Plaything Read online

  An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

  www.ellorascave.com

  Plaything

  ISBN 9781419918735

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  Plaything Copyright © 2008 Rena Marks

  Edited by Helen Woodall.

  Cover art by Syneca.

  Electronic book Publication September 2008

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Plaything

  Rena Marks

  Dedication

  To my critique partner, Kirsten Richard, whose biggest fear is that people will forget. It’ll never happen.

  Prologue

  Jessie walked into Scarlett’s Bar with her suitcases. She’d moved out of Nina’s house while her ex-roommate was on her honeymoon.

  Scarlett, Silver’s sister, had called in a panic. She’d wanted both of Silver’s college friends to come and help her out of a bind but Nina was too newly in love.

  Jessie was still as free as a bird though and that’s the way it was gonna stay. Geez, she couldn’t imagine tying herself to any guy. Sure, Tristan seemed like a catch now but wait ’til after the honeymoon. Marriage changed a person. It wouldn’t be long ’til his dirty socks and t-shirts piled up and he started scratching himself, waiting for Nina to wash them.

  She shuddered as a chill ran over her body.

  She was standing outside the bar. It was eerie, almost as if she stood in the exact same place as twenty-four hours earlier, for it looked just like Silver’s except for the sign that read Scarlett’s. A small apartment was located above the bar, so she’d be staying there rent-free while she helped out. Not a bad deal at all. She could save quite a nest egg.

  She smiled. She sure loved being single.

  She completely missed the sapphire gaze that stared at her intently, wondering if she was the one.

  Chapter One

  She entered the bar and glanced around.

  Everything stopped. All conversations, pool games, everything. The patrons of the bar stood and stared at her, frozen in time.

  It was a little unnerving, to say the least.

  Like the outside, the inside of the bar was exactly like Silver’s back home. But hell, the people were creepy here. Although her sense of unease grew, Jessie stopped and tossed the thick mane of blonde hair over one shoulder. She grinned the flirtatious smile she was known for.

  The one that covered her inner turmoil.

  The one that many a man claimed made him feel like he was the only one who existed in the world.

  “I’m Jessie,” she announced. “The owner around?”

  “Hello, Jess,” said a voice. “I’m Scarlett. Thank you for coming.”

  Scarlett Scott made her way from the back of the darkened bar while Jessica Caywood tried hard not to stare.

  But, aww hell, manners were beyond her, especially when coupled with shock and surprise.

  For Scarlett was a twin of Silver, except for the coloring. “You are one creepy version of Silver.” The words blurted from Jessie’s mouth before she could stop herself.

  Scarlett smiled. “I often think of my sister as a creepy version of me.”

  “Your features are exactly alike! But your hair! Yours is so black, almost blue. And your eyes. Are those contacts?”

  “Nope. They’re real. Stunning, aren’t they?”

  “They look like jewels.”

  “Sapphires,” Scarlett whispered and that eerie feeling shot tendrils of unwanted, cold-fingered dread down Jessie’s spine.

  Scarlett cleared her throat. “Anyway, if you find me creepy, you don’t want to meet our third sister, Ivory.”

  “What color hair and eyes does she have? I suppose she looks exactly like you two other than that?”

  “You got it,” Scarlett smiled. “Her hair is so blonde it’s almost colorless. Along with her eyes. You have to look closely to see the faint swirls of color in them which keep her from being an albino. She wears sunglasses all the time and she’s as crabby as hell from being singled out all her life. Just don’t tell her that. She’ll hex you.”

  “Hex?” There was an undercurrent of fear lacing Jessie’s voice.

  Scarlett laughed, then winked. “If you believe in all that.”

  Problem is…Jessie did. And while Silver was her friend, meeting her disturbing sister lent credence to the witchcraft rumors that inundated the three sisters.

  Scarlett was leading her upstairs to a small apartment above the bar. “This is where you’ll stay. It’s safe. If you have any problems, my maintenance guy, Levi Garrett, lives in the other apartment. The basement of the bar.”

  “That must make for a rough night’s sleep,” Jessie murmured.

  Scarlett laughed again. It was strange how she did that, tinkled her voice like a ringing bell. “He manages most of the time. He only gets crabby one month out of the year—September.”

  Grr-rreat. It was the first week in.

  Scarlett leaned in. “But you should stick around. He becomes a different person the rest of the time.”

  Giggling again, she motioned for Jessie to follow her.

  Creepy bar owners.

  Weirdo maintenance men.

  As soon as her time was done here, she was taking her money and would never look back to this voodoo town again.

  * * * * *

  She’d just finished unpacking her clothes. After showing her the small, furnished apartment, Scarlett had left her to find the maintenance guy, telling her she’d be in the employees’ back room should Jessie need to find her.

  The apartment was empty of personal possessions and devoid of personality. The furniture was classic and masculine with no feminine touches anywhere. It was like a visit to a hotel room.

