Take Me in the Dark (Take Me #2)

by R. L. Kenderson

  “Hey, I’m right here. And since when did you become the boss of me?” I said with a pout.

  “Since you don’t know how to relax and take a vacation,” Addison retorted.

  I crossed my arms across my chest. I didn’t like being treated like a child, but she wasn’t wrong.

  “I can do that,” Tommy said. “I’ll carry her out of there if I have to.”

  Addison laughed. “I’d love to see that.”

  “I know it’s not as exciting as work, but did you have a good time?”

  Addison handed me a dish, and I put it in the dishwasher. All the other guests had gone home, the kids were asleep in bed, and Tommy and Maddox were still outside, so the two of us were alone in the kitchen.

  “Yes. It was fun and relaxing. I forget how nice it is not to worry about work all the time,” I admitted. Or the things that came along with being a defense attorney.

  “Is everything okay on that front? I know you won that big case.”

  I smiled. “I did win. And it felt really good.” What came after, not so much. But I didn’t want to bother her with that stuff. “I know I need some time off like this, but it’s hard to let go every now and then. My firm is my baby.” And with no husband and kids, sometimes, it felt like it was my family.

  Addison put her hand on my shoulder. “I understand. Until Maddox came back, my work was my baby. And I’m just a one-man show. You and your partners built up your firm from the three of you to what it is now. I can see why you put a lot of energy into it. But remember, you hired all those people because they are competent. If you don’t think they can manage without you, you wouldn’t have brought them on.”

  I chuckled. “You have a way with words. Maybe you and Maddox should move to Des Moines, and you can join my team. We could use someone like you in court.”

  She scrunched up her nose. “Nah. I like my little life here.” She rinsed off a glass and handed it to me. “Which is so crazy when I think about it. Maddox and I had such grand plans to get out of this town and do bigger and better things. And now, here we are…happy.”

  “Life is funny sometimes.”

  We cleaned up a few more dishes in silence before Addison said, “So…”

  “So…what?” I asked. I had no idea what she was thinking.

  “So, you want to tell me why you were acting so strange earlier tonight?”

  I winced. “You noticed, huh?”

  She laughed. “Of course I noticed. Tommy didn’t exactly help. He kept watching you.”

  A hot flash went through my body. “He did?” I asked more eagerly than I should have.

  “Yeah, he was watching you like he was waiting for you to mess up or something.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t prepared for the disappointment that followed.

  A slow grin spread across Addison’s face. “Did you want him to be watching you for other reasons?”

  “What?” I scoffed. “No.”

  “Because when your attention is elsewhere, he looks at you like he wants to do things to you. Very bad things.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  I shook my head, even as I tried not to let any excitement get the best of me. “No, he doesn’t.”

  “Yes, he does. But we’re getting off topic. Why were you being weird?”

  I didn’t know what to do. I could make something up, but then I’d be lying. Or I could tell her the truth and potentially embarrass her. Or worse, she could get mad at me for not listening to her.

  Thanks to the help of a few glasses of wine, I decided to go with the truth.

  “I got here early even though you told me not to, the door to the garage was open partway, I walked into your house, and I saw you and Maddox having porn-star sex. Like, porn-star sex,” I blurted out before I could change my mind.

  Addison’s eyes rounded to the size of the plate she was holding. She stared at me; the only movement she made was when she blinked.

  I bit my lip. “I’m sorry. Are you—”

  She leaned close. “Was it hot? What did I look like? Did I look stupid?”

  “Uh…” This was not the reaction I’d expected from her.

  “I’ve always wanted to record Maddox and me having sex, but I’m worried that seeing myself will ruin it because I’ll be too busy judging my flaws and technique.”

  It was my turn to stare at her.

  “Come on, Olivia. Don’t leave me hanging.”

  I tilted my head. “So, you’re not mad?”

  “Not really. I should have known you wouldn’t listen to me. And next time, instead of telling Maddox to make sure the door is locked, I’m going to lock it myself.”

  “Okay then…yes…it was hot. But also weird because you’re my friends.”

  “I can understand that.”

  “And there was one other thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I was jealous. I’ve never had sex like that,” I confessed.

  “Never had sex like what?” a deep voice asked from the direction of the sliding doors.

  Addison and I both jumped and then turned to see who had snuck into the house without us hearing a single thing.

  Tommy and Maddox both stood there with a beer in their hands. I studied their faces to see if I could guess how much they’d heard. I also couldn’t tell which one of them had asked the question. They had surprisingly neutral expressions.

  “How long have you been standing there?” I asked.

  “How did we not hear you come in?” Addison asked.

  The two men looked at each other and clinked their beer bottles together.

  “Baby, I’ve told you, we’re SEALs,” Maddox said. He set his beer down on the counter, came up behind Addison, and wrapped his arms around her. “We’re stealthy, and we know how to get into secret places.” He pushed her brown hair off her shoulder and kissed her neck.

