Carnal Compromise (16 page)

AJ bit her lip, fighting that lump in her throat again. “That came through in the book.”

“Good.” Mandy nodded. “But I don’t think he’d ask me to do girl-on-girl because he assumes he’s the only one who would benefit from it. I’d be doing it strictly to put on a show for him and not to fulfill any fantasies or needs of my own.”

“Is his assumption any more accurate than yours was?”

Mandy grinned. “Smart girl. If you’d asked me that three years ago, I’d have said yes. But I’ve read a few female-female erotic romances in the last couple of years and they actually really get my motor running. I’ve thought about trying to write some girl-on-girl scenes but I really haven’t even had enough experience fantasizing about it, much less participating, to do it justice.”

AJ laughed. “So, I’m fodder for your muse.”

“No, that would just be a bonus. What you are is the first woman who’s ever made me wonder what your tongue tastes like, and how your breasts feel, and if your hair is as soft as it looks, and how you smell when you’re excited. If I weren’t honestly attracted to you, I doubt I’d even have brought it up.”

The bottom dropped right out of AJ’s stomach. “Oh.”

“But I also wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t think it would absolutely bring Hake to his knees with lust.” She grinned mischievously. “I’ll bet if we asked them to, all three of them would get on their knees and beg to watch a little live girl-on-girl action. I know watching Hake with Joe makes me hotter than hell.”

AJ nodded. “Watching Joe and Brent does it for me, too.”

Mandy sat straight up. “Oh my God, they finally did it?”

“Well, not
it
, exactly.” Now that she’d finally moved out of the conversational spotlight, AJ immediately crawled back onto the bed and pulled the covers over her lap, ready to get down to the real business of girl talk. She felt the teensiest bit guilty about discussing Joe and Brent behind their backs but she had a feeling Mandy already knew a lot more than she did anyway.

Two hours later, she’d reported everything she knew. She hadn’t spared herself any more than she had the guys, and Mandy had laughed ’til she cried while AJ told the tale of being caught with her dildo.

To her surprise, AJ found herself laughing, too. “If that winds up in one of your books, I’ll have to kill you.”

“Don’t worry, I always ask permission first,” Mandy assured her. By this time, she’d crawled up beside AJ and they were lying on their sides, talking face-to-face.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Mandy was also captivated by the story of Brent going down on Joe, but it was the spanking that really caught her attention.

“Did you enjoy it?” she asked with avid eyes.

AJ nodded, shamefaced. “I came so hard I almost passed out. But it wasn’t just the spanking that did it. It was the whole thing—fighting, laughing, showering in front of him… It was all just incredibly honest and intimate, you know?”

Mandy just nodded like she couldn’t speak, and AJ felt a little self-conscious again. They were talking about all this like Joe and Brent were her boyfriends and their relationship was going somewhere, but she just couldn’t bring herself to break the lovely mood with a depressing reality check.

Then she related Joe’s habit of evening the score and Mandy sighed. “I’ve noticed that he doesn’t like to owe anyone anything. Whenever they stay here, he’s always first in line to help Hake with chores.”

“Do you know anything about him?”

“No more than you do.”

“What about his wife?”

“Wife!” Mandy sat straight up again. “He’s
married
?”

“Relax, he’s divorced.” AJ sighed. “Damn, I guess you really don’t know more than I do.”

“Now what do you think they’re talking about?”

“You, okay? They’re talking about you.”

“Fuck off, Brent.”

“Joe, it’s two o’clock in the morning. Go to sleep.”

Mandy propped herself up to look over AJ at the clock and gasped. “Holy crap, it’s two in the morning!”

“Really?” Despite the soothing patter of raindrops on the roof, AJ was still wide-awake from the relief of getting everything off her chest. “I hope Hake’s not worrying about you.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “I can guarantee he’s sawing logs. Nothing keeps him awake. I could stay in here all night and he’d probably never notice.” Then she got that look in her eye again. “I should do it. Can’t you just see the looks on their faces when I walk out of here in the morning? Their imaginations would go crazy. Absolutely crazy.”

“You are so evil.” AJ grinned. “But stay if you want to. This bed is big enough for both of us, plus all the guys.”

It was Mandy’s turn to grin. “Why do you think we put in king beds?”

