by Claire Adams
“I don’t give a shit,” he said. “My parents told me. Her mom couldn’t stop bragging to the entire world, apparently. Plus, we’ve been best friends since we were kids, and Maddie’s a good person. It helps that I know the two of you are good for each other.”
“I guess,” I said. I hadn’t realized Ron saw me as a good person, nor did I know that Maddie’s mother remembered me, much less liked me.
“Really, I’m not mad,” Ron said as the boat pulled into the dock. “Just don’t break her heart and we’re good.”
I chuckled and took another sip of my beer. “That won’t be a problem,” I said. He nodded, despite not having a clue what I meant. The only way I could break her heart was probably not paying the rest of the money. She still had $250,000 left to receive. I briefly wondered what her plans were with the money. She wanted to go to Hollywood, that much I knew. But was she going to pursue acting? Would she find another desperate billionaire and attempt to bribe him as well? She had a talent for it, it seemed.
“Have you guys gotten pretty serious?” Ron asked. I figured he wasn’t asking about sex; surely Ron wouldn’t be interested in that sort of information, but my mind automatically went back to our night together. Our relationship had been pretty serious during that night, but other than that it was purely business. Still, I couldn’t tell Ron that much.
“A few dates,” I said. “We’ve had dinner with my mom once. Maddie was well-behaved.”
“Damn, you talk about her like she’s your child,” Ron laughed. “Just a few dates though? So, do you think you’ll get more serious?”
“It’s hard to tell,” I said. I had to plant the seed carefully. “I like to think so. I like her. I didn’t think I would, to be honest, but she grew on me.”
“She’s a good person. Dedicated, hardworking, and funny as hell when she wants to be,” Ron said. “I approve.”
“I don’t need your approval,” I said. “But I appreciate it.”
I could never tell Ron my true feelings about Maddie. I couldn’t let him get suspicious and find out the truth. He wouldn’t forgive Maddie, and he probably would have judged me for even taking the offer.
“Don’t tell me it’s time to call it a day,” he whined as we got ready to walk back on land. “Our lake time is never long enough.”
“You spend your entire mornings out on the lake,” I said. “I think you get plenty of lake time.”
We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
I had just parked in front of my house when another car pulled up behind me. I didn’t recognize it at first until it parked and Maddie exited the driver’s seat. I groaned and walked straight toward my door without turning around.
“Gavin,” she said as if I hadn’t noticed her.
“My mom isn’t up for dinner tonight,” I said.
“That’s not why I’m here,” she said and stood at the foot of the front steps. I turned toward her. It had been just over a week since our last meeting, and she looked even more beautiful somehow with her hair piled into a high, messy bun and a tight t-shirt with jeans that hugged her long legs. As always, I forced my eyes away from her body and tried paying attention to only her face. “I wanted to eat with you.”
“With me?” I frowned. “Why?”
She walked up the steps and stood beside me, directly in front of my front door.
“If this is going to be believable then I’m going to need more than one picture a week. We should at least have another picture of us eating dinner together,” she said. It was hard to focus when she stood so close, and I opened the door and let her inside into the foyer.
“Can’t we just take a picture now and be over with it?” I asked.
“That’s boring,” she whined. “Don’t you want to look like a decent boyfriend? Especially if you’re going to be my fiancé soon?”
I’d completely forgotten that I would have to propose to her eventually. But she was right; this needed to be believable, and we should at least have a single picture eating dinner together.
“I’ll order some take-out for you,” I said. “I’m not hungry, but I’ll pretend to eat when it gets here, and then you can eat the rest.”
“Chinese please,” she requested and took a seat in the living room. I sighed, poured myself an ounce of whiskey, shot it, and ordered Chinese food on my phone. I didn’t bother asking her what exactly she wanted. She would just have to be happy with whatever I got.
“Oh,” she began. “Do you have that binder with your stories?”
