Wicked Game Ch 13

"Dinner has been canceled."

Shane stared at the young woman as they stood outside the dining room. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. It has been rescheduled until tomorrow evening but you are allowed to order whatever you like from the regular dining room or the room service menu at your host's expense."

"Wow! That's nice!" Jaime exclaimed but Shane wasn't so happy. He wondered where the others in his party were and why he felt left out. James and Beverly were the first to arrive, their faces grim and drawn.

"All right. What's going on?"

Beverly's face crumbled into a mass of tears and she turned into James' body, her soft sobs wrenching her body with pain. Since she couldn't find the words to speak, James opted to talk with the young man. "Matthew kidnapped Ashley."

"

What?

Where are they?"

"She's safe now, Shane."

"Why didn't anyone come and get me?"

"Because you were on the beach and we had to act fast." James saw the anger in Shane's face and gave him a pat on the back. "We're just waiting for the cops to arrive, then we'll all have dinner."

"We just went to the dining room and the hostess told us that the dinner's been canceled until tomorrow."

"Oh." James looked from Jaime to the hostess who was arranging her charts. "Well, I guess we're on our own."

"She also said that our 'host' said that we could have dinner in the regular dining room or that we could order whatever we wanted from room service at his expense."

"Really?" James turned to Beverly, who was wiping her tears away. "Did you hear that, honey? Would you like to go to dinner?"

Beverly nodded. "Yes, James."

James smiled at her and caught her face, so that she could see his eyes. "Are you sure, honey?"

"Yes. I don't want to go to bed just yet."

"Okay." He turned to Shane with a gentlemanly smile. "You guys want to join us?"

Shane looked at Jaime and felt the tiny squeeze on their intertwined hands. "Naw. I think we're going to order room service. No offense."

"No problem." James said. "Have a nice night."

Beverly moved towards Shane and gave him a long hug. "I hope your dream comes true."

Shane gave her another hard hug and parted from her, cupping her cheek in her hand. "I love you, Beverly."

Her brown face lit up and she returned his gesture, stroking his downy cheek. "I love you, too, Shane." Shane leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her rubescent lips. "Good night."

"'Night."

Jaime watched the hefty black woman and the trim older man walk away, amazed at the connection that he saw between his New England-raised quarterback and an obviously Southern black woman. "Do you really love her?"

"Yes." Shane said the word without shame, knowing that Beverly would be a part of his life for as long as he lived.

"That's nice, Shane. It's so different for you."

"Is that a problem?"

"No." Jaime looked at his best friend, seeing him in a new light. "Not at all."

"So... " Shane looked down into Jaime's dark eyes. "How about some room service?"

Kevin held Kelly Jo close as they sat in the room, listening to the sounds of Ashley bathing. She had returned from her room and told them what had happened. Matthew was pronounced dead at the hospital. Megan had been reported missing and was taken into custody immediately. Before the deputies took her away, the girl had given Ashley a hug and whispered, "Thank you." The detectives questioned her for a half-hour and she calmly answered all of their questions, posed for all the pictures they needed to take of her wounds and escorted her to her room.

She phoned Kelly Jo's room as soon as they'd left and she and Kevin had come racing over, only to find her undressed and preparing a bath. Kelly Jo let out a wail and Kevin shouted a curse when they saw the marks all over her body. She had accepted their embraces with tears of her own, assuring them that she was all right, that she just wanted to have a nice hot bath, relax and have dinner in the room with them. Shane, Jaime, Beverly and James had each either come by or called to express their concern for her and her heart was overflowing with love for her teammates.

Kelly Jo heard a noise and turned toward her brother, both amazed and disturbed to hear him sobbing. "Kevin."

Kevin couldn't help it. He had tried not to let Ashley's outer appearance bother him, but his soft heart cried out with her pain. And to see the look in her eyes... detached and distant... the sight made him ache inside. He would never have thought that in such a short period of time that he would come to care about Ashley as much as he had. He had already resigned himself to the fact that he would have to share his precious Kelly Jo but to see Ashley, walking out of that hellhole, so proud... so confident... he knew that he was in love with her, just as deeply as Kelly Jo was.

"What's wrong, bro?"

"Ashley." The pain cut through his tender soul. In his mind's eye, he saw the bite marks on her breasts and legs and he imagined what it must have been like for her, to be at the hands of an insane person, formerly known as your husband. But she was so calm... almost as if it had never happened.

