A Sweet Deal for Karen [Hardwick Bay 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read online

  The previous week had been busy at the store. Karen had wound up staying late after closing more than once to make more ice cream and chocolates. She also spent a day making wedding favors, which was kind of fun.

  The bride and groom had chosen to give away kayak-shaped chocolates in honor of their love of kayaking on the bay. She made most of them in milk chocolate, but marbleized some with white chocolate and red pigments to match the color of the bridesmaid dresses.

  Those bridesmaids had ordered the bride a giant penis-shaped chocolate for her bachelorette party as well as a number of smaller chocolate penis lollipops for the partygoers. Karen heard it went over well.

  By the time Sunday rolled around, she was tired from the busy workweek. The store was open Sundays from May to October and during the month of December. Usually Karen worked, but today she was leaving it to her staff.

  Hanna had promised some softball practice so she didn’t completely disgrace herself. Hence the afternoon at the VanLindts’ to relearn how to catch a ball and have a barbecue afterward. She had her new, bought-for-the-occasion ball glove, a change of clothes, and a cooler packed with dessert. She also threw in some hard lemonade, just in case.

  Hanna gave Karen a huge hug when she arrived. Kent and Carter gave her a brief hug each, and went immediately to the cooler to check out what she had brought. They laughed when they saw the lemonade.

  “We weren’t planning on serving you beer, Karen.” The corners of Carter’s eyes crinkled. “We’ve heard your lengthy list of reasons not to drink it.”

  “Mostly because it tastes like old socks,” Karen replied cheerfully as she headed out on the deck with Hanna. She called over her shoulder, “Don’t bug me or you’ll never get any more chocolate-covered coffee beans.”

  Carter placed his hand over his heart and staggered comically. Both he and Kent loved those caffeine-laden brown ovals. They took a stash to work on a regular basis, especially if they were on nights.

  Karen went out on the deck and pulled her ball glove out of the plastic bag. She was a little disappointed she could only find brown. She had wanted something bright to go with her lucky orange T-shirt that she had on with her most comfortable lime-green shorts.

  The glove felt like it was carved out of wood and had that peculiar, telltale smell of faux-leather. She was hoping it would do. “Is this okay?” she asked Hanna, her voice a little higher than usual.

  “I think it will be fine, not that I’m an expert,” replied Hanna as she inspected it, turning it over in her hands. Then she smiled as she looked over Karen’s shoulder. “Why don’t you ask Allan and Zander?”

  Karen whirled around to see Allan March and Zander Winters crossing the back patio and climbing the stairs to the deck. Her heart picked up speed as they came closer and she wanted to simultaneously run away and rub herself all over them. It was almost painful seeing them.

  Allan and Zander were both too hot for words. They worked for Ontario Hydro as arborists. The physical nature of their work resulted in very muscular arms and shoulders. The T-shirts they habitually wore were filled out and then some.

  Karen had seen them without their shirts and six-pack seemed like such a pathetic term for their abs. Even their obliques should have their own special little pet name. They both had strong legs and even though the lower half was less developed than the upper, they still filled out a pair of jeans well enough to make Karen drool.

  Their similarity ended at their bodies. Allan reminded Karen of dark, sinful chocolate. His hair was black and just a little long and shaggy. He had dark brown eyes and looked like he had a tan all year round. In the summer he was a lovely shade of deep brown wherever the sun hit. His nose was sharp and his mouth generous.

  Zander was just the opposite. He had light blond hair that he kept cropped very short. His eyes were the watery blue of the bay in sunlight and his skin was pale. He had a broader nose but his lips were full and sensual like Allan’s. He didn’t really tan in the summer, just became barely bronzed. Or burnt to a crisp if he wasn’t careful.

  They approached with the casual grace Karen had always envied. She knew she was attracted to them, but there was no way she was going further than allowing the two to star in some late night masturbation sessions.

  “Hey, sweetness,” Allan rumbled at her. His deep voice always sounded like it flowed over gravel before exiting. He dipped over Karen and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

  “You look ready for action,” Zander observed as he pecked her on the cheek.

