Schooling Their Racy Teacher [Racy Nights 10] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Tara Rose

  “Do you still want me to?”

  “Of course I do. I meant it when I said I didn’t know anyone who could teach percussion.”

  Jake snorted. “Do you need a track coach, by any chance?”

  “No, but I wish you played an instrument. You don’t sing, by any chance, do you?”

  Some of the anger on Jake’s face softened. “No. I have zero musical ability. I never even fiddled around with a guitar.”

  “Let’s finish our lunch and watch the movies like we planned. Please? I don’t want to leave, and I think you both need to be around others right now.”

  Ava sat in the middle of the sofa, and Jake finally took his seat on one side of her. Gary did the same, sitting on her other side, and Jake started the movie again. As they ate, Gary made a few jokes about the clothing and outdated technical equipment, but his words sounded forced. Jake’s responses weren’t teasing or good-humored. They were barely grunts or monosyllables. Ava tried injecting her own humor, but it was clear that Jake was devastated. She didn’t know what to do.

  After lunch was cleared and they’d started the second movie, From Russia With Love, Ava’s cell phone rang. It was Kari’s ringtone.

  “I should get this.”

  Jake stopped the movie so Ava could answer her call.

  “Hey, are you home right now?”

  “No.” Ava realized that Kari and Alexa had no clue she’d spent the night with Jake and Gary. “Why?”

  “I just let in deliverymen with a whole bunch of boxes for your shop.”

  “Oh, fabulous. Okay. I’ll be over later.”

  “Okay. Just thought you’d like to know.”

  “Thanks, Kari.” Ava disconnected the call. “Kari has a key. I have a bunch of stock that was delivered today, and she let them in.” What did they care? She sounded like a babbling idiot.

  “Do you want to go and put it away?” asked Gary.

  “It can wait.”

  He stood. “I’m kind of tired anyway.” He winked at her. “Someone kept me up half the night.”

  Was he trying to get her to leave, or did he merely want to get away from Jake? She couldn’t tell. Memories from last night crowded in, but this time instead of sending shivers up and down her spine, they made her sad because everything had gone to shit after their phone calls. Was this over before it had even begun?

  Jake flipped off the Blu-ray player and TV. “I’m not in the mood to watch these now anyway. You should go and put away your stock. It’s more important now than ever that you get your shop open.”

  “Okay.” Ava stood there for several seconds while no one spoke. To say the atmosphere had become awkward was an understatement. Finally, Jake hugged her, but his embrace held no trace of the passion it had this morning or last night. He might as well have been made of wood for all the warmth his arms conveyed.

  “Thank you again for last night. I had a wonderful time.”

  “I did, too.” She blinked back tears. She wanted to see him again. She wanted to see both of them again, but she didn’t know how to say that right now.

  When Jake released her embrace, he walked them out to the parking area in the back of the house, but didn’t stay while they unlocked their cars. She glanced at Gary, desperate to understand what had just happened. “I’m so sorry about all this. I don’t know what to say.”

  Gary pulled her close and held her. “You didn’t do this. He’ll be okay. At least, I think he will be. Jake and I didn’t know each other very well before last night.”

  “I feel like I should do something for him. I don’t know though. I don’t know what to think right now.”

  “This isn’t your problem. It’s his.” He released her and looked into her eyes. “Do you want some help in the shop?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s all right. I need to think.” That much was true, although she hated to leave either one of them.

  Gary looked disappointed, but he didn’t say anything else. He kissed her gently on the lips and got into his car. She slid into her driver’s seat then waited until after he’d pulled away before following him down the long, curving driveway. She wiped away tears as she turned west toward Lawnview Drive, and Gary turned east toward his condo complex.

  By the time she got to her shop, she was grateful for two things. That it was still daylight, and that her store wasn’t too far away. Ava was crying so hard she had to sit in her car for a few moments to catch her breath. But then she realized that Tye Me Up was open, and if anyone glanced over they’d see her, so she hurried inside her shop and sat on one of the sofas to think.

