I couldn’t decide which I liked better, riding on Cal’s bike or riding on his boat. He did not lie when he said he liked to move fast. Once we were out of the creek that ran beside his house, Cal opened up the throttle on the boat and we were off on the St. John’s River. It was amazing. The sun was brilliant on the water and there were very few clouds in the sky. We zoomed under the Buckman Bridge and Cal slowed down as we approached oncoming boat traffic.
He had stopped the boat and was using some device to tell him if there were fish in the surrounding water, when he stood up suddenly and pulled his phone out of his pocket, though I hadn't heard it ring.
“Yeah,” he answered. I was going to have to teach him some phone etiquette.
“Yo, brother. I’m on my boat. We’re going to Clark’s for dinner if you want to join.”
I had no idea who Cal was talking to, but it might be nice to have some company during dinner. Our one-on-one time was good, but I kind of wanted to meet some of his other “brothers.” Then I heard Cal say, “Well, if Blood and Abby can make it then we’ll probably need a reservation. Okay. See you there. Later.”
Cal slid the phone back into his pocket and continued to fiddle with the electronic device. I wandered up to the front of the boat and asked, “So this thing really tells you if there are fish around?”
“Sure does, babe.”
I looked at him sideways. “Isn’t that, like, cheating?”
Cal chuckled. “Cheating?”
“Well, I thought the point of fishing was to sit around enjoying nature and waiting on the fish to bite. Instead, you’re up here fiddling with some electronics and basically setting up instant gratification.”
Cal slipped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. “Baby, I’m a biker, not some retired old man who’s got all day for the fish to bite. When I got the time to get out on the water, it isn’t gonna be an all day affair. If I want to fish, I don’t waste my time staring off into space. I want to actually fish. So, I’m not cheating, as you put it.”
Cal pulled his phone out of his pocket again, and read a text. He smiled then said to me, “Well, looks like we’re having dinner with Volt, Jackie, Blood, and Abby. Not gonna be able to fish though. The only reservation they had available is in forty-five minutes, so I gotta head us over there now.”
The ride to Clark’s took us over half an hour, but it was still a lot of fun. I was wishing I had brought a hairbrush with me because the wind in my hair had left me with plenty of tangles. Oh, well. I was going to have to meet everyone with crazy hair. Cal was tying the boat up to the dock with a bunch of ropes and stuff, so I took out my phone and put it on the camera function just to get a decent look at myself. I didn’t have a compact with me, so my front-facing phone camera would have to do. Yep, my hair was a wild nest, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Suddenly I saw Cal in the screen and he smiled big at me. That smile was so damn beautiful on him, that I couldn’t help but smile back at him. Suddenly I saw his long index finger hit the red button to take our picture.
I turned and looked at him. “Did you seriously just take a selfie with me?”
“Get used to it, Mallory. Gotta keep you on your toes. Besides, I love the wild crazy hair you have right now. Almost looks like sex hair, it’s sweet.”
Cal climbed out of the boat first, and turned and gave me a hand to get onto the dock. We walked up the dock. Halfway to the restaurant, I saw Volt and Jackie standing with another couple. Cal did the manly handshake, back-slap routine with Volt and Blood and he gave chin lifts to Jackie and Blood’s old lady, Abby. Jackie gave me a hug, and to my surprise Volt gave me a slight hug too. Then I shook hands with Blood. He was the same height as Cal, but he wasn’t quite as muscular. He had wavy brown hair that fell just slightly past his shoulders and it was naturally parted down the middle. He had blue eyes and a clean shaven face. His right arm appeared to be a full sleeve of tattoos right down to the tops of his fingers. Using his left hand, he brought Abby forward to introduce us.
“Mallory, this is my woman, Abby. Abby, this is Mallory. The chick Cal’s so –”
Cal grumbled, “Shut it, man.”
Abby, a petite redhead with hair in a short pixie cut, smiled at me, holding out her hand and said, “It sounds like there’s a story there.”
I shook her hand and said, “You’re telling me. Nice to meet you. I love your hairstyle.”
