Swap (6 page)

Caleb nodded. “So the sooner we do this, the better.”

“Don't hold your breath.” Aidan pushed away the cereal bowl.

“Mia might say she's ready, but it's going to take her a while to get used to the idea.”

“If Jamie wants to do it before she leaves, it'll happen.”

Aidan couldn't argue with that. “What's Jamie's strategy?”

“She wants Mia to explore her sexual boundaries.”

Aidan rubbed his hand over his chin. “So anything goes?”

“Yep.”

Aidan caught Caleb's sly smile and he went into full alert. “You have something else in mind, don't you? It's not just to get on Jamie's good side.”

Caleb held his hands up. “I'm all for swapping partners. The swap may not work out exactly as Jamie hopes. . . .”

Aidan's eyes narrowed. If he didn't get Mia or Jamie, then that left . . . “Whoa!” He pushed his chair back as the fight-or-flight instinct pounded through his veins. “You and me?”

Caleb laughed. “Don't flatter yourself.”

“Good,” Aidan said with relief. But Caleb's explanation niggled at his mind. Jamie had a plan, and Aidan wanted to be prepared. “Did Jamie say how she wanted it to play out?”

“She didn't tell me anything.” Caleb took another sip of coffee. “So how about it? Are you going to swap?”

Aidan knew now was the time to feign reluctance. It was the only way to get what he wanted without too many questions. “It's not that I don't trust you. . . .”

Caleb gave a snort. “Yeah, right.”

“But if Mia agrees to this, I'm not going to interfere.”

Caleb couldn't hide his surprise. “Really?”

Aidan nodded. “As long as I get to set some ground rules.”

“Ground rules?” Caleb's eyebrows shot up. “Jamie doesn't do ground rules.”

Aidan was fully aware of that, but Jamie didn't need to know that rules were already in place. Aidan rested his elbows on the table. “Then this is between you and me.”

Caleb was quiet, as if he were debating the pros and cons of the alliance. “Okay.” He leaned back in his chair. “Let's start with Jamie.”

“I'll take it easy on her,” Aidan promised.

“Screw that.” Caleb made a face. “I want you to tie Jamie up.”

Aidan's eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“I'm not suggesting you use force, pain, or anything like that,” Caleb assured him. “She needs a taste of deprivation. I want her to learn a little patience.”

Aidan closed his eyes, trying to imagine Jamie bound to the bed. She would try it because it was something new and different. But the moment the cuffs enclosed her wrists, she would act like a hellcat, determined to break free.

“It won't be easy,” Caleb admitted, “and I don't know how you're going to get her to agree to it. But if you can achieve that kind of miracle, then she'll find out how good she has it with me.”

“And after a night with me, you think she'll be clinging to you?” Aidan knew he should feel offended, but he knew it was the truth. Jamie could never handle someone like him. “Okay, fine. Anything else?”

“That's all I can think of. What about Mia?”

Aidan hesitated. He had to make this sound convincing. “I want to be there when you take her.”

Caleb's mouth sagged open. “Excuse me?”

Aidan didn't reply. He wasn't sure how to explain it. If he used the wrong word, Caleb would find out about his secret fantasy.

Caleb's eyes narrowed. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do.” Aidan wouldn't let any man have sex with his woman. That was a nuance Lacey hadn't quite understood.

“Oh, so you want to watch to pick up pointers—is that it?”

“Funny.”

The laughter disappeared in Caleb's eyes. “Seriously, though, Mia might not want you watching her having sex.”

Aidan raised his eyebrow. “And Jamie probably doesn't want to be dominated.”

“Good point.” Caleb shrugged. “But do you think Mia wants to explore while you're there watching?”

“She might feel more comfortable, especially if she knows I'm okay with it.” Aidan paused, and decided to go for it. “In fact, I think it would be best if I tell her exactly what she should do to you and how.”

Caleb chuckled and waved his hands for Aidan to stop. “No. No way. Aidan, you need to give up some control.”

