by J. M. Witt
“Jesus Christ, Heath! How have you not been sued for sexual harassment?”
Defending myself, I smirked, “They all pursued me!”
“Really? You’re going that route?” She rolled her eyes and started looking around the gym. We were both being stared at, men and women alike. Turning back to look at me over the counter separating us, she announced, “He’s married and I’ll cut a bitch. Got it?” Most of the men just smiled and laughed whereas the women looked offended and went back to their routines or left.
I walked around the counter and put my arms around her waist, “If you just cost me customers we’re going to have a problem.” I smiled at her and she just smiled back.
“Happy wife, happy life. If those tramps are here to get lucky with you, they can go elsewhere.”
“So possessive. I like it.”
She smacked my arm. “Knock it off. But, seriously. I’ll cut a bitch. Better yet, I’ll shank a bitch.” She cupped my cheeks that were again covered in a short beard and said, “Mine,” before kissing me.
“You’re back!”
We turned to find Will staring at us. “Yup. I needed to grab some things and then we’re headed back to her place.”
Looking between us, he added, “Well, there are some pressing matters we should discuss when you have the time.”
Running my hand through my hair, I wasn’t quite sure what to do when Lucy spoke up. “It’s fine. I can wait.”
“It’s not a five minute thing.” Will seemed irritated so I knew something was up.
“Ok.” Turning to Lucy, I suggested, “Why don’t you go back to your place? I’ll be there in a few hours.”
She agreed as Will added, “I can drop him off if you want to take his car.”
“That’s a great idea.” Turning to Will, “Give me five minutes. I’ll meet you in the office.” He nodded and walked away without saying another word.” Pulling out my keys, I handed her the keys to my car. “It’s the silver one.” Dangling them in front of her, I warned, “Don’t get yourself killed.”
Tilting her head, she inquired, “What is it?”
“Fast. Here.” I grabbed her bags, leaving mine at the desk and walked her to the back lot. “Leave it in the trunk if you want. I can get it when I get there.”
“I’m not helpless Mr. Kerrigan.”
“Oh, I know. You’ll shank a bitch. Got it!” We both laughed as I popped the trunk and put her bag in. “Ok. Here you go.” I tossed her the keys as she smiled devilishly. “Don’t. Get. Killed.”
“No. But I can’t promise I won’t get pulled over!” Opening the door for her, I swatted her ass. She started it up once she buckled in, and the purr of the engine filled the air as she revved the engine. “Damn. This is going to be fun!”
“Bad girl. Just take it slow coming in and out of parking lots. The front is lower than you think.”
Tipping her hand away from her forehead she mocked me, “Yes, Sir!” She started playing with the radio, synced her phone, and scrolled through a playlist before picking a song. “Here...just for you!”
I looked to the display and saw that Bad Girl by Avril Lavigne was the song she selected. “I’m going to choke you if anything happens to her.”
“I don’t mind a little choking.” Winking at me, I was speechless. She just laughed as she backed out of the spot and cranked the radio louder. She waved to me in the rearview mirror and squealed the tires as she pulled out of the parking lot.
Making my way inside, I grabbed my bag and headed up to the massive apartment Will and I shared. It was a huge open space with two separate master suites at opposite ends, with the kitchen, office, and living space in the middle. We kept a lot of the industrial feel it had when we remodeled, since it had once been a warehouse. Steel beams and lots of glass were primary features of the space.
Carrying my bag to my room, I dropped it on my bed and then started packing another. Will’s figure appeared in the doorway and I continued packing, knowing he’d start talking soon enough.
“Montrose may be a problem.”
“What? We scouted it for months. It’s the perfect location.” Montrose was where we were hoping to open our fourth branch and what we needed if we wanted to continue branching out.
“Apparently we’re not the only ones interested in the property. And Jameson’s nephew is friends with Steve.”
“Fuck!” Jameson was part of the building commission in Montrose and Steve was the owner of another local gym branch. Our competition. “Do we have any ins?”
“Stella.”
“Christ.”
