“You’re right,” he replies. “I know that. I just hate being this helpless. It’s like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion.”
James’ phone rings just then. He glances at the display, and a smile breaks out on his face. “It’s Cassie,” he says. “Hey sweetie, Lucas is here too. I’m putting you on speaker phone.”
Cassie’s spending the night at her place. “I need some sleep,” she announced firmly this afternoon. “If I come over to your house, I get distracted. Besides, Ms. Meow needs company too. She’s getting cranky. She’s ripped my rug to shreds.”
“Changed your mind about spending the night alone?” I ask her now. “It’s okay, honey, you can admit you miss us. Want James and me to come over?”
“No,” she says with a chuckle. “I know how that’ll end up. I intend to get more than five hours of sleep tonight. I called to see what you’re doing tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s Friday,” James replies. “We’re tending bar at the Merry Cockatoo. Why?”
“Excellent,” she replies. “I was going to have a girl’s night out with Mia, Nina, Maggie, and Becky. How about we come to the Merry Cockatoo?” Her voice turns suggestive. “Maybe if you play your cards right, I’ll come home with you at the end of the night.”
If I close my eyes, I can feel her soft curves against my skin. I can smell the floral aroma of the shampoo she uses. I’m crazy about this woman. James and I have spent every spare moment this week with Cassie, and I still can’t get enough. “Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I intend to play my cards very, very right.”
Cassie:
“Is it weird for you to come to your own bar for a night out?” I ask Nina as the five of us walk into the Merry Cockatoo. We’re dressed to the hilt and ready to party. It’s been a while since we’ve had a girl’s night out and I’m totally looking forward to it.
“Are you kidding?” Nina laughs. “I love this place. The drinks are free here. For me, of course,” she adds hastily.
Maggie rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry, Nina. I’ll spend thirty bucks on drinks tonight.” She grins. “Of course, you’ll come into the China Garden for lunch, and I’ll earn it back. And you only come in once a week. Mia’s an addict.”
“Guilty as charged.” My best friend is unrepentant. “I’m a spring-roll junkie, and I don’t care. Besides, Cassie, it’s not that you really gave us much of a choice in locations.” She winks at me. “Somebody wants to keep an eye on her men,” she sing-songs.
I have no secrets from Mia; I told her about hooking up with James and Lucas the day after it happened. She was, as I expected, thrilled. “For an instant, I thought you were going to start dating Stuart Sutherland,” she’d said over the whine of the hand-vac sucking up our muffin crumbs. “Thank heavens you came to your senses.”
Becky surveys us curiously. She’s the newest member of our posse. In high school, it was Maggie, Mia, and me versus The Cheerleaders From Hell. Nina’s an import into New Summit, as is Becky, but we’re happy to adopt them. “So it’s true?” she asks. “The two of you are in threesomes?”
“New Summit gossip strikes again,” I say dramatically. “Yeah. Does that freak you out?”
“We’ll see,” she replies dryly. “If there are no single men in the bar tonight, then I might complain that some people have more than their fair share.” Her expression is serious for a couple of seconds; then she bursts out laughing. “You should see your faces,” she chuckles. “No, why should I care who you’re dating? It’s none of my business.”
The bar at the Merry Cockatoo is long and L-shaped. The five of us settle down at a corner where we have a good view of the action. I’m not on the prowl tonight, and neither is Mia, but Nina, Maggie, and Becky are single, and we’re ready to provide support.
In less than a minute, James is at our side. “Ladies,” he says with a grin, “what’s your pleasure?” His eyes run over me, taking in my strapless red dress. “That’s very nice,” he says in a low voice. “Every guy in the bar is going to want to go home with you, Cass.”
“And yet, there are only two guys here I’m interested in.”
He smiles at me, his chocolate-brown eyes warm, and my heart skips a beat. I take the drink he hands me with shaking fingers, and retreat to a corner, pulling Mia with me. “I think I’m in love with them,” I tell her. “Am I crazy?”
“Oh, Cassie.” She sets her beer carefully down on the counter—Mia does not like to waste her beer—and throws her arms around me. “I’m so happy for you.”
