Stumbled into Love

by L. P. Maxa

  Call me a selfish asshole. I didn’t care.

  This was Hollie. This was the woman I’d been lusting over for going on seven years now. She’d been an impossible fantasy, completely out of reach. She’d been the Holy Grail, the one thing I thought I’d never be able to have.

  But she was here, and she was grinding her core against my dick, panting with her mouth against mine. She wanted me to make her feel good, to make her forget.

  I slid my hands down her body, putting them on her hips and forcing her to stand. I hooked my fingers into her panties, keeping my gaze fixed on hers. I moved them down, letting them fall around her ankles and then she stepped out of them, making me smile in a completely wicked way.

  She leaned forward, pulling at the drawstring on my pants, pushing them out of the way enough for my cock to spring free. She placed her hands on my shoulders, using my body for balance as she straddled her legs on either side of my lap.

  My hand moved up her bare thighs, cupping her ass and pulling closer. My mouth placed hot, wet kisses across her stomach and ribs while her fingers moved into my hair. I stood, lifting us both and carried her into my bedroom. Gently, I laid her on the bed, reaching into my nightstand to pull out a condom.

  I grabbed her legs, dragging her body toward the edge of my mattress. Her legs wrapped around me, her knees resting against my rib cage and making room for me. I moved the hair out of her beautiful face, searching her blue eyes for any signs of hesitation.

  She shook her head with a grin playing on her lips. “Stop thinking and fuck me, Brice.”

  My breath caught in my chest for the briefest moment, and then I slammed inside her without warning. She wanted to be fucked? I could make that happen, a million times over.

  Her back arched off the bed and I reached out, pinching one of her nipples between my finger and thumb. She whimpered, biting at her lower lip.

  “Is this what you want, baby?” I kept up a punishing pace, not giving her a moment to adjust. She wanted to forget, she wanted her brain to shut off. I slapped her ass, causing her eyes to fly open. “Answer me, Hollie, is this what you want?”

  She nodded, letting out a moan that made my balls tighten. “Yes, Brice. Please don’t stop.”

  I grabbed her thighs, knowing my grip would no doubt leave marks on her perfect skin. I watched as she closed her eyes, biting that lip again. She was holding back, trying not to let me know how good I felt inside her. She was hanging on to that last thread of contempt she had for me and the man I was.

  And that simply wouldn’t do.

  I slapped her ass again, making her open her blue eyes to glare at me. “I want to hear you. I want to hear how fucking good I’m making you feel.”

  Her eyes narrowed like she was going to fight me, so I buried myself balls deep, grinding my pelvis against hers and making her clit sing.

  “I’m not kidding, baby, if you don’t quit holding back, I’m going to stop fucking you.”

  I wouldn’t let her hide from this. It wasn’t fair to either of us.

  I pulled out and flipped her over onto her stomach, shoving the top half of her body down to the mattress. Her hands reached for the sheets, gripping them tightly. “Please don’t stop.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but at least she was talking. “Brice, please.” She whimpered, pushing back against me and meeting me with every thrust.

  “Good girl.” I slapped her ass again, this time simply because I liked the way my hand-print looked on her perfect pale flesh. I wanted to brand her. I wanted the world to know I’d been inside her. I never wanted her to forget how I could make her feel. I wanted to ruin her for every guy who would come after me, pun intended.

  I gripped her hips, driving into her and making her finally scream out in pleasure. I let my head fall back, pure instinct taking over. I knew she was close, I could feel her pussy start to clench around my cock, and nothing had ever felt so fucking right.

  “Come for me, baby.” I bent forward, nipping at her shoulder. “Milk my dick, Hollie. Give me no choice but to fill this condom until it fucking overflows.”

  She called out my name as she came and did as she was told. She fisted my cock so hard that I had no choice but to follow her over the edge.

  Chapter Twelve

  Holland

  I woke up to the sound of a phone ringing and the feel of a warm body rolling away from me.

