by Emma Holly
She slid her hands down his sides, over the soaking cotton of his shirt, over the dip of his navel and his clinging jeans. Their front was stretched across his erection, a hard, curved ridge that pulsed beneath the heavy drag of her thumbs.
"Yes," she said and watched his eyes flash with fire.
* * *
Chapter Fourteen
Zoe held off until Friday evening, though her body had been itching to go with Bryan as soon as he'd asked.
"Don't tell Alex what we're planning," she'd pleaded before he left. "I need time to prepare myself."
"Understood," he'd said, his face still dark with arousal, his fingers playing with a curl of her hair. "I hope you realize I'm going to be like this until I get inside you, because nothing's going to satisfy me short of that."
She'd smiled, flattered by his half-serious claim, and pulled his head down for a deep, wet kiss. This time, he'd let himself really take her mouth, and the kiss had slipped down her pleasure channels a lot more smoothly than she'd expected. Alex's friend kissed hard but nice, and she hadn't been able to keep from speculating what else he might be hard and nice at.
She'd been useless at work all day, actually giving one of her clients a slew of messages from the wrong spirit, until the woman's confused expression clued her in that she wasn't being her usual accurate self. Zoe apologized and refused to let the woman pay, but her lack of focus was telling.
As many times as she'd wondered what making love to Alex would be like, her most powerful fantasies, the ones that stole into her mind uninvited, didn't involve him and her alone.
It was funny—and possibly disturbing—but in the two years she'd known Magnus, she'd dreamed of bedding just him much more often than she'd dreamed of bedding just Alex.
So I'm perverse, she thought, attempting to shrug it off. It stands to reason I'd be more exclusively attracted to a man who's playing hard to get.
Naturally, this was the moment her contrary brain chose to send her a clit-scorching image of all three men in bed with her.
Giving up, Zoe rescheduled her last appointment, waved goodbye to Teresa through the cafe door, and went home early. If she was going to live out this fantasy, she was going to do it right. She was going to shower and shave and moisturize every inch of her tingling skin. She was going to beg Raj el to help with her hair, and she was going to pack a discreet black bag with toys she hadn't been able to resist buying, but had always wondered if she'd ever use.
Fairyville already knew she was eccentric. She saw no reason why she shouldn't be kinky, too.
Bryan had been kidding about staying hard until he took her, but the joke hadn't been far off. He found himself unable to think of anything but Zoe, and while he'd always had a healthy libido, this intense preoccupation with a woman was unusual. Alex had been sleeping—or pretending to—when Bryan returned to their new hotel room, this one fitted out with queen-size beds. Bryan had taken one for himself without a second thought, though Alex probably would have welcomed the chance to help him out with a release or two. Maybe the reason was part anger, but Bryan realized he didn't want him to.
He only wanted to rack Zoe.
Even when Alex padded to the bathroom the next morning with an erection the size of Flagstaff shoving out his briefs, Bryan had pretended not to see. He'd told Alex to visit the newspaper office without him, saying he wanted to check some of their interviewees' backgrounds on the internet. Though he'd meant to do this, he ended up in bed with the porn channel on, stroking his persistent hard-on while he watched the men get busy and imagined all the women as Zoe.
He should have come a hundred times, given how much he'd played with himself, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to push over the brink. He knew what he wanted. When he got it, he wanted to be really revved up for it.
Zoe called the room at five. The sound of her voice was like a million tiny rockets going off underneath his skin. She was ready, she said, but nervous. Would he consider picking her up and driving her?
The idea that she wouldn't bring a getaway vehicle delighted him. He'd have her all night. They'd have her all night.
She was waiting in front of her house when he pulled up, clutching a small black satchel to her side. Unable to stay where he was, he got out of the car, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her so deep and long it was like he wanted to fuck her through her mouth.
"Wow," she said when he finally let her go to breathe.
Her starry-eyed astonishment made him feel like a million bucks—which wasn't to say her side of the kiss hadn't been spectacular. There was nothing quite like being kept up with to bring out the best in a horny man.
