Divine Grace (16 page)

* * * *

Jack watched Grace as she danced with Adam. They were locked in a tight embrace, and Adam looked like he was enjoying it a lot. It was good watching her emerge from her shell with them.

“That is one intense conversation they’re having, isn’t it?” Ethan asked, nodding toward Adam and Grace.

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“They’re probably talking about sex.” Jack chuckled. He knew that look on Adam’s face. He’d seen it a lot lately, which was one of several reasons they’d allowed Adam to be the one to meet Grace’s needs earlier at the restaurant.

“We still need to wait until after seeing Dr. Guthrie. She needs this from us. It will be worth the wait if our first time together can be without a condom,” Ethan said.

“I agree. I’m going to ask her for one more dance. What about you?”

Jack asked.

“Yeah, one more for both of us, and then we should probably get her home. We don’t want her to be exhausted tomorrow.”

Adam guided her across the dance floor and held her chair when they returned to the table.

Jack rose from his chair and offered his hand to her. “Are you having fun, darlin’? Got a couple more dances in you, or are you ready to call it a night? It’s way past your bedtime.”

“I could handle a couple more slow dances, and then I’ll be ready to go.

Would you like one more dance, Jack?”

“Always, darlin’,” he murmured as she molded herself to him and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. He buried his nose in her fragrant hair, loving the sensory feast of having her warm, fragrant body pressed so closely to his.

* * * *

Her arms were draped loosely around his broad shoulders, his hands on her hips as he guided her around the dance floor. They bumped into Rachel and her dance partner as they passed. Grace mouthed a “thanks again” to Rachel, to which she nodded and winked. She had a feeling she’d made a lifelong friend tonight. She rested her head against Jack’s chest, enveloped in his warm strength.

“Will it always be like this?” she asked.

“Will what always be like what, darlin’?”

“Will I always feel so spoiled? So precious?” She snuggled up to him, breathing in his clean masculine smell, treasuring this moment.

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“I aim to make that your reality, so, yes, that’s what we want. It’s what you deserve from us, Grace. You
are
precious. My hope is that it only gets better from here.”

“What if you’re disappointed by the reality of who I am?”

“Darlin’,” he said, chuckling, “is there some deep dark secret you need to tell us? Do you have a split personality? Are you a phone sex operator?

Porn star?” She answered no to all of those things, laughing by the end of the list. “Then we can deal with your minor human failings. We all have them. Mom always said, ‘Don’t borrow trouble. Enough will always find you on its own.’”

“You’re right. I’m sorry for being a downer.”

“Don’t be. I want you to talk about whatever is on your mind, all right?”

“Yes. Love me?” she asked playfully, feathering her fingernails into the jet black hair at the nape of his neck.

“Always, darlin’,” he said as the song ended and they came to a stop at the edge of the dance floor where Ethan stood near their table.

Ethan helped her into her chair and she observed her men while she sipped from her sangria and said, “Tonight has been wonderful. Barring the potential smackdown with Patricia, I’ve loved every single minute of it.”

She leaned in to kiss them as chastely as she could, one at a time. The next song started, and Ethan drew her out to the floor. For the moment, they were by themselves as people returned to their tables, refilled drinks, or made pit stops.

“When a Man Loves a Woman” was now officially Ethan and Grace’s song as he entwined his long fingers through hers. They barely moved over the dance floor, and Grace felt everything else fade away. It was just her and Ethan and the song. There was no need for words, except for the lyrics. She was perfectly content wrapped in his warm, secure embrace, just as she had been with Jack and Adam earlier.

The past with Owen didn’t matter. The problem with Patricia didn’t matter. What mattered was the future, her future, and hopefully theirs together. Their love healed her and helped her move forward with her life.

She was ready to reach for the things she wanted and had been too timid to ask for before. Seizing the day had become a daily goal and not just a dream deferred.

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Jack pulled the SUV into Grace’s driveway and parked behind her little Honda. For a moment, they sat silently in the vehicle. Grace sensed the current of sexual tension that flowed between them. The ball was in her court.

“Would y’all like to come in?”

“Yes,” Ethan replied. “But only if it’s what you want. We know you must be tired.”

“Come in for a little while. I don’t want you to go yet,” she added softly.

Her men helped her climb out of the SUV. She noticed the appreciative glances they gave her legs as she slid from the seat. It did her heart a world of good, and she felt herself perk right up.

Grace retrieved her house key from her evening bag and handed it to Jack. The men entered first, turned on lamps here and there, and checked the rooms to make sure everything was in order. That simple action spoke volumes to her heart. Even subconsciously, they were protecting her. She turned on her stereo and turned it down to a low volume for background noise.

“Would you like some coffee or a snack?” she offered, at a loss for what else she should say. Her men paused for a few seconds before Ethan spoke.

“Gracie, why don’t you sit with us for a few minutes?” He took her by the hand, and they all moved to the couch and upholstered chair.

Ethan stroked her hand reassuringly. “I know you invited us in, and maybe you’re not ready for the evening to end. I’m not sure we’re ready for it to end, either.” He paused, the three of them smiled at each other and her.

