Tempting Meredith (15 page)

Meredith relaxed. “Then it’s okay.”

Obviously she didn’t understand or hadn’t heard. “He’s watch—” The shadow disappeared.

“You’re certain it’s Blaine?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’s not a threat. He won’t hurt us.” Her suggestive gaze was focused on him, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her looking so sensual. She crawled onto his lap, her knees on either side of his hips, her folds teasing his cock. “He’s just curious,” she whispered in his ear.

“But last night—”

“Was last night. This is today.” She tugged at his earlobe with her teeth. “It’s okay with me if it’s okay with you.”

What the fuck? Just when he thought he had her figured out.

“Are you ready to go to green?” she asked. “Because if you’re not, I need to finish myself off. I’ve had the female equivalent of blue balls once in my life. Not an experience I care to repeat.”

Oh, hell no. Someday he’d watch her fuck herself. That was a sight he’d love to see. But not when he was so desperate to be inside her that his eyes were crossing.

“It’s green,” he said. Then he flipped her over so she was on her belly on the seat of the ATV, her legs open wide, giving him the view of a lifetime. Her ass and pussy spread before him like Thanksgiving dinner. And he was about to feast. Blaine was probably still in the woods, watching. Charlie would be. And for some reason that made Charlie’s cock so hard that if he didn’t fuck her now he would lose his mind. He pried the condom from her fist, ripped open the package and rolled it on his cock in record time. Then he shoved her panties to the side, parted her ass cheeks and briefly thought of plunging into that pretty pucker. Not this time. For one thing, he didn’t have any lube. But if she was game for it, then soon.

He angled her hips up and in one smooth thrust, impaled her. She arched back, lifting her breasts off the rack and taking him deeper. God, how had he gotten so lucky? Fucking this woman in the middle of the land he loved. He peered into the trees where he’d last seen Blaine. If he was still there, he was getting a show to remember.

In the space between the seat and their bodies, Meredith’s hand found his balls and stroked, her fingers slick with her juices.

“Fuck, yeah.” He moaned. “That’s it. Ah, God, Meredith, you’re amazing.”

He pummeled her with his cock. In and out, his balls pressed between her cunt and her wet hand. Every nerve in his body was alive, alert, straining for completion. He saw the movement then. There in the copse of trees, not more than five feet from where he’d seen Blaine. He was still there, watching them. The thought sent Charlie off like a fucking cannon. Meredith’s walls clamped around him, wringing everything from him. Every breath, every thought, every desire, every last drop of his seed.

* * *

Blaine had just wanted some alone time after spending most of the day campaigning. He’d been walking quietly, a habit formed from years of hunting, when he’d seen them.

Fuck. He didn’t know who was sexier—Charlie or Meredith. But both of them together was a sight that paralyzed him. He told himself that a gentleman would turn his back and leave. Give them the privacy they expected. Well, maybe not expected, since they were out in the middle of God and everybody. But they deserved more from him. His feet weren’t listening. Or if they were, they refused to obey. His cowboy boots remained planted in the leaves and dirt and undergrowth.

Meredith saw him, looked him right in the eyes. He thought she was gonna stop. Instead, she stripped off her jeans. An invitation or his own twisted, wishful thinking? She straddled Charlie again, and when she rubbed her cunt against Charlie’s cock, Blaine licked his hand, stuck it down the front of his jeans and grasped his dick in a punishing grip. Not the best lubricant, but he hadn’t hiked from the road to the lake to jack off. Then Charlie saw him, and Blaine stepped back into the trees, the shadows. He needed to get the hell out of there before Charlie beat the shit out of him, but he didn’t. Nothing like living dangerously.

He held his breath while they exchanged words he couldn’t hear over the blood pounding in his ears.