"Alex wasn't back yet when I left," he said, his hands enjoying a slide down her silken arms.
"Do you think he will be by the time we arrive?"
"I don't know." His cock thumped harder at the prospect of Alex waiting, of Alex looking up and seeing him with Zoe. Bryan's prick was rigid, absolutely in pain. He wanted to take her now, against the car, in sight of anyone who drove by. She was wearing a stretchy, sleeveless red velvet minidress that plunged over her creamy cleavage and bared her mile-long legs nearly to her cunt. Sensing his rather obvious interest, she tugged the hem in embarrassment. That drew a growl from low in his chest even as he grinned.
"I don't usually dress like this," she confessed.
He laughed and kissed her mouth quick and hard. "Alex is going to die when he sees those red hooker shoes."
"You really think he'll say yes to watching us?"
Still smiling, Bryan cupped her anxious face, his eyes burning unexpectedly at how sweet she was. "He'll say yes," he assured her, not a doubt in his mind. "He'd have said yes if you'd cut holes in a grocery bag and worn that."
"Well, good," she said, blowing out a shaky breath. "Because maybe we should strategize on the way."
Alex hated empty hotel rooms. An empty house he was used to, but coming back to these uninspired surroundings after spinning his wheels all day felt like a booby prize.
On the bright side, no one at the paper had recognized him, but the stupid Fairyville Courier hadn't even had microfiche. He'd be scrubbing newsprint from his nails for days, and all he had to show for his troubles were a handful of crazy interviews some dewy-eyed oral history student had done with a bunch of dotty octogenarians. Wish fulfillment was all they were, mixed with a mishmash of folktale. Fairies were not riding into Fairyville on great white stallions to debauch young women in the woods.
Never mind the strange things he and Zoe had seen at the falls. There was no such thing as fairies. All right, there were the little fairies Zoe was friends with, who were probably some sort of energy that only looked like Tinkerbell because this was what Alex expected. Whatever they were, they weren't lying in wait in the forest for young maidens to happen by.
Even his open mind had to have limits.
This conclusion didn't satisfy him any more than his day had. Uneasy with his thoughts but not wanting to wallow in them, Alex emptied his pockets onto the bed—his bed—and stared at the phone. Bryan had booked them into a nice hotel: room service, bellhops, the works. But without Bryan here—even a resentful, cold-shouldering Bryan—none of its amenities appealed.
Seeing as he had no idea what Bryan was up to, room service was probably his best dinner plan. His appetite nonexistent, he stretched out on the mattress instead… which let a different sort of unappealing musing in.
Bryan had every right to be upset with him, just like—strictly speaking—Alex had had every right to sleep with Zoe. He and Bryan weren't boyfriends, they were strictly friends with benefits. Sadly, these very reasonable justifications didn't lessen his discontents.
Neither Bryan nor Zoe had checked in with him today. Alex hadn't been what you'd call a people person since he'd left high school, but he was dismayed to discover how much he wanted contact with these two.
He was pressing the heels of his hands into his eye sockets when the door lock clicked and Bryan wal
ked in.
"Hey," he said as Alex sat up with his heart pounding.
"Hey," Alex said back, and then, "Zoe."
Her name came out a little breathless, but he couldn't help that, considering what she had on. He had never, in his life, seen her wear such a blatantly sexy dress. The way it fit her was combustible, cut down to there and up to here and probably grounds for arrest if she lingered in the lobby long.
"You two going out?" he asked, confused but trying not to show it. He took in Zoe's four-inch heels with a silent ulp. Women in shoes like that were a weakness he didn't need right now. "If you are, I think Bryan might have to play bodyguard."
Zoe smiled, just a little, so she and Bryan probably hadn't made a secret pact to do away with him.
"We're not going out," she said, dropping her little satchel on the foot of his bed. "If you agree to our proposition, we're staying in."
"Proposition?" He wasn't sure it was possible for a man to croak more foolishly. A proposition meant sex, right? That you'd been forgiven and were about to get lucky?
He looked to Bryan for confirmation but found only a seraphic smile.
