FriendlySeduction (8 page)

“Well, well, bitch. I hope you enjoyed your morning.”

Sara gasped as Bethany’s voice filled the room.

“I made sure your afternoon would be something to remember.
How’s your mother, by the way?” Her gleeful cackle raised the hair on the back
of Sara’s neck. “Next time, remember who you’re messing with. Checkmate.
Buh-bye, Hogzilla.”

Sara seethed while she stared at her phone.

“End of messages.”

With a cry, she threw the receiver then stomped over and
ripped the answering machine from the wall. “Stupid bitch!”

She blindly threw the machine. It crashed against the
cabinet and broke into three large pieces. That wasn’t good enough. Sara raced
across the room and grabbed the nearest, largest piece. Lifting it above her
head, she hurled it as hard as she could. It hit the wall with a satisfying
smash. She picked up the next piece and flung it. Over and over she threw any
piece she could reach until she was surrounded by an unrecognizable pile of
rubble.

Finally, she lay down and wept.

Marc grinned when Sara’s name lit up his cell phone screen.
He answered without hesitation.

“Hey, princess. What naughty thing do you want to get up to
tonight?” He couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease his girl a bit.

“I want to go out.”

He knew immediately something wasn’t right.

“What, tonight?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rob
enter the house and Marc motioned him to keep quiet.

“Yes. Tonight. I want to go dancing. All three of us.”

“Uh, well, sure. We can go dancing.” He exchanged a puzzled
look with Rob. “What time should we pick you up?”

“I’ll pick you guys up. Be ready at seven.”

Marc stared in bafflement as his phone beeped, signaling the
end of the call. She had hung up without even a “love you” or a simple goodbye.

“Sara wants to go dancing?”

“Yeah,” Marc answered softly while he tucked his cell into
his pocket. “With both of us.”

“‘Kay. Sounds like fun. I’m going to go get ready.”

“She’ll be here to pick us up at seven,” Marc called down
the hall to Rob’s back. Rob inclined his head in reply.

Something was going on. Sara sounded strange—almost as if
she was strangling to get the words out. Something was bugging her. Marc was
hesitant to share his suspicions with Rob. He didn’t want to bring him into the
mix until he could feel Sara out a little. If he let
the detective
know
what was on his mind, they would be in for a long night and end up going home
horny and alone. Subtlety wasn’t Rob’s forte.

Besides, if something was wrong, they’d be able to tell the
moment they saw her. Sara could never hide anything from them. He took off for
his room with a grin. No matter what was bugging Sara, he had a feeling they
would be able to charm her out of her mood. And hopefully into bed.

An hour later, Marc nearly swallowed his tongue after he
answered the door. Sara stood in front of him wearing a barely there black
leather miniskirt and a cleavage-baring red silky top. Her legs stretched for
miles, ending in a pair of black come-fuck-me stilettos. If he was in doubt
earlier about her mood, she stood in front of him like a blinking neon sign
saying “help me”.

“Holy shit.” The wolf whistle behind him meant Rob had also
gotten a look at their girl. “Humina, humina…”

Sara giggled at the audible gulp that finished Rob’s
stutter. “I take that to mean you approve?”

“No fucking way.”

Sara and Rob turned to him with incredulous looks.

“There is no way in hell you’re going out like that.”

“Okay, D-dad.”

Marc heard the slight hitch in Sara’s attempt at a sarcastic
retort.

“Fuck off, wimp. If you can’t take being seen in town with
this gorgeous woman on your arm then maybe you should just stay home.” Rob
walked out the door and wrapped his arm around Sara.

“But—”

Sara tossed him a sultry look over her shoulder. “You coming
or not?”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Marc ducked back to grab his keys before
closing the door behind them. There was no way he was letting her out of his
sight. Especially dressed like that.

As they entered Cat & Mouse, Sara wrapped her arms
around both men. She was making a statement. And the swiveling heads and
open-mouthed stares told Marc the statement was delivered.

In for a penny, in for a pound. Marc lowered his arm from
Sara’s shoulder to openly grope her butt.

“Marc!” Sara squealed, pulling back to give him a glare.

“What? I thought we were marking our territory.” He looked
from Sara’s glare to Rob’s amused face. “Isn’t that what all this is about?”

Rob raised an eyebrow at Sara. “Is it?”

“No! I just wanted a night out with my guys. Is that too
much to ask?”

Marc raised a brow at Rob.

“I saw that. If this is too much too soon, we can go home. I
just thought… There’s no reason to hide, right? We should be able to enjoy a
night out like any other dating couple, er—group, whatever. You know what I
mean.”

