Finished (20 page)

Mike wasted no time in returning to the bed. He stretched out on his back while Julia draped herself along the side of his body, carefully avoiding his bandaged shoulder.

They kissed for a long time, their tongues playing together intimately while Mike stroked her body with one hand. He tasted minty, like toothpaste. And she supposed she did too.

She was fully aroused when she finally pulled up, breaking the press of their lips. “We’ll have to be careful.”

“Screw careful.” Mike’s eyes were hot and demanding, and he’d hardened all the way against her thigh.

When she frowned at him, he retracted his reckless response. “I’ll be good,” he promised. “I’ll lay here without moving like a good boy.”

She couldn’t suppress a choked laugh, but she tried to give him a reproving look. “I’m serious. I don’t want you to get any more hurt.”

He smiled up at her, so dear and Mike-like that she almost melted into a puddle of sentiment on the bed. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too. But remember what the doctor said. Don’t get too enthusiastic.”

There was a lilt to her last words, which were offset by the way she slowly slid her robe off her shoulders, baring her naked body.

Mike’s gaze raked over her possessively, lingering on her breasts and her pussy. Something in the flare of his eyes told her that he was conscious that he was the only one allowed to see her like this now.

It meant something to Julia too, she realized. Made even the gesture of stripping private, intimate, in a way it hadn’t been before.

“Right,” he said thickly. “I won’t get too enthusiastic.”

She giggled softly as she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his boxers, pulling them down his legs when he lifted his hips slightly off the mattress.

His cock was fully erect, and she took it in both of her hands, caressing it gently and loving the way his belly shuddered in response.

After teasing him a little, she straddled his hips and poised herself over his groin. She was wet and ready for him, and neither of them had the energy for extended foreplay today.

She let Mike hold himself in place while she took his cock into her body, moaning softly at the feel of the familiar penetration.

She paused when she’d taken him in as deeply as she could. He filled her completely, stretching and stimulating her deliciously.

Mike released a long, slow groan and moved his head restlessly on the pillow. He kept the arm of his injured shoulder carefully bent and still, and the other hand was gripping a handful of the flesh at her hip.

“You all right?” she asked breathlessly, her senses on edge and fighting the urge to ride him.

He groaned again, arching his back slightly. He didn’t have the control he normally had, and something about it was unbelievably sexy. “You’re not going to ask me that after every move, are you?” he asked when he’d gotten a hold on himself.

“Maybe.” She raised and lowered her thighs in a little rock, and both of them let out their breaths at the way his cock slid inside her clinging pussy. “Are you complaining?”

“Hell, no. Ask all you want.”

For some reason, this made both of them laugh. Mike’s body shook beneath her, and his hips gave a few jerky thrusts up before he’d pulled himself together. “Sorry,” he said. “Almost lost it there.”

The echo of memory made emotion rise up into Julia’s throat. She leaned down, his cock still sheathed inside her, took his face in her hands, and kissed him deeply.

He returned the kiss, although he grunted at the shift in position which changed the angle of his penetration inside her abruptly.

Julia couldn’t stop kissing him, pressing her lips over and over against his. She felt like she wanted to swallow him, like she couldn’t bear for him to ever pull away. It seemed so hard to believe that Drayton wouldn’t be walking in the door, wouldn’t be joining them, wouldn’t be breaking into their privacy.

Finally, Mike said, “Baby, I love you too. You know I do.”

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled, tugging on his lower lip with both of hers.

When he could speak again, he continued, “But if you want to come today, it’s going to have to be now. I’m not going to make it much longer.”

The bland self-deprecation in his voice broke into her almost desperate hunger. “Right,” she said. “I definitely want to come.” She straightened up, leaning back slightly so she could rest her hands on his clenched thighs.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She grinned down at him. “You’re weak and sickly, after all.”

He scowled at her good-naturedly, but it disappeared as soon as she began to rock over him. “Definitely weak and sickly,” he gritted out, devouring her face and body with his eyes.

She wanted to giggle again, but she had to shift concentration. Bracing herself on his thighs, she leaned backward some so that his cock would hit her g-spot. Then she started to ride him for real, bouncing over him in a fast, shameless rhythm.

Her damp hair shook around her face, and her breasts jiggled with her motion. Then Mike reached out with his good hand and pressed his thumb against her clit, which was swollen and peeking out from between the folds of her flesh.

She cried out as a tight coil of pleasure deepened inside her. He massaged her clit as she bounced and grunted, and soon an orgasm spiraled up from the stimulation.

Her head fell back as she mewed out her release. And, as Mike continued to rub her clit, she felt another climax well up on the heels of the first.

She came a second time, her body shaking and shuddering as the ripples of pleasure overwhelmed her.