  “What?” Karen gasped.

  Her chest refused to move to allow air in. Her face flamed bright red. Good God, he couldn’t know about her sex dreams!

  “The new glove.” Zander gestured at the mitt in her hand. “It looks stiff. We’ll have to break it in.”

  Allan placed his hand on her back and leaned down to her ear. “What did you think he was suggesting?” he whispered slowly, the words flowing into her ear like the thick chocolate he reminded her of.

  Karen turned an even brighter shade of red and closed her eyes. Because if she couldn’t see it, it wasn’t happening. She couldn’t even come up with a smart-ass comment to fling back at them.

  “Nothing,” she finally muttered.

  She turned to Hanna. Her friend had a huge grin on her face and her jaw was trembling a little. Karen almost wanted to smack away the smugness.

  “See if you ever get any more goodies from me,” she hissed under her breath as she stamped into the kitchen to ditch the plastic bag Hanna’s laughter followed her inside.

  “Let’s get to it,” Kent encouraged her after she put away the bag.

  She followed him out to the grassy yard behind the house. The six of them spent the next hour throwing and catching softballs. Karen was pathetic. The leaden feeling from school returned to her. The one that came from residing firmly at the bottom of the bell curve in sports aptitude. The one that made her limbs move too slow one second and jerk like she was having a seizure—with the associated high level of grace that brought—the next.

  Allan and Zander were patient with her ineptitude. Somehow, they managed to keep those feelings from school from becoming a tidal wave that swept her off and drowned her.

  Under their tutelage, she improved at catching, understanding the concept of keep your eye on the ball. She was pretty poor at throwing, though. Her aim sucked and she didn’t seem to be able to get it really far.

  After just over an hour of throwing, they decided to call it quits for the day. Karen’s arm was aching, but she felt she had made some progress. With a little more practice, she might not make a complete fool of herself. But then, there was still batting left to tackle. Allan and Zander wanted to take her to some batting cages. She wasn’t sure about that. It would be good to have practice and coaching, but she was reluctant to be alone with them.

  * * * *

  Zander watched Karen walk back to the house and into the lower level to change after practice. Her hips and ass swayed as she strolled, and the beautiful motion made his cock stir yet again.

  He and Allan were captivated by the lovely Karen. Her sparkling personality attracted them and the vulnerability they saw beneath that intrigued them. She wasn’t hurting in the looks department either.

  Her dark brown hair with a hint of red was just past shoulder length and had a slight wave to it. Long enough to thread his fingers through and hold onto her when he kissed her so hard that she would forget how to stand.

  She had whiskey-brown eyes and a sweet upturned nose. He wanted her to wrap herself around him so he could feel what it was like to be surrounded by her smooth, olive skin. She had lush lips that were slightly pink and looked absolutely luscious when she put on the shiny lip stuff that she favored.

  Her full lips matched her full figure. She had large breasts and generous hips. She was sumptuous, and he and Zander couldn’t wait to have her between them.

  “Hey, sweetness, don’t take too long,” Allan called to her.


  “Why?” Karen half turned to him, a slight frown of confusion on her face.

  “We get lonely without you.” Zander blew her a little kiss.

  Karen rolled her eyes and gave a little laugh. “Yeah, right.”

  Zander chuckled a little. She seemed determined to give them a hard time, but the chase would make their victory all the sweeter.

  He and Allan changed quickly and slipped up to the main area of the house. Zander poured one of Karen’s hard lemonades into a glass with ice for her. She came upstairs, scrubbed and fresh, in a few minutes wearing jeans and a sleeveless, pink top with greeny-blue swirly things on it and a plunging neck that emphasized the swell of her breasts. It made him want to lick her exposed collarbone then continue up her neck and nibble on her ear. His cock twitched a little at the thought.

  “Here you go,” he said, handing her the drink. He put an arm around her waist as she accepted the beverage and steered her toward Allan.

