by Tara Lain
But sexy she was. In fact, she reeked of it. Her carved face had the best of male and female like Roan’s, but hers was edgier. C’mon over here, Mister, it seemed to say. I’ll tie you up and tie you down. Next to Roan’s elegant beauty, she looked like a pagan goddess, and Jake couldn’t help imagining the two of them locked together in passion. He hated her. He despised her. He would have loathed her even more if his cock wasn’t so hard.
Shit. Jenny was bringing both of them straight to him, or to his family, more accurately. Jake knew the second Roan saw him. The dark eyes widened; his graceful walk faltered ever so slightly. Jake gave a tight smile. Feeling guilty, you green-eyed bitch? Jake could hardly get air into his lungs, his chest was so tight. He wasn’t sure whether to run, hide, or faint. Too late for decisions.
Jenny was smiling. “Mom, Dad, this is Alexandra Shields and Roan Black, two of our honored guests.” They shook hands all around. Jenny turned to him. Deer. Headlights.
“And this is my brother, Dr. Jake Martin.”
Roan was gazing at him, his expression inscrutable. The woman’s eyebrows rose—what did she know?
That silky voice Jake loved said, “Good to see you again, Jake. I had no idea Jenny was your sister.”
He extended his hand, and Jake took it automatically, only coming back to life when that familiar electricity snapped through his hand straight to his cock. “Good to see you too, Roan. What a coincidence.” Could Roan hear Jake’s teeth grinding together?
Roan looked pointedly at Laney and extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Roan Black.”
“Uh, sorry,” Jake stammered. “This is Maude Delaney. Laney, uh, my friend.”
Laney beamed at the gorgeous man now holding her hand. “I’m delighted, Mr. Black. I’m a big fan. I had no idea you knew Jake.”
Jenny stepped a little closer to Jake’s side. “Neither did I.” She sounded accusing.
Jake panicked. He was a crappy actor and simply had no idea what to say. The words “Roan and I are lovers” pressed against the back of his throat.
Roan’s soft baritone came to his rescue. “Jake and I met in Los Angeles in a hotel bar, where we were both escaping our pursuers.”
“Pursuers?” His mom looked way too interested.
Roan gave the famous smile, flashing the signature tooth. “Yes. I was trying to evade the paparazzi who were hounding me, and as I recall, Jake was escaping some overly zealous female scientist who was determined to experiment on him.”
Jake blushed full-on, and his dad laughed while his mother pretended outrage. “Jakey!”
“Yes,” Roan continued, “we commiserated with each other over a bit more alcohol than either of us is used to. But we enjoyed the company.”
Jake knew his blush had reached epic proportions at Roan’s double entendre.
The tall woman had never stopped staring at him. “So, you’re Jake.” The voice was surprisingly high for such a boyish woman and a bit breathless. It reminded Jake of Elizabeth Taylor in those old films. And her eyes were such a pale blue, they were almost white.
He took her offered hand. “Yes.” She didn’t let go.
“Beautiful.”
Jake tried not to blush again. Should he pull his hand away? He didn’t want to insult her. He’d have to adjust his tuxedo jacket, since the combined effects of Roan and this woman were making his pants very crowded.
“Oh, excuse me, Alexandra,” Roan said. “I didn’t mean to be rude, but I was so surprised to see Jake.” He focused the green eyes on Jake’s face. “Jake, this is my friend, Alexandra Shields.”
Jake felt all the eyes of his family on him. He forced a genial smile. “Jenny tells me you’re an actress, Miss Shields. Are you in town making a movie?”
Her grin was friendly, if a little predatory. “Negotiating one, actually. And call me Alex.”
“You don’t live here?” Jenny said.
“Paris.”
“Oh, that must be so hard for you two, having to maintain a long-distance relationship. Where will you live when you’re married?”
Jake felt his stomach hit his knees.
Alexandra’s eyes took on a wicked gleam. “Yes, Roan, where will we live when we’re married?”
