ARE Indecent Arrangement Part III epub

by Steph's Mac

  Her nose crinkled as she frowned. “What happens in a few minutes?”

  “You come over here and kiss me again.”

  Her short dress looked like a long t-shirt, cinched in at the waist by a thin leather belt. It clung to her curves, but the stretchy material should give her enough room to maneuver. But when he tugged her closer, she resisted.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. “And I’m afraid if I get much closer I will.”

  “You’re not going to hurt me unless you pull away. We’ll be careful.”

  She shook her head but moved a few inches closer. “This isn’t why I came here tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  Ah, but the heat in her eyes contradicted her words.

  “I’m more than okay. Trust me, not having you right now will hurt much worse than anything you could do to my wound.”

  “There’s no way we’re having sex.”

  “Then you shouldn’t be here. Especially not wearing a dress that gives me such easy access.”

  Her mouth dropped open, probably because he’d just sounded like a huge prick, but it was the god’s honest truth. If she hadn’t shown up, he would’ve continued to miss her like hell but he wouldn’t have gone after her. He’d have stayed away because he knew it was for the best.

  But now… No fucking way.

  “If you don’t want this, if you don’t want me, leave now. No harm, no foul. But, Mally, I am fully capable of sitting on this couch and letting you ride me.”

  The flush in her cheeks told him she was just as turned on as he was. “I didn’t come here for sex. I came to see how you’re feeling. I’ve been worried about you.”

  He leaned forward and captured her lips for a quick, blistering kiss. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m much tougher than anyone you’ve ever met.”

  “Doesn’t mean I don’t worry.”

  “I get that.” He wove his fingers through her hair, cupping her head and holding her steady so he could stare into her eyes. “But I’m not going anywhere.”

  He saw the instant she made the decision to trust him. Her lips and her gaze softened and he couldn’t wait any longer. He drew her back for another kiss and, this time, he devoured her.

  He’d been starving for her for days. Slowly driving himself insane with need and the fear that he’d never see her again. That their lives would never be safe enough for her and they’d lose her.

  Right now, he didn’t feel like he was losing.

  She kissed him back with the same fevered intensity, her fingers combing through his hair to tug him closer. He went willingly, crushing their lips together to get even more of her.

  Heat and need consumed him, damn near overwhelmed him to the point that he couldn’t think. Couldn’t do anything but kiss her and try to get her closer.

  Wrapping an arm around her waist, he urged her forward. She let him get only so far but then she resisted.

  “Mally. You’re not gonna hurt me. Trust me. The only way you will hurt me is if you don’t trust me.”

  She blinked at him. “I trust you.”

  “Then trust me not to let you hurt me.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you’re not a lawyer?”

  “I will be anything you want.”

  “I only want you.”

  “I’m right here. Take me.”

  She paused, their gazes locked for several seconds before she finally straddled his lap, carefully making sure she didn’t come into contact with his wound.

  That didn’t hurt at all. All his pain was centered in his groin. And it would only get worse if she didn’t touch him.

  But her hands remained on his shoulders so he touched her. Let his hands roam over her body, molding every curve in his palm, soaking in the softness of her skin as his lips explored the sensitive spots behind her ear.

  Her breathy groans made his cock throb against the thin covering of his shorts. If they’d been tighter, he swore he would’ve busted the seams.

  And still she clung to his shoulders.

  “Mally, honey, touch me.”

  “I am.” She turned her head and nuzzled her nose against his throat.

  “No, you’re not. Put your hands on me. I swear you’re not gonna hurt me.”

  “Jesse.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  She pulled back to look at him, gaze steady. “Yes.”

  “Do you want me?”

  A nod.

  “Then take me, babe. I will sit here and let you do all the work. I swear.”

  The heat in her eyes finally drowned out the caution and her hands slowly slid from his shoulders to his nipples. She stopped to rub them between her fingers for several seconds, making his lungs struggle to draw in air. Then they stopped working completely as she trailed her fingers over his abs, keeping far away from his wounded side.

  Until finally, she traced the outline of his erection through his shorts.

  “This looks painful.”

  He heard a hint of playfulness in her voice now. And a promise.

  “It is,” he agreed. “But you can make it better.”

  “Then don’t move.”

  That might hurt worse than anything but Jesse would follow her instructions to the letter. Leaning back into the cushions, he let his hands rest on her hips, trying not to grip her too tightly as she scooted back a few inches so she could have unrestricted access.

  She barely touched him at first, trailing her fingers along the waistband of his shorts and raising goosebumps along his skin. His gaze locked on to her breasts, rising and falling at an ever-increasing pace. His hands curled into fists, trying not to reach for her and interfere with her exploration.

  He’d let her have whatever she wanted. Do whatever she wanted. Anything at all. As long as she didn’t leave.

  She took her own sweet time, letting her fingers slide under his shirt to brush against the dark hair on his stomach. She did that for several long seconds before finally slipping her fingers under the waistband and tapping against the tip of his cock.

  He responded with a groan, his eyes squeezing shut as she finally wrapped her hand around his cock and squeezed.

