Fix You: Bash and Olivia, Book 2 of 3 (McDaniels Brothers)

by Bell, Christine

  “Sake Hana down the block is pretty good.” He pushed himself to his feet and I tried not to stare as he crossed the room to the front desk and grabbed his cell phone.

  He was wearing a tight, threadbare Red Sox T-shirt that was clearly a favorite. Parts were almost see-through with wear, and once his back was turned, I was doing my level best to act as quality assurance on that front. I’d just identified a section on his lower back that showed off a dip right above his ass when he turned around, phone in hand.

  “Tuna, salmon, and California roll okay for you?”

  I nodded and my face went hot. “Sure. Yeah. I like it all.”

  If he noticed me ogling him, he didn’t let on, and went back to his conversation with the person on the line from the Japanese restaurant.

  A minute later, he hung up. “It’ll be ready in half an hour.” He padded hesitantly back to where I was sitting, and I wondered if he was second-guessing his decision to let me stay. “Look, you don’t have to entertain me, you know. Like you said, it’s the weekend. I’m sure you’ve got something going on at school, or parties to go to…”

  I didn’t budge, and just stared at him. Did he honestly think that any of that mattered to me anymore? I’d blown off a week’s worth of classes trying to get him out of the clink, and he thought I was worried about a party?

  “I’ll go first,” I said, my gaze locked with his. “Truth. Since you and I…got together, everything else has seemed small and stupid. The people I surrounded myself seem and petty. The things I did for fun don’t seem fun anymore. And the things I think are important have shifted. Aside from you, I only have one real, true friend. And that’s the truth.”

  He stopped directly in front of me and lowered himself back onto the mat, his long legs straight out in front of him. He considered my words for a long time before he spoke. “That’s not how you play that game.”

  I couldn’t hold in my pained laugh. I’d just dumped my heart out and he was coming at me over the rules of truth or dare?

  “I’m supposed to ask you whether you want truth, or dare.” He leaned forward and captured my ankle in his hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Then”—his voice dropped low as he trailed a finger underneath my yoga pants up my calf—“you decide which one you choose. So what’s it going to be, Liv? Truth or dare?”

  I felt suspended in time. Afraid I was about to bare more of my soul to this guy who had already seen so much of it. Terrified to turn this already death-defying leap of faith into a out-and-out free fall.

  I heard the word in my heart long before I spoke it.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Five

  Bash

  She got me.

  Again.

  Funny, we’d known each other for such a short while, but I couldn’t seem to remember a time when she didn’t have me. It was like my cells were filled with her, and the harder I tried to purge her from my life, the more I craved her. The days we’d spent apart since I’d last seen her were hell. I tried to tell myself I was doing the right thing by staying away…by not leading her on. But being without her felt so fucking wrong.

  Jail sucked, no question, but when I was there, I’d known she was out of reach. Here, at home, lying awake knowing she was right there, this close, and I could have her any time…any way I wanted her?

  That was hell.

  I’d managed to keep myself from calling her, but barely. And when she’d called me? I couldn’t say no. Even as my brain had supplied the excuse to blow her off, my piehole went off script. Then she’d told me about the lawyer she’d gotten for me—only God knew how—and the last of the walls I’d tried to put up between us had crumbled.

  Whatever Matty and Reid thought of her, one thing was for sure. This girl was real. She wasn’t just looking for a rough ride with a tough guy. She was falling for me.

  Now here we sat facing each other, her leg in my hand, playing a stupid kids’ game that was about to get very grown-up.

  She stared at me through shining cornflower eyes, the pulse in her neck beating so fast, I could see it from where I sat.

  “You’re letting me choose for you, then?” I asked, running my thumb over her ankle before releasing her.

  She wet her full lips. “Yes.”

  “All right then,” I said softly. “Truth.”

  She looked disappointed I hadn’t said dare, which made my stomach muscles clench with want, but she nodded anyway.

  “And you can’t lie,” I warned.

