“I heard. I’m not much of a board gamer. I need graphics and a console.”
They both chuckled. Sam asked about Axis & Allies and after Ephraim filled him in, Sam stepped away and pulled me with him.
“Nice to meet you two.” When we were near the cash register, he leaned down to my ear. “So, are you free tonight?”
“I might be. What do you have in mind?”
“I think we could fire up that Xbox of yours. I have a competition in mind that involves someone getting naked.”
A thrill shot through me. I’d been thoroughly sexed the night before, but with Sam, it didn’t matter. “You’re on. Swing by around seven-thirty and I’ll even feed you.”
The kiss he gave me before he left was full of promise. With a sigh, I flipped my closed sign over and turned to Ephraim and Joe.
Ephraim hefted the game box under his arm but stopped with a concerned look at Joe. “You all right, man?”
Joe cleared his throat and spoke to Mara. “What’d you say his name was?”
I tilted my head at him, unsure of his concerned expression. “Sam.”
Joe’s gaze went to the door, then back to me. His face had lost some color. “Mara…that’s Wesley Robson.”
“Joe!” A nervous chuckle burst out of me. “What are you talking about?”
“Joe?” Ephraim echoed.
“That man was Wes Robson. I see him almost every day I work. Apparently, he doesn’t see me.” Joe shrugged and looked down at his outfit of jeans and a T-shirt. “I’m usually in coveralls, I guess.”
I stared at Joe and the world quit spinning. I blocked out everything but Joe’s news.
No. It couldn’t be. My Sam was not Wes. A lump lodged square in my chest.
Ephraim set the game down and straightened. “Where did you meet him again?”
I swallowed because I hated the answer. “At Canon, Wes Robson’s nightclub.” I pulled out a chair and collapsed in it. “I asked for him at the bar and low and behold, this guy sat next to me and struck up a conversation.”
It had to be a coincidence. Sam only resembled Wes Robson. And was in his club…with the same name as Wes Robson’s dad… Disbelief rocked my being.
“And he told you his name was Sam?” Ephraim’s voice was gentle.
Pushing my bangs out of my face, I kept my hands on my head. How could I be… “I’m so stupid.”
“Mara,” Joe shuffled closer, “it’s not your fault.”
I peered up at him. Maybe Joe was mistaken. He only passed his boss every day, it’s not like they were close. “Are you sure?”
Joe gave me a sad nod.
“Let’s pull up his picture.” Ephraim took the seat next to me to search on his phone.
My laugh was harsh and bitter. “I was going to do the same thing when Sam—ugh, Wes—started hitting on me.”
Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I refused to cry until I was alone. Ephraim spun his phone toward me. On the screen was a stolid picture of Sam—Wes— in a suit and tie, a headshot that was used for his profile on his website.
“That’s him.” My heart crumbled, cut under the knife of betrayal. Well, didn’t I feel foolish. Like the stupidest, most naïve girl on earth. I’d let my guard down and wham! Stupid girl. “Why would he do that?”
“My guess is daddy issues. He wants to know why his dad was going to basically give this place to you.”
I scoffed. “I bet he assumed I slept my way into that contract. Of course, that’s what anyone would think.” My cheeks flamed. These men were my customers and they’d just witnessed a humiliation that blew Dr. Johannsen out of this realm. At least I was the only one hurt this time.
Joe shook his head with disgust and laid a hand on my shoulder. “He grew up differently than us. In his world, relationships are a contract in and of themselves.”
I scrubbed my face. “What do I do?”
Ephraim swore and pocketed his phone. “Would you like me to come with you when you confront him?”
Joe bobbed his head. “I’ll even go with you, Mara. He can’t get away with what he’s done.”
Confront Wes in front of an audience? Absolutely not. Humiliation, party of one. “No. You’re not putting your job on the line.” Betrayal gave way to anger. “No, you know what? I’m not confronting him. He wants to play some secretive game and dig for information, I can, too.”
