“Okay, pity party over,” she said, jumping up from the stool. “Time to frost the cookies.”
The buttercream frosting she’d whipped up earlier was in the refrigerator, but she still needed to make the red, green and black. She’d been rushing around all week trying to get the house ready for Mandy and Hake’s first visit, and it felt critical that everything—including the cookies—be absolutely perfect. Which was silly because they’d both always liked and accepted her for herself, and they probably wouldn’t care if the house and her cooking were no more perfect than she was, but still...
Once she’d made the colors, she filled a disposable plastic pastry bag with white frosting and began piping little white ruffles on the gingerbread men’s arms and legs.
The fairly mindless activity wasn’t enough to keep her mind from straying to Mandy and Hake, and the coming weekend. She and Mandy had talked a lot on Skype lately, and Mandy seemed…different somehow. More intense, more interested, more…something. AJ couldn’t put her finger on it, but whatever it was, it made her stomach jump with nerves and excitement. It felt like something big was on its way, like the approach of Christmas had felt when she was a kid, only bigger.
But she refused to speculate about what it might mean, because that would be one surefire way to set herself up for disappointment. She knew what she wanted to happen, and it involved the five of them spending a lot more time together than they did now—which couldn’t happen with Mandy and Hake living two states away in South Dakota.
“Stop thinking about it,” she chided herself.
Easier said than done when they were on their way here and would soon be touring the house. She was seriously considering turning on the radio as a distraction when her phone chirped its text tone from the counter by the sink.
“Thank God,” she muttered, setting down the pastry bag and brushing her hands on her jeans. Nobody texted her but Mandy—Joe and Brent still refused to give up their flip phones and move into the twenty-first century, so they always called.
AJ picked up the phone with trepidation. It was surprising not to have heard from Mandy earlier. Had they gotten a late start this morning? Was the weather holding them up? What if they’d decided not to come…?
Taking a deep breath, she swiped the screen and then just about dropped the phone.
Safe word?
She blinked at it, her heart tripping into a faster rhythm. Okay, that wasn’t exactly what she’d been expecting. Was that why Mandy seemed different? Were she and Hake planning some mind-blowing scene for her? If so, what? And who was doing the topping? God, the possibilities were endless, since she was the only one of the five of them who was a total submissive.
Punching in her password, she typed Red. Where are you?
She’d never had to use the safe word before. Never even come close. Did they really think she was going to need it?
Why wasn’t Mandy answering?
Too anxious and excited now to focus on decorating, she quickly put lids on the bowls and put the pastry bag into a plastic zipper bag, then stuffed it all into the fridge. After she’d wrapped up all the cookies and dumped her utensils into the dishwater, she went into the half-bath behind the kitchen to get cleaned up. She couldn’t decide if Mandy and Hake would be here soon or if they just wanted to do a little advance fucking with her head, and the fact that Mandy hadn’t answered wasn’t any kind of clue.
Where was Joe? And Brent? She could call and ask them, but if they were in on it, they probably wouldn’t be any more forthcoming.
As she washed her hands, AJ checked the mirror for unsightly frosting smears and didn’t see any. Maybe she should go put on some makeup and change into the new sweater she’d bought, just in case their guests arrived earlier than she expected.
Then she heard the garage door open and heavy footsteps in the hall. It must be Joe—she’d have heard Brent’s pickup pull in.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said, looping the hand towel back over the ring before turning. “Sorry I was so…”
Whatever she’d intended to say evaporated along with every lick of moisture in her mouth. It wasn’t Joe standing in the doorway of the tiny bathroom with his hands braced on the frame, hemming her in—it was Hake. And he looked like trouble with a capital Oh shit.
He leaned into the bathroom without letting go of the frame, glancing around and peeking between the hinges as if to make sure no one was behind the door.
Finally he turned toward the kitchen. “I’m sorry to bother you, miss, but my wife and I have run into some trouble and we need a place to…” he glanced over his shoulder at her, “stay for a few days.”
