Stoneface Read online

  She hesitated before finally accepting his grip and shaking. “Gwen Oxford.”

  “I know. We love your books. I’m sorry I didn’t put that together before. Tim’s obsessed with you.” He thought about how that sounded. “In a good way, a nonviolent, non-creepy-stalker kind of way.”

  That finally brought a ghost of a smile to her face. “I really like Tim. He’s a sweetheart. You’re a lucky guy.”

  He nodded. “I know, believe me.” He sat next to her on the bed. Then her phone went off, startling him with the screeching shower murder theme from Psycho.

  “Goddammit!” she swore before she answered. “What?” she barked into the phone. Gwen listened for a moment, her mood obviously darkening with every word the caller spoke. “No. Absolutely not. You listen to me, and you listen good. You are the one who fucked up. You are the one who wanted the prenup. You are the one who violated your marriage vows and the prenup. You fucked yourself when you fucked everything on two legs, Richard. So go. Screw. Yourself.” She hung up and let out a frustrated scream, then seemed to remember Jack sitting next to her. “Sorry. My ex-husband. I wish he’d lose my phone number.”

  She looked so cute, with her brow scrunched up in aggravation. “What’s he want, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jack asked.

  “He wants out of his obligations. He’s realizing two grand in alimony every month is cutting into his lifestyle. His own damn fault. He cheated on me.” She tossed the phone onto the bed. “I don’t need this shit right now.” She looked close to tears. “Not on top of Amy being missing.”

  “I can’t promise you I can do much to find her. Technically, she’s not missing. I will unofficially make at least one phone call before I go chasing my next donut.”

  That won him a full-on smile. His heart pinched tight in his chest. Like that, she looked just like Mel.

  She threw her arms around him. “Thank you! I’m sorry I got snotty. I’ve got a temper and I’m worried about her, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I know you guys can only do so much.”

  He returned her hug. Christ, she felt damn good in his arms. “It’s okay.” He sat back and tried not to think about making love to her right then and there. She wasn’t his Mel. She was barely an acquaintance, even though Tim knew her. “Dinner’s on us. You’ve got time to grab a shower, if you want. Hope you love steak.”

  “Just wave mine over an open flame a few times and hold the salad.”

  “Ah, a girl after my own heart then. Living room, thirty minutes. You ride with us, we’ll stuff you so full you won’t know what to do.” He stood to leave.

  She giggled. “You talking dinner still, or something else?”

  Ah, fuck it. Life’s short. He arched an eyebrow at her. “Feel free to interpret it any way you wish, m’lady. We’re at your beck and call.” He swore he heard her gasp as he gently shut the door behind him.

  He walked down the hallway toward their bedroom, a smirk on his face. Maybe this was what he needed to get his mind out of the past.

  Tim’s unmistakable look of hope made Jack’s smirk broaden to a full-on smile. It felt good to smile. He unbuttoned his shirt and threw it in the hamper. “Chill. We made up.”

  “Kissed and made up?” He grinned.

  “Not quite.” He pulled Tim to him and kissed him, deeply, demanding. “You want me to do this, we do it my way. Got it?”

  Tim nodded, his eyes dark with passion under heavy lids. Jack knew the fastest way to melt Tim’s spine was to get dominant and take total control. “Yeah.”

  Jack kissed him again, backing him into their bathroom. “Why aren’t you naked yet?” Jack asked.

  Tim started ripping off his clothes, not even bothering to unbutton his shirt all the way as he yanked it over his head and dropped it to the floor before starting on his pants.

  Jack smiled and slipped off his work slacks. He started the shower and tried not to laugh at the sight of Tim frantically getting naked.

  “You’re so cute when you’re anxious,” Jack teased.

  Finally naked, Tim wrapped his arms around him. “You mean it?” he whispered. “We can play around with her?”

  “Okay, one, if she really wants to. Two, if it doesn’t feel weird and creepy. And three, we’ve got no condoms. You have to get your hands on some before we get home, preferably without her knowing about it in case she changes her mind. That way she won’t feel uncomfortable if she says no. And four, if either you or I realize we can’t go through with it, we’ll stop it, and the other will agree regardless, got it?”

