Forever In Lingerie Read online

  FOREVER IN LINGERIE

  Bare Named Designs, Book One

  GINA GORDON

  LYRICAL PRESS

  http://lyricalpress.com/

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/

  For L.K.

  Acknowledgements

  I would especially like to thank my editor for her praise and support. This story was only half as good before you got your hands on it!

  Foreword

  I love lingerie. The combination of soft fabrics intricately pieced together creates a garment that has the ability to make a woman feel beautiful and sexually confident. When a woman wears lingerie, she transforms into a woman who can do anything, be anything, and get any man she wants.

  Since I love lingerie so much, it seemed fitting that I would write about it. And so the idea for the Bare Naked Designs series came to be. Each story is based on one item of lingerie. Of course, in order to make things interesting, the hero just happens to see the heroine wearing the item and what unravels is a love story full of hot sex and romantic lace.

  There was no question that I would put Martina in white lingerie. It symbolizes her renewed sense of self and direction as she enters a new chapter in her life. Although, there is nothing virginal about Rob’s proposition.

  So I hope you enjoy Forever in Lingerie, the first story in the series, and fall in love with Martina and Rob on their journey to a happily ever after through lingerie.

  Chapter 1

  Martina Jackson stared down at her pale body wondering why she ever agreed to model lacy, bridal lingerie in the middle of a strange living room.

  “Ouch!” Martina flinched.

  “Sorry.” Carrie Taylor looked up from her crouched position. Her eyes strained over the dark rim of her glasses. “That’s the price you pay when you’re a model.”

  “What if I don’t want to be a model?” Martina huffed.

  “Too bad,” Amie piped in. “This looks hot on you.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Martina shied away from Amie’s appreciative glance. A Victoria’s Secret model she was not.

  Amie Woods stood on her opposite side. The blue flecks on the brown of her eyes danced with excitement. Probably not any different than what Martina’s looked like. The fruity drinks had been flowing non-stop for the last three hours.

  After four of Amie’s blue concoctions, Martina allowed Carrie to dress her up in the latest addition of her soon-to-be famous lingerie, a white baby doll, a piece from her Forever line. Sheer white fabric slid out from the bra cup that pushed up her breasts to chin level. It delicately covered her torso and bottom and was hemmed in thick lace.

  “You’re my first real model, Martina. The first person other than me to wear Bare Naked Designs.”

  “Clearly I’ll do anything for a friend.”

  Martina envied the look on Carrie’s face when she spoke about her designs, her passion. It was exactly what she was striving for. Martina was following her own dream, and it was just a matter of time before it became a reality.

  “Ow!” Martina yelled. Carrie was putting the finishing touches on the bra cups, but her constant talking was a distraction and she kept ramming the tiny needle into Martina’s skin. “Carrie, if you keep that up I’m going to end up bleeding all over the Forever line.”

  “From this tiny needle? Not a chance.”

  Martina’s heart swelled. She missed this, having friends. She glanced from side to side, grateful for the two women she had met during her short stay in Toronto. She’d found two people she could get close to. She was ready to join the world again and stop being alone. Too bad at any moment she would have to leave them both behind.

  “No dripping on the lingerie!” Carrie snapped at Amie as she got dangerously close to the fabric. One of her hands gripped the frilly lace between her fingers while the other waved her glass tumbler in the air.

  “Loosen up, Carrie. Why don’t you have another drink yourself?” Amie grabbed the pitcher of blue liquid and shoved it in her face.

  “After we get this done.” Carrie continued to thread the thin white string through the lace.

  A chill raced down Martina’s back. It was cold in the Taylor residence, a modest size home with clean, classic decor. It was a comfortable space fit for a normal nuclear family. Martina got the impression that the Taylor family was picture-perfect.

  “So, Marty, Amie’s been telling me about your adventures,” Carrie said, changing the subject.

  “Is that so?” Martina gave Amie a curious look. “What else has she told you?”