She grinned. “Thanks, your hair’s pretty hot too. You took a ride on Cal’s boat and your hair still looks sexy as hell.”
I felt a blush creep into my cheeks and I mumbled, “Thanks.”
Clark's owners had recently built a glass enclosure for a couple of gators and some snakes. People without reservations would mill around the bar area that was adjacent to the gator enclosure. We shouldered our way through the crowd there, made our way to the hostess stand, and were led to our table overlooking the water. We sat down and our server was at the ready for drink orders. What I did not expect was Jackie jumping in before any of the men and ordering drinks for herself, me, and Abby.
“Three Purple People Eaters for me and my girls.”
Volt shook his head, and he, Cal, and Blood ordered beers for themselves.
Our server took off, and Jackie piped up, “Mallory, I hear you’re coming to Bike Week with us. Sah-weet! I cannot wait.”
Jackie’s exuberance was contagious, so I reluctantly nodded my head and said, “Assuming I can get the time off, it certainly will be sweet.”
I was seated across from Cal, next to Blood. Abby was sitting on the other side of Blood and she leaned forward to ask me, “You ever been?”
I turned to her and shook my head. “Nope. Never have, so it should be fun.”
I heard Blood snicker and I thought I heard a chuckle from Volt, who was catty-corner to me on the other side of the table. I faced forward and gave Cal a look to silently ask what the laughs were about, but he just gave me a smirk.
Our drinks arrived, and the waitress asked if we were ready to order. Everyone else was ready, so it was a good thing that I was last up because I had to scramble to decide what I wanted to eat from the extensive menu. I went with the parmesan-crusted salmon with black-eyed peas and the Clark’s special macaroni salad. I didn’t know what exactly they did to their macaroni salad, but there was some kind of herb in it that made it to die for. Cal ordered an oyster platter, which got a bunch of snickers from his brothers and a girlie giggle from Abby. I took a sip of my Purple People Eater drink to keep myself from saying something that would make me sound uptight.
Jackie looked to Abby, “Long shift today, Abs?” then at me to say, “Abby works as a nurse at Baptist Hospital, downtown.”
Abby shrugged slightly. “Not any longer than usual. I’m off tomorrow, then I’m pulling four ten-hour days before we hit Daytona for a week.”Abby took a pull of her cocktail then asked, “So, Mallory, what have you and Cal been up to all day?”
“Not too much. We left the clubhouse shortly after Jackie and Volt came by with my stuff –”
Abby interrupted. “Your stuff?”
Blood tilted his head toward Abby. “Mallory’s got some security issues. I’ll be puttin’ in a system there tomorrow. By the way, if you could give me your front door key, that would speed things along…any time before the end of the evening, lady.”
I looked up at him and said, “Sure. So, we left the compound and went to Cal’s place. He gave me the tour—”
Jackie murmured under her breath, “I’ll just bet he did.”
My eyes bugged out. “Jackie! Anyway, that took until nearly lunch time.”
To which Abby mumbled, “I’m so sure.”
I looked past Blood to her. “Are you serious? You just met me!”
She giggled. “Yeah, but I’ve known Cal for almost seven years. Ain’t ever been a woman on his bike. Ain’t ever been a woman on his boat, unless it was one of his brother’s women. I can imagine him givin’ you a tour took some time.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “Have you seen his front entryway? That stained glass?” My hands did a sweeping up-and-down gesture toward Cal.. “I mean, Cal is not that type of guy. It took me a moment just to get beyond the damn foyer.”
Jackie nodded. “Nor is Volt the stained glass type of guy. I have to admit, when things were looking more and more serious with Volt, I sometimes hoped he’d buy Cal out of that house and we’d live there. But, then he talked me into my dream house.”
I tilted my head at her skeptically. “Puh-leeze! It’s the Jacuzzis that do it for you. I’m sure they’re at least half responsible for your vivacious and bubbly personality!”
Jackie and Abby both giggled at that. I looked to their cocktails and realized they had downed over half of theirs. I’d only had a third of mine, which must have loosened my lips sufficiently because I blurted, “Then, we were making lunch when my mother-in-law called.”
