Love Under Two Honchos (6 page)

Last night had been rapturous, exciting, and the best sex of their lives, but it was in the past.

“Great,” Josh said.

And he spent the rest of his breakfast time trying to figure out why what should have felt great, didn’t.

Love Under Two Honchos

37

Chapter 5

Penelope tried not to gawk as Josh and Alex drove through the complex that was Benedict Towers in downtown Houston. When she’d been working to put herself through school, she’d worked on the hotel staff of the Carstairs Manhattan, one of the finest five-star hotels in the world. So she had seen opulence up close and personal before.

She just never thought to experience that lifestyle for herself.

Good God, when Grandma Kate said the family would set me up
in an apartment, I had no idea it would be someplace like this.

Penelope never thought of her grandmother’s best friend as being wealthy because Grandma Kate had always been just Grandma Kate.

The woman had never put on airs, had always been what her own grandmother called “just plain folk.”

Josh stopped his Hummer at the front door, and a doorman hurried forward to greet them.

“Good morning, Mr. Benedict.”

“Hey, Carl, how’s it going?” Josh asked.

“Just great, sir. Would you like me to park it for you?”

“Just in the short-term area, please. Carl, this is Ms. Primrose.”

Carl turned his smile toward her. He tipped his hat and even offered her a slight bow. “Welcome to Benedict Towers, Ms.

Primrose. We’ve been expecting you. Your car has arrived. When you want it, just call down and let us know, and we’ll have it ready for you.”

“Thank you, Carl.” Car? Grandma Kate never said anything about a car. Her shock must have shown, because Josh sent her a big grin.

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“You’d become poor very quickly taking taxis in this town.

Houston is the fourth largest city in the nation, and covers approximately six hundred and sixty square miles,” he said. “It was a simple enough matter to have one of the company vehicles available for your use while you’re with us. Um…” He stopped and looked at her, his expression slightly sheepish. She thought he was about to apologize for running off at the mouth like a member of the Visitors and Conventions Bureau. Instead, he said, “You do have a driver’s license, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. You’ll want to take a photocopy of it for insurance purposes.” Penelope very nearly reached into her handbag for the document right then and there.

“Stella, our admin, will see to that,” Alex said. “Later today or tomorrow—whenever you come in to the office.”

He walked around to the back and pulled her two suitcases out of the back. “Shall we?”

“After you,” Penelope said.

The lobby of the building appeared as lushly furnished as she’d imagined such a place would be. Marble floors, rich leather furniture, and what appeared to be a front desk made of polished mahogany spoke of quiet elegance.

Rather than walking straight to the elevator, the brothers Benedict led her to the desk. There, a young woman dressed in a business suit, complete with red tie, greeted the men with a big smile.

“Good morning, sirs.”

“Daphne.” Alex smiled at her. “This is Ms. Primrose. Penelope, Daphne is a member of the concierge staff. If there’s anything you need, she, or whomever is on duty here, can help you.”

Concierge staff? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if this was an apartment building or a hotel. The young woman’s greeting robbed her of speech.

“Welcome, Ms. Primrose. Penthouse Three is ready for you. We have, of course, stocked it with some basic groceries and toiletries.

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Here’s the key, which is also the key for the elevator. If I can be of any assistance, simply dial eight on your phone.”

“Thank you, Daphne.” Penelope hoped she appeared gracious and not goggle-eyed.

She followed her suitcases, which just happened to be attached to Alex Benedict, to a bank of two elevators that was to the right of the concierge desk.

“A penthouse,” she repeated, simply because she wasn’t sure if she’d heard correctly.

“Penthouse Three. There are three in this, the north tower, and three in the other—the south tower.”

“Surely you can’t expect me to stay in a penthouse for the entire term of my contract?” My God, the cost of that was going to be astronomical.

“Two years
is
a long time to be stuck in an apartment,” Josh agreed. “Just let us know when you get tired of it, and we’ll move you to one of the condos.”

