by Marni Mann
Five thousand a month in rent…that didn’t sound right.
“I am,” I said.
“All that commission, it would be crazy to give it to someone besides your girlfriend, right?”
She wasn’t showy, and it was quite possible that she spent her money on other things besides fashion and accessories. But why have such a large housing budget when three thousand would have gotten her a decent place in Boston? She wanted the extras and those came with a price. Personally, I would have rather spent that money on myself and not on a high-rise.
I needed to know more.
“Are you moving here with your boyfriend? Husband?”
She shook her head as the waiter returned with her second beer. “Neither. I’ll start dating again once I get settled, assuming you can find me what I’m looking for.”
“She will,” Derek said.
“I will,” I confirmed.
She smiled and sat up straight, finally closing the view of her breasts. “Of course you will.”
I didn’t get the sense she was challenging me. She’d heard of me, which meant she knew what I was capable of. There was something about her that just wasn’t adding up. Or maybe I was just questioning everything about her because she was the only woman Derek had ever loved.
She took her phone out of her purse and stared at the screen. “I have to take this call. Excuse me a minute.” She pushed her chair back and headed toward the lobby.
“I want her out of here the second she gets back,” Derek said. The waiter placed our two appetizers in the middle of our table. “Can you put her beer in a to-go cup?”
“No problem,” the waiter said, lifting it off the table. “Should I still give her the check?”
“Give it to me once we’ve finished eating.” He didn’t speak until the waiter left. “You’re handling this better than I would.”
Taylor had been cordial since the moment we’d met. I couldn’t say the same for Reed, which was why Derek had handled their encounters much differently. If her politeness was only an act, it would come out the second we were alone.
I stood, stopping at his chair to give him a kiss. “It’s a business deal, Derek, and I treat all my clients the same…even your ex-girlfriend.”
He laughed and tightened his fingers around mine. “Then no cat fights in the bathroom. Got it?”
“I wouldn’t stoop that low.”
“No, but she would.” I pulled my fingers away to take a step. “For the record, I think you’d win.”
I smiled at him and walked through the restaurant, toward the lobby where the bathroom was located. As I reached the door, I heard her speaking to someone inside, using a much different tone than she had at the table. It was weak, even a little whiny. I gripped the handle and pressed my ear against the frosted glass.
“He didn’t say.” She paused. She was still on the phone. “He wouldn’t talk about it.”
Was Derek the he she was referring to? And what wouldn’t he talk about?
“I’ll stay on him,” she continued. I could hear her pacing across the tiled floor. “Don’t worry, I’ll get everything you need, but you’ve got to give me a few more days.”
A few more days…for what?
When she paused again, I pulled out my phone. There was a missed call from Reed on the screen, and a text message that asked me to call him. I ignored both, found Brea’s name and started to type:
Frankie: I need you to quickly find out everything you can on Derek’s ex. She just moved here from Phoenix. She works in marketing. Her name is Taylor Hall. I’ll fill you in later.
“Yes, you’ve made yourself extremely clear,” Taylor said.
Brea’s reply came almost instantly.
Brea: I’m all over it.
“Okay…okay,” Taylor said. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
Walking into the bathroom now would make my timing look a little suspicious, so I released the door handle and hurried back to the table.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“Do I need to send someone in there to get Taylor?” He was smiling, but I could tell it was an honest question.
“I’m sure she’ll be coming right along.” I returned the smile, part of me wishing I hadn’t heard her conversation, and another part knowing that with Brea’s help I would get to the bottom of it. I wasn’t a spy, and I certainly wasn’t an investigator, but I wouldn’t let her hurt Derek, if that was her intention. “Here she is…”
She looked flustered when she reached the table, her false confidence stripped. “Sorry about that.”
“Sorry about wha—”
“The appetizers are delicious,” I said, interrupting Derek before he could finish his question. I stuck my fork into a piece of calamari, realizing I hadn’t even tried it. “Thanks for suggesting we order some.”
She reached inside her purse, filling her hands with several bills and dropped them onto the table. “Thanks for letting me crash your party, but I’ve really got to go.”
Derek picked up the money and handed it to her. “I’m not taking this, Taylor.”
“Please. It’s the least I can do.”
As he tried putting it in her hand, she backed away. “Frankie, I’ll wait for your call.”
“Wait, Taylor,” I told her. “I don’t have your number.”
“Oh. Right.”
I found one of my business cards inside my purse and gave it to her. “How about you call me tomorrow afternoon,” I said. “Or shoot me an email. Both are on there.”
She slipped the card into her pocket without looking at it. “I’ll do that. Thanks.” She quickly glanced at Derek. “Thank you both.” And then she was gone.
Derek’s hand was on my leg; his eyes were devouring mine. I had his full attention, and I should have been relieved that we were free from his ex. But I wasn’t. I was filled with questions, some of which I was nervous about finding the answers to.
“I know you’re business-minded,” he said. “I wouldn’t change that about you and I wouldn’t try to take it away from you, but don’t ever allow my ex to come to dinner again.”
