat up, she reached for the ceiling as she so often did after the wretched dream; a dream which teased her with the hope of escaping the mundane and made her feel as though she might never be able to discover anything other than this ridiculous life she led. Looking about, she found her dorm room in a heap of clothes and books, the shelves cluttered with planetary models and sci-fi figurines.
There were space ships lining the ceiling and glowing stars decorating the walls. The majority of her decorations had something to do with space. A little blue box next to her bed read 3:03 AM and she sighed upon seeing it.
“What am I doing?” she asked herself out loud. “Why am I awake at this hour every night?”
But soon, drowsiness overcame her, and her body began to drift back into the sweet slumber. She would have the answer to her question, though she did not know it yet. Time was moving forward whether the purple-haired beauty liked it or not, and she would soon meet her destiny.
***
Pacing nervously around the cockpit of his ship was the prince of the planet Degau. All of the accomplishments in the universe had made Ero’an one of the most popular Degaurians in history, yet he still felt as if something was missing from the wonderful life he led. While contemplating what had him feeling so incomplete, a miniature blob was sitting atop the gray chairs near the navigating equipment fumbling with a ray gun. The noise the blob
made caused Ero’an to twitch with displeasure.
“Herman, would you please stop fiddling with your atomic ray? I’m trying to think!” snapped Ero’an, stopping in front of his incredibly short companion.
The little green blob looked up with his round eye at the prince, who was fuming from his nostrils. What a sight the prince made when he was under great duress, the gills on his neck flaring as he huffed.
“My apologies, your highness,” said Herman, setting the gun down on a nearby control panel. “I was simply trying to fix it. What has you so vexed, sir? You’ve been in this fit for weeks.”
“I have been very discontent, Herman, very discontent!” replied the prince loudly while waving his arms. “It’s as if the universe has conspired to make me the most accomplished, yet unfulfilled man in existence!”
“You are to be the next ruler of a wondrous planet and you have achieved every success known to the galaxies. How could you possibly be unfulfilled, my good lord?” asked Herman.
The green glob rolled down to the metal ground, his eye appearing on the other end of his body, making a soft popping noise. Perturbed, the prince peered down at the giant iris and studied it briefly before replying.
“I have no lover, no girlfriend, no wife. I have no one to travel with me, save for you. You have been such a wonderful companion, but I yearn for a woman’s touch. Moreover, I fear my age requires marriage in order to properly rule my planet,” said Ero’an.
Herman considered this thought for a moment while rolling his eye, his wiggling lips curving into what might have been a smile or a grimace. No one could be sure with Herman, for he was such an oddly shaped alien with no real bones or skin. The amorphous blob was indeed a common genetic trait of his planet who sought only to help others. They made great companions, though when they died, usually without warning, they simply melted into their surroundings. It was truly an awful sight for anyone who loved the little gelatin creatures, but it was also the way of the universe. While rolling forward over the prince’s boots, he left a little inkling of a print on the surface that Ero’an scuffed out while huffing again.