by Jenny Penn
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Sure.”
“You know, I really hate you,” Maryanne muttered as she finally took a seat. “So why don’t you make yourself less annoying and serve me something that–”
“That what?” Pat pressed, cutting her off. “Makes you forget that you care?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh God,” Maryanne groaned and dropped her head into her hands. There was no point in denying it anymore than there was in arguing over the matter. Pat had found out her horrible, dirty secret. “This sucks.”
“Yep.” Pat placed a shot glass down in front of her and reached for the bottle of rum. He poured her three fingers and waited for Maryanne to throw it back before pointing out the obvious. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s clear that they care, too.”
“No.” Maryanne looked up at him, feeling both sad and pathetic. “That really doesn’t help.”
“No?” Pat lifted a brow. “Why not?”
“Because…” Maryanne racked her mind for a good reason, but she didn’t have one. “Just because.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Will you stop it with that?” Maryanne shot Pat a dirty look for being so annoying, but he didn’t look as though he cared. He just stood there grinning. “And stop smiling, too. This isn’t funny.”
“It kind of is,” Pat contradicted her. “Besides, I already know why you’re sitting there looking all grumpy instead of doing the wise thing and chasing after those boys.”
“Yeah? And why is that?”
“Because you’re afraid.” Pat leaned in to deliver that blow, looking almost gleeful as he did. “You don’t like to care. You think that’s a vulnerability…and it is because, if it goes south, you’re going to be all kinds of hurt.”
Maryanne shoved off her seat, not wanting to hear anymore of this bullshit. “Thanks for the drink. I’d tip you, but I’m sure you already got paid.”
“Yep.” Pat didn’t even bother to deny it. “Three hundred, and that proves just how much they care.”
“Sure thing, Pat.” Maryanne nodded without really listening, but there was no avoiding the sound of Pat hollering after her as she headed toward the door.
“You can run, Maryanne, but you can’t hide. Feelings follow you wherever you go!”
Those words haunted her for the rest of the day as Maryanne drove her slow moving vehicle over to Barney Smith’s shop and waited for them to remove the ball in the gas tank. It took most of the afternoon, leaving Maryanne to sit and stew in the waiting room.
She wanted revenge. She would have settled for an escape. All she had was a fantasy that wouldn’t stop playing through her mind. It was wicked, dirty, and all sorts of wrong, but it wouldn’t leave her alone. Instead, the lust and want fueling her fantasy slowly ate away at her reason until Maryanne couldn’t stand it anymore.
That was how she found herself sitting in Jason and Collin’s driveway three hours later as the sun settled down beneath the tree line. Night began to creep across the sky. It was time. She was done fighting.
* * * *
Jason was still chuckling to himself later that night as he whipped himself up some cheesy chili. He loved chili, and he loved Maryanne. She was just so much fun, and like the chili, she ran hot enough to sear his senses. He could only imagine what temperature she was boiling at right then. Apparently, so was Collin.
“You think she figured out about the ball yet?” Leaning back against the refrigerator he’d just pulled a beer from, Collin watched Jason cook, wearing the same smirk that had been pulling at his lips all day.
“I’d be surprised if she hadn’t. Maryanne is not dumb.”
Not by far, and he’d seen her turning the corner toward The Bar as he’d pulled out. She’d figured enough out by then to know how to make the car move without stalling out. That was just why he’d hit the accelerator because he knew she couldn’t. Maryanne must have known it, too. She hadn’t even tried to give chase.
Neither had she shown up spitting fire and brimstone in all directions. That could mean only that she was stewing. Stewing and plotting. Jason couldn’t wait to see what she came up with.
“She’s gonna be pissed.” Collin echoed his thoughts with a soft whisper and a small chuckle. “And she isn’t cutest when she’s mad?”
Jason laughed at that and nodded. Maryanne looked good no matter what, but when her features narrowed and her cheeks flushed, she was downright adorable. She also happened to be mean.
“I don’t know about you, man, but I’m thinking I’m going to wear a cup to work tomorrow.”
