Chapter Twenty

Meg did a twirl, the soft fabric of the dress floating around her legs. “So, how do I look?”

“Stunning and sexy as hell. Are you sure you need to go out?” Sam wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I would make it worth your while to stay home.” He palmed an impressive bulge in the front of his jeans. “The stallion is saddled and ready to go.”

The offer was tempting, but she had to sort things out with Laura. The explanation she’d been arguing with Sam when Laura had been on the phone had sounded hollow. She had no idea how to convince her, but she wasn’t ready for the whole world to find out she went at it with Sam like a rabbit. She wasn’t ready to share their liberated arrangement with anyone, not even her best friend. Besides, she needed to pull her weight in the business. So far Laura had done everything and she’d done nothing, although she stood to keep fifty percent of the profit. Laura claimed she’d found the perfect place to spread the word.

Meg groaned in frustration as she stared at the vision of male loveliness sprawled across her bed. His fair hair was mussed, like he’d just got out of bed, his eyes dark and full of desire. “As a teenager I never used to understand my friend’s fascination with the pony club, but now I’ve taken up riding, I can definitely see the attraction.”

“So, call her and tell her you’re busy.”

“I can’t, I need to make her believe nothing was going on earlier.”

Sam rubbed the back of his hand under his chin in a nervous gesture. “What are you going to tell her?”

“I’ll stick to our original story.”

He climbed off the bed and pulled her into his arms. “I know you’re not ready to tell people about us having sex even though we seem to keep getting caught, but when you are, it’s fine by me. I have no concerns. I would happily yell from the rooftops just how wonderful you are in bed, the shower, the sofa, the kitchen table.” Meg slammed a hand over his mouth and he roared with laughter.

“Stop it, you make us sound like a couple of nymphomaniacs. See what your mighty steed has reduced us to? I should never have let you take him out of the stable.”

Sam shook her off and cupped her face in his hands. “Seriously though, I can live with whatever you need to tell people.”

Meg sighed. How could he be so damn sweet? Most men would want to brag to all and sundry about their extremely active sex life. Some men would be insulted and assume she was ashamed of them if she kept their relationship a secret. If it involved more than sex, would she be more comfortable? Being with someone who would happily fuck twenty-four/seven with no commitment and no relationship was fantastic for a guy’s image with the boys, but she didn’t want people to think she was easy. Even though she was horribly, horribly easy, and horny…again.

The front door bell rang. He dropped his hands and groaned. “I guess you better get going.”

“I won’t be too late. What are you going to do?”

Sam shrugged. “Don’t worry about me. I plan to watch football with Ben & Jerry.”

“Say hi to the guys for me.”

“Sure, but only if I can have a goodbye kiss.”

She tipped her face up and he slanted his mouth over hers. The sensation of his lips and tongue made her insides clench with need. Only the sound of the doorbell ringing incessantly brought her back to the present.

Breaking free with a couple of last soft kisses she sighed. “Time to face the music.”

Sam took her hand and led her through to the living room. As they approached the front door, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. “One for the road, so you don’t forget to come home.”

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

He chuckled and opened the front door, flashing a dazzling smile at Laura, who stood on the porch, her arms folded and a scowl on her face.

“What took you so long? I thought you must be out.”

Meg slipped past him to join her friend. “I needed my purse. So, shall we go now?”

Laura wandered toward the car and Meg turned to Sam, who winked at her before closing the door. With a sigh, she wished she had stayed on the other side with him. Nights out with Laura usually ended in disaster of one sort or another. They had never been arrested, but it was due more to good luck than good guidance. Laura always claimed it wasn’t her fault. She never knew they were being asked to deliver drugs the night they took a parcel to a house on Essex Street for the cute guy at the bar, or that the man she fixed Meg up with had been married to a crazy broad who said she was going to rip his testicles off if she found him fooling around. On reflection that wouldn’t have been such a disaster, his testicles and tiny dick weren’t worth losing any sleep over.

Other than the raunchy guitar riffs of Oasis playing on the CD player the journey began in silence. Laura pulled up at a red light on Mulligan and glanced at Meg. “Cute outfit. Very sexy. Did Sam dress you?”