“Baby, we have no problems with letting everyone know that
you’re ours.” Rob pulled her close for a searing kiss.

Sara’s breath hitched when she went under Rob’s spell. Her
cheeks blushed bright red but she gave back as good as she got until her
eyelids flickered and Rob pulled back at her muffled moan. They rested their
foreheads against each other while they panted.

Fuck, that was hot. Watching Rob kiss and tease their girl
got him so turned-on. This was one thing Marc would definitely enjoy about
their arrangement. He got off on watching Sara’s reaction to Rob’s dominance.
That slight battle she waged with herself and him as she fought for control
until she surrendered. The beauty of Sara’s submission took his breath away. He
shifted on his feet as his erection pressed urgently against his jeans.

Marc snagged Sara’s left arm and pulled her to him. He
cupped her cheek in his right hand and bent down to claim what was his. His
mouth slid over hers, his tongue flickering out to tease the seam of her lips.
He teased her softly, slowly, for what felt like hours before diving in for a
sensuous tongue-sliding kiss. Drawing the moment out as long as possible, he
wanted Sara to know he wasn’t ashamed of her. Of their relationship. But he
pulled back at the sound of Rob clearing his throat.

Resting his forehead on hers, he looked into her smoky-brown
eyes. “We’re not ashamed of you. If you want to have a little coming-out party,
we’re more than happy to provide the party favors.”

“Let’s get this party started.” Rob grabbed Sara’s other arm
and the three of them walked to their usual table on the far side of the dance
floor.

They took their seats, Sara between them as they crowded
close to her. Marc nuzzled the exposed skin on her shoulder. God, her skin was
so silky-smooth. Suddenly he wished they hadn’t gone out. He still had so many
naughty things he had yet to do to her gorgeous body. What he wouldn’t give for
a moment alone.

Rob must have been thinking the same thing, given the way he
nibbled her ear. If Sara wanted to make a declaration, they obviously had no
issue with it.

The sound of someone loudly coughing drew Marc’s attention.

“Did you guys want something from the kitchen or were you
planning to gnaw on little Sara here all night long? Because if that’s the
case, I think we should start charging admission.”

Marc chuckled at his brother’s wry question. He had
forgotten tonight was Alan’s shift. Given the sudden tightness of Sara’s
shoulders, she had forgotten too.

She took a deep, shuddering breath before she relaxed.
“Well, since I’m the entrée tonight, I guess you guys should fatten me up
first. I’ll have a chicken Caesar salad with the dressing on the side and a
Jack and Coke.”

“No, she’ll have a blue-cheese burger with all the fixings
and a Jack and Coke. None of that rabbit food. You’ll need the fuel for later.”
Rob gave her a comical wink and leer.

Marc wasn’t sure who was blushing harder, Sara or Alan.

“Make that three burgers, a margarita on the rocks with salt
for me and a draft for Rob. Thanks, bro.”

Alan beat a hasty retreat.

Marc knew this was going to be an adjustment for everyone,
especially his family. Of anyone, Alan would be the most accepting and easygoing.
He hoped. God, he really wasn’t ready for the big family confrontation yet. He
wanted a little more time alone with Sara and Rob before that scene.

“Man, that was embarrassing.” Sara buried her face in her
hands.

Marc turned to her with a frown. “Wait, what now? I thought
that was what tonight was about.”

Sara looked up and pulled a face. “Yeah, well. I didn’t
think our first night out was going to involve family. I forgot Alan was
working. Maybe we should just go home.”

“Wait a minute. You honestly thought in a town our size we
could go out to the only decent bar and not run into someone we know?”

Sara shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know what I was
thinking.”

“So what’s the deal? Why the big coming-out party tonight?”
Rob leaned into Sara.

Marc knew the detective would to catch on to the tension in
the air. He was actually a little surprised it had taken him this long. “What’s
this really all about?”

“I-I…” Sara trailed off, a hunted expression on her face.

“One draft.” Rob’s beer landed on the table with a heavy
thud. “A Jack and Coke and one margarita. Your burgers will be up in a few.
Marc, you got a minute?”

Marc smiled tightly at Sara and Rob then shoved away from
the table to follow his sulking brother.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Marc stared in disbelief at Alan. “Me? What the hell’s wrong
with you? I’m out on a date. I thought that was pretty clear.”

“Oh yeah, it was clear all right. I think everyone in the
bar got the message.”

“I have things to do tonight. If you have something to say—just
say it.”

