Beyond Jealousy (23 page)

Ace pumped two fingers into her, and
Christ
, she was wet, hot, and melting. Knowing the pain got her going was one thing, but feeling the proof as she clenched around his fingers short-circuited his fucking brain.

He tried to hide it, to sound casual, but his voice came out rough around the edges. As growly as Cruz usually sounded, and he didn't care. "Closer. Don't tell, beautiful girl. Beg. Beg for his cock, and for another chance to make him come all over your pretty face."

She turned her head and looked up at Cruz. "Please," she whispered--ready, eager. "I want you in my mouth while Ace fucks me."

You couldn't be on the receiving end of that stare and not feel like the luckiest bastard in all eight sectors. It sure as hell worked on Cruz--he didn't even glance at Ace for approval before shifting to kneel in front of her.

She reached for him immediately, wrapping one hand around the base of his cock with a satisfied purr. "Beautiful."

"No lie." Ace squeezed her ass before settling behind her and edging her knees apart. "Slide your other hand between your thighs, Rae. I want to see your fingers on your clit when I spank you again."

She didn't move.

Oh
hell
, no.

A growl slipped free as he wrapped one hand in her hair and dragged her head back until he could lean over and meet her eyes. "Is that how it is, Rae? He gets all the sweetness and I get the brat?"

"Could be." But she reached down anyway. She whimpered, her pupils dilating with pleasure. "How sweet do you want me?"

"I didn't say I wanted you sweet." He bent lower, so she'd feel every word as a tickle of warmth across her lips. "Cruz can keep it. I know what to do with a bad girl."

"Mmm. You make her come." She shuddered and licked his mouth, moaning as she pumped her hand up and down the length of Cruz's dick. "Make her beg."

"Uh-uh." He caught her wrist and--with a silent apology to Cruz--hauled her hand away from his shaft. "You can fuck yourself with as many of your own fingers as you can take, but bad girls don't get cock. Not in their hands, not in their mouths, not until their own fingers aren't enough and they promise to be very, very good so they'll get very, very fucked."

She groaned in protest. "Cruz--"

Ace pulled back and let her cast those imploring eyes on Cruz, and lust flared when the other man pressed his thumb to her mouth. "Maybe I'm not the only one going too softly with you. I know you want to be sweet. But you want what he gives the bad girls, too, don't you?"

"Every day." Her throat worked as she swallowed. "Every
breath
."

Cruz lifted his gaze to Ace's, and the world swam out of focus as Rachel trembled between them, soft and, yeah, sweet. He'd gone easy on her because, even now, even reminding himself every fucking second that this wasn't a dream--

It couldn't be real.

None of this could. Not Cruz wanting them both--wanting to share and be shared. Not Rachel, hungry for pain and dominance, starving for everything he'd always wanted to give her. Cruz might have been holding back out of shame, but Ace...

Sheer fucking disbelief.

Another twist tightened his grip in her hair. Rough--too rough, maybe, bringing tears to the corners of her eyes--but he leaned down and found her ear. "Eden. If it's too much, that's what you say. Eden. You understand?"

She nodded, short and quick, restrained by his hand in her hair. "I understand."

He released her without warning, letting her pitch forward, knowing Cruz would be there. And he was, catching her like they'd done this a hundred times. In tune now, on the same wavelength.

He spread one huge hand wide and pressed Rachel's cheek to the mattress. "I don't think the rest of your spanking's going to be very sweet," he said, and Rachel's answering moan was one of blatant, unguarded approval.

Of lust.

So it wasn't sweet at all. Ace straightened and ran his hands down her thighs to haul them even wider. She still had her fingers between her legs, three of them arousal-slicked and shaking, and Ace fell into the moment--the
thrill
.

She'd do anything to please him.

He covered her hand with his and forced her fingers deeper. "Don't you dare stop fucking this pussy. You don't get to suck Cruz's cock again until he's bored of watching you come. And you're going to come, aren't you? All over your own hand, again and again, because the only thing that'll get you off harder than this is when we do it to you at Dallas's next party."

Rachel sucked in a breath and tensed. "In front of everyone?"