Suddenly, Charlie flipped her onto the seat and stood above her, giving Blaine an X-rated view of Charlie’s cock. Blaine gasped at the sight, and his skin tightened painfully with desire for Charlie’s touch. Blaine unbuckled his belt and opened his fly for better access. He leaned back against the trunk of a tree, knocking his hat off. He didn’t care. He spread his legs. When Charlie plunged into Meredith, Blaine’s anus constricted as if Charlie were fucking him, because how many times had he jerked off with visions of Charlie up his ass, standing over him, dominating him the way he was now dominating Meredith, powering into her?

His thrusts matched Charlie’s. And Meredith’s. Because God, they were both laid out before him. Meredith’s back and neck arched and her full breasts dangled and bounced in time to their horizontal dancing. Her gaze was focused on the spot where he’d stood when she first saw him. The tree’s rough bark scraped his back through his shirt, and he welcomed the pain that heightened the pleasure.

Charlie mastered her. His broad shoulders, his wide, muscular chest, his jeans low on his narrow hips, his strong hands gripping her. Blaine’s middle finger stretched for that hole he so desperately wanted Charlie to fill. He teased it, pulsed against the rim. It was the beginning of the end.

Blaine’s breathing came harsh and fast. His balls drew up, and he gave one last uncoordinated thrust before he stopped and hot come fountained over his shirt and dripped down his hand. His mouth opened in a silent scream. His mind blanked of everything except the pleasure and the need to stay quiet, hidden. They knew he was there, but they’d allowed him to stay, and he wasn’t about to intrude any more than he already had.

When the spasms of the orgasm had passed, he slumped against the tree and dropped his chin to his chest. His arms hung uselessly at his sides. He should leave, get back to the house. But then what? Hide in his office?

No. He needed to apologize. To both of them.

He shoved off the tree and tucked his satiated cock back into his jeans. Not now. Later, when they returned to the house.

He watched them as his trembling fingers zipped, buttoned and buckled. They weren’t moving. He wished he had that luxury, wished he was wrapped up with them in the beautiful package they presented on the back of the ATV.

He searched the ground for his beige straw Stetson and found it a couple of feet away. He picked it up and brushed off the leaves and dirt. After one last, longing look at Charlie and Meredith, he set his hat on his head and tried not to drag his feet as he walked the quarter mile back to his truck.

* * *

Meredith shifted a bit so Charlie’s weight was no longer compressing her lungs. She took a deep, badly needed breath and let it out in a sigh. Even with the afterglow wearing off, she couldn’t help but think of how fucking hot that had been. Knowing Blaine was watching them, probably jacking off. Yeah, huge turn-on. Despite her efforts, she hadn’t changed at all since college. She still liked an audience. Apparently, Charlie did, too.

The ATV’s rack bit into her breasts, so she stuffed her arms under her chest to ease the pressure. Charlie took the hint and sat up. He ran his hand down her back. Soothing.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She was relaxed, content. Talking would disturb her cozy refuge, so she simply hummed, “Mm-hmm.”

He climbed off the ATV. She cracked her eyes, curious. He walked around to the ATV she’d ridden, opened a compartment, removed a thin blanket and shook it out. Her eyelids drifted closed. The lightweight fabric puffed over her and settled like feathers against her skin.

“Don’t want you to get burned.” His voice caressed her as softly as the blanket, reminding her of Blaine’s care after the threesome with Dylan. He’d been so considerate, so attentive to her needs. Now it was Charlie making sure she was okay. But that was the only similarity. This time she didn’t have any regrets, no second thoughts.

Charlie worked his arms under her and picked her up to cradle against his chest. Then he sat on the ATV and held her. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder and drifted, for the most part undisturbed, listening to birds chirping and insects clicking. Charlie occasionally kissed the top of her head.

“I didn’t plan this,” he said, his voice heavy.

She opened her eyes and stared at the arms wrapped around her, protecting her. Veins and tendons bulged against taut muscles. “I know. You didn’t even have a condom.”

“Bet I don’t make that mistake again.”

