After the Crux (8 page)

Ross remembered it well. Dorian and Jenna had become lovers and he’d spent a lot of time outside, giving them privacy. A lot of time swimming in the cold lake.

“I caught you skinny dipping in that lake one night. You didn’t know. I watched you walk naked out of the water and felt it then. I just didn’t…” She sighed. “I just didn’t know what to do about it.” She looked at Dorian.

“We should never have waited. You’ve been sleeping alone far too long.” Dorian pulled Jenna back down and draped his arm over her waist to rest his hand on Ross’s stomach.

Ross was amazed that he didn’t feel weird about having a man in his bed. Maybe with any other man, it would have felt off, but not Dorian. And he’d never, ever thought they’d take their relationship to this level, no matter how much he’d thought about it. But now…he stopped thinking because this part needed to be said aloud.

“So, we want to keep this?”

“You could give it up?” Dorian asked, eyebrows high. “Tell me honestly, after being inside Jenna, you could give that up?”

“Shit, no.”

Dorian laughed and rolled to his feet to put a couple more logs on the fire. He stood beside the bed and untied the drawstring on his pants, using the pants to wipe at his groin, before pushing them down. He stretched, totally unselfconscious, because he had no reason to be.

The man was gorgeous from his tousled, black curls to his big feet. Lean muscles held deceptive strength—strength Ross was all too familiar with from countless wrestling matches. Hair that looked soft led from Dorian’s belly to his groin, which was now flaccid. But Ross had glimpsed the man at full mast earlier. Through the drawstring pants. He looked forward to seeing it bare and full like that. He looked up and caught Dorian staring back.

“Sure you’re okay with this, Boss? All of this?” He waved his hands down his body.

“Yeah.”

Dorian was chuckling again as he stretched back out on the bed. “Just think about all the things three people can do together.” He rubbed his hands. “But later. Damn, I’m tired.”

“Me too,” Jenna murmured sleepily as she snuggled between the both of them. “But just so you know, I have a lot of ideas too. My fantasies have been hot and heavy for years.
Years
.”

Ross closed his eyes because the images that bombarded his head made him dizzy. He pulled Jenna close, loving the feel of her naked body against his, and smiled when Dorian rolled onto his side and returned his hand to Ross’s stomach.

He had a few fantasies of his own to share.

Chapter Seven

“We’ve turned Ross into a
barathrum
.”

“A what?” Jenna choked on the piece of bread she’d just popped into her mouth. She laughed. “What’s a
barathrum
?”

“An insatiable person.”

She stuck another piece of the warm poppy seed bread into Dorian’s mouth. “You got that right. I think he’s making up for lost time.”

Ross had decided he needed one more day of bed rest and had them tell everyone else he’d be out in a day or so. What he’d really wanted was more naked time. The man might be new at sex, but he quickly picked up on all the right moves. He listened, paid attention to every noise, every sigh. When he did the right thing, he did it again and again until Jenna thought she might die of pleasure. Dorian and Ross hadn’t had actual sex together yet, but they touched each other. A lot. That morning, she’d watched Ross take Dorian’s cock in his hand and kiss the man like he was trying to steal his soul.

Her nipples hardened at the memory.

Dorian’s gaze lowered and the smile that pulled up one corner of his mouth stirred her even more. She shifted on the chair, hunched closer to the breakfast table. Jake and Lynn chose that moment to stumble sleepily into the kitchen. Lynn was wearing one of Jake’s sweatshirts. It was huge on her, the neck gaping enough to bare a shoulder…and the top of the hickey on her upper chest. Jenna lifted an eyebrow and grinned.

Flushing, Lynn tugged up the sweatshirt and dodged Jake’s hand when he reached for her ass. He caught sight of them. “Oops.” He went to the bread Jenna had covered with a tea towel to keep warm and helped himself to a slice. “You made this?” he asked Jenna. “This morning?”

“I was up early.” Jenna shrugged and hoped the flush she could feel at the top of her breasts didn’t stray north. She was up early because she’d awakened to Ross grinning and crouching over her.
Barathrum
was right.

