Project MANagement Page 2

  Smooth, masculine lips covered my own. He took them with hunger, without apology. For a moment, I forgot we were in a crowded ballroom. I just wanted more, more of their touches. There was an anxious clenching in my cunt, a need to be filled.

  “Belle?” Stanley made my name a question. I wasn’t sure what he asked, but I could hear the ache in his voice. I was ready to say “Yes. Whatever the question, the answer is yes.”

  Then he changed gears. His voice took on the teasing note I was so used to hearing. “Don’t worry about the wardrobe adjustment, Belle. No one knows what's going on behind the curtain but us.

  I tried to smile at the oblique Wizard of Oz reference, but my mind was too centered on what they had done to my own body for me to think of anyone else. Larry’s hands moved from my breasts, down my sides.

  “Yeah, no one bothers to look past the surface until it just can't be ignored, and then it's too late.” I went stiff, startled at the bitterness of Larry's tone. Was he mad because he thought I never considered them more than cutups? He gave me a reassuring squeeze. “Sorry, Belle, that had nothing to do with you or tonight. I hope that you'll want…well, we'll see when it's time.” See? Was he teasing me? His hands slipped away, leaving me solely in John’s embrace.

  I realized my left hand dug into his shoulder and my right squeezed his. I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself. John was having none of that. “Give me your attention now, Belle.”

  He pulled me even tighter to him and used our still-joined hands to nudge up my chin. I let him tilt my head without resistance and was rewarded with a sweet kiss. When I had kissed John in the past, a part of me was always aware of his strength, the way he controlled it to never cause any hurt. Now I felt overcome, held to his much larger body, gently devoured by his lips.

  A tremor ran through his body and I rejoiced to feel him affected as well. My right hand slid beneath his jacket and I felt the steel of his muscles under my touch. I gave in to impulse and scratched my fingernail over the male nipple, hidden from me by only a thin layer of cotton. John groaned against my lips then firmly set my hand back on his shoulder before resettling his own on my back.

  He rested his forehead against mine for a moment, and then I felt him straighten. “I assume your lessons included the waltz?” I gave a jerky nod. I just wanted to go somewhere where I could talk to them, touch them freely.

  “John ‑‑”

  “Shh. Remember that old movie, The King and I? One, two, three, just like that. Follow my hands and body; they will lead you.”

  With that, he swept me away.

  Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, we twirled around the dance floor. I was dizzy, drunk with the motion. My cheek pressed against his chest, I felt his heat through the fine wool of his jacket and could smell an enticing clean male scent beneath it.

  This was almost heaven. A gentle slowing ‑‑ and we stopped. Still dizzy, I clung to him a little longer.

  Other hands rubbed light, soothing circles over my back.

  “Are you okay, Belle?” Larry tugged me away from John’s chest. His hands on my shoulders, he turned me halfway around. I nodded toward the sound of his voice, feeling unaccountably shaken by the simple dance and the way they took care of me.

  I sucked in a quick gasp of air. It had just occurred to me: I was their project! I had seen the way the three of them attacked engineering projects time after time. While they worked on it, the project took up their total attention. They examined every aspect, played with and tested it, but then they would move on to the next. After all, the very definition of a project was that it had a clearly identifiable endpoint.

  I wanted to weep. Cinderella for just one night? A short-term assignment to make over and have fun with a woman to whom they were attracted? It might have started as just a fun challenge for me too, but I’d come to want something more. I was beginning to realize how much I truly cared for these three and knew it would crush me to be put aside once the project was over.

  “Belle.” John's voice reached for me, and his large hand cupped my cheek. “We don’t want you really distressed. If this is too much, we can cut it short. Call off the rest of the evening.”

  I hesitated. If I left now, I might not hurt so much, but I would never know what it meant to really have them, if only for a night.

  “Or you could stay,” Stanley whispered and nipped my earlobe. “Wouldn’t you like to see what we’ve designed for you?”