  Every happy moment from last night was now overshadowed by this afternoon’s events, and there wasn’t one thing she could do to erase it. Would she see them again, or was that it? One crazy, passionate, perfect night of play and sex? Was that all she’d have to remember?

  It wasn’t fair. She’d told them both what Leo had done to her, which had been difficult enough, and then she’d pushed away her fears and inhibitions and let two Doms she’d just met spank her, flog her, and paddle her. She’d had sex with the two most gorgeous men in Racy. And now it was over? Because of a fucking school board meeting? What the hell kind of bullshit was that?

  She could understand Jake being angry and resentful. And she could understand Gary not knowing what to say. But last night they’d gotten along beautifully. Almost as if they were already friends. That proved they could, under the right circumstances. Was it up to her to provide those circumstances? Surely they’d meant what they’d said to her. She knew that. She knew they hadn’t used her.

  Ava rose and began to unpack the boxes, wiping away the last of the tears. She was not going to let it end this way. Not a chance. She was happy for the first time in a very long time, and Doms who treated her like a precious piece of china didn’t grow on trees. She knew that all too well. She was going to find a way to make this right. She had to. Because now that she’d had them both, there was no way she was giving up either one.

  * * * *

  Jake woke Sunday morning to the sound of knocking. At first he thought he was dreaming. No one bothered him on a Sunday morning. Whatever it was would have to wait. He had a bitch of a headache, courtesy of too much tequila last night, and he needed more sleep.

  Remembering that he’d started drinking alone last night after Gary and Ava left sent his mind to dark, dangerous places. Why had he let her leave like that? He’d taken the best time he’d ever had and reduced it to a pity party. All because of a school board decision that wasn’t a surprise.

  He’d known this was coming. Everyone had. It hadn’t been a matter of if, only of when. And instead of acting like a man and dealing with it, he’d shut out Ava and let her leave with Gary. The image of her wrapped in Gary’s arms all night, drawing comfort from him, had driven Jake to drink. Literally.

  Once he got enough booze in him, he’d almost called her, but he was afraid he’d hear that tone in her voice that would tell him he was right. She was with Gary. He knew he couldn’t handle that. Then he had the brilliant idea to drive to her condo, but if Gary answered the door, or worse, if she wasn’t there at all, he wouldn’t have been able to handle that either. And he wasn’t about to go barging into Gary’s place.

  That had led to more drinking, and then at some point he’d known he was too drunk to call her or to drive, so he’d climbed into bed. But her face and voice had haunted his dreams, and this morning he wished he’d handled things differently. Had he blown his chance with her?

  It couldn’t be true.

  More knocking, then Vince’s voice. “Jake? You awake?”

  Vince Thomas has been his valet for close to twenty years, and he never insisted on waking him up unless it was important.

  “Give me a minute,” he called.

  Jake crawled out of bed, downed three Excedrin with a glass of water, then threw on sweatpants and a T-shirt. He opened the door and his jaw dropped. “Ava…”

  “Hi.” She held out a
pan, covered in foil. “I made you baklava.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ava resisted the urge to laugh at the look on Jake’s face. It was a cross between disbelief and utter confusion. And it was obvious he’d been sleeping.

  “Baklava?”

  “Yes. Leo’s family is Greek. I met his sister once and she mentioned she had a recipe for it that had been handed down for generations. When I asked for it, she gave it to me.”

  “But…why? I mean why did you make it now?”

  “Oh. I made it last night.” She began to wish she hadn’t come over here. What the hell had she been thinking? “I couldn’t sleep. That’s what I do when I can’t sleep. I bake. And I haven’t made this in a while, and I was thinking about you and the horrible news you got yesterday, so I made it for you.”

