OvercomingtheNeed by Zenobia Renquist Page A

him wearing
nothing but swim trunks made Naomie want to throw him to the ground and have
her way with him. If he weren’t men-only, she might have.
    She said, “I take it from the twinkle in your eye Damon said
yes.”
    Luke’s grin got bigger. “He took some convincing but yeah.”
    “Good, because neither of us could figure out what to get
you for a housewarming gift, so that is perfect.”
    “I’ve always thought of Dane as God’s gift.”
    “Funny. He thinks the same thing.” She winked at her
husband, who flicked her off. “You already had that. If you want more, you have
to wait until after the party.”
    Dane chuckled.
    Luke said as he tapped Naomie’s nose, “That means you still
need to get me something.”
    She pouted. “Oh poo. Well it’s going to be late then.”
    “This is you we’re talking about, Naomie. When have you ever
given a gift on time?”
    Dane said, “She’s never late for my birthday or our
anniversary. Hell, she was even early last Christmas.”
    Luke rolled his eyes. “When has she ever given a gift on
time that didn’t involve sex?”
    “Oh, in that case, yeah. You’re totally right.”
    Naomie stuck her tongue out at them. “Anyway. Where’s
Damon?”
    Luke gestured to the house. “Mixing drinks in the kitchen.
Come on. I’ll show you around then you can throw yourself to the lions.”
    Naomie looked at the many people staring at her. Except for
Arisa and Fred, who were heading over, she would have pegged the guests for
hyenas from the way they watched her and bided their time, waiting to pounce.
They wouldn’t so long as Dane was standing next to her. Everyone knew Dane
shared but no one liked to test the theory where he could see.
    Dane grunted and the people closest to them backed up a
step. He smirked. If anyone was a lion, it was him. And like any lion
protecting his pride, his impressive stature kept the hyenas at bay.
    Naomie smacked his stomach. “Stop intimidating everyone or
no one will want to play with me.”
    “Good.”
    “Dane.”
    “Yeah. Yeah.” He turned his attention to Arisa and Fred.
“Speaking of…”
    Arisa hugged Naomie and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
“Hi, baby doll. Late as usual.”
    Naomie said, “It was Dane’s fault.”
    Fred nudged a finger against Naomie’s right nipple. “I think
it was yours and this swimsuit. It’s practically see-through.”
    “Get me wet and it’ll be totally see-through.” Naomie
winked.
    “If you insist.” Fred grabbed Naomie’s hand and said to
Dane, “We’ll be confiscating her. Thanks.” She started leading Naomie to the
pool before Dane could respond.
    Naomie waved over her shoulder at him. “Bye, Big D.”
    Dane heaved a breath and shook his head as he waved back. To
Luke, he said, “Lead on.”
    Luke said in an amused tone, “No point getting bent out of
shape about it. You knew this would happen when you decided to put her in a
swimsuit and bring her to a pool party.”
    “This would happen if I put her in a burlap sack and took
her to a…”
    Naomie didn’t catch the last part because Dane and Luke
moved out of earshot as they headed into the house. It didn’t matter what he
said because the outcome was always the same. No matter where Naomie went or
what she wore, someone was going to want to have sex with her. It was up to her
to decide whether that someone would get the chance or not.
    She was proud of the harem she’d amassed for herself.
Looking over the crowd of guests, she saw quite a few of her regulars. That was
mostly because they worked with Arisa at her bakery and Naomie had spent a few
weeks helping out there—both making cakes and being decorated as one…or two…or
seven.
    Naomie asked, “How many cakes have I been?”
    Arisa snorted. “That question is out of left field.”
    “Not really. Most of the people who decorated me are here.
It brought up fond memories and I realized I lost track.”
    “I have to think about that.” Arisa frowned a