  Oh. Engineering. Design. Bad puns. I smiled, somewhat more at ease again. I could do this. In fact, I decided to break my own rules and purposely extend the deadline for this project. This would not end tonight.

  Chapter Three

  I raised my chin. “I’m staying.”

  I felt the brush of air as they moved around. “Good, because this is my dance.” Stanley took John’s place as my dance partner. The position was the same, but since he was a bit shorter, my heels brought me up to almost even height with him.

  “Ready?” I could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Anytime.” I smirked back at him to show that I could take everything they were dealing out in stride.

  I loved being the same height. It made our bodies line up in such a nice way as we danced. I could tell he really liked it as well. Pressed tightly, as we were, some things were unmistakable. I pressed my hips just a bit closer to that inviting bulge. His cheek nuzzled against mine, and I all but purred.

  Where John left me dizzy with the speed, the way we seemed to cover all of the dance floor in spinning circles, Stanley kept me breathless with his dips and the way he demanded that my body follow his. His hands roamed over my back and lightly caressed the top of my ass. I stumbled a little. For a moment, Stanley crushed me close.

  “Shh,” he soothed. “No more teasing, for now anyway. I make no promises for later.” His voice was still satin soft, but now I could hear the steel beneath.

  Then, I remembered the ruthless way he analyzed any challenge, broke it down to reassemble it in a new way. He had an old Porsche that he'd done that with. He'd rebuilt it to go beyond fast ‑‑ to terrifying. What would he do to me?

  I felt a gentle breeze touch my face as the music faded slightly. The floor felt slightly bumpy beneath my feet. “What’s happened?”

  “May I cut in?” Larry.

  We stopped.

  “I'll see you again soon.” With that promise Stanley stepped away, and once again, I was in a new set of arms. Somewhat taller than Stanley, Larry pressed my head against his shoulder and moved me in a slow circle. He held me in a less formal position. More like nightclub slow dancing. With his hands running up and down my back and brushing the sides of my breasts under the loose top, I was reminded of my near nudity. I shivered with anticipation and tilted my head. His lips slipped over mine: hot, firm, lingering. He stopped dancing and pulled away. I stood on my tippy-toes to follow his departing lips and tried to entice him to stay for a moment longer. My hands skimmed over the rigidly straight posture of his body. I thought I heard a sigh, but he didn’t return to the kiss.

  He kept one arm around my waist to guide me along and began walking.

  “We’re on the balcony.”

  Ah, that explained the faded sound. I remembered the flagstone balcony from previous business trips to the hotel. The ballroom and several hotel hallways opened onto a wide oval. In the winter, it was enclosed like a huge greenhouse. I noticed the air was filled with the smell of moist earth and growing plants. I loved it. My winter-dry skin already felt better although I worried what the humidity would do to my carefully curled hair.

  “We’ll be leaving the ball now for another room. John and Stanley have gone ahead to make sure everything is ready. I think you’ll like our plans.”

  They had provided medical info. I knew what that had to mean, but I felt I should at least make a token show of modesty. “A hotel bedroom? Aren’t you presuming a lot beyond the boundaries of a normal bet?” And they better damn well keep presu
ming if they didn’t want to be hunted down and tied up.

  I was pleased to hear him chuckle. It was a rich sound with a lovely warmth and…affection?

  “Belle, I've seen you after you've been kissed by Stanley, John, or me. You looked hungry for more. If I reached beneath your dress, how wet would I find you? If I began touching you here and now, how long would it be before you forgot the ball, anyone else on the balcony, anything but my hands on you and how you needed more?”

  I shuddered. My body responded to his words. I felt the wetness on my inner thighs as we walked and knew what he would find there. He stopped and pulled me into an embrace. I tried to regain my equilibrium, but Larry’s hands ran up and down my body from hip to shoulder with restless hunger.

  “I’ll tell you a little secret, Belle.” His breath caressed my face with each word, but he remained out of my lip’s reach “The hunger you feel? We feel it too. Any time you kissed one of us, all of us felt the longing. I’d tell you more, but that’s for all of us to share. And by the way, I never said we were going to a hotel bedroom.”