Kelly Jo carefully watched her brother's reaction, wondering what was going on in the depths of his soul. "She's safe, Kevin."

"I know." He whimpered, wiping his eyes and desperately trying to stop his tears. "But...

oh, Kel!

"

He crumbled into a bawling heap, his shoulders across her lap. Kelly Jo just stroked his hair, gently talking to him. She had always known that her brother had a soft heart but this... "She's a strong girl, Kevin."

"But it's so unfair, Kelly Jo! We've always had a wonderful life and Ashley's had nothing but shit."

"We can change that, Kevin." Her voice was so soft that Kevin nearly didn't hear her over his weeping. "We can change her future forever."

The bathroom door opened and Ashley came out, swathed in a fluffy robe, her dark hair wet on her shoulders. She grabbed a brush off the side table and began to comb her hair, sitting on the bed across from Kevin and Kelly Jo. She paused in mid-stroke when she noticed that Kevin was crying.

"Kevin? What's wrong?"

Words seemed to escape him at that moment and he buried his face into Kelly Jo's lap again, sobbing anew. Kelly Jo stroked his back again, scrubbing the back of her hand against her own eyes. "He's upset about what happened to you."

"Oh." Ashley was stunned for a moment. She set the brush down and knelt at Kevin's side. "Kevin. Kevin, I'm all right."

"How can you be?" He raised his head, his reddened eyes piercing hers. "I saw what he did to you."

"I'm okay because I knew, no matter what he did, that I'd tasted love and I would have died happy." Ashley touched his face, wiping his tears away. "I couldn't have asked for more than that."

"Yes, you could." Kevin said breathlessly, noticing the golden flakes swimming in the irises of her eyes. He raised a hand to gently stroke the line of her jaw and noticed the blush that spread across the soft skin. "You can ask for more than that."

The breath caught in Ashley's throat as she realized what he was saying. She looked up into Kelly Jo's eyes and saw tears of joy falling across her tremulous lips. "How about I start with dinner?"

"Whatever you want, Ashley." Kevin released her chin and arose, heading for the phone and the room service menu.

Kelly Jo bent and pressed her mouth to Ashley's, nearly swooning when she felt her soft tongue sliding along her bottom lip and across her teeth and tongue. "I'm dreaming, right?"

"Not at all, pretty girl." Kelly Jo answered Ashley's whisper. "And if you are, it's the dream of a lifetime."

It wasn't fair.

Shane Kingsley's body just wasn't fair.

No one could be that perfectly sculpted unless he was fashioned of cold, veinless marble but Shane was. His build was on the slight side but daily workouts had filled out his frame and made him the envy of most of the girls on campus. But now... within the reach of his fingertips, every inch of Shane Kingsley was soon to belong to him.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Shane watched Jaime's olive skin flush and smiled, shoving several cocktail-sauced shrimp into his mouth. They had ordered dinner from the room service menu and spread it out on the king-sized bed. Cold jumbo shrimp, roast beef sandwiches, German potato salad and apple crumb pie for dessert. Shane had taken off his shirt to be more comfortable and noticed that Jaime's attention was on his six-pack and that his friend was having problems eating without choking every few bites.

There was a knock on the door and Shane got up to open it, shaking his head with a knowing smile as Nathan stepped in. "Good evening, gentlemen."

"Hello." Jaime said, feeling embarrassed and looking to Shane for help.

"Jaime, this is Nathan, our cruise director." Nathan grinned. "Nathan, this is my very best friend, Jaime Scott."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Scott." The driver then turned to Shane, tugging an envelope from his jacket pocket. "For you, Mr. Kingsley."

"I thought we were on vacation."

"Well, I guess our benefactor has changed his mind. Stakes are higher, though."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Everything remains the same, except that there will only be one more task after this one."

"And then what?"

"It's done and you find out if you qualify for the grand prize."

"And what's that?"

"I haven't been informed of that yet." Nathan placed the envelope in Shane's hand. "I'll see you later, Mr. Kingsley."

"Thanks, Nathan."

Shane shut the door and sat back down on the bed next to Jaime. "So what's this?"

"A task for the scavenger hunt." Shane split the dark paper, sliding the sheaf out. "But this one's a little different."

"Why's that?"

"It's addressed to me. The others were just labeled as tasks."

"Well, read it."

