by Lauren Wood
I was a little disappointed as he started to walk away. I don’t know why I was, but there was a moment where I wanted to stop him and say something. I didn’t have a clue what to say though and I knew that I shouldn’t say anything, not after what happened the day before. I was just going to be better off steering clear of the man, no matter how hard it was going to be living in the same building as him.
***
Getting home, it was almost three and I was tired. The drinking from the night before had made me feel tired and foggy most of the day and I was thankful to see the apartment building. My eyes scanned the garage, half expecting to see Joel there. He wasn’t and surprisingly it was a little disappointing when I didn’t see him. I told myself that I didn’t want to see the arrogant man that had picked me up like a sack of potatoes and thrown me over his shoulder the night before, but I did. I wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t change the fact of the matter I felt drawn to him.
When I saw him inside of the building, I pretended that I didn’t notice him and walked past him without saying a word. He looked good and his shirt was off again. I couldn’t help but see the small trickle of sweat that was coming down the hard, tanned abs. Pulling my gaze away before I was caught, I stopped at the base of the stairs when I heard his voice.
“How was work Cameron?”
I shrugged and told him that it was fine. I waited for a heartbeat for him to say something more and realizing that I wanted to keep talking to him, I asked how his day was.
“Hot.”
His answer made me look at his sweaty body and I could tell that he was hot. I could also tell that I liked him that way. He was far too handsome for me to ignore and it took everything in me to pull my eyes away again. Did he know how badly I wanted to touch the ripples on his chest?
“Well you have a good night Joel.”
“Where are you going?”
I was already up to the fourth step when I turned around to answer him. It was rather clear in my eyes where I was going. “Up to make some dinner I guess. It is too hot to do much of anything else.”
“We are going to the beach later to have a bonfire and drink some beer, you want to come with and have some real fun for once?”
My first thought was yes. I loved going swimming, but then I had to remember that I didn’t even really know him. Sure I knew his uncle, but the man was obviously a bad boy, something that I told myself that I had to stay away from. While they were fun, they were also heartbreakers as well, something that I needed to steer clear of.
“No thank you. I think after last night, I just need to take the night off and rest a bit.”
He looked like he wasn’t happy with my answer and every part of me wanted to change it. It was in my best interest not to though. That man was trouble and that was all that I knew to be true.
I walked up the stairs and there was a part of me that wished that I had said yes. When I got into my apartment, I looked around and I was already bored with everything. My quiet night of dinner and a movie didn’t seem all that enticing anymore and I debated seeing if he had left yet. I was fighting with myself and finally I just went to bed early, trying to save myself from doing something that I was sure to regret later.
Joel was just bad news and I needed to stay far away from him. Why was that so hard to sink in? Even with everything I knew of men like him, something inside of me wanted to play with fire. I wanted to know what it was like to be with a man like Joel. Just once.
Chapter 4
Joel
“Good morning Cameron.”
The young brunette looked over her shoulder at me and smiled. She had her hands full and I rushed forward to grab one of the bags that she looked like she was going to drop.
“Thanks. I thought I could carry it all in. I hate making a second trip.”
She looked like she was in a better mood today and I was going to take it as a sign. I was still working on her slowly, but I wasn’t any closer to getting what I wanted as when I first met her. Today I was feeling a bit luckier.
“So how was work?”
Cameron sighed and said she was glad another week was over. I was still surprised how much she worked, but I was happy that it was Saturday afternoon and she was going to be home the next day. I just had to find a way to get her to agree to go out with me. Last time my attempts had failed miserably and this time all I could think about was how I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fail. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. I just couldn’t be patient anymore.
“How was your week Joel?”
“Boring. There is not a lot to do after I got the back ordered fixes done. Not enough is breaking around the apartments to keep me busy.”
“It seems like there is always something breaking. Just give it time.”
I kind of chuckled and stopped in front of her door. I was waiting for her to open it and then shoo me away. It was what she had done many times before in the last few weeks, but I kept telling myself, today is going to be different. Today she is going to say yes.
“Well since I have so much extra time, I was thinking of going out tonight. Do you know of any good places? I still don’t know much about the city. I came here a long time ago when I was younger, but it has changed a lot since then.”
I was playing to her helpful side that I had learned she had. Cameron noticed things and ever since meeting her, she had become more and more helpful. If that was the angle I had to take to get her to go out with me, I was not above it.
“There are a lot of good places around here. Are you looking for a place to eat, drink or dance?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere to eat first I guess. Would you like to show me a good place that you like around here? I am buying.”
Cameron looked at the groceries that I had set on her kitchen counter. It was like only then did she realize that I was in her kitchen, just feet from here. The door was still open, but no one was in the hallways and it felt like we were alone.