"Bryan wants his pound of flesh," Zoe explained, "and he's decided the particular pound he wants belongs to me."
Alex blinked. This didn't sound like what he'd been hoping for. It sounded like Bryan wanted to get horizontal with Zoe.
"Oh," he said, realizing he was in no position to object. Yes, the idea that Bryan wanted Zoe surprised him a bit, but he'd slept with both of them, and he could see this had a certain vengeful symmetry. "I'll, uh, just clear out and leave you two alone."
"No." Bryan's gentle smile broadened. "We've decided we want you to watch."
"To watch?"
"We know that will be hard for you," Zoe said, "given how you like to be in the driver's seat, but I brought something to make it easier."
His jaw dropped when she pulled a pair of shiny handcuffs from her leather bag. Zoe owned handcuffs? His Zoe? His face grew hot as he realized she meant to use them on him. Alex had been known to play at bondage, but never, ever on the receiving end.
"You could sit in that chair," she continued, nodding at the nearest one as if she weren't threatening to turn his personal erotic world on its head. "We'd cuff your wrists to the arms and drag it nice and close to us."
His hands had curled into fists. "I can't," he said, though his cock was thickening up enough to put the lie to that.
"You can," Zoe said, sweet and low. "It would wipe the slate clean for all of us. No more recriminations. No hard feelings. I'd really like to, Alex, and so would Bryan. Don't you think he deserves a chance to cheat on you?"
With all the blood surging to his cock, Alex's synapses weren't firing too quickly. "I didn't make Bryan watch," was all he could think to say.
Zoe's smile was as angelically wicked as Bryan's had been. "Maybe you didn't make him watch because you two have different hot buttons."
Alex opened his mouth to argue, but Bryan cut him off.
"Get in the chair," he ordered in his intimidate-the-suspect voice. "Unless you'd rather I do her where you can't see."
A tiny shiver shook Alex's shoulder blades. He didn't want to be handcuffed; didn't want to give up control. But to not watch Bryan do Zoe, to not see him shove that hard, muscled body into and over her, suddenly seemed worse. Bryan had a hard-on to beat all hard-ons as he stood there challenging him, his legs planted wide, his eyes glittering like ink in his angry face.
Seeing him, his testosterone on full display, Alex didn't know how he'd kept his hands off him for so long.
He came unsteadily to his feet. "You want me dressed or naked?" he asked as calmly as he could.
"Naked," the conspirators chimed in unison.
"Right," Alex said on a nervous huff. "I don't suppose she could leave those shoes on then…"
For days, Magnus had been listening for the ping in his brain that would say his spell was in play. He'd been expecting it since he'd left Bryan in the bar. Magnus's compulsions weren't known to work slowly, and after a full twenty-four hours had passed, he'd begun to wonder if the thing had really taken root. He'd convinced himself it was for the best if it hadn't. Maybe he'd be better off not seeing Bryan take Zoe, even if it would sate his craving to know how she felt.
And then the mental nudge came at last. Magnus was in his bedroom, fresh from a shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. In three long waves, his cock surged up and tented it.
Evidently, his few last doubts weren't going to take the edge off of his excitement.
He settled onto his back on the bed, wishing he felt more prepared. It would have been more ideal to do this from his secure bunker, but there wasn't time to relocate. The psychic houselights were dimming, ready or not.
"Showtime," he murmured huskily to himself.
He closed his eyes as the metaphorical curtain rose. When he saw what it revealed, he almost opened them again.
There was one more participant in this drama than Magnus had been planning on. Apparently, Bryan had added his own twist to the fuck-her spell.
Bryan wanted in Zoe so badly he was shaking—not just his cock but every inch of him. She was laid out lengthwise on Alex's bed, a feast in pink and cream. Wearing only the high-heeled shoes, she had one knee bent and wagging, while the other draped the edge of the mattress. Aroused but nervous, her fingers played up and down the smooth-shaven thigh she'd raised. The plump folds of her slit were glistening in the little flashes she was giving him. The shoes were enough to crank him up—his tastes running in line with Alex's there—but it was the sight of her wetness that stretched him to the bursting point.