AJ was silent for a second, and her stomach contracted with nerves. “Mandy…”

“Yeah?”

“Were you really serious about doing girl-on-girl for the guys?”

“You have to ask?” She hesitated and then said, “If you want the truth, it’s all I can think about now.”

Heat stirred low in AJ’s belly again. “Can we maybe kiss tonight, by ourselves, to see if… I mean, I’d hate to try it for the first time in front of them and then freeze up or something, you know?”

“I think I’m a little in love with you, Ariel,” Mandy murmured right before she leaned over and planted her soft lips on AJ’s.

Joe’s buzz-saw snore startled Brent out of a sound sleep. A glance at the clock showed it was almost three a.m.

“Great,” he muttered, rolling onto his side and pulling his pillow over his head.

The buzz saw droned on, and he sighed. What
were
the girls talking about in there…?

Chapter Twelve

“Well, this is a new wrinkle.”

AJ woke with a start to find Ryan standing beside the bed, his thumbs hooked in his jeans pockets, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Ryan!”

AJ jumped at the sound of Mandy’s voice in her ear. The woman was curled up against her back with an arm around her waist—or she was until she struggled out from under the covers and jumped off the bed as if it were on fire.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked breathlessly.

“Well, I poked my head in to say goodbye but Dad was all alone.”

“This isn’t what it looks like,” she started.

He grinned at her. “That’s what they all say.”

“Ryan!” Mandy grabbed up her robe and put it on over her flannel nightgown, her cheeks bright red. “It’s not!”

AJ felt her own cheeks heat and wished there were some way to slip out of the room unnoticed.

“It’s no big deal,” Ryan said, putting an arm around his mother’s shoulders. “Chemistry is chemistry. You can’t help who you’re attracted to.”

Mandy looked like she counted to five before she said, “Ryan Dean Stivers, I’m going to spank you!”

“Come on, Mom—I’m twenty-four, not four. You can stop hiding now.”

Mandy narrowed her eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have a pretty good idea what goes on around here when Brent and Joe come to town.”

Her eyes widened in shock.

Ryan shrugged. “Like I said, chemistry is chemistry. I’d have to be blind not to see it between all of you.” Then he added with an unrepentant grin, “And I’ve read
Carnal Deliverance
.”

“Oh my
God
.” She closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her blazing cheeks. “You promised me you wouldn’t read my books!”

Ryan laughed. “It’s okay, honestly. I wouldn’t want to watch or anything, but I kind of enjoy knowing I have the swingingest parents in the universe.”

AJ giggled and he sent a speculative glance her way.

“Say, Mom, I really don’t have to get back until tomorrow. If this isn’t what it looks like, you wouldn’t mind if I ask AJ out tonight, right?”

AJ instantly looked away, going hot all over. It took every ounce of determination she possessed not to dive under the quilt Mandy had tossed aside. Surely he wasn’t serious! She was ten years older than he was.

Mandy smacked his abdomen with the back of her hand.

“What?” he laughed again. “She’s cute.”

Charmed and embarrassed, AJ bit her lip. She was suddenly very glad she’d worn her nicest jammies.

“AJ is off limits and I mean it. She belongs to Brent and Joe.” Then Mandy glanced over her shoulder. “Oops. Sorry, AJ.”

“I figured as much,” he said. “Damn, I never thought I’d covet one of my mother’s lovers.”

“Ryan!” Mandy screeched.

Hake appeared in the doorway, wearing nothing but boxer-briefs. “What’s going on?”

“I tried to steal AJ from Mom but she won’t let me have her.”

“I’d hope not,” he rumbled.

“AJ and I fell asleep
talking
,” Mandy insisted. “See, the lamp’s still on.”

Seeing the worldly erotica writer so flustered suddenly struck AJ as the funniest thing she’d ever seen. She burst out laughing, and the harder she tried to stop, the harder she laughed. When Brent and Joe shuffled in behind Hake and the three of them stood there together, looking like an underwear ad, she screamed with merriment, rolling over and holding her sides.

“AJ, what is so damn funny?” Mandy demanded.

“You,” AJ gasped. “You couldn’t—couldn’t wait to see their faces this morning. God, you should see yours!” And she was off again, laughing until she thought she’d break something.

