What to Do With a Bad Boy

by Marie Harte

  The girls—and Del—helped his mother. To Mike’s pleasant surprise, his mom treated Del like she did the others. It gave him hope for the future—the immediate future, he quickly amended, but not quick enough, because a few daydreams about joint vacations and playing house started to take up residence in his mind.

  Then Beth McCauley ruined his day.

  “Mike? I need to talk to you, sweetie.”

  “Oh boy,” Flynn muttered next to him. “You know she’s been waiting to get you alone. Away from the pack.”

  “Like a mountain lion cornering its prey,” Brody intoned. “Separating the weak from the group.”

  “Shut it, you two.”

  Brody laughed. “Your funeral.” He rejoined Abby and swung her into a kiss, then grabbed his dog. “Hey, Colin. You going to watch him or what? I hear you have to pass a few tests to get your own dog.”

  Great. Brody hadn’t forgotten that favor from last week. Mike wished he had.

  “Michael?”

  Everyone stopped and looked at him. His mother had pulled out the big guns, using his full name.

  “Ah, how about I take Colin back to your place and wait for you there?” Del offered.

  “You have to take the dog too.” Brody handed her the leash.

  She stared at the dog, and he sat, all docile-like, waiting for her while she slipped the leash on him.

  “See, Brody? That’s how to be the alpha. Del has presence.” Abby nodded.

  “Shit—ah, shoot.” Brody saw Colin staring at Del in awe. “Dude, I’m alpha too.”

  “No, Ubie. You’re not. I’m sorry. Bye, Dad.” Colin took Del’s other hand, and the pair left with Hyde.

  “Turned against by the kid.” Brody sighed. “My life is so sad. Abby, make me feel better.”

  “Come on, slacker. I’ll soothe you.”

  He whispered something into her ear, and she laughed.

  At his mother’s look, Mike moved. “Coming.”

  She entered the house ahead of him, and his feet seemed to slow of their own accord as he neared the steps to the back porch.

  “Good luck,” Vanessa said, shaking her head.

  “You’re going to need it,” Cam finished, then grinned at him.

  His father shook his head. “Boy, better make your point loud and clear. That woman has a hard head. I love her, but…”

  “I know.” Mike blew out a breath, then joined her in the living room. “Well, Mom? I’m here.”

  “Sit.”

  He sat next to her on the couch, feeling hemmed in by a woman he towered over when standing. His mother had always seemed larger than life, the way she did now.

  “I’m not going to apologize for setting you up with Grace.”

  “Ah, okay.”

  “She’s perfect for you.”

  “You mean she’s perfect for you. I’m partial to Del.”

  “A woman with tattoos and a mouth like a sailor.”

  It annoyed him she wasn’t going to give Del a shot. “She’s a lot more than that. She’s nice. She genuinely likes Colin. She’s a hard worker.”

  “So’s Ms. Sheffer, Colin’s teacher. I don’t see you dating her.”

  “That’s not fair.” He glared at her but did his best not to raise his voice. She was his mother, after all. “Del’s a great person. You won’t give her a chance.”

  “A chance at what, Mike?” his mom asked softly. “At being your wife?”

  “No.” Yet his answer felt weak. “I told you we’re dating. Taking it slow.”

  “You’ve been taking it slow for six long years. No.” She held up a hand to stave off his response. “I know it hurt losing Lea. Well, guess what? It hurt me too.”

  To his shock, her voice quavered. “Mom.”

  “We need to talk about this. For too long you’ve clammed up about her, so we all had to. But damn it, Mike. I lost a daughter.” His mother’s eyes filled. “I loved that girl to pieces. My own daughter. After four sons, I wanted to try again for a little girl. But your father thought four was enough, and I reluctantly agreed. Then you brought her home. She was so beautiful. Twenty-two and fresh and innocent and she adored you.”

  All the feelings came rushing back. “I know. I married her, Mom.”

  “We all lost her when she passed. You, Colin, me, the family. I never wanted that for you, to be widowed so young. But life happens. She died, and you locked your heart away.”

