Silence filled the line then. It was a well-established rule that Ian did not participate as a third. A first perhaps, the dominance the other man possessed rarely allowed him to take a backseat in anything.
“Why?” he finally asked.
Jared explained the situation briefly, keeping his voice level, his driving need banked. But damn if Ian wouldn’t be perfect to join him on this adventure into Kimberly’s sexuality. He was restrained, perfectly in control, and despite appearances, a compassionate man.
Once again the other man was quiet. Silence stretched between them for long minutes.
“Son of a bitch,” he finally muttered. “Remind me to back whoever’s running against the Senator in the next election.”
“Let’s keep politics out of it,” Jared sighed. “Mother’s backing him so I don’t even want to think about losing here.”
Ian snarled. There was no other way to describe the curse that sizzled across the lines.
“Anal or o**l s*x is a very poor second to the real thing, Jared,” he sighed.
Jared knew that well. He was walking around with a hard-on that would eventually kill him. No matter how many times he took her ass or her sweet mouth, he knew he would never know real satisfaction until he managed to f**k her hot little pu**y.
“It’s her only option right now, Ian,” he growled.
“So let me get this straight,” he sighed. “No vaginal, period. You know, don’t you, that we’re both going to have a case of blue balls from leaving that pretty little cunt untouched.”
Jared grinned. “Yeah, that pretty much describes it. Come on, Ian, you can get your rocks off anytime. This is Kimber we’re talking about. She needs this.”
She was a member of The Club, and a woman, and that gave her a certain standing with Ian. It meant he had personally selected, invited and approved her. He likely knew more about the situation than even Jared did.
“Why did I know this call was coming?” he finally asked Jared with a thick vein of amusement. “How will you get rid of the bodyguards? The bedroom is the wrong place for this, Jared. If you’re going for intensity, you’re going to have to add that extra level of danger for her while keeping her in the security of your home. Otherwise, I would suggest bringing her here to The Club.”
“No. We’ll use the living room here.” Jared shook his head at the alternative. “I have a few of the men from my old team here. We’ll arrange the particulars, you just be here.”
“Blindfold her, it will roughen the edges of her security.” Ian’s voice deepened further, indicative of his interest and arousal. “I’ll be there at ten.”
Jared’s c**k jerked in the confinement of his jeans. Ian had forgotten more about stroking a woman’s arousal and submissive instincts than most men would ever consider.
“I’ll have everything ready.” He smiled slowly, envisioning the evening ahead. “See you at ten.”
He disconnected before turning his head to stare back at the house. There was Adams skulking around the house again. Matthews and Danford were watching him with a frown from their positions. That left the fourth man in the house, most likely watching Kimberly.
Bastards. Lowell and Adams were riding his last nerve and if they weren’t careful they would find themselves finishing out this assignment locked in the basement. He paused at the thought. That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. Matthews and Danford he could trust. The other two were the problem.
Yes, the basement was beginning to look better every minute.
Kimberly could feel the tension growing in her. It was worse than before. Like a bone-chilling craving she couldn’t identify and had no hope of fulfilling. Was this how her ancestors felt? Those women who had been restricted from fulfilling the heightened sexuality that tormented her.
A curse they had called it. She poured a cup of fresh coffee as she breathed out roughly, stilling the trembling in her fingers as she carried the cup to the kitchen table. It was worse than a curse.
She stared through the window, watching Jared as he worked around the barns. Lean hipped, muscular. He moved with a grace she had rarely seen in other men, and he mesmerized her.
Why was he different? Why had he been the one to slip under her guard and steal her heart?
She turned away from him, her hands wrapped around the cup as her head lowered, eyes closing.
She wanted so much more now than she had ever dreamed of. Before learning the terms of the Trust, before the betrayal of the exams, she had decided she would never endure the pain her mother had known. Her virginity had been a matter of pride. Her self-respect and her determination to know a life opposite of her mother’s had often been all she’d had to hold on to.
After the shock of the examinations she had fought back in the only way she knew how. Smug, triumphant, she had learned she could have her cake and eat it too. She could assuage the lusts that built within her body and still pass the tri-monthly tests her father demanded.
And that had been enough. Until Jared.
“What now?” she whispered, her gaze returning to the window, to the man. “What do I do now?” Because she knew it was no longer enough, and it never would be again. Now, she wanted it all.