He shook his head.
I reached out and took his face in my hands. “Look at me. Just me. I’m a woman. That’s it. When I look at you, I see a man. Not my father’s friend. I see you, Mo. And I want you.”
He groaned. “Brooke—”
I cut off his protest by kissing him. I expected him to push me away. He hesitated for a moment, but then he sank into the kiss. His arms banding around me and pulling me against him. His dick swelled against my belly.
Yes, I thought. Finally.
He pushed the door to my father’s study closed and pressed himself against it. His kiss was hard and desperate. Or maybe it was me. His hands slid over my breasts, kneading them and pinching my nipples, forcing a moan from me. Wanting to make sure he didn’t stop, I cupped him, running my hand along his length.
“Fuck,” he growled against my neck as his hands slid up my thighs, pulling my dress up.
“Yes, fuck me.”
He groaned again at my words. He pushed my panties down while I undid his pants and freed him. I so badly wanted to see him, but we were both in a crazed frenzy. Here we were in my father’s study, with Mo about to fuck me against the door. I was scared to death that my father would find us. Not scared that he’d know about us, but I didn’t want to get caught mid-fuck. At the same time, it added an exciting element. Something taboo. Wetness gushed between my thighs.
He unzipped my dress, yanking it off my arms. He unhooked my bra, freeing my breasts. With another moan, he leaned over and sucked a nipple. I felt the pull all the way in my pussy.
“Yes, yes.” God, it felt so good when he touched me.
His fingers slid through my pussy lips, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out as my pleasure intensified.
He groaned and dropped to his knees. “You’re so wet. I have to taste you, Brooke. Fuck. I’m dying.” He hooked one of my knees over his shoulder, opening me to him.
He inhaled my scent, let out another explicative, and then his mouth was on me, doing such delicious things to me.
“Yes, oh God…yes…Mo…feels so good.”
His tongue started thrusting inside me as his thumb made circles on my clit. My body started humming and then throbbing as I reached the pinnacle of pressure. He reversed his position, his finger thrusting inside my pussy as his lips sucked on my clit, and I went flying into bliss.
I clasped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming as pleasure flooded my body, coursing through my blood. He continued his ministrations after the first wave, and soon, I was flying again, my entire body shuddering from the exquisite sensations.
When it finally stopped, he stood. “I have to fuck you.”
I nodded and gripped his shoulders, hooking my leg around his hip. “Fuck me, Mo.”
His eyes flashed with wild desire. I had no illusions that after this, we’d be together. He’d most likely regret this and pull away. But right now, he was mine. No worries. No hang-ups. Just me and him. Right now, I’d accept that.
17
Maurice
I thrust up, and like an addict having a hit, pleasure and relief spread through my body as my dick filled her sweet tight pussy. Why did something so wrong feel so right? Something so bad feel so good? The universe hated me for sure. Why would it put Brooke in my path and not let me have her?
She whimpered as I plunged in again, her body pressed against the hard door.
“You want this?” I asked in a grunt.
“Yes,” she gasped. “Yes. So good.”
She was right about that. Each slide inside her was like heaven. I was rough. I was like a fucking rutting animal as I pounded away at her, seeking, reaching, chasing pleasure that I hadn’t had in a long time. Maybe not ever. Shelley and I had a fairly interesting sex life for a short time, but I couldn’t ever remember feeling this crazed and desperate.
My dick was throbbing. The friction was almost painful as I teetered on the brink of coming apart.
“I’m gonna come. You want that? You want me to come in your sweet pussy?” I asked gruffly in her ear. As much as I wanted this, my actions were fueled by resentment and irritation. Why did she make me want her so bad? Why did she want me?
“Yes. Come in me, Mo.”
I gripped her hips, tilting them and plunging in deeper. She buried her face on my shoulder as she cried out, and her pussy clamped down on my dick, shooting me to the heavens. I gave myself over to it. I let myself enjoy it. Just that sweet first release. But as I finished emptying inside her, the regret and self-loathing returned. Not only was this wrong, but I was a bastard to her. She deserved sweet lovemaking in a large, soft bed. Instead, I’d taken her angrily against the door. In her father’s study, no less.