She gasped hoarsely as the contractions finally faded, and saw that Mike’s body was clenched like a fist beneath her. “Now you,” she urged, sustaining the rhythm of her hips over his.

Mike bit back a groan—of relief, she thought—and moved his hand to hold her hips in place. His fingers were strong and rough, so tight on her soft flesh that they hurt just a little.

But she loved the feeling. And loved the feel of his big cock rubbing against her tightened channel. And loved the lingering groan he released as he started to thrust into her from beneath her.

He wasn’t gentle. His thrusts were hard and demanding. But she could take it. She matched his rhythm, and let her fuck her hard from below.

It couldn’t have been easy on his shoulder, but he didn’t seem conscious of any pain.

He gazed at her—hot and needy—until he finally jerked his head with a rough exclamation and came in a series of grunts and clumsy thrusts.

She held herself perfectly still so she could feel his release inside her, and then she watched, tenderly, possessively, as his body softened, loosened, relaxed with the release of the deep tension.

She leaned down into another kiss, and this time she wasn’t hurried or overly anxious. They were together. Just the two of them. And what they’d just done felt, for the first time, like it was truly their own.

She wondered if Mike felt the same way. And realized he probably did from the way he kept murmuring, “Baby.”

Neither of them pulled away until Julia accidentally moved against his shoulder.

“Sorry,” she said, at the cut-off sound of pain he made.

“No problem.”

She reluctantly pulled off of him, letting his sated cock slide out of her wet, overly-sensitive pussy.  Then she settled herself at his side, pleased when he draped his good arm around her protectively.

“It wasn’t too much for you, was it?”

He gave a bark of laughter. “Definitely not too much.”

“Did you hurt your shoulder?”

“Not in any way that matters.”

“Do you want another pain pill?”

“Believe me, I’m feeling no pain.”

She peered down at his face. Then smiled fatuously as she saw it was true. “Okay.” After a moment’s silence, she asked, “That was pretty good, wasn’t it? Particularly given our limitations.”

He didn’t answer. Just pressed a kiss into her hair.

“Don’t you think it was good?” she persisted.

“Yeah,” Mike agreed. “It was a really good beginning.”

Dom Keller had recently been hired as the Director of Marketing in Julia’s company. He’d lived in L.A. before he’d relocated to take the new job, and he made the most of his California attitude. He was smarmy, good-looking in an overly slick way, and always too overdressed for Julia’s taste.

Tonight, she couldn’t keep her eyes away from his cufflinks—large platinum squares he seemed to make a point of flashing beneath the sleeves of his suit.

She’d never liked men like Dom, too entitled and confident of their own charm. And she wasn’t sure how she’d let herself get cornered by him at one of her boss’s parties.

But here she was, pressed up against a large window that looked out onto the backyard. The glass was cool against her bare arms and legs, in contrast to the warmth of the overcrowded room.

“I’ve heard stories about you,” Dom said, edging closer in such a smooth way that she knew he wouldn’t believe any woman wouldn’t want to get that close to him.

She wasn’t surprised by his comment. There had been rumors running through the company about her for the last two years, ever since she’d started living with two men. “Have you? You can’t always believe gossip, you know.”

Dom planted one hand on the window next to her shoulder. His eyes were hazel, and there wasn’t a single wrinkle on his suit or his French-cuff shirt. “So it’s not true? You’re not as …adventurous as I’ve heard?” The pitch of his voice and the particular glint in his eyes made the nuance of his question quite clear.

Keeping her face and voice bland, she replied, “I haven’t been skydiving lately, if that’s what you mean.”

“It’s not.”

Julia wasn’t particularly uncomfortable, although she’d prefer to be talking to someone less obnoxiously slick and entitled. She’d had plenty of experience in dealing with men like Dom, and she couldn’t even be surprised that he so blithely assumed she’d be receptive to his advances.

She had been a part of a threesome for more than a year, and, no matter how discreet she’d tried to be about her lifestyle, a lot of people would assume it meant she was sexually free. Available. Easy.

No matter how untrue it was—even back when she’d lived with Mike and Drayton. And no matter how much had changed in her life since then.

“I’m really pretty boring,” she said.

“I don’t believe you.” He leaned down, his face so close to hers, she could feel his breath on her cheek. He smelled strongly of aftershave. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was too much.

“Believe it.” Since it would be impolitic to actually push him away, she edged to the side slightly, giving herself some more space. “And I have no desire to look for excitement outside of home.”

Dom frowned. “So you’ve converted to traditional domesticity?”

Chuckling, she admitted, “Something like that.” With a lift of her eyebrows, she added, “And my husband is more than enough for me.”