“Um, well I was going to just make some pasta.”
“Come on Cameron. You haven’t gone out in a while.”
She didn’t like the comment or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t like that I noticed. It was hard not to and whether I wanted to or not, I was constantly aware of what she was doing. It was a hazard of the job and the fact that she was always around. How could I not notice such a woman?
“I guess I could.”
Although she wasn’t as enthused as I would have liked, it didn’t matter, I would take it how it was. After trying to forget about her in the arms of several others, it was becoming clear to me, painfully so that she had gotten under my skin. All I needed to do was scratch the itch and then I could forget about the sassy mouthed tenant that kept me up at night.
“Let’s go then.”
“I have to get ready and put these groceries up.”
“I will help you.”
Cameron didn’t look so sure of my skills, but I was already taking things out of the bags and setting them on the counter. I wasn’t going to give her a reason or a chance to say no.
“Um, okay. I’m going to jump in the shower then. I will be back out in a few minutes.”
I watched her walk into the bathroom and I felt a tightening in my chest. I was thinking about her naked and soaped up in the shower. It was the first thought that went through my head and it was one that I just couldn’t shake. I couldn’t wait to see what she looked like without her clothes on. Tonight was the night.
The water turned on and my mind went into overdrive. What would happen if I just went in there right now? Would she turn me away?
***
Without a real idea of what she would do, I didn’t go into the bathroom. I didn’t want to move too far too fast and lose her. It was the last thing that I wanted to do and all I could tell myself was that it was going to happen soon.
There was a small peek of her in a towel, her hair damp from the shower and that was enough. It was a tiny, tasty tease that wa
s going to get me through until I could peel off whatever it was that she was putting on.
Unlike most girls, Cameron was done pretty quickly. She looked completely different, sexier then I had seen her before. There was a touch of makeup that I didn’t usually see and I liked the idea that she had done it for me. The woman was beautiful and swallowing my tongue was well worth it to see her like that.
“You look…”
Cameron giggled and swished her skirt around. “Do you like it?”
I nodded my head, unsure if actual sound would even come out of my mouth. It was so dry in there I felt like I couldn’t move my tongue around properly. Yeah, I liked it alright. That dress was going to be the nail in the coffin. There was no way that I was going to be able to walk away from that. She was too much, too beautiful and now I was thinking about naughty things that I wanted to do to her. There was nothing good that was coming out of my mind right then.
“I am going to take that as a good sign that you like what I am wearing. Are you sure it is not too much?”
Shaking my head, I told her that it wasn’t. It was something, but definitely not too much.
“Okay, well are you ready to go?”
Again I shook my head and just kind of stared at her. Here I was acting like the old me, the version that lost the girl. “Yeah, let’s go.”
She was no longer hesitant and she gave me a little grin that set my blood boiling in my veins. Cameron knew exactly what she was doing to me and I was more than happy to be her plaything. Little did she know that I was going to have my way soon enough, of that I was adamant.
When we got out to the parking garage, she asked me where my car was. “I never said I drove a car…”
Her eyes widened when she got a look at the bike. It was fairly easy to see that she wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of getting on the back of it. I had learned one thing from my cousin Carlos and that was to make sure that I took her on my bike. He had promised that a girl couldn’t resist it and I would be rewarded with a soft body leaned tight against my back. It sounded like a win-win to me.
Cameron was going back and forth in her mind that much I could see and I waited for her to make a decision. I wasn’t going to push her into anything. She would come around. I hoped so anyways. I wanted Carlos to be right.
After a few moments that felt like an eternity, I was starting to question how sure I was of it. How positive was I that she wasn’t going to just flat out deny me like she had so many times before?
“Okay, but it’s not far at all. We could just walk if you want some fresh air.”
The temptation to have more time with her was nothing compared to having Cameron smashed up against my body. That was how I was going to get her. I was going to make her think about me the way I was thinking about her. And I just wanted to know what she was going to feel like pressed up against me. Handing her the extra helmet I kept in the black satchel, she put it on and smiled at me in a way that stopped me in my tracks. God, this woman was going to be the death of me.
**END OF PREVIEW**
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You’re Mine
A Bad Boy Next Door Romance
YOU’RE MINE: A BAD BOY NEXT DOOR ROMANCE
“From the first look, I knew that I wanted you. You were sassy with a little sweetness. Now I have to have you back in my life and in my arms.”
I could have anyone that I wanted and I wanted Carol Masters. She was a challenge.
The first time I met her, she was in the middle of a wedding. She was the maid of honor and I was a friend of the groom. Carol looked like a glowing angel. She was beautiful and I had to have her. I needed to corrupt her.
