by Alisha Rai
There. If he didn’t respond by one, then she would try actually calling him. She walked out the door as her phone buzzed. She pulled it out, unwilling to admit her anticipation.
Fine.
The anticipation fizzled. Devi’s lips twisted into a wry smile.
Well, fine.
Chapter Nine
Devi tapped her fingers against the railing of the stairs to the public library and squinted against the warm sunshine. She’d tried calling Jace again—about six times—but had just kept reaching his voice mail. Hopefully, Marcus had managed to head him off. Rana and Leena had both been hanging around when she’d left to make the brisk walk up one block.
A black pickup truck pulled into the driveway and cruised around until it parked in a spot right in front of her. Sunlight glared off the windshield, so she was unable to see the features of the big man until he stepped out of the cab, keys jingling in his hand. Devi blinked in surprise and spoke without thinking. “Are you sure you’re an accountant?”
Marcus cocked his head. “Why?”
The huge pickup gleamed with chrome and metal. She sighed. “Never mind.” Devi stopped looking at his sweet ride—did these men just trip over nice cars?—and studied the sedate black suit and subtle pinstriped tie he wore. She could recognize Jace’s hand in the excellent cut and quality of the fabric. Marcus wouldn’t care about such matters.
She realized they had fallen into an uneasy silence. She found it difficult to meet his eyes. For some reason, this was even worse than their first morning after. Would they have to go through this every morning?
“How are you doing?”
“Good.” She felt like she should give him a hug, at the very least. She’d jump on Jace. With Marcus, though, she just wasn’t sure of his reaction. She didn’t want to presume.
He crossed his legs at his ankles and leaned against the hood of his car. The fine twill of his slacks molded against the muscles of his thighs. Did he work with a lot of women? A flash of jealousy shot through her system. He probably had to beat them off with a stick.
“You’d be doing a lot better if you were a little closer to me instead of way over there.”
Devi raised a surprised gaze to meet his. His expression was enigmatic, but she glimpsed a wealth of watchfulness in his eyes.
Why, he’s as unsure as I am. The knowledge gave her the courage to relax her tense shoulders and smile. “I could say the same for you. Why don’t you mosey on over here?”
He crossed his arms over his impressive chest. “I asked first.”
She snorted and mirrored his action. “You didn’t ask. You made a statement.”
“Babe, that’s how I ask.”
“Weird, babe. I ask with a raised intonation and a question mark at the end of the sentence. You should try it sometime.”
The bark of laughter caught her off guard, and she started with surprise. She hadn’t actually heard the man laugh once in their whirlwind weekend together. It sounded nice, better than nice, though a bit rough around the edges. Like him.
The slight smile remained on his lips, and he took a deliberate step forward, then another. And stopped.
Devi contemplated, for a split second, if she could make him walk the rest of the way. If she held out long enough, he probably would. She had no real desire to see that fierce pride stripped bare, though. In all honesty, she was pretty impressed that he had at least made the effort. With little hesitation, she took her own two steps forward. Their toes touched, hers in her sensible low-heeled pumps, his in shiny wingtips. She looked up at him. “Hi.”
Marcus’s lips curved. “Hi.” He leaned down. Devi expected a hard kiss of greeting, but instead he softly brushed his lips against hers. A big hand wrapped around her neck, and she twined her own fingers through his hair as he sipped at her lips.
Devi separated from him, breathless at the unexpected tenderness. She licked her lips. “You’re right, I’m feeling a lot better.”
He smiled, though his eyes were sober as he stared at her. She wanted to make him laugh, but she had the feeling she would need to slip under his guard again. “You got in touch with Jace, right?”
“Yeah.” He nodded at the silver sedan that slipped into the parking lot. “There he is, actually.”
The car glided up to them, and Jace rolled down his window and flashed her a grin. “Hey, beautiful. Need a ride?”
Devi smiled back. Some of the tension from her morning of worries melted away at the welcome and open appreciation in his eyes. “Sure, why not?” She ducked into the passenger seat Marcus held open for her and folded her fingers in her lap. “So where are we going?”