  I was naked and I was in Brice Huntington’s bed. I closed my eyes tighter and tried to recall everything that happened in the early morning hours. I had been crying and feeling miserable and low. He’d made me feel better. He was kind to me, genuinely kind. And so I’d kissed him.

  I mean, perfectly reasonable response to kindness from a self-involved bachelor, right?

  He’d half-heartedly tried to put a stop to my advances. But had I listened? Nope. I’d climbed on his lap and all but begged him to fuck me. Could my life get anymore mortifying? And then we’d had sex, lots and lots of sex. We’d used condoms. Thankfully. I remembered that much.

  There had been that first time on the bed. And at one point I thought we’d moved down to floor, but for the life of me I couldn’t tell you why.

  “I know you’re awake, and I can see your brain spinning out.” Brice slapped my ass and then jumped back into bed, lying on his back with his hands behind his head.

  “I’m not spinning out.” I pulled the covers higher, all the way up to my naked neck, as I shifted onto my back. I couldn’t hide from him. It would only prove his point. “And don’t slap my ass.”

  “You liked it last night.” He licked his lips and dragged his eyes down my body like he could see through the blankets.

  “There were lots of things I enjoyed last night that I’ll never want to happen again.”

  He snorted as he flipped on the flat screen mounted on the wall across from his bed. “Whatever you say, Hollie baby. And I do know all the crazy thoughts going through that overly critical mind of yours. I can’t believe I slept with Brice. What was I thinking? How many girls have been in his bed this week? Why did I let this happen? I have to get out of here.”

  I sneered, rolling my eyes. “I don’t sound like that.” The fake feminine pitch and accent he’d adopted to mock me was terrible. “But really, how many girls have been in this bed recently?” I actually hadn’t been thinking about what an epic whore Brice was…well, not until he’d brought it up.

  “Plenty.” He didn’t bother looking at me, but he did smirk at the TV screen. “I have a maid though, she comes and changes the sheets every other day while I’m at work.”

  Every other day? Good lord. “I need to get out of here.”

  I’d forever be grateful that Brice had been in that bar last night. I’d needed a friend, and he’d shocked me by being a really great one. But I’d ruined it. I’d slept with him and I had no one else to blame but myself.

  “Okay.” Brice waved his hand in the air, basically dismissing me. “Bye.”

  Well, now that pissed me off. I yanked all the blankets off his bed, leaving him with only his boxer briefs and rippling abs to keep him company. I stomped around the house, picking up all the articles of my clothing that had been tossed around in our attempt to get naked.

  Who did he think he was? I was getting angrier by the second. Waving his hand like a king and instructing me to vacate his bed? What an asshole.

  “You know what?” I stormed back into his room, jabbing a finger in his direction. “This is why the women at your office hate you.” I stepped back into my underwear and then pulled my shirt on, not caring that it was inside out. “You act like they don’t matter. Like nothing happened. Sex happened. It’s a big deal to most people.”

  Brice cocked his head to the side, a smile playing on his arrogant lips. “You aren’t wrong.” He shrugged. “I do act like it’s not a big deal, because to me, it isn’t. And the women I slept with from work knew that before they even stepped foot inside my house.” He sat up, his gaze turning hard. “But you ar
en’t them, and I never asked you to leave. You said you needed to go, so I said bye. What’s the fucking problem?”

  “The fucking problem is I had sex with you. Up until last night, I didn’t even like you. And yet I let myself become like every other delusional girl in Dallas, a notch on Brice Huntington’s bed post.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Get off your high horse, Hollie.”

  I ignored his interruption and kept going with my rant. “And now I need to get out of here, but I have nowhere to fucking go.” I sort of screamed the last part, not one of my finer moments, but I was having a bit of a meltdown.

  Brice had been spot-on accurate. I was spiraling.

  “What do you mean you have nowhere to go?” His forehead wrinkled, and his concerned frown was cuter than I wanted it to be.