Volt and Blood seemed to perk up at this. Volt asked, “She did?”
Cal waded in. “Yeah. I took the phone from Mal and told her to get her shit together and that the gravy train has run out. If her problems cause Mallory problems, she’s gonna have hell to pay.”
I was learning that Jackie loved to hear about drama; with bright eyes she asked, “What did she say to that?”
Cal looked at Jackie, sitting next to him. “Don’t know. I hung up on her.”
Our server and a food runner showed up and started putting plates and platters in front of everyone. We all dug into our food.
Jackie, Abby and I had each had a second Purple People Eater by the end of our meal. When the check came there was a male verbal tussle about who would pay versus splitting checks. Volt won when he said, “I’m gettin’ it, 'cause we’re all comin’ to your place tonight. Since we’re drinkin’ your beer there, no need for you to pay for dinner.”
Blood sat back in the bench seat between me and Abby. He pulled Abby to him, but shot his gaze at Cal. “We rode with Volt and Jackie, but do you mind if we ride to your place on your boat?”
Cal shook his head once. “Not at all, Blood.”
I thanked Volt for dinner, and then the girls and I went to the restroom. There was a line and I was first at getting a stall. I washed my hands while Jackie was still waiting since Abby nabbed my now-empty stall. I told her I’d see her back at Cal’s, and left the restroom.
At the alligator enclosure, I passed Blood, who was waiting for Abby. He told me Cal was already at the boat getting ready to go. I was feeling pleasantly buzzed after two strong cocktails, and took my time getting into the boat. Once I was fully on board, Cal put his hands on my hips and he planted a forceful open-mouthed kiss on me. I started to tingle in all the right places, and my hands started roving and tugging at his shirt. He chuckled as he slanted his head to deepen the kiss, which up to then I had not thought possible. His hand slipped into my jeans and he found my sweet spot. Two of his long fingers started gliding back and forth, and then his middle finger pushed into me. I gasped and my hips started to rock. My back was to the dock, and I had forgotten that we were expecting company.
Blood got on board the boat and declared, “Dude, we know you’re into your girl, but right now you’re so into your girl, you’re courtin’ a visit from Johnny Law. Give it a rest man.”
Cal tried to pull away from me, but I held firm to his neck and rocked my hips some more on his hand. I heard him grumble, and he pulled his head away from me, but I managed to nip at his neck before he could give me a look. “Woman, we got an audience.” I looked up at him through my lashes to whisper, “I don’t know that I care right now. God, I want you.”
He stroked me firmly one last time, then kissed me deep, but quick. “It won’t take that long to get back to my place.”
I let his hand go from in between my legs. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been so horny. Maybe it was because I had gone for so long without any sexual attention from a man, but deep down I knew it was Cal that made me feel this way. Something about him pulled me to him. I was feeling something that at first I had thought might be guilt, but that wasn’t it and I was struggling to figure out what that feeling was. Before I could think any further on it, Blood piped up, “Mallory, come sit with us.”
Cal was untying the boat from the dock and he gave me a chin lift to go sit with Blood. I moved to sit next to Abby, but Blood grabbed my wrist and pulled me to sit on his other side. Very close to his other side.
“Cal didn’t tell me you were an exhibitionist,” Blood said.
Say, what? Before I could ask or say anything, I heard Cal say, “She’s not.”
Abby shot Cal a sly smile. “You could have fooled me.”
I noticed Blood tipped his chin slightly at Abby’s remark. “See, not just me who senses it, brother. Don’t hide the fun you and Mallory have from everybody. This could be a shit-ton of fun, even if Abs and I only get to watch.”
Say what, again? Exhibitionists? Before I could give voice to my questions, Abby said, “Gets pretty old watching Vamp and his flavor of the week.”
Cal shot Blood a look. Blood said, “Abby. Gonna have to put a lid on it, baby.”Abby gave Blood a pout.
I dug into my pocket for my keys and pulled the house key off. I handed it to Blood and said, “Here, before I forget. Those damn purple cocktails are strong.”
