Beyond Innocence

by Kit Rocha

The words should have shamed her, but there was such naked approval in them. And that was when she realized she'd been wrong—this wasn't just about Rachel's fantasies and Rachel's pleasure.

  It was about hers, too.

  Her pleasure, her curiosity. Her comfort. And it was the answer to the secret fear she'd barely admitted to herself—that Jared could only cater to her ignorance and innocence for so long before it began to feel like work. He, of all people, deserved a lover willing—able—to cater to him.

  Ignoring everyone else, Lili sought Rachel's eyes. They were beautiful, a dreamy blueish hazel, and full of unashamed lust. Rachel was open, unafraid. Brave enough to help Lili understand. "How much pleasure can you take before it's too much?"

  "The one question without an answer," Rachel whispered. "All I can do is show you."

  Lili found Jared's hand and wove their fingers together to hide her nerves. "Please."

  Cruz touched Rachel's chin, tilting her face up to his. "Help me undress."

  She reached for his shirt first, her fingers tangling eagerly in the fabric as she drew it up, up, as far as she could before he had to take over and strip it away. His body was as intimidating as Lili remembered, wide and hard, every line perfectly formed. He had tattoos, too—dragons winding around one arm and down to his wrists, the creatures so vivid they seemed alive when his muscles flexed.

  An appreciative rumble vibrated through Jared's chest. "I'm not sure how either of you manages not to lick him all the goddamn time."

  "It's not easy." Rachel demonstrated with a quick flick of her tongue over his ribs as she sank to the floor at his feet. She worked the laces on his boots, her head bent to her task, her movements slow and reverent.

  Lili tensed. She couldn't stop herself. There were too many echoes, vague memories of evenings spent kneeling at Logan's feet in chilly silence as she unlaced his shoes and counted down the seconds to her escape.

  Breathing faster, she grasped for the nuances. And they were there, so clear when she made herself look. Rachel's flushed skin and the smile only half-hidden by her hair. Cruz's protective stance. The gentleness in the way he reached down to stroke the back of her head, murmuring soft compliments that only made Rachel flush harder.

  The echoes might be the same, but the details made it different. Beautiful.

  When his feet were bare, she closed her hands around his belt. The buckle clicked, and leather hissed against denim as she pulled it open, pulled it free, and handed it to him.

  "Good girl." Cruz folded the belt slowly. His fingers caressed the leather in a suggestive way that made Lili tighten her grip on Jared, but after a moment he tossed the belt aside. "I don't think we need it tonight. Ace?"

  The other man reacted like it was a command. He sank to his knees behind Rachel and slid a hand down to cup her pussy. She arched against him, sinking her fingers into his hair, and Ace groaned. "Fuck, if she gets much more wound up, she'll come if you breathe on her."

  "Not yet, Rachel." Cruz caught her chin. "You're not done undressing me."

  "I know." She ran both hands up his thighs, over the prominent bulge in his jeans, all the way to the button. She undid it delicately, then tugged at the zipper with the same slow dedication.

  All at once, uncertainty seized Lili. Jared's body was a comforting warmth against hers, silent security and support. Staring as another man's erection was revealed felt wrong—and not just the delicious sort of wrong that made her knees weak.

  She averted her gaze, sneaking a look at Jared's face. He was tense, all right, but with anticipation, not dread.

  He caught her eye and smiled slowly. "Ace talks about Cruz's cock like it's a true wonder of the world," he murmured. "What do you think, Lili?"

  The slightest shift and she felt his cock against her hip, hard and big and tangible proof that he was as aroused as she was. "I think he's probably biased," she replied in a whisper. Like I am.

  "Definitely," Jared agreed, "but that doesn't make him wrong."

  "I'm never wrong." Ace's voice dragged Lili's attention back to the trio, and her whole body clenched at the sight of them. Cruz, naked and unashamed, almost as perfect as Jared but in a different way. He was like a statue of a warrior god, and Ace and Rachel knelt before him in supplication.

  Well, Rachel did. The wicked glint that never left Ace's eyes shone as he reached up to grip the base of Cruz's cock. "It's glorious, all right. The only thing more perfect is watching Rachel try to swallow the whole damn thing."

  "I can't." Rachel met Lili's gaze, her tone one of gleeful, secret confession. "Unless Ace makes me."