  There was that feeling of envy again. It was time to go.

  Addison laughed and tried to shake him off. “Maddox, I’m busy, talking to my friend.”

  I grabbed the dish out of her hand and plopped it into the dishwasher. “That’s okay. I should go and get some sleep anyway.”

  She put her head on her husband’s shoulder and looked at him. “You scared away my helper. Now, you have to finish doing the dishes with me.”

  He released his wife and stepped back before turning to me. “Don’t go, Olivia. Addison needs your help.”

  I shook my head with a laugh. “Too late,” I said as I went and picked up my purse and pulled out my keys.

  “I’d better get going, too,” Tommy said. “Olivia and I are going to head out early in the morning.”

  Since when? “We are?”

  “Yep, we are.”

  “Okay.” That was fine by me.

  Tommy plucked my keys out of my hand and set them on the counter. “Olivia and I will pick up your SUV and her car tomorrow.”

  I made a sound of protest. “Why’d you do that?”

  “Because we’ve both been drinking.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

  9

  Tommy

  I directed Olivia out the door, and once it closed behind us, she said, “I can drive. I’m not drunk.”

  “It doesn’t mean you’re under the legal limit, and you literally just left the county sheriff’s house. Besides, it’s a beautiful night, and we don’t have that far to walk.”

  Now that the sun had set, the temperature was perfect—not too hot and not too cold.

  “But what about getting up early? If we drove, we could be in bed sooner.”

  I immediately pictured us in bed…together. But that wasn’t what she meant.

  “I just said that to get us out of there. You looked uncomfortable around Maddison’s PDA.”

  She glanced at me and smiled. “Thanks, but no, I wasn’t uncomfortable. Jealous maybe but not uncomfortable.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Sorry. I might not be drunk, but the wine is bringing out the hon
esty in me tonight.”

  “No apologies needed. I think everyone gets lonely sometimes.”

  “Even you?”

  “Sure, even me.” More so now that I didn’t have my career to keep me busy.

  We walked a few minutes, just enjoying the night while I tried not to keep glancing at her. She was cute tonight, all relaxed after an evening with friends. The alcohol probably didn’t hurt either.

  “I have a question,” Olivia said.

  “Okay.”

  “How long were you and Maddox standing there when you came in from the backyard? How much did you hear? Or I guess, how much did Maddox hear? I’m going to be so embarrassed if he knows that I saw him having sex.”

  “Only for a few seconds.”

  She put her hand to her chest. “Whew.”

  “But it doesn’t matter. He already knows.”

  Olivia smacked my arm, stopping me. She turned to face me. “How the hell does he know? Did he see me watching?” She slapped her cheeks. “Oh my God, I can never face him again.”

  “He didn’t see you.”

  She dropped her arms. “Oh, thank God.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “So then, how does he know?”

  I brought my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t tell him.”

  “Then, he doesn’t know.” She shook her head at me and started walking again.

  “You do know he’s married, right? Addison tells him everything.”

  She clenched her fists. “Shit. You’re right.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I guess that means, tomorrow, I’m driving myself back to Des Moines and never coming back.”

  I laughed at her. “It’s not that bad.” I lifted a shoulder. “Besides, I know Maddox, and he’s not going to care if you saw him.”

  “You can’t possibly know that,” she said, her voice full of skepticism.

  “The dude has had sex while I was in the same room on multiple occasions, and vice versa. He’s even had sex when I was in the same bed.”

  Her eyes bugged out at me.

  “Not with me. Christ. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not Maddox’s jam. Or mine.” I liked women way too much.

  “Didn’t that bother you?”

  “That he had sex while I was trying to sleep?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yes. I was trying to sleep. He kept me up.” I smiled. “Also, he was getting some, and I wasn’t. It didn’t seem fair.”

  “Was it…” Olivia cleared her throat. “Was it with Addison?”

  I laughed. “No way. Maddox would never do that with Addison. He loves that woman too much and is too possessive.”

  “Then, how do you know he won’t be mad that I saw him?”

  Olivia had a point, but…

  “You’re a woman, and I’m a guy. He doesn’t want other men seeing his wife naked.” Especially since it had already happened once.

  The first time I had visited Brook Creek, Addison had been half-asleep when she walked out of Maddox’s room without anything on but her birthday suit. I wasn’t one to ogle another guy’s woman, but let’s just say, I could understand why Maddox was protective.

  As we walked, I noticed that Olivia had moved closer to me. We were going past the town’s school, where the streetlights were few and far between. Sometimes, as a big guy with lots of training, I forgot how scared women could get.

  My suspicions were confirmed when we heard a noise coming from the field behind the school, and she grabbed on to me and glued herself to my side.

  Two seconds later, a cat ran out from the field and across the road.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Look, it’s just a cat,” I said to reassure her, but she was still watching the darkness of the field, and I could feel her body trembling.

  I wrapped my arm around her.

  “Hey, hey.” I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “You okay?”

