Sexcapades (8 page)

They collapsed to the floor, and he managed to carefully slip the vibrator from her ass and turn it off before tossing it aside. She didn’t have the strength to move, not that it would have mattered. He pulled her to him, spooning her as they regained their breath.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” she whispered.

“I was about to say the same thing.” He moved her hair from her face and neck to place a kiss to her cheek. “Or else I’m going to become an addict.”

They lay there, and Petra knew the peace and comfort wouldn’t last forever. Pulling his hand from her stomach, she toyed with his fingers. “What are we going to do?”

Darcy sighed. “We’ll talk with the committee tomorrow. They’ll be open to reason.”

“And if they’re not?”

“I told you. I’m more than willing to pull out of the competition so you can still be considered.”

“You shouldn’t have to. We’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I know that and so do you, but sometimes the truth doesn’t actually matter. We’ll figure it out and everything will be okay.”

Ignoring the doubt still clouding her mind, Petra wiggled further back into Darcy’s arms and prayed he was right.

Chapter Nine

Restraints and whips and ball gags and sex tape...anything you can find to shut a man up will work in your favor.

—PC,
Sexcapades
—
sex advice for women

Guys
,
there comes a time when you need to cut your losses and make a break for it.
When they come at you with the gag
,
that’s the international symbol for RUN!

—D. Williams,
Mantastic
—
advice for REAL men

Darcy hadn’t wanted to leave Petra’s place, but there was no way he was going to meet with the web awards committee dressed in the same outfit he’d been wearing the night before. He also wanted a chance to meet with Danny to find out what the rules of this competition really were. Plus he desperately needed a coffee.

And a shower. It took more than a little hot water and soap to get all that wax off his skin.

He couldn’t help but think the committee and the media had blown this thing way out of proportion. It was a little competition. It’s not like they were competing in the Olympics or the Oscars. They had sex advice columns on the internet—the
internet
. The idea that people were even remotely upset about all of this only served to reinforce his theory that they were all crazy. Including himself.

The doorbell rang, forcing Darcy from his mental ramblings. He didn’t bother to check to see who it was, knowing there was only one possible visitor at that time of day. Opening the door, he stood aside while Danny marched into the condo.

“Dude, what the hell did you do to ruin my site?”

Danny was his junior by five years, and still had the same look he wore in university. Brown hair long enough to come down to his eyes and cover his ears. Loose-fitting shirts that hid his model-perfect body and jeans so tight Darcy knew he’d never be an uncle.

Closing the door, he padded back into the kitchen and poured Danny some coffee. “I did nothing.”

“Then what the hell was your voice mail about? You might withdraw from the competition? I fucking busted my ass to get us nominated.”

He hadn’t been looking forward to this conversation. “Sit down and we’ll talk.”

Danny spun the chair around and straddled it, for once ignoring his coffee. Shit, that meant he was actually taking this seriously. Leaning up against the counter, Darcy swallowed down his own drink while he tried to figure out where best to start.

“I met PC the other night.”

Danny sat up straighter. “Was she an ugly cow?”

“You are an asshole. No, she’s the furthest thing from ugly.” He still carried with him the image of her stretched out naked on the floor, her body covered with wax.

“Okay...” Danny cocked his head and slowly smiled. “Did you screw her?”

“No wonder she has to write half the shit she does on her site. There are too many jerks like you out there.” Darcy rolled his eyes before leaving his brother and going into the living room.

“Oh come on. I remember you getting riled up more than once about the things she said on your site. I thought you couldn’t stand her.”

Shit, he had gotten wound up by some of her comments. More than once. But not able to stand her?

Petra was doing what she thought best to help women discover what they wanted for themselves, even if some of her advice was a little naïve. And through their banter, Darcy thought they’d both benefitted. Having a foil to force him to think deeper, to laugh when he needed to, he’d loved that about PC. And so what if he’d had the occasional smut-filled dream featuring her? That was more than normal.

That Petra proved to be even more enticing in real life was only a bonus.

Sitting down on the edge of the couch, Darcy set his coffee down and dropped his head into his hands. “This is crazy.”