Shane unfolded the letter and read aloud. "You and the other six members of your scavenger hunt team have proven to be perfection. This is your final task; an individual task chosen just for you. Your task, task number eleven, is to make love to... "Shane's voice cracked slightly and Jaime's dark eyes met his, imploring. "Is to make love to your best friend, Jaime Scott." Jaime gasped. "The reward will be $10,000 dollars for each of you. Neither penetration nor proof will be required. It is possible that you could lie to Nathan but your past efforts have proven your trustworthiness. And the fact that you are in love with Mr. Scott will ensure completion. Enjoy your evening." Shane felt his heart leap as he set the envelope down on the bed, his eyes swinging over to Jaime.

"Wow." Jaime breathed. "Ten thousand dollars!"

"Is that all you're thinking about?"

Jaime thought a moment. This was it. There was nothing that stood between them. For the last few hours, they'd been tiptoeing around their feelings, stealing quick kisses but fearful of really opening up to each other. He'd known Shane for so long that he was afraid. He didn't want to ruin a beautiful friendship for a piece of ass. But somehow... somehow, he just knew that this was meant to be. "No." He reached out and touched Shane's soft cheek. "I was thinking about how we could use that for an apartment together." His eyes met Shane's. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Shane's eyes dropped to the moist contours of Jaime's mouth, thinking about their kiss on the beach and aching to replay that moment again.

"Are you in love with me?"

Shane hadn't wanted to tell him that. He didn't want Jaime to use him because of that but it was true. He was head-over-heels in love with him. A shudder went through him from head to toe as he realized the words that he had wanted to say for nearly three years were about to cross his lips. "Yes, Jaime. I love you."

That was all Jaime needed to hear. While he had been physically attracted to Shane, he wanted to make sure that this wouldn't be just a wham-bam-thank-you-man session. He wanted to be with Shane forever. He pulled himself onto his knees and knelt in front of him, gazing into his face and memorizing each line. "I love you, too."

Shane felt like he was moving in slow motion, like he was outside of his body, watching himself reach out and pull Jaime against him, pushing his open mouth onto Jaime's and experiencing a rush of adrenalin when Jaime's tongue touched his and his moan reverberated through them both. The world seemed to revolve around their connection point. Jaime's lips were rough but firm against his, allowing him to nibble the edges, to lick the insides of his mouth, to rub his tongue all over his. Just the simple act of kissing had never turned him on so quickly nor meant so much to him.

Jaime felt the emotion of the kiss first, before he allowed himself to enjoy its passion. He felt Shane's big hands roaming over his back, seeking out the round muscles and sharp bones of his ribs and spine, memorizing every inch they could. Jaime shuddered as Shane sucked his tongue into his mouth, crushing him more tightly to him in the process and thrusting his hips against him. He thought he was dreaming for a moment, when he felt Shane's hardness but knew he wasn't when Shane repeated the action, reaching down between them to clutch his hardness and giving it a firm, loving stroke.

Jaime's moan echoed his own as Shane realized the size and weight of his best friend's cock through the shorts. He wanted to slow down, to make Jaime's first time memorable but he knew that it was a definite impossibility. The fire was too hot now to pause for a douse of cold water. He pushed his friend back, voraciously attacking Jaime's neck with open-lipped bites and drawing a deep groan from Jaime. Jaime's hands slid across his arms, moving over the hard planes of his chest and heading downward, returning the favor of giving Shane's cock a hard squeeze.

"Jesus, Shane!" Jaime could hardly catch his breath. He felt like he was being pummeled by bolts of lightning as Shane's mouth accosted his neck, sliding over his collarbones and locating the soft flesh of his chest and his hard nipples. He had never felt something as exquisite as his friend's tongue caressing his nipples and could barely restrain his twitching prick from exploding in his shorts.

"Is there a problem?"

Jaime would swear that he could see to the depths of Shane's soul in the beauty of his eyes. He thought about all of the mornings he would get to see this particular beauty. "No. "He breathed helplessly. "I just... I want to cum!"

"Oh, that's not a problem." Shane peeled Jaime's shorts from his body, sliding them over his hips while his fingers searched his thicket of dark hair, closing over his thick stalk and giving it a warm long stroke. Jaime purred, arching into Shane's hand. "I can take care of that." Shane whispered, his hot mouth moving from Jaime's ear to his right nipple.

"

Oh!

