by Eve Langlais
“Can’t we talk about why you’re there instead of Naomi?”
“Babysitting my grandbabies, of course. Must be bad if you’re changing the subject.”
“Not bad. Just unexpected.” He clamped his lips tight. How did mothers always draw more out of their kids than they wanted to tell? She didn’t reply. “Ma? You still there.”
“Yeah. Just trying to wrap my mind around the fact you and Joel finally admitted your love for each other.”
“What? No? Ew. Why would you think that? As if we would ever—”
“Then why on earth would you need your sister’s advice over mine?”
Uh oh. He’d hurt his mother’s feelings. He sighed. Only one way to fix that. “JoelandImetourmateandshe’sthesamegirl.” It emerged in a single word he said it so fast.
“Was that so hard?” his mother said in a smug tone. “So you’ve met your mate and it’s the same female. I don’t see the big deal. It’s not like you’re not used to the whole ménage thing. If you ask me, it’s working out quite well for your sister and Francine.”
“And if our mate wasn’t human, it would probably work out quite well, too.”
“Human?”
Kendrick almost grinned at his mother’s shocked squeak. “Yes. Very, and unknowing of our kind.”
“I’ll be damned. How’s Joel handling it?”
“Better than expected, now that he’s come to grips with it.”
“So, what is her name?”
“Ruth Anderson.”
“Doesn’t sound very local.”
“It’s not. She joined our expedition at the last minute because her sister is one of the girls missing.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t claimed her yet.”
“That’s the problem, we want to. Bad. But, she isn’t taking our overtures seriously.”
Silence greeted him.
“Ma? You still there, Ma?”
“I am. I’m just picking up my jaw from the floor because I thought you said she hadn’t dropped her pants for you yet.”
“Not exactly what I said, but in a nutshell, yes. Joel and I have tried everything to get her to, you know, be with us, but either we’re interrupted or she stomps off muttering about her luck.”
A choking sound, followed by a giggle, then a full out snort and laughter met his announcement.
“This is not funny.”
“Yes it is. I always wished you’d both meet a nice girl who wouldn’t give into your smiles and ridiculous pick-up lines. And now that it’s happened, it’s even better than I expected. I like her already.”
“But you’ll never get to meet her if this keeps up,” he growled.
“So take a more direct approach. Stop pussyfooting around and seduce her.”
“Both of us at once?”
“Are you insane? Of course not. She’s human. One at a time. Mark her. Then, after she’s done hitting you for both getting into her pants, make her understand you’re not averse to sharing. Use your sister and brother Mitchell as an example of how it can work.”
“She already thinks we’re Mormons.”
“She what? Oh.” His mother couldn’t speak for the laughter.
“Nice help you are,” he grumbled, but affectionately. “Miss you, Ma.”
“Miss you too, baby boy. Tell Joel I’ve got some canned peaches waiting to get baked in a pie when he gets back.”
“I will. Love you. Bye.” Throat tight with the most unmanly of sensations, he hung up, homesick for his mother, and drooling for a taste of her damned peach pie.
Chapter 10
Stay away. Stay away. Ruth kept telling herself that, especially after the way the guys previously cornered her into a manwich. But dammit, like a stupid moth, she wanted to get burned, or so she assumed when she took the spot between them on a log – at their behest and despite their matching grins – the lure of the crackling fire they’d built to ward off an unusual chill too much for her to resist.
Thighs pressing against hers, making her much too aware of them on either side, she held her hands out to the dancing flames.
“If only we had some marshmallows,” she joked.
“Mmm, something soft and sweet to bite into. Sounds yummy.” Sounding so innocent on the surface, she couldn’t help a curl of heat from forming at the implied innuendo. Or was she imagining the sexual overtone? By now, she surely wasn’t the only one craving real food.
The others in the group, with feeble excuses, wandered off, Peter to sleep, Liam and Fernando for a stroll – which, given they walked all day, made no sense to her or her sore glutes.
