Why not?
Yeah, why not? Things would be different if Cash wasn’t interested, but she knew he was. And she’d be a fool to pass up the chance to sleep with the guy. She’d yet to meet a man she could explore her sexuality with, and she knew without a doubt that Cash McCoy would be up for anything.
So what if Carson had laid down the law? Annabelle was right. One little push and Cash’s resolve would collapse like a house of straw.
“What kind of push?” Jen asked.
Annabelle stared at her.
“What?” she said defensively. “You brought it up. You can’t go all judgmental on me now.”
“I’m not being judgmental. I’m just shocked. Have you looked in the mirror, Jen? You’re gorgeous. Are you telling me you don’t know how to seduce a man?”
She gulped down a lump of insecurity. “I don’t have much experience in seduction.”
“Carson will be glad to hear that,” Annabelle said dryly. “But seriously, how can you not have men wrapped around your little finger?”
She shrugged awkwardly. “I guess I do, kind of, anyway. I get hit on a lot, but…” She blushed. “I’ve only slept with three guys and they were the ones who did the seducing.”
And they’d all disappointed her colossally in the bedroom. She didn’t have anything against slow, tender lovemaking, but sometimes a girl just needed…well, to be fucked, damn it.
“Trust me, it’ll be a piece of cake,” Annabelle said confidently. “Just utilize the three S’s—skimpy clothing, subtle touches and sexual innuendo.”
She had to laugh. “That’s it?”
“That’s it. Use the three S’s and Cash won’t be able to resist you.”
“What about bros before hoes?”
“Yeah, the bro loyalty might slow you down, I’m not gonna lie. But you just have to keep cranking up the heat until he’s feeling so hot all he’ll be able to think is, Carson who?”
Jen pursed her lips in thought. Okay. That didn’t sound too difficult.
She glanced at the other side of the pool and found Cash’s blue eyes focused on her. She didn’t miss the brief flicker of desire in his eyes before his expression went shuttered. As he broke the eye contact, she felt a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. So…Cash McCoy was convinced he could keep his hands off her?
Fine, well, let him try.
Because she was officially putting that discipline of his to the test—and once she was through with him, his hands were going to be all over her.
Chapter Five
What kind of self-respecting woman ate pizza in her underwear? Any meal, for that matter. There was a reason restaurants had a dress code—food was meant to be eaten while clothed. Come to think of it, that should be a law, Cash decided. He made a mental note to write his local congressman about it.
As he inwardly stewed, he kept his gaze focused on The Office rerun playing on the flat screen, refusing to let Jen see how much she affected him. They sat on opposite ends of the couch, with the pizza box on the cushions between them, yet she was still too damn close for comfort. From the corner of his eye, he saw her graceful throat working as she chewed and swallowed her slice, and when she reached for the beer bottle on the coffee table, his peripheral vision honed in on the side of one full breast.
Jesus. This woman would be the death of him. When she’d strolled into the living room in a black sports bra and tiny green boy shorts, his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets. He’d casually suggested that she might be more comfortable if she had more clothes on, but she’d laughed and told him this was what she always wore around the house. Her relaxing outfit, she’d called it. Then she’d released her hair from her ponytail and all those tousled, honey-blonde waves cascaded over her shoulders and halfway down her back, making her look like a golden goddess.
He’d been trying valiantly not to ogle her—or touch her—all evening, but it was only eight o’clock and he was running out of willpower. If he retreated to his bedroom claiming he planned on turning in, she’d see right through him—and know that his so-called discipline was failing him big-time. Which meant he had to stick it out. Watch TV, make small-talk during commercials, maybe have another beer or two.
He could totally do this. As long as he avoided eye contact and kept the conversation neutral he’d get through this night, no problem.
And what about the other twenty or so nights?
Cash promptly silenced his inner Negative Nancy. He just had to take a page of the Alcoholics Anonymous book. One day at a time. The next three weeks would fly by as long as he kept his cool.
