Surrounded [Running to Love 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (5 page)

* * * *

Alistair lay with the slight, silky weight of Jackie in his arms, keenly aware of Ashley’s sonorous breathing immediately behind her. Ash’s cheek rested against his forearm, and each breath made the hairs lift and tingle. He thought he should rest up, too, but every moment seemed too precious to waste in slumber. He listened to his women breathe and filled his nostrils with their different scents and wanted to laugh out loud. Jackie was his, and, by extension, so was Ashley, albeit in a very different context. They were partners. Although Jackie was a partner, too, if not in quite the same way. It was fucking convoluted, but it seemed to work for him. Paddling Jackie had moved him past his shit and onward, and if it hadn’t cleared her conscience, then she would get as many more punishments as required. Watching Jackie pay homage to her lover in such a loving way had moved him deeply, and his possessive and protective instincts surged in a manner that was indescribable.

Jackie hadn’t said anything about being willing to continue, and Ashley actually hadn’t either, but sometimes there was no need for words. He knew his girls’ relationship had been criticized by many and mocked by others, by intolerant and judgmental people, yet they had persevered once they’d committed to one another and were openly together. It was a daily struggle, and yet here they were, willing to add another complicating component to the relationship. Him. Alistair closed his eyes to better bask in the happiness of that fact, even while accepting that people would talk even more. Well, they wouldn’t give his women any grief while he had breath in his body. On that decisive thought, he felt the last bit of tension ease and let himself drift into sleep.

* * * *

“We aren’t out of the woods yet, ’Stair.” Ash’s casual comment broke his early morning pleasing train of thought, and he focused on her. He set his cup down on the utilitarian coffee table. Ashley lounged on the leather sofa directly across from him, the robe she’d worn the previous evening tied tightly around her slender waist. Her legs were tucked beneath her, and she cradled her beaker of coffee in both hands, taking a sip of the black stuff while she watched him over the rim.

“I’m aware, Ashley. I lived next door to her for over half my life. She has that Catholic guilt going on. Her brother’s the same, and the things we did overseas didn’t mitigate it an iota.” Dave was a pretty liberal guy, considering. Witness how he accepted ’Stair’s sexual proclivities and didn’t blow the whistle on Jackie’s orientation. But Dave hadn’t fared well since being discharged, and the last Alistair had heard, his friend was studying with the Jesuits or somebody. He hoped it was the Jesuits and not some kind of cult. He wished Dave peace and understanding if such a thing were possible.

“She’s my life, ’Stair. But she was incomplete. I’m still a little pissed that she withheld her involvement with you. I think I knew it that night though. The look on your face!”

“What look? I didn’t let on. I followed her lead.”

Ashley snorted inelegantly. “Right. Jackie turned into someone I’d never seen before, and you were off balance. First time I ever saw you that way. It was like high school again. I can’t believe I didn’t put it together sooner. God knows Max hinted at it often enough. That boy comes across as prescient or something, but I think he just reads people well. Comes from being on the outside looking in.”

He shifted in his chair, absolutely ignoring her comments about Max. He was uncomfortable with the idea that
Ash
had read him so easily and then shook it off. He’d get used to it. He’d just heard something in her voice and final comment that alerted him to the fact that she, too, had a history, and they would really need to get to know one another better seeing as they’d be living together. He and Ash had always gotten along, but now their camaraderie was a total must. He forced a smile and felt it morph into a far more natural expression. He experienced a sense of amazement. Ash had teased him, and he actually found he liked it. Another symbolic door creaked open deep inside, and an even deeper feeling of warmth crept over him, yet he didn’t feel like a pussy. And speaking of pussy, he recalled opening his eyes that morning and how his breath hitched in his chest when he smelled Jackie’s hair, her head tucked under his chin. He had just soaked in the moment, imprinting the feel of her against him. She mustn’t have stirred all night, and his right arm was asleep, numb yet aching. He’d have cut it off if it meant Jackie never leaving his bed ever again. The urge to push up inside of her, wake her with his fucking, was almost overwhelming.

