The Vault Box Set

by Summers, Eden

  “You should’ve told me I had no chance.”

  “I tried.” He moved forward slowly, not wanting to spook her into running. “After the time in the storeroom, I backed away.”

  She slumped against the counter and stared at the floor. “You know how women play hard to get because men like a challenge?”

  He frowned. “Yeah.”

  “It works for women, too.” She shrugged. “You only made me want you more.”

  “I should’ve known.” He walked into the kitchen and rested his lower back against the counter opposite her. “I’m kinda irresistible. Sometimes I forget the effect I have on the opposite sex.”

  She glanced at him under thick eyelashes and released a huff of laughter. “You’re a dick,” she muttered, shaking her head and lowering her gaze back to the floor.

  Silence fell between them, giving him the time to relive the mistakes he’d made. He never should’ve reciprocated her flirting. He sure as hell shouldn’t have succumbed to temptation and followed her into the storeroom that day. In truth, he probably shouldn’t have hired her when he realized he desired her the first day they met. Now she was fractured—her skin pale, her eyes empty, her smile hiding under layers of betrayal.

  She raised her hands and stared blankly at her palms.

  “You’re shaking.” He bridged the space between them in two strides and clasped her hands in his, ignoring the way she stiffened.

  “It’s been a long night.”

  She straightened the closer he inched forward, trying to maintain space between them. After a long shift at the club, she smelled like sin. Like hot, sweaty, entirely delectable sin.

  Fuck his proclivities. Why couldn’t he be happy to settle down in a normal relationship? It wasn’t like he couldn’t function without the thrill of exhibitionism. He’d lived without it before. He hadn’t been happy, but then again, he hadn’t had the right woman either.

  Christ. Who was he kidding? He couldn’t erase parts of his soul at will. If only. Life would be so much simpler. But he was finally confident with the harsh realities of his lifestyle. He’d earned his take-it-or-leave-it mentality. He owed it to himself not to revert back to being ashamed.

  “I should call a cab.” He let the words fall between them but didn’t move. He couldn’t. Her body was so warm against his, the lush curve of her breasts within his grasp, her soft lips tilted toward him.

  “Yeah. You should.” She didn’t pull her hands away. Didn’t slide out from between his body and the counter.

  Listening to his libido would be a mistake. He’d get her into bed, make love to her until the sun rose, and they’d awaken to compounded problems that neither one of them wanted to face. Only he couldn’t find the strength to step back.

  “Want me to stay the night?”

  Her throat worked over a heavy swallow. “You shouldn’t.”

  She stood against him, her beautiful brown eyes darkening with lust, the swell of her breasts rising and falling with such innocent seduction that his balls tightened. He was stunned by her nearness. By the fact she knew his dirty little secret and still allowed him to be this close.

  He released her hands, cupped her cheek and leaned his face close to hers. “I no longer give a shit about what we should and shouldn’t do. I asked you what you wanted, Shay. Nothing else matters.”

  She ran a nervous swipe of her tongue over her bottom lip. “I…” She frowned and shook her head. “You know how I feel about you. But I’m not looking to sleep around. I’m after a relationship.”

  “Who says I’m not, too?” he asked, their mouths a mere inch apart.

  “A monogamous relationship.” She chuckled, but the humor didn’t penetrate.

  The heat of her breath brushed his lips, sending his rapidly beating heart into overdrive. At this moment, he’d vow to never sleep with another woman again if it meant getting between Shay’s thighs. And he’d mean it, too.

  “I can do monogamy.” He’d always been faithful in relationships. Owning and participating in a sex club didn’t mean he was an asshole. His desire to be watched and watch others had nothing to do with plowing the female playing field.

  She quirked a brow, her mouth tilting at one side. “I find it hard to believe you’d be faithful with all that muff on display. I noticed the tent in your pants while you were guiding that couple tonight.”

  “That camping expedition was for you,” he murmured against her lips.

