Chapter 2
Mari woke up the next day, sore, tired, and certain that she couldn’t spend another minute on the back of one of those bikes. Between her hours of fantasies and the soreness in her back, thighs, and bottom she was feeling pretty miserable. The loss of her phone didn’t help matters. She searched everywhere, the latrine for the campground, her tent and sleeping bag, even the bikes. She knew she’d had it when she went to sleep last night, she’d been playing an audiobook as she fell asleep but now it was gone.
A disappointing night followed by a confusing morning. Mari assumed one of the men took it and demanded it back.
“I don’t have it.” Gage said groggily, preparing coffee over a campfire. He was super sexy in the mornings, his face still sleepy and his lips just made for morning kisses.
That’s not going to distract me, Mari told herself with a stern tone. Then she turned to Felix and her thoughts went sideways again. Despite the slight chill the sight of Felix’s bare chest with only a pair of low-slung black flannel pajamas to cover his lower body made Mari’s brain kick into a happy dance.
“Nope, I don’t have it either, Mari. Are you sure you had it last night?” He asked, pulling her to him for a reassuring hug. They often hugged but had never done so without both being fully clothed. Mari’s mouth watered at the feel of his silky flesh.
“Um, yeah. I’m certain. I’ll just use my tablet then, until whichever one of you is messing with me decides to give it back. So there!” Mari flounced over to her camp chair and pulled out her tablet, hoping she could get a signal on it. She did and quickly caught up with her morning emails over breakfast.
They all discussed the plans for the day and quickly cleared up the camp site before packing their gear away. Another day on the bike and Mari smiled despite her sore legs and missing phone. Another day cuddled up to her two favorite men. Not bad really.
Mari started the day riding with Felix. A sore bottom was one thing but by the end of the day she was wishing for a backrest. She’d end the day with Gage instead and maybe she wouldn’t feel like she’d been clinging to a speeding train by nightfall.
Mari settled her frame on the bike, feeling like the position probably did wonderful things for the picture she created but knowing it did little for her back. She smothered a giggle when she began to wonder if Gage, staying behind them today as well would have a hard time concentrating. That started off another day of fantasies for Mari and the first rumble of the engine of Felix’s bike didn’t help
Clinging to Felix’s very taut stomach, trying to keep her hands from wandering lower, Mari daydreamed about whispering against his neck, tasting the tanned skin under his ear as she whispered into it, her hands doing exactly what she was struggling not to do. She wanted to feel him filling her hand, thrusting into it.
Mari sat up quickly, pulling her hands around Felix’s waist and placing them on his shoulders. Her breasts were still pressed into his back and she felt a rumble pass through his chest, as if a very satisfied purr was rolling through Felix as she moved. She looked at him with curiosity, wondering if she could make him do it again.
Riding a motorcycle was lovely, you felt free and wonderful as your body fought the resistance of the air you were cutting through or as you moved with the bike, leaning into curves, but it did sometimes get boring when you had nothing to do with your hands. Mari could think of hundreds of things to do but she didn’t think Felix would appreciate them, at least not while he was driving. Or maybe not at all.
Mari’s thoughts turned to her relationship with Gage and Felix over the years. She’d tried to keep her cool and maintain the little sister attitude the men had apparently stuck her in. She’d watched as they’d gone through relationships, never being quite satisfied with a long string of very beautiful but far too shallow women. She couldn’t point any of that out though; they’d tell her she was overprotective when she did try.
And sometimes Felix would disappear, making Mari worry, but she couldn’t really say much to him. He was a bit of a loner sometimes and she’d come to accept that on the occasions when he’d just vanish off of the planet. It was one of his quirks but Mari did wonder what he was doing when he was gone. He always came back looking peaceful and refreshed so it wasn’t drugs or women, nothing that could harm him, at least.