“Mara…” Ephraim’s look was one I’d expect from a father who was afraid his little girl would get hurt. Ironically, it was one I’d gotten from Sam—the real Sam—when we’d talked business and he’d feared for my financial state.
“I know. But I need to know why he’d do this to me and he won’t tell me if I out him.”
Joe cut in. “Mr. Robson isn’t known for relationships. There are rumors of course, but nothing serious, and he never brings it to the office. I’m surprised he’s even making an effort.” Joe’s kind smile was another I would’ve loved from a father. “He might not even know why he’s doing what he’s doing.”
Joe might be trying to make me feel better, but Wes’s behavior was inexcusable. My falling for it was just as bad.
Ephraim cleared his throat. His elbows were propped on his thighs, his hands pressed together at the fingertips between his knees. His serious expression was all lawyer. “As much as I’d like to think he has legitimately fallen for you because you’re a good person, and he’d be an idiot not to, Wesley Robson is not a stupid person. He inherited everything, but he was a force in his own right before his dad passed away. He knows full well that he can’t deceive you forever, but he’s continuing to. You have to wonder why.”
“He even asked me out tonight,” I muttered miserably. For all my talk of playing the same game, facing him after work sunk a boulder in my gut. My courage was nothing more than words.
The urge to crawl out of my skin grew stronger. I rose and gave each guy a quick hug. Because what the hell, my store was closing and they were my friends. If Wes Robson could do something as slimy as lying his way into my bed, then he wasn’t going to have mercy on my store.
“Thank you, guys. I mean it. I’m going to go along with it, for now.” Because I didn’t know what else to do. The idea of Sam wasn’t one my heart wanted to let go of.
Imagine that. Another handsome man was using me for selfish purposes. At least Wes wasn’t married. His duplicity only hurt me.
“Be safe, Mara. I don’t think he’ll hurt you, but…”
I squeezed Ephraim’s hand. No, I didn’t think Wes would lay a hand on me. He had all the power anyway. He couldn’t hurt me any more than he already had.
Wes
“Wesley, I think I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying, Mother.” I sat on Mara’s front step. It was a little after seven-thirty and she was late.
“It’s the cold. It’s going to do me in. Have you rented that villa in the islands for me yet?”
“I’m not renting a villa.” But it was tempting. Months of my mom out of the state. Out of the country. What held me back was the tab she’d rack up because I’d have to open a line of credit for her to use.
“It’s either the villa or a hospital bill. I’m telling you, I won’t survive another Minnesota winter. Perhaps I’ll need to move in with you.”
“Stay inside and order in. They deliver everything nowadays. And no, you can’t live with me.” Access to my housekeeper, chef, and driver was what she really wanted. She coveted my private jet, too.
“We’ll talk about this later. I have another doctor’s visit and he’ll write a note. Not that I should need one for my own son,” she finished with sarcasm.
It wouldn’t matter, but I let my mom hang up. Villa or a hospital bill. I toed a rock off the step. Would I even visit once or twice a week like Mara did with her mother?
Mara could visit my mother, too. They could both worm their way into my bank accounts. Even the thought was half-hearted because, despite my best efforts, Mara wasn’t giving me those v
ibes.
I breathed a sigh of relief when she finally pulled up. How’d that girl always pull me out of my head?
I went to go open her car door, but I stalled at the look on her face. Stricken. My bubbly girl looked like she faced her worst nightmare.
I pulled open the door and held out my hand. “You okay?”
She pursed her delectable lips and shoved two fast food bags into my hands. “It just hit me today. Some asshole’s closing my store out of spite and I can do nothing about it.” She got out and charged toward her front door. “Sorry, I didn’t feel like cooking.”
The door banged back on me as I followed her. Kicking it open, I stepped in and peeked in the bag.
“Burgers are fine.” I usually ate clean but a night of fries, whose grease had already soaked through the bag, wouldn’t clog my arteries in one shot. Maybe.
