Mosaic Moon Page 13

  Emma stopped. She'd never admitted to either of them how she had eavesdropped--both literally and with her empathic abilities--on their sex life when she'd been staying with them. Now was probably not the best time to tell Jesse what she'd heard.

  Jesse straightened, the whip coming to a rest on her chest. "What did you hear me say to Gideon?"

  The urge to throw up the walls was great, to hide from him her sudden rise of trepidation, but Emma knew that if she did that, Jess would know something was up even if she could get away with the lie. "Nothing important," she said. "But it made me think you both did this kind of thing."

  He narrowed his eyes, but she didn't feel anything like irritation coming from him. He just seemed curious, and puzzled. "What did you hear, Emma? Tell me. Or I can make you tell me."

  All she could think was that he should never have told her the alternative to not answering his question.

  Emma licked her lips, forcing her body into motionlessness. "You can't," she dared.

  "I can't?" Jesse ran the whip through his fingers thoughtfully. "I may have never been on this side, but I'm a quick study." He dropped the whip and ran his hands down her sides, his fingers gliding over her ribs. She squirmed and he smiled like he found just what he was looking for. "Graduated top of my class, even." He reached for the whip again, and brought it down on her ribs beneath her breast, pain flaring from the very sensitive point.

  Fire licked along her skin, but the heat that suddenly enveloped her chest made her body ache in ways it never had before. A fresh flood of desire washed over her, but before she could react to it, the flogger came down again, several of the leather strands lashing out over her taut nipple.

  Though Emma cried out, she forced herself to keep from writhing beneath him, refusing to give him that iota of satisfaction. "What does it matter?" she panted. "I'm here now. Isn't that what's important?"

  Jesse's face was flushed, and his cock was starting to harden against her. He raked his nails over the red marks left by the whip. His teeth came next, sharp points scraping across her taut nipple and down the curve of her breast. She didn't make a sound, but his eyes widened slightly as pleasure rolled from her body to his. "It matters because I want to know what you heard."

  Emma bit the inside of her cheek to keep from whimpering. "Let me go, and I'll tell you."

  His lips parted, his breath coming more rapidly. She didn't know if seeing her like this was enough to excite him, or if he was picking up on her own arousal. "No," he said, shifting his attention to her other nipple. His cock was almost fully erect now, and he rocked forward, grinding against her clit as he sank his teeth into her areola.

  Her back bowed at the sharp contact, her thighs quivering as her body absorbed the shock and turned it around. Pain became pleasure, and Emma's head swam as she thrashed beneath Jesse's mouth, trying to find the focus that had long escaped her. The words tumbled out without thought of censorship, but even after she started begging, a small part of Emma hoped he wouldn't grant her wishes.

  "Fuck me, Jess. I'll tell you whatever you want, just...don't stop, God, please. I need to feel you inside me. Please, whatever you want, it's yours. Just fuck me first. Please."

  Jesse moaned, his hips rocking against her faster, his cock hard against her thigh. He straightened, and for a brief moment, she thought he meant to give in to her. But he shook his head. "You tell me, then I'll do anything you want."

  He twirled the flogger above her breasts, tickling each nipple in turn, and then flicked his wrist. The long straps came down, aggravating her throbbing nipples. His other hand slid down her stomach and between their bodies, his fingers finding her clit. Jess pinched her gently, but he was the one who jerked like somebody shocked him.

  "Do you feel it?" she whispered. It was as loud as she could get. Any louder, and she didn't trust that it wouldn't turn into a scream. "Do you feel what you do to me now?"

  Jesse nodded, like he didn't trust his own voice either. Without taking his eyes from her face, he repeated his earlier actions. The leather came down over her chest and he rolled her clit against the pad of his finger. He shuddered against her, his muscles trembling, his eyes too bright.

  It felt like her skin was on fire, every inch crisping as the flames leapt between them, feeding off her pleasure, off his, spiraling into something she almost didn't recognize. Her chest was tight, her breathing rapid, but all she could think was more.

