Power Play: A Black & White Collection Story

by Mari Carr

  He gave her a naughty wink. “I’ve figured out a few tricks to get you to say yes.”

  “I’m being serious, Reed. I don’t think we should go into this with blinders on. You know as well as I do there are probably gonna be some knock-down, drag-out fights in our future.”

  He squeezed her hand. “So long as you promise they will always be followed by dirty, kinky make-up sex, I can live with that.”

  Brian groaned. “Too much information. So it’s settled then. Get out of my office. Go make plans for the future of this company. And I’m telling you right now, if you run it into the ground, I’m coming back here and kicking both your asses.”

  They laughed and Reed gave his uncle a playful salute. “Duly noted.”

  Brian gave Frankie a kiss on the cheek and offered Reed his hand for a handshake. Reed pulled his uncle toward him and the two men embraced.

  “I’m proud of you, son,” Brian said. Reed felt a lump in his throat until his uncle, in typical fashion, followed up with a joke. “But we’re going to have to talk about your professional, gentlemanly skills. Seducing your partner is a no-no.”

  Reed laughed. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I sort of think that falls in the gray area.”

  Frankie narrowed her eyes. “Your gray area just turned black. Keep that in mind.”

  Brian slapped Reed on the back. “This should be fun to watch…from afar. Makes me glad my first few planned trips are abroad.”

  Reed grasped Frankie’s hand and led her to the elevator. As the doors slid closed, she hit the stop button.

  “I love you,” she said.

  His breath caught in his chest. He knew how hard it was for her to make such a declaration.

  “I’m kind of hard not to love, sweetheart.”

  She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Oh my God. I’m going to have so much fun putting you in your place.”

  He grinned. “I look forward to it. Oh, and Francesca, I love you too.”

  About the Author

  Writing a book was number one on Mari Carr’s bucket list and on her thirty-fourth birthday, she set out to see that goal achieved. A winner of the Passionate Plume, Mari finds time for writing by squeezing it into the hours between 3 a.m. and daybreak when her family is asleep and the house is quiet. Please visit the following places to learn more about Mari Carr:

  Website: http://www.maricarr.com

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mari.carr3

  Twitter: http://twitter.com/MariCarr

  Blog: http://internationalheat.wordpress.com

  Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Heat_Wave_Readers/join

  Look for these titles from Mari Carr

  Now Available:

  Black & White Collection

  Erotic Research

  Tequila Truth

  Rough Cut

  Happy Hour

  Because of You

  Learning Curves

  Coming Soon:

  Northern Exposure

  Southern Comfort

  Eastern Ambitions

  Western Ties

  Last call? She’ll take a double. Straight up, please…

  Happy Hour

  © 2010 Mari Carr

  For six years, widow Grace Wright’s days have been filled as a single working mother. Now, with her daughter graduating, her nest is yawning before her, wide and empty. And so is the upcoming weekend. Invited out by her coworkers, she decides it’s time to turn that corner and get on with her life.

  Jamie’s had his eye on Grace for years, but it never seemed the right time to approach her. Tonight, something’s different. The sexual signals she’s giving off are unmistakable—and he’s not the only man in the bar who’s noticed. His best friend, Trey, is breaking a sweat just looking at the delectable English teacher.

  The two men make her the offer of a lifetime, and Grace doesn’t hesitate. For one night, Jamie and Trey indulge her every desire, every fantasy, every naughty craving. In the morning Trey is gone with the wind, but Jamie is holding on to every moment as if he never wants to let go. Leaving her wondering if another chance at forever is too much to ask…

  Warning: Contains a red-hot ménage, anal sex, graphic language, bondage and toys. Serve with a tall, cool one with plenty of ice. How ’bout another round?

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Happy Hour:

  Jamie refused to have his night with Grace ruined by Carmen and he reacted before he thought. He leaned over and kissed Grace, a hard, full-on, open-mouthed kiss. He half expected her to pull away and slap him, so he was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss.

