by Eden Bradley
Setting her on her feet, he wrapped her in a towel then gave her another to dry her hair. Jules gave Erik a sated, sexy smile as she sat on the vanity stool. Erik moved to the side but not too far away and Keegan wanted to pump a fist in the air.
Maybe now Erik would make his way back to the world of the living. He’d been hiding long enough. Too long.
As Keegan grabbed a towel to dry off, he saw Erik do the same just before he excused himself and headed into the other room.
“When was he injured?”
Keegan barely heard Jules’ question, pitched low enough that Erik couldn’t hear her from the other room.
He leaned against the counter. She deserved the answers Erik would never give her.
“Two years ago. An explosion in the lab. He wasn’t supposed to be there that night. The explosion knocked him out. The fire spread fast and he was trapped. But he made it out.”
Her eyes glowed with compassion, not pity. “Has he been afraid to go out since then?”
“He’s only recently started working in the lab again. The scars were worse at first, and sometimes I think he doesn’t realize how much they’ve faded over the past year. Sometimes—”
“You talk too fucking much.”
Erik stood in the doorway to the bathroom, a furious look on his face.
Damn it. He’d probably heard everything and would be pissed as hell that Keegan had opened his mouth.
“Erik—”
“Do you always speak to your best friend like that?” Jules cut in, standing between the two of them. “Is that how you’ve isolated yourself, here, in this house? You use words to cut off everyone else, don’t you? Push them away. Make them think you’re a prick.”
Erik’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know I’m not? I did pay you to fuck me and my so-called friend, after all.”
They were back to this shit again. God damn Erik. This time Keegan was going to break the bastard’s jaw for disrespecting her this way.
Erik was expecting him to do exactly that. He didn’t put up a hand to stop him. And neither did Jules.
Keegan’s fist connected with Erik’s jaw. He hadn’t pulled his punch and Erik’s head whipped to the side, nearly taking his entire body with it.
Sonofabitch. That fucking hurt. The bastard’s jaw was still hard as a rock. Just like his head.
As Keegan cradled his hand to his chest, Jules stepped up next to him, her arms crossed.
“Feel better now?” she asked.
Erik shook his head, as if settling his brain back in the right spot, then rubbed a hand over the bruise Keegan could see developing.
“Yeah, actually, I do.” Erik raised a brow at Keegan. “Do you? I know you’ve wanted to do that for months now.”
Keegan grimaced. Yes, what he’d said was true but… “I won’t allow you to be a bastard to her.”
Erik immediately turned to Jules and bowed, looking slightly ridiculous with only a towel wrapped around his waist. “My most sincere apologies, Julianne. And my most sincere thanks. I would’ve never gotten him to take that swing if it hadn’t been in defense of you.”
Keegan’s mouth dropped open before he slammed it shut. The bastard. “Why the hell didn’t you just ask me to take a swing at you?”
“Because you wouldn’t have done it.”
He was right. No way would Keegan have ever hurt him, not after what he’d been through.
Keegan was still shaking his head when Jules rose from the stool and placed herself between them. “I think it’s time I went home.”
“No.”
He and Erik spoke in unison and her mouth curved into a beautiful smile. The woman truly could make a dead man come, as the Stones had said so perfectly.
“Yes, it is. My mom and I have plans for tomorrow… Well, I guess I should say for today. It is Christmas Eve.”
Neither he nor Erik had a comeback for that one. They hadn’t really planned for the holiday. Erik’s housekeeper had set up the tree in the living room. Keegan hadn’t even bothered with one at his place.
He’d figured he’d spend Christmas Eve at the office then have dinner with Erik. Their families were in Boston but neither of them had gone home for the past two years. Erik actively avoided his mother and Keegan didn’t want to leave Erik alone.
They exchanged a glance, but neither of them had a good reason for her to stay.
Except that they wanted her to.
Keegan had it on the tip of his tongue to offer her a meal before she left, but Erik stepped forward.
“Thank you for coming tonight, Julianne. I’ll get your clothes.”
~ * ~
From the window, they watched her drive away in her aging Toyota. Rust was eating away at the body, the right tail light was out and the engine sounded like a herd of braying donkeys being massacred.
“That damn car is a death trap.” Erik’s jaw felt so tight, he was afraid it would break. “Make damn sure she cashes that fucking check. If she doesn’t, I’m going to deposit the money in her bank account personally.”
“She’ll cash it. She can’t afford not to.” Keegan sighed. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”
No, Keegan had known this was a bad idea from the moment Erik had proposed it. Erik just hadn’t wanted to listen. He’d been so damn sure this was the only way he could get what he wanted and get her to take the money.
So why did he feel like a Grade-A ass now?
“We’ll never see her again.”
Another brilliant observation. “When did you turn into Eeyore?”
“When did you lose your humanity?”
“Fuck you.” Shit, even he could hear the words had no bite. “You’ve been watching too many soap operas. Melodrama isn’t your strong suit.”
Keegan turned to him with a narrowed gaze. “And bitchiness isn’t yours.”