Jace leaned over and pressed a hard kiss against her mouth while Marcus clambered into the backseat. “Hello to you too. Did you get whatever you needed here?”
Devi was confused until she remembered her excuse for meeting at the library. “Oh. Yes. Yes I did.”
“Great.” His coat was off, his shirt sleeves rolled up in deference to the midday heat. With easy skill, he drove out of the parking lot and down the street. “Hey, you’re not wearing your new clothes today.”
Devi looked down at her usual jeans and T-shirt. “I didn’t have time this morning to pick out a new outfit.” A partial truth. After so much upheaval, she had also just wanted her familiar clothes wrapped around her, no matter how much better the new stuff looked. Maybe tomorrow she would be brave enough to wear something different.
Jace played with her fingers. She liked it too much. To distract herself, she tossed a smile over her shoulder. “I have my new underwear on, though.”
“Good,” Marcus spoke. “I bought it more for us than you, so you’re obligated to show us soon.”
Devi laughed. “Good deal. So, why won’t you guys tell me where we’re going?”
Jace winked. “You’ll find out when we get there.”
“Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like it?”
“Come on,” Marcus said. “Have we done anything you don’t like yet? Why would we take off from work to do something you won’t like?”
“Are you okay with taking off from work? I know I keep odd hours. Will that be okay?”
“Don’t worry about it. Marcus is high up enough on the food chain that he can claim a client meeting, and he had nothing else scheduled. As for me, I don’t normally have anything on tap on Monday afternoons.” Jace patted her on the knee in a reassuring manner, and then engaged her in light conversation about a ridiculous coworker, his hand heavy on her thigh. It wasn’t until he withdrew to flip on his turn signal that Devi noted with some concern that they were in the slightly more rundown downtown area.
“Okay. So where are we going again?”
Jace’s small smile did nothing to reassure her. They turned into an almost-deserted parking lot, pavement cracked, potholes aplenty. She stared with some confusion at the flamingo pink building all by its lonesome. No sign hung above the door. The bars on the windows certainly were not reassuring. “Is this… What is this?”
Marcus opened her door and she stepped out of the car. In an incongruously gallant manner that charmed her, he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm.
Jace led the way to the door, and he held it open to allow them entrance before him. The bell jangled merrily above her head. The interior was too dim after the bright sunshine, and Devi had to blink rapidly to adjust and see. Once her eyes adjusted, she blinked again, this time in surprise.
Why, it was a sex shop. Was that what people called it? Perhaps more of a novelty shop. Fun and sexy instead of seedy and skuzzy. The outside barely hinted at the size of the place. The floor space was impressive and set up like an upscale boutique with strategic track lighting. Racks of lacy lingerie were interspaced with DVD spinners and bookshelves. Devi could see a vast array of—were those dildos?—along the back wall. Aisles containing even more risqué products were set up as well to the left and right.
“Surprise,” Marcus whispered in her ear, and
then kissed her neck.
She jolted out of her fascinated perusal and cast him a wide-eyed look. “I didn’t know this place was even here.”
“Come on, let’s take a look around.”
Devi resisted the pressure of Jace’s hand at the small of her back. “Do we have to?”
Marcus linked his fingers through hers. “You promised, remember?”
She flushed, knowing they were all thinking of that session in the car. “Yes, but…can’t we just do this online or something? I mean, what if we run into someone who knows us?”
“Then they’ll be just as embarrassed as us, won’t they?” Jace answered logically. “Besides, the owner is Marcus’s client. I asked her when the slowest time of day was, and you can see the place is deserted. Come on.”
Devi was touched Jace had been so considerate as to check that out first, but then she processed the rest of his words. “Her?”
Marcus smiled. “Miss Kitty. Of Miss Kitty’s House of Pleasure. You’ve probably heard her more discreet ads on some of the local radio stations. Her yearly income is ridiculous.”
