DirtyInterludes

by Jodie Becker

  Teeth scraped and tongues fought as he greedily sampled her. He felt the quickening of her body and relished it. He fucked her with his tongue, mimicking what he was doing below. Thighs clamped over his wrist, her hips undulating. Max broke the kiss, wanting to see her come undone. His gut clenched as heat swirled and tightened along his dick. Bridget screamed his name. She arched upward and he palmed his cock, desperate to ease the painful need.

  Bridget’s pussy clenched over him and her juices flooded his fingers. He exhaled sharply as she came down. He wanted to part her thighs and thrust into her, the compulsion so great he was barely aware of the pounding in his chest. Easing his fingers from her, he sucked the essence of her off his fingers. His eyelids fluttered at the taste of rain. He loved her taste and could get drunk on it.

  “Max, I can’t wait anymore.”

  Max lurched into action, unbuttoning his jeans with one hand, while with the other, he reached for a bowl of condoms. A flash of embarrassment pierced his haze as he wondered what she thought of condoms on display, announcing his prominent sexual activity. But the thought went up in flames as her hand slid up his abs and pulled his shirt from him. He jerked his jeans down to his knees and rolled on the condom. Hand planted by her shoulder, he hissed as he eased into her waiting body. Incredible bliss circled his cock and spiraled upward to settle in his heart. Seated in her, he held still as pleasure vibrated through his frame. She felt like heaven. Glorious, awe-inspiring and all-encompassing. Sweat slithered down his back, followed by the stroke of her fingers down his spine. Max cupped the back of her head, her blouse brushing over his bare skin.

  Shame intermingled with his growing desire and amusement. “You’re still dressed.”

  Bridget gasped as he shifted, her feet hooked over his thigh, holding him to her. “I don’t care. It feels so good. Don’t stop.”

  Who was he to deny her? He lunged forward, his balls slapping against her backside. Ferocious need tore at him and stabbed through his control. The need to come bore down on him and exploded inside his soul. He kissed her with all the passion inside him. He relished every shimmer of exaltation and the erotic assault on his senses. He gripped her knee, forcing it upward and impaling her deeper. Bridget cried out and he nibbled on her ear. The words of love caught in his throat and he trembled as an orgasm crashed over him. He murmured something, it could’ve been inconsequential or something hidden in his heart. He didn’t know. But he needed her, needed her with a desperation that should’ve sent a shaft of fear through him.

  He groaned as a fresh wave of his climax crashed over him and his heart thundered with it. White light seared his vision and stole his strength. The glory of coming passed, leaving him weak and vulnerable as he slumped over her. Her breath whistled by his ear and he turned his head to face her. A smile tilted her lips, a smile of a woman well pleasured.

  He wished he could keep her like this forever. But reality threatened to intrude. An awkward sense of passing the point of no return pierced his consciousness. The answer to all his problems lay in lying to the woman he was falling for. Guilt and relief were odd companions. He rolled off her and pulled off the condom. Bridget adjusted her skirt as he buttoned his jeans.

  “This is starting to become a habit of ours.”

  Max raised a brow in query. “What?”

  Bridget brushed hair from her face and laughed. “Making love with our clothes on.”

  Max grimaced. “Says a lot about my prowess.”

  Bridget crawled across the bed and straightened on her knees, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. “I think it’s sexy.”

  He caressed her arm. “Yeah. You keep thinking that.”

  Her attention shifted behind him and her mouth slackened. “Wow, you didn’t lie.”

  “Huh?”

  “P. Diddy Gnomes.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at the two gnomes on his dresser. Easing from her embrace, he pulled the father gnome from the dresser and handed it to her. “Here, I shouldn’t have kept him.”

  Strange that handing it to her hurt so much, but he tamped down the emotion. Bridget stared at the gnome then waved her hands. “No. Keep him. Think of it as a memento.”

  His heart took flight and he returned the gnome to the dresser. When he turned back to Bridget, she stood beside his bed, slipping her feet into her flats.

