by Jaci Burton
Tossing thoughts of Rand into the gentle summer breeze, she walked through the unlocked front door of Callie’s modest little house, announcing her arrival. “I’m here!”
“You’re late!” Callie called from the kitchen.
“I know!” She grinned and wandered into the kitchen, thrilled to see a laughing Abby parked at the island counter. She threw her arms around Abby and gave her a huge hug. “Looks like you survived your wild weekend.”
“She sure did,” Callie said. “She’s been smiling like that since she got here, but she won’t tell me a damn thing.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault Blair’s late.”
“Guilty as charged,” Blair said, pulling up a stool at the counter. She grabbed one of the mimosas Callie slid in her direction and took a long swallow of the cool liquid, hoping it would douse the fire burning inside her. “But it wasn’t my fault. I was . . . waylaid on my drive over.”
Callie arched a dark brow. “Really.”
“Yeah. Rand McKay was fucking with me.”
“Oooh. In a good way, I hope,” Abby said, wagging her eyebrows.
“No. Just fucking with me in his normal annoying as hell way.”
Abby and Callie exchanged knowing glances.
“Oh, you two quit looking at each other like that. And don’t even start on me and Rand. You know damn well I’m not the least bit interested in him. He’s like a pesky brother.”
Callie snorted. “Yeah, right. I don’t think so.”
“We are not here to discuss me. I want to hear about Abby’s wild weekend with Mike and Seth. How did it go?”
Abby’s face flushed with the cutest blush. “It was . . . phenomenal.”
Callie squealed. “I knew it!”
Blair nodded. “So did I. So, details, woman, details! At the club they were both drooling over you, and we saw you outside on the balcony with them. Dayum. What woman wouldn’t have multiple orgasms over attention like that from two men?”
Abby laid her elbows on the counter and palmed her face. “I can barely even think about it now without flushing with heat. I can’t even describe what that night was like other than to say it fulfilled every single fantasy I’d ever had—and then some. They were magnificent.”
Blair laid her hand over Abby’s. “Well, it’s about time you got laid.”
Abby’s eyelashes fluttered down, and she clasped her hands together. “Oh, it went way beyond just sex, Blair. Way beyond.”
“There’s more? Come on, girl. Spill,” Callie demanded.
When Abby looked back at them, her eyes were filled with tears. “I fell in love.”
“You’re joking,” Blair said.
“No, I’m not.”
Abby filled them in on what transpired over the weekend and the following week. Everything, including her individual reactions to both Mike and Seth and her run-in with Chad at the casino. By the time she’d finished, it made perfect sense to Blair. “Of course you’re in love. Seth is the ideal man for you, and Mike isn’t. Mike is sexually overpowering—fun to play with but not a man to have a relationship with. Seth is everything you should have had the first time around, but instead you ended up with Chad, the lying, cheating, whoring son of a bitch.”
“Oh, honey. I’m so damn happy for you!” Callie hurried around the counter and enveloped Abby in a hug.
Even Blair had to admit to blinking away a few tears. Okay, she was downright thrilled for Abby. And admittedly, more than a little envious that a bet in order to have a little sex had turned into a love match for one of her best friends.
So they spent the afternoon wildly celebrating Abby’s newfound love while she filled them in about what was next for her—namely graduation and starting out her new career as a veterinarian while finding her way in her relationship with Seth.
By the time they were kicked back in Callie’s living room, Blair had relaxed and had a good buzz going. She propped her feet on the worn wood coffee table and laced her arms behind her head.
“So, Blair, I think it’s your turn next.”
She looked over at Abby, who was equally kicked back with her feet tucked under her in the wicker chair. “My turn for what?”
“The bet.”
Blair arched a brow. “Oh yeah?”
“Great idea. And I have just the suggestion for man meat for you,” Callie said.
Now they were talking about subject that interested her. She couldn’t imagine what man Callie and Abby would have in mind for her. “Who?”
“Rand McKay,” Callie replied with a smug smile.
“Rand is perfect,” Abby added.
“Oh, you two are hilarious.” Blair stretched and wiggled her toes. “But I don’t think so.”
“Unless I’m mistaken, Miss Newcastle, you were the one who thought up and set the terms of this bet,” Abby said. “And those terms included that we got to choose who you fucked. Not you.”
She sat up straight and gaped at them. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Deadly,” Callie said.
“I thought you were my friends.”
“We are.”
“Then how can you do this to me?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “We’re not doing anything to you. We’ve simply chosen the man we think you should have your weekend sex fest with.”
This was unbelievable. She couldn’t do it. Not Rand. Anyone but Rand. Her stomach tightened at the thought. “I’ll just renege on the bet.”
Callie gasped. “Blair Newcastle. You have never backed out on a bet in all the years we’ve known you. Are you that much of a coward?”
Goddammit! Callie was right. She had never, ever failed to see a bet through. But it was Rand, for the love of God. How could she accept the terms? Why were they doing this to her when they knew how she felt about him?
“Blair,” Abby said. “You might think you’re keeping some deep dark secret, but not from us.”