  “Come in.” He moved aside so she could enter, and then he took the pan from her. “Should we have some now? Would you like coffee? I need some…”

  He moved toward the hallway again, glanced up and down it, and then called for his valet. When he appeared, Jake asked for coffee and plates. She didn’t think it was necessary to tell him that they could simply eat the baklava with their fingers.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, once he’d come back inside the bedroom and shut the door. “You look…tired.” She’d been about to say “hung over” but didn’t want to insult him.

  Jake sat on the sofa, so Ava took a seat next to him.

  “I’m not okay, but I will be. And, before I do anything else, I owe you an apology for last night.”

  “No, you don’t. I understand. You were merely—”

  “When your Dom apologizes to you, don’t tell him he doesn’t owe you one.”

  The tone of his voice was almost humorous, and it gave Ava renewed hope. “Is that what you are? My Dom?”

  “Well, not officially. And of course I’m not the only one who has entertained the thought of taking on that role, am I?”

  Was that a hint of jealousy she’d heard? Not possible. “I don’t know. If that’s true, Gary hasn’t informed me yet.”

  “You mean you two didn’t talk about this last night? I mean about the school board’s decision?”

  He wasn’t only jealous. He was trying to find out if she’d spent the night with Gary. Ava moved closer and took his hands, alarmed to find them so cool. “Jake, I haven’t spoken to Gary since we both left your house. I cried all the way to my shop. And after I’d put away all my new stock, and then freaked myself out by being the only person left on that street long after Tye Me Up had closed, I went home. Alone.”

  Gary had texted to ask if she was all right, and she’d texted him back to say she was simply tired. She’d hoped to hear from Jake as well, but apparently he’d been drowning himself in a bottle of something, judging by his tousled hair and glassy eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions.”

  “I wasn’t sure whether I’d see either of you again. So I decided to come over and bring a peace offering.”

  “You have no reason to, but thank you for this. Really. It was very thoughtful.”

  They stared at each other, but the spell was broken when someone she assumed was Vince knocked on the door. Jake told him to come in, and after he’d left the cart with plates, silverware, fruit, cups, and a steaming pot of coffee in front of them, he left.

  “He knows what I want before I do,” muttered Jake.

  “How long has he worked for you?”

  “Almost twenty years.”

  She smiled as she accepted a cup of coffee from him. “I’ve never known anyone except my father who had a valet.”

  “Does he still?”

  “Yes. I don’t think he could pick out a tie in the morning by himself if he had to.”

  Jake chuckled. “Vince is more of a personal assistant than anything. He opens my mail, keeps strangers from wandering around the grounds, and oversees the housekeeping. I dress myself.”

  They ate in silence for a few moments, and Ava struggled for a way to mend the damage she still believed had been done last night. “Since we had all planned to spend this day together, should we do something? Have you been to the art museum in Indy? They have some Andy Warhol prints there. Or we could even drive to Chicago, although Indy is easier to navigate.”

  Jake smiled. “That’s a nice idea but I’m really not up to that today. I’m afraid I turned my pity party last night into a one-man drinking binge, and my head is killing me.”

  “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

  Jake’s molten look of lust had Ava forcing back a moan. “I can think of plenty of things I’d love you to do. But I’m not sure how much of a stud I’d be this morning, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”

  She shook her head. “You couldn’t do that. I just want to spend time with you. How about if we watch a few of those movies we missed last night?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Do you mind if I take a shower first?” He held up his hands. “Don’t answer that. My brain will explode with images of you joining me in there, and then I’d die of embarrassment when I couldn’t perform.”

  Ava couldn’t help but laugh. “Jake, you’re not a circus animal. Go take your shower. It’ll make you feel better. I’ll find my way down to the media room and amuse myself with surfing cable channels while I wait for you.”

  He kissed her, which was quite pleasant as he tasted of coffee, strawberries, and baklava, and then he rose, pointing toward the pastry. “By the way, that is delicious. I’ll find Vince and have him take it downstairs with you. I don’t want to waste it.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “So his family is Greek, you say?”

  Ava scrutinized his face because of the conspiratorial tone in his voice. “Are you trying to trick me into giving you his real name?”

