Fighting Friction: (Playing it Safe Series Book Two)

by Lisa Gerkey

  I won’t have her hiding from me. I know what happened threw her for a loop, but avoiding me isn’t how to deal with it. Hell, nothing happened. I barely laid my hand on her. It surprised me as much as it did her when I felt her respond to something as simple as a light touch.

  I go from room to room through the house looking for her. I don’t know what’s on the second floor or down in the basement.

  When I go down the stairs, that’s where I find her…

  “What the hell?” She’s sitting at a desk that takes up much of the room. She doesn’t have just one. Six monitors are lined up on the desk. Her head flies up when she hears me.

  “I didn’t invite you down here, Grant! My personal space is off limits. Please, I’ll finish my work in a minute.”

  “What the hell are you doing? Are you running something illegal from down here?”

  I should’ve thought it through a little more before I said it. I don’t like being accused of anything either, but the way she’s set up here would make anyone suspicious.

  She strips the headphones dangling around her neck away and throws them on the desk. She’d give a wet hen a run for her money with the way she’s looking at me.

  “Why the hell does everyone always assume I’m doing something wrong? Huh? I wish you’d tell me because I can’t figure it out. I begged Kennedy to let someone go with her to meet Barry that night, but no. No, it’s wrong to worry about your baby sister and want to protect her, keep something bad from happening to her.”

  She picks up a paperweight that’s sitting on the desk and hurls it through the air. It bounces off the concrete wall and shatters on the floor.

  “I went through…all those awful things that happened with Phoenix and those men. I returned home to my husband, my fucking husband, who accused me of cheating on him. He said I ran off because I didn’t think he satisfied me in the bedroom. He could never get it through his fucking head I didn’t want him near me in the bedroom because he always smelled like a brewery or a skank’s cheap perfume.”

  She closes the distance between us and uses her tiny fists to pound against my chest.

  “And you? I don’t know what to think about you. I didn’t know you even existed until I came to that goddamn sex club. Since I laid eyes on you that night, you’ve been everywhere. Do you think I’m a criminal? Huh?”

  I let her get it out. I take hit after hit because I know she needs to let it all out. She’s not hurting me. I’m ashamed to admit that seeing her like this makes my mind spiral out of control with thoughts I shouldn’t be having right now. When her soft hands connect with my chest, my cock springs to the occasion and pulses with every blow she lands against me. There’s nothing I like better than a hard, angry fuck.

  I grip both of her wrists to hold her still. Her arms rest against my chest, the fire inside blazes even stronger when she looks into my eyes. I focus in on her lips. Her full, pouty lips. She tries to loosen the grip I have on her but I don’t let go.

  I pull her even closer. I let go of one arm and take a handful of her long messy hair. She whimpers when I lower my lips to hers.

  Gentle, I remind myself.

  Even though I want to be rough, throw her ass up on that desk, and have my wicked way with her, she needs the opposite right now. She needs a tender touch to tame the eruption going on inside her.

  She stays stone still while I take turns with her top and bottom lips. I barely nip with my teeth and suck at her bottom lip. My tongue craves to tangle with hers, but this dance is for her, so I’ll let her lead. I don’t know how much time passes, but she finally relaxes against me.

  After I give her lips generous attention, I pull back so I can look down at her.

  “I wasn’t accusing you of anything, Jaycee. Maybe that’s the way it came out and how it sounded to you, but I wasn’t. I would like to know what you have going on down here.”

  I’m sure she feels like she’s caught up in a whirlwind. She was down here, minding her own business, alone, until I came and pissed her straight off and upset her. The little outburst it caused turned my fucking world upside down for reasons other than those it should have.

  I will have Jaycee. Sooner or later, it won’t only be in my dreams. I will lay her beautiful body out on a bed, preferably my bed, and I’ll worship every inch of her. I don’t know if anyone’s ever taken that time with her.

  Making love has never sounded right before now. I fuck, hard and raw, where the only goal is release. At least that’s how it’s been in my past, mostly.

