Little by little, I started picking up cues from my weretiger companion that alluded to him not being a gay man, or at the very least, as bisexual as I am. I’d seen him eye-fucking Penny enough times to know he was into her, but on some occasions, such as that morning, I wondered if he was into me too.
Maybe that was why he barely spent more than ten minutes in the same room with me since that morning, and why now, I sat alone on the same sofa in front of a television while Suraj kept the driver company. Even though it wasn’t necessary, thanks to dividers separating the lounge area from both the driver and the sleeping compartments, I left the lights dim.
I smelled Penny before I heard her, the waft of her body lotion and shampoo drifting toward me on the circulated air. The slide of the partition was quiet, and her footsteps even softer.
“Is it okay if I join you?”
“Of course. Can’t sleep?”
Penny smiled and took the spot beside me on the couch rather than her preferred recliner. “No. You know me, I’m always anxious the night before we reach our big destination.”
“I do. And I also know that you like to watch a horror flick with your favorite snacks.”
The bag of jelly beans I’d tucked away in preparation came out of hiding. The way her face lit up, as it did every time, never failed to make my heart swell. It had become our little unspoken ritual, always before the long show-date on the tour. Chicago would be a week, with multiple shows performed.
“What movie should we watch?”
After scrolling through the absurdly long list stored on the drive hooked to the flat screen, we settled on a creepy ghost thriller. I appreciated a movie that didn’t need to resort to hack-n-slash bloodbaths to get my heart racing.
“I want to do something fun while we’re in the city. Do you guys think it’d be okay if we went to Navy Pier? Or would that be too much of a risk?”
It would be a risk, but I wasn’t about to tell her as much and take away the gleam in her eyes. “We can make it work. You’ve done the incognito thing before and both Suraj and I brought some more casual clothing.”
Nothing stood out in a crowd like a pair of suits with earpieces.
“Really?”
“Yeah. We’ll stay under the radar as much as we can so you can enjoy the shopping and food options. They have a great gelato place.”
“Will you split a funnel cake with me?”
“Really? All those restaurants offering gourmet desserts and specialty sweets, and you want fried dough.”
She met my gaze, unblinking. “Yes.”
Before I could help myself, I snickered, leaning against the cushions behind me with a big grin on my face. “Deal. But only if they drizzle chocolate on my half.”
We fell into an easy, familiar rhythm. Penny would pass off the flavors she didn’t like to me, occasionally making some strange flavor combination she urged me to try, while I offered sarcastic commentary on the idiocy of the movie characters.
“Would you ever do that?” she asked as the credits for the first movie began to roll. “Buy a house knowing a murder happened there?”
“No, not me. You?”
“Never. Not because I believe in ghosts and boogiemen, but just because I think the karma would be awful. Not sure you can feng shui that sort of bad vibe away.”
“Bad vibes?” the gentle voice of my teammate inquired from the partition. “Huh?”
So distracted with Penny, I hadn’t even noticed Suraj enter the lounge area. He stretched, the edge of his sweatshirt lifting to reveal the dark-golden skin beneath.
I didn’t miss Penny looking, either. She always looked. Shit. So did I.
Even now, as irritated as I was by his arrival, I couldn’t help but rake my gaze over him from head to toe. Suraj wandered in barefoot and wearing a set of sweatpants I’d seen a dozen times around the apartment, low enough on his hips to bare his Adonis belt. I looked because I envied him, and because I wanted to trace the muscular lines with my mouth.
Stealing another glance at Penny told me she did too, and because of that, the jackal inside me became a conflicted creature, craving Suraj’s presence and equally vexed by his arrival interrupting my special time with our girl. I craved his presence in a feral sort of way I’d never experienced before with guys I dated in the past.
“It’s horror night,” Penny said brightly. “We’re about to start the second movie if you want to join us.”
Suraj’s gaze shifted between us. His nostrils flared. “Sure, if you don’t mind.”
