Bad Boy (An Indecent Proposal)

by J. C. Reed

  He stepped back with a hurt expression on his face. For a few seconds we just stared at each other.

  Was he faking it?

  Was he seriously hurt?

  I couldn’t tell for sure.

  “What did I do wrong?” he asked at last.

  “You’re asking me? Seriously?” I inched forward, my finger poking his chest.

  God, I loved his hard body.

  I had almost forgotten how hot he was.

  In spite of my anger, I inhaled deeply to catch a whiff of his aftershave. And something else.

  His shower gel. Had he taken a shower before coming to pick me up?

  And his hair. It looked like he just had a cut.

  Why the hell was I even noticing those things?

  “I know you lied to me,” I whispered. “The least you could have done before you married me is be honest with me and tell me you’re Mystery Guy.”

  “Who?”

  “That’s the name I gave you after we met in that elevator.”

  “Nice one.” He grinned but I didn’t return his smile. His smile died as he caught my expression. “You weren’t joking.” He grimaced. “Okay, I admit I owe you an explanation for my lies.”

  The gentleness in his tone touched me, pulled at my heartstrings, but for some reason it also made me angry. A liar admitting or confessing all his lies?

  That wasn’t going to happen.

  Lies are like cobwebs. The moment you take one down, others will take its place. It was impossible for Chase to admit to one lie and be honest when he was cagey about everything else.

  “I’m not interested,” I said and waved my hand dismissively. “Not anymore. You had your chance to explain everything. You didn’t.”

  “No, you never gave me that chance, Laurie.” His tone was accusatory. “You just ran off and left your ring behind.” As if to prove his point, his hand slid into his pocket, and he retrieved the ring. My jaw dropped. I stared at the narrow band of gold shimmering in the daylight, imaging him carrying it around with him.

  “Why?” I asked.

  He frowned, not getting the question.

  “Why did you bring it with you?” I clarified.

  “Because we’re married.”

  My eyes met his gaze.

  And there it was again. That hurt expression that made me feel bad.

  God, he really deserved an Oscar for being such a good actor.

  Next thing I knew he’d be coming with the whole ‘where you end, I begin’ kind of crap. No idea whether he ever took acting lessons, but he was definitely talented.

  Something broke inside me hard and fast—something I knew would make me forgive Chase. It took all my willpower not to give in.

  I glanced at the ring. “You can throw it away. I don’t need it anymore.”

  His eyes narrowed on me again, the hurt expression from before gone—replaced with so much coldness, it was palpable in the air.

  His hand closed around the ring.

  “Are you sure? Because the way you keep looking at and touching me, it looks like we’re still on.”

  His gaze fell on my hand on his arm.

  Holy cow.

  When did I touch him?

  Damn my body for wanting him the way it did.

  Damn Chase for knowing how to evoke the kind of primal instincts I didn’t know I even possessed.

  I drew my hand back as if I had just been burned, wishing I could do the same with my feelings.

  Pull them in, control them, banish them.

  “I’m not interested,” I said, more resolute. “What I wrote on the paper, I meant it. I want you to stay away from me.”

  He grimaced, and something flashed across his face.

  Disappointment, I realized.

  “If you think I’ll give you up that easily, you’re mistaken,” Chase said.

  “We’ll see about that,” I muttered and turned away to the taxi halting at the corner.

  Only after taking my seat in the back and slamming the door did I throw a glance back, expecting Chase to be standing here, ready to dash after me. To my surprise, the space was empty.

  Like a ghost, he had just disappeared, his last words echoing in my mind.

  Chapter 9

  I reached the hotel in less than an hour.

  The moment I closed the door behind me, I sank on the bed, my arms spread out to either side. As I stared at the ugly stained ceiling, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind. But it was not the state of the ceiling that kept my attention busy.

  It was Chase’s words.

  Chase’s eyes.

  Chase’s lips.

  And his frigging, muscular chest.

  How could anyone so physically perfect have such a flawed character? I had never asked him if he worked out, but there was no doubt that he was doing something to look so godlike.

  Does it even matter, Laurie?

  I groaned inwardly. Since meeting Chase, I had asked myself that one question on numerous occasions.

  So far from home, I had thought I could escape his allure and get a grip on myself. That I’d stop wanting him. Stop fantasizing about having him inside me, and forget all about his breathtaking eyes, which seemed to undress me at every opportunity.

  And yet I found that I couldn’t escape the memory of his disappointed expression when I walked away, and the stupid hope that he’d come after me, which he didn’t do.

  But that wasn’t even so bad.

  Now that he had bailed me out, new thoughts emerged. Thoughts that were so scary, they confused me, and made me question everything I had found out about him.

  Why did he bail me out? He had married me. His mission was already accomplished. Or was there more to it?

  I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the shower. The water was hot, relaxing my sore muscles. I don’t know how long I stood under a stream of water, my body a shivering mess, my fixation on Chase taking root in my belly, embedding itself deep in my heart.

  Chase was like poison.

  Seeping into me, infecting me, leaving me with fragments of broken dreams—of hope that there might be more between us.

  I was so absorbed in my thought, I didn’t hear the door opening.