“We had no expectations when we came in that door beyond spending a little more time with you. We can do whatever you like, but we want you to take things slow.”

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She looked from one man’s face to another and found the confirmation of Ethan’s words in their gentle gazes as he continued. “We don’t want to be presumptuous about moving forward into a greater level of intimacy, but we’re standing by our promise to all get checked. When we do make love to you, we don’t want any doubts lingering in your mind.”

Ethan understood her needs again without her having to explain them.

She was thankful that their offer to be tested wasn’t just lip service. It meant a lot more to her than they realized. “I’m glad you said something, Ethan. I really needed to hear that.”

Jack and Adam reached out to her and made simple, quiet contact, seeming content to let him do the talking. Ethan did have a way with words.

“Did you enjoy the loving that Adam gave you tonight, Gracie?” Ethan asked.

She blushed, and she knew they must feel the tremor that had just run through her body. She felt the yearning begin to build in her body for them to be closer.

“I loved it. You know I did,” she said softly. Her gaze lingered over their faces, looking lastly into Adam’s eyes, and saw such love and desire combined there, it took her breath away. Her body responded to him with a tingling rush, and she had the urge to climb into his lap and let them do whatever they wanted to her.

Ethan lifted her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles and softly asked, “Would you give us a chance to love you like he did?”

Her breath came in little pants, and she felt a rush of moisture flood her pussy. It amazed her that just their words could have such an immediate effect on her body.

“I want that very much, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to shower first.”

Jack nodded. “Of course that’s all right, darlin’. We want you to be comfortable. Take all the time you need.”

“Do you mind if we turn down your bed, or would you be more comfortable if we stayed in the living room?” As Ethan spoke, she noted the hopeful expression on his face and nodded. Her bed was only a queen size, but it would be more comfortable than her couch.

“The bedroom is fine. I’ll only be a few minutes.” She went to her bedroom, removed the jewelry they’d given her, and laid it carefully on her dresser.

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“Take your time, Grace. We’re not in any hurry,” Ethan said as he followed her into the bathroom. He put his arms around her and kissed her.

He slid his fingers down her back as the zipper descended all the way to the G-string. He released her lips and gave her a slow, sultry smile, gazing at her with bedroom eyes. “Someday soon I’ll undress you, piece by piece, until you’re naked, and then bathe you myself. Mmmm. Heaven.” Then he backed out of the bathroom and closed the door.

She started the shower, and her heart hammered as she pinned up her hair. She slipped out of the shoes and removed the dress and the lingerie they’d purchased for her.

She stepped into the shower and did her best to catch her breath and calm down. She dried off after she was done and heard soft voices and movement from the other side of the door. She took her hair down and combed it out. Her makeup was gone, and she hoped they were okay with the façade being removed. She slipped into her ivory lace-edged camisole and cheeky shorts and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized the woman she saw there. Her face glowed, and she looked happy. The woman reflected back at her was loved.

She took some deep, slow breaths and opened the bathroom door. The house was dark now. Only one dim lamp glowed in the living room, just enough light to navigate through the living room. The only other illumination came from the candles they’d lit.

With their jackets removed, ties gone, and the top buttons of their shirts undone, they were undeniably the sexiest men she’d ever seen in her entire life. Ethan leaned against the doorway, waiting for her. Adam sat at the foot of her bed. Jack sat with his back against her headboard. As they gazed at her, the lust and desire in their eyes was clear, but it was tempered with tenderness. She should have been intimidated by the idea of three big, virile men in her bedroom, but the slow, seductive throb began in her clit, and she knew there was no safer place in the world for her than with Jack, Adam, and Ethan.

Ethan held out his hand, and she allowed him to draw her farther into the room. His fingers slid up her arms to her shoulders and gently skimmed up her throat to each side of her jaw. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. His fingertips traced over her collar bones and lightly stroked down the sides of her breasts to her waist. She wanted him to touch her

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nipples but he teased her, bypassing them completely, and they puckered and throbbed with need. She felt his fingers at the hem of the camisole. In one smooth motion, he gathered a few inches of it up and knelt down on one knee in front of her to kiss the exposed skin of her belly.

The feeling of his warm lips on her bared abdomen sent a jolt of lust through her, and she grew wetter from that simple touch. As he continued kissing around her belly button and below it, his fingers hooked in the edge of the camisole and pushed it up to just beneath her breasts. She looked up into Jack and Adam’s faces, now tense and filled with lust. She noticed Adam palmed his erection through his pants and was surprised by what a turn-on she found that to be. She gave him a slow, knowing smile that told him she understood and approved. The two of them audibly groaned at the indirect contact she had with them.

She focused on Ethan’s skilled hands again, which were now sliding around to cup each rounded cheek of her buttocks. He grasped them firmly, and she wanted to scream in pleasure as he pressed his lips to her abdomen, just barely above her mound. His hot breath seared her through the thin fabric. He groaned as if he were being tortured.

He rose to his feet again and moved to stand behind her and swept the hair away from her neck as his lips kissed their way up from her shoulder to below her ear. “I can see your pulse. Your heart is racing, Grace. Are you excited?” he asked in a low tone that seemed loud in the quiet room. She nodded.