Blair’s eyes widened. They could not know! “What are you talking about?”
“Rand McKay. You’ve been hot for him since high school. It’s obvious to everyone who knows the two of you.”
“It is not.” And that wasn’t her secret. It wasn’t what kept her away from Rand. They had no idea what they were asking of her.
“It is, too,” Callie said. “The way you two look at each other is like watching animals in heat. Honey, you were meant to be together. We’re just giving fate a little push in the right direction.”
“Especially since you’re too bullheaded to take that step, for some reason that is completely unclear to Callie and me,” Abby added.
“Fate has nothing to do with why Rand and I aren’t together. We aren’t together because I choose not to be with him.”
“He wants you,” Abby said.
“That’s his fucking problem.”
“Not this weekend it isn’t,” Callie replied, then laughed. “This weekend he gets to have you. Over and over and over again.”
“This is not funny, goddammit!” She pushed off the sofa and stalked to the window where her car sat in the driveway. The car she’d leaned against while Rand ran his hands all over her body, inciting her senses to near fever pitch. If she let him touch her, she’d lose control. He’d wrest it away from her and dominate her. She couldn’t give up her advantage to him. If she did, she’d never get it back.
Then again, did she really have to give up control? She was a master at wrapping men around her little finger. She’d been doing it for years, and she was damn good at it. If she worked her wiles on Rand, she’d wager he’d come crawling. He’d be so surprised she was willing to spread her legs for him, he wouldn’t even notice she wasn’t giving him anything she didn’t really want to give. He’d dive into her pussy, so happy she was giving it up to him after all these years, he wouldn’t have time to realize she was the one in total control of the situat
ion, that she was the one calling all the shots.
He’d just think he was in charge. And by the time he figured it out, she’d have fulfilled the terms of the bet, fucked his brains out, and be on her way. Door closed.
Heart protected.
She turned away from the window and regarded her traitorous friends with a sly grin. “You know. You’re absolutely right. It’s about damn time I throw Rand McKay down and fuck him. I’ll do it.”
“You mean, you’ll do him?” Callie asked. “After all these years, you’re finally going to screw Rand?
“Yes, I’ll do him. I’ll fuck Rand McKay.”
two
Blair sat in her office and tapped her nails on her desk, staring out the window and pondering her epic blunder. How could she have set the terms of the bet in such a way that she was stuck having to seduce Rand McKay?
Not that there’d be much effort on her part in the seduction arena. He was primed and ready for her, and as he’d told her yesterday, all she had to do was go to him, and he’d take her on.
Arrogant prick.
It wasn’t in her nature to prostrate herself in front of a man. She was the ice queen, goddammit, an image she’d spent years perfecting: untouchable, untamable, wicked, and out of control. She had a reputation as a ball buster, a woman in charge. Every woman envied her. Every man feared her.
Every man except Rand, who’d never once bought her act.
Because that’s all it was. An act. And he damn well knew it.
Dickhead. How the hell he knew it was beyond her, but he did know. And that’s why she had steered clear of him all these years. Other men fell at her feet to worship her, to do anything she wanted them to. She only had to snap her fingers, and the world was her oyster. Men would stand on their heads if she asked them to.
She’d almost married a few of them. They really were nice guys. Nice, sweet, safe guys. She’d really tried to make it all the way to the altar with them. Until she came to her senses and realized how utterly bored she’d be. Because even though she only fucked men she could control, she knew she’d never be happy with a man like that.
Catch-22. Damned if she did and damned if she didn’t.
Who needed to get married, anyway? She could have her pick of any man in Silverwood. She’d been wined and dined and romanced by many of them, and though she left them all, she left them with smiles on their faces and fond memories of the best sex they’d ever had. And no regrets on their part.
So she got a little lonely now and then. Lots of women spent their lives alone. She was used to getting her own way, and she wasn’t about to change now. It was probably best she remained single and unattached. And completely in charge of her life.
Now she had to spend the weekend fucking a man she couldn’t direct. Her logical, controlling mind dreaded it. Her body zinged with anticipation.
Traitor.
How to do it, though? She couldn’t—wouldn’t—walk up to him and put her fate in his hands. Oh, no, he’d enjoy that way too much. She refused to hand her power to him on a silver platter.
It had to be something more subtle, which was going to be difficult, since subtle wasn’t exactly her typical method.
He knew her inside and out, so she’d have to surprise him.
Damsel in distress! That was it. Since Blair was the last woman on earth to ever play that card, he’d be surprised as hell when she played it on him. He’d be shell-shocked and scratching his head, trying to figure out her angle. By the time she wrestled him to the ground and had his pants off, it would be too late. He’d give in, and she’d have control over the situation. He’d be so damn happy to have his cock in her pussy, he wouldn’t care how it got there.
She’d win, he’d lose, and she’d fulfill the terms of the bet.
Admittedly, the thought of fucking Rand had her steamy hot and anticipating a wild ride. The men she’d been screwing for the past fifteen years hadn’t exactly lit all her fires. Barely enough to flicker a candle, actually. Any hot action came from her own hand or after giving a man detailed instructions and a road map to her pussy. And nine times out of ten, they still didn’t get it right.
