“A totally new start. Damn it, woman, what he wanted you to do was fucking dangerous.” It chilled Jackson’s heart to think about it.
“It was and I damn near got caught. But I knew he couldn’t just help me for nothing. There’s a protocol out on the streets. You had to earn your way. He’d already taken a lot of flack from some of the gang for ‘protecting’ me. He discussed it with me, and, like I said, he let the others believe that I was his…you know. In hindsight it’s kind of amazing to me that he didn’t touch me, and never let anyone else do so, either.”
“I guess it’s a life we don’t know anything about.” Cord leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Anyway it wasn’t hard for me to get into Sinbad’s place. I stole a ring I saw that Tommy used to wear. It was a one of a kind, so there was no doubt it had been his. And Sinbad fancied himself a real mobster at the tender age of twenty. Dumb-ass had a fucking diary that he kept. I stole that, too.”
“And Ari Stein was born.”
“Yeah. Harry was as good as his word, because sometime later I searched official records and I found a birth registered for Ari Stein. She was born the same day I was, in fact, in New York City. I’ve always been kinda worried that she’d come after me, wanting her identity back.”
Jackson looked over at Cord, who nodded. “Your Harry probably was good. Likely, Tink, the little baby born and given the name Ari Stein didn’t live very long. That is how some of these identity forgers work. They find the graves of infants and toddlers and use those registered births to their advantage. It used to be there was no tie-in between the birth and death records. Not sure at all if that is still the case, or not. With the advent of Internet maybe that’s not as simple a proposition as it used to be.”
“Oh. That’s kind of sad, isn’t it?”
Cord met his gaze and he knew they were on the same page.
“You’re pretty damn special, Red, to be able to have that kind of compassion for someone you never even knew.”
“I’m not special. I’ve just been lucky.”
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, I see,” Jackson said. “But I figure five or six decades gives us plenty of time to teach you how special you really are.”
Her eyes widened at that, but she didn’t say a word. Jackson knew talk of forever was maybe a bit premature, but he wanted her to know that he and Cord had already made up their minds.
Hell, she was special for even allowing them to touch her after what she’d been through.
He forced his thoughts back to the moment and away from his righteous anger. There will be a reckoning for the slimy bastard who hurt our woman, but not today. Jackson met Cord’s gaze and knew they both shared that solemn vow to themselves.
“So what happened today, baby? Something happened that brought everything to a head for you.”
Ari sighed, and straightened up on his lap. She reached for her brandy. Cord handed it to her and she took another small sip. “Tamara had her mani/pedi appointment, and I asked her how business was going—usual chat. And she told me about their having turned down a job from out of state.” She met his gaze and then looked over at Cord. “A man had called and wanted to hire Kendall Aviation to take him from city to city in Texas as he carried out a very publicity-seeking search on behalf of his new boss—a soulful politician who wants to reconnect with his long-lost stepdaughter, suspected of being in the Lone Star State.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah. Three years ago in Austin I nearly ran into my stepbrother. He recognized me, I recognized him, and I fucking ran the hell away. I didn’t give him a chance to even say hello.”
“Did that bastard—”
“No, Cord. He never touched me. In fact I rarely saw him at all. He avoided our house like the plague, stayed mostly with his mother, and only came a few times, for special events. He seemed nice enough. At the time his father raped me, he was in college in Connecticut.”
“He probably mentioned seeing you, which is why they’re looking for you here,” Cord said.
“Three years is a hell of a long time to wait to finally kick off a search,” Jackson said.
“Yes, well, I understand the timing perfectly. It’s so like the prick.”
“I guess it’s time for you to tell us who you are, and who he is,” Cord said.
“My real name is Constance Bishop. My stepfather ‘adopted’ me after the desertion of my own father, when I was barely a year old. And his name is Thaddeus Bishop. He was a city councilman when I left, but he’s come up in the world. He’s Congressman Thaddeus Bishop now, who is apparently getting ready to run for the United States Senate.”
“Now I understand even more why you made the choices you did,” Cord said. “He must have seemed too well connected to fight.”
“Yeah.”
Jackson kept in mind the story that Jake had told them about Ginny, and how he and Adam had more or less bulldozed her. That was one mistake he and Cord would not make, because they got it. “Okay, so what do you want to do next? I think that Jake Kendall would be able to tell us what your legal options are—if you trust him, that is.” Jackson turned her face up to his and met her gaze, letting her see the determination he felt. “Whatever you want or need, you get. You think Bishop has deep pockets? Baby, I can guarantee you that ours are a hundred times deeper.”
“What Jackson said.” Cord ran his hand down her arm. “All you have to do is tell us what you want and what you need.”
“That’s easy, because they’re both the same. I want and need to make love to you—to both of you. I want and need to test out that bed, and that shower, and revisit the hot tub. I want to spend the night snuggled between the two of you. We can get in touch with Jake—whom I absolutely trust—tomorrow.” She looked down and then met their gazes. “I’m not procrastinating. But I don’t have anything left to deal with anyone today. I just need to be with you now.”
