by Amelia James
He grinned at me and
waited.
“No.”
“So that’s what no sounds like when you mean it.” He helped himself to the coffee while I warmed a croissant in the toaster oven. I didn’t offer him one, but he took it anyway, then sat at the table, grabbing my phone when a text message lit up the screen.
“Give me that.”
His eyebrows furrowed, and he read out loud. “Holland Spencer: I have a new assignment for you.” He scowled. “Why is he texting you? He’s not your boss anymore.”
There was no point in lying.
He would know. “He recruited me for one of his special projects.” I tried to drown the words in my coffee.
“Ha. Spencer’s special projects are rarely ethical and usually illegal.”
So I’d heard. “Really?”
“How do you think he paid for his new house? Not even the top senior partners make that much money.”
“I had no idea.”
He cocked an eyebrow.
“What have you gotten involved in, Talia?” Alex moved toward me, sliding his hand from my shoulder down my arm, and pulled me close.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Has he threatened you?”
Genuine concern filled his gorgeous blue eyes, and I almost threw myself into his arms and confessed everything.
But I couldn’t tell anyone
not a morally ambiguous attorney, and especially not my righteous cop boyfriendso I stepped back and refilled my mug. My hands betrayed me, spilling coffee across the countertop.
“I can protect you.” He stood close, his voice low even though we were alone. “I have connections that’ll make him squirm.”
“I know.” I grabbed a towel to wipe up the dripping coffee, avoiding his gaze.
“All right.” He looked at his watch. “I gotta get home and take a shower.” A wicked sparkle lit his eyes. “Unless you’ll let me share yours.”
“No.”
“You’re too cute.” He kissed me and grabbed his coat, laughing under his breath.
When he reached the door, he turned back to me, his jaw set.
“I need to schedule a meeting with Spencer.”
My empty coffee cup
shattered on the floor, and I backed up a step. “Alex, no”
“Yes.” His cheek twitched. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
The door slammed behind him.
I stopped shaking. Alex was as dangerous and unethical as Hollandmaybe morebut he would protect me.
My phone rang and I
grabbed it. “Will!”
“Case closed. I’m coming home, sweetheart.”
“I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too. Are you okay?”
Did he know? Could he hear something in my voice? How could he know? “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Always. I can take care of myself.”
A little voice inside me said Will could protect me tooif I trusted him. I did trust him.
That wasn’t why I kept silent. If he knew what I was doing for Holland, he would be so ashamed of memore so than if he found out about Alex.
“I’m running late, honey,” I said. “I gotta take a shower.”
“Okay, I’ll see you after work tonight. I love you.”
“I know.” I barely got the words out. “Bye.”
Will said nothing, stoic as always.
I stood in the shower and turned the hot water all the way up, but I couldn’t get clean. The woman I used to be strong, smart, honestwhat had happened to her?
Alex had happened.
Holland had happened. They’d deceived me, dragged me down into their dangerous world. Theyespecially Alex
had taken advantage of my needs. He’d manipulated me, bent me to his will and made me his submissive wimp.
I despised wimps.
The steaming water burned into my skin, but instead of cowering, I lifted my face and welcomed the refining fire. But it wasn’t enough. I shut off the hot water and screamed as cold water doused me, tempering my resolve liked hardened steel.
“Will, I’m fucking your best friend.” My words echoed off the tile walls. He wasn’t there to hear me, but the confession felt good.
With teeth chattering, I jumped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. My hands shook while I dragged a comb through my hair. I dressed quickly, still trembling, uncertainty clinging to my heart.
I felt different, like something newor maybe something oldwas stirring inside me. What’s the lesson here? One hot shower wouldn’t change anything.
I had to do something.
Just Sex
This Super Bowl party sucked. No one here was a fan of either team, not even the host. Holland Spencer, my exboss and newest senior partner at the firm, was using it as an excuse to show off his fancy new house. Alex had been right; Holland hadn’t acquired the money for this place honestlybut only I could prove that. The place was pretty impressive. Most football parties I’d been to had one TV
in a room where everybody gathered, but Holland’s house had a TV in the living room, the family room, the kitchen, and…
oh, the game room.
“This room is as big as your apartment,” Will said.
The flat screen plasma HD
TV had a sixty-inch screenI knew this because Holland had given everyone a guided tour, complete with technical details for all his gadgetsbut it looked small along the gigantic wall.
Will leaned back against the pool table with a beer in his hand, chatting up Alex’s legal assistant, Lindsay. Cute, blonde and perky, she looked more like a cheerleader than a paralegal, but she was smart as a whip.
I didn’t like her. For some reason, she just rubbed me the wrong. Maybe it was because she had an obvious crush on Alex, and jumped at the chance to do anything for him. It might have been her job to assist him, but the way she gushed over him was
disgusting.
Will laughed at something Lindsay said. I loved his laugh rich and genuine, lighting up his blue eyes like a firecracker.
Lindsay leaned close to him and put her hand on his arm. I knew that move; used it myself.
Should I be jealous? No. Will smiled down at her, but his eyes didn’t have the same warmth as when he smiled at me. He shifted and her hand slipped off him.