“But it’s so soon,” I stammer. “Isn’t it? We only did it for the first time on Saturday.”
“Yes,” she says, her voice exaggeratedly patient, “but you’ve been friends for how long before that? Two months? Three?” She grins widely. “Landon owes me twenty bucks. He didn’t think you’d realize you were in love with them for another month at least.”
“You were betting on the three of us?” Outrage wars with amusement, and amusement wins.
“And I won,” Mia replies with satisfaction.
I drain my glass of wine. “Good, you can buy the next round.”
“Uh-oh. Here comes trouble.” Nina’s voice is dark, and I look up to see her gaze locked onto the guy who’s just walked into the Merry Cockatoo. Stuart Sutherland. He’s surrounded by his cheerleader groupies. Tiffany Slater is giggling at his side, and Amy Cooke is fluttering her eyelashes at something he’s saying. Even Gayla Jackson, who is the nicest of the bunch of them, is smiling foolishly at him.
My mouth falls open. “His mother threatened to sue you, and he has the nerve to show his face in here?”
“Evidently.” Nina’s lips tighten in annoyance. “Stupid fucker,” she mutters under her breath.
Stuart swaggers up to the bar and waves a twenty in the air as if the money will bring Lucas and James running to do his bidding. Lucas takes his time to respond, serving three other people before heading over to Stuart. “Can I help you?” he asks. His tone is polite enough, but I can hear the edge in his voice, and I tense. Both James and Lucas are livid that Stuart got me in an accident. I have a bad feeling about this.
“About fucking time,” Stuart snaps. “Yeah, I’ll have a scotch and soda. Ladies, what’ll you have?”
Huh. Evidently, Tiffany, Amy, and Gayla get asked about their drink preferences. Fancy that.
The women order complicated fruity mixed drinks, and Lucas sets off to make them. Stuart leans against the bar, sipping his scotch, and surveys the room as if he owns it. Tiffany takes the cocktail Lucas hands her, simpering her thanks at him. I immediately see red. “You know, you look ready to rip her eyes out,” Nina grins. “I don’t think you need to worry about Lucas and James. They only have eyes for you.”
“That’s not the only reason I want to smack Tiffany,” I say through clenched teeth. “She slept with Mia’s ex-fiancé too.”
Mia shrugs her shoulders. “To be fair,” she says, “I’m pretty grateful she did that. I’d have never broken up with Dennis without a push.” She nudges Maggie. “See that group of guys by the Sam Adams sign?” she says. “They’ve been checking us out all night.”
Nina likes what she sees. “What’d you say, ladies?” she asks Maggie and Becky. “Want to go flirt a little?”
I leave them to it. “So,” Mia prompts, once they’re out of earshot. “Are you going to tell them?”
“Tell who what?” Of course I know what she’s talking about.
“Tell James and Lucas that you’re in love with them.”
“No,” I reply emphatically. “It’s too soon. I don’t want to chase them away.”
Ten minutes later, Nina, Maggie, and Becky return with phone numbers and wide smiles across their faces. I’m demanding details when Tiffany Slater’s shrill voice cuts across the room. She’s clinging onto the bar, teetering unsteadily on her high heels. Oh good grief. Lucas has only served her one drink; she must have been tipsy when she walked in. “I’m surprised you called me tonight, Stuar
t,” she says, her words slurred. “I thought you’d be here with that slut Cassie Turner.”
Stuart laughs derisively. “Cassie?” he says, not bothering to keep his voice down. “Why on Earth would I be interested in hamburger when I could have steak?”
I’m actually more amused than anything. Tiffany Slater is the least classy person I know, but her parents are rich, and the Slaters and the Sutherlands are neighbors. But Nina looks worried. “Lucas and James heard that,” she says, her voice tight with tension. “And I think they’re going to create a scene.”
I look up hastily, and sure enough, Nina’s right. Lucas’ eyes blaze with anger, and even James, who’s more laid-back, looks furious.
Okay, I have to do something. Mrs. Sutherland has already threatened to sue Nina, the Merry Cockatoo, Lucas and James for getting her pretty boy son drunk. If Lucas and James punch Stuart, then Mary Sutherland will make sure charges are pressed.