  He wasn’t sure how long he inhaled the sweet scent of her breath and tasted the tang of beer on her tongue. He gripped her waist and held on, reveling in the moment. Their first kiss and it was better than he’d ever imagined. Her lips were soft against his, but her response proved she wouldn’t be a passive or timid lover. She touched his tongue with hers, exploring his mouth while her fingers tugged his hair, pulled him closer.

  The kiss betrayed her true feelings and had his mouth been free, he’d have shouted his happiness to the entire bar. She was as hungry for him as he was for her. For a moment, the rest of the world faded away, leaving just the two of them, lost in their own private Eden.

  And then reality intruded.

  “Jamie?” Finally, the female voice penetrated his lust-clouded mind and he regretfully pulled away. “Jamie?”

  He turned to find Carmen standing beside the table, looking confused—and shit—upset. He hated hurting her, but she didn’t understand when he said he wasn’t interested in dating her. When faced with the idea of listening to her nonstop boring conversation another night, he’d acted on instinct. “Hey, Carmen,” he said, forcing a nonchalant tone to his voice.

  “Hi,” she said. “I thought I spotted you over here.” An awkward silence fell, and Jamie decided it was time to carry the subterfuge to the next level.

  “Have you met my girlfriend, Grace?”

  “Girlfriend?” Carmen asked.

  He nodded and was grateful when Grace smiled kindly. “I think we may have met a few months ago. At another happy hour, maybe?”

  Carmen shrugged and Jamie saw Trey roll his eyes. No doubt Carmen didn’t remember the fact she’d met Grace at least three times in the past. She wasn’t exactly bright and she certainly never paid a bit of attention to the other women at the table, usually saving all of that mind-numbing banter for him or Trey.

  “Isn’t she a little old for you?” Carmen asked.

  Jamie fought back the urge to tell the woman off for her cruelty. “No. She isn’t.” His words were clipped and halting and any fool could see he was furious. Unfortunately, Carmen was the queen of fools.

  She looked Grace up and down and then dismissed her as a serious threat. “What are you guys doing tonight?” she purred, thrusting her breasts forward as if the mere sight of her big tits bursting out of her too-tight top would make him come to his senses and fall madly in love with her.

  “We’re having a few drinks together.”

  “That’s cool,” she said, looking around for an extra chair. Mercifully, they’d given their extra seats to a large group at the next table.

  “Well, it was good to see you again, Carmen. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime.” Jamie’s dismissal was curt and he silently prayed it would be enough because if she persisted on hanging around, they’d have to leave. After the kiss he’d just shared with Grace, he’d rather cut off his left nut than cut this evening short.

  Carmen hovered by the table for a moment until Trey and Grace both added their goodbyes, then she left.

  “Damn, man,” Trey said. “Quick thinking on that kiss. Well done.”

  He nodded, though he was still fuming over Carmen’s insult. He glanced at Grace. “I’m sorry she was so rude to you.”

  Grace reached over and grasped his hand. “That’s not your apology to make. Besides, I think we’v
e already discussed her lack of intelligence.”

  Trey laughed, but Jamie continued speaking. “With any luck, that will be the last time I have to deal with her.”

  Grace squeezed his hand. “Oh, I think you made your point. You’ve tried to break things off with her gently at least a dozen times, Jamie. Sometimes, you just have to be less subtle, more direct.”

  “That kiss was pretty fucking direct,” Trey said.

  Grace looked at him and smiled. “Have to admit I didn’t mind pretending to be your girlfriend for a few minutes. Wow.”

  “Few minutes? Felt like you were swallowing each other’s tonsils for hours.”

  “Shut up, Trey,” Jamie said with a grin, pleased by Grace’s compliment.

  “You know, Grace, I think I see an old stalker girlfriend of mine over there. Mind giving me one of those kisses?” Trey asked.

  Grace shook her head. “Don’t you guys have anything better to do tonight than harass this old woman?”

  “Carmen’s a fucking idiot. I don’t see any old women at this table,” Jamie said, hating for her to feel the sting of the insensitive woman’s words.

