Sinful Pleasures

SINFUL PLEASURES

The American Heroes Collection:
Arizona

Ashley Shay

MENAGE EVERLASTING

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

SINFUL PLEASURES

ASHLEY SHAY

Copyright © 2010

Chapter One

“Wanna take a chance, honey?”

Jude Wheeler smiled at the fireman selling raffle tickets for the firefighter’s ball coming up in a couple of weeks. The gala event was something the town of
Parrish
,
Arizona
looked forward to each year.

“I’ll even throw in myself as an escort,” he added, giving her a wink.

Not a bad prize, Jude thought, looking him up and down. Dallas Preston was the epitome of a cowboy. He had long, muscular legs, a wide chest, and rugged features. Wind and weather had put premature wrinkles around his dark eyes, giving him a hard-edged look that made men give him respect and women an extra smile. Jude readily admitted she always had a smile for his earthy charm.

“Then I’ll have to go along, too, and offer my services to protect you from him.” Morgan Kent turned away from the line of kids taking turns climbing into the fire truck, and another fireman took his place.

Parrish was having its city-wide ice cream social, and the public service personnel were out in full force mingling with the citizens and guests. Most of the fire and rescue teams took advantage of the outing to raise money for their respective departments.

“Now that sounds like too good of an offer to pass up. I’ll take two tickets.” Jude dug in the pocket of her tight jeans to pull out a five dollar bill.

“Trust me, darlin’, you’ll only need one.”
Dallas
made a point of tearing off her ticket and putting the matching number in his shirt pocket.

“So it’s a date then?” Jude looked from
Dallas
to Morgan for confirmation.

Morgan took the money out of her hand and pushed it back into the pocket of her jeans. “Yeah, it’s a date. I’ll buy your ticket.”

Unlike
Dallas
’s hard expression, Morgan’s hazel-green eyes had a soulful look, as if he’d grown world weary by the things he’d experienced in life. Slightly shorter than
Dallas
, his chest was wider, his hips narrower, and he seemed a rock of nothing more than hard-muscled determination.

Jude’s heart beat a little faster at the prospect of spending an evening with Dallas and Morgan. She knew them from her novelty shop across the street from the fire station. Even though they were frequent customers they hadn’t asked her out until now.

“Let’s get a drink,”
Dallas
suggested, handing his tickets over to a rookie firefighter. The trainee looked a little lost in the crush of children scrambling around his legs. Up to this point, he’d been manning the table full of gifts and prizes without much success.

“But…what am I supposed to do with these?” He stepped back to avoid an ice cream cone being dumped on his foot by a little boy reaching for a plastic firefighter’s helmet.

“Sell them.”
Dallas
grabbed a helmet off the giveaway pile, placing it on the boy’s curly hair. “There you go. You’re officially a firefighter now.”

The child shook his head solemnly and didn’t move. “I need a badge.”

Jude stifled a laugh. From the look on their faces they must have thought dealing with the kids was tougher than fighting fires.

Morgan swiped a badge from the table and, with mock formality, handed it to the serious child, who saluted him before running away to join his family. Morgan watched until the child took his mother’s hand, then turned back to give them a half grin.

“I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing him in the fire academy one of these days.” Morgan said.

Jude linked her arms through both Morgan’s and Dallas’s as they strolled across the park to the nearest drink vendor. She got a real sense of pleasure seeing the turnout of locals and visitors attending the old-fashioned ice cream social.

Like a relic from a forgotten age, Parrish looked as if it were trapped in the early part of the twentieth century. Despite the invasion of weekend tourists, the town remained chock-full of down-home Southwest character.

Jude served on the restoration committee to make sure Parrish stayed that way. Folks from
Phoenix
and the larger cities loved spending weekends in the high country. They loved walking among the Ponderosa pines, clear sparkling streams, and meadows filled with wildflowers. The slower pace offered city dwellers a break from their hectic weekday schedules. As a result, tourist money kept the region prospering when other areas of the state had fallen on hard times.

