Page 24 of Issued
Taya
I’m supposed tobe getting ready for this birthday party, but of course Jim continues to be the only thing on my mind since yesterday evening. God, catching Jim masturbating, thick hand fisted around his equally thick dick, nearly brought me to my knees. Why’d he have to leave the freakin’ door open yesterday?
Leaning over, I grab my vibrator from the nightstand drawer and switch it on. The purple, textured sex toy buzzes to life and I lower it between my thighs, touching it gently to my needy sex. The fingers of my free hand curl into the comforter beneath me as the pleasure coursing through my body becomes an urgent stab of desire and I moan as the image of Jim stroking himself raced through my mind.
I’m teetering on the brink of heaven, every nerve ending on fire. My muscles tighten as I press the vibrator hard against my clit, pushing myself closer to tumbling over the edge. Everything is about to go blissfully white when there’s a knock at my door.
Oh. My. God.
Turning off the vibrator, I launch out of bed and mumble a silent prayer that Jim didn’t hear anything. “Just a minute.”
I throw on a pair of black jeans and one of the few nice shirts that survived the fire, a loose tank top with sequins, before scurrying over to the door. I take a deep breath and adjust my ponytail. When I pull the door open, no one is there, so I take a step into the hallway. Halfway down the stairs is Jim. His ears and neck are beet red.
Oh. My. God.
He stops when the floor beneath me creaks but doesn’t turn around. “Ready to leave?”
“Just need five minutes.”
He nods and continues on, and I step back into my room and close the door. He heard. Oh my God. How am I going to sit the rest of the night next to this man? Not that I’m embarrassed about pleasuring myself. But it was to him. And I wish it wasn’t a vibrator actually getting me off, but my husband.
My streak of terrible luck continues. I won the jackpot when it comes to husbands in terms of hotness, yet the man wants nothing to do with me.
Even if he does make an overture, I’m not sure what I’d do. My body has one thought—hell, yes!—but my mind isn’t convinced. I’m not in the market to be a booty call.
Not even if the caller is my husband.
I take a deep breath and head over to the desk with my makeup case and apply some lipstick and mascara before fixing my hair into a low ponytail because the humidity today killed any chance of doing something fancy. Once I put on some pearl studs, I race down the stairs and out the door to the driveway where Jim is waiting in his truck.
The ride is uncomfortably silent but at least it only lasts twenty minutes. Twenty long minutes. I sit straight in my seat when we arrive at Shaken & Stirred. “I didn’t know we were going here.”
Jim shifts the truck into park and turns to me. “Didn’t find out until an hour ago. Should’ve mentioned it. Is it a problem?”
I shake my head and try not to grimace. Having my brand-new coworkers wait on me doesn’t make for the most fun evening—it’s quite awkward actually—but I’ll live. The whiskey bar is relatively new, but unlike most of the restaurants located along the waterfront, it boasts an air of down-to-earth sophistication. A wall of polished whiskey barrels greets customers when they arrive. Everything in S&S is polished mahogany and iron. Crème-colored tabletops and solitary roses sitting prettily in crystal vases bring a sense of romance to an otherwise dark space. No wonder his friend is having his birthday here.
We exit the truck and head toward the entrance. Jim sidles up beside me and takes my hand into his. My eyes widen and when I look up at him, he just faces forward, his spine straight and his muscles tense, as if he’s heading into battle. Oh hell, what am I walking into?
My grasp tightens and I mimic his posture, plastering a smile on my face. I’ve got this. Once we are inside, we head over to the hostess, Inara, who I met the other day. Her curly, dark-chocolate hair with eyes to match, and a sweetly rounded face, give the woman a cherubic quality that would be hard to forget. But despite her angelic face, Inara’s aura dictates she has no problem tearing her dress to put someone into an armbar. And ironically, we’d met before when I came down to the Virginia Search and Rescue Council’s conference three years ago.
Inara smiles when she sees me. “Hey, Taya.”
“Hi, Inara.” I step forward and angle my body sideways as I prepare to make introductions. “This is my husband, Jim.”
“Hello,” Jim says, extending his hand.
She takes it, giving him a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”
Jim steps back, glances around the place, and then strides off through the row of tables toward Bear, Lucas Craiger, Tony Martinez and three women I don’t know. I practically lean past my center of gravity just to stare at Jim’s ass before he disappears behind the semi-translucent partition wall.
Inara nudges me with one shoulder. “Oh, Patrick told me to relay that we have training this coming weekend. If the weather holds, we’re gonna do some rappelling. You up for it?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Bear and a small, redheaded woman talk as everyone takes their seats. They laugh at something with Tony, and she angles her head at Bear for a kiss on the cheek without pausing in her conversation with the other men. My chest aches at the sight. Why couldn’t I have been matched with someone who wanted to be in the program?
I smooth my top and walk over to the table, exchanging a nod with Lucas as I turn past the booth on my left. His dark-brown hair is freshly cut. Wearing a light-pink shirt that brings out the olive tones of his skin, he’s as well dressed and confident as I’ve ever seen him. Lucas is a quiet, unassuming man until Tony gets him going, so it’s not surprising to see him talking quietly, forehead to forehead, with his own companion.
Jim’s lips slacken when I arrive and when he smiles at me, my pulse skyrockets. A small gasp sneaks past my lips when he stands and leans in toward me. Dear God, he’s going to kiss me. And I want him to. But he doesn’t kiss me. Instead, he hooks his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans and shifts on his feet before placing his hand on the small of my back, ushering me into the seat next to him.