“I’m guessing she’s pretty pissed about your marital status. I just found her cussing out the new receptionist and she had her in tears.”
“She’s a fucking irrational basket case.”
“Well maybe you should’ve thought about that before you fucked her.”
I ignored his comment. I wasn’t the only one with skeletons in my closet. “So what do we do?”
“I don’t know. I have a lunch scheduled with Jameson on Wednesday. If you could make it, I think it could really help.”
“Yeah, sure. Tell me when and where. If I have clients, I’ll reschedule them.”
Nodding, he thanked me, “Great. Thank you.” He didn’t leave and I caught his stressed habit of rubbing the back of his neck and then the bridge of his nose. “So, Lucy. Did you talk to her?”
“I’m not discussing my wife with you. We’re in a really great place, considering how everything went down.”
“She’s going to find out. And if it doesn’t come from you…we’ll both have hell to pay.”
I was growing frustrated and took it out on my bag. Tossing it aside I growled out in frustration, “I’ll handle it. I can’t lose her. Not now.”
“The longer…”
“Will! I got it.”
Inhaling deeply he mumbled, “I hope so.”
He started to leave my room and I stopped him. “Hey, what are the odds of you finding another place? Lucy’s lease is up at the end of the month and I figure the three of us here isn’t the best scenario.”
“Dude, I don’t know. We shouldn’t really be taking out any more credit until we figure out Montrose. I don’t want to jeopardize it any further.”
Nodding and looking around my room, I tried taking it all in. I knew he was right. “Maybe we’ll crash at O’s for a few months.”
“I might be willing to do that, too. His place is closer to Montrose.”
“Ok. We’ll figure it out. I should get going.”
He slapped his hand on my shoulder and congratulated me. “I really do hope this works out with you and Lucy. I know what she means to you and I hope she knows it too.” I just nodded my head and he left the room while I finished packing.
~ Chapter 7 ~
Calling Lucy before Will drove to drop me off, I offered to pick up dinner and she agreed. I stopped and picked up a pizza. Will carried up the pizza while I juggled my bags. When the door flew open, we didn’t expect what we saw.
Lucy stood there in red lingerie, practically see through. She looked smoking hot. I forgot Will was standing behind me until her eyes practically bugged out of her head, her cheeks as red as the scrap of fabric she wore, and she ran to the bedroom.
Dropping my bags just inside the door, I took the pizza from my brother. He smiled and shook his head and headed down the hall. “Go get her, tiger.”
I shut and locked the door without responding. Setting the pizza on the counter, I started walking toward the bedroom. Just before I reached the door, it flung open and Lucy wasn’t wearing the lingerie anymore.
“Whoa, whoa. What’s this?” She was wearing sweats and still seemed frazzled.
“You could’ve warned me he was coming up.” Her hands were on her hips as she scrutinized me.
“Umm, you could’ve warned me! Go put that back on.”
She sashayed right past me, flung the lid to the pizza open and pulled a slice out. With a
smile full of grit she bantered, “Not a chance.”
Lucy pulled some plates out of the cupboard and waters out of the fridge and offered me one of each. She walked over to the couch and made herself comfortable. Grabbing the bottle of water, the box, and setting my plate on top I sat down next to her after placing the pizza down on the coffee table.
We sat and ate quietly and I couldn’t stand it anymore. “So, I’m not sure I can look for a new apartment space right now.” She looked at me and I knew she had the wrong idea. “I want to, it’s the business. We’re in the middle of obtaining another property and I can’t secure another debt right now, not until that’s taken care of.”
“How long will that be?”
“Hopefully just a couple months. Will said he might be willing to stay at O’s place, it’s closer to the new site for him. We could stay at my place. It’s big, I think you’d like it.” She just shrugged her shoulders. Something was bothering her. “What’s wrong, Lucy? Talk to me.”
She looked at me warily, “I, it’s stupid.”
“Tell me.”
Sighing, she let it out, “I don’t know if I can live there and not think about all the women before me. In your bed, in that apartment.”
