Tempting Calm Waters_A Blood Brothers Standalone_Book 2

by Samantha Wolfe

  I blinked up at him, wanting to ask him why he didn't fit in his parent's world anymore, but knew it was none of my business. We weren't even friends, and I didn't want to get that personal with this man. I arched a brow and gave him a hard stare as I jabbed a finger into his chest. "Don't do anything like that again," I said threateningly, barely catching myself before I flattened my palm and rubbed it all over his firm muscular chest.

  He raised his hands in surrender with an apologetic expression. "Got it."

  "Good." I nodded once in satisfaction as I breathed in his intoxicating scent and ignored the heat rising in my body at how close we were.

  His eyes grew dark with lust and slid down to my mouth as he bit into his lower lip, and just like that, the heat in my body became an inferno. I abruptly stepped away from him before I did something stupid, you know like climb him like a fucking tree and rub myself all over him like I was in heat.

  "Where can I change?" I asked nonchalantly as I lifted the garment bag for emphasis.

  "I'll show you," he said as he took the bag from me. His voice was gruff, and his brows furrowed as he turned to lead me further into his apartment.

  I followed him through the short hallway we were in and emerged into a living area that was bigger than my entire apartment. The great room was two stories high with floor to ceiling windows across the wall to my left with a spectacular view of the city lights, and a set of stairs along the back wall to my right that led upstairs to a glass-railed balcony with a lone open door. Was that Scott's bedroom? My body began to feel warm again at that thought. Uh, uh, nope, not going there.

  We walked across the masculine space with its modern decor and clean lines. The obvious bachelor pad somehow still managed to have a comfortable and inviting feel, thanks to the warm hardwood floors, soft luxuriant rugs, and a few bright pops of color from the graphic art on the soothing gray walls. Everything in the room looked expensive and high-end from the black leather sofas to the almost obscenely large television to the stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops in the kitchen.

  He led me between the kitchen and dining area to another short hallway. I followed him past a room that must have been an office, considering the desk and swath of monitors I caught a quick glance of, then through a door into a bedroom that was decorated similarly to the rest of the penthouse with two of its walls made up of even more windows. He went to the bed and carefully draped my garment bag across the dark-gray comforter of the low platform bed. Was this his room? More heat pooled low in my pelvis as I eyed the bed longingly. I jerked my eyes away when I realized what I was doing only to find Scott studying me closely with heated eyes. Shit, now my face was warm too.

  "You can change in here," Scott said with a slight smirk as he moved back toward the door, his hand readjusting himself in his jeans. It was all I could do not to look at his crotch. "I'll be upstairs changing in my room if you need me." His words were implicitly suggestive and his voice sexy as hell. Goddamn this man.

  I nodded in response, afraid my voice would quake if I spoke, and watched him close the door as he walked out. I fought the urge to lock the door behind him.

  I looked around the room as I began to change my clothes, trying to disregard my sudden unease at how out of place I felt surrounded by all this obvious wealth. I couldn't help but think that I didn't fit into his world anymore than he thought he didn't fit into his parent's, and refused to acknowledge the little part of me that was disappointed by that sad realization.

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

  ____________________

  Scott

  "How do I look, babe?" I asked Sugar with a grin, slipping on my suit jacket over my shoulders as I walked out of my huge walk-in closet and into my bedroom. "Do I look irresistible?" I asked the cat as I spun in a circle. I was dressed in a dark-gray Brioni suit with a crisp open-collared white shirt and no tie. I didn't like wearing suits, and only wore them when I had too, but I never wore a tire. Never. I despised them.

  Sugar lifted her head and observed me with big blue eyes from her spot in the center of my bed. She blinked slowly, seemingly checking out my clothes, then let out a sleepy chirp that I took as a yes. God I hoped so, because Lu was killing me every moment that I was with her and couldn't touch her like I wanted to...needed to. Every time I thought she was finally going to give in to her desire, she would frustratingly pull away from me. I couldn't understand the distance she kept insisting on putting between us or her denial of the combustible sexual chemistry we shared. I wanted her. She wanted me. Why did it have to be so difficult? I sighed deeply as I shook my head, wondering if I'd be coming home blue-balled yet again tonight.

