Back for Seconds (Lone Star Second Chances Book 1)

by Ginger Voight

  “Xander doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does,” Russell told her. “All she needs is a good manager to take care of the business end. She could have her own place by Christmas. Isn’t that what you would want for her?”

  Kari fidgeted. She wanted her mother to be happy and successful, but she didn’t want to leave the restaurant yet. She knew that her mother opening up her own place would pretty much guarantee that. She’d need someone to help her with the business, much like she and her siblings had for weeks.

  But Kari couldn’t leave now. Not when she was so close to what she wanted.

  Russell put his arm around her shoulders. “Something to think about,” he told her. “She could open her own business and you all could come home. I can’t think of a Christmas gift I’d want more.”

  Kari’s stomach dropped as they walked to the next storefront offering candy for Hannah. If her father had proposed this idea months ago, she’d have been on his team no problem. She would have pulled out all her best moves to manipulate her mother into doing what she wanted, like she had learned to do since she was a little kid. Daddy had taught her how to get around Joely’s objections, to appeal to her people-pleasing nature, which had always worked like a charm on all the little things. Joely always measured each decision, weighing happiness against safety. She wouldn’t let her wear makeup, say, because it would attract older men and put her safety at risk. But she’d buy her the expensive jeans she wanted just because it made her happy.

  Kari had no idea how her dad’s new plan would factor into this metric. Obviously Joely would want her kids to be safe and secure, which the house in Fairway Oaks promised to provide. With Russell’s plan, she could have the money to start her business, without having to scrimp and save like they were doing now. She could also hire people to make the workload a lot easier for all of them, which would give them more time at home as a family.

  And her mother had to be lonely, Kari figured. After all those years together, Kari knew that Russell’s affair had devastated her mother. She hadn’t been the same person since they had moved into her Nana’s house.

  But it hadn’t escaped Kari’s notice that her mother had actually been happier since the move. She had found the cookie thing, which seemed to fulfill her in a way she hadn’t been before. She was definitely more fun to hang around. She wasn’t as militant or regimented like she had been. Before the split, she would tell anyone that would listen that her mother was out to make her life miserable. Now her mother had been more receptive to the things that would make her happy, even if she didn’t agree, like the job or the makeup.

  Kari had to admit she liked her mother a lot better now. They were practically on the road to being friends.

  As Russell and the kids entered the pizza joint, Kari was faced with a real conundrum. If she helped her dad, she could reunite her family again. They could be together. They could be happy. Everything could go back to the way it was.

  Only Kari didn’t want things to go back to the way they were. She liked her life now, especially now that the kids at her new school had come around. Worse, she knew that going back to Fairway Oaks would effectively end her dream with Xander.

  Ultimately Kari had to decide just how selfish she wanted to be. At that moment, thinking about Xander and how he felt when she hugged him that afternoon after climbing in the car, Kari knew that she couldn’t help her father with his plan.

  She had her own plan, one that she could share only with her diary because no one else could possibly understand.

  Joely stayed at the restaurant for an hour after he left, but she was useless. All she could think about was that at that very moment Xander and Jena could be together at The Ranch, entertaining their obvious attraction to each other. She could envision him pulling her body close, reveling in the tight, full curves of her young body as she rubbed herself against him with far more confidence than Joely could ever muster.

  It only made her angrier the more she thought about it.

  She finally called it a day and headed back to the house, which seemed even emptier than usual without the sounds of her kids filling the rooms. She wandered the house aimlessly, thinking that she should probably just go to bed early. It had been a busy week and she was exhausted. To be honest, she had been exhausted since she moved out on her own months before. Now that she had no one to answer to in how she spent her time, she decided to take a long hot bubble bath and catch up on a book. She poured herself a large glass of wine and headed upstairs to the large claw-foot bathtub in her mother’s master bath.

