Tara and August looked at one another with complete understanding as August put a consoling hand on Ms. Mary’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ms. Mary. Kelsey isn’t the woman I thought she would be. I should have never come on this show. But I can’t regret it because I met Tara and I wouldn’t change that.”
Tara smiled up at him and he winked at her.
Ms. Mary cackled again. “Hah! Do you know why I came here tonight to see you two?”
They shook their heads no in unison while Tara visibly gulped.
“Because I’m a real Charlie’s Angel… I’m a plant!” Mary clapped her hands and laughed loudly as she watched both Tara and August’s faces. “The producers sent me in to be a spy. Guess they figured nobody would suspect an old lady. So they gave me one of those fancy little spy-cams and sent me on late-night excursions to spy on the contestants and Kelsey. I’m whooped from all the shenanigans going on around here. Can’t say I was too upset over you two hooking up, either. Not one bit. Kelsey deserved what she got from you, Tara. Guess she was just as ornery back in high school, huh? ”
“You know about what Kelsey did to me?” Tara asked astonished.
Mary winked. “I know everything, kiddo. I’ve had access to things the rest of you haven’t on this island. Like the internet—all under the guise of being a plant. I found a friend or two of Kelsey’s who were pretty snockered over not being picked as jury foreman. They spilled the dirt on what she did to you, Tara and I spilled it to George last night because I knew what he and Kelsey were doing and I knew he’d want to impress Henry. He’s a suck up and Henry loves controversy. I also needed to buy time to put that damn tape in the machine, you know. So it would be ready for today’s wedding. I knew George would never have the chance to show the tape he’d made of the two of you because I’d get it first. He’s stupid enough to leave that camera lying around every night, so I snatched it. Who would suspect me anyway? I am, after all, the one who gave him the dirt on you, Tara.”
Tara gripped August’s hand and looked down at her feet.
Ms. Mary gave Tara a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry I let him barge in on the two of you like that at the cove, and I’m just sorry you had to find out about what happened to Tara that way, August. It was Tara’s story to tell you, but I had to keep you two out of trouble somehow. ”
Tara’s face became slack with disbelief as it all sunk in. “You told George? You have the tape of August and me?”
Mary patted Tara’s hand. “Yep. It’s destroyed. It’ll never see the light of day and yes, I told George about the locker room, Tara. I told you I had to find a way to get him away from that damn chapel long enough to get the tape in there. The wrong tape. Kelsey was only yanking George’s crank anyway. She didn’t care who she married. Though, I’m sure she would have preferred August over Vinny. She just wanted the money and she wanted George to help her make connections in Hollywood.”
Mary smiled. “And don’t you worry about George telling anyone about you and Kelsey, Tara. I think the press will have bigger plans for him now that he’s been caught breaking the show’s strict hands-off-the-players rule, but he’s got to adhere to a strict confidentiality clause too. He’s in deep enough as it is. I can’t make any promises about some of those girls you went to high school with, though. You two better lay low for awhile just to be safe, though I’d sure like to see Kelsey’s face when she finds out August ended up with you, my girl!”
August’s mind raced as he began to put it all together while Tara didn’t move a muscle, remaining motionless. He was the first to speak, and his voice was rough on its way out. “I think I speak for Tara, as well as myself when I say you go ahead and do what you have to do for the show, Ms. Mary. You can tell them all about us if they make you because of the contract. I still don’t regret it.” August’s jaw twitched.
Ms. Mary chuckled softly. “After everything I just told you, do you really think I give a darn that Tara stole you right out from under Kelsey’s stuck-up nose? I can tell you I sure as heck didn’t think I’d ever catch her with George, but I got lucky and caught them red-handed! I’m not giving you two up and if George ever leaks a word of this thing between you, I’ll deny I ever saw a thing and I’m just the person to do that. The girls I contacted from your old high school think I’m a reporter from a made-up paper. I’ve tied up all of my loose ends,” she said smugly.
“But wait,” Tara interjected, holding her hand up. “How can the show possibly be happy about all of this controversy? It’s going to look really bad isn’t it?”
