Her “no” comes out rushed, and my jaw clenches as I nod, the anger blindsiding me. Her dismissal should make me relieved, not mad.
Reminding myself yet again how she’s off-limits, I follow her out her door. This time, I think I mean it until her purse opens slightly and something catches my eyes. Something pink and fuzzy that looks an awful lot like…handcuffs? Cute, fuzzy handcuffs? My resolve flies out the window as my heart kicks up a few notches. This night just got a whole lot better. High heels and cuffs. What can go wrong?
Chapter Thirteen
MIA
Current Day
“Now that’s a tree.”
I take in the symmetrical shape and the full branches and hold back my smile. “It truly is. The tree’s as pretty as the one my childhood friend Jillian had.”
AJ’s lips twitch. “Jealous?”
“Of what?” I ask, afraid to hear his answer.
“My perfection.” The slight tease to his voice draws my attention. He stands next to me with his arms crossed, those massive guns bulging beneath his cotton button-down. His honey-toned skin sneaking through the slightly opened collar practically glows against the pale-yellow fabric.
Perfect indeed. “I meant the tree.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Sure.” I shake my head. “I’m not jealous. You couldn’t handle a tree as delicate as mine. It requires great skill.”
“I have lots of patience. My virtues may surprise you.”
“Yes, your moral excellence is superlative.”
Those dark eyes hold a gleam. “Like I said, you’d be surprised.”
I’d believe him if he hadn’t led me on in the past only to stand me up. But now isn’t the time to rehash those feelings. I switch to a lighter topic.
“Do you have a string of lights we can add?”
“Nah, Jax has all that stuff. He’s getting ready to renovate his old homestead and moved most of his personal stuff there.”
“Jax is your roommate?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s nice.”
Concern stretches across his face. “Why do you ask?”
“I didn’t. I was just clarifying. You’re the one who mentioned him.”
“Yeah, guess you’re right. Sorry.” His body relaxes, but he still doesn’t appear comfortable. He runs his hand through his hair and glances behind us. “Have a seat. You want anything to drink?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s nervous. That can’t be right. I’ve seen this manwhore in action one too many times. There hasn’t been a single incident when AJ Gonzalez was nervous. I shake off his strange behavior and nod.
“Sure, I’ll take some water.” I plant my ass in the middle of his couch. If he sits on the couch with me, then I’ll know his intentions for us tonight.
The bastard sits right beside me. I knew his nervousness was fleeting.
“Thanks,” I say as I take the glass, a little surprised by the transparent liquid filling his glass. I would’ve thought he’d want something stronger than water.
“Since you haven’t been painting, what have you been doing these past few years? Photography?”
“Yes, I have some clientele built and will take family or single portraits. Mainly outdoor settings or on a property of the client’s choosing. I also travel for special events.”
“No art studio?”
A pang of regret sears through me. The curiosity in the way he stares at me and the gentleness in his voice tells me he isn’t asking to be vicious, but it doesn’t matter—the failure from not achieving my dream sits heavy with me. I feel like not only have I let myself down but also my dad. “I’ve dabbled with landscaping photography and started selling prints online. It’s been a slow build, but it’s coming along.”
“That’s impressive.”
Not really. I take a sip of water to clear my thoughts. Talking to AJ has always come easy. Even when we don’t agree on the subject at hand, the conversation never lags. Sure, there have been times of awkwardness, but it gets resolved quickly. And that’s what scares me. I shouldn’t have this level of comfort with the man who dissed me so easily.
“I’m surprised you aren’t married.”
“What?” I ask, wondering if I heard him correctly.
“I figured some smart guy would’ve snatched you up by now.”
“The line hasn’t been too long, but I’ve been swamped with work.”
“No boyfriends?”
“How about you? Any girlfriends?” I counter. He doesn’t need to know about my relationships, nor do I need to know his. I personally don’t care about the number of partners he’s gone through—one-time hookups are just that, one time—but something raunchy stirs inside my stomach at the prospect of him having a long-term girlfriend. And that makes zero sense.
