The Crime: Billionaire Love At First Sight (All In Series Book 3)

by Maggie Cole

  I wasn’t done teasing him. “Prudish and possessive then?”

  Jack rolled his eyes, a faint smile on his face. “I’ll agree with the possessive, and I’ll show you again how you’re wrong about the prudish.

  I laughed. He could keep trying to show me how he wasn’t a prude... I rather enjoyed it.

  “So don’t you think in order to make improvements you should go experience it first? How do you know what it really needs if you don’t really know what it is? And why do you think it’s sleazy? It’s not like it’s a whore house. It’s people who want to have sex. How is it any different from you and me?”

  “Look, I’m not judging the customers. I’m just not into hooking up with a bunch of random people. Been there and done that.”

  “You’re being a hypocrite. That is exactly what you and I did last night.” I pointed out.

  “That’s different.”

  “How?”

  “I didn’t want to hook up with you. I wanted to get to know you.”

  I gaped at him in disbelief. “Are you saying you don’t pick up women in bars and have one-night stands?”

  Jack shifted uncomfortably then sighed deeply. “Listen, I’m not saying I’m an angel. But I never had the intention of hooking up with you. Is that what you wanted from me? Just a one-night stand?”

  “I’ve never had a one-night stand before. And I was in a relationship for six years, so not really sure what I expected, but you pursued me, remember?”

  "Fair enough. But you’ve really never had a one-night stand before?”

  I blushed a bit. “Nope.”

  “I was the first guy to ever pick you up in a bar?” Jack’s cocky grin filled his face.

  I backhanded him on the shoulder. “Don’t get cocky now.”

  Jack leaned in closer. “So you’ve never had a one-night stand, but you want me to take you to a sex club?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it before, but why not?”

  Jack laughed. “You, Maddie Burns, are full of surprises.” He leaned in, his lips met mine, and his tongue slowly and expertly explored my mouth.

  There was something so arousing about Jack’s kisses. Whether he went slow or fast, it made my skin stand on edge and millions of butterflies release in my stomach.

  The faint smell of my balcony orgasm was on his fingers, and I tasted it on his tongue as the beer he drank didn’t fully cover it up. I don’t know what it was about this man, but I couldn’t get enough. Was it because I was with Mike for so long and this was exciting? Or was it that he was different? But it couldn’t be this easy, could it?

  Jack pulled me onto his lap, and I pushed my thoughts out of my head. He ran his hands through my hair and slightly pulled it, as his mouth fluttered on my neck. The bulk of his erection pushed against me, and I stopped myself from straddling him because of where we were.

  We were getting hot and heavy when someone cleared her throat. We pulled out of the kisses to see that the waitress was standing over us, smiling.

  I blushed and probably looked like I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Jack, ever so confident, had a happy grin on his face—not one bit embarrassed—as though it was perfectly natural to be passionately kissing your date in the bar.

  The waitress wanted to know if we were ready to order.

  “Maddie, you like oysters?”

  “Love them.”

  “Dozen oysters please.”

  The waitress left and I turned to Jack. “So what part of New York do you live in? I didn’t get to ask last night.”

  “Over in Chelsea.”

  “Do you like it there? I still don’t know the different parts of New York very well.”

  “Yes. It has a good vibe to it. So...”

  “So...what?”

  He spoke slowly, as if he wasn’t sure he should be asking, but it obviously was on his mind. “What is the situation with you and your ex?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You still live together, but you’re moving out, right?” His possessive side showed up.

  “Yes.”

  “And it’s definitely over?” Jack’s voice had a bit of vulnerability in it. I found it rather sexy and sweet.

  I smiled and leaned closer to Jack. “Totally over. We never should have moved to New York together.”

  Jack gave me a relieved smile. “I don’t want to be nosy, but can I ask you, besides feeling like you came second, what else didn’t work?”

  I thought for a minute. “That is an interesting way to pose that question. What didn’t work...jeez...where do I start?”

