by KB Jacobs
I bit my lip against the awful nickname but sighed as Brad undid the buttons of my shirt. Cool air breezed across my naked breasts. With the plans I had for tonight, what was the point of underwear?
Brad spun me around to face the back of the room so he could cup my breasts, his exposed penis pushing against my back. "Look at how big and beautiful these are." He reached down and flicked open the button of my jeans.
"Wait." I spun around out of his grasp, reaching for my purse. Maybe if we did things my way we wouldn't need the lube. I steadied my breath. Brad loved me. He told me so right before we made love. He said we could do anything I wanted. This would work.
I lifted the shiny, new handcuffs out of my purse and spun around to face Brad, trying for a sultry look with one hand propped on my hip.
He’d been smiling, but his eyes widened, and the smile disappeared as his mouth dropped open in horror. “What the fuck?” he yelled. “Are you a fucking pervert?”
Laughter rang out from the back of the room, and a group of guys fell into the room from where they’d been hiding in a closet. They were all guffawing and pointing at Brad’s now flaccid cock.
“Did you see that?” One guy snorted. “He deflated like a balloon.” He lifted his hand and let it flop over.
“Aw, man, that was classic,” another one said as he bent over from laughing so hard. “We’re gonna have to get you some commercials for ED, Brad. Who knew the class nerd would have that bad of an effect on you. Man, that’s harsh.”
Heat suffused my face as tears filled my eyes. “Brad?” I whispered. He couldn’t have known they were here, right? This was all some sort of practical joke.
Brad straightened, puffing out his chest as he tucked his flaccid penis into his jeans. I thought he was going to tell them off.
But then he spoke. “I tried, guys, I did, but did you see that shit? Not only is she a dork, but she’s a cunt with a kink. Man, that’s just wrong.” He sneered at me. “Go home, little girl, I don’t want you or your sick games here.”
I awoke on a gasp and a sob. My tank top clung to my sweaty skin, and I tried to get my panting breaths under control. It had been years since I’d had dreamed of that night.
Anthony's friends cornering me tonight brought it all back. I choked on the tears clogging my throat and tossed aside the romance novel I'd been reading when I fell asleep. That was a long time ago. It was a hard lesson to learn, but one I hadn't forgotten. Kinky sex was for fictional characters only. I could let my imagination run away from me in my books. In real life, I had learned to be smarter.
Chapter 17
Anthony
The next morning I opened the front door to let Miller inside for our PT session. “Hey, man. Come on in.”
We headed straight to the elevator and took it down to the basement gym.
“How’s the ankle feeling?” Miller asked.
I hated to admit I’d maybe screwed it up last night, but it was important to be upfront with him if I wanted to avoid surgery. “Actually a little sore. I may have tweaked it last night.”
Miller halted and swung his gaze around to me with a raised eyebrow that said I needed to continue.
I ducked my head, feeling like a schoolboy who’d just gotten caught stealing a cookie. “I lost my temper and took a few fast steps on it.” That was the one thing I’d been told over and over...keep all my weight off the ankle for the first week except while under Miller’s watchful eyes during PT.
Miller pressed his lips together, and I waited for the lecture that didn’t come. Instead, he asked, “Are you having any issues with swelling?”
“A little, but I iced it this morning, and that seemed to help.”
“Okay, I’ll look at it, then we’ll decide if you need to go in for another MRI and where to go with your treatment.”
While I dreaded the idea that I could have ensured surgery with that move last night, I couldn’t regret what I’d done. Even thinking about someone hitting on Melissa made my blood boil, especially considering how much it had freaked her out.
I didn’t want anyone else near her, and wasn’t that an eye-opener? Because I was pretty sure even if she had been okay with some random guy hitting on her, I never would be. The idea of her with another guy...
No, she is mine.
That was insane thinking. She wasn’t mine. In fact, she was about as far away from being mine as possible. She was my houseguest. A houseguest who was helping me out of a tight situation with my sponsor. That’s all.
We settled in on a bench in the gym where Miller could examine my ankle. First I removed the brace, and then he unwrapped the ace bandage around it.
I hissed in a breath as Miller twisted my ankle one direction and then another, testing the limits of the joint. His frown grew deeper as he concentrated, and my stomach sank.
“Did I screw it up more?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so, but we’ll take it easy today. Right now the swelling is down, but if it swells up again, that could be a sign of something happening internally. If that happens, call me, and we’ll get you in for a new MRI.”
“Okay.” I nodded through gritted teeth as he pushed against the pad of my foot, flexing the tendons around my ankle.
Miller worked for a bit longer. He didn’t look up at me but instead concentrated on my injured appendage. “I noticed it was quieter upstairs than normal. Does that have anything to do with you losing your temper last night?”
I gave a low chuckle. “You could say that. Some of my houseguests were getting handsy with Melissa, so I told them all to get out.”
At this, Miller glanced up at me with surprise.
I shrugged. “What? Is it wrong to expect people to treat her with respect?”
“Nooo,” Miller said slowly. “I’m just surprised to hear that coming from you.”
I made a sound of offense that cut off when he moved my ankle again. “Ouch.”