Ms. Mary just smiled slyly. “Economics, kiddo. They don’t have to pay out the money if no one marries Kelsey, now do they? I saw Henry acting all sympathetic with you, August, but he knew all along something was going to happen. He just didn’t know what. Henry told me to keep it to myself and I did. I told him I had something big and that was all. Henry was as surprised as you were, even if he did know I had something on Kelsey. ”
August expelled a gust of air and smiled wryly. “So you were the one who gave Kelsey that rash weren’t you? And the runs?”
Tara shook her head in disbelief. “Ms. Mary, you gave Kelsey that rash? I can’t believe the producers would let you do something like that.”
August nodded, “And the shoe incident too?”
“Hey, I’m no dummy. I took some liberties with my spy status and I’m not ashamed to say I did. The producers didn’t need to know about it … I got a hold of Kelsey’s application and found out she’s allergic to Niacinimide. Better known as B-3, a vitamin you can get in any pharmacy. I crushed it up and put it in her fruit drink. Instant rash, ” Mary snickered. “I would never do something to harm her forever, but I wouldn’t be a good Christian woman if I didn’t admit I thought about it. Good thing this ended when it did. I was going to turn her hair green next.
“Oh, my God!” Tara howled. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing, but I have to know… The runs?”
Ms. Mary shot them a look of satisfaction. “Laxatives in chocolate bars. Don’t even ask about the shoe. Just remember Ms. Mary isn’t such an old coot.”
“But how could you possibly know Kelsey would sleep with George?” Tara questioned.
Mary snorted again, “I didn’t, but my instincts told me that Kelsey was a hussy at heart and so I followed her around just like I was supposed to. It was just more luck on my part to find that Kelsey and George were doing the bump and grind.”
“Oh, Ms. Mary. How did you get them on tape?” Tara was picturing Ms. Mary knee deep in palm trees, hiding behind potted plants.
“I didn’t do that either, George did that all on his own, seems George likes to watch.” Ms. Mary said smugly. “I just happened on that. Kelsey showed the world what a harlot she is and I didn’t have to help her one iota.”
“Henry knew?” August exclaimed again, still unable to wrap his brain around the notion.
Ms. Mary huffed. “Of course he did.”
August scratched his head. He was looking forward to getting back to a simpler way of living. No more glitz.
“Okay, kiddies,” Ms. Mary slapped her legs. “I have to get back and you can’t breathe a word of this. Hear me? Now before I leave, what I wanna know is—what the hell were you going to do at that altar, August Guthrie?”
August made a face and figured it was best not to tell Mary about Vinny. Though, as crafty as she was proving herself to be, she probably already knew. “Turn Kelsey down, of course. I couldn’t leave the game because Aaron did, but I would have left a long time ago if I could have.”
Ms. Mary squeezed August’s hand, “Nah, you didn’t want to leave Tara and I don’t blame you. I thought Josiah and I were bad when we were first married, but you two take the cake! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much motion in the ocean! ”
Tara’s cheeks stained with color. “So you aren’t going to turn us in?”
“Now why the heck would I do that? You made the spying thing easy for me. I always knew where you an
d this hunk were. It was two less people to keep track of as far as I was concerned,” she chuckled.
“What about Kelsey? Won’t she sue for defamation or something? That was a pretty graphic video tape.” Tara said.
“Um, no, I don’t think so. That Kelsey signed her soul away to the devil when she signed onto this show. It’s airtight and chock full of disclaimers if Kelsey was caught at anything unethical. I doubt they’ll show the whole thing on national television, but you can be sure they’ll have snippets…”
“You know Ms. Mary…” August said, before trailing off for a moment. “Why did you keep voting for me if you wanted to get back at Kelsey? I don’t think I’ve ever done something so horrible that I deserved her.”
“Didn’t matter who I voted for, August. I had that tape of Kelsey and George day three of the show. The moment it was played at the wedding she would have been eliminated, so even if you did want to marry her, you’d have done it without the chance for a million bucks. Like you kids say, payback’s a bitch … she took Josiah’s money, I took hers.” Mary had a faraway look in her eyes as she continued, “But I also wanted to know if you’d fight for your woman, August. Tara’s a good girl and she deserves a nice man who’ll fight for her. A man just like you—a hunky man just like you. ” Ms. Mary wiggled her eyebrows.
