You, Me, and the Crazy Ex: A Club Stigmata Novella

by Luckett, Elle

  Denton didn’t hesitate. A twist of his body was all it took, and my ass barely missed a half-eaten plate of alfredo on the table as he dropped me beside it and slammed into me with such force, there was a scrape of the table against the cheap linoleum floor. That was it for me. With the connection between us now made physical, all of my conscious thought escaped with the crashing plates that fell from the surface of his table.

  Chapter Eight

  Something woke me from a dead sleep. It was darker and quieter than normal, and it took me a moment to realize that I wasn’t in my own bed. Something that should have occurred to me much faster, considering there was a thick arm slung over my naked body.

  Denton.

  The smile that came to my lips was fleeting as the sound of Brees grumbling a quiet bark demanded my attention. This was the sound that had woken me. Sliding my hand to the edge of the bed, the dog pressed his cold nose against my palm before sitting and angling his head beneath my hand. It was still dark, darker than I was used to, but his head was concentrated toward the front of the trailer where the workshop was situated… and my car.

  “Denton?” I whispered, turning my head on the pillow and finding myself face-to-face with him. He didn’t wake immediately, just mumbled under his breath, tightened his grip, and pulled me against his body. “Denton, I think there’s someone outside.”

  My second attempt at rousing him was much more successful and brought a smile to his lips as he ran a hand over my hip. His eyes blinked open, and it took him a moment to register what I’d said, making the smile that had briefly curved his mouth disappear.

  “You what?”

  I didn’t have to respond. Brees made the quiet chuffing growl again, which had Denton sliding out from around me and reaching for his boxers from the floor. I sat up with him, pulling the comforter over myself and catching the T-shirt that he tossed in my direction.

  “Stay here.”

  The command in his tone wasn’t one I was going to go up against. I nodded and pulled the shirt over my head as I rolled to my knees and watched him head toward the door, plucking a baseball bat from a closet in the hall as he went. Then he was gone.

  I waited in silence. The only sound in the room was Brees’ occasional panting and sniffing as he tested the air. He was my compass in the situation, and I watched as he stared at the door that Denton had disappeared through, his head tipping from side to side as though listening for a command. He stayed that way for about ten minutes before lowering to the floor and dropping his head to his paws, disappearing into the inky darkness.

  Another ten minutes after that, I heard the front door open, only seconds before Denton appeared in my line of sight again. He stopped at the bedroom door, his broad shoulder leaning against the frame as he studied me, a small smile playing on his lips again.

  “What?” I asked, feeling suddenly self-conscious and shy.

  “You,” he said with an appreciative growl. “I like seeing you in my bed.”

  I ducked my head, trying to hide my blush before glancing up at him again, unable to keep that slow burn of joy from rising inside of me. “I like being in your bed.”

  He pushed away from where he was standing and stalked toward me, pushing his boxers down his legs before crawling over the surface of the bed until we were face-to-face, and his lips were only inches away from mine.

  “Was there anyone outside?” I asked, not really wanting to break the moment between us but needing to know what had happened.

  “They were long gone by the time I got out there, but I had to rinse your car off.” Lifting one hand, he ran the heel of it along my jaw, his fingers tangling in my hair as he angled my face to his. “I’m afraid she egged it.”

  “Your ex-wife egged my car?”

  Denton released a breath. “Or paid teenagers to do it for her.”

  “Is she twelve?”

  “Mentally, I’m pretty sure she is. I’m sorry.”

  I met his eyes. This was only the beginning, and we both knew it. This bitch wasn’t going to walk away just because I’d stood up to her. She was determined to punish Denton for moving on with his life, and she would stop at nothing to ruin anything he had with anyone else. I was prepared for it, and for a first swing, this hadn’t been half as bad as I’d expected.

  “You don’t need to be sorry, and you have to stop making her apologies for her.”

  “I think you might like this apology, though.” Denton dropped his hand from my jaw and ran it up my thigh to my hip, where he gripped roughly as his lips grazed mine. With one gentle twist of his body, he had me on my back underneath him, the welts on my ass flaring to life again and forcing the breath from me.

  With practiced ease, he slipped his body between my legs, one hand guiding his cock inside me before he sank lower, stealing my breath from me. Denton was insatiable, and I adored that about him. Hooking a leg over his hip, I rose to meet him, a slow moan falling from my lips as he moved slow and deep inside of me. He took his time, a slow lovemaking rocking of his hips still teasing friction from our bodies as he rose and fell, sinking deeper inside of me with every rejoining of our bodies.

  It felt as though these moments lasted for hours, and I lapped them up with the hunger of a starving woman. Even like this, Denton took control of my mind and body and silently guided me, speeding up his thrusts and then easing off when he felt me too close to the delicious edge of climax. The deep ache that had already set into place in my body from the hours-worth of fucking on his dining room table earlier kept me on a high and close to the edge of ecstasy that promised to bring with it a taste of more.

  Sweat beaded our bodies as we moved, and I cried out his name like it was a prayer as my hips pushed against him, begging him to take all of me—pleading with him to fall into the beauty of this moment and live there in a state of pure bliss with me.

  He did eventually, his body tensing and thrusting into mine with such power I was forced to brace myself on the headboard. My back bowed, pushing my chest against his and angling my hips to give him the perfect angle to ensure I fell hard and loudly. My flesh burned as oblivion swept over me in crashing waves.

  We were a tangle of limbs when he collapsed, panting. Denton was a perfect, warm weight on top of me that blanketed my damp body and kept the fabricated breeze from chilling my flesh. The scent of him was everywhere, and I let myself get lost in the new familiarity of it as sleep rolled over me like a drug I’d taken. My eyes slipped closed, staying that way when his lips brushed over my lids, and I gave way to my body’s demand, curled around a man I couldn’t get enough of.

  * * *

  “Fuck.” I was already scrambling from the bed before the last syllable was out of my mouth. Brees scattered from his spot by the bed and watched me with his big, surprised brown eyes as I spun in place, looking for anything that resembled my clothes. I was praying that the clock on the nightstand was wrong.

  Denton sat up in bed, clearly shocked at my sudden exclamation. His hair stood in every direction as he found me circling the middle of his bedroom like a headless chicken. Rubbing his eyes and squinting at the clock, he tracked me down again as I bent to pick up a shirt that looked like mine and held it up to examine.

  “Emerson, what the hell are you doing?”

  “I’m late, which means I’m going to be late for work. I have to be there in an hour.”

  Denton rubbed his hands through his hair before dragging them down his face and blinking at me again. The sight was almost enough to derail me from my panic, but not quite. I was still new at work, barely through my training, and I’d only had a key to the place for a week. With Tristan in Georgia for the next couple of days, I really needed to open the office on time and prove that I could be trusted. As all of this rushed through my mind, Denton had been studying me, noting my slight distress, and managed to chase away the last of his fatigue.

  “Okay, first, you shower. I think I have a dress shirt you can wear. If you wear—” He stopped abruptly
when I pulled his T-shirt over my head and dropped it to the mattress with a little flourish and grin. While he’d been formulating a plan, I’d finally woken up myself and realized that I wasn’t in quite as bad shape as I’d initially thought. Tristan had mentioned that I may be asked to go to places like Lake Charles, Houston, and Corpus Christi at any moment or point of the day. Anywhere along the gulf with a port, and I could be expected to head out. So, he suggested that I put together a travel bag for emergencies, and I had taken his advice and done just that, which meant I had everything I needed with me.

  Denton’s eyes took in every inch of my exposed skin, and his gaze moved from tired to hungry in a blink, making me rethink my sudden striptease. The look he was giving me now made me want to crawl back into bed with him and spend the day there, rumpling his sheets even more than they already were.

  I dropped my eyes quickly, my hand landing on my stomach to ease the butterflies and static that had collided inside. This man had a profound effect on me, and I was helpless against him.

  “I have a bag in my trunk. Would you mind grabbing it for me?” I asked breathlessly, peeking up at him.

  Denton raised an eyebrow. “Are you always this prepared for evenings out?”

  “It’s for work. I was told I may have to make spur of the moment trips, so I have to be ready to go when they need me to.”

  Rolling to the side of the bed I was standing on, Denton reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to the bed with wicked eyes until I indulged him and leaned in for a lingering kiss that made my toes curl. One tug of his hand and I would be at his mercy again, but he was merciful and released me with a small groan of disappointment. One I more than mirrored.

  “Do you at least have time for coffee?”

  “I always have time for coffee.”

  He pointed to his bathroom with a small smirk. “Then shower. I will get your bag and make us both some much-needed coffee.”

  I turned to head to the bathroom and yelped the moment his palm made contact with my aching ass cheek. I rushed out of his reach, glancing over my shoulder as I mumbled something playfully derogatory about Doms before stepping into the bathroom.

  I didn’t have time to be picky about my normal routine, so I used his shampoo and body wash, not caring that I smelled deliciously masculine and very much like Denton as I toweled myself off and headed to the bedroom. I’d somehow managed to get in and out of the shower in less than ten minutes, and I was happy to find my bag sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for me. The smell of toast and bacon was dancing through the house toward me with an enticing promise of sustenance, so I rushed through the rest of my routine, packing everything back in my bag before heading toward the kitchen with it, brushing out my damp hair at the same time.

  Denton greeted me with Brees at his heels the moment I stepped into the open-plan space that served as his living room, dining room, and kitchen. He stole a kiss before he pressed a mug of fresh coffee into my hands, taking my bag away and nodding at the table that had been freshly cleared and reloaded with breakfast goodies.

  There was a little bit of everything set out: cereal, toast, toaster pastries, fruit, eggs, bacon, and sausage. He was pampering and indulging me, and I felt it everywhere.

  “Are you trying to impress me?” I asked, slipping into the offered seat and taking a long sip from the mug of coffee he’d prepared. It was better than it had smelled, and it was hard not to moan in delight. Considering we’d been up most of the night, this was going to be a staple of my diet today.

  “Is it working?” Denton leaned against the kitchen counter, his hands behind him, his bare chest and abs distracting me. His confidence was so sexy, it was hard to drag my eyes away, but I managed it, eventually allowing his question to swim in my head. A thousand variations of saying yes made it impossible to pick the right one.