Miller shook his head at me. “Sorry, man, but I’ve been to your parties. Let’s face it. You aren’t legendary around here for your women’s lib views. At one party, the women were only allowed to come in if they met the minimum clothing standards, which meant they were all basically in their underwear when it was only fifteen degrees outside.”
An oily, sick feeling rolled through my stomach. He was right. I couldn’t judge anyone for the way they acted toward a woman in my house because I’d never respected the girls who’d come here. That was totally on me. It was just another piece of evidence showing just how wrong I was to even think about messing with Melissa. She deserved so much better.
Miller tilted his head. “But you know, just because that was your life once upon a time doesn’t mean you can’t change how things are now.”
“Easier said than done. Even right now when I’ve told everyone to stay away, I can guarantee there are people in one of the bars and the hot tub outside that have shown up and made themselves at home since you arrived.”
“Well, that’s an easy fix, Anthony. Lock your damn doors. Change the locks if someone else has keys. Hell, with your fame, it wouldn’t even be over the top for you to fence and gate the entire house. You know my brother, Gavin, has a security company in town, right?”
I actually hadn’t remembered that.
Miller grabbed his messenger bag off the floor and pulled out a business card. “Call him. Tell him you’re one of my clients, and you have a rush job for him. He can have your place secure within twenty-four hours.”
I stared down at the words on the card...Murdock Securities. For the first time, I was considering cutting myself off from the lifestyle I’d had for the last seven years of my life. Was that what I wanted? My automatic answer was “hell no.”
But then I considered how shaken up Melissa had been last night.
A knock echoed from the doorframe of the gym. I looked up from the card.
Juliet. She must be on her lunch break.
Today, she wore a yellow floral sundress wit
h a small sweater for warmth and flats. She looked so feminine and delicate. For her, this change to my life might be worth pursuing. I’d do anything to make her happy.
“Hey there,” I said. “You look nice.”
“Thanks.” She blushed so prettily. “My clothes should be back from the dry cleaners tomorrow. Until then, I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel of the few clothes I had in a plastic tub that avoided the smoke. A sundress isn’t exactly appropriate for this time of the year or for crawling around a burned-out pub, but it works.” She shrugged. “How’s your ankle? I had to leave early this morning, so I didn’t get to ask. Does it feel okay today?”
“It would feel great if this guy would stop twisting it all over the place.” I nodded toward Miller.
“Hi, Melissa,” he greeted her.
“Hey, Miller. Are you Anthony’s physical therapist? I didn’t realize that’s what you did.”
“Yep, although on days like this, I wonder why I even bother when my patient doesn’t listen.” Miller scowled at me.
Melissa rushed over. “Oh, no. That was my fault. Don’t blame him. Is he okay?”
Miller nodded. “I think it’s okay, but you know what? You could actually help if you wanted.”
She nodded eagerly and bit her lip. “Absolutely. What can I do?”
“We aren’t doing his full PT regimen today, but he needs to make sure that his ankle doesn’t tighten up after being strained again. There are a series of flexes he can do about every hour and a half throughout the day to keep that from happening, but it’s not something he can do alone. Do you think you could help him?”
“Sure.” She glanced at me shyly. “Just show me.”
I sat on a low bench with my leg propped on top of it. Miller tapped the end of the bench where my foot sat. “Sit here, straddling the bench, and pull his foot onto your lap.” He tilted his head at her. “Wait a minute. Will that work with your skirt?”
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded as she sat and tucked her skirt around her. “It’s really full, so I shouldn’t accidentally flash him.”
My cock sat up and took a sudden interest in the proceedings. Uh oh. She lifted my foot into her lap. The heat from her pelvis seared the bottom of my foot. Sweat began to drip down my back.
She gently grasped my foot with her cold hands. I hissed in a breath at her frigid touch.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “It’s cold outside today.”
“No problem,” I said, my voice low. Maybe the cold of her hands would have the same effect as a cold shower, although indications were it wouldn’t work like that.
Miller placed her hands on my skin. One wrapped around my foot, the other wrapped around the back of my ankle.
At the sight of her small, delicate hand against the dark skin of my leg, my mouth went dry. This shouldn’t be erotic, but oh...it was. I swallowed and tried to think cold thoughts—ice baths after injury, face planting in soft powder—but all thoughts led to that cold hand wrapped around the hard, hot length of my cock.
I moaned.
Melissa jerked her hands off me. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” My voice was dark and full of gravel. Pay attention, idiot. “You just caught something there, but it’s okay.”
She looked to Miller for verification that she wasn’t killing me.
He just smirked. “I think he’s fine.” As she concentrated her focus on my leg, he looked pointedly at my erection. Yeah, we both knew my ankle wasn’t the body part throbbing right now.
Miller bit his lip to hold in the laugh lurking behind his gaze.
I glared at him.
He took Melissa’s hand that sat behind my ankle and had her run it up the back of my calf. “You’ll need to check him here as you put the pressure on the ball of his foot to make sure he doesn’t get too tight.”
At that light touch, everything on me got much, much tighter.
“I think you’ll have our boy feeling better in no time. Just keep that up throughout the day, Melissa. You’re a natural.”
