Trained for Seduction (18 page)

He breathed in, around the pain. Soon, she would be Jake’s for the day. This was Jake’s way of getting her ready, used to him, so when it happened she wouldn’t freeze and get them killed. But fuck it hurt, his chest squeezing tighter around every breath, his heart feeling as if it would rip in two.

It hurt because it was out of his control. If he were offering her, for a ménage with him and Jake, it would be different. He’d feel different. He knew this. But it was out of his control, and it fucking sucked.

“Are you proud of me?” she was asking Jake.

“Yes, darlin’. I’m so proud.”

“What about Chase? Would he be proud?”

Those questions hurt almost as much as the kiss. She believed in him, the devil that was going to destroy every shred of belief and trust she’d ever had in a human.

Jake brushed a lock of hair from her cheek and glanced up at Chase with a look of warning. Feed her need, or she would kill them both. “Why don’t you ask him? He’s over by my truck.”

She froze in Jake’s arms, every muscle stiffening. It stung as much as seeing her kiss Jake. He didn’t want her to be wary of him, ever, not like his uncle scared the shit out of him. Chase knew he was a cold bastard sometimes. He’d be a cold bastard to her again, and he hated that. But right now…

She turned and met his gaze, her eyes wide, needing his approval. A part of Chase wanted to turn away, the pain unbearable. But her eyes trapped him, the blue depths so conflicted, full of love for him, so unsure.

Guilt gnawed his insides. He had done this to her, making her feel loved because he held her all night, only to dash that away when he became cold at work, driving her harder, just like his uncle drove him.

Chase glanced from Jake to Charlotte, both staring, waiting. If he were to have an equivalent of siblings, these were his, Charlotte more than a sister, Jake more than a brother. He loved them both. There was no one else here to see, and if he let his guard slip, just a little, it wasn’t anything these two hadn’t seen before. He loved Kate, and right now, he didn’t want to be her boss.

He took a step away from the truck and opened his arms, welcoming her, wanting her to run to him like she had run to Jake. Her face lit up like Christmas morning, and she ran to him, launching herself at him, her arms around his neck, legs around his waist.

He hugged her, inhaling the scent of sunshine and grass mixed with Kate’s sweet skin, allowing himself to bask in her joy, just this once. “Good job, love.”

“That’s what she calls everyone,” she said against his neck.

“Don’t let Charlotte get to you. She was just talking trash to get you riled.” He called Kate love because he could say it, mean it, and she’d never know the truth, and it satisfied a deeper need he couldn’t name. But he couldn’t tell her that.

However, he could ease the jealousy he’d heard in her voice because though he liked the idea of Kate claiming him, being possessive, she didn’t need that stress right now. He might be a cold bastard, but he wasn’t cruel. “She’s like my sister, Kate. Just like Jake is my brother. You have nothing to fear from her. Not now, not ever.”

“Okay.” Kate pushed away from his chest. “I know it’s stupid to be so excited about this. But you know this physical aspect isn’t my strong suit.” She unwrapped her legs from his waist and struggled out of his arms, looking anywhere but at him. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

“I think it would take a bit more than a hug to embarrass me. I’m a big boy.”

“You’re not mad that Jake—”

“No,” he lied.

She met his gaze, again unsure and conflicted, and he couldn’t help kissing her in a possessive way that was more than work appropriate. To remind Jake who she really belonged to, even though she technically didn’t. He broke the kiss and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Charlotte still won, though.”

Kate sighed but couldn’t seem to keep the wicked grin from spreading. “I know. I’ll buy your pseudo-sister lunch to make friends. Okay?”

“Me, too?” He wanted lunch with her more than anything. He was the boss. He could take the time.

She smiled up at him. “You, too.”

The day after Kate pinned Charlotte, Chase told her to stay home. Take the day off. She was done training, and the next day she would learn about her assignment. But first she had to rest.

“But what will I do?” she wailed in the kitchen as he got ready to leave for work. “I’ve already snooped.”

“You could play with the toys I bought you,” he said as he gathered his things for the day. Though Chase at the office was a bit daunting at times, Chase at home, in a suit was hotter than hell. He smiled at her, that dimple working evil magic on parts of her that should be sated.

