Ace agreed with that sentiment. His reasons for volunteering duty in such close quarters were not entirely work related. He’d take whatever opportunity he could to get closer to Summer and figured Kemp had to feel the same way.
“We’re ready to get started if you are, Summer. Would you mind if we borrowed your bathroom to change into work clothes?”
Chapter Four
If they only knew the fantasies that were running through Summer’s mind and the way those thoughts affected her body. Their deep voices were barely audible as they talked to each other, and she imagined them undressing, their bare chests and abs revealed as they unbuttoned their dress shirts.
Her fingertips tingled as she imagined running them over a hard biceps or a trim hip. Her body pulsed with need, and she tried not to think about the last time she’d felt true, deep satisfaction with a man. Stopping to think about it, she realized she never had experienced either because if it had been true and deep it would’ve lasted.
She’d never been in a relationship that lasted more than a few months. It seemed that once the excitement and newness wore off, the guys she dated usually showed their true colors and lost their appeal or they turned out to be freaks.
Such was the case with her last boyfriend, Gary. The guy was married, as it turned out. He and his wife, Paulina, were looking for a “third.” She shivered, remembering the phone call she’d received from the wife, trying to persuade Summer to give them a “try.” Neither of them had been too put out that she’d sold all of the belongings he’d left at her house for a garage sale the month before. Paulina had called a couple of times since then, trying to persuade Summer to change her mind. Both times, Summer had assured her kindly that it wasn’t going to happen. Summer still wondered at Gary’s tactic, leaving so many of his things at her place. Perhaps he’d hoped that by being magnanimous about the loss of his possessions he could manipulate her into giving their threesome idea a try.
Summer laughed, recalling her conversation with the girls in the shop a few weeks before. The idea of sharing a man with another woman repulsed her, but being shared by two men was her ultimate fantasy. Now suddenly she was being presented with an opportunity to test drive that fantasy.
“You mind if we hang these in here, Summer?” Ace asked as he stood in the doorway, holding their clothing on several hangers. She hadn’t even heard him come in the room.
“Oh, sure! Right there.” She indicated a hook that hung over one of the French doors that led into the office. Ace stood in the doorway, dressed in blue jeans, work boots, and a faded denim shirt. The lightweight denim fabric was stretched flat over his well-defined pectoral muscles, and she made a decision. Why fight it? Teresa was up front, and what harm could a little cuddle do?
Ace watched her as she rose from her desk and walked over to him. She stood in front of him as he hung the garments up, and when he smiled at her, she slipped her arms around his waist and pressed close to him. His body was warm and hard, and when his arms closed around her, she felt caged in and safe. She let out a long sigh, and the unsettled feeling she’d had all morning dissipated a little. The muscles in his back were hard and well defined under her restless hands.
She remembered that Kemp was somewhere nearby, and a disturbing thought occurred to her. If the three of them progressed forward in a relationship they were going to draw serious fire like the rest of the girls had.
Already Joaquin and Angel were alternating taking Teresa to and from work, which had to be an inconvenience for them, but they didn’t want to take a chance with her safety.
Rachel didn’t have the challenge the others did because she worked odd hours doing the store’s books and website maintenance. She came and went as she pleased, and nobody had bothered her at her other job.
Grace was having a difficult time getting her men to allow her to leave the house alone at all. Summer couldn’t blame them after the second time Grace was followed closely on the way home by the same vehicle that had run her off the road a few weeks before. Her men were also taking turns bringing her to the shop. It might make them all happier to know that Ace and Kemp would be around.
“You okay, kitten?” Ace’s voice was soft and indulgent sounding as he stroked her back.
“I needed a hug. It’s been a while since someone held me. I just needed—I was…” Words failed her as his hands roamed.
Ace slid his palm up her back until his fingers sifted into her hair. At the base of her skull, he gripped her hair and tilted her head back. The feeling took her by surprise. He held her close, and a tremor went through her as she lost herself in his dark brown gaze. He stayed that way for a few seconds, just staring into her eyes, then looked down at her parted lips as he closed the small gap between them.