Reed

by Mariska Hutchence

  I barely make it over the seat before she has me by the lips, her fingers working their magic on my belt-buckle. If guys show pride in how fast they can unhook a bra, Candy shows it in her blind ability to get my pants open without looking; from any angle. I’m starting to realize that she had ulterior motives in tagging along with me today as I feel her hand wrapping around my cock. She pushes me back to where my back is pressed against the driver’s side door, up on her knees; that gorgeous ass perched high in the air. I feel her lips replace her hand, my own racing down her back, pulling her shirt up over her head. It breaks the connection for a second, but she’s back on it in a flash and I can see one of her hands working the button of her own shorts. Let’s face it, the girl’s good with her hands.

  It doesn’t take long before the brown tangle of hair in my lap has me at the edge and she laughs as I push her off. She squirms around into the same position facing the other way and it’s my distinct pleasure to roll those tight shorts down over that beautiful body as she looks at me over her shoulder, urging me on. It’s not my first rodeo with her, and I know exactly how she likes it.

  A gasp presses out of her lips as I press into her, her body obviously already primed from the buildup; my own primed and wet from those delicious lips. She presses back against me as if she has an urgent need to have every inch of me at this precise moment, but she’s getting no complaints from me. A distracted glance shows the windows of the Chevelle are steaming up already. If I know Candy, we’ll likely be here for a while.

  “Well, you are a growing boy, aren’t you?” She says with a straight face, the only smile the one in those flashing eyes.

  “All the better to…” I start.

  “Hush your mouth, Luke Champion.” She says, moving forward. I feel myself sliding out of the tight embrace of her body until she thrusts back hard a moment later. I start my own movement, but she cuts me off with her eyes.

  “No, you’ve done enough work for the day. It’s my turn.”

  “Who am I to back-talk a pretty lady?”

  “Your mama taught you right, Champ.” She says, her own rhythm building, driving me crazy. She’s about the only one I’ll take the joke about my name from; and that’s just because she means it. As much as we give each other a hard time, she loves me and I know it. I haven’t asked her yet, and the thought distracts me some from our activities as well as the blurry world outside of the window.

  “Shit.” She says suddenly, pulling forward, putting an abrupt end to what I had thought was getting close to wrapping up anyway.

  “What, baby?”

  “There’s a car pulling in.”

  Shit is right. I can just make out the car behind us, and the bodies piling out. “Get your clothes on.” I say, but she’s way ahead of me. I pack things in myself before pulling the handle and climbing out.

  “Where you from, kid?” Is how I’m greeted; by a guy that couldn’t be more than a year older than me. I size him up, mentally, as well as the other two. I could probably take any combination of two on my own, but I would probably have trouble with all three, so I press my hostility down a bit.

  “We don’t want any trouble, brother. Just taking a break from the road, if you know what I mean.” I try to add a conspiratorial gesture to the car with my eyes.

  “Doesn’t mean you can just stop anywhere you want…brother.” He says, pausing and emphasizing the last word in a mockery of my own. “Unless you’re sharing.”

  The hostility comes back up. He’s starting to encroach on my space and I’m doubting there’s any way to avoid a fight. Unlike some of the others in the county, pa taught me to avoid it when I can; not that he didn’t teach me how to do it, though.

  “Look, friend, I…”

  “I ain’t your friend.” The big guy says. I’m starting to think of another thing I was taught. “Take out the bear and the coyotes will think twice.” I remember the words clear as day and I’m looking for my opening. I take a step forward.

  “No sweat. If you’ll just pull…”

  My fist comes up, causing him to go on the defense, but not before the distraction allows my boot to connect right at his kneecap, crumpling him to the ground almost immediately, howling in pain. The second taker is already moving in and I dodge the first wild punch he throws, catching the following jab on my chin, shooting stars across my vision. Instead of backing down, I come in closer, bringing him to the ground with me on top of him. Shit about things like this, though, is that I know I only have a few seconds to put him out before asshole number three is on me. I’ve got his right arm pinned with my knee as he flails around with the left, but my guess that he wasn’t a southpaw paid off. My knuckles are screaming by the second punch that lands on his face, but either the spreading blood or the force of the blows have already made him go limp under me. Something hard hits me in the back, right on the shoulder blades and pain sings out louder than a rock concert.

  I look up just in time to catch the second blow from the baseball bat, which lands just as solidly as the first. I’m still trying to get up as he’s winding up for the third pitch when I hear a thud and his blazing eyes sort of go blank. I shake the cobwebs out of my head and see Candy there, her hair still tousled from our activities, holding a half-full Jack Daniel’s bottle.

  “Shit, Luke.” She says, looking a little dazed.

  “Let’s just get the fuck out of here, baby.” I say, climbing to my feet. Candace is just nodding at me as she circles around to the passenger door and we both climb in as I’m looking around to see if we can get out further down the trail. I’m not seeing much but rapidly deepening brush.

  “Fuck.” I say, bringing the car to life just as all hell breaks loose.

  Chapter One - Bailey

  “I like the Burrows one.” I say, referring to the slinky little beaded one. Basically, a black dress with some exquisite beading around the bosom. Gold and silver with a little splash of red, it reminds me of a peacock. It’s absolutely gorgeous, though nothing like what most of my friends would have chosen in my position. “I just need it pulled in a little tighter around the waist.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Courtney says. The seamstress has at least ten years on me, but she’s been making me look good since the day dad brought her around to get me ready for prom. This is effectively the same deal, though instead of high school boys ogling me, it’ll be the dregs of the upper crust. I’m not about to let their stares keep me from looking good and even more, feeling good, about myself. “What about the shoes?”