“See how perfect you are for us?” Cord said.
“Tinker Bell, what you want and need is exactly what we want and need to give you.”
Chapter 15
Some girls grew up believing in fairy godmothers and happy-ever-after. Ari, of course, had any such notions battered out of her psyche when she’d been thirteen.
But if she had still believed in fairy godmothers and been told to dictate the qualities of her ideal man—or men—she never could have imagined anyone more perfect for her than Jackson and Cord Benedict.
They were her heroes, when she would have sworn that “heroes” was a concept some egotistical man invented to sucker the female patsies of the world. They’d seen the worst of her, and wanted her anyway. She’d revealed her past, and they wanted her anyway.
There was nothing neat or tidy about her emotions or the baggage she carried—and they wanted her, anyway.
Jackson slipped his robe off her. His eyes filled with hunger and yes, love, as he looked at her.
“My God, Tink. You’re a wonder. We want you every way two men can have a woman.”
“I want you, too. One at a time, together. Every way. I just…when you’re with me, I feel complete. I feel whole.”
Cord stepped up and pressed the front of his body against her back. “Will you let me take your pretty little ass, sweetheart? I’ll be careful.”
Just the thought of having Cord’s cock in her ass made her hormones hum. She wanted, more than anything, to get to where she could have them both inside her at the same time. And yet, there remained within her a tiny remnant of fear. As if he could read her thoughts, he enfolded her in his arms and hugged her gently.
“I’ll be very careful, Ari. And you can stop me with a single word.”
She leaned against him and angled her head back. She trusted Cord and Jackson utterly and completely. They would never do anything she didn’t want them to do. She took her thoughts off the past and focused, instead, on the ultimate goal of being one flesh with these men. “Yes, please. I really want to have your cock
in my ass.”
“Put your arms around Cord’s neck, Ari,” Jackson said. “I want to play with you for a few minutes.”
Ari felt her cunt release a bit of moisture. When Jackson spoke to her in that commanding tone, she always got so turned on. Both these men knew how to touch her, how to stroke her flesh and stoke her arousal and make her come alive.
Maybe it’s not so much what they do. Maybe it’s just that it’s them. Was there such a thing as destiny? Was it possible that these men could have been meant to be hers? That they’d been made for each other?
All the ideas and concepts she’d rejected as fantasy her entire life, she now considered not only possible, but probable.
Ari reached up behind her and slipped her arms around Cord’s neck, groaning when he pulled her back against him. His cock, hot and hard, seemed to find a natural spot right at the top of the crack of her ass.
It felt as if her body had been sculpted just so he could rest against her in that way.
“You’re so beautiful. Did you know that?” Jackson cupped her cheek in one hand. “We both think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. Not just because you’ve got nice breasts and a pretty little pussy, either.”
“You’re beautiful because you respond so sweetly to us,” Cord said. He bent closer and kissed the shell of her ear. “And believe it or not, you’re beautiful because you trusted us enough to cry in front of us.”
“Red-rimmed eyes are beautiful?” Ari decided to forever silence that little imp who insisted on questioning every single thing anyone said. With these men, that imp had no business being anywhere close by.
“On you they are, Tinker Bell. Because they mean you dare to show us your vulnerability. And because you’re letting go of the past. I sure as hell know that’s not an easy thing to do.”
“It’s easier than it would be if I was alone. But I’m not alone. And if I am beautiful to you at all, it’s because you both make me feel beautiful. You make me feel beautiful and special.”
“You’re both of those, Ari, and so much more.” Jackson moved his hand down from her cheek to surround her neck. He caressed up and down, his thumb finding her pulse point. She could feel the beat of her own heart against his thumb, and that beat gained in tempo the longer he petted her.
Then he let his hand meander down her body. His fingers splayed wide, and he managed to touch both of her breasts at the same time, brushing the undersides of them gently.
Her nipples hardened into tight little buds.
“Please.” She could feel her juices already coating her pussy lips. Her flesh pebbled everywhere, and a fine tremor ran through her body. “Please, Jackson.”
“Please what, baby?”
She guessed she was coming to know these men better than she thought. Something about the look in his eyes, and the way his mouth quirked up in one corner told her that just as she needed something from him, he needed something from her.
“Please make love to me, Jackson. I need to feel your arms around me. I need to feel both of you holding me, loving me.”
Feminine pride filled her because of the look of pleasure that filled his face. It wasn’t just sex, what they had between them, and if she were honest with herself, it never had been.
And no, there were no similarities at all between the love they made together and everything that had come before them.
Ari didn’t really know what the future held. She was a little bit afraid of the next few weeks and months, but less so, because of these men. Despite that fear, she was willing to face whatever needed to be faced for the chance to maybe build something real and solid that would last.
She wouldn’t worry tonight about the near future or anything else. Instead, time, for now, would be measured only in heartbeats, and breaths taken. It would be remembered as soft touches, hot kisses, and a fierce passion that even now burned within her heart.
