A Sinful Trap

by R. G. Alexander

  “Nice to meet you, too. Wow.”

  “Not how you pictured me?” He flexed his pecs with a wicked grin. “Good. Now you go up first.”

  “What? Up? Oh, I need a minute to...” She was still trying to process what he’d said as he guided her to the ladder and took off her hat. “Hey, Many Hats. I was wearing that one.”

  “I’m helping.” He tousled her short hair playfully. “It might get caught on something. You’re so much cuter than I expected. Up you go.”

  “Thanks, I think, but don’t rush me, D. Even if I do like you, ladders and I are not on good terms right now.”

  “I won’t let you fall.”

  This was surreal. She had liked D and looked forward to his emails, even when she’d silently ridiculed the detailed preparations for Locke’s arrival. But merging her witty digital pen pal with the stunning man currently nudging her towards the ladder wasn’t easy.

  D had always been charming, but with Davide it was a superpower. How else could she explain the fact that she was letting him get away with manhandling her while he made it clear he wasn’t sure about her designs on his—their—boss?

  “You write his emails and you’re his bodyguard?” She stepped onto the ladder’s first rung, her nerves oddly soothed by his proximity. “Not to be rude, D, but he’s twice your size and doesn’t look like he needs any help in that department.”

  She gasped when the ladder shifted with his added weight as he stepped up behind her. “What do they call that? A size queen? I’m disappointed. Never underestimate agility and skill. Relax, I’m right behind you, Bailey.”

  “I only wondered why you had to wear so many hats.” Her heart was racing as she took one step, and then another. This ladder was a little shaky but he was with her, she told herself. She wouldn’t fall.

  She could feel his breath between her shoulder blades and it sent a shiver of awareness over her skin.

  “I don’t have to do anything. The truth is, I’m whatever he needs me to be whenever he needs it, because that’s what he is for me. And having met him, you’ll agree that it’s no hardship to watch over his body.”

  She paused mid step. There was no way to mistake his meaning. “You’re his…he’s your…”

  “We are,” he murmured, suddenly right behind her, bare chest hot against her back and arms braced on either side of her. “You smell delicious, Bailey.”

  Cam had given her the same line last night. She supposed that answered her next question about how long they’d been a couple. “I don’t think you should do this, D. Locke wouldn’t like it.”

  “Cam,” he corrected. “What shouldn’t I do?”

  “Flirt with me.”

  Davide pressed himself more firmly against her, letting her feel his erection like a long brand against her ass. That couldn’t really be how big he was, could it? “I’m not subtle, remember? If I were flirting, you’d know it. I’d tell you how hard I got watching you garden in your fuck-me shorts. Or that I wasn’t expecting you to feel this right against me. Or maybe I’d admit that I was the tiniest bit jealous about Cam’s reaction to you last night, but now I understand it.”

  “We might have different definitions of…flirting…” Her voice wavered as he nuzzled her nape, making her practically vibrate with arousal. “I thought you were warning me off.”

  “That was a possibility,” he admitted in a distracted tone, his palm flattening over her stomach to hold her steady against him. “Between this new place and meeting you, he isn’t acting like himself right now. If you weren’t a good fit for him, I would have convinced you to refuse his suit.”

  “Refuse his what?” Who said that other than Ms. Littleton? His touch was robbing her of coherent thought. It had to be, because they were on a ladder in the hallway where anyone could see them. Anyone would be able to watch as he ground against her, and nipped at her ear. “You think he’s courting me?”

  “He will be. He won’t be able to help himself. Now that I’ve met you, I’m not sure how he left you last night. I don’t think I could have. It’s almost a sin to leave you wanting like this.”

  “W-why do you think I wanted anything from him? He was rude, literally left me hanging and almost fired me. Now you show up and tell me he’s already taken? That’s not what I’d call dating material.”

  Then why can’t you stop thinking about him?

  “I’m good at spotting lies, Bailey. You wanted him last night. You want me now. It’s impossible to hide your arousal from someone like me.”

