Page 98 of Recurve Ridge

“Right? I’ll give you a private show, sweetcheeks.” He winked and tucked the clothes behind the bar before waltzing around to her chair.

“You know he’s just horny for you,sweetcheeks,” Miller snapped, his fists white at his sides as he stared at them from his end of the room.

Mari looked across at him with a display of innocence that left my heart swelling. She’d healed faster than any of us had believed possible. Jon grinned at my side as Alan patted her head, drawing her attention back to him, then scooped her off her chair, sat in her warm spot, and balanced her on his lap.

“You scared me!” She slapped at his chest with zero hesitation.

He grinned down at her, his gaze tracking to her lips. “Did I?”

She stared, unmoving.

The air charged, filled with the underlying static desire always present in the room if Mari stayed with any of us in the long term. His hands slid around her waist, his touch changing from protective to predatory. Alan looked up at me, and something feral in his gaze shifted before he refocused on her.

“If I kiss you in front of them, who would you ask to join in?” he whispered in his silken voice, the one he utilized for seduction and intel.

When he aimed that honed weapon at Mari, she flushed head to toe and wriggled on his lap in a way that earned a grimace from him while every one of us reached to adjust our cocks.

“Is that—” She stumbled over her thoughts, swiveling to take in Miller’s glower and Will’s always-eager eyes. She bit her lip, shaking her head. “Robe wouldn’t approve.”

Part of me—a very hard, straining part—didapprove, but I kept that to myself.

“Come on, Mari. The big man likes a good show. Haven’t you learned that yet?” Alan smiled, all cunning and sweet promises.

I leaned back and watched, as keen as my spy to hear her answer.

Mari swallowed, her attention flicking between us. “I don’t think he’s an audience to be pandered to,” she murmured loud enough for us all to hear.

I hid my grin. She had me pinned, all right. Alan had earned the surprise I had in store for him, but I suspected she’d like where he took this—and what would come after.

He, on the other hand, would not.

Even Jon tried to prevent our resident stripper from digging his own grave with a subtle shake of his head, a rare intervention on his end.

Alan smirked at me. “Robe likes a show as much as anyone, remember? Trust me.”

Mari looked over his shoulder, seeking permission. My cock swelled at the thought of her submission. I let a wicked smile spread across my lips, showing teeth.

She glanced back at Alan, but he didn’t give her a choice. He cupped her chin and tipped her head back, claiming her mouth in a rough kiss that devolved into the realm of pornographic as she moaned, arching to accept his touch before us all.

Her neck curved, her attention focusing on him. He’d wish he hadn’t pushed this in a few minutes when I released the grudge I’d been holding since that day in my bathroom when he made her come before I’d touched her.

For now, he could have his way. A few more minutes wouldn’t matter. Then I’d claim my vengeance for the time he’d stolen from me.

I raised my eyes to meet his startling blue gaze head-on as he kissed her with his eyes open. We never took liberties from one another. We were a unit, and that’s not how we played it. How we survived.

But Alan refused to play by our rules. I looked forward to his punishment.

He settled in the chair, pulling Mari deeper onto his lap. Lean, inked arms wound around her waist as he deepened the kiss, his long-fingered hands wandering without interruption. She whimpered into his mouth as he scraped his nails beneath the tender curve of her breast, reaching up to tease her peaked nipple. He tugged at the hard nib, visible through her T-shirt, then pulled the material down to expose the slightest hint of dusky pink where it contrasted against a creamy swell and ran his thumb along it.

She writhed on his lap, twisting away from his hands, though her moans and soft cries told every one of us how much she loved what he did to her.

My cock strained at every sweet sound that slipped from her lips, her eyes squeezed tight. His gaze lifted again to hold mine, triumph glittering there as he laughed into her mouth. I was hard as steel, lacing my hands at my back in a familiar pose to stop myself from rubbing one out, a voyeur in my own fucking house yet again.

There would be plenty of playtime in a few moments. Alan was right; I did like a show.

Just not the sort he put on.

The moment his hands ran down her perfect thighs, scars and all, and teased the hem of her dress upward, I knew he’d already made up his mind to take their encounter too far. She stiffened until he cooed something into her ear, his voice too low for anyone else to hear. Her limbs went liquid soft, and she sank into him without resistance. I ached to know what he’d promised her.

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