  She lit some candles for ambiance as the tub filled with fragrant bubbles. She caught sight of herself in the mirror, crusted nearly head to foot with the remnants of her cookie enterprise. Her hair, which had begun to grow out from her last haircut, flew wild around her face in stringy sections clumped together with sweat. As she undressed, she picked apart every inch of herself. She was nearly twenty pounds overweight, which left her with a permanent pooch in her belly that jiggled when she walked. Her heavy boobs drooped about almost an inch lower than they did when she was breastfeeding Kari nearly sixteen years before. Her hips were wide, with enough junk in the trunk to travel from sea to shining sea. There were faint lines near her eyes and the skin under her chin was already starting to lose its elasticity, threatening that a turkey neck might be imminent.

  She grimaced as she turned away from her depressing reflection. She sank into the warm bubble bath, hoping it’d wash the blues away. She drained her glass of wine before she opened upon one of her Granny Faye’s romance novels. By ten pages in, she was already frustrated with it. She couldn’t relate to the protagonist, a fresh-eyed, taut-bodied ingénue who still believed love could conquer all. Joely supposed that was a lot easier to do when you were a twenty-something fresh out of college, when your heart hadn’t been sent through the wood chipper. When the hero swaggered onto the scene, she was all about getting him into bed and solving at least one mystery of life.

  For someone like Joely, those mysteries were better left unsolved.

  She tossed the book aside and sank down to her neck into the water. Moisturizers swirled amidst the bubbles, which felt sensual against her skin, softening her from her shoulders all the way down to her toes. She wiggled her toes just out of the water, thinking that she should get a pedicure. She’d never really indulged that sort of thing before, and maybe that had been part of her problem.

  She’d spent her whole life taking care of other people that she hadn’t really ever made time for herself.

  Her hands slid across her smooth skin, just under the water, which was still warm and luxurious to the touch. She bit her lip absently as her hands dipped lower, where her legs met. With a gasp she found her pleasure center. Her thoughts returned to Xander. “Lesson one,” he had said as he watched her on his bed. “You have to know what you want in order to ask for it.” She shuddered as she thought about that look in his eyes when he commanded her to touch herself. His voice echoed in her ear as she explored herself intimately. “Spread your legs… touch yourself the way you’ve only been free to touch yourself when you’re alone, without anyone to judge you… show me how you make yourself come.”

  She gasped out loud in between long moans as she relived the memory, one hand at her breast, tweaking her nipple, the other in between her legs as she writhed with need until she was spasming uncontrollably against her hand. She breathed heavy and deep as she sank back into the water until the last shudder passed. She dunked her head under, baptizing herself. She was still flushed and titillated when she rose back up again. She drained the tub and stepped out onto the plush salmon-pink rug, reaching for a matching towel from the rack on the wall.

  This time when she passed the mirror, she didn’t see stringy hair, droopy breasts or a wiggly, jiggly tummy. She saw a woman flushed with sexual arousal. Her eyes burned dark like coal. Her cheeks were rosy and her full mouth parted with each breath. Her nipples were perky and her warmth pooled at her hips in
sumptuous satisfaction. She didn’t know who that woman was staring back at her, but she wanted to. She eyed the shower stall as she formulated a plan.

  An hour later she walked into The Ranch on sexy high heels. She had painted her toes a scandalous scarlet, which matched the wraparound dress she wore. It clung to her curves lovingly, like a second skin. Her hair was moussed and styled, framing her perfectly made up face. Her eyes were dark and smoky, her pouty lips full and red. When she walked in the room, several men looked twice, which made her smile.

  Her plan was definitely working.

  She scanned the dance floor, which was packed with dozens of Halloween deviants in full costume. There were more than a few cats, but Jena’s blonde hair was a dead giveaway. She was dancing with Xander, who ground his body against hers to the sensual beat. The sight crushed Joely at first, but she strengthened her spine and made a beeline for the sexy couple. He spotted Joely before Jena did. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was turned on by his dance, but who wouldn’t be? Jena was a vivacious, sexy woman who knew just what buttons to press.

