Hard Candy (12 page)

She gasped, feeling her chest tighten when she looked up at the firm resolve on his face. Did she trust him? Definitely. But, what did any of this have to do with… Ah. Okay, she’d claimed he hadn’t wanted to be with her, and he was clearly going to try and prove differently. She could play along until hearing what he had to say.

Slowly, she peeled off her sweater. Her bra was next, followed quickly by everything else, leaving her standing naked in front of Mack.

He came forward, reaching up to thread his fingers through her hair and press a quick kiss to her mouth. Mack stepped back to eye her silently.

“
Bend over.”

Penny opened her mouth to say something but closed it when she caught the look in his eye. Fuck that was hot. His intent gaze penetrated her and made her want to do whatever he asked. She realized this was a test, of sorts. If she wanted an answer to her question, this was certainly one fantastic way of going about getting it.

So, why was she so nervous? Her heart was thumping heavily in her chest and her palms were probably going to get all sweaty and gross. Lovely image when she was standing here naked.

“
Stop thinking,” Mack said, with a hint of laughter coloring his tone.

Walking forward, she placed her hands against the bed in front of her, bending over so that she was completely exposed to him. She twitched when she felt his hand come up to press against her ass.

She had only a moment to compose herself before Mack removed his hand and brought it back with a hard resounding
smack
. Over and over, he brought the palm of his hand down on her ass, causing her to moan. Oh, God, she was so wet she felt the moisture on her thighs as she quivered every time he brought his palm down. She kept waiting for him to stop. Her ass was so tender there was a bite of pain with the pleasurable tingle every time his hand came down on her flesh.

He stopped suddenly, causing her to moan again at the loss, before she felt something wet against her ass cheek. He licked a path up the heated sides of her ass, before laying an open-mouthed kiss on each cheek.

“
On the bed, lie on your back and reach your hands up to hold onto the headboard.”

She followed his instructions, starting to get an idea of what was going to happen. As her backside touched the cool sheets, she gasped at the abrading sensation. He hadn’t been really forceful with her, although she’d certainly known this was possible. She’d known him for a long time and even back when they were teenagers there were rumors about what Mack wanted. Besides, they’d talked a lot in the past two weeks. A lot. Every fantasy had been played out either through conversations, or through real life experimentation.

Mack walked up to the head of the bed, leaning over her to grasp both wrists in one of his hands. With a soft
shush
of fabric, he tied her left wrist in one of her scarves she’d started to unpack. He threaded the scarf through the headboard, bringing the other end through to tie it around her right wrist.

Stepping back, Mack paused to stare down at her. He pulled his own t–shirt off, quickly followed by his jeans until he was standing in front of her as naked as she was.

“
Now, we talk.”

She jerked, pulling at her captive wrists as he crawled up the bed to straddle her hips. He kept pressure on his knees so that she wasn’t getting the full weight of him. She stared up at him, waiting for him to start.

“
Mack, this isn’t necessary, you can let me go,” she pleaded, yanking on the scarf. It held fast.

“
What exactly is this about? I thought everything was fine. Why are you getting nervous now?” Mack leaned forward, placing his hands at either side of her head.

She shook her head. Suddenly she didn’t want to go over all this. It made her sound as insecure as she felt in this moment. “I’m not nervous, I’m just...”

He waited, not interrupting her when she tried to find the words.

“
I just don’t know what to expect. I haven’t had that much luck in relationships, and I don’t know. I–” she paused, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them to stare up at him. “Honestly, I don’t know what you want from me. It’s only been two weeks. I feel like I’m rushing into something, and it’s so stupid that I could feel this way about someone after just two weeks,” she said, her words rushing together.

“
You want to know how I feel about you.” he stated, incredulous. He stared down at her, a hard look on his face.

“
Penny, from the moment I saw you again, you had me tied up in knots. I couldn’t figure out why I was so attracted to you, drawn to you, when I was supposed to have all these feelings for Craig. I can’t wait to get off work, to be able to see you. I can’t wait to be inside you, because it seriously feels like you’re a part of me. And I realize how gay that makes me sound.”

She was sure she looked like a fool with the beaming smile on her face, but she really didn’t care at this point. She reached up to hug him, confused when her arms wouldn’t move, before realizing that she was still tied to the bed.

“
Mack, please, take these off.”

“
Not a chance, babe,” he smirked.

Mack let his body drop fully on top of hers. He took her mouth in a hard kiss, tongues dueling. He ran his hands up her sides. She moaned, arching into him.

Mack moved one hand lower, testing her wetness, before driving two of his big fingers into her pussy. She gasped in reaction, bringing her legs up to wrap around his hips when he removed his fingers and started to push his length into her. Her ass ached, abraded by the rough sheet beneath her, a constant reminder of his spanking.

“
Oh, God, Mack, please, Oh Mack...” she moaned.

“
Look at me, Penny,” he growled, catching her eyes.

