Bad Boys Online

Copyright
©
2003 by Erin McCarthy

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher of this book, excepting brief quotations used in reviews. Purchase only authorized editions.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, businesses or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Cover
©
2014 by Elle J. Rossi, EJR Digital Art

Formatting by Polgarus Studio

Dear Reader,

BAD BOYS ONLINE was the anthology of three novellas that launched my romance writing career way back in 2003. The incomparable editor Kate Duffy, at Kensington Publishing, made me an offer of publication after reading Bad Boys Online in Lori Foster’s Brava contest. Since then, I’ve written more than 60 books and novellas and it’s been a helluva ride, one I couldn’t have taken without all of you. Since this is a reissue of the original book, with only a few tweaks, please remember technology has changed drastically in the fourteen years since I wrote it. I decided against a major rewrite because there is something really raw and honest about these stories that I wrote as a newbie writer and I wanted to honor them intact. So forgive the occasional jarring reference to ancient technology and enjoy these sexy stories. :)

Happy Reading,

Erin

“I want to lick your nipples until you…”

Kindra jumped in her swivel seat as a low voice spoke over her shoulder.

Please don’t let that be who she thought it was.

She turned. It was. “Ohmigod. Mack!”

Whipping the mouse around on her desktop, she tried frantically to close the email that was up on her computer screen.

The dirty email from her online “friend,” Russ. The dirty email that was being read by her real live crush and co-worker, Mack Stone.

God, where was the minimize button?

“Come like a rocket, hot and wet…” Mack’s amused voice trailed off. “What is this?”

“Spam,” she managed to say, a sweat breaking out under her white blouse and black jacket. “I get all kinds of junk emails.”

Kindra clicked the close button as Mack’s finger touched the screen.

“Then why does it have your name on it?”

“I don’t think it did,” she lied without compunction. There was no way she was admitting to Mack “different girlfriend every week” Stone that she had been engaging in an online affair.

“Yes, it did,” he insisted.

Annoyed, she looked over her shoulder at him and gritted her teeth at his total and utter perfection. Why? Why did she have to spend every day for eight hours looking at this paragon of masculinity? From his short black hair, past the strong jaw, down to the broad chest and gorgeous pecs covered in GQ inspired clothing, and continuing on down… lower, he was perfect.

And very out of her league.

She glared at him, willing him to back away from her chair and take his arousing after-shave scent with him.

A grin spread out across his face, showing off perfect white teeth. He probably never even got cavities. “Kindra Hill, are you having cyber sex? I never would have guessed.”

Her impulse was to just push him out of the way and run down the hall and hide in the ladies room until he left the building. But that hadn’t worked in ninth grade when Tommy Slade had pantsed her in front of her geometry class, and she didn’t think it would work now.

Two choices here. Deny. Or brazen it out.

Being a proverbial wallflower, she had never brazened anything out in her life. It was time to try.

Taking a deep breath to gather some courage, she said, “So what if I am?”

Okay, what was meant to sound seductive came out defensive. She sounded like a bitter divorcée who went through a vibrator battery a week.

His ice blue eyes went wide. “Then I’d say there’s more to you than meets the eye.” He shook his head, clearly curious. “But I figure, why talk about it online, when you can be doing it live and in person?”

Yeah, if she had him to do it with. But Kindra’s choices had never been so appealing. After a few mishaps that had ranged from yawn inspiring to borderline gruesome, she had decided she was better off snuggling up with the blue light on her computer screen every night.

“It’s easier this way… safer, cleaner,” she mumbled. Then she straightened up and turned back to her computer, on the verge of collapsing from mortification. Had she said that out loud?

She had. Mack leaned over her, his hot breath tickling across her ear. His tie fell forward and brushed against the back of her hair, sending a shiver through her.

“But it’s so much more fun going old-school.”

“Sometimes. And sometimes it’s messy and complicated and just plain lousy.” She gave a shrug that was meant to be worldly and nonchalant, as if she’d sampled men aplenty and found them all lacking. Instead she managed to clip him in the chin.

He grunted. “I think you’re wrong.”

“I don’t care.” She scooted forward, away from him.
Hint, hint, take it please. Go away and take your hot bod with you.

“I can prove it to you.”

She froze. He couldn’t possibly mean… no. Mack Stone had never given her the time of day before.

But if he did mean
that
, did she want to take him up on it? Her head said of course not, you naïve and greedy slut. Her inner thighs had an altogether different answer, one that had her panties turning into a mini-oven.

He wasn’t serious though.

“I’m serious,” he said.

Help.

Kindra opened her mouth, knowing full well her brain had ceased to exist and her crotch was in complete control.

“What kind of proof are you talking about?”

She fought the urge to clap a hand over her mouth.

Now she’d done it.

He’d think she was actually interested.

Which, of course, she was.

But she shouldn’t let
him
know that.

Mack was still leaning over her. He said in a low voice laced with amusement, “I think you know what kind of proof I’m talking about.”

Well, she thought he was talking about having sex with her. But if she said it out loud, and she was wrong, she would have to quit her job and move to Anarctica.

Kindra cleared her throat. “Maybe, if you explain it to me?”

Mack’s hands gripped the back of her chair and she found herself slowly being turned around. Since grabbing the desk and clinging for dear life would be rude, she settled for crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

Perfect position for a woman claiming to be disinterested in live action sex.

