Keeping Wicked (The Mitchell Brothers Book 3)

by Kathryn L. James

  “Put them on.”

  “You should leave.” I didn’t sound very convincing. Being near him was like the strongest magnetic pull ever imagined.

  In a heartbeat, he tossed the clothes and bag to the floor and sauntered toward me like a hunter stalking for its prey. With a cocked eyebrow and a tight sexy smirk, he backed me against the wall his eyes blazed into mine.

  My hands splayed across his chest but hardly to push him away. Everything inside me wanted him to kiss me. His presence unraveled me and breathed life into me all at the same time. His chest rose and fell hard against the palms of my hands and unmistakable desire swam in his eyes.

  “Put your pants on unless you don’t care if anyone in the hallway sees you wearing nothing but my shirt. Don’t try my patience any more than you already have,” he paused for a second. “Try me.”

  My heart raced wildly as I lifted my chin to challenge him. His gorgeous eyes darkened, and a devilish gleam met mine. God, he was perfect in every way. I couldn’t deny the chemistry nor the surge of desire humming through my body.

  I wasn’t going to play easy, because I knew he was arrogant, but there was no way he would make a scene that would draw attention to himself.

  “I’m staying right here,” I challenged.

  I didn’t have time to react as he hurled me over his shoulder. My head dangled and I squirmed with no avail. His strong hands had me by the hips holding me firmly in place.

  “Put me down right now, Chad.” I wriggled slightly but his vice only tightened.

  He opened the door without making a move to put me on my feet as he marched forward down the corridor.

  “You should have listened. Next time, you need to remember I always do what I say I’m going to do.”

  My damp hair swayed back and forth and regardless how much I tried to weasel out of his hold, he didn’t lighten up. He carried me as if I were nothing more than a feather. When the elevator doors opened, I held my breath in fear of an audience about to get their eyes full. Thankfully, it was empty, and he hauled me inside.

  “Are you crazy? You can’t break into my hotel room! It’s against the law!”

  “So it is,” he said in a cocky whisper.

  The elevator dinged and opened to the secured penthouse floor.

  “Put me down. I’ll walk.”

  He didn’t listen until we were inside the luxurious bedroom lit up by a soft glow coming from the bathroom. Easing me onto the bed, his blazing eyes held onto mine.

  “You don’t belong in an ordinary standard room.”

  The way he ran his gaze down my body, made my nipples bead and heat stirred between my legs. I swallowed hard as he lingered on my bare thighs. The chemistry between us was palpable. He inched closer to the edge of the bed and stooped down placing his hands onto the mattress on either side of my shoulders.

  I wanted this—I wanted all he had to give. One look into his beautiful face, and he had me in the palm of his hand. He was powerful and I was powerless. I wanted him to do whatever he wanted with me.

  “This bed is where you belong.”

  “This bed? Or your bed?” I toyed with him because I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him.

  A smile teased his lips, making me want to be even more bold and daring. I lifted my fingers to the buttons on the dress shirt and began slowly unfastening them one by one. His eyes hooded, following the trail of my fingers until the fabric lay wide open.

  The groan escaping his lips shot a thrill through my entire being, making me more wet than I already was for him. I slid the tips of my fingertips inside the top hem of my sheer, lacy, blue panties and arched my hips upward to slide them down my legs.

  “You have no idea what you do to me,” he rasped, dipping his mouth lower.

  “Maybe not, but I know what you’re about to do to me.”

  Chapter 13

  A wicked smile gleamed in the unmistakable force of desire in Chad’s eyes. He dipped his head down forcefully claiming my mouth and my blood ignited into a blazing fire. Frantically tearing at his shirt, I pulled it upward and for a brief second, we split apart to jerk it over his head. Our lips crashed together and my body arched upward begging for so much more.

  He drew one of my pebbled nipples between his lips and grazed his teeth against the sensitive flesh. My fingers threaded into his hair, tugging him closer.

