by Liliana Hart
“Mary Ann Marsdon wouldn’t know what the truth looked like if it hit her in the face with the broad side of a two-by-four,” Anna said, rolling her eyes. “And what’s that supposed to mean anyway? Are you saying I look like a prostitute?”
“No, you idiot,” Mel said. “I’m your best friend, and I just want to make sure that you won’t do anything you’ll regret or will embarrass you.”
“I’m way past the point of embarrassment, but I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl.”
Brian came back with her drink and she paid the tab. “Thanks Brian. Are Dylan and Mitchell already in the back?”
He scowled at the mention of the two guys that left broken hearts trailing in a long line behind them. “Yeah, they’re back there. Be careful, Anna.”
Why was everyone so worried about her?
***
Dylan looked at his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last fifteen minutes and took another drink of his beer. She was late.
“Geez, you’re making me nervous and I don’t even have a date,” Mitchell said. “Stop fidgeting. She’ll be here soon enough. Or maybe she lost her nerve and she’s standing you up again.”
“Thanks a lot, asshole.” Dylan said.
Mitchell was right. He was acting like a virgin bride on his wedding night. He turned to look at the entrance one more time, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor. That woman could not be Anna—or maybe it could be, but he wasn’t able to lift his gaze from her body to look at her face.
“Jesus Christ,” Dylan said.
“Amen, brother,” Mitchell answered. “This is going to be the most entertaining night I’ve had in a long time.”
Anna came toward him with long legged strides, her hips swaying to her own song and a drink held loosely in her hand. Her hair hung in riotous curls down her back and the dress she was almost wearing clung to her curvy body like a second skin. He wanted nothing more than to lift her straight up onto a pool table and push inside her.
She came right to him and he had to lean down to hear what she was trying to say.
“What’s going on, stranger?” Her voice was husky with desire and sweat popped out on his brow as she blew into his ear.
For once in his life he was completely speechless.
***
“Do you get the feeling we’re in the way?” Mel whispered to Mitchell.
“Yeah. I feel like a voyeur. Why don’t we sit on that bench, drink our beers and watch the fireworks.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Mel said, tapping her beer gently to his in a toast. “Dylan doesn’t happen to have a brother does he?”
Mitchell gave her an irritated glance just on principal. He didn’t like for women to ask about other men when he was in their presence. “No, he doesn’t have a brother. He’s an only child.”
“Well, it was worth asking,” Mel said with a sigh. She felt that five year countdown until she was thirty clicking away.
***
Dylan finally got his wits about him enough to remember his name and where he was. His throat was dry as dust, but he tried to croak out the words anyway. “Are you ready to play some pool?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Anna said, picking a cue stick off the rack and stroking its length, making Dylan groan aloud. The woman was on a mission to kill him. It was the only explanation.
“Do you know anything about nine ball?” he asked, trying to get his mind off the image of bending her over the table.
“A little bit,” she purred. “They just have to go in the little holes in order, right?”
“Pretty much. Usually Mitchell and I play for money, but we don’t have to bet since you’re just learning.”
“How about we have a different kind of bet?” Anna asked. She brought her lips up to his ear and barely touched his lobe, making him shiver at the touch. Her body brushed against his seductively and what little common sense he did have drained straight into his lap. “How about winner takes all?”
“What exactly does all entail?”
“Anything your imagination can think of. I kept my promise, by the way. My body is primed and ready just for you. And I’m not wearing any underwear.”
“Sweet mercy.” Dylan moved behind a tall bar stool to hide his obvious erection from curious onlookers and raised a brow promising retribution at Anna. She blew him a kiss and he willed the blood to go back to his brain.
“You’re on, gorgeous. I never walk away from a bet where I’m sure to win. Would you like to break?”
“Oh, no. You go right ahead. I’ll just stand over here and watch.” She took her stance directly in his line of sight, and she sinuously trailed her fingers over the curves of her body.