  Tim nodded, a silly grin plastered from ear to ear. He dropped to his knees and kissed Jack’s cock, which obligingly stiffened in response. “I’ve got it.” He sucked Jack’s cock into his mouth and swept his tongue around the head. “And I’ve got you, too.”

  Jack patted the top of his head. “All right, you’ve teased me. Get your ass in the shower or I’ll shoot off right here, and there won’t be an issue about taking her to bed.”

  * * * *

  Tim insisted Gwen sit in the front passenger seat while Jack drove. The sun was setting over the hills to the west as they wound through town and pulled into the parking lot of a moderately busy restaurant downtown, located in what appeared to be an old building.

  Jack opened and held the front door for her. Inside the foyer, the men flanked her, Tim gently resting his arm around her waist as the hostess took care of a couple ahead of them. When it was their turn, the woman smiled at the two men.

  “Jack, Tim! Haven’t seen you two in a while. How are you?”

  She felt Tim practically bouncing next to her. “We’re great. This is our friend, Gwen Oxford. She’s a bestselling author!”

  Gwen’s face grew red over Tim’s praise. Jack stepped in. “Tim, babe, you’re embarrassing her,” he playfully chided. “Tone it down a few decibels.”

  The hostess smiled as she picked up three menus. “Any friend of theirs is always welcomed here. Follow me.”

  Gwen took in the restaurant’s wonderful ambiance as she followed the hostess to their table, a comfortable booth in a dark corner. Above the table, a green-shaded brass lamp cast an intimate pool of light on the table. All over the rough brick walls, pictures displaying Rapid City and the Black Hills’ past provided more than a few minutes of distraction.

  “Great place, huh?” Tim asked as he pushed his menu to the side.

  Gwen noticed. “Yeah. Don’t need a menu, huh?”

  “Nope. Always get the same thing. Prime rib, baked sweet potato, and salad. Jack there always has trouble making up his mind before he usually ends up ordering the same thing he always does.” Tim rolled his eyes.

  Gwen laughed. “Don’t pick on him.” She wanted to like Jack, especially since he was so hunky and Tim’s boyfriend. She leaned in and patted Jack’s arm. “Does he always pick on you like this?”

  Tim had been taking a sip of water. He nearly spit-taked it all over their table as he burst out laughing. “You defending big, bad Stoneface there? Ha! That’s a laugh. I’ve never seen him need defending, especially from me.”

  “Yes,” Jack said, playing along, “he’s horrible about picking on me. He even wants to get me waxed.”

  “Waxed? Where?” she asked.

  “Everywhere.” He glared at Tim. “When I let him pluck my eyebrows, he tortures me.”

  “You big baby,” Tim casually shot back. “Just because you like the caveman look doesn’t mean I do.”

  Their playful banter soon had Gwen laughing. She sensed Jack loosening up as the evening went on. At one point, Tim disappeared to the bathroom for a few minutes, leaving her alone with Jack. The fact that she no longer felt nervous around him didn’t escape her notice.

  He was handsome, despite his more serious demeanor when compared to Tim.

  “I’m sorry about your mom,” she said during a lull in the conversation. “Tim told me a little about her.”

  He nodded, the shadow of a frown crossing his face. “Thanks.
There’s not a lot they can do for her, unfortunately.”

  “How’s your dad managing?”

  He shrugged. “He’s doing the best he can. Tim’s been a huge help. He’ll go over during the day sometimes when Dad needs to get away or run errands. Gives him some respite time.”

  “No brothers or sisters to help out?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, just me. And Tim,” he quickly added. Then he smiled. “They weren’t thrilled to find out I’m gay, but I’ll hand it to them, they’ve accepted it and Tim.”

  “Yeah, Tim seems to be a keeper.” She let out a sigh. “You both do. Look, I’m really sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have blown my top like that.”

  He waved it off. “It’s okay, I understand. I know it’s stressful on you right now. But honestly? In my experience, things like this nearly always turn out all right.” He cleared his throat. “From what you’ve told me about your parents, she’s probably just looking for some time away from them.”