“Nah, I don’t ever date.”
“Come on. You’ve gone out on dates.” Jesus, girl, quit pressing the issue. I. Don’t. Care. Except, I kind of do.
“No. The last date I put effort into was back in college.”
The pointed look he gives me sends a rush of dizziness crashing into me. He exudes sex appeal, always has, and the level of lust swarming through me is intoxicating. I need to think of something other than wanting to rip the buttons off his shirt and run my hands down his ripped muscles. Puppies! Cute, playful puppies are always a tension breaker.
“Did you have any pets growing up?” I blurt out, my voice squeaking.
“Pets?” The corners of his lips twitch as he fights to maintain a neutral expression.
I straighten in my seat, trying to regain some semblance of composure. “Yeah, I don’t really know too much about your childhood.”
“Not really. We had a stray cat once, but he only lasted a week. My dad never wanted any pets, so no fuzzy creatures for me.” His eyes cloud over and lose some of the humor. “How about you?”
“I had a dog, a golden retriever mix. The subdivision I lived in didn’t allow fences, so I took him on a lot of walks. We’d go to the dog park where he could run.” I let out a laugh. “He loved fetching that frisbee.”
“What was his name?”
I open my mouth to speak but then pause. Knowing AJ, he’ll have a comment, but I named the poor dog. I suppose I need to own up to it. “Humpter.”
“Humper?” He almost spits out his water.
“No, Humpter. There’s a T.”
His shoulders shake with repressed laughter. He places the nearly full glass on the side table before redirecting his attention back to me. “Do I dare ask where that name derived from?”
“To be fair, I was five when my mom let me name him. He had this weird hump across the bridge of his nose, and well, I was watching Bambi a lot and…”
“Humpter.”
My smile widens. “Humpter.”
He listens to my babbling about the best dog on the planet, which makes me care more about him. But I don’t want to care. Not on this level, anyway.
I take one last drink and hand the water to AJ. As he takes the glass, I study his large hands. Give him credit for being a gentleman, because even though he’s mere inches away, he has kept those man paws to himself. Guilt for being harsh toward him settles in my stomach, but my gaze lands on my purse sitting on the entry table, and all the reasons for being here resurface.
Moving into seduction mode, I twist my body to face him more and run my hand along his thigh. “So, your roommate’s gone?”
Heat flares in his eyes as his gaze drops to the hint of cleavage the gap in my shirt exposes. AJ Gonzalez is no stranger to hookups. Unbeknown to him, I’ve witnessed countless girls leaving the bar with him. I’d bet my entire years’ worth of rent he’ll be down for what I have planned.
“Yeah, I’m not sure when he’s coming back, but it won’t be anytime soon.” His lips curve into a wicked smile. “Why? What do have in mind?”
“I think you know what I want.” My fingers inch their way up his inner thigh. “We
’re not college kids anymore.”
His breath stutters as he moves his right hand to my hip. I force myself to ignore the warm tingles his touch ignites. The last thing I want is to get swept away. I’m here for one thing, but this fire burning through my veins is electrifying.
“Are you sure?” His words come out in a huff as lust swarms in those dark brown eyes.
With the slightest notion, I tip my head and then lower it. His fingers press into my hips in almost a plea to make him stop. I don’t want to stop. I have plans for his body.
“Yes,” I say and then run my tongue along my lower lip. His gaze zeros in on my action, and the little distance between us no longer exists as he presses our bodies together. His mouth closes over mine, and I’m surrounded by sandalwood along with the scent that makes me yearn for the West Coast. He tilts his head to deepen the kiss, and I let out an involuntary moan. Jesus, this guy knows what he’s doing.
My hand snakes around to the nape of his neck as he slips in his tongue. I didn’t expect to respond so readily to him—to feel this turned on—but here I am, the tingling between my thighs aching for relief.
