Summer Fling: Compass Girls, Book 3 (16 page)

Jade wouldn’t sign on for something like that. Not even for Liam. And she couldn’t believe he’d want to either. After all, hadn’t he just spent the last eight years of his life mourning for Celia? He couldn’t seriously want to take a chance on more pain, more loss. He was just having a weak moment, feeling lonely. The mood would pass soon enough. It had to.
 

While she loved Liam as a friend, she refused to stand in as a replacement for his true love. She may not long for marriage or commitment, but by the same token, she wouldn’t play runner-up to the woman who would always hold Liam’s heart.

She studied his face. Forced herself to really see him. His eyes were as familiar to her as her own and she had always been very good at reading the expressions she found there. Right now, she saw hope laced with fear and a fair bit of confusion residing in his dark brown eyes.

He was her best friend and she was going to hurt him. Badly. She knew that as sure as she knew Liam’s favorite meal was chipped beef gravy on pancakes.
 

She also knew nothing was going to change that outcome. They’d started something that neither of them could stop now. She would simply have to hold him to the time limit. Pray that two months would be enough for their strange moods to pass. She’d get over her blues, Liam would recover from his loneliness and they’d move on.
 

“Fine. I’ll go home this afternoon and pack some clothes.”

Liam’s gaze narrowed. Clearly he was suspicious. She didn’t blame him. She wasn’t exactly famous for her ability to give in easily. However, in the past, she’d never felt this pure, straight-to-the-bone terror before. She agreed to his demand because it was the quickest way to make him stop talking.

Liam moved over her, caging her beneath him with his hands on the mattress by her sides. “Are you saying that just so I’ll untie you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to free me. At least, not yet.” She gave him a suggestive wink, hoping to lift the heaviness surrounding them.

Liam didn’t take the bait, his expression still distrusting. “Can you take a few weeks off from Compass Ranch?”

“Why would I do that?”

“I want you to work here, with me, with Fearless.”

If he’d made the same offer any other day, she would have hooted and hollered and danced the Texas two-step. However, now she questioned the reason behind the offer. Did he think she would try to weasel out of living with him? Was he trying to sweeten the pot?

While the extra incentive wasn’t necessary, she grabbed it anyway. “I’m sure I can. School’s out for the summer and there are a bunch of high school kids looking for work. I’ll talk my uncles into hiring a couple while I come here. If you’re sure that’s what you really want.”

The seriousness on his face dissolved, replaced by the first genuine smile she’d seen since he’d carried her to the bedroom. “I’ve wanted to lure you away from Compass Ranch for years, but I figured you’d never leave the family business.”

“What girl can resist a raging, powerful bull?”

Liam laughed. “I realize you’re not talking about me, but I’m just arrogant enough to pretend otherwise.”
 

With that issue resolved, Liam gave up his gentle touches, opting instead for something that couldn’t be described as anything less than forceful. Wonderful. One night in and Jade was already addicted to Liam’s dominance.

At some point, she’d have to sit and analyze what the hell it was about this type of sex that made her toes curl with excitement and her pussy clench with need. But for right now, she didn’t give a shit about the psychology.
 

Liam pressed three fingers deep, causing her head to spin and her heart to race. She tried to move toward his intense drives, but he knew his way around straps. He’d secured her to the bed tightly. The idea of being helpless beneath him left her breathless, hungry in ways she’d never experienced before. He toyed with her clit, stroking her slow, then fast. Gentle, then hard.

“God. So good.” She closed her eyes, ready to give in to her climax when Liam withdrew.
 

When she looked at him, she found him kneeling between her outstretched thighs, his face suddenly strict, stern. More moisture found its way to her sex.
 

“Not yet.”

She scoffed. “I’ll come whenever I want, cowboy.”

Liam shook his head, cueing her in to the stupidity of her assertion. Without his help, she was screwed. And not in a good way.

“You want to reconsider that comment?”

She blew out an exasperated breath. He’d tied her to his bed and pushed every hot button inside her. Now he had her over a barrel and they both knew it. “Maybe,” she conceded begrudgingly. Reconciling the two extremes in her personality would never come easily.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving up control every now and then, Jade. I know what you need, what you want. Why’s it so hard for you to let me give it to you?”

“I have no idea. It just is.”

Rather than respond, Liam left the bed, crossing to his closet. He dug around for a few minutes before returning with a necktie.
 

“Planning to go to church to pray for some answers?” she taunted.

He chuckled. “Nope. Gonna help you curb that loose tongue of yours.” Liam knelt on the bed by her side, putting a knot in the tie, then using it as a gag.

Jade tried to resist it, but her struggles were pointless. Once it was in place, he shucked off his jeans and returned to his spot between her legs.
 

He pointed to her right hand. “Raise two fingers. Give me the peace sign.”

She frowned, confused, but did as he asked.

Liam looked pleased. “Since you can’t say the safe word, that’s the signal. Do that and I’ll stop.”

Jade pulled the fingers down quickly, drawing her hand into a fist.

“Maybe that gag will stop you from trying to give orders. Now. I’m going to fuck you, Jade. First with my fingers and then with my dick. You’re not going to come until I tell you to. If you do, I’ll untie your legs, flip you over and use my belt on you.”

Her pussy clenched, her face giving away exactly how much his threats weren’t scaring her.

“Jesus, Jade. You’re killing me.”

While she enjoyed the way he exerted his power over her, she loved being able to do the same. She may have the quieter role, but the truth was she held just as many cards as Liam, if not more.

She closed her eyes and moaned when Liam curled his fingers inside her, stroking her g-spot. Stars formed behind her lowered lids and once again, the desire to come overwhelmed her. Jade began to give in to it, but Liam was too in tune with her body’s signals.
 

