Uninhibited in Apple Trail, Arkansas - Volume 1
Uninhibited in Apple Trail, Arkansas

Excerpt

Summer in the south was like living in a sauna 24/7.

You had to be part fish to breathe in the high humidity. Anybody with even a little sense wouldn’t be outside in this mess, but Stephanie Faulkner was out there melting away, anyway.

And not for the sizzling burgers, that was for sure.

While the frozen margaritas were nice, it wasn’t those either. The kids running around were cute, but they were sweaty and none belonged to her in any related fashion. Only one thing persuaded her to brave August in Arkansas for a backyard barbeque.

Parker Madison.

He was her friend and neighbor. Their apartments were mirror images, their headboards sharing the same wall. From the moaning, screaming, yelping, and pleading she heard through that wall at night, until women left in the wee hours of the morning, Stephanie knew the man had some stamina and skills. And damn it, she wanted her world rocked by more than her vibrator. Parker could do that, without a doubt. Not only did he apparently have god-like abilities, the man was built like one, too.

Images of his muscular body and all he could do with it provoked the drinking of four margaritas already—drinks that were more José Cuervo and less lime. Somewhere between salting the third cup and mixing up her fourth, she decided tonight was the night she was going to ask.

Yes, ask Parker Madison to rock her world.

And this wasn’t like those other times where she was going to ask and then chicken out. No ma’am. This time, all the way or nothing.

She licked the last bit of salt from her now empty plastic cup and eyed the fine piece of hardened, tanned flesh prowling through the crowd. Yes, prowling. Parker took long strides, his eyes always searching and looking around; his mouth perfectly kicked up in this little grin that made the butterflies in her belly smile.

Ah, Parker Madison. How had she known the man for so long and not realized all this? Her thoughts darkened as her ex-husband’s face intruded. She kicked him out of her head. She would not have her day ruined with thoughts of the cheating bastard.

She’d rather lust after Parker, and returned to watching the man who’d haunted her dreams—both the nighttime and daylight ones. When a woman thought sex, she thought Parker Madison. The two just went hand in hand like socks and shoes. Only less smelly when things got sweaty. She giggled. Oh, Lord, too much José if she was giggling.

She cleared her throat, threw her shoulders back, and tugged her halter top straight. Serious. She needed to be a serious-sexy-woman. Cute wedges, short ass shorts and a halter top equaled serious-sexy-woman. At the very least, Jim Nolan, the neighborhood man-whore who was rumored to be so desperate he laid a girl carrying the flu, had thought so and told her as much. Stephanie shuddered and wished for a little more to drink to permanently kick that out of her memory.

As the muscular hunk of beef shifted through the crowd, she didn’t need a drink to forget about old man-whore-what’s-his-name. To wet her dry throat…yeah, a drink would have been handy. And to cool her blood. Man-whore forgotten.

“What are you doing over here off to the side and waiting by the gate?”

Stephanie started and glanced over as her friend, Jessie McBride, leaned on the gate next to her. “God, I didn’t hear you come up. You scared me.”

Jessie grinned. “With the way you’re studying something, a snake could have bitten you and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

“I’m waiting for Parker.”

“Looked like you were doing a lot more than waiting. You’re going to do it, aren’t you?” Jessie shifted until she faced Stephanie. “You’re going to ask him out finally. I honestly don’t know how you’ve waited this long. I mean, hell you two are in his garage all day, every day, mostly alone for how many hours?”

“Eight. And not every day.” Just six, but that seemed like too small a thing to point out. Also, they typically saw each other at some point on Sunday, too. “Customers come in too. And the phone rings off the hook. And the paperwork. Really, it would be useless to try to start anything there.”

Jessie raised her brows. “You’re blabbering.”

She stared into her empty cup. Wasn’t it just half full a few seconds ago? “I might be slightly drunk.”

“Good. It’ll make asking him out easier. What are you going to suggest? Not much here to do in town. Get him to take you to Little Rock for some fun.”

True. Apple Trail was a charming little town filled with mom and pop stores and little else. Luckily, Stephanie wasn’t interested in a date-date. “We already do movies and dinner all the time.” She studied her friend. If there was anyone to ask for advice on being naughty, it was Jessie. “I’m going to ask for more.”

Jessie flicked grains of salt off the rim and into her plastic cup. “More what?”

Just a little spice was all she needed. Nothing raunchy or overly kinky, but some spice. Was that too much for a girl to ask? She didn’t think so. She crossed her fingers and hoped he wouldn’t either. But man, if she couldn’t even say it to her friend, however would she get it out to Parker?

She steeled her spine. “I am going to ask Parker for sex.”

Jessie’s mouth dropped in mock horror. “You slut.”

She nudged her with her elbow. “Shut up. You’re supposed to give me advice to make this easier.”

“Then I suggest you make your move before that ‘ho,” Jessie tilted her head toward the crowd, “has him under her fingernails again.”

Stephanie glanced up to see Parker’s ex-of-the-week stop and whisper something in his ear. All the tequila in Stephanie’s belly rolled and threatened to come back up. Oh man. She stared at the tree-line in the far distance to settle the liquor. The tops swayed in the breeze though, making her sway with them. She dropped her gaze back to the ‘ho wrapping her hands around Parker.

She groaned. “I thought they broke up? I hadn’t seen her in a week.”

“I’m past ready for that chick to go back to college. Rumor is it her daddy’s not to thrilled to have her running around either. She keeps flirting with his customers and he’s losing business. Wouldn’t surprise me if she was shipped off to her momma’s in Louisiana for the last of the summer.”