Bad Boy Alphas Collection Page 26
“Oh, yes, I do,” I countered, hotly.
“Really? So you think that holding my shirt hostage until I agree to exchange your panties puts you in the big leagues?”
I nodded empathically. “Yes.”
He paused. “Alright then, keep the shirt.”
“What?” I faltered as my grin wobbled and turned into a grimace. “What do you mean keep the shirt?”
“My shirt, the one you’re holding over your head and brandishing about as if it’s some kind trophy, you can keep it,” he said slowly as if he was explaining things to a kid.
“But I don’t---I don’t want it,” I spluttered, crossly.
“Yes, you do. Or at least, secretly you do, otherwise you wouldn’t have thought of the trade.”
“No, I want my panties back. What am I supposed to do with your shirt? I can’t use this.” I waved my hands dismissively.
“That’s your problem not mine. You made your bed, James. Now you have to lay in it.”
“But I don’t want your shirt,” I said, weakly.
“Yes, you said that already,” he said, amusement lacing his tone. “Now, I’m about to walk out of your office, a professional and respectable one without a shirt. Though I did enter this office with one. Imagine the tongues wagging, and the rumors that will fly.”
My eyes widened into saucers. “You wouldn’t.”
“Wouldn’t I?” he challenged as he uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking incredibly sexy while doing that. “The ball is in your court, James.”
After taking a minute to run through my options, I realized that I had no choice. With as much dignity as I could muster, I walked up to him, waded the shirt into a ball and shoved it between us.
“I hate you,” I scowled darkly.
“No, you don’t. See you tonight.” He gave me a quick wink as he slipped on the shirt, unlocked the door and walked out.
*****
I was whistling under my breath when Amelia walked in a minute later with a huge scowl on her face as she muttered about spoiled and privileged people who thought they were God’s gift on Earth.
“What’s up with you grouchy pants?” I called out as I slipped on my mittens and peaked into the oven. I made a shooing motion with my left hand as I sniffed and realized that it still needed a little bit more time.
I glanced at the clock and was relieved to see that it was still four. I only needed an hour to get ready, so I still had time to relax.
“Okay, I don’t want to go all black lives matter on you, but seriously. Why is it that a lot of white people get this look on their face whenever they see that a person of color is their doctor?”
My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Seriously? I mean I know racism is far from being over, but you’d think that in this modern day and age, it would be a lot less.”
Amelia snorted as she kicked off her shoes and hopped onto the chair. We had an island in the middle of our kitchen which made eating a lot more fun that it usually was, but it was a hassle to clean.
“Yeah, no, I wish. White privilege really is a thing, Victoria, and I guess you see it a lot more when you look like me.” She pointed both fingers at her face, her smile a sardonic one as she rolled her eyes. “Some mothers still get skittish around me. I mean, does this look like the face of a terrorist?”
Amelia had skin the color of light coffee, a beautiful shade that made her look naturally tanned and brown all year along. I personally thought she was gorgeous and needn’t worry about her appearance, but I was one of the few.
She wasn’t wrong though.
White supremacy very much existed.
It was even worse if you were a woman.
Those were strikes in odds that were stacked against you before you were even born.
“Only when you haven’t been fed,” I teased good naturedly, trying to lighten the mood. I ducked as Amelia tossed a shoe at me, and it barely missed me, hitting the side of the stove inside.
“Hey, watch it.” I waved the spatula I was holding in her general direction. “That could’ve hit me, I could’ve been seriously injured. I could’ve lost my eyesight- or worse, my ability to taste food.”
“I love that your priorities are in order,” Amelia responded, sarcastically as she shot me a dirty look. “And it was meant to hurt you, Meryl Streep. Quit being so dramatic. It only would’ve hurt a little.”
“A little?” I placed my hand on my heart. “It is not just my head that you’ve hit—”
“One can only hope,” she muttered innocently. “Now I kind of wish I had gone for your mouth.”
I shot her a dirty look before I continued as if I hadn’t heard her. “My feelings will never be the same. My wound is not skin deep, Amelia. I felt that in my heart. You and I can never go back. I must find myself a new best friend because some lines can never be crossed. Oh, what will I—”
“Since you’re on the hunt for a new best friend, I suppose I can just give your frozen yogurt to someone else?” Amelia asked, casually as she pushed the treats in my general direction.
“On the other hand, who really needs best friends who don’t throw shoes? I can live with that,” I said as I gave her a toothy grin. “Have I mentioned that I love you lately?”
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Keep kissing my ass like that, Victoria. I’m tempted to wolf down your frozen yogurt as well as mine.”
“You won’t,” I said, confidently. Thank God she was on another diet, otherwise I might’ve been genuinely afraid. As it was, I knew she couldn’t follow through on that threat.
Amelia sighed. “You’re right. I won’t. Doesn’t mean I can’t try though. By the way, that smells fantastic, what are you making?”
“I’m roasting a chicken, and there’s some salad.” I began to dice up the cucumbers and quickly placed them in a bowl. Next, I followed it up with some tomatoes, lettuce, and I added peppers, corn and tuna to round it out.
