Truth or Dare

by Anne Conley

  “Where did Luke go?” Annette’s mom asked, worry in her voice as she returned.

  It was as if he’d been called and he and Everly came stumbling in the door from the back alleyway, laughing maniacally. Luke grabbed some trash bags by the door where the catering company had been piling them, and they both turned to leave again.

  “Looks like he’s helping to take out the trash,” Jude mentioned, squeezing Annette gently. When they returned, they both came straight to them.

  “Well, almost everyone is gone. No one left for you to talk to. You did stupendous, Annette,” Everly gushed. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll have a nice check ready for you.”

  She could see her dad wanted to ask how much the check was for, but Everly skillfully led him back to the table with the food. “I need someone to eat the rest of this. Otherwise, I’m going to have to throw it out.”

  Everly had read her parents right. They didn’t like to see food go to waste so they complied, loading up plates to take back to the room they were staying in tonight. Luke came back in to check on things before leaving, for which Annette was grateful. No final kisses goodbye, no baleful looks. Just a plain old goodbye.

  Leaving her with Jude in the hallway.

  “Well, let’s get you home, okay? I need to take care of you tonight. You’ve had an incredible day.”

  That was an understatement, but as Jude scooped her up in his arms, she tried to protest, but everything came crashing down on her, making it difficult to resist his efforts.

  Everly came from the front. “Jude, did you park your monstrosity in the back?” At his nod, she opened the door. “I may need to thank Luke personally for helping me clean up.” She had a twinkle in her eye when she turned to Annette. “You don’t mind if I go see him before he leaves, do you? I’m no poacher.”

  “God, please do. He needs someone to take his mind off things.”

  Everly practically purred, “I’m pretty good at that. I’ve always wanted to visit Texas.” Then she turned and went inside, the click of the lock sounding as she closed the door.

  Annette stifled her giggle at the woman’s transparency. She really hoped Everly got what she wanted from Luke. The woman had become a good friend to her, and Luke needed to get his mind off the what-could-have-beens with her.

  She felt hopeful as Jude lowered her into the car seat, and for once, it was hope for other people. Her sigh of repletion filled the car, making Jude chuckle as he smoothed her skirt and buckled her seatbelt. She was so spoiled with him around.

  “You know why I kept my arm around you every time I was near you?” His fingers drifted up her legs under her skirt, a whisper of a touch that gave her tingles all over.

  “Staking your claim?” Annette clenched her thighs together at the promise of tonight’s activities.

  “I couldn’t find a panty line to save my life, and that made me incredibly hot.” His face was up next to her ear, the air from his breath rushing across her.

  His movements around the car were like a predator, and she realized she could watch him forever. Would watch him forever. Jude got inside and started the car, his movements efficient and quick, belying his own eagerness for the night to come. After they’d driven a while, his voice broke the silence of anticipation in the car.

  “Truth or dare, Annette?” he spoke huskily.

  “Dare.” She smiled at him, the night’s activities giving her an insane amount of bravery.

  He clutched her hand in his, twining their fingers together and kissing her knuckles while he drove. “Let’s start our own fire tonight.” His voice was dark and husky, speaking of desires she couldn’t comprehend the depth of. She shivered in anticipation.

  Yep, tonight was going to be a good night, and with Jude, Annette was confident it would be one of many. As they drove off into the night, on the way to Jude’s cabin, Annette could only look forward to their future.

  Looking Forward

  Want to know what happens with the arson?

  Read a sneak peek of book two: Hide and Seek!

  Chapter One

  Simone’s low moans echoed in Joey’s ears as she clamped her thighs around his head when she came. The shuddering tremble of her muscles showed him just how much she liked it when he sucked her clit into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. It made her come, every damn time. A sense of pride and a little bit of relief flowed through him as she relaxed her legs with a gasping sigh.

  He’d done it again. Maybe now she would leave.

  Joey hated to be that way, but Simone had gotten to where things were clearly only about the sex. She would come over to get off and didn’t seem to really care if Joey got off too. And spending time with him on actual conversation? Nah. She couldn’t be bothered. Simone had other things to do.

  He rested his elbows on his bed as he looked up at her from between her knees.

  “I’m gonna miss this,” she mused with her eyes closed.

  “Yeah? Why you gonna miss it?” He knew the answer. It was too easy, actually. He’d been trying to figure out how to break it off with her for a couple of weeks now. But she was really good in bed, and he hated to say goodbye to that, even if she didn’t give up the goods very often. In fact, the last four times she’d come over, she’d declared herself not in the mood to take off her clothes and asked for oral, even though she hadn’t reciprocated. Joey had complied because it kept her whining down to a minimum, and he hadn’t been in the mood to cajole.