  “Mom, do we have to do this?”

  “Yes!” She stood and started pacing, keeping her gaze on him. “You refused to go out for three long years. Then when you did date, you kept them all at arm’s length. You think I couldn’t tell you were using them for sex?”

  “Mom.” He flushed.

  “I know you have needs. We all do. But you just refused to open up to anyone.”

  “Lea is irreplaceable. What’s the point? McCauleys love—”

  “—only once. I’ve heard it all before. And it’s crap.”

  “It’s true.”

  “Then explain to me the joy in your eyes when you look at Del.”

  “What?”

  “Tell me why you’re so happy. Why you seem to walk on air lately. I know you, son. This isn’t a game. You aren’t the type to play with a woman’s feelings. She looks at you a certain way. The way Lea used to. The way you look back at her.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “So much denial.” She shook her head. “That’s partly why I worry for you. You won’t be honest with yourself. Well, I’m being honest enough for you. I don’t know if Del is good enough for you. How’s that?”

  Rage boiled, turning the hurt inside into something he could handle. “That’s crap. She’s a wonderful person, and if you weren’t trying to get another Lea you can have tea with and knit beside, you’d see that. You want a best friend? You go out with Lea.”

  “Lea?”

  “Grace,” he yelled, fucked up that he’d called her Lea’s name. “I know who Grace is. She’s your idea of the perfect woman for me. But she’s not my idea.”

  “Well, what is it then? A woman the complete opposite of the woman you once loved? The one you’ve apparently forgotten?”

  “How the hell can you say that to me?” He stood, clenching his fists. Angry, hurt, and scared at how out of control he felt. “I loved her so much I wanted to die when she left us. But I had Colin and all of you to take care of.”

  “All of us?”

  “Yeah, you. Everyone waited for me to snap, so I had to be strong. Had to take care of my son, had to find a way to keep moving when I wanted to curl up and die with her.” His eyes burned, but he wanted her to know what he’d been keeping inside for so long. “My perfect family with their perfect lives. Everything isn’t rainbows and hearts, Mom. Something you finally saw when you and Dad had issues. I’m glad you got back together. But gladder you finally stopped looking at the world through friggin’ rose-colored glasses.

  “Loss happens. Shit happens. Then we have to pick up the pieces and somehow live, even when we don’t want to. So yeah, I had sex. And yeah, I dated women who knew the score, who wanted nothing but something physical. I have Colin and I have all of you. What the hell else do I need?”

  “Someone to love, honey. Someone to—”

  “Get ripped away again? Get taken from me so that I can’t function anymore? I did that once. I really don’t want to do it again.” The thought of something happening to Del was unfathomable, and he wanted to suppress it, burying it like he normally did anything that bothered him. But this conversation with his mother… He had to let it out. “Del… I have something with her, something special. I don’t know where it’s going, and frankly, I don’t care. I just want to live in the now. Is that so wrong? To want to be happy for a change?”

  She wiped her eyes. To his embarrassment, he had to wipe his as well. Time to put it back, all that messy emotion. God, he hated this shit.

  “Oh Mike. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, damn i
t. Have you not been listening to me? I love Del.” He said it out loud, and they both froze. “I mean, I like her a lot. We have chemistry, we like the same things. She’s great.” I love Del. His heart threatened to burst from his chest, and he panicked at the gravity of his declaration. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Life is good. We’re friends dating casually. No weddings, no happily-ever-afters. It is what it is. Please don’t mess this thing up for me with Del. She deserves better than what you’ve been giving her. We’re together now, Mom. Just accept that. I gotta go.”

  He left before she could stop him. But on the way back to his kid and his girlfriend, he wondered what the hell he was playing at.

  ***

  Del met him at the door with a smile on her face. Seeing his stark expression, she lost her smile and let him inside.

  “Colin’s in the back with Hyde. He’s in love.”

  Was it her imagination, or did Mike flinch?

  “You okay?” she asked softly.

  “Yeah.”