Except that somehow Mack had managed to place a leg on either side of her chair and his… pants were eye level. Fascinated, she took a long look. Kindra licked her lips. Mack’s pants jumped.

Oh, my.

She forced her eyes upward. He no longer looked amused. His legs and other body parts took a large step backwards, removing the masculine scent of him from her personal space.

“If I’m going to prove to you that one-on-one sex is better than cyber sex, I can only think of one way to do that.”

Here it was. It was coming. “Oh?” she squeaked.

Mack nodded, his hands sliding into his pockets. “Yes, that’s right, Kindra. It looks like I’m going to have to have sex with you.”

Wow. If this was a dream, may she never wake up.

Mack watched shock cross Kindra’s face and he fought the urge to smile. Because behind the shock, right there in those fascinating green eyes of hers was… interest.

He had her interested.

Strolling into Kindra’s office to borrow some software CD’s he wanted to install on his computer had been a much better idea than he could have ever anticipated. It was a pure stroke of luck to find her staring intently at her screen, biting her lip as she read a dirty email. An unoriginal dirty email, in his opinion.

He had read about half of it before he had announced his presence by speaking out loud. He would have expected Kindra to blush, but she hadn’t, even though she had clearly been flustered.

Kindra Hill was a mystery. One he had been studying for a year, since he had accepted the position at Ohio MicroDesign, a graphic design company in Cleveland. Kindra gave every appearance of being shy and quiet, but when she thought no one was looking, he had been watching her.

Instead of being demure, Kindra rolled her eyes a lot and snorted to herself. She crossed her arms and slouched in her chair when she was alone. If he was quick enough, he could catch her green eyes spitting fire sometimes.

But she always banked it.

And he wanted to know why.

Kindra closed her mouth, then reopened it. Her eyes narrowed. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Are you kidding?” Now he was the one in shock. Hadn’t she looked in a mirror lately? “What guy wouldn’t want to?”

She appeared to mull this over and nodded. “That’s probably true. Guys are like that.”

Her feet pushed on the floor, inching her chair back further away from him. “But, so you know, to prove what you want to prove, well… you’re really going to have your work cut out for you.”

Damn. His groin tightened painfully. Somehow he didn’t think he’d mind the extra effort. Besides, he had twelve months worth of spontaneous hard-ons caused by Kindra to ease. He stuck his foot behind the wheel of her chair so it stopped moving.

Gripping each arm of the chair, he bent over and murmured alongside her cheek, “I think I’m up for the challenge.”

She shivered and leaned back in her chair as if she needed distance. Her eyes were half-closed and Mack reminded himself to ease up. Take it slow.

Kindra wanted this. But he wanted to make sure nothing changed her mind.

Just because he had a year’s worth of frustration wasn’t a good excuse to throw charm and finesse out the window and just attack her in a fit of adolescent lust.

If he wasn’t careful, he would screw up this perfect opportunity. And he didn’t want that. What he wanted was to see what Kindra kept hidden under those boxy suits she always wore. He wanted to pull down that hair she kept tightly bound in a clip and see if it really had auburn highlights like he suspected.

He wanted her.

With deliberate steps, he moved a few feet over to her desk and leaned against it. “So, what do you think? Can I prove you wrong? Or are you perfectly satisfied with what you’re getting right now?”

He held his breath.

“Well…” she fiddled with the clip on her head, forcing her jacket to rise up a little and give him a hint of her curves. “So, what did you have in mind?”

Yes. Mack mentally spiked a football in the end zone. “Tonight. Dinner. Then your place.”

She would feel safer in her own apartment, he rationalized. More comfortable. And he didn’t care where he was as long as he was naked with Kindra.

But her head was shaking no. “I have plans tonight. It’s Friday. I bowl on a league on Fridays.”

Kindra bowling? That struck him as odd. Maybe because he’d never seen her wearing anything but black or navy suits and high heels.

Bowling was hard for him to understand. You stood there and threw a ball at plastic pins. Now golf was a different story. That was a game.

“Can’t you skip tonight?” Damn, he sounded eager. Maybe he should rein that in a little.

“No. My team will lose my score if I don’t show. I can’t do that.”

Fine. It’s not like he was in a huge hurry or anything. He wasn’t desperate. He’d had plenty lately. Sort of. Well, not really.

And not with Kindra.

He said, “Tomorrow night then?”

She licked her lips again.

Soft, plump lips that were made for kissing and sucking and biting. Lips that would feel fantastic sliding across his cock.

He gritted his teeth in agony.

“Okay,” she said, looking like she’d just been given ten to fifteen years in federal prison. “Tomorrow night.”

She wasn’t exactly brimming with enthusiasm.

Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought. After all, she was choosing to abstain from sex. There had to be a reason. A reason he had to get around. Even if it took all night.

Speaking of which, that needed to be stated clearly. “You have to guarantee me at least twelve hours to make my case, Kindra.”

She blinked. Twelve hours? He was planning on proving it to her for twelve hours? She would have been happy with ten minutes and a wave on his way out.

“Isn’t that a little long?”

He was leaning casually against her desk, and when he shifted, his leg brushed against hers. Kindra shivered and recrossed her legs in the opposite direction to move them away from him.