Her Twisted Pleasures (13 page)

“What have you done to me?” My cry echoed off the walls.

He ignored me.

Surrender wasn’t my choice and I loved it. I lay helpless as the orgasm snatched me away from my fears and drowned me in a deep swirling pool of desire.

Alex shuddered and cursed, then lay still on top of me. My fingers drifted through his hair and he sighed. Sweat trickled down his back, dripping off our tangled bodies and soaking into my sheets, mixing with Will’s scent.

My lovers. One understood my need for danger; the other understood my need for love.

Why did I need two men to be understood completely?

“Don’t ever let anyone else do that to you.”

His voice startled me. I thought he was asleep.

“Not even Will. He doesn’t know how. It’s too dangerous.”

His lips brushed my skin.

“Have you done this

before?”

“Yes.”

Don’t ask him. Don’t you dare…. “Did you do it to her? Is that why she disappeared?”

His body tensed, and I held my breath. He lifted his head, his dark black eyes glittering.

“Are you asking me if I killed her?” He slid his hand across my chest, and his fingers curled around my throat.

Of course, I was, but I shook my head, trying to escape his grasp. “No, I just thought maybe you scared her… she ran away….”

“She ran away.” He moved his hand down my shoulder and tucked it under my ass.

“But not from me.”

“But you slept with her.”

What the hell does that have to do with anything?

A sinister smile touched his lips. “I fucked her. There wasn’t much sleeping going on.”

“Have you fucked any of your other clients?”

“Not just mine….”

I gasped. “You’re… a slut.”

He laughed. “Jealous?”

Where did that come from?

“No.”

“Good. Go to sleep.” He rolled beside me and locked his arms around my waist, pulling my ass against his crotch.

“You need to go home.”

His breath tickled my shoulder as he nestled into my bed. I heaved a dramatic sigh, but he ignored me.

Alex wasn’t going

anywhere, damn it.

***

Wandering hands awoke me from a disturbing dream.

Terrifying images and a vague feeling of fear faded quickly when long fingers probed my pussy. I moaned; he did too. He spooned me, his hard cock nudging between my thighs, searching.

I parted my legs to let him in, already wet. “Mmm, Will, I love your cock.”

A sarcastic laugh raised gooseflesh on the back of my neck. I reached behind me and grabbed short hair. Alex.

“You bastard. What are you doing here?”

Instead of answering, he banged my ass and palmed my clit, trapping me between his cock and his hand.

Oh hell, why waste time arguing? He always wins anyway.

Shudders wracked my body, and I slid back against him. We fit together perfectly. No, no, no.

I didn’t want to fit with him.

But I did.

He moaned, his breath stirring my hair and sending heated chills down my spine.

He held my leg up, exposing my pussy while he fucked me with grinding, demanding thrusts. When I reached down to grab his balls, he growled and bit my neck, holding me in place and forcing me to submit.

I had no idea spooning could feel so dirty. With Will, it was sweet and gentle, but with Alex, it was nasty and animalistic. I liked it both ways, and I didn’t want to give up either one. Damn it, why couldn’t I make one choice?

No time to think about that. I’d fucked Alex so many times I knew when he was about to come. His breathing got short and ragged, his skin got hot and damp, his balls got tight and he swore. His desperate “fucking hell” groan sent me over the edge, tumbling headfirst into a wild rushing river. Breathless and spent, I dragged myself to a safe shore, as far away from him as I could get in my small bed, while he flopped on his back, panting.

“Get out of my bed,” I said, trying to sound determined.

His eyes fluttered closed, and a happy smile curved his lips as he rolled on his side and reached for me.

That was a fake snore if I ever heard one.

I let him pull me close, and he placed a soft kiss on my cheek. Being held by another man, and actually sleeping with him, felt really strange.

His body relaxed and his face softened, but that goofy smile stayed. I ran my fingertip down his nose and he snorted, brushing his face against my shoulder. He looked like an innocent angel, a harmless puppy just wanting someone to love him. Who might that person be?

Good God, I’m sappy when I’m tired.

His breathing turned deep and even, and I started to drift off too. Kick his ass out!