“Hey, Stuart.” He starts when he sees me, and his cheeks flush a dull red. I guess he didn’t intend to be overheard. “I’m hamburger, am I?”
My eyes narrow and my blood begins to boil. Look, I’ve done plenty of dumb things in my life. Okay, maybe not dumb enough as getting wasted and getting behind a wheel of a car, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, when I do something dumb, you know what I do?
Apologize.
You know what I don’t do?
Send my mom to try and clean up on my behalf.
I can’t believe Stuart has the nerve to show up at Nina’s bar after Friday night. “Hey Cassie,” he says, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Uh, I didn’t see you there.”
“No shit.” I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice. What a weasel. I can’t believe I used to have a crush on this guy. Teenage-Cassie, you had shitty taste. “You know what, Stuart? I might be hamburger, but at least I fight my own battles. I don’t get my mommy to threaten to sue the bar because I drank too much and ended up driving my car into a ditch.”
“You tell him, Cassie,” Mia says stoutly.
Everyone in the bar is staring at us. Stuart’s hands clench into fists, and he takes a threatening half-step toward me, but before I can react, James and Lucas are there.
“If I were you,” James says, the menace clear in his voice, “I’d walk out of the door right now.”
Stuart glares at me for a long second, then he spins around on his heels and stalks out. Once the adrenaline dies down, I start to tremble, and Lucas wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me against his body. “He’s gone,” he says soothingly. “It’s over.”
“I couldn’t let you punch him,” I babble into his shoulder. “His mother would have got you arrested for assault.”
“So you intervened instead.” Lucas’ voice is tender. “Cassie, you don’t have to do that. We can take care of ourselves, and we will always defend you.”
“I don’t need you to defend me,” I mumble. “I just need to know you have my back.”
James is at my side too. Everyone in the bar is still watching us. Mia’s eyes are shining, and Nina’s beaming from ear to ear. Becky and Maggie grin approvingly.
Tomorrow morning, everyone in New Summit will know that Cassie Turner is in a threesome with those two bartenders at the Merry Cockatoo.
I don’t care.
“Always,” Lucas replies, certainty in his voice. “Cassie, we will always have your back.”
13
James:
The women stick around until we close, then Lucas and I take Cassie home. My dad’s asleep, and we tiptoe through the house and head straight to my bedroom. Once we’re there, I turn to Cassie. “You were amazing tonight.”
Lucas frowns. “I hate the way people treat you in this town,” he says. “I wanted to punch that guy.”
Cassie shrugs. “I’m used to it,” she says, kicking off her shoes and sinking on the king-size bed with a sigh of pleasure. Watching her lean her head against the headboard, my cock stirs in my pants, but as much as I want Cassie right now, I need to make sure she’s okay.
“Doesn’t it bother you?” I ask her quietly, sitting next to her on the bed.
“Nope.” She rests her head on my shoulder and beckons to Lucas. “Are you planning on joining us?” she asks him, “or are you going to watch?”
“Both sound pretty tempting.” Lucas grins at her lazily.
Sex sounds wonderful, but I want to understand Cassie better. “Why doesn’t it bother you?” I persist.
She pouts. “Here I am,” she says, “practically throwing myself at the two of you, and you want to talk about my feelings? Seriously?”
Lucas sits on the bed on the other side of Cassie and takes her hand in his. “Cassie,” he says, “you know we’re not just here for sex. We care about you. You’re important to us.”
She swallows. “When I was in middle-school, it used to bother me that everyone thought I was white trash,” she says, “but then my parents died and the town gossip didn’t seem to matter as much. When I turned eighteen, I got a bunch of money from the insurance company because of the accident. I could have moved away from New Summit and started over. I had a choice.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because my experiences in the pageant circuit are an important part of me,” she replies. “It taught me what really matters, and it isn’t how pretty you are. Beauty is temporary, and it’s easy to fake with the right make-up, the best lighting, the most flattering clothes. The girls that I wanted to be friends with were the nice ones.”
