“The perfect score.”
“The three hundred game? You shooting to win the prize?” His blue eyes sparkled with interest.
“That’s the plan. Whether or not I hit it is another thing.” She took a long gulp of her diet soda to clear away the taste of the dream in her mouth.
He nodded. “I think that’s a draw for a lot of folks. Me included. I was hoping to snatch that ten thousand myself.”
Marlene’s stomach clenched. She’d seen him bowl for the last two hours and he was good. No, he was great. The first bowler to hit the three hundred game gets the prize. No doubt, Buck would be serious competition.
“Good luck to you then. You’re really good, so I expect you might get it.”
Buck grinned. “Your mama gave you some right nice manners, Lee. I know you want it, probably more than me. It isn’t just money for you, is it?”
Heat rushed into her cheeks again. “No. I just ... want that perfect score. Those twelve strikes, whether pretty or ugly. I want to knock all ten pins down at once over and over again. I want to --”
“Want to what?”
Marlene had stopped herself from saying more. She sounded like a schoolgirl as it was. She didn’t want to sound like an idiot, too.
“I guess I want that money, too. Espejo is a small town. Ten thousand would buy me a ticket to Dallas or Austin nicely. I could settle in a big city where nobody knows me.”
Just the thought of never being called Big Mac again was fuel for the fire. She imagined living in a place where no one knew her. No one knew all the mistakes and goof-ups she’d made in her life. No one would judge her based on what she’d done in the eighth grade. It sounded like heaven.
“I can understand that. I’m from a small town myself. The collar can ride a little tight.”
She saw understanding in his expression, and her heart melted a bit. He did understand it. God knows what he needed to run from, but she had a hell of a lot herself. Perhaps he had problems as a teenager that haunted him, or maybe his family had a reputation that he couldn’t shake. She sure as hell wanted to ask, but bit her tongue and kept silent. No use spoiling their first “date” with nosy, personal questions that might offend him. After all, Marlene’s plan was to end up in bed with him as soon as possible.
“That it does. So are you really up for karaoke tonight?” Marlene had never actually had the balls to get up on stage herself.
Buck shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
* * * * *
Buck wasn’t sure what he’d expected, since he’d never been in a karaoke joint before. It looked like a bar with a stage. He breathed an inner sigh of relief. He had hoped it wasn’t too elaborate, and it wasn’t. Espejo was a small town, after all.
It was Friday night, so there was quite a crowd already. A young fella sat behind the sound equipment apparently tweaking the lighting and music as the folks went up to sing. Some blonde who thought she was Faith Hill was mangling one of the beauty’s songs. She was jiggling her tits pretty good, so at least it was a decent show.
Marlene walked beside him and rolled her eyes. “Melissa. She thinks she’s a country singer. Even wanted to try out for that talent show on TV. Mostly she just plays tennis and judges other people.”
A chuckle burst from his chest. Yep, that Melissa sure did look like the type.
“Let’s get a drink and sit down for a while. You know, to, ah ... watch.” Marlene made a beeline for the bar and he followed, watching that ass sway.
After they got a couple of beers, Marlene stopped at a table in a corner. When she sat down, she grinned at him a little sheepishly.
“I need to ease into this. My steering wheel and my shower curtain have been my audience until now.”
Her pink lips wrapped around that long neck and took a tug of beer. Buck almost swallowed his tongue. Just the thought of those lips wound around him made him half erect. She stuck her tongue in the bottle, and his half-erection got bigger and his jeans got very snug.
“So, uh, you’ve never done this?”
“Believe it or not.” She picked at the label on the beer. “I’m not usually shy.”
Buck grinned. “I noticed.”
She grinned back.
“What are you going to sing?”
Her eyes widened. “Me? You think I’m going to sing?”
“Why not?”
“Well, I ... I don’t know why not. Okay, Buck, get ready.” She took a deep breath and a long swig of beer, and marched toward the karaoke dj. She conferred with him briefly, and Buck saw her laugh. His gut clenched at her smile from across the bar. Marlene was a sexy woman.
