He was a prick. He was driven and stubborn and he didn’t typically give up on something until he’d caught it.
He’d thought after he’d had her, the gnawing ache in his groin would be gone. It’d only intensified.
He was on his feet before he realized he’d moved.
Fuck this indecision. He wanted to be with her. He’d blocked out this night—this one night—for her and he’d be damned if he spent part of it whining like a snot-nosed kid.
When he reached the bedroom, he heard water running but didn’t hear voices. The door was open so he only had to walk over.
He stopped in the doorway, jaw clenching at the scene in front of him.
Keegan had her pinned to the wall, fucking her in slow, steady strokes. They were out of the flow of water but they were wet, skin glistening. He wanted to lick the droplets off her beautiful skin.
Keegan had his face turned away from the door and Jules’ eyes were closed so neither of them noticed him.
Unlike before, when Keegan had been uptight because he’d felt they were deceiving her by keeping Erik’s presence a secret, now he had no reservations. His hips worked with a slow, deliberate pace, drawing out the pleasure Jules was feeling, if the look on her face was anything to go by.
Her expression slack with desire, her hands clenched at his back. Keegan’s skin had long red lines left by her fingernails. She’d wrapped her legs around his waist, her ankles crossed at the small of his back. Her hips arched forward on each of his thrusts, moving with him.
Erik couldn’t believe he could get aroused so quickly just by watching. But his cock stood at full attention, almost painfully so. Still, he was content in the moment to just watch.
If he was watching porn, he’d be watching Keegan’s cock fucking into her body, slow and easy. Instead, he watched her face, the subtle changes that signaled her feelings. How her breath hitched each time Keegan slid back inside. How she bit her lip when his hips began to swing harder and faster.
Keegan shifted her weight in his arms, lifting her higher, getting a better angle. The muscles in Keegan’s arms stood out in stark relief as he took all her weight, bouncing her on his cock like he was a carnival ride.
She appeared to love it, moaning as she arched her back, trying to get a different angle, a better angle.
God damn, they looked amazing together.
His cock ached for friction but he didn’t jerk himself off. He wanted to take her one last time.
He didn’t know if he groaned or made a noise but her eyes opened and she stared straight at him. Her mouth parted slightly but she didn’t say anything, just stared.
She didn’t have to say anything.
Stopping to grab a condom from the pile on the counter, he walked to the free-standing shower stall and drew open the door.
Keegan paused when he realized what was happening, his gaze swinging toward him.
Then Keegan smiled, a flat-out grin Erik hadn’t seen in months. Years, actually. Not since the fire. It reminded him of the old Keegan. The one who’d come up with wicked schemes to pleasure women. Who’d taken a hell of a lot of pride in making a woman scream when she came.
“I think he wants to join us. Should we let him?”
Keegan spoke as if there was some doubt then rotated his hips, making Jules’ eyes flutter shut for several long moments.
Her thighs tightened around Keegan’s waist but he’d already started to pull her away.
Setting her on her feet, Keegan turned her so her back was against his chest.
“She’s so fucking gorgeous, isn’t she?” Keegan’s hands wrapped around her waist then slid up until he cupped her breasts in his palms. They overflowed and Erik couldn’t wait any longer.
He stepped forward and bent, sucking one pink nipple into his mouth on a hard draw. Her hands sank into his hair, holding him tight, her gasp of pleasure turning to a moan as he bit her, hard. He didn’t temper his actions. He was sick of not giving into his desires.
Jules had taken him, scars and all. Now he wanted to take her the way he knew would give her pleasure.
Dropping to his knees, he felt the water hit his back as he spread her thighs with his hands then put his mouth over her pussy. He licked at her clit, playing with the tight little nub while she cried out. He bit her, hard enough to make her gasp then licked between her lips to find her slit soaking wet and not just from the water.
He lapped up her juices then fucked her with his tongue, getting as deep as he could. Her hands yanked at his hair as he worked a finger into her ass, wriggling it in and out until she gasped his name.