  Someone like him. She turned her head to ask what he meant but he bit her jaw gently, his hand caressing her stomach in ever widening circles until she forgot the question. “Tell me I can touch you.”

  “You’re already touching me. I should be making you stop.”

  “But you don’t want to.” He pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “Give me permission to please you, Bailey. Let me give you what you need.”

  This wasn’t happening. It shouldn’t be happening. She read about things like this but she didn’t do them. Only a fictional character could get away with spending a whole night having sex dreams about one man and then let his boyfriend make out with her the very next day.

  But how long had it been since someone had asked? Since she’d wanted to say yes this badly?

  “Yes.” Did she think it or whisper it out loud? It was the only possible response, even though she knew she’d regret it later.

  His grunt sounded like praise as he unbuttoned her jean shorts, immediately delving into her bikini bottoms with a hiss of male satisfaction. “You knew you should say no, but you said yes anyway. I approve. And you’re already wet for me. Or were you thinking of Cam instead? Both of us together? You can tell me. I don’t mind sharing.”

  You dreamed of both of them together.

  She hadn’t known it at the time, but now she was almost positive Davide was the one Cam had been with in her fantasy. That realization should have been the bucket of cold water she needed to stop this, because how was that possible? But at this point she didn’t think anything could stop it. She needed to be touched. Needed this man to keep touching her.

  He smiled against her shoulder as if he heard her thoughts, his fingers exploring, rubbing, caressing her with a skill she’d never experienced.

  “I want you to think of both of us,” he admitted softly. “We were thinking of you last night. If you’re good, I’ll tell you just how much you and those Wonder Woman boxers tempted Cam.”

  The idea of the two men discussing her while they were together... She rocked her hips between Davide’s fingers and his cock, unable to stop herself. “I’m good. Tell me.”

  Davide cupped her sex in his palm and squeezed, making her knees buckle. “Have you really been good, Bailey? After that show you put on for him with your jeans? The way you told him about this Celeste woman to make him jealous?”

  She pressed her forehead against the metal rung of the ladder, biting her lip to keep from moaning out loud. Was that why Celeste wasn’t on the roof this morning? “Did he tell you everything? How could he be jealous?” He has you.

  “Cam is complicated.” The ragged laughter against her back made her breasts bounce. “We both are. Are you brave enough to find out how complicated?”

  Her hand dropped to cover his, adding pressure and silently begging for more. “You don’t feel that complicated to me.”

  “Bold Bailey. No, I’m not. Not about this.” Davide groaned into her hair, and one thick finger circled before barely slipping inside her. Teasing her. “But then I’m not in charge of a company and all the people in it. I also refuse to deny myself the way he does.”

  “I doubt you let him deny you anything.” She thought about the way they were in her dream last night. How focused Cam was on pleasing him. “He’d do anything for you.”

  “Right again.” He sounded surprised. “It doesn’t bother you at all, does it? That I’m with Cam? That we’re together?”

  “Why
would it? What bothers me is that I was calling you Buffly twenty minutes ago because I didn’t know your name, and now I’m letting you…” She bit her lip as his fingers caught her clit. “What else did he say?”

  He swore under his breath. “What are you doing to us, Bailey? Where did you come from? Grip the ladder with both hands now, and don’t scream.”

  She obeyed instantly, and just in time—her back arched and her mouth opened in soundless pleasure as his finger thrust fully inside her for the first time. Oh my God.

  “Feel how tight you are. How sweet.”

  It had been so long. The stretch of his thick finger was almost painful, but if he stopped now she’d kill him.

  He whispered another curse and twisted his wrist, picking up his pace. “He fucked me last night, Bailey. Is that what you wanted to hear? Rode me so hard I was begging. We played a game, imagining you were there with us. Each time I spoke your name his cock came back to life, so I did it as often as I could until I couldn’t take it anymore. The last time I teased him, asking if he was planning to share you. What he did to me then…” He shuddered against her. “When it was over, neither one of us could move.”

