STORY EXCERPT

“Hey, Bay, take a look at this,” Dexter called from the sitting room.

Bay stuck his head round the door from his adjacent study. “What is it?” he asked.

“This woman on television. She’s talking about us.”

“In your dreams, buddy,” Marty said, joining them from the lower floor and grinning at the sight of the redheaded woman filling the television screen.

“No really, she is. She lives somewhere called Blackridge Farm, and—”

“Why does that sound familiar?” Marty asked, his eyes still following the woman’s every move on the television screen.

“It was recommended to us as a possible purchase,” Bay said, taking an interest in the interview, “but they wouldn’t sell.”

“Oh yeah, I remember now.”

“Shush.” Bay waved a hand. “I want to hear this.”

“Us country dwellers are being forced out by corporate types who wouldn’t know a style from a stinging nettle, just because they want to turn our homes into fancy country clubs.”

The woman spoke with controlled anger as the camera panned to the façade of an attractive old building that looked in urgent need of modernization. It then moved on to take in the wider scene—green pastures dotted with sheep, a run full of chickens, a huge patch of vegetables that could have been organic, a couple of decent-looking horses. It looked idyllic.

“This is how the English countryside should look.” The woman’s pretty face, with eyes a compellingly deep violet blue, was flushed with anger. When the camera showed the devastation wreaked in her kitchen, Bay felt a deep rage on her behalf. “This is the way it’s been for centuries,” she said, still standing outside and pointing to the open landscape. “We’re adapting to change, or would, but obstacles are being placed in our way all the time.”

“Why do you say that?” the interviewer asked.

“Because rich people want to seize what’s ours just so they can get a little richer.” She expelled a deep breath, and Bay’s attention was drawn to firm breasts swelling with indignation. As the camera panned away from her, he saw that she was tall, and even through her uniform of jeans and old shirt he could see that she had decent curves. Her legs were long, and when she turned to wave a hand in the direction of the chicken run, he got a good view of a neat butt.

“Nice,” Marty said, voicing Bay’s own thoughts.

“When these rich jerks don’t get what they want through fair means, they don’t hesitate to play dirty tricks.”

“Athena Lloyd. Nice name,” Dex remarked when it was flashed up on the screen.

“They influence the banks against us and even break into our homes to attack helpless old men.”

“Do you have proof of this?” the interviewer asked.

“What proof do I need? We’ve lived here for years without any problems. And yet within a couple of weeks of turning down an offer from American entrepreneurs, our loans get called in by the bank, our house gets burgled, and my grandfather is brutally attacked.” Athena tilted her head to one side, a profusion of red hair falling across one side of her face, partially concealing a combative expression. “Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

“She’s lethal when she gets mad,” Marty said admiringly.

“Do you have any idea who’s behind the campaign you allege is being waged against your grandfather?” the interviewer asked.

“Sure I do.” She held up a very familiar letterhead—their letterhead. “These people, BDM Enterprises, don’t seem to be able to take no for an answer.”

“Fucking hell!” Bay’s eyebrows shot skyward. “She is talking about us.”

By the time the news moved to another story, the phone was already ringing. Bay let the machine pick up. It was one newshound after another looking for a quote.

“That was just local television,” Bay said, grinding his jaw. “But the nationals will have recognized our name and picked up the story.”

“What will we do about it?” Marty asked. “We haven’t threatened or attacked anyone. How could she think that we had?”

“Yeah, she has no evidence,” Dex agreed. “Why would she do that?”

“She’s upset, I guess,” Bay said, “and needs to blame someone.”

The phone rang again. “We can’t keep ignoring them,” Marty said. “That’ll just make it seem true.”

“We’ll have to put out a statement denying all knowledge, and express our concern for Mr. Lloyd’s welfare.” Bay sighed. “It ain’t much, but it’s better than nothing.”

This conversation was taking place in the large house the guys had rented outside of Southampton for their temporary stay in England. They all hated hotels, mainly because they valued their privacy so much. Bay phoned their London office and got put through to his PA. He dictated a statement off the cuff and told her to get it out to the networks straightaway.

“If you get any calls from American media about this, Lorraine, let me know immediately.”

“Will do, Bay,” she said in a breathless voice. “You sure you don’t need me to come down there and man the phone until this dies down?”

“We can manage, thanks.”

“She doesn’t miss a trick, does she,” Marty said, chuckling. “She’s got it bad for you, Bay, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t.”

“Shame about Athena Lloyd being so mad at us,” Dex said. “She’s kinda cute.”

“Come on, you two, move your asses.”

“Where are we going?”

“Blackridge Farm, of course. You can get to meet the lovely Athena for yourselves. We can’t have her going around making libellous statements about us.”

