Then again, he hadn’t slept with another woman or participated in a play session in well over a year. The reason boiled down to one woman and by damn it was time for the woman he wanted to stop running from him.
“I told you to take off your shirt,” he said, backing away from her in hopes of gaining some semblance of self-control.
He sat on the edge of the sofa’s cushion. Her training was long overdue and by the look on her face, she understood it was set to begin.
“I can’t do this without their permission.”
“Do you want to call them?” He nearly laughed at his own suggestion. Mark and Spenser would ditch their recording session in a heartbeat if they realized they had yet to consummate their relationship and were minutes away from starting her official training.
“Do you think they know?”
“I told them, Patience.” He grinned at the memory of their recent conversation. “I wouldn’t lie to my best friends. They know how I feel about you. They probably think we’ve slept together by now. I want more than your body and I won’t take your body until I’m sure I can have your heart without reservations. If you can’t give that to me, then this can’t go anywhere.”
Her face softened. “It can go somewhere.”
She might as well have told him she loved him right then and there.
“You can trust me, Patience.”
“I already do,” she admitted. “You say you’ve been truthful with them and I trust that you’re telling me the truth as well.”
“Then right now, you need to worry about me and what I want. Take off the shirt, sub.”
His tone apparently struck a nerve. She didn’t unbutton the top. Instead, she grabbed hold of the seam down the middle and ripped that little number straight from her body.
The torn material and the sight of her breasts spilling from her bra left him growling under his breath. His cock stretched as he thought of those pretty tits filling his mouth.
He leaned back in the chair and dragged his hand down the length of his erection, certain the act kicked up her desire another notch. Digging in his jeans, he pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her.
“What do you want me to do?”
“The angst is all over your face. Go ahead. Call them. I want you to tell them what you’re about to do.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Baron, this isn’t right. We’re in their bus—RV, whatever this thing is—I’m their girlfriend and—”
“For all anyone else knows, you’re their little plaything on the side when they aren’t immersed in their music. Don’t you see, baby? They want you. They love you. But even outsiders know they’ll never put you first because they can’t. Musicians, actors, artists, writers—it’s in them. Creative types always put their love for their craft first.”
“What about you, Baron. Will you put me first?”
Didn’t she realize she was already number one in his life? “I already do and you know it.”
“I’m not calling them.”
He clasped his hand over her wrist and pulled her forward. For a split second those voluptuous tits were right in his face and he was tempted—God yeah he was tempted—to rip her bra straight from her flesh. Instead, he yanked her over his lap.
“What are you doing?” She wiggled all over the place which only further ignited his desire to punish her. “Baron. Stop this!”
“Shh, Patience.” He caressed her bottom, dragging his palm from one cheek to the next until she quit struggling against him. “You know I won’t stop and you don’t want me to quit.” He kept his palm against her ass, appreciating her round form, the way she filled out those tight-fitting jeans and showcased the finest female tail he’d ever touched. “You and I won’t have secrets. We won’t keep things from each other. Do you understand?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you really think I’ll agree to a spanking?”
“Baby, you’ve earned one.” His lips twitched. “But it won’t be an outright whipping if you tell me what you want. Be honest. Right this minute, tell me. What do you want most?”
“I want you,” she whispered, resting her cheek on his thigh. “I want you to fuck me, Baron, but it doesn’t mean it is right to want that.”
“Then make that call or wait until they come home.”
The door opened and a ray of sunshine shot across the open space. As luck would have it, the McCoy boys entered at that very moment. With smirks on their faces and ideas in their breeches, they entered with that cocksure attitude best described as the McCoy swagger.
“You’re in luck, kitten.” Mark yanked Patience straight from Baron’s lap. “We’ve missed you and have no intentions of making you wait for anything.”
Chapter Seven
In Fletcher, North Carolina, Reason Richards had just stocked Clink’s main bar with alcohol when Norina Baldini pulled up a barstool and threw her books all over the place. Seemingly out of sorts, she didn’t say anything. She just kept her head down and swiveled back and forth.
“Can I get ‘cha something, little ma’am?”
“Don’t act like you’re glad to see me,” she said, sighing dramatically.
Reason grinned. “What if I am glad to see you?”
“Then you’d be one of the few,” she told him flatly.
“And why is that?” Recently employed at Clink, it hadn’t taken Reason long to realize the Cartwells protected their own and their cousin Nory needed a lot of protection. Her father was a criminal and apparently owed the mob millions of dollars. There had been more than one attempt on her life and a phony abduction as well. Her own father had been behind her kidnapping.
Son-of-a-sorry-bitch.
About that time, Kellan Andrews entered. “Hey, Nory. What’s going on, Reason?”
“I’m trying to flirt with the little lady, don’t cha know.” He shot her a wink and turned to face Kellan. “Cartwell said to hang tight until he gets here.” He pointed at Nory. “And you’re supposed wait here, too.”
Nory slapped her hands against the bar. “Okay, let’s get one thing straight. I know why I’m here.”
Kellan swung his leg over the barstool. “Since I just arrived, fill me in.”