Dylan found it incredibly difficult to bend over, his jeans getting tighter by the moment, but he lined up his shot and sunk a ball in the corner pocket with the break. Two more balls followed suit before he was distracted by Anna blowing on the tip of her cue stick, causing him to miscue.
“Look how many balls you got in,” Anna cooed. “That’s so sexy.”
“You’re welcome to forfeit if you don’t want to take your shot. We could leave right this second.”
“And what would you make me do if I lost our little bet? Take you in my mouth in the parking lot where anyone could stumble across us?”
Dylan’s breathing grew rapid at the thought and he reached for her, but she quickly moved out of his grasp.
“Or maybe you’d bend me over the hood of your car and slide the hot length of you right up my ass. Hmm? Is that what you’d do?”
“Anna,” he growled, coming towards her with determined strides. He couldn’t have hidden his arousal even if he’d wanted to. He tossed his cue to Mitchell, determined to carry her out over his shoulder if he had to. The image of his cock buried balls deep in her ass was enough to almost make him come in his jeans.
“Uh, uh, uh,” she said, shaking her finger at him. “I’m not a quitter. I’m going to finish this game. One way or the other. Now, be a good boy and have a seat.”
Anna found an open shot and took her stance, leaning over the table, the tiny skirt she wore exposing an amazing length of leg that should have been illegal. Dylan whimpered in the back of his throat at the tempting picture she made, and then in the next second was growling like a junkyard dog at a man who dared to whistle at her. The man held up his hands in surrender and turned back to his own game. Mitchell’s laughter in the corner earned him a dirty glare, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Anna for more than a second.
But there was something different about her as she lined up her shot. The seductive temptress was gone, replaced with a face of sheer concentration. The concentration of an expert.
Her hand drew the cue stick back and let it go with an amazing amount of power. She sunk the ball she was aiming for plus one other.
“Beginner’s luck,” she said winking at him.
Dylan threw his head back in a roar of laughter. He’d been had by a pro. A glance at Mitchell showed that he was equally surprised by her skill. Anna made quick work of the rest of the balls and laid her cue stick on the table.
“I win. Do you know what that means?”
“What?”
“It means that your body is completely mine. To do with whatever I wish.”
Dylan swallowed at the vision that popped into his mind. Anna tied to the bed, blindfolded, while he took his time pleasuring her with various toys.
“I can’t tell you how hot that makes me. I hope you go easy on me.”
“Oh, no. I promise you things are going to be very…hard.”
Dylan couldn’t help himself. He tossed her over his shoulder and headed out the door. Tongues would definitely be wagging in Paradise tomorrow.
***
“Is it just me, or did it just get really hot in here?” Mitchell asked Mel as they were left behind to deal with the after burn.
“Yeah, well we’ll see how long the sparks last before they start to fizzle. This is
new territory for Anna. She’s not used to dealing with men like you.”
“And you are?” Mitchell asked.
Uh, oh! Mel recognized that particular look in a man’s eyes. She wasn’t naïve like Anna, and she had no wish to end up as another notch on this man’s bedpost. She was a one-man kind of girl. She just hadn’t found the man yet. So Mel said the first thing that came to mind.
“I’m a lesbian,” she blurted out.
“Oh, really?” Mitchell asked, quirking an eyebrow. “You’d think I would have heard news about there being a lesbian in Paradise.”
“Well, believe it or not, some people actually can keep secrets in this town. My girlfriend lives in Fort Worth. I just don’t get to see her often.” Mel lied with as straight a face as possible, but she felt the blush creeping up her neck and face.
“Huh,” Mitchell said. “No offense, but you being a lesbian seems like a hell of a waste to me. You’ve got the kind of body a man likes to sink into.”
“So, what? Is that code for fat?”
“Hell, no. You’re just a real woman. Different from the kind I usually date.”
“Why, because I have a brain?”
He laughed out loud at her insult, unbothered by it. The dimples in his cheeks were threatening her resolve, but she was holding firm.