Collin snorted at that, but whatever response he’d been about to make got cut off by the flash of headlights that cut through the kitchen window and alerted both men to the car pulling into the drive. Shoving off the refrigerator, Collin came to join Jason by the sink to peer out at their guest.
“I think maybe you ought to go get that cup,” Collin whispered as Maryanne parked her car behind Jason’s SUV.
“I don’t know,” Jason whispered back. “She’s not moving.”
“That’s because she’s fuming.”
Either that or she was arguing with herself. Maryanne was caving. Jason could sense it. He figured he had reason to hope, especially when Maryanne just sat in her car. He could all but hear the thoughts swirling through her head. Silently, he prayed that she made the right choice, prayed and held his breath, which he let out with a sigh when she finally threw open her door and got out.
“Here we go.” Jason shot Collin a quick grin and headed for the door as his cousin followed at a safe distance.
Collin stalled out in the doorway of the kitchen while Maryanne apparently stalled out on the other side of the front door. He’d heard her climb the steps, but when no knock came, he knew he was right. If Maryanne was pissed and coming here to pound on them, she wouldn’t have hesitated.
The seconds ticked by, and Jason grew tense, but finally a soft crack against the wooden door echoed through the house, and he knew that the worse thing he could do was leave her waiting. That was just what he did though, giving it to the count of thirty before he headed for the door.
“Maryanne?” Jason tried not sound amused to find her standing there looking anything but comfortable, but it was hard. “What brings you here?”
As if he didn’t already know. As if it wasn’t written all over her face. Maryanne looked beautiful as always with her hair flowing freely and her delicate features furled into a frown. Jason could see the doubts and uncertainty in her crystal-clear eyes just as easily as he could read the lust in them, but that still didn’t prepare him for what Maryanne did next.
* * * *
In a blur of motion, Collin saw Maryanne’s arm swing and Jason’s head fling backward as she cracked his cousin in the jaw hard enough to send him sprawling to the floor. The poor man hit his head and was out cold. Far from being shocked or even concerned, Collin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Dude!” Collin shook his head at Maryanne, who was standing over Jason glaring down at him. “You knocked him clean out.”
That observation drew Maryanne’s dark and narrowed gaze up, and Collin knew he was in trouble. Instantly, his hands went up as he retreated backward.
“Don’t even think about it,” Collin warned her. “You take a swing at me and you’ll end up laid out across my thighs. I won’t hesitate to paddle you.”
That drew an exasperated look from Maryanne as she stepped over Jason’s prone form. “I’m not going to hit you.”
“No?” Collin wasn’t sure he believed her.
“No.” Maryanne shoved at Jason’s legs, pushing them out of the way so she could close the front door. “I do need your help, though.”
Collin eyed her suspiciously, still not sure if she were telling the truth. “With?”
“With moving this big fucker to the bedroom.”
“And we’re taking him there…why?”
Maryanne hesitated fo
r a second before finally answering in a tone that dared him to argue. “Because we’re going to tie his ass to a chair and make him watch while we screw all night long.”
Collin blinked that in, taking a moment to make sure he’d heard her right before breaking into a big grin. “Well hell. Why didn’t you just say so? I’ll get Jason. You get the chair…and I’m assuming you brought cuffs?”
For the first time that night, Maryanne smiled, a wicked twist of her lips that matched the naughty satisfaction sounding in her tone. “Of course…two pairs.”
Collin didn’t wonder about what she meant by that, and neither did he care. If she wanted to tie him up and ride him all night, that was just fine by him. As long as he wasn’t the one stuck in a chair and not having any fun, Maryanne could do whatever she wanted. Of course, Jason might object, and he wouldn’t be out for long, which made it imperative to move him quickly.
Grabbing onto Jason’s arms, Collin began to drag Jason down the hall toward the back bedroom. His cousin groaned, his eye fluttering open. So Collin hit him again, putting the big man back to sleep long enough for Maryanne to show up with a chair and for Collin to get him in it. By the time Jason began to revive, he was cuffed to the solid wood seat. It was too late, though. Jason wasn’t going anywhere.