  The shower curtain was drawn aside, and I jumped back, a scream escaping my throat.

  I turned and found Chase standing inches from me, watching me with a hungry look in his eyes.

  “What the fuck, Chase,” I yelled. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

  He grinned sheepishly. “I never said I was the quiet kind.”

  “Quiet? More like creepy.” I turned the water faucet off and quickly covered my naked breasts with my hands. “Fucking hell,” I muttered to myself. “You’re like the devil.”

  “I’ve heard he’s quite charming, so thank you for the compliment, though I hate to disappoint. I’m quite human.” He held out a white towel out of my reach. “Need this?”

  I inched forward and grabbed it from him, then wrapped it around my body. My skin was on fire from his intense gaze. I looked up—fury blazing in my eyes.

  “What the fuck are you doing here? This is my hotel room. I paid for it. You have no right to break in.”

  “I didn’t break in…” Chase said and leaned against the wall, a smug expression on his face. “Not exactly.”

  I frowned at his choice of words. “How did you get in?”

  “With this.” His hand moved to his pocket, and he pulled out a key card. It looked exactly like the one I had. “I asked for a visitor card.”

  “And they gave you one—no questions asked?” I asked incredulously, shaking my head.

  “Well, they only had one question, who I was. I told them I’m your husband.” His eyes flickered with amusement. “I even offered to provide our marriage certificate as proof, but what can I say? They weren’t interested in seeing it.”

  That was pure madness. I would file a complaint.

  Heck, I’d ask for a refund.

  “Unbe
lievable.” I shook my head again. “You still have no right to be here.”

  “Relax, Laurie. I wasn’t planning on staying.”

  “Damn right! You’re not.” I tightened the towel around my body before it accidentally slipped off, not missing the hooded glance he gave me. A pull settled between my legs. Chase’s lips twitched, and his eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

  What the fuck was he so smug about?

  I followed his line of vision, and to my mortification discovered that my left breast was exposed.

  I yanked the towel higher, covering myself up as much as I could, as the heat traveled up my neck and face.

  “No need to hide, Laurie. I’ve already…”

  I rolled my eyes, irritated. “Yeah, I know you’ve already had me.”

  “I wanted to say, I already told you how sexy you look, but you’re right, of course.”

  The smug bastard.

  Of course he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to remind me what had happened between us; what could still be between us if it weren’t for me discovering his betrayal.

  Knots formed in my stomach.

  Suddenly, the bathroom felt too cramped.

  I needed to get out.

  Pressing the towel against my body, I stepped out of the shower cabin, making sure not to get too close to him, and started to wring my dripping wet hair in front of my mirror, my gaze avoiding him.

  “Well, I hope you got a good look, because you won’t get to touch me again,” I muttered.

  My gaze brushed his in the mirror.

  I had expected to see disappointment, maybe even anger, instead a flicker of amusement flickered in his eyes.

  “Are you sure about that?” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “As far as I remember, you were the one asking me to touch you. Maybe not so much to touch as to fuck you. I believe your exact words were ‘I want you to be my first’.”

  As I stared at his reflection in the mirror my cheeks flamed. “For your information, I just wanted to get it over and done with. It had nothing to do with you. It could as well have happened with anyone. No offense, Chase, but you were just a means to an end.”

  “None taken.” He inclined his head in mock-thought. “I won’t deny it that I’m glad it was me because I doubt you would have had so much fun with someone else.”

  “How would you know that?” I turned to regard him, my lips pursed. “Maybe I faked it.”

  “Considering my experience and the little sounds you made, I doubt anything about our session was fake.”

  I stared at him, my words failing me. Forget the experience part. “I made sounds?”

  His lips twitched. “No worries, they were cute.” He lifted a hand, as though to touch me, then dropped it again, his tone mocking. “My only advice for you, next time scream a little louder. It can be a real turn on.”

  “You’re…” My expletives remained trapped in my throat. “There won’t be a next time.”

  “So you say.” His eyes glinted with a hint of challenge. “Maybe I should say challenge accepted?”

  I scowled, heat creeping into my bones. “It happened once. It won’t happen again. And when I say that, I mean as in ‘never’.” I squeezed past him and dashed to the bedroom to get dressed.

  “Why not?” he asked, following close behind me.

  “Because I’m no longer interested in you.”

  “If you’re so impartial, why don’t you remove that towel? I want to see your lack of excitement at the thought of my tongue licking you all over,” Chase said.

  The image entered my mind too easily.

  Oh, God.

  That was the last thing I’d ever do.

  Struggling to fight my labored breathing, I walked into the tiny walk-in closet and switched on the lights.

  “Surely if you feel nothing, want nothing, it shouldn’t matter whether I see you naked or not,” Chase persevered.

  I turned around, forcing my brain to come up with some witty response, but he was faster and beat me to it.

  “Thought so, Laurie.”

  I peered into his gorgeous eyes. They were mocking but gentle, his expression soft.

  Everything in that room stopped still, and it was as if time did, too. It was in that moment I realized how much I still loved him.

  As if sensing my emotional undercurrents, Chase moved closer and brushed a wet strand of hair out of my face.

