An Indecent Proposition (14 page)

And that’s why there was no way he was letting her leave.

Christ, his cock practically pounded against the zipper in his jeans, he was so hard.

“No, I didn’t think you’d want me. But I’m not as stupid as I was then.”

They fell silent, staring into each other’s eyes. He wanted to reach across the table and pull her over it. Hell, he wanted to strip her naked and fuck her hard and fast on top of it.

Then he’d text Keegan and tell him to get his ass over here so they could take her on his bed.

He’d dreamed about her every friggin’ night. Woke up hard and unsatisfied every morning. He wanted to ease the ache in his gut right now.

“Keegan didn’t go to that reception tonight to nail you to the wall. He only went to talk.”

Her lips twisted in a sneer. “Then he obviously has a different meaning for the word ‘talk.’”

“It’s not entirely his fault, Jules.” He raised a hand before she could say the indignant words gathering on her tongue. “It’s mine. I told him to wait.”

“Why?”

Because I think I’ve finally found a lead on who might’ve sabotaged the lab and caused the fire that disfigured me. Because I need to prove to Keegan that I’m not crazy
.

And Jules would’ve made it impossible for him to think clearly.

“Because I was an ass.”

“So because you admit it, that means everything’s forgiven?”

“No. But give me the chance to make it up to you.”

Her expression showed just how futile she thought that was. “How?”

“Honestly, I was hoping you’d have a suggestion.”

She blinked. “Isn’t that kind of a cop-out?”

He couldn’t be sure but he thought she might have almost smiled. Maybe he hadn’t totally lost his touch with women.

Then again, he had no idea what to say to that except… “Yeah. I guess it is.”

Damn, he was totally blowing this.

“Hey, would you like something to eat? I haven’t had dinner yet and I’m starving.”

“Is this your subtle way of getting me to cook for you?”

He gave her a mock-angry frown. “Hey, are you dissing my abilities to perform in the kitchen? I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of fending for myself.”

 The fact that he had a housekeeper who fixed most of his meals notwithstanding.

He didn’t wait for her answer, just headed for the fridge where he pulled out the fixings for an omelet.

“No, I’m not dissing your cooking abilities. I just… I thought…”

He set all the stuff on the island counter then reached underneath for a bowl. “Thought what?”

“Well, you seem to know everything else about me, I figured you knew that I plan to open my own restaurant one day.”

He actually
had
known that. Carol had told him. “What do you like to cook?”

Rising, she walked over to the island. “American comfort food but high-end. Lobster mac and cheese. Sirloin cheesesteak sandwiches. Different but recognizable.”

After cracking eggs into a bowl, he started to whisk. “Sounds good. Where do you want to set up shop?”

“Philadelphia maybe. King of Prussia. Not around here.”

“So you want to run away to the big city, huh?”

He and Keegan had run as far from the big cities as they could. And now Erik wouldn’t move back for all the business in the world. All those people staring at him. Jesus, it’d be hell every day.

“I want to get away from here, that’s for damn sure.” Her tone held a hard note. “Growing up in a small town might sound like a great idea, but when you don’t want to conform or fit into the little box everyone thinks you should fit in…”

Things hadn’t been great for her growing up. She’d had a reputation apparently, for something that wasn’t her fault. Carol had told him about the affair she’d had. About the man who’d lied to her and made her out to be some kind of home wrecker.

Erik would gladly bash the guy’s face in.

“So don’t. But don’t let small-minded people keep you down.”

He realized what he’d said the second the words left his mouth and looked up to find her staring at him with raised eyebrows.

“Not the same thing and you know it,” he said.

She reached across the island and ran her finger down his cheek. The disfigured one. He flinched away. He couldn’t help it.

But she followed him, putting her hand flat on his cheek. He barely felt it. The scar tissue was thick and didn’t allow for much sensation. Which just pissed him off. He wanted to feel her hand on his skin.

