Chapter 11: The Invitation
The evening had that particular quality of a thing that had finally, mercifully, reached its end. The ocean breathed against the shore, a slow, rhythmic exhale that seemed to be telling them all to just relax, just exist, just be. On the deck of Judy's beach house, the wooden planks still warm from the day's sun, the five of them had collapsed into the oversized outdoor furniture like they'd been poured there. Mandy had her legs thrown over Ben's lap, her toes idly tracing patterns against his thigh. Mai perched on the railing, her legs dangling over the edge, looking out at the dark water like she was expecting a sea serpent to breach at any moment. Felicity had curled into Bruce's side, her head resting against his broad shoulder, and Bruce had his arm around her, his other hand holding a bottle of beer that had long gone warm.
The others had dispersed an hour ago. Rick and Stacy had slipped away first, pleading exhaustion, their hands intertwined as they'd walked down the beach toward their own condo. Fatima and Hank had followed shortly after, Hank grumbling good-naturedly about needing to check on "the girls" and their meditation center, though everyone knew he just wanted to make sure Maryam had stocked the fridge with something other than protein shakes. Beth and Marty had taken Calista to Shiv's house, the half-elf's silver hair catching the moonlight as she'd waved goodbye, her ethereal beauty making even that simple gesture look like something out of a painting.
Now it was just them. The young ones, the ones who had somehow become the next generation of this strange, sprawling family of chaos and love.
The silence was comfortable, the kind that came from shared experiences and the knowledge that no one was going anywhere for a while. Mandy's mind, however, was not comfortable. It was churning, turning over a memory like a smooth stone in her palm.
The courtroom. The spell that Alban had cast, forcing her and Agent Kay together on that polished table while the Unseelie Court had watched. The way Jess's body had felt beneath her hands—tight, tense, fighting against the magic even as it surrendered to the pleasure. The sounds she'd made, caught between humiliation and ecstasy. The way her dark eyes had blazed with something that wasn't just anger when it was over.
Mandy had promised Ben a turn with the sexy agent. She'd said it in the heat of the moment, in the aftermath of the trial, when everything had been adrenaline and relief. But she was a woman of her word, and more than that—she was her mother's daughter. Casey Williamson had never met a boundary she couldn't casually step over if the opportunity for joy presented itself.
And Mandy liked to share.
She turned her head, her lips finding Ben's ear. The porch light cast a warm glow over his features, his dirty blonde hair still slightly damp from the shower he'd taken earlier. He smelled like soap and something distinctly him, and she felt a familiar pulse of heat low in her belly.
"You know," she murmured, her breath warm against his skin, "I bet Jess would love a turn with you."
Ben's eyebrows lifted. "Jess?"
"Agent Kay." Mandy's smile was slow, wicked. "The one I fucked on the courtroom table while an entire court watched. The one who looked at you like she wanted to eat you alive when we walked out of there."
Ben's eyes darkened, the way they always did when she talked dirty to him. His hand found her ankle, thumb pressing into the bone. "You think so?"
"I know so." Mandy shifted, swinging her legs off his lap and turning to face him more fully. "She's got that whole repressed-agent thing going on. All that discipline, all that control. And I'd love to watch you break her."
The words hung in the air between them, charged and electric. Ben's jaw tightened, and she could see the thought taking root in his mind, the image of Jessica Hernandez—Agent Kay—coming undone beneath his hands.
Mai's whistle cut through the moment, low and appreciative. She'd turned on the railing, her blue eyes glittering with interest. "Did I hear that right? You're trying to get that gorgeous agent over here for a shag?"
Mandy grinned. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do."
Felicity's cheeks had flushed that pretty pink that Mandy found endlessly endearing. She'd shifted in Bruce's arms, her blue eyes wide. "She was... I mean, in the courtroom, she was..."
"Gorgeous? Desperate? Absolutely wrecked?" Mai supplied helpfully. "Yes to all of the above."
Bruce let out a low chuckle, his Scottish brogue thick and warm. "Well, that sounds like a fine way to end the night. I've seen that agent's file, you know. Golden Wands keep track of their people. She's got a reputation for being one of the hardest to read." He paused, a grin spreading across his stubbled face. "Sounds like someone's already cracked the code, though."
