by Vanessa Vale
Ten
LEO
Getting Harper to go along with what I wanted was damned near impossible. Not only was she smart, gorgeous, and sexy as hell, she was also stubborn and a pain in my ass. I hadn’t been able to think straight when she’d stood before us in just a fucking towel. My dick had gone hard knowing exactly what was beneath the terry cloth. And she’d been talking, saying she was going to leave. With no blood in my brain, it had been hard to argue with her.
It had been close to impossible to let her put on Dane’s clothes and leave the penthouse, my hands wanting to grab her, toss her over my shoulder and carry her back to my room.
But no. The vixen needed to work. I appreciated and respected that, but there was only one way I was going to allow that. My protection.
Since I couldn’t be in two places at once, I’d called in one of Dane’s security team to take my place, picking him up so he could go to work.
Harper was right. She didn’t need the two of us looming while she kneaded dough and made small, weird little appetizers. And if she gave me a taste of something besides the bite-sized samples, I was content to have her all to myself. Yeah, I was a fucking bastard, but Dane and I wouldn’t share her all the time. With him at the office—at least for a few hours—I spent the time sitting on one of the stools out of the way, working my cell. Checking in with any connection I might have to find out about O’Sullivan. And while I did so, I watched Harper. She was totally in her element. Once I gave her a little room, she settled in. Worked on the meals for the two parties scheduled for tomorrow night. The college-aged woman from the night before—she introduced me to her as Jane—came in with a flat box of weird looking mushrooms and about thirty pounds of raw shrimp. She’d almost dumped the whole thing on the floor when I pulled out my gun, but Harper had scolded me. Of course, that rolled right off me since I wasn’t fucking around with her safety. She could yell at me all she wanted, it only made her sexier.
There weren’t too many people who stood up to me and I had to laugh. At least inwardly so she didn’t yell at me some more. I’d rather her jump me.
Jane didn’t linger. Smart girl, considering I had eighty pounds on her and had a deadly weapon. I’d pegged her right; she’d gone to the specialty market for Harper before heading to her afternoon class, and we were alone once again, Harper back to her work.
The way her hands flew over those shrimp, peeling and slicing them, I’d have cut a finger off. But she had the skill and dexterity for it like I had for my gun. I had to remember not to piss her off when she was working.
“Besides being friends—” Harper began, giving me a quick glance from her work on the shrimp. She was tossing the prepared ones into a large skillet on an industrial stovetop. “—and sharing women, you watch out for each other.”
I wasn’t sure if the blush on her cheeks was from admitting aloud that we’d shared her or if it was from the heat of the burner.
Putting my cell down, I shifted on the stool, put one foot out to brace myself as I rested the other on the low rung. “I watch out for him. I’m the head of his security team.”
She put a head of garlic on a wooden chopping block, smashed it with the heel of her hand, and began peeling cloves.
“Why does he need a whole team? Why any at all?”
As I watched her make a pile of peeled garlic, I responded. “Dane runs a big company. He deals in data security.”
She paused, looked up at me. “I have no idea what that means.”
I smiled, grabbed a bunch of parsley—at least I thought that was what it was—and twirled it around. “Yeah, I don’t much either. The event last night? His client’s daughter is the bride.”
“Oh.”
“He deals in important people’s security. At least they think they’re important. They pay Dane enough for him to consider them so. Because of this, he keeps their data secrets. Whatever they have in the way of emails, banking, business content, anything they don’t want to share gets protected by Dane.”
A knife flew over the garlic, chopping it into little bits. The pungent scent of it drifted over to me.
“I’d think they’d want to keep him safe if he knows—or protects—all their secrets.”
She walked to the stove, turned the knife over, and scraped all the garlic into the pan with the shrimp. Adding oil from a large bottle with a fancy liquor spout, it started to sizzle.
I shifted on the stool because I was getting hard. Ridiculous, definitely. I was getting hard watching her cook fucking shrimp. My mouth wasn’t watering for a taste of it, but for her.
She wasn’t dressed fancy; yoga pants, a long-sleeved white t-shirt—which did nothing to hide her gorgeous curves—and a black apron over top. Her hair was pulled back into a low, messy bun at the nape of her neck and she wore black leather clogs on her feet.
“He’s not worried about his clients. He’s worried about his clients’ enemies. An easy way to harm them is through Dane’s company. Or Dane himself.”
My phone chimed, alerting me of a text. Speaking of Dane, he wrote, Almost there. Don’t shoot me when I come in.
Yeah, he knew me too well.
She turned her head to look at me, a large wooden spoon in her hand.
“Has it happened before? Someone trying to hurt him?”
I nodded, but didn’t elaborate. She didn’t need to know the fucked up stuff.
“The office building’s secure,” I said. “And he’s secure within. There’s building security and his own small group. With me here, he’ll have two guys on him. At least until he’s with me and I take over.”
“And this is what you do? Protect people? Lead security details? Aren’t you scared?”
“That’s a lot of questions. Yes, this is what I do. Head up Dane’s security department. My main job is to be his bodyguard, sticking close to him, but I’m responsible for about thirty men and women.”
