Sweet as Sin

by J. Margot Critch

  She looked down in his lap and raised an eyebrow. “You’re ready to go again?”

  To answer her question, he grinned, took her hand and pulled her down into his lap. He kissed her and let her strip him of his shirt and pants.

  They were both naked, bare flesh on flesh, and he rolled her over on the bed so that he lay on top of her. As he kissed her, he smoothed his palms over her body—her shoulders, back, her incredible ass, breasts, pausing to tweak her nipples, earning him a lustful sigh. He could barely stand to take one hand away from her body to reach for another condom. He rolled it on and entered her again. This time was slower than the first, but no less powerful. Even though his heart drummed a staccato rhythm against his rib cage, he thrust into her in long, lazy strokes, taking his time with her, relishing the way she felt, sheathing him. Her grip tightened around his neck, and her breathing quickened. He already knew her tells, and she hummed, moaning something he didn’t quite catch in Spanish. She clutched him, her nails raking across his shoulder, and she contracted around him in a blissful crescendo. He let go, felt his toes curl as he climaxed.

  He rolled away from her and gathered her close as they both caught their breaths and let their heart rates return to normal. With his arms around Maria, he momentarily pushed aside all of his doubts. Nothing about holding her felt wrong.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE NEXT MORNING, Maria arrived back to work at The BH. She was tired, but her night with Alex had left her invigorated. After they’d had sex twice, they dressed quietly, because having expended all the energy, dissipating the sexual tension, they’d found little else to say. Even though there was a conversation to be had, he’d walked her to her car and said good-night with a brief touch on her arm, instead of the kiss that she’d come to crave.

  In the light of the early-morning sun, her body was sore but relaxed, and she smiled remembering how she came to be so achy. When she walked through the main entrance that led to the offices, she came upon Brett and Alex waiting for the elevator.

  “Hey, Maria.” Brett turned and greeted her with a smile. He was certainly more of a morning person than she was. Alex looked straight ahead, but she could see the minute movement of his stiffening as she got closer.

  “Hi,” she said, trying not to yawn. She looked over at Alex, who averted his eyes.

  The elevator doors finally opened and the three of them stepped inside.

  “How was last night?” Brett asked, looking down at the screen of his phone. Her eyes widened, and she and Alex made alarmed eye contact from either side of Brett.

  “It was fine,” Alex responded finally, obviously referring to their late night working with Alana. “I added everything we did to the cloud storage if you haven’t had a chance to look at it yet.”

  “I haven’t yet.” He turned to Maria. “Thanks for filling in for me. We can go over everything you covered before we get down to work.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The elevator finally arrived at the top floor and they stepped outside.

  “Maria, let’s get started in a couple of minutes, all right?” Brett said, turning in the direction of his office.

  “Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

  “Maria, wait,” Alex murmured, leaning close, wrapping his fingers around her elbow. “Can I see you for a moment?” He steered her into his office before she had a chance to respond.

  As soon as they entered his office, he closed the door behind them. She knew what he wanted. “We have to talk about it, don’t we?” she asked.

  “We definitely do.” His voice was gruff.

  “Do you want to start?”

  He shook his head and looked at her straight-on. For the first time she noticed that his eyes were red, and he hadn’t shaved. He looked like hell but Alex at his worst still looked better than most people at their best. “I don’t really know where to start besides to say that it shouldn’t have happened.”

  “No?” Her left eyebrow cocked quizzically.

  “Maria, I wasn’t kidding when I said that even touching you was a huge betrayal to Rafael, your family. I was up all night, and the only explanation I can think of is that we got carried away. I’ve been working a lot. And you started this new job. We were drunk the first night we kissed. We let our libidos get the better of us.” He slammed his palm down on the top of his desk. “It won’t happen again.”

  Maria wasn’t convinced. He said the words, but the way he looked at her—like he wanted to rip her clothing off and take her again—betrayed that. “Listen, Alex, us sleeping together was probably inappropriate, given the fact that I’m now working for you. But you need to get past all that ‘betrayal to my family’ stuff. I’m not beholden to my family. Sure, Rafa probably wouldn’t be thrilled if he found out what happened between us. But it’s also none of his goddamn business what either of us do.”

  “Yeah.” His voice was a dark murmur. He looked her up and down. “But either way, it’s over.”

  “That’s too bad,” she said, shrugging and standing. “We could have had a lot of fun.” She walked to the door, then stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. “I just hope I can get out of here at a decent hour tonight. I have a date.”

  Maria could have laughed at the way Alex flinched. “A date?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, a guy I know from my mission in Haiti texted me. We’re grabbing dinner.” Nathan had actually texted her a few days ago and had made a date to get together strictly as friends. But it seemed like too good way to drive Alex crazy.

  Alex scowled. “He texted you to ask you out on a date?”

  “Yeah,” she said, trying not to smile at Alex’s jealous reaction.

  He shook his head. “Fucking kids,” he muttered under his breath.

  She tamped down the giggle that formed in her throat. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “What ever happened to calling a woman? What did his message say? Hey, baby, DTF?”