  When a man makes love to a woman he’s making promises, feelings get tied up and twisted. I’m no longer concerned with feelings. The first time I have Jaycee, I will make love to her. I already have thoughts running through my head, an ache digging its way down into my chest and there’s no shaking it, and I know there’s no fucking it out of my system either.

  Sure, when I get her to the place where she must be for it to happen, I’ll bend her hot little ass over and I’ll fuck her. I’ll fuck her so hard and relentless she’ll beg for mercy. Right now, it’s my cock calling mercy and begging me to end its agony. The handjobs I’ve treated myself to lately do nothing to scratch the surface for taking care of the need. It’s something only being inside of Jaycee’s tight cunt will cure.

  “This is my job, except I don’t get paid for it. I do it because I hope it will help someone, maybe even save their life.”

  “A job? What exactly do you do, Jaycee?”

  “I set up fake counts all over the internet, on social media sites. I pretend to be a young woman. When perverted jackasses, twice my pretend age, hit me up and I get enough information, I can pass it on to the authorities.”

  “How many times have you found enough information to do that?”

  “So far, there have been three arrests made. Once it’s in their hands, I don’t keep track of it. I hope if I keep doing this maybe something will lead me to my sister.”

  I pull Jaycee back into my arms. She comes willingly.

  “I know it’s been slow, but we’ll find her because I feel like she’s out there somewhere. I can’t promise the situation will be good when we locate her, but I won’t give up until we do.”

  Jaycee and I work all afternoon and late into the evening, each in our own separate space. I make myself at home in her house. When it’s dark, I take a quick shower and turn in for the night in the same guest room she showed me to that first night.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jaycee

  I’ve survived several days with Grant staying with me. I’ve also done a fantastic job keeping distance between us. At least I’ve found a perk of owning an extra-large home with too much space for one person. Turns out, it’s just the right size for two people, especially when one of those two doesn’t know how to act properly in front of the other one.

  To avoid listening to Grant bitch about my safety, I’ve ditched going out. I’ve passed on my morning drive and trip to the gym since he’s been here and used my home gym to work out when I need it. Chatting with Kat on the phone has helped too. The guys are due back tonight from their convention.

  It’s Thursday, so it’s time for Grant to get busy with The Grind. We have talked little today, but we have exchanged a few texts. The latest message I received, Be ready to go to the club by 5 o’clock. I know it’s early, but it’s my job to make sure everything’s prepared and in order before the guests arrive. This isn’t a request.

  Why is it, even in its written form, I feel the need to kneel and give him anything he demands? I can hear his stern voice even through technology. This man has an ability to control me, even from a distance.

  “Ah, there you are. You look stunning.”

  Grant’s seated behind the desk. I haven’t seen him wearing his black t-shirt stretched across his sizzling hot body in days. I’ve learned a black shirt must be his signature for when he’s at the club, and I’ve also discovered it’s my favorite look for him.

  His hungry eyes
roam over me; his dark hooded gaze ignites sparks as it travels from head to toe. I didn’t think everything through when I chose the dress. It was a small gesture because of the way he picks on me for wearing thick shirts and sweatpants all the time, but fuck. If he’s looking at me the way he is, what’s it going to be like for me tonight when I’m around everyone else?

  “Are you sure I need to go tonight? You’ve been here several nights, and no one has bothered me. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Perhaps, but I see no reason to take unnecessary chances.”

  “Then I should…change…I don’t know what I was thinking.” I mumble the last part, more to myself than him.

  “Wait!” Grant calls out as I slip around the door to go back to my bedroom. “Jaycee, don’t change. You’re gorgeous. Everyone will know you’re with me. No one will bother you, I promise.”

  When I pulled the dress from the closet, I convinced myself I could do it, but now the insecurities roll in, making me question everything. They might not bother me, but that doesn’t mean their greedy lust-filled eyes won’t be all over me.