" Jaime wanted to scream in pleasure. Shane's hot hand was gliding over his heated flesh, giving the generous head a squeeze. Before he could take another breath, his cock was slowly being engulfed by Shane's steamy, wet mouth. Jaime released a groan so deep that it became a hungry growl, ripping from the bowels of his body and erupting in a mind-numbing spurt onto Shane's tongue. "Oh, Shane!" His climax was like nothing he'd ever known. The sight of Shane's eyes locked onto his, his cock in Shane's mouth and his cum ejaculating onto his tongue was almost too much to bear. His body jerked again and again, his teeth gritted.

Shane gently lapped the sensitive head and released Jaime's cock, moving up and giving his lover a deep kiss, sharing a bit of his cum with him. At first, Jaime stiffened, then welcomed the taste of his own cum, sucking on Shane's tongue like a soft lollipop.

"Are you okay?" Shane asked, pressing kisses over Jaime's sweet face.

"Oh, yes." Jaime gasped, trying to catch his breath. "I've never cum that hard before." He pulled back to meet Shane's eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't have time to warn you."

"That's okay, Jai. I wanted to taste you."

Jaime's eyes darkened. "You did?"

"Of course. I wanted to taste my lover's cum."

"I want to taste yours, too."

"I don't think you're ready for that, Jai."

"Shane, I am a virgin of sorts, but not with sucking cock."

Shane grinned. "You think you can make me cum?"

"Are you challenging me?"

Shane knew how much Jaime loved a challenge and breathless from the lust he saw in his eyes, he whispered, "Yes."

Jaime pushed Shane onto his back and immediately went to work on his lover, licking ear lobes, sucking on neck flesh and nibbling down Shane's jawline until the quarterback was growling in delight. "I'm going to make you cum without even touching your cock."

Shane started to chuckle until Jaime laid his warm body across his body like a blanket, laying a kiss on him whose heat reached the base of his already aching cock. Warmth spread through his abdomen and caused his cock to twitch in pleasant pain. "Jaime."

Jaime felt his heart leap at Shane's sensuous whisper. "Oh, Shane." He answered breathlessly. "I've dreamed about this, about loving you for so long." His tongue stroked Shane's lips, allowing his open mouth to slide over his stubbly chin and down his over neck, swirling lightly over his Adam's apple. "I never thought I'd ever get to kiss your mouth or suck on your neck." To illustrate his words, he gave a hard suck on the side of his neck. Shane's body jackknifed in pleasure.

"God, Jai! Don't tease me!"

"I'm absolutely going to tease you." Jaime sat up on his knees and took his hardening cock in his hand, giving it a gentle stroke, straddling Shane's face. "Watch me."

Shane thought he'd died and gone to heaven. The scent of Jaime's cock was like a pheromone to him and he felt his cock harden even more at the salty, sweet odor of spilled semen. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to enjoy it, then opened to the sight of Jaime pulling on his cock and watched as it grew in his hand. He had never seen Jaime from this angle. His balls were soft and shaven and smaller now that Shane had recently swallowed their loads. His dark hair was clipped back and neat and his penis arose like a stalk of tan wheat, a well-fed shoot pushing up from the nurturing flesh. His knuckles were scarred from his rough photographer's life but his calloused hands slid easily over the flesh. Shane suddenly wanted to taste him again and felt his cock leap in response to the thought.

"You want it, don't you?" Jaime's dark eyes bored into Shane and the tip of his tongue caught between his teeth as a hiss of pleasure rushed out. "You want to sink this puppy back into your mouth, don't you?"

"Mmm, yes!" Shane inhaled the sexy musk of Jaime's skin. He raised his hands and trembled as his hands slid over the bottom of Jaime's back and his softly furred ass, his fingers tracing the cleft and enjoying the silky hair and sultry heat pooling there.

"How bad do you want to taste me again?" Jaime dropped down one arm, his other holding the hard length of his prick just inches from Shane's mouth. A single glistening drop of pre-cum perched tantalizingly on the end, just out of Shane's reach. "Will you let me rub this cum onto your lips?"

"Oh, yes!"

"But you can't lick it until I say."

Oh, sweet torture!

An involuntary shiver coursed down his spine. "Okay."

The drop was even larger now, a crystal bead of liquid pleasure, destined for his mouth. Shane quelled another shiver as Jaime tenderly traced the outline of his lips, spreading the clear pre-cum on the pink surface. The smell was driving him crazy and it was killing him not to lick his lover's essence up. He tried to take his mind off of it by rubbing his fingers down Jaime's split, searching for his hole and gently sank a fingertip inside. Jaime groaned, flexing against Shane's finger and pressing the crown of his cock against Shane's sticky lips.