by Kayla Oliver
It was a fast ride.
When we got to my place, I all but dragged her up to my bedroom, my clothes coming off as quickly as possible. When the door was closed, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and tugged it up. I watched as she exposed her bare pussy to my eyes. No panties and smooth, pale skin. I watched as her dress was lifted higher and higher, revealing those large tits.
Her nipples were hard, and the underside of her breasts had that perfect curve to them.
I shucked off my slacks, my erection already aching and ready. I reached into the bedside drawer and retrieved a little foil package for the main event. But before I slipped the condom on, my little nightclub sex kitten was on her hands and knees. Her ruby-red lips were full and parted easily over the head of my cock. I sucked in a harsh breath as she slipped me into her mouth, slowly taking me as deep as she could. She didn’t choke but pulled back when I thought I might be halfway down her throat.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered, laying back on my bed.
Those red fucking lips.
Those perfect fucking hips.
And those tits. Large. Curved perfectly.
I let myself go like that for a minute, indulging in her hot mouth wrapped around my length. My hands found her hair, caressing it and pushing it back from her heart-shaped face.
Her eyes opened and looked up at me, and I froze.
For just a second, it wasn’t the woman from the bar. It was Courtney. The red lips. The perfectly curled hair. The womanly curves mixed with that little waist.
Jesus. I’d taken home a copy of the woman I was having wet dreams about.
She was taking me into her mouth again, and I knew I could let her. I could let her suck me, then slide into her bare pussy without a single complaint. She’d probably tell me to take her faster and harder and I’d bottom out inside of her. All of which was incredibly appealing. But now that Courtney was in my head again, I couldn’t get her out.
I didn’t want this woman’s body wrapped around me. I wanted Courtney’s. And that made this all very, very wrong.
Which was why I lifted her mouth away from my throbbing dick. She pulled away with a pop.
“What? Did I do something wrong?”
She looked so concerned for a moment that I felt really bad.
I shook my head, even as I eased her off the bed. “No, no. You’re great. Awesome. And sexy as hell. I just—”
I broke off, because I had absolutely no idea what to tell her. Gee, I can’t sleep with you because I’m imagining you’re this other woman that I’d rather be with sounded fifteen shades of horrible.
Instead, I said, “I just can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t. You’re great, but I need something else tonight.”
Her face pinched together, and she looked angry. “Damnit. You couldn’t have decided that while I was still at the damn bar? Or had my fucking clothes on?”
She wiped her mouth, then went to get her dress. She pulled it on quickly, then scowled at me. “Thanks a lot, jerk.”
I winced. “I’ll call you a cab. On me.”
This mollified her slightly, but just barely. I had the feeling she needed the release tonight as much or more than I had. I felt a little bad for not providing, but I couldn’t help it. It just didn’t feel right.
I pulled on a pair of sweats as she headed out the door. I heard it slam behind her. I called the cab quickly and gave them a credit card, telling the driver to take the woman wherever she asked, on me. She could have technically driven to New York City on my dime, but I didn’t care.
When I hung up, I shuffled down the hall to Sarah’s room. I knocked on the door. Through the wood, I heard an annoyed “What?” come through. She sounded like she was probably buzzed at the least, but I opened the door anyway.
I didn’t say anything initially, prompting Sarah to sigh dramatically from her bed where she’d flopped face-first. “Jesus, what do you want, Trent?”
I hesitated half a second, then just told her the truth. “I think I might be sort of in love with Courtney.”
There was a pause, then a groan. “Christ. Well, I guess you’d probably better tell her, or you’ll never get over it.”
And with those drunken words of wisdom, I realized what I had to do and how much I wasn’t going to like it.
Chapter Eleven
Trent
It was only a couple of days since our last meeting—mine and Marnie’s—but she was upping how many of them were we having in a rather stupidly desperate attempt to light a fire under my ass and get the manuscript in her lap. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly working. And, yeah, probably some of Marnie’s bitchiness was coming from the fact that I’d bailed on half a dozen of our meetings and left the others early. She was probably getting back at me for that, but I wasn’t having it.
I didn’t have anything new to offer her as far as the manuscript, so I wasn’t going to parade myself through there like a dog-and-pony show just so she could say that she was trying to do her job.
Besides, I didn’t have a lot of reason to go to Marnie’s office right now. Courtney hadn’t called me in several days, and damnit, she wasn’t at work either. When I’d poked Marnie about it, she’d nearly chewed me into bite-sized Trent bits, so I’d smoothly chosen not to bring it up anymore.
I dialed Marnie’s number and waited as it rang. I could picture her on the other side trying to pull out her red hair and rubbing her face until her freckles came off. It was sort of amusing, though I doubted anyone else would see it that way.
A few more rings, then Marnie answered. “Harvey, whatever it is, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Is that anyway to greet your moneymaker?” I asked innocently.
“Last I checked, you don’t initial off on my salary.”
I shrugged, though she couldn’t see that. “But I sort of do. I bring the company money, and the company pays you.”
She snorted, which was sort of cute because she did this squealing-type thing. “That would imply that you are in fact making my company money. Which I’d like to point out that you are not.”
“But I will.”
