“Deacon.” A shaky smile covered her face, and he had to fight not to outright growl with the rage he was suddenly feeling.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“You weren’t at your apartment. I tried here next and saw your car.” She took another step toward him. “Can we talk?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, not after your friend’s performance the other night.”
She had the decency to blush, but then her lips twisted and her attempt at hiding her true colors became too much for his deceitful, manipulative ex. “What do you expect when you start parading that woman around town? It’s humiliating. We haven’t even been divorced long.”
“Nearly two years. Long enough to—”
“What if people think you left me for that trash?”
“I would watch what you say about Alex in front of me.”
“Oh, really?”
Scrubbing his hands over his face, he struggled for patience. Emily had been fragile for years, undergoing regular counseling sessions. She’d been going since before they separated, sessions he was still paying for. But it was time for her to face the reality of their relationship—the fact that there wasn’t one anymore, and if he had his way, there never would be, of any kind, beyond a polite nod across a crowded room. “What do you want, Emily?”
“I want you to stop seeing her, stop taking her out like she’s more than a distraction, more than just a rebound.” She looked a little desperate, her eyes almost pleading with him not to say what he was about to.
“She’s none of those things. I care about Alex very much.” He watched his ex-wife carefully, looking for signs she might fall apart. “Where’s Steven? Does he know you’re here?”
She looked away. He knew she hated when he mentioned the poor bastard saddled with her now. Steven had once been a friend, an associate, until Deacon came home and found his wife screwing him in their bed. He hadn’t even blamed her for it. He didn’t love her, and her lies had made sure he never could. But the worst part was he’d been relieved that he’d finally had a way out, stupidly thinking he could hand his troubled wife off to the next idiot. But he’d been wrong. Emily still came to him during those tenuous times, needing his reassurance. He couldn’t do it anymore. It was time Stevie boy manned the hell up.
“He’s playing golf,” she whispered, bottom lip quivering. She blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. “You never loved me, did you? It’s always been her. That filthy little nobody. Did you want her the whole time we were together?”
“No.” But Alex had always been there. Hell, she’d carved a space in his heart the moment he’d met her. A scared, lonely little kid. Of course, he’d tried to make a go of things with Emily at the beginning, thinking if he worked at it hard enough, he could make a life with her. But the truth of it was, if Emily hadn’t lied to him, he and Alex wouldn’t have wasted so many years. He wouldn’t have been forced to bribe the woman he loved into spending time with him. That was a truth his ex-wife wasn’t ready to hear.
He’d let Alex go, for Emily. He’d put everything into making his marriage work in those first few months…until he’d discovered Emily had lied to him, had fooled him, had used the pain he carried from his own parents’ separation against him, to get what she wanted.
She wiped a tear from her cheek. “How can you be so cruel to me?”
Of course he had to be doing this to hurt her. It would never occur to her that his relationship with Alex had sweet fuck all to do with her. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You lied to me, Emily, cheated…”
“It was a mistake…I never wanted—”
“You told me you were carrying my child. How did you expect me to react when I found out you’d lied through your teeth, playing on my insecurities to get what you wanted? It wasn’t some harmless white lie. Jesus.” They’d gone over this so many damned times, and she still didn’t get it. He was sick of living in the past, but his ex had him over an emotional barrel, bound by her secrets and lies and unable to tell a single person about any of it for fear of what she might do.
After he discovered she’d never been pregnant, he’d found sleeping pills that she’d hidden, a lot of them. She’d threatened to kill herself if he ever left—or if he told anyone what she’d done to keep him. She’d been extremely volatile, breakable, totally messed up. He’d had no choice but to stay, to get her help, to keep her secret, a secret he still kept now out of fear.