“Aw, you’re not gonna sue her, are you, Bay?” Marty asked. “That wouldn’t be nice.”

“She’s not being very nice to us,” Dex pointed out.

“She’s emotional,” Marty said defensively. “I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

They headed for their Jaguar, and Bay slipped behind the wheel. “No, we’re not gonna sue her. How would that look to the media? Talk about David and Goliath.”

“Then why are we going down there?” Dex asked, sharing a bemused look with Marty. “I’m sure we’re the last people she wants to see right now.”

“I dunno.” Bay shrugged as he turned the car onto the motorway and put his foot down. “But there’s something not quite right about all this. I can smell it.” He flashed a smile at his buddies. “In order to protect our own reputation, we need to help Ms. Lloyd find out who’s trying to damage Ms. Lloyd’s livelihood.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Dex patted the couch on either side of his thighs and she straddled him without hesitation, bunching her Lycra skirt around her waist in order to do so. He slipped the head of his cock straight into her entrance. She was dripping wet, more than ready for him. No foreplay. There would be plenty of time for games later. Guiding her by her hips, he lowered her onto him and thrust himself all the way home with a sharp upward motion of his hips.

“Christ, you’re tight,” he said, closing his eyes, conscious of her expanding to accommodate him.

“That feels heavenly,” she said, slowly rising and falling on his cock, taking him a little deeper each time.

Dex reached for her tits but didn’t remove the bra. He liked fucking with clothes on. Besides, he had no intention of coming inside her without a condom. He had other ideas. But first, she needed to climax. He bit down on one of her nipples, causing her to cry out. He increased the strength of his upward thrusts, reaching a hand between them to agitate her clit. She screamed.

“Dex, I can’t hold it.”

“Then I’ll punish you for that later,” he said, his voice gravelly with passion. “Right now you need to come for me, babe.”

“I am, I…oh God, here it comes! Fuck me, Dex. Give me it hard.”

She threw her head back, her long hair tickling his thighs as she closed around his cock, riding it like it was an out-of-control stallion that needed to be taught who was in charge. He felt a tremor run through her body as it pulsated wildly, her breasts rubbing against his shirted chest as she bounced up and down in time to his upward thrusts. It seemed like an eternity before she collapsed against him, finally spent.

“Thank you,” she said, so primly that he laughed aloud.

“My pleasure,” he said, kissing her. “Or yours. Now it’s my turn. Marty, as you know by now, is a tits man. Bay, well, he kinda likes a cute backside, whereas I prefer face fucking.”

“Face fucking?”

He tipped her off his lap, pulled his jeans and shirt off, and splayed his legs. “On your knees, babe,” he said, holding his cock at its base.

“Ah, I see.”

She slid between his legs and wrapped her fingers around his erection. Appearing to think about it, she let it go again and instead placed her hands on either side of her large breasts, squashing it between them. She moved her chest up and down, rubbing his cock so hard that he almost lost control. Each time its head emerged from between her tits she flicked her tongue playfully across it. Dex threw his head back and groaned. The little witch was teasing him, which would earn her a good spanking later on. Right now he had other priorities.

“Eat it,” he said curtly, slapping her hands away from her tits.

She smiled up at him and wrapped her lips round his dick, sliding it in and out of her mouth and playing with his loaded balls with one hand. He was on fire and pumped himself deeper into her mouth, unable to get enough of her.

“That’s it, babe. You’ve got it all now. Suck it deep, honey. Run your sweet lips over it and make me come for you.”

She obediently sucked harder, darting her tongue across the slit in its head until he thought he might lose it then and there. Dex didn’t want to come yet—he wanted to enjoy this torture for a bit longer—but wasn’t sure if he could hold on. Something told him that Athena hadn’t done this too often before, but she was a natural at it, seeming to know exactly how much pressure to exert and when and where to introduce her tongue.

Dex groaned, lifting his hips in an effort to fuck her mouth deeper still. She accommodated him somehow, increasing the pressure on his balls as she did so.

“Christ, I can’t hold on!” Dex was consumed with a combination of agony and ecstasy as he desperately tried to make it last longer. But it was no good. It was a battle he was never going to win. “Here it comes, babe. I’m fucking your face now. Swallow it down for me.”

He swore at her, reaching down to slap her butt as he thrust an endless stream of sperm into her mouth. She swallowed it, her throat working hard to keep up with the supply, sucking it out of him until he was completely dry.

“Wow,” he said inadequately. He pulled her up from the floor and back into his arms, where he cradled her protectively against his chest. “You’re damned good at that.”

“Glad you approve.”

“She put on quite a show.”

Dex looked up, unsurprised to see Bay and Marty leaning against the doorjamb.

“Shall we take this upstairs?” Bay suggested.