Page 17 of Tentacles and Teeth

“It was pretty standard corporate networking. The conference begins tomorrow, but one of the organizers contracted me to do a consult and that’s what ate up most of today. The only real entertainment was Jeremy, the guy assigned to be my assistant and handler. He’saggressively positiveand hilarious.”

Listening to Sid’s laugh as I told her about silly little things an ocean away, I allowed myself to sink into the pleasure of whatever this thing was between us. When there was a lull in the conversation, I jumped on it. “What about you? It’s about lunchtime there, right? What’s your day look like?”

“I do admin stuff on Sunday, try to bang out as much as possible so I have less to worry about the rest of the week. I’m working from home because paperwork is slightly less annoying if you’re not wearing pants.”

I laughed, as she’d intended, but felt a thrill as I wondered just how casual her work from home attire was.

“Tonight, I have a meeting with the Bwbachod, so I’ll go in for a couple hours, but I have plans to catch up on my sleep, too.”

There was a smile in her voice as she said the last that pulled a matching curve to my lips even as I asked, “Is everything ok? With the Bwbachod, I mean?” I wasn’t very familiar with the Welsh cousins of the Brownies, but there had been a note of something in her voice. Frustration?

She blew out a noisy breath, chuckling. “Yeah, it’s fine. The thing with working with Bwbachod is that, culturally, pride is huge. Especially pride in their work. And they take any comments on their work as an insult. So, every week they bring me the list of people who’ve ‘slandered’ them and records of each offense. It usually goes something like, ‘Sydney the trollthankedEfa for removing the broken glass before he was thrown on top of it.As if she would ever be so slow as to allow it to languish on the floor!’”

I cracked up. Her voice was so aggrieved, the high lilting accent she’d adopted breathless with outrage.

“It’s worse because this family has been working at the Broken Crown for going on twenty years, so in their minds it’s their bar and I answer to them. Since I’m pretty sure it would all fall apart if they took even a day off, it’s hard to disagree.” She huffed a laugh. “So, we do this dance every week. I listen to their complaints, note of the most egregiously complimentary offenders so I can remind them to shut the fuck up, and peace is restored.”

“They sound delightful,” I managed around my giggles. Sincerity sparkled in my words as warmth had laced through hers, her fondness clear even through the whinging.

The muffled rumble of Fenn’s voice came in the background, and the tension that had receded to a low simmer with the easy conversation started to bubble again.

Sid replied, distant, like she’d turned away from the phone. “Yeah, thanks.” Fenn said something more, and she responded with a sly, “No promises.”

“Sorry.” Her voice was clear once again. “Fenn says hi, by the way.”

I opened my mouth to respond, only to close my teeth with a snap, biting off my first response. Trying again, I managed, “Tell him I said hi back.” There. Casual.

There was a pregnant pause on Sid’s end of the line, then she spoke with careful deliberation. “Katarina, you know it’s ok with me that you like him, right?”

“Oh, gods.” I blew out a breath. “Is it that obvious?”

“Baby, you were a breath from coming when he had you pinned against the counter. You smell so fucking good when you get excited. It’s kinda hard to miss.”

My pussy throbbed, both at the memory and at the compliment. “I don’t know how to deal with this,” I admitted. Why go halfway with this new adventure in vulnerability? “I was raised with monogamy being the only acceptable option. And as an adult, I haven’t been really into relationships at all. This is all out of my comfort zone.”

“Do you want to do this?” Sid’s voice was serious, but not demanding.

I hesitated. “Can you define ‘this’?”

“Me. Fenn. Both of us, if you want. Whatever you want. There’re no rules except the ones we set.”

I couldn’t help the tiny moan that broke free at the thought of her and Fenn fucking me together. I might not be sure aboutdatingboth of them at the same time—gods, what would my mother say?—but the idea ofhavingboth of them made me hotter than the steaming water around me.

“Oh, yeah, sweet girl. You want this. Do you want us to take you together? Really fill you up?”

“Fuck, Sid.” My hands slid across my body, one cupping a breast while the other delved between my legs. Water lapped at the sides of the tub.

“What am I hearing, Katarina?” Her voice was tight, tension making it low and sexy.

On impulse, I snatched up my phone, sending a picture of my spread, wet thighs peeking out of frothy bubbles. There was a beep on her end of the line, then a curse. The trill announcing an invitation to add video to the call rang in the steamy air.

“Come on, sweet girl. I need to make you come, and I want to see you all hot and wet when I do.” There was another curse in the background, from Fenn this time, and the sound of a door slamming. I giggled and propped the phone up, pressing accept.

Sid’s picture flashed onto the screen. She was visible from the waist up, covered only by a tank top, and the look on her face was pure hunger. I felt a sudden pang in the region of my heart. I went to push it away, but no. That’s not what we were doing.

“Sid?”

She caught the change in my voice, her expression turning questioning.

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