  Oh God, that was wrong, too. The good kind, the kind that made her skin prickle and her voice waver. "Do you like it when he does?"

  "More words?" Instead of answering, she leaned in, her eyes still locked with Lili's, and traced her tongue up the length of Cruz's cock, from Ace's hand all the way to the tip.

  Yes, she liked it, and Lili didn't have to wonder why anymore. Cruz's groan was the answer. She could understand the concept with her mind, but her body was the part that reacted viscerally to the sight of Ace twisting a hand in Rachel's hair, pushing her forward.

  Making her take Cruz's cock. But there was no force, just her glee and eagerness as she parted her lips and Cruz rocked deeper. Ace's other arm flexed, his fingers still pressed against her pussy. The blowjob muffled the volume of her moan, but it couldn't dampen the sheer pleasure in the sound.

  "Enough," Cruz grated. Ace immediately urged Rachel's head back, but he didn't stop working his fingers between her thighs until Rachel whimpered and Cruz gave him a stern look. "Ace."

  "Tease." Ace withdrew his hand and gave Rachel over to Cruz, who lifted her from the floor and carried her to the bed. Ace had already shed his shoes. As Lili watched, he stripped his shirt over his head, revealing hints of light brown skin and a riot of color—tattoos covering his arms, his chest, his stomach, and his entire back.

  He paused and smiled. "You two are overdressed, brother."

  "Yes, we are." Jared locked his arm around Lili and rose. He set her on her feet, then turned her and captured her mouth in a blistering kiss. His fingers skimmed over her silk blouse, searching out the buttons with skillful ease.

  Another set of hands caught at the fabric, tugging it off her shoulders, and Lili broke from the kiss, panting for breath and off balance.

  "It's okay, blue-eyes." Ace's voice was as soft as his touch—though he wasn't touching her at all, really. Just her shirt, teasing the silk against her skin as he worked it down her arms. "Everyone here has got you. Tell her, Rae."

  "Yes." She was watching from the bed, propped up on one elbow as Cruz traced the tattoos around her throat with his lips. "Everyone."

  It wasn't just watching now. In her gut, Lili had known it wouldn't be. She'd seen how easily the O'Kanes traded touch, traded affection.

  What she hadn't realized was how intoxicating it could be to be one of them.

  When Ace freed her hands, she lifted them to the top button on Jared's shirt. "Everyone's got me," she echoed, staring up into his eyes. His dark, beautiful, hungry eyes. "And I've got you."

  He smiled down at her and nodded slowly, briefly touching her hand before turning his attention to the front clasp of her bra. "This is lovely. Trix?"

  "Yes." It was hard to keep her fingers from trembling when his were brushing her breasts with every movement. She freed the first button and the second, but fumbled with the third when Ace's touch returned, sinking into her hair and lifting it from the back of her neck.

  "Fucking hell." It was just one fingertip, but the way he dragged it down her spine made her shudder. "All this naked skin. When are you going to let me put something on it?"

  "I told you." Affection and laughter suffused Rachel's voice. "He can't resist a blank canvas."

  Lili found herself smiling, too. "I don't know if I'd like the needles as much as you do."

  "You don't have to." She turned her face toward Cruz, nuzzling his ja
w as he trailed kisses up to her ear. "It's not about sex. It's about art."

  Ace nudged one of Lili's heels with his foot. "Anyone who walks around in these things all day can handle a tattoo. Plus, it's usually the big manly men who cry."

  Lili bit her lip and undid the next two buttons, revealing perfect skin and Jared's tattoo. "I can't tell if he's teasing me or not."

  "Ace? Always." Jared cupped the back of her head and drew her closer, so close that her lips almost touched his chest.

  So she closed the distance and tasted him. His skin was warm beneath her lips, but his shirt frustrated her. So she jerked at the fabric and sent buttons flying to ping on the floor, the sound nearly drowned out by Ace's delighted laughter.

  Lili was too busy sliding her hands over Jared to care.

  "This is my favorite shirt." His hand twisted tight in her hair. "Rip it again."

  Only two buttons left. She flexed her fingers and tore the edges apart. Her bra slipped to her elbows, and there was nothing between them as Lili pressed herself to Jared's chest, so hot she was burning up.

