Marginalizing what had happened was supposed to ensure that it didn’t happen again.
“Sure, baby,” he murmured and pushed her hair away from her shoulder, but he didn’t get the message. He used her locks to force her head aside so he could close his lips over the side of her neck.
She was supposed to be here to talk business, to tell him about his father, and put the proposition to him. She wasn’t supposed to be here to seduce him or be seduced.
“Mr. Flynn,” she said, struggling to find her voice as his lips caressed her neck and found her shoulder to follow her collarbone. “Please, we have… business.”
“We sure do,” he said and his hand tried to move higher again. “You tell me what you want, Boss. Where do you wanna be touched?”
She yelped and had to brace when he suddenly spun the seat of her stool. Tally found herself facing away from him. He yanked her back, pulling her between his legs again. One powerful arm curved around her and he slid her to the back edge of her stool, pulling her ass into his erection and her back to his chest.
He kept on kissing her neck, and she exhaled when he sucked lightly and sent a skitter of needles from her throat to her breasts that weren’t neglected of his attention. When Max grazed his hands over her chest, she quickly combed her fingers through the ends of her hair to cover up the action.
The bartender had threatened to throw them out the last time he’d touched her there and she didn’t want to get into trouble. But Max took her action as encouragement.
His warm laugh on her shoulder loosened her further. “Nice,” he grumbled into her. “You like that, Boss? Like it when I play with your cans? You’ve got some set, they feel real good. I bet they taste even better.”
His squeeze got more insistent. In an involuntary move, she pushed her hips back hard, showing her appreciation by wriggling against him. But he liked it and anchored himself to give her security in her grinding.
Tally curled her fingers into his thighs, digging her nails into him through his jeans. “God, you’re good at this,” she whispered without meaning to say anything.
But her senses weren’t working on full capacity. For some reason, her entire being had been reduced to her erogenous zones. Tally had become little more than a raw, eager hormone. But she was struggling to fight his appeal. It had been so long since she’d had any male attention, and the intensity of Max’s attention was unique in her experience.
Lifting her arm, Tally coiled it around his head and clenched her fingers in his hair. Max curled further around her to kiss her throat and upper chest, and when she couldn’t take it anymore, she used her tight grip to pull him up so she could fumble her mouth over his.
Kissing him was the end of her resolve.
Something about the way his tongue took control of hers made her forget everything about who she was and how she was supposed to behave.
“Get a room!” someone hollered.
Blinking open her dazed eyes, Tally turned to see she was in prime, central view of the whole room. Everyone in the place was watching her and Max here at the bar acting worse than a couple of horny teenagers.
Shit.
This was bad.
Except…
She wasn’t as self-conscious as she should be. In fact, she smiled.
Oh, God, this was one of those crazy moments in life. Those once in a life time opportunities to say to hell with consequences. Tally hadn’t been crazy in a long time. In truth, she’d never been this crazy.
Man, she wanted to be crazy.
Insane, crazy.
Right now.
Leaping from her stool, out of Max’s arms, she picked up her glass and tossed back the last of her drink before grabbing her clutch in one hand and Max’s wrist in the other. Pulling him toward the back of the bar, she sought the exit sign and laughed when a chorus of whoops and cheers followed them out of the room and down a corridor past the restrooms.
Shoving the metal bar on the rear fire exit door, they burst into the cold air of the dark, shadowy alley. But she didn’t slow down, she pulled him across it and into a doorway before dropping her clutch to the ground.
Hitching up her skirt, Tally caught the elastic of her underwear and drew it down her legs. “Boss—”
“Shut up and do what you’re told,” she said, more alive than she’d ever been as she stuffed her panties into his jacket pocket and grabbed his buckle to loosen his jeans.
“Yes, mam,” he said and bent to pick her up.
This was insane.
There was still time to tell him she didn’t want to go all the way. But he kissed her and that was it, decision made. Of all the times she could choose to be crazy, this probably wasn’t the best one. But she’d never felt so base, so in need, so wanted.
The head of his dick stretched her to her limit and she hissed, but he was on a mission and pushed in hard.
“Oh, fuck,” she yelped in pain and smacked his shoulder in reflex. “Ow!”
“Fuck,” he ground out in a groan from the back of his throat. “I thought you were prepped.”
She was, she’d never been so wet, as evidenced by the dampness she’d felt in her panties as she drew them down.
“Go hard,” she said and he surged forward, but she cried out and he swore again.
His head bumped on the door behind her as he slapped the steel with the side of his fist. “Shit! You’re so fucking tight. You have done this before, right?”
Panting, she reassured herself by rubbing his shoulders. “In an alley with a stranger? No.”
“Sex,” he said. “You have been fucked before, right?”
The last thing she wanted was for her inadequacies to make him withdraw, so she smiled and kissed him. “Not by a real man.”
That compliment made him groan again. She smiled so wide that he almost smiled back before pushing his forehead onto hers. He took a slow breath then slid his hands to her hips and held her tightly as he worked himself back and forth, taking a gentler approach to easing his way inside.