She eyed me slowly. My dick twitched. “I don’t see you as the management type.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. “I’m not. Hell, I didn’t even go to college. After graduation, I went into the military. Six years with two tours in the Middle East. Fighting in the sand is good practice. Then, when I got out, I went into fighting. MMA.”
“MMA?” she repeated.
“Mixed martial arts. I was pro for a while, but I had one too many concussions. I’d done my time and Dane needed protection. Worked for me.”
“Impressive.” She eyed me again. “I remember the tattoos from last night. The scars.” She pointed to my nose. “The broken bones. I can see you as an MMA fighter.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that, so I didn’t.
“I know the bad shit, Harper. I know what can happen when things go wrong. You might think we just met, but that doesn’t matter. You’re ours and we’re not letting anything happen to you.”
Her mouth fell open when I said you’re ours, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she said, “Jane came in without warning.”
“I’ve got a guy watching the door. The gun’s backup.”
“That’s serious backup.”
I shrugged. The gun was the only weapon on me she knew about. She hadn’t seen the knife.
“I’ve had people die on my watch. Fellow soldiers. We might not be at war here in the city, but there are bad guys everywhere—like on the street or even at the party last night—where he might be liable to a threat. Except the penthouse. That’s locked down. That’s why we took you there last night.”
She stirred the shrimp. The smell of it was incredible. She reached for a lemon, grabbed the knife and sliced it in half, then squeezed each half over the pan.
“I thought it was for a different reason entirely.” A slight smile curled her full lip.
Ah, she was flirting. Good.
My cock was eager to play.
“Two birds with one stone and all that,” I replied, sharing the old saying.
She tossed the lemon halves into a waste b
in and wiped her hands on a towel folded over the string of her apron. Gave me a wry smile. “Two birds? Cocks, you mean.”
I stood from the chair, took the few steps between us so she had to tilt her head back to keep looking at me. “And one pussy.”
She licked her lips and that was all it took.
“Is the shrimp done?”
Turning her head, she looked down at the stove. “Yes.”
“Good. Turn off the burner.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m hungry.”
“Oh.” She stepped back and went over to an industrial shelf that held clear glass plates, enough to feed a small wedding.
Reaching out, I took her arm, pulled her back. “Not for shrimp.”
“I have the mini quiches and the chocolate mousse cups.”
I shook my head as I walked toward her, coaxing her backward, forcing her to retreat until she bumped into the center island. Good thing she cleaned as she went, for the stainless-steel surface was wiped down and ready for another project.
A project with me feasting on Harper. Specifically, on Harper’s pussy.
I spotted a shelf with spices, oils and other ingredients within easy reach.
“Just what I’m looking for.”
She frowned as I grabbed the squeeze bottle. “What? Honey? You want some tea?”
I shook my head, gripped the bow at the front of her apron and gave it a tug, the sides of it falling loose.
“I want some Harper. I want to see just how sweet you are.”
Eleven
HARPER
Leo pressed me against the prep table with one hand on the string of my apron, the other holding a bottle of honey.
Yes, honey.
“Um...what are you going to do with that?”
“Get you on the table, get those clothes off you, cover you with honey and lick it off.”
My pussy clenched at his dark words. So rough, so honest. So sexy.
And the way he was looking at me with those green eyes, he was serious. Like the gun he had.
“Anyone could walk in.”
He smiled then, a wicked grin. “I figured you for a no on the honey thing. Your only worry is someone watching.”
I sputtered because he was right. I hadn’t said no. But, he was also scrambling my brain cells, making my nipples go hard and my pussy was thinking about being licked clean of the sticky sweetness.
“If anyone walks in, I’ll just shoot them.”
I laughed. “Even if your head’s between my legs?”
He looked down my body, most likely imagining. “That’s where you picture me, sugar? I was thinking about sucking on those nipples and making you come first. But if that’s what you want…”
He dropped to his knees.
“Oh shit.”
Right there in my work kitchen.
Good thing I was ruthless about cleaning, for the floor was probably cleaner here than in my own apartment.
He plunked the plastic bottle down on the table by my hip, tugged on the apron.
“Take this off.”
I lifted it over my head, let it drop to the floor.
“I like how you do as I say. Let’s see if you’ll do it again.”
Taking off the apron was a no-brainer. But when he said, “Take off the shirt, sugar. Let me see what kind of bra’s covering those gorgeous breasts,” I stalled.
I reached back, wrapped my hands around the edge of the table, perhaps to keep me up, perhaps as something to anchor me so I didn’t float away. Glancing at the door, I knew no one could see in. The only windows were high up, one transom over the door, the others equally high. It worked for me so no one could see in at my supplies and decide to break in. Now, it worked for an entirely different reason. When he tucked his fingers into the waistband of my yoga pants and tugged them down over my hips, no one was going to see it.
“Holy shit, sugar. Where are your panties?”
He was looking at me right there, and I rubbed my thighs together.
“In my drawer?” I squeaked.
He looked up at me, his green eyes darker than I’d ever seen them. The smile on his face now held heat, promise. Desire. “Are you bare for me?”