  “That you’re leaving,” Amie interrupted.

  “I have plans, Amie. It’s nothing personal.” The call would come any day now. Martina was sure of it. Besides, she had to leave. Dreams still clouded her sleep. Mac continued to run, and that meant Martina had to follow.

  “But we get along so well. The three of us.” Carrie peeked up at her and blew her dark strands out of her face. “It’s nice having another member to our group.”

  “To be honest, you’re the first real friends I’ve had in a long time.” Martina shared a sentimental look with Carrie.

  “Aw! Tears.” Amie pretended to wipe away moisture from under her eyes. They all chuckled.

  Amie jumped up on the couch, a move reminiscent of Tom Cruise on the Oprah Winfrey Show. “This conversation has taken a wrong turn.” She continued to bob up and down, her long blond locks bouncing around her face. “Tell Carrie about your little plan, Marty.”

  “What plan?” Carrie perked up from under the sheer fabric.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have told you about it.” Just the thought of disclosing her embarrassing plan to yet another person made Martina cringe. “No. I don’t think–”

  “Marty, I pretty much have my face in your hoo-ha, so why keep secrets? Spill it.”

  “I’ll tell her then.” Amie jumped in before Martina could even consider giving up the information. She hopped off the couch and told her story. “Apparently, our Marty is completely fulfilled in life.”

  “Glad one of us is fulfilled,” Carrie sang in a sarcastic tone.

  “Well...she is completely fulfilled except for one tiny area.”

  “What area?” Carrie asked.

  Chapter 2

  Rob entered his parents’ front foyer with his best friend trailing behind. He was about to turn the corner when a tiny voice drifted from the living room.

  “Hot, steamy sex with no strings.”

  He stopped short. Aleks bumped into him from behind.

  “Dude, what the…”

  Rob brought his finger up to his lips, his eyes motioning to the other room where giggles and screams filled the air.

  “Didn’t peg her as the slutty type, did you?” That was Amie talking.

  “It’s not slutty.” Rob heard his sister Carrie come to the defense of an unidentified woman. That was a relief. Walking in to hear his sister talk about casual sex would not be the best welcome.

  He heard Carrie continue. “What exactly does this hot and steamy affair entail?”

  “I was never popular with the boys,” the sultry voice explained. “In high school I was quiet. In university other things took precedence and so here I am. I’m creeping up on thirty years old, and I have never been with two men at once.”

  Aleks grabbed his chest. “This is the girl of my dreams. Who is she?”

  “I don’t know.” Rob pumped his hand up and down trying to get Aleks to stop talking. It wasn’t every day that you walked in on a woman saying she wanted to be with two men.

  “Martina, that doesn’t mean your life is lacking. I haven’t been with two men.” Rob cringed. He shouldn’t be listening to his sister talk about sex
.

  “I’m sorry, Carrie, I didn’t mean it that way. I just... I just want to know what it’s like. I want to know what it feels like to have a man take charge.”

  “You want a little bondage play?” Leave it to Amie to get into the kinky stuff.

  “Not that serious but maybe. Tie me up, bend me over, and make me your slave.”

  Rob’s jeans got tighter by the second. Aleks was practically piggy-backed against his body in order to better hear the conversation, and Rob swore he felt…

  He turned around quickly. “Keep your johnson away from me.”

  “Oh. My bad.” Aleks backed away. “This is so hot. Are you hearing this?”

  “Of course I can hear. Maybe we shouldn’t listen anymore.”

  “Are you kidding?” Aleks motioned to Rob’s very noticeable bulge. “You’re just as turned on as me.”

  “Enough!” Rob turned around, slightly embarrassed. “No more penis talk. Just keep your thing away from my body.”

  “Believe me, I’d rather be listening to that girl. I do not want to talk about your boys.”

  They both turned back to catch the rest of the conversation.