I knew it was an odd mash up of things to include a salad, but I had thrown all these things together one day when I was hungry, and it kind of stuck. Now, Amelia was a fan too.
“Oooooh, you made your favorite salad,” Amelia noted, her eyes suddenly narrow suspiciously as I turned to face her, and she was giving me a look. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said a little too quickly.
“Are you trying to butter me up for something? Because I’d rather you just give it to me straight.” Amelia hated surprises, and she sounded weary.
“No, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to say thank you for making me go out last weekend.” I gave her a sincere smile.
“You were attacked. How come you’re thanking me?” She sounded befuddled.
“It’s okay.” I waved her protest away. “Because I ran into him again today. The guy from the bar. The gray eyed hottie.”
“No way. The guy you were making googly eyes at all night? The one who intervened to save your life?” Amelia leaned forward, eagerly. “Now you have my full attention. Start at the beginning.”
“He came to my office this morning, but obviously I didn’t know it was him since I didn’t know his last name,” I began.
Little by little, I began to arrange the pieces of our story for Amelia. I tried to gloss over the more intimate details, but she was having none of it. Insisting in fact that I had to tell her because she was living vicariously through me. My face was flaming throughout the whole thing, but I tried to keep a neutral expression in spite of the nature of our conversation, and the look on Amelia’s face.
She had a Cheshire cat grin, and I knew she wasn’t going to let me off the hook that easily.
*****
Amelia was grinning so hard that I was afraid her mouth was going to stay in that position permanently. I had just finished recounting the story, and although she stayed quiet, I knew she was dying to make comments.
Finally, she let loose a wolf whistle. “Hubba Hubba! In your office, huh?”
“What?” she prompted, her eyes challenging.
“Dirty,” I finished, lamely.
“Honey, I don’t know what description you would attribute to it, but believe me, it was definitely like that. You were getting down and dirty while your assistant was a mere few feet away,” Amelia pointed out. “And multiple times too.”
I bit my bottom lip. “I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t seem to get over him.”
“It’s called attraction,” Amelia supplied, cheekily.
“It’s not just that, S. I feel connected to him. I don’t know, I can’t really explain it,” I admitted it. “I know it sounds crazy because I’ve only known him for a short amount of time, but it really is like nothing I’ve ever felt.”
“Are we talking about his nether regions, or the connection?” Amelia grinned, wickedly.
“Amelia!” I hissed as my face burned even more. “I’d like to stop blushing sometime today, so if you could stop referring to it like that, I’d be grateful.”
Amelia tilted her head and studied me thoughtfully. “I mean, I could, but where’s the fun in that? You’re so easy to tease, Victoria.”
I glowered in her direction as I tossed a dish rag at her. “I am not.”
“You totally are. Case in point.” Amelia easily slid off the chair and rolled her sleeves up to her elbows as she deftly plucked the sponge out of my hands. “You made the food, so I’ll do the dishes.”
“Thanks, S.” I shot her a grateful smile. “I do need to start getting ready.”
“Yes, that would be round what...four? Five?” Amelia twisted her neck to look at me over her shoulder. I flipped her off, and she laughed.
“I’m ignoring you now.”
“You can’t ignore me, Victoria. I’m everywhere,” she called out as I headed towards the bathroom. I waited for the water to heat up as I stripped and mentally decided on what to wear.
There was this beige colored dressed that was above my knees. With my five-inch gladiator sandals, that would be the perfect match. Amelia liked to call them my ‘fuck me’ pumps, but I personally couldn’t see it.
I’d never actually done it while they were on.
My stomach tightened at the thought of that potentially happening, but I knew I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. Normally, people went on a date first then slept together. Derek and I were taking it in reverse, so there was no reason to assume it would be the same thing tonight.
Even though I was kind of torn about whether or not I wanted it to.
My skin still burned with the memory of his touch, but I was determined to do this the right way. I finished my shower and got dressed. I swiped on some mascara, blush and lipstick then I was good to go.
I had my hair in loose curls framing my face, and I was just strapping on my shoes when I heard the bell. I sprayed on some perfume, grabbed my clutch and headed outside.
“She’ll be right out,” I heard Amelia say.
I faltered when I caught sight of Derek in a nice pair of dark jeans, a button-down shirt, and his signature leather jacket. Was there anything this man put on that wouldn’t look good? The scruffy bad boy look worked for him, and he cleaned up nicely.
My stomach tightened reflexively as his gaze raked over me and gave me a small smile. “Are you ready to go?”
I gave him a bright smile. “Yes.”
He gestured outside where a car was parked. Amelia yanked me on the way out and whispered in my ear. “Don’t forget to use protection because he is sex on legs, honey.”
I swatted her hand away and shot her a dirty look as we headed towards the car. He opened the door for me, went around to his side and got in.
*****
“I haven’t driven a stick in a long time,” Derek said, in frustration. “I have a bike, but my buddy let me borrow his car for the night.”
