Jess mumbled, “Griff’s the cowboy I never knew I wanted. He’s the Marlboro man mixed with Brad Pitt from that movie where he cut off a bear’s finger and wore it around his neck. So perfectly, wonderful, kind, sweet.”
“And full of shit!” Kel shouted. “We have to get even with the bastards. I say we all act as if we’re set on going to some filthy motels with them all, then pull a fast one on them. Are you with me, girls?”
Jess held her hand out, then Cait put hers on top, and Kel placed hers on top of theirs. “These men like to play games, sisters. They have no idea who they’ve chosen to play them with, have they?”
“They have not!” Cait chimed in.
“We’re going to make them cry like little bitches!” Jess added, earning herself frowns from her older sisters.
“Cry?” Kel asked. “Why do you always have to take it to that level? We’re not going to hurt them. I doubt the heartless asses could even be hurt. We’re merely going to screw with their libidos and leave them with balls as blue as Neptune’s hair. That’s what we’re going to do. It’ll be fun.”
“You’re a scoundrel when you want to be, Kel,” Cait told her. “I’m with you. We have to make out hardcore to get them to believe we’re all in. Then, BAM! We’ll disappear. I love it!”
“Me too,” Jess agreed. “At least I’ll get to see what it’s like to kiss Griff before I have to annihilate him.”
“But remember,” Kel cautioned them all. “Don’t get too into it. We can’t let any one of them win this awful bet they have going. No matter what. It’s our pride at stake.”
“The dreaded Flannigan pride,” Cait said. “Oh, to lose that would be a shame, wouldn’t it now?”
Cait was the wildcard. Both Jess and Kel knew that. “I’ll make sure to keep an eye on her,” Kel told Jess. “And you try to do that too. If we have to wrestle her out the back door, then we will. None of us will go down.”
“I’m with you, sis,” Jess said, then eyed Cait. “Keep your wits about you, Cait. This will spread through town like wildfire if any of us gives into these rats. And you’re not over the scandal of getting caught with Richard Dupree, kissing in the back of the school bus when you were in middle school.”
“Shut up!” Cait shouted. “Is there a thing I do that doesn’t get written into the Ashby history books? Come on. I’m not going to give into Phoenix. Even though I want to. I want to so badly. But I too have Flannigan pride coursing through my blood that’s as red as any of yours is!”
“Good!” Kel said. “Then let’s get to pretending the same way these lotharios are.”
The three followed Marty out of the office and waited to let him get back to the bar, where they saw their men talking and laughing as if they were so smart and funny and about to pull one over on them all.
Their blood began to boil as they watched the men clink their refilled beer mugs that Marty had filled for them. A toast was made, but they couldn’t hear the words they’d said. It was obvious it was about bedding them and how easy it was going to be to get into their pants.
Even Cait began to get pissed instead of horny for the hot guy who wanted to use her then dump her off like a bag of trash. She’d teach Phoenix Nelson what it meant to want someone so bad and then get blown out of the water when it didn’t happen.
Jess watched the golden curls bounce around Griffin’s wide shoulders. Shoulders she knew she’d love to run her hands over, then hang onto his huge biceps as he pummeled her into a mattress. But he’d get none of that sweet action now that he was found out to be a gambling monster who liked to use women for his sinister habit.
It was Kel who was feeling the worst pain. It was she who had been left fragile when her fiancé of two years suddenly changed his mind and moved away to New York where he married a tall runway model only a couple of months after breaking up with her and taking her one karat diamond engagement ring away from her.
Kelli Flannigan stood there watching Ethan Southern, the one man she’d given the smidgeon of a chance to in the last year, as he laughed it up with his cohorts. His olive-green eyes had danced when he spoke to her, making her think he was being truthful.
He’d gone so far as to ask her about love and kids for the love of Heaven. How could he have done such a cruel thing? How could he have said they’d have beautiful children?