After the blonde Faith wannabe finished and stepped down from the stage, she must have said something to Marlene because her smile faded. Buck stood up immediately and walked toward her, a strange urge to protect thrumming through him.
He caught the tail end of blondie’s comments. “Really, Big Mac, what will people think?”
Big Mac?
Marlene’s jaw clenched and her hands fisted. “I don’t care what people think.”
“That’s obvious.”
“What’s going on here, ladies?” Buck walked up to them with his hands on his hips. “Miss Marlene was ’bout to sing for me, ma’am. Did you have something you needed first?”
Melissa looked way, way up into Buck’s face and swallowed. “Why, no, I didn’t. Good luck, bi-- Marlene.” She flounced away and Buck smiled at Marlene.
“Are you ready, darlin’?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “As I’ll ever be, I guess.”
Buck leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be cheering for you from the front row.”
He could swear she blushed as she turned away and walked toward the stage. She positioned herself in front of the microphone, looked down at her feet for a moment, then signaled the karaoke dj. Soon the music for the Dixie Chicks’ song Take me Away came pumping through the speakers.
Marlene missed the first line, but then she started singing softly. She got louder as the song went on. That’s when Buck realized she had a nice voice. No, she had a great voice.
She sang to her cowboy to take her away, to fly high into the blue, and set her free with a husky tone that sent shivers up and down his spine. She put her whole heart into it, of that he was certain. Her facial expressions matched the lyrics of the song. Marlene wanted someone to rescue her, to take her away into the wild blue. He felt it in her voice. When she finished and the last notes faded away, the bar was silent. Marlene opened her eyes and found everyone staring at her.
Panic flashed through her eyes, then her gaze landed on him. He stood up and started clapping and whistling as loud as he could; soon there wasn’t a person in the room who wasn’t clapping and cheering for her. Buck stepped up to the stage and held out his hand. She put her clammy hand into his and stepped down. She looked around with something like amazement and did a curtsey. Folks just clapped louder.
“You sing like an angel.”
She shook her head and looked dubious. “I can carry a tune.”
“Uh-uh. You can sing, girl. Kick-ass singing.”
She didn’t believe him, but that was okay. He knew it was true and he’d get her to believe it before the week was out.
“Are you going to sing?”
The question hit Buck square in the chest. “Me?”
“You said you’d try it.”
Oh hell, he did say something like that. He was never one to go back on his word. “Okay, sure, I’ll give it a whirl.”
He walked her to the front table and sat her down. After ordering her a fresh beer, he went to talk to the karaoke dj. He picked a song that was fresh in his head.
Marlene was shaking in her boots. She’d never, ever done anything like sing in front of a crowd before and certainly never had a room full of people cheering for her. Buck sounded like he meant it when he told her she could sing. She didn’t think she sang that well, but the feeling of being up there was amaz
ing.
She wanted to cry.
Instead, she focused on the long, tall cowboy about to sing to her up on the stage. When he started singing, she recognized the song as Dierks Bentley’s song Come a Little Closer. His voice was a bit raspy, kind of like Gary Allan. He would probably never get a recording contract, but damn that man was sexy up there singing. He nearly caressed the microphone as he looked her in the eyes and sang.
Marlene grew wetter as he sang about laying her down. Holy cow. Her nipples popped and her arousal came back tenfold. She feasted on the sight of him, crooning to her as the other women in the room gazed at him.
Mine.
She barely knew him, but she wanted to snarl and bark at them like a bitch in heat. He was hers. Damn straight. No way she was letting that delicious hunk of man out of her clutches tonight.
Oh, yeah, he was going to lay her down all right. Her body hummed with excitement. She couldn’t wait to get him alone and sample the buffet of treats.
