Checking It Twice

by Jodi Redford

  Any prayer Kevin had of remaining a mere observer of her pleasure disintegrated with that small but oh-so-significant gesture. Fingers shaking, he rid himself of his shirt, pants and shoes before crossing to the nightstand and grabbing a condom from the drawer. He climbed onto the bed, and Nick rolled onto his side, taking Jana with him so that she faced Kevin. Heart drumming in triple time, Kevin stroked her cheek before tasting her lips. She yielded with the sweetest surrender, her tongue welcoming his in a coaxing glide that swept goose bumps along his skin. Tracing the gentle dip of her waist, he moved in closer, his cock nestling into her heat.

  Her nails grazing his shaft, she guided him to where she was already joined with Nick. “Together. I need you both. So much.”

  Jana’s trembling admission wrapped around his heart and vised it tight. He knew she wasn’t merely referring to the physical act of sex, and the knowledge filled him with equal parts longing and panic. As if she sensed the tumultuous emotions running rampant within him, Jana sifted his hair through her fingers, the touch soothing and tender. “Don’t think. Just make love to me.”

  She’d whispered those same words to him before. This time no force on Earth would stop him from giving in to her request.

  Splaying his fingers on her hip, he aligned his cock with Nick’s and entered her with a shuddering groan. Hot, velvety and unbelievably snug, she rippled around him, enslaving his senses. He pumped deeper, scalding pinpricks of pleasure skipping down his spine at the luscious friction along his shaft. His rough exhalation gusting free, he retreated slightly, his focus glued to Jana’s face as Nick thrust in countermotion. She gripped Kevin’s shoulders, her breaths thin and reedy. He ghosted his hand over her rib cage, caressed the straining peak of her nipple, before surging deep inside her again. The tension in her body hinted she was close to the breaking point. His desperate need to take her over the edge eclipsing all else, he rocked faster, harder, fucking her with fierce, determined strokes that rattled the bed.

  “Oh God.” An ecstatic wail snagging in her throat, Jana clutched at him, her fingers slipping in the sweat dampening his skin. She bowed in his and Nick’s arms, ceaseless tremors racking her as her pussy milked their cocks.

  Watching her come lit the fuse to Kevin’s climax. Her name wrenching from his lips, he shook with the force of his orgasm and the crushing magnitude of his love for her. Her hands reached for the makeshift blindfold, but he held it in place as he rested his cheek against hers. He spied the all-too-knowing look in Nick’s eyes and felt like a bastard coward. Still, his soul had been stripped, laid bare in the most devastating of ways. He wasn’t ready to relinquish the tiny shield that protected him from exposing too much of himself.

  Not now.

  Maybe not ever.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I’m freakin’ starved.”

  Chuckling, Nick unknotted the belt and let it fall around Jana’s neck. “Kev and I just made you come your brains out, and that’s all you have to say to us?”

  Puckering her lips, she gave him a saucy kiss. “Thank you for the ah-mazing orgasm…and I’m freakin’ starved.” She hitched one shoulder. “What can I say? Apparently mind-blowing climaxes make me hungry.” Right on cue, her stomach growled.

  Nick caressed her tummy. “There’s leftovers in the fridge. How about I make us all a snack?”

  “Excellent plan.” Awarding him a cheeky grin, Jana crawled over him and dashed toward the bathroom.

  Soon as she was out of earshot, Nick settled his focus on Kev. “Everything all right?”

  “Yeah.” Kev’s expression remained shuttered.

  Frustration and worry bloomed inside Nick. He’d witnessed Kev’s emotional lockdown countless times and knew only too well the destructive outcome that came with it. “No, you’re not. Don’t do this to her. Or to you.”

  Jana strolled back into the bedroom. Without a glance toward Nick, Kevin hefted off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. A hint of vulnerability shadowing her eyes, Jana peered at Nick. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, baby. Kev is just having a rough day.” Stroking her cheek, he offered her a reassuring kiss. “Come on, let’s go get you that snack.”

  While Jana situated herself at the kitchen table, Nick deposited his used condom in the wastebasket under the sink and washed up before rummaging through the crisper drawer. “How does a grilled chicken salad sound?”

  “Terrific. Need any help?”