  He didn’t sound okay, but she didn’t want to press. She well knew how rough mothers could be.

  When Mike went onto the back porch and sat on a chair to watch Colin and the dog, she followed. “I can leave if you—”

  He tugged her into his lap and held her there, burying his face in her hair.

  She froze, wanting to help heal the pain she could feel radiating from his heavy heart, but she didn’t want to make anything worse. So she sat in his arms, hugging him back, and they watched Colin play with the dog.

  When Mike finally roused some time later, she stood with him. “I should go.”

  “Okay.” He watched her say good-bye to Colin, accepting his enthusiastic and sloppy kiss. When she reached him again, he took her in his arms. “Maybe I could come over tomorrow with the boy. We could fix your window boxes.”

  “Oh.” On a school night, she thought, biting back a smile. “Okay.”

  He grinned back at her, no longer seeming so strained.

  “You okay now?”

  He nodded, his gaze searching as it roamed her face. “Yeah.” Then he kissed her, and the slow, bone-melting sensation never failed to entice her to lean into him.

  “God, you get to me,” he muttered and hugged her tight. “Go home, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. Bye.” She left him, going home to an empty house. Rena had left a note indicating she planned to be at her mother’s for a week, taking care of the place while Aunt Caroline went on vacation.

  Del puttered around the house, then made herself a quick dinner and took an early night’s sleep. The day had messed with her head, big-time. She’d felt included in the McCauley embrace. Even Beth had been pleasant, to her at least. Del wondered what the woman had said to get into Mike’s loop like that.

  She didn’t think she’d ever seen him so lost, or so needing an anchor. Providing him that stability meant more than it should. She’d felt needed, wanted, a part of him.

  A part of a man who’d made it clear he wasn’t looking for marriage or a long-term commitment. She’d stupidly agreed with him then. But now… She wanted more. She wanted what Maddie, Abby, and Vanessa had. What Beth and James had. What Rena’s favorite books plotted out—true love forever. Del was tired of being so undeserving of her own perfect The End.

  She rubbed her scar, feeling the burn all over again. “You’re nothing. A pathetic excuse of a girl always greedy for what she can’t have. You’re worthless.”

  Annoyed at letting that witch into her thoughts, she turned on her side in bed and remembered Mike’s kisses. How he’d tied her up and pleasured her until she couldn’t think. Then she recalled his warm smile, the way he’d held one of her hands while Colin held the other. Keeping her tight. Keeping her…

  The next morning and the rest of the day passed swiftly. Her father did his job and did it well, bustling with an energy that had all the guys wondering about how he’d spent his weekend. She ended up getting more done than she’d hoped, so that she managed to find a slot in her schedule for Mike’s truck.

  That evening, he and Colin popped over and set to work on her house. She fixed them an easy dinner of cold-cut sandwiches and iced tea, followed of course by ice cream. While Colin watched cartoons inside, waiting for his chance to help stain the window boxes, she watched Mike work on the front landing.

  He intrigued her. Yet another side to her model boyfriend. She grinned. “So. Mr. Sexy.”

  He whirled with his drill raised. “What did you call me?”

  “You heard me.”

  He advanced on her, backing her against the brick wall. “We were never to speak of that again.”

  “Come on. You won’t put a kilt on for me, ever?”

  He shut her up with a kiss that had her panting in seconds. “Now shut up. I’m working.”

  “You’re working me, that’s for sure.” She slid a hand between them, feeling the growing bulge in his jeans.

  “Dad. You done yet?” Colin yelled from inside.

  “No,” Mike yelled back. “Cock-blocker,” he whispered to Del, then kissed her again. “Part of the joys of dating me.”

  She laughed, hugging his neck closer for another kiss. “Yeah, well, I like him. Better than you, actually.”

  “Hmm. I’d better remind you of what you’re missing.” He kissed her, then stepped back with a grimace. “Man, you make life uncomfortable.”

  “Part of the joys of dating me.”

  His smile turned her insides to mush. “How about you sleep over tomorrow night?”