She was jealous and I was too. She’d had men before me, but I wasn’t about to let it get in the way of us. “Lucy, they’re in the past. You’ve had men here, too, and it doesn’t bother me.” She just shook her head at me. “What are you saying no to?”
“I’ve never brought a man here. Only you.” I had to force my mouth shut after my jaw dropped. “It’d been almost two years since I’d slept with anyone. I’m guessing that’s not the case for you.”
“Um, no.” She sat silent and I was fucking lost as to what I should say and do. Those women were all in my past. I only wanted her. “You can make the space yours. Whatever you want. Unless we can find a way to renew here.”
“It’s already been leased. I’m being ridiculous. We can stay at your place. With or without Will, and when we can, we’ll re-evaluate our living situation. I just want to take it one day at a time.”
Smiling, I set my plate down and invaded her space on the other end of the couch. “You make me smile, Lucy Kerrigan.” My hand moved up her leg as she leaned back, trying to avoid my face hovering over hers. “I know your weakness. Don’t make me tickle it out of you.”
“Tickle what out of me?”
“That! That smile of yours.” She rolled her eyes and smiled brightly. Softly, I whispered, “I love that smile. It taunts me in my dreams.” I kissed her nose and then her cheeks.
Her breathing was increasing as she asked, “You dream about me?”
“All. The. Time.”
I let my mouth hover over hers before dropping my lips to her neck. Moaning, she whimpered my name, “Heath…”
Her fingers ran over the back of my neck and over my scalp, pulling me closer. Dropping my weight onto her, she slid lower until she was on her back, under me. Reaching my hand under the sweatshirt, I found silky material beneath it. Looking down, I found the red lingerie she’d been wearing at the door.
“You didn’t take it off.” She just shook her head. Pulling the sweatshirt over her head, I took in the sight of her. “Up you go.” Moving off of her, I pulled her to stand in front of me while I sat on the couch. I made eye contact with her before slowly pulling the sweats off her hips and down her legs. “Damn.”
The red lingerie against her skin was a sharp contrast. My hands moved up the back of her legs, cupping her exposed cheeks. The things I needed to tell her started running rampant through my head. I didn’t deserve her. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her close, resting my head against her belly.
“I don’t deserve you.”
Her hands were moving through my hair, “Yes, you do. I don’t deserve you.” She moved to climb into my lap, straddling my waist and gazed into my eyes. “All these years I’ve never given you the time of day. I’m sorry.” Her voice was showing signs of cracking and I shushed her.
“That’s in the past. I agree. Let’s just take everything one day at a time.”
“Kiss me.”
“It’d be my honor.”
The kiss wasn’t rushed, it was slow and passionate. She was an amazing kisser and it took all my brain power to remember to kiss her back. Hands roamed and teeth nipped as we fondled each other. Pressing herself into my erection, I dropped my head back and pushed up against her as she moaned.
She yanked my t-shirt over my head, running her hands over my torso as my muscles flexed in reaction to her touch. Her hands sank into my pants and my hungry cock awaited her. She stroked him only the way she could as I lay back, watching her eyes on mine. Her lips turned up slightly as I began moving my hips in rhythm to her hand.
“Shit. I can’t take this much longer. I need to be inside you, Lucy.” I didn’t wait for an answer, just stood up with her in my arms and carried her back to her room.
It was the first time I was really seeing her room. I’d only checked on her once that night all those months ago and it was dark so I couldn’t see much. She had a queen sized bed with matching furniture. It wasn’t girly in décor, but more modern than I thought she’d be, with a few bright accent colors. Dropping her to the bed, I stripped off my pants while kicking off my shoes and pulling off my socks.
Pulling my phone from my pants, I pulled up my playlist. Selecting Animals by Chris Call. It was an unplugged version and quickly becoming one of my favorite ‘Lucy’ songs.
~ Chapter 8 ~
It was Christmas Eve. I had worked a twelve hour day and wanted nothing more than to get home to her. We were planning to spend Christmas morning together, alone, and then we would head to my family’s place where her parents would be, too. We’d only been married a few weeks, but they’d been amazing and I wouldn’t have changed them for anything.