  Still, his cloudy eyes were fixed on Joely as she approached with a sway in her hips inspired by her solo session in the tub. She felt sensual and powerful as she drew closer to him just in time for the song to end. “Joely,” he murmured as he broke apart from Jena.

  She turned to Jena, who surveyed her makeover with surprise. “You don’t mind if I steal him away for a dance, do you?”

  Without even waiting for Jena to answer, Joely wrapped her arms around Xander’s neck and moved him away with the sensual driving beat of the next song. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his hard body. She practically groaned how exquisite he felt in her arms.

  “I wasn’t expecting you here,” he said with that devilish glint in his eyes.

  “Bullshit,” she smiled, which made him chuckle. He ran his hands along her shoulders and down her back.

  “So what exactly are you supposed to be?”

  “A cougar,” she told him before she reached for a smoldering kiss right there on the dance floor. He indulged her immediately, penetrating her lips with his forceful tongue and kissing her so hard she groaned against him. She was breathless when they finally broke apart. “Take me home, Xander,” she said.

  His gaze devoured her, taking in the sultry look in her eyes, the flushed, well-kissed pout of her lips. He could think of nothing he wanted more than to take her home and fuck her brains out. He grabbed her by the hand and practically dragged her from the dance floor. Joely wore a satisfied smirk when they brushed past Jena on their way out of the club.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Russell was turning down the covers a little before eleven that night when he heard his bedroom door open and shut. He turned to see Jena approach. She was fully made up in a sexy cat costume that immediately turned him on. He turned to face her and she practically crawled up his body to deliver a scorching kiss. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” he murmured against her lips as he held her close.

  “Change in plans,” she shrugged. “If that’s okay.”

  He scanned her lovely face. He had never been able to resist her, and he supposed he still had no reason to do so. Despite his offers to take Joely back, she had thus far rejected him. He was a free agent, so she couldn’t berate him for taking advantage of that. He lifted Jena against him. “That’s more than okay.” He devoured her lips in another kiss before they toppled onto the bed.

  She tore off his shirt before planting kisses along his neck and chest. His hands were all over her body, caressing every curve. When he closed his eyes, however, he thought of Joely’s full breast in his hand. It was softer, not like the surgically enhanced breast he now squeezed. He had been thinking about Joely’s breasts a lot, ever since that hug in the hospital two weeks before. His palm ached as he remembered how it filled his hand. He couldn’t even remember the last time they had made love. When did he decide to squander such a gift? And why? So he could get in the pants of some sexy girl who happened to share his office?

  When he opened his eyes, he focused on the young girl beneath him. With regret he pulled away. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

  She was flabbergasted. “Why not?”

  He sat on the edge of the bed, dropping his head in his hands. “I’ve decided that I want Joely to come back home. I want my family back, Jena.”

  She laughed as she sat up next to him. “You’re a little too late for that, pal.”

  His eyes met hers. “What do you mean?”

  She traced her finger along his bare shoulder and down his arm. “I mean that I just came from The Ranch. Xander showed up. We were dancing. I thought things were getting hot. Then lo and behold, your ex appears, dressed to kill. She spun him away for a dance, kissed him like a woman possessed and he practically dragged her from the joint.” Her eyes danced as she glanced up at him. “That woman is getting fucked hard and well right now by another man. She’s not coming home.”

  Enraged, Russell shot up off the bed. He didn’t know which part to process first. “So if she hadn’t showed up, you were going to fuck this guy?”

  “Of course,” Jena answered with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “He’s hot. And we’re not exclusive. Like I don’t know about Amy,” she added, referring to the girl that they had hired to tempt his best friend David into an affair, to get rid of his troublesome wife, and Joely BFF, Novanna. He still blamed Novanna for blowing his marriage apart.