“We’re going to take very good care of you, Ari,” Jackson said.
Cord ran his hands up her sides, beyond her shoulders, and took her hands from around his neck. “I’m going to watch the two of you make love, and enjoy every moment of it. And then, sweet Ari, I’m going to claim your luscious ass.”
In so many ways, these men aroused her. Every sense came into play when she was with them, and even their words, from the provocative to the downright dirty, thrilled her.
Then Jackson lifted her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight. She enveloped him, winding her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips, and the hot, hard shaft of his cock nestled against her.
“It feels so good having your hot cock resting on my clit.”
“For me, too. Kiss me, baby.”
He didn’t have to ask her twice. Ari cupped his head with her hands and kissed him. She gave him every bit of the passion inside her, sliding her lips against his, and tasting him with her tongue.
The act of kissing, of tangling tongues and sucking lips against lips had never excited her before these two men came into her life. Now, the thought formed that she might be able to have an orgasm, just from kissing them alone. She loved the way he tasted, and the way Cord tasted. But her favorite flavor filled her when she had the essence of them both on her tongue at the same time.
The world tilted. Jackson lifted his mouth from hers. He’d laid her in the middle of the bed and stayed tenting her. His gaze met hers. “I love you.” The words, whispered, brushed her face and settled in her heart.
“I love you, and I need you. I need you inside me.”
A square packet landed on the bed beside her. She flicked her gaze to the left and felt her heart turn over when Cord grinned at her.
Snatching up that packet, she opened it and withdrew the condom. Jackson helped her by moving closer so she could slide the latex into place.
The heat and hardness of his cock felt extra silky covered in protection, and Ari couldn’t resist lingering, fisting him and stroking his erect shaft.
He growled at her and gave her a small shove, setting her on her back. He wasted no time crawling on top of her.
And then in a heartbeat the mood changed. He slid his arms beneath her and laid his lips on hers. This kiss wooed and seduced just as powerfully as the last one had aroused. Tender and sweet, Jackson eased his lips from hers and placed tiny little kisses all over her face.
He lifted his body off, moving to the side so that he only partially covered her. And then with hands and lips he slowly took her apart.
She wanted to touch and taste and tease, but all her strength simply evaporated as he worshipped her.
He suckled first one nipple and then the other, tugging an invisible thread that ran from there to her clit. Pleasure heated her flesh and eddied through her blood. His hands caressed and she lifted to them, seeking their touch, needing the gift of excitement they bestowed.
He raised himself up. His right hand cupped the side of her face as he kissed her. Open, warm, and wet, his lips sucked her, tasted her, and gobbled her down. Arousal became a spiral winding upward, ever upward, as he played her body, creating a symphony of sensation.
She moaned and sighed as he continued to show her what heaven was like. The beauty and the bliss combined to cradle her in Eros.
Hot to the touch, his flesh brushed hers, and made her yearn for more. Driven by the need to give, to cherish, and to love, she stroked him, running her hands over his face and shoulders and back. She returned his kisses with tiny sips and licks of her own. Her feral inner woman wanted to howl with the accomplishment of arousing him.
This man and his brother could have had any woman, but they chose her. That was her miracle.
They were her miracle.
Smoldering heat burst into a raging conflagration. Strokes became hotter, more urgent, and kisses, more carnal. The sounds they made—male and female—needed no words, for they were sounds of mates, in need, answering the call bred into them over millennia. The scent of sex filled the air, and Ari’s mouth water
ed in anticipation.
Jackson ran his hand down her body to stroke the heated flesh between her legs. His fingers delved slightly between her pussy lips, and he hissed in pleasure for what he found there.
“Baby, you’re so hot and wet for me. I love the smell of your heat, and the taste of your arousal.”
He penetrated her with two fingers, moving them in and out, fucking her. His thumb sought, then teased, her clit, and she couldn’t help moving with his thrusts.
“Come for me, baby. I want to watch your rapture on your face.”
Oh, that tone of command made her want to submit to him completely. “Now!” He pressed against her clit and curved his fingers inside her, stroking against her G-spot.
“Oh! Oh, yes, Jackson!” As if her body only needed his command, she came, her orgasm a brilliant flash of light and heat that shivered through her. Ari pressed her cunt against his magnificently talented fingers, begging for more. As he stroked her, his gaze held hers.
She felt captured, controlled, and thoroughly coddled. She cried out, bereft, when he lifted his hand away. He sucked on his fingers, and the sight of him enjoying the flavor of her sex musk sent a shiver over her.
“Taste yourself.” He laid his mouth on her and she could indeed taste her own juices in his kiss. It was one of the most intimate acts she’d ever performed, something she might have, in the past, considered taboo. Yet she didn’t feel guilty or dirty or bad.
She felt wild and wanton and womanly.
“Please, Jackson, I need your cock inside me.”
He smiled, lifted up, and made a place for himself between her thighs. “Wrap those sexy legs around me, Ari.”
Love Under Two Quarterbacks [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 16