She laughed lightly before saying, “We can always find a workaround.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Last night—”

“Forget last night.” She didn’t want to talk about it. Didn’t want to talk about what they’d just done.

She wasn’t any more certain of Charlie’s feelings for Blaine than she’d been this morning. He loved the man. That much was obvious. But sexually? She didn’t know. Although after that flirtation with exhibitionism, she suspected there was at least a modicum of bi-curiosity, if not interest.

So why didn’t she feel used? Because Charlie hadn’t planned it? Because maybe he didn’t realize he might have a thing for Blaine? Or because she’d been in charge this time? She’d made the decision and instigated the play.

“It’ll be dark soon,” Charlie said. “We need to head back.”

She started to climb out of his lap, but he tightened his hold on her then tilted her chin. His kiss was undemanding, gentle, reassuring.

She took her time dressing. She wasn’t in any hurry to return to the house. The afternoon had been magical, and she was reluctant to leave the magic.

Since Charlie only had to pull on his shirt and zip his fly, he was quickly ready. After storing the blanket, he sat on her ATV and divided his attention between her and the lake.

As she tied her tennis shoes, Charlie whispered urgently, “Don’t say anything. Just look to your right near the edge of the lake.”

Had Blaine decided to join them? She lifted her gaze, not knowing what to expect. A doe and her two fawns stepped delicately toward the glistening water.

In awed silence, she watched the deer graze. Occasionally, the mom lifted her reddish-brown head and sniffed the air. The white-speckled fawns grazed awhile and then bounced around the doe, their tails wagging like a dog, their oversized ears as busy as their coltish legs. They grazed some more before playfully bounding back and forth in the meadow, never straying too far from their mom.

The doe stepped into the lake with her front hooves and stretched her graceful neck to drink. The fawns splashed in next to her. They drank a little, ran and splashed a little, drank a little more.

A shift in the breeze must have carried their human scents to the deer. Their heads lifted. Their ears twitched back. Their white tails pointed to the sky. They bolted, tails bobbing like thick white plumes on marching band hats as they fled.

Meredith had never been much for nature, but watching the doe and her babies had been wondrous.

Babies. It was Mother’s Day.

The wondrous magic disappeared like the illusion it was.

Chapter Thirteen

When he returned to the lodge, Blaine stripped out of his semen-crusted clothes, took a long, hot shower and then dressed in clean cargo shorts and a T-shirt. Despite the fact that he wasn’t hungry, he went to the kitchen to start dinner. A peace offering of sorts. Also an excuse to keep him from hiding in his office. He could have reheated the spaghetti from last night. There was plenty left. But that wouldn’t require any time. So he started from scratch, making shredded venison enchiladas from a roast he’d slow-cooked two days ago. He was finishing up when he heard Meredith and Charlie open the front door. His heart pounded. He’d gone over his explanation again and again, changing his speech slightly each time until he figured it was idiot proof. Or as idiot proof as possible under the circumstances. Which, face it, weren’t ideal.

But when they entered the kitchen, every practiced word vanished except one. “Sorry,” he said. So fucking lame.

Charlie glanced between Blaine and Meredith, his expression uncertain, nervous. But he didn’t say anything.

Meredith waved her hand in the air as if doing so would vanquish the whole afternoon. “Nothing to be sorry about.”

“I shouldn’t have stayed. I tried to leave. I should have—”

Meredith rolled her eyes. “Really, guys. I know I’m a woman, and women are supposed to want talk after sex, but I’m not
that
woman. And even if I were, I’m almost positive I wouldn’t want to have
this
discussion.”

Charlie cleared his throat, and his gaze hesitantly touched Blaine. “We could have, um, you know...stopped.”

Meredith’s fair skin flushed red. Not pink, but a bright crawdad red. “Oh, good lord. We’re really going to talk about it? If we
must
discuss something, can’t we talk about how your speech went?” Her eyes brightened. “That’s it. How did your campaign event go? Shake a lot of hands? Kiss a lot of babies? Buy a lot of votes?”

