The Troublemaker Next Door

by Marie Harte

  Two bars sat on either end of the first floor. In between, a raised platform filled with tables and chairs surrounded an expansive wooden dance floor. A length of counter ran the perimeter of the platform, providing a haven for the predators watching scantily clad women and men gyrate to the music.

  Most of the guys wore jeans or casual suits. Dressy but not flashy. The women looked like a mix of fashionistas, divas in costumes, and well-dressed hookers. Maddie hadn’t seen so much blue eye shadow since the eighth grade.

  She looked almost matronly compared to the women on the dance floor. She’d chosen a short black skirt and baby-blue top that hung off her shoulder, baring a blue bra strap that looked like part of the shirt, and a pair of strappy heels.

  The club scene had never been her thing, but after the day she’d had, she’d wanted to reward herself with something new and fun. And something that involved Flynn.

  Vanessa sighed. “I knew I was going to regret this.”

  “What?” Abby cupped her ear, managing to look both sexy and demure at the same time. Vanessa rolled her eyes and sat at the table Brody found for them away from the dance floor. The music didn’t sound as loud back here, and Maddie sat with her, rubbing the back of her neck, aware of a tension headache developing. She removed the clip holding her hair off her neck and felt worlds better.

  “Damn.” Flynn stared at her, looking less than pleased, and walked away.

  She noted Vanessa’s attention focused on someone over her shoulder and turned to see Brody talking to Abby and some huge guy standing way too close.

  “I thought she was right behind us.” Maddie ran a hand through her hair, then set her clip on the table.

  “And so it begins.” Vanessa waved over a waitress and ordered two pitchers of beer for everyone.

  “Should we help her?”

  Flynn joined Brody, said something, and the big guy with them shrugged and left.

  “Nah,” Dave, Brody’s friend, said next to her. “They have it under control. Trust me, Brody doesn’t need Flynn’s help. He’s mean when he’s riled.”

  Dave, Ted, Gary, and Rick seemed like nice guys. She’d met them earlier in the afternoon before she’d left the coffee shop. Flynn hadn’t seemed to like all the compliments they’d given her, which boosted her ego, she had to admit.

  “So Maddie.” Dave scooted closer. “You and Flynn got something going on?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  Dave put his hand on the back of her chair, the way Flynn liked to. A classic guy move, apparently. An attractive man, his brown eyes met hers and traced her features, the gesture one of interest and speculation. “He was a little insistent about us keeping our distance.”

  She hoped her blush didn’t show. “We’re just friends. He’s probably just being nice. I think he and his family have adopted us. We live next door to his brother Mike.”

  “Oh. Good to know.” He grinned and opened his mouth to say something else. Then he disappeared.

  Flynn had yanked his chair back and inserted his own. “Back off, Dave.”

  “I knew it.” Dave slapped Flynn on the back and focused on the pitcher the waitress put in front of him.

  “So how do you know these guys? You never said.” Maddie accepted the glass of beer Vanessa handed her and watched Flynn. How did the man look so handsome but at the same time not look like he put effort into it?

  “Dave and Ted know Brody from way back. Gary and Rick we met a few years ago on a job. They’re electricians. When you work in trade, you kind of get to know the competition and the folks that have a knack for what they do. Gary and Rick are good. Ted and Dave, who the hell knows?”

  He didn’t seem too fond of Dave, who winked at her over Flynn’s shoulder. Then Dave asked Abby to dance, and she happily said yes.

  Brody plunked down next to Vanessa. “Good to see Dave’s having fun.”

  “Hey, he’s your friend.” Flynn put his beer down. “What do you think of the place, Maddie?”

  “It’s loud.”

  He laughed.

  “The color scheme is actually perfect for what they’re trying to sell.”

  He leaned closer. “What’s that?”

  “Booze and sex. The contemporary colors, the flashy glitter of mirrors and lights. It’s exciting, functional, and a little overwhelming, to tell the truth.” On television, the club scene always seemed so electrifying and sexy. Maddie just wanted to dance to the music minus all the people. She felt on display. The term meat market definitely came to mind, though in this place one would think more along the lines of filets.