  I turn around to go back where Grant is, but I don’t get far. He’s behind me, boxing me against the wall.

  “We should go. I’ve got a situation I need to take care of tonight, so I need time to prepare.”

  He reaches out and trails a finger down the side of my face while his eyes trail down to the cleavage on display. He groans a little. Or, maybe the sound comes from me. “I can’t wait until you stop fighting it, Jaycee. There’s so much damn friction between us. It’s going to happen.”

  It’s going to happen? “Nothing will happen, Grant. I don’t know what you’re feeling, but I feel nothing.”

  “You should probably go piss before we leave then, because the way you’re clenching those legs, you’re definitely feeling something.”

  Bastard.

  Grant wasn’t lying when he said tacos are his favorite. They’re mine too, so I’m not disappointed when he swings through a drive-thru and orders a whole bag to take with us to the club.

  When we get to The Grind, he spreads the food out on his desk so we can eat.

  “I’ve got important business I need to take care of tonight. I’m going to give you a membership card, so you can roam around and explore. If you feel more comfortable hanging out in my office, that’s fine too.”

  I’m sure I can control my curiosity so there’ll be no need to explore. Still, I take the card and slip into the small clutch I brought with me.

  My mood brightens when I receive a text from Kat letting me know the guys arrived home. According to Kat, Josh is in a terrible mood since he’s been back, so he’ll probably want to take it out with Staci or one of the other girls tonight.

  By the time I venture out, there’s already a crowd filling up the main room. I avoid the naked bodies and sexual acts taking place. Instead, I focus on Troy behind the bar.

  “I was wondering when you’d come out from hiding. Let me guess, you want your usual?”

  I slide up on the barstool and hand the card over before he reminds me. “Where’s Grant hiding tonight? He said he had business to handle?”

  Troy doesn’t answer me right away. Instead, he mixes my drink. When he sets it down in front of me, he looks at me, really looks at me. He holds the membership card up between two fingers in front of my face. “You’re free to roam around the club. You can find him if you’re sure you can handle it when you do.”

  What the hell? Is he with another woman?

  Why would I even care?

  I feel everyone’s eyes on me. The dress leaves my back bare. The front is high with a cut down the center exposing a small bit of my tits, and the long sleeves keep my arms covered. It’s been years since I’ve been this bold with my choice of dress.

  I pretend I don’t notice a woman’s red head bobbing up and down in a man’s lap while he’s seated on a couch. I don’t see the man crawling on his knees behind another man holding his leash. A beautiful older woman is on a couch between two attractive men; one leg is resting on one man’s lap while the other plays with her tits; her pussy spread open for anyone who passes by to see while man number one fucks her with two fingers. She doesn’t seem to mind people gathered around to watch. I stumble a little in my high heels as I make my way past them.

  I’ve explored a limited area of Grant’s club before tonight. A hallway I’ve never dared go down before leads to several rooms with the doors all closed. Two men, I assume all a part of his security, stand in the hall. These must be the private rooms I’ve heard the other’s mention.

  When I go down a stairway to a different area, I hear the sounds even before I reach the wide arched doorway, moans and painful cries mixed with sounds of pleasure. I creep slowly, feeling a little terrified, and still curious what I’ll find, and a little…warm because of the sounds I hear.

  I see a man tied to a huge post-like apparatus. His arms stretched and bound above his head and his feet held in place by leather cuffs attached to his ankles. His naked body is dripping with sweat, his head tilted down with his chin against his chest.

  The other man, his muscles ripple with every move. He’s wearing a black ribbed shirt, his shoulders and arms bare. His jeans ride so low I can see his boxers peeking out. He swings the whip with confidence and precision. The red mark he leaves on his victim’s skin lines up perfectly with the one above it as he makes his way down his back. The man calls out with each strike; twenty-five, twenty-six…

  This should trigger the past. It should scare me, disgust me. I should run another way, but I can’t stop watching. The man being punished, I feel bad for him, but the lashes are nothing compared to the way those assholes beat me last year. I haven’t seen the first drop of blood tonight.

