32. Ember
EMBER
I was prepared for the sex to be good, and it was. Incredibly good. Far and away the best I’ve ever had.
I wasn’t prepared for what I’m feeling now, as Frank takes care of me in the shower. This big man is so gentle, so tender, and it wrecks me. I almost get weepy, but I keep my emotions hidden—I hope.
One time. That’s what we agreed. Soon, I’ll be gone from here, and then we’ll be back to being just coworkers, and things will be much more manageable.
But when Frank tucks me into bed, I realize I don’t want to be alone. I lay a hand against his cheek. “Will you stay?”
I can tell I’ve surprised him, but he slides under the covers without hesitation, pulling me against his body so we’re spooning, and it feels so right.
Despite the fact that I’ve never slept this way with a man before, it only takes me seconds to drop off, and I sleep soundly. In fact, it’s the best sleep I’ve had since my old apartment building was condemned.
In the morning, Frank is still there; we haven’t moved. I feel both protected and cherished, and do my best to banish those emotions as well. Keeping last night uncomplicated is key.
I start to ease away, and his arm tightens around me, locking me in place. Instead of making me mad, it fills me with a warm glow.
“Morning.” His deep voice vibrates through me, and my pussy clenches. I need to get up, now, or “one night only” is going to immediately turn into a lie.
This time, when I try to move, he releases me. Sliding off the bed, I look over my shoulder as I head for the bathroom and smile. “Good morning.”
He doesn’t smile back, but then he’s not much for smiling. Whatever’s going on behind his dark eyes, it makes me want to jump back into bed and spend the day there with him, intentions be damned.
But I can’t, even if we wanted to. We’re all grownups, and we have to act like it.
I just hope we can remember that going forward.
My hopes are dashed as soon as we’re all in the kitchen together. Instead of the relief of getting these three men out of my system, I want them even more. And from the way they’re looking at me, it seems very mutual.
I said we should pretend it hadn’t happened, but that’s not going to work. “I don’t want last night to come between you guys.”
“It won’t,” Griffin says immediately. “We want you to be okay. We’re not going to be jerks about it.”
I smile at him. “Okay. But it really can’t happen again. I can’t afford to lose my job.”
“Nobody’s going to find out,” Zeb says. “We know how to keep our mouths shut.”
“And in case it’s not already clear,” Frank adds, “we know what century this is, and we don’t buy into any of that old-fashioned bullshit about women. We still respect you.”
I smile at all of them, grateful that they’re being cool about it. “Thanks.”
The problem isn’t them; it’s me. Standing here between them, all I want to do is jump on them. I want to close the shop for the day and stay here, riding them in turn until my body can’t take any more.
And they probably wouldn’t mind, but for all the reasons we’ve already talked about, we can’t make this a regular thing. So it’s up to me to keep my hunger under control.
That turns out to be so much easier said than done.
The rest of the day, I’m hyper aware of each of the men. When we pass close enough that I catch a hint of their individual scents, my body reacts as if I’ve downed an aphrodisiac. My pussy gets wet, gripping the phantom cocks that I wish were still filling me.
Is this what it was like for Lexy and Ava? I wish I could talk to them, but I don’t want to have to ask them to keep secrets for me. I can’t tell my sister something as wild as this, either.
Without someone to process my experience with, I’m in a constant state of confusion, my thoughts, feelings, and desires all jumbled up in knots.
Even though the day is busy, it seems to drag instead of going quickly like it normally does. In the afternoon, Griffin and Frank both leave early for a professional workshop they signed up for long ago, and I’m left with Zeb as I close up the shop for the night.
“Come on,” he says when I’m done. “I’ll give you a ride home.”
I almost say no, because being that close to Zeb is a temptation I don’t need, but I don’t want to be rude, and getting home quickly instead of taking the bus is really nice. The men have spoiled me since I moved in with them.
There’s only one helmet, which Zeb makes me wear. Sliding onto the back of his bike and wrapping my arms around him is sweet torture. I’m aware of every inch of me that’s in contact with his body, and memories from last night are so all-consuming that I barely take in the thrill of the ride.
It’s my first time on a motorcycle, and he drives carefully, but the vibrations of the engine, the strength of his body, the way I’m pressed up against him, are all too much.
By the time we reach the house, I’m desperate for release, and I know my vibrator isn’t going to do the trick. As soon as we kick off our shoes, I reach for his hand.
Zeb opens his mouth to question my action, but then recognition flares in his eyes. The lust I’m feeling must be obvious.
He backs me up against the door, his mouth on mine, his hand on my hip. The way his thumb digs into my flesh tells me I’m not the only one who was turned on by our ride home.
As he claims my lips and I wrap my hands around the back of his neck and up into his scruff of hair, one of his hands slides under my skirt and into my underwear. “Fuck, Ember.”
He immediately picks me up and stalks toward his bedroom, still kissing me. We bump into walls, neither of us caring, and his lips don’t leave mine, even when he sets me down and digs into his nightstand for a condom.
I bend over, bracing my hands on the edge of his mattress, and seconds later, he’s sliding into me, stretching me, triggering a sigh of relief, because I’m not sure I could have waited a moment longer for him.
I’m so slippery that he builds up speed quickly, and before long he’s pounding into me, hitting my sweet spot over and over. I come so hard I see stars, and he’s right behind me.
As soon as it’s over, I’m filled with regret. What have I done? I couldn’t even last twenty-four hours before I broke my own rules. I pull my skirt down and my panties up, and try to leave the room without looking at Zeb, but he grabs my hand and gently tugs me around to face him.
“Hey.” His voice is soft when he tilts my face up toward his. “What we said this morning still goes. Nothing is going to change how we see you.”
I’m not expecting him to be almost, well, sweet about it, and I have to fight back tears. “What’s wrong with me? Why am I so weak?”
His slow smile curls through me like a caress. “I think it’s called human nature, Em. There’s no shame in it.”
He kisses me again, but now it’s tender instead of desperate. It’s comforting, even as it triggers a pang in my chest.
Pulling back, but still close enough that I can feel the heat of his body, Zeb tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Want to help me make dinner?”
I was going to work on a school assignment, but he’s never invited me into the kitchen to watch him work his culinary magic before. “Sure.”