Aidan leaned forward, prepared to get the point across that this was nonnegotiable. “If you guys want me to swap, this is how it's going to have to be. Don't tell me you're not going to try to get your own way.”

“I told you”—Caleb placed his hand over his heart—“I'm doing this as a favor.”

“Bullshit. You're in this for something more.” Aidan didn't have proof, but it was a feeling he couldn't shake. “It's not all about favors or finding someone to dominate Jamie.”

“That's all I want.”

“You're lying. If I can't trust you on this, I'm not swapping.” Aidan gathered his bowl and spoon and scooted back to his chair.

“Okay, fine. There's something I want to happen,” Caleb confessed. “I didn't want to tell you because you might be against it.”

Aidan remained still, his gut twisting as he prepared for any potential bombshells. “What is it?”

Caleb looked away. “I'm hoping for Mia and Jamie to hook up,” he muttered.

Mia and Jamie. Aidan forgot to breathe as he imagined the two of them together, naked and sweaty. Jamie's face would be nestled between Mia's slender legs. Mia's blue eyes would be glazed over with arousal as she climaxed, screaming her best friend's name.

Aidan felt the sweat bead on his forehead. The idea alone made him hot. His fantasies were always about Mia with another man. But Mia with a woman? With Jamie? His knees went weak as lust flooded through his body.

“Like that idea, too, huh?” Caleb asked.

Aidan wasn't going to answer that. “Mia has never shown any interest in having sex with a woman.”

Caleb shrugged. “What's your point?”

“Even if she had lesbian fantasies, she's not going to act on them. She's a Clover Bud girl through and through.”

“We can join forces and give it our best shot,” Caleb said. “We'll create a mood. Opportunities.”

“And if it doesn't happen, then no big deal,” Aidan continued. “They'll never know what we were up to.”

“It's better than that,” Caleb insisted. “Think about it: We'll live out every fantasy, and Jamie and Mia think we're being good sports about it.”

Every fantasy? Aidan wasn't sure about that. “Do you really think we can do all this in one night?”

Caleb smiled. “Who says we only get one night?”

Aidan shook his head. The guy was getting ahead of himself. “We can manipulate the situation all we want, but this is a one-time deal.”

“Doesn't mean I can't hope.”

Aidan thought Caleb was reaching for too much. The guy wanted to hold on to Jamie as well as have more than one night of swapping. Not only that, he wanted Mia and Jamie to hook up.

Mia and Jamie. Aidan imagined their arms and legs tangled. Jamie would be on top, grinding her large breasts against Mia's. “I gotta go to work,” he said gruffly.

“So are you in?” Caleb asked. “You're going to swap?”

“Yeah, I'll swap.” A flash of excitement ripped through him. He found it difficult to take his next breath. “When should we tell them?”

“We don't need to.” Caleb leaned back in his seat and took a leisurely sip of his coffee. “I want to see how they're going to convince us.”

“You mean trick us.”

Caleb nodded and smiled. “And we'll trick them right back.” Aidan grinned as the anticipation swelled in his chest. “This is going to be good.

FOUR

Several days later, Caleb pulled his battered pickup truck alongside the curb next to Mia's house. He put it in park, leaned his forearms on the steering wheel, and let the engine idle as he studied the modest bungalow.

He didn't think he could wait any longer for the swapping. It had been three days, and he was slowly going crazy from waiting. If he wasn't having sex marathons with Jamie every night, he would have already gone crossed-eyed.

When Jamie had told him Monday morning that Mia was on for the swapping, he made the mistake of believing something would happen that night. The idea of swapping and making some fantasies come true had revved him up, and he had been close to bouncing off the walls. He was the kind of guy who, when he decided on something, took action immediately.

Apparently, no one else felt that way. Caleb gave a long sigh and turned off the engine. The tension had been thick in Mia's house, but no one said a thing. His muscles bunched, were ready to pounce, every time someone made a move.

But nothing had happened. He had been ready to get the party started, but Jamie had asked him to play it cool and go along with her strategy. He had been willing, but he hadn't realized the plan was to make him wait until he grew old and gray.

