by Vivian Arend
This offer—to try and break the final chains that wrapped her in bondage—it was as if a lifeline was being stretched to her. Even though her limbs trembled, she turned to face Nathan, because she damn well needed this for her soul.
“Monkey?” Nathan’s knuckles were white where he’d dug his fingers into his thighs as he waited a few feet away. The grass lay crumpled under his knees, a smear of dirt along the edge of his shorts. Patient, and oh-so masculine. No longer the young man she’d lusted after before she even knew what lust was.
She shook her head, casting aside all her childish connections. “I’m not a monkey anymore. I grew up.” And the grown-up woman had needs the teenage fantasy couldn’t answer.
But the man before her could.
Nathan’s response was a skin-tingling, body-melting smile. “I noticed.”
She shuffled forward on Derrick’s lap, the firm base of his thighs giving her a chair-like base to rest upon that allowed her feet to touch the ground. With one hand she reached for Nathan, and he moved to accept it.
His fingers were less callused than Derrick’s. Not soft, but not the hands of a climber. With her wrist captured, Nathan rotated his hand, delicately holding her palm upward in the circle of his fingers.
“Derrick is right. You can say stop at anytime. I find you very attractive, Melanie Dixon, and I can’t wait to prove it. In detail.”
She couldn’t tear her gaze away. He seemed fascinated with the tendons in her wrist, tracing them with the fingertips of his other hand, inching his way up the sensitive skin of her arm until he made contact with the inside of her elbow. Traveling in conjunction with his touch was a freaky sensation somewhere between being tickled and being held at the edge of a rocking orgasm.
Was it possible to climax without a single sexual touch?
“I want to kiss you, Mel.”
He waited for her response, his long dark lashes that she’d envied as a teen lazily fluttering as he stared at her mouth.
A kiss would be good. If she remembered how to talk, she would tell him that. Instead, she managed a nod, and his smile arrived right on cue. He released her wrist, slipping one hand all the way up until he cradled her neck. His other hand dropped to rest feather-light on her thigh.
Nathan leaned in until his mouth made contact with hers, tracing his tongue over her bottom lip tentatively. Even as she pressed closer for more, Derrick’s firm grasp reassured her, his thumbs stroking slowly back and forth over the curve of her hipbones, adding to the desire rocking her core.
The situation was bewildering, but the actual increase in her pulse had everything to do with arousal instead of fear and she could have cried because it felt so wonderful.
She crushed her lips against Nathan’s, not allowing him to remain delicate. His response was immediate—passionate and demanding. He held her head in place and took her mouth by storm. Thrusting with his tongue, biting her lips, rocking the pleasure in her to a higher level in a split second. It was unlike any childish fantasy she’d clung to and, oh God, it was good.
The heat behind her confirmed Derrick was still there. That when she’d had enough of Nathan’s caresses, her lover was going to make her body sing like he had proven over and over he could—
The line between panic and pleasure blurred further. It might have been fear that started her heart racing in the first place, but it was the sensation of Nathan’s hand moving on her thigh that pushed a needy cry from her throat.
Chapter Seven
Crux: The hardest move on a route.
The breathless sound echoed in his ears, and Derrick felt the same damn shiver of lust that occurred when he was the one making Melanie respond. He was a fucked-up bastard—Nathan and Mel’s lips were locked together, the man’s hands were moving on her body and not one single iota of jealousy registered. If anything, Derrick had gotten harder in the last minute than he’d been before.
He stroked her skin under his fingers, smooth on one side, pocked and marred on the other—there was nothing about her body she had to be ashamed or worried about. If having Nathan touch her could convince Mel of that forever, this was the cure to use.
She gasped again and Derrick tightened his grip on her hips. Centering her, being there for her. Listening for any indicators she wanted to retreat, but even while she leaned away from Nathan’s kiss, Melanie reached up to catch hold of his head.
“That was way better than when I was sixteen.”
Nathan grimaced. “You weren’t supposed to know it was me who gave you that kiss.”