  Even the sight of Flynn in form-fitting black slacks and a button-up gray shirt, the sleeves rolled back to show off his sexy forearms, wasn’t enough to stave her annoyance with the crowd.

  His lips brushed her ear when he leaned closer to speak again. She couldn’t contain a shiver. “You think like a designer even when you’re not designing. So what do you think of my apartment?”

  She pulled back, nonplussed when his dark gaze focused on her mouth. When one of the songs seemed to grow louder, she said into his ear, “It suits you. It’s contemporary, sexy, and basic.”

  “Base?”

  When had he put his hand on her thigh? He handled her under the table, where no one could see, but she didn’t want their relationship to be so obvious.

  She stopped his hand with her own and put it back on his lap. Except he wouldn’t let her go. He pulled her hand closer and brushed it against his erection.

  “Mmm. Yeah. Base. Like my instincts right now.”

  She yanked her hand back and glared at him, not pleased he was getting so cozy with her while Vanessa and Brody sat across the table from them. None of this with Flynn tonight felt casual. She knew better than to let herself get too attached. Brody and Vanessa stood and asked if Maddie wanted to dance with them. She nodded. Time to get some air away from Flynn. She stepped onto the dance floor and lost herself in the music. She didn’t look back for a long time.

  An hour and a half later, she’d finally found her groove. Flynn kept his distance, and for the most part she forced herself to ignore him. She’d danced with Ted, Brody, and some other guys, surprised to find she was having fun.

  Abby and even Vanessa seemed to be having a blast. They stayed with their group, pretty much, while she didn’t discriminate between dance partners. All of it remained innocent. If a guy put his hand where she didn’t want it, she simply stepped back to the safety provided by Brody and the others.

  She would have been having a stellar time if she could stop fighting with herself. On the one hand, she didn’t want Flynn crowding her, acting like her boyfriend in front of their friends. On the other, she didn’t like him dancing with the cute blond… three times in a row.

  Needing to get a handle on her conflicted desire and the grabby blond holding Flynn too close, Maddie excused herself from her current dance partner and headed for trouble.

  ***

  Flynn contained his boredom and kept his smile in place. Tricia had been hounding him to follow her into a back room, where some of the club-goers went to hook up. There were a few rooms scattered in the back, supposedly for supplies. But a twenty to the dude guarding the roped-off area and you could fuck like bunnies for as long as you needed—Tricia’s words, not his.

  He’d done his best to keep his patience, trying to politely but firmly refuse. He should have stayed closer to the group, but his “date” had made it pretty plain he wasn’t welcome.

  Touching Maddie with friends nearby had been a stupid thing to do, but Christ. She couldn’t wear those clothes and not expect him to react. Her glare had only made matters worse. When angry, with all that dark red hair framing her face, she made him so fucking hard.

  To top off his frustration, she’d been dancing with every asshole in the place. Everyone but him. Not that he’d asked. He wouldn’t want to burden his friend with unwanted advances. But this distance stuff grated. Sitting with her earlier today had felt
right. Normal. His best friend, his best girl… Maddie fit him. Sexually he’d never had better. Orgasms with her sent his mind spinning, and he couldn’t keep himself from becoming aroused two seconds in her presence.

  The sex part he could handle. But wanting to talk to her? Stopping himself twenty times a day from texting just to see how the new job was going? He felt like a goddamn pussy, wishing she’d call him just to hear her voice. When she’d seduced him last week, he’d felt like the king of the mountain. And when she’d blinked away thankful tears over that card case, he’d wanted to hold her. To offer comfort, not to cop a quick feel.

  “Come on, sexy. Just once in the back. You’re too pretty to be by yourself.” Tricia, his new best friend, slurred her words. Was there anything more unattractive than a drunken woman who smelled like the last guy she’d fucked and wouldn’t take no for an answer? She was too hungry for it.