  The truth was, his charm was working in a big way. When I’d agreed to a date with Denton, I hadn’t imagined I would stay the night with him, and now here I was, praying to God that he asked to see me again. Every moment I spent with Denton made me want another and another.

  “If you keep looking at me like that, beautiful, you’re going to be much later for work than you already are.”

  I groaned quietly, unable to help myself, and I pushed a slice of toast into my mouth to stop myself from reacting, earning myself a chuckle from the gorgeous man who was only just noticing what I was wearing. His eyes flashed with approval as they traveled over my knee-length dress and heels. Pushing away from the counter, Denton grabbed the other mug of coffee for himself and took the seat closest to mine. He watched me chew with a hint of humor in his gaze, and waited for me to finish, drinking deeply from his coffee while I swallowed. When I took a mouthful of my own, he pushed his mug onto the table and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees while he eye-fucked me all over again with his beautiful blues. The simplicity of his want was so erotic, I had to force the coffee down my throat.

  “I want to see you again,” he said decidedly.

  I took the words in and rested the rim of my mug against my bottom lip, peering at him over it. He could see the smile in my eyes because he met it with his own. Trying not to be eager was pointless, and hiding how I felt, was too. I wanted this man more than I knew how to put into mere words, and I didn’t see the point in hiding that from him or myself. Life was too short for all that.

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

  “Tonight?”

  “To use your words against you: when I see something I want, I fight for it.”

  I lowered the mug and studied his face for a moment. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Know any good blues bars?”

  “Another date?” I grinned

  Denton nodded. “You may want to pack another bag, though. And an alarm clock.”

  Chapter Nine

  I spent almost every night at Denton’s house that week. I enjoyed spending time with him, especially when his crazy ex didn’t show up. That first night together was the only time she had pulled some stupid shit, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last.

  That didn’t stop me from enjoying my time with Denton. I felt comfortable with him in a way I hadn’t with many men in my life, and it was the very connection that had been missing with the many blind dates Skylar had set me up on. We could talk for hours, laugh easily, while the chemistry between us stayed highly flammable.

  In short, I was smitten with the man and couldn’t get enough of him. I hadn’t even seen his self-proclaimed magical dungeon yet. I didn’t have a clue where it was.

  There wasn’t an aspect of this man that I didn’t enjoy. His domination, though experienced only once, was highly intoxicating, but an evening spent together like the one we were sharing tonight on his couch watching television was something I was beginning to crave.

  “Phone,” Denton mumbled from where he was wrapped around me on the couch, half-asleep. As my phone was in my back pocket and he was pressed against me, I could certainly see how it would have roused him from his nap. When I reached behind me to slide it from my pocket, he let me know just how arousing it had been as he pressed my hand along the length of his erection with a growl.

  “Hold that thought,” I whispered, breaking free from his grasp with a chuckle and pulling my phone from my pocket with a flourish. Skylar’s name was printed across the screen, the image of her sticking out her tongue behind it so familiar, I swiped to unlock without thinking.

  “Hey!” I said, trying to move but finding myself locked into place by strong hands on my hips.

  “Are you ever going to come home for more than ten minutes?”

  “You miss me or something?” I asked, biting my bottom lip as Denton pressed his erection against my ass.

  “As inconvenient as it may be, yes, I do.”

  “It’s not inconvenient.”

  Skylar’s gentle laugh caught my attention, which was a feat considering the man currently demandi
ng my attention. I knew my sister better than I knew anyone in my life. I knew all of her laughs, and this was one of those carefully suppressed chuckles that were designed not to give anything away. A sure sign she was hiding something from me.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Are you busy right now?”

  I felt Denton’s hands loosen their grip on my hips in relinquishment. What had begun as very promising foreplay, was now affection and understanding from him. Denton was telling me to go to my sister, knowing it’s what I would want to do because he was beginning to understand me. The real me.

  “I’ll make my way home.”

  “Will you meet me for dinner? You can bring the guy you’re seeing if he wants to come.”

  “Wait a minute. Is this a ploy to see if he’s real?” I accused playfully.

  “No, but I wish I’d thought of that.” She let off another more natural laugh, and I couldn’t help my responding smile.

  “I’ll be there, and I’ll invite my manservant, but I’m not guaranteeing his agreement. I talk shit about you a lot, you know. He already thinks you’re annoying with bad hair and a flatulence problem.”

  I felt Denton’s laughter behind me, the gentle rush of his breath caressing me a second before he nuzzled into my neck.

  “I would expect nothing less from a painted heifer like you,” she mused, her eye roll implicated in her tone. “Just hurry.”

  Without saying goodbye, Skylar told me where to meet her and hung up the phone, knowing that her lack of propriety would only feed my curiosity more.

  “I think my sister wants to meet you,” I said in a gentle hum, turning to face Denton and sinking into a slow-burning kiss with him. The heat that was constantly there on low between us flared to life with little effort, and before I was aware of moving, I was tucked under Denton’s body, my hands buried in his soft, messy hair.