Asking for it, p.6
Asking For It, page 6
“So are the two of you...” What was I doing? This was the exact opposite of not delving into their private lives.
Owen glanced at me. “Are we...?”
It wasn’t that I had a problem asking are you a couple? They’d played tonsil tag in front of me, so it was a reasonable assumption. “I’m wondering if your partnership goes beyond business. Beyond friendship.”
Silence.
I glanced between them. “Is this another of those secrets like how long you’ll be in town?”
“No. Rather, it’s not something we talk about a lot, but it’s not a secret,” Kingston said. “It’s just not as cut and dried as a label.”
“Also, I don’t want you to take it wrong when I say the kiss the other day was as much for your benefit as ours,” Owen added.
Curious. “Now you have to explain.”
Kingston drummed his fingers on the center console.
“You said you had a friend, the one who got you the X poster, and the two of you make better friends than lovers.” Owen seemed to be measuring his words. “It’s kind of like that.”
Kingston silently flattened his palm on the leather. “Kind of. I dated this woman, years ago, who thought it would be hot to see two guys together. That was the first time we...”
“Shared.” Owen picked up the thread without pause. “There was kissing, more, between Kingston and me. It was good.”
“Good isn’t exactly a screaming endorsement. And doesn’t quite line up with that kiss I saw.” It had been incredible for me, and I’d only watched.
“He’s understating things,” Kingston said. “Tell me you’re surprised. She and I didn’t last long—she was jealous of my relationship with Owen—”
“Seriously?” I shouldn’t be any more surprised about that than Owen being minimalist in his description. But it had been her idea.
Kingston playfully tapped Owen on the arm. “I was glad it showed early. My friendship with Owen is one of those things I’m not sacrificing. We’ve got an occasional with-benefits thing going on. We lean into the passion when it feels right for the situation.”
“You were reading yaoi, you’re an X fan, the kiss added to the moment.” Owen made it sound like a reasonable step in a business plan, rather than an intense, shared moment.
Right. “But it was totally spontaneous.” I kept my sarcasm light.
“We didn’t discuss it first, if that’s what you’re implying.” Kingston almost sounded wounded. He didn’t have the right.
But I liked the idea that they were in-tune enough with each other that a kiss could be spontaneous, and my imagination was running rampant with fantasies of them together. Especially given how easily they talked about being friends-with-sometimes-benefits.
“You’re not jealous, are you?” The faintest hint of concern ran through Kingston’s voice.
I’d wonder if I’d imagined it, but his tone wasn’t hard to read.
“We’re not dating.” I had to remind myself as much as him. “But no.” Kind of turned on. Okay, a lot turned on. Letting that truth slip out was a gaping chasm of a line that I wasn’t crossing with them.
Chapter Ten
The cabin was rustically beautiful, as I expected from a group of twenty to thirty something trust fundies. In the middle of a forest clearing, set back far enough from the lake to be private, but close enough to have its own dock, and make swimming and boating convenient.
The interior defied the log-cabin look, with tile floors, stainless appliances, and high-end electronics. I wasn’t judging—it looked comfortable, and it was hard to complain about that.
Kingston and Owen introduced me to the six other people there. Half had just come back from an unsuccessful morning of fishing, and the other three were arguing over how many ingredients could change in a drink and still have it be a mimosa.
The morning passed in a blur of fruit plates and idle chatter. The more time that ticked away, the further I drifted toward the living room walls.
I should mingle. This wasn’t a large group, and I was here to make connections. The way everyone had split off into packs of two or three made it difficult to know where to gravitate, so the edge of the room got my company.
“Mind if I share your wall?” Owen startled me when he brushed my shoulder and leaned back next to me. He handed me a cold bottle of water. “I’m sorry for assaulting you with so many names at once. It’s a lot to keep track of.”
I took a long swallow of water. The icy cold froze my uncertainty. I looked up to find Owen watching me. I turned away before eye contact could become more. “It’s fine. I’m good with names.”
“I should have guessed that. Let’s see... you give each one of them a nickname, and associate their real names with whomever you’ve decided they are?”
I didn’t like being pegged so easily, even if it was exactly what I was doing with everyone else in the room. “Maybe.”
“Care to share?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Kingston seemed to appear from nowhere, and planted himself between us and the rest of the room.
“People never appreciate the instant judgment, even when there’s truth to it,” Owen said. “So many want to categorize everything around them with neat little labels, but apply one of those labels to them...”
It was both terrifying and enticing that he understood where I was coming from. “What he said. And if I picked the wrong trait to focus on with your friends, I’ll find myself walking home.”
“Never.” Kingston didn’t look fazed. So, status quo. “But people, am I right?” He rolled his eyes, but never stopped smiling.
I gave an exaggerated sigh. “It’s true. Life would be so much easier if it came with anime narration that explained every single intent and power—”
“In excruciating detail?” Owen pushed away from the wall to look at me. “You want a diatribe about everything except the one thing that matters?”
“Which is?” I had to know.
“I like you, let’s fuck,” Owen said. “When was the last time you heard anyone say that in an anime who wasn’t cast as the overbearing love interest?”