  “Fuck, Mally.”

  “Don’t. Move.”

  It took everything he had but he managed to keep still. Or at least he kept still enough for her to continue. She stroked him with a too-soft hold that infuriated and inflamed him. He wanted to thrust into her palm but didn’t want her to pull away.

  He heard his own breathing, felt his lungs straining for air. When she finally tightened her hand around him, squeezing harder, he groaned.

  But he didn’t want to spill in her hand.

  “Mally.”

  She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

  “Take me.”

  “Lift my skirt.”

  She was wearing a thong that couldn’t be more than a few square inches of fabric. “Holy fuck.”

  Leaning forward, she kissed the words off his lips, rising up slightly and rolling her hips forward to brush her mound against his shaft. “Rip them off.”

  Hell yes. “We need a condom.”

  “Side pocket.”

  She’d come prepared. Thank fuck.

  He used one hand to retrieve the condom and, with the other, gripped the tiny string at her hips and tugged. It didn’t take much force to do away with the last barrier. He dropped the now-useless scrap on the floor and handed over the condom that she ripped open and rolled onto his shaft in seconds. He barely had time to react to her touch before she shifted her hips and sank down onto his cock.

  Her head fell forward as he filled her, her forehead pressed against his. The tight grip of her sex around his cock made every muscle in his body seize, which made his side throb. The pain added another dimension to the sex. One he embraced.

  Their breath mingled, her lips so close he swore he felt their imprint on his without contact.

  The rhythm
she set challenged him at every turn. She challenged him to remain still, challenged him not to grab for her and force her to go faster. Challenged him not to take over.

  His cock swelled but he physically reined in his first response. Her expression held so much fierce concentration, he focused on her, determined to let her lead.

  Their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room, an erotic soundtrack that included the faint slap of flesh on flesh as she rose up on her knees then dropped back down. The friction threw sparks that lit every nerve ending in his body.

  Her slow pace finally got to him and he couldn’t not move. He thrust up, sinking deep, and groaned as she fell forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

  “God, that feels amazing.”

  He’d make it even better. He worked one hand between them and used two fingers to work her clit. The sound she made as he played with her made his cock respond with a jerk.

  He wasn’t going to last much longer. He couldn’t.

  “Mally. Come, baby. Now.”

  He felt her pause, felt her suck in a breath. And then she moaned as her sheath clutched at him, drawing his orgasm out of him with a power he couldn’t ignore.

  It took at least a minute before he could open his eyes again and even longer until Mally’s breathing finally returned to normal and she started to stir.

  “Did I—”

  “I’m fine,” Jesse cut her off before she could ask if she’d hurt him. “Everything’s fine.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Mal—”

  “Don’t. Okay? Just don’t.” She pulled back to look at him, her blue eyes intense. “I know what’s going on. I know what you and Max are trying to do and I know why. I just think you’re wrong.”

  Weaving his fingers through her hair, he pulled it away from her face. “Wrong to want you to be safe? Wrong to get our shit in order before—”

  He stopped, not sure he wanted to go there. At least, not yet. Not until Max worked through the shit in his head.

  “Before what?”

  Jesse had no idea how to answer that question.

  *

  Max had walked into the house through the garage a little after eight-thirty and headed straight to the liquor cabinet.

  He’d thought the frustration and the fear would ease after they’d gotten reassurances from the rest of David Oleksy’s former associates that they fully intended to honor their agreement and not interfere with or attack his and Jesse’s business interests.

  Hell, they should be celebrating. Instead, Max swore his stress level had increased.

  Jesse was healing fine. They’d fixed all traces of sabotage. Business was steady and he thought he might have finally found a buyer for the third club. He shouldn’t be so tightly wound the slightest thing could set him off.

  But he was.

  So he went in search of Jesse, who he knew was already home. And found him on the couch with Mally.

  His first instinct was to join them. Then the voice in his head started up again.

  What the hell is she doing here? We agreed not to see her. Is that why you didn’t tell Jesse about last night?

  Fuck.

  Which was exactly what they were doing. Slowly. Almost carefully, as if Mally didn’t want to hurt him. Which of course she didn’t. But obviously she wanted Jesse just as much as she’d wanted Max Wednesday night and hadn’t been willing to wait any longer to see him.

  Should he walk away? Or did he stay and watch? Was he intruding?

  No. He knew they wouldn’t think that. He knew if he walked in, she’d hold out her hand and he’d wind up with her under or over him, his cock buried deep inside her.

  He wanted that. Holy fuck, did he want that.

  And then… Tension flared and grabbed him by the throat, making it almost impossible for him to breathe without gasping for air.

  Jesse must’ve heard him because he turned to look in Max’s direction.

  And when Mally realized that Jesse’s attention had shifted, she turned as well.

  “Max.”

  Much like Wednesday night, when she’d ambushed him in his office, she remained fully dressed. If he hadn’t caught them in the act, he might’ve believed she was simply sitting on Jesse’s lap.

  But he would’ve been deluding himself.