  She laughed. “Oh my God, you’re jealous!”

  “Jealous?” He snorted. “Of some twentysomething, aged-out frat boy? Hardly.”

  Maria laughed. “How do you know he’s a frat boy? He’s a really nice guy.”

  “I’ll bet he is. Guys that age, especially when they take women like you out, are hardly ever nice.”

  “And what, pray tell, is a woman like me?”

  “One of those good girls,” he explained. “He thinks you’re naive, and he has ulterior motives.”

  “Is that what you think?” Her head tilted. “I thought I was trouble.”

  “You are trouble,” he agreed, returning her sly smile. “But it took me years to learn that. This guy has no idea what he’s in for.”

  He was jealous. Maria laughed as she walked out, leaving Alex alone in his office. She had been successful in getting completely under his skin. Now she had to do everything she could to stay there.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  THE WEEK PROGRESSED, and by Friday, Alex was tired, irritable and on edge. He had been successful in avoiding any one-on-one interactions with Maria. Not trusting himself to be in the same room with her, he stayed in his office or took meetings at other locations. But now he was feeling the tension. It was after seven in the evening—another twelve-hour day—and Alex threw down his pen. The incessant work and lack of sleep and abundance of caffeine were all finally catching up to him. His shoulders ached, and his eyes stung with fatigue. As evidenced by how they blurred when he looked at the numbers and words in front of him. It was time to call it a day.

  He needed a drink, a cigar and a woman. On any other day, he might be tempted to go downstairs to Di Terrestres, find a willing woman or two, and work off a little tension. But since being with Maria and sharing those incredible hours with her, Alex had had no interest in any other woman. He wanted to blame the lack of enthusiasm on the workload, but deep inside, he knew that it was
because of her.

  He thought about Maria and wondered if she’d enjoyed her date earlier in the week, or if she had seen that guy again. All week, Alex had tortured himself with the images in his head of Maria kissing this mystery guy, going to bed with him... Frustrated, Alex exhaled deeply and clenched his fists in front of him. He had to forget about Maria. She deserved a good guy, someone who was better than him. Maybe this nice guy was the one for her. It was what she deserved. Not him.

  But still, the thought of another man touching Maria made Alex sick.

  So instead of leaving his office, he got back to work, digging into the rest of his to-do list, because there was always something that needed to be taken care of. Work had always been a convenient distraction from his past and current demons. One of the few things that chased away the memories and the darkness.

  He checked his email and found several new ones that needed his attention. They could probably wait until Monday morning, but he might as well figure them out now. He started reading the first one, but was interrupted when his cell phone rang. Alex almost didn’t answer it, but he recognized the number as an office at city hall. “Fischer,” he said by way of greeting, hitting the speakerphone button so he could keep his hands free to reply to his emails.

  “Hey, Alex, it’s Neil from the permits office.”

  He knew Neil and liked the guy. They’d been working together for years; he’d hooked up Alex and the rest of The Brotherhood with permits and other documentation since they’d started in business. This was the latest in the day the man had ever called. He looked at the clock on his laptop. “Hey, Neil, what’s up? For you to be calling me after seven on a Friday, I’m guessing it’s not good news.”

  “You got that right.”

  Alex’s fingers stilled over his keyboard. “What is it?”

  “The permit for your new hotel has been stalled.”

  “What? Jessica—I mean, Mayor Morgan said it’d be fine, and we’d have no trouble as long as the paperwork was in order.”

  “And she was right to say that. At the time. Everything was fine. But now some people are accusing her of greasing the wheels for her boyfriend and his friends.”

  “That’s bullshit. Everyone knows Jessica has too much integrity for that.”

  “You and I both know it, and so do most of the councillors. But some are claiming that the proposal is morally indecent—”

  “It’s just a fucking hotel.”

  “We know that, but based on the controversy last year, people automatically assume that it’s some kind of brothel or something. And you know we don’t allow that in Clark County.”

  Alex huffed out a frustrated breath. “So, what do we have to do?”

  “My unofficial advice is to apply again. Maybe do some PR about the project and assure the people that they’re mistaken about what you guys are doing. Keep the pressure on city hall, convince the holdout councillors. Come by next week. Attend the council meeting.”

  Alex scoffed. “Okay, so we have to make nice with a couple of people too prudish to allow an erotic hotel? Between us both, we have applications from at least three-quarters of the city council who want to join our private club waiting to be processed when we open the new place.”

  Neil laughed. “Well, it should be pretty easy, then. I know I don’t regret my membership. But keep at it. This is just a bit of stumbling block. A small delay.”

  “I hate that word.”

  “I know, man. We all do. But like you said, being so late on a Friday, there’s nothing we can do until Monday at the earliest.”

  “I know. Thanks for the heads-up, Neil.”

  “Any time. Let’s get together some night. I’ve got some craps money burning a hole in my pocket.”

  Alex laughed, remembering their last time, carousing, drinking and dropping money on the Strip. “Yeah, let’s do it. Let me know when is a good time for you.”