She wriggled in Derrick’s lap as she laughed. “Oh my God, are you serious? Even blindfolded I knew it was you.”
Blindfolded?
Then there was no chance to ask any questions as the train moved forward in a rush.
“Take off your top.” Nathan flicked a glance over Mel’s shoulder at him then returned his full attention to her. Under Derrick’s hands, she’d gone tight. Rigid as a rock wall, and Derrick wondered if Nathan had pushed too hard.
She leaned against his chest and took a deep breath. Nathan waited, silent yet demanding. Derrick was on the verge of speaking—of suggesting this wasn’t needed. That he’d made a mistake, when Melanie surprised him.
“Close your eyes,” she ordered back, and Nathan complied, snapping them shut. His hands remained resting on her thighs, hunger on his face.
Mel twisted her head. “Derrick, you still with me?”
“All the way, whatever you want.” Whatever it took to make her happy. Derrick was more convinced every minute he was in for the long haul.
She nodded, then maneuvered the sports bra from her body, dropping it to the grass beside them. Derrick peeked over her shoulder to admire the tight points of her nipples poking from the rounds of her breasts.
“Hmm, can I touch as well?” he asked, and Melanie reached back and caught his head, tugging until their lips met. Passion rocked through him, a thunderous noise in his ears as they kissed—so right and familiar now, yet new and unique each time. Derrick wrapped his hands around her torso to cup her beautiful breasts. He played with her nipples between forefingers and thumbs, lightly teasing the tips, rolling and tugging and pinching until she moaned.
Moisture touched his fingers, and Derrick swallowed the exclamation she made before pulling back to observe Nathan come in for a second slow swipe over the exposed peak of one breast. Nathan had kept his hands locked on Melanie’s thighs, only his mouth touching, tongue darting out to flick the tip again and again.
Derrick adjusted his hold to bare more of her breast, and Nathan took immediate advantage, wrapping his lips around the entire nipple and sucking.
Melanie writhed on Derrick’s lap, her ass rubbing his erection as she arched and pressed closer to Nathan’s eager mouth. “So good. Yes, like that…”
As Nathan moved his hands up to cradle and caress, Derrick slipped his out of the way, simply enjoying the heat of her in his lap, the brush of her skin against his torso as she continued to lean in his direction. He watched. Assessing, judging, ready to act if her enthusiastic response changed, but there was no need. She caught Nathan by the hand and directed his touch, their fingers linked as she allowed her old friend to brush the damaged skin on her torso, the side of her breast.
More kisses followed, hot and needy, as Nathan took Melanie’s lips again. When he leaned away Melanie sucked in air as Nathan’s gaze flashed over her body.
“Every inch of you makes me want you. No scars can change how attractive you are. Nothing can.”
A hesitant smile crossed her face a split second before he recaptured her lips. Then he kissed his way down her throat and across her collarbone to once more worship her breasts.
A purr of contentment escaped her. Derrick rejoiced. That was what he wanted to hear, to witness. Every inch of her craving sexual release, no thought of her scars or the trauma she’d gone through.
And sexual release she would get. Derrick snuck his hand over Melanie’s hip and und
er the elastic of both her climbing pants and panties. Over the soft curls covering her sex, wetting his fingers in her cream and drawing it higher to rub her clit.
Together he and Nathan took her to the edge of pleasure. They whispered words of admiration, stroked her skin, kissed her bare torso. Nathan bit one nipple then suckled hard, and Derrick took that moment to thrust two fingers into her core.
“Oh God.” She squirmed, not in retreat, but to allow them both to reach her better. “More. Please, more.”
More? They gave it to her until she gasped for air. Derrick ground the heel of his palm against her clit as Nathan pinched her nipples, kissing her hungrily.
The flush of arousal over her chest heightened in colour, the sounds she made shifting from words to guttural mutterings then moans. Tiny cries and gasps until she went silent, the calm before the storm.