Until I found something substantial—if there was even something to find—I wasn’t going to mention her phone call to him. Telling him I had spied on his ex would only make me sound jealous, and probably a little nuts. And I honestly wasn’t jealous—not of her, at least, though maybe a bit of her knowledge of him.
“I won’t,” I said. “I promise.”
“Tonight is about us, no one else, and that’s the way I want it to stay. No more interruptions.”
I took a deep breath and reached for my wine. I wasn’t going to let my brain jump to conclusions. This weekend was about us. Not Taylor. Not Reed. “I agree.”
He leaned into the table, his hand moving higher up my leg. “Kiss me.”
We weren’t in a back booth, and this restaurant wasn’t nearly as private as The Hole. There were more servers, a more open floor plan, many other tables close by. What he was asking for was much more than the peck I had given him before I’d gone to the bathroom. “Those fingers,” I said, placing my hand on top of them, “aren’t planning on going any higher, are they?”
He licked his bottom lip, teasing me with just the swipe of his tongue and the whiskers that surrounded it. “They weren’t, no. But now that I know it’s on your mind, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop them.”
ELEVEN.
DEREK
FRANKIE SAT next to me on the couch, her hands in her lap, her legs tucked underneath her. Her head was on my chest, and I felt every slow breath. She was relaxed, tired. We’d eaten a big meal at Blu, shared some wine, and I’d poured us another glass when we’d arrived back to the house. Taylor had gotten under my fucking skin and Frankie hadn’t let me touch her at the restaurant. Tonight hadn’t gone anything like I had planned. But it wasn’t over yet, and the second I grazed her skin, I knew her nipples would harden and her fingers would st
art clawing, begging me to caress her. I understood why she didn’t want it back at the restaurant, but I knew she’d want it here.
Before I could sweep my fingers over her, my phone vibrated from my back pocket. I reached for it, the screen showing a text from my sister:
Hayden: Took a little longer than I expected. He signed.
I stopped reading to look at the time. It was just after ten on a Saturday night. She’d told me in her last text she was meeting him this morning. As soon as I dropped Frankie off tomorrow, I had to call my sister and make sure she wasn’t visiting these guys alone and that she was keeping herself safe.
Hayden: He gave me names of two of his friends. Both injured on the job. It’s getting deeper.
“Is everything okay?” Frankie asked, lifting her head to look at me.
This shit wasn’t okay. Hayden was starting to worry me—I didn’t like the amount of time she was spending with these guys and how involved she was. And this was becoming much deeper than we both thought.
“Fine.” I kissed her forehead and typed Hayden a quick reply, telling her I would call her tomorrow afternoon. Once I hit send, I put my phone away.
“You’re not fine. When you get agitated your breathing changes.”
“I could never be agitated when I’m looking at you.”
Her head tilted back as she laughed. “You say that now. You won’t be saying that when I agitate you.”
“You have agitated me. More than once, as I recall.” My thumb brushed over her bottom lip. She curved it around my finger and kissed it. That mouth…fuck. So provocative, and just the right size to fit my cock.
“You’re going to agitate me if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”
I moved my thumb to her chin. “It was a text from Hayden.”
“More Randy stuff?”
Taylor had attempted to dig up enough shit over dinner, I wasn’t going to get sidetracked by talking about Randy’s bullshit. I wanted the both of them off my mind, not the center of our conversation.
I nodded and reached for her hand. As I stood, I pulled her to her feet and led her down the stairs and out the back door. She didn’t ask where I was taking her; she never did. Submissive; trusting. Her face telling me she enjoyed the suspense.
She would enjoy what I had planned even more.
She shivered when we got outside. The deck above us served as an overhang, but unfortunately it didn’t block the cold. There was a clear, dark sky tonight, and calm waves lapped onto the rocky beach. It was a perfect night for what I intended to do and she’d realize that soon.
“Should I run back up and grab us some jackets?”
“You’ll be warm in a minute.”
We moved to the far side of the overhang. Tucked back here, I had built a little hideaway that had an outdoor shower and a spa that was flush with the ground. The spa was just high enough to see over the short grassy bank and onto the shoreline. It was also hidden enough so boaters couldn’t easily see in. In the dark, we didn’t have to worry about that.
Stopping just to the side of the shower, I turned her around and pulled her against my chest. My hands cupped her face. “I’m going to get you naked and then we’re going to get wet…” I nodded toward the spa. “…in there.”
She kissed me, her tongue slowly gliding into my mouth. I could taste the wine on her breath, feel the hunger inside her as she tore at my flannel. “I’m already wet, Derek.”
That mouth again.
My dick hardened, and I pushed it against her. She shifted her body so she could slide her pussy over it. I couldn’t wait until she was in that water, doing the same thing without any clothes separating us. Then I’d be able to feel her again without a condom on my dick.
As I lifted her shirt off and draped it over the wall of the shower, she said, “Won’t your neighbors hear us?”