I retrieved it from the closet and handed it to her. “I still can’t believe you remembered it,” I said. She pulled out the story from her purse and put it back into the binder. I held my hand out to take it back, but she began reading the first few stories.
“I didn’t say you could read the rest,” I argued.
“It’s not like I haven’t read them before,” she said and continued. “Oh, I guess there are a few new ones in here.”
I groaned and waited near the front door for the delivery.
“Gavin?” she asked after 10 minutes. “Why did you stop writing?”
I considered her question for a moment. “I just couldn’t do it anymore,” I said. “One morning, I sat at my desk, opened my laptop, and I realized that I just didn’t have it in me to type another word.”
“Why though?” She turned toward me. “Were you afraid of failure?”
“Where’s that damn delivery man?” I mumbled. “I guess, I don’t know. I just lost the passion, that’s all.”
“But you were so good at it,” she said. “You probably still are. And if you have a talent for something like this, you shouldn’t just give up.”
“It’s not that easy,” I said. “Some people actually have to give up their dreams and get actual jobs.” I glanced at her. “Not everyone can get a half million dollars for acting.”
She winced and leaned back into the couch. I didn’t particularly care if I offended her, but I noticed that I hit a nerve. Did she feel guilty?
“You’re good enough to make a living,” she said after reading another page. “I’ve wanted to tell you this ever since we were little, but you have a way with words. A way that I can’t explain.”
I glanced at her. She really enjoyed my writing that much?
My phone buzzed, and I opened it to find a notification that the driver had arrived. I opened the door and took the Chinese food while muttering a quick thanks, and threw it on the living room table. It didn’t matter if she made a mess; I’d just make her clean it up.
“Just a quick picture,” she said while setting everything out. She gave me a fork with some fried rice and a piece of bourbon chicken, dipped her spoon into a bowl of soup, and took a picture of us kneeling in front of the table. I glanced at it as she posted it, and even I had to admit it looked like an authentic Chinese food date night between a happy couple.
“Happy?” she asked as she finished posting it.
“Sure,” I said and stood. “Throw whatever you don’t finish in the fridge.”
“You’re not staying?” she asked as I walked away. “Did I do something wrong?”
I wanted to say yes, but instead, I shook my head.
“I’m not hungry,” I said and walked upstairs toward my office. I took out my laptop and set it on my desk, and opened a word processor. I hadn’t written a single creative sentence in more than six years, and I wondered if I still had it in me.
I knew I was going to need at least a few drinks in me before I wrote anything. I returned downstairs, passing Maddie sitting on the couch in the living room as I headed toward the bar. The smell of Chinese food filled my house, and my stomach made an audible growl that Maddie must have heard.
“Just eat with me,” she said. “And maybe pour me a drink too while you’re at it?”
I rolled my eyes and poured her a glass of wine while I readied my drink. I handed it to her and sat on the floor on the other side of the table.
“You can’t even sit on the same couch as me?” she asked with a frown. “Really?”
“I’m only here for the Chinese food,” I said and took a few bites. “Nothing else.”
She groaned. “We’re never going to look like a real couple if we keep acting like this,” she said.
“And how would you have us act?” I asked.
She bit her lip and stared at the floor as I leaned back on my elbows.
“We both have urges,” she said and stared into my eyes.
I raised an eyebrow. “Urges?” I repeated as if I didn’t know exactly what she was talking about. When I wasn’t stewing in how much I hated her, I most certainly had urges. Urges to strip her bare, lick every inch of her, and fuck her until she begged me to stop.
“Yes, sexual needs, and since you explicitly said that we couldn't sleep with anyone else, we might as well use this situation to our advantage. No emotional feelings, no strings, just sex.” She grinned. “I know you enjoyed it the last time.”
“I remember you did as well,” I said and thought about her suggestion. She was offering exactly what I had been looking for, but I still wasn’t entirely sure about it. “Will those cost me more?”
She laughed as she stood from the couch and slowly walked toward me. I was still leaning on my elbows as she kneeled and brought her lips close to mine.