Mandy's fingers were already moving, pulling her phone from her pocket. The screen glowed in the darkness, and she scrolled through her contacts until she found the entry she'd added after the trial. Just the name "Jessica" and a phone number that had been scrawled on a napkin and pressed into her hand with more force than strictly necessary.
"You're really going to call her?" Ben asked, his voice pitched low.
"I really am." Mandy met his eyes, holding his gaze. "Unless you don't want to. I'm not going to push you into anything."
Ben's answer was immediate, fierce. "I want to. Fuck, Mandy, I want to. The way she looked at you on that table—the way she looked at me when she thought no one was watching—" He shook his head. "Yeah. I want to."
Mandy pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.
The dial tone buzzed once, twice, three times. Mandy was starting to think it would go to voicemail—Jess was probably asleep, or decompressing, or doing whatever Golden Wand agents did when they weren't being forced to fuck on courtroom tables—when a voice crackled through the line.
"Mandy." It wasn't a question. It was a statement, flat and professional. "Is something wrong?"
"Mandy smiled at the sky. "Nothing's wrong, Jess. I was just thinking about you."
A pause. "Thinking about me."
"Mm." Mandy stretched, making sure the sound carried. "I'm at Judy's beach house. Just me, Ben, Mai, Felicity, and Bruce. We're all sitting on the deck, watching the stars, talking about you."
"About me."
"About how good you looked in that courtroom." Mandy's voice dropped lower, intimate. "About how good you felt when I had my hand between your legs, making you scream while a bunch of elves watched."
The silence on the other end was sharp enough to cut glass. Mandy could picture Jess perfectly—standing somewhere, probably barefoot in a hotel room, her dark hair loose around her shoulders, her jaw tight.
"You're drunk," Jess finally said.
"I'm not. I'm very, very sober." Mandy let her head fall back against the cushion. "And I'm very, very interested in hearing whether you'd like to come over and let Ben have a turn with you. I know you felt something today, Jess. The way your body responded to mine wasn't just magic. It was chemistry. And I'd love to watch it happen all over again."
Another pause, longer this time. Mandy could hear something in the background—a television, maybe, or the hum of a city that never fully slept.
"You have a lot of nerve," Jess said, but her voice had lost some of its edge.
"I have a lot of things. Nerve is just one of them." Mandy winked at no one in particular, though Mai was grinning at her from the railing like a proud older sister. "So? You coming or not?"
The line went quiet. Mandy held her breath.
"I'll be there in less than an hour."
The call ended without ceremony, and Mandy stared at her phone for a moment before a slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. She looked up at the others. "She's coming."
Ben was already sitting up straighter, his eyes bright with anticipation. "No shit?"
"No shit. She's going to try to pretend she's here for professional reasons, probably. She'll have some cover story ready, some excuse about checking on witnesses or whatever." Mandy shrugged. "But she'll be here."
"And then?" Felicity asked, her voice soft.
"And then," Mandy said, standing and stretching her arms above her head, "we find out just how much of that repressed-agent thing is real, and how much of it is just waiting for the right excuse to shatter."
The moon hung low and golden over the water, and the waves kept up their steady rhythm. They waited.
Thirty minutes passed. Conversations drifted in and out of focus, light and easy. Mai recounted a story about a livestream that had gone wrong when a dolphin had gotten too curious about her underwater camera. Felicity talked about the classes she was taking—she'd been reading something about faerie anthropology, and she couldn't quite shake the feeling that her mother had written half the assigned texts. Bruce had mostly listened, his hand tracing idle patterns on Felicity's shoulder, his grin easy.
Ben's knee bounced with barely contained energy. Mandy watched him from the corner of her eye, feeling a pull of affection and desire. He was all raw muscle and sweet smiles, the kind of jock who secretly memorized poetry because it made him feel closer to his mom. The knowledge that he was about to be handed a woman like Agent Kay—beautiful, controlled, dangerous—and asked to break her open, settled in Mandy's chest.
The gate at the side of the house clanged.
All five of them turned. A silhouette moved through the shadows, tall and lean, moving with the deliberate grace of someone trained not to take a single unnecessary step. As she stepped into the light of the porch, Mandy felt the air shift.
