Lisa's Gift (16 page)

Whatever it was about her that intrigued him better be quenched, and soon. The triangle between the three of them could never be more than just fun. He had no plans for anyone to get hurt in this arrangement.

Especially Jana.

A car darted in front of him as he steered his truck toward the off-ramp at Chandler Boulevard. He jerked back on the steering wheel and received the first sign of life in the backseat when Jana squealed with surprise. The tight sound made him want to take her in his arms.

Instead he ignored her and continued to exit the highway.

As he pulled into the parking lot in front of Nordstrom’s, he wondered whether he should use the valet service or just find a parking space. His answer came in an open spot just two spaces down from the last handicap vacancy. Close enough.

Nicolas opened the truck door and climbed out. He tucked his red cotton polo shirt into his jeans, and then bent and tied the undone shoelaces of one of his tennis shoes. Before he could reach Jana’s door she was out and around the car. In fact, she opened Lisa’s door and her friend climbed out.

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“Well, thank you. Are you the valet today?” Lisa teased as she placed her purse beneath her arm.

“Funny.” Jana’s response was dry.

Lisa waited for Nicolas to catch up and then she gave him a beautiful, sparkling smile. “What are your wishes, Milord?”

With a pinch of his thumb and forefinger he raised her chin for a kiss. “Only to have fun, baby. Where would you like to go?”

She shuttered her eyelashes. “Where else? Victoria’s Secret to find something you’ll like.” Her voice was low and sexy and he loved what it did to him.

He was already getting hard just thinking about the skimpy lingerie and what it would look like on his girls. “I was hoping you’d say that.

Shall we go through Nordstrom’s on our way?”

Placing his palms in the small of each woman’s back, he led them to the glass doors and held them open to allow them to pass through. The minute he stepped inside the store a flood of perfume hit him in the face, overpowered his senses and immediately clogged his nostrils.

How did anyone work in that type of environment and breathe?

To the left were women’s purses. To the right were children’s clothing—young girls. For a minute Lisa paused, looking at the ocean of pink. Her smile faded and then as quickly as it was gone it reappeared as she spun around in the other direction. “Come on, I need a new purse.”

And then she was off, heading quickly in the other direction.

Jana frowned. “Lisa, you bought two new purses yesterday.” She followed, keeping her distance from Nicolas. He noted that she walked awkwardly due to a certain surprise he’d hidden in her clothing.

That’s what had Jana out of sorts. He silently snickered. She wasn’t pleased with the small electronic device in her panties. She’d balked at putting the underwear on, but had finally given in, Lisa had told him, before they left the house.

Lisa stopped abruptly. “I did? I bought two yesterday?” Then she brushed her forgetfulness off with a hand through the air. “Then you need one.”

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“I don’t need a new purse. I don’t need anything,” Jana insisted.

Yesterday, before he arrived at the restaurant, Nicolas had stopped at an adult store to find something special for Lisa and Jana. The salesclerk, who had more piercings than he had ever seen on one person, suggested a remote control clit stimulator that came with its own special pair of panties with a built-in shield to hold it firmly against the wearer.

The young woman said it would feel a little unusual walking around. Yet she assured him the benefits would be worth the temporary discomfort.

The best thing about the remote control devices was that he could activate them from twenty-five feet away. The darn things even worked through walls.

Damn if it wasn’t making him hot just thinking about teasing the women. The anticipation must be killing Jana, not knowing when he would zap her. She probably thought he would activate the box as soon as they entered the store, but there was more fun in the anticipation.

Call it foreplay.

He adjusted his hips to accommodate the swelling between his thighs. Quickly, he scanned the nearby merchandise, knowing he needed to buy something soon to use as a shield to hide his obvious excitement of what he had planned.

Amazingly, they were able to get out of Nordstrom’s with a handful of items that Lisa had to have. Jana had yet to purchase anything. She seemed more concerned about Lisa’s spending habits. Although Nicolas had offered each time to pay for her purchases, Lisa insisted on spending her own money, which would be unacceptable when they got to Victoria’s Secret.