  But not as hungry as he was for a certain stubborn redhead.

  At the thought, he frowned. What would really be so bad about them actually dating? Maddie could fit him into her schedule if she wanted. He’d devoted all last Saturday to her, when he should have been showing Theo the ropes.

  “Tricia, I told you before. I’m here with someone.”

  A glance over her shoulder showed that same someone zeroing in on him with a frown. Thank God.

  “Flynn?” Maddie arched a brow at Tricia, who clung to him like a vine.

  “Maddie, meet my very drunk friend Tricia. Tricia, honey, you have to let go.” He sighed when the woman tripped and knocked into him, then giggled.

  Maddie’s eyes lost their touch of frost and crinkled.

  “Glad you find this funny.” He hissed out a breath. “I’ve been telling her I’m not available, but she won’t let go.”

  “Tricia?” Maddie had to call her name twice more to get her attention. “See that guy over there?” She pointed toward Brody. “He was asking who the hot blond dancing with Flynn was.” She leaned closer, right over Flynn, giving him a perfect look down her shirt. Oh man, she was wearing another one of those sheer bras.

  “And Tricia, Brody’s loaded. He’s rich and wants you.” Maddie eased Tricia away, and the blond stumbled toward the dance floor.

  Flynn didn’t wait. He yanked Maddie with him and moved past the bar and away from the masses, where Brody’s buddy Carl guarded one of the roped-off areas Tricia had mentioned. Carl stepped aside, taking the bill Flynn discreetly handed him before moving back to guard the narrow hallway that led to a smaller corridor lined by three doors.

  “Flynn?” Maddie’s breathless voice made him groan. “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” he repeated, aroused, angry, and tired of feeling so out of sorts around her. Up one minute, down the next. He glanced at his cock—up again. He chose one of the doors and pulled her into a small closet that smelled like pine cleanser.

  He tugged on the light cord and closed the door behind them at the same time, then locked them inside.

  When Maddie just stared at him as if he were crazy, he lost it.

  Chapter 13

  “You want to know what’s wrong?” Flynn scowled at her, frustrated, horny, and beyond confused. “I’ll tell you. You’ve had me hard since I saw you wearing that tiny skirt. Your tits are playing hell on my control, and those heels make me think of nothing more than having them on either side of my head while I fuck you raw.”

  Her mouth opened.

  “Yeah, that’s what’s wrong. And while I watched you flaunt that tight little ass at half the dickheads out there, I had some drunk chick hanging all over me.”

  He kissed her, shoving his tongue in her mouth with hunger, wanting to follow with his cock. Maddie pulled him closer, her breasts rubbing against his shirt. “I didn’t like her near you. Not one bit.” She nipped his lower lip then shoved her tongue inside his mouth.

  Her aggression tipped him over the edge, and he forgot to be tender and careful. He wanted to possess her and make it hard for her to walk away. Flynn pushed her back against the wall, probably the only clean part of the room.

  Her heels put them on a more even footing, and he kissed her without pause, barely stopping to catch a breath. The urgency consumed him. Fucking her in a public place, in a closet, with the fear of getting caught…

  He reached low and slid his hands under her skirt. Up her thighs to her ass, bared by a thong.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He cupped her ass and tugged on the thin string between her cheeks, increasing the friction between her legs.

  “Flynn. You’re making me so wet.”

  “Good. Because I’m close to coming already.” He palmed her ass and lifted her off the ground, grinding himself against her.

  “Please. Do it.”

  “Do what?” He sucked hard on her neck. “Tell me.”

  “Fuck me. Right now. Here.”

  Like she had to tell him twice.

  He didn’t bother taking off her underwear, just pulled the string to the side and shoved a finger inside her.

  She arched back, and he wanted to rip her shirt off and suck on her tits until she came. But he had his hands full.

  “Take the condom out of my pocket. Hurry up.”

  She tried but couldn’t get to it through the tangle of limbs.

