Jaxie's Menage (4 page)

If he could just figure
out a way to get those two back together, then he could maybe move
on, knowing that Jaxie and Ewan were happy.

“
The dress
already came? That’s great news, Rachel,” Jaxie’s thrilled voice
snapped through the doorway as she spoke on her cell
phone.

Royce grinned. Women and
their fashion. It seemed to cheer them up even when things were
bleak.

She lowered her voice to
the point where he could barely make out what she was
saying.

“
Yes, that’s
right. The Masquerade Ménage Ball is two weeks from this
Saturday.”

Hmmm
,
a
Masquerade Ménage Ball
?
This is news
.

Royce leaned closer to
the open doorway and stepped to the side so she wouldn’t see
him.

“
No, I haven’t
changed my mind, and I told you I am not chickening out.” There was
an edge of desperation to Jaxie’s voice now, and it grew louder
with defiance.

Curiosity dared Royce to
move closer to the open doorway.

“
Remember, I’m
trusting you, Rach. I don’t want anyone to know. I’ll show you how
to work the hat so I can make sure I get the guys I
want.”

Ahh, so that
trick hat rumor
was
true, and Jaxie wanted a ménage without anyone knowing it was
her.

Excitement bubbled inside
him.

“
I can’t wait
until I can put it on. Can you put it in my office? I’ll try it on
when I get a minute.”

Royce backed away from
the doorway as talk stayed on her dress.

Suddenly, he had an idea
that might help get Jaxie and Ewan back together again.

* * * * *

“
There is no
way anyone will recognize you in that sinfully seductive attire,
woman,” Rachel giggled as she stared at Jaxie’s reflection in the
full-length mirror that hung on the back of Jaxie’s office bathroom
door.

Jaxie had to admit the
dress was drop-dead gorgeous. The silver silk hugged all her curves
and the lights glistened off the sequins, making her look as if
she’d been dipped in sparkling diamonds.

“
The mask
covers almost your entire face too. There is no way anyone will
know it is you, Jax. No way.”

The mask matched her
dress and glittered just as beautifully. Despite finally having the
dress that she’d gone gaga over several days ago on her friend
Jewel’s new online adult Toy Shoppe website, the excitement Jaxie
expected just wasn’t grabbing ahold of her.

“
Okay, why so
sad?” Rachel asked and frowned at her in the mirror.

Darnit! How did Rachel
know something was wrong? Her old friend could read her like a
book, even with her face hidden behind a mask.

“
Do you want
to back out?” Rachel prodded.

“
No,” Jaxie
replied truthfully. She’d made up her mind that she was going to go
through her bucket list. That no matter what, she was going to
experience a ménage, just as a bunch of her friends had done. She’d
just have to experience it with two guys who didn’t love her or
want her for more than just sex.

“
You don’t
like the dress?” Despite her question, Jaxie caught the tips of
Rachel’s lips tilting upward in a teasing smile.

“
You know very
well I love this dress. If I could, I would even sleep in
it.”

“
Then what,
girlfriend? What’s got you down so much?”

She wished she could
confide in Rachel about her run-in with Ewan earlier today. That he
wanted nothing to do with her. Not that she’d expected him to wrap
his arms around her and tell her that he was glad she’d survived
that avalanche. She’d kind of expected maybe a little hug and for
him to tell her he was glad things had turned out okay.

But nope. He treated her
as if she were a disease, which made her believe that warm kiss
she’d thought she’d experienced when she’d semi-woken in the
helicopter had just been a wishful fantasy or some hallucination
from lack of oxygen.

She returned
her attention back to the glitzy dress. Her breath backed up just
as it had when she’d first seen it. It was so perfect. No flaws.
Just so
not
like
her.

“
It’s too
beautiful for me,” she mumbled.

Disappointment and anger
flared in Rachel’s eyes.

“
Do not ever
let me hear you talk like that again. Nothing is too good for you.
You are the dearest person I know. Your heart is bigger than anyone
I know. You have so much to give—”

“
All right
already. Stop. Please!” She didn’t like compliments. They made her
self-conscious.

Rachel’s frown deepened,
and Jaxie’s stomach sunk for hurting her friend’s
feelings.

“
Sorry, I
didn’t mean to bite off your head. It’s just…my hair. You know how
my hair frustrates me,” Jaxie lied. “I need a new hairdo to go with
this dress. Something snappy, sexy and daring.”

Thankfully, Rachel’s face
lit up like sunshine.

“
I’m working
the Saturday of the Masquerade Ball over at Sophie’s salon. I’ll
book you in as the last customer and Sophie and I will whip up
something really cool for you. We’ll make you look so beautiful
that no two men can resist you.”

Rachel giggled, her brown
eyes flashing with excitement as she gazed at Jaxie as if she
really were a princess bride.

Jaxie stared at herself
in the mirror and sighed. Princess bride? If only she could feel
like a princess or a bride. She’d pushed away the only guy who’d
treated her like a princess and who’d almost made her his bride.
Not once. Twice he’d proposed and she’d said no. So why had she
expected that he would give her a third chance to break his
heart?

Man, she was totally
nuts.

“
Oh, oh. I’m
losing you again, aren’t I? What
is
wrong?” Once again, Rachel caught her gaze in the
mirror. Her stare was penetrating and soul-searching, as if she was
reaching out, trying to read her mind, and hoping to fix
her.

That was Rachel. A
nurturer. Rachel had tried to keep her father out of a long-term
care facility by working herself to the bone with several jobs and
paying for help to care for him. But his Alzheimer’s had finally
been too much of a challenge for the caregivers, and she’d finally
had to put her dad into the system.

Jaxie didn’t want Rachel
to start worrying about her too. She was doing too much of that
already for her dad.

“
I’m
thinking,” Jaxie said slowly.