Nicolas knew exactly what he was looking for. He had seen the sexy ensemble on a mannequin in the display case several days prior.

He slipped his hand deep in his pocket and touched the controllers.

No. Not yet
.

As they moved down the aisle, Lisa peered into every store window.

She loved to shop.

Nicolas couldn’t say the same about Jana.

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Every once in a while he could see her eyes brighten at a particular shirt or piece of jewelry, yet she kept a tight hold of her purse. She wasn’t a frivolous spender. He could almost imagine the wheels in her head turning as she prioritized each item between wants and needs.

That was the kind of woman he needed beside him to run his restaurant.

The thought brought him to a dead halt. What in the hell was wrong with him? The answer was only six feet away entering a novelty store.

Jana.

No woman had ever consumed his thoughts like she did. He had only known her for two weeks, and yet he had grown unusually attached to her. When he woke in Lisa’s arms each morning it was to wonder how Jana had slept. Did she dream of him? Did she have another nightmare?

He followed the women into the novelty store and laughed when Jana put on a Halloween mask, raised her curled fingers, and roared at Lisa.

Finally it looked like she was getting into the shopping excursion. As she pulled the Bride of Frankenstein mask from her head she released a giggle that forced him to take a breath, watching her toss her red mane behind her shoulder. When she was happy, when she felt free—or was it safe?—Jana was an entirely different woman.

He admired her strength, loved the fight in her, as she struggled to overcome her demons.

Just as she reached for another mask, Lisa swayed and almost fell before Jana grasped her arm. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just stepped on something.” Lisa bypassed the masks and moved on to look at a cow costume with outlandish udders.

As Nicolas followed he looked down to avoid whatever it was that had tripped Lisa, but she must have kicked it beneath the shelves, because nothing lay on the floor.

The girls had a great time in the novelty shop looking at the new things that had just been put out for Halloween. Rows and rows of costumes were aligned against one side of the wall from the very scariest 120

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to the sexiest. In fact, he picked up a French maid and naughty schoolgirl costume before they left.

Jana and Lisa linked arms. Nicolas fished out the two remote controls he kept fondling in his jeans pocket. He set his packages on the floor. Holding a remote in each hand he pushed the on buttons simultaneously.

Immediately, both women’s laughter died, their knees buckled, but neither fell. Thank God. They did, however, turn and give him a dirty look—both of them.

They spoke briefly to each other, words he couldn’t hear and figured he didn’t want to hear. He could only imagine what the topic was about, before they continued to walk. The grace was gone from each of their steps; instead it was more of a dip, thrust and roll, reminding him of the

“can’t chew gum and walk at the same time” adage.

He burst into laughter, receiving strange looks from a couple that passed him as he reached for his packages.

When Lisa and Jana headed toward a bench not more than ten feet in front of them, he turned off the stimulators. Both women threw another aggravated look over their shoulders in his direction. He could have sworn they smiled as they turned their backs to him and once again began to converse.

He flicked both controllers on-off-on-off-on-off. He couldn’t help it. It thrilled him to have such power over their bodies, giving and taking away their pleasure with the push of a single button. Their expressions were priceless as they grasped each other for support, making him feel like a real bad boy.

And tonight he’d show them what a real good man he could be.

That. Damn. Man.

Jana was contemplating murder. That was if the black box wedged between her legs didn’t feel so good.

Yes. She had been worried about this entire trip, especially when she pulled on the panties and saw what Nicolas had in mind.

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Lisa had said, “It’ll be fun. Just think about never knowing when he might activate the clit stimulator. Never knowing when the tingle between your thighs will force you into his arms, begging him to fuck you.” Her face had grown dreamy. “Anywhere—not caring who watched.”

Jana adjusted her dress and attempted to gather her wits as the final wave of sensations died a slow death between her legs. Not knowing when her body would go up in flames again was not fun.

