by Ellie Parker
“You know the answer without asking. Here, climb in. I’ll get your things from Stone’s car.”
I nodded, grateful to be rescued. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Stone, but when he was in the…Stone mood…he was a world unto himself and you became a follower. “You’ll have to get the key from him.”
“Nah. We all have keys to each other’s cars. You should know that by now, Jessa.” He demonstrated that by unlocking the Porsche and retrieving my backpack.
“Don’t you think we should let him know?” I didn’t want Stone to be angry or have his feelings hurt. The guy was an ass, but he was a sensitive ass when it came to me. Whatever anger he had would be taken out on the one who stole me away and no one wants to be the girl who puts a rift between triplets.
“Do you really think he’ll notice?”
I grimaced.
“I’ll send him a message. Get in the car. Plus, I have the feeling he’s gonna want to try out the board right away. He’s probably got his wetsuit in the trunk.”
“My guess is you’re right. C’mon, relax, and I’ll get you home.”
Sven handled the car like a race driver. His movements were smooth and practiced; not the least bit hesitant. He drove the speed limit and never over. He made me feel safe. The quaint houses with the tidy yards slid past, and soon we were sitting outside mine. He didn’t waste a moment retrieving my bag and opening my car door.
“Gotta work all night?” he asked.
I nodded. “Sorry.”
“Maybe tomorrow? I’ll bring you home, and maybe we can go out for a burger?”
“Sven, don’t you ever have homework?”
He shook his head, his eyes open with honesty. “Not really. I get it done in class.”
That was the other distinction Sven had from his brothers. His mind was lightning fast. He was always first to hand in tests during class, always had the answer ready when called upon and never missed an assignment deadline.
Of the three, he was definitely the most intimidating, simply because I never knew what he was thinking, though it was easy to see just when his mind was spinning. Stone, on the other hand, you always knew what he was thinking about—himself.
3
Jessa
Dad was asleep in his recliner and Mom had gone out to Bingo with her girlfriends. I’d cleaned up the dinner dishes, scraping off the nasty meatloaf Mom always made. I could never figure out why she didn’t notice the huge portions left behind for the trash. Not that that made her any less of a person, of course. She was a terrible cook, but one hell of a mom.
It was warm for fall and so I’d shoved open the warped window before settling onto my bed, books, phone, manicure kit, and thrift shop laptop arranged around me. I started with algebra and quickly zoned out to that place where none of it made sense, and I didn’t really care. If it weren’t for being far stronger in English, chances are I wouldn’t even graduate. It sucked, honestly. But there are some people who just can’t wrap their heads around Math and I was one of them.
Tires squealed in the distance, closer to the lakeshore where the kids drag-raced on Shore Road. I had a pretty good idea one of them was Stone. He couldn’t seem to resist showing off. I mean, that’s the reason he’d bought the car in the first place. You don’t get something that expensive, that powerful, and that limited, in order to stay off the radar. You get it because you’re more than intent on rising above that radar, to a height where everyone can see.
I looked at my algebra assignment and wished I was in his passenger seat, even though the sharp turns on sandy-edged streets scared the shit out of me. Anything was better than doing homework, especially when that homework involved numbers.
My cellphone vibrated, so I flipped it over to see a call coming in from Sven. “Hey!” I answered, my voice lazy.
“Done with that homework yet?” There was a chirp in his tone that caused my spirits to lift a little.
“Ugh, don’t even talk about it.”
“What’s got you bothered?”
“Algebra, for one. I fucking suck at Math,” I groaned and shoved at the book in front of me.
“Want some help?”
“You know I can’t have boys up here, Sven.”
He laughed a small laugh and despite him not being here, I could practically see the way his face lit up. “Who has to know?”
I thought about Dad asleep downstairs. He’d had two beers at dinner, and, lightweight that he was, those two beers would surely knock him out for the night. Mom’s Bingo group generally went out for coffee and late-night dessert after the games, so maybe there was a chance that I could slip him in without anyone noticing.