  “That bad?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “It wasn’t bad at the beginning and I did stay six years...”

  “But?” Jack cocked his head to the side and waited for me to give him more intel on my failed relationship.

  “It was fun at first. I was only twenty-six when we started dating. We grew apart. Mike became a workaholic, and slowly, we drifted. I felt alone the last few years, if I’m being honest. When Mike decided to move to New York for work, I thought maybe a new change in scenery would bring us back to a good spot.

  “Liv, for years, kept offering me a job, so I took her up on her offer. But all New York did was drive a wedge between us further. Mike became even more obsessed with work. I never saw him. Whenever we had plans, he would show up hours late, cancel at the last minute, or not even tell me, and I’d be sitting in a restaurant or somewhere else, waiting, feeling like a loser.

  “Last weekend, as I sat in a restaurant and after being stood up again, I decided I needed to move on. It would be better to be by myself, and figure out who I was without him, than stay and continue this charade.”

  Jack processed my admission. I wasn’t sure what was going through his mind.

  He probably thinks I’m a pathetic loser.

  He finally spoke. “That’s shitty, Maddie. I’m sorry you experienced that. I think I now understand why you freaked out this morning.”

  “I’m sorry about that. It was horrible that I did that to you…that note.” I rolled my eyes.

  Jack laughed. “Yeah, it was definitely a Dear John letter…”

  “Sorry.” I gave him my best ‘I’m sorry’ face.

  Jack leaned in and gave me a kiss. “All’s forgiven.”

  “Thank you.” I kissed him back.

  “Maddie, do you really not know who you are?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. Most of my adult life has been Mike and Maddie...even when Mike wasn’t there. So much of my life, I put Mike first...his career...his family. Where he wanted to live. Everything was always about him and I let it be that way.”

  Jack rubbed my back. “So why do you need to move out? Why not make him?”

  “Honestly, I hate our place. He didn’t even ask me what I wanted. He signed the lease and told me to pack up. I thought we would have picked a place together, but nope. Typical Mike. The lease is in his name, so it’s a bonus that I can leave and move on. I need to figure out where. But, I don’t really know my options.”

  Jack paused a minute. "When we get back to New York, why don’t I show you around some neighborhoods? You can get a good feel for where you want to live?”

  “Really? Are you going to have time to do that? I know you’re super busy.”

  Jack laughed. “I think you have me pegged a little wrong, Maddie.”

  I pinched my brows together. “I’m sorry. Please, tell me what I have wrong.”

  Jack didn’t say anything for a minute. He took a sip of his beer, stroked my back with his other hand, and stared at me with a small but content grin on his face.

  “What?” I couldn’t understand what was behind that grin.

  “I’m super busy, Maddie. You have that right. But what you don’t understand is that I decide what I do and don’t do, and I will make time for you...because I want to. And if showing you around New York helps you find somewhere to live tha
t makes you feel good, then I want to help you find it. Plus, I’m not going to lie, but the thought of you going back to New York and spending even one night under the same roof as your ex has me going crazy right now,” Jack told me calmly.

  It was so sweet, but I laughed. “So you’re jealous, huh?”

  “Damn right.”

  “Trust me on this, nothing is going on with Mike and me. We are over.”

  “And what does he want?” Jack raised his eyebrows as if he already knew the answer.

  I didn’t say anything. Jack answered for me. “He wants you to stay with him, doesn’t he?”

  I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t deny it. “Not going to happen.”

  I could tell by Jack’s face that he didn’t fully believe me.

  “Anyway, can we change the subject? What about your ex...or exes, I’m assuming.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Nothing to talk about. Other than my ex-fiance, I usually do more casual dating.”

  I felt a stab to the heart. Here I was, telling him I wanted to be on my own to find myself, and he was telling me that he only does casual, which should have been perfect.

  I would have been able to handle the one-night stand, but I can’t do casual dating…not with him.

  I think my face gave away my disappointment. He grabbed my face and pulled my forehead to his, so we were eye to eye. “Hey, I’m not saying I want casual with you, I want to see where this goes, but I’m being honest about my past.”