  “Maybe not, but I still don’t get why you two are here. Despite my fears of pumping up your already overinflated egos, you’re both totally hot. Why are you sitting here with me tonight rather than going out on dates? Getting laid?”

  Jamie shrugged. “Spending the night with you is a hell of a lot more fun than spending all our money, buying drinks and trying to get into the pants of some stranger.”

  “We’d rather buy drinks and try to get into your pants,” Trey teased. The image of the three of them in bed together floated through Jamie’s mind and he silently cursed the denim cutting into his rock-hard cock as he was reminded of Trey’s proposition.

  “Ha ha. God. I can’t tell you how glad I am I’m not still out there, trying to maneuver my way around the dating scene.” Grace picked up the pitcher and freshened up all their drinks, clearly dismissing their come-ons as harmless teasing. When Jamie considered how often they’d made sexual jokes in the past, he could understand.

  “Why aren’t you out there, Grace?” Trey asked. “You’re single, hot, young.”

  Grace looked as if she wanted to refute his friend’s words and Jamie felt something inside snap. “And before you call Trey a liar, you might want to consider the consequences.”

  Grace and Trey both turned to him, astonished by his sharp tone.

  “Consequences?” Grace asked.

  “Everything Trey said is true. I’m sick of hearing you put yourself down, angel.”

  “I don’t put myself down,” she argued.

  “Tell me you weren’t about to tell Trey he needed to get glasses, that you’re old, past your prime or some other stupid shit like that.”

  She closed her mouth and he could see he’d hit the nail on the head. His eyes narrowed. “Say anything else like that again tonight—or any night for that matter—and I’ll be forced to punish you.”

  His words provoked a nervous laugh from her and he could see Trey’s scowl from the corner of his eyes.

  “And just how would you punish me?”

  She stressed the wrong words and Jamie felt his hibernating grizzly bear begin to wake. “I’d pull down those skin-tight jeans of yours, lay you out and bring you to orgasm with just my hand. Over and over.”

  Grace flushed and he could see in her eyes she was struggling like mad to read in his face whether he was joking or not. He made sure she saw the veracity of his words. This was no joke.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s physically impossible.” Leave it to Grace to find her footing quickly. She took the middle ground, not giving away anything and once more, he was left to try to decide if she was interested or horrified by his comments. Damn woman never made anything easy.

  Fuck it. He was going to lay it all out for her tonight. He was tired of holding back because of their age difference, because of Maddie, out of respect for her dead husband, because he was afraid of rejection or losing her friendship. All his excuses faded away as he looked at her lovely face.

  “Clearly you’ve never been finger-fucked. I’d have you begging for my cock in minutes,” he replied, leaning closer to her.

  She flushed as he added the last statement, but her suddenly shallow breathing and the turgid nipples poking through her blouse answered the most pressing question in his mind. He didn’t have to wonder about her sexual interest in him anymore. Her body was screaming Yes! loud and clear. Now he needed to clear the hurdle of her mind.

  Trey’s voice broke the silence surrounding them. “You two do realize I’m sitting here and can hear everything you’re saying, right?”

  Grace laughed, but it had a breathless quality that sent a fresh surge of blood to Jamie’s cock as he imagined that sound in his bed as he came into her body. “I hope you’re driving tonight, Trey. I think maybe Jamie is a little drunk.”

  Jamie reached down and pulled her chair roughly toward his until she was sitting between his outstretched legs. “You had to go there, didn’t you? You couldn’t help yourself. It’s easier to make a joke than admit to yourself that there’s a guy sitting at this table who wants to fuck himself to death inside you.”

  Jamie saw Trey move his chair closer to Grace and as he looked away from her astonished face, he saw his friend’s hands resting on Grace’s waist.

  “Two guys,” Trey added. “There are two guys who want you, Gracie.”

  Grace looked from him to Trey and he could see her mind fighting to process what they were saying. “This is a joke.” The words were weak, almost a question. Hell, he thought they sounded like a plea.