  “Stay for dinner?” The words were out before he could register them.

  “I would love to, but I’m going out with a friend. She’s been pretty upset lately. I think she’s having man troubles.”

  Disappointment ripped the wings off his heart. “Oh.”

  Bridget smiled and kissed him, pulling away before he could take it further. “But I can swing by later?”

  Max stroked her hip. “I would love it.”

  “Then it’s a date.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Bridget fiddled with her mug, turning it in her hand as the silent tension raked over her nerves. Cathy stabbed into her cake, the odd silent treatment making the last ten minutes feel like an hour. Since arriving, Cathy refused to speak a word and Bridget waited for her friend to reveal the source of her discontent.

  “Are you mad at me?” Bridget asked finally.

  Cathy pushed her plate away, forearms propped on the table. The smile she cast Bridget’s way was brittle, her gaze just as chilly. “No, why would you think that?” she asked, her tone sickly sweet.

  The sting made her shrink back. “You haven’t spoken to me since I arrived. I thought you wanted to talk about what has been bothering you, but I’m beginning to think you don’t want to talk at all.”

  Cathy dropped her arms off the table, shoulders slumping forward. “I know. It’s wrong of me to take out my angst on you. It’s just that I think my boyfriend is cheating on me. I’m not good company tonight.”

  Bridget’s heart ached for her friend’s misery. Reaching across the distance, she patted her hand. “Are you certain?”

  Cathy shrugged morosely. “He hasn’t been interested in, you know, for a while. I thought it was a phase, but the other day, I did something a little sexy and I got the cold shoulder.”

  “Maybe there is something else? It could be stress.”

  Cathy shook her head adamantly. “No. I know him and he’s seeing someone behind my back.” She pounded her fist so hard against the table cutlery rattled.

  Bridget recoiled in her seat. Her friend was clearly hurting and she was at a loss to how she could ease her pain. “Have you tried talking to him?”

  “And say what?”

  “Find out how he’s feeling. Men sometimes just want to be heard.”

  Cathy glowered. “He isn’t that type of guy. Besides this has happened before.”

  Shock prickled along her scalp. “He’s done this before?”

  “He’ll get bored of her and come back to me.”

  Bridget slid her hands along the table, silently reaching to comfort her friend. “He is a serial cheater? You can’t be thinking of staying with him.”

  Cathy glowered. “You don’t know anything. I love him. I moved here for a fresh start. He wants to fix this.”

  Bridget shook her head, baffled by her friend’s adamant refusal to see how broken her relationship was. “Running away doesn’t solve anything. You need to talk to him.”

  Cathy slapped her hands down on the table, rising half out of her seat. “Don’t speak about something you have no idea about. You’re just like all of those women.”

  “What?”

  Cathy pointed a trembling finger at her. “You and all the others who want me to leave him so you can have him all to yourself.”

  “I don’t even know him.”

  Cathy leaned forward, jaw clenched. “That’s right. You don’t know him. I do and he loves me. He’ll come back and everything will be as it was. As it was meant to be.”

  Bridget felt for her friend. Could love really be that painful? “It will. You just need to talk to him.”

&nbs
p; Cathy brushed hair from her face and flopped back in her seat. “Yes,” she said absently. “Yes. I should talk to him.”

  Bridget reached for her friend and Cathy gripped her hand.

  Cathy’s smile wobbled. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been on edge the last week.”

  “That’s okay. I understand.”

  Cathy leaned forward, interest gleaming in her eyes. “Enough about my problems, tell me what you’ve been doing. I haven’t seen you in an age.”

  Bridget hesitated in telling Cathy about Max. Her friend had relationship problems and wouldn’t want to hear about how her feelings for him had changed. “My tires were slashed the other day.”

  Cathy’s mouth dropped open. “Was it Max?”

  “No. He was actually pretty nice about it all.”

  Cathy’s eyes narrowed. “What is going on here? Last time we talked you hated him and now,” she twirled a finger at Bridget’s face, “you have that look.”

  Bridget straightened, swallowing back a smile. “What look?”