  Fuck, I wanted him so badly.

  He brought me to life after living in such a dark place. It was as if all the colors in the world were vivid and bright, and belonged to me. I felt strong and not like an empty shell. And God, I wanted him to keep breathing life into me.

  Breathlessly, I wrapped my legs around him, welcoming his hardness as he ground into me. Kissing his way down my body, my nails clawed into his sculpted shoulders, reveling in the feel of his mouth.

  Then he paused, and I peeked through my lashes expecting to see him staring into my eyes. But he wasn’t. He was lost in the haunting rectangular scar on my abdomen and it felt as though a sharp sting of a knife sliced into my heart. Shame seeped into my veins and the familiar feeling of ugliness crept into my emotions.

  “I want to hurt the son-of-a-bitch that did this to you,” he stated roughly.

  “It’s okay. I get it.”

  I grabbed onto the dress shirt spread out beside me on the mattress and tried to cover myself. His eyes snapped up to mine when he realized what I was doing. Faster than my reflexes, he grasped my wrists and secured them above my head onto the pillow.

  “I don’t think you do. Never cover up your body. Not any part of it, Leah. Everything about you is beautiful. And I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.” He pressed his hardness against the inside of my thighs as if to prove his desire. He ground out a groan and dipped his mouth to my ear. “I want to be inside you, Leah, but if you don’t want to do this, we’ll stop.”

  “I want you,” I whispered. “Please don’t stop.”

  He kissed my mouth and then trailed down my body, his warm breath brushing tantalizing in its path. “I’m going to taste you until you scream my name and then I’m going to fuck you like I own you, Leah.”

  As promised, he swept his tongue over my crevice and I arched upward grabbing a handful of the comforter. A shudder ran through me as he continued with sensual swirling magical strokes as he tasted me. He continued the pleasures, nipping, licking, and flattening his tongue making my body buck in need.

  “Oh, damn,” I rasped squeezing my eyes closed and drawing my bottom lip in between my teeth.

  A bazillion tremors shot through me taking me to the brink of ecstasy. Chasing more, I arched upward, and his hands cupped my hips holding me in place. Letting go of the bedding fisted in my hands, I frantically grasp onto his head, latching onto his tousled hair. Seconds later I shuddered and faded into an intense off the rails orgasm, screaming his name over and over again.

  Spent and sated, I moaned one last time and had barely stopped panting before he climbed up my body. His powerful hands clutched the sides of my face and kissed me hard. Lust burned through me and I brought my arms around his neck clutching his back.

  “Tonight, you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours, Chad. Make me yours.”

  He made me feel beautiful and flawless, like I had never felt the inflicted physical and mental abuse of Preston. Chad gave me back my old sense of bold reckless spirit. He made me forget my dad lay in the hospital bed hooked to more machines and tubes imaginable. He made me feel incredibly perfect and drained all the negative.

  Keeping his eyes fixed on mine, he roughly jerked his jeans down and my breath hitched at the sight as his erection jutted free. In one swift motion, his mouth claimed one of my aching nipples between his lips, he moved between my legs and pushed inside me in a quick hard thrust. My walls clenched around him and with every deep thrust in and out I started coming apart in his arms, crying out his name again… as he’d promised.

 
“Fuck!” he ground out in a throaty growl.

  An intense convulsion quaked through me with fierce energy pulling me into an indescribable euphoria. I felt the shudders assaulting the muscles in his back as he erupted deep inside me and his groan in my ear charged the exhilarated moment. He nestled his face in my neck and gently pulled the lobe of my ear inside his lips then rolled onto his back pulling me with him. Lying flush against his chest, his hands trailed the curvature of my spine. Satisfied, I listened to his heartbeat against my ear in the rhythm of a lullaby.

  “That was amazing,” I whispered.

  “It’s impossible for me to stay away from you.” His fingers played with the ends of my hair cascading down my back.

  “Then stop trying.”