That just left the second part of Maryanne’s revenge to get to. Turning with a smile, Collin was caught completely off guard when she launched herself at him, tackling him and taking him right down onto the bed. She had him pinned to the mattress before he knew what had hit him. Then she kissed him, and Collin was lost in an instant rush of wanton hunger that had him rearing up, rolling Maryanne over, and taking command of the situation.
Chapter Ten
Maryanne didn’t know what she was doing. All she knew was that she was tired of fighting the lust that seemed to occupy her every thought. She wanted this, needed it. She needed them. She was tired of fighting it.
So she’d driven over to Jason’s with every intention of taking what she wanted. Her plan was solid. Jason deserved to be taught a lesson about messing with her. Collin…she deserved him. Not that she’d planned on attacking him, but he looked so good in his baggy shorts and his oversized T-shirt. Just the sight of him had made more than her mouth water. Maryanne couldn’t help herself.
The tide of her arousal finally broke the dam of her self-control, and she’d launched herself at him. It felt so good to just give in and plaster her body against the hard heat of his and drown herself in the heady flavor of his kiss. They toppled onto the bed as the strings of restrain finally snapped, rolling around as they fought for control of the kiss.
Collin’s tongue dueled with hers, forcing Maryanne to retreat as he pinned her beneath him. She could have gotten free if she’d wanted to, but he felt too good against her to bother. Instead, Maryanne spread her thighs, making room for the hard bulge pressing against her mound and silently cursed the clothes in the way as she sucked down on his tongue and made his hips pump.
Collin growled and pulled back to glare down at her with a hunger and need that matched her own. His voice came out just as rough as his touch and sounded with a strain that matched Maryanne’s own frustration.
“You made me wait, and now, you’re going to pay.”
Maryanne blinked that in before breaking into a big smile. “Yeah?”
“You chose Jason first,” Collin reminded her, as if that were an insult, but he was forgetting something.
“No, Jason chose me,” Maryanne countered as she wrapped her legs around Collin’s hips and began to dry hump him. “I can’t help it if you’re not man enough to take what you want.”
That got her a growl that sent the need boiling in her veins flaring hotter as Collin’s fingers dug into her shirt. He shredded it, baring her heated flesh to the searing caress of his lips. He took instant advantage, abandoning her mouth to lick and nip his way down her neck and across the swollen globes of her breasts.
Collin teased each one, kissing and sucking his way to her puckered tips, shoving her bra out of the way. All the while he avoided the tight, aching buds her nipples had furled into. They strained upward, aching for the feel of his lips, but instead, he treated her to the hard pinch of his fingers. It felt as if he’d lanced her with a white-hot cattle prod, burning her with pure pleasure that had her nerves tingling and her whole body bucking with the delight that rushed through her.
It wasn’t enough. Maryanne needed, wanted, more.
That craving drove her to tear at Collin’s shirt, desperate to reach the hot, velvety skin beneath and feel the power of his muscles flexing under her touch. It was a heady sensation that filled her with an overwhelming urge to drive him just as insane, but Collin wouldn’t let her. Even as she started to slid her fingers beneath the waistband of Collin’s shorts, his hands were wrapping around her wrists. He pulled her arms back, pinning them to the bed as he finally turned his attention toward the pebbled tips of her breasts.
Maryanne gasped out as the warm heat of his mouth settled down over one. His teeth came out to scrape the sensitive flesh of her nipple, making Maryanne moan and arch into the suckling kiss. That had Collin groaning once again and treating her to a tongue-lashing that made the world spin around her. She never wanted to stop and only fought his hold as he kissed his way to her other torrid peak. Then she was losing herself in a new wave of pleasure.
