by Aubrey Cara
“So, it’s true?” Edward Fitzpatrick wasn’t only a drunk and a failure, he was a cheat.
“Technically.” Mayhue shifts. Squeak, squeak goes his chair as he bounces and fidgets. Coughs. “Your father was still drinking a lot back then.”
I grit my teeth. “Are you making excuses for him?”
“Your father was a good, upstanding man.”
I wouldn’t have argued a few hours ago. At least not the upstanding part. “I think we both know that’s not true. He was mean. And a drunk.” A hollow laugh burst out, tears, stupid tears choking me as I hold up the will. “And obviously not good with money.”
He squares his shoulders, staring levelly at me. “I’m sorry, Madeline. He was my friend for fifty years. He did a lot of things I didn’t agree with. I guess I became well versed in making excuses for him.”
He falls silent. So silent my chest aches and then he slides a contract across the wide expanse of his desk and puts a pen down. “I need you to sign here, and here, and initial here. I can have Lucille print you copies now or have them sent to you.”
I review and sign each document, set the pen down, and sit back to find Mayhue studying me.
“He died full of regret and alone,” he says without preamble. “I’m sure you have a right to be angry at him, but he lived his punishment. Live your life. Be happy. Don’t work too hard, and hold tight to those you care about.”
He looks at his watch then claps his hands together like he didn’t just destroy my world. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have another bereavement client coming in soon.” He pushes his chair out and stands then pauses. “Big family about to find out their grandmother left everything to the library,” he says conspiratorially then walks over and opens the door. “I’ll have Lucille put together the rest of the paperwork. Are you going to stick around, or would you like it mailed to you at the lake house?”
Needing to be anywhere but here, I stand. “I’m going to go. Lucille can mail it to my city address.”
“I thought you’d be in town a little longer.”
“No, I need to get back to work. My life.” But I have no work. No life. No one I care about or who cares about me.
“Understandable.” He pats me on the shoulder and steers me to the front door, as a large family, all dressed as if they just came from a memorial, pour in.
He died full of regret and alone. And I’m walking in his footsteps. I may not be a drunk, but I’m a failure. I’ve lost my job. If I don’t find another soon, I’m going to have to sublet my penthouse. If I keep it, I’ll be bleeding money to save face like my father…
The condemning bastard was a fraud. He was a drunk and a fraud.
In a daze, I step out of the office building, squinting into the midday sunshine. A familiar figure lounges against his red mustang, scrolling through his phone.
My body’s reaction to him is instant and as sharp as the first time I saw him. No, worse. More visceral since I know what it’s like to be pressed up against him. To have his hands and mouth...
Shit. I thought I’d be able to ghost him until the car was ready to be picked up. Maybe even longer since I know the car belongs to Jace.
He’s ridiculously sexy, wearing jeans slung low on his hips and a loose navy-blue T-shirt that does nothing to hide the sculpted contours of his chest and shoulders.
“Jess?”
His head jerks up, a smile spreading across his face. He pins me with his piercing blue gaze and pockets his phone as he straightens and strolls over. Before I know what he’s intending, he has me wrapped in an intimate hug.
A fucking hug.
My arms come up to his shoulders, more in stunned acquiescence than an embrace.
“Hey, beautiful.” He pulls back, his hands resting on my hips, holding me pressed against him. He smells like metal, exhaust, and warm, sexy man. It should be disgusting but instead makes me want to lean in. Take solace in his embrace. Bury my face in his neck and—I take a step back out of his hold.
“What are you doing here?” I try not to make it sound like an accusation, but I’m not a fan of surprises, and today has been full of nothing but.
“I was hoping to run into you. Maybe take you to lunch.”
“How did you know where I’d be?”
His smile falters at my crisp tone. “I remembered last night you mentioned having an appointment here today. I came on the off chance you’d be here. But now that I’m saying it out loud it sounds kind of stalker-ish.”
His face scrunches with chagrin, and he rubs the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I wanted to see you. I know you’re leaving town soon, but will you let me take you to lunch?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I umm…” I’m tempted—so tempted to tell him to take me somewhere more private so I can be consoled and distracted from the mess my life is right now, but I can’t. That would be selfish. I let his brother finger bang me on the side of the road less than an hour after I climbed out of his bed.
My stomach turns at the thought.
I have to squash whatever this is between Jess and I. It’s not fair to him. He may look the part of the bad boy, but he’s an honest to God good guy.
And I…I glance over his shoulder at my rental and consider making a break for it.
I must be quiet too long because Jess apologizes again. “This was a bad idea. You were going over your Dad’s will.” He looks at the folded papers in my hand. “That was probably heavy. I thought you might like a friend. I would have called, but—” He stops abruptly, making me wonder if he knows I smashed my phone. “I shouldn’t have come.”
No, he shouldn’t have, but not for the reasons he thinks.
“It’s okay,” I hear myself say. “Friends are nice.” Or so I’ve heard. “It’s nice that you wanted to be…friendly.” I internally wince. What is it about this guy that makes me lose all sense of reason?
Jess smiles. “I’d like to get all kinds of friendly with you.” He winks, and I groan. “Bad lines aside, I’d really like to spend a little more time with you before you ditch town.”