She’d gotten through to him. She could see it. And, although he was obnoxiously slick and smarmy, he wouldn’t pursue a woman who wasn’t interested in him. He looked annoyed and briefly uncomfortable, the way men like him looked when they inexplicably didn’t get their own way. “That’s too bad. You’re missing out,” he said at last, reclaiming his sense of entitled assurance.

She smiled and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She’d let her bob grow longer, almost to her shoulders now. “Then I’ll have to live unfulfilled.”

She was about to slide out from the barrier of his body, pleased with her success in handling the man, when she heard a familiar throat-clearing behind Dom’s shoulder.

Then, “Did you want red or white?”

It was an innocuous question, but the questioner was anything but innocuous. His voice broke into their conversation with purposeful abrasiveness, and then his arm slid in between Julia’s body and Dom, effectively separating them and then smoothly shouldering Dom out of the way.

Mike held two glasses of wine, one white and one red, and his slanted glare at Dom was very close to menacing.

“White, thanks,” Julia said, keeping her tone natural. She rolled her eyes at Mike with a frown, making sure that Dom didn’t see.

After he’d handed off the wine, Mike turned so his back was against the window next to Julia’s. He arched one eyebrow at Dom and made the most of the three inches he had on the man.

Dom shifted and cleared his throat. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“I’m pretty sure we haven’t.” Mike looked particularly handsome tonight, almost sophisticated in his tailored dark suit and polished shoes. He’d shaved before they’d left their apartment, and his hair was only slightly mussed.

Julia couldn’t help but feel a softening in her chest as she looked at him. He was incredibly handsome, and even his annoying possessiveness just now was so dear.

When he draped one arm around her waist, pulling her against his side, she didn’t object—even though it was obviously a gesture of claiming her.

“This is my husband, Mike,” she said, “And this is Dom Keller, who just moved here from L.A.”

She and Mike had been married for less than a month. They’d vacationed in the Greek islands for two weeks and had got married there. Her old-fashioned family was thrilled, of course, and Helen couldn’t help cackling with glee over the predictable course Julia’s life had taken after the crisis with Drayton.

Everyone thought she was settling down, after the wild fling her threesome had been.

But that wasn’t what had happened at all.

It wasn’t about settling or about settling down. She and Mike had changed. They’d grown. They’d lost Drayton. And they’d married, somewhat spontaneously after being a couple for more than eight months, as a sign of their commitment rather than as the expected culmination of a romantic relationship.

After a little more small talk, Dom slunk away, pretending to be amused instead of intimidated.

As soon as he left, Julia gave Mike a significant look.

Mike didn’t need an interpreter. “He was hitting on you.”

“So?”

“You don’t think I’m going to be all right with that?”

“I had taken care of it. There was no need to swoop in and act like a caveman.”

“And I’d shaved tonight and everything,” he drawled, in an obvious attempt to deflect the tension with humor.

She did kind of want to smile, but instead she repeated, “I had taken care of it.”

His arm was still around her waist, and now he drew her closer to him, turning her to face him until their bodies were pressed lightly together. “I don’t like other men looking at you that way.”

“I know you don’t. But I don’t like the super-possessive act, and I thought you were going to try to respect that.”

Mike had never been particularly possessive until they’d gotten together as a couple. At least, he’d never acted on whatever possessiveness he’d been feeling.

She understood why that had changed. It was an unavoidable consequence of his sharing her with Drayton for more than a year. Now that his claim on her was sole, he held onto it more tightly than he would have by nature.

“All right,” Mike said, his voice thickening in a way she recognized very well. His big hand spanned the side of her waist, his fingers edging down toward her bottom. “No super-possessive act. As long as I can make it clear to everyone that you’re mine.”

Julia couldn’t help herself. She choked on a burst of laughter and reached up to give Mike a little hug. “I love you, you big idiot.”

He chuckled and returned the hug. “I’m glad to hear it. The love part, not the idiot part.” When he dropped his arms, he gave her a more serious look. “Sorry about before. That guy just got on my nerves. I think it was those ridiculous cufflinks.”

This made Julia laugh even more, since it was exactly the way she’d felt herself.

No matter how much they loved each other, it hadn’t been an easy transition—moving from two-thirds of a threesome to an exclusive couple. Mike was getting better about the possessiveness, and Julia was getting better about recognizing Mike as a whole person, rather than the parts of him she’d acknowledged before. They were both gradually growing more confident about their relationship, and she was sure now that the decision they’d made eight months ago had been a good one.

Mike was her husband—which still sometimes seemed absolutely crazy to her—and she wouldn’t want to go back to having two men, even if one of them was Mike.

She was prepared to believe that it was possible to have a healthy, committed relationship between three people—but the relationship they’d had before could never have turned into it. And she wasn’t even sure she was the right person for such a relationship.