  She nodded again.

  “If I sat on a chair in the middle of the room right now and asked you to come and do a lap dance for me, would you do it?” My voice was choked at the end as my brain created a virtual home movie of that exact scene.

  It was that third, shy nod paired with the fire in her eyes that sent me over the edge, and I knew there was no going back. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath was coming faster now. We’d barely touched, but we were both desperate for it. For each other.

  “Your turn,” she whispered, shimmying her ass until her legs were lined up next to mine, ankle to hip. “Truth or dare?”

  “You choose.” It only seemed fair, but also, I’d just gotten a whiff of her vanilla shampoo and it was making me want to do things. Bad, bad things. The other night had been so fast and furious, I’d barely gotten a chance to touch her. Now that I had finally wrapped my head around which way the wind was blowing with her for real, I was hell-bent on taking my time, making it last…

  “Truth.” Her voice was so quiet, I had to lean closer to hear her. “Tell me your wildest fantasy.”

  Fuck. I closed my eyes as the blood flowed faster to my cock. A dozen scenarios ran through my mind, all fighting for supremacy. I opened my mouth to tell her the tamest one, the one that didn’t make me seem like a total sexual deviant, but when I looked at her again, the words died on my tongue. It was truth or dare and I was actually starting to believe I didn’t have to front with this girl. Not anymore.

  She waited, her body subconsciously leaning toward mine, her face rapt with anticipation. It was a risk. With Andy being an abuser, who knew if she would take it the wrong way? I said a silent prayer that she didn’t run from the room screaming and let it rip.

  “It’s me. And you. You’re still a college student, only I’m one of your professors at Crestville.”

  I swallowed hard as the fantasy I’d played out half a dozen times in my head bum-rushed me.

  “I’ve seen you all semester, in your short skirts, all the boys watching you. But none of them are watching you as hard as I am. They’re like a bunch of puppies and want to pant all over you and lick your shoes. Not me.” I paused, and held her gaze. “I just want to lick your pussy until you scream my name.”

  She gasped, and her leg went bowstring-tight against mine. I laid my hand on her knee and squeezed before continuing.

  “You’re not doing well in class, so you come to me after hours wearing one of those little skirts that haunts my dreams. One of those fucking skirts that makes me want to flip it up and bend you over my desk and bury my cock in you so deep that we both see stars.”

  Her breath was coming in little pants and her eyes were closed. I could tell she was picturing it, same as I was, and it got me even more juiced.

  “You close the door behind you, and lock it before you approach my desk. And in my fantasy, I say the same thing to you every time. I say, ‘What can I do for you, Ms. Beckett?’ and you say, ‘The question, Professor McDaniels, is what can I do for you.’ And then you walk toward me, tits bouncing like they did that time you visited me at Shorty’s wearing those heels?”

  She nodded slightly, and her nostrils flared. “Yes. Then what?”

  My cock was aching and I resisted the urge to give it a squeeze and relieve some of the pressure. “You tell me you need an A and are willing to do whatever it takes to get one. I pretend to think about it long and hard, but I’ve already jerked off thinking about you coming into my classroom this way a h
undred times, so I already know what I want. I stand up and walk around the desk, and you look up at me all wide-eyed, but unafraid.”

  I took a much needed breath and slid my hand up higher on her leg until my fingers were resting on her hip and my thumb was wedged between her thighs. She bit her bottom lip and opened her legs another inch.

  “I don’t say a word. I turn you around and press you down until your elbows are resting on the desk and that pert, round ass of yours is high in the air. Then I get out my ruler. Because trying to seduce your professor makes you a very bad girl, Liv.”

  She wriggled a little a closer and I wanted to crow with relief. She could tell what was coming, and she wasn’t pulling away.

  “When I lift up your skirt, I realize you don’t have any underwear on and I can’t believe my luck. The first crack of the ruler hitting flesh is so loud, it bounces off the walls and I wonder if my colleagues in the next room can hear it. Then I realize I don’t give a fuck. Because you like it. You moan and arch your back like a cat, and I do it again. You know I’d never really hurt you. You know I just want to make it good for you, and you love it.”