Miss Kitty. What, was this a Wild West whorehouse? Devi pursed her lips, alarmed to find herself more than a little jealous of the sex-shop proprietor, who apparently knew her men well enough for them to give her a ring when they wanted to do some private shopping. “It’s easy to make money off of sex.” Surely that sanctimonious tone did not come from her.
Jace grinned. “Kitty’s a firecracker. She’s probably around here somewhere.”
“How…nice.” Oooh, she’d get to meet a woman who was probably on intimate terms with everything in this store. And who knew her men.
Whore.
Stop being a bitch. They are not your men. Devi took a deep breath.
“Are those my two favorite boys?”
Devi blinked. Instead of the low, sexy voice she expected, the words were whispery thin and quavery. A woman stepped around a rack of clothes and Devi wanted to laugh at her ridiculous misconceptions. The tiny woman must have been in her late seventies, at least, but she moved with a spring in her step and a twinkle in her bright blue eyes. She walked over to them and wasted no time in hugging Jace and Marcus. To her surprise, Marcus’s hug was more heartfelt than she would have thought he possessed for a mere client, his face as soft as she had ever seen it as he gazed at the old woman. “How are you doing, Miss Kitty?”
“Oh, fine, just fine.” Kitty clutched a bright red shopping basket in her dimpled hands and beamed at Devi. “And who is this pretty little lady?”
Jace swept a hand down her back. “This is Devi. Devi, I’d like to introduce you to Kitty. She saved our lives after she became one of Marcus’s clients.”
Charmed, Devi smiled and shook the other woman’s hand. “Saved your lives?”
“With sugar cookies,” Marcus said earnestly. “I’d forgotten what homemade sugar cookies tasted like.”
“Don’t forget the chocolate chip,” Jace added.
“Don’t let them fool you. Marcus saved my business when he pointed out that someone was embezzling from me. Fired my no-good son and hired my sweet son-in-law.”
“None of my other clients thank me in baked goods, Miss Kitty.” Marcus winked.
Kitty snickered. “The two of them are like bottomless pits. I hope you can cook, otherwise you’re going to be eating out a lot.”
“Devi’s actually a chef,” Jace said, with more pride than Devi expected.
Kitty’s eyes widened. “Why, how interesting. You and I must exchange some recipes sometime.” She cast a sly look at Marcus. “Though not right now. I assume you’ve been brought here for another reason, yes?”
Heat fired through Devi’s cheeks. While speaking with the sweet woman, she’d forgotten she was surrounded by sex toys. “Umm…”
“Now, do you have a particular kink or a specific prop you’re looking to cater to?”
I am not talking to this grandmother about my kinks. Devi took an involuntary step back from the helpfully expectant woman, but Jace halted her. “You know, Kitty, I think Devi might be more comfortable if we look around on our own first. We’ll holler if we need anything.”
“You do that, sweetheart. I just need to inventory the new batch of crotchless panties.” With that announcement, Kitty shoved her basket into Jace’s hands, patted Marcus’s cheek with a wizened hand, beamed at Devi and walked toward the back of the store.
Devi stared after her and spoke in a hushed tone. “That woman is older than my grandmother. And I’m pretty certain my grandmother doesn’t know what crotchless panties are.”
Jace grasped her hand and began to lead her to the aisles lining the far right of the store. “She really is like our honorary grandma. I got grilled on the phone about you. I think she likes you.”
“Wait a minute. So she knows? That you two…you know.”
“Yes, she knows we, ‘you know’,” Marcus responded dryly. “The woman peddles sex. Not too much goes past her. And just think, now she knows that you, ‘you know’.”
Jace scowled at his brother. “Stop trying to embarrass her.”
Devi sighed. “Well, at least she’s not your real grandmother.”
“Don’t worry, we don’t have any living grandparents. Or parents, for that matter.”
Devi looked at Marcus in surprise. She hadn’t even asked about their families, though with the sense of loneliness that radiated off them, she wasn’t surprised they were alone. “You’re orphans?”