Melanie shook as she came, her sheath pulsing tight around his fingers, a long low keen of satisfaction rising on the air. Nathan dropped his head against her chest, his dark hair covering her skin, his breath escaping in rapid gasps. Derrick clung to his own sanity for a moment. He needed her like crazy.
More than that, he needed to finish this as a couple, not a trio. He wasn’t about to toss Nathan in the dirt, not after he’d given so willingly to Melanie, but the next step was going to be him and her, alone. Urgent desires and violent passion swirled inside, and Derrick caged them both as he waited for the right moment. This was for her.
She relaxed, boneless in his lap, one arm rising to cling to his neck, the other reaching out so she could brush her knuckles over Nathan’s cheek.
“Wow.”
Nathan grinned. “You liked that?”
She laughed, sitting up to deliver a quick kiss over Nathan’s lips. “I liked it a lot. But I need—”
She glanced over her shoulder and Nathan hummed. “You need time with Derrick. No worries.” He rocked away, slowing his breathing.
Melanie twisted to curl up in Derrick’s lap, as if a bird seeking shelter. She tucked her face into his neck, and he hoped she wasn’t retreating. Then he realized this time she hadn’t hid the scarred side of her torso from Nathan’s gaze.
The two men locked eyes. It wasn’t a complete cure, but it was a step in the right direction. Derrick dipped his chin and Nathan nodded acknowledgment.
Melanie burrowed her hands under Derrick’s shirt and scratched his back, and the rush of need that assaulted him nearly tossed him to the ground. It tore open his barely contained ardour. Foreplay was over and there was only one place this was going. He lifted Melanie into the air as he stood, leaving Nathan behind with their gear.
Melanie sighed, resting her head against Derrick’s chest, the heavy thumping of his heart rhythmic in her ear. Every step he took rocked her body against him. “That was simply—”
“Don’t talk.” The words were ground out so low and guttural she peeled herself away to see what was wrong. He shook his head, his nostrils flaring as he carried her back to the wilderness campsite they’d set up. She forced her lips together to keep from blurting out her questions.
He dropped her on the solid wood of the picnic table, and she bounced as her butt landed on the flannel cloth she’d spread earlier.
“Take off your pants,” he ordered.
Derrick ripped off his shirt, the rigid planes in his abdomen flexing as he reached for the snap on his pants.
It wasn’t anger driving him. Relief shot through her, and she remembered his promise from earlier. As stupid as it was, shyness hit and she glanced toward the trees where Nathan remained. “But—”
“Now.”
She’d never seen this side of Derrick before. Need and desire pulsed from him like a tangible thing. His hands were on her pants before she could protest again, stripping the fabric away. He tugged her to the edge of the table then buried his face between her legs.
Crazy emotions jumbled together with her instant physical response to his touch. His tongue drove her mad as he took possession of her hips and forced her into a position he liked better.
Melanie let her worries and concern wash away as Derrick brought her back up to the verge of another release so rapidly she thought she’d have trouble ever taking a full breath again. Every time she attempted to fill her lungs, he thrust into her core and made her gasp with pleasure. When he exchanged his fingers for his tongue, her sheath wrapped tight around him and her desires whipped into a frenzy. The cloudless sky overhead spun in a circle as an orgasm washed her from toes to brows, and her mind went numb.
Then he stood, dropped his pants and slammed his cock into her with one thrust.
“Derrick!”
He supported her knees in the air, her thighs lifted to vertical as he pounded his groin against her body. Every thrust powerful and deep, stretching, filling her to capacity. Making her weep with want.
“So. Fucking. Beautiful. Every bit of you.”
He stopped, cock buried in her core. His eyes flashed, dark obsidian globes backlit with the fire of passion. He ran his hands up and down her thighs, tiny rocks of his hips keeping the intimate connection going, but dragging the sensory overload farther into her extremities. When he pushed her knees toward her chest and leaned over her, his cock pressed even deeper.
A whimper escaped.
Derrick stopped instantly. “Mel?”
“Oh, God, do that again.” More. He’d have her begging if he didn’t move.
