Hard Focus (BAE Book 1)

by Vic Tyler

  But bringing her to my apartment was a boundary that couldn’t be unbroken.

  Damn, I don’t know how I was thinking about anything else while my imagination was running wild with all the things that pretty little mouth could do wrapped around my cock.

  “Hard to tell if it’s unwanted until someone’s tweeting #MeToo.”

  “That happen to you before?” she asked, cocking her head.

  I scoffed. “Never.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Then how do you tell if you’re making unwanted advances?”

  “I don’t make any,” I said. “Women are the ones making unwanted advances on me. Some men too.”

  “Must be tough to be you,” She said, sarcastically, rolling her eyes again. “So good-looking and popular with the reputation of a sex god.”

  I snorted into my gelato. “I’m sure you’ve had no shortage of boys wanting to stir up your milkshake.”

  “Gross,” Maria giggled. “Well, it’s hard to compare a sex god and a milkshake.”

  “Mm you slurp down the cream of one, and the other is cream in your cup.”

  She laughed until she cried, probably because of the alcohol. Let’s be honest. That was lame. But I couldn’t help but laugh too. Her laugh was so light and contagious.

  “Who knew Mr. Angsty-Artist had a sense of humor?” She was gasping for breath, holding her stomach.

  Pft. “Who said he didn’t?”

  “Anybody would think so with that frown you always have on, like someone is always pinching your balls,” Maria said, pointing at her own exaggerated frown.

  I rolled my eyes. “You seem to have a fixation on testicles, Lennox.”

  “I’d prefer ‘a healthy appreciation for some good nuts.’” She winked.

  “Maybe I should be filing a sexual harassment claim.”

  “Am I making unwanted advances?” she asked, her head tilting to the other side now.

  “No.”

  “Good because I don’t know how much more forward I have to be for you to kiss me already.”

  Her expression was serious, those big chocolate irises pinned on mine. They were dark enough usually, but they looked even hazier in this light. I was used to women aggressively planting their lips on mine and me just going with things as they came.

  Alright. This was fun. I’ll reward her. Nevermind the fact that kissing her was only the beginning of everything I wanted to do to her.

  I grabbed the collar of her blazer and pulled her towards me, her eyes widening in surprise. Our cold lips crashed together, the vanilla and pistachio blending in our mouths. Her lips were full and soft, and her tongue eager. I probed into her mouth, edging deeper and deeper. Her tongue met mine, swirling and flicking suggestively.

  My hand snaked around her neck, cupping her nape. Her hands roamed my chest greedily, her fingers grazing up my neck. Her fingers felt like icy silk as she delicately traced my jaw.

  Someone whistled loudly from across the street, shouting obscenities and bringing us back to our senses. We pulled away reluctantly. The sexual tension was heavy with our faces naked with desire.

  Fuck it. Fuck her. I needed to fuck her. I tossed any reservation about taking her back to my place out of the window. I was about to ask when she suddenly spoke.

  “I should get home.” Maria tore her eyes away and looked down at her hands. “Gotta get up early for work tomorrow.”

  Jesus. What.

  I briefly thought about trying to convince her otherwise but then figured a real sexual harassment case wouldn’t be worth it.

  “Sure,” I said, calling her an Uber. I took a few deep breaths, disappointed, and hoped that my dick would soften soon so I could walk without it being painful or awkward.

  Not that it wasn’t already awkward. We made some klutzy small talk, just filling the silence, until the car came. At least I didn’t have a mast in my pants, so I’d deal with my aching blue balls when I got home.

  I sighed a whole lot the whole way back to my apartment. I don’t know what the hell happened, but it would probably be better to go back to a professional relationship at this point. This was turning out to be the exact reason why I had my rules in the first place. Jesus, what a fucking mess.

  A couple weeks passed by, and it was too busy for any more flirting, especially after that blunder of a night that I resolved to delete from my memory.

  I pretended like nothing happened, and Maria followed along.

  We went back to our previous dynamic — with me barking orders and her mouthing back.

  This day had been going too well.

  It was Friday, the first day of the Vogue shoot. Normally Fridays were pretty good. But like I said, this day had been going too fucking well.

  But that was what I always thought before Pervert Cooper stepped through the door. There was no reason he should ever enter the doors of my studio. But occasionally he dropped in when the photo shoot for our collaborative projects happened. Those were days that ended with each surface of the studio scrubbed down with bleach.

  The one saving grace was that Cheddar wasn’t here. Some of the other models from different agencies were scheduled today for a test shoot, so she wasn’t needed. Cooper took a strangely unhealthy interest in Cheddar. Maybe because Grant and I made sure he was nowhere near her. He’s tried pulling strings since the beginning to make sure she signed onto projects that he was directing, but this was the first time he succeeded.

