Men of Fortune 1: Derek (5 page)

He was shaken out of his thoughts when
Nathan said, “Derek, it doesn’t make you less of a man that you’d
need such an affirmation. Even us macho men, we need to know that
the women we love want us, love us just as much.”

“Carly would get there one day,” Derek said
in a firm voice, and he did believe that with all his heart. “Until
then, I have to hold us together. I cannot lose her.”

Adam held up a hand. “Wait. Aren’t we
getting ahead of ourselves? As long as you remain faithful to her,
nothing will shake your relationship.”

“Until the first gossip reached her, no
matter how untrue, and the seed of suspicion would be sown into
her. A mountain would then grow out of nothing.” Derek shook his
head. “No, I’ve thought about this, and I mean to attack the root
cause of the problem—Carly’s insecurity, not in our marriage or in
me, but in herself.”

Nathan nodded. “Well said. How do you mean
to do that?”

“Her problem is with her self-image,” Derek
said, feeling his way slowly around the problem and hopefully into
the solution. Talking things over with these men always helped.
“She didn’t believe any man would find her pretty—”

“But she is,” Adam cut in. “Elegant,
too.”

“Classy. I’ve got a crush on her the first
time you introduced her to us,” Oliver said. “If you hadn’t staked
your claim on her, I’d have moved in for the kill.”

Derek sent a light punch to his friend’s
shoulder. “Stop talking like that about my wife.”

“It’s true,” Matthias said in a calm, even
tone despite the vigorous effort of his ongoing activity. A man
with a strong dominant streak, he had laid Lily down on the table
and was now thrusting into her, his strokes deep and smooth.
Fortunately, the table was a sturdy piece, else it’d have moved
with Matthias’s strong thrusts. Lily mewled and moaned, and on her
face was the expression of a woman being thoroughly fucked and
loving every second of it. “I found her attractive as well. Enough
to bed, certainly.”

Lily turned his face back to her with one
hand on his jaw. “To me…lover.”

“Of course, my love,” Matthias returned
smoothly, bending down to press a kiss on her lips. His rhythm
never faltered. “That was never in doubt.”

Matthias didn’t look half involved in the
sex as Lily was, but then, that was expected. Derek had yet to meet
the woman who would make Matthias lose control.

“Personality wins over looks any day,” was
Nathan’s only comment, but it was very telling, as Derek knew his
friend was not the type to be bowled over by a woman’s
appearance.

He glanced from one man to the other, a
suspicion growing in the back of his head. How had he not seen this
before? Before he could voice his thoughts, Lily uttered a scream
that was cut off by Matthias’s mouth on hers. She shuddered and
convulsed, then Matthias surged deep into her and ground his groin
against hers. A moment later, he fell back onto his seat, bringing
her with him, clasped to his chest.

“Hmmm…” Lily hummed in satisfaction, eyes
closed.

“Had enough?” Derek teased her.

“Nathan…” she mumbled. Her head lolled on
Matthias’s shoulder and she looked content to stay there for a
time.

Derek arched a brow at his cousin, who shook
his head.

“Later,” Nathan said. “Let her rest.”

Derek turned back to the matter at hand. “So
what you guys are telling me is that you’ve all had hard-ons for my
wife?”

Oliver held up his hands. “Don’t kill me,
please. It’s a natural reaction to a woman I’m attracted to, but I
promise I’ve never done anything about it.”

“Guilty,” Matthias said.

“I know I should be immune, since I’m
surrounded by attractive women all day,” Adam mused, “but there’s
something about your wife, Derek. Or maybe I’m just such a
man-whore. Not that I’m thinking of stealing her from you. I don’t
poach.”

“I don’t see what’s the fuss all about,”
Lily chimed in, sitting up on Matthias’s lap and facing them.
“You’ve all had hard-ons for me and fucked me with them, too.
Sometimes, I think you Fortune men have more or less the same
tastes in women.”

Nathan simply nodded.

Derek stared at them, stunned, his mind
whirling at super speed.

Perhaps this was the answer. He remembered
when he was younger, how his perception of himself was boosted
whenever a beautiful woman hit on him. Perhaps it worked the same
way on a woman.

