Tempting Boundaries

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  He narrowed his eyes at the lie. “Honey, that’s the lowdown. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but you’re not going to find it here.” She didn’t look like she was backing down so he did the only thing he could do.

  He kissed her.

  He cupped her face, her skin soft under the roughness of his hands, crushing his mouth to hers. She gasped before opening up for him. Damn, he wanted more, craved more, but that wouldn’t be happening. Their tongues clashed, their teeth nipping, scraping. He rocked his body against hers, pushing her harder into the counter. His cock pressed against her belly, hard, waiting.

  She moaned and her body shook.

  He gripped her hair and pulled her head back so he could deepen the kiss, fucking her mouth with his tongue even though he knew he needed to stop.

  Before he could take it further, he pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers. His breath came in pants to match hers. He needed to scare her away. “Fuck, little girl. You feel that? That’s me being easy on you. You can’t handle what I have. You better go back to Mommy and Daddy and forget about playing with the man from the wrong side of the tracks. Got it?”

  “What?” She pushed at his chest, and he stepped back. No matter how much he wanted to scare her into keeping her distance, he’d never do anything to harm her.

  The contradiction in his actions didn’t escape him.

  “Go home, little girl.” He didn’t beg, but he was well on his way to doing so.

  She licked her bruised, swollen lips, confusion in her eyes. She had beard-burn on her jaw and neck, and her hair looked as if he’d run his hands through it, pulling hard.

  He had.

  If she’d gone to any of her brothers or sisters right then, they’d kick Decker’s ass.

  And he’d deserve it.

  “What’s wrong, Decker?”

  “You need to go, Miranda. That’s what’s wrong. I don’t want you here.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not going anywhere. You wanted to scare me? Fine. You did it. I won’t ask you out again. I’m not going to make a fool of myself again. But, as you put it so eloquently before, we’re family. You were wound up before I even walked through the door, and I was so focused on my own worries, I ignored yours. What’s going on?”

  He ran a hand over his face and tugged on his beard. “Just go, Miranda.” He sighed.

  She put her hands on her hips. When she got that look in her eyes, he knew it would be hard as hell to make her do anything she didn’t want to do.

  Fuck.

  “Fine. You want a beer? I need a fucking beer.” He walked past her and grabbed himself one.

  “Yes. I could use one. It’s been a weird day. That’s for sure.”

  He got her one as well and opened them both. She took hers, and they both took long pulls from their bottles before taking another breath.

  “Tell me,” she whispered then stood on her tiptoes and rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. He closed his eyes, inhaling her scent, calming at her touch. When Colleen had done that, touched him that way, he’d felt weird, like the other woman was trying too hard.

  But Miranda?

  Damn it.

  He took a step back, ignoring the hurt in her eyes.

  Better just tell her so she’d go away and leave him with his own shit to deal with.

  “My mom called today. I guess Dad’s getting out of jail tomorrow, and they want me over there for dinner.”

  Miranda didn’t know everything that had gone on in his house when he hadn’t been with her family, but since she was a Montgomery, she knew enough. Not even Griffin knew everything, and back in the day, Decker and Grif had been closer than twins.

  Her face softened, even as a spark of anger flared through her eyes. “Oh, Decker. I’m so sorry. I hate your dad. I know it means nothing that I do, but I wish there was a special place for him where he couldn’t hurt you anymore.”

  He didn’t believe there was anything she could do, but the fact that she cared? That had to be something…something he’d ignore because he couldn’t go on like this.

  She looked down at his tattoo on his forearm and frowned. She couldn’t know what it meant…could she?

  “I hate him,” she whispered, her fingers trailing over the paw prints.

  His hand fisted. “Why are you looking at my tattoo?”

  Her wet eyes met his, and he cursed. “No one told me…but I overheard Mom and Dad talking about it when you got it. Don’t be mad at them, but they knew what happened to your dog and why you got paw prints inked on your arm. I’m so sorry that we couldn’t be there to stop it.”

  He swallowed back the bile at the memory and shook his head. There was no way he would have wanted Miranda to be part of that, and no way he wanted her entangled with the memory of his dad’s violence.

  “It was a long time ago,” he said, his voice rough. Her gaze told him she didn’t believe him, just as he didn’t believe himself.

  “Is there anything we can do? Anything we can do to keep you safe?” She put her hand on his arm, over the ink, and he let her keep it there. She’d touched him before, and he hadn’t burst into flames. He’d try not to let it happen now.

  “Nothing we can do,” he grunted. “Just move on and try to ignore the fucked-up way my family is.”

  “You have a family, Decker, and it’s not them. And if what I did today screwed it up, I’m sorry. I’ll do my best not to let it happen again.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “We’ll forget it.” As if he could ever forget her taste on his tongue, but that was another matter.

  She winced, but then gave him a small smile. “Okay. And I’m sorry, Decker. So sorry that they’re letting him out of jail, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I wish I could go kick his ass or something, but that wouldn’t solve anything.”

  Miranda understood.

  She always understood.

  That’s why he couldn’t be with her.