I glanced up at Melissa’s face. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks pink, and the expression on her face hit me in the gut. Lust.
I didn’t know whether to curse Miller or thank him. Having Melissa’s hands on me every hour and a half for the rest of the day would be a test. Both heaven and hell. Torture and bliss. Everything I wanted, and nothing I could have.
Chapter 18
Melissa
“Okay, you’ve got an ice pack for your ankle, something to drink, a snack to hold you over until dinner, and here are your pain pills.” I shook the bottle before setting them on the end table next to the couch. “I don’t think you’ll need one before I get back, but better safe than sorry.”
I glanced around the game room, searching for anything else that might be missing, but I couldn’t think of anything Anthony would need while I was on my run. Not that my brain was thinking of much of anything. I’d been functioning at half capacity ever since offering to help with Anthony’s physical therapy. Who knew touching an ankle could be so erotic?
“I think I’ll be fine,” Anthony said, barely suppressing a grin. “You’ve got the coffee table stocked with enough supplies to last me a week.”
I twiddled my fingers together, a sure sign my nerves were getting the better of me. “It’s a bit overboard, I know. I just don’t want you getting up off of the couch again until you absolutely have to. After last night, and then from what Miller said today during your therapy session...are you sure you’ll be fine while I’m gone?”
Anthony leaned back on the couch and picked up a game controller. “Melissa, you’re going for a run around town. Unless you’re planning on pulling a Forrest Gump, I think I’ll be all right.”
“I guess.” I grabbed my iPod and made one more visual sweep of the room for anything I might’ve missed that Anthony could possibly need. “I’ll be back.”
Cringing, I rushed out of the room. I’ll be back. I’ll take “Dumb things to say in front of the hot guy whose bones you want to jump for two hundred dollars, Alex.” Maybe some distance and freezing cold air would get my brain back in gear.
The minute I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, I felt better. Staying in Anthony’s mini mansion was a dream come true, but I failed to factor in the impact that a smoking hot, injured athlete would have on my underutilized libido.
I broke into a light jog as I made my way around the side of the house into the backyard. I usually just ran down the main street of Aspenridge into town and maybe through the park, but Anthony had suggested I might enjoy running on some of the trails that crisscrossed the property behind his house. I was never much of a trail runner, but the extra exertion on my body might help keep my mind off of picturing Anthony naked every time I saw him.
Pausing at the edge of the woods, I stretched my muscles, popped in my earbuds, and hit play. I picked up speed as my audiobook sounded in my ears. Stories were as much a part of my life as snowboarding was in Anthony’s. I loved working at Naked Brews with Lake and Alex, but if there was a way I could figure out how to get paid for reading books all day, I’d kiss accounting goodbye.
Chapter Seventeen. The voice was deep and British, just the way I liked my narrators. Delphine moaned against the silky gag and turned her head at the sound of Stetson entering the room. Her heavy blindfold kept her from watching what she imagined to be his oiled, naked ass striding across the room, but she knew it was him from the scent of pine and musk that wove around his secret room where only she got to play. Her back arched in anticipation of the way he would torture her body into one orgasm after another.
“Hold still, Delphine. You know the rules.” His voice was husky, and her pussy grew hot and slick at the sound. “If you don’t follow the rules, you aren’t allowed to come. You do want to come, don’t you?”
Delphine relaxed her body and nodded quickly. She’d never wanted anything more.
I stopped running and leaned against a tree. Desp
ite the near freezing temperatures, I was burning up, sweat dripping down my back. But my run was only partially responsible for my pounding heart and over-heating body.
Listening to books had always been part of my running routine, and even the steamiest scenes had never interrupted my runner’s high. But ever since moving in to Anthony’s house, I couldn’t read or listen to anything for more than a few minutes before my imagination took over.
I closed my eyes and focused on steadying my breathing, but the minute the woods disappeared behind my eyelids a new image appeared. Anthony’s bare backside as he walked around the end of my bed, his dark skin glistening with oil. And me, helpless, naked, and tied to those intricately carved bed posts. He’d tease me with feathers and soft, leather whips, bending my body into submission until I cried out for him to touch me and put an end to my longing.
Leaves crunched to my right. My eyes sprang open in time to see a deer bound away through the tightly packed trees. My heart raced faster than ever, and my panties were wet for reasons that had nothing to do with exercise or the deer.
I needed to get ahold of my runaway imagination, or the next few months would be the worst kind of torture. Shutting off my iPod, I turned back toward the house. If I had any hope of controlling myself, these books would have to go. No more audio books. No more ebooks. And definitely no more dog-eared paperbacks with all the juiciest scenes highlighted and underlined.
For the next few months I needed to stick with basic run-of-the-mill romances. Or maybe a new genre. This was a perfect time to step outside my norm and dive into a new book that didn’t make me fantasize about Anthony torturing my body in the sweetest way.
I pulled out my phone and opened up my task list. Right under pick up dry cleaning, I added stop at Em-Dash. Kali was bound to have some good suggestions for me. I closed the app just as my phone dinged out a notification of a new email.
I didn’t recognize the sender, so I opened up my email. Maybe it was someone from the insurance company with information about the fire.
My dear sweet Mel: