* * * *
Del stared around his empty living room, shocked that a night that had started out so well had fallen apart so quickly. Not only had Carissa freaked out, but now his best friend seemed to hate him. He was too worked up to sleep, both physically and mentally, so he grabbed a beer from the fridge and turned on the TV, hoping he could find some late-night talk show to bore him to sleep. Try as he might, he couldn’t ignore the heat still built up in his body. He still remembered the sparks that had alighted on his hands as he had run them up and down Carissa’s body. Closing his eyes, he remembered her perfect taste, the perfect combination of softness and firmness in her kiss. Within minutes, his cock was straining in his pants.
Giving in to the demands of his body, he turned off the TV and unzipped his fly. His cock practically sprang out, desperate for attention. He closed his eyes and imagined what Carissa might look like naked, pondered the shape of her breasts, the curves of her inner thighs. He stroked himself slowly, remembering her scent, the feel of her hair against his skin, the small sighs and groans she made as he and Perry had played with her. Stroking harder and faster, he let images of her overwhelm his mind and then take over his body. The release was so powerful that Del was rendered paralyzed for a moment, the orgasm locking up every single muscle in his body.
Finally sated, Del got up and climbed the stairs to his room. He was only mildly upset that he had ruined his shirt.
* * * *
After a few hours of unsettled sleep, Carissa finally dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. She hesitated before stepping in. As wrong as the previous night was, as dangerous as it had been for her objectivity, she regretted that it couldn’t happen again. Carissa loved the smell on her skin, the way Perry’s and Del’s scents mixed with her own, and she wanted to cry at the thought of washing them off of her forever. She knew, though, that she had to do what was best for her career, and part of that involved washing off all evidence of the night before. She made sure to turn up the water extra-hot to burn all traces of them from her skin. She didn’t need memories tempting her to go back for more.
Good thing I don’t have any interviews today, Carissa thought as she toweled off and dressed. I’m a complete zombie. She fumbled down to the kitchen in hopes of grabbing breakfast and sneaking off to her room before Iris had the chance to confront her again. To her relief, she heard light snoring coming from behind Iris’s bedroom door and was sure she was safe from interrogation.
She didn’t expect to find her aunt at the kitchen table, lingering over the newspaper and a pot of tea.
“Aunt Wendy! This is a surprise. I thought you usually left the house with Uncle Arthur and Uncle George.”
“Usually, yes, but I don’t have any meetings scheduled until after lunch today, so I thought I’d indulge in the luxury of sleeping in.” She glanced at the clock. “Not that I stayed in bed especially late. Still, I got a few extra hours.”
“That’s great.”
“You came in late last night.”
“Yeah, I was out having fun.”
“I have to admit, I was a little worried when Iris came home alone. She assured me that you were in the company of some truly lovely gentlemen. Is that correct?”
Carissa didn’t want to lie to her aunt, and even if she did, she didn’t have the mental energy to come up with a plausible story. “Yes, I was. I ran into Perry Williams and Del Jacobsen, the guys I interviewed last weekend. They invited me to join them, and we hung out and had a few drinks.”
“The way Iris tells it, the three of you had a little more than just drinks.”
Carissa sighed. “Yeah. We kissed at the bar, and then we went back to Del’s place and made out for a bit. It was a mistake, and I’m not going to let it happen again.”
Wendy narrowed her eyes. “Why? What happened? Did one of them take things too far?”
“No, not at all. I mean, Del was a little pushy at times, but it was easy to put him in his place. Perry was a perfect gentleman at all times.”
“Was it just not very good, then? No real spark?”
Carissa had to sit down. The thought of the spark that had occurred made her weak in the knees. “That’s not it at all. The whole evening was wonderful. They were great. The chemistry was amazing. I could have stayed all night if I hadn’t freaked out. Just when things were getting really good, I stopped and left. I couldn’t let myself screw up my career.”
“What on earth do you mean?”
“I mean that I can’t fool around with them. They’re my research subjects. Getting physically or emotionally involved could compromise my objectivity and ruin my project.”
“Would it really?” Iris asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she stepped through the kitchen door. “That’s what you said last night, but somehow, I don’t believe you.”
“Come on, Iris. You’re majoring in psychology. I know darn well you’ve been trained in how important it is to be objective in your work and the ways in which emotional entanglements could compromise everything.”
“I’m sure you could compartmentalize your sex life and your research life. You can’t be the only academic that’s been in this sort of situation. Well, maybe not with two men at once, but I’m sure you get the idea.”
“No, I couldn’t. I tried that once. It was a total failure. I thought I was going to get kicked out of grad school, and I vowed I’d never do it again.”
Wendy stood up and pulled two more teacups out of the cabinet. “Sit down, both of you, and let’s talk this out.”
“Aunt Wendy, there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yes there is, Carissa. I saw the way your eyes lit up when you were talking about the wonderful time you had last night. You might not know where your feelings for Perry and Del are going, but the feelings are there, and you shouldn’t squash them down. It will only make you miserable. So we’re going to figure out what to do.”
“I can’t do anything. Even if it hurts to squelch my feelings, that’s what I need to do for my career. Last year, I made a big mistake getting involved with one of my fellow students. His name was Mark. We were collaborators on a major project together, but one afternoon, I showed up early for an interview. Mark was early, too. Early enough that he thought he had time to have sex with our interview subject for that afternoon.”
“Oh, god,” Iris murmured. “I’d kill any guy who did that to me.”
“Well, I didn’t quite go that far. I stormed out of the room, and he chased after me, desperate to explain. I broke up with him on the spot and refused to answer his calls or emails. I even ignored him when he came by my office on campus.”
“I suppose he didn’t take that very well, did he?” Wendy asked, giving Carissa a supportive pat on her arm.
“No. Of course, our professor noticed that something was up. When she asked what had happened, I decided to come clean and tell the truth. I figured if I did that, maybe I could be given a new assignment so I wouldn’t have to deal with him. That turned out to be a huge mistake.”
“She wouldn’t let you switch projects?”
“No, it’s even worse than that. When she went to talk to Mark about it, he accused me of lying, and said that he had caught me having sex with our interview contact.”
“Didn’t you fight it?” Iris asked.
“Of course. I told her to go speak to the contact person, knowing that my name would be cleared if she confirmed what had happened. I guess she was pretty smitten with Mark, though, because she played dumb. She obviously didn’t want to get Mark in trouble.”
“Shit. What happened?”
“Since our professor couldn’t definitively prove what had happened, we both failed the project and were put on probation for a semester. It messed up my grade for the class and obviously has screwed up my GPA, but I’m grateful that I didn’t get kicked out of the program.”
“I’m sorry, hon,” Wendy said, placing a hand on Carissa’s shoulder. “That’s terrible. You’re rig
ht, though. It could have been worse.”
“So what happened with Mark?”
“I don’t know. He actually withdrew from school at the end of the year. I guess he just couldn’t deal with the consequences. This sounds callous, but I’m glad he took off. Every time we were together, even if we were sitting on opposite sides of the classroom, his presence reminded me of what I had almost lost.”
“Okay, I see why you wouldn’t want to be around him anymore after that,” Iris said. “That was then, and this is now. It’s an entirely different situation. You’re smarter, you’re a better researcher, and I bet you could handle a relationship with Perry and Del while not compromising your research. Why not at least give it a try?”
“This project is a chance to really redeem myself. I’ve done good work since then, but this is my chance to prove to the faculty that I’ve overcome my problems from the past. I want to show them that Mark was wrong, and that my reputation can overcome some tarnish. I can’t do the exact thing I was falsely accused of last year. My career would be ruined.”
“What if you just cut Perry and Del from your interview?” Wendy asked.
“From what I understand, it’s not like you were able to finish your interview with them anyway,” Iris said. “Just don’t bother to reschedule it, throw out the notes, don’t use their perspectives when you write the paper.”
“I don’t know. I would hate to lose the ideas of two eligible bachelors. Throwing out the interview recordings and the notes, pretending they’d never existed in the first place, wouldn’t be ethical.”
“Fine, keep the notes, just don’t use the interviews in the thesis. Believe me, they’re not the only eligible bachelors in town. You know that.”
“Is there a reason you’re being so resistant?” Wendy asked. “I think Iris’s idea sounds great.”
“She’s just afraid,” Iris said with a sigh. “And she’s letting that get in the way of her happiness.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m trying to protect myself and my interests.”
“Who’s protecting your heart?” Wendy asked.
Carissa turned to her with a blank stare. She had no words. All she could do was shrug.
“Think about it,” Wendy said. “There are plenty of people in this town you can write about in your thesis. There are only two who make you feel special.”
“I should go do some work,” Carissa said. “I think I’ll go to a coffee shop.”
“Just think about it,” Iris called out.
Iris didn’t need to remind her, though. Carissa’s mind was already reeling with the possibilities that had opened up before her.
Chapter 5
After spending the morning too distracted to work, Perry broke down and called Del.
“What do you want?” Del snapped when he picked up the phone.
The anger in his friend’s voice made Perry ache with guilt. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry, man. I totally overreacted, and I was out of line yelling at you like that. No matter how upset I was about Carissa taking off like that, you didn’t deserve to have me take it out on you.”
“No, I didn’t. Your apology is still accepted, though.”
“Can I buy you lunch?”
“Of course. Meet me at the diner in fifteen minutes?”
“You got it.”
Feeling relieved that Del had at least agreed to meet with him, Perry began to relax and was finally able to concentrate on the mountain of paperwork that faced him that morning. Throwing himself into his work, Perry forgot his trouble and didn’t give another thought to Del or Carissa until his calendar alarm went off, reminding him to get up and go to lunch.
Perry and Del exchanged a tight hug outside of the diner before heading in and ordering. As soon as their entrees arrived, Perry’s cell phone rang.
He rolled his eyes. “Figures.” When he saw Carissa’s name on the display, though, his irritation faded.
“Hey, Carissa.”
“Hey.”
“How–how are you?”
“Oh, okay, I guess. I’m really sorry for running out on you and Del last night. I just got really freaked out.”
“It’s okay, really. We understand. No harm done.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” She sighed. “I mean, would the two of you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
“That would be wonderful. How about Hester’s?”
“That’s the steakhouse everyone keeps raving about, right?”
“Yep. Shall we pick you up at seven?”
“I can’t possibly afford that.”
“Luckily, you happen to be hanging out with a couple of guys who prefer to pay for dinner.”
Carissa couldn’t hide a slight giggle. “Okay. I’ll expect you at seven, then.”
Perry hung up his phone. “I hope you didn’t have plans for tonight.”
“As a matter of fact, no.”
“Well, you do now.”
“Let’s take my Jaguar. Give her the grand tour in style.”
“I have style.”
“I think my Jag trumps your Lexus any day.”
“Fair enough.”
* * * *
Carissa paced around the living room, constantly fidgeting with the straps on her dress.
“Calm down,” Iris said. “You’re making me batty. Want a martini to calm you down?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I need, something to impair my thought processes and motor control. I already made an idiot out of myself twice last night. I don’t need to do it again.”
Iris shrugged and dropped some olives into her cocktail. “Suit yourself.”
The doorbell rang and Carissa darted to answer it. Iris reached out and caught her elbow, preventing her from getting very far.
“Don’t let them think you’re too eager,” she admonished. “You don’t want them to know you were waiting by the door.”
“I don’t need to take my dating advice from a silly 1950s rule book, thank you very much.”
“Because desperation is so very sexy.”
Carissa rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t deny that Iris had a point. “Fine.”
The doorbell rang a second time, and finally, Carissa went to answer it. She gasped a little when she opened the door to find them both looking heartbreakingly handsome, dressed in suits and grinning at her.
Perry and Del each took one of her hands and kissed it. “Shall we be off?” Del asked.
“Definitely, I’m starved.”
Perry hopped in the front seat next to Del, and Carissa couldn’t help but feel awkward being stowed in the back, as though she was being chauffeured somewhere. She sat back and tried to enjoy the comforts of the luxurious car, as well as the scenery of Male Order in the evening.
Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. The beat-up blue sedan she’d seen twice already was definitely following them in the other lane, keeping a slight distance, but not far enough away to be truly discreet.
“There’s that car again,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Del and Perry checked their mirrors. “Shit, you’re right,” Del said.
Carissa tried to turn around to get a better look at the driver through the untinted windshield, but as soon as she did, the car took a sharp left onto a side street, cutting off another driver and causing a cacophony of horns to admonish the driver’s recklessness.
“Damn it, I didn’t manage to see the driver,” Carissa whined.
“It’ll be okay,” Perry said, reaching back to stroke Carissa’s arm. “Look, tomorrow you can go to the police and maybe file a report. I doubt that there’s anything they can do, especially as nothing has happened yet, but I’m sure they’ll keep an eye out for the car. After all, it really could just be a series of weird coincidences.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I just need to keep my wits about me and not panic.”
Carissa was r
elieved when they arrived at Hester’s. The opulence of the place took her breath away. She didn’t know if she’d ever been in a restaurant so elegant. From the glimmering china and glassware to the richly upholstered furniture and perfectly starched napkins, Carissa felt out of place, even when accompanied by two dates who clearly belonged here.
“Good evening, Mr. Williams, Mr. Jacobsen,” the maître d’ said. “Who is this lovely young lady accompanying you this evening?”
“This is Carissa Yarborough,” Perry said. Carissa offered her strongest handshake possible. “She’s from out of town and will be here most of the summer.”
“Wonderful. Now, I see that you’ve booked a private booth for the evening. Excellent choice, if I do say so myself. Right this way, please.”
Carissa struggled to hide her amazement as she, Perry, and Del settled into the booth and the maître d’ pulled the curtain closed. She realized too late her face must have been especially expressive, because both of her dates chuckled.
“What?”
“You just look so cute when you’re surprised,” Del said.
“I can’t help it if I’m experiencing a little bit of culture shock. I’ve never been in a place that had private booths.”
“If only we could have gotten you one of the private rooms reserved for the founding families,” Perry said with a sigh. “Then you’d be really amazed.”
“This is perfectly amazing, thank you.”
They all went quiet for a moment while they studied their menus, and then Del gestured for a waiter to come take their orders. Both Del and Perry looked shocked when she ordered a porterhouse steak.
“What, surprised to find a woman who eats?”
“Well, maybe a little,” Perry admitted sheepishly.
“I’m in graduate school. I’m perpetually hungry.” She laughed a little too heartily at her own joke.
Jordan, Olivia - A Bride for Two Studs [Male Order, Texas] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5