She rose and hugged Tara, then August. “Pay attention to me. I want you both to keep in touch with me and keep your mouths shut. Okay?”
Tara began to tear up. “I’ll miss you Ms. Mary. ”
“Yeah, yeah. Me too. Oh, and one more thing. That Vinny, I’m pretty sure he’s gay too. He skedaddled out of that chapel like there was a ball of fire hot on his ass. You watch out for him. Bye, lovebirds.” She sniffed and headed out the door.
August turned to Tara. She had the same look of shock that August was sure he wore.
Tara giggled suddenly, “Well, Mr. Guthrie, this has been quite a day, wouldn’t you say? ”
“Yep and now for the consolation thing…” Wiggling his eyebrows, he threw her back on the bed and had his wicked way with her.
* * *
Tara smoothed the lacy negligee over her hips, pausing at how utterly ludicrous it was to even put it on. August never noticed these futile attempts at femininity. He liked her naked and, well … naked.
Sighing, Tara rubbed the last of the cream over her arms and opened the window to their suite. She savored the rush of the tide rolling in and the clean, salty air.
“Ahem, Ms. Douglas, come and sit by me. Now.”
Hands on hips, she strode to the bed, where he lay completely naked. “You know, Mr. Guthrie, you are awfully demanding for a naked guy. Notice, I am not naked.”
“Yep.”
Tara pouted, “Don’t you have anything to say about how pretty I look?”
“Very nice. Take it off.”
She clucked her tongue at him as she wiggled out of the nightie. “There, happy? ”
August winked at her. “Eternally. Now, c’mere.”
She swung her legs over his hips and smiled down at him. His thick cock pressed against her ass, hot and ready. “It’s beautiful here, August, don’t you think?”
He caressed the swell of her hips with his hands. “Yep.”
She leaned into him, letting the warmth seep into her skin. “Not that we’d know that, I only get glimpses of the beach from the window. ” Leaning back, she rested her hands on his thighs. Her breasts pushed forward enticingly. and he cupped them, thumbing her nipples to stiff peaks.
“We’ll go to the beach tomorrow. ”
Her head fell back on her shoulders as she arched into his caress. “That’s what you said three days ago.”
August propped himself up on the pillows and pulled her to him. He rested his head on her upper arm and began to tease a nipple with long, hot strokes. Her hands found the familiar place in his hair that she ritualistically clung to when he did this. She ran her nails over his scalp, moving her hips with a slow roll. “Tomorrow, I promise,” he whispered.
Her fingers slipped inside the cavern of his mouth, chasing his tongue as he suckled the tight bud. “Oh, August … we will not. I’m beginning to think there was some merit to my observation that I am nothing but a sex toy to you. ”
Chuckling, he pressed the globes of creamy flesh together and lapped them. The sway of her hips became more rapid as heat slithered between her thighs. “Do you have objections to being my sex toy? ” he asked, lifting her to place her hips flush with his mouth. Sliding down, he lay between her thighs, letting his hot breath linger over her heated flesh. The sight of his blond head between her legs never failed to make her heart pound and her nerve endings sizzle with anticipation.
Tara rocked forward, needy as always, anticipating his tongue, holding her breath for the first lick. “I guess it depends on what being a sex toy entails.”
His hands ran over her ass, pulling her closer, teasing the outer lips of her pussy with light kisses. Nibbling at her, he ans wered, “It entails this,” he swiped her swollen clit, circling it with slow precision.
She gasped, welcoming the slick slide of his tongue. “Oh, ” she moaned, thrusting her hips for more. “Maybe being a sex toy isn’t so bad after all…” A thick finger slipped between her folds, finding the entrance to her tight passage. Her hands drifted to her pussy, one latched onto his wrist as he worked his finger in her, the other caressed the nub he laved, stroking herself as he stroked her too. His hot tongue took pass after pass, spreading her flesh, making her dizzy from the rush of electricity he created.