“So I’ll be entertained for five minutes.” And it wouldn’t be nearly as fun as coming with him, so why bother?

“Quick on the trigger today, love?” He grinned, the damn dimple making her want him even more. “And here I thought I satisfied that itch an hour ago.”

“Stay home with me. You look…sick. Hot. Bothered, even. I think you have a fever.”

“The Lord of the Spies doesn’t get sick days.”

“No, the lord just doesn’t utilize what the government has given him.”

He wrapped his free arm around her and squeezed her ass. “I think I’ve utilized what the government gave me quite well. I love utilizing government property over and over, especially when that property screams my name when she comes.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll stay home if you come home at a decent hour. We haven’t had dinner together in ages.” He started to protest, and she shook her head. “You’ve worked too many hours, and you’re exhausted, too, Chase. You can’t keep going at this pace. Get what you have to do done, and then bring Jake home with you. I’ll spend today learning to cook.”

Chase looked doubtful at the thought of her cooking. He’d done all of it since their birthday weekend, letting her do no more than make a bowl of cereal, and he had protested at that. “I think we’d both be happier if you spent the day playing with your toys.”

She smacked him.

He grinned again. “I’ll be home at eighteen-hundred with Jake in tow, as ordered.”

“And that better be six, Chase. You know I hate military time.”

She spent the day haunting the Internet and came up with a menu of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and apple pie. A salad for her and Chase, since picky Jake didn’t eat veggies.

She put the finishing touches on dinner while listening to her MP3 player. It was funny how Chase rarely listened to music. In the car sometimes, but mostly he did the news. The house was often quiet unless he had the TV on, and he loved cooking shows. She asked him once about music, and he had shrugged.

Jake listened to music constantly. He had many playlists on his phone, and he’d let her choose the music she wanted to hear while he kicked her ass daily. He had several he had created just for her, labeled from mild ass kicking to extreme, depending on what they were doing for the day. She usually picked extreme. Lately, they’d done all combat stuff, which to her was extreme, which made him laugh harder.

A pop song with a driving bass drum beat came up next on her player, and she danced a bit as she stirred the gravy. It had the same rhythm that Chase’s hips used to fuck her into oblivion. Maybe she could get him to listen to this, and then take her that way. She swayed her hips in time as she turned off the range top and glanced at the clock. Six. He should be home any second.

She turned and there was Chase, leaning against the doorframe, hands in his pockets, his expression totally unreadable. When would she not be a deer in the headlights with this man? She had dirty, hot sex with him in very naughty positions, with toys shoved up her ass. She should be able to meet his gaze and not freeze.

She pulled one ear bud out of her ear and forced herself to speak. “Hi.”

“I hope you’re thinking of me when you dance like that.” A ghost of a smile played at his lips as he assessed her with a tip of his head.

“Of course,” she said and walked over to stand in front of him. In her bare feet, he seemed so much taller, larger. It had to be the suit. She pushed replay on the song and popped the ear bud in his ear. “Do you dance?”

“No.” He cocked his head, listening.

“Do you have any musical ability?”

He sighed. “No.”

“That’s too bad.” She swayed her hips, brushing against him suggestively. “Because I’d like you to fornicate with me to this.”

“Fornicate?” His smile grew, that dimple a deadly weapon against her heart.

“You like it when I speak smartly. Fornicate is a little smarter than plain old fuck.”

She loved that as unemotional as he could be at times, he had a hard time hiding his lust for her. “I could muster up some rhythm for that. We may have to practice over, and over, and over…”

She grinned and ground against him a little more suggestively. “When’s Jake coming?”

“He’s running late.”

“Do we have time? Because I’m not wearing panties. Just for you.” She reached up, took his face in her hands, and drew him down to kiss her. He slid his arms around her waist and ground his hips against hers, his cock already hard.

“None of that,” Jake said as he walked in through the mudroom. “Unless I’m invited.” It could have been her imagination, but the atmosphere changed the minute Jake walked in. The air seemed to become more static, as if his addition charged the air with a mysterious energy.