As if she’d read his mind, she lifted her other hand to his opposite cheek. And now he felt the full effect of her touch. It nailed his feet to the floor. He wouldn’t have been able to move if he’d tried.

Her fingertips stroked along his skin, sending shivers of sensation through his blood, straight to his cock.

If he wasn’t careful, he’d make the same mistake Keegan had. He’d let his dick do the thinking. Couldn’t say he didn’t understand completely, but
one
of them had to be the better man tonight.

“Jules.”

“Yes.”

Aw hell. That was definitely not going to make him behave. Not that word, said with that husky tone in her voice.

“Do you like onions?”

It took a few seconds but her lips curved in a smile. “Maybe you should leave them out.”

“Okay. Sure.”

She withdrew and he cursed silently when she was no longer touching him.

“So, are you planning to go back to college?”

She shrugged. “Maybe for some business courses. College was never on my radar. I couldn’t stand high school. Why willingly sign up for more torture? I went to the vo-tech for the culinary program. That was really the only reason I graduated.”

“College isn’t for everyone.”

“Some people think you’re stupid if you don’t.”

“And some people are idiots. Some of the stupidest people I know have a college degree. I figure it all evens out.”

Her smile was small but genuine. “I guess it does. So tell me, Erik. Don’t you want to have sex with me again?”

His hand froze in the act of beating the eggs. “More than I want to breathe. Is that why you’re here?”

Her gaze dropped. “I don’t know why I’m here.”

“Bullshit.” He said it with no edge, no snark, no sneer.

After a few seconds, she nodded and her gaze lifted to his again. “Okay, fine. Why am I here?”

She looked at him with such vulnerability and he was struck by how young she looked.

Rationally, he knew she was only twenty-one but she’d never seemed that young. She had a maturity beyond her years.

Until this minute.

And now he felt every one of those nine years separating them.

Christ, what a mess. And it was all his fault.

“Because you know what we shared wasn’t just sex.”

The words were hard for him to get out because he was admitting something aloud he’d barely admitted to himself.

And he should’ve known she wouldn’t let it go at that.

“So what was it to you?”

He paused and, after several seconds, Jules huffed. “Are you really not going to talk to me? Am I the only one who has to spill their guts?”

After a few more moments of silence, she shook her head. “Damn it—”

“When you left, I had every intention of calling you, of setting up a date. A real one. With the three of us. Then…I got some information about the explosion that I had to investigate.”

“What information?”

“Nothing I want to discuss now.” When she looked like she wanted to argue, he held up his hand. “No, I want to talk about you. About us. We can talk about anything else you want later. Right now, I want to talk about us.”

“Is there an us?”

“What would you say if I told you I want there to be?”

Her turn to pause. “I’d have to say I’m so screwed up in the head about all of this that I’m not sure what I want anymore. All I really do know is that I want you.”

His cock tightened painfully and his hands curled into fists as she began to walk around the counter. “Jules, I’m trying to be—”

She put her hands on his face again and pulled him down for a kiss. And he let her.

Chapter Four

Erik locked down every impulse to grab Jules and toss her onto the nearest flat surface.

As her lips moved over his with a desperation he could taste, his lust built until it reached an almost feral force.

He resisted for all of two seconds then gave in to the raging desire to take whatever she wanted to give him.

When her mouth opened and her tongue licked at his lips, he opened to her.

God damn, she tasted fucking amazing. He wanted to kiss her for-fucking-ever.

His arms wrapped around her body, caging her. She wouldn’t be able to move unless he allowed it. And he wasn’t going to. Not for a damn long time.

She’d come to him. She’d given him her permission. He was going to take her at her word. Or actions, as the case happened to be.

With his tongue in her mouth, he swore he was drugged by her taste. It made him reckless. Made him forget that only seconds ago he’d been ready to be noble and not fuck her brains out.

Now he didn’t think he could take another breath without having her.