  When he calls out the number thirty, that’s about the moment I recognize the man standing behind him.

  Grant turns around, the single-tail whip hanging by his side. My heart flutters and my entire body quivers just looking at him.

  She comes out of nowhere.

  My thumping heart skips a beat when I watch the Wednesday look-alike approach Grant. She’s naked, except for pink cuffs around each wrist. She drops to her knees right in front of him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Grant

  It shocks the shit out of me when I see Jaycee in the dungeon. I feel a bolt of lightning shoot straight to my cock when my eyes connect with hers. I’m wired up from the punishing scene with Jonas.

  From the heated look on Jaycee’s sweet face, I can tell she’s aroused. I don’t know if it’s her reaction to seeing me or if it’s from the rush of seeing everything around her. She takes a few steps closer, her lips parted and her beautiful skin flushed. I think we’ve both forgotten there’s anyone else here.

  Then Kendra shows up and Jaycee turns and runs the other way.

  A few weeks ago, I would’ve taken Kendra up on her offer, but not tonight and never again. I have my eyes on a different woman, and I refuse to allow Kendra to come between my thoughts and the reality, it’s only a matter of time until I make Jaycee Jennings mine.

  “Get up,” I order in the tone of voice I know she’ll understand. “I don’t have time for this tonight, Kendra. I already told you, I no longer wish to do this with you. It’s time you moved on with your life.”

  “But… but, you need me, Master G. I know that scene with Jonas put you on the edge. It always does.”

  She’s wrong.

  I don’t get off when I inflict pain. I know people use the pain as an outlet, and I don’t mind helping them find the space they need, but I don’t get off from the number of strikes on their skin, I get off from seeing them become aroused from it. That’s what attracts me, not tears or pain.

  “Go! Now, Kendra! I’m two seconds away from banning you from the club if you can’t listen to orders. Have a little patience. I’m sure someone will want to spend time with you, but not me. If you’ll excuse me, I have things I need to do.”r />
  I check my office, but Jaycee isn’t there, and I come up empty in the main room. Troy’s behind the bar. He summons me over with a wave of his hand.

  “What’s up, Troy?”

  “It looks like you’ve lost something. If you’re looking for your girl, she came through here a few minutes ago looking a little dazed and confused…perhaps a little pissed off and upset. I take it she found the dungeon?”

  “Fuck. Yeah, I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find her.”

  “Check the back. I can’t say for sure, but she knows it’s private. I suspect a little privacy is all she needs. You know, boss, I watched her out here earlier, and I think she’s getting a little more comfortable with everything.”

  I find her near the elevator that leads to my apartment on the top floor. It’s a private space I use sometimes when I don’t feel like driving home. I lived here a while before I bought my new place.

  She’s leaned against the wall with her head back and her eyes closed.

  “Jaycee.”

  Her eyes pop open. She looks up at me; her tongue slips out to moisten her bottom lip. My cock lengthens at the sight.

  “Are you okay? I didn’t think you would explore tonight.”

  I reach up and push her hair back, and then I skim the back of my hand down the side of her face and down until I cup her neck. She quivers when I rub my thumb across her chin. “You’re aroused from what you saw, aren’t you?”

  She shakes her head from side to side, denying it, but she’s lying. “I bet your pussy’s wet, baby. I bet if I do this,” I reach down and lay my hand on the inside of her leg, just above the knee at the hem of her dress. “If I slide my hand up a little further, I’ll find you soaked, won’t I, Jaycee?”

  “Leave me alone, Grant! I hate your fucking club. Why were you whipping that man? Is that what gets you off, and if so, why didn’t you stay with Wednesday and let her take care of you?”

  “Who the hell is Wednesday? Let’s get that out of the way first. Then we can discuss what you saw.”

  Her face turns red. I think it’s more from anger than embarrassment.