Jessica Hernandez was not in her usual uniform. She was wearing jeans and a plain black t-shirt, her dark hair loose, her face bare of the professional makeup she'd worn at the trial. She looked younger like this, softer, though her eyes still held that sharp, assessing edge.
"Agent Kay," Mandy said, rising. "You made it."
"Jessica," she corrected, her voice quieter than it had been on the phone. "I'm off duty."
"Jessica." Mandy tasted the name, rolled it around. "Come sit. You want a drink?"
Jess looked at the others, her gaze landing briefly on Ben before skittering away. "I brought my own." She held up a small bag—something from a liquor store, most likely. "Am I interrupting?"
Mai laughed, light and easy. "You're exactly on time. We were just talking about you." She patted the spot on the railing next to her. "I'm Mai, by the way. I live here. You've already met Mandy, and that's Felicity—" a gesture, "—Bruce, and Ben. Ben's the one Mandy's been telling you about."
"Ben's the one she's been telling me about," Jess repeated, a note of wary amusement in her voice. She settled onto the edge of a lounge chair, putting herself just outside the circle. "And what exactly have you all been planning for tonight?"
"Nothing too complicated," Mandy said, moving closer. She deliberately positioned herself between Jess and Ben, a bridge between them. "Just a proposition."
"A proposition." Jess's jaw tightened. "Let me guess. You want me to fuck your boyfriend."
Mandy laughed, genuinely delighted. "I want you to do a lot more than that, Jessica. But yes, him, and me, and maybe a little audience. You've seen the way the world works, right? With Jan and the Green Moons, with all the magic. There's no point pretending we're anything other than what we are."
"And what are we?"
Mandy leaned in, close enough to smell the faint scent of soap on Jess's skin. "People who want each other. Don't tell me you didn't feel it in that courtroom. The way your body just opened up for me. The way you came when I told you to." She let her voice drop to a whisper. "I know you're curious. I know you've thought about it. About me. About what it would be like to let go without the magic forcing you."
Jess's eyes flickered toward Ben, then back to Mandy. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lower lip.
"You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"Not a chance."
The seconds stretched. The waves kept their rhythm. Then Jess let out a long breath, and something in her posture shifted, squared her shoulders. She looked at Ben directly.
"You're her boyfriend?"
"Among other things," Ben said, and his voice was steadier than Mandy expected. He stood, moving to Mandy's side. "I'm not going to pretend I don't find you attractive, Agent. I've seen the way you move. I've seen the way you fight." He paused, a half-smile touching his lips. "I'd be lying if I said I haven't thought about it."
Jess's gaze was unwavering. "You're serious about this."
"Serious as a heart attack."
She let out a sound that was almost a laugh, but not quite. "Okay." She said it like a surrender. "Okay, let's see what you've got."
Mandy moved first. She crossed the space between them, her body pressing against Jess's, her hands finding the hem of that plain black t-shirt. Jess tensed—her whole body went rigid—but she didn't push away. She didn't say no.
Mandy kissed her.
It was different from the courtroom. There, it had been magic driving them, the desperate, burning need of a spell with its own agenda. This time, it was choice. This time, Jessica was letting herself be kissed by this woman she barely knew but couldn't stop thinking about.
And she kissed back.
Mandy let her hands slide beneath the shirt, finding warm skin, tracing the lines of muscle that spoke of years of training. Jess's mouth opened beneath hers, and Mandy swallowed the sound she made—a soft, reluctant, hungry thing.
Mai let out another low whistle, but no one was paying attention to her anymore.
Ben stepped closer, his body pressing against Jess's back, his hands settling on her hips. She jumped slightly, startled by the contact, but she didn't move away. His lips found her neck, trailing down the column of her throat, and Mandy felt the shudder that ran through her.
"Ben," Mandy said, her voice low and rough, "help me get her naked."
It was easier than it should have been. The t-shirt came off easily, leaving her in a simple black bra. Her jeans were next, unbuttoned and peeled down her thighs, revealing legs that were lean and powerful. Jess stood between them, pressed between Mandy and Ben, her dark skin flushed, her hands—suspended halfway between push and pull.