Marlene nearly lost herself in his blue eyes as he sang. She didn’t hear anyone else or even the music. She focused on his lips, his eyes, and the words he sang to her. It was almost magical. The primal urge to grab him and hold on to him tight overwhelmed her. She wasn’t used to the intensity of the reaction she had to Buck. It was as if she had lost control of her own body.
When he finished, a round of feminine applause greeted him. He tipped his hat and stepped down from the stage, making a beeline for her. A strange sense of pride whipped through her when he reached the table and sat down.
“That was great!”
“Nah, but it was fun. I’m not much of a singer, but I can at least carry a tune.”
“I enjoyed it. Immensely.” Not to mention her panties were about sticking to her. She was surprised he didn’t smell her arousal ... or perhaps he did. “It was really hot.”
Marlene pulled the collar of her t-shirt forward and blew down into her blouse. “Really hot.”
Buck’s pupils dilated as his gaze dropped to her breasts. The ripe nipples stared him in the face beneath the blue cotton.
“Are you ready to leave?” she asked as she let the t-shirt loose.
He almost knocked the table down when he stood. Marlene was pleased to see the bulge in his jeans was just a bit tighter. Her palms itched to unwrap that particular package.
“Yes, ma’am. I believe I am ready.” His deep voice reverberated through her like ripples in a pond.
Ready. Absolutely.
* * * * *
Buck was about to get lightheaded from his jeans cutting off the circulation to his dick. Holy hell. Marlene was sending him enough smoke signals to light his ass on fire. As they walked toward his truck in the parking lot, she reached over and palmed him. He almost fell over in surprise.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t wait any longer. I’m like a kid on Christmas with a shiny gift.”
“It ain’t shiny yet, but keep that up and it won’t be long.” His voice wavered and he swallowed a groan that threatened to burst from his throat. He didn’t need Marlene knowing how deeply she affected him. Yet.
She laughed and hooked her arm through his. Her ample breasts pushed against his arm, and he had all he could do not to reach up and grab on to one. It seemed that his truck was a hundred miles away. It took forever to get there. By the time he unlocked the door and opened it, he couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed her by the shoulders and tucked her into the V made by the door and the truck, wrapped his arms around her and planted his lips on hers.
Marlene immediately turned molten. She was so incredibly hot. Her mouth moved under his as their tongues danced and dueled. The hard points of her nipples rubbed against his chest as his dick slowly, deliciously made contact with her. She moaned deep in her throat, and he echoed her.
Sweet Jesus, he never thought kissing would bring him to the brink of coming in his pants.
He broke the kiss and leaned against the door, panting slightly. She took short quick breaths and gripped the seat beside her.
“Holy shit.” The arousal was plain in her husky tone.
“You can say that again.”
“Holy shit.”
Buck laughed and pulled her to him. His body screamed at him to stop torturing it. “Hell, girl, I didn’t expect that.”
“I expected it, but not so much of it.” Her fingers clutched the back of his shirt. He could feel her trembling slightly.
“Let’s get you in the truck.”
After he helped her climb in, he walked around slowly to the driver’s side, trying to control his breathing, tell his dick to settle down, and make his heart stop pounding so damn hard. It didn’t work. He opened the driver’s door and climbed in. When he looked at her, he sucked in a breath at the naked arousal in her beautiful green eyes.
“Your place or mine?”
“Marlene, I don’t ... want to ruin this by moving too fast.”
It was as if a stiff wind had gusted through the cab. The light went out of her eyes in a blink.
“Oh, this is where you tell me you want to be my friend, right? Excuse me while I grab a taxi.”
He grabbed her arm before she could open the door. “No, that’s not what I said. I like you Marlene. A lot. More than I thought possible for someone I’ve known for six hours. I don’t know what that means, but a quick fuck could ruin any chance of finding out.”
“Who said it would be quick?”
A chuckle burst from his chest. “Okay, maybe not quick, but definitely a fuck. I want to take our time with this. Test the waters before we dive on in. Do you think I’m a lunatic?”
