Her face was bright red and her eyes were watering and he cursed under his breath as guilt rolled through him.
“I’m sorry, Mel,” he said softly as he reached for the door handle. “I’m going to go. I’ll tell your brother that there was an emergency at the club, and I – “
“No!” She hissed again at him. “Don’t you dare. Cal already suspects something. If you leave now, it’ll only make it worse. Just – just go out there and act normal.”
He nodded and slipped out of the bathroom, closing the door softly behind him.
Mel stared out the kitchen window. She was elbow deep in warm, sudsy water and she absently scrubbed at the pot submerged in the water. Behind her, she could hear the voices of the others drifting in from the living room and she blocked out one voice in particular as her hands slowed their movements in the water.
What the fuck did she just do?
I’ll tell you what you did. You just had sex with a very dangerous man in the bathroom of your parents’ home and it was the hottest, most intense moment of your entire damn life. That’s what you just did.
We did not have sex
, she argued with herself.
Good point. You were interrupted just when it was getting good. You should definitely go find that lickable hunk of yummy man meat and finish what you started. Take him upstairs. How hot would it be to have him bend you over your childhood bed and fuck you with that giant cock?
Shut up! And his cock wasn’t that big. Slightly above average, at best.
You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart, while I grab the measuring tape.
She shook her head and scrubbed furiously at the pot for a moment as her inner voice continued to yammer at her.
He’s a great kisser. A seriously great kisser. Why are you wasting time scrubbing the damn dishes when you could be taking him home and showing him the time of his life?
She sighed harshly and continued to scrub. She had shooed her mother out of the kitchen, offering to clean up so that she could have a few moments of alone time, and her mother had been happy to oblige. Julie had offered to help but she had quickly refused, herding her into the living room with the others.
Slip him a note with your address and something sexy written on it. Leave him no doubt that you’re ready to finish what you started, you little tart. Only this time – maybe use a condom, yeah?
Fuck! She groaned harshly and bent over the sink, taking deep calming breaths as her heart pounded in her chest. She hadn’t given a moment’s thought to using a condom. What the fuck had she been thinking? She was a nurse for fuck’s sake and she wasn’t a stupid teenager, she knew the dangers of unprotected sex. She hadn’t been thinking, that was the problem. From the moment Jax Anderson had told her he wanted to fuck her, she hadn’t been able to think about anything but how it would feel to have him inside of her. She hadn’t cared that he was dangerous or a complete stranger, or that her family was twenty feet away. She had wanted his cock and nothing else had seemed to matter.
“Melanie?” A soft hand on her back made her jerk wildly and water surged over the sink to soak the counter.
She cursed lightly and mopped at it with the dish cloth as Julie gave her an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“That’s fine.” Mel forced herself to smile at her. “I was just, uh, thinking.”
Thinking about the fact that Jax has your panties in his pocket.
SHUT UP!
Julie leaned against the counter and smiled hesitantly at her. “Is everything alright, Melanie?”
“What do you mean?” She cleared her throat nervously.
“You seem upset.”
Mel stared at her. It was ironic that Julie, a woman who barely knew her, had noticed something was wrong when her family had been oblivious. Of course, her father never noticed anything and her mother had been busy grilling Julie and Court about their new relationship.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
“Are you sure?” Julie gave her another tentative smile. “I know we don’t know each other very well but I’m a good listener.”
Mel opened her mouth to repeat that she was fine and was horrified when she said, “I had sex with Jax in the bathroom before dinner.”
“Oh.” Julie’s mouth dropped open and she clasped her hands together at her waist. “I didn’t realize you knew him that well.”
“I don’t,” Mel muttered as her cheeks turned red. “Tonight is only the second time I’ve met him.”
When Julie didn’t reply, Mel sighed. “I’m not a slut. I swear.”
Julie shook her head. “I don’t think you are and I’m not judging you or anything like that.”
“Why not?” Mel asked bluntly.
“Well, I’m hardly one to judge after I paid your brother to sleep with me on our second, uh, date,” she said honestly. “Besides, I don’t really have a lot of what you would call ‘world experience’. For all I know, normal women have sex in a bathroom with a man they just met all the time.”
“They don’t. Trust me, Julie.”