Slow, tortuously slow. His deliberate control as he withdrew caused the wide head of his shaft to stroke all the sensitive places inside her.
“I couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed you,” he confessed.
Another plunge forced a gasp from her lips. “Need you too. Oh please, Derrick.”
The teasing edged her back up like a sizzling fuse. Her climax hovered just out of reach. Melanie grabbed her knees, folding herself in a virtual pretzel. Giving him everything. Begging without words for him to continue.
He grinned, the flash of his teeth bright against his tanned skin.
“You like this?”
She couldn’t speak. Forced herself to nod.
He sped up slightly, strokes still long and powerful. “Even better?”
She opened her mouth as he snuck his fingers between their bodies and found her clit. He pressed the aching nub between his fingers and buried his cock deep.
Melanie closed her eyes to concentrate on just how damn good it felt. “Oh, yes. Do that.”
It wasn’t an easy position for either of them, but she’d lost her fear of where they were and could only sense what she needed. What they both needed.
Each other.
The boards were solid under her back, the sun heated their naked skin. The summer-turning-to-fall scent floated past on the light breeze. All her senses seemed to be turned on high, even the taste of the air more robust than usual. She should have been cold with all her exposed flesh, but there wasn’t an inch of skin that wasn’t steaming hot.
She opened her eyes to meet Derrick’s, and this time, it was the tenderness she saw that made her dissolve. The physical connection between them was good, but it was that something extra that made sex magical. Tipped her over the edge, made her fall in headfirst, her body’s response pulling him along, her heart succumbing as well.
Nathan remained motionless, indecision locking his limbs. Hard physical need urged him to follow—to demand more from Melanie. He’d barely gotten a taste of her, and what he’d experienced wasn’t nearly enough.
But when she twined herself around Derrick and the man carried her away, Nathan hesitated. This wasn’t about him, never had been. The whole insane scenario had been for Melanie’s sake.
He collapsed back onto the grass, arms flung to the side, willing the blood that had pooled in his erection to vanish. Pleading for the images in his brain to fade enough he could get to his feet without the violent desire to interrupt the lovers and throw himself into the action again.
A slow roll allowe
d him to crawl to his knees, then fight his body to vertical. There was a distinct lack of blood in his brain as he found himself picking his way through the woods toward where they’d made camp. Responsibility motivated him—he needed to make sure Melanie was okay. He hadn’t believed the idea was a great one in the first place. Letting her know he was attracted to her? That was easy. But Derrick should have known Melanie wasn’t the type to want to fool around. This could have been a huge mistake, no matter how much he’d enjoyed touching her. No matter how much more he wanted to experience.
He pushed aside a branch and froze. He’d been a fair distance behind, intending to give them space, let them settle and talk things through. Only the sight that greeted him wasn’t the two in deep conversation, or Melanie in tears. Instead her naked body was arched in ecstasy as Derrick lapped at her pussy like a starving man.
Nathan had forgotten that part of the discussion.
Her moans of delight did what Nathan thought was impossible—made his dick hard again. She’d teased him unintentionally all day, but seeing her spread out and in physical rapture?
He stepped back into the shadows and rubbed his palm over the fly of his pants, attempting to soothe his aching hard-on.
The erotic tableau before him evolved again. Derrick thrust into Melanie’s sweet body, and by instinct Nathan’s hips jerked.
Fuck it. He lowered his zipper and pulled out his cock, finally able to see straight as the pressure eased. There was nothing to distract him as he stared, mesmerized, letting the semen escaping from his cock ease his hand on his shaft. There was nothing light and delicate about his touch. He bucked into his fist matching the tempo of Derrick’s hips, and with everything in him, Nathan wished he could feel Melanie surround him. Experience her wet heat, the tight pressure squeezing on his cock. Touch her body and let her muscles drag him over the edge.
It was dirty and gritty, being a voyeur, and yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away. So much for apologizing for his earlier behaviour—he was ready to explode just imagining being intimate with her. Thrusting like a madman into the woman who had taunted his dreams.