He steps into my space and cups my neck, tilting my chin up and forcing me to meet his all-seeing eyes. As usual, I want to shrink away. It always seems like he sees too much of what I’m trying to hide, but then he leans in, brushing his lips over mine. The kiss is the antithesis of my kiss with Jace this morning. It’s gentle. Meant to soothe, not ignite.
“Was Jace a complete asshole this morning?” he asks, his thumb stroking along my jawline, warm hand pressed to my neck.
My gaze falls to the base of Jess’s throat, my mind stumbling over all my interactions with Jace. Being pressed against him on the back of his bike, my pulse pounding with adrenaline and terror as he drove as if the hounds of hell were chasing him. Maybe he wasn’t going that fast, or driving that recklessly, but it felt like it. And every time I clutched him tighter, the engine revved, and the landscape swept by in a blur. Even after I got off the bike, I could feel the vibrations of the motor between my legs, and when Jace had pressed me against the car…a spark ignited inside me.
I clear my throat. “No, he was fine.”
“Good. Jace mentioned something about your morning, and I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
My gaze flicks to his face. “Oh? What did he say?”
“He texted. But he mentioned you lost your job?” His inflection at the end indicates he’s not sure it’s true.
My hand fists on the papers I’m holding, and I take two steps back and away from Jess. Guilt and embarrassment duke it out as my stomach knots. What a wonderfully humiliating morning I had.
“So, is it true?” he says after I don’t answer him.
I nod, my throat too tight to speak.
“Ah, Maddie. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” I reply somewhat numbly. All week people have been saying this. I’m sorry. Dave and Franklin said it as they asked me to leave. The hospital official who called to inform me my father
was dead said it, Mayhue said it plenty, and a countless number of others have said it over and over as they offered their condolences, even Jess when he first saw me. This is the first time the phrase makes my chest ache. Physically ache.
“Let me take you to lunch,” he implores. “Let me be your friend.”
His kind words are like darts piercing my skin.
I force a light tone as I tease, “Are you friend zoning yourself?”
He chuckles deep, stepping back into my space. “Maddie, when it comes to us, we could never be just friends.”
Shit. I need to stop this. Push him away. I don’t need his tender looks and caresses and words. And I deplore being called Maddie. The fact my pussy goes wet and—even more disturbing—my heart clenches every time he says it, goes to show how much I need to get away from this guy.
Nothing good can come from us spending more time together.
JESS
To say Madeline looks uncomfortable is an understatement. I have never had a woman so put off by my interest in her. Seriously, you’d think I confessed I wanted to wear a gimp mask while she pegged me.
Her pouty lips purse. “There is something I would like to discuss with you, but I think you should know, I’m not interested in any kind of relationship.”
“Whoa.” I put my hands up. “I’m not asking for marriage or anything, Madeline. Just lunch.”
She folds her hands in front of her and levels a frank stare at me. “Can I be honest with you?”
I fold my arms over my chest and rock back on my heels. “By all means.”
“You remembered I was going to be here, now, today, which means you were listening and paying attention to what I was saying.”
“You say that like it’s a crime.”
“Furthermore,” she continues as if I hadn’t said anything, “you’re here right now wanting to take me to lunch. Lunch. Not proposition me to finish what we started. Not to drag me between two buildings and have your way with me. Lunch.”
There is so much accusation in the word lunch, I don’t know where to begin.
“First of all, I didn’t know fucking you in the alley was an option.” My dick gives a happy twitch. Had I known that was on the table…“Second of all, you just went over your father’s will. I thought you could use a friend more than a fuck. My mistake.”
Her shoulders sag a bit, and she shifts her purse strap to her hand as if the weight of the little bag was what caused her shoulders to droop. “You don’t want to be friends with me, Jess.”
I cup her neck, tilt her face up, and wait for her soulful green gaze to meet mine. Madeline Fitzpatrick carries the weight of the world in her eyes. She always has.
I stroke a thumb over her cheek. She grabs my wrist but doesn’t pull me away. That’s a good sign.
“I think we already established I don’t want to only be friends with you. Friends don’t do what I want to do to you.”
She flushes, her gaze dropping to my throat. My thumb works its way over the pouty curve of her bottom lip. “I’m also not enough of an asshole to come down here just to ask you to spend the night with me again because, yeah, I want us to finish what we started.” Drawing her closer to me once again, I drop my voice. “Last night was amazing. All I’ve thought about since leaving bed this morning is your sweet pussy. What it would be like to have you squeezing my cock tight when you come.”
Her breath catches, her gaze going soft and sultry, but she pushes out of my hold. “What happened last night, can’t happen again.”
I scan the area to make sure there’s no one around and grab her wrist, pulling her into the alley between two buildings.
“Jess,” she complains but doesn’t try to break my hold.
Once we’re out of sight of passersby, I cage her up against the brick. “You’re the one who suggested this.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion—”
I cover her mouth with mine, cutting her off. Her lips part, and I don’t hesitate to take advantage, my tongue stroking against hers. I grip her hips, pressing my straining erection into her soft belly.