Jake dropped his bag on the floor and then crossed the kitchen. He exchanged a look with Chase, one she didn’t quite comprehend. Then he leaned in to kiss her quickly on the lips, despite the fact that she was still in Chase’s arms. “I missed you, darlin’.”

Kate gaped at Jake, not knowing what to say. Or do.

“I had lunch with you, so you couldn’t have missed me too much,” Chase said, sounding amused, which Kate didn’t expect at all.

Jake grinned. They exchanged another look and he went to inspect the pots on the stove.

Kate blinked. Shouldn’t Chase yell or stiffen or something? Jake had kissed her, and wasn’t that…wrong? But Chase hadn’t, and instead he held her closer, hugging her, inhaling as if she were the best smelling thing on Earth. Maybe she was after baking an apple pie.

And then it dawned on her that she’d never really seen the two of them interact out of work.

At work, Chase was the boss and she and Jake did what they were told. But this, how Jake moved around Chase, the looks they shared, was different. Maybe she wasn’t used to seeing best friends interact, but there was something else…

Those shared looks hinted of darker things they’d done together. She’d put two and two together and made the huge leap to a threesome. She’d never asked either directly, though she’d bet she would have a better chance of learning something if she asked Jake. Chase would just shut her down.

“Dinner almost ready?” Chase asked, his arms still around her. He dipped to kiss her neck.

“Yes.”

“Then put that music on hold. Maybe we’ll play with that later.”

“Okay.”

She served dinner and the guys ate. Though she loved having Chase to herself, she found having Jake in the house to be…she had no words for it. His presence enhanced what Chase did quietly, as if someone had added an amplifier to heighten everything. She felt more attractive, more important, more…loved. Not that either had ever gone to that word, love. But they made her feel more womanly than she ever had before.

And Jake wasn’t being anything more than Jake. In fact, after that kiss in the doorway, he’d become very polite and hands-off, unlike work. Jake lightened the mood, made Chase smile more, and she laughed even though Jake picked on her constantly. It was as if he didn’t get his fill from not being with her all day, since she had the day off and he didn’t.

And Chase was quite complimentary about his meal, stating he couldn’t have done better himself. She knew some of that was a lie, but for once, she was glad for his skills in that department.

“Okay, since it’s my evening, I pick the entertainment,” Kate said over coffee. “And no, Jake, you’d never be able to play hostess because I know what you’d pick. I’m not stripping for you.”

“Damn.” Jake snapped his fingers and laughed. Chase grunted, but a smile hovered around the corners of his mouth. “So what do you have in store?”

What to do with two men? A naughty part of her wondered what it would be like to be fucked by them both. But she brushed that aside, shocked. She belonged to Chase and Chase only. “You can pick a game and hope to beat me. I’ll let the two of you team up together if one combined ego is easier to soothe than two separate, trashed egos.”

“What makes you think you’ll beat us, both of us?” Chased crossed his arms and looked belligerent at the thought of losing.

Jake slapped him on the back. “That’s the torture of only having sex every night, buddy. You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Chase looked from her to Jake and back at her again, expecting to be filled in.

Kate looked at Jake and shrugged. It wasn’t her fault he didn’t know. Unfortunately, Jake was right. Their nightly entertainment consisted of running and a movie or sex. She wasn’t going to complain one bit about the sex part.

Jake heaved an exaggerated sigh, because he’d been beaten enough by her to know what was in store. “You’re not going to win anything she chooses. Just be a man and resign yourself to that now, so when we play, you can pretend you’re having fun. Your ego will thank you.”

Chase looked at her with new appreciation, and she shrugged, a blush creeping warmly up to her cheeks. “I count cards. A game with dice has probability statistics. And I have a photographic memory. That dictionary in the den is now in my brain.”

“Is there no game I can beat you at?” She knew Chase’s ego was horrified at the prospect. He was a smart guy, and he was used to winning at everything.

“A board game? No. Well, you have a better chance with a game with dice. I warn you, though, I know what to buy in games with mock real estate, so don’t even go there if you don’t wish to pay to spend a night in my hotels.”

Chase somehow had worked sexy into a sullen pout, and it made her smile on the inside. Such a bad boy. “I should get to stay rent-free for all the sex I give you.”