“I was thinking it’d be free of charge,” she said and climbed on top of me.
Chapter Eighteen
Maddie
He looked so damn good beneath me, his eyes darkening more and more each second. I couldn’t help but tease him.
“Or maybe I should charge you?” I smiled and pressed my hands into his thick chest as I arched my back and rubbed myself against the thick bulge in the front of his jeans.
“Maybe you should stop talking and get busy.” He reached up and cupped the side of my face as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth.
We locked eyes and my insides melted. I knew he hated me, but maybe over time, that would change. I felt without choice in what I’d done. I was broke, and everything was closing in on me. Maybe through the heat of passion, I could melt him a little.
“Tell me what you want.” I dug my nails into his chest and rocked against him. It was hard to keep my eyes open as pleasure swelled in my belly from the tension against my clit. Everything about him left me turned on.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Maddie.” He gripped my face tighter and pulled me down for a long hot kiss as he laid back fully on the floor. “Figure it out, woman.”
“Okay,” I whispered and kissed him once more before sitting up. I unbuttoned his shirt and slid my hands along the smooth skin of his chest, memorizing how good he looked. He groaned and closed his eyes before reaching up and sliding his hands along my thighs. His grip was tight – so fucking tight.
“Get to it,” he muttered and lifted his hips, forcing me to buck against him.
I moved down his body, feeling so unsure of myself all of a sudden. I’d been with plenty of guys, but none this hot. None this good hearted. Brushing my nose down the center of his chest, I paused to lick at the six pack of muscles that flexed just above his belt.
He groaned again, and wetness drenched my panties. There was so much power in bringing him pleasure. I would never grow tired of it, no matter how he felt about me.
“Tell me what you want,” I whispered roughly, loving the idea of pushing him a little too far. He was aggressive and masculine in all the right ways. Him manhandling me the last time we fucked had me yearning for something similar this time.
“Suck my cock. Hard.” He glanced up and pinned me with a hard stare. “And I wanna hear you choke on it.”
I swallowed and nodded, more than willing to give him anything he asked for in the bedroom. Whether he cared or not, he’d changed my life with his money.
After working his pants down his legs, I leaned over and ran my tongue around the top of his boxer briefs, dipping in a little and licking at the salty top of his head. We shared a brief groan before I pulled his undies down and ran my tongue up the thick length of him.
He was by far the biggest man I’d been with, and I almost lamented at the idea that he was only mine for a short period of time. As soon as his mother was gone, he would be, too.
A strong hand took hold of my face and moved me up, forcing me to take his dick in my mouth.
“All of it,” he mumbled and laid back, lifting his hips as I reached up and took hold of his cock, sucking and licking like I was starving and he was my only meal. I gagged several times, and each time, he cried out in bliss.
The sound alone was enough to put me on edge.
“God, you’re so fucking hot,” I whispered against his sack and sucked one of his balls into my mouth as I reached up to run my fingers through the small brown hair trailing from his bellybutton to his dick.
“Get a condom, Maddie,” he groaned out.
“Not yet.” I moved up and sucked on the tip, rolling my tongue around the swollen skin and teasing the opening until he was twitching with need beneath me.
“Stroke it. Stroke it hard.” He reached up and gripped his cock, stroking it as I swatted his hand away and took over, using my mouth and hand to bring him over the edge. He gushed cum, and I worked to not let a drop fall on his stomach below.
I couldn’t help but glance up and watch him in the throes of passion. Incredible. Someone I could fall in love with and likely would if I weren’t careful.
“Come here.” He motioned for me to crawl up his body.
I did, and he slid his fingers into the back of my hair, gripping it tightly as he pulled me down for a long, probing kiss. I was drunk on the flavor of his tongue by the time he pulled back.
“I want more of you,” I whispered against his mouth and closed my eyes, pretending that he might love me eventually. It was a pipe dream, but it sent me soaring.