She tasted fucking amazing and he would have eaten her to another orgasm if he hadn’t had other plans. He pushed her to the brink then pulled back, looking up at her dazed face.
As he stood, rolling on a condom, she maintained eye contact. Keegan also watched him and Erik nodded at his friend, who still wore a grin.
Taking her from Keegan’s arms, he lifted her against him, on arm under her ass. When she had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, he used one hand to aim his cock. Then he let her sink.
His cock breached her, her wet heat encompassing him inch by inch. She was so damn tight, her pussy clenching around him, that he had to strangle the urge to come. Once he had his cock entrenched, he nodded to Keegan, not sure he could speak, he was gritting his teeth so hard.
Keegan didn’t need to be told what to do. He closed the distance between them, spread her cheeks and worked his cock inside her ass. Keegan didn’t go slow. He took what he wanted, making Jules scream with pleasure.
This time, they fucked her hard and fast. No finesse, no stopping them.
He wanted to get her off fast and intense and then he wanted to blow his load. She barely registered as a weight in his arms, only as a pressure around his cock.
His balls tightened and he knew he was close.
Behind her, Keegan kept his own pace and the dueling sensations were enough to light her up.
This time when she came, she flooded him with her juices, pulling her along with him until his cum joined hers. Just as he pulsed one last time, Keegan pulled out, shooting his cum over her ass then rubbing his cock between her cheeks until the last drop had been spilled.
Hanging limply between them, Jules let out a deep breath then laid her head on his shoulder, her lips brushing against his ruined cheek.
He considered it progress that he didn’t flinch away.
And he wondered if he’d be able to let her walk away.
Keegan sucked in a couple of deep breaths, made sure he had his legs under him then reached out to take Jules’ limp body from Erik.
Erik held on to her, sliding an arm around her legs and holding her against his chest. Keegan’s brows raised and, over her head, Erik scowled at him. The guy looked almost embarrassed as he carried her to the other side of the room.
Setting her on her feet, he wrapped her in a towel then gave her another to dry her hair. Jules gave Erik a sated, sexy smile as she sat on the vanity stool. Erik moved to the side but not too far away and Keegan wanted to pump a fist in the air.
Maybe now Erik would make his way back to the world of the living. He’d been hiding long enough. Too long.
As Keegan grabbed a towel to dry off, he saw Erik do the same just before he excused himself and headed into the other room.
“When was he injured?”
Keegan barely heard Jules’ question, pitched low enough that Erik couldn’t hear her from the other room.
He leaned against the counter. She deserved the answers Erik would never give her.
“Two years ago. An explosion in the lab. He wasn’t supposed to be there that night. The explosion knocked him out. The fire spread fast and he was trapped. But he made it out.”
Her eyes glowed with compassion, not pity. “Has he been afraid to go out since then?”
“He’s only recently started working in the lab again. The scars were worse at first, and sometimes I think h
e doesn’t realize how much they’ve faded over the past year. Sometimes—”
“You talk too fucking much.”
Erik stood in the doorway to the bathroom, a furious look on his face.
Damn it. He’d probably heard everything and would be pissed as hell that Keegan had opened his mouth.
“Erik—”
“Do you always speak to your best friend like that?” Jules cut in, standing between the two of them. “Is that how you’ve isolated yourself, here, in this house? You use words to cut off everyone else, don’t you? Push them away. Make them think you’re a prick.”
Erik’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know I’m not? I did pay you to fuck me and my so-called friend, after all.”
They were back to this shit again. God damn Erik. This time Keegan was going to break the bastard’s jaw for disrespecting her this way.
Erik was expecting him to do exactly that. He didn’t put up a hand to stop him. And neither did Jules.
Keegan’s fist connected with Erik’s jaw. He hadn’t pulled his punch and Erik’s head whipped to the side, nearly taking his entire body with it.