I doled out the food at her small table.
“I left a perky woman at the store a couple of hours ago and she came here pissed as hell. What happened?”
She considered me for so long I shifted in my seat, didn’t dare bite into my sandwich. Strong feelings simmered in the depths of her hazel beauties and it was disconcerting to feel like it was aimed at me.
“Sam, why are you here?”
“Because we made a date.”
She stabbed a fry into ketchup and popped it into her mouth.
I did the same.
“It’s just that,” she continued after she swallowed, “you seem like a successful guy. You’re hot and you know it. I’m going out of business, I dress in clothes covered in superheroes, and my history with men is… Well, I haven’t made the best decisions.”
“So, you’re wondering what I see in you?” Did she hear the incredulous tone in my voice? I hoped so. Yeah, I was in this for other reasons. But say she hadn’t conned my dad—she was smokin’. And ambitious. And sweet and funny and—argh. Was I going to prove Flynn right and quote Shakespeare next?
My voice dropped low. “Do I need to show you again?”
Her eyes narrowed on me. “Maybe later.”
We ate in silence. My chef would go apoplectic if he saw what I had just ingested. This entire meal probably wouldn’t buy the one-serving side dish Chef prepared for me at each meal.
“I haven’t played Halo in forever and I noticed you have the game. Gonna let me warm up before you take me on?”
“Nope.” She dumped our garbage and went to the living room.
We set up on the floor, backs against the couch, end table pushed out of the way. I was half-hard already, remembering what we’d done on that couch. My personal vendetta to reveal her greedy nature was going to have to wait. My temporary mission was to cheer her up, not because it bothered me that much—it didn’t—but because I wanted access to her body and Mara was as closed off as my office.
I got a few giggles out of her. Especially when I died horrible deaths in the game.
“All right, enough of Halo. What else do you have?”
“I’ll get one more your speed.” She crawled to the console and switched out games, giving me a prime view of her ass.
I adjusted myself, but it was no use.
When she came back, I pulled her onto my lap. She tensed instead of melting into me like usual.
I captured her mouth in a kiss, but her wooden response wasn’t promising.
“Mara, what’s wrong?” I brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
“I…I just don’t know anymore.” Her eyes glistened. “I’m so tired of everything.”
“Let me help you forget about it tonight.”
Her placid stare remained in place.
Okay. “Then how ’bout you use me as your personal stress reliever?” I released my hold on her and leaned back against the couch. “Use me.”
She waited so long, I’d taken sex off the table for the night. Then she straddled me and jerked my sweater up. I helped her remove it and shuffled my pants down. Before I tossed them, I grabbed a condom out of my pocket.
I fisted the hem of her shirt, but she pushed my hands away to stand. Mara peeling her jeans down was an erotic show I’d pay thousands to watch. When she was bared to me, I fisted myself and gave my cock a sturdy stroke. I was as physically excited as I was mentally with Mara using me for her purposes.
She knelt back in front of me, that damn shirt still on, her nipples poking through the fabric. I licked my lips but held back from tonguing them through the cloth. This was her show.
She ripped open the packet and rolled it on me.
“Do you need to be prepped?” I slid my hand along her thigh, my gaze buried in the view of her mounting me.
To answer, she lifted and settled herself over me to slide down.
I groaned but registered that she had misled me. She wasn’t as wet as usual, but the condom lubricated her entrance enough for me to slide in. I went to grab her hips, but she flung my hands off.
I anchored them on the edges of the cushions. She hoisted herself up and slammed down. My breath whooshed out.
“Fuck, Mara.” I had to spread my legs a little, with a slight bend at the knees. My fingers dug into threadbare upholstery.
She rose and came down hard again. Her hands gripped my shoulders. Written across her face was determination. To get off? She oughta know I’d never let her down in that arena.
She rode me hard. I grunted at the force of holding my orgasm back until she went.
