What to Do With a Bad Boy

by Marie Harte

  She frowned. Her father avoided paperwork like the plague. “Why are you being so agreeable this morning?” She noted his sleepy satisfaction, the telltale pleasantness, the fairly clean fingernails—and God knew it was a bitch to get the grease out when you worked day in and day out with motor oil and lube.

  She stared at him with wide eyes. “You got laid!”

  “Delilah Webster.” Her father turned three shades of red. “Watch your mouth.”

  “Sorry. But, Dad, who is she? Do I know her?” She frowned. “It’s not slutty Sheila from Cat’s Kitty Kat House, is it?” The popular strip club had been a point of contention between Del and her dad for years. The man might find someone special if he stopped shoving bills down G-strings.

  He mumbled about something he’d forgotten and took off.

  “Well, that’s one way to get rid of them.” She sighed and got back to her to-do stack, but while she worked, she thought about how much fun she’d had last night. None of it had involved sex. They’d spent the evening, all three of them, playing games. After Colin had gone to sleep, Mike had cuddled with her on the couch, the two of them watching a detective movie together. Hugging and occasionally kissing.

  Curiously, he hadn’t done anything about the erection in his pants. No making a move. And for the life of her, she couldn’t explain why that meant so much to her.

  She liked sex. Actually, she loved sex with him. She’d never had so many orgasms from a man in such a short period of time. Del knew Mike felt the same. Yet he’d abstained last night, enjoying her company. So odd, and so…romantic. In a weird kind of way.

  Even Rena had agreed. After staying up late to give Del the third degree, she’d sighed and lamented the fact that Del had landed Mr. Sexy while Rena, a die-hard romantic, had to make do with plastic toys.

  Too much information, but Rena had shrugged away Del’s discomfiture and demanded Del go over every detail of the evening.

  To hear her cousin tell it, Mike was smitten.

  Del didn’t believe it. Sure they liked each other. The chemistry between them was off-the-charts amazing. They fit each other, seemed to like the same things, or at least, making fun of the same things. Mike a nice guy? Yeah right.

  She smirked at her spreadsheet. The guy had bad things to say about reality TV stars, rival construction companies, cartoons inappropriate for kids—which she found hilarious—and self-help books. She imagined he’d been deluged with them when he’d lost his wife, because he had a real stick in his craw about any expert who might try to tell him how to feel about anything.

  Yes, watching television with Mike had been an eye-opener. It had also showed her another side to him. When he asked her a question, he waited for an answer. If she even thought about caging an answer, he’d catch her hemming and hawing and demand the truth. The guy liked her warped sense of humor. For that alone she wanted to reward him.

  Finding out he was a closet hard-ass who liked to sneer, taunt, and jab at others—mostly those deserving of it—skewed her image of him as a nice guy. Except in bed. Not to say Mike couldn’t be a genuinely kind man. Far from it. He loved his family, could be generous to a fault, and had half the neighborhood in love with him, according to Rena, who’d heard it from Abby.

  A great source of intel, her cousin. Rena and Abby had grown tight lately. Personally, Del liked the thought of her cousin hanging with her new friends. Rena could have done a lot worse in the friendship department.

  Kind of like Del with her past boyfriends.

  She sighed at the dark cloud settling over her day, one even coffee couldn’t seem to dispel. Last night had been almost magical. Too good to be true. It made sense she and Mike would bond over great sex and lighthearted fun. She knew they’d never go the distance, and that unfortunately had less to do with his deceased wife than with her inability to hold another’s affection for long.

  Though she normally broke off her relationships, she did it when she sensed her boyfriends getting ready to pull the plug. Her mother hadn’t been that wrong all those years ago. Del was a spoiled, willful brat more concerned with her own feelings than with others.

  “Am I gonna be half full or half empty?” She mulled over the idea for as long as she could stand it. Finally determined not to dwell on the negative, Del decided to enjoy her time with Mike for as long as she could. She just hoped Colin wouldn’t suffer when her pairing with Mike eventually went south.