Sitting in my car, my radio presets had been changed again. She’d changed them all for the first time that day she drove my car to her place after the honeymoon. I was convinced she would change them whenever she was at the gym.
Texting her, I chastised her for changing them AGAIN. She just responded with a wink emoticon and a heart. She’s lucky I loved her. Not that I’d said it to her yet. My phone chimed again and it was her.
#wannatasteMYheathbar
I laughed and my dick twitched. She was horny and it was her way of telling me so.
When I walked in the door, I didn’t hear or see her. Maybe she wasn’t home yet. Strolling into the bedroom, I found her standing by the dresser in nothing but scraps of lace. Finding her this way would never get old.
Nodding toward the bed, she told me to sit down and I did as she said. “Get over here, woman!”
Giggling, she teased me, “Hold your horses. I just wanted some music.”
She put on Ride by SoMo. It wasn’t the first time she played music while we got naughty and I didn’t mind. The song was a huge turn on for her and that was a turn on for me. We even started a playlist of bedroom songs while in Key West, which was my idea and she went along with it.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she walked over to me and began swaying to the music. She began dancing for me and I thought I might die. I’d joked about it in Key West, but she just shrugged it off saying she was no dancer. Her ass was rubbing against my lap and I couldn’t resist touching her.
“Ah, ah. No touching.” She winked as she turned to face me and backed away.
My hands itched to touch her and gripped the bedding next to me instead. If she was no dancer, I thought her a liar. “You’ve been practicing.”
Smiling, she confessed, “I’ve been taking classes with Stacey.”
“What other secrets are you keeping from me?”
“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”
It’d become so easy for me to lose myself in her the past couple weeks. She was all I thought about day and night. A dream I never thought could come true. I watched the fabric pul
l and flutter over her skin with her movements as her muscles flexed. She was breathtaking as she flashed that smile and those diamond blue eyes at me over her shoulder. I was completely at her disposal and would do anything for her. Whether she knew that or not, I wasn’t sure.
Turning to face me as her hands ran over her torso, she moved closer with her eyes downcast. With my hands gripping the bedding behind me, I leaned back and took her in. Moving to stand between my legs, she bent down, her breasts brushing against my thighs as her hands gripped my knees. She moved and stood so that her perfect ass was staring me in the face. Unable to keep my hands to myself, I ran my hands up the front of her thighs to her hips and over her belly, trying to pull her closer.
“Tsk, tsk Mr. Kerrigan. Don’t make me call security.”
Groaning in protest, I released her as she moved away from me with a smile on her lips. “Lucy.” Her smile just got bigger as she beckoned me, with the curl of her finger, to come to her.
When I was halfway to her she put her hand up to stop me and I obeyed, reluctantly. She danced around me, her hands dancing over my hips and below my waistband. Standing behind me, she pushed her hands under my shirt and ran their softness up to my shoulder blades and then around to my chest. Reaching back down, she grabbed the hem and pulled it up. I finished yanking it off for her as she moved to face me again.
I tried to speak and she shushed me and then pulled my mouth down to hers. The rush of something foreign ran through me and I wasn’t sure how to explain it. It was like a craving I’d never experienced. I wanted to consume all of her and didn’t know how to ever quench my thirst for her. I couldn’t keep my hands off her anymore.
Picking her up, she let out a small squeal as I raised her up until my arms were fully outstretched. Staring down at me, she looked like an angel with her platinum blonde hair framing her face. I quickly wrapped my arms around her as she slowly slid down my body. When her face was inches above mine, she cupped my cheeks and I closed my eyes in response.
The kiss was slow and passionate, but soon her legs circled around my torso as she pressed herself closer to me. One hand at her neck and the other on her ass, my hand squeezed roughly eliciting a moan from her. As our kiss deepened and became more frenzied I became more impatient. Breathless, I sat back down on the edge of the bed with her still clinging to me. I had to tell her, I should tell her.