  “Does it bother you to keep this a secret? To not be seen in public?”

  “I think it’s what we have to do. There would be too much shit to deal with if we were to get caught together.” I meant it. I didn’t want our pictures strewn about on all social media platforms, captioned with some shitty comment about the coach’s daughter and the owner of the team.

  “We can do this without getting caught,” he said with a confident smile.

  “You might want to think twice before hauling me over your shoulder through the hotel to get what you want. I’m quite sure that would go viral.”

  “Then don’t challenge me. I do what I say I’m going to do. Remember that, Leah.”

  I rolled my eyes and laid my head against his chest breathing in his presence. A mixture of woodsy cologne and his natural sinful scent sent tingles down my spine. What was it about him? Why did he feel so incredibly right when he was incredibly temporary?

  “We need to set some ground rules, if we’re doing this, the next thing I know, you’ll be trying to get me to call you, sir.” I laughed.

  “Careful, you might give me an idea.”

  “Don’t count on it.” I traced small circles on his firm abs with the pad of my index finger. “In all seriousness though, don’t you have some requests of me that are hard limits?”

  “Yes. For one, if I put you in the penthouse, then I expect you to stay there.” He fisted my hair pulling the strands in an erotic way, forcing me to look at him and fuck if that didn’t turn me on.

  “I don’t like being told what to do.”

  “I don’t like not getting what I want.” He nipped at my ear, his hot breath sending goosebumps across my flesh.

  “You’re going to have to work on that flaw. I pretty much always do what I want.” I cocked my eyebrow upward and rolled over onto my stomach and propped up on my elbows.

  He let out a chuckle, “You’re not like any woman I’ve ever met. I’m used to women bobbing their head to anything I say in hopes they’ll land the last Mitchell bachelor.”

  “Lucky for you, I’m using you for sex. So, tell me, Chad Mitchell, aside from keeping us private, what other hard-limit rules?”

  “You first.”

  “Honesty, integrity, and fidelity. While we won’t be a committed relationship, if you’re sleeping with me, then I don’t want to share. And I want your word my dad’s job is secure.”

  He looked as though I’d slapped him. “I’ve done a lot of shitty things, but firing Harry for fucking his daughter is not one that will go down in my book of sins. As far as the rest, I can give you all of those things.”

  “Even fidelity?”

  “You have my word.”

  “And your rules?” I asked.

  “No emotional ties. No falling in love. And when either one of us wants to call it quits, we’ll both walk away as friends.”

  A smile blossomed on my lips, “I easily accept your terms. No relationship. Not falling in love and when we’re done, we’re done.”

  He let out a sigh that sounded like a whoosh of relief. “Glad we’re clear because I’m not boyfriend material.”

  “Thank God for that. Did that once and it left me with a scar that I need to one day have plastics try and fix it or maybe have a tattoo artist look at it.”

  “I think you’re beautiful, Leah. Don’t think for one minute, it makes you less attractive because I see so much more than a scar. Don’t cover it… not while you and I are seeing one another.”

  Hearts couldn’t smile, but mine sure felt like it was.

  “One day, I hope you’ll tell me what happened,” he added.

  I paused for a moment, not wanting to talk openly about it, but talking with him somehow spread calmness through the memories.

  “I was a young rebellious seventeen-year-old girl who held onto massive amounts of pent up anger inside for your head coach. Deep down I knew there was something wrong about Preston. The signs were right in front of me, but I kept on dating him because I knew Dad would hate him. He was into drugs, went to school stoned or drunk. I didn’t listen to Carli’s warnings because the thrill of pissing off my dad was worth it all—or so I thought. One night, we were at a party on a private lake at a ranch. I let him lead me down a trail away from the crowd so we could talk. Completely alone, he made a nice campfire and I thought we were going to have a make-out session… like a few other times. Then he shoved his hands down my pants and when I tried to scramble away, his hand landed across my face. I didn’t have time to collect my senses before another blow struck my cheek. I never even knew when he removed his belt or unfastened his jeans. Before I realized it, he was on top of me and I managed to shove my knee between his legs. I thought it would give me a chance to run back to the party for help, but it only pissed him off. His belt buckle had landed in the hot coals and… he branded me with it.”