  Alex disconnected the call and the smile dropped immediately from his face, and he slammed his fist down on the desk. “Fuck!”

  It was just a minor setback, but it could have huge implications on the project. If they couldn’t get the permits in order, Hedo would be dead in the water. If word got out that they were having trouble getting started, suppliers and other investors would start to pull out. The dull ache behind his temple had become a mad throbbing as anger swelled within him.

  He had to get out of his office, maybe take a play from Brett’s book and cut back on the hours he put in. Although his friend had good reason to leave work early these days—a gorgeous wife waiting for him at home. Alex pictured his own empty penthouse condo, overlooking the Strip, and he didn’t want to go home. Two of his friends, Brett and Rafael, had, despite the odds, found love and while Alex made fun of their now-quieter lifestyles, part of him was jealous. Not jealous in that he wanted a wife, or family, but jealous in that he’d never once experienced the unconditional love they shared with the women in their lives. But that’s why he had ownership in Di Terrestres. No shortage of people who wanted to spend time with him.

  He knew just how to get past the frustration. Like he always did. Good booze and even better sex. He stood from his desk and picked up his cell phone. He decided to hit up Di Terrestres after all, have a couple of drinks, and see if he could round up a gorgeous woman or two and see where the night took him. But even thoughts of naked women in one of the club’s suites didn’t do much to relieve his stress when the only woman he could think about was the one he’d told himself he couldn’t have. Goddamn, he wanted Maria.

  The night that they’d spent together earlier in the week was still with him. He normally didn’t give his sexual encounters a second thought after they were over. But Maria was still with him. He could smell her, taste her, and whenever she plagued his thoughts, his dick got hard. So he’d stayed in his office, door firmly shut.

  But putting Maria out of his mind was easier said than done. He could still feel her on his skin, and he itched to pull her body against his. Just one more time. But he couldn’t allow it.

  The problem was, it was impossible to forget she was there. Especially when he had to walk past her desk on his way to and from Brett’s office. She always looked up at him, and she would smile, a knowing, sly smirk that he tried his hardest to ignore. But even avoiding eye contact didn’t help him when her perfume tantalized his senses. The light citrusy notes hit him and would linger in his nostrils for the entire day.

  But that night with Maria—it wasn’t going to happen again.

  “Fuck it,” he muttered, now fully plagued with desire. He knew that he wouldn’t get anything else done until he expelled the sexual tension that racked his body. Di Terrestres. He had to forget about Maria, replace her with memories of another hot, tight, perfect body. He sent a text to the VIP host, Andre, telling him what he was looking for. “Nope. Never again,” he muttered to himself as he rode the elevators down to the club floor. It was still early in the evening, but people were beginning to trickle in. He nodded in greeting to many of the patrons before looping around and going down the wide staircase that led to the lower floors. The host in the VIP area nodded and let him walk past. Alex looked at each of the eight closed doors with little interest, each one representing one of the more popular kinks and secret indulgences of their VIP clientele. He knew which one he was looking for, and walked into a room almost at the end of the hallway.

  The lights were dim and the music soft; the only sounds were the loud moans of the two women sitting on the round bed in the middle of the room. They were naked but for G-strings, kissing, touching each other, just waiting for him to join them.

  They were women who frequented the club. Alex had met with them several times, and they always had fun together. Both gorgeous, fun. They looked at him expectantly. Alex took a step in the room, trying to feign interest. Thinking that if he just got into it he’d be fine, but he
stopped. He didn’t feel it, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Something had changed within him. Maria had changed him. He shook his head and stepped out of reach of four manicured hands. “Sorry, ladies. My mistake.”

  One woman’s head cocked to the side, not used to being refused by him. “Alex, are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I guess I’m just more tired than I thought. I’m going to get out of your way. Have a good night. If you need anything, don’t forget to let Andre know, okay? He’ll take care of you.” He backed out of the room and shut the door.

  Andre came up behind him. “Everything okay, Mr. Fischer?”

  “Everything is fine. Thank you, Andre. But I realized that I have somewhere else to be.” He knew exactly where he wanted to be—wrapped up in Maria’s sweet body. His hands shook with need, frustration, confusion. And he tried to talk himself out of it. But as he’d heard the angel on his right shoulder tell him to be good, the devil on his left held more sway.

  He took the elevator back up to the top floor to his office to get his things. He should just go to the gym, or home, have some drinks and veg out in front of the television until he passed out. He sent a message to his driver to come around to the front of the building. But he opened his door and came face-to-face with Maria.

  From just looking at her, he felt lighter. Juxtaposed with the bad things in the world and every negative feeling that dredged up, Maria was a beacon of light that he hadn’t realized that he needed.

  “Alex,” she said, and he loved the way she said his name.

  “Maria.” He tried to keep his tone casual. “Heading out?”

  “Yeah, I’m meeting a friend for a few drinks.”

  “Another date?”

  “Maybe. Why are you so interested?” Her voice was soft, melodious, but he knew they both felt the underlying sexual current that zapped between them. “Seeing as how you’ve been avoiding me all week.”