  Gwen grudgingly agreed. “I know. It just sucks that Li and I have to be the ones to deal with her mess with them. If she wants to bug out, fine, but she should have to do the dirty work of standing up to Mom and Dad about it.”

  He nodded as he sipped his iced tea. “I agree with you there.”

  “I wonder where Tim is? He’s been gone a while.”

  “Probably flirting with the waitresses,” he said, looking around.

  Did he look a little nervous? They chatted a few more minutes. Tim finally returned, looking a little flushed and out of breath.

  “Are you okay?” Gwen asked.

  He smiled. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. Had to take a call from the other store about an issue. No biggie.” He dug into the remnants of his prime rib. Gwen’s rib eye steak had been cooked to tender perfection, while Jack had chowed down on a tenderloin, apparently a departure from the sirloin he usually ordered.

  Their conversation settled into an easy rhythm and tone. Tim talked her into sharing a dessert with him while Jack settled for a coffee and watched them eat. By the time they finished and Tim picked up the check, Gwen wistfully wished the evening wouldn’t end.

  Unless it ended with me in their bed.

  She sighed, knowing that would never happen. Not with her luck.

  * * * *

  Best steak she ever ate, no lie. She snuggled deeper into the passenger seat and watched Jack as he drove. Tim hadn’t exaggerated when he said they were polar opposites. Tim’s open joviality, sweet nature, and easy smile compared to…

  Stoneface.

  Jack’s intense nature lurked just below the surface, barely kept in check. Dark passion burned in his deep, brown eyes.

  And that hot, hard body.

  Yum.

  It was enough to stoke the coals of a whole book’s worth of fantasies. No, scratch that. Not just one book, but a whole series of them.

  Back at their house, Tim wouldn’t settle for her disappearing into her room for the evening. “No, babe, you need to see this view at night. It’s gorgeous.” He led her to the lower back porch, where a hot tub occupied most of the covered deck. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  He meant the valley beyond, even though her eyes were fixed on the crystal clear sky above, which was pinpointed by countless stars.

  Jack didn’t say anything as he laid his keys on the kitchen counter, but he didn’t disappear into their bedroom, either. He followed them downstairs and out a sliding glass door to the deck.

  She couldn’t remember ever seeing so many stars before. Even though she lived outside Columbus, there was still enough light pollution that it obscured the delicate scattered carpet of faint stars laid out in the sky before her.

  “It’s gorgeous,” she agreed. She felt Tim step closer behind her, his body pressed against hers.

  She didn’t mind.

  Jack stepped to her right side and leaned against the railing. “I missed this when I lived in California. There’s lots of smog out there. A lot of times, you don’t get nice nighttime views like this.”

  “Why did you move out there?” she asked.

  She thought Jack’s expression darkened, but Tim chimed in. “So he could meet little ole me,” he joked.

  That’s when Jack smiled, warm and genuine, and looked at her. “Not exactly, but no, I wouldn’t have met Tim if I hadn’t moved out there. So it was worth the time out there to find this guy.”

  It wasn’t her imagination that Tim was wiggling a little against her backside. She wiggled back and heard him chuckle.

  Heat rose in her face as her panties grew damp. What did she have to lose?

  She wiggled again and felt him harden through his slacks.

  “Why don’t you join us in the hot tub, Gwen?” Tim suggested. When he stepped back she had to suppress a wistful sigh. But when he reached for his pants and started to unbuckle, she swallowed hard. Within a moment he was naked and stepping into the hot tub.

  Jack turned and smiled at her. “Why not?” His gaze never wavered from hers as he stripped and joined Tim in the hot tub.

  She didn’t miss that both men were hard as they sank chest-deep in the water.

  And very well hung.

  Oh boy. Boy, oh boy.

  The men didn’t speak. Jack looked amused while Tim looked hopeful.

  Gwen kicked off her shoes, took a deep breath, and pulled her blouse off over her head. She let it fall to the floor where the men’s clothes lay.

