21 Marine Salute: 21 Always a Marine Tales (40 page)

Her gaze flicked back and forth between them. “I’d love it.”

Zach released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Logan steadied her chair, and she sat, slowly and gracefully. Her skirt scooted up over her legs and bared a portion of her thigh. In an effort not to swallow his tongue, he forced his attention to ride back up to her face. The little minx grinned at him.

Hot damn, was their Jazz back after a day at a spa? If he’d suspected that effect, they would have made arrangements for it a whole lot sooner.

“Did you have a good day?” Logan elbowed him into moving again and followed so they loaded up the plates.

“It was interesting. I would never have imagined Lauren and James. He’s so quiet and she’s so…enthusiastic. But she’s fun, too. I’m guessing none of the beer is for me, huh?” The question tweaked Zach’s guilt, but her dry humor eased the sting.

“Not yet.” Logan pointed to the veggies. Jazz liked her veggies, but Zach waved him off and added the lobster tail to the steak. The woman preferred her meat.

“Boring.” Her amusement turned them both around, but she held a glass of water and drank it. “I can’t do the bottle trick if I’m stuck with water.”

Zach laughed. “You don’t need tricks.” They carried the plates back and set them up, taking their seats on either side of her. The romantic setting was unsettling. He preferred the diner or their own kitchen table. But Lagniappes served a purpose, too.

“Oh, sweet. I’ll be big as a barn when I’m done.” Not that it slowed her down from claiming her fork and knife. She cut into the steak, and Zach watched the knife in her right hand, cautious. It trembled. He flexed his fingers around the chilled beer bottle and ignored Logan’s kick under the table. They weren’t supposed to hover.

But he also didn’t want her hand to spasm, slip, and cut her.

When she lifted a piece to her mouth, he relaxed his vigilant watch and met Logan’s narrowed gaze. Her groan went straight to his cock, and he shifted his weight in the seat to ease the pressure on his balls.

“This is excellent. How did you get the owner to let us eat on a night when they’re closed?”

“We know people.” Logan grinned. Zach admired how easily Logan fell into this role. His relaxed posture and easy expressions belied the man who scowled and worried that she would say ‘no’ earlier.

“Yeah? You going to introduce me?” Jazz took a sip of water before transferring her attention to the lobster tail.

“Eventually. Damon’s out with his lady tonight, so he gave us run of the restaurant. I’m pretty sure he fixed most of the food, though.” He forced an exhale between his teeth and set to work on cutting his own meat. Across the table, Logan did the same. “We mentioned we wanted to do something special and take you out on a date, so he did us a solid.”

Her fork paused midway to her mouth. The hesitation lasted only a couple of seconds, but he noticed it all the same. “Okay, I’ll bite. Date?”

“You know, two or more getting together for a social event to explore the possibility of romance? Emphasis on the exploration aspect.”

Zach nearly choked on his beer at Logan’s amused delivery.

“I see, so your plan is to wine me, dine me, and sixty-nine me?” The challenge in her voice didn’t escape either of them. Logan sat forward and Zach’s cock stiffened enthusiastically. He could handle all of the above.

“Something like that.”

Way to vague that up, Logan
.

“Interesting.” But she didn’t look at them, her concentration on her food as she cut another piece of steak. Worry nibbled along the back of Zach’s mind. Maybe Logan was right. Maybe she did want out.

“Not really. We’d do this for you every night, but you haven’t been ready.” Time to cut through the crap. “Or at least we didn’t think you were.”

“So why tonight? What made you decide that I was
up
for it tonight?” Jazz examined another bite. Her mild tone rang a warning bell in Zach’s mind. He glanced at Logan, but his friend stared at Jazz and didn’t see the question on his face.

“Because you seem to have the idiotic impression that this can’t work, and we’re not in a relationship for the long haul.”

Zach winced.
Yeah, that’s gonna come back to bite us
.

The setting, the food, even the way they were dressed, left her tingling in anticipation. It was hard to mistake the naked heat in Zach’s expression for anything but lust and affection. Logan’s casual touches, a brush of his thumb across her bare arm, and the stroke of his fingers at the nape of her neck as she sat down, intensified the emotions surging in her belly. Even the food tasted of seduction. She fully intended to broach the topic of their relationship, what she desired out of it, what she hoped, and how they could make it work. But the luxurious setting, the meal, and their formal dress threw her an unexpected curve ball.

