Playing for Satisfaction [Satisfaction Texas 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  So she played best two out of three. She’d kept the first game close and made it seem like she got lucky when she sunk the final ball. Then she’d let him clobber her in game two. Tobias and his cronies had all bet big on game three.

  Fifty dollars hadn’t been good enough for Mr. Tobias Martindale, who had ended up two hundred and fifty dollars poorer and each of his friends had lost a hundred as they had doubled up their own bets, sure she couldn’t win the final game. His cronies had been angry when Tobias lost and accused her of cheating. Toby, on the other hand, had a look in his eye that said he had expected it. He played the good sport. He said the right things and then he tried to kiss her.

  “Come on, you owe me that for trouncing me so thoroughly. Besides, we’re both adults now and you are no longer my teacher.” He smiled and tried to draw her to him. “In fact, I might have a few things to teach you.”

  Chapter 2

  Bram cleared his throat and stood to his full height, pushing away from the wall, eyes alert. He also hefted the pool cue, twirling it once before gripping it suggestively. Ellie saw Tobias assessing the corded muscles in his forearms and the way the material of his old, formerly white T-shirt strained across his broad shoulders and the grip on the cue.

  There was something else in his eyes, something that she couldn’t read, and she didn’t like it. Tobias was younger than Bram, but he worried her more. Bram was a Dom but he’d never physically hurt her outside agreed limits.

  Tobias also had his friends with him, but they hesitated, unsure of how to proceed, and looked to their leader. Then Trace, the bartender, walked over and personally delivered Ellie a victory beer before giving the young men a hard glare.

  Dear, sweet Trace. He’d been there for her when she’d come back to Satisfaction after the breakup with Bram, not that he knew that it was Bram she’d been talking about. She’d sat at the bar and poured her heart out to him. For some reason, she felt comfortable with him and the whole sordid story had come pouring out. Afterward, she’d felt like she’d overshared and had been embarrassed, but he never referred to it again. He just made a point of watching out for her, making her feel secure and protected.

  Mumbling under their breath about hick towns, they quickly backed down. Two of them were harmless followers, but she didn’t like the look that Tobias gave her as he walked by. Pausing, he held out his hand as if he was a good sport, but then he leaned forward and whispered so only she could hear, “I’ll see you again. Soon.”

  And then he was gone, hurrying out the door after his friends under the twin glares of Trace and Bram. Ellie sighed and rubbed her palm on her skirt as if she could remove the cooties Tobias had left on her hand when he’d shook it.

  She looked around. After she’d trounced the college boy so handily, all her potential opponents had drifted away except one. Damn. She’d let her annoyance with him get to her and she’d shown off, running the table after he’d let her have the break, so certain she’d flub it.

  She looked around hurriedly to see if Quin Redekker was around. He was good, damned good, and had even beaten her fair and square a while back. Of course he wasn’t. He was probably too busy playing house with Jules and Doc. Jules was one lucky woman.

  She looked back at Bram, waiting so patiently.

  It was the third Saturday in a row that he’d shown up. To the best of her knowledge, he hadn’t been to The Whips and Spurs before then, at least not on a Saturday night, which was her usual night to hustle pool there.

  She looked up at him and saw his silver eyes twinkling. Some of the waitresses at the saloon called him Bedroom Eyes. “I declare, but he just has to look at me and I cream my panties,” sweet young Leah had announced, fanning herself and using a fake Southern belle accent the first night he’d been there. Ellie had only chuckled, but had decided she was not wrong. There was something about him that brought to mind hot and dirty sex and screaming orgasms. Ellie wasn’t immune, but damned if she’d admit it. Been there, had that. She’d moved on. She had a boyfriend who was also her Dom. He was also the mayor of Satisfaction and she was proud of him, even if she disagreed with many of his political positions. Luckily, he had other positions she liked just fine, especially when they involved bondage and spankings.

  She smiled at the thought of Ren and their first meeting. They hadn’t gotten off to a very good start when she’d shown up at the town hall to complain about one of his policies.

  The mayor of Satisfaction was a dumbass and she was going to tell him so. The fact that he was extremely cute with gray-blue eyes and a blindingly white smile had nothing to do with the anger she felt. She’d sworn off men more than three years ago and hadn’t been on a single date since then. She was not horny and frustrated. He was clearly wrong on this issue and she wasn’t going to back down. In fact, he was on the wrong side of most issues and they were constantly arguing. Why should today be any different?

  “Hey, dumbass. Get you head out of your ass and do your job!”

  “Miss Maine. Is that how you speak to our honorable Mayor Davis?” Maura Queen, the middle-aged woman chairing the meeting clearly had a crush on Ren Davis. He’d shot her hand and stolen her heart when he patted the little fluff ball of a dog she’d cradled in her arms.

  In contrast, when he’d tried to pat Clyde Barker, Clyde, maybe sensing his mistress’s antipathy to the mayor, growled, and Davis had backed off. Clyde was part chocolate lab and part something else. The vet thought that he had a bit of pit bull and maybe some Rottweiler in him, but he was generally the sweetest dog who loved children and cats and let both climb all over him. He was two and a half but had the dignity and poise of an older dog. She loved him to death.