“I bet I could make you change your mind on this whole lesbian thing,” he said, leaning in so his breath whispered across her cheek. “You want to give it a shot?”
Mel scooted over as far as she could, and ignored his taunting laughter. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Everybody in town knows that you don’t date anyone. I’ve heard cold-hearted Casey leaves your bed warm and your heart empty. And a few women have even gone so far as to say unsatisfied.”
“Oh really?” Mitchell asked. “Why don’t you give me their names. I try to guarantee all my work.”
“You know, even if I was into men, which I’m not. I wouldn’t give you the time of day. I’d want someone I could depend on, someone who wanted a relationship. The person who can give me that can have my body.”
Mitchell flinched involuntarily at the “R” word. Her words stung his pride, but he couldn’t exactly deny the accusations.
“Seriously? You’re denying yourself the pleasure of your body for a piece of paper?
“Yes,” she said with such conviction that Mitchell had to stop and really look at her.
“Your holding out for a pipe dream,” Mitchell said, holding her coat up for her to slip on. “You should at least enjoy the ride before you trap some poor soul into marriage.”
“Someone so young shouldn’t be so jaded. Maybe you should give it a try before you mock it.”
“I gave it a try,” Mitchell said solemnly. “And I lost everything. A piece of paper doesn’t seem worth that kind of pain to me.”
Mel touched her hand to his cheek before she could help herself. He didn’t flinch at her touch, but he held her gaze steady, the gray of his eyes impossibly clear. And filled with so much pain and hatred that it was her that ultimately flinched.
Neither of them spoke on the long car ride home.
Chapter Eight
“Where are we going?” Anna asked, as she took the corner that led to Baker Street like she was racing in the Indianapolis 500. She could only imagine having to explain to Sheriff Haney why she was speeding through Paradise like a bat out of hell.
I’m sorry, Sheriff, but I’m on a mission to have the best sex of my life, and I don’t have time for a ticket right now. Just stick it in my mailbox please.
“We’re headed to my place,” Dylan said. “Take the first right just after my office. I live about a mile down. It’s a narrow road and a little hard to see in the dark, so you might want to slow down a little.” He paled as she ran through a red light and prayed they’d make it in one piece.
“Right,” Anna said, her palms sweating profusely. “How bad do we want to do this in a bed?” She took a sharp right onto the graveled road that led to Dylan’s house.
“I’m thinking.” He ran his fingers up and down her thigh, sending a straight shot of heat to her very core.
Her nipples were pressed prominently against the fabric of her dress, and her breathing turned to pants as he untied the string at the back of her neck and pulled the top down over her breasts. Spots danced in front of her eyes as his knuckle rubbed gently across one, and she slammed on the brakes, sending the car into a spin on the gravel.
“Christ, this is close enough. The house is just down the road. We’ll get there eventually.”
He got out of the car and was already on her side, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling her out and into his arms before she could gather her wits. The night air was cool with the stormy atmosphere, but her body was a blazing inferno. Lightning now accompanied the rumbling thunder, and the storm was almost upon them. She hitched her legs around his waist as his mouth clamped around her nipple. She flung her head back in surrender and closed her eyes, the flashes of light making shapes behind her lids.
“Please, don’t make me wait,” she begged. “Not this time.” The wind whipped her hair around her face, but it went unnoticed.
“No, baby,” Dylan said, his voice husky with desire. “This time will be fast and hard. I’ll be lucky to last five seconds.”
“Good. I’ll probably last four. Just do something before I explode. I need to feel you.”
Anna’s words were all the prompting he needed. Lightning shot across the sky in a jagged arch, and he saw the passion and fire moments before he devoured her mouth in a scorching kiss. He circled her round and round until they were protected under a dense copse of trees that surrounded his home. The wind whistled through the branches and thunder crashed around them, but there was only an echo of the disturbance in their subconscious as need and desire took over their bodies.
