Heartbreaker (Filthy Dirty Love #1)

by Stacey Kennedy

  Once he’d reached the door, he grabbed the handle and glanced over his shoulder with a smile. “For the game to begin, sweetheart.”

  Chapter 4

  Bright and early the following morning, Joss entered the station, passing by Maddox’s office. Heat flooded her with no effort on his part. Maybe it was the intensity in him when he focused on whatever he was doing or maybe it was something else, Joss didn’t know. Regardless, he looked hotter than ever before, and how that was possible was another thing she didn’t know.

  The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if it was because of the offer he’d made. Really, she’d never met anyone like him. So bold. Arrogant without being overly cocky. Demanding in the best kind of way. He simply knew what he wanted, took it, and made no apologies for it. She liked that about him. Perhaps that’s what drew her to him.

  She squeezed the strap of her bag and slowed her stride, getting a good look at him sitting behind his desk. One hand was behind his head as he stretched out his thick chest and talked on the telephone. She stumbled a little, and her shoe scuffed the floor. That’s when his eyes met hers. Slowly, he lowered his hand, his posture stiffening. A rush of energy flooded her. Exactly as it had last night when he’d come to her house. Her lower body pooled with heat, yearning for his touch…his hot kisses…and his dominating, powerful sex.

  His eyes followed her, the seconds feeling like minutes. Regardless of the dangers of being with Maddox, he was not a guy to say no to—not that night at the bar or the night at the barbeque or when he’d offered her more last night. He delivered where Nick had failed. His touches brought out something in her, something new and refreshing and exciting and thrilling. Nick had always felt like he silenced her. Like he didn’t want her to be who she was. The control Maddox possessed was the exact opposite. Somehow, his dominance and intensity freed her, making her feel like she was breathing easier. Making her happier than she’d felt in a while. And all he asked for in return was no attachment.

  No mess. No emotions. Exactly what she wanted, too.

  He finally blinked, the spell gone, and as fast as she’d seen his desire, his shields snapped into place and his expression hardened. She didn’t take it personally—she understood, and she appreciated it, too. Police stations, like any workplace, could be rumor central, and her new job mattered to her. She’d worked hellishly hard to get where she was. The last thing she wanted was for others to think she’d screwed her way to the top.

  Her eye contact broke when she moved past the door, and she exhaled the breath she hadn’t even known she’d been holding. And in that same second, a firm grip latched on to her arm, yanking her sideways. “What the—” She was tossed into the station’s family bathroom.

  Emilia hastily turned around and locked the door.

  Joss blinked, aghast. “You did not pull me into the bathroom. What if someone saw you, what in the hell would they think?”

  “Whatever. No one saw me.” Emilia waved her off, her eyes twinkling. “Besides, it’s the only room where we know we won’t be overheard.” She moved to the sink and turned the faucet on all the way, then spun around and pointed a finger at Joss. “You banged him, didn’t you?”

  “Seriously?” Joss snorted, rolling her eyes. “By what you saw on my face as I walked down the hallway, you could tell that?”

  Emilia scanned Joss over from head-to-toe. “Oh, hell yeah, it’s that obvious. You have that glow. I know that glow. I saw it the day after you slept with him in the bar. So, spill. Every. Single. Detail.”

  Joss shook her head, watching Emilia lean in, practically salivating. “Yes, we banged. Yes, it was unbelievable. Yes, I’d do him again in a second, which before you say it, I know is a terrible idea considering the shitstorm that would rain down on us if the chief found out.” Especially considering that Chief Dalton was a close family friend and he’d have no qualms about laying into her. “But this…Maddox and me…it needs to stay far under the radar. We’re not dating. We screwed, that’s it. So you can’t say a word to anyone. Like, ever. Maddox could lose his job. My reputation is on the line.” And her job mattered. Her father was a cop. Her grandfather had been a cop, too. Hell, she’d grown up surrounded by cops. She wanted to make them all proud. A sex scandal wasn’t part of her career goals. “Did I cover it all?”