  “Fine. Mayor Dumbass Davis, just because you don’t like animals, don’t make life difficult for the rest of us. Miss Finch’s little dog has different needs than a big dog like Clyde, who I’ll have you know is a certified therapy dog who visits hospitals with me once a month to play with the children. I have no problem keeping him on a leash in town, but I don’t understand why you want to take away our leash-free park.”

  In the end, she’d won and he’d been a gracious loser, offering to take her and Clyde to lunch. It had been his offer to include Clyde that had led her to accept the offer. By the end of lunch, he had Clyde eating out of his hand and three months later, she was doing it, too, literally, when he tied her hands behind her back and fed her from his plate while she kneeled at his feet…

  If Ren were here, Bram would keep his distance, maybe even leave. But Ren wasn’t here and she was on her own with Bram. She watched as he walked forward and placed his fifty-dollar bill on the side of the pool table just as he had the last couple of weeks. She’d beaten him each time they’d played. He’d always been good, but now he was even better. When their games were over, he never said anything. He just tipped his black Stetson at her and walked silently away, but she got the impression that he was biding his time, waiting for something.

  She was tempted to beg off tonight and just go home and get maudlin over Clyde. She had a pint of Chunky Monkey in the freezer calling her name. She could curl up on the couch and eat ice cream and watch Marley and Me or Old Yeller. Or maybe Bonnie and Clyde, the classic with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, not the lame new remake.

  She looked up and saw the mocking amusement that was his usual expression change to one of concern and sympathy.

  Damn him. How dare he feel sorry for her. He didn’t know anything about her or her life. He sure as hell didn’t know that her beloved Clyde had just died and she was at The Whips and Spurs to avoid going home to an empty house when part of her just wanted to be alone to mourn.

  * * * *

  Four Years Ago

  At the start of the second week, a bunch of older students and their instructors moved onto their floor in residence, much to her relief. She knew from Darcy that they were a bunch of petroleum engineers taking an advanced course in geophysics and drilling. He knew this because his cousin Bram wa
s one of the students. Darcy also told her that his cousin had enlisted right out of high school and spent six years serving his country. When he returned, he’d done his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in petroleum engineering back to back and was handsome and brilliant and clearly Darcy’s hero.

  Darcy was also obviously trying to play matchmaker. But he was a good kid and he hoped that Ellie spending time with an adult male might discourage Tobias’s attentions from her. She had no expectations about being attracted to him, but if he was as bright as Darcy, hopefully they’d have some things in common and she would have another adult to spend time with.

  On the third day of classes she was having lunch in the cafeteria with her four Kinsdale students when she finally met him. She’d felt him, sensed him before she saw him. She knew the exact moment he walked up behind her. He’d moved silently, but there was the indefinable frisson of awareness that didn’t make sense to her at first. Then she saw Darcy’s face light up and he jumped to his feet and rushed around the side of the table to hug the newcomer. He was met halfway by a man she presumed was cousin.

  Good looking didn’t describe him. It was too soft a word. It didn’t convey what was so special about him. He was the definition of macho come to life. If you looked the word “masculine” up in the dictionary, you would see his photo. He was the stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome. Except maybe handsome wasn’t right. He wasn’t classically good looking. His nose looked like it had been broken at least once and not properly set and his cheekbones were too sharp. On the other hand, he had the same wonderful smile as Darcy, one which engaged his eyes, not just his mouth. She could see the beginnings of laugh lines at the corner of his eyes as if he smiled a lot and that drew her to him even more. He was wearing a pair of well-worn jeans, a plaid shirt, and a pair of hand-tooled boots. The only thing missing, she felt, was a Stetson, to complete the picture of a cowboy.

  When Darcy introduced them, he held out his hand and Ellie had both wanted to take it and feel its warmth and hardness and, at the same time, she was terrified of touching him. She wanted to run away so she wouldn’t be tempted to throw herself at him. Something deep inside her told her that if she accepted his hand, it wouldn’t be long before he’d have her body and her heart as well.

  In the end, with five sets of eyes, her four students and Darcy’s uncle, watching her every move, she reluctantly put her much smaller hand in his, only to find herself swept into an embrace. He hugged her tight to his body which was big and hard and caused her pussy to spasm and gush. I want him, it seemed to say, I want him inside me now!

  She looked at him. Their history was in the past. Now he was just some no-account cowboy who deserved to have his ass whooped. But even then she hesitated. The last two times they’d played, she’d won, but it had been a challenge. She seen how he watched her every move and she got the impression he was studying more than just her ass. He was watching her technique as she’d played her other challengers. He was the best player she’d gone against in probably five years. To beat him again, she’d have to really focus.

  She looked at him as his expression changed to one of neutrality as he waited silently, watching Ellie play. She refused to stare, but she did get a good look at him as she moved around the pool table. One of the waitresses had raved about his ass after his last visit and Ellie had to agree. It looked round and luscious and just begging to be bitten as it always had. It was nestled in his tight jeans, taunting her. And the rest of him wasn’t bad either. He was a couple of inches over six feet tall and broadly built. He was more muscular than she remembered, but from what she could see, they seemed to be the kind of muscles that came from hard work and not hours in the gym. He still had those remarkable silver-gray eyes that contrasted nicely with his thick black eyelashes. His skin was more tanned and his short dark hair was now shot through with gray at the temples.

