Play the Game: Hannaford Prep Year Three

by J Bree

  “I’ve got my truths up my sleeve. You owe me.” Ash says, his tone like warm honey and it’s almost enough to distract me from the words themselves.

  Fuck.

  I’d forgotten about that.

  “Well, what do you want to know then?” I feign indifference but his smirk tells me I fail miserably.

  Harley frowns at him and cracks the bottle of whiskey open, taking a swing and then handing it over to me. He hates not knowing shit about me, and Ash having the upper-hand will be grating on his nerves.

  Ash keeps his eyes locked on mine as he swipes the bottle from me, laying out the shot glasses and filling them to the brim. “I’ll be gentle, Mounty. We’ll play by your rules and if you don’t want to answer something just take the shot, and I’ll wait until it’s just the two of us to get the real answers.”

  I groan at him because nothing in this world will piss Harley off more. “I’ll answer your questions. You guys can take shots if you don’t want to. You go first, Ash, since I owe you.”

  He stares at me for a second and I almost think I see some regret on his face, but he asks the question anyway. “Why do you hate your birthday?”

  I take the shot.

  Harley curses under his breath, I think he’s ready to argue with Ash for me, but I wave him off. “I can tell I need to be drunk for the rest of this conversation. I hate my birthday because my mom died on my birthday. Next question.”

  Blaise glares at Ash and tugs me until I end up in his lap. They’ve all taken to just picking me up and moving me where they want me and I’m still deciding if I like it or not.

  I grab the bottle and start in on it. “C’mon, ask your questions. I’m giving you ten minutes and then I’ll be fucking wasted and useless.”

  Ash opens his mouth but Harley cuts him off. “I thought you hated your mom. Why miss out on your birthday every year to mourn someone you hate?”

  Another gulp, I’m not going to make it to ten minutes. “I’m not mourning her. I’m commemorating the day I got sent to a group home and met a boy there with big brown eyes and sweet words who told me he’d protect me and keep me safe. I’m commemorating the last time I blindly trusted someone and he turned out to be the biggest fucking monster under the bed. I’m mourning naive Lips Anderson who had no idea that boy had been watching her for months and sold her mom the dirty batch of heroin. I might have met him there but he’d been watching me for a while and my life ended the same day she died. Lips died too, the Wolf is all that’s left. Next question?”

  Harley takes a shot and then punches Ash in the arm so hard he winces. “Ask one of us one, babe. It’s not just you playing.”

  Oh. That could be fun. I hand Harley to bottle and tap my chin with a finger dramatically. Blaise snorts with laughter at me, his back pushing into me as he leans forward to grab a shot and down it.

  Fuck it, I’ll go for the throat. “Why don’t you two get pissy that Harley always sleeps in my bed? Why is some shit harder to compromise on than others?”

  Ash scowls at me, sighing and rolling his eyes. “You won’t know this because Harley always sleeps well around you but outside of your bed he’s an insomniac. Last year we had to drug him to get him to close his eyes for longer than twenty minutes at a time. I’m not going to get pissy over him finally having some sort of regular sleeping pattern. Would you say no to me sleeping in your bed while he’s in there?”

  I shake my head. It’s a stupid question, I’ve had all three of them in there before.

  “Well, there’s your answer. Yes, I’d like you on my own occasionally but I knew what sharing you entailed when I agreed.”

  I look at Blaise and find him nodding. “I’m less… grumpy about it, I guess. I don’t give a fuck who’s in your bed or who you’re fucking, Star. As long as I’m one of them.”

  I blush because that’s sweet but also I feel a little like a skank for wanting them all. For enjoying the hell out of them sharing me. Ugh. I’m a total whore.

  Harley brushes his knuckles over my cheek. “Stop over thinking things again, babe.”

  Blaise takes another shot and then moves me around in his arms like I weigh nothing which isn’t fucking possible with the amount of ice cream I now get to eat every week.

  He pouts at me and my eyes glue themselves to the inviting sight of his lip. “Why is this only truths? I want there to be dares as well. Kiss me, Star. I dare you to.”

  I laugh at him and squeeze his arms, the whiskey lighting my blood up until I’m all soft and pliable. “You don’t have to dare me to kiss me.”