“You’re not afraid?” Her head shifted back against his shoulder.

“Never. Not with y’all.” She whimpered as his hands palmed her breasts over the soft camisole, her nipples so hard and erect they stung. They felt swollen, and she ached for him to touch them without the obstacle of the thin layer of fabric.

“I want you to wear the jewelry we gave you once I’ve undressed you.

Would you do that for me? I want to see it on you as we love you.”

“Of course, if it makes you happy.”

“It would make me very happy, Gracie.” He’d teased her so much by this point that when his hands finally slid the camisole in a torturously slow move over her breasts she thought she would come just from contact with his hands brushing over her nipples and the feeling of her breasts swaying free.

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Adam murmured, “So beautiful. Perfect. Your breasts are gorgeous.”

“Darlin’, you were made so beautifully,” Jack whispered.

She felt tears tingle behind her closed eyes, and joy at their words suffused her heart. She was poised very close to the edge and struggled to catch her breath.

Ethan turned away to her dresser, retrieving the earrings, which she placed back in her pierced ears. He fastened the clasp of the bracelet on her right wrist, then placed the intricate gold necklace back above her breasts and fastened its clasp. The minute or two it took to do this gave her a chance to recover slightly so she no longer felt like a rocket ready to go off at the slightest touch.

“You okay, baby?” Adam asked her, obviously seeing the emotion so close to the surface on her face.

“Yes. I’m just not used to being told things like that. It’s hard to see myself that way.”

“Then just listen to us. Your trust is a precious gift, and in time you’ll come to believe us,” Ethan said.

He still stood behind her so that Adam and Jack could see. His hands slid down her rib cage again, his fingers hooking in the stretch lace of her cheeky shorts, and with agonizing slowness, slid them from her hips, revealing the blonde curls they’d hidden. The soft cotton pooled at her ankles, and she stepped out of them.

And there she was, laid bare for them, standing in the presence of three men who found her desirable. Her heart was irretrievably lost to these men, and she knew in the short time she had been with them, in love with them, that she was truly ruined for all others.

Ethan moved to stand beside her, his hands stroked over her shoulders.

“You hold our hearts in your hands. There could never be another woman like you anywhere in the world, and we’ll do whatever we can to satisfy you and keep you happy with us.”

He reached out to her, his left hand palming her cheek before he brushed her lips with his again. Her body throbbed so fiercely with desire she knew now that she was uncovered they’d see how wet with need she was.

She realized that Ethan could see their reflection in the mirror that stood in the corner. She had bought that mirror to use for a practical purpose and, in another life, would have been put off by the notion of watching as Ethan

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undressed her and made love to her with his hands the way he did. Seeing their reflection in the mirror now brought a fresh rush of heat and moisture to her slit.

“Are you all going to leave your clothes on?” she asked haltingly.

“For now, but we may get more comfortable later,” Ethan murmured.

“We want tonight to be about you, Grace, giving you pleasure. Just close your eyes and feel.” Ethan’s lips descended to the sensitive spot above her collarbone. She shuddered as his tongue traced over her skin. “Mmm, you taste so good, Grace.” His fingers slid over her shoulders, the tips barely touching her as they wandered down both arms, raising goose bumps and sending shivers racing over her supersensitive flesh.

His fingers slid in between hers and raised her hands to reach back to hold onto his shoulders. When she did, the motion tilted her breasts out, and she ached to feel his mouth on them. She cried out when she felt his callused fingers stroke her nipples. He gently pulled one while he teased and stroked the other. Another rush of moisture gathered between her legs at the pulling sensation.

Ethan squeezed each tight peak gently between his fingers, and a moan escaped from her lips. “I can smell her beautiful scent and how aroused she is. Can you, Adam?”

“She has the sweetest smelling pussy I’ve ever known,” Adam responded, his voice sounding a little strained. “I recognized her sweet honey when you were putting the necklace back on her. Are you wet for us, baby?”

“I’ll bet she is,” Jack said. “Ethan, why don’t you put those fingers to good use? Show us if she’s wet.” He leaned forward to watch with Adam as Ethan’s fingers slid slowly down her torso.

It affected Grace in unexpected ways to hear her men refer to her using that word. Spoken softly from Adam’s sweet lips it was just as much a surprising turn-on as watching him stroke his hand over his cock earlier had been. She gloried in the freedom she felt with them.

She glimpsed their reflection in the mirror. She panted in little breathy gasps as one hand stroked her nipple while the other hand moved ever closer to her mound. Feeling it happen and seeing it happen was sensory overload.

Ethan’s steely hard erection ground against her backside, and she couldn’t resist the urge to play, too.

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“Ethan, I can feel how hard you are. Does it feel good touching me?”

“Better than you can imagine, Gracie,” he said. His fingers strayed closer to her mound. Her clit ached and throbbed for his touch. Dying for his touch, she rubbed her ass against his cock.

“I think Grace has a naughty streak,” Jack said, chuckling at her words.

“Darlin’, you’ve got us all hard as baseball bats waiting to have a first taste of that pretty little pussy of yours. Are you looking forward to feeling us between those sweet thighs as much as we are?” He palmed his own erection.