"You okay?" Mandy asked, her hand finding Jess's cheek, turning her face back toward hers.
Jess's eyes were bright, conflicted. "I don't—I've never done anything like this. Not without a mission. Not without orders."
"Then tonight, you're free." Mandy kissed her again, softer this time. "Tonight, you just get to be Jessica. And Jessica is a woman who wants to be touched."
Ben's hands had found her breasts, kneading through the lace of her bra. Jess gasped, her head falling back against his shoulder, her body arching into the touch. Mandy watched her face—the way her lips parted, the way her eyes fluttered shut, the way her body finally, finally began to relax.
"Fuck," Jess breathed, "you two are going to wreck me."
"That's the plan," Mandy said, and she lowered her mouth to Jess's nipple, her tongue circling the stiff peak through the fabric.
The feel of her mouth drew a low moan from Jess, her hand sliding into Mandy's hair to pull her closer. On the other side, Ben was working on her bra clasp, his fingers fumbling slightly with the unfamiliar catch. Jess laughed breathlessly, reaching behind her.
"Allow me," she said, and the bra came off in one smooth motion.
The moon was bright enough to see every line of her, every muscle and curve. Her skin was warm to the touch, and Mandy traced a path down her belly with her fingertips.
"You're gorgeous," Mandy said. "You know that?"
Jess's mouth quirked. "I've been told."
"By people who were telling the truth, then." Mandy dropped to her knees, her fingers hooking into the waistband of Jess's panties. "Let me taste you."
The underwear slid down her thighs, past her knees, pooling at her feet. Jess stepped out of them, and Mandy pressed her mouth to the inside of her thigh, kissing her way up. A sigh escaped Jess's lips, something between surrendering and anticipating.
"Ben," Mandy said, her voice muffled against Jess's skin, "get the rest of her clothes off. And yours. I want you fucking me while I eat her out."
Ben stripped with the speed of desire. His shirt hit the deck, his jeans followed, and his cock stood thick and desperate. Mandy glanced back at him, a smile of approval playing on her lips.
"Good boy."
She turned back to Jess, her hands settling on her hips, and then her mouth found the wet heat between her thighs. Jess cried out, her legs buckling slightly, Ben catching her before she could fall.
"Oh—fuck—" Jess's hands fisted in Mandy's hair. "You—you can't just—"
"I can," Mandy said, her tongue sliding through the slickness. "And I am. And you're going to come on my face, and then Ben's going to fuck you, and then I'm going to ride him while you watch. Sound good?"
Jess's answer was a moan as Mandy’s tongue found her clit, her hips rocking in an instinctive rhythm. In the background, Mandy heard Mai’s breathy laugh and the shuffle of clothes coming off. She glanced to the side and saw that, at some point, someone—probably Bruce—had turned on the outdoor string lights, casting the deck in a warm, golden glow.
Mai had settled onto the low loveseat, naked, her legs open as she watched them with open hunger. Felicity, similarly bare, was nestled in Bruce's lap, her head tilted as she studied the scene with wide, scholarly eyes. Bruce was grinning, his Scotland accent thick when he spoke.
"Fucking hell," he said, "watching this is better than any show I've ever seen."
Mandy smiled against Jess's cunt and went back to work with renewed focus, her fingers joining her tongue, sliding inside. Jess’s body responded—hips bucking, back arching, hands twisting in the fabric of the lounge cushions.
"Come for me, Jess," Mandy said, pulling back just long enough to speak. "Let me feel it."
She immediately buried her tongue again, laving at the swollen nub, sliding her fingers deeper, curling them just so. Jess shouted something—a word, a protest, a plea—and the orgasm ripped through her, leaving her body shuddering, clenching, undone.
Ben was there, catching her when her legs gave out, his hands gentle even as they guided her down onto the nearest lounger. "Okay," he murmured against her ear. "I've got you. I've been waiting to feel you come apart."
She let him position her body, let him slide between her thighs. His weight settled against her, the heat of him undeniable. Mandy watched from the side, her own body burning with need. She wrapped her hand around Ben's cock, slick with anticipation, and guided him to Jess's entrance.
He pushed inside, slowly, giving her time to adjust. Jess's head fell back, a deep groan escaping her. Ben's jaw tightened, a shudder running through his frame as he seated himself fully.