Ha. Take that, assistant slut.
The crowd around the TV
laughed, watching the commercials, not the game.
Typical Super Bowl party. I didn’t even remember last year’s game. I’d met Will that night. He’d been talking to Alex, laughing and joking. Our first eye contact was a come-tome-
baby wink, and I couldn’t resist itsexy and a little bit arrogant. I’d walked over to him, plucked his beer from his hand and finished it off. His left eyebrow arched. Why was that so sexy? And then he smiled. We’d been together ever since.
Holy mother… it’s been a year.
One year with one man. That’s a good thing, right?
One man and Alex… but Alex didn’t count. It was just sex with him. With Will, it was moremore friendship, more love, more laughter, more contentment.
“Talia.” Will waved me over.
Lindsay had left, but Will still stood at the pool table talking to another of my lawyer colleagues. When he smiled and winked at me in his familiar way, my heart began to pound. Familiar? Or possessive? He doesn’t own me.
Yeah, we’re a couple, but…. The room shrunk and I heard a whoosh as all the air was sucked from my lungs. My drink slipped in my sweaty hand. I waved Will off and searched for an escape, catching the concern in his eyes before I ducked out the nearest exit to the patio.
Cold air filled my chest and calmed my panicked heart.
“Are you okay, baby?” Will appeared beside me and kissed my cheek.
“Yeah.”
He tried to pull me close, but my stiff body wouldn’t cooperate, so he ran his hand a
cross my shoulders and down my back. “You’re tense.”
“I just need some breathing room. It got kinda crowded in there.”
He looked back at the spacious, mostly-empty game room and smiled. “Okay. I’ll be here if you need me.”
“Okay.” I kissed him, and he patted my ass as he went inside.
I leaned back against the solid stone wall, letting my eyes and my mind un-focus.
Crusty old snow stuck to the grass in moonlit patches. The house surrounded me, its towering walls looming overhead, wrapping around the patio. I peeked into the surrounding windows. Holland had a gourmet kitchen, a hot tub, and a master suite: all luxuries he’d stolen.
A light came on and a woman walked into his bedroom. I recognized Holland’s wife by her tooblonde hair and too-pink nails nails that surrounded a man’s hand, pulling him into the room behind her.
Alex?
I knew he was at the party, but I hadn’t seen him until now. What the hell is he doing in their bedroom? Dumb question.
Why does he want her when he can have me?
She kissed him and started unbuttoning his shirt. He slid his hand across her ass, pulling up her skirt. She grabbed his tie and pulled him toward the bed.
Wow, that took balls
screwing another guy in her husband’s bed. What a slut.
And what was Alex doing with her? He knew I was here, didn’t he? No way in hell would I share that married bitch with him! This had to stop.
I faked tripping over a wrought iron chair, dragging it screeching and thumping across the stone floor, then ducked behind the French door and peeked out to see if they’d noticed.
They jumped apart, and Alex looked toward the patio as I slipped inside.
Will had his back to me, lining up his next shot on the pool table.
Spinning on my heel, I deliberately darted down the hall leading to the master suite, turning one corner after another. What are you going to do? Burst into the bedroom and drag him out of there? I had to come up with some excuse. I got lost looking for the bathroom?
That might work.
I turned another blind corner and slammed straight into a hot muscled chest.
Alex.
He grabbed my arms and pinned me against the wall. “I saw you outside. What the hell were you doing out there?”
“Me? What were you doing with her?”
He snarled. “Trying to get laid, which you ruined, thank you very much.”
I smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Ha. Pissing him off feels good.
“She’s married, you know.”
“You have a serious
boyfriend, you know.”
Serious? Being together a year makes us serious? “Shut up.
You’re not supposed to date coworkers.”
“She’s not a co-worker, and I don’t intend to date her.” Alex grinned. “I’m just gonna fuck her.”
My fingers itched to slap him. “I’m pretty sure fucking a partner’s wife is against the firm’s rules too, but everyone knows you don’t care about rules.” I laced that statement with so much venom I could taste it.
His jaw twitched and his fingers dug into my arm. “Don’t lecture me about rules, slut.”
His low growl made my pussy flutter.
I gasped and squirmed.
“Stop, you’re leaving a mark.”
His eyes turned dark and his grip tightened.
“Why didn’t you come find me?” I yanked my arm back, but he didn’t let go.
“She’s been flirting with me for weeks. I knew she was a sure thing.”
“I’m a sure thing! You don’t need anyone else.”
“What’s wrong with you?
Are you jealous?”
“No! I’m….” Wait. Am I?
Seeing Lindsay touch Will hadn’t bothered me, but seeing Alex grope another woman made me insane. No. That was not right. I would not get jealous of
” I have slept with other women since I started fucking you.”
You’ve what? I slapped him.
Alex laughed and pushed open the closest door, and shoved me inside.
I stumbled and caught myself against a granite countertop. I watched in the mirror as Alex crossed the room and grabbed my
upturned ass, grinding his hard cock against me. His big hand slid over my shoulder and closed on my throat. My heart slammed in my chest as blackness swirled behind my eyes, my pussy dripping as I strugglednot to get away from him, but to unzip my jeans.