  He shook his head. “I’ve wanted you for years, Grace.”

  Trey bent forward and as Jamie watched, his friend pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck. Grace’s eyes drifted shut and he grasped her hands when they began to shake. “Open your eyes and look at me,” Jamie said.

  She opened them, looked at him, her gaze full of questions and if he wasn’t mistaken, lust. “How long has it been?” Jamie whispered.

  “Too long,” she replied breathlessly.

  He suspected—hell, he knew—she hadn’t been with anyone since her husband’s death. They were good enough friends she would have told him if there’d been another man since then.

  “Come home with us,” Jamie said, his heart pounding as he spoke the words, the realization of what he was asking dawning hard. He was inviting Grace and Trey to his bed.

  Trey’s lips still lingered by her ear and he heard his friend whisper, “Please, Grace. Just tonight. One night.”

  She shuddered and Jamie tightened his grip on her hands. For Trey, it would be one night, but Jamie was hoping for much, much longer.

  Grace took a deep breath and Jamie sensed her struggle to recover her wits. “I feel like we should talk about this. There needs to be some conversation, some discussion.”

  Jamie cut her off. “Do you want to sleep with us?”

  “God, yes.”

  “Discussion over. Let’s pay the tab and get out of here.”

  The decadence of Bourbon Street is beckoning…

  French Quarter

  © 2010 Lacey Alexander

  Hot in the City, Book 1

  When prim, proper Liz Marsh suspects her fiancé is cheating on her, she’s almost too embarrassed to hire a P.I. to prove it. And when she gathers her courage and walks into Jack Wade’s office, she has no idea he’ll be the sexiest man she’s ever encountered, nor that his light Cajun accent will make her tingle in all the wrong—or is that right?—places.

  After Jack brings her questionable yet undeniably arousing evidence, the only solution is for Liz to get a closer look with her own eyes. And Jack is more than happy to show her everything she’s been missing. One night in the French Quarter’s entrancing red light district, and Liz finds herself caught up in the provocative allure of an erotic new atmosphere and the sudden, urgent need to experience it fo
r herself—with Jack.

  Jack’s normally a keep-it-casual guy, but as nights with Liz get hotter, so do Jack’s feelings for the seductive woman in his arms. Bourbon Street decadence beckons and Liz embarks on a sizzling journey of sexual awakening that has her more willing to shed her inhibitions minute by carnal minute. But someone else has noticed her insatiable appetite for sensual adventure, someone who’s just beginning to realize what he’s lost—and who’s determined to tear Jack and Liz apart…

  Warning: Contains sizzling hot sex any way she wants it—and a man (or two) more than willing to show her the ropes. Let the good times roll, baby!

  Enjoy the following excerpt for French Quarter:

  “Tell me about a lap dance,” she said to Jack. Suddenly, she no longer cared if she didn’t appear experienced. Perhaps, she thought, because she also suddenly wanted to change all that, wanted to get experienced.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “How much does it cost? How does it work? Is there touching involved?”

  He looked taken aback, aroused, before explaining. “You have to ask the stripper how much it costs—usually twenty dollars or so. You pay the girl, then she straddles you and dances. You can’t touch, but she can touch you. They generally don’t, but they can.”

  Jack pointed to a nearby table where a young guy was getting a lap dance from a pretty girl with round, sexy breasts and long brown hair—she looked particularly impassioned by her work.

  Together, she and Jack watched and Liz could have sworn her body temperature was steadily rising. The gorgeous stripper leaned down over the guy, teasing him, her beaded pink nipples so close to his mouth that Liz wondered how he kept himself from nibbling on them. The stripper’s hips ground into the guy’s crotch, making the spot between Liz’s thighs tingle hotly.

  “Have you had them before?” she asked, still studying the intimate act.

  Jack stopped watching the lap dance to look at her. She pulled her gaze from the stripper and met his eyes. “Yeah,” he said on a heated breath. “Why?”