  He bites down on my shoulder and I have to consciously tell my hips not to rock forward into him. I glance back to find Harley and Ash are both watching us, not a shred of jealously in either of them, but I can taste the want in the air.

  Fuck.

  This is heady and overwhelming and fucking perfect.

  Then keys slide into the lock and Blaise is cursing low and vicious under his breath and I’m the one pouting.

  Firm hands band around my hips and Ash pulls me out of Blaise’s lap. “Time’s up, Mounty.”

  On the Sunday before classes go back Harley sends everyone else back to the boy’s room while I’m in the shower getting ready for bed. When I step out and find him alone, perched on my bed in nothing but his boxers I gulp. Not in fear but in pure fucking lust.

  “Uhm-“

  He cuts me off. “I need another truth from you, babe.”

  I frown and step up until I’m standing between his legs, his big hands spanning my hips and drawing me in until he’s taking up all of my senses. He raises his eyebrows at me and I nod.

  “Avery went through my budgets with me when my inheritance came through and I told her to take out the exact amount I owed her. She was short and when I confronted her about it she told me you’ve been paying for my shit. Is that true?”

  Fuck.

  Avery hadn’t warned me about this, dammit!

  Harley nods like it’s written all over my face even though I’m sure it’s not. “So while I was being an asshole to you, you were paying for my tuition, my hotels, my fucking food. Everything.”

  I clear my throat. “Look, I had to. The Jackal was looking for any little opening to take you out and having you on the Beaumont payroll would have been the easiest opening for him. I was keeping you safe.”

  He shakes his head and lets his hands slide down until he’s palming my ass, squeezing and kneading. “I’m not angry, babe. I’m hungry. I’m fucking starving and you’re the only thing on the menu I want. One taste of what you’ve got and now I’m fucking addicted. Spread those legs for me.”

  Oh god. How the fuck did I end up with three Alpha males? And how the good goddamn did I find the only Alphas in the history of the Earth that are happy to share with each other? Sweet lord, I’m going to have a fucking heart attack.

  Harley gets tired of waiting for me to come to my senses and do what he’s asking, so he grabs the backs of my thighs to lift me and spread me out on the bed how he wants me. I’m only wearing my shirt and panties, and the tiny triangle of lace covering my pussy is torn from my body like it’s a fucking insult to his very nature, and he groans like he really is a starved man.

  “Take a deep breath and settle in, babe, because I’m not stopping until you’ve come on my tongue at least eleven times. One for every fucking diamond you lost that night for me.”

  I squirm and try to sit up, his hang ups on the favors and the money grating on me, but he flattens a big palm against my chest and pins me to the mattress. I want to say the dominant action pisses me off but the trickle of my wetness that lands on my sheets prove that’s a lie.

  “There is no way I can come eleven times.” I croak and he scoffs at me.

  “Start counting, baby.”

  By the fifth orgasm I’m nearly crying from the overstimulation but he’s ruthless, driving me out of my mind with sensation until I’m a sobbing mess over the bed. Number eleven leaves me with numb fingers and
toes, I’m fucking destroyed and he’s the most smug asshole you’ve ever seen as he curls me onto his chest. I can feel his dick digging into my belly and I quickly decide that even Avery walking in here right now couldn’t stop me from making him come too. I give myself thirty seconds to figure out how to work my limbs again and then I flip up to straddle his legs.

  Harley’s eyes flare but he gets on board with my plan pretty freaking quick, sitting up and pulling me until I’m right where he wants me.

  “Get this fucking shirt off.” He mumbles, and I laugh as he rips it off of me. My hips roll down on his, grinding away mindlessly and leaving a wet patch on his boxers. He groans like he’s being murdered and I swear it’s the hottest noise ever.

  “Fuck babe, these tits.” He bites his lip so hard I expect to see blood, and his eyes worship all of the newly exposed skin. His calloused hands are rough against my soft skin as he cups them, rolling my nipples like he had back at the docks.

  “Do they feel fine?” I snark at him even though my breath hitches in my throat and I sound like a tramp. I’m still just a little pissed about his comment last year and fuck it if I’m not going to give him shit for saying it. He doesn’t take any notice of me; all of his focus is centered on my boobs.

