“Bad girl,” he accused her softly as she stared at him in surprise. “That was very bad, Terrie. Let’s see what kind of punishment we can come up with for you.”

“What?” Her eyes widened as he jerked her over his lap, holding her down on his legs as she struggled weakly against him.

Jesse jerked her skirt above her buttocks, grimacing at the sight of the bare globes he revealed.

“Jesse, have you gone crazy? Oh my God!” she sang out as his hand connected sharply with the first rounded curve.

She stilled, her breathing heavy, hard.

“Can you still taste my come in your mouth, baby?” He smoothed his hand over the reddened flesh.

“Yes.” Her voice broke when his finger ran down the cleft of her ass.

“Son of a bitch.” He paused at the stretched, filled little hole of her rectum. The base of the plug she wore was heated, warm from her body. The ultra-soft, jelly material stretched her ass, filling her, making his cock twitch in jealousy.

He smacked her ass again. She flinched, crying out in startled awareness at the bite of pain.

“From now on, only I can fill your ass.” He smacked her again to reinforce the order. “Seduction is over, Terrie. Now the fun begins.”

He watched the cheeks of her ass redden as he delivered several more stinging slaps. She writhed beneath him, crying out in pleasure as he spanked her with erotic heat. She was twisting on his lap, her buttocks lifting imploringly when he stilled.

He couldn’t resist. He was too weak, he thought. She was supposed to seduce him. He wasn’t supposed to be this easy. He pulled the plug free of her anus, watching the stretching of the little hole, his eyes narrowing as she whimpered at the retreating pleasure. Just as slowly he pushed it back into her, feeling her shudder in pleasure.

“I’m going to fuck you, Terrie,” he growled. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, so deep, you’ll never forget what it’s like to have me fill you.”

He ripped the small thong from her, tossing the scraps to the floor as he jerked her up then pushed her back on the desk. He spread her legs, moving between them before he paused, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the little hoop framing her swollen clit.

“Son of a bitch.” He lost his breath.

Her cunt was perfectly bare, smooth and glistening with her juices. The little bright gold hoop piercing the hood of her clit was so sexy, so erotic he nearly came then and there from the sight of it alone.

He was within seconds of pressing his engorged cock home when a heavy knocking at the office door had them both scrambling away from the desk. Dammit. Why hadn’t he had Lucian lock the fucking door?

He hurriedly fixed his slacks, glancing at Terrie as she smoothed the dress nervously over her hips. At least she could hide the damned proof of what nearly happened. He sat down heavily in his chair to hide the telltale tenting of his slacks as the door pushed open.

“Mr. Wyman, Mr. Delacourte needs you upstairs.” Tally stepped into the office, her expression perfectly bland as Terrie fidgeted by his side. “He said to tell you they have the Conover chip ready, but there’s a problem.”

There was a problem all right, and it wasn’t with a chip. He glanced from Terrie, back to Tally, then moved carefully from behind the desk. He had talked to Jase hours ago, though he hadn’t gone through Tally to do so. That damned chip was fine. What were those two up to?

“I’ll see you tonight.” He turned to Terrie, watching her carefully.

“Alone, Jesse,” she murmured firmly. “Tonight. Alone.”

He watched her carefully for long moments. “Alone.” He nodded shortly then moved quickly from the office. Damned women. They were up to something. The question was, what?

Chapter Nine

She could pull this off, Terrie assured herself as she prepared the bedroom for Jesse’s arrival. She knew they would make it to the bedroom. At least, she hoped they did. She drew in a hard breath, checked her appearance for at least the tenth time, and tried to still her nerves. She had never attempted anything this brave without a drink first. There was something to be said for false courage.

“Stop worrying.” Tally moved into the room from the bathroom. “Just get him in here and the rest will work out.”

Tally was dressed in form-hugging black. She looked like a cat burglar. Terrie couldn’t help but roll her eyes before her nerves got the best of her again.

“What if he doesn’t go along with it?” She pushed her fingers restlessly through her hair. “What if he’s furious, Tally?”

“Then he can’t cry foul when you won’t.” She shrugged. “Turn about and all that, darling. Besides, Jesse isn’t going to be furious. He’ll be intrigued at first. Wondering how far you’ll go. Won’t he be surprised?”

She could tell Tally was trying her best not to crack up with laughter.

“You are finding this much too amusing, Tally,” Terrie sighed. “There’s no way this is going to work.”

She sat down on the bed and shook her head wearily. Why was she doing this? It wasn’t the first time she had asked herself this question. She knew, when it came right down to it, that anything Jesse wanted she would give him willingly. She had known it years ago. She knew it now.

She also knew, though, that no one had given to Jesse in the same manner. Through the years she had known him, watched him as he gave unselfishly of himself. Always. To Thomas, it had been money. The only thing Thomas had ever cared about. For his twin, James, it was his support, continually, no matter where or when. It was the same for her, for his friends. Often, no one had to even ask. If Jesse knew there was need, then Jesse gave.

