Strictly Research (Bad Boy MFM Romance)

by Terry Towers

  But Monica took the decision out of my hands. She jerked her thumb to the doors behind her. “Do you want to come upstairs for a bit, if you don’t have to get back? I have a mini bar and pay-per-view. I think the latest Matt Damon movie is playing.”

  I looked past her into the lobby of the hotel, attempting to look nonchalant, when in fact my mind was racing. Do I? Don’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?

  Her face fell and I saw a hint of disappointment in her beautiful dark eyes.

  Stepping up to her, I cupped her chin in my hand and tilted her lips up. My head lowered and my lips covered hers. The kiss was tender at first, but it quickly increased in intensity until I was backing her against the wall of the hotel and devouring her with my lips and tongue. This fucking woman was driving me insane. My cock immediately began to thicken.

  When I pulled away, I was tempted to decline her offer. I needed to talk to Mitchell again. I needed to make sure he was indeed fine with this. But then she looked up at me with lust in her eyes and her lips thick and puffy from our kiss. I couldn’t say no.

  “I’d love to.” I ran the back of my hand down the side of her cheek. “If you’re certain.”

  “I am.” She chewed at her lip again. Damn, that was driving me mad. I wanted her lips around my cock. That didn’t happen to me often; my job was to give, not to take.

  “Then lead the way, hon.” Taking another step back, I took her hand in mine and we entered the hotel. At this hour the lobby was deserted with the exception of two front desk clerks who were busy chattering among themselves, not even acknowledging our arrival.

  I allowed her to lead the way to the elevators and oddly enough I felt slightly unsure of myself as we stood there. I may have been lacking in many areas, but my confidence with women was certainly not one of them. Maybe it was the whole Mitchell thing, as the last thing I wanted to do was step on his toes, but then again, it felt like there was more to my uneasiness.

  “You alright?” She looked up at me, concern in her expression, after we entered the elevator and she pressed the button for her floor.

  Fuck, man, get a hold of yourself. You spent two nights double-teaming her and now you’re getting nervous?

  Forcing the tension from my body, I gave her a smile that usually made women blush and giggle – if you can’t make it, fake it, right? Monica did neither. It made me more nervous. Was I losing my touch or something?

  The elevator dinged and we stepped out onto the floor. Again, I let her lead the way.

  “I think I’m just getting a little tired. That’s all.”

  “Oh. ‘Kay. If you need to leave…” she pulled her card key from her handbag and slid it across the scanner. The door made a soft double beep sound and she opened the door, entering first with me trailing behind.

  “No. No.” I gave my head a shake as I slipped out of my jacket and draped it over the back of a chair by the door. “No place I’d rather be then hanging with you and watching Matt Damon.”

  She giggled as she grabbed the remote, turned on the television and began scrolling through the pay-per-view movie listings. “Liar.”

  “Come on now, don’t be harsh. Maybe I was overstating with the Matt Damon part, but spending time with you was the complete truth.” I crossed my fingers over my heart. “Cross my heart.”

  Her smile lit up her entire face and made me want to see her smile more often. But more than that I wanted to be the one to make her smile. And I wanted to be the man she smiled at – me and only me.

  As she fiddled with the television looking for the movie, I kicked off my shoes and slipped onto the bed waiting for her.

  “Finally, I think I have it.” She set the remote on the oak dresser that doubled as a television stand and spun to face me, a lock of her hair falling into her face. She paused a moment, her eyes wandering up and down my body. Her face flushed and she lowered her gaze. She was damn cute when she got embarrassed.

  “Come on over.” I patted the empty spot on the bed next to me. “Relax. You must be tired, I was told you spent the day sightseeing.”

  She yawned, confirming my suspicions. This wasn’t the first yawn I’d seen from her since we began walking.

  “If you want to go to sleep, I can leave.”

  “No. Stay. Please.” Monica removed her shoes and crawled onto the bed next to me, leaving a solid foot worth of distance between us. She hesitated a moment and then looked up into my eyes. She stared at me for a moment and then scooted over the remainder of the distance.

  Putting my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her into me. She didn’t hesitate this time as she melted into me, wrapping her arms around my waist and placing her head on my shoulder.

  “This is supposed to be a good movie,” she murmured as her eyes closed.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Been wanting to…” she yawned, “watch it…” I didn’t get to hear the rest of her thoughts. Her body went limp against me and she began to snore.

  I chuckled softly, not wanting to wake her as I shifted slightly on the bed, inch by inch until I was in a laying position on my back. She stirred and I feared I’d awoken her, but that wasn’t the case, as a second later she was back to snoring, clinging tight to me.