Sonofabitch. That fucking hurt. The bastard’s jaw was still hard as a rock. Just like his head.
As Keegan cradled his hand to his chest, Jules stepped up next to him, her arms crossed.
“Feel better now?” she asked.
Erik shook his head, as if settling his brain back in the right spot, then rubbed a hand over the bruise Keegan could see developing.
“Yeah, actually, I do.” Erik raised a brow at Keegan. “Do you? I know you’ve wanted to do that for months now.”
Keegan grimaced. Yes, what he’d said was true but… “I won’t allow you to be a bastard to her.”
Erik immediately turned to Jules and bowed, looking slightly ridiculous with only a towel wrapped around his waist. “My most sincere apologies, Julianne. And my most sincere thanks. I would’ve never gotten him to take that swing if it hadn’t been in defense of you.”
Keegan’s mouth dropped open before he slammed it shut. The bastard. “Why the hell didn’t you just ask me to take a swing at you?”
“Because you wouldn’t have done it.”
He was right. No way would Keegan have ever hurt him, not after what he’d been through.
Keegan was still shaking his head when Jules rose from the stool and placed herself between them. “I think it’s time I went home.”
“No.”
He and Erik spoke in unison and her mouth curved into a beautiful smile. The woman truly could make a dead man come, as the Stones had said so perfectly.
“Yes, it is. My mom and I have plans for tomorrow… Well, I guess I should say for today. It is Christmas Eve.”
Neither he nor Erik had a comeback for that one. They hadn’t really planned for the holiday. Erik’s housekeeper had set up the tree in the living room. Keegan hadn’t even bothered with one at his place.
He’d figured he’d spend Christmas Eve at the office then have dinner with Erik. Their families were in Boston but neither of them had gone home for the past two years. Erik actively avoided his mother and Keegan didn’t want to leave Erik alone.
They exchanged a glance, but neither of them had a good reason for her to stay.
Except that they wanted her to.
Keegan had it on the tip of his tongue to offer her a meal before she left, but Erik stepped forward.
“Thank you for coming tonight, Julianne. I’ll get your clothes.”
* * * * *
From the window, they watched her drive away in her aging Toyota. Rust was eating away at the body, the right tail light was out and the engine sounded like a herd of braying donkeys being massacred.
“That damn car is a death trap.” Erik’s jaw felt so tight, he was afraid it would break. “Make damn sure she cashes that fucking check. If she doesn’t, I’m going to deposit the money in her bank account personally.”
“She’ll cash it. She can’t afford not to.” Keegan sighed. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”
No, Keegan had known this was a bad idea from the moment Erik had proposed it. Erik just hadn’t wanted to listen. He’d been so damn sure this was the only way he could get what he wanted and get her to take the money.
So why did he feel like a Grade-A ass now?
“We’ll never see her again.”
Another brilliant observation. “When did you turn into Eeyore?”
“When did you lose your humanity?”
“Fuck you.” Shit, even he could hear the words had no bite. “You’ve been watching too many soap operas. Melodrama isn’t your strong suit.”
Keegan turned to him with a narrowed gaze. “And bitchiness isn’t yours.”
Erik’s mouth screwed into a grimace. “She’s gone. Time to move on.”
“Neither of us wants to and you know it.”
Erik admitted, if only to himself, that Keegan had a point. And that he might have fucked up what could have been a very good thing. He wanted to go after her, bring her back to the bedroom.
“So what do you suggest?”
Keegan just stared out the window.
“Let me think about it.”
* * * * *
Her hair still damp, Julianne drove away.
Five-hundred-thousand dollars richer and fighting the urge to turn around every other second.
It was stupid, really. Thinking the three of them had made a connection in any way other than just sex. Neither man had tried to stop her when she left. That in itself should tell her all she needed to know.
And yet…
She didn’t think she’d seen the last of Erik and Keegan.
She started to smile.