She moved in close and placed her hand on his chest. “Please, Deacon. I can’t bear this… Anyone but her.” She gripped his jacket and clung to him. “I still love you. We were good together…we could try again…”
“No.” He gripped her hands and loosened her hold, dropping them to her sides. “I care about you, Emily. I don’t want to see you hurt. But we were never good together. Our entire marriage was based on a lie.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed, and she screamed. He wasn’t fast enough. Didn’t grab her wrists to stop her from lashing out. Fingernails clawing at his chest, she tore open several buttons on his shirt, doing damage to his skin. He was used to this, used to her rages, her mood swings. If Emily didn’t get her way, all pretense of sweet and wounded flew out the window. She clung to him, screaming and crying until he tore her off and held her immobile. “Stop this. Now,” he barked at her.
She yanked her hands free, face flushed with anger. Lifting a shaky hand, she straightened her hair. “You’re making a mistake.”
Before he could reply, she spun on a heel and stormed toward the elevator.
He shoved a hand through his hair and watched her get in, making sure she left. For some reason she still had this warped idea about him, about their relationship. And despite what she’d just said, she didn’t love him.
In the beginning, when they’d first met in college, yeah, he’d cared for her, a lot, but in the end he’d seen her true colors. At times she could be incredibly cruel and selfish, and because of that his feelings toward her had changed.
He’d broken it off and felt nothing but relief.
Then he’d gone home, and in the space of a year Alex had blossomed. He hadn’t been blind; she’d always been attractive and it wasn’t a surprise she was a knockout, but there’d been something else, a boost in confidence, a peacefulness that hadn’t been there before. Leaving the foster system had changed the once scared, insecure girl. Yeah, those things had still been there, but a weight had been lifted from her narrow shoulders, and it had shone through, lighting her up like a ray of sunshine.
When she’d walked into the kitchen late one night, wearing of all things, one of his old T-shirts, he’d felt blindsided. He’d realized he wanted her, wanted a taste of her so badly he would have happily gotten down on his knees and begged.
But she’d come to him without reservation. She’d let him kiss her. God, that kiss. Her heart had been hammering faster than his. The sweet, inexperienced way she’d kissed him back had turned him inside out. He hadn’t planned on taking her virginity that night. Sex wasn’t what he’d intended when he led her to his room. He’d just wanted her in his bed for a few hours, wanted to make out some more, talk to her. It’d been months since he’d really talked to her, he’d been so busy with school, and Emily.
But then they’d kissed some more, and Alex had shimmied out of his shirt and wrapped her legs around his hips. In that moment he’d been gone, completely lost to her.
And then, then she’d whispered, “Please.”
The longing in that one word, the need, it had lit him up like a lightbulb switching on. He’d known in that moment Alex was it for him.
The memory was so vivid it could have happened yesterday. The way she’d trembled in his arms, her soft cry as he’d pushed inside her for the first time, the way she’d begged him not to stop when he’d tried to pull away, worried that he’d hurt her. The single tear that had slid down her cheek after she’d come apart beneath him
.
He couldn’t mess this up, not again. And he sure as hell couldn’t let Emily stand in his way anymore. Steve needed to take control of the situation. It was time to cut the ties and move on; they’d been stuck in this destructive cycle long enough.
The last thing he wanted to do right now was go away for two days. Now that he had Alex where he wanted her again, he could barely handle a few hours away from her. He cursed when he looked down and took in the condition of his shirt. Makeup stained the front and collar.
He only had the remainder of the day left before he had to leave for his trip, and he planned on spending it with Alex. And as much as he wanted to spend those hours in bed, this was the perfect opportunity to show her she was so much more than a convenient fuck. Plus, if he got her into bed now, he wouldn’t be able to leave.
Doing up his jacket to hide his shirt, he grabbed his briefcase and headed down to the parking garage. Time for home, a quick change of clothes, then he was taking Alex out. He wanted to treat her, make her feel special.
She was in for an afternoon of shopping.
Chapter Thirteen
“Can you believe that asshole?” Rusty planted her hands on her hips. “He looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Women should be home having babies, not fixin’ cars,’ then turned his sexist ass around and walked out.” She threw her hands up. “Who says shit like that?”