"Oh yeah." He rocked his hand over hers, forcing the heel of her palm against her clit. "Noelle will be so fucking jealous, watching you squirm, watching you take it. Lex will be jealous, too--jealous of me."

"She can't have me." Rachel's husky declaration trembled, just like her fingers. "Only the two of you."

"That's right," Cruz said, low and intense, and Ace knew from the look in his eyes that there wouldn't be any wild parties anytime soon where Lex and Noelle crawled all over Rachel and made everyone's day. In time, Cruz might loosen up and roll with the O'Kane version of free love.

Or maybe not. Bren sure as fuck hadn't. A man who thought he'd slide a hand up Six's leg was risking life and limb, and Cruz might always be the same way--wildly, insanely possessive.

It was a whole lot hotter from the inside.

Rachel must have thought so, too. She whimpered again, obviously close to the edge, and Ace had waited long enough. She was warmed up, squirming, ready...

Theirs.

She moaned with the first strike, and this time he gave her no mercy. Just the heat and sting she craved, kindling a fire in them both which went far beyond the physical impact of his palm against her skin. Her cries rose this time, louder with every slap. Her legs shook, and her back arched as she worked her fingers in and out of her pussy.

"Harder," Cruz whispered, so softly Ace almost didn't hear him over Rachel's choked noises and the crack of his hand on her ass. But the word slipped under his skin, temptation and permission, because it didn't matter if he was on the edge. Cruz was right there, attuned to Rachel, observant and strong enough to protect them all.

So he gave her what she wanted. He gave her more.

Her shaking turned to shudders, and her scream drowned out everything else, buzzing in Ace's ears as she tipped over the edge.

Just like that, not being inside her was the worst decision he'd made in his entire fucking life.

She was coming so hard she was still shaking when he tugged her wet fingers away and gripped his cock. Her pussy was still clenching, too, hot and tight as he fucked deep, and she hissed in a choked breath as she slammed back against him.

She was whispering, too, hungry, pleading words that barely penetrated the haze of lust in his brain. Begging, just like she'd promised. Cruz lifted her chin up and cut off her entreaties with a kiss so soft and sweet, it made the words that followed even more obscene. "Open for me. Show me you want Ace to fuck you onto my cock."

She did, tilting her head like Ace had shown her so that Cruz could drive deep, and Ace's hands were goddamn
trembling
as he wrapped them around her waist just above the flare of her hips.

Cruz fisted his cock, rubbing the head against Rachel's lips as he pushed between them, and Ace used his grip to ease her forward, off his dick and onto Cruz's.

Rachel moaned and picked up the rhythm, shivering with pleasure as she rocked between them, welcoming them both into the blisteringly seductive heat of her body. He barely had to touch her--she'd fuck them both just like this, loving it because she was taking them.

But loving it more if
they
took
her
.

He let her sway forward one more time and moved with her, just a few inches, but it made all the difference when she tried to rock back. She was trapped now, filled no matter which way she moved, and Ace let her express her approval with a sharp, muffled squeal before tightening his grip on her and fucking her in earnest.

Fast, hard, plunging into her, and he had to cling to sanity the first time he drove her forward so hard she gagged on Cruz's cock. Walking the edge was one thing, but slipping over--

Her pussy felt like fucking heaven, squeezing down around him. But the goal was
her
, her pleasure, her fantasy, her desire to live and breathe the raw truth of possession, and he and Cruz couldn't forget that.

But Jesus, it was hard. Harder the second time she gagged and strained into it, harder when another thrust pushed Cruz past her gag reflex and she swallowed him, yielding and clenching and so full, Ace almost envied her.

It was Cruz who shoved them over the edge, dragging her off his dick by the hair. He dropped his other hand lower, over her clit. His fingers brushed the base of Ace's cock, and he and Rachel both moaned when Cruz rasped his command. "One more time, honey. Come one more time, and bring him with you."

"I--I
can't
--" A whimper cut through the words. Her chest heaved with panting breaths, and she grasped at them, one hand on Ace's hip and the other on Cruz's chest. "Please--"

Cruz let go of her hair and put his fingers around her throat, a sight that tightened pleasure at the base of Ace's spine. He was close, so close, and he shifted his grip, trying to fuck her to orgasm as Cruz growled in her ear. "You can, and you will. Let go. I have you."