Kel was about to kiss a man for the first time since her devastating breakup with Robert Finnegan. More than a year had passed since her lips had felt another’s. Could she handle it? Could she stop herself from giving in to the man she thought her body would fit like a glove?
With a deep sigh, she admitted to her sisters, “Joking aside, girls. If you see me looking at that man with stars in my eyes, grab me up and take me away from him. He could be my one weakness. He’s so completely what I’ve always wanted in a man. He’s a real man. Or so I thought he was, anyway. Just don’t let me fall for him and his pile of shit. Please. I don’t think I could take losing him if I ever fell all the way in.”
“Not to worry, sis,” Jess said, then put her arm around her oldest sister, knowing all too well the mentally fragile state she was in. After her fiancé dumped her unexpectedly, Jess had held Kellie that first week each night as Kel cried herself to sleep.
The three had each other’s backs, and the men had no idea what was in store for them.
“Let the games begin,” Kel said, then the three put on smiles and made their way to their men.
Chapter 7
The lights were dimmed as the women who now knew the men who’d been hitting on them had more going on than any of them had previously thought. Kel led the way as the three went to their men. She slid her arm around Ethan’s shoulders as she came up behind him as he sat at the bar with his two friends.
He turned to find her face close to his. “Welcome back, Kel. I’ve missed ya.”
“Have you now?” she asked in a husky whisper. “We can’t have that. How about you and I retreat to a table in the back?” She nudged his shoulder with her chin. “I’d like to get to know more about you, Ethan Southern.”
He felt a surge of heat move through him, ending with a solid thump in his jeans. “We can do that, my love.”
Kel fought the urge to slap the crap out of him as he used such a sweet term of endearment. With what he wanted, it was a crime to use such niceties with her. She took his hand and led him away from the bar and his no-good friends. Her sisters would take care of those rogues.
Cait wrapped her arms around Phoenix as she approached him from behind. He groaned a bit with her soft touch. Her lips pressed against his neck just below his left ear. “Wanna go hide in a corner booth and talk?”
He didn’t want to talk anymore. But he said, “Sure.” As he stood up, he placed his hand on the small of her back, steering her to one of the darker corners of the pub.
Jess was young and inexperienced at such blatant sexual approaches. She had to rely on being cute when she got to Griffin. She moved up next to him and placed her clasped hands on the bar in front of her. “I guess that just leaves the two of us to figure out how to spend our time while our friends make out.”
Griff cleared his throat as he looked the tall, dark blonde young lady up and down. “I think I can entertain you, Jess.” He got off the barstool and took her hand in his, leading her off to another remote area of the pub where no one would see them.
Jess was nervous. She’d never done such a thing as lead a man to think they’d get more than what they’d be getting. But she was furious that she had been chosen to be a part of the men’s sordid bet. Trying to hold her temper was a thing she found hard to do. But she’d figure out how to do it. She wanted Griff to hurt when she disappeared on him. The same way he had planned on screwing her then disappearing.
The ladies all had their men right where they wanted them. And the men thought they had their women where they wanted them. Completely unaware that they were the ones being played, the guys made jackasses of themselves as the
y dug themselves further into the murky depths of their deceptions.
Ethan was pleasantly surprised to find Kel had gotten over her aversion to their touching each other. Her hands were all over him. Moving over his shoulders and down his strong arms, she turned to face him in the booth. “You work out, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “And you seem like you do some exercising yourself.”
“No, I work a lot. I’m on my feet, moving around more than most,” she said, then turned her face to catch his lips, which lingered near hers. She had to keep telling herself that it was all fake.
So what if his lips felt like liquid heat as they pressed against hers? Who cared if he knew how to ease his tongue past her lips and into her mouth with a confidence she’d never experienced before?