  “Did you report the son-of-a-bitch to the police?” His jaw clenched and his eyes were pinned on me.

  “He’s dead.”

  His jaw relaxed and a look of interest shadowed his expression. “What happened?”

  “I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re wondering. I heard it was an overdose. Carli saved me that night. She whacked him over the head with a beer bottle. Two days later I had an angry infection going on and I had to break down and tell Anita. Dad was where he always was—with his boys. While waiting to see the doctor, Preston’s death was all over social media.”

  He circled his arms around me and drew his hand into my hair. “I can’t imagine how Harry must have reacted.”

  “Dad never found out. And it’s going to stay that way.”

  “How’s that possible? Did he not question the hospital bill?”

  “Anita took care of everything, signed as my mother and paid with her credit card.”

  He cupped my chin and tilted my head upward to meet his penetrating gaze. “If he were alive, I’d make him pay for laying a hand on you. I’d make him wish he’d never been born.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to find words that made sense… but there were none to be said.

  Because we didn’t make sense.

  The only thing I knew for sure, the internal raging war of anger and peace battling inside me had finally come to an end and peace had won.

  Chapter 14

  “Leah, wake up.”

  The seriousness in Chad’s tone made my eyes fly open. I found him sitting on the edge of the bed softly brushing the wild mane of hair from my eyes.

  “What is it?” I bolted upright.

  “Harry managed to extubate himself. The doctors decided to leave the breathing tube out for now. He’s asking for you and he’s being himself… stubborn, belligerent, and non-compliant.”

  “Oh, my God. I have to go. Are they sure he’s stable enough to leave the tube out?”

  “They assured me he is, but they are keeping a close eye on him. The description they gave, sounds like the Harry I know. No doubt, they have their hands full right now.”

  “Strong enough to argue is good, right?” Relief washed through me. “The staff will need a big fat bonus after dealing with him.”

  He chuckled, “I may have to make that
happen.”

  “Thank you, Chad… you know for… everything.”

  “Go take a shower.”

  Inside the bathroom I rushed around like a maniac so I could get to the hospital. Standing underneath the cascading water, tears mixed with the sluicing water running over my face. I felt caught in a tangled web of emotions. I yearned for my father to be okay and craved every part of a man that I shouldn’t.

  Soapy suds from the lavender body wash filled the loofa and I almost laughed out loud at the label. I was anything but calm and some scented bottled of promises sure as shit wasn’t going to sooth away my problems.

  Movement through the fogged glass caught my eye. I watched Chad hang an outfit on the hook attached to the back of the bathroom door before turning in my direction.

  Holy shit.

  The man was perfection—Hot. Fucking. Perfection—that was here making sure I was taken care of.

  “I hope you don’t mind. I’m trying to help. There’s some other things you might need on the vanity.”

  “Thank you,”

  “I’ll be in the other room.” He paused, holding the doorknob. “When your dad is better, we’re going to have one hell of good time in my shower at my home.”

  He left me alone and deeper in the tangled web.

  After sliding into black leggings, a flowy white blouse, and a pair of flats, I found Chad sitting on the sofa. And holy hell did he look incredibly handsome wearing a dove grey shirt and black slacks.

  “Ready?” he asked, taking me in from head to toe.

  “Yes.” I swallowed hard, grabbing my purse.

  He extended the key card toward me. “Take this and don’t even think about repeating last night. As long as you stay in the hotel, this is where you’ll sleep.”

  “Are you staying?” I hopefully stared into his beautiful eyes that made me want to do bad things.

  “I can.”

  “Already seeing someone on the side?” I chided in a jokingly way, but I’d caught the hesitation in his voice.