Pranked (58 page)

I
t’s a date
.
Those three words were still ringing in my head the next evening as I hopped in my Shelby and set off for Hannah’s apartment. They were innocent. Sweet. There was no promise in them, no coy suggestion, either. I could take them at face value: Sarah was consenting to a date. Nothing else.

Though I was convinced that by the end of the night, she would be ready for so much more.

I’d picked the perfect fucking venue for our group outing, not just because it would make Sarah the most comfortable, but because it gave me one hell of an advantage. I was king of those fuckin’ carnival games, man. The Baron of Bumper Cars. The Khan of Go-Karts. Sure, it was kiddie shit, but you’d be surprised how much that kind of stuff impresses a girl—and pisses off all the guys there who’re trying to do the same, but coming up short.

Ash and Wyatt had probably picked up on my scheme. But the girls? For all they knew, I’d just so happened to intuit what would make them feel the safest. What setting would strike them as familiar. I was looking out for their best interests, so they thought. And that would make winning this damn bet so much easier.

I’d seen a little spark of desire in Sarah’s eyes last night. Or at least, something like it. I wasn’t sure a girl like her knew the first thing about lust, but her body language had spoken volumes every time I talked about extreme sports or threw a casual innuendo her way. She’d squirm and blush, like she was trying to hold back the full breadth of her reaction. I knew that kind well enough. They were all goody two-shoes until you got them in the sack. And then they were outright wild. In Sarah’s case, I bet she could become a sleek little sex kitten, with the right training. Though with her inexperience, she’d definitely need a firm hand…

Fuck.
Cruising down the highway, and I had a rock-hard bulge in my jeans. I straightened up, trying not to let my erection brush against the steering wheel. No need to fuel that fire just yet. The bonnet sisters would probably faint dead away if they answered the door and came face-to-face with my dick trying to burst through my zipper.

But shit if that girl didn’t do something to me…

I brought my hand over from the gear stick and adjusted myself with a shift and a squeeze. The idea of coaxing a sex fiend out of this veritable nun was a hot one. I could just imagine her biting that sweet, full lip as her red-gold hair tumbled down her bare, creamy shoulders. Her breasts would be modest, but perfect, with soft pink nipples no other man had ever touched. She’d shiver and shake every time I touched her, but especially when I ran my coarse fingertips along her hips in the most intimate of ways.

I’d start by eating her pussy, ruining it for any other man who might come after. I’d show her what it was like to come, to lose control and surrender to utter bliss. I’d give her that rapture as many times as it took to have her wailing for me, begging for me to pop her tight cherry and make her mine…

Shit.
I had to stop or this hard-on was definitely not going away.

I turned my radio on and cranked up some good old Creedence Clearwater Revival—
Fortunate Son.
I was feeling goddamn lucky today, after all, and it seemed like a fine choice. On my left, Ash passed me on his motorcycle and I revved my engine in reply, drifting just a little too close for comfort right before he shot out ahead of me. He lifted his middle finger and switched into my lane. Asshole.

Whatever. He was just pissed that I’d had the idea on where to take the girls. Hannah wouldn’t be impressed with that shit. She’d be too busy babysitting her sisters all night to give a fuck about what Ash was trying to do, anyway. Wyatt might benefit a little, but he was awful with girls, and especially terrible when it came to crowds. Boy had a temper on him, and when guys get drunk and start stumbling into each other, it’s always the hothead who starts the brawl.

Speaking of Wyatt, he was in my rearview mirror, rumbling down the stretch of road behind us in his dark blue pickup truck. I snorted. The one thing I might ever agree with Wyatt on is that he got cheated out of a sweet ride. Ash had gotten our dad’s bike and I’d managed to salvage one of his cars, but Wyatt? He’d had to work three jobs during the summer to afford that piece of shit clunker. He was just lucky Beth was used to riding in a buggy. Hell, there was a chance the buggy smelled better.

We came off the highway in a caravan and took the exit into Hannah’s part of town. It was one of those zones that sat right in the middle of good and bad. It was obviously low-income, judging by the condition of the other houses and buildings, as well as by the fact Hannah was just a bartender, but it hadn’t completely gone to shit, either. Next to her apartment building was a small park and outdoor recreation area, and I saw a few kids playing on the jungle gym while their parents cooked hot dogs on one of the little grills. It was enough to make me feel safe parking my car for a few minutes while we all went up to Hannah’s door.