“
About?”

“
What color
should I get hair for the Masquerade Ménage Ball, of course? Red,
brunette, black? What would go best with silver?”

Rachel squinted in
disbelief.

“
Is that
all?”

“
Um, like yes.
I’m alive. I was dead for a few minutes. I survived an avalanche.
I’m wearing the most beautiful dress in the world and I am going to
have a ménage. What’s there to be sad about? Now, come on, unzip
me, and get me out of this contraption. We’ve got a club to run and
ménage nights to plan.”

Suddenly, running the Key
Club just didn’t seem to be her top priority anymore and she didn’t
have a clue what else she wanted in life. Well, that wasn’t
true.

She wanted Ewan. But that
was never going to happen. Not in this lifetime. Their last meeting
proved it.

* * * * *

The roar of the avalanche
crashed over Jaxie, making her scream.

No
!
Not
again
!
This can’t
be happening again
!

The snow swallowed her,
punched her and squeezed her, until she could barely breathe. The
icy material filled her nostrils and her mouth and…

Jaxie awoke to a
mind-numbing crash. Shivers rocked her. Her heart pounded wildly in
her ears and cold perspiration dampened her forehead.

I’m going to
die
!
I’ll never see
Ewan again
!

Lightning flashed at her
windows. Thunder crashed. Wind rattled her bedroom windows and rain
pelted the night-blackened panes.

Shit! A storm. Just a
freaking storm. She wasn’t buried under the snow. She was in bed.
Safe and sound.

It had been a nightmare.
Just a nightmare.

Relief poured through her
and she whipped the clammy, damp sheets off her. She slept nude.
Had since she’d moved out on her own. Ewan had liked that about
her. Had liked that there was nothing separating them in
bed.

Ewan.
Why was she obsessing over a guy who wanted
nothing to do with her? He’d treated her like crap when she’d gone
over to say thanks, and now she’d just dreamed she’d never see him
again.

Was she a glutton for
punishment or what?

Oh, but he sure did know
how to make love to her. He could go for hours when he was in the
mood. And he’d been in the mood during most of their
relationship.

Another ear-splitting
crack of thunder directly overhead made her flinch.

Man, that was loud. But
storms didn’t bother her. She lived in a nice single-story bungalow
on the outskirts of town. Rachel lived right across the street.
Just thinking about her friend brought a shot of guilt through
her.

Poor Rachel. She’d been
through a bad period in her life with her mother dying, then her
dad falling ill and Rachel taking care of him. She admired her
friend for being such a dutiful daughter. She’d put her life on
hold to care for him. She loved her dad so much — Jaxie could see
it in the way she looked at him or whenever she spoke about
him.

Jaxie smiled as she
remembered the day she’d taken Rachel skiing. Aside from the
avalanche episode, it sure had been beautiful out there, with the
fresh mountain air blasting against her as she’d skied down the
side of the mountain. She knew within her heart that she’d go back
out there again. Sometime. She wouldn’t let a little avalanche keep
her down for long.

More lightning flashed in
the windows and thunder boomed. Her thoughts returned to
Ewan.

Damn! Why had she given
up on him? They’d been so good together. Sure, they’d had
arguments. Every couple argued. But Ewan had wanted a family and
she hadn’t. Not then. But lately she’d been thinking that
maybe…

She refocused her
attention to their nights together. He’d made her feel so
sexy.

The stirrings of arousal
swept through her as she thought about that kiss she’d experienced
in the helicopter. Or maybe the kiss had been CPR…Well, whatever it
had been, she preferred to think of Ewan’s lusciously warm lips
melting over her mouth as being a scorching kiss.

Jaxie closed her eyes and
slid her hands over her breasts, pretending it was Ewan touching
her. If she breathed in deeply enough, she could smell his scent
drifting through the air. His smell was probably on her clothing
from the day of the avalanche. She’d stashed the clothes in her
hamper in the nearby closet and hadn’t gotten around doing the
laundry yet.

Ewan always smelled so
good. Of the outdoors, pine and soap. Royce too had a sexy scent
about him. Before she’d been able to say her thanks to Ewan in the
rescue lunchroom, Royce had spied her first.

Something deep inside of
her pussy had sizzled with need as Royce had stalked toward her.
He’d looked as if he were a man on the prowl. He’d boxed her in at
the doorway, his thick muscular arms flexing inches from her face.
He’d been so close to her that she’d been able to see the gold
flecks in his seductive brown eyes and her senses had swirled as
she’d inhaled his unique mountain air scent.

Silently, she’d cursed
Royce for making her feel such unadulterated lust for him,
especially with Ewan in the room. She’d spied Ewan watching them
and she’d expected to see jealousy but had been surprised to
discover a sexy, curious smile tilting his lips.

What the heck
had
that
look
been?

Royce had whispered to
her that she looked very pretty and she’d giggled at his
compliment, loving his attention. Then he’d left and Ewan had acted
like an asshole…but still, if things had been different, she’d pick
Ewan and Royce as her men for her ménage.

She sighed. Ewan and
Royce. Now those were two men she would love to have make love to
her at the same time.

She inhaled softly at
that idea, and tweaked her nipples until they were hard and peaked.
The guys would touch her gently at first, their hands running over
her breasts, pinching her, just like she was doing now. Their
mouths latching onto her quivering tips…

Jaxie trembled as their
warm lips sucked her nipples and their tongues laved her areolas,
their faces pressed intimately into the pillow of her breasts,
their hands smoothing over her belly.

She moaned with
frustration and opened her thighs. A finger slipped into her vagina
and she gathered warm cream, then slid it out and rubbed back and
forth over her sensitive clit. Breathing deeply, she massaged her
clitoris faster, then thrust a couple of fingers into her pussy,
and out again.