Blood looked at me with a sly smile on his face and I got the feeling he wanted to say something more, but he only said, “I’m sure they are. Thanks, babe. Should be up and running before close of business tomorrow, but Cal will keep you posted.”
When Cal pulled the boat up to the dock outside his house, Volt and Jackie were already there. Volt had a hand in Jackie’s back pocket, and Jackie had an arm around his waist with her other arm at his pectoral muscle. Volt let her go in order to catch the rope that Cal threw his way. The two of them had the boat secured to the dock in just minutes. I let Blood and Abby precede me off the boat, and Cal wound an arm around my waist. He said in my ear, “You gonna make it? Or do you still want me? I’ll send these bastards home if you need me to.”
Before I stepped off the boat, I said to him, “I’ll be okay. It’s good to work on one’s weaknesses.”
He arched an eyebrow at me. Once he was on the dock he asked me in a low voice, “Am I your weakness?”
I shook my head. “Controlling my horniness is my weakness.”
Cal grabbed me around the waist again as we followed the other two couples up the steps leading to the pool. He said, “That means I’m your weakness. I like it.”
We wandered into the patio and Volt was sitting at the bar with Jackie standing in between his legs. She tossed her head over her shoulder and said to me, “You’re totally right, Mallory. It’s the Jacuzzis that got me on my house. I forgot this pool doesn’t have one. You really do need to get on that, Cal.”
Cal looked at Volt. “Prez, your old lady is gonna drive me into bankruptcy. First, she insists my woman has to use your two-headed shower monstrosity‒” At this word, Jackie made a disgusted noise and I shrilly said, “It is not!” Not to be deterred, Cal continued as if we had not reacted. “Which has become Mallory’s gauge for whether my home will choose her; and second, your old lady’s trying to put a Jacuzzi in my fuckin’ pool.”
Volt gave Cal a slight grimace and said, “Sorry, man. What can I say, it’s what women do. They spend your damn money. But that’s okay, you got plenty of cake.”
I was wondering where Blood and Abby had disappeared to, when they both came out of the house, and they were as naked as the day is long. Abby was holding a chilled bottle of white wine, which she gave to Jackie. Blood was following right behind Abby carrying an armful of beers. He handed all but two of them off to Cal, and the two of them jumped straight into Cal’s pool.
I was frozen in shock, but managed to utter, “Heavens to Mergatroid, were they both totally naked?”
Volt, Cal, and Jackie all belly-laughed at me, and I gave an offended shrug. “What? It’s not like that was what I expected to happen on a cold March night after dinner at Clark’s. Okay?”
Jackie managed to say in between giggles, “That’s not it, Mal. Who the fuck says, ‘Heavens to Mergatroid?’” Then she giggled again.
From the pool, Blood yelled, “What’s so fuckin’ funny? If any of you are talkin’ about my junk, I’ll kick your ass. Old lady or not, Cal’s claimed woman or not.”
Jackie stomped her feet, and said, “Oh, shit. I gotta go to the bathroom again or I’m gonna pee my pants.”
Cal yelled back to Blood, “No, we’re givin’ Mallory shit about how she speaks.”
“Well, get her hot ass in here, so me and my old lady can hear this shit.”
Cal gave me a smirk. “You heard the man. Time for a swim.”
“I don’t have a swimsuit!”
Volt was walking by me and said, “Neither did Abs, but it didn’t stop her. God bless her.”
Cal was grinning at me and winked. What in the hell?
After I retrieved four wine glasses from the kitchen, I hopped into the pool with Volt, Jackie, Cal, Blood, and Abby. Jackie was swimming topless, but had her underwear on in the water. I wasn’t sure if this was a Volt mandate, or if it was her decision. Cal and Volt were both in the buff. I wasn’t in the altogether, but I still wasn’t altogether comfortable either, in my bra and panties. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d find myself in a fancy pool off Julington creek with three men who were skinny dipping. It was crazy. It was not something I would normally do. I had a sudden urge to call Natasha, but I had to quash it because I knew she’d say ‘hang it up and face time me, now chica!’ I didn’t see that going over well, at all.