Silence set in as her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, a sudden shyness overtaking her. It was one thing to converse with the guys, or go toe-to-toe with them when Kendrick pulled his macho routine, another to come up with small talk when she was all too aware of them alongside her. Not for the first time, she wished she understood what game they played. What they wanted of her. What she wanted of them. Actually, that answer came easily. Sex. But with which one?
Uncomfortable at the direction of her thoughts – naughty ones she just couldn’t seem to prevent, especially once Kendrick’s fingers claimed possession of her knee in a casual manner – she blurted, “How many more days until we reach the X on the map?”
“Hard to tell. It depends on the terrain. I figure we’ll come across the ruins on your map tomorrow; that is, if what you received is accurate. Then, at least another two, maybe three days to the mark where the X is, depending on how quickly we travel and any obstacles in our path.”
“And then what happens?”
“If your note is telling the truth, then fingers crossed, we’ll find the girls and turn right around,” Joel replied.
“More walking?” She groaned. “Can’t we call a helicopter for a pickup? Speaking of which, how come we didn’t just have one drop us right on the spot?”
“Distance is an issue. As is missing clues only seen on the ground from the air.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“Tired?” Kendrick squeezed her knee when he asked.
“Nope.” She lied, not wanting to appear weak in front of them.
“I guess I won’t offer a massage then.”
Keep her distance – which she’d already failed to do – or succumb to the temptation of a rub? “Now let’s not be hasty.”
Joel chuckled. “Let’s loosen those muscles.” Standing, he moved behind her and dug in with his digits. She groaned. His fingers spread and danced along her tight shoulders, to her head-lolling delight. To her shock, Kendrick slid to his knees in front of her and grabbed a foot. She jerked it away.
“What are you doing?”
“What’s it look like I’m doing?”
“Catching your butt on fire?”
“Am not.” He said it, but Kendrick also peered behind him to make sure.
She grinned.
“Wench.” His tilted lips matched the mirth in his eyes.
“That’s for the spider comment this afternoon.”
“But I swear I saw it.”
“Sure you did,” she said, nodding her head, not believing him for one moment – now, at any rate. Earlier, when Kendrick claimed he saw a poisonous arachnid, she couldn’t move into his arms fast enough. Only Joel’s growl that nothing was there made her realize Kendrick did it to cop a feel. She found it hard to stay mad at him for his prank, given the girly part of her appreciated the reason for it. And yet, that was all he attempted. She still didn’t know if she liked him for not pushing her for something extra, or was annoyed that like Joel, he kept teasing without attempting to take that next step.
If only one of them would act, take charge and make the decision for her. At this point, her body craved some kind of relief, and so long as it was Joel or Kendrick offering, she didn’t care which.
Still kneeling, Kendrick grabbed her boot and removed it.
“Don’t you dare. I’m ticklish.” At least she was clean from the river bat
h she enjoyed earlier, a bath she was pretty sure had an audience of one, maybe two. Thankfully, the water flowed deep enough for her to kneel down and avoid giving too much of a show. She could have confronted her peepers and demanded they leave, but with every step that got them closer to the X on the map, the more her nerves coiled, especially as she noted the group’s watchfulness. There were worse things to worry about than a pair of hunks with a penchant for voyeurism.
“I am trying to relax you, so would you shut up and enjoy it?” Kendrick growled.
Ruth bit her lip, not to stem any more arguments from her, but because she almost moaned in a way that might have proven embarrassing as their strong fingers dug into her tense muscles. A moment later, her head lolled and she groaned blissfully, not caring who heard. “Oh my God. Yes. Mmm. Right there.”
Fully clothed, in plain sight, and not having anything sexual done to her; nevertheless, Ruth’s sounds of pleasure could have rivaled those heard in a bordello, and her panties bore moist witness to her enjoyment of their touch. If this was how they wanted to fight over her, then fight away.