She couldn’t bring herself to spoil their efforts. At least until Logan went on the offensive. Setting her fork and knife down, she dabbed at her mouth—careful to not remove the lipstick—and focused on the intensity blazing in Logan’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. My ‘what’ impression?” He deserved the opportunity to revise that statement.

“What Logan meant to say is, we’re concerned about where you believe this relationship between us is headed. We would like to have a chance to discuss it, over dinner.” Zach’s attempt at peacemaker might have worked, but Logan snorted.

“No, that isn’t what Logan meant to say.” His use of the third person in reference to himself might have been funny, except that his tone was anything but. “You questioned our honor and our integrity.”

“I did not.” Her own temper kindled under the heat sparking in Logan’s. “I said I didn’t know how this could work or how I could choose between you.”

“You don’t have to choose, Jazz. Ease up, Logan.” Zach’s peacemaking barely put a dent in the smoke rising from the impending conflagration.

“That’s easy to say right now. I get it. You both help me and you’ve both been amazing. But how the hell do we make this work long term? I’m still fighting a wheelchair and my brain. You two think we can just set up house until…what? You each meet a woman who only wants you? Then what happens?” Fear sank its teeth into her spine. “I fucked Logan last night, so by those terms, I should fuck Zach tonight. But taking turns only delays the inevitable.”

Had she really thought they would be a threesome? It was hardly legal, definitely not moral, and the ethics involved were so skewed, they gave her a headache.

“You don’t have to choose, woman.” Logan’s hand cracked down on the table and made the glasses jump. “We’ve all but told you that. We’re a package deal. It’s both of us or neither of us.”

Her spine stiffened at the threat in his words. Logan painted a very black and white picture. But they didn’t live in a black and white world.

“Then maybe I should move out of the apartment until we sort this out.” Her voice was eerie calm. Calmer than she was, at least, and betrayed none of the turmoil knotting in her belly. Her appetite vanished in the heat of the battle, and what little food she’d consumed sat in her stomach like a rock.

“Enough.” Zach’s voice cracked like a whip through the tension. Jazz jerked her gaze to him, and his glare seemed to encompass both her and Logan. “This was not supposed to be a fight or an accusation. It’s about resolving the issues between us, putting our cards and on the table, and deciding on a plan to get what we want—what all
three
of us want.”

Jazz refused to fidget, but the muscle ticking in Zach’s jaw betrayed his tension. Logan’s noisy exhale dragged her attention to him. His tight expression revealed the struggle to hold onto his temper.

“Now, Jazz. Truth or dare?”

She twisted in her seat and met the challenge rising in Zach’s blue eyes. They gleamed with focus, and if she were less a Marine, she might even have squirmed under the harsh attention.

“What?” She regulated her breathing and flexed her hands against the napkin. She wasn’t sure she could eat more at the moment, not with the agitation churning in her gut.

“Truth or dare?” Zach repeated, the corner of his mouth slipping up into a smile. “It’s a game. I’m sure you recall the rules.”

“Dare.” If he wanted to play a game, fine. She’d play.

“I dare you to kiss Logan and make up.” His lashes lowered in challenge.

“All right.” She shoved her chair back and tossed her napkin down. With a hell of a lot more control than she felt, she stood and looked down at Logan. He pushed his own chair back, staring at her. Defiance stiffened her spine and she met his glare. He wanted a kiss, by God, she’d give him a kiss.

Her right foot dragged, hitching her step, and she braced herself with a hand on his shoulder. He clamped a grip down on her hip and a thrill shivered over her nerves as she leaned down and brushed her lips against his. She intended for it to be a soft, quick peck. But his grip shifted and skated up her spine, and she all but fell into his lap. His mouth opened, and his tongue invaded her mouth.

A rush of heat stabbed at her senses, and he took possession of the kiss, demanding her response. He caught the back of her head in a gentle but immovable hold. His tongue stroked hers, twined around it. The kiss tasted of anger—but also of need and desire. He demanded her attention, her acquiescence, and her affection.

Just as quickly as the blaze consumed her, so did the gentle way he held her, steady and solid. She would never fall while he had his arms around her. His temper gave way to teasing and when he sucked on her tongue, pulling it against his teeth, pleasure rippled from her breasts to her sex. When he pulled his head back, his eyes were dark with want.