“Yeah, I’m interested in hearing this,” Reason said. “Why is today any different than the last five or six?”
“You know,” she muttered, opening a textbook and pretending to read.
Kellan reached across the book and closed it. “No. I wouldn’t have asked if I knew the answer.”
About that time total chaos broke loose. Gunfire was rapidly sprayed into the club, setting the stage for what could’ve easily doubled as a scene from a mobster movie.
“Get Nory!” Reason screamed.
Kellan leapt from his stool and tackled Nory, shielding her body with his own and rolling out of view. “Reason! Stay down!”
“As if I needed that tip!”
More gunfire blasted inside the club. Glass shattered around them. The bullets struck wood and tile, the repetitive pinging noise resonating around them.
Keeping his shoulders against the shelving underneath the bar, Reason reached behind his hips and triggered the emergency alarm. Designed to notify the Cartwells as well as the local police department, the security measure ensured it would only be a matter of time before the first squad cars showed up. Patience, Kimberly, and Ansley paid a handsome penny to keep the local boys within an arm’s reach at all times.
Reason now understood why. “Nory! You okay, hon?”
“Swell.”
An occasional bullet was fired here or there. Broken glasses and other debris covered the concrete floor.
In the distance, the first sirens rang out. By the clarity of the alarming sounds, several cruisers were racing their way in record time.
“Just hold on, Nory!” Reason felt like a sitting duck, a pawn in some sort of sick game that undoubtedly involved Norina’s father. Remembering Tristan’s spiel about a shotgun for show, Reason flipped
up the baseboard and retrieved the weapon.
There weren’t any bullets—a fact that had been up for debate between Ansley and her men—but perhaps it would do the trick. He shoved the barrel around the side of the bar and hollered, “I know you didn’t come here to die today!”
“Well aren’t you the dutiful and brave bartender!” A few scattered shots were fired before the same man yelled, “Pass along a message to Patience McKay and the Cartwell women. Start with Miss McKay and let her know the next time we’re at her home, we won’t miss. Let the Cartwells know they can go ahead and dig two graves—one for Ansley and one for Kimberly. Oh, and the next time we walk in this club? We’ll be here for a purpose. At that time, we’ll expect Norina Baldini. Do you understand?”
The sound of numerous wheels rolling over gravel filled the parking lot surrounding the building.
“If you men valued your lives at all, you would hand her over now!”
“It’s never gonna happen you son-of-a-bitch!” Kellan rose from his squatted position and fired a few shots.
“What the hell?” Reason peered over the top of the bar and watched in surprise as the messenger caught a few slugs and went to the ground. “Fuck yeah!”
About that time, black sedans raced by the front windows. Police cruisers trailed them along with a couple of SUVs, undoubtedly driven by Mitch Colony, Brock Sheldon, and one of the Cartwells.
Cops swarmed the club, entering with their pistols drawn. Kane pushed his way inside. Peyton was right on his heels. “Nory!”
“I’m here!”
“She’s safe,” Kellan assured them, standing then.
Reason set the shotgun on the bar, feeling like a complete failure because he didn’t have ammunition or a way to protect a young, innocent girl. “Any luck outside?”
“No,” Kane replied. “We passed them on the way in but they were probably long gone by the time the cops found a place to turn around.”
“They forgot one,” Kellan said, pointing at the injured thug.
Peyton hugged Nory like she would never let her go. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine,” she assured her, turning her gaze sharply to Reason and Kellan. “And now you know why I was here. Kane couldn’t make it to the school in time to follow me home so he nominated you as my bodyguards for the afternoon. Still love working at Clink?”
Kane scowled. “I tried to be there, Nory.”
“The point is, you shouldn’t have to be,” Nory said.
“Did I ever say I loved working at Clink?” Kellan asked, clearly trying to change the subject and nodding at the cop now motioning for him.
“You’d have to love it to work here,” Nory said, taking a deep breath. “It’s not just a club. It’s a safe house for a scrawny girl hiding from the mob.”
Reason made a fist and rubbed her head. “Well, scrawny girl, at least you gave us some excitement today.”
She looked up at the cages hanging down over the elevated dance floor. “Considering where you work, there are more entertaining ways to enjoy yourself.”
“And with that comment, you’re never coming back here until you’re twenty-one,” Kane told her, steering her toward the door.
“Mr. Cartwell, we need to ask Norina some questions.”
Kane balked at that. “My brothers Braden and Evan are on their way. Ask them your questions.”
“Sir, were they here when this happened?”
“No.” Kane leveled a hard glare on the rookie, a cop who clearly didn’t realize the Cartwells owned everything from the town to those who worked in it. “Nory wasn’t here either.”
“Sir?”
Kane narrowed his gaze on the officer’s name tag. “If you value your job, Officer Banner, you’ll look the other way.”
Nory rushed to the bar, gathered her books, and smirked at Reason. “Now you know why Ansley adds the ‘work at your own risk’ disclaimer to the job applications.”
“How’d you know about that?”