He withdrew.
 

She shot him a dirty look that was met with one raised eyebrow and a taunting expression that basically said
I dare you
.

Jade took a deep breath through her nose, trying to still the demon inside her clawing for freedom.
 

Liam smiled when he recognized she was in control of her needs, then returned to torment her some more. When her orgasm approached yet again, Jade fought with everything she had to keep it at bay.

Liam didn’t make it easy on her. He continued to thrust his fingers deeply, making sure to hit just the right spot every single time. Jade swallowed heavily, her mouth dry. Her body started to tremble, yet she remained strong.

Finally, after a century and a half, Liam granted her reprieve. “Come.”

She exploded. Splintered. Shattered.
 

It was painful. Beautiful.
 

She wanted to scream his name, felt the need to wrap her arms around him so he could hold her to the planet. As it was, she’d been catapulted into space, rocketed into orbit. It reminded her of her first time on a roller coaster. The incredible trip up and down the track had been terrifying. Exhilarating. The second she stepped out of the car, her feet touching earth, she’d known she would want to ride again. And again.

It was the same now.

Liam tugged the gag out of her mouth. She started to speak, but he was there, kissing her, his tongue plunging against hers.

“Come inside me,” she whispered, surprised by the husky, sexy tone of her own voice. It sounded foreign to her.

Liam released her legs, bending her knees to open her completely. “Wrap your ankles around my waist and hang on.”

Captured by the straps at her wrists and Liam’s powerful thrusts, Jade gave in to the moment as another orgasm claimed her. Then another. Soon, Liam was with her, hot, thick jets of come scalding her, filling her.
 

Right now, right here, she was his.
 

And it was perfect.

Chapter Seven

Jade peeked around the hospital door. “Knock knock. You still alive?”

Bruce gestured for her to enter. “’Bout time you got your ass over here to visit me. I’m bored out of my mind and the food tastes like shit. I’m gonna need you to make a run for a cheeseburger and fries.”

Jade rolled her eyes and claimed the seat beside Bruce’s bed, her guilt over not making it to visit him yesterday fading quickly in the face of his demands. She’d intended to come see her boss first thing yesterday, but her day had unraveled in ways she’d never have been able to predict. It began with the early visit from her father, followed by the few hours she spent tied to Liam’s bed and ending with Liam escorting her to her cabin to help her pack, then the two of them eating a late dinner nude in his kitchen before moving the party back to the bedroom.
 

“No. I’ve been telling you for weeks to go to the doctor and you ignored me. Healthy meals are your punishment.”

“Dammit, Jade, I’m a dying man. The least you could do is give me my last request.”

She snorted. “You lying jackass. I saw your doctor and you’re fine. You’ve just got a hole in your stomach, for pity’s sake.”

“And high blood pressure,” Bruce added, as if that would convince her to do his bidding. “Probably caused by you and your sassy mouth at work.”

“It’s caused by eating trash and smoking.”

Bruce scowled, his grumpy expression too familiar to her. “The least you could have done was smuggle me in some goddamn beef jerky.”
 

Jade reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a Ziploc with two strips of his favorite treat. “Here.”

“Two lousy pieces? You couldn’t bring the whole pack?”

Jade yanked the baggie out of his hand. “Ungrateful asshole.” She opened it, pulled a slice out and proceeded to eat it. “Just for that, you only get one.”

“Aw hell, stop fooling around. Give me that.”

She handed him the jerky. She shouldn’t give him the stuff at all, but she knew Bruce well enough to comprehend that two days in the hospital without a Whopper, a beer or a cigarette probably had him contemplating a jump from his second-story hospital window. Jerky seemed like the lesser evil of all her boss’s vices.

He chewed, closing his eyes as if she’d just delivered pure heaven.
 

“You feeling okay?”

Bruce shrugged. “They’re going to have to put a stent in my heart. Apparently it’s an easy procedure. In and out surgery. Piece of cake.”

Jade hated the idea of her unhealthy boss having to go under the knife at all. “I guess that’s good. What about the blood pressure?”

“They’re trying to bring it down with medicine and diet.” It was clear Bruce wasn’t fond of their methods. She worried about what would happen when he left the hospital. He lived alone, with no wife to keep an eye on him and force him to behave. Jade made a mental note to stop by his house after he was released to bring him some fruit and vegetables. Maybe she could recruit Hope to help her fix him some healthy meals he could heat up easily. Jade sucked in the kitchen, but her cousin was an amazing cook.

“You saved my life, Jade.”

She waved her boss’s words away. “Not really. Liam did most of the heavy lifting.”

Bruce grinned and patted his oversized paunch. “Guess I could stand to lose a few.”

Jade raised an eyebrow. “Gee. Ya think so?”

“You know, Jade, I never got married or had kids. I was never interested in any of that shit. But I’d like to think if I’d ever had a daughter, she’d be the complete opposite of you.”

Jade snorted with mirth, laughing so loudly the noise pulled a nurse in to check on them. Once they’d assured the woman no one was screaming in pain, the nurse left as she and Bruce dissolved into laughter again.

“God, you’re a bastard, Bruce. But I do love you and your fat ass.”

Bruce reached out and patted her hand. It was the only time her boss had ever shown her any sort of affection. “I love you too, Jade.”

She waited for him to add some irreverent joke to take away the seriousness of the moment, but instead he fell silent and smiled at her.

His sincerity took her unaware as tears formed in her eyes. She cleared her throat and stood up quickly, under the guise of tidying up a few magazines that were scattered around the room.