“What are you guys thinking?” Alan ran a hand through his
hair. “Have you even given one thought to what things will be like for Sara
after tonight? She’s too nice a girl for you two to play your stupid head games
with.”

Stupid head games? Who the hell did his brother think he
was? “You know what, Alan? Stay the fuck out of our business. You’re not in
this relationship so you don’t get a vote.”

“Hey, I’m in your family so I might not get a vote but I’m
definitely going to have my say. I really thought you were smarter than this.
Sara is a nice, sweet girl. And your best friend for how long? How could you
guys do this to her? You can’t go back to just being friends after a kinky
one-night stand with a girl like that. Trust me, I know.”

“This isn’t some one-night stand. Rob, Sara and I—wait a
minute. How do you know? Who did you—”

Alan waved his hand. “Uh-uh. Not important. So it’s not a
one-night stand?”

Marc shook his head.

“How the fuck are you going to make that work in this town?
It will take less than one day for news of that scene to make its way back to
Mom. You have to be the one to tell her. It’ll only be worse for you if you
don’t.”

Marc nodded. He knew it would be a difficult conversation.
And to tell the truth, he wasn’t looking forward to it. He looked over at his
table. Rob and Sara had their heads together and were laughing.

One more night. He just wanted one more night with them
before all the drama started. “I’ll go see her tomorrow.”

“Good. Now get back to your girl before Rob steals her out
from under you.”

“Like that’s a possibility.” Marc laughed. “Hey, bro. Do we
have your support?”

“You know you do.” Alan turned and cast a longing glance at
Marc’s table. “Just treat her right and don’t let her get away. Girls like Sara
don’t come along very often.”

Marc opened his mouth to question his brother but Alan was
already walking away. Apparently, still waters did run deep. Who’d have guessed
Alan of all people to have a kinky past? Marc shook off his melancholy and went
back to his table.

“Everything all right?” The concern on Sara’s face made his
heart falter.

He sat in his chair then pulled her in for a quick peck.
“Everything’s perfect. So what did I miss?”

Sara didn’t believe Marc for a second. Alan couldn’t be okay
given the mini hissy fit he’d thrown. Oh God. Why had she done this? To come
out so soon was like a slap in the face to everyone in town. She hadn’t even
thought about what this jaunt would do to her guys. How self-centered was she?
Her only concern had been what her family and coworkers thought of her. And
let’s face it, tonight was a petty payback to her controlling mother. And that
bitch Bethany.

She hadn’t taken a second to contemplate the repercussions
this would have on Rob and Marc. Rob was a cop for crying out loud. The amount
of harassment he would get from the guys on the force, from the slimeballs he
tossed in jail…

Sara slumped in her chair. And Marc? Marc’s family was so
tight-knit. And religious. His mama would kick him out of the family just like
hers had done to her. She couldn’t let him sacrifice himself—his place in his
family—for her.

She had to let them go.

Was it so small of her that she wanted one more night with
them? One more night of sheer heaven before she had to fall on her own sword?

Yup, she was a self-centered bitch.

“Hey.” Rob cuddled up to her left side and nuzzled her
shoulder. “What are you thinking about that put such a frown on your pretty
face?”

Sara fought to keep from flinching. “Nothing. I was just
wondering how long we had to wait until we could get out of here.”

Marc chuckled. “So eager, are we? What happened to dancing?”

“Yeah,” Rob murmured on her other side. “I thought we were
going to dance tonight.”

Sara slumped. “Sorry, I’m just—”

“Three blue-cheese burgers.” Alan placed their order on the
table a little more gently this time. “I saved the biggest for you, Sara. I
think you’re going to need a little extra energy tonight.” He smiled and winked
at her before walking away.

Sara couldn’t believe it. She’d thought for sure Alan disapproved
of her—of them. What had changed his mind? She turned and looked at Marc. He
was digging into his burger without a care in the world.

“What happened?”

“What?” Marc mumbled around his mouthful of food.

“What did you say to Alan?”

Marc swallowed before answering. “Nothing.”

“Marc?” Sara tried her best annoyed-teacher expression.

“What? It was nothing. Alan was under the mistaken
impression that this was a one-night stand thing. I just set him straight.”

“And he’s all right with that?”

Marc and Rob exchanged a baffled look. “Uh yeah. Why
wouldn’t he be?”

Sara tried to contain her hysterical giggle.
Yeah, why
wouldn’t he?
She dug into her burger with gusto. Maybe this thing could
work out after all. Her mother would probably never come around but with Rob’s
family and Marc’s accepting them, she had plenty of people in her life who
cared about her.