“Fuck.” I withdrew, both hating to leave her and, at the same time, needing to get away.
“Don’t, Mo.”
I jerked my pants back up. “I’ve gone fucking crazy. We’re in your father’s house. While he’s home.” Jesus, it was like I was in high school again, sneaking into a girl’s bedroom. Maybe Brooke was right. Maybe I was the immature one. “We can’t risk destroying everything.”
She looked like she was going to say something, but then stopped and frowned as if she wasn’t sure what I was talking about. “Destroy what?”
Me, I thought but didn’t say.
She righted her dress and moved toward me, but I held my hands up to keep her away.
“Calm down. It’s all right,” she said, exasperated.
“It’s not all right, Brooke.” Why could she see that? Why couldn’t she respect the fact that I was all wrong for her? Any second, her father was going to come looking for us. What would he think when he found us here together with the scent of sex hanging in the air? “I’ve got to go.”
“What?”
I made my way to the door. “Make some excuse for me to Frank. Enjoy your dinner with him.”
I jerked open the door and strode out, making a beeline to the front door. Fortunately, Frank was still in his room. I was able to get out and to my car and on the road. I felt some relief that he wasn’t going to be able to shoot me, and at the same time, I was an asshole for how I kept fucking and then leaving Brooke. Surely, she’d see now that I wasn’t good for her.
As I approached my home, I turned on my blinker to make the turn, but then not wanting to rattle around alone in my house, I continued on. I didn’t know where I was going, but eventually, I ended up in town at the Salvation Station.
“Mr. Mayor,” Ryder said as I stepped up to the bar. I wasn’t much of a drinker, at least not in public, but right now, I needed something stronger than seltzer.
“Whiskey.”
“Rail or—”
“Rail is fine.” Lowest quality liquor for a low-quality man, I thought.
He poured me a shot. “You all right? The town isn’t on fire or something, is it?”
I glanced up at him.
“You look like a man with a lot on his mind.” Ryder then tilted his head. “Or woman troubles.”
I lifted my glass to let him know he nailed it and then downed the drink.
“Another?” He held the bottle up.
I figured I could probably go for one more. Actually, I’d like the bottle, but I wasn’t at home where I could safely get shitfaced.
Ryder poured a second shot. “Want to talk about it?”
I shrugged. “I want a woman I can’t have.”
“That’s fucked. Why not?”
I liked Ryder, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to share my woes with him. He was Sinclair’s brother. He had something weird going on with Trina, a bet, or something. I didn’t need either of them figuring out who the woman was.
“She’s just off-limits.”
“I never understood that,” Ryder said, putting the bottle back. “I mean, if you like her and she likes you, what more is there? Unless she’s married, I guess.”
“She’s not married—” Oh fuck, she was. Except she was married to me. “She’s related to a frien
d.”
“Ah, the bro code.” He nodded and picked up a towel to wipe the counter. “I don’t understand that, either.”
“What do you know about it?” I asked.
“Well, as it turns out, Wyatt felt like you. He didn’t think I’d be okay with his relationship with Sinclair. He still knocked her up, but…well, the truth was I wouldn’t have cared. I love my sister and want her to be happy. Same with Wyatt.”
It was simple for Ryder. He had an easy-going disposition. Nothing seemed to rile him up.
“I’ve got a thing for Sinclair’s friend. Trina. You know her. Same thing, though. Sinclair wants us to be happy, so she’s all for it. Now I just need to convince Trina,” he said with an affable smile.
It was one thing to lust after a friend’s sibling. It was a whole other thing to fuck your best friend’s daughter.
“The thing is, if your friend loves you and his sister or whoever, then he should be happy if you two are happy.”