Meg refused to entertain the thought that Laura might be mentally adding rather than ‘undress you’. “He helped me choose what to wear. Sometimes having a second opinion helps.”

Laura grinned at her. “And the makeup? The smudged lipstick is a nice touch by the way. Sam was wearing the same shade, it suits him.”

Shit, she should have checked before she left home. Flipping open her purse, she tugged out her compact and lippy and did a repair job, refusing to make eye contact with Laura. Relief flooded through her when the light flicked to green and they had to pull away.

Why on earth should she feel guilty? Just because Laura was happy to brag about her prowess in bed that didn’t mean Meg had to do the same. She was a consenting adult who had done nothing wrong, nothing wrong that she wanted to keep to herself. Deep down, she wondered if they went public whether things would change. The secrecy added a level of danger and sexual tension she thoroughly enjoyed.

Meg stared out the window, trying to work out where they were going. They appeared to be heading toward the seedier side of town. Old brick and stone buildings in need of repair filled the city blocks. Department stores and designer boutiques gave way to tattoo parlors, bars, nightclubs, and bottle shops. Youths in oversized jeans, leather jackets and baseball caps, and ladies of the night in stiletto heels, skin tight skirts that barely covered their butts, and skimpy tops frequented doorways and street corners. Surely Laura didn’t intend to hand out leaflets on Henley Street? Maybe she was going to pay hookers to pimp their business. The thought made her snigger.

Laura’s voice dragged her attention back to the car. “I’m not buying it by the way.”

Her grin disappeared. Apparently Laura wasn’t ready to give up on the discussion about her relationship with Sam. No matter, she would keep denying everything. Laura had no proof, and she wasn’t going to confirm her friend’s suspicions. “What aren’t you buying?”

“The bullshit you gave me about fighting with Sam. I know the sound of an orgasm when I hear one.” Laura glanced at her, an eyebrow raised. “Although, I never had you pegged as a screamer, hun. Just ‘fess up, girlfriend, you sounded like you were having one hell of a good time, and I’m guessing not for the first time. You look positively radiant, like a woman getting screwed on a regular basis should look. I get the feeling Sam is no My Little Pony and he’s doing you real good.” Laura dragged out the last two words, making them sound more suggestive.

Meg could feel heat rising to her cheeks. “I don’t know what you thought you heard. I told you what happened. This conversation is closed.”

Laura chuckled. She knew Laura would only let her close the conversation until she deemed it otherwise. Hell, after a couple of drinks Laura could get her to confess to anything. Maybe she’d stick with soft drinks, diet soft drinks.

Anyway, her sex life was tame compared to Laura’s. She was hardly in a position to be commenting on what other people did in the privacy of their own home. “What about you and your men. Still boffing two at once?”

Laura glanced at her and grinned. “Hmm, deflection. Nice tactic. Actually trying to get me to talk about my love life won’t work. I gave up both of them.”

“Why? I thought you were having a great time?”

Laura shrugged. “To be honest I get the impression they were happier when I didn’t make up the threesome, besides, the sex shop in Eastlands ran low on lube.”

“Lube?”

“Jesus Christ, what planet are you from? It’s not comfortable to go sticking a dick in places that don’t come with their own lubrication. Not fun for either party. Not unless you plan to sit on one of those donut cushions your whole life.”

Surely not? Laura wouldn’t, would she? The thought made Meg clench her butt cheeks together. She sure as hell didn’t plan to ask. She didn’t need that picture in her head.

Laura pulled into a parking lot and Meg froze in her seat. The giant flashing sign, complete with a pirate and the slogan, Come shimmy the main mast at the Jolly Roger, lit up the whole street. She should have caught on to where they were going earlier. The Jolly Roger wasn’t a place she had ever been to before, but she’d heard the stories about just how far things could go.

“You cannot be serious? I am not going to hand out leaflets in there!” If her mother was horrified about Sian taking Michael Monaghan to her dad’s party, her youngest daughter frequenting the town’s lewdest bar would send her into conniptions.