Roan gave her an indecipherable glance, then smiled at Jenny. “Alex is just teasing me, Jenny. We ended our engagement a while back, partly for the very reasons you’re suggesting, but we’ve stayed close friends.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I should have known that.” She smiled shyly. “I’m really a big fan.”
Jake got to see the charm that endeared Roan to the fashion world as much as his beauty. He leaned in to Jenny. “There are far more interesting subjects in this world than my love life, and you’re at the heart of many of them. In truth, I’m the one who’s a fan of yours. Would you like to dance?”
Jake thought he might have to give Jenny CPR. He knew just how she felt.
Jenny didn’t giggle—except in the presence of Roan Black. “Yes, thank you, I’d love to.”
“And why don’t you dance with me, Jake?” The red-haired Amazon extended her hand. Jake glanced a bit helplessly at his dad, who winked, and then he looked at Laney.
“Please, Jake, go right ahead.” Her tone had a little edge to it, but he wasn’t sure how to escape his obvious fate.
“All right. Laney, will you save me the next dance?”
That got more of a smile. “Sure, Jake.”
Taking the redhead’s hand, he walked to the dance floor.
Jake was a decent dancer, but his recent dancing experience had only included a six-foot alpha male whose cock stabbed into his abdomen. Alexandra wasn’t all that different—except for the cock part. About six feet tall in her heels, her body under the slip of a gown was strong and lean with only a hint of the soft roundness Jake associated with femininity. She also smelled heavenly. No perfume, just some sweet almondy scent that wafted around Jake like a cloud.
Even with that tall body pressed tight against him, Jake still had a couple inches on her. She tilted her head up and whispered in his ear, “So you’re my lover’s lover.”
Torn. Should he strangle her or throw her on the ground and fuck her? She had a powerful magnetism; he’d give her that. “In what way is he your lover?” He could hear the anger in his own voice.
“Jealous, lover?”
“Should I be?”
She gave him a steady stare with those ice blue eyes. “Actually, no.”
“Does that mean you’re not his lover?”
“No, it doesn’t mean that. It simply means that the boy is crazy about you.”
Jake felt himself tense. Of course, she felt it too and gave him a cool stare. “I hope you can handle that, lover boy, because nobody gets to hurt Roan with me around.”
He stared her down for a minute, but she didn’t waver, and he was the first to look away. “I’m trying, really, but this is all new to me.”
“He said you’ve always been straight.”
“Yeah.”
She nodded her head to where they’d left Laney with his parents. “Who’s the little ingénue?”
“Just a friend.”
“You fucking her?”
“No!”
She laughed. “A little defensive, are we? You using her for cover?”
“No! I just needed a date for this shindig, and I thought of her. What about you? Aren’t you with Roan to promulgate the fiction that he’s straight?”
“Partly. But I was in town, and we always get together when I’m here or he’s in Paris. My trip just happened to coincide with this event he was committed to attend, so I came with him.”
Jake gritted his teeth. “You always get together? Why? To fuck?” He could feel his hands tightening on her.
She pressed her body tight against him and whispered in his ear. “Yes, to fuck. And to suck, and to do everything a man and a woman can do together. Do you hate it that your boyfriend likes girls too, just like you do?”
“Ye
s. I…hate…it.”
She pulled back and looked at him. “Wow, you really are jealous, aren’t you? My beautiful boy really gets you going.” She ground her hips against him. “I can feel how hard you are.”
She was right. He wanted to hate her, but she was so damned sexy, and the fact that she loved and defended Roan jumbled them together in his hormone-clouded mind. “Yeah.”
She leaned into him again. “Don’t you love that gorgeous, huge cock of Roan’s?”
Jake could barely breathe. “Yeah.”
She was whispering directly into his ear, the breath sending goose bumps down his arms and shocks to his balls. “It doesn’t hurt you when he pushes that huge dick into your ass?”