Panting, she rode his finger and tongue, arching into him, rolling her hips at the friction of his calloused digit and his burning mouth. Her hands found his head, crushing it to her when the first wave of orgasm crashed against her needy pussy.
August always knew what to do, thrusting into her with just the right amount of force, licking her with fevered strokes until she screamed his name, release crashing through her. And always, he rode her orgasm until it was complete, lessening his tongue’s caress in small increments.
Clutching his hair, she tugged him upward, then flipped their positions. Sitting astride him again she found the firm line of his lips. Her mouth sought his, and their tongues tangled. She suckled it in simulation of things to come, wrapping her lips around it, savoring the taste of herself. Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed her tightly to him, “Not such a bad thing, this sex toy gig, huh? ”
She chuckled into his mouth, taking one last taste of him. “I guess it’s okay. ”
Cupping her ass, he squeezed the flesh, kneading it as his cock pressed urgently against it. Reaching around her, she grasped it, gliding over the hard surface. “Just okay? Where have I gone wrong? ”
“I don’t think gone wrong is the right phrase…” Swinging her legs off him, she turned toward his reclining body and straddled him. She brought his hands around to cup her breasts as she leaned forward and took his cock in both hands. He jerked beneath her when she made contact. Lovingly, she stroked him as his fingers worked her nipples.
Leaning forward on her elbows, she brought her lips to his thick shaft. She came up on her knees and he groaned, low and throbbing. “Tell me what you want, August…”
He shifted, lifting his hips, “You…”
Her tongue slithered over him, a mere whisper of a caress. “Nothing else?” she teased him, raising her ass high in the air, knowing he saw the lips of her pussy, still wet from his tongue.
Gripping her thighs, his words were carnal and delicious to her ears. “I want you to lick me, baby. Suck my cock … now, before I explode, while I bury my face in your pussy again. ”
Tara yielded to his wishes, taking him all at once into the warmth of her mouth. August muttered from up above as she laved his thick cock, running her tongue in long strokes over the length of him. Working her hands in a gentle twisting motion, she sucked and pumped him at the same time. Using her legs as leverage, he scooted down toward her ass and lif
ted his hips toward her mouth, thrusting forcefully between her lips. He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her back to his mouth.
Rolling a bit to their sides, they clung to one another. August buried his face between her thighs and Tara continued to bathe his smooth cock with her tongue. He ran his tongue between the lips of her pussy. She let hers lap at the sensitive area below the head of his cock. Their rhythm was frenzied as their mouths, wet and frantic, pleasured one another. Pressed tightly together, Tara arched into August’s mouth, taking his cock with her in an upward tug. Their ribs crashed together as they panted, arms tightly woven around each other’s legs, Tara came again and August tensed, his body taut against hers. Her nipples scraped his skin, beading tightly in aching need.
August pulled away first, scrambling upright and dragging her with him. He positioned himself behind her, and her thighs automatically wound around his as she pressed her ass firmly into his abdomen, begging him silently to ram his cock into her.
She thought of nothing else but the instant pleasure it would bring the moment he entered her. He wasted no time, plunging with force into the tight warmth, filling her until they both gasped at the impact. His hands roamed her body freely, fevered and tantalizing. “Don’t move baby, ” she groaned at his request, wanting nothing more than to jam her hips down on him.
He fondled her clit. “Do you feel how hard I am for you? ” Rolling his hips for emphasis, he stroked in and out of her once. “Do you, Tara?”
Her arms went up around his neck and her back bowed. Pulling his lips to her ear, she thrust her breasts into the cool air of the room. “Yes, I feel it.”
“Tell me what you want, baby…”
A thrill shot through her cunt whenever he asked her what she wanted. “I want you to fuck me. Fuck me hard, please, August … this time, I don’t think I can wait.”
Stroking her, he licked the shell of her ear, still unmoving. “What can’t you wait for?” The low rasp of his voice mesmerized her, beckoned her to play the game they shared often, but she never tired of.
Whose Bride Is She Anyway Page 28