  She narrowed her gaze. “You didn’t even know I was there.”

  “No. But I knew you weren’t far away.” He tilted his head, running the tip of his nose along the delicate skin of her cheek. “I wasn’t watching Pamela and Jack. I was picturing you and me.” He brushed his tongue along the side of her jaw and felt his cock pulse with her barely audible moan. “It was your petite little hands on my body.” He nipped the skin below her ear and leaned his pelvis into her, giving his dick the friction it demanded. “It was your sassy mouth all over my cock.”

  She whimpered and clasped his shoulders. “We shouldn’t do this.”

  “Why?” He had a myriad of reasons, yet none of them penetrated the intoxicating scent he continued to breathe into his lungs. His mouth found the sensitive spot at the base of her neck. He licked. He kissed. He sucked, until she was grinding against his thigh. “You want this. I want this.”

  She pulled back, blinking away the sexual haze in her eyes. “I want us.”

  She didn’t need to add and nobody else. The words were already implied. He hung his head, fucking clueless at what to do. He wanted Shay, physically and emotionally, yet ditching one side of his life to obtain her wouldn’t work. He’d tried changing himself for others. He’d gone down the vanilla path. Sex in bed with the blinds closed was fine to scratch an itch, but in the long run, he couldn’t deny he would eventually want more.

  He loved beautiful women, and he loved people watching him fuck beautiful women. It was art, a skill requiring technique and patience. The thrill at having others aroused by the way he touched a woman, making her come apart with his hands, his lips, his cock. Nothing could compare.

  Shay was right. They shouldn’t be doing this. Because once he laid her beautiful body down, he’d fuck her senseless. Today. Tomorrow. And every other day until the need to drag her to Vault of Sin and make love to her in front of an audience became too much.

  “I’ll call a cab.”

  She sucked in a ragged breath, stabbing him through the chest with her anguish. “Okay.” Her hands fell from his neck and she slid out from between him and the counter. “Do you mind letting yourself out? I need to have a shower before I collapse.”

  He nodded, trying to let go of the sinking sensation telling him he was doing the wrong fucking thing. “No problem. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

  He walked away from her, each footstep harder than dragging his feet through cement. When he reached the door, he paused, his hand on the knob, his back rigid. He wanted to turn around, to give himself one last glance to make sure he was doing the right thing. But leaving was the only option.

  One of them had to be willing to change, and from past experience, he knew it couldn’t be him. And he sure as hell didn’t want to be the one making someone else change their sexual proclivities when he’d fought so hard to be true to his own.

  With an exasperated breath, he turned the handle and stepped into the darkness, whispering a silent farewell to the only chance at happiness he’d had in a long time.

  Chapter Seven

  Shay rested her hands against the bathroom tiles, letting the hot water rush down her back. She couldn’t keep her eyes open, yet when she closed them, all she could see was the dejection in Leo’s expression before he strode away from her.

  Why was this so hard? It wasn’t like she was batting away guys on a nightly basis…well, not decent ones anyway. She should listen to her hormones, enjoy a few hours of hot and dirty sex and then brush it away like any other one-night stand. There was no need for
exclusivity.

  Can you say delusional?

  She wrinkled her nose. Her possessive side wasn’t going to disappear overnight. If she went to bed with him, she’d want more. Maybe they could play around for a few weeks. With his experience, he could probably teach her a thing or two while getting the fucking out of their systems. Then finally she could move on.

  Yeah, right.

  She whimpered and raised her face to the water spray. She wanted Leo. Wanted him so much her chest hurt. Surely, if they decided to have fun together and things didn’t work out, her loss wouldn’t feel any less painful than what she was going through now, would it? It’s better to have loved and lost, and all that sappy shit. Right?

  “Oh, Christ.” She knew this was going to be a mistake, and still she didn’t care.