“Listen bro, I think you need to spill.” Joining him on the couch, Danny crossed his arms and leaned back. “What the hell is going on?”

Without looking at him, Darcy started at the beginning and gave his brother the thirty-thousand-foot summary of events.

“So one of the other nominees and a reporter said something?”

“They raised the idea that we might have known each other before all this started and our online banter is nothing more than a scam to draw in readers. Which is ridiculous. Even if it was true it wouldn’t impact the fairness of the competition. The other nominees just want to throw a fit to see if they can get more stuff from the committee. And the reporters just want a good scandal.”

“I knew I should have been the one to go to this.” Danny groaned and let his head fall back. “There’s more than one D. Williams in this family, after all.”

“Well, we can’t change it now. So what do we do? Can they actually disqualify us and Petra from the competition?”

Danny pulled out his smartphone and started checking his email. “I don’t remember anything specifically about the nominees not knowing each other or working together in the rules. I would assume it wouldn’t matter as your sites were both entered separately and only one of you could win.”

“So, they can’t force the committee into doing something.” That was a relief at least. Petra would still be able to make a run at winning and he could still bow out if necessary. He could always make it up to Danny later on.

“I’ll need to get back to my computer to check the submission forms and rules again, but I think you’ll both be fine. You’ll probably want to avoid each other until the competition is over.”

Darcy snapped his head up and glared at his brother. “Why the hell would we want to do that?”

“I know they say all PR is good PR, but let’s not do anything to hurt our chances of winning. I’m not trying to be a dick here. It’s in her best interest too. Okay?”

There were a few more events before their obligations as nominees were fulfilled, but the winners wouldn’t be announced for at least a month. The idea of not having any contact with Petra for that long was less than appealing.

“No.”

“I can do it if that will make things easier.” There was something in Danny’s voice that was a little too eager. “That way you don’t have to risk being seen with her.”

“Thanks bro, but I think we’ll be fine.” The last thing Petra needed right now was to be exposed to his brother. While Danny had a generous side, he could be an immature jerk at times. The type of man Petra always warned women about on her blog. “We’re going to meet with the awards organizers later today to explain our side of things. I’ll let you know how things turn out.”

“Fine. But try not to screw this up for me. I need our site to win so I can use it for a job reference.”

Darcy stood with Danny. “What?”

“I told you. I’ve applied for that position with the gaming company out West. The competition for the position is crazy and I put this nomination on my resume. If we could win, all the better.”

Fuck.
“I forgot.”

Danny grinned and slapped Darcy on the shoulder. “I know you did. You’ve got too much on your plate, dude. I keep telling you to cut back your office hours.”

“That’s not really an option.” Funny, he hadn’t even thought about the office this week. He’d been so preoccupied with Petra and the competition, he’d actually been able to disconnect. But his vacation would only last another week and then reality would intrude once more.

“Of course it isn’t. My big brother, savior of women and children.” For once, there was no sarcasm in Danny’s voice. “You need to find a woman and maybe get some children of your own.”

Petra talking with Alice at the coffee shop.

Petra stretched naked beneath him.

Petra dropping to her knees in the shower.

“Maybe I do.”

Danny stared at him for another minute before giving his head a shake. “Keep me posted. I’ll be at home.”

Waving his brother off, Darcy picked up his cordless phone. Fuck, things weren’t supposed to get this complicated over a stupid website competition. Not when there were people out there with real problems. He needed to deal with this today so he could get his life back under control.

Dialing the newly memorized number, he waited for the soft “Hello?”

“Hey, Pet. We need to talk.”

* * *

Petra sat at a table in the back corner of the coffee shop and waited for Darcy to arrive. She hadn’t liked the serious tone of his earlier phone call, but she didn’t have a clue what to say to him to make things better. Meeting him for coffee and a chat seemed like the smartest thing to do.

Already on her second Americano, she was buzzing from the amount of coffee rolling through her bloodstream. It was really too hot outside for coffee, but she needed the rush that an iced cap couldn’t provide. That was the excuse she was going with to explain why she was shaking and sweating, rather than the truth that she was freaking out thinking he was about to dump her.