  “No, you stay right where you are.” Most of the prep work had already been done, so tossing together all the ingredients took minimal effort and time.

  A commercial suddenly blared from the surround-sound speakers in the next room, announcing that Kevin had left the bathroom and turned on the TV. Shaking the bottle of raspberry vinaigrette, Nick strode into the living room. Kev was slouched at the farthest end of the couch. Unlike Nick, he’d pulled on a pair of sweats. Nick flicked a glance toward the TV screen before eyeing Kev. “You gonna join us?”

  Kev shook his head.

  “Suit yourself.” Gritting his teeth, Nick returned to the kitchen.

  He and Jana devoured their salads and shared a bottle of wine. The meal and her company managed to distract him from the situation with Kev. Being treated to the delectable sight of her bare, mouthwatering curves soon had his cock at rigid attention again. The tightened buds of her nipples thankfully implied that she was equally as aroused.

  Leaning toward her, he smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip. “In the mood for a little dessert, sweetness?”

  Her tongue swept the pad of his thumb. “Mm-hmm.”

  His cock bobbed against his navel. “Then wait for me out in the living room.”

  Her skin flushing, she rose from her seat and padded from the kitchen. Nick made swift work of cleaning their plates and strode into the guest bedroom. Snatching his presentation case, he carried it into the living room and set it on the carpet next to the pine coffee table.

  Jana gave him a curious look. “What’s that for?”

  “Dessert.” He eyed Kev. “Do you mind if that table gets messy, or should I grab a towel?”

  Despite the tic in his jaw, there was some definite tenting in the groin area of Kev’s sweatpants. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “You sure? Because things are gonna get wet.” He grinned when Kev’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

  “It’s fine.” Kev kept his gaze riveted on the flat-screen television on the opposite wall, his piss-poor attempt at feigning a sudden interest in It’s a Wonderful Life making Nick give a silent, evil laugh.

  Yeah, we’ll see how much you can pretend to be into that, you stubborn bastard.

  Kneeling on the carpet, he clicked open his case, fetched the jar of Frosty BodyScape paint and placed it on the edge of the coffee table before straightening and beckoning Jana with a crook of his finger. She abandoned her perch on the couch cushion and approached him, her eyes sparkling. “What are you going to do? Finger-paint me? Paint by number? Dot to dot?”

  He spanked her on the ass, provoking a squealed laugh from her and a covert, darting look in their direction from Kev. Kneading the heated flesh of her ass with one hand, he lowered his head and slid his mouth over Jana’s, his tongue teasing at the edges of her teeth, seeking an invite for deeper exploration. Her lips parted in sweet submission, offering him more. Offering him everything.

  He tangled his fingers in her hair, the tactile sensation of sifting through the silkiness of the strands making him ache to touch her everywhere. Breaking their kiss, he motioned for her to stretch out on her back on the coffee table. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Kev was still staring at the television screen, but the balled fist at his side hinted that he was far from being oblivious to the scene commencing in front of him.

  Nick grabbed the jar of BodyScape paint and unscrewed the lid before dipping his finger inside and coating it with the liquid chocolate. Grinning, he smoothed the substance along the bow of Jana’s bottom lip. �
��The sample I promised.”

  “That’s all? Talk about stingy.”

  “No, I’m planning on giving you an even bigger taste in a bit, sweetness.”

  “Mmm.” She rubbed her lips together before licking them. “Candy cane?”

  “Appropriate for this time of the year, yes?”

  “You’re a marketing genius, Naughty Nick.”

  “Well, Christmas only comes once a year. I’d better make the most of it.”

  “I’d make the best of it too, if I only came once a year.” Her teeth flashed white—an almost identical match to the Frosty BodyScape paint still lightly glossing her lips.

  “Don’t think you’ll have to worry about that sad fate.” He gathered more of the paint, and using his fingertips as his personal applicator brush, began designing his creation. Starting at her collarbone, he drew a long curlicue, sweeping it downward over her breast, circling her nipple before filling the pebbled tip in and continuing beneath the curved underside of her breast.

  He collected more paint, his gaze flicking toward Kev. The stubborn jackass was still staring unblinkingly at the flat-screen, the hard ridge of his knuckles practically bursting through the skin as he locked the rolled seam of the couch cushion in a death grip. His jaw looked like it could give that Nutcracker dude from the other night a run for his money.