  “The look. The dreamy, I’m-so-in-love look.”

  Bridget made a sound of protest. “I’m not in love.” I don’t think.

  “Well something is going on.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything, because you’re going through such a hard time with Mitch. But Max is actually a real nice guy.”

  Cathy grimaced. “You don’t know that. Guys can’t hold their attention long. I’d be really worried if I were you.”

  Bridget reined in the urge to snap at her friend and shrugged. “It’s nothing serious. We’re just friends right now, but who knows.”

  Cathy’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, who knows.”

  The rest of their conversation carried an undertone of tension and Bridget finally called it quits. Leaving the café, she pondered on her friend’s misery and fervently hoped Cathy would resolve whatever issue was bothering her.

  Leaving the guilt of having a budding relationship behind, she thought of Max as warmth spread through her at the prospect of spending more time with him. She imagined his hands on her. Need ratcheted inside and her breasts felt heavy. Arriving home, she cast a glance at Max’s to find his lights on. Grinning, she hurried into her house and stripped down to her underwear. She pulled a long coat on, the fabric cool against her skin. She cinched it tight around her waist before making her way to Max’s front door. The crisp breeze snaked up her legs and she tensed at the spike of cool air. Despite the heat of lust searing her, the cold dampened it. Knocking on the door, she couldn’t wait long enough for him to let her in.

  The door opened and she stepped inside, her fingers working on the bow. “Thought I’d come prepared.”

  She dropped the coat and Max’s mouth fell open.

  “Do you like what you see?” she asked coquettishly.

  She turned to give him the full view but stopped, frozen at the sight of a couple in the living room, both pairs of eyes wide in equal surprise. A scream of surprise burst from her and she covered her breasts, mortification driving all the heat from her. She dove into a crouch to snatch up her coat.

  “Oh my God.”

  Max slipped the coat over her shoulders and she turned into him, pressing her hot cheek against his chest. Clutching the lapels of her coat with one hand, she groaned in humiliation. Max kissed her temple. “I did like what I saw, but I don’t like sharing,” he whispered.

  Laughing, she snuggled into him. “How embarrassing.”

  “Nah, they’re cool. Don’t worry about it. Come on, I want you to meet my friends.”

  She shook her head even as he pulled away from her. He grinned and winked playfully. “It can’t get any worse. You’ll like them.”

  Grudgingly tying the coat shut she accepted his hand, allowing him to lead her to the pair. One was a blond Rough Rider and the other, a voluptuous bohemian with strawberry-blonde hair. “Guys, this is Bridget, my neighbor. Bridget, this is Erica and Dylan.”

  A sliver of pain spiked in her heart and she covered it with a smile and listened to Max complete the introductions. She didn’t know what she expected to call their relationship, but to be relegated to mere neighbor who liked to go full Monty hurt.

  She offered up an awkward wave.

  Erica beamed, as if she hadn’t seen Bridget in all her naked glory. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Relief welled. “I’ve never met any of Max’s friends. How do you know each other?”

  Dylan opened his mouth, but Max spoke. “We used to work for a production company, but Dylan left for suburban life with Erica.”

  Dylan’s brows popped up. “Uh, yeah.”

  She turned to Max and smiled. “Is that what you do?”

  Max rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah. I kind of freelance.”

  “So you’re artistic?”

  “I don’t know about that. Dylan’s the artist here. He makes furniture. Real nice stuff.”

  Settling into the lounge, she held Max’s hand as she was drawn into a conversation about life outside of LA. The small-town living sounded so quaint.

  The anxiety in Max rose with every passing second as he rubbed his finger over Bridget’s hand. He was barely aware of the conversation and laughed only when others did, but otherwise was consumed by fear. Releasing Bridget’s hand, he rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans before seeking out her hand again. Bridget leaned against his side, her perfume surrounding him. She was his and he wasn’t ready to let her in on his job.

  Dylan stood. “We should leave the girls to get to know each other. Max, you wanted to show me your car.”