  She was really scared.

  “Let’s keep walking, okay?” Her fingers gripped me tighter.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t let go.” I gave her body a little nudge. “Come on. We’re almost there.” We were only about halfway, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

  We continued on, close like that, but once we were around homes again and more lighting, Olivia’s hold on me loosened.

  “The day is ending a lot differently than it started.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked me.

  “This morning, you hated my guts, and now, you can’t keep your hands off me.”

  She jumped back as if I’d stuck a hot poker in her side, as if she’d just realized that she was clutching on to me.

  She cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, I didn’t really hate you.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “You sure about that?”

  “I would say I had a strong aversion to you. Hate sounds too mean.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “But you apologized, and sometimes, I feel like a third wheel with Addison and Maddox. Who else can sympathize but you?”

  I nodded in agreement.

  Soon, we arrived at our buildings.

  “Do you want me to walk you up?” The door into the building wasn’t locked, and seeing as how she had been skittish earlier, I thought I’d ask.

  She hesitated before saying, “I’ll be fine.”

  I opened the door. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Her lips parted.

  I smiled. “Just go, Olivia,” I said before she could argue.

  She listened this time. We climbed the rickety steps, and I watched her unlock the door, listening for the sound of the dead bolt opening.

  “Do you want me to check inside before you go in?”

  “No. I was just being silly earlier.” She put her hand on my chest. “Thank you though. I appreciate the offer.”

  I looked down. It felt like she was burning a hole through my skin. I stared up into her brown eyes. “I won’t go in on one condition.”

  “Okay, what’s that?”

  “Tell me the truth. What did you mean when you said you’d never had sex like that?”

  10

  Olivia

  I had already admitted too many things tonight and had that embarrassing moment where I got scared. Nobody was going to hurt me here.

  But I was not going to tell Tommy—the guy who had told me I needed my ass slapped and my pussy pounded—that I had never had amazing sex. Good sex? Sure. But on a scale of one to ten, I’d probably rate the best sex I’d had at a five.

  Until tonight, I had thought rated-ten sex was only something you saw on TV or read about.

  And now, I was getting wet, just thinking about it again.

  I was so ashamed. They were my friends.

  Tommy put his hand on mine, and that was when I realized I was still touching him.

  I quickly pulled away, and he lifted a brow.

  “Go ahead. Check the apartment.”

  Disappointment flashed across his face, but he didn’t say anything. And I waited by the door for him to do his sweep so that I could regain some more composure.

  He was back in less than five minutes. “All clear.”

  “Shocking,” I said.

  He laughed. “You can deflect with humor, Olivia, but the only one you’re hiding from is yourself.” He stepped closer, kissed me on the side of the forehead, and turned to walk away. “Have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I walked into the apartment and headed straight for the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I needed to go to bed and try to forget the thing I wasn’t supposed to have seen.

  I slipped into bed five minutes later and closed my eyes.

  That was a mistake because the only thing I could see was Addison and Maddox together.

  I sighed and rolled over. “Think of something else,” I whispered to myself.

  I closed my eyes again, and this time, I saw Tommy. He was sitting around the patio table, as he had been earlier tonight.
/>
  This was a much better thought.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Tommy picked me up, carried me into the living room, and set me down on the same couch Addison and Maddox had been having sex on previously. He pulled off his shirt, and I flung my eyes open.

  Okay, so I just needed to do something before going to bed. My adrenaline was still a little high from walking home. I had joked with Addison that morning about not having time for television, but I was on vacation. I should really find one of the shows that people had talked about around the office.

  I threw back the covers and padded through the dark living room to find my laptop. I couldn’t find my computer at first, and then I remembered I had left it in the kitchen. I had been on a quick conference call with my assistant as I put away my groceries.

  I picked it up off the counter and turned to go back to my room, so I could watch TV in bed, but I stopped when I saw the light on in the apartment where Tommy was staying. Curious as to what he was doing, I moved closer to my window.

  And gasped.

  Tommy had just stripped off his shirt. Kind of like he had in my little fantasy minutes ago. But unlike my fantasy, I didn’t want to make the image disappear, and I didn’t step away either.

  He turned, so his side was facing me, and I watched as Tommy pushed his shorts off. I gasped again. He wasn’t wearing underwear.

  His muscular thigh flexed as he lifted his leg to pull his shorts from his foot, and I remembered how it had felt against the palm of my hand when we were at Addison and Maddox’s. It felt exactly how it looked.

  Tommy spun around and faced the window. He walked toward it, and I only had a couple seconds to look before he closed the shade, but it was enough.

  His dick was fucking huge.

  I spun and threw my back against the wall.

  Something was wrong with me. First, I had spied on Addison and Maddox and now Tommy.

  I had never been a voyeur before, but it seemed like I was trying to hit a new world record.

  “You need to get laid,” a voice that sounded an awful lot like Addison said in my head. “You need to find a man who fucks you like Maddox fucks me.”