Her head was going light with his kiss. It was soft, yet demanding. His tongue ran around hers with a slow twist that had her inner recesses pulsing with pleasure. The man knew his way around a woman’s mouth, she thought. Kel was sure he’d kissed more than his fair share of women in his time. She had to remind herself that the man she was kissing was a cad. A man who’d bet his friends he could get her into bed, or wherever he planned on trying to get into her pants before either of his friends could get her sisters into their beds.
The thought had her getting mad, and she found her nails biting into his massive biceps. He took it to mean she was getting more passionate and leaned her back onto the red, fake leather-covered booth chair. His body felt so damn right as he pressed his to hers.
Ethan had to admit that Kel was a fantastic kisser. He couldn’t recall a woman ever feeling so right in his arms. She tasted like spearmint, smelled like wildflowers, and felt like heaven. He pulled his mouth from hers and whispered, “Kel, I dare say, you kiss like an angel.”
She narrowed her eyes at him with a harsh glare that had him worried for a moment. Then the glare turned into a sweet smile. “And you kiss like Satan, Ethan. Perhaps I could lend you some of my good, and you could show me some of your evil?”
He growled with lust for the beautiful woman, then he had to kiss her again. She was spectacular. Their breaths mingled as they kissed and ran their hands all over the other, touching only the appropriate areas so far. But Ethan’s temptation was getting the best of him. His palms ached to cup her plump breasts. But he didn’t dare move too fast. After all, what he wanted was a thing he didn’t think she’d easily give up. He wouldn’t make his move until he had her panting and begging him to give her what he could tell she needed.
Kel laughed inside her head. Ethan wouldn’t be getting what he needed from her!
Phoenix was feeling more need for Cait than he’d anticipated. She was like a force of sexual prowess as they kissed and pressed their bodies together as close as they could while still having clothes on. Her hands persistently cupped his manhood then moved away, making him hard as a rock.
When she moved her mouth to kiss his neck, he groaned, “My God, woman. What you do to me.”
Cait was more than proud to hear him say those words. She’d tried hard to make him ache for her. And he’d hurt a lot worse when she left his ass alone for the night.
No, Phoenix Nelson would not be getting into her panties!
But she cooed into his ear, “What I want you to do to me is almost illegal, Phoenix. Tell me. Do you have a problem tying me up if I ask you to?” She bit his neck, making him moan.
He took a handful of her deep auburn hair and yanked it back, making her moan too. As he looked into the ocean green of her eyes, he said, “You like it rough, Caity-cat?”
“Let’s just say I can’t wait for you to go savage on me,” she said with a sly grin.
His cock pulsed against her where she was grinding on him. It made her ache to feel him inside her. But she’d deny herself that pleasure. She wasn’t keen on being a part of a bet, after all.
Jess was finding herself falling into Griffin’s arms far too quickly. The way he softly moved his hands over her arms and shoulders told her he could be that guy. The one she’d been dreaming about. The man who knew how to handle her the way she craved. Gentle touches were a thing she’d never experienced. Her boyfriends had all been young and gropy.
When his mouth left hers, leaving her lips pulsing from the kiss he’d given her, she found herself nearly lost in his hazel eyes. The color had gone stormy, and she could see how much he wanted her. “Griff, will you be keeping in touch with me after this night?” she found herself asking.
When he took in a deep breath, it reminded her that she was just part of a bet he’d made and nothing more than that. What he was doing was all an act to get her into bed. When his lips moved, she watched them as the words came out of his mouth, “I don’t think I want a day to go by without hearing your voice, Jess. That’s the God’s honest truth.”
He moved back in for another kiss, and Jess felt like he might be telling the truth. Frustration and fear filled her as she went voracious on him, kissing him with a vengeance she hadn’t known she had in her.
Why did he have to be using her?
Chapter 8
Kellie Flannigan hadn’t been kissed in over a year. Her entire body was quaking to be had by the man who was set on using her to win a bet. Her thoughts went to the dark side for a while as he made her moan and groan with his touch and his talented mouth.