He had then looked up, and Ash’s ice-blue eyes locked with his, right over Jackie’s shoulder. He had a feeling they would be seeing a lot of one another in this manner. She quirked a brow and eased away from her sleeping body, and off the bed. He watched her head into the bathroom and admired her athletic length, even if he had no urge to be sexual with her. Who knew? Who knew that Alistair Frayne would end up in bed with two women and only want to fuck one of them? It was indeed a strange form of monogamy. He certainly wanted to fuck the one lying in his arms, sleeping the rest of the well pleasured, but accepted that his morning wood would just have to wait. He and Ashley should take this time to talk.

Extricating himself from Jackie took some doing. She whined under her breath and hitched after his warmth, and he tucked the bedding snugly around her, then stood, working out the pins and needles in his arm, looking down on her with a sense of awe. She was his once again. Well, theirs, his, and Ash’s. He marveled at the golden, gossamer strands of her hair, all awry from drying without the benefit of a blow dryer or a brush, and his eyes followed the curve of her cheek and the drift of her long, dark lashes, her sooty brows, so at odds with her hair. Her full lips pursed, and his cock lurched and suggested that he and Ash could talk later, that there was more important business at hand, but he made himself find some control. Jackie again muttered in her sleep and curled up into little ball. He hurriedly drew another covering up over her, wishing he had something other than plain cotton sheets and scratchy blankets to offer, but he never brought women back to his quarters. All the luxury was reserved for the Club. He had a sense of being watched and realized Ashley was back and had donned the robe. He tried not to look like a love-struck idiot and knew he failed hugely when he caught her tender smile as he passed her on the way to make his own morning ablutions. He heard her moving around in the kitchen. Jackie slept on.

“Anyhow, I think we need to start out as we mean to finish, ’Stair.”

He came back to the conversation in a rush. His brain was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than climbing back into bed with Jackie. “So you and I make the decisions and Jackie falls into line?”

Ashley burst into laughter and tried to smother it behind her coffee. “Good luck with that, my friend. Can you say, ‘core of steel’?”

“I can, and I’m glad you are aware of it, too. This will probably be the second and last of any conversation that involves our future relationship without including her. Except for the sexual stuff we plan to surprise her with from time to time.” He and Ashley had talked at length behind Jackie’s back, once he’d accepted his wonderful fate, because it was the right thing to do. They both wanted the same thing for her, had her best interest at heart, but he thought it would have taken all of Ashley’s expertise to calm Jackie down when she’d told her about that meeting of the minds. He didn’t want to speculate how it could have turned out, that Jackie could have taken umbrage, felt betrayed, and walked out on Ash. But Ash had taken the risk, knowing that Jackie needed her to do it, and somehow things had accumulated in last night’s togetherness, albeit with negotiations that would have intimidated any diplomat. He checked a smirk at how much of that had fallen by the wayside once they got their hands on her naked body.

“I agree, unless she does something insane and we need to reel her in. She does that sometimes, and I’m freaking well pleased that you’ll be there to help set her straight. Jackie gets ideas in her head that make sense to no one but her, and the fallout can be a trial.”

“She puts herself at risk? Isn’t safe?” Alistair heard the bite of terror that spawned deadly possession and intent in his voice, and Ash looked a bit startled.

“Not exactly. But she sometimes gets into situations that could turn ugly because of her big heart and sense of fair play. She can get into trouble at the market or the movies. I’ll tease her about them from time to time so you can get a sense of what I mean. I remonstrate with her, and she’s like, ‘It all turned out fine, Ashley, so let’s drop it, okay?’ when I’m freaked out.”

He didn’t really know what
situations
she was referring to, but he couldn’t wait to find out. Now that Jackie was back in his life, he wasn’t taking any chances. “I’ll look forward to the education, partner.”

“That’s what we are, ’Stair. Partners. But know that I am really fond of you, too.”

“Same. I guess we need to talk about living arrangements and stuff.” He gestured around his set of rooms. “I’m not attached to this place. It’s handy to run the Club from, and maybe we can keep it for someplace to stay over some nights we play. Free up a member room, because I want to make up for lost time.”