  Another sip of coffee, and she tasted only the bitterness under the sweet. Typical, and so very real. Best to remember dreams were called that for a reason. She’d be smart not to fall for the charming side of Mike, or she’d be flattened when he eventually grew bored with her.

  As they always did.

  ***

  The week passed swiftly. She met with Mike for a movie on Wednesday, and again on Thursday to just hang out after Colin went to bed. By Friday night, she’d had enough. This girlfriend business was nice. Okay, she liked it. Holding hands, kissing, hugging, all the crappy sentimental stuff that Rena would have died for gave Del a warm feeling inside. God forbid she confess to her cousin how much it made her feel good to just be with Mike and even Colin.

  But no sex? What the hell was that all about?

  She pulled into Mike’s driveway, remembering she needed to schedule his truck into the shop, and parked. Before when she’d arrive, Colin or Mike would usually open the door and race out to hug her before she reached the landing. Colin seemed to love when Mike touched her or kissed her, and the little guy made sure to shove her into his father’s clutches whenever possible. But tonight, no Colin. And no Mike.

  Frowning, she walked to the door and rang the bell.

  Still nothing. She raised her hand to knock when she noticed a slip of paper at her feet. She bent down and read instructions to enter. Mike’s chicken scratch. Intrigued, she opened the door and found candles all over the place. A gooey part inside her liked the ambience. Not something Mike would normally do.

  “Hello?” No one answered, and she closed the door behind her. “Colin? Mike?”

  Still no answer. Weird. She walked through the living room, not surprised to see everything as neat as a pin. Mike had a thing for organization, and she knew he’d eyed the stacks at her house and in her office with misgiving. Too bad. She was neat too, just in her own way.

  She looked into the kitchen and saw a bottle of chocolate syrup, some gummy bears, and an ice cream scoop. Were they making sundaes? Frowning, because no one had come out to greet her yet, she wondered if she’d mistaken the time. If Mike had set up the night for a seduction, his absence sure the hell wouldn’t put her in the mood.

  “Hey, Mike,” she yelled. Annoyed, she stomped out of the kitchen and down the hallway. She found nothing in the spare bedroom or Colin’s room. Mike’s door was shut.

  She opened it, expecting to find him in nothing but a rose between his teeth. But when she pushed through, she found an empty room, just one candle lit on the nightstand. It smelled like lavender, her favorite scent, the only thing going for Mike right about now.

  “What the hell?” The bathroom remained dark, so she doubted he was in there.

  She started to worry. Lit candles in an unoccupied house, no kid or guy in sight?

  She crossed to the nightstand to blow out the flame. Just as the room turned dark, the only illumination some dim candlelight out in the hall, large arms wrapped around her waist and picked her up off her feet. At first she panicked. Then she recognized the strong arms and the cologne Mike wore when he wanted to impress her.

  “Don’t try to fight back, slave. You’re mine tonight,” he promised in a low voice. “I have no problem punishing naughty girls who don’t obey.”

  Playing into the role he’d assigned, she fought him. “Damn it. Get off.” She tried to kick back and got nowhere. Instead, she found herself gagged and trussed up like a turkey in no time. Excited as hell but unwilling to show it, she waited for her “captor” to set her down. She dangled over his b
ack, her belly uncomfortably braced on powerful shoulders. The lights came on, and she stared down at a familiar tight ass.

  “Asshole,” came out muffled, but she did her best to flail and beat his lower back with her bound wrists.

  “Now, now, Delilah.” Mike chuckled, his deep voice giving her shivers. “We talked about this. Remember that fantasy about being dominated? You’re due.”

  She wanted to ask what had brought all this on, when it came back to her. Hell. She’d made a crack about him not being man enough to handle her, that he’d need to tie her down if he ever thought he could take charge again. But that had been late at night, after beating him at cribbage, a game she loathed yet always won.

  Apparently Mr. Good Loser, who’d taken his defeat with humor, wasn’t so forgiving.

  How sick was she that she grew wet thinking about how he’d make her pay?

  “Colin’s sleeping over at Brody and Abby’s, taking care of Hyde. It’s just you and me, sweetness.” He slapped her ass hard, and she bit back a moan. “Go ahead, let it out. I know how much you like a good spanking.”