I knew what he smelled. The sweet tang of aroused woman filled the air. My mouth watered for her, taste buds desperate to know the flavor of her on my tongue.
A long, difficult moment passed as I struggled to regain control of myself and find the words to respond.
Shit. Was she more turned on by Suraj than me? The query tested my confidence when I remembered all the times she’d devoured me like eye candy whenever I entered the room.
If anything turned her on, it was Suraj’s show of skin. I narrowed it down to that because my cock was feeling the interest too, and I definitely wasn’t more into my weretiger pal than Penny. It was about even, both of them dancing through my fantasies and dreams each night. Penny was a recurring star whenever I closed my eyes.
“Fine with me.” I grinned up at him after the turbulent battle with my possessive inner beast. “There’s room for one more.”
Penny couldn’t abide another movie without a bevy of snacks and retreated briefly to the other side of the lounge to putter around in the kitchen. Soon, we had an eclectic mix of movie snacks, from hot cocoa to popcorn and sliced veggies with dip.
“This is a weird combo,” I muttered. “Why cocoa?”
“Well…” Penny pressed her lips together. “Taste it.”
I sniffed it instead then eyed her. “You snuck Baileys into this.”
“Maaaaybe.”
Suraj peered up from his cup. “We can’t drink while on duty.”
“Who’s going to know?”
“I will know.”
“It’s eleven at night. We’re on the road. Everyone is asleep but the drivers, and I am, as of now, relieving you both of duty for the next two hours.”
“Penny—”
“Don’t ‘Penny’ me. I’m the boss, remember?” Her gentle fingers touched my arm and left a tingle in their wake. “Please? If you don’t drink it, I’ll have to down all three of these so they don’t go to waste.”
I groaned. “Fine.”
Kettle corn and alcohol-laced cocoa made a surprisingly good pairing. Then throughout the movie we dipped carrot spears and vegetables into spinach artichoke dip, of which Penny used very little.
I loved chocolate. Was I supposed to eat or drink it? No, because it turned my stomach and made me sick from time to time if I ingested too much, but I figured one mug was safe. Sometimes being a shifter came with downsides.
The movie wasn’t bad, tricking us by denying obvious jump-scare moments in lieu of scarier frights minutes later once we let down our guard. I couldn’t predict it at all.
“I saw you jump!” Penny accused Suraj.
“I did not.” He sulked like a child.
“Sorry, bro, I saw it too. You looked like a cat someone splashed with cold water.”
He scowled at me.
Then I glanced at the screen just in time for another scare to occur, startling the fuck out of me too because I wasn’t prepared for the phantasmal gun massacre on the screen. The gunshot caught me by surprise and sent my heart into stampeding rhythm. I almost climbed over the back of the sofa, and would have, if they weren’t against the wall.
“Nadir?”
My heart was still thumping. Stupid PTSD. I willed it to calm, with little success.
“Nadir, are you okay?”
The worst part about PTSD was the lack of control. I could watch shoot-outs and bank heists. I could watch war movies without flinching.
It was the sudden sho
ts without warning, the ones I couldn’t mentally prepare for, that keyed me up.
A gentle hand lowered to my thigh, and her voice brought me back from the edge of darkness.
I inhaled, realizing I’d been holding it for a while. With Penny touching me, that breath was the sweetest of all. “I’m good.”
“Okay.” She didn’t press.
Suraj watched me too, with quiet concern in his eyes. How I had ever been jealous and envious of him, I didn’t know. The guy was so good, so pure and kindhearted.
Too good for me. They both were.
That didn’t change how much I wanted more than a few dinners and movie nights with them.
I wanted forever.
Chapter Eleven
Nadir
With six nights planned in Chicago, four of those in concert, the group had hotel reservations. I actually looked forward to lying down in a full-size bed and stretching out in a way the bus bunks didn’t allow.
That and a long-ass steaming hot shower.