Alex curled her lip in disgust but did her best to calm her friend rather than fuel the fire. Rusty had a temper, and this asshole had hit every one of her hot buttons. “The guy’s a dick. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last who’ll think crap like that. At this point all we can do is work our asses off and prove them all wrong.”
Her friend’s spine lost some of its steel. “I know you’re right, but it still pisses me the hell off.” They walked out of the garage, and Rusty locked up. “You got plans for the rest of the day?”
They didn’t usually work Sunday, but an urgent job had come up, which meant they could charge at a higher rate. Not something they could turn down right now. “I plan on chilling on the couch and pretending to watch TV but really napping.”
Rusty grinned. “Hard weekend, huh?”
She inwardly winced. “Yeah, something like that.” She’d only left Deacon because the job had come up. She’d probably still be with him right now if it hadn’t.
Rusty snorted. “You’ve turned into such a prude.”
“Have not.” It was just easier saying nothing than lying to her friends constantly.
“Have too.”
“Have not.”
“Have too.”
“Jesus!” Alex crossed her arms. “Fine. You’ve got me. I’m a prude.”
“I know. That’s what I just said.”
“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that, right?”
“It’s my one true goal in life.” Rusty tilted her head toward the cottage. “Okay, Mary Poppins, me and Pipe plan on having a big night at the grocery store. You sure you don’t want to blow off your nap and party it up at Costco with us?”
“Tempting, but I’ll pass.”
“Spoilsport.” Rusty slapped her ass, then headed off across the parking lot toward the cottage, calling over her shoulder, “Catch you tomorrow.”
Alex watched her friend go and shook her head. The woman was a nut. She climbed the stairs to her place, then headed straight for the shower.
She’d just finished drying off and wrapped her towel around her chest when someone knocked on the door.
“Hang on!” She kicked the clothes she’d stripped off out of the way, jogged to the door, and opened up.
Deacon stood there, a smile on his face, then his gaze dropped and his sexy grin slipped. “Christ.” His gaze flew to hers, and he was scowling.
“What? I wasn’t expecting company.” She held the door wide. “You wanna wait while I get dressed?”
“No,” he growled.
“No?” The way he said it had her body heating, desperate for the guy in a split second. Not that it had really cooled completely after spending most of the weekend together.
He shook his head and stepped inside her place, forcing her to back up. “I came here with good intentions. I’d decided to take you shopping. I hadn’t planned on fucking you.” He slid his fingers around the back of her neck and fisted her damp hair. “If I take you to bed, I won’t want to leave. I’ll miss my flight and a very important meeting.” He leaned in, nipped her lower lip, his hungry gaze moving over her bare shoulders, the tops of her breasts. “Answering your door like this, you’ve messed up all my plans.”
“It’s a dilemma, all right.” Deacon had told her the day before that he was going away, but suddenly the idea of not seeing him for forty-eight hours straight didn’t hold the appeal she thought it would. “So what are you going to do about it?” She tugged on the towel and let it fall at her feet.
He sucked in a breath. “Since you’re forcing my hand, it looks like I have no choice.” He spun her around, hands going to her hips, pulling her into him, and rubbed the hard ridge of his erection against her bare ass. She moaned softly, couldn’t help it, a tremor moving through her body as soon as he took control. God, she loved it.
“I still plan on taking you shopping,” he rasped against her ear. “I want to see you try on beautiful dresses in all the best stores, baby. Do you remember when you told me that?” he chuckled. “You were seventeen and buzzed on the beer you and my sisters stole from the old man.”
Her belly did a happy flutter. She twisted, looking at him over her shoulder. “You remember?”
“Of course. I wanted to be the one to do that for you so badly, to make your secret wish come true.” He brushed his lips against her throat. “Now I can. But for me to give you that, our only option at this point is hard and fast.” He walked her forward until they stood in front of her tiny kitchen table. “Bend over, Alex. Hold the edge tight.”