Chapter Seven
“…such a shame about Erik. He was such a gorgeous man. Now he’s…well. I mean, who’s going to want to tie herself to…well.”
Julianne Carter’s hands shook as she circled the group of five bitches holding court in the center of the Mifflin Ballroom of the Three Oaks Estate. The exclusive event center catered to the Berks County elite--or at least what passed for elite in this southeastern Pennsylvania county where the third largest city in the state was practically bankrupt and the so-called rich didn’t have near as much money as they thought they did. Hell, even the so-called regular folk were a bunch of stuck-up, narrow-minded assholes.
“…not for all the money…too bad he’s such a geek…”
The women broke out in restrained laughter, making the men in the vicinity look at them with lust. Jules wanted to break her tray over their heads.
Well, shit. Someone obviously forgot to take her happy, smiley pills before she came to work tonight.
Skirting the group of women for the third time, Julianne continued her circuit around the crowded ballroom. The guests had donated a shitload of money to stand around eating beautifully made finger food, drinking way too much middle-shelf liquor and talking shit about men they didn’t know the first thing about.
Then again, it wasn’t like Jules really knew Erik any better. Just because she’d spent the night with him and his business partner, Keegan, didn’t mean she should want to defend them.
After all, they’d only paid her a half-million dollars to sleep with her. And she hadn’t heard one damn word from them since.
With a hard-won pleasant expression plastered to her face, Jules stopped at a group of elderly women who looked right through her, never once taking a breath as they scooped up the hors d’oeuvres Jules had helped make that were pretty damn tasty, if she did say so herself.
But the women just gobbled them down as they discussed the absolute indignity of the latest shooting in downtown Reading. How dare those dreaded immigrants bring their trashy problems with them from those third-world foreign countries?
With her tray empty, Julianne headed back to the kitchen, where the noise level was only slightly lower than the ballroom.
“You look pissed, babe. That asshole in the gray suit
try to feel you up again?”
Jules gave a small but genuine smile to fellow server and resident smartass, Jon Petrius, who was handsome enough to give the ladies at these functions dreams that would never be fulfilled. “Not him. Just a long day.”
“Well, you tell me if I need to spike his next drink, hon.”
“And you know we’d all appreciate it,” added Lori Raihl. The blonde beauty had been the object of more than her fair share of gropes. “That guy’s such a douche.”
Jules bumped fists with Lori in complete agreement. “Thanks, Jon, but he’s not the problem.”
“Any time, ladies.”
Picking up another fully loaded tray, Jules made her way out the door and back into the fray.
“…just as rich. Too bad he’s not half as hot as Erik used to be. He might’ve been worth the effort.”
Jules nearly tripped over her feet as she passed by that bitch Allison Terre again, and her face must have flashed bright red because Jon raised his brows at her as he passed by.
That cow was talking about Keegan. Her Keegan.
Julianne wanted to dump the contents of the tray down the heifer’s back.
Sure, Carol would have to fire her but it wasn’t like she really needed the money now. She was only here as a favor to Carol. Another favor but so different from the one she’d done two weeks ago.
The one that made her want to drown pretty Alli Terre in sticky kebabs. And shove the pointy little sticks up her narrow little ass.
Bitch.
No, she refused to cause a scene. Wouldn’t embarrass Carol like that.
“Oh, Juli. It is you, isn’t it? Wow, that looks delicious.”
Then again…
Taming her grimace, Jules turned and approached the small circle of women. Most of them were Jules’ age, which made them between twenty-one and twenty-three. Jules and Alli had graduated from the same high school, although Alli had moved in much different crowds than Jules. Their school district had encompassed one of the richest boroughs in the county along with the much more pedestrian middle-class neighborhood where Jules and her mom had lived.
Most of the really rich kids had gone to a private school in a neighboring county. Alli hadn’t. According to the rumors, she’d been kicked out for “ethics violations” and her parents had “punished” her by forcing her to go to the neighborhood school.
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