For Her Pleasure

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What She Wants

Ryder headed out to the parking lot and straddled his Harley. A few seconds later, he gunned the engine and roared out onto the highway toward home. He was hungry and restless. If Mac was taking Kit out of town, she must not be working at the Two Step tonight. It should be safe to stop off at and grab a bite.

Then again he could be very wrong. Fifteen minutes later, Ryder stood at the entrance to the Two Step staring across the room at Kit.

It was a hell of a note when he started avoiding a girl he’d considered his best friend for over half his life. She was more than his best friend. And that was the problem.

He shook his head and forced himself to walk in as casually as he used to. When things had gotten so fucking complicated he didn’t know. Had he always felt so deeply for her? He honestly couldn’t separate the way he felt about her now and the way he felt for her even six months ago. It all ran together in one long string.

“Ryder!”

Shit.

He looked up unable to keep from smiling at her. “Hey darlin’,” he said huskily.

She threw herself in his arms and proceeded to wrap herself completely around him. God, she felt good in his arms. He held onto her for a second before lifting her away.

“How you doing?”

She smiled. “I’m good. Hey, did Mac call you?”

An uneasy sensation crept up his spine. “Yeah, he called.”

“And? Are you going?”

Excitement shown in her green eyes, and her lips were split into a wide smile. It was good to see her smiling. She’d been through a hell of a lot in the past months.

“Uh, not this time, darlin’.”

Her lips turned down into a pout. “Why not?”

“You and Mac need the time alone. You don’t need me tagging along like a third wheel.”

Something indiscernible flashed in her eyes. “I want you to come, Ryder,” she said quietly. “You said that me and Mac…that me being with him didn’t change things between us. I’ve missed you.”

“Ah hell, darlin’.”

He dragged a hand through his hair and fiddled with his row of earrings. He didn’t want to disappoint her, and she was right. It was him who’d reassured her that her relationship with Mac wouldn’t change things between the three of them. It was a lie, but not one he’d intended to tell. It was his fault things were changing.

“Will you come?”

The pleading in her eyes was his undoing. Kit didn’t ever ask for a lot, and he’d cut off his right arm before denying her pretty much anything.

“You know I never could turn you down when you pout,” he said by way of concession.

She threw herself around him again, and he felt himself harden instantly. She reached up on tiptoe and brushed her lips across his. He caught her before she withdrew and deepened the kiss, his tongue melting hot against hers.

Her breathing sped up, and her hand tangled in his long hair. Man, he loved it when she got her hands in his hair. Almost as much as he loved wrapping his hands in her hair while she sucked his cock.

“You’ve missed me too,” she whispered against his lips. Her mouth curved into a smile of satisfaction.

Hell yeah, he’d missed her. He’d thought of little else for the last several weeks.

“Yeah, darlin’. I’ve missed you.”

She smoothed a hand through his hair then let it slip until it was centered on his chest. “Mac’s going to be here in a little while to get me. Why don’t you go home and grab a bag and meet us back here? We have to stop by the house to get my things and let Mac change. You could drop your bike there.”

He caught her hand and raised it to his lips. He tasted her palm then kissed it before letting it fall once more. He must be out of his fucking mind to agree to this. He was as hard as a fucking rock, and it was a long-ass drive to Galveston.

“All right, darlin’. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He turned to go but Kit slid into his arms once more.

“I’m glad you’re going, Ryder,” she said softly.

He smiled down at her and tried real hard not to kiss her again. Mac was a reasonable guy, but he might not be pleased that Ryder was putting his mark on his girl in public.

His girl. Mac’s girl. Fuck.

He squeezed Kit’s hand then walked toward the door.

Kit watched him go, her chest tight. She missed him. He hadn’t been around much in the last weeks. Oh, he’d been a steady source of support during the trial of the man who’d raped her over a year ago, but he hadn’t been to Mac’s.

What a twisted mess. She should be the happiest woman alive. She no longer lived in constant fear now that her attacker had been jailed. Mac loved her and they enjoyed a terrific relationship. But she missed Ryder. Missed his big body wrapped around hers, his lips and hands on her skin. Missed the comfort of having the two people she loved most in the world close to her heart at all times.

She headed back to the bar and set her tray down. A quick survey of the room told her the customers were satisfied for the moment. She leaned against the worn countertop and took a breather.

Fifteen minutes later, she headed back into the crowd, her tray full of beers and mixed drinks. Her pulse sped up when she spied Mac standing in the doorway. She grinned and blew him a kiss.

No matter how many times he walked through that door, she got a ridiculous thrill, like it was the first time she’d laid eyes on him.