His hand squeezes my waist but doesn’t stray any farther while our tongues continue their exploration. He’s taking his time, being good, but I can’t help it. I want one feel of his rock-hard chest. My hands shake as I fumble with his buttons. I can’t work fast enough. When his shirt finally falls open, I sweep my fingertips along his pecs and down across those washboard abs. Okay, I want more than one feel because he feels freaking fantastic.
He shimmies out of his shirt and then brings his hands to my shoulders. He hasn’t made it past the outer clothing. It’s like something keeps holding him back. I push harder.
“AJ, take me to bed.” I rub my hand along his crotch, and oh my God, the bulge in his elf boxers was no exaggeration. He’s huge and so…hard. So very hard. He has me so drunk with lust I almost miss his words.
“I hate to rush this.”
This? There is no this. I don’t voice that thought. I can’t, not when he leaves open-mouthed kisses along my neck and down my collarbone. I can’t believe how incredibly turned on I am. Without hesitation, I remove my shirt, and if I wasn’t hot before, I sure am now. Even with my black bra on, he eyes me like he’s ready to devour me. The empowerment is overwhelming. “Bedroom now.”
He doesn’t hesitate and pulls me off the couch. He steps toward what I assume is his bedroom.
“Wait.”
He glances down at me with a cocked eyebrow.
“I have an idea.” I skip over to my purse and pull out my surprise. Dangling a pair of handcuffs from my fingers, I ask, “Do you like light bondage?”
I’m greeted with another sinful smile. “Only if you’re the one dishing it out.”
“Okay, then. You’re in for one hell of a treat.”
Chapter Fourteen
AJ
Current Day
The front door clicks open, and I hope Mia’s changed her mind and came back. My fucking wrists are sore, and this is no longer sexy. Plus, I’m cold and have to take a piss. To make matters worse, the image of her full tits spilling from the black, lacy bra fills my mind, and I’m instantly hard. She should take care of this problem. It’s the least she could do.
“You got a tree.” A loud masculine voice carries through the hall and crushes all hope of the intruder being Mia.
Lovely.
Despite that I’m about to be a shit-ton embarrassed, relief washes through me. Maybe being traded is a good thing because I’ll never live this shit down in the locker room.
“Jax, get your ass in here.”
“You alone?”
“Of course.” I can’t blame him for being gun-shy after I brought that crazy stalker chick home. I had no idea that she was a pawn planted by Jocelyn’s ex-husband. After that episode, I screened the ones I brought back to the apartment. Any stalker-slash-crazy wannabes, I went to their place or a hotel. Thought I was doing an exceptional job until last night.
The bathroom door slams shut, and I groan in frustration. Son-of-a-bitch, I don’t want to piss the bed.
“Hurry the hell up,” I yell. Fuck! One minute we’re talking about puppies, and the next, I roll over as if I’m her bitch and let her take full control. That was a mistake.
“Jesus, what’s got your panties in a twist?” Jax strolls into my room and halts. Initial shock hits first before he bursts into laughter. I mean gut-wrenching rolls. I tug on my wrist, and the creaking sound of the bedpost causes him to laugh harder.
Asshole.
“The key is on the dresser. Hurry up, I have to piss.”
“Hold up.” His laugh does nothing but slows him down. “This is better than those tights. Which wildcat did you piss off?”
“Mia Gunner, Drake’s sister.”
He pauses and looks at me. The key to my freedom inches away. “The photographer?”
“Yeah, hurry up, dude.”
“What the hell did you do?” He unhooks the first handcuff, and I shake my hand, working out the cricks.
Ditched her a long time ago. “It goes back to when we were in college. We almost had a thing, and I ended it before it got started.”
“Somehow, I think there’s more to that story. But really, dude, a teammate’s sister. What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know. With my dick?” I should have suspected something when she started flirting. She went from cold to hot awfully fast, in the seduction side anyway. Before then, I thought we had a moment. We fell into our old banter, and I enjoyed being with her.