  The visual was so clear in her mind. So graphic. And they’d imagined her watching, just like in her dream. She’d rather be with them than watch them, though. Cam and Davide surrounding her and taking her together.

  “Did he say yes?”

  “It doesn’t matter what he said or didn’t say. He has to share you now.” The voice in her ear was almost grim. “Even if he saw you first, he has no choice. But you do. Would you like that, Bailey? Both of us inside you?”

  Yes. Please.

  She almost said it, but she was afraid if she made another sound, she’d shout and bring Ava running. Her hands were slippery on the ladder and her body was trembling. What was she doing with him? For the first time in forever, her inn was bustling with workers and she had guests—and she was getting finger-banged by Mr. Exhibitionism.

  “We have to stop,” she whispered, near tears at the thought. “They’ll hear us.”

  “You can be quiet for this. I’ll help,” he vowed, covering her mouth with his free hand while sliding another finger inside her, forcing the breath from her lungs. “Now you can let go, Bailey. I’ll take care of you. I’ll never be as civilized as he is, but I’m not making his mistake. I’m not stopping. You’ll come for me before I release you.”

  She was close. How could she be this close with someone she hadn’t even kissed? None of this seemed real. She was on drugs. She was dreaming.

  But it felt real. She could hear his fingers thrusting through her wet sex. Smell sweat and man as she struggled to breath with his hand over her mouth. Feel the metal biting into her palms as she clung to the ladder so she could take more. She needed more. She was going to scream. She was—

  Coming so hard the ladder rocked with the strength of it. She clenched around his fingers, her body wracked with pleasure as she moaned helplessly into his hand.

  He grunted again, his cock a steel bar against her as she rode out the storm raging through her body. For a moment she thought she could sense his desire with hers. That he wanted to drag her down to the floor and finish inside her. And for a moment she wanted to let him. She hadn’t stopped trembling from the best orgasm she’d had in years, and yet she wanted more.

  “You’re ours, Bailey,” he murmured, lowering his hand from her mouth. “Aren’t you? How is this possible? How are you possible? This isn’t supposed to happen.”

  She agreed with that last part. “I know,” she moaned quietly, pressing her forehead into a sharp ladder rung. “He really is going to fire me now.”

  “What?” Davide chuckled. “That, I can promise you, is the least of your worries.”

  “What’s the most?”

  They both heard the sound of children laughing at the same time and it shocked them into silence. She didn’t have guests with kids. But then, that didn’t sound like normal laughter.

  She heard it again. It was coming from the open attic above them.

  Hell no.

  Everything happened at once after that. Bailey was still looking up when Davide’s touch and heat disappeared from behind her and that damn mutant spider dangled angrily right in front of her face. That’s when she screamed and fell backward—right into Cameron Locke’s arms.

  Again.

  Her new boss looked so mad that for a split second she swore she saw silver fire swirling in his eyes.

  “Hey, Boot Boy.”

  Oh yeah. She was definitely in trouble now.

  Chapter Six

  Cam didn’t need a shifter’s senses to tell him what they’d been up to. Guilty looks, swollen lips and lowered zippers were all the clues he needed to make a well-informed guess.

  He blinked away the sea of red clouding his vision, putting a lid on the possessiveness and arousal that made him unable to decide if he should drag Bailey off to his bed or go for Davide and show her who the lynx belonged to.

  He settled for putting her down and reaching for the waistband of her shorts, making sure she was zipped and buttoned before she could get her bearings and notice his hands were shaking.

  “Wait a second,” she exclaimed in belated response to his presumption.

  “Cam…” Davide was beside him, his voice low and urgent. “We need to talk in private. There are things you should know.”

  “You want to talk now?” He flexed his fists, still wrestling with his instincts. “Are you going to tell me you didn’t hitch a ride with Aaron while I was on a call? That you misunderstood the conversation we had last night, when I explicitly asked you to wait?”