  In other words, he was still just her type, if only he didn’t just watch her the way he did, his eyes slightly mocking as he was watching her hustle the tourists and waiting patiently for his turn. In fact, watching her was pretty much all he did. He nursed a single beer all night. If she hadn’t noticed herself, all the waitresses had mentioned it. He also didn’t flirt with any of them or get grabby. He also didn’t respond when they or one of the female patrons flirted with him. He was polite, but even without many words, he made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t interested without being rude. In fact, she seemed to be the only one or thing that interested him. The waitresses were jealous in a good-natured way and teased her about her good luck, then prodded her to do something about it. His interest made Ellie nervous, though, and she preferred to wait to see what he would do.

  Maybe it was a good idea to pass on the game and make an early night of it. She’d made a lot of money from Tobias and his friends, even though the money felt tainted. She could afford her shoes though, and money was money. Maybe she should forget about the purse? She made up her mind and set her cue down on the table.

  He had just retrieved the last two balls from the pockets, had lined them up to shoot for the break, and was waiting for her to join him. Ellie liked that about him. Lots of men assumed she was a helpless female and either insisted she break or deliberately lost the lag so she could go first.

  Bram, no, the cowboy, as she determinedly tried to think of him, treated her as an equal as he always had outside of the bedroom. Inside of the bedroom, he treated her as his beloved submissive and she’d thrived under his tutelage. She’d never before considered the lifestyle outside of something to read or fantasize about, but when he bound and spanked her, she knew that he’d tapped something primal within her.

  She found out early in their relationship that he was a Dom with a capital D. He was in charge in the bedroom. He loved bondage and what he called impact play.

  “Trust me,” he’d whispered in that sexy voice of his. “If you don’t like it, I’ll stop. Tell you what, why don’t we play cards. If I win, I get to spank you.”

  “And if I win?”

  “You can spank me.” Ellie had laughed. How could she turn down that offer?

  She’d been skeptical but she’d been curious, too. So, she’d thrown the game. Laughing in triumph, he’d ordered her to get naked and lay over his knees.

  The first feel of his hand on her bare ass had just stung. She’d thought he was going to spank her playfully and his first two swats were in line with that expectation, but he didn’t stop and his strikes got harder and harder. It wasn’t long before she felt the tears start to flow as she struggled in his grip. He just held firm, massaging her reddened ass cheeks until she calmed down. Then he slid two fingers inside her and they both realized just how wet she was.

  Laughing, he’d teased her, alternating between rubbing her ass and fucking her with his fingers until she was squirming and begging for more. So he’d given it to her. He’d given her ten more very hard swats before positioning her on the floor, bent over the bed, her arms crossed in front of her and her head cradled in her arms. Then he rammed his cock into her pussy and rode her hard. From almost the first thrust, she was spasming around his cock, coming harder and faster than she’d ever done. And when he’d reached around to rub her needy clit, she’d screamed as another climax hit her out of nowhere.

  By the time he came, she was as limp as a dish rag. She would have fallen to her knees if he weren’t holding her in place as he rutted like a savage until he’d finally come, too. His hot jets of hot seed shot into the condom she didn’t remember him donning before he sagged against her.

  After that, she’d eagerly followed where he led. He’d introduced her to bondage and the blindfold. She’d even let him gag her. They’d gotten lucky the first night, but living in residence meant that they had a number of people within earshot.

  Ellie gave herself a mental shake. Now was not the time for reminiscences, particularly when they got her aroused. She had to concentrate on the present or she’d never beat Bram, and that was hard to
do when her panties were getting damp.

  Once she’d won the lag and got the break. Once he had. And when he’d broken, he didn’t throw it either. He’d played to win and each time she’d beaten him, it had been harder. She knew it was just a matter of time until she lost. One part of her wanted to leave before that happened, but she was no coward and she wasn’t a poor sport. On the other hand, her heart just wasn’t in the game tonight. She put down her cue.

  She could feel his eyes on her all night as she’d played. Now she could see the disappointment in his face as he realized that she wasn’t going to play. He didn’t protest, though. She watched as he reached down to retrieve his fifty. Without thinking, she moved quickly to cover his hand with her custom cue and stop him from retrieving the money.

  What the hell was she thinking? She should bow out. She was going to bow out. And now she’d more or less challenged him. She had to play now. She was an idiot. She started to remove her hand but he quickly turned his and captured her.

  “Anyone can see you aren’t in the mood to play. You were showing off with the boy, but I watched the last couple of games you played. Those guys were better than College Boy, but the games were far closer than they should have been. You won, but you struggled. You’re off your game, Angel. Want to talk about it? I’m a very good listener,” he rumbled in that deep voice of his that thrilled all the women and more than one of the men.

  She tugged her hand from his and stepped backward quickly, bumping into the wall. He walked up to her, a slight smile on his face.