I weaved my fingers in and out, bobbing my head from side to side. “Come around to my bedroom window. I’ve already got it open. Grab Dad’s ladder off the hooks in the garage.”
“Done! Be there in a few.”
The moment he said that, I punched the End Call button and, faster than lightning, I flew off my bed and rushed to the bathroom. I rinsed my face, washed under my pits with a cloth and brushed my teeth. I opted for the hairbrush I kept in my room, where I also touched up my lip gloss and concealer for the zit that surprised me the morning before. I threw off my nasty t-shirt and opted for one that read, Kiss Me You Fool.
Clanging at the window got my attention. It was better than a doorbell.
I poked my head out and waved at Sven below. He started up once, but the ladder immediately tipped to the left, and he leaped off. “Put a couple patio blocks under the legs so they don’t sink in,” I called down in a loud whisper. He nodded, trotted back with the blocks and tried again. He came up two rungs at a time, and I hushed him as he fell over the splintered sill, laughing.
“Dad’s downstairs, napping in his chair. But you have to stay quiet.”
“No problem,” he nodded, rubbing his hands on his denim-covered thighs. He took the time to really look at me and gave a low whistle. “You look...” He licked his lips and smiled.
I preened a little. “Thank you!”
Sven wasn’t done. Now, however, his compliments didn’t come in words. I felt his hands rest on my shoulders as he pulled me toward him. Considerably taller than me, he bent forward and pushed away my hair, coming in at an angle. Without warning, his warm, firm lips pressed against mine, causing my knees to wobble.
“Hey!” He held me up and then looped an arm behind my knees and picked me up, lifting me as though I weighed next to nothing. Kissing me again, he settled me on the bed. “Shall we hide under the covers in case your dad comes in?”
“Noooo…” I whispered loudly, pretending shock but all the time I’d been thinking the same thing.
“Okay, munchkin, let’s hit the books.” Sven kissed me on the cheek, pulled open the neckline of my top and pretended to look inside.
“That’s not where I keep my books.” I blushed and half-heartedly pushed him away. With a smooth move, he swung around and leaned against my headboard, spreading his legs and pulling my hips between them.
He gathered my hair and pushed the strands forward and I was intensely aware of him leaning low over my shoulder. I could smell his aftershave, feel the warmth of his breath, the wetness of his tongue as he trailed a line down the back of my neck. It made me gush with a warmth that was indescribable. His hand slid slowly up the inside of my thigh, his strong finger making concentric circles. “Sven, stop now, or I’ll make you leave!”
“You’d really make me leave before I make you come.”
“Sven!”
His fingers didn’t pause. Moving higher, they stopped at my center and rubbed hard. My body wanted to give in. My mind, on the other hand, wasn’t ready for this kind of torment. By the grace of something much, much holier, I muscled up the strength to push his hand away.
“Okay, okay,” he whispered against me, “but someday you’ll be begging me to keep touching you, munchkin.”
I reached forward to grab my algebra book, and when I leaned back again
st his chest, I could feel his cock, hard and probing into the soft flesh of my ass. Hands now on my hips, Sven pulled me up so that I had no choice but to feel his hardness against me. Quick as I could, I slid from his lap. Wrong move. Wrong, wrong, wrong, move. I felt an overwhelming shudder of electricity go right through me; something I’d never felt before.
“Did you cum?” he whispered in my ear, biting the bottom of my lobe.
I rolled, embarrassed that he could see through me so effortlessly.
“Don’t worry. It’ll just be between the two of us,” Sven whispered into my ear, sending a new wave of chills. “Okay, let’s see what you’ve got here.” He opened my algebra book. “Which problems?”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Numbers one through twenty. I don’t have a clue where to even begin.” I didn’t have a clue how to think at that moment. All kinds of fireworks were going wild in the pit of my stomach, but Sven, he just moved on like not a damn thing had happened.
“Hand me that paper.” He numbered one through twenty, folded the book open on my lap and as he scanned the page, kissed the back of my neck. My head swirled. It was definitely the most exciting homework I’d ever done.