  Oh boy. Maybe taunting him when she’d skunked him at the game hadn’t been her smartest move. Then again, if it finally got him to have sex with her again, she’d play along. She wanted to say something, but the gag prevented anything but muffled moans.

  “Yep. I frustrated the hell out of you this week, didn’t I? We had some amazing sex before.” Mike dropped her onto his bed and shoved her arms above her head before she could wriggle free. He latched the silk binding around her wrists to a lead on the bed. God. He’d prepared for this.

  He wore a pair of unfastened jeans. She didn’t see any underwear where they parted, just dark hair and the skin God had given him. Oh boy. Commando. Her favorite. His muscles rippled under the light, and she watched him smirk at her before he relit the lavender candle, turned off the overhead light, then returned to her.

  “This scent reminds me of you.” He cupped himself and showcased a handsome erection. “Gets me hard every time.”

  Removing her shoes, socks, pants, and underwear took little time. She didn’t fight him when he fastened her ankles wide apart to more restraints at the edge of the bed.

  He slid his hands up her legs, massaging her muscles until she moaned with relaxed—and aroused—pleasure. Boneless yet tingly all over, she wanted him to take her, to own her responses and overwhelm her with pleasure.

  His lips soon followed his fingers, and before she knew it, he was sucking her clit, shoving his fingers in and out of her, and stroking her to a climax that might just break her.

  Then the jerk stopped.

  “I can’t hear you, baby. Do you like what I’m doing to you?”

  Take off the gag and eat me, she wanted to demand. Instead, she glared at him.

  “Oh, right. Sorry. My bad. It’s supposed to be a blindfold.” His wicked grin thrilled her. Kinky, sexy, creative Mike. Wow. This wasn’t at all how she’d imagined she’d spend her Friday night. She’d thought she’d have to set him straight on how things needed to change.

  Instead, he’d fulfilled another desire of hers without her even having to tell him what she wanted. They really were on the same wavelength.

  Mike stood and took off his jeans, showing her his long, thick cock. “I am really hard right now. You have no idea how much I wanted to tie you up. When you took that spanking like a champ…” He shivered. “Oh yeah. I couldn’t stop thinking about this. With you,” he murmured.

  She pondered the meaning behind his desire and growing closeness.

  “Now, now. I can see you thinking too hard.” He pinched her nipple through her shirt and bra, and she arched off the mattress, lost in lust. “Hmm. I should have taken the shirt and bra off first, hmm?” He leaned closer and cupped his ear. “What’s that?”

  She glared at him, not deigning to speak around the gag.

  “Oh, right.” He winked and removed the gag.

  “You ass.”

  He kissed her, and she lost the rest of what she wanted to say under the heady sensation of being taken. His tongue penetrated, his lips seduced, and she was left reaching for him with her body, incapacitated and aroused beyond thought.

  “That is so fucking sexy.” He breathed hard, staring down at her, and massaged her breasts. “But I need you naked. Don’t move when I take the ropes off.”

  “Ropes?” More like scarves. Nothing to bite her skin.

  “Pretend, would you?”

  She grinned. “Sure thing, my kinky lover.” She glanced down his superbly conditioned body, lingering on his cock. Loving the shine at his tip, the detail that showed her how much he wanted her, she licked her lips. “I think you need some release, hmm?”

  “You’re damn right.” He untied her, gripped her wrists tight, and stripped off her shirt and bra. Then he settled over her, bracing on his elbows while the lower half of him ground against her. “Shit. You feel so soft.”

  “Yeah, all soft against that hard cock.”

  He moaned. “Shut up.”

  “Why? You gonna come all over my belly? Let me see.” She rubbed against him.

  He firmed his hold on her wrists and lowered his mouth to her breast. Taking the nipple in his mouth, he teased and rolled the bud, licking her until she couldn’t stop begging him to fuck her.

  “Not yet.” He moved so that he positioned himself between her legs, her arousal coating him though he took pains not to angle for penetration. Yet every slide against him engorged her already sensitive clit.

  “Come on, Mike. Inside me.”

  “Without a condom?” He switched to her other nipple, licking her into a state of dire need.