  The wicked tormenter in him cackling with glee, Nick traced a snaking path down Jana’s quivering stomach, rimming her bellybutton before trailing with slow deliberation to her mons and drawing the outline of a heart. Her strip of blonde fuzz bisected it in the middle. One half for him, the other for Kev. As it should be.

  He stirred his finger in the jar of BodyScape one last time before applying a good dollop of the paint on her glistening clit. Sitting back on his haunches, he admired his handiwork. “Picasso has nothing on me.”

  Goose bumps dotting her skin, and the shallowness of her breathing indicators of her excitement and arousal, Jana fidgeted on the table.

  He stroked the inside of her thigh, teasingly close to her pussy. “Now for the fun phase—licking the canvas clean.” He grazed his fingernails along the delicate ridges of her rib cage, making her shiver. Stroking his chin, he contemplated his masterpiece. “Hmm, where to start?”

  Her legs inching farther apart, she lifted her hips in invitation. He lowered his head toward her collarbone instead, and she growled in frustration, earning his chuckle. Moving with unhurried ease, he retraced his path, slowly dissolving the curlicue with his tongue. He flicked lazy laps around her areola next, the candy-cane-flavored body paint an additional sweetness to Jana’s addictive flavor. Curling his tongue around her nipple, he sucked the turgid flesh, working it into a stiffened peak. Jana squirmed on the table, her back arching. Lifting his head, he caught Kev’s heated stare on them. Finally the stubborn jackass had given up the pretense of watching the damn movie.

  Satisfaction burning inside him, Nick flattened his tongue and swabbed the underside of Jana’s breast, making his way toward her abdomen. Two ravenous swirls around her bellybutton, then a slow cruise to her mound. He lapped his side of the heart clean before looking at Kev. “This dessert is even better when shared.”

  It took no more coaxing than that. Kev shoved up from the couch, his legs unsteady as he rounded the corner of the coffee table. An instant later, his knees hit the carpet and he gripped Jana’s hips, raising them as he buried his mouth in her pussy with a starved moan. Unlike Nick, he didn’t make a leisurely feast of her, instead gorging on her like she was his last meal.

  Jana gasped and writhed, her hand seeking Nick’s. Lacing their fingers, he kissed her before returning his focus to Kev’s ravenous devouring. The oral feast was incredible to watch. When Kev finally let himself go and gave in to his need for Jana, he poured every ounce of his desire and passion into it. He didn’t just eat her pussy, he made love to it with his mouth and tongue.

  His own lust and love a fierce heartbeat inside him, Nick stretched forward. Catching his eye, Kev scooted back as Nick leaned in for a taste. He plowed his tongue through Jana’s wetness, her sugary sweetness the most potent flavor of all. Plunging his tongue deep, he ate her with a hungry gusto, angling his head to the side as Kev thumbed her swollen little clit. A cry ripped from Jana seconds before her pussy spasmed around his tongue in rhythmic pulses.

  Once she’d relaxed in a contented slump, he slipped his tongue free. Kev continued to bring Jana down from her climax with gentle caresses while Nick grabbed one of the condoms he’d stashed in his case. He started to rip the packet open, but Jana surprised him by wiggling off the coffee table and snatching it from him.

  “No way, Naughty Nick. You promised me a bigger taste, remember?” She smacked her lips in a way that was both lascivious and funny as shit. Not waiting around for his reply, she hunched over his presentation case and rifled through its contents before settling on the raspberry mint Bodylicious lube. Stowing the condom foil on the edge of the table, she squeezed a healthy portion of the lube into her palm before sliding her fingers around his cock and stroking his entire length in a slick, sensuous glide that threatened to make him blow in zero seconds flat. But that proved to be only the beginning of her torment when the wet warmth of her mouth replaced her hand. Her tongue performed sweeping swirls around the head of his dick before delicately fluttering in the sensitive juncture where the main vein intersected the cap.

  The real test of his strength came when she puffed a hot breath along his shaft, activating the menthol. “Ah Jesus.” Gritting his teeth, he groped blindly for the edge of the table before his knees buckled.

