Six Degrees of Desperation (Dirty Tricks)

by Myla Jackson

SIX DEGREES OF
DESPERATION

Myla Jackson

Copyright ©
Myla Jackson
2012

Published by Myla Jackson at Smashwords

All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
author.

Manufactured in the United States of
America

Editor: Layla Chase

Cover artist: Myla Jackson

This is a work of fiction. The characters,
incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s
imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to
actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely
coincidental.

Smashwords License
Statement

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not
purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com
and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work
of this author.

Light streamed through the gap in the wooden
blinds, the beam falling across the rumpled sheets, warming Charli
Sutton's skin. She stretched, her eyes blinking open to the
brightness of the room. A glance at the clock confirmed the time
was near noon. She'd never slept better.

Charli yawned, pushed hair out of her face
and ran a hand down her neck to her naked breasts, and froze. Eyes
widening, a flood of memories washed over her, heating her body,
sending fiery signals of lust straight to her pussy.

"Connor," she whispered, her eyes darting to
the pillow beside her. Instead of the studly cowboy, Connor Mason,
a crisp white piece of paper lay in the gentle indention where his
head had lain. On top of the paper lay a deep red rose from
Charli's own garden.

Her insides churning, Charli sat up
straight, disappointment her first reaction, knowing the note meant
he'd gone. And she'd had such a rush of needs overwhelming her,
she'd hoped he'd be there to satisfy them or at least take the edge
off before she faced the day.

Had to go to work. I'll see you at the
Cowboy Masquerade Ball tonight.

Charli clutched the note to her chest and
cupped the rose beneath her nose, the warmth of hope filling
her.

He wanted to see her again.

She sank back against the pillow, a smile
curling her lips. Connor had been so gentle and yet forceful making
love, not once, but several times throughout the night.

A delicious ache centered at her entrance
where the friction of his thrusts had send her reeling over the
edge of orgasm more than once. His lips had seared a path from hers
all the way down her throat, skimming across the swells of her
breasts.

Charli trailed the rose along the side of
her neck and downward to the tip of one nipple. The areola drew
tight in response, still sensitive from the burn of Connor's beard.
She circled the tip with the velvety smooth petals, spurring
longing deep inside, tugging at her core, sending waves of
cream-filled desire to her pussy.

She moaned and squirmed beneath the rose,
sliding it lower still, across her ribs, skimming past her
bellybutton to the furry mound at the apex of her thighs.

His lips had been there too, his fingers
parting her folds, exposing that little bud of nerves, ripe and
pulsing, ready for whatever sweet torture he had in mind.

Charli's heels dug into the mattress, just
as they had when Connor spread her knees wide and laid down between
her legs, gathering her bottom in his big, calloused hands, lifting
her pussy to his lips.

The flower brushed lower, slipping past her
dampened pussy, tickling the insides of her thighs. She let her
knees fall open, the cool morning air kissing the moisture pooling
in her vagina. With one hand, she brushed the rose across her cunt,
with the other, she dipped a finger into the heated wetness,
sliding it up to her clit bringing a thick coating of come.

Not as powerful as Connor's tongue, but good
in a pinch.

She closed her eyes and remembered how it
felt to have his mouth on her, licking and teasing, flicking her
most receptive erogenous zone, blinding her with such a bright
array of sensations she thought she might die from
overexposure.

Her finger tapped her clit then slathered it
in moisture.

Connor had licked her, swirling his tongue
around and around, shooting spurts of adrenaline and desire through
her bloodstream. As it was now, the tingling began in her outer
extremities, traveling with lightning speed to her center.

Charli moaned, her back arching off the bed,
the speed with which she stroked her clit increasing until the
pleasure bordered on pain. Her finger stilled, her hand cupping her
pussy pressed down, until the orgasm peaked, the sheer beauty of
the sensation bursting through to brighten the midday sun.

As she fell back to earth, Charli sighed,
pulling up the sheets over her breasts. She dragged the pillow
Connor had used against her body in a poor imitation of the solidly
built, muscular cowboy. She'd much rather awaken to the real man,
making love to her body.

Maybe next time. She grinned and squealed
into the pillow. Connor Mason had finally made love to her, and the
experience had been everything she'd hoped and dreamed of.

As the rest of the night came back to her,
his final comment before she'd drifted off to sleep came back to
haunt her.

I'm a one-woman kind of guy. I wanted to be
sure you were a one-man kind of girl.

The beauty of the day faded into a pall of
guilt and worry.

Charli had been dating Connor while seeing a
mystery cowboy after midnight. Granted, she'd never said she was
going to date Connor exclusively when it all started between the
two of them. And she still didn't know who her mystery cowboy was.
At this point, that fact barely mattered. She hadn't seen the
stranger in a week, nor did she care to. Connor was the man for
her. He was gentle, kind, a war hero, a sexy cowboy and now...she
knew without a shadow of a doubt, he was great in bed.