Our room adjoined Penny’s; the doors between us kept unlocked. Between the band and crew, we had the entire floor, which helped out security-wise. It was easier to monitor the hall when you knew everyone passing by. Both Suraj and I had gone so far as to meet the cleaning staff assigned to our floor for the week. Nice ladies, all of them.
“I am gonna to take a shower. The one on the bus makes me feel like I’m in a coffin.”
“Save some hot water for me,” I called to his retreating back.
“No promises.”
I threw a pillow at him, taking extreme satisfaction at the indignant look he shot me over his golden shoulder. Life was unfair for putting me in a room with someone so goddamn beautiful. Every time I looked at my partner, I experienced a gut-deep tug, a hungry desire that was different and yet the same that what I felt when I looked at Penny.
I wanted them both.
I couldn’t have either.
Fuck, life sucks sometimes.
Content to simply enjoy the serenity for a moment, I laid back on my bed and listened to the sound of the water starting up. A moment later, Suraj started humming, something we’d all become accustomed to while on the bus. I had no idea what the song was, but it sounded traditional.
Like him.
The dangerous line of my thoughts spiraled deeper, filling my mind with visions of steaming water sluicing down a muscled back and inky hair slicked back from his face. Firm, kissable lips.
“Damn.” Lying down had been a bad idea. Restless energy drove me from the bed and sent me pacing to the window. Our room had a view of the lake, but even the sight of the sun shimmering against the water did nothing to ease me. Distraction came by way of a soft knock on the door between our rooms.
“You don’t have to knock,” I said once I opened the door and looked down at Penny. She wore a loose shirt that bared one shoulder and snug jean shorts that should have been illegal, they looked so good.
“It’s your room,” she insisted. “I’m not going to barge in on you guys.”
“You’d be barging in on a whole lot of nothing, but whatever you’re comfortable with works. How can I help you?”
Penny held out a large envelope with no return address. “Shantal had my fan mail forwarded to the hotel and I came across this.”
First of all, I had to respect her dedication to keeping up with her fans. Every night she spent at least an hour answering e-mails that her team flagged as critical for her direct response, as well as chatting with her fans across social media. Second, I had a feeling that my blood was going to boil as soon as I looked at the envelope’s contents.
I tipped a folded letter and a photograph into my hand. The image had been printed on ordinary office paper, a recent photograph of Penny captured by a long camera lens. In the photo, she’d tucked her body against my side with her cheek pressed against my arm, Suraj a blurred step behind her. I recognized the moment in St. Louis when the paparazzi had first begun to swarm us.
An eerie message in large-print Comic Sans spanned the sheet of white office paper. Its words doused me with ice-cold water.
I don’t like how you’re holding him.
He was there. I hadn’t seen this particular picture swarming the paparazzi sites or the papers yet. I made it a habit and had a Google alert set for all three of our names in the event someone mentioned us.
The focus had centered on her face and lacked the professional polish of a shot taken by one of the paps. They loved me as much as they loved her, oftentimes using the kind of gross language I’d come to expect from the media.
One gossip rag called me an “Arab Heartthrob” a few weeks ago.
My family wasn’t even Arab.
“Don’t worry. Whoever this guy is, he won’t be getting anywhere near you.”
“But if he was there—”
“We don’t know that.” I was pretty sure he was, but the last thing I wanted was for Penny to worry. “He could have retrieved this picture from the photos the paparazzi posted. But we’re going to protect you just the same as if he was present that day. We’ll increase security and take shifts outside the door. Don’t open it under any circumstances. If we need you or a member of the band arrives, we’ll contact you through the adjoining entrance. All right?”
“I…I guess.”
Her distress brought out every protective instinct I had. Without thinking, I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her, pressing my lips to her forehead. She melted against me without hesitation, arms sliding around my waist. Satisfaction surged through my chest, a primal triumph that urged me to do more. I reined in that impulse, but it was hard. Fuck, it was so hard.