  His hands squeeze and stroke, he mumbles, “Perfect,” and then he ducks down to suck my nipple into his mouth. Holy sweet lord fuck. I’m dripping. When he moves over to the other nipple he catches my eye and, with a wink, he growls, “Taste perfect too, babe.”

  I moan and try to remember what the hell I’m doing. Right. I’m going to suck Harley’s dick and I’m going to do it right. I pull his face back up so I can kiss him, pulling his hair to angle him just right. Fuck, he’s like a drug.

  “Why aren’t you naked yet?” I mumble, biting at his lip.

  He chuckles at me and then tugs at his boxers, lifting his hips and grinding into me as he gets them off, and then he’s naked as well. Oh, Lordy.

  He kisses me, deep and long and entirely too fucking hot, while he strokes himself. I whine into his lips and wrap my hand around his dick as well, craving the heat and the weight of it and needing a few seconds to figure this out. He grunts into my lips, moving my hand until I’m stroking him exactly how he likes it, firm and curling around the head.

  Fuck him and his rational thought.

  I wriggle down his body until I come face-to- well… dick. Harley’s legs tense up. I glance back up at him and he’s gritting his teeth like the sight of me face-down in his lap is all his dreams come true. Huh. Maybe it is. He moves his hand away from his dick as I lick my lips.

  Good, I don’t want him playing with what’s mine right now.

  I wonder if the guys would tattoo my name down their dicks, too?

  I wrap my hand around the base and give it another tug, enjoying the heat and weight of him in my hand. Harley runs a gentle hand through my hair, his eyes soft on mine, but I don’t want soft. I want him shaking with need like I am whenever he touches me.

  “You’ve been tested lately, right? I refuse to swallow if you haven’t.” I say, arching an eyebrow at him even as my face flames.

  He freezes for a second and then all of the gentle in him burns out, replaced by heady lust. “We all got tested when we agreed to share you. We’re clean. Now make me come, babe. I want to taste myself on your lips.”

  I groan, my pussy waking up for round twelve, but there’s no time for that now. I run my tongue up the length of him, swirling around the head like he’s a spoonful of ice cream and I’m craving that sweet cherry on my tongue. Harley grunts when I do it again, slow and teasing, I want to push him like he pushes me.

  When I see his jaw clench I finally close my lips around him, taking as much of him in as I can, forgetting I need to breathe now I have him in my mouth. I pause for a second, just long enough to get my bearings and then I suck, pumping at the base with my hand because there’s no way I can fit his whole dick in my mouth or my damn throat.

  Fuck, I can’t wait to feel him buried deep inside my pussy. I groan around him and the noise he makes has me humming to keep him on edge.

  He starts to ramble on, mindless streams like he can’t control his mouth. “Fuck. Fuck, baby. Oh… that’s my girl. How the fuck is this the first time you’ve done this, fuck me. You were made to take my cock, babe.”

  I know when he gets close because his hand threads into my hair and fists tight like he’s going to pull me away but I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to swallow, at least this once. If it’s gross I’ll never do it again. He tugs a little and I only suck harder until he’s coming down my throat.

  It’s not French toast and ice cream, but it’s not terrible either.

  Harley pulls me up and into his arms, moving me around until he can kiss me, slow and sweet. He’s fucking perfect.

  I could sleep for a week.

  When I tell him that he tucks us both up in my bed, flicking the light off, and pulls his phone out. I assume it’s to ask Avery to sleep in the guy’s room but when he chuckles I suspect he’s fucking bragging.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I murmur and Harley pulls me onto his chest, cradling me gently against him.

  “Just making sure Blaise knows I don’t need any lessons on how to make you come, baby. The little fuck could learn from me.”

  I roll my eyes. “Of course you’ve made it a competition. Of course.”

  Harley drops a kiss on my head and murmurs, “It’s not a competition. We both just want you. But if it were a competition, we both know I’d be winning it.”

  I bite him in retaliation and I fall asleep to the rumble in his chest under my ear.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Someone is breaking in.