Jake held the bread out to Georgia as she shuffled into the kitchen from the other wing. “Here, Georgia, try this bread.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“I’m being chivalrous. Ladies first and all.”

“Like I believe that,” she muttered before smiling at him. But she took the bread. “I take it Jenna made it?” She bit off a piece. “Hey, it’s good.”

“Okay, I get it. It’s shocking.” Something in that smile made Jenna pay closer attention. Georgia was coming out of her shell. There had been hints of it here and there over the last month or so, but lately, Jenna had noticed that she was starting to show a sense of humor, starting to show that she was really beginning to feel a part of their family.

Warmth filled her heart. She loved all these people. So much.

Then she wondered how they were going to feel about her new relationship. She glanced at Dorian to find him staring at her. She lifted an eyebrow and he gave her a reassuring smile before dropping his eyes to her breasts again. She glared at him. Her nipples needed a break.

“So, is Ross coming out today or what?” Lynn asked. She handed Georgia the almond milk she’d made the day before. Almonds were a precious commodity because for the first few years, they couldn’t keep a tree alive through the winter. It took more than one kind of almond tree for them to work, so they’d built a huge section onto the greenhouse and managed to grow almond as well as olive trees for oil. They harvested and froze the almonds because they used them in everything. Georgia loved the milk as much as the kids so Lynn kept a ready fresh pitcher. “Though,” Lynn continued, “I must say I’ve enjoyed visiting him and his state of near undress a lot lately.” White teeth flashed in a cheeky grin.

“Me too,” Georgia murmured.

Jenna lifted her eyebrow in surprise. Jake ruffled Georgia’s already tousled, blonde hair, and then pulled out her favorite tea. “Guess I should have paid more attention. Just looked like Ross to me.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Lynn said. It was obvious she was trying not to make a big deal out of Georgia’s remark because it was a pretty big fucking deal. No one but Ross knew what Georgia had been through, but they could guess. He wouldn’t tell them. Couldn’t even talk about it. The only thing Jenna knew was Ross had killed to free Georgia and he didn’t regret it. Whoever they had been, they must have been the scum of the earth.

For Georgia to even hint at something sexual was huge. Huge.

Georgia must have realized they were all paying too much attention to her. She started to look uncomfortable, shrinking back a little.

“Who’s up for fishing?” Jenna asked quickly. “Hey, Georgia, I’m craving that blackened trout thing you made last month. Feel up to making it again?”

Georgia smiled and nodded before pouring almond milk into a mug of hot tea. “I’ll whip up the almond butter this morning so it can firm up in the refrigerator.” She sighed. “I do wish we had a cow. Have you ever tasted real butter?”

This was more than she’d said at once in forever. Jenna nodded. “It was so long ago, I’ve forgotten what it was like.” She leaned toward Dorian. “Think we can expand your insulated chicken coop into a barn that would hold a cow, too?” They had a barn, but they’d turned it into a place to cook up their biodiesel since it was nice and far from the house. But there was plenty of room to build a new barn. Room for more houses, too, if they ever found more people.

“Without a doubt. Finding a cow will be the hard part.”

Jake nodded. “He’s right. Most were butchered for meat pretty fast. I haven’t seen livestock of any kind on our runs.”

Lynn focused on the counter and cleared her throat. “I think maybe we’ll look harder this year. Someone out there has to have set something up like we have. There have to be other people out there like us, ones rebuilding instead of taking. We’ve learned to grow so much, trading could be a real possibility. I’d like to get Georgia her cow.” She cut a slice of bread.

Jake hugged her before stealing the bread. “Then we will. Real milk and real butter. Damn, that would be fantastic. Almost orgasmic.”

Georgia rolled her eyes and moved to the table. She sat down and smiled, really smiled at Jenna. “Don’t know about orgasmic, but just you wait. Once you have real cream, it’ll be your drug of choice. You won’t want anything else.”

After the last twenty-four hours of unadulterated sex…some of the hottest sex she could ever have imagined, she was pretty sure cream would always take second place to her drug of choice. Her “drugs” of choice, that is.

She caught Dorian’s wink out of the corner of her eye. Scowling, she ordered her nipples to settle down and stood. “I’m going out to get us some trout.”