She looks into my eyes. “Who knows? If my mom hadn’t been obsessed with beauty pageants, maybe I’d have ended up like Tiffany Slater or Amy Cooke. Selfish, self-centered, preoccupied only with themselves.”
“I doubt that,” Lucas says fervently. “We worked with Amy Cooke for a week at the Merry Cockatoo. What a complete waste of space.”
“I don’t know,” she says, her voice wry, “I went out with Stuart Sutherland. The moment he walked into the coffee shop, I got sucked back into high-school mode.”
“Would you have gone out with him a second time?” Lucas asks astutely. “If he’d come into the coffee shop after driving you into the ditch and asked you out again, would you have accepted?”
She shudders. “After that disaster of a date? God, no. Even if he hadn’t ended up in the ditch, I’d have turned him down.”
“There you go,” I say. “Sorry, Cassie. No matter how much you protest, I think you’re an incredibly brave person.”
She rolls her eyes. “I doubt that,” she replies dryly. “The sight of your cameras still make me want to throw up. I’m hardly brave.”
“You didn’t throw up on Monday,” I point out. My fingers run over her legs, and I move upward, lifting the hem of her dress out of the way. “Nice dress,” I whisper in her ear. “I think you should lose it.”
“Finally,” she says, her face breaking out into a grin. “I’ll be happy to, James, but I’m not going to be the only one getting naked.”
Cassie:
We’ve made love many times, but it feels different tonight. Perhaps because of the conversation we’ve just had. I feel more connected to them.
We get naked, all of us. It’s almost three in the morning, and Lucas and James have worked a long shift at the Merry Cockatoo. We should just cuddle and fall asleep, but when I see their hard cocks, need builds in me.
Lucas’ hand traces the tattoo on the back of my neck, and he pulls me closer. His lips touch mine and his tongue slips between my lips, capturing my mouth with hungry urgency.
I moan into his mouth.
James positions himself behind me, his hands curling around my waist. His cock nudges my ass, and I arch my back and grind into him. “Want a quickie?” I say, wriggling against him.
Lucas runs a finger over my nipple and watches it harden. “Are you wet already, Cassie?” he asks, his eyes glittering with heat. He bends his mouth to the other nipple, and sucks it between his lips, nibbling on the
nub with his teeth. Sharp pleasure spikes through me.
James trails his fingers down my back and brushes between my legs. My breathing catches as he strokes me there. “Please,” I moan. I need them. My pussy is heavy with desire.
“She’s dripping wet,” James says. “Aren’t you, Cassie?”
“Always,” I exhale. “I’m always wet for you.”
“You’re so beautiful,” Lucas says softly, trailing his finger over my shoulder. He kisses me again. “You’re a drug in my veins, Cassie.”
We touch each other everywhere. They run their hands over every inch of my body, and I return the favor, savoring the feel of their broad, muscled chests, their tight asses, and their hard erections.
Our breathing is faster now. Both Lucas and James reach for condoms. James slicks some lube over my anus and on his cock, then they part my legs and slide into my pussy and ass. I’m sandwiched between them, groaning as they fill me, sighing with pleasure as they start to move, whimpering as desire prickles my skin and fogs my mind.
The swiftness of my orgasm takes me by surprise. James’ thumb rubs over my clitoris, and their cocks pound into me, and I hurtle toward the edge, my release tantalizingly close.
Then Lucas thrusts deep into me, his face contorted with desire. Ecstasy floods through me, and I cry out, gasping their names as my body convulses. As I writhe and shiver between their bodies, I feel them explode, harsh groans escaping their lips.
I fall asleep, sandwiched between their warm bodies. As I drift off, my face buried in Lucas’ shoulder while James presses against my back, the enormity of my feelings become clear. I’m completely, crazily, head-over-heels in love with Lucas and James.
14
James:
Saturday morning, once Cassie leaves, I walk with my dad to Dr. Bollington’s office. It’s a lovely summer day. The sun shines in the sky, the birds chirp in the trees, and I’m feeling happy and optimistic.
Dirty Talk (A MFM Ménage Romance) (The Dirty Series Book 2) Page 7