  Jessie wandered her way down the tiny flight of back stairs, exploring as she went along.

  Shouting caught her attention. Scarlett was in the middle of an argument with a tall man who Jessie assumed was the maintenance guy. His hair was a sandy brown, streaked with blond highlights. Very contradictory with his darkly lashed eyes. His jaw was lean and hard and whiskered, just the way she liked them.

  He wore denim. Head to toe. Tight, ass-molding jeans and a black t-shirt that emphasized the bulk of his chest under his denim jacket. A bad boy to teach you the naughtiest delights and she was a sucker for the wicked ones.

  Even though she had heard the raised voices, she hadn’t been able make out the words. Now the argument quieted in her presence.

  A dark male gaze penetrated her, held her captive while watching her walk toward them.

  “Jessie, there you are! Meet Levi. Oh and while you’re here, I’d like to offer you my necklace. It’ll protect you from harm.”

  The man with her stiffened. His eyes changed. They became hard, losing the appreciat
ive stare he’d had just moments before.

  Jessie’s suddenly wary eyes glanced at Scarlett quickly. “Protection from what?”

  Laughter ensued. How did the bar owner go from arguing with the hunky maintenance guy one second to carefree girlish giggling the next?

  “You’re in my town. My bar. I just want you to be safe. Don’t worry, I blessed it myself.” She held the pendant out while she spoke, her voice calming and steady.

  Jessie reached for the necklace. “It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. And it was. A brilliant sapphire, the largest stone she’d ever seen, was suspended on a cord of black velvet. She stared into the luminous stone, transfixed for what seemed like long moments.

  “Take it,” Scarlett whispered encouragingly. “You don’t think Silver’s sister would give you something harmful, do you?”

  Jessie glanced up at her voice, looking directly into her face.

  Her sapphire blue eyes.

  She looked back down at the stone.

  Sure enough, the pendant matched the hue of Scarlett’s eyes. Perfectly.

  “Well?” asked the bar owner.

  “Of course I don’t think you’d give me something harmful.” Jessie shrugged, then opened the clasp of the pendant, snaking it around her neck.

  The maintenance man watched all wordlessly.

  “Gorgeous,” Scarlett said, clapping her hands. “What do you think, Levi?”

  For the first time, he spoke to Jessie. “Beautiful.”

  And for the first time, she noticed the brilliant blue of his eyes.

  Just like Scarlett’s.

  Just like the sapphire.

  “What the—?” Jessie began to back away. Panic gripped her midsection, fingers of fear pulling and squeezing the air from the sensitive organs deep inside.

  Scarlett’s voice was soft. “It’s okay, Jess. He’s got blue eyes. I’ve got blue eyes. Lots of people have blue eyes.”

  Put like that, it did seem a tiny bit silly. “But they match the pendant,” she insisted, her voice unnaturally loud as she pulled the stone from where it nestled around her neck.

  “It’s why I have the sapphire. Reminded me of his eyes.” Scarlett gave that bubbly laugh. “After all, I never really see mine. Anyway, to be more formal, Jessie Caywood, meet Levi Garrett. He’s the one who lives in the basement apartment and will help you should you need anything when I’m not available.”

  Jessie didn’t extend her hand, she simply nodded at the maintenance man. She wondered what the two were arguing about when she’d first arrived. Hopefully, he wasn’t irritated with the task of watching over her.

  In any case, she couldn’t wait to leave this voodoo town.

  “So enjoy your night off. Tomorrow you can start work, all right?” Scarlett said.

  Jessie nodded.

  She headed back upstairs as fast as she could but didn’t get far.

  She should have known escape was too good to be true, had she been thinking. Instead, she was blank as she managed the mindless trek upstairs. Once there, she stared dumbfounded at the locked door of her apartment.

  She had no key.

  It didn’t take long to hear heavy footsteps coming up the stairs behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know who they belonged to. The tingling in her toes told her. The quick flash of desire that burned through her midsection.

  “Need to get inside?” he asked drolly. His voice was deep, perfect for phone sex. A Texan drawl filled with honey.

  What girl didn’t sucker for a Texan accent? She reminded herself she didn’t care. Instead, she made hers just as droll as she stared at the closed door. “Apparently.”

  A jingle of keys caused her to glance at his profile.

  God, he was gorgeous. Especially when those deep blue eyes turned toward her to glimmer in the light. They were so compelling.

  His lips were full, a sensual kiss if she ever saw it. Should he dare to smile, the tiniest dimple ought to pop from one corner.

  His jaw was rough, carefree as if he just wasn’t about to take the time to bother with frivolous toiletries.

  “Taking the time to memorize my face?” he drawled.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Romeo.”

  But she had been thinking about how good he looked. Just like she wondered how good he’d be in bed. He turned to study her frame, from head to toe. Heat unfurled in her belly at his stark, appreciative gaze. The beginnings of arousal dampened the crotch of her panties. “You’d scream my name,” he said, matter-of-factly, as if he knew.