This time the guys started laughing, too, and pretty soon Mandy started to smile.

“Paybacks are hell, Ariel,” she promised.

AJ paused long enough to say, “I can’t wait.”

“Supper will be done in about twenty minutes, boys,” Mandy called from the kitchen. “Why don’t you go ahead and shower, and then you can leave your wet clothes on the washer. I’ll put a load in before bed.”

Brent obediently headed for the downstairs bathroom while Joe and Hake went upstairs. When they’d finally gotten AJ alone this morning and quizzed her, she’d told them Mandy had relieved all her worries and she really wanted to fulfill Hake’s fantasy—and maybe a couple more of her own. His cock had been at half-mast ever since.

Though the rain hadn’t let up until around noon, he and Joe had gone out right after breakfast to help Hake catch cows and fix fences washed out by the storm. They hadn’t even come in for lunch, and the three of them had spent the day in a torturous, mostly silent state of anticipation. Now they were all starving, in more ways than one.

After Hake and Joe joined him at the table, Mandy walked out carrying a platter full of barbecued ribs and Brent let out a low whistle.

“I do like that outfit,” he said as his jeans grew tight in the crotch.

They’d done some more role-playing last year, with Mandy as a low-rent call girl, and apparently she was going to reprise the role tonight. She was dripping with gaudy jewelry and her face was made up in vibrant shades that matched her tiny red tank top, which plainly revealed her braless state, and even tinier red satin shorts, which barely covered half her ass cheeks. The outrageous red platform heels did awesome things for both her bare legs and her posture, making her breasts and ass stand out prominently.

“I know you do,” she said before she walked back into the kitchen.

Then AJ sashayed through the door carrying two steaming serving bowls and his jaw landed in his lap.

“Christ on a cracker,” Hake muttered.

Brent couldn’t have agreed more but he couldn’t get anything to come out of his mouth. His heart was racing, his breathing rough and his entire gut twisted with desire.

Their retiring little farmhand was strutting around the house in a matching black leather vest and miniskirt. No shirt, just a vest held closed by a single button. It was so short on her that it displayed her bellybutton and a nice expanse of pale skin. Below the skirt, fishnet tights that didn’t reach the hem were held up by black garters, and black lace-up leather boots with high, clunky heels hugged her slender calves.

But it was her face that nearly put him in cardiac arrest. He’d thought she was pretty as hell all freshly scrubbed, but AJ in full war paint was…breathtaking. Her glossy red lips looked plump and delicious, her skin flawless and creamy, and now that her lashes were darkened by mascara, her blue eyes practically jumped out of her face. Holy Christ, what was she doing working on a custom harvest crew? She should be walking on a runway in Paris.

“Ariel Jane Pender, you are in such big trouble,” Joe breathed, his eyes narrowed and his face hard as stone.

AJ set the bowls in the middle of the table. “Says who?” she sassed. Then she swiped Brent’s spoon off the table onto the floor. “Oops.”

She turned, planted her feet apart, and leaned over to pick it up without bending her knees. All three of the men groaned in unison at the sight of her bare pink pussy lips peeking out from beneath her skirt. She must have had a lot of trouble picking up that spoon because she hung there forever, her pretty cunt just inches from his face.

Then she straightened and faced him with a smile. “I’ll just bring you a clean one,” she said brightly. “Be right back.”

When the door swung shut behind her, Joe asked, “What kind of monster have we created?”

The door swung open again almost at once and AJ returned with a clean spoon and a handful of dark green cloth napkins. She replaced his spoon and tied one of the napkins around his neck like a bib.

Then she went around to the head of the table. Setting the other napkins down, she said, “Scoot your chair back a little, Hake.”

When he warily obliged, she grasped the frame of his chair and swung a leg over to sit on his lap. You wouldn’t think that would be possible in an armchair, but her legs were so damn long, she accomplished it with ease.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly.

Hake just breathed heavily, staring at her from under his lashes, and Brent smothered a laugh. Then he noticed Mandy had paused in the doorway to watch. The heat in her eyes made his cock harden even more. Was it for AJ? That question had teased him all day. The girls
had
slept together.

Slept.

Together.