Jake tensed at the question. Alex leaned back to look at his face. “I see. You’re a top.” Then she snuggled back against him and resumed her breathy whisper. “That makes sense, I guess. You’re mostly straight, and he’s really submissive. He loves to take it in the ass.” Her hips pressed into his. “But don’t forget, pretty boy, he still loves to fuck. You gotta let him do it to you some, or he won’t be satisfied. Let him stick that cock in. I can tell you firsthand, Jake, it’s a treat you just can’t miss.”
Too much. Jake’s breath was ragged, and he was about to ruin his tux trousers with a gallon of cum.
She pressed harder so she was practically riding his erection, and he was too far gone to care who was watching. “You love that idea, don’t you, baby? Or is it me turning you on? C’mon, Jake. Tell me the truth. Is it just the idea of Roan fucking you making you rock hard, or does little Alex get your juices flowing too?”
“Shit!” Jake broke away from her and hurried toward the men’s room. Her laughter followed him through the crowd. He rushed down an endless hall and pushed the door marked MEN. He entered a stall and had his cock in his hand before the door was even closed. Two hard pumps, and he started squirting semen into the toilet bowl. Oh shit, he was so turned on. How was he going to make it through this evening?
He heard the door to the men’s room open, then a soft call. “Jake?”
Thank God. Roan. He wouldn’t have put it past Alex to follow him. “Here. Be out in a second.”
Jake wiped himself off and zipped up. He cleaned a little cum that had dropped on the toilet rim, then exited. Roan was standing beside the sink. There was another man washing his hands, so Jake forced himself to look casual.
“You okay?” Roan asked.
“Yeah. Just had to pee.” He glanced at the guy next to him, who was drying his hands. Jake washed and said nothing until the guy left. A quick look around showed they were alone.
Roan leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Jake wanted to grab him. His lover smiled. “Was Alex tormenting you?”
“Oh yeah.” He glanced at the closed door. “I just filled the john with cum.”
Roan laughed. “She’s good at it, isn’t she?” His eyes softened. “Does she turn you on?”
Jake tried not to look away but didn’t succeed. “She was talking about you and me fucking.”
He lifted Jake’s face to his with one finger. “Does she turn you on?”
“Yeah.”
The fingers moved into a caress. “It’s okay, baby. She does it to me too.”
Jake pulled back. “Is that why you didn’t tell me about her? About being with her here?”
Roan cocked his head. “Jake, Alex and I have been friends for years. As you heard, we were even engaged. I’ve been committed to this event for months. I had no idea Jenny was your sister, or that you’d be here, and I didn’t plan to bring Alex until she called last week and said she’d be in town. This is just another event for me. I had no reason to tell you any more than you told me about your little girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
Another man walked into the bathroom, and Roan grabbed Jake’s arm and propelled him toward the door. They exited, and Roan led him to a small quiet corner beyond the house phones.
“Do you love her?” Jake hissed, as if they hadn’t been interrupted.
“No, but I’m fond of her, and she is of me.”
“But you fuck her?” Jake heard the plea in his own voice. God, he hardly recognized himself in this needy stranger, but he couldn’t seem to get himself under control.
“Yes. We’ve always had great sex. That’s what kept us together for the better part of a year. Alex is bisexual, or as she calls it, omnisexual. Her current lover is a woman, and they’re very happy together.”
“Does she want you to fuck her tonight?” Roan had to lean in to hear Jake’s whisper.
“I’m sure she does.”
“Are you going to?” Jake stared at his hands like they had the answers.
Roan paused, then asked, “Are you going to fuck the girl you’re with tonight?”
Jake shook his head. “No, we’re not lovers. Answer me. Are you?” He looked up into the green eyes. “Are you going to fuck her?”
“Are you asking me not to?”
Jake threw his hands up and half turned to the wall. “Shit, I don’t know what I’m asking.”
Roan leaned in toward his ear. “If you were with her, would you fuck her?”
Jake thought and finally said the truth. “Probably. I wanted to throw her down on the floor and hammer her back there.”