“Your turn.” The husky timbre skated across her skin like a caress. She glanced over at Zach. He watched them both with a satisfied expression, but his blue eyes were blazing hot.

She tried to clear her throat, but a lump of emotion and desire seemed to be clogging her voice. “Truth or dare?”

“To which one of us, sweetheart?” Zach licked the lobster bite from his fingers, and she stared at his tongue action. Her thighs trembled. God, they really did turn her upside down with almost no effort.

“You.” She managed to force the word out. Logan’s hand cupped her ass as he settled her on his lap. She should climb out of it, but she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her after that.

“Hmm.” Zach took a swallow of beer. “Truth.”

Her mind blanked. “Um…how did my kissing Logan make you feel?”

His slow grin seemed answer enough, but he leaned forward and pinned her against Logan with his gaze. “Hot. Turned on. Stiff as a board. Watching you kiss him is sexy as hell.”

The words and the look set a wave of wet heat through her. She longed to kiss him. To stoke the flames burning in her belly until they all caught fire. She loved them both. She wanted to touch and be touched, to kiss and be kissed, and be naked and to strip them down. The night before with Logan was just the beginning. She needed to touch him—them—more.

“Logan, truth or dare.” Zach cut another piece of steak and reached over to tease her lips with it. She opened her mouth and took the bite, never looking away from him as she chewed.

Behind her, Logan laughed. “Truth.”

“How do you feel about the orgasms I gave her a few weeks ago?” The dry delivery accompanied by the wryness in his smile sent a squirm of need through her. He had given her orgasms in that shower. Several of them. The light touch of his fingers, the rasp of the washcloth and her body went to putty. Beneath her, Logan’s cock stiffened against her bottom.

“Hmm…a little desperate to finish what you started.” Logan’s breath tickled her cheek and she cut her gaze back to him. “Truth or dare, cupcake?”

“Cupcake?”

“Hmm-hmm. Sweet and glossy frosting that I want to lick off.”

Holy shit, desire rode through her, and now she definitely wanted to be naked. She boiled from the inside out.

She should say truth. They needed this conversation. Truth. She would say truth. “Dare.”

“Give me your panties and go sit in Zach’s lap.” The words conjured Vegas. The way he’d knelt down in front of her and stripped her panties off with his teeth. The warmth of his breath and the caress of his lips. The rasp of his stubble against the inside of her thigh. The soft kiss of his mouth to her clit.

Her stomach tightened. She’d have to stay in Logan’s lap to get the panties off, standing wasn’t really an option. “Can I have help for my dare?”

Logan’s arms tightened around her, and he shifted her until she sat with her back to his chest and his erection lay against the seam of her ass. Her stomach plummeted with need, and she fought to concentrate. Logan’s fingers splayed against her thighs and rolled her skirt up.

Zach rose from his chair and circled the table. He hooked his fingers into her panties and peeled them down. She had to lift her hips and ground softly against Logan’s erection in the process. Chill air teased her heated pussy. She wasn’t the only one affected, though. The Marine holding her groaned, and Zach let loose with a low whistle.

“Someone’s wet.” He rolled her panties up and stuck them in his pocket. She didn’t think she was going to need them anytime soon. He held out a hand to her. Standing took a hell of a lot more effort. He claimed her chair and pulled her into his lap. His fingers caressed up the inside of her thigh until they rested against her sex. The pressure was a torment, because he neither stroked nor pressed his advantage.

“It’s your turn to choose, sweetheart.” Zach’s breath tickled her ear, and she caught Logan’s look as he stared at Zach’s hand.

“Truth or dare, Logan.” Her nipples tightened in anticipation.

“Truth.” His hungry stare threatened to gobble her up.

The hell with choices. She wanted them both. “What do you want Zach to do now that I’m in his lap?”

Logan grinned slowly. “Well, he could strip the rest of your clothes off and take his time with your breasts. Tease your nipples until those hard little peaks are flushed pink and ready to be sucked. Or maybe move his hand a little, press down on your clit while he strokes your pussy. Hmm…or better, spread your thighs so I can stare at you and watch while he thrusts his fingers inside and starts stretching you, gets you really wet and slick and ready for his cock.”