Petra jumped when a hand settled on her shoulder.

“Sorry.” Darcy smiled down at her. “I bought you a muffin. Chocolate chip, right?”

“Oh, thank you.” She shouldn’t be surprised that he knew what her favorite kind was, but it certainly made her smile. “I should probably get some food into me to counteract all this caffeine.”

“Isn’t it the curse of a writer? Too much coffee and chocolate?”

“And wine. Don’t forget the wine.”

He let her pick at her muffin for a few moments before he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “Danny thinks we shouldn’t talk to each other until after the competition is over.”

Petra stopped midbite and looked up at him. “Who’s Danny?”

“My brother. The technical genius behind
Mantastic
. I just put the posts up.”

It was an odd feeling. She’d had sex multiple times with this man, and yet she really knew absolutely nothing about him. Setting her muffin down, Petra folded her hands together and tried to ignore the wave of self-doubt.

“I think we’ve done things a bit ass-backwards anyway.”

Clearly, that wasn’t the response he’d been expecting. Frowning, Darcy leaned forward. “What do you mean? You don’t want to see me anymore?”

“Don’t be a jerk, Williams. I just mean that I only know you from your online posts and the sex we’ve had. The information I have on the real Darcy Williams wouldn’t fit into my coffee mug.”

“The same can be said for you. But that doesn’t mean I want to pretend like we haven’t met.” Darcy reached out and placed his hand over hers. “I actually find myself enjoying my time with the mysterious Petra.”

“Don’t you mean PC?”

“No, I don’t.”

Okay, that was definitely a flutter in her chest and it didn’t have so much to do with their physical connection, but with the sincerity in his eyes. “I find myself enjoying my time with you too. Which is one of the reasons why I’m okay with slowing down and taking the opportunity to do this right.”

Slumping forward, Darcy chuckled. “I thought you were going to be pissed at me.”

“Why?”

“I’m putting this stupid competition ahead of us. Whatever we have here could be something pretty awesome if we give it some time to grow.”

She’d never thought she’d hear someone say that the opportunity to win twenty-five thousand dollars was
stupid
. “The competition isn’t stupid. Why did you even enter it if you don’t care?”

“I didn’t. That was Danny’s doing. He needs the nomination for a job he’s applied for. I’d actually forgotten about it.”

“Wait.” She pulled her hands out from under his. “Your brother needs the nomination?”

“Yeah. He’s hoping to get an interview with some big game developer out West. Danny said this will make him stand out over the other applicants.”

“But I thought you were going to withdraw
Mantastic
from the competition if it became a problem.” It had been the one thing she hadn’t been able to get out of her mind all morning. Darcy was willing to step aside for her. No one had ever put her needs before theirs that way before. She’d maybe fallen a bit in love with him for that selflessness. “We might find ourselves in that situation.”

“I never said...” He closed his eyes. “Shit, yes I did.”

Petra had checked her voice mail messages after Darcy had left last night. There’d been two from two separate sponsors who’d said they’d be willing to up their advertisement dollars if she actually won the category award. If she snagged the grand prize, they’d sign three-year contracts with her. On top of that, she’d have more visibility and more potential clients. But that would happen only if she won.

“Pet, I can’t withdraw. Not when Danny needs this.”

She couldn’t expect him to choose her over his brother. But there was a large part of her that wanted him to. A part of her that thought there might be a chance for something more to grow between them.

“Yeah, I get that. I guess this means we’re back to being frenemies.” Getting to her feet, she ignored the pained expression on his face. “Thanks for the muffin.”

“We still need to meet with the awards committee this afternoon.”

Shit, she was going to have to hold things together a bit longer, then. “Fine. I’ll meet you there.”

“Petra—”

“It’s fine. Really. We’ll talk to the committee and let them know what happened. We’ll be honest about everything. That should be enough to satisfy them and ensure that both my sponsors and your brother are happy.”

Without another look, she fled from the coffee shop.