  She knew too much and saw it all.

  Or at least most of it.

  He wasn’t good enough for her, and one day, she’d see that too.

  Chapter Five

  She’d thrown herself at him.

  Dear. God.

  She’d walked right over there and had taken the biggest chance of her life…only to find out she’d done it for nothing.

  How much more of an idiot could she have been? She banged her head against her bedroom wall and cursed herself. She just hoped she hadn’t ruined what she had with him. He was her friend. The person who knew her—or who she’d been—just as well as any of her family. If not more, if she was honest with herself. Sure, it was going to be horribly awkward at family functions, but she’d get over it. She had to.

  What she’d known from the start was that Decker was part of the Montgomery family even if he wasn’t blood, and she wouldn’t let him walk away from that. She’d seen first-hand what happened to him when his old life tried to claw at him, pulling him back in as he fought against it with all his strength. She wouldn’t let him pull away from the only family he knew.

  Damn it.

  She quickly stripped and got into her shower, wanting to wash away the day. A small part of her—okay, a larger part of her than she’d wanted to admit—would like to have kept his scent on her skin, but she didn’t want to cross the stalker line into obsession. Water slid down her skin, and she closed her eyes. This feeling of…inadequacy? Loss? Whatever it was, it would pass. She was made of stronger stuff than a wallowing little girl, but it was sure as hell hard right then.

  It had been important to her to take that leap and talk to Decker. If she’d stayed away and yearned from afar, she’d have regretted it. Regretted not knowing, even if knowing ached. She rubbed a hand over her heart between her breasts. Yeah, it hurt like hell he didn’t want her, but now she knew.

  Oh yeah, he’d kissed her.

  Truly kissed her, but it had been a demonstration.

  She moaned aloud at the memory. He�
�d been so rough, so in control, so powerful, that she’d almost climbed up his body like it was a tree. The man was absolutely built, and she’d felt his hard erection pressing into her belly. He’d been huge. Long, thick, and so ready to be inside her. Maybe her pussy, maybe her mouth, maybe even between her breasts. She whimpered slightly, letting her hand fall between her legs.

  Just one more time.

  Just one more time, and she’d never let herself come again just thinking of him.

  This was so, so, bad, but she didn’t care. Not right then.

  She let one hand cup her breast while the other fell between her thighs. Decker had revved her up so fast, so hot, that even after talking with him for twenty minutes about things that had nothing to do with her needs, she still felt his presence. She could still smell him on herself, still feel the rough scrape of his beard on her neck.

  God, what would it feel like to have that beard scrape along the inner silk of her thighs, as he ate her out, licking and sucking along her pussy, nibbling at her clit? What would it feel like to have that other edge, that other pleasure?

  She rolled her nipple between her fingers, tugging and twisting to get that slight pain she always loved when she made herself come. No man had ever found that edge for her, but she had a feeling Decker would have found it quickly.

  She lifted her hips so the hot water slid between her fingers and over her pussy. The moan escaping her grew louder as she imagined Decker’s fat cock sliding between her legs to press into her in one hard thrust. She pumped her fingers in and out of her channel, mimicking what she wanted Decker to do to her. He’d set the pace, and she’d let him. God, how she wanted to give up control and just feel.

  She imagined Decker licking down her neck and biting down on her nipple. Hard. With a flick of her wrist, she pressed down on her clit and came. Her legs shook, and she slowly slid down the shower wall until she sat on the floor, water pouring around her. God, how she wanted him. Wanted more of him.

  She’d never have him though, and that was something she’d have to learn to be okay with. No one got everything they wanted, and Miranda knew that she had to stay positive.

  Even though it hurt and she’d always love him, yearning after a man who would never love her would only make it worse.

  She got up and quickly washed her hair and body, trying to push Decker out of her mind. She’d done what she’d said she’d do and asked him out. It hadn’t worked, and hopefully, she hadn’t ruined what they had. It didn’t make her fickle to want to keep what she had even if she’d scratched the surface of it. It only made her protective of her heart and her connections.

  Now she’d take the next step on her plan and make sure she was happy before she found someone else. She didn’t plan on living her life alone, nor did she want it to revolve around a man. It would be nice, though, to find a happy medium.

  It just wouldn’t be with Decker Kendrick.

  And that would have to be okay.

  Eventually.

  “You look like you’re getting the hang of everything.”

  Miranda looked over her shoulder at Jack and smiled. It had been two weeks since she’d opened herself up for heartache, and the world hadn’t ended. Fourteen days of her growing up and being an adult.

  Things were going to be okay.

  Things were great.

  “I’d like to think so,” she replied as she closed her take-home folders. The end of the day bell had rung about twenty minutes before, and she was so ready for the weekend. Maybe even more than the students.

  The semester was in full swing, and the first set of exams were looming the next week. She hoped her students were ready, but there was only so much she could do. At some point, her kids would have to learn to study on their own, with their parents, and show Miranda what they had.

  God, had it always been this stressful when she’d been a student?

  “You look like you could use a drink. What do you say to dinner tonight?”