Though relaxed, her body humming happily – it didn’t mean she didn’t sit bolt upright when a pair of lips began to caress her neck while a set of hands roamed up her thighs, closer and closer to the origin of the ache in her body. What were they doing?
Who cared? Wasn’t this what she wanted? Her breathing hitched as Joel found the sensitive spot at the back of her neck. He nibbled and a soft sigh parted her lips, followed by a squeak as Kendrick rubbed his jaw along her thigh. Sure, the material of her cargo pants was in the way, but it didn’t stop the tingles from racing through her. From her hoping he’d move a little higher. A little more to the middle. A …
What am I doing? And in plain sight? Had she completely lost her mind, allowing two men to stroke her so intimately? What would they think of her if she allowed it to go any further? What of the rest of the group? No. This had to stop now. Stop before she did something she’d regret the next day.
With a squeaked, “Thanks for the massage. I’ll see you in the morning,” she fled, her heart pounding and her clit throbbing for their touch. And she did mean their touch.
What am I going to do?
Both of them, was the easy answer. The wrong answer, obviously, but tell that to her aroused state. In the war to get in her pants, she couldn’t declare a victor. Couldn’t choose. Didn’t want to. Worried she misread their intentions. Fretted she didn’t, and missed out.
A braver girl would confront them and ask if they were trying to both bed her at once – then strip so they could. But that required a little more courage – no matter how much Kendrick claimed she owned – to do.
And what would she do if she did confront them and they stated their intention was to seduce her, the both of them at once? It both excited and shocked her. Good girls did not sleep with two guys. Good girls didn’t even think of it. Then again, good girls didn’t come on jungle adventures with a group of men in the first place.
Or was it a competition of sorts to see which of them she’d choose?
Of worry as well, what if they only toyed with her? Did the fact she’d not succumbed to their advances make them more determined to see her fall? Did they just wait to taunt her? The men she’d gotten to know wouldn’t, but she’d seen her judgment fail her before. How she wished Carlie were here to give her advice. How she wished she could get a few moments to herself to evaluate things, but everywhere she turned, there they were. Sleeping alongside her tent. Shadowing her every move. Touching her at every turn.
How could a girl think when she got no respite from their attention? No relief from her dilemma. True to their new mission in life, they stuck to her like glue from the moment she woke until she fled to her tent, knowing they slept only inches away, a thin canvas the only barrier. The nightmarish trek of the first few days faded as they cleared the way for her with brisk whacks of the machete, helped her over tricky spots, their hands holding hers for too long each time. Flustered and only too aware of them every time they did, she yanked away, cheeks burning, her body constantly on fire as it reacted to their virile closeness.
Over the next few days, when they camped for the night, Joel and Kendrick took turns setting up and taking down her shelter and placing their sleeping bags alongside hers, only because she refused to let them into hers. Heck, she still didn’t understand why they needed to get so close. When asked why, they sputtered some crap about protection. Yet, it didn’t explain the dirty looks they gave the rest of the group if they came anywhere near her. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they’d laid some kind of claim to her. The others, Liam, Peter, and even flirty Fernando, once so friendly, didn’t come too close or offer her aid anymore. All backed off as Joel and Kendrick, in an abrupt about face, strove to make her journey a more pleasant one.
More like extra torturous. She’d heard the term blue balled in reference to men, but what did you call a woman who thought she would die if she didn’t get sexual relief soon? Stupid? Here she had two men that seemed intent on bedding her, and yet, she did nothing about it. Because what if I’m wrong? That thought more than anything plagued her and kept her distracted from the true mission. Maybe once she located her sister, she’d have an answer, or at least a second opinion. More like competition because once they get a load of the other girls, I doubt I’m going to look so appealing.
Now there was a depressing thought, which in turn, raised a question, which she blurted out loud as Joel hammered in the stakes for her tent while she handed them to him one by one. She’d given up arguing about her ability to do it herself – why bother when they seemed so determined?
“Do you have a girlfriend back home?”
Whack.