She was quiet for a moment before she sighed deeply and glanced out the window. “No, I don’t think you’re a lunatic. I think you’re a gentleman. I can respect that -- don’t have to like it, but I can respect it.”
He reached out and took her hand. “That doesn’t meant we can’t get to know each other better.”
“So you want to talk about our childhoods?”
Buck laughed. “No. That’s not exactly what I was talking about.” He slid closer to her and nuzzled her neck. “I thought maybe we could get friendly without getting horizontal.”
He could smell her arousal. He breathed deeply, inhaling the musky scent, letting the taste of it coat his tongue. His pants were excessively tight and getting tighter by the minute. When her hands settled on his button fly, he nearly groaned in relief.
“I can play then?”
“Oh, baby, you can play all you want.”
Her nimble fingers had those buttons undone in a flash. When he sprang free, she made a coo of approval and her long fingers stroked him up and down.
It felt so good.
She grinned at him in the shadows of the truck and leaned forward to give him the deepest French kiss of his life. Slowly, sensually her mouth melded with his while her hands continued to stroke and caress him. His balls tightened as her other hand started lightly playing with the head. He was nearly mindless when she broke the kiss. She licked his lips, then grinned again.
She headed for his lap and he closed his eyes. She started with little cat licks all over him. He almost melted into the seat. When her sweet lips closed over him and sucked, he thought he might come immediately. Through sheer willpower, he held it back and tried to float on a sea of pleasure.
Marlene knew how to give head, that was for sure. She licked, nibbled, sucked, and deep throated him in a symphony of wetness. It was too dark to actually see her, but he imagined her behind his eyelids. Those dark pink lips and those white teeth.
“Jesus, you’re gonna make me come, Lee. You can stop now.”
Buck heard her chuckle, and she reached in to fondle his balls. That did it. He came like a goddamn freight train, bucking against her, trying not to hurt her while his entire body convulsed with ecstasy. Over and over, the waves broke until they ebbed slowly away. She licked him clean, then with one final swipe of her tongue, tucked his dick back into his drawers.
&nb
sp; “Holy shit.”
She chuckled. “Thank you.”
“I mean, damn, Lee, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean ... that was incredible.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the mouth. “But you didn’t get your share.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Buck’s teeth were still tingling, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk straight, but Marlene deserved to go home with the same pleasure he’d just had.
“Let me start with these beautiful babies.” He cupped her breasts, surprised to find the nipples still hard. Pulling up her t-shirt, he heard a quick snap and her bra was loose.
“Thanks, darlin’. I never can get those dang things undone gracefully.”
When she pulled up the cups of her bra, her alabaster skin glowed in the moonlight. The proudly erect nipples begged for his mouth. He rolled one between his fingers while his mouth landed on the other. She moaned and leaned back. Buck feasted like a starving man at an all you can eat buffet.
He suckled her hard, then bit the nipple until she hissed. He let that one free, then did the same to the other. His hand reached down and unzipped her jeans. She was hot, hotter than fire. Her pussy was so wet, his fingers glided back and forth. Her breathing grew more rapid. He slid two fingers deep inside her and finger fucked her while the heel of his hand massaged her clit.
Marlene clenched around him, and he knew she was close. He put a third finger inside her and pushed against her jeans for maximum thrust. She muffled a scream against her hand as she came, nearly crushing his fingers with her cunt. His cock twitched at the thought of having that muscle contract around it.
Buck gentled his movements until her muscles relaxed. When he finally got this filly into bed, he doubted they’d get out of it for days.
“You okay?”
She grinned. “Oh, yeah, but I’m embarrassed to admit I forgot we’re in the parking lot. Probably gave some drunk cowboy a show.”
Buck pinched her clit and she hissed. He withdrew his hand slowly, then licked his fingers. Sweet.
“Too bad for them. They’ll never taste anything as sweet as you.”
The Perfect Score 3 Marlenes Man Page 2