by Jenny Penn
He managed to control his more base instincts to offer her a smile. “Instead of grass, I got a blanket we could spread on the shore, but I guarantee you the frogs and stars will all be out tonight to set the mood for our challenge.”
“Our challenge?” Heather repeated, sounding amused despite her attempts to glare him down. She was all bluster. The rapid pound of her pulse beneath his fingers spoke for itself.
“Don’t you remember?” Konor asked, sliding his fingers around her neck and using his hold to pull her in close as his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “You’re going to try and seduce me without getting seduced in return, but only one of us is going to get what they really want tonight.”
Konor paused with his lips resting right against Heather’s and watched as her eyes fluttered shut, hers parting against his in the expectation of his kiss. He didn’t take her up on the invitation but, instead, fired the first volley.
“And it isn’t going to be you.”
Chapter 8
Heather sat there dumbfounded as Konor slid out of the truck and began rummaging around in the bed. The man was clearly nuts and also very perceptive. He was on to her game, which didn’t make a damn bit of difference because she was still going to win. She had to win.
He’d kicked Alex for her.
That gesture alone had her heart melting. Heather might loathe violence, and technically she didn’t want to be the woman that came between two friends, but it was nice to know that he’d pick her…unless, of course, it was just all a ploy. After all, Konor had his agenda, too, she just didn’t know what it was yet.
Didn’t know, and didn’t care.
Right then all that mattered was attaining her own goals. Thrusting her shoulders back and her breasts out, she scrambled out of the truck and followed Konor down toward the shore intent on making Konor squirm a little. Her step faltered, though, as she cleared the tall grass lining the lake and stumbled into a sudden sea of flowers.
Pansies, daisies, roses, carnations, they’d all been beheaded so that their petals and blossoms could be used to a pave a path to the garden of arrangements surrounding the spot Konor had chosen to spread a blanket. Heather recognized the flowers and knew in that moment that Konor was going to make a formidable opponent.
“I knew you sent those men to my shop today.” Heather hesitated at the edge of the blankets frayed edge to give Konor a dirty look. “What did you tell them? That I was easy? That all it took is one kiss and you could get whatever you wanted out of me?”
“Not hardly. After all, I’d like to think I’m special when it comes to that one kiss rule.” Konor shot her a wicked grin, obviously not concerned about her accusations.
“I’m serious, Konor.” Heather tried to sound it, but failed miserably, unable to hide the laughter lurking in her tone.
“I can see that.” Konor studied her as he rose up. “Which means I should be insulted. Do you really think so little of me?”
That was low and cheap, even for him. Heather’s look conveyed that message while she pressed him again, not about to be sidetracked by any of his antics. “Why were those men in my store today?”
“Why wouldn’t they be there?” Konor shot back. “Everybody knows you got the sweetest goods around.”
Heather didn’t know if he were being lewd or actually trying to give her a compliment. It was so hard to tell with Konor because even as he frowned, there was a twinkle in his eyes that belied his glower and revealed the amusement lurking beneath. Heather wouldn’t give in to the same whisper of mirth trying to creep into her tone. Instead she kept her eyes narrowed and her words sharp.
“I see. So it’s just coincidence that I wake up to a bakery full of Cattlemen the day after you take blatantly liberties with my person?”
Konor’s grin let loose at the words ‘blatant liberties,’ and Heather could see the spark in his gaze grow to a slow burn. It matched the husky drawl of his tone. “Yeah.”
“And it is also just coincidence that you decided to send flowers to me today, causing a full on floral war that almost left my shop drowning in sea of multi-colored blossoms?”
“Oh, no.” Konor shook his head before smirking. “That was just me taking advantage of the junior squad.”
“The junior squad?”
“You didn’t notice that the guys hitting on you all day were a little young and wet behind the ears?”
Actually Heather hadn’t. She’d been too busy dealing with the attention all day to stop and actually notice those kinds of particulars but she wasn’t too distracted now to miss Konor’s attempt to change the conversation.