“No, I meant I researched the cost of living in Houston before I arrived. I’d budgeted for a small, bachelorette apartment out in one of the suburbs.”

“You’re not paying for this, of course. Grandma Kate insisted that you stay here as her guest,” Alex said.

“There’s not a member of the Benedict, Kendall, or Jessop clan that can say no to Grandma Kate,” Alex said.

I’m Alice, and I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole.

Josh showed her how to use the key for the elevator—she’d have figured it out because each keyhole was numbered. The doors opened, and they stepped in. In a shorter time than Penelope could imagine, they were on the penthouse floor.

“We’re in Penthouse One, right across the hall, and various members of the family often occupy Penthouse Two,” Alex said.

“That’s the one down there.” He pointed to the left.

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Josh handed her the key. Penelope inhaled deeply and then opened the door.

“Oh, good God. It’s…it’s beautiful.” Drawn to the big windows, she moved into the living room, complete with plush carpeting in a soft gray, walls of eggshell, and furniture in stark white, with decorative pillows in teal and chartreuse. The view of the city stretched to the horizon. Penelope thought it would look magnificent at night.

Tongue-tied in the face of such luxury, she followed behind the men as they toured what would be her home for the next while, at least. The kitchen sparkled with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops.

And then they showed her the master bedroom.

“Do you think you’ll be comfortable here?”

Alex had come up behind her while she stood and stared at the enormous bed. It had to be at least as large as the one they’d frolicked in last night at Susan’s ranch house.

He set her suitcases down and then put his hands on her shoulders.

Was that him shaking, or her?

“I...I…” Penelope’s brain seemed unable to send a coherent sentence to her mouth.

“Maybe we should test out the bed, just to be certain it’s to your liking.” Josh came up to stand close beside her.

The heat from their bodies enveloped her. Their masculine scent, some mysterious fragrance she couldn’t identify but loved, shot straight to her hormones.

Oh, this is so not a good idea.
If she had any hope of keeping her heart safe from these two gorgeous men, she needed to pull back, and pull back
now
.

Alex’s hands squeezed her shoulders then gently turned her around. Josh moved so that he stood nearly behind her, on her right.

Their closeness set her blood to humming with sweet arousal, a drug she’d so rarely tasted in her life, its presence now simply enthralled
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her. Her mind scrambled for the words that would stop her from giving in. And then her body cried out, “But why?”

“Say yes, Penelope.” Alex’s head lowered, came closer. “We both need you. Say yes.” The last two words bathed her lips with moist heat.

“Yes.”

Alex’s mouth covered hers, the touch of his lips gentle, wooing.

His tongue caressed her bottom lip, and she opened to him, opened herself to whatever he wanted, whatever he needed.

His arms enveloped her, and she felt the ridge of his cock press against her. Deep inside her, her libido began to celebrate.

“Why do you both affect me this way?” She turned her head when Alex eased back so that her lips could mate with Josh’s. His kiss, just as sweet, added to her growing passion. These two men fed her a sweet nectar that her body now, after just one night, craved.

“Chemistry. Pheromones,” Josh whispered. “Mathematically, it’s a one in a kajillion kind of reaction.”

“Oh. Of course it is.” Penelope closed her eyes and surrendered to the heat and the hunger pouring into her.

She turned her lips back to Alex, put her arms around his neck, and plundered. He tasted so good to her, all she wanted was more.

Desire became a honeyed thickness that filled her veins and flooded her heart. Her pussy became unbelievably wet with her juices.

His arms around her held her close, and his hand began an up and down massage of her back and ass that weakened her defenses.

When Josh eased her out of Alex’s arms, she turned to him eagerly, her mouth avid to taste and her tongue to dance with his. His hands explored her. His fingers sparked tiny fires where they touched, so that Penelope yearned for more.

She stepped back, just slightly. Her clothing had to go. It had become an intolerable barrier between her and what she craved more than her next breath.

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The men must have felt the same way because they began to toss their own coverings aside, and they were a lot faster at it than she was.