  “Is there a reason why you’re here, Cooper?” I asked coldly when I saw his doughy, snivelling mug.

  Cooper was a big, fat, old man with beady eyes and a permanent sneer. He looked like Danny DeVito’s uglier brother, reminiscent of Gluttony from Fullmetal Alchemist.

  “Reed,” he drawled. “I’m here to look after my girls.”

  He gave a toothy grin, and the models behind me scurried away, flashing a weak grin or avoiding eye contact altogether.

  “They’re not your girls, and as long as you’re not here, they don’t need looking after,” I snarled. “Your presence is disturbing everyone’s work, so if you’d kindly go back the way you came.”

  “I’m here in Reuter’s place,” Cooper said breezily. “She couldn’t make it, and I’m here to make sure you’re doing competent work. We don’t want anything less than the best, do we?”

  Ugh. A throbbing pain in my head threatened to unfurl into a full migraine. Grant’s pipsqueak angel voice chimed in, ‘Now don’t go causing trouble, Benji ol’ boy.’

  I dragged out a flimsy fold-out chair and put it against the far wall, where none of the models were going to be near.

  “Sit,” I snarled. “Don’t fucking move.”

  Cooper grinned at me and moved the chair a few inches. I gritted my teeth, reminding myself he was picking a fight. Not fucking worth it.

  The mood was tight. But the models were all seasoned professionals, so everything on the set in front of me was going smoothly. I sincerely and foolishly thought the day would end without Cooper instigating a sexual harassment suit until I heard an angry cry from the back.

  I turned around to find Maria fuming, standing a few feet away from Cooper, whose ass was still firmly planted on the plastic chair, smiling in his disgusting smug way. My stomach wrenched violently into the pit of my stomach.

  “What the fuck did you do?” I snarled with increasing intensity.

  He held his hands up innocently. “Your employee fell in front of me. I was helping her up when she so rudely yelled.”

  “You tripped me,” Maria said incredulously. “And then you had the nerve to start feeling me up.”

  “Honey,” he drawled condescendingly. His face peered at her with a pitying look. “Who would want to touch you when there are all these lovely ladies around?”

  Cooper winked at the nearest model who quickly turned her look of horror to the wall behind her.

  “Get the fuck out, Cooper. Or I’ll throw you out myself.”

  “We’re not done with the photo shoot.�
� Cooper pointed, motioning to the set behind me.

  “We won’t be until you leave.”

  Cooper sighed and then heaved his fat ass up. He smirked and whispered something to Maria, who stiffened and stared daggers at him.

  He just had to get the last word, didn’t he? I fisted the back of Cooper’s clothes and dragged him towards the front door. His face swelled into a veiny purple color as he blubbered and threatened. I heaved him out, locked the door, and walked back to the studio without a second glance.

  “Sorry, everyone.” I called out, trying to placate the room when my own fury was boiling. “We’ll take five and reconvene without that tumor in our midst.”

  I turned to Maria who was silently stewing.

  “Are you alright?” I asked softly.

  She took a few breaths. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she said, heaving a deep breath. “I’m going to finish this up.”

  She walked off. My mouth swirled with the taste of iron. I accidentally clenched my teeth down on the inside of my gums. My vision blurred with a crimson filter. Inhale deeply. Exhale.

  God better watch that fucker’s back, or better yet turn a blind eye, because I was going to kill that bastard.

  The rest of the shoot finished without a hitch, as expected. It had gotten pretty late when Maria and I took down the set.

  “I’ll make sure Cooper doesn’t come around again,” I said. “He’s a real creep. I shouldn’t have let him in at all. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Mhmm.”

  Then silence.

  “What did Cooper say to you?” I finally asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

  “Nothing important.” She scowled.

  “It put you into a bad mood, so I want to make sure you’re not taking it to heart,” I said, stopping to look at her. “Cooper says stupid shit.”

  “I’m not in a bad mood,” Maria snapped. “But I’m getting there with this needless questioning.”

  Annoyance nipped at me. “I’m worried, is that a crime?”

  “You don’t have worry. I can take care of myself.”

  “You should let someone step in and take care of things for you, especially if they can do something. Especially when it comes to people like Cooper.”

  “And what about people like you?” Maria bit her lip as though she regretted blurting that out.

  “What?” I said, incredulously.

  She took a deep breath and turned to face me.

  “What do I do about people like you?” she repeated.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Hot rage started flooding my veins. “What the hell do I have to do with Cooper?”

  “You’re offering to help when you’re not exactly a safe haven,” Maria scoffed. “Notorious womanizer, seducing half of New York into your bed. Have you made enough notches in your belt or is it just rags now?”

  “Comparing me to that loose-handed rapist is too far,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ve never done anything anyone didn’t want me to.”