What else could he do with that tongue? she wondered.
What would it really hurt to let him do to her what he wanted to? She needed sex, didn’t she? It had been a long time. Who would blame her for giving into the man?
He was an Adonis with a knack for love-making; Kel could tell. So what if he was going to love her and leave her?
His mouth left hers, trailing kisses up her neck. Then he whispered in her ear, “You feel like home to me, kitten.”
The Irish anger ran through her, making her head take over where her libido was letting her down.
He was a liar!
Kel decided to see just how far the man would go to get what he wanted from her. “Home, Ethan?” she murmured as she ran her legs around him and arched her body up to his. “Tell me about home.”
His teeth grazed her neck then he said, “Home, my love. You’re making a home for you inside my heart.”
Fury filled her, but she kept that under wraps as she said, “Your heart, Ethan? So soon?”
When he pulled his hot mouth off her neck to look into her eyes, she hated the fact that he could seem so damn sincere as he said, “My heart is pounding like it never has before. You’re bringing out more in me than anyone ever has. Can’t you feel the sparks that are shooting between us?”
She could feel that too. Only she was pretty sure hers were coming from a lack of sex in the last year. “I do feel them, Ethan. My sweet knight in shining armor.” Kel took his handsome face between her hands and pulled him in for another kiss.
It wasn’t in her nature to be such a liar. She was already feeling somewhat remorseful for what she was doing to the guy. As she let her body move the way it wanted to, she kept her head straight. Well, she tried to, anyway. Now and then as his kiss and touch took over, she’d lose her thoughts about how Ethan was a man who was using her to win a stupid bet. But she’d regain her sense soon after.
Kellie Flannigan would never be hurt the same way again!
It occurred to her to give Ethan a shot at being a decent human being. She pulled her mouth away from his as she looked intensely into his eyes. “Ethan, you should know that I’ve been alone for a little over a year. My fiancé of two years left me suddenly. He told me he wasn’t ready to get married.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ethan said, and he meant it.
“Then he married another woman in just a matter of months. So, you see, he was ready to get married, just not to me. And the pain I felt and still feel is a thing I’d rather not have. Do you understand me?”
Ethan looked at Kel for a long moment before figuring out
what he thought she wanted to hear. “I know your pain, Kel. I do. But you can’t stop living and loving because of what he did to you. If you want to know what I think, I believe he was a damn fool. But honestly, I’m glad he left ya. If he hadn’t, I’d never have been able to taste you like this. And that would’ve been a damn shame.”
Kel couldn’t believe how easily he let those words slip off his forked tongue. The man was a snake.
An evil snake!
Her heart was pounding with anger, but Ethan thought it was desire and passion that had her heart beating so loudly he could hear it. He kissed her again, sure that soon he’d be able to make his move that would win him the bet.
Kel was having a difficult time controlling her temper. She was aggressively raking her nails over his back. Even with his shirt on, she was pretty damn sure she was leaving marks all over him. Then she went one step further, wrenching her mouth away from his, then biting, sucking, and kissing his neck until a beautiful purple mark was left.
Secretly, Kel hoped Ethan had a girlfriend who’d be pissed at him for what he’d done. There would be no hiding the fact he’d been with another woman. And she was happy he’d be in for a fight— if Ethan had a real woman in his life.
Her curiosity was peaked, so she asked, “Can you be honest with me, Ethan?” She ran her hand over his five o’clock shadowed face.
“Sure, my love,” he said as he took her hand and kissed her palm.
“Do you have anyone in your life? You know, a woman?” She searched his eyes for any evidence that he was telling her the truth.
“There’s no woman in my life, Kel. I’m a free man. I can do what I want with whomever I want.” He licked her palm, making her body shiver.
His swollen male appendage pressed against her sweet spot, making it pulse with more want for him than she’d ever had for anyone before. She knew she could have him, if only for one time, but it seemed like it’d be worth it.
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