“I typed them up for her,” Nory replied. “Sorry about the mess. I’ll stop by tomorrow and help with cleanup.”
“No problem, little lady.”
Seemingly sad more than shaken, she turned then to leave.
“Hey Nory?”
“Yes?”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“I know. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still marked for dead.”
Chapter Eight
“By the looks of things, brother, the party started without us.” Spenser McCoy grabbed his woman and made sure she knew he still thought of her as such.
He framed her face with his hands and laid one on her, a smooch to remember. He would’ve stopped with her lips, but once she pressed that full rack against his chest he couldn’t help himself.
Spenser reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, shooting Baron a smirk for good measure. “How’s it goin’, buddy?”
Baron and Mark shook hands and gave one another a slap on the back, but then Mark turned his attention to Patience, too. “I missed you, gorgeous.”
“Missed you right back,” she crooned, but her focus was on Baron. She seemingly sought his permission and that irked Spenser for a second, but only a second.
He was too interested in kissing his beautiful woman and reminding her of who she belonged to and why. Mark was behind her then, kissing her shoulders and whispering nonsense in her ear. She must’ve loved whatever he was saying.
Goose bumps covered Patience’s arms and neck as she shivered and giggled. She seemed a bit nervous but happy to see them all the same.
“Were you playing without us?” Mark asked, sharing a knowing look with Spenser.
They probably needed to find out how far she and Baron had gone in the event she wasn’t ready to take things to the next level with a third party. Then again, they were already into the act and it had been months since Spenser had laid her down and loved her.
Slipping her bra straps down her slender arms, Spenser let out a whistle. “Hot damn, I’d forgotten how real tits look.”
Patience gripped his chin and pulled him to her. “These better be the only ones you’ve seen in recent years.”
“Hmm mmm,” he rasped, lowering his head. “You know that’s right.” His tongue flitted across one nipple and then the other.
Her hand rested at the back of his head and she moaned as he sucked at her fullness, drawing her breast into his hungry mouth. “I’ve definitely missed this.”
Mark reached around her body then and hurriedly helped her undress from the waist down. He popped her firm ass and the slap resounded, a racket that left Spenser’s balls tight and his cock standing straight up.
“I was about to punish the little vixen,” Baron said, extending his hand and greeting Spenser. “Good to see you, friend.”
“For a minute there, I thought you’d forgotten your manners.” Spenser shot Patience a sideways glance before shaking hands with Baron. All attention returned to Patience once more.
Baron seemed a little uncomfortable then. He reclaimed his seat and Spenser went to the refrigerator for beer while Mark embraced Patience from the back, kissing her neck while fingering her nipples.
Spenser returned with beer for one and all. After passing them around, he dragged his cold can across Patience’s breasts, moistening his lips as he admired his woman.
It had been too long, far too long, but he had a sneaking suspicion Patience hadn’t been doing without. “So what have you good people been up to back home?”
“Nothing,” Baron replied. “That’s the whole problem.”
“Then I stand corrected,” he said, delighted to discover Patience had held off the big guy.
“You holding out on him, are you?” Mark asked, slipping his arms under hers and rolling his unopened beer can over her nipples.
“Sort of,” she replied, shivering. She curved her arm behind his head and played with the hair at his nape.
Her body arched
in his arms and her bare, waxed pussy was right there for the taking.
“Explain ‘sort of’ if you don’t mind,” Spenser said, wetting his lips.
“That can wait until later.” Mark always gave Patience a free pass. For now, Spenser would let it slide. He’d find out his answers soon enough. Given the heated look on his buddy’s face, Spenser had a feeling Baron hadn’t been this far or seen this much.
“Damn, what a gorgeous sight,” Spenser said, popping open his can and taking a swig.
He then sat on the recliner next to the door and reached over to lock it. He didn’t want any interruptions. At the same time, he didn’t want to wonder how far things had gone with Baron before they kicked up the fun a notch. He wanted to know facts.
Patience relaxed in Mark’s arms. “I’ve missed you.”
“Not as much as I’ve missed you,” Mark told her, still crazy in love with their woman. When they were on the road, all Mark talked about was their precious lady.
Mark put his beer on the counter and swept her into his arms. He then carried her cradle-style to the back of the bus.
“Wipe that silly grin off your face,” Baron said, nursing his beer.
“How long have we been friends?” Spenser asked.
“Too damned long.”
“A lifetime,” Spenser reminded him. “And long enough for me to know three things just by looking at ya.”
“You know me that well, do you?” Baron chuckled. “Then go for it. List them out.”
Spenser took a drink. “One, you want Patience because you love her. Two, you haven’t even had a taste of her yet because our timing sucked for you and was a victory for us. And three, you wouldn’t have taken it all the way without knowing exactly how I feel about it because even though we more or less said ‘go ahead’, down deep you wanted us here for the first time.” He narrowed his eyes and chewed on his lip in thought. “Is today the first time or are you and Patience planning to postpone the inevitable until neither one of you can stand it?”
“We’re already at that point.”
Sex Fest [Cowboy Sex 8] (Siren Publishing LoveEdge) Page 8