He checked to be sure, never mind that his
survey consisted of one respondent. “Lily, would you say your
confidence is boosted every time a handsome man made a pass at
you?”

“He doesn’t even have to be handsome.” Lily
giggled. “Okay, okay, seriously, yes. His attention reinforced the
fact that I’m attractive to the opposite sex. It made me feel good
about myself.”

“Your ego is boosted, and you gain
confidence in yourself as a woman,” Adam concluded in triumph.

“A sexy woman who could have any man in the
palm of her hands,” Lily purred.

All the men save Derek saluted her with
their beer.

Nothing could be more powerful to convince a
woman of her attractiveness than a man’s hard cock, erect because
of her.

Yes, this could be the answer!

And it tied in with his own need to see her
claimed and possessed by his cousins, the brothers of his
heart.

He exulted too soon, for his mind latched on
to another matter, something related.

The test.

His heart sank.

The two were inextricably tied. He couldn’t
have one without the other.

Yet, when he thought of Carly’s
insecurities, the way they could paralyze her and prevent her from
becoming the person that she had the potential to be, he knew he’d
do anything to help her, even sacrifice his own happiness. Love
wouldn’t let him do otherwise.

So be it.

Before he changed his mind, he took a deep
breath and asked, “My friends, how would you like to help me
convince my wife of her worth?”

“I’m your man.”

“Whatever you need, pal.”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

“Just tell us what you need us to do.”

“Anything.” This last came from Lily.

Derek looked each person in the eyes, these
friends whom he trusted with his life. Now, he was going to entrust
them with something even more precious than his life. “How would
you like to fuck my wife?”

Carly lay in bed, waiting for her husband to
come home. She thought he’d be back by ten at most, but midnight
had come and gone, and there was no sign of him. Was Sue right? Was
he somewhere spending the time with another woman? Perhaps he was
truly with his cousins, but would that seductive, sensuous slut
Lily be there? Was she even now using her wiles on Derek?

She’d met her husband’s childhood friend on
two occasions, and both times, Carly had observed Lily’s easy
familiarity with the cousins, the small touches and lingering
glances and knew the other woman had been—or maybe,
was still
—on intimate
terms with them. Derek had confessed that he’d had sex with Lily in
the past and that there was nothing more between them other than as
friends with benefits, but that was all over from the moment he’d
met Carly.

She had believed him, but this night, that
belief was standing on shaking stilts. Was she being stupid, lying
awake like a good little wife, waiting for her husband to come
home? She couldn’t solve anything, just let the thoughts run ‘round
and ‘round her head. She should go to sleep, for heaven’s sake, as
she needed to be up early for work.

The muted roar of a car sounded outside the
window, which she recognized as Derek’s. She hadn’t known how tense
she was until she exhaled in relief and her body relaxed.

He was home.

It was enough for now.

Twenty minutes later, he was sliding into
bed beside her, and the dip in the mattress made her roll toward
him. Already naked, she let her body plaster itself all over him,
one leg thrown over both of his, with one of his thighs beneath the
warm throb of her pussy. As though she’d just awakened, she
murmured something incomprehensible, then pressed her lips to his
shoulder, her hand caressing his chest.

“Honey…” she began.

“Sorry to wake you,” he said at the same
time, pressing a kiss to her brows.

“I don’t mind.” She wriggled against him in
a suggestive manner that left no doubt to her intention. “You
wanna—” Her hand had drifted south to stroke his cock, but
something made her stop short. Go cold.

He was wearing his boxers.

She couldn’t remember a time when he’d worn
boxers to bed.

“Go back to sleep, love,” he said when she
didn’t continue.

Am I your love?

Unable to bear the skin-to-skin contact with
the doubts and questions crowding her mind, more solid now than
they were before, she turned away, rolled back to her side of the
bed.

“Carly—”

She didn’t dare respond, for the tears
clogging her throat would give her away. She evened out her
breathing and pretended sleep. She could feel him hesitating,
before he lay back down. Soon after, she heard the faint snuffles
that told her he was asleep, but it was a long time before she
drifted off.