Tall, big, broad shouldered, looking like the sexiest man alive in his police uniform and Stetson. His blue eyes positively smoldered as he raked his gaze over her.

Oh, this weekend was going to be fun.

He strode toward her, and her pussy tightened painfully. Figures she could get wet, and he was still ten feet away.

“Hey, baby,” he said huskily as he came to a stop in front of her.

She shivered at the raw sexuality in his voice. She reached up on tiptoe and kissed him. “Hey yourself.”

“You about ready to go?”

She checked her watch. “Ten more minutes and I’m yours.”

“I’ll wait for you by the bar,” Mac said.

She nodded and set about finishing her drink deliveries.

A few minutes later, she walked back over to the bar and plunked her tray down. Mac slid an arm around her and began untying her apron for her.

“I missed you today,” he murmured against her ear.

She leaned in against him, resting her cheek on his chest. He smelled delicious. Felt even better.

Suddenly she picked her head back up. “Have you talked to Ryder?” she asked.

“Yeah, he couldn’t make it. Sorry, baby.”

“Oh, he came by here and I talked him into going. He’s headed home to grab a bag, and he’ll be back in a few minutes. I told him he could catch a ride with us. Is that okay?” she asked anxiously.

“Of course it’s all right. I wouldn’t have invited him if I didn’t want him to go.”

She relaxed into a smile. “You’re the best, Mac. I can’t believe you planned this whole weekend. I can’t wait for it to just be us. I’ve missed you both.”

“I know you have, baby,” he said quietly.

“Hey, there he is,” Kit said as she looked beyond Mac to the door.

Mac’s hand tightened at her waist.

Ryder approached them at the bar, and Mac held out a fist. Ryder bumped it with his. “How’s it going?”

“Great now that you’re here,” Mac said lazily. “We can get this party started if Kit’s ready to leave.”

Kit looked between the two men, and her nipples hardened to points. Her stomach clenched with heady anticipation. Oh yeah, she was ready. A whole weekend rocked between the two sexiest men alive? What girl wouldn’t orgasm just thinking about it?

What She Needs

Travis “Mac” McKenzie pushed back his Stetson as he stepped into the Two Step Bar and Café. He scanned the smoky interior from left to right, taking in every person, looking for anything out of the ordinary. But all he saw was the usual crowd, mostly locals out having a good time.

The jukebox blared the latest rowdy country tune, and three couples navigated the center floor in a jerky rendition of a two-step.

As he stepped further into the bar, a few of the drunker customers sat up and took notice of his uniform. But he wasn’t there to bust anyone for disorderly conduct. He was there to make sure Kit didn’t have any trouble.

His eyes traveled to the back of the room where Kit Townsend was busy pouring drinks. Her back was to him, and he took in her curvy ass, outlined by a pair of too-short cutoff jeans.

His body reacted to her even across the room. It was easy to imagine those shapely legs wrapped around him, his hands cupping her perfect breasts. He curled his fingers into fists to ease the ache. He’d waited a long time for her. She was worth it, but he wasn’t going to wait any longer.

She stopped every once in awhile and glanced furtively around as if she didn’t trust someone not to jump out at her when she wasn’t expecting it. And who could blame her after what had happened six months earlier?

His gut tightened uncomfortably, and he flexed his hands as the familiar anger surged through his veins. Someone had done his best to take Kit away from Mac, from any chance he had of making her his. She was running scared now, a fact she tried to hide, but Mac saw the shadows in her eyes every time he looked at her.

He glanced to the corner where his buddy Ryder Sinclair sat nursing a beer. He lifted his brow in silent question, and Ryder shook his head.

Mac started over in Ryder’s direction. Since the attack on Kit, the two had made damn sure one of them was close by at all times. They’d been taking care of Kit since they were kids. Only they’d failed her in a big way.

“How’s it going?” Ryder asked lazily, tipping his beer in Mac’s direction.

Mac took off his Stetson and dropped it on the table, then settled his large frame into a chair. “Busy night or I’da been here sooner. Everything okay around here?”

Ryder shrugged. “Same ole, same ole.”

Mac watched as Kit surveyed the room as if she were looking for someone or something. Her usually expressive green eyes were shadowed, reserved. Her entire demeanor had changed for the worse. The outgoing, sassy, fire-breathing spitfire he and Ryder had known all their lives had been replaced by a girl neither of them knew. Or knew how to handle.

She was afraid. And that pissed Mac off to no end. He’d love to find the bastard who had taken her spirit and kill him with his bare hands.

“Still no leads, huh,” Ryder mumbled.