  Running my fingers through her silky hair, I watched as strand by stand they slipped through my fingers. Despite our romp at the club, the scent of lavender lingered on her skin. Damn she smelled good. For a moment I fought over the decision of whether I was going to slip out for the night or stay. Looking down at her face and seeing the little smile on her lips sealed the deal for me. I wasn’t going anywhere. “Goodnight sweetheart.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Monica

  I groaned and snuggled up against the hard, warm body next to mine. The arms wrapped around me tightened. So nice. I was about to fall back asleep when a realization came over me. I wasn’t home.

  “Morning, Princess.”

  My heart stopped. Who the fuck was that? Where was I? I began to panic.

  My eyes shot open and I sat upright on the bed, then stared down at the man beside me with the boyish good looks. Immediately the previous night came rushing back to me.

  “Jesus, Xander.” I breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and flopped back down onto the bed and into his inviting embrace.

  “Never quite had a reaction like that before. At least not from a woman with her clothes on.”

  Rolling my eyes, I gave him a light swat on the shoulder. “Yeah, I bet.” Turning on my side, I propped my head up on my hand and looked down at him, surveying every inch of him. Sometime throughout the night, he’d stripped and was gloriously naked beside me.

  His gaze followed mine to his slowly rising shaft and when I looked back up and into his face I could see him blushing lightly. It was quite comical to see such a confident and composed man blushing over me looking at his penis.

  “Yeah, I don’t wear underwear when I go to work for obvious reasons, so when I was walking back I was going commando. While you were sleeping I grabbed a quick shower and since it would have been uncomfortable…”

  I had to put him out of his misery, so I leaned forward and placed my lips over his, silencing him. The kiss was brief, but so sweet. When I pulled back from him I was smiling from ear to ear. “I’ve seen you naked before, you know.”

  “I know.” His eyes took their time wandering down the length of me and back again. It was my turn to blush. Damn, I felt like a teenager with a crush, a feeling that I seemed to be getting more and more familiar with being around him and Mitchell.

  Mitchell…

  “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head and forced a smile back onto my lips. “No. No. Nothing.” It had been Xander who walked me home, not Mitchell. Xander had said they weren’t busy so surely Mitchell would have had just as much opportunity as Xander to cut out early.

  “Good, because I’m starved and need breakfast.” He slipped away from me and got to his feet. I was tempted to pull
him back, not ready to give up the comfort of his embrace, but the grumble of my stomach which was mimicked by his demanded I follow his lead and slide out of bed.

  “I should get a shower and get changed,” I stated, walking over to the dresser where I had placed my clothing, all the while keeping my gaze on him, watching as he pulled his jeans up and over his sinfully sexy bare ass.

  Xander shugged and then pulled his t-shirt over his head. “Why bother? You look beautiful as is. This is Amsterdam, no one cares.”

  I looked down at my slightly wrinkled clothing and then into the mirror connected to the dresser. “I got doubled-teamed by two men last night, I think I could use a shower.”

  “Fair enough.” He grabbed his mobile phone from the pocket of his jacket and flopped onto the bed, looking up and giving me a smile and wink. “I’ll be here.”

  With a nod, I entered the tiny bathroom. It was a very basic bathroom with a toilet, tiny pedestal sink, and bathtub-shower combo. The only thing good about it was the fact that the tub was one of those old-fashioned clawfoot, soaker tubs.

  Stripping down, I turned and examined my naked body in the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, turning from one side to the other attempting to see myself at every angle. Normally, I didn’t like seeing myself naked, since I realized I was now a size fourteen. But somehow I felt different about myself this morning, even with the smeared eye makeup.

  “I know this wonderful breakfast spot just five minutes from here,” Xander yelled to me.

  “Sounds good,” I yelled back to him, turning on the shower and adjusting it until I found a comfortable temperature.

  He yelled something else, but I couldn’t make it out as I stepped into the tub. The water felt amazing as it streamed over my head and down my back. I loved standing in the shower and could easily spend a half an hour shampooing my hair, but not wanting to leave Xander waiting, I quickly cleaned up and turned off the water. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I exited the bathroom with a cloud of steam following behind me.

  A low whistle immediately reminded me I wasn’t alone in the room. I flushed and gripped at the tucked-in knot holding the towel together, though why I was being self-conscious was beyond me.

  He chuckled. “Haven’t we been through the fact that you shouldn’t be self-conscious around me?”

  “Yeah, I…” I could feel my cheeks growing warmer. Sucking in a deep breath, I said a silent ‘fuck it’ and released the towel, bundling it up and tossing it at him, hitting him smack dab in the face.

  His chuckles grew to full-out laugher. “What was that for?”

  Going to the dresser drawers, I could feel his eyes burning into my back as I pulled out a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and undergarments. Keeping my back to him, I quickly dressed and then grabbed a hair brush and began to brush out my wet locks, not taking the time to dry my hair fully. It would air dry.

  Turning back to him, I discovered I was indeed correct: he was examining me with intensity. “If my stomach wasn’t grumbling, I’d strip you, pin you to the bed and fuck you until you’re begging me to stop.”

