by apple desk
AN INDECENT ARRANGEMENT
PART II
STEPHANIE JULIAN
Copyright
Stephanie Julian
Published by Stephanie Julian
Copyright 2015. Stephanie Julian.
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All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Chapter One
“Fuck.”
Jesse’s low curse drew Max’s attention away from the door as it closed behind Mary Alice.
Max wanted to follow her, throw her over his shoulder, and take her up to his bedroom where he and Jesse could take their time with her. Play with her until they’d wrung every ounce of pleasure they could from her then let her rest for a few hours before starting all over.
Tonight had been good. But it definitely hadn’t been enough. He wanted more.
How much more? Not a question he was prepared to answer right now. Especially not with Jesse ready to go nuclear.
“Jesus, Max, what the fuck did we do?”
Taking a deep breath, Max turned to face his best friend.
Jesse’s face was set in hard lines and his dark eyes glittered like obsidian. “Pissed off” wasn’t strong enough to describe Jesse’s mood right now but Max wasn’t about to coddle him.
“Nothing she didn’t want.”
No, she’d been a more-than-willing participant. Hell, she’d practically begged Jesse to fuck her. Just the thought made Max’s cock throb.
Jesse’s gaze narrowed even more. “That’s not what I’m saying and you know it.”
Yeah, he knew that but he knew Jesse needed to get this out. “Then what are you saying? Are you telling me you didn’t want her? Because we both know that’s not true.”
Running a hand through his dark hair, Jesse shook his head. “I’m saying this is gonna be way more complicated than you bargained for.”
Max knew that, too. He just didn’t fucking care. He’d had her and now he wasn’t going to be satisfied until he’d had his fill. But six months wouldn’t be enough. That was only the start.
“Isn’t everything?”
Jesse’s frustration continued to build as he paced until Max thought Jesse would explode. Jesse never exploded, at least not like other people. He didn’t yell and scream or throw punches. He imploded. Silently. Until he disappeared one night and returned the next morning with bruises covering most of his body.
“Goddammit, Max.” Jesse couldn’t seem to stop shaking his head. “This is the wrong fucking time.”
“No.” Max was sure about this. “This is the only fucking time.”
Jesse held his gaze and Max silently willed his best friend to get on the same page. How could Jesse not see that they needed this? Needed her? Deserved her.
Everything they’d worked for, everything they wanted…they were so damn close to getting it.
They just needed to hold steady and hold together. Bringing Mary Alice into their relationship would fill the gaps between them, not push them apart.
And, goddammit, they both wanted her. Why the fuck were they not entitled to go after what—and who—they wanted, just like everyone else?
With a rough growl, Jesse stopped to glare at him. “And what happens when someone comes at us? Because, sure as shit, someone will eventually. This week, next month, next year. Are you really willing to risk her? You weren’t a couple of days ago. What the hell changed?”
Max’s gut tightened but he shook his head and willed back the fear. “I’m not willing to risk her. We’ll keep her safe. We’ve had enough damn practice.”
Jesse’s gaze narrowed even more. “You painted a huge fucking target on her back tonight at that damn mixer.”
Boiling heat began to build in Max’s chest at Jesse’s absolute stubbornness. He wanted to rage and snap, but he was determined to keep his cool. He knew that was the only way to get through to Jesse. “That’s bullshit and you know it. No one will dare touch her.”
Jesse sliced a hand through the air. “We can’t count on that. Not anymore. David and Mickey are gone. They can’t watch our backs from fucking halfway across the world.”
Max knew that better than Jesse would ever know. Every day, he had a reminder thrown in his face, whether it was a “friendly” email from a former acquaintance or an anonymous phone call threatening him with destruction. He hadn’t told Jesse about the phone calls yet. Hadn’t wanted to set him off, not when they had other shit to worry about.
“Christ, Jesse. Calm the fuck down. She gave herself to us tonight. Obviously, she trusts us enough to fuck her. She’ll trust us enough to protect her.”
Jesse grimaced. “She’s curious. That’s all. Eventually she’ll realize she doesn’t want to be associated with low-life criminals—”
“Fuck that.” God damn it, Max hated when Jesse started down that road. “We’re not criminals. That’s not our life anymore.”
Jesse glared at him. “You’re right, it’s not. But you’re not that stupid. No one is going to trust us. They may do business with us, but they’re not going to invite us into their homes like old friends. We’re always going to be outsiders.”
Every word Jesse said hit Max in the gut. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t thought of himself, but he’d made the decision not to dwell on the negative. Maybe he was delusional. He chose to believe he was moving forward. Leaving the crime and the violence and the constant rage behind them.
“Or maybe we can prove them all wrong.” Max held Jesse’s gaze, willing Jesse to believe him. “Maybe we build our own world and invite only the people we want into it.”
With a sigh, Jesse stopped pacing and just stared at Max. “You honestly believe that, don’t you?”
Max had to. It was the only way he knew to move forward. “You know I do. What I don’t know is why you don’t.”
