Room Mates_The Series

by Kendall Ryan

  “God, Max.” She gasped, rolling her hips and clutching at my shoulders. “You feel so good.”

  I tried to think, tried to keep it all controlled and together, but it was a lost cause. I groaned and gave in to the wildness, plunging forward as deep as I could go. She reached around and closed her hands over my ass, urging me on with wordless whimpers as I pumped into her, using her hips to guide her response, forcing her onto my cock again and again in long, deep strokes.

  She began to moan my name, over and over, slowly, softly at first and then faster, and I rammed deeper.

  “Take that cock, babe.” I groaned, knowing how close she was, watching transfixed as her mouth dropped open and her eyes opened wide. “Take it all and let me feel you come for me. Let me feel it.”

  I slipped my hand between us to massage her slick clit with two fingers, and then it was over. She was screaming as she jerked and shook against me, her cunt closing over me again and again.

  The sensation set off a firestorm, sending blood pumped through my veins as my cock jerked and fired off, spurting into her as I groaned her name.

  “Fuck, Addison. So fucking hot.”

  We stayed like that for a long time afterward as our bodies recovered from the intensity. She moved first, swallowing hard and slumping forward to rest her face against the crook of my neck.

  “Well, that was a nice welcome home,” she said softly, chuckling.

  Home. This was her home. The thought should have scared me, but it didn’t. In fact, it made me feel warm somewhere deep down inside.

  I wasn’t about to ruin our first night completely alone with questions or pressure on either of us. Right now, things were perfect. This didn’t require a label or some major declaration. Tonight, I just wanted to be with her and wake up with her next to me in the morning, then see how things unfolded.

  “What do you say we eat some of this roast and then spend the rest of the night in bed, watching movies and . . .” I trailed off and let my gaze drift to her still bare breasts. Her nipples perked up instantly, making my cock twitch in response, and I wished I hadn’t mentioned the roast at all.

  “I’m definitely in for all of that. Especially the ‘and’ part,” she said with a saucy wink.

  I pulled back and helped her down from the counter, feeling better than I could ever remember feeling in my entire life.

  If this was love?

  I’d take it.

  Chapter Twenty

  Addison

  “Monkey,” I said, pointing to the baby baboon staring at us through the glass enclosure. “Can you say monkey?”

  Dylan smiled and pressed her face to the glass with a squeal of delight.

  “She was making monkey noises this morning when we were getting dressed,” Max said with a chuckle. “I think she’s just playing hard to get.”

  “Yeah, well, wait until I bribe her with ice cream.” I swept her into my arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead before settling her back into her stroller. “I’m starving. Are you?”

  I shot a glance at Max and tried not to melt. It was a warm day for late September, and he wore a faded Army T-shirt that bared his spectacular forearms and biceps, along with a pair of faded jeans. The other moms strolling by didn’t even try to hide their swooning, and I couldn’t blame them.

  Other moms. You’re not a mom, dummy.

  Shit, I had to stop doing that. Over the past three weeks, though, it was getting harder and harder to separate fantasy from reality. That night after the counter sex and pot roast had been the first sleepover of many. In fact, now that I thought about it, we’d spent all but one night since then wrapped in each other’s arms, and that one night had only been because I’d caught a milder version of Max’s dad’s stomach flu and hadn’t wanted to infect the rest of the house with it.

  We’d fallen into a rhythm, almost naturally alternating who got up with Dylan in the middle of the night, and then Max got up a few minutes before me to start our coffee. I’d even started making him lunches from our dinner leftovers, and it all felt so right.

  “I could definitely eat,” Max said, casually slinging an arm around my hips as we wound our way through the zoo.

  This was my life now, and some days I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

  Now if only I don’t have to wake up.

  “What do you want, chocolate or vanilla?” Max asked, stepping into line at one of the vendor trucks.

  “Dylan and I will split a twist cone,” I said, already missing the familiar weight of his arm around me.

  It was like a fever, the need I had for him. No matter how many times we made love, it felt brand new. It had gotten to the point that I could have happily stayed in that house with just him and the baby forever and die happy. Which was exactly why I’d made plans with Lara for that evening, which was technically my night off. I didn’t want space. If anything, I wanted to get even closer to him. To be able to say the words that were filling my heart to bursting.

  I love you.

  Which meant I definitely needed a little time away from them to get my head right, or I was at risk of rushing things and ruining what could be the best thing that had ever happened to me.

  “M’lady,” Max said, handing me the paper-wrapped sugar cone.

  We made our way over to a little bench and sat together thigh to thigh as we ate and chatted. Dylan wound up wearing almost as much of the ice cream as she ate, but Max and I didn’t care. It was lucky that our child-rearing style was so similar. Messes could be cleaned, and children should be allowed to be children.

  I stroked Dylan’s hair gently and my heart swelled. She was the center of our worlds. I never realized how much I could love a child until she’d come into my life, and for the first time, I knew I wanted a big family. Baby sisters for her to play with and baby brothers to tease her.

  I pushed aside the thoughts before they dug in too deep. We were living for the moment. And right now, things were great. No point borrowing trouble or pushing things.