“The Ritz it isn’t, buddy. But Jackie makes any place a home, so suck it up when the curtains appear and the thread count rises on the linens. Stuff like that. I’m not real girlie, but I can appreciate it. She’s even picking out my clothes, and I like that.”

Alistair felt a bit overwhelmed. Jackie had always been a determined, tenacious kid who persevered to get her own way even as she was unfailingly sweet and kind, and he could see his well-ordered life changing. Well, change was good for the most part, but he had to draw the line someplace. “I’m in charge in the bedroom, Ash,” he heard himself grit out.

“No problem. I’m the more dominant between Jackie and I, and I think I’ll make a fine assistant. She wouldn’t even attend scenes here because of what it awakened in her and the fact that I’m not so inclined. Although, I’ll confess that your dealing with her last night made me freaking hot. It must be the people involved, eh? But I’m just saying about the rest of it. Be prepared, my friend. Our little woman is a pistol. It’s funny you don’t recall her temper.”

“Nobody says I don’t recall it, Ash. I just never had to deal with it. But I’m not afraid to.” He got up and went to pour more coffee for them, and they sat quietly and waited for the little pistol to drag her little butt out of bed.

Jackie woke to an empty bed and a faint smell of coffee. Her initial reaction was that of disappointment, and then she realized that they’d left her alone to rest. She wondered that they weren’t as drained as her, but then they had shared the burden, she supposed. Well, she was a burden no longer. She stretched and winced at the tenderness in her buttocks. ’Stair had given her an erotic spanking all those years ago, and she’d really liked it. Last night had been intense, if emotionally draining, and the other parts of the evening had been pretty wonderful. Her dues were paid.

She rolled carefully out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She used the facilities and washed up. While she was drying her hands on the crappy little towel, she stood on her toes to scrutinize her bottom in the mirror over the sink, craning her neck to do so. The skin was still pink with a few places that actually looked bruised. She tentatively touched one of those and involuntarily hissed.

“Sore?”

Jackie barely bit back a shriek. Alistair was leaning casually against the doorjamb, looking totally buff and hot in a pair of boxers. Jackie’s keen fashion eye immediately assessed them as cotton jersey, and she made a mental note to have a look through his closet and drawers before she left today. He probably had several pairs of leathers and some okay shirts for the Club, but he would look marvelous in some nice jeans and…

“Honey?” She was doing it again, getting ahead of herself, and she was standing in his bathroom, stark naked, her hair a classic case of bed head, and Alistair was waiting for an answer.

“A little. Good morning. I’ll just get cleaned up and make those waffles Ashley promised!” She edged a little closer to the shower curtain, wondering if she could kind of casually pull it around her. It was nuts that she felt shy after last night when he’d seen more of her than ever before, but he was looking like he wanted to have
her
for breakfast, and it was overwhelming. Alistair moved like a cat and enveloped her in a warm embrace, immediately reassuring her. He kissed her hard and then turned her back toward the sink.

“Lean over, darlin’.” He reached above her and opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out two small bottles. It felt surreal. She was in ’Stair’s bathroom, over his sink, presenting her buttocks to him, and the shyness simply disappeared. The coolness of the blue bottle’s contents made her flinch for a second, and then the soreness seemed to lift. Alistair gently applied some more, and she relaxed with his ministrations.

“Ash? Bring me the bigger plug, will you?”

She straightened so fast that she stepped on his toes, and he caught her around the waist with one arm. She felt his erection in the small of her back and shivered with awareness despite her anxiety about Alistair’s preoccupation with her anus. “I’m not so sure about another plug, ’Stair.”

“Not asking, Jackie. I’m taking that ass in the next while, and you need to be stretched. Now, lean over the sink again.”

She debated refusing, pushing him a little, but saw his intent face reflected back at her in the mirror, his eyes hot with desire but also full of love. She let him position her and resigned herself. Ash washed the new plug right in front of her as Alistair worked lube into her bottom hole. Ash winked, and Jackie pretended not to see. If this anal stuff felt okay, then she’d introduce Ashley to the fun. And even if it didn’t.