  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

  She felt the blush deep in her face as she got naked. Her nipples immediately tightened and peaked in the cool air, and she hurried to join them in the pleasantly hot water. They sat on either side of her.

  “How’s that?” Tim asked.

  She nodded, her throat suddenly dry. What the hell am I doing?

  Hopefully getting laid, the rational part of her brain said.

  Jack leaned back and closed his eyes. He looked very comfortable. She had to admit the evening air, the beautiful view—and of course, the company—had her relaxed in no time.

  Well, maybe relaxed wasn’t the right word. Tim reached over and gently massaged the back of her neck. It felt good, but it also sent pulses of heat straight to her already throbbing clit.

  She remembered the feel of his lips on hers earlier that evening when he kissed her.

  Who was she kidding? She wanted, just once, to live out the solar-surface-hot fantasies she got paid to write about. She’d never even had anal sex with one man in bed, much less been doubly penetrated by two hot hunks.

  Hell, she’d never had boring old missionary sex with one hot hunk. Dickweed wasn’t ugly, but when she compared his mug to these two hot bodies, he went from a solid seven, on a scale of one to ten, straight down to a negative three hundred and eighty.

  And that was being generous.

  “So,” Tim said with a playful smile, “let’s continue our earlier discussion.”

  “What?”

  He leaned closer, his blue eyes boring into hers. “Where do you get your deliciously naughty ideas, baby cakes?”

  She gulped. “Um, I just…do.”

  His finger trailed around the side of her throat and up to her earlobe. “From that deliciously naughty imagination of yours?”

  She nodded, maybe a tad too vigorously, but she was two seconds from becoming a wanton woman. “Uh-huh.”

  Jack chuckled, a sexy, low, rumbling sound that further turned her insides into melted butter, but didn’t speak.

  Tim edged in close, his lips mere inches from hers. “How about you let us help you do a little research?”

  The thought she should politely refuse and laugh this off occurred to her…for all of a nanosecond.

  Fuck it, I want to screw around.

  She nodded.

  Tim smiled and slowly leaned in, kissing her. It was every bit as passionate as the earlier kiss, but it was also slow, gentle, the opening act in what she suspected would be an all-night symphony of the most delici
ous sex she’d ever had in her life.

  Research…yeah, that’s it.

  She could tell herself that’s all it was and be able to look at herself in the mirror the next morning.

  She finally told her brain to take a hike and returned his kiss, moaning softly as he wrapped his arms around her and she melted into his embrace.

  * * * *

  Jack watched Tim and Gwen kissing. He could tell from the set of her body she was nervous, but watched her relaxing as his lover held her and plunged his tongue into her mouth.

  His already hard cock twitched and throbbed beneath the water. When his mind started to drift back to years earlier, he forced it to remain in the here and now. He didn’t want to do that to himself. This wasn’t Mel, no matter how much like her Gwen looked.

  But part of his heart that had always remained in pain felt a little better pretending she was.

  He reached below the water and slowly stroked his cock, not enough to get him off but enough to make it throb even more as he watched Tim nibble his way along Gwen’s jawline, down her delicate throat, and raise her up out of the water enough he could suck her right nipple into his mouth.

  She softly moaned with pleasure as she held onto Tim’s shoulders.

  Unable to take it any longer, he moved through the water, around Tim, until he could suck her left nipple into his mouth. He flicked the stiff tip with his tongue, drawing more moans from her.

  When her hand found his shoulder for support, her fingers holding on tight as they teased and tormented her, he reached up and covered her hand with his.

  Hell, if she could use them for research, he could use her to relive a little of his past, right? No harm, no foul?

  Not like she’ll be staying, or probably ever even come back.

  He hoped he could convince himself of the lie, that he wouldn’t lose his heart to her. But as she softly moaned again he suspected that’s exactly what would happen.

  What the hell am I doing?

  One of Tim’s hands snuck between Jack’s legs and found his cock, his fingers stroking up and down, firing Jack’s need. He loved Tim, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to sink his cock deep inside Gwen’s pussy and fuck her until she screamed. He’d missed that, having two people in his bed.