Erik’s mouth screwed into a grimace. “She’s gone. Time to move on.”
“Neither of us wants to and you know it.”
Erik admitted, if only to himself, that Keegan had a point. And that he might have fucked up what could have been a very good thing. He wanted to go after her, bring her back to the bedroom.
“So what do you suggest?”
Keegan just stared out the window.
“Let me think about it.”
~ * ~
Her hair still damp, Julianne drove away.
Five-hundred-thousand dollars richer and fighting the urge to turn around every other second.
It was stupid, really. Thinking the three of them had made a connection in any way other than just sex. Neither man had tried to stop her when she left. That in itself should tell her all she needed to know.
And yet…
She didn’t think she’d seen the last of Erik and Keegan.
She started to smile.
~ * ~
AN INDECENT PROPOSITION, PART II
by Stephanie Julian
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
~ * ~
ONE
“…such a shame about Erik. He was such a gorgeous man. Now he’s…well. I mean, who’s going to want to tie herself to…well.”
Julianne Carter’s hands shook as she circled the group of five bitches holding court in the center of the Mifflin Ballroom of the Three Oaks Estate. The exclusive event center catered to the Berks County elite—or at least what passed for elite in this southeastern Pennsylvania county where the third largest city in the state was practically bankrupt and the so-called rich didn’t have near as much money as they thought they did. Hell, even the so-called regular folk were a bunch of stuck-up, narrow-minded assholes.
“…not for all the money…too bad he’s such a geek…”
The women broke out in restrained laughter, making the men in the vicinity look at them with lust. Jules wanted to break her tray over their heads.
Well, shit. Someone obviously forgot to take her happy, smiley pills before she came
to work tonight.
Skirting the group of women for the third time, Julianne continued her circuit around the crowded ballroom. The guests had donated a shitload of money to stand around eating beautifully made finger food, drinking way too much middle-shelf liquor and talking shit about men they didn’t know the first thing about.
Then again, it wasn’t like Jules really knew Erik any better. Just because she’d spent the night with him and his business partner, Keegan, didn’t mean she should want to defend them.
After all, they’d only paid her a half-million dollars to sleep with her. And she hadn’t heard one damn word from them since.
With a hard-won pleasant expression plastered to her face, Jules stopped at a group of elderly women who looked right through her, never once taking a breath as they scooped up the hors d’oeuvres Jules had helped make that were pretty damn tasty, if she did say so herself.
But the women just gobbled them down as they discussed the absolute indignity of the latest shooting in downtown Reading. How dare those dreaded immigrants bring their trashy problems with them from those third-world foreign countries?
With her tray empty, Julianne headed back to the kitchen, where the noise level was only slightly lower than the ballroom.
“You look pissed, babe. That asshole in the gray suit try to feel you up again?”
Jules gave a small but genuine smile to fellow server and resident smartass, Jon Petrius, who was handsome enough to give the ladies at these functions dreams that would never be fulfilled. “Not him. Just a long day.”
“Well, you tell me if I need to spike his next drink, hon.”
“And you know we’d all appreciate it,” added Lori Raihl. The blonde beauty had been the object of more than her fair share of gropes. “That guy’s such a douche.”
Jules bumped fists with Lori in complete agreement. “Thanks, Jon, but he’s not the problem.”
“Any time, ladies.”
Picking up another fully loaded tray, Jules made her way out the door and back into the fray.
“…just as rich. Too bad he’s not half as hot as Erik used to be. He might’ve been worth the effort.”
Jules nearly tripped over her feet as she passed by that bitch Allison Terre again, and her face must have flashed bright red because Jon raised his brows at her as he passed by.
That cow was talking about Keegan. Her Keegan.
Julianne wanted to dump the contents of the tray down the heifer’s back.
Sure, Carol would have to fire her but it wasn’t like she really needed the money now. She was only here as a favor to Carol. Another favor but so different from the one she’d done two weeks ago.
The one that made her want to drown pretty Alli Terre in sticky kebabs. And shove the pointy little sticks up her narrow little ass.
Bitch.
No, she refused to cause a scene. Wouldn’t embarrass Carol like that.
“Oh, Juli. It is you, isn’t it? Wow, that looks delicious.”
Then again…
Taming her grimace, Jules turned and approached the small circle of women. Most of them were Jules’ age, which made them between twenty-one and twenty-three. Jules and Alli had graduated from the same high school, although Alli had moved in much different crowds than Jules. Their school district had encompassed one of the richest boroughs in the county along with the much more pedestrian middle-class neighborhood where Jules and her mom had lived.
Most of the really rich kids had gone to a private school in a neighboring county. Alli hadn’t. According to the rumors, she’d been kicked out for “ethics violations” and her parents had “punished” her by forcing her to go to the neighborhood school.
Which, Jules silently admitted to herself, was her being just as bitchy as Alli. The girl was stuck-up and could be a royal witch but she wasn’t the second coming of Lindsay Lohan.
“How have you been, Juli?” Alli reached for one of the kebabs on the plate. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since graduation.”