If I was honest with myself, I didn’t want him to leave.

Damn it.

***

The bastard was snoring when the sun rose. I cuffed him upside the head, and he awoke sputtering and swearing at me.

“What the hell?”

“Go home, asshole.” I grabbed my clothes to cover my naked body.

He laid back and stretched, chiseled muscles pulling tight against his long, lean frame.

“You didn’t have to let me stay.”

Seriously? “You didn’t give me a chance to say no.”

“You can always say no, Talia.”

“Shut up.”

He laughed while I spun on my heel and stormed out, trying to dismiss the image of his naked morning wood tenting my sheets.

I turned on the coffeemaker and found my phone, hoping for a message from Will.

Nothing. I was torn between relief that he hadn’t tried to call while I was fucking Alex, and panic that he might have been hurt. I tossed the phone on the table and grabbed a coffee mug.

“Pour me a cup, darlin’.”

Alex strolled into my kitchen, zipping up his pants.

His wrinkled tie hung loose around his neck, his shirt buttoned crookedly. His hair stuck out, stiff and random, like a gardener off his meds had taken a monster leaf blower to it. Why was that so fucking sexy?

He grinned at me and

waited.

“No.”

“So that’s what no sounds like when you mean it.” He helped himself to the coffee while I warmed a croissant in the toaster oven. I didn’t offer him one, but he took it anyway, then sat at the table, grabbing my phone when a text message lit up the screen.

“Give me that.”

His eyebrows furrowed, and he read out loud. “Holland Spencer: I have a new assignment for you.” He scowled. “Why is he texting you? He’s not your boss anymore.”

There was no point in lying.

He would know. “He recruited me for one of his special projects.” I tried to drown the words in my coffee.

“Ha. Spencer’s special projects are rarely ethical and usually illegal.”

So I’d heard. “Really?”

“How do you think he paid for his new house? Not even the top senior partners make that much money.”

“I had no idea.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“What have you gotten involved in, Talia?” Alex moved toward me, sliding his hand from my shoulder down my arm, and pulled me close.

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Has he threatened you?”

Genuine concern filled his gorgeous blue eyes, and I almost threw myself into his arms and confessed everything.

But I couldn’t tell anyone—

not a morally ambiguous attorney, and especially not my righteous cop boyfriend—so I stepped back and refilled my mug. My hands betrayed me, spilling coffee across the countertop.

“I can protect you.” He stood close, his voice low even though we were alone. “I have connections that’ll make him squirm.”

“I know.” I grabbed a towel to wipe up the dripping coffee, avoiding his gaze.

“All right.” He looked at his watch. “I gotta get home and take a shower.” A wicked sparkle lit his eyes. “Unless you’ll let me share yours.”

“No.”

“You’re too cute.” He kissed me and grabbed his coat, laughing under his breath.

When he reached the door, he turned back to me, his jaw set.

“I need to schedule a meeting with Spencer.”

My empty coffee cup

shattered on the floor, and I backed up a step. “Alex, no—”

“Yes.” His cheek twitched. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

The door slammed behind him.

I stopped shaking. Alex was as dangerous and unethical as Holland—maybe more—but he would protect me.

My phone rang and I

grabbed it. “Will!”

“Case closed. I’m coming home, sweetheart.”

“I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. Are you okay?”

Did he know? Could he hear something in my voice? How could he know? “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Always. I can take care of myself.”

A little voice inside me said Will could protect me too—if I trusted him. I did trust him.

That wasn’t why I kept silent. If he knew what I was doing for Holland, he would be so ashamed of me—more so than if he found out about Alex.

“I’m running late, honey,” I said. “I gotta take a shower.”

“Okay, I’ll see you after work tonight. I love you.”

“I know.” I barely got the words out. “Bye.”

Will said nothing, stoic as always.

I stood in the shower and turned the hot water all the way up, but I couldn’t get clean. The woman I used to be —strong, smart, honest—what had happened to her?

Alex had happened.

Holland had happened. They’d deceived me, dragged me down into their dangerous world. They—especially Alex—

had taken advantage of my needs. He’d manipulated me, bent me to his will and made me his submissive wimp.

I despised wimps.