Jesse didn’t answer right away. Max could tell he wanted to say something. He just had no idea what that could be.
Max’s gut twisted at Jesse’s continued silence. He and Jesse had never been farther apart on anything than they were now, and Max knew that wasn’t going to change tonight.
So before they went at each other with their fists, Max decided to withdraw.
Turning, he headed for the stairs to the second floor. Jesse needed to process what had happened tonight in his own way and come to his own conclusions. The fact that they usually always came to the same conclusion was the only thing that kept Max moving.
“I’m going to get some sleep. You should, too. We’ll hash this out tomorrow.”
“Sleeping on the problem isn’t gonna make it go away,” Jesse called from the bottom of the stairs.
Max gritted his teeth, thankful Jesse couldn’t see him do it. “No, but maybe it’ll help you realize how fucking wrong you are.”
* * * * *
The shakes didn’t hit until Mary Alice pushed through the door into her apartment.
Leaning back against the solid wood, she closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. Jesus, she felt like she hadn’t been able to breathe for hours.
Probably because her entire body continued to tingle with remnants of the orgasms Max and Jesse had wrung fro
m her.
Holy shit.
She’d done it. She’d really done it. She’d asked for what she’d wanted and gotten a whole hell of a lot more than she’d bargained for.
Not that that was a bad thing. Oh God no, it wasn’t bad at all.
But…holy shit, what happened now?
“Hey, you’re back. Where’ve you been all night? I was getting ready to text you.”
Mary Alice caught back a scream just before it escaped.
“Izzy! Holy crap, I didn’t know you were here.”
Isabella DeMarco stared at her, eyes wide. “Yeah, I kinda get that. What happened? Is something wrong? Where’ve you been?”
Having sex with two amazing guys. “I, ah, had a date.”
Pushing away from the door, she headed for her room but Izzy followed on her heels, a pint of rocky road ice cream in one hand and a spoon in the other.
“Really? You had a date?”
Looking over her shoulder, Mary Alice wrinkled her nose at Izzy as she reached her room, Izzy hot on her heels. “What does that mean?”
“It means, you didn’t tell anyone you had a date and you haven’t even mentioned a guy in ages. So…”
Hopping onto the bed, Izzy watched Mary Alice take off her jewelry, licking ice cream off her spoon. Obviously not going anywhere until Mary Alice said something.
“So what?”
Izzy let her head drop back, black hair falling in long waves to the bed. “Ugh. You’re so not fooling me. So who’s the guy?”
Jewelry off, Mary Alice grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom. “No one you know.”
“And…” Izzy drew the word out to about five syllables. “Spit it out.”
Closing the bathroom door behind her, Mary Alice stripped, trying to decide if she should spill her guts or not. She had no idea how Izzy would respond.
But she couldn’t process this by herself. She needed someone to talk to.
“Can you keep a secret?” she yelled through the door.
“Well, duh,” Izzy yelled back. “Who didn’t tell anyone when you smoked that weed you found in your brother’s truck? Or the time we drank that entire bottle of tequila and you nearly missed your brother’s graduation puking in the bathroom?”
Good points. And now their neighbors probably knew her secrets as well.
“Promise not to freak out.”
“Oh please,” Izzy scoffed. “When do I ever freak out?”
Both sets of Izzy’s grandparents had emigrated from Italy, which meant Izzy had a double dose of high-intensity freak-out potential.
“Seriously?” Mary Alice opened the door and headed back across the hall to her bedroom where Izzy practically bounced on the mattress. “Iz, you have two speeds, freak out and asleep.”
Izzy made a face. “Okay, fine. But you know I won’t tell a soul if you don’t want me to.”
Since she was dying to talk to someone, Mary Alice dropped onto the bed, grabbed her pillow, and hugged it to her chest.
“I went to a chamber mixer with Max Burdanov.”
Izzy’s nose wrinkled. “I know I know that name…”
“He used to work for the Oleksy family.”
Now Izzy’s forehead wrinkled. “He works for Ada—” Her friend’s eyes went wide. “Oh wait. What the fuck? Mally! Are you fucking serious?”
Mary Alice smiled at the South Philly accent that popped out of her friend’s mouth. Usually, Izzy managed to smooth it out.
“And that’s not all.”
Izzy’s mouth dropped open for a full second. “Okay, you just told me you had a date with a Russian mobster. What the hell else can you possibly—”
“He’s not a mobster.” She wanted to bite her tongue at the immediate need to defend Max but she had a feeling she’d be doing it a lot. “And I had sex with him.”
Izzy’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. “You had sex with a Russian gang member—”
“And then I had sex with his best friend, Jesse Kanatawa. While Max watched.”
Her friend’s mouth opened, closed, opened, closed. She blinked. Then she shook her head. “Wha— Wait. Just… Did I seriously just hear you say you had sex? With two guys? Tonight?”
Mary Alice refused to blush. If she couldn’t get through a conversation with Izzy about dating—okay, having sex with two men, how the hell was she supposed to face the firing squad, otherwise known as her family?