Mac shook his head. “We’re dumbasses, Ryder.”

“Yeah well, tell me something I don’t know.”

“If we hadn’t fucked around, played stupid games, she’da been at home in bed with us instead of where she was that night.”

Ryder crooked his lip and nodded before tipping back his bottle again. “We couldn’t have known. Hell, we were all having fun. Flirting. Just like old times.”

“I may have fucked up any chance I have with her,” Mac muttered. “She didn’t have a whole lot of trust in her system to begin with, and after what happened…” He let his thoughts trail off. He knew he and Ryder were the only two people Kit trusted, but had that survived in the face of her attack? He didn’t know, and he was afraid to press her.

Ryder arched his brow then leaned forward, his beefy arms resting on the table. The serpent tattoo on his upper arm bulged and flexed as he gripped his beer bottle.

“Wait a minute. Just how serious about her are you?”

Mac gave him a dark look. “Come on, Ryder. You’re not stupid. Just because I entertained a threesome with you and her doesn’t mean she was a cheap lay.”

“I never said she was,” Ryder said mildly. He ran his hand through his hair and shoved it behind his left ear, baring a row of earrings.

Mac shook his head. He liked to give Ryder hell about the earrings and the tattoos, of which there were at least three, but secretly, he envied his give-a-shit attitude. And Kit was every bit the rebel Ryder was.

Growing up with the two of them was an experience in daring. Kit and Ryder had decided to go out and get tattoos one night during their senior year in high school. They’d dared Mac to get one, but he’d gone along for the ride only. Between them, they embodied a lot of the traits Mac wished he possessed himself. Maybe it was why he had gravitated toward them in their younger days.

He still remembered the night Kit had shown them just where she’d gotten her tattoo. It wasn’t something he was likely to forget in this life time. He could get a raging hard-on just thinking about it.

She’d be a firebrand in bed, and even though a threesome had been on his and Ryder’s mind for a long time, Mac knew it wasn’t enough for him. Ryder was okay with good times, great sex, and easy friendship, but Mac wanted more. He wanted Kit.

“Look, I’m just pissed because we fucked around and didn’t act on an attraction that was obvious. She wanted us. We wanted her. And because we sat on our hands for too long, some fucking psycho hurt her. I don’t like how it’s changed her.”

Ryder stared over at Kit, his dark eyes hooded. “No,” he said slowly. “I don’t like it either.”

“We’ve waited long enough. I wanted to give her space to deal with what happened, but what I really want is to make sure no one ever hurts her again, and I can’t do that unless she’s home with me, in my bed.”

Ryder sat back and stared at Mac for a long moment.

Mac frowned. “I don’t like it when you look at me like that, bro. It usually means you’re overtaxing that pea brain of yours.”

Ryder grinned crookedly. “I just don’t want to step on any toes. I get the feeling you’re not into this for the sex only.”

“She wants us,” Mac replied. “She knows our history. She didn’t pull the idea from the air, that’s for damn sure. But I won’t lie to you. In the end, I want to be the one she comes home to.”

Ryder shrugged. “Fair enough. As long as we know where we stand. Given her attitude about relationships, I’m surprised you’d even entertain that notion.”

Mac followed Kit’s progress across the room. “I aim to change her mind.”

What She Craves

No guts, no glory, no orgasm. She wanted the latter but was short on the former.

Mia Nichols wiped her hands nervously down her bare legs and contemplated running as far and as fast as she could from Jack Kincaid’s bedroom. But no, she’d come this far.

She’d snuck in, using the key Jack had given her for emergencies. She spared only a moment’s guilt over the fact this wasn’t really an emergency. Not unless you considered desperation a crisis.

The fact that she stood there, naked, couldn’t really be construed so much as a crisis as it was a bold plan to take the initiative. Yes, that made her feel much better. She wasn’t throwing herself at Jack, exactly. She was merely going after what she wanted. What she’d wanted for years. What she thought he wanted too when he wasn’t so wrapped up in his goddamn sense of responsibility.

She knew he was just on the other side of the wall sleeping. The soft sounds of his deep breathing filtered through the crack in his bedroom door.
You want this, Mia. You’ve wanted it forever. Go get it for God’s sake. You won’t get a better opportunity.

Summoning her flagging courage, she quietly eased into the bedroom. His body was bathed in the soft light that filtered through half-closed blinds. The sheets tangled at his hips, barely covering the bottom portion of his torso, leaving his upper half bare.

She licked her lips and moved closer. God, he was gorgeous. Hard, lean, the lines and angles of his body were just made for a woman’s touch. She could spend hours exploring the muscled dips and bulges.