I downed my drink. “That sounds good in theory, but I’m pretty sure some things aren’t okay in reality.”
Ryder’s brows knitted. “Another drink?”
I shook my head.
“Seltzer?”
I should’ve left, but I nodded. I wasn’t ready to head home to an empty house. Or maybe I was afraid it wouldn’t be empty. Maybe I was concerned Frank would be on my front porch with his shotgun.
“Listen, have you heard anything about Stark buying local businesses?” Ryder asked, setting the glass of seltzer in front of me and taking the shot glass away.
I looked up at him. “Businesses?” Had he said something about that recently? I couldn’t remember.
Ryder nodded. “He told me he wants to buy this place when Mr. Coffey retires.”
“I hadn’t heard that. I suppose I’m not surprised. He’s eager to get his talons into this community.”
“If I can help it, I won’t let it happen, but considering most people don’t like him, I thought you should know,” Ryder said. I wondered how he could stop Stark. Unless he had the money to buy the Salvation Station, he might not be able to keep the owner from selling to Stark. The town of Salvation had gotten lucky at stopping him so far, but I was certain our luck would eventually run out if Stark was bound and determined to own something here.
“Thanks. I’ll see what I can learn. I can’t stop him from buying something someone else wants to sell.” Even as I said it, I scoffed at myself. Hadn’t I just done that with Frank? I’d put my own financial security on the line to save his place. And I was fucking myself over with how I was treating Brooke. If she left, I’d have to mortgage my place to repay the money to the trust.
Jesus, I was an idiot.
“I know. But some people might feel pressured, you know. That’s not right,” Ryder said.
“No, it’s not. Is he pressuring Mr. Coffey?”
“No, I don’t think so, but we both know how Stark works. I’m not a violent man, but I’d have punched his lights out if I’d been there when he sent the goons that threatened Sinclair and Alyssa.”
I frowned. “When did that happen?”
“Back when she first married Wyatt. They went to the farm to pressure them to sell. Wyatt about near made mincemeat out of them.”
Speaking of Sinclair and Wyatt, I wondered how that marriage was going. I was so certain she’d married him as a ploy to stop Stark. But then they remarried, and she seemed happy. But what the hell did I know about people? “She and Wyatt are good?”
He nodded and studied me like he was curious about my interest. “Very.”
I held my hand up. “I don’t have an interest. Not anymore.” No, my interest was now with the twenty-two-year-old daughter of my oldest friend. Heaven help me.
I pulled out my wallet and tossed a few bills on the counter. “Thanks for the drinks.”
“No problem, Mayor.”
I stood and left, breathing in the cool night air. I walked for a bit to clear my head. The last thing I needed was to get pulled over for a DUI.
When I arrived home, the house was dark. Brooke must have still been at her father’s. I wondered if she was ever going to come home. A wave of sadness overtook me. Sadness at what an asshole I’d been to her. Sadness that her bright smile wasn’t there to greet me. We’d been married only a couple of weeks, and yet, seeing her face in my house was so normal. So natural.
I shook my head as I made my way to my bedroom. I had a year of this. If I lasted that long, it would be a miracle.
18
Brooke
Today was the day Tucker was arriving in town, and I refused to let the shitstorm in my life mess up my happiness about that. The other night, after Mo fucked me senseless against the door of my father’s study, then once again withdrew both physically and emotionally, I acted like everything was okay while I had dinner with my father. Because I didn’t want to go home and listen to Mo go over again why he and I couldn’t be together, I decided to stay the night at my father’s.
When Dad asked where Mo had gone off to, I told him that Mo had gotten a call about city business and had to leave. I enjoyed having time with my father. At least he appreciated the dinner and could hold a conversation. He gushed over Mo’s generosity and their plans to make the ranch run better.
“I can’t tell you, Brooke, how lucky we are to have a friend like Mo on our side,” he said.
I nodded but looked down.
“You, too, honey. I know it must be weird to be married to a friend. I owe you big time.”
“It’s fine, Dad.”
