Men Times Three (14 page)

“That's right. Nobody makes decisions based on a kiss.”

Kylie and Holly walked in, with Deke trailing. He wanted to wipe the smirk off his brother's face. Instead, he set her away and nodded. “I'll see you when I see you, then. Good luck.”

Kylie gave her a tight hug and a warm smile to see her off. “I'll have all the bed frames put together and the headboards stained by the time you get back. And I'll start sewing the curtains for the bedrooms, too. You'll see. They'll be lovely.”

Marnie hugged her cousin back, then smiled for the group before Deke grabbed her bags and escorted her to her tiny car.

Each of the women had brought special skills to the inn. Marnie knew business, Holly had a decorating and cooking flair, while Kylie knew her way around handiwork, including sewing, painting and some renovation work.

The three of them made a great team. He wondered if Marnie saw it or if she was too focused on the club to realize she had a shot at making the inn viable.

Holly was next with a breezy wave and easygoing wish for a safe drive back to the city. She closed the door and spun to glare at him. “You need to do something, TJ. She's stubborn to a fault. And she won't give up on that loser partner of hers until it's too late.”

“That's my choice? Convince her to walk away from the business she's built? The life she loves?” No one with half a brain made decisions on the strength of one kiss.

No one.

He growled again and stormed out the door after her. He watched as the bumblebee she called a car disappeared in a cloud of dust. He stopped with his hand on his truck door. Chasing her when he had work to do. Pathetic bastard.

“Deke!” He strode around the building, furious with himself. If he got the cabins built, Marnie would see the potential in the redeveloped inn and change her mind about leaving.

Now that would be a big enough thing on which to base a life-changing decision: potential, and the inn oozed it, especially with these three women running the place.

But unless she saw it herself, it was a stupid plan. If she left the city because of him, she may grow to resent the way he'd forced her hand.

His body thrummed with disappointment when he thought of another whole weekend without easing himself into her. But the cabins wouldn't build themselves, and with Eli still not home, it wasn't fair to dump the load on Deke.

He caught sight of his brother and hollered again. “Where the
hell
is Eli? And why isn't he home yet?”

“What's been shoved up your ass and got your guts in a snarl?” Then he laughed. “Oh. Never mind.”

“Fuck off.” He strode past his smirking brother and headed out for the pond. As soon as he hit the water's edge, he knelt and stuck his head in deep, letting the icy water shock him nearly senseless. For a second there, all he wanted to do was float downstream to the ocean.

Maybe he'd be swept over the strait and into Canadian waters.

But he'd still have this hard-on and he'd still want that exasperating woman. He rose straight up out of the water with a huge gasp and shook off droplets like a dog. He wanted to howl.

Another whole weekend.

Nope. Couldn't do it.

 

Marnie pulled into her reserved spot behind the club, edgy and out of sorts. “Please,” she muttered, as she climbed the back stairs to her office, “don't let me find another threesome.” If she saw anyone getting laid and it wasn't her, she'd scream.

Nothing this week had been harder than walking away from TJ O'Banion. That kiss at the pond had fed her dreams every night since it happened. Damn this club and damn Dennis even more. She should be at TJ's place right now. This was an idiotic game of frustration she'd started. What kind of moron pushed a man to his limits when they wanted the same thing? But once she'd teased him and he'd teased back, her competitive side had come to the fore.

Damn her Dawson bullheadedness. Why couldn't she have just slept with the man when he made it clear he wanted her? What was the big deal?

But the wiser side of her head said that sleeping with TJ O'Banion would change her life and not for the better. Once she had a taste of him, she might not be able to let go.

She had to remember her priorities. She'd be a fool to get involved with TJ. Sex with the man would bind them in ways too deep. He wasn't the kind of man to keep things light.

Leaving him was the right thing to do for herself. And likely for him, too. He didn't need a fling with a woman determined to leave him behind.

At the top of the stairs she held her breath and opened the office door. No Dennis. No threesome. The lights were on, but the security monitors were blank. “Great. What now?”

She couldn't find an obvious reason for the monitors not to work, so she called her security company and sicced them on the problem. Was a simple phone call too much for Dennis to handle? He knew how important security was in a club.