What more could a woman ask for?

Charli flopped back against her own pillow.
What would happen if he found out about the mystery cowboy? Should
she tell him and get it over with? Her chest squeezed at the
thought. What if he dumped her? What if he said he couldn't be with
a woman who kept things from him?

Chewing on her lip, Charli weighed her
options and came up short. Her conscience wouldn't let her live a
lie. Not when she stood a chance at a real relationship with a
great guy. If they couldn't be honest with each other, where did
that leave them?

She rolled over and hugged the pillow. Oh,
but he'd been so sweet, so kind, so... hunki-licious. How could she
live without him, now that she'd tasted what he had to offer?
Another groan and Charli sat up, pushing the pillow and sheets
aside.

The only way to deal with an impossible
situation was to meet it head-on. But she could always face the
challenge looking her best. Tonight was the Cowboy Masquerade
Ball—a tradition at the Ugly Stick Saloon to sponsor a masquerade
ball for the locals and the rodeo cowboys, after the first day of
the rodeo events. Her boss, Audrey Andersen, always insisted her
girls dress in costumes, usually those of old-time dancehall
girls.

A satisfied smile spread across Charli's
face. Good. She looked great in a corset bustier and the flouncy
skirts only showed off her legs. How could he possibly dump her
when she'd be displaying her best assets?

She snatched her phone from the nightstand
and started to dial Audrey’s number for someone to talk to about
the night past and the night ahead. One glance at the clock on the
wall reminded her that Audrey slept in after working until the
small hours of the morning. But Charli had to talk to someone. She
hit the speed-dial button for her friend, Mona Daley, Temptation’s
most gifted beautician.

“Shear Safari, this is Mona.”

“Mona!” Charli exclaimed. “Please tell me
you can fit me in today.”

“Charli?” Mona laughed. “Mrs. Smith just
cancelled; her slot is yours if you can make it here in ten
minutes. What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you when I get there. Suffice it
to say, I need you…desperately.”

“I’ll polish the shampoo bowl and warm the
curling irons. See ya in a few, sweetie.”

Charli washed her face, brushed her teeth,
threw on jeans and a tank top and crammed a straw cowboy hat on her
head to hide her tousled hair. Just in case she ran into anyone
important on her way to the salon. As she backed out of her
driveway and shifted into drive, her body tingled all over at the
thought of running into Connor in Temptation. Not that she would.
He’d be working out at the O’Brien ranch today or helping out with
the rodeo. Still, the mere thought of seeing him again after the
night they’d shared had her hot and bothered by the time she
arrived on Main Street at the Shear Safari Hair Salon.

She glanced in her rearview mirror, a
movement catching her attention. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a
black Stetson was entering the hardware store behind her.

A gasp escaped her throat. The sight of the
black cowboy hat set Charli’s heart thumping and she flung open her
door, dropping down out of her pickup onto the pavement, ready to
chase after the man. She would have, if Mona hadn’t chosen that
exact moment to poke her head out the salon door.

“Hurry, Charli, I only have an hour for you
and I want to hear everything.” Mona held open the door.

Torn between chasing after a man in a black
Stetson who could possibly be her mystery lover, Original Sin, and
Mona, standing there, expecting her to rush in and make her day
with a full recounting of her sensuous escapades with Connor,
Charli turned toward the salon.

Then man in the black Stetson couldn’t be
her Original Sin. Since she hadn’t heard from him in almost a week,
she figured he had to have left town. Besides, what would she do if
she went up to the man in the cowboy hat? She couldn’t ask him if
he was the man who’d fucked her in the Judge’s pool or the one who
staged a roadblock to entertain her with a ménage à trois on the
side of the highway. How could she confront him about the formal
dinner in the furniture store with dessert being three men making
love to her? And don’t forget the BDSM with four guys in the county
jail museum.

“Wow, Charli, are you feeling okay? Your
face is flushed.” Mona pressed a hand to Charli’s forehead.

“I’m fine.” Charli brushed Mona’s hand to
the side and walked straight for the shampoo bowl, tossing her
cowboy hat in a vacant chair. “I have no idea where to begin.”

Mona motioned toward the bowl. “We can begin
by washing your hair. You know how the shampooing relaxes you.”

Charli plunked in the chair and leaned
back.

Mona turned on the water and adjusted the
temperature. “I was feeling very neglected. It’s been more than two
weeks since we last talked, what’s been going on?”

“Besides dirty tricks with a complete
stranger and a love affair with Connor Mason? Not much.” Charli’s
pulse raced as she divulged the happenings of the past ten days. “I
can’t believe only ten days have passed since I first complained
about being bored in Temptation.”

Mona whistled. “Dang, girl, are you still
bored?”

“No!” Charli squeezed shut her eyes and
pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on. “My
head’s been spinning and I don’t know what to do. That’s why I’m
here. I need advice.”