  Smiling like a cat with a big ole bowl of cream, she crawled between his legs and engulfed him in her mouth again. Her eyes glimmering up at him, she lightly massaged his testicles. The breath bellowed from his lungs when she reached behind her and cupped Kev’s erection, rubbing him through the cotton of his sweats. A groan tumbling from him, Kev rocked into her, his hands tracing the soft swells of her hips.

  Releasing Nick with a gasp, she sent them both a pleading look. “Make love to me. Both of you. Please. I—I need…”

  Kev hiked his sweats down and snatched the extra condom Nick flipped his way. Once his cock was sheathed, Kev positioned it at Jana’s slit, but she caught him off-guard by coaxing him toward her ass. His expression equal parts lusty and worried, Kev hesitated at her puckered rosebud. “Jana, are you sure?”

  She responded by biting her lip and passing him the lube. “I’ve never done it with the real thing. But I want to. With you.”

  Looking like he’d been handed the rarest gift of all, Kev uncapped the lube with shaky fingers, two of which he greased up before easing them inside Jana’s ass. Stroking his dick, Nick watched the heightened arousal flushing Kev’s face. “How does she feel?”

  “Hot. Smooth.” Kev swallowed with obvious difficulty. “So fucking tight.” He leaned forward and kissed Jana’s neck, tenderness softening his strained expression. “I don’t want to hurt you.” The tremble in his voice hinted that he wasn’t only referring to taking her ass.

  Jana squeezed Kev’s hand before repositioning it on her hip and once again guiding his shaft to her nether region. Her blissful sigh as she slowly impaled herself on Kev’s cock was enough to make Nick come, but there was no way in hell he was depriving himself the pleasure of her pussy.

  Unable to resist, he pushed away from the coffee table and hunkered beside Jana and Kev. Kissing her neck, he scored his fingertips over her breasts. “Watching you take Kev’s cock in your ass is the fucking sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Tell me how he feels, sweetness.”

  Her throat worked with a hard swallow. “H-huge. But good.” She rocked her hips slightly and shuddered. “Oh God. Really good.” Her hand slid backward and clutched at Kev’s flexing glute as he pumped deeper. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

  Nick grabbed the pair of throw pillows from the couch and kicked them behind Kev. His thin, labored breaths hinting at the tigh
trope of control he was balancing on, Kev stretched onto his back, taking Jana with him. Nick followed them down, sliding a hot, open-mouthed kiss along Jana’s belly. He settled between their outstretched legs and glided his tongue over her clit, sucking the slick nubbin softly while Kev’s cock tunneled into her ass. He didn’t know which was the headier turn on—the close-up view of their sexy joining, or Jana’s delirious moans and whimpers.

  He slowly retraced his path upward along her torso, lingering for a moment to properly worship her pebbled nipples before he claimed her mouth in a drugging kiss. Inching back slightly, he caressed her cheek. “Are you ready for both of us, baby?”

  Moisture glimmered in her eyes. “More than you could ever know.”

  He did know. And he was right there with her in the wanting of it—a forever that extended far beyond tonight. He guided his cock inside her, the velvety, snug fit of her pussy sending liquid pleasure scalding through every nerve receptor. He stroked deeper, the hard ridge of Kev’s cock buried in Jana’s ass creating a sizzling friction that tore twin hissing breaths from him and Kev.

  Locking his elbows, Nick arched his back and retreated in a lazy glide, relishing the rippling embrace of her wet, silken channel. Holding her gaze steady, he slid home again, throwing in a half twist at the tail end of his stroke that rubbed his pubic bone along her clit. She broke apart with a keening cry, her inner muscles spasming around him and Kev.

  She was made for this. Made for them.

  Her eyes glistening with unshed tears, Jana caressed his jaw and the hand that Kev had cupped around her breast. On her next thready exhalation, she shared the three words echoing in his heart. “I love you.”

  He knew the declaration was intended just as much for Kev as for him, and judging from the brief flash of joy and panic skating across Kev’s features, so did he. Nick pumped, hard and deep, the move effectively distracting Kev and hopefully silencing the persistent whispers of his demons. Nuzzling her neck, Nick offered her the reassurance she needed and the words that he damn well knew Kev shared but was too terrified to let go of. “I love you too, baby.”