I was minding my own business, drinking a glass of chardonnay at the edge of the pool. Cal and I had been chatting a moment ago. He took off to swim to the other side, or so I thought. Suddenly, I felt strong, callused hands around my knees and I found myself perched on a broad set of shoulders. I looked down and saw Volt’s dark hair at my belly. Jackie and Abby were squealing. Blood had Jackie perched on his shoulders, and Cal was gripping Abby’s knees at his shoulders.
I shot Cal and Blood a look. “What the fuck? Chicken? You cannot be serious.”
Someone made a chicken call, and Blood asked, “Are you scared, little girl?”
“No, but how am I supposed to trust Volt? His woman is half-naked, like that’s not a damn distraction of the first order.”
Blood grinned at Cal. “Your woman’s competitive. Me likey. You know, Mallory, you’re the unknown quantity here. You lose your bra and we’ll all be distracted.”
Abby laughed. “That’ll be one way to make sure Cal goes down.”
I gave her a smirk. “But then you’ll go down, too.”
Jackie was stretching her arms over her head. “Don’t listen to her, Mallory. She only wants to see your boobs, just like her old man.”
I gave both ladies a determined look. When my arms went to the back of my bra, I heard Cal rumble, “You remember what I told you at trivia the first night we met? ‘I never lose.’ Your tits are grade-A, babe, but it won’t be enough to distract me.”
I looked to the side for a moment, and then I looked back to Cal. What I was debating must have been clear as day on my face because Cal said, “Don’t even think about it.” This made me grin. I whispered to Volt, “Turn around and put me down please.”
He did as I asked, and before I could say anything he said in a low voice, “You’re not goin’ on my shoulders with no panties. Anything else you do is up to you. Keep this in mind, though, I’m not president of my club because I like to lose or make a habit of it. Got me?”
I gave him a chin lift and said, “I got you.”
When I was back in place and facing the others, Cal said, “That didn’t work out so well for you did it, sweet cheeks?”
I shrugged. “I guess you might say that.”
Blood recited the rules. Last ones standing won, though we were only winning bragging rights tonight. Just as he was counting down the beginning of the chicken fight, I whipped my bra off and sent it sailing over Abby’s head. When Blood said “Go,” she was distracted and Volt took me her way. I easily shoved her off of Cal, though part of the ease might have been my unnecessary, but also undeniable, jealousy. Before I could congratulate myself I noticed Jackie was leaning over Blood as far as she could. She was causing him to struggle slightly and I could see her weight was slightly off-balance. Volt angled us more toward them, and I managed to push her more off-balance. Next thing I knew, Jackie slipped off Blood with soft splash.
Volt let out a throaty sounding, “Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!”
From behind me, Cal’s hands grabbed my hips and pulled me down. I was suddenly turned so I was facing him. He moved us to the shallow end and he growled, “You don’t put your pussy on any other man, but me.”
My right eye narrowed at him. I was lucky it wasn’t twitching yet. I said, “Oh, but it’s perfectly okay to have another woman’s pussy on the back of your neck? What the fuck, man?”
Cal tilted his head slightly in a conceding motion. “Point taken, babe. Should’ve made Jackie my partner. Won’t happen again, but I do like seeing you with your tits out in my pool. You feel like popping your skinny-dipping cherry, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Thought you said I’m not an exhibitionist? Which reminds me, I got plenty of questions about that little conversational nugget.”
Cal squeezed my ass. “You’re not an exhibitionist. Hell, it took nearly two hours and a blow to your competitive streak to get you topless. But, you’re mine and I don’t feel like sharing you. That isn’t to say I’m not gonna take you whenever and wherever I feel like it, I just don’t need my brothers to see it just yet. What I do like seeing, is you grabbing life by the horns and living it fully. That’s good stuff.”
I rolled my eyes. “I blame the two Purple People Eaters,” and then a little louder I said, “It’s all Jackie’s fault!”