  I hear the window open and a body climb lithely in. It’s too skilled to be a student, this is the efficient work of someone who breaks into places a lot and they’re moving quietly enough that even Harley doesn’t wake. I reach over and grip my knife as I hear the clinking noise of chains rattling on a pair of boots. Great. I know who those belong to; I’ve heard that noise too many times in the past before.

  I slide a hand over Harley’s mouth carefully and he wakes up instantly.

  “You might want to get some bars on those windows, girlie.”

  Harley curses loud and vicious as he gets out of the bed. He pulls on boxers before he hits the lights. He grabs one of Blaise’s shirts that’s hanging on my bedpost to pull over my head, using his body as a shield so his uncle doesn’t get an eyeful. Diarmuid watches us both with a cackling laugh.

  “I thought you didn’t mind sharing her, buachaill beag?”

  One minute Harley is helping me lift the blankets and get out of the bed discreetly and the next he’s landing a severe right hook into Diarmuid’s cheek, knocking him to the ground. I scramble forward to grab Harley but he doesn’t lay into him. He just stands over him with fire in his eyes and says, “If you imply she’s a slut up for grabs again I’ll fucking kill you.”

  Diarmuid rubs his jaw and stands, frowning. “Makes no fuckin’ sense to me. I hear a rumor the girl you’re in love with is out with both your best friends and I expect you to be dealing with it like a man would. Instead you’re fuckin’ sharing her?”

  Harley shrugs. “I don’t care if you get it. Is that all? See yourself out.”

  Then he turns his back and leans down to kiss my forehead gently, cupping my cheek sweetly until I’m a puddle on the floor.

  “Right. Wolfie’s off limits. I’m not here to talk about your love life anyway, I’m here because I’d like to join your merry little band.”

  I freeze and cut a look at him.

  I do not trust Diarmuid. I don’t trust him one fucking bit. Harley glares at him and then flicks his eyes over to me, his eyebrows doing a complicated dance I don’t quite understand.

  Fuck it. “Why?”

  Diarmuid pulls out one of the chairs at the bench and slouches down into it, too casual for my liking. This is still
my fucking room and I’m the Wolf of Mounts Bay, for fuck’s sake.

  “The Jackal wasn’t very happy with me choosing your side in the car. He’s making my life pretty fucking difficult so I need to swear allegiance somewhere. The Crow is a cock, no chance of me signing up under some suit pretending to be rough. I’m not a fucking biker, so the Boar’s out.”

  I roll my eyes at him and cut him off. “Well, I don’t take people in out of fucking pity so no. Try the Viper or the Fox.”

  Diarmuid grins at me and shrugs. “They’ve both sided with the Jackal. Besides, you took the Butcher in. He’d be dead without you. If my little nephew isn’t sharing you with the sick fuck then what’s he giving you? I’ll pay double.”

  I use Harley’s body as a shield to pull yoga pants on without flashing my ass at his uncle and then I stalk forward to stand in front of the Irish bastard.

  “He gave me his loyalty, without question, like he always fucking has. You don’t have a loyal bone in your body, O’Cronin. Fuck knows how Éibhear had it because the rest of you lot certainly don’t.” I snap, and hope that isn’t crossing some line with Harley.

  Diarmuid’s eyes flick between us and the way his face sets I know Harley’s backing me perfectly. Thank fuck.

  “Right. You want loyalty, little girl? Name your price and I’ll pay it. What’s it going to take to prove my loyalty?”

  Harley scoffs at him. “Maybe start with showing her some fucking respect.”

  Diarmuid’s jaw clenches. “My apologies. Wolf, what can I do?”

  I roll my shoulders back and stare at him while I think. I don’t want to induct him, I don’t want a fucking empire, but we could use another set of skilled hands while we’re being hunted. Fuck it.

  “The Jackal has put out a hit. I need every single man, woman, and child in the Bay to know that touching anyone under my protection is signing their own death warrant. The Butcher is aiming for subtlety at the moment so we don’t rock the boat with the other members.”

  Diarmuid snorts. “The Jackal has flipped the fuckin’ boat. The boat has sunk, litt- Wolf.” He catches himself and shoots a look at Harley.