  I look over the selection she’s laid out, but once again, nothing strikes me. “I’ll just find a pair of my own, Courtney.” I say, watching her nod. “…and please don’t call me ma’am.”

  She smiles. “It’s just a habit, Miss Bailey.” She says apologetically.

  “Drop the ‘Miss’ shit too.” I grin. I know the profanity shocks her and that’s exactly why I do it. People are way too hung up about women that curse. I don’t see what the difference is between saying ‘shit’ or ‘shoot’; you mean the same damn thing when you say either, right?

  She gently wraps up the dress, beating a hasty retreat as I plop down on the settee at the foot of my bed. The room looks a little different now, but it’s the same room I grew up in. At twenty-three, I know I should be on my own, but I’m here more for dad than any other reason. He’s alone and I think it helps him, especially as often as he tells me he sees my mother in my eyes.

  The phone rings and I get up, aggravated as I’ve just sat down. I pick up the receiver and grab the base from the nightstand, taking it back to the settee with me, stepping over the cord and whisking it free of the bed’s legs.

  “Hello?”

  “So, did you like him or not?” The voice starts in. It’s Elizabeth, my best friend since grade school. “He’s going to be there tomorrow night.”

  I want to sigh, but I suppress it. Liz thinks she’s on a mission from God to set me up with a man. “He was nice enough, but I don’t think he�
��s right for me, Liz.” I say, trying to sound as sweet as possible. Roger Blake. I don’t know what she had said to drag him down to the club to meet me last night, but he had seemed disappointed that it hadn’t panned out. I think he had been more interested in what was under my tennis skirt than anything above the waist.

  “Is anyone ever going to be right for you, Bailey?” She says, and I hear the sigh from her that I had avoided.

  “Someday my prince will come.” I laugh. It’s a joke that’s stretched since we were both just girls, listening to the old Disney records my mom had loved to collect.

  “Not if you keep listening to the wicked witch.” She fires back. Gloria Steinem. She’s not a fan. I don’t agree with everything the woman has to say, but I get her point, at least. Liz is going to end up with her current beau, Larry Sedlo, as the stereotypical fifties housewife, serving her man a martini in her pearls and evening dress wearing an apron.

  “I’ve got everything I need, Liz.” I assure her. “Are you driving down tonight or tomorrow?”

  “Larry has to work late tonight.” She says. “So he’s going to pick me up in the morning. We’re going to stay at a place by Forsyth Park. He says I’ll love it.”

  “I’m sure you will.” I say, my mind wandering, wondering a bit about why an insurance salesman would need to work late hours. I dismiss it. None of my business.

  “What about you?”

  “Bilbo is driving me down in the morning.” I say. It’s really Bilboa, and Hector has been my father’s driver for as long as I can remember. As girls, it’s what we always called him.

  “Lucky.” Liz says.

  “It’s just a car.”

  “And a driver.” She adds.

  Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but not all the time. Dad worked hard building his little empire and I don’t blame him for enjoying the trappings that go with it. “I’ll see you down there, Liz.” I say. “I’ve got to get finished getting ready.”

  “You are still shaving your legs, right?” She laughs.

  I laugh too, despite myself. “Bye, Liz.”

  About Mariska Hutchence

  Mariska Hutchence was born in the former Yugoslavia, but she feels no desire to return. Part of that is because she never really lived there, part of it is that it doesn't exist anymore. A classically trained pianist holding a degree in social work, Mariska uses her education and experience to model complex characters for her novels, as well as keeping her kids on the straight and narrow.

  A fan fiction writer for years, she's finally turned her talents into publishable works with her own stable of relatable heroines and soul-searching heroes in stories torn from the latest headlines. Living her own 'Happily Ever After' with her husband Scott, she likes to put a positive spin on the vast majority of her stories, while reminding us that 'HEA doesn't mean perfect.'

  She published her first romance novel, Bolo in October of 2016

  Other Works by Mariska Hutchence

  Bolo

  His only obsession was her…

  Avery Boles was stuck with his former military nickname, but the last thing he wanted to be stuck with was the life he was currently living as a civilian. Working part-time as a bouncer at Club Raza while doing less legal work on the side more suited to his talents, Bolo is just biding his time until he can retire…but he didn’t count on The Goddess.

  Suzanne Claremont is in the same position, existing paycheck-to-paycheck as a Real Estate Agent, constantly frustrated by her former-model roommate’s earnings as a Sugar Baby. She dreams that her life can be more than being dragged to the club, where she can’t escape being a wallflower.

  Suddenly, the oddly shy yet muscle-bound and bearded bouncer, Bolo, turns her world upside down. Is it a cruel joke, or can his veritable obsession for her actually be real?

  Just as she’s starting to trust the intentions of her gorgeous new admirer, something happens that will change both of their lives forever.

  Author’s Note: Bolo is the epitome of ‘all-in’ regarding his passion for Suzanne, his ‘Goddess’, and his fondest desire is to sweep her away from her dull existence, to be not only his true love, but the mother of his children as well. Hot, steamy romance, passion, and a healthy dose of man-muscles and a beard to die-for will make this a favorite. I promise to give you fire, lust, and a healthy dose of HEA with no cheating. - Mariska

  Available Now Exclusively for Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

  Connect with Mariska Hutchence

  I absolutely love to hear from readers and will answer just about anything you send my way. Catch me at mariskahutchence@avppublishing.com! - Mariska

  You can also catch me on my website: http://www.mariskahutchence.com

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