Clothes were torn and scattered as they wrestled each other to the ground. And then the rain started to fall. A torrential downpour that took them straight to the eye of the storm. Anna was oblivious to the rain. Her body was so hot she was sure that steam was rising off her skin in waves. She wrapped her legs around him and felt the head of his cock nudge her wet folds.
“Please,” she begged, “Please, Dylan.”
“Tell me what you want,” he said, whispering in her ear. He ran his hands over her body, branding her lush curves with his touch. He pushed inside her slightly and then pulled away, causing her to moan in frustration.
“I want you inside of me,” she screamed. “Do it!”
Dylan plunged into her waiting heat without any warning, causing her to scream in a mix of pain and pleasure. Her sheath was achingly tight, but she adjusted quickly to his size, accepting him fully. He didn’t stop to let her catch her breath but pushed her until she was blinded by the feelings roiling inside her. All she could do was hang on for the ride.
“More,” he demanded. “I want more.” He quickened his pace, sending Anna’s body into a spiraling vortex of eruptions. He stiffened above her and swelled within her tight sheath. The explosion of his come filled her to bursting and sent her into another fit of rapture.
***
“Am I still alive?” Anna asked a few moments or hours later. She wasn’t sure which. The only reason she was brought back from semi-unconsciousness was because she was starting to drown.
“Mmm,” Dylan said in response.
Sure, easy for him. He’s on top. “Ah, Dylan,” she said. “I’m having kind of a problem here.”
He lifted his head and looked at her in disgust. “Geez, woman, haven’t you ever heard of afterglow?”
“Excuse me?” she said. “You happen to be crushing me into the ground. Where, I might add, a rock has made itself at home in my right butt cheek. Not to mention the fact that I’m drowning.”
“Oh,” he said, laughing and causing another tingle to surface in her nether-region. “Is this better?” he asked, flipping their positions so she was on top. She looked like an ethereal cr
eature from the sea. Her head lifted high and her hair hanging in wet ropes.
“Ahh, this is much better, but do you think we might get to go inside soon? I’ve never been much for the great outdoors,” she said, tracing her fingers along the lines of his face.
He really was a beautiful man. The sharp angles of his face sported a five o’clock shadow and raindrops clung to his lashes. She leaned down gently and took his bottom lip in her mouth, sucking gently. She could feel his body stir beneath hers and knew that she would always remember this moment, the rain falling quietly now and the look of what she wished was love in his eyes. Memories were all she needed.
“I think the great outdoors agree with you quite well,” Dylan said, seeing the shuttered look come into her eyes. She was thinking again, and it was too early in their affair to have such heavy thoughts. He was doing his damnedest to block his own thoughts from coming to the surface.
Anna Hollis was going to be a complication that could change his life forever. He just had to figure out if he wanted to let her. “How does a hot shower sound?”
“I don’t know. Do I have to take one alone?”
“Absolutely not,” Dylan said, sitting up with her still on his lap. “That wouldn’t be any way to treat a guest.” He stood up slowly, making sure his legs would support him, and swung Anna up into his arms.
“Oh my God. Please don’t drop me.”
“Are you questioning my manhood?” He relaxed his arms so she started to fall and had to wrap her arms around his neck to hang on.
“No,” she said. “You’re very manly and tough. And this is very romantic. What about our clothes?”
“We’re not going to need them for a while.”
“No, you idiot,” Anna said, laughing. “Our clothes are all over your front yard. What if someone drives up?”
“Then they’re bound to get an education.”
She buried her face in his neck, inhaling the scent of male and rain and feeling the walls she guarded so fiercely around her heart begin to crack. Snap out of it, Anna. No matter what you feel, Dylan Maguire will never feel the same way about you.
As they made their way up the wooden steps that led to Dylan’s front porch, Anna looked around at the outside of his home for the first time since they’d arrived. At first glance, it looked like an average cabin in the woods. At second glance, it was a majestic display of wood and angles, a cross between Frank Lloyd Wright and Paul Bunyan’s cabin.