“I’ve been fine, Allison. And you?”
“Oh, Daddy has me working in his office.” Alli rolled her eyes as if she’d been forced into slave labor. “I’d much rather be in New York using my degree in some big firm but Daddy insisted I give him a year before I say adios to Berks County.”
The other girls laughed and their conversation turned back to a discussion of their “awful” jobs. Alli’s daddy owned the largest law firm in the county. The girl next to her was finishing her marketing degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Another one was working under—can you imagine?—the CEO of her father’s fuel-importing business.
Jules faked another smile and moved on.
But not before she heard Alli say, “Oh, we went to high school together. I think she graduated with my class. Not really sure…”
Blinking away the sting in her eyes that was absolutely not tears, Jules started back on her circuit.
~ * ~
Keegan stood at the door to the ballroom, scanning the occupants for any sign of the woman he ached to see.
Carol had told him Jules was working tonight but he wanted to make sure before he walked into this pit of vipers.
Don’t be such a pussy. Get your ass moving.
The voice in his head was Erik’s. Too bad the guy wouldn’t take his own advice because it was damn good.
So go the hell inside already.
He would, just as soon as he—
There she was.
Across the wide ballroom. Dressed in the white shirt and black skirt the catering company required of their servers. The uniform was supposed to make them fade into the background. On Jules, the shirt hinted at her gorgeous breasts, the skirt hugged a perfect ass and the short-heeled pumps she wore made her legs look amazing.
Jules would never fade. Not even amid the fancy dresses worn by the other women.
Just in the few seconds since he’d caught sight of her, he’d watched two guys check out her ass as she walked by.
He wanted to smash their faces with his fist.
But he couldn’t blame them.
Even with her long, dark hair drawn back in a sleek braid and barely any makeup, she was still the most beautiful woman in the room.
Keegan would punch any man who said she wasn’t.
Of course, Jules would probably like to take a swing at him.
Hell, he’d actually like it if she wanted to take a swing. The alternative—that she wouldn’t want anything to do with him or Erik again—was much worse.
She’d walked out the door of Erik’s house two weeks ago and Keegan had wanted to drag her back to bed before she could make it to her car.
Erik had said wait.
He’d wanted to say fuck waiting. She’d captivated him. It hadn’t just been about the sex. He wanted to get to know her, discover everything about her. That night had been about more than money for him. He’d thought Erik had felt the same.
The next day Keegan had wanted to call her but it’d been Christmas Eve. He’d planned to spend it with Erik but Erik had shocked the hell out of him when he told Keegan he was going home. So Keegan had bowed to the guilt trip laid by his church-every-Sunday mom’s guilt trip and gone home. He’d spent four days eating his mother’s cooking and thinking about Jules.
But when Keegan had returned and said he wanted to call Jules, Erik had said wait, just a little longer, and locked himself in the lab with their new project.
Keegan waited, not wanting to set off Erik, hoping maybe she’d call. Which hadn’t happened.
What did you expect, dickhead? That the woman you paid a half-million dollars to have sex with you and Erik would want to have anything to do with you again?
Fuck.
Exactly.
Damn it, he shouldn’t have come. He’d only embarrass her if he walked in and tried to start a conversation.
True, no one here knew about their deal, about that one sex-filled night they’d spent together. But she might be emb
arrassed and that was the last thing he wanted.
Then again, he didn’t think Jules embarrassed easy.
Fearless was a good word to describe her. Confident. Sexy as all hell.
He wanted to add “his” to that list. Hell, he wanted to add “theirs.”
Erik wanted the same, even if his best friend refused to admit it. Erik’s scars, physical and emotional, gave some explanation for his behavior.
So what’s your excuse for standing out here like a fucking pussy?
All he had to do was push open the door and walk in, get her alone and tell her—
What?
That the night they’d spent together had been the best fucking night of his life and he wanted to repeat it for the rest of the foreseeable future?
Probably a good place to start.
And the problem is…
All the other people in the room. Those fine, upstanding pillars of society who thought they had a right to comment on others people’s lives.
Erik had been fed up with those kinds of people growing up in Boston, the ones with the kind of wealth that made some people assholes.
Erik hadn’t been an asshole when they’d met at Princeton. He and Keegan had hit it off almost immediately as lab partners in first-year electrical engineering. It’d been a partnership that’d only strengthened when they’d created Tin Man Biometrics.
And now that TinMan was making an obscene amount of money, he and Erik were getting invites to parties like this. Parties Keegan avoided at all costs because they were mostly meat markets and all the small talk and the innuendo and all the bullshit made him want to tear his hair out.
But he’d brave this one for a chance to talk to Jules.
Still, he wished Erik was here with him. A united front always worked better than a divided attack.
It’s how they managed their business, particularly after the lab explosion that had left Erik disfigured. And a hermit.
Keegan had thought, maybe, after that night with Jules, maybe Erik would return to the land of the living. But even though Jules had drawn Erik out into the light that one night, Erik had managed to entrench himself even further in the shadows by the time Keegan had returned from the holiday.