“I can’t eat another bite,” Jen said with a satisfied groan. She grabbed a napkin from the table and demurely wiped the corners of her mouth like she was the queen of England.
Though he highly doubted the queen of England wore her fucking underwear to dinner.
“Thanks for treating,” she added. “I’ll get dinner tomorrow.”
“Sure,” he agreed, wincing at the hoarse note in his voice. He promptly concentrated on the television again and pretended to care about the antics of Steve Carell and the rest of the cast, but when another commercial break came on, he had no choice but to glance over at Jen and wait for the next round of neutral small-talk.
When he glimpsed the thoughtful light in those big blue eyes, he started to get a bad feeling. Gulping, he picked up his beer and took a long swig.
“So what’s your favorite sexual position?”
Cash choked mid-sip.
Coughing wildly, he put his bottle on the table and gawked at her. “Excuse me?”
“Your favorite sexual position,” she repeated.
He gritted his teeth. “I’m not telling you that. It’s inappropriate subject matter for two people who won’t be having sex.”
“Friends talk about stuff like that. Me and Tessa do it all the time.”
He gave a stubborn shake of the head. “No way.”
“Come on,” she cajoled. “Let me guess, it’s doggy-style, right? You totally seem like the doggy-style kinda guy.”
His jaw started to hurt, he was grinding his teeth that hard. “I know what you’re doing, Jenny, and it ain’t gonna work.”
Her expression epitomized innocence. “I’m just trying to get to know you. As a friend.”
“You want to get to know me? Ask me what my favorite color is, or my favorite movie.” He answered before she could say a word. “Black. Die Hard. There, sharing time is over.”
“My favorite position is missionary,” she said, ignoring him. “Very vanilla of me, I guess, but I think there’s a deeper intimacy there. Oh, and when the guy’s on top, it’s easier for me to come because his pelvis rubs against my cli—”
“Jesus!” Cash interrupted.
Too late. Her words had sent an onslaught of images into his head and now all he could picture was Jen’s perfect body writhing beneath him as his stupid pelvis stroked her clit with every thrust of his cock. His very hard cock. Like the hard cock pushing against his shorts at the moment.
Breathing sharply through his nose, he ordered the erection to retreat. When it didn’t, he had to wait for Jen to lean forward to set her beer on the table before he made a subtle rearrangement down below. From the smirk she shot him, he knew she’d noticed what he’d done.
“You really won’t tell me your favorite position?” she prompted.
“Nope.”
“Okay. I’ll just keep guessing then.” She lifted her legs and sat cross-legged on the couch, her blonde hair falling over one shoulder. “I’m thinking missionary, except you’re on your knees and the chick’s ankles are up on your shoulders so you can drive deeper—”
“Woman on top,” he burst out.
“Huh. Really?”
Cash clenched his jaw. “Yes.”
“Why?”
Because there was nothing hotter than watching a pair of sexy tits swaying as their owner rode him like a cowgirl…
He bit back the response, shoved away the
new swarm of dirty images, and glared at her. “Just because.” Then he picked up his bottle and drained the whole damn thing.
“Have you ever been in a threesome? I haven’t,” she said matter-of-factly.
Cash briefly closed his eyes. Would it be rude if he excused himself and spent the rest of the night jacking off in the shower?
Probably.
“Well, have you?” the relentless blonde pushed when he didn’t respond.
He sighed. “Yes.”
Was that disappointment in her eyes? Oh hell, it was. He couldn’t explain the rush of unhappiness that flooded his gut at the thought of this woman being disappointed in him.
But wait… There was a spark of jealousy there too. Oh brother. She wasn’t disappointed in him, but over the fact that she’d never experienced a ménage.
Jen tipped her head to the side. “You, another guy and a girl, or two girls and you?” Her eyes widened. “Oooh, or maybe you and two guys? That would be hot.”
“Me, guy, girl.” His voice was as stiff as his cock.
“What’s it like?” she asked curiously.
God help him.
“I’m not talking about this anymore,” he muttered.