* * * * *
Cal and I were standing in his foyer wearing towels and saying good night to Abby, Blood, Jackie, and Volt as they were leaving. Abby took me in a big hug and I said to her, “Tonight was a ton of fun. It was so nice to meet you, Abby.”
As Abby was pulling away she said low in my ear, “It was, and Cal’s right. Your tits are grade-A.”
I felt my eyes bug out at this declaration, and then to my surprise Abby planted a wet kiss on my cheek. This made my eyes get even bigger, which I had not thought was possible.
Blood was standing close by and said, “You really aren’t used to this kinda thing.”
I looked up at him and said, “I’m just a little high-strung.”
Volt said, “Thought I heard ‘tightly-wound’.”
I gave him a look as my right hand went straight to my cocked hip. “Yeah, and it was probably Vamp who said it, so consider the source.”
Everyone laughed, and Jackie cried out, “I told you she’s funny!”
Blood and Abby piled into the back seat of Jackie’s Jeep Liberty SUV, and Volt drove them home. Cal shut the door, locked it and gave me a devilish look.
“It’s time for the real fun to begin.”
“Sorry, but I gotta work in the morning, so I think fun time is done.”
Before I knew what Cal was about, he hunched down, put a shoulder to my belly, and carried me out to the patio. He whipped his towel off, as he strode to the pool as if I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes on his shoulder. I smacked his bare ass before he finally set me down. His fingers went into the towel under my armpits, and he said, “You’re gonna pay for that, sweets.”
He loosened my towel and flung it to the side so it landed on top of his. As soon as the towel was gone, he snagged my panties down my legs. Holding tight to the back of my knees, he picked me up and jumped into the water.
I spluttered up to the surface, glowering at the water. Cal emerged a few feet away and shook the water from his hair. I turned my glare to him and said, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m gonna make you want me bad like you did on the boat, baby. Added bonus, I just popped your skinny-dipping cherry. Good times.”
He was not wrong. Good times, indeed. He took up right where we left off on the boat, me riding his fingers to a glorious climax. Even with that orgasm, I still found that I was dying to get Cal’s steely length inside of me.
Cal’s fingers had just left me, and I pressed the length of my body against his, moaning, “Cal. I have to have more. Please, God, let me have your cock, baby.”
My lips were lightly sucking on his neck, and I moved my lips up to his jaw to trace along it with my tongue. Cal turned his head and kissed me deep, but not long. He pulled away to say, “Found out last week from my doc, I’m clean on all fronts. While STDs aren’t an issue, can’t take you bare, ’cause we aren’t ready for you bein’ knocked up, and I don’t have a condom out here, Mallory.”
I hooked a leg around his hips and whispered, “I won’t get pregnant. I’ve got the implant . So, it’s great news that you’re clean. Please, honey. I need you.”
Cal’s hands ran through my wet hair and pulled in a deliciously harsh way. “I could have been going bareback all this time, woman?”
I gave him an innocent look. “I didn’t know you got tested, baby.”
He growled, but kissed me long and hard. Our tongues clashed and I felt a burn curl through my belly, up to my breasts, and down toward my core. I could get used to this, it was so damn good. With that in mind, I sunk my teeth into Cal’s lips. He growled again, loudly, and lifted my hips and drove himself into my sex. I couldn’t decide if it was paradise, nirvana, or heaven. No matter, Cal didn’t give me much time to contemplate it before he started thrusting hard into me, and I felt my back against the grainy concrete of the pool wall. Delicious torture if ever there was such a thing. I tilted my head back to look at the stars in the sky and I felt him sucking on the lower portion of my neck. It felt like I was getting drunk on him, and I didn’t stop him from doing anything he wanted to.
I didn’t know how long we were in the pool, but I did know that I had definitely popped my cherry on skinny-dipping and pool sex. I was officially a big fan of both, especially if either of those included Cal Robertson. I could certainly get used to Cal’s brand of “real fun.” Embracing my inner wild-child was more fun than I ever could have imagined. I just had to hope to the heavens that I didn’t get burned in the process of having so much untraditional fun.