Courting Trouble

‘Want to join us, Si?’ Margo called.

Sienna’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She recoiled inside and out. She was trying frantically to come up with a polite excuse when she heard giggles again.

Giggles directed at her.

It was impulsive and totally out of character, but she swept one of her running shoes off the floor and flung it at the wall.

The splat turned the giggles next door into flat-out laughter.

Margo thought Sienna was frigid, a true ice queen, simply because, in the time they’d lived together, she’d never had a guy spend the night.

Sienna flounced on the mattress and jabbed her ear plugs back into her ears. It had only been five months since she and Kyle had broken up.

Five months. It didn’t seem that long, but that was nearly half a year of celibacy. With no intimacy, no connection, no climaxes …

She wiped a hand over her brow. The heat and discomfort were back.

She yanked the headphones off and tossed them onto the bedside table. They weren’t working any more, at least not for her needs.

Margo and Drummer Boy had caught their second wind and were going at it full-tilt. The soft pop music coming through the earphones couldn’t cover up the noise. Neither could the classical music she liked so much. The only thing that might work was hard, driving rock ’n’ roll, but wouldn’t that be defeating the purpose?

Giving up, Sienna shut down her laptop and put it back on the nightstand shelf.

She let out a long gust of air as the situation became impossible to ignore. Would it be better in the kitchen? Because that was about as far away as she could get and still be in the apartment. The only other person she knew in the building was Mr Russell, the building manager, and he was a creepy guy.

‘Roll over,’ the drummer panted.

The mattress squeaked.

‘Like this?’ Margo asked.

‘No, turn the other way.’

‘Oh!’ her roomie squeaked. The sound turned into more of a coo. ‘Oh, my.’

‘Come on over, Sienna,’ a deep voice prompted. ‘I’ll help you relax.’

This time, Sienna did jump off the bed. That hadn’t been Margo. She bounded the two steps it took to get to the door and locked it.

She stepped back.

And heard more sounds of pleasure.

Unbidden, her nipples stiffened and she rubbed her hand over the strange sensation building in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t fear. She didn’t feel threatened, and she knew neither of them would make her do anything she didn’t want to do.

But there had been desire in that male voice. A gruff kind of turn-on.

Her knees weren’t steady when she took another step back and bumped against the bed.

She should go somewhere. Anywhere. This might be her home, but the situation was becoming more than embarrassing. She could sleep on Erin’s sofa. Her BFF had already started packing things for storage after the wedding, but surely she had a sheet and pillow to spare.

Although it was nearly two o’clock in the morning.

Sienna stared at the clock on her nightstand and swept her hand through her hair. She couldn’t wake Erin. It would take the rest of the night to peel her off the ceiling if she called this late.

But God.

The words from next door disintegrated to whispers and sighs. Sienna could hear the creaking of old box springs, the wisp of sheets and the jingle of Margo’s tambourine on the bedpost.

She moved to the window, trying to concentrate on the rain that had started outside. The heaviness in the air had made it feel even warmer, but the humidity was finally squeezing out raindrops. They wetted the street and streamed down the glass in rivulets. Instead of distracting her, though, the low clouds only tamped down the space.

The soft rain increased the intimacy and cocooned her with the lovers in the tiny apartment.

The drummer in the nearby bed let out a guttural sound, and Sienna bit her lip to stop a corresponding moan.

Oh, she missed sex.

She might not be any good at it, according to her ex, but she’d liked the intimacy. She’d liked the surprise and the physicality of it.

She swept her hand down her arm to quiet the goosebumps, but they only perked up harder.

She missed being touched. She wanted to be kissed. She wanted to feel the weight of a man holding her down as he spread her legs wide.

‘Mmmmmm,’ she whimpered.

She swept her hair off the back of her neck. It was so warm in here, and the rain outside only added to the clamminess. The air-conditioning was fighting a losing battle.

‘Come on, babe,’ the man next door said urgently.

Sienna’s head fell back. She was not going next door. He wasn’t talking to her any more, and she would never ever engage in a three-way.

Not with her roommate, anyway.

‘Give it up, pretty girl. You know you want to.’

Sienna’s toes curled into the carpeting. She couldn’t leave, and she couldn’t get away. The situation was driving her crazy.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, crossed her legs and pressed them together hard, but the silk slip teased her tender skin. It rode high on her thighs. Her core ached, and she gasped when she found herself rubbing back and forth on the firm mattress.

‘That’s right. Let me make you feel good.’

Her head dropped back. Need was consuming her.

She flicked away a bead of sweat that had formed between her breasts, but her breath caught at the sensation. Her hand had brushed against her nipple.

She bit her lip. It had felt good. A bit naughty, but safe.

She turned her head away, towards the opposite wall, but the sounds refused to be ignored … and her hand slipped lower this time, to cup her breast fully.