He gazed at me apologetically.
“Do you want me to drive?”
He looked surprised. “Can you drive a stick?”
“Yup. I had one for a long time,” I got out, walked around to his side, and we switched seats. I undid the straps of my sandals to be able to drive better and eased into it.
“You should definitely drive more often,” Derek drawled, and I could feel his eyes boring holes into the side of my head. I shifted gears and shot him a quick look before I turned my attention back to the road.
“Why is that?” I asked, distractedly.
“Because I get to do things like this.” He lowered one of the straps on my dress, so that he got a glimpse of my black lacy bra. I shifted, so that my arms were covering me, but gently extracted them.
“Don’t cover yourself up. I want to see those beautiful titties,” he said as he began to palm it over the fabric of my dress. I swallowed audibly as I tried to keep my eyes focused on the road ahead instead of on the man who was driving me insane.
“Hmm too many layers,” he commented, casually. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I could already feel the desire pooling between my legs.
“What do you mean?” The words had barely left my lips before he unhooked my bra and lowered the strap, so one of my breasts was exposed. My arms twitched with the urge to cover myself up because I suddenly felt acute self-conscious and aware of the fact that so many cars were around us.
All they had to do was look next to him, and they’d see what could be described as a mini porno, and I didn’t feel like being cast in that particular lead.
“See? This is more like it,” he murmured, and I heard his seat belt click open. Before I could register what he was doing, he lowered his mouth over my breasts and began to suck. I gasped audibly as one hand immediately fisted itself into his hair, and the other gripped the steering wheel even tighter.
He swirled his tongue round and around the sensitive nub until it was hard and erect. He gave it one last tug before he released it with a loud popping sound.
“You taste like cream and peaches.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and I could only bob my head in response.
“Cat got your tongue?” he teased.
“No, more like you did,” I responded, hoarsely. I coughed as I attempted to clear my throat. “Can I cover myself up now?”
“Cover yourself up? I haven’t even started. We still have the other lady to consider. She hasn’t been getting any attention at all, and I think she’s going to be upset with me.”
“Lady?” I barked back a laugh. “Really?”
“It is an apt name for these two. The ladies,” He dubbed them as he tweaked the nipple on one, and began to knead the other.
“Must as well call them the twins since you’re going down that path,” I retorted, sarcastically though I secretly liked it.
The name was…quaint.
“Nah, I prefer ladies,” he admitted as he lowered the strap on the other side of my bra in one swift movement. My cream-colored breasts and rosy nipples were now spilling out of my bra for the entire street to see, and there was a tiny voice in the back of my head screaming at me to have some decency.
There was another voice, a much larger part that told the other voice to go stuff it because I was enjoying this. I deserved to go wild and crazy too. Why should other people get to experience it while I always had to do the right thing?
Nope, just this once I wanted to walk on the wild side.
“Mmm, somebody is enjoying this.” He sank his teeth into my other nipple causing a moan to tear through my lips as my body inched itself forward subconsciously.
The street in front of me was beginning to blur, and I blinked rapidly to bring it back into focus. It was like my eyes had suddenly become this unfocused camera lens, and no matter how long I waited for it to shift into perspective, it didn’t.
“Mmm-hmmm.” I made a noise of agreement in the back of my throat as he lavished the same amo
unt of attention on it as the other breast. He sighed as he pulled back and buried his head between the two.
“This is how you should always drive,” he announced, his voice husky.
“What do you mean?”
“With your delectable tits hanging out like that. Don’t you feel sexier and more free?”
I gave him a half smile. “I’m not sure if those are the words that I would use to describe it.”
“What would you use then?”
“Exhilarating perhaps.”
“That’s an interesting choice of words. Maybe something else too,” he offered.
“What’s that?”
“Naughty,” he said, automatically. “You like that you’re flaunting the rules right now. It’s making you feel reckless and bold in a way that you’ve never felt before. I remember the first high I felt when I broke the rules.”
“I can imagine it being an addicting feeling,” I confessed. “Not that I’m in the habit of breaking the rules all that often.”
Derek leaned in and back to nuzzle my neck while grazing the skin with the tip of his teeth. “With me, we can break all the rules you want to break. Even those you never dreamed of breaking.”
“Is that so?” I asked, faintly. “Derek, I’m still driving, you know. Go easy on me.”
“You’re doing a great job, don’t worry. Also, who said anything about going easy on you?” I could feel him smile against my neck as he sank his teeth in and began to play with my breasts once more.
His hands traveled over my body and down to my legs. His lips traveled lower over the fabric of my dress till they reached my center. My hands grew white as my grip on the steering wheel tightened impossibly, and my legs closed of their own accord.
Derek chuckled. “I’m going to need you to spread those legs for me, baby.”
“I need to drive,” I said, faintly.
“Yes, and you can still do that. Just inch them open just a bit. There you go. That’s a good girl,” he instructed. I found myself doing what I was told in spite of the logical voice in my head raging on inside.