Kissing her jaw, he rubbed his cheek on hers. “How’s that feel, Boss?”
Biting her lip, she whimpered and nodded. “Amazing.”
“Good,” he purred out and drew back to push in harder.
“Yes,” she exhaled. “Fuck me.” She didn’t usually swear and using the primitive words sent a frisson of arousal zipping through her. “Please, fuck me hard.” Turning her face against him, she kissed and rubbed her mouth on his angular jaw. “Do me fast and hard. Right here.”
Now that he was all the way inside her, he could pick up the pace and she got what she wanted; he surged in deep making her call out in delight at their achievement. But he didn’t slow down, he pumped hard, his dick loosening her passage with every thrust.
Tally clenched hard and dug her teeth into his jaw when orgasm hit her like a freight train. His climax wasn’t far behind and she bucked against him to meet that final thrust though his pelvis slammed hers so hard it smashed into the solid steel door behind her.
They both took a second to recover. His panting frizzed her hair and she breathed against his throat while coming to terms with the shame of what she’d just done.
This was bad.
She felt amazing.
But this was bad.
Oh, so very bad.
Max shifted his mouth down to her hairline. “I’ve always heard the classiest chicks like it dirtiest,” he said and inched back to put her on her feet. Tally pulled her skirt back down as he fastened his jeans. When he’d put himself together, he ducked to grab her clutch from the concrete. She took her purse in one hand, Max took the other and linked their fingers to lead her down the alley. “Come on, my place is just a block over.”
His place where they’d probably drink more and would definitely have more sex. If they hadn’t been able to contain themselves in a public bar, she’d never be able to resist him in his private apartment.
“No,” she said, taking her hand back when they
hit the street. “I…” She couldn’t even look at him now and the alcohol was beginning to make her feel sick. “I have to go.”
“Go?” he asked. “Where the fuck do you have to go?”
Stepping off the sidewalk, Tally saw a cab driving toward them and held out a hand to hail it. “I’m sorry, Mr. Flynn, I… someone will be in touch.” The cab stopped and she opened the door. She put one foot in and then felt that she should say something else, but what the hell should she say? “I, uh… I had a good time, thanks.” Slipping into the cab, Tally gave her address and then clenched her fists and punched the seat beneath her thighs while she bounced her head off the backrest. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
“Good night?” the driver asked.
Taking a long breath, she narrowed her eyes on the dark street whizzing past. “Oh, yeah. I just fucked my entire life in one night.”
“Sorry to hear that,” the driver said. “But, hey, your boyfriend looked pretty upset that you cut out on him.”
Sure he did, she’d just pulled the plug on a night of debauchery. He’d probably go back into that bar and everyone would jeer and cheer, but they’d paid for the liquor, he might as well drink it. Hell, that one stone would keep him in liquor for the rest of the year.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said. “He’s my boss’ son.”
The driver wasn’t so quick to respond this time. “Oh, yeah, huh… that might not have been smart.”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered and closed her eyes as her head fell back again.
Good going, Tally, well-fucking-done.
THREE
If Tally could choose to never face her embarrassment again, she would. Unfortunately, Teddy was losing his patience with her. He’d threatened to put someone else on the case and Tally couldn’t let that happen, not before she spoke to Max and asked him to keep their indiscretion a secret.
He owed her nothing and might tell her to go to hell. And if he did, she’d deserve it. Her stupidity would hang over their heads forever. Max was going to take his place in the family and at the company, so their encounter would become another secret, another thing for the rumor-mill to chew on.
But if Teddy found out about it, he’d fire her for sure and her life was the Strettons. Tally didn’t know who she was without them.
But, God, facing Max was going to be embarrassing.
Deliberately choosing to come to his apartment in the afternoon, she figured there was no way he could try to coerce her into having a drink. So, she should be able to keep her head. Tally kept her purse on her shoulder and her chin in the air, reminding herself to be professional and not skanky.
The idea of returning to this apartment building on her own was a bit scary. Her heart was pounding when she stepped into the entryway because she feared finding the gangbangers who had been here before. Luckily, it was empty. She hurried up the stairs and along the hallway to Max’s door.
Lifting her fist to knock, Tally tried to figure out what she should do if he didn’t answer, like he hadn’t last time. Before, when they’d been strangers, waiting was frustrating, but no big deal. But hanging around on his doorstep now might come across wrong, like she was a needy stalker.
Trouble was, she couldn’t put this off any longer. It had been more than a week since their Fitzpatrick’s encounter and she’d fed Teddy every excuse she could think of to delay coming back to Max’s.
The door opened fast, but swung to an abrupt stop when Max registered it was her. His surprise faded to a frown. “Boss Lady,” he said. “Here for another session? ‘Cause the rates for slumming it have gone up.”
Snarky, ok, she deserved that. But she couldn’t care about their personal relationship, she had to steel herself against her feelings on that subject. This was her. Professional.
“No, Mr. Flynn, I came here to talk.”
“ ‘Kay,” he said. “Come in.”
“No,” she said when he took half a step back.
