by Anh Leod
“Was it about me or about the sex though,” Holly mused.
“You,” Brandi said promptly. “Cherokee has made it very clear how much sex there is going on everywhere on the immortal planes. I’m sure Glaukos has infinite opportunities in the Underworld.”
“There you go,” Holly said. “I liked Greg before. I like him now. He helped me out of Torc’s and has been nothing but kind. But Glaukos practically picked my cherry. It had been a really long time.”
“Greg would be right there now though, only a week behind if Glaukos hadn’t come around.”
“I wonder if he’d have dumped Jewel if it hadn’t been for that night.”
“You’ll have to ask him why the timing.”
“So you think I should see him?”
“Absolutely.” Brandi tucked one hand behind her head. “A live guy trumps a dead one any time.”
Holly felt a nauseous stirring in her stomach. “But maybe there’s a way for Glaukos to come back.”
“Maybe he’ll like threesomes if he does,” Brandi countered. “After thousands of years of existence I’m sure he’s open-minded.”
“Like Cherokee?”
Brandi grinned and lifted her glass before taking a sip. “Like my man.”
“Dylan seems to be okay with your arrangement. But then I always knew he was bi. He played with trucks and dolls.”
Brandi laughed. “What did he do with the dolls?”
“Mostly looked up their skirts. But he made the skirts first.”
“So if architecture doesn’t work he can turn to fashion design?”
Holly pondered. “Now that you mention it, his outfits did always kind of look like buildings.”
After Brandi finished chuckling, she asked, “You’re afraid Glaukos won’t be into Greg? It might not matter if he’s willing to share you.”
Holly sighed blissfully at the idea of two gorgeous men focused entirely on her. She might be too jealous to want Greg and Glaukos interested in each other. After all, she had a lot of sex to catch up on. “I’m willing to take all the sex two men are willing to offer.”
“Do you have that much free time?”
“I might not be able to spend quite as much time reading but doing it is better than reading about it.”
“Usually,” Brandi agreed. “With the right guy. I think we know what your next step is.”
“What?”
“Testing out Greg. You need to see if he can measure up to Glaukos in the bedroom department.”
Holly nodded thoughtfully. She couldn’t see the harm in it. “I could use the distraction.”
“Oh honey, I hope he’s a lot more than that.”
Holly drained her glass. “Me too. I’ll give him a call tomorrow. I need a night to recharge.”
“Shall we open a bottle of wine before my men get here?”
“Let’s,” Holly agreed. “I need to relax.”
“Who knows,” Brandi mused a few minutes later as she pulled the cork from a bottle of white wine. “Maybe you three are meant to be together. Stranger things have happened.”
That would mean getting Glaukos back into the mortal realm. Holly wanted to think about that some more but she needed to put Greg first for now. Tonight she’d get her head on straight and tomorrow would be fresh and full of possibility.
* * * * *
Holly rang the doorbell at ten p.m. the next night. When she’d called Greg that morning, he’d offered to buy her dinner but she wasn’t exactly looking for a date. At least, not a conventional date. She told him she’d come to his apartment. This was a sex date.
A hookup. Her heart wasn’t willing to open itself to more.
The door opened. Holly saw beyond Greg into an off-white carpeted space, mostly empty except for a queen-sized bed and a television with a complete set of instruments for a music video game, plus some real instruments along the wall.
At least it was obvious what his priorities were.
“Sleep and music,” she said aloud.
“What?” Greg asked, looking confused.
“Sorry, I was just noticing your décor.” Compared to Cherokee’s guesthouse, or even her own cozy cottage, it was pretty primitive.
“Student loans keep it simple,” Greg said. “All the game gear is my brother’s but he’s overseas right now.”
“You must not spend much time here.”
“Mostly I’m at Joe’s. He’s the only one of us who has a house. I even keep my best bass over there.”