  “Pfft.” Emilia barked a laugh. “Not even close, honey. How did this happen? The last time we talked, I thought you were only joking about wanting to sleep with him again. Like, I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but this could backfire—hugely—in your face.”

  “Yes, I know.” Joss reached for Emilia’s arm, giving it a squeeze. “I know what I’m doing, Emilia, but…”—she paused choosing her words carefully—“for so long, I always thought about what Nick wanted and how I could make him happy. Then I met Maddox, and that first night at the bar, things exploded between us. With him, it’s all about me. I know the risks here. I’m well aware of them, but I’m sick of always doing the right thing or taking the careful route. We’ve talked, and I trust that he’s going to keep whatever we do between us.”

  “So this is going to continue, then?” Emilia asked.

  Joss gave a half-shrug. “Yeah, we’ve worked out a no-strings arrangement. It’s just sex.”

  “Hmmm,” Emilia said, nibbling her lips. “He does seem rather trustworthy and close-lipped. Just be careful, okay? Remember what I told you about him?”

  Joss couldn’t forget. That little reminder seemed ingrained in her mind. “He’s broken a heart or two because he doesn’t do relationships because of whatever fear or commitment issues he has.”

  “That’s right, so you gotta remember that, ’kay?” Emilia moved to the sink and switched off the water. She turned back to Joss, softening her voice. “You’re not built like him. You’re a girl who loves love. You don’t jump in and out of random men’s beds.”

  Joss nearly argued with Emilia on that point. Maybe she had once been the girl who badly wanted to be in love. Double dates. Family Christmas celebrations. Walks in the park. She’d been the girl who loved all those things. But where did that get her in the end? Heartbroken. At least with Maddox, she already knew he was a heartbreaker. He’d drawn the lines clearly for her. All she had to do was not cross them.

  Easy.

  She placed her hand on Emilia’s shoulder and smiled. “I love you for worrying about me, I really do. I know he’s not a relationship guy, and I’m not looking for that either. What he can give me…that’s what I want.”

  “Just sex?”

  Joss grinned. “Just kinky, dominating, off-the-charts-hot sex.”

  Emilia laughed, her shoulders beginning to lower from their high position. “All right. Last bit of advice: Don’t do it.”

  “Do what?”

  She pointed. “Fall in love with him.”

  Joss snorted and turned the bathroom’s door handle. “You don’t need to worry about that. I can promise with total certainty that will not happen.” Because as hot as Maddox was, as incredible a lover as he was, Joss knew better than to fall in love with the wrong type of guy, one with clear commitment issues.

  When she swung the door open, she came face-to-face with Maddox.

  “Oops,” she gasped, taking a step back.

  Stance wide, arms folded, narrowed eyes directly on her, he asked curtly, “Ladies, do you mind explaining why you are both in the family bathroom?”

  Joss thought up every scenario from using the bathroom together to fix her makeup to changing her clothes, even if logically that didn’t make sense since she wasn’t holding anything.

  Her lips parted to comment, when Emilia blurted out, “Sorry, sir, I asked Joss to bring me a pair of underwear into work because I”—she gave a shy smile—“sir, it’s a ladies’ problem that I’m sure you don’t want to hear about.”

  Maddox’s eyes narrowed on Emilia before he snorted, shaking his head. “Don’t let me find you both in there again.”

  “Yes, sir,
” Joss said, nudging Emilia forward down the hallway. But, of course, she had to look, and when she glanced over her shoulder, she found Maddox’s eyes not on their heads but on her ass. Soon, those eyes met hers and warmth filled her belly.

  There was a whole lot of promise in them.

  “Ooh, he looked pissed.” Emilia laughed, dragging Joss’s attention to her. “Good thing you can kiss up later.”

  Joss ignored that, refusing to ever talk about her and Maddox openly at the station. “Your period?” She snickered, nudging her shoulder into Emilia’s. “That’s what you came up with?”

  “Nothin’ shuts up men faster than period talk.” Emilia grinned.

  Joss laughed, though also wondered if Maddox would be the type of guy to buy tampons, or if he’d bail before she even got her period. Luckily, she realized, it didn’t matter. Those were things guys in relationships did. She could buy her own damn tampons.