“I’m scared, Nadir,” she whispered.
“Don’t be. This man is a coward and you are so much stronger than him. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Um…do you remember that time you offered to teach me how to shoot a gun?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you mean it?”
“I never say anything I don’t mean.”
“Teach me.”
Oh, the things I would teach her if she came to me willing to submit. The sweetly soft scent of her filled my nostrils and the warmth of her body pressed to mind made me stiffen hard as a rock. She knew it too. I could hear the quickening of her heartbeat and the soft, sharp intake of her breath.
“It won’t be so easy to do it now that we’re on the road, but I’ll arrange something, all right? In the meantime, I’ll return to my room and check this out,” I said, somehow finding the willpower to release her and step back. “We’ll be extra vigilant if—the next time we go out.”
“If we go out? Thinking of grounding me?” she asked with a slight smile.
“I’d try, but you’re an independent woman who doesn’t need to listen to me.”
The smile that broke across her face made me grateful. Not only for easing the awkward moment, but simply because she was an extraordinary woman. I’d gotten far closer to her than any other client. Maybe too close.
“Thanks, Nadir. I feel better now.”
“Good. Let me know if you need anything else tonight.”
“I will.”
Penny backed away and closed the door between us. I stood there for an extra moment, head pressed against the wood, and willed my body to calm down. The scent of her mocked me, clinging to my clothes. To my skin.
I pushed away from her door and closed the one on our side, then crossed the room to knock on the bathroom door.
I needed a shower. Now, if I wanted to clear my head enough to conduct some research and phone in the newest report to the authorities about her stalker.
Suraj
After days of washing in a tiny cubicle in the early hours of the morning, monopolizing the full-sized shower was just short of achieving nirvana. Hot water verging on scalding sluiced over my shoulders, and steam billowed out and into the spacious bathroom. Groaning, I positioned myself completely beneath the pounding
spray, unmoving for at least ten minutes before I remembered to add soap to the routine and actually scrub the day’s grit from my body.
Save some hot water for me.
Would have been better if Nadir shared it with me.
Would have been extraordinary if we had Penny trapped between us, her bare ass cradling my dick while Nadir kissed her from the front.
A vivid fantasy played out in my tired mind, and I had no one but myself to blame for the arousal steadily raising my shaft until the thick girth of it pointed toward the ceiling.
As I had no intention of wandering out of the restroom hard as a rock, I dropped one hand to my dick and jerked desperately. Pleasure built as conflicting fantasies danced through my mind. I wanted Nadir. I wanted Penny. The latter made no sense.
Back home, I’d found attraction for men from time to time, but I’d been reluctant to act on my urges, for fear of persecution. Here, the responsibilities of the job intruded on my desires. In India, several families had offered their daughters to me. They were all beautiful, talented women. Any of them could have borne my children. But I felt nothing for them.
Penny stirred everything I wanted and more. Her brown eyes and the sweet melody of her voice awakened senses I’d long suppressed back home.
Visions of her and Nadir in an erotic embrace flooded through my mind. My hand sped, fingers gliding over slick skin I wished either object of my affection was present to touch.
But he is.
Just outside that door, Nadir was waiting for his chance in the shower.
Orgasm burst from me in a triumphant pulse, accompanied by an ecstasy-fueled cry that should have shook the shower door. Praying the steady rain from the showerhead disguised my moans of pleasure, I leaned my brow against the cool tile and continued pumping. I shuddered in the aftermath as hot water rinsed away the evidence of my masturbation.
I would have preferred it in Nadir’s mouth. Better, I’d kill to see Penny’s lips wrapped around my length, the tip of my cock cradled by the back of her throat while she swallowed every last drop I had to—
A fist pounded the bathroom door, jarring me out of the vision. My pulse spiked, and I spun in the shower toward the noise.
Jackal of All Trades (The Wild Operatives: MacArthur Security Book 1) Page 8