She knew with crystal clarity that Mike would never have done it.

Julia accepted his apology with a kiss.

“So what was his play?” Mike asked, taking a sip of wine and turning back to look at the gathered crowds. “Dom’s, I mean.”

“He was wondering if I was adventurous as he’d heard.”

Mike cocked an eyebrow. “And what did you tell him?”

“I said I was a boring, married woman who rarely gets excited anymore.”

His eyes were amused when they met hers, but as the two held gazes, his expression turned into something else. She recognized that particular flare, felt a matching heat rise up inside her.

 “I could take you,” Mike said, his voice low and deliciously rough, “Right here against the window, in front of everyone.”

Julia flushed, felt her nipples tighten and her intimate muscles clench in excitement. But she managed to say coolly enough, “That might not make a good impression on my boss.”

They settled for the bathroom in a far wing of the house—one Julia had used at previous parties when the other bathroom was occupied.

They were already kissing and half-embracing as they stumbled into the small room, decorated with old-fashioned fixtures and fabrics of moss green and rose. After locking the door, Mike pushed Julia up against it, bunching her short skirt up toward her hips and lifting one of her legs to wrap around his.

Julia clawed at his jacket and hair, frantically trying to pull him closer. Her arousal had hit her so quickly that her wet pussy ached sharply and hotly.

After a minute of hungry kissing and clumsy caressing, Julia unzipped Mike’s trousers. He parted her legs and reangled her hips. Then pushed her damp panties to the side.

With a rough sound of approval, he found her wet passage. Then he guided his cock to her entrance before he gave a hard thrust that pushed her bottom against the door.

The position was awkward, and she had a hard time keeping her balance and still keeping her pelvis in an accessible angle. But the hard penetration and the mild discomfort thrilled her, causing her to bite her bottom lip to keep from crying out.

He thrust a few more times, supporting himself with one hand on the door and using the other to hold her hips in place. But soon his grunts sounded as frustrated as they were hot, and he pulled back from her slightly, flushed and panting.

She was already halfway to orgasm, but the leg she’d wrapped around his thighs to try to give her some leverage was starting to ache and her other leg had grown shaky.

She began breathlessly, “Maybe we should—”

Before she could finish, Mike slid out his cock, took her by the shoulders, and bent her over the sink. Pushing her skirt up to her waist, he parted her bottom cheeks to give him access to her pussy. She was still hot and slippery, and she bit back a moan as he pushed his cock back inside.

In this position, he could thrust more easily, and he built back up to a hard, fast rhythm. She edged her hand down in front of her so she could rub her clit, and soon she was making muffled whimpers of pleasure as the dual stimulation pushed her to the edge.

His cock hitting her g-spot on each thrust, Mike muttered out primitive sounds as he fucked her good and hard over the sink. “Come, baby,” he said at last, in that thick, erotic voice that always drove her crazy. “Come now.”

She rubbed her clit eagerly, pushing her bottom back against his thrusting. A hard climax sliced through her, which she tried to muffle by pressing her mouth into her arm.

Then Mike let himself go as well, gripping her hips with both hands and holding her in place as he rocked against her ass with a few last strokes. Then he stopped thrusting and just pushed against her forcefully. It felt so good Julia pushed back against the pressure, squirming for more stimulation.

Mike’s face twisted as he came, and he expelled a long rush of breath. Julia shuddered through a second mini-orgasm as she felt him come inside her.

Then they straightened up, reordered their clothes, washed their hands, and laughed their way back to the party.

Leaning against Mike as they made idle chit-chat with her boss, Julia was flushed, satisfied and happy.

And she didn’t feel particularly boring.

***

There was a large package outside of their apartment when they returned, labeled with just their names. It obviously hadn’t been mailed, and it hadn’t come through a delivery service. Someone must have set it next to their door while they’d been gone.

“What do you think it is?” Julia asked, as Mike hauled the evidently heavy box inside.

“Another wedding present, I’d guess.”

“But it wasn’t mailed. Who do you think it’s from?”

“Let’s open it and see.” Mike started to tear away the tape, and Julia moved to help him pull the packing material out of the box.

Inside was a marble sculpture.

Both Mike and Julia stared down at it blankly.

“What is it?” she asked at last.

“I don’t know.” Mike reached down to carefully pull the sculpture out of the box. It was almost two feet high, and appeared at first glance to be abstract, representing nothing very clearly.

When he’d set it on a clear spot on the console table, they both stepped back to study it some more.

As Julia looked, she started to see particular patterns come out in the graceful design. She saw a shoulder—strong, stable, and masculine—leading up to part of a neck. Then she saw another element, separate from the shoulder but brushing against it—a smooth, sleek sweep of feminine hair.