After storing the freshly cleaned fish in the fridge, Jenna headed to the bedroom for another shower. She’d fallen in a mud hole by the stream. Shivering, she rubbed her arms and picked up the pace, stopping inside the den to pull off her damp sweater. Luckily, she’d worn a waterproofed coat, so mostly just the hem and sleeves of her sweater had gotten wet.

She dropped it on the floor and was reaching for the top button of her jeans when she heard the sound. She knew that sound. Grinning, she realized it was coming from the supply closet where she’d been trapped yesterday. Ross had a thing for the tiny room. She thought she knew why. It still made her blush to think of him watching her and Dorian in there. The fact that she could blush after all the things the three of them had done together was a miracle.

And yet, here she was. Blushing.

Because this time, she was going to be watching Ross and Dorian. Dorian was right. Something had been unleashed in Ross. They’d opened the floodgates and nothing was more wonderful than watching his expression as he discovered each and every new sensation. As he discovered how very welcome he was to touch them, love them.

He was up for anything and to see the strong, somewhat reserved man let go like this was the most exciting thing she’d ever experienced. Until now.

Ross’s back was to her as Dorian pushed Ross’s open shirt over his shoulders. She loved the contrast of Dorian’s darker skin, his masculine hand running over Ross’s skin. Dorian moaned, his head falling back as Ross kissed his neck.

Trying to be quiet, she snuck closer. She didn’t want to disturb them, didn’t want them to know she was there. Watching them without their knowledge had her breathing hard, so she couldn’t get too close. But she had to see more, had to hear the sexy noises they made. She knelt behind the couch that was still pushed up against the wall and peeked around the side.

Ross ran his hands down Dorian’s back and cupped his ass, pulling his body close. Dorian’s hands were in Ross’s hair, holding his head while they kissed. It was hungry—like they could devour each other. She would have been jealous of the passion, but she’d been on the receiving end of the same kiss from Ross. Her underwear flooded with the memory and she watched Dorian, watched him come apart under the insistent desperation of Ross’s attention. Years of holding back made Ross throw everything of himself into lovemaking.

She hoped that never changed.

Suddenly, they exploded into movement. Dorian reached into Ross’s pants, causing Ross to groan and go up on his toes, head thrown back. Dorian sucked on Ross’s neck and Jenna’s eyes flew open wide when Ross turned Dorian around and pulled down his sweatpants. He bent Dorian over the table Jenna had cleared and ran his hands down the beautiful muscles of Dorian’s back, over his ass. One hand slid between his legs and Jenna knew he cupped Dorian’s balls because she recognized the sound Dorian made. He was so sensitive there.

She wondered how Ross would feel about kissing Dorian there because he truly loved that, loved for her to take his sac into her mouth. When Ross bent over Dorian’s back to open his mouth over the muscle that connected his shoulder to his neck, Jenna couldn’t stop the gasp that flew out of her mouth. Dorian was making too much noise to hear, but Ross turned his head slightly, his eyes zeroing in on hers.

Something in that gaze told her he liked knowing she was watching. Dorian turned his head, seeking Ross’s mouth and Ross looked down at him. His profile was clear from her position and his incredible need, love and desire for Dorian made her heart skip a beat.

Jenna unbuttoned the top of her jeans and slid the zipper down. She watched as Ross reached down to grab Dorian’s pants and pull out the little bottle of olive oil she’d tucked into Dorian’s pocket that morning. She’d seen the way Dorian watched him last night and knew he would corner Ross at some point. Seems it had been the other way around. She wondered how Ross had known that oil was in Dorian’s pocket. She grinned.

Ross poured some on his fingers, and Jenna’s hand slid inside her pants as she watched him kiss Dorian’s back while his hand readied Dorian for him. She’d never seen anything this hot. Ever. Her fingers slipped into her own folds and she rubbed back and forth, while she watched with bated breath as Ross slowly entered Dorian. Dorian had gone silent, his face tilted toward her. She watched as emotions washed over his face, his eyes closed, mouth open, eyebrows furrowed. When Ross was in all the way, Dorian let out a groan that ripped through her gut as his face slid into that look of abject pleasure that always enthralled her.