She shivered at the rasp of his voice, his warm breath against her neck, and did as he asked.
“Very good.” He slid his hand from the base of her neck down her spine and over her ass, then dipped down between her cheeks. One of his fingers slid the length of her slit, grazing her throbbing clit. “You wet for me?”
“Yes,” she whispered. All he had to do was touch her.
He groaned and slid his finger deep inside, holding it there and swirling the digit. He trailed hot kisses up her side and over her shoulder, then bit gently on her earlobe. “You ready for me?”
She arched back, lifting her ass higher, needing more. “God, yes.”
The soft clink of his belt buckle being undone followed by his zipper coming down made her shiver. The fact that she was completely naked and he was still fully clothed was a massive turn-on. “Spread your legs wider, let me see how much you want it.”
She stepped out, doing as he asked.
His hand went back to her ass, skimming her heated skin, then he squeezed. “You’re a very bad girl for tempting me like this. Maybe I’ll punish you, what do you think?” His voice was rough, but there was also a teasing, playful note that she loved.
She sucked in a breath, excitement thrumming through her now trembling body. “What do you have in mind?”
“I think you need a spanking for answering the door in nothing but a towel, for making my cock so hard when I had plans for us, for making me lose control.”
The ache between her legs was relentless, and she tried to squeeze them together, but Deke’s hands went to her thighs, fingers digging in, stopping her.
“Have you ever been spanked before, baby?”
She shook her head. “No.” Her voice sounded ragged, hungry.
The hand on her ass disappeared, then came down sharply. She cried out, but not in pain, not really. He hadn’t hit her hard, just enough for a slight sting. He smoothed his palm over the point of contact, and the sting vanished quickly, leaving a dull ache that seemed to be connected directly to her clit. She whimpered a
nd lifted her ass higher.
Deke chuckled. “Like that, do you?”
“Yes.”
The air in the room changed instantly, became electric. “Does my dirty girl want another one?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Fuck, baby.” All playfulness had left his voice. Then he did it again. And again, until she was so turned on her thighs were slick and she was panting, hanging onto the table like a lifeline.
“I need you,” she rasped.
His hand vanished, and a second later she felt the hot head of his cock brushing her ass cheek, sliding down the cleft. “Gonna fuck you so hard, you’ll still feel me while I’m gone. You won’t forget who this beautiful body belongs to.”
Her inner muscles contracted at the rough, needy sound of his voice. His words should piss her off, but instead they turned her on more. She didn’t know what that said about her, and right then she didn’t care. If she didn’t have him inside her soon, she’d dissolve into a desperate puddle at his feet. “God, Deke, do me already.”
He laughed, the sound dark and full of sensual promise. She felt another rush of liquid heat slick her thighs, and she knew he saw it when the laugh broke off into a groan and he cursed under his breath.
“Shit. Hold on.” Wrapping his arm around her hips, he slid the head of his cock through her folds, then slammed up inside her.
“Ahh.” She gripped the edge of the table, pushing back.
“So fucking perfect,” he rasped, planted deep, grinding against her ass. “You’re so tight. You were made to take my cock, Alex, only mine.”
His rough words were crude and arrogant as hell, but they did things to her, really good things. She loved all the deliciously dirty stuff that came out of his mouth when he was turned on, buried inside her. Loved how the polish, the controlled businessman dissolved when he had her pinned beneath him.
He slid out almost completely, then thrust back into her, tilting his hips so he hit her just right every damn time. She barely kept her footing, high on her toes, and had to use the strength in her arms to push back, absorbing every brutal thrust. He pounded into her, his deep grunts of pleasure, the wet, arousing sound of his cock moving in and out of her ringing in her ears. She arched her back, circled her hips, and he hissed out a sharp breath.
Crashed (Entangled Indulgence) Page 11