At the moment, she couldn’t even think about facing Tristan and Adam Monday morning. She knew they’d hear about her date with Max sometime this weekend. Then they’d put two and one together and get the right amount of information to make them crazy. And possibly lock her in her office until they could fill in her brothers, who would take her out of her office and lock her in her parents’ house.
“Yes, you did.”
Mary Alice seriously thought she might have to reboot her friend with a smack on the head. Izzy just continued to sit there, staring at her, her lips parted as if she were going to speak. But nothing ever came out until finally, Izzy swallowed, took a deep breath and shook her head.
“No fucking way.”
Mary Alice just nodded.
“No fucking way.” Izzy’s eyes kept getting bigger. “Did you take something? Did they give you something? Force you to take— Wait, are you tripping? Do I have to take you to the hospital to get your stomach pumped?”
Mary Alice rolled her eyes, anger and a healthy dose of righteous indignation setting in. “No. I’m stone cold sober. And Max and Jesse would never do anything to hurt me. They’re not like that. You don’t know them.”
Izzy’s head continued to shake as if it were on a spring. “Then…what the fuck, Mally?”
Mary Alice grimaced at the genuine shock in her friend’s voice. She’d known her friends would think it was weird, strange, odd. Totally out of character. But she’d thought—
“Holy shit. Was it good?” Izzy asked.
Oh thank God. Finally.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Mary Alice felt tears sting the corners of her eyes.
Mary Alice grabbed for Izzy’s hand and her friend gripped hers tight. “Will you be freaked out again if I say yes? Like…oh my God, it was amazing.”
That glint in Izzy’s eyes meant her friend’s wicked side had started to rise. “Well, damn, girl, I hope it was. Otherwise, I might have to sic your brothers on them.”
Which made Mary Alice bite her lip. “I know people are going to find out but you have to promise not to say anything to anybody. At least not for a little while.”
“What about Maris?” Their other roommate.
Mary Alice bit her lip. “Let me tell her myself, okay? Where is she, anyway?”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “Out with that douchebag she’s been seeing for the past few weeks. Have you met him yet? Total creep. No idea what she sees in him.”
“No, I haven’t. And Max and Jesse are so not creeps. I like them, Iz.”
Izzy shook her head, her expression still dazed. “I guess you better ’cause not everyone’s gonna understand. I mean, Jesus, I get it. I think. But I still think you’re gonna be dealing with a lot of shit from a whole lot of people. And I know you, Mally. You don’t like to be the center of attention. This is gonna put a lot of eyes on you. I mean, okay, if you say you like them and they’re not really criminals anymore, but most people are still gonna look at them and see ‘Russian mob,’ even if they’re wearing thousand-dollar suits.”
Trust Izzy to hit on every single one of Mary Alice’s fears. “But I don’t, Iz. And shouldn’t that count for something?”
Izzy’s expression went soft and sympathetic as she reached across the bed to grab Mary Alice’s hand. “Aw, babe. Of course it does. Yeah, yours is the only opinion that should count. But that’s not how the world works and I don’t want to see you get totally depressed because of a bunch of assholes who should keep their noses out of other people’s business but don’t.”
“Well, I’m not gonna stop
seeing them.” She’d made a bargain with Max. For the next six months, she was his companion. She’d fulfill her end of the bargain. And in return, she’d have them both in bed. “And if I want to have sex with both of them, I’m going to. Is that fucked up?”
Izzy shrugged, her expression incredulous as she shook her head. “I don’t have the first damn clue. But you know I’ll never judge. I just don’t wanna see you hurt.”
Mary Alice had a feeling that was going to be the toughest part.
Chapter Two
“Are you saying the line was intentionally damaged?”
Thursday morning, Jesse had a knot in his chest so tight he felt as if he was being suffocated. And even though he knew from experience that actual suffocation was entirely different, he still couldn’t shake the feeling.
He could barely hear the electrician, who had his head stuffed into the ceiling in the building that’d had the fire last week. But he heard enough to confirm his suspicion.
“…lines nicked…a clean cut…no other wear…not mice…probably switchblade…don’t see any more…should be replaced…”
The guy went on for another minute before climbing back down the ladder and looking Jesse square in the eyes.
“Put me on the spot, I’m gonna tell you different but between you and me, yeah, it’s intentional.”
Since Jesse had known Victor Finucci since he was five years old and was the only person Jesse trusted not to fuck with him about this shit, Jesse shook his head and started to swear.
Victor nodded his head in commiseration. “Yep. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, kid. Know that wasn’t what you wanted to hear. I can fix it, no problem. But you’re gonna hafta fix the rat problem or you’re gonna have a lotta other problems. Know what I mean?”
Yeah, Jesse knew what he meant. He just hadn’t wanted to believe it. Now, faced with proof, he had too many other considerations to keep track of.
“Thanks, Vic. When do you think you can get to it?”
“For you, kid, I can have Jimmy out tomorrow.”