Blaine ignored her and spoke to Charlie. “You could have kicked my ass. Why didn’t you?”

Meredith backed toward the door like the crawdad her skin color resembled. “I don’t think I need to be here for this conversation.” Suddenly, she stopped and swung her gaze to Charlie. “You’re not going to kick his ass, are you?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Don’t ask me.” She nodded at Blaine. “He brought it up.”

Charlie sighed. “No one’s kicking anyone’s ass.”

“Okay. Good.” Then with more enthusiasm, “Great. I’ll just leave you two men to your girl talk.”

“Wait,” Charlie said. “Blaine’s right. We need to talk about this.”

“Like I said. You two can talk about it. I think I’ll clean up a bit.”

“Come on, Meredith,” Charlie said. “We need to decide if it’s gonna happen again.”

Her mouth gaped then snapped closed. “Excuse me? Why?”

“So we know if everyone’s okay with it.”

“Isn’t that what our safe word is for?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Great. Discussion over.” And this time instead of backing toward the door, she spun and practically ran. She only made it a few steps before Charlie wrapped an arm around her stomach and hauled her up against his chest.

Blaine couldn’t see what happened next, couldn’t make out the words Charlie murmured, but when the man pivoted to face him with Meredith still pressed against his chest, her expression was no longer embarrassed. Her eyes had the glazed, sensual look of a woman who needed to be fucked. Her breathing was fast and furious, her lips parted. Every cell in Blaine’s body reacted to her obvious desire. His heart thumped. His breathing matched hers. He wanted to touch her, to find out if her skin was as hot as it looked.

Charlie’s voice rumbled through Blaine, although he was speaking to Meredith. “You don’t have to talk, Doc. Just listen.” One of Charlie’s big hands splayed across her ribs, just below her breast.

She didn’t answer, but her breasts lifted and fell with each rapid breath, and her wide blue eyes fastened on Blaine’s. His cock revived, and he didn’t know if it was because of Charlie or Meredith.

“That’s my girl,” Charlie murmured. “Now, you said you were okay with everything. Let’s see just how okay you are.” His free hand grasped the hem of her shirt and dragged it up over her breast, then shoved one lacy cup aside and hooked it under her breast. He plucked her nipple between his thumb and finger and rolled it. Her eyes closed, but not before Blaine saw the pleasure there. Her head dropped back against Charlie’s shoulder.

That Charlie didn’t remove her clothes made it hotter than when she’d stripped naked by the lake. Rushed, more desperate, dirtier.

Blaine’s cock stood up and took notice, even if he couldn’t believe Charlie was doing this. He should talk his friend down so they all didn’t regret it later. “Maybe she’s right. We don’t have to do this now.” He forced a weak laugh. “We don’t have to talk about it at all. We can just pretend it never happened.”
Except when I’m jerking off.
Alone.

Charlie’s splayed hand slid down her belly, no longer holding her in place. He didn’t need to. Meredith wasn’t going anywhere. His middle finger circled the seam bisecting her pussy. From the way she squirmed, Blaine guessed he’d found her clit. “I had an English teacher who always used to say, ‘Show, don’t tell.’ Over and over again, she’d say it. Wrote it on my papers, too. Gotta admit, I didn’t understand what she meant. Until now.”

What the fuck did English have to do with this?

“Look at her, Blaine. Meredith can’t tell us, so she’s showing us.”

Meredith’s hips pulsed infinitesimally. Her lips formed a lush, round O.

Charlie’s dexterous fingers unfastened her jeans.

What the fuck? It was one thing to pretend they hadn’t seen him while he hid in the woods and watched. It was another to fuck her without that pretense in the middle of the kitchen. But just like in the woods by the lake, he was helpless to leave them alone. “You can’t be sure about that,” Blaine said.