The words melted her resistance, and she clutched at Cruz's hand, holding it in place as she cried out. The first convulsions swept through her, clamping her inner muscles tight around Ace's cock, and for the first time in his life, he couldn't think of an obscenity filthy enough to capture this moment.

Then release broke over him, and he couldn't think at all.

Pleasure pulsed through him, sweeping everything before it, everything but the visual. His hands digging into pale flesh as he ground deep and came, Rachel's blonde hair falling wildly around her shoulders, her head tilted back, her throat caught in Cruz's grip. And his other hand--

They were all getting off together, Cruz jerking his fist over his dick, Rachel writhing in their grip, Ace shuddering as she kept clenching, kept
coming
.

Maybe it was possible to fuck yourself to death. That would explain his current out-of-body experience.

They ended up sprawled across the bed in a tangle of limbs. Ace panted against Rachel's hair as Cruz stroked her body, and the only shock was when the other man managed to disengage long enough to get a warm, damp towel from the bathroom.

Even badass Cruz was walking a little shaky. That could make a man smug almost as fast as the way Rachel curled against him, tucking her head into the space beneath his chin.

Then she spoke--slow and dazed, soft with pleasure. "You think I was caught up in the moment, but I meant it."

His brain was sluggish. It took forever for him to figure out what she meant, and when he did, the import hit him all over again.

I love you.

He made a soothing noise, brushing her hair back from her sweaty cheek, touching her softly. "We've always loved each other, angel. Just promise me you don't hate me anymore."

"No." She smiled against his skin as Cruz smoothed the towel over her abdomen. "I was hurting and said stupid things, but I never hated you."

Ace kept touching her, teasing the strands of her hair straight while Cruz gently eased the plug free of her body. This was what he'd been missing, the lack that had crashed in on him that last time with Bren and Six. Watching Bren go soft around the edges as he ran his hands over Six's trembling form, every touch sweetly possessive and so painfully private Ace hadn't needed to leave. He'd disappeared while standing there, because the only way to get an invite to that secret world was to already belong there.

He hadn't. Not with Bren and Six, not with Noelle and Jas, not with Dallas and Lex. They could be generous and welcoming and reach out with every good intention, but they'd never see him in those first telling seconds.

Rachel saw him. So did Cruz. The other man proved it as he slid into bed, curling around Rachel's back. His other hand settled on Ace's waist, a possessive weight. Warmth and comfort. Acceptance.

Every needy, lost part of him wanted to call it love.

It would have been more comforting if he hadn't told Rachel the truth: it
was
easy to love him in the beginning. The countdown was back, clicking in his head with every thump of his heart, and the worst part was not knowing how long he had left, or how much more lost he'd be when time ran out.

"So. Here we are. Finally."

Jared had never seen Dallas O'Kane look quite this smug--which was a feat, considering he'd been to a handful of the man's parties and watched him play king to an adoring court more times than he could count.

Dallas leaned back in his chair, watching him with a mixture of curiosity and satisfaction, undoubtedly certain that this time he'd finally managed to lure him into the O'Kane web.

"Don't get too excited," Jared warned. "Ace said you were looking for information. I happen to have information."

"Do you, now?" Dallas grunted and reached for a silver cigarette case. "I wondered if he'd asked, to be honest. But I get it. You two have history."

"Enough for him to know that he can ask me anything, even though I might not be able to answer."

Dallas nodded his understanding. "But this time you can."

"After a fashion. One of my clients frequents an underground bar. A speakeasy." Jared smiled. Such a quaint word, an old one O'Kane might not even know. He enjoyed his freedom in the sectors, so much that the furtive language of Eden's more clandestine circles could easily elude him.

But Dallas surprised him, huffing out a laugh as he flicked open his lighter. "So it's Prohibition time in Eden, huh? Everything old is new again."

"Mmm." Of course he got the historical reference. The man might pride himself on his outlaw image, but he wasn't a stupid brute. "Imagine my friend's surprise when the bar was offering O'Kane liquor on her last visit."