  She turned off the water, slammed the shower door open and yanked a towel from the rack. Please don’t be gone. She wrapped the plush material around her body, not bothering to dry herself before she secured it above her breasts, and ran from the bathroom.

  With her wet hair dripping down her back, she hurried to the front door and flung it open. There was no time to contemplate the inevitable crash and burn as she rushed outside, taking the three steps to her front lawn while searching the darkness. “Leo?”

  “Yeah.” His voice drifted softly from the porch.

  She spun around, finding him in the shadows, seated on her wooden deck chair, hunched over with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. He lifted his gaze, the wisps of loose hair framing his face as his soulful eyes stole her breath.

  “Oh, good,” she squeaked, suddenly feeling like a douche for running into the night in nothing but a towel. “I thought you might have left already.”

  “I haven’t made the call, yet.”

  “Oh.” Awkward. She’d run after him without weighing the consequences and now had no clue what to say.

  “What did you want, Shay?”

  You. She strolled back to the house, this time ascending the three steps leisurely, giving herself a moment to calm down.

  “I thought maybe we could give this a try. Take things slow and see where it goes.” She shrugged to lessen the impact of her statement and clung to the top of her towel.

  “I don’t like slow.” His voice was smooth as velvet and deep enough to make her nipples tighten. “And you don’t want to be with a perverted guy like me.”

  Her heart clenched. She’d been the cause of his current self-loathing. Her heartless insults from earlier were sinking in, her rejection of his lifestyle, too.

  “You’re not perverted, Leo. You’re just different.” She stood at the top of the steps, her bare feet bathed in the warm glow from the lounge room light.

  He pushed from his chair, stalking toward her, his face devoid of emotion. “And you want to be different, too?”

  She shrugged again. There was nothing blasé about her current emotions, yet she was determined not to show her fear. “I don’t know what I want. But I’m willing to test my boundaries a bit.”

  He gave a derisive chuckle. “A bit?”

  She stiffened at his animosity. His bitterness wasn’t directed at her, she knew that, yet his scrutiny made her lose confidence.

  “Drop the towel.”

  Oh, boy.

  She bit back an anxious retort and raised her chin. He was pushing her away, trying to scare her with his ferocity. Only it had the opposite effect. She wanted to shock him enough to wipe the wicked sneer from his face. To make his eyes widen, his mouth drop. But could she release the towel, exposing herself to anyone who may happen to be awake at this early hour? This was her neighborhood. The place she had to come home to every day.

  “See,” he taunted, this time taking a step around her and heading for the stairs. “You couldn’t handle the shit I’d make you do.”

  How much do you really want him?

  She cursed her nerves and yanked at the towel, releasing the hold at her breasts. He paused as she let the material fall to the wooden floor, exposing herself to the world.

  His nostrils flared, the tight grip on his restraint wavering before her eyes. She jutted her chin, waiting, her chest throbbing harder with each passing second. When the silence continued, she began to realize she wasn’t good enough. He wanted a sexual goddess, someone capable of bending to his will in an instant. That change would take time, and with her stubborn streak, probably a lot of patience.

  Breaking eye contact, she bent down to scoop up the towel. “Well, I guess there was no harm in trying.” She swiveled on her toes and strode to the door. The urge to cover herself was cloying. Instead of succumbing, she remained strong, not giving him the excuse to claim she was scared.

  She reached for the handle and paused at the sound of his footfalls pounding behind her. His body slammed against hers, making her gasp as he pushed her against the cold wood.

  “Think twice.” He gripped her upper arm and yanking her to face him. “Think about what I’ll demand of you, and what you’re willing to give.”

  His possession was a scorching balm against her wounded pride. The hardness of his cock pressed between her thighs. The stability of his hands held her tight. “That’s all I’ve done for the past three hours.”

  He narrowed his gaze, his jaw harsh. “I won’t stop this time.”