  But it couldn’t be. “Not a screamer,” she assured him. “More of a moaner, actually.”

  He almost grinned. “You’ll be very vocal with me. One day soon you’ll find out.”

  “I like my own choice in the matter.”

  “We don’t always get a choice.”

  “So do you have a key to my apartment?” she asked to change the subject, and hated the way her voice squeaked.

  “I have a key to my apartment.”

  One turn of the knob and he pushed the door open.

  “This was yours?”

  It explained the bare look. The lack of decoration, making the small place devoid of emotion. Of feelings. No wonder it had been furnished. What furniture could he have downstairs while she lived in his apartment?

  She stepped over the threshold and held her hand out for the key.

  “Scarlett has yours.” He turned his back to her, leaving her staring wide-eyed at his retreating back.

  Asshole.

  And he still had the key to her place.

  The thought made her shiver. She tried to deny that it was sheer, heady lust at the thought of him watching her intimate moments.

  The fact that she wanted to lie on the bed and spread her legs right now.

  Not a bad idea. It would take the edge off, give her more control as she searched for a boy toy tonight. She wasn’t yet brave enough to sit bare-assed on the brown leather sofa where he could walk right in. She headed into his bedroom where she slowly stripped off her clothes.

  Her skin was flushed. She stood before his dresser, looking at herself naked in the mirror. She looked good and knew it. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders covering her breasts erotically. But even as she studied her nude form, her nipples tightened, poking through the silken strands of hair.

  Like most women, she’d often wished for larger boobs. But interestingly enough, many a man had told her they were attractive in their athletically sexy way.

  Her skin was very lightly tanned, still soft and feminine. It just looked darker against her blonde hair and white teeth.

  Her waist dipped in, her abs softly flat. Not hard and muscled but a woman’s rounded form.

  She studied her sex.

  She kept the blonde hair of her mound trimmed very short, resulting in a silky fine covering you could still see through. Her pussy lips were large, even more so in this state, swollen with excitement.

  She trailed her fingers through the wispy tuft of pubic hair and scissored her clitoris so it jutted between her fingers. It was red, feverish as though it were ready for the inevitable orgasm she was about to give herself.

  One bottom drawer of his dresser was slightly ajar. She lifted her leg onto it, spreading her pussy wide open. Shiny, slick fluid ran over her fingertip.

  She dipped inside her sheath, savoring the pleasure she brought herself. She smeared some of the slippery juice up and swirled it around her hard little nipple so it shone in the mirror too.

  More heat flooded her passage. Her pussy was engorged, the clitoris erect. She dipped her finger into her sheath again. This time, she brought her finger to her mouth to suck.

  Sweet.

  She needed to find a man to suck her to completion. Then fuck her still-quivering body mindlessly, over and over, until she came again.

  She moved to the bed to lie down on all fours, cheek to the mattress. If she turned slightly she could see her ass in the mirror. Reaching up, she spread her
cheeks. Her anus was tightly puckered, her pussy lips looked huge in comparison.

  So this is what it looked like when she was fucked from behind.

  She turned back over and opened her thighs wide. She was spread open toward the door. A tiny bit of excitement squirmed in her belly at the thought of someone walking in and seeing.

  Or someone standing at the door and watching.

  Someone handsome, sapphire eyes filled with lusty need.

  She reached down and slid a finger through her thick pussy lips. They were soft and smooth, freshly shaved underneath this morning. She pinched them together and pulled them slightly outward.

  She spread them open again and felt the air cool them off.

  Enough was enough.

  Grabbing a couple of pillows, she placed one under her head and one under her hips. Bending her legs at the knees, she opened them wide.

  She smeared enough juice throughout her slit, completely covering her clit as she massaged it. She imagined him at the doorway, watching her. Would he pull out his cock? Would it be thick? Would it nest in curls, or did he shave smooth? Trim short?

  Would he stroke his cock while he watched her?

  The thought made her swirl harder as she tilted her pelvis upward.

  She began to circle her hips against the movement of her finger, rolling waves of pleasure climbed upward until they spiraled out of control. The orgasm blasted through her and she moaned, calling out a name at the crescendo.

  “Levi.”

  Chapter Two

  She took her time getting ready for the bar. Six inch heels, tight jeans. See-through blouse.

  For Jessie Caywood was on a mission and he wasn’t it, dammit. He was a cocky knuckle-dragger and it pissed her off that she called out his name during her climax.

  So the bastard could see what he was missing. She flipped her long hair over one shoulder. It was her best asset, this legacy of spun gold.

  One more swipe of lipstick and she headed downstairs, where the drinks flowed freely. The air was rich with the thick thrill of excitement. A crowd of appreciative males had made their way to her, squirming rhythmically along with her on the dance floor.