The Cruel and Beautiful Series Boxset

by A. M. Hargrove

  By the time I stand in the place I’ve claimed, Martin is speaking to the group. He gives a nice talk about the caliber of business the firm does, the name they’ve built for themselves and how they’ve always done things above board. As usual, I start to daydream because financial matters just aren’t my thing. I begin to link the patterns in the carpet together and create new designs in my head when a voice jars me out of my mental vacation.

  “I can see you’re bursting with excitement to hear Dad’s little talk.” Ben holds a glass of ice water in his hand as he stares at me smirking. His tanned biceps bulge and I have a flashback of his arms holding my thighs as he pounded into me when I sat on his desk. “This stuff really does put you to sleep,” I hear him say.

  Keep your shit together, girl. Do not let him see he rattles you.

  Since he’s the client here, I decide to put on my nice act. “Sorry. You know how awful I am with this stuff.”

  “You should consider letting us handle your portfolio.”

  I cock my head and really take a good look at him. He is every bit the sincere guy as he stands before me.

  “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. You’ll think I’m trying to strong arm you since you’re handling the event here.” Remorse tinges his words.

  I didn’t think that at all, but now that he said it, I can see why he did. And I am utterly mystified by his behavior. He’s being nice. But he came with another woman. What the hell is his deal here?

  Composing myself, I say, “That’s not what I was thinking. My thoughts went down an entirely different road.”

  An arched brow tells me he has no clue to what I’m referring.

  Leaning closer I say, “I think it’s best fuck buddies don’t mix business with pleasure. But, oh, yeah. Given what’s going on here and after the last time, I guess we’re not really buddies anymore, are we?”

  His confused expression intensifies. “I’m not sure …”

  “Sam, lunch is being brought in.”

  “Thank you, Nick.”

  I look at Ben and say, “Excuse me, duty calls.” He’s left standing there watching me. His eyes burn holes into the back of the sleeveless shirt I’m wearing. Instead of heating me up, they send shivers racing up and down my arms, legs, and spine, and my skin erupts in millions of goosebumps.

  Once the lunch buffet is running smoothly, Nick and I leave to check on the spa. We make sure everything is set and head to the golf course.

  Nick and I, along with Lauren, Berkeley, Britt, and Carrie will be delivering ice-cold beverages on the course to the golfers. The girls should be here any minute.

  About ten minutes later, they arrive and I put Nick with Lauren, I go with Berkeley, and Britt and Carrie are paired. The six of us are in three carts with coolers in the back to handle the refreshments and the weather couldn’t be better.

  The golfers start trickling in and head out. Soon we have everyone on the course so we go to work. I put Nick and Lauren on the front nine holes and Britt and Carrie on the back nine. Berkeley and I travel between the two. And we have an absolute blast flirting, bantering with them, and having them flirt back. Even the women golfers are fun to chat with. The only sour note is Ben. He scowls, glares, and when he’s close enough, grumbles about everything from his golf game to the refreshments. Berkeley even calls him Beastly Ben to his face, to which he stops and blinks rapidly several times, looking like a deer in headlights.

  “Maybe he has a bad case of hemorrhoids today,” she says when he’s within earshot.

  Her comment makes the guys with him laugh. Then one says, “Dude, lighten up. This is supposed to be fun. You look like hell. You need to get laid.”

  That shuts us all up. Berkeley and I hop in our cart and drive off. Too bad these are electric carts and drive like those electric shopping carts at Wal-Mart. I wish they could zoom away like a Porsche on gravel, spewing rocks in his face.

  The golfing ends and everyone heads back to the hotel to get their rooms. We all want showers before the dinner tonight and all the clients are headed home. The employees will stay for an evening of fun. After Ben brought up the budget, Martin opted for an evening pool party instead of a picnic. My girls are leaving and I hate that, because now I’m on my own, except for Nick, but I don’t really count him. I need my support group, damn it.

