Grounded (Up in the Air, #3)(58)

He continued the jarring rhythm while my body squeezed him convulsively, as shivers of pleasure wracked my body. He kept going until every little shocking wave had passed. He moaned low in his throat when he let himself go.

My hands and knees were raw and grass stained when James carried me back to the pool. I couldn’t imagine that his were in much better shape.

He tossed me back in the pool. Even knowing it was coming, I let out a little shriek before I hit the water. When I resurfaced, James was striding towards the house, a towel slung low across his hips.

“Where are you going?” I called out.

“To check in with the other man in your life,” he called back.

I thought that was the sweetest thing in the world. And so very James. Nothing could soften me more than him understanding my bond with Stephan, and understand it, he did. He always knew which strings to pull. Manipulative, perceptive, wonderful man.

When he returned, he moved straight to the lounging sofa where we’d discarded all of our clothing. He pulled on his low-slung gray swim trunks and grabbed my bikini, moving back to the pool with a purpose.

He cornered me in the pool.

I kissed him. “Thank you for being so understanding about Stephan. That means everything to me.”

“I have nothing but love for that man. If I have to share you with someone, I’m glad that it’s him. And I will do anything it takes to stay on his good side. I know that a happy Stephan is a happy Bianca.” He gave me one hard kiss and began to slip me back into the tiny series of strings that he called a bikini.

“The guys wanted to hang out,” he continued. “So I told them to come over. Not sure how he did it, but Stephan turned the whole thing into an impromptu pool party. I don’t even know who’s coming. I may have met my match. That man is cunning.”

That made me smile real big. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black…

“I need to go put on a cover-up or something,” I told him. “If we’re having a party, I’d rather not be showing this much skin.”

He eyed me up, running a tongue over his teeth in a luscious display. “Yeah, I agree. I’d rather not share this much of your skin with company. Especially since I don’t even know who’s coming. I can’t even tell you the havoc that will wreak with security. A last minute party with no guest list.” He shook his head, then smiled suddenly. “I guess that’s why I pay them so well. Now let’s go get you a cover-up.”

Stephan and Javier arrived first, not even thirty minutes later. They were both already in their swimsuits, shirtless and smiling.

I eyed the three hot, half-naked men around me. “What did I ever do to get so lucky?” I asked.

Stephan flashed a dimple at me, and that dimple was always mischievous. He picked me up, running through the house with a happy shout. He never had been able to behave himself around water.

Unlike James, Stephan jumped in still holding me, rather than throwing me. I had a sudden but clear epiphany about the two major men in my life, and just how alike they were in so many strange ways, both so relentlessly, affectionately physical, and emotionally open for me, if on different levels.

Stephan didn’t let me go even when were both in the water, just cradling me to him and smiling.

“Who did you invite to this?” I asked him suspiciously. I could just tell by the look on his face that he was in an ornery mood. His huge grin at the question only confirmed it.

“Wrong question, Buttercup.”

I pulled his hair lightly. “What’s the right question, then?” I asked. I knew this game.

“Who didn’t I invite?”

I heard a bark of a laugh behind me, and craned my head around to see James striding back to the house. “If it’s going to be that sort of a party, I’ll at least have it catered,” he muttered as he walked. “And I don’t suppose a house full of pilots and flight attendants won’t want an open bar.”

I had to laugh. He’d assessed the situation accurately. If Stephan had sent out a blanket invite to everyone he knew, we were a few minutes away from having a house full of pilots and flight attendants, and they would be drinking.

The first few people to arrive were complete strangers to me, and it felt beyond awkward meeting new people wearing a tiny bikini, and a tiny, sopping wet cover-up, but I tried to play it off.

I shot Stephan a glare. “Do you even know who they are?”

He shrugged. “I think they’re pilots. Murphy’s friends? They look vaguely familiar.

James dove into the pool, his form perfect. He swam straight to me, staying underwater until he reached me. He grabbed me around the waist and dragged me from where I was huddled with Stephan. He cornered me against the side of the pool. “Stephan gets to play host tonight, since this was his idea, and I planned to spend my entire day touching you, so I’m damn well going to do it.”

I had no problem with that. I just smiled at him.





[page]CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Mr. Scandalous





Of course a party at a swank mansion with an open bar attracted a lot of people, and within an hour the place was packed. I recognized maybe a third of the people that swarmed into the pools.

Our usual group ended up hanging out with us, taking one of the large pools to ourselves.

Marnie and Judith were there. I’d figured they would be. If they were in town, you couldn’t drag them away from a good party. Marnie, however, wouldn’t get in the water, which was unusual for her. I asked her why.