“I’ve all but said that, what does that make me?” Kingston asked.
Far more appealing than he should be. “The enemy,” I teased. “I take back what I said. Endless grandstanding and super villain monologuing suck.”
Kingston rested a finger under my chin and raised my gaze to his. “You don’t get out of it that easily. I like you. Let’s fuck.”
Heat flooded me, and I broke the connection. It severed the spark flowing between us, and I instantly wanted that feeling back. “You like my café. We’re not going to screw. And you’re definitely not what snap judgment says you are. Neither of you.”
“Is that good or bad?” Kingston asked.
I didn’t know yet. “It’s certainly interesting.”
“I’ll take interesting. Life can always use another surprise.” Condensation had formed on Owen’s bottle, and when he tiled his head back to drink, several drops ran down his chin, over his throat, and dampened his shirt enough to tease.
Kingston dragged his thumb over Owen’s chin, wiping away some of the water.
Thirsty took on a literal form as I suppressed the desire to lean in draw my tongue along a similar path. I had male friends who were close to the point of playful flirting, and I’d never seen them do anything that intimate. “Not all surprises are good.” I pressed my own water bottle to my cheek. Dribbles hit my chest, and both their gazes followed. I wanted to turn in on myself and hide, but I pretended not to notice.
“Agree to disagree.” Owen looked me in the eye again. “Even the bad kind of unexpected leads to change and growth.”
I couldn’t argue that, but it didn’t make me like the idea of bad surprises any more than I had thirty seconds ago. “Change can be scarring.” Sometimes those scars were invisible. I certainly went out of my way to hide mine.
“Come join us.” Peter interrupted, saving me from my thoughts, and pulled us into their group of two. “We want your opinion on this start-up coming out of Phoenix. The newest we’ll beat Facebook site.”
They didn’t want my opinion, or Kingston’s it seemed. They were mostly interested in what Owen had to say. I wasn’t surprised they ignored me, but how surprised would they be to know Kingston had more to offer than he let on.
We moved between groups for several hours. Lunch was an informal buffet of more fresh fruit. I was grateful for that on a lot of levels. And by that afternoon, I found myself in a lawn chair, in a small clearing a bit back from the lake. The trees blocked the sun, and the cool breeze was enough to tease the heat from my skin.
Owen and Kingston were with me. They hadn’t left my side much, which was odd since we were here to see their friends, but I was grateful at not being left to fend for myself. What was I thinking? I wasn’t the kind of person who mingled and made connections.
We had company, though, and it was exactly who I needed it to be. Ravyn had been my favorite person to talk to so far, aside from my not-dates, and her brother Ramsey was on the city council.
“What do you do, Lyn?” Ravyn asked.
Enjoying her company didn’t mean I’d completely shed my discomfort in this group. I didn’t want them to see they intimidated me at all. “I’m an entrepreneur.”
“She owns Loading Java,” Ramsey said.
Ravyn gave him a curious look. “How do you know that?”
“I saw the zoning order come across my desk.”
He was definitely the guy for me to meet. This day wasn’t a mistake after all.
I glanced at Owen and Kingston, both looking relaxed, gorgeous, and frequently focused on me. I had a hard time thinking it was a mistake anyway, no matter how much I shouldn’t be fantasizing about them. It wasn’t like I was planning a future with them, though. I simply liked the memories of all the different things they did with their fingers... tongues... other extremities.
“I’ve always wanted to drop in there, and I’m not sure why I haven’t. Why a gaming café?” Ravyn set her beer on the ground, and scooted forward on her chair. The way she leaned in, elbows on her knees, pressed her breasts together. Stunning view. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stare, or wallow in envy.
The fact that no one else gave her a second glance was odd, but not bad for my self-esteem.
“For the prestige and fame.” I tossed out the joke lightly. Please don’t let it fall flat.
Kingston snickered.
Ravyn and Ramsey smiled.
“You may be in the wrong business,” Ravyn said. “Only reason I know these assholes is they’re friends with Ramsey.”
“They’re not big L.A. Players?” I feigned shock. “They told me they were invited to every party in Hollywood.” Except I hadn’t had a clue what they looked like until they walked into my shop.
The teasing earned me more chuckles. I liked having a similar sense of humor to these people.
“Property values in L.A. are outrageous. We’re not going near that place.” Leave it to Owen to pick the reasonable retort.
Another thing that made him sexy.
And I could stop drooling over them any time now, please. “I love gaming, anime and baking... and I found a way to do all three.” My story sounded a lot like Kingston and Owen’s. Instinct braced me for a jab or two about of course you love baking, it shows.
“I need to stop by at some point,” Ramsey said. “What’s your specialty? Like, if I have to order just one thing off the menu, what do I get?”
“It’s all good.” My inner fat-girl was still on alert for the jokes. Of course you like it all.
Ravyn slapped him on the leg. “She’s not going to sell if she thinks it sucks, dummy.”
Ramsey shrugged. “Of course not, but she’s got a favorite. Don’t you?” He looked at me.
“The chocolate croissant. Messy, but worth it.” And the creation I was proudest of. The recipe took a lot of trial and error.