  “I moved in with Trevor a few weeks ago.” I sat down on the edge of his bed, half dressed and feeling the urge to cry again. “I packed up a couple bags while I was yelling and shattering plates against the walls, but it’s his apartment. The lease is in his name.” I’d had a great apartment, but I’d given it up to live with him. I’d thought he was it. I’d thought he was the beginning to my happily ever after. And I was fucking wrong.

  “You can stay here.” Brice pointed the remote at the TV, flipping through the channels. “I have a guest room.”

  Was he for real? Boom! Casually suggesting that I live here after I shouted at him and accused him once again of being a gross man-whore. This side of Brice was really throwing me for a loop.

  “Are you serious?”

  “I have plenty of room, and you need a place to stay.” He turned his attention away from the golf game he’d found. “It’s not like I’m giving you a kidney, Hollie.”

  “But I’m so mean to you.” Why did I admit that out loud?

  “Look, Dec and Cassie would murder me if they knew you needed help and I stood by and did nothing.” Lazily, he scratched at his chest, making me take notice of the small hickey I’d thought would be so funny to leave last night. “And you aren’t mean, you simply happen to get great joy in giving me a hard time.”

  “I really do.” I wrapped his blankets tighter around me, inhaling deeply and loving the way they smelled like him. “I can pay rent, you know, until I can find another apartment.”

  A creepy smile spread over his handsome face. “No, I have a better way you can pay me, Hollie baby.”

  “I’m not having sex with you in exchange for rent, you… you….”

  “Let me stop you right there before you call your new roommate something new and inventive you can’t take back.” He held his hand up, placing it gently over my mouth. “I need a favor that has absolutely nothing to do with sex.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brice

  The moment Hollie told me she could pay rent, a plan started to form in my brilliant brain. I didn’t need Hollie’s money. What I needed was Hollie herself. I needed her sweet, stubborn girl-next-door vibes to accompany my devilish ass to that work function, as well as my mother’s latest charity ball.

  It was the perfect situation. It would appear like I had a live-in girlfriend, something that would most likely never happen in this lifetime. I wouldn’t have to hire anyone. And Hollie was perfect for the part anyway. She didn’t like me, unless she was riding my dick, so there wouldn’t be any pesky attachments.

  “I told a little white lie to my boss.”

  She sneered, and I hated that I found it almost adorable. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  I rubbed at the short stubble on my chin. “Look, homeless, you really in a position to be hurling insults right now?” When she shook her head in response, I continued, “I told him I was seeing someone, exclusively, you know, to counteract all the shit those women were spouting. And then he told me that I should bring my new girlfriend to this big partners’ dinner in a couple of weeks.”

  “So he called your bluff.” She raised one eyebrow and then crossed her arms over her still-braless chest. Her nipples were hard and I wanted to rip her shirt off and put them back in my hands where they belonged.

  “He didn’t call my bluff, he simply extended an invitation to my wonderful significant other.” I doubted he thought I was lying. Why would I tell a lie that could so easily be found out?

  “So that’s it? You’ll let me live here rent free if I go to one work dinner? That doesn’t seem fair for you.”

  I knew Hollie would most likely be okay with the partners’ dinner. She knew how important appearances were in the corporate world. And she also knew the story of how my promotion had been placed on hold from last night. I winced. “I also need you to be my date to the Kids for Kids ball.”

  Her jaw dropped open. “Your mother’s event? Are you high?”

  “Not yet.” Although a little wake and bake didn’t sound half bad at the moment. I’d had a shit day, no sleep, and I was slightly hung over.

  “You want me to help you lie to your parents? That’s terrible, even for you.” She got up off the bed and pulled on her skirt, the vision of her taking it off last night playing in my head. “I’ll help you with your bosses, and I’ll go to the ball as your friend. But I absolutely will not tell your family that we are dating.”

  The deal with my mother was that I bring someone respectable to her event, not that I have a girlfriend. “Deal.”

  “And that’s it? That’s really all you want in exchange for me staying here until I can find another apartment?” She eyed me skeptically.