  She took my hand in hers and slid it farther between her legs now, sparing a quick, nervous glance over her shoulder at the door. “Yes?”

  I tried to speak, but the heat of her pussy through the thin cotton of her pants was burning me alive.

  “What next?” she demanded, rotating her hips against my hand and then reaching for my cock. When she took me in her sure grip, I swallowed a groan and pushed on, ready to call it quits on my little fantasy and take this shit upstairs and make it happen, but not willing to give up watching her face as I talked.

  “One more time, a hard smack on the ass, because you want it. Then I step back and bend down, tracing the pink stripes from the ruler with my tongue. You squirm against me and I hold you still.”

  Her hand started moving up and down over my gym pants, working my cock like she meant business. I pinched my eyes closed and tried to maintain focus.

  “But you turn the tables on me. One second I’m in charge, the next, you whip around and push me against the desk. You yank down my zipper and take out my cock. And then you drop to your knees and say”—I swallowed hard as a drop of pre-come leaked from the swollen head of my actual cock, and my next words were just a harsh whisper—“‘I want you to fuck my mouth, Professor.’”

  She dove at me then, pushing me backward and straddling my lap.

  “Liv, wait. Let’s go upstairs,” I murmured against her mouth, but she was on a mission, grinding against me, her hands moving under my shirt, over my abs. “Right now.”

  She nodded. “Okay, but let’s hurry.” She used my chest to push off but froze midway, looking stricken. “Wait. Bash…the gym is still open for business.”

  “So I’ll close it.” Adrenaline humming, I slid her to the side and stood, intent on doing just that and getting upstairs, but she grabbed my hand.

  “Your brothers already hate me and think I’m a bad influence,” she said, a crease marring her brow. “What if they find out?”

  My dick so did not want to hear this right then, and I was in total agreement. “Fuck ’em.”

  “No, Bash. I want them to like me. Please, can we just stick it out until closing time?” The fact that she looked as miserable about it as I felt made it all a little easier to swallow. Why hadn’t I thought ahead?

  Asshole.

  “I’ll even let you try the ruler thing later,” she murmured as I reached out a hand to help her up.

  I took a steadying breath and kissed her long and slow before pulling away. “You’re killing me.”

  “Oh my God, we almost forgot about the food too!”

  So we had. But sushi was the last thing on my mind right now. “I’ll run out and get it. I need to walk this off anyway.” I spared a pointed glance downward to where my erection popped a tent pole in my pants that rivaled Ringling Brothers. “Anybody comes in, they’ll know what to do. If they ask, just tell them you’re our new receptionist and I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.”

  She patted my ass as I strode by, heading for the door. “See you in fifteen.”

  God willing she would, if I didn’t die of a terminal case of blue balls before then.

  And even at that, I hit the curb whistling.

  ###

  Olivia

  I held my breath until the door closed behind him and then let it out all at once.

  Holy shit. Was it ever going to get less intense with him? It was like every kiss was drenched in desperation. They left me needy and aching and left my emotions raw. Would we ever be normal?

  I allowed myself a ten-second fantasy of me and Bash at the movie theater watching a Will Ferrell flick and holding hands, not a care in the world.

  Nice.

  But somehow deep down I knew that, when the movie was over, we'd wind up in the car racing home to jump each other's bones. And that was pretty awesome too. If we could get past this mess. And if he still wanted me when we did.

  I refused to think about the future and opted to focus on the now because right now, I got to be with Bash.

  I made my way to the kitchenette at the back of the gym and poked around, turning up one chopstick, some forks, and some questionably yellowing paper plates.

  I'd just finished setting up the plates and plasticware on one of the mats when I heard a sound from the front of the gym.

  "That was fast," I called, ambling toward the foyer. A second noise, this time a thump, made me stop in my tracks.

