by Jenny Penn
Those heavy thoughts weighed her down as she left Konor and Alex snoring away in the bed. Seeking refuge in the bathroom, she was momentarily distracted by the well-appointed room. It was so big, with so many sinks and showerheads that she kind of felt like she was at the gym.
Of course, the gym didn’t have these kinds of high-end finishes and they certainly didn’t have towels half as big or as plush, neither did they supply such a variety of lotions, oils, and body washes. There was even a selection of shampoos and conditioners for all types of hair and all sorts of scents.
While Heather knew she should be impressed, she was more overwhelmed and unnerved than anything. She bought cheap shampoo and had been using the same towels for over ten years. It wasn’t just that she couldn’t afford nicer things, but as her father had always pointed out she was cheap.
She knew most people considered that to be an insult, but Heather actually looked at it as being a compliment. Her business was thriving and her son was well-cared for because of her practical nature. That practical nature was unsettled by what had happened between Konor, Alex, and her.
Sex was one thing. Heather could handle sex, even kinky, dirty, and all sorts of naughty sex, but things between the three of them had gone further than that. Despite her best attempt to keep things light and frivolous, there’d been moments of depth nonetheless. God help her, there had even been moments of true intimacy.
Intimacy was a bad word. Intimacy was just like the bathroom. It showed a person a world of decadence and delight, a world that only a privileged few ever got to live in. Heather wasn’t privileged. She was just a tourist.
She had a one-week pass, a fact that would be dangerous to forget. Forget she would, though, if she allowed Alex and Konor to keep her trapped here in their fantasy land. Heather needed real life to keep her grounded, which meant she had to find a way to convince Konor and Alex to let her go.
Konor probably wouldn’t be difficult. Alex, on the other hand, was known to enjoy being difficult. So were her own raging hormones, which wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the week indulging in the same kind of gluttonous pleasure that had already filled the night.
That urge unnerved her, making Heather feel as if she were starting to spin out of control. The shower helped a little, but Heather still didn’t feel up to crawling back in between Konor and Alex, who looked just as hot and sweaty as they had when she’d woken up. She, on the other hand, felt refreshed and slightly revitalized. Unfortunately, as she stared at them, she also felt the growling rumble of hunger awakening, not within her stomach but a bit lower.
She wanted them. Again.
Always.
She was doomed.
Heaving a deep sigh as she confronted that revelation, Heather forced herself to turn away the sight of the two of them sprawled out and snoring in the bed. Strangely enough, Konor and Alex both managed to appear adorably, almost innocently, cute while at the same time evoking deeper, darker passions within her.
She’d only ever indulged in those hungers in her dreams until tonight. Tonight they’d made her dreams come true, and now she couldn’t help but wonder what came next. The well-stocked war chest of sex toys in the next room gave her an idea. Actually, it gave her quite a few.
There were even outfits. Heather paused before the wardrobe that was tucked into the end of the shelving display out in the main room. Filled with little pieces of lace and leather, she wouldn’t have called anything hanging on the hooks before her clothing, given none of them would actually hide much of a woman’s body. There were cupless corsets, little skirts that would barely cover an ass, and even an outfit that was nothing more than a few pieces of string strung together that Heather wasn’t exactly sure how it would go on.
“Quite a selection, isn’t it?”
Heather started as light flooded through the room, her gaze snapping to the side to find Alex leaning against the entrance to the bedroom and looking good enough to eat. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans, not that he’d bothered to zip them up. They hung low on his hips, teasing Heather with a glimpse of the dark curls and thick erection that had her mouth going dry and her pussy growing wet.
Just the sight of him awakened an ache that only intensified as her eyes ran up the cut lines of his abdomen and over the smooth planes of his chest to smile over the sexy adorableness of his sleepy expression. He yawned and stretched in a lethally graceful move that had Heather’s hands clenching in the soft terrycloth folds of the towel she still clutched around her.
It wasn’t until she noticed the tips of his lips lifting into a slight smirk that Heather realized Alex knew exactly what he was doing and what kind of effect it had on her. That little hint of a smile also warned her that his thoughts were turning in the exact same direction as hers.
“I take it you decided to finish your inspection of our collection.” Shoving off the wall, he strolled toward her with a lazy indulgence that Heather didn’t trust. He was on the prowl. She could hear it in his tone and couldn’t help her instinctive response that had her retreating as he closed in on her.
“I was hot,” Heather whispered, unable to disguise the breathless apprehension thickening in her tone.
He was so much stronger, harder than her. So much more determined. She’d never stand a chance against him. She never had. She was in love…with him.
That realization held her spellbound as he came to a stop beside the wardrobe. His gaze cut over the flimsy so-called clothes as hers gaped up at him, the magnitude of her silent admission slowly sinking in as he turned to pin her beneath the sparkling mischief twirling in the jeweled depths of his eyes.
“So you decided to get out of bed and put on another show?” Alex asked, his own voice a husky, hungry purr that licked over Heather’s senses, making it all the harder for her to resist the temptation he presented and take the stand that needed to be made.
Somehow, though, she managed.