  “That’s it.” I had more money than I knew what to do with. I didn’t need to add hers to the pile. What I needed was that fucking promotion I’d worked my ass off for.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Holland

  Was I crazy if I said yes?

  I looked around Brice’s bedroom, taking in the dark gray walls and the stark white bedding that was currently in a ball at the end of the king-size bed. His house was nice and warm. Inviting almost. It was in a great neighborhood, and pretty close to Cueva.

  But it was still Brice. The Brice who I’d punched in the balls. The Brice I had to fire girls for sleeping with. The Brice I’d slept with. Ugh. Internal cringe moment.

  I didn’t have all that many other options. I certainly wasn’t going to go back and stay with Trevor. And I didn’t have any close girlfriends I could ask. I worked all the time, and I hadn’t grown up in Dallas. The friends I’d made in college were all off living their own lives, and I certainly didn’t want to show up at their door with a failed relationship and no apartment.

  Plus, it wasn’t like I’d be living with him forever. And I’d get to save some money while I looked for a new place. It was a generous offer, and the payment was only slightly skeevy.

  “Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  “Yeah?” He seemed a little shocked that I’d said yes.

  That made two of us. “Yeah.”

  His look of disbelief turned to his signature smirk as he held out his arm. “Great, now come back to bed.”

  I backhanded him in the chest, making him start to chuckle. “I don’t want sex, Hollie, I want to doze off while I watch the golf channel. I’ve got a pounding headache and someone kept me up all night.” He winked and I could feel my cheeks heat from his reminder.

  I couldn’t deny that sex with Brice had been anything short of spectacular. I don’t think I’ve ever come that hard or that many times in my entire life. The man knew what he was doing. Although, he should, he’d banged every blonde in the damn city.

  I found that I wanted to get back in bed. I wanted to snuggle up and go back to sleep while watching a boring golf tournament. Brice’s bed was comfy and his bare chest looked all too inviting.

  But. It wasn’t the smart girl thing to do, and I tried real hard to do the smart thing as often as possible. Obviously, last night was not one of those times.

  “I need to go back to my…Trevor’s apartment and get the rest of my things. I left so much behind.” And that
asshat didn’t deserve any of it. He could keep that stupid couch though.

  Brice snorted. “We have people for that.”

  “I’m not hiring movers to pack up my stuff.” That was the Brice Huntington I knew. The one who snapped his fingers and expected the world to heel. Did he think everyone had as much money as he did? Paying movers to pack up the rest of my crap would cost me more than it was worth. “I’ll go back today. He has a gallery show in Frisco tonight, he won’t even he there.”

  I was supposed to go to that show with him. I’d bought a new dress, the stupid fucker. Ah well, I guess now I’d be wearing that dress to Brice’s work dinner thing.

  “Do you need me to go with you?”

  I glanced up, feeling a what-the-hell expression paste itself on my face. “Are you actually offering?”

  His smile was tight when he nodded his head.

  I went ahead and took that as a please don’t make me go with you smile and let him off the hook. “Nah, I can do it. Most of my stuff is actually in storage.” My old apartment was larger, but Trevor had wanted to stay in his because it was situated right above his studio.

  “Why’d you move in with him in the first place?” Brice had paused the golf game, which made no sense to me. Golf was slow and boring. How much could he really miss while we chatted?

  Why had I moved in with Trevor… After the twenty-four hours I’d had, I wasn’t so sure anymore. “I thought we were falling in love.” It was as simple as that, I supposed. I believed he was my future, and, as I learned yesterday, I wasn’t even his present.

  “He asked you to move in?” Brice’s forehead was wrinkled, like he was confused as to why Trevor would want me to live with him. Which showed his feelings about cohabbing with your significant other.

  Playboy butthole.

  “Yes, he did.” I knew I sounded indignant, but did Brice think I’d forced my way into Trevor’s apartment? “He and I were having dinner at my place one night. I’d cooked, and after we ate he said something like, Will you move in with me and cook me dinner every night? And he’d laughed and I’d laughed. But then he looked me in the eye, one of those intense romantic gazes, you know the type.”