  They were moving. Lili was only vaguely aware of it, the sensation lost in the tumult of every other wild thing she was feeling—until her legs hit the edge of the bed.

  The last line. She kicked off her shoes and fumbled for her pants. But Ace's hands covered hers and guided them back to Jared's chest. "Trix will murder me if I let you rip your clothes," he murmured, which was when she realized he intended to help—and that she didn't care.

  She explored instead, sweeping her thumb over Jared's nipple, entranced when he sucked in a sharp breath and released it shakily. "Harder, Lili."

  Fabric caressed her thighs, creating another layer of sensation as Ace drew her pants down her legs. Through the fog of want, she remembered the sharp satisfaction of Jared's mouth and echoed what he'd done to her the first night, leaning in to close her teeth lightly around his nipple.

  He groaned, and the sound was still vibrating through her when a soft, wet tongue touched the small of her back and traced up her spine.

  Not Ace. He was at her hip, guiding her to step free of her pants. Rachel, then, or maybe even Cruz, but it didn't matter. It felt good, and she wanted it.

  Silky hair brushed her shoulder as that long, endless caress reached the base of her neck, and Rachel's hand slipped around her body, down her arm, to Jared's skin. "I've never seen him like this before," she whispered, her lips against the side of Lili's throat. "He's always so composed, but not right now. He's burning."

  "Good," Lili replied just as softly. Their joined fingers caressed his chest before dropping lower, over the firm muscles of Jared's abdomen, low enough to brush his belt.

  "Take it off," came Cruz's voice from behind her, an order that wasn't just for Rachel this time. She'd ventured into Cruz's domain, the place where he held power as firmly as Dallas held Sector Four. Ace and Rachel belonged to him.

  Tonight, so did Lili and Jared.

  Rachel's lips found the sensitive spot behind her ear, and she shuddered and tilted her head farther, silently begging for more as she slipped Jared's belt free of the buckle.

  It wasn't just Rachel who gave it to her, licking and biting and kissing her neck and shoulder. Jared bent to the other side and did the same, until she wasn't sure which way to tilt her head for more.

  They answered for her when Jared drifted lower, palmed her breast, and sucked her nipple into his mouth.

  She cried out, abandoning his belt to clutch at his head. Her back arched, and she would have fallen without Rachel there, warm and soft and nothing like being pressed against Jared's hard body.

  His teeth scraped her nipple, but only for a brief second before he lifted his head. He searched her face, then the corner of his mouth curved up. "You're curious about pleasure, but not just your own."

  Because her own blurred the world. Even now, thoughts slipped through her fingers, and she knew that later she'd struggle to remember them, to remember anything beyond the urge to wrap her legs around his waist and squirm. "I want to understand."

  He grasped her shoulders and turned her around to face the bed—and Rachel.

  She was beautiful. Gentle curves and flushed skin and all that ink. Lili reached out to trace the chain lying across her collarbone, down to the design nestled between her breasts.

  Power. The O'Kanes valued it, exchanged it. Effortlessly, casually, following rules Lili barely grasped and couldn't have appreciated before she understood she held it, too. But she knew who held the power in this room, so she glanced past Rachel to where Cruz sprawled, watching them.

  He answered her silent question with a nod. "Ace, show her what Rachel likes."

  A second body pressed in behind her, and Ace's hand covered hers. "It's easy," he rasped against her ear as he drew her fingers along the chain that lay between Rachel's breasts. It shifted with every one of her uneven breaths, the blue jewels catching and refracting the light.

  "She likes being adored," Ace continued, curling her fingers around the chain. "And that's the easiest fucking thing in the world, because she's goddamn adorable."

  Rachel squirmed. "Cruz—"

  He came to his knees behind her and hooked his arms through hers, trapping her. "You can be patient," he murmured with a kiss to her temple. "You know how good it is when you're patient."

  "Any other night," she murmured, "and I would. You know I—"

  His hand locked around her throat, but his gaze caught Lili's. "She likes to squirm. She likes to beg. But she doesn't want you to give in, because she needs the kind of pleasure you can't give yourself. The kind that wipes everything else away."

  The kind that both terrified and called to Lili. Letting everything go, knowing she'd felt the extreme edges of pleasure and could take it.

  She wet her lips and met Rachel's glazed eyes. "Show me?"