  She froze. “Sleep over?” She glanced at the front door, knowing Colin sat so close by. “At your house?”

  “In my bed.” He cleared his throat, trying to come off as casual but not cutting it. She saw his nerves, and his insecurity charmed her. “You know. You’re my girlfriend. It’s no biggie.”

  “So Colin’s used to strange women sleeping over?”

  Mike scowled. “Fuck no.”

  “I’m flattered.”

  He turned back to the window box. “You should be.” He screwed it back together, then put it up again and fixed it to the wall. “So? Yes or no?”

  “Hmm. Do I get S-E-X if I do?”

  “Duh. Why else would I ask you to come over?” He crossed his eyes at her.

  She grinned, not calling him on it. She could easily make love to him, then leave. The big guy wanted her to stay. Wow. “I guess. Might as well.”

  “Good.” He went back to working on the other damaged box. “Don’t wear panties.”

  “Mike. Little ears?” She nodded to the house.

  He laughed. “Send him out. We’re ready to stain. Then I’m taking a look at that bookcase inside. It’s pathetic.”

  She didn’t argue. She’d found the thing at a thrift shop, and beggars couldn’t be choosey. Entering the house, she found Colin glued to the TV. “You’re up. Grab your brush.”

  “It’s gonna look great, Del.” He whooped, picked up his paintbrush, and left to help his dad.

  Del stared after him, and her heart opened a little more for the big guy and his little boy.

  ***

  The next night should have been a no-brainer, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that Colin knew she was sleeping over. With his dad.

  “Is it just me? Or does Colin seem inordinately happy about us together?” She sat next to Mike in his bed. Colin had been asleep for a few hours. Good thing the kid went to bed early.

  Mike shrugged, his biceps bulging with his hands laced behind his head, his back against the headboard. “He likes you. No accounting for taste.”

  “Dick.”

  “Yeah, about that…” Mike nodded at the erection straining his boxer briefs. “I need help, honeybunches.”

  “You sure do. Mental help.”

  He grimaced. “Please. After last weekend…”

  “Yeah, about that,” she said, deliberately repeating him.

  He groaned. “Not now. I swear, you
do me, I’ll more than do you.”

  “Good point. You’re a screamer. I think it would be best if we kept your mouth occupied.”

  He sat up straight. “Oh?”

  She took off her clothes, then locked the door, keeping the lights on. “I want to see this.”

  “Shit, yeah.”

  Mike and his potty mouth. How ironic he’d once jumped her case for cursing in front of Colin, when anytime he grew the littlest bit—or biggest bit, considering the state of his underwear—excited, he swore up and down.

  He pushed down his briefs, showing off his thick shaft. “Suck me and I’ll do you. Hel-lo, sixty-nine.”

  She laughed. “Sweet talker.” She joined him on the bed, lying over him in the sixty-nine position he clearly wanted, and aligned her head with his groin. She stared down at his very aroused body. Before she could say something else smart, he dragged her pussy down to his mouth and started licking.

  “Damn.” Not planning to come before he did, she got to work.

  All the moaning and groaning and sweating amounted to some fast, satisfying orgasms for them both. Good thing they’d been muted, because she for sure would have cried out at the mouth and fingers working their magic on her lady parts. Dear God, he’s good.

  “Del.” Mike pulled her around to hug her. When he kissed her, she tasted herself on his lips and knew he had to taste himself as well. A lot of guys didn’t like that. Mike wasn’t most guys. “Fuck, that’s sexy.”

  “Yeah. But you get off light. I had to swallow a lot.”

  He gave her a smug grin. “I’m a big guy. Blame yourself, though. You get me that way.”

  “Full of it?”

  “If by it, you mean lust, then yeah.” He leered at her, then kissed her again and curled her into his body. “I swear, I have a healthy sex drive. But around you, I always want it.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Not with anyone else,” he continued, and she frowned, because she hadn’t considered he meant that. “With you. Just you.”

  “So you’re not this horny with everyone you know.”

  “Just you. That smart mouth, those blond dreads—”