  “Thanks,” replied Karen, resisting his arm a little. She gave a puff of a sigh and the tension finally released from her body.

  Allan lightly kissed her on the cheek as he murmured a greeting and handed her a plate with crackers, cheese, and olives on it. Allan knew what she liked and made sure he picked her favorites from the choices Hanna and her men had out on the table.

  They led her out onto the deck and took seats around the table as Kent got started on grilling the sausages. Zander would have preferred to pull Karen onto his lap, but he knew she would put up a fuss, so he settled for having him and Allan on either side of her. He settled his arm along the back of her chair before Allan beat him to it.

  Hanna flopped in the chair opposite Karen. “So, how do you feel about softball now?” she asked.

  Karen grimaced. “A bit better, but I’m still not sure why I agreed to this insanity. I would have been happy to cheer you on from the stands.”

  “But then we wouldn’t get to play with you,” Zander commented, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  Karen stuck her tongue out at him and took a sip of her drink.

  Allan squeezed her knee, starting to knead his way upward. “We’re all for good, clean fun.”

  Hanna giggled at them and tried to rescue her friend. “I hope you’re all hungry. Kent insisted on getting a massive amount of sausages. I made potato salad and coleslaw and Karen brought pie.”

  “I’m starved. We’re growing boys you know,” said Allan.

  “Awesome. What kind of pie did you bring?” Zander asked.

  “Lemon meringue.”

  “Mmm, sweet and tart. Just like you.” Zander tightened his arm around Karen’s shoulders.

  “Oh, give it up, for pity’s sake.” Karen stood abruptly, breaking out of Zander’s hold and shaking Allan’s hand off her thigh like it was an annoying fly.

  “Let’s get the rest of the food. It looks like the sausages are almost ready,” she suggested to Hanna.

  “Okay,” Hanna said and headed into the house with her.

  Carter and Kent started laughing at Allan and Zander as soon as the two women got into the house.

  “You two have your work cut out for you,” commented Carter.

  “Yeah, but she’s worth it,” Zander said.

  “I wish we could figure out how to get her to realize that she can’t be such a slave to her store.” Allan settled his elbows on the table. “It’s successful enough she could back off a little, but she seems determined to work herself to death or something.”

  The two women brought out the rest of the food. Everyone got busy helping themselves to the delicious items on offer. Hanna had made great potato salad and the coleslaw was cold, creamy, and crisp. The meat was Country Meadow’s famous apple-and-brown-sugar links. It was a perfect start to the summer barbecue season.

  For a while, talk ceased in the comfortable way it did when good friends were hungry. Eventually it returned as appetites were satisfied. The friends chatted and laughed as the day cooled and the sun started to set. They headed indoors to eat pie when the bugs started to come out.

  Hanna carved the white-and-yellow treat into generous slices and served it up with coffee as they all sat around the big table in Kent and Carter’s great room.

  “This is so good, Karen!” exclaimed Hanna as she took her first bite. “I wish I had your talent with all things sweet and tasty.”

  “Ah, but if you could, you wouldn’t need me,” Karen replied in a falsetto voice and batted her eyelashes at Hanna. “I would be so lonely.”

  “We’d keep you company,” Zander informed her as he took a big bite of pie. He mumbled around the mouthful. “Even if you never baked again.”

  “Sure, sure,” Karen said dismissively then went back to her falsetto. “I know you only love me for my sugary goodness.”

  She turned to the other men and changed the subject. “So when is the first game again? Do we have time for me to continue to sharpen my, ah, skills?”

  “It’s near the end of June,” answered Allan. “Why don’t we do batting cages next weekend? Can you get Sunday off again?”

  “I’m not sure, maybe.” Karen’s words sounded reasonable, but her tone said so much more. It said, “I’m trying to be polite but I have every intention of finding something else to do that must not be delayed.”

  “Why don’t we go for a quick bite when the store closes, then head to the batting cages?” Zander forced his voice to sound cool and reasonable.

  “It depends on if I need to make more ice cream or chocolate or something. I won’t be sure until Saturday or Sunday.”