  He was tempted to walk away because he knew if walked into that room, they were going to have to deal with…everything. With the fact that he and Mally had had sex Wednesday and that she and Jesse had had sex today. That they still had issues between them that didn’t have resolutions yet.

  That basically nothing had changed since they’d sent her away.

  “Max, we need to talk.”

  “This changes nothing. Wednesday night changes nothing.”

  He shot Jesse a quick look but Jesse’s steady expression showed he already knew what’d happened Wednesday night. Shit.

  Max turned and headed for his office.

  “Max, wait!”

  No. They had nothing more to discuss. If she and Jesse wanted to fool around, he couldn’t stop them. But Max couldn’t—

  “Max, goddammit,” Jesse yelled from just behind him. “Stop.”

  Max turned at the bottom of the stairs. Almost exactly where Jesse had been stabbed the other night. The blood had been cleaned from the carpet, but Max didn’t need to see it to know exactly where it’d been.

  Jesse stood behind, practically right on top of the stain, looking furious.

  “Don’t.”

  “We’ve been through this. I thought we were in agreement.”

  “We were.” Jesse’s mouth flattened. “We are. But—”

  “I’m not going to wait forever,” she said. “I can’t.”

  Max looked over Jesse’s shoulder at Mally, standing behind, her hair tousled from Jesse’s hands, her lips swollen and her dress falling off one shoulder. Sexy as hell.

  And resolute.

  “I understand that you’re scared, Max. Don’t you think I am, too? Don’t you think I won’t worry every time you’re late? Every time you say you’re going to call and don’t? Don’t you think I’m not invested in this relationship at all? Don’t you get that I’m putting myself on the line here, too? And I’m twice as likely to get my heart broken. And yet, here I am, waiting for you to see what you’re missing. To see that I’m willing to take the chance. What does it say about you that you’re not?”

  “Mally—”

  She held up one hand and cut off Jesse’s strangled growl. “No. I want to hear what Max has to say. I need to hear him say it.”

  “We already had this conversation.” God damn, he sounded cold. “I laid out the situation and you walked out the door.”

  “Oh, you do not get to lay that on me.” Her hands went to her hips. “You practically had your foot on my ass shoving me through that door. Hell, I even understand why. But you’ve got to let go of the fear that you’re going to get me or Jesse hurt. Because if you don’t, we can’t fix this. And I want to fix this, Max. I’m willing to deal with all the shit that comes from dating two guys. The looks, the whispers, the rude innuendo. Because I’m the one who’s going to deal with that shit. Not you and Jesse. You two have to deal with me. But you obviously can’t. So you’re right. I need to leave and not come back.”

  No. Just fucking no. That’s not what he wanted. And yet he couldn’t make his mouth say the right words because he could still see Jesse lying on the floor bleeding. Even though he stood right in front of him now, he couldn’t unsee what had happened the other night.

  “So…what? You’re telling me to put up or shut up?’

  “I’m trying to give you me.”

  She didn’t shout the words but Max felt like she’d hammered him over the head with them.

  She huffed out an unamused laugh. “But I guess I’m not what you want.”

  “Mally. Stop.”

  Jesse turned to grab her hand before she could move but she shook her head. “You’r
e a package deal. I knew that from the start. I just wanted to be part of the package.”

  Then she turned and walked away.

  When they finally heard the front door close, Jesse turned to him. Max braced for his fury. What he got was something he’d never seen from Jesse.

  Division.

  “Get the fuck over yourself, Max. And do it fast. Because if you don’t, I’m not going to stand by and watch you throw her away.”

  “I didn’t. But maybe it’s for the best. What if Antonoff decides to go after us again and decides the way to do that is through her? We can’t keep her locked in the goddamn bedroom. No, you were right from the beginning. We should’ve never gone after her. She’s safer without us.”

  “That’s the coward’s way out and you know it.”

  Jesse’s barb struck him dead center and he realized they were faced off like opponents. For as long as he could remember, they’d stood side by side or back to back.

  And now there was space between them. A divide he wasn’t sure how to close.

  How had one small female managed to do so much damage in so short a time?

  “It would’ve happened anyway. You know that. She wouldn’t have walked away after six months. That was the arrangement.”

  Jesse grimaced then shook his head. “You don’t have a clue, Max. You’re letting history fuck with your head. Your mom—”

  “Doesn’t have a damn thing to do about this. Mally is nothing like my mother.”

  Jesse continued to hold his stare. “I know that. But I don’t think you do. And until you figure that out, you’ve screwed us both.”

  Chapter Six

  “Mary Alice Dabrowski?”

  Mally looked up from her computer, pasting a smile on her face. Didn’t want to scare the clients like she’d been scaring everyone else lately.

  “Yes? Can I help you?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  The woman standing on the other side of the reception desk didn’t return her smile. Actually, the cool blonde had one of those faces. The kind that looked even more beautiful without a smile. Haughty, cool, and total man-bait.

  “Well, why don’t you tell me why you’re here and we’ll figure out what you need. Mr. Donovan and Mr. Oleksy aren’t—”

  “I’m not here to see them.” The blonde dismissed the idea with a slight roll of her eyes. “I’m here to see you.”