Caleb looked down at the book in his hands and then back at Jonas. He could see his friend considering the information carefully in his mind. One of the many ways they balanced each other. Jonas was an act first think second kind of guy whereas Caleb was the deliberator; always taking into account all the angles, and weighing the pros and cons before he made a decision.
Before Caleb could comment one way or the other, they heard Nadia call from downstairs. "Dinner!"
Jonas smiled. "She cooked for us?"
Caleb returned the smile and headed out. "Hot damn."
Chapter Four
Nadia cooked for a verity of reasons. When a plot point had her stumped, when she was flying high on the rush of typing those two magic words : 'the end', when she was stressed, and when she just needed to think. Cooking had always been her drug of choice to empty her head of all her worries and lose herself. The smells and the textures, the flavors, and the beauty of taking ingredients and putting them together just right so that in the end there was an edible masterpiece.
It was cathartic for her in a way that she had a hard time explaining. For the foreseeable future, there were going to be two very well fed bodyguards under her roof. It had been a few days since the last attack from her stalker-because to her that's what they were, attacks- and the tension boiling up waiting for his next move had finally driven her from her work. She couldn't concentrate enough to write a coherent sentence. Nadia hoped they were good eaters, or the elderly man next door was going to think she was hitting on him again.
"Oh my god, it smells amazing in here." She smiled at Jonas as he circled the table with a look of astonishment on his face. "I thought you were writing this whole time. Not slaving away in the kitchen."
"This looks amazing, Nadia." Caleb came in and looked at the table, then beamed at her with a smile that made her cheeks flush with pleasure. "You don't have to cook for us, though. We can fend for ourselves and order out like we have been." Nadia chuckled when Jonas punched him in the shoulder and told him to speak for himself, before he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Consider this your bonus." Nadia waived his comment away and took a seat herself. "Cooking clears my head. I love to cook, especially when I need to decompress, so you two might want to think about adding an extra hour to your work outs, because I have a feeling I'll be cooking nonstop for awhile." She gestured with a wave of her hands. "Dig in before it gets cold."
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, southern style buttermilk biscuits and roasted corn on the cob, were all gone in record time. Nadia shook her head as she snatched the last biscuit right before Jonas could, and chuckled when he looked like he was thinking about fighting her for it. So much for her worries that old Mr. Anderson was going to think she was trying to lure him to the altar again.
When the men stood from the table and started to stack up the dishes she offered; "Oh, leave those. I can get them." Her protest was ignored. Thank god.
"Nonsense," Caleb told her.
"Yeah," Jonas agreed. "You cook, we clean. And just so you know, as far as we're concerned, we got the better end of this deal. That was the best."
"It was." Caleb added on his way to the kitchen. "I don't think I've ever had chicken that good."
Nadia smiled as she sat back and savored the moment. It had been a very long time since she'd had someone to cook for and to do for. Too long since there had been one man in her life, let alone two. Then she had to remind herself why they were here, and that no matter what kind of fantasies swirled in her mind, in reality they were here for a job, and once that job was completed, they would leave and go on to the next.
It was a sobering thought, one that cooled the warm glow that had bloomed briefly in her belly. She would be alone again. Which was fine. She had a great life. Her work was so fulfilling, and brought her a sense of joy and accomplishment that few people experienced in their lives. She didn't know anybody else who was fortunate enough to make a living doing what they'd dreamed of doing as a child. She was lucky. Hell, she was more than lucky, she was blessed, and she damn well knew it.
Someday, somehow she would find Mr. Right. Someday. Until then, she would just make do with writing about him.
When her phone rang, she answered it without thinking, so she was unprepared for the cold bite of revulsion that hit her when his voice snaked into her ear like a vile menace.
"Did you sleep well the other night, slut? Did you like my smell as much as I like yours? I hope you rubbed my jizz all over your face like a good little whore. If not, you know I will have to punish you for not-"
Nadia dropped the phone like it was on fire, with a barely suppressed scream as she rubbed at her ear. It was an unconscious effort to try and remove the words, as well as the chilling voice that uttered them. Something of her distress must have carried through to the kitchen, because both the men were at her sides within seconds. Caleb draped an arm around her, while Jonas picked up the phone.
"He's gone." With a curse, he started pressing buttons and Nadia could only guess that he was trying to call back or get the number; she wished him luck and hoped like hell he knew tricks that she didn't, because she'd never had any success doing those things.
"God, sweetheart," Caleb used both hands and rubbed her arms as if to ward off a chill. "You're all tense. It's alright. No one is going to hurt you. We're going to make sure of that. Okay?" He leaned forward and made her look him in the eye. His face was filled with unwavering confidence. "You let that sink in. You're safe." Tears pricked at her throat, so instead of answering verbally with a voice she was sure would crack, she just nodded. When she saw compassion soften his features, she gave up fighting and turned into his arms with a sob.