“What I’m noticing is you’re not denying anything. I know you have something to do with my sudden popularity, and don’t doubt that I won’t find out what.”
“Well, that’s an interesting threat.” Konor smirked. “You going to tie me up and torture me for the information? Because I brought the stakes.”
“You what?”
“Along with some lemon butter on this rye I made the other day,” Konor finished off without skipping a beat. He stepped back and gestured to the oversized picnic basket he’d brought along. “You should try some. They’re great sandwiches. Alex eats about a half dozen when I make them for him, but I figure you’re a woman…so, about four, right?”
Konor tossed her a grin that took the sting out of his teasing, but didn’t persuade Heather to give up her scowl. She knew what kind of game he was playing with all his little innuendoes. His backpack might be black but it wasn’t like she couldn’t see it sitting there, waiting off to the side. She didn’t doubt what she’d find in there if she went snooping any more than she doubted that Konor really would strip her down and tie her up like some offering to his perverted desires.
That even sounded like fun to her, but Heather knew that Konor didn’t plan on finishing her off. So perhaps it would be better if she tied him up. Just how would she ever accomplish that, Heather didn’t know but she was willing to give it a try.
“Fine.” Heather moved to settled down on the blanket, placing herself between the picnic basket and Konor’s backpack. “Let the games begin.”
“That a girl.” Konor nodded his approval as he settled down opposite her and reached for the basket.
Heather sat back and watched in amazement as Konor pulled out a veritable feast. There were small samples of pasta and vegetables and little steak sandwiches with little tiny apple and cheese quiches. The man had even brought a container of ice cream, kept frozen in a small cooler with a package dry packed in it.
As if the sheer quantity and variety of options wasn’t impressive enough, Heather was downright amazed to learn that Konor had cooked everything from scratch. Amazed, and somewhat seduced. It was nice to eat a delicious meal she hadn’t had to cook, but it was even better to talk about food with somebody else who loved it just as much.
Still, as engaging as the conversation was, and as delicious as the food was, neither could mask the tension thickening in the air as the minutes ticked by. Beneath her smile, Heather plotted, coming up with a plan she was certain would work, or so she hoped. The little bit of doubt that seeped into her thoughts added a dark kind of thrill to the anticipation tightening through her as she watched Konor repack the now-emptied containers of food.
The time had come. She was about to make her move. It all started with a smile as she graciously accepted the plastic wine glass Konor passed to her. It was filled with a chilled white, causing condensation to gather on the outside of the cup and trickle down over her fingers, but Heather barely noticed the small drops of cool water or even the taste of the wine as she took a delicate sip and set the glass aside. Two facts Konor took note of.
“Not in the mood for some liquid courage?” He asked, lifting a curious brow in her direction as he settled back down onto his side to indulge himself in a rather large swallow of his wine.
“As much as I’m sure you’d hoped the alcohol would help lower my inhibitions, I’ve got ne
ws for you, sir.” Heather paused to smile, allowing herself the freedom of honesty even if it was a well-kept secret. “I don’t have that many reservations.”
“Is that a fact?”
“And no modesty.”
“Well, now, that’s the kind of thing I’m going to have to ask you to prove.” The wicked curl of Konor’s smile left little doubt to his thoughts as he waited expectantly for her response. He didn’t think she had the nerve, but Konor didn’t know Heather that well.
Rising up to her feet, she smiled down at him before pointedly looking toward the tiny strap helping to hold her dress up. In a move that had always delighted GD, Heather slouched her shoulders, rolling them just so the dress’s tiny straps slid down her arms and over her fingers. The silky little sheath fell to the ground with a sigh, leaving her standing there in nothing more than moonlight and her heels.
“You’re making this too easy, sweetness,” Konor complained, but the gruff note deepening his voice belied his words.