As soon as my other wrist frees, I beeline to the bathroom. Damn, that girl. I thought my apology helped ease her bitterness. Couldn’t she see I meant it?
Once I’m done, I grab a pair of sweats and head toward the living room. Jax starts laughing all over again.
“That girl has it in for you.”
“At least you came back when you did. Tara is due here in another hour. I’d have to put extra money in her check.” Tara being my very Christian maid, who openly disapproves of my lifestyle.
“Oh, Jesus. I can’t even fathom what she’d think. What I saw makes me want to gouge my eyes out.”
“It’s not like you’ve never seen this before.” I grab my dick through the fleece.
“It’s not like I want to either.” He laughs again. “So, tell me again how the hell Drake’s sister chained you to the bed?”
“I know her from college. She was a freshman my senior year.”
“Wait a minute, is this why she turned you into a hideous creeper elf?”
I flip him off. “That, and I may have flirted with her. She took it the wrong way.”
“I call bullshit. She left you naked and chained, bro. I want to know the real story.”
But the truth makes me sound like an ass.
“Okay, it may have been more my fault, but you know I like my women wild.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“Well, Mia was shy and a little too innocent.” Not to mention beyond perfect. That girl deserves a hell of lot better man than me. The sour taste in my mouth would be guilt for downplaying this. Mia exuded an essence of innocence, but she wasn’t exactly shy. Sweeter than anything.
Jax tosses the handcuffs at me and chuckles. “She can’t be too innocent if she owns a set of those.”
“Son-of-a-bitch, you’re right.”
I take the handcuffs and hang them front and center on the tree. Ho, ho, ho.
“I can’t believe Ebenezer Scrooge bought a tree.”
“What the fuck? I’m not anti-Christmas.”
“You never gave two shits about the holidays.”
He’s right, but I’m not opposed to them. Just never had anything to celebrate.
“Cara was nagging me. Hope you don’t mind she crashed in your room while you were gone.”
“Nah, she’s welcome to it.”
“I was going to have Tara clean the sheets when she gets here.
” I slump back into the couch. Amazing how being chained to a bed can wear you out. And I didn’t even get laid. “Why are you back, anyway?”
“I had to pick up a few things. I’m heading back tomorrow, but I do want to show you something.”
Jax pulls out a little black jewelry box. When he opens it, the shiniest diamond stares back at me. I’m hit with a pang of jealousy that comes out of nowhere. Why am I envious of my friend? I’m not looking to settle down. Hell, I don’t even have a girlfriend.
“Nice. You making it official, huh?”
“You think it’s too cliché to give her a ring for Christmas?”
“Does a female ever care about the timing? It’s a ring, dude. She’ll take it when she can get it.”
“Good point.”
“Congratulations, buddy.” I pat him on the back. “She’s one lucky woman.”
“I’m the lucky one. If she says yes, that is.”
“I thought she already agreed.”
“She did, but I’ll relax when the ring is on her finger.”
“You have nothing to worry about. Jocelyn adores you.” He really is one lucky son-of-a-bitch. I sneak a glance at the pink handcuffs. Mia adores me so much she leaves me naked to die. Fuck! I really thought my apology was enough. I was sincere when I said it.
My cell rings from the kitchen counter. I rush over and check the screen. Mom? That’s strange. She’s not due to call until Sunday. We talk twice a week, Wednesdays and Sundays. I swipe the phone up, my voice wary as I answer.
“Cara’s phone is turned off or something. I can’t get a hold of her. Put her on the phone.” In lieu of a hello, Mom’s frustrated voice greets me, but her words make no sense.
“What do you mean? She left yesterday.”
“Don’t be a jerk and put her on the phone.”
“Mom, I’m serious. Cara should be there by now.”
The silence heightens my nerves.
“Then where is she?” Mom asks.
“Fuck, I don’t know.”
“Watch your language.”
Bottom Of The Ninth: Bad Boys Redemption: Book Three Page 8
