by Rachel Bo
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
An Ellora’s Cave Publication, April 2004
Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 787
Hudson, OH 44236-0787
ISBN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-854-5
Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):
Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) HTML
DOUBLE JEOPARDY © 2004 RACHEL BO
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
Edited by Raelene Gorlinsky.
Cover art by Scott Carpenter.
Strength in Numbers 1:
Double Jeopardy
Rachel Bo
Chapter One
Temptation
The first time they came into her shop, Kendall was struck by the contrast between them. One man stood tall and bronzed with short, straight hair painted a dozen different shades of blonde by the sun. He was muscular in a lean, athletic way and exuded a bright, casual confidence that literally seemed to light up the room. Eyes the darkest brown Kendall had ever seen were surrounded by indecently long lashes, and when Kendall met that gaze it was like drowning in molasses. She was sucked in so fast it took her breath away. A massive effort of will was required for her to smile politely and drag her attention from him to his companion.
Short. Olive-complected. Thick hair that was dark as midnight, shaggy curls just brushing his broad shoulders. His tank top revealed the large, well-defined muscles of a man who was into weight-lifting. Unlike his friend, there was an air of quiet reserve about him. Of shy withdrawal. She met his gaze and it was like diving into a whirlpool. His dark grey eyes were stormy waters and Kendall once again found herself struggling to look away, but there was an abiding calm beneath that dangerous surface. Kendall had a sudden sense that this man had weathered his storms and come through with an unshakable inner strength. It came to her that if the tall blonde were the foundation of a house, here was the bedrock upon which that foundation stood. She experienced an unexpected longing to be a part of that. She stared into his eyes, unable to look away until one of them cleared his throat.
What’s wrong with me? Kendall thought. Never before had she reacted so strongly to a man. Hastily pulling herself together, she glanced from one to the other and asked, “May I help you?”
“Lady of the Myths,” the taller one mused, referring to the name of her shop. “I like that.”
Kendall smiled. “Thank you.”
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
“The shop?”
He nodded.
“Oh, let’s see. I moved here when I was twenty-three. Opened about a year later, so approximately eight years, I guess.”
The tall man glanced at his companion. “I can’t believe we never noticed it before.” Then they were both staring at her again, an intense scrutiny so sultry that for a moment she imagined her clothes going up in flames, revealing her eager nipples, her damp crotch—shocked at herself, Kendall turned away.
Straightening a figurine that didn’t need straightening, she stammered, “I-I’m not that surprised. Most of my customers are tourists, or couples looking to decorate a home.” She took a deep, calming breath and turned back, determined to ignore the effect they were having on her. “I don’t think you’re tourists—you look more like locals. College students?” She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Furnishing a dorm?”
“A home.” The blonde met her gaze boldly. It seemed to Kendall as though he were trying to tell her something without coming right out and saying it. “Actually, it’s just a house right now. With any luck it will be a home soon.” For a fleeting moment, she thought he was trying to tell her that they were gay. That they were setting up house together and then it would be a home. But Kendall knew desire when she saw it, and they were both devouring her with their eyes. Their regard seemed to penetrate right down to her bones. Kendall shivered with a sudden urge to brush her tingling nipples against their chests. The dark man shared a glance with his tall companion, then stepped forward, close enough that if Kendall were to draw a deep breath, her fantasy would become a reality. It was almost as if he had read her mind. Startled, Kendall stepped back. He watched her with a secretive smile on his face.
Flustered, she looked up with relief as the bell on the shop door jangled and a couple entered. “Why don’t you two look around, and call me if you need any help.”
She went to greet the elderly man and woman and occupied herself with finding just the right mermaid accents for their newly remodeled bathroom. By the time she sent the couple on their way, the two men were gone.
Or so she thought. Later, when she had locked up and was reaching to pull the steel mesh gate down over the storefront, two sets of hands suddenly appeared to either side of hers. The tall blonde easily reached the handle Kendall was having difficulty grasping and he and his companion pulled the gate down and set the clamps.
“Thanks,” Kendall said a trifle breathlessly.
Their eyes glittered, reflecting the glow of the streetlamps. “No problem.”
Kendall turned to go, but the blonde reached out and touched her shoulder. “Let us take you to dinner.”
Strange things were happening to Kendall’s arm. Tiny electric shocks danced from his fingertips like lightning. She glanced down, almost expecting to see sparks, but of course there was nothing. Just his hand. Kendall felt a sudden vertigo. For a brief moment, it was as though she were looking at herself through this stranger’s eyes. He wanted to pull the clip from her hair, run his fingers through her long tresses, caress her. Abruptly, she jerked her shoulder from his grasp. “No, thank you.” She backed away, eyes wide, then turned and hurried to her car. Her hand shook as she let herself in, then slammed and locked the door, backing quickly out of the lot. When she glanced in her rear-view mirror, they were both still standing there, watching her drive away.