  The other woman melted into a shudder that made the chain dangling between her breasts jingle. "No wonder none of you bastards can resist a pretty face."

  "It's the big eyes." Ace cupped Rachel's chin and rubbed his thumb over her lips. "Seeing all those filthy thoughts pile up behind them. Watch those big eyes, Rae, when I tell her how many fingers you want filling your pussy."

  He didn't even have to. Lili's eyes must have been huge already, because the words were raw and sinful and shocking all on their own—but not shocking enough to stop her from tugging lightly on the chain.

  Rachel arched, her lips parting on a gasp as she pulled against Cruz's grip. He held tight, and she gasped again.

  Jared stretched out on the bed, his face inches from Rachel's trembling thigh, his hand hooked beneath her knee. "It doesn't have to be about denial," he told Lili. "Just expectation. If she gets off on not being obeyed, it's easy. If she asks for fast, you give her slow."

  And soft. Lili leaned in to let her breath feather across Rachel's adorned nipple, relishing the whimpering sounds it elicited. But it was her turn to whimper when fingers plunged into her hair, twisting expertly, just shy of pain. Her scalp tingled, and the tingling spread when Ace growled, "Tongue, Lili."

  She liked this, too. All the power of giving pleasure and none of the uncertainty of not knowing how. She parted her lips and traced the tip of her tongue over the tight peak and the ring decorating it.

  Rachel jerked, twisting beneath her, her nipple growing even harder as each writhing movement rubbed her flesh against Lili's mouth. "More," she whispered.

  Jared moved closer, licked the corner of Lili's mouth. "You have to watch your teeth with these." He bent to Rachel's other breast, nudging the ring until she whimpered. Then he caught the ring with the tip of his tongue—and tugged.

  Rachel's response was instant, electric. She moaned another plea, nearly unintelligible in her desperation, and Cruz soothed her with one big hand splayed across her belly. "Almost, sweetheart. Tell them how good it feels."

  "I can't. They might stop."

  "Never," Jared promised. Then—carefully, delica
tely—he closed his mouth around the tight, pouting peak.

  So Lili did the same.

  "Fucking hell," Ace breathed as Rachel cried out. "Oh, angel, they're tormenting you something good, aren't they?"

  She made a soft noise of agreement—of supplication—and parted her legs.

  Ace tugged at Lili's hair, urging her to look up into Rachel's flushed face. "She's so pretty when she's desperate, isn't she?"

  Not just pretty. "Beautiful," Lili corrected. Her whole body ached with sympathy now, with a hunger for things she had only just begun to understand. That she might not fully understand until Rachel found release.

  Cruz's rough, calloused hand was still splayed across Rachel's middle. The difference between strong fingers and soft skin was entrancing as Lili stroked down, lower. "How do I give her what she needs?"

  "She wants you." Jared was breathing fast as he sat up and wrapped one arm around Lili. His hand came to rest on her side, just beneath the curve of her breast, and he caressed her skin lightly. "It doesn't have to be perfect, not yet. It just has to be you."

  Oh God, she wanted to believe that. That clumsy fumblings and hesitant touches could be enough, that she could be enough. She inched her fingers lower, until they encountered soft, hot flesh. She caught her breath when Rachel's hips jerked, as if even that was overwhelming.

  Ace groaned, so low and rough it was its own sort of embrace. "How wet is she?"

  So wet. So sweet and desperate, straining her hips toward Lili's touch. "Very."

  "Show me."

  She could still be startled, and she stared as Ace leaned in closer. "You heard me, blue-eyes. Get that sweetness all over your fingers and show me."

  Jared wrapped one strong hand around her wrist and guided her lower, sliding her fingers over Rachel's pussy. As he dragged them up again, Rachel whimpered at the loss.

  "Good girl," Ace whispered, and Lili didn't know which of them he meant. Then she didn't care, because his tongue was on her fingers, licking Rachel's arousal from them as each swipe tugged at that place low in Lili's body, until she squirmed restlessly in Jared's grasp.

  "Ace is greedy, but lazy, love." He touched Rachel again, rubbing his thumb slowly over her clit before pumping one finger inside her. Her hips tried to follow as he withdrew his wet finger and lifted it to Lili's breast. He circled her nipple, slick and careful. Maddening. "There are better places for him to lick you."