  “Then where…”

  “Wait and see, or, in this case, don’t see.” Another chuckle, this one with a decidedly wicked edge to it.

  I bit my lip to hold back the words demanding more, but got a little revenge by rising on my toes again and doing a quick grind of my hips against his. He jerked back. My hands told me I'd startled him back into his military straight posture.

  Hah! He, all of them, might have me hot and bothered, but I knew they felt the heat as well. Some parts of a man’s body just couldn’t lie. Well, at least not usually.

  I noticed the uneven feel of the flagstone balcony give way to the slight crush of carpeting beneath my feet and the humid atmosphere give way to the still chill of a hotel hallway.

  Larry’s fingers gently squeezed and released my waist while we continued the silent walk. I was dying to demand more information. Where were we going? And, for Pete’s sake, how much longer would I have to wait? Since entering the ball, the desire I always felt for them had risen to an almost uncontrollable level. I didn’t think I could wait much longer.

  Larry stopped without warning, and I stumbled slightly.

  Mental note: Need to discuss project leadership qualities such as setting expectations and step-by-step guidance.

  “Welcome to the executive meeting room, Belle. I think you’ll find everything in order.”

  Larry parodied his typical joking manner, but the tone of his voice said his heart wasn’t in it. He was worried about something.

  I heard a slight click.

  “About time you got here.” Stanley.

  “We were starting to think you decided to make off with Belle on your own.” John.

  “No. I’ve a feeling she wouldn’t stand for it. And just Belle and I, alone, won’t give us the…data, we’re looking for tonight.”

  Data? I followed the urging of Larry’s hand at my back and moved into the room. What were they up to?

  I heard the door thud shut and then the snick of a lock.

  Finally. Goose bumps pebbled my arms with the delicious thrill of anticipation.

  “Belle.” Stanley’s satiny voice and his heat enveloped me. His arms slipped around me and moved under the tunic top. He lightly ran the curl of his fingers over my nipples. My body felt ready to ignite and a small gasp escaped my lips.

  I slapped my hands back in surprise and struck his bare legs. What? I ran my hands up his legs behind me, confirming he was, indeed, naked!

  “Do you know how often we’ve fantasized over you? The many times we’ve watched you?” He nipped small biting kisses down my neck. “How long we’ve waited for you, wanted you?” He pinched my nipples and my cunt wept with longing.

  The silk panels of my skirt glided across the skin of my thighs. The material pulled taunt across my hips, and then there was a ripping sound. Male hands, large with the rasp of calluses, wrapped around my thighs, pulling them apart.

  My breath caught in my throat. John or Larry?

  Hot breath caressed my mound. A long, wet lick left an ache of desire in its wake.

  I grabbed the head of the man kissing me so intimately. Long, coarse braids. John.

  I tangled my fingers in his hair, held him tight, and moaned loudly. Lost in the darkness of the mask, I had no restrictions: I was free.

  John teased. He licked and sucked, using tongue, lips, even the scrape of the rough edge of his teeth. It was too much; overwhelmed, I would have pulled back. He wouldn’t let me. His hands acted as implacable bands around my legs. And all the while Stanley kept playing with my nipples, gently then roughly squeezing, sending an electric current of desire straight to my cunt and amplifying every touch of John’s.

  The tension wound tighter and I felt my body reaching for the crest. I pressed John’s head even closer before I shook and fell apart with a loud cry. And still, he lapped away, extending the ecstasy of the moment until he gradually gentled to a soothing touch.

  I collapsed back against Stanley. He’d stopped teasing and now cupped my breasts in the warmth of his palms. “I've waited for this since the first time I saw you at your interview, Belle.” His silken voice had an underlying edge to it. I could feel his cock hard against my back, could feel the wet tip and knew my release sharpened his own hunger. “To have you in my hands…the pleasure…it’s something we all want to taste, all want to share.” His voice became more urgent. “Say you want it too, that you’re not just here because you can’t stand to lose a bet, not here because, for the price of this one night with us, you win control.”