“Not if you don’t finish that damn manuscript.” I could hear the heat rising in her voice and imagined her face a blotchy red that matched her hair.
“Don’t worry about the manuscript. I’ll get it to you when I’m ready.” Before she could chew my ass about the fact that it wasn’t yet ready, I pushed through. “In fact, cancel today’s appointment. It’s not done yet, so there’s no point in wasting anyone’s time. I’ll get ahold of you when I’m good to go.”
“Damnit, Harvey!”
That was all Marnie got to get out, because I hung up on her. She would be pissed, but she was already pissed, so I figured that wasn’t anything new. I seemed to press every one of her buttons, and I couldn’t honestly say that it bothered me much to know that.
She called back immediately, but I ignored it. Instead, I dialed Courtney’s number.
She hadn’t talked to me since our date, and it was eating me alive. I wanted another chance, and the fact that she wouldn’t even return a damn text message anymore was depressing me. Whatever writer’s block I’d been having was only amplified by the fact that Courtney was ignoring me.
The phone rang just as the door opened. “Sarah?” I called in question. “I thought you were going to be gone most of the day?”
The phone continued to ring as footsteps came up behind me, but before it could go to voicemail, a large hand snatched my phone out of my hand.
“Hey!” I protested, turning only to find Callum standing there. And he looked pissed.
“Hey your fucking self.” He hung up the phone, though I supposed it didn’t matter. It was pretty clear she wasn’t going to pick up.
Still. “What is your problem?” I demanded, reaching for my cell. But he jerked it away from me, playing keep-away. “I was in the middle of a call.”
Callum ignored me and my attempts to grab my ce
ll. He merely moved the phone a little farther away. “Stop being a fucking jerk to Marnie,” he told me bluntly.
My eyebrows rose in surprise. We were friends and Callum wasn’t afraid to speak his mind when necessary, but that was a little to the point even for him. “What?”
“You heard me. Stop being a dick. Marnie’s really frustrated about you right now, and it’s making her crazy. So knock it off. She doesn’t deserve that.”
I couldn’t help it—I laughed.
Callum’s eyes narrowed and he looked for a moment like he might try to crush my phone in his hands. Of course, that would probably have just ended disastrously, so I could see where he reconsidered at the last moment. Instead, he tossed it onto the couch and took a step toward me. “Seriously? What the fuck are you laughing about?”
I waved him off, composing myself. When I’d caught my breath, I explained. “Sorry, it’s just… you’re so adorable.” This didn’t really help with his temper, so I hurried on. “Getting all protective over Marnie, being her knight in shining armor. It’s cute, that’s all. So sweet.”
Even as I teased him, poking the bear as best I could, there was a tiny part of me nestled in the back of my brain that was jealous. He had something, something real, and it looked good on him. Like a suit tailor-made to fit him, Callum wore affection perfectly. I wasn’t sure if it was love yet, but it was heading that way quickly, and a part of me was really starting to hate him for it.
He’d fought against the idea of being with Marnie, and now here he was, nestled comfortably in her world like he’d always been there.
It wasn’t fair of me, but I couldn’t help it. The woman I wanted wouldn’t even return my calls, but he had his on speed dial.
“You’re an asshole, Trent,” Callum told me, but his shoulders had loosened and he didn’t sound like he wanted my blood spilled on a ceremonial dagger, so that was good.
I shrugged. “What else is new?”
Callum plopped down in the armchair adjacent to the couch while I sat on the couch. “But seriously. You don’t have to be a dick to Marnie, and I really would appreciate it if you’d cut her some slack. She’s just doing her job.”
I sighed. “Yes, I realize that.” I hesitated, then just threw the truth out there. “But fact is, the manuscript isn’t ready. She can push all she wants, but I don’t have anything to give her. So, yeah, I’m a little snarky as a result, and that’s not really fair, but still. She could cut me a little slack, too.”
Callum rubbed at his face like he was just tired of working things out. Actually, now that I took a moment to look at him, I realized that he was looking a little pale. A little drawn. Like maybe he wasn’t sleeping great.
“You feeling okay?” I asked.
He waved me off. “Yeah, just tired. Haven’t been sleeping great. What’s going on with the manuscript?”
I winced. “It’s a pain in my ass,” I offered. “It sits on my hard drive mocking me, taunting me with its blankness.”
Raising an eyebrow at me, he said, “You know you’re overly dramatic about 90 percent of the time, right?”
I shrugged. “That’s what makes me a good writer.”
“There’s probably some truth to that,” he agreed. “So you’ve got writer’s block?”
“Yeah. I hate saying it, because it’s like saying Macbeth when a thespian is rehearsing: a curse upon both your houses and all that.”
“You’re mixing up your Shakespeare.”
“Whatever,” I said, waving off his criticism. “My point is, it’s cursed, so using it as infrequently as possible is better for everyone in the long run.”
“Fine. I’ll avoid the dreaded phrase. Now will you tell me what’s causing it?”
“Other than the fact that you just cursed me in my own house?”
He rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Trent, quit the theatrics. What’s going on?”