  “Me? Would I do that?” He winked and went out into the hallway to look for Vince.

  Once Vince had shown her downstairs to the media room, Ava drank more coffee and ate another piece of baklava while she channel surfed. She hadn’t watched TV on a Sunday morning in a long time, but one thing was clear. The choices weren’t much better now than they had been years ago.

  When Jake entered the room, he looked much better, and sexy as hell with damp hair and fresh clothes. He eyed the food. “Did you save me some?”

  “Of course. I made it for you.” She pushed the pan toward him as he took a seat next to her. “There isn’t much on TV. Should we fire up From Russia With Love again?”

  “Ava, you really don’t have to sit here and watch Bond movies with me.”

  “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

  “I wish I felt better. I want to make love to you again.”

  Ava’s breath came out in a halting gasp as she leaned into his embrace. His scent reminded her of Gary’s yesterday afternoon—soap and shampoo. “Maybe you’ll feel better later?”

  “I hope so. But while we’re on the subject, we do need to talk about this.”

  She straightened up and gazed into his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  The corners of his mouth lifted. “I mean what are we all going to do about this? You were with both of us last night. Do you want to continue that? Do we ask you to make a choice? Where do we go from here?”

  She sighed. “You’ve just voiced out loud the same questions I had running through my head all night. Unfortunately, I don’t have any concrete answers except one. I like you both. A lot. And I don’t want to give either of you up.”

  There it was. She’d said it. And the world hadn’t imploded. Somewhere in the room a clock still ticked. The TV was still on. And Jake hadn’t moved a muscle, but neither had he jumped up and punched a door again. That had to be a good sign.

  “I see. I mean, that’s good. I’m glad to hear that because I like you, too. I’m just not sure I can share you.”

  “I understand. And I wish Gary were here because
I feel like we’re talking behind his back.”

  “I do, too. I haven’t discussed this with him. We never had a chance to do that yesterday.”

  “I haven’t either. Should we call him and ask him to come over?”

  As if on cue, both their phones indicated a text message at the same time. Ava laughed and scooped hers up, smiling as she read the text from Kari. “Olivia is in labor.”

  “My text is from Storm, saying the same thing.”

  Storm Jamison, the Racy fire investigator, and Cameron Sinclair, the Racy fire chief, were Olivia Kelly’s Doms. Olivia was good friends with Kari and Alexa, and Kari had promised to let Ava know when Olivia went into labor.

  Ava rose. “I promised I’d go to the hospital when she had her baby. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I promised Storm and Cameron the same thing. Come on. I’ll drive you.”

  “Only if we call Gary on the way.”

  “Deal.”

  Gary met them at Memorial Hospital, and if Kari and Alexa were surprised to see Ava walk in with him and Jake, they didn’t show it. The guys introduced her to detective Sean Brennan and Maddox McCree, both of whom she’d seen before but had never formally met. Julie Carruthers was their sub, and Ava knew she was one of the town’s psychologists, but this was the first time meeting her as well.

  Once she met Storm and Cameron, the guys introduced her to Rafe Rodriguez, Luke’s brother and one of Marisol Santiago’s Doms, as well as Ellis McCree, Marisol’s other sub and Maddox’s cousin. Ava then met Dustin Alexander, one of Racy’s veterinarians, and Chad Bristol, who was also a detective. They were Annalise Kerr’s Doms, and Ava learned that Annalise was originally from Ohio.

  Jake and Gary then took her to meet Thayer Denning and Evan Rydell, who co-owned The Fit Bod. Cherilyn Barker was their sub, and she worked at the gym with them. Gina Santiago was a sub to Zach Kincaid, Racy’s mayor, and detective Harrison Kelly, Olivia’s brother. The last triad Ava met were Ria Rodriguez, Luke’s and Rafe’s sister, and her Doms Trent and Wyatt Rohan, who were twins. Trent was a paramedic and Wyatt was one of the public defenders.