Denys, Jennifer - Just Good Friends [Friends and Acquaintances 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

Friends and Acquaintances 1

JENNIFER DENYS

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

He looked down at the girl as she lay naked and spread-eagled on the bed, arms and legs bound with red silk scarves, long dark hair curling damply around her face, eyes heavy-lidded with arousal. Her breath quickened as he rolled a nipple between his finger and thumb before stroking her soft skin down and over her flat stomach to her mound. He could feel her tremble in anticipation as he used his other hand to place the fluorescent pink dildo at the opening created by the position of her legs and pushed gently into her body, already moist with juices. She gasped in delight as he pushed in and out slowly, her body arching off the bed. She whimpered and cried that she wanted him to go harder...

“What the hell?” exclaimed Sam as he read a passage from the book which was lying open by Jessie’s bed. He turned the book to look at the cover. The word
lust
was part of the title. Sam’s eyebrows rose in astonishment as he looked at the picture of a couple very nearly depicting the scene he had just read.

It wasn’t that he was prudish. It was just that he hadn’t been expecting to see a book so… so… erotic lying open by the bed of his friend—any other friend, but not quiet, unassuming, girl-next-door Jessie. Not that he came into her bedroom very often. She had just broken a pair of reading glasses in the lounge, so he came in here to get her spare pair while she put the broken pair somewhere safe.

“Oh shit,” was Jessie’s anxious yell as she came sprinting into the room after him, plowing to a halt in the doorway, her eyes alighting with horror on the book in his hand.

Sam looked at her in bemusement, watching her go pale with anxiety then crimson red in embarrassment before she rushed out of the room groaning. He slowly followed her out of the room, still holding the book in one hand and her glasses in the other. Jessie was sitting on the sofa, her face hidden in her hands on her lap.

“Um, Jess, what is this?” Sam asked as he leaned his shoulder against the bedroom doorframe, brandishing the compromising book in his hand. He was extremely intrigued to know the answer. Jessie was a shy woman in her late thirties, just a couple of years older than him. She was his neighbor in this apartment block. They had become friends when they discovered a mutual love of sci-fi and met regularly to discuss their latest book, film, or TV episode. At no time would he have thought she was the type to read romances, let alone erotic books—her usual genre, apart from sci-fi, was historical whodunits.

Jessie mumbled through her fingers. She was clearly mortified by his discovery of one of her erotic romances.

“What was that? I missed it.” Sam queried, stifling a grin at her discomposure.

She lifted her head and glared at him as he stood there arrogantly, teasing her. “You know very well it’s an erotic romance since you are reading the cover.”

“Yesss. But more to the point, why are
you
reading it?”

She flung herself back against the sofa, groaning in resignation that he wasn’t letting this go. “I am reading it because it’s the only way I get any titillation these days!”

In fact, Sam did know that it was a long time since she had had anything other than an occasional date, and even those were incredibly rare—she was the proverbial wallflower. In fact, he was pretty sure she hadn’t had a lover since university. He had tried to set her up with his friends, but it never worked. He hadn’t wanted to spoil their great friendship by dating her himself, although he had been on the verge of asking her out from time to time, particularly when she giggled. He loved her laughter. It came from deep within and made him feel happy even when she was laughing at him.

“So is this a one-off?” he asked, knowing her propensity to buy sets of books, particularly if she had a favorite author. He left his position in the doorway and walked over to the chair he had been sitting in earlier, handing over her spare pair of specs on the way.

“Thanks,” she responded, grabbing her glasses as she ignored his question. He saw her visibly getting back in her comfort zone wearing her glasses. “So getting back to our original discussion, I think Anakin and—”

“Uh-uh,” Sam interrupted as he sat down. “You haven’t answered my question.” He waved the offending book in her direction. He could be very terrier-like when he wanted.

She grimaced. Closing her eyes, she admitted quietly, “If you had looked in the white cupboard in my bedroom, you would have seen my stash of erotic romances from Serena Books.”

“Serena Books?” he queried, frowning as he studied the cover of the book again. “Ah—the publisher. So how many is a stash?” He finished on a chuckle, stretching his legs out in front of him in a relaxed manner, crossing one ankle over another. He could have fun with this one.

“Including e-books, about one hundred and fifty,” Jessie confessed in a small voice, biting her bottom lip.

Sam’s eyes goggled, and he sat forward. “You are kidding me.” He sat, speechless for a moment. He knew she liked to buy books but never expected that many in one genre.

He saw her glancing at him in surprise as he continued his silence.

“No, I’m not kidding. Sam, speak to me. You’re usually very eloquent in our conversations—well, when we get talking about sci-fi, you are!”

He cleared his throat as he sat back. “Okay, so we’ve established you are a connoisseur of this type of book. What is it about them that you like? I mean, I can’t imagine the plot is that complex.”

“What, you don’t think how A falls in love with B can be complex?” she retorted then laughed as he mocked her. “Okay, I admit it’s not like reading an
exciting
space adventure or a
mysterious
thriller,” Jessie responded, emphasising the adjectives sarcastically.

“
Sooo
…?” he asked, grinning at her, pleased they were getting back to their usual banter.