  Zander sighed. She was going to weasel out of seeing them again, using work as her excuse like always. He was getting tired of that same shit over and over. There had to be a way to get her to spend more time with them.

  “Well, if you don’t think you need the batting practice, that’s okay.” Allan looked away from her, focusing on his coffee. Zander had to give him credit, he knew how to get her to commit—play to her fears.

  “No, you’re right,” she said quickly. “I–I need the practice. I’ll do my best to be free.”

  Zander had a feeling she would. He knew she was worried about her performance, but it really didn’t matter. They were all just out to have fun, but Karen couldn’t seem to grasp that no matter how often they told her. He hoped she would get it when they started to play games.

  The party finally broke up, and Zander and Allan walked Karen to her vehicle. They packed her cooler and bag in the back for her.

  “We’ll see you sometime during the week,” said Allan as he pecked her on the cheek again.

  “Yeah, sure,” she replied, trying to duck out of his kiss.

  Zander grabbed her around the waist, ensuring she couldn’t get away from him. He looked directly into her eyes as he said, “You know we’ll stop by for coffee at some point. And to spend time with you.”

  He tried to get her on the lips, but she ducked away and he got her cheek, too.

  “Yeah, um, see you then,” she stammered and she hopped into her SUV. She maneuvered out of the laneway, tires skidding on the gravel a little as she made her getaway.

  “You know maybe she avoids us because she’s actually attracted to us,” Allan mused.

  “Thank you, Dr. Phil,” Zander snarled. “That doesn’t help us.”

  Zander was getting frustrated with Karen’s constant attempts to avoid the two men. He was pretty sure she found them attractive. He caught her watching them a few times with a look of hunger on her face, though she quickly turned away. He and Allan couldn’t put a finger on why she kept running.

  “She does like you two, you know.” Hanna’s voice came from the doorway to the house where she stood with Carter’s arms around her waist.

  “Doesn’t seem like it from here, sometimes,” Zander responded wistfully.

  “I think I know what her issue is, but I can’t betray her confidence that way.” Hanna’s head hung as she spoke. “Don’t stop trying though.”<
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  “Is it the ménage thing?” Allan asked.

  “No! She accepted the different relationships around town a long time ago,” Hanna reassured them emphatically. “Just don’t give up, okay? She deserves some unconditional love.”

  “Thanks, guys, see you around.” Zander walked over to their truck.

  “Yeah, thanks and good night,” added Allan.

  The two men drove silently home. Zander was lost in his own thoughts. What did Hanna mean that Karen deserved some unconditional love? Did she think no one loved her? Karen had such a sunny, welcoming personality it was hard to believe that she felt unloved. She was respected around town for her hard work to make her business successful and for her community involvement. Karen’s Kandies lent its support to a number of different community projects, particularly the Halloween party in support of the local hospital. She had friends that loved her. Why would she be in such need of unconditional love?

  Chapter 3

  The traffic at the store continued to pick up as summer advanced. Cottages opened up and the town was much busier on the weekends. The smell of sunblock and sand was everywhere. Karen had at least one employee in with her every day, and often there were two extra staff with her on the weekends. She was keeping up with the ordering and production, if only barely. She was likely going to have to give her employees more hours so she could meet demand. That wasn’t necessarily bad. It never hurt to sell more and the students were happy with the extra money the hours brought them.

  Her personal cell rang, jolting Karen out of making a mental list of what to make next.

  “Hey there,” she answered cheerily, expecting Hanna or another friend.

  “Hello, Karen. How are you this afternoon?” Her mother’s cool voice drifted over the cell. She always sounded like she was giving one of her university lectures. And Mom wasn’t known as one of the fun profs.

  Karen held back a sigh. She really didn’t need this right now. “Fine, Mom. It’s really nice to hear from you, but I’m not sure how long I’ll have to talk.”

  “Working at your little store? I didn’t think you would have enough business to justify opening on Sundays. But then, you do need to make the money.”