  I hug them all, thanking them and wave good-bye. When I walk up to the front desk to get my room, Nick stands there looking pissed. Ben is also there checking in.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a screw up with the rooms,” he says.

  “What?”

  “Yeah. They didn’t book two rooms for us, only one.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! I went over the list several times with them. Just get another room.”

  “That’s the problem.” Nick huffs out a frustrated breath. “They’re totally sold out tonight.”

  “Oh, great.”

  “Is there a problem?” Ben asks.

  “Nothing you need to concern yourself with,” I snap. I’m not telling him anything. He’s been the biggest ass to me all day. He doesn’t need to know crap right now.

  I turn back to Nick. “Well, the room we do have has two beds, right?”

  “Yeah, it’s a double.”

  I stretch my now aching neck and say, “Then I guess there’s only one option. We’re going to have to share a room.”

  Seventeen

  BEN

  Share a room? Did I hear that correctly? No way in hell. All day, I’ve watched her with that asshole with green coloring my vision. This isn’t how fuck buddies act. Never once did I care if Karen flirted or went out with anyone else as long as she was available when I needed her. Everything’s different with Sam. I know I have no right, but a possessiveness takes over rational thought.

  “Can I get two keys?”

  The attendant nods his head while glancing over at Sam. I’ve had just about all I can take with men checking out my woman.

  “Do you mind? I’m here and she’s taken,” I growl.

  The guy looks faintly amused and again glances over to where Sam is standing. I turn and see her gaping at me. She obviously heard.

  “If you share a room with anyone it’s going to be me,” I say in no uncertain terms.

  The hotel clerk hands me the keys just as I finish declaring my intention. I take them and snag Sam’s arm as that asshole Nick smirks at me. What the fuck is that all about?

  Sam, the consummate professional, doesn’t cause a scene and waits until after we’ve turned the corner to snatch her arm out of mine. I stab the elevator button out of impatience.

  “I don’t appreciate being man-handled.”

  “No, it seems like you’ve quickly moved on to your next fuck buddy. I guess I had you pegged wrong.”

  Her pretty mouth forms an O and I swear I want to fill it with my cock. “You keep looking at me like that and I’m going to take you right here in the hallway.”

  The whip cracking sound is every bit as bad as the sting across my face.

  “How dare you accuse me of sleeping with my employee? And you think I would sleep with you after that comment? What kind of woman do you take me for? Then again, I guess that’s your M.O. and you have me confused with how you do things.”

  I rub my jaw knowing I deserved that. “I shouldn’t have said that. But even though you wouldn’t, I see how he looks at you. If you’d let him, he would gladly take my place.”

  “And what place would that be?

  If she only knew how her defiance turns me on.

  The elevator dings and changes our focus. She may be pissed, but I haven’t given up yet. The doors part as if foreshadowing how I’m going to open her pretty thighs as soon as we get in the room. That’s the place I know where Nick would like to be. I press my hand against her lower back guiding her into the cab of the elevator.

  “Samantha.” That asshole Nick catches up with us. He’s rolling an overnight bag as he slips inside
with us. “Here is the room key when he pisses you off.”

  She glances between us and takes the key. I can tell she’s calculating what to do as he passes off her suitcase.

  When we get to my floor I realize that the asshat didn’t push another button. I let the boy get out first because I plan to take Sam with me even if I have to toss her over my shoulder.

  The sign directs that my room is to the left in the same direction the boy is already headed. Sam follows leaving me trailing behind them. When he stops, I find that my room is across from his. I have a moment to wonder if the hotel clerks were having a big laugh at our expense.

  I open my door and push my bag to act as a door stop while I turn to watch Nick the Dick maneuver his bag and Sam’s into the room. Just as she’s about to head inside, I stop her.

  “We need to talk,” I demand.

  As if he has some say, the guy grins. “Maybe you should get it out of the way. It doesn’t look like he’s going to give up until he says what he needs to. No worries, your bag is safe with me.”

  The fucker winks. My fist balls up and I have a burning desire to ram it in his smug face.