Ooh, that had to hurt, she thought with a wince as his hammer missed the peg. To Joel’s credit, he didn’t even flinch. “No.” He sounded peeved for some reason.
“Oh. That’s good.”
“Good? Glad you think so, considering I find it kind of offensive you’d think I’d act this way with you while involved with someone else.”
Appalled as she viewed it from his angle, she blanched. “I’m sorry. That never occurred to me. I guess with me not really knowing you, I don’t know if you flirt like this in the real world or not. I’ve known a lot of guys who act like they’re single and make advances only to go home to girlfriends and families.”
His expression softened. “Fair enough. But just so we’re clear, I am not the type of guy to cheat or betray someone he cares about. So you needn’t worry on that score.”
“Worry? Why would I worry?” Her query emerged a touch high-pitched and breathy. No denying it, he was claiming an interest in her.
“Are you truly as innocent as you appear?” he mused. “At times, I find it hard to believe, and yet, your own body betrays you. I never thought I’d find a blush so sexy. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word no so many times in a row. You’re the only woman I’ve ever encountered who’s fought so hard against her desire.”
“Who says I want you?” Oh God, she couldn’t believe they’d guessed it. So much for thinking them oblivious to her less than pristine thoughts.
A soft chuckle made her shiver. “Oh, I can tell when you’re feeling frisky. One might even say I have a built-in radar for it.”
“Next you’ll tell me you can smell it.” And she bit her tongue. Too late. What was it about Joel and Kendrick that she found it so easy to reply to them? Whenever they engaged her, she kept replying aloud with the thoughts running through her head. Things she would usually keep secret. She spoke to them comfortably and honestly like she would a true friend. Except she didn’t know many friends she’d have this odd a conversation with.
His fingers brushed hers, long, tanned, and so easy to imagine on other parts of her body. A shiver went through her and she wanted to suddenly flee as she wondered if he could sense her interest at this moment, as he claimed he could. As if sensing her imminent
flight, his fingers curled around her wrist and held her in place. “Why don’t you let us give you what you need? Why do you run away?”
Why couldn’t the earth swallow her up now? She didn’t know how to answer him. So she denied his claims. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t need anything from you.”
“Liar.” He chided her softly, the word tickling across her senses. “I think you’re afraid of yourself and what we make you feel.”
Very afraid, which was why she stayed away as much as she could. If only they’d do the same thing. “What do you want from me?”
“Would you run if I said, forever?”
“I’d say that’s the corniest line yet.”
Surely she didn’t spot a flash of hurt in his eyes? As if she’d believe he looked for a happily ever after with her. Good-looking guys like Joel and Kendrick might play with a girl like her, but they settled down with little-miss-size-five when the time came. A woman who would probably drive them crazy, but keep a perfect house, and pop out the prerequisite two-point-one kids and drive the kids to soccer. All things Ruth wanted too, she just doubted she’d get it with the current lot.
Once they left the jungle, reality would intrude, common sense would prevail, and they’d go their separate ways. Them, to settle down with nice hometown girls; her, back to her university life as an intern and student. She’d eventually meet someone nerdy like her, settle down, and live out some boring years. Just like her mother. And grandmother, and everyone else she knew.
Funny how that didn’t muster the slightest enthusiasm. Imagining one night, though, just one in either Kendrick’s or Joel’s arms? Worth the heartbreak, or not?
As she crawled into her tent that night – alone, and still in a state of arousal from Kendrick, who caught her when she stumbled – cradling her body a touch longer than needed against him – she wondered why she let herself suffer.
If Joel could be believed, he wanted her, maybe only for the moment, but still, why did she hesitate on taking it to the next step? Her emotions were already invested. Remove that excuse and what was she left with? Maybe because I’d like him to seduce me first. He kept talking, but not acting, as if he waited for something from her. She couldn’t take that step. But if he did … She’d never have to wonder if she threw herself at him like a hussy if he made the next move. Not worry he’d reject her. However, at the rate things progressed, she might have to wait a long time for seduction.