She headed downstairs and threaded her way through the Friday after-work crowd. She found him at his favorite table on the back wall nursing a bottle and a shot. “You're back,” he said and downed his glass. “Good thing.”

She slid in beside him on the banquette and watched the customers, rowdy after work and ready to party. They'd be busy tonight, and they were short staffed.

Thanks to Dennis. “You assaulted our new bartender?”

“Grabbed her tit, that's all.” He shrugged.

“You admit it?” She sagged into the banquette and waved away the bottle when he offered it.
Overload.

“Well, she shouldn't wave them in a guy's face.”

She wanted to slap him, but no matter how much power she put into it, she didn't have the strength to kill him with one blow.

Pity. But maybe a quick death was too merciful.

Besides, if she started slugging him, she might not stop. The idea gained merit as she watched his put-upon expression. He really believed this was the bartender's fault.

“Damn, I wish I could remember her name, but I'm too angry with you to remember my own.” She unclenched her hands and let them rest flat on the table.

“Why blame me? She's the one who came into the office in a low-cut top and smiled like she wanted it.”

She held on to her composure, afraid not to. “She's new. It was her first week.” She enunciated every word to try to get the lummox to hear her. “She wanted you to like her. You know, Dennis, like a
person
. She wore the top to encourage tipping and she smiled like a regular human being.” She couldn't resist a moment longer. She smacked his shoulder. He didn't even grunt, the slimy bastard.

An image of TJ by the water wafted through her mind. He wanted her and even with her teasing him, he would never try to force his advantage. TJ would never treat women the way Dennis did. He'd never intimidate a woman, or flat out grab what he wanted. She was proof positive. She'd flirted and challenged and tantalized him, then left him high and dry. He hadn't been nasty or snide.

He must be furious that she left him. Maybe she should have invited him here. But if he were here, she wouldn't be able to focus on anything but TJ. He was a distraction she couldn't afford.

Right now, rather than dream about what she'd like to do with TJ all weekend, she needed to fix this mess Dennis had created with his grabby hands and cheesy expression. She smacked him again for good measure. His tequila slopped out of his shot glass. “Clean that up,” she snarled as she left him. “And you're tending bar.” She took the bottle and handed it off to Jeff, promising him a bonus for the extra load he had tonight. “Make sure Dennis helps you.” She couldn't believe she'd been forced to include Jeff in this spat.

She waited until Jeff nodded at her and Dennis slouched his way over. She wanted to tell him to grow the fuck up, but that was not the way to handle a man-child. Dennis would pout and dig in his heels. Jeff controlled his expression, but laughter lurked under his control. Damn.

It had been wrong to let Jeff know she was furious with the other owner. But clearly, the entire staff knew about this mess and were waiting to see how it played out.

After all, if she screwed up with this, they could be out of their jobs.

“I'll be back as soon as I can,” she promised Jeff. She shouldn't have argued with Dennis in front of the staff, but damn, it felt good to let off some steam.

She stalked through the gathering groups of people. Tables were filling fast. She had a couple of part-timers she could call in a pinch.

After that, she'd call Tisha for an appointment to see her.
Tisha.
Yes, that was the bartender's name. How stressed was she that she'd forgotten?

Maybe she could make this go away before Tisha found a lawyer and sued them right out of the club. But at this point, it would almost be a relief.

She found Tisha's personnel file, called and left a message. Then and only then, Marnie sank into her chair. Tired of putting out Dennis's fires, she missed the mindlessness of cleaning and sorting. The work at the inn had been physically demanding but mentally freeing. While she'd scrubbed and wiped and vacuumed and polished, she'd had time to ponder and to dream. Her grandfather had forced her, Holly and Kylie to work together. After the initial disagreement and disappointment with Holly, Marnie had come to understand that something was going on in her cousin's life that no one knew about. Whatever it was, Holly seemed determined to handle it herself.

If she needed to stay on the Peninsula for a few months to get things sorted out, then so be it. Not everyone's life was as straightforward as Marnie's.