Holly took a deep breath, trying to keep in mind that she was the seductress here. She had propositioned Glaukos too of course but he’d taken control as soon as he’d entered her room. Too bad Greg wasn’t doing the same but he’d proven himself to be a gentleman and it wasn’t his style.
At home, fueled by two margaritas and Brandi’s encouragement over dinner, she’d accounted for this and dressed accordingly.
She took a couple of steps toward the bed and set her purse on the table that doubled as a nightstand then put her hands to her trench coat’s belt.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“No. I’m pretty well lubricated already.”
“You had to get drunk to come over here? I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“No,” Holly assured him. “I only had two drinks at dinner. I just don’t want any more.”
Greg thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His t-shirt had the sleeves cut off, giving Holly a look at his lankly, yet surprisingly muscular upper body. She hadn’t noticed until now that his skin was almost the same color as Glaukos’. Was he Greek too? That was a dumb question since his last name was obviously Greek. Before she let herself have second thoughts or Greg time to say anything else, she unbuttoned the trench, undid the belt and let it slip to the floor, puddling around her new Gucci shoes.
“Damn,” Greg said. His grin was lopsided. “I feel so overdressed.”
Holly refrained from putting her hands over strategic areas. Before she’d called him, she’d gone shopping and had purchased a short, pale rose negligee that had a bodice entirely made of lace. Her nipples were already poking through the cutouts and she could feel moisture between her thighs. Her daring had boosted her excitement and getting a peek at his form hadn’t hurt any. His admiring gaze made her feel far more certain of herself.
“I hope you appreciate a good booty call from time to time.”
“Who doesn’t?” Greg hesitated then stepped toward her. “I’ve been waiting for my next sex scene.”
Holly kicked her coat aside. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with her arms but then Greg’s head was tilting toward her and his lips were meeting hers in a hot rush.
No mistakes there. Her hands found his biceps and she gripped them as she dipped her tongue into his mouth.
He groaned deep in his throat and let her explore while his hands moved from her back to her ass. For now he kept his hands on top of her negligee but she could tell he was searching for a panty line. He might have expected a thong but she could tell by the sudden cessation of motion that he’d discovered her complete lack of panties.
“Damn, girl,” he whispered.
A trickle of moisture dripped down her inner thigh. She was so ready. Did they need foreplay or could they just fuck? She preferred to move on to the fucking.
“This is one of those hot and heavy sex scenes,” she promised. “All sweaty and fast.”
Losing her grip on his biceps, she sucked hard on his tongue. In response, he pulled her tight against him but she fought it so she could slide her hands down his front to his jeans. The hell with the rest of him, she wanted the cock she’d been dreaming of for a month. The old sex-starved Holly was gone. She was a new woman and this woman was horny. So horny that one man might not be able to keep up with her needs.
Under her hand, the fabric of his jeans rose to contain the swell below. She caressed his length. He was big enough for her to feel the greater size of his cock head.
“What?” Holly asked innocently.
“Unless you want me to come right now, you’re going to have to stop that.” Greg’s chest rose and fell with effort. “I’ve got a lot of work to do first.”
Holly took a step forward, ignoring the wild look in his eyes. “Work? And here I thought we were having fun. Sweaty and fast, remember? Like the first joining in an erotic novel.”
“Sure, but it’s our first time. I want you to give me a ‘ten’ when it’s over.”
“I never met a guy who talked about his rating system before.”
He grinned. “We aren’t talking about my rating system.”
“Oh.” She laughed. “What can I do to make you the envy of the guys in the band?”
He exhaled. “Coming here in that negligee went a long way toward you being a legend.”
A legend? She’d never thought of herself that way before, particularly with all the legendary type stuff going on around her. “Maybe I have legendary shopping skills,” she said.
“Absolutely. Even the clothes that you wear to go shopping are legendary,” Greg said. He smacked his lips. “Those panties you were wearing at the bookstore and those shoes.”
“You have a shoe fetish?”