Today was no exception. The town square was filled with people having fun.

“I’ll stand in line,”
Dallas
offered. “You two find us a place to sit down.”

Morgan led her over to the swings. They weren’t seeing much action with all the kiddie attractions sprinkled through the park. Jude sat down on a swing and Morgan moved behind her. His strong arms pulled the swing back before giving her a gentle shove forward.

She felt the wind ruffle her hair, and smelled the scent of his aftershave as the swing nearly touched him on the return. How long had it been since she enjoyed swinging in the park? She and her sister Tracey spent days here as children, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been here for fun. Lately, she’d been pushing herself too hard. She wished that someone else could take over the responsibilities. She’d like to be carefree again, for a while.

“You’ve done a great job restoring old Parrish,” Morgan said. “Look at this crowd. They wouldn’t be here today if you and your team hadn’t revived this part of town.”

Jude felt a lump of pride in her chest, but she didn’t get a chance to answer.
Dallas
returned to them with his arms full of soft drinks and popcorn. Morgan reached out to stop Jude’s swinging, holding her against his hard body until the swing lost its momentum.

She looked up at him from her seated position, and the back of her head collided with his tight abs. The man was pure muscle, his stomach felt only marginally softer than hitting a brick wall. He smiled down at Jude, then dropped his face to hers, giving her an upside down kiss.

* * * *

Dallas
felt a tug on his heart when he looked at Jude. Man he had it bad for her. She looked so damn hot in her tight jeans, and soft, pink top. He didn’t know what kind of material the shirt was made of, but the knitted fabric flowed over her firm breasts like it had been molded to her skin. He could see the outline of her nipples and a glimpse of belly when she stretched back to look up at Morgan. The hint of bare skin made him harden inside the confines of his jeans. He twisted his hips, trying to adjust himself without being obvious. Maybe he should just cram one of the cold drinks in his pocket, but he doubted even that would cool him off. Nah, there was only one thing that could calm him down, and it sure couldn’t be done out here on the park lawn in front of a thousand people.

“Here you go, little filly.” He handed her a drink and a bag of popcorn before taking the empty swing beside her. She smiled at him, and he realized how much he loved her smile, how it lit up her blue eyes like sunshine sparkling on clear blue water. Damn, his hand shook as he twisted the cap off his drink.

Even thought they visited her often in the shop, and talked for hours, now he couldn’t think of one intelligent thing to say. How could that happen?
Dallas
was a natural-born flirt. He never lacked for a come-on line or an easy compliment, except, in Jude’s case, he’d meant every flattering remark that he uttered.

“Um, so how’s Steven these days?”
Way to go, bud, ask her about her ex-husband. That’s sure to endear her to you. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
“Forget I said that, okay?”

Jude almost managed to smother the smile that crossed her face. “I really don’t know. I haven’t talked to him lately. He’s still working on his campaign to clean up Parrish, which means to kick my shop out of the town limits and undo three-way marriages.”

Dallas
took a long drink of soda. “Won’t happen. Too many people enjoy shopping at your place. If he starts on his morality thing again he’s going to try to break up happy families. You know that won’t fly. People are content here. They come from miles around just to live with their partners, enjoy the atmosphere, and raise their kids in an open-minded community. Hell, even the mayor has two husbands. Does Steven really think he’s going to be able to undo all that? Why doesn’t he get his ass out and move somewhere else? He needs to leave Parrish alone.”

Jude shrugged one shoulder. “I think it’s Mrs. Wheeler’s doing more than Steven. You know how she is. She thinks her family founded the city and she still owns it.”

“Yeah,”
Dallas
agreed, “and Steven always was a momma’s boy. She said jump and he asked how high.”

“She’s got her sight set on Steven doing great things in the political arena. She’s afraid an ex-wife selling sex toys and a town full of ménage couples will taint his sainthood.” For the first time he could remember,
Dallas
heard a faint touch of bitterness in Jude’s voice.