  A fleeting expression of guilt couldn’t conceal the defiance that lingered in Davide’s stance, and it baffled him. This man who was the other half of his heart had always been impulsive and mischievous, but he’d never gone against Cam’s wishes. Not when it was this important.

  You never had a mate before.

  Bailey stepped away from them and straightened the purple halter that clung lovingly to her full breasts. She was beautifully flushed. From embarrassment or her recent climax?

  “He was checking me out,” she explained.

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” Cam ordered through clenched teeth.

  “I didn’t mean it that way.” She muttered something under her breath about obstinate men. “He was doing his job. Making sure I didn’t have nefarious designs on you or your company.”

  “Was he looking for them in your shorts? Do you think I told him to do that?”

  “You tell me.” Now her hands were on her hips, drawing his gaze to the curves Davide had just had in his hands. “He says he does whatever you need him to do. He says he’s yours.”

  “He is.” Satisfaction burned through most of his anger. “Which is why he should know better.”

  The glimmer of approval in her eyes was encouraging and surprising. She liked that he’d claimed Davide?

  “He’s also spent all morning fixing your roof,” she went on, “and used the only break he’s taken all day to help me get this ladder up the stairs so we can find out where the noise is coming from. You should thank him for being willing to go above and beyond. And for actually being good at it. If he hadn’t been, I might be more upset that you didn’t hire Celeste like I suggested.”

  Davide stared at her with the same wonder Cam was feeling. Bailey had not only turned the conversation away from what he’d just found them doing, but she was defending Davide. Protecting him despite his indiscriminate behavior. She knew Cam’s business reputation, believed her job was in jeopardy, but that hadn’t stopped her from stepping in to redirect his ire.

  She was exceptional.

  “You’re right, of course.” He commanded himself to relax. “Davide? Those noises aren’t what we heard last night, but they’re still disturbing. Go see if you can find a reason for them while I speak to Ms. Wagner? You and I will talk later.”

  Dav
ide wasn’t happy, but he didn’t argue. They both knew better than to ignore the supernatural, and it would be safer for a shifter to investigate whatever it was than an uninformed human. He gifted Bailey with a small, encouraging smile before bounding up the ladder with a speed and grace that left the innkeeper staring in open-mouthed surprise.

  His innkeeper. Who’d been close to being claimed by another less than a day after Cam found her. Her arousal and Davide’s were still thick in the air, doing nothing to tame the desire inside him.

  He was starting to believe some of the stories might be true. A night exhausting his willing and energetic lover had barely taken the edge off. If anything, he wanted more. He wanted her.

  Only human. Wasn’t that the saying? She was…and he wasn’t.

  He’d straddled both worlds more successfully than most, but doing so had made him less trusting of humanity. They were unpredictable creatures with short life spans and an excess of fear. That fear and their survival instincts revealed a deviance and cruelty in them that none of his kind could match. He didn’t believe Bailey was capable of that, but she was human, and Cam’s wasn’t the only life he had to consider with her as his mate.

  This morning, he’d made a phone call to an alpha from a small pack of foxes he was on good terms with, confirming what he now suspected. His wolf wouldn’t allow him to avoid her and move on. He’d either have to seduce her into accepting his mark, or put his life in her hands with a ritual only she could perform to release him.

  He didn’t want to believe the old fox, because either option required a level of trust they barely had time to earn.

  And if she could accept the mark? What about Davide?

  He’d obviously decided to take matters into his own hands. Cam wouldn’t know why until he confronted him.

  “Your silence is making me nervous,” Bailey said to some spot over his shoulder. “I know it won’t matter, but I am sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For what?” She stared at him in astonishment. “For what, he says. I swear, I will never understand rich people for as long as I live. I’m talking about Davide. Your Davide. I don’t know what kind of kinky swinger’s train you two are riding, but what happened just now was unprofessional. And while we’re on the subject, I thought you were planning to take my hiring advice because I knew the locals and the area.”