Mari shifted on the bike as Felix failed to miss a pothole, her thighs sliding back up around his, her center coming closer to his bottom. For a moment Mari wished she was naked, sliding into him like that. She clenched the hands she’d moved to his stomach after he hit that hole. Mari felt it again, that rumble moving from his stomach and up into his chest. Mari’s hands clenched harder, her hips moved and her breasts pressed harder into Felix’s back.
Maybe he was finally paying attention? Perhaps she’d caught his attention. Or maybe she was making him uncomfortable? Mari’s brain did silent screaming for a moment as Felix signaled to Gage that they were pulling off and her legs tightened around him as the bike leaned into the curve of the exit. She bit back several swear words as Felix came to a stop at a gas station but didn’t get off the bike.
She started to get off, wanting to run away to hide in the bathroom but Felix gripped her thigh, halting her movement. She looked at the back of his helmet, wondering what he was going to say to her. A trembling sensation started in Mari’s core, something not felt on the outside but rather on the inside, something deep. This moment could change her life.
“Mari, do you know how beautiful you smell when you’re hot? Even when your scent is blowing away from me, it’s so strong that I can smell it, even from up here.” He finally spoke, not turning to her.
Mari tried to think of something to say but her brain just said “nope, no help here”. She just gave a sound of confusion, not even able to scrape up a lousy “huh”.
“The heat from your body is also very distracting. It’s not that warm so between your heat and your squirming, the way I can smell you, I have to assume it’s not the temperature that’s causing your reaction.” He finally stood, pulling his long legs from the bike as he moved away.
“We’ll discuss it more later, shall we?” He pulled his helmet from his dark head, his brilliant smile and warm brown eyes alleviating some of Mari’s panic. He wasn’t running and wasn’t angry. In fact, he looked intrigued. “At least I get a few more hours to ponder it as you try to do things with those wiggly fingers of yours.”
Mari gasped, her eyes going round as Felix walked away into the station. Gage pulled up next to Mari then, giving her an appraising look before he grinned at her.
“Can’t decide huh?” He asked with a grin before he too went into the shop.
Mari gasped again and stood staring into the store. She was distracted for a moment by a familiar face in the store’s glass front, an older man staring at her in an odd way, stroking his mouth with his fingers as he stared at her. Mari couldn’t place him and scurried into the store, seeking the safety of Gage and Felix’s reassuring presence.
She quickly forgot the man, picking up a drink and some chips to snack on before they got started again. They’d stop for lunch soon, then she’d switch bikes, going back to Gage. Felix and Gage both behaved, neither making comments designed to make Mari blush, as they studied the route they were taking for the rest of the day. But something had certainly shifted between them all. It was going to be an interesting evening once they stopped.
Mari shifted in the seat, pulling away from Felix but unable to stay on the bike without holding onto him. She wasn’t sure how she was going to manage so finally gave in and scooted up to him. She felt him purring again and felt a shiver of satisfaction flow through her. She had an effect on him anyway.
Then Mari thought she heard the sounds of a song about a wedding day and something about a sister. The song continued in her head and Mari thought it was a nice day for getting married, the sun was shining, quickly burning off the slight chill of the early morning. Then the part about the sister made her realize what Felix was signaling. He didn’t think of Mari as quite the sister she thought he did. For the millionth time that day her eyes widened and she really did start to wonder what was going to happen when they stopped for the night.
Then Mari remembered another song about the artist and the video of a young woman dancing through the man’s apartment, tempting the older man into watching her. The song could be applied here too. Mari was a few years younger, 23 to Gage’s 27, and she had no clue how old Felix was. Somehow it had never actually been answered. She reminded herself to ask him once more but it had become a running game now, her asking, him dodging.
Mari had been very young when she’d gone to California, her intelligence allowing her to finish high school and college at a very young age, she hadn’t even been eighteen when she finished college. Going to California had been her dream and she’d gone. When she’d gone to view the apartment being advertised she hadn’t expected to meet two other applicants. The guys had taken one look at Mari and their brotherly instincts kicked in.