  “Do you plan to stay in the city, or are you coming back home tonight?” Max asked, popping the last of his cone into his mouth.

  “I was going to come home, unless you’d rather I didn’t?” I shot him a quick glance, my stomach flopping.

  “Oh, I definitely want you to come home. I just didn’t want to assume.” Max bent and gave me a hard kiss, a familiar light burning in his eyes. “I’ll wait up.”

  • • •

  As Lara and I caught up at our favorite sushi restaurant later that evening, those words replayed in my head, a sensual reminder of what I was going home to.

  “Anyway, I told him that I didn’t care if his divorce was almost final. He could call me when those papers were signed, you know?” Lara said with a snort. “I’m not interested in any of that type of drama in my life.” She picked up her chopsticks and hoisted a massive piece of dragon roll into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as she continued. “So, enough about my pathetic love life. Tell me, what’s going on with Mr. Sexy Boss?”

  I swiped my Alaskan roll through a little pool of soy sauce and then popped it into my mouth, buying some time as I tried to formulate how to explain things. Luckily, wasabi filled my nostrils and made my eyes water, which bought me an extra twenty seconds as I gulped some lukewarm tea.

  “Um, yeah. So, we’re together. Pretty much,” I said, setting down my chopsticks and trading them for my cup of sake.

  “Pretty much? What does that mean?” Lara frowned. “Either you’re together or you’re not together, right?”

  “Well, we’ve been sleeping together. In the same bed. And we spend most of our weekends and free time together.”

  She nodded, smiling. “Are you exclusive?”

  The question caught me off guard, and I settled back into the booth with a sigh. Were we? I thought we were, but we’d never actually had the conversation. For all I knew, he could think we were still in the casual stage but just really enjoy
ing each other’s company.

  “I don’t really know,” I said, hoping my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “We’re just, you know, taking it slow.”

  Lara’s eagle eyes narrowed on my face and she gasped. “Holy fuck. You’re in love already. Like, for real.” She set her chopsticks down with a clatter and took my wrist, squeezing it urgently. “Don’t try to bullshit me, Addison, we’ve known each other too long. You’re crazy over him, aren’t you?”

  I didn’t bother to deny it. Lara was right. From the day we met and she found me crying in the corner at the ice skating rink, we’d been besties. She’d sat down next to me, and we both froze our buns off while she pep-talked me like a pro. I waited now for that same signature pep talk, but something inside me quivered as I saw the worry lining her brow.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, tugging my wrist away.

  “Oh, honey. When I see your face light up every time you talk about him or that baby, it makes me so excited for you. But it’s been a month, and you guys are living together and playing house. You’re head over heels in love, yet you have no clue where you stand. Weren’t you the one who told me this whole thing started with a conversation about this being casual and fun? No commitment?”

  I wet my lips and nodded. “Well, yeah. That’s how it started. But—”

  “But nothing. He was up front with you from the start, and unless he’s told you otherwise, my fear is that you’re setting yourself up for a major crash and burn.” She released my wrist and settled back into her seat, gnawing on her bottom lip. “I know you can’t unspill the milk here. You’re in love, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. But at least sit down and have a discussion with him. Be honest. Tell him you know this was supposed to be casual, but that you’re falling for him, and if he’s sure he won’t commit, then you need to save yourself.”

  Save myself? Like . . . leave?

  The thought made the sushi I’d eaten crawl back up my throat, threatening to make a reappearance.

  “I can’t do that. Leave Dylan?” Leave Max?

  As terror shot through me, I realized I was even further gone than I’d thought. A life without either of them was almost unfathomable to me at this point.

  Shit.

  I hadn’t wanted to scare Max away by telling him how I was feeling, but Lara was right. We’d promised not to do anything that would threaten my position in the house, and that Dylan came first.

  Now, though, it seemed almost impossible to separate it all. If things ended, could I really go back to just being Dylan’s nanny? And what, watch Max get ready for dates with someone other than me? No way. Those feelings would only grow stronger the longer we kept this up. If I had any chance of saving even a tiny piece of my heart from getting obliterated if he wasn’t in the same place as I was emotionally, I needed to do it now.

  I picked up my cup and knocked back the last of my sake, holding up two fingers for the waitress and wiggling them.

  Later, when I got home, I was going to climb in bed with Max and live it up one more time, because tomorrow I had no choice but to ask him where we stood.

  Which meant that tonight might be our last.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Max

  So good, Max, just like that. Ah!

  Addison’s low, breathy gasps replayed in my ears like the world’s sweetest music, and I shifted beneath my desk as my cock thickened.

  As much as we fucked, you’d think I’d get used to it, or at least be able to get through the day without thinking about it.

  Not a chance. It was like the more we did it, the better it got. I knew her body now. Every delectable inch of it. What made her moan, what made her scream. Last night had been especially hot. When her Uber pulled up, I’d wondered if she’d be too tired, but when she’d stepped into the room minutes later wearing only her black heels and nothing else, I’d almost swallowed my tongue. She’d been buzzed, sure, but that didn’t explain the urgency. The wildness of it. At one point, when I was pounding my cock into her from behind, I’d come so hard, I almost blacked out.