AJ followed him, struggling to catch up mentally as he looked around. “Oh, um—”
Hake spun around, pinning her with a hard stare. “Is anyone else here?” He took a step toward to her, looking much bigger and harder than she remembered, and she instinctively took a step back. “A boyfriend, maybe?” He moved closer, letting his dark brown gaze slide down her body.
AJ’s breath clogged in her throat. Oh holy shit, he was doing the home invasion thing, wasn’t he? And he was being way too convincing. No lip-smacking or overt leering, no cheesy Festus accent, no sidekick for comic relief like Mandy’d described in her hilarious but hot account of Brent and Joe’s roleplaying. Everything about Hake’s expression said he knew he could do whatever he wanted to her and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
And it was every bit as exciting as she’d thought it would be. Maybe more.
“Where’s…” When only a whisper of sound emerged, she swallowed with difficulty and tried again. “Where’s your wife?”
“Oh, she’ll be around,” he murmured, raising his hand to touch AJ’s short blond hair. When she flinched, he dropped it, a glint in his eyes as he let them linger on hers. “So, boyfriend? Anyone else who lives here?”
“Boyfriends,” she blurted. “Lovers, I mean.”
“Boyfriends, plural?” He raised a brow. “Funny, you don’t look like the type. In fact, you look like a luscious little country girl, ripe and ready for a good…plucking.”
The deliberate way he enunciated the word took her breath away as adrenaline snapped through her. He was almost too good at this.
“It’s true! I have two. They’re both—” She backed into a cabinet and gasped. “I mean they both live here. In fact, they should be back any minute.”
Hake stayed right on her, crowding her into the corner, bracing his hands on the countertop to trap her and leaning in way too close. He smelled like he’d been on the road all day—like hot male skin with hints of new-car scent and gasoline, mints and fast food, aftershave and Mandy’s perfume…
“You’re lying, country girl.” His breath drifted across her ear, making her shiver.
Gripping the edge of the counter, she strained backward, both to keep him from touching her and so she could make eye contact. Bad idea. The cruel amusement she saw there, the diamond-hard edge of pure determination, made her want to slide to her knees and beg for mercy—by unbuckling his belt, tearing open his fly and sucking his cock.
“I’m not,” she protested weakly.
“I think you are. I think you live here all alone.” He crowded closer, pressing his hard-on against her as he stared into her eyes. This was totally turning him on as much as it was her. “And this being a holiday weekend, I think nobody’s going notice what a handful of strangers are out here doing to that pretty little body.”
Chapter Three
Yikes! Hake Stivers was either a hardcore dominant or the best actor ever born and AJ was having the deeply conflicted submissive reaction to prove it. She could hardly believe this was the same man she’d had such fun, relaxed sexual encounters with over the past two years.
He bent his head toward her again, that taunting smile still curving his lips, and she instinctively braced her hands against his chest to push him away. It was like trying to hold back the tide. He nipped her earlobe
hard enough to send adrenaline screaming through her system, making her pant and strain harder against him. Desire was a live wire sending bolts of sensation from her nipples to her clit and back again—if her panties hadn’t been wet before, they sure as hell were now.
“Stop!” she cried, craning her head away from his seeking mouth.
“Are you using your safe word?” he murmured without backing off.
Still craning, AJ gave a breathless laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”
He didn’t bother responding. Instead, he seized her wrists and twirled her around so her back was to him with her arms crossed in front of her, then hauled her toward the garage.
Ignoring her struggles, he called through the open door, “Hey, Mandy, get in here. It’s all clear.”
“Woo-hoo!” Mandy immediately hopped up the two steps from the garage and into the short hall, slamming the door behind her, and AJ’s heart swelled with gladness at the sight of her.