* * * * *
Kendall leaned back in the booth and studied her companion. Brandy worked part-time for Kendall in the shop and despite their almost ten-year age difference they’d become close friends. She was a senior at the University of Houston. Kendall had been surprised to find out she drove into Houston every day to attend college, but of the three universities in Galveston, only two offered four-year programs and both were very specialized—the University of Texas at Galveston offering medical degrees, and the branch of Texas A M offering only marine-related degrees. Brandy and many of her friends made the one-hour drive every day in order to obtain the degree of their choice. Kendall sipped at her strawberry shake as she watched Brandy polish off the last of their chili-cheese fries. Actually, she mused to herself, we’re about as unlikely a pair as those two guys in the shop earlier.
It was true. Brandy was young, outgoing, petite—the kind of girl who could eat an elephant and never gain a pound. Her pale blond hair was blunt-cut just below her ears, that and her dimples giving her a pixie-like quality that Kendall found endearing. It had also been extremely useful. Kendall had utilized Brandy several times now as a model for her fantasy paintings and next month one of their collaborations would be on the cover of a new fantasy novel.
Kendall felt like an elephant sometimes, next to Brandy. She was of average height but felt overly tall in comparison to her diminutive friend. And she would never be mistaken for slender. Kendall had always been active—hiking, biking, swimming. But despite her active lifestyle, she’d always been heavy. Peop
le seemed to think that if a person was overweight, they were lazy. Consequently, Kendall found herself continually surprising acquaintances with her strength and stamina. She had tried dieting when she was younger, but gave it up when it became obvious to her that her size actually had little to do with how much she did or did not eat. In her opinion, plump and happy was infinitely better than thin and irritable. Being overweight certainly hadn’t stopped her from becoming a success. She had moved to the coast—fulfilling a life-long dream—and opened her own shop, which was doing quite well. And now with her artwork in demand both privately and commercially, her career as an artist was finally gaining momentum and she was as happy as she’d ever been.
Well, almost. She still missed her brother terribly. Her brother was the only person in her past that had not let her down, and she had to admit to herself that she still harbored that dream of finding someone like him. A good man, solid and reliable, with whom she could build a quiet, comfortable life.
For some reason, that thought brought to mind again her young male visitors. Just picturing them set her pulse racing. It came to her that if they were college students, Brandy might know them. She stirred her shake with her straw, mentioning idly, “I had an interesting encounter in the shop today.”
Brandy swallowed the last of her soda and looked up. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Kendall related the odd experience, describing the two men, but left out the incident that had occurred as she was locking up.
Brandy pursed her lips. “Hmmm. That sounds like Sutter Campbell and Joshua Reed.” Brandy had grown up in Galveston and seemed to Kendall to have at least a passing acquaintance with everyone living within a hundred miles of the place. Not really surprising, given her looks, generous nature and outgoing personality.
“Know anything about them?” Kendall asked casually.
Brandy grinned and raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”
Kendall felt heat rising in her cheeks. “Just curious.”
Brandy smiled a knowing smile. “Sure. They both go to the University of Houston. Sutter’s very popular. He’s pre-law. The one person everyone invites to their parties. There’s not a guy on campus who doesn’t like him—hell, they want to be him. And the girls…” She ticked off his features on her fingers. “He’s funny, his dad’s very well-off, and he’s gorgeous. They’re all trying to get their hooks into him.
“Now, Josh I don’t know that much about. He’s studying architecture, I think. He and Sutter are best friends—practically inseparable.” She paused for a moment, wiping chili from her lips. “He’s quiet. Sutter does most of the talking. People include Josh because he’s, like, permanently attached to Sutter. As a matter of fact, the rumor when they were freshmen was that they were gay.”
Kendall thought about the way they’d been looking at her that afternoon and frowned as a sultry heat flooded her groin. This is insane, she thought. You’re thirty-two years old and these are college kids. They can’t possibly be interested in you. But she couldn’t seem to help herself. She had to know. “What do you think?”
Brandy shook her head. “No way! I’ve seen the way they look at women. Besides, Sutter has dated some of my friends and they tell me he’s definitely not gay.”
“Really? What do they say?”
Brandy grinned wolfishly. “They say that even if he weren’t handsome and loaded they’d go out with him again just for the hot sex. But that’s the thing. He never asks. He hasn’t dated a girl twice yet, and he’s graduating this year!”
“Have you gone out with him?”
Brandy made a face. “Nah. There’s something odd about him. It’s like he’s looking for something. He’s got this air of expectancy, and it didn’t disappear when we met. I knew right away I wasn’t for him and he wasn’t for me. It was kind of strange, actually. I’ve never been so certain about a guy before.”
Kendall slurped up the dregs of her shake, mulling that over in her head. Setting the cup aside, she asked, “What about Joshua?”
Brandy said, “He doesn’t date much. I know a couple of girls—they said he was incredibly shy. Hardly spoke two words all evening and didn’t even kiss them good night.” She chuckled. “You know what, though? They both wanted to go out with him again. Tammy said—hmmm, how did she put it? That there were ‘hidden currents’ in him. I guess some gals just go for that quiet, mysterious type.”
Kendall nodded thoughtfully.
“So why the third degree?” Brandy prompted. “You got a crush on one of them?”