How could she resist me? No one had before. Once a woman got a look at my muscles and tattoos, I usually had to keep them at bay, along with their feelings. I wasn’t looking for love. I was looking for a good time and Carol was instantly on my radar.
Meeting her was a different story. She wasn’t interested in what I had to offer, but I knew that I was going to get my way. I only had two nights in Louisiana and I was going to spend them with her.
There was no denying the attraction between us and before the wedding reception was over, I was going to have her bent over something.
Carol took over my mind. Once just wasn’t going to be enough. I had to have her for good, for keeps and I wasn’t going to stop until she was mine. From the moment I saw her, I knew that Carol was made for me.
How could it be any different?
***
Chapter 1
Carol
“I can’t believe that you are actually getting married. I didn’t think it was ever going to happen, Cameron.”
“Me either, but at the same time I feel like I have been waiting for this my whole life. I don’t know why it took so long, but it is finally happening.”
I was happy for her, really I was, but I had to wonder why love never seemed to come my way. I had tried for years to find what she had now to no avail. While I was happy for my best friend, at the same time I wished that I would find someone to be happy with as well. It seemed like it was never going to happen and now that my last friend was getting married, it was on my mind more than ever.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just wish Cliff would have broken up with me after the wedding. I hate going to these things by myself.”
“You are not by yourself, you are here with me.”
“Going to be a bit of a third wheel on our wedding night, don’t you think?”
“Carol it is going to be fine. There is going to be plenty of Joel’s friends to keep you busy. I have seen a few of them, they are hot and not from around here so no complications when you are done.”
“You know that they are not my type. I don’t like that rugged, ‘me man, you woman’ caveman thing that they got going on.”
She laughed at me and told me that she had felt the same way about it. But she was marrying a tattooed biker, so I no longer believed that they weren’t her type. Joel was a bad boy with a soft side, but to look at him, I would have never known. It was only when I got to know him and see how much he loved my friend that I really started to even accept him at all.
“I’m just saying don’t be so down. Things always work out the way they are supposed to. I had done given up hope of ever finding someone to share my life with and then Joel just showed up. I think you have to stop looking.”
“That makes no sense, you realize that don’t you?”
“I know. It doesn’t make sense.”
I wondered if she was losing it because of all of the pressure of the wedding. She had been planning nonstop for months and the culmination of everything seemed to be too much for her. I put the veil on after we had her hair perfect and I felt emotions tugging at my heart and head. It was stifling how badly that I wanted to be her. She looked perfect and the happiness was literally glowing out of her. Cameron made a beautiful bride.
“Just have fun, okay? I will not be able to have a good time if my best friend isn’t.”
I had a feeling that whatever I was doing, Cameron was going to be far more wrapped up in her new husband to notice. But I resolved to have a good time and the open bar was going to help.
“Showtime Cameron. Are you ready?”
She sighed and smiled that high-wattage smile that Joel had given her. She wasn’t the same friend that I had met in school. Cameron was different now and I felt a surge of jealousy that I was going to have to stuff back down before it got me in trouble.
“You look beautiful Cameron. I am so happy for you.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“Happy tears, I swear.”
She wasn’t so sure, but today was her day and she didn’t have time to worry about my emotions. I tried my best to smile throug
h the wetness dripping down my face. I tried to put on a brave look. I really did.
“Okay, well as long as you are going to be okay Carol.”
“Don’t worry about me, Cameron. I am going to be fine. The music is playing for you and it is time to go.”
Cameron nodded and she pushed the veil back over her face. I helped her with the back of the dress on her way down the aisle. I was the maid of honor after all. I wanted to be there for her, but the whole ceremony my mind was somewhere else. I didn’t even notice all of the hot men that she had told me about. I was in my own little world, listening to the preacher’s words and trying not to lose it right then and there in front of everyone.
***
“You were even more beautiful than the bride.”
The raspy voice threw me off because it was so close behind me. I could almost feel the heat on my hair. I smiled at the sound and turned to see a black-haired man with eyes to match. He was wearing the same leather jacket in the same style as most of Joel’s friends. I was starting to think that it was because they were all in the same biker gang or something together. I didn’t know what it was, but the style worked for the man in front of me.
“That isn’t a very nice thing to say.”
“I just call them how I see them.”
“You are one of Joel’s friends?”
He shook his head like it was obvious, his eyes pinning me where I stood.
“Well nice to meet you…”
“David.”
“Nice to meet you David, but I have to go.”
“You can’t take the time for one dance?”
I really looked at him then and I wondered if he even knew how to dance. Men like him were not usually so fleet of foot and he didn’t look to be any different. I could see a tattoo that was barely covered with his shirt, going up his neck. What would possess someone to do that?