I sat back against the cushions of the couch. “Hell, I don’t know. I hit a wall, Callum, and I don’t know what to do about it. Nothing seems right. When I put it on paper, it’s all crap.”
“You’re your own worst critic, you know that,” he pointed out.
And, yes, I knew he was true, but I also knew when what I was writing was total and utter crap. There was just no getting around that little snag. “Yeah, well, if I can’t put something on paper that I don’t hate sometime soon, there isn’t going to be a book.”
Callum fell silent for a minute. Then he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “This is just a bump in the road. Yeah, it seems like a mountain, but it’s a damn molehill. You just need a break. A breather. It’ll come back to you.”
That was the same thing that Sarah had said. And it was easy enough for them to say. Just keep writing. Keep pushing forward. But they didn’t know what it was like to make your bones writing. People didn’t appreciate late manuscripts and missed deadlines. But they also didn’t appreciate that sometimes what you liked to write and what they wanted to read weren’t the same thing. You had to cater to the masses, while still being true to yourself, otherwise you were a sellout.
Maybe that was my issue. I was trying to figure out how to cater to the masses and deal with my own internal sellout debate.
Or maybe this whole concept was just crap and I should have known better.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know. Let’s talk about something else.”
Callum hesitated, then admitted, “I’m falling for Marnie.”
The laugh escaped me before I could even consider holding it in. Callum glared at me, but I didn’t care. “Seriously? Is this supposed to be a revelation?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That it’s pretty damn obvious to everyone that you’re falling for her,” I said. Okay, no, I didn’t know that he was in love, but he was definitely in puppy love. No question on that.
“Fine, fine. I’m very obvious. Are you finished?”
I let my chuckles die down, but the grin stayed. “Yeah, I guess. You gonna ask her to be your pretty little bride?”
“Don’t be an idiot,” he told me dryly. “We’ve only been dating a few months. I just… I just feel strongly about her. It’s kind of a new thing for me.”
My grin softened into a genuine smile. “Yeah, that’s true. Good for you. I hope things keep moving the direction they have been.”
He cleared his throat. “Thanks.”
There was a pause of what could have been awkward silence. Neither of us felt particularly interested in leaving it there to develop, so I asked, “Where have you been anyway? Have you been busy falling for Marnie or what? You’ve been MIA for a while now.”
Callum froze, like I’d caught him in the act or something. It was only for a second, but it was long enough that I knew something was up when he said, “I’ve just been wrapped up in work. I’ve got this new client who—”
“Cut the crap, Callum,” I said, calling his bullshit immediately. “What’s going on?”
“Really, Trent, leave it.”
But I couldn’t. Because he’d tried this before and I had let it slide, but now I wanted to know the truth. “Callum, what’s going on?” I repeated, my tone serious.
He winced, but then his shoulders sagged and I knew I’d won. He was going to spill the beans. I just didn’t have any idea how unready I was for them until they were already out. “Amelia is in town.”
I felt as though I’d been punched in the gut. I remembered her face so well it hurt, and she was still fresh in my mind from the previous night at the club, leaving the sting of finding out she was here in town even worse.
“Amelia?”
Callum nodded.
“She’s in town?”
He nodded again.
“Right now.”
Callum sighed. “Yeah, she is. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to cause any problems. She’s in town and I couldn’t… not spend time with her, but I knew you wouldn’t be happy about it. So I thought…” He lifted his
shoulders in a shrug.
“You thought you’d just lie to me about it?” I asked coolly.
“Hey, that’s not fair,” he shot back. “I was doing this to try to spare your feelings. You were the one that kept pushing.”
I tried to pull myself together. Callum was right. He’d lied to spare my feelings, and if I wasn’t such a fucking baby over her, it wouldn’t have been a damn problem in the first place and he wouldn’t have lied. But I couldn’t deny that it stung. Mostly it stung that she was here in the first place, but a little that Callum was spending time with her, too.
Of course, she was his sister.
“I don’t know why you deal with her,” I couldn’t help but mutter, folding my arms across my chest like a petulant child—which was what I felt like, actually.
Callum lifted his hands as if to say “what can you do?” “I promised my father, you know that. I can’t go back on my word.”
I sighed. “Yeah, well, I still think it’s shitty.”
He nodded in agreement. “Can’t argue with you there.”
“Just… keep her away from me,” I told him stiffly.
“What do you think I’ve been doing?”
And just like that, my appreciation for Callum being my friend and knowing me so well returned threefold.
Chapter Twelve
Marnie
It was late. I was stuck at the damn office since Courtney was still on her damn vacation. Which meant I had meetings scattered all over, clients that were pissed that I’d missed things that I didn’t even remember scheduling, and Dorian was on me about Trent—who had canceled a meeting outright.
“I guess I should be grateful he didn’t waste my time by showing up,” I grumbled to myself.
All I wanted was some coffee, alcohol, and ice cream. I didn’t care how they were mixed together or served or anything. I’d eat warm ice cream, hot bourbon, and cold coffee if I could just have a little of each.
Which, now that I thought about it, sounded disgusting.
I shuffled papers around my desk until I was cross-eyed. I finally just gave up, threw two dozen into my briefcase, and decided to call it a night. There was just no point in wasting more time.