  I reached a hand beneath my desk and gave the old boy a squeeze, wincing. Five o’clock couldn’t come fast enough. I’d ordered a massive bouquet of flowers to celebrate Addison’s one-month anniversary as Dylan’s nanny, and couldn’t wait to give them to her. I’d even been super sneaky and stalked her Pinterest to get a bead on what her favorite blossoms were. Maybe I’d see if my mom could take Dylan for dinner, and Addison and I could—

  “Hey, boss, got a minute?” Tiffany stood in the doorway, her expression dour.

  Shit. If this was a work thing that was going to keep me here late . . .

  “Sure, come on in.”

  She stepped in and crossed the room to sit across from me.

  “What can I do for you?” I asked, sensing from Tiffany’s body language that something was definitely wrong. I mentally kissed my perverted after-work sex fantasies good-bye and sighed.

  “Actually, it’s something I was doing for you,” she said, handing me a sheaf of paper she’d been clutching in her hands.

  I took it and stared down at it, frowning. “A college transcript? I don’t get it.”

  “That’s Addison’s,” she said softly. “You remember when you first were hiring her, you told me you put in an ad looking for someone with a college degree?”

  Blinking, I stared at Tiffany, wondering what the hell we were talking about.

  “Remember, you were excited about her education because she was a teacher?”

  I nodded, my stomach tightening as I scanned the document.

  “Well, when I met her that day at your house, something didn’t feel right. I started poking around some and had a friend check into her for me. Max, she doesn’t have her degree. She lied. Not only that, her last job was at a freaking café. How does that qualify her to take care of Dylan? And if she’s lying about that, what else is she not being truthful about?” Tiffany leaned in and took my hand gently. “I just can’t stand the thought of your leaving that sweet little baby girl of yours with someone who shouldn’t be trusted.”

  My ears buzzed as the words sank in. Addison had lied to me?

  “Max,” a low, trembling voice called from the open doorway. Addison stood there with Dylan in her arms, her cheeks pale. “It’s not what you think.”

  Tiffany let out a sharp laugh. “It’s not? So you’re saying you did graduate?”

  “N-no.” Addison propped Dylan on her hip and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t. But it was just a technicality. I had taken the wrong class and it didn’t fulfill the requirement I needed, so I was three credits short. I had a 4.0. I just didn’t have the time to go back and take the last class once I started working with my ex at his café. And then since I was short of credits, I couldn’t get my teaching certification.”

  I stared at her in shock, my pulse hammering as I stood.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me? Lying on a résumé is one thing, Addison. But we shared a lot about our lives with each other.” And our deepest secrets, or so I’d thought. “And you chose to keep this from me this whole time.”

  “I thought you’d—”

  “What? Fire you?” Tiffany said, glaring at her. “He should.” She stood and walked toward Addison, reaching for the baby.

  Addison jerked back reflexively. “Max . . .”

  I was still reeling as I blinked at her, not sure what to say. “What did you come here for? Is everything okay with the baby?” I asked, my tone sharper than I’d intended.

  “She’s fine,” Addison said, her cheeks still chalky white. “I just wanted to talk to you about something . . . it’s nothing.”

  I tipped my head in a clipped nod. “All right, well, I think it’s best if you go back to the house. We’ll talk when I get home from work. Dylan can stay here for the rest of the afternoon.”

  Addison looked like I’d slapped her, but dammit, I was the one who’d been
lied to. I needed a minute to get my thoughts together before I said something I’d regret.

  Slowly, she handed the baby over to a smug-looking Tiffany. Through the fog of my confusion, I made a mental note to revisit that with her. My assistant seemed way too pleased over this new revelation, and I wasn’t liking it one fucking bit.

  I watched, my gut churning as Addison wheeled around and scurried down the hall.

  Tiffany cooed to an irritated-looking Dylan, and I made my way toward them and took her gently from Tiffany’s arms.

  “I’ve got her.” I kissed Dylan’s forehead and hugged her close. “You know, while I appreciate you looking out for me, I think the way you handled that with Addison was inappropriate. You overstepped, Tiffany.”

  She had the grace to look chagrined as she nodded, her cheeks flushed. “Sorry, boss. I was only trying to help.”

  She said the right words, but as I looked harder, I couldn’t help but wonder if she wasn’t sorry at all. In fact, her eyes still gleamed with triumph.

  Once I figured out how to untangle this mess with Addison, I was going to have to decide how to handle Tiffany. Between what she had done today and how she’d neglected to mention her visit with Addison earlier in the month, I was starting to feel like her feelings for me were getting in the way of her being able to work for me any longer.

  Tiffany left my office and I closed the door behind her, groaning.

  Everything had been peachy not twenty minutes before, and now everything was fucked. I wasn’t sure who I could trust anymore. I had this perfect tiny little person counting on me to surround us both with people who could be counted on, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was failing her miserably.

  I blew out a sigh and rested my forehead to Dylan’s.

  What the fuck was I supposed to do now?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Addison

  I stood in front of the bathroom mirror staring at my reflection, wondering how things had turned to shit so fast.

  “It’s your own fault,” I muttered accusingly to the devastated person looking back at me through tear-blurred eyes.