  “I’ll only be a few minutes,” she says to him before turning angry eyes on me.

  I push the door open wider and let her step through as the guy watches like he’s her protector.

  “Don’t worry. She doesn’t need her bag. She’ll be naked most of time.”

  The guy’s face changes as I step in the room and let the door shut behind me. When I turn to face Sam, her arm is in mid swing. Luckily my reflexes are good and stop her from connecting with my face this time. All that training with Drew that I’ve kept up even after he left … died worked.

  “Who do you think you are?”

  My mind shifts gears back to her.

  “Let’s stop playing games. That guy isn’t your type.”

  Her eyes narrow and I’m holding out hope because if she tells me she’s with him, I’m going to jail for murder.

  “Oh? And who is?”

  “Me,” I say confidently. “You couldn’t keep from eye fucking me all day.”

  Her head dips back, sending all her gorgeous hair cascading over her shoulders as she gives a belly laugh that rips at my gut. She’s been flirting all day and I’ve prayed it was to make me jealous because it has.

  “Is that true? Is that why you brought your fiancée so I would get the hint that we’re done?”

  It’s my turn to gape. “Fiancée?” I ask dumbly.

  Her hazel eyes steady on mine. Her face has lost all mirth and they darken into the color of a green-eyed monster. “The gorgeous brunette you had your arm around most of the day. Isn’t her name Karen?”

  I feel a smirk appearing on my mouth. “I think you mean Cate, my sister’s best friend and she’s like a little sister to me. But most of all she’s my best friend’s wife ... Well, he’s gone now. And he asked me to take care of her.”

  Her eyes go soft, but I don’t need her pity. So I lean in and kiss her mouth. She gasps, taken by surprise by my bold move as am I. Today has been a day of revelations. And I want this woman more than I should.

  “You don’t have to be jealous. Can’t you tell you’ve got me wrapped around your finger?”

  There is no time to waste as I kiss her again in earnest. At first she is stiff, but after my declaration, she relaxes as I circle my arms around her waist. I tug her close, wanting to feel her against me.

  “God, I’ve missed you.”

  I dip under the hem of her shirt and skim my fingertips over the inches of bare skin. She pulls back breathless and puts her hand between us creating space I don’t want.

  “Ben, I can’t.”

  The words are like a sledgehammer to my chest, spinning my head around.

  “Sam, I’m sorry.”

  Her face goes soft and I think I’ve got her.

  “I believe you. But you were right. I’m not cut out for fuck buddies. I need more. I want more with someone.”

  My hands drop to my sides. I’ve never hated any words more in my life. I have nothing to offer her. As much as I hate to admit this, I’m the one that can’t do without her. The game I wanted to play has played me. These last few weeks have been hell as I’ve been plagued with thoughts about her … missing her.

  I close my eyes for a second and I hear the faint sound of fabric shifting as she makes her way to the door only a few feet ahead. And I know if I want to keep her, I have to play by her rules.

  “Wait,” I call out.

  She stops and I deign to open my eyes to see her looking at me with expectation.

  Do or die, my subconscious mind yells at me to do the right thing.

  “Sam.” All I have is the truth. “I’m no good at the relationship thing. You’ll have to set the pace, but I’m willing to try.”

  There’s more in my plea than I’m ready to reconcile. But there hasn’t been another woman who’s intrigued me in a very long time. I’m not dumb enough to let her go and hope one day when I know I’m ready for this, that I’ll be able to find another. I have to man up and give this a shot.

  She steps over, but doesn’t let me touch her. She rests her palms on my chest and I’m undone.

  “Ben, the last thing I want or need is to coerce you into a relationship you don’t want.”

  I reach up and clasp her wrist. “I want this. I want you. I can’t get you out of my head.”

  “But you don’t do relationships.”

  “But what I can’t do is be without you. These past two weeks have been torture. I’m sure my palms are chafed because my dick is infatuated with you. I’m not saying it will be easy going, but I want to try.”