I pulled her bottom lip into my mouth as if I were sucking the flavor from it. Then I bit it. My sexy pink ivory had gotten louder since the first time I had been inside her. I’d been fucking her harder because I knew she could take it. But her louder volume had more to do with what was happening in her body, she was learning it, figuring out what she liked.
“There are woods on both sides of my property so the trees will cut any noise you make. And you will be making a whole lot of noise tonight, Frankie.”
I unclasped her bra and pulled it off, dragging her shirt with it. Those goddamn nipples were screaming for my teeth. As she stepped out of her shoes, I unbuttoned her jeans and peeled them down her body. All that was left were her panties and I removed those slowly.
She chewed her lip. “I can get as loud as I want?”
“As loud as you want, baby.” I took the cover off the spa and turned on the jets, and the interior light—a teal LED, which made the space around us glow the same color as the ocean.
When I returned to her, she yanked off my flannel and jeans. Finally naked, I lifted her into the air and wrapped her legs around my waist. Then I carried her down the steps, slowly moving our bodies deeper into the water so she could get used to the temperature.
Walking us toward the back wall, I sat so she straddled me. Her hair brushed over my chest, tickling my skin. “We’re heading back to the city tomorrow.” She arched her back so her nipples moved closer to my face. “But I want to keep you here. Tie you to my headboard with that flannel you just took off me and keep you captive with my tongue.” There was just enough light to show the pleasure that was spreading over her face, the war that was raging in her eyes. She wanted to stay—hell, we both did—but it wasn’t possible for either of us. She wanted to find a balance, and I needed to find one, too.
“Derek…” It came out as a moan. She kissed me, her pussy leaning against my dick, grinding over the side of it. “It’s so tempting. But I’d never surface again, and that wouldn’t be good for either of us.”
She was right, but being in the city meant my time was filled with Timber Towers and construction issues, safety concerns, budgets, investors nagging me about deadlines. And Randy. Keeping Frankie here meant the only things I had to worry about were making sure she was happy and that she came—constantly.
It was time for that.
“Can I try something?” she asked.
I wrapped my hand around her ass, gently probing the tip of my finger into that hole. Her breathing sped up, and her lips parted. “What is it?”
I could see the apprehension on her face. Still, she reached down and took my finger out of her. Then she held both of my hands and placed them on the rim of the tub. “I want you to keep your hands there and don’t move them.”
I laughed. Fuck, I couldn’t help it. She was giving me a demand—a ridiculous one. Not touch her? That was impossible, something I wouldn’t even consider.
“Frankie—”
“Please, Derek.” She moved closer, her lips tracing my beard, then running around my ears and across my nose. “Let me take what I want. At my pace. Just tonight.” She dipped a bit lower until her teeth were nibbling across my lips. “If you hate it, you can have me any way you want me. But for right now, I want you—my way.”
That wasn’t something I’d ever granted any woman I’d been with. If they rode me, it was because I told them to. Frankie wanted the power, the control I’d been denying her. I wanted so much to give it to her. I wanted to see what she would do with it.
“You’re not going to make me beg, are you?”
“As tempting as that is…” The light from the tub shone across her face, her eyes did her begging for her. Her mouth was still open, lust dripping from her wet lips. “I won’t make you beg.” I rolled my shoulders back and gripped the tub even harder, showing her how seriously I was taking her command. “Take what you want.”
“No stipulations? No rules?”
“I’m giving you control. If you do something I don’t like, I’ll tell you. The same way I’d expect you to tell me.”
Her mouth went to my neck and she began to
kiss across it, up my throat and over my chest. Her pussy pressed against my cock, rubbing up and down it, but not allowing it inside her. I just wanted a taste of her wetness.
I needed it.
“Let me feel—”
Her mouth silenced me. Every part of me was fucking screaming for her, and she wasn’t allowing me to tell her. Now I knew how she felt. As much as I wanted to flip her over the side of the tub and plunge my hard cock deep inside her cunt, I wouldn’t. The suspense of what she was going to do was intensely erotic.
“You like this, don’t you?”
She bit the corner of her lip again. “I do.” She glanced behind her as if she were assessing how much room there was. “And I know you’re going to like this.” She unhooked her legs from around my waist and twisted her body until she was floating on her stomach. She held my eyes before ducking her head under the water.
My lids closed as her lips wrapped around my dick. “Fuuuck,” I hissed. Her tongue flicked over my crown and around the sides of my cock. She was taking me in deep, my tip hitting the back of her throat. Her hand was on my balls, rubbing them as she lifted her mouth and dipped. She came up for air…and then she went down again.
I squeezed the tub so hard, tempted to rock my hips forward and jam it back down her throat. But I didn’t—I couldn’t. I’d promised to give her the control. I had to keep my word. It was damn hard…and yet it was the biggest turn-on.
She came up for another breath and sank down again. The pressure she used to suck me off showed how much she enjoyed it. It felt as if she couldn’t get enough of it, enough of me.
“Frankie, fuck…” I moaned.
She surfaced and looked at me, her long lashes wet and framing those perfect gunmetal eyes. “Yes?”
“Unless you want me to come…”