Sven went down the rows, entering answers. A kiss on my neck for each problem solved. Even more moisture pooled in my panties. If I didn’t know it before, I knew that it was one-hundred-percent possible to hate something just as much as you love it.
Sven pounded through the next few problems, the pen seeming to move quicker than his mind.
“Wait a minute. You have to actually do the math, you know.”
“I did.”
“How?”
“In my head.”
Cocking my head around to look at him. “In your head?”
He nodded.
“How the hell do you do that so fast?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I look at the problem, and the answer just comes to me.”
“Wow, why didn’t I get a brain like that?”
He chuckled. “Because, munchkin, your brain was designed for beauty and for me to adore.”
He made my womanly places gush again. I knew he was just trying to score points, but I loved it.
“Jessa? Jessa, are you up there?”
“Oh shit, it’s Mom. She must have skipped cake and coffee. I’m dead if she catches us.”
“Calm down. I’ll go down the ladder…”
“No! Not yet! I mean… I’ll go down and head her off, and maybe she’ll nap on the couch or something. She’ll know something’s up if there’s rattling coming from my room when I’m not in it.”
Sven narrowed his eyes at me. In them, I saw a challenge.
“Pleeaase,” I said, dragging the word in a whisper.
“Jessa?” The voice was coming closer.
“Mom, I’ll be down in just a minute. I’m just finishing this last algebra problem. Hang on.”
I went to push Sven’s leg aside so I could roll off the bed, but when I did, it felt hot, and shivers went down my back. I climbed over his leg and heard him snicker. I looked back from where I stood with my hand on the doorknob to see him pointing to the massive swelling in his crotch. “Look what you did.”
“Shhhh…. We’ll get caught! Coming!”
“Not quite, but close,” I heard Sven mutter behind me.
Mom had stopped by to tell me about winning the big prize—a weekend cruise in Florida. She clapped her hands together and the broadest smile wrapped around her entire face. Dad looked less excited. He wasn’t much of a traveler. And though the weather was barely standable in the summer here, it was even worse in Florida. That and the fact that it was next to impossible to avoid the sand meant that mom winning felt like a very big loss to him and he wasn’t shy about groaning his dissatisfaction. Mom reached down and smacked him lightly on the thigh. I loved that about them. Even after so many years, they could still joke around and, more importantly, he still loved her enough to do whatever the hell it was that made her happy. I hugged her and congratulated her.
“Okay, I’ve got to run,” she said, her arms still wrapped around me. “Going to meet the girls but I just had to tell you!”
Dad nodded sleepily and re-settled in his chair. I waved Mom off at the door and watched her get into her car and pull out of the drive. I bounded up the stairs and opened the door in time to find Sven sitting inside the window frame.
“Where are you going?”
“I didn’t think you were coming back. Anyway, the dogs are barking, and I should be going. I promised to meet the bros at the Burger Barn and shoot some pool.”
I felt abandoned and sad. I think in the back of my head I was hoping he’d spend the night. I didn’t know how I’d pull that off, but the folks could only be mad so long.
I nodded. “I understand. Tell Stone and Chase I said hello.”
“Are you kidding? They’ll be pissed if they think I had you to myself.”
“Aww… you’re sweet. Okay, night.”
“Not so fast. C’mere.” He was gesturing to me, the upturned corners of his mouth making him look so kissable.
I rounded the bed, and he pulled me against him. Before I knew it, he’d reached down into my shirt and pulled my breast free of my sports bra. His mouth went down on my nipple and spasms of desire spiraled through me.
I pulled away. “You… shouldn’t have… done that.”
“Munchkin, our time is coming, I just needed to get a taste of what’ll be waiting for me.”
“Sven.”
“Don’t worry, we’re going to take it slow and easy and believe me, you won’t want to sleep. Au revoir!” He gave me a quick, warm kiss on my bottom lip and disappeared from the window. Bending forward, I saw him slide down as if it were nothing and soon, he disappeared around the corner of the house with the ladder under his arm. A few dogs barked again, but in a minute, I saw his taillights as he pulled away from the curb down the street.