  Emilia entered the locker room first, and Joss followed closely behind. There wasn’t much to this space except two rows of lockers with benches, and some showers and toilets off in the corner of the room.

  Joss approached her locker, hearing voices coming from the showers. She placed her bag down and opened the locker, immediately shutting it with a gasp.

  “What’s wrong?” Emilia asked, wide-eyed.

  “Oh. My. God,” Joss breathed.

  “What, Joss?” Emilia bounced on her feet, attempting to open the locker. “What is it?”

  Slowly, Joss cracked her locker open and remained assured that what she’d seen the first time was, in fact, there. She took another look around the locker room, ensuring in her state of shock that no one else had walked in.

  Which they hadn’t.

  She carefully opened her locker, finding panties. Not just any panties, but her panties from the night at the barbeque, along with a note and a small black box with a pink ribbon on it. She couldn’t believe that Maddox had risked coming into the women’s changing room to put this in her locker. While she knew he probably had the staff’s schedule on his mind and would know when the room was empty, it was still risky. Though she quickly realized that’s what was so exciting and thrilling about Maddox. He took risks for the erotic experience. And hell, she appreciated that about him.

  Ignoring the box for now, she opened the note clearly written in Maddox’s handwriting.

  8 p.m. My house. I’ll be waiting inside.

  Wear this for me.

  ~M

  She glanced around once more as she placed her panties and the note into her bag, then she reached for the box. With quick fingers, she removed the ribbon, so afraid someone was going to walk in on them.

  One look inside told her he’d bought her dark purple and black lingerie.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Emilia mused, as Joss placed the box inside her bag and zipped it up. “He’s not only gorgeous, and kinky as fuck, but he buys you sexy lingerie.” Emilia sighed and rested a hand on Joss’s shoulder. “Girl, my vagina is officially jealous of yours.”

  * * *

  That night, right at 8:00 p.m. sharp, a knock sounded on Maddox’s door. He exited the living room of his childhood home, sure his father had never imagined the sex that would unfold in this house tonight. Built in the 1920s, the house had an old-world charm with its covered porch and heavy columns in the corners. Inside, stacked moldings surrounded the doors and the windows, and on the floors were narrow, plank oak hardwood. Back when Maddox had sold his bachelor pad and moved his furniture in, he’d applied a fresh coat of earth-toned paint to the walls, keeping things light and simple. The only thing remaining of his father’s touches were his dad’s paintings and personal photographs on the walls. Those Maddox couldn’t take down.

  As he leaned against the living room’s doorframe, the dark wood front door opened, and Joss appeared, wearing a short black dress and tall heels. The moment her eyes connected with his, they warmed with her smile. “Hi,” she said.

  “Hello.” He grinned and winked.

  That same craving for her filled his gut as her cheeks flushed while she took him in. Passion couldn’t be taught, and Joss was off-the-charts passionate about him. He rather liked that about her. The way she melted for him and hungered for him was a combination he’d never seen in a woman before, which is what drew him in for more. Even now, he watched how her eyes grew heated as she glanced at his bare chest then down to the bulge in his blue jeans.

  By the time her heated gaze rose back to his, his cock had hardened to steel. Tonight, he intended to satisfy them both. “Are you ready for the games to begin?” he asked her.

  She shut the door then turned back to him with a smile. “More than ready. What comes next?”

  He crossed his arms, watching her closely. “You undress for me, sugar.”

  She glanced from his staircase to his living room then back to his eyes. “You want me to take my clothes off right here?”

  He nodded.

  “While you’re still clothed?”

  “Yes, but leave your lingerie on,” he told her, enjoying the way her cheeks flushed deeper. “Just lose the dress.”

  She watched him, and he saw the thoughts rushing across her expression, even if he couldn’t hear them. Uncertainty showed in the nibble of her bottom lip. Concern was obvious in the furrow of her brow. Then he saw what he’d hope to see, the lift of her chin telling him that she’d pushed past all those insecurities to go after something a little more daring and exciting.