Again, Kendall felt her cheeks growing hot. “Of course not.” She averted her eyes, staring out the café window at the breakers rolling in across the gulf. The truth of the matter was, she wasn’t sure what was going on with her. She had never in her life felt the way she had that afternoon. Josh and Sutter, she mused. She knew instinctively that they wanted something from her. Exactly what, she was reluctant to consider.
Kendall sighed and turned back to find Brandy observing her shrewdly. “What?!” Kendall asked tartly.
The petite blonde raised both eyebrows and held up her hands as though fending off a blow. “Nothing, nothing. If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, that’s fine.”
Kendall rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing to tell.”
Brandy grinned as she picked up her purse and burrowed in search of change to pay her half of the tab. “Sure, Kendall. Whatever you say.”
Chapter Two
Arousal
Kendall tried hard to concentrate on the sketch she was working on, but she could feel their eyes devouring her and she couldn’t focus. Wherever she went, Sutter and Josh seemed to appear like magic. Watching her with those mesmerizing eyes in restaurants. Following her as she walked along the boardwalk. Brushing up against her at parties and in crowded bars, their touch engendering an aching erotic need, the contact again seeming to communicate thoughts and desires that came from outside herself. They even haunted her dreams. Kendall blushed furiously as she remembered some of the things they had done in those dreams. For three months she’d been in a near-constant state of arousal. She couldn’t take it any more.
Get it over with, the voice in her head prompted. Kendall rubbed her temples. You have to be crazy to even consider this, she argued with herself. They’re just BOYS, for Christ’s sake! But she had to do something. A strange awareness had been growing within her daily. A conviction that had her by turns both excited and apprehensive. The feeling that for whatever reason, Sutter and Josh both wanted her and that they meant for it to be a package deal.
She had sounded Brandy out, fishing for hints that they had done anything like this before, but apparently they had not. There were no ménage à trois rumors floating around about the two of them. And yet, Kendall was convinced that was what they wanted. And heaven help her, she wanted it too.
It’s now or never, Kendall, that voice in her head goaded. Are you a woman or a wimp? Swallowing past the nervous lump in her throat, Kendall closed her sketchbook. Gathering up her supplies, she stuck them in her bag and stood, brushing the sand from her lap. Bending over, she picked up her beach towel and folded it carefully, aware every moment of their eyes on her. Watching. Waiting. Taking a deep breath, Kendall turned and marched purposefully up the sandy incline toward the bench where they were seated.
Sutter nudged Josh with his elbow. Kendall faltered as they both stared at her. Then Sutter smiled. It was an open, welcoming grin that inspired instant response, and Kendall found herself smiling back. He stood and waved her onto the bench, settling himself cross-legged on the ground before it.
“Kendall.” Sutter’s entire body tingled, just having her so near after waiting so long. He drank in the sight of her. A heart-shaped face that lit up when she smiled. Wavy chocolate-brown locks entwined with auburn strands and caught at the nape of her neck in a large silver clip which only slightly tamed the thick fall. A voluptuous, rubenesque figure whose curves offered the sweet promise of hours of exploratory
pleasure.
Kendall licked her lips nervously. Sutter shifted as intense need flooded the area between his legs at this tantalizing glimpse of her soft, wet tongue. He shared a significant look with Josh. “We’ve never formally met,” she said, holding out her hand. “Kendall Aaronson.”
Sutter didn’t shake her hand. He reached out with both of his and caressed it. Kendall’s heart did a somersault and pounded against her ribcage like a monkey trying to escape the zoo. “It’s great to finally meet you,” he murmured. Startled at the strength of her reaction, Kendall pulled away from his grasp and turned slightly, offering her outstretched hand to Josh. He took it in his and brought it up to his lips, planting a soft kiss on her knuckle. Kendall suppressed a wild impulse to pull him close, to feel those lips against hers. Joshua smiled suddenly. Leaning forward, he kissed her gently.
Josh had to fight to keep from closing his eyes and drowning in the rush of erotic heat the touch of Kendall’s flesh excited in him. She’s almost ours, he thought. But she’s scared. He felt her tense, and sensed she was on the verge of changing her mind and running away. He sat back. Staring deep into her eyes, he shook his head slightly. For several moments they remained that way, with Kendall poised on the edge of flight. Joshua watched the play of emotions in the depths of her green-flecked, golden-brown eyes. With her hand still clasped in his, Josh felt everything she was feeling. How much she was drawn to them both—but also how uncomfortable she was with this strong attraction to two different men, and with the idea of giving herself to both of them. And yet, underneath it all—Joshua let his mind slip into the red pool of Kendall’s desire.
Kendall gasped. Something like a bolt of lightning danced within her, a storm making its way back and forth between the two of them through their linked hands. Sensations and longings that she knew did not belong to her. Kendall tried to break the contact, but Joshua held her hand tight. “Don’t run away,” he whispered. “We’ve been looking for you for such a long time.” She was vaguely aware of Sutter taking her other hand and the riot increased, two strangers’ thoughts and emotions racing through her veins. An overwhelming, almost painful tightness invaded her crotch. Kendall shifted restlessly. No, wait—oh, my God! That was Sutter and Josh. Kendall whimpered as she felt through them the sweet torment of an engorged cock and her pussy wept in response, warmth trickling between her legs.