  "Bash?"

  My heart thudded so loud, I strained to hear over the sound in my head. Turned out there was no need. The shattering of the window more than eclipsed it. I squealed, reeling back before covering my mouth with my fist.

  Someone was breaking into the gym.

  But that didn't make any sense. The gym door was still unlocked. Why wouldn’t they just walk in? Jesus, had Andy gone off the deep end and decided to take things even further than he already had? Another crash sounded, and footsteps clicked on the tile foyer floor.

  Instinctively, I looked around the room for a weapon and then came to my senses and started looking for a hiding place instead. Scurrying on tiptoes to the closest stack of mats, I leaped over them, clearing the pile just as another crash sounded.

  "Look," a low, menacing voice called from the direction of the foyer. "I don't know who you are in there, sweetie, but that's okay. I don't need to. Give Matty McDaniels a message for me."

  The voice was getting closer and I barely managed to hold back my scream. Okay, so not Andy, but whoever had broken in knew I was there, and probably knew I was alone. I pursed my lips to keep my teeth from chattering.

  "Tell him that, while Mr. Flynn appreciates his position, we're not in the charity business. We let him borrow twenty for thirty. Once he agreed to those terms, we expected to get back thirty, no fuss, no muss."

  The sound of wood splintering filled the room and my stomach flipped. If I went out there, he might use whatever he was using to vandalize the gym on my kneecaps. But if I didn't, he could destroy the only thing Bash and his brothers had. Bash had taught me some self-defense basics, but there was no way I could take this guy on without getting myself killed.

  I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to will him away. If Bash came back before he left, who knew what he would do to him? It was that thought that made me stand up on shaking legs.

  "I-I'll tell him. Please, I'll tell him whatever you want. You've made your point. Just go now."

  Maybe if I'd realized that there actually two men there, I'd have thought twice about showing myself. Then again, if they had planned on hurting me, they wouldn't have let a pile of mats stop them. At least, that was my hope.

  "Good decision, little lady." The smaller of them was apparently the mouthpiece. His face was lean and hard, but his eyes had a down-turned appearance that made him look like a droopy dog. A little old. A little sad. "Sorry you had to get caught
up in all this. Pretty girl like you." He offered a chillingly calculated smile, and set down the bat he'd been holding, freeing his hand to hitch up his pants.

  Droopy dog was gone now, and I realized it was probably part of what made him a good choice for the job. He could go from scary to sympathetic and back again on a dime, depending on whether his assignment was cooperative or not. I'd apparently said what he wanted to hear, and he motioned to the goon standing with him.

  "This young lady is going to give Matty our message, Pete. You feel like she's a good messenger or what?"

  Pete was a hulking six and a half footer who was dull in the eyes, like maybe his parents had been siblings. This seemed to be a familiar game to him, because he answered right away, like he was reading from a script. "Guess we'll see, boss. If not, we can always ask her again, only we won't be so polite next time."

  I worked up a tight smile, trying to keep the tremor from my voice. "Look, fellas, I'm going to make sure this gets taken care of, all right? I do the books here at the gym, and I think we can liquidate some things lickety-split and get this taken care of in a jiffy."

  Lickety-split? In a jiffy? I'd apparently digressed to not only being a big fat liar, but also following their lead and talking like I was part of a fifties gangster movie. Whatever. If pretending I was a character in a film got me through this, kneecaps intact, I was all about it.

  "I’ll take your word for it, doll.” Shorty turned to go and my knees almost buckled, but I caught myself as he paused mid-step and looked back. "Should we leave a business card, or you think he'll know it was us?"

  His self-satisfied smile let me know that was his version of a funny haha, and I played my part and smiled back.

  "Pretty sure no card is needed." My smile was starting to waver as I estimated how long Bash had been gone. I ran through the grid of streets in my head, trying to place exactly how far Sake Hana was from the gym, but before I was done, so were Shorty and Pete.