  “Because you never do anything, isn’t that it?” she retorted. “You just wait for the next woman to offer herself to you and then toss her away after you get off, right?”

  “Lennox, what the hell did Cooper say to you?”

  “Nothing that concerns you.”

  “Well, you’re fucking concerning me, so it’s not nothing, is it?”

  She sighed exasperatedly, “He said that you’re waiting for me to come onto you.”

  I cursed under my breath. Seriously?

  “Jesus, that’s what’s getting you so worked up?”

  “I think his exact words were, ‘Did you let that STD-ridden manwhore ride you like the ten cent pony you are? He’ll get bored and toss you out like the rest of the tramps he’s fucked. That’s when I’ll be there to pick up the pieces of that heartbroken slut cunt when you spread your legs wide open for business.’”

  I winced. God, he was so tacky.

  “He’s just trying to get under your skin. He gets off on riling people up.”

  “But it’s not untrue, is it?”

  “What? Of course it’s not true. I assume you have perfect control over when you spread your legs.” She fumed even more, and I winced. Shit. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “God, I should’ve never gotten involved with you.”

  “You were the one coming onto me.”

  “Yeah, you made that perfectly clear as you proceeded to ignore what happened a couple of weeks ago.”

  “You left,” I emphasized incredulously. “Right after I kissed you.”

  “Because drunkenly sleeping with my boss is not how I want to spend a night.”

  Maria turned on her heel and stormed off.

  “Lennox, get your ass back over here,” I growled.

  “Work hours are over,” she yelled over her shoulder. “I don’t have to listen to you.”

  “Yes, you do. Why the hell are you bringing that up now? What does this have to do with Cooper?”

  “Nothing,” she snapped, turning around. Her eyes flashed angrily. “I told you I don’t need your help. I have enough self-respect not to throw myself at your feet. Do you think every woman will just grovel at your word and give in to your every whim? That I’m just going to jump you or strip down and say, “Yes, sir, please fuck me, sir”?”

  Now, as a flimsy disclaimer, I don’t know what the fuck happened.

  Whenever I thought about this moment afterwards, I still don’t remember what I was thinking — or if I was thinking at all — when I slammed my mouth into hers.

  Maria struggled for a couple seconds, pushing her hands against my chest before melting into it. She started feeling my chest greedily. My hand wrapped around the back of her neck, pulling her into me as though that would bring my body any closer, any deeper into her. I needed her to feel every lick, every suck, every bite in our kiss.

  She tasted like sweet confusion. I was already addicted.

  When I finally let go, we were both panting, our eyes locked and all our emotions bare on our faces.

  “Fuck.”

  Jesus, what did I do? I buried my face in my hands. Fuck, what did I do?

  “You should go.”

  “Why —” Maria’s voice broke, strained. “Why did you do that?”

  “I don’t fucking know.” I raised my face to stare her down.

  My anger shot through my body, my self-control dwindling fast. I needed her far away if I wanted to sort myself out.

  I stood over her and snarled, “You’re right. What else did you expect? I’m not a good fucking guy. I do whatever the fuck I want, and I take everything I goddamn want. But I’m being awfully generous and giving you an out right now. Leave.”

  Every part of me was writhing in turmoil — my head, my chest, and my dick. I was losing restraint fast. And Maria was just standing there, so small and delicate, staring at me with those big innocent eyes. She was a doe in front of a fucking wolf. I was going to ruin her if I touched her.

  So when her hand reached towards me, I gripped her wrist and yanked it towards me. I caught her as she stumbled forward, pulling her upwards into me and planting my mouth on hers again. I squeezed that tiny waist tightly against my body.

  I fucking warned her, and now I couldn’t stop myself.

  But she just fucking moaned into my mouth. Not knowing what she was doing. Igniting the primal desire in my loins that wouldn’t stop until I’ve released it deep into her belly.

  I took it as a sign that she didn’t want me to stop either. My erection twitched, wanting to plow straight in and claim her. I grinded it into her, and she pushed back, rubbing her hot groin into mine, her heat driving my lust wild.

  Her lips were starting to swell from our fervent kisses. I licked the skin under her jaw, trailing my tongue back to her ear and nibbling on her earlobe. She moaned, and my cock twitched, wanting its own taste of her. A growl escaped my lips, as I bit and sucked her neck, exploring its long, smooth curve.
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  My hands groped at all her flesh, roughly squeezing her perky breasts and sliding down the soft curve of her waist to clutch her full ass. I pinned her against the wall with my body, like that would meld us together. Her hands felt like ice as they slipped under my shirt and went south, teasing my waistband. I groaned into her mouth, and her hands fumbled to unbuckle my pants.

  No.

  I grabbed her hands and slammed them above her head. Her swollen lips were red and wet, and her eyes hazy with desire, questioning why I stopped her.