This was trust she was showing him, a friendship he hadn't earned. Her lips were parted with anticipation, the contrast between her lashes and her eyes transforming them to lustrous jewels. Her gaze was fastened on his, telling him more than words could that the next move was up to him.
Of course, it wasn't only her rapt attention that got Bryan going.
The chair they'd handcuffed Alex to was close enough for his shins to touch the bed next to Zoe's leg. The knowledge that he could also see Zoe creaming made Bryan's testicles ache. Even though he'd agreed to go along with this, Bryan still had trouble believing Alex had actually let them restrain him.
"For God's sake," his friend said now, the exclamation hoarse. "You've got me where you want me. Go ahead and take her."
Bryan lifted Zoe's second leg until the sole of that shoe lay on the mattress, too. Then he raised both legs to wrap his waist. Finding the bed too low, he grabbed a pillow for her hips. As he worked it under her, Zoe's hands slid up his arms, her fingers admiring the contours of his muscles. Her palms were warm and a little sweaty. Bryan's lungs began to fill faster as he lowered himself. His chest met the slightly cooler softness of her breasts, and she buried her face in his shoulder.
"You're so thick," she whispered, not an observation likely to calm him. "Please don't go too fast right away."
"Guide me in," he whispered back. "I want to feel your hands on me."
He flinched when she touched his shaft. As ready as he was, the gentle pressure of her fingers was almost too good to stand. A second later, her opening wrapped him in sultry warmth. That steadied him, oddly enough. He might be thick, but he knew his tip was formed for smooth entry—more bullet-shaped than crested. He tried to remember how many times he'd done this: no more than a dozen, he didn't think, but the bliss of it came back quick. As much as he liked men, as much as he needed them, women were a unique pleasure. He pushed, and her flesh gave way, smooth and hot and growing creamier as he eased in.
He found himself wanting to memorize every sensation.
She moaned, gripping his elbows, and he swelled thicker. She was right about him needing to go slow. His teeth gritted at her snugness, his thigh muscles flexing harder to get him in. It must have been a bit of a show. Alex choked out a sound beside him, but Bryan didn't look at him. He was almost there, almost su
rrounded…
And then he was there, his hipbones grinding greedily against hers.
Zoe made a husky noise and opened her eyes.
"Okay?" Bryan asked, his voice nearly suffocated by how good this felt. Either her pussy was sweeter than other women's or he was going to have to reassess some of his choices.
She smiled at his breathless question, or maybe at the way his cock pulsed wildly in her stretched tissues. "It's better than okay. It's almost perfect."
"Almost?"
"It'll be perfect when you start to move."
The jump his pulse gave damn near did him in. "All right, sweetheart," he said. "I'm gonna start real easy. You tell me when you want to finish, and I'll speed up then."
"I love it slow," she warned him. "With nice, long strokes that last forever."
Bryan gave her what she asked for, dragging out to her brink before pushing slowly, heavily back in. His gentleness didn't surprise her, but his adeptness did. He had a knack for rolling his hips as he entered, shifting the pressure with each inch gained. Zoe's hands were soon fisted on his ropy back. What he was doing was too delicious not to have to fight her own urge to speed things up.
"Tell me when," he panted like he wanted it to be soon.
Rather than give in, she dropped the leg closest to Alex from Bryan's waist, splaying her thigh to give him the clearest possible view of Bryan sliding into her.
Alex made a noise like he'd been kicked, the handcuffs clinking against the chair as he tugged at them. Her pussy tightened at the evidence of his distress.
"Oh-kay," Bryan said, obviously seeing what she was aiming at. "Maybe I could keep this up a while longer."
Alex knew he shouldn't have agreed to this. They were trying to kill him, making him watch Bryan take her so slow and long. He knew how much Zoe loved that, and would have known it even if she hadn't begged him to do it at the falls. Her skin was flushed all over, her trembling breasts tipped with rosy spikes.
Bryan's shaft gleamed with her juices, so red it ought to have been steaming. Alex wanted nothing more than to lean close enough to lick it. He fought the cuffs, but it did no good.