The mindless work had given her mind time to roam. It had been far too long since she'd been able to do any free thinking and she missed it. She got her best, most innovative ideas when she let her mind wander, open and free. That's when possibilities walked in and grew into solid ideas.

The other day at the inn, she'd been waxing the wood door-frames and the lemony scent of the polishing cloth and rhythmic movement of her arm had opened her mind to the resort idea again.

There were acres and acres of trees behind the inn. The clearing for the three cabins had barely made a dent in the available land. What if the three cabins were just the beginning of a meandering trail that led deeper into the woods to cul-de-sacs of cabins interspersed with play areas and tennis courts and bike trails?

The dream was all well and good, but her future was here in Backlit, not at the inn.

She walked to Dennis's desk and rifled through the stack of mail he'd left sitting unopened. Resisting the temptation to leave the mail for him, she settled back at her desk and pulled out her letter opener.

The shaft shone and flashed as she opened each bill in the quiet of the office. In under an hour, a stifling cloak of pressure enveloped her. Her desk was now piled with paperwork. She had myriad details left undone, the blank, staring monitors she couldn't fix herself, the stack of unpaid invoices Dennis hadn't bothered to pay.

She mindlessly flicked a corner of a supplier's invoice. This one was for foodstuffs for the bar. Pretzels, peanuts.

Crap.

Crap, crap and more crap. She lowered her head to rest on her folded arms and thought of the waxy scent of lemon on wood, the smooth rhythmic strokes. The same rhythm she'd like to use on TJ.

Desire rose as she thought of him. She should have indulged her needs every time she'd had the chance. Foolishly, she'd played games that left them both hot and yearning.

She sighed. A full-bodied I-don't-give-a-shit-anymore sigh.

She was horny. She was lonely. She wanted TJ and she'd
left
him.

A sound at the door startled her into straightening.

And there he was. TJ O'Banion in the flesh. She blinked as he bristled with seductive energy. Edgy and hot. His shoulders filled the doorway, his expression went hard, his jaw firmed as he glanced around the office, then let his gaze rake over her face.

“You're here. Really?” She couldn't believe he'd made the trip. He must have left right after she did.

His hands clenched at his sides as if he itched to grab her out of her seat. His eyes burned as he raked her body.

She half stood, every nerve ending alive, arced to his in mutual need. Her heart slammed in her chest and everything but TJ left her universe. He was all there was.

Him and his need. One step inside, then he kicked the door shut.

“Lock it,” she said. “And turn out the lights.”

“Fuck the lights.”

T
J got to her before Marnie could do more than nod her head. Grabbed her by the forearms and pulled her the rest of the way out of her seat.

Slammed his mouth to hers and took. Goddamn, she tasted good.

Apparently so did he, because she rolled her tongue across his and got into his pants faster than the next breath. He nearly buckled when the heat of her hands touched the head of his cock.

Color exploded behind his eyes, starbursts of need narrowed his vision as he pushed her against the wall, hoisted her to his hips and pressed her hard. If he didn't get inside her soon, he'd lose his mind. And even if he did, he'd lose his mind.

Either way, he was going to have her so fast, so hard, so deep, she'd never forget it.

Her hands flew around his clothes. His belt fell away, his fly widened as she nipped his lower lip with urgency that filled him. He felt cool air on his cock as he sprang out of his jeans. She cupped him with both hands and stroked once. He felt the pressure build in his balls. “Stop. Fuck.”

“Oh, yes,” she breathed, as he yanked down her skirt, then dragged her panties off. She stepped out of everything that was in his way and then wrapped her legs around his hips. So close. Her wet heat grazed his cock, making his flesh slip and slide along her juicy cleft.

Blind with need, he clasped his cock to guide it in when she froze. “Wait. Condom. Top drawer on the left.”

The fog lifted long enough to let the word
condom
sink in. He reached for her desk drawer but she grabbed his hand. “Not my desk. That one. His.”

She left him, stunned and shaking, while she tore into the drawer and came up with a packet. “Here. At least he's good for something.”

TJ pulled her into his arms while she opened the packet and hurriedly slipped the rubber over his distended cock. He ground his back teeth to hold on when her sly fingers cupped and squeezed his sac.