  “Well, hurry up and get start—”

  He slammed his mouth against hers, pushing his tongue past her lips, searching. He devoured her, kissed her harder than she’d ever been kissed, turning her bones to mush, her strength to weakness. He ran greedy hands down her back, over her bottom and along the underside of her thighs, creating goose bumps in their wake. She gripped his shoulders as he lifted her leg, encouraging her to circle his hip.

  “I’ll ruin you,” he growled into her mouth, thrusting his erection against her pubic bone. His gaze held her captive as her ass began to slam against the wooden door with each of his thrusts.

  “You already have.” She clawed at his shirt, willing the thin fabric to fall from his shoulders.

  She kept her leg in place while he travelled his hand up the underside of her thigh and over her sex. He parted her folds with a finger, sliding it through the slickness of her arousal, and his accompanying throaty groan against her neck had her eyes closing in bliss. He teased her, relentlessly, dragging his finger back and forth, taking her mouth again and again. The slight breeze tickled her skin, an unwanted reminder of the exposure.

  “Think of me,” he whispered into her mouth. “Only of me.”

  She nodded. But as Leo’s lips moved to her shoulder, her gaze couldn’t help travelling to the darkened windows of the house across the street. A group of college kids lived there. They could be watching. Not that they could see much. Leo’s bigger frame covered her completely, yet the light from her kitchen filtered through the glass panel beside the door, illuminating them like a flare in the desert.

  “My hands, Shay.”

  She closed her eyes, concentrating on those hands, the way one continued to torment her greedy pussy. The other stroked her side, gently bringing all her nerve endings to life.

  “My mouth.” He sucked hard on her shoulder, bringing a bite of pain. “My tongue.”

  She shuddered and reached up to grab the band holding his hair together. She yanked it down and opened her eyes to watch the light-brown strands fall to span along the back of his neck.

  “And eventually, my cock.”

  “Oh, Christ.” She couldn’t take anymore. She fumbled behind her for the door handle and turned the knob. Together, they stumbled into the house and he slammed the wood shut with the sole of his shoe.

  He narrowed his gaze as she stepped back, her chest heaving, her sex throbbing. She could tell what he was thinking, that she couldn’t hack being naked outside, and she supposed he was right. To him, being fucked in the open might be a daily ritual. To her, and surely to her neighbors, it wouldn’t be so trivial.

  “I have condoms in my bedside
table,” she said as an excuse.

  “I have condoms in my pocket.” His hair was loose around his cheeks, his dress shirt now untucked and crinkled.

  She rolled her eyes, her breaths still coming out in harsh exhalations. “Of course you do.”

  He let his gaze rake her body. Gradually. Leaving a scorching trail all the way to her toes and up again. “Well, this is your domain now. So, what happens next?”

  She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, her heart a flutter at his raw masculinity.

  “Shay, despite my statement earlier, this can go as fast or as slow as you like. There’s no preconceptions on my end. If you want to stop, we stop. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “No stopping.”

  His grin returned as he strode toward her and swept her off her feet. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  She squealed—a little in delight, a little in pure adrenaline-filled nervousness. He carried her to the sofa and fell backward onto the cold leather upholstery with her on his lap.

  “Straddle me.”

  She complied, placing her hands on his defined pecs while she spread her legs across either side of his thighs. Her breathing was labored, her heart a rapid pulse behind her ribs.

  This was Leo, her boss, the man she’d been fantasizing about for a lifetime. Her dirty dream was finally a reality. Then his hands came to rest on her bare knees and he slowly slid them to her hips and time ceased.

  He stared at her with adoration. There was no arrogance, no mildly annoying yet always attractive confidence. His gaze broke her, turning her lust into longing, her fear into anticipation. He was beautiful. His skin so smooth, so perfect. The darkened patch of stubble along his jaw too tempting not to reach out and brush her palm over the rough surface. No man had ever made her insides turn to butter, her brain into a mass of incoherent thoughts.

  But nothing happened. He didn’t make a move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t try and alleviate the mindlessness taking over her fluttering heart.