I finished my homework, took a steamy shower and spread a towel on my comforter for a pedicure. I peeked quickly at my door and then slid my hand down my panties and into the damp recesses that had flamed with Sven’s touch. I closed my eyes and pretended it was his hand. I rubbed slowly, at first, throwing my head back and parting my lips as I breathed through the pleasure. This was nothing compared to his touch, but damn if it didn’t come close. I could still smell his aftershave, still feel the sting of his kiss against my lips. With an image of him in my mind, I worked my clit faster and harder, hiking my legs up, bucking my hips as I slipped a finger inside. I was so close. So very, very close when the honking of horns shocked the hell out of me.
In an instant, I was sitting up straight, my fingers soaked with my own arousal. Guiltily, I leaped off the bed and stuck my still-damp hair out the window. It was Stone in that unmistakable green Porsche. His arm was raised high out the window waving at me. I waved back and watch him disappear around the corner.
I sighed with pleasure. Why the hell they chose me, I hadn’t a clue. But what I knew, was that I was the luckiest girl in town, if not the world.
4
Jessa
I was running late, but that wasn’t unusual. My backpack strap had broken, and I didn’t have time to get Mom to sew it, so I just carried the bag like a sack of groceries. When I opened the front door, a gust of cold pre-winter wind caught me, causing me to gasp. I ran down the steps and watched as the back of the bus rounded the corner. I’d have to walk. Damn!
“Fweeeeet!” The whistle came from near our driveway. I shifted the backpack and saw Chase standing there, leaning against his old, blue pickup. His familiar face wore a grin, and he winked at me. “Looks like I timed this right.”
“Chase! You’re a godsend. How did you…?”
“Aw, you know it’s that thing we do. Somethin’ just told me you needed some help, so here I am.”
“Thank God. We’re going to be late.” I was already scrambling onto the cracked, bench seat. Chase took my bag and to
ssed it in the back.
“You worry too much,” he remarked as he slid behind the wheel. “Maybe you shouldn’t stay up so late with strange men.”
My breath hitched, and I struggled to meet him eye for eye. But even then, I could feeL his gaze on me, burning more than just a single hole into the side of my face.
“Pay attention to the road, Chase.” I kept my head straight, as though I was the one behind the driver’s seat. But seriously, damn Sven. I wondered just how much he’d shared. I should have known better than to think he’d keep his mouth shut. No matter who any of them were when it came to the outside world, when it involved me and their competitive nature, there were no secrets.
I decided not to answer. By the grin on his face, I don’t think he expected me to.
“So, haven’t seen you around much,” I prompted a change in subject.
“I’ve been around. Just waiting for my turn.”
“Turn? For what?” I laughed and looked away from him again.
“A certain little gal with chocolate hair and no car.”
I giggled. “You’re teasing.”
“Nope, I’m not. How about you meet me by the gym doors after school? I’d like to take a little ride with you.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“And you’ve been one to shy away from danger?”
I wasn’t exactly a thrill seeker. At least, I didn’t consider myself one. But I guess when you looked at the guys I allowed to take my world apart and piece it back together again, you couldn’t exactly say I didn’t like the thrill.
We pulled up to Vengeance High, not named for the attitudes of its students, but after a man as old as time itself. Not that the name didn’t fit. As long as the Stark brothers were in attendance, vengeance was what the school represented.
“Where do you wanna take me, Chase?”
“You let me surprise you, okay?” It was the way he said it, or perhaps the look on his face when he said, that made me know there was no way I would deny him.
Chase was more laid back than his brothers. Sure, he was just as remarkable to look at, just as capable of melting a mountain of panties, and just as ruthless if he needed to be, but none of that radiated from him the way it did from the others. He was also different when it came to me. He looked, but wasn’t as quick to touch. There was a time when I wasn’t sure Chase liked me. At least not in the way his brothers did. Of the three, he was the one who moved to an entirely different rhythm. If he didn’t look like his brothers, no one would guess they were from the same family.