Page 46 of Christmas with my Three Best Friends

“I’ll never get enough of you, Shay.”

“You are dangerously addictive, Richard,” I manage, his grip on my hip tightening. It’s enough to push me closer to a second, infinitely more explosive release. “Oh, baby, harder… Give it to me harder… Deeper…”

A devilish grin slits his face, his reddish beard twinkling with sweat as he goes deeper and harder like I asked. I’m stretched beyond belief, raw on the inside and feeling every glorious inch as I tighten my pussy around him. He listens to my ragged breathing, and I refuse to take my eyes off him as I pleasure myself and he pounds into me.

Harder.

Deeper.

Faster.

Until we both come at once, crying out and calling each other’s names.

He fucks me like there’s no tomorrow, and I welcome it all like a ravenous animal, succumbing to the decadence and the shameless pleasure, letting the orgasm wash over me in waves of hot and cold until I’m practically gushing my juices all over him. Richard holds me close, collapsing on top of me with the last of his thrusts, and I glance out the window, smiling as I see the snow fall through the night.

It’s not even midnight yet, and we’ve only just begun.

I’ll be tender and sated by sunrise, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This man knows how to push the right buttons inside me, and I certainly know how to get his engine running. No wonder we’re nuts about each other. I miss the four of us, though…

I wish we’d find another moment to recreate Chappaqua.

Later in the night, we lay in bed, our bodies glistening with sweat and the shimmer of a sweet afterglow as the snow intensifies outside. I listen to the sound of his heart drumming, my head resting on his chest. I’m limp and soft like a marshmallow, melting against his body while my own heart sings songs of its own. I wish Jax and Marius could be with us. I’d like nothing more than to be sandwiched between them.

“How are you feeling?” Richard asks me.

I look up and find him staring at the ceiling. “Completely relaxed. I don’t think I have a spine anymore.”

“Good,” he laughs.

“And you?”

“I don’t want tomorrow to come,” he says, then glances at me. “I found a hall on the south side of the city. It’s huge. Third floor of a new industrial complex, next door to the business quarter. The owner said he wouldn’t mind leasing it to me if I intend to open a gym there.”

And just like that, my good mood withers and all the fears I’ve pushed down to the bottom of my consciousness return with a vengeance. Slowly, I lift my head and shift my weight slightly onto him so I can better look at him. “A gym?” I manage.

“Another West Key gym, to be specific.”

“Why would you want to open another one when this one isn’t turning a profit yet?”

Richard thinks about it for a moment. “You’re right. I could give it another name,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity. The structure of the building is brand spanking new, the central heating and air conditioning systems already installed. It has enough room for three weight rooms and three fighting rooms, plus massive locker rooms, sauna, solar, whatever. The reception area alone would be double the size of ours. We could do a proper lounge and café there with a focus on protein treats. Your recipes would work beautifully there.”

“Hold on,” I say, and sit up, increasingly alarmed by what I’m hearing. “How’d you come across that space?”

“I met a guy at a business meeting. The conversation just led there, and he said he knows someone who’s looking for new leasing opportunities for his building. Next thing I know, I’m in my car and driving over there. I was skeptical at first, but the place is fantastic.”

“Richard…” I swallow before I continue. “We’re already running a gym together and working hard to get it off the ground,” I tell him. “You’re not willing to invest in West Key anymore, but you’re willing to invest in a brand-new gym, instead?”

“It wouldn’t be competition for West Key, since it’s on the south side.”

“That doesn’t matter. What are you thinking? I thought you were going to give us until spring before you make a decision on the matter.”

“This place popped up, and I know it’ll be leased really fast unless I make them an offer,” he says with a shrug. “The thing is… I don’t want to do it alone. I mean, I could, I’ve done it before, but I’d like for you to join me. Your experience as a nutritionist, your unique approach to healthy eating… I need that.”

“And what did you mean by giving it another name?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around this sudden deluge of startling and genuinely unpleasant information. “It wouldn’t be another West Key gym, then. It would be something else entirely. And you wouldn’t bring Marius and Jax along, from what I’m hearing.”

Richard shrugs and sits up, as well. “I’d let them have West Key. They’d be busy enough with that place, but I think they can handle it between them. They did suggest getting a business loan from me to keep the gym going until summer, and I’m inclined to offer them something meatier while I turn my focus onto this new space. It’s really good, Shay, you’d have to see it to really understand its value.”

“What I’m understanding right now is that you’re ready to bail out on us,” I reply harshly.

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