Charlie grinned confidently. “Well, I guess we could show
and
tell. Don’t know if my English teacher would approve, but if you need it, buddy, we’ll do it.” He lifted his brows in question.

Blaine gave a jerky nod.

“Alrighty. Meredith, you want me to finger fuck you right here in front of Blaine, don’t you?”

Did she nod, or had Blaine wistfully imagined a small dip in her head?

Charlie’s hand slipped beneath her panties. “You want him to watch you come, don’t you?”

Her hips swirled, and she whimpered.

“You’re so wet. You love this, don’t you? Do you want me to stop? Do you want Blaine to leave?”

Her head shifted slightly to one side.

“I’ll bet a year’s pay that you can come like this. With just my fingers on your cunt and Blaine watching.”

A long, low moan escaped her and traveled directly to Blaine’s balls and up through his cock, where it leaked a bead of pre-come. How the hell had Charlie not already bent her over the kitchen counter and fucked her silly?

“That’s not an answer, Meredith. Blaine needs to hear the words.”

Her throat convulsed several times before she managed the word, “Yes.” It was so faint, he didn’t hear it. Just saw it come out of her mouth.

“Louder, Doc. We don’t want any miscommunication.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Please,” she whimpered.

“What do you say, Blaine? You ready to double my pay if she comes?”

Meredith was now actively, boldly squirming against Charlie’s hand. She’d widened her stance so he had better access. Blaine could almost imagine how it felt. It was as if Charlie’s hand was on Blaine’s cock, stroking, caressing, forcing him to acknowledge how much he liked it, how much he wanted it.

Blaine’s mouth was so dry, he barely managed to croak, “Huh-uh.” He licked his lips, trying to moisten his mouth before continuing. “Only a fool would take that bet.”

Charlie chuckled. He hooked his foot around a kitchen chair and dragged it next to Meredith. Then with his free hand, the one that wasn’t intimately involved with her pussy, he lifted her left leg and positioned it so her foot rested on the seat, spreading her wide. And goddamn it if Blaine didn’t wish she was stripped bare so he could have the close-up view that he’d missed by the lake.

“You’re not a fool. I’ll vouch for that,” Charlie said.

Charlie’s hand went deeper, and Blaine knew his friend had his fingers inside her. She was grinding down on his hand. Faint mewling noises escaped her clenched jaw. Her face was a mask of concentration and indescribable ecstasy. Blaine clenched his hands into painfully tight fists to keep from taking his cock in hand. His short nails cut into his palms. His breathing was so fast and shallow he thought he might be hyperventilating. He made an effort to take deeper breaths but didn’t dare relax his hands.

“Next time, I’ll show you her pink pussy. You’d love that, wouldn’t you, Meredith?”

She moaned.

“Don’t you want to open your eyes, watch him watching you?”

She shook her head.

“Maybe next time.”

Oh, God. Next time? Next time! Fuck, he had serious doubts he’d survive this time. A hard ball of need settled low in his pelvis, and he rubbed a fist over it, trying to ease it.

“She’s close. Now listen up, swee—I mean, Meredith. When you come, we wanna hear you scream. You got that? Don’t hold back like you did by the lake. If you do, I’ll strip you and spank that pretty little ass until it’s as red as my hair.”

Suddenly her gyrations halted, her breathing ceased, her mouth opened. Charlie’s gaze, full of lust and promises, captured Blaine’s. Then Meredith’s long, piercing wail filled the kitchen. Her head fell forward, her arms dropped to her sides. Charlie spun her around and crushed her to his chest.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” he crooned. “You were beautiful. God, Meredith, I’ve never known anyone so incredible.”

As Charlie comforted her, cared for her, Blaine almost crossed the room and pressed himself against her back. He wanted to wrap them both in his arms so badly that his heart twisted at the denial. Just a minute ago he’d been part of their play. Now he was the third wheel. Quietly, he slipped through the kitchen door to the back porch, leaving them to each other.