"Good?" Mandy asked, her hand finding Jess's breast, teasing the nipple.
Jess could only nod, her eyes glassy, her body already rising to meet Ben's next stroke.
"Fuck, Ben," she breathed. "You're—you're big."
"Har." Ben laughed breathlessly. "I've been told."
Mandy leaned over, pressing a kiss to Jess's lips, swallowing the sounds she made. Ben fucked her with a rhythm that was steady, deep, delicious. Mandy could feel it in her own body, a phantom echo of what Jess was experiencing, and she reached down to touch herself, her fingers working in time with Ben's thrusts.
"I want you," Mandy said, pulling back to look at Jess fully. "After this. When you've come again. I want you on Ben while he fucks me."
Jess's eyes widened. "You want to—"
"I want to be in the middle. I want to feel both of you. I want to feel your body against mine while he fucks me." Mandy's hand moved faster, her breath quickening. "I want to be so goddamn full that I forget my own name."
Jess didn't answer with words. She reached down, grabbed Mandy's wrist, pulled her up until their mouths crashed together. It was hungry, bruising, desperate. When she finally pulled back, her lips were swollen, her dark eyes blazing.
"Fuck," she said. "Okay. Okay, yes."
Ben's rhythm had slowed, giving Jess time to recover. He looked between the two women, his face flushed, a grin threatening to break through. "You two are going to be the death of me. I can already tell."
"Better get used to it," Mandy said. "We've got all night."
She moved around them, positioning herself on her back on the wide lounger. Ben pulled out of Jess with a slick sound, both of them gasping. He moved up, positioning himself between Mandy's thighs, and slid home with a groan that came from somewhere deep.
"Yes," Mandy hissed, her nails scraping against his back. "Yes, just like that—fuck, Ben, you feel amazing—"
"Fuck, you're tight," he managed, his forehead resting against hers.
"Maybe you should get a little tighter," Jess said, her voice rough as she crawled over Mandy's body, straddling her shoulders. "Open wide."
Mandy's mouth was already open. Jess pressed down onto her, and Mandy buried her tongue inside Jess's wet, slick cunt, tasting herself still on her skin. The sensation—the weight of Jess on her face, the steady rhythm of Ben fucking her from the other end—was overwhelming, a perfect, suffocating pressure.
"Oh—fuck—" Mandy cried out, her hips arching against Ben, her tongue working frantically to drive Jess to another peak.
Ben fucked her with abandon, his movements punctuated with grunts of effort, his hands gripping her hips hard enough to bruise. The sounds they made—wet, obscene, animalistic—echoed off the glass walls of the house, carrying out over the waves.
Mai, whose hand was stroking herself as she watched, gave a low, appreciative laugh. "Fucking hell," she said, her English accent thick. "You lot are proper show-offs."
Felicity was the one who answered. She had moved off Bruce's lap and settled on her knees in front of him, one hand curling around his Scotland cock. "Are you complaining?"
"Complaining? Love, I'm just taking notes." Mai's grin was sharp. "I'll be filing this one under 'things I want to try.'"
Bruce laughed, a warm, rolling sound, his fingers carding through Felicity's hair as she guided his cock into her mouth. He had to look away, his eyes finding Mandy and Jess and Ben, entranced.
Jess came first, with a cry that was half-formed, her thighs clamping around Mandy's head. Mandy swallowed her release, humming her satisfaction, which set Jess off again. Then Mandy's own orgasm caught her in its grip. She screamed against Jess's cunt as she came hard, convulsing against Ben.
Ben lasted three more thrusts before he withdrew with a shout, his seed spilling over her belly. The three of them collapsed together, a tangled, shining heap, breathing hard, the world spinning.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The waves, the hush of the wind, and their own panting breaths formed the silence. Mandy's head rested against Jess's thigh, her hand finding Ben's, gripping it tight.
"That," Mai said, from somewhere far away, "was absolutely worth the phone call."
"Not bad for a first attempt," Jess said, her voice a wreck, a wry smile curling her lips. "What else you got?"
Mandy didn't answer. She just pulled them closer, the moon bright above them, the ocean whispering below, and let the night hold them all a little while longer.