“Like any romance, what counts is the growing relationship—the tension, the emotion, and the desire between the couple. But I do admit with erotic romances it is also the sex I read them for—the sexual scenarios in which the characters enact their desires, through which they fall in love, well you know… oh God, do you know how embarrassing this is?” She dropped her head in her hands again, her cheeks scarlet.

Sam chuckled. He decided to play this one a little further. “Will it help if I also admit to reading some erotic romances?” Actually he hadn’t, but he wanted to see how far he could get her to open up about her secret desires.

Her head shot up so quickly he was surprised her neck didn’t break. Her mouth opened in astonishment. “No way!”

“Yes way… but I don’t think I’ve read any from this publisher,” he blithely lied since he hadn’t read any erotic book from any publisher. “So what’s your favorite type of ‘scenario’ and why?” he asked offhandedly, looking away from her face for a moment in case she guessed his game.

Not expecting this question, she asked hesitantly, “Um, do we have to continue this discussion? Can’t we get back to our original topic?”

“Nope, I want to know more about this passion of yours—forgive the pun.” He smiled wickedly.

“Oh, ha-ha! All right,” she said, giving up any resistance. He noticed her eyes glinting like she was about to plot something. “My favorite scenario usually involves lots of guys—preferably over six feet, fabulously good looking, and hunky—very hunky—all making love to the
same
woman.” She crossed her arms in defiance.

Sam sat stunned. He would never have imagined in his wildest thoughts that Jessie would be a woman who fantasized about having a ménage. “How many guys are lots?” he asked huskily after he cleared his throat several times.

She glanced at him warily. “Are you teasing me or genuinely interested?”

Despite being easygoing, he knew he was not always easy to read. He had a tendency to keep some things to himself. “I’m interested. You know, we rarely talk about relationships.”

Surprised by this comment, she said, “It’s, what, six months since your last girlfriend?”

“About that. But you haven’t answered my question. How many counts as a ménage?”

“Well, any number will do. Actually”—she relaxed back onto the sofa, suddenly tucking one leg under another—“one of my favorite books should appeal to you, as it’s sci-fi.” Getting into the gist of the story, she continued, gesturing with her hands as she did. “A girl lands on a remote planet full of hunky aliens—human ones. As it happens, there is a dearth of women on this planet, so she is revered by these guys, four of whom have the job of… how shall I put it? Uh, ‘seeing to her sexual needs…’” Jessie had to stop as Sam burst out laughing. She threw a cushion at him. “Stop it! This happens to be one of my favorites.” She glared at him and then laughed. “It’s very erotic! I bet if the book was about several girls servicing one guy you’d like it.”

“Now you’re talking! But as I get the feeling that the romance market, and quite probably the erotic romance market, is intended for women, I doubt many stories of that sort have been written. At least, I haven’t come across any yet,” he ad-libbed. Then he added with a frown as the thought suddenly occurred to him, “Do you actually want to have a ménage or more in real life?”

Jessie paled. “Um.” She pondered."It’s one thing to read about it, but to consider it in real life is another matter entirely. The answer is probably not. But as I can’t find one guy, let alone several, this scenario will never come up! Anyway, it’s your turn to tell me your favorite book,” she retaliated, turning the conversation back on him as she leaned on her hand awaiting his answer.

Sam jumped in fear. Oh shit, how did he get out of this one? Looking at his watch, he suddenly pretended to realize the time. “Oh hell, I have to go. I’m meeting a friend…Matt, actually.” He paused, momentarily wondering if he should say what was on his mind. He took the plunge. “Look, how about we take one of your erotic romances and read it next instead of sci-fi for a change?”

“
What
!” Jessie lurched forward. The elbow she had rested against the side of the sofa was jerked out of position by the shock of his statement.

“Well, why not?” He shrugged. “We both like reading this type of story. It would make a nice change. You choose the book and let me know what it is, and we’ll meet again on Friday. Bye.” Then Sam left hurriedly. He didn’t have a prior appointment with Matt, but he did need time to become
au fait
with this genre, which was suddenly looking very interesting indeed.

* * * *

Jessie stared openmouthed at the door, still slumped on the sofa, astonished at the turn of events. How on earth did she end up agreeing to this? One minute they were discussing one of the
Star Wars
characters, the next they seemed to be discussing erotic romances.

She was amazed that Sam read this type of genre. He had certainly never mentioned any before, but then—she grinned—she hadn’t, either. It was something she generally kept to herself. She had even been known to hold her hands protectively around her e-reader on public transport, worried that someone would see over her shoulder what she was reading.

Smiling, she leaned back in her seat, wondering which books Sam liked best—those with bondage, sex toys, sex in public, or another scenario? This was proving to be an unusual twist to their friendship.

Jessie frowned as she pondered the situation and laid her head back against the cushion in thought, biting her lip. She wasn’t sure how comfortable she would be discussing sex scenarios with Sam.

In the early days of their friendship, she had considered him as a potential boyfriend, but he hadn’t seemed interested in her that way, and instead, they had become best friends. She, on the other hand, would have loved him to ask her out. He wasn’t like one of the hunky aliens she lusted after, but he was still good-looking, tall, and fair. In the early days of their friendship, she melted every time he smiled at her. Actually he still had the capacity to make her melt, if she was honest.

She realized in surprise that she was intrigued enough to see where this new slant in their relationship would go.

Now to consider which book they should read first.