  She didn't say a word, but the growing gleam in Jesse's eye said she didn't need to. He skimmed the flogger back up over her overly sensitive breasts, drawing a hoarse cry from her as he did so, but before he could lift it, the door opened, and a wet Gideon, with a towel wrapped around his hips, strode inside.

  Jesse froze as Gideon's dark eyes drank in the tableau. His nostrils flared, and beneath the navy terry, she saw his cock begin to rise.

  "This doesn't look like talking," he said, each word low and measured.

  Emma couldn't speak, and from the look on Jesse's face, she wasn't sure if he could either. "No," he said, the word strained. "We were...talking. Earlier. About something Emma...overheard once."

  "And this?" Gideon crossed to the bed in sure steps, reaching out to fold his hand over Jesse's on the flogger. He didn't take it away, but instead guided Jesse to drag the soft leather strips over and over her already sensitized breast.

  Emma shuddered, her lashes fluttering shut for the briefest of moments. "I told him it doesn't matter, but he...he wouldn't listen."

  "Of course, he wouldn't. He's been waiting to do this for months, and the way you smell..." He ran his palm over her stomach, following the same path Jesse had taken only seconds earlier to her clit. She waited for him to pinch her, too, but all Gideon did was cover Jesse's hand there. "Those are some pretty marks you've made, boy."

  Jesse's flush of satisfaction was undeniable. "They really are." His finger curled slightly beneath Gideon's hand, applying more pressure to her flesh. She caught her breath and he closed his eyes for just a second. "She asked me if I ever did this to you. She said she overheard something that made her think I did. But she won't tell me what."

  She expected Gideon to ask her to clarify. She never expected him to chuckle.

  "Because the little minx doesn't want you to know she was spying on us. That she got herself off by watching. Isn't that right, Emma?"

  With her eyes never leaving Jesse's, she nodded.

  Gideon pushed Jesse's fingers harder against her clit. "Tell him what you heard now, or I'm going to pull him off you and fuck him myself, and the only satisfaction you'll get will be secondhand."

  Panic bubbled inside her, the words spilling out faster than she could articulate them.

  "I heard you talking about wanting to pour hot wax over my breasts, about marking me and then forcing me to my knees to make me swallow your cock."

  "And you got yourself off to that?" Jesse asked, as though he didn't quite believe Gideon. When she nodded, he transmitted several conflicting emotions, including shame and irritation, but they were gone so quick, Emma couldn't be sure they were there at all. They were replaced with another rush of arousal that lit her nerves on fire. Her clit throbbed against his finger, and he whimpered.

  "It was watching you with Gideon, too," Emma confessed. "The way you react to him. How much you two love each other." Her eyes darted between the two men, trying to get them to understand. "I don't think there's anything more exciting than watching two people devour each other like you guys do."

  With a flick of his wrist, Gideon forced Jesse to toss aside the flogger, sliding around until he was kneeling on the bed behind him. "Maybe we should give the girl what she wants," he murmured in Jesse's ear.

  "No!" She cried out automatically, but an embarrassed flush quickly spread over her cheeks. "I told you. You can't just leave me like this. Please. Please, Jess."

  Jesse took a deep breath, and turned to Gideon. She jerked against the cuffs impatiently, hoping Gideon wasn't going to prolong the
encounter just because he could. She felt fevered and flushed, and she knew Jesse was almost at the breaking point himself. But instead of speaking, he silently reached around Gideon and pulled the Velcro belts open, freeing her ankles.

  As soon as her legs were free, he yanked them over his hips. She locked around him, drawing him closer. He bent, supporting himself on one hand, his chest sliding against her sensitive breasts. "I can't wait any more," he murmured against her mouth, the tip of his cock pushing into her pussy.

  "Neither can I."

  She might not have her arms, but he'd given back her legs, and Emma used that to her full advantage. Tightening them as hard as she could, she yanked against his hips, forcing him to drive his length into her in a single stroke. He groaned, and she swallowed it down, attacking his mouth with furious kisses, biting at his lips until he parted for her tongue. Each sweep sent ripples so swift through her flesh that Emma thought she would explode long before she came again.