  “I’ve had sex before but not good sex.” Rob felt her–Martina’s–voice deep in his gut. “I’ve never had a man be there...for me. Make my pleasure number one. I’ve never had a man take charge, catch me off guard. You know...a throw down.”

  “Throw down?” Rob heard his sister interrupt.

  “Yeah. When it’s passionate, intense, rip your clothes off, can’t have enough of you, I want you right here, right now,” Amie rambled. “The best kind of sex.”

  “You would know, wouldn’t you?” Rob could hear the sarcasm in his sister’s voice. He always hoped Carrie was naive when it came to sex, but with a friend like Amie, not a chance.

  “Shut it, Care.” Rob heard the clinking of ice in a glass as Amie asked, “How are you going to go about getting this sex, Marty?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s some guy out there willing to make my fantasies come true.”

  Rob turned to Aleks, unsure of what to say.

  “That man is you.” Aleks jabbed his finger into Rob’s chest.

  “What?”

  “Dude, we have just heard the most intimate information a woman can share. You don’t have to endure the ‘what do you like’ conversation or the ‘what are your fantasies’ talk. There’s no need for her to be embarrassed, you already know. Now you just have to give it to her.”

  “Why me?”

  “Think of it as my gift to you. Just don’t forget about me when the time is right.” Aleks’s eyebrow lifted in mischief.

  “We haven’t even seen what she looks like.”

  Aleks shrugged. “She sounds hot.”

  Rob rubbed his temples. Suddenly the light seemed a little overwhelming.

  “Are you getting another migraine?” Aleks’s tone immediately changed from excited to somber.

  “Yeah, I can feel one coming on.”

  “Relax, man. You’re stressing yourself out over a girl you haven’t even looked at yet.”

  “It’s not just that. I overdid it in training today.” Rob had pushed himself harder than normal that afternoon, but his quick admission confirmed that this stranger’s voice got his blood pumping just as quickly, just as easily as his workout. The only difference being, she got his blood pumping to a completely different organ.

  Aleks softly laid a hand on Rob’s shoulder. “Change of plans. Let’s go say hello to the lovely ladies and then head downstairs. I’m sure there’s a game on that we can watch.”

  “No way. You go on without me. After hearing this little scenario I’m sure you’re good to go. It’s just a matter of finding an attractive hole.”

  “Must you make me out to be so dirty?” Aleks may be a womanizer and an ass but he was also Rob’s best friend. For almost twenty years. “I am honestly hurt. Deep down. In my heart. It’s crying big wet tears.” Rob watched as Aleks tried to muster his best version of a puppy dog face.

  “You are dirty.”

  Aleks chuckled. “Let’s go meet this mystery woman.”

  Trying to forget about the escalating pain throbbing behind his eyes, Rob let Aleks clasp his hand around his neck and lead him into the living room.

  Chapter 3

  “Are we almost done with the fitting? I’m getting a little antsy.” Martina’s legs were beginning to wobble from standing so long but she had to admit the more she drank the more she liked her body covered in soft white fabric.

  “Almost done,” Carrie mumbled from between tight lips that held a sewing needle.

  “I can’t believe I even agreed to this. It’s a good thing Amie knows how to make a stiff drink.” Martina held her blue-stained glass in the air.

  “A very good thing,” a male voice said from the doorway.

  Martina’s breath caught at the sight of a tall, olive-skinned man. His dark hair was shaggy, his gait confident. Another man stood just behind him, half of his body covered by the immense size of the exotic looking hottie.

  “What are you doing here, Aleks? Don’t you and my brother have your own home?”

  Martina looked at Carrie. Brother?

  “Yes, we do. But our home doesn’t have scantily clad drunken women.”

  “We aren’t drunk,” Carrie spit back.

  “Speak for yourself.” Amie took another swig from her glass.

  The grinning male, Aleks, entered further, leaving the second man in the doorway. He was blond and built, thick in all the right places. Just as attractive as the dark-haired man but in an Abercrombie and Fitch type of way. Despite the overt sexuality of the first man Martina was more interested in his quiet friend. But there was something wrong, he looked haggard.