It flooded through Maryanne’s body, making her both sigh and shiver. Those tremors turned into a chorus of shudders as Collin abandoned her breasts to lick his way down her quivering stomach to the snap of her jeans. He used his teeth to pop the button free and his lips to pull the small tab of her zipper down. Then he was nudging the silken edge of her panties down with his chin but still couldn’t reveal more than the smooth skin of her mound without releasing her and freeing her hands.
Maryanne knew why he hesitated to unleash her. Collin had every reason to worry. She was plotting her revenge, and the second he let her go, she sprang into action, all but flipping him over and pinning him to the bed. Collin didn’t go down that easily. He fought back, rolling her over and reclaiming both her hands.
Only this time he bound her wrists in one thick fist while he snatched up a scrap of her shredded shirt with his free hand. He used the strip of fabric to manacle her wrists together, tying her off to the spindle at the foot of the bed. Then he leaned back and smiled down at her with a devilish gleam twinkling in his eyes.
“This is my night,” Collin informed her, full arrogance coloring his words. “We’re going to do things my way. Understand?”
Maryanne understood perfectly. Just the feeling of being at his mercy had her cunt going all soft and creamy. She was throbbing but couldn’t deny the urge to taunt Collin as she returned his grin with one every bit as wicked.
“Maybe.”
That got her a laugh as he reached for the waistband of her jeans. With a hard jerk he ripped them clean off, right along with her panties, leaving Maryanne naked and exposed to his heated gaze. There was something so wickedly forbidden about being splayed out for his pleasure that Maryanne couldn’t resist teasing him by spreading her legs wide and opening up her pussy for his inspection.
“See anything you like?”
Maryanne giggled as Collin growled. Her laughter turned into a heated moan as he cracked his palm across her cunt, lighting up her world with a blast of rapture so sharp she cried out with the force of it. It was wrong. It was decadent. She wanted more. Maryanne was pretty sure how to get it.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she whispered, her words coming out in husky caress that had Collin tensing.
Then he paddled her for all he was worth, making Maryanne scream as he took her right to the edge of an orgasm. She fell over it into a spasming frenzy as he trapped the heat of her release tight against her pussy, covering her swollen folds with his hand and capturing her clit beneath the hard press of the edge of his palm. Collin ground down on that sensitive bud, setting off a second rush
of delight that had her climax collapsing, condensing, becoming a new, more painful ache that had her crying out.
Her cries morphed into shrill screams as Jason’s hand disappeared, only to be replaced by his mouth. Soft and wet, his lips broke over her cunt, opening her up wider for the invasion of his velvety tongue. With wicked intent, it whirled around her clit before dipping in to lick the cream right off the walls of her sheath. Maryanne moaned and writhed as the rapture building in her became an intense need for something harder, something thicker.
Collin knew just what she wanted. How could he not? Maryanne all but begged for it. He denied her, ravaging her molten flesh with a hunger that left her breathless and quivering on the verge of a second climax, but no matter how hard she strained and tried, she couldn’t force herself over the edge.
Collin could, and he finally did, as he reared up onto his legs and slammed the deliciously heavy length of his dick straight up into her cunt, fucking a gasp right out of her as the world went white with the detonation of her release. He rode Maryanne fast and hard from one orgasm to the next until every cell in her body shimmered and sparkled with a rapture so pure it stole the strength from her very bones.
Left to float in a world of divine ecstasy, Maryanne couldn’t help but laugh as a joyful bliss consumed her. The sound must have irritated Jason because he growled above her, snarling as he pumped his hips in frantic rush toward his own release. He came hard, flooding her with a sea of heated seed as he trembled and gasped before collapsing in a sweaty heap on top of Maryanne.
She didn’t complain. She didn’t mind, but somebody else did.
“God damn it, you two!” Jason spat from where he was tied up and fighting to get free. Maryanne had forgotten all about him. “Undo me now!”
That demand had both Maryanne and Collin glancing over at Jason, who was all flushed in the face. His arms were bulging as he tried to break free, but all he was accomplishing was to scrape the chair across the floor. It was actually kind of funny, and Maryanne couldn’t help but laugh.