  “Because I think we’re done. We had a good run, but honestly, I just did you for Everly.”

  With a low sound in his chest, Joey rolled off the bed and started searching for his shirt. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. She wanted back with Jude, and I thought all the double dates would work, but they didn’t, and now she’s all into this new artist chick Jude’s seeing. She’s not interested in him anymore. She’s actually got a new boyfriend in Hicksville, Texas, for whatever he’s worth. He’s really cute, but I don’t think he’ll end up giving her what she wants. But anyway, I think we’re done here.”

  Her words fell flat. She meant them, he could tell, but that was Simone. She was superficial and didn’t care that her words might show the superficiality. He wasn’t surprised, honestly. Neither one of them had really been into each other, but he’d thought they’d at least been having fun. When they started dating, he’d had some grand dream he’d be able to find more under her privileged exterior, something he could spend forever with. But that hadn’t happened, and he’d been too lazy to break things off with her.

  Joey felt a bit numb as she stood and strode over to where she’d neatly folded her dress when she had come in, pulling it over her head and smoothing it down before flipping her long, blond hair and turning to him.

  “We had fun, right?”

  He nodded, ready for her to leave. She’d gotten what she wanted.

  “Still friends?”

  Joey sighed. “Simone, we weren’t ever friends. Just go.” As much as he’d wanted it from her, chilling on the couch in front of a movie had never been on Simone’s list of things to do.

  She started walking, her long legs and the high heels she hadn’t taken off while he went down on her eating up the ground. Stopping in front of him, she reached up to touch his face.

  He was really proud of himself for not flinching.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you,” she mumbled.

  Joey barked out a laugh. She hadn’t hurt him. It was just weird being the dumped and not the dumper. Not that he dumped girls regularly, but it was still weird. It didn’t hurt because he didn’t really like Simone, but it didn’t feel right to be so relieved either. “Doesn’t hurt.”

  Simone left without another word, and Joey swore she took something with her. His house felt less oppressive. The light seemed brighter in her absence.

&n
bsp; If being dumped gave him such a sense of peace, he was doing this whole dating thing wrong.

  Vivian didn’t want to do this. She had no desire to hang out with a bunch of overinflated egos, and Janet knew it. She was perfectly fine just working in the shop, but going out and dropping off Janet’s annual prime rib roast as a Merry Christmas gift to the first responders in town wasn’t really in her job description. She preferred fitting people for formal wear and outfitting tourists than being in a firehouse full of men too hot for their own good.

  Being forced outside her comfort zone to make nice with a bunch of men pissed her off. Case in point, the beefcake shoveling the driveway when she pulled up by the curb and got out of her car. He stopped and leaned on the shovel, his piercing gaze following her up the drive. The look on his face was weird. It seemed to be more curiosity than anything else. Vivian imagined they got women showing up there all the time, especially if the firefighters were as hot as he was. But no, he was staring at her as if she were a puzzle to solve, and it made her feel a little bit angry. He didn’t need to solve her, figure her out, or even say hello. He should just ignore her the way she wanted to ignore him so she could deliver this stupid roast.

  Besides, she couldn’t figure out why he was shoveling snow—there was maybe a half inch on the driveway.

  Vivian felt his eyes on her, even when she couldn’t see him anymore, his gaze heavy on her body. When she got to the door with the large box of meat, a surprisingly elegant hand shot out from behind her and opened the door. She would think the hands of a fireman would be rough, scarred, callused even.

  “Here, let me.” He opened the door and took the box she was struggling with, lifting it with ease. She rolled her eyes at his obvious display of more muscles than one man actually needed.

  “Thanks. My boss, Janet Deeds, sent me by with that. It’s a prime rib. She says she does it every year as a thank you to you guys for taking care of Pamona Gulch.” She pointed to the box. Her voice came out sounding as bitchy as she felt, and she realized it was probably counterproductive to the PR move Janet was extending with this gesture.

  She sighed. Janet should have made this delivery. Vivian did everything she could to stay away from pretty men. They were way more trouble than they were worth, and she, more than most, understood there were more important things in this world than sex.

  Like the consequences of sex. She had a four-year-old consequence of her own in daycare. Well, she would never think of Carly as a consequence—she was Vivian’s life—but her sperm donor had certainly thought of her that way.

  “Come into the kitchen. The captain will want to thank you.” His voice was low and smooth, and Vivian had the ridiculous thought that she wanted to hear more of it. What was up with that? Vivian had sworn off men so long ago, she’d honestly thought she was unaffected. But this guy? Suddenly, she would pay him to read her grocery list. Risking a glance up, she saw the wink he tossed her before leading her into the kitchen.