On Tuesday, it was like the fates were against him. As a handyman, he usually made his own hours, but on that day, he received an emergency call from his best client. He had rushed to Mia's house late in the night, worried that he had missed out.

It turned out he had nothing to worry about. Aidan didn't drop by the bungalow that night. Caleb didn't know whether to be relieved or frustrated. Strangely, Mia and Jamie didn't seem disappointed.

He was beginning to think that they were playing a prank on him. Why mention swapping and then do nothing? Unless Mia and Jamie were getting cold feet. He didn't think Jamie suffered from second-guessing, but Mia might.

Caleb wondered if they had decided against the swap and forgotten to tell him. That was the most likely scenario, he decided as he got out of the truck and slammed the door, the vehicle shuddering and creaking from the impact. All Mia and Jamie talked about in front of him was the Herculean effort of getting Jamie ready for the move.

Or did they not include him in their plans because they thought he would be ready at a moment's notice? Part of that was true, but he wanted a say in how the swapping would work.

He was not sure how he had gotten a playboy reputation. Sure, he'd had some amazing sexual experiences, but that didn't reflect who he was anymore. A lot of those memories were hazy. He couldn't remember the names and faces, and he was sure his previous sex partners felt the same about him. It was disheartening, especially since, at the time, he had been trying to find somewhere he belonged.

Instead he had taken a path to find sexual nirvana but never found it though what he had discovered with Jamie was something special and he didn't want to lose it. Unfortunately, Jamie was ready to walk away from it all. She didn't see him as a partner. Sometimes he got the feeling that Jamie saw him as a sex toy that could talk.

The possibility troubled him. Caleb tucked his head down as he walked up the path to Mia's house. He knew that Jamie didn't mean to treat him that way; she was trying to protect herself. How was he going to prove to Jamie that he was much more? He had less than a week to get the point across.

Tonight he was going to push the idea of swapping out of his mind. It was distracting him from his ultimate goal: to leave Clover Bud with Jamie. He didn't know if Jamie had mentioned the possibility of swapping partners so he would stop talking about their future. He wouldn't put it past her.

Caleb pressed the doorbell and heard the chimes inside the old house. He folded his arms across his chest and waited. The scent of the flowers on the porch drifted toward him as the hot summer breeze pulled at his shirt. He looked through the window panels in the front door and saw Mia step out of the media room and hurry to let him inside.

She wore a pair of bright red shorts that hugged her slender hips. Her blond ponytail swayed from side to side as her small breasts bounced underneath her white tank top. Mia was a beautiful woman, but she didn't have Jamie's sexual zing.

Mia opened the door, and he felt the chill of her air-conditioned home. “Hi, Caleb,” she greeted him with a smile. “Come on in. We're hanging out in the media room.”

Caleb smiled at the term as she closed the door behind him. “Media room” sounded very contemporary and high-tech for a small old house. He didn't know what the room had been before, but every time he stepped in there, he knew Aidan had either been the architect or the inspiration.

“What are you doing there?” he asked as he followed Mia across the living room floor.

“Oh, we're playing some karate game on the Xbox.” She waved her hand in the air. “I have no idea what I'm doing.”

Her movement drew his attention to the jiggle of her breasts. Caleb stopped walking as everything around him went into slow motion. Mia wasn't wearing a bra, and he could see the dusky areolas beneath the thin white fabric.

Caleb closed his eyes and swallowed. That was unlike Mia. What was going on? Was tonight the night?

No, he wasn't going to spend another night wondering and waiting. He needed to focus on his top priority: Jamie.

Caleb walked into the media room, his gaze sweeping the corners. The computer sat on a desk in the corner, but it wasn't turned on. Loud yells and crashes came through the surround-sound system. He turned toward the wide-screen television and saw two scantily clad animated women kicking each other, their breasts bouncing as freely as Mia's.

Don't think about that. He purposely turned away from the TV and saw Jamie sitting on the big leather couch. She wore a tight green T-shirt and the tiniest pair of cutoff shorts he'd ever seen.