  “Wait. We agreed. She has to know before we go on.” John’s hands moved from my thighs to rest on the outside of my hips. His body brushed mine as he rose, sending little shivers of pleasure through me all over again.

  Tentatively, I touched John’s torso. His hair-roughened chest expanded and contracted beneath my fingertips. I let my hand drift down and found his cock naked, firm, and oh so thick.

  He and Stanley were both naked.

  Hunger for them twisted sharply through my gut. I wanted them to feel it as well.

  I circled John with my fingers, stroking him from his root to the full, rounded tip, learning his shape. He groaned and grabbed my hand, holding it tightly around him. Blood pulsed to my pussy as I responded to the male hunger around me. He stiffly gripped my shoulder with his other hand as if torn between pulling me to him and pushing me back. But, he didn’t release my hand that he still held clamped over his cock.

  I realized no one had given me any orders since I came into the meeting room. Despite the mask, and the bet, they were back in my realm of control, where they were used to listening to me and following my direction. I decided to take advantage of it. I did a quick ninety-degree turn in Stanley’s arms, which loosened his hold on me and caused John to let go of my shoulder.

  I blindly reached and found Stanley’s cock ready, waiting for me. I took him in a firm grip, with John still in my other hand, and began to work them both with gliding strokes that moved and tugged the delicate skin on their shafts. I felt their wet tips and used the precum as lubricant. Their breathing became rough and uneven. Small groans sounded from both men. Their cocks grew stiffer and larger in my hands. My own excitement built with them. I wanted them to come for me, to lose control at my touch.

  “Stop!” I froze. Damn it! Larry’s voice had that ring of command again. I instinctively obeyed. “John, Stanley, you know what we agreed to. All or nothing. Otherwise, it's not real. This has gone on long enough without it. I won't live with deceit.”

  Mutual groans from John and Stanley, then their hands were peeling mine away from them.

  God, I loved the way they felt in my hands! I panted with longing. Their arousal had brought me right back to the edge again.

  Damn it all to hell! How could Larry have called a stop at that moment? But they stepped away, leaving me alone and aching without the salve of one of them touching me for the
first time since John claimed me at the ball. Their absence made me all the more aware of the way one or more had touched and petted me from that moment and, then, I felt lost. Why had Larry stopped us? What was deceitful about honest desire?

  I didn’t have long to wonder.

  “You are beautiful.” Larry’s voice caressed me. “You were even more beautiful when you came between Stanley’s hands and John’s mouth.” His voice came closer while he spoke. Then Larry’s arms were around me. His body, naked by then, pressed to mine.

  I reached up to wrap my fingers in the soft curls of his hair and pull his mouth down. For a moment, he met me eagerly, his tongue roughly caressing my mouth. Then he abruptly pulled back, his palms on either side of my face.

  “All or nothing, Belle.” His voice was strained, “All or nothing. We didn’t initially intend for that tonight. We thought we were just going to play, to tease, to seduce, to get you to accept the idea of the three of us and then build on it later. But something changed. When we saw you wearing our mask, the dress we designed for you, it became too much, and while you danced with each of us, the others talked and agreed. We can’t wait. We need you to take us as we are. No more masks.”

  Suddenly he snatched me close, almost crushing me against him. “Please take us. Don’t make me wrong about this.”

  A chill went through me. Larry had to know. It was obvious that I wanted all three of them, that I was a more than a willing participant. Why was he holding me as if I would run away? What did they think would send me running?

  Carefully Larry put me away from him. I felt his hands at my waist, working the buckle of my belt, then releasing the long over-the-shoulder straps. He gathered the material and pulled the whole thing off over my head. I was completely naked except for the high-heeled sandals with their ties around my calves, and, of course, my mask. I knew they were naked too, but it didn’t have the same visceral reality that the chill of the hotel’s cool air on my bare skin did. I mentally fought to not cover myself with my arms and hands.