“You're so hard. Ready.”

“My balls've been blue for a week.” He laid her out on the desk and stepped into her cradle with a thrust that buried him to the hilt. She scrabbled backward at the pressure, but he held her until she rocked against him, open and wet. He thumbed her clit and watched as she gathered herself then flew apart and off into ecstasy. She shattered and rocked, crooned and groaned. Her hips stilled as she held on to every pulse.

“Oh, TJ. That is good. So very very…good.”

He shuddered at the sound of her guttural cry, the inner clench of her walls. Orgasm rolled through the small of his back and through him as he spun out of control and fell. Fell. Fell as he followed her into the little death.

“Marnie.” Her name came from somewhere else. Some other place near his heart. He sagged onto her, only vaguely aware that she clung to him and crooned near his ear; softly and in gentle words he didn't deserve.

“I'm sorry. I rushed you, took you like a—”

“Sh, TJ.” She dug her fingers into his hair. “Never. You could never…be like that.”

He raised his face, her sweet grace a balm. “I hurt you,” he pulled back, suddenly aware that he'd slammed into her on her desk, not caring that she was spread eagle on the hard flat surface. That he'd spread her so wide, he must have touched her womb. “Marnie,” he whispered again and wanted to kiss her, hold her.

Rock her gently until she let him do it all over again.

“I'm a bastard.” But his cock was already hardening, never really went down. “But I want you again.”

She laughed as if his guilty admission pleased her. “Yes. Again and again.” She hitched her hips higher, reached around and tapped his sac with a naughty finger.

He felt the condom, full and slippery and pulled out. He kissed her belly. “Washroom?”

“In there.” She pointed over her head and he saw a door. “While you're gone, I'll get another condom.”

Satisfaction rolled through him as he heard her light step across the office. When he returned, it was to find her fiddling with a set of three monitors. “Security system down?”

“Seems to be okay now.” Her sexy ass peeked out at him from under her blazer. He hadn't even given her time to get comfortable. The front hung open as she clicked a remote control aimed at the screens. Her cheeks were full and round and he slipped his hand to cup her there. She glanced over her shoulder with a grin. “Hi, there.”

The images cleared and he saw various views. If the monitors had been working, she'd have seen him come in through the alley door. “That door was unlocked when I got here. I just walked in, but I was too focused to think about how unsafe it is for you.”

“It should have locked behind me,” she said. A frown formed on her brows. “That's odd.”

“Your partner not on top of things here?” Stupid question. She'd had to leave the Peninsula to come back and mop up a mess he'd caused.

“Never. Dennis is”—she hesitated—“a challenge.” But she looked satisfied with what she saw on-screen. “At least he's lending a hand at the bar. And I called in some reinforcements for waitstaff and they've all arrived.”

Anyone with eyes could see the club was packed. “You need to get down there.” It wasn't a question.

“Twenty minutes?” She bit her lip, but her eyes tracked down to his jutting rod. “Then we can go to my place. Have the whole night together.” The promise in her gaze zipped along his spine. He nodded.

“Sure.” He reached for his clothes, pulled them on while she did the same.

Her twenty minutes turned into an hour, but he enjoyed seeing her in action. She was a superb people person. The staff all liked her. She didn't hesitate to pitch in, but didn't hover over the casual staff, either.

She kept a sharp eye on the guy she'd pointed out as Dennis but said little to him. Whatever beefs she had with him were private and not for public display. At least not now. While they'd dressed, she'd admitted blasting him in front of the bartender earlier.

He sat at the end of the bar, watching her work. His gaze never left her, not when a busty blonde sat down and tried to start a conversation, not when her friend flanked his other side, not even when they sandwiched him in tits.

“Sorry, ladies. I'm happily attached and loyal as a retriever.” By now he figured his eyes were pleading for rescue, but Marnie was biting her lip to keep from laughing at him while she sorted the cash in the till.

“But you're so big, there's plenty enough to go around.” Her whisper in his ear went sultry and he finally turned his gaze to the blonde. Avid eyes met his, calculating her chances of success. She swept her hardened nipples across his biceps and moved in to kiss him.