She took a quick look at the doorway before groaning loudly. “I don’t know what came over me. One minute I was cleaning his hand and the next minute he had me up on the sink and ripping off my underwear.”
Julie’s eyes widened and, blushing slightly, she said, “Well, he is good looking in an ‘I could break your arm with my pinky finger’, kind of way. I can see the appeal.”
Mel gave her a dry look and Julie shrugged. “I’m not kidding. Women like bad boys, right? He seems pretty bad to me.”
“That’s the problem. I’m not a woman who goes after the bad guy. I like them stable and reliable and predictable, and he’s none of those things.”
“You don’t know that,” Julie replied. “You just met him, right?”
Mel shook her head. “He’s Jimmy Golden’s bodyguard, Julie. The guy is paid to beat up other people. Predictable and stable is the last thing he is. He’s everything I stay away from in a guy. Hell, the last guy I slept with was an insurance salesman who took his mother out for dinner every Sunday. His idea of Saturday night excitement was going to a late movie instead of the early show.”
“But how was he in bed?” Julie asked solemnly.
“Awful,” Mel replied immediately.
Julie burst into soft laughter and, after a moment, Mel joined her. When their laughter had tapered off, Julie touched her shoulder gently.
“So, are you and Jax going to date?”
Mel shook her head. “Hell, no. We didn’t even finish having sex. Cal interrupted us.”
“Oh.” Julie picked up a dish towel and dried the pot that was sitting in the dish rack. “Well, maybe that’s for the best.”
“It is.” Mel agreed. “I don’t want anything to do with Jax Anderson, it was temporary insanity that’s all, and I want him to stay away from Cal too. Cal’s got enough problems, he doesn’t need to get involved in whatever it is that Jimmy Golden is hiding.”
“Do you think he’s hiding something?” Julie asked curiously. “Cal says he’s just a business owner.”
“Cal’s being deliberately obtuse about his new boss.” Mel snorted. “He doesn’t want to go back to the escort agency so he’s willing to overlook the rumours about Jimmy Golden.”
She sighed and rinsed the pot of the soap before setting it in the dishrack. “I’m glad Cal isn’t working at the escort agency anymore, he really wasn’t happy there, but I wish he could just get a normal job like Court. Court’s offered to hire him on with the construction company numerous times but Cal refuses. Court says he’s afraid of manual labour but I think he just doesn’t want to work for Court. They’ve always competed with each other, and I know Cal believes he’ll be a failure if he has to take a job from Court. You know?”
“I do,” Julie said quietly.
“Mom says I spend too much time worrying about my brothers. She says I need to let them live their own lives and enjoy mine,” Mel said.
Julie shrugged. “I don’t know about that. If you hadn’t intervened with Court and me, we would never have gotten back together. I’m very thankful to you. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be sitting at home eating ice cream and feeling sorry for myself instead of meeting Court’s family and wondering if they hate me.”
She paused. “Wait, that didn’t come out right.”
Mel grinned at her. “We definitely don’t hate you, Julie. We, and by we I mean me, might be a little surprised at how quickly things seem to be progressing between you and Court, but we definitely like you. Mom invited you to her knitting club and that group is harder to get into than a locked vault.”
Julie laughed. “I like your mom a lot. She seems really nice.”
“She is,” Mel replied. “And you’ll know she really loves you when she gives you a nickname.”
There was a moment of silence before Mel smiled at her. “So, Court said that you’re an only child and both your parents are gone.”
“Yes.” Julie dried another pot.
“That must be very lonely for you.”
She shrugged. “I have a best friend, her name is Mary, and we spend a lot of time together.”
“That’s good.”
Julie bit at her lip nervously. “The thing is, my mom died when I was young and my dad was, well he was controlling and didn’t let me do a lot of things, you know? Mary was my only friend and that’s just because she doesn’t scare easily and refused to let my father intimidate her.”
She hesitated and then pressed forward bravely. “He’s the reason I’m so awkward and weird and completely inept at social situations. This sounds terrible but when he died I was – was happy. I thought that this was finally my chance to really live my life. Only, I didn’t. I spent six months doing exactly what I had done my entire life – hiding away from people.”