I gave a slight head nod. How could a guy like him be on his knees before me? I mean, I was wearing my work clogs. My hair was pulled back for cooking, I had flour on the sleeves of my shirt and I smelled like garlic. And yet he looked like he wanted to eat me right up. Or at least pour honey on me.
Oh God.
“For me and Dane,” he clarified.
I stilled. “Oh. Um. Dane. God, is this cheating?”
He put his warm, calloused hands on my bare thighs, my pants down about my knees. “You’re ours, sugar. Mine and Dane’s. Sometimes we’ll take you together, like last night. Sometimes, you’ll be all mine. And sometimes you’ll be just for Dane. All right?”
“Ours?” I asked, but it came out breathy since his palms slid upward, igniting every nerve ending on the way.
“Mmmhmm,” he replied.
I was going to have him clarify further, but his thumbs brushed over me, then parted me for his mouth.
Oh God.
Having Leo’s head between my thighs was...shit...incredible. Dark. Naughty. Wicked. I was in my work kitchen!
He wasn’t gentle, or tender. Or slow. He was ruthless and precise in nature, and that applied as well with his tongue. Most guys couldn’t find a clit without a headlamp and a road map, but Leo? He honed right in on it and got busy. Seriously busy.
He didn’t stop or relent until he made me come, my fingers trying to grip his short hair. I cried out as the pleasure swamped me. Thankfully, he was holding me up because my knees turned to jelly. But instead of supporting me, Leo lifted me up, placed my butt on the cold steel of the prep table. It did nothing to cool me down, and the haze he’d turned my brain into had me watching as he tugged off my clogs and yoga pants.
It wasn’t until he pushed me back so I lay across the table did I think to object.
“Leo, what are you—”
He lifted the bottle of honey, grinned. His lips were glistening with my arousal, and I should have felt embarrassed. Somehow, no matter what I did with them, I didn’t feel anything but eagerness for more.
“I have a sweet tooth, but something tells me you’d make the taste of honey even sweeter. Just like sugar. But let’s make you even sweeter.”
“For me, too?”
Dane.
I startled at the sound of his voice, but Leo’s hand on my bare thigh soothed me. When had he come in?
“What kind of bodyguard are you?” I grumbled, looking at Leo as Dane came around to the side of the table, his gaze raking over me. Yeah, I was half naked on my prep table. Not a sight one saw every day. Or ever.
With his free hand, Leo wiped his mouth. “Oh, I’d say a pretty good one.” He tilted his head toward Dane. “He texted me that he was coming. Right before you did.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Now lay back like a good girl and let me get you off again.”
I gave him a stern gaze. No one talked to me that way. Well, no one but Leo because secretly, those words made me hot.
“And after the honey, we’ll have a little fun with this.” Dane held up a small, nondescript bag and pulled something from it. Held it up.
My mouth fell open at the sight of the shiny butt plug with a pink gem on the flange. “What...I...no way.”
Dane pulled out something else from the bag—a small bottle of lube—and put it on the table.
“We’ll take you together, Harper. Soon. Ever done anal before?”
I shook my head. Yeah, no. I clenched my butt at the possibility.
“We don’t want to hurt you, so we’ll prepare you first. And you’re going to be gorgeous with the pink gem parting that perfect ass.”
“I’m not so sure about this.”
“Do you trust us?” Leo asked. Dane waited patiently for my answer.
While there was no shift in their bodies, I could tell they were relieved by my answer. A slight warming of the eyes, a softening—if that were possible—of their faces.
Leo flipped open the lid of the honey. “Don’t worry, sugar. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for something in your ass.”
When Dane took hold of one of my knees and spread me wide, I came up onto my elbows and watched as Leo dribbled the sticky honey over my very center. I arched my hips at the cool feel of it as it slowly slid down over my clit and folds.
He handed the bottle to Dane, gave me a dark look as he put his hands on the end of the table to prop himself up. And when he lowered his head, I gasped. Somehow the thick syrup only accentuated the feel of his mouth and tongue. He licked and sucked, laved me to get all the sugary sweetness off. And since he’d made me come just like this only a few minutes earlier, I was primed and ready to go.
“Let me see you come,” Dane said, his voice rough. A hand cupped my breast through my shirt and fingers plucked at my nipple. Their double assault had me crying out my pleasure, writhing on my prep table.
They didn’t let up until I stopped whimpering, until I’d caught my breath.
“I don’t think...I don’t think the health department would like this.” My voice was raspy from screaming. Twice.
I heard them laugh, although I hadn’t opened my eyes.
“Then the health department isn’t doing it right,” Dane said. “Roll over.”
Hands on my waist helped me over, my feet dangling over the edge, my toes barely touching the floor. I was up on my elbows again, this time looking down at the metal surface
More hands pushed up my shirt so my bra-covered breasts were exposed, cupped in big palms.
“Pink this time. A new favorite for me,” Leo said, admiring my pale lace demi-cup bra.
I hissed when I felt a cool drizzle between the cheeks of my bottom. Dane began to play with me...there. I stiffened, but he was right. I did like it. Well, I didn’t hate it. It felt good in a dark, intense way. And that was just his finger.