He dodged.

She missed.

The other woman hissed because his dodge mashed her breasts. “Let's go, Cissy; he's pussy-whipped.”

The blonde pouted as they moved away and suddenly he was free. He sipped his half-warm beer and watched Marnie approach with a full-on grin splitting her face. Goddamn, she was beautiful. Her hair shone, even in the muted lighting, her eyes glowed with suppressed laughter. She leaned across the bar and kissed him, licking the beer from his lips and creating a hard-on the size of a Douglas fir.

“Apparently I'm pussy-whipped.”

“You are?”

He shrugged. “Seems so.”

“Good.” She kissed him again, opening his lips with her tongue and swooping in. He let her and wanted more, but she pulled back before he could drag her across the bar to him. “I won't be long now and we can go to my place.”

Thank Christ.

“Will you stay with me for the whole weekend? Tonight's not enough.”

He tugged her closer and leaned in for her ears only. “Is there such a thing”—his voice sounded strangled, but the noise level of the bar hid the wobble—“as cock-whipped?”

She laughed. “There is now.”

At least he wasn't in this alone.

“Walk with me to the office. I have to take some cash upstairs.”

Her partner kept his wary gaze on Marnie as she collected the cash from the till. TJ dogged her every step as she made her way through the crowd toward Dennis. He was directing human traffic near the door. “This place is hopping.” A roar from the dance floor crowd drowned him out.

A quick glance over his shoulder told him the DJ had taken his place. The guy bowed to the groups of people cheering, then took his place behind his equipment. The whole place went darker as he started his patter. Then a thrumming beat began that would soon drive his eardrums into hiding if he was forced to stay.

Nights on the Peninsula were full of quiet and he liked it that way. He knew what the other customers saw when they looked at him. A hick. A small-town man in a plaid shirt and work jeans. Hell, he was still in his construction boots. The club was upscale, full of professionals in suits while he sat like a mountain of trouble at the end of the bar.

Marnie was in her element. Laughing with customers, pouring drinks, moving smoothly behind the bar while keeping one eye on the entire place.

She juggled everything beautifully. Capably. While Dennis kept a malevolent eye on her every move.

TJ wanted to have a word with the jerk, explain the niceties of working in a partnership with a woman like Marnie, but he refused to take a chance of ticking her off. She wouldn't want him dealing with Dennis. He wasn't sure he could keep a cool head with the guy anyway.

Marnie talked into Dennis's ear for a moment, while he listened, eyes darting around the people coming into the club. He nodded a few times, leaned in to her ear and spoke.

TJ couldn't catch a word, but she looked satisfied with whatever he said. She turned, put her hand on TJ's arm and smiled in relief. “We can go.”

In the office, he was tempted to put her over the desk and take her just as fast and hard as he had the last time, but he reconsidered when she closed them inside. “I think I hate him. I really do. Tisha called
him
back instead of me.”

She crossed the office at a brisk, no-nonsense pace. “We're having a meeting Sunday morning after I see Tisha. He's going to have to prove he's worth all this effort.”

“Good luck with that.” He feigned interest in the monitors as she knelt behind her desk to open the safe. No business owner wanted anyone looming over them while they were using their combination.

The moment he heard the safe door click close, he turned and drew her to her feet. She leaned into him, let him kiss her.

Marnie.

He fell into her mouth over and over again until she moaned with want. Desire prettied her up all over, made her flush and pink, her pussy wet and breasts swollen. He hadn't even seen her fully naked yet.

“Take me home,” he said, his voice a gravel bed of need. “Now. Before I'm all over you again. This time I want to take things slower.”

She nodded. “You're right. There are lots of things I want to do to you, too.”

A week of denial hung between them, a curtain of frustrated nights and daytime longing. “We were stupid to wait this long.”

“You think so? By waiting, I know I want to take you home. I know I'll want to see your face in the morning. I know everything we do will be good and right for us both.”

He dropped his head. She was right. He couldn't wait to see where she lived, and how. He already knew she was snarky before coffee and easy to laugh after. He knew how she sounded when she came and knew the taste of her mouth.

And none of what he knew was enough.

“Let's go.”