Their lips still locked, he picked her up in his arms. Hers wrapped around his shoulders immediately and she clung to him as he headed for the stairs at the back of the kitchen.

The stairwell was narrow and he bumped his elbows so many times he was sure they’d be black and blue tomorrow. He didn’t care.

He almost stumbled as they reached the second floor and he had to release her mouth to get his bearings, flinging one hand out to steady himself against the wall. Her mouth immediately landed on his neck, where she sucked on the tendon beneath the skin, biting and licking and driving him crazy.

That side of his neck was mostly scar-free so the skin was more sensitive there. Almost too sensitive. Every swipe of her tongue made electricity zing through his body. His cock felt like it was going to burst out of his jeans.

Stopping to make sure he had his feet under him, he let his head fall back as she worked her mouth from his neck to his lips.

Her hands shoved through his hair and she tugged until he stared directly into her eyes. “You better be taking me to a bed.”

“Damn right. And when we get there, I’m going to strip you naked and tie you to it.”

He saw her eyelids flutter and her gaze darken. “I might let you.”

“You already gave your consent. You’re here. And now you’re mine.”

He felt her shake, heard her breath hitch but she held his gaze. And didn’t let go.

She’d accepted him before, scars and all. Now he’d see if she accepted even more of him.

He started to walk again, his bedroom on the other side of the house from this set of stairs.

She never said no. She never said stop.

By the time they reached his bed, he hoped like hell he had enough control to take her the way he wanted and not just fall on her like an animal. But, Jesus, he craved her.

Only his obsession with finding out what had happened that night in the lab kept him from hunting her down.

Now, he tossed her on the bed. She bounced once before stabilizing herself with her hands on the mattress, still staring up at him.

“Strip.”

Swallowing hard, she hesitated, eyes widening as if in fear.

Damn it. Maybe she was just too damn young to handle all of him. Maybe—

Her lips curved in a slight grin. With an easy grace, she rose to her knees, her hands lifting to the front of her shirt. Her gaze held his and he couldn’t tell if she needed reassurance that he hadn’t turned into some kind of raving lunatic or if she was as turned on as he was.

Her fingers worked their way down her shirt buttons. She didn’t go slowly, didn’t do it as a tease. When she got to the bottom, she yanked the tails out of the skirt and shrugged it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the side, leaving her in a flesh-colored bra that managed to be sexy without being overt.

Then again, maybe it was because
she
was wearing it.

Now, her hands went to the fastening on the back of her skirt and he heard the zipper release. In the next second, she slid to the edge of the mattress and stood. The skirt fell down her legs, revealing matching bikini panties and a garter.

God damn, the girl slayed him.

His jaw hurt from clenching it, to keep from demanding she go faster. That she get on her knees and suck him off. Jules brought out the caveman in him. And he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

Because in the back of his mind, he wondered if he was just a curiosity for her. Just the man who’d saved her and her mother from a life of poverty and worry. Maybe she felt she owed him.

At this moment, he didn’t care. She was here and he was going to take whatever she gave him.

Bastard
.

So be it.

She leaned to the left, her breasts jiggling as she toed off her shoes. Now she was at least two inches shorter.

He felt like he towered over her. It made him want to toss her onto the bed and consume her.

“Take off the panties. Leave the rest. Then take off my clothes.”

Her head tipped to the side, her braid falling over her shoulder. “That’s an awful lot of demands.”

“All you have to say is no.”

She thought about it. He saw her weighing the pros and cons and he hoped like hell that the pro column came out ahead. If it didn’t, he’d have a world-class case of blue balls.

After what seemed like an eternity, she moved her hands, her thumbs catching in the strings of her bikini panties, which then disappeared down her legs.

His chest contracted until he thought he wouldn’t be able to breathe. When she reached for the hem of his t-shirt, it released in a rush.

He raised his arms to allow her to pull the shirt over his head, trying not to wince as that dark gaze made a thorough catalogue of his scars.

Yes, she’d seen them before but he didn’t think he’d ever get used to anyone looking at what had once been flawless skin.

She reached for his jeans as soon as the shirt dropped from her hands and finally his cock got some relief from the tight denim. Which hadn’t seemed that tight when he’d put them on this morning.

His lungs began to work overtime as she went to her knees, dragging his jeans and underwear with her. With her mouth only inches from his cock, his fingers curled into fists at his sides so he didn’t reach for her and pull her mouth to his erection.

Her breath brushed against his abdomen, hot and moist, before she rose again.

As if she’d realized the balance of power was shifting, she looked up at him through her lashes. Overtly sexual. Devastatingly hot.

“I believe you said something about tying me to the bed.”

Fuck
. His cock jerked, his balls tightening until he could barely stand it.

“Pull the comforter off then lie face down on the sheets.”

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth but he shook his head. “Do it.”

With a raised eyebrow, she went.

Jules grabbed the comforter and pulled it to the foot of the bed then crawled onto the mattress and lay on her stomach.

Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to let him tie her down and do whatever he wanted to her?

Had she finally lost her mind?

Or was this some sort of weird reaction to having sex with Keegan earlier? She’d fucked him so she had to fuck Erik too?

Or was she just that horny?

She thought maybe it was a combination of all of the above. And right now, she didn’t care.

She burned. All over. Her breasts ached. Her pussy ached. Sex with Keegan hadn’t been enough.

How screwed up was that?

The sheets felt cool against her skin and her nipples puckered almost painfully.

“Reach for the top of the mattress and spread your legs.”

Swallowing heavily, she did what he wanted. The cool air on her pussy almost made her close her legs again.

She heard Erik moving around, felt the mattress shimmy beneath her then something soft wrapped around one ankle. Sucking in a sharp breath, she tensed when he tightened the strap, tugging her leg closer to the edge of the mattress. Seconds later, he’d strapped her other ankle and tightened that one, leaving her legs spread wide.

“I’m going to do your hands together. Let me know if it’s uncomfortable and I can split them.”

She nodded, not trusting her voice. She couldn’t catch her breath and she didn’t want Erik to think she was frightened. She wasn’t.

Turning her head, she watched him reach between the mattress and the headboard and draw out a wide black strap with double cuffs.

When he had her hands restrained, he stepped back to look at her. His cock stood almost straight up and made her breathe even harder.

If he didn’t touch her soon, she might cry.

And that would be utterly humiliating.

But she was beginning to believe she was totally out of her league here. She’d considered herself experienced. Able to handle any situation.

What she was feeling for these two men wasn’t anything she was prepared to handle.

Not that she was about to pull out now.

She shuddered as Erik touched her, just the tips of his fingers down her spine.

“You have the most gorgeous skin I’ve ever seen.” He stroked the hollow of her back just above her ass then palmed one cheek before squeezing the other.

Her eyes closed as she absorbed the warmth and roughness of his skin. Her breath caught when she thought he might reach between her legs to play with her pussy but he continued down her thigh.

When he removed his hand, her eyes opened but she couldn’t see him, couldn’t see what he was doing. Disoriented, she writhed, pressing her mound into the mattress, trying to gain a little relief.

She felt over-wound and over-stimulated, even though he’d touched her so sparingly.

Need more. Need it now
.

When the bed shook, she sucked in a breath, realizing she’d been holding it.

She felt him pick up her braid and seconds later, her hair spilled around her shoulders, teasing her skin.

Then he put one hand high on the inside of each thigh, kneading her flesh. Moisture seeped from her needy sex.

He didn’t say a word as he began to stroke her, his hands smoothing over every inch of skin he could reach. His knees were between her legs. She felt the hair on his legs graze her inner thighs and she knew he could see her pussy clearly.

Was he looking? Could he see how wet she was for him?

His palms felt rough against her skin, calloused. They had some scarring but it didn’t turn her off. Nothing about this man turned her off.