Ash was swinging his leg off his bike when I pulled up and parked next to him. He took off his helmet and tousled his hair, smoothing it into place with his fingers, and I jabbed at him through my half-open window: “You actually think that’s gonna make it better? You can’t fix ugly, Ash.”

“Don’t be mad just ‘cause your date doesn’t like you,” he shot back—weak, but it still grated on my nerves. “I was watching you two at the bar. Shit, you might as well have been pulling teeth. Dunno how well this night’s gonna go for you.”

“A hell of a lot better than yours,” I said, rolling my window up and getting out of my car. “Hannah didn’t look too thrilled with you, either. Like she’d rather be serving anyone else a drink but you. How many times did she actually look at you last night—three? Four?”

“Hurtful, Reid,” Ash said, splaying one of his hands across his chest. “So hurtful. And here I was, just trying to look out for you. Coming at you from a place of
concern.
”

“You’re full of shit,” I told him, but I laughed. There was no use really getting into it, especially not here. Not when we all had more important things to do.

“I dunno what you two are so worried about,” Wyatt said, sliding between us on his way to the door. Little shit had parked and gotten the drop on us somehow while we were arguing. “Beth likes me just fine.”

Before he could make it to the stoop, I grabbed my little brother by the back of his hoodie and pulled, making him stumble back as both Ash and I surged ahead. I could feel his gaze burning into the back of my neck, almost sense his scowl.

I smirked.
Good. Now he’s off his game.

Ash, with his giant gorilla shoulders, managed to muscle me out of the way and knock on the door first. Not a huge surprise, I supposed, but it soured my mood. Fuck him for being a bouncer, and fuck him for being a rude little shit.

He winked at me, and I rolled my eyes. “Whatever,” I muttered, and took an extra moment to perfect that badass look I sported so well.

When Hannah opened the door, she looked damn nice. She had her hair down in soft curls that framed her face and really made her burnt jade eyes stand out. She hadn’t put much makeup on—and who would, for a carnival?—and I was surprised to see how well that suited her. She looked much more approachable out of that whole nightlife setting.

She smirked at Ash, looked him over, and then leaned against the doorframe, folding her arms. “I take it from that cowlick you’ve got you brought your bike here?”

I snickered. Ash turned to me. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

I put my hand over my chest in a mockery of the same gesture he’d made before. “I didn’t want to be
hurtful.
”

Hannah rolled her eyes—but as usual, she smiled—and swept her arm to invite us in. “Sarah and Beth should be ready in a minute. We had to do some shopping. And after we did some shopping, I had to convince them there was nothing wrong with the clothes they bought. So I’d appreciate it if you boys didn’t either act like a pack of lecherous wolves, or laugh at them if you think they’re still too modest. Got it?”

“Fair enough,” Ash said, entering first—he had to duck his head to get in.
Moose-lookin’ motherfucker.
I tried following him, but I hadn’t answered Hannah and she took exception to that. Her arm shot out, hand clutching the doorframe an inch from my nose, barring entry.

I stared at her. She said, “I’m serious, Reid. They’re vulnerable. Be nice. Understand?”

If any other woman in all the world had tried to get tough with me like that, I probably would’ve laughed right in her face, batted her arm away like it was marshmallow fluff, and never given her the time of day again. But there was a ferocity in Hannah’s eyes that rivaled even Wyatt’s when he was on the edge. I could tell, in those few seconds of silence between us, that she was dead serious. That whatever silent threat she was making was one she’d follow through on. That she had the capability and the motivation to protect her sisters, whatever the cost.

I could see, too, that it wouldn’t be the first time she’d made that kind of sacrifice. Raising my brows, I nodded to her and she lowered her arm to let me through. Damn. Now I was off my game, too. But at least it told me that Hannah wasn’t going to take any shit from Ash. She probably saw right through him. Which, once I got my groove back, would mean I had an advantage. Again.

“Nice job picking the scary one,” I whispered once we were in the small sitting room near the front door. “Really, I mean it. That’s a stellar sense of self-preservation you got there.”