  “Who’s the new girl?” Aleks cut in on the conversation.

  “Always the gentleman.” Carrie motioned toward Martina. “Aleks, this is Martina Jackson. Martina this is Aleks Turko and my brother Rob.”

  “Martina works with me down at Lotus,” Amie added. “She agreed to be Carrie’s model.”

  Martina shook her head in earnest. “Just for tonight. I’m not a real model.”

  “Could have fooled me.” Aleks’s gaze remained glued to her body. In fact, she felt the stare of both men as their eyes raked over her skin.

  At that moment Martina realized just how naked she was standing in the middle of the room on a carpet-covered pedestal.

  “Carrie, do you have a blanket or something?”

  “Sure, sweetie.” Carrie grabbed a chocolate brown fleece blanket from the back of the couch.

  “Do you teach yoga like our Amie?” Why Aleks was so interested confused her. She was never one to garner the attention of men.

  “Yes, and I practice reflexology and aromatherapy.”

  “I knew it smelled good in here.” His smirk tickled her insides. The sexual energy radiating off this man was palpable. “So ladies, what are we gossiping about?”

  “Nothing you’d be interested in, Turko.” Amie stood, staring at him with a less than amused look on her face.

  “Oh, really?”

  By the look on Aleks’s mischievous face, Martina couldn’t help but wonder if the men had overheard their conversation.

  Aleks seemed the more talkative of the two, but Rob communicated with his eyes. They were fixed right on her.

  Goose bumps made their way across her skin. His eyes heated up something inside her, something she thought died a long time ago. Good thing she now had a blanket to cover the evidence.

  Carrie took a seat on the coffee-colored couch. Aleks was quick to join her. Martina saw the sparks flying between them despite Aleks’s cool-guy demeanor. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his free hand messing up her dark strands.

  “Aleks! Stop!”

  “What are we drinking? It’s making your lips blue, Care Bear.” He ripped the glass out of her hand and took a long swig. His distaste was evident in the sour
look on his face. “How do you girls drink this stuff? More importantly, how are you drinking this, Care?”

  “It’s not that bad, and no one offered you any.” She stole the glass back.

  “This is a girls’ night, Aleks. Time to go. You too, Rob. Out!” Amie hauled Aleks off the couch and herded him toward the entryway.

  They were all easy and comfortable with each other. Martina had forgotten what it was like to be close to people.

  “What do you think, Rob? What kind of secret girly things are they going to be doing?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m definitely interested,” Rob replied. His brown eyes locked with hers.

  “Out!” Carrie and Amie yelled in unison.

  “Don’t worry. We aren’t staying. Aleks has a hot night planned with a lady who is yet to be determined…” Rob explained.

  Martina felt the slump of Carrie’s shoulders from five feet away.

  “…and I just need to find some of my meds and I’m going home.”

  “I think Mom put them in the bathroom cabinet in the basement.”

  “You mean you put them in the bathroom downstairs to make more room for yourself.”

  “Either way. They’re downstairs.” She waved him off.

  He looked a little sick. Martina always felt a connection to sick people.

  “Good night, ladies. Martina–” Aleks eyed her from head to toe. “It was a pleasure. I hope we’ll see you again. Feel free to wear that anytime you visit.” Before turning, he took one last look at Carrie. “Nice work, Care Bear.”

  Martina watched Carrie on the couch. Aleks’s interest in her seemed to hurt Carrie deeply. She felt guilty about drawing attention to herself.

  Martina had never been the center of attention before, so she was a little taken aback by the obvious stares.

  “Now. Where were we?” Amie picked up the various liquor bottles and made a new batch of blue drinks.

  “I think I’ve had enough, Amie.” Martina swayed on her feet and after the gut reaction she just had to a stranger she didn’t think more alcohol would be the best idea.