“No.” Heather shook her head, denying him and throwing off her own lust at the same time. Or, at least, she tried. Neither goal would be so easily attained.
“No?” Alex lifted a brow at her as his voice quivered with barely concealed mirth. “Are you sure about that, sweetness? Because if you’re trying to avoid tempting me, then you should know that towel represents one hell of a challenge. And I do love a challenge.”
“No,” Heather repeated. This time the denial came out with a hint of strength as she managed to straighten her shoulders and find an anchor within that one syllable denial. “No.”
“No,” Alex echoed, sounding now both confused and alarmed as his brow wrinkled with a frown. “You mean as in no?”
“I mean ‘no’ as in no outfits, no toys, no come-ons,” Heather ticked off the list, certain she was forgetting something but equally sure that he was getting the message. “Not until we come to an understanding.”
“Oh, no,” Alex groaned as he slunk backward. “This is going to be a relationship talk, isn’t it?”
“Sort of,” Heather agreed, mildly amused at the way that answer had him cringing.
“Well then, don’t you think you should have it with Konor? I mean, he’s kind of the relationship guy. I, on the other hand, am in charge of the sex.” Alex cast her a hopeful look. “You wouldn’t happen to maybe want to talk about that? Because I’m all ears for any fantasies, concerns, and compliment you care to offer.”
“And what about complaints?” Heather asked. “How do you know I don’t have any of those?”
Alex didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. His smile said it all. So did Heather’s snort. She wasn’t impressed in the least by his arrogance.
“Well, I do have one.”
“Really?” Alex studied her with a renewed gleam in his eyes as his tone deepened with a dark suggestiveness that had Heather’s toes curling and her stomach knotting. “Then please, do tell, and I will get to work on the matter immediately.”
“Fine. I don’t want to be stuck in this cube all week.
” Heather crossed her arms over her chest as she confronted him.
“Huh.”
“Huh?”
“Huh.”
“What the hell does ‘huh’ mean?” Heather demanded to know, certain it didn’t mean anything good.
“It means…huh.” Alex shrugged, managing to appear honestly confused by her irritation.
“And that’s all you have to say?”
“And what do you want me to say?”
“That you’re going to let me leave this damn place!”
“Now?”
“No, not now,” Heather snarled. “In the morning.”
“It is the morning.”
“Alex—”
“But the cube is reserved for a week,” Alex complained with enough whine in his tone to assure Heather she was going to win this argument.
“I promise to come back every evening,” Heather vowed, feeling charitable now that she sensed victory at hand.
Alex studied her for long moment. This time, though, his gaze was more pensive and brooding than alight with any mischievous fire. “How come I don’t believe you?”
“Because you have a distrusting nature,” Heather shot back without any hesitation, earning her a snort from Alex.
“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Heather demanded to know, unable to help the flare of indignation that sparked at his dismissive tone.
“Please, as if you don’t know.”
“I don’t,” Heather insisted. “Why am I the pot?”
“Because you’re a control freak,” Alex retorted, snickering when Heather took a surprise step back. “Oh, don’t even pretend you didn’t know. After all, you’ve been doing your damnedest to control everything all night long.”
“What?” Heather puckered up at that accusation, knowing it was true, but not believing she’d succeeded. “I’ve been the one who’s been bound and blindfolded, how does that translate to power?”
“I didn’t say power,” Alex corrected her. “I said control. You’ve been doing your best to incite Konor and me to ensure that we were so enslaved with lust we thought we had the power while you had all the control.”
“You’re just paranoid,” Heather dismissed that argument with a wave of her hand, but Alex wouldn’t be so easily deterred.
“It’s the same way you run your business,” Alex pointed out obnoxiously. “And your family.”
“First off, I do not run my family. I take care of them.”
“Gee, it’s amazing how those two things sound so much alike.”
“Second off,” Heather continued on ignoring Alex is mutter. “I am the boss at work. It’s my business. So, of course, I am in control.”
“So, that’s why you can’t afford to take a day off?” Alex asked innocently, as if Heather couldn’t see the trap he was trying to lay for her, but she wasn’t going to fall into it.
“Of course, I can.” Heather shrugged as if the idea didn’t bother her at all. “I just don’t want to. I don’t know about you, Sheriff, but I happen to enjoy my job.”
“Yeah?” Alex eyed her, his gaze darkening once again as his grin turned lecherous. “Well then, how about we make a deal?”
“What kind of deal?”
“One to prove both points— that you can let go of control and that you really love your business that much.” Alex paused, giving her a chance to object, but Heather held her tongue.
She knew it was probably unwise to barter with him like this, but she couldn’t help it. Her curiosity was caught and her body heated beneath the carnal thoughts she could see swirling in his eyes. He was up to no good, which could only mean amazing things were about to happen.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want.” Alex nodded as if Heather had said something, but apparently, it was the fact that she hadn’t that had him looking so pleased. “You’re to say nothing. Do nothing. Only what I or Konor tell you. We are in complete and total control. That means no more teasing, no more taunting, no more attempts to try to manage the situation. Understood?”
Like Heather was going to agree to that. She might if the reward was suitable enough, which brought up the question of just what the reward was. “And I get what for all this obedience?”