  "Okay.” Relief washed over me and I gave him a kiss. That was fair. “So why didn’t you get married?”

  Jack’s fingers tapped his beer bottle. His face hardened a bit. “I was twenty-eight. Kelly was pregnant...we were already engaged when she became pregnant, but we lost the baby and...it tore us apart.”

  There was a sadness in Jack’s eyes. It was the brief glimpse of sadness I saw the other night when he first mentioned his ex-fiance and the fact he didn’t have kids.

  I caressed his cheek. “I’m so sorry. That had to be difficult.”

  He shrugged his shoulders but I could see his pain. “It is what it is. I kind of jumped into my work and didn’t get too attached after that.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I leaned in and kissed him. Once again, the waitress came in to catch us lip to lip. She gave us the oysters, refilled our drinks, and left.

  The sun set and it was dark. The night sky was full of stars. The music was blaring in the air, and the rooftop bar was filled up. But Jack and I remained in our own world, inside our private little cabana.

  We ate our oysters mostly in silence.

  “What would you be doing tomorrow if you weren’t here with me?”

  Jack laughed. “Probably being a pathetic loser, sitting on my balcony, and working on my laptop all day.”

  I decided to tease him. “Yep, you’re right. Totally pathetic.”

  “You, meanwhile, would be at the pool with all the guests. Running around, driving all the men mad in your bikini.”

  “Ha ha!”

  “Jack, is that you?” A man’s voice flew into the cabana.

  Jack’s face hardened. “Jim. What are you doing here?”

  Jim walked fully into the cabana and sat next to me. Jack instinctively reached around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

  “Well aren’t you a pretty one?” Jim sized me up as if I was a piece of candy he could eat.

  “Easy there, Jim,” Jack warned.

  Jim waved off Jack’s warning, “Relax, Jack. Such a stick in the mud, isn’t he?” He leaned in and I could smell some sort of hard alcohol...whiskey maybe? I didn’t say anything.

  “Jim, what are you doing here?” Jack repeated, not very friendly.

  Jim looked up, as if he heard Jack for the first time. “Business...a little fun...” He took his finger and traced it on my thigh. I jumped and instantly felt dirty.

  Jack stood up, face beat red. “What the fuck, Jim?”

  “Easy there, killer. I’m only having some fun. You remember what fun we used to have, right, Jack?” I wasn’t sure what he was referring to, but I didn’t have a good feeling about it.

  “Those days are over, Jim. Time for you to move on.” Jack moved closer to him and pointed for him to leave.

  Jim threw his head back and laughed hysterically, "Have it your way, Jack. I’ll see you on the next trip.” He walked out.

  Jack was red with anger, his fists still clenched. I stood up and grabbed his fists, and tried to calm him. “I’m sorry about that asshole.” Jack’s face was enraged.

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not okay. If he ever touches you again he will leave here in a body bag.”

  “Who is he and what did you mean by those days are over?”

  Jack sat with his finger tapping on his leg. “Look, Maddie, I told you I was no angel and I meant it. I’ve done a lot of traveling with business men over the years and there’s been a lot of late nights and partying. I really don’t want to get into it. That guy is a complete asshole and I hoped I would never have to see him again.”

  I wanted to know more, but I decided it was best to drop it. What was in the past was in the past. It wasn’t my business. "Okay,” I moved onto him and straddled him, no longer caring that we were in a public place.

  I put my hand on his face. “Let’s forget about him and go back to you and me.”

  Jack smiled at me and I could see him relax. “Perfect. Thank you.” He pulled my head toward his and our lips connected in a hot fire of lust. My knees dug into the couch. I pulled my body forward into his, and wanted to be as close to him as possible. I wasn’t sure where this notion of us was going, but I decided to be in the moment and fully enjoy him.