“Take off your jeans and panties. Get up here and let me taste you.” His eyes were filled with a passion that couldn’t be fabricated.
“Okay.” I got off of him and undressed quickly, afraid that I might fuck up the moment if I didn’t keep us in it. “You want my bra off?”
“Stop asking questions and get naked for fuck’s sake,” he barked and reached for me as I moved back down, unsure of what position he wanted me in. The way his eyes ran across me and his cock twitched left my heart racing. Why did this mean so much to me? Why did I want him to want me so bad?
Guilt. It was all because somehow him liking me, or finding pleasure buried deep inside of me might help ease my guilt. That and he was beautiful. It felt like being pressed against a hero, a strong, good man. Something I would most likely never have.
“Straddle me and turn the other way. You get back to sucking me off, and I’ll take good care of you.”
I nodded, not wanting to mess up anything. Moving on him, I turned my back to him and inched down his body until I was on all fours, hovered above his slick cock. I leaned down and brushed my tongue down the thick vein that ran along the base of his erection and moaned at the flavor of him.
Strong hands ran up the back of my thighs and gripped my ass, pulling me down to his waiting tongue.
“Fuck,” I cried out as he licked through my folds ever so slowly.
“You’re so wet. I didn’t figure you to be the naughty type, Maddie,” he mumbled and sucked my clit into his mouth, his tongue slapping against it fast and hard.
It wasn’t going to take much and I’d be flying over the edge.
I leaned down and busied myself with sucking him off again as he used his tongue and fingers to open me up and drown me in ecstasy. The brush of his thumb by my ass caused me to cry out, the sound lost around the thick shaft in my mouth.
“Mmmhmmm… That’s it. Come for me.” He pulled me back down and finished the job, driving me insane with lust as I bucked against him.
He came with me, filling my mouth once again and leaving us both panting. I collapsed
on top of him and kissed the top of his thigh, snuggling against him.
“You taste so good,” I mumbled and rubbed his hip before brushing my face alongside his cock one more time. “You want more?”
“No. Get off.” He patted the side of my ass.
His tone let me know that I was the only one thinking that passion might save whatever relationship was dying between us. He felt nothing.
“Yeah. Sure.” I got up and moved to my knees beside him, trying to look as sexy as I could.
He didn’t glance my way as he got up and grabbed his clothes. “Leave the food if you want. I’ll clean it up in the morning.”
“Gavin.” I sounded a little bit needier than I wanted to, but the dull ache inside of me had roared to life again. Was he really going to leave me sitting in the living room naked after our passionate love making?
I surely deserved it, but I couldn’t help but hurt over the idea of him being so cold.
Cold like me.
“What?” He stopped by his bedroom door and turned a little. The sight of him naked and glaring down at me turned me on, and my body ticked with desire. I wanted more than oral sex. I wanted him buried inside of me again, his body pressed against mine, his mouth consuming mine.
“Are you really going to make me sleep on the couch again?” My tone shifted from needy to annoyed. I couldn’t help it.
He chuckled. “Absolutely. Stop making more of us fucking than you should. You’re a quick and cheap way to get off. Nothing more.” He shrugged. “You should know how that feels. You’re a pro at it.” He closed the door behind him, and fuck me if my eyes didn’t fill with tears.
Maybe sleeping together wasn’t a good idea at all. I couldn’t stand feeling cheap and used. I stood and dressed quickly before grabbing a blanket off the chair closest to me. After curling up in it, I let myself blink out a few tears and decided to stop being a child.
It was a business deal. Nothing more.
Chapter Nineteen
Gavin
I waited until the fifth alarm to finally roll out of bed and grab my phone. I turned off the alarm and sat on my bed, forehead in my hands, as I attempted to massage a light headache away. Maybe I was dehydrated, and possibly drinking too much whiskey for my own good. The headache would be gone with two painkillers, but that meant walking down the stairs and toward the kitchen, and I didn’t have the energy for it yet.