  Max knew a ploy when he saw one. He buzzed a kiss on Bridget’s lips then followed his friend out onto the porch. As soon as the door clicked shut, Dylan spoke. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

  Max folded his arms. “What?”

  Dylan stepped closer, his features soft with understanding. “I know what it’s like to want someone you can’t have.”

  Max glowered. “I don’t know what you think—”

  “I think you’re screwing your neighbor.”

  “Don’t. Don’t say anything about her, are we clear?”

  Dylan’s lips pinched, his gaze unreadable. “She’s not just some random screw, is she? Something deeper is going on here.”

  Max didn’t want to admit it to Dylan. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  Dylan sighed, the sound grating on Max. “Max, you’re playing with fire.”

  “You think I’m not entitled to have someone like her in my life?”

  “It’s not that. If you want a chance to keep her, you’re going to have to come clean.”

  “Like you did?”

  “My situation was different and you know it. You still work in the industry and it’s a fact she needs to know.”

  Pain pounded in his chest. He didn’t like the weight of guilt, and anger burned through it. “You really think a girl like her will want me once she knows what I do?”

  “So you want to be in a relationship with her?”

  “Hell yes I do. I want to have what every guy has. I want a fucking girlfriend for a change. And you think telling her about work is going to achieve that for me?”

  “Who knows? But you can’t build a relationship on lies. Someday it’s going to crumble in on you.”

  “Yeah? Well at least I’ll have a good damn time before that happens.”

  He opened the door and slammed it shut. Erica jerked upright, her eyes wide, and he faltered to a stop. “Just a slight disagreement of which car is better. I think Dylan wants to go.”

  Dylan stepped in behind him. “Yeah, it’s getting late. We’ll catch up later. Think about what I said, all right?”

  Max nodded stiffly, his focus on Bridget. Beautiful, luscious Bridget, and his world seemed to settle. She walked over to him and he wrapped her in an embrace, sinking all his worries into the depths of his chest and feeling her body curved into him. This was what he wanted. Her.

  “Come to bed with
me?” he whispered.

  “Okay.”

  He slipped his hand down to hers and walked her up to his room. The minute he passed the threshold, he turned toward her and cupped her cheeks, kissing her with all the passion he felt in his being. She tasted of the wine she’d sipped and a pureness he couldn’t touch. He slipped his hands along her shoulders, the coat fluttering to her feet with a whisper. Lust seared his cock, knowing all that kept him from her was a flimsy bit of material. Nibbling on her lower lip, he hooked his finger over the elastic and pulled her panties down. His hand settled on her waist as she shimmied them the rest of the way off. Breaking the kiss, he muttered a curse. For all the beautiful women he’d seen and fucked, Bridget eclipsed them all. Smooth skin and curves that begged for his mouth on them. She tipped a foot up to take off her red pumps.

  “Leave them on,” he said, his voice thick with desire.

  Bridget blinked up at him, then grinned, a smile both shy and saucy. “All right.”

  Clasping both her hands, he walked backward until he sat on his bed. Her breasts were at eye level and he kissed the tip of one. Bridget’s fingers fluttered over his nape as he swirled his tongue over her nipple.

  The mattress dipped and he released her to stare up in awe as she mounted him. She fisted her hands around the hem of his shirt and he lifted his arms to help her pull it off him. Cool air touched his torso, but inside he burned up with lust. Clasping her around the waist so he wouldn’t lose her for one second, he lifted off the bed enough to shuck his jeans past his knees. The rest he kicked off and Bridget giggled. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him. He cupped the back of her head, her hair tangling around his fingers as he sampled her provocative mouth. Bridget pushed at his shoulders and he broke off with a groan of reluctance.

  “What?” he rasped.

  She pressed her palm against his chest and he swore she could feel his heart racing. “I want to ride you,” she said.

  Max’s mouth went dry and he allowed her to push him back. She pumped him a few times before letting him go. Max swallowed back a curse, his shaft thrumming with painful need. He wanted her to fist his cock until it hurt so good.