But Ash wasn’t looking at me. He was watching Hannah close the door and walk down the hall, probably to where Beth and Sarah were. “She loves her sisters and wants to take care of them,” he murmured. “I get that.”

Wyatt shot me a look from the corner of his eye. I shrugged. I had no idea what was up with Ash tonight, but damn, he almost seemed to… respect her. The chick he’d made a bet with all of us about, the terms of which were that whoever fucked the woman of their choice first, wins.

I ran a hand through my hair uneasily. I couldn’t afford to think too much about it. Not if I wanted to keep my head in the game, anyway.

And I did so like to win…

A few silent seconds passed before I heard a door open, then shut again down the hall. Hannah returned with Sarah and Beth, who were wearing black dresses very similar in style to the ones they’d been wearing the night we met, only without their bonnets and aprons. They’d obviously let Hannah do their hair—Sarah’s was down and straight, and I could tell she’d had it trimmed a little. Whatever she’d done to it, it looked radiant against her alabaster skin, a touch of flame lighting up the darkness of her very conservative dress.

Then there was the makeup. There wasn’t much of it, but holy hell, it made a difference. Sarah’s already smooth skin was flawless like fresh butter, and Hannah had draped a soft, brown halo around each eye that drew my attention to them immediately. Sarah’s lips were just a little bit glossy too, pinker than I recalled, though if she kept chewing on that lower one they were going to turn more red. I imagined how they’d look after I kissed her. Swollen. Bruised. The color of raw passion…

“Well?” Hannah prompted. She was staring at me. Her eyes were hard.

I stood up, smiling even though she’d pulled me from my thoughts so hard the room spun. “Sarah. You look great.”

Sarah smiled, but faintly. She didn’t look entirely comfortable without the bonnet on. She kept tugging at her locks, threading her fingers between them nervously. “I’m… glad you think so,” she murmured.

And I did think so, which came as something of a surprise. I wasn’t totally into girls who dressed this damn modestly, but on Sarah, it worked. I was still dying to know what that lithe little body looked like under those heavy clothes, but that wonderment had become kind of fun. I was curious about her in a way I’d never been about a woman before—not since I could remember, anyway. I’d told Ash before that the chase was one of the best parts of getting a girl. That had proven especially true with Sarah, thus far.

I wasn’t one to normally pursue a virgin, either. I liked my women experienced. It made sex better for everyone involved. But the thought of getting to break Sarah in, of being the first to ever climb that insurmountable obstacle… that was fucking hot. It would be like thrusting a flag into the top of Mt. Everest, knowing I was the only one who’d ever seen that particular view. The more I looked at her, the more I wanted to pull that dress apart and show her soft, lovely body all the things it had been missing out on.

Sarah regarded me warily, almost as if she didn’t believe I was staring—as if she had no idea what I could possibly be so attracted to. The fact that she had no idea how beautiful she was struck me as a bonus. I wasn’t dealing with a chick with an ego here. And that meant it’d be so much easier to tear down her walls.

Before I could start thinking in-depth about what else of hers I might like to tear down, Beth peeked out from around the corner and caught Wyatt’s attention. He was, to my surprise, a lot smoother than I was—or at least, more eager. Hannah didn’t have to prompt him to comment on Beth’s appearance. He went straight for the jugular.

“You look awesome,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. I got the impression it was to keep himself from reaching out and touching her. She was dressed just the same as Sarah was, yet looked much more confident than her older sibling.

“I’d look better if Sarah hadn’t insisted on us wearing these…,” she said, scowling at Sarah. “How are we supposed to have any fun if we’re tripping over our skirts the entire time?”

“We’ll figure something out,” Ash assured her, eyeing Hannah from across the room. She was wearing a pair of low-slung skinny jeans and a sleeveless, white blouse with the Misfits logo printed on it, a far cry from the modest ensemble her sisters sported. “Let it never be said that the Brody Bunch can’t show their girls a good time—come rain, sleet, snow, or ankle-length hemlines.”

When Ash smirked, Hannah returned it. She narrowed her eyes just a little, as if silently admitting that was clever. The fact that she didn’t say it out loud gave me some hope that Ash hadn’t found a way to get the upper hand yet.