Marcus’s brows met. “Orphans are little red-haired girls. Our parents are dead. It happened a long time ago, it’s no big deal.”
“No big deal? My dad died when I was fifteen, but it still hurts.”
“I didn’t know about your dad, Devi. I’m sorry to hear that. Our mom and dad passed away when we were thirteen.” Jace slipped an arm around her waist, drew her close and pressed a kiss against her forehead.
She leaned against his chest. “That’s terrible, that you lost them both at once—”
“Hey, are we here for fun or for a grief-counseling session?” Marcus interrupted loudly. “’Cause otherwise, I need to get back to work.”
Jace’s arm tightened around her and she looked up in time to see irritation darken his face as he stared at his brother. He met her gaze and forced a smile. “Sorry. We can talk about this later.”
Marcus snorted. “You two can talk, Dr. Phil.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Jace. “Come on. Let’s have some fun.”
Bringing Devi to a porn shop was more fun than Marcus could have imagined. Jace and he didn’t use a ton of props with their women, but those they did, they bought, as Devi had suggested, online. Not because they were embarrassed of Kitty’s reaction to purchases in her store. God knew, a more sexually matter-of-fact woman than the geriatric probably did not exist. Marcus had never seen the point in making a special trip for the odd vibrator or anal plug for their fly-by-night women.
This, though, this was an experience. After an hour had passed, they’d barely walked down two aisles, since Devi seemed to be fascinated by every item they passed. Marcus didn’t claim a working knowledge of every sexual prop ever made, but between him and Jace, they managed to explain some of the more complicated items. All three of them had become aroused after ten minutes.
“Nipple stimulators.”
Her dark head jerked around, a curl brushing her plump cheek. “What?”
“These.” He reached past her to pick up the box she had been studying, with two pink jelly structures pictured on the outside. Marcus pointed to the cups. “You place these over your nipples. See these nubs inside the suction cups? They’ll tickle your nipples. You hit this little button, and they vibrate. Then, when you’re about to go insane, you can squeeze these bulbs here and it’ll feel like someone’s sucking on you.”
Devi licked her lips. “That sounds promising. I want those.”
Marcus dropped them into the basket in his hand and grinned wickedly. “We’
ll use them, but you’re pretty lucky since you have both of us. You know one of us will always want to play with these sweet little tits. Nothing can compare to the real deal, right?” He scraped a fingernail over her nipple, erect through her bra and T-shirt.
She inhaled roughly and shot him a mock glare. “Marcus, please. We are not in the privacy of, say, a dressing room here.”
His blood fired up even more, both at her sassiness and the reminder of her “punishment” the day before. God, he just wanted to drag her out to the car…
Jace caught his eye at that moment and gave a subtle shake of his head. Marcus knew him well enough to know that was a “not yet.” Jace had some sort of culmination in mind here, and it probably involved driving Devi’s arousal even higher. Marcus wasn’t about to screw that up. The woman was a wildcat when she was fully excited. He wanted some of that.
“Look, Devi, vibrators. Every woman needs one of those.” Jace led her ahead of him down the aisle.
Marcus could see her roll her eyes. “Guys, I’m not completely ignorant. I have a vibrator.”
Jace raised his eyebrows. “Yeah? Which one?”
“Um, I don’t know.”
“The Tiger? The Pearl? The Rabbit?”
“Vibrators don’t have designer names. It’s not like it’s a Gucci purse.”
Jace sighed, humor twinkling in his eyes. “Everything has designer names.”
“It’s purple, and it vibrates, and it makes me happy. That’s all I care about.”
Marcus caught up to them. “How big is it?”
Devi held up her hands a couple of inches apart.
Both men stared at the tiny space she indicated, and then each other, aghast. Marcus spoke first. “Honey, if that makes you happy, we must send you to heaven.”
She started to laugh. Marcus loved making her laugh. Don’t think that. It wasn’t personal. She just had a nice laugh. Any man would like to hear it. Yeah, right.
“It’s not the size that matters.”