So did the hunger darkening his gaze as it dropped to linger on her breasts before dipping even lower. A raw, primitive sensuality gripped his features as admired her with a look that stole Heather’s breath. She could see the dare lurking in her eyes and knew she was playing a dangerous game, but the prospect of failure only excited her, whereas the possibility of success held her enthralled.
Gathering her courage around her, Heather kept her chin high and her tone dry. “Not hardly. This is a free-play kind of situation here, and I just want you to consider what I’m offering.”
Aware of just how vulnerable and exposed she was, Heather managed to control the smoldering flare of excitement simmering in her veins as she sank gracefully to her knees. Settling back onto her heels, she thrust her shoulders back and her breasts out as she met his look with her own steady one.
“Free play, huh?” Konor cocked a brow at that as his lips curled into a smug grin. “No strings attached then, huh?”
“Mine or yours,” Heather qualified softly, drawing a deep, slow chuckle from Konor that licked over her much like his gaze did as it dipped downward.
“What about a little taste? Huh?” His eyes lingering on breasts, making them swell beneath the heat of his look. Heather felt her nipples harden, an electric thrill shooting through her as he licked his lips. “We could call it a sample.”
“You’ve already had one,” Heather retorted primly as if she wasn’t conducting this conversation in the nude, but her tone couldn’t disguise the flush racing across her skin any more than it could the scent of her arousal as it thickened in the air.
“So I see, you’re just teasing me, taunting me with what I can’t have,” Konor breathed out in a husky whisper as he leaned forward, reaching one finger out to trace the curve of her neck down to the pounding pulse beating at the base.
The callused tip lingered there for a moment before dipping, sliding slowly downward as he traced a line down between the heaving globes of her breasts and across her quivering stomach muscles to come to a rest at the very peak of her slit. Heather’s breath caught as Konor leaned in close enough for the hot wash of his husky whisper to fan across her cheeks.
“So why don’t you show it all to me, sweetness, and spread your legs wide?”
Holding his gaze and biting her lower lip between her teeth, Heather slowly eased her knees apart, opening herself to his touch. Konor took instant advantage, slipping his fingers between the creaming folds of her cunt to zero straight in on the pulsing bud of her clit. He trapped it beneath his finger tips and began a slow massage that had Heather’s whole body clenching with the pleasure.
“Now, what was this about strings?” Konor murmured as he began to nibble his way down Heather’s neck. “You don’t really think that’s a good idea, do you? Do you really want to unleash me?”
The hungry anticipation darkening Konor’s slow drawl sent a frenzied shiver racing down her spine and lighting up her senses as some primitive, feral part of her nature rallied to the challenge he issued. Leaning down into his touch, Heather let her lips brush against his as she dared to breathe her defiance right across his lips.
“Do you really need to leash me? Or can’t you handle me unbound? No rules. No stakes.”
Konor stilled, his finger tensing along with the rest of his body as he drew back just enough to capture her gaze with his own. Heather could read the promise of retribution seething in his eyes as they sparkled with an inner flame that warned her she might have pushed him too far.
Then again, she really had nothing to lose.
After all, questioning a Cattleman’s abilities was probably a really quick way to receive a full-on demonstration. That’s just what she wanted, what she craved. Konor knew it.
“Very good, sweetness.” Konor nodded his approval, leaning back in to meet her breath to breath as he began once again to slowly rub her clit. “Nice try, but I’m not afraid of you.”
Heather couldn’t hide the shudder that quaked through her any more than she could disguise the need keeping her cunt wet and soft beneath his hand, but neither would she be ruled by her lust. Not now. Not tonight. Not with the stakes so high.
“Prove it.”
She breathed out that challenge, managing to form the words on a gasp as she felt the thick tips of three of Konor’s fingers begin to stretch her muscles wide as he pressed them deep into the spasming depths of her cunt. Her sheath tightened down around the hard invasion, as her sensitive walls rippled with a pleasure so wicked it left Heather whimpering in submission even as Konor gave her the win.