  Jesse found a much quicker rhythm than their first time, spurred by her hungry kisses and her tight grip around him. She was so absorbed in the way his body felt against hers, and the way he tasted, and the needy sounds he was making that she forgot Gideon was still behind Jess. Until she felt the added weight pressing her into the mattress, and Jesse froze. Gasping, he rocked back against Gideon, and then thrust forward again. The shared desire and pleasure was already threading between them like a bright red ribbon, but now Jesse seemed to blaze with hunger and bliss, igniting her further.

  Keeping one leg hooked around Jesse's thigh, Emma curled the other around Gideon, his powerful muscles flexing against her skin. There was a moment where his rhythm faltered, the direct contact looping him in to the union of emotion already buffeting between her and Jess, and she felt a hand fall to her hip, completing the circle. But then he was moving again, and Jess was moaning, and all she could do was try and keep up, try not to fall behind while they took the pleasure and ran. But it was all too much, escalating to a peak Emma never saw the top of before she was being thrown over it, her body convulsing as she clenched around Jesse's cock, his name torn from her lips over and over again.

  Jesse smashed his mouth against hers, stopping her shouts with his own long moan. The hand on her hip tightened and Jesse was yanked back forcefully, tearing his lips away from hers. Over Jesse's shoulder, she saw Gideon's eyes flash gold before he dropped his head back, a long groan escaping his throat. His fingers curled into her flesh and he jerked forward, holding Jesse in place on his cock. Jesse pulled free, thrusting deep into her as her muscles jerked and trembled around his shaft, and then slamming back against Gideon one final time before erupting, his orgasm reverberating through her body.

  Breathing became increasingly difficult as Jesse returned his mouth to hers. Gideon was the first to peel away, relieving Emma of some of the weight pinning her down. When she felt his gentle hands undoing the Velcro around her wrists, relief at knowing she would soon be free again filled and jumped the space between her and Jess, making him start enough to lift his head and watch Gideon work. She didn't let him get far. As soon as one hand was free, she curled her aching arm around his shoulders and dragged him back to her mouth.

  Gideon freed her other wrist, and that arm went around Jesse's ribs. He rolled to his side without breaking the kiss, dragging her with him. She fit against the curve of his body naturally, her legs entwining with his, and he buried his hand in her hair. The hunger in each caress gradually faded as they eased away from each other, until the need to breathe trumped her need to taste him. When they finally broke apart completely, he collapsed against the pillow with a soft sigh. She rested her head on his shoulder, her sigh echoing his.

  "Do I sound silly if I just say wow?" she breathed.

  "I'm impressed you can talk," Jesse murmured. He reached for Gideon's hand, their fingers entwining, and pulled him down for a soft kiss. Everything she had sensed from Jesse before had been fevered, but now a soft feeling of contentment radiated from him, and his arm tightened around her.

  Gideon stretched out along Jesse's other side, but instead of settling into the pillows, he propped his head up in his hands and simply gazed at the pair of them. With the lust in the room abating, it was more difficult for Emma to read him, his dark eyes returning to their usual inscrutability. She reached her hand across Jesse's chest until her fingertips grazed Gideon's skin, and the small slant of his mouth banished any fears that she might have had.

  "Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked. "You had a long night."

  Gideon glanced at Jesse, whose eyes were already shut. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I'm just going to watch you for a bit."

  Emma nodded, letting her eyes drift closed as well. There was probably more talking to be done, but with her heart open to both men, there was no need to do it now. They knew everything that was necessary. They knew she loved them.

  Nothing else mattered.

  Chapter 12

  * * *

  Jesse shuffled through the stack of reports, changing the order to change his perspective. The night before--had it really only been the night before?--he had been confident that an answer was forthcoming, but now nothing looked right. It didn't look the way it did before. Had he fried his brain?

  Jesse smiled wryly. That was entirely possible. Even if he hadn't fried his brain, how was he supposed to concentrate when all he could think about was Gideon and Emma so exhausted, so deep in sleep that they hadn't even stirred when he crawled out of bed? He could sneak back in, and they'd never notice he was gone. The thought was so seductive that he was half out of his chair before he realized it.