* * *

Derek stared morosely down at his coffee,
the plate of bacon and eggs uneaten before him. Somewhere in the
kitchen, Carly was making up her own plate, and though he normally
couldn’t stand to be away from her for more than a few minutes, now
he hoped she’d take her time.

Though they’d slept apart last night, this
morning, he’d awakened curled around her. She’d smelled good,
sleepy and warm, and he was just cursing that he’d had on his
boxers when she stiffened and rolled out of bed, taking first dips
on the shower.

When she’d come out of the bathroom, she
avoided his eyes and went to dress. Puzzled but worried over how he
was going to tell her about the ménage he’d planned, he wasn’t
inclined to talk and chalked down her actions to work-related
stress, as he remembered her telling him sometime before that she’d
need to deal with a troublesome model today.

In the night, his plan had looked good. In
the light of day, his estimation of it had risen to great
proportions. He was very certain Carly would come out the winner in
the end, and he might even enjoy the process—seeing Carly with his
cousins was sure to make him aroused as never before—if he weren’t
so worried about the potential fallout to him.

What if Carly became enthralled with one of
his cousins and demanded a divorce? Logic said he was better off
without such a woman, but his heart wouldn’t agree. It gave a nasty
throb at the thought of Carly walking away. Yet, in the end, was
Carly that kind of woman? Without loyalty to and love for him? How
much did he really know her?

He knew she possessed a knack for charming
even the most diva of supermodels, and her smile could light up the
darkest corners in him and chase away the shadows. He knew she
enjoyed spending time with him, even when they weren’t making
magnificent, earth-quaking love. He knew she loved to sing,
especially in the shower or when she’s cooking, and she enjoyed the
same books that he did. Especially, she was a big fan of Oliver’s
thrillers, and she was—he chuckled—
thrilled
to learn Oliver was his cousin.
Most of all, he knew her insecurities and the scars in her soul,
and he thought she was making progress, both with his constant
affirmation and her weekly visits to the therapist.

Judging by the entry in her diary, it turned
out he didn’t know her that well at all.

And now, her potential permanent “cure” was
all mixed up with his secret fear.

His jaw firmed. He couldn’t be selfish. If
his plan could heal her forever, then he was willing to bear any
pain.

One thing he hadn’t expected was that he’d
have to convince his cousins with the idea.

“Are you sure, Derek?” Oliver had asked, his
mouth hanging open in stunned shock.

“I think it’s a marvelous idea!” Lily
exclaimed.

“Yes, I’m sure, and no, Lily, you’re not
invited.” The calmness in his mind, in his entire being translated
to his speech. He could even smile when Lily pouted. “Is there a
problem?”

Adam looked at him, troubled. “Normally, no.
We’ve shared women before, women whom we casually date, but a wife?
Rafe didn’t share his.”

Good thing, too, for Derek couldn’t see
himself delivering the spanking that Rafe said his wife needed in
order to orgasm.

Rafe, or Raphael, was another cousin he’d
grown up with, and recently married to the love of his life, like
about two weeks ago, Rafe had excused himself from the night’s
gathering.

“I know he’s the oldest among us, and hell
knows I look up to him, but do we have to follow him in all
things?” Derek asked.

Oliver chuckled. “Good point, but I think
you’re also missing what the others are trying to tell you.”

“Speak in English then. You know I don’t
have a head for languages.”

“Men are territorial,” Nathan pointed
out.

“I am, too,” Derek replied. “I get jealous
when I see one of the men at work talk to her. Awhile ago, I
realized that the reason I hadn’t brought her here or to any of our
group activities was because I wanted her all to myself,” he
admitted.

“Then?” Nathan again, with eyebrows
raised.

Derek frowned, not knowing how to explain
this next part. “In the last few days, I found myself…restless, as
though something were missing. Having Lily here tonight made me
realize that I missed this—having sex together, seeing my woman
with you guys. I know this isn’t the norm, because Rafe is
obviously happy keeping his wife away from us, but I can only tell
you what I feel and need.”