“Pretty thrilling, I bet,” she mused, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve always wondered what being with two men would feel like. Two sets of hands on my body, two mouths and tongues and—”
Cash shot to his feet. “I feel like another beer. You?”
He heard her chuckling as he sprinted to the kitchen. He threw open the fridge door and shoved his head into the cold space, hoping the chill would ease the hot throbbing in his body. The woman was tormenting him. On purpose. And judging from the laughter that continued to trickle behind him, she was enjoying every damn second of it.
He grabbed two longnecks from the bottom shelf and shut the refrigerator.
Damn it. He had to gain the upper hand here. Find a way to get her to back off. Because if he didn’t, he was in real danger of succumbing to temptation and fucking this woman until neither of them could walk properly for days.
“Here,” he said, thrusting a fresh beer in her direction.
“Thanks.”
Cash sat down and twisted off the bottle cap.
“Anyway, back to the subject of threesomes,” Jen spoke up. “Who’s your go-to three-way buddy? Carson had Garrett before they both got married, and I hear all sorts of rumors about Ryan and Matt. So who’s your wingman?”
Christ, this woman was tenacious. Did she think if she kept talking about sex she’d get him so turned on he wouldn’t be able to control himself around her?
A thought suddenly occurred to him. Why couldn’t he play the same game? Except instead of turning her on, he’d turn her off. If she didn’t want to jump his bones anymore then he’d finally be able to breathe easy.
“Dylan Wade,” Cash said, lifting his beer to his lips.
Interest flickered in her eyes.
Honest-to-God interest.
“Dylan Wade. That’s your threesome buddy?”
“Yep.”
“Is he hot?”
“Women seem to think so.” He shot her a pointed look. “The one we hooked up with yesterday wasn’t complaining.”
Jen’s eyebrows soared. “Yesterday? You had a threesome yesterday?”
Relief trickled through him. Good. Now she would view him as some huge whore, back off, and nobody would get drowned courtesy of Carson Scott.
“Was it good?”
For the love of…
He whirled his gaze to her, bewildered by the equal parts curiosity and arousal shining in those blue eyes. “It doesn’t piss you off that I was with another woman yesterday?”
“Why should it? We didn’t vow our undying love to each other before we parted ways at the bar. A man has needs, right?”
He ignored the throbbing of his cock. Yeah, a man had needs, all right.
“Anyway, was the threesome good? Did she like it?”
Cash let out a strangled groan. “Yes, she liked it. She loved it. So did Dylan. So did I—” Except for that one moment when he’d been fantasizing about Jen, but he kept that tidbit to himself. “We all had a great time, orgasms all around, and then I bid them adieu and left.”
There was a beat of silence.
“How long are you going to hold out on me?” Jen asked with a little sigh.
He scowled at her. “Forever.”
“Forever’s a long time.”
“Yup.”
Rolling her eyes, she set down her beer and stood up. “Fine. Then if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to retreat to my bedroom. This discussion has gotten me hot, so I need to take care of business since you’re clearly not going to be any help.”
Huh?
Cash quickly pasted on an indifferent look and acted like the announcement hadn’t sent a bolt of desire straight to his groin. “Have fun,” he said lightly.
Her lips twitched in humor as she edged away from the sofa. “I will. And just to give you fair warning, I can be loud when I’m coming, so don’t be alarmed if you hear screams.”
With that, she flounced off, her bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. A few seconds later, he heard Matt’s door creak open and shut. And then…silence.
Cash staggered to his feet, busying himself with gathering up the beer bottles, empty pizza box and used napkins cluttering the coffee table.
She wasn’t really getting herself off. She was simply trying to lure him in by planting a new slew of sinful images in his head.
At least that’s what he told himself before the first strains of the masturbation symphony filled the air.
Soft moans. A husky groan. He thought he heard an “Oh God” in there.
Ignore it, he told his hurting dick. It’s a trick, buddy.
He folded up the cardboard pizza box and shoved it in the recycling bin under the sink.