“I just like the way really high heels make a woman’s ass tilt. All firm and tight.”
“I’ll have you know my ass is one of my better assets, with or without shoes,” Holly said. “My abs may be nonexistent, but my ass is fine.”
Greg reached out a long arm and snaked it around her ass, squeezing as he pulled her back to him. “Feels great to me.”
Holly twisted until her rump was against his crotch, then did a little bump and grind, making sure to rub herself all the way up and down his thighs.
“I stand corrected. It feels amazing to me.”
“I should think so,” Holly murmured. What was getting into her lately, with all this prancing around men? She’d been watching too many music videos or something. Still, Greg’s pupils hadn’t been quite so dilated before and his nostrils hadn’t been flared. He was a musician. A video vixen was probably just his thing. She pouted at him, wishing she had long hair to whip around her face.
“Babe…” he growled then tipped her backward to the bed before she could even shriek her astonishment.
There was no time for protest as he buried his face between her damp thighs. He stroked long, clever musician’s fingers down her thighs, playing her as his tongue did the same to her pussy.
“Some first date,” she groaned. “This is something out of a book.”
His chuckle had vibrations spreading from her channel to her clit. She bit back a moan, knowing she had no choice but to go for the ride. Thank god or the gods or whoever that he’d broken up with his girlfriend and come after her.
His tongue swirled figure eights between her pussy lips, coaxing more and more cream. Just when she thought she could come from that alone, his lips found her clit and began to suck. She had nothing to hold onto but a plain blue comforter. Her back arched and her head fell back. She couldn’t imagine the picture she made, legs spread over Greg’s shoulders, her face a rictus of ecstasy. He brought her to the point of pain before she spasmed into her first orgasm. Her entire body went limp. Greg took the opportunity to kiss down one leg right to her toes and back up the other slowly, as if loving her into relaxation.
Holly sighed blissfully. “That was a ten.”
Greg looked up from the juncture of her thighs. “You have no idea.”
He jumped onto the bed and lay down then tugged her unresisting body until she was crouched, pussy to his face. The position made him lose some finesse but she didn’t need it as she slid the achingly tender parts of her pussy over his face.
“You smell so good,” he whispered before giving her clit a hard suck. His fingers speared into her channel. She’d thought her first orgasm was intense but it was nothing compared to the one he gave her now.
Her response was very nearly a shrill scream, her pleasure only dampened by the thought that there were people on the other side of a thin wall. But then she remembered she was at Greg’s place, not hers.
After a while she could breathe again. She carefully reached for the headboard then twisted off, falling onto the mattress none too gracefully but at least not hitting him on the face. It was hard to be concerned by her lack of grace in a spread-eagle position.
“You give great oral.” She turned her head to Greg’s profile.
His cheek creased into a self-satisfied grin. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll return the favor. I need to regain the feeling in my legs.”
He pounced on her before she could finish her sentence. “I’d rather make love to you.”
Make love? She swallowed hard, knowing those weren’t words she was ready to hear. She was horny, not hard up for love. “You’re just using that as a polite term, right?”
Greg looked confused. “You’d rather I’d say fuck?”
“Or screw, or the nasty, or bumping uglies, or rubbing fuzzy parts, whatever you prefer.”
Greg turned so she couldn’t see his expression. Had she hurt his feelings? Maybe not. He turned to his bedside chest so he could reach for a cigar box. Holly saw it held condoms and a small bottle of lube.
“You’re a funny sort of girl, aren’t you Holly? I’m used to women wanting to hear the love stuff.” He was focused on his equipment.
“Love stuff, huh. I’m used to Hollywood. Sex is a commodity. People fall in love more by accident than design.”
“That’s true for musicians too, I guess. But I’ve been dating in my day job scene, not the band scene.”
“All those nice little office girls looking for love?”
He stared at the condom box. “Exactly. At least in my age group they’re still hopeful. Kind of funny for Los Angeles. But the bank branch manager is this sweet, mid-forties, happily married type so maybe she hires people like her.”