She’d just bet Rand knew his way around a woman’s pussy. Blindfolded. With his hands tied behind his back.
Her nipples tightened at the remembered feel of his hands cupping her breasts, his thumbs sweeping over the taut buds with an expert touch that had her panting like a dog in heat.
She’d have to play this game very carefully. And in the game of sex, she was a master.
First thing to do was select her outfit. She turned off her computer and strolled out of her home office and into her bedroom, swinging open the door to her walk-in closet and flipping on the light.
Casting a critical eye on her femme fatale outfits, she chose one she knew would cause maximum distraction. Scandalously short, hip riding, thigh-length skirt that swirled around her legs when she walked. Belly-skimming, tight spandex top in white to show off her tan. Low-cut, with a scoop neck to accentuate her cleavage and just short enough to let her crystal belly ring peek out underneath the hem.
She took a long shower, dried her hair until the auburn tresses shone brightly and curled in soft waves around her shoulders, then dressed. She chose a pair of wedge-heeled sandals to show off her well-toned calves, then checked her appearance in the mirror.
If Rand McKay didn’t get a hard-on when he saw her, he wasn’t a man.
Devious plan worked out in her head, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, calling Callie on her cell phone so her friends would know the game was on. Her intent was to wind up at Rand’s house tonight, so if Abby and Callie wanted to take a peek and make sure she was fulfilling her part of the bargain, they were welcome to come on over.
She had every intention of making sure they knew exactly where she was. She’d made the bet, they’d chosen her man, and she was damn well going to fuck him.
* * *
* * *
What a long freakin’ day. Rand blew out a breath, anticipating a cold beer as soon as he walked through the door at home. What he hadn’t anticipated was the sight of sexy, tanned legs bent over the open hood of a white Mercedes right outside the entrance to his property. He pulled the Jeep to a stop behind Blair’s car and stepped out.
She didn’t even bother to raise her head from underneath the hood of her car, just tapped one sandaled foot and hummed. The slight breeze blew her flowery skirt just enough to give him a glimpse of sleek, slender thighs and the lower curve of one fine ass. He swallowed past the dry lump in his throat and tamped down the lump of flesh in his jeans quickly springing to life.
Sliding next to her, he looked under the hood. “Problem?”
“No, I’m working on my tan.”
She had a smart mouth. Such a pretty mouth, too. Full, pink, pouty lips he’d like to slide his dick between. Adjusting himself to accommodate his growing discomfort, he said, “Funny. So what’s the problem?”
With a slow turn of her head in his direction, she tilted her sunglasses partway down her nose, revealing crystal blue eyes. “If I knew what the problem was, would I be here?”
“Scoot.” He bumped her hip. “What’s it not doing?”
“Running, dumb ass.”
“Careful with those smart-ass replies. I’m not above tossing you over my knee right here, baring your ass, and spanking you.”
Her sharp hiss of outraged breath was music to his ears. He checked the battery, which was fine. Electrical system was operational. Everything was fine, with the exception of one loose wire that Blair had obviously jerked out to make sure the car wouldn’t start. And it wasn’t an easy wire to see. He’d gotten lucky finding it.
Smart girl. The question was, why? Though it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
He stood and wiped his hands on his jeans. “Go start it up.”
“You
get it fixed?”
That was not a hopeful expression on her face. “Not sure. Give it a try.”
She slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine. Of course he hadn’t bothered to slip the wire back into place, so the engine didn’t turn over. He could have sworn he saw a triumphant smirk on her face. “Nothing’s happening.”
“Hmmm,” she said, managing to sound irritated and disappointed.
He leaned over the engine again, jimmying a couple of the wires for effect. A few more seconds, and he’d give her the bad news, then take over. She’d started this game. He planned to take every advantage of it. Because as far as he was concerned, Blair had thrown down the gauntlet. She had come to him. Maybe not exactly in the way he’d wanted, but when had Blair ever done anything the conventional way?
“I don’t know what the problem is. Let me hook it up to my Jeep and tow it onto my property. I can take a look at it there.”
“Oh, you can call me a tow truck. I’ll just wait here,” she said, slipping out of the car to look at him over the roof.
“Won’t work. Head-on accident out on I-34. Both wreckers are on scene.”
“Well damn.” She chewed her bottom lip.
“You got a date?”
Her lips curled. “Honey, I’ve always got a date.”
Yeah, right. “Get in the Jeep, Blair. You’re wilting out in this heat. Start it up and back it in front of your car.”
“Fine.” She grabbed her purse and sauntered over to the Jeep, doing an expert job of backing it up perfectly in line with her Mercedes. In short order he had the tow line set, then slid into the driver’s seat of the Jeep and drove onto the entrance of his land.
Blair stayed mute throughout the five-minute drive down the dirt road. Rand took the opportunity to ogle her barely concealed body. She’d dressed to kill in that outfit. And she was damn near killing him. Midriff-baring tight little shirt that showed off her gorgeous tits and that scandalously short skirt that barely covered her ass, revealing her long legs.