Roan licked the outside of Jake’s ear. The soft, deep voice vibrated in Jake’s head. “Then why don’t we both fuck her?”
Jake looked up sharply into his lover’s face. Was he serious? Was this another test? And if so, which way did Roan want him to reply? “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to say yes.”
“Really? You want to share?”
“I already share you with one woman, Jake.”
The unspoken completion of the sentence was that Jake could now share Roan with a woman too.
“I have a date. I have to meet some more contributors.”
“Alex has a suite upstairs.” Roan slipped a key card into Jake’s pocket. “We’ll be there. I want you to come. It’s up to you.” Then he turned and walked back into the ballroom.
Chapter Eleven
Some date he was. Jake stood pressed against the wall in the hall, listening to the music from the ballroom and staring into space, vaguely aware of a few people walking by. He’d promised Laney a dance and then disappeared. But shit, he had a few things on his mind. He’d just been invited into a ménage à trois by his male lover. The idea was just mind-splitting. He, Jacob Martin, reasonably smart, sensible, and straight scientist, was fucking a man and seriously considering joining that man in bed with a woman. At least the woman part made some sense.
He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. Yeah. He’d just proved he could still get it up for a woman. Thank God! His cock was a steel rod under his tux jacket. Okay. Be honest. What really got him going was the idea of Roan fucking Alex. Images of his lover’s cock pushing into that man-eater flashed through his mind. Oh—my—God. A soft moan escaped him. His eyes flew open. Making a spectacle here.
Jesus. He should run. Out of this hotel and straight home, where he could lock the damned doors and contemplate his fucking life until he had it under control. Sigh. No such luck. There was work to do and appearances to keep up. He pushed himself away from the wall, adjusted the tux over his deflating erection, and propelled himself into the ballroom.
The party was in full swing, couples crowded the dance floor, and the band played some moderately upbeat number designed to not test the hipness of the moneyed set. He peered through the crowd and spotted Laney laughing with his sister. Time to get the job done. He skirted the dance floor and walked up to the two laughing women.
“Hi, you two.” He smiled as he stepped up beside Laney. “I’m so sorry for disappearing.”
Jenny smiled. “Where’ve you been?”
“I had to go to the men’s room and then got caught up in a conversation.” He extended a hand to Lane
y. “I think I owe you a dance.”
She gave him a decidedly appraising stare, then smiled. “Well, I’m not sure it’s actually a debt, but if you want to dance, I’d be happy to accompany you.”
Ooohkay. He totally deserved the edge in her voice. “Excuse us, Jenny.”
“No problem. Go have fun. I’ve got a million things to do to make sure our VIPs are taken care of. See you two later.”
They moved to the dance floor, where the music had slowed—thank God. He hadn’t kept up on his fast dance steps.
They danced quietly for a minute. After Alex’s potent and blatant sexuality, Laney was positively restful. She might not consider that a compliment.
Suddenly she looked up at him. “So, is that the woman you’re in love with?”
He pulled back like she’d hit him. “Alex? Shit, no. I just met her.”
Her stare was steady. “I didn’t think so.”
“What?”
“The woman. You look at her like you want to eat her, but not with love.”
Jesus, was he that obvious?
She kept gazing up at him, and he tried to hold her stare without flinching.
“It’s the man, isn’t it? You’re in love with that gorgeous man?”
His body bucked in reaction. “No!”
She just kept staring at him. “You’re telling me you and that man aren’t lovers?”
Okay, he’d lost. He looked away. “Why would you think that?”
“Oh, maybe because when he walked in, you looked like someone had finally turned on the sun.”
“Well shit, he’s beautiful.”
“Yes.” Pause. “And that’s all? You just like the way he looks?” Never had a voice sounded so skeptical.
He stared into her chocolate brown eyes, then looked away. “Okay, we fuck.
I mean, we have a physical relationship.” So this was what it felt like. Admitting to fucking Roan to someone in his world. Someone who wasn’t his gay brother. Painful, but not fatal.