“Fine,” Konor agreed, treating Heather to one delicious stroke of his fingers before pulling his hand completely free of her molten depth and rolling away from her. “You have an hour.”
“W…what?” Heather blinked, torn between the need pulsing with insistent demand out of her cunt and cold, brittle reality of being suddenly left high and dry.
“You have an hour,” Konor repeated, as if that made it make more sense.
“For...”
“To do with as you want,” Konor filled in, clearly amused that his touch had so easily robbed her of her concentration. His words, though, were bringing everything back into focus.
“As I want.” Heather liked the sound of that. “One hour.”
That didn’t really sound like that much time, but she’d make do.
“To break me,” Konor clarified before attaching the very strings Heather was trying to avoid. “And if you fail, then I have one hour.”
“To?” Heather wasn’t certain she wanted to know, but perverse curiosity had her asking anyway.
“Punish you.” Konor smiled, savoring the thought.
So was Heather, which left her torn over what she really wanted to do—make Konor beg or wind him up first and see how bad he could make her beg. Both ideas appealed to different parts of her, but both parts were caught with curiosity as Heather spied the backpack Konor had stopped by his house to fill up.
“Time’s wasting, sweetness,” Konor advised her with a grating cheeriness as he all but mocked her with his smirk. “And time is something every good master knows how to manage.”
Heather felt like sticking her tongue out but she refrained from giving into that childish impulse, not about to give him the pleasure of knowing he’d lowered her to his level. Instead Heather focused on payback and snatched up his backpack, ripping eagerly into it as she discovered what toys she had to play with.
There were oils and lotions that heated and supposedly tasted like bubble gum, which looked kind of interesting. There was a feather, which seemed kind of lame. Neither did the dildo or butt plug impress her.
“After all these years doing GD, you really think that I’d find this impressive?” Heather held up the two toys as she eyed Konor’s erection skeptically. “I sure hope you have more to offer than that.”
That had Konor’s gaze narrowing dangerously on her. His eyes raked over her, reminding Heather that she was naked and vulnerable
and he was bigger and stronger. That wouldn’t stop her from using the clamps she pulled out next on him, though.
Heather smiled down at the little metal clasps. They were strung together by a bit of chain, and she knew just how that worked. What Heather didn’t know is whether or not Konor did.
“Hold on to these.” Heather tossed the clamps at him, trying to gauge his response as she offered him a smile. “We’re going to need them.”
“And what about that?” Konor asked, ignoring the clamps as he let them fall to the ground next to him without a glance. Instead his attention remained fixed on the metal spike that Heather pulled out from his pack.
She stared at it in amazement, beginning to realize that he hadn’t been kidding earlier as she pulled out all more bits and pieces. There was a bar about two feet long and capped with metal rings on either end. The chain attached could clearly be hooked to the metal spike, but it was the bolts of velvet rope that had Heather realizing that Konor really had meant to stake her to the ground like some virginal sacrifice.
That thought tantalized Heather, but not as much as the image of Konor being bound and at her mercy did. No doubt she was about to earn her punishment. That threat didn’t dissuade her in the slightest. Just the opposite, it made her all the more determined as she snatched up her dress and rose to her feet.
“Put your hands over your head, wrists together,” Heather barked in her most commanding voice, though she didn’t think she impressed given the way Konor snorted.
He hesitated to obey as well, choosing instead to rest on his elbows and lean back to enjoy the show as she shimmied into the now badly-wrinkled dress. Heather let him get away with it for the moment, secretly thrilled at the hunger flaring in his eyes, but once she’d smoothed the silk back down over her thighs she had no choice but remind him of just whose show it actually was and what part he was set to play.
“I believe I asked you to do something. Didn’t I?” Heather demanded with a cock of her hip and a lift of her brow.
She might not have that much experience commanding men, but she was a mother and knew just the right tone to strike to have most men jumping to do her bidding. Konor was not one of those men.