He frowned. “Are you sure? Because if you’re unhappy, if he’s not treating you well—”
I mustered a smile. “I’m not unhappy. It’s fine. Different, but fine.”
He seemed to accept that and then yammered on about his plans. I was glad to see him so happy. As I climbed into my childhood bed, I wondered if Mo would be relieved that I wasn’t coming home. The fact that he didn’t check on me suggested he was.
The next morning, I was able to dress in a skirt and shirt that I’d left in my room at home, so I didn’t have to return to Mo’s house to get ready for work. As I got in my car to head to City Hall, I got a text from Tucker saying he was about an hour from town and had a reservation at a small inn.
I texted back to meet me at City Hall when he got into town. I headed to work, focused on pushing all the angst and drama in my life out and, instead, looking forward to seeing Tucker. When I arrived in the mayor’s office, Trina was her usual grumpy self, and Sinclair was holed up in her office. Mo was out at breakfast at the senior center. I started on my work until I got a text from Tucker that he was parking near City Hall.
Excitement bubbled up. Clearly, I needed a trusted friend in my life. I rushed out, ignoring Trina’s question about where I was going. I burst through the doubled doors to the building and down the steps just as Tucker walked up. I launched myself into his arms.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said, lifting me and twirling me around, making me squeal in delight. I’m sure it was unbecoming of a city worker, but I didn’t care. Tucker was here. It was crazy how happy I was about this. How much I needed him right now.
He set me down and planted a big kiss on my cheek. “You look sexy, as usual.”
I laughed, missing Tucker’s flirting. A movement behind him caught my eye. Mo stopped on the sidewalk behind Tucker and stared at us. He let out a breath and then started up the steps to the building. There was a part of me that felt like I’d been caught doing something wrong. But that was stupid. Even if I was into Tucker, one, Mo and I agreed we’d be faithful during this fake marriage, and two, Mo was the one who didn’t want to be with me. He’d have some nerve being put out because another man liked me. Of course, Tucker and I were only friends.
“So, how was the drive?” I asked him, pushing thoughts of Mo away.
“Long and straight when I hit Nebraska. I did meet a trucker at a truck stop who thought I was too attractive to move to N
ebraska and invited me to stay with him instead.”
I laughed. “Did you consider it?”
“There’s a certain appeal to life on the road, but he has all the wrong bits if you know what I mean,” he said, waggling his brows. “I’m a breast man.”
“Some men have man-boobs.”
He feigned to think about that and then shook his head. “Not the same.” He looked up at the building. “So, this is where you wheel and deal, huh?”
“Yep. Want to come in? You can meet the mayor. That was him that just walked by.”
“You mean your husband.”
I looked around to make sure no one heard that. “That’s on the down-low. No one except my dad and Mo’s lawyer knows. And you, but you can’t tell him you know. He’s already put out as it is.”
Tucker frowned. “Put out? Is that why he walked by and didn’t say hello?”
“It’s a long story.”
“You’re okay, though, right?” He studied me.
I tried to smile, but I was sure I failed. “It’s complicated. I’ve got to get to work, but we can meet for lunch. I can bring you some to your room.”
He nodded. “Sounds good. I have an appointment later today to see an apartment. Can you come?”
“Yes.” I grabbed him and hugged him again. “I’m so glad you’re here, Tucker.” I felt tears coming to my eyes but willed them away.
“Me too. I’ll see you at lunch.”
I watched him saunter off, feeling happy to have a friend in town. I made a beeline for my office, avoiding looking at Trina and whatever annoyed expression she might have directed at me. I pulled out my paperwork and focused on completing this report so I could take time to visit Tucker. I realized that I’d probably need more than my lunch break to eat and see his apartment, which meant I’d need to ask Mo for time off. I waited until I had something that I needed his signature on before going to see him.
Still trying to avoid eye contact with Trina, I went to his office and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” he called.
Fake Marriage (Contemporary Romance Box Set) Page 51