The steaming water burned into my skin, but instead of cowering, I lifted my face and welcomed the refining fire. But it wasn’t enough. I shut off the hot water and screamed as cold water doused me, tempering my resolve liked hardened steel.

“Will, I’m fucking your best friend.” My words echoed off the tile walls. He wasn’t there to hear me, but the confession felt good.

With teeth chattering, I jumped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. My hands shook while I dragged a comb through my hair. I dressed quickly, still trembling, uncertainty clinging to my heart.

I felt different, like something new—or maybe something old—was stirring inside me. What’s the lesson here? One hot shower wouldn’t change anything.

I had to do something.

Just Sex

This Super Bowl party sucked. No one here was a fan of either team, not even the host. Holland Spencer, my exboss and newest senior partner at the firm, was using it as an excuse to show off his fancy new house. Alex had been right; Holland hadn’t acquired the money for this place honestly—but only I could prove that. The place was pretty impressive. Most football parties I’d been to had one TV

in a room where everybody gathered, but Holland’s house had a TV in the living room, the family room, the kitchen, and…

oh, the game room.

“This room is as big as your apartment,” Will said.

The flat screen plasma HD

TV had a sixty-inch screen—I knew this because Holland had given everyone a guided tour, complete with technical details for all his gadgets—but it looked small along the gigantic wall.

Will leaned back against the pool table with a beer in his hand, chatting up Alex’s legal assistant, Lindsay. Cute, blonde and perky, she looked more like a cheerleader than a paralegal, but she was smart as a whip.

I didn’t like her. For some reason, she just rubbed me the wrong. Maybe it was because she had an obvious crush on Alex, and jumped at the chance to do anything for him. It might have been her job to assist him, but the way she gushed over him was

disgusting.

Will laughed at something Lindsay said. I loved his laugh —rich and genuine, lighting up his blue eyes like a firecracker.

Lindsay leaned close to him and put her hand on his arm. I knew that move; used it myself.

Should I be jealous? No. Will smiled down at her, but his eyes didn’t have the same warmth as when he smiled at me. He shifted and her hand slipped off him.

Ha. Take that, assistant slut.

The crowd around the TV

laughed, watching the commercials, not the game.

Typical Super Bowl party. I didn’t even remember last year’s game. I’d met Will that night. He’d been talking to Alex, laughing and joking. Our first eye contact was a come-tome-

baby wink, and I couldn’t resist it—sexy and a little bit arrogant. I’d walked over to him, plucked his beer from his hand and finished it off. His left eyebrow arched. Why was that so sexy? And then he smiled. We’d been together ever since.

Holy mother… it’s been a year.

One year with one man. That’s a good thing, right?

One man and Alex… but Alex didn’t count. It was just sex with him. With Will, it was more—more friendship, more love, more laughter, more contentment.

“Talia.” Will waved me over.

Lindsay had left, but Will still stood at the pool table talking to another of my lawyer colleagues. When he smiled and winked at me in his familiar way, my heart began to pound. Familiar? Or possessive? He doesn’t own me.

Yeah, we’re a couple, but…. The room shrunk and I heard a whoosh as all the air was sucked from my lungs. My drink slipped in my sweaty hand. I waved Will off and searched for an escape, catching the concern in his eyes before I ducked out the nearest exit to the patio.

Cold air filled my chest and calmed my panicked heart.

“Are you okay, baby?” Will appeared beside me and kissed my cheek.

“Yeah.”

He tried to pull me close, but my stiff body wouldn’t cooperate, so he ran his hand across my shoulders and down my back. “You’re tense.”

“I just need some breathing room. It got kinda crowded in there.”

He looked back at the spacious, mostly-empty game room and smiled. “Okay. I’ll be here if you need me.”

“Okay.” I kissed him, and he patted my ass as he went inside.

I leaned back against the solid stone wall, letting my eyes and my mind un-focus.

Crusty old snow stuck to the grass in moonlit patches. The house surrounded me, its towering walls looming overhead, wrapping around the patio. I peeked into the surrounding windows. Holland had a gourmet kitchen, a hot tub, and a master suite: all luxuries he’d stolen.