But Mandy had a role to play and she wasn’t going to break character for a greeting. She eyed AJ with a frown as she walked into the kitchen, unwrapping the wool scarf from around her neck and pulling off her stocking cap. Though her straight blond hair brushed her shoulders these days, static made a number of the fine strands wave in the dry air. “What’s she doing here? I thought you said it was clear.”
“She’s not going to be any problem—are you, sweetheart?” Hake said against AJ’s ear, tightening his arms when she jumped in his hold. “You’re just the entertainment we need while we’re holed up here during this storm.”
AJ glanced at the window over the sink, half-expecting to see a blizzard outside. There were, indeed, some big flakes drifting down, but it wasn’t quite a storm yet.
“You’d better get out of here while you can,” she growled. “My bo—I mean, lovers—” Dammit, why did she always trip over that? “—will be here soon and they’ll hurt you for putting your hands on me.”
Hake chuckled. “Hear how she stumbled over ‘lovers’? She’s lying through her teeth. There’s nobody coming to save her sweet little ass.”
“Merry Christmas to us, then,” Mandy purred, setting her hat and scarf on the counter and tugging the fingertips of her leather gloves off one by one as she walked a slow circle around them. “Yum, cookies.”
When she picked up one with ruffles on it, AJ said without thinking, “Hey, I’m not done icing those yet.”
Mandy raised a mocking brow and then made a big, sensuous production of eating every bite, letting her eyes slide closed as she chewed. “Mmmm. If she’s as good a fuck as she is a cook, we may have to take her with us when we leave.”
AJ bristled, mostly at her own conflicted reaction to that idea. “Like I’d going anywhere with you.”
“Feisty, isn’t she?” Mandy said, flashing an amused look at Hake. “You’ll have to restrain her for what I have in mind.” She shrugged out of her short wool coat and carried it in the crook of her arm as she strolled across the big open dining area. “Come on, let’s go find the bedroom.”
Hake tried to drag her along and AJ resisted, trying to pry his arms from around her, but he simply adjusted his grip around her midsection, lifted her a few inches off the floor and carted her off. She knew it was a game, and that Hake would never hurt her, but being handled so easily made her feel incredibly vulnerable so she kicked her struggles up a notch. His breaths huffed deeper and harder—as did hers—but he had no trouble keeping her under control. When they approached the hall to the bedrooms, she thought about bracing her feet on either side of the doorway but couldn’t bear to leave scuffmarks on the pristine paint.
“You won’t get away with this,” she gasped.
He chuckled. “Oh, I think we’ll get away with this and a lot more.”
Ahead of them, Mandy opened doors to the coat closet and office just long enough to peek inside, and AJ abandoned the struggle in favor of watching her friend’s reactions. After all, she’d had most of the input into the interior and she wanted Mandy to like it.
At the bathroom, Mandy oohed with appreciation. “So pretty! I need to spend an hour in that tub. After,” she added under her breath, with a devilish look at AJ.
It was AJ’s turn to mock Mandy with a crook of her brow. This tub might have whirlpool jets and be big enough for a beefy man to stretch out and get comfortable, but Mandy would forget all about it when she saw the one in the master bath. Bathrooms were one area where Joe and Brent had both refused to skimp, after sharing one in a cramped RV for years.
When she opened the third door on the left, Mandy walked right in and looked around at the sparsely masculine decor with a puzzled frown.
“Joe’s room. He’d rather sleep alone than go do one of those sleep studies for his snoring.”
Mandy shook her head and sighed. “You and your imaginary lovers.”
A snort of laughter escaped AJ. “Have it your way.”
“Thanks, I will.” Finally Mandy walked through the open door at the end of the hall on the other side. “Now this is more like it.”
Hake followed her in and set AJ down but didn’t release her from his hold as Mandy looked around the large master bedroom, which was done in shades of cream, red and gold. It was probably AJ’s favorite room in the whole house, and she hadn’t even put up the final touches yet—she’d managed to keep some of her mother’s quilts sealed up in storage and Joe was going to make her a couple of quilt racks to display them on. She would have put one on the bed but it was a king and the quilts were all twin or full-size, like the beds in her parents’ house had been.