His smirk mocked her. “Don’t trust yourself?”
Actually, yeah, that was the exact reason she didn’t want to go in there, but Tally didn’t admit it. “This won’t take long,” she said and retrieved a card from the front of her purse. “Your presence is required at this address tomorrow night.”
“That right?” he asked, moving his hand from the door to take the card from her.
As he read it, he took a beer bottle to his lips; she hadn’t even noticed it was there. What was he doing drinking in the afternoon? Yeah, ok, it was the weekend, but still, it was daylight outside! Maybe she wouldn’t be so worried about his alcohol consumption if she wasn’t also worried about his hands… his mouth… his tongue… his…
Damn.
She knew he had a job; he and his friends ran a garage just a couple of blocks from here. But from everything the PI had told her, they didn’t keep regular hours and the shop was closed as often as it was open. Tally had considered going to the garage to find him but had been reluctant to announce his family business in front of his friends and colleagues… especially if they were anything like him.
“Yes,” she said. “Dinner will be served at eight.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll show,” he said, tucking the card into the front of her purse again. “But if you want to grab a burger sometime, gimme a call.”
He started to close the door and she stuttered, she couldn’t let him shut her out, she’d have no way back in.
Stepping forward, Tally planted her hand on the door. “Please, Mr. Flynn.”
“Why’d you call me that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her. “What do you have to do with a guy before you’ll use his first name?”
She hadn’t thought about how ridiculous it was until he pointed it out. Now her thoughts were a mess again and it took a minute for her to pull them back.
“That’s… irrelevant. I really would urge you to reconsider dinner at the Stretton Estate. I think you’ll find the visit worth your while.”
His eyes scanned her figure. “You gonna be there?”
That question was unexpected; he’d thrown her off-kilter again. “In the building? Probably. At Mr. Stretton’s dining table? No.” Imagine that, her seated at the family dinner table. Tally’s smirk hid a laugh, but Max didn’t like that she was so amused by the idea because he scowled at her. “But, uh… you’ll meet your sister, Kimmy.”
“Sister?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, she’s… eager to meet you.” ‘Please say yes’ was all she could think while he looked at her. “Your father will send a car—”
“That will ditch me.”
“Oh no,” she said, worrying that her comments might have given him the wrong idea. “You will be taken care of in every way. Your father has already hired a full staff for you. You’ll have your own suite and a full fleet of cars at your disposal.”
“A full fleet, huh?” he asked, leaning on the doorframe.
Being that his main trade was working on cars, she figured that would be a good way to get through to him.
This was going well, he was getting it, she was making progress. “And you’ll have access to the corporate jet and accounts with all major retailers and entertainment venues.”
“Entertainment venues?” he asked. “Like for baseball?”
She nodded. Could sports be what persuaded him? It didn’t matter, she’d take it. “Tickets for the best seats.”
He tipped his head and clucked his tongue. “Shame, I already have those.”
Reversing, he turned into the apartment. Throwing the door wide, Max walked away from her to continue on into the kitchen. Tally was shocked to find that the television above the fireplace to the left was displaying a baseball game right now and there were four guys seated around his living room watching it. Seeing beer bottles on the table and a pizza box next to a couple of open packs of chips, she realized she’d stumbled on a party.
The guys glanced over at her one at a time but didn’t say anything. Another guy
came into the apartment behind her, forcing her inside. While she’d been ignored, the new guy got a cheer and conversation. As he answered his friends, he urged her deeper inside to shut the front door.
That was it. She was in the apartment where Max was entertaining. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t have picked a worse time, Tally couldn’t leave without convincing him to go to the dinner tomorrow night. But she didn’t know how complete his focus would be while he was having this get together.
Instead of standing gaping at the guys in the living room who were ignoring her in deference to the game, she chose to head into the kitchen after Max. Tally found him leaning against the counter, typing something into his phone.
He did a double take and kept typing. “You want a beer?” he asked and opened the fridge, leaving the door swinging on its hinges, implying she should help herself.
“No, thank you,” she said, pushing the door closed.
“Why is it he tells you not to drink?” Max asked, locking his phone and sticking it in his pocket. “He must be a controlling fucker.”
“No,” she said, because it was her job to make Teddy sound appealing. “Technically, I’m always on duty. He likes to know he can call on me any time and I’ll always be sober, you know? Ready for him. For whatever he needs.”
He swiped his beer from the counter and slugged some down, peering at her so intently that she squirmed under the scrutiny. “Do you fuck him?”
Shocked, Tally was struck dumb for a minute. “Wha…? Excuse me?”
“Stretton, that’s his name, right? Do you have sex with him?”
“No!” she exclaimed and glanced back at the living room beyond the breakfast bar before going to him to murmur, “I don’t make a habit of doing… what we did. Before that, I hadn’t had sex for… months.”
More like years, but she wasn’t going to admit to that. Any guy she’d be interested in having a relationship with wouldn’t understand her commitment to Theodore Stretton.
Max pushed away from the counter, swinging his beer down from his lips as he started toward the living room.
Heir's Affair Page 3