  The hip-hop music blasted out, and outside our cabana, people were everywhere, but Jack and I sat in our corner, oblivious to our surroundings...except the rhythm of the music and each other. The music was raunchy, and dirty, and my body wanted to grind into Jack’s, so I did something totally out of my character. “Do you have a condom?” I whispered.

  Jack’s face was first one of surprised confusion, then a slow grin formed. “Right here?”

  “You don’t want to?”

  “No, that’s not it. You sure?” He was already pulling a condom out of his wallet.

  I grabbed his free hand and pulled it under my dress. “I want you right now, Jack.”

  He pulled his hand out, and stuck his fingers in my mouth. With his other hand, he tore the condom wrapper with his teeth. He unzipped his pants, slid the condom on, and then moved my panties to the side. He adjusted my dress so it floated over our bodies.

  And while earlier on the balcony, I had been excited at the thought of being caught, it no longer plagued in my mind. I just had to have Jack. It didn’t matter where we were, or the fact that anyone could walk into our little private cabana at any time. I needed to have him and I couldn’t wait.

  I glided onto Jack in the hot night air. There was a bit of a breeze and the music encouraged my every movement. I watched his face change from amusement to pleasure to ecstasy.

  His girth and depth filled me up, and the couch let me sink into him, as he held my back close to him. Our lips locked, and our tongues darted in and around each other. We were in a moment of pure lust, as our need and desire took us to a place that only we knew.

  The music changed and I slowed my grind as Jack moaned and cried out, “Just like that, Maddie...you fit so perfect...holy shit that feels amazing.” His words filled my pot of courage, and I forgot that anyone or anything besides him existed.

  Our eyes were intensely locked between kisses; our breath quickly turned into pants; Jack moved his hands on my hips and controlled our speed. We both began to sweat as our faces flushed. He moved to nibble my neck and I arched my back to get into him further.

  With every beat of the music, I felt Jack’s hardness as I clutched and released and basked in the sensations he gifted upon me. “So good,” I heard myself say, not sure how
loud it was, or if Jack could even hear over the music.

  My thighs squeezed around Jack’s legs, my knees tried to go deeper with every push he gave me, as his manhood pounded my sweet spot over and over, in perfect unison with the music.

  I sucked on Jack’s neck so hard I was pretty sure he would have a bruise.

  His lips grazed my chest. He took one hand, unbuttoned the top of my dress, and pulled out one of my breasts. He sucked on it tenderly at first, then harder, and sent surges through my already electrified body.

  “Jack,” I blurted out, “Oh God,” and, “I’m gonna cum.”

  In my ear, “Wait just a bit longer, baby, I want to cum with you…”

  “Oh God, Jack, I…”

  “Just another minute, baby.”

  My labored breath increased, my nerves stood on the top of the mountain, and waited to jump off.

  “Good girl, I want to savor you...you feel so good,” he praised me, eye to eye, forehead to forehead.

  And that’s when I broke. A tremor started to ripple through me, slowly at first. Jack thrusted quicker, and my adrenaline gushed through every cell of my body. I felt Jack pump hard inside me, as his body shattered into mine with fury. Our arms held tight to each other, as we were two souls in the night that danced among the heated flames.

  We rose together and we fell together. It was beautiful. And we clung to each other at the bottom, we whispered words like, “thank you” and “incredible” and “so delicious” and “I can’t get enough of you.” Who said what, I don’t know. I was still incoherent from my high.

  I slowly came out of my fog and realized Jack was still inside me. I lifted myself off of him and resettled on his lap. Jack grabbed the condom, wrapped it up in a napkin, shoved it in his pocket, and zipped up his pants. He moved my underwear back to the center and gave me a sweet lingering kiss.

  “Where have you been all my life, Maddie Burns?” He sweetly brushed my hair off my cheek.

  I smiled, and wondered where he had been, and could this really be? I gave him another kiss before I removed myself from his lap and sank into his chest. I felt Jack’s and my heart beats slowly return to normal.

  “Well, you’ve fulfilled all my fantasies of rooftop bar sex,” Jack joked.