  And there it is. I’ve said it. I hope I don’t live to regret it.

  One half of her mouth curls into a lopsided smile. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to get into my pants?”

  I smirk. “Oh, I want in. And I won’t ever lie to you, Sam. You can trust that. I don’t think I have from the beginning.”

  She contemplates this. “So what … you’re my boyfriend now?”

  Cringing, I shrug. “Call it what you want, but I’m calling you mine.”

  I don’t wait; it’s been too long as it is. I take the wrists that I still hold and move them around me. Then, I cup the back of her neck and draw her to me. Her taste explodes on my tongue like a grenade. I’m lost not knowing how I found myself in this place. What is it about her that makes me want more than I ever have?

  She moves closer, creating friction on my dick and I want inside her, now. I release gadgets on her clothes to divest her of them. She’s just as eager, nimble fingers working my shirt out of my shorts as she stands in a lacy bra and underthings that aren’t more than ribbons of fabric connected together.

  “Jesus, Sam, I need to see all of you.”

  She isn’t halfway done, so I help her out by covering her hands and pulling my shirt over my head. Her hands course over my skin and drop to the fly of my shorts. She has me freed before I have to help. Her hand wraps around my dick possessively and, fuck me, I almost shoot off.

  “What do you want, baby?” I ask.

  She drops to her knees and I lean back on the wall weak with anticipation. She flicks out her tongue and tastes what’s waiting for her.

  “Fuck, Sam, take it all in, baby.”

  Her mouth opens and my hand finds her hair as I feed my cock down her throat. I’ve never felt on the verge of coming this quick in the process. But she’s watching me like she wants to see my expression.

  “Relax,” I say watching her eyes begin to water.

  I pull back giving her room to breathe before I cup the back of her head and guide her forward again. I want to see her swallow me whole as I empty myself down her throat. But her eyes plead with me once again and I pull back starting to create a rhythm.

  “Breathe, darling.”

  Her hand reaches around the base and begins to twist, working me as we do this back and forth. I want t
o last all day but she’s too fucking perfect to believe.

  “I’m going to come, baby, if you want to pull back …”

  She’s different than any girl I’ve been with. I don’t want to presume she’ll swallow, although if she doesn’t we’ll work on that. But she surprises me. Her little hands move in time with her mouth. And I find she’s taken over. I don’t let go of her hair because, Jesus fuck, my balls begin to pump out my orgasm like a ginormous water gun.

  “Yeah, baby, don’t stop,” I say thinking I will come forever.

  When I’m done she swirls her tongue around the crown as if to get every last drop. I draw my hips back from the sensation that’s too much for me to handle. I grip her hair and pull her free as my semi-hard cock pops from her mouth.

  I bend down and scoop her up. “Your turn.”

  When I toss her gently on the bed, she lands with a little squeal. It’s cute, but not what I want to hear. “Get ready to scream.”

  I tug her ankles, pulling her pussy closer to the edge as I kneel down in front of her. She’s just as pretty down here, all pink and ready for me.

  “You’re so fucking wet.”

  “Ben, don’t tease me.”

  It’s the first thing she’s had a chance to say. “I don’t intend to. Hold on.”

  I part her glistening folds and lap at the sweetness there. I flick my tongue on the tiny bud that’s swollen and in need of a little attention.

  Her back bows off the bed and I’m only getting started. I curl a finger in her and search for the nub inside. When my finger strokes across it, she lets out a moan. I’ve found both targets, so I slip another finger inside as I begin to suck at her flesh. I learn what she likes when she fists the sheets in her hands and cries out with abandon. I want inside her, but I need more time. Plus, she needs this first orgasm. I lick and flick and thrust with my fingers as I fuck her dickless until she’s begging for climax. My cock surges to life by the sounds she makes. I cover her clit and stroke it with my tongue while furiously finger fucking her. Her tight pussy clamps around my fingers as she finds her release. And as promised, she screams.