“Oh!”
Cash bit the inside of his cheek and poured Jen’s half-empty beer down the drain.
“Oh…oh…ohhhhh!”
By the time the tenth moan or so sliced through the apartment, Cash knew he was being played.
Shoulders rigid, he shut off the faucet and marched toward Matt’s room. He didn’t knock. Just threw the door open, crossed his arms and glared at the blonde.
She lay in the center of the bed with her head resting on the cedar headboard. In her hands was a copy of Twilight.
“Oh, hey, Cash,” she said when she spotted him. With a broad smile, she held up the book. “Have you ever read this? Edward is so dreamy, don’t you think?”
He growled in sheer frustration and spun on his heel.
“Ah, Team Jacob,” he heard her murmur in a knowing voice.
Gritting his teeth, he strode into his bedroom, shut the door behind him, and raked both hands over his scalp.
Jesus.
It was going to be a long three weeks.
Two days later, Cash breathed a sigh of relief as he slid into the passenger side of Ryan’s olive-green Jeep. It was Saturday morning, Jen was upstairs having breakfast with Annabelle, and Cash was officially allowed to relax for the next couple of hours. In fact, he couldn’t wait to put some much-needed distance between him and the evil temptress named Jennifer Scott.
The damn woman had been testing his limits for the past forty-eight hours. Parading around the apartment in next to nothing. Brushing up against him in the kitchen. Talking about sex nonstop. Christ, she’d even managed to make updating her resume look hot—leaning close to her laptop in a way that emphasized the sexy curve of her spine, biting that plush bottom lip as she studied the screen.
He’d been sporting an unceasing erection for two days now. Couldn’t even remember what it was like to not be hard as a rock. His daily workout hadn’t helped take the edge off. Neither had his daily—fine, twice daily—jack-off session in the shower. If anything, he was even more hard-up, especially since Jen had taken to taunting him whenever he
stepped out of the bathroom, innocently inquiring whether he’d enjoyed himself.
Any day now, he might actually kill her.
Or fuck her.
Discipline.
“Screw discipline,” he mumbled to himself.
“What was that?” Ryan asked as he steered across the Coronado Bay Bridge.
“Nothing,” Cash said. “Just thinking out loud.”
Ryan gave him a strange look. “O-kay. Anyway, Jane wanted to know if you got her email.”
“The one about Becker-approved baby gifts for Sadie?”
“That’s the one,” Ryan said dryly. “And before you ask, yes, I wholeheartedly agree—Beck was abducted by aliens and replaced with a crazy pod version of himself.”
“Thank you. I didn’t want to be the one to say it, since I don’t know him as well as you guys do. I thought maybe he’s always like this and I just started picking up on it now.”
“He’s not always like this. Personally, I think Jane should divorce him.”
Cash wouldn’t go as far as to agree with that, but nobody could deny Lieutenant Commander Becker was overprotective when it came to his daughter. Not to mention obsessed. Cash had spent the entire trip back from Kabul listening to the CO drone on and on about Miss Sadie; what an advanced child she was, how she smiled at Beck more times than she smiled at Beck’s wife Jane, how she preferred mashed carrots to applesauce. Cash knew a scary amount about that baby, far more than he wanted to, actually.
Since Miss Sadie was turning the big “1” next weekend, the presence of everyone on the team had been requested for the kid’s party. Cash had been worrying about what kind of present to buy, but fortunately the CO had come up with a list of suggestions—all of which had been thoroughly researched and undoubtedly tested for safety purposes. And he’d even compiled a second list entitled “DON’T BUY”. Right. Like Cash would ever give a one-year-old lead paint.
“Lead paint was actually on the DON’T BUY list,” Ryan blurted out in disbelief. “Why would any of us buy that?”
He laughed. “I was just remembering that one. Hey, do you want to chip in and get the Baby Animal Planet DVD thing? I checked online and the box set is like a hundred bucks. I refuse to spend more than fifty dollars on a baby so if you want to go halfsies…”