“I need to take your hair down,” Alex whispered. He stepped forward, and his body, hot, naked and so very near, nearly made her forget what she was doing.

His hands made quick work of pulling the clip and pins away. He simply dropped them on the floor then combed his fingers through her hair. “You are so gorgeous.”

“I’m not.” She stepped forward, unable to resist the lure of his strong neck and chest, her mouth suddenly watering for a taste of his magnificent male flesh.

“I’m the one doing the looking,” Alex said. Then he lifted her face and kissed her, a deep, carnal kiss that made her clench her inner muscles in an attempt to keep her juices from escaping her.

“Let’s finish getting you naked,” Josh said.

His hand spread heat and lust as he stripped her bra and panties away. And then he pressed his back to her, rubbed his cock against her ass.

“We need to know what you like, baby,” he said softly. “We want to make you feel good.”

“Mm, anything. Everything. If you make me feel any better, I’m not sure I’ll survive.”

Josh’s chuckle was low and rich and tickled her clit. “Trust me, sweetheart. This will never hurt you.
We
will never hurt you.”

“I know.” She could put what she really knew of these men in a thimble with room to spare, but she did know that.

Last night, they danced her to the bed in a ballet both graceful and sensuous. This morning, with daylight streaming through the bedroom window, she led the way to the enormous mattress with deliberate intent.

Just before Josh would have pressed her down onto the bed, she switched them so that his knees hit the edge of the thing first. The
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instant he sat, she lowered herself to her knees and took his cock into her mouth.

His surprised utterance ended on a groan, and he sucked in air and grabbed her head with both hands. Something in that action, the hint of domination, sent a zing of a thrill shivering through her. She moved her head on him, tasting him with her tongue as she ran it up and down his shaft, sucking gently. She kept her motions smooth, slow, and felt rewarded when he groaned and began to thrust his cock into her mouth. Alex stood close, and then closer, apparently absorbed in watching her suck his brother’s cock.

She tasted his juices and knew he was close to the edge. Feeling brave and brazen, she slowly lifted her mouth from him, then turned and fisted Alex’s stiff penis. “I don’t want you to feel left out,” she said, and then closed her lips around him.

His cock tasted just as good, if different, from Josh’s. His moan of pleasure filled her with joy just as the flavor of him filled her with a hunger for more.

Each of them had a hand on her head. Those hands trembled slightly. She felt powerful as a woman and liked that feeling, a lot.

She’d always believed herself ineffectual as a lover, and yet these virile men shook from her touch, from her mouth.

“Penelope, yes.” Alex shivered, and bent over her just slightly as his hips rocked.

“Drink him, sweetheart,” Josh whispered. “Take what he gives you.”

Oh, yes, she wanted to taste him, she wanted to taste them both in this way. She brought her left hand up to gently cup Alex’s sack. Up and down, in and out, she aroused him, and herself. Gently, then stronger, she sucked on him, caressed his balls, begging him to give her his hot, pungent gift.

“Oh, Lordy.” Alex clutched her hair as the first stream of his release shot out of him. She received his seed, wrapping both arms
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around his ass as her mouth sucked it down, pulse after pulse of essence that tasted hot and salty and made her arousal soar.

He jerked and shivered with the force of his orgasm.
I did that for
him.
That knowledge thrilled her, pleasured her in a way that was more than sexual, that warmed a special part of her woman’s soul.

His cock softened, but not completely. He eased himself from her clasp and reached for her.

“Thank you.” He kissed her, and the salute felt almost reverent.

“You’re welcome.” She nuzzled his neck even as Josh ran his hand from her hair, down her back, to her ass.

“My turn for exotic flavors,” he said. When he turned her, she faced him. She opened her mouth for his kiss and ran her hands over his shoulders, down his arms. His flesh felt hot. When she fisted his cock, she found it hot and hard, the tiny eye atop it already oozing liquid.

Josh eased her hand away from him and pressed her body close. It felt so good to rub her breasts against the soft, light pelt covering his chest.