“You can’t control me.” He squeezed tighter and my breath came short. “Remember?”
He let go and I collapsed on the counter, gasping.
He reached for the door.
You’re leaving? “Wait.”
He turned and crossed his arms over his chest.
Why had I stopped him?
Will was probably wondering what happened to me, looking for me. I should have been with him tonight. We met a year ago, and he wanted to celebrate, but I…. I wanted Alex.
Damn it! Why can’t I get enough of him? I loved Willwe had great sex. But I craved Alex we had amazing sex. He did things to me Will would never dream of doing. I needed that excitement, that danger Alex provided. I needed Alex.
No. I needed his cock. It was just sex. Nothing more.
But he wanted to fuck someone else, some married slut who didn’t care that others might be hurt. She just wanted a good lay. She wanted his cock. She wanted to use him….
Oh God. I’m no better than her.
Alex was still waiting, arms crossed, but his expression had lost its hard edge. He was a master at reading people, not that he had to try very hard with me tonight.
When I looked in the mirror, I saw jealousy and guilt written all over my face.
“What do you want from me, Talia?”
“Nothing.”
He shrugged. “All right. I need to find Elizabeth and”
“What?” He still wanted her? So he’d fucked other women. Fine. No way in hell I’d let him do it while I stood there passively.
“You said you didn’t want me,” he said.
“No. I said I don’t want anything from you. I don’t need anything from you. You’re just a toy, a plaything I use to”
That word again. My God, am I really a heartless slut? “I want to get you naked and use your body for my pleasure.”
“That’s what it’s all about, baby.” A wicked smile twisted his lips.
My pussy heated and a flash of guilt ripped through me, as I pinned him to the door with my body. “Fuck me like I deserve it.”
He reached for the
doorknob and locked it.
I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his mouth down on mine, then bit his lip as I dragged him toward the shower, fumbling with his belt and managing to get his jeans unzipped.
He yanked my football jersey over my head and shoved my jeans to my ankles, stripping me in a matter of seconds. I turned, trying to bend over the tub to give him my naked ass, but he tripped me and guided me to the floor.
I landed facedown, my hot nipples smashed against the cold tile.
He dropped to his knees and trapped my thighs between his.
“Fuck you like you deserve it, huh, slut? This fancy bathroom’s too good for you, so I’m gonna fuck you on the floor.” He slammed easily between my sweat-coated thighs. “And you’re gonna like it.”
He grabbed my wrists and twisted my arms behind my back, seizing a fistful of my hair to yank my head backholding me immobile while he
punished my pussy. I’d initiated this, but somehow he’d taken over. He fucked me on the cold, unforgiving bathroom tile as if I were some cheap whore spreading her legs for any man with a dollar.
I deserved it. I wanted it.
And that’s why I needed him.
My shoulders ached and my scalp stung, but Alex pounded my greedy pussy without mercy. I tried to slam my ass back against him, but I couldn’t even li
ft my head to look in the mirror. Instead, I watched our reflection in the shower door. I saw my nipples brush the tile, my breasts bouncing every time he slammed into me. My hair flew wild around my face, and I gasped, my mouth falling open when he thrust deep.
His body, his powerful thighs, strained while he pumped. The muscles in his arms flexed and hardened like steel as he adjusted his grip on my wrists and hair. Sweat trickled down his tight abs, dripping onto my ass.
I watched his face. I’d never done that before.
His eyes squeezed closed and he gnawed his bottom lip, groaning as his cock drove into me. He looked almost sad when he pulled out, but pleasure and satisfaction returned to his face when he took me again. A snarling, victorious smile twisted his lips, and I caught him watching me, his gaze burning into mine.
I wanted to hide my face, but his grip on me made that impossible, and he laughed.
A tight ache built in my pussy, squeezing his cock and refusing to let go. I needed release, but didn’t want it yet.
He held me captive with his legs, tormenting me with his cock. “More… please. Don’t let go.”
“You’re mine, baby. Will can fuck you. I can fuck you. No one else.”
My heart fluttered and my clit tingled. My men could have me whenever and however they wanted me.
Alex pulled my hair tighter, lifting my head and forcing my eyes to meet his. “But I can fuck any woman I want.”
“Bastard!” I gathered my strength and slammed my ass into him, trying to knock him off, but he landed on his knees and sank deeper into my hot pussy, laughing while he fucked me harder.
Damn it. Why did he have to piss me off? Why did he have to hurt me? “I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
“We’re done. Get off.”
“You first.”
What? How can I?
Alex thrust into me hard, pulled out slow, and slammed back in again at a sharp angle.
Oh God, he’s going to make me come whether I want to or not. I wrestled my arms free and pushed my body up, but he fell on top of me, squashing my hot naked breasts on the cold floor.
The shock sent sizzling chills down my spine, triggering the release I fought to contain.
Explosive waves ripped me apart, and I slammed my fist against the hard tile. “No, no, no!”