AJ held her breath, hoping Mandy would break character long enough to offer an honest reaction to the room. She’d put a lot of herself into it.
“Ariel, this is absolutely lovely,” Mandy said softly. “Bright and warm and comfortable. It looks just like you.”
Blushing in self-conscious pleasure, AJ smiled at her. “Thank you.”
Mandy touched one of the frames on the lowboy dresser. “Your parents?”
“Their wedding day.” It had been a simple ceremony in a little country church, her mother in a street-length dress of pale blue and her father in his Sunday suit, but they couldn’t have looked happier.
“Is her bouquet goldenrod?”
AJ nodded. “Dad picked it on their way to the church. They didn’t believe in wasting a lot of money on frills.” Like doctors. And lifesaving medications.
“Are we done with the small talk yet?” Hake nuzzled the side of AJ’s neck, sending a shiver through her as his arms tightened around her waist once more. “I’m ready to get down to the raping and pillaging.”
Mandy shared an amused look with AJ. “Someone’s got a one-track mind.” Still holding her coat, she sank into the overstuffed chair by the fireplace and propped her feet on the ottoman. “All right, I’m ready. You can rape and pillage at will—just don’t block my view.”
AJ frowned. Why the heck was she sitting way over there?
By the time she completed the thought, Hake had manhandled her to the bed, shoved her facedown over the side and planted his hand between her shoulder blades. Adrenaline blasted through her when he reached under her and tore the button fly of her jeans open, but she was helpless to do anything but kick at him and try to shove up off the bed.
In other words, helpless, because there was no budging him.
The feel of both her jeans and underwear being dragged down her legs had her gasping for air, her heart racing. Holy crap, it was truly scary how easy this was for him—and madly exciting, in a sick, twisted way that made her nipples prickle and tighten in her bra. The cute little zippered boots she was wearing made her jeans bunch around her ankles, stymying her attempts to kick him, especially when he put a foot down on the floor between her knees and leaned against the bed.
“There’s that pretty little ass,” he crooned, running his calloused palm over her cheeks and making AJ rear instinctively against the hand holding her down. When he slid his
fingers down between her legs, she gasped and tried to press them together but his leg was in the way. There was no hiding the evidence of her arousal—from either him or Mandy. His fingers made all kinds of wet sounds as they probed her sensitive folds.
When he grazed over her swollen clit, she couldn’t hold back a gasp, and then a groan as he did it again. And then again and again—just light passes that tightened her nipples along with everything in her abdomen. The torturous teasing made her pant and arch her hips, straining for firmer contact.
“Oh God, please,” she cried into the quilt, breathing in the scent of the JC Penney store where she’d bought it as she twisted handfuls of the fabric in her fists.
“You have no idea how tempting you are right now, Ariel,” Hake growled. “I could be inside you in less than a second and coming in less than a minute, that’s how fucking hot you are.”
AJ whimpered. By tacit agreement, they’d always stayed away from intercourse, both vaginal and anal, and she’d always been kind of relieved because she didn’t do that kind of intimacy casually. But right now all she wanted to do was throw caution to the wind and scream at him to just do it—
But not without Brent and Joe. Dammit.
“You want to come, Ariel?”
“Yes!”
He didn’t even say anything, just pressed harder as he repeatedly rounded her clit with his fingertips, and suddenly she was there, the knot of tension in her stomach exploding into waves of sensation that made scream into the quilt as they rolled over her.
She was still twitching when he slid his fingers deep into her pussy. Shocked at the sudden invasion, she tried to twist out of his hold, but he pushed her into the mattress and fucked her gently but with relentless purpose, jacking the tension in her belly back up to impossible levels within seconds. “Come again for me, Ariel,” he ordered.
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