“Messy as in, chocolate everywhere? All over your fingers...?” Kingston wiggled his eyebrows.
I fixed him with a warning glare, and braced myself for a surge of bad feelings associated with sucking chocolate off fingers. But everything that led up to his damning question at the end of that night was still a pleasant memory. “All over.”
Ravyn cleared her throat. “I was thinking it was too cold to go in the water, but someone needs to cool off.”
“You can’t take the heat of this package.” Kingston gestured at himself.
I was certainly struggling with it.
Ravyn rolled her eyes, stood, and offered me a hand. “Do you want to walk away from this testosterone fest, or stay and be worshiped?”
“They’re not—” Not me. I was never the center of that kind of attention.
Ravyn pursed her lips. “They are.”
“I could use a drink.” I stood as well.
Ravyn gestured toward the cabin, and we headed into the kitchen. She grabbed two lemonades from the fridge and handed me one.
“How well do you know them? Owen and Kingston?” I tried to sound casual. I sipped my drink to hide any fidgeting.
“They’ve been friends with Ramsey for years. I see them every few months.”
I both did and didn’t want to ask my next question. It would be obvious why I wondered, but since Ravyn already made the comment about worshiping, it wasn’t as though she’d missed the attraction. “Do you know...” How should I phrase this? “Do they ever mix business with pleasure?”
“No.” There was no hesitation in her response. “I mean, I guess it’s possible, since I don’t know how they spend their downtime, but I can’t imagine Owen ever crossing that line. He doesn’t even like to call in favors.”
“They never do.” Ramsey’s reply came from the kitchen doorway. “I’d bet a hedge fund on that. Kingston blurs a few lines, but—if you don’t already know this, you haven’t spent enough time with them—their business is their world. They’d never jeopardize it.”
I understood the sentiment, but was I doing exactly that to myself, by being here?
Chapter Eleven
By the end of the night, as we were saying our goodbyes, I’d decided to forgive Kingston for joking that sex meant I’d sell my business to them. It was a lot less stressful to go back to enjoying the scenery and the conversation, at least for the next hour or so drive down the canyon.
After that, it wouldn’t matter. Our time together would be done.
When we reached the SUV, Kingston playfully tugged my arm toward the back seats. “Let Owen chauffeur.”
“That seems a little odd.” Didn’t it?
Owen shrugged. “No odder than the two of us in the front seat and Kingston alone in back. Keep each other company.”
As we headed toward main roads, an unexpected sadness surged through me, clenching around my heart.
“Why the frown?” Kingston tugged a thumb over my bottom lip.
The intimate touch caught me off-guard, but soothed me. Did I dare say out loud what I was thinking? It would be rude to hide it. “I’m not ready for the day to end.”
Insecurities twinged inside. Was it stupid to admit that?
The corner of Kingston’s mouth tugged up. “It’s not over yet. Don’t waste the drive pouting.”
“What would you suggest instead?” I asked.
He trailed his fingers up the inside of my thigh, and fissures of need sparked under my skin. “You look gorgeous in this skirt.” He wasn’t answering my question, but I could be patient. “I swear I had a Basic Instinct moment every time you crossed or uncrossed your legs today.”
“Except, I’m not a killer.” I knew where the compliment was going, but it was tinged. “Or... whatever. I’ve never actually seen the movie.”
“The important thing is, you’re way more attractive than Sharon Stone.” Kingston’s fingers crept higher, nudging my legs apart.
I shook my head. “I’m not.”
“Disagree.” Kingston moved his hand further up the inside of my thighs, and my skirt crept higher.
That same nervous we’re in public fear was back. But it was dark, the windows were tinted, and there was no one else on the road.
Kingston brushed a light touch over my panties, and I gasped.
“Is that a keep going?” He asked.
Was it? Just a few days ago I was furious with him. With both of them. Was I willing to dive into a physical situation again? Kingston told me up front, his goal was to prove they were likeable business partners.
Did that include the sex?
“Lyn?” Concern crept into Kingston’s voice.
I was spread-legged, skirt bunched around my hips, while one man drove and another teased me. “I don’t want this to end like the other night.” I kept my voice firm, trying to make the words sound like a command more than a terrified confession.
“I don’t either.” Kingston eased his hand back, resting it on my knee instead. “This isn’t... It’s sex. Not business.”
That simplified things. Didn’t it? I glanced up at Owen. “Are just going to drive and pretend there’s nothing going on back here?” I tried to keep my tone light.
“I’m not pretending anything.” He briefly met my gaze in the rear-view mirror. “I’m listening to and enjoying every second of it.”
Being watched wasn’t my thing. Not even by whomever I was with at the time. So why did the fact that Owen was the watcher—listener—raise goosebumps everywhere?
“How many times have you done this?” I asked. The situation was too well orchestrated.
Kingston squeezed my knee. “This specifically? You’d be my first. You get to pop my fooling-around-in-the-back-seat-while-my-best-friend-drives cherry.”
I did want it. Him. Twice with the same fling broke a rule I’d rarely had to consider, but it wasn’t as though we’d make a habit of this. I could think of the drive home as a chance to rewrite the ending of our last hook-up.