  I snatched my phone and wallet off my nightstand, and shoved them in my pockets as I crossed the room toward the bedroom door. Sugar immediately leaped up and jumped from the bed onto the floor with a soft thump, before following me out of the room. I made it two steps out onto the balcony that overlooked the great room, then jerked to a halt and practically swallowed my goddamn tongue.

  There, with her back to me and one leg daintily resting on my coffee table as she adjusted one of her strappy black stiletto heels, was Lu in the most heart-stopping dress I'd ever seen in my life. It was deep red with a knee length leather skirt and an almost indecent slit up the back that showed a tantalizing glimpse of her inner thighs. I couldn't see the front, but the back of the dress was completely open, exposing warm caramel skin all the way down to the top of her ass crack. And speaking of that perfect round ass, it looked fucking incredible, and visions of shoving the skirt of her dress up to her waist and watching myself slide balls deep inside her tight little cunt consumed my mind. My mouth felt dry, my breath caught, and my pants felt uncomfortably tight as my dick throbbed behind my zipper. Son of a bitch. God help me because if I didn't get inside that woman soon, I was going to fucking die. I could see the coroner's report right now. Cause of death: blue-balls.

  She lowered her foot to the floor, briefly drawing my attention to her perfectly toned legs before she turned to face my direction. Fucking hell. The top half of her halter dress consisted of two wide bands of red lace that covered her gorgeous tits and formed a deep V all the way down to her waist exposing miles of cleavage. I could just make out her dusky nipples through the sheer fabric since she wore no bra. Goddamn, I think my heart stopped for a couple of seconds before I could string a thought together. I gasped in a breath when I remembered to breathe, and the noise drew Lu's eyes up to meet mine.

  The warm chocolate of her eyes darkened as they skimmed down my body. Her lips parted, and her pretty little tongue darted out to lick over her full luscious lips. I smirked in self-satisfaction at her reaction to me and was gratified to know that Sugar hadn't been lying to me about how I looked in my tailored designer suit.

  Lu's eyes came back up to mine and narrowed as she noticed my smirk. She frowned, and the starkly visceral connection we'd just shared was gone again. Damn it. Disappointment flared inside me, and I turned to descend the stairs, wondering why I was so invested in this woman. It's not like I couldn't get some pussy somewhere else with a whole hell of a lot less effort. Maybe it was the thrill of a challenge, or maybe it was an ego thing. Who knew? Whatever it was, the thought of dipping my wick in someone else just didn't appeal to me one damn bit. There was only Lu, Luisa, and until I got her out of my system, I was set on this tempting and torturous path.

  As I stepped off the staircase, Lu's gaze finally slipped from mine and flicked down to see Sugar. My cat was intently eying the interloper in her home from where she had paused at the foot of the steps, her posture rigid and vibrating with tension.

  "You have a cat?" Lu asked in surprise.

  "That's Sugar," I said with a nod as I stepped closer to her.

  Sugar followed me, then hopped up onto the coffee table and approached Lu warily. Lu stretched out a hand so my cat could sniff her fingertips. Sugar daintily touched her nose to Lu, then abruptly let out a hiss that had Lu
jerking her hand back. The cat whipped her tail irritably a few times as she shot a baleful look up at Lu, then jumped onto the floor and sauntered away. We watched Sugar cross the room and disappear into my office with a dismissive flick of her tail. Okay then.

  "Sugar likes you," I said with a grin.

  Lu glanced up at me with a bewildered expression. "Likes me?"

  "You're not bleeding are you?" I asked wryly.

  "Bleeding?" she asked indignantly.

  "I'm kidding, Lu," I said. "Sugar is pretty territorial though. She won't go anywhere near someone she doesn't like, let alone touch them. Hell, she won't even enter the room when my mother is here," I added with a bitter edge. Not that I could blame her.

  Lu's eyes turned questioning, and I was afraid she was going to start asking questions about my family. Not going there tonight. I noticed a long coat draped over the sofa and picked it up.