"Shhh," he crooned to her as she burrowed in and let go. "Shhh, we got you. We're here now." His arms felt like heaven as he wrapped them around her, and then Jonas was there, pressing in close from behind, warming her back with his chest, and she felt his hands settle on her shoulders to squeeze and rub. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to feel his lips lay a tender kiss just below her ear where he whispered; "He's right. Nothing is going to happen to you now that we're here."
It made no sense to her that she was comforted by this. That being surrounded by them and held so intimately seemed as natural to her as breathing. She should be appalled at herself for falling apart in their arms. Instead she felt settled in a way she never had before. Not just since this whole mess started but ever.
"Hey,” Jonas said softly, as his hands stroked her sides. "Go on upstairs and run yourself a bath. Caleb and I are going to finish up the kitchen."
"When you're done soaking, put on some sweats and come back down. We'll put on a movie and eat junk food. You can even pick the movie. All right?" Jonas said and he laid another gentle kiss on her, this time where the neck met the shoulder and Nadia felt her skin ripple with a pleasant flush of goose bumps. Without questioning why it felt so right, so natural to follow their directions, Nadia simply nodded and slipped out from between them to head for the bathroom.
Two hours later, Nadia was frumped out in baggy sweats and a ratty tee, with fluffy socks on feet that were- unbelievably- resting in Jonas' lap. When she'd come down from her bath, the men had the popcorn popped and a selection of candy and drinks spread out that she knew didn't come from her kitchen. She'd smiled and gratitude filled her when she realized that one of them had made a run to the store. It was a small thing to most people, but for her the gesture was huge. They were here to protect her from harm, not to coddle and entertain her. She knew that this was a rare occurrence on their part, and she was touched deeply by it and them. The contract that she'd signed in their office two days ago had outlined in minute detail what services they provided, and gummy bears and foot rubs had not been on that list.
"I still can't believe you picked Die Hard to watch," Jonas commented as he dug his thumbs into the arches of her feet with deliriously wonderful results. She moaned and replied; "
Hey. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I have to watch chick flicks. I love action movies. Die Hard is a classic and Bruce Willis is a freaking stud."
"I agree with the classic part." Caleb said. "No comment on the stud part. He's not my type." Nadia chuckled and cranked her head to look up at him.
When she first sat down tonight, she'd been seated between them like a proper lady, with both feet on the floor and her back resting against the cushions behind her. Before the first preview had even finished, Caleb and Jonas pounced. Jonas had grabbed her feet and tugged them into his lap, while Caleb took her by the shoulders and adjusted her until she was reclining against him with her head comfortably nestled on his chest. His elbow was on the couch back, and his fingers had been playing in her curls nonstop.
There was something in his expression as she gazed up at him that was different. If she didn't know any better, she would call that look he was giving her 'intent'. Part of her said she was being fanciful, and it was just the wishful thinking of her long neglected hormones running away with her. The other part of her said she was right on track.
They had her spread out between them, and had been touching her nonstop since she'd sat down. Yes, they were here on a job. However, the familiarity of their touch had left the realm of professionalism the moment she'd clung to Caleb and cried earlier. She'd made the first move. Breached the lines and took things beyond professional. Could they be acting on that, and letting her know in a not so subtle way that they were open to being more than just her bodyguards?
Considering who she was and what she did for a living, the erotic images that immediately sprang to life in her brain had her muscles loosening and her pulse rabbiting. Then reality smacked her in the head. Stuff like that only happened in books. No way could this be anything more than what it was. She was deluding herself if she thought that anything even remotely close to what she was fantasizing about would happen. Threesomes were things that only reckless and drunk college students did. People in the real world, with careers and families didn't have wild sexcapades on the job. Or off for that matter. This was just stress and loneliness making more out of their kindness than what was there, and she needed to get a hold of herself before she ended up looking like an idiot.
Caleb touched his finger between her brows. "What's caused this?"
"What do you mean?" She asked him.
"You were smiling a minute ago and now there's a frown here. What thought caused that?" His finger was still on her brows, gently tracing them and it was doing amazing things to her insides, even as his question caused her to flush uncomfortably. She ducked her chin and broke eye contact as she tried to think of something to say.
"Hey." Jonas squeezed at the foot he was rubbing and she looked at him. "Honest answers only between us. No half truths of dodging either." His expression grew intense. "On any subject. No matter what it is."
Nadia felt as if she were in an alternate universe. Everything felt unreal, as though she were in one of her books after all. Could it be that these two unbelievably sexy and intense men were thinking the same thoughts that she was? Did she dare tell them the truth that they demanded? What if she did and then she had to suffer through the humiliating let down speech?
What if she did and they took her up on it?
All Nadia's life she'd lived as a responsible, sensible young lady. She never smoked or partied as a teen. Never snuck out of the house at night to meet up with friends or a boy. She didn't have her first drink until her twenty-first birthday. On top of that, despite what she wrote, sex for her had always been one on one. In the dark. Boring. No fuss, no frills, no kink...no fun.
Nadia had always believed that was the reason she wrote what she did. There was so much pent up inside of her that it had to have an outlet somewhere or she'd combust.
