STORY EXCERPT

Mary reached for her water glass, then pulled her hand back.

“Hey, has anyone ever…”

“Had the water tested?” Tracy Alvarez Kendall, sitting beside her, grinned. “Yes. We can now answer yes to the question that nearly every newcomer to Lusty has asked. Jason Benedict—one of Leesa’s husbands—did that very thing. And it came back clear.” Then Tracy leaned closer. “So…it’s those two cops, isn’t it? Anthony and Toby. Hey, if Anthony called himself Tony instead of Anthony, they could bill themselves as T ‘n T.”

Good grief, if they did that, I’d be a goner. Mary shook off that wholly inappropriate thought. And then her gaze landed on the two cops in question. At that exact moment they both looked over at her. Toby raised his bottle in salute, and the look on both men’s faces let her know they were most definitely looking at her. Yeah, TNT all right.

Mary had let herself be talked into coming to this dance by Tracy and Ginny, two fun and funny women married to Kendall cousins. There was music and beer and food, and just a good time, they’d said. And while she’d never been a party person, she did like music and beer and food.

She liked her Kendall cousins—especially the female ones. In fact, they were right up there with some of the reasons she’d given her folks for moving to Lusty. Along with the peace and the slow pace and the better writing environment.

She had not, of course, told them the number one reason. She would not tell them about the crazed fan who’d broken into her apartment or the fact that he’d damn near succeeded in murdering her.

Instead of her death, that attack had resulted in her knocking her attacker out cold—turned out the jerk had a glass jaw—and then he’d been arrested, charged, tried…and sent to a mental hospital. Probably, hopefully, for life. The result for her was she no longer felt safe in New York City. And when she’d thought of safety, she’d immediately thought of Lusty. So here she was.

Mary pushed away all thought of that bastard. He did not belong here.

“Come on, Blondie,” Peter, one of Tracy’s husbands came over and tugged on his wife’s hand. “Emily Ann is going to sing a Carrie Underwood set. Come dance with us.”

Tracy looked at Mary, an unasked question in her eyes. Mary made a “shooing” motion. She was more than capable of being left alone at the table. And the upside was that home was less than a five-minute walk away. She’d been a New Yorker for a decade. Walking to get somewhere was second nature to her.

Mary watched as Emily Anne Richardson—wearing a snazzy looking cowgirl hat—got up on the small stage. Her appearance brought cheers from the family.

Mary recognized the intro and the music as the notes of the first song, Drinking Alone, filled the center. And then Emily Ann began to sing, capturing every ear, and every eye.

“She’s got pipes.”

Mary didn’t jump, but it was close. On either side of her, where the chairs had been empty, sat a cop. Having the two men she’d more or less been fantasizing about sit down on either side of her made her heart pound. She inhaled deeply and took in the combined scent of clean male animal times two.

Their heat, their closeness, and the sexy, bluesy sound of the song worked together to melt her resolve and yes, her lady bits were completely awake.

Then she met Anthony’s gaze and was left in no doubt about what he was thinking. She looked over at Toby—lying to herself she did so to escape Anthony’s heat—and fell into the obsidian depths of desire that man dared reveal to her.

She didn’t recognize the sound that seeped from her throat, but they must have. Both men inhaled deeply. Then Anthony got to his feet and held out his hand. She took the offering but once she was standing, with both men so close she could swear she felt their heartbeats, she shook her head slowly. “I don’t dance very well.”

“Even better.” Toby’s words brushed her ear. Then he took her right hand and began to walk away from the table, and the stage, and the rest of the people in attendance.

ADULT EXCERPT

Oh my, I am so very lucky.

The sight of Anthony and Toby standing before her, completely naked and totally hard, actually made her mouth water. Mary was no shrinking virgin. She’d had a couple of serious relationships over the years, so she’d assumed that she’d known what to expect when it came to sex.

Well, guess I’m going to have to toss all that knowledge out under the heading of “useless.” These two men had the biggest cocks she had ever seen up close and in person.

Mary had timed it all perfectly, and yay for her. She figured they’d hear the shower and see the open bedroom door and do exactly what they’d done.

The shower door opened, and Anthony and Toby entered the hot, steamy enclosure, shutting the door behind them.

“You’re luscious.” Anthony closed the distance between them. Toby moved, too, until she felt him close behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and drew her back against himself as Anthony stepped just that much closer. Suddenly this very large shower seemed to shrink in size. She could feel the muscled flesh of Toby’s body against her own and his hard, naked cock pressed flush to the small of her back just above her ass. She inhaled deeply and took in the scent of them both, enhanced by the heated water. Her nipples peaked, and she could have sworn her pussy actually dripped.

“You’re not bad yourself.” Mary tried for a tone she would describe in one of her novels as sophisticated and sultry. The smirk Anthony gave her told her all she needed to know about her success in that regard.

She gave him a half-shrug. “I’m not exactly a femme fatale.”

“Fuck woman, any more ‘femme fatale’ and we’d be on our hands and knees, our tongues hanging out.” Toby’s words thrilled her and made her laugh.

“Believe it,” Anthony said. He cupped her face and leaned down, giving her a very sweet and way too brief of a kiss. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. I can’t ever remember wanting anyone like this.”

Mary set aside her natural tendency to toss out a glib line. Honesty shone from Anthony’s eyes, and she needed to give that back to him—to them both. “Me, neither. When I woke up this morning, and you both were already up and making breakfast, I was kind of pissed. I wanted you so badly last night. But now…” It was hard as hell for her to admit that she’d been wrong about something. “But now, I know you made the right decision last night. I was more tired and stressed than I realized. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You’re welcome. It’s what we both want to do, going forward.” Then Anthony gave her the cutest little grin. He looked down her body, and a wave of erotic need tumbled through her. “Well, one of the things.”

She didn’t know how much more anticipation she could take. “Please.”

“We’ll take care of you, New York. Just relax and let us do it our way.”

Toby’s soft, deep admonition sent another shiver through her. She looked at her left shoulder, where he’d decided to rest his chin.

And then she felt Anthony’s strong and soapy hands on her breasts. He spread the soap around and over, pinching her nipples slightly, and her knees buckled.

Male chuckles settled softly on her soul, a sound and a presence that had been missing from her life, forever. They weren’t laughing at her. She understood that. She met Anthony’s gaze and realized he was horny, and he was pleased…with her.

She’d had a couple of lovers. But before these men, she didn’t think she’d ever actually pleased a man before.

“Your skin feels so good beneath my hands.” Anthony got more shower gel and then continued to bathe her. He soaped her shoulders and the column of her neck. He took her arms—first the left and then the right—and ran his foamy hands over and under and around each.

Mary knew she was shaking, but she couldn’t help it. When Anthony let his hand roam down her belly, toward her pussy, she whimpered.

“Open.”

He said the word so softly, yet its sound echoed deep within her. And because she was leaning against Toby, she found the request—command? —very easy to grant.

“You’re very responsive.” Toby’s words reminded her in a visceral way that he wasn’t just there, in the shower with them. He was watching his best friend use his soapy hands to arouse her. The flexing of Toby’s cock against her back told her that he very much enjoyed the moment.

Anthony stroked his hand back and forth over her cunt, and the slick, tingling attention was the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced.

“She is very responsive,” Anthony said. “And oh, so hot. I wonder if she’s tasty?”

“I think you should find out.” Mary hadn’t thought to say such a thing, but the words emerged, unplanned, as if they had a life of their own. Just like writing. I’ve found a different kind of zone to strive for. Yay, me.