  Keeping her eyes locked on his, she slowly unzipped her dress and then slid the straps off her shoulders. He followed her every move, letting her know how much he liked seeing her bare herself to him. Besides, he knew she’d get off on this as much as he would.

  From the very first time he touched her, he’d wondered if she hungered for a new flavor where sex was concerned. Her flushed cheeks and dilated pupils indicated that he hadn’t been wrong about her desires. She wanted to be sexy and sensual. And he wanted to create those moments where she could be.

  Once the fabric had fluttered to the dark hardwood floor, she kicked her dress away and remained in her high heels. Only then did he approach her, slowly arrowing in on his his target. Her.

  The closer he got, the more her sugary-sweet perfume infused the air. His nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent fully. While her tantalizing aroma twitched his cock, the sight of her wearing the lingerie he’d bought made his balls heavy with need.

  Black and dark purple lace decorated her creamy white flesh while a garter belt sat perfectly around her hips, all leading down to thigh-high stockings. She was soft and curvy and lush and ready, and it was all he could do not to slam her against the door and bury himself balls-deep inside her.

  “You look absolutely gorgeous tonight, Joss,” he said when he reached her.

  She gave him a sweet smile. “Thank you.”

  Needing a little taste, he took her chin in his hand and sealed his mouth across hers. He sensed her reach for him to deepen the kiss but he leaned away, ensuring they still had their minds straight enough for the conversation ahead of them.

  Her cheeks flushed deeper when he titled her chin up, giving her the good once-over she deserved. She wore thick black liner atop her eyelids along with thick black lashes and purple shadow in a few different shades. “I’ve never seen you wear so much makeup before.”

  “It seemed fitting for tonight,” she said with a soft smile. “Do you like it?”

  He turned her head from side to side. She’d put in a lot of effort to look good for him tonight. “You’re gorgeous, with and without the makeup.” He dropped another quick kiss on her mouth before taking her hand. “Come. We need to chat a little bit before we begin.”

  As he strode forward into the living room, he noted the odd sense of trust that he could feel between them. She didn’t doubt his motives and followed without hesitation. He liked that about her. She was like an open book, allowing him to read all the pages within.

  W
hen he reached his leather couches resting in the middle of the room, he motioned for her to sit while he moved to the stone fireplace. He needed distance, not trusting himself to be so close to her. Not with her looking like that and smelling as good as she did. Christ, he could only imagine how she tasted.

  Sweet and ripe, he guessed.

  To rein in those thoughts, he drew in a deep, stabilizing breath before turning to her. He found her sitting on the couch with her legs crossed like a goddess sprawled out for his taking. While the thought tempted him, he was intent on getting the night’s activities started, and long ago, he’d been taught rules that were now engrained in his soul. Clear communication being one of them.

  He moved to the coffee table in front of her and took off the black velvet blanket covering the antique tray.

  Her mouth formed a perfect O. He smiled at her surprise, waiting for her eyes to lift to him before addressing her. “Tonight, I’d like to use everything I’ve chosen here. Any objections?”

  She visibly swallowed then studied each object with great care, gnawing on her bottom lip. “You’re going to use all of them on me?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  She looked from toy to toy before glancing at him again. “To be honest, I never imagined anyone would want to use all these on me.”

  “Well, I do.”

  “Why?”

  He arched a brow at her. “Because I’m a filthy, dirty man, Joss.”

  She laughed softly, her eyes twinkling. “Obviously one who’s unashamed of that fact.”

  “Why should I be ashamed?” he asked, moving back to the fireplace, giving her some distance to breathe and think clearly. “I like sex. The more erotic, the better. Sure, I could use my fingers or my tongue or my cock to make you come. Or even better, I could use all these lovely things I have laid out before you and then use my fingers, my tongue, and my cock and make you fucking explode. Which would you rather?”

  “Definitely the latter.” She grinned.

  He chuckled with her, leaning against the fireplace and folding his arms before he got serious again. “This is meant to be fun. Even to be playful. If there is anything you don’t like about what you see here, tell me. If I use anything on you, and you decide later you don’t enjoy it, tell me.”