Her lower lip was sucked in and captured by her teeth. I wanted to be the one nibbling on it, but for some alien reason, I had to let her use me. I’d give her what she needed. For once, my pleasure wasn’t the goal.
She let out a little cry and her head flung back. Her neck was exposed and her eyes were closed.
“Look at me, Mara.” Who knew why it was so important, but it was. She needed to know who she was with. That was it. The connection.
Her pace increased, she grew wetter, easing the blow to my ego.
“I can’t—” she panted. “This is—” Her lids shut and her fingernails dug in as her climax hit.
Her mouth dropped open and I waited for her to yell Sam but it never came. She hollered her orgasm and I gritted my teeth against mine.
The episode affected me. First, the unusual way she’d acted tonight, then the frantic ride. I wrapped her up in an embrace and spun her to the floor with me on top.
Her eyes flew open with a gasp, but I’d already claimed her mouth.
Murmuring against her lips, I said, “Now it’s my turn.”
I pumped and she responded, sluggishly at first, probably due to her recent orgasm and the change of position.
I broke away from our kiss to hitch her legs up. She’d used me and I’d told her to, but my male side needed to dominate.
Her hands dropped back behind her head. That shirt. I growled and yanked it up to expose her breasts. The bra was in the way, but not for long. Freeing her breasts, I gave in and lapped at one nipple, then the other.
Mara moaned and writhed under me. I couldn’t hold back a smug smile. She was unable to control herself and I made sure of it.
Her walls started to quake around me and I finally broke down the dam holding back my orgasm. Slamming once, twice more, my balls tightened and I thrust one last time before bowing back.
“Mara!” My buttocks tightened and I shook my release into her.
Like before, her orgasm was on the quiet side. She didn’t yell my name like she normally did, and if I were honest, it was a relief not to hear the wrong name while the girl I fucked came all over me.
Her lids were half open and she lazily watched me, but there was a hint of caution in the depths of her gaze. She was usually so open with her feelings, I hated closed-off Mara.
I released her legs and they collapsed to the floor.
“You gonna tell me what’s wrong yet?”
She tilted her head and the halo of pink-dyed hair shifted, too. “What makes you think there’s something wrong?”
; Her tone also asked, why do you care? And I didn’t. I cursed to myself. Then why did I keep asking?
She was spread out under me, not completely naked, but all her beautiful anatomy was revealed.
I kissed each breast and she tensed like she was going to get up, but I continued kissing my way down.
Again, she didn’t say anything but widened her legs to allow me room to bury my face in her well-sexed flesh. Another orgasm might get her talking.
Chapter 13
Mara
I stared at the ceiling, having woken up first. Sam had stayed over.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Wes. Would I ever get used to it? Wes Robson was in my bed. One thing was for sure. I could fantasize laughing in his receptionist’s face. He could’ve been in all the meetings in the world, but I’d still been able to talk to him after all. With no clothes on.
I turned to the slumbering man.
Wesley Robson. In my bed.
Was this like sleeping with the enemy?
I’d known who he was last night and I’d gone along with it. I felt dirty and guilty, and guilty for not feeling dirty because I didn’t. Sex with Wes was too wonderful to feel ashamed for seeking my release with him.
With my history, I should be in the tub, scrubbing his taste out of my mouth. But he wasn’t Dr. Johannsen, either. My esteemed professor had been attractive enough, but not the male specimen Wes was. Nor as good in bed.
Not that I’d wanted to be in bed with my professor, but the man had been smart and I’d been gullible and desperate.
I think I can see a way to help you improve your grade.
Stupid.
And this wasn’t?
I peered at Wes again. No, because I knew what I was doing this time. My eyes were wide open.
He adjusted his position and reached for me. There went my damn heart. He wasn’t able to fake fooling me in his sleep.
His dark hair was mussed and not just from being in bed. When I’d first seen him, I’d compared him to a superhero. How disappointing.
Joe mentioned people like Wes didn’t always have healthy relationships.
First to Lie: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Unraveled Book 1) Page 10