  “I know you still want me, Laurie,” he said tenderly. “I won’t make a secret that you’re still on my mind, too.”

  My breath hitched, whether it was from the lack of space or from the intimacy, I couldn’t tell.

  “You’re delusional,” I managed to croak, which was rewarded with a chuckle.

  “No, my mind’s perfectly clear on what I want and what you need.”

  Oh, the arrogance.

  I had to change the topic—and fast—before his lips, so awfully close, would crash upon mine. That was something I imagined would happen. If he kept doing what he did, his hands playing with my hair, his eyes on my lips, speaking the kind of words I wanted to hear, I’d lose all self-control and kiss him, because the truth was…he was right.

  My knees were weak. My heart was racing. Deep inside I could feel hundreds of butterflies fluttering, pounding against the fragile shield I had learned to build in the past.

  “What do you want, Chase?”

  He hesitated. Dropping his hand, he took a step back and leaned against the wall, his posture implying that he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

  “Why do you assume I want something?” Chase asked.

  I stared at him. “Are you serious? You had a folder with an estimate of what my inheritance is worth.”

  His lips tightened, and a guilty expression fell on his face. At last he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes avoiding me.

  I used the silence to search for the most oversized piece of clothing I had, and found nothing in the mess I had left behind the night before.

  A thong fell from between my clothes. Chase picked it up and lifted it to inspect it. I thought I might just die from mortification.

  “Are you kidding me? Give it back.” I yanked it out of his hands.

  Unfazed, he sifted through my clothes until he found a short, red dress that belonged to Jude. “You should wear it today.”

  I grabbed it from him, meeting his gaze. “Stop touching my things, okay? I’m not going out with you.”

  “It was merely a suggestion.” His eyes sparkled with delight. I braced myself for another one of his suggestions, but none came. Instead, his gaze remained glued to my every move. Up close, he smelled fantastic—a deep, manly scent.

  A deep pull settled between my legs.

  I wanted him so bad, it hurt, and yet I couldn’t act on my desire.

  I really had to change the topic—do whatever it took to distract myself from my stupid attraction to him.

  “You didn’t answer my first question. What are you doing here?” I found a pair of jeans and a top

  “Relax, Laurie. I have no intention of staying here.”

  I squeezed my clothes against my chest, the layers of fabric helping to strengthen my mental barrier. “You still had no right to come and see me.”

  “You’re right.” Something hard flashed across his face. He tried to hide it by turning his back to me and walking out of the closet, but I caught it nonetheless. I thought he had left so I peered out. He regarded me from the minibar, which I had raided earlier.

  “May I?” He pointed to a bottle of something.

  “I’m going to change.” I shrugged, not bothering to answer.

  While he kept himself busy with the bottles and glasses, I used the opportunity to dress quickly, all the while listening to make sure he wouldn’t try to come in.

  But my fear was unfounded.

  He left me alone.

  He didn’t look.

  Not once.

  He gave me all the privacy I needed.

&
nbsp; When I returned to the bedroom, he was sitting on the bed, two glasses of alcohol in his hand, his gaze focused on the floor. He passed me my glass, then patted the space next to him. “Sit down.”

  Under different circumstances I wouldn’t have followed his command, but there was something in his voice—an urgency—that made me listen to him.

  That, and the fact that the room had no other sitting opportunities.

  It was just the bed—a bitter reminder of our time together.

  At last, I sat down, watching him. In the silence of the room, he took a few sips from his glass, his gaze avoiding me.

  “I admit I wasn’t always truthful,” he started. “I admit a few wrong things.”

  “You married me to get my inheritance,” I said coldly.

  “I can’t deny that,” he whispered and closed his eyes. “But it needed to be done.”

  Tears began to sting my eyes, and bitterness rose in my chest. Somewhere at the brink of my mind, I realized that everything I had feared was true. He had been after my inheritance all along. He had used me. And now he was talking more bullshit.

  “Wow. You’re an asshole.” I almost choked on my voice. “You don’t even try to claim otherwise.”

  “I told you a few lies, Laurie. But not everything I told you was a lie.” He took a deep breath. I could see that he was struggling with something.

  “Yeah?” My eyebrows shot up, my voice dripping with bitterness. “Like what?”

  “Like the fact that I’d never harm you.”

  “Really?” I laughed. “Liar.”

  He lifted the glass to his lips, but didn’t take a sip. “It’s not a lie.” He frowned. “I really like you.”

  “Liar.”

  He turned his head to me, his eyes meeting mine. “Not a liar enough to know that I’m attracted to you. I’m also not afraid to show it, as opposed to you.”

  “Liar,” I whispered again. “And I’m not attracted to you, which is why there’s nothing to show.”

  His eyes narrowed on me. “Now, who’s the liar here? I know for a fact you’re attracted to me.”

  His ego was taking new proportions.

  “How would you even know that?” That he thought so made me angry.

  “I can feel it.” His fingers brushed my neck. His touch, warm against my still damp skin, felt electrifying. “The moment I met you, I knew something would happen between us. Trust me, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was never supposed to fall for you, Laurie.”