* * *

The next morning, Meredith woke up in desperate need of a drill. A 12.7 millimeter bit would do the trick. She dug a knuckle into her left temple and imagined the bit grinding through the pulsing pain. It didn’t help. So much for all that visualization crap people swore by.

Good morning
,
migraine.

She wasn’t surprised. The stress of Mother’s Day, seeing Blaine. And then the release. Not just once or twice. A nice, even number. When Charlie had hauled her to the bedroom, he’d made it an odd three, which had been even nicer.

It was the relief from stress that caused her migraines. And yesterday had been all about relief. She’d skipped dinner because she’d been plastered to the bed. Three mind-blowing orgasms could do that to a woman. That and the catharsis of confronting Blaine after all those years.

Something touched her arm, and she jumped and her eyes flew open to be met by sunlight that was much too bright. She snapped her eyes shut but not before they started watering.

“Sorry, Doc. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Her stomach roiled, and she swallowed, hoping to keep the contents in place for a few more minutes. “‘S okay,” she whispered.

Charlie’s fingers drifted up and down her arm, irritating her hypersensitive skin. She shrank away. He stopped, removed his hand. “You regret yesterday,” he said flatly.

Seriously? He wanted to talk about that now? “No.” Right now, she didn’t regret anything except the fact that she’d be stuck in bed for the next twenty-four hours.

He rolled her from her side to her back, and the throbbing knocked around her head before settling in her left temple again. She kept her eyes closed, shutting out the morning light. Not too tightly because that would just make the pain worse.

His fingers brushed across her forehead and down the side of her face. “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

She wished someone would come up with a more fitting word for what she endured. Pain just didn’t do it justice. And agony was
so
melodramatic. Maybe she could invent a word while she was lying around doing nothing. Excruciating. Pulsating. Throbbing. Eviscerating. She chased words around in her head as she drifted, breaking them apart, then recombining. She needed a noun.
Expulsation
.
Thround
. A strong noun. Nothing wussy-sounding. She liked
evisceration
. Did it have to refer to the bowels? Because she felt like her head was being eviscerated.
Cerebral evisceration
. She’d go with that if she couldn’t come up with—

“Meredith?”

She startled again, but it was just Charlie. How had she forgotten him? “Ungh.”

“Are you in pain?”

She croaked past her thick, dry tongue. “Cerebral evisceration.”

“What?”

Oh well, it might take a while to catch on. “Migraine.”

“Can I get you something? Meds? Coffee? I’m thinking you don’t want breakfast.”

“Nothing.”

“There’s gotta be something.”

“Quiet, dark.”
A
toilet
,
just in case.

“Did you leave your meds at home? I can go get ‘em.”

“Nothing works. No meds. Nothing.” She’d tried everything.

“Blaine has some migraine meds. I’m sure he’d let you use ‘em.”

Why couldn’t Charlie be one of those men who ducked out at the first sign of discomfort? Why did he insist on making everything better? She had a sister for that.

Nikki. Meredith’s eyes watered, and her neck cramped as she struggled to keep from crying. Nikki, who was pregnant and shouldn’t be. Nikki, with her bad heart and boundless optimism. No, she didn’t need another Nikki in her life.

Why couldn’t Charlie be like her brother? “Just leave. Me. Alone.”

The bed bounced, jostling her and her “pain.” No, not pain. Cerebral evisceration. She hoped, even prayed to a God she didn’t believe in, that he was leaving. Instead, he banged around the room. Drawers scraped open and slammed shut. Undetermined objects squeaked, pricking at her nerve endings like a body cast made of pine needles. His boots clomped on the tile. And she’d thought he was so light on his feet. Wrong. She should get up, go to her room and lock the door. Instead, she dragged a pillow over her head. She still heard the door click shut, and then nothing but peaceful cerebral evisceration.