He knew she’d married Steven straight out of high school without having much experience. He figured their marriage didn’t stand a chance with Genevieve Wheeler pulling all the strings. Steven probably had to ask when he could fuck his own wife, that’s how tightly Genevieve liked to control things.

“There you are, Jude,” Nancy Cougan, the mayor, called out. She headed toward them with a baby in her arms and two husbands in tow carrying various assorted diaper bags, strollers, and other infant accessories. “I just had to congratulate you on how stunning the park looks today. Your committee outdid themselves. Thanks for all the work you put in.”

“My pleasure.” Jude eyed the sleeping baby in the mayor’s arms. “You’ve been a little busy for the past few months.”

The mayor looked at Morgan, then Dallas, and her face spread into a wide, approving smile. “Looks like you’ve been busy yourself, Jude Wheeler.”

Jude cast
Dallas
a playful look and his gut clenched. Then she turned back to the mayor. “I’m working on them.”

* * * *

Jude poured the day’s first cup of coffee. Taking a cautious sip of the rich morning blend, she uttered a thankful sigh. Still half asleep, she wandered lethargically out of the stockroom and into the entry and check-out area. The strong, hot liquid coursed artificial energy through her veins, perking her up enough to feel human. At least until she needed another fix at lunch. Jude owned Sinful Pleasures—Parrish,
Arizona
’s only adult book and toy store. She had a feeling she would soon be seeing more competition, but for now, she had the market cornered in the small town.

Reluctantly setting her coffee aside for a moment, Jude felt under the sales counter. She kept several unusual items stashed in the shelves under the register, one of them being a galvanized watering can filled with her own special mixture of plant food. As part of her nightly store-closing ritual, she prepared the growth stimulant before closing shop. The odd mix of nutrients worked wonders for the geraniums growing in wooden flower boxes outside the store.

Jude loved geraniums. She particularly loved the bright red ones. But then she willingly acknowledged she had a thing for the color red. Jude thought half of her attraction to this part of town was the historic fire station across the street with its bright red doors and brick façade. Of course, the sexy crew of firemen manning the station just happened to be a major plus.

Tracey, Jude’s younger sister, walked in from the street. “Can I have a cup of that?” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she headed straight for the stockroom and freshly brewed coffee pot.

“Help yourself,” Jude called out. She knew Tracey would anyway.

Jude’s store was located in the older part of Parrish, wedged in between a florist shop and bakery-deli. The storefronts had been restored to resemble the popular architectural style of the 1880s. The long row of business façades were all made of hand-worked brick, timber, and flowers. A city ordinance kept advertisements on low-visibility wooden signs. In spite of the sedate approach, or maybe because of it, Jude’s store was a lively business. She carried unique gifts and apparel, more than a little Western kink, and a well-stocked video and book store.

The building had once been a brothel too many years ago to count. The fact it had been a house of ill repute made it the perfect location for an adult-themed store. Jude purchased the once derelict building with her savings. She turned the upstairs rooms into subject parlors with each room having its own brand of kink.

Most of the buildings surrounding her in this area of town hadn’t changed their products all that much in the last hundred years. The bakery-deli once served as Parrish’s saloon and restaurant. The florist shop held dry goods and various other sundries, such as seeds and plants for the local gentry. The tiny brick fire station across the street had even shared the glory days of old Parrish. There were plenty of local stories about what went on between the wicked ladies of the night and the wild firemen of Station Three. Jude thought those times must have been a sight to see in their heyday.

Breezing back into the entry, Tracey looked pointedly at Jude, then out the window toward the fire station. “So, have you talked to the men?”

“What men?”

“You know who I mean,” Trace huffed. “Dallas and Morgan. Have you talked to them since the ice cream social? The ball is tomorrow. What are you going to wear?”

“I haven’t gone shopping yet.”

“Jude!” Tracey shook her head in exasperation and pointed out the window at the men working outside in the fire station’s parking lot. “Look at them. They’re gorgeous. Don’t you want to wear something enticing and sexy?”