  "Are you ready to go?" I asked as I held it open, so she could slip it on.

  Lu turned and let me help her into the coat. I glanced down to eye her breasts as the sweet scent of magnolia blossoms filled my nose. Fuck, she looked and smelled so good.

  "You look beautiful," I said softly. I leaned in close to her ear. "And sexy as fuck," I added in a low husky whisper, making sure my lips brushed the shell of her ear as I spoke. It was all I could do not to suck it into my mouth and press the front of my body flush against hers, so I could thrust my dick against her ass and let her feel exactly what she did to me.

  Lu shivered, and triumph surged inside me. She didn't say anything as she turned and buttoned her coat, but I didn't miss the smug gleam in her eyes at my compliments. I motioned her ahead of me across the apartment and followed along behind her, watching her hips sway as the long coat swished around her shapely legs, and unable to get the image of her in that insanely hot dress out of my head. I wanted the damn coat off so I could see her in it again, but I couldn't imagine her walking around in public dressed like that for every man to see.

  Suddenly, ugly green jealousy reared to life at the mere thought of other men ogling her in that heart-stopping dress. I'd never felt anything like it before in my life, and I felt a sudden urge to cancel the trip to Désir Dangereux tonight all together and keep her here to myself.

  Whoa, tone it down there, you possessive caveman.

  Lu wasn't mine. She wouldn't ever be mine. At least not beyond some mind-blowing sex, if I could manage to get her on board with it. I wasn't looking for anything more. We'd have our fun while we could, and then I'd move on when this intense need for her was finally slacked.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTEEN

  ____________________

  Scott

  I pulled open the passenger door of my BMW and reached down for Lu's hand. She settled it in mine, her warm soft touch sending a jolt of awareness through my body and making my already hardening cock twitch. She twisted her body to place those gorgeous stiletto-clad feet of hers onto the pavement, and gracefully pulled herself up out of the plush leather seat to stand in front of me. She was so close that I could see the tiny gold flecks in her deep brown eyes, could see the heated desire that she tried to hide from me simmering just beneath the surface. It was time to play dirty. We'd agreed that I'd be free to touch her at the club to sell the fiction of our relationship, but I wasn't above using it to my advantage to get what I wanted.

  I gently brushed some of her long and silky dark hair away from her face, then slid my hand around to cup the nape of her neck in a firm commanding grip. I leaned down to bring my lips within millimeters of hers. Her pupils blew wide, and her breathing stuttered.

  "Show time," I murmured quietly with a smirk as I placed my other hand on her hip, then pressed my lips to hers.

  Lu stiffened for a beat, and I feared she was going to shove me away, or worse, go for my balls again, but when I licked at the seam of her lips, her body instantly softened, and she let me in. Smug triumph flooded my brain.

  Gotcha.

  I pressed my advantage, deepening the kiss and owning her mouth with rough and demanding strokes of my tongue. Goddamn, she tasted like sweet heaven. Lu whimpered as her hands clasped the front of my suit jacket, and she flattened herself against me.

  Fuck. Yes.

  I kept kissing her, relishing the soft wet heat of her mouth as I lost myself in pure pleasure until my oxygen starved lungs forced me to stop so I could suck in some much-needed air. I looked down to see Lu's swollen lips and lust addled eyes. So fucking beautiful. A wave of hot needy lust shot through me, and I pulled her closer as I dropped my head down to kiss her again, but then abruptly realized where we were and stilled. Shit, I'd forgotten everything around us while I was kissing her, and I felt almost drunk too.

  What is this woman doing to me?

  I'd rationalized away the intense effect our kiss last night had on me, convincing myself it was just the rush of it being our first kiss. But this time, I couldn't explain it away, and the sudden realization had a frisson of fear skittering through me over what it might mean.

  Somehow, I managed to blink away some of the giddy haze swimming through my head. I went to step away from Lu, but she swooned, and I had to grab her waist to steady her as much as myself. Fuck. Had she felt the same thing? I stared down at Lu in stupefied confusion as she blinked up at me with what I imagined was a similar expression to mine.