Just giving herself to him didn’t seem to be enough. She wanted to give to him in the same ways she knew he would give to her. His pleasure alone. A fantasy she knew he had never had. Dominant, alpha Jesse would have never allowed himself to be tied down, giving his control to two women. That was his territory. He bestowed the pleasure; he never selfishly took. And she had been allowing it for as long as she had known him. She had taken all he gave her, never questioning why, never wondering at his needs. Was it really so bad?

She knew it didn’t happen often. That even in Tess and Cole’s relationship it had only happened a handful of times. Just as she knew Jesse would never go back to Tess now. What happened, she wondered, as each of the group married? Why, when it was so imperative before the marriage, did that need to share their women ease later in the relationship? At first she had been unaware it did, until Jesse had brought up the subject months before.

I guess that need just isn’t there, he had said, shrugging. Love changes things, Terrie. It changes a lot. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want the woman I love to know that side of me. Or to miss out on that particular pleasure. It’s a part of who I am.

She hadn’t understood it at the time. Hell, she didn’t know if she understood it now. Why would it change? And why, as she thought about it, did she want to give Jesse that brand of pleasure herself in a small way? A sexual, intensely erotic gift that there was no way in hell she would ever repeat.

She had thought it was to turn the tables on him. Had convinced herself it was. But it wasn’t really. She wanted Jesse to know she accepted him. To know she knew him. To know she understood. And she wanted to give him a gift that she knew no one else ever had.

“Terrie,” Tally sighed as she sat down beside her. “Jesse isn’t a serious thing for me. But you’re my friend. I promise you, when he gets here and we start this, I will take good care of your man and your friendship.”

Terrie looked at her friend silently. Tally sighed.

“I don’t want Jesse physically, Terrie. You know this. But I know what you want for him. We’re friends, and I want your happiness above anything. So I want to help you do this.”

Terrie tilted her head, watching the other woman closely. For once, Tally’s dark gaze held no mockery, no laughter.

“No wonder Jesse doesn’t ever know what to make of you,” she whispered softly. “You’re like him, Tally. Unselfish…”

Tally snorted as she rose quickly to her feet. “No way, Terrie. I’m very selfish. When we’re done, you’re helping me get that job at Conover’s. Your man is a lousy boss. Hell, he caught onto his own filing as though he’s supposed to do it himself,” she grunted. “So never fear, it comes with a price.”

Terrie hid her smile. She had never known what a true friend she had. But she did now. The nights Tally had forced her out of the house, getting her drunk, tattooed, pierced. Terrie remembered those bleak days clearly. Days when she had fought to make sense of her life, and who she was. Days she had wondered if Thomas had been right. If she was truly less of a woman than she had ever believed. Never enough woman for a man like Jesse.

“Okay, we can do this,” she announced. “He’ll be here in less than an hour. I’ll get him in the handcuffs, but he’s going to be pissed.”

“Of course he will.” Tally smiled. “That’s the best part.” She rubbed her hands together with mocking eagerness. “Can we blindfold him?”

Chapter Ten

Terrie was waiting for Jesse when he stepped slowly into the bedroom. The house was dark, lit only by the candles that showed the way from the front door, up the stairs and into her room. The bedroom was lit by dozens of the small scented candles, casting his expression in shadow. But she caught a glimpse of his somber expression as he stepped into the room.

Tally was waiting on the screened-in back porch, watching for the bedroom light to flicker. The sign that she could enter. What Terrie had to say to Jesse, she wanted no one else to hear.

She watched as he pushed his hands into his slacks’ pockets, watching her carefully, his green eyes quiet, reflective as she sat on the bed, dressed only in the short silk gown she had donned.

“Why do I have a feeling you want to talk first?” he quipped almost too seriously.

“Because you know me that well,” she said softly, watching him a bit sadly. “You always have. Even when I was too young to know what it meant. And when I was too stupid to accept what it was.”

He leaned against her dresser, watching her quietly. Terrie felt her chest tighten at the flood of emotion that washed over her. He was so strong, even now, as he watched her uncertainly, his eyes brilliant with all the emotions she had never realized were there before.

“You were never stupid, Terrie,” he said quietly. “Frightened. Innocent…”

“And too stupid to know what I was feeling or what I wanted,” she finished for him. “I love you, Jesse. I always have loved you.”

He frowned, his expression brooding, intense. “I know that, Terrie. I always knew that.”

She tilted her head. He wasn’t lying. She could see just how very serious he was.

“And you love me,” she whispered, fighting her tears. “You loved me, before Thomas.”

He breathed out roughly. “Before Thomas, during Thomas, now,” he growled. “Love doesn’t just turn off, Terrie. What do you want me to say?”

It was there in his voice. Husky, controlled, endearingly honest. If there was one thing she knew about Jesse, it was that he would never lie to her about his feelings for her. He might not tell her something she needed to know, but he wouldn’t lie to her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked him roughly. “Why didn’t you let me know, Jesse, instead of leaving me in the dark?”

“How, baby?” He shrugged, though she saw his fists clench in his pockets. “You were so scared of me you ran damned near every time I tried to get close. You’ve been like that ever since you realized I did want you. You ran, because who I was, what I was, frightened you.”