“Dreamers?” Holly struggled up to her elbows.
He sighed. “Are you really that cynical?”
Holly blinked. “I don’t know. Dylan and Brandi are certainly in love.”
“Cherokee isn’t?”
“No, I think he is, but he has to take the broader view. He’s been around since the nineteenth century after all.”
“But love doesn’t die. Look at Glaukos sacrificing himself for his sister.”
“He only lost a few weeks of mortality according to Cherokee.”
“He lost you.”
Holly’s stomach lurched. She pushed Greg off her legs, suddenly desperate for air. Before she knew it, she was standing, back against the wall by the bedside chest. “You knew about that?”
“You told Claudia, she told Sam, Sam said something to Niall, who repeated it to me.”
She made a face. “Worse than that old Telephone game.”
“I’d feel like it was a huge sacrifice to lose three weeks with you, Holly. That’s all I’m trying to say.” He set the box and bottle back on the chest.
She stared at the floor. Not a speck of dust or lint to be found. She was glad to know all straight men weren’t pigs around the house. Greg was clearly a real catch but was she up to catching him?
“Do you have any antacids?” she asked, holding a hand to her stomach.
“Sure, hold on.”
She heard the bed creak as Greg rose then he put a hand on her shoulder before he moved away. Rustling came from the opposite end of the studio. Probably the bathroom. A cabinet closed then the air changed again as Greg came back and pressed a cylinder of tablets into her hand.
“There you go.”
Holly opened her eyes and ripped at the packaging. “Fruit flavors. My favorite.”
Greg didn’t smile. “I’m sorry I brought him up. Exes never belong in the bedroom.”
He looked young to her as he said w
ords that he’d probably learned the hard way. They were the same age but she felt older.
“Do you still want to make love? I mean bump uglies?” he asked.
“I kind of have a stomachache.” Her words were indistinct around the chalky pill.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
No, not quite that. “Is it okay if I stay over? I might feel better later.”
Greg brightened. “Sure, of course. We could watch a movie. I don’t have much chick stuff but there’s always television.”
“Why don’t you teach me to play your brother’s video game?” Holly asked. She was too restless to do something passive. “I’m curious.”
“Sure! We’ll make a musician out of you!” Greg agreed.
It might take her mind of Glaukos and bring some kind of fun back into her evening. She wasn’t going to be having sex if the mere mention of Glaukos shut her down. Frustrated, she put her negligee back on and manned the game’s drum set.
* * * * *
Greg arched his back and stretched his arms over his head. As he came slightly back to consciousness, he noticed an enticing odor in the air. Was Mom making him breakfast? He sniffed for bacon and eggs as he pointed his toes and shook out his wrists. No, no bacon. He took another whiff. Strawberries? Honey?
He yawned then tilted his head to the left. Curly red hair. There was a mane of scented curly red hair in his bed. His brain kicked in. Holly was here! He rested his head back on the pillow, smiling. This was a lot better, waking up happy instead of tense. So great to have Jewel out of his life. He’d spent the night playing music video games instead of watching some lame movie about chicks obsessed with shopping. They’d shared a beer instead of some fruity wine cooler. Holly was his kind of woman and no surprise. She was Claudia’s best friend and Claudia was the perfect rocker girlfriend. She and Sam had been together for years. Greg wanted that kind of stability along with the music. Why not? He wasn’t looking for crazy. Crazy came whether you looked for it or not in Los Angeles.
He turned his head again. Holly hadn’t been ready for the main event last night. Would today be any different? A number of actions at this point might point the outcome in his favor. Flowers that he didn’t have. Gifts that he didn’t have. Breakfast in bed. But it had been obvious last night that he only had hot dogs and beer. The perfect cliché of a twenty-four-year-old bachelor in his first post-college apartment. He spent all his money on music and books.