Unbelievably, the contractions were already starting in her pussy. He reached down with one hand and pinched her clit between two fingers, rolling her piercing so that it rubbed against her continuously. She was going to go mad from the sensations. It was too much, everything was just too much.

Penny shattered, crying out when she contracted around him, causing him to moan. Within seconds he was pushing her to another orgasm, gently rolling her piercing against her clit to prolong the pleasure.

“
Mack, please.”

She clenched down hard with her inner muscles, determined that he would come with her this time. He roared out his release, pumping his hips into her as she came again, shattering into a million pieces.

“
Mack...Oh God,” she whispered.

Mack collapsed on top of her, breathing hard as he kissed the shoulder in front of his face.

“
Is this what you kids get up to when I’m off at work?”

Penny jerked in place at Craig’s voice. “Huh?”

“
You guys okay?” Craig came up beside the bed and ran a gentle hand along Penny’s wrist where the scarf was still tied.

Mack groaned into her shoulder.

Releasing her hand, Craig leaned over their bodies and untied the other. Penny dropped her arms and tried to catch her breath.

“
How much of that were you here for?” Mack grunted before rolling over onto his back beside her.

“
Most of it. I forgot my phone here, so I decided to come back. I could hear you guys as I came in the door. Fucking hot.”

Penny realized this was the first time she’d had sex with Mack while Craig wasn’t there. Well, okay, technically Craig had been there, but they hadn’t known that at the time. She glanced up at Craig, letting out a relieved sigh when she saw how heated his gaze was.

“
You’re okay with it?” She had to ask.

“
Of course. We can’t very well have a relationship if we don’t take time to nurture what we have individually, as well as together.”

“
Shit, that makes sense. Why didn’t I think of it?”

“
Cause I’m smarter than you, Penny Candy.”

“
You’re a dork.”

“
And I love you, pissy pants.”

“
Jesus Christ, Craigory. Would you let that go, already?” Penny tried to punch him, causing him to roar with laughter.

Craig climbed onto the bed and settled fully clothed on top of her. She gave a split second to pushing him off, but he undermined her completely with his next words.

“
Love you.”

She shook her head. “I love you too, jerk.”

“
You’re both idiots,” Mack griped.

Penny and Craig shared a grin before turning to glance at Mack. He had his arms tucked behind his head.

“
I love you too, Mack,” Craig said, blowing kisses at the other man.

Mack finally looked over and rolled his eyes at them.

“
Okay, I’m only going to say this once. I care about you too. There, happy?” He shook his head, but he couldn’t hide the grin that twitched at the corners of his mouth.

“
And me?” Penny asked.

“
Don’t start with the touchy-feely stuff again. I already told you. I can’t sleep when I’m not with you.”

She felt her chest fill up with love for her friends. That was such a Mack thing to say. “Be still my beating heart, and you didn’t tell me that.” she teased.

Craig burst out into laughter. “What would I do without you? Both of you. I can’t wait until you’re both living here, driving me crazy every single day.”

Music to her ears. It had taken them twelve years to get to the place where all three of them were right for each other. She couldn’t wait to see where they could go from here.

DEVIL UNKNOWN

A Bandit Creek Thriller

by Steena Holmes

He stood motionless in the cold, sparse room. Perfect for his plans.

Rat droppings were fresh. His intended guest would have more company that first thought. The stench of mold, urine and sulphur filled the air. The aroma aroused him.

The cement blocks that made up this space were scorched. The finger of long ago flames licked the walls and left burn patterns snaking towards the ceiling. The little cracks in the floor crisscrossed each other until the kaleidoscope of weeds peeping through the cracks decorated the floor. Ants and other insects scurried away from his boots as he walked around the room.

The chains anchored in the walls promised torturous delight. Exactly what his guest deserved. Saliva pooled and dripped from his lips as he imagined the hell he was about to create for her.

It was all for her.

Innocent. Humble. A gift.

For him.

Chapter 1

Rotting carcasses littered the path to home.

Nathan Hanlin entered the twilight zone as he drove along the curving mountain road. The remnants of ominous music played in his mind. If he didn’t know better, from the dark swelling clouds filling his rearview mirrors to the dust swirls up ahead, Nathan would think he’d entered his own private hell.

Everywhere he looked, sentries of large black crows faced him on either side of the highway.

His worst nightmares come true. For the past week his dreams were filled of the disgusting birds circling over a car wreck. Nathan shuddered at the memory. He’d heard that crows were once used as messengers from the spirits, but if they were trying to tell him something, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease a kink that had set in more than an hour ago. The highway from the city to Bandit Creek stretched on forever. Ahead was the pass but at the rate he was going, it would be night before he reached it.

Swerving to miss another dead animal, Nathan’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. The crows’ beady little eyes followed him as he drove past. It was unreal how they stood there, their black wings tucked tight against their slick bodies. Only their eyes moved, as if tracking him.