  Shaking his head, he settled back down and thumbed through the papers once again. There was something there, even if he couldn't see it yet. He had wasted too much time on the case already. The angry voicemail waiting for him that morning from John was proof enough that he needed to focus. They still had a small window of time, and he couldn't afford to allow that window to close because he'd rather be in bed with his lovers.

  Jesse sighed. If he intended to concentrate, he could not think about bed, or Gideon, or Emma. Fourteen desecrations. All of the bodies had only recently been interred. Some of the bodies had been stolen, but some had been left behind. They had all been young, dead long before their time. Did that matter? Or was that a sad coincidence? His stomach clenched. He had been pointedly not thinking about the poor people--the bodies. It didn't hurt them, of course. But it still bothered him.

  With a grimace he murmured, "That's one way to get sex off my mind."

  "Talking to the walls again? That's never a good sign."

  Jesse looked up from the desk to see Gideon at the stairs, dressed only in silk pajama bottoms. His hair was damp from the shower, but not combed yet, and water he hadn't completely dried off made his pants cling to him in all the best spots.

  "No, it's not. I wasn't making too much noise up here, was I?" Jesse stood and crossed the room. "You two looked like you need your sleep."

  As soon as he was within reaching distance, Gideon grabbed the waist of his jeans and dragged Jesse against his body. "Emma's still out." Bending his head, he licked along Jesse's neck. "Let's go wake her up. The fun way."

  Jesse moaned. He didn't need to ask what the fun way was. Hadn't he been mulling that very thing?

  "I can't," he said, calling up on every ounce of willpower he possessed. "You can't come up here and abolish all my good intentions with a..." Gideon licked his neck again. "Stop doing that."

  "What? This?" This time, Gideon accompanied the swipe along a fresh patch of skin with a deliberate palming of his cock through his jeans.

  "Gideon, I'm trying to work," Jesse protested weakly, but he didn't do anything to break the contact, and his cock was hard beneath Gideon's hand. "We still have work to do."

  "You're not trying very hard." His strong fingers squeezed around the shaft, and his teeth nipped at Jesse's ear. "Oh, wait, yes, you are."

  "I am. Trying, th
at is." A drop of water on Gideon's shoulder distracted him and he caught it with his lips. "Okay, except for that."

  A shudder rumbled Gideon, and he began dropping open-mouthed kisses back along Jesse's neck, pulling at the skin and muscle with every caress. "You don't want to be up here anyway. You've finally got Emma into our bed, and she's all pale and pretty, ready for us to play with her again." His tongue skimmed over the most recent bite marks. "Plus I never got breakfast, you know."

  Jesse pulled back. "You're not referring to Emma as breakfast, are you?"

  A slight frown marred Gideon's even features. "Why does that sound so much worse when you say it like that?"

  "I don't think there's a way you can make it sound better, Gideon." Jesse had never thought about Gideon biting Emma, and he didn't like to think about it now.

  "Fine, I won't say it like that." He tried reaching for Jesse again, only to be thwarted when Jess moved farther out of his reach. "What?"

  "Don't say it," Jesse said, surprised by the words, as well as his tone. This was not a tone he used with Gideon. "Don't...think it. Don't do it. You can't bite her, Gideon."

  "I can't? Why the hell not?"

  "She's not like me. She was kidnapped and terrorized by a vampire just six months ago. She didn't allow herself to sleep once that entire time because she was so frightened of what could happen to her." Jesse crossed his arms. "And even if that wasn't the case, most...normal...people aren't prepared to put their lives in their lover's hands. That's not a risk that's usually associated with sex."

  Something frightening flashed in Gideon's eyes, and when he spoke, his voice was low and deceptively even. "I have never taken too much from you," he said. "Even when I wasn't in complete control. You know I wouldn't put you in any real danger, Jesse."

  Jesse knew now would be a good time to back off, to apologize for ever suggesting Gideon might take too much, for suggesting this could be a problem. But he couldn't do that. Because Gideon wasn't understanding. Because Emma shouldn't be caught in this fight--even if it was about her.