  My pussy clenched at the thought. Tempting. So tempting.

  “But, I’m starving.” He slipped from the bed and grabbed his jacket, stuffing his phone into his back pocket. “Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  Chapter 11

  Mitchell

  Xander hadn’t come back to the club after chasing down Monica. We lived next door to each other in a small apartment complex and I hadn’t heard him come home. Not like I was really listening or anything like that.

  Okay, fuck it, I’ll admit, I was paying more attention than I should have.

  Did he stay with her last night? Yes, he fucked her at the club a couple of times already, but that wasn’t the same. That was business. But if he stayed with her all night, just the two of them... well, that was different.

  Not that it mattered. I’d given him the green light, so I shouldn’t be upset.

  But I was. Fuck, I was.

  The sound of footsteps coming down the hallway caught my attention. It was Xander; I knew his heavy steps. Walking across the room, I flung my door open as I heard him approach.

  Startled, Xander jumped back. “Whoa, hey man. What’s up?”

  Shit, I had nothing. What in the hell was I supposed to say, I got jealous and was waiting by the door for him to get home and find out what happened? Yeah. Umm, no. That wasn’t what I was going to do. No way in hell.

  Forcing myself to relax, I shrugged. “Nothing, man. You just getting in?” Like I didn’t already know.

  “Yeah.” He thrust a hand into his hair. “Been a long night, I really didn’t sleep much. I’m going to hit the sack and get some shut-eye before work.”

  I waited a moment before replying, hoping he might fill in the blanks. He didn’t. “Ahhh. Well, have a good sleep. Talk to you later, man.”

  Closing the door, I checked my watch to see I still had over three hours before I was scheduled to meet up with Monica.

  *~* TT *~*

  Monica

  Xander was a really cool, fun guy. When I flew here a few days ago I never dreamed I’d be meeting two awesome men and spending my time hanging out with them instead of doing my sightseeing solo. Sure, nothing would ever become of it, but why couldn’t I enjoy the ride, even if it wasn’t forever?

  Problem was, I wasn’t the “enjoy the ride” kinda gal. I was a “take things seriously, and hope for a future and maybe if I’m really lucky be fortunate enough to end up with a ring on my finger” girl. I looked down at my ring finger. No ring had ever been there. I’d lie if I were to say it didn’t bother me to a certain extent. All of the girls I went to school with were posting wedding and engagement photos on Facebook, followed by kids and family event photos. I had none of that. Sure, I had things they didn’t. I got to travel and had a life making a living doing a job that I loved. I was living most people’s dream.

  However… no one ever chose me. No one.

  A wave of sorrow and loneliness swept through me and tears stung my eyes. Fuck, I shouldn’t be feeling this way right now.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  My head jerked up and I looked toward the door. It was Mitchell. Walking away from the window I’d been standing at, I crossed the room and opened the door, forcing a smile onto my lips despite the fact that happiness was the last emotion I was currently feeling.

  Our eyes locked and the smile he had on his lips faded. “What’s wrong?” Without waiting for a reply he crossed the threshold and pulled me into his arms.

  Ohmygod, the only thing worse than feeling the way I did at that moment was feeling it in front of a man I desired. Granted, he was a virtual stranger. A virtual stranger who has done things to you that no other man has, a voice in the back of my head stated.

  “It’s nothing.” I shook my head and attempted to pull away, but he drew me in closer against his broad, t-shirt-clad chest.

  “If it was nothing then you wouldn’t be crying.” He pulled away just far enough to look me in the eye, but still kept me firmly close. “Come on. Talk to me. No secrets.”

  I was caught in indecision. God, I just wanted to tell him and release all of my worries and concerns in regards to my personal life.

  He lowered his head until his forehead touched mine, his lips less than an inch from mine. “Talk to me.” He walked me backward a couple of steps, clearing the door and slamming it shut behind him.

  With the door closed, I felt more secure. And I wanted to say something, to spill everything and have him tell me that one day I’d find that special someone that would fulfill me in every way.

  “Talk to me,” he repeated, brushing his lips against mine, and it was all the coercion I needed.

  I shrugged. “Why can’t I find someone?”

  He frowned, pulling back to look me in the eye again. “What do you mean?”

  Starting to feel silly, I attempted to pull away, refusing to meet his gaze. Ag
ain, he refused to allow it, slipping his index finger under my chin and forcing my eyes to meet his. “It’s stupid. I’m just being…”

  “It’s not stupid. It’s bothering you. What’s going on? What’s bringing this on?”

  I sucked in a deep breath and shakily released it. “I’m twenty-eight years old.”

  “Uh-huh, I think I recall you mentioning that.”

  “I’ve never been married.”

  His expression took on a look of confusion. “I’m not sure I’m seeing the problem.”