She’d been fresh-faced and young, innocent, and they’d taken her under their wings. They’d never quite stopped that protective instinct but now it seemed they were realizing little sister had grown up. And was quite a temptation. At least she hoped she was.
She gripped on to Felix tighter, gripping him with her thighs as she moved her hands over his chest. The purr turned into a growl that she couldn’t hear, only feel, and she smiled in satisfaction. Putting her feet on the foot pegs Mari settled in for the ride as Felix guided them back onto the road.
Mari had been a studious girl determined to make it in a man’s world when she first came to California. She’d been innocent but over the years she’d taken lovers, nothing ever truly serious because her fascination with Gage and Felix just wouldn’t allow it. No man could compare to the brilliance of the two men who were not only handsome but smart, engaging, and fun to be with.
Felix was tough, quiet, and brooding. Gage was the more fun-filled comedian of the pair but both were ruggedly handsome and took care of their bodies and minds. Felix was slightly taller, broader, but he was also more sensitive. Felix was also perceptive and as Mari’s body began to throb with the need she felt for him, Felix responded.
His left hand came up to Mari’s stroking the soft skin of her hand before settling back into position on the bike. He knew what she was thinking, that was obvious. He also seemed to agree with her thoughts, it was time to put little sister to bed and wake up the woman that Mari actually was.
Mari stuck with Felix for the rest of the day, the plans changing without discussion. They stopped at a campsite that night, the only other occupant in a camper van. Mari didn’t see the occupants as they made camp, setting up her tent and helping the guys get their dinner cooked on a camp stove. Felix built a fire in a pit and after they had dinner Gage took out a bottle of tequila and they all sat around with limes and salt, playing cards, laughing over Gage’s attempts to get Mari to play strip poker.
As the night progressed and they went from the chairs to a blanket in front of the fire, looking up at the stars the atmosphere changed. What was happy and light-hearted changed to something tense and filled with heat as Gage changed the course of the conversation.
“So when are you getting married and making us uncles, Mari?” He asked from her left, his low chuckle teasing.
“I’m not. Kids are not in my future right now and I’m not dating anyone anyway.” She replied back, her tongue loose and a bit wobbly in her mouth. She blinked, trying to get her body to listen to her demands.
“Besides she’s a sweet little virgin, isn’t she Gage? Our little Mari doesn’t know the meaning of sex.” Felix responded, the only one of the three that sounded completely sober. Even Gage’s speech was a little slower, even for a southern boy.
Mari giggled as she thought about Gage’s southern drawl then realized what Felix had said. She remained flat on her back looking up at the stars but when she spoke, she spoke with a challenge.
“Virgin huh? I think I know enough to bring you two to your knees.” She spoke bravely, without even a shiver in her voice.
Mari’s heart started to race as she felt the men she was sandwiched between go still, their chests rising and falling rapidly as they too became aware of a new element to the night.
Mari’s nervousness melted away, the alcohol giving her a bravery she didn’t normally have as the memories of the day flashed in her mind. She wasn’t drunk but she’d had enough to let her inhibitions go and she felt as though she’d never have a chance to do this again if she didn’t do it now. Both of them were there, both were obviously waiting for her to make a move, and she reached her hands out, finding a warm hand waiting for her on each side.
Mari didn’t know which to turn to first; she’d waited so long to kiss both, to touch them, never quite able to make a decision about which one to choose, so she pulled on their hands, pulling them to her. They could decide which was first. Gage came first, his full lips taking Mari’s as she breathed in, excitement exploding through her veins.
Felix turned as well, his right hand going across her waist down her thigh to pull her jean covered legs apart. No hesitation from him, Felix went straight for Mari’s center as Gage’s left hand went up to her cheek, stroking her face as he kissed her. Mari’s mouth opened in a gasp as Felix’s fingers found a sensitive spot through her jeans.
It was finally happening. After all of these years she was finally getting her wish. Gage and Felix were hers, at least for the night. If that’s all she ever had of them, Mari decided, it was more than enough.