  “Fuck. I don’t care. Just do me.”

  He tensed and leaned up. “Look at me. I want to come inside you. No diseases, no babies. Understand?”

  “I’m not stupid. Just pent-up. And it’s your fault,” she barked.

  “Delilah…?”

  “Hell. I’m on the Pill. Have been for years. I mean, you never know. Besides that, it’s a safe time of the month.”

  He closed his eyes and swore. When he opened them, the dark blue of his irises looked black. “You sure it’s okay? I’ll wear a condom if you want, though God knows I’m dying to feel you over me, skin to skin.”

  She looked into his face, seeing the handsome cheekbones, the sultry mouth, the warmth in his gaze. Her protection, her desire, came first with him. So unexpected yet addictive to be with someone who put her first for once.

  “Come on, sexy. Yes or no?” He tightened his fingers around her wrists and ground his hips against hers, rubbing her again.

  “Yes, yes, now.”

  He didn’t smile, didn’t laugh, but she read the mirth in his face. “You giving orders, Delilah? Tsk. Naughty girl. Time for some real punishment.”

  “Mike…” she whined.

  He laughed, a dark sound that fired her blood. Then he took her to another plane entirely. He retied her hands and fastened them over her head, to the restraints on the bed. The gag turned into a blindfold as he smoothed it over her eyes.

  “Oh yeah. This is how I pictured it. So fucking sweet.”

  He let her go, moving off her. She couldn’t see him, and the loss of one of her senses amplified the others.

  “Let’s see how many times I can make you come before I lose my mind…”

  Chapter 18

  Mike wanted this night to be perfect. Candles, chocolate syrup—his fantasy to lick it off her breasts—and tying her down. Jesus, she looked like a painting. Bound, open, and aroused. All for him.

  He had to touch her, committing each stroke to memory.

  “I love how you feel.”

  She’d already come twice from his mouth and his fingers. Fuck if she didn’t taste so sweet, and she still smelled like lavender. That or the candle had gone straight to his head. She moaned as he felt her from her ankles to her thighs, lingering between her legs. He rubbed her folds, sliding through the slick nee
d pooling there.

  “Your clit is so full. You need to come, baby?”

  “Mike. I can’t. Twice is too much.”

  “You can never come too much.” He smiled at her.

  His breathy name on her lips made everything right. This past week had been brutal, but he’d wanted to make it clear that he wanted to be with her even without the sex. Saying it didn’t matter. Proving it did. Plus, he had to admit it gratified him to see mirrored frustration in her face after each date. The woman wanted him as much as he wanted her.

  He continued to touch her, grazing her sharp hip bones, over her flat belly, lingering over the muscle there. “You’re as ripped as I am.”

  “Please. You’re huge. I’m just in shape.” Her breath hitched when he moved over her ribs. Oh yeah, she liked that.

  Grazing the soft skin under her breasts, he rubbed his knuckles under her firm mounds, wondering what they might look like plumped together. Why not see? He pushed her breasts together, making them look bigger. Her rosy nipples stood tall, and he couldn’t help himself when he took each one in his mouth and sucked.

  Her raspy moans and cries for more tore at his own discipline. Especially knowing she trusted him enough to let him take her without a condom.

  Mike straddled her body, resting his cock on her belly, and played with her breasts, watching her face for her reactions. She had the most beautiful expressions. Her lips parted, shiny from his kisses. Her increased arousal showed everywhere, in her tight nipples, the goose bumps on her skin, the play of constricting muscle wherever he touched her. And the throaty moans as she surrendered herself to him…

  “Open your mouth wider, Delilah.” He gripped himself. “I have a treat for you.”

  “Oh yeah.” She parted her lips, and he scooted forward to rest the tip of his cock at her mouth.

  “Suck me, baby. Yeah.”

  She licked him, and he fought the urge to shove himself in her and come. He was so ready, so on edge. Yet he wanted to last, to make it good for her first. And fuck, watching her blow him was a thing of beauty.

  Careful, he angled so that he could push deeper, but not too deep. He gave her short, shallow thrusts while she sucked him, unable to do more than obey…