  Even as the wink irritated her and solidified her thoughts regarding pretty men and their arrogance, she couldn’t control her body.

  Like her eyes, firmly planted on his ass, watching it flex as he moved down the hallway.

  Jesus.

  His ass was as nice as everything else. His chiseled features and smooth skin made her wonder what sort of beauty products he used to be so pretty, and then she rolled her eyes at herself for thinking such a thing about a man as … manly as this one.

  “Captain!” Vivian jumped as he hollered for a gentleman she assumed was the captain, who came in the kitchen from a side door. Older, with silver hair and a bit of a paunch, he was also handsome. Katie would call him a silver fox and would totally know what to do in this situation.

  “Um, Janet Deeds sent a prime rib over to you guys for a Christmas gift. There are instructions in the box on how to make it.”

  Pretty boy had hopped up on the counter and was still watching her, so she focused on the captain, hoping for some relief from the other guy’s gaze.

  She was burning up, and her physical responses to his ogling had her angrier than she was when she’d arrived. She schooled her features and looked at the captain pointedly.

  “Tell Janet thank you and that she didn’t have to, as usual. But we do like to have a little prime rib at Christmas. Zane is the best with it. He even does up a Yorkshire pudding that’s passable.”

  “We guess. It’s not like any of us have been to the U.K. to see what it’s supposed to taste like. It’s certainly weird for pudding, but at this point, Christmas isn’t Christmas without Zane’s cooking.” There was that voice, talking about Yorkshire pudding, of all things.

  “Yorkshire pudding is delicious.” Vivian looked up at the man and almost regretted it as his chiseled features melted into a smile that showed off glistening, even, white teeth.

  Better to eat you with, my dear …

  The words were clear as day inside her head, and she remembered exactly why he was a no-go in her book. Even if he was interested and not just being polite, this guy would chew her up and spit her out. Still, the curiosity shone through his eyes as if he were trying to figure her out, which was stupid. There wasn’t anything to figure out.

  She was a single mom struggling to make things work, and clearly, judging by the thoughts running through her mind and the heat between her legs, a little horny.

  “Anyway,” she said, hating how breathless her voice sounded, “I’ll tell Janet you said thanks.” She spun around and practically ran out of the station, hearing a low whistle follow her and what sounded a lot like a muttered “Damn.”

  Find Out More

  About Anne

  Anne has written her entire life and has the boxes of angst-filled journals and poetry to prove it. She’s been writing for public consumption for the last four years. Currently she is writing two romance series. In Stories of Serendipity, she explores real people living real lives in small town Texas in a contemporary romance setting. In The Four Winds, she chronicles God’s four closest archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael, falling in love and becoming human. She lives in rural East Texas with her husband and children in her own private oasis, where she prides herself in her complete lack of social skills, choosing instead to live with the people inside her head. Check out her blog,www.anneconley.com for updates, book blurbs, and more.

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  Anne’s Series

  Book B!tches

  Welcome to Mystic, Texas, where the past stays alive in more ways than one. Vanessa, Tiffany, Kristie, Wren, Melanie, and Samantha are a motley crew of women who have formed an unlikely alliance. Under the guise of a book club, where they read only indie authors, they discuss men, relationships, and the current mystery surrounding the town. There’s a serial killer on the loose, and he’s targeted the Book B!tches.

  Serendipity Series

  Welcome to Serendipity, Texas, a town where real people deal with real problems. Meet characters in their thirties and forties struggling with day-to-day issues and managing to find love in the process. Visit Serendipity, where the days are hot, and the nights are steamy!

  The Four Winds Series

  The Four Winds series are Paranormal Romances dealing with the Archangels. They are the biblical archangels, so there are aspects of Christianity in them. But the conflict in the stories are about the archangels falling in love and turning human, so they are deali
ng with human emotions and feelings. Due to various reactions of shock and outrage, I feel the need to put the spoiler out there: These books have sex in them, but also Christianity. So if either of those bother you, please don’t buy these books. First book in the series, Falling for Heaven, is free!

  Pierce Securities

  A group of misfits come together to form Pierce Securities & Investigations; doing the best they can with their collective and individual strengths; becoming unlikely heroes in the process.

  Playing With Fire Series

  In a sleepy little mountain town, four scorching-hot firefighters meet their match with some local women. An arsonist is on the loose, threatening everything these men stand for, and they’re desperate to stop him. Fan the flames of desire in a series that encompasses everything from sultry insta-love to the all-consuming slow burn of erotic romance.

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