As she tore her gaze from Jonas and looked back up at Caleb, she thought to herself that they might say no, but, they might just say yes. God help her but she didn't want to miss out on what would happen if they wanted her, and if there was even a small chance that they did, it was worth the risk.
"I was thinking that this was very intimate and sexy at first. Like something out of one of my books right before things get wild and kinky. Then I told myself to snap out of it. This wasn't a book, and that wild and kinky didn't happen in the real world." She swallowed before adding; "At least not to me."
"Bruce." Caleb said.
"What?" She was confused. His look was back to being intense, and she would swear he was about to kiss her, so she had no clue why he would say something like that.
"Bruce." He repeated. "That's your safe word. Say, yes sir, if you understand and agree. If not say, Bruce and we stop here and now."
"Holy shit." Nadia was dumbstruck.
"That wasn't one of your options, sweetheart." Jonas' chuckle was as seductive as a caress. She gulped and tore her gaze from Caleb to stare at him wide-eyed, before nodding and turning back to his partner, when her hair received a sharp tug.
This was real. It wasn't wishful thinking. They really were offering her everything she had been fantasizing about her whole adult life. As though preparing to dive under water, she took a slow, deep breath. Then jumped. "Yes, sir."
Both men made a sound she could only describe as a masculine purr of pleasure, then the hand in her hair tightened, as Caleb's other hand slid to cup her cheek. He lowered his head, and Nadia felt the warmth of his breath caress her lips, just before his kiss set her world on fire.
She opened for him instinctively, and as his tongue delved inside, every part of her softened and awoke. Her body turned to liquid in their arms, just from this first delicious taste of his kiss, and Nadia moaned as she gloried in the thought that this was only the beginning.
Caleb pulled back from the kiss, Nadia whimpered and tried to arch up to bring his mouth back to hers. He gave a deep warning growl and a sharp yank on her hair that stopped her instantly. It also caused a clenching between her legs that was so strong, it tore another moan from her open and panting lips. She submitted, and forced herself to relax in their arms.
"Good girl." Jonas growled as she felt his hands slide up the outsides of her legs to grip the waistband of her ancient sweats. "Good fucking girl." When he started to pull them along with her panties over her hips and down her legs, Nadia thought she just might die on the spot. Caleb wasn't kissing her, he was watching Jonas strip her, as he kept one hand fisted in her hair to hold her in place. It was so foreign for her. With the men she'd been with before, disrobing had always occurred during the kissing and groping. It was always in the bedroom, in the dark and in a mad rush. Never had it been like this. With no distracting kisses or fumbling groping to focus on as her clothes came off. It was a forbidden thrill of delight.
Jonas dragged the pants down her legs, slow and deliberate, as both men watched with laser focus. They each muttered a curse as her shaved state was revealed, but they didn't rush after that like she would have expected. They followed the path of her legs as they were exposed, with as much admiration as they had shown for her more private parts, and the fact that they did was a huge turn on.
Jonas managed to grab her oversized socks along with the rest as he passed them, and when he dropped the whole pile to the floor, she was naked from the waist down, with two sexy men staring at what they'd uncovered.
It was the single most decadent moment of her life.
Nadia wondered why she wasn't feeling self-conscious and trying to cover up. In all rights she should have, but instead, she felt adored. Desired and alluring. Far from covering up, what she wanted was to spread herself before them and bask in their attention.
"God, baby girl." Caleb said as he slid one hand above her top to press firmly down between her breasts and over her stomach, and then he grasped the edge of her shirt to pull it up to reveal her trembling tummy. "You are fucking beautiful. Look at you. Perfection." His hand moved back down, and he let his fingers just brush lightly over her mound; not touching where sh
e was already wet and aching for them, but coming so close it brought another whimper from between her lips. Then his touch retreated, and he let his fingers press a little deeper as he raked them back up over her sensitive stomach muscles.
"Caleb." Jonas motioned with a sharp jerk of his chin. "Man, finish it, I want to see all of her." Caleb uttered his assent, and pulled her shirt and soft cotton sports bra up then off over her head and arms. Now, along with her bottom half, her quivering breasts were also exposed. Both men groaned at the sight. Her dusky nipples hardened under their attentive gazes, and Nadia felt wondrously wanton.
Just when she felt ready to beg, they moved. Caleb swooped down and laid his mouth on hers again, in a kiss designed to demolish her sanity, while his hand stroked over her chest in a firm tantalizing caress. As he squeezed hard on her right breast, Nadia felt Jonas shift underneath her, seconds before his mouth and hand engulfed the left one. Suction, and the velvet heat of his tongue rasping the hardened tip, had her arching up and crying out against Caleb's lips.
With a groan, Caleb again pulled away from her kiss, but this time Nadia knew better than to try and entice him back. Passion sat well on him, it sharpened his features and made his dark eyes glow. When he released his grip on her hair, Nadia cried out again, because he slid both hands down to gather her breasts in his large palms, and squeeze them together so the nipples were almost touching.
"I told you," he said in a voice that was barely recognizable as his. "Fucking perfection. God, you feel amazing," he said, squeezing them a little tighter. "Take 'em both Jonas. Take 'em both."