  Since David hadn’t really risen to the bait, Russell and Jena had originally thought about seducing Amy as a couple, for a sexy ménage a trois he had only dreamed about. But Amy had other plans. She cornered him in his office the week before Hannah’s surgery and had given him the best blow job of his entire life. Given she was such a good girl, who even wore a cross faithfully around her neck, it made what dirty things she did to him even hotter. He ended up fucking her right there in his office, like every porn fantasy he’d ever entertained.

  Had Hannah not fallen ill, he might have spent that next week of freedom organizing that ménage a trois for real.

  Instead he had been all torn up about Joely, thinking that she had been sleeping with a younger man. And now, according to Jena, that was what she was doing precisely at that moment. He practically growled as he ran a hand through his hair. “Where are they? Did they go back to Lillian’s house?”

  “How should I know? It wasn’t exactly like I was invited. Shame, too. She looked really hot.”

  He spun around to face Jena. “What?”

  Another shrug as she peeled away the lycra bodysuit. “I’m just saying. If you do get her back, I wouldn’t be opposed to her as a third partner. Isn’t that what you always wanted anyway?”

  Russell had to chuckle at the absurdity of it. “She’d never go for that.”

  Jena sprawled naked on his bed. “I wouldn’t be so sure. She’s not the mousy housewife you were screwing around on. In fact,” she said as she opened her legs to beckon him to the bed, “you can even pretend I’m her if that will get you there.”

  She started to pleasure herself without him, which only fueled his fire. He was ready to punish Joely for fucking around with another man, and Jena was as good a substitute as any – given she was prepared to hop on that foreigner’s jock as well. He stripped and joined her on the bed.

  Across town Xander didn’t even bother with the lights in the foyer or living room as he dragged Joely by the hand to his bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind them as he advanced on her, backing her onto the bed. She fell onto her back and he landed over her on both arms. He wanted to say a lot of things, but everything came out in a frustrated growl as he bent to kiss her hard.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her, wrapping one of her legs around his to draw him closer. He snaked one hand up her velvety thigh, inching higher towards the Promised Land. He pulled away with a grin as he realized what she had done. “You naug
hty girl. You’re not wearing any panties.”

  She shook her head and bit her lip, which only made him hotter for her. He delivered another savage kiss. She pushed him onto his back, straddling him with both legs. He peeled the dress from her shoulders, letting her breasts sway free. When his fingertips caught one hardened nipple, she cried out in his mouth. He broke away to latch onto her breast, his tongue racing around her nipple, flicking over it until she was arching against his face. He sucked her hard, making her cry out against him.

  He lifted her dress so that he could cup the swell of her ass in both hands. He squeezed hard and she rocked against his rock-hard erection through his clothes. He reached back for another kiss. “God, I need you, Joely.”

  She nodded. She felt the same way. She reached between them to release his massive cock from his pants. It sprang free, throbbing for her. She wasted no time as she positioned herself over him, sliding down until both of them grunted when he disappeared completely inside her before either one of them could say ‘condom.’

  He shuddered hard within her, overwhelmed how she felt skin against skin. It was something he hadn’t allowed himself in a long, long time. “I fucking love how you feel around me, baby,” he murmured against her lips. “I’ve dreamt about fucking you every day.”

  “Me too,” she admitted as she lost herself in those incredible eyes. He kept her hostage in that gaze as he shoved himself up inside her, making her cry out loud. He guided her hips to meet each powerful stroke as she rode him. Their union was raw and explosive, so primal that words lost all their meaning. He repeatedly impaled her and she happily bucked against him, their screams and grunts rising in a crescendo until he was ready to explode. “Touch yourself,” he told her in a gruff voice that welcomed no argument.

  It was just like her fantasy in the tub. Her hand slipped between them and she rubbed her clit furiously as he jammed himself up inside her. She came just a hair before he did, squeezing him and clutching him tight inside of her as he buried himself as deep as he could go. Finally they collapsed together. He gathered her into his arms and hugged her tight. She felt like heaven in his arms.