  She blinked up at Jack, surprised he’d asked her again. He hadn’t asked her since that one afternoon in the parking lot, so she figured he’d given up or hadn’t thought about her in more than a co-worker sense. For a moment, she considered saying no politely and moving on, but for some reason, she wasn’t quite ready to do so.

  She knew she needed to get over Decker, and dating would be one way to do that. Plus, Jack wasn’t an unattractive man; in fact, he was downright good looking. She could do worse than Jack. The school wouldn’t have a problem with it unless she made it a problem. She’d looked up the bylaws just in case even asking her out had crossed a boundary, and it hadn’t in the least.

  Which was why she knew she had to try.

  “You know what. That sounds great. Where were you thinking?”

  Something like satisfaction washed over his face, and he smiled full-out. He did have a nice smile. Not as nice or dangerous as Decker’s but…

  Nope. That was enough of that. There would be no more comparing the man in front of her, who wanted to date her, and the man who would have to remain her friend and only her friend.

  “Let’s go to this piano bar I know near my place. They have great food, better drinks, and even better entertainment.”

  She’d never been to a piano bar, but there was always a first for everything. “That sounds great. What time were you thinking?”

  Jack picked up her bag from her desk and slid the strap over his shoulder. She sighed inwardly but kept a smile on her face then took it back from him. She was more than capable of holding her own things. Jack raised a brow, but let her have her bag back.

  “Seven works for me. How about I pick you up then?”

  She shook her head. “I can meet you there at seven if you give me the name or address.” There was no way she’d just give her address to a man on the first date. She was smarter than that.

  Something washed over his face for a moment before he smiled again, rattling off the name of the bar. “See you at seven, Miranda. I can’t wait to see you in a dress.”

  Apparently he wanted to see her in a dress that night. Well, that was okay since she’d been planning to wear one anyway, but for some reason, it annoyed her a bit that he assumed he’d get his way. It was like the bag thing when they’d been in the parking lot. Little things that put up red flags for no apparent reason. Maybe she just needed to push that to the side since it probably had to do with Decker. She was just looking for things to nitpick, and she shouldn’t ruin something before she even had a chance to see how it went.

  “See you then.”

  He walked her out to her car, his body brushing slightly against hers. She moved to the side a bit, making sure they kept as much distance as possible without looking like idiots. Even though it was okay that they went out on a date, she knew it wouldn’t be smart to flaunt it at work.

  “Seven siblings? That’s crazy.”

  Miranda rolled her eyes and took a sip of her one glass of wine for the night. Jack’s response to her number of family members wasn’t a first. These days, that many siblings was something of an oddity. She knew that, as did her family, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way. She liked the way the eight of them had grown up. She liked the noise, the constant in-your-face connections, and the worries that came with that many people being in her business.

  She’d grown up with two parents and seven older siblings who seemed to know everything she got into. Sometimes it got to be annoying as hell since she’d never been able to sneak out of her house and party like some of the girls in her class, but she’d had enough of that in college. Between her immediate family, her numerous cousins, and Decker, she’d always had someone to hang out with, so she’d never been lonely. Not many people could say that outside her family.

  And that was going to be the last time she thought of Decker, darn it.

  “It was loud, always busy, and what I grew up with, so I loved it,” she finally said. She played with the stem of her wineglass. “I don’t really
know what it’s like to not have a large family. I’m the last, so I’ve always had that many siblings. The others at least had time with less before the rest of us came along.”

  Jack shook his head. He had smile on his face that didn’t make her tremble, but at least looked really pleasing.

  Pleasing?

  Dear God, she needed to try harder at this.

  “I can’t believe your oldest brother is what, fifteen years older than you? His name’s Austin, right?”

  She smiled then, thinking of her big brother who had never been a parent to her like some other siblings in big families had been. Her parents had somehow found a way to make the age difference work so the older kids never had to raise the younger ones.

  “Yes, his name is Austin. And now the age difference doesn’t seem to matter much.” Well, the older ones still babied her a bit, but that was waning. Some.

  “I’ve never known what it’s like to have so many siblings. Do you have any nieces or nephews?”

  He seemed genuinely interested instead of just talking to fill the time, so she smiled. “Yes, I have two nephews and a niece.”

  Jack’s eyes widened. “That few for so many of you?”

  Miranda shrugged. She wasn’t about to get into the whole secret-baby thing that happened to Austin, or the fact that Alex didn’t have any children with his wife though she thought he’d always wanted them. Some things weren’t meant to be shared unless the other person was truly part of her life. Jack wasn’t there.

  “Only a couple of us are married or engaged. I think we’re right at the stage in life where more weddings and babies are coming though. Or at least I like to think so.”

  Jack winked at her, and Miranda blushed, mortified.

  “I meant with the others. Dear God. Sorry. That came out all wrong. I totally didn’t mean that I was looking for marriage or anything. Please. Just shoot me now.”

  Jack threw his head back and laughed. “No worries. I figured out what you meant.” He raised a brow. “Or at least, I hoped I had.”