Liar
. Truthfully, it was exciting and made her hungry to feel Nicolas’s touch.

Last night had been a mistake.

Or was it?

Excitement and regret clashed. The conflicting emotions knotted, twisted and churned inside her as if they were trying to be set free.

Nicolas played with both her and Lisa’s bodies like they were his own personal toys. Did he really feel that way? Was this really just a game?

The excitement she felt when he had said, “Trust me, Jana. You’re mine,” was beyond anything she had ever felt before. Truth was she did want to belong to someone—someone like Nicolas. But a three-way affair would never work out.

She fought not to look behind her. To not see what Nicolas was up to.

Who knew that he was a god between the sheets and evidently a devilish rogue outside them?

Jana was just like any other woman. She wanted a family of her own.

She had leeched off Lisa’s for far too long. Her deepest, darkest secret was to have a man to love her, children she could care for and keep safe.

She hadn’t even revealed this fantasy to Lisa.

Sharing a man wasn’t what Jana had in mind, even if it was with her best friend. She couldn’t regret what happened between them. It was an experience she would always treasure, and stirred emotions inside she had never experienced.

“Lisa.” Jana couldn’t help asking one more time. “Are you okay about—you know? What happened last night?”

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Lisa’s expression softened. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

Heat flushed over Jana. “Well, yes.”

Lisa squeezed her arm. “That’s all that matters.”

“Don’t you love him?” Jana prepared herself for Lisa’s answer.

A rather unladylike snort left Lisa’s perfect lips. “Are you kidding?”

Not exactly the response Jana had expected. “Fun. That’s what I’m looking for as I told you before. I want to experience everything.” Then Lisa stopped and with both hands held Jana at arm’s length. “Will you help me?” A shadow crept across Lisa’s eyes and then disappeared.

“Have fun, I mean?”

Jana tensed. “Are you okay? I mean is everything all right?”

“What?” Lisa released Jana and started walking toward Victoria’s Secret, which was only two stores down. “Man, you can be ridiculous at times. There are just a few things, like the club Nicolas is taking us to tonight, that I want to experience. And I can’t do it alone.” She turned back to face Jana. “I’m not as brave or as strong as you are. Promise me you’ll be there for me?”

“Club?”

“When we get home we need to talk about Trent’s party. There are things you might feel uncomfortable with.” She paused, reaching for Jana again. Her palms were moist. Her grip on Jana’s arms tightened.

“Promise me you’ll go and try to have fun? It would please Nicolas. I can guarantee when he’s happy—you’ll be happy.”

As they stood before the entrance to the store, Jana said, “But it’s just a little awkward.”

“That will go away once we’re all comfortable with each other. Please say you’ll play with Nicolas and me?” Lisa’s eyes sparkled with tears.

Did this really mean so much to Lisa? How could Jana turn down her friend? Or was it that she really didn’t want to?

It didn’t take much coercing for Jana to say, “Yes. Okay. I’ll give it a go.”

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“Grrreat! Now let’s spend some of Nicolas’s money,” Lisa said, grabbing Jana’s hand and pulling her into the store.

As Lisa directed her to a bin of panties that could only be described as butt floss, Nicolas entered.

Their eyes met. The heat simmering in his dark blue gaze made her feel as if she were standing within his fire. Speechless, she watched as he lifted the remote controller.

He wouldn’t dare. Not here. Not now.

The store was swarming with women. Lisa had walked off toward the perfume.

His thumb stroked the black box as he strolled toward her. She trembled with the power he had over her. It actually sucked the air out of the room leaving her breathless. When he was close enough to touch he leaned close to her ear. His warm breath sent goose bumps across her skin.

“Find something to try on.” His sexy, low voice was a warning that tightened her nipples, sending a tingle through them. Then with a wink, he pressed the button.

Once again Jana’s knees buckled with the sudden vibration between her thighs. She grasped the bin, bracing herself against it as moisture flooded her pussy.