“What changed?” Mel asked.
“I met your brother. I know how we met wasn’t exactly conventional but still – he changed my life. I mean, he
completely
changed my life and I will always be grateful to him.”
She stared earnestly at Mel. “I love him, Melanie, I really do. I know you’re worried that we’re moving too quickly but I promise you I’ll never hurt Court.”
Mel sighed. “I just – my brother is the first guy you’ve dated and your entire life has changed because of it. What if what you believe is love, is really just an overwhelming gratefulness to him? I know Court looks tough and he is, but he’s also very,” she hesitated, “sensitive I guess is the word.”
“I know,” Julie said. “I understand how strange this looks but I really do love him.”
Mel gave her a searching look before sighing. “I’m sorry. I’m sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong again.”
Julie patted her arm. “I like how protective you are of him.”
Mel smiled at her before making a sudden decision. “Hey, a couple friends and I are going to a movie and dinner Tuesday night. I’d love it if you came with us.”
“Oh, um, I’m not sure if I – “
“C’mon, Julie, it’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better,” Mel said encouragingly.
Julie hesitated a moment longer before nodding. “Alright. I have a meeting with my accountant at four but that should only take about a half hour or so.”
“Perfect. We’re meeting at Carl’s Café around five for dinner. Do you know where that restaurant is?”
“I can find it.” Julie smiled at her. “Thanks, Mel.”
“Thanks for not judging me.”
“Judging you on what?” Court had entered the kitchen and he wrapped his arms around Julie and kissed her throat before staring expectantly at Mel.
“My behaviour at lunch the other day,” Mel said briefly.
“Oh.” He squeezed Julie affectionately. “Are you ready to go? I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”
“Sure, peanut.” She grinned at him as he gave her a mock scowl and slapped her lightly on the ass.
Mel snickered. “Mum said when Cal and Court were born, she nicknamed Cal pumpkin because of his giant head, and Court peanut because of his really small – “
“Shut it, Mel!” Court gave her a pointed look as Julie bit back her laughter.
“It was nice to see you again and I’ll um, I’ll see you on Tuesday night,” Julie said.
“You bet. Looking forward to it.” Mel grabbed her purse from the counter and slung it over her shoulder. “Can you tell mom thanks for dinner and I’ll call her later?”
“You’re not going to say goodbye?” Court asked.
Mel shook her head. “No, I’ll be late for work. I’ve got to run.”
* * *
“I don’t mind staying at your place, Jules.” Court said as they entered his apartment.
She shook her head and tossed her purse on the side table before kicking off her shoes. “I like your place better.”
He glanced at the tiny apartment skeptically. “Yeah, it’s way better than a giant mansion with a cleaning service and a personal chef.”
“I don’t have a personal chef.” She smacked him lightly on the chest and he grinned and pulled her into his arms.
“I know.”
She rested her head on his broad chest. “Your place has nothing but good memories for me, Court. I love it here.”
“I don’t know, I’ve got some pretty good memories of your place.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Your bedroom and the first time I tasted your sweet pussy, in the shower teaching you to suck my cock …”
She blushed furiously and he squeezed her full ass. “You’re adorable when you blush.”
She stroked his arms and stared up at him. “Do you – do you think your family liked me, Court?”
He nodded. “Yes, I know they did. Stop worrying, Jules.”
“Right.” She smiled tentatively at him and he kissed her firmly.
“Are you tired?”
“A little.”
“Then maybe we should go to bed,” he said innocently.
She smiled as he squeezed her ass again. “Maybe we should.”
He led her down the hallway and into his bedroom. He unzipped her skirt and tugged it down her legs as she unbuttoned his shirt and pressed a kiss against his naked chest.
“God, Jules,” he groaned, “you drive me crazy.”
“Good,” she whispered as she traced a path of kisses along his collarbone.
He threaded his fingers through her dark hair and held her head steady as she licked and nipped at his firm skin. His other hand slid into her panties and he cupped her bare ass before pressing a kiss against her forehead.
“Take off your clothes, Jules.”
He shrugged out of his shirt as she pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. She was wearing a black lace bra with matching panties and his cock swelled at the sight of her pale flesh.
“Fuck,” he muttered.