“Freedom,” Alex answered simply. “In the morning you can go to work. You’ll have all day to do with as you please, but at night… The night belongs to us.”
Heather wondered if he realized that she could include herself in that ‘us’, not that she planned on asking him. She’d show him the flaw in his logic, but not now. Now was not the time.
Offering Alex her own devilish smile, she dropped her towel and stepped up to press her naked body against his long, lean frame. She stretched up to her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing her breasts to flatten against his chest as her pelvis ground into the rough folds of the denim.
“Whatever you say, sir, I am yours to command,” Heather assured him with an attitude that was far from humble or respectful and one that warned she was far from tamed, no matter what she said. Even her words were qualified.
“Until the morning, that is.”
Alex didn’t take the bait Heather taunted him with. Instead, he stood there stoically, his hands at his sides as he stared down at her as if she couldn’t feel his response hardening against her stomach. His erection was outgrowing his jeans, which could only mean his lust would soon to outgrow his control.
Or, maybe not. Heather had to reevaluate her conclusions when Alex stepped back and gave her a curt nod.
“Very well then, sweetness, pick a safe word.”
Heather didn’t ask him what he meant. Thanks to Rachel, she already knew. Just as she knew that she should pick a word she’d never accidently use.
“Oatmeal.”
That gave Alex a pause and his lips twitched, but he didn’t give in to the laughter lurking in his gaze. “Oatmeal it is. Now I want you to be a good girl and go into the bathroom and shave off these curls.”
Alex emphasized that command with a stroke of his fingers through the tailored tuff of curls Heather kept neatly trimmed. She didn’t have any intention of keeping them any other way.
“I don’t think so, stud,” Heather denied him with a shake of her head, earning her a scowl as Alex’s hand withdrew and his spine straightened.
“And what happened to ‘yours to command’?” Alex asked, his tone as tense as his gaze as he loomed over her.
“For the night,” Heather qualified dismissively, certain that had been clear. “And trust me, the itch of growing those curls back…lasts longer than a night or even a week.”
Which meant it would outlast their relationship, but Heather left those words unsaid, sensing that would be pushing Alex too far. As it was, he looked ready to argue. He stood there glaring at her for a long silent moment before finally nodding.
“Fine.” Alex caved with a curt nod. “Have it your way for now, but one day you’re going to beg me to shave this cunt because one day you’re going to realize that the only thing in your future is me.”
With that arrogant proclamation, Alex nodded toward the doorway over her shoulder. “Now, go wake Konor up and keep him entertained until I come for you.”
With a smile and a bat of her eyelashes, she turned and strutted off, aware of Alex’s gaze following her all the way through the door and knowing what it cost him to remain still. He could fight it all he wanted, but in the end, she would always win.
* * * *
Alex watched Heather walk away and had to shake his head. There was no quit in the woman. She wanted everything, and she wanted it her way. More importantly, she wasn’t above doing just about anything to get her way. Heather played her games with no sense of the danger of her situation, which went to prove that Cole was right.
The women were running wild, and it was time to prove to them that there are limits to even a good man’s patience. More importantly, it was time to
prove to Heather that she could let go of control. That she could trust him and Konor to take care of her.
That was what was at the heart of this challenge. If he didn’t win, Alex had a sick feeling his wife would be eight months pregnant and working. The last thing he wanted was for his kids to be dropped out onto the floor of The Bread Box. He was certain that would be a health code violation of some kind.
Of course, she wouldn’t be pregnant if they didn’t get to making the babies. Hell, they had given it a good go already tonight, though, Alex didn’t know if Heather was on some kind of birth control. He’d have to remember to ask, but he suspected that she must be, otherwise Heather probably would have been more concerned about condoms.
Alex smiled at the thought that he’d never again have to strap on another piece of lubricated rubber. Instead of having to protect himself from rented or borrowed pussy, he was gonna own one and planned on taking full advantage of all the rights that granted him.
Just the memory of Heather’s soft, hot, wet sheath clinging to his sensitive length as he pounded into her had Alex breaking back out in a sweat as he rushed through the preparations that needed to be made before he re-collected Heather. His motions were spurred on by the sounds of passion thickening in the air.
Gasps and murmurs and little suckling noises seeped out of the bedroom entrance, setting his imagination on fire. One erotic image after another filled his head, making his cock swell and weep in a desperation that couldn’t be denied, but had to be. He had to prove this point to Heather.
Alex’s toast might be milk-soaked, and he might be destined to make a fool out of himself over Heather, but he would be damned if he wasn’t going to be compensated for all the frustrations he knew he would endure over the coming years. The Davis boys had it right. It was time to fuck this silliness out of his system.
More importantly, it was time for Heather to admit that this was more than just sex. Alex wanted to hear her confession, to hear her admit to the emotion he could see shining in her eyes as he came to watch her ride Konor with a slow, smooth rhythm that had his best friend moaning as he guided her motions. Mounted backward over Konor’s lap, Heather bounced her ass up and down over his dick, clearly enjoying the motion as her hands stroked over her breasts and down toward the creaming folds of her cunt.