  "I can take your keys now, sir," said a polite male voice from behind me.

  I turned to look at the blond twentysomething guy who'd been standing patiently on the curb next to my BMW all this time. He was dressed in a black valet vest and tie over a white shirt, and was currently giving me a friendly relaxed smile. I imagined this probably wasn't the first time he'd been treated to a show like this, if his unperturbed expression was any indication. He raised his brows expectantly as I stared at him, and shot a brief glance behind me. I followed his gaze to the line of several more cars waiting to reach the valet stand. Shit. It wasn't like me to be this oblivious to my surroundings. I needed to snap out of it and get my head in the game.

  "Uh...yeah, thanks," I said in voice that was rougher than it should have been as I handed the guy my keys. Then I glanced at Lu and stuck out an elbow. "Shall we?" I asked, my voice steadier this time.

  She nodded slightly, and gripped my bicep before I led her toward the club's unassuming entrance. Désir Dangereux had no marque and looked just like any of the other buildings in the old industrial park it was in, except for the lit up entrance and valet stand. If you didn't know what the place was, you wouldn't even suspect the kinky shit that was going on inside the well-maintained pale brick building. The kinky shit that Lu was about to get a great big eyeful of when we got inside. I couldn't wait to see her reaction, and hoped it would turn her on and make it that much harder for her to keep denying the attraction between us.

  Lu had been unusually quiet since berating me over the lie I'd told my mother about her being my girlfriend. I didn't know if it was because she was still angry with me, or because she was nervous about tonight. Either way, we needed to get past it and get our shit together.

  "You okay?" I murmured quietly near her ear.

  She instantly shot a glare up at me as her spine stiffened. "Why wouldn't I be okay?" she asked defensively.

  "Well, my kiss did have you swooning there for a second, babe," I replied with a smirk.

  "Oh, please," Lu said in a scathing tone as she rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself. That was for the valet's benefit."

  I gave her a dubious expression as I opened the door for her. She gave me a hard look as she passed me that seemed to dare me to say anything else and see what happened. As much as I loved getting her riled up and verbally sparing with her, now wasn't the time, even if the livid gleam in her eyes was fucking hot as hell. No one would believe I was Lu's Dom if she was laying into me as we entered the club. I wisely kept my mouth shut as I followed her inside, grinning as I silently enjoyed her ire instead.

  The clu
b's foyer was just as unassuming as the entrance with a reception desk to our left and the coat check window to the right. The doors into the actual club were flanked by two security guards dressed in black, both large and muscularly built. I didn't recognize either of them, but then again, I hadn't set foot in here as a member in over three years. And even then I'd had nothing to do with hiring the club's staff since I was a silent partner. Hell, a majority of the few people I did recognize didn't even know I owned half this place. It was a fact I had no intention of rectifying since it would work to my advantage to blend in as just another member here.

  I placed a hand on Lu's lower back, cursing the coat that covered her soft skin and escorted her to the reception desk to check in. The gorgeous young woman manning it quickly verified my membership and the standard guest NDA Lu had already filled out. Then we moved toward the coat check window. I helped Lu get her long coat off and stifled a groan as I got another look at the unbelievable dress again. So goddamn smoking hot.

  I felt eyes on me as I turned to lead Lu toward the doors into the club. I glanced over to see a couple standing at the reception desk. They looked to be in their late thirties to early forties, both fit and very attractive. I recognized them both, and knew the man was one of the few Doms here who liked to share his sub, who for her part enthusiastically enjoyed it as much as her Master did. How did I know that? Because I'd taken them up on that offer once upon a time. Yeah, I'm a kinky motherfucker. Deal with it.

  My eyes met the man's gaze, and he gave me a subtle nod. His eyes slid over to look at Lu appreciatively, and his eyes darkened with lust. Hell fucking no. I instantly scowled at the man, a proprietary arm sliding around Lu's waist to pull her closer as my jaw clenched tight with anger. The man's eyes widened in surprise at my reaction, and then he gave me an apologetic nod before turning away. That's right asshole. Lu was mine. I continued shooting daggers at the back of the guys head as possessive rage continued to sear through me.