He faced away from her, his jaw, rough from the overnight beard, prominent against his pillow. One arm rested down his side, his hand gripping the sheets that had long since been discarded. His other arm was flung out beside him, his fingers splayed out like he was reaching for something.
She edged closer to the bed. There wasn’t a time when she could remember not loving him. The years before his entry into her life faded, not worth remembering. They were a muddled mass of pain and anguish, of things she’d rather not remember.

He’d saved her. Taken care of her. Made sure she had what she needed. Except she needed him. Not in just the role of a guardian, someone who looked out for her and checked in on her from time to time. She wanted more than the casual conversations they had, and the occasional shared pizza on the weekend.

She was no longer the girl he’d rescued. She had long since grown into a woman. With a woman’s needs. And tonight Jack Kincaid was going to see that firsthand. If he didn’t toss her out of his bed as soon as she got there.

Nervously she leaned down, unsure of what to do first. Kiss him? Touch him?

The decision was made for her. She didn’t get to do either.

As soon as she bent to brush her mouth across his jaw, a hard arm closed around her. His other hand slid under the pillow in one quick motion, and she found herself staring down the barrel of a nasty-looking gun.

She let out an eep of fright and tried to back away. The arm around her waist tightened.

“What the hell are you doing” —he looked up and down her body— “naked in my bedroom?” he demanded.

Her cheeks burned, and she cringed from the glitter of surprise and anger in his eyes. This wasn’t going the way she’d planned.

His arms loosened, allowing her to back away a bit. Jack laid the gun on the night stand and sat up, dragging the sheets with him.

But she’d gotten enough of a peek to know he obviously slept in the nude, and that he wasn’t unaffected by the site of her naked body.

“Mia, what are you doing here?” he asked again, his tone not as strident at it had been earlier.

“What does it look like I’m doing,” she asked in exasperation.

She crossed her arms over her breasts, her humiliation growing by the second.

He cocked one eyebrow. “It looks like you were trying to climb naked into my bed.”

“Observant of you,” she said snidely.

His gaze raked up and down her body. “What the hell kind of game is this, Mia? Because I have to tell you, I don’t have time for this.”

She let her arms fall until she stood proudly before him. “I want you, Jack.”

He rubbed a hand through his short hair. “Ah hell, Mia, get your ass dressed and get the hell out of here. I don’t have the stomach for little girls playing at being an adult.”

Her cheeks burned furiously. “I’m not a child!”

“You’re too young for me,” he said bluntly.

She moved closer to him, allowing her breasts to bob in front of his face. She saw how his eyes tracked downward, saw his body tighten in response.

“I’m not a child,” she repeated. “I’m a woman with a woman’s needs. I’ve wanted you so long, Jack. Don’t turn me away. I can see you want me.”

Jack smiled mockingly. “You’ve come to the wrong place, sugar. I haven’t got a gentle bone in my body. Take your virginity and your dreams of flowers and sweet talk somewhere else. If we fucked, I’d ride you long and hard, and I wouldn’t give a damn that it was your first time.”

A shudder rolled through her body. Her nipples hardened to points, and she heard Jack swear.

She moved forward, closer still to him. She wanted to touch him so badly she ached.

“I don’t want you to be gentle,” she whispered. “I want you to be you. I want you.”

“Christ, Mia. I’m too old for you. You’re just a kid. Get some damn clothes on.”

She ignored him, pressing her body to his as she moved onto the bed. She stared up at him, her eyes seeking his. When their gazes met, she saw hunger reflected in his dark eyes. He wanted her. He could fight it, but she could see the truth.

Hesitantly, she twined her arms around his neck. He stiffened at her touch but didn’t yank away from her. Her lips hovered a heartbeat from his, and she heard him suck in his breath.

“Kiss me,” she said.

She touched her lips to his and found him unyielding, resistant. Not giving up, she deepened her kiss, running her tongue across his lips.

“Goddamn it, Mia,” he swore.

He hauled her up against him and returned her kiss with forceful intensity. His hands ran up and down her back as he devoured her mouth.
She moaned against his lips as his hands tangled in her hair. He pulled her back by her hair and stared hard into her face.

“Be sure about this, Mia. If you don’t turn tail and get your ass out of here right now there’s no turning back.

“Kiss me,” she said again.

He hesitated for a long moment, staring at her with hard eyes. Eyes that gleamed with want. She arched into him, tempting him with her body. His arms tightened around her. She could feel the flex of his strong muscles, and she knew in that moment she’d won.

End of Excerpt