  Swearing, he let her slide down the wall onto her wobbly heels. He unfastened his pants, took himself out and then ripped open the packet. He slid the condom on in record time, then decided to go for it.

  “Take off the thong. I don’t want you wearing panties tonight.”

  Her eyes grew round and her breathing quickened. “But I’ll make a mess of my skirt.”

  “It’s black. No one will know but you and me.” He loved this, taking her out of her comfort zone and giving her something he’d bet no one else had. “Take it off.” He didn’t mean to sound so demanding, but he barely hung on. He could feel his pulse pounding in his cock, and the constricting latex didn’t help.

  She pulled the thong down and stepped out of it.

  Totally bare, that thin strip of red hair over her pussy, her labia naked of anything but that sweet juice flowing like honey.

  Flynn gripped her ass and lifted her. He pinned her against the wall and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Now hold on, baby. Here it comes.” He positioned himself and thrust hard.

  She gave a low cry as he worked her, fucking with brutal strokes as he raced her to climax. So turned on, she didn’t take long. And her wet pussy sucked him deeper, her contractions all but milking his semen from him in rushes of pleasure.

  He groaned while he came, amazed he’d had the audacity to actually have sex with Maddie in a club, with tons of people just a few feet away.

  She kissed him, a slow, leisurely kiss that told him more than words how much she’d loved every naughty moment. The kisses started revving him again, and he had to pull back, not sure how much time Carl would give them before someone came knocking.

  “Maddie, baby.” He kissed her again, this time on the forehead. Totally not a sexual move, but it felt more intimate because it wasn’t. She blinked, and he’d swear the look in her eyes could only be described as gooey. Womanly and soft, like the look Lea used to give his brother.

  Too gratified to panic, he surged inside her one last time then pulled out.

  “You made me all wet.”

  “Hey, it’s not me. I’m all in here.” He pulled the condom off and grimaced, looking for a place to trash it.

  “The can is right there.” She pointed to a trash can by the door behind him. He tossed it in then tucked himself back in his clothes and straightened up.

  Maddie had cleaned up as well, using a tissue she’d found from a box on a nearby shelf. She threw the wadded piece into the trash. “Now what?” She looked a little nervous. Her thong sat on the ground in a sodden mess.

  “Now you go around bare. Better not spread your legs while you’re sitting down.”

  Her eyes looked overly brig
ht, her cheeks pink, and her lips red and ripe. He finally did what he’d been wanting to all night. He crouched before her and lifted her skirt, captivated by her naked flesh.

  He leaned close and kissed her, making sure to lick between her folds and rub his tongue against her clit. Then he stood and pulled her skirt back down. “Kiss me. Taste how sweet you are.”

  She pulled his neck down and kissed him, moaning into his mouth.

  “Now we’ll both know you’re naked under that sexy skirt. I might take you off to the side and bend you over. When no one’s looking, I’ll lift the back of your skirt up, stand behind you, and take you there, where anyone can walk by and see. And you’ll cream for it, won’t you?” He blew into her ear, and she trembled.

  “Y-you can’t do that. What if someone sees you?”

  “Sees us.” He massaged her breasts and pinched her nipples with slight pressure. “So what? Half the people out there are stoned out of their minds.”

  “No, don’t. I don’t want—”

  “You do want. But be a good girl and I won’t fuck you on the dance floor.” He gave her a wicked smile, really into this new game. He’d never had this much fun before. Man, he’d really been missing out on this hidden talent for kink. “I’ll take you home in my truck and watch you suck me off while I’m driving. How about that?”

  “What?” She might have sounded more annoyed if she hadn’t been so breathless.

  “While I finger you. You’re so fucking pretty when you come.” He kissed her again, a swift press of his lips. Then he smoothed down her hair and tucked her shirt and skirt back. He picked up her panties and shoved them into his pocket, determined to add them to the other pair he had at home. “Now let’s go out and see if we can fool everyone into believing we didn’t just fuck in the closet.”