She moans, melting into me, and I deepen the kiss, angling my head. Her hands come up to run through my hair, scratch against the back of my neck, grip my shoulders. It sends a static bolt down my spine, straight to my dick.
There’s a shout in the distance, a dog barks, and Maddie stiffens and pushes at my shoulders. “I’ve got to go.”
I don’t budge. “I thought you had something you wanted to discuss.”
She freezes as if deliberating. “It’s not important.”
I tilt her chin up, so she’s forced to look at me. “I want to see you again Maddie. I want to have you for real.”
She huffs, shaking her head. “Was last night not real enough for you?”
I cup her pussy, feeling the heat through the dress slacks covering it. “Can you still feel me here? Do you ache?”
She lets out a little whimper. “Jess—”
“It’ll be real enough when I’ve fucked you so thoroughly you feel me all the next day. I want you to think of me with every shift of your body, remembering me deep inside you, wishing I was there.”
Her head drops back against the brick. “Shit.”
I dip my head, kissing a trail up to her mouth. I hover there until she’s leaning forward. Only then do I kiss her. It’s a whispered touch of our lips, meant to tease and leave her wanting more. If Maddie wants satisfaction, she’s going to have to see me again.
When I pull back, she’s frowning up at me with a stormy gaze. “Jess, there’s something I should tell you.”
“Tonight,” I say. “Whatever it is you have to say can wait until tonight.”
Her pretty brows furrow. “There’s not going to be a tonight.”
Maddie has drawn herself up into her haughty stance, but she’s all flushed, her nipples pebbled beneath her silky blouse, and the pulse at her throat beats a mad rhythm.
“Be at my garage at eight.”
“Jess,” she huffs my name in frustration as I walk away.
I smile and call over my shoulder, “I’ll see you tonight, beautiful.”
Keeping myself on a forward trajectory is painful. All I want to do is go back and kiss her senseless.
Once in my car, I have to adjust myself before I start the ignition. The deep hum of the engine makes my dick stiffen back up as I imagine fucking Maddie over the hood of my car, the heat and the vibration of the motor beneath us.
Fuck.
Madeline comes out of the alley, her head up and purse tucked under one arm. She glances my way, pauses then shakes her head. Her long-legged stride takes her down the sidewalk, toward the center of town, hips swaying like a fucking siren with every step she takes.
I sit in my car like a creeper, drooling over her ass and think about everything I want to do to it.
If she doesn’t show up tonight…
She’ll show.
Something in my chest tightens. I don’t question why it matters so much. She’s leaving town soon. It would be idiotic to want more. I’m not a relationship kind of guy.
For her I would be, my mind whispers, but I ignore that.
It’s obvious all she can handle right now is a purely sexual relationship, and I can get on board with that. I just hope she’s also onboard.
She’ll show.
Senior Year
The back door slams, and I whip my hand off Nikki Stephenson’s tit like I was burned. Jace stomps into the living room, and I look at the clock. It’s only half past nine, and I thought I was going to have the house to myself. Jake is out of town. Dad has bowling league. And Jace was supposed to be somewhere drooling over Madeline Fitzpatrick.
“Hey, man. I thought you had your date tonight.”
“It wasn’t a date,” he snaps, his angry tread tearing up the living room as he stalks back and forth.
“Sure. Right.” Dude wore one of Dad’s button-up shirts and cologne. It was a date. With Madeline Fitzpa
trick, the hottest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. I have no idea how he did it. “How’d it go?”
“She didn’t fucking show.”
My gut clenches in disappointment, and I don’t know why. I should be relieved. To say I was envious when he told me he was going out with Madeline tonight would be an understatement. It would have been torture to watch them date. Just seeing them walking down the hall together did something to me.
I felt…left out.
Which is fucked up, right?
“She’s a serious stone-cold bitch,” Nikki pipes in, plastering herself to my side. “You don’t need her.”
Shit. For a second, I forgot she was here. Jace stops pacing and looks at Nicole as if for the first time.
“You don’t know her.” Jace drags a hand through his hair. “Something could have happened.”
“Or, she stood you up. I mean, get a clue, Jace.” Nikki’s voice is catty.
I frown down at her. She’s pretty in an obvious way. Sleek black hair. Perky tits. Pouty pink lips. Her features are delicate and petite. My wang looks huge sinking into her.
She’s also way more into my brother than me and has been trying to make him jealous by dating me.
It’s not going great for her, but I’m getting my dick wet on the regular, so I don’t say anything.
Jace shakes his head. “I’m going to go drive by her place. See if she’s all right.”
This has me snapping off the couch, and I catch him in the kitchen. “Whoa, man. You showing up at her house at almost ten o’clock at night will go over like Brillo Pad toilet paper.” I lower my voice. “You remember what Dad said? You’re not even supposed to be seeing her.”
He shoves me back. “Fuck Dad. And fuck you. You don’t know her like I do.”
I hold out my hands. “Just be careful in case her dad is cleaning his hunting rifles.”
The back door slams for the second time tonight. If he goes to that girl’s house, he’s totally going to get an ass full of buckshot.
Nikki nestles herself behind me, sliding her hand up the back of my shirt. “I don’t know what he sees in her.”
